RTHK: Thai king sends cryptic message as polls open

Polls opened on Sunday for the first Thai election since a 2014 coup, with a high turnout expected among a public who received a cryptic last-minute warning from the Thai king to support "good" leaders to prevent "chaos."

All television stations repeated the rare statement by King Maha Vajiralongkorn moments before polls opened across a politically turbulent country.

Sunday's election pits a royalist junta and its allies against the election-winning machine of billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra and an unpredictable wave of millions of first time voters.

Politicians across the spectrum fear a stalemate has been booked in by new election rules, written by the junta, which limit the chances of any single party emerging with a comfortable parliamentary majority.

"People want to vote, they are excited," said businesswoman Apiyada Svarachorn at a Bangkok polling station, adding the public remains "split into two sides."

An unscheduled palace statement  which dropped late on Saturday and was repeated minutes before the polls opened  added further intrigue to an election that has repeatedly threatened to tip into chaos before a single vote was cast.

The statement reiterated comments by late king Bhumibol Adulyadej from 1969 calling for people to "support good people to govern the society and control the bad people" to prevent them from "creating chaos".

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy. But the palace holds unassailable powers and is shielded from criticism by a harsh royal defamation law.

The king's intervention before the election is his second in less than two months.

Another royal command torpedoed the candidacy of his elder sister Princess Ubolratana for prime minister of a party linked to Thaksin, a divisive ex-premier toppled by a 2006 coup.

Thaksin has lived in self-exile since 2008. But he looms large over the election and his affiliated parties have won every Thai election since, drawing on huge loyalty from rural and urban poor.

On Friday Ubolratana was guest of honour at the glitzy Hong Kong wedding of Thaksin's daughter  with photos of the tycoon and the princess hugging and smiling going viral. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-03-24. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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Editor's note: Bobby Naderi is a journalist, current affairs commentator, documentary filmmaker and member of the Writers Guild of Great Britain. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The pivoting-to-Asia racketeers, whose belligerence and greed has destroyed the planet beyond repair, appear to be strengthening their hands yet again in the strategic Taiwan Strait.

As if their ill-fated trade war was not destructive enough, President Donald Trump's aides and China hawks in the U.S. Congress have reportedly "encouraged" Taiwan to submit a formal request for purchasing "more than 60 F-16 fighter jets," which might as well include tanks.

As always, this line of thinking hasn't gone so well with Beijing, and from a long-term perspective, Washington's new ploy seems rather short-sighted.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang, in response, has pressed Washington to abide by the agreed one-China principle and the Sino-U.S. joint communiques, stop arms sales and military contact with Taiwan, and refrain from destabilizing the Strait.



Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang has urged the U.S. not to sell arms to Taiwan. /MFA Photo

According to Geng, "China's position to firmly oppose arms sales to Taiwan is consistent and clear. We have made stern representations to the U.S. We have urged the U.S. to fully recognize the sensitivity of this issue and the harm it will cause."

To be clear, Beijing has real reasons to be concerned about Washington's unnecessary policy of arming Taiwan to the teeth:

The cheery news for U.S. arms manufacturers and Pentagon generals neglects regional political dimensions, destabilizes the Taiwan Strait, sows trouble in the South China Sea and might even heat up a new arms race in a wider region.

As well, it calls into question the U.S.'s "One-China Policy" that some 40 years ago rendered the much-needed rapprochement between Beijing and Washington. The U.S. "acknowledges the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China." So, it's rather odd for Trump aides to use a 1979 law as a pretext to flood the Chinese island with what they call "arms of a defensive character."

They are taking us for fools. Taiwan's request is doing what it is intended to do. To act as an economic stimulus for greedy American arms companies like Lockheed Martin Corp., Northrop Grumman, General Dynamic and Raytheon.

They want the world's top arms trader to manufacture a new threat and a new crisis in the Taiwan Strait. They would love to hear President Trump shout "all bets are off," and for China and Taiwan to abandon dialogue on their tensions. This way they can sell as many weapons as possible amidst the bedlam and laugh all the way to the bank.

To substantiate, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), such moneymaking policy is "driven by the implementation of new national major weapon programs, ongoing military operations in several countries and persistent regional tensions that are leading to an increased demand for weapons."

Adding to the concern is the fact that more than half of SIPRI's top 20 weapons sellers are still based in the United States. So, it makes commercial sense for the U.S. government to have a decisive influence on any political row between China and Taiwan.

On this, the decision to encourage Taiwan to purchase American fighter jets and tanks is a plot device for politics and profits. The War Party on Capitol Hill is not at all interested in regional peace and stability; it's not good for the U.S. arms industry and the moneymaking machine.

As such, the Trump aides and China hawks in the Congress are at odds with international law. Despite being perplexed in darkness and entangled in global isolation and chaos, they present themselves as a force for stability in the Asia-Pacific region, while providing material support to destroy it.



An F-16 fighter jet. /VCG Photo

It's an ill wind that blows nobody good, turning their pivot-to-Asia doctrine and self-absorbed policy of "protecting our factories" and "making America great again" into a destructive race for everyone to the bottom  including Taiwan.

Under international law and the Charter of the United Nations, the Trumpsters not only have the good against them, but also the bad in this new pandemonium.

They know full well that they have no warrant and certainly no reason to weaponize the Taiwan Strait. Worryingly, they also know this is very provocative to China. It will proliferate weapons and contribute to potential flashpoints everywhere.

The solution is not easy but straightforward. The international civil society needs to create a new space in international forums and at the United Nations for a critical debate both on the legality and necessity of U.S. plot to license unwarranted arms sales and military equipment to Taiwan, which could have serious implications far beyond America's own borders in the Pacific.

No doubt the region has avoided a U.S.-manufactured crisis more through luck than through rationality, and sooner or later its luck might run out.

Add in one more thing: Even if we were to accept that the U.S. is providing Taiwan "with arms of a defensive character," the argument that it will help the island defend itself against China's manufactured threat still falls flat on its face.

This destabilizing dogma fails to consider how the "One-China Policy" works. It overlooks the basic strategic concerns of China's regional policy, which is based on peaceful co-existence, non-violence and international law.

Any doubters should take a look at China's foreign relations and strategic thinking guidelines. The fundamental goals of this contemporary foreign policy are "to preserve China's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, maintain world peace, and propel common development."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 12:23:13|Editor: mingmei

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MANILA, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines is "earnestly looking forward" to actively participating in the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to be held next month in Beijing, Philippine Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said in a statement released on Sunday.

Dominguez said the forum, which will be attended by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, will be a major catalyst for more comprehensive international collaboration aimed at creating a better future for economies across the globe.

"We appreciate China's Belt and Road infrastructure program that will more closely link the economies of Asia and Europe. This program will shape the future of this century and the next century," Dominguez said.

Dominguez, who visited Beijing last week, has underscored the remarkable progress made in enhancing bilateral relations between Manila and Beijing as both sides expressed optimism over the "pragmatic cooperation" between the two countries becoming even stronger in the coming years.

In his meeting with Chinese Commerce Minister Zhong Shan, Dominguez said that over the past two years under Duterte's leadership, the Philippines has seen its relationship with China growing closer and more comprehensive.

He also thanked China for the generous support it has extended to the (Philippines') ambitious effort to modernize its infrastructure and build a more competitive economy.

"We look forward to implementing more strategic infrastructure projects supported by highly concessional financing from China," Dominguez said during a dinner-meeting between officials of the two countries to discuss the status of the Philippines' priority projects being rolled out with funding assistance from China.

The Philippine officials discussed the Philippines' economic performance and outlook, presented the long list of infrastructure development projects under the "Build, Build, Build" program, and invited investors to do business in the Philippines and ride on the economy's growth trajectory.

The "Build, Build, Build" program, which was rolled out by the Duterte administration in 2017, intends to spend 8 to 9 trillion pesos (roughly 160 to 180 billion U.S. dollars) in the medium term on building roads, bridges, airports, seaports and railways in the Philippines.

"Like China, the Philippines is well positioned for growth. The Philippines, with a fast-growing economy and business-friendly tax reforms, is perfect for investment," Dominguez said, pointing to his country's "strong fiscal position" that has paved the way for the government to invest in an ambitious infrastructure program that works in concert with the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

"We look forward to a seamless network for the flow of goods, the exchange of best practices, and boundless cooperation in the coming years," Dominguez added.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 12:58:18|Editor: mingmei

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MEXICO CITY, March 23 (Xinhua) -- At least 1,200 Central American migrants left the Mexican city of Tapachula in Chiapas in a caravan Saturday and headed to the U.S. border, local authorities said.

The caravan, carrying migrants including pregnant women and children, left at around 4 a.m. (1000 GMT) from the city that borders Guatemala.

The Chiapas Secretary of Civil Protection told Xinhua that its personnel accompanied the caravan to attend to any possible emergency, while federal police would provide security along the road.

The migrants are mainly from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, according to local media reports.

Mayor of Huixtla offered transportation to the Central Americans to make their journey quicker in hot weather. However, the migrants refused the offer, Cipriano Hernandez, director of the Civil Protection told Xinhua.

He estimated there were between 1,200 and 1,500 people in the caravan.

"We're worried about the pregnant women and children, but we respect their decision," Hernandez told Xinhua by phone, adding that the mayor's office will offer help if they choose to stop in Huixtla to spend the night.

Since October, thousands of Central Americans have entered Mexico in caravans to pass through the country to seek asylum in the United States, which has beefed up security along its border in recent months facing a stream of incoming migrants.

The Mexican government has said it has been working with Washington since December to develop an integral plan in Central American countries, with the goal of reducing poverty and violence among the local population.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 13:03:21|Editor: Xiaoxia

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UNITED NATIONS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday condemned the massive killing in a Malian village, where reports said at least 134 civilians were killed.

"The secretary-general is shocked and outraged by reports that at least 134 civilians, including women and children, have been killed and at least 55 have been injured following an attack this morning in Ogossagou Peulh village, Mopti region, in central Mali," Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the secretary-general, said in a statement.

"The secretary-general condemns this act and calls on the Malian authorities to swiftly investigate it and bring the perpetrators to justice," said Haq.

"The secretary-general expresses his condolences to the families of the victims, the people and the government of Mali, and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured," he added.

The UN chief called on the Malian authorities to redouble their efforts to bring back peace and stability to central Mali, Haq added.

Gunmen reportedly surrounded the village before attacking people in their homes in Ogossagou in the country's Mopti region. The attack targeted members of the Fulani ethnic community.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 13:08:22|Editor: Xiaoxia

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UNITED NATIONS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday welcomed the establishment of a government in the Central African Republic (CAR) in line with the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation.

"The secretary-general commends the leadership role of the African Union in particular in the successful conclusion of the consultations that were held in Addis Ababa from March 18 to 20, with United Nations support on CAR," Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the secretary-general, said in a statement.

The secretary-general urged all signatories of the agreement to adhere to its agreed principles, especially "the rejection of violence and respect for human rights and human dignity," said Haq.

"He further urges all signatories of the peace agreement to expedite its implementation," he noted.

The secretary-general reiterated the commitment of the UN to assisting the CAR and called on all partners to continue to support the people and government of the CAR in their efforts "to secure lasting peace" in the country, he added.

According to the agreement signed in the CAR capital Bangui on Feb. 6, President Faustin-Archange Touadera agreed to form an inclusive government.

The agreement, the eighth since 2012 in the CAR, brought together the CAR government and 14 major armed groups.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 13:18:27|Editor: Liangyu

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WASHINGTON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese number one Wang Qiang reached the last 16 after her opponent Serena Williams of the United States withdrew from their thrid round clash due to a left knee injury on Saturday.

"I am disappointed to withdraw from the Miami Open due to a left knee injury," Serena said in a statement. "It was an amazing experience to play at the Hard Rock Stadium this year and would like to thank the Miami Open for putting on an amazing event."

"I hope to be back next year to play at this one-of-a-kind tournament in front of the incredible fans here in Miami."

The former world No.1 started the Miami Open with a tough three-set victory over Rebecca Peterson of Sweden, winning 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 to reach the third round. She did not show any signs of injury in that match.

Wang, seeded 18th in the event, will play against either compatriot Wang Yafan or American Danielle Collins in the round of 16.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 13:38:31|Editor: Liangyu

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BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The media registration system for the upcoming International Horticultural Exhibition 2019 Beijing China will open on March 25, the media center of the Beijing horticultural expo said Sunday.

Journalists who apply to interview the exhibition can log into the official website (http://exhibitionreg.news.cn) and the deadline for the registration is September 10, according to the media center.

The Beijing horticultural expo will be held from April to October this year, in Yanqing District.

Foreign reporters who plan to temporarily visit China can apply for a J-2 visa at a Chinese embassy, consulate or other agency entrusted by the Chinese Foreign Ministry with the confirmation letter generated by the registration system.

The Beijing horticultural expo official website will later release when and how to collect the press cards.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 14:48:42|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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An Afghan security member stands guard at a security checkpoint in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, March 24, 2019. At least 11 militants have been killed, eight wounded and seven others arrested following separate clashes in two eastern Afghan provinces, authorities said Sunday. In one incident, 10 Taliban militants were killed after a unit of Afghan National Army Special Operations Corps, backed by air force, attacked a Taliban hideout in Googer locality, Zana Khan district of eastern Ghazni province Saturday night, provincial government spokesman Harif Noori told Xinhua. (Xinhua/Sayed Mominzadah)

GHAZNI, Afghanistan, March 24 (Xinhua) -- At least 11 militants have been killed, eight wounded and seven others arrested following separate clashes in two eastern Afghan provinces, authorities said Sunday.

In one incident, 10 Taliban militants were killed after a unit of Afghan National Army Special Operations Corps, backed by air force, attacked a Taliban hideout in Googer locality, Zana Khan district of eastern Ghazni province Saturday night, provincial government spokesman Harif Noori told Xinhua.

A security force and eight militants were wounded during the clashes while security forces also destroyed amount of weapons and ammunition in the raid, Noori said.

Elsewhere, one militant was killed and seven others arrested following an engagement between security forces and Taliban in Tere Zayi district of neighboring Khost province on Friday, the command of special forces said earlier in the day.

Several AK-47 rifles were seized by security forces in the bordering district, the command said in a statement.

Afghan security forces have beefed up operations on militants recently as spring and summer, known as the fighting season, is drawing near in the country.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 15:08:44|Editor: zh

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Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua (R) holds talks with Uruguayan Vice President Lucia Topolansky in Montevideo, Uruguay, March 23, 2019. (Xinhua/Li Ming)

MONTEVIDEO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- China and Uruguay vow to work together to promote bilateral ties and deepen cooperation, visiting Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua and Uruguayan Vice President Lucia Topolansky said in a meeting here on Saturday.

Hu conveyed Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan's warm greetings to Topolansky, who is also president of the General Assembly and president of the Senate.

Hu said that during Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez's successful state visit to China in 2016, the two countries established their strategic partnership. Hu said President Xi Jinping sent him to visit Uruguay primarily to further implement the consensus reached by the two heads of states and to promote the continuous development of bilateral relations.

Hu pointed out that Uruguay is the first country in the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) to sign a memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with China.

The regional bloc currently has four full members, namely Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Chinese and Uruguayan economies are highly complementary and have great potential for cooperation. It is hoped that both sides will work together to deepen bilateral cooperation in such fields as agriculture, infrastructure, industrial capacity and investment, Hu added.

He said China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Uruguay in inspection and quarantine, fishery industry and food processing and logistics, among others, so as to constantly promote their agricultural cooperation.

For her part, Topolansky said the bilateral relations between Uruguay and China have developed and deepened continuously over the past 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties.

The Uruguayan side will take Hu's visit as an opportunity to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of states and explore more opportunities for cooperation, said Topolansky.

She said the two sides should strengthen pragmatic cooperation in areas such as the fishery industry, investment, culture and education based on mutual benefit and win-win situation.

The Uruguayan side regards the BRI as an important platform and hopes to implement more cooperation projects under this framework, Topolansky added.

On Saturday, Hu also met with Uruguayan Foreign Minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa. The two sides exchanged views on jointly building the Belt and Road, bilateral relations and the relations between China and Latin America.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 15:38:49|Editor: Li Xia

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Students attend a class at a local school in Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of Balkh province, northern Afghanistan, March 24, 2019. Many Afghan parents are concerned about their children deprived of education and lack of access to school, as the new educational year formally started in the conflict-riddled country on Saturday. (Xinhua/Kawa Basharat)

KABUL, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Many Afghan parents are concerned about the deprivation of their children from education and lack of access to school, as the new educational year formally started in the conflict-riddled country on Saturday.

"To be frank I cannot send my children to school because of the increasing security incidents and lack of access to an adequate school in a safe and secure area," Hamish Gul, 47, told Xinhua on Sunday.

Gul is living in Dand-e-Ghori area, a de facto fiefdom of the Taliban fighters in Afghanistan's northern Baghlan province, where militants and government forces often fight to consolidate positions.

The Afghan Ministry of Education formally inaugurated the new curriculum year on Saturday amid increasing security incidents and spiraling conflict between government forces and the Taliban outfit.

Speaking with local broadcaster Tolo News TV, Education Minister Mirwais Balkhi said the government started construction of 6,000 school buildings last year to overcome shortage of school in the country.

According to the minister, about 1 million new comers will attend school in the new educational year commenced on Saturday.

According to local media, about 1,300 schools mostly in the militancy-plagued provinces where armed militants are active have remained closed and thus thousands of children have been deprived of education.

However, the minister said some 500 schools had been reopened and efforts are underway to reopen more schools in future.

More than 9.5 million Afghan children with around 40 percent of girls attend about 18,000 schools across the country while over 3.7 million school-age children have no access to education due to poverty, conflicts and insurgency, according to education officials.

"No one can guarantee what may happen today or tomorrow. Might be a suicide bomber or an airstrike against a school or education center that claims some lives including school children," another man called Hajji Gul Baz told Xinhua.

"Living in good health is better than having education in a worrying way," Baz said.

He also referred to the deadly suicide bombing in southern Helmand province that claimed three lives and left 23 people injured, mostly educated and provincial government employees on Saturday.

Airstrikes in northern Kunduz province on Friday night left several militants and one dozen civilians dead while more than 90 militants and 10 security forces lost lives in clashes in Kunduz within the past four days.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 15:48:50|Editor: zh

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NAIVASHA, Kenya, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Modern infrastructure projects like roads, ports and railways that are either financed or built by China have injected vitality into the country's transformation agenda, senior officials and experts said.

Philip Mainga, acting managing director of Kenya Railways Corporation said that China's immense contribution to expansion and upgrading of transport infrastructure in Kenya has unleashed benefits to the economy and citizens.

"There is no doubt the infrastructure projects financed and developed by China are making huge impact in the country especially when you look at the ease of travel and employment opportunities," Mainga told Xinhua earlier this week.

He singled out phase one of the standard gauge railway (SGR) project that was launched on May 31, 2017 for ensuring there is seamless movement of people and cargo between the port city of Mombasa and the capital, Nairobi.

"The SGR phase one also created so many jobs and new opportunities for local entrepreneurs who supplied construction materials like cement, steel and sand," said Mainga.

He said that phase 2A of SGR whose implementation has entered the final stretch will stimulate commerce and investments in the Kenyan hinterland.

China has overtaken external lenders to become largest financier of infrastructure projects that have positioned Kenya as an unrivalled transport and logistics hub in the region.

The Africa Construction Trends launched by consultancy firm, Deloitte in December 2018 indicated that Kenya had the highest number of infrastructure projects financed by China across the eastern African region.

Maxwell Mengich, general manager for infrastructure development at Kenya Railways Corporation said that Chinese-built modern roads and railways have benefited local entrepreneurs besides enhancing linkages with regional trading partners.

"Kenya has benefited from infrastructure projects built by the Chinese and they range from job creation, faster movement of people and goods," said Mengich.

"The future prosperity of this country is dependent on interconnectivity and China is helping us achieve that goal," he added.

Kenyan investors hailed Chinese-built infrastructure projects saying they have stimulated economic growth and boosted the country's attractiveness as an investment destination.

"These infrastructure projects have changed the image of our country for the better and we are witnessing an improved investor confidence thanks to ease of travel," said Kamau Njuguna, a member of East African Chamber of Commerce.

Njuguna said that completion of phase 2A of SGR project that will link Nairobi to the resort town of Naivasha, will have positive impact on horticulture and tourism.

"The railway line will cut down on cost of travel from Nairobi to Naivasha and the benefits will be felt by horticulture farmers as well as local and foreign tourists," he told Xinhua.

Kenyan youth have acquired skills and gainful employment thanks to Chinese-funded infrastructure projects like the Standard Gauge Railway that is a critical component of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Boniface Musimba, a technician at phase 2A of SGR said that knowledge and skills transfer has become a defining feature of China-built infrastructure projects.

"The positive impacts of infrastructure projects financed by China include employment creation, transfer of skills and knowledge that will benefit us in the long-term," said Musimba.

Local communities too have gained from modern infrastructure projects financed by China thanks to reduced cost of travel and opening up of the hinterland.

John Mwathi, community leader based from a village near Naivasha town said phase 2A of the SGR project has transformed rural livelihoods through growth of small businesses.

"The value of our ancestral land has gone up since the construction of phase 2A of SGR phase began. Our youth have benefited from jobs and the contractor has assisted us to construct new classrooms and water pans," said Mwathi.
China's J-10 fighter jet celebrated its 21th birthday in spectacular fashion with six J-10s dazzling audiences at Pakistan's national day parade on Saturday.

During the parade in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, the warplanes affiliated with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force completed a series of thrilling aerobatic maneuvers in single, double and six-plane formations, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Sunday.

During the 18-minute performance, the Chinese aircraft released trails of red, yellow, white and green plumes, representing the colors of the national flags of China and Pakistan, winning waves of applause from spectators at the venue with each maneuver, according to a statement the PLA Air Force released on Sunday.

A local broadcaster welcomed the J-10s as they appeared on camera and called the performance "beautiful," in the Chinese language, CCTV reported.

"The China-Pakistan friendship is higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the oceans, sweeter than honey, and stronger than iron," the Pakistani broadcaster opined.

Pakistani weapons developed by China or co-developed by China and Pakistan including the JF-17 and F-7PG fighter jets, the Al-Khalid main battle tank and FM-90 and LY-80 air defense missiles also appeared in the parade, according to media reports.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 15:48:50|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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AUCKLAND, New Zealand, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Two people were confirmed dead Sunday in an air crash, which took place in New Zealand on Saturday.

A light aircraft was reported missing late on Saturday, in the Kaimanawa Ranges, central North Island, New Zealand. However, due to poor weather which hampered helicopter activity, local police were unable to land in the area until Sunday morning.

The plane was located at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. Both crew members, who were flying instructors employed by the Auckland-based Ardmore Flying School, were found dead.

It is understood that the pilots were on a regular flight as part of their qualification requirement.

The plane was reportedly set off from Palmerston North on Saturday night and was heading to Ardmore via Taup Airport. After it failed to arrive, authorities were alerted and launched an aerial search.

Investigations on the incident have been launched by the local police, The Civil Aviation Authority and The Transport Accident Investigation Commission.

Ardmore Flying School is a well-known flying school in New Zealand.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 17:19:05|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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COLOMBO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Sri Lanka Navy on Sunday captured nine Iranian nationals who attempted to smuggle 100 kg of heroin into the island country, the navy's media unit said in a statement.

The Iranian nationals were nabbed off the country's southern coast following a joint raid conducted by the Special Task Force and the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB).

Immediate investigations revealed that the suspects threw 50 kg of the heroin into the sea as the officers was approaching their trawler.

Sri Lankan investigators have launched a severe crackdown on drug dealers and smugglers since January this year, with several arrests made within the past two months.

Last month, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said he would impose the death penalty on convicted drug traffickers within the following two months.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 18:09:13|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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LUSAKA, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Zambian police on Saturday arrested an opposition leader for questioning President Edgar Lungu's mental capacity.

Sean Tembo, president of the opposition Patriots for Economic Progress, was arrested after he published a post on social media last week where he questioned Lungu's mental capacity to run the affairs of the country.

Police spokesperson Esther Mwaata-Katongo confirmed that the opposition leader was picked by the police in Lusaka, the country's capital, for allegedly defaming the Zambian leader.

"He is currently detained in police custody. More details will be given in due course," Mwaata-Katongo said in a statement.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 18:14:14|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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Saudi Education Minister Hamad Al-Sheikh addresses the "Teaching Chinese Language in Education" workshop in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 23, 2019. Saudi Arabia plans to enrol teachers in a one-year program to teach the Chinese language to local students, Arab News reported on Saturday. The program was revealed by Saudi Education Minister Hamad Al-Sheikh during the "Teaching Chinese Language in Education" workshop held this week in Riyadh. (Xinhua/Tu Yifan)

RIYADH, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia plans to enrol teachers in a one-year program to teach the Chinese language to local students, Arab News reported on Saturday.

The program was revealed by Saudi Education Minister Hamad Al-Sheikh during the "Teaching Chinese Language in Education" workshop held this week in Riyadh.

He stressed the importance of having a clear plan to qualify several teachers in intensive programs for up to one year to teach Chinese, which could include selected schools from the secondary level in different regions in the first three years.

Teaching Chinese language in various stages of education in Saudi stemmed from the desire to diversify the language tools in education based on the strategic and economic importance of the Chinese language now and in the future, he said.

During the workshop, representatives from King Saud University highlighted its experience in teaching the language since 2010, in which 35 students have been graduated so far.

The minister told the event that the overall strategic goal of teaching Chinese was to make it the third language parallel to English and with the same level of spread in various education systems.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 18:19:14|Editor: Yamei

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BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Starting from May 1, China will lower enterprise contributions to urban workers' basic aged-care insurance from 20 percent to 16 percent to reduce enterprises' burdens, Minister of Finance Liu Kun said Sunday.

The country will strengthen efforts on cutting tax burdens and reducing social insurance contributions of enterprises, with the total reduction expected to reach nearly 2 trillion yuan (about 298 billion U.S. dollars) this year, Liu said at the China Development Forum (CDF) 2019.

The current policy of reducing premiums for unemployment insurance and work injury compensation insurance will continue, with higher subsidies to support labor-intensive enterprises' employment and social insurance payments, said the minister.

"We will introduce both general-benefit and structural tax cuts, focusing primarily on reducing tax burdens on the manufacturing sector and on small and micro businesses," Li said.

Reform of China's value-added tax (VAT) will start from April 1, cutting the VAT rate for sectors including manufacturing from 16 percent to 13 percent.

Liu also said nearly 18 million small and micro enterprises benefited from the tax cuts implemented in January, accounting for more than 95 percent of the total number of taxpaying enterprises.

Scheduled from Saturday to Monday, the CDF is the first high-level international conference held in Beijing right after the annual sessions of the national legislature and political advisory body.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 18:29:16|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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Indian paramilitary troopers stand guard during security lockdown in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, March 24, 2019. Muslim majority areas of Indian-controlled Kashmir Sunday saw a complete shutdown to protest New Delhi's ban on Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), a separatist organization headed by Mohammed Yasin Malik. The call for the shutdown was given by joint resistance leadership, of which JKLF is a part. (Xinhua/Javed Dar)

SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Muslim majority areas of Indian-controlled Kashmir Sunday saw a complete shutdown to protest New Delhi's ban on Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), a separatist organization headed by Mohammed Yasin Malik.

The call for the shutdown was given by joint resistance leadership, of which JKLF is a part.

All shops and business establishments remained closed in the region while public transport was off the roads. However, at some places local transport was seen plying.

Apart from Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, the reports of the shutdown were received from major towns and district headquarters.

Authorities placed Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Geelani under house arrest, fearing they would lead protest demonstrations.

India's federal home ministry on Friday banned JKLF headed by Malik after declaring the organization as an "unlawful association" under a government directive.

Malik is currently lodged in Kot Balwal jail of Jammu. The senior separatist leader was arrested last month and later booked under a controversial preventive law, Public Safety Act (PSA).

JKLF is the second organization to be banned by the Indian government. Last month, the government banned a socio-religious organization operating in the region, Jammu and Kashmir Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI).

The government also arrested many of its activists and leaders including its chief Hameed Fayaz and booked them under PSA.

JKLF favors independence of Kashmir and was first to wage an armed insurgency against New Delhi's rule in 1989 in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 18:44:18|Editor: Yamei

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BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing three-nation visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, his first overseas visit in 2019, is poised to bring China-Europe relations to a new height.

China's respective relationships with Italy, Monaco and France have withstood the tests of vicissitudes of international situations, have stood out as examples of friendly cooperation between countries of different systems, and are characterized by strategic, stable and long-term significance.

The visit is a journey to consolidate friendship, deepen cooperation and engage in strategic communication.

This year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Italy diplomatic relations. The visit to Monaco is the first visit by a Chinese president to the country, demonstrating China's long-standing view that all countries are equal regardless of their size.

Xi's ongoing trip will provide fresh impetus for China-EU comprehensive strategic partnership, inject stability into today's fast-changing world and contribute positive energy to safeguarding multilateralism.

The current visit came more than three months after Xi visited Spain and Portugal. These visits show that China's policy toward Europe is stable and consistent.

At the annual "two sessions" earlier this month, China vowed to open wider and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with the rest of the world. Xi's ongoing visit is regarded as a key step in promoting major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics.

China and the EU shoulder the important tasks of promoting sustainable global economic growth and safeguarding world peace and development. As China-EU relations continue to blossom, the world stands to benefit.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 18:49:19|Editor: Yamei

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JERUSALEM, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed on Sunday morning for Washington to have talks with U.S. President Donald Trump about the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, his office said.

Netanyahu said the meetings with Trump will focus on the Golan Heights, a territory Israel seized from Syria in 1967 and later annexed in a move never recognized internationally, and Iran, according to a statement released by Israeli Prime Minister's Office.

They will also discuss Syria, the continuing pressure on Iran, and the "unprecedented security and intelligence cooperation" between Israel and the United States, it said.

"We have never had such a bond between the prime minister of Israel and an American president. This is a very, very important asset for the state of Israel and it is important that it continues to serve us," he added.

"The ties that I have with world leaders - with Russia's Putin, with Modi from India, with Bolsonaro who will arrive to Israel next week from Brazil, with Abe from Japan, with the leaders of China, and with other leaders - are an asset to the state of Israel," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu and Trump are scheduled to meet in the White House for a working meeting on Monday before Trump will host Netanyahu for a dinner on Tuesday, according to a White House statement last week.

Trump said last Thursday on Twitter that "after 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel's Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!"
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 19:24:23|Editor: Yurou

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ASSADABAD, Afghanistan, March 24 (Xinhua) -- At least nine militants have been killed in a clash between the Taliban and rival Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province, an army statement said on Sunday.

The clash broke out in Lindlam area of Chapdara district and so far nine militants affiliated with the IS have been killed, the statement said.

According to the statement, 14 other IS fighters have been injured in the clash.

Without informing of the casualties of the Taliban and the date of the fighting eruption, the statement said the IS fighters had retreated from their positions.

Neither Taliban nor IS group has made comment.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 19:44:26|Editor: Yurou

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BEIRA, Mozambique, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Mozambican authorities said on Sunday that the bodies of 446 victims killed in the disaster caused by Cyclone Idai have been found in the central region of the country.

"The number of deaths rose. Yesterday we had a number of 417 dead bodies, and today (the number) rose to 446 deaths," Minister of Land, Environment and Rural Development Celso Correia told reporters from the emergency operations center in Beira, coastal province of Sofala, where the cyclone made landfall.

Correia said it has become increasingly difficult to gauge the number of deaths in isolated areas.

The affected population also rose to 531,466, the minister said, emphasizing that they are people who have lost their homes or who are still stranded in isolated areas.

"Fortunately, the number of people saved and evacuated to the temporary shelters is increasing," Correia said. "At present we have counted 109,633 people in various shelters. Of these there are 6,563 vulnerable people, including elderly and pregnant women."

He said the number of students who cannot attend classes because schools were flooded and destroyed rose to 9,756.

"The education system remains compromised in certain affected areas," the minister said.

Correia said that 45 health units were directly affected in the zones of impact by floods and by the passage of Cyclone Idai.

"The overarching priority in the coming weeks is to stem the outbreak of diseases such as cholera, malaria and other diseases," he said.

"The government has already started setting up centers to mitigate these diseases," Correia said.

He cited the resumption of operation on Saturday of national road Number 6 as an important victory that makes it easier for aid to reach recipients by land.

"Some areas already have road access. The flows of the rivers are reducing, allowing the government and rescue teams to facilitate stabilization in the affected areas," the minister said.
Home  Just In  Nepal hopes to send workers to Malaysia again as host sends new medical checkup guideline

Kathmandu, March 24

Officials at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security of Nepal say Nepali migrant workers awaiting their flights to Malaysia for employment can get onboard soon as the host government sent a new guideline clarifying new health standards required for the workers.

The processing of sending workers to Malaysia, which was one of the most attractive destinations for Nepali migrant workers, has been stalled for past 10 months after the government of Nepal sought an agreement on facilities of the workers among other issues.

The two governments signed the agreement four months ago, but the process has not resumed yet. The Nepal government had been claiming that it was unable to let the workers fly as the Kuala Lumpur government did not send the new guideline on medical checkup.

According to the guideline, government and private hospitals, nursing homes and other institutions authorised by the government can conduct the checkup. However, the government needs to prepare a list of such institutions.

The Ministry officials say the government will call on the institutions to register after a consultation with the stakeholders.

As the government has recently started issuing labour permits from provincial officials, each province will have its own list of institutions.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 19:49:28|Editor: Yurou

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DAMASCUS, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Six suicide bombers with the Islamic State (IS) group detonated their explosives while being hunted down from a rival rebel group in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, a war monitor reported on Sunday.

The bombers were hunted down by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group after escaping the Idlib central prison, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The bombing was coupled with clashes between the IS militants and the HTS members, which led to the death of a child.

The HTS, which is the umbrella group of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front, controls the entire Idlib area.

A day earlier, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces declared eliminating the IS group in eastern Syria and the end of the self-declared caliphate in Syria.

The bombings reported on Sunday proves that the IS still has sleeper cells capable of carrying out attacks and bombings in the country despite the defeat of their physical entity in Syria.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 19:59:32|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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LONDON, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The future of Theresa May's tenure at 10 Downing Street was under threat with Sunday reports of a coup by her own ministers to unseat her dominating headlines in the main London Sunday newspapers.

The dramatic development at the heart of the British governing Conservative Party comes at what is scheduled to be Britain's last week as a member of the European Union.

The BBC carried a more muted report in its bulletins, saying May could gain support for her twice-defeated Brexit deal if she promises to stand down as prime minister.

The broadsheet Sunday Times (ST) said that May was "at the mercy of a full-blown cabinet coup" as a group of senior ministers moved to oust her and replace her with Cabinet Minister David Lidington as the caretaker premier.

Lidington is May's de-facto deputy and stands in for her when she is unavailable for her ministerial duties.

According to the ST's front page article, plotters plan to confront May at a Downing Street cabinet meeting Monday and demand that she should announce her quitting.

"If she refuses, they will threaten mass resignations or publicly demand her head," the report added, saying it had spoken to 11 cabinet ministers.

One cabinet minister is quoted as saying: "The end is nigh. She won't be prime minister in 10 days."

The rift within the cabinet between May and her cabinet has erupted over the fate of the Brexit deal that May has agreed with Brussels.

Though the deal had already been rejected overwhelmingly by the House of Commons, the EU Council has given May more time to get the deal through her parliament, putting the planned departure from the bloc on Friday on hold.

However there is still no indication when, or if, May can guarantee a yes vote for her deal from the lawmakers.

May's former policy adviser, Conservative MP George Freeman, said on his social media site: "She's done her best. But across the country you can see the anger. Everyone feels betrayed. Government's gridlocked. Trust in democracy is collapsing. This can't go on. We need a new PM who can reach out and build some sort of coalition for a Plan B (Brexit)."

Downing Street sources told the ST that May has not yet come to the conclusion that she should resign and is still being encouraged by her husband Philip May to fight on.

The latest development in the Brexit saga comes after an estimate 1 million people marched through central London Saturday demanding another referendum to decide the country's EU Membership. A online petition aimed at stopping Brexit has meanwhile gained more than 4 million signatures.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 19:59:33|Editor: zh

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BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The following are the highlights of China's science and technology news from the past week:

-- The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) recently launched three stem cell clinic research programs to treat severe eye and gynecological diseases.

-- An international research team has for the first time identified nine genes responsible for eyebrow colors, according to a new report published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

-- Bumblebee species in East Asia are being threatened by climate change and vegetation change, according to a recent Chinese study.

-- Chinese researchers have revealed that different fruit colors are significant to the large-scale dispersal, distribution and diversification of plants.

-- A Chinese research team has successfully realized the regulation and encoding of photons, a step toward producing photonic chips, next-generation technology believed to be faster and more power-efficient than today's semiconductor electronic chips.

-- Two Chinese Earth observation satellites, the Gaofen-5 and Gaofen-6, were officially put into service on March 21 after completing in-orbit tests.

-- Rapid development of technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing in China will help create more job opportunities, according to a report released by recruitment agency Michael Page China.

-- The CAS announced on March 22 that a Sino-European joint space mission known as SMILE was launched.

The Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer is a comprehensive collaboration between the CAS and the European Space Agency. Satellites will be launched by 2023 to study the impact of solar activity on the Earth's environment.

-- Scientists from China, Germany and Canada have built two international cooperation platforms on neuroscience in the southern Chinese municipality of Shenzhen, according to the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology of CAS.

-- Pan Jianwei, a renowned Chinese physicist and professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, won the 2019 R. W. Wood Prize presented by the Optical Society of America.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 19:59:34|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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OSLO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Evacuation of passengers by helicopters from a cruise ship with engine trouble off Norway's western coast was halted on Sunday as the ship was on its way to a port with three of its four engines in operation.

The cruise ship Viking Sky with 1,373 people on board sent out the mayday signal Saturday around 14:00 (1300 GMT) after having engine problems in the stormy weather at Hustadvika, a 19-km long section of coastline in Norway's western county of More og Romsdal.

Rescue services decided to evacuate passengers aboard by using five helicopters. As of 10:00 a.m. Sunday (0900 GMT), 479 people had been evacuated from the ship, according to the ship's operator Viking Cruises.

The Viking Sky was now on its way to Molde, the administrative center of More og Romsdal, as it was being accompanied by two offshore supply ships and one tug assist vessel, Viking Cruises said in a press release.

"There are currently 436 guests and 458 crew onboard," the cruise company said. "The 479 passengers who were airlifted from the vessel are currently on shore and arrangements have been made to fly them home, with the first passengers leaving today."

A total of 17 people have been transported to hospitals and at least three of them were described as having serious injuries, local channel TV 2 reported.

The Norway-registered cruise ship Viking Sky was on its way from Norway's northern city of Tromso to its southern city of Stavanger when the engine trouble took place, according to the website Marine Traffic.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 20:14:35|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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SAN FRANCISCO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Students should be more positive in taking training courses on science and research, Marcus Wojtkowiak, director of 2019 Golden Gate STEM Fair (GGSF), told Xinhua on Saturday.

Wojrkowiak made the remarks after a ceremony awarding dozens of students for their innovative projects on various scientific topics.

The annual event, which was held this year on March 21-23 in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineering Bay Model Visitor Center in Sausalito, Northern California, aimed to award top-ranked students from schools in 17 cities in the San Francisco Bay Area, who emerged victoriously from local competitions before they advanced to the GGSF.

"Don't wait for somebody to tell you what you should do, and the most successful scientists are those that have an idea and go after it themselves," Wojtkowiak gave his advice for students to focus on the study of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

He said science fairs, in general, are an integral part of science learning because they are student-driven projects.

"It's super important to secure interest in science and allow students to take responsibility and have control over their learning and the path of learning," he added.

According to the GGSF, over 70,000 middle and high school students throughout the San Francisco Bay Area completed science projects for science fairs at their schools.

The student's projects covered a diversity of research areas such as biological, behavioral, environmental, engineering and computer sciences, as well as mathematics.

Juliana Pearse, an 11th grader from Salesian College Preparatory, a Roman Catholic college preparatory high school in Richmond, East Bay, did research on behavioral psychology and conducted an interesting test on different responses they receive when they wear clothes of different colors.

She found people would often get unfriendly responses when they were in dark outfits, but they were greeted with more smiles if they wore light-color clothes, such as light blue.

Sahand Adibnia, an Iranian-American boy in the ninth grade of Dublin High School in Dublin city in East Bay, Northern California, addressed environmental problems such as water pollution in his neighborhood.

He studied the toxic content and water quality in a local creek where he lives. "We have to become more aware of the environment and figure out ways to decrease the effect of pollution on our environment," he said.

Ethan Kwan, a Chinese-American boy from St. Brendan Parish School in San Francisco, is also worried about the potential damage of day-to-day waste to the environment.

His research project focused on the tensile strength of various premium tapes that are often used in daily life.

"Instead of throwing things away, you can fix roof gutters, you can fix windows with all these tapes. They're all waterproof and they're all very strong, and they can help sustain the environment," he added.

Wojtkowiak said science fairs like the GGSF have a positive impact on students and make them feel really good about science and about their accomplishments.

"It does so much for them and for the confidence level in their future careers," he added.

When asked for advice for Chinese student to participate in science research, he encouraged them to be bold in seeking science education. "If you have the initiative, and if you have the brain, you can get to anywhere you want to be," he said.

"Forgetting that maybe you don't have the structure. You gotta take the initiative and not wait for somebody to tell you that you can," said Wojtkowiak.
Confiscated weapons are seen at a military base in Damascus, Syria, on March 23, 2019. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

DAMASCUS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Saturday the defeat of Islamic State (IS), but analysts warn that the threats of terrorism and war in Syria are not over yet.

SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali made the declaration after capturing the town of Baghouz, the last IS redoubt in eastern Syria, signalling the demise of the militant group's self-declared caliphate.

Bali also sent congratulations to the world on the elimination of the IS rule that once spanned a third of Iraq and Syria.

Despite the euphoria, analysts in Damascus warn that the physical defeat of IS doesn't mean the defeat of its ideology, which attracted thousands of fighters from around the world to join its quest to conquer Syria and Iraq.

Maher Ihsan, a political expert, told Xinhua that most of the radical groups start with radical ideas that are later translated into actions.

"The ideas start to spread among people and the people form a group that has a presence in a certain area and thus the physical presence of Daesh has ended, but their thoughts and methodology are not yet defeated," he said, using the Arabic acronym of IS.

Muhammad al-Ashqar, a Syrian journalist and political expert, cautioned that there will be quite sometime before the IS is completely defeated as it still has sympathizers in Syria and elsewhere around the world, because its radical ideas are still alive.

"The defeat of the radical methodology requires education and true interpretation of the true teachings of any religion, and thus the physical entity of IS may be gone for now, but it could return at any given time or place," he added.

SDF VS. SYRIAN ARMY

Analysts also say that the possibility of a war between the Kurdish forces and Syrian Army cannot be underestimated.

Ihsan noted that the party which declared the victory is the SDF, which is backed by the U.S. and expected to gain benefits from this achievement at least in the near future.

But the SDF will soon have to deal with the Syrian government, which recently said that the Kurdish-led groups such as the SDF and its allied forces in northeastern Syria will face two choices: either to reconcile with the government or face the Syrian Army which will take back the areas.

Ihsan said that Syrian Defense Minister Abdullah Ayyoub recently issued a threat to the Kurdish-led forces by urging them to choose reconciliation or war.

The Syrian government is showing unwavering determination to retake the entire country back, as reflected in the recent visits of Syria's allies to Damascus.

On March 18, the military commanders of Syria, Iran and Iraq discussed in Damascus anti-terror coordination, opening borders, and restoring all Syrian areas.

The meeting was attended by Ayyoub as well as Othman al-Ghanmi, chief of staff of the Iraqi military, and Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces.

Ayyoub vowed that the Syrian state will completely wrest control over all of Syria sooner or later, noting that there will be no inch of Syria should be left out of the government control.

"The only card in the hands of the U.S. and its allies is the SDF and it would be dealt with in accordance with the two ways adopted by the Syrian state: either through reconciliation or liberating the areas that they control by force," he said.

He also mentioned Idlib, the last major rebel stronghold in Syria, saying the province will return to the government control sooner or later.

The Syrian government has for long said that it would retake Idlib from the ultra-radical rebels. However, a planned military campaign was put on hold late last year when Russia, Iran, and Turkey agreed to create a demilitarized zone in Idlib.

FATE OF IS LEADER AND FOREIGN FIGHTERS

Meanwhile, IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has not been declared captured or killed.

First founded in Iraq amid the U.S.-led invasion of the country in 2003, IS emerged in Syria after the civil war began there in 2011.

Al-Baghdadi broke ties with the terror group al-Qaida and renamed his group as "the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" in 2013.

The IS leader caught world attention in July 2014, by declaring the creation of a caliphate while standing at the pulpit of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in Mosul, Iraq.

So far, al-Baghdadi's fate remained unknown despite the rumors that he was already killed in airstrikes in Syria.

Moreover, the fate of IS foreign fighters and their families detained in Syria also remain unresolved.

Currently, thousands of IS militants and their family members are in the custody of the SDF at the al-Hol camp in the countryside of the northeastern province of Hasakah.

Many of them are from Europe and elsewhere, but their original countries reject their return fearing about national security. France and the United Kingdom have stripped some of the fighters of citizenship to prevent them from coming back.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 20:59:45|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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MORONI March 24 (Xinhua) -- Balloting started Sunday in the first round of Comoros' presidential election.

Voters will also cast their votes for the governors of the Grande-Comore, Anjouan and Moheli islands.

According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), over 300,000 registered voters will vote in 731 polling stations across the archipelagos of Comoros.

Voters will choose their president from 13 candidates, including the incumbent, Azali Assoumani, and 22 other contenders are competing for the governorship of the three autonomous islands.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 21:19:54|Editor: zh

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BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- China has made marked progress in allowing foreign financial institutions to access its financial market, central bank governor Yi Gang said Sunday.

Many breakthroughs had already been achieved in the country's financial market opening-up, he said at the ongoing China Development Forum 2019 in Beijing.

For instance, UBS AG has become the first foreign bank to raise its stake to a majority 51 percent in a securities joint venture in China, while Allianz (China) Insurance Holding Company Limited, the country's first wholly-owned insurance holding company by a foreign insurer, has been approved to be set up.

S&P Global Inc. was allowed to enter China's credit rating market. American Express got the permission to establish a joint venture focusing on bank card clearing and settlement.

Yi said that the country had firmly advanced the opening-up of the financial market in accordance with the timetable announced at the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference last April.

"Most of the opening-up measures have been implemented, with the remaining few to be advanced soon as relevant law revision work has come to the final stage," he said.

When it came to financial sector opening-up, China had been following international standards to expand the access to its bond, stock and financial derivatives markets, broaden channels for cross-border investment and financing, and improve relevant institutional arrangements, he noted.

"The openness, competitiveness and influence of China's financial market have been growing and widely recognized by the international market," Yi said.

The reform of the RMB exchange rate formation mechanism has also been effectively advanced, with the RMB exchange rate flexibility constantly increasing.

"Market players have become all the more comfortable with a floating renminbi exchange rate," he noted.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 21:19:54|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Brunei needs to double efforts to battle Tuberculosis (TB) despite decreasing cases in recent years, the country's health minister said on the World Tuberculosis Day which falls on Sunday.

A report from local daily Borneo Bulletin quoted Minister of Health Hj Mohd Isham as saying that while there has been a reduction in the number of TB cases recorded in the sultanate, "the rate of decline is very low in recent years."

"It is time to improve access to prevention and treatment of TB, improve accountability, ensuring adequate and sustained funding is included for research, preventing stigma and discrimination against the disease and promoting fair actions on TB based on the right-based and people-centered TB responses," the Bulletin quoted him as saying.

The Bulletin reported that TB cases in the sultanate have gone down from 96 per 100,000 people in 2000 to 59 cases per 100,000 in 2018. It added that 249 new cases of TB were recorded in 2018 compared to 311 cases in 2000.

Minister Isham said two major challenges currently facing the world in relation to TB are multi-drug resistant TB and extensively drug-resistant TB, as well as TB infection cases among HIV patients.

"Brunei Darussalam is very fortunate that the rate of cases of TB and HIV-TB infection in this country is very low," he was quoted as saying.

World Tuberculosis Day is observed annually on March 24 to raise public awareness about the health, social and economic consequences of the epidemic.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 21:29:56|Editor: zh

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CHANGCHUN, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Sino-German joint venture passenger car manufacturer FAW-Volkswagen Automobile Co. Ltd. released its sub-brand "Jetta" on Friday, together with a new brand logo for Jetta and three new models.

As the third brand held by the company following Volkswagen and Audi, the Jetta brand aims at meeting the demands of young Chinese car buyers and competing with domestic auto brands like Great Wall and Geely, the company said.

Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen, made a remark earlier that Volkswagen has been making positive changes and focusing on the Chinese market, and the Jetta brand is another step forward to reach out to customers.

Three new models, the Jetta VA3, Jetta SUV VS5 and VS7, made their debut on Friday and one of them will go on sale in the third quarter of this year.

Liu Yigong, general manager of FAW-Volkswagen, said the company will form an independent marketing team of more than 200 members for the Jetta brand, achieving high-quality production-market integration with FAW-Volkswagen's Chengdu branch.

Established in February 1991, FAW-Volkswagen witnessed its first A2 Jetta automobile roll off the assembly line on December 5. So far, the company has five production bases around the country, with cumulative terminal sales up 2.6 percent to 2.05 million units last year.
Mr Eimutis Misiunas, the Lithuanian Minister of Interior, visited Eurojust, the EU's Judicial Cooperation Unit, at its premises in The Hague today. Mr Misiunas met with Ladislav Hamran, President of Eurojust, to discuss the benefits and prospects of judicial cooperation at European level. Mr Misiunas stressed the importance of smooth and effective cooperation not only among Member States' and third States' national authorities but also among all Justice and Home Affairs agencies and other key partners in the area of safety and security.

The Lithuanian Minister of Interior acknowledged the significant bridge-making role of Eurojust between different national jurisdictions and legal systems and praised the President for the concrete results produced by Eurojust over the last decades in fighting cross-border organised crime. Mr Misiunas showed particular interest in understanding how Eurojust works in practice and was introduced, inter alia, to the main features and functionalities of Eurojust's unique judicial cooperation tools, i.e. coordination meetings, coordination centres, and most importantly, joint investigation teams.

Mr Misiunas said: 'As I used to be a judge myself, I absolutely recognise and value the role of Eurojust in creating an area of freedom, security and justice in the European Union. Countries differ in their judicial systems, structures and procedures, as well as standards and rules. Eurojust represents an example of how effective cooperation and coordination can be managed and sustained. To maintain security and stability in the European Union and beyond, we share the responsibility to prevent, identify, investigate, and prosecute organised crime. In this regard, I firmly believe that EU agencies can serve Member States and their national authorities in fighting transnational crime, especially now, facing the new challenges of terrorism and cybercrime. Therefore, I strongly support the position of securing today an adequate and sustainable budget for EU agencies for the years to come.'

Mr Hamran stated: 'I warmly welcome Mr Misiunas' visit to Eurojust as Lithuania is an important member of the Eurojust family. I was pleased to present to Mr Misiunas our facilities and explain on the spot how we work, which tools we offer to Member States, and how we improve judicial cooperation across the European Union on a daily basis. Today's visit is a step forward in consolidating the mutual trust between Eurojust and Lithuania, building on Lithuania's commitment to continue investigating and prosecuting cross-border organised crime from a European perspective.'

Photo  Eurojust
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 21:34:56|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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KUNDUZ, Afghanistan, March 24 (Xinhua) -- More than 100 people including 13 civilians have been killed as both the government forces and the Taliban fighters have intensified operations over control of Talawka area in Kunduz city of the northern Kunduz province, provincial police chief Abdul Baqi Nuristani said Sunday.

Nuristani told the media that more than 90 Taliban fighters had been killed and 30 others sustained injuries since Thursday in and around Talawka.

Talawka is a strategically important neighborhood on the outskirt of Kunduz city and the Taliban militants have been attempting to overrun the area and get access to the provincial capital.

"More than 90 armed rebels including 12 foreign fighters have been killed and the government forces have captured and destroyed Taliban training centers in Talawka and adjoining areas," Nuristani told reporters.

Without identifying the nationalities of the alleged foreign fighters, the official said that an investigation was going on.

Two U.S. service members were killed in Talawkar on Friday and since then, according to locals the military operations have been intensified.

The provincial police chief also admitted that "unfortunately 18 civilians were killed and injured" in fighting for control of Talawka, but he could not give exact figure.

A local official on the condition of anonymity reported killing of 13 civilians including women and children and injuries of eight others.

Nuristani said, "Ten security personnel were also killed and martyred" during operations in Talawka.

According to Nuristani, the operations would last until the area is cleansed of the militants.

However, Zabihullah Majahid, a purported spokesman of the Taliban outfit, has rejected the claim, saying a majority of those killed in fighting are civilians.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 21:55:02|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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BAGHDAD, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi parliament on Sunday voted to sack the governor of Nineveh Province after the ferry sinking in the provincial capital Mosul that killed 96 people, the official television reported.

"The parliament voted through the sacking of the governor of Nineveh and his two deputies at the proposal of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi," state-run al-Iraqiya channel said.

Meanwhile, Jassim al-Jibara, an Iraqi lawmaker, confirmed to Xinhua that the Nineveh governor was sacked by the parliament.

"The parliament has unanimously voted to sack the governor of Nineveh Nawfal al-Akoub and his two deputies Abdul Qadir Sinjari and Hassan al-Allaf," he said.

The parliament also passed a resolution to continue investigations of the tragic ferry sinking and to hold those responsible accountable, al-Jibara added.

Moreover, Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi has referred a request, signed by 121 lawmakers to dissolve Nineveh's provincial council and bring its members to justice, to the parliament's legal committee for deliberation, the Iraqi lawmaker said.

A day earlier, Abdul Mahdi called on the parliament to sack the governor of Nineveh and his two deputies over the deadly ferry sinking.

On Thursday afternoon, a ferryboat carrying dozens of people capsized when crossing from the bank of the river to a small tourist island called Um al Rabeein in northern Mosul, some 400 km north of the capital Baghdad.

The sinking was the gravest incident in Mosul since the city was liberated from extremist Islamic State militants in late 2017.

Angry residents of Mosul blamed the negligence of the local government for the incident, believing corruption and mismanagement to be the cause.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 21:55:04|Editor: zh

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URUMQI, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese fishery authority said that fishing will be completely banned in the Ertix River, the only river in China that flows into the Arctic Ocean.

The fishery management center in the Altay prefecture, in the northern part of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, said fishing will be banned year-round in all natural rivers in the Altay region, including the Ertix.

"We are enforcing the ban to restore fishery resources, protect the natural habitats, restore aquatic diversity, and protect the water sources for cities," said Ershanjam Mamat, head of the center's law enforcement division.

The Ertix River originates from the Altay Mountains in China and flows northwest along the southern foothills into Kazakhstan, Russia, before meeting the Arctic.

A seasonal fishing ban has been enforced in the Ertix since 2005 every year from April 1 to June 30. It helped raise legal awareness of the people living along the riverbank. The number of cold-water fish, such as the white bream and northern pikes, has been growing, official figures show.

Law enforcement authorities have also stepped up protection of the Ertix's natural environment.

Last year, 12 cases of illegal fishing were handled by authorities. More than 1,900 kg of illegal catches were released back to river, and eight boats used for illegal fishing were destroyed.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 22:05:07|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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NEW DELHI, March 24 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were killed and 45 others injured, some of them critically, on Sunday after a bus fell into a gorge in western Indian state of Maharashtra, police said.

The accident took place near Trimbakeshwar in Palghar district, about 171 km north of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra.

"This afternoon a bus carrying over 50 passengers fell into gorge at Torangane near Trimbakeshwar. In the mishap four people died on spot and later on two succumbed at the hospital," a police official posted at Palghar said.

"Around 45 others injured in the accident are undergoing treatment at a nearest medical facility."

Police said they have ordered an investigation into the mishap.

Deadly road accidents are common in India mainly due to overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 22:05:08|Editor: zh

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ZHENGZHOU, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Fifty red-necked wallabies arrived in central China's Henan Province Saturday from the Netherlands, according to Zhengzhou Customs.

The wallabies, 25 males and 25 females, arrived at the Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport after traveling 26 hours.

These animals will be quarantined for 30 days in the city of Jiaozuo, before being sent to zoos across China to meet visitors.

Zhengzhou Customs received 277 varieties of imported live and fresh goods in 2018, including alpacas, giraffes, dolphins and other living animals.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 22:10:09|Editor: zh

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GUANGZHOU, March 24 (Xinhua) -- In a red European-style villa in the southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou, Zora Gerault is teaching her Chinese students how to tailor clothes the way a French designer does.

She is the director of ESMOD Guangzhou, a Chinese branch of the renowned fashion design school established in 1841. Based in Paris, ESMOD now has 20 branches in 13 countries and regions, including two in Beijing and Guangzhou respectively.

In 2014, ESMOD partnered with Guangzhou Textiles Industry & Trade Holdings LTD to open a fashion design school in Guangzhou, aiming to train talent with a fashion sense of both the East and the West.

"France wants its fashion ideas and skills to be spread worldwide, while the booming Chinese fashion industry needs top talent. The coincidence of our demands leads to cooperation," Gerault said.

"So we started ESMOD Guangzhou, using French design concepts to nurture new Chinese designers," she said. "In this way, I think fashion cultures of the two countries are connected."

So far, four classes of students have graduated from the school, with many becoming independent designers or executives at fashion companies, or even founding their own clothing brands.

The works of Guo Ziqi, one of the top students, were showcased during the Paris fashion week in 2016 when she graduated from the school. Now, she is preparing for another trip to one of the most important stages of the fashion world.

She said what impressed her most during the study at ESMOD were the creativity in its course design and superb skills of French garment making.

"In the class, French teachers always encouraged us to use different materials such as plastic and paper to make clothes, to open our minds," Guo said.

According to Gerault, an important goal of her school is to inspire students to explore a new way of expression that combines traditional Chinese art with western skills.

"In our class, we are devoted to teaching students to use French technology to express Chinese ideas and culture," Gerault said.

"ESMOD Guangzhou is not just a school for fashion, but also contributes to Sino-French cultural communication," Gerault said. "I believe in the future there will be more and more opportunities and practices for this kind of communication."

A famous fashion designer of her own, Gerault has been working and living in China for nearly 12 years and developed a habit of drawing all the Chinese cultural elements that attracted her. Now, she has a thick notebook full of what she considers cultural treasures.

In the meantime, she has also witnessed the rapid development of China's fashion industry and its growing presence on the world fashion stage.

"Recently, Chinese clothing brands become much more popular in the global fashion circle. Chinese features are a new fashion now, and many famous international brands have launched Chinese-style products," Gerault said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 22:15:12|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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BEIRUT, March 24 (Xinhua) -- A Lebanese man shot dead at least one Indian and injured three others on Sunday in Lebanon's eastern city of Bekaa, National News Agency (NNA) reported.

The Indians, who were shot by a Kalashnikov rifle at 3 a.m. local time (0100 GMT) in Zahle's industrial zone, work at a factory that manufactures babies' diapers, NNA said.

According to the report, the Lebanese man was annoyed by the noise made by the Indian workers in the factory, which prompted him to fight with them before committing the killing.

The suspect has given himself up to the police.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 22:15:13|Editor: zh

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BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Veterans Affairs has signed an agreement with 10 banks on introducing preferential services for military personnel and veterans.

The banks, including the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Bank of China and the Agricultural Bank of China, will offer prioritized, quality and discounted financial services for military personnel and their families, military retirees and other eligible beneficiaries.

The beneficiaries can apply for special bank cards, with which they can enjoy exclusive and fast-tracked services in bank branches as well as exemption of various fees.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 22:20:13|Editor: zh

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BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The following are the highlights of China's key education news from the past week:

-- Regulation requires school officials to eat with students

China has introduced a new regulation, requiring school officials from kindergartens to high schools to accompany students in each school meal as a way of ensuring food safety.

The mechanism will be established in a bid to spot problems and safety hazards and address them in a timely manner, according to the regulation jointly issued by the Ministry of Education (MOE), the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Health Commission.

Under the new regulation, parents will also be invited as supervisors to offer suggestions on food safety and nutrition improvement, to which schools must give timely replies.

-- Experts discuss AI-education integration

Chinese scientists and education experts have gathered to discuss the in-depth integration of artificial intelligence and education as well as innovative development in this regard at a symposium.

Representatives and scholars from the MOE, Chinese Academy of Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences and several Chinese universities attended the symposium, according to the MOE website.

-- University uses VR technology in psychological counseling

After preparing for more than two years, Beihang University has unveiled a laboratory applying virtual reality technology as a therapeutic tool for better mental health, China Education Daily reported.

In the laboratory, therapists place people wearing a VR headset in a virtual environment that causes them stress or a phobia and then help them work through the anxiety.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 22:30:14|Editor: yan

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BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- A pair of Heavenly Lanterns and Longevity Lanterns each, the biggest creative products ever designed by the Palace Museum, will be put up for auction in early April, the museum's curator said Sunday.

Curator Shan Jixiang made the announcement in a speech at the 2019 Tencent Neo-Culture Creativity Conference held here, saying all the gains from the auction will be donated to help people in China's poverty-stricken regions.

Noting the importance of poverty reduction in China's progress toward a moderately prosperous society in all respects, Shan said the museum, also known as the Forbidden City, with its cultural and creative ideas, should be capable of contributing to the battle against poverty.

During a special exhibition for Spring Festival, the visiting areas of the Forbidden City are transformed into a Spring Festival cultural experience, with heavenly lanterns (tiandeng) and longevity lanterns (wanshou deng) at the Palace of Heavenly Purity and the Hall of Imperial Supremacy.

The lanterns, all historically accurate reconstructions based on archives from the Qing dynasty, were installed and lit up for the first time in almost two centuries. In Qing dynasty, the installation and dismantling of these Spring Festival lanterns required the work of over 8,000 personnel, according to the museum.

Shan focused on the exploration of digital culture and creativity at the Palace Museum in his Sunday speech, vowing to further improve its digital platform and make a visit to the museum an easier, more efficient and more happy experience for the people.

Among the key speakers at the 2019 Tencent Neo-Culture Creativity Conference are writer Mai Jia, who talked about how writers can tell stories about Chinese people to the world well, and Tencent Pictures CEO Cheng Wu, who said the evolvement in cultural production modes is leading to China's higher ability to tell its own story.
FR

Eurojust held the first coordination meeting with West African countries on 21 and 22 March to discuss the judicial follow-up to four terrorist attacks. The attacks took place on 7 March and 20 November 2015 in Bamako (Mali), on 15 January 2016 in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), and on 13 March 2016 in Grand Bassam (Ivory Coast), with 74 people killed and many others injured.

The meeting was organised at the request of France and gathered, apart from the French judicial authorities, judicial representatives from Mali, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, as well as other EU Member States and third countries that were affected by the attacks. Representatives from Europol and INTERPOL also participated.

This coordination meeting at Eurojust was the first of its kind with West African countries regarding terrorist attacks. As indicated by the French counter-terrorism Investigating Judge, Mr David De Pas, the focus was not only on exchanging operational information on ongoing investigations, but also on sharing information on victims and taking stock of the current terrorist threat in the West African region.

The judicial enquiries on terrorism cases rely on efficient multilateral cooperation. As stated by the prosecutor of Abidjan, Mr Richard Christophe Adou: 'If we want to successfully combat a network, we have to work together as a network'.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 22:45:18|Editor: yan

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YANGON, March 24 (Xinhua) -- At least 16 people were killed and 48 others injured in a warehouse explosion in Myanmar's eastern Shan state, Nyi Rang, external relation officer of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) in Lashio, said on Sunday.

The explosion took place in Mongmao town in Wa Self-Administered Division, or "Special Region 2" of Shan state at around 5:00 p.m. local time Saturday.

"We have some difficulties in providing medical services to such many injured people here. So, we sent them to the hospital in neighboring China for medical treatment," Nyi Rang told Xinhua.

The explosion rocked the warehouse where construction materials, including gas cylinders and explosives, were stored.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 23:10:22|Editor: yan

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DUBAI, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will invest 1 billion dirhams (270 million U.S. dollars) to support technology startups, a government statement said Sunday.

In the statement, the Abu Dhabi government said it would invest billions of dollars in industry, tourism and infrastructure to reduce its reliance on oil revenues.

The new initiative will also involve the launch of a 500-million-dirham fund in investment in new projects, said Ibrahim Ajami, head of investment company Mubadala Ventures.

The objective of the plan is to start 100 companies in three to five years, Ajami added.

As a big investor, Mubadala has channelled 225 billion dollars in technology companies in the financial district of Abu Dhabi.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 23:50:32|Editor: yan

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XIANGSHUI, Jiangsu, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Facing the strong flame of the chemical canister, stepping on pieces of broken glass and sharp steel slag, and breathing the billowing toxic smoke, nearly 1,000 firefighters raced against the clock to save the injured people after a deadly blast hit a chemical plant in east China's Jiangsu Province.

The explosion happened at about 2:48 p.m. Thursday following a fire that broke out in a plant owned by Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Co. Ltd., in a chemical industrial park in Xiangshui County in Yancheng.

The blast ripped through the buildings in the chemical plant and windows and doors several miles away have been shattered into pieces. It is a race against time.

FIGHT WITH COURAGE AND DETERMINATION

"The blast hit an industrial park where 16 chemical plants and a sewage treatment plant stand," said Lu Jun, deputy commander in charge of the rescue. "The worst of all, a number of workers are on duty when the blast occurred."

At 2:58 p.m. Thursday, Zhao Yi, squadron commander of Xiangshui's fire brigade, instantly summoned his team and rushed to the scene upon learning the explosion.

It was complete chaos with people everywhere, Zhao recalled. But Zhao and the other firefighters have to go toward the fire and the thick smoke to rescue as many as possible, as fast as possible.

A number of fire brigades in cities near the Xiangshui County also joined the rescue upon receiving the alert.

It took a whole night of hard effort to put off the the fire in the industrial park. At the early morning hours of Friday, firefighters began to search the trapped workers and residents albeit a sleepless night.

FIGHT SMARTER AGAINGST SECONDARY DISASTER

"The explosion of a large number of chemical products made the rescue more difficult than ever," said Lu. "We must pay extra attention to prevent the secondary disasters and act scientifically."

For example, the rescue team from Changzhou city was capable of using maps and live videos to offer evidence for further decision-making and analyze the cause of the incident before reaching the scene.

Luo Huaxin, a commander with Changzhou's fire brigade, found two benzene tanks and a methanol tank on fire near the explosion point. "There will be serious consequences if the flames burst out," said Luo.

In response, Luo's team made several plans to control the fire based on different chemical materials. Film-forming foam was used to put off the fire of a benzene tank and non-fusibility foam was used for the methanol tank, Luo said.

"The explosion might cause unpredictable consequences, so we send various devices to detect the situation before firefighters began their search," Luo added.

During the rescue, life detectors, thermal cameras and GDS devices are widely used to help locate the trapped workers and residents.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-25 00:05:33|Editor: yan

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ARUSHA, Tanzania, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania will inspect all tourist hotels that were privatized, a senior official said on Sunday.

The move is aimed at improving the tourism sector, as quality accommodation services play a big role, Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Constantine Kanyasu said.

"We will revoke ownership licences of all hotels that will be found operating below standard," he said after inspecting Soronera and Lobo tourist hotels, situated in the Serengeti National Park.

"The task will then be shifted to other investors who are ready to manage them for the interest of promoting tourism," he said.

The government decided to conduct such inspections following a number of complaints from stakeholders over poor services provided by most tourist hotels in the country, Kanyasu said.

"It is also claimed that there is a tendency of some privatized hotels to evade tax and pay low wages to local employees compared to foreign workers," he said. "This will never be tolerated, and once we find such things, we will revoke ownership licences of the investors."

The hotel inspection provided him an opportunity to observe and evaluate the wearing-out of infrastructure in some of the hotels, Kanyasu said.

There was also incorrect data on the number of tourists who visit those facilities, he said.

Kanyansu directed hotel owners to find ways to raise the number of Tanzanians visiting the country's tourist attractions and thus making use of accommodation in those hotels.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-25 00:05:33|Editor: yan

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BANGKOK, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva decided to resign on Sunday after his party failed to meet its target in the general election.

Abhisit, who is also a former prime minister, announced his resignation after the election concluded on Sunday. He pledged to continue to dedicate himself to political work and thanked his supporters.

Exit polls and partial results indicated that the Democrat Party would win 88 seats.

He had said earlier that he would resign if the party won fewer than 100 seats in the vote.

Thailand held its first general election since the 2014 coup on Sunday, with 80 political parties contesting the ballot.
U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sept. 26, 2018 in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. (AFP File photo)

JERUSALEM, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departed on Sunday morning for Washington to have talks with U.S. President Donald Trump about the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, his office said.



Netanyahu said the meetings with Trump will focus on the Golan Heights, a territory Israel seized from Syria in 1967 and later annexed in a move never recognized internationally, and Iran, according to a statement released by Israeli Prime Minister's Office.

They will also discuss Syria, the continuing pressure on Iran, and the "unprecedented security and intelligence cooperation" between Israel and the United States, it said.

"We have never had such a bond between the prime minister of Israel and an American president. This is a very, very important asset for the state of Israel and it is important that it continues to serve us," he added.

"The ties that I have with world leaders - with Russia's Putin, with Modi from India, with Bolsonaro who will arrive to Israel next week from Brazil, with Abe from Japan, with the leaders of China, and with other leaders - are an asset to the state of Israel," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu and Trump are scheduled to meet in the White House for a working meeting on Monday before Trump will host Netanyahu for a dinner on Tuesday, according to a White House statement last week.

Trump said last Thursday on Twitter that "after 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel's Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!"
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-25 00:20:37|Editor: yan

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DAR ES SALAAM, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania's newly appointed foreign minister on Sunday urged the country's missions overseas to improve economic diplomacy.

"Economic diplomacy should be given required priority in our missions abroad to boost our economic growth," Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation Palamagamba Kabudi told the ministry's workers' council in the capital, Dodoma.

Kabudi was appointed by President John Magufuli on March 3 in a mini-reshuffle of the cabinet swapping ministers for foreign affairs, and legal and constitutional affairs.

Kabudi replaced Augustine Mahiga, who was appointed new minister for legal and constitutional affairs.

"Our missions abroad should give impetus to economic diplomacy by promoting the country's investment opportunities, attracting more tourists to visit Tanzania and looking for markets for our agricultural products," he said.

Kabudi urged employees in the ministry to change their working mindset in order to compete in global diplomacy.

"The ministry should chart out new diplomatic strategies that will enable the country to resolve challenges facing the diplomacy docket," he said.

He also urged the ministry to start preparations for hosting the Southern African Development Community summit, scheduled for August.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-25 00:35:39|Editor: yan

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CHICAGO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Consul-General in Chicago Zhao Jian called for the local Chinese community to make greater contribution to the cooperation and exchanges between China and the U.S. Midwestern states.

Zhao made the remarks at a reception held by the Chinese American Association of Greater Chicago (CAAGC) on Saturday.

"I can deeply feel the strong will from the American Midwest in conducting an all-around cooperation with China, and I have also witnessed the diligent efforts made by the local Chinese community to enhance economic, financial and cultural exchanges between the two countries," said Zhao.

The past four decades of China-U.S. relations have proven that cooperation is the best choice for the two countries, noted Zhao.

"We are looking forward to seeing the Chinese community continue to carry forward the traditional Chinese culture, support the modernization drive of motherland and commit to the people-to-people exchanges between the two countries," added Zhao.

Zheng Zheng, Chairwoman of the Chinese American Association of Greater Chicago (CAAGC), said that as sound development of China-U.S. ties is the common aspiration of overseas Chinese, the CAAGC will work together with the Chinese Consulate General in Chicago to facilitate bilateral exchanges in various fields.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-25 00:45:41|Editor: Xiaoxia

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Leader of Palang Pracharath (power of people's state) Party Uttama Savanayana (5th R) attends a press conference after the general election in Bangkok, Thailand, on March 24, 2019. The Thai party which has named Prayut Chan-o-cha as the prime minister candidate is leading the general election on Sunday. Palang Pracharath (power of people's state) Party reportedly has won more than 7.5 million votes, followed by Pheu Thai (for Thais) Party which has gained over 7 million votes, according to unofficial results of votes counted on late Sunday night by the Election Commission. (Xinhua/Zhang Keren)

BANGKOK, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Thai party which has named Prayut Chan-o-cha as the prime minister candidate is leading the general election on Sunday.

Palang Pracharath (power of people's state) Party reportedly has won more than 7.5 million votes, followed by Pheu Thai (for Thais) Party which has gained over 7 million votes, according to unofficial results of votes counted on late Sunday night by the Election Commission.

Coming third was Future Forward Party with some 5.2 million votes, followed by Bhumjaithai (proud Thais) Party which has gained about 3.2 million votes.

The Democrat Party, the country's oldest, has been dealt the heaviest blow of defeat, which prompted party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva to resign hours after the voting ended at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. The Democrats have won only about 3.1 million votes.

Thailand has a total of 51.2 million eligible voters, including some 7.3 million first-time voters nationwide.

Nevertheless, the polling agency is yet to verify all 500 members of parliament (MPs) until May 9, as provided by constitution's organic law on the election of MPs. The 500 MP seats include 350 in constituency-based mode and 150 in proportional party-list mode.

Several parties are expected to join Palang Pracharath Party in the creation of a post-election government, including Bhumjaithai Party and the Democrat Party.

Meanwhile, Prayut said earlier that he would continue to assume his concurrent posts as prime minister and chairman of the National Council for Peace and Order until a post-election government has been set up.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-25 00:45:42|Editor: yan

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KHARTOUM, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The concurrent visits by a U.S. congress and Russian delegation to Sudan last week raised questions on whether there is a Russian-U.S. division on prospects of the African country.

A U.S. Congress delegation, headed by Gus M. Bilirakis, leader of the Freedoms Bloc at the U.S. Congress, visited Khartoum last week and held meetings with Sudanese officials over topics including bilateral relations and public freedom.

Meanwhile, Mikhail Bogdanov, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa, also visited Khartoum and held talks with Sudanese officials over enhancing economic and trade ties.

Hassan al-Saouri, a political science professor at Al Neelain University, said Sudan is currently moving seriously toward Russia as it has started losing hope in the U.S. stance.

The U.S. strategy toward Sudan is to see Sudan going weak, disturbed and subjected to the American control, al-Saouri told Xinhua.

"America has realized that Sudan would not subjugate and that Sudan, with its material and human potentialities as well as its distinguished location, can become a power in north, east and central Africa. Therefore, the U.S. will not allow stability in Sudan," he explained.

In contrast, Russia has real interests in Sudan, the Sudanese expert said.

"Russia, when it was the Soviet Union, began agricultural manufacturing in Sudan in 1962 through the dates canning factory in Karima, onion canning factory in Aroma, the vegetables canning factory in Wau and the diary factory in Babanusa," he noted.

"It is possible for Russia to have military bases in Sudan where presence of economic interests need to be protected via military presence," al-Saouri said.

"Russia presently needs to put a foothold at the Red Sea which links Asia with Africa and Europe besides the fact that it is a route for transporting oil and gas," he added.

Meanwhile, Al-Saouri did not express any optimism over the success of the dialogue between Sudan and the United States.

"I'm not optimistic with regard to possibility of lifting Sudan from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism because America is not serious in the dialogue with Sudan as it adopts the principle of maneuvering," al-Saouri said.

Mohamed Al-Nayer, a lecturer of economics at the Africa International University, said "Russia has a strong presence in Sudan through investment in the mining field."

"It is of Russia's interest to move toward Africa through Sudan's gate, where the Russian-African summit in October will be the beginning of this trend," noted Al-Nayer.

He pointed out that the commercial exchange between Russia and Sudan has increased in the last years.

With regard to the swinging relations between Sudan and the United States, Al-Nayer said "there are no economic ties between the two sides" whether the U.S. economic sanctions on Sudan are lifted or not.

"Sudan has not benefited from the lifting of the U.S. sanctions and the Sudanese banks could not deal with the international banks under the pretext that Sudan is still on the U.S. list of countries that sponsor terrorism," he said.

The size of the commercial exchange between Sudan and the United States is very weak and has not exceeded 30 million U.S dollars, Al-Nayer added.

In the past two years, the relations between Khartoum and Washington have relatively improved, as the U.S. government lifted economic sanctions on Sudan on Oct. 6, 2017.

However, Washington is still listing Sudan as one of the countries sponsoring terrorism.
One of the largest civilian helicopter rescue operations ever undertaken ended Sunday when the crew of a foundering cruise ship managed to restore power and sail to a nearby port. Before the ship was able to move again, a total of 476 of 1,300 passengers and crew on the Viking Sky were winched to one of five helicopters hovering overhead in rough weather off Norway. The ships crew called a Mayday on Saturday after it lost power in heavy seas and high winds off the rocky west coast of Norway. Crews managed to anchor the ship but the 30-foot swells and 40-knot winds prevented a sea rescue. Instead, five large 19-passenger helicopters normally used to service offshore oil platforms hovered over the ships top deck and hoisted passengers by winch and cable one by one to relative safety. Early in the rescue, two of the helicopters were diverted to evacuate a nearby cargo ship that was also in trouble.

The initial stages of the cruise ship operation were arduous. It took seven hours to get the first 180 passengers off the ship and it would seem some might have preferred to take their chances on the ship. It was just chaos, American passenger John Curry told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. The helicopter ride from the ship to shore I would rather not think about. It wasnt nice. Curry was among the first passengers taken to shore at the nearby town of Molde. About 20 people were hurt in the operation. Meanwhile, back on the ship, the storm was causing the powerless vessel to list violently from side to side. Passengers waiting for rescue donned life preservers and some got wet when waves smashed windows.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-25 01:20:45|Editor: yan

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CAIRO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian House of Representatives said on Sunday that it will finish all procedures related to the anticipated constitutional amendments by mid-April for a public referendum.

"The national election commission will invite voters to cast their ballots on the amendments when they are approved by the required majority of parliament members," the parliament said in a statement.

The amendments will include "changing the presidential term to six years instead of four" and "the possibility of appointing one or more vice presidents."

The amendments were initially proposed in early February by 115 lawmakers from "Support Egypt" pro-government parliamentary bloc, and 485 out of the parliament's total 596 members voted for them in mid-February.

They also seek to establish a senate as a second chamber of the parliament next to the House of Representatives and deepen the role of the army as the protector of vital and public facilities and the defender of the country's democracy and civil state.

The proposed amendments also allow current President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to join the next presidential election after his second term ends in 2022.

Article 140 of Egypt's 2014 constitution limits presidency to two consecutive four-year terms, while Article 226 allows the head of state or one-fifth of the parliament members to request amendment of one or more articles of the constitution.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-25 01:25:45|Editor: yan

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Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with Prince Albert II, head of state of the Principality of Monaco, on strengthening China-Monaco relations, in Monaco, March 24, 2019. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

MONACO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Prince Albert II, head of state of the Principality of Monaco, here Sunday on strengthening China-Monaco relations.

Xi was paying a state visit to Monaco, the first by a Chinese president to the European country.

Noting the affinity between the two peoples, Xi said that since China and Monaco established diplomatic relations more than 20 years ago, the two sides have always treated each other as equals with sincerity and friendship.

Xi said China-Monaco relations are developing steadily, with bilateral practical cooperation keeping pace with the times and taking the lead in China-Europe cooperation in the fields of environmental protection, telecommunications and mobile payment.

Xi said China and Monaco have set a fine example of friendly exchanges between countries that are different in size and have different historical and cultural backgrounds and social systems.

The Chinese president said the exchange of visits between him and Prince Albert II in about half a year demonstrated the high level of China-Monaco ties.

He called on the two sides to firmly grasp the correct direction of bilateral relations, constantly consolidate traditional friendship and political mutual trust, and strengthen communication, coordination and mutual support in the United Nations and on international affairs.

Both sides should adhere to openness and cooperation and pursue more win-win results, Xi said, adding that China welcomes Monaco to actively participate in the joint development of the Belt and Road.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-25 01:45:48|Editor: Li Xia

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CAIRO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The resumption of Syria's suspended membership in the Arab League (AL) is not on the agenda of the Arab summit scheduled for the end of March in Tunisia, the pan-Arab body said Sunday.

"Until now, the topic of Syria's return to the AL is not on the agenda and it was not officially proposed by any party," said Mahmoud Afifi, AL spokesman, in a statement.

"But the Syrian crisis is on the agenda," he added.

According to the spokesman, the AL summit in Tunisia has about 20 topics on the agenda, including the Palestinian cause, the chaos in Libya and Yemen and the support of peace and development in Sudan.

The summit will also discuss "Iran's intervention in the affairs of Arab states," support for Somalia, counterterrorism and the development of Arab national security system.

Syria's AL membership was suspended in late 2011 in response to the Syrian government's crackdown on protests.

In mid-March, Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel-Karim Ali urged the AL to reconsider "its wrong decision" of suspending Syria's membership, adding that the decision was made "under pressure by the United States and Europe."

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said in January that it is necessary for the Syrian government to take a number of measures toward a political settlement to return to the Cairo-based league.

Later in the month, Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said there was positive momentum among Arab countries toward Syria's return to the AL during the Arab Economic and Social Development Summit held in Lebanon's capital Beirut.

Following the 2011 anti-government mass protests, the situation in Syria developed into a civil war of confrontations between pro-government forces and armed rebels and terrorists from the Islamic State (IS) militant group.

The forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad are backed by Russia, Iran and Shiite militias loyal to Iran including Lebanon's Hezbollah.

Since its eruption in March 2011, the Syrian crisis has killed half a million, and wounded or displaced more than 14 million others.
Residents walk as they flee Maskana town in the Aleppo countryside and make their way towards the Turkish border in Tel Abyad town, Raqqa governorate, on June 16, 2015. (Reuters File photo)

DAMASCUS, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of people abducted by the Islamic State (IS) extremist group were reported to have been executed following the announced defeat of the terror-designated group in eastern Syria, a war monitor reported Sunday.

The claims were made by IS militants who fell in the hands of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The abductees were taken captive by the IS from different areas controlled by the Kurdish-led groups in northeastern Syria, the London-based watchdog said.

A day earlier, the SDF announced the defeat of the IS in Syria and the end of the group's self-declared caliphate.

Meanwhile, the Observatory said the IS militants are still present in the desert region in eastern Syria.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-25 02:25:54|Editor: yan

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Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with Prince Albert II, head of state of the Principality of Monaco, on strengthening China-Monaco relations, in Monaco, March 24, 2019. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

MONACO, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Prince Albert II, head of state of the Principality of Monaco, here Sunday on strengthening China-Monaco relations.

Xi was paying a state visit to Monaco, the first by a Chinese president to the European country.

Noting the affinity between the two peoples, Xi said that since China and Monaco established diplomatic relations more than 20 years ago, the two sides have always treated each other as equals with sincerity and friendship.

Xi said China-Monaco relations are developing steadily, with bilateral practical cooperation keeping pace with the times and taking the lead in China-Europe cooperation in the fields of environmental protection, telecommunications and mobile payment.

Xi said China and Monaco have set a fine example of friendly exchanges between countries that are different in size and have different historical and cultural backgrounds and social systems.

The Chinese president said the exchange of visits between him and Prince Albert II in about half a year demonstrated the high level of China-Monaco ties.

He called on the two sides to firmly grasp the correct direction of bilateral relations, constantly consolidate traditional friendship and political mutual trust, and strengthen communication, coordination and mutual support in the United Nations and on international affairs.

Both sides should adhere to openness and cooperation and pursue more win-win results, Xi said, adding that China welcomes Monaco to actively participate in the joint development of the Belt and Road.

Calling on the two sides to elevate cooperation on environmental protection, Xi said the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation is welcome to conduct public-service activities in China aimed at environmental protection, so as to continuously enrich cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

Describing Xi's visit as a "historic" one, Prince Albert II said Monaco is willing to expand cooperation with China in such fields as science and technology, innovation, ecological and environmental protection, wildlife conservation, and renewable energy.

The prince said Monaco highly appreciates China's role in international affairs such as climate change and stands ready to support China in hosting the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity next year. He also wished the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics success.

Before the talks, Prince Albert II held a grand welcome ceremony for Xi.

Monaco is the second leg of Xi's three-nation Europe visit. He has concluded a state visit to Italy and will pay a state visit to France.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-25 02:30:56|Editor: yan

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WASHINGTON, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Another student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, U.S. state of Florida, has died in "what appears to be a suicide," CBS News reported Sunday, citing a police spokesman.

It is the second time within a week that a student from that school, where a shooting massacre on Feb. 14, 2018 killed 17 students and staff members, died by suicide.

A Coral Springs Police spokesman told CBS News that the student, who died Saturday night, was a juvenile and no further information will be released, adding that the death is still being investigated.

Sydney Aiello, a survivor of the school shooting, died at home last weekend in Coconut Creek, Florida, suffering a gunshot wound to the head, according to local authorities. Her funeral took place on Friday.

Aiello suffered from survivor's guilt and had recently been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to CNN, citing her mother, Cara.

Aiello had been on campus the day of the mass shooting, but was not in the building where the attack took place, Cara said.

The cheerleader graduated from the high school a month after the shooting, but struggled to attend college classes because she was afraid of being in a classroom, according to media reports.

Police said there is "no indication at all" so far that the second student's death is linked to the shooting or to Aiello's suicide. It has not been confirmed if the second student was in Marjory Stoneman Douglas at the time of the shooting.

The shooting that shook the nation was carried out by former Stoneman Douglas student Nikolas Cruz, then 19. He was indicted on 17 counts of murder.

The death of the second student came the night before the one-year anniversary of the March For Our Lives, a demonstration organized by Marjory Stoneman Douglas students and alumni that called for changes in gun-related policies.

The rally in Washington D.C. on March 24, 2018, drew hundreds of thousands of participants and inspired similar events across the rest of the United States.

"How many more kids have to be taken from us as a result of suicide for the government/school district to do anything? Rip 17+2," David Hogg, a prominent student activists from the school, tweeted Sunday morning.

"Stop saying 'you'll get over it,'" Hogg wrote in another tweet. "You don't get over something that never should have happened because those that die from gun violence are stolen from us not naturally lost."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-25 05:01:20|Editor: yan

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TRIPOLI, March 24 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday said it provided emergency medical assistance to Libyan hospitals.

"The WHO sent 10 trucks loaded with emergency medical supplies and trauma kits to 10 major hospitals in different districts of Libya on March 23, providing desperately needed materials to treat diseases and injuries. The shipments were supported by European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO)," WHO said in a statement.

The supplies are expected to treat nearly 1.3 million patients for three months, while the trauma kits can support the hospitals to treat almost 2,000 injuries, the statement explained.

"ECHO funding has enabled us to upgrade the capacities of major hospitals in war-torn areas to respond to major crises and strengthen their readiness," said Syed Jaffar Hussain, WHO representative for Libya.

"In addition, support from Germany has enabled WHO to deploy rapid response teams to 15 hospitals, while Italy has funded stocks of contingency supplies," the statement added.

Libyan authorities are struggling to provide basic services, mainly proper healthcare and education, due to years of armed conflict and political instability.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-25 05:26:26|Editor: yan

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JERUSALEM, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Hamas prisoners carried out a stabbing attack against Israeli wardens in jail, injuring two, the Israel Prison Service said Sunday.

A spokesman for the Prison Service said in a statement that the incident took place at the Ktzi'ot Prison in southern Israel, a facility designated for Palestinian prisoners.

At least two wardens were injured and needed medical care. The spokesman did not say weather there were injuries among the prisoners.

The rare incident was carried out by prisoners identified with Hamas, an Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip.

Last week, Hamas prisoners launched a protest, setting some mattresses on fire, after the Prison Service cancelled cellular connection and the prisoners' ability to use mobile phones.

Some 6,000 Palestinians are jailed in Israeli prisons, according to official figures.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-25 05:46:30|Editor: yan

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ZAGREB, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Croatian police announced here on Sunday that they had found 15 illegal migrants in a mountainous area in central Croatia and saved a pregnant woman who was in serious condition.

The group illegally entered Croatia from Bosnia and Herzegovina through the snow-covered Pljesevica Mountain. The pregnant woman was sent to the nearest hospital in Gospic.

Thousands of migrants are stationed in Bosnia and Herzegovina from where they try to illegally cross the border and enter Croatia, a European Union (EU) member. It's a part of the so-called Balkan Route that has become very active in recent months. In January this year, Croatian police rescued 15 migrants from freezing weather on the same mountain.

Earlier this month, Amnesty International accused Croatian police of violence against migrants, calling it "a deliberate practice by authorities designed to deter and discourage future attempts to enter the country."

Croatian Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic dismissed the accusation, saying the police were only protecting the border within the bounds of the national and EU laws.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-25 05:51:30|Editor: yan

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ADEN, Yemen, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Gunmen suspected of belonging to the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch blew up a security headquarters in the southeastern province of Hadramout on Sunday evening, a government official said.

The new security building that is still under construction was detonated, causing two huge blasts that rocked Shibam district of Hadramout province, said the official based in Hadramout said on condition of anonymity.

The official said that the suspected al-Qaida militants used large quantities of explosives placed in different parts of the security building before the detonation, causing no casualties.

The al-Qaida militants launched a previous attack against the same security headquarters in mid-July 2014, killing many security personnel of the building.

The government-controlled southeastern province of Hadramout and other areas in Yemen are witnessing growing activities of extremist organizations that take advantage of the four-year-long conflict in the impoverished Arab country.
The hostile forces fired the positions Armed Forces of Ukraine near Stepove, Bohdanivka and Zolote-4 villages

The Donbas militants fired the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donbas conflict zone three times. The Joint Forces Operation (JFO) HQ reported this on Facebook.

The enemy violated the ceasefire regime three times on March 23, the report said.

Besides, the hostile forces fired twice in the East operational group action zone; they used small arms near Stepove settlement and heavy machine guns near Bohdanivka village.

In the North group area, the enemy attacked our positions with the infantry fighting vehicle BMP-1 and anti-tank grenade launchers near Zolote-4 village.

No casualties are spotted among the Ukrainian Armed Forces, reads the message.

According to the report, the Ukrainian soldiers stopped the fire by opening fire as well, as the result of which five Russian-backed militants were killed and one more wounded.

No attacks have been spotted since midnight, JFO reported.

Earlier, Ukrainian military doctor Volodymyr Markevych deceased during fulfilling his duties in the Donbas combat zone.

Volodymyr Markevych was the senior military doctor, so he worked at the observation post of the forefront of the contact line near Novomykhaylivka village. The man was in the most dangerous area because the soldiers could have needed his help at any moment.
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Open source

March 24, the pro-Russian militants twice opened fire at the positions of the Joint Forces in Donbas conflict zone. This is reported by Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation (JFO) HQ on Facebook.

Near the Zolote-4 settlement enemy used mortar of 82 mm caliber, and in the vicinity of the Novoluhanske settlement, an 82-mm caliber mortar and small arms were used.



No losses among the troops of the Joint Forces reported over the day.



The units fired by the enemy gave an adequate response from their regular armament. The opponent's losses are being specified.



The situation in the area of Joint Forces operation remains under the control of the Ukrainian military.

Earlier, a new entry-exit checkpoint Zolote, Luhansk region, was opened at the contact line in the Donbas conflict zone. The State Border Guard Service reported this.

The entry-exit checkpoint Zolote has started its work at 7:00 AM on March 2019, under the command of the Joint Forces operation Commander. The border guards and other law enforcement officers of the Joint Forces operation are ready to conduct passing operations at the checkpoint, reads the report.

According to information from the Ukrainian side, representatives of the so-called "Luhansk People's Republic" did not give and security guarantees to Ukraine's citizens that wish to pass through Zolote checkpoint. The capacity of Zolote checkpoint is 500 cars per work shift.
The politician did not agree with the statement that the greeting "Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!" is a Nazi greeting

Chairman of the political council of "The Opposition Platform - For Life" party Viktor Medvedchuk respects all heroes of Ukraine. He stated this during "The Right to Know" show on TVC channel.



"I respect Ukraine, its glory and the heroes of Ukraine," he said.



At the same time, Medvedchuk did not agree with the statement of the host that the greeting Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes! is a Nazi greeting. I cant agree that this is a Nazi greeting. I cant agree, Medvedchuk noted.



Earlier, chairman of the political council of "The Opposition Platform - For Life" party said that trying to please only the voter of western Ukraine, the government does more harm to the country than the separatists do.

As it is known, the "Glory to Ukraine" greeting became part of the lexicon of Ukrainian nationalists in the 1920's. The modern response "Glory to the heroes" appeared in the 1930s among members of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and Ukrainian Insurgent Army.

"There are records showing that during the court hearings against OUN's leader Stepan Bandera in 1936, his supporters were accompanying the slogan 'Glory to Ukraine' with a hand-throwing fascist-style salute," Oleksandr Zaitsev, a Ukrainian historian, leading expert in Ukraine's nationalists' movements, stated this in an interview with DW.

In 20018, President Poroshenko announced that Glory to Ukraine will be the official greeting of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
The process of withdrawal of the American military contingent from the country can begin soon

Reuters

U.S. President Donald Trump announced the final defeat of the Islamic State militants in Syria, reports Reuters.



"Trump has said Islamic State no longer holds territory several times over the past few weeks. But U.S. officials told Reuters that fighting still continued late into Thursday between U.S.-backed forces and Islamic State militants in the last remaining territory it holds," the report said.



As reported, Acting Defense Minister Patrick Shanahan said to President Donald Trump that the territory of Syria was freed from the control of the Islamic State militants.



Earlier it was reported about the storming of the settlement of Baguz on the border with Iraq, which was the last point, control of which was maintained by ISIS in Syria. The success of the assault should be a signal for the withdrawal of American troops from this country, as announced by Donald Trump. Now there are about 2,000 U.S. servicemen there, about 400 will remain to secure the local security forces.

Earlier U.S. President Donald Trump accused the Google Company of cooperating with the military forces of China. Trump wrote this on Twitter.

Google is helping Chins and their military, but not the U.S. Terrible! The good news is that they helped Crooked Hillary Clinton and not Trumpand how did that turn out? Trump wrote.

However, the company has rejected this accusation and stated that they cooperate only with the U.S. government. Vivan Salama, the journalist of The Wall Street Journal, cited Googles claim, where they rejected the cooperation with China.

We cooperate with the U.S. government, in particular with the Ministry of Defense, concerning many fields, the company stressed.
Viktor Medvedchuk, chairman of the Political Party Opposition Platform - For Life Opposition Platform - For Life

The biggest and most terrible mistake of the current government is the fact that Kyiv has not extended the Friendship Treaty with Russia. This was stated by Viktor Medvedchuk, chairman of the political council of "The Opposition Platform - For Life" party, during "The Right to Know" show on TVC channel.



"The most terrible strategic mistake of the Kyiv authorities is the non-renewal of the treaty from April 1, 2019," he said.



Medvedchuk also noted that radical russophobia had become the country's national idea.



"When we compare the first circumstances, the second circumstances and the third ones, that the person who won the elections, professed the policy of anti-Russian hysteria, cave radical russophobia, elevated it to the rank of a national idea and the foundations of public policy, will remain in power and continue, - I suggest you think about three factors: non-recognition, inaction or termination of a large contract and state policy on the part of the Kyiv authorities, which will continue. What will be the conclusion and result? Make it yourself," the politician said.

Earlier Viktor Medvedchuk, the Head of the Political Council of the Opposition platform  For life told which Gazprom issues they discussed during the meeting between the party delegation together with the supported by the party presidential candidate Yuriy Boyko with the Prime Minister of Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev and Gazprom head Alexey Miller.

Speaking about the direct gas supplies from Russia, I would like to outline what Yuriy Bouko and also Gazprom head Alexey Miller stated that when we know the price of gas supply to Russia, there is an opportunity today, it can be a subject of new negotiations, of reducing gas supplies to Ukraine up 25%.

I would like to remind the media representatives that Ukraine bought gas at an average price of $300 per 1000 cubic meters in 2018. It was different, this price, for example, in November, and in December it was $319, in January of this year it was $318, but the average price was $300. Therefore, today, if we talk about the reduction of the possible price as a result of agreements and conducting a deal on direct gas supplies, this reduction may already occur by at least 25% from January 1, 2020.
The police of Bali detained the Ukrainian former police officer from the Zakarpattia region, who had committed the armed robbery of the shop stealing almost $ 75, 000. The National police of Zakarpattia report this on its website.

After the reform of the law system, the former officer of Zakarpattia police tried to return his job but he failed to do so; the workers of the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not allow him to return to the police staff, taking into account the crime he committed in the past.

When the ex-officer understood he could not continue to serve, he decided to switch side and to cross the law, the report said.

The man together with two Russians went to Bali. The officers of the local police department detained the Ukrainian and his accomplices after they committed an armed robbery of the shop, where they stole $74,400. One culprit was trying to resist during the detention, so the policeman was forced to shoot and killed him.
Open source

In Finland, a man attacked the head of the local Foreign Ministry Timo Soini, Yle reports.



According to the report, the incident occurred at a market in the city of Vantaa, where Finnish political parties campaigned for the parliamentary elections.



According to Soini, one of the men tried to hit him but was stopped on time by the security guard of the event.



The attacker had clothes with the symbols of the "Soldiers of Odin" movement, anti-immigrant group founded in Kemi, Finland.



At the moment, the attacker is detained for resisting the security forces.



As noted by the police, an attempt to attack the minister is also being investigated.



Soini continued to meet with voters after the incident.

Earlier, as part of a pre-election campaign, president Poroshenko has visited Cherkasy on March 9. Far-right National Corps came to ask Poroshenko, why no criminal proceeding against his close associate Oleg Gladkovsky, suspected of major and systematic embezzlement in Ukraine's army, was launched. The far-right tried to block the motorcade of the head of state and started provoking ordinary residents of Cherkasy and the police to fight. The far-right tried to break to the scene, they used pyrotechnics, but Poroshenko managed to retreat. The law enforcement officers used coercive measures; 19 police officers were hospitalized.
The ship will stay in the Ukrainian Sea port till March 26

Open source

The French ship M653 Capricorne arrived at the trade port of Odesa. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports this on Facebook.

France's Minehunter M653 Capricorne, a member of NATO-led naval forces of the Eridan class (French Chasseur), arrived in order to study the naval vessels of the Ukrainian Armed Forces under the PASSEX program and to support bilateral French-Ukrainian cooperation in the naval and maritime security field, moored at the Odesa Maritime Trade Port March 23, 2019," reads the message.

At the same time, it is added that the ship passed the Black Sea Straits and entered the Black Sea several days earlier. It will stay in Odesa until March 26.

The Minehunter with a total displacement of 625 tons belongs to the mine hunters of Eridan class. The ship was launched in the French Navy in August 1987. Length is 52 m, width is 9 m, sedimentation is 3.8 m, its maximum speed on a diesel engine is 18 knots.

The crew consists of 49 people, including five officers.

The ship is equipped with two self-propelled underwater vehicles for searching and destroying mines PAP-104 Mod4 and Bofors Double Eagle Mk2. Artillery weapons are 20 mm gun Giat 20F2 and three machine guns.

There is also a radar station and sonar system on board.

Earlier, U.S. Navy's missile destroyer Donald Cook arrived at the port of Odesa and moored at the 16th pier near the Sea Port.

The destroyer is a part of the Atlantic determination mission. The missions aim was to strengthen coordination between the NATO partners and to maintain security in the region.

Donald Cook has launched for Tomahawk, Asrock and Standard-2 missiles, as well as anti-ship Harpoon missiles. The ship can carry a variety of artillery and antiaircraft weapons.
The President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko at the session of Kirovograd Council of regional development in Kropyvnytsky, February 28, 2019 Twitter Petro Poroshenko

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) refuted Yulia Tymoshenkos statement that an anti-corruption investigation was launched against president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, Yevropeyska Pravda reports.

"OLAF confirms that there are no investigations related to the President of Ukraine. In case of any information that may be of interest to the investigation, the OLAF will evaluate it in the context of our usual procedures," the bureau said.



On Saturday, the presidential candidate and the leader of the Batkivshchyna party, Yulia Tymoshekno, said that the British Office for the Investigation of Fraud, in cooperation with the OLAF, has launched investigations against Petro Poroshenko related to his corruption schemes.

February 25, journalist investigations Bihus.Info, Nashi Hroshi program revealed a sensational investigation into Poroshenko's and his close associates' involvement in embezzlement in Ukrainian defense sector. Igor Gladkovsky, the son of close Poroshenko ally Oleh Gladkovsky, deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, organized a corruption scheme to smuggle spare military-equipment parts from Russia in 2015. The corruption scheme participants were supplying smuggled Russian components and components from the Ukrainian military units through straw companies at prices 2-4 times higher than market ones. One of the straw companies was Poroshenko's Kuznia na Rybalskomy enterprise. Ukroboronprom state concern, which supervises defense industry production facilities, bought smuggled spare parts from Russia. The journalists could prove the embezzlement of 9,25 million USD, but this was only the tip of the iceberg.
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A group of diverse but like-minded individuals, the members of ARC have come together in their common desire to fight hatred, bigotry, intolerance and violence because of the harm these antisocial behaviors cause to our society. In that effort, we will not use or sanction the use of illegal actions (such as violence or intimidation) in pursuit of our desired aims and if we learn of anyone who does use these unethical methods we will report those individuals to the authorities. Instead, we will use the guarantees found in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that ensure freedom of legal speech and expression.
The Company Army Recognition Group with its online International Defense and Security magazine Army Recognition is appointed as Official Online Show Daily News and Web TV for SITDEF 2019 the International Exhibition of Technology for Defense and Prevention of Natural Disasters that will be held in Lima (Peru) from the 16 to 19 May 2019. As one of the most popular online defense and security magazine and official media partner of the event, our editorial team will cover SITDEF 2019 with our Official Online Show Daily News and Web TV news channel.



SITDEF 2019 International Exhibition of Technology for Defense and Prevention of Natural Disasters will be held in Lima, Peru, from the 16 to 19 May 2019. (Picture source Army Recognition)

The organizers of SITDEF 2019 understood the interest of using the international notoriety and popularity of Army Recognition online Global Defense & Security magazine to deliver all news of the event and to provide the exhibitors with a global online window in parallel with SITDEF 2019 exhibition about the latest defense and security technologies and innovations.

As Official Online Show Daily News including Web TV supplier for SITDEF 2019, the Army Recognition editorial team will have a significant presence at the show to provide a full coverage about this event. Thanks to the daily online publication and updating, in case you cannot attend SITDEF 2019, follow all activities of SITDEF 2019 with our news coverage, reports, pictures and Web Television.

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Our Official Online Show Daily News including Web TV SITDEF 2019 that provides full editorial coverage of the event for all exhibitors with a global online window in parallel with SITDEF International Fair of Defence and Security Technology about the latest defense and security technologies and innovations. Our Official Online Show Daily News is usually read by more than 35,000 people per day, from 130 countries during the event.

With our Web TV of SITDEF 2019, we will provide daily videos with interviews, reports and full coverage of the event. Thanks to the popularity of our Online Defense and Security News channel on Youtube with more than 94,000 subscribers, 1,000,000 videos views/month and more than 2,900,000 minutes view/month and our Defense and Security Web TV website https://www.defensewebtv.com, use these new means to communicate and promote your company and its range of products.

At the same time, Army Recognition provides a free service for all exhibitors, with the publishing of the latest press releases in the Official Online Show Daily News SITDEF 2019. Army Recognition proposes a new range of online marketing and advertising solutions such as product technical data sheets, company profiles, banners, logos, and videos, etc.

Should you wish to have your company press releases in the Online Show Daily News of SITDEF 2019, simply send them us to this links:

* Land Forces and security related press releases

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Submitting press releases for defense events or Show Daily News to our team is free of charge, but we cannot guarantee that all the press releases will be published.

Do you need some advertising and marketing services to increase your impact and presence before, during and after the exhibition in the Online Show Daily News including Web TV SITDEF 2019? See our offer at this link:

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(Bloomberg) -- The chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co. appears to have had a penchant for products by Apple Inc., one of the Chinese giants biggest rivals.

When Canadian police arrested Meng Wanzhou at the behest of the U.S. on a Dec. 1 stopover at Vancouver International Airport, they seized her iPhone 7 Plus, a MacBook Air and an iPad Pro, according to a court filing Friday.

Her defense lawyers filed an application seeking a copy of the data stored on the equipment, and for those devices to be subsequently sealed. The crown prosecution consented and the devices will be transferred "to the British Columbia Supreme Court Registry pending an assessment of solicitor-client privilege," Canadas justice department said in an email.

Huawei has been known to get touchy when lesser employees have used iPhones -- it demoted and cut the pay of two employees held responsible after the companys official New Years greetings went out "via Twitter for iPhone." Chinas biggest telecoms gear maker, which supplanted Apple as the worlds No. 2 smartphone brand in 2018, is gunning for the top spot.

Of course, Meng was a globetrotter prior to being put under house arrest at her luxury Vancouver home, and Huawei products can be difficult to come by in some places -- like the U.S. American officials have claimed Meng, once a frequent U.S. visitor, had avoided the country since April 2017 after becoming aware of a criminal investigation into Huawei. Meng, when detained in Canada, was on her way to Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina and France -- all countries where Huawei sells its devices.

Meng was carrying one product made by Huawei, founded by her billionaire father Ren Zhengfei -- a Huawei Mate 20 RS smartphone featuring a Porsche design, according to a list of devices attached to the court order. She also had a ScanDisk flash drive and a couple of SIM cards.

To contact the reporter on this story: Natalie Obiko Pearson in Vancouver at npearson7@bloomberg.net

Story continues

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Scanlan at dscanlan@bloomberg.net, Steven Frank

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

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Its the shop that allegedly made Kate Middletons parents their millions but according to reports, Carole and Michael Middletons business is going through a hard time. Photo: Getty Images

Its the shop that made Kate Middletons parents their millions but according to reports, Carole and Michael Middletons business is going through a hard time.

Three staff members at the Middletons Party Pieces business  which supplies decorations and favours for childrens parties  were laid off, and a fourth worker was told their future at the company is uncertain, according to The Sun.

There is a terrible air of doom and gloom about the place, a source told the publication.

Prince William has been nothing but supportive of his wife, Kate, and her parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, Page Six reports.

Carole met flight dispatcher Michael while working as a flight attendant for British Airways.

The couple were married in 1980 and Kate was born on 9 January 1982. Pippa arrived the following year and the family moved to Jordan for two-and-a-half years.

Their only son James was born in 1987 and Carole launched her childrens party supplies business that year, putting up flyers in Kates local playgroup in Bucklebury.

A year or so later, Michael gave up his job to help.

Carole launched her childrens party supplies business that year, putting up flyers in Kates local playgroup in Bucklebury. A year or so later, Michael gave up his job to help. Photo: Getty Images

Their three children  Kate, Pippa and James  played a huge part in the development of the business from modelling for the catalogue to developing new categories for the brand, the Party Pieces website states.

James established our personalised cakes, Catherine started the 1st birthday side of the business, and Pippa developed the Party Pieces blog, Carol says.

After graduating from St. Andrews University, Kate worked for her parents for a brief time and also as a buyer for British clothing brand Jigsaw.

Since then she has become a full-time royal and mum to Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

With extra reporting by Danielle Stacey

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Decades into the US-led war on drugs, coca plantations continue to surge like a green tide across ally Colombia's Catatumbo region. Their spread has left former coca growers like Alex Molina embittered, having convinced others to rip up their illicit crops -- seduced, he says, by promises the state has failed to keep. For community leader Molina and others, choosing to forsake coca for traditional crops has been a costly choice and one they warn they may be forced to reverse. "The substitution program has ruined me and left me in total insecurity." His situation is emblematic of a debate sweeping rural coca growing communities, at odds over the implementation of Colombia's 2016 peace agreement with FARC guerrillas. Under the agreement, coca growers, or "cocaleros" in former FARC-controlled areas would voluntarily replace their plantations with other cash crops like bananas, coffee or cocoa -- in exchange for cash incentives. It's a vital component of Colombia's US-backed war on drugs, both countries having a shared stake in the drive. Colombia remains the world's largest producer of cocaine, the US the largest consumer. But more than two years later, many cocaleros here are furious over repeated failures to implement the program, under which each household was to receive aid equivalent to $10,330 in cash and equipment over two years. Payments have been intermittent or non-existent and the anger is palpable in the hamlet of Puerto Las Palmas, in the middle of the coca-growing region on the Venezuelan border. "There are hungry children, and families that are desperate because they have no income," Molina told AFP. Meanwhile, neighbors who rejected the state's offer continue to cultivate coca, making hay while the sun shines -- knowing the time will come when the army will rip up their crop. - Regrets - The result is that Molina -- who harvested his first coca leaves as a 12-year old -- has gone from an enthusiastic supporter of substituting coca to defending its cultivation if there are no alternatives. Only 34, he's determined to lead his community away from coca cultivation if he can, but he says he can well understand those who have opted to stay on the dark side of the law. If it came to it, he said: "I would protect the coca plants with my body, with the people around me, because it is the only option." The peasants of Puerto Las Palmas are hoping the government will unblock funds before they are forced to replant, according to Molina, aware that a return to coca could lead to prison. Luis Portilla, 63, faces the same choice. He destroyed his coca crop, weary from the anxiety that a seek-and-destroy army raid would leave him with nothing. He says the difficulties he had in obtaining the first tranche of aid -- worth $3,800 -- makes him doubt that other payments will ever arrive. "Those who did not want to sign will soon have to feed us, if the state does not comply," said Portilla. One cocalero, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said he had continued to grow coca after authorities rejected his request that the aid be paid in one instalment. "We are given credit, the plantations allow us to eat, while those who have torn everything away find themselves without money, without food," he said. Forty of the 65 families in Puerto Las Palmas agreed in November 2017 to destroy their coca plantations, in exchange for staggered aid that would help them to subsist legally. But no traditional crop has proved profitable. Unlike Coca, which is processed near where it is grown, other crops must be marketed outside the area and Catatumbo's terrible roads make freight costs prohibitive. In all, one-third of the families producing coca leaves, about 130,000 families, agreed to give up the illicit crop. - No alternative - The government in Bogota insists it will keep up its end of the deal. "We are going to fulfill our commitments to the families," said Emilio Archila, a senior advisor to President Ivan Duque on the issue. Blaming what he said was a disorganized initial plan that had little funding, Archila insisted Duque's government, installed last year, "has the political courage to face the problems we have inherited." But coca's hold on rural populations runs deep. In Colombia, nearly one and a half million people -- three percent of the population -- live in illegal crop areas, which last year reached a record 171,000 hectares at the national level. Catatumbo's 28,260 hectares of plantations make it the country's third-largest coca producing area. Coca paste -- the cocaine base resulting from processed leaves -- is currency in Catatumbo and allows peasant farmers to purchase goods on credit. People with no connection to the business of harvesting, collecting or processing the leaf are not welcome in the shops here. Cash is available only sporadically, and shadowy armed groups maintain tight control. Since January 2018, Molina says he has been threatened 22 times by armed groups who see his activism as a threat to their economic interests. Their threats are not to be taken lightly. The government says that last year 113 community activists were murdered in Colombia. Coca leaves pictured at a plantation in the Catatumbo region, where many farmers have returned to the crop, frustrated at the government's failure to implement a crop substitution plan A farmer collects coca leaves at a plantation in Colombia's Catatumbo region, Norte de Santander department, on February 8, 2019 -- almost one and a half million Colombians (3% of the population) live in areas with illegal crops A farmer gathers coca leaves at a plantation in the Catatumbo region: some 130,000 families have signed up to the Colombian government's voluntary substitution program, dropping coca for traditional crops in exchange for cash incentives and assistance Luis Portilla, pictured at his farm, destroyed his coca crops and accepted the illicit crop substitution plan offered by the government after the signing of the peace agreements with FARC guerrillas Luis Portilla checks a cocoa plant at his farm in Colombias Catatumbo region -- Portilla eliminated his illicit coca crops and accepted the crop substitution plan offered by the government Community leader Alex Molina (C), who accepted the government's crop substitution plan, talks to local farmers at at Puerto Las Palmas village in the Catatumbo region -- since January 2018 Molina says he has received 22 threats from illegal armed groups
Disease is threatening to aggravate the already dire conditions facing millions of survivors following the powerful tropical cyclone which ravaged southern Africa 10 days ago, officials warned on Sunday. Cyclone Idai smashed into Mozambique's coast unleashing hurricane-force wind and rain that flooded swathes of the poor country before battering eastern Zimbabwe -- killing 705 people across the two nations. Amid the ongoing crisis, Zimbabwean television ZBC on Sunday reported that a young woman had given birth while sheltering from the floods in a tree. Speaking at a briefing in Beira, 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) northeast of the Mozambique capital Maputo, Lands Minister Celso Correia said it was now "inevitable that cases of cholera and malaria will arise". The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs' deputy head Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, also at the briefing, warned that disease outbreaks in inaccessible areas could be "really problematic". The World Food Programme said Friday that the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Mozambique was on a par with the situation in Yemen and Syria which are both in the grip of civil wars. Aid workers from across the world are continuing to arrive in the region to bring help to hundreds of thousands of affected people across an area of roughly 3,000 square kilometres (around 1,160 square miles). - 'We suffered a lot' - Survivors are struggling in desperate conditions with some still trapped on rooftops and those rescued in urgent need of food and medical supplies. "The government is already setting up a cholera treatment centre to mitigate cholera. We should not be frightened when cholera issues arise," added Correia, describing efforts to control the emerging humanitarian crisis. "It is normal. It's almost inevitable. Malaria, we know how it arises. We have lots of wetlands and we're going to have malaria that is sure to come up (there)." Wilfried Deliviai, a 19-year-old resident of Beira which was caught in the eye of the storm, said he felt "sorry for our town, our city, because we suffered a lot to build it". "Houses are completely destroyed, and some people don't have money to rebuild their businesses -- and many businesses are going to fail," he told AFP. - 'People don't know what to do' - More than two million people have been affected in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi where the storm started as a tropical depression causing flooding which killed 60 and displaced nearly a million people. Hundreds are still missing in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. In its daily update, OCHA said 74,600 women impacted by the cyclone are pregnant and around 60 percent of them are due to give birth within the next six months. At least 7,460 of them are at risk of life threatening complications. The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had recorded some cases of cholera so far but the UN was unable to confirm the reports. Stampa described efforts to re-open the main access road to Beira as a "big victory". "We will be able to bring more help to families living in this affected area," he said. Those living in affected areas of Mozambique began to trickle back to church over the weekend. The Ponta Gea Catholic Cathedral in Beira was miraculously undamaged by the storm while the church next door was levelled. "The people don't know what to do because they lost their houses, they have no food, they don't know where to sleep -- this brings sadness and anxiety," said Father Pedro, who conducted a mass in darkness late on Saturday. Much of the area hit by the cyclone remains disconnected from electricity supplies, complicating rescue efforts at night-fall. As many as 109,000 people are living in shelters across central Mozambique, many of them located in and around Beira. Those shelters also "run the risk of infectious disease such as diarrhoeal disease and measles", James McQuen Patterson, UNICEF's health and nutrition chief told AFP. "Further, as many families have lost everything, some sleeping in the open, the risk of pneumonia, particularly among children increases considerably," he said. One survivor was six-year-old Elena Joaquin, who clutched a coconut as she sat surrounded by pots and pans at a shelter in Buzi, southwest of Beira, where she had sought refuge along with her parents. He also highlighted the need to helping people living with HIV/AIDS of to resume treatment as soon as possible in the Sofala, which has one of the highest rates of HIV infection in Mozambique. But life had slowly begun to return to normal in central Beira where traffic was flowing more than in recent days and business were resuming trade. Cyclone survivors shelter in a school in Beira, Mozambique Updated graphic showing the flooding situation in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi A woman eats at an emergency foodbank in Beira, Mozambique A priest prays during a service at the Ponta Gea Roman Catholic Cathedral Elena Joaquin, 6, sits in a shelter in Buzi, Mozambique
The US-mediated 1979 treaty between Egypt and Israel may only have resulted in a "cold peace" but their ties have survived four decades in a turbulent region, analysts say. The watershed treaty brought together late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Israeli premier Menachem Begin for a March 26, 1979 signing ceremony in Washington as a beaming Jimmy Carter, then-US president, looked on. The peace deal, the first ever between Israel and an Arab state, and which cost Sadat his life at the hands of an Islamist extremist, has kept Cairo out of any armed conflict with its neighbour. The treaty has emerged unscathed from upheavals in Egypt, notably the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak, proving its "stability", said Amr al-Shobaki, political analyst with the Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. The 40th anniversary comes as armed conflicts roil several countries across the Arab world, from Libya in the far west to Yemen in the south. It also comes at a time of major US policy changes. In 2017, President Donald Trump's administration recognised the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, causing uproar in the Muslim world. He followed up on Friday with a pledge to recognise Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights. Israel seized mainly Palestinian east Jerusalem, Syria's Golan and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula in the 1967 Six-Day War, when it also occupied the West Bank and Gaza. But under the 1979 peace treaty, Israel returned the Sinai to former enemy Egypt. - Wide cooperation - Successive leaders in Cairo have kept the treaty in place even after Egypt's uprising and the army's 2013 overthrow of its first democratically-elected president, Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi, who himself did not move to scrap the accord. "In all cases, the peace treaty has remained in place," Shobaki said. Instability since 2011 has thrown into disarray the North Sinai region along the border with Gaza and Israel where a local affiliate of the Islamic State group has spearheaded an insurgency. Political commentator Abdel-Azim Hammad pointed to increased security cooperation with Israel, which has agreed to Egypt's military presence in the Sinai being boosted to fight the jihadists. In an interview with US television network CBS, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi acknowledged heightened cooperation with the Jewish state. "We have a wide range of cooperation with the Israelis," he said. Egypt and Israel have also developed strong economic relations with the 2018 signing of a $15-billion deal on Israeli gas imports. In January, Israel's Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz made a rare visit to Cairo to participate in an Eastern Mediterranean Forum. Under the peace treaty, Egypt has received more than $40 billion in military aid and $30 billion in economic assistance from the United States since 1980. The aid was partially suspended between 2013 and 2015 following Morsi's ouster, but it was quickly restored. "For the United States, the Egyptian army is a stabilising element in a region bristling with tensions," Shobaki said. US President Jimmy Carter (C) congratulates Egyptian President Anwar Sadat (L) and Israeli Premier Menachem Begin (R) in three-way handshake on the White House lawn after the signing of the historic peace treaty Israeli and Egyptian flags seen at the Nitzana border crossing along their border near the Israeli village of Nitzanei Sinai
Forty years ago Egypt and Israel signed the first ever peace treaty between the Jewish state and an Arab nation, upturning Middle East diplomatic and military relations. The March 26, 1979 Egypt?Israel Peace Treaty sealed accords which had been settled the previous year at a groundbreaking summit at Camp David, near Washington, between Egypt's President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Signed in a landmark Washington ceremony overseen by US President Jimmy Carter, it ended three decades of war-mongering between the neighbours and remains in place today. Here is some background: - 'Pax Americana' - In October 1973 Egypt and Syria attacked Israel with the aim of forcing it to return territories it seized in 1967, including Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. Although Cairo managed to make significant advances, its army was eventually pushed back. But its initial success enhanced Sadat's standing in the region and internationally. The United States -- with whom Sadat had been seeking closer ties -- stepped in to force Israel into a partial withdrawal from the Sinai. In November 1977 the Egyptian leader travelled to Jerusalem for peace talks, becoming the first Arab head of state to visit the Jewish nation. It culminated a year later in the US-brokered Camp David Accords, signed in September 1978 by Sadat and Begin, that envisaged a proper peace treaty between the two nations within three months. - 'Miracle' treaty - When no formal peace accord had been signed three months later, Begin decided to end Israel's freeze on the colonisation of occupied Palestinian territories as evoked in the Camp David Accords. To save the peace process, Carter headed to both countries. His efforts paid off and on March 26, 1979 Sadat and Begin signed the treaty at a 10-minute White House ceremony attended by some 2,000 dignitaries. "We have won at last the first step of peace, a first step on a long and difficult road," said Carter, who signed on as a witness, adding though: "We must not minimise the obstacles which still lie ahead." Sadat praised Carter as "the man who performed the miracle". The only controversial note came from Begin who expressed his hope for the "reunification" of Jerusalem, the eastern part of which had been seized by Israel in the 1967 war, a dispute that remains highly sensitive. - Ending 30 years of war - Egypt became the first Arab state to sign a peace deal with Israel, with which it and other Arab nations had been at war since the creation of the Jewish nation in 1948. It led to Egypt regaining the Sinai Peninsula in 1982 and secured the dismantling of Israeli colonies there. In turn Egypt offered to end hostilities and normalise diplomatic, economic and cultural relations. The treaty established that Israeli ships would have free passage through the Suez Canal, and the Strait of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba would be international waterways. - Arab world fury - The treaty infuriated Arab countries who claimed it neutralised Egypt, the largest Arab state, and undercut their unity. They slammed it as a "separate peace" and a betrayal, particularly for Palestinian rights. Egypt was promptly suspended from the Arab League, which moved its headquarters from Cairo to Tunis; most Arab countries recalled their ambassadors and cut diplomatic relations. Three years later Sadat, also much-criticised at home, was assassinated by Egyptian extremists. - A 'cold peace' - Israel and Egypt today maintain a "cold peace" -- official diplomatic relations and security cooperation amid Egyptian public hostility towards Israel. Their treaty has withstood conflicts that drew in regional players, including Lebanon (1982 and 2006), Palestinian uprisings (1987 and 2000) and failed peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. The "Pax Americana" of March 1979 has also made it possible for Egypt to benefit from significant US economic and military aid. US President Jimmy Carter is between Egypt's President Anwar Sadat (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin (R) at the signature of the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty on March 26, 1979 Egypt's President Anwar Sadat, pictured in 1981, signed the ground-breaking 1979 Egypt?Israel Peace Treaty with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin The Suez Canal, pictured in 1982, is a main revenue earner for Egypt and a 20th century symbol of its independence
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday mooted the possibility of renaming Istanbul's Hagia Sofia museum as a mosque, in comments during a television interview. Asked whether the entrance fee to the city landmark might be waived, he said: "It's not impossible... but we would not do it under the name 'museum' but 'Hagia Sophia mosque'." He added: "Tourists come and go at the Blue Mosque. Do they pay anything? ... Well, we will do the same with the Hagia Sofia." Erdogan, who is a former mayor of Istanbul, is campaigning for votes for his Justice and Development Party (AKP) ahead of municipal elections on March 31. The former church and mosque, now a museum, often sparks tensions between Christians and Muslims over Islamic activities held there including the reading of verses from the Koran or collective prayers. Its secular status allows believers of all faiths to meditate, reflect or simply enjoy its astonishing architecture. But calls for it to serve again as a mosque have caused anger among Christians and raised tensions between historic foes Turkey and Greece, both NATO members. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras visited the Hagia Sophia in February. "You can feel the burden of history here," he told AFP. Greece has repeatedly expressed concern over efforts to change the museum's status. But Erdogan raised the issue again after the March 15 shootings in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that killed 50 people. In speeches he has denounced a passage in the gunman's "manifesto" in which he said the Hagia Sophia would be "liberated" of its minarets. The Hagia Sophia was first built as a church in the sixth century under the Christian Byzantine Empire as the centrepiece of its capital Constantinople, today's Istanbul. Almost immediately after the conquest of Constantinople by the Muslim Ottomans in 1453, it was converted into a mosque before becoming a secular museum in a key reform of the new post-Ottoman Turkish authorities under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the 1930s. Ataturk was the founder of the Turkish republic. Since Erdogan's AKP came to power, critics and advocates of secularism fear the government harbours a hidden agenda to reconvert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque. But Turkey's top court in September last year rejected an association's demand that the Hagia Sophia be opened for Muslim prayers. The museum, a UNESCO World Heritage site, receives millions of visitors every year. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan made his remarks in the run-up to municipal elections at the end of the month World leaders including former US president Barack Obama have visited Istanbul's Hagia Sofia, the former church of the Divine Wisdom Security measures were tightened around the Hagia Sophia museum for last month's visit by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras


A former motorcycle gang member has been charged after a crocodile, a luxury car, two motorcycles and a jet ski were seized from a Sydney home last month.

The freshwater crocodile was found along with cash and suspected stolen vehicles during a February 22 police search of a Colebee home in Sydneys west.

Police said no one at the residence held a wildlife exhibitors licence for the reptile.

A freshwater crocodile was seized in western Sydney. Source: NSW Police

A 24-year-old former Finks member was arrested at the home last Friday and he has been charged with dealing in protected animals.

The man was also charged with four counts of dealing with property suspected of being proceeds of crime and two counts of possessing a vehicle or vessel where the unique identifier has been interfered with.

He was granted bail and is due to appear at the Blacktown Local Court on April 29.

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Simona Halep kept alive hopes of regaining the world number one ranking Sunday, beating Polona Hercog 5-7, 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 to reach the last 16 of the WTA and ATP Miami Open. The 27-year-old lost her place at the top of the women?s game following Naomi Osaka's triumph at the Australian Open earlier this year. But with the Japanese faltering here on Saturday, Halep can return to the position she last held at the end of 2018 if she lands the Miami Open for the first time. The Romanian, who will also move up the to the top of the rankings if she reaches the final and Petra Kvitova doesn't win the title, will certainly have to put in a better display than the patchy performance which eventually sent the gutsy Hercog, the world number 93 from Slovenia, out. "She played unbelievable and it was such a tough match," said Halep, who belted 48 winners compared to her opponent's 38 but won just 31% of points on her first serve. "It was good to play for almost three hours though. I slowly found my rhythm but I always had belief so if I can keep doing this, I will have a good tournament.? She next faces seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, who swept past Russian Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-1. Halep, the 2018 French Open champion and current world number three, arrived in Miami having failed to get past the round of 16 in Indian Wells and the quarter-finals in Dubai. She started sluggishly on the center court at Hard Rock Stadium, where Hercog moved into an early 3-1 lead. Halep finally broke back for 4-4 but another sloppy game handed Hercog the opportunity to grab a first set lead which she duly took. Halep was far more solid in the second, despite missing the chance to draw level when she was broken serving at 5-3 and Hercog kept her nerve make it 5-5. As the clock ticked past two hours, a brilliant drop shot by Hercog ensured a second set tie break only for Halep to emphatically win it 7-1 before the decider was sealed for the Romanian when she held to love after 2 hours and 50 minutes. On the men's side, defending champion John Isner blew Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas off court with serves touching 139 mph as the American sealed an ultimately comprehensive 7-5, 7-6 (8-6) win. He was broken in the very first game but responded by hitting a total of 16 aces to set up an intriguing match with Kyle Edmund in the last 16 after the British number one impressively saw off Canadian Milos Raonic 6-4 6-4. "I did a lot of things well," Isner said. "I played a good first set, even though I didn't start it off well. In the second, it wasn't quite as clean. But I'm into the Round of 16 of a big tournament and I'm happy." On track: Second-seeded Simona Halep of Romania celebrates after defeating Slovenia's Polona Hercog of Slovenia in the third round of the ATP and WTA Miami Open
For the millions forced to endure the Islamic State group's brutal rule, life in the "caliphate" was a living hell where girls were enslaved, music was banned and homosexuality was punishable by death. The jihadists applied an ultra-conservative interpretation of Islamic law across the swathes of Syria and Iraq that they captured in 2014, torturing or executing anyone who disobeyed. The fall of the last sliver of IS territory in eastern Syria marks the end of their proto-state, once the size of the United Kingdom and home to more than seven million people. The fate of prisoners used by the jihadists as human shields remains unknown, but more than 3,000 Yazidis are still missing. The jihadists singled out the minority, followers of an ancient religion, for particularly harsh treatment which the UN has said may amount to genocide. They slaughtered thousands of Yazidi men and boys, abducting women and girls then selling them at slave markets. Many suffered years of sexual abuse. "We did everything they demanded," said Bessa Hamad, an Iraqi Yazidi sold six times by jihadists before escaping their last redoubt in Syria. "We couldn't say no." Yazidi boys who were not killed were forced to fight and indoctrinated to hate their community, leaving families struggling to reconnect with those who were rescued. Children who went to IS-run schools learnt to count with maths books featuring guns and grenades, but pictures of people were banned. As well as frontline fighters, IS ran its own police force, whose officers could impose fines or lashes on men whose breath smelt of cigarettes or alcohol. Books were burned, while dancing and music were banned. Instead the jihadists broadcast propaganda via their own radio station. The jihadists used sledgehammers to destroy priceless ancient artefacts they deemed idolatrous. A strict dress code forced even young girls to wear a full black Islamic veil. Beards and traditional robes were compulsory for men. - Thrown from rooftops - The extremists ran their own courts, sentencing people to death by beheading and hanging. Men and women accused of adultery were stoned to death. Men were shot or thrown from rooftops for the "crime" of being gay. The jihadists even introduced their own currency, minting coins that veterans of the battle against IS now keep as trophies. Jail terms were imposed on those unable to pay IS taxes. Iraq's major northern city of Mosul and Raqa in Syria were transformed into the twin de facto capitals of the "caliphate". Raqa become a byword for atrocities carried out by the jihadists, and it was from there that IS organised devastating overseas attacks. Human heads were displayed on spikes in the city along with crucified bodies, to sow terror. IS initially won support from some residents who felt abandoned and abused by corrupt state authorities. But today, those who survived its rule accuse the jihadists themselves of graft -- as well as extreme acts of violence. IS left more than 200 mass graves in Iraq and thousands of bodies are expected to be uncovered in Syria. Numerous women interviewed by AFP said they received IS-stamped death certificates for their executed husbands, but the jihadists would not return their bodies. It could take years to discover what happened to some of their victims. Some IS members leaving the group's last redoubt of Baghouz in eastern Syria have cricitised the group's leadership. "God's law was applied," said Abdel Moneim Najia, a jihadist who stayed in what was left of the "caliphate" until its final days. But he voiced the same grievances as Iraqis and Syrians expressed about their governments ahead of the IS takeover. "There were injustices," he said. "Officials stole money and abandoned the people." Islamic State jihadists once ruled an area the size of the United Kingdom The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces declared territorial victory over the Islamic State group on Saturday after years of fighting
US President Donald Trump will sign an order recognising Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights when he meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Monday, Israel's foreign minister said. "President Trump will sign tomorrow in the presence of PM Netanyahu an order recognising Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights," Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on Twitter on Sunday. Again breaking with longstanding international consensus, Trump said on Thursday that the United States should acknowledge Israeli sovereignty over the strategic plateau it seized from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War. He however left unanswered if or when he would follow through with an order to do so. Netanyahu has long pushed for such recognition, and many analysts saw Trump's statement, which came in a tweet, as a campaign gift ahead of Israel's April 9 polls. The prime minister is locked in tough election campaign with a centrist political alliance headed by former military chief Benny Gantz and ex-finance minister Yair Lapid. Syria and other states in the region condemned Trump's pledge, saying it violates international law. France said the same. Israel annexed the Golan in 1981 in a move never recognised by the international community. The decision is the latest major move in favour of Israel by Trump, who in 2017 recognised the disputed city of Jerusalem as the country's capital. US President Donald Trump is set to recognise the Golan Heights as Israeli territory, in a move seen as boosting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in April 9 elections
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Monday called for increased cooperation between the European Union and China, at a time of growing nervousness over Beijing's massive investments on the continent. Speaking at the Elysee Palace following talks with Xi, Macron called for a "strong Europe-China partnership", adding that this must be based on "strong multilateralism" and "fair and balanced" trade. Xi's, for his part, stressed that "a united and prosperous Europe fits in with our vision of a multipolar world". "China will always back European integration and its development," he added in a statement to the press. The statements followed the signing of a dozen of deals on nuclear power, cultural exchanges, clean energy, and a huge contract which will see China buy 290 Airbus A320s and 10 A350 airliners from Europe's Airbus conglomerate. The order, originally for 184 A320s for 13 Chinese airlines, was first announced during Macron's state visit to China in January 2018. All the deals, including one on French exports to China of frozen chicken, amount to a total of some $40 billion. Monday's talks come a day ahead of another meeting in Paris, this time between Macron, Xi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker to explore "points of convergence" between the two trading giants. An EU-China summit will take place in Brussels next month. Earlier on his trip, Xi visited Italy, which became the first G7 state to sign up to China's vast "New Silk Road" infrastructure project that has sparked unease in the US and the European Union. Macron also announced that France and China will cooperate on a number of investment projects in some of the countries providing stepping stones on this new Silk Road. Monday morning, Macron and Xi had met at the Arc de Triomphe where they placed a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, notably to honour the 140,000 Chinese workers who contributed to the World War I efforts in France. Talks at the Elysee Palace later touched on issues such as climate change, cooperation and business deals, officials in the French presidency said. Monday evening Macron was to host a state dinner for Xi with some 200 guests, including the French actor Alain Delon, who is widely known in China. In an interview with the Nice-Matin newspaper after hosting Xi at a dinner on the French Riviera, Macron had suggested that the joint talks "would allow us to establish a common definition for a new international order". - 'Silk road' reservations - Xi arrived in France on Sunday from Italy, whose government's involvement in the New Silk Road project comes despite misgivings over the huge venture by other European nations wary of China's growing influence. Xi insisted the project -- a massive undertaking to link Asia to Europe -- will be a two-way street of investment and trade. EU Budget Commissioner Gunther Oettinger in a newspaper interview Sunday expressed "concern that in Italy and other European countries, infrastructure of strategic importance like power networks, high speed rail lines or harbours are no longer in European but in Chinese hands." German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas also voiced concern in an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. "In a world with giants like China, Russia or our partners in the United States, we can only survive if we are united as the EU," he said. "And if some countries believe that they can do clever business with the Chinese, then they will be surprised when they wake up and find themselves dependent." - Walking a tightrope - Xi's visit poses a particular challenge for Macron, who wants to deepen EU ties with China while pushing back against Beijing's growing global clout. Europe's distrust of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, which is poised to become the dominant player in next-generation 5G mobile technology worldwide, is emblematic of the increasingly rocky relationship. The US is pressuring European allies not to use Huawei technology, saying it creates a security risk by potentially letting Beijing snoop on sensitive communications. France has so far not ruled out using Huawei technology. As well as addressing commercial cooperation and strategic issues with Xi, Macron has also been urged to deal with the case of Meng Hongwei, Chinese former head of the France-based Interpol police agency. Meng's wife has had no news of her husband since his arrest in China nearly six months ago. It emerged Sunday she had written to Macron asking him to bring up his disappearance with Xi. Meng is believed to be facing corruption charges. Despite the many sources of friction, France wants to engage China as a closer partner as Washington makes a pointed withdrawal from global affairs under Trump's "America First" policy. For example, Macron may seek more Chinese support for the French-backed G5 Sahel force fighting Islamist extremists in Western Africa, French presidential aides said. French President Emmanuel Macron, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping laid a wreath before the eternal flame at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Monday Amid tight security, the Chinese and French first couples enjoyed a private dinner at Beaulieu-sur-Mer, near Nice on the French Riviera The "New Silk Road" is a massive Chinese infrastructure project including road, rail and ship routes Prior to the dinner meeting with Macron, Xi went to the nearby principality of Monaco, where he was received by Prince Albert II and his wife Princess Charlene
Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Moscow's meddling in the 2016 election found no evidence of conspiracy by President Donald Trump's campaign to collude with Russia, the Justice Department said Sunday. Mueller also declined to rule on whether evidence showed Trump obstructed justice, according to a summary submitted to Congress by Attorney General Bill Barr. In a letter to Congress summarizing the report's key points, Barr quoted Mueller as saying: "While this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him." Barr said the investigation did not recommend any further indictments and does not have any further sealed indictments outstanding. In his own review of Mueller's findings on obstruction -- one of the most explosive allegations against Trump -- Barr said "the evidence... is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction-of-justice offense." Barr's letter marked the conclusion of the 22-month investigation by Mueller, a former FBI director, into allegations that Trump's election campaign coordinated and colluded with Russians to skew the 2016 vote so the billionaire real estate magnate would win. But it marked the beginning of a new phase, the determination of Democrats in Congress to further investigate Trump, using the evidence from the Mueller probe. "Seems like the Department of Justice is putting matters squarely in Congress' court," tweeted Democratic Representative Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. "Special Counsel Mueller clearly and explicitly is not exonerating the President, and we must hear from AG Barr about his decision making and see all the underlying evidence for the American people to know all the facts." Special Counsel Robert Mueller, right, found no evidence of conspiracy by the campaign of President Donald Trump, left, to collude with Russia to tip the election in his favor, according to Attorney General William Barr, center
Nigeria's ruling party on Sunday won the crucial state of Kano in key governorship elections, as the opposition denounced the result, following violence and intimidation that hit the re-run vote. The sitting governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, had been some 27,000 votes behind when elections at more than 200 polling stations in the northern state were cancelled two weeks ago because of violence. But after a re-run in the affected areas on Saturday, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate won some 36,000 more votes than his nearest rival. His overall tally jumped to 1,033,695 -- 8,982 more than Abba Kabir Yusuf, of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) -- which was enough to secure the win. The PDP is likely to challenge the result in court, after men wielding machetes, daggers and cudgels invaded several polling stations, according to an AFP reporter at the scene. Most of the unrest was concentrated in the Gama ward, where more than 40,000 votes were up for grabs. Armed youths also scared away voters and thumb-printed ballot papers in favour of the APC, voters and party agents said. The declaration of the result at the local office of the Independent National Electoral Commission was delayed by up to 10 hours, while there was a heavy military presence. PDP spokesman Sanusi Bature Dawakin-Tofa called the result "a gang-up against democracy" by the APC, INEC and security agencies. "Any desperate attempt... to declare Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje as the winner of this re-run will plunge Kano into an unprecedented political crisis," he added. The Situation Room, an umbrella group of more than 70 civil society groups monitoring the vote, said the results from Gama could not stand because the abuses recorded there were of "monumental proportions". - Corruption scandal - Kano is Nigeria's second-most populous state after Lagos in the southwest and is seen as a key electoral prize at the national and state level. Ganduje's comeback follows a corruption scandal just weeks before the election when he was seen on undercover video footage accepting bundles of cash in alleged kick-backs. The videos earned him the nickname "Gandollar" and raised questions whether President Muhammadu Buhari would sanction him as part of his high-profile anti-corruption campaign. Buhari was re-elected president at polls held on February 23 -- a week later than initially planned because of logistical problems. INEC ordered the re-run of governorship elections in six states, because of violence and irregularities on March 9. The APC governor of central Plateau state, Simon Lalong, won re-election, as did the PDP governor of the northwestern state of Sokoto, Aminu Tambuwal. But Tambuwal's margin of victory was just 342 votes. In central Benue state, Samuel Ortom won re-election for the PDP after switching sides from the APC in protest at Buhari's handling of violence between farmers and herders. - Democracy 'in trouble' - Results are awaited in the northeastern states of Adamawa and Bauchi, while the collation in the oil-rich southern state of Rivers will resume early next month. Rivers was also hit by violence, as men in uniform stormed the INEC offices. International observers have said the presidential elections were broadly free and fair, despite logistical and security problems. But Buhari's beaten rival Atiku Abubakar, of the PDP, called the vote a "sham" and is challenging the result at an election tribunal. The Centre for Democracy and Development said Saturday's violence and intimidation would raise more questions. "Democracy is in trouble in Nigeria," said CDD director Idayat Hassan. The Situation Room said INEC should end election re-runs because "it appears the process is now a manipulation tool to circumvent the elections". Already in February supporters Muhammadu Buhari celebrated his re-election as Nigerian president in Kano, as the opposition cried foul Nigerians had voted Saturday for the second time in a fortnight to decide who would occupy the powerful governor's position in five states Officials of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) suffered intimidation from armed men in one state
Tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied in Germany on Saturday to protest against an imminent EU copyright reform. Crowds protested in Berlin, Munich and other cities under the slogan "Save the Internet". They called on the European Parliament to reject the reform in a vote scheduled for Tuesday. The overhaul of EU online copyright law includes proposals to oblige YouTube and other platforms to remove illegal content using automatic filters. It also aims to make internet companies pay more to news organisations for reproducing or linking to their content. News organisations, including AFP, have pushed for that move. They argue that companies such as Facebook and Google make billions in revenue from advertising tied to news stories, while publishers suffer. Protesters and internet companies such as Google say the reform will harm freedom of information and small publishers on the internet. Organisers said some 15,000 people rallied in Berlin and 40,000 in Munich. They waved signs reading "Don't break our internet". The German Pirate party has been among the leaders of resistance to the reform. Rallies were also called in other countries including Austria, Poland and Portugal. More than 260 journalists and photographers signed an article published on Friday calling for the reform to be passed. In Poland, more than 200 film-makers called in an open letter for MEPs to pass the measures, in order to regulate use of their intellectual property on video platforms such as YouTube. Tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied in Germany on Saturday to protest against an imminent EU copyright reform
When he was just a teenager, Tintoretto was sent to Italian Renaissance painter Titian's studio, only to be kicked out within days because the older master got jealous. Or so goes the legend. What is clear from the first major Tintoretto retrospective outside of Europe, opening Sunday at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, is that the "impetuous genius" critics reviled for his free, "unfinished" style was a bold innovator whose impact can still be felt today. The exhibition, a debut for the museum's first woman director Kaywin Feldman, comes on the heels of city-wide celebrations and shows for the artist's 500th birthday in his hometown of Venice. Jean-Paul Sartre called Tintoretto the "first film director," a theatricality seen in paintings like "The Conversion of Saint Paul" (circa 1544). The eponymous scene happens in one corner of a canvas otherwise dominated by extravagant, zigzagging brushstrokes deliberately left clearly visible -- then a groundbreaking innovation -- to depict events like horses tumbling down an outdoor staircase. The nearly 50 paintings and more than a dozen works on paper that span the artist's career, on view until July 7, demonstrate how he lived up to the motto he wrote on a wall as a youth: "The draftsmanship of Michelangelo and the paint handling of Titian." There's a proliferation of superhuman, hyper-muscular bodies sometimes tumbling out of the sky and almost always in motion, as though Michelangelo's sculptures themselves were brought to life with unharnessed energy in an explosion of colors. Religious or historical subjects and mythological themes are rendered with spirited virtuosity lacking spatial cohesion, earning the man born Jacopo Robusti his other nickname, "Il Furioso." His bravura, shocking at the time, foretold of innovations that came centuries later. "We would make the case that it's possible to draw a direct line from Tintoretto's dynamic compositions and eloquent brushwork through (Peter Paul) Rubens to (Eugene) Delacroix and (Theodore) Gericault and right on up to (Willem) de Kooning and to the abstract expressionists and to painters of the present day, such as Gerhard Richter," said co-curator Robert Echols. - Back in spotlight - Despite dominating Venetian painting in the second half of the 16th century, Tintoretto later became somewhat of a neglected master. Museum officials through the ages had to contend with his oeuvre being rooted in Venice, works by assistants and followers being wrongfully attributed to the master and the pieces' colossal size. His "Paradise" in Venice's Palazzo Ducale is considered the largest Old Master painting in the world at some 70 feet (21 meters) wide. A preparatory oil sketch crossed the Atlantic instead. Painted entirely by the artist, unlike the larger work completed for most part by assistants, it's still more than 16 feet wide. Exhibition co-curator Robert Echols (L) points at Jacopo Tintoretto's massive oil sketch "Paradise" (c. 1583) at the National Gallery of Art in Washington; it was a model for a colossal piece behind the doge's throne at the Palazzo Ducale in Venice A group of people stands in front of Tintoretto's painting "The Madonna of the Treasurers" (1567) Tintoretto experimented with spatial cohesion in paintings like "Saint George and the Dragon" (circa 1553/1555), relegating the duel to the middle ground while a much larger princess in the foreground seems to be storming out of the frame A man looks at Tintoretto's painting "The Virgin and Child with Saints" (1540) A woman takes a picture of Tintoretto's undated drawing "Study after a Bust of Vitellius," one of many examples demonstrating his skilled draftsmanship Tintoretto's early "Self-Portrait" (circa 1546/1548) has a very free style and, with the protagonist boldly looking straight at the viewer, draws easy comparisons to works by artists who came centuries later
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Saturday urged the signatories of a peace accord in the Central African Republic to "expedite its implementation," a day after the formation of a new government that includes representatives of armed groups. Guterres "urges all signatories of the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation to adhere to its agreed principles, especially the rejection of violence and respect for human rights and human dignity," a statement said. "He further urges all signatories of the peace agreement to expedite its implementation." The new government of Central Africa, appointed by presidential decree on Friday, includes ministers from armed groups that signed last month's peace deal. Under the provisions of a peace accord -- signed in the CAR capital Bangui on February 6 -- President Faustin-Archange Touadera agreed to form an "inclusive" government. The resource-rich country has been racked since 2013 by a war which has displaced around a quarter of its 4.5 million population. The peace deal -- the eighth since 2012 in the conflict-wracked, impoverished state -- brought together the CAR government and 14 armed groups who control most of the country CAR has been struggling to recover from the bloodletting that erupted when former president Francois Bozize, a Christian, was overthrown in 2013 by the Seleka rebels. Armed groups, typically claiming to defend an ethnic or religious group, control about 80 percent of the CAR, often fighting over access to the country's mineral wealth. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in a file image, urged peace treaty parties in CAR to pick up pace
Growing up in Auburn, Brian McKeon was exposed to government and politics at a young age.

McKeon's father, William, chaired the New York State Democratic Party. The elder McKeon served as counsel to state legislative committees and was a state Board of Elections commissioner.

"Given my father's career in politics and law, it was probably a little bit in my DNA that I would gravitate toward the career I ended up doing," Brian McKeon said in an interview with The Citizen.

McKeon, a member of the Auburn Alumni Hall of Distinction Class of 2019, was surprised when he was informed by one of his brothers that he was nominated for induction. It was unexpected recognition of a long career in public service that was not only born out of his family's civic engagement, but experiences he had as a student in Auburn.

He recalled class trips to Washington that showed him a world outside of his hometown. His interest grew during his undergraduate studies at the University of Notre Dame. Between his sophomore and junior years, he interned for longtime U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y..

"That was a terrific experience and led me to want to come back someday," he said.

After graduating from college, he applied for a job with then-U.S. Sen. Joe Biden's office. Biden, who represented Delaware in the Senate before becoming vice president in 2009, has his own ties to Auburn. His late wife, Neilia Hunter Biden, was an Auburn native. Her parents owned Hunter Dinerant on Genesee Street.

McKeon wasn't aware of it at the time, but Biden's former father-in-law may have played a role in helping him get the job. Biden told McKeon years later that he received a call from Robert Hunter.

"It sounded like my father called Hunter and asked him to put in a good word for me, so Biden was quite aware of the Auburn connection," he said.

McKeon, who earned his law degree at Georgetown University Law Center, rose to upper level positions within Biden's Senate office. From 1988 to 1995, he served as a legislative assistant for foreign policy and defense. He left Biden's office to work as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Robert Doumar and was part of former President Bill Clinton's foreign policy staff during the 1996 campaign.

In 1997, McKeon returned to the Senate. He worked as chief counsel to the Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He held that position until 2009, when Biden was sworn in as vice president.

For three years, McKeon was Biden's deputy national security adviser. He held national security posts in the White House, including chief of staff of the National Security Council, before becoming principal deputy undersecretary for policy at the Department of Defense  a position he held for three years, from 2014 to 2017.

During the final months of President Barack Obama's second term, he was the acting undersecretary at the Pentagon.

His interest in national security and foreign policy began in college. He spent a semester abroad in London and took classes on international affairs and British politics. That interest continued when he had an internship out of college at a human rights group that focused on Latin America.

"I just found it very interesting and exciting," he said. "I just got lucky. I ended up getting some really great jobs, both in the Senate and the executive branch, with different sets of experiences."

McKeon is now the senior director of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington, D.C. He described the center as a combination of an academic institute and think tank. There are several former Obama-Biden officials who are affiliated with the center and share their expertise on various foreign policy issues, whether it's through writing essays or delivering speeches.

On the academic side, the center holds events in partnership with the University of Pennsylvania.

"It's an outpost for Penn to try to connect the academic community with the policy community (in Washington) and also to bring the policy community to Penn through the vice president and myself and other colleagues who've had long careers in the field," he explained.

When he returns to Auburn in May, he's eager to participate in the engagement activities required of inductees. There's a day planned for McKeon and other members of the 2019 class to meet with students.

His advice for students entering public service or any field: Find something you enjoy.

"It's tough to get up every day and do something you don't enjoy, whether it's public service or not," he said. "I think that's one of the important things."

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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According to Christian, Jewish and Muslim stories, we are all children of Eve and Adam. In subsequent stories in the similar scriptures of all three traditions, people behaved with various levels of both good and bad behaviors  it is remarkable how little human nature has changed in the millenniums since these stories were recorded!

I am a minister in the Christian tradition and Bible stories are the scriptures with which I am most familiar. It is important to know these were oral stories written down many years and many translations later by scribes in various historical and cultural contexts. They were written in long scripts without punctuation, verses or even chapters (those were added in the 1500s for the King James translation), so when people pick verses to make a point, they can very well be misappropriating the intent of the larger stories. But one of the overarching themes in all these stories is that if we want a better world, we need to be compassionate, empathetic and treat people as we would like to be treated.

Christians are now in the Lenten season, the time we are asked to examine our own behaviors in the past year when have we sinned, not reached our potential, or could have done something differently or better. What did Jesus, we ask ourselves, say about what was right and what was wrong behavior? Certainly, he was not in favor of people collecting money from the poor as he turned the tables on those who were. Clearly, he felt it was important to feed and heal the poor as he fed and healed them. And he always welcomed the stranger, he ate with them, and used them for stories of good behavior (the Good Samaritan is one example). Obviously, he was not in favor of weapons or wealth as he rode on a donkey and never carried a sword, even telling his apostle Peter to put down his sword when he was being arrested. Jesus often broke rules saying it was more important to do the right thing.

To save ourselves, our planet and our world, Jesus tells us to follow his Way, a path in which we live in peace with all our brothers and sisters, a Kingdom on Earth and care and tend to the creation gifted to us so it can continue to sustain our childrens children.

Jesus life and teachings were an example of how we can live more abundantly, and the story of his death and subsequent resurrection teaches us that regardless of what happens, we can save ourselves and our world if humanity, all of Eve and Adams children, follow the way of non-violence within ourselves and with those we encounter on our lifes journey.

The Rev. Barbara E. Blom

Aurora

The Rev. Barbara E. Blom is a United Church of Christ minister serving St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church of America in Spencer.

Jeremy Boyer can be reached at (315) 282-2231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @CitizenBoyer

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For almost a quarter century I have been a professor of economics at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. After years of working there, I have learned something about how my department's academic radicals, who by dint of personality but not numbers have near-decisive control over many departmental decisions.WSU economics is a master's-level department. How its radicals operate is utterly inconsistent with all that is best about Western universities.I would like to share whatever wisdom I have gained from working in this department to give readers a sense of how at least some on the academic left think about academic freedom, collegiality, and what makes for good scholarship and a good curriculum.The department has long had a reputation for advocacy of left-heterodox economics. I use that term, though the term the radicals themselves use is merelyeconomics. That's because in economics, pro-market schools such as the Austrians, despite being out of the mainstream, are not counted as "heterodox" by the keepers of this term's flame.So defined, left-heterodox economics is critical of relying on market competition to achieve better economic outcomes, and the main arguments in favor of such competition are dismissed as mereThere are several components of today's left-heterodox thought, some now thoroughly rejected by the broader profession (e.g., Marxism and so-called old-style institutional economics, led in the 1960s by Harvard's John Kenneth Galbraith, then one of the world's best-known economists) and some currently influential (e.g., feminist economics). But all strands of left heterodoxy have in common a rejection of the kind of economics that dominates most American departments, which analyzes-and is willing to find fault with-the results generated by competitive processes, assumes individual pursuit of one's own purposes, and is relatively resistant to the idea that systematic injustice or inefficiency is a permanent feature of economic life.But to the heterodox left at WSU, economies primarily based on market processes are systematically unfair, and/or render the people living in them poorer than they should be.WSU is claimed by the Heterodox-Economics Director y as one of more than 40 economics departments out of roughly 2,500 four-year US institutions qualifying as a left-heterodox department. Among these, roughly 20 departments are at public universities. WSU's department is unusual in that it is housed in a business college, where salaries tend to be higher than in liberal arts, where most left-heterodox departments are found. This is despite the dim view that left-heterodox economists generally take of the role business plays in society.Our department's left-heterodox wing does all it can to prevent WSU students from graduating with the idea that free competition might be not just another but a better way to address human challenges than substantial political control over, and even replacement of, free market processes.At this point, one might ask, so what? Ideas should freely contend; the more the merrier. But at WSU, the left-heterodox economists are unusually hostile to this principle. The problem is not teaching their ideas, but the hostility of these economists to teaching other views that might call their own into question.First, as they see it, the primary value of the department is collective, contributing through its brave dissent to the diversity of the profession as a whole, which makes them hostile to students benefiting from dialogue among partisans of different schools of thought inside the department. Rather, left-heterodox faculty should talk in their classrooms about left-heterodox economics, the remainingeconomists should stick to theirs, and never the twain shall meet, at least not for active conversation. I have had several students over the years request, or regret the absence of, such live dialogues. Occasionally I have suggested them in department meetings, but objections invariably come from the left-heterodox faculty, who are hostile to such robust and uncurated exchanges of ideas. Students thus only get a so-called "diverse" education one hermetically sealed classroom at a time.In addition, the curriculum is organized so that "neoclassical" economics is presented first, and then a special course for our majors devoted to criticizing such economics is presented.Most economics programs have two upper-division core courses, microeconomics and macroeconomics. Ours offers those courses in the fall, then a third core course inin the spring. Students are free to take them out of order, but this will generally extend their time to graduation. In addition to electives normally found in other departments such as international or labor economics, there are also electives in socialist/radical economics, "the" (unique, apparently) economics of poverty and discrimination, comparative capitalisms, and multiple courses specifically devoted to, again, a unique economics of women. But these latter electives are taught exclusively by left-heterodox faculty.All faculty, including me, are permitted to propose electives, but as I have discovered, if one seeks to introduce courses criticizing components of "left-heterodox orthodoxy" (the theory and actual practice of Marxist economics, in my case), that is not permitted. Academic freedom, in other words, ends once left-heterodox ideas have been introduced. And this despite, for example, two left-heterodox faculty over the years have insisted on the right-which individual faculty do and ought to have-to hang a poster of Karl Marx in office windows in the business-college building.Academic freedom, in other words, ends once left-heterodox ideas have been introduced.Because WSU left-heterodox economists have a view of the profession in which they are an unjustly besieged minority, they view their task as protecting their ideology at all costs.For the last several years, because of feedback from the international business-college accrediting organization, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business , our business college has been trying to continuously increase college research achievement. There is a widely used database that ranks many academic journals from all business fields, including economics, on a four-point scale. While imperfect, it is widely used to measure faculty or department research productivity. Economics too has several rankings of scholarly journals, and it is easy to use such widely accepted measures as citation counts to assess both journals and an individual's publications.But because left-heterodox economics journals are so few and so rarely cited outside of other left-heterodox journals, these journals are typically not highly ranked by such measures. Therefore, the left-heterodox partisans at WSU adamantly reject any attempt to rank publications. They want publications to be merely counted and ranked equally. By relevant department rules, which left-heterodox faculty have long been unwilling to change, an uncited publication in a seldom-cited journal must count the same in assessing a faculty member's research productivity as an article in one of the field's most influential journals.This practice puts our department at stark variance with the other departments in our business college, most of which quickly have come up with their own ranking systems without much difficulty.It must be noted that the department currently has ten tenure-line faculty, and only four of them are left-heterodox economists. It also has three lecturers from the local area, who are not expected to do research, and are not left-heterodox. These lecturers have won several university teaching awards. But on curriculum, promotion, and hiring issues, current and past left-heterodox faculty have a record of fighting tooth and nail both to preserve the place of economic thinking abandoned long ago by the mainstream of the profession and to keep out thinking that criticizes these obsolete claims, let alone giving much attention to why such thinking became obsolete to begin with.WSU economics is a useful case study in the extremism of the academic left. The intolerance for meaningful diversity and dialogue that is so characteristic of the left-heterodox economists at Wright State makes our department, the college, and the university a worse place. Such radical departments (in all fields) all too often are not viewed as a place for the open exchange of ideas, but as colonized territory that must and will be defended.Diversity of ideas is and ought to be applauded in the humanities and social sciences. (In the natural sciences too, as long as the ideas are confined to those that have survived experimental testing.) But that diversity should include discussion of where the ideas came from, their real-world performance when implemented (which is especially important when discussing Marxism, where the record is substantial and grim), and freedom to criticize them. A desire to listen as well as talk, in other words.At WSU, these things are lacking. For students who want to experience genuine, honest and ongoing discussion-i.e., learning-about economics, it is not the place to be.
A version of this post was originally published on the blog of the Margaret Smith Library, SAIAB. It is reproduced with permission from the author, Sally Schramm.

The Library at the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity is named for Mary Margaret Smith (nee Macdonald), the first Director of the JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology. Macdonald attended Rhodes University College in Grahamstown from 1934 to 1937. She was awarded her B.Sc. degree in 1936, majoring in physics and chemistry (with distinction), and became a senior demonstrator in the Chemistry Department.

James Leonard Brierley (JLB) Smith (1897-1968), Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry, and Mary Macdonald, were married in 1938. With her not liking the new name Mary Smith, she was from that time always known as Margaret Smith.

JLB Smith, a keen angler, developed a more formal interest in ichthyology, the study of fishes. His young wife soon became involved in his hobby and accompanied him on fishing trips and collecting expeditions.

In 1946, the Department of Ichthyology was established at Rhodes University and J.L.B and Margaret Smith were able to devote all their energies to the production of an authoritative book on the sea fishes of southern Africa.

One of their greatest problems was a lack of suitable illustrations. Undaunted, despite no artistic training, Margaret Smith, took on the task. The first edition of The Sea Fishes of Southern Africa, published in 1949, contained her exceptional illustrations.

She in turn taught what was to become a group of acclaimed natural history artists.

After the death of JLB Smith in January 1968, Margaret Smith continued her ichthyological research in Grahamstown. At the end of 1968, the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Rhodes University decided to establish the J.L.B Smith Institute of Ichthyology. Margaret was appointed the first Director of the new Institute, now the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB).

The Margaret Smith House, a womens residence at Rhodes University, likewise honours her contribution to our local university and to international science.

Margaret Smith died in 1987. She had given 49 years of service to ichthyology.

Margarets achievements, the fine building, the reference collection of fish which she so adequately preserved, the status of the institute as a museum of international standing, are there for all to see. What is less known is the woman herself in her private life which few could know much about. This may be summed up in two words: for all her public flamboyance, she was a kind woman. Nobody with a hard-luck story was ever turned away  she helped innumerable people. If something was needed and could not otherwise be got she would dip into her pockets, and never say a word. [1]

The Biodiversity Heritage Library holds a collection of JBL Smiths Ichthyological Papers, edited by his wife, Margaret Smith, and published in 1969, the year after his death. Contributed by the Library of the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, the two volume work was published by the J.L.B. Smith Institute of Ichthyology.

One of the highlights of the publication is the description of the re-discovery of the coelacanth, believed to have become extinct in the Late Cretaceous, around 66 million years ago, but rediscovered off the coast of South Africa in 1938. Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, curator of the East London Museum, discovered a specimen from amongst the catch of a local trawler, Captain Hendrick Goosen, and contacted J.L.B. Smith regarding the discovery. Smith subsequently named the species Latimeria chalumnae after Courtenay-Latimer.

You can read more about the life and achievements of Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer as part of the #HerNaturalHistory campaign.

Reference

[1] PBN Jackson. 1997. Variations on a theme: the three directors of the first fifty years of the JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology. Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Afr., 51:40.
In the midst of celebrating LGBTQ Pride the U.S. Supreme Court rained on our virtual parade by ruling in favor of the Catholic Social Serv...
This blog is looking for wisdom, to have and to share. It is also looking for other rare character traits like good humor, courage, and honor. It is not an easy road, because all of us fall short. But God is love, forgiveness and grace. Those who believe in Him and repent of their sins have the promise of His Holy Spirit to guide us and show us the Way.
Last week, Evaldas Rimasauskas of Lithuania plead guilty to US wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering charges, admitting that he had stolen $99m from Facebook and $23m from Google between 2013 and 2015.



Rimasauskas's grift was pretty bold. He merely sent Google and Facebook invoices for items they hadn't purchased and that he hadn't provided, which the companies paid anyway. The invoices were accompanied by "forged invoices, contracts, and letters that falsely appeared to have been executed and signed by executives and agents of the Victim Companies, and which bore false corporate stamps embossed with the Victim Companies' names, to be submitted to banks in support of the large volume of funds that were fraudulently transmitted via wire transfer." He also spoofed emails that appeared to come from corporate execs.





Apparently, no one checked first to see if these corresponded to invoices/POs that had been issued within the companies.





Rimasauskas was pretending to be the giant Taiwanese hardware manufacturer Quanta Computer Inc, and had registered a company in Latvia with the same name.

He's agreed to forfeit about $50m. It's not clear what's happened to the other $73m, but Rimasauskas was a prolific and baroque money-launderer who squirreled cash away in Cyprus, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Latvia. Google has said that "We detected this fraud and promptly alerted the authorities. We recouped the funds and we're pleased this matter is resolved."

Rimasauskas will be sentenced on July 29. He faces up to 30 years.



"As Evaldas Rimasauskas admitted today, he devised a blatant scheme to fleece U.S. companies out of over $100 million, and then siphoned those funds to bank accounts around the globe," stated Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman in the DoJ press release containing the unsealed indictment from March 21, 2017. According to the indictment [.PDF], Rimasauskas registered and incorporated a Latvian company with the same name as the Asian computer hardware manufacturer Quanta Computer Inc as reported by Bloomberg, and also opened multiple accounts at banks from Cyprus, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia, and Latvia to receive the fraudulent payments.

Lithuanian Pleads Guilty to Stealing $100 Million From Google, Facebook [Sergiu Gatlan/Bleeping Computer]





(via /.)
Censorship before or censorship after? The EU Copyright Directive rekindles the oldest fight in the history of free speech debates, first waged by John Milton in 1644. Then, like now, policy-makers were considering a radical change in censorship law, a switch from censoring material after it was published to requiring a censor's permission to publish in the first place.

Fundamentally, policing of speech can happen at one of two points: before content disseminates, or after. Policing content after it disseminates involves human agents seeing and reporting content and taking action or requesting action. This can happen on a huge scale or a tiny one: Facebook's content flagging system, obscenity law in much of the EU and USA, parents who object to books assigned in schools, and China's 50 Cent Army of two million internet censors, all these act to silence content after it disseminates.

Policing content before it disseminates involves sending it through a screening process before it is allowed to reach readers. Screening can be electronic, like the filters Article 13 would require, or like Tumblr's infamously dysfunctional adult content filters, or like the automated components of the Great Firewall of China, or it can be done by humans. Human screening is how the Inquisition functioned during the print revolution: all books began effectively pre-banned, and you had to take a book to an official censor for review and approval. Only after making requested changes and securing approval could the book reach its audienceanything without a censor's note of permission on the title page was preemptively illegal, and author, printer, bookseller, and reader were subject to prosecution.

The two methods may seem pretty similar: both result in censorship, but the difference in effect can be profound. So argues John Milton in the oldest published work defending freedom of the press, Areopagitica, A speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc'd Printing, to the Parlament of England. Milton wrote in the mid-1600s when England faced a crisis over the licensing of books, and just like today's EU battle it was largely a battle over profits disguised as a battle to protect the public. Copyright as we know it did not yet exist, but in areas policed by the Inquisition, censors threw in a lucrative bonus which incentivized compliance: the printer who brought the book to the censor received a monopoly license to print the book, making it possible for the first time to sue others who printed the same text. It was not copyright but it secured profits the same way.

Printers in England wanted this too, since monopolies are always lucrative, plus the censors in charge of licensing could charge a fee for the process, so there was lots of money to be made. So they lobbied for it, hiding their profit-seeking motive by selling it as a means to protect the nation against politically dangerous speech, radicalism, terrorism, sedition and, yes, even fake news and disinformation. In 1662 they got their wish, The Act for Preventing the Frequent Abuses in Printing Seditious, Treasonable and Unlicensed Books and Pamphlets; and for the Regulating of Printing and Printing Presses, which ordered that no book, pamphlet, or paper could be printed without being licensed in advance. Running the approval process was handed to a private group, the Stationers' Company, an old association of printing houses which thus gained a monopoly on regulating printing, letting them skim profits from every book that crossed their desks, and making it easy for them to silence competitors.

England's Stationer's Company got rich by exploiting public anxiety, just as the media moguls behind EU Article 11 and Article 13 hope to do. Both systems created the illusion of helping the state protect the public from dangerous speech, while actually advancing a profit motive. And in continental Europe the Inquisition's system rapidly became the same, since the Church extracted fat fees for issuing book licenses, and delegated the power to hundreds of local figures who could use the system both for profit and control.

Censorship after publication is still censorship, just as much as censorship before, but Milton argued that having to pass through censorship before reaching the public has a vast impact on what is said, and even what is thought. Having a gatekeeper makes it easier for the rich and powerfulthose with connections in high placesto speak and to silence others. Financial and logistical barriers weaken the democratizing effects of cheap speech: printing a pamphlet or creating a new web forum cost next to nothing and reach audiences almost instantly, but won't when Article 13 requires you to pay licensing fees for any copyright content you anticipate users might quote in replies.

And, Milton argued, preemptive censorship has a profound effect on what we say, since everyone who writes does so knowing there is a barrier between author and audience. This is much of what China's internet censorship aims at: even with AI filters and two million censors China can't prevent human ingenuity from expressing itself through puns and subtleties, but it does guarantee that every person in China who sits down to say something online is constantly conscious of the barrier, the surveillance, and the large and powerful forces that have power over speech. That, Milton argues, distorts thought, deters creativity, slows down the advance of science and research, and encourages the only thing which genuinely can completely silence thought: self-censorship on the part of authors worried about consequences.

An internet where the creator of a new web space for conversation is required to pay huge fees to media giants before even launching is no different from the world Milton feared, where someone who wanted to publish a book or start a newspaper had to run it by the largest and wealthiest media giant first, and pay a fee to make that fat cat even fatter. In our digital revolution, as in Milton's print revolution, we must recognize when the profit motive is exploiting public anxiety to create policy which will not protect what it claims to protect, but will further strengthen those special interests which are already strong enough to lobby law-makers and twist governments to their will.

The most famous line in Milton's Areopagitica is that "it's almost the same to kill a man as to kill a book, since who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, but who destroys a good book kills reason itself." But the essay presses even more on how much worse it is to prevent words from ever disseminating, as opposed to banning book which has been printed and inevitably survives in other copies even if you burn it: "no age can restore a life," says Milton, but the lives of people are stored and preserved in words which pass on to the future, so to wholly prevent the dissemination of words, to erase words, pull words from an internet re-engineered to prevent their archiving, is to slay, not a life, but an immortality. The internet is a legacy that will shape so much of humanity's futurelet's make sure the immortal voices it passes down remain free, innovative, and plural.



Ada Palmer is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Chicago, and a science fiction novelist, author of the Terra Ignota series. You can find her work on censorship during information revolutions here. For further reading, she recommends Adrian Johns's Piracy: The Intellectual Property Wars from Gutenberg to Gates and Who Owns the News? A History of Copyright by Will Slauter.

Europeans can pledge to vote out MEPs who support the Copyright Directive and then tell their MEPs that they've done so.
Are you concerned with how to apply for a birth certificate in South Africa? Or your question is how long does a birth certificate take in South Africa? Do you also care to know how to get a South African unabridged birth certificate quickly? For all your birth certificate South Africa related questions, this article is written to provide you with detailed information that will enlighten every dark area in your mind. You will also get to know about marriage certificate and how to apply for one as you read on.

Image: pexels.com

Source: UGC

According to the latest regulations that were introduced because of the Births and Deaths Amendment Act, the processes that are involved when you want to apply for a birth testimonial has followed a new turn. This is why it is imperative that you know how to go about the new process and also get to know what is involved in registering a child's birth. Therefore, among other things, you will get to understand the requirements that you must meet to get a child's certificate irrespective of the period or years after the child's birth that you are doing the registration.

Birth certificate South Africa

Once a child is born within South Africa, the registration of such a child is expected to take place in not more than 30 days after the delivery with the South African Department of Home Affairs (DHA). This is very important because, among other things, the child needs the testimonial when he or she is about to enroll in school and even when he or she wants to apply for any grant that is coming from the government. Even to get an identity document and to secure formal employment, the child cannot do without the testimonial.

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When carrying out the registration, the person who has legal responsibility for the child (and that could be the parents or a guardian) will have to complete the information contained on Form BI-24. And of course, the form can only be filled using black ink. Once you finish filling the form, you will submit the same to any of the Department of Home Affairs' office that is close to you if you live in South Africa. However, if you do not reside within the country, you are expected to submit it at any embassy or consulate of South Africa abroad.

But then, initially, when a child is issued a certificate, he or she gets an abridged birth certificate which only indicates the identification number, the child's full name as well as the country of birth. But after March 2014, the Department of Home Affairs cancelled that and began to issue an unabridged birth certificate South Africa that now displays information about the two parents as well as the identification number, the child's full name, citizenship, and the city of childbirth.

What is a vault birth certificate South Africa?

When you hear people talk about a vault birth certificate, you do not have to get confused about it. A vault birth certificate simply means the copy of the original childbirth registration form that your parents filled by hand when they were registering your birth at any of the offices of the Department of Home Affairs. At least, the application form is expected to have been signed by your parents and also stamped as a form of acceptance by the official of the DHA. That must have taken place after they captured every necessary information about your birth in their database.

Usually, when one wants to apply for a foreign or dual citizenship or passport in another country, this copy of childbirth certificate South Africa could be needed. The reason is that they usually need it to prove one's citizenship or passport. When a resident who is South African applies for any of the services of the British government, the British Home Office may require it.

Image: twitter.com, @satsa_sa

Source: UGC

What do I need to apply for a birth certificate in South Africa?

Interestingly, when a childbirth registration is carried out in not more than 30 days after the delivery, the certificate is issued free of charge, but if it is done after 30 days, a penalty fee would be paid. This is because, as stipulated by the Births and Deaths Registration Act, if you do not register the delivery of a child within 30 days, whenever it is eventually registered, it is classified to be late registration. And as such, the following are the requirements for all late childbirth registrations:

DHA 24/LRB which is the form that serves to notify the child's birth is needed. If the child is born at any of the health facilities, then, a DHA 24/PB would be needed. The DHA 24/PB serves to prove the birth of the child, but if the child is delivered at home, then, DHA 24PBA which serves as an affidavit to confirm the delivery will have to be presented. You will also need DHA 288/A which is an affidavit containing the reasons for the late registration of the childbirth. Fingerprints of the parent(s) are also required. The identification document or Passport of the parent(s) is also needed. Payment of the required fee for the application is paramount as that would be needed to process the certificate.

READ ALSO: Top 10 tips for emigrating from South Africa 2019

However, it should be noted that there are three categories under which late childbirth registrations are grouped, and they are 31 days up to a year, between a year and seven years, and seven years and above. Based on this, there are more necessary requirements that shall be required.

What is the fastest way to get a birth certificate in South Africa?

Document specialists Apostil.co.za are very experienced in obtaining birth certificates in as fast as one week.

According to the information published on the official website of the Department of Home Affairs, the moment you provide every required document for the childbirth certificate, you may need to wait for three to eight weeks before you get your childbirth testimonial. However, if the child's birth is registered early enough (within the expected 30 days), as recorded by DHA, it usually takes one day or thereabout to get the testimonial out once you have submitted the details of the registration.

What is an unabridged marriage certificate?

Also, referred to as a full marriage certificate, an unabridged marriage certificate carries detailed information that most government and financial institutions require. When you plan an extensive journey or you want to apply for a foreign passport, as an official certificate, the unabridged certificate is needed. However, in a situation where you or your spouse are not South Africans, the unabridged certificate is usually required when registering the marriage in your home country.

Image: pexels.com

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: 30 best jobs to work from home South Africa 2019

How do I get an unabridged marriage certificate South Africa?

When you want to apply for an unabridged marriage certificate, the following simple processes are needed:

You will be required to fill the BI-130 application form. Also, ensure to go along with the certified copies of you and your spouse's identification documents. Pay the required amount.

Bear in mind that the application can be filed at any of the offices of the Department of Home Affairs, but if you do not reside within the country, you can do this at any embassy or consulate of South Africa abroad.

So far, we have been able to discuss what birth certificate South Africa is all about as well as the types of birth testimonials that operate in the country. Now, you should know how to apply for a birth certificate as well as an unabridged marriage certificate. We hope that you have found the information above useful.

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Source: Briefly.co.za
office buildings

With the arrival of spring and the receipt of our tax refunds (if were fortunate enough), its a good time to think about taking the fullest advantage of our TFSA contribution room and the related tax savings.

Renewables stocks offer investors great long-term return potential, with the benefit of participating in the transformation of the energy industry into a cleaner, more environmentally friendly one.

Id like to discuss two dividend stocks that are great candidates to add to your TFSA, as April showers turn into May flowers.

Northland Power Inc. (TSX:NPI)

Northland stock has rallied because it is a strong renewables energy provider, and because of its attractiveness as an income generating investment, with a dividend yield of 5%.

The stock hit a 52-week high of $26.19 on March 11, but has now fallen to $23.97 after the company announced a secondary offering of shares owned by Mr. Jim Temerty, Chairman of the Board.

The stock proceeded to freefall 9% on this announcement in what I believe will prove to be a good buying opportunity, as this sale is not a sign of a loss of confidence in the company, but rather an estate planning decision.

Mr. Temerty will still own 14.7% of shares outstanding after the transaction.

This independent power producer is dedicated to developing, building, owning and operating facilities in Canada and internationally.

Management remains heavily invested in the company, and with 98% of revenues coming from long term power contracts, there is good stability and predictability in its results.

TransAlta Renewables Inc. (TSX:RNW)

TransAlta Renewables is a strong renewables energy provider, with a dividend yield of 7.05%.

The stock has a year-to-date return of 28%, as the company has posted better than expected 2018 results and 2019 guidance, and as investors flocked to it for its yield, which hit as high as over 8% back in 2018.

Since its IPO in 2013, the company has grown its dividends at a 6% compound annual growth rate and continues to provide one of the highest dividend yields in the renewables sector.

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Its diversified portfolio consists of wind, natural gas, and hydro power facilities, with wind power accounting for 49% of the companys cash flow generated, and with an average term of 15 years remaining in the companys long-term contracts.

With 18 wind facilities across Canada and the U.S., TransAlta Renewables is Canadas largest wind power generator.

And with its attractive dividend yield, the TransAlta stock offers investors a high yield that is supported by quality assets that are fully contracted with an average term of 15 years.

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Fool contributor Karen Thomas owns shares of NORTHLAND POWER INC.

The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2019
Plant shoots on stacked coins

Since the birth of the Tax-Free Savings Account in 2009, Canadians across the country have been pretty diligent about using their contribution room. And with this years space at $6,000, its leaving many wondering where they should put their hard-earned dollars this tax season.

There are a million ways you can put that money to work, but if it were me, Id be looking for some value stocks that have a strong past and an equally as strong future. Choosing those stocks will pretty much guarantee high earnings over the next few years and even more when investing over the long term.

TD

Among the top Big Six Banks, TD Bank (TSX:TD)(NYSE:TD) can seem kind of boring. Other banks are boasting their growth south of the border and producing growth this year near 20%. It can make many investors worry that TD just cant keep up.

But with this bank, slow and steady has and will continue to win the race. The bank remains one of the top two banks in the country that make up 90% of Canadas banking deposits. And while it may not have risen 20%, the bank has still seen an increase of over 10% since the beginning of this year, and it wont be much further before it reaches its 52-week high of last September.

Now again, it may not seem exciting, but if you look at the last five years as an example of where this stock is headed, the outlook is strong. If you were to put that $6,000 into TD shares at the time of writing this article, in another five years you could have more than $8,500. In the meantime, youll also receive a nice dividend of 3.88%.

Air Canada

Now, you might be wondering why Id recommend Air Canada (TSX:AC)(TSX:AC.B) at a time when planes are being grounded and stock prices are dropping. But for this stock, just like TD, you have to be in it for the long haul.

The fact that share prices are down has created an opportunity for investors looking to get in before a jump in share prices again. This stock has been on a slow and steady climb for years, but in mid-December it jumped about 40% into the new year, only dipping recently about 7.5%.

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Unlike TD, I dont think its necessarily fair to look at the past five years as an indicator of where this stock is headed, so lets look at analysts predictions and work from there. If we look at the high-end predictions, the stock could reach $50 per share by 2020, with the stock currently sitting at about $31.50 per share. That means if you were to put that $6,000 in to Air Canada, you could have $9,500 by the end of 2020!

Of course, with both of these stocks, there is talk of a recession in the near future. That would affect every stock across the board. Thats why its important to use these predictions as a learning tool and invest now for the long term. That way, who knows? You might just add another zero on the end of that $6,000 investment.

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Fool contributor Amy Legate-Wolfe owns shares of AIR CANADA.

The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2019
Growing plant shoots on coins

One successful strategy for investing in stocks is to stop thinking like a trader. In fact, the worlds top investors act like partners in companies they invest. The reason of this long-term approach is simple: its really hard to manage your risks while investing in individual stocks.

Take the recent example of Boeing Co. Who knew that this great growth stock will lose more than 15% in a week after Ethiopian Airline crash that created a big uncertainty about the companys most promising aircraft, 737 Max?



For long-term investors, the best stocks to buy are those that pay growing dividends. Their strong recurring cash flows and dominant market positions make them great businesses to become partner. Keeping this theme in mind, here are three top dividend stocks from Canada that you can buy and hold for the next 20 years.

Top Canadian banks

Canadian banks offer a great avenue to invest your dollars for the long run. Canadian lenders operate in an oligopoly in which they benefit from a strong domestic market and limited competition. On top of their domestic strength, some of the lenders are also benefiting from their foreign operations where growth has been strong.

Among the top five banks, I particularly like Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY)(NYSE:RY) and Toronto-Dominion (TSX:TD)(NYSE:TD) due to their leading position in Canada and their strong footprint in the U.S.

Both lenders have expanded aggressively in the U.S. during the past decade and now generate a major portion of their income from there. The U.S. cushion is very important for these lenders to grow their cash flows, especially when the Canadian economy is slowing and there is an increasing chance of a mild recession.

Despite these concerns, both RBC and TD bank shares have continued their growth journey this year, rising more than 12% and growing their payouts. RBC last month raised its dividend by more than 4% to $1.02 a share, while TD Bank delivered a 10% dividend hike to C$0.67 a share quarterly.

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Canadian utilities

Similar to Canadian lenders, Canadian energy utilities offer another attractive option to long-term investors to become partners in these solid businesses. In this segment, I like Enbridge Energy Inc. (TSX:ENB)(NYSE:ENB), North Americas largest pipeline operator.

The companys huge pipeline infrastructure is crucial to the regions economy, while its gas and electricity operations offer stable cash flows.

Over the next three years, Enbridge plans to spend $22 billion on organic growth opportunities. These secured capital program includes projects such as the Line 3 Replacement, NEXUS, Dawn-Parkway expansion and the Hohe See Offshore Wind project.

Enbridge stock pays $2.95 a share annual dividend with a projected increase of 10% each year. Trading around $49 a share at writing, the companys over 6% dividend yield offers an attractive risk-reward equation for long-term investors.

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Fool contributor Haris Anwar has no positions in the stocks mentioned in this article. Enbridge is a recommendation of Stock Advisor Canada.



The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2019
Female friends enjoying their dessert together at a mall

The deadline for 2018 RRSP contributions was March 1, 2019, but it is never too early to start thinking about investing for retirement. This week, I discussed why it is more important than ever to get everything you can out of your RRSP. The steady decline in pension plan offerings, particularly in the private sector, is something younger investors need to keep in mind.

Fortunately, many millennials seem to be on top of these trends. According to an annual Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO)(NYSE:BMO) study, millennial contributions to their RRSPs has climbed 87% since 2016. Millennials have accounted for the highest percentage increase over baby boomers, who only saw a 30% spike in the same period. Of course, many baby boomers are beginning to enter retirement.

On the flip side, a Templeton Investments Canada report revealed that nearly 50% of millennials had not saved anything for retirement. For many respondents, low income was an obstacle to adequately saving for retirement. Others were confused over annual contribution room and did not know the basics of how an RRSP works.

Millennials may be asking themselves how much they will need to retire. A common recommendation is between 40% to 70% of your annual income before you left the workforce. To be on the safe side, investors should aim for the higher end of that range. A 2016 Sun Life Financial study of both workers and retirees found that on average Canadians are living on 62% of what they earned before leaving the workforce.

For Canadians with a median household income of over $70,000, which was pinpointed by Statistics Canada in 2015, the $1 million target is often referenced as the magic number. Millennials have the advantage of starting early and often. Even if you have nothing in your savings account today, there is still plenty of time to reach that coveted retirement savings goal. The best way is to get organized; start a systematic-savings plan that will stash away your income into a TFSA or RRSP.

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As for stocks, beginners should focus on blue chips that offer solid capital growth and steady income. BMO is a nice target to focus on today. Shares of BMO have climbed 31.7% over a three-year period as of late afternoon trading on March 20. This represents an annualized return of over 10%. Over the long term, this is a lofty target, which is why investors should look to feast on regular dividends.

BMO announced a second-quarter dividend of $1.00 per share in its most recent earnings release. This represents a 3.9% yield. The bank has achieved dividend growth for seven consecutive years. Investors saving for retirement should target stocks that have accomplished a long history of dividend growth. Canadas top banks are not heavy hitters in this regard, but the mix of capital growth and solid dividend payments make them an attractive target for those just starting out.

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Fool contributor Ambrose O'Callaghan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2019
* SDF declares jihadists defeated at last enclave

* Battle for Baghouz region lasted weeks

* At its height, IS held a third of Iraq and Syria

* Jihadists' cruelties and abuses roused global ire

* Threats remain from sleeper cells worldwide (Adds Shanahan statement, paragraphs 11-13)

By Rodi Said

DEIR AL-ZOR PROVINCE, Syria, March 23 (Reuters) - U .S.-backed forces proclaimed the capture of Islamic State's last territory in Syria on Saturday, eliminating its rule over a self-proclaimed "caliphate," but the jihadists remain a threat from sleeper cells around the world.

Originally an offshoot of al Qaeda, IS took large swathes of Iraq and Syria from 2014, imposing a reign of terror with public beheadings and attacks by supporters abroad - but it was eventually beaten back to the village of Baghouz.

"We announce today the destruction of the so-called Islamic State organization and the end of its ground control in its last pocket in Baghouz," Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) general commander Mazloum Abdi told a victory ceremony.

SDF fighters, who besieged Baghouz for weeks while planes pounded from above, paraded in memory of 11,000 comrades killed in years of fighting against IS.

A band played the American national anthem.

Despite the euphoria, some shooting and mortar fire continued on Saturday morning, according to a Reuters journalist at Baghouz. And Abdi warned the campaign against the militant's more hidden threats must continue.

Some IS fighters still hold out in Syria's remote central desert, and in Iraqi cities they have slipped into the shadows, staging shootings or kidnappings.

The United States believes the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is in Iraq. He stood at the pulpit of the medieval mosque in Mosul in 2014 to declare himself caliph, sovereign over all Muslims.

Further afield, jihadists in Afghanistan, Nigeria and elsewhere show no sign of recanting allegiance, and intelligence services say IS devotees in the West might plot new attacks.

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INTERNATIONAL FALLOUT

Still, the fall of Baghouz is a big milestone in a fight waged against the group for more than four years by numerous local and global forces, some of them sworn enemies.

France and Britain, which also back the SDF, welcomed the developments, though U.S. officials acknowledged work remained.

In a separate statement Saturday, President Donald Trump said the region had been "liberated," but added the United States will remain vigilant.

"While this is a critical milestone in the fight against ISIS, we understand our work is far from complete," acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said in a statement.

The capture of Baghouz marked a big moment in Syria's eight-year war, wiping out one of the main contestants' territory, with the rest split between President Bashar al-Assad, Turkey-backed rebels and the Kurdish-led SDF.

Assad and Iranian allies have sworn to recapture all Syria, while Turkey has threatened to drive out the SDF, which it sees as a terrorist group. The continued presence of U.S. troops in northeast Syria might avert this.

In his speech, Abdi urged Assad to recognize autonomous administration in areas controlled by the SDF and Turkey to quit areas of northern Syria it has taken over.

Islamic State originated as an al Qaeda faction in Iraq, but took advantage of Syria's civil war to seize land there and split from the global jihadist organization.

In 2014, it grabbed Iraq's Mosul, erased the border with Syria and called on supporters worldwide to join a jihadist utopia, complete with currency, flag and passports.

Oil production, extortion and stolen antiquities financed its agenda, which included slaughtering some minorities, slave auctions of captured women, grotesque punishments for minor crimes, and the choreographed killing of hostages.

Those excesses drew an array of forces against it, driving it from Mosul and the Syrian city Raqqa during a year of heavy defeats in 2017 and driving it down the Euphrates to Baghouz.

EATING GRASS

Over the past two months, some 60,000 people poured out, fleeing SDF bombardment and a shortage of food so severe that some were reduced to cooking grass.

Intense air strikes leveled entire districts and, according to rights groups, killed many civilians.

Civilians made up more than half the people leaving Baghouz, the SDF said, including women from the Iraqi Yazidi sect whom the jihadists sexually enslaved.

Thousands of the group's unbending supporters, including many foreign women who married jihadists, also abandoned the enclave. At displacement camps the SDF had to keep them away from other, often traumatized, residents.

Their fate has befuddled foreign governments, who see them as a security threat and are loath to accede to SDF entreaties to repatriate them.

As the fighting progressed, convoys of trucks from Baghouz started to include hundreds, and then thousands, of surrendering jihadist fighters, many hobbling from their wounds.

The SDF said it captured hundreds more in recent weeks who tried to slip through its cordon and escape into Iraq or across the Euphrates and into the Syrian desert.

At the end, they were holed up in a tiny enclave from which they released a video showing fighters still shooting with smoke billowing above - an attempt to portray their last stand as heroic and a call to arms for future jihadists.

(Reporting by Rodi Said in Deir al-Zor province, a Reuters journalist in Baghouz and Pete Schroeder in Washington; Writing by Angus McDowall/Tom Perry Editing by Robert Birsel, Alexander Smith and Andrew Cawthorne)
One Anglican parish in St. John's is ready to allow same-sex couples to get married under its roof  but is caught in the middle of a waiting game.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Canada since 2005.

"Things seems to take a long time to happen in the church, and for an institution that's 2,000 years old, that kind of makes sense," said Father Jonathan Rowe, rector at St. Michael's and All Angels Anglican Church in St. John's.

Rowe said the Anglican Church has been having conversations regarding human sexuality, same-sex unions and most recently, same-sex marriage.

On Sunday, Rowe's parish passed a motion during their annual meeting to request permission from the Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador to, "offer the sacrament of Holy Matrimony to all couples who are legally entitled to marry in Canada, as soon as such an option becomes possible in this diocese."

I'm still young enough that I like the idea of being a bit of a renegade, but at the same time I recognize that not everybody is on board with this. - Father Jonathan Rowe

The conversations, said Rowe, have been ongoing since before his time, beginning in the 1970s, and he believes they will continue for a long time after he's gone.

"The Anglican church is not of one mind on sexuality, on marriage, but we're in a process of discernment " he told CBC Radio's On the Go.

Rowe said the Anglican Church of Canada is in the midst of a process to change its regulations surrounding marriage and how marriage is administered within the church. This will allow for anybody who is legally permitted to get married in Canada, to be married in an Anglican church, he said.

In other areas of Canada, some Anglican parishes are allowing for same-sex marriage, based on a primary approval for the changing of the marriage canon that happened in 2016, but Rowe said that motion has to pass through two consecutive church councils  called General Synods  first.

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The next General Synod will happen in July.

"Right now in Newfoundland we're waiting to see that process through," Rowe said.

"I'm ready to go right now. We're saying St. Michael's is ready to go right now. When the church is ready, we're ready."

'Not always there'

Rowe told CBC News that he was ready to move forward with same-sex marriages for some time, but that wasn't always the case.

"I was not always there, and there's a part of me, to my shame, would recognize that not even 10 years ago I would not have been in the place I'm in right now, ready to be so affirmative," he said. "Life changed."

Submitted by Jonathan Rowe

The Bishop has asked parishes in Newfoundland to be patient and respect the process, according to Rowe, regardless of what other parishes across Canada are doing.

Rowe joked that he would love to go rogue.

"I'm still young enough that I like the idea of being a bit of a renegade, but at the same time I recognize that not everybody is on board with this," he said.

"There is a general feeling that the church is ready to move forward with this, and I really think that it's a when, and not an if."

Read more articles from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
If you're searching for new reading material, and up for some feisty competition to help you decide, look no further than the literary version of Survivor  better known as Canada Reads.

The annual weeklong debate starts Mar. 25 and pairs famous Canucks with a Canadian book of their choice as they duke it out to select a winner. The overarching theme this year is "one book to move you"; many of the selections feature nuanced approaches to topical subject matter such as inclusion, women's rights and mental illness.

The Canada Reads 2019 contenders (in alphabetical order) are:

Fredericton-born comedian Ali Hassan will host for a third year.

The prize

CBC

The winning Canada Reads author typically gets a major boost in sales and joins an elite club of previous winners that include Andre Alexis, Kim Thuy, Lisa Moore, Lawrence Hill, Hubert Aquin and Michael Ondaatje.

The victorious defender will emerge with bragging rights and join high-profile figures such as fashion media personality Jeanne Beker, Olympian Clara Hughes, and musician Jim Cuddy among many others who have also taken their books to the finish line.

Learn more about each book and its defender below.

Chuck Comeau defends Homes

CBC

A window into the human impact of an ongoing humanitarian crisis, Homes by teenage refugee Abu Bakr al Rabeeah (written with the help of his ESL teacher, Winnie Yeung), tells the story of the author's childhood first in Iraq, then living through a civil war in Homs, Syria, before moving to Canada.

Chuck Comeau, drummer for the rock band Simple Plan, says he chose the book because it "really opened my eyes."

"To actually have a first-person account of it and to put yourself in the shoes of someone who had to go through it and then finally gets, I guess, what they wanted  to be able to leave and to go to a new country," said Comeau.

"But then the guilt and the sadness of having to realize that you have to leave all your family and friends behind and then you have this whole new world ... is just fascinating."

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Lisa Ray defends Brother

CBC

Actress, model and activist Lisa Ray, who's known for her roles in the Oscar-nominated film Water and, more recently, as host of Top Chef Canada, says Brother by David Chariandy is "pulling out threads" around "prejudice, race and class warfare."

The story, set in a Scarborough, Ont., housing complex in the 1990s, focuses on the lives of two brothers, the sons of Trinidadian immigrants, and the societal battles faced by many of black and brown ancestry.

"We are a country that should be very proud of our record in terms multiculturalism and human rights," said the Indo-Canadian actress. "But there is some heavy stuff going on still in our own backyard and this is a book that is going to encourage people to take a look into their own neighbourhoods and try to make a change right there."

Ziya Tong defends By Chance Alone

CBC

By Chance Alone explores the horrors of the Holocaust and the journey of life afterwards through the lens of real-life survivor Max Eisen.

Defender Ziya Tong, known for hosting Discovery Channel's Daily Planet, says the memoir is particularly resonant in a time when younger generations are becoming less connected to Second World War atrocities and know little about them.

"How are we expected to learn from history when we don't even know what history is?" said Tong. "That's why this is such a profound and timely book. This is the book that this country needs to be reading right now."

Yanic Truesdale defends Suzanne

CBC

The French bestseller Suzanne (La femme qui fuit) by Anais Barbeau-Lavalette is a portrait of a conflicted woman compelled to choose between her family and career in the 1950s, observed through the eyes of her granddaughter.

Yanic Truesdale, best known for his role as Michel Gerard on the cult favourite TV series Gilmore Girls, says Suzanne speaks to him because he, too, experienced a unique upbringing with his free-spirited, artistic mother.

"I think I can talk about the book and the journey and defend this character, Suzanne, who at first, yes, is not someone that you would normally like," the actor said about the 2015 novel. "When you dig a little deeper into people's reasoning and behaviours ... you often discover humanity."

Joe Zee defends The Woo Woo

CBC

Joe Zee, who was born in Hong Kong and moved to Toronto as a child, is best known for his work in the fashion industry as a stylist, TV personality and former creative director for Elle magazine.

Zee says The Woo-Woo by Lindsay Wong appears to be a simple coming-of-age story, but quickly delves into the stigma of mental illness in a family and the role that culture can play in it.

"In Asian culture, we are a culture that deliberately pushes away the feelings that we have, deliberately don't bring up things that are uncomfortable to talk about," said Zee. "What Lindsay [Wong] has done in this book is say, 'Hold up. There is something going on and we have to do something about it.'"

How to watch

CBC

The debate, which will take place March 25 to 28, will air on CBC Radio One at 11 a.m. ET and on CBC-TV at 4 p.m. It will also be livestreamed online at CBC Books at 11 a.m. ET and will be available on the free CBC Gem streaming service.

If in the Toronto area, tickets are available to be part of a live studio audience.
Another federal payroll system needs an overhaul after it was put together quickly and on the cheap  and the repair is expected to cost almost as much as the system itself.

The system, which converts paper documents into electronic versions, is used to store payroll information needed for the dysfunctional Phoenix program at the Miramichi, N.B., federal pay centre.

The imaging system was created in 2013 at a cost of $409,456 in Matane, Que., where a federal office verifies individual pay requests received in paper form, then converts them to digital images. Employees in Miramichi then access those electronic documents to generate payroll amounts.

The Matane imaging facility was custom-built by IT staff at Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), which is responsible for the federal government's problematic pay services.

On the cheap

The "project team decided to have the pay imaging solution developed quickly and inexpensively  using internal resources," says a Sept. 27, 2018, internal PSPC memorandum, obtained by CBC News under the Access to Information Act.

The heavily censored document refers twice to "shortcomings" in the imaging system, though details have been removed under sections of the Act that protect security and solicitor-client privilege.

The memo cites a flurry of existing lawsuits connected to the accident-prone Phoenix payroll system  which has overpaid, underpaid or withheld the salaries of tens of thousands of public servants. It also warns that "more litigation may well follow," suggesting at least part of the reason for fixing the imaging system is a desire to respond to lawsuits.

Gail Harding/CBC

"Given the criticality of this [imaging system] issue, work is set to begin in the coming weeks," says the memo.

A spokesperson for Public Services and Procurement Canada, Rania Haddad, said the imaging facility "functions well" but needs "enhancements" to meet certification standards and match a parallel system used for federal pension payments.

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The cost of the upgrades is estimated at about $390,000  which is almost as much as the original project itself cost  and is expected to be complete by April 30, 2020.

CBC

The department is hiring outside contractors to do the work this time, Haddad said. Once they inspect the imaging system in detail, "we will have a better sense of required enhancements ... to our internal processes or system components," she said.

The executive director of an organization representing technology firms, the Council of Canadian Innovators, said Ottawa needs to include the private sector when considering new IT systems.

'It's troubling'

"It's troubling to learn of yet another inefficient use of resources when Canada has a deep pool of technology companies that would gladly work with the government to supply the services it needs," said Ben Bergen.

"That's why our members continue to advocate for the development of procurement strategies that both respect the taxpayers and advance Canadian vendors."

The Phoenix payroll system was launched in early 2016, and soon began to corrupt tens of thousands of salary calculations. The recent federal budget promised $523.3 million over five years to continue to fix the problems.

Some estimates indicate it will take more than $1 billion  and 10 years  to get Phoenix working reliably.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Inter-American Development Bank is calling off its general assembly next week in China amid a dispute over the participation of a Venezuelan representative opposed by Beijing.

The IDB did not say in a press release the reason for canceling the meeting, planned for March 28-31 in Chengdu.

However, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence wrote Friday in The Miami Herald that China refused to grant an official visa to Ricardo Hausmann, the Venezuelan representative designated by opposition leader Juan Guaido.

The IDB last week became the first international financial organization to recognize Guaido as the legitimate president of the South American country, a stand taken by the U.S. and about 50 other nations that say Nicolas Maduro's re-election last year was rigged.

China, which is seeking to make inroads into what has traditionally been regarded as the United States' backyard, disagrees and remains one of Maduro's main allies.

In a statement to The Associated Press on Saturday, China's foreign ministry said, "A handful of countries ignored the aim of the annual meeting, ignored China's stance and concern and disregarded the host country's sincere efforts."

Those counties, which the ministry did not identify, "insisted on manipulating the Venezuela issue and forcibly having Guaido's representative attend the meeting. Therefore the annual meeting cannot be held smoothly as scheduled, this is what all parties are unwilling to see."

"The responsibility does not rest with China," the statement added, saying Guaido's representative lacked legitimacy because Guaido himself was "not a president elected through legal procedure.

Maduro has cited the continued support of China and especially Russia in keeping his regime afloat through loans and diplomatic support.

Over the last decade, China has given Venezuela $65 billion in loans, cash and investment. Venezuela owes more than $20 billion. China's only hope of being repaid appears to lie in Venezuela ramping up oil production, although low petroleum prices and the country's crashing economy appear to bode poorly for such an outcome.
A dark moment in Fredericton history took place 260 years ago this year.

The destruction of Pointe-Sainte-Anne, an Acadian settlement in modern-day Fredericton, by the British army is a somewhat forgotten piece of the capital's history.

"I don't think Frederictonians know much about this," said Chantal Richard, a French studies professor at the University of New Brunswick. She is the curator of an upcoming exhibit on the settlement at the Fredericton Regional Museum.

Stephane Pettigrew, a PhD candidate at UNB, said she's been interested in the settlement since she arrived in Fredericton in 2013, especially since it's not well known.

"I always found it interesting that there was very little that showed the history of Acadians in the area," said Pettigrew. "There's almost no focus on it whatsoever except for the name of the school [Ecole Sainte-Anne]."

The community

The Acadians had been present in the Fredericton area since 1692, when the French constructed Fort St. Joseph, also known as Fort Nashwaak, on the city's north side.

While it's difficult to say how many people lived in Pointe-Sainte-Anne, a 1739 census lists 86 people living in the area.

"Now in terms of area, we have several reports that seemed to corroborate the idea that about 500-to-600 acres were being used by the inhabitants of Pointe-Sainte-Anne," said Richard.

The settlement is believed to have been located where the downtown is now.

National Gallery of Canada

The residents lived an agrarian lifestyle. Other than farms, it is known that a church existed in the settlement.

However, there is not much archeological evidence to show where these structures stood.

"There have been numerous excavations in the area around Old Government House and they have found some evidence of Acadian occupation," said Richard.

"There is part of an Acadian cellar that was found. However, there has been so much development and disruption in the soil since the settlement was destroyed in 1759 that it's very difficult now to find anything that would confirm where the specific buildings would have been located."

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The expulsion

The event that has come to be known as the Expulsion of the Acadians took place in Acadia during the French and Indian War, which was what the British named the North American portion of the Seven Years' War.

The expulsion saw the forced removal of Acadians, starting first in modern-day Nova Scotia.

Some of the Acadians were sent to England or France, eventually settling in Louisiana, or French colonies in the Caribbean, but others moved further inland in Acadia.

Hadeel Ibrahim/CBC

"A lot of Acadians managed to avoid actually getting deported and instead of getting on the boats in Grand Pre or other places along the Bay of Fundy they actually fled into present day New Brunswick," said Pettigrew.

"A lot of that fleeing, because it was easier to transport yourself up waterways than on foot, happened up the St. John River."

This meant the population of Pointe-Sainte-Anne likely grew.

St. John River Campaign

As the Acadians moved further inland, so did the British.

Robert Monckton, the British military figure Moncton is named for, moved troops up the St. John River, forcing Acadians further into retreat.

Library and Archives Canada

One of the better known moments of the early campaign was Monckton's burning of Grimross, modern-day Gagetown, in October 1758.

However, shortly after arriving in Maugerville, Monckton, fearing the the onset of winter, turned back to Fort Frederick, modern-day Saint John.

"He sent a few men upriver and they came back and essentially Monckton assessed the settlement of Pointe-Sainte-Anne as being a small settlement without any fortifications. And so he chose not to keep going upriver," said Richard.

Brutal massacre

In February 1759, Colonial lieutenant Moses Hazen travelled with a troop of New England Rangers to Pointe-Sainte-Anne.

At Pointe-Sainte-Anne, Hazen burned 147 buildings and killed numerous Acadians.

"It's considered to be one of the most brutal massacres of the expulsion period by several historians, but also even at the time," said Richard.

"Once the news got to Monckton, and also General Amherst, they disapproved of Hazen's actions because he killed women and children, and scalped a few women and children as well."

Joseph Godin

Joseph Godin was a farmer and lived in Pointe-Sainte-Anne with his family.

He claimed to be the first Acadian born in Pointe-Sainte-Anne and provided one of the few first-hand accounts of the massacre.

He described to a writer his experiences there.

"They carried the rage to massacre his daughter Nastazie, wife of Eustache Pare, crushed her two son's heads with rifle butts and a son of Michel's," it was written about his experience.

"They cut off the head of the man's wife with an axe. During the barbaric scene Anne Bergeron and Eustache Pare, her son-in-law, each took in their arms a child and saved them from the fury of these cruel men by fleeing in the woods with what they were wearing, without having time to grab clothing, supplies or papers."

He would be sent to England with his wife, before finally settling in France.

The survivors

Some escaped the massacre. Many went upriver to the Madawaska area or to Beaubears Island in Miramichi.

Some families remained in the Fredericton area, like the Mazerolle, Martin and Godin (later named Goodine) families.

'It's considered to be one of the most brutal massacres of the expulsion period.' - Chantal Richard

Richard said after the Seven Years' War, and the Treaty of Paris, persecution of Acadians was reduced but never truly went away.

Some Acadians received some land grants in the Douglas area.

"There are some accusations of continued harassment and persecution on the part of Acadians who eventually abandoned the area again because  they didn't feel welcome in the area," said Richard.

Forgotten history

The destruction of Pointe-Sainte-Anne is a part of history that has largely been forgotten by Frederictonians.

Richard believes one explanation for this may be the influence of the loyalists in the area.

She said regions have a "collective identity" and Fredericton's identity is overwhelmingly related to the loyalists.

"I think that the identity of Fredericton as a city has long been built around a more of a loyalist identity or an anglophone identity," said Richard.

"Therefore this part of history that predates the arrival of the loyalists has been a little bit forgotten."
People rally against racism in Quebec City, express support for New Zealand

More than a hundred people came out Saturday afternoon for a rally against racism in Quebec City, organized in solidarity with the victims of the mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand last week.

One of the event's organizers, Maryam Bessiri, told Radio-Canada that she was shaken by the news of the attack and wanted to express support.

"The only way to fight [fear] is to come together and take action," she said.

Catherine Dorion, the Quebec solidaire MNA for Taschereau, was among those present at the rally at Durocher Park.

Dorion said events like these are important to create connections and stand strong against hate.

"We watch our children grow up in a world that risks becoming more and more divided, with more and more finger pointing and more hatred," she said. "We don't want that, no one does."

At the rally, several speakers renewed calls for Canada to take action on gun control, including Boufeldja Benabdallah, president of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec.

Benabdallah said that Canada could take a lesson from the government of New Zealand which recently banned semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles in the wake of the shooting.

Benabdallah said he was proud to be out showing his solidarity with others in Quebec City.

"We have to march to show that Quebec society is more compassionate than the hatred in some people's hearts," he said.
March is a long month, thanks to the lousy weather and the lack of a long weekend. But if you think the closing days of winter are tough now, you might not have made it through until April in the 1800s.

The National/CBC Archives

The third month of the year has long been a busy one for news in Newfoundland and Labrador, Larry Dohey says, but the reasons have changed.

In the late 1800s the big news in St. John's would have been the upcoming arrival of hundreds of sealers into St. John's, ready to leave from the harbour to the sealing grounds for the first time that spring.

"There would be anywhere between 800 to 1,000 men arriving by train into St. John's, looking for accommodation, looking for berth on the sealing vessels that would leave shortly after St. Patrick's Day, after Sheila's Day, March 18," said Dohey, an archivist and the director of programming and public engagement at The Rooms in St. John's.

The money that would come from sealing was particularly important in March, when food was even scarcer than it is today in the produce section at the grocery store when the ferries can't get across.

"By the time March runs around, that cellar is getting pretty low," Dohey said, referring to the root cellars all families had at the time to store produce and preserves for the winter months. Families would have to be careful about food as winter turned to spring as they waited for the dandelions  the first new vegetables of the year  to come up and the money from the seal hunt to roll in.

The latter usually didn't happen before St. Patrick's Day, but it was a bonus if it did, Dohey said. If a vessel left early and came across a herd of seals on the ice before March 17, those seals were referred to as Paddy's Pot or Patrick's Pot because they represented the first chance to get some cash in hand from the hunt.

"Having cash in hand in March month was a great benefit to the family," he said.

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Politics and intrique

The seal hunt wasn't the only reason 19th-century reporters were busy in March  but you might not know much about that if you read any newspaper but the Telegram.

The city had four newspapers in the late 1870s and early 1880s: the Morning Chronicle, the Ledger, the Newfoundlander and the Evening Telegram. Only the latter, now simply the Telegram, is still around.

Back in those times, Dohey said, when reporters had their own room in the Colonial Building, political reporters might be focused on the question of whether land should be given to the Reids to build a railway, or discussion of whether Newfoundland should join an upstart new country called Canada.

There were accusations that the reporters were spending their time in their private room drinking, smoking, gambling and playing cards instead of working, but Dohey said he suspects that may have been the gossiping of a "disgruntled observer." Politicians would stop by the reporters' room and try to get in the good graces of particular staffers, he said.

Those reporters were working for papers in the same city, but their employers all had different political, class and denominational perspectives  some were friendlier to the merchant class, some leaned left or right politically, some were Protestant or Catholic.

Waiting for Sheila

The Telegram was one of the papers with a particular denominational perspective  Catholic, specifically.

"This week, for instance, if you're reading the Evening Telegram in 1880 you'd see lots of articles about the Benevolent Irish Society and their plans for Irish Week, but you wouldn't see those in the Chronicle or the other papers," Dohey said.

The Telegram skewed Catholic, and the other papers did not. That was why you'd see coverage of parties at the Benevolent Irish Society and the St. Patrick's Day parade in that paper only.

"They had that much of a bias," Dohey said.

Those St. Patrick's parties would traditionally end with a ritual he said was called "drowning the shamrock." For the last drink of the evening, a shamrock  Dohey isn't sure how people in St. John's in March got their hands on them  would be put in each glass before it was topped up with beer, and the crowd would say cheers before drinking it down.

Then, in a time when George Street was largely still storage sheds, revellers would head home and wake up the next day much as we still do now: waiting to see if Sheila would arrive with one last brush of winter for March before spring arrived.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
This woman was angered by a racist slur. Now she wants others to find forgiveness

Amanda Nothando was riding the bus to Edmonton's largest multicultural festival when two strangers on the bus compared her to an animal.

Nothando, originally from Zimbabwe, said she had never experienced racism until that moment. The unsolicited slur left her breathless with an unexpected wave of spite and horror.

It would take nearly a year before those feelings would pass.

"I wouldn't want to lie, the moment that I experienced that, I was in shock and I had a little bit of hate.

"I normally I take things lightly, things usually don't get to me that much."

'A little bit of fear'

It was a hot summer day in 2013. Nothando and a youth group from her church were on their way to the Heritage Festival grounds in Hawrelak Park when two passengers started shooting glares and offensive gestures in their direction.

"It was two older ladies, and the first thing that came to my mind was colonial times; people still don't know any better," Nothando recalled in an interview Friday with CBC Radio's Edmonton AM.

Nothando, a producer, writer and actor, will be speaking about the confrontation during her keynote address at the Canadian Multicultural Education Foundation's 22nd Annual Harmony Brunch in Edmonton on Sunday.

The annual brunch at Chateau Nova Yellowhead Hotel commemorates the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

Nothando said that cruel encounter on the bus taught her how racism can take root. Prejudice only incites more prejudice, she said.

During the months that followed, she grew judgmental and hostile.

"When I saw an older white person I would think, oh my God, I don't want to experience this again," she said.

"There was a little bit of fear and then I would talk to them and realize they were so lovely. Why should I judge them based off my experience?

"I got past it by remembering how I was raised to love regardless of race, regardless of tribe, regardless of where you come from."

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'Joy is freedom'

Nothando  who now hosts a YouTube talk show and manages her own production company  said she now tries to incorporate diversity and acceptance into everything she does.

She said the conference is an opportunity to inspire others to embrace multiculturalism and find forgiveness.

"I've always prayed to God, can I find a platform to talk about love?" she said.

"And then all of sudden this door opens, a bigger door.

"Joy is freedom. Hatred, on the other hand, is being imprisoned."
Brampton, Ont., residents are "livid" over a decision by the federal government to move a woman with three convictions for sexual assaults against young girls to their city, Mayor Patrick Brown said.

Peel Regional Police issued a community safety advisory on Friday about Madilyn Harks, formerly Matthew Harks, alerting residents that she now resides in the Brampton area.

We are very alarmed why the federal government would dump a convicted pedophile into the City of Brampton - Mayor Patrick Brown

Harks, 36, was convicted three times for sexual assaults against girls under the age of eight, police said, adding that the young victims have included neighbours and a fellow member of a church congregation.

"We're very alarmed why the federal government would dump a convicted pedophile into the City of Brampton despite the fact this is a high risk offender from western Canada," Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown told CBC News on Saturday.

"The fact that [Harks] would just be dumped in Brampton has our community livid."

Peel Regional Police

Harks is subject to a Long Term Supervision Order with numerous conditions, including not to attend public swimming areas, daycares, school grounds, playgrounds or community centres.

Harks is also prohibited from being in the presence of children under the age of 14, unless accompanied by a responsible adult who has been approved by her parole supervisor, police said.

"Harks is at an elevated risk to re-offend," police said, adding they will work with Correctional Service of Canada to monitor her activities within the community.

Public Safety Minister must explain

Brown said Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale owes the people of Brampton an explanation, and he has written to him to ask that he provides one.

"The fact that [Harks] is in a halfway house with four hours of unsupervised time in our downtown is an illustration of how the justice system is broken," Brown told CBC News.

Story continues

"It's unacceptable and ... we want an explanation how a person with no ties to Brampton, from the other side of the country, would simply be dropped in here. We happen to be the youngest community in Canada with a disproportionate amount of children. It's completely unacceptable."

Brown's letter was also sent to several Brampton-area MPs, and the chair of the Parole Board of Canada, Jennifer Oades.

"We hope that the minister will find a more appropriate location for this individual, away from young people and children in our downtown," Brown said.

"This person committed horrific acts in a different part of the country. The notion that [Harks] would just be transported to Brampton, there's no logic to that and we hope that the minister will answer."

Evan Mitsui/CBC

Peel Regional Police said Friday's community safety advisory was issued "as a precautionary measure."

"Although Madilyn Harks does present a safety risk to the public, she remains a Canadian citizen and her rights are guaranteed under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms," police said.

Police said they will act to protect these rights if they are infringed.

Meanwhile, police said the public should use caution if they encounter Harks, and parents should be cognizant of their children's activities and aware of the individuals with whom they are associating.

Peel District School Board has also alerted residents to Harks's presence in Brampton, by sharing a tweet from Peel Regional Police.
From Town & Country

Over the course of her pregnancy, the Duchess of Sussex has, in general, shied away from off-the-rack maternity clothes, instead opting for looser silhouettes from regular brands and favoring bespoke designer pieces.

It's a choice journalist Elizabeth Holmes, who is also well-known for her popular #SoManyThoughts series about royal fashion on Instagram, ascribes to a general stereotype that maternity wear is not stylish. "I think what it comes down to is there is a mindset, especially among some in the fashion community, that maternity clothes can be frumpy or dowdy," Holmes tells Town & Country.

"And I do think that there is a certain kind of pride that some fashion people take in being able to just avoid maternity clothes all together."

Photo credit: Mark Metcalfe - Getty Images

In the early stages of pregnancy, that's a fairly easy task to accomplish. For example, on last fall's royal tour of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga, shortly after she publicly announced that she was expecting her first child, Meghan simply wore looser-fitting clothing.

"I think when it becomes more apparent that youre not wearing maternity is later on in your pregnancy, which is what were seeing from her now," Holmes says.

Meghan has the rare privilege of being able to commission dresses from the top designers in the world. But not every designer is equally skilled at dressing a woman's body during pregnancy. "The problem is that maternity wear and maternity bodies are a specialty in the fashion world, and understanding the dynamics of a changing figure, and how each bump sits differently, can pose tailoring problems. And I think weve see some of that with Meghan," Holmes says.

In contrast with some of Meghan's custom pieces, mass-market maternity clothes are specifically designed with pregnant women, and their changing bodies, in mind. "I think theres something kind of magical about maternity clothes. They have extra fabric in the right places. They have ruching and give and stretch and theyre designed for flexibility," says Holmes. "And so much of what Meghan has chosen to wear does not have that built in. Shes wearing pieces by high-end names that dont do a lot of maternity wear."

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Despite her penchant for bespoke designs, the so-called "magic" of maternity wear hasn't fully escaped Meghan's wardrobe. One brand in particular she seems to have embraced is Hatch Collection, a New York City-based company focused not only on fashionable designs, but also on supporting women during the transitional period of pregnancy through education and community.

The first time royal watchers saw Meghan in Hatch was when the Duchess visited Smart Works, one of her first charity patronages, in January. She wore the line's Eliza dress, a $218 black, body-hugging piece, which she paired with an Oscar de la Renta coat, printed heels, and a sleek up-do:

Seeing Meghan in her design was a complete shock to Hatch founder and CEO Ariane Goldman. She has "no idea" how the Duchess got ahold of the dress, but the morning of Meghan's event, Goldman woke up to emails and calls from friends in London celebrating the news. "At first, I thought this has to be a mistake," she tells T&C.

Goldman, who says she watched the royal wedding with her daughters and is "obsessed with the love affair" was "starstruck" when she saw Meghan wearing her designs. "It was the first time she had come out in something that really showed off her belly," she says. "I was blown away. It was an incredible moment."

Meghan's sartorial endorsement, the so-called "Markle Sparkle," has also undeniably generated sales for the company. "You cannot pay for global press the way that this story hit," Goldman says. "Its been incredible. We sold out of the Eliza dress within three days. Then, we relaunched it again because we had so much demand, and we sold out again."

In addition to the Eliza dress, Meghan has publicly worn Hatch denim. Notably, she was spotted wearing the brand's "Nearly Skinny Maternity Jean" during her visit to New York City just a few weeks ago for her baby shower. She paired them with a vintage coat by Courreges from the '60s.

Photo credit: MediaPunch/Bauer-Griffin - Getty Images

"With pants in general, you reach a certain moment where theres no amount of stretch thats going to keep you in regular jeans," Holmes says. "Maternity jeans are sort of the inevitable for a lot of women."

Clearly, they were for Meghan.

Holmes was glad to see Meghan wearing Hatch, and even went so far as to call it a "perfect brand" for the Duchess. "I think Hatch is a really welcome entrance for a lot of pregnant fashionable women. Because it does have sort of a fashion sensibility to it even though it is maternity wear. I wish she would have worn more Hatch pieces during her pregnancy."

But maybe there's still hope, even after Meghan gives birth.

According to Goldman, her next big initiative is creating clothes for the "fourth trimester," those first few months directly following the birth of the baby.

"Hatch is really known as a modern maternity solution, but the next era for the brand is going to be the fourth trimester, after the baby is born," she says.

"Were going to be introducing nursing bras and a whole range of products, but also showing that the clothes we currently create are still nursing friendly. Its not just about maternity, but about the journey after as well."

('You Might Also Like',)
Updates throughout the day at http://calevbenyefuneh. blogspot.com. If you enjoy "Love of the Land", please be a subscriber. Just put your email address in the "Subscribe" box on the upper right-hand corner of the page.Twitter updates at LoveoftheLand as well as our Love of the Land page at Facebook which has additional pieces of interest besides that which is posted on the blog. Also check-out This Ongoing War by Frimet and Arnold Roth. An excellent blog, very important work.

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..Pundicity/Jerusalem Post..22 March '19..If you open Google Earth and search for "Yamit, Sinai," the globe on your screen will slowly spin its way to the Middle East before zooming in on a small area in the northern Sinai Peninsula, just west of Gaza (though it comes up as "Yammit").There, amid the sand dunes, one can still see the bare and bulldozed ground where the town of Yamit, a thriving Jewish community of 2,500 people, once stood, until it was uprooted and destroyed in 1982 as part of the peace treaty with Egypt.The contours of various structures are still visible, paying silent testimony to the traumatic removal of Jews from their homes that was carried out by a Jewish government.As Israel marks 40 years since the signing of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty on the White House Lawn, it is worth recalling the expulsion that was wrought in its wake, as more than a dozen Jewish communities in Sinai, numbering a total of 7,000 people, were compelled to disband and depart.While forgoing Sinai might have brought us four decades of a cold peace with Egypt, it also elicited a heavy price from the Jewish state, one that continues to haunt us until the present day.After a century in which the values of Zionism and settling the land had prevailed, Israel suddenly took a sharp U-turn, conferring legitimacy on the illegitimate idea that peace must necessarily entail withdrawal and retreat.In the miraculous victory of the 1967 war, the Jewish people were granted a Divine gift. Over the course of just six days, we were reunited with the Temple Mount, the hills of Samaria and the streets of Hebron.And in reclaiming Sinai, where our ancestors wandered for decades after the Exodus from Egypt, Israel was blessed with priceless strategic depth, along with military installations, oil fields, and an untamed desert waiting to be developed.But just 12 years later, acting as though it was in a rush to unload the peninsula, the Jewish state gave in to Egyptian demands and turned over the Sinai's 61,000 sq.km. (23,550 sq.mi.) to foreign control.In one fell swoop, Israel had given away more than 90% of the territory it had liberated during the 1967 Six Day War.SIMPLY PUT, the withdrawal from Sinai laid the groundwork for later expulsions, heralding decades of further Israeli territorial concessions. Just over a decade after the pullout, Israel went ahead and signed the Oslo Accords, paving the way for retreat from critical parts of Judea and Samaria. And that was followed in 2005 by the disastrous destruction of the Jewish communities of Gush Katif and northern Samaria.And now, much of the world continues to nourish the idea that eastern Jerusalem could be next.In this respect, conceding Sinai has had a catastrophic effect on Israel, one that has come to overshadow whatever benefits it may have provided.Furthermore, consider the volatility of events in Egypt over the past decade, which underline the perils inherent in turning territory over to our neighbors.After the fall of Hosni Mubarak in 2011, Mohamed Morsi was elected president in 2012, with the backing of the Muslim Brotherhood. His regime wasted little time sending mixed signals as to whether it viewed itself as bound by the terms of the treaty with Israel.In July 2013, a military coup toppled Morsi and resulted in the rise to power of Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who has served as Egyptian president for the past five years. While Sisi has been a reliable partner for Israel in counter-terrorism and other fields, Egypt has failed to build stable and lasting democratic institutions, leaving it vulnerable to future disarray.If the Muslim Brotherhood or something similar one day returns to power, there is no telling what effect it might have on the state of peace that exists with Israel.So it could very well turn out that while Israel gave up Sinai in order to get peace, it might end up with neither.And therein lies the dangerous legacy of Sinai's withdrawal which sparked a headlong rush toward capitulation and weakness, one that set the stage for mounting pressure on the Jewish state, from which we have yet to extricate ourselves.So when we look back on the peace treaty with Egypt, we need to do so with our eyes wide open, cognizant of the fact that since relations between states can be ephemeral, territory is not something Israel should ever consider abandoning.
Photo - Tronson du Coudray art Intuition

Eight years ago I addressed this subject in an article that essentially gave a very conditional okay with so many checks and balances that the Australian Mint 'security' would blush. Since then a whole lot of youth social mores have changed and not least in the Christian scene.

Let me refresh the question: Would you let teenage girls sleep over in your home with your teenage son and his mates tonight? It was a question originally raised in a Sydney Morning Herald article written by Leslie Cannold.

Cannold wrote: Mixed-sex sleepovers? Help! Since reaching adolescence my boys have been keen to have girls who are "just friends" sleep at our house, and I have been just as keen to avoid it.

Cannold explained that boys sleeping over have never been a problem. Over the years I have happily purchased bunk and trundle beds, as well as air mattresses, to facilitate it. But female friends? Sorry, I kept telling my sons. I'm just not comfortable.

When it came to girls sleeping over, Leslie Cannold was worried the girl's family was in the dark? Maybe, so when my son last asked I agreed to speak to the parent. The exchange was comforting a the mother certainly knew where her daughter would be and was realistic about my minimal capacity for control a "but my unease persisted" she wrote.

Cannold was certain that her boys would NEVER touch a girl in a way they thought she did not want. But here, perhaps, was a clue to the discomfort. "What if the girl didn't know what she wanted?" Cannold enquired.

The article illustrates that Cannold was not trying to produce a scientific, psychological or a medical analysis on teenage brain development, rather is writing simply as a concerned parent. Join the club!

Cannold's primary concern is the 'hanky panky' that 'might' occur, that by simply saying yes to a sleepover - that it might subtly feel coercive to a teenage girl, as though adolescent sex was normal or even expected.

Photo - Tronson du Coudray art Germindate

Wisdom

My wife Delma who has been in Christian ministry with me for 42 years says that for parents of teenagers, this is always an issue to consider, regardless of how much "protest" a teenage son or daughter might express.

Clearly, every sensible parent does not want any unsavoury situation or any complaint coming from events that occurred "in their house" when those young people were in effect, under their roof with 'some kind of supervision'.

Delma Tronson says you cannot take back what is given "as its been given", or take back what is taken "as it has been taken". Many a young person has wept the tears of "past tense".

Leslie Cannold has a point when she says: "Who knows what an adolescent girl really wants?"

Again Delma Tronson says that the "here and now" is an issue for all young people by not "recognising or thinking about consequences." Every caring parents goes through such dilemmas. Is staying up all night "watching and waiting" an option at all? Trusting your teenager might be okay. What of the other teenagers in your house for the sleep over?

The Bible is pretty sensible about such issues as it sets an initial standard. Your children will reflect what you have taught them and illustrated in your own life and marriage (Deuteronomy 6).

The Bible is also earthy, as passion and adultery is not something lost on its writers (example, David and Bathsheba). Paul in 1 Corinthians 7 acknowledges the electric passion of sexual desire.

Delma Tronson said that she and Mark (now grand-parents) offered a latitude of trust to their four children (all now adults) as they grew up (including many sleep overs). One important thing was that they knew the young people involved and they had some contact with their parents (school, social or church functions).

It is never an easy road for parents, but one that must inevitably be travelled.

Photo - Tronson du Coudray art Rahab and the Spies

What's changed in all these years

Three things have changed in my view. People such as Susan Patton which I have written on several occasions, are articulate on such matters. My last article on Susan Patton is very clear about girls making sensible decisions. Think long term. Patton is getting a lot of air time and even the feminists are taking a little more notice. Today Bettina Arndt is on the same message in Australia, particularly university campus.

Second, those teenage girls who have a proclivity to roll the dice and make themselves as an offering to the desires of young men are becoming more robust and this is seen in the massive pornography industry. Sadly, this is now main stream. Even 'good girls' find it a financial means to get through university. Moreover if someone is that desperate for sex, they can go on Tumblr or watch it on their PC, their mobile phone, anywhere really.

The other end of the spectrum I'm noticing and expressed in various ways by our Christian young writers, is that a women's sacred gift to her husband is herself and her body. It is more than purity or morality or honour, and it doesn't matter what one done in the past, there is a new thing that has happened. It is a fresh start in Christ.

By committing oneself to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, it has become a sacred act, and that affects every area of one's life. One of those areas, and only one, is that of offering to your partner the most precious part of your being, the sacred. It is an expression of one's deepest most parts of one's heart. This has become the new "me" and new "offering".

It is no longer the Australian Mint "security", rather this has nothing to do with the physical, it has everything to do with a commitment to the Lord. In some weird sense it is not unlike how a Roman Catholic woman falls at the foot of the cross and becomes a 'sacred bride'. Nothing deters that kind of bond. It is "out and beyond".

This millennial generation of young committed Christians don't have a problem with sleepovers, rather sleepovers have a problem with this "sacred" - it transcends.

Photo - Tronson du Coudray art Prescient of Flight

Dr Mark Tronson is a Baptist minister (retired) who served as the Australian cricket team chaplain for 17 years (2000 ret) and established Life After Cricket in 2001. He was recognised by the Olympic Ministry Medal in 2009 presented by Carl Lewis Olympian of the Century. He mentors young writers and has written 24 books, and enjoys writing. He is married to Delma, with four adult children and grand-children. Dr Tronson writes a daily article for Christian Today Australia (since 2008) and in November 2016 established Christian Today New Zealand.

Mark Tronson's archive of articles can be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/mark-tronson.html
For the second year in a row, the CAO brand from General Cigar Company will be a part of the TAA Exclusive Series. At this years Tobacconist Association of America (TAA) conference that took place in Casa de Campo from March 17 to March 21, General Cigar announced the CAO Brazilia Select would be a part of the 2019 TAA Exclusive Series.

While CAO Brazilia is known for its Brazilian Araprica wrapper, the CAO Brazilia Select uses a Connecticut Habano wrapper instead. The Brazilian tobacco is used for the binder and there is a mix of Honduran, Dominican, and Nicaraguan tobaccos in the filler. The CAO Brazilia Select comes in one size  a 6 1/2 x 60 Gordo.

General Cigar has used the Connecticut Habano wrapper before on a CAO Brazilia. Back in 2013, there was a limited release known as the CAO Brazilia Carnivale.

Typically TAA Exclusive Cigars are unveiled at the annual convention and made available to the approximately 80 retail members. The members come together at the annual convention and collectively make high volume purchases on cigars in exchange for exclusive promotions and pricing.

While other companies are expected to make TAA releases, very few make formal announcements on the products being offered to the TAA. The TAA also does not make formal announcements. The CAO Brazilia Select joins Crowned Heads The Angels Anvil 2019, Eiroa Jamastran, E.P. Carrillo La Historia 656, La Palina Silver Label, Nat Sherman Timeless Limited Edition TAA Exclusive, Don Pepin Garcia Original TAA Exclusive Limited Edition 2019, Brick House Ciento Por Ciento, AJ Fernandez New World Redondo, and Tatuaje TAA 51st as TAA releases Cigar Coop has been able to confirm thus far.
Capt. Janik

Navy Captain Scott Janik, Commodore of Training Air Wing 6, will speak about the Navy the Nation Needs at the March 28 Rotary Club of Coconut Grove meeting. Captain Janik will include historical perspective, an overview of the service, areas of conflict where the Navy is currently engaged and the impact of the Navy on the Miami area.





A native of Corvallis, Oregon, Captain Scott Janik was commissioned in 1995 via the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program at Villanova University and was designated a Naval Flight Officer in August 1996. He assumed command as Commodore Training Air Wing Six in July 2018.





Captain Janik has logged more than 3,000 hours and over 500 arrested landings in tactical aircraft while flying more than 120 combat missions. His decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medals, strike flight Air Medals, Navy Commendation Medals as well as other individual, campaign and unit awards.





The Rotary Club of Coconut Grove meets every Thursday at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club, 2990 South Bayshore Drive at 12:30 pm. The cost of the meeting is $25 with lunch or $10 without lunch. Open to the public.




Aaron Finch hit a career-best ODI score of 155 to help Australia to an eight-wicket win over Pakistanin Sharjah.Finch's second successive hundred in the series saw the visitors take a 2-0 lead, having also won by eight wickets at the same venue on Friday.Australia successfully chased down 281 on that occasion, while the target on Sunday was slightly higher after Pakistan finished with 284 for seven from their 50 overs with Mohammad Rizwan (115) their top scorer.Finch and Usman Khawaja (88) put on 209 for the opening wicket, before Khawaja was caught at deep midwicket off the bowling of Yasir Shah in the 37th over.Glenn Maxwell (19) was run out shortly afterwards but Finch continued to get runs and reached his 150 before clinching victory with 13 balls remaining.Another victory in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday would see Australia take an unassailable lead in the five-match series.
Barcelona are ready to listen to offers for their most expensive signing Philippe Coutinho, but the former Liverpool man is determined to stay and fight for his place.Barca made a dogged pursuit for Coutinho last season, eventually getting their man for the costly collective sum of 145million in a record deal.The Brazilian has not made a smooth transition to the first team of the reigning Spanish champions, and speculation soon began to mount that Barca were willing to cash in on their man in favour of pursuing other star names.It is now understood that the La Liga giants will listen to offers for Coutinho, a mere 14 months after his arrival in Catalonia, but would want to recoup at least 136m or a figure in the region.The 90m asking prices quoted in some areas of the media in recent weeks is wide of the mark, though on a personal level Coutinho is desperate to make his Barca move a success.Coutinho made the difficult decision to leave Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool and made his desire known to the Reds' hierarchy that the Nou Camp was his dream destination.No talks between Barca and the playmaker regarding his future have taken place, though the club expect interest to emerge given the uncertain status of the No 7.Representatives of Coutinho remain calm about the situation, and will not actively seek a move for their client in the summer.Coutinho arrived just before fellow Brazilian Artur Melo, who in contrast has made a considerable impact on the midfield of Ernesto Valverde's side.Barca currently top the pile in Spain on 66 points from 28 matches played, and are on course to defend their title.On the European stage they face Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.The victors of the two-legged contest will go on to face either Liverpool or Porto, setting up the opportunity for Coutinho to come up against his former club.United and Premier League rivals Chelsea have both been linked with the 26-year-old.
I'll admit, it would take a really big spectacle of distraction to get me off my phone. I'm a terrible phone addict.But then I went and visited a sleepy desert town of Southern California called Lake Elsinore. Wow.That's where you'll find thousands upon thousands of wildflowers blooming on what's usually barren hillsides  a natural phenomenon called a 'super bloom'.You just want to look at it, and look at it, and look at it some more.California has suffered seven years of drought. But a long, wet winter has broken that drought  with the land drenched in heavy rains. Experts believe that rain  as well as the wildfires that burned through late last year have contributed to this super bloom. Interestingly, heat and smoke can cause seeds to germinate.Even though super blooms can happen about once a decade, the City of Lake Elsinore Mayor Steve Manos told 9News he's never seen anything like this.GALLERY:Tens of thousands converge on California 'poppy apocalypse''I've lived here 32 years  I've never seen the flowers bloom in quantity and quality as we've seen it this year.'From afar, the flowers all look electric orange. But as you hike up the trails  parts of which are pretty steep  you get up close to the wildflowers and see so many more colours. There are purples, pinks, pale greens and yellows.While my cameraman was shooting the flowers, I didn't have much to do. Naturally, I grabbed my phone and went to check emails. The trouble was I didn't have any reception. So I was forced to just look around.I sat on a rock and put my phone away. It was the first time all day I'd actually looked at the flowers properly. They were beautiful....and how incredible that they're the product of Mother Nature, nothing else, and yet it takes quite a series of elements to line up in a certain way for the flowers to grow in such abundance.The crowds descending on Lake Elsinore are bigger than the town's population. In total 65,000 residents call Lake Elsinore home and on weekends at the moment, up to 100,000 people are visiting. That's more than double the daily number of visitors to Disneyland.Sadly, you'll find almost as many selfie sticks and smartphones. People are desperate to see the flowers for themselves, but equally desperate for that ''perfect shot'.Groups of girlfriends were arriving in their prettiest hats and smartest outfits to lie amongst the poppies and have their photo taken for Instagram.There's now names and hashtags for the Super Bloom on social media  'poppypalooza', 'poppy-apocalypse', 'poppyganda'  to name a few.To use the Mayor's words, 'It's insanity'.So maybe there's something the super bloom can teach us all.Put the phones away, stop thinking about Instagram and Facebook, and be in the moment.Don't forget to stop and smell the poppies.
It's often hard to make sense of an election outcome with such a confusion of stories and trends as the New South Wales state poll on Saturday. But in thinking of what it means for the renewable energy industry, I'm immediately drawn to this graph below.It shows the build-up of wind, solar and battery and pumped hydro storage projects by state. It shows that NSW, even if it trails others by actual deployment to date, has clearly been considered as the State of Anticipation.What happens now that the Gladys Berejiklian Coalition government has been returned in NSW, for yet another 4-year term, is unclear. The state seems destined to return to its previous moniker of the State of Uncertainty.It stands with W.A. as the only state or territory without a specific renewables target, yet it is faced with perhaps the most dramatic transition of all, thanks to the age of its coal generation fleet - most of which is due for retirement over the next 12-12 years.Labor came into the polls with a well-articulated strategy - a 50 per cent renewable target by 2030,a build out of at least 9GW of wind and solar.But it didn't seem to want to shout those initiatives from the rooftops, particularly in the last few weeks of the campaign, where a 1GW storage initiative failed to see the light of day.The state Coalition government was more cautious. It refused to be drawn in to any commitment for a build-out of large scale wind or solar, and was also careful not to say too much about coal.The only firm commitments made were made directly to consumers on distributed generation - interest free loans to help NSWcatch up with rooftop solar and battery storage, with a target of 300,000 homes, and welcome initiatives on making solar easier for apartment dwellers, and a small commitment to large scale battery storage.But it ignored the elephant in the room, the fact that NSW faces the phase out of most of its coal generators in the coming decade or so. Which means it will need new investment, and the CSIRO and the Australian Energy Market Operator tell us unequivocally that wind and solar, even with storage, are the cheapest options.That is why such a huge pipeline of potential projects has built up in the state. Quite how this pipeline is unlocked, and developed, when the state Coalition has no target, no proposed reverse tenders (as Labor had suggested), is anyone's guess.New coal investment was championed noisily by only one group of people,a crew of Queensland LNP members who want a coal generator in northern Queensland. When this was hoorayed by former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce as part of a particularly clumsy effort to get his name back up in lights, he was told to shut up by the NSW Nationals branch.They, at least, could see what the impact would be. And it is no coincidence that the biggest political losers in this state poll has been the Nationals, particularly in those areas where climate is already having a tangible impact - and where the Nationals are seen as more friendly to miners than to farmers.The Nationals vote was down nearly across the board, and two Nationals MLAs were turfed out and replaced by another two members of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party, both standing on an articulate platform of water issues, schools and access to health.The Nationals may lose another, the seat of Dubbo, to an independent Mathew Dickerson, the mayor of Dubbo who was an early adopter of electric vehicles and a strong promoter of renewable energy.This is the stunning result.More than half the state's land mass is now represented by the SFF, and the Nationals influence is further reduced by climate-focused independent Joe McGirr in Wagga Wagga, who was returned handsmomely.Two of the seats in the north-east corner credited in this map (published on news.com.au) to the Nationals will go to the Greens (Ballina), or to the Greens or Labor (Lismore).Labor, meanwhile, is reduced to a small geographic rump based around the coal mining regions north and south of Sydney, and a string of seats straddling the major arterials in an out of Sydney, and a couple of inner city seats that weren't snapped by the Greens or independents.This, of course, has implications for the federal arena, as many commentators have suggested, and it will be fascinating to see how the Coalition handles the coal issue, and the coal lobby in business (the Minerals Council) and in media (News Corp and talkback radio).As the Guardian's Katherine Murphy observed recently,prime minister Scott Morrison, the man who cradled a lump of coal in his hands and brandished it around the floor of the house of representatives,shouting don't be afraid, it's only coal- is exactly that, and dares not mention its name.The Coalition - under pressure from influential and deep pocketed donors - is pushing to announce a group of favoured projects under its FUNGI (federal underwriting of new generation investment).It is too late to lock in contracts that could or would not be broken by a Labor government, but it will be interesting to see what is short-listed. Possibly an extension or refurbishment of Vales Point, and maybe the seemingly crazy idea to restart the dirty Redbank. All will be presented with a mixture of renewables and storage to make them more palatable.The bid difference will be in how the climate and energy transition is pitched.The federal Coalition is committed to painting any higher targets than its own as economy-wrecking, backed by big business in the form of the antediluvian Business Council of Australia, and has armed itself with the preposterous costings of the mining industry's favourite economic modeller, Brian Fisher.It has busily unveiled a stream of policies, but they amount to little more than putting lipstick on the pig of Tony Abbott's emissions reduction fund,$1.4 billion to Snowy Hydro to help fund its Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro schemes, and a lot of talk about Hydro Tasmania's battery of the nation project.Labor has its 45 per cent emissions reduction policy and a 50 per cent renewable energy target. Most independent studies suggest the cost of these policies should be minimal, but it's wary of its ability to win against a scare campaign that will be amplified by the Murdoch media and barely scrutinised by the ABC and Nine.Labor also has a household battery incentive scheme, but there is so much more that could be done by both parties - electric vehicles, energy efficiency, yet more on distributed generation.But will Labor go for the jugular?The history of the Coalition government, through Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull, and Morrison, the scrapping of the carbon price, the attempt to kill the renewables target, the cradling of a lump of coal, and the rump of a Coalition still in denial of climate science, presents an un-missable target and a point of difference.An exit poll in the seat of Coogee, the only Sydney seat to fall to Labor, revealed just 21 per cent of the remaining Liberal voters through climate change an important issue, compared to more than 60 per cent for everyone else and 57 per cent for Liberal Party deserters.Food for thought. Or perhaps a no-brainer. It's what's given new life to independents, after all.Giles ParkinsonGiles Parkinson is founder and editor of Renew Economy, and is also the founder of One Step Off The Gridand founder/editor of The Driven. Giles has been a journalist for 35 years and is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review.
Cristiano Ronaldoand his Portugal team-mates enjoyed a relaxed training session on the eve of their Euro 2020qualifier against Serbia.After being held to a 0-0 draw by Ukrainein their opening match of the campaign, Ronaldo and Co will be back in action on Monday at Lisbon's Estadio da Luz.Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes against Ukraine on Friday as Portugal had 18 shots but were unable to make their domination count.That disappointing result did not appear to be weighing too heavily on the players' minds on Sunday though, as Fernando Santos's team looked calm as they were put through their paces at a training camp in Oeiras, on the outskirts of Lisbon.Portugal, who are Europe's reigning champions after winning Euro 2016, will be hoping to kick-start their campaign against Serbia, who have yet play a match in Group B.In order to guarantee their spot at the 2020 finals, Portugal must finish in the top two of their five-team group, which also includes Luxembourg and Lithuania.But should they fail to secure a top-two finish, they will be given another shot at qualification via the Nations League play-offs, having won their pool in that competition ahead of Italy and Poland.
Eden Hazardhas played down speculation that he already has a deal in place to sign for Real Madridthis summer.The La Ligagiants have been long-time admirers of the Chelseastar and hope to finally strike a deal to bring him to the Bernabeu at the end of this season.Hazard will enter the final year of his contract in London in June and reports suggest Real are set to launch another bid in the coming weeks.Currently on international duty with Belgium, Hazard denied that there is an agreement in place with Real and insisted he is not focused on his future at present.'There's nothing in the reports,' he said in a pre-match press conference. 'I'm only focused on [Sunday's] game against Cyprus. That's all I'm thinking about.'Hazard is expected to earn his 100th international appearance for Belgium in Nicosia but claimed he will not treasure any reward for the occasion.'It would have been nicer to be playing in Belgium but the calendar determined otherwise,' he added.'I'm happy that in my 28th year I have reached the milestone. It has been a great experience to date and hopefully it will not end just yet. I'm still feeling good and still have a lot of pleasure to wear the (Belgian) shirt.'What am I going to do with it? I fear it will land up in my garage along with the trophies that I've won.'However, according to Sky Sportsearlier this week, doubts about Real's chances of securing Hazard's services have crept in following the rejection of a 60million bid earlier this month, prompting them to assess other options.Sky sourcesunderstand that the West Ham's Felipe Anderson is high on Madrid's list with Chelsea even more reluctant to cash in on prized asset Hazard after being handed a transfer ban.New Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane is eager to strengthen his side in the summer and will take a closer look at Anderson over the coming months despite Hazard topping their wishlist in a recent fan poll.It is believed that West Ham would be more than willing to allow the forward to leave should Madrid meet their demands, which are almost double what they paid for him last year.Zidane will also target moves for Christian Eriksen and Sadio Mane as well in the summer window.
One of the world's leading DNA scientists  whose lab helped identify victims of the 9/11 terror attack - has told Nine.com.auhe believes he can answer a major forensic question that baffled investigators and could finally help solve what happened to missing girl Madeleine McCann, more than 11 years after she mysteriously vanished.Speaking in tomorrow's fifth episode of Maddie, American DNA expert Dr Mark Perlin reveals potentially case-changing insights into the DNA samples that were taken from the McCann's holiday apartmentand rental car in 2007. Those samples were later judged to be inconclusive.Dr Perlin, chief scientist at the world renowned Cybergenetics lab in Pittsburgh, has reviewed the now out-dated testing methods used by the UK's Forensic Science Service (FSS) in 2007 to analyse the McCann samples. He has also examined a crucial final DNA report that was sent to the Portuguese police.Portuguese police sent DNA samples to the FSS for testing after two specialist sniffer dogs trained to detect the scent of death and human blood alerted in the McCann's holiday apartment and a rental carhired three weeks after Maddie vanished. The FSS analysed the samples but struggled to untangle and decipher the potentially explosive evidence.'[The FSS testing] failed in this case 10 years ago,' Dr Perlin said.'If a lab can produce informative data, even if it is complex and mixed, but they can't interpret it then you can have tremendous injustice - of guilty people not being convicted, or innocent people staying in prison. What is needed is an objective and accurate interpretation that can scientifically resolve the DNA.'The inconclusive DNA results from the FSS appeared to cast serious doubt over the earlier work of the cadaver dogs that had searchedthe potential crime scenes.Cybergenetics has forged a global reputation through solving previously indecipherable DNA samples, with its highly-advanced testing methods using powerful computer algorithms.Dr Perlin's laboratory has played a pivotal role in a number of high-profile US criminal trials involving wrongful convictions based on dodgy DNA evidence and controversial prosecutions. Cybergenetics also helped identify victims of the 9/11 terror attack.In 2007, the now-closed British lab, the FSS, was forced to undertake a massive review of up to 2000 cases of violent crime, including rape and murder. There were concerns that the DNA tests relating to these criminal cases had failed to detect minute traces of DNA that could potentially have identified guilty parties.Dr Perlin will feature in Monday's episode five of Maddie, Nine.com.au'spodcast investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance. Maddiequickly reached number one in the UK, Australia and New Zealand iTunes charts.Since 2007, the McCanns have strenuously denied any involvement in the disappearance of their daughter. Nine.com.audoes not suggest any involvement on their part.SPOILER ALERTS: Recap of first fourMaddieepisodesEpisode one: 'They've Taken Her'Madeleine mysteriously goes missing while on a family holidayin Portugal. Kate and Gerry and their friends, the Tapas 7, conduct a complex and at times confusing checking schedule on their children. The group claim they were leaving their kids alone each night while they ate dinner at a nearby tapas bar.Episode two: Red FlagsThe police investigation begins but detectives appear to have doubts about the McCann apartment which shows no forensic sign of being broken into. A former UK police chief struggles to understand how someone can climb in and out of Maddie's open bedroom window. Jane Tanner, a Tapas 7 friend, reports seeing a man carrying a girl away from the McCann apartment, but police have concerns about the reliability of her evidence. Changes in two of Gerry McCann's police statementsare analysed.Episode three: Man with No FaceA criminal profiler underlines the importance of a second sightingon the night Maddie was reported missing, as the potential abductor seen by Jane Tanner is ruled out by police. Two e-fits of a mansuddenly emerge into the public domain in 2013, but it turns out private detectives hired by the McCanns had obtained those potentially significant e-fits five years earlier. A first suspect is named by Portuguese police, quickly resulting in three of the McCann's friends in unison going to police claiming they had seen him on the night of May 3, an allegation which is hotly disputed by the man. How long did Gerry McCann leave the table at the tapas restaurant on the night of May 3?Episode four: Eddie and KeelaA significant deployment of British diplomats are sent to Praia da Luz inside of 24 hours of Madeleine's disappearance. A former homicide detective wonders why the arrival of so many diplomats was necessary, amid accusations of British interference in the Portuguese police investigation. Two highly regarded specialist dogs are brought to Portugal and make a number of alertsinside the McCann's holiday apartment, 5A, and a rental carthey had hired weeks after Madeleine went missing. The McCanns are declared arguidos, and DNA samples are sent to the UK.LISTEN TO LATEST EPISODES OFMADDIENOWMaps, graphics, stories and all episodes ofMaddiehere:nine.com.au/maddie
A geostorm on Friday may give people in the Northern United States and Canada a chance to witness the aurora borealis from where they are.Which places will have this rare opportunity?Geostorm WarningOn March 21, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a geostorm warning for March 22 to 24 as a result of a solar flare that erupted last March 20. The geostorm warnings for the said days are as follows: below G1 for March 22, G2 for March 23, and G1 for March 24.This means that on the evening of Friday, March 22, up until early morning on Saturday, March 23, the solar flare will bend around the Earth's magnetic field and slam onto the poles. As a result, the northern lights will be supercharged and cause it to go deeper.While this may causesome minor blackouts in some high-frequency radio signals and navigation signals, it may also give some people a chance to see the northern lights.Northern Lights In AmericaWith the geostorm warning, people in the Northern United States may be able to see the northern lights should the conditions allow it. With a clear and dark sky, people in Canada, North Dakota, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Montana, Michigan, Vermont, and Maine may be able to watch the northern lights, while those in Detroit and Chicago may be able to see it on the horizon.The light show may be seen best about three or four hours around midnight, but those who live in light-polluted locations may find it harder. Furthermore, the bright moon on Friday may make it a little difficult as well.Northern LightsTypically, the auroras can be seen in the northern and southern hemisphere. In the north, it is called the aurora borealisand can be seen in parts of northwestern Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Alaska, Norway, and Siberia, while the aurora australis in the south are not often seen, as they are concentrated over Antarctica and the southern Indian Ocean.
New Zealand politicians are calling for an inquiry to determine if the mosque terror attack could have been prevented, as a national memorial is planned for the victims.Fifty people were killed in the March 15 attack on Christchurch's Masjid al Noor and Linwood Masjid when a lone gunman opened fire during Friday prayers.National Party leader Simon Bridges on Sunday called for a Royal Commission to determine if the attacks could have been prevented.'It will need to ask hard questions about whether our security and intelligence agencies had their focus in the right places,' he said.ACT leader David Seymour agrees and believes an inquiry should look at why authorities hadn't detected the alleged gunman before the attack and the adequacy of intelligence resourcing.He has accused the Labour government of rushing the response and could thwart Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's hope for unanimous support for gun law changes.The prime minister has announced a national memorial service will be held on Friday, with thousands expected to turn out again in solidarity for the local Muslim community.They were able to return to the scene of the tragedy on Saturday, a week and a day after the attacks that also injured 50 people.'The service will be a chance to once again show that New Zealanders are compassionate, inclusive and diverse, and that we will protect those values,' she said.The service will be broadcast live to events in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin.Foreign delegations are expected, including a representative of the British royal family.It's rumoured to be Prince William who has visited Christchurch several times.A vigil was held on Sunday night for the victims, where the call was for continued love and unity as many asked what will come next.Interim measures have banned semi-automatic firearms like those used in the attack until legislation is introduced, likely around April 11.The alleged gunman, 28-year-old Australian Brenton Tarrant, has been transferred from Christchurch and is now believed to be held in a maximum security prison in Auckland.He has no access to television, radio or newspapers and no approved visitors.Tarrant is charged with one count of murder but is expected to face more charges. He's due to return to court on April 5.
Manchester United could be ready to splash 250million on young Portuguese trio Joao Felix, Ruben Dias and Bruno Fernandes, according to the Mirror.The club are monitoring Benfica pair Felix, 19, and Dias, 21, as well as 24-year-old Fernandes of Sporting Lisbon.Should Ole Gunnar Solskjaer be named Man Unitedboss full-time, he is keen to bring in the best young talent to supplement his squad.However, they could come at a cost with Dias valued at 50m, while Felix has a 105m release clause and Fernandes' is set at 95million.All three have a number of leading clubs from across Europe also chasing them, including Manchester City, Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid.Midfielder Fernandes, who moved back to Portugal from Sampdoria in 2017, has earned 11 caps and scored two goals for his country since his debut in 2017.Dias and Felix are both graduates of Benfica's youth system, with defender Dias earning eight senior international caps while Felix earned a call-up for the March internationals.
Welcome to our weekly round-up of the biggest breaking stories on Driving.ca from this past week. Get caught up and ready to get on with the weekend, because it's hard keeping pace in a digital traffic jam.Here's what you missed while you were away.This woman has entirely too much trust in Teslaand her husbandA driver wishing to test his Tesla's Autopilot Emergency Braking system and the strength of his marriage founda willing pedestrian subject in his wife. The video of the stunt showed the Model S braking automatically from 30 km/h when the woman suddenly steps in front of it. Take two doesn't go so smoothly, requiring the man to apply the brakes himself and narrowly missing his partner. The video has since been removed.Noose found at Ram truck plant stirs racial tensionsThings are getting ugly at Fiat Chrysler's Ram truck plant in Michigan as the company brings in third-party investigators to look into another potential act of racism.Workers at the Sterling Heights plant discovered a noose hanging at the factory late last montha heinous display that been historically used as a not-so-veiled threat against African Americans. The plant was subject to a similar internal investigation into racist harassment in the form of hanging nooses two years ago. 'If and when that person is identified, their relationship with the company will be terminated,' the company said. 'This type of behavior will simply not be tolerated.'Busted! Two boys caught on camera doing $100,000 damage at Toyota dealershipWas it a double dare? Did one of them get dumped by a middle school crush? We may never know what set these two minors from Perth, Australia off, but the result of their rage will live on forever.It was caught on camera. The pair has been charged with criminal damage after going on a rampage at the local Toyota dealership, kicking off bumpers, smashing windscreens, throwing concrete blocks through windows. You know, typical boy stuff.Has the Ford Explorer been poisoning its passengers?Ford and U.S. federal authorities continue to receive complaints from Ford Explorer owners, including police departments that use the SUVs as cruisers,claiming exhaust is seeping into the cabin and causing drivers and passengers to feel ill. Ford claims its tests have revealed no such flaw, but the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which launched a probe looking into the alleged issue, continues to investigate. If they find something, Ford could be forced to recall over a million vehicles.Sold!Mint-condition 2008 Dodge Challenger with 9-mile readingAfter being coddled by its original ownerstored in a trailer on a trickle charger for 11 years, run only to maintain the engine, never washed or platedthis 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 with just nine miles on its odometerhas found its second owner via eBay Motors. The Challenger fetched US$36,995 on the online sales platform, which seems like a fair price to pay for what is in all likelihood the most pristine first-edition '08 Challenger on the planet.
Paris Saint-Germainhave reportedly agreed to extend the contract of manager Thomas Tuchel despite him overseeing the club's shock loss to Manchester UnitedTuchel, who has been in the job since May 2018, has maintained the club's domestic dominance, with PSG currently sat 20 points clear of Lille at the top of France's Ligue 1table.But Tuchel also oversaw a 3-1 home defeat by an under-strength United side  a match which sent PSG out of the Champions League despite their 2-0 win in the first leg at Old Trafford.According to Telefoot, Tuchel and PSG had been in talks over a new deal before that game and negotiations continued despite the damaging result.It is now claimed that an agreement  set to be formalised in the coming days  has been reached which will see the German commit to the Paris giants until the summer of 2021.Tuchel's overall win percentage at PSG is 81.40  35 victories, four draws and four defeats in his first 43 games.That record is slightly better than his predecessor's. Unai Emery took charge of 114 games, winning 87, drawing 15 and losing 12  giving him a win percentage of 76.32.
Rarely has a Scotland win felt as joyless as this. Seconds after Johnny Russell scored his first international goal 16 minutes from the end of an underwhelming Euro 2020 qualifying victory a band of just under 3000 Tartan Army footsoldiers made their feelings known.Filling the air with chants of 'f*** the SFA' revolution was the soundtrack to a victory which changed little; a win which did nothing to alter the national mood.Scotland could have scored eight or nine goals and nothing would have atoned for Thursday's 3-0 defeat in Nursultan. Or the feeling amongst supporters that the anachronistic SFA hierachy of Alan McRae and vice president Rod Petrie are as much to blame for the plight of the national team as the manager Alex McLeish.MATCH FACTS AND PLAYER RATINGSSAN MARINO: Benedettini, Battistini, Simoncini (Lunadei 86), Cevoli, Palazzi, Mularoni, Golinucci, Golinucci, Hirsch (Grandoni 78), Berardi, Vitaioli (Nanni 61)Subs not used:Zavoli, Cesarini, Battistini, Giardi, Benedettini, Brolli, Rinaldi, Censoni, TomassiniBookings:BerardiSCOTLAND: Bain, O'Donnell, Bates, McKenna, Robertson, McLean, McGregor (McTominay 57), Russell, Armstrong (Forrest 71), Fraser, Paterson (McNulty 37)Subs not used:McLaughlin, Palmer, Souttar, Fleck, McGinn, Shinnie, Burke, Kelly, McBurnieGoals: McLean (4) Russell (74)Bookings: McTominayReferee:Manuel Schuttengruber (AUS)An hour before kick-off news came through of an easy 4-0 win for Russia in Kazakhstan and it felt like salt being rubbed into an open wound with a Brillo pad. A laboured 2-0 win over the worst international team on the planet brought booing at half-time and more booing at the final whistle. In the midst of 90 minutes against international cannon fodder the visitors mustered just six shots on target.You could argue Scotland only did what they always do in San Marino. All four of their visits have now ended in stodgy 2-0 wins and this was no different. The damage was done in Kazakhstan and what they did against the nation sitting 212th in the FIFA rankings was less important than how they did it.Scotland's management knew the score here. Had they romped past a team without a since win since Liechtenstein in a friendly back in 2004 they would have impressed no one at all.How this uninspired performance changes things - if it does - remains to be seen.The SFA board have no plans to discuss the matter until they meet in the middle of next month and uppermost in their thoughts will be cash. The next qualifier is a home game with Cyprus and chants of 'Sack the Board' from the Tartan Army here suggest a sell-out crowd is unlikely.Drained of key sponsors and facing a large bill for the purchase of Hampden the governing body now have a decision to make. Sacking McLeish as manager would certainly cost them money. The worry is that keeping him might cost them more.Kenny McLean's first international goal after four minutes should have made this a comfortable victory; the absolute least supporters expected and demanded. Yet until Russell broke his international duck in his tenth appearance in 74 minutes the result was never completely assured.On a night when he was damned if he did, damned if he didn't Big Eck needed a performance as much as a resultA decent flowing wouldn't have helped him much. But neither would it have done him any harm.Playing Cardiff utility man Callum Paterson as an out and out striker, then, raised eyebrows.James Forrest, the player whose goals did more than any other to secure a Nations League play-off place, was benched and made a genuine difference when he appeared as a late sub, laying on Russell's strike.Andrew Robertson, recovered from a dental operation, took back the captain's armband - one of six changes from Kazakhstan and one of them - Kenny McLean - will remember the night more fondly than most.The Norwich midfielder marked his first competitive Scotland start with a goal after four minutes.Winger Ryan Fraser, banned from playing on the artificial pitch in Kazakhstan by his club Bournemouth, slung a cross into a crowded area towards the near post, McLean twisting his body to guide the ball low into the net with a glancing header.The goal should have teed up a bit of a romp. Yet somewhere in that first half they badly lost their way.It needed a brilliant stop from home keeper Elia Benedettini to prevent Stuart Armstrong doubling the lead in 20 minutes. The loose ball fell kindly for the Southampton man and he still looked certain to rattle in the second until a desperate goalline block turned his effort round the post.The whole vibe of the night changed when, unthinkably, San Marino almost scored on the half hour.Despite the return of LIverpool's Robertson for Graeme Shinnie the danger again came from the left-back area, a piercing through ball inviting winger Jose Hirsch to gather the ball and round keeper Scott Bain. Mercifully, he pushed it too wide, the angle narrowing by the second and he thrashed the ball into the side-netting.Suddenly the Scots looked unsure of themselves. A San Marino breakaway ended in left-back Mirko Palazzi thrashing a right foot shot wide of the post. None of this was in the script.Neither was the loss of Paterson after 37 minutes. The former Hearts man's short stint as a striker ended when he landed heavily from a jump. Marc McNulty - and *actual* centre-forward was the replacement.At half-time the Tartan Army made their feelings known. The stats showed 80 per cent Scots possession, eleven efforts on goal and just four on target.Things threatened to get significantly worse before they improved. San Marino striker Filippo Berardi tried to buy a penalty under minimal pressure from Scott McKenna six minutes into the second half. The impressively named Austrian referee Manuel Schuttengruber was having none of it and he was right about that. Yet the fleeting moment of fear reminded everyone that this game was still too close for comfort. Scottish refs have given spot kicks for less.The introduction of Scott McTominay for Callum McGregor added a degree of urgency. The most telling change was the replacement of Stuart Armstrong with Forrest.A quick swift break from the Celtic winger brought a dangerous cross, McNulty stepping over the ball to leave it for Russell at the back post. The former Dundee United and Derby striker kept calm before lashing the ball high into the roof of the net.Qualification for the Euro finals has almost become an afterthought post Kazakhstan.Yet a defiant McLeish insists: "It's never over. We know the Russians are strong, we know Belgium are favourites, but it's never over this early in a competition. I think there will be blips in the ensuring games and we have to get better. It's quite simple. And we need to get our best players in the team.'
A 27-year-old man from Sydney has become the seventh person in the world to contract HIV despite taking anti-retroviral medication, reports confirmed.A few days before Christmas last year, Steven Spencer found out that his regular sexual health test returned a positive result for HIVFor a time, he has been undergoing treatment and taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a medication that is designed to prevent the spread of the disease."I remember I was left sitting in the doctor's waiting room for 15 minutes and then came the diagnosis," Spencer toldABC News Australia.Receiving The Diagnosis Was A 'Rollercoaster'A day after receiving the diagnosis, Spencer immediately began his treatment for HIV. It had also been six weeks since his viral load, which was undetectable. It meant that the virus will not be transferred via sexual intercourse.Spencer said that although he feels unlucky, the last thing he wanted was for people to doubt the effectiveness of PrEP. He has been a PrEP advocate for a long time and remains supportive of the drug."Even though my case may sow a seed of doubt, I don't think it should at all," he added.What Is Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP)?More than half a million patients around the world take PrEP. It is an anti-viral medication taken by people who do not have HIV but who are at risk of getting it. It is recommended to be taken before sex either as a low dose or a higher dose that's taken two hours before sex and then another tablet after sex.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the drug worksby preventing the development of HIV and it is taken as a pill (Truvada) that contains tenofovir and emtricitabine.The CDC says that the drug reduces the risk of HIV infection in people who are at high risk by up to 92 percent. One important thing to note is that PrEP is less effective when it is taken inconsistently.In 2018, PrEP was added on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme after studies were done involving 14,000 gay and bisexual men across Australia.This helped reduce the cost of a three-month supply of anti-viral drugs from a whopping $2,000 to $120, with some users importing the drug overseas.Edwina Right, an associate professor from the Australian Society for Sexual Health Medicines, said the method that involves taking two tablets before sex and another two after 48 hours has shown significant results.Right said there was a trial that showed reduced HIV transmission by 86 percent and that they are still waiting on further studies to determine if taking the drug daily is just as effective.Taking PrEP Is Still Highly RecommendedDespite the development of Spencer's case, health advocates believe that PrEP should still be taken to prevent HIV infection.Advocates from the Terrence Higgins Trust urge people not to panic about the effectiveness of the drug.Ian Green, the chief executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, said prescribed PrEP is nearly 100 percent effective at stopping HIV transmission."It's vital that this story doesn't put people off accessing PrEP for HIV prevention," Green toldHuffingtonPost.Green added that there are thousands of people taking PrEP drugs and only a handful have developed HIV. He said those cases are lessons to be learned from.


Auto-update

48min

: Slovakia will no doubt launch the kitchen sink later in this half but an early goal for Wales to make it 2-0 really would help settle the nerves in Cardiff.

Nothing much to report early in this half, players again getting a feel for the ball.

BACK UNDERWAY!

Wales most-capped goalkeeper Neville Southall likes what he has seen so far...

Great game so far from wales ??????????????

 Neville Southall (@NevilleSouthall) March 24, 2019

HT: Wales 1-0 Slovakia

It could have been more - maybe should have been more - but Ryan Giggs will be satisfied with what he has seen in that first half.

The front four are living up to pre-match expectations, it is just a surprise that Real Madrid ace Gareth Bale has been the quietest of the quartet!

Dan James has been superb on his competitive debut for Wales and with his pace scaring the life out of the Slovakia defenders, he will be confident of more joy in the second half.

ONE ADDED MINUTE

Sportsmail's view from the Cardiff City Stadium

LAURIE WHITWELL

: Great to see the attacking freedom the Welsh front four have got.

There is plenty of movement and dribbling with the ball.

And three bookings for Slovakia already give extra reason to keep making those runs.

Everything Dan James touches turns to gold for Wales

44min

: Everything good that Wales have done in this first half has come through Dan James. He's the undoubted star of this show so far.

This time he is set free down the left and manages to whip in a deep cross towards David Brooks at the back post, only for Slovakia to get back in time to beat the Bournemouth midfielder to it.

Slovakia racking up the cautions now

Lobotka is next in the book for Slovakia - their third in this first half - for a cynical challenge in the middle of the park.

He's wasting his breath pleading his innocence.

Brooks almost makes it 2-0!

40min

: A lovely piece of skill from David Brooks saw him enter the area on the right and his eyes lit up as he tried to curl an effort into the far top corner.

It's not far away but yet another sign of the recently crowned Player of the Year's confidence.

Any updates from Kazakhstan?

For those here purely for updates on Kazakhstan-Russia, my apologies, but very little is happening.

Cherysev's goal was very good - try and dig it out - but that is all that separates the sides currently.

Now, back to Cardiff...

36min

: Slovakia have their second win now and their renaissance is being led by former Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik.

Slovakia unsurprisingly keen to ensure their main man sees plenty of the ball but Wales are wise to it.

I am sure Ryan Giggs will be happy if his players can manage the game through until half-time now. It would be a real sucker-punch if they go in level.

James is a real threat on the counter-attack

31min

: Wales' defensive shape has been very good so far and the big disappointment for Slovakia is that they have yet to test Wayne Hennessey.

But then comes the moment I mentioned earlier. Gareth Bale gets the ball and sets Dan James free on the counter-attack.

Slovakia are frightened by the Swansea City man's pace and Vavro goes into the book for a cynical challenge.

This is a game for the tacklers

Joe Allen is in his element. Producing crunching challenge after crunching challenge. Crowd loving it.

28min

: Slovakia coming back into this ever so slowly but it's a start from their perspective.

It might not be the worst thing for Wales. They are rapid on the counter-attack and will find space arise if Slovakia start showing some intent in attacking areas.

Elsewhere, Russia are ahead in Kazakhstan!

Russia have already managed to do something Scotland couldn't... score in Kazakhstan.

Denis Cheryshev found space deep inside the box to produce a sumptuous volley into the back of the net. The goalkeeper had no chance of keeping it out. 1-0!

The moment that separates the sides

?? | ?????????????? 1-0 ???? | REPLAY??????#WALSVK

pic.twitter.com/e5F4W9A5A5

 Wales ?????????????? (@Cymru) March 24, 2019

SIDE NETTING!

22min

: Great imagination from Wales as Ben Davies pulls off the overlap and his cross into the box meets David Brooks but on his weaker left foot, he can only direct his effort into the side- netting.

Slovakia desperately need a second wind

21min

: Brooks, Wilson and James are really enjoying themselves now but are just perhaps over-thinking their final ball.

Giggs will be more than happy with what he has seen so far but knows his players need to strengthen their advantage while they are on top.

Slovakia need to find a second wind or this could get messy.

16min

: Slovakia's confidence has taken a hit with that James' goal and that fluidity they showed in the first few minutes has now evaporated.

There is a renewed belief, a bite and a steeliness about Wales now. Challenges are flying in from Slovakia and Robert Mak is the first in the book for a nasty high challenge.

Real chance to deliver a free-kick now for Harry Wilson wide on the right...

As far as debuts go...

Sportsmail's view from the Cardiff City Stadium...

LAURIE WHITWELL

: It really was lovely intricate play down the right between David Brooks and Harry Wilson, with Dan James using his explosive speed to catch Peter Pekarik off-guard.

The new era for Wales in evidence.

Just what the doctor ordered

10min

: That early goal was exactly what the Euro 2020 qualifying doctor ordered after Slovakia looked to be making inroads in the first few minutes.

James took his goal really well and is continuing to strengthen his chances of a summer move to the Premier League.

He was 18-yards out, kept his head down and produced a rocket to make it 1-0. Gareth Bale would have been proud of that one.

GOAL - Wales 1-0 Slovakia (DAN JAMES)

5min

: First start. First goal. Dan James is in dreamland!

It is great play from David Brooks but it appears the opportunity has got away from Wales after Brooks misplaces his pass. Yet James reacts quickest, picks the pocket of the Slovakia backline and thunders an effort into the back of the net.

Not often a Swansea man has Cardiff in raptures!

3min

: Welsh fans bouncing inside the Cardiff City Stadium but it is the visitors who have enjoyed the early possession.

They have proven they are an accomplished side and this is anything but a stroll in the park for Ryan Giggs' side.

An early corner was well worked before Vavro powered an effort high and over the bar.

MATCH UNDERWAY!

And we are off! Big 90 minutes ahead for both sides in terms of the impact on qualifying Group E.

Goosebumps

The Red Wall delivers again with another cracking rendition. In fairness to the travelling Slovakia fans, they gave it their all for their own anthem.

Players on their way out

Not long to go now, players lining up and we prepare for the anthems...

Bodes well, this...

2 - Wales have won their opening match in their last two major qualifying campaigns, beating Moldova 4-0 in World Cup 2018 qualifying, and Andorra 2-1 in EURO 2016 qualifying. Starters.

 OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 24, 2019

Manager Ryan Giggs has his say...

Giggs to Sky Sports

: 'There is a lot of quality on the pitch. A couple of players missing out we do lack that bit of experience but I believe in the group, the players I have picked and lads can come off the bench.

'The expectation around it, wanting to get off to a good start, we have a plan and have to stick to it. I don't think it's a must win but it would be great to get off to a good start.

'I said yesterday it makes a difference (the crowd). We want to create an atmosphere at home and make the Cardiff City Stadium a fortress.'

15 MINUTES UNTIL KICK-OFF

Bale has laid down the challenge... and punters like their chances!

No Welsh fan will ever forget the heroics of Euro 2016 in France under Chris Coleman. A spot in the semi-finals was a moment many will cherish forever.

But with so many bright players coming through, Wales' Euro 2016 heroics could well be repeated under Ryan Giggs in 2020 - according to betting insight experts Bookmakers.tv

.

Giggs' men are 66/1 to win the competition next year, the lowest they have ever been before the start of a tournament.

Entering 2016 as 80/1 long shots, Coleman's side nearly shocked the world before losing in the end to overall winners Portugal. However, the Welsh are 33/1 to go one better than the semi final stage in Euro 2016 and make the final - with 66/1 the price for Wales to win the competition ahead of their qualifier against Slovakia today.

Can they do it...?

Real Madrid star Gareth Bale challenges Wales team-mates to upset the odds and top Euro 2020 qualifying Group E

LAURIE WHITWELL

: Gareth Bale

seemed almost affronted by the question. To most observers Wales are in a fight with Slovakia for second place in Euro 2020

qualifying Group E behind World Cup finalists Croatia. That is not how Bale sees it, as he made clear when asked for his thoughts on Sunday's potential pivotal clash with Slovakia in Cardiff.

'We might be the underdogs but there is no reason why we can't go on and win the group,' he said. 'We have targets that we've set and we're going for top spot.' This is the mentality Bale brings. A serial winner with Real Madrid

, he is not afraid to make public the high demands he wants for his country.

The immediate task will be made harder by the absence through injury of Aaron Ramsey, however. It was revealed on Saturday that the Arsenal midfielder had not sufficiently overcome a thigh problem and returned to his club for treatment. Ryan Giggs had been hopeful of his involvement against Slovakia, but said Wales were prepared to go another way also.

FULL STORY HERE.

Warm-ups underway in Cardiff!

?????????????? WARM-UPS ????CYMRU ??#WALSVK

pic.twitter.com/nQtJmAirvc

 Wales ?????????????? (@Cymru) March 24, 2019

Supporters full of expectation

Gareth Bale captains the side as Ryan Giggs decides to drop usual captain Ashley Williams.

It's an exciting, attacking line-up and Wales supporters are arriving at the stadium filled with confidence and expectation.

With the sun shining, expect the seller of the bucket hats to be kept busy!

Both squads in full - Slovakia unchanged from a 2-0 win over Hungary

Wales:

Hennessey; C Roberts, Mepham, J Lawrence, Davies; Allen, Smith; Wilson, Brooks, James; Bale (C).

Subs

: Ward, A Davies, Gunter, Dummett, A Williams, T Roberts, John, Matondo, Vaulks, Hedges, Woodburn, G Thomas.

Slovakia:

Dubravka; Pekarik, Vavro, Skriniar, Hancko; Kucka, Lobotka; Rusnak, Hamsik (C), Mak; Duda.

Subs

: Kozacik, Rodak, Stetina, Satka, Gregus, Mihalik, Stoch, Bero, Hrosovsky, Chrien, Safranko, Duris

Wales team is IN!

Less than an hour to go now at the Cardiff City Stadium and Ryan Giggs has Wales fans licking their lips with his youthful team selection.

Look at the creativity and pace in that front four!

Swansea's Dan James, Bournemouth's David Brooks and Derby County's Harry Wilson provide the back-up behind lone striker Gareth Bale.

What a day for some Euro 2020 qualifiers...

The sun is shining, the fancy dress is out and the drinks are flowing around Europe ahead of this afternoon's set of Euro 2020 qualifying matches.

Hello and welcome to Sportsmail's live coverage where we will keep you up to date with events in Cardiff for Wales-Slovakia, Kazakhstan's efforts against Russia and later our attention switches to Scotland's trip to San Marino.

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Wales get their Euro 2020qualifying campaign underway on Sunday against Slovakia at the Cardiff City Stadium.Ryan Giggs' side, buoyed by their 1-0 friendly win over Trinidad and Tobago earlier in the week, will be determined to start strongly with Slovakia and Croatia already boasting a win apiece qualifying Group E.Later in the day Scotland will look to make amends for their humiliation in Kazakhstan as they face minnows San Marino in their second game. Follow all the action from around the grounds, as it happens, here with Sportsmail's NATHAN SALT.Nathan SaltHost commentator
Political prisoner, activist, journalist, hymn-writer, emerging think tanker, aspiring novelist, hanger on of academia, parliamentary candidate for North West Durham, Shadow Leader of the Opposition, Speedboat, proudly banned from Twitter so officially more dangerous than the Taliban, eagerly awaiting the second (or possibly third) attempt to murder me.
Abolition now! Abolition now!





Hundreds of human rights campaigners from countries across the world chanted this as they marched on the streets of Brussels, calling for the universal end to capital punishment.





The participants of the rally, which was held recently in Belgiums capital as part of the closing event for the seventh World Congress against the Death Penalty, held up a large banner emblazoned with the words Say No to the Death Penalty.





Fatia Maulidyanti, an activist from the Jakarta-based Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (Kontras), said she was happy to take part in the rally and to see that calls on countries to abolish death penalty were mounting.





Europe has the strongest abolitionist movement compared to some countries in other regions, such as Africa, the United States and Asia, where public support for abolition is still not strong enough, Fatia told The Jakarta Post.





European countries, except for Belarus, are among 146 countries and territories in the world that have abolished capital punishment either by law or in practice as of last year.





At least 52 states across the globe, including Indonesia, still retain the death penalty, mainly for drug offenses, murder and terrorism.





"[Without public support] some governments appear to maintain that there is still no urgency for them to impose a moratorium or to abolish the death penalty," Fatia added.





During the congress -- which was organized by France-based human rights group Together against the Death Penalty (ECPM) -- international organizations, prominent leaders and activists stepped up their efforts and calls for more countries to join the list of abolitionist states.





Participants of the congress applauded what they called a positive trend toward universal abolition, citing a United Nations General Assembly resolution in December, which recorded that 121 countries voted in favor of a death penalty moratorium, up from 117 in 2016 -- the highest number ever recorded on the issue.





Harm Reduction Internationals (HRI) latest global report revealed that executions for drug offenses, which accounted for nearly 40 percent of executions globally over the past decade, have fallen from 755 to 91 between 2015 and last year, mainly triggered by judicial reforms in Iran in 2017 that resulted in the drop of executions.





Although this was a positive development, many countries still needed to start recognizing that the death penalty did not deter crimes, including those related to drugs, HRI human rights analyst Giada Girelli said.





At least 35 countries still implemented the death penalty to punish drug offenders and currently, about 7,000 people were on death row for drug-related crimes across the globe, the report said.





[Some] countries in the world see drugs as an issue and they struggle to find a way to respond [] with the tools that they have and that is the death penalty. But it doesnt work, Girelli told the Post.





Despite the [capital punishment] there are still a lot of drug trafficking and drug users, she said. Governments should start considering that there are other approaches and move [to abolish the death penalty].





Pope Francis, who last year announced the revision of the catechism of the Catholic Church declaring the death penaltyinadmissible, also welcomed the global trend toward abolition as he argued that capital punishment was a grave violation of the right to life of each person.





The dignity of the person is not lost even when they have committed the worst of crimes. No one can be killed and deprived of the opportunity to embrace the community they wounded and made to suffer, he said.





In the final declaration adopted at the congress, the participants called for retentionist countries to make concrete efforts in reducing the scope of the death penalty and move towards abolition by implementing a moratorium on death sentences and executions.





Kevin Miguel Rivera-Medina, the president of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, relayed concerns that the death penalty across the globe mainly impacted minority groups or those from disadvantaged socioeconomic background or gender-based discrimination.





Conditions on death row [also] violate human dignity and are a cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, he said while reading out the declaration.





The participants also welcomed the commitments relayed by some African countries participating in the congress, namely Gambia, the Republic of Congo, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Morocco, to take further steps to abolish the death penalty.

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
But I dont want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.

"Oh, you cant help that," said the Cat: "were all mad here. Im mad. Youre mad."

"How do you know Im mad?" said Alice.

"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldnt have come here.

 Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland





With freedom comes responsibility.

 Eleanor Roosevelt




I am a retired newspaperman. I live in Poca, WV, with my wife of 44 years, Lou Ann. I grew up in Cleveland. Three kids. Grandfather.



Report all errors to DonSurber@GMail.com
Here's a letter that was sent to Rob Reiner in April 2016. At the time, he was directing the film Shock and Awe which would be released the following year.

Dear Rob Reiner,





I've of course enjoyed your work over the years.





I recently tweeted "Finally saw The Big Short. Good. Sure they'll produce a film about folks who were right about Iraq wmds any decade now."





Immediately, a couple of McClatchy reporters I know responded, tweeting that you are working on Shock and Awe.





At the Institute for Public Accuracy, we got a lot of critical information out scrutinizing claims regarding alleged Iraq WMDs from 2002-03 and I thought you'd be interested in learning of it.









Something of a mythology developed after the invasion that "now we know" that Bush lied. That itself was false. It was knowable before the invasion that the Bush administration was putting forward falsehoods.





Like The Big Short, different people were reaching the same conclusion-- the Iraq war case was based on lies-- from different angles before the war. Knight-Ridder was doing their work and we were doing ours. They had internal anonymous sources, we dealt with things in the public record, but made the effort to seriously scrutinize the claims.





We also got delegations to Iraq lead by our executive director, Norman Solomon: One with the actor Sean Penn, another with former UN Assistant Secretary General Denis Halliday, yet another with former Sen. James Abourezk and Rep. Nick Rahall (Iraq allowed the inspectors-- which had been withdrawn during the Clinton administration-- back in Iraq just after that delegation urged them to do so.)





One trip we'd planned, that would have done the most to address the WMD issue, was with former WMD inspector Scott Ritter. However, just before the trip, news leaked that he was accused of interacting online with sexual content with under aged girls. So that trip never happened.





Many critical aspects of the Iraq war lies have never seriously been dealt with. For example, lots of people who voted against authorizing war still claimed that Iraq had WMDs, effectively helping the case for war while voting against it. One was Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi. I questioned her about that after the invasion . Virtually the entire upper echelon of Obama's foreign policy team backed the Iraq invasion , the 23 senators who voted against it were effectively iced out. Here's a news release we did in 2013 on Kerry claiming he was opposed to the Iraq war





Some who went the last mile to expose the war lies were never meaningfully acknowledge. Katharine Gun, who worked with British intelligence, leaked a memo from the NSA ordering a surge of spying at the UN to help obtain a second UN resolution authorizing the invasion-- presumably by attempting to get info to blackmail or bully other Security Council members. U.S. officials had said there would be a second UN resolution, but this leak helped block that. After the war, we organized an effort to prevent the British government from prosecuting Gun under their official secrets act. I wrote a piece looking back on this case in 2014





Another aspect that's still poorly understood is the role of torture in producing the case for war. It's a liberal mantra that "torture doesn't work" but that's not really true. It does work-- to produce false but useful (dis)information. For example, Ibn Shaykh al-Libi was tortured by the Mubarak regime into falsely "confessing" that Iraq was tied to Al-Qaeda and was helping it to obtain chemical and biological weapons. That claim ended up in Colin Powell's UN speech before the Iraq invasion. Powell's chief of staff Larry Wilkerson has since written about this fairly forthrightly. I questioned Powell about this in 2009, but he was still refusing to admit meaningful wrongdoing. See a piece of mine: " 'Both Sides' Are Wrong: Torture Did Work-- to Produce Lies for War ."





There's obviously a lot more I could go into-- I'd been tracking Iraq fairly closely through out the 1990s, including Clinton administration deceits around its strikes and the perpetual sanctions policy Bill Clinton tragically adopted from the first Bush administration as he came into office.





Washington Post op-ed I wrote in 1999: " Here's aop-ed I wrote in 1999: " Twisted Policy on Iraq ." Unfortunately, such media were incredibly closed after 9/11-- up top is a video of Bill O'Reilly cutting my microphone two days after 9/11.





Certainly, I don't doubt that one could do a 20-hour documentary and not get at all the deceit around the Iraq invasion. There was a staggering amount of fabrication from the Bush administration and so many foibles from the antiwar movement and other quarters. But I'd be very happy to help in making your effort as meaningful and compelling as possible.





Best regards




For yesterday's post, Reactionary Blue Dogs And Wall Street-Owned Corporate Dems Want You To Know They're Not Socialists , we looked at a quote from Texas progressive Mike Siegel, running in a gerrymandered red district that goes from liberal north Austin into the deep red exurbs northwest of Houston. Siegel was speaking at an event with Congressman Ted Lieu and VoteCommonGood leader Rev. Doug Pagitt, a progressive evangelical activist. Asked how he would face down Republicans calling him a socialist and claiming he would turn Bastrop and Tomball into Venezuela, Siegel laughed and told the crowd that "according to the GOP, Social Security is a 'socialist' program. Medicare and Medicaid, too. Basically, any program that cares for the poor, for the elderly, for those needing a little extra help to have a fair shot at success. When Jesus threw the money-changers out of the temple, and gave alms to the poor and sick, I guess that was 'socialist' too. But it's not 'socialist' when megacorporations, whether Big Tech or Big Oil, get hundreds of millions in subsidies from the American taxpayers. The good thing about this Republican fear-mongering is that at a certain point voters tune it out, and it loses its effect. My plan is to run on a strong progressive platform that serves the needs of the people of the Texas 10th Congressional District. The Republicans refused Medicaid expansion in Texas, and as a result we have rural hospitals closing and sky-high maternal mortality rates. The alternative I support is a commitment to universal healthcare, in the form of Medicare For All. The Republican budget would cut just about every essential social program to pay for tax cuts for the rich. We will campaign on a program of caring for people, not corporations."





Real Clear Politics by Susan Crabtree, Yep, that's how it's done. Mike gets an "A." California freshmen Katie Hill and Harley Rouda don't. In a badly misguided and twisted piece forby Susan Crabtree, Beleaguered California GOP Sees Path To 2020 Rebound , there's a section about how the Republicans hope to take back the 7 seats they lost in 2018 by screaming "socialism!" Crabtree wrote that "Republicans arent the only ones recoiling from national Democrats far-left turn. Newly elected California House Democrats from traditionally red districts, such as Katie Hill and Harley Rouda, now fear the socialist label could cost them re-election and swing the House majority back to the GOP. Over the last week, some Democratic House freshmen have started lashing out against their brasher colleagues support for socialism, impeachment and the divisive Green New Deal." Let me mention that before we go on that Hill's district is certainly not red any longer and that the Democrats have a new registration advantage over the gradually dying-off GOP.





Crabtree continued by noting that "Hill, who last November flipped a Los Angeles-area district that Republicans had held for decades, made it clear shes not jumping on the Ocasio-Cortez bandwagon. 'As we run up to this presidential [election], we need to show that Democrats, as a whole, are not socialists,' she told Politico last week. 'Were not pushing for impeachment without serious cause and serious evidence.' Rouda, a businessman and former Republican who defeated 15-term Rep. Rohrabacher, also distanced himself from his freshman classs far-left flank. 'Id like to think that the Republican Party is not run by a bunch of folks that subscribe to be nationalists, like Steve King does,' he said, referring to the Iowa congressman who lost his committee seats after making controversial statements on white supremacy and nationalism. 'So while Steve Kings views dont represent the entire Republican Party, those on the far left of the Democratic Party do not represent the mainstream caucus.' Except Steve King's views do represent the entire Republican Party and the kind of socialism AOC and her outspoken colleagues are talking about is as American as apple pie and at the heart of Democratic Party values. Re-read Mike Siegel's explanation above. The defensive crouch Rouda, and to some extent, Hill, take may turn out to be counter-productive and dysfunctional as the national GOP pours money into their messaging. Crabtree:

This open Democratic grousing is music to California GOP operatives ears.



[Speaker Nancy] Pelosi is not in control of her caucus, and she has got to figure out a way to rein in these three complete narcissists, said Jason Roe, a Southern California-based Republican campaign strategist, referring to Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib and Omar. Any punishment that Pelosi can mete out is a victory for them. They are disrupters, and if they are being punished for disrupting, its exactly what they want. You cant use traditional levers of power with them.



Roe is telling his GOP clients running for office in California to stay away from litigating Trump and start litigating AOC and the left-- this is the gift that keeps on giving.









Something tells me Susan Crabtree is never going to grow up to be a Catherine Rampell, one of the sharpest and most incisive minds at the Washington Post. Last week she wrote about how the Republicans are turning their party into the boy who cried socialism. Trump's socialism ploy, she wrote, is just "more lazy name-calling from a lazy thinker, but this time the lazy name-calling may backfire. For years, Trump has premised his political pitch on the idea that he alone can protect Americans from the many invaders who wish us harm-- chiefly immigrants, terrorists and globalists. Lately, he's added another boogeyman to the bunch, one that's supposedly homegrown: socialists. In this year's State of the Union, he declared, 'Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country,' as if that were ever truly a risk. He has ramped up similar comments in recent months and has now enlisted his economic advisers in his fight against the great socialist straw man."

Ever since 1947, the White House Council of Economic Advisers has released its annual Economic Report of the President. This enormous tome is supposed to summarize the trends in the economy and lay out the presidents vision for solving ongoing and future challenges. Though the document usually has some political spin-- the presidents economic advisers want their boss to look good, after all-- it usually sticks to legitimate economic concerns facing the country.



Not so this time. When the council released its report this week, it bizarrely included an entire chapter seemingly designed to flesh out cable-news talking points about how Democrats secretly want to turn the United States into a socialist hellscape. Readers of the report-- or of even just the council's slides posted on Twitter-- might reasonably come away thinking that the most pressing economic questions facing the U.S. economy include: Was collective farming under Mao Zedong successful? How much did Joseph Stalin end up shrinking the livestock population?



If these throwbacks seem wholly unrelated to any of the debates we're actually having right now as a country, that's because they are.



The real debate Americans are having-- including those on the far left trying to gain greater control of the Democratic Party-- is about how regulated markets should be and how to make the rules fairer. No one in the 2020 race, not even relative outlier and self-proclaimed democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is proposing that we recreate the Great Leap Forward.



Despite what you may have heard from Team Trump-- and despite the many TV interviewers asking Democratic politicians whether they're "capitalist" or "socialist," as if that's a meaningful binary-- all modern countries have elements of capitalism and socialism.



That includes the United States. We have public schools, public roads, subsidized health care for the elderly and other forms of social insurance. Yet we also have private property, and the government does not control the means of production-- which is, you know, actually how socialism is defined.







Trump and his advisers pretend otherwise, in the hopes of confusing and freaking out the public. After all, most people know theyre supposed to be afraid of socialism, even if they have no idea what the term means.



In fact, in a Gallup poll last year that asked Americans to explain their understanding of the term "socialism," responses were all over the map. The most common answer, volunteered by about a quarter of respondents, was that it had something to do with "equality"-- "equal standing for everybody, all equal in rights, equal in distribution," something to that effect. Smaller percentages mentioned communism, government control of utilities or even "talking to people, being social, social media, getting along with people."



Given this level of confusion, it's not clear that Trump's strategy to smear the Democratic Party as a Socialist Menace will be terribly effective.



Sure, maybe it'll mobilize older people who lived through the Cold War and associate socialism with the evil Soviet Union. But Trump probably already had the old people vote locked up.



Whether it will scare younger people is a separate question. A majority of adults under age 30 already view the term "socialism" positively; about 40 percent of those ages 30 to 49 say the same.



That might be because of dissatisfaction with the results of the existing (predominantly capitalist) economic system. But it might perversely also be because Republicans have been so relentless in their alarmist attacks on socialism-- or, rather, socialism.



Over the past 60 years-- since Ronald Reagan warned that Medicare would doom the country to the s-word-- the GOP has turned into the boy who cried socialism. If you persist in describing popular and not-all-that-radical policies as "socialist" (protections for preexisting conditions or letting kids stay on their parents' health insurance until age 26), at some point the term starts to lose its negative valence.

"Ex"-Republican businessmen, like Rouda--who likely grew up in homes where Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt were not revered the way they were in the home I grew up in-- and who found themselves swept into Congress in the blue wave-- really an anti-Trump wave-- should listen carefully to what Rampell is saying-- and to how Mike Siegel is campaigning. Here's Bernie answering a similar question:
Henry Cuellar has earned a primary



on the day filing closed. Somehow Clay Jr. knew to be waiting with all his papers filled in and ready to file. Most voters didn't even know they weren't voting for the father when they voted for the son! Four years later, the a similar route was how right-wing fake-Dem, Dan Lipinski (of Tennessee) came to represent a Chicagoland district. In 2004, his father actually did run for reelection in the primary-- and immediately after announced his retirement. Lipinski, Sr. was also the Democratic committeeman for Chicago's 23rd Ward, at the time virtually the entire Chicago portion of the congressional district, and he had no trouble persuading the state party to select junior to replace him on the general election ballot in the safe blue district. Again, the voters didn't even know they were voting for the son, not the dad. And IL-03 is still stuck with him. By now, you probably read that the DCCC incumbent protection racket has made one of their old dirty tricks official policy in the hope of discouraging successful primaries against otherwise unaccountable Democratic incumbents. Some Democrats get their seats the easy way-- Lacy Clay, for example. In 2000, Clay Sr. announced his retirement after 32 years in Congressclosed.Clay Jr. knew to be waiting with all his papers filled in and ready to file. Most voters didn't even know they weren't voting for the father when they voted for the son! Four years later, the a similar route was how right-wing fake-Dem, Dan Lipinski (of Tennessee) came to represent a Chicagoland district. In 2004, his father actually did run for reelection in the primary-- and immediately after announced his retirement. Lipinski, Sr. was also the Democratic committeeman for Chicago's 23rd Ward, at the time virtually the entire Chicago portion of the congressional district, and he had no trouble persuading the state party tojunior to replace him on the general election ballot in the safe blue district. Again, the voters didn't even know they were voting for the son, not the dad. And IL-03 is still stuck with him.





Marie Newman nearly beat him last cycle but he was rescued at the last minute by a gusher of Republican sewer money courtesy of Nancy Jacobsen's and Mark Penn's No Labels/Problem Solvers web of super-PACs which smeared Marie and frightened low-info voters into thinking she was a monster.













There are all kinds of ways, current members of Congress won their seats. Take Albio Sires. He had been a Democrat but switched parties and ran against a Democratic incumbent (Frank Guarini) as a Republican in 1985. He lost-- 71% to 26%-- and left the GOP a decade later, re-registering as an independent in 1994 and finally as a Democrat in 1998. Ironically he eventually beat a Guarini cousin, a Republican, for the congressional seat.





I don't know how many current members won their seats by primarying an incumbent. But the short answer is-- thank God-- PLENTY. The establishment always discourages primaries against incumbents, no matter how right-wing or how corrupt the incumbent is. Pelosi and Hoyer go insane when any incumbent gets challenged and they contribute lots of money, raise more money, threaten unions and donors and do everything they can to help the incumbent, even if the challenger is awesome-- say Donna Edwards-- and the incumbent is the biggest crooked conservative in the caucus-- say Al Wynn. Pelosi and Hoyer were in the district many times campaigning for the wretched Wynn, who Edwards eventually beat, freeing him up to follow his true dream and become a crooked lobbyist instead of a crooked congressman.





The most recent nightmare for the establishment was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a waitress, slaughtering "the next Speaker of the House," Joe Crowley last year. (Crowley was originally "elected" in a way very much like Lipinksi and Clay were, except by a retiring party boss, not by an actual father.) Also in 2018, another difficult to discipline upstart, Ayanna Pressley, challenged long-time incumbent Mike Capuano in Boston and beat him. It happens. Ro Khanna successfully primaried Mike Honda. Eric Swalwell beat Pelosi-crony Pete Stark in 2012.





When Yvette Clarke ran against another uber-corrupt member, Major Owens, he decided to retire rather than face a sure defeat, whining that her challenge was "a stab in the back." Current Harlem congress man Adriano Espaillat ran again the corrupt Charlie Rangel in 2012 and 2014, nearly beating him. Finally, Rangel announced he'd retire and let Espaillat have the seat, which is a seat-for-life without voters having the opportunity to use a primary to remove someone who no longer fits the district.





Nydia Velazquez was first elected by winning a primary, against my old congressman, nine-term incumbent Stephen Solarz. One of Pelosi's heirs-apparent, Hakeem Jeffries, entered a primary in 2012 against Edolphus Towns, scaring the 30-year incumbent into retirement. In Chicago 1992 saw Bobby Rush defeat Democrat Charles Hayes and in 2016 Dwight Evans beat prison-bound Chakka Fattah in a Philadelphia primary.





Remember Pelosi foe Seth Moulton? I bet deep down she hopes he is beaten in a primary next year, which is how he got into office in the first place, beating Pelosi-pal John Tierney in 2014 (after almost jumping in against him in 2012 as an independent). Another really right-wing dirt-bag incumbent-- this one whining about liberals trying to take him out-- is Texas Blue Dog Henry Cuellar who was first elected in 2004 by primarying progressive Democrat Ciro Rodriguez, doing some vote rigging and managing to win the deep blue seat by 58 votes in a shady recount. He's target numero uno for Blue America and several other progressive groups that help Democrats beat fake-Democrats. The thermometer on the right will take you to the Blue America "Primary a Blue Dog" page.





This new move by bone-headed DCCC chair Cheri Bustos (Blue Dog-IL) was, well... bone-headed. She should apologize to the grassroots of the party and to the dozens of good, solid members who are in Congress now-- like Matt Cartwright-- because they successfully challenged corrupt conservatives. Bustos, by the way is a protegee of Rahm Emanuel's.
Police in Binh Duong arrested 16 people Saturday after a gang attacked officers with deadly weapons mistaking them for rival gang members.

Some suspects at the police station. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyet Trieu.

The attack occurred at dawn the previous day when a Di An town police team was patrolling the Binh Nguyen residential area, in Binh An Commune, in plain clothes and suddenly dozens of young men arrived on motorbikes and attacked them with steel pipes and knives.

The officers identified themselves but the attack did not stop. They were forced to fire and took in 10 of the men. But 50 more showed up and threw rocks at the officers to try and get their accomplices away.

The police mobilized 100 more officers and managed to arrest six more, but the rest managed to flee.

The gangsters told the police they were on their way to attack their rivals for revenge when they saw the officers and mistook them for their target.

No details are known about the gang and any possible injuries of the two sides. The police are continuing their investigation.
The resumption of toll collection at the Cai Lay tollgate has been deferred to review vehicles exemption list.

The Ministry of Transport said more time is needed for the review and therefore, collection at the Cai Lay tollgate will not resume Monday, March 25 as announced earlier.

The Cai Lay tollgate is located along National Highway 1 in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang.

The province and the ministry have yet to complete a list of vehicles that will be exempt from the toll.

The ministry said in a statement that it is still working with local authorities to review all vehicles subject to the exemption and will put the tollgate back into service soon. It did not specify a date.

Collection at the Cai Lay tollgate was suspended in December, 2017 following drivers protests.

In January this year, the ministry had decided that toll fees will be lowered by 63 percent, from VND35,000 ($1.51) to VND15,000 for cars under 12 seats and trucks under two tons. Toll fees for other auto types would also be reduced by the same ratio, it had said.

The time for fee collection, however, was lengthened from seven years to 15 years and nine months.

One week ago, when it was announced that the collection would resume at the tollgate on Monday, March 25, Tien Giangs transport department said it had received more than 500 petitions from locals, asking that their vehicles are exempted from paying toll, but only 350 have been approved.

Transport Deputy Minister Nguyen Nhat had then clarified that residents within a radius of 10km around the toll gate will be exempted from toll, up from the previous 5km radius.

Built under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model, the Cai Lay toll booth first opened on August 1, 2017.

The project to re-asphalt 26.5km of the highway and build a new 12km bypass road around a local town is estimated to have cost VND1 trillion (over $43 million).

However, angry drivers protested the stations location, saying it should have been stationed along the new bypass. They argued that with the current location, anyone using the highway but not the bypass would also have to pay toll fees.

In protest, they used VND200 ($0.01) and VND500 notes, the smallest denominations in the country, to pay the toll fee, forcing staff to spend a lot of time counting.

With all the lanes blocked as the money was counted, traffic was jammed for hours. At times, the toll station had to close several times per day to allow all the vehicles through.

The station was then closed for three months.

It reopened in late November, 2017, only to see drivers promptly using stacks of small change to resume their protests.

Locals were not happy with the toll station either, saying they had to pay the fee just to travel around in their neighborhood.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc then instructed Tien Giang to suspend operations at the Cai Lay toll station. He called an emergency meeting where it was decided that no toll would be collected at the station until the government took a final decision.

There are toll stations every 62 km along the highway, according to a report released at a meeting of the legislative National Assembly last year. The standard distance set by the government is 70 km.
A pagoda in Quang Ninh Province has been sanctioned after a follower sparked outrage with comments linking a rape and murder to karma.

Pham Tuan Dat, Vice Chairman of the Uong Bi Town People's Committee, has issued an official document requesting the pagodas abbot to stop organizing sessions to "commune (with spirits), exorcise spirits and undo bad karma.

The document also stated that activities like lectures given by Pham Thi Yen, head of a Buddhist group affiliated to the pagoda, are not in accordance with the list of functions registered with local authorities.

Yen has sparked widespread outrage with a comment in a publicized video that a young Vietnamese woman raped and killed recently suffered the fate because of evil deeds done in previous lives.

She was referring to the rape and murder of 21-year-old Cao Thi My Duyen by a group of men in the northern province of Dien Bien last month.

In the video, Yen had also said that people getting possessed by spirits was common these days and they could only be exorcised by "spending money [on rituals] or doing volunteer work".

Pham Thi Yen makes the statement on paid exorcisms. Photo acquired by VnExpress

The propaganda Yen has been spreading has caused public discontent and potentially risks fomenting insecurity in the locality, the Uong Bi administration noted.

It also asked the head monk of Ba Vang Pagoda, Thich Truc Thai Minh, advises the devout to strictly observe Buddhist teachings and abide by legal regulations.

Venerable Thich Truc Thai Minh also needs to rectify the teachings on mass media outlets managed by the pagoda, in line with the Charter of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and the Law on Folk Belief and Religion, the Uong Bi administration added.

Thich Gia Quang, Vice President of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha's (VBS) Coordinating Board, earlier said there are so such things as communicating with spirits or exorcism in Buddhism.

Thich Duc Thien, Vice President and General Secretary of the VBS, said blaming Duyens murder on bad karma "is not true to Buddhist principles and goes against societys moral values."

"We all feel pain when any person is brutally murdered. To blame this on past lives ... is a fallacy [that condones] brutal acts in society. This is unacceptable," said Thien.

This is not the first time that Ba Vang Pagoda has come under the scanner for propagating "superstitious beliefs."

Thich Dao Hien, deputy head of the Coordinating Board of Quang Ninh Provinces Buddhist Sangha, said that they had asked the pagoda to stop teaching about vengeful spirits in 2017.

Hien said they had specifically drawn the authorities' attention to the propagation of such beliefs by Yen.

Ba Vang Pagoda, located on the Thanh Dang Mountain in Quang Trung District, Uong Bi Town, Quang Ninh Province, was first built in 1706. It was rebuilt in 2011 with money donated by devout Buddhists.

Thich Truc Thai Minh became the pagodas head monk in 2007.

The pagoda has been holding three sessions every month for exorcism and lectures on vengeful spirits. The events, often attended by thousands of people, have been held for several years, local reports said.

Participants are required to leave their phones, recorders and cameras outside before entering any session involving exorcism or communication with spirits.
U.S. Navy cruiser the USS Lake Champlain makes a port call in Tien Sa, Da Nang, on March 3, 2018. Photo by VnExpress/Nguyen Dong

A senior U.S. official said Friday that enhancement of Vietnam's maritime capabilities is vital for regional security.

"Vietnam now has a Coast Guard vessel that is the largest vessel in their Coast Guard fleet. We were very pleased to be able to provide that. We will continue to take additional efforts to increase Vietnams maritime capabilities," Patrick Murphy, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, told the media at a teleconference Friday.

"Its important for Vietnam, its important for the region. They have a lot they can contribute," Murphy said.

In May 2017, the U.S. transferred its former cutter, USCGC Morgenthau, to the Vietnam Coast Guard through the Excess Defense Articles (EDA) program. The ship now serves the Vietnam Coast Guard as CSB 8020.

Referring to the 25th anniversary of the normalization of Vietnam-U.S. diplomatic relations and Vietnam becoming ASEAN's chair next year, Murphy said the U.S. "looks forward to working very closely with Vietnam on regional issues and our bilateral relationship."

He also said that the U.S. would continue carrying out its freedom of navigation activities in the South China Sea, and that all nations in the world benefit from traffic and trade on sea routes being unimpeded. Vietnam calls the waterway the East Sea.

Under the administration of President Donald Trump, the U.S. Navy has been conducting freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea and sailing close to the artificial islands China has illegally constructed in Vietnam's Spratly (Truong Sa) Islands.

The U.S. Air Force in March also deployed B-52 bombers to carry out freedom of overflight in the sea twice.

"We will, as a matter of policy, continue to sail, to fly, to operate wherever international law operates," Murphy said.

He also asserted that the Indo-Pacific region is a top priority for the U.S. government.

"There are many visions within the region, and we welcome that, we embrace that, but were very encouraged to see such commonality among these visions in a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific."
Vietnamese cuisine is among world's most favorites of globetrotting foodies. Photo by Shutterstock/Dmytro Gilitukha

A YouGov survey finds Vietnamese food ranked among top 15 favorite cuisines in the world.

Vietnamese cuisines rising popularity has pushed it slightly ahead of Hong Kong and Taiwan to rank 13th among 34 most popular cuisines in the world.

YouGov is an online market research company based in the U.K.

The survey, conducted between May to December last year, ranked national cuisines after collecting responses from 25,000 food lovers from 24 countries and territories.

55 percent of the respondents chose Vietnamese food as their favorite, compared to 54 percent for Hong Kong and 50 percent for Taiwanese cuisine.

Italian food topped the list at 84 percent, followed by Chinese and Thai cuisines.

Vietnamese cuisine has become better known in the world over the last couple of decades, with international chefs and prestigious food magazines praising several national dishes.

In 2017, Hanoi and Saigon, Vietnams biggest metropolises, were named among the worlds best food destinations by Caterwings, a site that offers online food ordering services in Europe.

Some of the dishes found on street corners here have made it to all corners of the world, like the banh mi, the sandwich which has been listed in the top 20 street foods in the world by Fodors Travel, a U.S travel site.

Banh mi, the Vietnamese sandwich. Photo by FlickrAndrea Nguyen

The Vietnamese iced coffee with condensed milk has also been lauded by publications like NatGeo and The New York Times.
The liaison office in the North Korean city of Kaesong was opened last year as Seoul and Pyongyang knitted closer ties. Photo handed out via AFP

North Korea pulled its staff out of an inter-Korean liaison office Friday, Seoul said, weeks after leader Kim Jong Un's summit with US President Donald Trump ended without agreement.

The office in the Northern city of Kaesong was opened in September as the two Koreas knitted closer ties, but the South's vice unification minister Chun Hae-sung told reporters Pyongyang had "notified the South they are pulling out of the liaison office".

The decision had been taken "in accordance with an order from an upper command", he said, adding: "They said they didn't care whether we stayed at the liaison office or not."

The South's President Moon Jae-in was instrumental in brokering talks between the nuclear-armed, sanctions-hit North and Washington, Seoul's key security ally.

Moon has long backed engagement with the North to bring it to the negotiating table, and has been pushing the carrot of inter-Korean development projects, among them the restarting of an industrial zone also in Kaesong and lucrative cross-border tourist visits by Southerners to the North's picturesque Mount Kumgang.

But the sanctions currently in place effectively block their resumption, while a preliminary study for a plan to renovate the North's decrepit rail system was repeatedly delayed.

Questions were even raised over whether supplies provided to set up the liaison office were a sanctions violation.

The failure by Kim and Trump to reach agreement in Hanoi last month on walking back Pyongyang's nuclear programme in exchange for relaxation of the measures against it has raised questions over the future of the wider process.

In Vietnam both sides expressed willingness to talk further, but it has since emerged that Washington presented Kim with a wider definition of what it regards as denuclearisation.

A senior Pyongyang diplomat told reporters last week that the North was considering suspending nuclear talks with the U.S.

Analysts said Friday's decision could be a sign Pyongyang felt Seoul was unable to exert sufficient influence on Washington.

"With the pull-out, the North is pressuring the South to do more as a middle man between Pyongyang and Washington after it didn't get the resumption of the Kaesong industrial complex and Mount Kumgang tours," said Yoo Ho-yeol, professor of North Korean studies at Korea University.

"It could be seen as either pressure, or a warning," he told AFP. "Internally, Pyongyang could use the withdrawal as a propaganda message to its people that it is taking a lead when it comes to inter-Korean relations."

The North has recently summoned several of its top diplomats around the world back to Pyongyang.

Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher at the private Sejong Institute, said that move and Friday's pull-out could signal "that the North is considering a shift in denuclearisation strategy and foreign policy".

It was "hard to rule out a hardline statement", he added.

In his New Year speech -- a key political event in the North -- Kim said without giving details that Pyongyang might see a "new way for defending the sovereignty of the country and the supreme interests of the state" if the US persisted with sanctions.

'Round-the-clock consultation'

Seoul sought to keep the door open to more contact.

"We regret the North's decision," vice minister Chun said. "Though North Korea has pulled out, we will continue to work at the liaison office as usual."

The facility opened three months after Kim signed a vague pledge at his first summit with Trump in Singapore to work towards "denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula", and shortly before Moon went to Pyongyang for his third summit with Kim last year.

It stands in a city that was initially part of the South after Moscow and Washington divided Korea between them in the closing days of World War II, but found itself in the North after the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

The four-storey building includes separate Northern and Southern offices and a joint conference room.

When it opened Seoul's unification ministry said it would become a "round-the-clock consultation and communication channel" for advancing inter-Korean relations, improving ties between the US and the North, and easing military tensions.

But the Hanoi summit took place without the usual several rounds of preliminary negotiations between lower-rank officials, and broke up without even a joint statement.

A top security adviser to Moon, Moon Chung-in, told AFP last week that Pyongyang needed to take "actual action" on denuclearisation to persuade the US to grant concessions.

The South's presidency held an emergency meeting of the National Security Council after the North pulled out of the liaison office on Friday.
This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For over 14 years and 30,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.
" " This mother and daughter are relaxed and having fun; it comes through in this beautiful portrait. Thanasis Zovoilis/Getty Images

The holidays have come and gone and all you have to show for the festive season is a phone full of photos you'd rather not post on social media. Sound familiar? While a flawless, FaceTuned selfie isn't necessarily the goal (unless you're into that sort of thing), most of us could benefit from a few foolproof tips for highlighting our best assets. We asked a couple of photography pros to reveal the secrets to showcasing a Tyra-worthy smize and feeling super confident in front of the lens.

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1: Stop Trying So Hard

The first things so many of us do when we're caught staring down the barrel of a camera or phone is to either freeze up or spring into an animated re-creation of the Hadid sisters' greatest poses. According to experts, neither of those tactics bodes well for anyone who doesn't have a Victoria's Secret or Gucci contract to their name.

"People try too hard to make themselves look like some high-fashion model," says San Francisco Bay area-based photographer, Gabe Ruvinsky. "There's no need. Just be yourself and let the photographer shoot."

San Francisco photographer and designer Daniela Velasquez-Mora agrees. "In my opinion I think the biggest mistake is over-posing," she says. "Looking natural and relaxed is more flattering!"

So when you spot a camera coming for you, take a deep breath, remember to exhale, and trust that if you loosen up and resist the urge to emulate a fashion icon, you're probably much better off.

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2: Stand Up Straight

But don't be weird about it. Often one of the most jarring parts of assessing photos can be the realization that your posture sucks. While it's important to realize we all should have listened when our mothers scolded us for slumping over in teen angst, the best thing we can do for the sake of future photos is take proper measures to correct our curved spines and shrugged shoulders.

"Engage your abs, roll your shoulder down and do you!" Velasquez-Mora says. That means taking heed of tip one and shaking out any tension that creeped into your muscles the second the camera came out. "One of my favorites is adding movement!" Velasquez-Mora adds. "Walk, tuck your hair, adjust an accessory. Little gestures add a very dynamic feel and best of all come across as natural."

Another route to improving an imperfect stance is to put in some prep work ahead of time. "If you have really bad posture, stand in front of a mirror and practice," Ruvinsky says. "But if worst comes to worst, sitting down isn't a half-bad plan B." Just make sure to sit up straight, like mom told you.

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3: Come On, Get Happy

Any loyal "Friends" fans will fondly remember Chandler Bing's distinct inability to smile on cue. Judging by the astounding amount of awkward family photos circulating the internet, Chandler isn't the only one who struggles to let his natural good humor shine through. So what's the key to not looking like a serial killer when the camera comes out?

"Laugh! Literally laugh!" Velasquez-Mora says. "Forget about the camera and people watch or find something humorous about the moment or location."

If the surrounding environment leaves something to be desired as far as inspiration goes, call upon your memory bank ... or go rogue and skip the smile entirely. "Think about an animal or something that instantly makes you laugh," Ruvinsky says. "If that doesn't work, mug it!"

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4: Just Say No to Unflattering Angles

Everyone has that friend who fancies themselves a photo pro and believes springing into a crouched position and dictating directions will make for the best portraits. While that agility can make for some interesting action shots, it's also a surefire way to ensure double chins all around. Your right as the subject is to put the kibosh on that kind of nonsense. "Make sure your photographer doesn't shoot any low angles," Ruvinsky says. So speak up and get your camera person to come to eye level or above.

And if you want a little more insurance to protect against an unbecoming outcome, adding a subtle repositioning can work wonders. "A little bend at the waist toward the camera helps you keep your chin lifted."

Above all else, have fun! Or at least give it your best shot.

Now That's Interesting If all else fails, grab some buddies. According to a study published in the journal Psychological Science, people appear more attractive in photos when they're presented as a group versus alone due to a phenomenon called the "cheerleader effect." Go team!
On Monday, March 25, at 11.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a joint press conference entitled "Signing a Joint Memorandum on Legalization of Possession and Use of Firearms by Citizens of Ukraine." Participants include: presidential candidate in Ukraine Anatoliy Hrytsenko and Chairman of the Ukrainian Gun Owners Association Heorhiy Uchaikin (8/5a Reitarska Street). Press accreditation of journalists by phone: +38 066 385 4499 (Viktoria).
A former political prisoner and a reformist politician has suggested to combine the positions of Supreme Leader and the president of the Islamic republic into one executive power, elected by the people and subject to term limits.

Mostafa Tajzadeh in a video released on Twitter March 22, proposed the idea as a response to some Iranian conservatives who have been suggesting in recent weeks to replace the presidency with a parliamentary system.

Other critics say if the change takes place, Iran will no longer be an Islamic "Republic".

There is no room for a president in what the conservatives are suggesting. Instead, the parliament elects a prime minister to lead the executive branch of the government.

The move, if furthered, will effectively and officially put Khamenei or the future Supreme Leader in the driver's seat and someone like Rouhani could be his prime minister.

This might be the reason Tajzadeh has thrown the ball into Khameneis court by proposing to merge the presidency with the top leadership and make the supreme Leader an elected official.

As it seems at this juncture, the idea of eliminating the presidency might backfire for conservatives and Khamenei as more people join the debate to oppose the scheme.

First, it was the ultra-conservative former minister of culture Mohammad Hossein Saffar Harandi who put forward the idea on state TV on March 17 and stirred a new round of controversy in Iran's political circles. Harandi, who is a member of the Expediency Council, has proposed to eliminate the presidency in the Islamic Republic.

It appeared that Harandi's idea is more about opposition to Rouhani than a change in the system of government as he asked on live TV: "Why should we tolerate Rouhani for eight years?" The attacks on Rouhani are made when he is at one of the weakest points of his tenure. During recent days Rouhani has been harshly criticized by his opponents for going on holiday in the Sunny Qeshm Island in the south while thousands of homes in northern Iran are washed away by a torrential flood.

Another Ahmadinejad aide, Abdolreza Davari also predicted in his Telegram channel that the system of government in Iran will change to a parliamentary system.

The idea is not entirely his. Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei initiated the debate about the form of government in Iran during a visit to Kermanshah in October 2011, when he said, "In the current situation, the political system of the country is presidential, and the president is directly elected by the people, which is a good and effective system. However, in a distant future, if it is felt that the parliamentary system can better elect the executive officials; there is no problem in changing the current format."

Although the idea came originally from Khamenei, most of those who advocate the parliamentary system are conservatives close to Khamenei.

In fact, eliminating the presidency will reduce the direct role of the people in the countrys politics. While the Supreme Leader is chosen by a handful of elders, the president is elected directly by citizens.

This gains more relevance in a post-Khamenei world, where factions will probably enter into a more open and fierce competition. A directly elected senior official such as the president will carry weight and can claim legitimacy by receiving millions of votes.

The idea was cautiously debated by officials and media at the time and everything was left to Khamenei's decision at the end. The next round of debate on the issue came up in 2017 when members of parliament decided to write a letter to Khamenei proposing an amendment to the countrys constitution that would change the ruling system from a presidential to a parliamentary system of government.

Parliamentary speaker Ali Larijani who welcomed the idea of changing the political system in 2017, said in an interview with Sazandegi newspaper in late March 2019 that he had no objection to debating the matter at Parliament (Majles).

However, his deputy, Ali Motahari, a socially conservative but politically more open-minded politician told reporters on March 22, "I do not agree with the idea of changing the Islamic Republic to a Parliamentary system at the time being as this will reduce the people's role in the government."

Former hardline MP Alireza Zakani tweeted that "the change will play into the hands of opportunists who wish to alter the nature of the Islamic Republic."

The debate is taking place at a time when all essential decisions about the affairs of the state are made by Khamenei and major political and economic issues appear to be solely in his jurisdiction. For instance sending troops to Syria, Iraq, and Yemen were never debated by parliament and his Jihadist Economy idea was never put to vote, nor does the president appear to have had any role in making those decisions. In the area of foreign policy the most important decisions such as entering into negotiation about strategic matters like the nuclear issue are made by Khamenei.

On social media, almost all those who comment not only view the change as a negative development, but users appear to oppose both forms of the government as long as the same individuals are going to run it.

Twitter user Hasan Moa, said both forms are "non-democratic."

Deneris writes that "people do not care whether it is a Presidential or Parliamentary system. They oppose the regime altogether."

When Khamenei first suggested the idea of doing away with the role of the President in 2011 his suggestion was paving the way for getting rid of Ahmadinejad, or showing him that it is easy to replace him with no hassle. Now, reviving the same debate in March 2019, could be sending the same message to Rouhani, a president who has been under because of his administration's inability to ease the ongoing economic crisis and foreign policy deadlock.

In fact many critics have characterized Rouhani's role as one of a prime minister particularly during his second term in office when Khamenei has been more actively intervening in the affairs of the government.
The water is subsiding in flood-hit Golestan and Mazandaran provinces in northern Iran, local news outlets reported on March 23, as dozens of cities and villages have suffered from heavy rains.

The Floods might be subsiding, but the political fallout from a slow response by the government has not. It took two days for any meaningful action to the disaster, while President Hassan Rouhani was in the sunny Persian Gulf.

The Iran Meteorological Organization (IRMO) warned that some areas in the west and southwest of the country were also being threatened by freezing temperatures and flash floods.

Torrential rains over the past several days have destroyed residential areas and infrastructure in Golestan and Mazandaran, which are located along the Caspian Sea.

Torrential rains were followed by power outages in rural districts of Golestan Province, state IRINN TV reported.

"More than half of Aqqala, the capital city of Aqqala county in Golestan Province, is engulfed by flooding," the report added.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered senior officials to "make rapid efforts to provide assistance" for those affected.

In a statement issued on March 23, Rouhani ordered Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli to speed up measures to help residents of the two provinces and dispatch necessary assistance from neighboring regions.

Hours earlier, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had released a statement regarding the floods in which he said that popular and governmental systems have an important responsibility to relieve peoples suffering.

Khamenei issued an order to Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad-Hossein Baqeri calling for more facilities for flood-stricken areas, the government's official news agency, IRNA, reported.

Immediately responding to the order, Baqeri expressed the armed forces' readiness to help the flood-hit regions.

According to IRNA, flash floods have forced people in many areas to flee, and the cities of Aqqala and Gomishan in Golestan had been evacuated.

Many people took to social media to criticize Rouhani and his administration for not traveling to the affected areas.

Reportedly, Rouhani is on holiday on Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf.

Rouhani's first deputy, Eshaq Jahangiri, arrived in the late evening of March 23 in Golestan's capital city, Gorgan.

"The Iranian government will stand by people in all difficulties," he said before firing the province's local governor who was on holiday abroad and came back only after Jahangiri's speech.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani also visited his homeland of Mazandaran Province.

Touring some flood-hit areas, Larijani called for aid for those affected by the disaster and preparations to restore damaged infrastructure.

After visiting Golestan Province, Rahmani Fazli said people had access to basic necessities and that aid workers were doing their best.

There has been no official report on the number of casualties from the floods.

Initial reports said nine people had died and one person was missing in Golestan, Northern Khorasan, and Mazandaran provinces.

TV footage from Mazandaran and Golestan showed massive flows of water engulfing roads and streets, cars being washed away, people struggling to walk, and traffic being disrupted.

The spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Salman Samani, said 200 billion rials (approximately $4.8 million) had been allocated for crisis management in flood-hit areas.

Several ecologists and environment experts have said the flooding is the direct result of local forests being razed and decreasing vegetation. Nonetheless, the deputy for construction to Mazandaran's governor, Mehdi Razjouyan, insisted there is no connection between the recent flash floods and upper vegetation in the area.

The IRMO has warned that torrential rains and heavy snowfall are expected to hit the western and southwestern provinces of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, as well as parts of Lorestan, in the coming days.
Irans vice president has fired the governor of a northern province gripped by a massive flood, for being on a foreign trip and not returning to manage the disaster emergency.

Eshaq Jahangiri, Hassan Rouhanis vice president made the move as the government is being blamed for inaction in the face of floods in northern provinces, especially in Golestan, bordering Turkmenistan.

The former governor, Manaf Hashemi was in Europe for a few weeks prior to the disaster and failed to return to Iran to coordinate the emergency, as thousands of people are said to be stranded in inland seas created by the floods.

The absence of the governor and the inaction of the central government, has led to a big public outcry on social media.

Iran has been suffering from severe drought in recent years, but torrential rains and subsequent floods have affected several provinces. It is yet to be seen if floods can be managed to resupply water reservoirs.

The number of casualties is not clear but at least more than ten people have lost their lives.

The weather center in Iran has warned people of a new storm approaching the region.
Baku, Azerbaijan, March 24

Trend:

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 23 times, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said March 24, Trend reports.

The 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, March 24

Trend:

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev expressed condolences to the President of the Republic of Iraq Barham Salih.

"I was deeply saddened by the news of heavy casualties as a ferry sank in the Tigris river.

On the occasion of this tragedy, on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my deepest condolences to you, families and loved ones of those who died, and the whole people of Iraq.

May those killed rest in peace!"
Baku, Azerbaijan, March 24

Trend:

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has congratulated President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

"On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I sincerely congratulate you and the whole people of your country on the occasion of Independence Day," President Aliyev said in his congratulatory letter.

"On this remarkable day, I wish you the best of health, successes in your activities, and the friendly people of Greece lasting peace and prosperity," added President Aliyev.
Baku, Azerbaijan, March 24

Trend:

Azerbaijan and Paraguay signed an agreement "On the mutual elimination of visa requirements for persons with diplomatic and official passports.", Trend reports referring to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.

The agreement was reached during a meeting of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov with his Paraguayan counterpart Alberto Castiglioni as part of his first visit to Paraguay.

During the meeting, the sides expressed satisfaction with the current state of political relations between the countries. Discussions were held on strengthening political dialogue.

In order to expand economic ties between the countries, a common intention was expressed to create the Azerbaijan-Paraguay Chamber of Commerce.

During the meeting, Elmar Mammadyarov spoke about the socio-economic reforms carried out in Azerbaijan, as well as large-scale energy and infrastructure projects being implemented at Azerbaijan's initiative.

The Azerbaijani foreign minister informed his Paraguayan counterpart about the current state of the negotiation process on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Mammadyarov praised the adoption of the statement by the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress of Paraguay, condemning the Khojaly genocide.
Baku, Azerbaijan, March 24

Trend:

Belarus, Georgia and Azerbaijan will work on the possibility of organizing railway container traffic on Tbilisi - Baku - Minsk route, the press service of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Belarus said, Trend reports via BelTA.

The decision was made during the fifth meeting of the Belarusian-Georgian intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation.

The meeting was held between March 19 and 22 in Georgia. Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Alexey Lyakhnovich took part on behalf of Belarus.

"The outcome of the meeting was the decision of the parties to work on arranging a single ship batch to deliver to Georgia directly by water transport, as well as a decision on the elaboration of the possibility of organizing railway container traffic on the Tbilisi - Baku - Minsk route (taking into account container traffic on Tbilisi - Baku - Tbilisi) by Georgia, Azerbaijan and Belarus," the report said.

In general, a positive growth trend in freight traffic between Belarus and Georgia was noted. Thus, in 2018, the total traffic volume amounted to 94,000 tons, which is 10.6 percent more than in 2017. As compared with the previous year, the volume of foreign trade of transport services increased by 27.6 percent to $16.4 million. The export of services grew by 25.9 percent to $12.5 million, imports - by 33.2 percent to $3.9 million.

At the same time, the sides stressed the importance of further expanding and deepening mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of transport and logistics.
Baku, Azerbaijan, March 24

Trend:

Turkish company Cengiz Enerji Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. will build a new combined-cycle thermal power plant with a capacity of 240 megawatts in Uzbekistan's Bukhara region, Trend reports via Uzbek media.

The project is based on the agreement signed on March 20 in Tashkent by the Minister of Energy of Uzbekistan Alisher Sultanov and Chairman of the Board of Cengiz Holding Mehmet Cengiz.

"The project will be implemented on a public-private partnership. The Kogon district of the Bukhara region near the Kuyimazar reservoir is chosen to be the construction site of the power plant. Thermal power plant operating on natural gas includes two gas turbines manufactured by General Electric (US) and one steam turbine manufactured by Siemens (Germany)," a source at Uzbek Energy Ministry said.

The construction of the 240-megawatt power plant in Bukhara will allow covering the regions need for electricity and reducing losses in the course of power transmission through the main transmission lines.

On March 20, the Ministry of Energy of Uzbekistan and the Turkish company Yildirim Enerji Holding also signed an agreement on the construction of a combined cycle thermal power plant in the Surkhandarya region with a capacity of 900 megawatts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, March 24

Trend:

The fight against corruption will be intensified in Kazakhstan, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said while meeting the population of the country's Turkestan region, Trend reports via Kazakh media.

"Justice in society, first of all, is connected with executive bodies. The main task of the government, ministries, akims [regional executive power bodies] at all levels, police, prosecutors, courts is to protect the rights of citizens. In this sense, my main position is clearly and obviously the rule of law," the president stressed.

The new president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has made his first working trip to Turkestan region.

The program of the trip included acquaintance with the construction of a regional center, inspection of a number of industrial and social facilities, meetings with the public.
Global leaders continue to send their telegrams and letters of congratulations on the occasion of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev becoming the new President of Kazakhstan, Trend reports citing Kazinform.

Having highly appreciated joint work with the First President of Kazakhstan - the Leader of the Nation, in his telegram US President Donald Trump noted that he looks forward to productive relationship with Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. He extended his congratulations to President Tokayev on assuming the post and on the occasion of Nauryz holiday wishing the people of Kazakhstan happiness and prosperity.

King of the Belgians Philippe also congratulated Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on assuming the role of the President of Kazakhstan and wished him all the best in this responsible post.

The US Department of State praised the contribution of the First President and the Leader of the National Nursultan Nazarbayev in establishing and promoting enduring, dynamic relations between the United States and Kazakhstan.

"At this historic moment in Kazakhstan, we salute Nazarbayev's role as the father of today's modern, sovereign, and prosperous Kazakhstan, and acknowledge the example he sets for responsible regional and global leadership.

We once again applaud his significant efforts in the nonproliferation sphere, his leadership in global denuclearization efforts, his exemplary commitment to the peaceful transition of power, and his contributions to peace and prosperity in Kazakhstan and the region.

We congratulate Kazakhstan's new President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev and look forward to continue working with him to deepen our enhanced strategic partnership and advance our longstanding mutual interests in economic development, trade and investment, and safeguarding regional and global security," the statement reads.

Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier emphasized that Kazakhstan and Germany enjoy partnership relations and their bilateral cooperation is based on intensive ties. Steinmeier expressed confidence that Kazakhstan will continue to play its role in the region and remain Germany's reliable partner.

On behalf of the people of Italy and on his own behalf President Sergio Mattarella congratulated Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on taking up the office of the President of Kazakhstan and expressed hope that relations between Kazakhstan and Italy will strengthen further during his tenure both in bilateral format as well as within the EU.

In his letter UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres pointed out that he looks forward to cooperating closely with newly-appointed Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Many other global leaders extended their heartfelt congratulations to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on becoming the new President of Kazakhstan.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, March 24

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Turkmenistan recently took part in the 62nd session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna, Trend reports referring to the Turkmen Foreign Ministry.

The Turkmen delegation informed the participants of the session about the state policy in the field of countering the circulation of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors, the report said.

The active interaction between Turkmenistan and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the Central Asian Regional Information Coordination Center and the International Narcotics Control Board as part of regional and national drug control programs was noted.

Turkmenistan is a party to three international conventions on combating illicit trafficking in narcotic and psychotropic substances, adopted by the UN in 1961, 1971 and 1988. Turkmenistan shares a long state border with Afghanistan, the territory of which, according to the UN, is actively used for drugs production.
Eleven cabinet ministers are planning "a full blown cabinet coup" to "remove Theresa May as prime minister," the Sunday Times' political editor said, Trend reported citing Sputnik.

The reporter also said that David Lidington, May's de-facto deputy, Environment Secretary Michael Gove or Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt are among the contenders to become interim prime minister, according to the plan. He also quoted an unidentified minister as saying that Theresa May "will be gone in 10 days".

Earlier in the month, a Politico-Hanbury poll revealed that over half of UK voters want May to resign due to her failure to secure parliament's approval for theBrexit agreement she had negotiated with Brussels. May told Conservative lawmakers in December that she was going to resign before the next general election, slated for 2022. However, she has not set a date for her intended resignation.

On Friday, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that the possible departure of Theresa May from the post of UK Prime Minister would complicate the situation with Brexit.

Following discussions on Thursday evening in Brussels, heads of the EU member states identified two scenarios for postponing Brexit, which the United Kingdom has requested. The first would be an extension until May 22, provided the withdrawal agreement is approved by the UK parliament. Should lawmakers reject the deal, the deadline would only be moved until April 12. European Council President Donald Tusk said that April 12 was a key date with regard to whether or not the United Kingdom would participate in the elections to the European Parliament.
As the political world anxiously awaited the results of special counsel Robert Muellers just-concluded 22-month investigation, the presidents supporters gathered on Saturday near Donald Trumps Fifth Avenue tower, perhaps prematurely celebrating that the yet-to-be-released report discovered no wrongdoing on the presidents part.

No collusion! said Hope Burns, who came from New Jersey with her husband and adult son, when asked about what she expected Mueller had found.

What was behind all the investigating?

The left is pushing it. The media is pushing it, she said.

The three-hour Trump Tower-adjacent demonstration, which lacked an apparent leader, raison d'etre, or collective undertaking  aside from a green MAGA-hat wearing man ranting into a megaphone as onlookers chimed in came the day after Mueller submitted his Trump-Russia-investigation report to Attorney General Bill Barr. A few hundred Trump supporters many coming from outside the city, and some from outside the statechanted and hoisted signs that read Happy No Collusion Day, I stand with Judge Jeanine [Pirro] and Drain the Swamp. The rally elicited occasional honks and fist pumps in solidarity from passing motorists.

And like at other pro-Trump events, there were open expressions of racism and xenophobia (Go back to Pakistan! one participant shouted at a man driving by in a yellow taxi), adherence to conspiratorial falsehoods pushed by the president and his allies (of the Seth Rich, George Soros, Hillary Clinton, undocumented-immigrants-voting varieties, among others), and broad anti-media invective.



These Trump supporters aren't fans of Chuck and Nancy (Gretchen Robinette / Gothamist)

Manny Ferrer, a sales associate who claimed First Lady Melania Trump has been his client for a very long time, was one of many attendees who accused the media of falsely reporting on the many allegations against Trump and his circle.

I think theres a lot of leftist media propaganda on most of the news channels taking over, Ferrer said. I dont buy it.

Most were unworried about what Muellers probe would unearth, some suggesting the public already knew there hadnt been any collusion between Trump and Russia; others preemptively refused to trust its unknown findings; some argued the investigation was a sham, squandering time and moneyall unsurprising sentiments, given Saturdays rally consisted mostly of Trumps dyed-in-the-wool fans.

I think its a whole witch hunt, said Marko Kepi, an Albanian-born property manager and political activist who lives on Staten Island, so I think at the end of the day, hes going to be all clear.

Joseph McGowan, a retiree who lives in Port Jefferson, guessed the Mueller probe would be incriminating for unspecified Democrats.

Its going to be a slaughter  of the Democrats, McGowan predicted.

Vered, an art dealer originally from Israel, who would only identify herself by her first name, also speculated that Mueller would uncover dirt on Trumps rivals, not the president.

Theyre looking for so much, for so long, and they couldnt find anything, she said. If you want to get into Russia, you have to get into what Hillary did with the Russians.

Two years [and] you cant find anything? fumed retiree Stella Coyle, who lives in Rockland County. I would imagine in that report they probably found things on the other side.  On the left side, I believe that they have Russia collusion.

Chris Edwards, a retired New York City firefighter who made the trip from Orange County for the event, told Gothamist he was disappointed money had been spent on the probe into Trump as the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund runs low.

Thirty-four million dollars was a waste of taxpayer money, when they actually knew that it wasnt any collusion in it, and they went and did it anyway, he said. (As of March 1st, the cost of the special counsel investigation was reportedly around $25 million, with some speculating that once former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manaforts asset forfeiture is taken into account, the probe might pay for itself and then some.)

But what about the fact that multiple Trump associates are already going to prison? That Trump has surrounded himself with unsavory figures and criminals was neither a surprise nor something that made Trumps supporters think any less of him. After all, hes a New York businessman and real estate developer like any other, the ralliers said.

Retired MTA bus employee John Provetto said Trump associates were being punished for process crimes a recent Republican talking point and didnt think their criminal conduct had any bearing on the president.

No one in life is squeaky-clean, he said. Everybodys got a past. Everybodys got stuff in their closet.

Angel Rivera, a New York City-born graphic artist who lives in Union County, NJ, shrugged when asked if it bothered him that Trump surrounded himself with shady figures like his erstwhile lawyer Michael Cohen and Manafort, who were sentenced to three and seven-and-a-half years in prison, respectively.

Who doesnt? he said, arguing that Trumps cast of wingmen is no more sordid than anyones acquaintances. I know a whole bunch of people who I dont know what they do behind closed doors. Thats just life.

And even if Trump had made less-than-prudent choices, the malfeasance is much more severe on the other side of the aisle, multiple attendees argued.

Dont get me wrong, I dont think Trumps an angel, said Fred Fischetti, a former plumber who now delivers medical supplies and traveled from New Jersey to the rally, but I think hes a better angel than Hillary ... or [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer or [House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi.

The Republican president is of course very unpopular in his heavily blue home stateeven more so in New York City so predictably some passersby did not take kindly to the demonstration. While there were no physical and few particularly impassioned clashes between the presidents backers and opponents, the rally participants were on the receiving end of some heckling.

Duncan Meyers, for example, poked his head out of the passenger window of a cab to shout that the barricaded rally area was meathead central.

Its very small, he told Gothamist, referring to the demonstration's size, before his car sped away, so thats heartening.
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said on Sunday that in case of a no-deal Brexit Britain will have the means to support its economy in the short term, however, it won't be able to eliminate the financial dangers in a long term perspective, Trend reports citing Sputnik.

Hammond noted that Bank of England and the Treasury have a specific set of tools that will be used to help the economy in a no-deal Brexit scenario.

Commenting on UK Prime Minister Theresa May's agreement, Hammond stated that the lawmakers had it in their grasp "to either agree", or "find another deal".

Hammond's remarks come at a time when the Sunday Times reported that at least 11 UK cabinet ministers were seeking to oust Prime Minister Theresa May over her handling of the Brexit process.

Earlier this week, the European Union has agreed to grant the United Kingdom a delay to the original departure date of 29 March. The United Kingdom has time to decide until 22 May if its parliament passes the withdrawal deal next week, and until 12 April if it does not.
During a meeting with voters in the city of Vantaa, Timo Soini, the foreign minister of Finland and one of the leaders of the Blue Future Party was attacked by a young man, the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper reported on Sunday, Trend reports citing Sputnik.

"Foreign Minister Timo Soini was attacked in Vantaa. During the pre-election meeting with voters, the young man tried to break through to the minister, but was stopped by guards," the newspaper said.

According to witnesses of the incident, the attacker managed to hit one of the guards with a bottle on his head.

"Soini told those present that this man tried to attack him and the guards detained him. After the incident, Soini continued meeting with citizens in the usual way," the newspaper writes.

Soini is one of the most popular politicians in the country, however, he previously stated that he is not going to run in the spring parliamentary elections, but at the same time added that he will support his Blue Future Party in the election campaign.

Finnish parliamentary elections are scheduled for 14 April.
Sudanese police announced that eight children were killed on Saturday due to the explosion of "a strange object" in Sudan's Omdurman city, Trend reported citing Xinhua.

"The strange object exploded while the children were playing with it," Hashim Abdel-Rahim, Sudanese police spokesman, was quoted as saying.

He said four children died immediately while the other four died after they were transferred to the hospital.

He added that the police opened an investigation into the incident and the nature of the exploded object.

The incident took place at al-Fath neighborhood in the north of the city, near a military training area.

Meanwhile, according to eyewitnesses and families of the victims, the incident took place as the children were trying to dismantle a bomb to use the copper in it.
Gunmen killed at least 134 Fulani herders in central Mali on Saturday, a local mayor said, the deadliest such attack of recent times in a region reeling from worsening ethnic and jihadist violence, Trend reports citing Reuters.

The assaults on the villages of Ogossagou and Welingara took place as a UN Security Council mission visited Mali seeking solutions to violence that killed hundreds of civilians last year and is spreading across West Africas Sahel region.

Moulaye Guindo, mayor of the nearby town of Bankass, said armed men, dressed as traditional Donzo hunters, encircled and attacked Ogossagou at about 4 a.m. (0400 GMT).

We are provisionally at 134 bodies recovered by the gendarmes, Guindo told Reuters by telephone from Ogossagou.

He said another nearby Fulani village, Welingara, had also been attacked, causing a number of deaths, but he did not yet know how many.

Security sources said the dead included pregnant women, children and elderly people.
At least three militants were confirmed dead after Afghan government forces stormed a Taliban hideout in Hazarbagh area of northern Takhar province on Saturday, army spokesman in the northern region Mohammad Hanif Rezai said Sunday, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

According to the official, Units of Special Force raided a Taliban hideout in Hazarbagh locality late Saturday night, killing three armed insurgents on the spot.

No civilian had been hurt in the raid, the official said, without providing further details.

Taliban militants who are active in parts of Takhar province with Taluqan as its capital 245 km north of Kabul haven't commented.
At least nine militants have been killed in a clash between the Taliban and rival Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province, an army statement said on Sunday, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

The clash broke out in Lindlam area of Chapdara district and so far nine militants affiliated with the IS have been killed, the statement said.

According to the statement, 14 other IS fighters have been injured in the clash.

Without informing of the casualties of the Taliban and the date of the fighting eruption, the statement said the IS fighters had retreated from their positions.

Neither Taliban nor IS group has made comment.
Former Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva stepped down as leader of the Democrat Party after its poor showing in a Sunday general election, Trend reports referring to Reuters.

Thailands oldest political party was in fourth place in the popular vote, with a little more that 3 million votes, according to partial results released by the Election Commission, with 91 percent of votes counted.

I must take responsibility for this. I resign from my leadership of the Democrat Party, said Abhisit, who was prime minister from 2008 to 2011.
U.S. Department of Defense announced the deaths of two soldiers, who were supporting Operation Freedom's Sentinel in Afghanistan to counter terrorism, Trend reported citing Xinhua.

The two soldiers, namely Spc. Joseph P. Collette and Sgt. 1st Class Will D. Lindsay, died Friday in the northern province of Kunduz "as a result of wounds sustained while engaged in combat operations," Pentagon said in a statement.

The incident is under investigation, it added.

U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad said on March 13 that the peace talks between the United States and the Afghan Taliban have made progress after tough negotiations in Qatar and that conditions for achieving a peaceful settlement have improved.

However, it remains unclear if Taliban would be committed to the complete ceasefire and direct talks with the Afghan government.

Fighting between government forces and Taliban fighters often gets intense in spring as it is locally branded as the fighting season.
On Sunday, a severe category 3 cyclone blew into the key mining region of Pilbara in Western Australia forcing evacuations and a halt to port operations, as the north of the country dealt with the effects of an even more powerful storm that hit the previous day. Cyclone Veronica weakened from a category 4 storm before its core winds hit the coast near the mining centre of Port Hedland, but officials warned the system was slow moving and would continue pounding the region with gale force winds and heavy rain for 24 to 48 hours.

also read Indonesia Shaken by 6.1 magnitude earthquake

However, The Bureau of Meteorology said Veronica's forward movement had stalled around midday Sunday before its eye made landfall, and was forecast to weaken to a category 1 storm overnight and then veer west along the coastline. It said the "severe" storm was producing wind gusts of up to 200 kilometres per hour (120 mph), pushing a storm surge of up to two metres (seven feet) onto the coast. Rainfall was expected to hit 20-40 centimetres, it said. "Tides are likely to rise significantly above the normal high tide mark with damaging waves and very dangerous coastal inundation," the bureau said.

Major mining and energy companies took precautionary steps across the region, a hub of liquefied natural gas and iron-ore exports, with ports cleared of ships and non-essential staff evacuated, according to australianminining.com.au website. Australia's western coast usually sees three or four cyclones per year and emergency services said residents were well prepared for this storm. Meanwhile, Cyclone Trevor, which hit northern Australia on Saturday as a powerful category 4, weakened to a tropical storm overnight as it moved inland in the sparsely populated region.

also read An Indian Truck driver in Canada sentenced to an eight-year imprisonment

Officials said no deaths, injuries or significant damage had been reported from the storm, but that heavy rains were continuing and flooding was still a danger. The army and police had evacuated more than 2,000 residents from outposts in Trevor's path, many of them indigenous communities, and people began returning to their homes on Sunday, police said.
The Congress sought to pin the BJP down on Friday by seeking a Lokpal probe into payment entries in a diary allegedly maintained by BJPs Karnataka head BS Yeddyurappa. The Congress sought to pin the BJP down on Friday by seeking a Lokpal probe into payment entries in a diary allegedly maintained by BJPs Karnataka head BS Yeddyurappa. Former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa on Friday spiked Congresss allegations that he had made payouts to senior BJP leaders in 2009 when he was chief minister. Yeddyurappa said the diary entries Congress are talking about are fake.

also read: Indonesia Shaken by 6.1 magnitude earthquake

Yeddyurappas remarks came soon after the Congress sought an inquiry by the Lokpal into a news report claiming that the Bharatiya Janata Party leader had allegedly made diary entries noting payoffs of Rs 1,800 crore to senior party leaders, judges, and lawyers. Yeddyurappas remarks came soon after the Congress sought an inquiry by the Lokpal into a news report claiming that the Bharatiya Janata Party leader had allegedly made diary entries noting payoffs of Rs 1,800 crore to senior party leaders, judges, and lawyers. Yeddyurappa said the Opposition party was frustrated with the growing popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Yeddyurappa also claimed that Congress had planted the news report in the media to gain political mileage.

also read: TRS leaders lodged multiple cases on Pawan Kalyan
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh over the Pulwama terror attack and questioned whether he ate beef biryani and slept while the attack was taking place. "Indian Air Force dropped bombs in Balakot. On this, BJP chief Amit Shah said that 250 terrorists were dead and Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that NTRP tapped 300 cell phones," Asaduddin Owaisi said. Owaisi asked, you can see 300 cell phones in Balakot but you failed to see how 50 kg RDX used in the Pulwama attack under your nose. Was Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh ate Beef Biryani slept?

also read: Congress leaders would probably win elections in Pakistan: Ram Madhav

Asaduddin Owaisi is going to contest Lok Sabha elections from Hyderabad. He told that his fight is with those forces which are continuously eliminating brotherhood and secularism in the country. If someone says that there are two national parties in the country, then I will say no. There is only one national party BJP, another 1.5 is BJP. There is no difference between the BJP and the Congress. It is reported that 40 CRPF jawans were killed in the terror attack on February 14 in Pulwama, Jammu, and Kashmir. In this attack, the suicide bomber of Jaish-e-Mohammed collided with the army forces in his vehicle by filling more than 100 kg of RDX.

also read: Lok Sabha 2019: Karnataka Congress announced first list of candidates
OSLO: On Saturday, rescue helicopters were evacuating people from a cruise ship which suffered engine failure in stormy weather off the west coast of Norway, police and rescue workers said. The maritime rescue service said the Viking Sky, with about 1,300 passengers and crew on board, had sent out a mayday signal as it had been drifting towards land. The crew were later able to restart one engine and the ship was at anchor about 2 km from land.

Here it is to be noted that eight people suffered light injuries and had been evacuated, said the rescue service, which was coordinating the response. It did not give details of how the people were hurt. Passengers were hoisted one-by-one from the deck of the vessel and airlifted to a village just north of the town of Molde on Norway`s west coast. Only 87 people had been evacuated by 1750 GMT, and the airlift was set to continue throughout the night, rescue service spokeswoman Borghild Elden told Reuters. Two purpose-built vessels operated by the Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue had been forced to turn back due to the severe weather, the service said.

also read Indonesia Shaken by 6.1 magnitude earthquake

However, waves were 6-8 metres high, with wind blowing at 24 metres per second, according to the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. The storm was expected to last at least until midnight local time (2300 GMT). The stretch of water known as Hustadvika is known for its fierce weather and shallow waters are dotted with reefs. The Norwegian government is evaluating whether to build a giant ocean tunnel through a nearby mountain to improve safety. The Viking Sky, built in 2017, belongs to Viking Ocean Cruises, part of the Viking Cruises group founded by Norwegian billionaire Torstein Hagen. According to the company`s website, its passenger capacity is 930.

To be noted that several vessels and four helicopters took part in the rescue and facilities to receive passengers have been set up on land, the rescue service said. All search and rescue teams in the region are mobilising, including 60 volunteers from the Norwegian Red Cross, a spokesman said. Viking`s operational headquarters, located in Basel, Switzerland, did not respond when contacted by telephone.
Srinagar: On Sunday, escalating the controversy over the Balakot air strike conducted by India last month, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah said that the aerial attack was carried out to rebuild Prime Minister Narendra Modis image after he lost on several fronts back home". Farooq said I know one thing when I was in Parliament in last days...The PM and its government's image was dropping down rapidly because of unemployment, poor condition of industries, farmers distress, Demonetisation had also badly affected country and all this was going against him .... so there one thing simmering in Parliament that he will do something, a small minor attack on Pakistan to prove that he means business and see this has happened,.

also read 2019 Lok Sabha polls: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav to contest from Azamgarh

Here it is to be noted that the India Air Force carried out the air strike on terrorist training camps in Pakistans Balakot on February 26 to avenge Pulwama terror attack, in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. The NC chief had earlier said that the air strike was conducted with an eye on elections. "We always knew that there would be a fight or a skirmish with Pakistan. This surgical strike (airstrike) was done as elections are approaching. We lost an aircraft worth crores. Be thankful that the pilot (IAF) survived & returned from Pakistan with respect," he was quoted as saying by ANI.

Earlier, Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan also resonated the same views and said that the votes are being fetched in the name of surgical strike and lives of the Army jawans. Pehli baar aisa hua hai ki surgical strikes ke naam par vote maange ja rahe hain, yaani faujiyon ki zindagi par vote gine ja rahe hain, ki sarhadon ka bhi sauda hogya hai, khoon ka sauda hogya hai, vardiyon ka sauda hogya hai, saron ka sauda hogya hai. (This is happening for the first time that votes are being fetched in the name of surgical strike, in the name of our forces and jawans. Now bravery, borders, martyrdom are being traded. These issues should not be used to form governments and for elections), the SP leader had said.

also read Will accept whatever party decides but Prefer Rajgarh seat: Digvijaya Singh
" " Chinese dragon dancers mark traditional celebrations of the new year. Kevin Smart/Getty Images

It's early 2017, and according to the Chinese zodiac calendar, we're starting bidding the year of the monkey goodbye and ushering in the year of the fire rooster. What does that mean the upcoming 12 months have in store for us? Adherents to traditional Chinese astrology believe that the rooster is punctual, reliable, independent, but also conceited and vain. And with Donald Trump entering the presidency in this rooster year, some geomancers in Hong Kong believe the year will be filled with the argumentative and aggressive characteristics the rooster embodies. But how much does astrology really affect human behavior and motivations? This episode of our Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast explores the question:

As hosts Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick explain, it's not a major belief in astrology that has influence in our lives, but instead a vague omnipresent cultural knowledge of the zodiac. The Chinese zodiac consists of 12 animals, and each has unique personality characteristics explained by a story of a swimming race held by the Jade Emperor, a mystical figure in Taoism.

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As you may know, some zodiac signs are considered to be more desirable than others, and the dragonis a particularly lucky sign. In Eastern culture, the dragon is a celestial being exhibiting control and strength. As a zodiac sign the dragon is energetic, assertive and a go-getter, all while being humble. Basically, the dragon is someone you aspire to be and would want your kids to be.

Considering this, an increase in birth rates on the year of the dragon could be expected. And in fact, this is known as the "Dragon Surge." Spikes in the birth rates in Asian countries such as Taiwan and Singapore have been reported during dragon years. In Singapore, for instance, the difference in birth rate between the rabbit, the year immediately preceding the dragon, and the dragon increased by a whopping 24-26 percent. In mainland China, the increase is not as apparent due to its massive population size, but some parents have admitted to timing their pregnancy to line up with a dragon year. This trend in birth rate has occurred since the 1970s when modern birth control and family planning became more available. As the Stuff to Blow Your Mind hosts explain, this isn't necessarily happening because people are deeply superstitious, but with fewer children and more family choices possible, any superstition weighs into those choices, such as when to have a baby, more heavily.

" " Celebrants ring in the lunar new year in China on February 1, 2017. VCG/Getty Images

Generalization, also known as the Forer effect, is where the power of the zodiac truly lies. Because their characteristics relate to a wide variety of people, the qualities of the zodiac signs apply to society at large. The zodiac has psychological and cultural relevance, but the key here is neither rigid belief in the zodiac, nor complete rejection of it. This illuminates the power of myth and the power of background folklore over our lives  a vague, loose cultural knowledge that unconsciously affects people every day.
NEW ORLEANS--Exposure to dim light at night, which is common in today's lifestyle, may contribute to the spread of breast cancer to the bones, researchers have shown for the first time in an animal study. Results of the study will be presented Saturday at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in New Orleans, La.

"To date, no one has reported that exposure to dim light at night induces circadian disruption, which then increases the formation of bone metastatic breast cancer," said Muralidharan Anbalagan, Ph.D., assistant professor, Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, La.". "This is important, as many patients with breast cancer are likely exposed to light at night as a result of lack of sleep, stress, excess light in the bedroom from mobile devices and other sources, or night shift work."

More than 150,000 U.S. women had breast cancer in 2017 that metastasized, or spread outside the breast, according to an estimate from the National Cancer Institute. When breast cancer spreads, it often goes to the bones, where it can cause severe pain and fragile bones.

In this preliminary study funded by the Louisiana Clinical and Translational Science Center (LACATS) in collaboration with Louisiana Cancer Research Consortium (LCRC) & Tulane Center for Circadian Biology, the researchers created a mouse model of bone metastatic breast cancer. They injected estrogen receptor-positive human breast cancer cells that have a low propensity to grow in bones into the tibia, or shinbone, of female mice. Like humans, the mice used in this study produce a strong nighttime circadian melatonin signal. This nighttime melatonin signal has been shown to produce strong anti-cancer actions and also promotes sleep.

All mice were kept in the light for 12 hours each day. One group of three mice was in the dark the other 12 hours, which helped them produce high levels of endogenous melatonin. Another group spent 12 hours in light followed by 12 hours in dim light at night, which suppresses their nocturnal melatonin production. The dim light was 0.2 lux, which is less than a night-light or a display light from a cell phone, according to Anbalagan.

X-ray images showed that mice exposed to a light/dim light cycle had much larger tumors and increased bone damage compared with mice kept in a standard light/dark cycle, he reported.

"Our research identified the importance of an intact nocturnal circadian melatonin anti-cancer signal in suppressing bone-metastatic breast tumor growth," Anbalagan said.

The ultimate goal of their research, he said, is to find a way to inhibit or suppress the progression of breast cancer metastases to bone.

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Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions.

The Society has more than 18,000 members, including scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in 122 countries. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at http://www.endocrine.org. Follow us on Twitter at @TheEndoSociety and @EndoMedia.
Access to mobile banking has become an important part of every customer's credit union or bank relationship. "Consumers really want the ability to replace the branch experience," says Brian Karimzad, co-founder of finance website MagnifyMoney.com. They want easy access to their funds and the ability to check balances on the go, make transfers in transit and deposit checks without heading into a local branch.

The hallmarks of a good banking app are "simplicity and convenience," says Brian Bartold, financial services professional with advisory firm VFG Associates in Livonia, Michigan.

While credit unions often get an unjust reputation as being behind the technological curve, a 2018 analysis by MagnifyMoney.com revealed otherwise. Half of the top-rated mobile banking apps were from credit unions. Data on the 50 largest banks, 50 largest credit unions and a selection of top online banks were used in the survey, which was ranked on a scale from 1 to 5, based on ratings data from iTunes and Google Play as of October 2018. To calculate overall scores, MagnifyMoney weighted the iOS and Android scores based on how many ratings were on each platform.

Keep reading to discover which credit union apps stand out from the pack.

[Read: 5 Benefits of Credit Unions.]

Best Credit Union Apps

Here are the five best credit union apps:

-- Eastman Credit Union.

-- Delta Community Credit Union.

-- Redstone Federal Credit Union.

-- ESL Federal Credit Union.

-- Wright-Patt Credit Union.

MagnifyMoney has been tracking the best banking apps since 2014, and Karimzad says reliability is the No. 1 factor that sets apart the best apps from the rest. Consumers want to know that they can count on the app to work properly whenever they need to confirm their balance, deposit a check, transfer money or complete other financial tasks.

To judge a good, reliable banking app, Bartold says after opening up the app, all the information you want to use should be easily accessible. A bonus is if features like free credit scores are available, too.

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The following five credit union apps claimed a spot in the top 10 best overall banking apps for 2018. Read on to learn more about the best credit union apps.

Eastman Credit Union

-- Ranking among largest credit union apps: 1

-- Ranking among all banking apps: 2

-- Overall rating: 4.8 out of 5.0

Based in Kingsport, Tennessee, Eastman Credit Union has the highest rated credit union app according to the MagnifyMoney analysis. Plus, it was second only to Discover in terms of having the best overall banking app. Its iOS app received a score of 4.9, while its Android rating is 4.8, based on 11,270 user ratings. Eastman Credit Union prides itself on providing its members with the latest technological tools. Its apps include biometric authentication, smartwatch compatibility and a quick balance feature.



Delta Community Credit Union

-- Ranking among largest credit union apps: 2

-- Ranking among all banking apps: 3

-- Overall rating: 4.8 out of 5.0

Delta Community Credit Union, Georgia's largest credit union, comes in a close second among the best credit union apps. Its 16,069 ratings give its iOS app a score of 4.8 and its Android app a score of 4.7. The institution touts its mobile apps as providing members with a tiny Delta Community branch on their phones. The credit union uses responsive design and Touch ID technology to let people make payments, transfer money and check balances, among other tasks.

Redstone Federal Credit Union

-- Ranking among largest credit union apps: 3

-- Ranking among all banking apps: 5

-- Overall rating: 4.8 out of 5.0

While Redstone Federal Credit Union has 26 branches in the Tennessee Valley, members don't have to visit one to do their banking. Instead, they can use the credit union's mobile app to review cleared checks, view credit card activity, pay bills and transfer money. Nearly 21,000 ratings of the Redstone Federal Credit Union app have been recorded. These have resulted in a 4.8 score for the iOS app and a 4.7 score for the Android app.



ESL Federal Credit Union

-- Ranking among largest credit union apps: 4

-- Ranking among all banking apps: 6

-- Overall rating: 4.7 out of 5.0

ESL Federal Credit Union out of Rochester, New York, has the fourth best credit union app and the sixth best banking app. Its iOS and Android apps received a score of 4.8 and 4.7, respectively, after 14,908 ratings. The ESL mobile apps can be configured to notify members of low balances, payment due dates and large withdrawals. A balance widget lets users see their account balances without logging into the app. Plus, ESL offers all the features found in other leading banking apps, such as mobile deposits, bill payments and fund transfers.



[Read: How to Switch Banks: A Step-by-Step Guide.]

Wright-Patt Credit Union

-- Ranking among largest credit union apps: 5

-- Ranking among all banking apps: 7

-- Overall rating: 4.7 out of 5.0

Wright-Patt Credit Union serves members in Southwest and Central Ohio. Its mobile apps include standard features like mobile deposit and bill payment as well as options not found at some other institutions. These include the ability to send money to other people using the Popmoney feature and a purchase rewards program to earn points on debit card transactions. The Wright-Patt Credit Union mobile apps have been rated more than 17,000 times and received scores of 4.8 for the iOS version and 4.7 on Android devices.

Worst Credit Union Apps

Here are worst credit union apps:

-- PSECU.

-- Northwest Federal Credit Union.

Not all credit union apps are created equal. Still, Karimzad says overall quality is improving. "You're not seeing the really bad apps as you used to," he says.

Apps with lackluster reviews tend to have update issues that cause glitches or make the apps unusable on older devices. That is often what causes a banking app to see its score tumble from one year to the next. While app updates have the potential to cause problems if they contain bugs, you shouldn't avoid them. The latest version of an app could contain important security patches, says Aman Khanna, vice president of products at ThumbSignIn, a provider of strong authentication log-in services.

The following apps may bounce back next year, but for 2018, they were the two lowest-scored apps among larger credit unions.

PSECU

-- Overall rating: 2.2 out of 5.0

The Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union mobile app was the lowest-rated credit union app overall, and had the most deteriorated ranking from the previous year. In 2017, PSECU had an overall score of 3.9 on the MagnifyMoney survey, but it dropped 43 percent to 2.2 in 2018. Among its 999 user ratings are complaints of the app being sluggish or incompatible on members' devices.

Northwest Federal Credit Union

-- Overall rating: 2.3 out of 5.0

With 469 ratings overall, the Northwest Federal Credit Union's iOS version fares considerably worse than its Android counterpart. The iOS app received a score of 1.7, while the Android version received a score of 2.9. Member reviews note the app crashes and does not display information, among other issues.

App Security

For people who want to utilize mobile banking features, a quality credit union app is essential. However, quality means more than a sleek design and intuitive controls. The best apps balance out security with the user experience, Khanna says.

Still, even those apps that offer the latest security technology may not have them activated automatically. "Biometrics are not turned on by default," Khanna says. Customers may have to opt into features such as fingerprint or facial recognition log-ins which can be more secure.

[Read: 5 Banking Blunders You Don't Want to Make.]

The silver lining: A secure and user-friendly banking app can be offered by even the smallest of credit unions, thanks to third-party app providers. If your institution offers a less-than-stellar app experience, suggest an upgrade. After all, as a credit union member, you are also a credit union owner.





More From US News & World Report


American Airlines said Sunday it would continue canceling flights through April 24 due to the federally-mandated grounding of Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

As a result, the airline, which operates 24 Max aircraft, said about 90 flights per day will be canceled.

The air carrier  the largest in the U.S.  said it was cutting the flights to provide more certainty to our customers and team members and better protect our customers on other flights to their final destination.

American said the advanced cancellations also allow customers to have additional availability and rebooking options. It added that not all flights that were previously scheduled on a Max jet will be canceled.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) required all U.S. airlines to ground their fleets of Max aircraft following two fatal accidents involving the 737 Max 8 within five months.

Boeing said it was making changes to its flight-control software, known as MCAS, that was designed to prevent the aircraft from stalling. The system will rely on multiple angle of attack sensors, will push the aircrafts nose down only once and will make changes more subtly, giving pilots more control.

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Federal regulators have tentatively approved the software and pilot-training changes, subject to final ground-simulator and flight checked, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing government documents and people familiar with the details.

Airlines around the world grounded the aircraft an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed earlier this month, killing 157 people. The accident came just months after another 737 Max 8, operated by Lion Air, crashed in the Java Sea off the coast of Indonesia, killing 189 people.

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Worshippers at the Islamic Institute of Toronto prepare for Friday prayers one week after the New Zealand mosque shootings.

A little over a week after a gunman killed 50 worshippers and injured dozens at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, Muslims head to their own local mosques for Jumu'ah  Friday afternoon prayers.

The horrors from the other side of the world still echo for Muslims everywhere, including in Toronto.

This particularly hit home because it's a weekly event. It's the same prayer that New Zealanders were involved in, said Fareed Amin, president of the Islamic Institute of Toronto in Scarborough.

Ensuring that attending mosque feels safe and free of anxiety will be the next challenge for centres of worship like the Islamic Institute. And theyll need assistance that extends beyond the Muslim community.

It's a big challenge for us, so it's going to take a long time for us to forget this, said Amin, dressed in a black shalwar kameez, in preparation for the afternoons Jumuah. Because every time we come for Friday prayers, it reminds us of that incident.

The Islamic Institute is centred by a mosque in the middle of the building, but its also an elementary school that topped the Fraser Institute's annual Ontario school rankings. Colourful backpacks with images of Elsa and Anna from Frozen and other children's characters line the walls near the entrance to the gym where prayers take place.

Amin speaks softly while a medley of sounds from kids running in from recess fill the hallways.

He said the main focus of the building is education, but the prayer services are popular and occur throughout the day on Fridays. Last week, hours after the shooting, he said he had trouble speaking to worshippers gathering for the service.

I couldn't muster enough courage to speak then, it was a very emotional speech, he said. But calls from politicians and from those of different faiths around Toronto have added a bit of warmth.

Fareed Amin, president of the Islamic Institute of Toronto, stands near the entrance to the mosque before Friday prayers.

Yet kind words from outside the Muslim community dont lessen the burden of having to be on guard  now more than ever. The most recent data from Statistics Canada shows a dramatic increase in hate crimes, specifically in Ontario and Quebec. There were over 2000 incidents in 2017  the highest level since hate crime data began being reported in 2009.

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The main targets of these crimes are Muslims, Jews and Black Canadians.

Security funding up to $10,000 is available from the federal government for places of worship, which is how the Islamic Institute was able to install a fence around its perimeter.

We have to exercise a renewed sense of vigilance and security, he said, noting that its not something they want to do, as a mosque is meant to be open, yet feel safe.

We live in an era where we need to take the necessary precautions, said Amin.

The Islamic Institute was inundated with questions from worried parents about plans to protect their children. They feel very vulnerable, says Amin.

During Friday prayers, the gates are closed and a car is parked in front of them. Security personnel let in possible latecomers or let out people who need to leave early. They will be looking more closely at their security measures since New Zealand, by locking gates, closing doors, and having people buzzed in.

As a not-for profit organization, the Institutes security funding will have to come from people who attend prayers and have children in the school, said Amin, so cash will not be easily accessible.

And will heightened security make worshippers feel like they are being watched and scrutinized, rather than welcomed? These are all things to take into account, said Amin.

Solutions for these issues may come from increased calls for a national dialogue on hate crimes, and Canadians working together to protect religious communities, he said.

We need to bring together faith leaders and see what it is we can do, he said. Thoughts and prayers are good but not necessarily enough.

Encouraging Canadians who dont practise Islam to visit a mosque is something Amin recommends, especially for those who dont know about the religion or dont understand it.

Islam needs to be de-mystified for some people, he said.

There's nothing in [a mosque] except for matts and copies of the Quran, he said, adding its a very simple place where people go to pray.

A sign directs worshipers to the entrance of the mosque at the Islamic Institute of Toronto.

Creating a larger, public discussion with elected officials and Canadians who arent Muslim is important for finding safety solutions, said Leila Nasr, communications coordinator with the National Council of Canadian Muslims.

[We] can't just talk about it at the band-aid level, security and infrastructure doesn't address hatred and intolerance, says Nasr. She says its important to reach out to Muslim neighbours, friends and colleagues and do your part to challenge Islamophobia when you see it.

As Friday prayers begin at the Islamic Institute, Aneesah Mohamad removes her shoes and prepares to go inside.

She said feels good attending the prayers and its helping her through the grief she has felt following the shooting.

What hurt me about it the most is the hatred behind it, she said, through tears.

Instead of being afraid of us, come and see what we're about, she said. Don't judge us before you have the opportunity to know us.
Manchester, United Kingdom. 20th March 2019  Bidooh, a real-time, real-audience, digital billboard advertising platform, is pleased to announce that it has signed a licensing agreement with Nisaar Ally, who will head up the newly-formed Bidooh South Africa and become the Groups exclusive partner in South Africa. Ally, a serial entrepreneur and investor, plans to install Bidoohs blockchain-based digital billboard platform on 500 screens across South Africa over a period of three years. This agreement marks the companys first move into Africa and builds on its global strategy. The first screen in this agreement will go live after June 2019 with a roll-out of 50 locations across South Africa into major retail outlets and shopping malls. South Africa is a growing

Manchester, United Kingdom. 20th March 2019  Bidooh, a real-time, real-audience, digital billboard advertising platform, is pleased to announce that it has signed a licensing agreement with Nisaar Ally, who will head up the newly-formed Bidooh South Africa and become the Groups exclusive partner in South Africa. Ally, a serial entrepreneur and investor, plans to install Bidoohs blockchain-based digital billboard platform on 500 screens across South Africa over a period of three years.

This agreement marks the companys first move into Africa and builds on its global strategy. The first screen in this agreement will go live after June 2019 with a roll-out of 50 locations across South Africa into major retail outlets and shopping malls. South Africa is a growing economy with a large number of shopping malls, commercial centres, offices and transport stations across the country, all of which are excellent locations for Bidoohs digital billboards, which uses facial analysis to provide targeted, real-time advertising.

Installing the screens in malls and other large centres will be a fast and simple process as Bidooh South Africa will be using existing screens or purchasing their own screens in high footfall locations and installing Bidoohs software. Any screen can connect to Bidoohs platform and become an advertising screen by simply plugging a Bidooh Box into the HDMI port.

Signing this new partner in South Africa further extends Bidoohs global partnership network. It has already signed contracts with DBDB Labs, a full-service media agency based in Seoul to target 10,000 screens in South Korea; Darko Ban, a partner operator in Czech Republic to target 2,000 screens across Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic and Slovakia; and Mihai Bulugea, a partner operator in Romania to target 1,000 screens across Romania. Bidoohs screens are also functioning across several locations in the UK. The current live network of over 70 Bidooh screens have counted a passing footfall of 15.2 million with 44% falling between the ages of 25 and 34.

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Shaz Mughal, co-founder and Chief Partnership Officer of Bidooh, comments: We are delighted to have partnered with Nisaar Ally in South Africa, as this is another step forward in Bidoohs global growth strategy. Expanding Bidoohs reach into another continent shows the international demand for Bidoohs platform and proves its ability to function across different cultures and countries. We look forward to working together with Nisaar Ally and building Bidoohs presence in South Africa and beyond.

Ally adds: Bidoohs digital advertising platform is revolutionising the out-of-home advertising market and we are extremely pleased to be the first partner to harness this technology in Africa. South Africa is an excellent location for Bidooh to expand into as it is a hotspot for innovative ideas and disruptive technology. We believe its platform is unique in that it allows any type of businesses however small to become an advertiser at a low cost and many businesses will benefit from this opportunity.

The post Bidooh signs new partner in South Africa to roll-out 500 screens appeared first on Coin Rivet.
Many investors are still learning about the various metrics that can be useful when analysing a stock. This article is for those who would like to learn about Return On Equity (ROE). Well use ROE to examine Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (NYSE:LPX), by way of a worked example.

Louisiana-Pacific has a ROE of 23%, based on the last twelve months. Another way to think of that is that for every $1 worth of equity in the company, it was able to earn $0.23.

View our latest analysis for Louisiana-Pacific

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How Do I Calculate Return On Equity?

The formula for ROE is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit  Shareholders Equity

Or for Louisiana-Pacific:

23% = US$399m  US$1.7b (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.)

Its easy to understand the net profit part of that equation, but shareholders equity requires further explanation. It is the capital paid in by shareholders, plus any retained earnings. You can calculate shareholders equity by subtracting the companys total liabilities from its total assets.

What Does Return On Equity Signify?

Return on Equity measures a companys profitability against the profit it has kept for the business (plus any capital injections). The return is the profit over the last twelve months. A higher profit will lead to a higher ROE. So, all else being equal, a high ROE is better than a low one. That means it can be interesting to compare the ROE of different companies.

Does Louisiana-Pacific Have A Good ROE?

By comparing a companys ROE with its industry average, we can get a quick measure of how good it is. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. As is clear from the image below, Louisiana-Pacific has a better ROE than the average (15%) in the Forestry industry.

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NYSE:LPX Past Revenue and Net Income, March 23rd 2019

Thats what I like to see. In my book, a high ROE almost always warrants a closer look. For example you might check if insiders are buying shares.

Why You Should Consider Debt When Looking At ROE

Most companies need money  from somewhere  to grow their profits. That cash can come from issuing shares, retained earnings, or debt. In the first two cases, the ROE will capture this use of capital to grow. In the latter case, the debt required for growth will boost returns, but will not impact the shareholders equity. Thus the use of debt can improve ROE, albeit along with extra risk in the case of stormy weather, metaphorically speaking.

Louisiana-Pacifics Debt And Its 23% ROE

Louisiana-Pacific has a debt to equity ratio of 0.21, which is far from excessive. When I see a high ROE, fuelled by only modest debt, I suspect the business is high quality. Careful use of debt to boost returns is often very good for shareholders. However, it could reduce the companys ability to take advantage of future opportunities.

In Summary

Return on equity is a useful indicator of the ability of a business to generate profits and return them to shareholders. Companies that can achieve high returns on equity without too much debt are generally of good quality. If two companies have the same ROE, then I would generally prefer the one with less debt.

Having said that, while ROE is a useful indicator of business quality, youll have to look at a whole range of factors to determine the right price to buy a stock. The rate at which profits are likely to grow, relative to the expectations of profit growth reflected in the current price, must be considered, too. So you might want to take a peek at this data-rich interactive graph of forecasts for the company.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
JPMorgan's got JPMCoin. And Goldman Sachs has its "bitcoin" trading desk. But don't sleep on Citigroup. The New York-based financial services firm appears to be just as deep in the blockchain world as its cross-town rivals  at least according to a recent crypto job ad. The post A Citigroup job ad suggests blockchain initiatives are heating up at the bank appeared first on The Block.

JPMorgan's got JPMCoin. And Goldman Sachs has its "bitcoin" trading desk.

But don't sleep on Citigroup. The New York-based financial services firm appears to be just as deep in the blockchain world as its cross-town rivals  at least according to a recent crypto job ad.

As per a LinkedIn ad for a blockchain role, one unit of the bank  Citi Markets and Securities Services  is working on initiatives across the crypto landscape.

"Citi Markets and Securities Services business is working on a number of Blockchain/ Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and Digital Asset initiatives that span asset classes, businesses and regions," the bank notes. The product manager position is no longer accepting applications (sorry hopefuls!).

The ad asserts that the bank has a wide-range of crypto clients, noting:

"We are working with clients, Financial Market Infrastructures (FMIs) (i.e., exchanges, clearing houses, and settlement venues), and FinTech providers. These initiatives have continued to grow and are in various stages of the innovation and deployment funnel. We expect our engagement to continue to expand as Blockchain/DLT technology continues to evolve and will impact our business on multiple fronts."

The role would play a "key part" in driving "multiple internal and external engagements," according to Citigroup.

Still, a recent report by CoinDesk shows the bank stepped away from one notable crypto project, dubbed Citicoin. The JPMCoin-like project was never announced and was being worked on out of its Ireland offices.
Investing.com - Worries about a broadening global economic slowdown which could threaten demand for crude are likely to have the biggest impact on oil markets in the week ahead.

The IHS Markit preliminary Purchasing Managers Index, led by Germany, plunged to 44.7 in March, its lowest level since 2012 and well below economists expectation of 48, data showed on Friday. It was the index's third-consecutive reading below 50 and came as new orders and employment declined.

The underwhelming data exacerbated worries over slowing global growth prospects and energy demand.

Oil traders will also focus on the outlook for global crude supplies amid signals that OPEC-led production cuts have helped tighten an oversupplied market.

OPEC, which together with some non-affiliated producers like Russia, known as 'OPEC+', agreed late last year to reduce output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to remove a glut and prop up prices.

Fresh data on U.S. commercial crude inventories and production activity will also capture the market's attention this week.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that U.S. crude supplies unexpectedly fell by nearly 10 million barrels for the week ended March 15, the most since July, thanks to strong export and refining demand.

Offering a hint on future production activity, U.S. energy firms reduced the number of oil rigs operating for a fifth week in a row, cutting nine rigs to the lowest count in nearly a year. The number fell by nine to 824 last week.

Trade talks between the U.S. and China will also keep investors on their toes, as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and other members of the Trump administration head to Beijing.

Oil futures settled lower on Friday, with prices pulling back from four-month highs as worries about the global economy weighed.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude declined 94 cents, or about 1.6%, to settle at $59.04 a barrel by close of trade. It went as high as $60.39 on Thursday, the most since Nov. 12.

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For the week, the U.S. benchmark ended up 0.9%.

Meanwhile, International Brent crude oil futures ended Friday's session down 92 cents, or roughly 1.4%, at $66.75 a barrel.

Brent prices, which on Thursday hit their highest so far this year at $68.48, saw a drop of approximately 0.2% on the week.

Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of the main events likely to affect the oil market.

Tuesday, March 26

The American Petroleum Institute (API) is to publish its weekly update on U.S. oil supplies.

Wednesday, March 27

The EIA will release its weekly report on oil stockpiles.

Friday, March 29

{{0|Baker Hughes}} will release weekly data on the U.S. oil rig count.

-- Reuters contributed to this report

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Curaleaf Holdings Inc (OTCMKTS:CURLF) has announced that it struck an acquisition deal worth $70 million for Acres Cannabis which runs cannabis cultivation facilities as well as extraction and production labs.

Acres cannabis has its cannabis operations in Nevada including a dispensary. According to the announcement, Curaleaf will acquire Acres Cannabis for $70 million. The deal is part of the companys plans to scale up its business through vertical integration. Such developments have become more common in the cannabis industry and it will likely result in the existence of dominant cannabis firms in each region and possibly in each state.

The acquisition will significantly boost Curaleafs operations in Nevada because Acres Cannabis facilities including the dispensary and cannabis cultivation facilities will become part of Curaleaf. Acres Cannabis earns between $25 and $35 million in annual revenue which means that it will add significant value to Curaleaf.

With two acquisitions announced over the past month (total ~$100 million) at relatively attractive valuations, CURA also appears to be accelerating its M&A activity, which we believe should be welcomed by investors, stated Robert Fagan, an analyst at GMP Securities.

Fagan believes that Curaleafs decision to acquire Acres Cannabis is an attractive move because it also aligns with the companys past acquisitions where it acquired private cannabis operators in the U.S. GMP Securities has also raised its price target for Curaleaf following Acres Cannabis pro-forma contribution with an estimated $34 million in sales and $10 million EBITDA. He also revealed that GMP Securities uses on 25x its $312 million 2020 EBITDA forecast to derive its target price.

Acres Cannabis was launched in 2014 and its main business was cannabis cultivation on a 37-acre piece of land in Nevada. Its cannabis and cannabis products initially targeted Las Vegas consumers. The company has 269,000 sq. ft. of cannabis cultivation space. The firm is also developing an extra 133,000 sq. ft. of cultivating space to boost its productivity. The company hopes to cultivate an average of 100,000 pounds of dry flower each year when firing on all pistons.

The post Curaleaf Holdings Buys Out Acres Cannabis appeared first on Market Exclusive.
As the world waits to learn what is contained within the Mueller report, the culmination of Justice Department special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, it seems appropriate to expand on last weeks column about the security of electronic voting systems.

I recently spoke to Nimit Sawhney, CEO and cofounder of Voatz, the blockchain-based, mobile voting software provider, whose technology West Virginia piloted during last years general midterm election. Sawhney came up with the idea for the project with his brother when the two competed inand wona hackathon at Austins SXSW festival in 2014. Since then, Sawhney has formally established a company, based in Boston, to develop the product.

Voatzs technology is making inroads. Sawhneys 14-person team recently won over Denver, Colo., as the second testing ground for its voting system. The city is trialling the app in its May 7th municipal election, early voting for which startstoday!

I asked Sawhney why he decided to incorporate a blockchain into his system. He says its so that IT administrators within and outside his company cant manipulate or delete records at will. Voatz uses so-called permissioned ledgers, meaning only authorized parties can operate them. In this case, the voting database is distributed across 32 computing nodes running the Linux Foundations Hyperledger Fabric and Hyperledger Sawtooth software on machines hosted by Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Voatz stewards the nodes alongside select nonprofits that act as independent monitors, a small cadre Voatz hopes to expand to include other major stakeholderspolitical parties, media entities, and othersover time.

While Sawhney says hes excited about the potential of public blockchains, like Ethereum, to become part of the infrastructure of elections, his prospective customers are more wary. Early feedback we received from election officials was that they were very uncomfortable with nodes running in potentially unfriendly part of world, Sawhney tells me.

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Sawhney believes blockchains can imbue the electoral process with greater transparency. The technology gives citizens the ability to audit an election, he says, noting that ballots submitted through Voatz return digital receipts that allow voters to verify their intentions. You have a sense of trust that is backed by irrefutable mathematics rather than somebody telling you, These are the results and you must believe them, Sawhney says.

Electronic voting systems are not bulletproof, however. Threats resulting from vulnerabilities, hackers, and physical coercion raise grave security concerns. Yet, conversely, these systems bear obvious benefits. Theyre much more accessible than paper-based ballots, at least to smartphone owners. And they hold promise for enfranchising citizens who are disabled, traveling abroad, or serving in the military.

Despite the advantages, many security professionals find it impossible to overlook the risks. Sawhney understands critics objections. No system is 100% safe, he concedes. But, to this, he adds an addendum: Thats true of paper-based systems as well.

We realize there are lots of opposing forcespeople who hate and disapprove of what were doing, Sawhney says. But, he continues, we feel this is really important and needs to be done for progress to happen.

All technologies are double-edged swords. The trick lies in blunting the blade when one falls into the hands of adversaries.

Besides, if Estonia can do it, maybe the U.S. can too.

A version of this article first appeared in Cyber Saturday, the weekend edition of Fortunes tech newsletter Data Sheet. Sign up here.
Facebook Inc. is contending with a growing array of bi-partisan criticism and fresh regulatory issues which may pose increasing risk to its unique advertising-revenue-based business model, analysts say.

In recent days, President Trump tweeted that the company is sooo on the side of the Radical Left Democrats  even as Axios reported the president is doubling down on his Facebook spending strategy. New Zealands prime minister also singled out social media platforms in the wake of the Christchurch terrorist attacks.

Analysts are now flagging an opinion piece in The New York Times, by Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline, a Democrat whos chairman of the House Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law. Cicilline wrote about the companys pattern of misconduct and called for an investigation into whether Facebooks conduct has violated antitrust laws.

Investors should pay attention to the fact that there are people sitting in some very relevant seats that are attacking Facebook in ways that we have not seen in our almost two decade history of covering internet companies, Stifels Scott Devitt wrote in a note.

Recent issues may be transient, Devitt said, and Facebook shares may prove cheap relative to the companys earnings power, but something feels very different to us this time. He flagged Cicillines item as further evidence that this may be more than a passing fad. He rates Facebook shares hold.

Beacon Policy Advisors said in a note that the potential action that regulators at the FTC could take against Facebook is far more significant than rhetoric from Congress about reining the company in, whether via forced separation of Instagram or WhatsApp or by taxing companies that collect user data. A substantial financial penalty, along with other remedies, may be part of a settlement with the FTC in the coming weeks regarding user data provided to Cambridge Analytica, they said.

Facebook may also face more repercussions than other tech giants under scrutiny, like Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., as its revenue model is uniquely ad-driven, Beacon said.

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Facebook choosing privacy above safety may be a trade-off not everyone will agree with, MKMs Rob Sanderson wrote in a note. He flagged Facebooks moves toward inter-operability across messaging services and full encryption, and added that losing Chris Cox, whom he called Facebooks second-most influential executive after Mark Zuckerberg, has been a catalyst for re-examining potential consequences.

Full encryption lets Facebook ensure technical privacy protection for all users, including those that want to harm and exploit others, which may become increasingly controversial, Sanderson said. Giving people better tools for finding and communicating with one another may boost problematic activity, while hurting Facebooks ability to monitor hate speech and other abuses. And Facebook might be unable to gather as much user data, which has been a huge enabler of better services and better ads.

While we think the stock remains inexpensive, mission-driven change often opens the door to potential revisions in outlook, Sanderson warned.

It may take time for any government moves to kick in, if anything changes at all, Compass Points Isaac Boltansky said via email. Big tech is facing an unprecedented global backlash from both ends of the ideological spectrum, but the policy response is still uncertain at this juncture, he said. There is broad bipartisan agreement that something should be done, but as is often the case in Washington defining something is difficult.

Boltansky raises questions about which companies may be covered and how varied business models and products will be addressed. Even so, he said, recent policy developments  from the FTC task force to Sen. Warrens break up proposal to President Trumps comments  should serve as a signal that Big Tech is at real risk of a policy paradigm shift following the next election.

Facebook shares gained as much as 1.3 percent on Wednesday. The stock has rallied 25 percent year-to-date, versus a 13 percent gain for the S&P 500, though it has fallen almost 3 percent in the past year, compared to the markets 4 percent rise.
Merrick Garland

Merrick Garland. Credit: Diego M. Radzinschi / ALM



Even Judge Merrick Garland had time to crack U.S. Supreme Court jokes during a hearing Thursday, winking at his denied nomination to the nations highest court.



The comments came during a sitting of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit at Georgetown Law, where Chief Judge Garland and Judges Sri Srinivasan and A. Raymond Randolph heard two cases. The special session was part of the appeals courts revival of circuit ridinga throwback to the nation's early years when justices were required to preside over cases in federal circuit courts, often criss-crossing the country by horse.



Garland told students that justices detested the practiceso much so that Chief Justice John Jay left the role for a governorship in 1795, and later turned down an offer to return to the bench, in part because he couldnt continue on with riding circuit.



"Apparently serving on the U.S. Supreme Court just isnt what its cracked up to be," Garland said Thursday, to a roomful of laughing students. Even Srinivasan let out a laugh.



Garland noted another jurist, Thomas Johnson, abandoned the bench partly over his distaste for circuit riding. (Johnson is considered to hold the record for the shortest tenure at the Supreme Court.) That made two people who didnt think serving on the Supreme Court was all that," Garland said, again to laughter.



Thanks to Garland, the D.C. Circuit has enjoyed its own modern-day, and more modest, version of riding the circuit. Since 2013, the appeals court has made it a habit of holding a special sitting each term at one of the district's law schools.



After Thursday's arguments, the chief judge said he revived the tradition with the idea of bringing the court's work to D.C. residents and students. He noted its not always easy for law students to go to Washingtons federal courthouse.



Since then, the court has visited all six of the district's law schools, which also include Howard University, the Catholic University of America, George Washington University, the University of the District of Columbia and American University. Thursday's visit to Georgetown marked the court's second time there.



The first set of arguments Thursday centered around the denial of a man's bid to withdraw his guilty plea. He was indicted in 2015 on a child pornography charge.



The second case featured UPS Ground Freight Inc.s legal spat with the National Labor Relations Board over union elections, a case that has drawn interest from business groups.



The judges asked their usual questions from a wooden dais that bore the D.C. Circuits seal. They were seated before a rich blue curtain backdrop, instead of the more muted walls at the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse.



Only a few feet separated the judges dais from the attorneys lectern and counsel tables, but the tight quarters didnt seem to fluster the lawyers.



Garland said a reception with students often follows the special sessions. Judges will mingle with students, though theyll steer clear of discussing cases.



Georgetown Law Dean William Treanor, who introduced the panel Thursday, said after the event that the school was pleased the D.C. Circuit was back at Georgetowns campus, where the court's first special session was held.



He called it a privilege for students to see the courts work there, and noted that admitted students were also touring the campus Thursday. He said he couldnt imagine a better introduction to the law than the mornings arguments.



The D.C. Circuit isnt alone in its circuit riding reboot. Other federal appeals courtsincluding the Fourth, Ninth and Fifth circuitshave similarly traveled to law schools.




Supported by Contract from U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

ATLANTA, GA, March 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- GeoVax Labs, Inc. (GOVX), a biotechnology company developing human vaccines, announced today that it has expanded its collaboration activities with Leidos, Inc. to develop malaria vaccine candidates. The work will be supported under a contract to Leidos from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Malaria Vaccine Development Program (MVDP). Leidos has been tasked by USAID to advance promising vaccine candidates against P. falciparum malaria and selected the GeoVax MVA-VLP platform as part of this development effort.

GeoVaxs vaccine technology is based on its live Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA) platform, which generates vaccine antigens, in the form of multimeric proteins or noninfectious VLPs, in the individual being vaccinated. Gene sequences of target antigens are inserted into the MVA genome which drives their expression and budding from the infected cells. In this way, vaccination strategy mimics a natural viral infection which induces two pools of proteins  virus-infected cells and released multimeric or VLP proteins.

Farshad Guirakhoo, PhD, GeoVaxs Chief Scientific Officer, commented, Currently there is a shortage of malaria vaccine candidates that can offer the high efficacy rates (e.g. >75%) set by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a requirement for the second-generation malaria vaccines. Although protein-derived vaccines can deliver multiple antigens in immunogenic VLP conformation, they hardly produce a balanced functional cellular immune response needed to confer a high protection. In contrast, vectored-derived live vaccines are capable of producing the appropriate balanced immune responses, but they suffer from limitations in delivering the required number of transgenes needed to protect against all stages of malaria parasite. GeoVaxs MVA-VLP platform can overcome both limitations of antigen conformation and transgene capacity by delivering multiple transgenes (e.g. from parasites liver stage, blood stage and mosquito stage) in the form of VLPs delivered in vivo. This new collaboration with Leidos complements our ongoing malaria vaccine development project with Burnet Institute in Australia and offers multiple opportunities for success.

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David Dodd, GeoVaxs President and CEO, said, We are delighted to broaden our relationship with Leidos to include malaria vaccines. This remains a significant unmet healthcare need and we believe that this collaboration has the potential to result in a significant improvement in this critical area. Our hope is to successfully proceed through product development and identify promising vaccine candidates that can be taken into clinical development as quickly as possible, demonstrating an effective, safe vaccine for malaria prevention. We are confident that our technology, combined with Leidos' has an excellent chance for success.

About GeoVax

GeoVax Labs, Inc., is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing human vaccines against infectious diseases using its MVA-VLP vaccine platform. GeoVax was the winner of the 2018 Best Biotech Vaccine Industry Excellence Awards, a finalist for the 2018 Best Prophylactic Vaccine Award for its Zika vaccine at the World Vaccine Congress, as well as a finalist for Pipelines of Promise at Buzz of Bio 2018. The Companys development programs are focused on vaccines against HIV, Zika, hemorrhagic fever viruses (Ebola, Sudan, Marburg, Lassa) and malaria. GeoVax also is evaluating the use of its MVA-VLP platform in cancer immunotherapy, and for therapeutic use in chronic Hepatitis B infections. GeoVaxs vaccine platform supports in vivo production of non-infectious VLPs from the cells of the very person receiving the vaccine. The production of VLPs in the person being vaccinated mimics virus production in a natural infection, stimulating both the humoral and cellular arms of the immune system to recognize, prevent, and control the target infection. For more information, visit www.geovax.com .

About Leidos

Leidos is a Fortune 500 information technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the worlds toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The companys 32,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $10.19 billion for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2018. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

About the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Malaria Vaccine Development Program (MVDP)

USAIDs mission is to partner to end extreme poverty and promote resilient, democratic societies while advancing our security and prosperity. The MVDP is housed in the Malaria Division of the Office of Infectious Diseases of USAIDs Bureau for Global Health. Initiated in 1965 in response to the end of the first malaria eradication era, the MVDP has worked with a variety of partners to contribute early research on the circumsporozoite protein, as well as blood-stage and liver-stage vaccine approaches. Its mission is to develop and introduce malaria vaccines to protect vulnerable populations in the developing world. For further information, please visit www.usaid.gov.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this document are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from those included in these statements due to a variety of factors, including whether: GeoVax can develop and manufacture its vaccines with the desired characteristics in a timely manner, GeoVax's vaccines will be safe for human use, GeoVax's vaccines will effectively prevent targeted infections in humans, GeoVaxs vaccines will receive regulatory approvals necessary to be licensed and marketed, GeoVax raises required capital to complete vaccine development, there is development of competitive products that may be more effective or easier to use than GeoVax's products, GeoVax will be able to enter into favorable manufacturing and distribution agreements, and other factors, over which GeoVax has no control. GeoVax assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements and does not intend to do so. More information about these factors is contained in GeoVax's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including those set forth at "Risk Factors" in GeoVax's Form 10-K.





Contact:



GeoVax Labs, Inc.



investor@geovax.com



678-384-7220
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This article is written for those who want to get better at using price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). Well show how you can use China Communications Construction Company Limiteds (HKG:1800) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. China Communications Construction has a price to earnings ratio of 5.65, based on the last twelve months. In other words, at todays prices, investors are paying HK$5.65 for every HK$1 in prior year profit.

Check out our latest analysis for China Communications Construction

Want to participate in a research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $60 gift card!

How Do I Calculate China Communications Constructions Price To Earnings Ratio?

The formula for P/E is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Price per Share (in the reporting currency)  Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for China Communications Construction:

P/E of 5.65 = CN7.16 (Note: this is the share price in the reporting currency, namely, CNY )  CN1.27 (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2018.)

Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?

A higher P/E ratio implies that investors pay a higher price for the earning power of the business. All else being equal, its better to pay a low price  but as Warren Buffett said, Its far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

Earnings growth rates have a big influence on P/E ratios. Thats because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the E in the equation. Therefore, even if you pay a high multiple of earnings now, that multiple will become lower in the future. A lower P/E should indicate the stock is cheap relative to others  and that may attract buyers.

Its nice to see that China Communications Construction grew EPS by a stonking 27% in the last year. And it has bolstered its earnings per share by 9.9% per year over the last five years. With that performance, I would expect it to have an above average P/E ratio.

Story continues

How Does China Communications Constructions P/E Ratio Compare To Its Peers?

We can get an indication of market expectations by looking at the P/E ratio. The image below shows that China Communications Construction has a lower P/E than the average (11.4) P/E for companies in the construction industry.

SEHK:1800 Price Estimation Relative to Market, March 24th 2019

This suggests that market participants think China Communications Construction will underperform other companies in its industry. While current expectations are low, the stock could be undervalued if the situation is better than the market assumes. If you consider the stock interesting, further research is recommended. For example, I often monitor director buying and selling.

Remember: P/E Ratios Dont Consider The Balance Sheet

Dont forget that the P/E ratio considers market capitalization. That means it doesnt take debt or cash into account. Theoretically, a business can improve its earnings (and produce a lower P/E in the future), by taking on debt (or spending its remaining cash).

Such spending might be good or bad, overall, but the key point here is that you need to look at debt to understand the P/E ratio in context.

How Does China Communications Constructions Debt Impact Its P/E Ratio?

China Communications Construction has net debt worth a very significant 111% of its market capitalization. This level of debt justifies a relatively low P/E, so remain cognizant of the debt, if youre comparing it to other stocks.

The Bottom Line On China Communications Constructions P/E Ratio

China Communications Construction trades on a P/E ratio of 5.6, which is below the HK market average of 10.8. The company may have significant debt, but EPS growth was good last year. The low P/E ratio suggests current market expectations are muted, implying these levels of growth will not continue.

Investors have an opportunity when market expectations about a stock are wrong. If the reality for a company is not as bad as the P/E ratio indicates, then the share price should increase as the market realizes this. So this free visual report on analyst forecasts could hold the key to an excellent investment decision.

But note: China Communications Construction may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
Russia has pushed back the parliamentary reading of a new crypto bill for unspecified reasons. | Source: Shutterstock

The Russian Duma has pushed back its planned consideration of a bill to recognize and regulate digital financial assets. Initially scheduled for March 22, the reading will now hold at an unspecified date in April, following the outcome of a vote on the agenda for a plenary session last week.

The draft bill is not without its controversies, as it has been specifically edited to remove the terms cryptocurrency, smart contract, and token.

Russia, crypto

Russian President Vladimir Putin doesnt see crypto as a store of value. | Source: Shutterstock

This is in line with Russias surprisingly cautious position on cryptocurrencies,which has seen authorities repeatedly drag their feet on the possibility of creating a regulatory framework for crypto-trading. CCN reported in 2018 that when asked about his governments position on digital money, Russian President Vladmir Putin said:

In most countries, cryptocurrency is not a means of settlement. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation believes that cryptocurrencies cannot be a means of payment, settlement or store of value. These currencies are not secured by anything.

Russias Extended Dovishness on Crypto Regulation

Despite reportedly considering cryptocurrencies as a means of getting around U.S. sanctions alongside countries like Iran and North Korea, Russia as made surprisingly little progress on the crypto regulation front. The countrys central bank has refused to put its weight behind the idea of recognizing cryptocurrencies, despite appearing to hold a contradictory position on ICO fundraising, which bank head Elvira Nabiullina once described as efficient.

Russias contradictory position has often been interpreted to mean one of two things. The first school of thought has it that the country hosts a deeply conservative power bloc at the heart of its government, which views cryptocurrency with deep suspicion bordering on hostility. As a result of this, it may be politically difficult or impossible to make much headway with any kind of crypto regulation agenda.

Read the full story on CCN.com.
FILE PHOTO: Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, right, gestures as he and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, left, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer pose for a group photo at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China February 15, 2019. Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel to Beijing for the latest round of high-level trade talks scheduled to start on March 28, the White House said in a statement on Saturday.

The United States also will receive a Chinese trade delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He for meetings in Washington that are set to begin on April 3, the White House said.

President Donald Trump said on Friday the negotiations with China were progressing and a final agreement seemed probable, as the world's two largest economies seek to ease tensions from an eight-month-old trade war.

But earlier this week, Trump warned the United States may leave tariffs on Chinese imports for a while, though Beijing has pushed for them to be removed as part of any deal.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Could wireless headphones pose a cancer risk? (Apple)

The white toothbrush-heads of Apples Airpods have become an iconic new technology, and are to be seen everywhere this year, having sold 28 million worldwide.

But could wireless Bluetooth headphones such as Airpods pose a cancer risk?

A group of 250 experts have signed a United Nations and World Health Organisation expressing serious concern about the risks of Airpods and similar wireless headphones, as well as other wireless devices.

Devices such as Airpods comply with legal limits for electromagnetic frequency (EMF) radio waves  but the 250 experts worry that the guidelines are too lax.

Jerry Phillips, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Colorado said that wireless headphones pose a particular concern due to the fact theyre worn in the ear canal.

Read more: New 50p coin will honour Stephen Hawking

IRA claim responsibility for parcel bombs sent to London and Glasgow

No MPs think Theresa May has been the best prime minister of past 30 years

Philips said, My concern for AirPods is that their placement in the ear canal exposes tissues in the head to relatively high levels of radio-frequency radiation.

The scientists wrote, Numerous recent scientific publications have shown that EMF affects living organisms at levels well below most international and national guidelines.

Effects include increased cancer risk, cellular stress, increase in harmful free radicals, genetic damages, structural and functional changes of the reproductive system, learning and memory deficits, neurological disorders, and negative impacts on general well-being in humans.

The petition demands that existing guidelines be strengthened and the public be better informed of the risks of radio waves.

The subject is highly controversial, and previous studies proving a link between devices such as mobile phones and cancer have been dismissed.

Other scientists say there is no risk with Kenneth Foster, a professor of bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, saying these arguments have no credibility, according to a Medium post.

Yahoo has reached out to Apple for comment.

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Tom Roeder is the Gazette's City Editor. In Colorado Springs since 2003, Tom has covered the military at home and overseas and has covered statehouses in Denver and Olympia, Wash. His main job, though, is being dad to two great kids.
Last year, in southwestern Colorado, the town of Cortez, population 8,000 give or take, had the rare distinction of representing the deepest, most alarming red spot on the U.S. Drought Monitors map.

It wasnt a designation this farming and ranching community took much comfort in, said Mike Preston, manager of the Dolores Water Conservancy District.

The San Juan/Dolores River Basin, which includes Cortez, had a snowpack that registered just 51 percent of average that spring, Preston said.

This spring, that number is 158 percent of average, three times higher, and that angry, painful deep red color has faded.

On the drought maps, its now an innocuous yellow, and a look at a snowpack map shows nothing but a soothing blue.

Were in substantially better shape, Preston said.

Snowpack is a critical issue in Colorado because most of the states water, whether for communities, businesses or farms, derives from the snow that falls each winter.

Across the state, snowpack has been skyrocketing, and while it has sent avalanche danger through the roof, it has also given cities, farmers, drought watchers and water districts a much-needed breather from an almost unbroken, 19-year run of drought.

As of March 19, statewide snowpack was roughly 142 percent of average, more than two times higher than it was last year at this time, when it stood at just 69 percent of average, said Brian Domonkos, snow survey supervisor for the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service in Lakewood.

Snowpack is gaining significantly and fast, Domonkos said.

While the March 13 blizzard helped parts of the state, its been the relentless nature of subsequent storms that has brought the numbers to these eye-popping levels, water officials said.

But snow isnt water, and hydrologists and forecasters say they will be keeping a close eye on how quickly spring runoff occurs, how fast the weather heats up, and how much demand increases in the summer. All those factors will determine how much of the snow turns into water and makes its way into streams and reservoirs. Another key concern is how much water the states ultradry soils, still parched from last year, will absorb.

Were in the best shape we could have hoped for, said Taryn Finnessey, chair of the states Water Availability Task Force and senior climate change specialist with the Colorado Water Conservation Board.

The lush, deep snow has begun pulling Colorado out of drought, with small portions of the state  primarily along the southeastern border  finally free of the designation, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Russ Schumacher, state climatologist and director of the Colorado Climate Center, said he expects more of the state to witness dramatic improvements.

Last October, after the third-driest year on record, almost every corner of Colorado was experiencing drought, and 16 percent of the state was experiencing the worst category, known as exceptional drought. This month, however, that deep red color that represents exceptional drought is gone.

Its a remarkable change over the past five months, Schumacher said last week at a meeting of the states Water Availability Task Force, which monitors drought and water conditions.

Scientists and hydrologists gathered for the meeting were shaking their heads and telling tales of double and triple checking the numbers to make sure they werent an apparition. In the Upper Colorado River Basin, for example, the snowpack through March 18 was 300 percent of average. The Upper Colorado is seeing one of the best years its ever had since we started measuring snowpack, Domonkos said.

Reservoirs, too, are expected to benefit from the deep snow, with some systems, such as Denver Waters, expected to come close to filling and others, such as Blue Mesa near Gunnison, expected to at least regain normal storage levels.

Across the seven-state Colorado River Basin, big snow has helped add water to lakes Powell and Mead, which have come dangerously close to reaching critical lows that would trigger water cutbacks in the next two years. Heather Patno, a hydrologist with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, said the outlook for Lake Powell has brightened considerably. In February, the forecast indicated the giant reservoir, which acts as a storage bank for the Upper Colorado Basin, would see just 64 percent of average inflows.

As of this week, however, that number has shot up to 102 percent of average. But Patno points out that the drought-stricken storage pool has a long way to go.

Were still lower than we would like to be, she said. While this does give some relief to the system, its still important to realize that weve seen this before. One year of average conditions doesnt mean we wont see drought years in the future.

At the end of the water year, this fall, Powell is still projected to be just 47 percent full.

As with all big snow years, however, the downside is flood risk, particularly in areas recently hit hard by wildfires, such as last years 416 Fire northeast of Durango and the Spring Fire, near La Veta Pass.

Flooding is obviously a big concern, Finnessey said.

Jerd Smith is editor of Fresh Water News. She can be reached at 720-398-6474, via email at jerd@wateredco.org or @jerd_smith. Fresh Water News is an independent, nonpartisan news initiative of Water Education Colorado. Our editorial policy and donor list can be viewed here.
Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has been getting some attention from the nations comics and satirists since he declared his bid for the presidency earlier this month  but hes got a ways to go before he can match the laughs generated in recent decades at the expense of another Colorado politician, former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

Hickenlooper, one of 15 Democrats running to take on President Donald Trump so far, made his late-night talk show debut as a declared presidential hopeful on March 12 on NBCs Late Night with Seth Meyers. The brisk interview mostly avoided what anyone might call jokes but put the former brewpub owners quirky charm on full display.

It was Hickenloopers second visit to the show, following a May 2016 appearance during a publicity tour surrounding the publication of his memoir, The Opposite of Woe: My Life in Beer and Politics, which was co-written with former Hickenlooper speech writer Maximillian Potter.

In that earlier interview, Meyers wanted to know about Colorados experience with legalized recreational marijuana. He got a detailed policy download from Hickenlooper, who mused over whether he would wave a magic wand to undo legalization  not after the implementation had gone so well, he said  but little in the way of comedy.

So far, its been up to other late-night comedians and a satirical website to provide the grins, though most have mined Hickenloopers cumbersome last name for the yuks.

Delivering his monologue on the March 6 edition of TBSs Conan, host Conan OBrien couldnt seem to get over Hickenloopers multisyllabic moniker.

His name is John Hickenlooper, OBrien said, drawing chuckles from the audience simply by precisely pronouncing the name.

John Hickenlooper. That is where I draw the line. He might be very qualified  I know nothing about him  but we cannot have a President Hickenlooper. We are a country, not a Dr. Seuss book.

Then OBrien pondered whether prolific British actor Benedict Cumberbatch might be a celebrity endorser.

Its Cumberbatch for Hickenlooper, OBrien said in a vaguely mid-Atlantic accent.

Hilarious!

Hickenlooper got The Daily Show treatment on March 11, when host Trevor Noah said the candidate has a name that sounds like a disease you got on the Oregon Trail as a doctored graphic from the popular 1980s computer game about the travails of pioneers loomed over his shoulder.

YOU HAVE DIED OF HICKENLOOPER, read the glowing green letters under an image of an ox pulling a covered wagon.

Its either that or the name of a local restaurant where all the waiters have those vests with buttons on them, Noah said as his studio audience roared with laughter.

Its just like, Welcome to Hickenloopers, our special today is the Hickenlooper chalupa. It tastes like dirt, but its fun to order!

The day he announced his presidential run, The Onion bypassed jokes about Hickenloopers name and had some fun with the candidates relative obscurity in a sprawling primary field.

In a brief posted March 5 to the satirical online news site, Hickenlooper supposedly proposed nuking Australia just to see if anyone [was] paying attention. It was a strategy, The Onion cracked, to boost his name recognition in the polls, where Hickenlooper has been attempting to break into single-digit support.

A recent Des Moines Register/CNN poll of Iowa Democrats found Hickenlooper with zero percent support among likely caucus-goers in the early-primary state, which Hickenlooper has visited four times since he began considering a presidential run months ago.

Stunningly, an exhaustive search of The Onions archives revealed it was only the second time Hickenlooper had been the target of its satirical barbs.

His first appearance in The Onion was an incidental mention in a 2011 story making fun of a rescue effort launched by Colorado authorities for a missing ski. In that story, Hickenlooper ordered the State Patrol to take part in the largest mobilization of law enforcement in Colorado since the successful 2003 recovery of a pair of Oakley sunglasses that went missing at Crested Butte.

With one exception, its been decades since Colorado politicians bore the brunt of jokes on a national stage.

Gary Hart was featured in many a late-night monologue when his 1988 presidential campaign ended amid allegations of an affair with a Miami model.

And longtime U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder took her share of ribbing in 1979 when she dressed in an Easter Bunny costume to hand out jelly beans during a trip to China. Nearly a decade later, Saturday Night Live comedian Nora Dunn poked fun at Schroeders tears when she announced she wouldnt be running for president in 1987.

But Salazar, a former U.S. senator, was regularly featured in the pages of The Onion during his tenure as Interior secretary under President Barack Obama, from 2009 to 2013.

In 2010, Salazar announced that national parks were closed in order to begin the painstaking task of resplendoring them, including instructing rangers to get out there and comb those bears.
LETTERS: Taking control of the government; so much is based on emotion
A second Brexit referendum is now essential



If democracy means anything, it means a countrys right to change its mind



Martin Wolf









Theresa Mays aim is to convert fear of a no-deal Brexit into acceptance of her bad deal, which would leave the UK at the EUs mercy. In the end, the rhetoric about taking back control has come down to a choice between suicide and vassalage. This march of folly needs to be stopped, for the UKs sake and Europes. The only politically acceptable way to do this is via another referendum. That is risky. But it would be better than sure disaster.



Let us count the ways in which what is now happening is quite insane.



In just over a month, the UK might suddenly exit from the EU. But the government and business are unprepared for such a departure: to take one example, the government is still fighting over what farm tariffs to impose. Such a no-deal Brexit would damage the UK  and the EU. If a no-deal exit did happen, negotiations would need to restart at once, but in a far more poisonous and, for the UK, more unfavourable context.



Even if the prime ministers deal were ratified, a new set of negotiations would have to start over the future relationship. The UK is unprepared for such negotiations. These new negotiations would also inevitably end up with an unsatisfactory outcome, because the UK has never confronted the trade-offs between access and control inherent in all trade negotiations. Finally, this entire mess would make only the EUs enemies  Russian president Vladimir Putin, above all  happy.



Britain has, in brief, launched itself on a perilous voyage towards an unknown destination under a captain as obsessed with delivering her version of Brexit as Ahab was with Moby-Dick. Has a mature democracy ever inflicted such needless damage on itself?



Why has the UK done so? The simple answer is the marriage of the widespread dissatisfaction of the British people to copious Brexit illusions.



One illusion was that the meaning of Brexit was obvious. In practice, it could cover anything from a high degree of integration to very little. The decision to leave did not determine the destination.



Another illusion was that Brexit could mean unbridled sovereignty. In practice, the deeper is a trading relationship, the more it must compromise with its trading partners on the exercise of national sovereignty. If the UK negotiates trade deals with the US, China or India, it will also be forced to accept many limitations on its sovereignty.



A further illusion is that it would be easy for the UK to trade on the terms laid down by the World Trade Organization. In practice, a no-deal exit would worsen the terms of access to markets that account for about two-thirds of total UK trade.









Yet another illusion is that the WTO covers most of the things the UK cares about. Alas, it does not. What it fails to cover includes road haulage, aviation, data, energy, product testing, including of medicines, fisheries, much of financial services and investment.



It was a dangerous illusion to suppose that it would be simple to strike a trade deal with the EU, because we started from full convergence. The opposite is true. The UK is leaving in order to diverge. Such divergence is precisely what EU rules exist to prevent. The EU would never allow a country the right both to benefit from EU rules and to diverge from them, at its discretion.



A really big illusion was that if the UK were tough with the EU, the latter would come swiftly to terms. But, as Ivan Rogers, former UK permanent representative to the EU, argues, the EU would not  partly because preservation of the EU is, naturally, the EUs dominant priority, and partly because the EU is sure the UK would be back the day after that no-deal Brexit. It is surely right on that.



So right now, parliament faces a choice between the impossible  no deal  and the horrible  the prime ministers deal. If accepted, the latter would be followed by years of painful trade negotiations, with, at present, no agreed destination. At the end, the UK would be worse off than under membership of the EU. Its people would be as divided and dissatisfaction would remain as entrenched as they are today. Is there a better way than this? Yes. It is to ask, once again, whether the people want to leave, now that the reality is clearer. There should be a second vote.











Some will argue that this would be undemocratic. Not so. Democracy is not one person, one vote, once. If democracy means anything, it is the right to change a countrys mind, especially given the low and dishonest referendum campaign. It is nearly three years since that vote. Much has happened since then, in both the negotiations and the world. As Ngaire Woods of the Blavatnik School of Government has noted, since 2016 Donald Trump has been assaulting the EU and the WTO, western relations with China have become more problematic and the extent of Mr Putins assault on our politics have become more obvious. This is not a time for Europe to inflict the wound of Brexit on itself.



If, as seems plausible, parliament cannot stomach the vassalage of the prime ministers deal, then the sane options are to ask for a lengthy extension of departure or, better, to withdraw the Article 50 application altogether. Both would give the time needed to discuss how to organise such a referendum. Mrs Mays suggestion of a direct vote on no deal might get us there.



It is now clear that the UK has no consensus on Brexit, but only division and confusion. In order to get her bad deal through, the prime minister has been reduced to threatening parliament with something worse. That is mad. If a country finds itself doing something sure to damage itself, its neighbours and the fragile cause of liberal democracy on its continent, it needs to think again. Now is the last chance to halt the journey to ruin. It is parliaments duty to do so.
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" " How sinuses work.  2016 HowStuffWorks

One day in 17th-century England, a woman was having trouble with one of her upper canine teeth. Accordingly, she had it extracted  the go-to treatment for a bad tooth at the time. But taking out the problem tooth didn't help, and soon she noticed (brace yourself) pus coming from the hole where her tooth used to be.

This was profoundly gross, but it got worse from there.

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Trying to find the source of the problem, the enterprising woman turned to foreign objects  a pencil and a feather  to explore where her tooth had been. Before long, she was rushing to a doctor, insisting she'd just stabbed her own brain.

Luckily for her, this particular doctor happened to know exactly what was going on. Not many 17th-century physicians were clued in to the anatomical structures that make it possible for someone to insert a long, thin object through a tooth socket and surprisingly far up into the skull. But Nathaniel Highmore was so knowledgeable about it that the anatomy in question was named for him.

In other words: Our dental patient definitely wasn't touching her brain with a feather. She'd been poking around in Highmore's Antrum, better known these days as the maxillary sinus  a mostly air-filled cavity in the skull, next to the nose. To help her understand the situation, Highmore even showed her some of his detailed anatomical drawings.

For decades, it was thought that Highmore had been the first to make precise anatomical drawings of the maxillary sinus. Then in 1901, the scientific drawings of Leonardo da Vinci were discovered, and researchers learned the great artist had rendered a highly accurate image of the sinus in question a hundred years or so before Highmore.

Although nobody had made such nice drawings of the sinuses before da Vinci and Highmore, people had known about them for millennia. The ancient Egyptians appear to have been aware of them thanks to their penchant for removing the brains of the dead through their noses during the mummification process. Mind you, they probably didn't use the maxillary sinus for this stunt, but rather the ethmoid one [source: Mavrodi and Paraskevas]. That's right, there's more than one kind of sinus. There are actually four major sinuses: maxillary, ethmoid, frontal and sphenoid.

So, we've got some holes in our heads, and when we are experiencing sinus-related issues, they can make our teeth hurt. Interesting. But why? What's the purpose of having a network of air-filled pockets in the human head bone?
Brief Encounter (1945) is considered one of the best British films ever by those of a certain age. It is based on the play Still Life (1936) by Noel Co...

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4. Comments must not try to sneak in some free advertising for themselves (like spam).

I invite anyone who wishes to comment on this blog to do so. I enjoy the comments, whether you agree with what I have said or not. But some people want to abuse the right to comment, and since this is my blog, I have decided to lay down the following rules. If your comment violates these rules, it will not be published.
Anil Giri is a reporter covering diplomacy, international relations and national politics for The Kathmandu Post. Giri has been working as a journalist for a decade-and-a-half, contributing to numerous national and international media outlets.
Delayed Kalanki-Nagdhunga road project is taking a toll on locals and commuters

Those who live along the Kalanki-Nagdhunga section and those who take this nine-kilometre road every day say they have been driven to despair.
Prithvi Man Shrestha is a political reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering the governance-related issues including corruption and irregularities in the government machinery. Before joining The Kathmandu Post in 2009, he worked at nepalnews.com and Rising Nepal primarily covering the issues of political and economic affairs for three years.
Nayak Paudel is a crime reporter for The Kathmandu Post. Since joining the Post in 2018, he has also written on health issues.
Sunday, March 24, 2019

The battle over DACA continues. And the Trump administration is taking prisoners.

Reis Thebault for the Washington Post reports on the case of Selene Saavedra Roman, a DACA recipient from Peru who recently was detained by ICE after leaving the United States as required by her employer, an airlines. She has lived in the United States for 25 years, since she was 3.

Saavedra Roman's is a flight attendant for a regional company, Mesa Airlines. According to the Post article, she told the company she was a DACA beneficiary and did not want to fly internationally. Yet, in February, Mesa had her fly to Mexico. She told the company of her concerns and was assured that she would not have trouble reentering the United States.

On February 12, U.S. officers detained Saavedra Roman after she landed in Houston on her return flight. She remained in detention for another six weeks before her release last Friday evening.

"[A]dvocates are pointing to her case as an example of how the Trump administrations attempts to end DACA  and the tug of war with the courts that followed  have confused program beneficiaries, their families, government agencies and private employers, muddling an already complex web of immigration policies."

KJ

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2019/03/the-battle-over-daca-continues-daca-flight-attendant-place-in-detention-released.html
An insect called the fall armyworm has already eaten crops in the Americas and Africa. Now it is doing the same in Asia.

The young worms are about the size of a persons smallest finger. They can damage maize especially, making the vegetable soft and wet.

In 2016, fall armyworms ate up to half of some African farmers maize, sorghum and millet. Then the insects spread through Yemen, China and Thailand.

Uraporn Nounart is an expert on farm pests at Thailands Agriculture Department.

We never had this one before, she says. The fall armyworms were found late last year and early this year in an area northwest of Bangkok. Its a big problem, Nounart added.

The worms can make farmers lose their profits, and they are difficult to fight. Yet limiting the insects is critical. Although Asia is known for its rice growing, maize is also a major crop and an important source of food for chickens, cows and other animals.

Fighting armyworms

The fall armyworm is native to an area that spreads from Argentina to northern Canada. There, the insect has natural enemies, like bacteria and predators. They help keep the fall armyworm population at acceptable levels.

But, such help is not found everywhere.

The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization is holding a meeting in Bangkok this week to share information about how to battle the insects. Experts note that chemicals against the worms are costly, dangerous and do not always work.

So some farmers in Thailand are trying other ways to fight the fall armyworms.

In Kanchanaburi province, farmers search for the worms in their fields. They find the insects in all stages of crop growth: from plants that are just starting, to those that are knee-high, to plants that are almost as tall as an elephant.

When they find the worms, the farmers pull the tops off the corn and throw them away. They hope the plant will grow another piece of corn that can be harvested later. But, some fields still lost about one-third of the first harvest.

One of the farmers said, Weve never seen anything like this.

In another field, a younger farmer used unpiloted airplanes called drones to treat his fields.

Another researcher in Thailand is collecting the fall armyworms eggs. He is hoping to find natural enemies of the worms, such as wasps.

Marjon Fredrix is an expert with the FAOs Bangkok office. She says Thailand is trying to put good management measures in place. But, she adds, the likelihood of further spread is real.

She notes that the worms turn into moths. They can fly more than 100 kilometers at night, or more if they are carried by the wind.

The best plan, says Fredrix, is for farmers to find the worms as soon as possible so they can keep them under control. As it happens, there is an app for that. The FAO has developed an online tool that teaches the basics of how to find and deal with fall armyworms.

Fredrix says this new pest needs to be controlled for years to come.

Im John Russell.

Elaine Kurtenbach reported on this story for AP. Kelly Jean Kelly adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

pest  n. an animal or insect that causes problems for people especially by damaging crops

predator  n. an animal that lives by killing and eating other animals : an animal that preys on other animals

stage  n. a particular point or period in the growth or development of something
Caesarean section rate is alarmingly high in Nepal, but officials say they cant control it

The cesarean delivery rate, according to estimates and some studies, is far higher in private health facilities than in government hospitals.
A new examination of temperatures in the United States shows that there were two times more heat records set in the past 20 years than cold ones.

The Associated Press analyzed temperature information collected by 424 weather stations across the country.

The analysis included temperature information from 1920 to 2008. It found that, most decades during the 20th century had close to an even ratio of hot to cold records.

But since 1999, 87 percent of the weather stations had more hot records than cold. And, 42 stations reported having at least five hot records for every cold one since 1999. At 11 stations, the hot-to-cold ratio during the period was 10-to-1 or greater.

One place with the greatest difference in hot and cold records was the Southern California city of Pasadena. It went 19 years between cold records, the analysis found. It set a low temperature record last month for the first since June 5, 1999.

Between those two record-cold days, Pasadena set 145 hot records. That included the citys all-time heat record of 45 degrees Celsius set last year.

The AP says it has shared its analysis with experienced climate and data scientists. Several experts say results of the examination support earlier scientific research. And, the information provides further evidence that human-caused climate change has led to higher temperatures over the years, the experts said.

The use of such data is very important to identifying the long-term effects of climate change, climate scientist Deke Arndt told the Associated Press. He is the head of climate observation for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Arndt noted, for example, that the first two months of 2019 showed twice as many cold records than hot ones - the exact opposite of the results in APs analysis. However, he said such short-term differences are not as valuable as true climate trends measured over many years.

Arndt said the AP analysis shows the United States has been in a steady period of major warming for a long time. He added that this trend is expected to continue to explore and break the warm end of the spectrum much more than the cold end.

Former Weather Channel expert Guy Walton also gave his thoughts on the findings. Walton, who has been studying hot and cold extreme records since 2000, told the AP he thinks the results show an unmistakable trend. You are getting more extremes. Your chances for getting more dangerous extremes are going up with time, he said.

Arndt noted that such temperature extremes could have many different effects on peoples lives. These include financial effects such as increased hospital stays, higher energy usage and farm losses. A recent study involving 22 U.S. states found that each summer, about 36,000 people seek hospital treatment because of extreme heat.

Im Bryan Lynn.

The Associated Press reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

Quiz - Report: US Set Twice as Many Heat Records as Cold in Last 20 Years Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz



________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

analyze  v. to carefully study something to learn about its parts, what the parts do, and how they are related to each other

data  n. information or facts

trend  n. a way of behaving, proceeding, etc., that is developing and becoming more common

spectrum  n. all ideas, opinions or possibilities that exist
Wild horses running across open land  is a classic image of the old American west. But, many people might be surprised to learn that wild horses still populate the area. In fact, they do so in numbers that harm the environment.

The U.S. government is trying to find more private pastures for an overpopulation of wild horses. This search takes place through May 3.

The government program pays land owners to keep the horses on their pastures. However, the program has many requirements.

Debbie Collins is with the U.S. Bureau of Land Managements Wild Horse and Burro Program in Norman, Oklahoma. She said, Its not like you can do this in your backyard, or even a 2 hectare plot.

Applicants need enough land to sustain anywhere from 200 to 5,000 healthy horses. The government decides the amount of land with consideration to pasture quality. The amount of land needed could be anywhere from several hundred hectares to thousands.

The pastured horses are left on their own with little human intervention. Still, they require a continuous water supply and basic shelter from the elements, like trees or canyons. Corrals for loading and unloading the animals from trailers are also necessary.

The private-pasture system is taking place in 14 western and midwestern states, from eastern Washington to northern Texas.

The horses are not pets. They have had little connection with people. Many are over 5 years old and would be difficult to train so the Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, will not sell them.

Still, there is lots of interest in the program. Collins said people call all the time seeking details.

My only advice would be to go into it with your eyes wide open, said Dwayne Oldham, a former veterinarian in Wyoming. He started with the program in 2015. His family owns a large cattle cattle ranch outside Lander, Wyoming. Oldhams Wind River Wild Horse Sanctuary has more than 130 horses.

Oldham said working with the government can be demanding. But, he says, it is not difficult to provide for the wild horses.

Unlike most private wild-horse pastures, Wind River is open to the public.

About 80 kilometers to the south, cattle ranchers, wild horse supporters and the BLM have spent years involved in legal actions over the horses. The wild horse population in the area competes with cattle for food and water in the high desert, the ranchers claim.

But government lawyers say the BLM is following the 1971 Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. It protects wild horses and burros on BLM land in 10 western states.

We want to be part of the solution and not just the adversary, Oldham said.

Other groups support different measures for controlling the population. The American Wild Horse Campaign says treating female horses with drugs to stop reproduction is best. Campaign official Grace Kuhn says the resettlement program leads to increased reproduction and overpopulation.

But, the group does not oppose the program as an alternative to keeping wild horses in corrals for long periods.

The BLM says the area environment can safely support about 27,000 wild horses. But, the agency says there are now more than 80,000 horses out there.

About 36,500 wild horses are now living on private pastures under the government program. That is about as many as possible.

BLMs Debbie Collins said, Its just a happier, healthier environment for a horse to be able to be out in a pasture.

Im Susan Shand.

The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

classic - adj. used to describe something that has been popular for a long time

pasture - n. a large area of land where animals feed on the grass

applicant - n. someone who formally asks for something

canyon - n. a deep valley with steep rock sides and often a stream or river flowing through it

corral - n. an area that is surrounded by a fence and that is used for holding animals

ranch - n. a large farm especially in the U.S. where animals are raised

adversary - n. an enemy or opponent

alternative - adj. offering or expressing a choice
LINGUIST List 30.1313

Sun Mar 24 2019

Confs: Language Acquisition/USA

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19-Mar-2019Sara Schroeder 2019 Classroom Assessment for Language Teaching Regional Conference2019 Classroom Assessment for Language Teaching Regional ConferenceShort Title: 2019 CALTDate: 27-Sep-2019 - 28-Sep-2019Location: Missoula, Montana, USAContact: Sara SchroederContact Email: < click here to access email > Meeting URL: https://www.umt.edu/global-engagement/Events/calt-2019-regional-conference/default.php Linguistic Field(s): Language AcquisitionMeeting Description:CALT 2019 Regional ConferenceUniversity of Montana's English Language Institute is hosting the CALT (Classroom Assessment in Language Teaching) 2019 Regional Conference on the campus of the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana, Friday, September 27 to Saturday, September 28, 2019. Language teachers spanning a variety of languages and levels will gather to share classroom language assessment practices.
Campaign against casteism

Reframing the narrative around caste-based discrimination warrants a different outlook
Court frees former SP Dilli Raj Bista, an accused in torture and evidence tampering in Nirmala rape and murder, on Rs1.05 million bail

The Kanchanpur District Court on Sunday ordered to release Dilli Raj Bista, a former superintendent of police accused of torture and evidence tampering in connection with Nirmala Pant rape and murder case, on Rs1.05 million bail.
Eight months into the fiscal year, local governments have yet to present budget

Less than four months before the end of the fiscal year, Bhagwanpur Rural Municipality in Siraha is yet to present its annual budget for the current fiscal due to the differences between the local political parties.
In Case You Missed It: Here are the top five stories from today's paper

Take a quick look at some of the important news you may have missed from todays paper.
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. ~
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

A Southern California company is voluntarily recalling whole avocados over possible listeria contamination.

Henry Avocado, a grower and distributor based near San Diego, said Saturday that the recall covers conventional and organic avocados grown and packed in California. The company says they were sold in bulk across California, Arizona, Florida, Wisconsin, North Carolina and New Hampshire.

There have been no reports of any illnesses associated with the avocados.

The company says it issued the voluntary recall after a routine inspection of its packing plant revealed samples that tested positive for listeria.

The company says avocados imported from Mexico and distributed by Henry are not being recalled and are safe.

Listeria is a bacteria that can cause fever and diarrhea, and more dangerous complications in pregnant women.

Explore further California company recalls vegetables over listeria fears

 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Indian authority obstructs road construction

Indian authorities have obstructed the construction of roads at Bramadev in Bhimdutta Municipality-9, Kanchanpur, stating that the infrastructure was constructed by encroaching on the no-mans-land.
Nepses two-week winning streak ends on transaction downfall

Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) index last week shed 14.89 points to close at 1,140.57 points, as investors rushed to book profit after two weeks of increasing share prices.
We'd had such a great time in Emiligia-Romagna, from the Castles, to the "Devil's Bridge", to our amazing food tour, there were so many memorable experiences. And even though we had but two more nights left in the region, I had one more ace up my sleeve. Our Airbnb was very inexpensive, so I decided to book an overnight stay in Ravenna, a short hour train ride from Bologna. I'd read a bit about the city, which was once the capital of Western Roman Empire. When Theodosius I died; he split the Roman Empire into to halves, one of his sons, Honorius and he moved the Imperial Court and Administrative offices there in 401 because it was easily defended.

Well, enough of the history lesson, no?

The train station in Ravenna is but a short walk into the heart of the city. The vibe is relaxed and friendly; the city is pedestrian friendly and there's obviously a lot going as we passed this while walking past one of the many piazzas on the way to our hotel.

Our hotel; the Casa Masoli was close to everything we wanted to see; the woman running the place was warm and friendly and even made dinner reservations for us at a place she highly recommended. The prices were quite affordable; we got the Teodora e Giustiniano Suite for like a hundred Euros. The building has long history and our suite was amazing! And quite unique; it's like we entered a time machine and travelled into the past. From the Venetian four post beds and antiques lining the room....

To the huge bathroom with a marble bath tub!

To the rather dramatic sitting area.

The woman pointed to a part of the high ceiling and told us...."this is where a bomb landed during World War I"!

We had also arrived early and expected to drop off our bags; but our room was ready!

And so were we. The first order of business was head on out to the bookstore located at Via Giuliano Argentario 22 and purchase a combined ticket for five of the sites. And, it right down the street from our first site; the Basilica of San Vitale.

Commissioned by Bishop Ecclesius in 527; the church was still unfinished when Ravenna fell to Justinian I in 1540. It was then that the mosaics were done and the church completed in 1547. From the exterior, the building really looks rather staid and simple, but the octagonal plan and the use of terra-cotta bricks was revolutionary in those times.

It's upon entering the interior where you really understand the importance of this structure......

The amazing Byzantine Mosiacs are second to none and just amazing to see. It is rumored that San Vitale was used as the model for the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul. And even though we've been to the Hagia Sofia, twice this really made an impression on us.







It is undoubtedly, one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited.

I'm wondering what the dome would have been like had the intended mosaic design been carried out. The painting on the dome is from the 18th century.

I mean, the mosaic on the ceiling of the presbytery is dramatic enough.

There's actually a tape that goes "ssshhhssshhh" when folks start talking too loud in the place. We actually loved it!

For a wonderful article on the history and mosaics, check out this site.

Across the courtyard is the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, named after the daughter of Theodosius I. There are three sarcophagi in the structure; it is said that these are of Galla Placidia, who is said to have been placed in sitting position, Galla's son, Valentinian III is to her right, and to her left is that of Emporer Constantius III, her husband. Though because of study and dating, it is no longer thought to be so.

Some say the mosaics here outshine those in the Basilica and I can see why.





It was an amazing visit; something I wish everyone could see.

From here we headed to the next thing I wanted to see. While on one of the many wonderful pedestrian side streets, we decided to stop for lunch here.

It was a quaint shop; the upstairs was a dining area and the bottom floor like a very comfortable cafe.

the main reason we stopped is because the place served a small menu for lunch that featured Piadine. We'd been wanting to try an Italian version since having on Malta and I knew that this flatbread is traditionally from this region.

The Missus thoroughly enjoyed her Verdure Gratinate Squacquerone (a nice lightly acidic fresh cheese) - basically roasted vegetables in a nice, warm flatbread.

I had the Prosciutto (of course) Arugula Squacquerone version. Which was just enough for a light lunch.

This, along with two espressos was perfect since we still had a bunch of places to visit and didn't want to get filled up. It was also a nice change from all of the rather hearty food we'd been having over the last couple of days.

Nicely priced as well.

Al Cairoli

Via Benedetto Cairoli 16

48121, Ravenna, Italy

We headed straight down the street. Past all of the locals chatting, having espresso, eating lunch......

Via Benedetto Cairoli had become Via Corrado Ricci and we had arrived at this piazza. This is the Piazza San Francesco.

We'd gone a street too far. We would return here to visit the Basilica di San Francesco later on....there's something really cool in the church. But for now, I was focused on this place right around the corner in an area called "Zona del Silenzio" (Area of Silence). Remember when we visited the Basilica di Santa Croce in Florence? I noted that Dante's tomb "monument" was located in the church, but he wasn't interred there? Well, here he is.

On January 27th 1302, Dante was exiled from his home in Florence. He ended up in Ravenna in 1318 and wrote Paradiso, the third and last part of his Divine Comedy. When Dante died in 1321, he was entombed and hidden in what is now named the Basilica di San Francesco not to be found until 1865. Thus began what some say is a 700 year "battle" over the remains of Dante, which is quite a story in itself.

So many stories....

And it was barely past noon!

Yes, there's more to come.

Thanks for stopping by!
" " A new meta-analysis shows that only a third of Americans have prepared advanced directive documents. Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

If you're a prudent sort of person, you may have prepared an advance directive. That's a document designating who should make decisions on your behalf if you're ever stricken with an illness or injury making you unable to express your own wishes. It also gives directions about end-of-life care.

Unfortunately, most of us aren't prudent people, as demonstrated by new research from the University of Pennsylvania, and published in the journal Health Affairs. The researchers analyzed 150 previous studies involving 750,000 subjects conducted over the past six years, in an effort to find out how many adults had completed a living will, a healthcare power of attorney, or both.

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The Penn researchers found that nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults  63 percent, to be precise  had not completed either of those documents. Only 29.3 percent had written a living will that contained specific end-of-life directions, such as how and even whether they should be kept alive on a ventilator or with a feeding tube, in the event of a catastrophic brain injury with unlikely recovery chances. And just 33.4 percent had designated someone to receive healthcare power of attorney, the authority to make decisions on their behalf.

People suffering from chronic illnesses were slightly more prepared than the average  38.2 percent had prepared advance directives, for example  and people age 65 and older had the documents 45.6 percent of the time, compared to 31.6 percent among younger adults. In addition to easing emotional and financial burdens on family and loved ones, these documents also help the country at large by lightening the resources required of the legal and medical industries.

"Most experts agree that some form of written directives are a key component of advance care planning, and yet rates of completion are low and do not appear to be increasing," says Dr. Katherine Courtright, a Penn medical school instructor and one of the study's authors, in a press release. "We need to address common barriers to completing these important documents on a national level, particularly among chronically ill patients who are at higher risk for critical illness and death."

Now That's Helpful AARP provides downloadable advance directive forms for all 50 states.
" " Your 401(k) helps you prepare for retirement, but it could also help with your tax bill. iStock/Thinkstock

401(k) retirement accounts allow employees to save for, well, retirement. In a tax-deferred 401(k), workers contribute a percentage of their pre-tax dollars into the account. The money they contribute lowers their taxable income so they pay less in taxes. A person can also save money by not paying taxes on the earnings of your account.

Sounds great, right? There's a catch. You will ultimately have to pay taxes on the money that you withdraw. However, when you retire, your income will probably drop. That will put you in a lower tax bracket. As a result, when you start withdrawing money from your tax-deferred 401(k), you'll be taxed at a much lower rate than what you paid when you were working [sources: TurboTax, CNN].

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You can also lower your tax bill by deducting your contributions to your 401(k), based on your filing status and income level. It's called the saver's credit, or retirement savings contributions credit. The government kept the income ceilings for this credit very low so those with low incomes can put money aside for retirement [source: IRS]. The income limits are:

$27,750 for people who are single, widowed or married but filing separately

$41,625 for a head of a household

$55,500 for couples married and filing joint returns

The amount of the credit generally ranges from $1,000 to $2,000 each year. You're eligible for the credit if you're 18 years old or older, not a full-time student and not claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return. The amount of the credit you are eligible to receive can be 50 percent, 20 percent or 10 percent of your 401(k) plan contributions, up to $2,000 or $4,000 if you're married and filing joint returns [source: IRS].

A Roth 401(k) is a different story. When you contribute to your Roth account, it has no impact on your taxable income. That's because you are using after-tax dollars to contribute to the account. However, you won't have to pay taxes when you become eligible to withdraw money from your Roth IRA [source: IRS].
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Honda has unveiled new electric motorbikes: an electric dirt bike and a small electric scooter.

The electric dirt bike  called the CR Electric, and pictured above  is modelled to look like one of its current petrol-powered CRF bikes, but uses a Mugen-developed electric motor.

Honda did not reveal much information on the bike, and no power or range figures were available at the time of writing.

Reports stated that Mugen has also worked on electric race bikes which take part in the Isle of Man event, which bodes well for Honda fans.

Benly Electric scooter

Honda also took the opportunity to unveil the Benly Electric, an electric delivery scooter which uses the same batteries as the PCX Electric maxi scooter.

The batteries are swappable and allow for the bike to be used without having to wait for a recharge, by simply placing a pre-charged battery pack in the bike.

This feature is aimed at courier companies which cannot afford to wait while a delivery scooter recharges.

Hondas electric scooter is shown below.

Electric vehicles

The new bikes from Honda follow a string a big motor vehicle brands unveiling electric cars.

This includes the likes of VW, Audi, Porsche, BMW, Jaguar, Mini, Aston Martin, and Nissan.

VW stated that it plans to build 22 million electric vehicles over the next 10 years and wants to overtake Tesla as the number one player in the market.

Now read: Bloodhound land speed record back on
Parks and recreation

The government needs to pay serious attention to the public parks and urban landscaping
Stephen Moore drew swift and unusually pointed criticism after President Donald Trump picked him to be a governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve, with at least one prominent Republican economist calling on the Senate to block the appointment.

He does not have the intellectual gravitas for this important job, Greg Mankiw, a Harvard professor who was chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush, wrote in a blog post on Friday. It is time for senators to do their job. Mr. Moore should not be confirmed.

Moores selection is subject to Senate approval. Hes Trumps sixth nomination to the nations monetary authority, which has a seven-seat board of governors that typically is filled with trained economists, former financial-industry executives and bank regulators. There are currently two vacant seats.

Two previous Trump nominees, Nellie Liang and Marvin Goodfriend, failed to advance in the Senate in 2018. Unlike Moore, neither faced accusations that they were unqualified.

Some private-sector economists whove generally supported Trumps efforts to accelerate growth with lower taxes, less regulation and fairer trade deals were nonplussed by the selection of Moore, an official at the conservative Heritage Foundation think-tank and an economic adviser to Trumps 2016 campaign.

The fact that Stephen Moore gets nominated and has a plausible path to confirmation but Peter Diamond didnt is truly detestable, said Neil Dutta, head of economics at Renaissance Macro Research. He was referring to Diamond, a Nobel Prize-winning economist whom President Barack Obama nominated to the Fed but ended up withdrawing from consideration in June 2011 in the face of Republican opposition.

The upshot is that Stephen Moore will not have much influence if he sat around the table, Dutta said.

While most presidential nominees keep a low public profile until theyre considered by the Senate, out of respect for the democratic process, Moore took to the airwaves hours after Trump announced his nomination two days ago. In a Bloomberg Television interview he called the Feds December rate increase, which was approved in a unanimous vote, a very substantial mistake.

Moore acknowledged he has a long road ahead that included Senate confirmation. Known along with Arthur Laffer as a supply-side supporter of tax cuts to unleash faster economic growth, he also said he has a lot to learn about monetary policy.

Im kind of new to this game, frankly, so Im going to be on a steep learning curve myself about how the Fed operates, how the Federal Reserve makes its decisions, Moore, 59, said on BTV. Its hard for me to say even what my role will be there, assuming I get confirmed.

He also tweeted on Friday, thanking Trump for the opportunity to serve & for your zealous commitment to freeing the American economic engine from government overreach & oppressive taxation!

Its not unheard-of for a president to pick a like-minded adviser, or even a political donor, to serve on the Fed Board.

Alice Rivlin, a director of President Bill Clintons Office of Management and Budget, was his nominee to be Fed vice chairman in 1996. Ben Bernanke led the White House Council of Economic Advisers before Bush chose him to be chairman of the central bank in 2006. And current Fed Governor Lael Brainard, selected by Obama in 2014, donated to Hillary Clintons 2016 election campaign.

Janet Yellen had an opposite trajectory, serving as a Fed governor from 1994 to 1997 before joining the Clinton administration as CEA chair. She returned to Washington as Fed vice-chair after a stint as San Francisco Fed president, and was later appointed by Obama as the Feds first woman chair.

The difference is theyre all respected Ph.D. economists, so concerns about politicizing the Fed didnt become a much of a factor in their Senate confirmation hearings.

Moore, who has a master of arts in economics from George Mason University in Virginia, is better known for helping promote a fiscal agenda than he is for monetary-policy expertise. He co-wrote, with Laffer, a 2018 book on Trumps economic strategy entitled Trumponomics: Inside the America First Plan to Revive Our Economy.

He also formerly wrote on the economy and public policy for the Wall Street Journal and is on his second stint at the Heritage Foundation.

Moore focuses on advancing public policies that increase the rate of economic growth to help the United States retain its position as the global economic superpower, according to his biography on the Heritage Foundation website. He also works on budget, fiscal and monetary policy and showcases states that get fiscal houses in order.

Moore didnt pull punches when asked about the criticism from Mankiw.

I dont know why Greg Mankiw is attacking me, he said in an email on Saturday. One possible reason is that in his textbook he calls supply-siders like Laffer charlatans and cranks. He then removed that section from the book  because he got so much flak for it when he went into the Bush administration.

In an emailed request for a response, Mankiw said he doesnt believe Moores background makes him a good fit for the job of Fed governor. The professor also disputed Moores facts. The passage he refers to was removed in the second edition of my book, Mankiw said. That edition was completed in July 2000, four months before President Bush was elected and 2 1/2 years before I joined the administration.

Bloombergs Steve Matthews, Jeanna Smialek and Christopher Condon contributed to this report.
EDGARD, La.Theres no dollar amount tied to domestic work, Yvonne Holden told a crowd of bartenders, servers, chefs, writers and historians that she was leading on a tour of Whitney Plantation Museum, which is dedicated to memorializing the lives of enslaved Africans.

It was a humid weekday morning, and thunderous clouds were dropping fat raindrops on the big house, a tan two-story structure, built in 1790, where slaves, often women, tended to their owners needs and cared for the home. Field labor could be quantified and exploited for profit, but the cooking, cleaning, child rearing and other household tasks done by enslaved people could not.

The tour was part of Resistance Served, a conference held last month in New Orleans that was designed to highlight the contributions of black people to fine dininghistorically and currentlywhile also examining discrimination in the hospitality industry. The legacies of slaves at Whitney and other plantations, Holden said, are still living.

Three hours later, after winding through 12 buildings on the historic complex, the crowd gathered under a tent for discussion and a lunch of whole hog barbecue prepared by Howard Conyers, a NASA scientist, noted pitmaster and host of PBS Nourish.

Participants took turns describing their feelings, what they learned and what they would take back to their restaurants. The rain stopped, and a blue sky brightened life-size statues representing the children who had been enslaved here. The grounds were heavy and muddy because of the rain.

For two days, stakeholders from restaurants all over the country gathered in New Orleans to discuss opportunities for people of color and the history of oppression that informs some of the issues the industry faces today. The conference was the inaugural event of Radical Xchange, a hospitality organization founded by Ashtin Berry and Kisira Hill.

Hill and Berry, both former restaurant workers, connected in New Orleans and bonded over their love of the hospitality business and desire to see greater equity in American restaurants. They decided to harness their experience to facilitate discussions that they hadnt found at other hospitality conferences.

This conference came about because we were really tired of people talking about diversity and inclusion, Berry said, using these words, coming to a conference and saying their piece, but they dont run their businesses or engage in ways that reflect any of that.

Resistance Served was designed to root conference participants in the history of hospitality and to confront them with parallels in their day-to-day work. The visit to Whitney, a 45-minute drive from New Orleans, was aimed at immersing participants in an experience that placed fine-dining roles (and the people filling those roles) in historic context, from slavery to modern day.

After emancipation, the formerly enslaved were left to navigate a country that provided neither equal opportunity nor equal rights. Faced with rampant discrimination and limited opportunities, many took jobs as domestics or went to work in the hospitality industry. They were at the mercy of their employers. Post-emancipation, during Jim Crow, women who were doing domestic work had no protections, Holden said. Formerly enslaved domestics ultimately get left out of the protections of civil rights in the earlier 20th century.

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New Orleans is known for restaurants with a particular brand of Southern hospitality and white-tablecloth service. The city was chosen for the first Radical Xchange event because of the history of its restaurant scene and race-based differences in opportunity for restaurant workers. We wanted to unpack revisionist history and look at the placement of black and brown bodies in hospitality roles, Berry said.

For example, 60 percent of New Orleans residents are black, but 78 percent of nonmanagerial front-of-the-house roles and 81 percent of managerial roles in fine-dining New Orleans restaurants are held by white workers, according to a report by Restaurant Opportunities Centers United. These also tend to be the highest-paid positions in dining rooms.

The situation isnt unique to New Orleans.

Things arent worse in New Orleans. Theyre just compounded by history, and you cant escape history here, Berry said. Its in the soil, and you feel it everywhere that you go.

I think our society is very comfortable with seeing Afro-Americans in low-paid, unskilled positions of service, such as trash removal, janitorial work, stockroom workers, cashiers, maid services, etc., Holden said. These, she said, are jobs that society very much needs to function, but does not find it important to compensate appropriately. . . . How does it affect the psychology of a society if the only time many people are seeing black folks is at work in these positions? How does this work to reinforce ideas about who is appropriate for these jobs?

But thats only part of the story. Resistance Served also celebrated the work of people of color in restaurants and the long history of communities of color finding strength in gathering together.

The conference started with a day of panels at New Orleans Jazz Market. The panelists included culinary historians Michael Twitty and Therese Nelson, Zella Palmer of the Ray Charles Program at Dillard University, Krista Scruggs of ZAFA Wines, and farmer and advocate Ben Burkett of the National Family Farm Coalition. Topics ranged from ownership and capital to working with white gatekeepers.

Resistance Served also hosted dinners, including a collaboration between chefs Carla Hall and Leah Chase at Dooky Chases, a restaurant associated with black resiliency and the power of hospitality during the civil rights movement.

Im not really interested in creating spaces that focus on the oppression of black people and not their innovation and resilience, Berry said.

There is much work to be done, but theres also joy. Just as its important to know the industrys history, its important that marginalized people get to tell their stories and see themselves represented, Berry said. Theres a buy-in with our conference, and its that you buy into a community of people, she said.

Seeing hospitality in the context of history and networking with industry leaders can help conference attendees think of ways to change the restaurant business, the organizers said.

Ashtin and I have similar desires to see black people and marginalized people functioning in dining spaces in different ways, Hill said. Theyre hoping, she said, for a ripple effect that spreads to wherever the conference-goers are from and beyond.

We dont want people to necessarily divest from those [fine-dining] spaces; we want them to rethink how they engage with them, Berry added.

Taneka Reaves of the Cocktail Bandits, a blend of culture and mixology in Charleston, South Carolina, gave an example of such rethinking on the first day of Resistance Served. Why are we ashamed, Reaves asked, to be a butler or cook? We shouldnt be. We created that culture.

The rest of the panel, whose topic was Narratives of Reclaiming: Pioneering and Ownership, nodded, as did people in the audience.

Shifting the story from shame to reclamation to ownership in hospitality is all part of the plan, as the name of the conference suggests. I think serving in a way that centers black bodies is its own resistance, Berry said.

Wilson is a New York-based food writer and host of the podcast A Hungry Society.
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Catherine Schimmer lost her battle to cancer on March 10, 2019, surrounded by family.

Catherine was born October 12, 1953 in Anchorage Alaska. At 6 months old, she moved with her family to Napa, CA, where she grew up graduating class of 1971 from Siena High School. She worked as a drafter for Pacific Bell for several years.

Catherine met her husband John in September 1977. On July 4, 1981, they were married and her dream of becoming a mom was fulfilled by caring for Johns son, Eric. Once married, they had three daughters, Mari, Julie, and Heather. Catherine and John made a loving home for their family and raised their children with good values. With their son and three daughters, Catherines was able to enjoy motherhood fully by being a homemaker. She enjoyed volunteering in classrooms, going on field trips, being a Girl Scout troop leader, and being a part in all of her childrens activities. Catherine became a Grandmother to three boys who she loved dearly and was very proud of. Catherine never missed a family function and loved celebrating birthdays and holidays with her whole family.

In 1998, Catherine and John took the opportunity to own and operated an automotive repair shop for 10 yrs. In 2008, she found her way to work as an assistant manager at Silverado Orchards A Retirement Home. She worked there until her illness required her to step down in December 2018. She loved working there, interacting with the residents, setting up cross word puzzle, planning holidays and events there.

Catherine will be remembered for her big heart, patience, kind and caring ways. She had a way of making you feel loved and was a caring mom to all she met. Catherine always made it a goal to call her family members on their birthdays to sing them Happy Birthday, something everyone looked forward too. She loved going to the beach, being in the sun, filling birthday cards with confetti, watching Hallmark Movies with her husband, dressing up for Halloween, picking out the family Christmas ornament, celebrating her favorite holiday, Thanksgiving, and most importantly spending time with her family. She never let you get off the phone or leave the house without an I love you. She will forever be loved and missed by her family.

Catherine is preceded in death by her parents, Richard Barragan and Hope Barragan-Barthel. She is survived by her husband John P. Schimmer. Children, Eric (Stacy), Mari (Sarah Gillooly), Julie (Jason Roche) and Heather. Siblings, Randy Barragan and Christina McCarty. Grandsons, David and Sam Gallegos and Elijah Schimmer. Plus many nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 am, Saturday, April 6, 2019 at Tulocay Cemetery, 411 Cooombsville Rd, Napa with reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Napa LGBTQ Connection or Shriners Hospitals for Children.

Condolences and words of sympathy may be sent to the family online at www.tulocaycemetery.org.
Charles Russell Chuck Ball who died March 4, 2019, at Marin General Hospital, was a man of few words and great achievements. He would say his greatest accomplishment was convincing his wife of 67 years, Cathy (d. Oct 2013), to marry him. He was also proud of their five children.

Born in Long Beach, CA in 1926, he was the son of Ruth and Chuck Ball who met in the oil fields of southern California. The family moved to Bakersfield where he was later to follow in his parents footsteps spending a distinguished 40-year career in the international oil and gas business. He then retired, moved to his next career in the Napa Valley wine business and played a major role in fundraising for church and the arts.

In his Bakersfield youth he not only was his high school bands drummer, he also, in the early war years, became the chief percussionist of the Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra. Graduating at 16, he was invited to join the Navys elite V-12 college training program which sent him to study engineering at the University of Kansas. There he met and married Cathy Piller. Although WW-2 had ended when he graduated, he chose to do his naval service then and upon discharge returned to Bakersfield and the oil business. He soon spent six months in the nascent oil business of Kuwait before returning to California (then still an important oil province). He also pioneered offshore oil development in Peru in the late 1950s. Santa Fe International lured him to return to the world scene and sent him to London in 1961 to manage and grow their Middle East business. In London, he also became one of the founders of the significant new North Sea oil & gas province, both bringing in new technology as a drilling contractor and, with his small team, inspiring the discovery of the early major Thistle Field.

His international career continued to produce firsts and breakthroughs and won him warm business and personal relationships in stints in Singapore, Indonesia, London  several times  and finally South China, where the efforts of his team marketing gas from the offshore Yacheng-13-1 gas field paved the way for the modern gas business in China.

In 1987, he retired from oil & gas and moved to the Napa valley to found the boutique Oakford Vineyards label whose grapes he grew in a sweet spot of the Oakville slopes surrounded by the luminary vineyards of Far Niente, Mondavi and Harlan. He and Cathy were also key fundraisers and leaders in their church, the arts and Copia; Chuck also served as president of the successful effort to restore the Napa Valley Opera House. On a personal level, he volunteered to improve the lives of the Valleys migrant community with English lessons and assistance with citizenship. Cathy and Chuck spent 5 years in Kansas City before returning to the valley in 2012.

Chuck Ball is survived by 5 children: Susan, James (Skip), Andy, Sally and Linda; eight grand children, one great grandchild and 19 nephews and nieces. His sister Betty predeceased him.

His funeral service will take place at Grace Episcopal Church, in St Helena CA on May 11. Military Honors and Flag Ceremony: 12:45; Funeral: 1:00pm.
A long time ago, as glaciers retreated from North America, some arctic butterflies stayed behind. The Earth was warming and so they fluttered up mountain slopes, to where it was still cold. As the climate continued to change, the arctic butterflies continued to climb, toward the summitsand then, where?

At the other end of the continent, a tropical butterfly began to pursue milkweed northward, making the journey generation by short-lived generation, branching out toward opportunity, flying and breeding and dying. At the end of summer a super generation would make the entire return journey south, to an ancestral home it had never seen before.

Human beings eventually reached this territory and settled into tribes that lived in communion with the Earth. They had no practical use for the butterflies but saw the mysterious insects as symbols. They signaled a warning, or the harvest of corn. They carried dreams, or the souls of the dead.

Later, Europeans arrived by ship and spread across the land, plundering and claiming it as their own, planting industry and drawing boundaries. The tropical butterfly, the one with the orange-and-black wings, was christened the monarch, after an English king.

The climate had brought humans and butterflies into coexistence in the Western Hemisphere, but it was not done changing, because neither were humans. They made an economy by exploiting the Earth and one another. They arrived by shipfuls to a new home sight-unseen. They intermingled, tried to live as one new tribe, fought anyway. They built cities, suburbs, highways. They sought knowledge, refined science, supplemented symbolism with data.

Recently, they began to notice something happening with butterflies: They seemed to be disappearing.

And so humans began asking a natural question: What does this mean?

Late last month, there was a meeting in the Putah Creek Lodge on the campus of the University of California at Davis. The topic was the western population of monarch butterflies, the ones that winter on the California coast. Their numbers had dropped 86 percent over the past year, to 0.6 percent of their historical average. This was a problem.

Arthur Shapiro, a professor of evolution and ecology, was at the meeting. His bushy beard was as dramatic as the file name of his digital slide show: MONARCH JEREMIAD.

As a solitary child in northwest Philadelphia, Shapiro fled to wooded ravines to escape his parents constant combat. Nature became his companion. By fifth grade, he knew that butterflies would be his life. Twenty years later, as a PhD in entomology, Shapiro was hiking through the mountains of northeastern Colombia when the clouds parted and a female reliquia, its white wings shot through with sunlight, passed in front of him. His heart rattled his rib cage. Before he could get his net out, the clouds reconvened and the butterfly was gone. He had never beforenot from anything in lifefelt such a wallop of adrenaline.

In 2018, as a 72-year-old whod given his life to butterflies, Shapiro did not see a single monarch caterpillar in the wild.

Theres compelling evidence that pesticides, deforestation and habitat loss are to blame for monarch decline. Climate change sharpens every threat by altering weather patterns, extending droughts, strengthening storms. Its easy to conclude, then, that we are responsible.

Shapiro says we dont fully understand whats happening to butterflies, but he cant shake a feeling of responsibility.

I feel like a doctor who has a patient hes known his entire life, and the patient is obviously dying, and the doctor and his colleagues have been unable to determine whyso they cant recommend treatments, he says. Its a level of frustration where Im watching things that I love go away, and theres nothing I can do about it but just stand there.

Theres mystery in a caterpillars metamorphosis, and majesty in the winged creature that emerges from a cocoon, and so humans have used butterflies to make meaning of life, and of change.

The ancient Greeks believed that a butterfly was a human soul, loosed from a deceased body. In China the butterfly can mean both immortality and marriage. For some Christians and Native Americans, the butterfly is a symbol of rebirth. For addicts, it is a symbol of recovery. Children read The Very Hungry Caterpillar and learn about the transformation of a small, ungainly creature into something full-grown and unbound.

On the other side of adolescence, teenagers get butterflies tattooed on their ankles, or wrists, because it just feels right.

Monarch expert Karen Oberhauser helped make the most iconic butterfly a teaching tool in classrooms. Monarchs, she says, make connections between humans and nature in ways that no other insect does.

Theyre alien, but familiar. Theyre delicate, but hardy enough to undertake an epic migration.

Theyre just really impressive, says Oberhauser, director of the University of Wisconsin Arboretum, and a textbook example of interactions between herbivores and plants, of migration, of interactions between diseases and organismsall things that increase peoples understanding of the wonders of nature.

Four years ago. a health-care consultant named Denise Palmer planted milkweed in her small suburban plot in Oklahoma City to attract monarchs. Recently, she looked at her property from the height of Google Earth and saw a shadowy square of nature surrounded by the gray grid of infrastructure, and the red clay of bulldozed land.

It made her understand her piece of Earth the way a butterfly might see it: as a way station on a journey. As part of a whole.

Its humbling, Palmer says. Its exhilarating. Its renewing at an emotional level. Actually, its deeper than emotion. Its a feeling of the soul.

Insects are the linchpin of ecosystems, and 40 percent of insect species are in dramatic decline, according to study publishing next month in the journal Biological Conservation. Butterflies are among the most imperiled, and monarchs are the butterfly that people most recognize. The eastern population of monarchsthe one that winters in Mexico and summers across the United Statesrebounded this year, but it is a third the size of the 1996 count. The overall trend is downward.

Each day there are fewer butterflies in the United States than the day before, says the molecular biologist Jeffrey Glassberg, founder of the North American Butterfly Association. Thats hyperbole, some say, but Glassberg is trying to make a point. Hes a man who speaks with stern confidence about what butterflies mean to the environment, about how their health relates to the overall health of the planet. But when asked what butterflies mean to him, he struggles to find the words.He thinks about his wife, who died a year and a half ago.

I loved her very, very much, Glassberg says. But I didnt love her because of anything. I have no idea why I loved her. And its like that with butterflies.

For thousands of years, humans have looked to butterflies as a reassuring symbol in times of change. The Earth now is changing, and butterflies have become a symbol of something else: loss.

This month, the eastern monarchs will begin migrating through the Rio Grande Valley, one of the countrys most biologically diverse regions, whose native habitat is already 95 percent diminished by human interference. Many will take shelter at the National Butterfly Center, a 100-acre sanctuary that sits at the southern tip of Texas, across the Rio Grande from Mexico.

That is where President Donald Trump wants to build a new stretch of border wall.

The wall was supposed to slice through the butterfly center, scouring habitats and cutting off 70 of its 100 acres. Supporters rallied around the center, but the staff also got harassing messages from Americans who wanted the wall to preserve something else. They were mad that the center wasnt yielding to the heavy machinery that had already plowed neighboring land.

You are insane if you think a wall will stop butterflies, a man named Allan wrote to the centers executive director on Facebook. The wall is stop illegals from coming into the United States and wrecking our economy, raping our women, bringing in drugs, etc.

The North American Butterfly Association, which owns and operates the center, sued the U.S. government in 2017 for violating environmental laws and taking its property without compensation, and on Feb. 14 a judge finally tossed the suit. (The association has appealed.) That same day, Congress passed a budget deal whose fine print prohibited the funding of barrier construction on butterfly center property. To Marianna T. Wright, the executive director, this was only a temporary fix.

In six months, when the government starts working on their money for 2020, well be right back on the chopping block, she told her small staff during a meeting. Were all living in a state of emergency now.

Nearby, the Carrizo/Comecrudo tribe has built an encampment named after the butterfly to resist the wall and to bear witness to the desecration of its ancestral lands. The ruin of the environment, the slandering of a group of people, a wall that renders both in concrete and steelits all part of the colonization of life, says Christopher Basaldu, an anthropologist and member of the tribe. The monarch represents the natural movement of life in a world made unnatural by humans.

Our country is teaching us to treat other human beings inhumanely around these imaginary lines and boundaries, Basaldu says. Butterflies are not being migratory in the sense that theyre crossing borders or boundaries. They are perceiving this entire continent as their home.

On March 3, Basaldu and about 100 protesters marched through the grounds of the butterfly center. There were two causes. One was the climate. The other was the wall. A 77-year-old activist named Zulema Hernandez, who moved from Mexico to the United States 49 years ago to pursue a better life for herself and her family, marched with her daughter, who wore a shirt patterned with monarchs. When one of Hernandezs sons grew up to become a border-patrol officer, she felt like the sky was falling. When another son became a civil engineer, and worked on border-wall construction, she said to him: Youre going to build it, and Im going to have to tear it down.

At the end of every migration season, the monarch always returns to its ancestral setting. Humans dont, of course. We move. We build. We protect what we love for as long as we can, even as we inflict change on the world. We resist. We adapt.

Hernandez is happy that her children have a life in this country, but she is worried by its course. If you surround yourself in an artificial worldwith walls, with ignorance of naturethe real world might start disappearing around you.

We dont want this to happen to the butterfly, she says. Then it would be just something wed hear about, or read about.

Hernandez marched from the butterfly center to the Rio Grande and back, a 3-mile round trip, using a walker.

Rachel Williams and her boyfriend Dean first bonded over monarchs. She taught him to catch and tag them. They road-tripped and backpacked to see them. And two weeks ago they made the ultimate pilgrimage together, to the mountainous habitat in Mexico where eastern monarchs converge for the winter.

The fir trees sagged with butterflies. The sky was crossed with airborne rivers of orange. Some people weep when they see this spectacle. Some begin to pray. Williams, a biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, had never been more awestruck by nature. She made a vow right there to redouble her commitment to preserving the species, and what they meant to her.

The monarchs above them would soon travel up through Mexico, over the Rio Grande, generation by generation, visiting the backyards of America. In June, after a four-year deliberation, Williamss agency will announce whether it will list the monarch as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Some scientists think this is meaningless politics; others think its a way to focus the publics attention on a problem.

Regardless, Williams will return to Californias remote Saline Valley around Thanksgiving to look for western monarchs at dawn, keeping an official tally with other counters across the continent. In the 70s, monarchs in the Saline Valley numbered in the hundreds, and once topped 1,000. In 2017 Williams and other volunteers counted a maximum of 145. Last year they counted 27. There is a boomlet of monarchs in Mexico this year, but what happens if logging there continues? If the Earth keeps warming? Do the monarchs seek higher elevation, beyond the firs, up the mountainand then, where?

For now, on her trip, Williams was surrounded by abundance, by the connection to nature, to something old and enduring. At one point she stopped to photograph a cluster of monarchs along the trail. Dean rummaged through his camera bag, behind her. That morning he had put on a dress shirt, and tucked it in, so she knew something was up.

She turned around and saw the ring.

Her answer was already in the air, fluttering all around them.
The American Legion Auxiliary (ALA), the world's largest women's patriotic service organization, is among 13 groups nationwide that received a grant from the Elizabeth Dole Foundation's Hidden Heroes Campaign for innovative and evidence-based programs that address the long-term needs of military caregivers, the spouses, parents and loved ones caring for servicemembers and veterans at home, helping to fill the gap that exists for this population."The ALA recognizes that many veterans depend daily on their dedicated caregivers," said Kathy Dungan, national president of the organization. "We recognize how important it is to support caregivers and address the unique stresses they face to help ensure our nation's heroes are supported for years to come."At the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival (NVCAF) last fall, the Elizabeth Dole Foundation grant provided several opportunities to empower caregivers and provide social support. Respite bags were handed out to each caregiver at registration. Although the event is centered around veterans, the bags and warm welcomes from Auxiliary volunteers and staff made the caregivers feel special. Programs relevant to the needs of military caregivers are typically focused on the servicemember or veteran, and only incidentally related to the caregiver's role. There are specific gaps in needed programs, which the grant helped to address. In addition, the funding provided the opportunity to build skills and confidence as caregivers."He was hurt in the service ... He had some issues, but not like he does now. Now I consider myself really a caregiver," said Dolores Kostiw, 71, caregiver to her husband, Steve, an Air Force veteran. "I retired two years ago. I'm around to help do what he needs to do, make sure he gets in and out of the shower OK. If he needs help with his shoes or dressing of any sort, I can try and help him with that. It's very hard because he's first - I have to make sure he's OK and everything before I can take care of myself. It's very, very hard. It's a lot of work. You don't think of yourself first, and you do let yourself go. I did that."According to a Rand Corp. study, there are more than 5.5 million military and veteran caregivers in the United States. They spend many hours tending to the visible and invisible injuries or illnesses of their loved ones. In the study, 17 percent of civilian caregivers reported spending more than 40 hours per week providing care; 12 percent of post-9/11 military caregivers and 10 percent of pre-9/11 military caregivers spent more than 40 hours per week."Anger is a big thing. Address that as soon as you can," said Spooneybarger. "Because that's the biggest reason I see why people leave their spouses - unresolved anger. They take it out on the only safe place they know - the person holding their hand through the whole process."For Kostiw, it's about finding time for herself."More than once, you think, I can't do this anymore, I want to get out of it, but then he needs something, and I have to be there for him to give it to him," she said. "Do what you can and if you can't do it, ask for help."Through the educational program and social support opportunities that were offered at the NVCAF, Kostiw and others learned it was OK to not be OK and to ask for help as a caregiver. They had the opportunity to show their emotions in a welcoming environment with others in similar situations. Some also offered suggestions on how to cope, based on their own experiences.The work of the American Legion Auxiliary for caregivers has just begun, but can continue to be supported through the organization, which helps veterans, military and their families. To learn more about how to get involved or give back, visit www.ALAforVeterans.org.
The white supremacist suspected of killing at least 50 people last week in two New Zealand mosques, saw his murderous rampage as part of a morbid historical fantasy.

On his drive into the city of Christchurch, he listened to a nationalist Serb song that glorified Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb political leader jailed on genocide charges and war crimes for his role in atrocities against Bosnian Muslims in the 1990s. Images of the guman's weaponry showed that he had scrawled the names of a number of European Christian commanders - spanning many centuries - who warred against predominantly Muslim armies. He had apparently named one of his guns "Turkofagos," or "Turk-eater" in Greek.

There's nothing particularly original about the gunman's obsession with a long history of Europeans killing Muslims. Anders Breivik, the Norwegian terrorist who killed 77 people in a shocking string of attacks in 2011, styled himself as a crusading Templar knight and issued a manifesto that contained hundreds of references to conflicts in the Balkans - a region he and the gunman both clearly viewed as a fault line between Islam and the West.

Investigators in a number of countries, including Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, and Greece, are now tracking the path of trips to the Balkans that the gunman made between 2016 and 2018. According to the Wall Street Journal, his stops included an 11th-century monastery where a Romanian prince once prayed for victory against Ottoman troops and a mountain pass where a band of Russian and Bulgarian soldiers repelled a much larger Turkish army in 1877. These pilgrimages, combined with his horror at the sight of numerous ordinary Muslims living their lives in France, seemed to underpin his extremist worldview.

"It's in Europe where we currently believe his radicalization path lies," a senior counterterrorism officer in the gunman's native Australia told the Journal.

For the gunman, as well as Breivik, the past was an endless battlefield. Their self-published manifestos made clear their commitment to participating in a "clash of civilizations," one that connected their existential terrors over immigration to visions of heroic last stands against the swarming infidels. the gunman believed he was on a campaign of vengeance for earlier "invasions" and wanted his murderous acts to dissuade future immigrants from coming to Australia and New Zealand.

Of course, no particular brand of extremism has a monopoly on crude, vainglorious readings of history. The Islamist militants of the Islamic State also ostensibly believed they were fighting an epochal holy war, embracing an apocalyptic prophecy that the armies of Islam would vanquish the forces of "Rome" in a decisive battle that would prefigure the greater glory of the caliphate. (None of this, of course, has come to pass. The last pocket of Islamic State fighters in Syria is now hobbling its way into Kurdish-administered prison camps.)

But the gunman and his ilk aren't just a fringe minority. They tap into a much larger world of white-nationalist ferment in the West, one that takes as its starting premise a belief in a mythic history of inviolable, homogeneous nations. It is political rhetoric that is in vogue among the European far right and pushed, to a certain degree, by illiberal leaders such as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and President Trump, who both cast themselves as nationalist heroes keeping out the invading hordes.

"Since the 1930s, nationalist, fascist and far-right politicians from Eastern Europe to Latin America have been learning from one another and dreaming of a new world composed of similarly 'pure' nations," wrote Edin Hajdarpasic, an expert on Balkan history. He pointed to how Karadzic, who similarly fulminated against the demographic threat posed by Muslims, was an idol for Breivik and the gunman.

And while these white supremacists cling to their idea of the past, medievalists and historians are at pains to stress that no such past ever existed. "The idea that [medieval societies] are this paragon of unblemished whiteness is just ridiculous," Paul Sturtevant, author of "The Middle Ages in the Popular Imagination," told The Washington Post. "It would be hilarious if it weren't so awful."

Take for example the famous Battle of Vienna in 1683, references to which were apparently written on the gunman's weaponry . While the clash is commonly remembered for how the advances of the Ottomans into Christendom were decisively turned back, the real history of the campaign is far more complicated than that.

The Ottoman Empire - itself a vast, multiethnic political entity - was in league with the Catholic French king, and its troops' advance on the Austrian city was sped by the legendary Hungarian Protestant noble Imre Thokoly, who marched under the Ottoman banner with an ax to grind against the Catholic Hapsburgs in Vienna. (A century earlier, an Ottoman sultan had sent letters to Protestants in the Netherlands and Spain insisting that they had more in common with Sunni Muslims than with Catholics.) The Ottomans were also boosted by Cossacks from what is now central Ukraine, who at the time saw them as useful allies against rival Poles and Russians.

On the opposing side, the Polish armies that came to Vienna's rescue included a vital faction of Tatar horsemen that helped turn the tide of battle against the Ottomans. They happened to be Sunni Muslim. "The Battle of Vienna was a multicultural drama; an example of the complex and paradoxical twists of European history," wrote historian Dag Herbjornsrud. "There never has been such a thing as the united Christian armies of Europe."

In his 2009 book "Two Faiths, One Banner: When Muslims Marched With Christians Across Europe's Battlegrounds," British academic Ian Almond argued how ahistoric it is to reduce such older conflicts to the binary prism constructed by today's Western nationalists. The scheme of a clash of civilizations, he argued, does little to describe the "almost hopelessly complex web of shifting power-relations, feudal alliances, ethnic sympathies and historical grudges" that shaped much of European history.

"Today, words such as 'Islam' and 'Europe' appear to have all the consistency of oil and water," Almond wrote. But, he added, "the fact remains that in the history of Europe, for hundreds of years, Muslims and Christians shared common cultures, spoke common languages, and did not necessarily see one another as 'strange' or 'other.'"

Ishaan Tharoor writes about foreign affairs for The Washington Post. He previously was a senior editor and correspondent at Time magazine, based first in Hong Kong and later in New York.
With the initiative of north SP Bhanupada Chakraborty and Kadamtala police, a middle aged man with Bangladeshi currency amounting to 17,500 rupees was arrested at Kadamtala, Tripura.

The incident has triggered massive panic among the locals. Reportedly, the police arrested him based on the secret inputs.

The accused has been identified as Swarup Deb, 50 who is a resident of Assams Hailakandi district.
UK urges allies to seek alternatives to Russia natural gas

168.am: Armenia ex-police chief hospitalized

NBC: US holds back additional military aid to Ukraine to avoid tension

Person, 26, found dead in Armenia water pit

Criminal case launched into killing of Armenia soldier

Man found dead in Yerevan

At least 2 killed from tornado in Arkansas

Investigative Committee: Staff left combat positions and fled as a result of which adversary invaded Armenia territory

Jill Biden comments on talks about US President's mental fitness

Poland PM issues ultimatum to Russia

30 new cases of coronavirus reported in Artsakh

Media: Islamic State takes responsibility for 2 blasts in Kabul

France presidential candidate Eric Zemmour to visit Armenia

US to sell 18mn barrels of oil from its strategic reserve

Famous Armenia singer declared wanted

Bright Armenia Party leader: ECtHR obliges Azerbaijan to pay 30,000 to Badalyan as moral damage compensation

Psaki: US seeks diplomacy in context of situation between Russia and Ukraine

290 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Biden believes leaders of all other countries would like to be in his place

Armenia PM: Internal patriots do not calm down because their foreign partners do not consider the mission over

Peskov: Russia concerned about NATO military equipment transfer via Greece port

Esplanade of Armenia opens in Paris

Armenia soldier dies, 2 others wounded

Newspaper: Bill that pampers Armenia banks to have very serious consequences

Newspaper: What to expect from Armenia parliament special session next week?

Boris Johnson threatened with resignation due to parties during pandemic

Kopirkin: Russia is ready to make all efforts to contribute to normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations

Armenia MFA: '3+3' platform needs to refrain from duplicating formats with mandate to settle conflicts

RT: US may build facilities in Georgia and Armenia to support its 'defense activities'

Armenia 2nd President: We will continue the struggle, all the phony cases will be crushed

MFA: Armenia calls on Azerbaijan to refrain from provocative rhetoric

Hero of 44-day Karabakh war Garik Hovakimyan's sister Mariam is born

Republican Party of Armenia Executive Body holds session chaired by Serzh Sargsyan

Iranian Embassy: Iran supports '3+3' platform during meeting held in Moscow

Armenia ex-defense minister on Prosecutor General's Office imposing attachment on his assets

Alen Simonyan: Armenia is in one of the most crucial stages in its history, and opposition is demanding my resignation

PM: Armenia is committed to contributing to global mission of strengthening democracy, and we hope we're not alone

Armenia MOD: Soldier who was injured from gunshot fired by fellow serviceman has regained consciousness

Armenia Deputy PM: Omicron variant is not sufficiently explored

First meeting within scope of '3+3' regional platform held in Moscow

NEWS.am daily digest: 10.12.21

Armenia soldier killed while resisting Azerbaijanis' attack, 8 are injured, 6 of whom are in severe condition

Armenia PM introduces new Head of State Supervision Service Romanos Petrosyan

Armenia human rights activists: There were cases when POWs were brought to territory under Azerbaijan's control

The book Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman was translated and published on the initiative of Ardshinbank

Armenia regional governor, IFRC Secretary General discuss return of Armenian POWs originally from Shirak Province

Armenia human rights activist: Number of Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan is 80 more than the confirmed one

Pashinyan: Environmental sphere is of strategic importance for Armenia

Armenia President: We must understand that we are entering completely different era for humanity

Dollar goes up somewhat in Armenia

Armenia State Revenue Committee chief meets with French Development Agency Regional Director

Opposition 'Armenia' faction MPs Artur Sargsyan and Mkhitar Zakaryan released from penitentiary institution

Head of Armenia's Norabak village: Azerbaijan has military post that is 2 km from us

Armenia finance minister receives France Ambassador and French Development Agency Regional Director

Armenia opposition MP Ishkhan Zakaryan leaving 'With Honor' faction

Russian and Armenian Deputy FMs meet in Moscow

Armenia PM highlights importance of speedy conclusion of full-format agreement between Iran and EEU

Armenia opposition MPs Mkhitar Zakaryan and Artur Sargsyan to be released without court decision today

Armenian opposition MP Armen Charchyan is released

Armenia MOD: Armenian side has one casualty, few soldiers are injured, exchange of fire is over

Armenias Pashinyan: High-tech component development also important in Eurasian integration context

Armenia Deputy PM dismisses his two assistants

Nazarbayev says Azerbaijan can become observer country in Eurasian Economic Union

Head of Armenia village: The Azerbaijanis tried to advance in direction of Sotk, but our soldiers didn't let them

Armenia MOD: Azerbaijan attacked in eastern direction of border

Special court hearing underway on case of Armenia opposition lawmaker behind bars

Artsakh officials visit Stepanakert memorial

2 more die of coronavirus in Karabakh

Vardenis protesters dismiss Armenia MOD statement on obstructing car taking wounded soldier to Yerevan

Armenia FM briefs Francophonie chief on regional security issues (PHOTOS)

Armenia Police: 13 people apprehended near MFA building

Armenia protesting residents reopen Martuni-Vardenis motorway due to border tension

Armenia parliament passes changes to some laws

Armenia MOD: Deputy commander was told in Vardenis that car taking wounded soldier to Yerevan would be obstructed

347 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia opposition movement staging protest inside MFA building

Armenia has new environment minister

Artsakh MFA: Referendum on independence is solid legal basis for statehood

Special court session to be held on case of imprisoned Armenia opposition MP

Biden promises Zelenskyy to punish Russia in case of invasion of Ukraine

Newspaper: Armenia parliament recent fight case to have former ones fate

Newspaper: What is reason for recent long visit to Armenia by ex-commander of Russia peacekeepers in Artsakh?

Petition to arrest one of accused Armenia soldiers returned from Azerbaijan captivity is granted

Russian Aerospace Forces consider practice of reconnaissance and strike UAVs during Karabakh conflict

Investigative Committee: Motion filed for arrest of 5 of 10 POWs returned to Armenia on Dec. 4

Armenia State Revenue Committee chief hosts Iran Customs Administration head

Armenia Shirak Province ex-deputy governor Boris Aleksanov dies

Constitutional Court announces decision on release of arrested MPs of opposition 'Armenia' parliamentary faction

Iran, Azerbaijan discuss cooperation in petrol and natural gas sectors

Lavrov: We understand the complexity of the situation in Armenia, but it's not right to speculate Russia's role

Cem Ozdemir who initiated adoption of Armenian Genocide resolution is Germany's first minister with migration history

Armenia FM, France Secretary of State sign 'Roadmap for Armenian-French Economic Cooperation'

Armenia PM scheduled to deliver speech at Summit for Democracy on Dec. 10

Zakharova says news about recall of Russia's Ambassador to Armenia is misinformation

Opposition 'Armenia' Alliance: 3 deputies of parliamentary faction will be released

Attorney: MP Armen Charchyan needs to be released immediately by virtue of Armenia Constitutional Court decision

Armenia ex-environment minister Romanos Petrosyan appointed Head of State Supervision Service

Armenia MOD: 2 Armenian soldiers receive slight firearm injuries as a result of Azerbaijanis' provocation

NEWS.am daily digest: 09.12.21

Zakharova: Moscow hopes Armenia and Azerbaijan leaders reaffirm commitment to implementing agreements
Power to prime minister to deploy Army causes unease in national defence force

The governments bid to further empower the prime minister by giving him the sole authority to mobilise the Army has not gone down well with the national defence force.
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Relatives protest in Seti Zonal Hospital over death of a new mother

Relatives of a woman who died on Thursday, three days after giving birth to a child at the Seti Zonal Hospital in Dhangadhi, held protests at the hospital on Friday, claiming that the woman died due to the carelessness of the hospital staff.
(Adds quotes, details from speech)

By Joseph Ax

NEW YORK, March 24 (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand delivered a fiery repudiation of U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday at the doorstep of one of his most famous properties, making it clear she will not pull her punches in seeking to replace him.

"President Trump is tearing apart the moral fabric of this country," Gillibrand declared to hundreds of supporters, with Trump International Hotel and Tower - which she called a "shrine to greed, division and vanity" - as a backdrop in midtown Manhattan. "Our president is a coward."

The speech, the first since Gillibrand formally launched her 2020 campaign last week, and its location were intended to show voters that she will attack Trump directly, in contrast to some Democratic rivals who have hesitated to focus on the Republican president early in the 2020 campaign.

While some candidates, most notably Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, have harshly criticized Trump, others have largely avoided using his name, as Democrats try out different tactics for confronting the divisive president.

Gillibrand's aggressiveness could endear her to angry Democratic voters who are desperate to defeat Trump next year.

"She's trying to differentiate herself," said Maria Cardona, a former senior adviser to Hillary Clinton. "It's a pretty crowded field. She's not really in the middle of it, and she needs to be in the middle of it."

Though Gillibrand's formal campaign for the Democratic nomination began last week, she announced she was exploring a candidacy in January and spent the last two months visiting states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina that will hold early nominating contests next year.

But she has struggled to build momentum among a group of more than 15 announced and potential candidates, including five other sitting senators and former Vice President Joe Biden, who is expected to join the race soon.

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"Gillibrand simply lacks the star power or national prominence that would lead to extensive free media time," said Patrick Murray, director of the Polling Institute at Monmouth University.

In recent surveys, Gillibrand has remained stubbornly mired in the 1-percent range, while other first-time presidential candidates like Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, both U.S. senators, have shown more competitiveness.

The race remains in its infancy, however, with the first nominating contest in Iowa still 10 months away.

"Most voters are just learning the candidates' names," said Jesse Ferguson, a senior spokesman for Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. "Right now, the priority for a candidate is to introduce themselves and show what their values are and how that's the answer to what we have in the White House."

Gillibrand, known as a moderate when she served as a congresswoman from upstate New York, has refashioned herself into a staunch progressive.

In her speech on Sunday, she expressed support for several liberal policy goals, including universal paid family leave, the environmental agenda known as the Green New Deal, Medicare-for-all and legalizing marijuana.

She also referenced her own efforts in the Senate to address sexual assault in the military and on college campuses and to secure equal pay for women.

But it was her pointed criticism of Trump that may help separate her from the pack.

"I'm proud to have stood up to Donald Trump more than anyone else in the U.S. Senate," she said, referring to her voting record.

Several supporters said they appreciated her willingness to go after Trump, even if it risks an insulting counterattack from the famously no-holds-barred president.

"We need to fight Trump head on," said Kathleen Nichols, 62. "Kirsten's a fighter."

Eric Seyfried, 53, said he had donated money to Gillibrand for years, starting with her first congressional run in 2006.

"If you're afraid to take on a bully because the bully is going to come after you, maybe you're not supposed to be president of the United States," he said.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax in New York; Additional reporting by James Oliphant in Washington; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Susan Thomas and Lisa Shumaker)
* About 700 fatalities in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi

* Worshippers gather in storm-battered churches

* Aid arrives, but cholera may strike (Adds Pentagon comment)

By Emma Rumney

BEIRA, Mozambique, March 24 (Reuters) - Worshippers gathered at battered churches in the Mozambican port of Beira on Sunday, praying for divine protection as the death toll crept up from a cyclone and floods around southern Africa.

"We asked Jesus to protect us, so that this does not happen again," said congregant and survivor Maria Domingas, 60, who saw trees crashing into her house and water filling her bedroom.

Cyclone Idai hit Beira, on the Indian Ocean, with winds up to 170 kph (105 mph), before barrelling inland to Zimbabwe and Malawi, flattening homes and killing at least 656 people.

Mozambique's death toll rose to 446 from 417, a government minister said on Sunday. In Zimbabwe, U.N. agencies have given different tolls of 259 and 154, while in Malawi 56 people died in heavy rains ahead of Idai.

At the Universal Church in Beira, evangelical Christians gathered in the patio due to heavy damage from the cyclone. The sheet metal roof had caved in, cables draped across wooden chairs, and the floor was a mess of broken rubble.

The congregation stretched arms skywards and swayed in prayer. "You can see the strength in their eyes," said the 36-year-old pastor, known as Junior. "From today, we are looking forward."

As he led the service with some 150 people, a piece of partly detached roof rattled in the wind.

"Only with God can we move forward," said Rosa Manuel, 59, who lost a house she had built to rent.

Mozambique's Land and Environment Minister Celso Correia said the cyclone had affected 531,000 people in his country, with 110,000 people in makeshift camps.

Helicopters and boats have been rescuing some people stranded for days on rooftops and trees.

Some survivors have been digging through rubble with their bare hands to search for loved ones, while government and aid agencies have been flying in help.

Story continues

There are fears of disease.

"We will have cholera, we will have malaria. It's unavoidable in this situation, so the government is opening a cholera treatment center already," Correia told reporters.

Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said the humanitarian situation was gradually improving.

"Every day the water recedes we reach more people. Every day the roads open we have better access and we can deliver at more volume and that is the important thing here," he said.

In Washington, the Pentagon said it would provide up to $6.5 million in humanitarian assistance to provide logistics support for up to 10 days, beginning March 22.

"The scope of logistics support includes airlift of relief materials, responders and 3rd party personnel," a Pentagon statement said.

"U.S. Africa Command is actively monitoring and assessing the situation while positioning assets to support the Government of the Republic of Mozambique," the top U.S. general responsible for Africa said in a separate statement. (Additional reporting by Yvonne Bell in Beira, Macdonald Dzirutwe in Harare and Idrees Ali in Washington; Writing by Alexandra Zavis and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Alison Williams, Andrew Cawthorne and Daniel Wallis)
* Trump and Netanyahu meet on Monday

* Netanyahu to address pro-Israel U.S. lobbying group

* Visit seen as election boost for Netanyahu

* Trip follows Trump's Golan Heights declaration (Adds Israeli minister says Trump to sign Golan decree on Monday, paragraph 6)

By Jeffrey Heller

JERUSALEM, March 24 (Reuters) - With Israel's election only two weeks away, Benjamin Netanyahu will get to showcase his close ties with Donald Trump in a U.S. visit days after the president backed Israel's hold over the occupied Golan Heights.

The prime minister's White House meeting with Trump on Monday could be overshadowed in the United States by the expected release of details from a confidential report into an investigation into possible collusion between the president and Russia in his 2016 U.S. election campaign.

But Netanyahu, facing possible indictment in three corruption cases and denying any wrongdoing, will play to a domestic audience in highlighting what he hails as the strongest bond ever between an Israeli leader and an American president.

Before returning on Thursday from the long-planned trip to the home stretch of a close race, Netanyahu can expect a warm reception from Trump, who along with the First Lady, will also host a dinner for Netanyahu and his wife, Sara.

Trump helped to set the scene for his ally on Thursday, announcing that the time had come to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, strategic territory that Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 1981 in a move that did not win international support.

On Sunday Israel's acting foreign minister, Israel Katz, said on Twitter that Trump would sign a decree codifying such recognition, with Netanyahu present, on Monday.

The president's move on the Golan was widely seen in Israel - where Trump is a popular figure - as an attempt to provide an election boost to right-wing Netanyahu, who had pressed for yet another departure from long-standing U.S. policy in one of the world's most volatile regions.

Story continues

Trump had already fulfilled two major items on Netanyahu's wish list, recognizing contested Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017 and moving the American embassy to the holy city from Tel Aviv last May.

Those steps angered Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem, also captured by Israel in 1967, as the capital of a state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. It also set them firmly against a peace plan Washington says it will present after the Israeli ballot.

"We have never had such a bond between the prime minister of Israel and an American president," Netanyahu, who has featured Trump on his campaign billboards, told reporters upon his departure from Tel Aviv.

For Trump, Netanyahu's embrace resonates with U.S. evangelists - a core constituency for the Republican leader, who is up for re-election in 2020.

CLOSE RACE

Before arriving in Washington on Sunday, Netanyahu said he would speak to Trump "about his historic declaration" on the Golan and "continued pressure on Iran" after the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Tehran that had relaxed sanctions on Israel's arch-foe.

Netanyahu will also address the pro-Israel lobbying group, AIPAC, at its annual convention in Washington, as will his main challenger in the election, former military chief Benny Gantz, who heads a centrist party.

The prime minister said he will meet leaders of Congress during the visit. Netanyahu's relations with Democrats have been strained by his unflinching support for Trump, friction with the Democratic party's progressive wing and his thorny relationship with Barack Obama.

Opinions polls show Netanyahu running neck and neck with Gantz. The political newcomer has called for clean governance, building on the attorney-general's announcement in February that he intends to indict Netanyahu on bribery and fraud charges, pending a hearing after the April 9 vote.

"(Trump's statement about the Golan) will really help Netanyahu," said Billha Ketter, 67, an event planner, speaking to Reuters in Rosh Pina, which abuts the Golan Heights. She accused the president of intervening in Israel's election.

Opinion polls gauging whether Trump's move is having an effect are expected later in the week.

(Additional reporting by Rami Ayyub in Rosh Pina, Israel Editing by Maayan Lubell, Keith Weir and David Goodman)
(Adds Ezzati's quote at Santiago news conference)

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY, March 23 (Reuters) - Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati as archbishop of Santiago, the highest-ranking member of the Catholic Church in Chile, who has been caught up in the country's sex abuse scandal.

The decision to accept Ezzati's resignation, announced in a Vatican statement on Saturday, comes at a time of sustained criticism of the Church's response to a decades-long sexual abuse crisis.

Victims of sexual abuse by clergymen say a top-level conference at the Vatican last month failed to come up with concrete measures to tackle the issue.

On March 13 an Australian court sentenced former Vatican treasurer Cardinal George Pell to six years in prison for sexually abusing two choir boys in Melbourne - the most senior Catholic to be convicted for child sex offenses. Pell is appealing.

Ezzati, 77, faces multiple charges of cover up, including some relating to the case of Oscar Munoz, a former top aide to the Santiago Archbishopric, who is facing trial on charges he abused and raped at least five children. He denies wrongdoing.

"I leave with my head held high," Ezzati told reporters in Santiago. "Every accusation has been responded to, and we will have to wait for what justice says: it is not enough for one to be accused of a cover-up; it has to be proven."

In October, Ezzati exercised his right to remain silent after being summoned for questioning by a state prosecutor over the allegations.

His resignation brought to eight the number of bishops who have stepped down since all of the countrys 34 bishops offered their resignations en masse during an emergency meeting with the pope last May over allegations of a cover-up.

The May meeting was held after Vatican investigators produced a 2,300-page report alleging that senior Church officials in Chile had failed to act on abuse claims and in some cases hid them.

Story continues

Despite his resignation as archbishop of the Chilean capital, Ezzati will keep his title of cardinal. Until he turns 80, he also will be eligible to enter a conclave to elect a new pope after Francis' death or resignation.

The Vatican said the pope had named Bishop Celestino Aos Braco of the Chilean city of Copiapo, as "apostolic administrator" to run the Santiago archdiocese until a new archbishop is named.

Apart from the eight active bishops who have resigned in Chile, last year Francis defrocked two other Chilean bishops who had been accused of molesting children.

The pope also defrocked Father Fernando Karadima, an 88-year-old Chilean priest who was accused of sexually abusing teenage boys over many years and who was at the center of the Chilean abuse scandal.

Chilean civil justice has investigated about 120 allegations of sexual abuse or cover-ups involving 167 Church officials or workers..

On Monday, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, the French Roman Catholic archbishop of Lyon, who a French court convicted of failing to report sexual abuse charges, offered his resignation to the pope, but Francis turned it down.

Church authorities in Poland last week issued a study showing that almost 400 children had been sexually abused by clergy between 1990 and 2018. (Additional reporting by Marion Giraldo Marroquin in Santiago, Editing by Crispian Balmer and Louise Heavens)
* Election for lower house country's first since 2014 army coup

* Pro-military party has robust lead in popular vote

* Democratic front dismayed, #PrayForThailand trends on Twitter

* New election system favors pro-military parties, critics say (Updates throughout)

By Panu Wongcha-um and Patpicha Tanakasempipat

BANGKOK, March 24 (Reuters) - Partial results from Sunday's election in Thailand showed a pro-military party slightly ahead of the populist party leading a "democratic front," an unexpected and - for many - stunning outcome from the country's first poll since a 2014 army coup.

With 93 percent of overall votes counted, the Election Commission reported the pro-military party Palang Pracharat, which is seeking to keep junta chief Prayuth Chan-ocha in power, was leading with 7.59 million votes.

Trailing with 7.12 million votes was Pheu Thai, a party linked to exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose loyalists have won every election since 2001.

The numbers were for the popular vote, but these did not reflect parliamentary constituency seats that would ultimately be won. Pheu Thai could still win the lion's share of these because of its concentrated popularity in the north and northeast of the country.

Nevertheless, there was dismay among many voters who had hoped that the poll would loosen the grip on power that traditional elites and the military have held in a country that has one of the highest measures of inequality in the world.

At Pheu Thai's headquarters in Bangkok, the mood fluctuated from cheerful to quiet disbelief.

"I didn't think this is likely. I don't think this is what the people wanted," said Pheu Thai supporter Polnotcha Chakphet.

A #PrayforThailand hashtag started trending on Twitter as the results trickled out, and some people tweeted that they would leave the country if Prayuth was returned to power to remain prime minister.

The Election Commission chairman said unofficial results would be announced on Monday afternoon. The commission said turnout was 66 percent, based on 90 percent of the vote counted.

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ROYAL ROLE

The royal family, which wields great influence and commands the devotion of millions of Thais, played a part in the election though how far it influenced the outcome was unclear.

On the eve of the vote, King Maha Vajiralongkorn made an unexpected and cryptic statement, recalling a comment made by his late father in 1969 on the need to put "good people" in power and to prevent "bad people from ... creating chaos."

His message was a departure from the approach of his late father, who died in 2016: in his latter years, the former king usually kept a distance between the monarchy and politics.

Although the king did not refer to any of the sides in the election race, there was speculation on social media that it was a coded reference to main political factions - broadly the middle class and urban establishment, who identify with the monarchy and the military, and their pro-Thaksin opponents.

King Vajiralongkorn also weighed in on electoral affairs last month after a startling turn of events when a pro-Thaksin party nominated Princess Ubolratana, the king's sister, as its prime ministerial candidate.

Within hours, the king issued a statement saying her candidacy was "inappropriate" and she was disqualified.

Still, the connection between the princess and Thaksin persisted in voters' minds, particularly after they were seen hugging on Friday at the wedding of his daughter in Hong Kong.

"We had a lot of dramas in the last hours before the election," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political analyst at Chulalongkorn University told Reuters. "Thaksin overplayed with a royal involvement and that was countered by his opponent."

DECK STACKED FOR MILITARY

Thailand has been racked for the past 15 years by crippling street protests both by Thaksin's opponents and supporters that destabilized governments and hamstrung business.

The country has been under direct military rule for nearly five years since then-army chief Prayuth overthrew an elected government linked to populist Thaksin, who himself was thrown out by the army in 2006.

The election will determine the make-up of parliament's 500-seat House of Representatives. The lower house and the upper house, the Senate - which is appointed entirely by the ruling junta - will together select the next prime minister.

Critics have said a new, junta-devised electoral system gives a built-in advantage to pro-military parties and appears designed to prevent Pheu Thai from returning to power.

The provision means Prayuth's Palang Pracharat Party and allies have to win only 126 seats in the House, while Pheu Thai and its potential "democratic front" partners would need 376.

The non-aligned Democrat Party, which many had thought could hold the balance of power between pro-military and "democratic front" factions, appeared to have been deserted by many voters. Its leader, former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, announced his resignation within five hours of the polls closing.

(Additional reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat, Kay Johnson and Aye Min Thant, Chayut Setboonsarng Editing by John Chalmers and Robert Birsel)
(Adds details from indictment and about London civil trial, background on Autonomy acquisition, comments, case citation, byline)

By Jonathan Stempel

March 22 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors on Friday added three new criminal charges to their indictment against British entrepreneur Mike Lynch related to the $11.1 billion sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.

Lynch faces a new charge of securities fraud, which carries a maximum prison term of 25 years, as well as additional charges of wire fraud and conspiracy in the 17-count indictment filed with the federal court in San Francisco.

The charges were revealed ahead of Monday's scheduled start of a $5 billion civil fraud trial in London's High Court, where HP is accusing Lynch and former Autonomy Chief Financial Officer Sushovan Hussain of involvement in accounting irregularities that caused it to overpay for the company.

Lynch has denied wrongdoing, and blamed the failure of the acquisition on HP management.

The wire fraud and conspiracy charges were also added against Lynch's co-defendant Stephen Chamberlain, a former Autonomy vice president of finance.

Lawyers for Lynch and Chamberlain did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Autonomy purchase was the centerpiece of a strategy by Leo Apotheker, HP's chief executive at the time, to refocus his company on business services and products.

But the purchase soured a year later when HP wrote off $8.8 billion for Autonomy and accused Lynch, who founded that company in 1996, and his colleagues of accounting fraud.

The new securities fraud charge accuses Lynch of defrauding investors in connection with the purchase and sale of HP securities.

A federal jury in San Francisco convicted Hussain last April of wire fraud and other crimes tied to Autonomy's valuation. Hussain's sentencing is scheduled for May 13, and he has been expected to appeal the verdict.

The U.S. case is U.S. v. Lynch et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 18-cr-00577. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Additional reporting by Paul Sandle in London; Editing by G Crosse and Paul Simao)
(Adds NATO comment)

By Sardar Razmal and Mohammad Stanekzai

KUNDUZ/LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, March 24 (Reuters) - U.S. air strikes in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz killed about a dozen civilians on Saturday, local officials said, as battle intensified there and in southern Helmand province.

The air strikes killed 13 civilians, said Safiullah Amiri, a member of Kunduz provincial council. The casualties included children, said fellow council member Amruddin, who pegged the civilian death toll at 12.

The bodies were brought into Kunduz city in the back of a truck as part of protests by dozens of civilians against the deaths.

The civilian deaths occurred as Afghan and Taliban forces claimed to inflict heavy losses on each other in Kunduz and Helmand, two Taliban strongholds.

Sgt. Debra Richardson, spokeswoman for the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, said it is aware of the civilian casualty reports, adding that the mission reviews all credible allegations.

"We take every measure to prevent civilian casualties, in contrast to the Taliban who intentionally hide behind women and children," she said in a statement.

Resolute Support, comprising troops from 39 countries, trains, advises and assists Afghan security forces.

Richardson said combined Afghan and U.S. forces fought the Taliban for approximately 30 hours from Friday to Saturday near Kunduz city, during which Taliban maneuvered in and out of civilian homes.

After killing 94 Taliban, some U.S. and Afghan soldiers drove vehicles to a security checkpoint, where she said they were fired upon at close range. This was followed by Taliban fighters on either side of the checkpoint shooting at them.

An air strike was then conducted on a Taliban compound, one of a number that day, she said.

Four Afghan soldiers died in the fight, a senior Afghan military source said.

The Taliban said it had killed 19 members of Afghan forces and five from foreign forces in Kunduz.

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Kunduz is also where two U.S. soldiers were killed in combat on Friday. The U.S. Department of Defense identified the soldiers as Specialist Joseph Collette, 29, and Sgt. Will Lindsay, 33.

A record number of Afghan civilians were killed last year as aerial attacks and suicide bombings increased, the United Nations said in a February report.

Fighting has accelerated during a period of recurring peace talks. The latest negotiating round concluded this month with U.S. and Taliban officials citing progress toward ending the 17-year war.

The Taliban has also caused civilian deaths in Helmand.

The militant group on Saturday claimed an attack at a stadium celebration of Farmers Day, which killed four people and wounded 31, including minor injuries to the Helmand's governor.

A day earlier, Taliban attacked two Afghan outposts in Sangin, killing 48 Afghan security personnel, said Hashim Alokozay, a Helmand member of parliament. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said the two outposts were over-run, killing 52 Afghan troops and wounding 11 more.

Omar Zwak, spokesman for Helmand's governor, said the Taliban also suffered heavy casualties. (Reporting by Sardar Razmal in Kunduz city, Afghanistan, Mohammad Stanekzai in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan and Rod Nickel in Kabul; additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi in Kabul Editing by David Goodman and Kirsten Donovan)
* Mosques reopen week after shooting

* Attacker killed 50 worshippers

* PM Ardern, New Zealand praised for response (Recasts, adds detail)

By Tom Westbrook

CHRISTCHURCH, March 23 (Reuters) - Smelling of fresh paint, the two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch where a gunman killed 50 worshippers last week reopened their doors on Saturday, with many survivors among the first to walk in and pray for those who died.

At the Al Noor mosque, where more than 40 of the victims were killed by a suspected white supremacist, prayers resumed with armed police on site, but no graphic reminders of the mass shooting, New Zealand's worst.

Aden Diriye, who lost his 3-year-old son, Mucad Ibrahim, in the attack, came back to the mosque with his friends.

"I am very happy," he said after praying. "Allah is great to us. I was back as soon as we rebuilt, to pray."

Most victims of the shooting, which New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern quickly denounced as a terrorist attack, were migrants or refugees and their deaths reverberated around the Islamic world.

Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, who visited the Al Noor mosque, said the attack assailed human dignity.

"This is a moment of deep anguish for all of us, all of humanity," he said.

Police said they were reopening the nearby Linwood mosque, the second to be attacked during Friday prayers last week, as well.

New Zealand has been under heightened security alert since the attack with Ardern moving quickly with a new tough law banning some of the guns used in the March 15 shooting. [

Ashif Shaikh, who was in the Al Noor mosque on the day of the massacre in which two of his housemates were killed and who came back on Saturday, said he would not be deterred.

"It is the place where we pray, where we meet, we'll be back, yeah," he said.

'MARCH FOR LOVE'

Earlier on Saturday, about 3,000 people walked through Christchurch in a "march for love" as the city seeks to heal from its tragedy.

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Carrying placards with signs such as "He wanted to divide us, he only made us stronger," "Muslims welcome, racists not," and "Kia Kaha" - Maori for 'stay strong', people walked mostly in silence or softly sang a Maori hymn of peace.

"We feel like hate has brought a lot of darkness at times like this and love is the strongest cure to light the city out of that darkness," said Manaia Butler, 16, one of the student organizers of the march.

New Zealand and Ardern have been widely praised for the outpouring of empathy and unity in response to the attacks. Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, thanked Ardern on Twitter late on Friday.

He posted a photo of Dubai's Burj Khalifaworld, the world's tallest building, lit up with an enlarged image of Ardern embracing a woman and the Arabic word "salam" and the English translation "peace" above them.

"Thank you @jacindaardern and New Zealand for your sincere empathy and support that has won the respect of 1.5 billion Muslims after the terrorist attack that shook the Muslim community around the world," he said on Twitter.

Muslims account for just over 1 percent of New Zealand's 4.8-million population, a 2013 census showed, most of whom were born overseas.

On Friday, the Muslim call to prayer was broadcast nationwide on television and radio and about 20,000 people attended a prayer service in the park opposite Al Noor mosque in a show of solidarity.

Many women have also donned headscarves to show their support.

In Mecca, Islam's holiest site, a special prayer was held after the Friday sermon for the victims of the attack, according to the Saudi news website Sabq.

Most of the dead were laid to rest at a mass burial in Christchurch on Friday, when 26 victims were interred. Others have been buried at private ceremonies, or repatriated to their home countries for funerals.

Shahadat Hossain, whose brother Mojammel Haque was killed in the attack, told Reuters he would bring his body back to Bangladesh.

"I don't know when our family will be able to come out of this grief," he said. (Reporting by Tom Westbrook, Joseph Campbell, Natasha Howitt and Jill Gralow in Christchurch, Hesham Hajali in Cairo, Ruma Paul in Dhaka and Marwa Rashad in Riyadh; Writing by Lidia Kelly and Tom Wesbrook; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
The Daily Beast

Nuccio DiNuzzo/GettyA juror in the Jussie Smollett trial has explained several reasons why the jury felt there was no way they could acquit the star actor in his bombshell trial for staging a fake hate crime attack on himself. The female juror, who declined to be named, told the Chicago Sun-Times that the jury of six women and six men didnt have any major disagreements but they took nine hours to deliberate because they wanted to properly consider all the evidence. Some doubted that prosecutors
Democratic presidential candidates have issued calls for transparency over the findings of the Mueller report, and made it clear they believe Donald Trump is guilty of wrongdoing.

Special counsel Robert Muellers report was delivered to the Justice Department on Friday and is now in the hands of attorney general William Barr.

The reports submission sparked a frenzy of speculation about what it might contain, even though virtually nothing was released to the public except the special counsels recommendation of no new further indictments.

But, as Democratic hopefuls stopped in diners and at college campuses around the country over the weekend, the lack of details did not stop the candidates from making bold claims.

It is beyond a shadow of doubt that, once in office, the president of the United States sought to obstruct justice, former Texas congressman Beto ORourke said during a campaign stop in South Carolina. First, by firing the principal investigator into what had happened in the 2016 election and then, in the light of day, tweeting at his attorney general to stop the Russia investigation.

Mr ORourke joined his fellow candidates, senators Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Bernie Sanders in demanding that the results of the investigation be made public.

Ms Harris, a former prosecutor from California, vowed that she would work to ensure that Mr Trump does not get a free pass should she become president.

I know and will know and do know how to prosecute the case against Donald Trump, Ms Harris said during a campaign stop in Texas.

Vermont senator Bernie Sanders also made a somewhat veiled threat to the president, saying during a campaign stop in California that Mr Trump would be brought to justice if it were determined that he broke the law.

Nobody, including the president of the United States, is above the law, Mr Sanders said.

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Mr Barr must now determine how much of the Mueller report will be handed over to congress, where Democrats have already indicated they will fight for full transparency in the process.

Congress is among several institutions with ongoing investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and all indicators point to the Democratically controlled House using the report findings to inform their investigations.

Other institutions with ongoing investigations include prosecution teams in the Southern District of New York and in Washington.
Road upgradation work halted citing insecurity, no payment

Road upgradation work on the Khadichaur-Mude section of the 55-km-long Lamosanghu-Charikot road has been halted since Friday.
By Sardar Razmal and Mohammad Stanekzai KUNDUZ/LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - U.S. air strikes in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz killed about a dozen civilians on Saturday, local officials said, as battle intensified there and in southern Helmand province. The air strikes killed 13 civilians, said Safiullah Amiri, a member of Kunduz provincial council. The casualties included children, said fellow council member Amruddin, who pegged the civilian death toll at 12. The bodies were brought into Kunduz city in the back of a truck as part of protests by dozens of civilians against the deaths. The civilian deaths occurred as Afghan and Taliban forces claimed to inflict heavy losses on each other in Kunduz and Helmand, two Taliban strongholds. Sgt. Debra Richardson, spokeswoman for the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, said it is aware of the civilian casualty reports, adding that the mission reviews all credible allegations. "We take every measure to prevent civilian casualties, in contrast to the Taliban who intentionally hide behind women and children," she said in a statement. Resolute Support, comprising troops from 39 countries, trains, advises and assists Afghan security forces. Richardson said combined Afghan and U.S. forces fought the Taliban for approximately 30 hours from Friday to Saturday near Kunduz city, during which Taliban manoeuvred in and out of civilian homes. After killing 94 Taliban, some U.S. and Afghan soldiers drove vehicles to a security checkpoint, where she said they were fired upon at close range. This was followed by Taliban fighters on either side of the checkpoint shooting at them. An air strike was then conducted on a Taliban compound, one of a number that day, she said. Four Afghan soldiers died in the fight, a senior Afghan military source said. The Taliban said it had killed 19 members of Afghan forces and five from foreign forces in Kunduz. Kunduz is also where two U.S. soldiers were killed in combat on Friday. The U.S. Department of Defense identified the soldiers as Specialist Joseph Collette, 29, and Sgt. Will Lindsay, 33. A record number of Afghan civilians were killed last year as aerial attacks and suicide bombings increased, the United Nations said in a February report. Fighting has accelerated during a period of recurring peace talks. The latest negotiating round concluded this month with U.S. and Taliban officials citing progress toward ending the 17-year war. The Taliban has also caused civilian deaths in Helmand. The militant group on Saturday claimed an attack at a stadium celebration of Farmers Day, which killed four people and wounded 31, including minor injuries to the Helmand's governor. A day earlier, Taliban attacked two Afghan outposts in Sangin, killing 48 Afghan security personnel, said Hashim Alokozay, a Helmand member of parliament. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said the two outposts were over-run, killing 52 Afghan troops and wounding 11 more. Omar Zwak, spokesman for Helmand's governor, said the Taliban also suffered heavy casualties. (Reporting by Sardar Razmal in Kunduz city, Afghanistan, Mohammad Stanekzai in Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan and Rod Nickel in Kabul; additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi in Kabul; Editing by David Goodman and Kirsten Donovan)
March 24 (Reuters) - American Airlines said Sunday it will extend flight cancellation through April 24 because of the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX after two fatal crashes since October and cut some additional flights.

American, the largest U.S. carrier, said it is canceling about 90 flights a day. American is the second-largest U.S. operator of the MAX in the United States with 24 jets, behind Southwest Airlines with 34.

American said earlier this month it was flying about 85 flights a day out of its 6,700 daily departures on 737 MAX planes when the grounded was announced.

The airline said it was making the announcement "to provide more certainty to our customers and team members and better protect our customers on other flights to their final destination."

Boeing Co is expected as early as Monday to formally disclose a planned upgrade to its anti-stall system to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that has been in the works since October's Lion Air crash but still needs approval from U.S. regulators.

The FAA has said it plans to mandate the upgrade by April, but it is still not clear if the upgrade will address any issues after the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash.

American, Southwest and United Airlines were all meeting with Boeing this weekend to review the software upgrade, Reuters reported Saturday.

The FAA said earlier the "design changes" would result in flight control system enhancements that will provide "reduced reliance on procedures associated with required pilot memory items."

Reuters reported Thursday the upgrade will include a previously optional warning light. Many airlines, including American, already had the optional light.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
(Reuters) - American Airlines said Sunday it will extend flight cancellation through April 24 because of the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX after two fatal crashes since October and cut some additional flights.

American, the largest U.S. carrier, said it is cancelling about 90 flights a day. American is the second-largest U.S. operator of the MAX in the United States with 24 jets, behind Southwest Airlines with 34.

American said earlier this month it was flying about 85 flights a day out of its 6,700 daily departures on 737 MAX planes when the grounded was announced.

The airline said it was making the announcement "to provide more certainty to our customers and team members and better protect our customers on other flights to their final destination."

Boeing Co is expected as early as Monday to formally disclose a planned upgrade to its anti-stall system to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that has been in the works since October's Lion Air crash but still needs approval from U.S. regulators.

The FAA has said it plans to mandate the upgrade by April, but it is still not clear if the upgrade will address any issues after the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash.

American, Southwest and United Airlines were all meeting with Boeing this weekend to review the software upgrade, Reuters reported Saturday.

The FAA said earlier the "design changes" would result in flight control system enhancements that will provide "reduced reliance on procedures associated with required pilot memory items."

Reuters reported Thursday the upgrade will include a previously optional warning light. Many airlines, including American, already had the optional light.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
If there were such a thing as guaranteed employment for life, many workers would no doubt sign up for it. Unfortunately, such a provision doesn't generally exist in the workforce. As such, you'll often hear stories of otherwise solid employees getting fired out of nowhere, or long-term workers getting downsized out of a job. It's no wonder, then, that 77% of Americans believe there are threats to their current roles, according to new data from Monster.com. Here are some of workers' top fears in this regard -- and what to do about them.

1. New management

A good 20% of workers worry that all it takes is for a new management team to come in for them to be out of a job. If that's your concern, get ahead of it. Introduce yourself to your company's new team once it's established, and offer to serve as a resource whenever possible. At the same time, read up on your company's new management team to get a sense of its style and past accomplishments. If you're able to identify some goals it might be striving for and help work toward them, you'll buy yourself a little job security in the process.

A woman in professional dress sits in front of a laptop, her hands covering her face in apparent exasperation.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

2. A toxic boss or working environment

Toxic workplaces are no fun, and 19% of employees worry that a shift in that direction might leave them unemployed. Now the reality is that you're generally better off leaving such an environment than getting trapped in it, but if you'd rather be the one to make that call (as opposed to having a new manager storm in and make it for you), aim to lay low during periods of high stress and avoid conflict with the folks in charge -- especially if they've already proven themselves to be rude or unreasonable. But for sanity's sake, send out your resume while you bide your time, because a workplace that's truly gone toxic isn't the right place for you in the long run.

3. Layoffs

Layoffs can happen to the best employees out there, which is why 17% identify them as the one thing compromising their job security. But while you can't always prevent them, you can increase your chances of riding one out. To start, aim to have a unique skill that no one else at your company possesses. At the same time, get involved in various areas of the business so that you're more well-rounded than your peers. If you do, your employer will have a harder time letting you go.

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4. A recession

The economy tends to be cyclical in nature, which explains why 16% of workers cite an upcoming recession as the reason behind their job insecurity. Most employees, in fact, think our next recession is likely to happen within the next two years. In the meantime, however, do your best to keep building your skills and making yourself the most valuable worker you can be. If you do, you're more likely to remain employed if the economy does take a turn for the worse.

5. Younger coworkers

A good 15% of employees say that their job-related insecurity stems from a fear of being replaced by younger workers. If you're an older or mid-level employee who feels this way, the answer is simple: Stay current. Rather than grow complacent in your role, keep growing your skills and exploring new industry trends. You can do so by doing some reading online, or, better yet, by attending industry conferences and expanding your business network.

6. Industry changes requiring new skills

Industry changes are the reason 14% of workers are afraid of losing their jobs. If you're one of them, the aforementioned advice holds true: Keep your skills current, continue learning, and do everything you can to stay on top of new trends. At the same time, be willing to invest time into learning whatever new skills are necessary to continue succeeding in your role.

7. Automation/technology replacing jobs

The fear of losing your job to a robot is a valid one, depending on the industry you work in, and 10% of employees today have this concern. To avoid that fate, educate yourself about your industry and the extent to which technology is likely to take it over and make your job obsolete. At the same time, work on improving your interpersonal skills, because that's one area where you clearly have an advantage over a machine. Finally, embrace whatever changes hit your industry rather than resist them. The right attitude could spell the difference between riding out a tech wave or finding yourself out of work.

Nobody wants to lose a job unexpectedly. If any of these fears apply to you, face them head-on. It's a far better bet than walking around in a state of underlying panic and driving yourself crazy in the process.

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A student at the Florida high school where a gunman's rampage killed 17 people last year was found dead of an apparent suicide, police said Sunday  the second student from the school to claim their own life in a week.

The student, whose name was not released, attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.

"Officers responded to a call Saturday and determined the death was from apparent suicide," Coral Springs officer Tyler Reik told USA TODAY. "The investigation is ongoing."

Reik said a suicide of a young person takes its toll on a community.

Any time a community deals with that, especially with young individuals and suicide, it definitely hits the whole community," he said. "For the family and the friends of the victim, our hearts go out to them. We need to continue reaching out, especially with the younger individuals in the community, support groups and whatever we can do because it affects everybody in a different way.

Reik would provide few other details. The Miami Herald, citing sources it did not name, said the victim was a sophomore boy.

On March 17, school alum Sydney Aiello, 19, died of apparent suicide, her family and friends said. Aiello was friends with Meadow Pollack, one of those who died in the massacre Feb. 14, 2018.

More: Sydney Aiello, who survived the Parkland school shooting, dies by suicide

Parkland survivor and alum David Hogg, one of several students who have led a nationwide charge for increased school safety and tighter gun restrictions, took note of the deaths on Twitter.

"How many more kids have to be taken from us as a result of suicide for the government/school district to do anything?" Hogg tweeted. "Rip 17+2"

How many more kids have to be taken from us as a result of suicide for the government / school district to do anything?



Rip 17+2   David Hogg (@davidhogg111) March 24, 2019

Meadow's brother, Hunter Pollack, posted a tweet paying homage to Aiello.

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"It was devastating to bury another beautiful young person in Parkland today," he said Friday. "Our community is going through tragedy again. Please keep the Aiello Family in your prayers. Rest in peace, Sydney. Please take care of my sister."

Cara Aiello  Sydney's mother  told CBS Miami that her daughter was at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School the day of the assault but was not in the building where the massacre occurred.

Beautiful Sydney with such a bright future was taken from us way too soon. My friends sister and someone dear to Meadow.



Any help for the family to cover funeral expenses would be appreciated.



Please RT and donate! https://t.co/3eg2Su4Jbv  Hunter Pollack (@PollackHunter) March 21, 2019

Aiello said her daughter struggled with survivor's guilt and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She had difficulty in college because she was afraid of sitting in classrooms, Cara Aiello told the TV station.

A GoFundMe account seeking $20,000 for the Aiello family to "honor their daughter" had drawn more than $70,000 in pledges Sunday.

"She lit up every room she entered," the GoFundMe page says. "She filled her days cheerleading, doing yoga, and brightening up the days of others. Sydney aspired to work in the medical field helping others in need."

If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) any time of day or night or chat online.

Crisis Text Line provides free, 24/7, confidential support via text message to people in crisis when they dial 741741.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Apparent suicide' claims second Parkland school shooting survivor in a week
WASHINGTON  Members of Congress continued to wait Sunday for Attorney General William Barr to provide a summary of conclusions from a nearly two-year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Barr told lawmakers on Friday he could release the findings as soon as this weekend.

Democrats have raised concerns that officials may try to limit access to the report to a select few  the top eight Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress and on key committees  known as the Gang of Eight.

"Do not think you can bury this report," Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said on ABCs "This Week." "Do not think you can bury the evidence in secret by briefing eight people in Congress and say we have discharged our responsibility. That's not going to cut it. So it is essential that the report be made completely public."

Waiting for the Mueller report: Justice Department could reveal conclusions of Russia inquiry on Sunday

Mueller report: Here's what we know and still don't know (and may never know)

Despite the findings, Democrats have vowed to continue their own investigations.

Republicans criticized the Democrat's ongoing probes, saying the focus of the Mueller investigation was to determine whether there was conspiracy or collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to impact the 2016 election.

"Weve not seen any of that," Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee, also said on ABCs "This Week."

Jordan said Democrats had said Mueller was the right person to conduct the investigation.

"He is the best person we can pick. Hes right next to Jesus. He can almost walk on water," Jordan said. "He will have the definitive statement on that fundamental question  but all indications are that theres not going to be any findings of any collusion whatsoever."

House Democratic leaders held a conference call with members Saturday afternoon urging members to press for access to the report.

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With the White House in the background special counsel Robert Mueller walks to St. John's Episcopal Church, for morning services, across from the White House, in Washington, March 24, 2019.

Leaders of key House committees led by Democrats said Sunday investigations will continue, including one looking into Trump's finances and other aspects of his presidency.

The House Judiciary Committee recently launched an investigation into whether Trump sought to obstruct justice or misuse his powers, requesting documents from 81 "agencies, entities, and individuals" connected to the administration and Trump's private businesses.

The House Intelligence Committee announced it will look into Russian interference in the 2016 election as well as Trumps foreign financial interests.

"The job of Congress is much broader than the job of special counsel. The special counsel was looking and can only look for crimes," Rep. Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said on Fox "News Sunday." "We have a much broader mandate and we have to exercise that mandate to protect the integrity of government and protect the integrity of liberty and the country."

Republicans slammed Democrats for continuing the investigations, calling it part of a "fishing expedition."

"They dont think this Muellers report is going to be the bombshell they all anticipated it was going to be so now theyre launching all kinds of other charges, all kinds of other investigations," Jordan said,

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican, agreed.

"If anyone thinks that the Mueller report being concluded is the end of the Democrats attempt to take down President Trump, they havent been paying attention the last two years," he said on CNNs "State of the Union."

The House overwhelmingly supported a resolution in March pressing for lawmakers to get a copy of the full Mueller report. The Senate, however, blocked the measure.

Some Republicans also called Sunday for full access to the report.

I want to see all of it,'' Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said on NBCs Meet the Press. "What was the underlying criminal predicate for the entire investigation."

He said Trump should also support transparency, The best thing for the country and for the president is for this probe to move forward and to be concluded."

Despite earlier calls by some Democrats to try to impeach Trump, Nadler and Schiff said Sunday its too early to talk about impeachment.

"Our mandate is not to impeach the president or anything like that," said Nadler. "Our mandate is to defend the rule of law and to vindicate our constitutional liberties and to buck up the institutions that have been weakened by the attacks of this administration."

Republicans, however, said Democrats are backpedaling on their call to impeachment and have every intention of trying to unseat Trump.

"What theyre basically saying is they are going to impeach the president for being Donald Trump," said Cruz. "And they dont care about the evidence."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Do not think you can bury the evidence': Democrats demand Mueller report be made public
YORK, Pa.  It was about 8 a.m. on a Wednesday, and Lou Braasch, program director of WKBO radio in Harrisburg, was holding down the morning DJ slot under his on-air name, Dan Steele.

The two-way radio, linking the studio with its traffic reporter, crackled. The stations chief traffic reporter, Dave Edwards, told Braasch something was happening at Three Mile Island.

There had been no official notification, no public alarm. One of Edwards traffic watchers had noticed some activity around the nuclear power plant, just a few miles away, near Middletown, and had heard some chatter on the police scanner.

Braasch connected Edwards with Mike Pintek, the stations news director. Pintek said hed check it out. He looked up a phone number for Metropolitan Edison at Three Mile Island and dialed. (Met-Ed owned and operated the plant then.) The number turned out to be the direct line into the control room for TMIs unit 2 reactor.

The man who answered the phone told Pintek, I cant talk right now; we got stuff going on.

They did.

Pintek was transferred to other people. He explained that the station was going to go on the air with the story. He was told that everything was under control.

It wasnt.

The accident

The day was March 28, 1979, a date etched in the memories of those who lived through what would transpire in the following days, weeks and years, the date of the worst accident in the history of nuclear power in the United States.

The short version of events that resulted in the partial meltdown of a reactor is that mechanical malfunctions, coupled with human error, led to the reactor being starved of coolant, causing the radioactive fuel in the reactor to begin melting.

The fear was that once the fuel began melting, nothing could contain it, and it would melt through the steel vessel housing the reactor and not stop until it hit the groundwater table, causing an explosion of radioactive steam. This was the so-called China Syndrome, a fanciful way of saying that the molten material would pass through the earth all the way to China.

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Coincidentally, just 12 days before, a movie thriller titled The China Syndrome, featuring a fictitious accident at a California nuclear power plant, was released. At one point in the film, a character intones that a meltdown could render an area the size of Pennsylvania uninhabitable.

Beginning at 4 a.m. on March 28, when a valve malfunctioned and the core of the Unit 2 reactor began melting, that was the fear.

'Like the 'Twilight Zone.''

Across the Susquehanna River, Christine Layman, then 21, was at Rocky Ridge Park with her 4-year-old daughter, hiking the trails and looking for treasure. At the north end of the park, on an outcrop of rocks, you can stand and see, in the horizon, past the rolling farmland of northeastern York County, the nuclear plant's massive cooling towers.

A day later, Layman felt ill. She thought it was the flu. She hadnt been aware that something had happened at TMI. The initial reports of the accident were confusing, to say the least. Met-Ed downplayed the accident, even as others were raising alarms.

At some point, an emergency vehicle trundled down her street and over loudspeakers, informed residents that pregnant women and young children should leave the area. She packed up her daughter and, with the clothes on her back, she drove to her mothers house in Manchester.

From there, she went to an aunts place in Hanover at the other end of the county, where she stayed and watched as the news grew worse and she began to fear that shed never be able to return home.

It felt like the Twilight Zone, she said. It was unreal.

'Nobody knew what was going on'

That is how a lot of those describe the experience  unreal. For a few days, perhaps a few weeks, thousands fled the area, unsure that theyd ever be able to return.

Among them was Mart Goodling.

He was working at a bank in Middletown when news of the accident broke. Nobody knew what was going on, he said. We thought the best thing to do was leave.

He drove to his sons school, then home and then to his hunting cabin in Potter County, 185 miles away. He took his hunting rifles and fishing gear, thinking that he and his family might have to live off the land for a while.

It scared the hell out of people. he said.

More: Three Mile Island 'survivors' group links ailments to partial meltdown in 1979

Debate over health effects

The accident itself was bad, destroying the reactor and leading to the release of radioactive steam  damage that seems to pale in light of subsequent, devastating accidents at nuclear power plants in Chernobyl in the Ukraine and Fukushima in Japan.

How much radiation was released was a point of contention. Early on, monitors set up to measure radiation did not detect significant amounts. Follow-up studies also concluded that the release of radiation was minimal, far less than a person would be exposed to during a chest X-ray.

There are those who dispute those claims, citing anecdotal evidence to suggest a spike in cancers in the area downwind from the plant, within what had become known as the plume of contaminants released by the accident.

Layman is among those. She has suffered some health consequences that she attributes to radiation exposure  thyroid problems, infertility, brain lesions  and she knows a lot of her neighbors have battled cancer in the years after the accident.

She administrates a Facebook group, Three Mile Island Survivors, that at one point, had about 5,000 members, giving those who believe that TMI adversely affected their health a platform to tell their stories.

Linda, left, and Lou Braasch talk about the days after the nuclear accident happened at Three Mile Island at their home near Middletown. They still live in their home a few miles away from TMI. She and her children left for New Jersey in the days after the incident.

She and others in the group believe that the government and the industry never told the truth about how much radiation was released. From being there and seeing how they did not know anything at the time," she said, "it put doubt in my mind that they knew whats going on.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has long held that even though some radiation did escape during the accident, the emissions were at such a low level that they could not cause any ill health effects. Studies over the years reached the same conclusion.

However, in 2017, a study by researchers at Penn State concluded that a variety of thyroid cancer found in patients who lived in the area during the accident indicated that it may have been caused by exposure to low-level radiation.

The researchers pointed out that it doesnt mean the cancer was caused by exposure during the TMI accident; Pennsylvania has one of the highest rates of thyroid cancer in the United States, most of which is not attributed to radiation exposure. The study, researchers said, was limited, and a larger, follow-up study is planned.

In a small way, the study was comforting.

It validates the stories Ive heard, Layman said. I dont want the industry to say no one was harmed by the accident. I dont want my great-great-grandchildren hearing that no one was harmed.

More: Three Mile Island nuke plant, scene of partial meltdown, to close

A ghost town

In the days following the accident, Middletown, and across the river in Goldsboro, York Haven and much of northern York County, was a ghost town.

Braasch had left the area for a job interview in San Antonio, Texas, two days after the accident. His wife and sons went to stay with her parents in New Jersey. When he returned home that weekend, he recalled he couldnt get a taxi at the airport, the cabbies wouldnt drive into the area.

He got a ride home. It was strange. His suburban development, just outside Middletown, was dark, not a light on in any home. His wife urged him to come to Jersey. He stayed. He had responsibilities at the radio station.

He went to work and recalled asking Pintek, Whats going on?

Pintek responded, I have made peace, and Im prepared to meet my maker.

Braasch, now 72, got the job in San Antonio but returned to Middletown when he and his wife couldnt sell their home. He stayed in the region, working for decades in radio before his retirement.

Pintek died of pancreatic cancer in September at age 65.

This view is looking down Broadway in Goldsboro at the Exelon Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station, located just across the Susquehanna River.

'Just part of the landscape'

For residents of the region, it was a terrifying few days. The fear was mollified a few days after the accident when then-President Jimmy Carter, who trained as a nuclear engineer in the Navy, visited the plant and calmed the tattered nerves of residents.

As the weeks, months and years passed, TMI faded into the background. The plants Unit 1 reactor, which was shut down at the time of the accident for maintenance, was restarted, and the familiar plumes of steam once again wafted from the cooling towers. Unit 2 was cleaned up and shut down, its cooling towers remain, but are dormant.

And now, 40 years later, as TMI stands as an infamous icon of the nuclear industry, the plant remains controversial. Its current owner, Exelon, has announced it will close by the end of the year because it has lost money the past five years. Elected officials and residents concerned about the loss of jobs have rallied in favor of bailing out TMI, a sharp turn from the days when the same people vowed to fight to prevent Unit 1 from restarting.

For a few years, TMI was a tourist destination, a stop as visitors to Central Pennsylvania made their way from Hershey to Gettysburg. That has dropped off, residents said. The visitors center at TMI has been closed for a number of years.

Brian Lewis, a manager at the Nuclear Bean in Middletown, talks about people's reaction to their name. The coffee shop and brew pub is a few miles from Three Mile Island.

Its just there, said Brian Lewis, 28, manager of the Nuclear Bean coffee shop on the main street in Middletown. The name of the shop is an homage to the towns primary claim to fame.

Middletown needed a coffee shop, and we thought, What should we call it? We thought itd be cool to play on TMI, he said.

Not everybody was down with the name.

We get people yelling at us about dragging up what happened, Lewis said. But it was just for fun. It was a fun name.

A block away, at the Brownstone Cafe, Alexis Carns, the front desk manager who was born a year after the accident, said, For the people who live here, its just kind of a part of the landscape.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: 'It scared the hell out of people': Looking back at Three Mile Island 40 years ago
A cruise ship stranded off Norways western coast has reached port with its remaining passengers.

The Viking Sky ship airlifted more than half its 900 passengers to safety before authorities opted Sunday to allow the ship to limp into the nearby port of Molde with the aid of a towboat.

"All passengers and crew are safe, and passengers will be flying home starting tonight," the cruise line said in a statement on its website Sunday. "Throughout all of this, our first priority was for the safety and well-being of our passengers and our crew. We would like to thank the Norwegian Redningssentral and the Norwegian emergency services for their support and skill displayed in managing the situation in very challenging weather conditions."

The cruise line's next sailing, which had been set for Wednesday, has been canceled.

Viking Sky issued a mayday Saturday after engine troubles and a harrowing encounter with rough waters and high winds off Norway's western coast.

Carolyn Savikas of Pennsylvania described the terror to Norway's VG newspaper, saying she heard a "terrible crash" and the ship rocked. Water raced in.

"We were in the restaurant when a really huge wave came and shattered a door and flooded the entire restaurant," she said. "All I saw were bones, arms, water and tables. It was like the Titanic  just like the pictures you have seen from the Titanic."

Authorities said the weather and sea conditions prevented rescue workers from using lifeboats or other vessels to evacuate the ship. Five helicopters shuttled the passengers to shore.

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More: Cruise ship off Norway issues mayday, begins evacuating

The ship's owner, Viking Ocean Cruises, said 20 people were injured, although some had been treated and released.

Some of the 479 passengers who were flown to shore were scheduled to begin flying home Sunday, the company said. Another 436 passengers and the crew of 458 remained aboard while the ship headed toward port.

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"Today was some of the worst (conditions) I have been involved with, but now it looks like it's going well, and in the end we have been lucky," company Chairman Torstein Hagen told Norway's NRK television.

Norwegian media reported gusts up to 43 mph and waves over 26 feet. Passengers took to social media to share their experiences as the rescue unfolded.

Alexus Sheppard posted a video on Twitter of severe tilting because of the rough waters. "We're waiting for evacuation by helicopter," she wrote with the hashtags #VikingSky and #Mayday.

More: 'Extreme gust of wind' causes cruise ship to list, injuring passengers

David Hernandez posted a video showing water running under passengers' feet.

Police in the western county of Moere og Romsdal said the ship managed to anchor in Hustadsvika Bay, between the western Norwegian cities of Alesund and Trondheim, so the evacuations could begin. But by Sunday, the ship had three of four engines operating, the company said.

The Viking Sky, a vessel with gross tonnage of 47,800, was delivered to Viking Ocean Cruises in 2017. The ship was on a 12-day trip that began March 14 in the western Norwegian city of Bergen, according to cruisemapper.com.

The ship had been scheduled to arrive Tuesday in the British port of Tilbury on the River Thames.

The last 24 hours have been very, very scary, very frightening, an American passenger, Rodney Horgen, told NRK. The best word I suppose is surreal.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cruise ship from Norway reaches port with remaining passengers after mayday, air rescues
Apple chief executive Tim Cook on Saturday urged China to keep opening up its economy as local rivals bit into the profits of the US tech giant caught in the crosshairs of a trade spat between Beijing and Washington.

"We have seen China continue to change and evolve... We encourage China to continue to open up," he said during a speech at the annual China Development Forum in Beijing on Saturday.

"We see that as essential not only for China to reach its full potential, but also for the global economy to thrive."

Apple in January revealed that it took a hit in the "Greater China" region, where revenue plunged almost 27 percent in the most recent quarter.

The dip had been expected following the company's revenue warning in December, where Apple admitted that iPhone sales and overall earnings would be below most forecasts, citing economic weakness in China and trade frictions between Washington and Beijing.

Lower priced local rivals such as Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo have also been nibbling at the California tech giant's market share in China.

Cook has been a critic of the US-China trade war that has spooked global markets. Last year, he used the China Development Forum as a venue to urge leaders of China and the US to let "calm heads prevail" and to avoid an escalation of tariffs.

Most of Apple's flagship products are assembled in China, leaving the California tech giant acutely vulnerable to Trump's tariffs.

During his speech on Saturday, Cook called for partnerships based on "openness and trust" where world players can work together to solve some of the biggest problems facing the planet including poverty, inequality and climate change.
Attorney General William Barr on Sunday delivered to Congress a summary of special counsel Robert Muellers findings, setting off what is sure to be a protracted partisan battle over how much of the report will eventually be made public.

According to Barrs summary of the report, Special Counsel Robert Muellers nearly-two year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election failed to produce sufficient evidence that Trump or anyone involved in his campaign aided in Russian efforts to sway the election in his favor.

Special counsel did not find anyone with the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government, Barr wrote in a four-page letter to lawmakers that summarized his principal conclusions after reviewing the report.

Barr similarly explains in the letter that the special counsel declined to reach a conclusion about whether the president obstructed justice. While this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him, reads a section of the report pertaining to the obstruction issue, according to Barr. Its a concession Democrats are sure to cite as they proceed with the myriad ongoing Congressional investigations into Trump, his associates, his campaign and transition team.

Congressional Democrats have issued a unanimous call for the report to be made public in its entirety. They are joined by a smaller contingent of House Republicans, led by Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, who agree the Justice department should prioritize transparency when determining how much of the report to make public.

During his Senate confirmation hearing, Barr vowed to make public as much of the report as possible while observing Justice Department guidelines, one of which prohibits the identification of individuals who were investigated but never charged.

The special counsel investigation produced evidence of a widespread Kremlin-backed effort to disrupt the 2016 presidential election on Trumps behalf by spreading disinformation online and hacking key institutions like the Democratic National Committee to release damaging information. Despite Muellers failure to demonstrate that Trump campaign officials aided in those Russian efforts, certain Democrats, including House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff (D., Calif.), have continued to assert that information thats already been made public is sufficient to conclude that Trumps associates did in fact collude with the Russians.

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Theres a difference between compelling evidence of collusion and whether the special counsel concludes that he can prove beyond a reasonable doubt the criminal charge of conspiracy, Schiff told host George Stephanopoulos on ABCs This Week.

The White House, meanwhile, celebrated Barrs summary as a vindication of the president.

The Special Counsel did not find any collusion & did not find any obstruction. Attorney General Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein further determined there was no obstruction. The findingsare a total & complete exoneration of the President of the U.S, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Editors Note: This piece has been updated since its initial posting.

More from National Review
Rs36.37 billion irrigation scheme to bring water to parched Tarai farms

Years after it was conceived, the government will finally launch the Rs36.37 billion Sunkoshi Marine Diversion Multipurpose Project in the next fiscal year, beginning mid-July.
Southwest Airlines planes are loaded at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on Feb. 5, 2019.

In the midst of a particularly worrisome news cycle for airline safety in recent weeks, one item may have been understandably overlooked: a report the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating Southwest Airlines for operating as many as one-third of its 4,000 daily flights with inaccurate weight and balance data.

You may have had a flight affected by weight and balance priorities and perhaps you didnt know why. It could have involved moving you to another seat to achieve proper center of gravity. Or bumping your baggage due to weight restrictions. Or maybe even bumping you. What you need to know is that under certain conditions, balancing a full aircraft presents operational challenges that can affect your flight.

More: Southwest Airlines under FAA investigation for aircraft weight, balance calculations

A delicate balance

During my airline career I was a loadmaster on cargo aircraft and later was involved in dispatching passenger flights. Both roles mandated that airplanes were safely loaded within maximum weight limits. Is it really a safety issue?

Most definitely  an improperly loaded and/or overloaded airplane is a danger to everyone on board. Depending upon how deeply you care to dive into the whys, the FAA offers a comprehensive online "Weight and Balance Handbook." But the takeaway is simple: Because of abnormal stresses placed upon the structure of an improperly loaded aircraft, or because of changed flying characteristics of the aircraft, loss of life and destruction of valuable equipment may result. Such errors have contributed to more than a few fatal airline accidents over time.

The challenge for airlines is to fill airplanes with as many passengers and as much baggage (and cargo) as possible, while not exceeding weight limits that can be affected by weather and takeoff restrictions such as short runways. And such conditions can require additional fuel, which means a higher takeoff weight, so that delicate balance can be elusive.

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Baggage is individually weighed at some airlines, but methodologies vary. Passenger weights are generally estimated and averaged; in addition, some carriers modify such averages seasonally to accommodate for heavier clothing by using winter weights in certain climates.

What follows is a rundown of typical scenarios in which weight and balance requirements may affect your travel plans, along with advice on how to respond. Its neither practical nor possible to compensate for such issues in all cases, but knowledge can help you make better decisions.

Smaller aircraft

To underscore the severity, the National Transportation Safety Board reported that 136 general aviation accidents in nine years were due to improper or missing calculations. Youre more likely to encounter weight issues when flying on smaller airplanes, particularly codeshare regional flights.

Deltas Contract of Carriage states that among the conditions for which you will not be entitled to compensation if denied boarding is when a flight is operated by aircraft designed to hold 60 or fewer passengers, and Delta is unable to accommodate you due to weight/balance restrictions when required by operational or safety reasons. Uniteds Contract of Carriage and Americans Conditions of Carriage provide almost identical language, right down to 60-passenger capacity.

If youre uncertain what size aircraft will operate your flight, check the site or travel agent before booking, then visit the airlines fleet data. For example, Deltas online Our Aircraft page specifies the Bombardier CRJ-200 is configured for 50 passengers. On some routes, you may be able to rebook to larger aircraft.

But a word of warning: Nearly every airline reserves the right to swap aircraft right up until departure time. So the aircraft type scheduled to operate a given flight may not necessarily be the aircraft assigned to that flight. Passenger rights in the U.S. are heavily restricted by such contracts.

More: Contracts of carriage: Deciphering murky airline rules

Natural and structural restrictions

Aircraft engine performance can be negatively affected by high-altitude airports, high temperatures and high winds, so flight planning needs to account for such factors with additional fuel  which could mean fewer passengers and/or bags. Geography and infrastructure can affect takeoff weight in other ways; shorter runways can necessitate lighter loads, as can mountainous terrain or other obstructions that limit usable runway length. Keep in mind that some of the shortest runways are at two of the nations busiest airports, New Yorks LaGuardia and Washington National, and subsequently those two facilities restrict larger widebody aircraft.

Traveling with wheelchairs

Uniteds contract specifically states the airline will refuse large wheelchairs or other assistive devices that would cause a load imbalance in a small baggage compartment and violate weight and balance safety requirements. That said, United says it will use reasonable efforts to identify a flight that can accommodate the wheelchair  but thats no guarantee, particularly for such a vital accessory, so plan in advance.

Helicopters/air taxis

Weight and balance problems are particularly acute on helicopters and small aircraft used for sightseeing and island-hopping, particularly in leisure destinations such as Hawaii and the Caribbean. If youre planning such trips, consider weather and other factors by contacting the operator the day before to ensure your flights are still scheduled.

Its important to remember that even the most technologically sophisticated aircraft are still subject to the laws of physics, so modifications that may seem arbitrary can in fact be critical to your safety.

Bill McGee, a contributing editor to Consumer Reports and the former editor of Consumer Reports Travel Letter, is an FAA-licensed aircraft dispatcher who worked in airline operations and management for several years. Tell him what you think of his latest column by sending him an email at travel@usatoday.com. Include your name, hometown and daytime phone number, and he may use your feedback in a future column.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bumped for balance? How airplane weight can affect your flight
Mourners pray near the Linwood mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand - AP

Smelling of fresh paint, the two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch where a gunman killed 50 worshippers last week reopened their doors on Saturday, with many survivors among the first to walk in and pray for those who died.

At the Al Noor mosque, where more than 40 of the victims were killed by a suspected white supremacist, prayers resumed with armed police on site, but no graphic reminders of the mass shooting, New Zealand's worst.

Aden Diriye, who lost his 3-year-old son, Mucad Ibrahim, in the attack, came back to the mosque with his friends.

"I am very happy," he said after praying. "Allah is great to us. I was back as soon as we rebuilt, to pray."

Most victims of the shooting, which New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern quickly denounced as a terrorist attack, were migrants or refugees and their deaths reverberated around the Islamic world.

Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, who visited the Al Noor mosque, said the attack assailed human dignity.

"This is a moment of deep anguish for all of us, all of humanity," he said.

Police said they were reopening the nearby Linwood mosque, the second to be attacked during Friday prayers last week, as well.

New Zealand has been under heightened security alert since the attack with Ardern moving quickly with a new tough law banning some of the guns used in the March 15 shooting.

Ashif Shaikh, who was in the Al Noor mosque on the day of the massacre in which two of his housemates were killed and who came back on Saturday, said he would not be deterred.

"It is the place where we pray, where we meet, we'll be back, yeah," he said.

A woman embraces a boy at the "March for Love" Credit: Mark Baker/AP

Earlier on Saturday, about 3,000 people walked through Christchurch in a "march for love" as the city seeks to heal from its tragedy.

Carrying placards with signs such as "He wanted to divide us, he only made us stronger", "Muslims welcome, racists not", and "Kia Kaha" - Maori for 'stay strong', people walked mostly in silence or softly sang a Maori hymn of peace.

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"We feel like hate has brought a lot of darkness at times like this and love is the strongest cure to light the city out of that darkness," said Manaia Butler, 16, one of the student organisers of the march.

New Zealand and Ardern have been widely praised for the outpouring of empathy and unity in response to the attacks. Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, thanked Ardern on Twitter late on Friday.

He posted a photo of Dubai's Burj Khalifaworld, the world's tallest building, lit up with an enlarged image of Ardern embracing a woman and the Arabic word "salam" and the English translation "peace" above them.

"Thank you @jacindaardern and New Zealand for your sincere empathy and support that has won the respect of 1.5 billion Muslims after the terrorist attack that shook the Muslim community around the world," he said on Twitter.

New Zealand today fell silent in honour of the mosque attacks' martyrs. Thank you PM @jacindaardern and New Zealand for your sincere empathy and support that has won the respect of 1.5 billion Muslims after the terrorist attack that shook the Muslim community around the world. pic.twitter.com/9LDvH0ybhD  HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) March 22, 2019

Muslims account for just over 1 percent of New Zealand's 4.8-million population, a 2013 census showed, most of whom were born overseas.

On Friday, the Muslim call to prayer was broadcast nationwide on television and radio and about 20,000 people attended a prayer service in the park opposite Al Noor mosque in a show of solidarity.

Many women have also donned headscarves to show their support.

In Mecca, Islam's holiest site, a special prayer was held after the Friday sermon for the victims of the attack, according to the Saudi news website Sabq.

Most of the dead were laid to rest at a mass burial in Christchurch on Friday, when 26 victims were interred. Others have been buried at private ceremonies, or repatriated to their home countries for funerals.

Shahadat Hossain, whose brother Mojammel Haque was killed in the attack, told Reuters he would bring his body back to Bangladesh.

"I don't know when our family will be able to come out of this grief," he said.
Catatumbo (Colombia) (AFP) - Decades into the US-led war on drugs, coca plantations continue to surge like a green tide across ally Colombia's Catatumbo region.

Their spread has left former coca growers like Alex Molina embittered, having convinced others to rip up their illicit crops -- seduced, he says, by promises the state has failed to keep.

For community leader Molina and others, choosing to forsake coca for traditional crops has been a costly choice and one they warn they may be forced to reverse.

"The substitution program has ruined me and left me in total insecurity."

His situation is emblematic of a debate sweeping rural coca growing communities, at odds over the implementation of Colombia's 2016 peace agreement with FARC guerrillas.

Under the agreement, coca growers, or "cocaleros" in former FARC-controlled areas would voluntarily replace their plantations with other cash crops like bananas, coffee or cocoa -- in exchange for cash incentives.

It's a vital component of Colombia's US-backed war on drugs, both countries having a shared stake in the drive. Colombia remains the world's largest producer of cocaine, the US the largest consumer.

But more than two years later, many cocaleros here are furious over repeated failures to implement the program, under which each household was to receive aid equivalent to $10,330 in cash and equipment over two years.

Payments have been intermittent or non-existent and the anger is palpable in the hamlet of Puerto Las Palmas, in the middle of the coca-growing region on the Venezuelan border.

"There are hungry children, and families that are desperate because they have no income," Molina told AFP.

Meanwhile, neighbors who rejected the state's offer continue to cultivate coca, making hay while the sun shines -- knowing the time will come when the army will rip up their crop.

- Regrets -

The result is that Molina -- who harvested his first coca leaves as a 12-year old -- has gone from an enthusiastic supporter of substituting coca to defending its cultivation if there are no alternatives.

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Only 34, he's determined to lead his community away from coca cultivation if he can, but he says he can well understand those who have opted to stay on the dark side of the law.

If it came to it, he said: "I would protect the coca plants with my body, with the people around me, because it is the only option."

The peasants of Puerto Las Palmas are hoping the government will unblock funds before they are forced to replant, according to Molina, aware that a return to coca could lead to prison.

Luis Portilla, 63, faces the same choice. He destroyed his coca crop, weary from the anxiety that a seek-and-destroy army raid would leave him with nothing.

He says the difficulties he had in obtaining the first tranche of aid -- worth $3,800 -- makes him doubt that other payments will ever arrive.

"Those who did not want to sign will soon have to feed us, if the state does not comply," said Portilla.

One cocalero, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said he had continued to grow coca after authorities rejected his request that the aid be paid in one instalment.

"We are given credit, the plantations allow us to eat, while those who have torn everything away find themselves without money, without food," he said.

Forty of the 65 families in Puerto Las Palmas agreed in November 2017 to destroy their coca plantations, in exchange for staggered aid that would help them to subsist legally.

But no traditional crop has proved profitable. Unlike Coca, which is processed near where it is grown, other crops must be marketed outside the area and Catatumbo's terrible roads make freight costs prohibitive.

In all, one-third of the families producing coca leaves, about 130,000 families, agreed to give up the illicit crop.

- No alternative -

The government in Bogota insists it will keep up its end of the deal.

"We are going to fulfill our commitments to the families," said Emilio Archila, a senior advisor to President Ivan Duque on the issue.

Blaming what he said was a disorganized initial plan that had little funding, Archila insisted Duque's government, installed last year, "has the political courage to face the problems we have inherited."

But coca's hold on rural populations runs deep.

In Colombia, nearly one and a half million people -- three percent of the population -- live in illegal crop areas, which last year reached a record 171,000 hectares at the national level.

Catatumbo's 28,260 hectares of plantations make it the country's third-largest coca producing area.

Coca paste -- the cocaine base resulting from processed leaves -- is currency in Catatumbo and allows peasant farmers to purchase goods on credit.

People with no connection to the business of harvesting, collecting or processing the leaf are not welcome in the shops here.

Cash is available only sporadically, and shadowy armed groups maintain tight control.

Since January 2018, Molina says he has been threatened 22 times by armed groups who see his activism as a threat to their economic interests.

Their threats are not to be taken lightly. The government says that last year 113 community activists were murdered in Colombia.
The government of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in New Zealand has, with the support of the opposition, decided to enact fundamental changes in the nations firearms laws less than a week after the massacre at two Christchurch mosques.

This is the opposite of leadership. It is also an example of why Americans should cherish our Bill of Rights and resist current progressive attempts to gut the first two of its amendments.

New Zealand is prohibiting and seizing certain common firearms, including semi-automatic rifles described as military-style, a term with no substantive meaning. American progressives  the ones who are always reassuring us that they dont want to seize anybodys guns but seek only commonsense regulation  are so green with envy that they may spontaneously begin photosynthesis.

Prohibiting ordinary firearms is not a good policy, but if it were a good one, it would have been a good one a year ago  and it would still be a good one a year from now. Acting with a minimum of debate and reflection in the wake of a convulsive national horror may be the easiest way to enact sweeping legal changes, but it also is the worst way.

This is especially true when the question involves the fundamental rights of citizens. That the government of New Zealand does not recognize the right to keep and bear arms as a civil right  a right that distinguishes citizens from subjects  is no more relevant to the question than the censorship enacted by the junta in Beijing is to the status of free speech as a civil right. Governments do not create human rights  they only recognize them or violate them.

Democratic governments violate civil rights most often when their citizens are terrified and angry: That kind of fearful stampeding is how you get nice liberals like Franklin Roosevelt building concentration camps and rounding up citizens for detention based on their ancestry.

Nicholas Kristof, writing in the New York Times, considers the headlong rush in New Zealand and concludes: Thats what effective leadership looks like. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and others say the same thing, in almost the same words. But Ardern et al. are not engaged in leadership at all; they are engaged in followership, trying to appeal to the emotions of people who are traumatized, scared, and angry. Getting out in front of a parade is not leadership. Getting out in front of a parade of people wracked by rage and terror is demagoguery.

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Thank goodness for stubborn old George Mason. Mason, the author of Virginias bill of rights, was skeptical of the new central government being created at the Constitutional Convention, believing it to have been invested with too much power. (Who in 2019 can say he was entirely wrong?) He refused to sign off on the final product, and James Madison introduced the Bill of Rights in an effort, ultimately unsuccessful, to assuage Mason and his camp.

Though the Washington Post may lament the fact, the United States is fortunate in that the Constitution provides at least a few guardrails to keep the stampeding herd from going over the edge entirely. The Bill of Rights shelters certain fundamental rights from democratic passion  no matter how terrified, how angry, how sanctimonious, how self-righteous the demos and the demagogues may be.

It is instructive to note who opposes those protections and wishes to see them dissolved. Senate Democrats under Harry Reid voted to nullify the First Amendment, which stands in the way of their desire to put all political discourse under heavy regulation. The same so-called progressives wish to see the Second Amendment either diminished to meaninglessness or  as the more honest among them will forthrightly admit  repealed entirely. The same left-wing activists have declared open war on the concept of due process, for example in their proposals to revoke the constitutional rights of Americans who have been put on various governmental watch-lists but who never have been charged with, much less convicted of, any crime. Meanwhile, ordinary gun crimes  the high-profile mass shootings that command so much attention are not a statistical blip in the grand scheme of American criminal violence  go largely unprosecuted, and often uninvestigated, in Democrat-dominated areas such as Chicago and by Democrat-allied forces in the federal government, for purely political reasons.

Strange and remarkable that the same people who are eager to gut the Bill of Rights cant be bothered to investigate a straw-buyer case in St. Louis. One detects in this peculiar situation something at play that has nothing to do with homicide.

The people of New Zealand are being stampeded into forfeiting their civil rights with remarkably little discussion or time for contemplation. Demagogues adore the urgency of now, and moral panic has its political uses.

Today marks a seldom-observed anniversary: On March 24, 1765, Britain enacted the Quartering Act, which forced American colonists to house and feed some 10,000 British troops in their homes, shops, and other private buildings. This was one of what were called the Coercive Acts in Britain  and the Intolerable Acts in America. This practice, denounced in the Declaration of Independence, is prohibited by the Third Amendment. Quartering troops has not come up very often since the Revolution, but the rights protected in the First and Second Amendments have and do. That these rights have withstood so much panic and demagoguery for so many years is a testament to the practical value of writing things down. Americans are no less likely than the people of New Zealand to be buffaloed into divesting ourselves of our rights.

Happily, we had the foresight to make that difficult for ourselves.

More from National Review
By Joseph Ax

March 24 (Reuters) - Democratic U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will deliver a fiery first speech as an official presidential candidate in New York City on Sunday, calling U.S. President Donald Trump a "coward" at the doorstep of one of his most famous properties.

The location in front of Trump International Hotel - which she plans to call a "shrine to greed, division and vanity," according to excerpts from her prepared remarks - is intended to show voters that Gillibrand will attack Trump directly, in contrast to some Democratic rivals who have hesitated to focus on the Republican president early in the 2020 campaign.

"President Trump is tearing apart the moral fabric of our country," she plans to say. "He demonizes the vulnerable and he punches down...Our President is a coward."

While some candidates, most notably Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, have harshly criticized Trump, others have largely avoided using his name, as Democrats try out different tactics for confronting the divisive president.

"She's trying to differentiate herself from the field," said Maria Cardona, a former senior adviser to Hillary Clinton. "It's a pretty crowded field. She's not really in the middle of it, and she needs to be in the middle of it."

Though Gillibrand launched her formal campaign for the Democratic nomination only a week ago, she announced she was exploring a candidacy in January and spent the last two months visiting states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina that will hold early nominating contests next year.

But she has struggled to build momentum among a group of more than 15 announced and potential candidates, including five other sitting senators and former Vice President Joe Biden, who has not yet decided but is expected to join the race.

"Gillibrand simply lacks the star power or national prominence that would lead to extensive free media time," said Patrick Murray, director of the Polling Institute at Monmouth University.

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In recent surveys, Gillibrand has remained stubbornly mired in the 1-percent range, while other first-time presidential candidates like Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, both U.S. senators, have shown more competitiveness.

The race remains in its infancy, however, with the first nominating contest in Iowa still 10 months away.

"Most voters are just learning the candidates' names," said Jesse Ferguson, a senior spokesman for Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. "Right now, the priority for a candidate is to introduce themselves and show what their values are and how that's the answer to what we have in the White House."

Gillibrand, known as a moderate when she served as a congresswoman from upstate New York, has refashioned herself into a staunch progressive, calling for strict gun laws and supporting the environmental agenda known as the Green New Deal. Some liberal activists have viewed that shift with skepticism.

In recent years, she has led efforts to address sexual assault in the military and on college campuses, and she pushed for Congress to improve its own handling of sexual misconduct allegations. But she recently was forced to defend her office's handling of a sexual harassment investigation, after a former employee said her allegations against a supervisor were mishandled.

The theme of her speech on Sunday will focus on what it means to be "brave." Gillibrand will argue that she has stood up against big banks, sexual assault and most importantly Trump himself, with more votes against the Trump administration than any other senator.

"Symbols are powerful, and for Democratic primary voters, no symbol more clearly represents what's wrong than the icon of Trump's egotism that is Trump International," Ferguson said. (Reporting by Joseph Ax in New York; Additional reporting by James Oliphant in Washington; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Susan Thomas)
Washington (AFP) - Top congressional Democrats said Sunday it was "urgent" that the full report on Russian interference in the 2016 US election be publicly released, stressing it does not exonerate Donald Trump.

The president was quick to claim vindication by Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report findings which, according to a summary by Attorney General Bill Barr, found that no Trump campaign official was involved in Russian conspiracies to interfere in the 2016 US election.

Such a conclusion would no doubt blunt a key weapon for Democrats desperate to oust Trump in 2020.

But with the report declining to determine whether there was obstruction of justice by the president, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer escalated their demands for the full document's release.

"The fact that Special Counsel (Robert) Mueller's report does not exonerate the president on a charge as serious as obstruction of justice demonstrates how urgent it is that the full report and underlying documentation be made public without any further delay," the Democratic pair said in a joint statement.

They also said Barr, nominated just months ago by Trump, is "not a neutral observer" in the process and that his summary of the report is not an objective determination about Mueller's findings.

The two Democrats also said Trump's declaration that the report is a complete exoneration of the president because it clears him of colluding with Russia "directly contradicts the words of Mr Mueller and is not to be taken with any degree of credibility."

Congressional Democrats appeared stung by the failure of Mueller's report, after a 22-month investigation, to directly uncover presidential wrongdoing.

- 'I want the whole damn report' -

Several lawmakers including 2020 presidential hopefuls like senators Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker vented on Twitter, saying a mere summary by a Trump ally was insufficient.

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"I don't want a summary of the Mueller report. I want the whole damn report," tweeted Bernie Sanders, a liberal senator in the 2020 race.

Several Democrats have called for Barr and Mueller to testify before Congress.

"Special Counsel Mueller clearly and explicitly is not exonerating the president, and we must hear from AG Barr about his decision making and see all the underlying evidence for the American people to know all the facts," said House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler.

His panel will call Barr to testify "in the near future," Nadler said.

With the Mueller probe running its course, the various congressional investigations into possible Trump team connections with Russia may enter the spotlight.

Nadler's committee is one of at least three pending congressional inquiries.

Earlier this month he launched the Democrats' most ambitious investigation yet into alleged obstruction of justice and abuse of office by Trump, targeting 81 individuals and entities.

The probe has already yielded more than 10,000 documents, ensuring that the probe carries on for several months or longer.

House Republican Liz Cheney hinted at the influence the Mueller's report findings will have on the presidential race, saying Americans "will long remember how wrong and irresponsible the Democrats have been."
Students say errors in national exam questions left them confused

Thousands of students appearing in the Secondary Education Examination, nationally referred to as SEE, were at their wits end on Sunday when they found the question papers for Compulsory English littered with errors.
Baghouz (Syria) (AFP) - Dozens of Islamic State group jihadists emerged from tunnels to surrender to US-backed forces in eastern Syria on Sunday, a day after their "caliphate" was declared defeated.

Syria's Kurds warned that despite the demise of the proto-state, the thousands of foreign jihadists they have detained are a time-bomb the world urgently needs to defuse.

An AFP reporter saw dozens of people -- mostly men -- file out of the battered jihadist encampment in the remote village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border to board pickup trucks.

"They are IS fighters who came out of tunnels and surrendered today," Kurdish spokesman Jiaker Amed said.

Some sported thick beards and wore long woollen kaftans over their dark-coloured robes, or a chequered scarf around their faces, as they trudged out of their final hideout under the drizzle.

"Some others could still be hiding inside," said Amed.

World leaders were quick to hail Saturday's announcement by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that the last shred of land controlled by IS in Syria had been conquered.

But the top foreign affairs official for the country's semi-autonomous Kurdish region warned IS members captured during the assault still posed a threat.

"There are thousands of fighters, children and women and from 54 countries, not including Iraqis and Syrians, who are a serious burden and danger for us and for the international community," Abdel Karim Omar told AFP.

"Numbers increased massively during the last 20 days of the Baghouz operation," he said.

He also warned of the continuing danger posed by IS sleeper cells.

The SDF is continuing to carry out operations to rout out any remaining jihadists in the area and uncover possible weapons caches.

"This back-clearance operation will be deliberate and thorough and help ensure the long-term security for the area," the US-led coalition backing the SDF wrote on Twitter.

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- 'Future terrorists' -

As the SDF's months-long assault closed in against the last IS strongholds in the Euphrates Valley, jihadists and their families gradually gathered in Baghouz.

While some managed to escape, many foreigners stayed behind, either surrendering or fighting to the death.

According to the SDF, 66,000 people left the last IS pocket since January, including 5,000 jihadists and 24,000 of their relatives.

The assault was paused multiple times as the force allowed people to evacuate from the enclave on the banks of the Euphrates.

The SDF have screened droves of people scrambling out of Baghouz in recent weeks, detaining suspected jihadists and trucking civilians and IS relatives to camps further north.

Most relatives have been crammed into the Al-Hol camp, a facility built for 20,000 people but which now shelters 72,000.

The Kurdish administration in northeastern Syria has warned it does not have capacity to detain so many people, let alone put them on trial.

But the home countries of suspected IS members are reluctant to take them back, due to potential security risks and the likely public backlash.

Several held in Syria have been stripped of their citizenship.

"There has to be coordination between us and the international community to address this danger," Abdel Karim Omar said.

"There are thousands of children who have been raised according to IS ideology," he added.

"If these children are not re-educated and re-integrated in their societies of origin, they are potential future terrorists."

- 'New phase' -

The SDF's main support has been the international military coalition launched by the United States in mid-2014 to counter the expansion of IS.

Its aerial campaigns against IS hubs across a "caliphate" which once spanned territory the size of the United Kingdom have levelled major cities and contributed to the biggest wave of displacement since World War II.

According to the Airwars monitoring NGO, at least 7,500 civilians have died as a result of coalition actions in four and half years.

The conflict in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people since it erupted eight years ago, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor says.

US President Donald Trump has vowed to drastically scale down US military presence in Syria once IS is defeated, leaving the Kurds exposed to threats by Damascus and Turkey.

Ankara sees the SDF as a terrorist organisation and Abdel Karim Omar warned that any cross-border offensive risked leading to mass breakouts from the jails where jihadists are currently held.

"Any new threat or new war would give an opportunity to these criminals to slip out," he said.

IS, faced with multiple offensives in Syria and Iraq since 2014, has morphed from a territorial force back into a clandestine insurgency group carrying out hit-and-run attacks in both countries.

The SDF's top commander said Saturday that anti-IS operations were entering a new phase.

Mazloum Kobane said the new focus would be IS sleeper cells that "are a great threat to our region and the whole world."
Paul Geddes has been the CEO of Direct Line Insurance Group plc (LON:DLG) since 2009. This analysis aims first to contrast CEO compensation with other companies that have similar market capitalization. After that, we will consider the growth in the business. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.

See our latest analysis for Direct Line Insurance Group

Want to participate in a research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $60 gift card!

How Does Paul Geddess Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

At the time of writing our data says that Direct Line Insurance Group plc has a market cap of UK4.8b, and is paying total annual CEO compensation of UK4.3m. (This figure is for the year to December 2017). We think total compensation is more important but we note that the CEO salary is lower, at UK807k. As part of our analysis we looked at companies in the same jurisdiction, with market capitalizations of UK3.0b to UK9.1b. The median total CEO compensation was UK2.5m.

It would therefore appear that Direct Line Insurance Group plc pays Paul Geddes more than the median CEO remuneration at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this fact alone doesnt mean the remuneration is too high. A closer look at the performance of the underlying business will give us a better idea about whether the pay is particularly generous.

You can see a visual representation of the CEO compensation at Direct Line Insurance Group, below.

LSE:DLG CEO Compensation, March 24th 2019

Is Direct Line Insurance Group plc Growing?

Over the last three years Direct Line Insurance Group plc has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 7.5% per year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is down -1.6%.

I would argue that the lack of revenue growth in the last year is less than ideal, but Im happy with the EPS growth. These two metric are moving in different directions, so while its hard to be confident judging performance, we think the stock is worth watching. You might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for future earnings.

Story continues

Has Direct Line Insurance Group plc Been A Good Investment?

With a total shareholder return of 15% over three years, Direct Line Insurance Group plc shareholders would, in general, be reasonably content. But they probably dont want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size.

In Summary

We compared total CEO remuneration at Direct Line Insurance Group plc with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. Our data suggests that it pays above the median CEO pay within that group.

One might like to have seen stronger growth, and the shareholder returns have failed to inspire, over the last three years. So its certainly hard to argue that the CEO is modestly paid, although we dont see the remuneration as an issue. Shareholders may want to check for free if Direct Line Insurance Group insiders are buying or selling shares.

If you want to buy a stock that is better than Direct Line Insurance Group, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.




What does Muellers report say?

We dont know yet. We know that Mueller has filed his report to William Barr, the attorney general, and that Barr has informed Congress that he received it.

Mueller was only required, under the regulations on special counsels, to explain to Barr whom he decided to prosecute, whom he declined to prosecute, and why. But it is possible that he added more detail on what he found out. A justice department official said on Friday the report was comprehensive.

Related: What do you want to know about the Mueller report? Guardian reporters answer your questions

Barr did disclose on Friday that there were no actions proposed by Mueller that Barr overruled. This means that Mueller apparently made it to the end of his investigation free from interference from Trumps administration.

What does it mean for Donald Trump?

The report is likely to reveal whether or not Mueller discovered any coordination between Trumps presidential campaign and Russian operatives who interfered in the 2016 election.

Trump has repeatedly denied that there was any such coordination, and no Americans have yet been charged for it. But Mueller has accused Trumps former campaign chairman of sharing polling data with an alleged Russian intelligence asset.

The report may also say whether or not Muellers team concluded that Trump obstructed justice  or attempted to  by firing James Comey, the former FBI director, or taking other actions.

What happens with the report now?

It is not clear how much of the report will be given to Congress and the public.

Barr said in his letter to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate judiciary committees on Friday that he was reviewing the report and may be in a position to advise you of the special counsels principal conclusions as soon as this weekend.

Barr said he would separately be discussing with Mueller and Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, what other information could be revealed to Congress and the public.

Story continues

The attorney general told Congress that he was committed to as much transparency as possible but said he would also be guided by the justice departments long-standing practices and policies. Typically the department does not make public derogatory information about people who are not being charged.

In any case Democrats, who control the House, have vowed to obtain the full report and make it public. If Barr resists this, a legal dispute may follow.

What were Muellers findings before this report?

Mueller documented, in lengthy and detailed indictments, a long-term and multi-level effort by Russia to tamper in US elections and sow discord online. Muellers documentation of the Russian espionage and sabotage efforts contrasted with Trumps equivocation on whether Russia had engaged in such activity.

Mueller also uncovered and documented ties and contacts, before and after the 2016 election, between Russians and key former Trump aides including Paul Manafort, Rick Gates, Michael Flynn, George Papadopoulos and Michael Cohen. All have pleaded guilty to criminal conduct or been convicted by a jury.

Mueller had also referred investigations to outside prosecutors offices in New York and Virginia, which have resulted in convictions against or guilty pleas from Manafort, Cohen and Gates, and which have led to ongoing investigations of alleged criminal conduct inside the Trump Organization, the Trump Foundation, Trumps inaugural committee and the presidential transition team.

In all, Mueller had previously indicted or secured guilty pleas from 34 individuals (including 26 Russians and six former Trump aides) and three Russian corporations. With near unanimity, former prosecutors and legal analysts have judged Muellers work to have been completed with speed and precision.

What was Muellers brief?

Mueller was appointed on 17 May 2017, to serve as special counsel for the Department of Justice. The appointment was prompted by the firing of the FBI director, James Comey, eight days earlier; the recusal of the then attorney general, Jeff Sessions, from matters pertaining to the Russia investigation; and a perceived need to protect and advance open investigations into Russian election tampering and the Trump campaign.

An official letter of authorization signed by the acting attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, authorized Mueller to investigate (quoting from the document):

(i) any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump; and (ii) any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation; and (iii) any other matters within the scope of [the statute prescribing the special counsels jurisdiction].

How long did it take? How much did it cost?

Mueller turned in his report 674 days after his appointment. By the end of last December, the investigation had cost about $27m, Politifact estimated  a fraction of the cost of special prosecutor investigations in decades past. Accounting for the estimated $48m that Muellers team has clawed back from tax cheats, the net cost of the Mueller investigation could be negative.

Are any other Trump-related investigations still ongoing?

Yes, lots. While the special counsels office has concluded its work, investigations taken up by federal prosecutors in the southern and eastern districts of New York continue, and prosecutors have also been active in the eastern district of Virginia and the District of Columbia. Unlike Mueller, those prosecutors are not bound by narrow authorizations dictating what activity they can investigate, and there is no pressure to hasten the investigations.

Congress is conducting separate investigations of Trumps campaign and other matters. Evidence gathered by Mueller could feed those investigations.

Whats next for Mueller?

Muellers duties connected with his appointment as special counsel are now complete, and he is not expected to take on a further public role. Before agreeing to the special counsel appointment, Mueller, 74, was in private practice, after having served for 12 years as director of the FBI, as a US attorney, and as a marine. He has not announced future plans.
Cairo (AFP) - The US-mediated 1979 treaty between Egypt and Israel may only have resulted in a "cold peace" but their ties have survived four decades in a turbulent region, analysts say.

The watershed treaty brought together late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Israeli premier Menachem Begin for a March 26, 1979 signing ceremony in Washington as a beaming Jimmy Carter, then-US president, looked on.

The peace deal, the first ever between Israel and an Arab state, and which cost Sadat his life at the hands of an Islamist extremist, has kept Cairo out of any armed conflict with its neighbour.

The treaty has emerged unscathed from upheavals in Egypt, notably the 2011 revolution that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak, proving its "stability", said Amr al-Shobaki, political analyst with the Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.

The 40th anniversary comes as armed conflicts roil several countries across the Arab world, from Libya in the far west to Yemen in the south.

It also comes at a time of major US policy changes.

In 2017, President Donald Trump's administration recognised the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, causing uproar in the Muslim world.

He followed up on Friday with a pledge to recognise Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights.

Israel seized mainly Palestinian east Jerusalem, Syria's Golan and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula in the 1967 Six-Day War, when it also occupied the West Bank and Gaza.

But under the 1979 peace treaty, Israel returned the Sinai to former enemy Egypt.

- Wide cooperation -

Successive leaders in Cairo have kept the treaty in place even after Egypt's uprising and the army's 2013 overthrow of its first democratically-elected president, Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi, who himself did not move to scrap the accord.

"In all cases, the peace treaty has remained in place," Shobaki said.

Instability since 2011 has thrown into disarray the North Sinai region along the border with Gaza and Israel where a local affiliate of the Islamic State group has spearheaded an insurgency.

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Political commentator Abdel-Azim Hammad pointed to increased security cooperation with Israel, which has agreed to Egypt's military presence in the Sinai being boosted to fight the jihadists.

In an interview with US television network CBS, Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi acknowledged heightened cooperation with the Jewish state.

"We have a wide range of cooperation with the Israelis," he said.

Egypt and Israel have also developed strong economic relations with the 2018 signing of a $15-billion deal on Israeli gas imports.

In January, Israel's Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz made a rare visit to Cairo to participate in an Eastern Mediterranean Forum.

Under the peace treaty, Egypt has received more than $40 billion in military aid and $30 billion in economic assistance from the United States since 1980.

The aid was partially suspended between 2013 and 2015 following Morsi's ouster, but it was quickly restored.

"For the United States, the Egyptian army is a stabilising element in a region bristling with tensions," Shobaki said.
Cairo (AFP) - Egypt's foreign media body on Sunday slammed the BBC over an "insulting" article which highlighted online calls for protests against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

BBC Arabic published a report at the weekend on a widely shared anti-Sisi hashtag -- "Don't worry, you're not alone" -- which called for demonstrations against the president.

Protests are effectively outlawed in Egypt and authorities last year adopted a law to clamp down on social media.

The BBC's coverage was branded "insulting" by the State Information Service, accusing the broadcaster of inciting "violence" and being a "propaganda tool" for the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

The report "breaches the most basic codes of conduct... fabricating events that never took place," SIS said in a statement.

It urged "all officials and Egyptian intellectuals" to boycott the BBC until the broadcast apologises.

BBC's Cairo bureau chief Safaa Faisal told AFP on Sunday her office was "aware of the complaint now and we will engage positively."

A BBC spokesperson in London earlier said "to our knowledge we are fully compliant" with SIS regulations.

Also on Sunday, Egypt's top media body said it was looking into complaints about the broadcaster.

They relate to "fabricated videos and lies it transmitted from social media networks," the Supreme Council for Media Regulation said.

Ahmed Moussa, a staunch Sisi supporter and TV host, called for the BBC bureau's closure during his show on the Sada el-Balad channel.

Last year, the BBC came under fierce criticism from authorities over a report which detailed numerous allegations of people being "jailed, tortured or disappeared" in Egypt.

The broadcaster stood by its report, which presented similar claims of abuse under the Sisi administration to those detailed by rights groups.

One of the interviewees was accused by authorities of spreading "false statements" and jailed, after telling the BBC her daughter had been forcibly disappeared.

The daughter appeared on a local television show saying she had run away from her mother, married and had a child.
Ankara (AFP) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday mooted the possibility of renaming Istanbul's Hagia Sofia museum as a mosque, in comments during a television interview.

Asked whether the entrance fee to the city landmark might be waived, he said: "It's not impossible... but we would not do it under the name 'museum' but 'Hagia Sophia mosque'."

He added: "Tourists come and go at the Blue Mosque. Do they pay anything? ... Well, we will do the same with the Hagia Sofia."

Erdogan, who is a former mayor of Istanbul, is campaigning for votes for his Justice and Development Party (AKP) ahead of municipal elections on March 31.

The former church and mosque, now a museum, often sparks tensions between Christians and Muslims over Islamic activities held there including the reading of verses from the Koran or collective prayers.

Its secular status allows believers of all faiths to meditate, reflect or simply enjoy its astonishing architecture.

But calls for it to serve again as a mosque have caused anger among Christians and raised tensions between historic foes Turkey and Greece, both NATO members.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras visited the Hagia Sophia in February. "You can feel the burden of history here," he told AFP.

Greece has repeatedly expressed concern over efforts to change the museum's status.

But Erdogan raised the issue again after the March 15 shootings in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that killed 50 people.

In speeches he has denounced a passage in the gunman's "manifesto" in which he said the Hagia Sophia would be "liberated" of its minarets.

The Hagia Sophia was first built as a church in the sixth century under the Christian Byzantine Empire as the centrepiece of its capital Constantinople, today's Istanbul.

Almost immediately after the conquest of Constantinople by the Muslim Ottomans in 1453, it was converted into a mosque before becoming a secular museum in a key reform of the new post-Ottoman Turkish authorities under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the 1930s.

Story continues

Ataturk was the founder of the Turkish republic.

Since Erdogan's AKP came to power, critics and advocates of secularism fear the government harbours a hidden agenda to reconvert the Hagia Sophia into a mosque.

But Turkey's top court in September last year rejected an association's demand that the Hagia Sophia be opened for Muslim prayers.

The museum, a UNESCO World Heritage site, receives millions of visitors every year.
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday those in the finance sector who buy foreign currencies on the expectation that the lira will fall will pay "a very heavy price", adding the Finance Ministry is carrying out work on this. The Turkish lira tumbled more than 4 percent against the U.S. dollar on Friday, its biggest one-day fall since a currency crisis took hold in August, raising concerns that Turks are buying more foreign cash as ties with Washington deteriorate. Central bank data showed on Thursday that forex deposits and funds including precious metals held by Turkish locals hit a record high in the week to March 15, which economists said signaled a fall in confidence in the lira. The lira stood at 5.7800 against the dollar at 2005 GMT in Asian trade, weakening from Friday's close of 5.7625. Speaking at a local election rally in Istanbul, Erdogan said "some people" had begun provoking Turkey and that they were attempting to make the lira decline against foreign currencies with their cooperators in Turkey. "I am calling on those who engage in such activities on the eve of elections, we know all of your identities. We know what all of you are doing. Know this, after the elections, we will present you with a heavy bill," he said. Turks will go to polls on March 31 for local elections. In an interview with broadcaster TGRT Haber later on Sunday, Erdogan also said Turkey would give a hard time to those in the international community behind what he called "manipulative impositions" in the FX market. Erdogan did not specify who his comments were aimed at, but on Saturday, Turkey's banking and market regulators said they had launched investigations into complaints that a JP Morgan report had caused speculation in the Istanbul bourse and hurt the reputation of banks. A JP Morgan spokesman for the region declined to comment on the investigations. The report seen by Reuters said it saw a high risk that the lira would decline after the local election, recommending clients to go "long" on the U.S. dollar. Such advice is typical of client notes from banks globally. Finance Minister Berat Albayrak said on Friday that speculators were talking down the Turkish economy on social media and that the manipulation was similar to that he said took place during anti-government protests in 2013. (Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Kirsten Donovan)
Sweet home Nepal

I saw my future here in the US, and I never thought a kidney would pull me back
Karen Matthews served jail time for the 2008 scandal (GETTY)

Mother Karen Matthews, who was jailed for kidnapping her own daughter, has been left with only a budgie to be her friend, a source has claimed.

Matthews served four years in jail for kidnapping her daughter Shannon, nine, in 2008 to generate cash from the publicity.

The mother, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, made several emotional pleas for her child to return during the huge police search despite being aware of where she was.

Nearly a decade on from the scandal, a source revealed the mother only has one friend left  her pet budgie and treats the bird, called Bobby, like her child, even calling him her baby boy.

Shannon Matthews was the victim of the fake abduction. (PA)

A source close to Matthews told the Daily Star: The budgie is now her only friend in the world.

She asks him for advice on a daily basis. She has no-one else now.

The mother-of-seven allegedly used to own another bird named Archie, who died last year.

Matthews and Michael Donovan were found guilty of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice in December 2008.

The search for Shannon was compared to the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

Karen Matthews has been left with no friends after the scandal. (PA)

There are reports that Matthews wants to sell the rights to her autobiography so she can pay for cosmetic surgery in the hope it would help her to go unrecognised.

It is believed all seven of Matthews children are living under new names and no longer have a relationship with their mother.

Read More

Karen Matthews says Im not Britains worst mum ten years after being jailed

Karen Matthews calls nurses Hitlers for not giving her a private room

Last year, Matthews told the Daily Mirror: Im not Britains worst mum. I didnt kill anybody.

Baby Ps mum and Maxine Carr dont get the abuse that I do.

None of its true. Im on the edge. It makes me want to kill myself but Id never do that. Im scared Ill die lonely and alone.
By Sarah N. Lynch and Jan Wolfe WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Now that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has submitted the report on his investigation of Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. election, Attorney General William Barr must decide how much of the document - if any - to make public. Justice Department regulations governing special counsels adopted in 1999 give Barr, the top U.S. law enforcement official, broad discretion in deciding how much to release to Congress and the public. Barr, in his January Senate confirmation hearings after being nominated by Trump, promised to "provide as much transparency as I can consistent with the law" - a pledge that still gives him a lot of wiggle room. Trump said on Wednesday he does not mind if the public is allowed to see the report. Mueller was named special counsel in May 2017 by the department's No. 2 official, Rod Rosenstein, to take over an investigation that had been headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He examined whether Trump's 2016 campaign conspired with Russia and whether the president unlawfully sought to obstruct the probe. Trump has denied collusion and obstruction and Russia has denied election interference. Here is an explanation of the rules Barr must follow and the political pressures that he faces in deciding on disclosure of Mueller's findings. WHAT DO JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REGULATIONS CALL FOR? Justice Department regulations do not require the release of the entire special counsel report but also do not prevent Barr from doing so, giving him leeway to disclose it if it is in the public interest. Special counsels can be appointed by the department to investigate matters of high sensitivity that are not handled through the normal channels. The department placed limits on special counsel powers in the 1999 regulations creating the post. The regulations state that when an investigation is conducted a special counsel must provide the attorney general a "confidential report" explaining why particular individuals were or were not charged. The regulations require Barr to notify the top Republicans and Democrats on the House of Representatives and Senate Judiciary Committees that the investigation has ended. Department policy calls for Barr to summarize the confidential report for Congress with "an outline of the actions and the reasons for them." According to the regulations, Barr "may determine that public release of these reports would be in the public interest, to the extent that release would comply with applicable legal restrictions." In deciding what to release, Barr may have to confront thorny legal issues involving secrecy of grand jury testimony, protecting classified information, communications with the White House possibly subject to the principle of executive privilege shielding certain information from disclosure, and safeguarding confidential reasons for why some individuals were not charged. WHAT POLITICAL PRESSURE MIGHT BARR BE FEELING? Some Democrats have expressed concern Barr may try to shield Trump and bury parts of the report. Barr may feel pressure from the Republican president to conceal damaging parts of Mueller's report and release any findings that may exonerate him. Barr, 68, is a veteran Washington insider who also was attorney general from 1991 to 1993 under Republican President George H.W. Bush. He has embraced an expansive view of presidential powers but also is considered a defender of the rule of law. Trump fired Barr's predecessor, Jeff Sessions, in November after complaining for months about Sessions' 2017 decision to recuse himself from overseeing the Russia investigation. WHAT IF BARR DECLINES TO RELEASE THE FULL REPORT? Democrats control the House and some already have pledged to subpoena the report and Mueller and go to court if necessary to secure its full release. The House on March 14 voted 420-0, with four conservative Republican lawmakers voting "present," to approve a non-binding resolution urging Barr to make public everything in Mueller's report that is not expressly prohibited by law and to provide the entire document to Congress. HOW HAVE OTHER SPECIAL COUNSEL REPORTS BEEN HANDLED? Only two special counsels have been appointed under the 1999 regulations: Mueller and former Senator John Danforth, who was appointed that same year to investigate the deadly 1993 federal raid on the Branch Davidian cult compound in Waco, Texas. Danforth's report in 2000 cleared government officials of wrongdoing. In appointing Danforth, Attorney General Janet Reno specifically directed him to draft a report for public release on his findings, which he did. Rosenstein made no such demand on Mueller. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Jan Wolfe; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Bill Trott)
By Jan Wolfe WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The closure of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. election does not mark the end of legal worries for President Donald Trump and people close to him. Other ongoing investigations and litigation are focusing on issues including his businesses and financial dealings, personal conduct, charitable foundation and inaugural committee. These investigations, pursued by prosecutors at the federal and state level, could result in charges beyond those brought in Mueller's investigation or civil liability. The special counsel on Friday submitted his confidential report on the investigation to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, who must decide on how much of it to make public. The U.S. Justice Department has a decades-old policy that a sitting president cannot face criminal charges, so such a case against Trump would be unlikely while he is in office even if there were evidence of wrongdoing. Some legal experts have argued the department is wrong and that a president is not immune from prosecution. Either way, Trump potentially could face charges once he is out of office. Here is an explanation of some criminal investigations and civil lawsuits still underway. MUELLER'S CRIMINAL CASES Mueller charged 34 individuals and three companies. Several of those cases resulted in guilty pleas and one case went to trial, with former Trump Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort convicted in August 2018 of eight criminal counts, including bank fraud and tax fraud. Longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone was indicted in January of this year and pleaded not guilty, but his trial is still pending. There are other cases involving indicted Russians that have not gone to trial. Other prosecutors within the Justice Department will likely take over criminal cases begun by Mueller, legal experts said. BUSINESS PRACTICES AND FINANCIAL DEALINGS Trump may face significant peril from federal prosecutors in Manhattan, according to legal experts. His former personal lawyer Michael Cohen said in Feb. 27 congressional testimony that the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York is examining Trump's business practices and financial dealings. Cohen already has implicated Trump in campaign finance law violations to which he pleaded guilty in August 2018 as part of the Southern District investigation. Cohen admitted he violated campaign finance laws by arranging, at Trump's direction, "hush money" payments shortly before the 2016 presidential election to porn film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy magazine model Karen McDougal to prevent damage to Trump's candidacy. Both women said they had sexual relationships with Trump more than a decade ago. He has denied that. Prosecutors said the payments constituted illegal campaign contributions intended to influence the election. Under federal election laws, such donations cannot exceed $2,700 and need to be publicly disclosed. Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, received $130,000. McDougal received $150,000. The New York investigation has involved longtime Trump ally David Pecker, publisher of the National Enquirer tabloid newspaper, who admitted to paying McDougal for the rights to her story and then suppressing it to influence the election, an arrangement called "catch and kill." During his Feb. 27 congressional hearing, Cohen said he was in "constant contact" with federal prosecutors in Manhattan, and said other crimes and wrongdoing by Trump are being investigated by them, though he did not offer details. Cohen said he could not testify about the nature of his last conversation with Trump in early 2018 because it was under investigation by the federal prosecutors in New York. NEW YORK STATE CHARGES AGAINST MANAFORT The Manhattan district attorney's office is exploring criminal charges against Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, over financial crimes related to unpaid state taxes and possibly loans. In cases bought by Mueller, Manafort in 2018 was convicted of tax fraud, bank fraud and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts in Virginia and pleaded guilty to two conspiracy charges in Washington. He was sentenced to a combined 7-1/2 years in prison in the two cases. Trump has not ruled out granting Manafort a pardon. The president would not be able to pardon Manafort if he is convicted of charges brought by the Manhattan district attorney because they would not be federal crimes. However, New York has broad double-jeopardy protections that usually prevent the state from prosecuting a person for crimes arising from the same criminal conduct the federal government has prosecuted before. SUMMER ZERVOS DEFAMATION LAWSUIT A defamation lawsuit against Trump by Summer Zervos, a former contestant on his reality television show "The Apprentice," continues in New York state court after a judge in 2018 allowed it to proceed. Zervos sued Trump after he called her and other women who have accused him of sexual misconduct liars and retweeted a post labeling her claims a hoax. Trump has agreed to provide written answers to questions from Zervos by Sept. 28, according to a court filing. Zervos accused Trump of kissing her against her will at his New York office in 2007 and later groping her at a meeting at a hotel in California. More than a dozen women have accused Trump of making unwanted sexual advances against them years before he entered politics. Marc Kasowitz, a lawyer for Trump, had argued that the lawsuit unconstitutionally impedes the president from performing his duties. An appeals court rejected that argument on March 14 by a 3-2 vote. Kasowitz said he would appeal the decision to the state's highest court. Separately, two lawsuits against Trump brought by porn star Stormy Daniels were dismissed. THE TRUMP FOUNDATION A lawsuit filed by the New York state Attorney General's Office has already led the Donald J. Trump Foundation, which was presented as the charitable arm of Trump's business empire, to agree in December 2018 to dissolve, and the litigation continues. The state is seeking an order banning Trump and his three eldest children from leadership roles in any other New York charity. Trump has said the lawsuit was concocted by "sleazy New York Democrats." The state's Democratic attorney general accused the foundation of being "engaged in a "shocking pattern of illegality" and "functioning as little more than a checkbook to serve Mr. Trump's business and political interests" in violation of federal law. The attorney general's office alleged Trump and his family members used the charity to pay off his legal debts and purchase personal items. The foundation agreed to dissolve and give away all its remaining assets under court supervision. "EMOLUMENTS" LAWSUIT Trump is accused in a lawsuit filed by the Democratic attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia of violating anti-corruption provisions of the U.S. Constitution through his businesses' dealings with foreign governments. The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on March 19 in the Trump administration's appeal of U.S. District Judge Peter Messitte's 2018 rulings allowing the case to proceed. The Constitution's "emoluments clause" bars U.S. officials from accepting payments from foreign governments and the governments of U.S. states without congressional approval. The lawsuit stated that because Trump did not divest himself of his business empire, spending by foreign governments at the Trump International Hotel in Washington amounts to unconstitutional gifts, or "emoluments," to the president. The three appeals court judges, all appointed by Republican presidents, expressed approval toward Trump's arguments in the case and signaled they might dismiss it, but did not issue a ruling. Some experts have said the case will eventually be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. TRUMP INAUGURAL COMMITTEE Federal prosecutors in New York are investigating whether the committee that organized Trump's inauguration in January 2017 accepted illegal donations from foreigners, misused funds or brokered special access to the administration for donors. Federal election law prohibits foreigners from donating to U.S. political campaigns or inaugural committees, and corruption laws ban donors from making contributions in exchange for political favors. Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani said in December 2018 that the president was not involved in his inaugural committee. The $107 million raised by the committee, which was chaired by real estate developer and investor Thomas Barrack, was the largest in history, according to Federal Election Commission filings. IMPEACHMENT Under the Constitution, the president, vice president and "all civil officers of the United States" can be removed from office by Congress through the impeachment process for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." The House of Representatives acts as the accuser - voting on whether to bring specific charges such as obstruction of justice - and the Senate then conducts a trial with House members acting as prosecutors and the individual senators serving as jurors. A simple majority vote is needed in the House to impeach. A two-thirds majority is required in the Senate to convict and remove. (Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Bill Trott and Jonathan Oatis)
April 17 (Reuters) - Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. election has ensnared dozens of people, including several advisers to President Donald Trump and a series of Russian nationals and companies. Rod Rosenstein, the No. 2 U.S. Justice Department official, in May 2017 appointed Mueller to look into Russian interference, whether members of Trump's campaign coordinated with Moscow officials and whether the Republican president had unlawfully sought to obstruct the probe. Mueller has charged 34 people and three companies. Attorney General William Barr issued a summary of Mueller's report on March 24, saying it did not find any evidence that Trump or his associates broke the law in an election that was marked by extensive interference by Russia. Trump denies collusion and obstruction. Russia denies election interference. The following are those who have pleaded guilty or have been indicted in Mueller's inquiry. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2RwJarW) PAUL MANAFORT Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman was sentenced to a combined 7-1/2 years in prison in two cases brought by Mueller in which he was convicted by a jury in Virginia in August 2018 and pleaded guilty a month later in Washington. In Virginia, he was found guilty of five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failing to disclose foreign bank accounts. Manafort, who prosecutors said tried to conceal from the U.S. government millions of dollars he was paid as a political consultant for pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy in a separate case in Washington and agreed to cooperate with Mueller. The Washington case had focused on accusations of money laundering and failing to report foreign bank accounts, among other charges. A judge on Feb. 13 ruled that Manafort had breached his agreement to cooperate with Mueller by lying to prosecutors about three matters pertinent to the Russia probe, including his interactions with a business partner, Konstantin Kilimnik, who they have said has ties to Russian intelligence. MICHAEL COHEN Cohen, Trump's former personal lawyer, pleaded guilty in August 2018 to crimes including orchestrating "hush money" payments before the 2016 election to women who have said they had sexual encounters with Trump, violating campaign laws. That case was handled by federal prosecutors in New York, not Mueller's office. As part of a separate agreement with Mueller's team, Cohen pleaded guilty in November 2018 to lying to Congress about negotiations concerning a proposed Trump Tower in Moscow, a project that never materialized. Cohen is due to report to prison on May 6 to begin serving a three-year prison sentence. Cohen in February 2019 testified at a public hearing before a House of Representatives committee. He accused Trump of approving the "hush money" payments and knowing in advance about the 2016 release by the WikiLeaks website of emails that prosecutors have said were stolen by Russia to harm Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's presidential bid. He said Trump implicitly directed him to lie about the Moscow real estate project. He promised to keep cooperating with prosecutors and made multiple closed-door appearances before congressional panels. MICHAEL FLYNN Flynn, Trump's national security adviser for less than a month in early 2017, pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia during Trump's presidential transition and agreed to cooperate with Mueller. Trump fired him as national security adviser after it emerged that Flynn had misled Vice President Mike Pence and the FBI about his dealings with the then-Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. His sentencing is pending. ROGER STONE The longtime Trump ally and presidential campaign adviser was charged in January 2019 with seven criminal counts including obstruction of an official proceeding, witness tampering and making false statements. He pleaded not guilty. His trial date has been set for Nov. 5. Prosecutors said Stone shared with members of the Trump campaign team advance knowledge of WikiLeaks' plan to release the stolen Democratic emails. Prosecutors also accused him of trying to interfere with a witness, a radio host who matched the profile of Randy Credico. RICK GATES The former deputy chairman of Trump's campaign, Gates pleaded guilty in February 2018 to conspiracy against the United States and lying to investigators. He agreed to cooperate with Mueller and testified as a prosecution witness against Manafort, his former business partner. His sentencing is pending. KONSTANTIN KILIMNIK A Manafort aide in Ukraine and a political operative described by prosecutors as linked to Russian intelligence, Kilimnik was charged in June 2018 with tampering with witnesses about their past lobbying for Ukraine's former pro-Russian government. Prosecutors said in January 2019 that Manafort shared political polling data with Kilimnik in 2016, providing an indication that Trump's campaign may have tried to coordinate with Russians. TWELVE RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE OFFICERS Twelve Russian intelligence officers were indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2018, accused of hacking the Clinton campaign and Democratic Party organizations as part of a Russian scheme to release emails damaging to Clinton during the 2016 race. They covertly monitored employee computers and planted malicious code, as well as stealing emails and other documents, according to the indictment. THIRTEEN RUSSIAN NATIONALS, THREE COMPANIES Thirteen Russians and three Russian companies were indicted in Mueller's investigation in February 2018, accused of taking part in an elaborate campaign to sow discord in the United States ahead of the 2016 election and harm Clinton's candidacy in order to boost Trump. The companies included: the Internet Research Agency, a St. Petersburg-based propaganda arm known for trolling on social media; Concord Management and Consulting; and Concord Catering. GEORGE PAPADOPOULOS The former Trump campaign adviser was sentenced in September 2018 to 14 days in prison after pleading guilty in October 2017 to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials, including a professor who told him the Russians had "dirt" on Clinton. ALEX VAN DER ZWAAN A lawyer who once worked closely with Manafort and Gates, Van Der Zwaan pleaded guilty in February 2018 to lying to Mueller's investigators about contacts with a Trump campaign official. Van Der Zwaan, the Dutch son-in-law of one of Russia's richest men, was sentenced in April 2018 to 30 days in prison and fined $20,000. RICHARD PINEDO Pinedo was not involved with the Trump campaign, but in February 2018 pleaded guilty to identity fraud in a case related to the Mueller investigation for helping Russian conspirators launder money, purchase Facebook ads and pay for supplies. He was sentenced in October 2018 to six months in jail and six months of home detention. SAMUEL PATTEN Patten, a veteran political consultant and business partner of Kilimnik, pleaded guilty in August to unregistered lobbying for a pro-Kremlin political party in Ukraine and agreed to cooperate with Mueller's probe. Patten also admitted to arranging for a U.S. citizen to act as a straw purchaser for tickets to Trump's inauguration on behalf of a Ukrainian oligarch, thereby circumventing a law prohibiting foreigners form providing money to the inaugural. The case stemmed from a referral from Mueller to the Justice Department. (Compiled by Susan Heavey, Sarah N. Lynch, Jan Wolfe; Editing by Will Dunham, Grant McCool and Jonathan Oatis)
By Andy Sullivan

(Reuters) - U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has submitted his report on the investigation of whether President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign conspired with Russia and whether the president unlawfully tried to obstruct the inquiry.

Attorney General William Barr issued a summary of the report on Sunday saying Mueller found no evidence that any member of Trump's election campaign conspired with Russia during the election.

Below are some key figures in the investigation.

DONALD TRUMP JR.

Trump's eldest son set up a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York with a Kremlin-linked lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and other Russians who had offered damaging information on Clinton. In an email after being promised the Clinton "dirt," Trump Jr. wrote "I love it." When news of the meeting broke in July 2017, Trump Jr. issued a statement saying the meeting was set up to discuss adoption policy, not politics, before later admitting he had been expecting intelligence on Clinton.

President Trump's advisers eventually said the president dictated the misleading statement put out in his son's name, after initially denying his involvement.

JARED KUSHNER

Trump's son-in-law has served as a senior adviser to him as both candidate and president. Kushner initially did not list any Russian contacts on his application for a White House security clearance, but subsequently revised those forms to reveal he had participated in the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting and discussed setting up a secure communications line at the Russian Embassy in Washington after Trump won the November 2016 election with Sergei Kislyak, then-Russian ambassador to the United States.

JEFF SESSIONS

Sessions, a longtime U.S. senator from Alabama, served as a campaign adviser and then Trump's first attorney general. During his Senate confirmation hearings he said he did not meet with Russian officials during the campaign, but later admitted he had met at least twice with Kislyak. Under pressure, he recused himself from oversight of the Russia investigation, which at the time was led by the FBI and later by Mueller. The recusal angered Trump, who eventually fired Sessions last November.

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MICHAEL FLYNN

A retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, Flynn was a top campaign adviser and served as Trump's first national security adviser until he was fired after only weeks on the job for lying about his conversations with Kislyak in December 2017, after Trump won the election but before he took office. Flynn discussed U.S. sanctions with Russia and asked the ambassador for help with a U.N. vote, according to court filings. Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and has been cooperating with investigators.

Before he joined Trump's campaign, Flynn sat next to Russian President Vladimir Putin at a Moscow dinner in December 2015 celebrating RT, a pro-Kremlin Russian-owned English language media channel.

PAUL MANAFORT

Manafort served on Trump's campaign from March to August 2016, including three months as chairman, ensuring Trump secured the Republican presidential nomination during the party's convention in Cleveland. During that time, the Republican Party softened its support for arming U.S. allies in Ukraine.

He participated in the Trump Tower meeting with Russians who offered damaging information on Clinton.

Manafort's lawyers said that after the convention he shared election polling data and discussed a way to end the Ukraine conflict with Russian Konstantin Kilimnik, a former business associate who Mueller's team has called an agent of the Kremlin.

Manafort was sentenced to 7-1/2 years in prison on March 13 in two cases prosecuted by Mueller. He was found guilty in Virginia of bank and tax fraud related to millions of dollars he earned as a political consultant for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine. He pleaded guilty in Washington to two conspiracy charges. A judge ruled on Feb. 13 that Manafort violated his plea agreement with prosecutors by repeatedly lying to Mueller's team.

Less than an hour following his sentencing, the former campaign chairman was charged with residential mortgage fraud and other felonies in New York. State lawmakers moved to ensure Manafort can be prosecuted even if he receives a presidential pardon. nL1N21014A]

RICK GATES

Manafort's longtime lobbying associate served as deputy campaign chairman and worked on the transition after Trump was elected. Gates pleaded guilty to lying to investigators and was a star witness in Manafort's 2018 trial, testifying that he helped his boss file false tax returns and hide millions of dollars offshore. Gates has continued to cooperate with the investigation, according to court filings.

MICHAEL COHEN

Trump's former longtime personal attorney once boasted that he would take a bullet for his boss, but has since turned on him. In a series of guilty pleas, Cohen said he worked on a deal to build a Trump tower in Moscow for nearly a year while Trump was running for president, and acted at Trump's direction to break campaign-finance laws by arranging "hush money" payments to women who claim to have had sexual relationships with Trump. Cohen's turn against Trump was on dramatic display in his congressional testimony on Feb. 27, accusing the president of being a "racist," "conman" and "cheat." Cohen is due to begin serving a three-year prison sentence on May. 6.

ROGER STONE

Stone is a self-proclaimed political "dirty trickster" who has known Trump for about four decades. Stone is accused of telling members of Trump's presidential campaign that he knew in advance of plans by the WikiLeaks website to release damaging emails about Clinton. Cohen has said he heard Stone tell Trump on the telephone in July 2016 about a forthcoming release by WikiLeaks of the stolen emails.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded the emails were stolen by Russians. They sowed division among Democratic voters by showing that Democratic Party officials had favored Clinton over insurgent candidate Bernie Sanders. Stone pleaded not guilty in January to charges brought by Mueller.

INTERNET RESEARCH AGENCY

Muller's team has said this St. Petersburg-based organization tried to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election through fake social-media accounts, aiming to spread distrust about the candidates and the American political system. The organization employed hundreds of people, according to an indictment.

RUDY GIULIANI

The former New York mayor and 2008 Republican presidential candidate has offered a freewheeling defense of the president in the news media since signing on as Trump's personal lawyer in April 2018. Giuliani has occasionally misstated facts, drawing rebukes from Trump or other members of his administration.

MARIA BUTINA

This Russian woman, a former graduate student at American University in Washington, has admitted to trying to infiltrate the influential National Rifle Association lobby group and make inroads with conservative activists and Republicans as an agent for Moscow in a criminal case in parallel with the Mueller investigation. Butina pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in December 2018 and has agreed to cooperate with U.S. investigators.

JAMES COMEY

As FBI director, Comey oversaw the initial stages of the Russia investigation until Trump fired him in May 2017. The White House initially said Comey was fired because he had mishandled a 2016 investigation into Clinton's emails, but shortly thereafter Trump told NBC that he had "this Russia thing" on his mind in the dismissal. Comey has said that Trump pressured him to end the investigation of Flynn.

CARTER PAGE

The Trump foreign-policy adviser met with Russian officials in Moscow in July 2016, and has said he reported back to Sessions and other senior campaign officials after the trip. His contacts attracted suspicion from the FBI, which said in surveillance applications that it believed Page "has been collaborating and conspiring with the Russian Government" and had established relationships with Russian intelligence officers. Page, who has not been charged, has said he did nothing wrong.

(Compiled by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Will Dunham and Jonathan Oatis)
Switzerland's Roger Federer put last year's first-round loss at the Miami Open in the rearview mirror on Saturday, defeating Radu Albot of Moldova 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in two hours and 10 minutes.

Albot didn't make it easy for the three-time champion, pushing him to the brink of defeat in the second set. But Federer survived mostly on the strength of his serve. He racked up 14 aces and allowed just four break-point opportunities over the entire match. He also won 77 percent of his first-service points and 69 percent of his second-service points.

"I expected a player with a great attitude, which he showed. An aggressive baseliner, who moves well. He's not afraid to come to the net. The problem is I've never practiced with him. I've never really seen him play live matches," Federer said.

"I thought it was hard. I have a lot of respect for those types of players who don't have the size, have to find a different way to win. He's a great, great player. I was impressed."

Federer also noted he was impressed with the tournament's new venue -- the much larger Hard Rock Stadium.

"It's always going to feel very different in a massive place like this," said Federer, referring to the new stadium. "It was definitely different, especially very different to Key Biscayne last year. I'm happy I got it out of the way. I'm happy I was able to find a way tonight.

"It was a good atmosphere at the end. I thought it was quite electric, how it usually is in Miami. I'm happy that hasn't gone away."

Federer will meet Serbia's Filip Krajinovic in the third round. The two have met twice previously, with Federer winning both contests. Krajinovic defeated No. 30 seed Stan Wawrinka 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (5) earlier in the day.

Other seeded players advancing Saturday included No. 6 Kevin Anderson of South Africa, who needed three sets to beat Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; No. 8 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, who beat American Mackenzie McDonald 7-6 (4), 6-1; No. 13 Daniil Medvedev of Russia, No. 14 Marco Cecchinato of Italy; No. 18 David Goffin of Belgium; No. 20 Denis Shapovalov of Canada and No. 24 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria.

Several seeded players were ousted Saturday, including No. 9 Marin Cilic of Croatia, who lost to Russia's Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4, and No. 10 Karen Khachanov of Russia, who fell to Australian Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-3. No. 21 Diego Schwartzman of Argentina, No. 26 Guido Pella of Argentina and No. 31 Steve Johnson also failed to advance.

--Field Level Media
Switzerland's Roger Federer put last year's first-round loss at the Miami Open in the rearview mirror on Saturday, defeating Radu Albot of Moldova 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Albot didn't make it easy for the three-time champion, pushing him to the brink of defeat in the second set. But Federer, the fourth seed, survived mostly on the strength of his serve. He racked up 14 aces and allowed just four break-point opportunities over the entire match. He also won 77 percent of his first-service points and 69 percent of his second-service points.

"I expected a player with a great attitude, which he showed. An aggressive baseliner, who moves well. He's not afraid to come to the net. The problem is I've never practiced with him. I've never really seen him play live matches," Federer said.

"I thought it was hard. I have a lot of respect for those types of players who don't have the size, have to find a different way to win. He's a great, great player. I was impressed."

Federer also noted he was impressed with the tournament's new venue -- the much larger Hard Rock Stadium.

"It's always going to feel very different in a massive place like this," said Federer, referring to the new stadium. "It was definitely different, especially very different to Key Biscayne last year. I'm happy I got it out of the way. I'm happy I was able to find a way tonight.

"It was a good atmosphere at the end. I thought it was quite electric, how it usually is in Miami. I'm happy that hasn't gone away."

Federer will meet Serbia's Filip Krajinovic in the third round. The two have met twice previously, with Federer winning both contests. Krajinovic defeated No. 30 seed Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (5) earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, the highest seed in action on Saturday was ousted, as 36-year-old Spaniard David Ferrer rallied to stun No. 2 Alexander Zverev of Germany 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.

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Ferrer, the former world No. 3 who is set to retire after the Mutua Madrid Open in May, took advantage of Zverev's serving troubles, forcing 14 break-point opportunities and converting five. It was Ferrer's first win over a top-five opponent since 2015.

Zverev, who also had 12 double faults, joins No. 2 seed Dominic Thiem of Austria as top seeds to lose their first match, after Thiem fell on Friday.

Seeded players advancing Saturday included No. 6 Kevin Anderson of South Africa, who needed three sets to beat Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; No. 8 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, who beat American Mackenzie McDonald 7-6 (4), 6-1; No. 13 Daniil Medvedev of Russia, No. 14 Marco Cecchinato of Italy; No. 18 David Goffin of Belgium; No. 20 Denis Shapovalov of Canada, No. 24 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria and No. 28 Frances Tiafoe of the U.S.

Seeded players who were ousted Saturday included No. 9 Marin Cilic of Croatia, who lost to Russia's Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4, and No. 10 Karen Khachanov of Russia, who fell to Australian Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-3. No. 21 Diego Schwartzman and No. 26 Guido Pella of Argentina, and No. 31 Steve Johnson of the U.S. also failed to advance.

--Field Level Media
WASHINGTON  The Federal Emergency Management Agency wrongly released to a contractor the personal information of 2.3 million survivors of devastating 2017 hurricanes and wildfires, potentially exposing the victims to identity fraud and theft, a government watchdog reported Friday.

The Homeland Security Departments Office of Inspector General found the breach occurred when FEMA was working with a contractor that helps provide temporary housing to those affected by disasters. FEMA is one of Homeland Securitys many agencies; the sprawling 240,000-person department also includes immigration enforcement, and the U.S. Secret Service.

FEMA officials said that since the discovery of the issue, the agency was no longer sharing unnecessary data with the contractor and has conducted a detailed review of the contractors information system and has found no indication to suggest data has been compromised.

The agency said in a statement it is working with the contractor to remove the data from its system and has instructed staff to complete additional privacy training.

FEMAs goal remains protecting and strengthening the integrity, effectiveness, and security of our disaster programs that help people before, during, and after disasters, FEMA Press Secretary Lizzie Litzow said in a statement.

Some information, like names, last four digits of a Social Security number and how many people live in a household are required to confirm eligibility and locate housing for victims. But FEMA also provided the contractor with bank names electronic funds transfer numbers and bank transit numbers that were not required by the contractor.

The 2.3 million people lived through California wildfires and Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.

The watchdog said that FEMA violated both federal privacy laws and also Homeland Security policy by giving the extra data to the contractor, whose name was redacted in the report made public Friday.

The contractor also knew that FEMA was providing too much personal data but didnt inform the disaster relief agency.

The 2017 hurricane season was particularly brutal. Harvey slammed ashore in Texas on Aug. 25, 2017, as a powerful Category 4 storm. It killed 68 people and deluged much of the Houston metropolitan area  home to more than 6 million people  with 3 to 4 feet of water. Flooding damaged more than 300,000 structures and caused an estimated $125 billion in damage, according to a report from the National Hurricane Center . Irma struck Florida Sept. 10 and battered Georgia and North Carolina, killing 129 and devastating the Florida Keys. Maria made landfall Sept. 20, devastating Puerto Rico and plunging much of the island into darkness for months after, causing major damage and leaving nearly 3,000 people dead.

Wildfires in California in 2017 burned some 1.2 million acres of land, destroyed more than 10,800 structures and killed at least 46, and insurance claims topped $3.3 billion.
GC is an officer at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.
The baby boy died after being taken to hospital following the home procedure (Getty/File pic)

Police in Italy are investigating after a baby boy died after his parents allegedly carried out a circumcision on him at their home.

The unidentified five-month-old was rushed to hospital in Bologna by helicopter having suffered a cardiac arrest on Friday afternoon, according to the ANSA news agency.

Despite being treated by medics, the boy died later on the same night.

The boy was operated on by his parents at their home in Bologna, Italy (Wikipedia)

The prosecutors office in the northern province of Reggio Emilia has now opened a manslaughter investigation, while an autopsy on the baby is set to take place.

This is not the first time a baby in Italy has died as a result of a reported circumcision.

In December, a two-year-old boy in Rome died of severe blood loss after a circumcision went wrong.

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His twin brother was taken to intensive care but survived the botched operation.

The founder of the association of foreign doctors in Italy (AMSI), Foad Aodi, has appealed to health authorities to allow circumcisions at more affordable prices.

He has also urged a lowering of the age of access to help fight home circumcision attempts.
Frances central bank is unlikely to issue its own digital currency in the near future, according to Pauline Adam Kalfon, a blockchain and financial services partner at PwC.

It may not be the best entity to drive forward such a digital currency project, which would sit within the prerogatives of the European Central Bank, Kalfon added. Having said this, Banque de France could seize technological leadership by following European Central Bank guidance. It is clear that a European-level project would be very complex and challenging governance-wise, requiring alignment and the political consensus of all relevant stakeholders from each member state, she told Forbes.

An interesting option would be to leave the tokenization of fiat currencies to corporations such as Facebook and JPMorgan. This would reduce the likelihood of potentially negative consequences on the economy arising from any central bank issuing a digital currency. Only then could central banks make a move once digital currencies have been battle-tested by corporations, Kalfon argued.

The post France: Central bank could issue digital currency after corporation battle-testing appeared first on Coin Rivet.
A gas explosion in a secretive enclave run by the ethnic Wa in Myanmar's eastern borderlands has killed 16 people and injured dozens, the United Wa State Army (UWSA) said Sunday.

Emergency workers could be seen trawling through debris at the explosion site in Mongmaw town in a video posted on Facebook by UWSA spokesman Nyi Rang.

"Sixteen people were killed and 48 others injured in a gas explosion accident," he wrote, confirming that the blast occurred early Saturday evening.

Permission to access the remote zone is rarely granted, making it difficult to independently verify information.

The self-proclaimed Wa State on the border between China and Myanmar only has an estimated population of some 600,000 people.

But it enjoys an unusual degree of autonomy within Myanmar and boasts the country's largest non-state army of around 30,000 soldiers.

This year the Wa are celebrating a 30-year ceasefire with the nation's military, and in a rare move are due to open their doors for three days in April to outsiders, including foreigners.

In 1989, Wa troops mutinied against the leaders of the Communist Party of Burma who were driven into exile in China.

The subsequent truce signed between the UWSA and the military junta has proven relatively stable in a country where the Myanmar army is still fighting wars against various ethnic armed groups.

The Wa have very close links to neighbouring China. Mandarin is far more widely spoken than Myanmar (Burmese) and the self-administered zone's economy depends on cross-border trade.

The blast on Saturday came just two days after China experienced one of its worst industrial accidents in recent years, where an explosion at a chemical plant in Yancheng in the country's east left scores dead.
Lyft is on track to go public later this week, after the company's IPO road show generated strong demand for its shares.

This raises the question of what General Motors (NYSE: GM) should do with its stake in Lyft after the ride-hailing company's lockup period for current investors expires later this year. Given that GM's initial plans for a wide-ranging partnership with Lyft have long since fizzled out, the General probably should sell its Lyft stake over the next year and use the proceeds to buy back its own undervalued shares.

Lyft and GM: more hype than substance

General Motors acquired its Lyft stake in early 2016. The top U.S. automaker invested $500 million in the Uber rival as part of a $1 billion fundraising round. GM's then-president, Dan Ammann, took a seat on Lyft's board, and the two companies talked about collaborating to deploy self-driving cars in Lyft's ride-hailing network.

During 2016, General Motors and Lyft also rolled out a program called Express Drive to lease GM vehicles to Lyft drivers at subsidized rates. (For the most active Lyft drivers, the ride-hailing company covered all of the leasing costs.)

However, just two months after investing in Lyft, GM dove deeper into the autonomous vehicle race by buying Cruise Automation for over $1 billion. Since then, General Motors has invested heavily in Cruise, including testing a "robo-taxi" service in San Francisco. This effort looks extremely promising, as evidenced by the billions of dollars of outside investment that the auto giant's GM Cruise subsidiary has attracted.

A white Chevy Bolt autonomous vehicle

Cruise has been a centerpiece of GM's recent investment activity. Image source: General Motors.

Later in 2016, GM also began offering short-term vehicle leases to Uber drivers, mimicking the Lyft Express Drive program.

Once GM began to spread its self-driving bets around, Lyft decided to do the same. Over the past two years, it has announced partnerships with several other automakers and tech companies. The result was that by mid-2018, there was no active collaboration between GM and Lyft, and Ammann had stepped down from the latter's board.

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The Lyft stake is valuable

Based on Lyft's proposed IPO price, the $500 million investment that GM made a little more than three years ago could be worth $1.3 billion. And given the level of investor interest in Lyft -- and the ride-hailing industry more broadly -- there's a decent chance that the shares would be worth even more six months from now, when GM would be permitted to start selling its stake.

Even with a value of $1.3 billion, GM's Lyft stake would account for more than 2% of the automaker's market cap. That's a significant sum of money that could potentially be invested in growth initiatives, used for debt reduction, or returned to shareholders.

There's no good reason to hold on

If General Motors were still cooperating with Lyft in any meaningful way, it would make sense to maintain a minority investment in the ride-hailing company. However, its relationship with Lyft is now purely financial. Given how much money GM and its partners are investing in Cruise, it seems unlikely that this situation will change. Finally, the General doesn't have much input into Lyft's strategy anymore, as it no longer controls a board seat. As a result, GM ought to sell its Lyft stake after the IPO lockup period expires.

GM's core auto business generates more than enough cash to meet its investment needs. Furthermore, the company already has ample capital set aside for investments in Cruise. That means there's no compelling need to reserve the eventual proceeds from selling GM's Lyft stake for internal investments.

Meanwhile, GM stock is extremely cheap right now, trading for less than seven times earnings. The company's core auto operations carry an even lower earnings multiple, given that GM Cruise has a valuation of more than $10 billion despite being unprofitable.

That makes share buybacks look like a good use of excess capital. Long-term GM shareholders are likely to be better served by the company selling its Lyft shares and repurchasing its own stock -- which seems to be quite undervalued right now -- rather than holding on to the Lyft stake in the hope of realizing even bigger gains.

More From The Motley Fool

Adam Levine-Weinberg owns shares of General Motors. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs on Friday lowered its expectations of UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal getting ratified, and hiked its estimate of the chances of a "no-deal" exit from the European Union.

The changes to the bank's previous predictions came after the EU agreed to grant the UK a short reprieve, until April 12, before Britain could lurch out of the EU if May fails to persuade lawmakers to back her withdrawal treaty.

"By postponing Brexit day by at least a fortnight, the UK and the EU have kept all options in play, for now," wrote Goldman Sachs analysts.

They cut the chances of May's deal being ratified to 50 percent from 60 percent, and raised the chances of a "no-deal" Brexit to 15 percent from 5 percent.

Goldman Sachs' estimate of the probability of Brexit not happening at all remained unchanged, at 35 percent. (Reporting by Helen Reid, Editing by Josephine Mason)
New York Citys Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum has announced that it will no longer accept donations from the billionaire Sackler family, owners of the company that makes the opioid OxyContin , in what appears to be the first stance by a museum in the U.S.

The iconic art museum, in a statement obtained by HuffPost on Sunday, did not mention the ongoing opioid epidemic or any other reasoning behind its decision. It said it received $9 million from the family between 1995 and 2015, but nothing since.

No additional gifts are planned, and the Guggenheim does not plan to accept any gifts, the museum said. It declined further comment on what it called matters of board governance.

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York has said that it will no longer accept financial donations from the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, which makes the opioid OxyContin. (Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The decision follows anti-opioid protesters last month unfurling banners that targeted the Sackler family, founders of Purdue Pharma, from the Guggenheim Museums spiral balconies. They also dropped fake paper prescriptions like confetti.

Prescription Addiction Intervention Now (PAIN), an anti-opioid organization that organized the demonstration, carried out a similar protest earlier this month inside New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is another beneficiary of the Sackler family.

On Saturday, PAIN celebrated the Guggenheims decision to cut financial ties with the Sackler family, whose pain medicines have generated a $13 billion net worth for the family according to Forbes. PAIN, in an Instagram post, urged other museums to follow, while hoping for a domino effect.

Britains Tate Galleries last week said it will no longer accept donations from the family, citing present circumstances. Two days earlier, Britains National Portrait Gallery made a similar announcement involving the familys London-based Sackler Trust foundation.

Mother Jones on Saturday published a list of museums that have been the top 10 beneficiaries of the Sackler family since 2001, which can be seen here.

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The Sackler family and Purdue Pharma are meanwhile facing lawsuits attempting to hold them accountable for the opioid crisis that kills more than 130 people each day, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

One federal lawsuit recently filed against members of the Sackler family involves more than 600 U.S. cities and Native American tribes from 28 states, CNN reported on Sunday.

Related Coverage

Britain's National Portrait Gallery Drops Donation From Opioid Manufacturer Family

Big Pharma Donation To The Met Prompts Protesters To Throw Pill Bottles, Hold Die-In

Protesters Target Guggenheim Over Museums Ties To Family At Center Of Opioid Crisis

Sackler Embraced Plan To Conceal OxyContins Strength From Doctors, Sealed Testimony Shows

OxyContin Maker Purdue Pharma Considering Bankruptcy Filing: Reports

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Baghdad (AFP) - For the millions forced to endure the Islamic State group's brutal rule, life in the "caliphate" was a living hell where girls were enslaved, music was banned and homosexuality was punishable by death.

The jihadists applied an ultra-conservative interpretation of Islamic law across the swathes of Syria and Iraq that they captured in 2014, torturing or executing anyone who disobeyed.

The fall of the last sliver of IS territory in eastern Syria marks the end of their proto-state, once the size of the United Kingdom and home to more than seven million people.

The fate of prisoners used by the jihadists as human shields remains unknown, but more than 3,000 Yazidis are still missing.

The jihadists singled out the minority, followers of an ancient religion, for particularly harsh treatment which the UN has said may amount to genocide.

They slaughtered thousands of Yazidi men and boys, abducting women and girls then selling them at slave markets.

Many suffered years of sexual abuse.

"We did everything they demanded," said Bessa Hamad, an Iraqi Yazidi sold six times by jihadists before escaping their last redoubt in Syria.

"We couldn't say no."

Yazidi boys who were not killed were forced to fight and indoctrinated to hate their community, leaving families struggling to reconnect with those who were rescued.

Children who went to IS-run schools learnt to count with maths books featuring guns and grenades, but pictures of people were banned.

As well as frontline fighters, IS ran its own police force, whose officers could impose fines or lashes on men whose breath smelt of cigarettes or alcohol.

Books were burned, while dancing and music were banned. Instead the jihadists broadcast propaganda via their own radio station.

The jihadists used sledgehammers to destroy priceless ancient artefacts they deemed idolatrous.

A strict dress code forced even young girls to wear a full black Islamic veil.

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Beards and traditional robes were compulsory for men.

- Thrown from rooftops -

The extremists ran their own courts, sentencing people to death by beheading and hanging.

Men and women accused of adultery were stoned to death. Men were shot or thrown from rooftops for the "crime" of being gay.

The jihadists even introduced their own currency, minting coins that veterans of the battle against IS now keep as trophies.

Jail terms were imposed on those unable to pay IS taxes.

Iraq's major northern city of Mosul and Raqa in Syria were transformed into the twin de facto capitals of the "caliphate".

Raqa become a byword for atrocities carried out by the jihadists, and it was from there that IS organised devastating overseas attacks.

Human heads were displayed on spikes in the city along with crucified bodies, to sow terror.

IS initially won support from some residents who felt abandoned and abused by corrupt state authorities.

But today, those who survived its rule accuse the jihadists themselves of graft -- as well as extreme acts of violence.

IS left more than 200 mass graves in Iraq and thousands of bodies are expected to be uncovered in Syria.

Numerous women interviewed by AFP said they received IS-stamped death certificates for their executed husbands, but the jihadists would not return their bodies.

It could take years to discover what happened to some of their victims.

Some IS members leaving the group's last redoubt of Baghouz in eastern Syria have cricitised the group's leadership.

"God's law was applied," said Abdel Moneim Najia, a jihadist who stayed in what was left of the "caliphate" until its final days.

But he voiced the same grievances as Iraqis and Syrians expressed about their governments ahead of the IS takeover.

"There were injustices," he said. "Officials stole money and abandoned the people."
The mother of Ellie Louise Baldwin has appealed to thieves to return a lock of her hair (SWNS)

A devastated mother has made an emotional appeal to return a lock of hair belonging to her young daughter, who died six years ago.

Kirsty Baldwin, 35, said the snip of blonde hair was all the family had left of two-year-old Ellie Louise, who suddenly passed away of bronchial pneumonia in 2013.



The precious strand was inside Kirstys handbag which was snatched from her car at Birch Services in Middleton, Greater Mancs., on the M62.

The designer handbag also contained a memorial card for Ellie, an iPad, purse, and a large number of euros.

The precious strand was inside mum Kirstys handbag which was snatched from her car (SWNS)

Kirsty is now appealing for the thieves to do the right thing and hand the lock of hair into a police station.

In an emotional appeal released by Greater Manchester Police, Kirsty said: Our daughter died unexpectedly of bronchial pneumonia and the lock of hair is all we had left of her apart from the clothes she had the night she died.

Please, if anyone finds the lock shown in the picture, please do the right thing and hand it into your nearest police station. Thank you.

Read more from Yahoo News UK:

Evil mother Karen Matthews has no friends left except a pet budgie

Shopworker stabbed to death as six people knifed overnight across London

The traits that define Britishness  survey reveals 40 classics

Kirsty had stopped for a coffee on her way home from Manchester Airport at the eastbound services near junction 19 when she was robbed at around 10.30pm on Wednesday.

She got into her car but before she was able to lock her doors or drive away, a man opened the passenger door and took the handbag which was on the seat next to her.

He then got into another car, with a woman at the driving seat, and drove away from the services.

Ellie died suddenly of of bronchial pneumonia in 2013 (SWNS)

Part of the number plate of the car, which is described as a small, dark grey/black vehicle in poor condition, is either EE55, EE54 or EE52.

The man is described as white with unkempt hair.

The woman in the getaway car is also described as white, between 40 and 50-years-old, with long, dark hair, which was tied up.

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Shes further described as being around 5ft 7in tall and haggard looking.

The bag also contained a memorial card for Ellie (SWNS)

PC Cherie Castle added: Robbery in any circumstance is particularly distressing but Kirsty and her family have been left devastated.

The hair is such a precious item that cannot ever be placed and shes desperate its returned to her.

Were hoping the offenders or whoever has any information about this robbery hear this story and return the hair as soon as possible.

Anyone who has any information about the robbery should call police on 0161 856 8457 quoting incident number 2519 of 20/03/19.
Passengers on board the Viking Sky, waiting to be evacuated, off the coast of Norway on Saturday - Michal Stewart

A cruise ship that broke down in rough seas off the Norwegian coast with some 1,300 passengers and crew on board has restarted three of its four engines and will be towed to port, emergency services said Sunday.

"Three of the four engines are now working which means the boat can now make way on its own," emergency services spokesman Per Fjeld said.

The Viking Sky sent out a mayday signal on Saturday, after it began drifting towards land, prompting a huge evacuation operation in which rescue helicopters evacuated passengers and crew to safety. Among those airlifted were believed to many British tourists.

The airlift was continuing in the early morning, Fjeld said.

Nearly 338 of the 1,373 onboard were evacuated by helicopter by early Sunday morning. They were flown to a village just north of the town of Molde, on Norway's west coast.

According to the latest figures from the rescue services, 17 people had been taken to hospital with injuries.

Earlier on Saturday lifeboats were forced to turn back en route to the ship due to the "brutal" conditions.

Later, reports emerged that a cargo ship with nine crew members was in trouble nearby, and the local Norwegian rescue service diverted two of the helicopters to that rescue.

Two hundred Britons were believed to be among those on board the Viking Sky ship with Norwegian media suggesting the majority of passengers were British and American tourists.

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Derek and Esther Browne, from Hampshire, said the "whole boat was swaying, it was very rough" before they were airlifted to safety.

Mr Browne told BBC Radio 5 Live's Stephen Nolan: "We had a few people on stretchers, several with cuts, two with broken limbs, but fortunately we were alright. We were airlifted onto the helicopter which was quite a frightening experience."

He added: "I'd never been in a helicopter before, there were a lot of high winds, hovering overhead and the winchman came down and we were then collected up and so I shut my eyes as we arrived into the helicopter and there were 15 of us for about a 20-minute ride."

The stretch of water known as Hustadvika is known for its fierce weather and the shallow waters are dotted with reefs. The Norwegian government is currently deciding whether to build a giant ocean tunnel through a nearby mountain to improve safety.

The Viking Sky, built in 2017, belongs to Viking Ocean Cruises, part of the Viking Cruises group founded by Norwegian billionaire Torstein Hagen.

Several vessels and four helicopters took part in the rescue and extensive facilities were set up on land to receive passengers.

All search and rescue teams in the region were mobilised, including 60 volunteers from the Norwegian Red Cross, a spokesman said.

Passengers on board the Viking Sky, waiting to be evacuated, off the coast of Norway on Saturday Credit: Michal Stewart

The ship, built in 2017, belongs to Viking Ocean Cruises, part of the Viking Cruises group founded by Norwegian billionaire Torstein Hagen. According to the company website, its passenger capacity is 930.

Several vessels and four helicopters took part in the rescue and facilities to receive passengers have been set up on land, the rescue service said.

Wind was blowing at a speed of 38 knots, police told Norwegian newspaper VG.

All search and rescue teams in the region are mobilising, including 60 volunteers from the Norwegian Red Cross, a spokesman said.

A Viking Sky spokesperson said: "We can confirm that as of 10am (Norwegian time) today, 24 March 2019, the vessel, Viking Sky, is safely travelling to Molde under its own power. The ship is being accompanied by two offshore supply ships and one tug assist vessel. The evacuation of passengers has ended and there are currently 436 guests and 458 crew onboard.

"The 479 passengers who were airlifted from the vessel are currently on shore and arrangements have been made to fly them home, with the first passengers leaving today. Currently we understand 20 people suffered injuries as a result of this incident, and they are all receiving care at the relevant medical centres in Norway, with some already having been discharged.

"Throughout all of this, our first priority was for the safety and wellbeing of our passengers and our crew. We would like to thank the Norwegian Redningssentral and the Norwegian emergency services for their support and skill displayed in managing the situation in very challenging weather conditions. We would also like to thank the local residents who throughout the whole process have been extremely supportive and hospitable.

"We are in the process of updating the website with the latest information. If you have questions or concerns about any guests, please visit https://www.vikingcruises.com/ oceans/my-trip/current- sailings/index.html"

Family members search for passengers on board

As the phone batteries of passengers dwindled and died, and some on board were injured and taken to hospital, the relatives anxiously waited for news.

Many used Twitter in the hope of contacting missing loved ones.

While some remained missing:

Our Mom and Aunt (twins) are aboard #vikingsky and we haven't been able to contact them. If anyone on board has seen Marcy Bell or Mary Fislar please let us know they are OK.  shannon milton (@shanhawk2) March 24, 2019

Others were found safe and sound, and were enjoying free wine and food in a local hotel as they made plans to return home after the ordeal:

My dad and stepmom just took their helicopter ride off of the #VikingSky and are safe and sound at a hotel in Molde as of a few minutes ago, where there is free food and wine apparently. She said the hoist up was something. #VikingSky#Mayday  @DaniTal (@DaniTal54803917) March 24, 2019

There were complaints about lack of information from the cruise operator, as family members of passengers complained that they were not told about the injury status of their loved ones:

I cannot thank the Twitter community enough. We had a happy ending, with both of my parents recovering at a hospital. Based on my moms texts, I knew they were injured; hence my frantic tweets. My best wishes are with all those who are still waiting for news #VikingSky  rebecca (@rebeccasunshine) March 24, 2019

Dear @VikingCruises, you cant even begin to appreciate my concern abt my parents condition aboard your ship. Your canned response is cheap & your fake care is revolting. Thanks for telling me my parents were on the non-injured list AFTER they were med-evacd off. #VikingSky  rebecca (@rebeccasunshine) March 24, 2019

Passengers show chaos on the ship

Pictures posted to social media show the chaotic sleeping arrangements as passengers curled up in life jackets to try to get some sleep as they waited to be airlifted to safety.

Battery dying and people sleeping everywhere. Probably my last tweet of the night. #VikingSky#Maydaypic.twitter.com/ouzegYmHOD  Alexus Sheppard  (@alexus309) March 24, 2019

Destruction on the ship was also plain to see, with broken glass on the floor and doors torn off their hinges.
1. Yes. The Schlueter Group has extensive experience and contacts. Its a good investment.

2. Yes. The firms namesake has a background as a legislator and knows Killeen well.

3. No. The expenditure is a waste of money. Our lawmakers should be doing that work.

4. No. The contract should be shorter, incentivized and based on performance benchmarks.

5. Unsure. Its not always easy to quantify the outcomes of lobbying efforts.

Vote

View Results
Here's a breakdown of indictments and cases in Mueller's probe originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Over the course of his nearly two-year-long probe, special counsel Robert Mueller and his team of prosecutors have now indicted 34 individuals and three Russian businesses on charges ranging from computer hacking to conspiracy and financial crimes.

Those indictments have led to seven guilty pleas and four people sentenced to prison.

Here's what you need to know.

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort faced charges in two separate federal courts on a slew of financial crime charges related largely to his lobbying work in Ukraine.

A jury found Manafort guilty on eight of 18 counts he was tried within the Eastern District of Virginia, with the judge declaring a mistrial on the other ten. The guilty charges included multiple counts of false income tax returns, failure to file reports of foreign bank accounts, and bank fraud.

Manafort was charged with an additional seven counts in the District of Columbia and pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States and to witness tampering in the D.C. case. As part of the plea agreement, Manafort also admitted his guilt on the remaining counts in his Virginia trial. Read more here.

Rick Gates, a former Trump campaign official and longtime business associate of Paul Manafort, was charged in two separate federal courts in connection to financial crimes, unregistered foreign lobbying and on allegations that he made false statements to federal prosecutors. Gates pleaded guilty in Washington, D.C. in February 2018 on counts of conspiracy against the United States and lying to federal prosecutors. As part of his plea agreement, he avoided a slew of financial charges in the Eastern District of Virginia that included assisting in the preparation of false income taxes, bank fraud, bank fraud conspiracy and false income taxes.His charges are intimately tied to those of Manafort. In the Eastern District of Virginia, the two were indicted jointly. Read more here.

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The special counsel issued three separate indictments against Manafort. In the third, prosecutors implicated Kilimnik for the first time, charging him with conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice.These charges concern communications between Manafort and Kilimnik regarding messages they exchanged with two journalists who were potential witnesses in the case against them.Though Kilimnik has been indicted, he remains outside of the reach of U.S. law enforcement. Read more here.

In his dramatic and surprise guilty plea in U.S. District Court on Dec. 1, 2017, early in Mueller's investigation, Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn acknowledged that his false statements and omissions in FBI interviews a few days after Trump was sworn in "impeded and otherwise had a material impact on the FBIs ongoing investigation into the existence of any links or coordination between individuals associated with the campaign and Russian efforts to interfere with the 2016 presidential election," which the statement of offense he agreed to said.

He specifically admitted to lying about asking the Russian ambassador to refrain from responding to Obama administration sanctions against Russia for its election interference and further requested Russia help block a United Nations vote on Israeli settlements which the incoming administration didn't agree with. Flynn also agreed that he lied about his lobbying activities in federal filings related to work on behalf of the Republic of Turkey throughout the 2016 campaign. Read more here.

The seven counts against President Donald Trump's longtime friend and veteran political operative Roger Stone include one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of false statements -- including lying to Congress -- and one count of witness tampering in special counsel Robert Muellers probe into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election.

The charges brought by Mueller's office largely revolve around false statements Stone is accused of making to the House Intelligence Committee regarding his communications with associates about Wikileaks. He also stands accused of witness tampering in connection with humorist and radio show host Randy Credico's testimony to the House Intelligence Committee. In Stone's 24-page indictment, Mueller painted perhaps the clearest picture yet of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Read more here.

Michael Cohen, President Donald J. Trumps former personal attorney and long-time fixer, pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to Congress, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. In December, a federal judge in New York sentenced Cohen to three months in prison on the false statements charge to be served concurrently with a three-year sentence he received for other crimes committed in the Southern District of New York. He is due to report to prison by March 6. Read more here.

Long before Russian hackers purportedly stole emails from the Democratic National Committee, other Russians were already attempting to interfere with the U.S. political system and American society through a widespread online influence campaign, according to special counsel Robert Mueller. The influence operation started as far back as 2014, was well-funded in part by a reported associate of Russian president Vladimir Putin, and took advantage of the already divisive political landscape to try to turn Americans against one another, an indictment filed by the special counsel says. Read more here.

On July 13, 2018 special counsel Robert Mueller took direct aim at the Russians who allegedly were personally responsible for infiltrating the Democratic National Committees computer system, among others, setting in motion what former intelligence officers call one of the most effective active measures campaigns in history. The defendants are charged with Conspiracy to Commit an Offense Against the United States, Aggravated Identity Theft and Conspiracy to Launder Money. Read more here.

George Papadopoulos, the novice, unpaid foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump was secretly arrested for lying to FBI investigators about his correspondence with foreign nationals with close ties to senior Russian government officials. His indictment was revealed to the public after he pleaded guilty in October 2017. In September 2018, Papadopoulos was sentenced to 14 days incarceration, 200 hours of community service and a $9,500 fine. Read more here.

In April 2018, Dutch national Alex van der Zwaan became the first person sentenced in special counsel Robert Meuller's Russia investigation in federal court in Washington. Earlier that year, he had pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents about his contacts with Trump campaign deputy chair Rick Gates in September 2016. Read more here.

Richard Pinedo might be one of the lesser-known figures caught up in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation but the California man played an instrumental role in a Russian troll factory's online influence campaign during the 2016 election by unwittingly selling bank accounts to Russians. In February 2018, Pinedo pleaded guilty to one count of identity fraud and in October that year was sentenced to serve six months in prison, followed by six months of home confinement and 100 hours of community service. Read more here.
Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site.

Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site.

Honda has recalled 200,000 inverter generators sold between February 2018 and February 2019 because they can leak gasoline from the fuel valve, posing a fire hazard. Honda has received 19 reports of gasoline leaking from the fuel valve, but the Consumer Product Safety Commission hasnt received any reports of injuries associated with the generator.



The recall involves three variations of the same model of portable generatorthe Honda EU2200i, the EU2200i Companion, and the EB2200i. A Honda spokesman said that the flaw can be attributed to a manufacturing defect. The screws used to assemble the fuel valve may loosen during use, allowing the valve to leak fuel, says Davis Adams, communications manager for Hondas power-equipment division.



Consumer Reports hasnt tested the Honda EU2200i inverter generator but has tested the Honda EG2800i, which was the subject of an earlier recall. That recall involved 34,000 generators that could potentially leak fuel from the carburetor. Adams says that even though both recalls involve fuel leakage, theyre unrelated. The mechanism of the leakage in the earlier recall is completely different from this new recall activity, he says. In fact, the models are actually produced at different factories.

Gasoline-powered products being recalled for fuel leaks are not an uncommon problem, says John Galeotafiore, who oversees CRs testing of outdoor power equipment.



Honda is asking owners of the recalled generators to stop using them and contact an authorized Honda power-equipment dealer to schedule a free repair, which involves replacing the fuel valve. Due to the complicated nature of replacing the fuel valve, this is a repair that can only be accomplished by an authorized dealer, Adams says.



The company is contacting owners who registered their generators. If you own this model and didnt register it, you can find the full list of serial numbers on the CPSCs recall notice. The serial number can be found in a lower corner on one of the side panels of your generator.

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Honda Generator Recall Details

The recall: 200,000 inverter generators in red or camo.



The risk: The portable generator can leak gasoline from the fuel valve, posing fire and burn hazards.



Where and when sold: Sold at authorized Honda power-equipment dealers, Home Depot, and other home-improvement stores and online from February 2018 through February 2019 for about $1,100 to $1,300.



The remedy: Owners should stop using the recalled generators and contact a local authorized Honda power-equipment service dealer to schedule a free repair. Honda is contacting all known purchasers directly.



Contact the manufacturer: Call American Honda at 888-888-3139 or check the Recalls and Updates section of the Honda website for information on this and previous recalls.



To report a defective product: Call the CPSC hotline at 800-638-2772 or go to saferproducts.gov.







More from Consumer Reports:

Top pick tires for 2016

Best used cars for $25,000 and less

7 best mattresses for couples





Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright  2019, Consumer Reports, Inc.
By Orfa Mejia TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez on Sunday called Jerusalem Israel's capital, saying the Central American country would open a trade office there, but he stopped short of announcing plans to move his embassy from Tel Aviv. Hernandez has in recent months signaled that his government is mulling moving the Honduran embassy to Jerusalem, and made his comments on the holy city during his appearance at a conference on U.S.-Israeli relations in Washington. "Today I have announced the first step, which is to open a trade office in Jerusalem, the capital of the state of Israel, and this will be an extension of our embassy in Tel Aviv," Hernandez said in a statement issued by his government. "I've said that a second step will draw a lot of attacks from the enemies of Israel and the United States, but we will continue along this path," Hernandez added. Hernandez' comments follow the formal recognition by U.S. President Donald Trump of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. Last May, Trump moved the U.S. embassy to the disputed city. Trump's move was criticized by many foreign governments and caused anger among Palestinians, who with broad international backing seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they want to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. East Jerusalem is still considered occupied under international law, and the city's status is supposed to be decided as part of an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. Hernandez, an ally of the United States, said the trade and cooperation office would open immediately in Jerusalem. His foreign ministry said in a statement that Israel would in a reciprocal gesture open an office for cooperation in Tegucigalpa, giving it diplomatic status. In 2017, Guatemala and neighboring Honduras were two of only a handful of countries to join Israel and the United States in voting against a U.N. resolution calling on Washington to drop its recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. Guatemala moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in May after the United States, fueling expectations that Hernandez might follow suit. Honduras and Guatemala are two of the most violent and impoverished countries in the Americas. Both depend economically to a significant degree on U.S. aid and investment, and the leaders of the two have generated significant controversy. Hernandez' legitimacy was called into question during his 2017 re-election bid after the official vote count ground to a halt when he appeared to be headed for defeat. After the count restarted, the trend turned against his opponent and the electoral authority declared him victor, a decision later backed by the United States. Meanwhile his Guatemalan counterpart, Jimmy Morales, has clashed with the United Nations for closing down a U.N. anti-corruption body that sought to have him impeached. (Reporting by Orfa Mejia; Writing by Dave Graham; Editing by Sandra Maler)
The third time was the charm for Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei, who defeated world No. 1 Naomi Osaka of Japan, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3, in the third round of the Miami Open on Saturday.

The No. 27 seed Hsieh had lost both previous matches against Osaka, including a notable three-set battle at the Australian Open earlier this year. Osaka survived that match en route to her second Grand Slam title, but this time was a different story as Hsieh took the win in two hours and 18 minutes.

Hsieh rebounded from early breaks in each of the last two sets and saved eight of the 12 break points she faced. Down 2-0 in the third set, Hsieh won six of the final seven games to take the match.

"I feel like I've dealt with the stress of people asking me do I have pressure because I have the No. 1 next to my name," Osaka said. "I thought I was doing fine with that, but I guess I'm not."

In the fourth round, Hsieh will face former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, the No. 13 seed.

Wozniacki continued her dominance over unseeded Monica Niculescu, sweeping the Romanian 6-4, 7-6 (4) to extend her head-to-head lead over Niculescu to 10-0.

The pair traded breaks twice in the second set: Wozniacki earned a 2-0 lead before Niculescu broke straight back, and again with Wozniacki closing in on the set at 5-3, Niculescu broke back to force a tiebreaker.

Wozniacki reeled off six points in a row to jump out front, but Niculescu saved four match points before the Dane closed out the match.

In other action on Saturday, No. 3 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic survived a three-set tussle with No. 26 Donna Vekic of Croatia, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. No. 7 Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands dropped her first set to Slovakia's Viktoria Kuzmova before cruising to win, 3-6, 6-0, 6-1. No. 12 Ashleigh Barty rolled past fellow Australian Samantha Stosur, 6-0, 6-3. And No. 19 seed Caroline Garcia of France defeated No. 15 Julia Goerges of Germany, 6-0, 7-5.

Earlier Saturday, Serena Williams unexpectedly withdrew citing a previously undisclosed left knee injury.

--Field Level Media
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP)  The Iditarod musher who was hours ahead in the Alaska wilderness race when his dogs refused to keep running dismissed critics who say he ran them too hard and chalked it up to a bad memory that spooked them.

The team stopped last week after Frenchman Nicolas Petit yelled at a dog that was bullying another, but they "did not slow down like a tired team would," he said.

It came a year after they got lost in a blizzard near the same spot along the Bering Sea coast  close to the finish line of the 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometer) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race that takes global competitors across mountain ranges and wind-swept ice.

"I wouldn't say it's a curse for me, I just had a bad time last year and lingering effects of the bad time this year," Petit said.

It was pure coincidence that it happened at the same point in the race, he said.

"They remember that we didn't have a fun run," going through the snow the wrong way, Petit said Wednesday, sprawling out on a friend's sofa in Anchorage.

Dogs from his team piled on top of him and licked his face. Also nosing their way in for attention were Joey, who was the bully on the trail, and Danny, the younger male dog who was bullied.

When Petit withdrew from the race this year, he said it was a "head thing" for the dogs.

Then the blowback began  in press releases, on blogs and on social media. The most vocal critic of the race, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said it wasn't the dogs that needed their heads examined, it was anyone who supports "the merciless race."

Others speculated that Petit overexerted the dogs, they were mistreated or were mentally unfit to run. Petit denies it all.

"This isn't any type of a reason to get rid of what I consider my children  the dogs I raised," Petit said. "No, I won't get rid of them. They are the most important thing in my life."

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He also said he's "stopping plenty" along the grueling route, preferring to rest outside checkpoints and along the trail when possible, where he says it's quieter and the dogs get more sleep.

Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the Iditarod in 1985, said the sport requires a fine balance between being competitive and keeping the dogs happy  something she said Petit excels at.

"People have this idea that you can force these dogs" to the finish line, Riddles said last week. "It's not like that at all."

In 2018, Petit rested his dogs at a cabin between checkpoints before the disastrous run in the blizzard. He planned to stay at the cabin again this year but leave it with a well-rested team.

Video shows an energetic and eager dog team entering and leaving the first checkpoint.

Within a mile of the cabin, the dog dustup happened. Joey, a 2-year-old and the only non-neutered male on the team, was behind Danny, a 16-month-old pup. Every time Danny slowed down, Joey would pick on him.

Finally, Petit yelled, "Joey, that's enough!"

"I raise my voice a little bit and they are all like, 'Oh, boy, that's not normal,'" Petit said. "I try to be as calming and collected with my dogs as possible all the time, so they heard an upset daddy."

The team refused to keep going. He tried walking ahead of them to see if they would follow and putting different dogs in the lead. Other mushers came by, but even that didn't rouse the dogs.

They finally got the mile to the cabin. Fourteen hours after the dogs stopped, they took off but didn't make it far. Petit took them back and pushed the panic button on his GPS unit, effectively withdrawing from the race.

A snowmobile brought food and then carted the dogs off the trail.

Petit still expects to compete in next year's Iditarod. He's said he's planning to take his dogs next week to the problem area  the Bering Sea coast  to show them the fun they can have on that stretch of the trail.

"And that it's not always blowing, and we don't always get lost, and it can be a very positive experience as opposed to the last two years," he said.
In this Wednesday, May 17, 2017, file photo, graduating students fill the Columbia University campus during a graduation ceremony in New York. Having college debt disappear is something many student loan holders can only dream of. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Yahoo Finance reporter Brian Cheung contributed data to this article.

News reports of jaw-dropping scandals involving corruption and fraud in the admissions process of several elite schools are coming at a bad time for the higher education community. Academia was already playing defense in Washington against perceptions of favoritism in admissions practices and intolerance for diverse political views.

But perhaps most damaging has been widespread public concern over high college costs and the $1.4 trillion in taxpayer-backed debt students have racked up to pay for them.

Proposals have already been circulating Congress to tighten the student loan program and impose more accountability on colleges for poor student outcomes. And just last week, the Trump administration proposed new caps on student loans. Higher educations value is being challenged as never before: Are colleges singularly focused on providing students with a good quality education, or is that secondary to maximizing tuition revenue and building networks of elite donors? We tend to think the former and that the vast majority of colleges put the interests of their students first.

Image source: David Foster/Yahoo Finance

An experimental new financing model

However, they need to acknowledge the status quo isnt working. Instead of digging in and opposing such efforts, higher education should work collaboratively with Congress to fix our broken system of higher education finance. There are two core problems with that system: 1) it relies primarily on debt to finance college even though it is impossible to know the eventual repayment capacity of a young person just entering school; and 2) it creates misaligned economic incentives by placing all the financial risks on students, and ultimately taxpayers if the student defaults, while loan proceeds go to higher education institutions, who suffer no financial consequences if their students fail.

Fortunately, some innovative colleges, in partnership with private investors and a small number of philanthropies, are experimenting with a new financing model called income share agreements or ISAs which address these two core issues. With an ISA, instead of assuming a fixed debt obligation, students simply agree to pay an affordable percentage of their future income over a set time period, subject to an overall cap. High earners will have larger payments than low earners, but all will have an affordable payment, based on what they will actually be making. Importantly, when the college is providing some or all of the funding for the ISA, its return will be aligned with its students post-college earnings, giving it economic incentives to make sure its students both graduate and find jobs. The college is, literally, invested in its students success.

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ISAs should not be confused with current income-based repayment plans or IBRs offered by the government, which retain students debt obligations and can actually lead to increased debt for low earners when their income cannot support interest due on their loans. With ISAs, there is no principal or interest. Thus, they are much better suited for low income students as their financial obligations never exceed their ability to pay.

Source: David Foster/Yahoo Finance

In a recent paper commissioned by the Manhattan Institute, we looked at the small but growing number of colleges and universities offering ISA programs. Indianas Purdue University launched the first such program in 2016. About a dozen other institutions have now followed suit, including Lackawanna College in Pennsylvania, Clarkson University in New York, and the University of Utah. Most of these pioneers offer ISAs to students as an alternative to non-subsidized federal loans, though a few are offering them as a complete substitute for borrowing. They are also offered to students who do not qualify for federal loans, such as noncitizen DREAMers. In addition, they are popular with students pursuing alternatives to traditional higher education such as computer coding academies, which are ineligible for federal student loan programs.

A common feature of all these ISA programs is that they require payments only when the graduate meets a certain income threshold. All impose time limits and caps on the total amount that needs to be repaid, though they differ widely in where they set those caps and limits. A few, such as Purdue, vary terms according to major, providing somewhat more favorable terms to high-earning majors to mitigate adverse selection or the risk that only low-earners will participate in ISAs. Adverse selection is a concern commonly raised about ISAs, though notably, most colleges offering them have decided not to differentiate among majors. The insurance feature of ISAs, providing downside protection if the high-earner suffers a setback through, for instance, illness or economic conditions, as well as caps that place an upper-bound on the high-earners total obligation, help address adverse selection, but the differing terms of these early programs will help test that hypothesis.

More universities need to get on board

Though ISAs are a promising alternative to student debt, we need more schools willing to offer them. One impediment has been the low level of philanthropic support. Most foundations and college endowments have taken a wait and see posture, preferring to let private capital take the lead. Though private investors may have a place in helping colleges fund ISAs, they may be less patient and less prone to experimentation than nonprofits that will not be as focused on near-term investment returns. Greater support from philanthropy would give colleges more flexibility to experiment with contracts that meet the needs of students pursuing a variety of disciplines, for instance, by providing longer repayment periods for liberal arts majors who tend to hit peak earnings later in their careers.

Another impediment to ISAs has been the lack of a clear legal framework. While ISAs are legally permissible under current law, private investors and philanthropies are hesitant to invest in an innovation which has no explicit rules governing student protections, regulatory oversight, and enforceability. Bipartisan legislation has been introduced to provide such a framework, which includes caps on the percentage of income which can be dedicated to ISA payments, student contractual rights, and oversight by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Enacting such legislation would help spur greater ISA availability at no cost to the taxpayer.

Most importantly, the government could be more pro-active. Though nascent ISA programs are now offered primarily as alternatives to high-cost bank and PLUS loans, they hold promise as an eventual replacement for direct federal lending. Still, more testing is needed to inform the design of such a program. Congress could instruct the Department of Education to fund a small number of ISA pilots, for instance, with colleges and the government sharing in the funding of ISAs and likewise, sharing in ISA returns. Unlike student loans, which place the financial risk squarely on students and taxpayers, ISA partnerships would have colleges and the government sharing in the risk of student failure and rewards from student success. This would be an elegant, dynamic way to encourage colleges to focus on their students post-graduation employability, without Uncle Sam trying to guess labor market needs and micro manage students career choices in providing federal student aid.

A political backlash is brewing against higher education. The last Congress brought punitive tax measures targeting large college endowments and the deductibility of interest on student debt. In this Congress, higher-ed will again be in the cross-hairs. Institutions of higher learning would be well-advised to follow the lead of this small group of ISA innovators and demonstrate to the Congress that they are ready to take on greater stewardship for students success. We are failing young people, failing taxpayers, and failing our economy which needs more highly educated workers to remain globally competitive. Our system of college finance is taking on water. ISAs may be able to keep the system afloat.

Preston Cooper is a research analyst with the American Enterprise Institute. Sheila Bair is the former Chair of the FDIC and former President of Washington College.

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Elizabeth Warren wants a banking system that works for everyone

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Baghdad (AFP) - Iraq's parliament on Sunday sacked the governor of a northern province where 100 people died in a ferry disaster that sparked a wave of grief and anger.

Most of those killed when the boat sank Thursday in the Tigris River in Mosul were women and children headed for a Mother's Day picnic on the Kurds' Nowruz New Year holiday.

Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mehdi wrote to parliament on Saturday calling on legislators to fire Nineveh provincial governor Nawfel Akoub, citing "negligence and concrete failings" meriting his dismissal.

His two deputies were also fired during a vote in the national assembly.

Parliament declared those killed in the tragedy "martyrs", allowing their families to receive financial compensation and paving the way for court proceedings.

Sixteen people have been arrested as part of an investigation into the ferry capsize, a security official said.

Authorities say 63 people are still listed as missing.

Dozens of students held a silent protest Sunday on the campus of the university of Mosul, dressed in black to mourn the victims.

One of them, Abdullah al-Jubburi, told AFP they were demonstrating to demand that "corrupt" politicians and civil servants be replaced.

"The governor and all corrupt officials must be put on trial... We are fed up of being mistreated and marginalised," said fellow protester Isra Mohammed.

Akoub has already been subjected to the anger of victims' relatives and their supporters over alleged corruption and cronyism.

When he visited the scene of the tragedy on Friday stones were thrown at his convoy by protesters demonstrating against perceived corruption and neglect.
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's parliament voted on Sunday to sack the governor of Nineveh after an overloaded ferry capsized, killing at least 90 people, in the provincial capital Mosul, state media said. The boat was carrying families heading to an outing on an island in the Tigris River on Thursday when it sank. Many of the women and children on board could not swim. Islamic State militants were driven from Mosul nearly two years ago, but relief has given way to impatience over alleged corruption as reconstruction of the destroyed city has stalled. Scores of protesters swarmed Iraq's president and the governor on Friday, forcing them to leave the site of the accident. The crowd threw stones and shoes at Governor Nawfal Hammadi al-Sultan's car, which sped off hitting two people, one of whom was taken to hospital. Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi on Saturday formally asked parliament to remove Sultan. Iraqi law gives the federal parliament the right to sack provincial governors based on the suggestion of the prime minister. Parliament also voted to sack Sultan's two deputies, in line with Abdul Mahdi's request. The governor can appeal the decision at court. He has not commented on the vote yet. Abdul Mahdi's letter to parliament accused Sultan of negligence, dereliction of duty, and said there was evidence he was misusing public funds and abusing power. Protesters blamed negligence by the local government for the accident. The boat was loaded to five times its capacity, according to a local official. (Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Alison Williams)
Civilians evacuated from the Isil group's embattled holdout of Baghouz wait at a screening area held by SDF, in the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor - AFP

The driver cocked his gun as he passed the last checkpoint before the vast no mans land up ahead.

The stretch of open road between the eastern provinces of Hasakah and Deir Ezzor, or Highway Seven, has become the most dangerous in Syria.

While Western-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Saturday declared victory over Islamic States caliphate, the group's followers have for weeks been demonstrating they are still able and willing to carry out attacks in its name.

Detonating suicide car bombs, IEDs and carrying out roadside ambushes, Isil has been turning back to guerrilla tactics as it readies a new modus operandi.

A female fighter of the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) flashes the victory gesture while celebrating near the Omar oil field in the eastern Syrian Deir Ezzor province Credit: AFP

Every few days the jihadist group shares news of its successes on official media channels, one of many arms of a propaganda operation which it has weaponised to inspire terror around the world.

I read there was one in this very spot yesterday, the driver, an ethnic Kurd from further north, said, warily eyeing a veering motorbike in front. He took off his North Face jacket in the hope of appearing less like an outsider to suspicious locals.

In the midst of celebrating its hard-won victory, the SDF was already cautioning that the fight against Isil was not over, but simply entering a new phase.

When we go to the frontlines, we face them, SDF commander Adnan Afrin said, not far from the battlefield before the caliphate was retaken. We are fighting them on the ground. We know who is in front of us.

Heavy smoke rises above Isil's last remaining position in the village of Baghouz during battles with the SDF, in the countryside of the eastern Syrian province of Deir Ezzor Credit: AFP

But behind us are sleeper cells. The fight against the enemy you cannot see is much harder.

The SDF arrested thousands of suspected Isil fighters during its three-year offensive, but US intelligence believes the group still has 15,000 to 20,000 armed adherents active across Syria and Iraq.

Terrorism experts say this is in all likelihood a modest estimate.

Members of the Isils senior leadership are also still alive, including its chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and thought to be hiding in desertland either in Anbar in western Iraq or Badia in central Syria, where Isil still has a presence.

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They have been urging supporters to keep up the fight against SDF troops, saying their defeat in Baghuz - their final holdout - would not weaken the group, and pitching the assault as a setback in an epic struggle.

"Avenge the blood of your brothers and sisters... Set up the (explosive) devices, deploy the snipers," spokesman Abu Hassan al-Muhajir said in an audio message released earlier this week.

Men suspected of being Isil fighters wait to be searched by members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Credit: AFP

Images of the charred bodies of the women and child victims of coalition air strikes in Baghuz circulating on social media today will become Isil martyrdom propaganda tomorrow.

The group has sowed the seeds of an international network, with millions following its media output on encrypted channels.

It has inspired insurgent offshoots in troubled zones across the world - most notably Libya, Egypts Sinai Peninsula, Nigeria, Yemen, Afghanistan, and the Philippines.

The leaders ordered the last band of militants to surrender in the hope that they would live on to fight another day. They have long reconciled to losing their physical caliphate, but believe that such defeats are inevitable tests from God - who will ultimately grant them victory.

A member of the SDF holds a toddler during a security check of her and her mother (unseen) after they left Isil's last holdout of Baghuz Credit: AFP

The challenge for the overstretched SDF will be holding ground as the jihadis seek to exploit the power vacuum after the US now begins to withdraw the majority of its 2,000 troops from the country.

ISIS ruled as a caliphate for 1,737 days, Hassan Hassan, senior nonresident fellow at Washington-based Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, tweeted on Saturday. The Taliban ruled Afghanistan as a government for 1,836.

The Taliban now controls more areas than it ever did since its collapse. Years from now, ISIS too will steadily be in de facto control of most of the areas its lost, predicted Mr Hassan.

Formerly Isil-held cities Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq that were decimated by coalition air strikes are still counting the dead and struggling to rebuild.

There has been little in the way of reconciliation or rehabilitation for the communities who have been touched by the group's poisonous ideology, including thousands of orphaned children.

Byda'a Thanoon, 47, and sister Khawla Thanoon, 57, look for where their mother may be buried under the rubble near their destroyed house in the old city of Mosul Credit: Sam Tarling for The Telegraph

Tens of thousands of jihadis are now lingering in prisons and camps around northern Syria and neighbouring Iraq. Among them are at least 3,000 foreigners, whose fate has become a political minefield for Western governments.

It was in overcrowded camps like these that Baghdadi and a cadre of like-minded extremists formed the group that would later morph into Isil. Many fear history could repeat itself.

Unfortunately Isils popularity has probably grown after the battle of the Baghuz, said Aghiad al-Kheder, an activist from Deir Ezzor who fled Syria in 2015. Isil isnt in one place or another, its everywhere, hiding among us.
Jerusalem (AFP) - US President Donald Trump will sign an order recognising Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights when he meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Monday, Israel's foreign minister said.

"President Trump will sign tomorrow in the presence of PM Netanyahu an order recognising Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights," Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

Again breaking with longstanding international consensus, Trump said on Thursday that the United States should acknowledge Israeli sovereignty over the strategic plateau it seized from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War.

He however left unanswered if or when he would follow through with an order to do so.

Netanyahu has long pushed for such recognition, and many analysts saw Trump's statement, which came in a tweet, as a campaign gift ahead of Israel's April 9 polls.

The prime minister is locked in tough election campaign with a centrist political alliance headed by former military chief Benny Gantz and ex-finance minister Yair Lapid.

Syria and other states in the region condemned Trump's pledge, saying it violates international law. France said the same.

Israel annexed the Golan in 1981 in a move never recognised by the international community.

The decision is the latest major move in favour of Israel by Trump, who in 2017 recognised the disputed city of Jerusalem as the country's capital.
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli aircraft targeted Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip early Sunday after Palestinians there threw explosive devices at the border fence during "riots", the army said.

Also Sunday, the health ministry in Gaza announced the death of a Palestinian wounded previously in clashes with Israeli forces.

Palestinians in Gaza had thrown a number of explosive devices toward the border fence with Israel, one of which set off air raid sirens in the south of the country late Saturday, the army said.

"In response to multiple explosive devices that were hurled and exploded during Gaza riots near Israel's border fence this evening, an IDF aircraft targeted two Hamas observation posts in the southern Gaza Strip," a statement from the military read.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in Gaza.

The Gaza health ministry however announced the death of 24-year-old Habib al-Masri, who was wounded in clashes with the Israeli army. It gave no details on when he was wounded.

On Friday, two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in separate border clashes.

And on Saturday, the Israeli army launched two separate airstrikes against groups of Palestinians in Gaza who had allegedly flown balloons rigged with explosives into Israel.

The Gaza health ministry said two Palestinians had been wounded.

At least 258 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since weekly border protests began nearly a year ago.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniya is calling for a mass turnout for border protests scheduled for the first anniversary of the demonstrations, on March 30.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for all attacks from Gaza, controlled by the Islamist group since 2007.
By Jeffrey Heller JERUSALEM (Reuters) - With Israel's election only two weeks away, Benjamin Netanyahu will get to showcase his close ties with Donald Trump in a U.S. visit days after the president backed Israel's hold over the occupied Golan Heights. The prime minister's White House meeting with Trump on Monday could be overshadowed in the United States by the expected release of details from a confidential report into an investigation into possible collusion between the president and Russia in his 2016 U.S. election campaign. But Netanyahu, facing possible indictment in three corruption cases and denying any wrongdoing, will play to a domestic audience in highlighting what he hails as the strongest bond ever between an Israeli leader and an American president. Before returning on Thursday from the long-planned trip to the home stretch of a close race, Netanyahu can expect a warm reception from Trump, who along with the First Lady, will also host a dinner for Netanyahu and his wife, Sara. Trump helped to set the scene for his ally on Thursday, announcing that the time had come to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, strategic territory that Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in 1981 in a move that did not win international support. On Sunday Israel's acting foreign minister, Israel Katz, said on Twitter that Trump would sign a decree codifying such recognition, with Netanyahu present, on Monday. The president's move on the Golan was widely seen in Israel - where Trump is a popular figure - as an attempt to provide an election boost to right-wing Netanyahu, who had pressed for yet another departure from long-standing U.S. policy in one of the world's most volatile regions. Trump had already fulfilled two major items on Netanyahu's wish list, recognizing contested Jerusalem as Israel's capital in 2017 and moving the American embassy to the holy city from Tel Aviv last May. Those steps angered Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem, also captured by Israel in 1967, as the capital of a state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. It also set them firmly against a peace plan Washington says it will present after the Israeli ballot. "We have never had such a bond between the prime minister of Israel and an American president," Netanyahu, who has featured Trump on his campaign billboards, told reporters upon his departure from Tel Aviv. For Trump, Netanyahu's embrace resonates with U.S. evangelists - a core constituency for the Republican leader, who is up for re-election in 2020. CLOSE RACE Before arriving in Washington on Sunday, Netanyahu said he would speak to Trump "about his historic declaration" on the Golan and "continued pressure on Iran" after the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Tehran that had relaxed sanctions on Israel's arch-foe. Netanyahu will also address the pro-Israel lobbying group, AIPAC, at its annual convention in Washington, as will his main challenger in the election, former military chief Benny Gantz, who heads a centrist party. The prime minister said he will meet leaders of Congress during the visit. Netanyahu's relations with Democrats have been strained by his unflinching support for Trump, friction with the Democratic party's progressive wing and his thorny relationship with Barack Obama. Opinions polls show Netanyahu running neck and neck with Gantz. The political newcomer has called for clean governance, building on the attorney-general's announcement in February that he intends to indict Netanyahu on bribery and fraud charges, pending a hearing after the April 9 vote. "(Trump's statement about the Golan) will really help Netanyahu," said Billha Ketter, 67, an event planner, speaking to Reuters in Rosh Pina, which abuts the Golan Heights. She accused the president of intervening in Israel's election. Opinion polls gauging whether Trump's move is having an effect are expected later in the week. (Additional reporting by Rami Ayyub in Rosh Pina, Israel; Editing by Maayan Lubell, Keith Weir and David Goodman)
WASHINGTON (AP)  A look at the key players entangled in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe.

PAUL MANAFORT

The former chairman of Trump's campaign has been convicted in Washington and Virginia of crimes related to years of Ukrainian political consulting work, including allegations he concealed his foreign government work from the United States and failed to pay taxes on it. Though the charges don't directly touch Trump, he's nonetheless remained a figure of considerable intrigue and enjoys the continued sympathy of the president, who has left open the door for a pardon. He is now serving a more than seven-year prison sentence.

MICHAEL FLYNN

Trump's former national security adviser pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI just days after Trump took office by telling agents that he had never discussed sanctions with the then Russian ambassador to the United States. The White House said Flynn had misled administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, about the conversation and ousted him weeks later. He's since become a vital cooperator for Mueller.

MICHAEL COHEN

Trump's longtime lawyer and fixer is at the center of not only Mueller's investigation but also a separate, and rapidly mushrooming, investigation into hush-money payments. In Mueller's investigation, Cohen has admitted lying to Congress about a proposed real estate development in Moscow. He told lawmakers the negotiations were done in January 2016 when in fact they stretched deep into the campaign. He also pleaded guilty in New York to campaign finance violations stemming from the payments, with prosecutors saying last week that he "acted in coordination and at the direction of Individual 1"  or Trump.

GEORGE PAPADOPOULOS

The former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser served a 14-day prison sentence after admitting lying to the FBI about a 2016 conversation with a Maltese professor who told him that Russia had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton in the form of stolen emails. Information about Papadopoulos' contacts during the campaign started the FBI's Russia investigation.

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RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE

Twelve Russian military intelligence officers were charged in July with hacking into email accounts of Clinton's presidential campaign and the Democratic Party and then facilitating the release of tens of thousands of private communications. It remains perhaps the most direct example of what intelligence officials say was a broad conspiracy by the Kremlin to meddle in the 2016 election on Trump's behalf.

RUSSIAN ONLINE TROLLS

A separate indictment charges 13 Russians with funding a covert social media propaganda campaign to sow discord among Americans in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. Prosecutors say the scheme was run by a Russia-based troll farm that used bogus social media postings and advertisements fraudulently purchased in the name of Americans to try to influence the race.

ROGER STONE

A longtime Trump confidant, and self-proclaimed "dirty trickster" of Republican politics, Stone is charged with witness tampering and lying to Congress about his efforts to gain advance knowledge of WikiLeaks' plans to release damaging information on Clinton during 2016. Though a Stone tweet from 2016  "Trust me, it will soon the Podesta's time in the barrel"  appeared to presage the disclosure of hacked emails, Stone has said he had no inside knowledge about the content, source or timing of WikiLeaks' disclosure. He has also pleaded not guilty to the federal charges brought by Mueller.

JULIAN ASSANGE

The WikiLeaks founder, under Justice Department scrutiny for years for the group's role in publishing government secrets, has been an important figure in the Mueller investigation as investigators examine how WikiLeaks obtained emails stolen from Clinton's campaign and Democratic groups. Prosecutors have also investigated whether any Americans were involved in coordinating that effort. Separately, prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia inadvertently disclosed the existence of a sealed criminal complaint against the WikiLeaks founder, though no details have been publicly announced.

DONALD TRUMP JR.

The president's eldest son has attracted scrutiny for his role in arranging a Trump Tower meeting in June 2016  also attended by Manafort and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner  at which he expected to receive damaging information on Clinton. He has said the meeting was a waste of time because he didn't receive anything interesting from the attorney, Natalia Veselnitskaya. Both he and his father have suggested that anyone in that position would have taken such a meeting in hopes of getting dirt on a political opponent.

The meeting has been of interest to investigators, who have called multiple participants before the grand jury.

___

Read AP's coverage of the Russia probe: https://apnews.com/TrumpInvestigations
ISTANBUL (AP)  Millions of Kurdish votes will be crucial in determining the fate of Turkey's March 31 local elections, as a pro-Kurdish party has made the strategic decision to send votes to an opposition rival to challenge the ruling party in key races in Istanbul and Ankara.

The Peoples' Democratic Party, or HDP, is running in municipal races amid a polarized political landscape and a heavy government crackdown on its members for alleged links to outlawed Kurdish militants. Party mayors and lawmakers, including former chairman Selahattin Demirtas, have been jailed.

The HDP  the second biggest opposition group in Turkey's parliament  draws most of its support from Kurds living in the southeast and in large Turkish cities, as well as other groups for its emphasis on minority rights. Kurds make up about a fifth of Turkey's 80 million people.

The HDP is leading a "Kurdish election alliance" with seven smaller political groups to run in the municipal elections. It has fielded candidates for the March 31 vote in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast but is sitting out critical races in Turkey's major cities, including Istanbul and Ankara, the capital.

The strategy aims to deliver HDP votes to Turkey's main secular opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), and its alliance with a small nationalist party so the opposition can better challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP.

Opinion polls suggest Ankara could be won by opposition candidate Mansur Yavas, after being held by AKP and its Islam-oriented predecessor for a quarter of a century.

The race for mayor of Istanbul  Turkey's largest city  may also be tight between former Prime Minister Binali Yildirim from Erdogan's party and opposition candidate Ekrem Imamoglu.

Pervin Buldan, co-leader of the Kurdish party, told supporters in Istanbul on Sunday that the HDP had become a key party in Turkey.

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"We are a party that will determine the fate of the elections in Istanbul," she said.

The Kurdish HDP party got nearly six million votes in last year's general election and Demirtas has twice run against Erdogan for president  the last time from prison.

Tens of thousands of Kurdish supporters attended Sunday's rally, waving flags and chanting slogans for Demirtas and the imprisoned leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

Ridvan Tekin, a 35-year-old HDP member, said he'll vote for the secular rival party.

"It's not because I love the CHP, but because this regime (of Erdogan's) needs to change now," he said.

The campaign for municipal seats has been lopsided in favor of Erdogan's party, with the president's daily rallies broadcast live on Turkish television. In every speech, Erdogan has called the elections a fight for "national survival" and branded Kurdish HDP politicians as terrorists and traitors.

HDP's campaign has found no place in mainstream media and the party accuses Erdogan of hostile rhetoric to shore up nationalist sentiments.

In the southeast, the HDP aims to win back control of municipalities that were seized by the government during a state of emergency declared after the 2016 failed coup. Government-appointed trustees replaced elected officials in nearly a 100 municipalities, including in Diyarbakir, the symbolic capital of Kurds in southeastern Turkey.

"My vote is for the HDP because HDP is honor, peace, fraternity. Long live HDP, long live freedom," said Diyarbakir voter Mehmet Birgul, 30.

In October, Erdogan threatened not to accept such an outcome in the southeast.

"If people involved with terror are chosen in the ballot boxes in these elections, we'll immediately do what's necessary and continue on our path by appointing trustees," he said.

The government accuses HDP politicians of links to PKK, and Erdogan regularly brands them terrorists and traitors. The HDP does not deny such links but says it only advocates for Kurdish rights and democracy through legal, political means.

The PKK, considered a terror group by Turkey and its Western allies, has waged an insurgency since 1984 and the conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives. A fragile cease-fire held for more than two years as the Turkish government, HDP politicians and the PKK's jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, negotiated a peace process.

But the resumption of hostilities in the summer of 2015 brought clashes to southeastern cities where round-the-clock curfews were declared. Since then, at least 4,280 people have been killed, including civilians, according to the International Crisis Group.

A string of bomb attacks claimed by the PKK and its offshoots hit Turkish cities in 2016 and 2017 and the country's jets regularly strike PKK camps in the mountains of northern Iraq.

According to the Kurdish party, 10 lawmakers, 40 mayors and nearly 5,000 activists remain jailed. It says thousands in prisons are on a hunger strike to demand an end to Ocalan's isolation on a prison island in western Turkey.

The rally in Istanbul also marked Newroz, or the Kurdish New Year, where fires symbolizing purification and the arrival of spring burned, following days of celebrations in southeastern Turkey. People jumped over the fires and danced in celebration, despite a heavy police presence.

"Today is Newroz, which for us means peace, freedom, the fellowship of people. We accept everything and that's why we choose the HDP," first-time voter Ozlem Kaya said.

___

Mehmet Guzel contributed.
HOUSTON (AP)  The Latest on a flight attendant detained by U.S. immigration authorities (all times local):

9:15 p.m.

A flight attendant just released from the custody of U.S. immigration authorities after more than a month of detention says her release feels "incredible."

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it released Selene Saavedra Roman on Friday evening from a Conroe, Texas, detention center.

In a statement issued through a spokesman, Saavedra Roman said that when she left the detention center, "I cried and hugged my husband and never wanted to let go."

She expressed gratitude for those who argued for her release, saying "it fills my heart."

Roman's attorney, Belinda Martinez Arroyo, said Mesa Airlines had mistakenly reassured the enrollee in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that she could work a flight to Mexico, but Saavedra Roman was detained Feb. 12 upon her return to Houston.

___

6:30 p.m.

A flight attendant detained by U.S. immigration authorities as she was returning from an international work assignment has been freed from custody.

Selene Saavedra Roman's husband, David Watkins of College Station, Texas, told KBTX-TV of Bryan and College Station that his wife was freed from detention in Conroe, Texas, early Friday afternoon.

Messages from The Associated Press to Roman's attorney, Belinda Martinez Arroyo, were not immediately returned.

Earlier Friday, Arroyo had told reporters that Roman, who is 28, told her husband that she would be released shortly after Arroyo, Mesa Airlines and the Association of Flight Attendants publicly called for her freedom.

___

1:05 p.m.

The lawyer for a flight attendant detained by U.S. immigration authorities on her way back from an international work assignment says her client has said she is being released.

Attorney Belinda Arroyo says 28-year-old Selene Saavedra Roman called her husband Friday from a Texas immigration detention facility and said she would be getting out. It was not immediately clear when.

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The call came shortly after Arroyo, Mesa Airlines and the Association of Flight Attendants publicly called for her release.

A message sent to Immigration and Customs Enforcement was not immediately returned.

Arroyo said the airline had mistakenly reassured the enrollee in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that she could work a flight to Mexico, but Saavedra Roman was detained Feb. 12 upon her return to Houston.

___

12:12 p.m.

A flight attendant who traveled to Mexico for work through a program for immigrants brought to the U.S. as children has been detained.

Attorney Belinda Arroyo said Friday that 28-year-old Selene Saavedra Roman raised concerns about whether she could work an international flight due to her immigration status.

Arroyo says Mesa Airlines mistakenly reassured the enrollee in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

U.S. authorities stopped Saavedra Roman on her return to Houston.

Mesa Airlines apologized and joined the Association of Flight Attendants in asking for her release.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement says Saavedra Roman didn't have a valid document to enter the country.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says on its website that those who travel outside the country without permission are no longer covered by the program.
The Latest on the 2020 campaign season (all times Eastern):

7:40 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidates are making it clear that there are new voices competing for voters' attention.

California Sen. Kamala Harris sent a signal to the nation's old-guard that there's a time to move aside. At an Atlanta church service Sunday dedicated to youth, the presidential candidate compared leadership to a relay race in which older leaders must ask themselves and decide "when to pass the baton."

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand made her official announcement in front of the Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York and called him a coward who "punches down." Sen. Elizabeth Warren told a New Hampshire crowd that the NRA is holding Congress hostage on gun laws.

___

6:40 p.m.

Howard Schultz will attend the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Monday evening. That from Schultz aide Erin McPike.

Schultz's decision to attend the annual AIPAC conference in Washington comes as Democrats have been grappling with the left's criticism of Israel and as most presidential candidates are sitting this year's conference out. Schultz is actively considering an independent presidential bid himself.

On Friday, Schultz responded to a tweet from the liberal advocacy group MoveOn, which has been urging Democratic presidential candidates not to attend. He said that the "unwillingness of the far left to even speak with people they may disagree with is one of the worst symbols of the dysfunction in Washington today."

___

2:30 p.m.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren says the National Rifle Association is holding "Congress hostage" when it comes to stemming gun violence.

The Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential candidate tells a campaign rally that if seven children were dying from a mysterious virus, "we'd pull out all the stops till we figured out what was wrong." But in terms of gun violence, she says the NRA "keeps calling the shots in Washington."

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Warren finished a two-day campaign trip to New Hampshire with an event at middle school in Conway Sunday afternoon.

Warren focused much of her speech on her approach to economics, but paid special attention to unions Sunday. She says more power needs to be put back in the hands of workers.

___

1:50 p.m.

California Sen. Kamala Harris may be dropping a hint on what she thinks about former Vice President Joe Biden, who is considering a third bid for the White House.

At an Atlanta church service Sunday, Harris compared leadership to a relay race in which each generation must ask themselves "what do we do during that period of time when we carry that baton."

Then she added with a smile that for "the older leaders, it also becomes a question of let's also know when to pass the baton."

Harris is 54 years old. Biden is 76, and some of his supporters have said he's aware that his age could be a political liability in the Democratic primary. He wouldn't be the oldest contender, though. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is 77.

___

1:40 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand is assailing President Donald Trump as a coward who is "tearing apart the moral fabric of the vulnerable."

The senator is speaking in New York, feet away from one of Trump's signature properties, the Trump International Hotel and Tower.

She says that instead of building walls as Trump wants to do along the U.S.-Mexico border, Americans build bridges, community and hope.

Gillibrand also called for full release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report in the Russia investigation. Attorney General William Barr was expected to release a summary of principal conclusions, but Democrats want to see the full details.

Gillibrand is trying to position herself in the crowded field of Democrats seeking the party's nomination. While some hopefuls have shied away from mentioning Trump, Gillibrand has not hesitated to do so.

___

1:25 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke is telling voters in Las Vegas that President Donald Trump bears blame for the separation of families at the U.S.-Mexico border but responsibility lies with everyone in the country to fix the situation.

O'Rourke spoke Sunday to more than 200 people packed into and snaking around a taco shop on the city's north end. He says immigrant families are leaving their home countries and journeying on foot because they have no other choice.

The former Texas congressman says desperate families were broken up in the U.S. when they were at their most vulnerable and desperate moments, and what happened to them "is on every single one of us."

___

9 a.m.

As New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand officially kicks off her Democratic presidential campaign in New York City, her rivals are courting voters in early primary states.

Several Democratic White House hopefuls are campaigning Sunday, the day the Justice Department is expected to release key findings from special counsel Robert Mueller's confidential report on the Russia investigation.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders continues his California swing with a trip to San Francisco.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper are wrapping up campaign trips to New Hampshire.

California Sen. Kamala Harris is attending a church service before speaking at a rally in Atlanta at Morehouse College.
The leaders of China, France, Germany and the EU were set to meet in Paris on Tuesday for "unprecedented" talks on how to improve ties, despite growing jitters over Beijing's massive investments in Europe.

It comes ahead of an EU-China summit in Brussels next month and a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping signed an array of deals with France including a huge aircraft contract.

At a glitzy state dinner on Monday evening French President Emmanuel Macron said he hoped to build a "new global governance" with China and would discuss this at the "unprecedented meeting with the German chancellor and the president of the European Commission".

"This is an important gesture that we are making now. It is testament to your deep attachment to China's cooperation with Europe... and my desire to build a strong Europe," he told Xi.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker will join Xi and Macron at the Elysee Palace to explore "points of convergence" between the two trading giants.

On Monday China and France inked a dozen deals on nuclear power, cultural exchanges and clean energy, while Beijing also committed to buy 290 Airbus A320s and 10 A350 airliners from Europe's Airbus conglomerate.

The order, originally for 184 A320s for 13 Chinese airlines, was first announced during Macron's state visit to China in January 2018.

All of the deals, including one on French exports to China of frozen chicken, amount to a total of some $40 billion.

Xi's visit poses a particular challenge for Macron, who wants to deepen EU ties with China while pushing back against Beijing's growing global clout.

Speaking at the Elysee Palace on Monday following talks with Xi, Macron called for a "strong Europe-China partnership", adding that this must be based on "strong multilateralism" and "fair and balanced" trade.

Meanwhile Xi stressed that "a united and prosperous Europe fits in with our vision of a multipolar world".

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"China will always back European integration and its development," he added in a statement to the press.

Around 200 guests including the French actor Alain Delon, who is widely known in China, French electronic music composer Jean-Michel Jarre and Chinese actress Gong Li attended the state dinner on Monday.

- 'New Silk Road' -

Earlier on his trip, Xi visited Italy, which became the first G7 state to sign up to China's vast "New Silk Road" infrastructure project that has sparked unease in the US and the European Union.

Macron announced that France and China will cooperate on a number of investment projects in some of the countries involved in the initiative, a massive undertaking to link Asia to Europe.

Italy's participation comes despite misgivings over the huge venture by other European nations wary of China's growing influence.

Xi has insisted the project will be a two-way street of investment and trade.

But EU Budget Commissioner Gunther Oettinger in a newspaper interview over the weekend expressed "concern that in Italy and other European countries, infrastructure of strategic importance like power networks, high speed rail lines or harbours are no longer in European but in Chinese hands".

Europe's distrust of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, which is poised to become the dominant player in next-generation 5G mobile technology worldwide, is also emblematic of the increasingly rocky relationship.

The US is pressuring European allies not to use Huawei technology, saying it creates a security risk by potentially letting Beijing snoop on sensitive communications.

France has so far not ruled out using Huawei technology.

As well as addressing commercial cooperation and strategic issues with Xi, Macron has also been urged to deal with the case of Meng Hongwei, the Chinese former head of the France-based Interpol police agency.

Meng's wife has had no news of her husband since his arrest in China nearly six months ago. It emerged Sunday she had written to Macron asking him to bring up his disappearance with Xi.

Meng is believed to be facing corruption charges.

Despite the many sources of friction, France wants to engage China as a closer partner as Washington becomes more isolationist under Trump's "America First" policy.

For example, Macron may seek more Chinese support for the French-backed G5 Sahel force fighting Islamist extremists in Western Africa, French presidential aides said.
There is a lot to be liked about Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) as an income stock. It has paid dividends over the past 10 years. The company is currently worth US$35b, and now yields roughly 4.3%. Should it have a place in your portfolio? Lets take a look at Valero Energy in more detail.

See our latest analysis for Valero Energy

Want to participate in a research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $60 gift card!

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 it consistently paid a stable dividend without missing a payment or drastically cutting payout?

Has the amount of dividend per share grown over the past?

Can it afford to pay the current rate of dividends from its earnings?

Will it have the ability to keep paying its dividends going forward?

NYSE:VLO Historical Dividend Yield, March 24th 2019

How does Valero Energy fare?

Valero Energy has a trailing twelve-month payout ratio of 44%, which means that the dividend is covered by earnings. In the near future, analysts are predicting a payout ratio of 47% which, assuming the share price stays the same, leads to a dividend yield of around 4.5%. Furthermore, EPS is forecasted to fall to $6.97 in the upcoming year.

When assessing the forecast sustainability of a dividend it is also worth considering the cash flow of the business. Cash flow is important because companies with strong cash flow can usually sustain higher payout ratios.

Reliablity is an important factor for dividend stocks, particularly for income investors who want a strong track record of payment and a positive outlook for future payout. Although VLOs per share payments have increased in the past 10 years, it has not been a completely smooth ride. Investors have seen reductions in the dividend per share in the past, although, it has picked up again.

Relative to peers, Valero Energy has a yield of 4.3%, which is high for Oil and Gas stocks.

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Next Steps:

Keeping in mind the dividend characteristics above, Valero Energy is definitely worth considering for investors looking to build a dedicated income portfolio. Given that this is purely a dividend analysis, I recommend taking sufficient time to understand its core business and determine whether the company and its investment properties suit your overall goals. There are three essential aspects you should further research:

Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for VLOs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for VLOs outlook. Valuation: What is VLO 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 VLO 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.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.



If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.
My 8-year-old handed me my phone, eyes questioning. A text from my husband had just dinged in: There was a mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch.

The first thing my son wanted to know was how far we were from the shots.

Our family moved to Hamilton, New Zealand, from Florida two years ago, jumping at a chance to live abroad with our three boys before our oldest graduated from high school. Moving to a new country is never easy, but I cant imagine a more welcoming place than New Zealand. Weve been pulled into friendships and community. And, I admit, Ive been grateful to provide the kids with a buffer from a relentless U.S. news cycle of school shootings and political division. But now the violence was here, too.

By the next morning, specifics of the attacks had emerged  a 28-year-old alleged white supremacist shooter from Australia. A lengthy manifesto and live stream of massacre. Fifty dead.

A childhood so different from my own

We used simple terms to discuss the shootings with our youngest, then talked about the details with our older boys, 15 and 12. We told them that my husband and I were planning to attend a vigil for the victims that night at a park outside our citys mosque. Our family had attended one other vigil together in Florida before our move, after our dear friends synagogue was defaced. But this one, following incomprehensible violence, felt different. We invited the boys to join us, then gave them space to make their own decision.

Before long, our oldest came to find me. My boy, almost a man, was struggling to understand a world so different than the one Id grown up in.

Read more commentary:

After New Zealand mosque attack, I won't watch the news coverage of another mass shooting

New Zealand mosque massacre proves social media giants don't deserve their power, freedom

Media amplifies New Zealand shooting suspect's 'manifesto,' giving mass killers a platform

He wanted to attend the vigil, but hed seen on social media that two people had made threats against our local mosque. People were worried that our city was next. He wanted to know if the vigil would be safe.

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I paused, my first instinct to tell him not to worry. Social media makes it easy for powerless people to throw threats into the world. But he deserved a truer answer than that.

I told him that I didnt think we would be at risk, but yes, there were people who wanted violence to continue. So I could never tell him that we would be entirely safe. But if fear was what would keep us away, then we needed to think carefully about that. Because while fear can give us important information, it can also paralyze us. And people who seek to divide want us to be afraid.

Love is the only defense against fear

Fear hijacks our brains so that the first thing we do is look for evidence of distance, as if distance could keep us safe. Fear whispers to us, "I not am in Charleston, at Oak Creek, at the Tree of Life, in Parkland, in Christchurch. I am not black, a Sikh, a Jew, a student in Florida anymore, a Muslim. And so I am safe."

Until safety is nowhere. Because when we let fear push us to turn our backs on our neighbors, we allow evil to creep in and surround us on all sides.

But there is a force stronger than evil, I said to my son. Love can enter into our fear and show us how to overcome it. Love was telling me that it was important that we, as white Christians, show up on the side of people being targeted, especially when we could easily turn away.

People hold candles as they gather for a vigil in the aftermath of a deadly shooting at the Tree of Life Congregation, in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Oct. 27, 2018.

I told my son that my husband and I were always going to try and go where we felt love calling us, even if we felt scared, and even if it put us at risk. We can live lives of courage because we believe love is with us even in fear, and with us in pain, and on the other side of death. There is nowhere we can go where love is not.

Our boys decided to join us that night, and we all felt heartened when we parked and saw people streaming toward the mosque from every direction. Perhaps sometimes you have to show up to understand the power and relief that comes from joining with others to stand for a different way.

My oldest pulled out his phone to take a photo of the gathering crowd, then began to compose his own social media post. As I leaned close to remind him to be respectful of the community in mourning, my words caught in my throat when I saw what he was writing:

"Here to stand against the hideous hate shown on Friday. Here to stand with the brothers and sisters whose lives were stolen. Our hearts go out to Christchurch."

His own flickering flame in the darkness.

And so here we stand, remembering that humanitys best stories are never risk free  theyre the ones where we overcome suffering and evil, together. Weve decided to enter into that good story, and invite our children into it, too.

Amy Olrick is an author and senior associate at the U.S.-based Revolutionary Love Project. After the shooting, the organization launched an online portal through Auburns Groundswell, to deliver words of love and solidarity to New Zealands Muslims.

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: I moved my kids from Florida to New Zealand, only to need to explain mass shootings anyway
After 22 months and endless speculation, special counsel Robert Mueller has delivered his breathlessly awaited report on Russian interference in the 2016 election to the Justice Department.

Now Attorney General William Barr, facing a series of decisions that will determine his legacy, needs to release the report to the public  promptly and, apart from any redactions needed to protect national security or grand jury secrecy, in full. A synopsis will not do, nor will a heavily redacted version.

The American people have a right to know the degree to which Russia conspired to help Donald Trump win the election, as well as the degree to which Trump or his advisers did or did not conspire in this effort.

In a letter Friday, Barr said that he "remains committed to as much transparency as possible," and the report's principal conclusions may be released as early as this weekend. That's a good start toward full disclosure, but not sufficient.

Robert Mueller

Far from being a "witch hunt," as Trump calls it, the Mueller inquiry has been a vital law enforcement action needed to ensure peoples faith in their democracy. The former FBI director has indicted or elicited guilty pleas from 34 individuals and three companies. These include six former Trump aides and 26 Russian nationals. His one case that went to trial  against former Trump campaign director Paul Manafort  resulted in conviction.

What Mueller has revealed so far in his indictments and plea agreements has been deeply disturbing. Manafort and Trumps first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, are among a string of people who lied to law enforcement officers. Trumps former fixer, Michael Cohen, lied to Congress about the proposed Trump Tower Moscow project.

The report lands as the normal limits on presidential excesses  the checks and balances of the Constitution and the rules and customs that have built up from a quarter millennium of democratic governance  are showing signs of fraying. Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, are so afraid of Trump and his base that they fail to serve as any kind of counterweight.

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If there was no collusion, as the president insists, then why did all these people around him lie under oath about their dealings with Russians? The sooner the nation has answers to this and other crucial questions, the better.

USA TODAY's editorial opinions are decided by its Editorial Board, separate from the news staff. Most editorials are coupled with an opposing view  a unique USA TODAY feature.

To read more editorials, go to the Opinion front page or sign up for the daily Opinion email newsletter. To respond to this editorial, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mueller completes his report. Now let's see it.
Washington (AFP) - Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Moscow's meddling in the 2016 election found no evidence of conspiracy by President Donald Trump's campaign to collude with Russia, the Justice Department said Sunday.

Mueller also declined to rule on whether evidence showed Trump obstructed justice, according to a summary submitted to Congress by Attorney General Bill Barr.

In a letter to Congress summarizing the report's key points, Barr quoted Mueller as saying: "While this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

Barr said the investigation did not recommend any further indictments and does not have any further sealed indictments outstanding.

In his own review of Mueller's findings on obstruction -- one of the most explosive allegations against Trump -- Barr said "the evidence... is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction-of-justice offense."

Barr's letter marked the conclusion of the 22-month investigation by Mueller, a former FBI director, into allegations that Trump's election campaign coordinated and colluded with Russians to skew the 2016 vote so the billionaire real estate magnate would win.

But it marked the beginning of a new phase, the determination of Democrats in Congress to further investigate Trump, using the evidence from the Mueller probe.

"Seems like the Department of Justice is putting matters squarely in Congress' court," tweeted Democratic Representative Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

"Special Counsel Mueller clearly and explicitly is not exonerating the President, and we must hear from AG Barr about his decision making and see all the underlying evidence for the American people to know all the facts."
Robert Mueller has not established that collusion or conspiracy took place between the Trump campaign and Russias government, but the special counsel stopped short of deciding whether Donald Trump obstructed justice.

Attorney general William Barr said in a letter to Congress that Mr Mueller and his team did not find that there was a direct link between Mr Trumps campaign and the multiple strategies the Kremlin employed to influence the 2016 presidential election. [T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or co-ordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities, he quoted the report as saying.

Meanwhile, the special counsels investigation provided facts surrounding potential obstruction of justice undertaken by Mr Trump, but Mr Barr and his deputy Rod Rosenstein, determined that evidence was not sufficient to charge the president with a crime.

The letter from Mr Barr was made public just days after Mr Muellers team finalised its report detailing its findings from nearly two years worth of investigation that enraptured the nation with a slow drip of details that at times appeared poised to implicate the highest levels of US government in potentially criminal activity. It also resulted in the filing of indictments against several individuals close to the president on financial crimes, perjury, and for felony campaign finance violations.

Mr Trump, during a visit to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, declared victory after the contents of the report were disclosed.

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No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT! Mr Trump tweeted.

Mr Trump also commented on the report just before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington. He said: So after a long look, after a long investigation, after so many people have been so badly hurt, after not looking at the other side where a lot of bad things happened, a lot of horrible things happened, a lot of very bad things happened for our country, it was just announced there was no collusion with Russia. The most ridiculous thing Ive ever heard  there was no collusion with Russia. There was no obstruction, and none whatsoever.

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He continued: And it was a complete and total exoneration. Its a shame that our country had to go through this. To be honest its a shame that your president has had to go through this before I even got elected, it began. And it began illegally. And hopefully somebodys going to look at the other side. This was an illegal takedown that failed. And hopefully, somebodys going to be looking at the other side.

But Mr Trumps claims of total exoneration were undermined by the letter itself, which quoted Mr Muellers report using that exact word. The special counsel states that while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him, Mr Barr wrote.

House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler responded to the attorney generals letter by noting that it did not exonerate Mr Trump, and said that he planned to request Mr Barrs presence before his committee.

In light of the very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department following the special counsel report, where Mueller did not exonerate the president, we will be calling attorney general Barr in to testify, Mr Nadler tweeted.

And Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the House, said it was urgent that the full report and supporting documents be made public.

Even so, the findings of the special counsels investigation make some of the worst potential outcomes of the Russia investigation for Mr Trump seem unlikely. Among those are impeachment proceedings in the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, where leading politicians had indicated they would await the results of the investigation.

In Mr Barrs letter, he outlined the special counsels findings, which was divided into two main parts: whether Mr Trumps campaign conspired with Russia during the 2016 election, and whether Mr Trump obstructed justice with his actions during the investigations that have followed.

The special counsel report, he wrote, detailed investigations into Mr Trumps behaviours that may have constituted obstruction, but left the decision of whether to indict the president up to the Justice Department. Mr Barr and his colleagues, including Mr Rosenstein  who oversaw the special counsels office for much of the past two years  have since determined that such an indictment is not supported by the evidence in the report.

[We] have concluded that the evidence developed during the special counsels investigation is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction-of-justice offence, Mr Barr wrote, noting that the decision was not made because of constitutional norms that generally instruct the Justice Department not to indict a sitting president.

As for conspiracy, the report says that there were two primary ways in which Russian forces attempted to influence the 2016 election.

One of those included a disinformation campaign online and in social media to sow social discord with the intent of influencing the campaign, and conducted by the Russian group the Internet Research Agency.

The second Russian strategy aimed at influencing the 2016 campaign was a computer hacking campaign, which successfully stole emails from the 2016 campaign of Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee before publishing those documents on WikiLeaks. The special counsel report indicated that investigators did not find any evidence that the Trump campaign or officials knowingly coordinated with that effort despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign.

Before the Sunday letter was released, Mr Barr had said he wanted to make as much of the report public as possible, and it appeared clear that any efforts to withhold details would prompt a tussle between the Justice Department and politicians in Congress who could subpoena Mr Mueller and his investigators to testify. Such a move by Democrats would probably be vigorously contested by the Trump administration.

While the letter represents good news for the president, the conclusion of Mr Muellers investigation does not remove legal peril for the president as he faces a separate Justice Department investigation in New York into hush money payments during the campaign to two women who say they had sex with him years before.

He has also been implicated in a potential campaign finance violation by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty to his role in the payments and alleged that the president asked him to arrange the transactions. Federal prosecutors, also in New York, have been investigating foreign contributions made to the presidents inaugural committee.

At least two members of Mr Trumps inner circle have also already been implicated in crimes related to Russia, with his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort receiving a seven-year prison term earlier this month for several crimes prosecuted by Mr Muellers team.

Mr Trumps former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was also an early casualty of the Trump-Russia scandal, after it was determined that he had misled vice president Mike Pence about conversations he had with Russian officials during the presidential transition period.

Others, including Mr Trumps adult son Donald Trump Jr, and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, have also been found to have had secret meetings with Russian officials during the campaign or transition period. One of those meetings was set up with the promise that dirt on Hillary Clinton would be provided to the Trump campaign. The meeting reportedly yielded no results.

The special counsel investigation was launched 22 months ago after Mr Trump fired former FBI director James Comey, a decision the president later said he made after repeatedly asking the law man to give up on the Russia investigation.

In the time since, the investigation run by 19 lawyers, 40 FBI agents, intelligence analysts, forensic accountants, and professional staff has issued more than 2,800 subpoenas and more than 500 search warrants. Roughly 500 witnesses were interviewed, leading to dozens of indictments and felony charges.
Days after special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election has ended, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said his committee will fight for the full report to be released to the public and argued against President Trump asserting executive privilege to block its release.

It's so crucial that the entire report and the evidence underlying it be released to the public, Nadler, D-N.Y., told CNNs Dana Bash on State of the Union Sunday. Transparency is key here.

Nadler said his committee would be willing to go to the Supreme Court to get all of the information in the report, if the president asserts executive privilege to block some of the investigations findings from being made public.

We are already hearing that the president may want to claim executive privilege on some of this, said Nadler. He added that the Supreme Court ruled in 1974 that executive privilege could not be claimed in a criminal trial for subpoenaed materials, like tapes of President Richard Nixons personal conversations during the Watergate scandal.

Executive privilege cannot be used to shield wrongdoing, said Nadler. He said the president should not see the report before Congress does.

Trump has not commented on the report since Mueller delivered it on Friday to Attorney General William Barr. He took an unusual break from Twitter on Saturday, before posting a cryptic greeting Sunday morning.

Good Morning, Have A Great Day!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2019

The handoff of the report marks the conclusion of a 675-day investigation into possible collusion between Trumps presidential campaign and the Russian government but set in motion what could be months of battles over how much of it will be shared with Congress and the American public.

In a letter to Nadler and the ranking member on his committee, Rep. Doug Collins, and Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Lindsey Graham of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Barr said he could disclose the principal conclusions of Muellers report as soon as this weekend.

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While Muellers investigation led to the indictments of 34 people, including Trumps former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and ex-attorney Michael Cohen  as well as three Russian companies  it appears there will be no more indictments coming from the special counsels office. It is possible some unresolved investigations may be referred to other offices within the Justice Department for prosecution.

We know there was some collusion, said Nadler, referring to the meeting among Manafort, Donald Trump Jr. and officials with Russian government connections during the 2016 presidential campaign. Why there have been no indictments, we don't know.

We know a number of things, Nadler continued. We know that the president pressured the FBI to go easy, to stop investigating Flynn and various other people. We know he fired the FBI director, as he put it to NBC, to take care of the Russian thing in order to stop the investigation of various people associated with him. We know he concocted the lie about the purpose of that Russian meeting [at Trump Tower in 2016].

Nadler told Bash that Muellers investigation was limited in scope and limited to crimes.

What Congress has to do is look at a broader picture, said Nadler, whose committee earlier this month requested documents from 81 Trump associates, campaign and administration officials, launching an investigation into alleged obstruction of justice, corruption and abuse of power by the Trump administration.

If the Justice Department doesnt turn over the full Mueller report, Nadler said he would negotiate to see it and if needed issue a subpoena.

In the event that the department doesnt hand over the report or there are more questions once the committee receives it, Nadler told Meet the Press host Chuck Todd on Sunday that he would call Mueller to testify if necessary, but that's a very big if.

He gave us a report, he speaks through that report, said Nadler. If that report answers all our questions, therell be no need to call him  if that report is all public. If that report is not public, if large parts of it are not made public, or if it leaves a lot of questions, then we have a necessity to call him."

Rep. Jerry Nadler talks with reporters after meeting with former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker on March 13. (Photo: Susan Walsh/AP)

Ken Starr, the independent counsel who investigated President Bill Clinton for five years and issued a detailed public report that became the basis of impeachment proceedings against Clinton, wrote in the Atlantic that Mueller must remain silent and cannot submit his report to Congress.

Robert Mueller is not your everyday prosecutor, Starr wrote. This prosecutor, unlike other prosecutors, cannot indict if he finds an indictable offense.

This former FBI director  now a special counsel  has a specific reporting obligation, he continued. That solemn obligation is not to produce a public report. He cannot seek an indictment. And he must remain quiet.

Barr also wrote that Mueller has inherent discretion, as an officer of the Justice Department, to share whatever he intends to report to Congress with the president and the presidents lawyers.

Why would he do that? wrote Starr. To ensure that the presidents constitutionally recognized privilege  executive privilege  is dutifully safeguarded.

Nadler on Fox News Sunday said providing Congress with anything less than the full report would be equivalent to a cover-up.

Once you say that a president cannot be indictable, no matter what the evidence, as a matter of law, to then follow the principle that you can't then comment on the evidence or publicize it is to convert that into a cover-up, said Nadler.

If the president cannot be indicted, he continued, then the only way a president can be held accountable is for Congress to consider it and act, if warranted, and Congress can only do that if it has the information.

Democrats and Republicans have both objected to keeping the report from the public.

When asked if the full report should be fully released, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., on Meet the Press Sunday, said absolutely.

I want to see all of it, said Rubio, who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee. What was the underlying criminal predicate for the entire investigation? Lets put all of that out there as well so we can pass judgment about how the investigation was conducted.

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal on State of the Union Sunday said the Mueller report is only a small part of the investigation into Trump.

For two years, we have been clear that the Mueller investigation was a narrow investigation, said Jayapal, D-Wash., a member of Nadlers House Judiciary Committee. It was focused on one thing. It does not cover obstruction of justice, abuse of power, public corruption. Those are things that we know there are crimes that have been committed, and we do need to investigate them. That's what we owe to the American people.

To say theres no collusion when we havent seen the report I think is disingenuous, she said. We need to look at everything, not just the summary conclusions but everything underneath.

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Read more from Yahoo News:
Jerusalem (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given a rare and unscheduled television interview to combat allegations of improper behaviour from his rivals before April elections.

Saturday night's interview with Channel 12 came just before he boarded a plane for Washington, where he was due to meet US President Donald Trump and address the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a pro-Israel lobby.

The prime minister walked into the studio while the anchors, notified only a short while before, were presenting the evening news.

Netanyahu, already under threat of indictment for separate corruption allegations, has come under renewed scrutiny in recent days over his handling of submarine deals.

His electoral opponents have repeatedly suggested that Netanyahu may have benefited financially from them -- which the prime minister says is completely false.

"I have to smash the wave of lies spread by (Benny) Gantz and (Yair) Lapid and (Moshe) Yaalon and (Gabi) Ashkenazi," Netanyahu said of the leaders of the centrist Blue and White electoral alliance.

The four say Netanyahu may have pushed for an unnecessary submarine acquisition from Germany's Thyssenkrupp to boost the stock of a company in which he had owned shares.

Blue and White also claim Netanyahu could have committed treason by agreeing to allow Germany to sell Egypt submarines without the knowledge of the defence ministry.

Germany consults with Israel before such sales due to the relationship between the two countries, Israeli media has reported.

Netanyahu said Friday he was suing his opponents for libel, but arrived at the television studio nonetheless to defend himself.

At the advice of his cousin, Netanyahu had in 2007 bought $600,000 of stock in a company that manufactured components used in the metal industry, he said.

He said he sold it in 2010 -- when already premier -- and that the relevant authorities were made aware of the holdings and sale.

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He reportedly sold at a profit of more than $3 million.

Netanyahu added that the submarine sale to Israel took place over a year after he no longer held stock.

"It's a company that has nothing to do with submarines," he said.

The claim that he compromised Israel's security by allowing Germany to sell Egypt submarines was "a blood libel", Netanyahu said.

He said the reasons he agreed to it were "secret" due to state security, but noted the head of the national security council and attorney general were aware.

Police have investigated the submarine acquisitions and recommended pressing charges against a number of people involved, including Netanyahu's cousin and lawyer David Shimron.

Netanyahu was questioned as a witness in the case and was not considered a suspect.

Netanyahu claims unfair treatment from the mainstream Israeli media and has largely refrained from studio interviews.

He has instead been using his "Likud TV" internet broadcasts and social media as a means to spread his messages ahead of the April 9 general elections.
Washington (AFP) - Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington on Sunday, looking for an electoral boost from Donald Trump amid expectations the US president will formally recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Trump broke longstanding international consensus last week over the status of the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Six Day War, saying the US should recognize Israeli sovereignty over the strategic plateau.

Israel's foreign minister said the US president will go one step further on Monday when he welcomes a grateful Netanyahu to the White House.

"President Trump will sign tomorrow in the presence of PM Netanyahu an order recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights," Israel Katz tweeted.

Netanyahu has long pushed for such recognition, and many analysts saw Trump's statement, which came in a tweet on Thursday, as a campaign gift ahead of Israel's April 9 polls.

He picked up another on Sunday, when Romania's Prime Minister Viorica Dancila said her government would move their embassy to Jerusalem, breaking with the European position and apparently with her own president as well.

Netanyahu is locked in a tough election fight with a centrist political alliance headed by former military chief Benny Gantz and ex-finance minister Yair Lapid.

New opinion polls last week showed Netanyahu losing ground to his electoral rivals, and the Washington visit was seen as an opportunity to regain momentum.

The prime minister has a "working meeting" at the White House on Monday and a dinner on Tuesday.

Also Tuesday, he is set to address the annual conference in Washington of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Gantz speaks at the high-profile event on Monday.

- 'Purim miracle' -

The Golan Heights decision is the latest major move in favor of Israel by Trump, who in 2017 recognized the disputed city of Jerusalem as the country's capital.

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Syria and other states in the region condemned Trump's pledge, saying it violates international law. France said the same.

Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 in a move never recognized by the international community.

Netanyahu phoned Trump to tell him he had made "history," and called the gesture a "Purim miracle," a reference to the Jewish holiday that Israel was celebrating that day.

Although Trump professed no knowledge of the Israeli politics in play, Netanyahu's relationship with the US president has long been a central feature of his campaign.

Trump appears on giant campaign billboards in Israel shaking hands and smiling with Netanyahu, and the premier has shared video of the US leader calling him "strong" and a "winner."

On the same day as Trump's Golan Heights tweet, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in Jerusalem, where he joined Netanyahu in a visit to the historic Western Wall, offering his host a prime pre-election photo opportunity.

It was the first time such a high-ranking American official had visited one of the holiest sites in Judaism, located in mainly Palestinian east Jerusalem, with an Israeli premier.

Trump relies on pro-Israel evangelical Christians as part of his electoral base and has moved US policy firmly in Israel's favor.

- 'Personal things' -

But Netanyahu has also deployed his considerable powers of persuasion to charm the mercurial president he calls his "friend."

"Trump is very affected by personal things, and Bibi's stroked him a lot," said Jonathan Rynhold, a political science professor at Israel's Bar-Ilan University, using Netanyahu's nickname.

"I'm sure he's also very affected by the last thing that was said to him, so whispering in his ear is (Trump's son-in-law Jared) Kushner, who's got a good relationship with Bibi."

There has been talk in recent weeks about similarities in style between Trump and Netanyahu -- although there are key differences.

Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the United States and now a deputy minister for diplomacy, said "they share a disdain for political correctness."

Using phrases that echo Trump's, Netanyahu has castigated the corruption investigations into his affairs as a "witch hunt" and a plot aimed at forcing him from office.

He has sought to demonize his enemies and brokered a deal with an extreme-right political party many view as racist.

Like Trump, he has employed the phrase "fake news" to combat tough coverage of him.

But, as Rynhold points out, underneath the rhetoric the 69-year-old Netanyahu is an "extremely cautious politician," intensely attuned to the direction of the electoral winds.

He has been prime minister for a total of 13 years and will be on track to surpass founding father David Ben-Gurion as Israel's longest-serving premier if he wins next month.
A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these is legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked these out. Here are the real facts:

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CLAIM: Beto O'Rourke gave a remaining $4.5 million from his unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign to Texas Democrats and the party returned it to him on the day he announced his presidential campaign.

THE FACTS: The Texas Democratic Party did not give $4.5 million to O'Rourke's presidential campaign as social media posts suggest. O'Rourke did give that amount from his Senate campaign to the party ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, but the party spent it before he launched his presidential campaign. O'Rourke's announcement that he had raised $6.1 million online 24 hours after entering the race led to social media posts questioning whether the amount showed he had grassroots support. The issue was raised in a tweet by a supporter of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders who noted that O'Rourke had not released information on individual donors. According to a review of federal campaign data, O'Rourke's U.S. Senate campaign fund made several donations totaling $4.5 million to the state's Democratic Party in September and October. The state party spent more than $8.1 million between Oct. 1 and the end of the year, leaving the party with only $264,164 at the end of February. O'Rourke launched his campaign March 14. The Associated Press reported that O'Rourke said his first-day $6.1 million in donations came from 128,000-plus contributions. Sanders also raised about $6 million for his presidential campaign in the first 24 hours, which he said came from 225,000 donors. In an email, a Texas Democratic party spokesman confirmed the state party has not donated to O'Rourke's presidential campaign.

--AP Writers Beatrice Dupuy in New York and Amanda Seitz in Chicago reported this item.

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CLAIM: Tom Ford refuses to dress Melania Trump: "I have no interest in dressing a glorified escort who steals speeches and has bad taste in men." -tweets

THE FACTS: Designer Tom Ford did not make that statement. The fabricated quote was trending Tuesday on Twitter and was shared widely, including from the account of rapper 50 Cent, who has 10 million followers. A spokeswoman for Tom Ford released a statement on Twitter saying, "This is an absolutely fabricated and completely fake quote that somehow went viral. Mr. Ford did not make this statement; it is completely false." The company confirmed that statement in an email to the AP. The false claim also circulated online in 2016. Ford did say during an appearance on "The View" that year - shortly after Donald Trump was elected president - that he had been asked to dress Melania Trump before she became first lady and he declined. "She's not necessarily my image," he said. Ford also noted he is a Democrat, voted for Hillary Clinton and was disappointed she didn't win. But, Ford added that he didn't think either of the women should wear his clothes because he thinks they need to be relatable to the public and his clothes are "too expensive."

--AP Writer Chloe Kim in Washington reported this item.

CLAIM: Nearly nude person with words written on body is said to be Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke.

THE FACTS: A photo of a person with words such as "feminist," ''naturist" and "atheist" written on their body is not O'Rourke, despite posts that circulated widely on social media after he announced his run for president on March 14. The person in the photo is wearing red lipstick, a flower in their hair and a leaf-adorned thong. The caption reads: "REMIND EVERYONE OF THIS PIC WHEN THIS FOOL SAYS HE IS GONNA RUN FOR PRESIDENT. THIS IS ROBERT O'ROURKE (beto)." The photo, which can be found in Getty Images archives, was taken during a gay pride parade in Athens, Greece, on Jun. 11, 2016, according to its caption information. The photographer, Giorgos Georgiou, told the AP that the person in the photo is a "well-known Greek citizen" named Jason-Antigone Dane. Dane was featured in a 2017 article from the Athens Voice titled, "Jason-Antigone talks about how to be a non-binary person in Athens." Chris Evans, O'Rourke's communications director, confirmed that "the photo is not of Beto."

--AP Writer Chloe Kim reported this item from Washington.

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This is part of The Associated Press' ongoing effort to fact-check misinformation that is shared widely online.

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Find all AP Fact Checks here: https://www.apnews.com/tag/APFactCheck

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Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheck
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New Zealand will hold a national remembrance service for victims of the Christchurch massacre on March 29, the government announced on Sunday, as the country grieves over a tragedy that shocked the world.

The service will take place in Christchurch at 10 am (2100 GMT) local time, two weeks after an Australian white supremacist gunned down 50 Muslims and wounded dozens of others during Friday prayers at two mosques in the city on March 15.

"The national remembrance service provides an opportunity for Cantabrians (Christchurch-area residents), New Zealanders and people all around the world to come together as one to honour the victims of the terrorist attack," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a statement.

Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old motivated by the white extremist belief that Muslims were "invading" Western countries, was arrested within minutes of the massacre and has been charged with murder.

The slaughter, which he cold-bloodedly live-streamed, has rocked the normally laid-back country of 4.5 million.

"In the week since the unprecedented terror attack there has been an outpouring of grief and love in our country," Ardern said.

"The service will be a chance to once again show that New Zealanders are compassionate, inclusive and diverse, and that we will protect those values."

The service will be held at Hagley Park in Christchurch, located across the street from the Al Noor Mosque where the killing spree began.

- 'Must move on' -

Most victims were gunned down at Al Noor before Tarrant killed seven more at the smaller Linwood Mosque several kilometres (miles) away.

Police subsequently took over the mosques for investigations and security reasons, but handed them back to the Muslim community on Saturday.

The faithful were allowed back into Al Noor shortly afterwards, and on Sunday Linwood re-opened after both sites underwent hasty work to repair bullet holes and clean bloodstains.

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Present for Linwood's re-opening was Afghan refugee Abdul Aziz, who was hailed as a hero after he chased Tarrant away from the mosque wielding only a hand-held credit card machine, likely preventing further bloodshed.

"When I passed through (the door) I got this pressure in my head," Aziz, a 48-year-old father of four, said as he joined the mosque's imam, Alabi Lateef Zirullah, in reclaiming the house of worship.

"It brings all the memories back. But we have to move on. It takes time to heal, but we have to be strong," he said.

"If I didn't face him (the shooter) I would have been killed anyway. My life was not more important than the 80 or 100 people inside the mosque."

- Donations pour in -

New Zealand came to a standstill on Friday to mark one week since the bloodshed, with the Muslim call to prayer broadcast across the country from a ceremony at Hagley Park followed by two minutes of silence.

Friday's ceremonies saw poignant scenes across the country with non-believers embracing Muslims, Maoris performing the traditional haka war dance, and non-Muslim New Zealand women donning makeshift Islamic headscarves in solidarity.

Ardern on Thursday moved swiftly to ban the military-style rifles used in the assault, with immediate effect.

The government has picked up the tab for the burials, which were conducted over the past week, and Ardern has said it will bear costs of relocating shattered families out of New Zealand if they wish.

More than NZ$10.8 million ($7.4 million) in public donations to families had been received as of Sunday morning, according to the fund-raising websites GiveaLittle.co.nz and LaunchGood.com, a global crowdfunding platform focused on Muslims.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP)  Gaza's Health Ministry says a Palestinian has died of wounds sustained from Israeli gunfire at protests along the perimeter fence.

The ministry says Sunday that 24-year-old Habib al-Masri was shot in the chest at protests near Beit Hanoun the previous night, and that two others were wounded. Hundreds had gathered for protests in various locations, hurling stones and firebombs toward Israel.

The Israeli military says that in response to the explosives its aircraft targeted two Hamas observation posts in the southern Gaza Strip.

The protests are aimed at breaking a blockade that Israel and Egypt imposed when Hamas seized power in 2007. Over the past year, about 190 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed in weekly rallies. Two more Palestinians were killed on Friday.
A Parkland student who was on campus during last years deadly shooting and was recently diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder has taken her own life. She was 19.

Sydney Aiellos mother told CBS Miami her daughter often felt sad recently, but never asked for help. The recent Marjory Stoneman Douglas graduate also struggled to take college classes because she feared being in a classroom.

The teen lost close friend Meadow Pollack in the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre that killed 17, and Aiellos mom also told the outlet that Sydney suffered from survivors guilt.

Pollacks brother, Hunter Pollack, confirmed Sydneys death on Twitter Friday, noting that It was devastating to bury another beautiful young person in Parkland today. Our community is going through tragedy again. Please keep the Aiello Family in your prayers. Rest in peace, Sydney. Please take care of my sister.

It was devastating to bury another beautiful young person in Parkland today. Our community is going through tragedy again. Please keep the Aiello Family in your prayers.



Rest in peace, Sydney. Please take care of my sister.  Hunter Pollack (@PollackHunter) March 22, 2019

A GoFundMe page set up to help the family with funeral expenses says Aiello died last Sunday. A spokesperson for the Broward County Medical Examiners Office told NBC News she died of a gunshot wound to the head.

Sydney spent 19 years writing her story as a beloved daughter, sister and friend to many. She lit up every room she entered. She filled her days cheerleading, doing yoga and brightening up the days of others. Sydney aspired to work in the medical field helping others in need, according to a statement on the GoFundMe page set up by family friends Brett and Blair Israel. As of Saturday afternoon the page has raised more than $64,000  far exceeding the $20,000 goal.

Beautiful Sydney with such a bright future was taken from us way too soon. My friends sister and someone dear to Meadow.



Any help for the family to cover funeral expenses would be appreciated.



Please RT and donate! https://t.co/3eg2Su4Jbv  Hunter Pollack (@PollackHunter) March 21, 2019

Jody Weiner, a yoga teacher who worked with Aiello, told the Miami Herald that When [Sydney] came in, I could see PTSD from, Hello,  adding, I didnt get to spend enough time with her.
Baghdad (AFP) - Five years after the Islamic State group swept across Iraq, Baghdad is bidding to reclaim its role as a regional player while walking a tightrope between rival backers the US and Iran.

The country is seeking to position itself as a "bridge" between rival powers in a region beset by deep divisions, says Iraqi political scientist Ihssan al-Shemmari.

Following more than a decade of international sanctions and 15 years of conflict -- including the push to roll back IS, which ended over a year ago -- violence in Iraq has dropped sharply.

As calm steadily returns, international leaders are increasingly looking to Baghdad as an important actor.

Top officials from both the United States and Iran, along with King Abdullah II of Jordan and senior figures from various western powers, have all visited the oil-rich country since January.

An invitation has been extended to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to a government source.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said he will visit Iraq in the coming months after France announced in January that it would pump in one billion euros ($1.1 billion) to help the war-ravaged country rebuild.

- 'Political, diplomatic battleground' -

An Iraqi official, requesting anonymity, said Baghdad has taken on the role of "messenger" in a fractured region.

The country has tried to mediate between Qatar, a key backer of Syrian rebels, and President Bashar al-Assad's regime as Damascus presses to return to the Arab League.

Baghdad's national security adviser Faleh Fayyadh has also visited the Saudi capital Riyadh "to deliver a message from Turkey, Syria and Iran about new arrangements in the region", the official told AFP.

Baghdad has managed to juggle ties with Washington, head of an international anti-IS coalition, and Tehran, which backed Iraqi paramilitary groups that played a key role in expelling the jihadists.

As a result, Iraq has been "heavily courted", says Karim Bitar of the Paris-based French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs.

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But he adds that the country has become "a political, economic and diplomatic battleground" at the expense of post-war reconstruction and the authority of the state.

- 'Zero-problems foreign policy' -

Despite the hopes of some officials, Iraqi analyst Shemmari cautions that Baghdad may find that major obstacles at home hinder any international ambitions.

Domestic rifts and US-Iran tensions have grown "far too deep for Iraq to take the initiative" on regional affairs, he says.

The government is deeply divided and an anti-US bloc controls most seats in parliament.

Iraq lawmakers have tabled a bill calling on US troops to withdraw from the country, prompting an urgent visit by acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan.

Shanahan "asked the Iraqi prime minister about his stance on a possible coalition against Iran", the government official in Baghdad said.

Such a stand would shatter Baghdad's hopes of pursuing a "zero-problems foreign policy", warned Fanar Haddad, an Iraq expert at the National University of Singapore.

Tehran's "proxies, assets and allies within Iraq" will defend their foothold in Baghdad at all costs, he said.

- 'Diplomatic gains' at risk -

Any missteps in this delicate balancing act could prove costly, potentially putting Iraq's "recent diplomatic gains" at risk, said Haddad.

A shift in either direction could "provoke resentment from Iran or the US", said Paris-based Bitar, meaning that Baghdad "is forced to maintain friendly relations with both".

But these concerns have not stopped Iraq from pressing for better ties with its neighbours.

After declaring victory against IS jihadists in December 2017, Iraq has resumed overland trade with Jordan and is set to re-open its border with Saudi Arabia, 30 years after the crossing closed.

In Syria, Baghdad is in contact with all major players -- from Assad's regime and Russia to the opposition, the Kurds, and the US-led coalition.

And its dynamic channels of dialogue have not gone unnoticed, according to a Western military source.

"If the coalition has invested $2.5 billion to train nearly 200,000 members of the Iraqi security forces, it's because it imagines this country can be a major regional influence," the source said.
Prince Charles accompanies Meghan down the aisle at her Windsor wedding to Prince Harry - PA

The Prince of Wales was a great support to Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle during their tough first few months of marriage together, according to a filmmaker who got to know him well.

Prince Charles advised his youngest son to ignore the critics and 'soldier on', claims John Bridcut, who spent a year with the heir to the throne filming a documentary to mark his 70th birthday last November.

Describing the heir to the throne as a caring, kind and sensitive soul - who has a close friendship with his sons, Bridcut claims the prince drew on his experience of his troubled marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales, to become a solid supporter of the the Duke And Duchess Of Sussex.

The filmmaker conducted in-depth interviews with the Prince, his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, and Princes William and Harry for Prince Charles at 70 which premieres on PBS in the US tonight.

There is a close relationship between father and son and I'm aware that he gets along very well with both the daughters-in-law, explained Bridcut. He is naturally a warm person.

Asked about the advice he passed to Harry and Meghan about their recent dramas involving the Markle family, Bridcut said: His approach would be that you just carry on doing the job. He wouldnt have added to that. His attitude would be that some of the attacks he would feel were unfair.

He would apply himself and just carry on doing the job and soldier on and thats what hes done and its borne fruit.

Bridcut claims the grandfather of three keeps his support of the younger Royals and his true nature hidden from the public.

Bridcut added: He has got a natural aversion to being seen or described in anyway that he would see as saccharin. He does not want to be seen as a sentimental or touchy feely, because I think thats part of what he sees as his private life and his private existence. So he doesnt push that side of things.

"So I think thats why its taken a while for people to notice it, because its not in their face all the time.

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However the Prince did show how close he is to Harry when he stepped in at the last minute to walk Meghan down the aisle at their Windsor wedding last May.

Bridcut says that the Duchess of Sussexs delight at having the Prince replace her absent father Thomas Markle gave the world an insight into their close bond.

Charles is being completely supportive - and could be seen in the very touching way in which he was involved in the wedding ceremony itself, which was sort of all quite understated.

"It was all very last minute of course the way things turned out. But what Camilla says in the film that I felt very strongly when I watched it myself with the way he held out his hand for Megans mother and that moment was completely unscripted and spontaneous, but totally typical of the man actually.

He doesnt advertise this but he is a very sensitive man and Ive seen that myself a lot.

And again, it is something that is not true of all royals. He goes to the opera and he will weep at the opera, because he gets moved by that.

Prince Charles escorts Doria Ragland from St George's Chapel after her daughter Meghan's wedding to Prince Harry Credit: Getty Images Europe/WPA Pool

Speaking about the future kings relationship with his sons, he added: There was sense in which for a long time, people saw them as their mothers sons and I think theres been a growing awareness that actually they have a good relationship with their father and its actually quite touching and its sort of built in the last few years.

"I think people were surprised that they actually had a really good relationship with their father, without in anyway decreasing their devotion to their mother.

"Its really interesting to see particularly Prince Harry has become a real champion of his father and in a way, they look more alike as the years go by.

Theyre different people obviously, but there is a real sympathy there and he in some ways physically reminds me of his father and I find that quite surprising, whereas William looks more like his mother.

The documentary, which was first screened on BBC One in November, features scenes of the Prince in his home office in London and on working trips to Scotland and Wales, as well as abroad during visits to the Pacific island republic of Vanuatu and Caribbean countries struggling to recover from the recent deadly hurricanes.
Berlin (AFP) - Tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied in Germany on Saturday to protest against an imminent EU copyright reform.

Crowds protested in Berlin, Munich and other cities under the slogan "Save the Internet".

They called on the European Parliament to reject the reform in a vote scheduled for Tuesday.

The overhaul of EU online copyright law includes proposals to oblige YouTube and other platforms to remove illegal content using automatic filters.

It also aims to make internet companies pay more to news organisations for reproducing or linking to their content.

News organisations, including AFP, have pushed for that move.

They argue that companies such as Facebook and Google make billions in revenue from advertising tied to news stories, while publishers suffer.

Protesters and internet companies such as Google say the reform will harm freedom of information and small publishers on the internet.

Organisers said some 15,000 people rallied in Berlin and 40,000 in Munich.

They waved signs reading "Don't break our internet".

The German Pirate party has been among the leaders of resistance to the reform.

Rallies were also called in other countries including Austria, Poland and Portugal.

More than 260 journalists and photographers signed an article published on Friday calling for the reform to be passed.

In Poland, more than 200 film-makers called in an open letter for MEPs to pass the measures, in order to regulate use of their intellectual property on video platforms such as YouTube.
Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Missouri River flooding forces evacuation of 7,500 from waterfront city

Record floodwaters that submerged vast stretches of Nebraska and Iowa farmland along America's longest river reached a new crest on Friday at the waterfront city of St. Joseph, Missouri, forcing chaotic evacuations of thousands from low-lying areas. With emergency sirens blaring as the Missouri River rose to the top of the three-story-high levee wall in St. Joseph, about 55 miles (88 km) north of Kansas City, Missouri, sheriff's deputies rushed door-to-door urging residents to flee to higher ground.

U.S. agency error exposes 2.3 million disaster survivors to fraud: watchdog

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) exposed 2.3 million disaster survivors to possible identity theft and fraud by improperly sharing sensitive personal information with an outside company, according to an internal government watchdog. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General (OIG) said FEMA had shared financial records and other sensitive information of people who had participated in an emergency shelter program after being displaced by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and the California wildfires in 2017.

U.S. lawmakers await details of Mueller's Russia report

U.S. lawmakers waited on Sunday for details of a confidential report into a probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election that has cast a pall over President Donald Trump's time in office and raised questions about possible collusion between the Republican's campaign and Moscow. Attorney General William Barr was expected to give Congress and the public a summary of the report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller who has conducted a 22-month-long Russia investigation.

Houston petrochemical disaster stretches to sixth day, impacting key port

Fallout from a petrochemical fire outside Houston continued for a sixth day on Saturday, with emergency workers struggling to remove volatile fuels from exposed tanks and ship traffic disrupted on the nation's busiest oil port. A fire that burned for three days broke out last Sunday at Mitsui & Co's Intercontinental Terminals Co site in Deer Park, Texas. It damaged or destroyed 11 giant tanks each holding up to 3 million gallons of fuels used to make gasoline and plastics.

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High times in Beverly Hills, with pot delivery and a Gucci ashtray

High-end department store Barneys New York has given the marijuana lifestyle the luxury treatment, launching a range of pot-themed products this week in the latest sign a drug once associated with bohemians and deadbeats is moving up the social ladder. Customers at the upscale retailer's Beverly Hills store on Friday perused a new section with hand-blown glass bongs, Gucci ashtrays, jewelry inscribed with the words "Lighten Up" and cosmetics labeled as containing cannabidiol, a non-high inducing part of the cannabis plant.

U.S. judge recommends Manafort serve sentence in Maryland prison

The U.S. judge overseeing former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort's trial in Washington recommended on Friday that his sentence be served at a prison in Cumberland, Maryland. Earlier this month, Manafort was sentenced to a total of 7-1/2 years behind bars for witness tampering, tax and bank fraud, and other crimes.

Over 100 Central American migrants detained in northern Mexico

Mexican police and federal officials on Saturday detained 107 Central American migrants seeking to enter the United States in the border city of Reynosa, the government of the northeastern state of Tamaulipas said. Following a tip-off, state police intercepted a group of migrants who had been taken out of trucks in a western part of the city, which lies across the border from McAllen, Texas.

Jury clears Pennsylvania police officer of murder in Antwon Rose shooting

A Pittsburgh jury on Friday unanimously found that a white police officer did not commit murder when he fatally shot black teenager Antwon Rose, an incident that sparked protests and fueled a debate about racial bias in the U.S. criminal justice system. East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld, 30, shot Rose, 17, as he fled from a car along with an 18-year-old associate who has since pleaded guilty to carrying out a drive-by shooting from the vehicle.

Flooding impairs drinking water treatment for Kansas City, Missouri

Record flooding along the Missouri River has impaired treatment of drinking supplies in Kansas City, raising health risks for infants, the elderly and others with compromised immune systems, the municipal water service warned on Saturday. The public health advisory came as utility crews struggled to replace broken pumps at a wastewater treatment plant submerged by floodwater about 30 miles upstream in Leavenworth, Kansas, an historic town of 35,000 on the river's west bank.

Immigrant portraits in New York art show face down Trump

Immigrant faces captured in life-sized portraits by artist Betsy Ashton look the viewer straight in the eye, as if eager to tell their stories of leaving home to brave new struggles in a strange land. Ashton said she created the oil paintings to counter what she calls a false political narrative spun by the Trump administration.
Democrats have yet to see details of special counsel Robert Muellers report on President Donald Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election, but are insisting they will press ahead with their investigations no matter what the conclusions.

In a rare Saturday conference call for House Democrats, Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted on full disclosure of Mr Muellers report, telling her colleagues she would reject any classified briefing on the report from the 22-month investigation for just a select group of lawmakers. Separately, six committee chairs said they would proceed with enquiries into whether Mr Trump obstructed justice or abused the powers of his office.

Congress requires the full report and the underlying documents so the committees can proceed with their independent work, including oversight and legislating to address any issues the Mr Mueller report may raise, Ms Pelosi wrote in a letter to colleagues shortly before the call.

Americans, she told Democrats on the call, deserve the truth, to know the truth. Transparency is the order of the day.

Mr Mueller submitted his report to the Justice Department on Friday. The conference call for Democrats came shortly after Justice officials informed lawmakers that they would not be receiving Attorney General William Barrs summary of the report until Sunday at the earliest.

The committee chairs discussed their enquiries during the call, according to participants who spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss the conversations.

Representative Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, described his ongoing probe of Mr Trumps interactions with Russian president Vladimir Putin as well as his interest in Mr Trumps business interests in Moscow.

Representative Maxine Waters who heads the House Financial Services Committee, discussed her probe into the role banks played in funding the Trump Organisation and accepting potentially fraudulent documents. Representative Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, suggested news of no further indictments didnt mean criminal activity did not occur.

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The Mueller report is one document; it is not, however, the final word on ongoing investigations, criminal or otherwise, said representative Gerald Connolly, a senior member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. There is a lot that falls beyond the jurisdiction of Robert S. Mueller III which the Congress is involved in  and some other investigative bodies, like the Southern District of New York and the attorney general of New York... So the fact that Mueller [is finished] does not in any way circumscribe the ongoing work of the Congress.

The insistence of the Democrats to move forward came as Republicans cited the news from the Justice Department of no further indictments as vindication for Mr Trump, who has maintained that there was no collusion between him and Russia.

Noteworthy during the 35-minute call involving 120 Democrats was that the word impeachment never came up. Ms Pelosi has sought to tamp down taking that step, arguing that it makes no sense politically without Republican support and is too divisive for the country.

Democrats for weeks have argued if Mr Barr withholds the report from lawmakers and the public, it would amount to a legitimised cover-up that shields Mr Trump from accountability.

The committee chairs said they expect to receive a limited readout of Mr Muellers findings and predicted the Justice Department would argue against releasing damaging information on anyone it didnt indict.

Democrats laid out a series of counterarguments of past instances when reports or information were fully disclosed. They pointed to the Republican investigation into the deadly 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, and Hillary Clintons use of a private email server for government business while she was secretary of state. During that years-long probe, the Democratic-led Justice Department provided more than 880,000 documents to Congress.

House Democratic leaders also stressed on the call that special counsel John C Danforths report on the 1993 standoff at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, was made public.

Several Democrats said Mr Muellers findings would be interesting but not dispositive in terms of the next steps members would take in the six ongoing House probes of Mr Trumps campaign, his businesses and his familys links to foreign individuals and entities.

We need to follow the evidence, and while the special counsel had a special charge . . . we have a broader charge: to determine whether there was obstruction of justice or abuse of power, representative Jackie Speier, a member of the House oversight and intelligence committees, said in an interview after the call.

Democrats said on Saturday Mr Muellers findings might inform the details of what lines of inquiry they would pursue during their probe.

We will be in a position as soon as we get the report and underlying evidence to make the judgment about where we need to go in terms of a number of different live investigations ... some matters might be resolved by what is learned on the report, some matters might be rendered moot, other matters might be opened up for greater investigation, representative Jamie Raskin said in an interview after the call.

But he stressed there are plenty of things that have gone wrong with this administration that have absolutely nothing to do with the subject of the Mueller investigation.

In other words, Democrats say there will be plenty to investigate regarding Mr Trump, even if Mr Muellers report largely exonerates him.

The delivery of the report and underlying evidence is going to sharpen our inquiry and give us the road map for thinking about precisely where all these investigations are going, Mr Raskin said.

The Washington Post
Washington (AFP) - The Romanian prime minister promised Sunday in Washington that her country would move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, breaking with both the European position and apparently with her own country's president.

Prime Minister Viorica Dancila made the announcement before the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), an influential pro-Israel lobby.

Her stance would align Romania with the US position under President Donald Trump, and it came on a day when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was beginning a Washington visit to include an AIPAC appearance and a meeting with Trump.

Netanyahu subsequently tweeted his congratulations to Dancila for informing AIPAC "that she would act to complete the procedures needed to open the Romanian embassy in Jerusalem."

Nonetheless it marked an awkward break with the position of the European Union at a time when Bucharest holds the EU's rotating chairmanship.

Adding to the uncertainty, Romania's centrist president Klaus Iohannis has opposed the move as a breach of international law. He has said that in any case, such a shift would require presidential approval.

Dancila nonetheless told applauding AIPAC members that "I, as prime minister of Romania, and the government that I run, will move our embassy to Jerusalem."

Netanyahu, who had called on his Romanian counterpart in January to announce the transfer, on Sunday welcomed her move.

"I congratulate my friend, the prime minister of Romania, Viorica Dancila, on her announcement at AIPAC that she would act to complete the procedures needed to open the Romanian embassy in Jerusalem," the Israeli leader tweeted.

But the announcement drew criticism from senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat, who called it "a blatant violation of Palestinian rights, international law, and UN resolutions".

Erekat said the move "only contributes to eliminating the two-state solution".

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He called on the European Union to take action over the decision and said the matter would be raised with the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

During an April 2018 visit to Israel, Dancila had said she lacked the domestic support to make the move.

Jerusalem's status is one of the thorniest issues blocking any final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel occupied east Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967 and later annexed it in a move never recognised by the international community.

It considers the entire city its capital, while the Palestinians see the eastern sector as the capital of their future state.

The United Nations contends that the matter can only be settled between the Israeli and Palestinian people, and that until such a resolution, countries should not shift their embassies to Jerusalem.
LONDON (Reuters) - A Saudi royal adviser fired over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi is not among the 11 suspects on trial at secretive hearings in Riyadh despite Saudi pledges to bring those responsible to justice, sources familiar with the matter said. The Saudi public prosecutor indicted 11 unnamed suspects in November, including five who could face the death penalty on charges of "ordering and committing the crime." The CIA and some Western countries believe Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing, which Saudi officials deny. Saud al-Qahtani, a top aide to Prince Mohammed until he was sacked then sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury over his suspected role, is not on trial and has not appeared at any of the four court sessions convened since January, said seven sources, who are familiar with the proceedings but have not attended the trial. Two regional intelligence sources told Reuters weeks after the killing that Qahtani oversaw Khashoggi's murder and dismemberment by giving orders via Skype to a team of security and intelligence operatives. The Saudi public prosecutor said in November that Qahtani had coordinated with deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Asiri, who ordered the repatriation of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who had become a vocal critic of the crown prince's policies following years as a royal insider. The prosecutor said Qahtani had met the operatives charged with Khashoggi's repatriation ahead of their journey to Istanbul. When Khashoggi resisted, the lead negotiator decided to kill him, according to the prosecutor. Asiri is on trial, the seven sources told Reuters. Three of the sources said that Maher Mutreb, the lead negotiator, and Salah al-Tubaigy, a forensic expert specialized in autopsies, are also on trial and could face the death penalty. The sources said the defendants have legal counsel and have defended themselves in court by claiming they did not intend to kill Khashoggi or were merely carrying out orders. The public prosecutor, the government media office, Qahtani and Asiri did not respond to requests for comment on the status of the trial. Reuters could not reach Mutreb, Tobaigy or any of the defendants' lawyers. Saudi Arabia wants to move on from the global outcry sparked by Khashoggi's killing in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate last October, which tarnished the crown prince's reputation, prompted some investors to pull out, and intensified criticism of the country's human rights record. A credible investigation and trial are among Western demands to restore Saudi Arabia's standing after the killing. But Riyadh has refused to cooperate with a U.N. inquiry, rejecting it as interference in its internal affairs. It is unclear what evidence, if any, has been presented in court. Khashoggi's remains have not been discovered, and Riyadh says it has not received evidence requested from Ankara, which says it has recordings related to the killing in which Qahtani features prominently. A senior Turkish official said Ankara had shared all the necessary information with Saudi Arabia but that the cooperation had not been reciprocated. Turkey wants Riyadh to answer questions including where Khashoggi's body is and who the Saudis standing trial in Riyadh are. Three of the sources said a representative for the Khashoggi family attended at least one session to ask for an update on the public prosecutor's investigation into Qahtani and for him to be brought before the court. Qahtani has continued to wield influence in the crown prince's inner circle and remains active on behalf of the royal court, Western, Arab and Saudi sources with links to the royal court told Reuters in January. A Saudi official denied that at the time and said Qahtani remains under investigation and banned from travel. Access to the trial has been limited to diplomats from the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Turkey who are summoned on short notice and barred from bringing interpreters. (Editing by Nick Tattersall)
(Repeats item without changes to text)

* Riyadh wants oil prices above $70/b to balance books

* Cuts supply to customers much below requests

* Riyadh still has to convince Russia to extend output cuts

* Higher price could be damaging longer-term

By Rania El Gamal, Alex Lawler and Dmitry Zhdannikov

DUBAI/LONDON, March 22 (Reuters) - Budget needs are forcing Saudi Arabia to push for oil prices of at least $70 per barrel this year, industry sources say, even though U.S. shale oil producers could benefit and Riyadh's share of global crude markets might be further eroded.

Riyadh, OPEC's de facto leader, said it was steeply cutting exports to its main customers in March and April despite refiners asking for more of its oil. The move defies U.S. President Donald Trump's demands for OPEC to help reduce prices while he toughens sanctions on oil producers Iran and Venezuela.

The export cuts are designed to prop up prices, sources close to Saudi oil policy say. Saudi officials say the kingdom's output policies are merely intended to balance the world market and reduce high inventories.

"The Saudis want oil at $70 at least and are not worried about too much shale oil," said one industry source familiar with Saudi oil policy.

Another source said Saudi Arabia wanted to "put a floor under oil prices" at $70 or slightly lower, and added: "No one at OPEC can talk about output increases now."

Officially, Saudi Arabia, which plans to raise government spending to boost economic growth, does not have a price target. It says price levels are determined by the market and that it is merely targeting a balance of global supply and demand.

Even a price of around $70 a barrel would not balance Saudi Arabia's books this year, according to figures cited by Jihad Azour, director of the International Monetary Fund's Middle East and Central Asia department in February. For that, he said, Riyadh needs oil prices at $80-$85 a barrel.

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Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, also wants to make sure it avoids a repeat of the 2014-2016 oil price crash below $30 per barrel, sources familiar with Saudi policy said.

LOSS OF MARKET SHARE

Saudi Arabia plans to reduce March and April oil production to under 10 million barrels per day -- below its official OPEC output target of 10.3 million bpd.

A Saudi official told Reuters this month that despite strong demand from customers, state oil giant Saudi Aramco had cut its allocations for April by 635,000 bpd below nominations -- requests made by refiners and clients for crude.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said such swings were not unusual because last year the kingdom had raised output and exports above targets to avoid imminent shortages.

Saudi Arabia has also been advocating an extension of OPEC-led supply cuts beyond June until the end of 2019.

Russia, which is not an OPEC member but is cutting output in tandem with OPEC, can balance its budget at oil prices of $55 per barrel and has not made clear yet whether it is prepared to extend them when OPEC next meets in June.

"With budget needs at above $85 per barrel, the Saudis desperately need prices at above $70 per barrel," said Gary Ross, CEO of Black Gold Investors and a veteran OPEC watcher.

"They also need to convince Russia that the strategy of output cuts makes sense despite the loss of market share to the United States," he said.

The United States and Russia produce 12 million and 11 million bpd respectively. Unlike Russia, the United States pumps at will via its commercial energy sector, led by shale. The International Energy Agency forecasts its output will soar by another 4 million bpd in the next five years.

Those increases would be likely to outpace the growth of global demand and give Washington an even bigger share of the global market, making it a bigger exporter than Saudi Arabia.

PRESSURE FROM TRUMP

Riyadh has long been a close ally of the United States and the two countries have coordinated oil policy more closely since Trump became president than under his predecessor, Barack Obama.

Trump has supported Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman despite a global outcry over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the Saudi government, and has made clear he expects OPEC to help lower global oil prices.

Last year, Saudi Arabia raised output steeply under pressure from Washington. But it later heard that the United States had granted Iranian oil customers unexpectedly generous waivers and the price of oil subsequently fell to $50 per barrel.

On Monday, OPEC and its allies, led by Russia, scrapped a planned meeting in April and will decide instead whether to extend output cuts in June, once the market has assessed the impact of new U.S. sanctions on Iran due in May over its non-compliance with a deal to curb its nuclear program.

"We have to wait and see what the Americans will do first," a second OPEC source said.

There is, however, no guarantee Saudi policy will remain unchanged if Washington puts pressure on Riyadh to raise supply.

"They (the Saudis) do care about Trump, but they can't do whatever he says every time," an OPEC source said.

(Editing by Timothy Heritage)
CARACAS, March 24 (Reuters) - Two Russian air force planes landed in Venezuela's main airport on Saturday carrying a Russian defense official and nearly 100 troops, according to a local journalist, amid strengthening ties between Caracas and Moscow.

A flight-tracking website showed that two planes left from a Russian military airport bound for Caracas on Friday, and another flight-tracking site showed that one plane left Caracas on Sunday.

The report comes three months after the two nations held military exercises on Venezuelan soil that President Nicolas Maduro called a sign of strengthening relations, but which Washington criticized as Russian encroachment in the region.

Reporter Javier Mayorca wrote on Twitter on Saturday that the first plane carried Vasily Tonkoshkurov, chief of staff of the ground forces, adding that the second was a cargo plane carrying 35 tonnes of material.

An Ilyushin IL-62 passenger jet and an Antonov AN-124 military cargo plane left for Caracas on Friday from Russian military airport Chkalovsky, stopping along the way in Syria, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.

The cargo plane left Caracas on Sunday afternoon, according to Adsbexchange, another flight-tracking site.

A Reuters witness saw what appeared to be the passenger jet at the Maiquetia airport on Sunday.

It was not immediately evident why the planes had come to Venezuela.

Venezuela's Information Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Russia's Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry did not reply to messages seeking a comment. The Kremlin spokesman also did not reply to a request for comment.

The Trump administration has levied crippling sanctions on the OPEC nation's oil industry in efforts to push Maduro from power and has called on Venezuelan military leaders to abandon him. Maduro has denounced the sanctions as U.S. interventionism and has won diplomatic backing from Russia and China.

In December, two Russian strategic bomber aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons landed Venezuela in a show of support for Maduro's socialist government that infuriated Washington.

Maduro on Wednesday said Russia would send medicine "next week" to Venezuela, without describing how it would arrive, adding that Moscow in February had sent some 300 tonnes of humanitarian aid.

Venezuela in February had blocked a convoy carrying humanitarian aid for the crisis-stricken country that was coordinated with the team of opposition leader Juan Guaido, including supplies provided by the United States, from entering via the border with Colombia. (Reporting by Carlos Garcia, Carlos Jasso, Diego Ore and Brian Ellsworth in Caracas, and Maria Tsvetkova and Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber in Moscow; Editing by Leslie Adler)
INDIANAPOLIS  The investigation into the disappearance of 8-month-old Amiah Robertson has been classified as a homicide investigation, Indianapolis police said Saturday.

Robert Lyons, who was the boyfriend of Amiah's mother, has been named as a suspect.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Chief Bryan Roach said it has been a homicide investigation all week since things "didn't add up."

"Missing Persons ... figured out quickly through their investigation that this was a little different than most missing persons of a small child," he said.

Amiah's family reported her as missing on March 16. The last time police have confirmed that she was seen alive and well was at 1:15 p.m. March 9 in a residence on the city's west side.

"I think that we all hope for the best always, but I think that we can't ignore the reality of the situation," Lt. Bruce Smith said. "Amiah cannot take care of herself. And absent somebody else who is currently taking care of her that hasn't come forward, we are very concerned about what happened to her."

Amiah Robertson

Suspect named

Since March 16, police have searched for the child in several places where Lyons said the child would be alive and safe.

Robert has told family, friends and myself where Amiah should be alive and OK," Detective Jeannie Burkert said. "All of these locations and homes were checked with full cooperation from residents. Some places she was said to be by Robert do not exist. Since March 10, Robert Lyons has taunted Amber Robertson about Amiahs whereabouts.

IMPD Maj. Harold S. Turner said he did not know how long Lyons and Amber Robertson had been together.

Roach and officials on the case expressed frustration about the number of misleading tips in the case.

"I want you to know that we are here today because we're frustrated and quite frankly angry because of misinformation and lack of information and lack of cooperation from those most closely involved." Roach said. "This is an 8-month-old child, and I think all of us would agree somebody knows the whereabouts."

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Police said Lyons, who is considered a suspect in the disappearance, was driving a maroon-colored 1996 Isuzu Rodeo that is in "poor condition."

Although police listed Lyons as a suspect, they said they are not seeking his whereabouts now.

Just because were not looking for him now doesnt mean that we havent seen him prior to him being locked up on the 17th, Turner said.

Amiah's mother has been cooperative and is not a suspect, police said.

More: Missing 8-month-old Amiah Robertson: Here's what we know

Background of the case

Police thought the baby could be in danger and issued a Silver Alert on Tuesday before canceling it Wednesday. Officials said "very few tips" came in on the hotline, whereas many had come in through social media and department lines.

After receiving a tip Wednesday, detectives obtained a search warrant for the west side home and scoured the White River. Roach said police found items that belonged to Amiah's family.

Follow Domenica Bongiovanni on Twitter: @domenicareports.

Follow Ethan May on Twitter: @EthanMayJ.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Search for missing 8-month-old is now classified as a homicide, Indianapolis police say
Belgrade (AFP) - Serbia on Sunday marked 20 years since the NATO air strikes that forced Belgrade to withdraw its troops from Kosovo, ending a conflict that claimed more than 13,000 lives.

After the operation to get president Slobodan Milosevic to stop his deadly crackdown on Kosovo separatists, the former Serbian province, mainly ethnic Albanian, was put under UN administration.

Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in 2008 -- which Serbia refuses to recognise.

Commemorations were held across the country to recall the start of "NATO aggression", with a main ceremony in the southern town of Nis, which Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic said drew 20,000 people.

The sound of an air raid siren kicked off the ceremony at 7:45 pm, the minute when the strikes began on March 24, 1999, and the airing of scenes of the bombings on a big screen.

- 'The most tragic days' -

"These are the most tragic days of our history," Orthodox Serbian Patriarch Irinej told the crowd, many holding candles.

"What is even more tragic is that it involved our former allies, our former friends."

Milosevic ordered his troops out of Kosovo on June 10, 1999.

NATO forces struck dozens of military targets, as well as infrastructure such as bridges, railways and the electrical grid. The number of civilian victims has not been officially established, and ranges from 500 according to Human Rights Watch to 2,500, according to Serbian officials.

"We were alone in the face of the biggest military power in the world," said Vucic, a former ultra-nationalist who became a centrist and wants his country to join the European Union.

"Their goal was clear: to beat us and humiliate us, and then give part of our territory to someone else," he said.

- 'It will always be a crime' -

Citing 2,500 civilians dead including 79 children and a "devastated country", he said the bombing campaign would "always be a crime".

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Earlier on Sunday, the ambassadors of eight Western countries -- Canadian, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Norwegian, British and American -- paid their respects to civilian victims at a monument in Belgrade.

"We remember March 24 as the day diplomacy failed, and we express our sincere regret for the loss of civilian lives during the events of 1999," they said in a joint statement. "We are saddened for all of those who lost their loved ones during the wars of the 1990s. We are here to honour their memory and are determined to work even harder to contribute to lasting peace and stability to the region."

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, for his part, said Saturday that "NATOs intervention in Milosevics genocidal action against people of Kosovo was crucial humanitarian contribution (that) demonstrated coordinated international action for peace, justice and rules-based world order.

Writing on Twitter, he added: "The people of Kosovo will always reaffirm the profound gratitude for saving thousands of lives & giving us the opportunity to live in peace and freedom".

In Nis, Vucic was hailed for his statement that "the Serbian people have made the dignified decision that they to not want Serbia to join NATO," adding that remaining militarily neutral is "a natural choice".

According to a recent opinion poll conducted by the Institute of European Affairs, 79 percent of Serbs oppose joining NATO, with only 10 percent in favour.
Police have launched a murder investigation after a shopworker was stabbed to death at a newsagent in Pinner on Sunday morning (PA)

Police have launched a murder investigation after a shopworker was stabbed to death during a robbery at a newsagent in north-west London.

The shopworker is said to have been attacked as he opened Marsh Food and Wine in Pinner on Sunday morning.

Scotland Yard said the shops till was stolen and may have been discarded by the suspect.

Detectives are appealing for witnesses who may have seen a black Vauxhall Astra driving away at high speed immediately after the stabbing.

Six more people were reportedly stabbed across the capital this weekend.

It comes as the number of homicides in London rose to 29 so far this year.

The shopworker victim, who is yet to be identified, died on the scene at around 6.45am on Sunday morning (PA)

Officers were called to the scene on Marsh road at around 6am and the victim was pronounced dead around 45 minutes later, police said.

The Metropolitan Police have released no further details about the man but said inquiries were under way to identify him and inform his next of kin.

Detective Chief Inspector Simon Stancombe said: I am appealing to anyone who was in the area around Marsh Lane this morning and saw anything of interest to contact police.

This was a violent robbery that has escalated, resulting in the murder of a man.

Police believe the incident was a violent robbery that escalated (PA)

He went on: It appears the till was stolen from the shop during this robbery and this may have been discarded by the suspect. If you have come across this, we want to hear from you.

I am particularly keen to hear from anyone who saw a black Vauxhall Astra that was driven away at speed south down Cecil Park immediately after the attack.

We think that car was parked in Cecil Park prior to the murder  if you saw this, or have any other information that could help us progress this investigation, I would urge you to get in contact.

Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward (PA)

A large section of Marsh Road had been cordoned off on Sunday while police conduct forensic examinations outside Marsh Food and Wine and a branch of Costa Coffee.

Local business owner Peter Brook, 55, said: When someone actually violates your community, people will be shocked.

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I know the other traders Ive spoken to are thinking there but for the grace of God go the rest of us.

Mr Brook said there were a few employees from the newsagents who delivered the morning papers to local businesses, all of whom he said are kind, polite and so committed to working in the local community.

A large portion of Marsh Road has been cordoned off while police conduct investigations (PA)

One resident described the area as lovely, but said she was not shocked by the news as such incidents are happening in all areas.

Mary MacNamara, who has lived in the area for four years, said: We all see whats going on generally and it (such crime) seems to be happening in all areas.

Its happening every day. Nobody does anything about it.

Local MP Nick Hurd said police are making house-to-house inquiries.

He tweeted: Deeply saddened to hear of a fatal stabbing in Marsh Road #Pinner earlier this morning . Area cordoned off; police conducting house to house enquiries and reassurance patrols.

The total number of homicides has risen to 29 since the beginning of the year (PA)

Elsewhere, during a night of violence in the capital, a second man in his mid 40s is in a critical condition after being found with stab wounds in Dalston lane, north east London, at around 3.15am.

A 13-year-old boy was rushed to hospital after being found stabbed on St Matthews Road in Brixton, south London.

His condition is not thought to be life threatening.

Two men, believed to be in their late teens or early 20s, were found with knife wounds on Harrow Road, Westminster, while another was found with head injuries.

Shortly before 8.30pm, a sixth man also thought to be in his 20s, was admitted to hospital with non life-threatening injuries after he was stabbed in Barkingside, north-east London.
Washington (AFP) - In January 1865, as the US Civil War was drawing to a close, some freed slaves were promised "40 acres and a mule" to begin new lives.

The audacious experiment was fleeting -- repudiated within months by president Andrew Johnson, successor to the assassinated Abraham Lincoln, and the land returned to its former owners.

More than 150 years later, the question of whether the United States should provide compensation to African-Americans for past wrongs is still on the table.

Reparations for centuries of slavery and racial discrimination has emerged as a spirited topic of debate among the slew of candidates seeking to become the 2020 Democratic nominee for president.

Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, during his failed 1988 White House bid, raised the controversial subject but it has never figured so prominently before in a presidential race.

Barack Obama, America's first black president, and 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton did not support compensation for the descendants of slaves.

Among the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Julian Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio, have come out strongly in favor of reparations.

"America was founded on principles of liberty and freedom and on the backs of slave labor," Warren, a senator from Massachusetts, said recently at a CNN event in Jackson, Mississippi.

"This is a stain on America," Warren said. "I believe it's time to start the national, full-blown conversation about reparations in this country."

Castro, seeking to become the first US president of Hispanic origin, said he backed reparations while acknowledging there is a "tremendous amount of disagreement" on what they should be.

"If, under the Constitution, we compensate people because we take their property, why wouldn't you compensate people who actually were property?" he said.

- 'Injustice, cruelty, brutality' -

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Warren has thrown her support behind a bill in the US House of Representatives that would appoint a commission to examine the subject.

The bill, HR 40, calls for a panel "to address the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865."

The commission would "consider a national apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of slavery."

HR 40 -- so named for the unkept "40 acres and a mule" pledge -- was first introduced in the House three decades ago and has been resubmitted every year since, but has never reached the floor for a vote.

Senators Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, the two black candidates in the race, have also signaled support for reparations while former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke has said there should be a "conversation" about the subject.

"We need to study the effects of generations of discrimination and institutional racism and determine what can be done, in terms of intervention, to correct course," Harris said on National Public Radio.

Marianne Williamson, a self-help author considered a long shot for the nomination, is the only Democratic candidate for the moment advocating direct payments to African-Americans.

Williamson has proposed creating a $200- $500 billion fund to do it -- a number that scholars of the subject have ridiculed as far too little. A more reasonable figure, they argue, would run into the trillions of dollars.

Two other Democratic hopefuls -- Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar -- have supported addressing racial inequality as part of their wider plans to reduce income disparity.

"I think right now our job is to address the crises facing the American people in our communities," Sanders said on ABC's "The View." "And I think there are better ways to do that than just writing out a check."

- 'Frightening' -

Klobuchar said there was a need to "invest in those communities that have been so hurt by racism."

"That means looking at, for our whole economy, community college, one-year degrees, minimum wage, child care," she said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "It doesn't have to be a direct pay for each person."

Blacks are a key voting bloc for Democrats and their support is seen as essential to the candidate running against Republican President Donald Trump next year.

Fifty-two percent of the African-Americans surveyed in a 2015 CNN-Kaiser poll supported cash payments to the descendants of slaves.

But 89 percent of the white Americans polled opposed the idea.

Author Ta-Nehisi Coates, in a seminal 2014 article in The Atlantic called "The Case For Reparations," said the idea is "frightening" to many Americans "not simply because we might lack the ability to pay."

"The idea of reparations threatens something much deeper - America's heritage, history, and standing in the world," Coates said.

"But I believe that wrestling publicly with these questions matters as much as -- if not more than -- the specific answers that might be produced," he said. "An America that asks what it owes its most vulnerable citizens is improved and humane."

The United States has handed out reparations in the past including to Japanese-Americans put in internment camps during World War II.
WASHINGTON  Special counsel Robert Mueller completed his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election on Friday, delivering a report that signals the end of the long-running inquiry that loomed over the first two years of Donald Trump's presidency and saw a half-dozen of his top aides convicted of federal crimes.

Attorney General William Barr offered no clue what the investigation concluded, but the Justice Department said a summary of its findings could become public as soon as Saturday.

Mueller did not recommend any additional indictments, according to a Justice Department official who is not authorized to speak publicly.

Barr said in a letter to Congress Friday afternoon that Mueller had submitted his final, confidential report, and that he could alert lawmakers in the coming days to its findings. Findings of the report, described as "comprehensive" by Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec, will likely be made public at the same time.

"I write to notify you ... that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has concluded his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and related matters," Barr wrote in a letter to the top lawmakers on the House and Senate judiciary committees.

Barr told lawmakers he is "reviewing the report, and anticipate that I may be in a position to advise you of the special counsel's principal conclusions as soon as this weekend."

Trump: Trump has not seen Mueller report, next steps up to AG Barr, White House says

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the White House had not received Mueller's report or been briefed on its findings.

Reaction on Capitol Hill was largely circumspect, with Democrats and Republicans calling for the swift release of Mueller's findings. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer called for the full report to be made public.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, was more tart. He praised Mueller for his integrity and thoughtfulness and called on Barr to provide Congress and the American people with the findings to finally put an end to the speculation and innuendo that has loomed over this administration since its earliest days."

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The delivery of Mueller's report caps a remarkable investigation launched in secret months before Trump was elected president, when the U.S. government began gathering evidence that a Russian intelligence service had hacked into Democratic political organizations and released troves of stolen documents, in part to help Trump win the White House. At the same time, the FBI found clues that aides to Trump's campaign had tried to coordinate with the Russian effort.

In the nearly two years since Mueller was installed to oversee that work, the investigation has resulted in charges against more than two dozen Russian operatives, and a succession of aides and advisers to Trump's campaign, including its former chairman. In doing so, prosecutors mapped the details of a Russian operation to sway the election, and a campaign eager to reap the benefit of those efforts.

The now-completed probe has not resulted in charges that anyone associated with Trump coordinated with the Russians.

The delivery of Mueller's report means his investigation, which included an inquiry into whether Trump tried to obstruct justice, ends without investigators having interviewed the president. Trump's lead lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said Trump had submitted written answers to questions from the special counsel, but had not submitted to an interview.

Barr told lawmakers Friday he was "committed to as much transparency as possible," and would consult with Mueller and other Justice Department officials to determine how much of the report could become public.

A security officer from Mueller's office delivered the report to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who turned it over to Barr. The Justice Department notified the White House just before 5 p.m., and Rosenstein called Mueller to express his "appreciation" for his work.

On Friday evening, Barr remained in his fifth-floor office reviewing Mueller's findings and preparing to assemble a written summary, Kupec said.

A spokesman for Mueller, Peter Carr, said the special counsel would be "concluding his service in the coming days." He said a small staff would remain to close down the office.

Barr said neither he nor his predecessors had overruled any of Mueller's investigative actions.

Trump has dismissed the probe as a "hoax" and a "witch hunt" led by political opponents in the Justice Department and the FBI. Among its most immediate consequences was a remarkable rift between the president and his appointees inside the Justice Department. In particular, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, one of Trump's earliest supporters who became a frequent target after he recused himself from overseeing the Russia investigation.

More: Trump's legal team braces for report, hasn't talked with special counsel in 'weeks'

Mueller took over the investigation in May 2017. Since then, his prosecutors indicted dozens of defendants on hundreds of charges. Among the most high profile: Michael Cohen, Trump's longtime personal lawyer and fixer, and Michael Flynn, Trump's former National Security Adviser and a member of his campaign staff. His onetime campaign manager, Paul Manafort, also was convicted in one case and pleaded guilty in another.

Barr must now determine how much of Mueller's report to send to Congress, and must also notify lawmakers of whether he or his predecessors rejected any of the steps Mueller proposed taking in his investigation. It will be up to lawmakers to determine what to investigate, particularly where criminal charges werent filed. Some Democrats in the House have called for Trumps impeachment.

Why do we have a Mueller investigation?

In May 2017, Rosenstein appointed Mueller to investigate possible cooperation between Trumps campaign and Russians seeking to influence the election. By that point, Flynn had resigned for misleading others in the administration about meeting with Russians during the transition.

Days before the appointment, Trump fired FBI Director James Comey amid an investigation of Trump campaign ties to Russia. And Trump met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the Oval Office.

Mueller took over an FBI counter-intelligence investigation that began in the summer of 2016 after agents learned that a campaign aide, George Papadopoulos, had boasted to an Australian diplomat that Russia had obtained damaging information about Hillary Clinton. The claim took on new significance that summer after investigators determined that Russian intelligence had hacked the Democratic National Committee and stolen troves of email.

Rosenstein said he hadnt determined that any laws were broken, but that the unique circumstances required an investigation independent of the normal chain of command.

Charges, convictions in investigation

Among the dozens caught up in the Mueller investigation or related inquiries by federal prosecutors in New York and Washington are close Trump associates, political operatives and advisers and Russian nationals and entities. Many cases are pending, some men are awaiting sentencing and at least two have served their sentences.

Those charged include:

Roger Stone, a longtime Trump associate and political consultant, who was indicted in January on seven charges related to lying to investigators about efforts by top Trump campaign aides to learn about emails the Russian government had stolen from his political rivals.

Michael Flynn, a former Army lieutenant general who served as Trumps national security adviser and worked on the campaign, pleaded guilty in December 2017 to lying to investigators about meetings with Russians during the presidential transition. He cooperated with Mueller under a plea agreement and awaits sentencing.

Michael Cohen, Trumps former personal lawyer, who pleaded guilty in November 2018 to lying to Congress about a proposed real-estate deal in Moscow. He cooperated with Mueller. Cohen also pleaded guilty in August 2018 in a case prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York to charges related to making six-figure payments as hush money during the campaign to two women who claimed to have had sex with Trump. Cohen was sentenced in December 2018 to three years in prison.

Paul Manafort, Trumps former campaign chairman, who was convicted in August of tax and bank charges. He pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy against the U.S. to commit money laundering, tax fraud and failing to register to represent foreign interests, and to obstruction of justice. Manafort was convicted of not reporting income and not registering with the Justice Department for representing a pro-Russia faction in Ukraine, and then not reporting millions in income. The obstruction charge stemmed from telling other witnesses to change statements to investigators while he was in custody. Manafort was sentenced 7.5 years in prison.

Rick Gates, who worked for Manafort before and during the campaign and also headed Trumps inaugural committee. He pleaded guilty in February 2018 to conspiracy and lying to FBI agents and prosecutors. He cooperated with Mueller and awaits sentencing.

Konstantin Kilimnik, who worked with Manafort and Gates in Kiev. He was indicted in June 2018 on charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice.

George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign. He pleaded guilty in October 2017 to lying to FBI agents about an overseas professor who claimed to have dirt from thousands of emails from Democrat Hillary Clinton and with a Russian woman with ties to Russian officials. He served 14 days in prison and was ordered to pay a $9,500 fine and complete 200 hours of community service.

Alex van der Zwaan, an English lawyer, who pleaded guilty in February 2018 to lying to FBI agents about his work for Manafort and Gates. He served 30 days in prison and was fined $20,000.

Richard Pinedo, of Santa Paula, California, who pleaded guilty in February 2018 to identity fraud for trading in bank account numbers from stolen identities that others used to hide digital payments over the internet. Pinedo was sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to complete 100 hours of community service.

12 Russian nationals who were indicted in July 2018 with conspiracies for hacking Democratic computers to influence the 2016 election. Charges included aggravated identity theft and money laundering.

13 Russian nationals and three entities including the Internet Research Agency that were indicted in February 2018 with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. for interfering with the election. Three were charged with conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud. Five were charged with aggravated identity theft.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Special counsel Robert Mueller delivers report marking end of investigation into Trump's campaign, Russia
Cairo (AFP) - The Arab League said Sunday it was not planning to discuss reinstating Syria's membership at a summit later this month, more than eight years after suspending it as the country descended into war.

The pan-Arab bloc, which is set to hold its annual summit in Tunisia on March 31, froze Syria's membership in November 2011 over a bloody government crackdown on protestors.

But several of the bloc's other 21 members have recently renewed ties with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, and some have called for Syria to be re-admitted to the league.

"The issue of Syria's return to the Arab League has yet to be listed on the agenda and has not been formally proposed," said the League's spokesman Mahmoud Afifi.

He noted that the "Syrian crisis" however still tops the agenda, along with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the situation in Yemen and Libya.

Syria's conflict flared in 2011 with anti-government demonstrations that sparked a brutal regime crackdown.

It has since drawn in regional powers, killing 370,000 people and displacing millions.

But the regime, backed by allies Russia and Iran, has since re-conquered much of the territory it had lost to rebels and jihadists, and now controls some two-thirds of the country.

Syria's Kurds, which declared victory over the Islamic State group on Saturday, control much of the oil-rich northeast, which the regime has hinted it may seize back in a military operation.

Earlier this month, Syrian officials attended a meeting of Arab states in neighbouring Jordan for the first time since the country's Arab League membership was suspended.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in December made the first visit of any Arab leader to the Syrian capital since 2011.

The same month, Egypt hosted Syria's national security chief and top Assad aide Ali Mamluk.

The UAE also reopened its Damascus embassy in a major sign of a diplomatic thaw.

Arab states have also slammed US President Donald Trump's call for recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a strategic territory the Jewish state seized from Syria in 1967.
Immigration authorities released a Texas flight attendant Friday after she was detained for more than a month following a flight to Mexico.

Selene Saavedra Roman  who is enrolled in the government's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program  was told by her employer that she would not have problems re-entering the United States after working the international route, attorney Belinda Arroyo said.

Mesa Airlines chief executive Jonathan Ornstein later described the situation as an "administrative error."

"She should have never been advised that she could travel," Arroyo said. "It was a big mistake."

Saavedra Roman immigrated illegally to the U.S. as a child and is enrolled in the government's program for "Dreamers." Participants who travel outside the country without the proper paperwork are no longer covered by the program, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website.

Selene Saavedra Roman shown in this 2018 photo.

"Being released is an indescribable feeling," Saavedra Roman said via a spokesman. "I cried and hugged my husband and never wanted to let go. I am thankful and grateful for the amazing people that came to fight for me, and it fills my heart."

Saavedra Roman, 28, was detained as Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it was investigating her status. During her detention, multiple high-profile figures spoke out on her behalf, including a Friday tweet from Hillary Clinton.

David Watkins, Romans husband, learned about his wife's detention in a text message, the Washington Post reports: Im being detained, please call the lawyer.

I think my wife is going to have PTSD for a long, long time, Watkins told the newspaper in an interview. While Roman was detained, Watkins could only visit her once per week and could only see her through thick glass, he said.

Saavedra Roman is scheduled to appear before an immigration judge in April.

About 3.6 million undocumented immigrants brought to the country before their 18th birthday are enrolled in the Obama-era DACA program. Collectively, they're referred to as "Dreamers," named after a bill that's failed to pass Congress since it was first introduced in 2001.

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After passing security background checks and proving they were either in school, employed or serving in the military, DACA recipients were granted work permits and two-year reprieves from deportation that could be renewed. Trump has tried to end DACA; that is being appealed.

Contributing: Alan Gomez and David Jackson, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas flight attendant detained by ICE for weeks after airline's 'administrative error'
In this article:

Bangkok (AFP) - Violent demonstrations, multiple coups and a cryptic election eve message from the king.

Thailand's unpredictable political history has few rivals.

The country's election Sunday is the first since a 2014 coup.

Here is a brief look at two turbulent decades in Thai politics.

- 'Lost decade' -

2001 - Policeman-turned-billionaire telecoms magnate Thaksin Shinawatra wins at the polls promising social welfare schemes.

2003 - A brutal war on drugs kills upwards of 2,500 people. A year later a crackdown in the Muslim-majority Deep South sparks a renewed insurgency.

2005 - Thaksin repeats electoral triumph, heading up the first civilian administration to complete a four-year term in a history rattled by army takeovers.

2006 - While at the UN in New York, Thaksin is toppled in bloodless coup. A period of protests and violent clashes ensues and historians dub the prolonged instability the "Lost Decade".

- Yellow and Red -

2008 - Thaksin is convicted in absentia on corruption charges he says are politically motivated and flees into self-exile.

Anti-Thaksin protesters known as "Yellow Shirts" storm Bangkok's airports, shutting them down for over a week to protest a Thaksin ally as premier -- who is soon removed.

Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva becomes prime minister after a parliamentary vote.

2009 - Pro-Thaksin "Red Shirts" storm a regional summit hosted by Thailand demanding elections and forcing participants to flee by helicopter and boat.

2010 - More than 90 people are killed as the army -- led by current junta leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha -- opens fire on Red Shirts protesting in downtown Bangkok.

2011 - Fresh elections in 2011 see Thaksin's younger sister Yingluck emerge as Thailand's first female prime minister.

2014 - Anti-Yingluck demonstrators hold months-long protests that turn violent. A snap 2014 election is annulled and military seizes power.

- Junta delays, holds vote -

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2016 - Junta leader Prayut oversees a crackdown on dissent and wins a referendum to change the constitution.

Thailand mourns the death of revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who was seen as a figure of unity over a seven-decade reign.

2017 - Yingluck flees the country to avoid negligence charges and joins brother in self-exile.

2018 - Junta announces elections for next year after repeated delays, lifting hopes as new parties emerge.

2019 - Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn shuts down shock prime ministerial candidacy of older sister Princess Ubolratana, who stood for the Thaksin-linked Thai Raksa Chart party.

March 23, 2019 - On eve of vote, the king sends another message to Thai citizens, urging them to support "good people" and not those who create "chaos".
Tony Blair refused to comment on whether Theresa May should resign as Prime Minister during a conference in Dubai (PA)

Tony Blair is confident Britain will get back on its feet after Brexit.

The former prime minister said he was determined to be part of the debate as he passionately believes Brexit is a mistake.

But, speaking at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai at the weekend, Mr Blair said it was not the time for him to comment on whether Theresa May should resign.

Mrs May battling to win MP support and pass her Brexit deal through Parliament before the new deadline day of April 12 (PA)

The former PM was asked by Varkey Foundation chairman Vikas Pota whether he agreed with Tory peer Lord Gadhias comments that Mrs May will not last to the end of the week.

Mr Blair replied: I have done the job of being prime minister, and I know how difficult it is. Frankly, she doesnt need me making it anymore difficult in this particular moment in time.

Read More

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The one thing I do say to everyone though is that my country is going through a really difficult period, thats for sure, but dont write us off. It has been a big mess, we are in a lot of trouble, it has evoked a national crisis.

But I absolutely promise you one way or another  I obviously have very strong views about Brexit  but whatever happens on Brexit, one way or another Britain will get back on its feet again, will be a serious country again.

We will sort ourselves out.

Mr Blair told reporters it was important for him to use his experience in Government to inform the current debate around Brexit (Getty)

Mr Blair, an outspoken critic of Brexit, said Britain is in a moment of real crisis.

The former PM said if a leader is struggling to get the support of those around them, it becomes very challenging, very difficult, if not impossible.

Asked whether he thought Mrs May was now at her least popular and most capable, he replied: I am not sure about that one.

Mr Blair also explained that while he was no longer on the front line, he felt it was an important duty to use what he had learned from his time in government to help inform the debate.

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He said: This is why on the Brexit thing, even though I am not on the front line any more, I believe so passionately it is a mistake for my country, that I feel absolutely determined to be part of it.

Mr Blair has consistently maintained his position as a strong supporter of a second referendum.

On Radio 4s Week in Westminster programme, the outspoken former politician called for the proposed series of indicative votes on alternatives Brexit deals to be postponed.

Mr Blair said it was be better to have a debate on deal alternatives after the run up to Mrs Mays new deadline day of April 12, when there will be less pressure to rush through votes.

He told the programme: The most difficult thing for MPs will be: do they try and do these so-called indicative votes fast and get a conclusion by 12th April?

I personally would not do that, but I think theyll be under huge pressure to do it. It would be better if we took a longer time to do it.
By Ritah Kemigisa.

Traders at Nabukeera and Qualicel arcades have been asked not to pay any rent until the Attorney General pronounces the rightful owners of the two buildings.

The Kampala Central Member of Parliament Muhammad Nsereko tells KFM that this is is the only way the confusion among the traders shall be stopped.

The traders have for two days been protesting against what they call double rent payment following a directive from a one Yanga to pay five months worth of rent, already paid to the late Charles Muhangi, when he managed the said properties.

Nsereko says the traders should start paying their own power bills moving forward and also promised to petition parliament on Tuesday next week for other legislators to offer guidance.
By Karen Freifeld

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani said Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report into Russian interference in the 2016 election, whether the Trump campaign colluded, and whether Trump obstructed justice was more positive than he had anticipated, based on the summary of the report released on Sunday.

"It's better than I expected," said Giuliani, who, echoing Trump, relentlessly attacked Mueller and his work when he began to represent the president last year.

Mueller's report, according to the summary by U.S. Attorney General William Barr, found no evidence President Donald Trump's campaign conspired with Russia in the 2016 election. It also did not find that the president obstructed justice, though it did not exonerate him.

Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein then concluded there was insufficient evidence of obstruction.

"This is a complete and total vindication of the President," Giuliani and others on Trump's outside legal team later said in a statement.

"They got it right," said Washington lawyer John Dowd, who served as Trump's personal lawyer on the probe until March 2018. "I'm just very, very happy for the president."

"It's been an awful two years, in my opinion wholly unjustified," Dowd told Reuters.

Mueller spent nearly two years investigating allegations that Russia meddled in the 2016 election.

The report also outlines the Russian effort to influence the election and documents crimes by people associated with Russia in connection with that, Barr said.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Leslie Adler and Chris Reese)
Jerusalem (AFP) - US President Donald Trump's role in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's electoral campaign gets its star turn this week when the two allies meet in Washington ahead of Israeli polls.

The billionaire president has already been featured on giant campaign billboards in Israel shaking hands and smiling with Netanyahu, and the premier has shared video of Trump calling him "strong" and a "winner".

But Trump's support has gone far beyond photos and words as Netanyahu fights a tough re-election battle ahead of April 9 polls while under threat of indictment for corruption.

On Thursday, after new opinion polls showed Netanyahu losing ground to his electoral rivals, Trump took to his beloved Twitter account to present the Israeli leader with what many analysts saw as a campaign gift.

Again breaking with longstanding international consensus, Trump said "it is time" to accept Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which it seized from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War.

The tweet granted Netanyahu exactly what he had been pushing for without asking for anything in return, at least publicly.

Netanyahu pronounced it a Purim "miracle" -- referring to the Jewish holiday Israel was celebrating the same day -- and phoned Trump to tell him he had "made history".

But Trump said it had nothing to do with Israeli politics.

"I wouldn't even know about that," he told Fox Business Network.

- 'Personal things' -

Trump's tweet was, however, only one of two boosts to Netanyahu's campaign from the White House the same day.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, visiting Jerusalem at the same time, also denied politics played a role in his trip to the Western Wall alongside Netanyahu earlier Thursday.

It was the first time such a high-ranking American official visited one of the holiest sites in Judaism located in mainly Palestinian east Jerusalem, with an Israeli premier.

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It offered Netanyahu a prime pre-election photo opportunity.

Further surprises may be in store this week, which features two meetings between Netanyahu and Trump at the White House: a "working meeting" on Monday and a dinner on Tuesday.

The first comes the same day Netanyahu's main electoral opponent, former military chief Benny Gantz, addresses the annual conference in Washington of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Netanyahu speaks at the pro-Israel lobby on Tuesday.

Trump relies on pro-Israel evangelical Christians in the United States as part of his electoral base and has moved US policy firmly in Israel's favour -- most notably by declaring Jerusalem Israel's capital in 2017.

But Netanyahu has also deployed his considerable powers of persuasion to charm the mercurial president he calls his "friend".

"Trump is very affected by personal things, and Bibi's stroked him a lot," said Jonathan Rynhold, political science professor at Israel's Bar-Ilan University, using Netanyahu's nickname.

"I'm sure he's also very affected by the last thing that was said to him, so whispering in his ear is (Trump's son-in-law Jared) Kushner, who's got a good relationship with Bibi."

- 'Cautious politician' -

There has been talk in recent weeks about similarities in style between Trump and Netanyahu -- although there are key differences.

Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the United States and now a deputy minister for diplomacy, said "they share a disdain for political correctness".

Using phrases that echo Trump's, Netanyahu has castigated the corruption investigations into his affairs as a "witch-hunt" and a plot aimed at forcing him from office.

He has sought to demonise his enemies and brokered a deal with an extreme-right political party many view as a racist.

Like Trump, he has employed the phrase "fake news" to combat tough coverage of him.

But, as Rynhold points out, underneath the rhetoric the 69-year-old Netanyahu is an "extremely cautious politician", intensely attuned to the direction of the electoral winds.

He has been prime minister for a total of 13 years and will be on track to surpass founding father David Ben-Gurion as Israel's longest-serving premier if he wins.

"What's changed is that in the last three years Bibi has sensed that the world is more populist and the centre of gravity in Israeli politics has shifted rightwards, so he's done the same," Rynhold said.

Netanyahu's meetings with Trump and his AIPAC speech will allow him to further his argument to Israeli voters that he has irreplaceable skills as a statesman.

Israel's political system does not offer its leaders a state of the union type address like those made by US presidents, and Oren said the annual AIPAC speech can fill that role.

"It also tends to be broadcast around prime time here," Oren said. "So it's an important platform for him."
By Karen Freifeld and Nathan Layne

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When members of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team investigating Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. election have arrived for work each day, they have placed their mobile phones in a locker outside of their office suite before entering.

Operating in secrecy in a nondescript glass-and-concrete office, the team of prosecutors and investigators since May 2017 has unearthed secrets that have led to bombshell charges against several of President Donald Trump's aides, including his former national security adviser, campaign chairman and personal lawyer, who have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a jury.

To protect those secrets from prying ears, the whole of the office suite in southwest Washington has been designated a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF), U.S. spy speak for an area that has restrictions to ensure secret information stays secure.

One common restriction in SCIFs is to keep out smartphones and other electronic devices, which can be turned into covert listening devices or spy cameras. Visitors also have been required to turn these over before entering.

The restrictions, while not surprising given the team was investigating whether a hostile foreign power tried to help Trump win the 2016 election and whether his campaign conspired in the effort, have not been previously reported.

Mueller on Friday sent his report on his investigation to U.S. Attorney General William Barr, setting off a clamour from lawmakers in both Democratic and Republican parties for the document's public release.

Accounts of witnesses interviewed by the special counsel's team, their lawyers and others familiar with the investigation reveal the lengths to which Mueller, a former FBI director, has gone to ensure his high-profile probe safeguarded its secrets.

In a city known for its leaks, Mueller has pulled off a rare feat. He has kept a tight lid on both his office and the evidence he was amassing in his highly sensitive investigation that has cast a cloud over Trump's presidency. And he did it even as Trump relentlessly criticized him, calling the probe a "witch hunt" and the special counsel's team "thugs."

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THE ADVISER AND THE DODGE CHARGER

When former Trump campaign adviser Michael Caputo agreed to an interview with Mueller in May 2018, he was told he would be picked up at the hotel where he was staying in Washington. On the lookout for a black government SUV, Caputo and his lawyer were surprised when an FBI agent drove up in his personal car, a white Dodge Charger.

"Then he drove us 15 blocks to their location and we went in through the garage so that nobody would see," Caputo said in an interview.

Caputo was questioned about former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, Manafort's aide Rick Gates and longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone. When the interview was over, Mueller's team told him they would take him back to his hotel. Caputo said Mueller's team was not happy with what he said next.

"I said I'm meeting a TV crew downstairs so I won't need a ride," Caputo said. "They weren't upset that I was talking to the media, they were disturbed that I was doing it in (front of) the office."

"They were concerned ... that would put their agents and attorneys at risk," Caputo said, adding that he agreed to meet the news crew at a different location nearby.

Former Trump campaign adviser Sam Nunberg said an FBI agent picked him up at the train station to take him to the office.

"You put your phone and any electronic devices and leave them in a compartment out front," Nunberg added. "It was a very plain office."

Nunberg said he went into a conference room with three tables, and prosecutor Aaron Zelinsky, a member of Mueller's team, came in with three FBI agents, one female and two males.

The office's location was not publicly revealed but was discovered by journalists. Still, it has not been widely publicized. Mueller's team has asked media outlets not to publish the exact location for security purposes.

"We are working in a secure location in Southwest DC," Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, has said.

STAYING OUT OF THE NEWS

"In a town where everybody and their mother is trying to get on the front page, Bob Mueller was always trying to stay out of the news," said Mark Corallo, a former Justice Department spokesman. "He wanted to be judged on actions, not press conferences."

Corallo, who was briefly a spokesman for Trump's legal team, was interviewed by Mueller's team in February 2018.

Corallo and other witnesses summoned for interviews by Mueller's team said they were picked up from their lawyers' offices and taken to a secure parking garage in the building in southwest Washington.

The team's office suite was anonymous with no plaque on the door to identify its occupants, said Washington lawyer A. Joseph Jay, who represented a witness he declined to identify.

More than once, Jay recalled, members of Mueller's team expressed their commitment to confidentiality. "They made it clear on a number of occasions, 'We don't leak. You don't have to worry about that with us.'"

"By keeping to their code of silence, they were professionals," Jay said. "They weren't reacting to the spin. They were doing their jobs. They spoke through a number of indictments. They spoke through a number of sentencing memos."

Mueller has remained silent throughout the investigation and his office has issued only one statement. In that statement, issued this past January, spokesman Carr labelled as "not accurate" a BuzzFeed News account describing evidence collected by the special counsel that allegedly showed that Trump had directed his former lawyer Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about a Moscow real estate deal. BuzzFeed has stood by its story.

Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, himself a former federal prosecutor, also remarked on Mueller staying out of sight.

"Whenever we talk to them, they say, 'We'll take it to Bob.' He's like the Wizard of Oz," Giuliani said.

Giuliani said although he was suspicious of leaks to the news media, he acknowledged he knew of none for sure from the special counsel's team and that nothing he told Mueller's office was leaked.

"Mueller doesn't talk to us. I don't know why he'd talk to the press," the former New York mayor added.

Joseph Campbell, a former assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division who worked at the agency when Mueller headed it, said the special counsel knows how to handle sensitive investigations and ignores the attacks on him.

"He went through 12 years starting with 9/11 of extremely critical and sensitive investigations around the world," said Campbell, referring to the 2001 attacks on the United States. "This is right in his wheelhouse."

"He is not affected by external criticism or speculation," Campbell added.

Robert Litt, former general counsel for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said any leaks about the investigation appeared to have come from witnesses or their lawyers.

"There's nothing he can do about that," Litt said, referring to Mueller.

Litt said Mueller, the 74-year-old former U.S. Marine Corps officer and architect of the modern FBI, probably "cares little about the public perception of him."

"He cares," Litt said, "about doing the job right."

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld and Nathan Layne; Additional reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Will Dunham and Ross Colvin)
Kiev (AFP) - Ukrainian economist Yevgeniya Gorobey will vote for a pro-Moscow candidate in next week's presidential poll even though Russia annexed Crimea and fuelled a separatist uprising in the ex-Soviet country's east.

"What is the most important thing right now? To stop the war," Gorobey, who lives in the capital Kiev, told AFP. "I will vote for Yuriy Boyko."

The 35-year-old mother of one said she believed the former ally of ousted Kremlin-backed president Viktor Yanukovych -- unlike the current elites -- would look for ways to end a conflict that has claimed some 13,000 lives since 2014.

In a pro-Western country of 45 million that firmly rejected its Soviet past a significant number of people plan to vote for Boyko or other pro-Russian figures.

Of the 39 presidential candidates, roughly four including Boyko are Russia-friendly.

None stands a chance of winning the crucial presidential election on March 31 but their combined support among voters stands at around 15 percent.

Polls put the 60-year-old former deputy prime minister Boyko in fourth place with more than 10 percent, behind the three most popular candidates led by actor and comedian Volodymyr Zelensky.

- Moscow talks -

While the top three contenders -- including President Petro Poroshenko -- run on promises of closer ties with the West, Boyko insists that restoring political and economic ties with arch-foe Russia is important, too.

"We should have an absolutely pragmatic course," said Boyko, who won 0.19 percent of the vote during a presidential election in 2014.

"We should act in the interests of the country -- in some areas we will restore our relations with Russia for sure, we have lost this market," he told AFP.

This week Boyko travelled to Moscow for high-profile economic talks with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, sparking Poroshenko's anger.

Friday's talks centred on the importance of resumption of cooperation including in the gas sphere and included energy giant Gazprom chief Alexei Miller and Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, who claims President Vladimir Putin is godfather to one of his daughters.

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"They are discussing economy while our boys are dying on the frontlines," a seething Poroshenko said of the Moscow talks.

Boyko, a former member of Yanukovich's largely moribund Party of Regions, also contradicts Kiev's line by insisting on direct talks with Kremlin-backed separatists.

Mykhailo, who lives in the government-held port city of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine, also said he would vote for Boyko.

"The current authorities did not allow opposition forces to develop," said the 63-year-old pensioner, who declined to give his last name for fear of reprisals.

"Even under Yanukovych the opposition had more opportunities than now."

The newly established Orthodox Church of Ukraine -- which has recently won independence from Moscow -- this month warned voters against supporting candidates who appear to promote peace but in fact urge them to "surrender to the enemy."

But observers say that despite Kiev's pivot to the West after a popular uprising in 2014 some Ukrainians had nostalgic memories of life under the Soviet Union and backed closer ties with Moscow.

"Very often they are ready to support candidates who are well-disposed towards Russia," said political analyst Mykola Davydyuk.

Boyko is backed by Dmytro Firtash, a tycoon with links to the Kremlin and former Donald Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort, and his TV channel gives him ample airtime.

Given Boyko's high profile, his party, the Opposition Platform, appears set to win parliamentary seats during legislative polls in October.

- Weakened support -

Pro-Moscow candidates have traditionally enjoyed popularity in the country's Russian-speaking eastern and southern regions but the annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of the separatist conflict undermined their support base.

Of roughly 6 million people living in annexed Crimea and separatist-controlled territories, many will not be able to take part in the vote. Other pro-Moscow voters have been disillusioned with Russia's tactics.

"They did not expect Russian forces to arrive and start killing people," said analyst Davydyuk.

The country's pro-Russian opposition has also been undermined by infighting and has failed to agree on a single candidate ahead of the election.

Boyko and Oleksandr Vilkul -- another pro-Russian contender with ties to Ukraine's richest man Rinat Akhmetov -- have accused each other of not playing fair.

Boyko supporter Gorobey said that despite everything he was trustworthy and stuck to his guns.

"He is not a turncoat."

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LONDON (AP) -- Embattled Prime Minister Theresa May was scrambling Sunday to win over adversaries to her Brexit withdrawal plan as key Cabinet ministers denied media reports that they were plotting to oust her.

May spent the afternoon ensconced in a crisis meeting at her country residence Chequers with fellow Conservatives and outspoken Brexit advocates like Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg and others who would prefer to leave the European Union without a divorce deal rather than delay Britain's departure from the bloc further.

Her office released a statement afterward giving no hint about whether she had gained any new backing. It said only that they discussed "whether there is sufficient support" to bring her Brexit divorce plan back to Parliament for a third vote.

The prime minister has found her authority weakened after a series of setbacks in Parliament and her inability to win meaningful concessions from EU leaders who refuse to sweeten the Brexit deal.

The Sunday Times claims that 11 Cabinet ministers plan to tell May to resign so a caretaker leader can be put in her place to kick start the stalled Brexit process. She faces growing pressure from within her own party either to resign or to set a date for stepping down as a way to build support for her Brexit plan.

The confrontation may come to a head at a Cabinet session expected Monday.

Under Conservative Party rules, May cannot face a formal leadership challenge from within her own party until December because she survived one three months ago. But she may be persuaded that her position is untenable if top Cabinet ministers and other senior party members desert her.

Despite headlines about a Cabinet coup, there was no indication from Downing Street on Sunday that a resignation was near. Two of the people mentioned as possible successors  Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington and Treasury chief Philip Hammond  expressed strong support for May.

Hammond said Sunday that senior party members plotting to oust May were being "self-indulgent." He said a change of leadership would not provide a solution to the U.K.'s political deadlock on Brexit.

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"We've got to address the question of what type of Brexit is acceptable to Parliament, what type of way forward Parliament can agree on so that we can avoid what would be an economic catastrophe of a no-deal exit and also what would be a very big challenge to confidence in our political system if we didn't exit at all," Hammond said.

Lidington, mentioned as a possible caretaker prime minister should May be ousted, said Sunday that talk of a Cabinet revolt was far-fetched speculation. He said May is doing a "fantastic job" and that he has no desire to take her place.

Still, May thus far has been unable to generate enough support in Parliament for the deal her government and the EU reached late last year. Lawmakers voted down the Brexit plan twice, and May has raised the possibility of bringing it back a third time if enough legislators appear willing to switch their votes.

The Cabinet is focused on the best way to get May's withdrawal plan passed in the House of Commons, Lidington said.

The U.K.'s departure from the EU was set to take place on March 29, but the absence of an approved divorce agreement prompted May last week to ask the leaders of the 27 remaining EU nations for a postponement.

The leaders agreed to delay Brexit until May 22, on the eve of the EU Parliament elections, if the prime minister can persuade Parliament to endorse her twice-rejected agreement.

If she is unable to rally support for the deal, the European leaders said Britain only has until April 12 to choose between leaving the EU without a divorce deal and a new path, such as revoking the decision to leave the bloc or calling another voter referendum on Brexit.

Parliament may hold a series of votes this week to determine what Brexit proposals, if any, could command majority support.

Conservative Party legislator George Freeman, a former policy adviser to May, tweeted that the U.K. needs a new leader if the Brexit process is to move forward.

"I'm afraid it's all over for the PM. She's done her best. But across the country you can see the anger. Everyone feels betrayed," Freeman tweeted. "This can't go on. We need a new PM who can reach out & build some sort of coalition for a Plan B."

May also faces pressure from groups demanding a second Brexit referendum. Huge crowds turned out Saturday for an anti-Brexit protest march in London, which organizers claimed involved more than 1 million people.

On Sunday, an electronic petition designed to cancel Brexit altogether passed the 5 million signature mark.

___

Follow AP's full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Saturday urged the signatories of a peace accord in the Central African Republic to "expedite its implementation," a day after the formation of a new government that includes representatives of armed groups.

Guterres "urges all signatories of the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation to adhere to its agreed principles, especially the rejection of violence and respect for human rights and human dignity," a statement said.

"He further urges all signatories of the peace agreement to expedite its implementation."

The new government of Central Africa, appointed by presidential decree on Friday, includes ministers from armed groups that signed last month's peace deal.

Under the provisions of a peace accord -- signed in the CAR capital Bangui on February 6 -- President Faustin-Archange Touadera agreed to form an "inclusive" government.

The resource-rich country has been racked since 2013 by a war which has displaced around a quarter of its 4.5 million population.

The peace deal -- the eighth since 2012 in the conflict-wracked, impoverished state -- brought together the CAR government and 14 armed groups who control most of the country

CAR has been struggling to recover from the bloodletting that erupted when former president Francois Bozize, a Christian, was overthrown in 2013 by the Seleka rebels.

Armed groups, typically claiming to defend an ethnic or religious group, control about 80 percent of the CAR, often fighting over access to the country's mineral wealth.
NEW YORK (AP)  U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres went to the first mosque built in New York City on Friday to show solidarity with the Muslim community, urging people everywhere "to reaffirm the sanctity of all places of worship and the safety of all worshippers."

Speaking a week after the terrorist attacks on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand that killed 50 people, Guterres warned again that "around the world, we have seen ever-rising anti-Muslim hatred, anti-Semitism, hate speech and bigotry."

"We need to act against extremism in all its forms  whether it targets mosques, synagogues, churches or anywhere else," he added.

Guterres first spoke at Friday prayers in the mosque at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York and then addressed the media at its school. He was surrounded there by the imam and more than a dozen U.N. ambassadors from Muslim and non-Muslim countries including New Zealand and Australia, where the white supremacist who gunned down victims at the mosques was born.

In remarks at the prayer service, Guterres recalled that a worshipper who saw a stranger walk into one of the Christchurch mosques said "Hello, brother," not knowing he was a terrorist.

"This is the spirit deeply embedded in Islam, a religion I so much respect  the face of love, compassion, forgiveness, mercy and grace," the U.N. chief said.

But Guterres warned in his remarks afterward that "hate speech is spreading like wildfire," that "social media is being exploited as a platform for bigotry," and "many political movements are either openly admitting their neo-Nazi affiliation, or lip syncing their words, and cutting and pasting the symbols and images."

"That cancer is spreading," the secretary-general said. "It is our duty to find the cure."

Guterres announced that he was asking Miguel Moratinos, head of the U.N. Alliance of Civilizations, to develop "an action plan" to ensure that all U.N. bodies are "fully engaged in support of safeguarding religious sites."

He said governments, faith-based organizations, religious leaders and others should be involved in discussing actions that can prevent attacks "and guarantee the sanctity of religious sites."

"The reason is clear: Mosques and all places of prayer and contemplation should be safe havens, not sites of terror," Guterres said.
Beira (Mozambique) (AFP) - The chief of the UN children's emergency agency on Friday warned that humanitarian efforts were running late for the tens of thousands of Mozambicans affected by last week's monster tropical cyclone ldai.

"We are running out of time, it is at a critical point here," UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore told AFP shortly after she flew into the devastated Mozambican port city of Beira from New York to assess the situation first hand.

The United Nations has launched an appeal for assistance as it awaits enough information to give an accurate estimate of the needs while search and rescue operations are ongoing.

"The next stage is getting clean safe drinking water because disease is what will be next and there's stagnant water, it's not draining, decomposing bodies, lack of good hygiene and sanitation," she said.

"We are worried about cholera, about malaria because of the stagnant water."

Malaria is endemic in the impoverished country, which is one of a group of five nations that accounts for nearly half of all global cases.
A rabbit with altered DNA (not pictured) mysteriously vanished last year at a University of Michigan lab, a new report shows. (Photo: grafvision via Getty Images)

A new report reveals that dozens of mice and thousands of fish died in accidents  and a rabbit went mysteriously missing  in University of Michigan laboratories over a six-month period.

MLlive.com reported Friday on the findings of anti-animal-testing group Stop Animal Exploitation Now, which had submitted a records request and obtained letters sent from the university to the federal Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare. You can read MLives full story on the report here.

The letters detail multiple instances between March and September 2018 in which animals suffered due to apparent lax oversight from the labs.

In one incident, 53 mice died of dehydration after their water supply was accidentally disrupted. In another, 11,548 zebra fish were killed when bleach was somehow accidentally pumped into their tank.

Additionally, at one point a caretaker noticed that a rabbit described as transgenic  meaning it had artificially introduced DNA from another organism  had vanished from the lab. There was no record indicating where the rabbit had gone.

A letter from SAEN to the university accused the lab of negligence in each incident, and noted that the bleach incident would have been highly painful for the fish.

In a statement sent to HuffPost, the university said that each incident was corrected immediately by our animal care team once discovered, and corrective plans were put into place to prevent any future issues.

The University of Michigan recognizes that working with animals to advance human and animal health is a privilege that requires constant diligence and a commitment to the highest standards of animal welfare in all aspects of our research and teaching, the statement said. We deeply regret the loss of these animals, most of which were zebrafish.

The statement also noted that the university had reported all incidents to the National Institutes of Healths Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, which found that the institution took all necessary steps to self-report and correct these isolated incidents.

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The university declined to provide any additional information about the rabbit or what changes had been made to its DNA.

The report on the university comes just days after the U.S. Department of Agriculture came under fire over a report that it had purchased hundreds of cats or dogs from shelters or meat markets overseas in order to kill and feed them to U.S. lab animals in an effort to learn about the prevalence of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii.

And earlier this month, Corteva Agriscience, an agriculture division of DowDuPont, faced massive backlash over experiments that involved force-feeding fungicides to beagles, then killing them. After public outcry, the company agreed to end the tests and make every effort to rehome the remaining animals. However, a tweet from the Humane Society of the United States on Friday suggested that the nonprofit still had doubts about the companys intentions.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Washington (AFP) - Republican and Democratic lawmakers clashed sharply on Sunday over the meaning of the newly completed report on Russian meddling, even as they waited to be briefed on its scope and contents.

President Donald Trump has yet to receive or be briefed on the findings of the Robert Mueller probe into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia, a spokesman said from the Florida resort where Trump was spending the weekend.

The president was continuing a rare silence on Twitter about the matter.

Sunday marked his third day with no public comment on the investigation that he has blasted dozens of times as a "witch hunt."

Attorney General William Barr, who received the secret report on Friday, is expected to brief key members of Congress sometime Sunday, though no announcement has been made.

Trump aides and supporters have seized on word from the Justice Department that the report will recommend no indictments -- news that brought relief to some in Trump's closest circle.

Republicans suggested on Sunday that it was time for Democratic lawmakers to drop their own investigations and move on.

Doug Collins, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, repeated Trump's frequent insistence that "there was no collusion." He told "Fox News Sunday" that once the report comes out, "We can hopefully begin to move on."

- 'Hardly vindication' -

But Adam Schiff, the Democrat who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, said on ABC that even if Mueller is recommending no new indictments, "that hardly looks like vindication to me."

"We know there was collusion," said another key Democrat, Jerry Nadler, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, speaking on CNN. "Why there's been no indictments, we don't know."

The two were part of a chorus of Democratic voices demanding the release of the full Mueller report, not just a summary from Barr, a Trump appointee.

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Schiff said Congress would first simply request the full release, but was prepared to use its subpoena powers or "prosecute in court, as necessary, to get the information."

He added, "We'll win that litigation."

Separately, Nadler agreed, saying "it won't be months."

Many Democrats hoped the report would provide evidence to support a presidential impeachment and have pressed hard for its full public release.

But Schiff and Nadler insisted on Sunday that they needed to see the full report before considering impeachment.

Nadler noted that Mueller's inquiry was "limited in scope and limited to crimes. What Congress has to do is look at a broader picture."

- A vow of transparency -

While the department has said that a sitting president cannot be indicted, the Mueller report could outline criminal behavior by Trump that might be the basis for an impeachment effort.

As Washington and the rest of the country nervously awaited word of exactly what Mueller's team had turned up, Barr vowed to congressional leaders that he was "committed to as much transparency as possible."

Neal Katyal, the former Justice Department official who drafted the rules for special counsels, said Barr had no excuse for keeping Mueller's report secret.

"Absolutely nothing in the law or the regulations prevents the report from becoming public," he said in a Washington Post opinion piece.

While pursuing no new indictments, Mueller indicted 34 individuals during the probe, among them six Trump associates, including his former national security advisor Mike Flynn, his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, and campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

Five of the six have pleaded guilty to the charges against them.

Court filings in those cases painted a broad picture of a cohesive Russian effort via hacking and social media manipulation to swing the election in Trump's favor against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Mueller, a 74-year-old veteran criminal prosecutor and former FBI chief, investigated not only possible collusion but also whether actions by Trump, including the May 2017 firing of FBI director James Comey, amounted to criminal obstruction of justice.

The investigation has revealed scores of contacts between the campaign and Russians, with members of the team readily talking to the Russians about obtaining dirt on Clinton.

Trump's son Donald Jr. and his son-in-law Jared Kushner had appeared to be possibly vulnerable, particularly because of a Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer.
Washington (AFP) - Powerful has long been the word used to describe America's pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, which for decades has helped assure nearly universal support in Washington for the Jewish state.

But as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee meets for its annual conference starting Sunday, it is seeing rare partisan cracks with none of the Democratic presidential candidates confirmed to attend.

The shift comes under the cloud of politics in Israel, whose right-wing prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is flying to Washington for AIPAC weeks before he faces elections.

President Donald Trump, who will warmly welcome Netanyahu, seized on the Democrats' non-attendance, telling reporters Friday: "They are totally anti-Israel. Frankly, I think they're anti-Jewish."

Democratic candidates have cited scheduling or given no reason, although an aide to Senator Bernie Sanders, who is Jewish, said the socialist was concerned that AIPAC was giving a platform to "leaders who have expressed bigotry and oppose a two-state solution."

Trump has rallied in full force behind Netanyahu, backing his hard line on Iran and taking once taboo steps such as recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and, just Thursday, accepting Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which the Jewish state captured from Syria in 1967.

But American Jews lean left and only 24 percent approved of Trump's job performance in a recent survey by the Pew Research Center.

"AIPAC is in a difficult position because it is supposed to be the voice of the pro-Israel community, but in reality the Jewish community as a whole is opposed to the government of Israel as well as the government of the United States," said Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the liberal Jewish advocacy group J Street.

- Still achieving goals -

AIPAC has hardly lost the Democrats. While candidates will stay away, its top brass in Congress will speak at AIPAC including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

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And AIPAC's legislative goals face little serious pushback. Israel is the largest recipient of US aid, receiving more than $3 billion in military financing in the 2018 fiscal year.

"I think it's an established fact that on Capitol Hill there is overwhelming, bipartisan support and that support is just as deep in the Democratic Party as in the Republican Party," said Jason Isaacson, who heads the Washington office of the American Jewish Committee.

"I think it's not surprising that people in their visceral, passionate resistance to the US president associate him with the prime minister of Israel and from that draw the conclusion that to oppose the president you must oppose people who share common strategic concerns," he said.

Some analysts say Trump's staunch support for Netanyahu has more to do with evangelical Christians, a loyal constituency, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo highlighting his religious beliefs when he visited Jerusalem on Thursday.

A recent Gallup poll found that 76 percent of US Republicans sympathized more with Israel than the Palestinians, compared with 43 percent of Democrats.

- AIPAC at 'crossroads' -

Dina Badie, chair of the international studies program at Centre College in Kentucky, said that AIPAC was at a "crossroads" after decades of bipartisan outreach.

"AIPAC is not changing. AIPAC has remained largely consistent in terms of its approach to lobbying, its legislative agenda and the type of priorities it has. What has changed are the political circumstances and the environment in which it's operating," she said.

She added that that Netanyahu has alienated left-leaning Americans, including Jewish Americans, with his rightward turn, while the United States has become increasingly polarized.

"AIPAC has always had a hardline approach that has been compatible with the way Netanyahu is dealing with the Palestinians, but because Netanyahu is seen as toxic in progressive circles, the fact that AIPAC is somehow aligned with Netanyahu's approach is becoming less palatable to Democrats," she said.

She said AIPAC, while not seeking to be partisan, could see itself enjoying less influence when Democrats are in power if this year's conference turns out not to be an aberration.

Among newly elected Democrats, Representative Ilhan Omar, who is Muslim, provoked outrage even among much of her party when last month she suggested that supporters of Israel show "allegiance to a foreign country."

She apologized for the comment, widely seen as anti-Semitic, but Republicans have kept citing it as evidence of creeping bigotry.

Ben-Ami, the head of J Street, said the focus on Omar was misplaced. The gunman who shot dead 11 people last year at a Pittsburgh synagogue had been enraged by Jewish support for refugees.

"The true threatening form of anti-Semitism is coming not from the left but the right. It's not just here, it's all around the world, and it's from the autocrats and ethnonationalists that not only Trump but Netanyahu are embracing," he said.
A cruise ship off of the coast of Norway began evacuating more than 1,300 passengers and crew members on Saturday after sending out a distress signal.

A spokeswoman for the Joint Rescue Centre for Southern Norway told CNN that the Viking Sky cruise ship sent out the mayday signal due to engine problems in bad weather.

The spokesperson added that about 115 people had been airlifted off the ship on Saturday, eight with minor injuries, and that rescue operations would continue through the night and Sunday.

In a statement to PEOPLE, a Viking spokesman said the ship was carrying 915 guests and 458 crew when it experienced a loss of engine power off the coast of Norway near Molde.

Our first priority was for the safety and wellbeing of our passengers and our crew, and in close cooperation with the Norwegian Coast Guard, the captain decided to evacuate all guests from the vessel by helicopter, the Viking spokesman added, noting that the evacuation is proceeding with all necessary caution despite the injuries.

Frank Einar Vatne/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

According to the Associated Press, authorities told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK that the stormy weather was preventing rescue workers from using lifeboats as rescue vehicles.

We are working closely with the relevant authorities and all operational procedures were followed in line with international regulations, Viking said, adding that the company has dispatched an operational task force to Molde.

The cruise line said anyone with concerns about passengers aboard the ship can look for updates on its website.

RELATED: Cruise Passengers Injured After Extreme Gust of Wind Causes Ship to Tilt Sideways

Odd Roar Lange/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

CNN reported that the ship was secured with one anchor and workers were attempting to get more than one engine running on Saturday. The outlet added that five helicopters and a number of vessels were helping with rescue efforts.

The ship was in the Hustadsvika waters off Norways west coast, an area known for fierce weather and shallow waters dotted with reefs, Reuters reported.

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RELATED VIDEO: Cruise Ship Battered by Rough Waters Due to Hurricane Michael

The NRK, via the AP, reported that the helicopter evacuation was a dangerous and slow-moving process because the passengers had to be lifted from the ship to the helicopters one by one.

Its a demanding exercise, because [the passengers] have to hang in the air under a helicopter and theres a very, very strong wind, witness Odd Roar Lange told NRK at the site.

Guests are being accommodated in local hotels when they arrive back on shore, and Viking will arrange for return flights for all guests, Viking said in a statement.

Video of the storm could be seen in social media posts from passengers aboard the ship.

According to cruisemapper.com, the Viking Sky was in the middle of a 12-day trip. The ship departed from Bergen, Norway on March 14 and was expected to dock at a London port on March 26.
Poppy fever has returned to Lake Elsinore, California.

As a dense fog blanketed the city, hundreds parked at an outlet mall a few miles south of Walker Canyon and waited for shuttle rides to the poppy fields.

After tens of thousands descended on the town last weekend and caused major traffic headaches, city officials and law enforcement responded with a plan to require all weekend Walker Canyon visitors to ride a $10 shuttle from the Nichols Road exit.

Hundreds gathered inside a vacant store to wait for the shuttles, which started ferrying super bloom fanatics at 6:30 a.m. The parking lot was already starting to fill up around 8:15 a.m. as drivers searched for empty spaces.

Jacob Vizcarra and Hourig Mardirossian, both from Pasadena, brought a picnic lunch and hot tea for their trip to the poppy fields. They got in line around 7:45 a.m.

"We wanted to see them before they die," Mardirossian said.

"They're so pretty," she added. "It's temporary. Enjoy them while they're there."

Hundreds waited in line Saturday morning for shuttles to take them to the poppy super bloom in Lake Elsinore.

The duo is planning to spend a half-day looking at the flowers.

Marina del Rey resident Tina Bojorquez also got in line around 7:45 a.m. She said she planned on spending a couple hours seeing the poppies for the first time.

"I think it's going to be amazing," she said. "I really can't wait."

By also closing the Lake Street exit, which is the closest access point to the super bloom, officials are hoping the changes will make things run smoother.

Traffic conditions in Lake Elsinore at about 11:20 a.m. March 23, 2019.

If you go

Riverside County created a map with traffic conditions and closures of the nearby roads.

Visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of the poppies can exit on either side of Interstate 15 at Nichols Road. From there, they can park and wait for the shuttles, which are scheduled to run from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Cash, debit and credit cards will be accepted.

The last shuttle to the poppy fields departs at 5 p.m., according to officials. The final shuttle from the fields will leave around 7 p.m. No pets, except service animals, will be allowed on the shuttles.

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For visitors wanting to avoid the crowds, poppy viewing is possible on weekdays at Lake Street. Parking is available on-site.

Residents trying to get around the traffic jams to other parts of Lake Elsinore can still exit at Central Avenue and Indian Truck Trail.

More: Move over, California. Here's where to see Arizona's super bloom of poppies

More: Rare visual spectacle: Super bloom of flowers next to runways at Los Angeles airport

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Want to see the poppy super bloom in California? Brace yourself for large crowds, long lines
Yeti Holdings (NYSE: YETI) went from dog of the IPO Class of 2018 to market darling this year. Shares of the high-priced cooler maker had plunged by as much as 25% from their October IPO price by the end of last year, while they've doubled in value over the first three months of 2019.

However, there's a strong undercurrent of doubt surrounding Yeti's stock, one which has caused short interest to soar on the cooler maker. Figures from The Wall Street Journal show the number of Yeti shares sold short has swollen to more than 10 million as of Feb. 28, the most recent information available -- a 29% increase from two weeks prior. That's equivalent to 67.7% of Yeti's float, or the number of shares it has outstanding, making Yeti the sixth most-shorted stock on the major exchanges.

So many investors are betting against Yeti that there are actually no more shares left to borrow. Bloomberg notes that fees charged to short the shares are surging, and have hit the "extraordinarily high" rate of over 30%. In comparison, the cost to short Apple stock is around 0.3%.

Man drinking out of Yeti insulated bottle

Image source: Yeti.

A short story on shorting

Short-selling is the process by which an investor sells borrowed shares in order to bet against a company, believing the price will fall. When and if it does, the investor buys the borrowed shares back at the lower price, and so realizes a profit.

The problem with short-selling is that your potential losses are unlimited. When you go long on a stock (the way most people buy shares), your losses are limited to how much you invested. If you buy a single share of stock for $100 and it goes to zero, then you're out that $100. But when you short a stock at $100, and it increases in value -- and keeps on growing -- you're losses continue mounting, too.

However, many investors begin selling their shares back, or "covering" their short, long before that happens. That can cause the stock's price to rise, which causes more people to cover their short position, until the stock surges, causing what's known as a short squeeze because short-sellers are getting squeezed out of their positions.

Story continues

Cooling sentiment

So why are investors seemingly so sure Yeti's stock is due for a downturn? While there are undoubtedly a number of factors at play, it likely has to do with the cooler maker's fourth-quarter earnings, which set Yeti's stock in motion higher. Although the results were good, they weren't great, and certainly not good enough in short-sellers' minds to warrant a 41% surge in value in February, followed by another 25% jump so far in March.

Yeti derives most of its sales from gear other than coolers -- things like drinkware and accessories. As it transforms itself into a lifestyle company, its core products have become secondary to selling paraphernalia like insulated mugs and other branded goodies. It would be like Harley-Davidson selling more leather jackets, drink coasters, and tchotchkes than actual motorcycles.

The cooler maker's sales have also been inconsistent, and because it's a relatively new company, it's harder to discern a pattern of growth potential -- not to mention that $1,000 coolers are decidedly luxury items, not necessities. With plenty of competition for low-priced alternatives from rivals like Coleman and Igloo, investors may doubt the early gains are sustainable.

Yeti's not done yet

Despite the dearth of shares to short, Yeti's days to cover at the end of February were about six days, which suggests that it would theoretically take that long to cover all short interest if all trading activity was devoted to short-sellers covering their positions. Anything over seven days is typically seen as a lot, so the potential for a chaotic covering rout seems minimal.

Whether you believe in Yeti's story or not, though, shorting is a dangerous game to play. As the economist John Maynard Keynes once said, "The market can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent."

Even with all the short-sellers betting against Yeti, there's a large contingent that still believes the cooler maker has a lot of growth ahead of it. Haters gonna hate, but they also have the most to lose if they're wrong.

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Rich Duprey has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends AAPL. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on AAPL and short January 2020 $155 calls on AAPL. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Lyon (AFP) - The wife of the former Chinese head of Interpol, who has had no news of him for nearly six months since his arrest in China, has asked French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the matter with counterpart Xi Jinping during an official visit to France.

In a letter to the Elysee Palace dated March 21, a copy of which has been seen by AFP, Grace Meng "asks to know where (her husband) is and how he is."

She has remained in the French city of Lyon, where Interpol is based, since her husband Meng Hongwei disappeared last September during a visit to China. He resigned from the international police agency by letter on October 7 and it was later revealed he had been arrested.

He is believed to be facing corruption charges.

"I demand Mr Meng be allowed to receive visits from his lawyers and that they be allowed to assist him," his wife added in her letter to Macron.

"For my family, as for others going through similar tests, I urge France, which is respected and listened to the world over for its values and attachment to human rights, to bear this message to the meeting with President Xi Jinping."

Xi arrived in Nice earlier Sunday ahead of his state visit to Paris on Monday.

Meng Hongwei, a former vice-minister for public security in China who rose through the ranks of the country's feared security apparatus, was the first Chinese head of Interpol.

He was last heard from on September 25 as he left Lyon for China, when he sent his wife a social media message telling her to "wait for my call," and then a knife emoji signifying danger.

Grace Meng later reported he was missing, and after several days without news Interpol said it had received a short message from Meng saying he was resigning.

South Korean Kim Jong-yang took over from Meng at Interpol in November for a two-year term.

Meng's wife says he is the victim of a "forced disappearance," adding she and her family have received no information or legal advice as to his fate.

In January she said she had been threatened and would apply for political asylum in France, telling French media her Chinese phone and internet accounts had been blocked.

Chinese authorities can hold suspects in secret for six months without either informing their family or allowing access to a lawyer.
LIMA, March 23 (Reuters) - The wife of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido had a brief message for President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, following the arrest of her husband's chief of staff this week: "Enough already."

In an interview with Reuters in Peru, where she met with Venezuelan immigrants before a trip to the United States, Fabiana Rosales said the arrest of Roberto Marrero on terrorism accusations on Thursday was a "farcical" attempt by Maduro to break the opposition's morale.

"We know what we're up against. We know what kind of monster this dictatorship is," said Rosales, a 26-year-old journalist and opposition activist who is considered Venezuela's first lady by supporters.

Venezuela plunged into a deep political crisis in January, when Guaido invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing Maduro's 2018 re-election was illegitimate. He has been recognized by most Latin American and Western countries as Venezuela's rightful leader.

But Maduro retains control of state functions and the loyalty of the military top brass. A socialist, Maduro says Guaido is a puppet of the United States and is attempting to lead a coup against him to wrest control of the OPEC nation's oil reserves, the largest in the world.

Asked if she had a message for Maduro, Rosales said "enough already."

Rosales said spies and pro-government armed groups known as "collectives" have long followed her and her husband, monitoring their movements and stalking their family members and friends. "I and my family members have received threats of being thrown in jail or killed."

"But there's something they've underestimated, and that's that our ideals in this struggle won't be broken," she said. "If they thought they can break our morale by arresting Roberto Marrero, or that they could break him, they're very mistaken."

Story continues

Venezuela's foreign ministry did not answer phone calls seeking comment outside regular working hours on Saturday. Venezuelan authorities have accused Marrero of planning attacks against political figures, and said an arms cache had been seized from his house.

Guaido, 35, told Reuters in an interview on Friday that he was prepared for more people in his team to be arrested, but thought Maduro's government had reached its final stage.

Rosales said she thought Maduro was too fearful to have Guaido himself arrested.

"I think the regime is thinking about it very carefully. I don't think they would dare," she said. "They've always been afraid of people who believe in freedom."

Rosales declined to comment on whom she plans to meet in the United States, but said she has confirmed visits to New York City and Miami.

"We'll see what happens in coming days. But I'm certain the freedom for Venezuela is getting closer and closer." (Reporting by Mitra Taj; Editing by Sandra Maler)
With speculation running rife that Theresa Mays time in Downing Street is nearly at an end, talk has turned to who will replace her.

Brexit has been the thorn in the PMs side since she took over from David Cameron in 2016 and reports in Sunday newspapers suggested various names to take over.

Theresa Mays days are numbered at Downing Street, according to reports (Getty)

The Prime Minister told colleagues at the end of last year that she would step down before the next scheduled General Election in 2022 but the pace of Brexit means she could be gone within days.

Here are the key names currently being floated to take the helm if Mrs May steps down

Michael Gove has been rumoured to act as a caretaker PM (Getty)

Michael Gove

The Environment Secretary had a bruising experience in the last Tory leadership race but he is now seen as the favourite at 3-1  according to Ladbrokes  to replace Mrs May, largely due to his Brexiteer credentials.

In June 2016, Mr Gove, who was campaign manager for Boris Johnsons drive to succeed David Cameron, withdrew his support on the morning Mr Johnson was due to declare and threw his own hat in the ring instead.

Read more:

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He came third in the first round of voting, trailing behind ultimate winner Theresa May and Andrea Leadsom.

Mr Gove, 51, was born in Edinburgh, studied English at Oxford and was a journalist before becoming an MP. He is married to Daily Mail columnist Sarah Vine.

Despite speculation he could take the job, he told reporters on Sunday it was not the time to change the captain of the ship.

David Lidington is the Deputy PM in all but name (Getty)

David Lidington

Mrs Mays de facto deputy is seen by some as the natural caretaker prime minister but he has been clear he does not want the job.

He said on Sunday: One thing that working closely with the Prime Minister does is cure you completely of any lingering shred of ambition to want to do that task.

Nevertheless, Ladbrokes are offering odds of 4-1 for him to become Number 10s next occupant. The 62-year-old has been the MP for Aylesbury since 1992 and was Minister of State for Europe from 2010 to 2016. He is married with four children.

Story continues

Boris Johnson has been an outspoken critic of Mrs Mays handling of Brexit (Getty)

Boris Johnson

Prominent Brexiteer and former Foreign Secretary Mr Johnson has been a leading voice of opposition to Mrs Mays Brexit plan. The colourful Old Etonian was one of the key players in the 2017 Leave campaign and resigned from the Cabinet following the Chequers summit in July.

He was heavily tipped as a successor to David Cameron but ruled himself out of the 2016 leadership contest after Michael Gove made a last-minute bid for the top job.

Odds of him taking the helm have slipped in recent months to 8-1, according to Ladbrokes, but he is likely to have the backing of many pro-Leave members of the party.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt was a prominent Remainer in the EU referendum (Getty)

Jeremy Hunt

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt (odds of 8-1 with Ladbrokes) was a prominent Remainer in the 2016 referendum. As Health Secretary, Mr Hunt fought a long battle with doctors over a new contract.

The 52-year-old, who was first elected as MP for South West Surrey in 2005, was appointed Foreign Secretary in July following the resignation of Boris Johnson.

The bookies odds on who will replace Theresa May (PA)

He chose not to run in the 2016 leadership contest and instead gave his full support to Mrs May, saying it was not the right time to put his hat in the ring.

Mr Hunt made a noticeable public shift towards Euroscepticism after the referendum, which could win him allies in the Leave camp if he ran for the top job.

Former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab is thought to harbour prime ministerial ambitions (Getty)

Dominic Raab

With odds at 12-1, Mr Raab is an outlier to take over from the Prime Minister but is thought to harbour ambitions for the role.

Mr Raab, a prominent Brexiteer in the referendum campaign, was appointed as Brexit Secretary in July but resigned from the role in November, saying he could not support Mrs Mays eventual deal.

In his resignation letter on November 15, he wrote: Ultimately, you deserve a Brexit Secretary who can make the case for the deal you are pursuing with conviction. I am only sorry, in good conscience, that I cannot.

Mr Raab, 44, has been the MP for Esher and Walton since he was elected in 2010.
The All Progressives Congress, APC, has responded to the call for the cancellation of the governorship election made by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Kano State.

Chairman of the APC in Kano, Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas, said there were no grounds for the cancellation of the rerun election currently going on in some parts of the State.

We reported earlier that the PDP had called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to totally cancel the election, citing invasion of the state by thugs.

However, the APC denied all the allegations raised by the PDP.

According to Abbas, The call by the PDP for cancellation of election was uncalled-for because the election is still ongoing.

INEC should ensure conclusion of the election.

PDP should wait for the final result of the poll and then take legal action if not satisfied with it. That is what the law provided.

I think PDP failed to mobilise its people thats all.

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Four yet - to - be identified staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission in Bauchi State have been kidnapped by armed men.

As of the time of this report , the issue has caused tension among INEC staff and residents who were seen discussing the issue in hushed voices.

The incident was said to have taken place at Jamare Local Government Registration Area 02 with Polling Unit Code 010.

A staff of INEC , who escaped said the armed security operatives came in seven Toyota Hilux vans .

According to him , the abducted staff were taken away with voting materials.

He said , Four of our staff in Jamare LGA Registration Area 02 with Polling Unit Code 010 have been abducted with voting materials . The place was invaded by heavily armed security operatives who came in seven Toyota Hilux Vans , and took the four INEC officials to Jamare LGA to perfect their plots.

Calls to the Head of Department of Voter Education and Publicity in Bauchi office of INEC , Ahmed Waziri for reaction were not replied.

Calls to the spokesperson for the Bauchi State Police Command , Kamal Datti Abubakar , were also not responded to.

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Home | News | General | Police killing of civil defence officer an act of God - NSCDC commandant

- Solomon Iyamu, the commandant in charge of NSCDC in Abuja condoles his men over the killing of one of their colleagues

- Iyamu says the leadership of both the police and the NSCDC are looking into the matter

Solomon Iyamu, the commandant in charge of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Abuja, has urged his men to see the police killing of their colleague as an act of God despite the fact that the unjust killing was perpetrated by police officers.

Iyamu made the statement when addressing NSCDC officers at his Wuse Zone 5, Office, Abuja, over their death of their colleague, Premium Times reports.

Live updates: Situation reports, collation of results as APC, PDP battle for votes in supplementary gov elections

Following the death of Ochigbo Jumbo Ogar (ASCI), an officer formerly serving at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, the commandant in charge of the command, Mr Iyamu, has appealed to his officers and men to take the incident as an act of God, despite the fact that the unjust killing was perpetrated by men of a sister agency, a statement from the NSCDC read.

The commandant was said to have made the statement shortly after the Abuja police commissioner, Bala Ciroma, paid a condolence visit to the Civil Defence office.

Iyamu told his officers that the leadership of both the police and the NSCDC were looking into the matter.

There is no alternative to peace...Therefore, all of you should continue to see the police as our partners in progress with the mindset for cooperation and synergy towards," he said.

Meanwhile, the police command in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) says it has taken into custody two of its officers who allegedly killed an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Nyanya, Abuja.

Late Ogar Jombo, an assistant superintendent of the NSCDC, was allegedly killed on Wednesday, March 20 in the presence of his wife and children, when he was stopped by the policemen for alleged violation of traffic rules.

The commissioner of police in the FCT, Mr Bala Ciroma, who confirmed the arrest and detention of the officers to the News agency of Nigeria (NAN) said that investigation was ongoing to unravel the cause of the incident.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng. We have upgraded to serve you better.

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Home | News | General | Ignorance is the reason for crises in Nigeria - President Buhari

- President Muhammadu Buhari says functional mass education can be used to avoid the challenges of insecurity and violent crises in Nigeria

- Buhari notes that his administration is committed to making education affordable through the open and distance learning system

- The president says that his administration would fund quality tertiary education so as to guarantee access for the teeming youths in the country

President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday, March 23, said ignorance was the cause of the crisis in Nigeria.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Buhari said functional mass education can be used to avoid the challenges of insecurity and violent crises, Vanguard reports.

The president who was represented by the deputy executive secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Victor Onuoha, noted that that his administration was committed to supporting education.

Live updates: Situation reports, collation of results as APC, PDP battle for votes in supplementary gov elections

The Federal Government of Nigeria is more than ever before, committed to making education affordable through the open and distance learning system.

In this connection, therefore, a national policy on education has provided for life-long learning that transcends all barriers through open and distance learning, he said.

The president stated that his administration would fund quality tertiary education so as to guarantee access for the teeming youths in the country.

READ ALSO: Obasanjo commends Osun tribunal, hails Adeleke's victory

He said that the open and distance learning would be further strengthened to take the lead in this desired direction of the government.

Meanwhile, as entrance examination into unity schools across Nigeria approaches, a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), has reiterated his call for a uniform cut off marks for all students.

Agbakoba spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Friday, March 22, emphasised the need to eschew ethnicity and promote unity in the society.

NAN reports that Agbakoba had in a suit numbered FHC/L/CS/1358/2013, against the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Federal Ministry of Education, had sought an order, restraining discrimination against students applying into unity schools, on account of their ethnicity or place of origin.

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Home | News | General | Kano supplementary election was peaceful - DIG Ogbizi

- DIG Micheal Anthony Ogbizi, dismisses reports stating that the supplementary election in Kano was violent

- Ogbizi accuses some persons in the state of trying to cause chaos in the state by spreading false reports

- The police boss says no death was recorded in the 24 local governments areas where the rerun election was held

Micheal Anthony Ogbizi, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) has said the supplementary election in Kano state was peaceful despite minor violence recorded in some areas.

Ogbizi, who was deployed to Kano for the purpose of the rerun election accused some persons of trying to cause chaos in the state by spreading false reports, Daily Trust reports.

Live updates: Situation reports, collation of results as APC, PDP battle for votes in supplementary gov elections

We have arrested only 10 people for various election offenses and they will be charged to court as soon as we finish investigation. So, as far as police is concerned the election is peaceful, he said.

The police boss said no death was recorded in the 24 local governments where the rerun election was held. He also dismissed reports that thugs took over some polling units in the state.

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If it is true some thugs have taken over some polling units, how can the INEC find its way to bring election materials and officials to the polling units?

He said everything was going smoothly in the state, noting that there was no cause for alarm.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has insisted that no election was held in Kano, calling the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare its candidate, Abba Yusuf, winner of the March 23 re-run.

The opposition party made this known in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan, and obtained by Legit.ng on Saturday, March 23.

According the PDP, ''the people of Kano state have since made up their minds to have Abba Yusuf as their governor.

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2019 elections: Do you still trust INEC to conduct fair elections? - Nigerians speak| Legit TV

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Home | News | General | You're true hero, saviour of modern democracy - Nigerian man eulogises Jonathan

- A Facebook user has hailed former president Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for his democratic legacy

- Eulogising the former president, Abu Muh'd said Jonathan would be remembered for conceding defeat to incumbent President Muhamadu Buhari

- The Nigerian man also expressed sadness over the rate of desperation among the current breed of Nigerian politicians

In the wake of concern generated by the ongoing general election across the country, a Facebook user, Abu Muh'd, has evoked the memories of 2015 presidential election, focusing on the democratic legacy of former president Goodluck Jonathan.

Eulogizing the former president for his democratic leadership in regards to his concession of defeat to incumbent President Muhamadu Buhari, Muh'd described Jonathan as ''a true hero, the saviour of our modern democracy.''

He added that the erstwhile president would be remembered for setting a legacy, which he said the current breed of Nigerian politicians failed to emulate.

Expressing concern on the state of ongoing election, Muh'd said: ''I begin to wonder why our leaders today are finding it difficult to concede defeat.

''Today they don't mind burning their states down, killing as many as possible despite they will retain their seats.

''God to all these types of leaders, may they never enjoys the seat for an hour till they handed over. Who ever takes lives before clinching his seat may he never enjoy the seat.

''I respect you Dr Ebele Jonathan.''

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that the senator representing Kano Central, Rabiu Kwankwaso, had rejected the March 23 supplementary election held in the state, adding that the rerun was marred by politicization of the security operatives, hence calling for a fresh poll.

Speaking with newsmen in a reaction to the violence that characterized the electoral exercise in the state, the former Kano governor condemned the role of the police under the command of DIG Anthony Michael Obizi.

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Protect your vote to make it count - PDP Guber Candidate | Legit TV

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Home | News | General | Breaking: Tension in Benue as collation officer is reportedly shot on her way to INEC headquarters

Comfort Dooshima, the INEC collation officer in the Gboko local government area of Benue state has reportedly been shot by unknown gunmen while on her way to the INECs office in Makurdi, the Benue state capital.

Dooshima, who is a professor at the University of Agriculture, was was reportedly heading to INEC headquarters in Makurdi to present results from the local government when she was shot, Sahara Reporters states.

Live updates: Situation reports, collation of results as APC, PDP battle for votes in supplementary gov elections

At the time this report emerged on Saturday, March 23, it was unclear if the professor was still alive or dead.

Supplementary elections were held in Benue, Plateau, Sokoto, Bauchi and Kano states following the inconclusive governorship elections recorded in the affected states.

Follow our live updates: Live updates of supplementary governorship elections

In another report, suspected thugs on Saturday, March 23, reportedly set ablaze electoral materials meant for supplementary elections in the entire Azendeshi ward in Chito town of Benue state.

Chito town is the headquarters of Azendeshi ward with 13,000 voting population.

According to The Nation, the electoral materials were said to have been kept at a public primary school before thugs belonging to one of the political parties overpowered security men and set them ablaze.

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2019 elections: Do you still trust INEC to conduct fair elections? - Nigerians speak| Legit TV

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Home | News | General | Onnoghen: Lead prosecutor says no allegation of $3m, 55 houses before tribunal

- Aliyu Umar, the lead prosecutor in the trial of the suspended chief justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, has shed more lights on the trial of the latter

- Umar says the federal government did not table allegations of undeclared $3million against Onnoghen before the Code of Conduct Tribunal

- According to Umar, the six charges against Onnoghen made no references to 55 houses

- The lead prosecutor says Onnoghen was only accused of breaching the Code of Conduct Act

The lead prosecutor in the trial of the suspended chief justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, has said that the federal government did not table allegation of undeclared $3million against Onnoghen before the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

The lead prosecutor, Aliyu Umar (SAN) who made the disclosure on Saturday, March 23, also said all the six charges against Onnoghen made no references to 55 houses.

According to him, the federal government only accused Onnoghen of breaching the Code of Conduct Act with his failure to declare and disclose five Standard Chartered Banks statement of accounts in his asset declaration form, The Nation reports.

READ ALSO: Those advising Atiku not to go to court are evil - Obasanjo declares

Legit.ng notes that Umar said: There is a lot of falsehood in the public space which I need to correct. The government did not file complaints bordering on $3million and 55 houses against Onnoghen before the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

I am aware that the EFCC wrote a separate petition to the NJC on some alleged infractions, including the accumulated $3million in Onnoghens accounts but those allegations are not before the CCT. The NJC is handling this matter separately.

There is a deliberate attempt to mislead the public by using the proceedings at the tribunal to address the petition before the NJC. They are even alleging that the prosecution could not prove its case. There was a distortion of the proceedings of the tribunal to fit a propaganda focus.

The case before the tribunal is just about failure to declare five accounts and alleged violation of the Code of Conduct Act. The same figures being twisted in the public space were the exhibits presented to the tribunal by the prosecution to prove its case against Onnoghen.

The Exhibits the government presented to the tribunal were as follows: CCB4o, CCB4p, CCB4q for Onnoghens Euro Account No. 93001062686 with NUBAN No. 5001062686 with a balance of $10, 187.18(USD) as at 11th January 2019

CCB4r, CCB4s, CCB4t and CCB4u for Onnoghens Pound Sterling Account No. 285001062679 with NUBAN No. 5001062679 with a balance of 13, 730.70 as at 11th January 2019

CCB4v, CCB4w, CCB4x, CCB4y and CCB4z, CCB4za, CCB4zb, CCB4zc, CCB4zd, CCB4ze, CCB4zf for Onnoghens Dollar Account No. 0001062650 with a balance of $63, 832.99 USD as at 11th January 2019.

CCB4zg, CCBzh, CCB4zi, CCB4zj and CCB4zk for Onnoghens Naira NUBAN Account No. 0001062667 with a balance of N2, 556, 019. 25 as at 11th January 2019."

CCB4zl, CCB4zm, CCB4zn, CCB4zo and CCB4zp and CCB4zq, for Onnoghens Nigerian Naira NUBAN Account No. 5000162693 with a balance of N12, 852, 580.52 as at 11th January 2019.

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The lead prosecutor added: Any Nigerian is free to apply for a copy of the charges against Onnoghen at the CCT and he or she will know that they were explicit."

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Olu Onemole, an aide to the president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, declared that the decision of the Senate to go to court over the suspension of chief justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, was supported by the majority.

Onemole, special assistant to Saraki on new media, made this known on twitter. He said the senate got the support of majority of the members of its leadership before going to court.

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Onnoghen's Trial is Politically Motivated - APRJ | Legit TV

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Home | News | General | Those advising Atiku not to challenge Buhari's victory in court are evil - Obasanjo declares

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed displeasure over calls in some quarters that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, should not challenge the victory of President Muhammadu Buhari at the tribunal.

Obasanjo lambasted those making the calls and described them as evil minds looking for excuse to unleash violence on Nigeria".

Daily Trust reports that the former president said Buhari went to court three times without reasonable cause".

Legit.ng gathers that Obasanjo made his position known in a statement made available to newsmen in Abeokuta by his media aide.

READ ALSO: Breaking: Simon Lalong of APC declared winner of Plateau rerun governorship election

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that President Muhammadu Buhari expressed gratitude to God and all Nigerians for re-electing him as president describing the process as free and fair.

The president received his certificate of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission alongside Professor Yemi Osinbajo from Professor Mahmood Yakubu on Wednesday, February 27.

He promised to continue to work for the countrys progress and consolidate on his administrations focus on reviving the economy, and fighting corruption.

Buhari expressed gratitude to God for sparing the lives of the people to witness another milestone in Nigerias democratic development, conclusion of the presidential election in an overwhelmingly peaceful manner.

He congratulated all the presidential candidates and their teams on a hard-fought campaign.

The president said: "We may have had different views during the campaign, but the one thing most of us have in common is love of our country and our desire to improve conditions for Nigerians.

"From the comments of several observers both local and foreign, it is obvious that the elections were both free and fair.

"Now that the elections are over, and a winner declared, we must all see it as a victory for Nigeria, our dear country. That was why I encouraged my teeming supporters, in a speech I read earlier today, not to gloat. Our God-given victory is enough cause for joy, without deriding those who were in the opposition. All Nigerians, going forward, must stand in brotherhood, for a bright and fulfilling future."

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Buhari said his government would remain inclusive and its doors will remain open, while also assuring that he would continue to engage all parties that have the best interest of Nigerians at heart.

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INEC announces Buhari as 2019 election winner, Nigerians react | Legit TV

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Home | News | General | Live Updates: Ortom, Tambuwal win governorship election as INEC gives official announcement of results in rerun election - Day 2

16:16 PM 57272 views by Omotayo Yusuf Eromosele Ebhomele

It is the second day of the rerun election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission Voting took place on Saturday, March 23 in the states were governorship elections were declared inconclusive. Elections took place in Bauchi, Adamawa, Plateau, Sokoto, Benue and Kano states. However, supplementary election was postponed in Adamawa due to a court order. The votings were largely peaceful in some state except Kano where there were reports of thugs violently attacking voters.

INEC declares Solomon Lalong of APC winner of Plateau governorship rerun election Incumbent Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau, the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau, has been declared winner of the rerun gubernatorial election in the State. Lalong gathered 595,582 votes to win, with his closest rival, Jeremiah Useni, a retired Army General who was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), polling 546,813 votes. Prof Richard Kimbir, the Returning Officer, presented the result on Sunday in Jos on behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Plateau. The valid votes totalled 1,159,954, with the rejected votes standing at 16,188, while the total votes cast was 1,176,142, he said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the margin of victory between Lalong of APC and Useni of the PDP is 48,769 votes. The gubernatorial election held on March 9 in Plateau had been declared inconclusive. This had led to a rerun election in 40 polling units in nine Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state

Confusion as absence of INEC returning officer stops Bauchi result announcement The absence of the Professor Mohammed Kyari who is the returning officer for Bauchi rerun governorship election has stalled the announcement of result. Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi who is the state resident electoral commissioner disclosed this on Sunday, March 24. He assured that contrary to rumour, the result of the election will not be tampered with. Collation yet to start in Bauchi state. Credit: Premium Times

Source: UGC

Kano state governorship rerun election result Madobi LGA APC 908 PDP 164 Dawakin kudu LGA APC 471 PDP 322 Kura LGA APC 807 PDP 528 Gezawa LGA APC 167 PDP 27 Makoda LGA APC 360 PDP 0 Garun Malam LGA APC 235 PDP 01 GWARZO LGA APC 2784 PDP 34 Sumaila LGA APC 967 PDP 154 Bebeji LGA APC 205 PDP 0 Wudil LGA APC 954 PDP 23 Bichi LGA APC 1969 PDP 39 Rogo LGA APC 1033 PDP 162 Karaye LGA APC 1517 PDP 27 Rimin Gado LGA APC 1463 PDP 12 Warawa LGA APC 501 PDP 132 Rano LGA APC 2337 PDP 37 Danbatta LGA APC 608 PDP 24 Takai LGA APC 4221 PDP 149 Gabasawa LGA APC 728 PDP 329 Minjibir LGA APC 2214 PDP 226 Albasu LGA APC 1804 PDP 66 Tofa LGA APC 628 PDP 190 Gaya LGA APC 1051 PDP 526 Dala LGA APC 2905 PDP 3138 Tudun Wada LGA APC 2557 PDP 508 Doguwa LGA APC 1998 PDP 24

PDP's Tambuwal wins Sokoto governorship election Governor Aminu Tambuwal has scored the highest number of votes to win the Sokoto state governorship election. The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 512,002 votes following the rerun election which took place on Saturday, March 23. The incumbent governor defeated Ahmad Aliyu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who polled 511,661 votes.

Bauchi state governorship rerun election result Ganjuwa LGA APC 432 PDP 353 Ningi LGA APC 758 PDP 791 Gamawa LGA APC 154 PDP 96 Kirfi LGA APC 206 PDP 473 Alkaleri LGA APC 264 PDP 444

Benue state governorship rerun election result ADO LGA APC - 2423 PDP - 2998 OBI LGA APC - 541 PDP - 521 Okpokwu LGA APC - 1269 PDP - 3660

PDP wins supplementary election in Bauchi The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bala Mohammed, won the supplementary election in Bauchi State. This was announced by the returning officer, Professor Kyari Mohammed on Sunday, March 24 The PDP candidate polled a total of 6,376 while the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Muhammed Abubakar, scored 5,117 votes. Mohammed said he is in no position to make a return because the case involving the Tafawa Balewa LGA is still in court.

Governor Lalong speaks after winning Plateau rerun election Governor Simon Lalong of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who retained his office after Saturdays supplementary polls, is seeking the support of Plateau residents to deliver the dividends of democracy to them. The governor was declared the winner of the polls by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday in Jos. He said the support of Plateau people and political stakeholders would ensure the success of his mandate to develop the state. I am humble, I was voted again to serve Plateau for another tenure to move it to greater heights. We need unity and peace to move this state to the next level. Core values of team spirit, mutual respect and tolerance are required for sustainable peace and a good working relationship in the state and I promise to discharge my duties diligently and selflessly, he said. Mr Lalong commended INEC, security agencies, the media and voters for the peaceful and successful rerun elections in the State, saying it was one of the most peaceful nationwide. Mr Lalong was declared the winner with 595,582 votes after beating his close rival, Jeremiah Useni of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who got 546,813 votes.

Bauchi governor-elect, Bala Muhammed promises good governance, thanks God, populace for victory The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bauchi State, Sen. Bala Muhammed has promised to bring back good governance denied the people. Muhammed made the promise during a press conference in Bauchi on Sunday, shortly after the announcement of the supplementary poll results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Muhammed polled 6,376 votes as against 5,117 garnered by the incumbent governor, Muhammed Abubakar of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). NAN reports that the just concluded supplementary election took place in 15 Local Government Areas of the state on Saturday. Today is a very auspicious day for us in Bauchi and on behalf of the party, I wish to express gratitude and appreciation to God almighty. The collation of the supplementary poll that has just been concluded by INEC is a work of God and we owe it to him. We also owe it to the people of Bauchi who have stood very firm on the threshold of freedom and liberty and have shown that they are the icons of democracy and liberty. Words alone cannot express my appreciation to them all, the governor-elect said. Muhammed also said that the auspicious achievement recorded by the PDP in the supplementary election deserved to be celebrated. He however, called on all his supporters to celebrate in peace. They should all go out to celebrate but they should celebrate in peace and with gratitude to God because what we want is peace and tranquility, harmony and good relationship with one another. We do not have any acrimony or hatred against anybody, even those who didnt vote for us, we want them to join us in this celebration because this is democracy, he said. Muhammed also appreciated the security agencies in the state promising to continue to work with them as they had shown they were the key partners of the society.

Samuel Ortom of PDP wins Benue governorship election Gov. Samuel Ortom of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has won the keenly contested Benue Governorship election held on March 23. Ortom polled 434,473 votes to defeat his closest rival, Mr Emmanuel Jime of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 345,155 votes. The INEC Returning Officer for the election, Prof. Sabastine Maimako, declared the result on Sunday in Makurdi. He said that Ortom having polled the highest number of votes at this election is hereby declared winner. Maimako said the total registered votes were 2,471,894, total accredited voters were 858,947 while total valid votes stood at 830,954. He sad total rejected votes were 15,268 while the margin of lead between the winner and his closest rival was 89,318 votes.

PDP takes over Imo state House of Assembly The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken over the majority seats at the Imo state House of Assembly previously dominated by the All Progressives Congress (APC). The PDP, which recently produced the governor-elect in the state, Emeka Ihedioha, won 13 seats following the declaration of results of the supplementary election. The report noted that the Action Alliance (AA) won the fifth local government area to have a total of eight Assembly seats, while the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) won a total of six seats.

Source: Legit.ng

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Home | News | General | More trouble for Imo APC as PDP takes over state House of Assembly with 13 seats

- The Peoples Democratic Party now leads the number of seats in the Imo state House of Assembly

- The Action Alliance (AA) a total of eight Assembly seats at the state legislature

- The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) won a total of six seats with APC winning nothing

With the winning, on Sunday, March 24, of four out of the five local government areas where election re-run was declared in Imo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) now leads the state House of Assembly previously dominated by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The PDP, which recently produced the governor-elect in the state, Emeka Ihedioha, won 13 seats following the declaration of results of the supplementary election, The Nation reports.

READ ALSO: Live Updates: Ortom, Tambuwal win governorship election as INEC gives official announcement of results in rerun election - Day 2

The report noted that the Action Alliance (AA) won the fifth local government area to have a total of eight Assembly seats, while the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) won a total of six seats.

It was learnt that the APC did not win in any of the 27 council areas.

According to the report, the supplementary election held in Ngor-Okpala, Ikeduru, Oguta, Isu and Orlu local government areas and characterised by heavy voter apathy and violence.

Legit.ng earlier reported that Governor Samuel Ortom of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won the keenly contested Benue governorship election held on Saturday, March 23.

Ortom polled 434,473 votes to defeat his closest rival, Emmanuel Jime of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 345,155 votes, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

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It was gathered that INEC returning officer for the election, Professor Sabastine Maimako, declared the result in Makurdi on Sunday, March 24.

NAIJ.com (naija.ng) -> Legit.ng. We have upgraded to serve you better.

Election not a do or die affair - Sanwoolu | Legit TV

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Home | News | General | Breaking: Governor Ortom of Benue wins second term in office

- Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state has been re-elected for a second term in office

- The governor defeated his closest rival, Emmanuel Jime of the All Progressives Congress

- Governor Ortom polled 434,473 votes, while Jime had 345,155 votes

Governor Samuel Ortom of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has won the keenly contested Benue governorship election held on Saturday, March 23.

Ortom polled 434,473 votes to defeat his closest rival, Emmanuel Jime of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who polled 345,155 votes, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

Legit.ng gathers that INEC returning officer for the election, Professor Sabastine Maimako, declared the result in Makurdi on Sunday, March 24.

READ ALSO: Second term: Yoruba elders list what they expect from Buhari

He said that Ortom having polled the highest number of votes at this election is hereby declared winner.

Maimako said the total registered votes were 2,471,894, total accredited voters were 858,947 while total valid votes stood at 830,954.

He sad total rejected votes were 15,268 while the margin of lead between the winner and his closest rival was 89,318 votes.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state cleared the air about his relationship with President Muhammadu Buhari.

Ortom, who defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said he had no grudges against the president.

The governor made this statement at the Nigerian Air Force base, Makurdi, while waiting to receive President Buhari, who was visiting the state.

He said: Mr President is beyond party, he is the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and whatever he is doing, it is our responsibility to give him adequate protocol. He is our president, and he is beyond party and so I am doing all the needful.

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There is no special thing in what I am doing, it is what I am supposed to do as governor of Benue state irrespective of party because he remains my president and I respect him.

I have no personal issues with him; we talk about policies and issues, there is no personal grudge."

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Nigerians set 2nd term agenda for President Buhari | Legit TV

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Home | News | General | Buhari reveals how he plans to make education affordable

- President Buhari said he is committed to making education affordable through the open and distance learning system in the country

- According to him, a national policy on education has provided for life-long learning that transcends all barriers through open and distance learning

- The president, however, promised that necessary funding would be deployed through budgetary allocations

President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday, March 23, vowed to make education affordable to all Nigerians adding that challenges of insecurity being witnessed in the country were as a result of ignorance.

Buhari made this promise when the authorities of the National Open University of Nigeria graduated about 20,799 students with a total of 103 of them bagging First Class honours.

Buhari's speech was read by a deputy executive secretary of the National Universities Commission, Victor Onuoha, at the 8th convocation ceremony of the university in Abuja.

READ ALSO: Tambuwals victory is the result of the right decision from Sokoto people - Atiku

He said: The federal government of Nigeria is more than ever before, committed to making education affordable through the open and distance learning system.

In this connection, therefore, a national policy on education has provided for life-long learning that transcends all barriers through open and distance learning.

He added that, necessary funding would be deployed through budgetary allocations, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) intervention and needs assessment funding to shore up the provision of quality tertiary education so as to guarantee access for the teeming youths in the country.

The president promised that open and distance learning would be further strengthened to take the lead in the desired direction of the government.

Professor Abdalla Adamu, vice-chancellor of the university, while speaking at the convocation ceremony, said the number of graduands was the highest single graduation of students in Nigeria.

Bala Salihu Magaji, who bagged First Class in Islamic Studies, emerged the overall best graduating student out of the 15,642 undergraduate graduands and won the universitys coveted prize for 2019. The number of postgraduate students was 5,157.

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Adamu said: It is worthy of note that last year, we graduated 14,769. The massive increase in the number of graduands this year is a clear indication of increasing confidence reposed by Nigerians on the efficacy of Open Distance Learning as an enabler.''

He added that the institution would remained grateful to President Buhari, for proving funding support in order to expand access to the university.

He said Buhari, as the visitor to the university occupied an exalted status in NOUN that goes beyond the leadership of the country; for it was you who created this campus that we are holding our convocation in, and it was you who commissioned it on 16th January, 2016.

The vice-chancellor further revealed that all the 18 programmes submitted to NUC, received accreditation, adding that while 15 had full accreditation, only three had interim accreditation.

Pro-chancellor of NOUN and former executive of NUC, Professor Peter Okebukola, in his address, charged the graduating students to be good ambassadors.

He expressed optimism that very soonthe Council of Legal Education would begin to admit NOUN graduates to the Nigerian Law School, saying show them the stuff you are made of by bagging at least 50% of the First Class awarded at the end of your training.

The president of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), Yerima Shettima, has described the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari as a disappointment, saying the north plans to present a more competent candidate in 2023.

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Shettima complained that the APC-led federal government has only favored the southwest.

He said the north has not benefited anything from Buharis presidency because many northern states are still impoverished and under developed, adding that the rate of poverty in the zone has become worse than it was in 2015.

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2019 elections: Do you still trust INEC to conduct fair elections? - Nigerians speak| Legit TV:

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Home | World | Africa | New UK border control measures will make life easier for traveling Zimbabweans

The UK government has announced new border control and visa measures to promote an open and competitive UK after Brexit takes place - whenever that may be.

While the UK economy has enjoyed continued growth, with wages increasing and unemployment at historic lows the Chancellor announced plans to increase the UK's attractiveness to international visitors at his Spring Statement.

At the Spring Statement it was announced that from June 2019, citizens of the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea will be permitted to use e-gates at UK airports and at Eurostar terminals. This move is expected to significantly reduce queues and improve the flow of passengers and the overall experience at the UK border.

Another move that will be welcomed by tourists is the abolishment of landing cards in June 2019. This will reduce red tape for travellers and speed up the processing of passengers on arrival in the UK.

Its is believed that this move will only improve Zimbabweans' travel experience to the UK.

Heathrow airport is notorious for its lengthy border queues due to the sheer volumes of international travellers and the UK landing card requirements  these changes will significantly shorten weary travellers' time spent entering the region, which is good news for all foreign visitors to the UK.

The Chancellor made a third announcement that research institutes and innovating businesses will benefit from an exemption for PhD-level occupations from the cap on high-skilled visas from this autumn - Zimbabwean springtime.

Overseas research activity will also count as residence in the UK for the purpose of applying for settlement, meaning researchers will no longer be unfairly penalised for time spent overseas conducting vital fieldwork.

Even though these changes only affect the most highly skilled foreign workers, Zimbabwean academics looking to further their careers in the well funded, highly visible and globally influential environment that UK universities and research facilities offer, now have even more opportunities to relocate overseas.

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Home | World | Africa | When seers failed to see the Ides of March

Bishop Lazi always tells his followers that as a people, we have been involved in a brutal rat race for the past two decades as we struggled for survival in choppy economic conditions.

But the Hobbesian nature of a rat race where the struggle for survival is typically "nasty, brutish and short"  always takes its toll on a people.

Regrettably, the most invaluable trait we have lost in this critical epochal time period is our conscience.

A person who has no conscience is a person who has no soul.

A person who has no conscience is a person who is unhinged and a wrecking ball to all those values that define humanity and glue societies together.

The humongous calamity that visited our people in eastern parts of the country in the past fortnight gave us an opportunity for some soul searching.

Although the weatherman had foretold the tempest that was to become Cyclone Idai, our soothsayers, seers and divine bone-throwers couldn't even whisper those words: "Beware the Ides of March!"

But the weatherman was wrong: what came to Zimbabwe from the sea was not a cyclone, but a monster.

It approached Mozambique with beastly ferocity, before making a dash to Zimbabwe on March 15 (the Ides of March), vomiting gallons of water on hapless victims in the dead of the night.

By Saturday last week, it nonchalantly perched over Rusitu Valley, which is 176 kilometres from Mutare.

It is here, dear reader, where the sluice gates of hell were opened as an unrelenting downpour rammed into heretofore parched land.

The torrent, Bishop Lazi was told, was ridiculously unending that it melted away brick and mortar homes into a jet stream of molten sediments that mercilessly washed away anything and everything in its part, including dazed occupants.

Whole mountains buckled and let loose a confetti of moon-sized boulders that wrecked through villages, valleys and waterways.

Some say the ferocity of it, as Dambudzo Marechera would say, was "like God's fist shaking Satan's shirt front".

Bishop Lazi visited Mutare last week. He saw with his own eyes the enormity of the calamity, but couldn't humanly process what could have happened.

It looked like a celestial battleground, where the gods had seemingly been involved in a nasty brawl.

Chunks of roads and bridges seemed to have been ripped or beaten off, while homesteads had been completely squashed and flattened.

A visit to the area is corrosive to the soul.

It is also disarmingly sobering. Sad.

Heartless

While our traumatised and wounded countrymen were still trying figure out what had happened to their friends and relatives, most of whom had been snatched by ferocious mudslides, some sought  with lumpen vulgarity  to divide us along political tribes.

The Holy Book in Romans 16: 17-18 cautions against such people.

"I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive."

Jude 1:16-19 is even more brutal: "These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favouritism to gain advantage. But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions." It is these that cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit."

Harvest House is crawling with such "loud-mouthed boasters" and "scoffers".

In fact, they are literally falling out of cupboards at that rickety stinkpot, whose windows, or whatever is left of them, could desperately make do with a wet mutton cloth.

They come in all shapes and sizes.

They even purport to have doctorates.

Not surprisingly, from that stinky building, we got an equally stinky Tweet  never mind that it had typos  from none other than Dr Nkululeko Sibanda, Chamisa's spokesperson.

"It is Government's responsibility to prepare for and to anticipate harm and warn others, including Aids agencies (sic). This is what is done everywhere in the world," he fired off.

Dear reader, you only have to Google images of the nauseating condition of toilets at Harvest House to understand why someone would feel relieved by unloading such dross on social media.

Bishop Lazarus is cock sure that if Twitter insisted on 5 "O" level, including Mathematics and English, as a precondition to join its platform, traffic on those sites would be muted.

Cyclones usually cover a radius of more than 100 kilometres and their path is notoriously unpredictable.

Though their impact is obvious, their scale cannot possibly be imagined.

This is precisely the reason why Gemma Connell, head of UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (United Nations OCHA) for Southern and Eastern Africa, said "there are some things that we can't prepare for".

Angels among us

But our God works miracles through simple men and women.

In Mark 12 verse 32 we have an encounter with a poor widow who joined the rich who were making their contribution to the temple treasury.

She "put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents".

After witnessing this scene, Jesus said: "Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything  all she had to live on."

We saw this woman tumble out of the Holy Scripture to walk among us this past week.

She came in the form of Gogo Magombo and men and women of her ilk.

These are ordinary and unassuming human beings giving all they have to live on just to offer a fellow human being a second chance to life.

When Bishop Lazi thinks of the future, he weeps, what with these youths who have known hate and spite all their lives.

Youths who continue to soak in scepticism and negativity that is dished out by politicians in bucket loads.

They no longer give up seats for the elderly; they listen to expletive-laden songs and their mouths drip frightening vulgarities.

There is need to redefine the spirit of Ubuntu that defines us as a people.

Let's continue to build on the spirit that we saw last week.

Bishop out!

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Dr. Michael Banks is co-chairman of the Friends of the Neches River and charter board member of the Friends of the Neches River National Wildlife Refuge.
Home | World | Africa | Zimbabwean women abused in the United Kingdom

SHE arrived in London from Zimbabwe last year to join her husband, she married in Harare.

Makanaka was thrilled at the prospect of a new life in the UK.

But soon after she moved in with her husband and his family in Croydon, she said, they started treating her like a servant.

Her husband revealed that he loved another woman.

When Makanaka complained, her sister-in-law beat her while her husband looked on and did nothing to stop the beating.

"I can't even remember how many times I got a black eye," said Makanaka (22) who is so fearful that she asked that her last name not be published.

"I didn't know I could call the police. I was so sure my case was classified as domestic and could not be taken seriously by the police," she said.

Most women have suffered domestic violence but are still afraid to report it.

In some ways, the United Kingdom can be worse than Zimbabwe for abused women.

Many find themselves isolated in the new country, far from their families, and entirely dependent on husbands and in-laws.

Most are unaware of their legal rights or fearful of the authorities.

And many Zimbos in the Diaspora, resistant to full assimilation, hold on to traditional practices even tighter than they would in their home country  even in families that immigrated decades ago.

"All my relatives in the UK are more conservative, religiously and culturally, than my relatives in Zimbabwe," said Mandinema Nezi, executive director of a group which runs a network of women's shelters in London.

Domestic abuse is common in many cultures and the belief that women are their husbands' property is an age-old convention still in existence.

In the UK where many people of Zimbabwean descent live  10 percent of them in London according to statistics  the law provides many more protections for abuse victims.

But these measures may not feel like enough to Zimbabwean women, for whom turning against one's in-laws, particularly families long established in UK, can be terrifying.

Ten abuse victims agreed to be interviewed for this article; most asked to have their names not published because they feared retribution from their families and to be stigmatised back home.

Growing up in a working-class family in Harare, Makanaka was aware of domestic violence; her father once rescued a woman from an abusive husband and brought her to live with them.

But Makanaka said she never imagined such things could happen in the UK.

She had envisioned a quiet life raising children and perhaps continuing the education she had ended at Ordinary Level.

When the abuse began, she felt trapped.

She knew no one in the country and was reluctant to tell her parents in Zimbabwe and fly back home because she did not want to bring shame to herself and to them.

Zimbabwean women say the presumption of guilt in a failed relationship usually falls on the woman.

"If I went back to Zimbabwe," Makanaka said, "everybody would blame me. They'll say I am a bad girl."

While most victims of domestic violence are brutalised by their husbands, advocates say other family members sometimes join in.

After one particularly brutal beating by her sister-in-law, Makanaka was hospitalised with head and abdominal injuries.

She said the family intimidated her into lying to hospital officials about the cause of her injuries; she told them she had fallen down the stairs.

She was told if she revealed the truth she would be deported.

After another attack, last August, Makanaka sought refuge in a neighbourhood park.

There, a stranger approached her and put her in touch with a Zimbabwean nurse who connected her with the women's centre.

The centre gave her shelter in its network of safe houses and helped her get an order of protection against the family.

She also found part-time work as a baby sitter, enrolled in college and filed for divorce.

But her nightmare was not over.

In December, under a police escort, she returned home to pick up her belongings and, in front of the officers, her husband berated and threatened her, she said.

He was arrested and charged with obstructing governmental administration work.

In Zimbabwe, family problems have historically been resolved through the mediation of religious and tribal leaders, sometimes in the form of village or family meetings.

Pastor Denias Chihwai said in the past few years, he had counselled about 35 couples with domestic violence problems.

"We have to sit with them.

"We have to try to solve the problem before going to the police or the courts," said Chihwai.

The women's centre has also sought his help with two clients who wanted to resolve disputes through other means.

Some women are enduring abuse because they feel it is better than living alone or returning to Zimbabwe where they fear being ridiculed for being divorcees.

Women from Zimbabwe, especially those just arriving and not familiar with the UK laws, are always threatened with deportation if they resist the various forms of abuse they experience.

For views and comments, contact : Vazet2000@yahoo.co.uk

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JEROME FRANK, a mid-20th-century legal thinker, is said to have claimed that justice is a function of what the judge had for breakfast. Don't let their black robes, serious miens and pledges of fealty to the law fool you, Mr Frank warned: judicial decisions are not cool applications of objective legal principles. Rather, they are manifestations of personal predilections and biases. Justice Owen Tagu delivered a political speech coined as a judgement when he acquitted Wicknell Chivayo. If Justice Tagu was not a judge his utterances during the delivering of the judgement would have been inappropriate, 'idiotic' and 'ludicrous' he made comments towards the state accusing the state of having a punitive prosecution which was politically biased. To say that there was an underhand suggests that our state lacks dignity and is mafia style operation. This was way out of line and indeed requires corrections.

The court descended in the arena and it made its judgement to be clouded by the dust of the players in the arena. The convention that judges should not be criticised because it undermines confidence in the rule of law has endured here and in many other countries. But where judges wonder in the field which is not theirs they surely invite the wrath of the rational thinking people.

The rulings a judge makes can arouse strong feelings, and there are occasions when a judge's rulings might lead a reasonable person to question whether that judge would be able to be impartial in handling any subsequent proceedings involving the same parties. . because a judge's rulings cannot normally be shown to have be attributable to an "extrajudicial source," and can only in the rarest circumstances evidence the requisite degree of favouritism or antagonism when no extrajudicial source is involved, such rulings alone almost never constitute a valid basis for a disqualification motion.

The same is true of a judge's comments. The Code of Judicial Conduct admonishes judges to be courteous to litigants, observe proper decorum, and to be cautious and circumspect in their choice of language. Nevertheless, judicial bias will not ordinarily be presumed on the basis of a judge's random remarks - particularly when they were made inside the courtroom. .but these comments usually demonstrate that the judge has formed a fixed opinion with regard to the ultimate merits of the matter pending before him.

As for judicial conduct, a judge is expected to maintain a calm and impartial demeanour; and, generally, to avoid any action that might suggest bias or favouritism toward any of the parties. However, the fact that a judge has been appointed to the bench does not obligate him to abdicate human emotion; nor is he compelled to behave as if he were an umpire or referee who must remain mute until a party calls upon him for a ruling. A judge generally has the power to direct a trial along recognized lines of procedure, in any manner reasonably calculated to bring about a just result; and he may take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure the orderly progress of the trial, and the orderly administration of justice  including participating in the conduct of the trial itself. Thus, the discretionary actions a judge takes to control a proceeding pending before him must be seen to be fair. Especially where the judge comments in a judgement his words become a lasting impression.

Tagu's comments have re-ignited the debate over whether judges are held sufficiently accountable when there are questions around their competence, impartiality and equality of treatment. This issue attests to the increasing significance of the empirical study of judges and judicial decisions. The comments by the judge is the latest in a cataract of judgements that show that the political biases of judges, and other legally irrelevant characteristics of judges (such as political inclination and reason ), influence the reasoning patterns of judges and the outcomes of cases. The right of a defendant to a fair trial is an essential feature of any criminal justice system that respects the rule of law and, as such, is inscribed in the majority of modern-day constitutions. In countries with representative governments, criminal trials are typically decided by juries drawn from the local population in a manner intended to create representative participation in the legal system analogous to that in the political system. Zimbabwe follows a system where the deciding powers is vested in the judge with the belief that he is fair and will not wonder into politics. The latter practice has become increasingly controversial in light of the surge of corruption cases committed by those who were friends of those still controlling the judiciary.

Judge Tagu in a judgement he made a ruling that "apart from being suggestive of a skirmish, a mere witch hunt and a fishing expedition it tells more of a hidden hand or mala fides intention in the institution of the criminal proceedings brought about by state in the circumstances" the judge accused the state for being controlled by an under hand. In effect the judge rubbishes the whole prosecution to be a mafia run by a godfather. These diabolic comments are toxic and bring disrepute to the prosecution at large and the state in particular. This comment in itself is a statement which is coined by the defence attorney and not by learned respected judge. We have hoped that the sanctity and straightness of judges may provide a basis for popular legitimacy, the integrity of any justice system ultimately depends on how close it comes to achieving the abstract promise of a fair trial for all defendants. A particular concern is often whether judges exhibit systematic biases for or against certain defendants (or victims) in a way that impacts verdicts beyond the objective quality of the evidence in the case. There should be a system to eliminate all such bias. Despite the fundamental importance of these questions for the fairness and integrity of criminal justice systems, there is surprisingly no evidence to support the outburst of judge in that the state has been reduced to Mafia. The judge was supposed to restrict himself to the case and stop running around pocking the state in comments which were not presented before him to deliberate on. It was difficult to draw strong causal conclusions about the allegations the judge bellowed out against the state and the government. The comments of the judge show that verdicts are not simply a function of the objective quality of the evidence in the case; rather trial outcomes vary systematically with the political opinion of the judge. This kind of behaviour raises concerns about the validity of the findings.

The findings of the judge that the state is controlled by a under hand is not only malicious but it is a political ploy designed to bring ridicule on the government at large. The judge tried to show a pattern by citing two other cases of the other judges, which are not binding to him but only persuasive. He commented that those two cases showed that the state's behaviour was not a coincidence. This did not refer to legal point but to facts. The facts alone could not be the basis of a finding. The judge crossed the line and lifted the skirt of his privilege by swimming into political waters which had nothing to do with the case. in normal circumstances the judge was supposed to restrict himself to the case before him. The behaviour of the judge had shown serious bias and miscarriage of justice in that he considered facts of under hand of which those facts were never argued before him.

So a judgement based on the facts which are not on record becomes unfair to the state as it was never given time to argue that point which became a pertinent point in the decision making,The judge was alive to the fact that his comments which were unsolicited would bring the state into a political quagmire. The case was not political the facts were all there, it does not matter whether Wicknell was to be prosecuted or not the point is the issues should have remained as what was brought before him not to aim a gun of embarrassment to the government and the presidential fight against corruption.

The judge stated that " Rather ,it demonstrates the extent of common acceptance that the criminal case is at best a causa non grata, a high sounding nothing" This was not called for. The judge misdirected himself as he was overtaken by his personal political emotions.

With this context in mind, there is a novel data set of criminal cases tried in the High Court which are politically affiliated. The judge would have simply made his ruling without massaging it with political innuendos. In contrast to the judges reasoning, political ideology has been considered more extensively in other contexts where individuals are politically biased and take every case before them as political. The impact of political ideology in the context of decision making distinguishes itself from the existing justice delivery system. People look at the behaviour with the expectation that litigation is possible in the future will expect that, on average, the judicial response will be unbiased.

Now when judges attend court powered by the political opinions and armed with the power to stifle the work of the state in cleaning the society of the corrupt people Justice will escape the just.

The effects of letting the criminals free casts doubt on the seriousness of the state to deal with graft. In order to show that the previous government was right in not prosecuting the accused the judges will simply label the current government as working with the underworld. The choice of words in the decision of the Judge speaks volumes of what the state is up against in the fight against corruption.

It is not surprising that we have political leaders who attack the institution of justice and we have judges who show the middle finger to the process of justice. The case did not need extra comments on the personal thoughts of the judge which were not prompted by any fact before the court. The judge relied on what he has heard and incorporated it in his judgement. The judgement then became tainted with bias and probably meant to embarrass the state.

The point on Mr Chivayo's case is not why he was acquitted but simply why did the court find it necessary to call the state an institution pushed by underhand. This issue of high sounding nothing was never brought for review by the defence and the comments by the judge became political comments. The judge became a player in the game and forgot to be the referee.

It is simply reasonable to stick to the facts presented or at least the court should have requested the state to explain what the judge believes was a pattern. in an unfair comment the judge did not see the pattern in the corruption accused persons but only found it prudent to lambast the state and lowers the trust of the people in the justice system of Zimbabwe.

vazet2000@yahoo.co.uk
Home | World | Africa | Textile giant retrenches 200 workers in Bulawayo

BULAWAYO textile and clothing giant, Archer Clothing Manufacturers has been forced to lay off 200 of its workers because of inadequate power supplies at its factory and dwindling local orders.

Managing director Mr Jeremy Youmans told Sunday News Business that the company was forced to retrench part of its workforce last year due to insufficient electricity supply to power its factory.

"Our workforce has reduced at Archer, in July last year it was discovered that the electrical infrastructure supplying the factory was not sufficient. We have been working tirelessly with Zesa to resolve the problem but it is taking far too long. We have paid for a new transformer to come from the UK (United Kingdom) on behalf of Zesa and are currently working on upgrading all the other cables and boards to cope with the new transformer. We are not fully in control of the process and so it is very frustrating. We had to release 200 people who we had employed but could not let them work as the excess demand put on the infrastructure could have led to a disaster and loss of life. We could not take that risk," he said.

Mr Youmans also said the other reason the company had to retrench was premised on the continuous shrinking of its local market.

"There is a lack of demand locally which is reducing our order book. This we are dealing with by not replacing everyone who leaves," he said.

After creditors of Archer Clothing Manufacturers approved its take-over by Harare-based Paramount Garments in 2015, saving it from liquidation, the company had projected to employ 850 workers by year 2016.

However, a myriad of economic challenges chief among them the prevailing foreign currency shortage in the country for the procurement of strategic raw material has over the past years stifled the company's production culminating in it downsizing its workforce from time to time. Mr Youmans said improved capacity utilisation buoyed by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ)'s export incentive saw the company's export revenue surge by 35 percent last year.

"Last year our exports grew by 35 percent. This was on the back of aggressive marketing and better price competitiveness due to improved capacity utilisation and the export incentive from RBZ," he said.

Mr Youmans said South Africa remains the company's biggest export market but the influx of cheap imported products from Asia had impacted negatively to its market share.

"South Africa remains our largest opportunity because of its size but it is flooded with imported cheap goods from Asia, many of which enter without paying the correct duties, and it is very hard to compete there. We will continue to export what we can to SA but we have also employed resources to develop both East and West African markets and we are finding ways to make ourselves more competitive to more customers in the EU (European Union) where we have duty free and quota free access via the Economic Partnership Agreement signed in 2008," he said.

Mr Youmans said the arrangement to allow duty free access either through a bi-lateral trade agreement or another mechanism between the two neighbouring countries which was discussed at Bi-National Commission was likely to spur the growth of the country's textile and clothing industry.

"The recent devaluation has given us a chance to compete on a costs basis with the biggest clothing sectors in the region, Lesotho and Swaziland, and also the Asian suppliers. What is vital is that we do not give away too much of this opportunity through irresponsible cost increases.

"Labour is our biggest overhead and we must partner with our employees to develop the sector into a sustainable industry which can compete with everyone. If we do, we can employ another 28 000 people in our sector and have the upstream and downstream effects on the value chain," he said.

The company continues to receive enquiries from the United States of America but access to the market remains elusive due to lack of the duty free quota free advantage under the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA).

Only seven political states on the African continent are excluded from AGOA and the USA remains one of wealthiest market in the world.

Mr Youmans said there was a need for the RBZ to equitably allocate foreign currency across sectors and industries.

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Home | World | Africa | Zimbabwean man dies during sex with SA mistress

A 67- year-old Zimbabwean man based in South Africa is reported to have died recently at a lodge in the neighbouring country, while indulging in sex with his mistress.

Born in Gwanda the man identified as Mr Jottah Sibanda is alleged to have lost power before he began having trouble breathing and died.

Media reports from South Africa noted that Mr Sibanda's mistress wrapped herself in a towel and called for help, after he collapsed while they were indulging in sex. Staff at the lodge are said to have called an ambulance as well as police to attend to the scene. Unfortunately Mr Sibanda was pronounced dead on the spot by paramedics.

The incident is reported to have occurred at the lodge, which is ironically situated just two streets away from his home in a farming suburb of Putfontein in Benoni, South Africa. His wife is reported to have been in Durban where she is employed.

"Police are investigating an inquest docket after the deceased died at a plot, where no foul play was suspected. Once the post-mortem results and other relevant statements have been obtained, the case will be forwarded to an inquest court for a decision," Gauteng police spokesperson Mr Lungelo Dlamini is quoted saying.

Tenants who reside in a row of back rooms on Sibanda's property told a South African publication that his wife and family had left for Zimbabwe to bury him.

". . . We understand that the funeral will be on Thursday in the village of Nswazi in Gwanda," said one of the tenants.

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Home | World | Africa | Mnangagwa pledges support for Gukurahundi victims

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday pledged to ensure the capacitation of the Home Affairs ministry with resources for the documentation exercise of Gukurahundi victims without identity particulars.

This emerged during a meeting Mnangagwa had with Matabeleland civic society organisations (CSOs) under the banner, Matabeleland Collective (MC), which was held at State House in Bulawayo.

Former vice-president Phelekezela Mphoko once launched the documentation exercise meant to benefit children who lost their parents to the 1980s mass killings.

"The President's responses to civil society are that the Ministry of Home Affairs will be supported with resources to issue birth and death certificates to Gukurahundi victims in affected areas," reads part of the MC minutes of the meeting.

"Gukurahundi survivors with challenges of accessing health care should be identified and assisted by the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare."

Government's failure to address the Gukurahundi issue, devolution and national healing were topical during the CSO's engagement with Mnangagwa - a first of its kind.

Thousands of people do not have identity documents after losing their parents and relatives during the 1980s Matabeleland mass killings that left over 20 000 civilians dead, researchers say. This has resulted in, among others, some pupils dropping out of school after failing to write examinations because they had no birth certificates.

A survey once conducted by Women in Leadership Development (WILD), Emthonjeni Women's Forum, Basilizwi, Lupane Women's Development Trust and Inkanyezi Development Trust, among other regional CSOs, revealed that nearly 40% of children in Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South and Bulawayo do not have birth certificates.

Researchers cite the Gukurahundi massacres as one of the reasons why many youths do not have identity documents after their parents and guardians were killed by the North Korean trained Fifth Brigade in southern Zimbabwe in the 1980s.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: Africa
The number of new print magazines started in the U.S. fell by more than half in 2020 to 60, compared t
New post, The Adversarial System and the Torah Ethic of Justice on Nishma Policy
On Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order to protect against a electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that has the potential to disrupt, degrade, and damage technology and critical infrastructure systems.

The order added that man-made or naturally-occurring EMPs can affect large geographic areas, disrupting elements critical to the Nations security and economic prosperity, and could adversely affect global commerce and stability. The Federal Government must foster sustainable, efficient, and cost-effective approaches to improving the Nations resilience to the effects of EMPs.

TJ Gray, a Vietnam veteran and self-sufficienist, recently told us that EMPs are perhaps what worries him most in terms of a catastrophe that society would not be able to handle.

Probably one of the greatest logical fears that I would personally have would be either a solar solar flare, which has happened, Gray said. They said the biggest one we've had was ... about 1850, and they said if that solar flare hit today, it would take out virtually every electrical device in America. And that happened, it already happened once set, there wasn't much electricity around then.

TJ Gray in his bunker. (Source: Yahoo Finance)

Gray, who explained that he served in the Air Force and worked on chemical and biological warfare unit, added that today we've got enemies that could hit us with a high altitude nuclear weapon that would give off an electromagnetic pulse that would fry all the computers in the cars, all of our electronic stuff. Your camera, your toilet. I mean it would knock everything out. It would knock out your water supplies, your fuel supplies. You're grocery stores would be empty within two hours probably.

In the 1970s I had one of the largest Preparedness Companies in the USA

Gray first showed up on our radar from an internet forum devoted to Preppers in Texas. He was known to be the lead moderator on the site, and other users said he had his own secret bunker somewhere in the Lone Star State. So Yahoo Finance reached out.

Story continues

A quote from one of our emails:

In the 1970s I had one of the largest Preparedness Companies in the USA, and the media loved the negative tern [sic], Survivalist. Designed to make you a weird wacko. I demanded the term Self sufficienist, so as not to fall into their pre planned negative spin. I hope you are self aware enough to understand that this is a common sense approach for those at this stage of their life, to take on this endeavor.

After weeks of correspondence via email, he agreed to an interview and would let us film the bunker he built with his family in 1980 after he returned from the war in Vietnam.

TJ Gray in his bunker. (Source: Yahoo Finance)

However there was a catch.

He wouldnt reveal the location. Gray said if we met him in person we could get in his car, and hed drive us to the undisclosed location of his hidden bunker. So, at 1pm on a Wednesday in February we met Gray outside a closed bar in Dallas, TX.

He pulled up in a 1999 Toyota Camry, rolled down the window, and said, You look like a bunch of Yahoos to me.

We hopped in Grays car and headed out of Dallas, traversing access roads for about two dozen miles before reaching a long gravel road.

What really affected my future thinking

The bunker is larger than you might expect, about 20,000 square feet according to Gray. The structure is half above ground, half below ground  reminiscent of those eco-friendly houses that were briefly popular in California during the 70s.

I built it with my first wife and kids, Gray said. I wanted it to be something that was around long after I was gone.

When pressed for a number, he estimates it will stand for at least 200 years. If thats true, the bunker will most likely outlive his children too.

TJ Gray's bunker from the outside. (Source: Yahoo Finance)

All of them are grown now and have families, but some of them have also developed the self-sufficient mindset as theyve gotten older, he said about his kids.

The utilities have long been turned off in his bunker: Theres currently neither running water nor electricity. And no, there is no cellphone service either.

Gray has lived in town for the last few decades. But back in his bunker  and near what can only be described as a shipping box full of 1,000,000-volt stun guns  he began to open up.

The chemical-biological warfare position [in the Air Force] was what really affected my future thinking. Gray said.

He said he visit a handful times a year nowadays.

One of Grays biggest fears is not nuclear bombs but large electromagnetic pulses or solar flares. They say the biggest flare weve had was in 1850  if that solar flare hit today it would take out virtually every electrical device in America, says Gray.

I mean it would knock everything out, he said. It would take out your water supplies, your fuel supplies, your grocery stores would be empty in two hours probably 

A space beneath the floor of the bunker that Gray did not want to discuss (Source: Yahoo Finance)

$5,000 would be a minimum

What if one person wanted to prepare themselves as effectively as possible for at least one year? Gray says,

I would think $5,000 would be a minimum, he said. If you put away food and bought long-term storage food that was nitrogen-packed, the cost is going to be higher but more secure. Ive probably spent $130,000 in the 1980 terms.

Thats around $400,000 in 2019.

Gray worries less day-to-day about his grown children. In fact, hes now debating whether or not to sell the bunker. He said he brought a property appraiser to view it in 2017 and the person estimated that the property was worth about $600,000.

TJ Gray in his bunker. (Source: Yahoo Finance)

In any case, Gray currently lives in his local town and keeps the bunker.

After our bunker tour, we got dropped back off at the bar by Gray and called an Uber back to the hotel.

Its a wonderful new technology, Uber  and as pointed out by Gray earlier in the day  one solar flare away from vanishing.

WATCH MORE: Fitness apps are solving the biggest problem with going to the gym

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President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday accused the United States of using frozen Venezuelan funds to bankroll mercenaries to assassinate him in a "plot" he said was directed by opposition leader Juan Guaido. "We have dismantled a plan organized personally by the diabolical puppet to kill me," Maduro told thousands of supporters in Caracas, referring to Guaido, who is recognized as interim president by more than 50 countries. He alleged that Colombia, Venezuela's US-aligned neighbor, was also involved, and said that an unidentified Colombian paramilitary chief had been captured in the country "and is giving testimony." Maduro's government gave details of the alleged plot on state television, with Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez saying "hitmen" from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras had been recruited "using big sums of money" and sent to Colombia ahead of missions into Venezuela to carry out "targeted assassinations" and "sabotage." Rodriguez accused Guaido's chief of staff, Roberto Marrero, of receiving money from the United States and being a key organizer of the alleged operation. Marrero, a 49-year-old lawyer, was arrested on Thursday in his Caracas home, triggering an outcry and demands he be immediately released by the US, the European Union and major Latin American countries that recognize Guaido as Venezuela's interim president. He yelled out to a neighbor, an opposition lawmaker, that the SEBIN intelligence officers arresting him had planted two assault rifles and a grenade in his home. Hours later, Maduro's government showed pictures of weapons it said it found and alleged Marrero was part of a "terrorist cell." - US ratchets up sanctions - Rodriguez played recordings he said were from WhatsApp conversations between Marrero and Guaido in which he said they discussed using Venezuelan funds blocked by US sanctions to finance armed groups with the support of Colombian President Ivan Duque. The accusations were repeated shortly afterwards by Maduro as he addressed a crowd of thousands of supporters in the capital. According to his government, the United States has seized $30 billion is Venezuelan assets, including money in bank accounts. Rodriguez alleged funds in accounts in Bank of America and Banesco Panama were being used in the plot. Guaido, the head of the opposition-run assembly, has asked the international community to keep up its pressure on Maduro's government. The United States has ratcheted up successive rounds of sanctions on Venezuela, suspending visas for 300 Venezuelans deemed close to the regime and making it difficult for the state-run oil company PDVSA to operate or secure credit on the markets. On April 28, the sanctions will jump up another level with an embargo on crude exports. US President Donald Trump's administration has repeatedly warned Maduro to not arrest or intimidate Guaido or his aides, or else face unspecified consequences. Trump has reiterated that "all options" -- implicitly including military action -- are on the table for dealing with Venezuela. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro delivers a speech during a pro-government demonstration in Caracas on March 23, 2019.It is two months since Juan Guaido has asserted he is Venezuela's interim president. Domestically, he has been unable to shake President Nicolas Maduro from power
Naomi Osaka crashed out of the third round of the WTA and ATP Miami Open on Saturday as Hsieh Su-Wei exacted revenge for a painful Australian Open defeat with a 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 victory. World number one Osaka had looked in little danger after winning the first set and moving a break ahead in the second. But Taiwan's Hsieh, who was a set and 4-1 up in Melbourne earlier this year before losing to the Japanese star in the third round, battled superbly. "This was a very emotional win for me," said Hsieh, whose 39 winners were one less than her opponent. "Any time you beat one of the top players it is amazing." It wasn't the only shocker of the day, as Spanish veteran David Ferrer rallied to beat world number three Alexander Zverev 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 to reach the third round. Ferrer, 36 and ranked 155th in the world, received a wild card into the tournament as he continues a limited schedule in a 2019 billed as his farewell tour. Zverev, runner-up to John Isner here last year, coughed up 12 double faults as he suffered his second straight early exit in succession after a third-round departure at Indian Wells. Osaka was coming off a fourth-round exit at Indian Wells, but Hsieh's coach said her victory wasn't all that surprising. "She has enough experience to stay strong and you saw that," French coach Frederic Aniere, who has worked with Hsieh for the last two years and is also her boyfriend, told AFP. "Yes it's huge, but for her it's not a big surprise." Osaka's second-round win over Belgian Yanina Wickmayer on Friday saw a second set wobble from the two-time Grand Slam winning star and it was more of the same against Hsieh, who simply refused to give up the fight. "I was kind of immature because I was thinking too much, like everything was on my racquet," admitted Osaka. "I got ahead of myself. "Of course I want to win every match and I think I have dealt with people always asking me if I am going to win because I have number one next to my name," added the Japanese star. "I thought I was doing fine with that but I guess I am not." - Injured Serena withdraws - The 33-year-old Hsieh will play Caroline Wozniacki in the fourth round of the women's draw, which now looks wide open following Osaka's defeat and former world number one Serena Williams's surprise exit with a left knee injury. The American has completed just seven matches this year, withdrawing in Indian Wells with illness midway through a round of 32 match with Garbine Muguruza. There are surely doubts now that the 37-year-old can add to her tally of 23 Grand Slams, something which has so far proved beyond her since returning last year after taking time out following the birth of her first child. With Williams out, Wang Qiang, the 18th seed from China, advances to the fourth round on a walkover. In the late game, unseeded Canadian Bianca Andreescu beat Angelique Kerber for the second time in a week 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, outlasting the German eighth seed in a two hour, nine minute three setter. The duo also met in the WTA Indian Wells final, with Andreescu winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Elsewhere, Roger Federer survived a scare but battled back from a set down to beat Radu Albot 4-6 7-5 6-3. Albot posed plenty of problems for the 20-time Grand Slam winning legend, who took a while to get adjusted to the tournament's new Hard Rock Stadium venue. But the Swiss star's class and experience eventually shone through, even though he was severely tested in his first ever meeting with the in-form Moldovan. "I've never really seen him play live matches so I watched some video to get an idea about him," Federer said. "I see where he can cause problems. I have a lot of respect for those types of players who don't have the size, so have to find a different way to win. "I'm happy I was able to find a way." Federer next faces 103rd-ranked Serbian Filip Krajinovic, who beat three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (7/5). Emotional win: Taiwan's Hsieh Su-Wei is beaming after toppling world number one Naomi Osaka of Japan in three sets in the third round of the WTA and ATP Miami Open Spanish veteran David Ferrer celebrates his second-round upset of world number three Alexander Zverev of Germany at the ATP and WTA Miami Open Early exit: World number one Naomi Osaka of Japan on the way to a three-set loss to Taiwan's Hsieh Su-Wei in the third round of the WTA and ATP Miami Open Injury concern: Serena Williams, here acknowledging the crowd after a second-round win over Rebecca Peterson, pulled out of the WTA and ATP Miami Open with a left knee injury Safely through: Swiss great Roger Federer rallies for a three-set victory over Radu Albot of Moldova in the second round of the ATP and WTA Miami Open
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 Amber

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Amber's fantastic. Can't wait for her solo show to start.

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I love the "Jokes Seth Can't Tell" segment with her and Jenny!

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I die every time when the three of them crack up. It's a delightful segment.

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she's so cute but i dont find her funny at all. in fact even tho seth is my fave host i dont think i find anyone on that show funny but i find them all so cute. it's like nice, wholesome fun.

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Ia I like them all a ton and find them somewhat humorous but They rarely make laugh



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She's been great since the show began. I like her "Grandma" character too.

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She's so funny. "Amber says what" is my fav.



Also, The Mueller investigation was a 22-month-old waste of time. I wanted the smoking gun!

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I wanted the smoking gun too but my expectations were low

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wooooow so he's free and clear? How completely depressing.

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i want to see the actual report tbh. even if it really does conclude he didn't conspire with russia i want to hear that from someone objective, not a member of trump's cabinet (who replaced someone who trump publicly attacked for recusing himself from the investigation). i just finished listening to a podcast on the bill clinton impeachment and the starr report was released in full, don't see why this one can't be too

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I hope the full report is released in full bc I do feel like the AG might not have reached the same conclusion that congress would



But he doesnt have to release it right?

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Good source: pic.twitter.com/RvpUL6gE2N  Virginia Heffernan (@page88) March 24, 2019

Agreed. Saw this tweet and now I'm curious as to what the actual report says.

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Cute post op







I hadnt seen these clips before

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Thank you. I find them very creative and amber, jenny and Seth have their fingers on the pulse of what's going on.

Hope Ambers show gets picked up.

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These weren't really funny clips...

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Amber is a treasure

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i love her on drunk history! didn't know she worked on seth's show, too

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OP forgot my personal fave Amber moment:





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I adore that one, but it's funny sad.I still remember that whole week like it was yesterday since I live in dc. Plus, I still am not I made a proper cut , so fewer videos. Thanks for the inclusion though!

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Wait where is the clip where she replaces sexual predators in their famous films? that was golden imo

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this one:





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The Woody Allen bit was amazing.

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i fucking love this

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lol, this is great.

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"are you a fan of woody allen? stop it!"

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Bless you for this post! I recently found out about her and I'm in love!! She's just this pure source of wholesomeness while still tackling the issues. And it's so cute how Seth so obviously adores her

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From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As...
" " The 2017 Krewe of Orpheus parade takes place in New Orleans. Erika Goldring/Getty Images

Proud residents who participate in the 70 or so parades leading up to Fat Tuesday claim that Mardi Gras parades boast the most imaginative themes, spectacular floats and outrageous costumes in the world. During the 12-day period leading up to Mardi Gras, the parades are held in the four-parish area of Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany and St. Bernard. Competition for the best floats is friendly but fierce! Parades start each day at 8 a.m. and continue until after sundown. Mardi Gras is officially over at the stroke of midnight on Ash Wednesday.

While some pre-season parades have become quite elaborate, local parish ordinances dictate that the New Orleans Mardi Gras parade season officially begins on the second Friday before Fat Tuesday.

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There is no general theme for Mardi Gras, but each individual parade depicts a specific subject. The floats reflect the krewe's theme for that year, and masked members are costumed to illustrate the parade theme and the individual float title. Popular themes featured since 1857 have included historical events, children's stories, legends, geography, famous people, mythology and literature.

The most spectacular parades occur during the last five days of the celebration. This is when the larger parades (by clubs such as Orpheus, Bacchus, Zeus, Rex, Zulu and Bards) wind their way through the streets.

Less than a dozen clubs build original floats each year. Since the floats are used only once, these krewes have greater flexibility with the subject of their parade (and often produce award winners!). Most other krewes select from a pool of rental floats, and their themes tend to be generic in nature so that a float entitled "The Sheep in the Meadow" in a parade with the theme of "Little Bo Peep" might pop up a couple of days later leading another parade called "Favorite Nursery Rhymes." Floats are serious business though  in Orleans Parish, a city ordinance prohibits the use of the same float more than twice in the Central Business District during any given parade season!

The super-krewes  those featured in parades in the last three days before Fat Tuesday  might present a combined total of 110 floats, 90 marching bands and more than 350 units. Their collective 3,500 members toss more that 2 million cups, 3.5 million doubloons and 350,000 beads. They also invite guest celebrities to ride in their parades  stars such as Bob Hope, Dolly Parton, John Goodman, Kirk Douglas, Harry Connick, Jr. and the Beach Boys.

Almost all parades follow a standard format: The captain, or krewe leader, appears at the head of the procession, either on a special float, in a convertible or on horseback. Next come the officers, the king or queen, and, in some parades, the maids and dukes, followed by the title float and the floats that carry riding members.

The method of selecting Mardi Gras royalty varies from krewe to krewe. King of Carnival is chosen by the inner circle of the School of Design, the sponsoring organization for the all-important Rex parade. Some krewes hold random drawings to choose their king or queen, and most clubs charge the selected monarch a fee for the honor.

Throw me something, mister! One of the most unique aspects of the Mardi Gras parades is its participatory nature. Normally mature people have sheepishly admitted to becoming competitive  and almost addicted  to collecting the most throws from strategic positions along the streets. People stuff their bags  brought for this purpose  with doubloons, cups, beads and medallions (club-embossed items are considered collectibles). Parades sometimes become R-rated as onlookers go to extreme measures (like flashing boobs) to get the attention of krewe members tossing favors from floats. However, this is not as common as outsider imagine. (More later about making Mardi Gras a family occasion.) Read More
" " An NYPD officer checks the photo identification of a driver in preparation for the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The U.S. is one of just a few countries that does not have a national ID. Andrew Burton/Getty Images

"Can I see your ID, please?"

How many times has someone asked you that question? It doesn't matter if you're boarding an airplane or buying a drink at a restaurant. People constantly want to see your ID. And typically, you gladly provide it. If the person asking is satisfied with what they see, you're good to go.

Still, think about this the next time someone asks you to see your identification: There are no laws that require you to show your ID, even to a cop. Let's put that in context. Nearly half of the states in America have so-called "stop-and-identify laws." Under these laws, police can legally require a person to reveal their identity if the police have a "reasonable suspicion" that the person has committed a crime. Still, if a cop stops you, just ask if you are under arrest. If they say no, you are not required by law to tell them who you are or show them identification. Walk away because you're legally free to go.

Although there are no laws that require you to show identification  typically a driver's license  reality is a tougher cookie to chew. The courts have upheld ID requirements when safety and security are at issue, such as boarding a plane or entering a secure building. Plus, if you don't comply with a request to show identification, you won't be allowed to do things like buy that vodka and tonic, purchase some types of cold medicine or open up a checking account, among other things.

Although personal identification cards seem to be so important, the United States is one of the few countries in the world that does not have a national ID card.

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ID Cards 101

Most Americans carry a variety of identification cards. Some have a military ID, others a veteran's card, others an insurance card, some a university identification card and so on. Each has bits of information that is specific to the carrier. Yet, it is the ubiquitous driver's license that acts as a de facto national identification card, providing proof of age, residence and identity.

If you're an American citizen, no one can force you to get an ID card of any type. That, however, is slowly changing because of a controversial law that Congress passed in 2005.

At that time, federal lawmakers passed the REAL ID Act, which outlined minimum security standards for state-issued driver's licenses. The Act, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush but has yet to be fully implemented, was put in place after the terrorist attacks of 2001. Under the law, states had to upgrade the security features on their driver's license, essentially making those documents a national identity card.

The enhanced licenses not only give an individual's name, gender, date of birth, address, photograph, signature, and identification number, but they're supposedly tamper- and counterfeit-proof. Twenty-seven states are already compliant with the mandate, with California expected to be fully compliant by the end of 2018. According to the law, a person cannot get into a federal facility, enter a nuclear power plant or board an aircraft without one of the new IDs.

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Privacy Concerns

However, some states have balked at implementing the law. Some don't want to spend taxpayer dollars on an unfunded federal mandate, while others are concerned about privacy issues. Those states are angry because the government is slowly creating a national identity system database, centralizing every person's information. State legislatures in Arizona, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri and Oregon, have passed laws prohibiting their states from complying with federal law.

The American Civil Liberties Union has also strongly spoken out against the federal mandate claiming it impacts a person's right to privacy without doing much to bolster security. "If fully implemented, the law would facilitate the tracking of data on individuals and bring government into the very center of every citizen's life," the ACLU says on its website.

"By definitively turning driver's licenses into a form of national identity documents, Real ID would have a tremendously destructive impact on privacy. It would also impose significant administrative burdens and expenses on state governments, and it would mean higher fees, longer lines, repeat visits to the DMV, and bureaucratic nightmares for individuals."

Jay Stanley, a senior policy analyst at the ACLU says that the basic problem with a national identification card, including one that masks itself as a driver's license, is that it can become a "unifying system for tracking and control," of American citizens. Showing a photo ID of any sort as a security measure, Stanley says, is a "silly security measure that doesn't tell you who is dangerous. It's security theater."

Stanley says a national ID card would lead to increased monitoring of citizens and "encourage more demands for identification" by government officials while creating a "bureaucratic nightmare." Plus, he says, there is something un-American and un-democratic about a national ID card.

"We don't want to turn into a regimented society like we see in the movies, or in totalitarian societies," where police are asking citizens to "show us your papers," Stanley says.

Now That's Interesting In 2010, U.S. senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) proposed having Americans carry an "enhanced Social Security" biometric ID card, which would contain physical data, such as fingerprints or retinal scans. At the time, the new cards were seen as a way to curb illegal immigration by making sure employers hired only legal immigrants. The idea has yet to take off.
THE National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has removed over 650,000 campaign materials all over Metro Manila.NCRPO Director Major General Guillermo Eleazar urged the candidates to also do their

DID you hear about the story of a taxi driver in Japan whodespite the devastation brought about by a tsunamirefused to succumb to a particular temptation?

The story goes that while a TV network covered the calamity in Japan, the crews van ran out of fuel. In desperation, the reporter, who was part of the crew, suggested that the driver siphon fuel from the gas tanks of vehicles left on the streets, piled up as a result of the tsunami. The driver refused, saying that despite the conditions of the vehicles, it is still considered stealing to siphon the gas.

When I heard the story, I was not surprised of the honesty showed by the Japanese driver. From what I gathered, on their first few years of schooling, children in Japan are taught good morals and right conduct. The basics of Math and Language come later. Is that not admirable? Newspapers in that country are left on the streets unmanned. You just drop your money in the container provided and pick the daily you want.

On the contrary, and sad to note, it was recently reported that a bus firm in Metro Manila, which tried an honesty system, suspended its operations because 30 percent of the passengers did not pay for their fare. It was the intention of the operator to check the honesty of Filipino commuters.

At the Philippine National Police Headquarters in Manila, the police established an Honesty Store, only to seize operations after discovering some people were taking goods without paying.

Honesty is the best policy. This was taught to us early in life. I welcome the move to revive Good Manners and Right Conduct as an integral part of the school curriculum. Children must learn to behave in any forum and situation.

While there is unlimited information made available in the internet, there is very little info, at all, with regards to good manners and right conduct; more so, any information about etiquette.

Some months ago, presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte seemed to have a lukewarm response to honesty when confronted about the need for politicians to be honest to their constituents. Her reply: Everyone lies.

The way to test sincerity is to find out as to whether or not the person is telling the truth. Our politicians should bear in mind that a high percentage of the 60 million Filipinos eligible to vote, are more than capable of validating issues and pronouncements owing to social media. Credibility is an issue when it comes to finding the truth.
The bodies of two Christchurch shooting victims arrived in India as the repatriation process gets underway for foreign nationals killed in the mosque massacre that claimed 50 lives, officials said Monday. The Indian High Commission in Wellington said the bodies of the two had arrived in their homeland and a third was expected later Monday. The relatives of another two Indian victims opted to have their loved ones buried in New Zealand, a consulate spokesman said. The bodies of foreigners killed by an Australian white supremacist gunman in the South Island city on March 15 are only now beginning to arrive back home after delays stemming from the police investigation into the massacre. The victims, who came from across the Muslim world, were gathered for Friday prayers at two Christchurch mosques when the killing spree took place. Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old motivated by the white extremist belief that Muslims were "invading" Western countries, was arrested within minutes of the massacre and has been charged with murder. The bodies of the Indian victims are believed to be among the first to be repatriated. "I'm not sure about the status of bodies from other nationalities but I can say we went through the process as quickly as possible," a spokesman for the Indian High Commission in Wellington said. "We completed the procedure within a couple of days of the bodies being released." The two repatriated Indian victims are Ansi Karippakulam Alibava, 23, a masters student from Kerala, and Ozair Kadir, 24, an aspiring commercial pilot from Hyderabad city. The remains of Mahboob Khokhar, a 65-year-old retiree who was visiting his son in Christchurch when he was killed, are en route to India and should arrive about 10:00 pm (0300 Tuesday GMT). The Indians buried in New Zealand are father and son Asif and Ramiz Vora, originally from Gujarat, who had celebrated the birth of Ramiz's daughter just days before the attack.
The leaders of China, France, Germany and the EU were set to meet in Paris on Tuesday for "unprecedented" talks on how to improve ties, despite growing jitters over Beijing's massive investments in Europe. It comes ahead of an EU-China summit in Brussels next month and a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping signed an array of deals with France including a huge aircraft contract. At a glitzy state dinner on Monday evening French President Emmanuel Macron said he hoped to build a "new global governance" with China and would discuss this at the "unprecedented meeting with the German chancellor and the president of the European Commission". "This is an important gesture that we are making now. It is testament to your deep attachment to China's cooperation with Europe... and my desire to build a strong Europe," he told Xi. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker will join Xi and Macron at the Elysee Palace to explore "points of convergence" between the two trading giants. On Monday China and France inked a dozen deals on nuclear power, cultural exchanges and clean energy, while Beijing also committed to buy 290 Airbus A320s and 10 A350 airliners from Europe's Airbus conglomerate. The order, originally for 184 A320s for 13 Chinese airlines, was first announced during Macron's state visit to China in January 2018. All of the deals, including one on French exports to China of frozen chicken, amount to a total of some $40 billion. Xi's visit poses a particular challenge for Macron, who wants to deepen EU ties with China while pushing back against Beijing's growing global clout. Speaking at the Elysee Palace on Monday following talks with Xi, Macron called for a "strong Europe-China partnership", adding that this must be based on "strong multilateralism" and "fair and balanced" trade. Meanwhile Xi stressed that "a united and prosperous Europe fits in with our vision of a multipolar world". "China will always back European integration and its development," he added in a statement to the press. Around 200 guests including the French actor Alain Delon, who is widely known in China, French electronic music composer Jean-Michel Jarre and Chinese actress Gong Li attended the state dinner on Monday. - 'New Silk Road' - Earlier on his trip, Xi visited Italy, which became the first G7 state to sign up to China's vast "New Silk Road" infrastructure project that has sparked unease in the US and the European Union. Macron announced that France and China will cooperate on a number of investment projects in some of the countries involved in the initiative, a massive undertaking to link Asia to Europe. Italy's participation comes despite misgivings over the huge venture by other European nations wary of China's growing influence. Xi has insisted the project will be a two-way street of investment and trade. But EU Budget Commissioner Gunther Oettinger in a newspaper interview over the weekend expressed "concern that in Italy and other European countries, infrastructure of strategic importance like power networks, high speed rail lines or harbours are no longer in European but in Chinese hands". Europe's distrust of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, which is poised to become the dominant player in next-generation 5G mobile technology worldwide, is also emblematic of the increasingly rocky relationship. The US is pressuring European allies not to use Huawei technology, saying it creates a security risk by potentially letting Beijing snoop on sensitive communications. France has so far not ruled out using Huawei technology. As well as addressing commercial cooperation and strategic issues with Xi, Macron has also been urged to deal with the case of Meng Hongwei, the Chinese former head of the France-based Interpol police agency. Meng's wife has had no news of her husband since his arrest in China nearly six months ago. It emerged Sunday she had written to Macron asking him to bring up his disappearance with Xi. Meng is believed to be facing corruption charges. Despite the many sources of friction, France wants to engage China as a closer partner as Washington becomes more isolationist under Trump's "America First" policy. For example, Macron may seek more Chinese support for the French-backed G5 Sahel force fighting Islamist extremists in Western Africa, French presidential aides said.
A cruise liner that ran into trouble in stormy seas off Norway reached port under its own steam Sunday after hundreds of passengers were winched to safety by helicopter in a spectacular rescue operation. Escorted by tugboats, the Viking Sky arrived in the port of Molde at around 4:15 pm (1515 GMT), television images showed. Nearly a third of its 1,373 passengers and crew had already been airlifted off the ship. The cruise liner lost power and started drifting on Saturday afternoon two kilometres (1.2 miles) off a stretch of Norwegian coastline notorious for shipwrecks. The captain sent out a Mayday prompting authorities to launch the airlift in difficult conditions rather than run the risk of leaving people on board. Some 460 of the 1,373 people on the ship had been taken off by five helicopters before the airlift was halted. Police said 17 people had been taken to hospital. One person more than 90 years old and two 70-year-olds suffered serious fractures. With three of four engines restarted Sunday, two tugs towed the vessel away from dangerous reefs before it set sail for Molde, 500 kilometres (300 miles) northwest of Oslo, under its own power. Dramatic footage of the passengers' ordeal showed furniture and plants sliding around the lurching vessel as parts of the ceiling came down. Dozens of passengers wearing life jackets were seen seated waiting to get off the ship. "I have never seen anything so frightening," said Janet Jacob, who was rescued. "I started to pray. I prayed for the safety of everyone on board," she told the NRK television channel. "The helicopter trip was terrifying. The winds were like a tornado," she added. "We were sitting down for breakfast when things started to shake... It was just chaos," said another passenger, American John Curry, as quoted in Norwegian by local media. Passenger Rodney Horgan said he had been reminded of the Titanic. "The best word, I guess, is surreal," he said. "Sea water six-seven feet (about two metres) high just came rushing in, hit the tables, chairs, broken glass and 20-30 people just... went right in front of me. "I was standing, my wife was sitting in front of me and all of a sudden, she was gone. And I thought this was the end," Horgan said. But it all ended well for Ryan Flynn. "Here's my 83-year-old dad being airlifted from the #vikingsky," he said. "We are all off the ship safely!" - Notorious seas - The ship was sailing south from Tromso to Stavanger when engine trouble struck mid-afternoon on Saturday in an area off More og Romsdal that has claimed many vessels. "It is dangerous to encounter engine problems in these waters, which hide numerous reefs," said Tor Andre Franck, the head of police operations. A reception centre was set up in a gym on shore for the evacuees, many of whom were elderly and from the United States and Britain. The area where the ship got into problems, known as Hustadvika, is notoriously difficult to navigate. The shallow, 10 nautical mile section of coastline is dotted with small islands and reefs. "Hustadvika is one of the most notorious maritime areas that we have," Odd Roar Lange, a journalist specialising in tourism, told NRK. In their time, the Vikings hesitated to venture into the Hustadvika, preferring instead to transport their boats by land from one fjord to another. Operated by the Norwegian firm Viking Ocean Cruises, the Viking Sky was launched in 2017 with a capacity of 930 passengers plus crew. In addition to US and British nationals, there were also passengers from 14 other countries on board, Fjeld said.
THE National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has removed over 650,000 campaign materials all over Metro Manila.NCRPO Director Major General Guillermo Eleazar urged the candidates to also do their

PHILIPPINE Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Aaron Aquino thanked their counterparts in Vietnam for the information that led to the discovery of one of the biggest drug shipments smuggled into the country.

On Friday evening, March 22, the PDEA announced the confiscation of 276 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) worth over P1.8 billion in a container at the Manila International Container Port (MICP).

At around 2 p.m. of that day, Aquino said they received information from their counterparts in Vietnam that a container carrying a huge amount of illegal drugs had arrived in the country from Ho Chi Mihn City.

Aquino said they coordinated with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in locating the said container.

The shipment, which was declared as plastic resin, arrived in Manila on March 17.

The consignee, Wealth Lotus Empire Corp., had not claimed it. Wealth Lotus is now under investigation.

Aquino believed that a Chinese drug syndicate was responsible for the illegal shipment. He said the Chinese are not afraid because there is no death penalty in the Philippines.

They will never stop trafficking and smuggling illegal drugs in our country. They will never stop putting up drug laboratories in our country. When we interrogate Chinese chemists, or anyone involved in the illegal drug trade, the first thing they tell us is that theres no death penalty in the Philippines, he said. (SunStar Philippines)
Thailand's ruling junta took an unexpected lead in the country's first election since a 2014 coup with more than 90 percent of ballots counted, election authorities said late Sunday, putting it on course to return to power at the expense of the kingdom's pro-democracy camp. The election, which saw an insipid 64 percent turnout, was held under new laws written by the military to smooth its transformation into a civilian government. While it had set the rules of the game in its favour, analysts had not expected the party to win the popular vote, given mounting anger at junta rule and the enduring popularity of Pheu Thai, the party of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra. But the army-linked Phalang Pracharat party, which wants junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha to return as premier, gained more than 7.6 million votes with 93 percent of ballots tallied, according to the Election Commission. That was nearly half a million more than Pheu Thai, which is adored in the northeast which carries around a third of Thailand's population. "We are pleased with the results so far," said Phalang Pracharat leader Uttama Savanayana. The Election Commission unexpectedly postponed the release of fuller results until Monday, including the numbers of lower house seats won by each party. But questions quickly began to percolate over an election that saw a massive 1.9 million votes invalidated and which many expect to dish up disputes and disqualifications of candidates and parties over the coming days. Dismay rippled out across the pro-democracy camp, whose prospects of squeezing an anti-junta coalition into power appeared to diminish with the Commission's announcement. "This is failure of Thai politics," university student Teetawat Tunpichai, 24, told AFP. "We, the young generation need a better future." - Divided we stand - The poll pitted a royalist junta and its allies against the election-winning machine of billionaire Thaksin -- who was toppled in a 2006 coup -- and featured an unpredictable wave of millions of first-time voters. The junta has pledged to rescue the kingdom from a decade-long treadmill of protests and coups. But the unofficial tally showed a country cut between support for and opposition to the junta. "Overall the Thai political divide we've had over the last 15 years, is very much there," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University. "It's very deep, it's structural, it's raw." Fears of the potential for foul play ricocheted across social media as results came in -- a reflection of the lingering mistrust between rival camps, and disbelief that a much-pilloried junta could have won a popularity contest against Pheu Thai. "This election is not normal," Pheu Thai party leader Viroj Pao-In told reporters. "The use of the state power and the use of money - they (the junta) used it a lot in this election." - Royal message - Sunday's crunch vote was foreshadowed by a cryptic last-minute warning from King Maha Vajiralongkorn to support "good" leaders to prevent "chaos". Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and the palace is nominally above politics. But the institution retains unassailable powers and is insulated from criticism by a harsh royal defamation law. The day was framed by the palace statement, which added further intrigue to an election that repeatedly threatened to tip into chaos before a single ballot was cast. It reiterated comments by late king Bhumibol Adulyadej from 1969 calling for voters to "support good people to govern the society and control the bad people". Another royal command in February torpedoed the candidacy of the king's elder sister Princess Ubolratana for prime minister via a party linked to Thaksin. That party was dissolved earlier this month following a complaint by the Election Commission, hollowing out the Shinawatras' electoral strategy just weeks before the vote. Thaksin has lived in self-exile since 2008, but he loomed large over Sunday's election. His affiliated parties have won every Thai election since 2001, drawing on loyalty from rural and urban poor. - Junta rises - Junta chief Prayut toppled the civilian government of Thaksin's younger sister Yingluck in 2014. The army and its allies in the Bangkok elite loathe the Shinawatras, accusing the clan of toxifying Thai politics and society with money, nepotism and graft. The Shinawatras say they have simply recognised the economic and democratic aspirations of Thailand's majority. The magic number in this election is 376 -- the threshold required for a parliamentary majority. A junta-appointed senate of 250 will help pick the next prime minister. If the early results play out on Monday, Phalang Pracharat will easily pass the 126 lower house seats it needs to secure an overall parliamentary majority. Pheu Thai needs 376 lower-house seats -- alone or with allies -- to command an overall majority. That now looks distant. The telegenic 40-year-old billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit and his Future Forward party were also set for a strong showing, taking over five million votes for their acerbic anti-junta positions. That would make them Thailand's third biggest party and a new unknown political force popular with millennials. Thanathorn's social media pull appeared to have carried into the polling as his party galloped ahead in several Bangkok seats. burs-apj/rma
THE island of Panglao in Bohol will soon have a tourism economic zone (ecozone), a top official of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) said.In an interview, Peza Director General Charito Plaza

THE island of Panglao in Bohol will soon have a tourism economic zone (ecozone), a top official of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) said.

In an interview, Peza Director General Charito Plaza said some resort players want to have an ecozone in the tourist-famous island in the region.

It will be a tourism ecozone situated near the Panglao International Airport. They are now processing their papers, Plaza said.

Plaza reiterated the importance of ecozones in attracting investors in the Philippines. She said the presence of ecozones spur business opportunities as a direct impact.

There are about 19 operating tourism ecozones in the country as of November 2017 ,while six tourism ecozones are being developed.

According to Plaza, local government units (LGU) that have turned to ecozone development are now enjoying high income, high employment rate and busy business activities.

As of now, Peza has four ecozones located in Baguio; Mactan, Cebu; Angeles, Pampanga; and Cavite.

The Peza director general said they are eyeing to approve or register more ecozones.

We are inviting LGUs, private landowners, public agencies, which are managing public lands, to convert all these lands into different types of ecozones so that we can invite different types of industries. We will put all these ecozones in the Philippine Economic Zone map, she said. So if there are investors, all they have to do is look at the map, she added.

By having an ecozone in a city or a town, investors can set up new businesses that can generate additonal jobs in the community. Locators inside an ecozone enjoy fiscal and non-fiscal incentives.

Moreover, under the modernized Peza concept, Plaza want the ecozones to be environment-friendly.

One of my major programs in Peza is to transform our economic zones into green and healthy workplaces, she said.

Plaza also added they are pushing for the development of an integrated ecozone concept. This is a type of an ecozone that houses different industries that are complementary to each other.

We want our locators to stay within the zone. They dont have to get out. We will now make our zones by itself a township, she said.

Peza records 4,271 locator companies that generate 1.4 million direct employment as of 2017. (JOB with KOC)
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Cabinet coup to ditch Theresa May for emergency PM LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 348173

03-24-2019 04:02 AM











Post: #1 Cabinet coup to ditch Theresa May for emergency PM

Advertisement Brexit mayday? PM May's ministers move to oust her, Sunday Times says



British Prime Minister Theresa Mays top ministers are moving to oust her within days, The Sunday Times reported, as her Brexit strategy lay in tatters just weeks before the United Kingdom was due to leave the European Union.



If May is toppled, Brexit would be thrust into doubt. It is unclear how, when and even if the United Kingdom will leave the EU.



May, who voted to stay in the EU and won the top job in the chaos following the 2016 referendum, had vowed to deliver Brexit but she undermined her premiership with a botched snap election in 2017 which cost her party its parliamentary majority.



The Brexit divorce deal she struck with the EU in November has been overwhelmingly rejected twice by British lawmakers.



The Sunday Times cited 11 unidentified senior ministers and said they had agreed that the prime minister should stand down, warning that she has become a toxic and erratic figure whose judgment has gone haywire.



The end is nigh. She will be gone in 10 days, the Sunday Times quoted an unidentified minister as saying.



Her judgment has started to go haywire. You cant be a member of the cabinet who just puts your head in the sand, the newspaper cited a second unidentified minister as saying.



The Sunday Times reported that Mays de-facto deputy, David Lidington, is one contender to be interim prime minister but others are pushing for Environment Secretary Michael Gove or Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.



The newspaper said cabinet ministers would confront May on Monday. If she refuses to go, ministers would threaten to resign.



The Mail on Sunday reported that Gove was the consensus candidate among cabinet ministers who believe Lidington is too pro-EU. But eurosceptic lawmakers also expressed scepticism about the Leave-backing Gove.



Im advised (Michael Gove) would also go for Customs Union plus single market with Labour votes, Steve Baker of the eurosceptic European Research Group (ERG) said.



Problems with that... Next.



The Sunday Telegraph reported that former education minister Nicky Morgan, who voted remain, was popular among several prominent pro-Leave lawmakers as a unity candidate to succeed May.



Mays office declined to comment on the reports.



Earlier a Downing Street source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that a Saturday Times report that there were discussions in Mays office about her departure was incorrect.



Betting odds indicate there is now a 20 percent chance that May will be out of her job by the end of this month, Ladbrokes said on Saturday.



Brexit had been due to happen on March 29 before May secured a delay in talks with the European Union on Thursday.



Now a May 22 departure date will apply if parliament rallies behind the British prime minister next week and she is able to pass her deal. If she fails to do so, Britain will have until April 12 to offer a new plan or decide to leave the European Union without a treaty.



https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brita...SKCN1R40DJ British Prime Minister Theresa Mays top ministers are moving to oust her within days, The Sunday Times reported, as her Brexit strategy lay in tatters just weeks before the United Kingdom was due to leave the European Union.If May is toppled, Brexit would be thrust into doubt. It is unclear how, when and even if the United Kingdom will leave the EU.May, who voted to stay in the EU and won the top job in the chaos following the 2016 referendum, had vowed to deliver Brexit but she undermined her premiership with a botched snap election in 2017 which cost her party its parliamentary majority.The Brexit divorce deal she struck with the EU in November has been overwhelmingly rejected twice by British lawmakers.The Sunday Times cited 11 unidentified senior ministers and said they had agreed that the prime minister should stand down, warning that she has become a toxic and erratic figure whose judgment has gone haywire.The end is nigh. She will be gone in 10 days, the Sunday Times quoted an unidentified minister as saying.Her judgment has started to go haywire. You cant be a member of the cabinet who just puts your head in the sand, the newspaper cited a second unidentified minister as saying.The Sunday Times reported that Mays de-facto deputy, David Lidington, is one contender to be interim prime minister but others are pushing for Environment Secretary Michael Gove or Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.The newspaper said cabinet ministers would confront May on Monday. If she refuses to go, ministers would threaten to resign.The Mail on Sunday reported that Gove was the consensus candidate among cabinet ministers who believe Lidington is too pro-EU. But eurosceptic lawmakers also expressed scepticism about the Leave-backing Gove.Im advised (Michael Gove) would also go for Customs Union plus single market with Labour votes, Steve Baker of the eurosceptic European Research Group (ERG) said.Problems with that... Next.The Sunday Telegraph reported that former education minister Nicky Morgan, who voted remain, was popular among several prominent pro-Leave lawmakers as a unity candidate to succeed May.Mays office declined to comment on the reports.Earlier a Downing Street source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that a Saturday Times report that there were discussions in Mays office about her departure was incorrect.Betting odds indicate there is now a 20 percent chance that May will be out of her job by the end of this month, Ladbrokes said on Saturday.Brexit had been due to happen on March 29 before May secured a delay in talks with the European Union on Thursday.Now a May 22 departure date will apply if parliament rallies behind the British prime minister next week and she is able to pass her deal. If she fails to do so, Britain will have until April 12 to offer a new plan or decide to leave the European Union without a treaty. Builder of the Adytum

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Post: #2 RE: Cabinet coup to ditch Theresa May for emergency PM

'Bout time. LoP Guest

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Post: #3 RE: Cabinet coup to ditch Theresa May for emergency PM

The Ghost of David Carradine Wrote: (03-24-2019 04:03 AM) 'Bout time.

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03-24-2019 04:13 AM











Post: #4 RE: Cabinet coup to ditch Theresa May for emergency PM

She just won't take a hint will she? LoP Guest

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03-24-2019 04:20 AM











Post: #5 RE: Cabinet coup to ditch Theresa May for emergency PM

LoP Guest Wrote: (03-24-2019 04:13 AM) She just won't take a hint will she?

She will most likely try to fight the move. She will most likely try to fight the move. LoP Guest

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Post: #6 RE: Cabinet coup to ditch Theresa May for emergency PM

I think her entire plan going back to the botched election is to do the country a major favour and prevent the disaster that is Brexit.



Good for her.. because the brain-damaged morons who voted for it have no idea how badly they've fucked themselves and their fellow countrymen.. SkeptiSchism

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Post: #7 RE: Cabinet coup to ditch Theresa May for emergency PM

Get rid of her, how long do they have to keep dragging this thing out? It's a complete waste of time, just like Mueller's kangaroo court. SkeptiSchism

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Post: #8 RE: Cabinet coup to ditch Theresa May for emergency PM

LoP Guest Wrote: (03-24-2019 05:02 AM) I think her entire plan going back to the botched election is to do the country a major favour and prevent the disaster that is Brexit.



Good for her.. because the brain-damaged morons who voted for it have no idea how badly they've fucked themselves and their fellow countrymen..

No, the EU was a disaster from the get go. No, the EU was a disaster from the get go. LoP Guest

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Post: #9 RE: Cabinet coup to ditch Theresa May for emergency PM

SkeptiSchism Wrote: (03-24-2019 05:07 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (03-24-2019 05:02 AM) I think her entire plan going back to the botched election is to do the country a major favour and prevent the disaster that is Brexit.



Good for her.. because the brain-damaged morons who voted for it have no idea how badly they've fucked themselves and their fellow countrymen..

No, the EU was a disaster from the get go.

In what ways?



Has the EU been responsible for countless wars and the deaths of millions?



The EU was originally envisioned to help unite Europe with a common goal and to help prevent another European war. In what ways?Has the EU been responsible for countless wars and the deaths of millions?The EU was originally envisioned to help unite Europe with a common goal and to help prevent another European war. LoP Guest

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Post: #10 RE: Cabinet coup to ditch Theresa May for emergency PM





THE EU establishment have been plunged into yet another crisis after a shock victory for an anti-EU Dutch party in crunch elections this week.



https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/110...list-Rutte



EU MELTDOWN? Anti-EU party's victory in Dutch elections sends SHOCKWAVES to Brussels eliteTHE EU establishment have been plunged into yet another crisis after a shock victory for an anti-EU Dutch party in crunch elections this week. SkeptiSchism

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Post: #11 RE: Cabinet coup to ditch Theresa May for emergency PM

LoP Guest Wrote: (03-24-2019 05:10 AM) SkeptiSchism Wrote: (03-24-2019 05:07 AM) No, the EU was a disaster from the get go.

In what ways?



Has the EU been responsible for countless wars and the deaths of millions?



The EU was originally envisioned to help unite Europe with a common goal and to help prevent another European war.

The problem is that the EU was set up mainly to offer Germany demand for their products. Nations that used to have sovereign currencies could devalue their currency to boost their exports. Nations also had the right to determine if they wanted to default on their debts or haircut their creditors.



They can do none of those things in the EU, it strips individual nations of their sovereignty, their basic right to exist and determine their own course.



It is a preliminary globalist institution, where a few elitists rule and everyone must abide by their whims.



Complete disaster from day 1. The problem is that the EU was set up mainly to offer Germany demand for their products. Nations that used to have sovereign currencies could devalue their currency to boost their exports. Nations also had the right to determine if they wanted to default on their debts or haircut their creditors.They can do none of those things in the EU, it strips individual nations of their sovereignty, their basic right to exist and determine their own course.It is a preliminary globalist institution, where a few elitists rule and everyone must abide by their whims.Complete disaster from day 1. SkeptiSchism

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Post: #12 RE: Cabinet coup to ditch Theresa May for emergency PM

And that's not even getting into the whole debacle of determining foreign nation's immigration policies just because they are in what started out as a trading union.



They took the idea of a trading union and turned it into a government over many nations. LoP Guest

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03-24-2019 05:36 AM











Post: #13 RE: Cabinet coup to ditch Theresa May for emergency PM

convoluted delusions of illusional complexity to create another vote. LoP Guest

lop guest

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03-24-2019 05:37 AM











Post: #14 RE: Cabinet coup to ditch Theresa May for emergency PM

LoP Guest Wrote: (03-24-2019 05:36 AM) convoluted delusions of illusional complexity to create another vote.

on to on to LoP Guest

lop guest

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03-24-2019 05:38 AM











Post: #15 RE: Cabinet coup to ditch Theresa May for emergency PM

SkeptiSchism Wrote: (03-24-2019 05:28 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (03-24-2019 05:10 AM) In what ways?



Has the EU been responsible for countless wars and the deaths of millions?



The EU was originally envisioned to help unite Europe with a common goal and to help prevent another European war.

The problem is that the EU was set up mainly to offer Germany demand for their products. Nations that used to have sovereign currencies could devalue their currency to boost their exports. Nations also had the right to determine if they wanted to default on their debts or haircut their creditors.



They can do none of those things in the EU, it strips individual nations of their sovereignty, their basic right to exist and determine their own course.



It is a preliminary globalist institution, where a few elitists rule and everyone must abide by their whims.



Complete disaster from day 1.

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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
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Post: #1 With Easter Coming Up, Now is a Good Time...

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For me to share this Resurrection message by Dr. Gene Scott -



I lost my faith, in college. I lost it because of a subtle psychological pressure. It was all right to believe in Jesus as a "good and wise" teacher, and elevate Him on an equal plane with Mohammed, who founded the Islamic faith, with Gautama Buddha, who was a prince of India and founded Buddhism, with Confucius of China (more of a political philosopher, really) whose sayings affect so much of that portion of the world  in short, with any respectable founder of a religion.



I could put Jesus in that category, dispense with Him as a "good and wise teacher," be accepted and get my intellectual wings. But to hold to the belief that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and thus super-natural was simply not acceptable. Parenthetically, I might comment that there is a current hour-long advertisement on television for tape sales, telling you the origin of all religions.



It starts in Egypt, but they never go to Sumer where the religions started that flowed to Egypt (and they never got to Babylon). Still, there is no one with any sense that denies the influence of Egypt on both the Hebrews and the Greeks. Cyrus Gordon settled that.

But in this ad some portly little guy sits there, and some suave, slick-coifed tamed TV evangelist-looking guy sits there, and they tell you how all religions started, and then they make an oblique reference to the 16 crucified saviors  which can't be found in the implication of the analogy drawn.



It's just another example of the current "ecumenical approach to religion"  the religion of no religion (as it was called by one of my professors in Comparative Religion at Stanford) because all religions (they say) have "the same root." That approach came at me, persuasively suggesting that I was not intelligent until I graduate from this "primitive" attitude toward Christ as the super-natural, divine Son of God and instead accept Him as but another expression, another founder, in the stream of common religiousness; thus reduced to simply a "good and wise teacher."



The only problem with the intellectual substitute for a faith in a supernatural Christ, namely just a"good and wise teacher," is that He can't be either one unless He is both. To be good, you have to tell what's true. You can be insane, you can be a nut, and honestly believe something that's dead wrong, and be good  but not wise. To be wise, you've got to be right; to be good, you've got to be honest, and "their" Jesus could be good but not wise, wise but not good, but definitely not both. Why?



In any source that you have for Jesus in history, if you are going to call him good and wise, you are going to go to his sayings and you are going to go to his actions. I don't restrict the source to the Gospels, even though that is where most of the opponents of a supernatural Christ go as they hunt and peck and pull certain verses out to illustrate his life and sayings, even highlighting them in red on television.



You can go behind the Gospels. There is a hypothetical "Q" document_ One of the early church fathers said that Matthew wrote down the sayings of Christ as he traveled with Him, not in Greek but in his native language, Aramaic. We know his Gospel was written most likely at Antioch and written in Greek. This "Sayings of Jesus," written in Aramaic, may have been a common source for the Gospels. Those who can read Greek see changes in style in sections of the Gospels, and can reconstruct these sections to propose a source used by all three of the Synoptic Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark and Luke (particularly Matthew and Luke).



Most modern scholars regard Mark as written first, because we can see again in the change of style when Matthew and Luke copy Mark. The most persuasive "common source" behind the Synoptic Gospels is called the hypothetical "Q" Document (from the German word for "source"). You can even go to the ancient songs, the earliest fragments. Still, wherever you encounter Jesus doing something or saying something, attached to every one of those records will be a saying by Christ or a projection of a self-image that He has of Himself that precludes calling Him "good and wise" because you will find one or more of the following in every source:



1. He thought he was perfect. It doesn't matter whether he was, he thought he was. Carlysle says the greatest of all sins is to be conscious of none. There's nothing as despicable as a person who thinks he's never made a mistake. That conscious, self-righteous, perfectionist image is not something we respond to, because the wisdom of mankind combines in the knowledge that nobody's perfect.



Now the issue is not whether Jesus was perfect; we just don't make saints of people who think they're perfect. The record of people used by God seeing themselves as not perfect goes throughout the whole Old Testament  "I am not worthy of the least of Thy mercies  Who am I that I should lead forth the children of Israel?  I am but a child. I cannot speak."

Always the criterion of acceptance by God and acceptance by man is that conscious attitude of imperfection. Holy men are aware of the distance they are from God. There was only one man in the whole kingdom who saw God; in the year King Uzziah died, Isaiah was the only man who saw God sitting on a throne high and lifted up  that means he was above everybody. His first words were: "Woe is me; I am undone."



We just don't make saints of people who think they're perfect  but Jesus thought he was. Everywhere you meet him, he projects that. He judges other people: "whitened sepulchers;" "strain out a gnat and swallow a camel." He looks at the most righteous people of the day and puts them down. The reason that no man ought to judge, and anyone who is a judge should have this sensitive conscience, is that it's hard to judge your fellow man because we know way down deep we have the same kinds of faults.



But Jesus never had any sense of imperfection. He changed the Law, saying, "You have heard it said unto you, but behold I say," and then, self-righteously with a consciousness of moral perfection, says, "Think not that I have come to destroy the Law. I am come to fulfill it."



There is one possible exception to that, when the rich young ruler came to him and said, "Good Master." He stopped him and said, "Why callest thou me good?" Those that want to talk about Jesus not thinking he was perfect point to that verse; they miss the rest of it, because Jesus said to him, "Wait a minute. Don't come and call me good rabbi, good teacher. If you are going to call me good, also recognize that only God can be good, so don't tap the appellation on to me without recognizing that I am also God."

He had that sense of moral perfection; no sense of a moral inadequacy is ever exhibited anywhere in his behavior.



2. He seated all authority in himself. Read the rest at [link to With Easter Coming Up, Now is a Good Time...For me to share this Resurrection message by Dr. Gene Scott -I lost my faith, in college. I lost it because of a subtle psychological pressure. It was all right to believe in Jesus as a "good and wise" teacher, and elevate Him on an equal plane with Mohammed, who founded the Islamic faith, with Gautama Buddha, who was a prince of India and founded Buddhism, with Confucius of China (more of a political philosopher, really) whose sayings affect so much of that portion of the world  in short, with any respectable founder of a religion.I could put Jesus in that category, dispense with Him as a "good and wise teacher," be accepted and get my intellectual wings. But to hold to the belief that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and thus super-natural was simply not acceptable. Parenthetically, I might comment that there is a current hour-long advertisement on television for tape sales, telling you the origin of all religions.It starts in Egypt, but they never go to Sumer where the religions started that flowed to Egypt (and they never got to Babylon). Still, there is no one with any sense that denies the influence of Egypt on both the Hebrews and the Greeks. Cyrus Gordon settled that.But in this ad some portly little guy sits there, and some suave, slick-coifed tamed TV evangelist-looking guy sits there, and they tell you how all religions started, and then they make an oblique reference to the 16 crucified saviors  which can't be found in the implication of the analogy drawn.It's just another example of the current "ecumenical approach to religion"  the religion of no religion (as it was called by one of my professors in Comparative Religion at Stanford) because all religions (they say) have "the same root." That approach came at me, persuasively suggesting that I was not intelligent until I graduate from this "primitive" attitude toward Christ as the super-natural, divine Son of God and instead accept Him as but another expression, another founder, in the stream of common religiousness; thus reduced to simply a "good and wise teacher."The only problem with the intellectual substitute for a faith in a supernatural Christ, namely just a"good and wise teacher," is that He can't be either one unless He is both. To be good, you have to tell what's true. You can be insane, you can be a nut, and honestly believe something that's dead wrong, and be good  but not wise. To be wise, you've got to be right; to be good, you've got to be honest, and "their" Jesus could be good but not wise, wise but not good, but definitely not both. Why?In any source that you have for Jesus in history, if you are going to call him good and wise, you are going to go to his sayings and you are going to go to his actions. I don't restrict the source to the Gospels, even though that is where most of the opponents of a supernatural Christ go as they hunt and peck and pull certain verses out to illustrate his life and sayings, even highlighting them in red on television.You can go behind the Gospels. There is a hypothetical "Q" document_ One of the early church fathers said that Matthew wrote down the sayings of Christ as he traveled with Him, not in Greek but in his native language, Aramaic. We know his Gospel was written most likely at Antioch and written in Greek. This "Sayings of Jesus," written in Aramaic, may have been a common source for the Gospels. Those who can read Greek see changes in style in sections of the Gospels, and can reconstruct these sections to propose a source used by all three of the Synoptic Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark and Luke (particularly Matthew and Luke).Most modern scholars regard Mark as written first, because we can see again in the change of style when Matthew and Luke copy Mark. The most persuasive "common source" behind the Synoptic Gospels is called the hypothetical "Q" Document (from the German word for "source"). You can even go to the ancient songs, the earliest fragments. Still, wherever you encounter Jesus doing something or saying something, attached to every one of those records will be a saying by Christ or a projection of a self-image that He has of Himself that precludes calling Him "good and wise" because you will find one or more of the following in every source:1. He thought he was perfect. It doesn't matter whether he was, he thought he was. Carlysle says the greatest of all sins is to be conscious of none. There's nothing as despicable as a person who thinks he's never made a mistake. That conscious, self-righteous, perfectionist image is not something we respond to, because the wisdom of mankind combines in the knowledge that nobody's perfect.Now the issue is not whether Jesus was perfect; we just don't make saints of people who think they're perfect. The record of people used by God seeing themselves as not perfect goes throughout the whole Old Testament  "I am not worthy of the least of Thy mercies  Who am I that I should lead forth the children of Israel?  I am but a child. I cannot speak."Always the criterion of acceptance by God and acceptance by man is that conscious attitude of imperfection. Holy men are aware of the distance they are from God. There was only one man in the whole kingdom who saw God; in the year King Uzziah died, Isaiah was the only man who saw God sitting on a throne high and lifted up  that means he was above everybody. His first words were: "Woe is me; I am undone."We just don't make saints of people who think they're perfect  but Jesus thought he was. Everywhere you meet him, he projects that. He judges other people: "whitened sepulchers;" "strain out a gnat and swallow a camel." He looks at the most righteous people of the day and puts them down. The reason that no man ought to judge, and anyone who is a judge should have this sensitive conscience, is that it's hard to judge your fellow man because we know way down deep we have the same kinds of faults.But Jesus never had any sense of imperfection. He changed the Law, saying, "You have heard it said unto you, but behold I say," and then, self-righteously with a consciousness of moral perfection, says, "Think not that I have come to destroy the Law. I am come to fulfill it."There is one possible exception to that, when the rich young ruler came to him and said, "Good Master." He stopped him and said, "Why callest thou me good?" Those that want to talk about Jesus not thinking he was perfect point to that verse; they miss the rest of it, because Jesus said to him, "Wait a minute. Don't come and call me good rabbi, good teacher. If you are going to call me good, also recognize that only God can be good, so don't tap the appellation on to me without recognizing that I am also God."He had that sense of moral perfection; no sense of a moral inadequacy is ever exhibited anywhere in his behavior.2. He seated all authority in himself. Read the rest at [link to http://www.christiansanity.org LoP Guest

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Post: #2 RE: With Easter Coming Up, Now is a Good Time...

It's a great message. LoP Guest

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Post: #3 RE: With Easter Coming Up, Now is a Good Time...

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Post: #4 RE: With Easter Coming Up, Now is a Good Time...

Love it? Hate it? Anybody? LoP Guest

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Post: #5 RE: With Easter Coming Up, Now is a Good Time...

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Post: #6 RE: With Easter Coming Up, Now is a Good Time...

LoP Guest Wrote: (03-24-2019 11:47 AM) With Easter Coming Up, Now is a Good Time...

For me to share this Resurrection message by Dr. Gene Scott -



I lost my faith, in college. I lost it because of a subtle psychological pressure. It was all right to believe in Jesus as a "good and wise" teacher, and elevate Him on an equal plane with Mohammed, who founded the Islamic faith, with Gautama Buddha, who was a prince of India and founded Buddhism, with Confucius of China (more of a political philosopher, really) whose sayings affect so much of that portion of the world  in short, with any respectable founder of a religion.



I could put Jesus in that category, dispense with Him as a "good and wise teacher," be accepted and get my intellectual wings. But to hold to the belief that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and thus super-natural was simply not acceptable. Parenthetically, I might comment that there is a current hour-long advertisement on television for tape sales, telling you the origin of all religions.



It starts in Egypt, but they never go to Sumer where the religions started that flowed to Egypt (and they never got to Babylon). Still, there is no one with any sense that denies the influence of Egypt on both the Hebrews and the Greeks. Cyrus Gordon settled that.

But in this ad some portly little guy sits there, and some suave, slick-coifed tamed TV evangelist-looking guy sits there, and they tell you how all religions started, and then they make an oblique reference to the 16 crucified saviors  which can't be found in the implication of the analogy drawn.



It's just another example of the current "ecumenical approach to religion"  the religion of no religion (as it was called by one of my professors in Comparative Religion at Stanford) because all religions (they say) have "the same root." That approach came at me, persuasively suggesting that I was not intelligent until I graduate from this "primitive" attitude toward Christ as the super-natural, divine Son of God and instead accept Him as but another expression, another founder, in the stream of common religiousness; thus reduced to simply a "good and wise teacher."



The only problem with the intellectual substitute for a faith in a supernatural Christ, namely just a"good and wise teacher," is that He can't be either one unless He is both. To be good, you have to tell what's true. You can be insane, you can be a nut, and honestly believe something that's dead wrong, and be good  but not wise. To be wise, you've got to be right; to be good, you've got to be honest, and "their" Jesus could be good but not wise, wise but not good, but definitely not both. Why?



In any source that you have for Jesus in history, if you are going to call him good and wise, you are going to go to his sayings and you are going to go to his actions. I don't restrict the source to the Gospels, even though that is where most of the opponents of a supernatural Christ go as they hunt and peck and pull certain verses out to illustrate his life and sayings, even highlighting them in red on television.



You can go behind the Gospels. There is a hypothetical "Q" document_ One of the early church fathers said that Matthew wrote down the sayings of Christ as he traveled with Him, not in Greek but in his native language, Aramaic. We know his Gospel was written most likely at Antioch and written in Greek. This "Sayings of Jesus," written in Aramaic, may have been a common source for the Gospels. Those who can read Greek see changes in style in sections of the Gospels, and can reconstruct these sections to propose a source used by all three of the Synoptic Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark and Luke (particularly Matthew and Luke).



Most modern scholars regard Mark as written first, because we can see again in the change of style when Matthew and Luke copy Mark. The most persuasive "common source" behind the Synoptic Gospels is called the hypothetical "Q" Document (from the German word for "source"). You can even go to the ancient songs, the earliest fragments. Still, wherever you encounter Jesus doing something or saying something, attached to every one of those records will be a saying by Christ or a projection of a self-image that He has of Himself that precludes calling Him "good and wise" because you will find one or more of the following in every source:



1. He thought he was perfect. It doesn't matter whether he was, he thought he was. Carlysle says the greatest of all sins is to be conscious of none. There's nothing as despicable as a person who thinks he's never made a mistake. That conscious, self-righteous, perfectionist image is not something we respond to, because the wisdom of mankind combines in the knowledge that nobody's perfect.



Now the issue is not whether Jesus was perfect; we just don't make saints of people who think they're perfect. The record of people used by God seeing themselves as not perfect goes throughout the whole Old Testament  "I am not worthy of the least of Thy mercies  Who am I that I should lead forth the children of Israel?  I am but a child. I cannot speak."

Always the criterion of acceptance by God and acceptance by man is that conscious attitude of imperfection. Holy men are aware of the distance they are from God. There was only one man in the whole kingdom who saw God; in the year King Uzziah died, Isaiah was the only man who saw God sitting on a throne high and lifted up  that means he was above everybody. His first words were: "Woe is me; I am undone."



We just don't make saints of people who think they're perfect  but Jesus thought he was. Everywhere you meet him, he projects that. He judges other people: "whitened sepulchers;" "strain out a gnat and swallow a camel." He looks at the most righteous people of the day and puts them down. The reason that no man ought to judge, and anyone who is a judge should have this sensitive conscience, is that it's hard to judge your fellow man because we know way down deep we have the same kinds of faults.



But Jesus never had any sense of imperfection. He changed the Law, saying, "You have heard it said unto you, but behold I say," and then, self-righteously with a consciousness of moral perfection, says, "Think not that I have come to destroy the Law. I am come to fulfill it."



There is one possible exception to that, when the rich young ruler came to him and said, "Good Master." He stopped him and said, "Why callest thou me good?" Those that want to talk about Jesus not thinking he was perfect point to that verse; they miss the rest of it, because Jesus said to him, "Wait a minute. Don't come and call me good rabbi, good teacher. If you are going to call me good, also recognize that only God can be good, so don't tap the appellation on to me without recognizing that I am also God."

He had that sense of moral perfection; no sense of a moral inadequacy is ever exhibited anywhere in his behavior.



2. He seated all authority in himself. Read the rest at [link to http://www.christiansanity.org]

In other words, kind of like this.







In other words, kind of like this. ************





If I don't look after the interests of the underprivileged, maybe somebody else will. Maybe somebody without any money or property, and that would be too bad!"



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Post: #7 RE: With Easter Coming Up, Now is a Good Time...





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Post: #8 RE: With Easter Coming Up, Now is a Good Time...

TL;DR



Religion sub-forum was created for a reason.

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Shirley Contreras lives in Orcutt and writes for the Santa Maria Valley Historical Society. She can be contacted at 623-8193 or at shirleycontreras2@yahoo.com. Her book, The Good Years, a selection of stories shes written for the Santa Maria Times since 1991, is on sale at the Santa Maria Valley Historical Society, 616 S. Broadway.
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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.
CALmatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California's state Capitol works and why it matters. For more stories by Dan Walters, go to Commentary.
" " As the sky turns fiery shades of pink and purple, visitors watch the lava flowing into the ocean from the eruption of Kilauea, a volcanic crater in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Douglas Peebles/Corbis via Getty Images

The last time Alaska's Pavlof Volcano erupted, in March 2016, it ejected a 400-mile (640-kilometer) ash cloud to an altitude of 37,000 feet (11,277 meters). The stream of sharp, powdered rock shut down air travel and major highways.

On July 28, the U.S. Geological Survey raised the alert level for Pavlof, which seemed ready to do it again.

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But volcanic eruptions are notoriously unpredictable. The USGS raised the alert level for Pavlof back in May, too, but nothing happened. Hans Lechner, doctoral candidate in geology and engineering sciences at Michigan Technological University, says volcanologists haven't figured out the timing yet.

"A volcano may show all the signs of an impending eruption," Lechner writes in an email, "increased seismicity, high gas flux, surface deformation, but then never actually erupt and over time return to back to baseline levels."

Or, he says, it can show none of the signs of impending eruption, and then erupt.

There are those in the field who muse about going on the offensive  the volcanic "preemptive strike," if you will. The idea is, humans somehow modify the eruption process, either by initiating an eruption under controlled conditions or by downgrading the energy of an impending eruption, to limit the resulting damage.

Unfathomable Power

The energy involved in a volcanic eruption defies the imagination. Italy's infamous Mount Etna spewed about 350 cubic feet (10 cubic meters) of lava per second during its four-month eruption in 1983. Lechner reports that in 1991, Mount Pinatubo's initial blast ejected about 2.4 cubic miles (10 cubic kilometers) of material to an altitude of about 25 miles (40 kilometers).

We have to get past the misconception that a magma chamber is like a fluid-filled balloon or soda bottle that we can gently insert a straw and suck out the lava and gas. Hans Lechner, doctoral candidate in geology and engineering sciences , Michigan Technological University

Lechner refers to this as "massive amounts of energy." It originates deep inside Earth, where extreme temperatures and pressures can melt rock.

Molten rock, or magma, is lighter than solid rock, so it rises, forming a "magma chamber" that moves upward through Earth's crust. As the volume of magma grows, the pressure in the chamber increases, forcing magma through the volcano's "vents"  tubes formed by prior eruptions, sealed at the surface by a "lid" of rock.

If the pressure gets high enough, and a vent suddenly opens to the atmosphere, the rapid depressurization causes gases to come out of solution, which causes the magma to explode. It spews through the open vent(s) along with volcanic ash (pulverized rock), steam and various gases. In the case of Mount St. Helens in 1980, Lechner says extreme pressure had forced a vent lid to bulge outward (a classic sign of impending eruption), and a landslide took it off.

Never Nuke a Volcano

To modify that eruption, Lechner theorizes, "I suppose humans could have triggered the landslide, or removed the overburden ["lid"] through, say, excavation or even detonating a nuclear device."

But nuking a volcano would be a profoundly stupid thing to do. The volcano would still explosively erupt, on its own schedule, but now with the added horror of nuclear fallout.

Drilling into the magma chamber to release the pressure is out, too. Volcanologist Erik Klemmeti, writing on Wired in 2012, likened that theory to "trying to bleed to death with a needle prick."

And we couldn't avert an eruption by slowly depressurizing the chamber, either.

"We have to get past the misconception that a magma chamber is like a fluid-filled balloon or soda bottle that we can gently insert a straw and suck out the lava and gas," writes Lechner. "We're talking about pressures and volumes of material that are beyond the capacity of man-made equipment."

He says we'd have to drill down several kilometers with massive pipes  hundreds of meters in diameter  to handle the volcanic output that rushes from the chamber. The pipes would have to withstand temperatures above 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit (2,000 C) and pressures "beyond our capabilities to manage and even comprehend."

And then, he adds, there are still the "gases coming out of solution, rapidly depressurizing and violently escaping" to deal with.

Lava, on the Other Hand

Generally speaking, it seems the main problem facing human modification of volcanic eruptions is that it's laughably impossible. Volcanoes are too big, and volcanic eruptions are too powerful.

Yet, says Janet Babb, geologist with the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, humanity is not completely without modification options.

"Humans cannot stop or control an eruption," Babb writes in an email, "but [humans] have taken some actions to control products erupted from a volcano."

Diverting lava flows, for instance. Babb points to Mount Etna and that 1983 eruption we mentioned earlier, which sent lava flowing into populated areas. With the lava flow threatening to overrun three towns, workers desperately constructed a system of massive rubble barriers to redirect it. Oregon State's Volcano World captions a photo of the epic effort this way: "Two hundred men constructed a rubble barrier about 30 feet high (10 m), 100 feet (30 m) wide and 1,200 feet (400 m) long. Note approaching aa [lava] flow." The barriers successfully diverted the lava.

But attempts to guide lava flows by bombing them have generally failed. Cooling them has shown promise, though: In 1973, when lava from a volcano on the Icelandic island of Heimaey was flowing into towns, officials built barriers to stop its progress and dumped seawater on the lava to cool it down, slow the flow and help it harden. The barriers held against the lower-energy lava flow.

As for exerting control before the lava starts flowing, Lechner says it's "mostly science-fiction daydreaming." No one's looking into it. Volcanology research focuses on advancing methods of monitoring and prediction.

"However," he writes, "it's not absurd to think that our own hubris might encourage us to attempt to modify a volcanic eruption. Humans have a history of large-scale engineering feats that have forever modified the surface of the Earth."

The USGS downgraded the increased alert status for Alaska's Pavlof Volcano on Aug. 8. False alarm.

Now That's Cool On July 29, photographers discovered that Hawaii's erupting Kilauea Volcano was wearing a giant lava smiley face.
Singapore investors are always looking for high-dividend stocks to invest in. While it may look lucrative to invest in companies with high dividends, we should also think about it from a risk standpoint  any investment that pays a higher return also tends to have higher risk.

Finding companies that pay high dividends may also be time consuming, or we may get outdated or even bad advice from family, friends and even online sources that cannot be trusted. To get started on finding these companies on our own, and looking into its fundamentals more, we can use SGXs stock screener, StockFacts.

Read Also: StockFacts: All The Latest News & Financials You Need To Know Before Investing In SGX Stocks

Using SGX StockFacts To Find The Companies With The Best Dividends

In this article, we use SGXs stock screener, StockFacts, to find the top yielding companies, which also:

i. have a total market capitalisation of over $1 billion;

ii. have a total revenue of over $100 million;

iii. have a buy consensus recommendation on StockFacts; and

iv. have a dividend yield of over 5%

We used these criteria as we wanted to narrow down companies that were large, have a sizeable revenue, had buy statuses and, of course, have a dividend yield of over 5%. You can similarly use SGXs StockFacts to customise other searches to find more companies that fit your criteria to invest in.

Here are the top four stocks that our search resulted in. Interestingly, all four were REITs and business trusts.

Read Also: Complete Guide To Investing In Singapore REITs

# 1 NetLink NBN Trust (SGX: CLJU)

NetLink NBN Trust designs, builds, owns and operates the passive fibre network infrastructure in Singapore. It has approximately 1.3 million residential end-user connections and more than 45,000 non-residential end-user connections.

Netlink NBN Trust has a market capitalisation of $3.2 billion, and a dividend yield of 8.4%.

In the past 1-year period, Netlink NBN Trust share price has been relatively stable, falling $0.01 to $0.81.

Story continues

# 2 Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust (SGX: RW0U)

Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust (MNACT) owns and manages five properties located in prime locations in Hong Kong, China and Japan.

MNACT has a market capitalisation of $4.1 billion. In addition, according to StockFacts, it has a dividend yield of 7.4% based on its current share price.

In the past 1-year period, MNACTs shares has increased by 9.7% to $1.29. This is close to its all-time high share price.

# 3 ESR-REIT (SGX: J91U)

ESR-REIT has 57 industrial properties located across Singapore. In October 2018, ESR-REIT merged with another industrial REIT in Singapore, Viva Industrial Trust, to form Singapores 4th largest industrial REIT by assets.

ESR-REIT has a market capitalisation of $1.7 billion, as well as a dividend yield of 7.2%.

In the past 1-year period, its shares has declined 2.7% to $0.535.

# 4 Far East Hospitality Trust (SGX: Q5T)

Far East Hospitality Trust has portfolio of nine hotel properties and four serviced residences, totalling 3,143 hotel rooms and apartment units. Located in Singapore, it is typically referred to as a Singapore hospitality segment pure-play.

Far East hospitality Trust has a market capitalisation of $1.2 billion, with a dividend yield of 6.5%.

In the past 1-year period, its shares has declined 6.7%.

Read Also: Investing in Property VS REITS: Which is Better

The post 4 Stocks This Week (Best Dividends In Singapore): NetLink NBN Trust, Mapletree North Asia Commercial Trust, ESR-REIT, Far East Hospitality Trust appeared first on DollarsAndSense.sg.
Two Russian military planes delivered troops and equipment to Venezuela over the weekend, Russian state news agency Sputnik reported Sunday. "Two Russian planes arrived in Venezuela on Saturday with equipment and personnel to fulfill technical military contracts," the agency reported on the Spanish-language version of its website. It gave no other details but quoted an unnamed official from the Russian embassy in Caracas saying "there is nothing mysterious" about the flights. The Sputnik report was published after an independent Venezuela journalist, Javier Mayorca, said on his Twitter feed that a Russian air force Antonov-124 cargo plane and a smaller jet, apparently an Ilyushin Il-62, had landed at the main airport outside Caracas on Saturday. He said the planes offloaded around 100 Russian soldiers led by General Vasily Tonkoshkurov, head of the Mobilization Directorate of Russia's armed forces, and disembarked 35 tons of equipment. Social media and non-state Venezuelan media picked up the information and posted pictures of the planes at the airport. One picture of a Russian-flagged aircraft posted on social media showed men in uniform clustered around it. An AFP journalist early on Sunday saw one of the planes on the tarmac at Maiquetia airport, with a Russian flag on its fuselage. It was guarded by a contingent of Venezuelan National Guardsmen. A picture of a Russian-flagged aircraft posted on social media showed men in uniform clustered around it on the tarmac. Venezuelan authorities offered no information about the flights. The Russian embassy in Caracas declined to comment to AFP on the reports. - US tensions - Russia and China are the main allies of Venezuela. Both have lent billions of dollars to the oil-rich South American country, propping up the anti-US government of President Nicolas Maduro. Russia has also vocally opposed US moves to sanction Maduro and his government, and to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's interim president. US moves against Caracas have ratcheted up in recent weeks, with President Donald Trump warning that "all options" -- implicitly including US military intervention -- were being considered. On April 28, US sanctions are to jump up a level with a ban on crude imports from Venezuela. Historically, the US has been Venezuela's biggest oil buyer, and the new sanctions are expected to severely crimp the Maduro government's already badly diminished finances. Russia previously signaled its support for Maduro by sending two Tu-160 bombers to Venezuela last December to take part in a military exercise. Russia's President Vladimir Putin has a record of ordering his military -- or paramilitary -- forces into several theaters to challenge US strategies, notably in Syria and Ukraine. Any Russian foothold in Latin America, especially Venezuela, would alarm the US military. It would also be a political test for Trump, who has routinely avoided criticizing Putin.
When a Russian court last week halted the construction of a water bottling plant on the shores of Siberias Lake Baikal, a Unesco World Heritage Site, it was hailed as a victory for environmentalists.

That it certainly was. Baikal is the planets largest freshwater lake and fierce public outcry that the project could cause irreversible damage to it had been months in the making, spreading from Siberia all the way to Moscow. An online petition opposing the project, which started construction in January, garnered more than a million signatures, and an Instagram account dedicated to the protest drew over 167,000 followers.

But while environmental concerns were the focus of the opposition, analysts said the public uproar was also fuelled by suspicions and hostility many Russians have against the growing Chinese investment in the region.

The US$21 million project is being built by AquaSib, a Russian firm owned by a Chinese company called Lake Baikal Water Industry in Daqing, a city in Chinas Heilongjiang province, 1,430km (890 miles) from the lake. Moreover, according to AquaSib, 80 per cent of the bottled water will be exported to countries like China and South Korea.

The problems of Russian-Chinese business interaction in Siberia  have already created a real problem for Moscow. The Russian public opinion and majority of mass media [are] opposing the Chinese projects, said Yury Tavrovsky, professor emeritus at the Peoples Friendship University of Russia.

The new bottling plant only increases negative attitudes of some Russians to China, he said.

Officially, relations between China and Russia could not be better, partly driven by both nations deteriorating relations with the United States.

Moscows ties with the West have been severely strained following sanctions for its annexation of Crimea and incursions into Ukraine in 2014, which prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to pivot to Beijing. And China is not only locked in a prolonged trade war with the US, it also faces increasing scepticism in the West about its Belt and Road Initiative and concerns about possible corporate espionage.

Story continues

Ahead of a state visit to Moscow in 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Russian media that relations between the two strategic partners were enjoying their best time in history. Last year, Chinas Peoples Liberation Army took part in the Kremlins biggest war games in decades, a huge show of support. Billions of dollars of joint investment funds and dozens of projects have been rolled out to build closer economic ties.

Over a decade, Chinas investments in Russia increased nearly ninefold, reaching US$13.8 billion in 2017, according to data from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. Two-thirds of that amount targeted Russias natural resources, involving the mining, forestry, fishery and agriculture sectors.

On the ground, though, instead of fostering friendly relations, the Chinese investments have fed resentment and tension, especially in Siberia and the Russian Far East, historically an emotionally sensitive region for local residents.

The water bottling plant is only the latest lightning rod. In recent years, Chinese investment  regarded as land grabs by many locals  has set off waves of outraged protests.

Its expanding logging business has sparked public fears that the Chinese are destroying the ancient forests of Russia, Chinas biggest timber supplier. Hundreds of thousands of hectares of idle lands that were leased to Chinese companies for farming occasioned media commentaries warnings about annexation by Beijing.

Chinese investors have also been buying building hotels on the shores of Lake Baikal, a popular attraction for Chinese tourists, prompting an online petition blasting Beijing for seeking to transform the area into a Chinese province.

To Robert Kaplan, a foreign-policy analyst at Eurasia Group, a political risk consulting firm, the response is easily understood: The Russians, he said, were very paranoid that over time, over the years and over the decades, China will gain back effective demographic, economic control over the areas that were tested in the 19 century, the 18 century and before.

In 1858 and 1860, with the signing of two treaties, Chinas Qing dynasty ceded to the Russian Empire more than 1 million sq km (386,000 square miles) of its northeast lands  today, the southern part of the Russian Far East. The deal is still portrayed in Chinese history textbooks as a national humiliation.

These borders were repeatedly contested in the late 1960s, with military clashes breaking out between the Soviet Union and China, nearly risking an all-out war.

The disputes were largely resolved with an agreement in 1991, and Chinese activities primarily agricultural  in Siberia started in the 1990s, Tavrovsky said.

Those projects, though, left marks. Chinese farmers [rented] plots of land for growing vegetables and [left] them in two to three years completely destroyed with chemicals, he said.

Adding to the Russian anxiety is a huge population imbalance. Only 8.3 million live in the Russian Far East, according to a 2010 census. Just to its south, three bordering Chinese provinces total a combined 90 million residents.

As long as China is developing so fast, Kaplan said, and as long as the Russian economy is so much weaker  and Russia has so few people across its many time zones  theres going to be tensions and suspicions towards China that neither government is going to be able to control.

To make the matter worse, experts said, the behaviour of some Chinese in Russia  tourists and officials alike  was adding salt to the wound.

Some Chinese tourists visiting Baikal and other Siberian and Far Eastern regions are telling local people that these lands should belong to China because they were stolen by tsars. I myself have heard that several times, Tavrovsky said.

More recently, a Chinese diplomats reported threat against a Russian journalist has drawn wide attention and outrage.

According to a March 4 editorial of the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta, the diplomat in charge of press relations at the Chinese embassy in Moscow ordered one of its journalists to remove her article on Chinas economic slowdown from the newspapers website and threatened to ban her from entering China. The diplomat also reportedly made taunting remarks about Russias economy, according to an email the editorial quoted.

The Chinese embassy in Moscow and Chinas foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

The incident is unlikely to affect official ties, but experts say it could further dampen Russian public perceptions of China.

The case with the Chinese diplomat is taken very seriously [in Russia], said Alexander Lukin, an expert on Sino-Russian relations at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow.

Some journalists believe the guy is simply an idiot. However, others see it as an indication that many Chinese officials dont really believe in the slogans of the top Chinese leadership to create a new type of partnership with foreign countries based on a win-win principle and mutual respect, and that China is beginning to behave as a normal hegemonist state  interfering in the internal politics of other countries, he said.

Moritz Pieper, a lecturer on international relations at the University of Salford in Britain, said the incident illustrated an inconsistency in Chinas public diplomacy.

Clumsy public communications of individual officials can erode PR narratives of strategic partnership and people-to-people ties constructed by the central government, he said.

That official strategic partnership is to be celebrated again with a fanfare of publicity when Putin attends Beijings belt and road forum next month on a state visit.

But Kaplan said that no matter how bilateral relations were applauded at the official level, local outcries like the recent protests against the Lake Baikal bottling plant were likely to recur.

There will be incidents  and the job of Beijing and Moscow is to keep things quiet and peaceful, because otherwise their strategic partnership would be undermined, he said.

Tavrovsky said that Chinese officials, businesses, even tourists, should keep that in mind when in Russia.

For the sake of good Moscow-Beijing ties the Chinese should change their increasingly assertive behaviour in Russia and aggressive economic expansion in Siberia, he said.

Additional reporting by Lee Jeong-ho

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This article Best of frenemies: Official relations are good, but Russians grow wary of Chinese investments first appeared on South China Morning Post

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Simona Halep kept alive hopes of regaining the world number one ranking Sunday, beating Polona Hercog 5-7, 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 to reach the last 16 of the WTA and ATP Miami Open. The 27-year-old lost her place at the top of the womens game following Naomi Osaka's triumph at the Australian Open earlier this year. But with the Japanese faltering here on Saturday, Halep can return to the position she last held at the end of 2018 if she lands the Miami Open for the first time. The Romanian, who will also move up the to the top of the rankings if she reaches the final and Petra Kvitova doesn't win the title, will certainly have to put in a better display than the patchy performance which eventually sent the gutsy Hercog, the world number 93 from Slovenia, out. "She played unbelievable and it was such a tough match," said Halep, who belted 48 winners compared to her opponent's 38 but won just 31% of points on her first serve. "It was good to play for almost three hours though. I slowly found my rhythm but I always had belief so if I can keep doing this, I will have a good tournament. She next faces seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, who swept past Russian Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-1. Halep, the 2018 French Open champion and current world number three, arrived in Miami having failed to get past the round of 16 in Indian Wells and the quarter-finals in Dubai. She started sluggishly on the center court at Hard Rock Stadium, where Hercog moved into an early 3-1 lead. Halep finally broke back for 4-4 but another sloppy game handed Hercog the opportunity to grab a first set lead which she duly took. Halep was far more solid in the second, despite missing the chance to draw level when she was broken serving at 5-3 and Hercog kept her nerve make it 5-5. As the clock ticked past two hours, a brilliant drop shot by Hercog ensured a second set tie break only for Halep to emphatically win it 7-1 before the decider was sealed for the Romanian when she held to love after 2 hours and 50 minutes. On the men's side, defending champion John Isner blew Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas off court with serves touching 139 mph as the American sealed an ultimately comprehensive 7-5, 7-6 (8-6) win. He was broken in the very first game but responded by hitting a total of 16 aces to set up an intriguing match with Kyle Edmund in the last 16 after the British number one impressively saw off Canadian Milos Raonic 6-4 6-4. "I did a lot of things well," Isner said. "I played a good first set, even though I didn't start it off well. In the second, it wasn't quite as clean. But I'm into the Round of 16 of a big tournament and I'm happy."
Local vaping groups urged the Department of Health to educate smokers about alternative products such as electronic cigarettes to help them quit smoking. The appeal was made by The Vapers Philippines and the Philippine E-Cigarette Industry Association, as Public Health England published its new evidence update on vaping last week. Peter Paul Dator, president of The Vapers Philippines, said the DoH smoking cessation program currently provides face-to-face counseling in clinics and telephone support through its Quitline. Some local healthcare professionals also recommend nicotine replacement therapies such as nicotine gums and patches to patients, he said. We call on the DOH and local healthcare professionals to look at the latest evidence update on vaping from England, a country which is experiencing tremendous success in reducing adult smoking rates, Dator said. Dator lauded public health officials in the country for doing a good job in raising public awareness on the health risks associated with smoking. Unfortunately, their efforts stop there. To really make an impact in reducing the harms caused by smoking, the public should also be educated about alternative products that can help smokers quit. Quitting is a major challenge for many smokers. Pecia president Joey Dulay warned that if the 16 million Filipinos who currently smoke do not quit, they will at some point get sick and die prematurely. They should be encouraged to switch to less harmful products such as e-cigarettes. It would be a monumental tragedy if the DOH continues to vilify e-cigarettes without looking at new evidence, he said. Dulay called on the DOH to seriously consider the latest evidence update on vaping from Public Health England, noting that the series of expert independent evidence reviews published by an operationally autonomous executive agency of the UK Department of Health has in large part shaped the British governments policy on the role of e-cigarettes in tobacco control. Public Health England published its evidence review in August 2015 which concluded that e-cigarettes, while not completely risk-free, are around 95 percent less harmful than smoking and that e-cigarettes may be contributing to falling smoking rates among adults and young people in the UK. Public Health Englands conclusion that e-cigarettes are overwhelmingly less harmful than cigarettes is consistent with the findings of other respected medical and scientific organizations including the Royal College of Physicians, Cancer Research UK and the US National Academy of Sciences, Dulay said.According to the updated Public Health England evidence review, combining electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes or vapes) with stop smoking service support should be a recommended option available to all smokers. It cited evidence showing that e-cigarette use remains largely confined to those who already smoke or ex-smokers, who have now quit using an e-cigarette while quitting smoking remains the key motivation among adult vapers. The surge in young people using e-cigarettes regularly is not happening in the UK. While experimentation is increasing, vaping among young people remains low at 1.7 percent and mainly confines to those who already smoke. Smokers in the UK should be encouraged to switch to e-cigarettes, according to the latest report. Regular e-cigarette use among adults in the UK is now plateauing and a third of smokers have yet to try an e-cigarette. There is an opportunity here to further reduce the harms caused by tobacco by encouraging more smokers to try vaping and for dual-users [those who smoke and vape at the same time] to switch completely, it said. The latest Public Health England evidence review asked health professionals to provide behavioral support to smokers who want to use e-cigarettes to help them quit smoking. Health professionals supporting smokers to quit should receive education and training on using e-cigarettes in quit attempts. Public Health England noted that in Englands local stop smoking services, people who use an e-cigarette to quit smoking have the highest success rates. Evidence suggests that vaping helps people stop smoking rather than leading them to start in the first place, it said. The agency revealed that the proportion of e-cigarettes users in the UK who are ex-smokers has increased over recent years and adult smoking rates continue to decline. It also cited a major new study which showed that e-cigarettes, when combined with face-to-face stop smoking service support, are nearly twice as effective as traditional NRTs in helping smokers quit.
The Muslim call to prayer rang out across New Zealand on Friday followed by two minutes of nationwide silence to mark a week since a white supremacist gunned down 50 people at two mosques in the city of Christchurch. As the call was broadcast around the country, thousands -- including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and wounded survivors -- stood in a park opposite the mosque where the killing began, as the nation of 4.5 million came to a standstill. New Zealand is still in shock following the killings by alleged shooter Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian national who had hoped to foment an ethnic war with his attacks. But horrified Kiwis have responded with outpourings of love, with many embracing their Muslim neighbours on Friday in moving scenes across the country. A muezzin in white skullcap issued the call to regular Friday prayers at 1.30 pm (0030 GMT) with chants of "Allahu Akhbar" (God is greatest) as thousands listened in Christchurch's Hagley Park, across from the Al Noor Mosque. The country then fell silent for two minutes, with public gatherings in Auckland, Wellington and other cities. In neighbouring Australia, people stopped in the streets and in shops to mark the moment. Al Noor imam Gamal Fouda then took to the lectern at Hagley Park to denounce the "evil ideology of white supremacy" and praise Kiwis for their support. - Unbreakable - "I look out and I see the love and compassion in the eyes of thousands of fellow New Zealanders and human beings from across the globe," Fouda said. "This terrorist sought to tear our nation apart with an evil ideology... But, instead, we have shown that New Zealand is unbreakable." The Al Noor mosque remains closed as workers repair bullet-pocked walls and clean blood-spattered floors. But after Friday's prayers, the sombre mood outside lightened markedly as non-Muslims approached the mosque to lay flowers or embrace and take selfies with Muslims. Koro Tini, a 46-year-old Maori man with elaborate traditional facial tattoos and ceremonial native cloak, embraced and touched noses with a man who was among a group of Muslim worshippers. "We weren't meaning to pose for pictures but people wanted to do it after the prayers. Theres a sense of joy and rejoicing," Tini said. - 'Hate cannot win' - Many women across the country wore headscarves in solidarity with Muslims. "I can take my scarf off if I feel afraid. They cannot," said Kirsty Wilkinson, who came to Hagley Park with two friends, all in make-shift hijabs. "The message I want to send is that hate cannot win." Tarrant took advantage of relatively lax New Zealand gun laws to acquire military-style weapons that he used to mow down 50 men, women and children -- ranging in age from three years to 77 -- and leaving dozens injured in an attack live-streamed online. New Zealand police revealed on Friday that in October 2017 they met with Tarrant at his home and conducted a "security inspection" as part of the gun licence approval process. The "correct process" was followed and the licence was granted, a police statement said. Tarrant is in police custody and has been charged with murder. Ardern on Thursday announced an immediate ban on assault rifles and military-style semi-automatic weapons, making good on a pledge to rid the country of the kinds of weapons the gunman used. Police said that by Friday morning more than 1,000 people had contacted them about handing in firearms now in private possession, which are now outlawed and must be turned in under a government buyback scheme. - Prayers and pause - Major New Zealand newspapers published special tributes on Friday, with the front page of Christchurch daily The Press bearing the Arabic word "Salam" (Peace) and the names of the 50 killed. The national mourning and moment of silence were broadcast on television networks, radio and across multiple local media websites. "We are so happy that this prayer will be broadcast to the entire world so that everyone can be part of it," Mustafa Farouk, president of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand, said in a statement announcing the prayer session. Burials also resumed Friday in Christchurch, with 26 people expected to be laid to rest, ranging from three-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim to 77-year-old Muse Awale. Salwa Mustafa, who lost her husband Khalid and 15-year-old son Hamza in the massacre, had defiant words despite her devastating loss. "People say that... Muslims are terrorists. The whole world saw who is the terrorist," she said of the shooter. "Muslims are people of peace and love, not terrorists. And I hope the whole world now can understand the real Islam, the reality of Islam."
New Zealand will hold a national remembrance service on March 29 for the victims of the Christchurch mosque massacre and their families, the prime minister's office announced on Sunday. The interfaith service will take place in Christchurch two weeks after an Australian white supremacist shot and killed 50 Muslims who had arrived for Friday prayers at two mosques in the city on March 15. "The national remembrance service provides an opportunity for Cantabrians (Christchurch-area residents), New Zealanders and people all around the world to come together as one to honour the victims of the terrorist attack," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said in a statement. "In the week since the unprecedented terror attack there has been an outpouring of grief and love in our country. "The service will be a chance to once again show that New Zealanders are compassionate, inclusive and diverse, and that we will protect those values." The slaughter has rocked the normally laid-back country and prompted horror worldwide, heightened by the gunman's cold-blooded livestreaming of the massacre. Since then, New Zealanders have responded with an outpouring of support for the country's small Muslim community. The attack also left dozens of people injured, some critically. Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian, was arrested within minutes of the massacre and has been charged with murder.
A coup leader emerges as a civilian prime minister, pro-democracy forces unite to thwart the junta's ambitions, a stalemate or another putsch resets the political landscape -- Thailand's cliffhanger of an election Sunday could result in a number of outcomes. Here are some of the possible scenarios after the first vote in eight years. -- Junta triumphs -- Thailand's junta stands a good chance of emerging victorious. Former general Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who took power in 2014, benefits from a junta-crafted charter that tilts the scales in his favour. It allows the junta to appoint a 250-member Upper House, meaning Prayut's Phalang Pracharat party needs only 126 of the Lower House's 500 MPs to select the premier. By contrast, its rivals need to win 376 seats in the Lower House to secure a simple parliamentary majority of the 750 seats. But Prayut's return as a civilian premier may be hamstrung by questions of legitimacy if he is reliant on the unelected Senate. -- Democratic revival -- Anti-junta parties face an uphill battle but they could unite to defy the odds. The military-scripted charter limits the number of seats large parties -- like Pheu Thai, linked to the political machine of exiled ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- can win. It is designed to keep "Thaksin-aligned parties from emerging with a large number of MPs", said analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Chulalongkorn University. Thai Raksa Chart, a Pheu Thai offshoot created to scoop up more votes, was dissolved following its ill-fated bid to have Princess Ubolratana run as its prime ministerial candidate. But Shinawatra-linked parties have won all elections since 2001, and they are projecting to win 150-200 seats. Pheu Thai will need to look to other parties to reach the threshold of 376 seats. The most prominent newcomer is the anti-military Future Forward, whose telegenic billionaire leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit has attracted millennial voters. -- 'The Matchmaker' -- More than seven million young Thais are voting for the first time and do not neatly subscribe to traditional political sides. Their votes and the new system that helps smaller parties win more seats could give "outsider" groups like Future Forward a key role in helping form a government. Smaller but more established regional parties, like Bhumjaithai, which came third in the last election in 2011, will also be key power brokers. The party's super-rich leader Anutin Charnvirakul believes they will win the third largest number of seats. "I will be the matchmaker, but (Thais) will have to decide who to match," he said. Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva -- a former prime minister -- may play a key role too as head of Thailand's second-biggest party in 2011 elections. But the Democrats have not won a Thai election in almost two decades and they have stated they will not join a Pheu Thai-led coalition at this stage. -- Deadlock, caretaker government -- With neither side expected to win a comfortable majority, the election could be followed by a prolonged period of horsetrading. "It will be a mess," political scientist Napisa Waitoolkiat of Naresuan University told AFP. And with the coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn planned just six weeks after the election, the junta "cannot allow any disturbance, any demonstration, any instability during that period." A caretaker government could be installed by the Election Commission to steer the country peacefully through the coronation, which runs from May 4-6. But after the coronation is over, she says the question remains: "How long can (the junta) buy time for?" -- Coup, again? -- The country's coup-peppered history means military power grabs "can never be ruled out," said analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak, though he called it an "extreme outcome". If the election were to result in a landslide win for anti-junta parties, "the likelihood of a military option will grow," Thitinan said. Thailand has seen 12 coups in the last 90 years - an average of one military takeover every seven years. Thailand was rocked by rumours of a coup last month after Princess Ubolratana's run for prime minister was promptly slapped down by her brother King Maha Vajiralongkorn in a royal rebuke.
Residents in the Hong Kong Island neighbourhood of Quarry Bay on Sunday formed a concern group to counter a reported government study to build subsidised housing on a two-hectare site at scenic Mount Parker.

The group collected about 350 signatures in one week through an online petition to Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and Secretary for Development Michael Wong Wai-lun to contest the development.

District councillors also submitted a document opposing the plan to Eastern District Council. The document will be discussed in a council meeting on April 9.

Derek Ngai Chi-ho, convenor of concern group Save Our Woodside, said he set up the group after learning from the media that the government was considering building subsidised flats for more than 10,000 residents on Mount Parker behind the residential estates of Kornhill and Nan Fung Sun Chuen, where more than 10,000 people live.

The study also includes plans to upgrade transport in the neighbourhood, such as widening existing roads and building new motorways and tunnels.

Ngai, who has been living in Kornhill for 10 years, said the group was against the plan because it wanted to protect the areas greenery and prevent traffic gridlock, as well as avoid a drop in the quality of life due to overcrowding.

The government is seeking 1,200 hectares of land to meet demand for new homes and for other development in the city. But the group asked why the government was thinking of developing Mount Parker as it had earlier indicated its priority to study the development of 760 hectares of brownfield.

The Development Bureau promised earlier that it would not seek to develop more areas on the periphery of country parks because most of the public do not support this, as a consultation by the land supply task force showed, Ngai said. This plan to develop areas on the periphery of Tai Tam Country Park contradicts what the bureau said.

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He added that this was not the first time the government planned to develop the area, but previous proposals had been abandoned because of strong community opposition. In 2013, the English Schools Foundation wanted to rebuild an ageing campus there. Its board dropped the plan in 2013 amid opposition from lawmakers and residents.

Andrew Chiu Ka-yin, Eastern District Council member, said he and other district councillors including Patrick Leung Siu-sun, Bonnie Leung Wing-man and Howard Cheung Kwok-cheong had submitted a document to the council to oppose the planned development.

The use of the two-hectare land on Mount Parker has been listed as government, institution or community land. It is near Woodside, also known as the Red House, first built in 1920s. The red brick house, which was declared a grade two historic building in 1998, has been revitalised as an education centre specialising in Hong Kong's biodiversity under the auspices of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department.

Bonnie Leung, who is an adviser to the group, said the Development Bureau replied to her query about the news. It stated the land was still reserved for the Education Bureau to build schools and there was no change for now.

But Leung said the community was worried that news of the proposed development was leaked to the media before the governments official announcement to test the water  as had been the case previously.

Leung noted this was not an issue about the local communitys own backyard, but would affect all communities connected through major transport projects in the whole Eastern district.

The consequence will be much bigger because it will bring lots of pressure to the main Kings Road thoroughfare, such that its capacity cannot sustain, Leung said, adding that the 30 or so bus routes that currently ply the road already cause congestion problems.

Daisy Lee, a resident of Nan Fung Sun Chuen for more than a decade, urged the government to stop any development in the area and to leave it for public use.

Like many residents who have lived here for more than 10 years, we really treasure this neighbourhood, she said. I dont ask the government to offer help to improve our facilities. I just hope the government wont do damage to our living environment.

A spokeswoman from the bureau refused to comment on the media coverage.

This article Quarry Bay residents in Hong Kong form protest group to resist reported subsidised housing plan on nearby Mount Parker first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2019.
Sri Lanka began construction Sunday of a nearly $4 billion oil refinery it hopes will revive foreign interest in its shipping facilities after Beijing's takeover of a nearby port spooked international investors. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said Hambantota, a district in Sri Lanka's south which lies on one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, would become a global investment hub with the addition of the oil refinery and storage complex. The $3.85 billion project is the single largest foreign investment in Sri Lanka's history. It is jointly funded by Oman and Singapore-registered Silver Park International, a company owned by an Indian business family. The oil facility is near the port of Hambantota, which was controversially leased to a Chinese state-owned firm in 2017 for 99 years after Sri Lanka failed to service a loan from Beijing. The circumstances surrounding China's acquisition of the port generated concern in neighbouring India and beyond over Beijing's expanding presence in the Indian Ocean. But the government pointed to this new line of cash pouring into the region as proof foreign investors were not deterred by that experience. "The interest shown by the Oman government, the interest shown by many other investors from other parts of the world shows that Hambantota will become a truly international investment zone," Wickremesinghe said Sunday. Wickremesinghe also said he hoped to strike a deal within three months with Indian airport authorities to revive a $210 million airport in Hambantota dubbed the "world's emptiest" international terminal for its lack of flights. The oil storage tanks are expected to be completed within two years while the refinery is due to be up and running by 2023. Once fully operational the refinery -- the second in Sri Lanka -- is to export nine million tonnes of petroleum products annually. The Indian Ocean island nation does not have oil of its own. It refines imported crude, but the existing refinery is unable to meet demand. The Hambantota port was built by former president Mahinda Rajapakse, but like many of his ambitious infrastructure projects it ended up a white elephant. Unable to service the loan, the Wickremesinghe government in 2017 leased the Chinese-built port to a Beijing company for $1.12 billion. This stoked controversy, with Beijing rejecting suggestions it ensnared Sri Lanka in a "debt trap" to acquire the port. Several major foreign-backed projects were put on hold last year amid a constitutional crisis after President Maithripala Sirisena's aborted bid to remove Wickremesinghe.
Prime Infra, a company led by port magnate Enrique Razon Jr., plans to develop the Wawa catchment area in Rizal province as a source of more than 500 million liters of potable water per day. The company said it would team up with San Lorenzo Ruiz Builders and Developers Group to develop the project in the area traversing the municipality of Rodriguez and city of Antipolo. The water source is strategically located to serve the expansion areas of the east zone concessionaire of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage SystemManila Water Company. Prime Infra recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Manila Water to cooperate in the possible development of the Wawa Bulk Water Supply Project. The agreement formalized the formation of a technical team that will conduct a technical study which will be reviewed and approved by the MWSS. This is not an immediate fix, but rather a medium to long term solution. Yet our project is one of the fastest and most sustainable ways to solve this current water crisis. If we dont act now, this will be a recurring problem, Razon said. Discussions, facilitated by MWSS administrator Reynaldo Velasco, are on-going between Prime Infra and Manila Water to start the project soon, considering the current water crisis. Velasco said he wanted to secure the water supply needs of the agencys franchise area, of which the Wawa Bulk Water Supply Project is an integral part of.SLRBD president Anthony Violago said the project would be an important step towards resolving the legal impediment preventing the development of one of the most strategic water supply sources for Metro Manila. Water experts have long cited Wawa as the best potential water supply source for Metro Manila. Compared with Laguna Lake and other similar water supply options, it does not require an expensive treatment technology like reverse osmosis. At its capacity, it can serve more than 500,000 households in the MWSS franchise area. Prime Infra president and chief operating officer Guillaume Lucci is optimistic that the project will get going considering governments support to fast-track the new water source for Metro Manila and Rizal province. The proximity and water source quality of the Wawa catchment area will allow us to deliver first water no later than 2022. Because of the scale and life-cycle cost of large dams, the public can be assured that we will deliver it in a cost-effective manner, he said.
They are hiding above us

People from around the world are capturing objects in the sky, cloaked within the clouds. Are we really alone?

Arguably one of the most controversial topics ever discussed is that of extraterrestrial life and their existence. Do you believe in aliens? is a questioned asked to some of the most influential people in the world including presidents, scientists, and even astronauts.

Unfortunately, we have never really got a straight answer, and most likely, never will  even if they do know something on the topic. But do we actually need their confirmation when all we have to do is look up?

Unidentified Flying Objects or UFOs have been sighted and recorded in history as early as 1440 BC when ancient Egyptians spoke of fiery disks in the skies. Since then, thousands of people have claimed to see these mysterious objects but have had no way to prove their claims. After the invention of the camera though, people have been able to capture all kinds of UFOs and while most skeptics would say they are fake, some images leave people dumbfounded! Thanks to smartphones, the last decade has seen massive growth in physical proof that depicts these unknown crafts sitting eerily in our skies  watching us as it appears.

Just in the past couple of years, the intensity of these sightings has doubled with some people capturing UFOs multiple times a day. From the common saucer shaped objects to the rather rare chevron or V-shaped crafts, people have come forward with some eye-opening evidence. However, this year, triangle-shaped objects have crowded our skies and although they try to stay hidden, the surrounding clouds make their presence quite noticeable.

The United States is probably one of the most often visited, or so it seems, thanks to the images and videos from the country. Recently, there was a massive triangle spotted in the sunny clouds above Texas while a dark triangle was seen in Idaho blending into the night sky. In South Carolina, the outline of what seemed to be a giant triangle craft was spotted in the afternoon sky while in Oregon, a collection of 4-5 smaller triangles was seen hiding high up in the clouds. But these sightings are not only limited to the US. People in France captured a huge circular hole in the clouds along what appeared to be a round craft engulfed within a thick blanket of clouds. In Ontario, Canada, a man on his way to work noticed something blending into the morning sky and captured it on his smartphone. After putting the image through some filters, he found a massive chevron or V-shaped craft in the clouds.

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These sightings were all recorded in the last couple of months with images and videos popping up regularly for the past few years. Although the majority of these crafts seem to be triangular in shape, there are some unique objects that do get captured as well. About two weeks ago, there was a diamond-shaped object seen hiding in the clouds high about the New York skies. It sat still for a while before gradually disappearing. Jumping over to the other side of the pond, the UK has also had its fair share of UFO sightings recently with the most recent one being a disc-shaped hole in the clouds above London. There was also a massive triangle craft spotted in London about two months ago cloaked within the clouds with a very distinct outline to it.

One of the most jaw-dropping sightings this year though would have to be the one out of South Carolina back in early January. A woman captured something huge near the sun and after zooming in and putting it through some filters, she appeared to have captured a Stargate. This object had markings around it that resembled ancient lettering of some sort.

Could this have been a portal that was opened to let something into our planet or opened by something here to go back home?

The answer to this and the thousand other questions we have will probably never be answered, but with evidence like this, maybe we dont need to be asking questions.
The Causeway linking Singapore to Johor Baru. (FILE PHOTO: Yahoo News Singapore)

Malaysias Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has again called for more bridges to connect his country with Singapore. Now, Malaysian Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has backed Mahathirs proposal.

The two existing checkpoints are regularly choked with traffic, with commuters frequently frustrated by hours-long jams.

Any new connection would obviously need agreement from both Singapore and Malaysia. And, any checkpoint facility would presumably require a lot of land.

Do you think a third bridge connecting Singapore and Malaysia is needed now? Have your say in our poll and leave a comment below.

Related stories:

Guan Eng: Third Malaysia-Singapore bridge needed

What do you think of a third causeway between Singapore and Malaysia?
All image credits: The Heartbeat Project

What does it say about Singapores crisis of religion, that when a Christian-backed pro-life campaign emerges, our immediate response is to pick up our proverbial pitchforks and ready ourselves for war?

When I was first tasked to investigate the Heartbeat Project, it was framed as a platform for Christians to push their anti-abortion agenda. I could already hear the sharpening of knives.

Beneath it, though, was the high-pitched buzz of cognitive dissonance that rings in the ears of many Christians who, like myself, also identify as progressives.

Already, our collective faith in the church took a beating when battalions of believers dressed in white in a display of hostility towards the LGBTQ community and its annual Pink Dot event. The We.Wear.White movement told us we had to pick a side. Youre either for us or against us. Either wear pink or wear white.

The more liberal amongst us defected, leaving traces of our politics on social media, only to be drowned out by media coverage of Lawrence Khongs battle cries.

Now we arrive at the Heartbeat Project, burdened with prejudice and vindictive hearts. Unlike the fight with the LGBTQ community, of which I am a firm supporter (though not a member of), this one feels painfully personal.

When I got pregnant as a teenager, I was sworn to secrecy. My then-boyfriend said that if his conservative Christian parents found out, they would reject us, throw him out of the house, and our lives (essentially, his life) would be ruined forever. My childish feelings were never part of the equation.

He was older than me, domineering and forceful, and I was meek and naive, and I didnt want to be alone. He said to abort the baby, so I had the abortion. I never told my parents, or my church friends. Had I spoken to someone about how I dreamt of cradling a baby girl swaddled in a soft blue blanket, about my belief in the sanctity of all life, about my confidence in my ability to balance school and work and child, I might have chosen differently. I might not.

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After all these years comes this Christian group dredging up skeletons from my closet. So primed was I to resist these anti-abortion right-wing activists, theyre finally giving me permission to speak.

This Christian group says we need to change the conversation around abortion

Here is a list of advocacy groups and causes that bear the tagline, Every Life Matters: a cat rescue programme; a suicide prevention platform; eldercare, medical missionary work.

And the Heartbeat Project.

Each one implores us to care more about the lives of their beneficiaries, from the cats and the old and infirm, to the women facing unplanned pregnancies and the potential for life that grows within them.

According to the latest Ministry of Health data, abortion rates in Singapore have fallen steadily from 11,933 in 2007 to 7,217 in 2016. And just 343 of those women were under the age of 20. Meaning that the stereotypical image of a teenager who had unprotected sex isnt representative of the majority of women walking into the abortion clinic.

In fact, married women may terminate their pregnancies when in crisis.

Yet even these married women are painted as oversexed or irresponsible thanks to the stigma attached to abortion. Their individuality, along with our empathy, is diminished with this characterisation.

Every Life Matters reminds us that these women deserve dignity. To care for these women is to acknowledge that each of them is plunged into their personal hell when faced with the prospect of an abortion. Whether theyre poor or wealthy, married or not, each womans hell is tailored to their specific circumstances. As they struggle with complex dilemmas both moral and practical in constitution, equal in immensity, onlookers may not fully appreciate their plight.

The Heartbeat Project presents this tumultuous ordeal in the form of a short film called Letters of Grace. The video tells the story of one woman, two pregnancies under very different circumstances, and opposite outcomes.

It goes like this. Two decades ago, a young and unmarried Serene had an abortion. Many years later, now married, she finds out her unborn daughter Grace will have Spina Bifida, a congenital condition that could cause irreparable nerve damage. She has the baby anyway, and has no regrets.

We have a choice, reads the closing title card. Lets choose life.

It is a high-quality production. The authentic script and piano soundtrack tug at your heartstrings, and powerful shots of interactions between Serene, her husband, and Grace have moved many to tears (evidenced by the hundreds of likes and comments on their Facebook page). But its the soundbites that do it for me.

People have commented that we were selfish in choosing to keep you because it would take away our attention and finances, says Graces father in a voiceover.

But the truth is the total opposite. You have brought so much joy to everyone around. And you have inspired us to always see beyond our circumstances.

The video invites us to contemplate the circumstances under which Serene and her husband must make their choice, and acknowledge that there are women like Serene with the will and resources to transcend them.

Society dictates what women must choose

There is an image of Serene on The Heartbeat Project Facebook page that is captioned: I believed I had no choice but to abort.

While existentialism is not a guiding principle in Christianity, the implication here is that Serene did have a choice. And the campaign creators are not wrong. Abortion is always a choice, albeit an impossibly hard one to make.

However, what is also implied in the statement is that choosing to keep the baby is the better choice, when in truth this choice can have dire consequences. For example, if you give birth to a child when a genetic defect that is too costly for you and your extended family to manage, then it is likely that you and the child will suffer. While a Christian might say this is the right thing to do, a secular ethicist might deem this choice immoral.

Still, the philosophical basis for the campaign posters tagline, though probably unintended, is that the choice to give birth is ultimately still yours to make.

This becomes problematic when we consider that many women, particularly the young and vulnerable, feel like they do not have any say in the matter. They are held in a chokehold by the moral absolutism that swaddles the rest of society, which insists upon a single best choice whether that choice is to abort the baby (in a utilitarian calculus), or to keep the baby (in line with religious teaching).

Society insists with gleeful contempt on exacerbating the conflict between what you want and what is best. As Graces husband says in the film, others will make you feel selfish for your choice.

And this applies no matter what choice you make. The simplicity of categorical imperatives is comforting for those on both sides of the pro-life/pro-choice debate, to whom ambiguity is as grave a sin as lust or greed. It doesnt help either, when what truly galvanises everyone is a public flogging. The same sadistic urges that draw crowds to a guillotine compel us to gather around the water-cooler and commit character assassination.

Unsurprisingly, each of us is terrified of one day being the one flogged. So we keep our controversies and misadventures to ourselves.

At this present moment, I wrestle with the choice to write myself into this discourse because it exposes my own moral deviance to people whose love and respect I am frantic to retain. But to keep quiet about my abortion would make me complicit in the shaming and disenfranchisement of women with unplanned pregnancies. And it would be a disservice to any woman who has felt that they were stripped of choice.

Just as a woman battling breast cancer needs to know what shes getting into when she has a double mastectomy, a woman told that her baby is at risk of a genetic disease would need to understand the symptoms, potential complications and associated costs, financial, emotional or otherwise. Similarly, a young, unmarried woman can come to a rational decision on whether to keep her pregnancy if she has a realistic sense of how much her partner, family and friends are willing and able to support her whether through material or psychological means.

In my own experience, because I felt that I was coerced into silence, I couldnt know if my family and friends would accept me for what my partner believed in their eyes would have been an unforgivable transgression. Even if I wanted to confide in someone who might understand, I didnt know who to turn to. No one I knew was so immoral as to have sex at my age, right? (Ah, the innocence of youth.)

I was not presented with the full range of possibilities when making the choice, and I was too scared to find out, which really turned it into a non-decision.

Dont blame the church for our culture of punitive social control

What does it say about the state of society that young women are afraid to speak to even the ones who care about them most when it comes to unplanned pregnancy?

The very real fear of social sanctions isnt a product of Christian morality. It permeates every facet of Singaporean culture; an internalised shame that unites the Anglican and the agnostic, the ivory tower-dweller and the everyday heartlander. Religion is but one of multiple sources of sociocultural pressure that drive the fear deep into our subconscious, impairing our ability to make these personal decisions rationally and objectively.

Instead of finding a side to blame, we should ask ourselves why this is so. Its not a matter of religious groups being too intolerant, or the rest of the world being too sinful. Theres centuries of conditioning to undo, and we all have a part in changing the conversation.

There are unexpected oases both on and offline that have burgeoned as safe zones to directly confront our deep-seated anxiety around sex and sexuality. For instance, some people choose the shroud of anonymity provided by Reddit to pour their hearts out, probably for the first time, about their pregnanciesIm 19 and still studying with close to no finances hence dont intend to keep the baby or tell anyone about this, confesses one user.

Got my friend pregnant. Need advice  Shes a month late and has been showing the symptoms for a week. Were taking A Levels now so I dont know if its the stress, writes another.

Both posts receive an outpouring of, frankly, great advice. Some commenters tell them to seek counsel from an older loved one first, others share useful information about abortion clinics and procedures in Singapore.

What does it say about this so-called progressive nation that during a pivotal moment in their lives, these young people resort to a platform regularly used to discuss the latest trending meme or seasonal fast food item to find answers?

Until they seek help from these online portals, or pregnancy crisis organisations like Babes and Family Life Society, some women are not aware that the governments Baby Bonus scheme, which includes cash gifts and co-savings programmes, is available to unwed mothers. And many dont know how the adoption process works. If they hadnt reached out, it is likely that many women from low-income backgrounds would have chosen to abort.

Not all will change their mind. Maybe they do come from a family that would disown them. And many young underprivileged women do. Babes says that while it cannot share statistics on the number of its service users who were forced out of their homes, approximately 45% stay in rental apartments.

Or maybe they simply arent ready, and the emotional distress of a child would be too much to bear. We need to respect all of those reasons, and in this country we do. At least, it is reflected in legislature that empowers women to carry out the medical procedure under safe and legal conditions.

At the same time, women have the power to decide only if they have the right educationon sexual health and fertility, and on the resources that are available to them should they fall pregnant. And for that, we need early intervention at schools and within the home. And if we must force society to have this important conversation, then it will have to be done through public policy.

One Christian campaign may have been enough to ignite an online war, but it isnt enough to start a healthy conversation.

Lets actually have dialogue, not just a great marketing slogan

In the absence of national education, there will be many independent political and apolitical groups that try to sway your decision. The Heartbeat Project urges you to choose to have the baby. Does this mean the Heartbeat Project is pushing an anti-abortion agenda?

The answer is an emphatic noin the sense that its creators have no intention to overturn the law that permits abortions in Singapore. If you argue that they are anti-abortion in the sense that they actively discourage abortions, I will counter that nobody is for abortions. Ask an atheist and they will probably tell you that no woman should have to go through the emotional trauma of an abortion. Because even if the actual procedure lasts five minutes, the impact that it has on a woman is painful and lasting.

This raises the question of whether the language we use in the debate on abortions needs to change. This isnt an issue of pro-life versus pro-choice. Abortion is a multidimensional problem much too complex to split society down the middle with a vote for and against.

At the crucible of the war against faith-based campaigns like the Heartbeat Project is the Jekyll-and-Hyde characterisation of Christianity. The truelove.is movement comes to mindan outreach programme targeted at the LGBTQ community within the church that is as alienating to some as it is compassionate to others. Unconditional love and forgiveness are its central tenets, yet when an issue like abortion that demands that degree of mercy and acceptance emerges in the wider culture, the church pulls up the drawbridge and seals its fort to protect their own from being morally corrupted by the outside world.

The creators of The Heartbeat Project claim to take aim at this punitive culture, as they explain on their website: Through real-life stories and resources, we want to create conversations that will inspire the church to support those facing unplanned pregnancies.

They say they want dialogue, not confrontation.

So it is ironic that I was treated like the enemy when I wrote to them in full disclosure that I am a journalist and a Christian at the start of my research for this story.

As a Christian, I feel deeply morally conflicted because I understand that life is sacred, but I myself had terminated an unplanned pregnancy at a young age and it still haunts me.

I had surprised myself by how confessional (and perhaps, unprofessional) my media request was. In the years that passed since my abortion, I convinced myself that Id come to terms with it. But I found while penning the message that I still cannot bear the thought of my church friends or my parents learning about this (now very open) secret.

The Heartbeat Project administrators never did get back to me, even though sources from 3:16 Church, who are responsible for the campaign, confirmed that the message had been escalated to the senior pastor. The pastor said nothing. I felt let down by my own community.

Were they wrong to assume I was coming for blood? Maybe not (and if so, we all have a part to play in this state of affairs).

Prejudice hurts all of us. Pregnant women in crisis need the support of community and they dont care which side of the aisle it comes from. Presumptuous claims about motivations behind the help do not benefit anyone, but financial aid or an emotional outlet to deal with the anxiety of childbirth and childcare can and do.

Consider Reddit a double-blind social experiment that proves we can come together as a community to support a fellow human in distress if we wanted to. There are no bloody gladiator battles or gruesome public executions; no spectacle, and no gawking; only faceless but earnest participation in a conversation about whether a pregnancy is worth keeping.

And, occasionally, also crispy chicken at McDonalds.

Have something to say about this story? Write to us at community@ricemedia.co.

The post The Heartbeat Project Shows We Still Dont Know How To Talk About Abortion appeared first on RICE.
Photo credit: Win McNamee - Getty Images

From Esquire

If the president* really had an ounce of empathy in him, he'd issue mass pardons immediately because, otherwise, a number of people are going to feel really stupid going off to federal prison. They will be going off to federal prison knowing that they committed their crimes in defense of nothing. William Barr on Sunday did what he was hired to do. He summarized Robert Mueller's report in the most favorable light possible to the administration* and, where he couldn't do that-specifically, on the crime of obstruction of justice-he just decided to turn Mueller's own conclusion completely upside down. But, in any case, if Barr's summary is taken whole, Paul Manafort et. al. got caught up in a criminal conspiracy in which the only crimes were their own.

To refresh everyone's memory, prior to being appointed Jefferson Beauregard Sessions's successor, Barr wrote a 19-page memo regarding the Mueller investigation in which he pretty much predicted his own summary.

Mueller should not be permitted to demand that the President submit to interrogation about alleged obstruction. Apart from whether Mueller a strong enough factual basis for doing so, Muellers obstruction theory is fatally misconceived. As I understand it, his theory is premised on a novel and legally insupportable reading of the law. Moreover, in my view, if credited by the Department, it would have grave consequences far beyond the immediate confines of this case and would do lasting damage to the Presidency and to the administration of law within the Executive branch.

...in a further unprecedented step, Mueller would apply this sweeping prohibition to facially-lawful acts taken by public officials exercising of their discretionary powers if those acts influence a proceeding. Thus, under this theory, simply by exercising his Constitutional discretion in a facially-lawful way - for example, by removing or appointing an official; using his prosecutorial discretion to give direction on a case; or using his pardoning power ~ a President can be accused of committing a crime based solely on his subjective state of mind. As a result, any discretionary act by a President that influences a proceeding can become the subject of a criminal grand jury investigation, probing whether the President acted with an improper motive.

Story continues

So, when you get to the following passage in Barr's summary, you can't possibly be surprised.

After reviewing the Special Counsel's final report on these issues; consulting with Department officials, including the Office of Legal Counsel; and applying the principles of federal prosecution that guide our charging decisions, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and I have concluded that the evidence developed during the Special Counsel's investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense. Our determination was made without regard to, and is not based on, the constitutional considerations that surround the indictment and criminal prosecution of a sitting president.

In making this determination, we noted that the Special Counsel recognized that "the evidence does not establish that the President was involved in an underlying crime related to Russian election interference," and that, while not determinative, the absence of such evidence bears upon the President's intent with respect to obstruction.

And thereby hangs the upcoming brawl. Mueller says essentially that he is drawing no conclusions on obstruction of justice. Meanwhile, Barr-and Rod Rosenstein-are saying that, because Mueller drew no conclusions, he did in fact draw a conclusion. The law, as it has been said, is an ass.

Photo credit: Tasos Katopodis - Getty Images

There will be insufferable cock-a-doodle-doo'ing from the usual suspects for the next two years, and we all better get used to it. I suspect that both Barr and Mueller will get hauled before various congressional committees. In fact, the basic overriding result of Barr's summary is that the whole matter now has been dumped into the laps of a divided and hyper-partisan Congress in such a way as to guarantee that the Congress will be more divided and more hyper-partisan than ever before. The Democratic House will hold hearings and the Republican Senate will yell about Hillary Clinton. The Internet will be indiscriminately insane for the foreseeable future.

For those of us who are Iran-Contra obsessives-and you know who you are out there-this summary carries a similar aroma. A lot of important people are going to pass the buck around to each other, over and over again, until the country forgets what all the fuss was in the first place. This should be no surprise, again, because, back in 1992, when he was George H.W. Bush's AG, Barr advised that president to pardon all of the people convicted in Iran-Contra-people who, unsurprisingly, all could have testified that Bush's non-involvement was a self-serving lie. Maybe he'll give this president* the same advice. Who knows?

The wild card, of course, is the president* himself. He's got another wankfest scheduled this week and he's liable to say anything. And Paul Manafort still will be in jail simply because he got tied up with a guy who opened the floodgates on Manafort's crimes. He'll sit there forever, hoping for a pardon that will never come because he's not the guy who got to appoint his own attorney general to bail him out.

Sucker.

Respond to this post on the Esquire Politics Facebook page here.

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The Department of Information and Communications Technology is ready for the construction of common towers in the country. Acting DICT Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr. asked 15 tower companies to submit the list of sites where towers are recommended to be built. The DICT earlier signed memoranda of understanding with the companies for the deployment of common towers in the country. The common tower providers include five local companies such as Isoc Infrastructures Inc., Aboitiz InfraCapital Inc., MGS Construction Inc., J.S. Cruz Construction and Development Inc. and ALT Global. The rest are foreign companies including Ison ECP Tower Pte. Ltd., IHS Holding Ltd., Edotco Group Sdn Bhd, China Energy Equipment Co. Ltd., RT Telecom Sdn Bhd., Frontier Tower Associates Management Pte. Ltd., the consortium of Global Networks Inc. and JTower Inc., American Tower Corp., Desarrollos Terrestres and Shinheung Telecom. Globe Telecom Inc., Smart Communications and incoming third telco Mislatel Consortium expressed their support in the common tower which the government had initiated. Rio urged telecommunication companies to forge an agreement to speed up the fulfillment of common towers needed to upgrade the countrys communication services.The DICT proposed the signing of an agreement between the National Telecommunications Commission and telcos for the construction of 50,000 common towers in seven years. The agency planned to finalize the common tower policy this month after telecom firms bared the list of sites where the towers will be constructed. It was learned that the DICT eyes to build 3,000 sites on year 1 and gradually increase it to 10,000 sites from year 5 to year 7. Telcos will be the end-user of these common towers so we fully need their cooperation to improve our overall telecommunication landscape, said Rio. Under the agreement, the DICT and NTC will help each other along with the telcos in identifying the different sites where the common towers will be built. The country has less than 20,000 towers and needs additional 50,000 to be competitive with its neighboring countries in providing quality communication services to the public.
Shortly after Attorney General William Barr shook up Washington by releasing a summary of special counsel Robert Muellers report, Republicans were quick to celebrate. Just like President Donald Trump and many of his key allies, Republican lawmakers said the summary vindicated the president. Democrats, however, insisted they needed more information before reaching any conclusions.

Democrats seized on two main talking points as they reacted to the Barr summary that said Mueller had found no evidence of collusion between Trump and Russia in the 2016 election. On the one hand, they continued with the message they had been pushing all weekend that they wanted to see the full report and not just a summary from someone whom Trump appointed. That was the clear message that the presidential hopefuls focused on. Some went further, though, and accused Barr of inserting his own conclusions into the summary, particularly focusing on how Mueller did not exonerate Trump of obstruction of justice.

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Below is a summary of some of the main reactions from both sides of the aisle.

Democrats

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer released a joint statement calling on the release of the full report, saying that his summary raises as many questions as it answers. Considering Muellers report does not exonerate the president on a charge as serious as obstruction of justice demonstrates how urgent it is that the full report and underlying documentation be made public without any further delay, Pelosi and Schumer said. Given Mr. Barrs public record of bias against the Special Counsels inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report.

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PELOSI & SCHUMER SPEAK: Given Mr. Barrs public record of bias against the Special Counsels inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report. pic.twitter.com/dn2WECNgee  Andrew Desiderio (@desiderioDC) March 24, 2019

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said he will call Attorney General William Barr to testify in light of the very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department. Specifically, Nadler was referring to how Barr wrote that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein concluded that Muellers evidence was not sufficient to bring a charge of obstruction of justice against Trump.

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In light of the very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department following the Special Counsel report, where Mueller did not exonerate the President, we will be calling Attorney General Barr in to testify before @HouseJudiciary in the near future.  (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) March 24, 2019

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I want to read the document itself, not someones principal conclusions about it, Sen. Brian Schatz wrote on Twitter. He later added: Its gonna be very hard go say the report exonerates POTUS but no you cannot read it. And then just to drive the point home: I suppose I could construct a more clever way to say this but just give us the document.

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I want to read the document itself, not someones principal conclusions about it.  Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) March 24, 2019

Its gonna be very hard go say the report exonerates POTUS but no you cannot read it.  Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) March 24, 2019

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I suppose I could construct a more clever way to say this but just give us the document.  Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) March 24, 2019

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Majority Leader Steny Hoyer wrote that while he will carefully review Barrs summary, I will not be satisfied until the full report and all underlying evidence is made available.

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I will carefully review Attorney General Barrs summary of the #MuellerReport, but I will not be satisfied until the full report and all underlying evidence is made available. Americans deserve to know all the facts. #ReleaseTheReport https://t.co/DdJzoQLjDW  Steny Hoyer (@LeaderHoyer) March 24, 2019

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Rep. Bill Pascrell said Barrs letter leaves more questions than answers, adding that a sanitized summary from Trumps handpicked bodyguard is not acceptable. Pascrell noted that the ball is squarely in our court because it is now up to Congress to investigate.

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This letter leaves more questions than answers. A sanitized summary from Trumps handpicked bodyguard is not acceptable. Barr has his finger on the scale to protect Trump. The full report should be released immediately. https://t.co/z5CGMYBzqp  Bill Pascrell, Jr. (@BillPascrell) March 24, 2019

From day one, Trump obstructed this investigation and refused to cooperate. Several of his top aides have been convicted in court. If Trumps AG wont hold him accountable for his crimes, its up to Congress to investigate. The ball is now squarely in our court. pic.twitter.com/RokrmxI7DT  Bill Pascrell, Jr. (@BillPascrell) March 24, 2019

Republicans

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said it is abundantly clear, without a shadow of a doubt, there was no collusion.

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After two years, two congressional investigations, and now the closure of a Special Counsel investigation, it is abundantly clear, without a shadow of a doubt, there was no collusion. This case is closed.

My full statement: pic.twitter.com/XiPQZom3Fp  Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) March 24, 2019

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows agreed with that assessment, writing that the clock has finally struck midnight on the Russian collusion fantasy. No collusion.

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After 22 months of a special counsel and 2 years of congressional investigations, its over. The clock has finally struck midnight on the Russian collusion fantasy.



No collusion.  Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) March 24, 2019

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Rep. Steve Scalise wrote that the report vindicates Trump and gives credence to the claims that this was a witch hunt that cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.

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This report vindicates @realDonaldTrump and gives credence to the claims that this was a witch hunt that cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.  Steve Scalise (@SteveScalise) March 24, 2019

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took a slightly different approach, warning about the dangers of Russias efforts to interfere with U.S. democracy. McConnell acknowledged that the conclusions confirm the Presidents account that there was no effort by his campaign to conspire or coordinate with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election. But he also said that Russias ongoing efforts to interfere with our democracy are dangerous and disturbing, and I welcome the special counsels contributions to our efforts to understand better Russias activities in this regard.

Presidential hopefuls

Sen. Elizabeth Warren focused her reaction on demanding the full report be released as quickly as possible. Congress voted 420-0 to release the full Mueller report. Not a summary from his handpicked Attorney General. AG Barr, make the full report public, she wrote. Immediately.

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Congress voted 420-0 to release the full Mueller report. Not a "summary" from his handpicked Attorney General. AG Barr, make the full report public. Immediately.  Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) March 24, 2019

Sen. Bernie Sanders also made his feelings on the summary clear: I dont want a summary of the Mueller report, he tweeted. I want the whole damn report.

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I dont want a summary of the Mueller report. I want the whole damn report. https://t.co/VU1oNfBMK0  Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 24, 2019

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Sen. Kamala Harris also said that the full Mueller report needs to be made public and the underlying investigative materials should be handed over to Congress, and Barr must testify. At the end of the day, a short letter from Trumps hand-picked Attorney General is not sufficient.

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The Mueller report needs to be made public, the underlying investigative materials should be handed over to Congress, and Barr must testify. That is what transparency looks like. A short letter from Trump's hand-picked Attorney General is not sufficient.  Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) March 24, 2019

Sen. Cory Booker sang a similar tune. The American public deserves the full report and findings from the Mueller investigation immediatelynot just the in-house summary from a Trump Administration official, Booker wrote on Twitter.

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The American public deserves the full report and findings from the Mueller investigation immediatelynot just the in-house summary from a Trump Administration official. https://t.co/8Lj0O881Cw  Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) March 24, 2019

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Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand also said that the full report needs to be public. Not just a letter from someone appointed by Trump to protect himselfall of it. The President works for the people, and he is not above the law, she tweeted.

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The Mueller report must be made public. Not just a letter from someone appointed by Trump to protect himselfall of it. The President works for the people, and he is not above the law. https://t.co/XH5NqzLJAb  Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) March 24, 2019

Julian Castro said that it shouldnt be up to a politically appointed attorney general to decide what should be made public. The full report should be released and Robert Mueller should testify to its findings, Castro tweeted.

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Weve been calling it the Mueller report throughout the months of anticipation and the past few days flurry of activity. Yet, with Special Counsel Robert Mueller having informed Attorney General William Barr that the Mueller investigation is complete, and Barr having previewed the conclusions of that investigation for Congress, its time we finally got the name right. Lets stop calling it the Mueller report and start calling it by the name it deserves: the Trump report.

This correction isnt about the fact that there are really multiple reports involved, as Ive explained elsewhere, nor is it just about semantics. Its about correcting the focus of Congress and the American people at this critical juncture for our democracy. And our focus ultimately shouldnt be on Mueller and what he did or didnt findit should be on Trump and what he did or didnt do.

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A notable example drives home the point. Imagine if Muellers months of investigatory work had uncovered a previously undisclosed email in which Trump, as a candidate for the American presidency, had urged Vladimir Putin to hack and find emails of Trumps rival candidate, Hillary Clinton. Imagine that the email said: Russia, if youre listening, I hope youre able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. I think you will probably be mightily rewarded by our press. And imagine if the first we heard of this email were in the so-called Mueller report.

It would be a revelation. The notion that as a U.S. presidential candidate Trump had explicitly pushed a world leader often hostile to America to hack another U.S. presidential candidates emails would be a huge finding, perhaps even a proverbial smoking gun. Whatever collusion might meanas others have explained, thats the wrong thing to look for, but still this word, too, has stuckthe discovery of such a damning email from Trump to Putin would certainly look like Mueller had uncovered collusion.

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But heres the thing: Trump has robbed Mueller of the chance to find such a message and include it in his report. Thats because Trump conveyed to Putin the exact language I laid out above, but did it in plain sight. The words above were precisely what Trump said at a July 2016 news conference. Whats more, Trump said this on what proved to be the exact day that the Russians first attempted to hack the servers used by Clintons personal office. How do we know that? Thanks to an indictment prepared by none other than Robert Mueller.

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All told, Trumps undermining of the norms governing U.S. presidential electionsin particular, the norm that foreign powers not interfere in such elections and Americans not encourage or help them to do sowas at times so brazen that he in a sense stole the best material from the so-called Mueller report. That is, there wasnt much for Mueller to report because Trump himself had reported itto all of us.

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And that brings us back to the importance of correcting how we refer to the report that Mueller has now delivered to the attorney general, and which many Democrats in Congress have pledged to fight to obtain in full and share with the American people to the greatest extent possible. Calling it the Mueller report reinforces the incorrect idea that whats important here is what Mueller found or didnt find. But what Mueller found or didnt find isnt the pointthe point is to figure out what really happened in 2016, what it says about Trump, and what it means for protecting our elections in 2020 and beyond. In other words, what exactly did Russia do to interfere with Americas presidential election, and more importantly, what exactly did Trump and his team do to encourage and otherwise facilitate that interference?

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As the indictment mentioned above demonstrates, Mueller has already provided the American people with an immense service in helping to ferret out and share new aspects of the answers to those key questions. These details will continue to inform our understanding of what happened even if the report falls short of finding that Trump or his team conspired or coordinated with Moscows interference campaignsomething that the attorney generals letter to Congress indicates Mueller didnt establish. The full report, which is still being held by the Department of Justice, surely will contain more information that is relevant and useful to answering these pressing questions. But it is the full set of answers, not the particulars of where those answers came from and what role Mueller played in finding them, that should be our collective focus.

So lets stop calling it the Mueller report and start calling it the Trump report. Its author matters a whole lot less than its central character.
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York will no longer be accepting gifts from the Sackler family. The family, which owns Purdue Pharma that manufactures the painkiller OxyContin, has come under heavy criticism for its links to the opioid crisis and the move by the Guggenheim shows how some institutions are having second thoughts about accepting their largesse. The Guggenheim made the announcement shortly after the Tate, which runs some of the most important art museums in Britain, said it would not seek nor accept any donations from the Sackler family. Britains National Portrait Gallery had also announced earlier in the week that it would not accept a long-discussed $1.3 million donation from one of the familys foundations.

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In announcing the move, the Guggenheim didnt mention the reason for the change in tune on the Sacklers and made clear that it has received plenty of cash from the family over the years. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum received a total of $7 million in gifts from members of the Mortimer D. Sackler family initiated in 1995 and paid out through 2006 to establish and support the Sackler Center for Arts Education, which serves approximately 300,000 youth, adults, and families each year, the museum said in a statement. An additional $2 million was received between 1999 and 2015 to support the museum. No contributions from the Sackler family have been received since 2015. No additional gifts are planned, and the Guggenheim does not plan to accept any gifts.

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The growing controversy over accepting cash from the Sacklers has echoes of fights over cultural sponsorship by tobacco companies and the oil industry and comes at a time when many in the arts are strapped for cash, notes the Guardian. Perhaps that is why many of the institutions that have benefited from Sackler cash in the past have yet to make any announcements of their own. Its not easy to give back money or get rid of a name, but not taking any new money, that would seem to be an easier call for institutions and pretty obviously a smart decision at this point, said David Callahan, founder of the website Inside Philanthropy. For now it seems some institutions are probably just hoping the furore will blow over, he added.

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The top 10 beneficiaries of Sackler money since 2001, according to Mother Jones, are:
Attorney General William Barrs decision to release a summary of the twin Robert Mueller conclusions in the special prosecutors still-secret reportno collusion between the Russian government and the Trump campaign and Muellers punt on whether Trump obstructed justiceleaves open many questions that cannot be answered until the Department of Justice releases the report itself. At the top of my list of unanswered questions is why Mueller declined to prosecute former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort or Trumps son Donald Trump Jr. for violating laws prohibiting the solicitation of foreign contributions to American campaigns, based on those campaign surrogates June 2016 meeting with Russian agents at Trump Tower. How Mueller answered this question could have profound ramifications for what federal law enforcement will do to stop foreign involvement in the upcoming 2020 elections.

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In advance of that Trump Tower meeting, we know that Trump Jr. got an email from his friend Rob Goldstone stating that the Crown prosecutor of Russia had offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father. This high level and sensitive information was being presented as part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump. Trump Jr. replied almost immediately: If its what you say I love it especially later in the summer. The meeting on June 9, 2016, included Trump Jr., Manafort, the presidents son-in-law Jared Kushner, Goldstone, and a number of Russians connected with the Russian government.

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It sure looked like at least Trump Jr. and perhaps others at that meeting committed a crime. Federal law makes it a potential crime for any person to solicit (that is, expressly or impliedly ask for) the contribution of anything of value from a foreign citizen. In July 2017, I explained why recent history suggests that Trump Jr.s exchange with Goldstone, on its own, might fit this definition:

Trump Jr.s I love it comment could well constitute solicitation. And there is a very strong argument to be made that very high level and sensitive information coming from the government of Russia is a thing of value for purposes of federal campaign finance law. The Federal Election Commission has said that providing free polling information to a candidate is a thing of value. It has said that when Grover Norquists Americans for Tax Reform gave a list of conservative activists in 37 states to the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004, this was a thing of value which had to be reported by the campaign, even if the list was publicly posted on the groups website. It said that Canadian campaign literature which an American candidate wanted to borrow from in his own campaign is a thing of value, even if its value is nominal or difficult to ascertain. It said that opposition research provided by a political group to Republican candidates can count as an in-kind contribution. And a federal court, in the prosecution of New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez, said that a thing of value need only have subjective value to the recipient.

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Despite this seemingly strong case, Mueller never indicted Trump Jr. or anyone else for federal campaign finance violations, which seem much more serious than the unrelated hush money campaign finance violations to which former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty and which have implicated the president. Indeed, according to the Barr letters characterization of the Mueller report, The Special Counsel did not find that the Trump campaign, or anyone associated with it, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in these efforts, despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign.

By January, it appeared inevitable that Mueller was going to pass on charging any Americans at the Trump Tower meeting with a campaign finance crime. That was when the special counsel charged longtime Trump confidante Roger Stone with making false statements to Congress, obstructing justice, and witness tampering, in a 24-page indictment. I further described the charges at the time:

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Among other things, the indictment alleges that a senior Trump Campaign official was directed to contact STONE about  damaging information that WikiLeaks had regarding the Clinton Campaign. Stone wrote to his WikiLeaks intermediary, passing on the campaigns requests for specific information that the group might have regarding the Clinton Foundation. Later, he asked WikiLeaks for any State or HRC e-mail from August 10 to August 30particularly on August 20, 2011 that mention [the subject of the article] or confirm this narrative.

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Absent from those charges against Stone, too, were any campaign finance violations, even though it was at least arguable that Stone too violated the laws against the solicitation of foreign contributions. In my January piece, I elaborated on why Mueller may not have addressed those apparent violations:

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[A] possibility is that opposition research or information supplied by foreign nationals with their own agendas should be protected by the First Amendment and not subject to a campaign finance suit. Eugene Volokh advanced this argument in connection with the Trump Tower meeting, and Ive explained in Slate why I think this view is bogus. But Muellers team might not think its bogus, which could explain why the Russians indicted by his office were not charged directly with campaign finance violations.

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In 2011, thenD.C. Circuit Judge, now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote to affirm the constitutionality of laws against foreign spending and contributions in Bluman v. FEC:

It is fundamental to the definition of our national political community that foreign citizens do not have a constitutional right to participate in, and thus may be excluded from, activities of democratic self-government. It follows, therefore, that the United States has a compelling interest for purposes of First Amendment analysis in limiting the participation of foreign citizens in activities of American democratic self-government, and in thereby preventing foreign influence over the U.S. political process.

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The Supreme Court thought this result was so self-evident it summarily affirmed the lower court judgment without scheduling argument and without issuing a separate decision.

To let someone off the hook who solicited very high level and sensitive information from a hostile government would turn the First Amendment into a tool to kill American sovereignty.

Has Mueller now concluded the opposite? To let someone off the hook who solicited very high level and sensitive information from a hostile governmenton grounds that there may be cases in which information from a foreign source does not pose the same level of danger to our national security and right of self-governmentwould turn the First Amendment into a tool to kill American sovereignty and democracy.

If this is what Mueller concluded, we need to know, because it means that Department of Justice officials will not see the need to stop foreign governments from sharing informationeven information obtained from illegal hackingwith campaigns, for the purposes of influencing the 2020 elections. And if Mueller based this conclusion on his reading of the Constitution, even new congressional legislation could not stop it, and that seems dangerous.

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Now it could be that Mueller had other, less troublesome reasons for not charging Trump Jr. with solicitation. Maybe he thought I love it was not clear enough. Maybe he construed federal campaign finance laws so that Russian information did not count as a thing of value. Maybe he was just exercising his prosecutorial discretion over political amateurs like Trump Jr., though that would not apply to campaign veteran Paul Manafort.

Muellers reasoning matters, and we need to see the full report. And it matters less for what it says about 2016 but what it says about free and fair elections in 2020 and beyond.
After a weekend of speculation, Attorney General William Barr submitted to Congress his summary of the main conclusion from Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation on Sunday afternoon. The four-page document claims Mueller didnt find that Donald Trumps presidential campaign or any of its associated conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 US Presidential Election. The summary also quotes the special counsel as noting that while this report does not conclude the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.

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Read the full summary below (PDF version here) and follow Slates live blog for the latest.

Dear Chairman Graham, Chairman Nadler, Ranking Member Feinstein, and Ranking Member Collins:

As a supplement to the notification provided on Friday, March 22, 2019, I am writing today to advise you of the principal conclusions reached by Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III and to inform you about the status of my initial review of the report he has prepared.

The Special Counsels Report

On Friday, the Special Counsel submitted to me a confidential report explaining the prosecution or declination decisions he has reched, as required by 28 C.F.R.  600.8(c). This report is entitled Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election. Although my review is ongoing, I believe that it is in the public interest to describe the report and to summarize the principal conclusions reached by the Special Counsel and the results of his investigation.

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The report explains that the Special Counsel and his staff thoroughly investigated allegations that members of the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump, and others associated with it, conspired with the Russian government in its efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, or sought to obstruct the related federal investigations. In the report, the Special Counsel noted that, in completing his investigation, he employed 19 lawyers who were assisted by a team of approximately 40 FBI agents, intelligence analysts, forensic accountants, and other professional staff. The Special Counsel issued more than 2,800 subpoenas, executed nearly 500 search warrants, obtained more than 230 orders for communication records, issued almost 50 orders authorizing use of pen registers, made 13 requests to foreign governments for evidence, and interviewed approximately 500 witnesses.

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The Special Counsel obtained a number of indictments and convictions of individuals and entities in connection with his investigation, all of which have been publicly disclosed. During the course of his investigation, the Special Counsel also referred several matters to other offices for further action. The report does not recommend any further indictments, nor did the Special Counsel obtain any sealed indictments that have yet to be made public. Below, I summarize the principal conclusions set out in the Special Counsels report.

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Russian Interference in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. The Special Counsels report is divided into two parts. The first describes the results of the Special Counsels investigation into Russias interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The report outlines the Russian effort to influence the election and documents crimes committed by persons associated with the Russian government in connection with those efforts. The report further explains that a primary consideration for the Special Counsels investigation was whether any Americansincluding individuals associated with the Trump campaignjoined the Russian conspiracies to influence the election, which would be a federal crime. The Special Counsels investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. As the report states: [T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.1

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The Special Counsels investigation determined that there were two main Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election. The first involved attempts by a Russian organization, the Internet Research Agency (IRA), to conduct disinformation and social media operations in the United States designed to sow social discord, eventually with the aim of interfering with the election. As noted above, the Special Counsel did not find that any U.S. person or Trump campaign official or associate conspired or knowingly coordinated with the IRA in its efforts, although the Special Counsel brought criminal charges against a number of Russian nationals and entities in connection with these activities.

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The second element involved the Russian governments efforts to conduct computer hacking operations designed to gather and disseminate information to influence the election. The Special Counsel found that Russian government actors successfully hacked into computers and obtained emails from persons affiliated with the Clinton campaign and Democratic Party organizations, and publicly disseminated those materials through various intermediaries, including WikiLeaks. Based on these activities, the Special Counsel brought criminal charges against a number of Russian military officers for conspiring to hack into computers in the United States for purposes of influencing the election. But as noted above, the Special Counsel did not find that the Trump campaign, or anyone associated with it, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in these efforts, despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign.

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Obstruction of Justice. The reports second part addresses a number of actions by the Presidentmost of which have been the subject of public reportingthat the Special Counsel investigated as potentially raising obstruction-of-justice concerns. After making a thorough factual investigation into these matters, the Special Counsel considered whether to evaluate the conduct under Department standards governing prosecution and declination decisions but ultimately determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment The Special Counsel therefore did not draw a conclusionone way or the otheras to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction. Instead, for each of the relevant actions investigated, the report sets out evidence on both sides of the question and leaves unresolved what the Special Counsel views as difficult issues of law and fact concerning whether the Presidents actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction. The Special Counsel states that while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.

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The Special Counsels decision to describe the facts of his obstruction investigation without reaching any legal conclusions leaves it to the Attorney General to determine whether the conduct described in the report constitutes a crime. Over the course of the investigation, the Special Counsels office engaged in discussions with certain Department officials regarding many of the legal and factual matters at issue in the Special Counsels obstruction investigation. After reviewing the Special Counsels final report on these issues; consulting with Department officials, including the Office of Legal Counsel; and applying the principles of federal prosecution that guide our charging decisions, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and I have concluded that the evidence developed during the Special Counsels investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense. Our determination was made without regard to, and is not based on, the constitutional considerations that surround the indictment and criminal prosecution of a sitting president.2

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In making this determination, we noted that the Special Counsel recognized that the evidence does not establish that the President was involved in an underlying crime related to Russian election interference, and that, while not determinative, the absence of such evidence bears upon the Presidents intent with respect to obstruction. Generally speaking, to obtain and sustain an obstruction conviction, the government would need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person, acting with corrupt intent, engaged in obstructive conduct with a sufficient nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding. In cataloguing the Presidents actions, many of which took place in public view, the report identifies no actions that, in our judgment, constitute obstructive conduct, had a nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding, and were done with corrupt intent, each of which, under the Departments principles of federal prosecution guiding charging decisions, would need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to establish an obstruction-of-justice offense.

Status of the Departments Review

The relevant regulations contemplate that the Special Counsels report will be a confidential report to the Attorney General. See Office of Special Counsel, 64 Fed. Reg 37,038, 37,04041 (July 9, 1999). As I have previously stated, however, I am mindful of the public interest in this matter. For that reason, my goal and intent is to release as much of the Special Counsels report as I can consistent with applicable law, regulations, and Departmental policies.

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Based on my discussions with the Special Counsel and my initial review, it is apparent that the report contains material that is or could be subject to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e), which imposes restrictions on the use and disclosure of information relating to matter[s] occurring before [a] grand jury. Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e)(2)(B). Rule 6(e) generally limits disclosure of certain grand jury information in a criminal investigation and prosecution. Id. Disclosure of 6(e) material beyond the strict limits set forth in the rule is a crime in certain circumstances. See, e.g., 18 U.S.C.  401(3). This restriction protects the integrity of grand jury proceedings and ensures that the unique and invaluable investigative powers of a grand jury are used strictly for their intended criminal justice function.

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Given these restrictions, the schedule for processing the report depends in part on how quickly the Department can identify the 6(e) material that by law cannot be made public. I have requested the assistance of the Special Counsel in identifying all 6(e) information contained in the report as quickly as possible. Separately, I also must identify any information that could impact other ongoing matters, including those that the Special Counsel has referred to other offices. As soon as that process is complete, I will be in a position to move forward expeditiously in determining what can be released in light of applicable law, regulations, and Departmental policies.

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* * *

As I observed in my initial notification, the Special Counsel regulations provide that the Attorney General may determine that the public release of notifications to your respective Committees would be in the public interest. 28 C.F.R.  600.9(c). I have so determined, and I will disclose this letter to the public after delivering it to you.

Sincerely,

William P. Barr

Attorney General

1 In assessing potential conspiracy charges, the Special Counsel also considered whether members of the Trump campaign coordinated with Russian election interference activities. The Special Counsel defined coordination as an agreementtacit or expressbetween the Trump Campaign and the Russian government on election interference.

2 See A Sitting Presidents Amenability to Indictment and Criminal Prosecution, 24 Op. O.L.C. 222 (2000).
Although the Department of Energy has been promoting the use of electric vehicles, Senator Win Gatchalian says it has produced only a few policy instruments to support the growth of EVs in the country. Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate committee on energy, urged the DOE to craft a roadmap for e-vehicle adoption in the country, in coordination with the Department of Transportation, Land Transportation Office, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Metro Manila Development Authority, and other relevant agencies. Moving forward, we want to see research. Of course, this will not be without opposition, said Gatchalian. There will be opposition, lets expect that. But we have to clearly explain the advantages of promoting e-vehicles. I expect the DOEwhich is a much larger organizationshould have that data, the lawmaker pointed out. The senator cited the importance of a sound policy and regulatory framework for electric vehicles to usher in the uptake of electric vehicles in the country. During the Senate Committee on Energy hearing on Senate Bill No. 2137 or the Electric Vehicles and Charging Stations Act, Gatchalian quizzed the energy departments long term plan to ensure the promotion of the adoption of electric vehicles and the sustainability of the e-vehicle ecosystem in the long run. SBN 2137, in a nutshell, seeks to address the challenges to the development of the electric vehicle industry by instructing the DOE to create an Electric Vehicle Roadmap and distribution utilities to incorporate a Charging Infrastructure Development Plan in their Power Development Plan. Through this measure, Gatchalian said he hoped to solve the entire supply chain of e-vehicles, including one of the most important components: the charging stations.The measure seeks to require private and public buildings and establishments to have dedicated parking slots with charging stations and mandates open access for the installation of charging stations in gasoline stations. SBN 2137 also expands non-fiscal incentives  such as exemption from number coding and prioritization in registration  and institutionalizes time-bound fiscal incentives for manufacturers and importers of electric vehicles. Gatchalian believes that by promoting the use of e-vehicles in the country, the Philippines will become less dependent on oil importations. At the same time we would reduce dollar outflows, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, create more jobs for Filipinos, he said. The lawmaker pointed out that at present, the transport sector was the biggest contributor to the countrys total energy consumption, accounting for more than one-third or 37.2 percent. Data from the DOE shows that the transport sector is also a major consumer of petroleum products, consisting of 25.72% of the total 75,370.50 barrels that were consumed in 2016. Meanwhile, data provided by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that 99.48 percent or 8,039,233 out of 8,081,224 of motor vehicles in the country are powered by diesel and gasoline
One of Germanys richest families is coming to terms with a disturbing past. The family that owns a controlling stake in Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Panera Bread, among others, will donate $11 million to charity after learning that their ancestors were staunch supporters of Adolf Hitler and extensively used force labor.

The family announced its planned charitable donation after Bild newspaper published a report showing how Albert Reimann Sr. and Albert Reimann Jr. used Russian civilians and French prisoners of war as forced laborers during World War II. The Reimann family, which has an estimated wealth of 33 billion euros, or $37 billion, did not dispute the findings of the newspapers report. It is all correct, spokesman Peter Harf, told the newspaper. Reimann senior and Reimann junior were guilty  they belonged in jail.

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The family had already been looking into the issue before the newspapers report. Reimann senior, who died in 1954, and his son, who died in 1984, never talked about the companys past and the family was apparently under the impression it already knew about its Nazi ties. But they started suspecting there may be more to the story and in 2014 commissioned a historian to examine the family history. The historian presented the conclusion a few weeks ago. We were all ashamed and turned as white as the wall, Harf, who is one of two managing partners of the JAB Holding Company, said. There is nothing to gloss over. These crimes are disgusting. The historian, Paul Erker of Munich University, is writing a book on his findings.

The Luxembourg-based JAB Holding Company also has controlling stakes in Keurig Dr. Pepper, Peets Coffee & Tea, Caribou Coffee, and Pret a Manger, among others.*
Rep. Adam Schiff thinks its far too soon to come to any conclusions about what actions could be taken from special counsel Robert Muellers report. Its really too early to make those judgments. We need to see the report and then well all have a factual basis, Schiff said on ABCs This Week. In the absence of those facts, those judgments are impossible to make. Even though many Republicans have been celebrating word that the Mueller report doesnt recommend any new indictments, Schiff insists that even if that were true, that doesnt necessarily rule out the possibility of beginning impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.

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You told the San Francisco chronicle on Friday, if theres no bombshell, theres no impeachment, said ABCs George Stephanopoulos. Does no new indictments qualify as no bombshell? Schiff said that it wasnt possible to answer that question yet. Not necessarily because again, George, as you pointed out, they cant indict the president. Thats their policy. And therefore there could be overwhelming evidence on the obstruction issue. And I dont know if thats the case, but if there were overwhelming evidence of criminality on the presidents part, then the Congress would need to consider that remedy if indictment is foreclosed.

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Rep. Adam Schiff says "it's too early" to tell if Congress will no longer consider impeachment.



"If there were overwhelming evidence of criminality on the president's part then Congress would need to consider that remedy if indictment is foreclosed" https://t.co/nrxArqv2MF pic.twitter.com/0shV6EJn7z  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 24, 2019

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Regardless of what the final report says, Schiff, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, defended his claim that there is significant evidence of collusion between Trump and the Kremlin. Theres a difference between compelling evidence of collusion and whether the special counsel concludes that he can prove beyond a reasonable doubt the criminal charge of conspiracy, the California Democrat said.

Schiff also made clear he fully supports making the report public and House Speaker Nancy Pelosis call to make any briefings on Muellers findings unclassified. I think what the speaker is saying, and I completely agree, is do not think you can bury this report. Do not think you can bury the evidence in secret by briefing eight people in Congress and say, weve discharged our responsibility. Thats not going to cut it, Schiff said. It is essential that the report be made completely public.
After an uncharacteristically quiet weekend, President Donald Trump took to Twitter shortly after Attorney General William Barr delivered a letter to Congress summarizing special counsel Robert Muellers investigation. He was there to celebrate:

No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2019

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Trump was hardly alone. He sent out his tweet shortly after his sons and several key allies also sent out celebratory tweets, claiming that the summary of the report proved that they were right all along to question the investigation.

Donald Trump Jr. was one of the first to release a statement, noting that after more than two years of non-stop conspiracy theories from media outlets and Democrats, the Mueller report proves what those of us with sane minds have known all along, there was ZERO collusion with Russia. Instead of apologizing though, the Collusion Truthers in the media and the Democrat Party are only going to double down on their sick and twisted conspiracy theories.

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Eric Trump also directly attacked the media while celebrating the summary of the report and wondered whether it was time for a simple apology from mainstream media for the hell everyone has been put through for the past two + years.

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White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders characterized the summary as a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States.

The Special Counsel did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction. AG Barr and DAG Rosenstein further determined there was no obstruction. The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States.  Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) March 24, 2019

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Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of the presidents closest allies in Congress, said that it was a good day for the rule of law and a great day for President Trump and his team. Graham also said that the cloud hanging over President Trump has been removed.

I have just received topline findings from Attorney General Barr.



Good day for the rule of law.



Great day for President Trump and his team.



No collusion and no obstruction.



The cloud hanging over President Trump has been removed by this report.  Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 24, 2019

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Hosue Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, meanwhile, said that the entire issue of Russian collusion is now closed. The California lawmaker said in a statement that it is abundantly clear, without a shadow of a doubt, there was no

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After two years, two congressional investigations, and now the closure of a Special Counsel investigation, it is abundantly clear, without a shadow of a doubt, there was no collusion. This case is closed.

My full statement: pic.twitter.com/XiPQZom3Fp  Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) March 24, 2019
Attorney General William Barr released a four-page summary of Special Counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation report to members of Congress on Sunday.

Barr confirmed that Mueller had referred several matters to other DOJ offices for further action but had not recommended any further indictments, nor [] obtain[ed] any sealed indictments that have yet to be made public.

One of the reports principal conclusions, Barr reports, was essentially: No collusion. From the letter:

As the report states: [T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.

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Another key portion of the letter came on the question of whether President Trump attempted to obstruct the investigation into Russian election interference:

After making a thorough factual investigation into these matters, the Special Counsel considered whether to evaluate the conduct under Department standards governing prosecution and declination decisions but ultimately determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment. The Special Counsel therefore did not draw a conclusion  one way or the other  as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction. Instead, for each of the relevant actions investigated, the report sets out evidence on both sides of the question and leaves unresolved what the Special Counsel views as difficult issues of law and fact concerning whether the Presidents actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction. The Special Counsel states that while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.

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Without a conclusion from Mueller himself, Barr said that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had determined that the evidence developed during the Special Counsels investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.

Barr said that the decision was made without regard to, and not based on, the constitutional considerations that surround the indictment and criminal prosecution of a sitting president.

As Daniel Politi reported, the White House and President Trumps allies were celebrating Barrs summary as a complete exoneration. The president himself issued the following statement to the press pool, declaring victory and suggesting that the DOJ should now investigate those who had investigated him:

There was no collusion with Russia. There was no obstruction and none whatsoever and it was a complete and total exoneration. Its a shame that our country had to go through this, to be honest its a shame that your president has had to go through this forbefore I even got elected it began. And it began illegally, and hopefully somebodys going to look at the other side. This was an illegal takedown that failed. And hopefully somebodys going to be looking at the other side. So its complete exoneration. No collusion.

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The president also sent out the following tweet:

No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2019

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Democrats, meanwhile, were saying they were not satisfied with Barrs four-page summary that contained little in the way of new information. Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said that he would be calling Barr to testify before his committee about his findings.

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In light of the very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department following the Special Counsel report, where Mueller did not exonerate the President, we will be calling Attorney General Barr in to testify before @HouseJudiciary in the near future.  (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) March 24, 2019

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Before being appointed attorney general, Barr had written a memo stating that he believed that the president could not have been charged with obstruction of justice based on an official action like the firing of FBI Director James Comey, which was one of the central questions of Muellers obstruction investigation. The DOJ also has a policy of not indicting a sitting president, which Barr says he and Rosenstein did not work into their calculus to exonerate the president.

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Barr said he was working directly with Mueller to determine which parts of the report could be made public given DOJ regulations around the release of grand jury information, while he would also conduct a review to determine what information that could impact other ongoing matters in concluding what might be released publicly from the entire report.

On CNN, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani said he wanted the full report released. Another of Trumps attorneys, Jay Sekulow, was more circumspect, stating that the decision needed to be made by the attorney general based on department rules regulating the release of grand jury information and national security information. He also suggested that the president might attempt to assert executive privilege for some portions of the report. Giuliani also added that the Watergate special prosecutors report was never made public until 27 years later.

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Given the relative paucity of information in the four-page letter, calls for much more of the Mueller reportand the evidence underlying itwill only grow louder.

Earlier on Sunday, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said he had planned on using the committees subpoena power to force the release of the full report if necessary. On Saturday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi also demanded that Barr release the report.

Well try to negotiate. Well try everything else first, but if we have to, yes, we will certainly issue subpoenas to get that information, Nadler said prior to the reports release.

The New York Times reported on Sunday that the release would likely set up a lengthy legal battle between House Democrats and the Department of Justice to release the full contents of Muellers findings and the underlying evidence. From the Times:

The release of the special counsels conclusions [] culminate[d] 22 months of work by Mr. Mueller and his handpicked team of prosecutors, but it could be just the beginning of a lengthy constitutional battle between Congress and the Justice Department about whether Mr. Muellers full report will be made public. Democrats have also called for the attorney general to turn over the report and all of the special counsels investigative files.

This was a developing story and has been updated.
Though Elon Musk has famously warned humanity about the dangers of artificial intelligence, his shareholders might be well-served by having an algorithm on Teslas board of directors.

In recent years, Tesla has become a cautionary tale for how difficult it is for part-time directors to oversee charismatic, strong-willed CEOsespecially ones who are the founding visionaries of their companies. Given how Elon Musk has landed the company in hot water with the Securities and Exchange Commission with his erratic tweets and mocking disregard for the regulatory regime dictating the proper behavior of a publicly traded company, its little wonder that Teslas board has been accused of being asleep at the wheel. Perhaps their seeming unwillingness to rein him in is due to the Tesla directors personal loyalty to Musk. Or maybe they simply dont want to spend the time to preapprove Musks tweets about the company, especially with the less conventional hours and fast pace the CEO keeps. Either way, they cant seem to keep himor the companyout of trouble.

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The Tesla example may be extreme, but it illustrates two key difficulties that boards often face in overseeing CEOs and their management teams: first, that boards typically consist of notable people with limited time and attention spans, and second, that their flow of information regarding corporate affairs is typically controlled by the CEO. All of this makes it rather intriguing that at least one company has raised a tech-forward way around these conundrums: appointing an algorithm to one of the directors chairs.

But why bring in an algorithm to solve these very human problems? First, its worth looking at what these teams are tasked with doing. Generally, board seats are not hard to fill. They usually carry prestige and can pay seven figures for part-time work. With this great power comes great responsibility, and if a director is careless with the companys resources or acts on a conflict of interest to benefit someone other than the shareholders, then the director can be sued.

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A.I. could help human board members transition from high-level supervisory entities to effective micromanagers.

While it may seem like a daunting task to oversee a large company as a part-time job, directors do have a right to rely on the companys officers (like its CEO, CFO, and COO) and to delegate responsibility to a management team. For example, Apples full board only met four times during 2018. Because directors have limited time, boards authorize employees to handle the companys day-to-day management.

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Director rosters at large companies are usually a whos who of business, political, and academic standouts. While they may be well-respected, directors may not be subject matter experts in the companys specific industry. Take, for example, Apples board, which includes Ronald Sugar (retired chairman of Northrop Grumman), Sue Wagner (former vice chairman of BlackRock), and Al Gore. Or Teslas board, which includes Brad Buss (former CFO of SolarCity), James Murdoch (currently the CEO of 21st Century Fox), Larry Ellison (co-founder of Oracle), and Linda Johnson Rice (CEO of Johnson Publishing Company). Both demonstrate the kind of high-level supervision that shareholders expect boards to provide. Because directors have limited time to study details, they mostly focus on steering the company around corporate icebergs and not granular issues. But that can lead to trouble when things like, say, giving a close read of the thousands of tweets that Musk produces in a given year are added to their other obligations.

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Thats not to say the high-level supervision that human directors provide isnt important. But think of how much further it could go if a company were to supplement that with supervision from, say, sophisticated A.I. that could independently monitor fine-tuned goals (is Tesla really going to produce 500,000 vehicles in 2019?) and even balance competing interests on a more nuanced level. Its the kind of technology that could help those human board members transition from high-level supervisory entities to effective micromanagers.

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Consider the data-hungry environments where A.I. thrives. Machine learning is ideal when you need to find hidden patterns in vast troves of data. An A.I. director could consume huge amounts of information about the company and the business environment to make good decisions on issues like the future demand for the companys products or whether the company should expand to China. This is exactly how the first A.I. director, appointed by the Hong Kong company Deep Knowledge Ventures, is being used: Its tasked with consuming data about life science companies and then voting on which companies are good investments. The company says that it relies on the A.I.s recommendations by refraining from making any investments that the A.I. doesnt approvewhich they say has helped with eliminating some kinds of bias and avoiding overhyped investments (looking at you, Theranos backers).

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But why go to the extreme of giving A.I. its own seat when, theoretically, the board could just consult such algorithmic assessments to inform its decisions? This gets back to the issues of time, loyalty, and access to information. Unlike a human, an A.I. director is appealing as a potential independent tiebreaker on any disagreement between the human board members. Whats more, if such algorithms cast votes, it will be harder for other directors to disregard those votes, and it will force those directors to find compelling reasons to oppose them. In some cases, an A.I. directors vote could be a red flag, an antidote to groupthink. In others, it may force human directors to confront potential biases in their thinking, like loyalty to a particularly charismatic CEO. Think of what an A.I. director at General Electric might have focused on in recent years when the company appeared to disregard its plummeting cash flow and mounting pension liabilities from operations over many years.

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There are, of course, limitations and issues to overcome before giving software a seat at the directors table. For one, many forms of A.I. learn from human-generated and human-curated datawhich has been known to replicate human bias. This kind of bias can be hard to fix because it can creep in at many different stages of A.I. training, including the goals programmers assign the A.I. to achieve, the data sets they feed it, the data attributes they choose to focus on, and the data they use to test it. Many programmers are becoming more cognizant of these issues, however, and are looking at better ways to address these biases in the process of developing these toolsincluding projects like A.I. that aims to de-bias other A.I. tools.

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Deep learning techniques are currently black boxes. A self-driving car may be able to identify a crosswalk, and a valuation algorithm may be able to say that a company is worth $X, but if A.I. directors are going to interact with shareholders and human directors, they need to be able to explain their conclusions. If we cant look under the hood and see their reasoning, A.I. directors will be hard to trust, and courts wont be able to ensure that they are fulfilling their legal duties to provide shareholders candori.e., all information that would be important to a shareholder. Under securities law, one of the most common disclosure items for directors is an explanation of how and why directors are handling risk in a specific way. If machine learning algorithms can reveal their internal logic and are designed to analyze and communicate such risks well, they may even do a better job at providing such disclosures by helping humans focus on the right details by filtering out noise in data.

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This also gets at another advantage that a transparent algorithm could have: a refreshing lack of personal ambition or interests. Assuming sufficient advancement in A.I. technology, shareholders and stakeholders alike could trust A.I. directors to be forthcoming about why they are taking a specific actionan attribute not always found in their human counterparts. Courts have recognized that, while directors may ostensibly be trying to benefit shareholders, theres an omnipresent specter that members of the board are, intentionally or not, actually pursuing self-interest. On a hybrid board with both humans and A.I., the A.I. could provide shareholders, as well as other directors, with a more objective analysis when it comes to, say, questions like how a potential merger could affect directors own net worth.

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A.I. directors may also be better at balancing hard-to-reconcile interests, such as when shareholder and employee interests sometimes conflict. Under current Delaware law, directors can consider the impact [of their actions] on constituencies other than shareholders. However, directors are only to consider these constituencies to the extent that they impact long-term shareholder value (e.g., happy employees are usually better employees in the long run). But new proposals, such as Elizabeth Warrens Accountable Capitalism Act, call for directors to consider shareholders and other stakeholders interests. This could be achieved by requiring a subset of human directors to look out for employees while others remain focused on shareholdersor it could be achieved by fine-tuning an individual A.I. directors ultimate goals. If A.I. technology advances to the point where A.I. directors could explain how they reach their conclusions, then a single A.I. director could, for example, be programmed to consider both shareholder and stakeholder interests in a more transparent way than a human director could.

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To date, it seems Deep Knowledge is the only firm to have taken such a step. And its worth noting that, as of now, A.I. directors would be illegal under U.S. corporate law, which requires directors to be natural persons. But the idea of putting A.I. on a corporate board isnt as far-fetched as it may seem. In a 2015 study by the World Economic Forum, which surveyed over 800 IT executives, 45 percent of respondents expected that wed see the first A.I. on a corporate board by 2025, and that such a breakthrough would be a tipping point for more.

Perhaps, with enough advancement in this specialized technology, Musks warning that A.I. could create an immortal dictator from which we can never escape may come trueat least when it comes to how much freedom certain CEOs have to fire off reckless tweets or miss production targets without someone on the board sounding the alarm.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society.
St. Paddys Day is behind us, but Richard Nifty Norman is hoping his horses Irish eyes keep smiling as the calendar rolls on. Norman trains Robyn Camden, a four-year-old pacer from Ireland who had prolific success abroad and is finding racing in the U.S. much to her liking as well.

In three preliminary rounds of the Petticoat Series for three- and four-year-old female pacers at Yonkers Raceway, Robyn Camden recorded two wins and a second. She drew Post 6 in Mondays (March 25) $58,000 final, which put her outside the races morning line favourites, Catch An Ace (5-2) in Post 5 and Odds On Ashley (3-1) in Post 4. But Norman is not overly concerned, as his mare has started in either Post 5 or 6 throughout the series.

She hasnt drawn very [well] in the whole series and she almost seems like shes better racing off a helmet, anyway, he said. Shes very lazy in front, so Im hoping they race a little bit harder, and if they do shes got a good shot. Shes very honest, she always gets to the wire no matter what, so thats a good quality.

Robyn Camden was referred to as the undisputed queen of harness racing in the British Isles, and with good reason. She won all 11 of her starts there at ages two and three before making her American debut at the Meadowlands Racetrack in December. With Dexter Dunn doing most of the driving, she has hit the board in all nine U.S. starts with four wins, four seconds and a third. This year she has recorded four wins and three seconds.

The mare, by Art Professor out of Keystone Havoc, was bred by Camden Stud in England and is a half-sister to millionaire Keystone Horatio. She was the sales topper at the York Sale in October 2016, as she was acquired for 15,200 pounds (roughly $20,000 U.S.) to the Dublin-based All Out Syndicate.



Robyn Camden, pictured victorious in Ireland with Jonathan Dunne

After Robyn Camden set track records and earned numerous awards, Clive Kavanagh and his partners decided to see how she could fare in the United States. Jonathan Dunne, a regular driver of Robyn Camden, recommended Norman to train her.

Jonathan actually worked for me for a while, Norman said. He came over here to get some experience. Hes a good little horseman and a good driver. He wanted her to kind of go into a big stable and learn to train down properly and get in a good routine. That was probably one of the factors that decided I would get her.

Norman had some knowledge of the horse before she arrived.

I knew she was unbeaten and they were kind of high on her, he said. Id actually seen a few videos of her. You always have your doubts. You think of a horse coming from Ireland and you think Well, will they be good enough to do it here? But obviously they are.

Norman had praise for the work done by the Dunne family, including Jonathan and trainers Christy and Geoff Dunne.

I didnt really change anything, he said. She was all set up. They had her rigged up [well], it was pretty simple really. There was a lot of confidence in the horse. The only thing she had never done was go back-to-back and run a lot of races close together. We had to make sure she had enough stamina. Shes kind of a little light-framed horse, doesnt carry a lot of weight. But shes working out really well. I think the (Petticoat) series kind of proved she can race back-to-back and hold up.

Despite the difference in quality of racing overseas, Norman said there is little difference in the horses.

I wouldnt think so, he said. There have been other horses who have come over here and done well. Theyre basically American-bred anyway, so nothings really different. A horse is a horse, right?

And this horse will get a rest after Mondays race, as Norman prefers to be cautious.

I dont think theres any rush with her, he said. Im going to give her a break after the series, maybe give her a month off. I dont want to over-race her; I dont want her to hit 30 starts or anything like that. Shes done really well so far. Ill give her a break and then see if she can go to the next level, see how she can do in those upper grades.

He is not interested in entering any major races this year, and says next year is a wait-and-see prospect. It will likely be Robyn Camdens final year on the track.

Maybe next year if she looks like she could be a solid mare, well look at some big races and well go from there; but thats a long way off, he said. Then I think the plan is to breed her to a top sire and take her home in foal.

(USTA)
Trump angers residents in the Golan, SDF announces victory over ISIS, a tripartite meeting in Damascus and a high civilian cost reported. Catch up on everything that happened over the weekend.

1. On Saturday, Druze men, women and children rallied in the town of Majdal Shams, adjacent to the armistice line between Israeli and Syrian controlled sectors of the Golan Heights. According to AFP, they waved Druze and Syrian flags and carried pictures of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Others carried banners in Arabic reading, The Golan is Syrian and We are the ones who decide Golans identity. Wasef Khatar, a Druze community representative, said, We reject the decision of US President Donald Trump because he is talking about something he doesnt own, he said in Arabic.

2. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) declared the total elimination of [the] so-called caliphate, Mustafa Bali, head of the SDF media office, wrote on Twitter. Baghouz has been liberated. The military victory against the Islamic State has been accomplished, he wrote. The SDF has been battling to capture Baghouz for weeks. After weeks of heavy fighting, the tent camp where the militants made their final stand in the village of Baghouz was bombed to shreds. All that remains is a field pitted by abandoned trenches and bomb craters, littered with scorched tents and the twisted metal carcasses of vehicles.

3. A rare meeting took place in Damascus when the military chiefs of Syria, Iraq and Iran convened there. The meeting, according to The Arab Weekly, and an announcement that a border crossing between Iraq and Syria would be reopened are signs of Irans continued influence in the region. In a move that has been widely seen as a boost to Assad, Othman al-Ghanimi, the Iraqi Chief of Staff, announced that the al-Qaim border crossing between Iraq and Syria would soon be reopened. The crossing, linking Iraqs Anbar province with Syrias Deir ez-Zor province, has been closed since 2013. Bagheri hailed the announcement, which has stirred fears among Tehrans critics of a land corridor between Iran and the Mediterranean, passing through Iraq and Syria.

4. On Saturday, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense said it eliminated more than 3,000 Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists and destroyed more than 21,000 ISIS targets, Anadolu News Agency reported. As the only army that carried out hand-to-hand fighting with ISIS, Turkish Armed Forces neutralized over 3,000 radical terrorists and enabled 320,000 Syrians to return to their homes with Operation Euphrates Shield launched in August 2016, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense said in a written statement. Operation Euphrates Shield reached its goal after taking control of the al-Bab settlement, which was achieved on Feb. 24, 2017, the statement said.

5. More than 630 civilians were killed in the six-month operation against the Islamic State (ISIS) that culminated in its defeat by US-backed Syrian forces Saturday, a monitor said. The civilian dead  among them relatives of ISIS fighters  included 209 children and 157 women, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said. The Observatory said the operation had cost the lives of more than 750 fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces, while 1,600 members of ISIS were also killed.

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
House all-out for federalism, says GMA ally

posted March 24, 2019 at 11:20 pm by Rio N. Araja March 24, 2019 at 11:20 pm

The House leadership under Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Sunday maintained its support to the federalism initiative of President Rodrigo Duterte. The House of Representatives fully supports President Dutertes crusade to set out federalism in the country through constitutional processes, House Senior Deputy Majority Leader and 1-Sagip Rep. Rodante Marcoleta. He reacted to the threat of war issued by Moro National Liberation Front founding Chairman Nur Misuari should federalism would not push through. He said that the House of Representatives last December voted 224 against 22 and with three abstentions, approving on third and final reading Resolution of Both Houses 15 amending the 1987 Constitution to effect Dutertes proposed shift to a federal form of government.We have done our part under the leadership of Speaker Gloria Arroyo to deliver the draft new Charter to the Senate last year. We shall pursue this process given the peoples mandate, expressed in the last elections, for Charter change, he said. Arroyo earlier said the administrations proposed federal Charter was a priority legislation. She, however, said federalism may not materialize under her Speakership.

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1+ days ago

This Is Why You Gotta Love The Lovesac Company

The Lovesac Company Comfortably Beats The Consensus The Lovesac Company (NASDAQ: LOVE) is a story-within-a-story that we see accelerating its hyper-growth over the course of the next year. Not only is the furniture industry benefiting from strong tailwinds put in place by the pandemic but it is a growing concern within the industry.

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The Labor department has allayed fears that the Expanded Maternity Leave Law will discourage the hiring of women employees, and limit their participation in productive work. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III instead urged enterprises to give the new law a chance to uphold the welfare of women workers and employees. We do not see this perceived fear as having any effect on the employment of women. Companies and enterprises hire workers based on their competencies and skills, and not on the basis of gender, Bello said. The labor chief said the law is a milestone legislation that will enable women to be economically active by helping them manage a healthy work-life balance, which translates to higher productivity at work. Bello said the EML will also address the issue of low participation rate of women in the labor force, now ranging between 45 to 50 percent, attributable to their multiple role at home.The law will boost the employment participation of women as they are given longer time to rest and attend to their maternal obligations during childbirth period. It also addresses health issues among women as they are given ample time to recuperate after giving birth before reporting back to work, he said. The EML, signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte last month, grants a 105-day or three months of paid maternity leave for female workers in both government and private sectors regardless of the civil status or the legitimacy of her child. The labor department together with the Civil Service Commission and Social Security System are working on the laws implementing rules and regulations. Female workers may already avail themselves of the benefits provided for in the new law.
A place to exercise ideas before writing about them with greater discipline.
After years of war, the scent of laurel oil once again wafts from a small soap workshop in Aleppo, signalling the revival of a landmark trade in the battered northern city. Surrounding soap workshops in the Al-Nayrab district still lie in ruins, badly damaged in the four-year battle for the former rebel stronghold. But for Ali Shami, hanging up his apron was not an option. "I never stopped making soap throughout the wareven if it was just a little," says the 44-year-old, who fled his home city during the fighting. "But this workshop is special," he tells AFP. "It was here that I started more than 30 years ago." Shami reopened his soap workshop last month after shutting it down in 2012, when Syria's second city became a main front in the eight-year-long conflict. The scars of war are still visible on the building, its walls punctured with holes caused by shelling. Rushes of wind gust through the gaps. Shami carried out limited renovationsjust enough to produce more than half of his pre-war output of around 800 tons a year. He installed a new metal door and refurbished the main rooms where the soap mixture is heated and then poured out to dry. He watches as five workers stir a thick mixture of olive and laurel oil in a large vat. Beside them, another five workers slice cooled and hardened green paste into cubes and stack them in staggered racks. Shami says he was able to resume operations quickly because Aleppo soap is handmade. Its production "relies on manual labor, a successful mixture, the passion of Aleppo's residents, and their love of the profession," he says.After closing down in 2012, Shami tried to continue his work in other major Syrian cities. "My existence is tied to the existence" of soap, he says. He moved to the capital, Damascus, and the regime-held coastal city of Tartous, but Shami says the soap was not as good. "Aleppo's climate is very suitable for soap production and the people of Aleppo know the secret of the trade and how to endure the hardship of the many stages of its production," he says. Shami, who inherited the soap business from his father and grandfather, boasts about the superior qualities of Aleppo soap, the oldest of its kind in the world. "Aleppo soap distinguishes itself from other soaps around the world as it is made almost entirely of olive oil," he says. "European soap, on the other hand, includes animal fats, while soaps made in Asia are mixed with vegetal oils but not olive oil," he says.The Aleppo region is well-known for its olive oil and sweet bay oil, or laurel. Shami says the Aleppo soap industry was hit hard by the fierce clashes that rocked his home city, before ending in late 2016 when the army took back rebel districts with Russian military support. While conditions are less dangerous today, soap producers still grapple with shortages of raw material and skilled labour, he says. "We are struggling with the aftermath of the battles," he says.Dozens of soap producers are still waiting to complete renovations before reopening their workshops. Hisham Gebeily is one of them. His soap making center in the Old City of Aleppo, named after the family, has survived for generations, dating back to the 18th century. The three-storey stone workshop covers a space of around 9,000 square metres (97,000 square feet), and is considered among the largest in the city. But the 50-year-old man was forced to close it in 2012. The structure still stands, although damaged by the fighting: parts of it have been charred by shelling and wooden beams supporting the roof are starting to fall apart. "Before the conflict, the city of Aleppo housed around 100 soap factories," he says. But only around 12 are still operating today. The soapmaker says that many of Aleppo's soap producers have moved to Damascus and Tartous, while others have crossed the border to Turkey. Gebeily, who heads a committee of Aleppo soap producers, says the province used to produce around 30,000 tonnes of soap per year before the conflict. "The smell of laurel oil would waft out of this workshop and others like it into Aleppo," he said. "No one would visit the city without buying its soap." This figure dropped to less than 1,000 tonnes after 2012. Today, figures are back up to 10,000 tons a year, he says, as factories once again churn out a Syrian "national treasure." "Saudi Arabia exports oil, Switzerland chocolate, and Germany cars." "Aleppo exports laurel soap."
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.
During their conference on Saturday, non-profit organisation 'Ecological Movement' argued that we find ourselves in the midst of a climate and biodiversity crisis.

Luxembourg's Ecological Movement organization applauded Luxembourg's youth - and voiced criticism for the country's politicians.

According to the association, Luxembourgs young people clearly understood that the presence of a climate crisis is undeniable. In this context, they praised they young climate warriors for their commitment to saving the plant.

Blanche Weber, president of Mouvement Ecologique, highlights that the demand to look after our planet is only common sense - the planet has to be protected so that the generations of the future can lead a normal life.

The organisation did not shy away from voicing criticism for Luxembourg's politicians. CSV's Martine Hansen, for instance, was criticised for her reaction to LSAP party leader Franz Fazots idea of increased taxes on SUVs.

The government and politicians could do more, they argued. We are still left without a sustainable tax reform and the current situation regarding climate protection is contradictory, Weber lamented. For this reason, the association demands specific measures and suggestions for climate protection - including propositions from political parties as part of the European elections.

She concluded that Europe must decide between growth and globalisation, or sustainability and climate protection.
There are currently seven confirmed cases of measles in Luxembourg. (Video in Luxembourgish).

Measles is a highly contagious, viral illness.

According to RTL-information, the measles outbreak was discovered at the European School in Mamer.

The parents were informed by school officials last week.

The management from the Ministry of Health ('Sante.lu') also identified the initial infection site.

After investigating the infected pupils and their surroundings, it quickly became clear that the risk of the disease spreading within the school community is extremely high.

Dr Jean-Claude Schmit, director of the Sante, warns that measles need to be taken seriously, as they can lead to serious complications and in the worst case it can even lead to death.

Each infected person can infect up to 20 people, which is why the Ministry of Health advises everyone to check whether their vaccinations are up-to-date, since no cure for measles exists currently.

In order to guarantee complete protection from the viral infection, two shots of the vaccination are necessary.

Measles-symptoms include a runny nose, along with conjunctivitis, cough and fever, and tiny red spots which cover the whole face.



Measles are an illness which the doctor must declare, as soon as it is determined that the patient is infected.

You can find further information on measles on the the site of sante.lu.

About sante.lu

Sante.lu was launched in 2009 by the Ministry of Health in order to provide relevant information on medical and health topics for both patients and those working in the professional field.

Since the 1 January 2016, Dr Jean-Claude Schmit is the director of the Sante.
Digne returns to Finch Farm because of injury

Sunday, 24 March, 2019



The left back had been preparing for a meeting with his Everton team-mate, Gylfi Sigurdsson, when Les Bleus take on Iceland in Euro2020 qualifying tomorrow but a thigh problem means that he will return to Merseyside in a bid to be fit for the next Premier League game against West Ham United on Saturday.

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"We can expect a retaliation by Muslim jihadists against Christians flocked in churches." "We can expect a retaliation by Muslim jihadists against Christians flocked in churches."

Fifty people were massacred at two mosques last March 15 in Christchurch, New Zealand. That the number of fatalities was high was not what gained the bloody incident world headlines. It did so because it happened in the most unlikely place. New Zealand is known as the safest place on earth, a country known for welcoming immigrants fleeing war and violence elsewhere. The victims were Muslims attending evening prayers. They were shot by a cold-blooded gunman. Some of the victims were refugees who had fled the civil war in Syria only to meet the same violent death they escaped from in the Middle East. Islamic leaders condemned the bloodshed, as did the government and the citizens of New Zealand. This is the first incident of its kind in the country. Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern led Parliament in holding a Muslim prayer for the dead in the incident that shocked the world. On a personal note, I was almost assigned as Philippine ambassador to New Zealand. Given a choice of three capitalsThe Hague, Christchurch and Budapest as possible postings- I opted for Budapest. I declined The Hague because it was close to Brussels where I served as senior foreign adviser to then Ambassador Roberto R. Romulo. The Dutch culture was almost akin to the Belgians. New Zealand, I was told, was a boring place because it was so quiet and peaceful with more sheep than people. Why Budapest? I wanted to see the transformation of the former communist countries under my concurrent jurisdictionHungary, Poland and Yugoslavia (now Serbia)which used to be satellites of the former Soviet empire. I thought I made the right choice as I did see the sea change of the three countries from communist to republican states.But going back to the New Zealand massacre, we can expect a retaliation by Muslim jihadists against Christians flocked in churches. We pray not because it will only trigger a vicious cycle of violence by both Muslims and Christians. Passion and senseless violence should not be the way to go for two diverse cultures and religions. This was how the bloody Balkan war started by Serbia and involved Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania. Serbia wanted to revive the former Yugoslavia federation which included the three above mentioned countries under the leadership of former President Marshal Broz Tito. When Tito died, the Yugoslav countries tried a revolving leadership but that did not work out because Serb leaders like Milosevic wanted a federation dominated by Serbia with Belgrade as the imperial city. Milosevic died in jail in The Hague where he was being tried for crimes against humanity. A religious war between Muslims and Christians cannot be ruled out in the Philippines despite the passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law giving Muslims autonomy in many parts of Mindanao. Many Christians in the Bangsamoro region resent being under a Muslim autonomous government. Even Moro National Liberation Front leader Nur Misuari who felt left out in the BOL talks threatened to go to war if federalism is not approved by the Congress controlled by President Rodrigo Duterte. What we have in Mindanao is uneasy peace despite the extentson of martial law in the countrys biggest island. The Abu Sayyaf and the Bangsamoro Islamic Fredom Fighters continue to wage ambushes against government forces without the MILF-run BOL doing anything to rein them in. The BOL setup provides police enforcement covered in the autonomous areas. But we have yet to hear the MILF arresting the breakaway Sayyaf and BIFF elements who commit raids on police camps and extortion activities. How long before the Christians in the BOL region react with force to protect their families and livelihood? A rethink of the BOL should be considered by the Manila government after a certain period of time ascertaining BOLs benefits to the whole country. There are fears among Christians that the Bangsamoro with outside support from Malaysia could yet declare independence from the Philippines. Malaysia under Muhamad Mahathir is a friendly country as part of ASEAN. But then the Philippines has a long-standing territorial dispute with Malaysia on Sabah being claimed by the Sultan of Sulu. Sabah is rich in rubber and oil and like our territorial dispute with China which claims nearly the entire South China Sea, the stakes are potential oil, gas and minerals under the sea Beijing covets for its rise as a superpower to challenge the United States.
"We tend to solve problems as they come through band-aid solutions." "We tend to solve problems as they come through band-aid solutions."

I remember a true though self-deprecating observation that former Senator Orly Mercado used to say and which I now place the same in the context of the recent outrage, followed by the usual hunt for culprits, over the water shortage that plagued parts of Metro Manila recently: The problem with us Filipinos is that we tend to see no farther than the tips of our nosesang sama mo, marami pa sa atin, pango [unfortunately many of us have flat noses,] Orly used to quip. We realize we have a problem only when it stares us right in our face. We cannot think beyond the present. Planning for a decade or two, or even five decades hence as Singapores Lee Kuan Yew used to preach, is simply a no-no to most policy-makers. So we also tend to solve problems as they come through band-aid solutions. Pwede na yan is typical reaction to solving a problem. Until the same situation recurs. Policy-makers always go into a frenzy of blame-throwing, with media feeding on the frenzy, until the issue dies down. Still no solution. As far back as the martial law years, proposals were being drawn up regarding the future water needs of our burgeoning metropolis. Ive heard about Laiban as far back as the late 70s or early 80s. The late industrialist of respected memory, Enrique Zobel, even publicly proposed pumping up Taal Lakes water in Batangas up to Tagaytay which is more than 2,000 feet above sea level, where a filtration and purifying plant could be put up, and the water going down to Cavite and southern Metro Manila by sheer gravity. It sounded very logical, but the idea was just thata bright idea, with nothing done thereafter. At the time, I had just put up a small house in the Tagaytay ridge, and there were as yet no fishpens dotting the shoreline of what was a beautiful and pristine body of fresh water. The same could be said about Laguna de Bay, so very close to Metro Manila. Desilted and cleaned, it could be a source of water for the metropolis as well. But then again, President Aquino junked a dredging project by a Belgian firm, (the second largest in the world, incidentally) negotiated by his predecessor, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. PNoy alleged corruption, which he never bothered to prove. That decision caused us taxpayers close to a billion in damages which we are paying and must continue to pay because we lost in the suit filed by the Belgian firm. But worse, we lost an opportunity to dredge and de-silt the lake, the groundwork for a circumferential road, and a potential source of water. So 90 percent of the water needs of Metro Manila with its 12-million full-time residents and 10 more million day-trippers source its water from Angat Dam in Bulacan, part of which also flows into the La Mesa Reservoir in Quezon City. Angat, built as far back as 1961, also irrigates close to 30,000 hectares of palay fields in Bulacan and Pampanga. Our officials knew the risks of having a sole source of water, and also knew the pressures of increased population on that source. Several proposals have been accumulating dust: Kaliwa; Kanan; Laiban; even the reconstruction of Wawa in Montalban. Now the MWSS and other water-regulatory bodies tell us they could not proceed with any of these projects because of opposition from indigenous people, leftists, environmentalists, etc., ad nauseam.It was during President FVRs time that the Nawasa monopoly was removed, and in its place, the Metro Manila concession areas were divided into the east and west zones, one going to Manila Water, the other to Maynilad. It was an excellent privatization template that through the past 20 years has brought tap water into our faucets, and we have all benefited from the improvement through the years. The simple question that begs to be answered, and should be addressed by a numbers comparison is: By how much has the serviced population increased (demand) in the last 20 years, and what has MWSS or whatever government agency in charge done to increase the supply of water? That is what the President, who has called the agency heads to Malacanang, should ask. And now that his government is negotiating with the Chinese government for a loan to finally construct the Kaliwa Dam, some wise guys howl and ask why the Chinese? What a sore and sorry country we are indeed! Meanwhile, irate residents of one of the most densely-populated, traffic-choked, service-poor in almost all aspects of life mega-cities in the universe simply cry Tubiiiig! The House of Representatives entered the picture, and in its first hearing, the CEO of the private concessionaire for the east zone of NCR, Manila Water, admitted culpability and offered to resign forthwith. Not to be outdone, the Senate also had to join the investigative circus, as if culpability had not yet been established. And as if solutions we knew from Day One but failed to implement, have changed. And to think Congress is on recess, and the politicians are supposed to be in the hustings. But then, its free TV, live! Better than shaking hands with the hoi polloi, ne cest pas? Which brings me to another observation: Until now, the Senate and the HoR could not agree on the minutiae of the budget. From the arguments, it seems they just do not want to co-exist. Why, at the height of the water shortage, the Senate was breaking ground on an P8 billion building in toney BGC , a supposedly beautiful structure designed by an American architectural and engineering firm. Iconic they beam. In the middle of the four multi-storey structures is a huge auditorium where both senators and congressmen, with provision for future expanded numbers, can hold joint sessions. So in the future, expect the State of the Nation to be hosted by the Senate in Taguig rather than the House in Quezon City. One askswhy cant they just stay in one conjoined building or compound?
US-backed Kurdish forces pronounced the death of the Islamic States nearly five-year-old "caliphate" Saturday after flushing out diehard jihadists from Baghouz, their very last bastion in eastern Syria. The victory capped a bloody six-month operation and dealt a crippling blow to one of the most brutal jihadist groups in modern history. But the fall of the caliphate in Syria by no means suggests that the danger is over. Even as the territory under its control shrank, ISIS inspired a spate of terrorist attacks around the world. In the Philippines, ISIS-inspired jihadists including the Abu Sayyaf and Maute group overran Marawi City in May 2017 and battled government forces for five monthsthe longest urban battle in the country in recent times.

In those five months, Maute group militants attacked Camp Ranao and occupied several buildings in the city, including Marawi City Hall, Mindanao State University, a hospital and the city jail. They also occupied the main street and set fire to Saint Mary's Cathedral, Ninoy Aquino School and Dansalan College, run by the United Church of Christ in the Philippines and took a priest and several churchgoers hostage. Their objective, the military said, was to raise the ISIS flag at the Lanao del Sur provincial capitol and declare a wilyat or provincial ISIS territory in Lanao del Sur. When the smoke cleared from the campaign to retake the city, more than 1,200 had died978 of them jihadist fighters, 168 of them government troops, and 87 civilians.More recently, ISIS also claimed responsibility for the deadly January 2019 bomb attack on a Catholic church in Jolo, Sulu, that killed 20 people and wounded 102 others as they were hearing Mass. Significantly, in Syria, the last ISIS holdouts were foreigners, and among those evacuated from the stronghold were thousands of foreigners from France, Russia, Belgium and 40 other countries that are in most cases unwilling to take them back. Speaking to the Agence France-Presse, John Spencer, a scholar at the Modern War Institute at West Point, warns that while the geographic caliphate had been dismantled, ISIS is far from defeated. ISIS, he says, is a terrorist organization. All they have to do is put down their weapons and try to blend in with the population and just escape," he says. "They're not gone, and they're not going to be gone." Here at home, as long as there are extremist groups susceptible to the pernicious ISIS message of terror, we can never be truly safe.
Vietnam has prohibited the import of all types of herbicides containing glyphosate following the ruling of a United States court earlier this week.

The Plant Protection Department under Vietnams Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has just issued a document requiring all organizations and individuals to stop importing herbicides that contain an active ingredient called glyphosate.

The judges in a San Francisco federal court on Tuesday found Roundup to be responsible for the cancer of California resident Edwin Hardeman.

Roundup is a glyphosate-based weed killer produced by Germany-based Bayer AG and is widely used across the world.

During an interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Saturday, Hoang Trung, head of the Plant Protection Department, said that glyphosate-based herbicides are commonly imported and sold in Vietnam.

We have banned the import of the kind of weed killer following the U.S. judges conclusion, Trung stated.

The ban, however, only affects new orders, as those shipments under contracts that have already been signed are still allowed to be imported.

Glyphosate will also be listed as a prohibited substance in Vietnam in the coming time, the official continued.

Local authorities need to follow certain procedures to ban a chemical that was previously permitted for circulation in the country.

The San Francisco federal court will provide necessary evidence for Vietnam to expedite this process, he elaborated.

In the document, the Plant Protection Department also asked local businesses to report the sale and inventory of glyphosate-based weed killers prior to March 30.

The information will help ensure human health and protect the environment and ecosystem, as well as provide the basis for the agriculture ministry to implement suitable policies to manage the herbicides, according to the department.

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Every now and then something pops onto my radar that restores my faith in humanity and the way the world is going.

Recently I saw a documentary on television about various tour offerings in Hanoi. Included were several creative options such as food, jaunts into colourful old neighborhoods, tours by motorbike, and even evening beer tours.

One of the groups stuck out from the bunch, an organization called https://HanoiKids.org/, a student-run travel mate service featuring tours of the sights of Hanoi. Most intriguing about Hanoikids is their tours are free.

Thats right  free of charge! In todays commercial world thats pretty remarkable.

Hanoikids is a team of volunteers who go to university full-time yet manage to eke out a few hours here and there to conduct tours for English-speaking visitors from overseas. Juggling full-time studies and part-time work is already plenty, then adding volunteer activities to that makes for a packed schedule.

Hanoikids piqued my curiosity because the obvious motivation for the students who run the tours is they get to practice English with foreign visitors, so its not difficult to find student volunteers eager to join the team. Since the tours are free there are plenty of visitors eager to sign up, so its a great business model for both customers and service providers.

The Hanoikids view is the acquisition of language skills is a strategic commodity worthy of sacrifice that will yield long-term benefits in todays global business world.

They hit the nail right on the head with that thinking!

Hanoikids has been around for 13 years with total membership in excess of 600 part-time volunteer travel mates, of which 60-70 are currently active. The group was started by a small nucleus of students who wanted to transform their school English knowledge into practical day-to-day speaking experience and learn about foreigners and their countries and cultures.

I contacted the group prior to a recent trip to Hanoi to find out whats behind it all, knowing in advance that it must be a forward-thinking gang.

Sure enough, they jumped all over it when I asked for a meeting and sent not one, but two sharp university students to tell me about it: Ms. Mai and Ms. Hien. And they are sharp, let me tell you. Both women are nearing the end of their studies in economics at the Foreign Trade University and gearing up toward professional careers.

Mai and Hien have each run 50 to 60 tours over the last couple of years, so its a schedule that can fit with studies, part-time jobs, and family life.

When I asked what motivated them to join Hanoikids, they replied almost in unison that they had sought real on the ground practice in English after many years of language studies focusing on grammar and spelling (yuck).

That practical experience is the key to the whole shooting match, especially in Asian countries where students can read and write like theres tomorrow, yet get few opportunities to hone their vocal skills. Unfortunately, the only way to learn to swim is to jump in, and that means getting wet.

The other benefit Mai and Hien mentioned is they gain valuable knowledge and international contacts for the day when they have opportunities to travel abroad, hopefully in the not-too-distant future.

And that theyve done: Foreign tour participants come from roughly 20 countries around the world including the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries where English is widely spoken such as Malaysia and Singapore. The truth is I had trouble keeping up with them, never mind needing to dumb down my English to make it easier for them to understand.

The team offers half-day morning, afternoon, and evening tours of the main sights of Hanoi, thus leveraging their university schedules and lecture times. Flexibility is the flavour of the day, so the group tries to comply with requests from tourists who wish to visit sights off the beaten track.

Most foreign travel mates are first-time visitors to Hanoi with a list in hand such as Hoa Lo Prison, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Old Quarter, Temple of Literature, Hoan Kiem Lake, and so on. The food in Hanoi is tremendous, so Hanoikids takes people on food tours as well. Fact is one could go to Hanoi, eat everything and see nothing, and still go home with a wonderful memory of the city!

When incremental costs are involved, such as special transportation or food, the team provides estimates to their guests, who in turn foot the bill. The guides accept no tips, only token souvenirs that visitors sometimes bring with them. For those who insist on chipping in (but its by no means expected) they are welcome to donate to Hanoikids to cover their operating expenses.

During our discussion I began wondering if it would be feasible to create a business model for their tours which would include both free and paid options. Turned out we were all already on the same page as one of the challenges the team is working on: developing a sustainable long-term business model.

As much as its a worthy cause people cant volunteer forever.

This Hanoikids real-life scenario plays right into the hands of those two economics students. What better way to convert theory into reality than to manage the transformation of a non-profit cause into a successful private enterprise?

The challenge for the organization is to retain its free tours while developing optional new premium tours that generate income. This way the unique identity and integrity of Hanoikids remains intact while new revenue-generating offerings are marketed.

We discussed increasing exposure by leveraging other similar existing tour options. Local volunteers in many countries offer similar free tours, so Hanoikids could join some of those groups. Were also making a list of travel-related Facebook groups and will join some to gain more followers.

It may be feasible to create single day or overnight premium tours from Hanoi to some spectacular nearby sites, such as the Trang An complex in Ninh Binh Province, less than two hours away by car. The complex features spectacular caves, rivers, and the Bai Dinh Pagoda.

Ha Long Bay also popped up in the discussion, especially now that a new expressway has reduced travel time from Hanoi to less than three hours. Sapa, further to the north, has grown immensely in popularity and would fit nicely into a two- or three-day trip.

The greatest aspect of the discussion is the Hanoikids team is well-equipped to succeed and grow on any new ventures they undertake. Reminds me of the old adage: Give someone a fish and they eat for a day; teach them how to fish and they eat for a lifetime.

Look out for these kids going forward  they already know how to fish. Lets see if they can catch a few with all the great experience theyve gained!
High school students in Ho Chi Minh City have successfully turned used cooking oil into environment-friendly soap bars introduced at a schools science fair this week.

Eleventh graders at Nguyen Thai Binh High School in Tan Binh District presented their newest research on soap bars after noticing that the oil is usually thrown into drains, contributing to environmental pollution, as well as the amount of waste disposed of by each household.

Since cooking oil contains a lot of impurities after being used, it is impossible to be re-used as skincare products or lip moisturizers, but it can still be recycled into soap, Lam Dao Chuong, a member of the research group, said while speaking before an audience at the fair on Saturday, explaining why the group chose this specific product.

A group of students present their research on setting hands on fire without getting burnt at a science fair at Nguyen Thai Binh High School in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, March 23, 2019. Photo: Nhu Hung / Tuoi Tre

Students and teachers were excited to try out the newly-introduced product, while also attentively listening to the members of the research group describing the process of turning used cooking oil into activated charcoal soap.

It took us almost a month to make an actual product from an initial idea, a class 11A2 member said.

We have already tried using it in our families and found it quite effective, he added, encouraging others to do the same to protect the environment.

Vietnamese have been increasingly concerned about the environment with the spread of environment-friendly drinking straws, limited usage of plastic bags, and schools encouraging such activities.

The concern and interest could be felt among students at the science fair as soap bars made from recycled oil were not the only environment-friendly products presented.

Students see the model of a hydropower plant created by a group of 12th graders at a science fair at Nguyen Thai Binh High School in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, March 23, 2019. Photo: Nhu Hung / Tuoi Tre

Other researches also attracted teachers and students attention such as growing plants in styrofoam cooling boxes, turning used water bottles into water-purifying tools, egg hatching devices made from waste, and fashion items made of domestic waste, among others.

Environment-friendly products were not the only impressive presentations at the fair as many others were also highly praised for their varied experiments.

As the students were able to present many impressive researches, Huynh Khuong Anh Dung, the headmaster of the school, did not hide his pride, acknowledging that the science fair was aimed at encouraging students creativity and passion, enabling them to turn theory into practice, and raising awareness of environmental issues.

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Teachers in a central Vietnamese province are fighting arranged marriages that are still a practice in rural villages despite the law and cause many students aged 15 to 16 to drop out of school against their will.

Noticing that one of her students was no longer found in school, Nguyen Thi Tra My, a teacher of a school in central Quang Nam Province, asked around about her female student only to find out that Co Tu Poloong Thi Nghi Nghi has already left the region with her lover to make a living somewhere else.

Nghi is not a rare case in the rural villages of Vietnam, where getting married before a legal age is still commonly practiced.

In many instances, just a promise of a future together is enough for students to drop out of school while believing that their life would turn to a new chapter, teachers in Tay Giang District, located near the Vietnam-Laos border, said.

Such marriages are not always arranged, they added.

Even though the law states specifically that male citizens need to be over 20, while females need to be over 18 years old to get married, many students originating from ethnic minorities and rural villages are still found dropping out of school because of forced marriages.

Shocking to many teachers

Quitting school to get married is most commonly seen among students aged 14 to 15, or even younger, when many consciously make nuptial decisions while others are forced into arranged marriages despite the objection of the bride-to-be.

Teachers of Tay Giang High School in the namesake district are already used to having their outstanding students suddenly disappear, leaving behind an empty score sheet while their names are still in the schools database.

Every year, we have to deal with numerous cases of students dropping out of school, but the most heartbreaking instances are still the ones that abandon their education to get married, headmaster of the school Dinh Van Tu said, indicating that in the rural areas of Vietnam it is still uncommon to finish all 12 years of the standard curriculum.

A case in point is a female student who came from a small village near the Vietnam-Laos border and had to travel for quite a long distance just to reach her school, which is located in the center of Tay Giang.

I just want to be studying instead of planting seeds like others in my village, Aral Mai Tinh, vice-headmaster of Tay Giang High School, quoted her former student as saying.

Having noticed that the female student was unhappy, her teachers soon learnt that their precious student had already been required by family to marry a man from her village since birth without her consent or knowledge.

The grooms family decided that it was time for the couple to start their life together as husband and wife, even though the bride had not finished high school yet.

In protest, Tinh took the female student in to live with her so as to shelter the girl from old-fashioned practices of the village and the tribe.

Even though she was staying in my house, the grooms family and the villagers still came looking for her, the teacher recalled.

Tension rose as many people showed up to force the illegal marriage.

In the end, my student and I had to give in and move in with her groom, leaving the books and school supplies with her teachers.

Some time had passed before Tinh came to the village looking for her student only to find a much more mature female farmer with a newborn baby in her arms and her eyes filled with indescribable sadness, the vice-headmaster said.

An illegal practice that is difficult to change

Rules within a tribe and a village are oddly powerful, Tay Giang teachers admitted.

While it is already outlawed, changes come slowly as people are still more bound by their own tribe.

Teachers patience is the most important feature that can make a change, the headmaster Tu said.

As teachers, if we do not help our students change their perception such tragic scenarios will keep repeating themselves for thousands of generations, he added.

Besides the cases where teachers interference could not change the unfortunate fate of these students, many have helped keep students from quitting school.

At least the students were able to finish 12 years of their basic education, Tu said.

One of such cases is a 12th grader who was about to suspend her studies to get married.

Having learnt of this, the headmaster called local authorities to have parents come to the school so that the teachers could prevent the illegal practice, resulting in the postponement of the marriage.

Thanks to the teachers efforts, the number of students dropping out of high school for nuptials has seen its downfall over the years, with some cases still continuing their studies even after such marriage.

Currently we have two married couples who are also students at our school, Tu said, adding that one couple is living together as per their tribes tradition while the other only comes to the husbands house at the end of the week.

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Local authorities have released a list of 22 hotels that do not meet compulsory standards in Nha Trang, a popular resort city in the south-central Vietnamese province of Khanh Hoa, ahead of a biennial beach festival in May.

The Khanh Hoa Department of Tourism has publicized the names of the illegitimate hotels based on the law on tourism, following the directive of the provincial Peoples Committee.

The list will provide useful information for visitors to Nha Trang, especially during the ninth Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa Beach Festival scheduled for May 11 to 14.

The fest, which is organized every two years, is also the main event in the 2019 National Tourism Year hosted by Khanh Hoa Province.

The tourism department is coordinating with relevant agencies to deal with the hotels in the list, an official stated.

Such establishments include two hotels of notorious Muong Thanh Corporation, both of which were previously fined by local authorities for multiple violations.

Dubai Hotel on Ton Dan Street in Nha Trang City. Photo: Thai Thinh / Tuoi Tre

The Muong Thanh Luxury Vien Trieu, located in Vinh Phuoc Ward, was slapped with a VND40 million (US$1,720) for constructing a swimming pool without a permit.

Meanwhile, the Muong Thanh Luxury Khanh Hoa, situated in Xuan Huong Ward, was built with 43 stories while the developer was only allowed to construct 40 floors.

Muong Thanh was eventually required to pull down the three illegal stories.

The list also mentioned Dubai and Euro Star Hotels, which were suspended from operations for failing to follow regulations on fire safety.

In addition, the Ninh Phuoc Wild Beach Resort & Spa has been operating and serving mainly Chinese tourists over the past years despite its violations of fire safety and construction regulations.

The complete list of 22 hotels in Nha Trang that fail to meet standards promulgated by the law on tourism. Photo: Thai Thinh / Tuoi Tre

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Here are todays leading news stories:

Society

-- The Department of Tourism in the south-central Vietnamese province of Khanh Hoa has announced a list of 22 hotels in Nha Trang that do not meet standards set out by the law, ahead of the Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa Beach Festival, which will take place from May 11 to 14.

-- A fire broke out at an automobile repair workshop in the north-central province of Ha Tinh on Saturday morning and burned down at least two other houses despite efforts from firefighting police and local residents.

-- A 28-year-old man in the northern city of Hai Phong attempted to set himself and his house on fire after his father refused to pay his VND100 million (US$4,300) debt.

-- Vietnams Ministry of Public Security and Filipino police have confiscated 276 kilograms of drugs in the Philippines as a result of an expanded investigation into a drug ring involving Chinese, Laotian, and Vietnamese individuals. Vietnamese officers previously nabbed eight suspects and impounded 300 kilograms of crystal meth.

-- Police in the north-central province of Nghe An are investigating a case where a one-week-old boy was killed after his own father allegedly threw him into a well due to conflicts with his wife.

-- A police official in Binh Thoi District in the Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau has been stripped of his Peoples Police title after being found using drugs along with 93 other people inside a club in late February.

-- A trailer truck fatally crushed three people in a family, including a two-year-old child, after it tipped over while making a turn in the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap on Saturday afternoon.

-- Police in Hanoi have initiated legal proceedings against 31-year-old Nguyen Trong Trinh for raping a nine-year-old girl. Trinh was previously arrested and released on bail by district police before being apprehended once again by the municipal Department of Police.

-- The World Meteorological Organization on Saturday recognized Phu Lien meteorological station, located in Hai Phong City, as the worlds centennial observatory station after it met a number of criteria, namely having provided continuous data for more than 100 years and operated in line with the WMOs standards.

Business

-- Ho Chi Minh Citys metro line No. 1, which connects District 1 and District 9, is expected to be put into operation in early 2021, Nguyen Thien Nhan, secretary of the municipal Party Committee, said during a meeting between the citys leaders and foreign investors on Saturday.

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A meteorological station in the northern Vietnamese city of Hai Phong has been listed among the worlds centennial observatory station by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

A ceremony was organized on Saturday morning for the WMO to recognize the 117-year-old Phu Lien meteorological facility, located in Kien An District, Hai Phong, as the worlds centennial observatory station.

The acknowledgement was granted after the facility met a number of criteria listed by the WMO, including being at least 100 years old, having provided continuous data for a century or more, and operating in line with the organizations standards, among others.

Phu Lien is the weather station that has the longest history in Vietnam, according to Professor Nguyen Duc Ngu, 82, who is a former weather observer at the facility and was head of the Vietnam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration between 1991 and 1999.

The establishment was constructed on September 16, 1902, Prof. Ngu said, adding that the station was originally equipped with only meteorological magnetic field monitoring equipment.

Inside a room within the Phu Lien meteorological station. Photo: Xuan Long / Tuoi Tre

Astronomical monitoring equipment, seismographs, earthquake measuring devices were later added, he continued.

The station used to provide data for Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, the professor elaborated.

Tran Hong Thai, the incumbent head of the Meteorological and Hydrological Administration, asserted that the Phu Lien station still plays an important role in monitoring weather conditions, providing forecasts, and minimizing damage brought about by natural disasters in the countrys northeast region.

According to the WMO, there are about 100 centennial observatory stations across the world, all of which need to be preserved for their data.

Such information is essential for experts to evaluate the changes of climatic patterns over the past century.

The WMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations with 192 member states and territories.

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If you want to get to the heart of the matter of whether or not Donald Trump was in bed with Putin and received vast, secret Russian help to vanquish Hillary Clinton in 2016 you only need to ask one person-- FELIX SATER . Go back and read my previous pieces on Felix. He has been an FBI informant since December 1998. His specialty? HELPING THE FBI MAKE CASES AGAINST RUSSIAN MOBSTERS AND RUSSIAN SPIES.

Move over Wile E. Coyote. Your feckless, futile efforts to kill the Roadrunner have been displaced by Jim Comey, John Brennan, James Clapper and legions of faux journalists. One of the leaders of this parade of bewilderment and buffoonery is my old pal, Chris Matthews (I did his show multiple times). How can such a smart guy be such a dummy?

So, why does Felix matter? He started working with Donald Trump in 2003. When Donald Trump started his campaign for President, he and Sater had worked together for 12 years. Sater's job was to line up real estate deals that, if successfully concluded, would carry the name Trump. Trump was not really building anything. He simply put his name on projects and was paid for doing so. Sater helped broker those deals and was the principal, along with Michael Cohen (Sater's boyhood friend by the way) in negotiating for the Trump Tower Moscow project which never came to fruition.

If Trump really was engaged in conspiring with Russian mobsters and Russian spies Sater, who was the guy the FBI used to lure Russian bad guys to their doom, would have known or could have been used to gather incriminating evidence against Trump.

The latter would be real easy--Felix would wear a wire and/or have a meeting with Trump in a room replete with hidden cameras and microphones. The FBI either never did this or did it and got nothing. There is only one other possibility--the FBI did record Trump and got the goods on him. Had that been the case Jim Comey and Andy McCabe would have leaked that info quicker than a man with dysentery dashing for the toilet.

And one other little reminder--Felix Sater helped the FBI's Bill Priestap nail three undercover Russian spies in January 2015. Priestap subsequently was promoted to run all of the FBI's Counter Intelligence efforts in December 2015 because of the case he did with Sater.

Jump ahead to July 2016. Priestap's deputy, Peter Strzok, with the support of Priestap's bosses, opens up a counter intelligence investigation of Trump and his team. WTF???? Why didn't Priestap immediately dispatch Sater to have a sit-down with Sater's business partner aka Trump? Hell, even Barney Fife could have figured that out.

No such evidence was ever gathered. How do I know? The public testimony of both Jim Comey and Andy McCabe. They had plenty of suspicions because they moronically accepted the so-called Steele Dossier as reliable intelligence. These clowns make Wile E. Coyote appear to be a genius problem solver.

Here's what should scare the living hell out of you--people such as Comey, McCabe, Clapper and Brennan were allowed to be in charge of America's preeminent law enforcement and intelligence agencies. And their solution to take out a President they didn't like was Rube Goldberg scheme that is starting to unravel with lightening speed. If there is such a thing as Karma, those boys may have a prison boyfriend in their future.
Maruyama Park

Arakurayama Sengen Park

Chidorigafuchi Park

Looking to travel internationally this coming vacation? Why don't you try out these "Kawaii" places in the Land of the Rising Sun? And none is more visually appealing of all the amazing things this country offers than its world-famous Cherry Blossoms or Sakura trees. This coming March to May, Japan is all set for the Hanami Festival (also known as Cherry blossom viewing) where the Japanese people gather in the park to see blooming Cherry trees. Its another season of spring in Japan coming right in the month of March, April and May--the best time to visit Japan, where all of the people are anticipating the yearly natural spectacle.The park has a picnic place where you can see 10-meter tall cherry trees, with a handful of people performing. It is a good way of relaxing, at the same time communicate with other people.It is a place where you can see a perfect combination of the mountain with a full of snow pagoda (a tall building in Japan), lined up by cherry trees. This makes for a perfect snap for your Instagram feed after the challenging 397-step climb to get there. After catching your breath, expect a breath-taking sight as you get a perfect view of Japan's national pride, Mt. Fuji.Hirosaki Park is an actual castle and is still preserved after 200 years. The castle has since become a Park, and is also Japans best spot in viewing Cherry Blossom Trees, 2,500 of which are planted near the castle.The 700-meter Chidorigafuchi-Ryokudo walkway along the moat of the Imperial Palace allows you to see Cherry Blossom Trees closely as Chidorigafuchi is most famous for its moat where you can rent boats to admire the pink blooms right from the water.
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall ended their visit to Barbados by attending a traditional Sunday service.

Charles and Camilla joined the congregation of the Cathedral Church of Saint Michael and All Angels in Bridgetown, Barbados, before flying to Cuba.

The heir to the throne usually goes to church if Sunday falls within a foreign tour and the couple were joined by Governor General Dame Cecile La Grenade.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have visited five Commonwealth Caribbean countries on their tour (Jane Barlow/PA)

The couple were greeted by Bishop Michael Maxwell of the Anglican Diocese of Barbados before a fanfare announced their arrival to the parishioners.

The prince and duchess were joined by a number of their entourage who sat in the seats behind the couple.

The service was staged for Charles and Camilla, who were featured in the prayers, as were the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.

Bishop Maxwell asked God to endue them with thy Holy Spirit, enrich them with thy heavenly grace, prosper them with all happiness and bring them to thine everlasting kingdom.

Charles and Camillas official trip to Cuba will be a first by members of the monarchy and comes after the couples tour of five Commonwealth Caribbean countries where the Queen is head of state.

The prince and duchess will be joined by Commonwealth minister Lord Ahmad, showing the importance the government places in developing ties with Cuba.

A meeting with Buena Vista Social Club will be one of the highlights during the royal couples trip to Cuba (Yui Mok/PA)

Charles met Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel in November last year at his London home, Clarence House, when the foreign leader visited the UK with a delegation of senior ministers.

At a Havana recording studio, the prince and his wife will meet members of the Buena Vista Social Club.

The group became worldwide celebrities when their 1997 album became a surprise global hit and Grammy award-winner.

Other highlights of the Cuban trip will include the couple meeting the owners of the famous vintage cars still running in Havana, although these will be British classics.

After being welcomed at the airport, the prince and his wife will start their visit by laying a wreath at the memorial for Cubas national hero, the essayist and poet Jose Marti.
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed President Xi Jinping for a private dinner near Nice on Sunday as the Chinese leader tours Europe seeking support for an ambitious economic programme dubbed the "new Silk Road". Italy surprised its EU partners a day earlier, when the eurozone's third-largest economy signed on to Chinas vast infrastructure investment programme, which spans more than 70 countries, despite warnings from Brussels.But Macron might not be so easily won over. He has sought to forge a united European front to contend with China's global ambitions and has called for increased "reciprocity" in trade deals with Beijing.Xi and his wife arrived around 7pm local time at Villa Kerylos, a Belle Epoque villa museum overlooking the Mediterranean in Beaulieu-sur-Mer. Upon his arrival Xi toured the villa with Macron.The small seaside town is under high surveillance for the state visit and the coastal road has cut off all traffic except for residents. The arrival of the two presidents has also caused huge traffic jams in Nice and caused the closure of the famed Promenade des Anglais.>> New Silk Road: Will Italy be China's Trojan horse?Despite the pomp, wariness remainsXi visited the tiny Mediterranean principality of Monaco earlier on Sunday and was welcomed by Prince Albert and Princess Charlene for the first state visit by a Chinese president. The palace said Monaco is interested in increased trade and economic cooperation with China as well as "boosting China's image in the principality".But Xi's visit poses a particular challenge for Macron, who wants to deepen EU ties with China while also pushing back against Beijing's growing clout.On Monday, the two leaders will head to Paris for the official portion of the state visit. A series of cooperation deals on nuclear power, aerospace and clean energy initiatives, some involving lucrative contracts, are expected to be signed.>> In Sri Lanka, the new Chinese Silk Road is a disappointmentSpeaking before Xi's arrival, Macron lauded the EU's "awakening" to the challenges posed by China, which the bloc now labels a "rival" despite being Europe's biggest trading partner.Speaking in Brussels on Thursday, he told EU leaders that cooperation with China must be matched by caution."We have a lot to do together in terms of climate action, in terms of multilateralism, but we also have to defend our own interests," Macron said. On Tuesday, Macron and Xi will be joined by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker to explore "points of convergence" ahead of an EU-China summit in Brussels next month.Two-way Silk Road? Macron is expected to repeat his calls for increased "reciprocity" regarding market access to China, in particular Beijing's demands that foreign companies hand over vital technological know-how in order to invest in the country."If we're going to talk about a new Silk Road, then it must be one that goes in both directions," Finance Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told BFM television on Friday.Europe's distrust of Huawei, which is poised to become the dominant player in next-generation 5G telecoms networks worldwide, is emblematic of the rocky relationship China has with the West.The US is pressuring European allies to not use the Huawei technology, saying it creates a security risk by potentially letting Beijing install a "back door" on sensitive communications.Yet so far France has not ruled out using Huawei gear  and Monaco has already signed a deal with the Chinese giant to roll out a 5G network as soon as this year.Beijing has bristled at the suspicions, accusing Washington of trying to escalate President Donald Trump's trade battle with China.'Reality very different' Despite the sources of friction, France's goal is to engage China as a closer partner as Washington makes a pointed withdrawal from global affairs under Trump's "America First" policy. For example, Macron may seek more Chinese support of the French-backed G5 Sahel force fighting Islamic extremists in Western Africa.China has been investing heavily in a diplomatic offensive across Africa, promising to help build infrastructure projects as part of the new Silk Road, officially called the Belt and Road Initiative.Aides say Macron will press Xi to ensure such projects are fair and explore the participation of French companies amid allegations the deals could load African countries with unsustainable debt loads.He is also expected to urge Xi to commit to the ambitious global bid to cut carbon emissions, though analysts note that China is still building dozens of coal-burning power plants.France also plans to voice concerns about rights abuses against China's Uighur Muslim minority, including allegations of mass internments in the restive Xinjiang province."China talks about defending multilateralism and humanity's common future to anyone wanting to listen, but the reality is very different," said Emmanuel Dubois de Prisque, a China expert with the Thomas More Institute in Paris. And there are other thorny diplomatic issues of particular interest to France. Grace Meng, the wife of Interpol's missing ex-chief, is currently under French police protection. She told FRANCE 24 she has not heard from her husband since he vanished six months ago on a trip to his native China and has written to Macron urging him to raise her husbands case with President Xi during his visit.(FRANCE 24 with AP and AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed President Xi Jinping for a private dinner near Nice on Sunday as the Chinese leader tours Europe seeking support for an ambitious economic programme dubbed the "new Silk Road".

Italy surprised its EU partners a day earlier, when the eurozone's third-largest economy signed on to Chinas vast infrastructure investment programme, which spans more than 70 countries, despite warnings from Brussels.

But Macron might not be so easily won over. He has sought to forge a united European front to contend with China's global ambitions and has called for increased "reciprocity" in trade deals with Beijing.

Xi and his wife arrived around 7pm local time at Villa Kerylos, a Belle Epoque villa museum overlooking the Mediterranean in Beaulieu-sur-Mer. Upon his arrival Xi toured the villa with Macron.

The small seaside town is under high surveillance for the state visit and the coastal road has cut off all traffic except for residents. The arrival of the two presidents has also caused huge traffic jams in Nice and caused the closure of the famed Promenade des Anglais.

>> New Silk Road: Will Italy be China's Trojan horse?

Despite the pomp, wariness remains

Xi visited the tiny Mediterranean principality of Monaco earlier on Sunday and was welcomed by Prince Albert and Princess Charlene for the first state visit by a Chinese president. The palace said Monaco is interested in increased trade and economic cooperation with China as well as "boosting China's image in the principality".

But Xi's visit poses a particular challenge for Macron, who wants to deepen EU ties with China while also pushing back against Beijing's growing clout.

On Monday, the two leaders will head to Paris for the official portion of the state visit. A series of cooperation deals on nuclear power, aerospace and clean energy initiatives, some involving lucrative contracts, are expected to be signed.

Story continues

>> In Sri Lanka, the new Chinese Silk Road is a disappointment

Speaking before Xi's arrival, Macron lauded the EU's "awakening" to the challenges posed by China, which the bloc now labels a "rival" despite being Europe's biggest trading partner.

Speaking in Brussels on Thursday, he told EU leaders that cooperation with China must be matched by caution.

"We have a lot to do together in terms of climate action, in terms of multilateralism, but we also have to defend our own interests," Macron said.

On Tuesday, Macron and Xi will be joined by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker to explore "points of convergence" ahead of an EU-China summit in Brussels next month.

Two-way Silk Road?

Macron is expected to repeat his calls for increased "reciprocity" regarding market access to China, in particular Beijing's demands that foreign companies hand over vital technological know-how in order to invest in the country.

"If we're going to talk about a new Silk Road, then it must be one that goes in both directions," Finance Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told BFM television on Friday.

Europe's distrust of Huawei, which is poised to become the dominant player in next-generation 5G telecoms networks worldwide, is emblematic of the rocky relationship China has with the West.

The US is pressuring European allies to not use the Huawei technology, saying it creates a security risk by potentially letting Beijing install a "back door" on sensitive communications.

Yet so far France has not ruled out using Huawei gear  and Monaco has already signed a deal with the Chinese giant to roll out a 5G network as soon as this year.

Beijing has bristled at the suspicions, accusing Washington of trying to escalate President Donald Trump's trade battle with China.

'Reality very different'

Despite the sources of friction, France's goal is to engage China as a closer partner as Washington makes a pointed withdrawal from global affairs under Trump's "America First" policy.

For example, Macron may seek more Chinese support of the French-backed G5 Sahel force fighting Islamic extremists in Western Africa.

China has been investing heavily in a diplomatic offensive across Africa, promising to help build infrastructure projects as part of the new Silk Road, officially called the Belt and Road Initiative.

Aides say Macron will press Xi to ensure such projects are fair and explore the participation of French companies amid allegations the deals could load African countries with unsustainable debt loads.

He is also expected to urge Xi to commit to the ambitious global bid to cut carbon emissions, though analysts note that China is still building dozens of coal-burning power plants.

France also plans to voice concerns about rights abuses against China's Uighur Muslim minority, including allegations of mass internments in the restive Xinjiang province.

"China talks about defending multilateralism and humanity's common future to anyone wanting to listen, but the reality is very different," said Emmanuel Dubois de Prisque, a China expert with the Thomas More Institute in Paris.

And there are other thorny diplomatic issues of particular interest to France. Grace Meng, the wife of Interpol's missing ex-chief, is currently under French police protection. She told FRANCE 24 she has not heard from her husband since he vanished six months ago on a trip to his native China and has written to Macron urging him to raise her husbands case with President Xi during his visit.

(FRANCE 24 with AP and AFP)
The award ceremony in Dubai was hosted by Hollywood star Hugh Jackman, who performed songs from his film The Greatest Showman.

A maths and physics teacher from Kenya has been awarded the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize.

The award ceremony in Dubai was hosted by Hollywood star Hugh Jackman, who performed songs from his film The Greatest Showman.

Jackman announced Peter Tabichi, a teacher at Keriko Secondary School, as winner of the one million dollar (756,000) prize.

The nine other finalists, including Britains Andrew Moffat, from Parkfield Community School in Birmingham, rushed on to the stage to embrace and congratulate their colleague.

Mr Tabichi said: Every day in Africa, we turn a new page and a new chapter.

Today is another day. This prize does not recognise me but recognises this great continents young people.

I am only here because of what my students have achieved.

This prize gives them a chance. It tells the world that they can do anything.

Part of the ceremony, which was also attended by the Earl of Wessex, included a video message from Andrew Lloyd Webber, who paid tribute to teachers all over the world and emphasised the importance of music education.

Story continues

Lord Lloyd-Webber said: Teachers deserve far more praise than they often receive.

Today, as I fear we all know, education is under threat all over the world from funding shortages, lack of resources, and importantly, too few teachers.

This is particularly true in the case of music education, where many young people lack access to instruments, tuition and opportunities to perform.

The award marked the end of the annual Global Education and Skills Forum.
Mali's government on Sunday announced the sacking of senior military officers and the dissolution of a militia, following the massacre of more than 130 Muslims from the Fulani ethnic ... The attack - one of the most savage in a region where ethnic and jihadist violence is escalating - took place on Saturday in the village of Ogossagou in central Mali, close to the border with Burkina Faso.Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga said: "The protection of the population will remain the monopoly of the state."He said new military chiefs would be named and that the Dan Nan Ambassagou association, composed of Dogon hunters, had been dissolved."At least 134 civilians, including women and children, have been killed and at least 55 injured," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a communique.The massacre took place just as a delegation from the UN Security Council visited the Sahel region to assess the jihadist threat in the region.There have been sporadic clashes between nomadic Fulani herders and the Dogon ethnic group over access to land and water for many years.But since 2014 jihadist fighters in the area have been fomenting further violence.A group led by radical Islamist preacher Amadou Koufa has recruited mainly from the Muslim Fulani community leading to an increase in inter-ethnic violence.In January, Dogon hunters were blamed for the killing of 37 people in another Fulani village, Koulogon, in the same region.And last year, 500 civilians died in similar clashes, according to United Nations figures.Ready access to weaponsFor Baba Dakono, researcher at Bamako-based Institut d'etudes et de securite, the increasing tension in the region since 2014 is partly due to a weak state but also easy access to weapons.It means that conflicts between different socio-economic groups which would have used clubs now involve Kalashnikovs, causing many more victims, he told RFI. Revenge attacks are also far more violent.The Fulani have repeatedly called for more protection from local authorities. But the government in Bamako has denied their accusations that it turns a blind eye to - or even encourages - Dogon attacks on the Fulani.Dakono says the army is present in the region from time to time and carries out occasional patrols but the army cannot even protect itself.The army itself is being targeted by these attacks so its much more preoccupied [...] in protecting itself against the [jihadist] threat."The local population is in disarray faced with the insecurity," he added. "It means they turn to self-defence groups or take up weapons individually to cope with it.Investigations launched but not completedDakono says the country lacks the means to carry out investigations and make arrests in these type of attacks.Investigations are opened but can be difficult to conclude, he said. "You need to be able to collect information at a precise moment in areas which are not always accessible due to the security situation. Many enquiries have been launched over the last few years but werent completed.Despite the presence of UN peacekeepers, a strong French military contingent and the creation of a five-nation military force in the region, jihadist violence has not abated.

Mali's government on Sunday announced the sacking of senior military officers and the dissolution of a militia, following the massacre of more than 130 Muslims from the Fulani ethnic ...

The attack - one of the most savage in a region where ethnic and jihadist violence is escalating - took place on Saturday in the village of Ogossagou in central Mali, close to the border with Burkina Faso.

Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga said: "The protection of the population will remain the monopoly of the state."

He said new military chiefs would be named and that the Dan Nan Ambassagou association, composed of Dogon hunters, had been dissolved.

"At least 134 civilians, including women and children, have been killed and at least 55 injured," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a communique.

The massacre took place just as a delegation from the UN Security Council visited the Sahel region to assess the jihadist threat in the region.

There have been sporadic clashes between nomadic Fulani herders and the Dogon ethnic group over access to land and water for many years.

But since 2014 jihadist fighters in the area have been fomenting further violence.

A group led by radical Islamist preacher Amadou Koufa has recruited mainly from the Muslim Fulani community leading to an increase in inter-ethnic violence.

In January, Dogon hunters were blamed for the killing of 37 people in another Fulani village, Koulogon, in the same region.

And last year, 500 civilians died in similar clashes, according to United Nations figures.

Ready access to weapons

For Baba Dakono, researcher at Bamako-based Institut d'etudes et de securite, the increasing tension in the region since 2014 is partly due to a weak state but also easy access to weapons.

It means that conflicts between different socio-economic groups which would have used clubs now involve Kalashnikovs, causing many more victims, he told RFI. Revenge attacks are also far more violent.

Story continues

The Fulani have repeatedly called for more protection from local authorities. But the government in Bamako has denied their accusations that it turns a blind eye to - or even encourages - Dogon attacks on the Fulani.

Dakono says the army is present in the region from time to time and carries out occasional patrols but the army cannot even protect itself.

The army itself is being targeted by these attacks so its much more preoccupied [...] in protecting itself against the [jihadist] threat.

"The local population is in disarray faced with the insecurity," he added. "It means they turn to self-defence groups or take up weapons individually to cope with it.

Investigations launched but not completed

Dakono says the country lacks the means to carry out investigations and make arrests in these type of attacks.

Investigations are opened but can be difficult to conclude, he said. "You need to be able to collect information at a precise moment in areas which are not always accessible due to the security situation. Many enquiries have been launched over the last few years but werent completed.

Despite the presence of UN peacekeepers, a strong French military contingent and the creation of a five-nation military force in the region, jihadist violence has not abated.
More than a hundred people, including pregnant women and small children, have reportedly been killed by an ethnic militia in Mali.

Armed men dressed as traditional Donzo hunters assaulted people in the central villages of Ogossagou and Welingara, the mayor of the nearby town of Bankass, Moulaye Guindo, told Reuters.

The village chief of Ogossogou and his grandchildren are said to be among those slain in the ethnic Peulh community.

"The body count continues by the gendarmes, who have just told me they have found 110 bodies, but the count continues," Mr Guindo said.

The president of a local group called Tabital Pulaaku said the victims "included pregnant women, young children and the elderly", the AP news agency reported.

Islamic extremists have been growing in prominence in central Mali since 2015.

Worsening ethnic and jihadist violence led to hundreds of civilian deaths last year.

Militants from the Dogon ethnic group have been blamed for scores of recent attacks, according to Human Rights Watch.

A group called Dan Na Ambassagou is said to comprise a number of self-defence organisations from Dogon villages and others.

Members of the Dogon grouping have accused Peulhs of supporting jihadists linked to terror groups in the country's north and beyond.

If the death toll is confirmed, this latest attack will be the worst of recent times.

It took place as a UN Security Council mission visited Mali to find solutions to the violence.

The UN mission confirmed reports of an attack but did not give figures on the number of dead.

The destabilisation of the region is damaging tourism.

Mali's Dogon country, which boasts dramatic cliff landscapes and world-renowned traditional art, once drew tourists from Europe who hiked through the area with local guides.
Thailand's pro-military party has taken an unexpected lead in the first general election since a coup in 2014.

With 93% of votes counted, the Phalang Pracharat party was first with 7.64 million votes, according to the country's Election Commission.

"We are pleased with the results so far," said Phalang Pracharat leader Uttama Savanayana.

Its vote total falls short of the numbers required for an outright majority in parliament.

Trailing with 7.16 million votes was Pheu Thai, a party linked to the self-exiled ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whose loyalists have won every election since 2001.

Despite the seemingly higher level of support than expected, the vote total falls short of the numbers required for an outright majority in parliament.

While junta supporters are leading in the popular vote, the number of parliamentary constituency seats each party has won hasn't been officially confirmed.

The results of the top two parties are expected to be close, with Pheu Thai taking the lion's share.

It means the country could now face several weeks of haggling among political parties before a potentially unstable coalition government is formed.

Even without a majority of MPs, the junta leader, Prayuth Chan-ocha, will likely try to reclaim the premiership under a coalition government with the support of the senate.

Changes to the constitution under the junta have made it exceptionally difficult for opposition parties to take control.

The new rules mean that the 500 members of the lower house are elected, while the 250 members of the senate have been handpicked by the military.

The prime minister is chosen by the combined votes of both houses.

In order to seal the deal, General Chan-ocha would only need 126 votes from the lower house if all the senators back him.

Thai politics is bitterly divided, with 12 successful coups d'etat since 1932.

Opponents say the new system ensures the military will maintain its grip on power.

Story continues

Phongthep Thepkanjana was deputy prime minister in the last democratically elected government.

He has again been campaigning for Pheu Thai.

He told Sky News he believes the military leaders deliberately stifled any chance of real change.

"This election will not achieve true democracy, let alone lasting democracy, because even if political parties on the democratic side win the election in combination, the mechanisms created and controlled by the junta can still prevent them from forming a coalition government," he said.

In addition, several groups and their members are facing legal action after the election which could see their parties dissolved.

Around 51 million Thais were eligible to vote in the election which ultimately pitched the military and its supporters against the former ruling Shinawatra family in what some defined as a battle between democracy and legitimised military rule.

Voter turnout was initially estimated to be around 66%, much lower than the 80% expected.

Concerns have also been raised about the integrity of the poll after 6% of votes were disqualified, according to the Election Commission.

Pheu Thai's secretary general, Phumtham Wechayachai, questioned the irregularities and said they wanted to inspect the spoiled ballots.

Human Rights Watch has also probed the fairness of the vote, with senior researcher for Thailand, Sunai Phasuk, saying: "The reports that we have heard back are very alarming. There were reports of vote buying, there were reports of irregularities in vote count and tabulation, there were reports about intimidation of opposition parties members."

As the provisional results showing a military lead trickled in #prayforthailand trended on Twitter in Thailand, followed later by Thai-language hashtags that translated as "Election Commission screw-up" and "cheating the election".

The long-awaited election has already taken its first scalp as the leader of the Democratic party, Abhisit Vejjajiva resigned following the party's poor performance.

Thailand's Election Commission chairman said the unofficial results of the general election will be announced later on Monday.

Official results will be confirmed by 9 May.
Summer may be one of the most anticipated seasons and its for a reason!

Stilts Calatagan Beach Resort

School's out, and the climate is perfect for a cool splash of some vitamin sea. But not everyone can afford a dream trip to Maldives, the proverbial summer vacation almost everyone is aiming for. We've got just the right alternative as Stilts Calatagan Beach Resort offers something familiar albeit only a couple of hours away from Metro Manila. Stilts Calatagan, located in Batangas, is only within 3 hours of travel from Manila where you can enjoy your Maldives on a budget vacation, while still having those Instagram-worthy shots featuring white sands and the bluest waters!The place offers Snorkeling, Beach Hopping, Camping and many more for just P350 to P385 of a day tour! If you want to show those bikinis and build sand castles, the white sand of Stilts has your back! For nature lovers, they offer Mangrove Boat Tour, Island Hopping, and Scuba Diving. For those who want something exhilarating, they have ATV rentals and Kayaking. Stilts is also known for its sunset view while camping, where you can rent tents for that real camping feel.

Choose from the three main beaches to enjoy the Serenity, Harmony, and Destiny, all together with the various activities they offer. And if you have pets, dont worry. Stilts Calatagan is a pet-friendly resort, so you can bring your babies with you and also enjoy the summer break!
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been hailed on social media by Muslims around the world for her response to two mosque shootings by a white nationalist who killed 50 worshippers. She wore a headscarf at the funerals in line with Islamic custom and swiftly reformed gun laws.

An image of the prime minister embracing a grieving woman was projected onto the world's tallest tower in Dubai over the weekend with the Arabic word for "peace."

Yet for many Muslims, Ardern's most consequential move was immediately labeling the attack an act of terrorism.

That stands in contrast to numerous ideologically-motivated mass shootings in North America by white non-Muslim gunmen that were not labeled acts of terrorism, say Muslim leaders and terrorism experts.

For too long, terror attacks have been depicted as a uniquely Muslim problem, with acts of violence described as "terrorist only when it applies to Muslims," said Abbas Barzegar of the Council on American Islamic Relations. He works on documenting and combating anti-Muslim bigotry and Islamophobia.

"We've got an issue in this country where anytime a violent act is committed by a Muslim, the media starts at terrorism and then works backward from there," added Colin Clarke, a senior research fellow at The Soufan Center, a New York-based think tank.

It's the opposite when the shooter is non-Muslim and white, said Clarke, who's spent his career studying terrorism, particularly Muslim extremism.

The March 15 attacks on the New Zealand mosques raised questions about whether Islamophobia and the threat of violent right-wing extremism was being taken seriously by politicians and law enforcement.

The gunman in the New Zealand massacre called himself a white nationalist and referred to President Donald Trump as "a symbol of renewed white identity." Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, has been charged with murder in the attacks.

Story continues

Trump expressed sympathy for the victims, but played down the rise of white nationalism around the world, saying he didn't consider it a major threat despite data showing it is growing.

The Anti-Defamation League found that right-wing extremism was linked to every extremist killing in the United States last year, with at least 50 people killed. The group said that since the 1970s, nearly three in four extremist-related killings in the United States have been linked to domestic right-wing extremists and nearly all the rest to Muslim extremists.

"It's really important that this attack not be dismissed as some crazy lone wolf, isolated incident," said Dalia Mogahed, who leads research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, an organization that focuses on research of American Muslims.

"I think it needs to be seen as ... a symptom of a wider problem, a transnational rising threat of white supremist violence where anti-Muslim rhetoric is the oxygen for this movement," she said.

A study by the ISPU found that foiled plots involving Muslims perceived to be acting in the name of Islam received 770% more media coverage than those involving perpetrators acting in the name of white supremacy. Another study by Georgia State University found that out of 136 terror attacks in the U.S. over a span of 10 years, Muslims committed on average 12.5 percent of the attacks, yet received more than half of the news coverage.

Mehdi Hasan, a commentator, TV host, columnist and adjunct professor at Georgetown University, said the public has been conditioned since the 9/11 attacks to see terrorists "as people with big beards, brown skin, loud voices shouting in Arabic."

"I don't think anyone can deny that the entire War on Terror has fed into this idea (of) Muslims as a threat, as 'the other', as inherently violent," Hasan said.

Additionally, when non-Muslim white gunmen are the perpetrators of violence, there are often attempts at examining their mental health or childhood in ways not consistently afforded to others, Hasan said.

Some of the most notorious recent attacks by white assailants with racist or extremist views the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting that killed 11 people in October and the church shooting that killed nine black worshippers in Charleston in 2015  were not labeled terrorism and the assailants were not tried as terrorists. Neither was the shooting by a white assailant at a mosque in Quebec, Canada in 2017 that killed six Muslims.

Clarke, the terrorism expert, said he's been called to testify on Capitol Hill three times in the past two years about jihadi terrorism. "Where are the hearings about right-wing violence?" he asked.

Meanwhile, sectarian, cultural and ideological differences among the world's Muslims complicate efforts to uniformly push back against negative stereotypes  including the perception by some that Islam condones or encourages violence.

Such biases have been exacerbated by multiple attacks by Islamic extremists in European capitals and by years of conflicts that seem to pit Sunni and Shiite Muslims against each other. In the Middle East, the victims of extremist violence have often been fellow Muslims, targeted by groups like Islamic State or al-Qaida because they don't share their hard-line ideology.

The Islamic State group, which promoted an extremist version of Sunni Islam, terrorized millions of people during a five-year reign in parts of Syria and Iraq that only ended Saturday, with the loss of the last speck of land of its self-proclaimed caliphate.

Some leaders of majority-Muslim countries have been accused of exploiting the debate.

Las week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stirred controversy when he was seen as politicizing the New Zealand attacks to galvanize Islamist supporters during a campaign ahead of municipal elections. The attacker had livestreamed the shootings on social media, and Erdogan screened clips of the attack despite New Zealand's efforts to prevent the video's spread.

Mogahed, who co-authored a book called "Who Speaks for Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think" based on interviews with tens of thousands of Muslims around the world, said it's important to ask whether someone needs to be speaking for Islam, particularly when other groups of people are afforded the presumption of innocence when horrific acts are carried out in their name.

Some Muslim community leaders, like Dawud Walid, an imam in Detroit, said they are troubled by demands that Muslims condemn extremism carried out in the name of Islam. This suggests that Muslims share some sort of collective responsibility for the actions of extremists.

Hasan says this "subliminally reinforces the idea that terrorism is a Muslim problem."

___

Follow Aya Batrawy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ayaelb
Thais went to the polls on Sunday for the first election since a coup in 2014. "I want to see Thailand become more democratic and inequality eased from society," said insurance company employee Pattrapong Waschiyapong at a Bangkok voting station.Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and the royal family is nominally above politics. However a palace communique issued on the eve of the vote urged voters to make the right choice.The statement referred to comments made in 1969 by the former monarch Bhumibol Adulyadej. He called on voters to support good people to govern the society and control the bad people.His son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, urged the public to remember and be aware of the remarks of his father, who died in 2016.TV stations throughout the country repeated the statements.ImpactA royal command in February ended the candidacy of the king's elder sister Princess Ubolratana for prime minister of a party linked to Thaksin.Thaksin has lived in self-exile since 2008 but he looms large over the election. His affiliated parties have won every Thai election since 2001, drawing on loyalty from rural and urban poor.In Bangkok, Sudarat Keyuraphan, the prime ministerial candidate for the largest Thaksin-linked party Pheu Thai, said he noted the euphoria at the ballot box.The junta party, which is proposing army-chief-turned premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha for civilian prime minister, is attemping to maintain its hold on power. Prayut toppled the civilian government of Thaksin's younger sister, Yingluck, in 2014.For the 2019 election, the junta has written election rules aimed at curbing the number of seats big parties - specifically Pheu Thai - can win.A 250-member junta-appointed senate and a new proportional system were meant to have manoeuvered Prayut and the junta party - Phalang Pracharat - into pole position.With senate votes in hand, the party needs just 126 lower house seats to secure a parliamentary majority. It can cross that line comfortably in alliance with smaller parties.However Pheu Thai needs 376 lower house seats to command an overall majority.

Thais went to the polls on Sunday for the first election since a coup in 2014.

"I want to see Thailand become more democratic and inequality eased from society," said insurance company employee Pattrapong Waschiyapong at a Bangkok voting station.

Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and the royal family is nominally above politics. However a palace communique issued on the eve of the vote urged voters to make the right choice.

The statement referred to comments made in 1969 by the former monarch Bhumibol Adulyadej. He called on voters to support good people to govern the society and control the bad people.

His son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, urged the public to remember and be aware of the remarks of his father, who died in 2016.

TV stations throughout the country repeated the statements.

Impact

A royal command in February ended the candidacy of the king's elder sister Princess Ubolratana for prime minister of a party linked to Thaksin.

Thaksin has lived in self-exile since 2008 but he looms large over the election. His affiliated parties have won every Thai election since 2001, drawing on loyalty from rural and urban poor.

In Bangkok, Sudarat Keyuraphan, the prime ministerial candidate for the largest Thaksin-linked party Pheu Thai, said he noted the euphoria at the ballot box.

The junta party, which is proposing army-chief-turned premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha for civilian prime minister, is attemping to maintain its hold on power. Prayut toppled the civilian government of Thaksin's younger sister, Yingluck, in 2014.

For the 2019 election, the junta has written election rules aimed at curbing the number of seats big parties - specifically Pheu Thai - can win.

A 250-member junta-appointed senate and a new proportional system were meant to have manoeuvered Prayut and the junta party - Phalang Pracharat - into pole position.

With senate votes in hand, the party needs just 126 lower house seats to secure a parliamentary majority. It can cross that line comfortably in alliance with smaller parties.

However Pheu Thai needs 376 lower house seats to command an overall majority.
Sky News

Omicron coronavirus cases have surged by as much as 400% in some parts of South Africa - although the country's health ministry has said there is mounting evidence the variant causes milder infection. Health Minister Joe Phaahla said Gauteng Province had seen a "very significant" increase in COVID-19 cases of "more than 400%" in the week of 4 December 2021 compared to the previous seven days - with hospital admissions up by 200%. Of those admitted to hospital, 70% were unvaccinated - however, it is worth noting South Africa has a relatively low rate of vaccination, with just over 25% of the population fully jabbed.
By Tracy Rucinski and David Shepardson

CHICAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Teams from the three U.S. airlines that own 737 MAX jets headed to Boeing Co's factory in Renton, Washington, to review a software upgrade on Saturday, as U.S. regulators prepared to receive and review the fixes in coming weeks.

The factory visits indicated Boeing may be near completing a software patch for its newest 737 following a Lion Air crash that killed 189 people in Indonesia last October. This month, a second deadly crash involving an Ethiopian Airlines MAX in Addis Ababa triggered the fleet's worldwide grounding.

Timing for when passenger flights will resume remained uncertain. Boeing has come under global scrutiny along with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the agency that must approve the software fix and new training.

Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines Co, the world's largest operator of the MAX, began parking its fleet at a facility in Victorville, California, at the southwestern edge of the Mojave Desert, to wait out the global grounding. Southwest has 34 of the jets; United Airlines has 14 and American Airlines has 24.

Acting administrator Dan Elwell told lawmakers last week that the FAA expected Boeing would complete its upgrade as early as March 25, kicking off the approval process.

An FAA spokesman said Saturday that the agency expects to receive the software fix early next week.

A U.S. official briefed on the matter Saturday said the FAA has not yet signed off on the upgrade and training but the goal is to review them in coming weeks and approve them by April.

It remained unclear whether the software upgrade, called "design changes" by the FAA, will resolve concerns stemming from the ongoing investigation into the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash, which killed all 157 on board.

The U.S. official said planned changes included 15 minutes of training to help pilots deactivate the anti-stall system known as MCAS in the event of faulty sensor data or other issues. It also included some self-guided instruction, the official added.

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The Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents American Airlines pilots, said it has been in talks with Boeing, the FAA and airlines to get the airplanes flying again as soon as possible with an acceptable level of safety.

"Right now we're in wait-and-see mode to see what Boeing comes up with," said Captain Jason Goldberg, spokesman for the APA, part of a delegation of airline safety experts and pilots set to test the upgrade. "We're hopeful, but at the same time the process can't be rushed."

Boeing said on Saturday it was continuing to schedule meetings with all 737 MAX operators.

Southwest and United said they would also review documentation and training associated with Boeing's updates on Saturday.

(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski and David Shepardson; additional writing by Susan Heavey; editing by Tom Brown and David Gregorio)
Yury Masliankou is just seven eliminations away from becoming the second non-Russian to win the EPT Sochi National. The Belarussian picked up the chip lead late on Day 2 after clashing with Georgiy Skhulukhiya, who is second in chips, and held onto it as he heads into the final day as the clear chip leader.

Twelve months since Czech player Matous Houzvicek clinched the title, Masliankou will be eyeing the RUB 9,137,000 ($139,755) payout for first prize but several players stand in his way.

Here's how the final eight players stack up:

Seat Name Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Yury Masliankou Belarus 5,260,000 105 2 Kartik Ved India 1,385,000 28 3 Leonid Bilokur Russia 3,210,000 64 4 Daniil Lukin Russia 2,595,000 52 5 Andrey Lukyanov Russia 2,380,000 48 6 Sarkis Karabadzhakyan Russia 670,000 13 7 Giorgiy Skhulukhiya Russia 4,145,000 83 8 Alexandr Sergutin Russia 1,985,000 40

As you can see, there's clear water between Masliankou and Skhulukhiya at the top of the counts, with another gap back to former chip leader Leonid Bilokur (3,210,000).

Last year, Bilokur finished 55th in the EPT Sochi Main Event, and with over $3.5m in lifetime earnings, he would crack the Russian all-time top 10 list with a win today.

Then follows Daniil Lukin (2,595,000) and Day 1a chip leader Andrey Lukyanov (2,380,000). Lukyanov finished Day 1a with a shade of 544,000 and is positioned comfortably with an average stack in the middle of the pack.

After Lukyanov, Alexandr Sergutin sits with 40 big blinds and is by no means a short stack at this final table. The final two players are Indian Kartik Ved (1,385,000) and Sarkis Karabadzhakyan (670,000). With 28 and 13 big blinds respectively, these two will focus on good starts to get them back into contention as the blinds steadily increase.

Play will resume in Level 27 (30,000/60,000) and play down to a winner. Here's a reminder of the remaining payouts:

Position Payout (CSU) Payout (RUB) Payout (USD) 1 CSU 133,100 RUB 9,317,000 $139,755 2 CSU 81,500 RUB 5,705,000 $85,575 3 CSU 58,100 RUB 4,067,000 $61,005 4 CSU 43,700 RUB 3,059,000 $45,885 5 CSU 34,400 RUB 2,408,000 $36,120 6 CSU 25,800 RUB 1,806,000 $27,090 7 CSU 18,500 RUB 1,295,000 $19,425 8 CSU 12,700 RUB 889,000 $13,335

Stay tuned to PokerNews.com as we crown the latest EPT National champion here at Casino Sochi
ISIS loses last final stronghold in Syria, US-backed forces say

The Islamic State caliphate has been completely wiped out, according to military sources.

Despite the victory over the territory in Syria, experts have warned that Isis will remain an enormous threat.

In 2014, the group blitzed across vast swathes of Syria, seizing Raqqa, and used the base to spread into north and western Iraq, capturing Mosul and later advancing to take the edges of Baghdad.

Since then, there have been international efforts to destroy the extremist group, which have now resulted in the fall of the self-proclaimed caliphate that once stretched over an area the size of Britain.

Dr Karin von Hippel, the former chief of staff to the special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to counter Isis, said the fall of the group was an important milestone.

It is the territorial defeat of Isil, but they still are an enormous threat, Dr von Hippel, the current director general of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank, added.

Many thousands of them will remain in Iraq and Syria and they will go underground, they will conduct asymmetric attacks  they are already doing so in both countries.

The director of international security studies at RUSI, Raffaello Pantucci, also warned that the territorial defeat of IS was not the end, and the biggest danger was stepping back.

I think the danger is that we end up doing what happened in Iraq in 2009  we just kind of left and left the whole place to its own devices, he said.

And essentially it didnt get better, the governance continued to be a problem and that is how the environment was created for the group to grow in to.

Despite the eradication of the caliphate, experts believe that soldiers of Isis remain, scattered in sleeper cells.

The last pocket of Islamic State territory has fallen, Western-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Saturday, marking the end of the groups caliphate four-and-a-half years after it was declared.

Dr von Hippel stressed that remaining fighters will plan for future attacks in both Syria and Iraq, and likely militant attacks on foreign soil.

No-one knows for sure, of the 40,000 who went out to the region from over 100 countries, how many have survived, she said.

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But certainly many thousands of them are going to different countries, they are not going back to their country of origin, they are going to different countries to prepare for different attacks.

She said these fighters are hardened and committed and move from conflict to conflict, much like those jihadists who fought in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Bosnia.

Dr von Hippel highlighted how Libya would be an easy and close option for the foreign fighters to migrate to, and how, interestingly, there were a number of them in Sudan.

Meanwhile, with Isis offshoots in Yemen, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Egypt, Mr Pantucci said there were also concerns over the number of foreign militants heading to the Philippines.

According to Mr Pantucci, Islamic State is currently in a waning moment, but throughout their history, the group has both waxed and waned.





He believes that extremist groups such as Isis exist due to problems in governance and a sense of injustice amongst the citizens  usually driven by grievances against the state.

Mr Pantucci said that was why Isis was able to grow initially in Iraq, particularly because the Sunni Muslims felt the Shia government was against their interests.

As long as that sense of grievance continues to exist, then fertile ground exists for the group to grow.

This is exactly what we saw happen before, he said, also highlighting how some of these grievances are re-emerging in Iraq, and that with the current ungoverned conflict space in Syria, there is an environment in which IS or another group could take advantage and grow.

Asked if IS would be likely to exploit the situation in Syria again, he added: They will probably melt back into the shadows in Iraq, and then use that as a staging point to grow once again, because that is what they did last time to great effect.

For Dr von Hippel, the fight against groups like Isis is a generational challenge  regardless of what they may call themselves next.

We have seen various iterations of the same organisation, she said. Every time we get a new group it is more violent, more bloodthirsty than the previous one, which is concerning.

She added: We are not going to see the end of this. It is a movement, it is an ideology.
British tourists have described the frightening experience of being airlifted off the Viking Sky cruise ship after it suffered engine failure off the west coast of Norway.

Derek and Esther Browne, from Hampshire, were two of 200 Britons on board the ship which evacuated 1,300 passengers and crew members after losing power and sending a mayday call in treacherous conditions.

Mr Browne told BBC Radio 5 Lives Stephen Nolan: We had a few people on stretchers, several with cuts, two with broken limbs, but fortunately we were alright.

We were airlifted onto the helicopter which was quite a frightening experience.

The cruise ship Viking Sky sent out a mayday signal because of engine failure (Picture: AP)

He added: Id never been in a helicopter before, there were a lot of high winds, hovering overhead and the winchman came down and we were then collected up and so I shut my eyes as we arrived into the helicopter and there were 15 of us for about a 20-minute ride.

Mr and Mrs Brown said the whole boat was swaying, it was very rough when they were airlifted to safety.

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Cruise ship issues mayday as its forced to evacuate 1,300 passengers

Passengers lifted one-by-one from cruise ship that lost power near Norweigan coast after mayday call

Dramatic footage shared online shows the ship rocking and debris falling from the ceiling while passengers were waiting to be rescued.

According to police in Moere og Romsdal, the ships crew anchored in Hustadvika Bay as they were concerned the ship would get stuck in the high winds.

Some 200 British tourists had to be rescued from the ship in treacherous conditions (Picture: AP)

Following the evacuation, 16 people were taken to hospital  three with serious injuries  and 230 people were registered at a reception centre, authorities said.

A spokeswoman for Viking Cruises said: The ship is proceeding on its own power and a tugboat is on site. The evacuation is proceeding with all necessary caution.

A small number of non-life threatening injuries have been reported. Guests are being accommodated in local hotels when they arrive back on shore, and Viking will arrange for return flights for all guests.

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The mayday call was sent from the ship amid treacherous conditions (AP)

According to authorities, 16 people were seriously injured (AP)

According to Norwegian media, the majority of the cruise ship passengers were British and American tourists.

The ship was visiting the Norwegian towns and cities of Narvik, Alta, Tromso, Bodo and Stavanger and it was scheduled to arrive on Tuesday to the port of Tilbury in Essex.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: We are in touch with Norwegian authorities and stand ready to help any British people who require our assistance.
During his royal visit to Ghana in November last year, Prince Charles admitted that he has some worries about what lies ahead for the future royal baby, and all babies, due to environmental issues such as plastic pollution. The Prince, who had learned he would be a grandfather again the month before, warned that future generations will face a "completely polluted, damaged and destroyed world" unless action is taken  as well as speaking openly about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's upcoming arrival. According to the Daily Telegraph, Charles said: "I am about to have another grandchild actually. I suspect quite a few of you may too have grandchildren or will do soon."

meghan-markle-blue-gown

Meghan and Harry will become parents in the next month

He added: "It does seem to me insanity if we are going to bequeath this completely polluted, damaged and destroyed world to them. All grandchildren deserve a better future." During the meeting, where he discussed tackling plastic pollution with government officials and business leaders, he also made a speech on the issue.

MORE: How Meghan Markle will make sure Prince Charles is doting grandad to royal baby

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Calling for a fundamental change in how products are recycled, he said: "It is becoming evident that not following such an approach has disastrous consequences, as is witnessed by the fact that 8 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean every year, that soon there will be one tonne of plastic for every three tonnes of fish in the sea, and that the dead zones in the ocean, now numbering over 400, are continuing to grow."

prince-charles-meghan-markle

Charles has a close bond with new daughter-in-law Meghan

His comments came after Princes William and Harry opened up about their childhood with their environmentalist father, telling documentary Prince, Son And Heir: Charles At 70 that he would often take them litter-picking as teenagers.

MORE: Prince Charles' grandchildren have the most touching nickname for him

"We were in Norfolk on school holidays, and we went out litter-picking with him," said William. "And again, both of us thought, 'Well this is perfectly normal, everyone must do it'. We were there with our spikes, stabbing the rubbish into black plastic bags." They were also shown archive footage of Charles making a speech on plastic pollution as early as 1970  showing it's an issue that the Prince has long been passionate about.

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Photo credit: Getty Images

From Red Online

This wonderful story of female empowerment is testament to the strong bonds and friendships that frequently occur when solo travellers discover the world. While travelling, Laura befriended a 72 year old woman in a hostel who gave her the confidence she needed to start a new life.

I hope youre well. This is not just one more of my letters where I update you on what Ive got going on in my life, the exhibitions Ive recently been to or the films that I think youd enjoy watching. This is a letter to tell you all those things that we never say to our friends face to face because we assume they know the impact they have in our lives and to ultimately say thank you.

I can still recall the day we met at Artbeat Rooms Hostel in Portugal in 2017. I remember specifically how I was feeling about my life at the time. I had just moved to Lisbon by myself and it was the first time that I had been away from home all on my own. The future was exciting and full of possibilities but also seemed very unclear for me.

I could never imagine what our friendship would turn into or mean to me. I was 26 and you were 72. From our first conversation, I knew that you had so much to teach me and so much love to give, without ever asking anything in return. You taught me you can always find an amazing friend in a new city, if you open your heart to it. You made me feel like family and I knew that whatever happened in my life, I could call you for a chat, invite you for a walk and an ice cream and everything would be just fine.

You were there for me in the moments that I needed you the most. You told me how amazing I was, how I could do anything I wanted to if I put my mind to it. You know how I was feeling about my career by the time and I am 100% sure that it was you who gave me confidence I needed to apply for jobs and start a new life!

I knew that I would miss you every day when our time together came to an end. But I moved to a new city, got a job that I am passionate about and I know you are so happy for me and only at the end of the phone. I love getting home to find a letter from you, asking me how things are and telling me all your great adventures.

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Its great to look at you and all the energy you have and to think that despite the 40 years between us, life is just starting again!

Thanks for believing in me, for being my family away from home and for all the great times we shared together in Lisbon. I cant wait for out next meet up!

With Love,

Laura x

Letter originally from Hostelworld.com

('You Might Also Like',)
Scott Stapp appreciates the power of new beginnings more deeply than most can ever conceive. The frontman and lyricist, whose beloved anthems with Creed, and as a solo artist, have become spiritual fodder for millions, is celebrating another season of starting anew. The word was out last month that Scott Stapp had signed with Napalm Records, enhancing the label with Austrian heritage and an already-impressive enclave of artists, including Smashing Pumpkins and John Garcia.

Themes of hope through struggle resound through the stellar catalog of Scott Stapp as an artist.

The songs My Sacrifice and One Last Breath remain must-hear encores and the affirmation that Youre the proof of life! from the title song of his 2013 solo album echo with the dual conviction of hope and accountability. The second solo album also yielded Slow Suicide as the first Billboard #1 for the hitmaker as a solo artist.

The six-year span since that solo albums success has been filled with both blessing and stark confrontations of truth for the composer. Following a drug-fueled downward spiral in 2014, Scott came to terms with his diagnosis of bipolar disorder, which had prompted him to years of self-medication. Through the love and support of his family and commitment to sobriety with daily routines and contact with a sponsor, Scott Stapp thrived on stage and in the studio, mounting three tours through 2017 and rousing the same devoted fan base.

Scott and his wife, Jaclyn, became new parents all over again with the arrival of Anthony, his namesake, in November 2017, welcomed by his older sister and brother.

Scott Stapp made the announcement himself on social media in the late evening on March 21, alerting that his first new single on his new label, Purpose For Pain, was released and ready for purchase.

Discuss this news on Eunomia

No artist understands the pathos of those title words with the same empathy, and his fans are ready to feel his heart and every pounding beat.

Punch of truth

From the first echoing seconds of Purpose For Pain, the pounding guitar and drum and bass line opener offer the first assurance that this is no namby-pamby, Church Lady testament to triumph over the dark side.

The first imagery evokes sleeplessness in circles of hell from the torment of the mind and the realization of consequences. Scott Stapps signature baritone entices listeners into his journey just as it did 20 years ago, I lie awake because I know how it ends, one lyric describes, before the confession, I shut every door but the right one/I fought the devil and he won.

This kind of brutal honesty might seem far-removed from the divine reverberating choruses of Higher or the prayer-closet intimacy of Faceless Man, which many fans consider the superlative Creed masterpiece. Purpose For Pain, however, in no way depicts a man forsaking the divine. He is fighting for life with everything he has, opposing the dark forces against faith and the darkness of his own mental states.

He relates his fall in the abyss, and his declaration, Not going out like this! is a mantra to millions in personal battles and pitfalls of life to still look for the glimmers of light and the lessons that only pain can teach. Scott Stapp still is ministering to the masses. Inevitably, any survivor who transforms into a thriver learns to cherish the seconds of living dearly and slough off the setbacks without going under.

My new single #PurposeForPain is OUT NOW! Download it at https://t.co/PV2RMdms4S. New album "The Space Between The Shadows" is coming this July. pic.twitter.com/AiiWxonFLq  Scott Stapp (@ScottStapp) March 22, 2019

Not a long wait

Scott Stapp gave fans more good news than just the heavy-metal drive of Purpose For Pain on release day.

His visualization video for the song also included news that his album, The Space Between the Shadows will be out in July.

The exemplary musicianship of Scotts touring band, including lead guitarist Yiannis Papadopoulos, drummer Dango Cellan, and bassist Sammy Hudson, is displayed in fine form and will be featured in the music video for the song, due out in April.

The song is immensely radio-friendly for current formats.

Napalm Records refers to Purpose For Pain as a bombastic 1st single and promises that the planned full summer tour will draw steadfast fans to venues, allowing them to learn all the new songs by heart. A few dates are already announced on Scott Stapp's Facebook page.

Stapp can rest assured that fans will have every word committed to memory before the end of the summer, and more than that, his hope is that the music will bring meaning and clarity through the discovery of their own purpose through pain, and the higher meaning that gives the strength to keep fighting.



Scott Stapps With Arms Wide Open Foundation furthers that personal intention through its support of military veterans and their families who struggle with drug addiction effects of PTSD, and suicide prevention.

Whether from the battlefield or simply waging the battles of everyday life, willing warriors are already waiting for the lessons to be learned in every song.
Airbus will be the largest international exhibitor at next weeks Langkawi International Maritime and Aviation Exhibition (LIMA) 2019 in Malaysia, with a major presence covering its entire range of commercial aircraft, defence, space and helicopter products and services. The air show will be held on 26-30 March at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre in Langkawi, Kedah.

Airbus will be the largest international exhibitor at next weeks Langkawi International Maritime and Aviation Exhibition (LIMA) 2019 in Malaysia, with a major presence covering its entire range of commercial aircraft, defence, space and helicopter products and services. The air show will be held on 26-30 March at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre in Langkawi, Kedah.

Airbus to highlight full range of products and services at LIMA 2019 including A400M. (Picture source Airbus)

Airbus aircraft at the static display include an A320neo operated by Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia, the largest customer for the European manuacturers single-aisle aircraft. Military aircraft such as a Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) A400M, the new-generation tactical airlifter, and a CN235 medium aircraft that the service uses on transport missions, will also be on display.

The companys leadership in Malaysias helicopter market will be underscored by presence of helicopters such as the RMAFs H225M, a Malaysian navy AS555SN Fennec, and an AS365 Dauphin operated by the countrys maritime enforcement agency. Airbus will also feature a H145 helicopter in emergency medical services configuration.

The Airbus exhibition stand (#B537) will feature scale models of the new A330neo widebody aircraft, the C295 maritime patrol aircraft, the Zephyr solar-powered unmanned aerial system, as well as helicopters such as the H175 and ACH160.

Visitors will also be able to get more information on the companys intelligence and maritime surveillance solutions in dedicated sections on the stand, as well as presentations on the H145M helicopter fitted with the HForce weapons system.

Malaysia is a strategic market for Airbus with success across the companys commercial and military aircraft, space and helicopter product lines. Customers in Malaysia have ordered more than 700 commercial airliners and over 100 helicopters, and the RMAF is the first export customer for the A400M airlifter. Airbus also supplied MEASAT-3b, the countrys largest communications satellite.

Airbus is also the biggest partner for Malaysias aerospace industry, with suppliers in the country producing major aircraft parts across the Airbus product line. The company has also invested in its Malaysian units that focus on services such as commercial aircraft and helicopter maintenance, repair and overhaul, pilot training, and customer support.
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SD senator defies House Speaker, releases AG impeachment petitions

South Dakotans now have a record of lawmakers who supported a special session to consider the impeachment of Attorney General Ravnsborg.
The Malaysian capital saw the Solidarity4Peace march unfold this morning during which the Kuala Lumpur Peace Declaration was read. For Minister for Religious Affairs, Terrorism is not born from any religion, no race was born with hatred.

Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews/Agencies)  People from various religious and ethnic backgrounds, including Sikhs, Taoists, Christians, Hindus and Muslims, took to the streets of Malaysias capital Kuala Lumpur in a march to promote peace and express solidarity for the 50 victims of the terrorist attack on the mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

During the rally, organisers and government officials read out a five-point peace declaration. In it, they condemn all acts of discrimination, violence and killing in the name of religion or ethnicity; reject any act or culture based on hatred in the name of religion or ethnicity; voice support for all efforts to foster peace and promote harmony among people of all ethnicities and religions; defend Malaysias Federal Constitution and the countrys sovereignty against agents of racial and religious hatred.; and express solidarity with the citizens of the world to develop an environment of peace and prosperity based on the recognition of different ethnicities and religions.

Participants in Saturday's rally, mostly clad in white T-shirts, met in front of a shopping mall in the heart of the city as early as 6.30 am, before marching towards Merdeka (Independence) Square about 1 kilometre away, carrying Malaysian flags and banners with peace messages.

Members of the Malaysian government, including Islamic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa, took part in the event.

"The world must be defended from any act of terror. The tragedy in Christchurch was a shocking incident when there are so many movements in this world fighting to promote peace," Mr Mujahid said.

"The act of terror in New Zealand cannot be associated with any religion or any race in this world. Terrorism is not born from any religion; no race was born with hatred... Terrorism has no face. Therefore, our declaration today condemns any act of discrimination, violence and killing in the name of religion or ethnicity."
Animals, author J.R.R. Tolkien and Star Wars ignited the imagination of a young Jennifer Ober while she was growing up in Los Lunas.

The now 26-year-old has harnessed that imagination and pointed it in the direction of a career. Ober, who is getting her masters in illustration, will slip into the national spotlight this April when she travels to Hollywood to accept an international award recognizing her talents as an illustrator.

The L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards committee recently named Ober as an Illustrator of the Future. Twelve winners were announced worldwide and the organization will name a grand champion April 5 during its 35th Annual L. Ron Hubbard Achievement Awards festive gala.

Its an amazing opportunity, she said. There are not many fantasy competitions for beginners, especially for students.

The grand prize winner will have their work featured in the 35th volume of the annual anthology L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers and Illustrators of the Future and receive $5,000.

Residents may also soon see Obers artwork around town. New Mexico BioPark Society officials have chosen Obers illustration as the official artwork for this years Run for the Zoo, an annual fundraising race that takes place in early May. The brightly colored image includes illustrations of baby animals born at or transferred to the ABQ BioPark, which includes the zoo and the aquarium. Some of the animals represented in Obers Run for the Zoo illustration are baby elephant Thorn, hyena twins Havoc and Ruckus, and sea otters Chaos and Mayhem.

Ober was born and grew up in Los Lunas where her first love was painting. Her parents, she said, helped nurture her love of art by connecting her with local artists. Her other passions were animals and immersing herself in the fantasy world of Tolkien and Star Wars.

Ober began her post-secondary education as an art student at the University of New Mexico and soon discovered her passion for illustration. She then transferred to Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Denver, where she graduated as valedictorian in 2016 with a bachelors of fine arts in illustration.

Ober is currently attending college in Atlanta at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Much of her work is centered around fantasy scenes that were born from her love of Lord of the Rings trilogy author Tolkien and animals. She said dinosaurs are one of her favorite things to draw and create because it allows her to use her imagination.

We dont have a complete idea of what they looked like, she said. Its our best guesses. We have a bone structure and then we re-create what we think they look like.

Rick Lovell, associate chair of illustration at Savannah College, said Obers nickname given to her by the faculty is Oberachiever because of her focus, work ethic, positive attitude and willingness to take criticism.

(When she arrived at the school two years ago) she clearly had skills, but I wouldnt have called her an illustrator at that point  it was mostly pretty pictures, not the kind of work that gets one noticed, Lovell said. But she worked very hard, focused on her goals and developed a skill set and a direction that is leading her toward a very successful career.

Ober, he said, took it upon herself to learn animal anatomy and familiarize herself with paleontology in order to make herself a better illustrator.

This is where her interest in animals and storytelling come together in wonderful ways; she has been creating a series of fantasy creatures that have all the attributes of actual animals but in unexpected and delightful combinations, he said. This skill is sought after visual development and character design for film, animation, games and book illustration.

To view more of Obers work, visit oberillustrations.com.
James McGrath Morris, himself an award-winning author, is unflinching in his praise of late New Mexico mystery novelist and journalist Tony Hillerman.

I think he is under appreciated, Morris, 64, said during a recent phone interview from a vacation home in Colorado. He used the genre of mysteries to unravel the mysteries of the Navajo people for the world. He (revealed) who the Navajo people are and what their culture is all about, making them perhaps the best understood American tribe in the world.

Hillerman, who died in Albuquerque in 2008 at the age of 83, is best known for his 18 mysteries featuring the exploits of Navajo tribal policemen Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, books that earned him Edgar Allan Poe and Grandmaster awards from the Mystery Writers of America and Spur Awards and the Owen Wister Award for lifetime achievement from the Western Writers of America, among other honors.

But before he turned to fiction, Hillerman, a native of Sacred Heart, Okla., was a wire-service and newspaper reporter and a University of New Mexico journalism teacher, serving both as chairman of UNMs journalism department and faculty adviser for the student-operated newspaper, the New Mexico Daily Lobo.

On Friday afternoon, during the Historical Society of New Mexico conference at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Spa, Morris will give a presentation titled Tony Hillerman and New Mexico Journalism.

Its about how Hillerman shaped New Mexico journalism as executive editor of the Santa Fe New Mexican and as chairman of a growing journalism program at UNM, Morris said. And how his journalism shaped his novels, partly in how he wrote them but also some of the novels themes. The Fly on the Wall, his second novel, comes out of an actual corruption case in New Mexico.

Big on bios

More than 70 speakers will present programs at the Historical Society of New Mexico conference Thursday through Saturday. Topics range from Balloons, A-Bombs, and Flying Saucers: Project Mogul and the Roswell Incident to Raiding Along the Camino Real: A 1754 Incident.

Morris does his presentation about Hillerman during a session that includes two other talks and runs from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Friday in Embassy Suites room Sandia VI. Each of the three lectures in the session is about 20 minutes long with additional time provided for questions and answers.

One thing Morris may talk about is Hillermans droll sense of humor, perhaps best expressed in The Great Taos Bank Robbery, the title piece in a collection of true stories published in 1973.

Its about a bank robbery attempt gone awry.

He wrote it first as a straight news piece at the New Mexican and expanded it later into the story that appeared in the book, Morris said. Its so funny, in an understated fashion, one could think it had been written by Mark Twain. In the novels he went on to write, he often included a tidbit of droll understatement.

A Santa Fe resident, Morris is writing a biography of Hillerman, which is due to be published by the University of Oklahoma Press in the next year or two. He has already written Jailhouse Journalism: The Fourth Estate Behind Bars, The Rose Man of Sing Sing: A True Tale of Life, Murder, and Redemption in the Age of Yellow Journalism, Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power, Eye on the Struggle: Ethel Payne, The First Lady of the Black Press and The Ambulance Drivers: Hemingway, Dos Passos, and a Friendship Made and Lost in War.

His book about Ethel Payne won the 2015 Benjamin Hooks National Book Prize for best work in civil rights history. And he is this years winner of the BIO Award, presented by the Biographers International Organization for contributions to the art of biography.

A nose for news

As the list of his published works indicates, Morris is drawn to journalism. A native of Washington, D.C., he worked as a radio reporter in Albuquerque in the late 1970s before leaving to cover state politics in Jefferson City, Mo., for the Missouri Radio Network. Later he covered government in D.C. for various radio networks and newspapers and worked on the staff of a paper in Ithaca, N.Y.

He is hesitant to name his favorite Hillerman novel, but when pressed he goes with 1971s The Fly on the Wall, which is not one of the Navajo Tribal Police mysteries. The lead character in The Fly on the Wall is John Cotton, a newspaper reporter.

I guess I love The Fly on the Wall as a man who has spent time as a journalist, Morris said. In fact, he liked it enough to send Hillerman a fan letter about it.

Hillerman moved to New Mexico in 1952 to work for the wire service United Press (later United Press International). He joined the staff of the New Mexican in 1954 and worked his way up to executive editor of the paper.

Stories he covered in New Mexico, debates over the use of peyote by the Native American Church, for example, got into his novels, Morris said. The plot in The Fly on the Wall comes from a story about several (New Mexico) highways that were being built with substandard concrete. Highways began to disintegrate rapidly and there was money to be shared by state officials.

Alvis was smiling faintly now, understanding it, looking at Cotton with approval. He laughed. The son-of-a-*** is shorting enough cement out of the highway job to handle the resort construction. Getting paid for it twice.

A future in fiction

Morris said Hillermans news writing can be read as a prophesy of his future as a novelist.

You could see that he had literary aspirations, more than deadline journalism, he said. He was particularly good at place setting.

Thats apparent in his novels, such as this passage from 1970s The Blessing Way the first of the Navajo mystery novels.

The highway skirted the immense, lifeless depression which falls away into the Biz-E-Ahi and Nazlini washes. It was lit now by the sunset, a fantastic jumble of eroded geological formations. The white man sees the desolation and calls it a desert, McKee thought, but the Navajo name for it means Beautiful Valley.

His wanderings around the state as a UP and later a New Mexican reporter led to those wonderful descriptions, Morris said.
Vintage World War II aircraft  three bombers and two fighter planes  will be on display Wednesday, March 27, through Friday, March 29, at the Albuquerque International Sunport.

As part of the Collings Foundations 110-city Wings of Freedom tour, the five planes will land at the Albuquerque airport at about 3 p.m. Wednesday and depart at noon Friday. The planes include a B-17 Flying Fortress, a B-24 Liberator and a B-25 Mitchell, all bombers, and a P-51 Mustang and P-40 Warhawk, both fighters.

The planes will be on exhibit at the Cutter Aviation ramp, 2502 Clark Carr Loop SE, at the airport. Ground tours of the aircraft, $15 for adults, $5 for children younger than 12, will be available from 3-5 p.m. Wednesday, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday and 9:30 a.m.-noon Friday. Discounted tour rates are available for school groups and tours are free for World War II veterans.

For those who want special flight experiences in the aircraft, those are available before or after the ground-tour times. Thirty-minute flights are $450 per person on the B-17 or B-24 and $400 per person on the B-25.

Guests will actually be allowed to take the stick, part of a dual-control system, in flights on the P-51 Mustang and P-40 Warhawk. Flights on the P-51 are $2,400 for 30 minutes and $3,400 for an hour, and P-40 flights cost $2,200 for 30 minutes and $3,200 for an hour.

For additional information and reservations  especially for flights and school-group discounts  call 800-568-8924 or 978-562-9182.
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When construction of the Glen Canyon Dam buried the canyon under Lake Powell, it catalyzed a nexus of art and environmentalism.

Great photographers and artists such as Eliot Porter, Todd Webb and Georgia OKeeffe have explored its haunted crags and canyons. Explorer and geologist John Wesley Powell led an expedition through the area in 1869, calling it the great unknown. Porters pivotal book The Place No One Knew: Glen Canyon on the Colorado, published in 1963 by the Sierra Club to protest the dam, became a cornerstone of the environmental movement.

Opening at the New Mexico Museum of Art on Saturday, March 30, The Great Unknown: Artists at Glen Canyon and Lake Powell, explores the canyon, its dam and the resulting lake from a constellation of perspectives.

Located in canyon country along the Colorado River, Glen Canyon stretches from southeastern Utah into northern Arizona, not far upriver from its more famous cousin, the Grand Canyon. The Colorado River sculpted the canyon into the rock, opening it to Native American inhabitants for thousands of years. Survey expeditions, Mormon migrations, mining, postwar construction, environmental activism, tourism and legal battles over water rights and access have collided there ever since.

The canyon drew the attention of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in the 1950s when officials were searching for a place to build a dam. Workers completed the Glen Canyon Dam in 1966 amid much controversy to generate hydroelectric power, thus drowning much of the canyon under a reservoir christened Lake Powell. The dam helps ensure an equitable distribution of water between the states of the Upper Colorado River Basin (Colorado, Wyoming and most of New Mexico and Utah) and the Lower Basin (California, Nevada and most of Arizona).

It was about watering the West, said Katherine Ware, the museums photography curator.

When Powell went through there in the late 1860s, he wrote a government report saying these are arid lands; you cant just send people out here to homestead. But nobody paid any attention to him.

Already known for his nature photography and his color work, Porter took a river trip through Glen Canyon in 1960. Galvanized by what he found, he returned there twice with friends, including OKeeffe and fellow photographer Todd Webb. The spatial configuration of riding a ribbon of river sandwiched between rock walls dictated that many pictures be shot at close range. Working alongside OKeeffe may also have guided his eye toward abstraction.

Porters work ended up being co-opted by the Sierra Club, Ware added. By then, it was an elegy to the canyon.

Webb created several nearly heroic prints of OKeeffe standing in the canyons dramatic light. She is known to have made at least four paintings based on her visits there.

For Albuquerque photographer Martin Stupich, the dam is neither an ode to the glories of human engineering nor a symbol of environmental destruction. A landscape photographer often drawn to monuments of human hubris, he had long been interested in photographing public works projects.

In the 1990s, members of the Stanford University-based Water in the West consortium invited him to join them in photographing Glen Canyon Dam. His images capture its muscular cliffs and massive construction, as well as the water seeping through the sandstone, trickling into an uncertain future.

It turned into a really interesting discovery for me, he said. They all had really radical political agendas. I was, Wait a second; you drove to this meeting in a car.

We co-existed. I stayed relatively quiet and did what I considered beautiful work. What an interesting paradox aesthetically and politically to stand at the edge of the Glen Canyon and drive back using 40 gallons of gas.

For Stupich, the canyon and its dam were both beautiful.

I was raised to realize the world is perfectly imperfect, he said. Your charge is to marvel at as much as we can.

His Glen Canyon Dam, canoeist-on-sandbar-beach reveals the momentous canyon looming over a barely discernible boater. Leaking water drips like paint down the cliff walls in Dam and Bridge at Glen Canyon, Near Page, Arizona.

The irony is the dam is probably going to be destroyed by the Bureau of Reclamation because its in too soft sand, Stupich said. Water is leaking behind the dam. The stone is porous. The dam is wedged in like a dental implant.

The hilarious fact is that geologists and engineers are climbing up and down the dam to bolt the sandstone.

The exhibition features photographs and artwork, as well as Ancestral Puebloan artifacts such as pottery, a woven sandal and rug. It ends with a view of the lake through climate change.

There is very limited water, Ware said. There are questions of whether it should be retained as a reservoir. And will the canyon come back?
Pastel. Oil/acrylic. Watercolor.

No matter the medium, Barbara Lohbeck strives to showcase art that represents the modern-day master artists in New Mexico.

This has been the case for two decades.

As MasterWorks of New Mexico gears up for its 21st show, Lohbeck is excited about this years offerings.

The exhibit will open at 5 p.m. Friday, March 29, inside the Hispanic Arts Building at Expo New Mexico. The exhibit will run through April 20.

This has become one of the premier shows in the state, says Lohbeck, MasterWorks founder. We find ourselves scratching our heads after all these years thinking how we accomplished something this big. And the show continues to gain attention from new artists.

MasterWorks of New Mexico began with the goal of combining the talents of local fine arts organizations.

The New Mexico Watercolor Society, the Pastel Society of New Mexico and the Miniature Arts Barden were behind the inception of the show.

By 2000, the Rio Grande Art Association came under the MasterWorks umbrella as the sponsor of the oil/acrylic division.

Lohbeck says this years show leans toward traditional art.

It seems to be leaning that way, she says. We do have some non-representational pieces, as well, in the show.

Its interesting to know that our first show consisted of watercolors, pastel and miniatures, she says. Then oil and acrylics were entered, and weve continued to grow each year.

The judge for the 2019 Standard Works is Andrew Connors, supported by jurors Cody Hooper, Lynn McLain and Barry McCuan.

The judge for 2019 Miniatures is Carol Carpenter, supported by jurors Karin Pitman, Jane Shea and Mary Sundstrom.

There will be an open house/artist paint-in from noon to 4 p.m. April 7. The event is open to artists to participate and share their talents and skills with local high school students in the mentoring event designed to encourage young artists.

As an educator, its important to reach out to the community, Lohbeck says. Being able to help younger artists and pique their interests in the arts is important. We have a few programs where we go out and work with schools.
Wagners Lohengrin stars the original knight in shining armor.

This knight of the swan of medieval folklore sweeps into Antwerp to rescue the noblewoman Elsa from a false accusation of murder.

Opera Southwest will present this German romance at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 29, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 31, at the V. Sue Cleveland High School Concert Hall in Rio Rancho.

Written in 1850, before the composer launched his Ring cycle, Lohengrin features the familiar music to Here Comes the Bride. As opera houses sprouted across the U.S. in the century, they performed it as often as Verdis Rigoletto, artistic director and conductor Anthony Barrese said.

Its a very mature opera; its quite extraordinary, he said. Lohengrin is a knight of the grail. This woman has been wrongly accused of killing her brother. Shes condemned to death, or she has to pick someone to fight for her.

But Lohengrins heroics come with a catch. Elsa must never ask who he is or where he comes from. Little by little, friends and acquaintances plant seeds of doubt; he might not even be a Christian, or even worse, he might be a practitioner of witchcraft. Of course, Elsa cannot resist, with disastrous results.

Barrese first conducted the piece at the Dallas Opera, where he was the assistant conductor.

His research revealed that the original production used just 38 musicians. Some Wagnerian operas demand orchestras of between 90 and 100.

We wanted to reconstruct it with some historical accuracy, he said. Its very high-romantic. Its like Wagner, but before it got too much. Its very much like an Italian opera.

Lohengrin stars Wagnerian tenor Corey Bix.

He has done the role a number of times, most recently at La Scala with Daniel Barenboim conducting.

Michelle Johnson will sing the soprano role of Elsa. She recently sang in Aida at the Glimmerglass Festival.

Baritone Sean Anderson will sing the role of Count Friedrich. Anderson sang the lead in the 2017 Opera Southwest production of William Tell. Mezzo-soprano Claudia Chapa, another William Tell veteran, will play the counts wife, Ortrud. Bass Harold Wilson will make his Southwest Opera debut as King Heinrich.

Hes currently singing at the Metropolitan Opera, Barrese said.

The operas first performance was in Weimar, Germany, directed by the great pianist-composer Franz Liszt, an early Wagner champion.
Its a bitterly cold Saturday morning at the Loving Thunder Therapeutic Riding ranch as 14-year-old Diego Lobato prepares his horse Laramie for a ride.

Although he has gone through this routine many times, what makes todays ride different is the presence of a television crew.

Lobato, along with his family, are part of the subject for a television show called Making Good, a pilot program that will appear on BYU TV, a channel run by Brigham Young University.

Lobatos mother, Marcela Gomez, said her son has been diagnosed with an intellectual disability.

What that means is that hes mentally behind, Gomez said. His mentality is not like that of a 14-year-old. He is more like a 6- or a 7-year-old child and its very slow. Hes never going to catch up to where his peers are.

Gomez said she began looking for programs that might help her son after becoming disappointed with his school.

I was getting desperate for help, she said. I went to one place, but the cost was $145 for 45 minutes, and we just couldnt afford that.

After bouncing from one therapy place to another, Gomez said she was given the number for Loving Thunder. After researching the ranch online, she said, she called Twuana Raupp, Loving Thunder co-founder.

We sat down and talked about what we were dealing with and what we expected and (Twuana) was great, so thats when we kind of knew we had found the place for Diego, Gomez said.

Arturo Valdez, Lobatos step-dad, said it took his stepson time to get over the jitters of being around a large animal.

He would get frustrated because he wasnt strong enough to hold to anything at first; he had to build up his strength, Valdez said.

Raupp said the program is geared to teach each student horsemanship and how to ride and bond with an animal.

We work with veterans with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), children with special needs, and we are soon to be taking horses into a jail to help with the inmates, Raupp said.

The 5-acre ranch where all of this happens is in the middle of the city.

We are a member of PATH International (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship) and we are the only premier accredited center in the state, which consist of 165 standards of operation that we pass, Raupp said. Plus, all of our instructors are PATH certified.

From the start, each student is matched with a horse and a few volunteers, and fitted with protective gear.

We then teach each student how to groom the horse, tack the horse and eventually how to ride, she said.

After a few weeks, Raupp said, she can see the students improve physically and mentally because of the routine each student learns.

Their self-confidence just goes through the roof, she said. Theyre able to attack something in life that they werent able to accomplish before. Its not just horse-riding; they are building self skills.

Gomez said she has seen considerable improvement in her son since he began the therapy a few months ago. Now she says he cant wait to get up on Saturdays and spend time with his new friend, Laramie.

This has done wonders for his self-esteem and his confidence, Gomez said. I highly recommend this to any parent that finds themselves in the same position.

For information on Loving Thunder, go to lovingthunder.com.
Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

Frank Rose wanted to work smaller.

The local gallery director describes his passion as building platforms for artists to showcase their work. In May 2016, he co-founded form & concept, the 10,000-square-foot modern art gallery at the edge of the Santa Fe Railyard, with Sandy Zane, a gallery owner whom hed met while working for Currents New Media the year before.

The form & concept group also runs the online gallery for Zane Bennett Contemporary Art.

Operating two businesses, Rose realized that much of his time was spent on the administrative side of things. And more recently, as form & concept has started gaining recognition and a name for itself, Rose said he got to thinking about his future.

I think once you get to a place where you have that momentum going, at least for me, I either get a little anxious  like whats the next thing  or (want to) take it into another arena and go deeper, said Rose. What I was feeling like was I wasnt spending enough time with clients and artists  . I realized I needed to go small and spend more time with people.

Around the same time form & concept opened, Rose first visited Oaxaca, Mexico, as part of a folk art trip organized by a local gallery owner. In his several trips since, hes become immersed in the Mexican provinces vibrant contemporary and historic printmaking culture. He began meeting artists and collecting Oaxacan work from the mid-20th century onward.

Now, a few months after leaving form & concept in October, Rose is debuting his new gallery, Hecho a Mano. The Canyon Road spot, which will focus on showcasing handmade art from Latin and North America, opens on Friday.

According to Rose, one of his main goals with his new gallery is to foster a connection between maker, object, and viewer.

I think so many times art can get disassociated from its maker, said Rose. And we tend to see it in a vacuum because a lot of places dont connect the artist to the maker. You see the object and its great, but somebody made that.

So, Hecho a Mano is sort of a call to that ethos, he continued. That somebody made this; this was made by hand. I dont want a lot of things to be under glass. I want people to be able to touch things. I want that connection.

Hecho a Mano, taking over the former Beals & Co. showroom at the top of Canyon Road, is certainly a smaller and much different kind of space for Rose. His new gallery is around 500 square feet, with classic adobe features like wooden floors and vigas  he described the building as having a sense of age  compared to the large form & concept space with the concrete floor, a lot of glass and other modern architecture features.

Following his departure from form & concept, Rose was working at Opuntia Cafe and considering selling his collected pieces through an online gallery. It was at the cafe that he overheard Bobby Beals, the former lessee of the Canyon Road spot, discussing plans. Beals told Rose about the soon-to-be-available gallery space.

I wasnt tracking on Canyon Road at all at the time, Rose explained. In fact, I was probably averse to opening on Canyon.

The famous art street known for its commercial galleries wasnt necessarily his scene, he said, but he wants to make it clear that he appreciates all sides of the art community. Im not denigrating any of it, its all important, he explained. I think every facet of art, from the purely conceptual to the purely commercial, is a part of the ecosystem.

When he entered the old building, Rose said, he had an intuitive feeling.

It just felt right, he said.

He hopes to make Hecho a Mano a place for local art lovers. He will sell items with a range of prices, with big-ticket items, as well as pieces he and his peers can afford. He also hopes to bring in a Santa Fe audience by offering interactive programming, live artist talks or small music shows.

Rose said thats similar to what form & concept has done to make that gallery more experience-based, somewhere life is happening.

And of course looking at art is an experience, but a human experience, one where theres humans connecting to humans, he said.

There isnt a tidy definition of the type of work the gallery will be carrying, Rose explained, in terms of medium or era. But the main through line will reflect the gallerys name.

Im not carrying anything thats machine made, said Rose. If somebody is doing digital prints, not interested.

His first exhibition, opening on Friday and staying up until April, features a 1940 series of lithographs by the late Carlos Merida.

Merida, who was born in Guatemala, but lived in Mexico most of his life, was widely known for his cubist-style paintings and murals. However, Roses collection is from earlier work that Rose described as more ethnographic-style studies, particularly of costumes and dress.

The characters in the 10 lithographs were inspired by what Merida saw during a Carnivale celebration in Mexico. His illustrations include Oaxacan men dressed up as animals and cross-dressing as women.

Rose said hes searching for artists working at the intersection of innovation and tradition.

To me, its very general, but really I think pinpoints what it is I look for, he said. Artists that maybe draw on some type of tradition, but are expounding on it in contemporary ways.
Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

The Santa Fe District Attorneys office cleared a Santa Fe Police officer in a fatal shooting well over a year ago, but the office never made a public announcement.

It is the second time within the past three years that the office did not make a general announcement that it had found a fatal shooting by an officer to be justified.

SFPD detective John Van Etten shot and killed 31-year-old Herman Flores at a Santa Fe Motel 6 in January 2016. Flores had allegedly robbed a nearby Walmart with a gun before fleeing to the motel.

The gun Flores was wielding when he was shot turned out to be an air pistol, according a document provided by the district attorneys office this week.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Padgett Macias sent a letter to former State Police Chief Pete Kassetas that spelled out the reasons for clearing detective Van Etten. The letter is not dated, but a DA spokesman who provided the letter said it was sent in September 2017.

In December 2015, Padgett Macias, then working in state government, was selected by former Gov. Susana Martinez to run the DAs office after Angela Spence Pacheco retired with a year left in her term. Padgett Macias lost to current DA Marco Serna in the June 2016 Democratic primary, but Serna subsequently tapped her for a high-ranking position in his administration.

The Flores shooting happened while Padgett Macias was in office as DA, but the decision to clear Van Etten was made after Serna took over.

Previously, Padgett Macias  when she was district attorney  also did not publicly announce that her office had cleared State Police officers in the fatal shooting of 34-year-old Ethan Noll near his Edgewood home in April 2015.

That decision became public only when a reporter for the Santa Fe New Mexican discovered that lawyers representing Santa Fe County had included it in a court filing in a public records lawsuit related to the Noll shooting.

In the Motel 6 shooting from 2016, detective Van Ettens lapel camera didnt capture the moment he shot Flores soon after the Walmart robbery, according to Padgett Macias letter to Kassetas, so she had to rely on witness statements and other evidence.

 whether the lapel camera malfunctioned is outside the scope of this review, Padgett Macias wrote.

The NMSP (New Mexico State Police) investigation, including witness statements, reports and lapel cams from other officers, provides sufficient detail by which the District Attorneys Office can decide whether the shooting was justified, she wrote.

The detective first shot at Flores as Flores was stopped alongside a motorcycle in the middle of the Motel 6 parking lot and the suspect reached into his waistband and pulled out a gun, the Padgett Macias letter says.

The motorcycle later was found to have a defect that indicated it was hit by a bullet, and a black pistol grip that likely fell from Flores gun was found near the motorcycle, she wrote. Van Etten fired another four shots at Flores as Flores moved aggressively towards Van Etten, according to Padgett Macias account.

Here, Flores began to close the distance between himself and Detective Van Etten, and Detective Van Etten fired a total of four (4) rounds striking Flores at least twice, she wrote. The black pistol was located a short distance away from Flores indicating that the injured Flores dropped the gun as he fell.

The gun Flores had during the encounter turned out to be an air pistol, an imitation of a firearm, says the letter. A Santa Fe police sergeant wrote in a report cited by Padgett Macias that he had assumed what Flores was wielding was a 9 mm or .40 caliber handgun.

Her report says that a state Office of the Medical Investigator report said that one bullet entered left of Flores belly button, hit his small intestine and an artery, and was found in a vertebrae. The second bullet entered through the right groin and struck the pelvic area.

Under the facts and circumstances of this case, Detective Van Etten had an actual and reasonable belief that Flores was armed with a handgun and that he was in danger of imminent death, Padgett Macias concluded.

Detective Van Etten made a split-second decision to shoot Flores to protect his life, and his split-second decision was justified under New Mexico law.

Her letter says that the Santa Fe District Attorneys Office reviewed the Flores shooting.

But in January 2017, soon after he took office, Serna told the Journal in an interview that he wanted to use a committee of district attorneys from around the state to determine if Van Etten would face criminal charges or if the shooting was justified.

Details not previously released

There has not previously been any news reporting on the details of the Padgett Macias letter clearing Van Etten.

Internet searches show that in November 2017, KOB-TV aired a report that focused on the release of officers lapel camera video from the night of the Flores shooting. The TV station noted at the end of its report that Santa Fe police said the district attorneys office had cleared Van Etten in the shooting. That detail was not picked up by other news organizations, including the Journal.

In contrast, also in November 2017, the DAs office did send out a press release about another officer-involved shooting, when a determination was made to clear SFPD officer Leonardo Guzman in the shooting death of Andrew James Lucero near Eldorado in April 2017. A committee of district attorneys from around the state was used in the Lucero case and took about seven months to come to a decision.

DA spokesman James Hallinan did not directly answer questions last week as to why the DAs office never made a similar public announcement about finding the Flores shooting justified.

It was a public document with the Office of the District Attorney, State Police and Santa Fe Police, and was requested by members of the media, Hallinan said in response to Journal questions, apparently referring to KOB, which cited the police and not the DAs office as its source.

Serna campaigned in 2016 on the promise that he would use committees of district attorneys to make a recommendation on whether officers should be charged in shootings to avoid an appearance of a conflict of interest since local prosecutors from the DAs office and police routinely work together on criminal cases.

Padgett Macias told the Journal shortly before Serna took office that Serna would have to make a decision on the Flores shooting.

Since former district attorney Padgett had already begun the review while she was DA, she finished it and sent the letter to the chief, Hallinan said in a text message last week.

Edgewood case

In the 2015 Noll shooting in Edgewood, Padgett Macias decision to clear the officers involved came out when attorneys attached it to a July 2016 motion to dismiss the Santa Fe County Sheriffs Office from a lawsuit filed by Nolls wife, Erin Noll.

Her stated reason then for not making an announcement on the decision was that she hadnt sent an opinion letter to the chief of the State Police and it was important for State Police to release records related to the shooting before she made a public announcement.

Erin Noll sued the sheriffs office, the town of Edgewood and the state Department of Public Safety for delaying the release of public records related to the shooting. The sheriffs office was dropped from the suit after Padgett Macias cleared the officers involved and the office released records related to the shooting.

A Santa Fe District Judge ruled in Erin Nolls favor, but Edgewood and DPS appealed the decision. On Tuesday, the Court of Appeals upheld the District Courts decision, saying the defendants didnt prove that they were in compliance with the state Inspection of Public Records Act.

In another police shooting, Hallinan said the DAs Office is still waiting on a committees recommendation on whether two Santa Fe Police Department officers were justified in the fatal shooting of 24-year-old Anthony Benavidez after a stand-off at a Santa Fe apartment complex in July 2017.
Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

A team from Santa Fes Georgia OKeeffe Museum and Northwestern University studying the metal soaps in the artists paintings have developed an iPad app they say will streamline how conservators monitor the harmful bumps.

Soaps, in this case, are lead-based chemical reactions that occur between the binding materials in paint. They cause microscopic protrusions that cause a painting to deteriorate, creating problems including discoloration or pieces of paint coming off.

The Georgia OKeeffe Museum has studied the soap-caused bulges in OKeeffes paintings, which the painter herself first noticed back in the 1940s, for the past several years. Dale Kronkright, the museums head of conservation, approached the researchers at Northwestern about the issue and in late 2017, the team received a $350,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant to further develop 3-D imaging technology and study what affects the rate of growth of soaps within the paintings.

The teams current findings and the new app were presented last month at the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences annual conference.

But the problem of soaps in paintings is not exclusive to OKeeffe.

This is a major problem throughout the world, said Marc Walton, research professor of materials science and engineering in Northwesterns McCormick School of Engineering and co-director of the Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts, a joint effort between the university and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Its been recognized that soap-based degradation is one of the primary agents of decay on paintings and some 70 percent of all old paintings actually have these things on them, Walton continued. Theres a lot of research, chemical research, thats going into understanding the reactivity, how theyve self-assembled molecularly, and how they exert enough pressure on the surface of the canvas to be able to produce what were calling protrusions.

According to Walton, simple tools to monitor soaps over time could improve conservators preventative efforts by helping determine whether the various environments paintings are kept in slow down or speed up the growth of soaps.

At least five OKeeffe paintings have already required repairs due to significant soap damage. In 2017, Kronkright said about 95 percent of the Santa Fe museums OKeeffe artwork shows some evidence of soaps.

Walton said hes seen different types of soaps in paintings from as far back as 2nd-century Rome up to present-day works. But the most vulnerable paintings are believed to be those made just before or after World War II, Walton said, due to the commercialization of paints. More chemistry and additives went into manufacturing paints during that era in order to ensure the materials shelf life over a long period of time.

Through collaborating with the museum, Walton said the Chicago team realized how surface-shape measurements currently require bulky, expensive 3-D imaging equipment. A painting must be taken out of storage, transported with the help of a preparator and set up in a photo studio-like environment to take the images for the quantitative measurements. This difficult process can prevent the data from being taken at all, Walton said.

The way the new technology works, Walton explained, conservators can use an iPad tablet to illuminate and then take pictures of the paintings surface. Through the app, images go to a server at the Northwestern campus that makes a 3-D image of the paintings surface and processes the data.

The technology helps detect the protrusions, as well as their size and frequency. Conservators can compare the measurements to previous images to see which paintings are deteriorating quickly and which are not.

In a press release from Northwestern last month, Oliver Cossairt, associate professor of computer science at the universitys McCormick School of Engineering  who took the lead on creating the new technology  compared it to a tricorder, the fictional hand-held device from Star Trek used to scan places, objects and people to extract information.

Were able to basically pare down all this complex equipment into something thats really simple, said Walton.

Whats nice about this is that you can take it anywhere, you can take it into deep storage, you can bring it to a work of art, and you can also just do it on the fly. You can capture data within two minutes, while, with the more complex device, which requires hand manipulation, it would take us two days to process all the data because it had to all be done manually. What we really did is optimize going from the capture all the way down to the processing so the entire sequence can take under two minutes.

Kronkright said the technology produces a normal vector map that identifies unwanted protrusions, using bright or false colors to show different shapes and angles of direction.

Its in this normal vector map that these protrusions are clearly different than the artists brush strokes or the texture of the oil paint, dirt or chips, Kronkright said. It really makes it possible for the computer to say OK, Im looking for little round interruptions in otherwise linear formations on a surface.

This type of 3-D imaging technology has long existed in the larger machinery used previously, Kronkright emphasized, but making it available in a portable device is significant. The app provides conservators a rough look at a paintings surface, which lets them decide quickly whether a painting needs to be looked at further with the high-resolution machinery or if it can get a clean bill of health for the time being. If a museum has a collection of tens of thousands of pieces that need to be preserved, staff must be selective about time and resources, he said. And realizing that a painting has problems early could prevent major issues down the line.

Being able to capture a 3-D image using a portable device is akin to you going to your general practitioner for your annual checkup and your GP seeing a couple of moles and one doesnt look quite right, Kronkright explained. So the GP takes a picture of that and sends it off to a dermatologist, and the dermatologist says, Yeah that ones not quite right, this person should come in for a more detailed examination. 

The technology is meant to allow further study to determine external elements  humidity, temperature, light exposure are all potential factors  that could be contributing to a faster rate of soap growth. Or, conversely, Kronkright said, What did we do right with this painting that we stopped the growth of soaps and how can we replicate that with the rest of the collection?

The team plans to make the app available online for free, according to Walton. He said the group will have to release it by December under terms of the NEH grant.

Over the next year, the team wants to increase the technologys machine-learning capabilities so it can register one image on top of another to compare images of specific area of a painting over time.

Kronkright added that, eventually, he wants conservators around the world to be able to compare images made with the app.

Walton added that hes interested in seeing what other application the imaging technology could have down the line. For example, the app could be used to analyze the surface of currency and look for forgeries

Dissecting her materials

The ongoing research has also led to important developments over the past year about the soaps and their growth, according to Walton and Kronkright.

Walton said researchers have established a connection between commercial, primed canvases that OKeeffe was using, which they found in the garage of her Abiquiu home, and the soap protrusions on her paintings between 1940 and 1950. Walton said the researchers noticed similar bumps on those old unused canvases.

A focus of the research going forward will be to determine what exactly was added to materials that OKeeffe used that might be causing the chemical reaction issues. In particular, Walton said the team is still looking to determine whether aluminum stearate  a synthetic fat that is used in paints to keep them more flexible over a long period of time  is the culprit in this case.

Whats interesting about this is if OKeeffe used this canvas, theres probably a lot of other artists that used this same commercial product, said Walton. And then the question arises, if we see the same protrusions and soaps forming on those paintings by other artists, if we can start to make that connection, we can actually solve a lot of conservation issues when it comes to groupings of paintings made during this time period.

Something the OKeeffe conservators have long noticed is the correlation between her paintings with high soap growth rates and how often those paintings have traveled. What they dont know, Kronkright said, was what specific environmental changes could be causing soap growth.

Kronkright said the types of materials used in OKeeffe paintings have recently been undergoing lab study in which the environmental factors were accelerated to see what could be helping or hurting her works.

Initial results have shown changes in humidity have some kind of effect, he said.

Essentially, moisture, water molecules moving through the oil film every time the humidity changes, that seems to correlate with an increase in number and size, said Kronkright. He noted that the museum designed and patented a frame a few years ago that acts as a humidity-sealed container and stabilizes the paintings moisture as it travels. Surface shape imaging will be able to determine what kind of impact that is having.

Though the soaps issue is widespread throughout the world, Walton noted that the reason the OKeeffes collection is the prime studyset is because the Santa Fe museum has not only her paintings, but also the materials she used to create them. Her brushes, paint tubes and canvases have been kept.

And Kronkright also said she was incredibly consistent in her use of materials  she used only a small handful of canvas types and paint colors throughout her 60-year career. OKeeffe herself also kept records of when and where her paintings traveled. This allows for a level of study that isnt possible with other famous artists.

Its extremely important to focus on someone like Georgia OKeeffe, where we have everything in one place, and then use that as a model to apply to all the other artists where these problems are exhibited, Walton said.
My grandfather served in the military during World War I. My father served in World War II. I served in the Vietnam War.

John McCains grandfather and father were Navy veterans, and John followed them into Naval service as well.

Donald Trumps grandfather at 16 bought a one-way ticket to America to avoid three years of compulsory service in the German army. Neither his father, nor Donald, nor any of his siblings served in the U.S. military.

So where am I going with this? Im sorry, but I have to ask all the military veterans who support Donald Trump: How do they look at themselves in the mirror of service? I dont get it.

Donald Trump says he doesnt respect John McCain because he got captured. The capture that happened when McCains plane was shot down and he almost died. After two years as a POW, the Viet Cong realized McCains family military history and offered to release him. McCain said he would comply if the other POWs, many who were in captivity longer than he, would be released as well. The Viet Cong said no and McCain then refused. John was then put in solitary confinement and tortured for another three and a half years. This is the guy Trump doesnt respect? Shame on you vets who support this president.

Trump says he loves Kim Jong Un and (Kim) loves him. He believes the word of Vladimir Putin over the intelligence gathered by the FBI, CIA and the other military intelligent agencies. But (he) says he is not a fan of John McCain and never will be.

I was in the Naval Security Group. I had a top-secret cryptographic clearance. I know what these organizations do, how important their work is for our security and how dedicated they are to our nation. For a president to ignore and disparage their work is beyond the pale.

So I ask all of you Trump-supporting military veterans to take pause. Look at those like John McCain who have served honorably, unlike those who used family affluence to not serve when called upon, and give them the respect they deserve.

And please, do not hug the flag in false patriotism while supporting this president.
Welcome to a new era of film and media production in New Mexico  with more emphasis on building long-term production partners that ensure a year-round workforce with regular paychecks.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has identified film and media production for aggressive and strategic investments from her administration. It is a clean, sustainable industry with an established statewide workforce.

The newest initiatives seek to nurture that ecosystem into one that supports year-round employment and careers for students now working on film and media technical certifications in 22 degree programs around the state. Its an industry-cluster economic development philosophy.

With the commitment of Netflix and potentially other studio partners, Albuquerque is front and center in that effort.

Thanks to changes made during the 2019 legislative session, and a new deal with Netflix, the industry is poised to bring thousands of jobs to New Mexico, screams a March 14 headline in MovieMaker, which has also declared Albuquerque as the No. 1 city for those who want to work in film and live near their job.

As media companies grow, we will reach out and proactively partner with them, as was the case with Netflix and will be the case with more companies to be announced soon, Gov. Lujan Grisham recently told Site Selection magazine.

Here is how we will do this:

The new legislation raises the annual cap to $110 million. That move, as well a commitment to pay off any backlog or so-called IOUs from the state, should stabilize the program and has already reinvigorated interest in New Mexico from new productions.

Additionally, Senate Bill 2:

 Establishes a partnership with major production companies that purchase or lease a facility in New Mexico for at least 10 years by exempting those companies from the annual payment cap. This guarantees they can budget over a longer time period and hire full-time employees without worrying the state will pull the rug out from under them. The measure takes specific aim at boosting jobs for the craft and technical workers who depend on a full-time paycheck to buy a house and support a family.

 Provide an additional 5 percent in rebate dollars to productions that do business in locations outside the Albuquerque-Santa Fe corridor such as Las Cruces, Las Vegas, N.M., Truth or Consequences and Roswell. We know there has been interest in filming at these locations and others that can capture unique New Mexico landscapes, but the cost of transporting crews and equipment has been a challenge. The bonus percentage will offset some of that higher cost.

As part of the new law, the Economic Development Department and the New Mexico Film Office have promised to report more data about the tax credit program to the Legislature and taxpayers with regular accountability on where the money is going.

The film and media industry is growing faster than the rest of the states economy and pays on average 42 percent higher than other fields. During committee meetings in the House and the Senate, it was obvious by the emotional testimony of film workers that this industry has afforded them the opportunity to buy houses, obtain medical insurance and care for elderly parents.

This industry is about local New Mexicans receiving a proper wage and being able to stay in our beautiful state.

Film is an industry that brings in outside money, with over $3.4 billion flowing into the state since the inception of the credit program in 2003. The changes made this legislative session will ensure that locals who live and work here can continue to practice their craft, raise a family and build their profession in New Mexico.

Alicia J. Keyes is a former film company executive and film office director for the City of Albuquerque. She worked on the agreement that helped bring the Netflix Studios to Albuquerque.

Action!
WASHINGTON  When the debris settles after special counsel Robert Mueller completes his investigation into Russian hacking of the 2016 presidential election, America will still be left with the underlying problem that triggered the probe in the first place  the threat of malicious cyberattacks against political parties, corporations and anybody else who uses the internet.

Heres a disturbing fact: Even after all the uproar that has surrounded Muellers inquiry, the U.S. government cant do much to protect most private citizens or organizations against attacks. Theres better security now for election systems and critical infrastructure, but that doesnt help the banks, hedge funds, law firms and other companies with sensitive data  which are basically on their own.

Muellers findings about President Trump will have their own fiery afterlife on Capitol Hill, which nobody can predict. But Congress should also be thinking about the less-sexy fallout from the investigation, which highlighted the vulnerability of all data to foreign spies, meddlers and information pirates.

U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency have already gone on the offensive against Moscow. Last fall, their joint Russia Small Group secretly hacked back, in effect, against Russias Internet Research Agency, briefly shutting down some of its computers. The aim was to deter the Russians from meddling in the 2018 midterm elections, and it seems to have worked.

Private companies are going on the offensive in cyberspace, too  even though the legal terrain is murky and theres a big risk of triggering a tit-for-tat melee.

Some organizations are conducting active cyber-defense hacking back, but in my experience this will amplify the global cyber-arms race, warns Milan Patel, a prominent former FBI cyber expert whos now with BlueVoyant, a cyber-security firm. Rather than hacking back, which will only bring a short-term sense of relief, companies need to do a better job at education and training. He says the latest industry reports estimate that 92 percent of attacks originate from spear-phishing, where employees unwittingly click on malicious malware.

American history offers an unlikely lesson in how cyber-offense might be enhanced and also regulated, as explained by Michael Chertoff, former secretary of homeland security, in his recent book Exploding Data.

At the very beginning of our nation, when America and France were fighting an undeclared war, the U.S. Navy was too weak to protect American vessels from attack. The high seas were an 18th-century version of cyberspace, with attackers lurking everywhere. So, as Chertoff notes, the U.S. Constitution mandated that: Congress shall have Power  To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water.

Today, argues Chertoff, the government could grant the equivalent of letters of marque to private cyber-defense companies. To bolster its capacity to defend and deter cyberattacks, the government should train and license privateers for certain specific operations  to assist in deterring attacks against U.S. companies and infrastructure, he writes.

But Chertoff cautions in an interview: Dont try this at home! Meaning, companies should avoid any retaliatory action that might be illegal under U.S. or foreign law, or that would trigger counter-reprisals that would make the problem even worse.

In the real-world marketplace, cyber consultants are already selling active defense tools that push the envelope. Illusive Networks specializes in what its website calls deception-based cybersecurity. The idea is to create what intelligence organizations call honeypots that lure attackers and allow defenders to observe and manipulate them. To catch an attacker, you must think like one, says the companys website.

Another cyber-deception specialist is Attivo Networks. Its website explains: Deception changes the asymmetry against attackers with attractive traps and lures designed to deceive and detect attackers. A third prominent player in the active-defense market is Endgame, which promises on its website that its software can hunt and stop exploits, phishing, malware, ransomware and other attacks. Social-media platforms such as Facebook have become increasingly active, too, in defending their networks.

Cyber experts warn that active defense is a slippery slope. A honeypot can identify invaders. But it can also lure them to gobble malicious software that disables the attackers network, or to steal false documents that deliberately mislead the attackers. And because attackers hide in servers that arent their own, a reprisal meant to target malicious hackers could take down a hospital or university.

The Mueller investigation has galvanized efforts to protect U.S. elections from future meddling. But the larger American vulnerability to cyberattack remains, and it deserves more attention.

As U.S. companies move to protect their secrets, sometimes using tools once reserved for intelligence agencies, they need better guidance from Washington.

Twitter @IgnatiusPost.  2019, Washington Post Writers Group.
America is a generous country, and Americans are generous people.

One recent example? Sofia Adriana Perla Clavel, a 3-year-old from El Salvador here for heart surgery performed by Presbyterian pediatric surgeon Dr. Bill Stein. The four-hour procedure was successful, and Sofia, along with her mother, Yena Beatriz Clavel, celebrated a very special third birthday for the little girl in Albuquerque before returning home this month.

Meanwhile, the U.S. continues to accept legal immigrants. According to the Department of Homeland Security, 278,000 foreign nationals obtained lawful permanent resident status in the third quarter of fiscal 2018 with Mexico, Cuba, China and India topping the list. Nearly half of those were immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. During the same time period, about 16,000 refugees were admitted, with the Congo, Burma, Bhutan, Ukraine, Eritrea and Afghanistan among the leading countries of origin.

As of 2017, we had 22 million naturalized citizens  about half of the foreign-born population living here.

These are examples of a welcoming America  not one with doors closed to the world. Indeed, it is a country founded on immigration. But to be a country you have to have borders, and until late last week, with laws never designed to deal with the current situation, we effectively have not had a southern border when it comes to the mass migration of mostly Central Americans showing up to seek asylum.

It is uncertain what the impact will be of Homeland Securitys decision to have migrants seeking asylum return to Mexico as they wait the months, or often years, it takes for their cases to wind through the court system. Previously, they were allowed to wait in the U.S.  most often with relatives.

That practice contributed to a crisis that comes with a huge but yet-to-be calculated price tag for American taxpayers. Some of the migrants need medical care. Their children are entitled to early childhood services and public education while they await processing of their claims. And thats just as they arrive.

Yet in typical tone-deaf fashion, President Trump has only exacerbated the situation by declaring an emergency to build his wall after Congress refused to fund it. (Its worth noting then-Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat, declared an emergency and said that if need be New Mexico would build a wall  or fence.)

While the courts will decide whether Trump has that authority, even if he does, his physical barrier will take years and wont stop the flood of asylum-seekers.

And it is a flood.

Traveling by foot, hopping trains and recently being bused en mass by smugglers right to the border, the number of migrants  mostly from Central America  seeking asylum is staggering. The number in February alone topped 76,000. Hundreds of thousands have presented themselves since last fall. That, despite the fact that the chances of gaining refugee status are slim. The highest number of refugees accepted in a year under President Obama from ALL of Latin America and the Caribbean was about 5,000 in 2010.

Meanwhile, the Customs and Border Patrol has in part been transformed into a concierge service struggling to arrange transportation and medical care for the throngs, with many crossing the border in large groups in remote areas.

Under court rulings, anyone who sets foot on U.S. soil can claim asylum. Until this weekend, almost all of those with children were released with GPS ankle monitors and heading off to destinations throughout the United States where they may have a relative or sponsor while they waited for their cases to be heard.

That all was expected to change when Homeland Security extended its migrant protection protocols to the El Paso sector, which covers El Paso and New Mexico, this weekend. The protocols require asylum seekers to return to Mexico until their cases are heard. Officials hope that will reduce the mass migration.

Smugglers, as detailed by the Journals Angela Kocherga in a remarkable 8 hours on the border series of stories (read them at ABQJournal.com), take immigrants money and feed them a story that they can stay in the U.S.  particularly if they have a minor child with them. And there was enough truth in those statements  the fact migrants have been allowed to remain for such a lengthy period while their cases are pending  to give them credence. Thats now changed.

Of course, a court challenge to the migrant protection protocols could force Homeland Security to reverse course and once again allow asylum-seekers to remain in the United States. Critics contend the migrants are not safe in Juarez, which is already overwhelmed with thousands waiting to enter through a port of entry to seek asylum. The U.S. is limiting that number to a few dozen a day.

As the suffering continues on both sides of the border, there are no simple answers. Its not a new problem as Congressional majorities in both political parties have ignored their responsibility to pass comprehensive immigration reform for more than a decade. Now, Democrats control the House, Republicans control the Senate and Trump is in the White House.

All our elected officials  especially those in border states  should stop pandering to their base and find a solution that includes a fix for DACA kids and stems the flow seeking asylum based on bad information. The migrant protection protocol could help  though it creates a huge burden on Mexico. How about significantly increasing the number of immigration judges and expediting hearings near the border? Renewing the campaign under President Barack Obama to tell people in Central America you cant stay if you get here?

Because this is a crisis and unfair to agents working, and residents living, on the border; American taxpayers footing the tab; and tens of thousands pulling up roots on a false promise of asylum.

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.
Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

The federal criminal cases against brothers Sergio and Jesus Samaniego-Villa have all the earmarks of a typical Mexican-based drug operation: drugs, guns, money and even statuettes of Santa Muerte and Jesus Malverde, commonly known as the patron saints of drug trafficking.

But even in an Albuquerque metropolitan area with plenty of gun violence, its not every day officers pull over a vehicle and find the driver  in this case Jesus Samaniego-Villa  wearing an armored vest with a 30-round AR-15 magazine clipped to it.

In the back seat of the extended cab pickup truck, Bernalillo County Sheriffs deputies found what prosecutors describe as an arsenal of rifles, a machine gun, night vision goggles, drugs and more than $33,000 in cash.

There are four related cases involving the brothers and five other defendants in federal court.

Sergio, 30, faces drug charges and Jesus Samaniego-Villa, faces gun charges. The brothers, from Culiacan, the heart of Sinaloa, are both in the country illegally.

Its a complicated legal landscape with the brothers charged in only two of the cases. But court documents indicate prosecutors and agents believe all the defendants in the four cases were acting on Sergios behalf.

This isnt the first drug-related business venture in Albuquerque for Sergio Samaniego-Villa, the alleged leader of the organization.

He was deported in 2012 while facing state drug charges in Bernalillo County after bonding out of the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center.

According to federal court documents, an FBI task force started investigating Sergios drug trafficking organization in February 2018 and bought a half pound of heroin and a quarter pound of cocaine last year. Sergio Samaniego-Villa and his wife, Jessica Moya, 26, were arrested while delivering the drugs to undercover agents.

They were initially charged in state court with drug trafficking and released on their own recognizance.

They were supposed to stay in New Mexico but went to California and, according to court documents, missed court dates in Albuquerque. And, the records allege, they continued to sell drugs here through intermediaries  basically taking orders by phone in California and having them filled here through members of their organization.

In the relative scheme of drug dealing in Albuquerque, where undercover federal agents routinely buy multiple pounds of heroin, cocaine or methamphetamine in a single transaction, Sergio Samaniego-Villa and his wife are considered mid-level drug dealers.

But he has been persistent, and according to court documents, has connections into the heart of the Mexican territory controlled by the Sinaloa Cartel, raising his profile with the FBI task force.

Gun bust

In August 2018, a day after the FBI bought more drugs from Sergio Samaniego-Villas group, BCSO deputies stopped his brother, Jesus, driving a 2017 GMC Sierra pickup truck in the South Valley.

They found eight rifles, six handguns, night vision goggles, armored vests, more than $33,000 and a small amount of cocaine. Two of the rifles  one fully automatic and classified as a machine gun  had been reported as stolen.

Jesus Samaniego-Villa and his two passengers were charged with possession of stolen firearms in state court, where prosecutors were going to have to fight to keep the three men in jail.

Within days, before the defendants had a chance to try to persuade a state court judge to release them pending further hearings, the U.S. Attorneys Office took the case and the three were charged in federal court with possessing a machine gun, among other charges.

In November, federal prosecutors also took over the state drug case against Sergio Samaniego-Villa and Moya and filed additional drug charges against two other men believed to be involved with the organization.

All seven have been ordered held in custody.

Early stages

The drug cases are still in the early stages but the gun case is heating up.

Defense attorneys in the machine gun case want all the evidence thrown out, arguing that the BCSO traffic stop was a pretext and therefore the subsequent search that found the stolen machine gun and rifle was illegal.

Prosecutors argue that the traffic stop was routine and the search of the pickup truck was legal.

They say that after 11 p.m. on Aug. 9, Deputy Mitchell Skroch and others were responding to a domestic violence call on Foothill Drive SW, when a pickup truck left a dirt lot near the residence.

One of the deputies told Skroch the alleged domestic call offender might have left the scene in the truck, so Skroch followed it.

After the pickup truck passed through the intersection of Arenal and Coors SW, Skroch said he saw the truck drive over the solid white line into the bike lane for three or four seconds. Skroch then pulled the truck over.

Defense attorneys point out that Skroch originally said the truck passed over the dotted-line separating traffic lanes, which they say is evidence the stop was a pretext.

Skroch approached the truck driven by Samaniego-Villa but talked to the passenger in the front seat, Daniel Landeros-Garcia, because Samaniego-Villa doesnt speak English and Skroch doesnt speak Spanish.

At that point, other deputies started to arrive, and one took Samaniego-Villa from the truck.

Deputies reported that they noticed that Samaniego-Villa, in body armor, was wearing an empty holster and asked where the firearm was located.

After some confusion as to whether the handgun was in the back of his pants or in the back seat of the truck, deputies figured out it was in the back seat.

Skroch then asked Landeros-Garcia to get out of the truck because there was a gun inside. When he complied, Skroch saw a large amount of cash on the center console.

Meanwhile, Skroch has testified he wasnt aware of a third person in the back seat of the truck at that point, because the windows were tinted. After putting Jesus Samaniego-Villa in handcuffs and Landeros-Garcia in the back of Skrochs patrol car, deputies returned to the truck to see if anyone else was inside.

Skroch testified that deputies then found Christian Meza-Samaniego  a cousin of Sergio and Jesus and also in the U.S. illegally  in the back seat sitting next to a pile of guns.

Of the three men, only Landeros-Garcia had a drivers license. Jesus Samaniego-Villa had a Mexican voter ID card and Christian Meza-Samaniego didnt have any ID.

After a deputy who could translate Spanish arrived, Samaniego-Villa was asked to sign a consent form allowing deputies to search the truck. He wouldnt sign the form, but told deputies they could remove the cocaine  roughly two grams.

Deputies didnt take the guns out of the truck at that point but began to check on the firearms to determine if they were loaded. Deputy Ryan Stoffel wrote down the serial numbers of the eight rifles and six handguns. Two of the rifles, including the fully automatic machine gun, came back as stolen.

According to Skroch, Jesus Samaniego-Villa said the three men were out shooting in the desert and went to the house on Foothill SW, where the alleged domestic violence incident occurred, to feed horses in a nearby lot.

Jesus told deputies the truck belonged to Landeros-Garcias mother, which a computer check confirmed. But Jesus Samaniego-Villas attorney later argued that his client had purchased the truck and had Landeros-Garcias mother register it in her name, because Samaniego-Villa couldnt, since he was in the country illegally.

Defense lawyers have argued that under those facts none of the three men in the truck that night had standing to consent to, or refuse, any search.

Senior U.S. District Judge James Parker hasnt ruled yet on the traffic stop or the searches.

Deputies conducted an inventory of the truck before having it towed.

In addition to the rifles and handguns, they also discovered magazines for various types of firearms, two ballistic Kevlar helmets, two sets of night vision goggles, a gas mask, an electronic wire detection device (to determine if someone was covertly recording), and two flashbang grenades, along with $33,289 in cash  approximately $3,580 on top of the front center console with the rest wrapped in a plastic bag and hidden under the back seat.

The statuette of Santa Muerte was found on the dashboard next to a model of a skull, and Jesus Malverde was on top of the cash on the center console.

Undercover buys

After Sergio Samaniego-Villa and Jessica Moya left for California, members of the FBI task force used confidential informants to telephone the couple and place drug orders.

One of the informants said he/she had been buying drugs from Sergio Samaniego-Villa for three years.

In July, members of the task force had one informant place an order for an ounce of methamphetamine and three ounces of heroin. The drugs were delivered 40 minutes later by Samuel Rodriguez-Velazquez, who agents describe as a transporter for Sergio.

On Aug. 8, the agents had the informant place a second order for four ounces of methamphetamine and three ounces of heroin for a price of $3,300.

Agents had been able to figure out where Rodriguez-Velazquez lived and were able to follow him before the delivery, trying to find where he picked up the drugs.

He proved difficult to tail, making U-turns in the middle of side streets and turning into parking lots. But agents did see him meet with Jesus Samaniego-Villa  who was driving the same GMC pickup truck pulled over by BCSO deputies the next night.

After Rodriguez-Velazquez met with Jesus Samaniego-Villa, the drugs were delivered later that day to the informant and subsequently turned over to task force agents.

Rodriguez-Velazquez was arrested at that point, but was indicted on federal drug charges in November.

Agents also served a search warrant on Rodriguez-Velazquezs former roommate, Fernando Gomez-Montez, and found drug ledgers, heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine and a handgun. Gomez-Montez was also indicted by a federal grand jury in November.

Like the other five, Rodriguez-Velazquez and Gomez-Montez are being held without bond.
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., had the look of an outdoorsman at a speaking engagement Thursday night in Albuquerque.

That may have been by design. He was attending a celebration of the passage of the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act at Bow and Arrow Brewery with members of wildlife organizations who supported the legislation.

Heinrich credited many of those attending with helping with the passing of the act.

Theres no doubt without so many people caring about these places for so long, none of this would have happened, he said.

The act preserves almost 275,000 acres as wilderness areas in the state, including parts of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, while 10 areas are within the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument.

One of the things that excites me the most with this package, is that the last time something of this magnitude happened in our state was in 1980, Heinrich said.

Heinrich, U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland, also a New Mexico Democrat, each sponsored portions of the package.

New Mexico Wild Executive Director Mark Allison said conservationists in other parts of the country were envious of the New Mexico delegation.

Allison praised Heinrich for the long hours the senator put in to help the package become law.

He has a vision for conservation, and he also knows how to legislate, Allison said.

Heinrich said the package was the result of decades of work by conservationist and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

This was a truly bi-partisan piece of legislation, Heinrich said. This would not have happened five years ago. We had Republicans from Colorado and Montana step up and said please work with us to get this done. 

UDALL, SHELBY TOUR NATIONAL LABS: Udall played the role of tour guide this past week with Congress taking a week off.

The tours he led may have been among the most important going on in the Land of Enchantment over the past week.

Udall and Sen, Richard Shelby, R-Ala., toured Sandia National Laboratories on Monday and Los Alamos National Lab on Tuesday.

Shelby is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Udall is a senior member of the committee.

The tour wasnt the first for Shelby, Udall said. Shelby toured the labs in 2003 as chairman of the Intelligence Committee.

The focus was much narrower back then, Udall said. He was only interested in projects involving intelligence. This time, he seemed interested in everything going on at the labs.

This isnt the first time Udall hosted a tour with the chairman of the Appropriations Committee. He hosted Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., in October 2015 when she chaired the committee. The Senate Appropriations Committee provides annual funding to federal agencies, including DOE and the national labs.

Udall said Shelby seemed impressed with the research going on at both labs.

I am pleased that Chairman Shelby was able to see firsthand the incredible work happening at LANL and Sandia, Udall said. Ill keep working with him and other members on a bipartisan basis to provide our national labs with the resources necessary to successfully carry out their missions and address the worlds most pressing challenges, from nuclear security to climate change.

Scott Turner: sturner@abqjournal.com
Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  New Mexico could boost its voter turnout by a few percentage points under legislation awaiting action by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, analysts say.

The proposal  passed in the final days of the 2019 session  would clear the way for New Mexicans to register to vote at early-voting sites and on Election Day. The changes would be phased in, with Election Day registration taking effect in time for the 2022 election cycle.

Academic studies have found strong evidence that same-day registration increases voter turnout, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The effect is in the range of a 3 to 7 percent increase in voter turnout.

I think it could have a significant impact in high-profile election years where theres a lot of energy and excitement to go to the polls, Brian Sanderoff of Research & Polling Inc. said in an interview.

In New Mexico, the voter rolls now close four weeks before Election Day. Anyone who registers after that date cant participate until the following election cycle.

Senate Bill 672  co-sponsored by three Democratic legislators  would phase in same-day registration for statewide elections. The governor has until April 5 to decide whether to approve the proposal.

It would allow people to register to vote during the 28-day blackout period, under certain circumstances. They could go to the county clerks office and could register up to the Saturday before the election.

Counties would have the option of allowing voter registration at early-voting sites, too. But they would have to staff each site with a clerks office employee to serve as the registrar.

Voters would be permitted to register and cast their ballots immediately.

The rules would go into effect this year, though no statewide election is scheduled until 2020.

Registration on Election Day itself would be permitted for statewide elections after that  the first of which is scheduled in 2022.

Voters could also use the same-day registration system to update their voter information, but they would be prohibited from changing their party affiliation during a primary election.

Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, an Albuquerque Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill, said the phase-in period allows county clerks to prepare for the change.

I think its a good model, he said in an interview. Its an opportunity to roll this out in a way that makes sense.

Lawmakers passed the proposal largely along party lines, with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed.

Opponents questioned whether the legislation would be an administrative burden on county clerks, among other concerns.

Rep. David Gallegos, R-Eunice, said a voter who isnt engaged enough to register by the four-week deadline may not have a good handle on whats on the ballot.

I dont know if theyd understand the topics, the subjects, even the difference in candidates, Gallegos said during the House debate. Theres a lot of issues there that take a lot more of a deep dive into the topic than just a spur-of-the-moment vote.

Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, strongly supported the bill. Her office said protections are in place to keep people from voting at more than one location.

Lonna Atkeson, a professor of political science at the University of New Mexico, said that reducing administrative barriers to voting isnt a panacea but can contribute to increased turnout.

Candidates and campaigns are really what mobilizes voters, not election administration, she said.

Studies reveal no conclusive evidence that same-day registration affects partisan outcomes or benefits particular demographics, according to the National Council of State Legislatures. Seventeen states already allow same-day registration, including Utah and Colorado, according to the council.

Its unclear how campaigns might respond to the change, New Mexico analysts said.

Campaigns generally focus on turning out their base of supporters, Atkeson said, so someone who isnt registered yet may be a lesser priority.

Sanderoff said campaigns might pitch the idea of a one-stop shop for, say, college students  encouraging them to register and cast their ballot on the same visit to a voting location.
Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

In the past two years, New Mexicos federal courts have seen illegal entry prosecutions increase by more than 3,000 percent.

It might be related to a zero tolerance policy imposed by former Attorney General Jeff Sessions that aims to prosecute everyone caught crossing the border unlawfully. But the spike is leaving judges juggling massive caseloads in a district with two vacant judgeships and a third on the horizon.

On the border, you learn to go with the flow, and you have to learn to adapt to handle the numbers while at the same time affording defendants their due process rights, Chief U.S. District Judge William Johnson said in a recent interview.

In Las Cruces, where a vast majority of the states immigration-related cases are being handled, judges say theyre holding things together, but even a small increase in filings would be unmanageable.

The bean counters in Washington, D.C., like to say immigration cases are not that hard, Johnson said. Well, they might not be that hard, but theres a hell of a lot of them.

Filling the two vacant district judge positions requires a presidential nomination followed by Senate confirmation, and Johnson said hes hoping that the White House and Senate will make filling the vacancies along the Southwestern border a priority.

In May, Democratic Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and then-Rep. Steve Pearce, a Republican, submitted to the president a list of candidates for each vacancy.

Large felony caseloads

The United States has 94 judicial districts, but the five that span the border with Mexico handled 38 percent of the countrys felony cases in fiscal year 2018, according to statistics provided by the District of New Mexico.

Of those five districts, New Mexicos judges had the second-highest felony caseloads, just after their colleagues in the Western District of Texas, and those numbers dont take the vacancies into account.

New Mexico federal courts have seven district judgeships, combined with 10 full-time and two part-time magistrate judges who handle misdemeanors  including illegal entry cases  and are able to help district judges prepare a case for trial.

We use our magistrate judges for everything by statute that theyre authorized to do, Johnson said.

Johnson said U.S. district court judges must preside over felony trials and sentencings. On the civil side, magistrate judges are authorized to handle much of the pretrial work and can preside over a trial when parties consent. But the increases in misdemeanor cases are taking much more of the magistrate judges time, and thats time that they cant spend working on civil cases.

We have to give priority to criminal defendants, particularly those who are incarcerated and their liberty interests are at stake, Johnson said. The situation on the border combined with the judicial vacancies we have, its creating a significant impact on the civil docket.

Vacant judgeships

As far as vacancies go, New Mexico isnt alone.

Nationwide, 129 district judgeships are vacant. About 40 percent of those have a nominee who is awaiting Senate confirmation.

The Federal Bar Association says that the increasing number of vacancies is straining the capacity of the federal system to administer justice in a timely manner.

This is causing unnecessary hardship and increased costs on individuals and businesses with lawsuits pending in the federal courts, the association wrote on its website.

Johnson said the staggering caseloads all the border courts are dealing with have exacerbated the situation here.

District Judges Robert Brack and Christina Armijo took senior status in July 2018 and February 2018, respectively. Senior status is a sort of semi-retirement, during which judges may essentially work on a volunteer basis.

Brack, who is based in Las Cruces, is taking a reduced caseload, while Armijo, who worked in Albuquerque, is not hearing cases.

Judge Judith Herrera is set to take senior status in July.

A few short of unmanageable

For now, visiting judges are providing some relief, and Albuquerque judges, like Johnson, head to Las Cruces periodically to help out.

On one trip to Las Cruces, Johnsons docket had 99 re-entry cases.

In general, a defendant with few or no previous encounters with border authorities may face illegal entry charges. A conviction for illegal entry carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison for first-time crossers and two years for repeat offenses. In practice, many are deported after pleading guilty and spending a few days in jail.

Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Carmen Garza, who is based in Las Cruces, says that court is as efficient as we can possibly be, but any increase may require a contingency plan.

Asked what number of cases would be unmanageable, Garza said, Its just a few more cases than what we have now.

The judges said that cases involving defendants facing only a felony immigration-related charge who have little or no prior criminal history are typically processed within 30 to 60 days, while a misdemeanor entry case can be resolved in as few as three days.

We try to get them through the process so they can get deported and return home, Johnson said.

If it sounds like things are moving fast, Garza says, thats because they have to.

I mean we just have these huge numbers coming in, and its difficult to keep up with them as a court, I think, she said. Everybodys really committed, everyone works together and we get it done.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Copyright  2019 Albuquerque Journal

Lawyers with the Santa Fe Dreamers Project are among a growing number of immigration attorneys, advocates and journalists who have been detained and questioned by officials at the border.

I complied. I know that I have nothing to hide or anything to be afraid of, said Hector Ruiz, an attorney based on the border for the Santa Fe Dreamers Project. The non-profit organization provides free legal assistance for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, or Dreamers, in New Mexico and asylum seekers, including transgender women.

Ruiz said he was held for four hours by Customs and Border Protection officers after returning from a dinner in Ciudad Juarez in December. He was detained in a waiting room until investigators in plain clothes arrived.

They tell me their job is to investigate terrorism and criminal activity on the border so they just started asking me questions about the work that I do, the organization I work for, how the organization gets funded, Ruiz said.

NBC News was first to report about a CBP list in the San Diego area with the names of 59 reporters, lawyers and activists, including many U.S. citizens, targeted for additional screening when crossing the border into the United States. The list was compiled after some members of a caravan of Honduran migrants tried to climb the border fence or run through ports of entry.

The House Homeland Security Committee asked CBP for a copy of the list after the NBC report and an explanation about why each person had been included and whether any cellphones had been seized and searched.

CBP officers are authorized to search electronic devices at the border. As a constitutional matter, border search authority is premised in part on a reduced expectation of privacy associated with international travel, according to CBP directives listed on the agencys website.

The search can include cellphones, computer laptops, tablets or other electronic devices and may happen whenever someone enters or leaves the country.

They help detect evidence relating to terrorism and other national security matters, human and bulk cash smuggling, contraband and child pornography, according to CBP.

The investigators who questioned Ruiz gave him a pamphlet explaining they had the right to search his phone, so he handed it over and unlocked the device.

I have nothing to hide. Im not a criminal. Im not a terrorist. Im just doing my job as an American citizen, Ruiz said.

He watched as the agents looked at his photos, contacts, read his text messages and WhatsApp conversations. They took notes and asked how he knew some of the people.

They asked me my opinion on the way the country is being run by the administration, Ruiz said. In addition to his political views, the immigration lawyer said they wanted to know more about his personal experience. He was raised on the border and crosses back and forth on a regular basis.

The line of questioning made me feel like they were really trying to get to the bottom of this radicalizing experience, Ruiz said.

Since the incident in December, Ruiz said he has not been stopped again by CBP officers. During the four hours he was detained and questioned he tried to explain to investigators his role as an attorney meeting with migrants waiting in Mexico to make an asylum claim in the U.S.

Im not fighting against the government. Im just advocating for folks ability to exercise their rights under U.S. law, Ruiz said.

Allegra Love, the director of the Santa Fe Dreamers Project, has been stopped at the Arizona border after returning from Mexico several times.

It was getting harder for me to make it across the border. Id just show my passport and theyd be like we need to pull you into secondary inspection, said Love, who is also an attorney.

Although she was questioned, Love said she did not have to hand over her phone or any other electronic devices.

CBP officers asked to look at documents a legal assistant traveling with Love had, but when the woman declined the officers did not insist, according to Love.

She wonders if officials are suspicious about the work shes doing in Mexico.

They suspect that I am somehow organizing and encouraging people to ask for political asylum. But thats not the case at all, Love said.

Rather, she explained, she counsels transgender women to think carefully about what will happen if they cross the border without authorization and are locked up in a detention center.

Every single client that we work with goes through the ports of entry because its absolutely safer than crossing the border illegally, Love said.

As the Trump administrations remain-in-Mexico program, renamed the Migrant Protection Protocol, is expanded to the El Paso region, which includes New Mexico, more U.S. lawyers will have to cross the border to meet with clients waiting in Mexico who have an asylum claim in the U.S.

What concerns me is that the government is actively trying to kill our work providing really, really, really critical humanitarian aid to massive groups of vulnerable people, Love said.
Police say a possible street racing crash involving at least one airman from Kirtland Air Force Base left a female pedestrian dead and three people critically injured Saturday night just blocks from the base.

You can imagine all the experience of all the officers out here, Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Simon Drobik said. This may be the worst accident everybody here has ever seen.

Kirtland Air Force Base Chief of Public Affairs Carl Grusnick confirmed that the crash involved at least one member of the 58th Special Operations Wing.

He could not confirm whether the airman was driving or a passenger but said the base will cooperate with APD throughout the investigation.

Drobik said the crash occurred around 7:30 p.m. and that witnesses told police two cars were racing north on Louisiana, north of Gibson.

He said one of the cars tried to get around another vehicle and struck a woman who was walking in the middle turning lane, instantly killing her. The car then crashed into the Rising Phoenix Apartment Complex.

There was nobody, thankfully, inside that building, he said.

Three people in the car, including the driver, were critically injured and a fourth is in police custody.

Police didnt immediately release the names of those involved in the crash.

Police say the incident is being investigated as a case of possible street racing. He said police will look into how fast the cars were going and other details that led to the crash.

That will take some time, he said.

Drobik said possible charges can range from a misdemeanor to a felony.

Dozens of police vehicles blocked both ends of Louisiana between Gibson and Zuni. Officers surrounded the car that crashed into the apartment complex. Neighbors had gathered on the sidewalk, and several of them said they saw the car hit the woman, swerve and crash headlong into the side of the apartment complex.
STAVANGER, Norway  Rodney Horgen recalled the moment he thought he was facing the end: when a huge wave crashed through the Viking Sky cruise ships glass doors and swept his wife 30 feet across the floor.

Horgen, 62, of Minnesota, was visiting Norway on a dream pilgrimage to his ancestral homeland when the luxury cruise quickly turned into a nightmare.

The Viking Sky was carrying 1,373 passengers and crew, going from Norways Arctic north to the southern city of Stavanger when it had engine trouble along Norways rough, frigid western coast. Struggling in heavy seas to avoid being dashed on the rocky coast, the ship issued a mayday call Saturday afternoon.

Horgan said he knew something was badly amiss when the guests on the heaving ship were summoned to the vessels muster points.

When the windows and door flew open and the 2 meters (6 feet) of water swept people and tables 20 to 30 feet that was the breaker. I said to myself, This is it,' Horgen told The Associated Press. I grabbed my wife but I couldnt hold on. And she was thrown across the room. And then she got thrown back again by the wave coming back.

Photos posted on social media showed the ship listing from side to side and furniture smashing violently into the ships walls. The hands and faces of fellow passengers were cut and bleeding from the shattered glass, he said.

An experienced fisherman, Horgen said he had never before encountered such rough boating conditions.

I did not have a lot of hope. I knew how cold that water was and where we were and the waves and everything. You would not last very long, he said. That was very, very frightening.

And yet, the scariest part was yet to come.

That was when hundreds of passengers, including Horgen, were winched off the heaving ship by helicopter, one-by-one as winds howled around them in the dark of night, by rescue workers trying to evacuate everyone on board.

Waves up to 26-feet- (8-meters-) high were smacking into the ship, making it impossible to evacuate anyone by boat.

The ship was within 100 meters (300 feet) of striking rocks under the water and 900 meters (2,950 feet) from shore when it stopped and anchored in Hustadvika Bay so passengers could be evacuated, Coast Guard official Emil Heggelund told Norways VG newspaper.

Norways Joint Rescue Coordination Center stepped in, sending in five helicopters. Passenger Alexus Sheppard told the AP that people with injuries or disabilities were winched off the cruise ship first.

It was frightening at first. And when the general alarm sounded it became VERY real, she wrote in a text.

Janet Jacob, among the first group of passengers evacuated to the nearby town of Molde, told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that the winds felt like a tornado and prompted her to start praying for everyone on the ship.

I was afraid. Ive never experienced anything so scary, she said.

We saw two people taken off by stretcher, passenger Dereck Brown told Norwegian newspaper Romsdal Budstikke. People were alarmed. Many were frightened but they were calm.

Viking Ocean Cruises, the company that owns and operates the ship, said 20 people were injured and received treatment at medical centers.

The airlift evacuation went all through the night and into Sunday morning, slowing for a bit when two of the five rescue helicopters had to be diverted to save nine crewmembers from a nearby ailing cargo ship.

In all, 479 passengers were airlifted to land, leaving 436 passengers and 458 crew members onboard, the company said, when the Viking Skys captain decided on a new plan.

Einar Knudsen of Norways Joint Rescue Coordination Center said the airlift was halted when the captain decided before noon Sunday to try to bring the cruise ship to the nearby port of Molde on its own engines.

The conditions were good enough for the captain to have no more evacuations, Knudsen told the AP.

Three of the ships four engines were working so a tug boat and two other vessels assisted the Viking Sky as it slowly headed to Molde under its own power. It finally docked at the port late Sunday afternoon, the cruise company said.

The Viking Oceans Cruise company said the ships next scheduled trip, to Scandinavia and Germany that was to leave on Wednesday, was cancelled. Norways Accident Investigations Board said the ship would remain in Molde, pending an investigation.

The Viking Sky was a relatively new ship, delivered in 2017 to operator Viking Ocean Cruises.

It had departed for a 12-day cruise from the southern Norwegian city of Bergen, visiting the Norwegian towns and cities of Narvik, Alta, Tromso and Bodo before its scheduled arrival Tuesday in the British port of Tilbury on the River Thames. The passengers were mostly an English-speaking mix of American, British, Canadian, New Zealand and Australian citizens.

Viking Cruises chairman Torstein Hagen praised the rescue operation by Norwegian authorities and the actions of the vessels crew.

He told the VG newspaper that the events surrounding the Viking Sky were some of the worst I have been involved in, but now it looks like its going well in the end and that weve been lucky.

Shipping tycoon Hagen is one of Norways richest men and the founder of the Switzerland-based Viking Cruises that operates river and ocean cruises.

Im very proud of our crew, Hagen told VG.

When asked why the cruise ship ventured into an area known for its rough waters in the middle of a storm that had been forecast by meteorologists, Knudsen, from Norways rescue service, said it was the captains decision to proceed with the cruise.

__

Tanner reported from Helsinki, Finland.
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https://www.aish.com/ci/s/UK-Government-Office-Slanders-the-Bible.html

Far from being bloodthirsty, the Biblical passages cited by a British office show a humane world view.

The asylum seeker explained to British authorities that as a Christian, he was in mortal danger at home in his native Iran. Hed converted to Christianity, he wrote in his asylum application back in 2016, because he found it a peaceful religion. The versions of Islam hed encountered, in contrast, contained violence, rage and revenge.

That seems hardly surprising coming from Iran, a country whose leaders routinely encourage chants of Death to Israel at political rallies, call the United States the Great Satan and are trying to develop a nuclear bomb. A fountain in the middle of Tehran, the Beheshte Zahra fountain, used to be called the Blood Fountain because its waters were dyed red to resemble the blood of Iranian martyrs who died trying to fight their secular neighbor Iraq. Not exactly a symbol of peace and tolerance in the middle of Irans capital city.

Yet last week, Britains Home Office finally decided the asylum-seekers case with some bizarre reasoning. It rejected the application, saying that Christianity is hardly a religion of peace. In an unconventional letter that sounded more like a theological treatise than a government document, the Home Office quoted a number of Biblical passages that they claimed prove the supposed blood-thirstiness of the Bible.

I cant speak for the passages quoted from the Christian Bible, but their reading of two sections in the Jewish Bible, from the Books of Leviticus and Exodus, directly contradict Jewish interpretations. Thats a tragic shame - both for the unfortunate Iranian Christian who now faces peril back home in Iran, and for all of us who are being exposed to the Home Offices slanderous and erroneous claims about the Bible.

Both the passages cited describe wars that the Jewish nation waged in ancient times. The first occurs in Exodus 34, when the ancient Israelites fled Egypt, God explained to them that He would lead them back to the land of their ancestors - and warned them not to assimilate into the idol-worshipping tribes that lived in the area. The tribes of Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivvites and Jebusites would be driven out. Be vigilant lest you seal a covenant with these tribes, God warns, lest it be a snare among you. Rather you shall break apart their (idolatrous) alters, smash their pillars, and cut down its sacred trees which they used to worship as deities (Exodus 34:11-13).

Perhaps to the bureaucrats in Britains Home Office these idol-worshipping tribes were benign. Yet historians and archeologists tell a very different tale.

Children seem to have been regularly offered to the Canaanite gods Baal and Moloch. Living cheek by jowl with these idolatrous tribes, the Torah warns Jews There shall not be found among you one who causes his son or daughter to pass through the fire of these gods, implying that this was a chillingly routine practice in the region (Deuteronomy 18:10). A valley outside Jerusalem was the site of particularly gruesome offerings to the god Moloch, and continues to bear the name its sacrifices earned it: the Valley of Death.

In 1955 Australian archeologist John Basil Hennessey was excavating a temple in nearby Jordan, when he made a horrifying discovery. In addition to uncovering walls and alters, pottery, gold jewelry, bronze pins, scarabs, and cylinder seals, they also found, in the words of one of the workers on the site, several thousands of small bone fragments (that) are almost exclusively human.

Given the bloody nature of many tribes in the ancient Middle East, the Torahs injunction not to form treaties or to live with them seems to be the humane, moral choice.

Thats where the second passage from the Jewish Bible cited by the Home Office comes in. Just before the Jews entered the land of Israel and confronted various bloodthirsty tribes rife with child sacrifice, God made clear: each person has a choice. They could succumb to idolatry and barbarity, or they could remain true to Gods instructions for a moral, ethical life.

I will provide peace in the Land, and you will lie down with none to frighten you (Leviticus 26:3). The Torah describes that when Jews live ethically in their land, even wild beasts will not bother them, and when it comes time for war, Israel will be victorious. (This is the supposedly barbaric passage cited by the Home Office.) You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword (Leviticus 26:7). There will be abundant rain and sufficient food for all.

In the next passage, one omitted by the Home Office, the Torah describes what terrible calamities will fall if the Jews abandon God and assimilate into the brutal tribes surrounding them. Then, there would be no rain and no abundance. Sickness and war would descend; the Jews would be subsumed among their enemies all around. Its a chilling, horrifying image.

After laying out this stark choice - brutality or ethical life, child sacrifice or belief in God - the Torah offers a consolation: Even if some Jews were to assimilate into the idol-worshippers around them, there was always the possibility of changing and coming back. Rejecting brutality and murder would result in Jews returning to preeminence in the Land of Israel.

As the UK Home Offices letter to the unfortunate asylum-seeker goes viral, its a shame that millions of people around the world are hearing the very wrong message that the Hebrew Bible is somehow bloodthirsty.

Far from endorsing the sort of violent, sadistic world view of both the ancient Middle Eastern tribes and modern Iran, the Torah gives us a vision of the complete opposite: a world that doesnt glorify violence; one that celebrates human dignity and worth instead.
https://www.aish.com/jw/me/Rafi-Eitan-5-Fascinating-Things-to-Know.html

The man who captured Eichmann fought tirelessly for the Jewish people.

He may have been short with unassuming appearance, but Rafael Rafi Eitan, the 92-year-old veteran Israeli spy king who died this past Shabbat, was a giant of a man.

Renowned for capturing and bringing Adolf Eichmann to trial in Israel, here are five fascinating things to know about the Mossad chief who kept a low profile but was behind some of Israels greatest accomplishments both in front, but mainly behind the scenes.

Protecting Illegal Jewish immigrants from Europe

Born in 1929, Rafi Eitan fled Nazi-occupied Europe at the age of 12, Rafi enlisted in the Haganah, the Jewish underground, in British-controlled Mandate Palestine, and later the Palmach, its fighting force, helping in operations to help Jewish immigrants enter the country illegally since the British had restricted immigration sending boatloads of Jews back to nazi occupied Europe.

His most daring operation was blowing up the radar being used by the British to catch and intercept boats carrying illegal Jewish immigrants to shore. In order to reach the radar he crawled through underground sewers earning him the name Rafi the Stinker which stayed with him throughout his career. It was during these early years, while assisting illegal immigrants, that he was injured in a mine explosion and lost almost all of his hearing. He wore hearing aids throughout his life.

Reflecting on his days in the military Eitan said, Youre not the one having a hard time in the battlefield. The enemys also having a hard timethe only question is who breaks down first.

The Man Who Captured Eichmann

After being wounded in the War of Independence the day after Israel declared its statehood, Eitans courage and bravery was noted and he was invited to join Israels intelligence service. It was here as a liaison officer between the Israeli internal intelligence, the Shin Bet, and its foreign intelligence agency the Mossad, that news reached Jerusalem that Adolf Eichmann the Nazi officer who had personally directed the Final Solution and the murder of millions of Jews of Europe, was alive and well living under the alias Ricardo Klement in a suburb of Buenos Aires.

Once the information was confirmed, Eitan led the mission which saw Israeli agents enter Buenos Aires under the guise of an official Israeli delegation marking 150 years of Argentinian Independence, staking out Eichmanns home at 18 Garibaldi Street and bundling him into a car, drugging him. They dressed him in the clothes of an El Al air steward before flying him back to Israel where he faced trial in 1961.

We did not want to show Eichmann how nervous we all were, Eitan told an interviewer years after the operation. That would have given him hope, and hope makes a desperate person dangerous.

Eichmann was sentenced to death and hung in 1962, the only time Israel has enacted the death penalty. Eitan, a renowned careful planner, would later acknowledge that he personally vetoed an attempt to capture the notorious Auschwitz doctor Josef Mengele who was also living under an alias in Argentina, since it may have put at risk the bigger prize of capturing Eichmann.

Daring Mossad Agent

Although we may never know all of the details surrounding Rafi Eitans operational work for the Mossad, his triumph in the capture of Eichmann propelled him forward to a career of over 30 years, leading Israeli espionage operations. Between 1964 and 1966 in what were fragile years for the young state of Israel, before a peace treaty had been signed with Cairo, Eitan headed an operation which ensured that vast amounts of armaments sold to the Egypt government by Germany somehow disappeared on route.

In 1981 he took a lead in planning and implementing Israels preemptive attack on Saddam Husseins nuclear reactor in Iraq which saw fighter pilot Ilan Ramon, who would go on to become Israels first astronaut, lead a squad of F16s who flattened the reactor, preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

In the mid-1980s Eitan was the Mossad handler for US Naval intelligence officer Jonathan Pollard, who was caught and arrested by the FBI for handling intelligence to Israel. Years later, Eitan controversially acknowledged he had given the order to refuse Pollard entry to the Israeli embassy in Washington, fearing a political fallout but at the same time allowing for Pollards arrest.

Champion of the Israeli Pensioner

Member of Knesset

After retiring from Israels secret service decades later in 2006, Rafi Eitan made a surprise entry to the Israeli political scene at the age of 79 leading a party representing pensioners rights. The party never seriously contemplated passing the electoral threshold but shockingly won a whopping seven seats in the Knesset, leading him to scramble around to find six friends to join him in parliament where he served proudly as the minister for pensioners affairs for three years.

Rafi Eitan. the world renowned sculptor

As the old saying goes, Want to get something done, then give it to a busy person. Rafi Etian remained active through his 90s. An avid sculptor for over 30 years, after losing his hearing in his youth and after his eyesight began to fail him, he used his hands to produce over 100 pieces of artwork which are today displayed in private collections and public galleries all over the world.

He was indeed a giant of a man not only in creativity but in his deep commitment to the Jewish People, to its security, its safety and ensuring its future.

Rafi Eitan, may you rest in peace. The Jewish people thank you for your service.
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Egyptian authorities are working on a facelift of the countrys capital market in a bid to lure more foreign portfolios. On March 17, the Financial Regulatory Authority approved a contract and statutes of a company to be charged with running the countrys first futures market, opening the way for trading in commodities through the Egyptian Exchange.

Economists say the futures contract exchange will enhance the competitiveness of the Egyptian market in general, paving the way for the launch of a number of futures contracts and commodity exchanges, such as for natural gas, cotton, flour and corn.

We have laid the foundation for futures, options and commodities contracts, Sherif Samy, former chairman of the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), told Al-Monitor. However, these measures wont necessarily bring in all of this the next day. This will take time. I think stock market index futures will be easier to begin with. The authorities should first decide on which commodities to be launched on the options market.

The FRA, which will oversee the new exchange, released a statement on March 17 announcing that it has set the companys issued and paid-in capital at 20 million Egyptian pounds ($1.12 million) and will form a management board of 7 to 11 directors. The futures exchange is aimed at launching an electronic trading platform through which future contracts are traded deriving their values from price indices or listed securities on the stock exchange, the statement said.

The story began in February 2018 with the new capital market law, which includes a chapter on futures contracts, Samy said. The futures contracts are divided into two types: financial instruments, such as stock, currency and stock market index futures, and commodities. The law regulates all of these instruments in line with the governments objective of reforming the economy as a whole.

Samy pointed out that even a country like Ethiopia, where there is no stock market, has a commodity exchange for coffee, the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange. Answering a question on the economic advantages of a futures contract, Samy explained, Basically, trading on commodity futures is a sort of hedging for both the producer and buyer. Moreover, speculation on future prices pumps liquidity into the futures markets.

It will be more logical to launch stock market index futures first, as we already have a growing equity market, and investors are familiar with trading in stocks and indices in general. Besides, there should be an efficient warehousing system to launch before launching a commodity exchange, Samy said, citing the need to develop infrastructure in terms of warehousing and noting Egypts earlier success story involving cotton.

Egypt had the Alexandria Cotton Exchange in the 19th century, but the nationalization of the cotton industry in the 1960s brought the cotton exchange to an end, Samy explained. To have a commodity futures market, we should pick a commodity in which Egypt has a competitive advantage. In all cases, this commodity should be scalable, stored and priced freely.

Amr el-Gohary, a member of the parliaments Economic Committee, urged the government to establish a logistics zone, equipped with efficient transportation means prior to launching a commodity exchange.

In fact we need many commodities exchanges to boost competitiveness and tame prices, Gohary was quoted by the daily Al-Ahram as saying on March 6. These commodities exchanges, if launched, will ensure competitiveness and put an end to monopolies as producers and buyers will meet at one marketplace without mediators.

In January, the Ministry of Supplies and Internal Trade unveiled plans to launch commodity exchanges for flour, corn, cooking oil, steel and cement to rein in price hikes and organize home trade. The ministry says that commodity exchanges will minimize price fluctuations for the producers and buyers.

The Egyptian Exchange began talks with the Petroleum Ministry in August 2018 to launch a commodity exchange for natural gas. Petroleum Minister Tarek el-Molla said on Jan. 26 that by fiscal year 2019/20, which begins July 1, Egypt would produce 8 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

It is an important move to set up a commodity exchange in Egypt, Mohamed Younis, chief operating officer of Cairo-based Empire Markets, told the business daily Alborsa on March 18. It will add a new financial instrument to the market. Currently, there are many companies that deal with world commodity exchanges. For instance, there are 140 Egyptian companies that import corn. These companies deal with the Chicago Board of Trade.

Younis expects the new commodity exchange to increase the number of dealers and investors, especially foreign funds, on the Egyptian market. Foreign investors were net buyers of traded stocks worth 7.2 billion pounds ($406.7 million) in 2018, according to data from the Egyptian Exchange.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  The Hamas governments internal security in the Gaza Strip has released Hisham Salem, secretary general of the armed Harakat al-Sabireen (Movement of Those Who Endure with Patience) in Gaza, after a 17-day detention.

Salem, arrested on Feb. 26, was released on March 10 after members of his movement agreed to hand over their weapons, a Sabireen leader currently residing in Iran told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. The source added that Hamas opposes Sabireen responding with counter missile strikes to the sporadic Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. Hamas is hoping to stabilize the truce between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Sabireen members failed to abide by Hamas orders to maintain the alleged truce with the [Israeli] occupation and to preserve [Hamas'] authority in Gaza. We [Sabireen] fired a number of rockets in response to the occupation killing demonstrators on the Gaza border during the marches of return. This is why we were subject to ongoing arrests and attacks until we handed over our weapons, and we were prevented from carrying out any activity in the Strip, he said.

The Sabireen source pointed out that Hamas warned Sabireen members against continuing to work in Gaza or taking up arms again after their weapons were confiscated for three consecutive days on March 6, 7 and 8 before Salems release.

We simply ceded our weapons, the leader added, noting, We didn't receive any offers to keep on with our work or to integrate us into any other armed faction. Hamas told us that our work was done and that we had to stop."

Although Sabireen adopts Irans sectarian approach in Gaza, Tehran did not intervene to prevent Hamas from arresting more than 70 Sabireen members and confiscating their weapons. The source said this was because Palestinian factions close to Iran ratted the movement out and accused it of theft.

The Hamas government in Gaza had already banned Sabireen and its activities in Gaza in 2015.

A Sabireen member who was arrested by Hamas internal security told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that he and the others were beaten in prison. Some of the prison staff would address them as the Shiites," he said. Palestinian Muslims are primarily Sunni. He notes, however, that Hamas receives funds and weapons from Iran, which is overwhelmingly Shia.

The conflict between Sabireen and Hamas dates back to the former's founding in 2014 in Gaza. Salem had been a member of the Sunni Palestine Islamic Jihad (also known as PIJ) before defecting and forming Sabireen. Hamas believed the Sabireen movement sought to spread Shiism in Gaza.

Sabireen has denied any affiliation with Shiism in various press interviews. However, Iran  which had been funding the PIJ  was unhappy with that group's neutrality toward regional conflicts, such as the Yemeni war, and so shifted much of its financial support instead to Sabireen, whose positions were consistent with Iran's sectarian stances.

Hamas has refused to release any information on blocking Sabireen and confiscating its weapons and has not issued any statements on the subject. The issue is resolved, and we will not discuss it in the media, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Al-Monitor.

Ibrahim al-Madhoun, director of the Palestine Institute for Strategic Studies and a political analyst close to Hamas, told Al-Monitor that the Sunni public in Gaza never accepted Sabireen, as Shiism influences the group to a large extent.

The Sabireen movement includes about 300 members, but there is no information on the number of its followers among the general public.

Madhoun added, Since the marches of return began, Sabireen has engaged in military action in the absence of national consensus, although the resistance in Gaza is in control of the Palestinian arena militarily. This is why the fact that Sabireen members had weapons without having the consensus [with other factions] was threatening the calm the resistance had imposed in Gaza.

Even after Hamas had banned Sabireen in June 2015, the latter claimed responsibility for planting explosive devices that harmed an Israeli military patrol that December.

Madhoun pointed out that Sabireen might resume its action in Gaza if it reaches an understanding with Hamas.

Sabireen had already been banned but resumed activity eventually, and it could happen again," he said.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani visited Baghdad March 11 to endorse the two countries renewed commitment to the 1975 Algiers Agreement regarding the shared border of the Shatt al-Arab River. The agreement has sat idle for decades, as Iraq has attempted to evade what it sees as unfair terms.

However, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi last week signed a number of economic accords with the Iranian president that address the following issues: entry visas for citizens of both countries, raising the value of trade exchange, railway connections and demarcation of the water borders as per the Algiers Agreement, which was first signed when the shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, was in power and Saddam Hussein was vice president.

But the recommitment to the agreement has sparked fears among media commentators, water resource specialists and political factions in Iraq that the country will lose out on benefits from the Shatt al-Arab.

Until the first quarter of the 20th century, Iraq had clear control over the Shatt al-Arab, with the water frontier forming a major point of contestation with Iran. Although the two countries signed more than one agreement on the matter, cooperation was quickly abandoned.

In 1975, as a result of Iran's support for the Kurdish rebellion in northern Iraq, Baghdad conceded to an agreement with Tehran, under which the two parties would divide the Shatt al-Arab. However, following an eight-year war with Iran, Iraq declared the agreement unilaterally terminated and has attempted to shirk revisiting the issue in the years since.

Rouhani's arrival in Baghdad was presaged by warnings in the Iraqi media against renewing the agreement, with claims that it is detrimental to national interests.

The Shatt al-Arab is formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the city of Qurna in Basra province. Around 200 kilometers (124 miles) in length, the river flows into the Arabian Gulf at Faw, the southernmost point in Iraq. Depending on the current, the river ranges from 1-2 kilometers in width.

The river represents a major economic artery for Iraq, serving as a navigational channel for vessels heading to the ports of Basra via the Arabian Gulf. Chief among these is Iraqi-owned al-Maqal Port, regarded as the oldest Iraqi port on the Shatt al-Arab, alongside oil rigs such as Khor al-Amaya.

Following the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War in 1980, the feuding parties began bombing boats anchored in the Shatt al-Arab, turning the river into a naval cemetery. Today, it is still filled with waste and wreckage, causing significant environmental pollution and disruption to biodiversity.

According to former Iraqi transport minister, Amer Abdul Jabbar, Iraq has lost approximately 2 kilometers of the Shatt al-Arab to Iran. This comes as a result of natural environmental changes; Iraqs neglect of the region; Iranian manipulation of the course of the Karun River, which flows into the Shatt al-Arab; and the dumping of waste by both countries.

Iraqi parliamentarians Zahra al-Bajari and Dhafar al-Ani agreed that Iraq is presently in no position to engage in major negotiations on complex affairs with its neighbors, due to its incomplete ministerial Cabinet and lack of political stability.

Ani, a leader in the Iraqi Decision Alliance, said, Iran dominates political decision-making in Iraq so any agreement that takes place between the parties will be in Tehrans interest. He continued, The most effective strategy will be for Iraq to adhere to the borders that predate 1975.

However, Ani's comments come too late. A joint statement by the Iraqi and Iranian governments indicates that the two parties will begin joint operations on the Shatt al-Arab, "to clean it with the aim of restoring the main navigation channel [the thalweg], in accordance with the aforementioned 1975 agreement and as soon as possible.

The thalweg is the deepest point in the center of the rivers main navigation passage, located at the lowest level and extending to the sea.

Bajari, a parliamentarian for Basra province, said, The thalweg line has changed over the years due to silt and dredging by Iraq. This is what has led to the erosion of land on the Iraqi side and an increase in the share of Iran, with its subsequent dominance over the waterway.

Despite this, Bijari told Al-Monitor, the return to the Algiers Agreement may revive the movement of ships in the Shatt al-Arab, pointing out that it is better to have an agreement than to have no agreement. According to Bajari, aspects of the accord may nonetheless work in Iraqs favored if they are adhered to by Iran. As she explained, Iraq has demanded that Iran restore water flows from the Karun River, which reduces the saline belt in Basra, so Iran must implement this agreement in all its terms.

Aoun Diab, a specialist in water resources, concurred with Bijari, observing that international agreements cannot be revoked unilaterally and Iraq has little room for maneuver in this regard.

Commenting on the terms of the accord, Aoun confirmed to Al-Monitor that the agreement restores water-sharing between Iraq and Iran to the arrangements of 1975, which, if realized, will be a good thing for Iraq.

Both Bajari and Aoun emphasized that Iraq will not lose any of its territory under this agreement. Yet doubts remain around Irans disavowal of specific terms that favor Iraqi interests and control of the waterway.

While Bajari did not hide her anxiety about this prospect, Ani questioned the very possibility of passing the agreement in the Iraqi parliament, given the widespread objections.

Iraqi fears of the agreement with Iran remain legitimate, especially as Iran attempts to exploit its economy to the fullest extent, possible all the more so in the shadow of Americas economic embargo on the country. At the same time, it does not want to offer anything to Iraq, whose political factions it dominates.
Alabama industrial facilities released more than 82 million pounds of toxic material into the air, land and water in 2017, according to an analysis released this month by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Alabama had the fifth highest volume of toxic releases into waterways in 2017 with 11.2 million pounds, and the fifth most toxic substances released into the air with 27.1 million pounds.

State rankings

Overall, Alabamas 82,110,182 pounds of total releases ranked 11th of 56 in total releases among U.S. states and territories. The map below shows how each of the lower 48 states ranked, with the darker colors representing higher totals. On supported browsers, hovering over each state will show the total release figures.

The analysis was published this month in the EPAs Toxics Release Inventory, a massive collection of legal pollution reports filed with the agency from more than 21,000 industrial facilities across the country. The reports lay out how much of certain chemicals are emitted to the air, land and water from manufacturing operations, electric utilities, as well as facilities like hazardous materials landfills that accept certain toxic substances.

Alabama ranked 10th in total releases per square mile and 10th in releases per capita, based on 2017 U.S. Census Bureau population estimates.

In 2016, Alabama ranked 10th in the country with 84.8 million pounds of total releases, but that amount has decreased steadily over the years in Alabama and nationwide as pollution control measures improve.

Alaska is far and away the top state in terms of total releases (1.17 billion pounds) because of its large quantities of mining waste. Nevada is second in the state rankings with just under 398 million pounds of total releases.

U.S. EPA Toxics Release Inventory state rankings for 2017.

The figures reported all show the weight of the substances released, not the potential for impact on human health and the environment. For this reason, heavier wastes like mining refuse often dominate the total release rankings in the EPAs national analysis.

However, take away land releases, which include the heavy mining waste, and Alabama and other southeastern states begin to climb the charts. Alabama ranked fifth in the country in both total air emissions and total water releases.

Alabamas 27.1 million pounds of air emissions are driven by the paper industry, with the top eight facilities in terms of air releases all belonging to the paper sector. Other manufacturing facilities and electric utilities also contribute to the states ranking. See the full list of Alabama facilities reporting air emissions.

The largest water emitter in the state is the Outokumpo stainless steel plant in Mobile County, followed by several food/livestock processing operations, paper mills and other industrial operations. See the full list of Alabama facilities reporting water releases.

Among Alabama Counties

Mobile County reported more releases than any other in Alabama, with 13.5 million pounds of total releases.

All facilities that manufacture, use, or emit certain chemicals or operate in certain industrial sectors are required by law to fill out a TRI Form R to document those releases. The forms are compiled into a massive database and made public in compliance with the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, a law passed in 1986.

Mobile County had 48 facilities that were required to file TRI reports, led by Outokumpo in Calvert and Alabama Powers Barry Steam Plant in Bucks, Ala.

Sumter County had the second highest total in Alabama with 12.7 million pounds, nearly all of it at the Chemical Waste Management hazardous materials landfill in Emelle.

The map below shows the total reports for each county, with darker colors indicating higher total releases. On supported browsers, hovering over, or clicking on a county will show the five facilities that reported the highest total releases (if applicable). Hold the shift key to drag the map and the control key to select multiple counties.

Chemicals released in Alabama

Methanol was the largest chemical released by volume in Alabama, with more than 11 million pounds. Most of those totals are water releases from the paper industry.

The size of the bubbles in the graph below corresponds to the total amount released in 2017 in Alabama. Hovering or clicking on a chemical will display the five facilities in Alabama that emitted the most of that chemical. Clicking on a chemical name in the index at right will highlight that chemical in the graph.

Carcinogens released in Alabama

Known carcinogens are noted separately in the TRI database. The largest carcinogen released in Alabama was lead, mostly at the Sanders Lead Company in Troy, which recycles lead-acid automobile batteries.

Search near your home

The federal figures could change, as the inventory is occasionally revised due to corrections in pollution reports or new or delayed reports being filed. All data for this report was pulled in March 2019.

The stated purpose of the EPAs TRI program is to empower the public to get information about facilities around them. For that purpose, the EPA has a searchable database that allows users to search by facility, state, zip code, chemicals released or by industry sector.

Search the EPA TRI database online.
Republican lawmakers who backed the 10-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase know that various irate constituents might be waiting at home to give them an earful on their spring break next week.

But the coastal Alabama contingent will be able to point to a very tangible benefit from their supportive votes: A deepening and widening of the Mobile ship channel.

Tax revenue from the giant Rebuild Alabama infrastructure package will supply the necessary state match for the Alabama State Port Authoritys $400 million ship channel project.

It was the only the only specifically named project in Rebuild Alabama, and the only one that wasnt a road or bridge.

When that wound up in the bill, there was no way to vote against it, said state Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile.

Good deal

Some coastal lawmakers say the inclusion of the port project got them on board with the states first fuel tax increase since 1992. The tax revenue will supply $150 million for the channel work.

My colleagues in the Legislature believe  that coastal Alabama got quite a good deal in the infrastructure bill, said state Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Daphne. I think so as well.

Alabama State Port Authority CEO Jimmy Lyons sees the states channel match not so much as a political win as a necessity. He said Mobile faces fierce competition from other deep water ports, such as Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina.

Without a bigger channel, Alabama could get left behind, he said.

Thats the reality of it, said Lyons, referring to the need to accommodate larger ships after the opening of an expanded Panama Canal in 2016. The benefits go all over the state, and the industries realize that and that is why there was the legislative support.

Indeed, the support for the expanded ship channel project in Mobile was far and wide. Among the backers was Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, whose city is more than 350 miles from Mobile.

Battle said the larger channel will allow movement of more cargo and reduce shipping costs. Our thoughts are that it will be good for Mobile, but it also be good for Huntsville, he said.

Very few disputed the addition of the ship channel project during the Legislatures debates. Most lawmakers, no matter where they hailed from, praised the project and its wider impact on the state.

The project involves deepening the channel by 5 feet, to 50 feet in most locations through Mobile Bay. One particular channel would be deepened to 52 feet.

The channel would be widened to provide room for two-way ship traffic. A turning basin would also be widened by 250 feet.

Steve Flowers, a former Republican lawmaker who writes a newspaper column about state politics, credited Gov. Kay Ivey for doing one heck of a job selling the project.

By the time it was over with, the legislators from the entire state were just as proud to vote for the bond issue for the State Docks as they were for the entire road package, Flowers said.

Flowers said the deepened and widened port will benefit Tennessee Valley poultry farmers, and the coal industry Walker County. Also, lawmakers with an automotive plant in their back yard  such as Huntsville and Montgomery  were proud of it.

Agreed Lyons: The coal mining companies were very much with us and talking to their legislators and talking to them about us. Manufacturers, the trade groups. We had a good support base as far as getting it done.

No. 1 priority

Even with state money dedicated to the channel project, construction isnt happening soon. The project still needs to win permit approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the federal agency still has to conduct a series of public hearings before it can move forward.

The projects critics include a host of environmental activists and entities wary of a widened channels impact on oyster reefs and other sensitive habitat, and on Dauphin Island beach erosion.

Lyons said he anticipates engineering and design being completed during the summer of 2020. If federal money is appropriated during the 2021 fiscal year, he said, construction could start as early as October 2020.

U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Fairhope, said earlier this week that he could see the ship channel project occurring at the same time as the construction of the Interstate 10 Mobile River bridge that is estimated to cost around $2 billion.

You will see two major things happening in that part of our area and that will have an enormous impact, Byrne said.

Lyons said that the Alabama Highway Finance Corp. will issue bonds for the channel project when work begins. Thus, no gas tax revenue can flow to the project any sooner. Lyons predicts the bond term to be around 20 years.

Pringle and others will also be paying close attention to news emanating from the office of U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, who is the first Alabama senator to chair the chambers Appropriations Committee. This is his No. 1 priority in getting that ship channel widened and deepened, Pringle said.

Pringle and other lawmakers said that Shelby was instrumental in lowering the states matching requirements.

Ive explained this to other members that Shelby is leaving in 2022, and if youre looking at the 2020 election cycle, Republicans could lose control of the Senate in 2020, said Pringle. If we dont get started now, what happens if we elect some president who doesnt believe in dredging and they shut it down? We just needed to move and move quickly.

Competitive pressure

Lyons said that rival ports are already in the midst of expansions, which, if left unanswered by Mobile, could win them deep-water ships that might otherwise have come to the State Docks.

The shipping channel serves as an international gateway to Alabama. The Port of Mobile ranks No. 9 in the U.S. for total cargo tonnage, according to the latest available data. It ranks No. 40 in value of imports and No. 69 in value of exports  potent showings considering the rankings involve approximately 400 U.S. ports in all, both on the coastline and inland.

Mobiles biggest imported product last year was crude oil from petroleum and bituminous minerals, with airplane and helicopter parts placing a distant second. The city is home to Airbuss largest North American manufacturing plant.

The Port of Mobile exported $4.7 billion worth of goods in 2018. The most popular exports were polyamides, wood pulp, crude oil, chemical-industry products and residuals, soybeans and chicken. China and Mexico are tops among the countries doing business in Alabama, data show.

John McNab, a professor of economics at the Strome College of Business at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va., said that ocean-access ports like Mobile are under a significant competitive pressure to dredge.

There are large nearby competitors and if larger container ships cannot make it inside the harbor, then traffic will go elsewhere and then move to Alabama by rail or truck, said McNab.

The most cited example by Lyons and others in Mobile is Savannah, where a channel deepening project is under way and is expected to be completed next year.

Georgia is paying for its share of that project with $231.1 million in bonds.

Data show that the Savannah Harbor exported $74.4 billion in goods in 2018, or six times more of the value of what was exported out of Mobile.

The competition is particularly fearsome along the East Coast, where ports appear to be in a race to get their dredging and widening projects wrapped up quickly.

In Jacksonville, Florida, local media reports indicate that the Jaxport deepening project, originally scheduled for completion in 2025, will be moved up two years earlier, thanks to increased funding. Norfolk Harbor in Virginia already has the go-ahead from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to launch its channel deepening and widening project.

The competition goes beyond dredging. In Charleston, a new $762 million container terminal is under construction. Five new super post-Panamax cranes will be added to the new terminal in late 2019, and the entire facility will roughly double the Port of Charlestons current capacity.

In McNabs view, Mobiles channel project will allow the port to retain its market share. To grow the share, he said, the port will have to develop further infrastructure for cargo transportation, warehousing and processing.

Mobile has seen investments into its port in recent years, highlighted with the Port Authority and MTC Logistics announcement last year on plans to build a $58 million, state-of-the-art international temperature-controlled distribution center.

And more investments are expected to come.

I know the legislators individually are getting calls, said Lyons. People in Alabama dont like to pay taxes and thats the truth of the matter. But if you want stuff like bridges that arent falling in or roads that arent covered in potholes, you cannot do that with money you had from 1992.

State lawmakers, Lyons said, made a hard decision, and they made the right decision.
WASHINGTON  Special counsel Robert Mueller did not find evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election but reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice, Attorney General William Barr declared Sunday. That brought a hearty claim of vindication from Trump but set the stage for new rounds of political and legal fighting.

Trump cheered the outcome but also laid bare his resentment after two years of investigations that have shadowed his administration. "It's a shame that our country has had to go through this. To be honest, it's a shame that your president has had to go through this," he said.

Democrats pointed out that Mueller found evidence for and against obstruction and demanded to see his full report. They insisted that even the summary by the president's attorney general hardly put him in the clear.

Mueller's conclusions, summarized by Barr in a four-page letter to Congress, represented a victory for Trump on a key question that has hung over his presidency from the start: Did his campaign work with Russia to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton? That was further good news for the president on top of the Justice Department's earlier announcement that Mueller had wrapped his investigation without new indictments. The resolution also could deflate the hopes of Democrats in Congress and on the 2020 campaign trail that incriminating findings from Mueller would hobble the president's agenda and re-election bid.

But while Mueller was categorical in ruling out criminal collusion, he was more circumspect on presidential obstruction of justice. Despite Trump's claim of total exoneration, Mueller did not draw a conclusion one way or the other on whether he sought to stifle the Russia investigation through his actions including the firing of former FBI director James Comey.

According to Barr's summary, Mueller set out "evidence on both sides of the question" and stated that "while this report does not conclude the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

Barr, who was nominated by Trump in December, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in May 2017 and oversaw much of his work, went further in Trump's favor.

The attorney general said he and Rosenstein had determined that Mueller's evidence was insufficient to prove in court that Trump had committed obstruction of justice to hamper the probe. Barr has previously voiced a broad view of presidential powers, and in an unsolicited memo last June he cast doubt on whether the president could have obstructed justice through acts  like firing his FBI director  that he was legally empowered to take.

Barr said their decision was based on the evidence uncovered by Mueller and not affected by Justice Department legal opinions that say a sitting president cannot be indicted.

Mueller's team examined a series of actions by the president in the last two years to determine if he intended obstruction. Those include his firing of Comey one week before Mueller's appointment, his public and private haranguing of then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation because of his work on the campaign, his request of Comey to end an investigation into Michael Flynn, the White House's first national security adviser, and his drafting of an incomplete explanation about his oldest son's meeting with a Russian lawyer during the campaign.

Mueller's findings absolve Trump on the question of colluding with Russia but don't entirely remove the legal threats the president and associates are facing. Federal prosecutors in New York, for instance, are investigating hush-money payments made to two women during the campaign who say they had sex with the president. Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, implicated Trump in campaign finance violations when he pleaded guilty last year.

The special counsel's investigation did not come up empty-handed. It ensnared nearly three dozen people, senior Trump campaign operatives among them. The probe illuminated Russia's assault on the American political system, painted the Trump campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails to hurt Hillary Clinton and exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.

Thirty-four people, including six Trump aides and advisers, were charged in the investigation. Twenty-five are Russians accused of election interference either through hacking into Democratic accounts or orchestrating a social media campaign to spread disinformation on the internet.

Sunday's summary  and its suggestion that Mueller may have found evidence in support of obstruction  sets up a fight between Barr and Democrats, who called for the special counsel's full report to be released and vowed to press on with their own investigations.

"Attorney General Barr's letter raises as many questions as it answers," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.

"Given Mr. Barr's public record of bias against the special counsel's inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report," they said. Trump's own claim of complete exoneration "directly contradicts the words of Mr. Mueller and is not to be taken with any degree of credibility," they added.

Trump was at his Florida estate when lawmakers received the report. Barr's chief of staff called Emmet Flood, the lead White House lawyer on the investigation, to brief him on the findings shortly before he sent it to Congress. Mueller submitted his report to Barr instead of directly to Congress and the public because, unlike independent counsels such as Ken Starr in the case of President Bill Clinton, his investigation operated under the close supervision of the Justice Department.

Barr did not speak with the president, Mueller was not consulted on the letter, and the White House does not have Mueller's report, according to a Justice Department official.

Though Mueller did not find evidence that anyone associated with the Trump campaign coordinated with the Russian government, Barr's summary notes "multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign."

That's a likely reference not only to a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting at which Donald Trump. Jr. expected to receive damaging information on Clinton from a Kremlin-connected lawyer, as well as a conversation in London months earlier at which Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos was told Russia had "dirt" on Clinton in the form of thousands of stolen emails.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, said Congress needs to hear from Barr about his decision and see all the underlying evidence. He said on Twitter:

There must be full transparency in what Special Counsel Mueller uncovered to not exonerate the President from wrongdoing. DOJ owes the public more than just a brief synopsis and decision not to go any further in their work.  (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) March 24, 2019

Barr said that Mueller "thoroughly" investigated the question of whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia's election interference, issuing more than 2,800 subpoenas, obtaining nearly 500 search warrants and interviewing 500 witnesses. Trump answered some questions in writing, but refused to be interviewed in person by Mueller's team.

Barr said Mueller also catalogued the president's actions including "many" that took place in "public view," a possible nod to Trump's public attacks on investigators and witnesses.

In the letter, Barr said he concluded that none of Trumps actions constituted a federal crime that prosecutors could prove in court.

--By Eric Tucker, Michael Balsamo, Chad Day and Julie Pace, Associated Press
Alabamas elected and political leaders weighed in on U.S. Attorney General William Barrs summary of special counsel Robert Muellers Russia probe with comments that ran along party lines.

U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Mobile, called the investigation a waste of time and money.

This sideshow is finally over, Byrne said in an email to AL.com. As I expected all along, there are no indictments or charges related to President Trump or his administration.

I just hope Democrats will now accept that they lost the 2016 election and lets move on.

Sen. Doug Jones, D-Birmingham, said he was relieved that the investigation does not appear to have found the president or his campaign conspired with Russia to intervere in the 2016 eleciton.

The Special Counsels investigation has, however, served an important purpose for this country and how we should view elections going forward, he said. A communist country, Russia, clearly interfered in the 2016 election and is poised to do so again unless we come together in a bipartisan way to protect our elections.

Jones wants the full report to be made public, excepting sections that could threaten national security.

U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville, said in a statement that the report completely vindicates" Trump and his campaign, and that the report proves there was no collusion with Russians.

I encourage Socialist Democrats and their radical news media allies to cleanse their souls and atone for their sins by apologizing to the American people for the fraud and scam they committed in an effort to delegitimize the 2016 election and enhance their own power grab and election prospects," Brooks said.

Now that the Socialist Democrat and radical medias Russian Collusion scam has been definitively exposed for politics at its worst, the American people can move past this unfortunate and regrettable period in our history.

Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, said Barrs letter to Congress provides only a glimpse at Muellers investigation and poses more questions than it answers.

In the report, Special Counsel Mueller did not exonerate the President and, specifically, did not reach a conclusion as to obstruction of justice," she said in a statement.

Sewell said she rejects claims that the investigation is a partisan witch hunt and believes it was a necessary process to get to the bottom of many suspicious activities by the President and his associates with the Russian government and oligarchs.

There are no winners and losers in the Special Counsels report because the undeniable fact is that Russia did and will continue to make every effort to interfere in our elections. We must focus on this global threat and establish safeguards at every level of government to meet this challenge.

Sen. Richard Shelby said in an email to AL.com that he looks forward to learning more about the report in the days to come.

After an extensive and thorough investigation by the special counsel, Im glad to hear that there is no evidence of collusion or obstruction between the Trump campaign and the Russian government," said Shelby.

In public remarks on Sunday, President Trump called the report a complete and total exoneration" from allegations that have cast a long shadow over his presidency.

Muellers report culminates a 22-month investigation into Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

According to Barrs summary, which he sent to Congress on Sunday, Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign or its associates conspired or coordinated with Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

Barrs summary of the Mueller reports conclusions included a direct quote from the report regarding Russian interference: [T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.

Barr also quoted the report regarding the obstruction of justice investigation, saying that while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.

More of the report could be made public in the coming days and weeks. Barr said he intends to release as much of the Special Counsels report as I can consistent with applicable law, regulations and Departmental policies.

On Thursday, the House voted unanimously in support of making the Mueller report public.

Yesterday, Alabama GOP Chair Terry Lathan said in a statement that No president, regardless of their political affiliation, should ever be subjected to such prejudicial accusations by the media in attempt to destroy a presidency.

The report has not recommended any more indictments, though there are related investigations ongoing in Congress, the State of New York and in the Justice Department.

The investigation did result in nearly 200 criminal charges against 34 people, including six former associates or advisers to President Trump, and more than two dozen Russian nationals.

Updated 3/24/2019 at 7:13 p.m. to include remarks from Sen. Richard Shelby and Rep. Terri Sewell.

Updated 3/25/2019 at 9:55 a.m. to include remarks from Sen. Doug Jones.
Another round of strong storms will be possible for parts of Alabama on Monday afternoon, according to forecasters.

Some of them could pack a punch, with large hail and damaging winds possible. However, the tornado threat will be very low this time around, according to forecasters.

Storms could develop and intensify ahead of a cold front forecast to move through the state later in the day on Monday.

The Storm Prediction Center on Sunday afternoon expanded its marginal risk of severe weather to include much of the state, from north to south Alabama.

A marginal risk means isolated severe storms will be possible.

The National Weather Service in Birmingham has upped the ante slightly, placing a slight risk over some of its counties in central Alabama:

This is the National Weather Service in Birmingham's severe weather outlook for Monday, which differs from the SPC forecast.

Forecasters said the best conditions for storms will be south of Interstate 20.

Farther south, the weather service in Mobile said some strong storms will be possible in southwest Alabama as well, with the best chances along and north of Highway 84:

There will be a marginal risk of severe storms on Monday in southwest Alabama, mainly along and north of Highway 84.

The weather service said the main risks are hail up to the size of ping pong balls and damaging wind gusts up to 60 mph.

Rain and thunder will be possible all day on Monday, but the best chances for storms will begin on Monday afternoon during the days peak heating.

Forecasters are expecting clusters of storms to develop and push southward, possibly intensifying as they do.

Storms are expected to move south and east of the state by late Monday, and cooler temperatures will return for Tuesday.
Authorities have released the name of a man shot to death Saturday night in Birminghams Smithfield community.

The Birmingham Police Department on Sunday identified the victim as Anthony Tolbert. He was 30 and lived in Graysville.

The shooting happened at 8:40 p.m. Saturday at First Street North and Reverend Abraham Woods Jr. Boulevard. Birmingham police spokesman Rod Mauldin said North Precinct officers were dispatched to the area on a report of a shooting.

The vehicle belonging to victim, was parked in a lot at First Street North. Police said the shooter fired one shot which struck Tolbert.

Tolbert then ran across Reverend Abraham Woods Jr. Boulevard and into the Smithfield public housing community. He collapsed in the grass in an alley between two apartment buildings. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Mauldin said detectives learned that Tolbert was standing at a mobile car wash area with several others when the single gunshot was fired. The group dispersed. Shortly after, Tolbert was discovered in the alley.

The victim collapsed directly in front of a an ongoing birthday celebration for a family in Smithfield. "He came running this way and he was shaking,'' said one woman, who asked that her name not be used. At least two people began to try to apply pressure to the victims chest wound but it was to no avail. We all ran to him and tried to press down on his chest.

"We just started asking him who did this but he was gone,'' she said.

About 10 young children had been playing outside in the area shortly before the gunshot rang out. "The kids were in the field but thankfully we had just brought them in,'' she said.

Investigators do not yet know a motive nor have they identified a suspect. "We just want to get down to the bottom of what happened,'' Mauldin said.

Tolbert was one of two deadly shootings in Birmingham Saturday night.

Tolbert was a father. After police cleared the scene the victims family members went to stand in the spot where he died, holding hands, hugging and crying.

The victim is Birminghams 26th homicide in 2019. Of those, five have been ruled justifiable and therefore are not deemed criminal by the Birmingham Police Department. In all of Jefferson County, there have been 40 homicides, including the 26 in Birmingham.

Mauldin asked that anyone with information call homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. Tipsters to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and are eligible for a cash reward.
An investigation is underway after a man was shot to death late Saturday in Birmingham, one of two deadly shootings in just a matter of hours in the city.

Birmingham North Precinct officers responded to Third Avenue West and First Street West just before 11:30 p.m. Once on the scene, they found 31-year-old Christopher Watson lying on the ground in a grassy area.

Birmingham police spokesman Officer Rod Mauldin said Watson had been shot multiple times. He was rushed to UAB Hospitals Trauma Center, where he later died.

Mauldin said they dont have any suspects in custody, nor have they identified a motive in the slaying.

Watsons killing happened less than three hours after the shooting death of Anthony Tolbert, 30, in Birminghams Smithfield community.

Watson is Birminghams 27th homicide this year. Of those, five have been ruled justifiable and therefore are not deemed criminal by the Birmingham Police Department. In all of Jefferson County, there have been 40 homicides including the 27 in Birmingham.

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. Tipsters who call Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and are eligible for a cash reward.
A man and a woman were arrested last night after they allegedly tried to smuggle drugs into a state prison and led authorities on a high-speed crash  with a 2-year-old child in the car  that killed a third suspect, the Alabama Department of Corrections said.

Rufus Brown, 31, and Jonisha Jordan, 21, both of Montgomery, were arrested and charged with attempt to commit a controlled substance, possession of marijuana and endangering the welfare of a child, DOC spokesman Bob Horton said in an email Friday.

DOC agents saw Brown and Jordan parked on state prison property near the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka around 7:30 p.m. Thursday. When the agents approached the suspects vehicle, they fled the scene at a high rate of speed, culminating in a high-speed chase to Gold Star Park in Wetumpka, where the vehicle crashed in the Coosa River, Horton said.

Two suspects were arrested and taken into custody Thursday night following an attempt to smuggle narcotics onto state prison property near the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women in Wetumpka. Agents from the Alabama Department of Corrections made the arrests after the suspects were involved in a vehicle crash that left a third suspect dead.

Bystanders at the park and ADOC agents jumped into the river and grabbed Brown and Jordan and a 2-year-old child who was in the vehicle. First responders later recovered the body of a third suspect, whose name was not released.

I want to thank the City of Wetumpka, local and county law enforcement, and all first responders for assisting our agents during their response to this incident, said DOC Commissioner Jeff Dunn in a statement. Its unfortunate that the suspects were willing to place themselves and a child in danger during the commission of a crime for monetary gain.
On March 15, Australian-born Brenton Tarrant attacked two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, killing 50 people using five guns inscribed with the names of various historical figures and battles. It was not the first time a white supremacist was weaponising the past. Twisted representations of history have driven the far right across the globe  from India to Russia to the United States and all the way to Australia  since its inception.

The inscriptions on Tarrants weapons and his 74-page online manifesto reflect the popular clash of civilisations narrative which reduces history to an epic struggle between Christendom and Islam. In his sick mind, Tarrant surely believes that he, too, is a hero in this imagined war, a crusader on a mission to stop the Muslim invaders.

The problem is that the historical figures and events he sees as an inspiration, very much disprove the belief that there is a clear-cut tectonic fault line between the Christian and Islamic worlds and that they are in constant conflict with each other. Here are just a few examples of how Tarrant got history wrong.

The not so glorious Crusades

Tarrant, like his idol Anders Breivik, who in 2011 detonated a bomb in central Oslo killing 8 people before massacring 69 people on an island  most of them teenagers  seems to be obsessed with the medieval Crusades. He is particularly fond of the Knights Templars, the Crusade-era order of Christian warrior monks, which still captures popular imagination, particularly among the alt-right.

The order was founded in 1119, 20 years after the first Crusade captured Jerusalem, to protect Christian pilgrims making their way to the Holy Land. Although its members were sworn to reject the personal pursuit of wealth, the order soon came to control vast amounts of money and properties, and when infighting broke out among Christian leaders in the Holy Land, it readily took part. The Templars played a key role in the succession crisis in the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 1180s, which ultimately paved the way for Muslim Commander Salah ad-Din ibn Ayyub, known as Saladin, to capture the city in 1187.

Throughout the 400 years that the crusades lasted, Christians fighting other Christians was a regular occurrence. In fact, from the very beginning, on their way to Jerusalem, the Crusaders came into major conflict with the Christian Orthodox states they passed through, as they raided and pillaged their cities and villages. In 1204, they besieged and sacked Constantinople, the capital of the Christian Byzantine empire  a brutal act for which Pope John Paul II had to apologise 800 years later.

The Crusaders also often broke religious ranks and allied with different Muslim forces. The Fatimid ruler of Egypt, for example, backed the Christian army fighting the Seljuq Turks and supported them during the siege on the city of Antioch in 1098. Various Muslim rulers also used alliances with Crusaders to fight each other; the Mamluk commander Muin ad-Din Unur, for example, sought help from the Christian principalities when he was attacked by Turkish leader Imad ad-Din Zengi.

Throughout the Crusade era, several prominent Muslims and Christians sought to forge friendly diplomatic relations. Usama ibn Munqidh, a Syrian warrior who fought European knights with Saladin, played the role of an emissary mediating alliances between Christian and Muslim rulers; he also wrote extensively about his encounters with Christians, some of whom he befriended.

Saint Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order, travelled to Egypt in 1219, where Crusaders laid siege on the town of Damietta. Hoping to establish a religious dialogue, he crossed enemy lines and met with Sultan Malik al-Kamil, the nephew of Saladin  a dangerous undertaking for which he is still celebrated today. In his recent outreach efforts to the Muslim world, Pope Francis has often referred to the deeds of his namesake.

The Italian connection in the Ottoman fleet

In his gun inscriptions, Tarrant also focused overwhelmingly on Ottoman history  apparently being inspired by a number of trips he undertook to Turkey and the Balkans. He makes reference to the 1571 naval engagement in Lepanto, the siege of Vienna of 1683, and conflicts involving the Ottomans in the Balkans, from the 1389 battle of Kosovo to the Balkan wars.

The Battle of Lepanto was fought between the Holy League, an alliance which included Spain and Italian states, and the Ottoman navy in the Corinthian Gulf. It resulted in a decisive victory for the League. In modern days, the battle has taken on mythic proportions and is seen by many as the first major defeat of the Ottoman Empire by the Christian world. However, Tarrants historical reference to Lepanto does not fit neatly into the clash of civilisations narrative.

One of the main protagonists in the battle, for example, was Kilic Ali Pasha, one of the Ottoman naval commanders in charge of the sultans navy in Lepanto. His real name was Giovanni Galeni, an Italian from the Calabria region, captured as a galley slave, who rose through the ranks of the Ottoman navy to become one of its most famous admirals.

He fought quite viciously against his Italian compatriots and although he lost the Battle of Lepanto, he did help the Ottomans capture Cyprus from the Venetians.

Muslims fighting Muslims, Christians fighting Christians

Tarrant also pays homage to the Polish army which came to Viennas rescue during the Ottoman siege of Vienna, celebrating an ostensibly Christian defeat of the Ottomans.

But this battle too did not follow the strict logic of a civilisational clash. Tatar Muslims formed an elite part of the Polish troops which drove the Ottomans from the gates of Vienna.

Tarrant also refers to the battle of Shipka pass during the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-1878, when an outnumbered Bulgarian and Russian force defeated the Ottomans. While the war ejected the Ottomans from historically Bulgarian territories, Russia did not send its army way beyond its borders just to help its Christian brethren. St Petersburg had some serious imperial ambitions for the Balkans, and like western European powers, it had joined the fray to dismantle the Ottoman Empire and claim its territories.

While Tarrant celebrates the struggle of Balkan nations, like the Bulgarians and the Serbs against the Ottoman empire, he seems ignorant of the fact that Christian Balkan states fought against each other just as much. The very first war Bulgaria fought after its liberation from Muslim rule was against its Christian neighbour, Serbia in 1885-1888.

After defeating together the Ottoman empire in the first Balkan war of 1912 (a reference to which was also inscribed on Tarrants gun), the following year, Greece and Serbia, along with Romania, turned on their ally Bulgaria and captured some of its territories. And only two years later, Bulgaria would join its former Muslim master, Turkey, to fight with the Central Powers against the Allied Powers in World War I.

That war and conflict have much more to do with political considerations, self-aggrandizement and greed than with religion or civilisation is something that white supremacists like Tarrant consciously or unconsciously ignore. After all, seeing nuance and thinking critically are not among their priorities.

To find such level of historical delusion among the likes of Tarrant and Breivik is not surprising, but unfortunately, this type of thinking is not limited to their tight-knit far-right circles. The clash of civilisations narrative is also quite popular among the higher echelons of power across Western capitals.

And while seeing civilisational conflict where there is none made Tarrant massacre 50 innocent people, this belief among the truly powerful has killed millions.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Survivors say traditional Donzo hunters carried out the deadly raid in Ogossagou early on Saturday.

More than 130 people were killed in an attack on a Fulani village in central Mali on Saturday, the United Nations has said, as a delegation visited the country.

Survivors accused traditional Donzo hunters of carrying out the deadly raid in Ogossagou, according to Boubacar Kane, the governor of Bankass district which covers the village.

The Secretary-General is shocked and outraged by reports that at least 134 civilians, including women and children, have been killed, Farhan Haq, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement, adding that the UN chief called on Malian authorities to swiftly investigate it and bring the perpetrators to justice.

The attack was launched at dawn on Saturday in the village near the border with Burkina Faso, according to local officials. The district has been the scene of frequent intercommunal violence.

Witnesses told AFP news agency the attackers burned down nearly all the huts in the village.

Guterress spokesman said the UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, provided air support to deter further attacks and assisted with the evacuation of the injured.

The massacre took place as a delegation from the UN Security Council visited the Sahel region to assess the security situation of the area.

Earlier, the UN said the visiting ambassadors from the Security Council countries met on Saturday with Malis Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga and discussed with him the volatile situation in the centre of the country.

Land disputes

Donzo hunters are part of the Bambara, Malis largest ethnic group. The semi-nomadic Fulani people are dispersed throughout the Sahel region and West Africa.

Saturdays attack is believed to be the latest in a series of clashes between the communities of Donzo and Fulani  also known as Peul  that have left dozens dead in recent months.

In January, Donzo hunters were blamed for the killing of 37 people in a Fulani village.

The violence is incited by accusations of grazing cattle on Donzo land and disputes over access to land and water, but the area is also troubled by the influence of armed groups, who the Fulani are accused of being tied to.

Armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) have exploited ethnic rivalries in Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger to boost recruitment and render vast swaths of territory in the Sahel region virtually ungovernable.
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The 2020 contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination skip AIPAC, as discourse on Israel changes among youth.

AIPAC, one of the most powerful lobby groups in the United States, is facing new criticism from Democrats and advocates for Palestinian rights as it convenes its annual policy conference this week amid a widening US political divide over Israel.

The annual pro-Israel event, which starts on Sunday, is expected to draw more than 15,000 Jewish Americans from across the country to Washington. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, will give a keynote address on Tuesday. Thousands will visit Capitol Hill to deliver a message to members of Congress  Jewish Americans support Israel strongly.

But this year, missing from the bipartisan parade of US politicians at AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) will be the 2020 contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination. Influential progressive group MoveOn, which supports Democrats, joined advocates of Palestinian rights to promote a #skipAIPAC social media campaign.

AIPAC is faced with a unique set of challenges this year. There is a change in the discourse, Abed A Ayoub, national legal and policy director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Washington, told Al Jazeera.

You see a lot more individuals on the left, Democrats and progressives, realising that Israel is complicit in human rights violations, that what they are doing to the Palestinians is essentially an Apartheid state and the US is supporting this to the tune of billions of dollars a year, Ayoub said.

All about the Benjamins

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, will both appear on the main stage along with a whos who of leaders from both parties and key foreign policy committees. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, just back from a trip to the Middle East where the US recognised Israeli control of Golan Heights, will speak about US support for Israel.

The Democratic public position on Israeli policy has really become more critical over time, Shibley Telhami, a pollster at the University of Maryland, told Al Jazeera. Every politician who is clever and wants to win is going to have to weigh where AIPAC is on this issue, but they cant ignore the public and the public right now is on the other side.

A survey conducted in October 2018 by Telhami found that 55 percent of Democrats and 19 percent of Republicans think Israel has too much influence on US politics and policies. Eighty-two percent of Democrats think the US shouldnt lean towards either side in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while 57 percent of Republicans think the US should lean towards Israel.

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AIPAC became a focal point of partisan debate in February when freshman Democrat Representative Ilhan Omar, a Somali-American from Minnesota, was accused of anti-Semitism for suggesting in a tweet that support of Israel by members of Congress is all about the Benjamins, a reference to $100 bills that feature an engraving of Benjamin Franklin.

Omar was condemned by President Trump, Speaker Pelosi and House leaders and she apologised, but took a swipe at AIPAC in the process, saying, I reaffirm the problematic role of lobbyists in our politics, whether it be AIPAC, the NRA, or the fossil fuel industry.

AIPAC shot back with a statement to the media implying Omars comments were ill-informed and illegitimate.

A lot of the conversation in recent months has been, well, if members of Congress want to talk about Palestinian rights issues, they should talk about Palestinian rights issues and not about the lobby, Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, told Al Jazeera.

But the reality is that one of the reasons why it is so difficult to talk about Palestinian rights issues is because of the impact of interest groups and lobby groups. These things are intertwined.

AIPAC regularly organises a trip to Israel for freshmen members of Congress. This year, Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian American, skipped the AIPAC trip and said she would organise a congressional visit to the occupied West Bank. The move drew opposition from pro-Israel congresspeople backed by AIPAC.

Founded in 1951, by an Israeli foreign service officer to be the lobbying arm of the American Zionist Council, AIPAC is today the most influential pro-Israel group in the US. The presidents of most major Jewish American organisations serve on its executive committee.

A non-profit organisation, it has annual revenue of about $100m and 465 employees. It spends $45m on its annual, three-day policy conference to nurture and advance the relationship between the US and Israel, according to its most recent available Form 990 disclosure. CEO Howard Kohr earned $761,500 in salary and other compensation in 2016.

In 2018, AIPAC spent $3.5m on lobbying Congress for its legislative goals, according to the Center for Responsive Politics which tracks lobbying disclosures and campaign contributions. While AIPAC itself doesnt contribute directly to candidates, pro-Israel groups and individuals contributed more than $14.8m to congressional candidates in the 2018 US elections. Sixty-three percent went to Democrats.

The reality is that pro-Israel money is a factor. Its kind of bizarre if you say it isnt. And yet they want to make it into a taboo if you talk about it, said James J Zogby, a Democrat and president of the Arab American Institute in Washington.

Are they a player? Absolutely. Are they decisive? No. But they do use money and they do use their network to have an impact, Zogby added.

Democrats divided

Historically, AIPACs government affairs team has been very successful in winning action from Congress on its legislative priorities. In 2019, the first order of business in the newly elected Senate was the passage of a package of bills sought by AIPAC that would authorise $3.3bn a year in US military assistance to Israel for 10 years, including the USs most advanced weapons systems.

Senate Republicans added an anti-BDS measure to the bill pushed by AIPAC, allowing states and localities to retaliate in business dealings with anyone supporting a boycott of Israel. The anti-BDS measure, a top AIPAC priority, divided Democrats, some of whom see it as a violation of free speech principles.

The combined bills, which included sanctions on Syria and weapons sales to Jordan, passed the Senate by a 77-23 vote. Notably, all five senators seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination voted against the package. The bills are now pending in the Democrat-controlled House where AIPAC members will be pressing their representatives this week for approval.

Organisers from Jewish Voice for Peace, the If Not Now Movement and Al-Awda: the Palestine Right of Return Coalition plan protests outside the AIPAC meeting.

Tali Ruskin, a 34-year-old Jewish woman from Baltimore will be among the protesters. She just returned from a 10-day visit to Israel where she observed Netanyahus alliance with far-right politicians with shameless racist views.

What we have seen is that AIPAC really does not represent a majority of American Jews, especially young people, Ruskin told Al Jazeera.

They dont have any redlines any more. Whatever Netanyahu is doing, whatever Israel is doing, they will support it. And they will silence and muzzle people who criticise anything.

Netanyahus Likud party holds 30 seats in the Knesset and faces re-election on April 9. His leading opponent, former General Benny Gantz, a centrist leader, will also speak to AIPAC this week.
What to do with the former ISIL fighters and their families? Chechnya seems to have found a way.

With the self-declared caliphate of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) now erased, there are questions over what happens to foreign fighters and their families who want to return home.

While many countries are turning them away, Chechnya is bucking that trend.

Al Jazeeras Step Vaessen reports from its regional capital, Grozny.
Voters are going to the polls in an election some opposition parties are describing as a power grab.

People in Comoros are casting their ballots in the archipelagos presidential elections, with incumbent Azali Assoumani widely expected to win a new term in a vote that rivals say has been hijacked.

The main opposition alleged that irregularities at several polling stations reported on Sunday by the electoral commission amounted to a coup detat and called for public resistance.

We candidates declare the current government illegitimate  [we] call on the people to resist and mobilise against it, Soihili Mohamed, the head of the Union of the Opposition group and a former deputy president, told journalists on Moroni island.

Azali confirmed but played down sporadic incidents after voting at a school in Mitsoudje on the main island Grande Comore.

Ive been told there have been some problems; its not a surprise, he said.

We were aware during the campaign there are some people who were not out there to win but to prevent the vote taking place.

The situation is under control, he added, expressing confidence over a win.

An electoral commission official told AFP news agency that a dozen booths had been vandalised on the island of Anjouan, while witnesses said several stuffed ballot boxes had been found and some opposition poll assessors had been prevented from going about their duties.

Given that my delegates have been prevented from entering polling stations  I shall never recognise the results, Mahamoudou Ahamada, candidate of opposition party Juwa, said after voting on Grande Comore.

The Supreme Court had barred some of Azalis major rivals, including former President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi, accused of corruption, from running.

Some 300,000 voters were expected to turn out, with polling stations opening at 8:00am (05:00 GMT).

A woman casts her ballot for the presidential election at a polling station of Mitsoudje [Gianluigi Guercia/AFP]

The poll comes after Comorans voted in a referendum that was boycotted by the opposition to support the extension of presidential mandates from one five-year term to two, rotating among the three islands.

The opposition fears that Azali, a native of Grande Comore and last elected in 2016, could hold power for 10 more years until 2029.

The referendum last July led to violent protests on Anjouan, which would have taken over the presidency in 2021.

I hope my choice will be respected, Allaoui Elarif, 70, told AFP.

I dont expect any trouble, demonstrations here. It is afterwards, at the election commission where I am afraid they will cheat.
Eitan took part in attack on Iraqs Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981, and assassinations of Palestinian fighters.

Former Israeli spy Rafi Eitan, who commanded the audacious 1960 capture of top Nazi Adolf Eichmann, died on Saturday aged 92, Israeli public radio announced.

Eitan, the handler for Jonathan Pollard, a US Navy analyst who passed Israel thousands of top secret documents, was himself wanted by US authorities for a time.

He died in the afternoon at Tel Avivs Ichilov hospital, the radio said, without giving further details.

Eitan was born into a Zionist immigrant family from Russia on a kibbutz in British-ruled Palestine in November 1926.

He was nicknamed Rafi the Stinker after he fell into a sewer during a military operation prior to the establishment of Israel in 1948.

During his service in the elite Palmach arm of the paramilitary Haganah organisation, forerunner of the Israeli army, he assisted the immigration of Jewish refugees from Europe.

He joined Mossad in the 1950s and rose to become the agencys operations chief.

As a Mossad agent, Eitan played a part in the Israeli attack on Iraqs Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981, and the assassinations of Palestinian fighters who had killed Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Nazi hunter

Eitan was mainly known for commanding the operation to snatch Eichmann in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires and smuggle him to Israel.

Eichmann, the mastermind of the Nazis so-called Final Solution, was then tried and hanged.

The ability of the security services to bring him to justice was a source of pride for Israel, then-President Reuven Rivlin calling it a momentous moment in Israels history.

But in 2017, as Mossad declassified files on the failed hunt for Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, Eitan admitted that he missed at least two chances to catch him.

At the same time as we caught Eichmann, Mengele was living in Buenos Aires. We found his apartment and kept it under observation, he told Israeli public radio.

He said that Mossad chief, Issar Harel, wanted him to move against Mengele as well, but he argued against the plan.

I didnt want to carry out two operations at the same time because we had one successful operation in the bag, and in my experience, if you try to carry out another one you put them both at risk, Eitan said.

He said that he waited until Eichmann was taken to Israel, but by then the former Auschwitz chief medical officer known to prisoners as the Angel of Death had slipped away.

The Mossad picked up Mengeles trail again when he was spotted in Brazil late in 1962, Eitan added.

But Harel resigned soon after and his successors did not approve an operation against Mengele as they had other priorities around the world, Eitan said.

Spy handler

In the 1980s, Eitans name came into the spotlight in a major crisis between Israel and key ally the United States.

He was the handler for Jonathan Pollard, a US marine analyst who handed thousands of top secret documents over to Israel between May 1984 and his arrest in November 1985.

Pollard served 30 years in a US prison. He was freed in November 2015 but given a five-year probation period during which he is barred from travelling.

The FBI had also issued an arrest warrant against Eitan, Pollards handler.

In 2006, at the age of 79, he was elected to Israels parliament as head of the Pensioners Party and appointed minister for senior citizens.

I had a heart operation a year ago, I cant see anything and I cant hear anything, but I run every morning, I sculpt and my wife says Im doing well, Eitan said on becoming a legislator.
Anger and despair on the banks of the Tigris River as families wait to hear about their loved ones still missing after a ferry disaster.

As the death toll in Thursdays ferry disaster in northern Iraq continues to rise, the banks of the Tigris River in Mosul are witnessing anger and despair as families anxiously look for those who are still missing.

Most of the victims were women and children heading out of Mosul for a Mothers Day picnic.

Iraqs Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has asked parliament to sack the governor of Nineveh province saying there was clear evidence of negligence and concrete failings.

Al Jazeeras Natasha Ghoneim reports from Mosul.
More than 100 people, including many children, drowned when the vessel carrying them capsized in Tigris river.

Iraqs parliament has sacked the governor of the northern province of Nineveh where more than 100 people died when a ferry capsized three days ago, triggering grief and anger among residents.

Most of those who drowned in the Tigris River near Mosul were women and children celebrating the Nowruz holiday and Mothers Day on Thursday.

Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi on Saturday called on legislators to fire Nineveh Provincial Governor Nawfel Akoub, citing negligence and concrete failings.

His two deputies were also fired during a vote in the national assembly.

Parliament declared those killed in the tragedy martyrs, allowing their families to receive financial compensation and paving the way for court proceedings.

At least 16 people have been arrested as part of an investigation into the sinking of the ferry, a security official said.





Authorities said 63 people were still listed as missing.

On Sunday, dozens of students held a silent protest on the campus of the University of Mosul, dressed in black to mourn the victims.

One of them, Abdullah al-Jubburi, told AFP news agency they were demonstrating to demand that corrupt politicians and civil servants be replaced.

The governor and all corrupt officials must be put on trial  We are fed up of being mistreated and marginalised, said fellow protester Isra Mohammed.

Akoub has already been subjected to the anger of the relatives of the victims, and their supporters, over alleged corruption and cronyism.

When he visited the scene of the tragedy on Friday, stones were thrown at his convoy by protesters demonstrating against perceived corruption and neglect.

Abdul Mahdi, the prime minister, had visited the site on the accident on Thursday when he ordered an inquiry and warned those responsible would be held to account.

Those on board the ferry were on their way to a nearby island. Although there has been no official mention of the cause behind the accident, local residents said it was due to overcrowding, saying the ferry only had space for 50 passengers.

The usually tame Tigris is running high this time of year. The river swelled further after a rainy season that brought more precipitation than in previous years.

The sinking of the ferry was a tragic blow to Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city that is still struggling to overcome the devastation wreaked by fighting between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) and the US-led coalition.

The armed group captured Mosul in the summer of 2014, making it its main stronghold in Iraq. After US-backed Iraqi forces retook it three years later, in July 2017, much of Mosul was left in ruins.
Members of Abdullah al-Senussis tribe gathered at a Tripoli square to demand he be freed over health concerns.

Relatives and supporters of Libyas Gaddafi-era intelligence chief, jailed for his alleged role in a bloody crackdown during the countrys 2011 uprising, protested in Tripoli on Saturday to demand his release.

Abdullah al-Senussi, a brother-in-law of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi, was sentenced to death in 2015 over the part he allegedly played in the governments response to a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 that toppled and killed Gaddafi.

Eight others close to Gaddafi, including the late Libyan leaders son, Saif al-Islam, also received death sentences following a trial condemned by the United Nations as seriously flawed.

Several dozen relatives and members of al-Senussis tribe, the Magerha, gathered in a central Tripoli square to demand he be freed over health concerns.

The law and medical reports support our legitimate demand, said protester Mohamad Amer.

Officials have not released specific details on his alleged health problems.

In a statement, the Magerha said his liberation would contribute to and consolidate national reconciliation in a country torn apart by intercommunal conflicts since Gaddafis fall.

The unusual protest comes just over a month after the release on health grounds of Abuzeid Dorda, Gaddafis head of foreign intelligence who was sentenced at the same time as al-Senussi.

The protesters held up photos of al-Senussi behind bars and placards reading Freedom to prisoners. Yes to national reconciliation.

Al-Senussi was extradited in September 2012 by Mauritania, where he had fled after Gaddafis fall.

Like Gaddafis son, he had also been the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for suspected war crimes during the 2011 uprising.

But in an unusual move, in 2013, the court gave Libyan authorities the green light to put him on trial.

He has since been imprisoned in the capital, along with some 40 other senior Gaddafi-era officials, including Gaddafis last Prime Minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi.

Saif al-Islam was captured and imprisoned by an armed group in the northwestern city of Zintan and sentenced by a Tripoli court in absentia.

The group announced his release in 2017 but it was never confirmed and his fate remains unknown.
Barred from working and accessing education, war-scarred Yemenis face life of fear and uncertainty in Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  Mahmoud was well into his shift baking bread when a burst of urgent shouts warned him of an approaching cordon of men in uniform.

Time was of the essence and the 19-year-old, ever alert, wasted none of it.

By the time the immigration officers barged into the bakery, trawling for those without proper documents, Mahmoud was already dashing up a nearby flight of stairs. He stopped only after reaching the seventh floor of the building, located on the southern outskirts of Malaysias capital, Kuala Lumpur.

I watched out from the window and saw they had detained many young people, Mahmoud recalls. They took all my friends, he says, his softly spoken voice slightly at odds with his towering stature.

I hid until they left.

"I think I lost my life here." With no legal status or protection, Yemeni refugees in Malaysia are stuck in a life of limbo. pic.twitter.com/YsDypoPsQq  Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) March 13, 2019

Mahmoud is Yemeni. Like thousands before him, he escaped his countrys catastrophic war a year ago to seek refuge in Malaysia  one of a handful of countries worldwide to offer visa-free entry to Yemenis.

But today, Mahmoud is part of a struggling community pushed into a fragile existence in societys shadows.

Malaysia is not a signatory to the United Nations convention recognising refugees, while its dated immigration laws  enacted in 1959 and revised in 1963  do not distinguish between those seeking asylum and those entering the country irregularly.

As a result, refugees are denied a host of rights and, crucially, are barred from legally working and sending their children to state-run schools.

Without key legal protections and given little aid, refugees end up scraping a precarious living in informal sectors  and in the case of most Yemenis, taking on low-paying jobs in restaurants and other food stores owned by their compatriots who had settled in Malaysia in the years and decades before the war.

There is no money and life is insecure, says Mahmoud, who sees his dream of becoming a doctor slipping away. I feel lost.

Yemens latest conflict broke out in late 2014 when Houthi rebels, allied with forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, seized much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa.

The war escalated in March 2015 when a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates launched a fierce air campaign against the rebels in a bid to restore the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Since then, tens of thousands of civilians and combatants have been killed and as many as 85,000 children may have starved to death.

Millions of people have been forced from their homes as a result, with many fleeing for safer shores abroad. Some have sought refuge in Malaysia  a country which in the past has acted to protect persecuted Muslim populations from places such as Bosnia, Syria and Cambodia.

Malaysian authorities have long allowed the UNs refugee agency (UNHCR) to register refugees and provide some services on humanitarian grounds, even though the country has never ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol.

UNHCR cardholders, however, are denied the right to work and go to school in the country. The government provides a 50-percent discount to those officially recognised as refugees to access healthcare services at state-run facilities.

But registration itself can take months or years, leaving many who are waiting to receive their card at risk of being arrested and locked up at any time.

Even if they are registered, as in the case of Mahmoud and his friends last month, refugees remain liable for detention under Malaysian law should they be caught working  although some officers are willing to turn a blind eye during immigration raids.





Alice Nah, a Malaysian academic and expert on refugee issues, says those seeking asylum in Malaysia  a popular destination because of its strong economy and peaceful multi-ethnic society  are often surprised by the way they are targeted in immigration operations.

[Thats] not necessarily because they are refugees fleeing war and persecution, but because they are perceived to be migrants with irregular status, she adds, urging authorities to recognise current realities and take the protection of refugees and other non-citizens seriously.

Activists have also been calling on Malaysias new government, which took office last year after defeating a ruling coalition that had governed the country for six decades, to fulfil campaign promises over human rights reforms and sign up to the Refugee Convention and its Protocol.

When asked last month by Al Jazeera about Yemeni refugees access to work and education, Saifuddin Abdullah, Malaysias foreign minister, replied: I think we are open to proposals.





Still, Malaysias long-standing refugee policies ensure Yemeni refugees remain in a state of near-constant fear and uncertainty, deterring them from being able to think of the country as home.

How can we feel its our home, without having any rights? asks Badria Mohammed Albadani, who fled Yemens war four years ago. We want to feel like that but they have to help us  to have education and at the same time allow us to have a job without the fear that someone will come and attack us.

A former airline employee in Sanaa, 36-year-old Albadani is now a volunteer coordinator at a community-run centre that helps fleeing Yemenis.

Mohammed al-Radhy [Al Jazeera]

Located on the first floor of a rundown southern Kuala Lumpur building and overlooking a street lined with Arab shops and restaurants, the modest space offers language lessons to Yemeni men, women and children, as well as workshops and community advocacy.

We try to give some things and skills to the people that they need fast, says Mohammed al-Radhy, a community leader and the head of the Tangible Association of Yemeni Refugees (TAYR).

Before this centre, the people were [dispersed] everywhere. If they needed any kind of help, they didnt know where to ask. Now, if anyone needs help, if they have a health problem or are arrested or they need to ask about anything, they directly call and we give them the help we can, Radhy adds.

After a brief pause to check his continuously flashing phone, the 46-year-old admits that he is rarely at the centre he founded three years ago.

I work in my car; I [am always going] to the hospitals, to the prisons, to meet NGOs, to the families.

We need help, he says, with a sigh. We have no permit to work, no education, no health(care). We have nothing.

The centre offers English and Malay language lessons [Al Jazeera]

Inside the TAYR centre, Mokhtar bin Dorob teaches an afternoon English class to a small group of young students. He is also a volunteer, making do with whatever meagre  if any  amounts the students can afford to chip in. The holder of a Masters degree in educational technology, the 34-year-old is passionate about using online tools to help improve the lives of his community.

Im trying to use WhatsApp to create videos for the students to interact, he says, standing between two battered, oscillating fans that cool the stiflingly humid air. Im interested in integrating technology to help Yemenis with the barriers [they face].

But its not just in informal classrooms that technology has had an effect. In the absence of institutionalised support, many Yemeni refugees are increasingly relying on messaging-app groups to share news about the community, discuss problems and coordinate action  as well as warn each other about immigration raids and even generate some much-needed income.

I sell bread by [taking orders on] WhatsApp, says Amira, a 39-year-old mother of two daughters. At times, theres work and at others, there isnt  for example, this month, Ive only had two orders.

Amira says she and her husband sold everything four years ago to flee air raids in the southwestern Yemeni city of Taiz and bring their children to safety.

The hallway outside Amiras flat in a gargantuan apartment block housing hundreds of Yemeni and other migrant families [Al Jazeera]

But since arriving in Malaysia, the familys ordeal has only continued.

When we first got here, we felt humiliated; wed only have one meal per day, says Amira.

After we got the [UNHCR] card, they said they would help us but we didnt get anything, she adds.

When my story spread on Facebook, university students offered me housing here, she continues.

But the situation remains dire.

Amira says she was previously exploited by local employers who turned out to be crooks, while her husband, a chef, has been struggling with severe health problems that prevent him from working.

We left from war and found ourselves in another war, Amira says, her two daughters  aged four and seven  sitting quietly at her feet. War with hunger, war with housing.

Stuck in a life of limbo, Amira says her only wish is for her family to be resettled to another country where her daughters feel safe and can acquire an education and [a better life].

The most important thing is my childrens future, she says, her voice choking with tears. The most important thing is that they will not be lost.

There is no hope here in Malaysia.
President says he ordered a budget cut for social programmes to stamp out corruption, but the move surprised many.

Federal soup kitchens for the poor in Mexico are being shut down, as are other government programmes that help the most vulnerable.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says he has ordered a cut to funds for social programmes to stamp out corruption.

But the left-wing leaders decision surprised many, with civil society groups protesting that scrapping the programmes doesnt help the poor.

Al Jazeeras John Holman reports from Mexico City.
Israeli aircraft targeted two Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip early on Sunday as the health ministry in Gaza announced the death of a Palestinian wounded previously in protests against Israeli forces.

Palestinian activists have been flying burning kites and balloons into Israel as part of ongoing protests along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone.

According to Israeli officials, the improvised aerial weapons have caused a number of fires inside Israeli settlements, causing significant material damage but not resulting in any deaths or injuries.

In response to multiple explosive devices that were hurled and exploded during Gaza riots near Israels border fence this evening, an IDF [Israeli army] aircraft targeted two Hamas observation posts in the southern Gaza Strip, a statement from the military read.

The Israeli warplanes struck positions in Al-Awda refugee camp, east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, reported the Anadolu Agency.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in Gaza.

Another death

The Gaza health ministry announced the death of 24-year-old Habib al-Masri, who was shot and wounded during protests against the Israeli army on Saturday. It gave no details on when he was wounded.

On Friday, two Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during the weekly Friday protests in the besieged Gaza Strip, according to officials.

Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesman for the health ministry, said the two male demonstrators  aged 18 and 29 -were shot in separate incidents near the Israeli fence east of the Gaza Strip.

And on Saturday, the Israeli army launched two separate air raids against groups of Palestinians in Gaza who had allegedly flown balloons rigged with explosives into Israel.

The Gaza health ministry said two Palestinians had been wounded.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniya has called for a mass turnout for border protests on the first anniversary of the demonstrations on March 30.

Israel holds Hamas responsible for all attacks from Gaza, controlled by the group since 2007.

Use of excessive force

On Friday, the United Nations Human Rights Council condemned Israels apparent intentional use of unlawful lethal and other excessive force against civilian protesters in Gaza, and called for perpetrators of violations in the enclave to face justice.

On the final day of a four-week session, the Geneva-based forum adopted a resolution on accountability, brought by Pakistan on behalf of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation. The measure was backed by 23 states, while eight voted against and 15 abstained. One delegation was absent.

The resolution called for cooperating with a preliminary examination opened by the International Criminal Court in 2015 into alleged Israeli human rights violations.

The measure was based on a report by a UN inquiry which said that Israeli security forces may have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in killing 189 Palestinians and wounding more than 6,100 at weekly protests last year.

The targeting of civilians is a serious matter that should not be condoned, Ibrahim Khraisi, Palestines ambassador, said, citing the report. The toll included 35 Palestinian children, two journalists and medical workers, he added.

More than 250 protesters have been killed since Palestinians began holding regular demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel buffer zone in March of last year.

Demonstrators demand the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in historical Palestine from which they were removed in 1948 to make way for the new state of Israel.

They also demand an end to Israels 12-year blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has gutted the coastal enclaves economy and deprived its roughly two million inhabitants of many basic commodities.
Democrats didnt see Trumps first win coming. They have no excuse for not contemplating the world a second one might produce. Photo: Harald Sund/Getty Images

Now that it appears Donald Trump may escape any immediate legal consequences from the Mueller investigation, its time to take a fresh look at the trajectory of his presidency.

Before November 2016, there wasnt a lot of agonized writing from the left of center about the consequences of a Trump victory, for the obvious reason that few observers thought it was a plausible scenario, even after his improbable Republican nomination. Yes, Hillary Clintons camp and progressive (and many conservative) journalists bashed Trumps character, worldview, and sinister appeals to racism and sexism regularly. But nobody saw much of a need for game-planning his administration in any detail.

We certainly know It Can Indeed Happen Here, and those who assumed Mueller would bring Trump down prematurely should check their premises. Its time as to consider what a second Trump term might be like. Here are some educated guesses of what it could entail:

1. The Courts Shift Radically to the Right

Trump has already had a profound effect on the present and future shape of the federal judiciary  which in turn shapes constitutional, statutory, and common law  thanks to a highly ideological judicial vetting and selection process and the willingness of a Republican-controlled Senate to rubber-stamp most nominees. Bloomberg Law notes the scorecard:

President Donald Trump has filled 20 percent of the nations federal appeals seats in his swift bid to reshape the judiciary with strong conservatives, and the emphasis could soon shift to accelerating district court confirmations.

Trump has appointed about twice as many appeals court judges as either of his two predecessors did at a similar point in their presidencies. Hes benefited from changes in the process that speed confirmations (e.g., abolition of the blue slip tradition, whereby senators have in the past blocked appointees from their own states) and from past Republican obstruction of nominations by Barack Obama, creating more openings. And now, as the Senate turns to an emphasis on district court positions, Mitch McConnell is soon likely to shorten the required period for debate to keep the confirmations on a brisk pace.

The Trump-McConnell strategy is designed to pack the courts quickly, in case Democrats come back into power in 2020. But if Trump gets a second term, and particularly if Republicans hold the Senate (which is very likely in any scenario in which Trump wins), prospects increase that this president will cast a very, very long shadow over the judiciary for decades to come.

And that could happen most decisively at the top of the federal judiciary, in the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump has quickly exploited two openings on SCOTUS  one left open to him when Senate Republicans denied Obama appointee Merrick Garland a hearing, and the other produced by Anthony Kennedys 2018 retirement. Replacing Kennedy with Brett Kavanaugh will produce a shift to the right on many issues, probably including reproductive rights. But in a second Trump term, the odds of court liberals Ruth Bader Ginsburg (who will turn 87 next year) and Stephen Breyer (who will be 81 in 2020) hanging on until the next Democratic administration will go down significantly. One more flip of a liberal seat on the court could produce a landmark conservative era in constitutional law, almost certainly including the reversal or significant modification of Roe v. Wade and other key precedents, not to mention a decisive new era of sympathy for corporations, reactionary state governments, nativists, vote suppressors, and foes of civil liberties.

2. The Swamp Fills Up

Where Trump has not left key federal agency positions open or filled them with unqualified political appointees, he has often placed foxes in many henhouses. Hes hired (or is in the process of hiring) about 350 ex-lobbyists, often from the very industries their new employers are supposed to regulate.

This habit can only get worse in a second Trump term, when even more scores are being settled and more favors (and favorites) rewarded. Presidential second terms notoriously tend to produce scandals, and its hard to imagine this one proving to be an exception.

3. The Safety Net Unravels Even More

A Republican House after 2020 is more of a reach than a continued GOP hold on the Senate, but again, in a scenario in which Trump wins, its far from impossible. If Republicans get a second chance at a trifecta after losing it in 2018, there is no question wed see a second effort to deconstruct the social safety net via legislation fundamentally changing Obamacare, Medicare, Medicaid, and anti-poverty programs  possibly via the budget process, but also possibly after abolition of the legislative filibuster, which Trump himself has repeatedly demanded.

Barring a Republican House, an extended Trump administration will certainly try to mess with safety-net programs via executive action, as it already is doing with the widespread approval of conservative state government waivers to impose work requirements and other disincentives to enrollment.

4. The United States Grows Increasingly Isolated and Belligerent

In pursuance of his erratic ideas of presidential foreign-policy leadership and his nationalist ideology of aggressively asserted isolationism, Trump has so far kept the U.S. out of fresh wars, even as he has insisted on big increases in defense spending and blank checks to certain allies like Benjamin Netanyahu. Its unclear whether this juggling act can continue without calamity for a full eight years.

Even if it does, the world after two full Trump terms would be a more perilous place, with weaker multilateral institutions, more nations seeking more weapons to defend themselves, and exacerbating factors like trade disputes and border conflicts growing steadily more difficult.

And thats probably a best-case scenario. A late-second-term Donald Trump, with a military bristling with weaponry and no future election constraints, is a terrifying prospect.

5. Climate Change Is Ignored for Another Four Years

Before Donald Trumps election, the Republican Party was probably best described as always looking for excuses not to address climate change, income and wealth inequality, structural racism, and other big national challenges. On virtually every major issue, the GOP is now aggressively opposed to remedial action, not just backward-looking and slow to move.

On climate change alone, its painful to contemplate the national and global consequences of another four years of official science denial and celebration of fossil fuels. Those consequences include the death of prospects for bipartisan action, even on compromise and relatively conservative proposals for emissions reductions and a greener economy. Its harder to measure the psychological costs of perpetual rude gestures to millennials and post-millennials terrified by threats to their very existence. And four more years of refusal to deal with inequality and entrenched racism will produce its own damage to social solidarity and patriotism.

There are also political consequences of a second Trump term that transcend particular policies:

6. Trumpism Becomes the Republican Partys Future As Well As Its Present

If Trump loses in 2020 (and more obviously, if he leaves office, voluntarily or otherwise, earlier than that), its still possible that his party will shake off some of his cruder political habits and policy prejudices and resume the kind of role it might have played as a constructive conservative alternative. Even if the GOP permanently absorbed some of his populist messages as boob-bait, it could easily abandon the most irresponsible aspects of his approach to politics and governing.

If Trump wins a second term, however, all bets of a Republican Party healed of Trumpism are off. The small and often underground conservative opposition to Trump we see today would be reduced to total insignificance, and looking forward to 2024, there would likely be a robust competition to see if a younger and less inhibited successor than Mike Pence  maybe Tom Cotton?  could emerge to carry the MAGA torch.

7. The Democratic Party, As We Know It, Dies

Democrats spent months agonizing over how they lost to Donald Trump in 2016, with theories ranging from Clinton campaign incompetence to media hostility to sexism to James Comeys unhelpful letters to sheer bad luck based on the distribution of a handful of votes in a few states. But a Democratic Party that manages to lose twice to Donald Trump  the second time after four years of the bizarre national experience of watching him in office  simply has to look at the donkey in the mirror.

Its possible, I suppose, that the identity of a 2020 Democratic loser could clearly point the way forward. If, for example, Joe Biden won the nomination and lost to Trump, hed probably be the last Clinton-Obama centrist to win a presidential nomination for a good while, and if Bernie Sanders won the nomination and lost in November the long-discussed theory that left-bent candidates are actually more electable would take a major hit. But more likely, the suspicion will spread that the Democratic brand itself is toxic, if it simply cant overcome an opponent like Trump.

All in all, Democrats should approach 2020 with the mind-set that this is an election with such high substantive and political stakes that history will never forgive them for blowing it. That obviously means they should exercise care in choosing a presidential nominee. But it also means they should take especial care not to damage her or him in the process, or withhold support from the nominee over grudges carried over from the nominating contest.

In 2016, there was a meme among conservatives called the Flight 93 Election, based on a pseudonymous article (actually written by Michael Anton, who later joined the Trump administration) suggesting that whatever misgivings conservatives had about their candidate should be suppressed in recognition of how catastrophic a Clinton victory would be. It was a faintly ridiculous reflection of the lurid and distorted idea conservatives nourished about the evil secular-socialist and authoritarian plans a centrist Democrat like HRC represented.

This same attitude, however, is entirely realistic when it comes to Democratic perspectives on the 2020 elections. A second Trump win would not only threaten progressive policy priorities for a long, long time, but would likely tear the Democratic coalition apart. For those left of center, 2020 is an emergency, and those activists or observers who would increase the risk of a second Trump term to promote candidate or factional interests ought to attract a lot of pushback. A 2021 with Trump in charge is a progressive hellscape. Avoiding it is really important.
Anti-riot police swung into action after talks broke down with teachers demanding better work conditions.

Police in Moroccos capital Rabat have used water cannons to disperse thousands of young teachers protesting for better work conditions.

Authorities early on Sunday were trying to end a rally of an estimated 15,000 teachers in front of parliament where they planned to spend the night before an even bigger demonstration called by a coalition of leftist opposition parties, unions and civil society groups.

Policemen in anti-riot gear swung into action after negotiations between officers and teachers to ask protesters to leave the area broke down after several hours.

Authorities had offered to send buses to drive them to places where they could spend the night, teachers said.

They had been chanting liberty, dignity, social justice.

Policemen in anti-riot gear swung into action after talks broke down [Fadel Senna/AFP]

Some teachers said they were protesting against contracts on which they have been hired.

They are demanding full benefits and pensions like regular public servants.

Teachers across the country have been striking for three consecutive weeks.

Of the countrys 240,000-strong teacher workforce, 55,000 have been hired since 2016 under a new contract system.

Morocco has come under pressure from international lenders to trim the civil service wage bill and strengthen the efficiency of the public sector.
Saud al-Qahtani is reportedly not among those indicted by Saudi Arabia over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

A Saudi royal adviser fired over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi is not among the 11 suspects on trial at secretive hearings in Riyadh despite Saudi pledges to bring those responsible to justice, sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters news agency.

The Saudi public prosecutor indicted 11 unnamed suspects in November, including five who could face the death penalty on charges of ordering and committing the crime.

The CIA and some Western countries believe Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (CMS) ordered the killing at the Saudi consulate in the Turkish city of Istanbul last October  a claim denied by Saudi officials.

Saud al-Qahtani, a top aide to MBS until he was sacked then sanctioned by the US Treasury over his suspected role, is not on trial and has not appeared at any of the four court sessions convened since January, according to seven sources who are familiar with the proceedings but have not attended the trial.

Two regional intelligence sources told Reuters that weeks after the killing Qahtani oversaw Khashoggis murder and dismemberment by giving orders via Skype to a team of security and intelligence operatives.

The Saudi public prosecutor said in November that Qahtani had coordinated with the deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Asiri, who ordered the repatriation of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who had become a vocal critic of the crown princes policies following years as a royal insider.





The prosecutor said Qahtani had met the operatives charged with Khashoggis repatriation before their journey to Istanbul. When Khashoggi resisted, the lead negotiator decided to kill him, according to the prosecutor.

Asiri is on trial, the seven sources told Reuters.

Three of the sources said that Maher Mutreb, the lead negotiator, and Salah Mohammed al-Tubaigy, a forensic expert who specialised in autopsies, are also on trial and could face the death penalty.

The sources said the defendants have legal counsel and have defended themselves in court by claiming they did not intend to kill Khashoggi or were merely carrying out orders.

The public prosecutor, the government media office, Qahtani and Asiri did not respond to requests for comment on the status of the trial. Reuters could not reach Mutreb, Tobaigy or any of the defendants lawyers.

Influential and active

Saudi Arabia wants to move on from the global outcry sparked by Khashoggis killing, which tarnished the crown princes reputation, prompted some investors to pull out, and intensified criticism of the countrys human rights record.

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A credible investigation and trial are among Western demands to restore Saudi Arabias standing after the killing. But Riyadh has refused to cooperate with a United Nations inquiry, rejecting it as interference in its internal affairs.

It is unclear what evidence, if any, has been presented in court. Khashoggis remains have not been discovered, and Riyadh says it has not received evidence it requested from Ankara, which says it has recordings related to the killing in which Qahtani features prominently.

A senior Turkish official said Ankara had shared all the necessary information with Saudi Arabia but that the cooperation had not been reciprocated. Turkey wants Riyadh to answer questions including the whereabouts of Khashoggis body and which Saudis are standing trial in Riyadh.

Three of the sources said a representative for the Khashoggi family attended at least one session to ask for an update on the public prosecutors investigation into Qahtani and for him to be brought before the court.

Qahtani has continued to wield influence in the crown princes inner circle and remains active on behalf of the royal court, Western, Arab and Saudi sources with links to the royal court told Reuters in January.

A Saudi official denied those allegations when asked and said that Qahtani remained under investigation and has been banned from travel.

Access to the trial has been limited to diplomats from the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China and Turkey who are summoned on short notice and barred from bringing interpreters.
US President Donald Trump has criticised the two-year probe into his links with Russia.

US President Donald Trump has criticised a 22-month probe into his links with Russia as an illegal takedown that failed, claiming he was completely cleared by the results.

Its a shame our country had to go through this. To be honest, its a shame that your president has had to go through this, Trump told reporters on Sunday before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington from Florida in the United States.

This was an illegal takedown that failed. And hopefully, somebodys going to be looking at the other side.

In a summary of US Special Counsel Robert Muellers findings sent to Congress, Attorney General Bill Barr said no Trump campaign official was involved in the Russian conspiracies to hack Democratic computers and flood social media with disinformation to harm Trumps election rival Hillary Clinton.

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The special counsel did not find that the Trump campaign, or anyone associated with it, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in these efforts, Barr wrote.

On the other hand, Barr said Mueller declined to reach a decision on the evidence against the president of obstruction  almost guaranteeing that Democrats in Congress would push to investigate this further.

Mueller wrote that while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him, Barr said.

Following the release of the summary, Trump wrote on Twitter: No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!

Trumps legal team said the president was completely vindicated.

This is a complete and total vindication of the president, the team said in a statement.

Investigations move to Congress

Barrs letter marked the conclusion of the investigation into allegations that Trumps election campaign coordinated and colluded with Russians to skew the 2016 vote so the billionaire real estate magnate would win.

Muellers team indicted 34 individuals, and reached guilty pleas or verdicts against five former Trump aides, including one-time lawyer Michael Cohen, national security adviser Michael Flynn and campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

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But it marked the beginning of a new phase, the determination of Democrats in Congress to further investigate Trump, using the evidence from the Mueller probe.

Democrats demanded to receive Muellers entire report and his underlying evidence to further their own multiple investigations into the president.

Seems like the Department of Justice is putting matters squarely in Congress court, Democratic Representative Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, wrote on Twitter.

Special Counsel Mueller clearly and explicitly is not exonerating the President, and we must hear from AG Barr about his decision making and see all the underlying evidence for the American people to know all the facts.
After dramatic rescues, some 900 people still on board as the cruise ship reaches Molde port on Norways west coast.

A stricken luxury cruise ship that set sail with almost 1,400 passengers and crew on board has arrived at the port, after it narrowly escaped a major disaster when its engines failed during a storm.

The Viking Sky sent out a mayday signal on Saturday as it drifted in rough, shallow waters in the Norwegian Sea to within 100 metres from rocks.

Rescue services airlifted 479 people, including many senior citizens, hoisting them one-by-one on to helicopters, before the weather subsided on Sunday and a tow could begin.

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A total of 1,373 people had started the voyage and about 900 people were still on board as the ship arrived on Sunday afternoon at the port of Molde on Norways west coast.

It was very nearly a disaster. The ship drifted to within 100 metres of running aground before they were able to restart one of the engines, police chief Hans Vik, who heads the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre for southern Norway, told the TV2 broadcaster.

If they had run aground we would have faced a major disaster.

Some 20 injured passengers had been taken to hospital, Viking Cruises said, while others had only minor injuries.

Many have also been traumatised by the experience and need care when they arrive on shore, the Norwegian Red Cross said.

Passengers from #VikingSky are received by #RdeKors on arrival #Hustadvika evacuation centre. They receive dry clothes, blankets and first aid. We see bruising, broken bones, and cuts. Many need a hand to hold, a shoulder to lean on, someone to talk to. https://t.co/87I9J5L60x pic.twitter.com/fBiob0vyeY  Norges Rde Kors (@rodekorsnorge) March 24, 2019

I have never seen anything so frightening, said Janet Jacob, who was rescued.

I started to pray. I prayed for the safety of everyone on board, she told the NRK television channel.

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg expressed her gratitude to those who responded to what she called a dramatic day.

Thank you to the talented rescuers, volunteers and others who have made an invaluable effort in demanding conditions, she wrote on Twitter.

 Window panes were broken and water came in

Stormy weather conditions had improved by Sunday afternoon, with winds halved to 12 metres per second, according to the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.

Images and video posted by passengers on social media showed furniture sliding around and panels falling from the ceiling as the vessel drifted in waves of up to eight metres.

We were having lunch when it began to shake, John Curry, a passenger from the United States, told public broadcaster NRK.

Window panes were broken and water came in. It was just chaos. The trip on the helicopter, I would rather forget. It was not fun.

British passenger Derek Brown told newspaper Romsdal Budstikke: I was a bit alarmed saying help, whats going to happen to the boat? Whats going to happen to all of our possessions  is the boat liable to capsize, sink or what? We didnt know so we were quite frightened.

https://twitter.com/RyanDFlynn11/status/1109572773255569408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Torstein Hagen, the founder and chairman of Viking Cruises, met some of those who had been airlifted.

We all want to know how this could have happened, the Norwegian billionaire said.

Im sure there will be plenty of time to point fingers at what could and should have been done, but thats for later.

Something like this shouldnt happen, but it has.

The stretch of water known as Hustadvika and surrounding areas are known for fierce weather and shallow waters dotted with reefs.
Countrys economy has shrunk by 50 percent since 2015 and the price of food has more than doubled amid mass starvation.

This week will mark the fourth anniversary of the start of the war in Yemen, which has not only killed tens of thousands of people and devastated the country, but left the countrys economy in tatters.

Yemens economy has shrunk by 50 percent since 2015. More than two-thirds of small and medium businesses have laid off half their employees, and the price of food has increased by 112 percent.

Al Jazeeras Priyanka Gupta reports.
Outpouring of national grief continues amid calls from PM, Muslim leaders for efforts to eliminate racism, Islamophobia.

Christchurch, New Zealand  Thousands of New Zealanders have attended a mass vigil in Christchurch to mourn the 50 Muslims killed in an attack on two mosques.

Nearly 40,000 people filled Christchurchs Hagley Park on Saturday evening, according to local officials, almost 10 days after a suspected white supremacist attacked the Al Noor and Linwood mosques.

The March 15 massacre marked the worst mass shooting in New Zealands recent history and was branded a terrorist attack by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Saturdays ceremony was the latest in a series of remembrance events and included speeches, singing and moments of silence. Members of the Muslim and indigenous Maori communities were among the participants.

Linwood mosques imam, Alabi Lateef Zirullah, began the event with an Islamic prayer.

The names of the 50 worshippers killed were then read out, beginning with the youngest  three-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim.

These people came here as refugees and migrants, a Maori speaker said.

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May your spirits go to the top of Aoraki  and look down on us and give us peace and love, he said, using the traditional Maori name for Mount Cook, New Zealands highest peak.

More than 40 victims have been buried in Christchurchs New Park Cemetery.

Survivor praises New Zealands unity

Mustafa Boztas, a 21-year-old survivor of the shooting at Al Noor, said remembrance events show that New Zealand cares about its Muslim minority, which accounts for over one percent of the countrys nearly five million people.

Earlier on Saturday, more than 1,000 people marched in a rally against racism in Auckland, New Zealands biggest city, carrying migrant lives matter and refugees welcome here placards.

On Friday, Ardern and 20,000 others attended a Muslim prayer ceremony in Hagley Park, near Al Noor mosque.

Ardern, who has been praised for showing empathy and understanding to the Muslim community, wore a headscarf during the event and quoted the Prophet Muhammad.

Before Fridays ceremony, a nationwide two-minute silence was held. The call to prayer was broadcast on national television and radio stations.

Many non-Muslim women have worn headscarves in recent days as a show of solidarity [Edgar Su/Reuters]

This shooting has united us together, as one, Boztas, who is wheelchair-bound after being shot in his leg, told Al Jazeera from the front row of Saturdays vigil. It takes time to recover  [but] Im glad to be here.

About 50 people were injured in the attack, 24 of whom are still being treated in a Christchurch hospital. Four people remain in critical condition.

A four-year-old girl is being treated in Auckland. Her condition has been described as critical but stable by local media.

The world is watching what we do next

Glenda Joy, whose Muslim partner lost several friends in the massacre, said life would never be normal again for people directly affected by the shootings.

The shock for him is wearing off and now he is just very quiet, hes trying to process it and that is going to take a long time, said Joy, one of several women who wore a headscarf in solidarity.

New Zealand needed greater education about Islam, she said as she called on people to address everyday racism against minorities.

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In the wake of the attack, experts have said Muslims face discrimination in New Zealand and Australia, where 28-year-old suspect Brenton Tarrant was born.

Activists, academics and Muslim leaders have described how the community is vilified in the media, and cited a lack of knowledge about the faith and its associated customs.

Other non-white communities, including the indigenous Maori minority, are also discriminated against.

Sam Brosnahan, president of the New Zealand-based University of Canterburys student association, said New Zealanders needed to use the current wave of compassion and adopt long-term responses to end racism.

The world has watched in wonder at how we have all responded, he said.

But the world is also watching what we do next, so lets show them the Aotearoa the world needs, he added, using the Maori name for New Zealand.

An official national remembrance service would be held on March 29, Ardern has said.

The service will be a chance to once again show that New Zealanders are compassionate, inclusive and diverse, and that we will protect those values, she said in a statement.

Islamophobia kills

Muslim leaders and the prime minister have rallied against racism and Islamophobia in New Zealand and the rest of the world.

Al Noor mosque imam Gamal Fouda, who survived the March 15 attack, told attendees at Fridays ceremony in Christchurch that Islamophobia kills and the mosque shootings had not come overnight.

It [the attack] was the result of the anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim rhetoric of some political leaders, media agencies and others, Fouda said.

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Last weeks event is proof and evidence to the entire world that terrorism has no colour, has no race, and has no religion, he added.

The rise of white supremacy and right-wing extremism is a great global threat to mankind and this must end now.

Tarrant, who describes himself as a white supremacist, is expected to appear in court on April 5.

He was charged with one count of murder during an earlier hearing, on March 16, though police later admitted that the person in question had been wrongly declared dead.

He is expected to face more charges of murder during next months hearing, in which he is set to represent himself.
Government moves come as US calls on authorities to swiftly investigate it and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Malis government has announced the sacking of top military officers and the dissolution of a militia, a day after the killing of more than 130 people.

Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga said on Sunday new military chiefs would be named, and that the Dan Nan Ambassagou association, comprising Dogon hunters, had been dissolved.

The protection of the population will remain the monopoly of the state, Maiga told journalists.

Survivors of Saturdays attack said ethnic Dogon hunters carried out the raid in Ogossagou, a village in central Mali inhabited by the Fulani community.

Later on Sunday, Reuters news agency reported that army chief of staff General MBemba Moussa Keita was removed and replaced by General Abdoulaye Coulibaly, while chief of land forces General Abdrahamane Baby was replaced by Brigadier-General Keba Sangare.

The developments came hours after President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita called an emergency meeting in response to the attack, in which at least 134 men, women and children were killed.

The victims were shot or hacked to death with machetes, a security source told AFP.

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It was the deadliest attack since the end of the 2013 French-led military intervention that drove back armed groups who had taken control of northern Mali.

The state is no longer there; there is no state protection to ensure safety and its presence in those areas, Adama Gaye, West African analyst and former director of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc, told Al Jazeera, warning that attacks on the Fulani had become a recurrent problem which needed to be addressed by the Mali government and at the regional level.

People have concluded that there is even a risk of genocide  they are using the word genocide regarding the Fulanis  its a very serious situation.

UN chief outraged

Saturdays attack came as a United Nations Security Council mission visited Mali to seek a resolution to the violence that saw hundreds of civilians killed last year.

The secretary-general is shocked and outraged by reports that at least 134 civilians, including women and children, have been killed, Antonio Guterres spokesman said in a statement, late Saturday.

The UN chief called on the Malian authorities to swiftly investigate it and bring the perpetrators to justice, the statement added.

Guterress spokesman said the UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, provided air support to deter further attacks and assisted with the evacuation of the injured.

Ethnic tensions

Donzo hunters are part of the Bambara, Malis largest ethnic group. The semi-nomadic Fulani people are dispersed throughout the Sahel and West Africa.

Saturdays attack is believed to be the latest in a series of clashes between the communities of Donzo and Fulani that have left dozens dead in recent months.

In January, Donzo hunters were blamed for the killing of 37 people in a Fulani village.

The violence is incited by accusations of grazing cattle on Donzo land and disputes over access to land and water, but the area is also troubled by the influence of armed groups, who the Fulani are accused of being tied to.

Armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) have exploited ethnic rivalries in Mali and its neighbours, Burkina Faso and Niger, to boost recruitment and render vast swaths of territory in the Sahel region virtually ungovernable.
I am told Vice-President Bawumia is planning a news conference to throw light on how the economy has performed so far. He could; after all, he chairs the Economic Management Team.



If the objective is only to explain why things are the way they are, plead with Ghanaians to exercise more of our godly forbearance and give the President Akufo-Addo government just a few months more, then, by all means, this press conference is called for.



By now, after two years with him in the Vice-Presidential chair, however, I fear what Dr Bawumia is rearing to get off his chest  tell the NDC a few home truths and make declarations to the effect that the economy is doing great and that life is better.



If these are going to his headlines, then the advice from me is to call off the news conference. I, who offer this advice, am the writer who wrote in praise of him on this same page a year ago under the headline: The Beloved Bawumia.



It is natural. As the running mate who, from 2014 through 2016, ran riot in this country, taking the Mahama government to the cleaners, Bawumia may want to choose the path of all humans by painting a picture that says, I was right. Its human, but I wish he would stay his hand this time.



Fact is, at this rate of the economys performance, if there is one thing Ghanaians need, it is silence or a plea to our conscience.



If I am a typical Ghanaian, I can say that if an election were conducted today, Bawumia would not win by the same landslide he would have garnered two years ago. Bawumianomics is simply not the peoples favourite any more.



Life is tough. Yet, such is the confidence I have in the current Finance Minister that when I heard on radio that the cedi was appreciating against the major currencies, I went to sleep smiling. I remembered his assurance that the government was expecting about $300 million coming in from COCOBOD in about a month, and the launch of the $3 billion Eurobond.



That is why as a human being with blood flowing through these veins, I felt the disappointment when the forex lady told me, this week, the exchange rate for the day: more than GH5.00 to buy one dollar!



This couldnt be happening to Ghana in a government that has (to me) some of the best economic managers this country can boast of. Talk of Osafo Maafo, one time Africas Best Finance Minister and under whom we really felt an appreciating currency and a growing economy. My personal favourite is Akoto Osei  my God, that guy knows Economics! Ken Ofori-Atta has, since he returned from one of the best Ivy League Economics schools in the world, been my idea of the economist without blemish.



So what could have gone wrong? Fortunately, the President admits that the economic fundamentals are out of control. His establishment of the Presidential Fiscal Advisory Council is evidence of his sincerity and desire to arrest the downward spiral.



I dont know about you, but the first time I heard about the Fiscal Advisory Council to advise the President on appropriate measures to be taken to ensure fiscal discipline, I concluded that it was another way of admitting that Bawumianomics had not worked.



After all the previous failed attempts to stabilise the cedi by pumping more dollars into the system, I thought my beloved Ken Ofori-Atta would do something different.



But what do we see? He is pumping; yes, pumping and failing. Why would it not fail when those men at Cow Lane and Tudu are around? In South Africa, the hotel would not change my rand back into dollar unless I produced my passport. Recently in Scotland, the hotel refused to accept my payment in dollars, insisting on the pound.



The millions of dollars pumped into the system on Monday is gobbled up by Wednesday, by traders who import used mattresses, used TV sets, used stereo systems. They come in truckloads every weekend. The cedis made from the sale of those goods are quickly changed into dollars and pounds and euros.



Shouldnt there be a law that refuses to sell foreign currencies above a certain volume to people unless they can prove what they are using the money to import? That law should, first, outlaw Cow Lane.



So if any reader has access to Bawumia, kindly advise him to relax. You dont teach economics to a hungry people. He should take the words of the Indian sage, Mahatma Gandhi, that there are people in the world so hungry that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.



I will only call this current Agric Minister successful when TV stations stop showing scenes of tomatoes rotting on the farm for want of access to the market; when I see a return of the Acheampong era when schools competed against one another to win laurels in which schools were feeding themselves from their own farms.



The performance of the economy has made NDC look like angels. After a terrible performance that ended only two years ago, the NDC suddenly seem to possess all the answers!

Source: graphic.com.gh









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The default setting for present-day intellectuals is race, class, and sex. Nearly every academic study, as well as innumerable general books and the entire liberal media, relies on the hackneyed notion that social identity constitutes the only way to view reality. In fact, this trifecta is evidence of a shocking lack of original thought.

Academics are essentially lazy-brained and meek individuals who don't like to stray outside their comfort zone, but there does exist another, and truer, way of viewing the world  one in which human beings can be seen according to their true characteristics, not as "blacks," "women," and "the poor," but as individuals with specific qualities. I have an acquaintance from Jamaica whom I consider delightful, kind, generous, and fun, among other things. I would never call her a "black woman," the first and only thing a progressive might see in her. Progressives would strip her of her humanity by placing her in categories that allow for no individuality. And those categories should not exist to begin with within the public discourse.

Democrats can't see beyond identity politics because it's all they have. While Joe Biden was apologizing for being a mature white male, Beto O'Rourke insisted that he still has a right to run, even though he is white and male. As for the rest, they are eagerly proclaiming that they will be the first woman, first black woman, first Hispanic, first real black American. Not five minutes into the campaign, and we're already mired in race, class, and sex. Why not try to say something about at least one real issue?

For progressives, that is impossible, because until one sees people as individuals, one has no sense of what is important to them. That was Hillary's problem. Despite all the fake smiles and scripted lines of "fighting for working families," Hillary came across as a monster of callous indifference. She chuckled at putting 100,000 decent, hardworking coal miners out of work. Only a commissar mentality can do that, not a caring human being. And race, class, and sex, along with environmental radicalism, is the basis of a new authoritarianism not unlike the old Soviet mentality. It is rigid, inhuman, and antidemocratic. It assumes governance through executive order and agency regulation to circumvent Congress and the Constitution. Above all, it is fanatical, as it reduces life to a few crude propositions.

What is the alternative to identity politics? It is based on the recognition of man's true characteristics. They are the qualities that have been known for millennia as man's true nature. Nobility, courage, faith, love, and honor on the one hand, greed, faithlessness, envy on the other. Instead of first, or ever, referring to Kamala Harris as a black woman, for example, why not call her what she is: an opportunistic politician, capable of adopting any number of opposed positions as a means of self-advancement? That is a description well understood by Shakespeare and other classic writers. Call her Lady Macbeth. It's more revealing, and more accurate, than a "black woman."

Why not speak of "the poor" in the same manner? Is "poor" the most important thing one can say about someone? Is it relevant at all? Larry Ellison was once a poor young man, one who might have remained a member of this mislabeled class were it not for his drive and initiative. He is now one of the wealthiest individuals in America. It is not his status as "the rich" that distinguishes him, but his contribution to others. As the founder of Oracle Corporation, he has advanced global civilization. Forget "the fourth richest person in America." How about "a noble man dedicated to improving business and trade," the creator of a hundred thousand jobs, and a world-class philanthropist?

The worst offender in terms of class warfare is Elizabeth Warren. The content of her speeches, even her speaking style  arms battling the air, tottering from side to side, her thin voice piercing the air  is reminiscent of Lenin. Warren seems to live in a time warp in which she relishes the idea of joining downtrodden workers at the barricades. There was a time a century ago when downtrodden workers existed  though it was not just factory workers, but farmers, shopkeepers, government workers, even the professional class that eked out a meager existence relative to what we have now. But Democrats now have to reach down into the small underclass to find anything resembling downtrodden.

But Warren can only snarl that if someone makes over a million, he should have most of his "excess" earnings seized. You'll hear Warren yapping away at this for the next twelve months, her little fist clenched tight as a rock, her eyes glazing over, and always the same note: "The rich are evil  get them!"

And what is it about those teeth?

Ideas are, by definition, complex arrangements of mental observations organized in a particular way. I can find nothing resembling an idea in Warren's speeches. What I hear is the embittered commissar driven by a single crude impulse  an instinctual resentment of wealth that does not reach the level of an idea. That passion-driven message, combined with ruthless organization and total callousness toward human life, worked for Lenin, and it may work for Warren among the credulous and desperate few who actually believe that "the rich" can pay for their housing, college education, health care, and the rest. I doubt if it would work in the general election.

"Us" versus "them" is not an intellectual proposition. It is an appeal to greed. It's not at all different from the impulse that drives a young street thug to grab the purse of a helpless elderly woman.

It's obvious that identity politics hasn't done much for the ordinary people of Chicago. With rising violence and a sense of indifference on the part of the mayor's office, Rahm Emanuel's approval rating dropped to 25% before he decided not to seek re-election. The violence continues. No one seems to care about the children of Chicago enough to do anything, and it's Democrats who've governed the city for 88 years.

Isn't it time to see these children as precious human beings and not as black or poor? That simple act would do more to change the situation than all the taxes Warren could imagine proposing.

One of the most inspiring moments of 2018 was when a young man celebrating life on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial refused to back down, or offer any sign of concession, to an activist who approached him and pounded a drum in his face. By smiling down his antagonist, the young man seemed to assert that he had as much right as anyone to be there on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

It was a moment that reminded us of what America once was  a place where a young man could stand peacefully expressing his views, in this case pro-life, and not be intimidated by charges of racism, sexism, and classism. Progressives were appalled by the young man's courage, and they called for him to be taught a lesson, even with suggestions of grotesque violence. If you step on the sacred ground of progressive politics  race, class, and sex  you too will face the same attacks. That is what we have come to.

The sooner we drop the "race, class, and sex" business, the sooner we get back to seeing human beings as they are. Conversely, we will never see the humanity of others so long as we insist on seeing them, first and foremost, as "black," "poor," or "female." It's time to exit the cave and walk in the light. Time to look upon a person of African or partial African derivation and see only his humanity. Time to look upon a person of European or partial European derivation and see only his humanity as well. Time to radically revise the way in which we have viewed other human beings for at least a half century.

Jeffrey Folks is the author of many books and articles on American culture including Heartland of the Imagination (2011).

Image: Edward Kimmel via Flickr.
The corruption in South Africa is so bad, its like a noxious fog that has settled on a once peaceful, prosperous, and prejudiced nation. South Africans President Cyril Ramaphosa is being pilloried, pulled, and pushed from many sides, and many of the political players are more radical than he. He is busy trying to stay in power and get reelected later this year, but he has to deal with many warring factions inside and outside the African National Congress (ANC), plus the murder for hire of wayward members and multiple acts of sabotage in many major cities. Everyone seems to carry guns or has bodyguards even low-level provincial (state) leaders.

The ANC no longer stands for African National Congress but for Accumulation, Nepotism, and Cronyism. Corruption is one of the most used words by South Africans. Of course, this does not surprise anyone since one-party rule always results in cronyism, chaos, and corruption.

The corruption is ubiquitous, especially in the ANC, the political party that has been controlled by Communists from its earliest days and has governed South Africa since the end of the white minority government in 1994. The ANC is infamous for sabotage in earlier years and now that there are many factions within, it has returned to sabotage plus assassinationsof longtime comrades. It is now a fractured party with occasional episodes of the Shoot Out at the O.K. Corral. It seems every member in the national government and in the provinces has his hand out or worseeven putting out contracts on fellow members with whom they serve!

The New York Times last fall published an article, Hit Men and Power highlighting that corruption and divisions have flourished within the A.N.C. in recent years. It admits that too many have lost the vision of earlier years and are struggling for influential positions and the spoils that go with them. Thus far, few of the ANC officials in charge at the national or local levels have been held to account.

But the corruption is not only in the ANC but also in every facet of the nation: the schools, local governments, utilities, the mines, the police, the unions, South African Airlines, the rail service, and the banks. Plus, the political corruption in the ANC bleeds into all areas of national and local governments. Everyone seems to demand a bribe to do anything.

The corruption is so dissolute, it has nauseated the famed New York Times to the point of publishing another scathing article almost a year ago headlined, They Eat Money: How Mandelas Political Heirs Grow Rich Off Corruption.

Wow, that was the Times of New York City!

The article charged, Corruption has enriched A.N.C. leaders and their business alliesblack and white South Africans, as well as foreigners. The statement is easily verified in the life and administration of former President Jacob Zuma who had climbed into bed with the corrupt Indian Gupta family. The Times rightly said Zumas connection with the shady family, contributed to the A.N.C.s recent electoral losses and helped lead to Mr. Zumas ouster.

Zuma was forced to resign and was replaced by Cyril Ramaphosa who as noted by the Times, is a veteran A.N.C. insider, and early signs have not been encouraging. The article admitted that Ramaphosa has amassed extraordinary wealth since the presidency of Nelson Mandela.

Former President Zuma hopes to take the office back from Ramaphosa in this years election to continue his pilfering of the people.

It seems the seeds of corruption were in the transition from white minority rule to black majority rule under Nelson Mandela. When the transition took place, the Blacks took political power in the national and local governments, but Whites still held the reins of economic power. The biggest burr under the saddle is that most of the arable land belongs to Whites; and Blacks want that burr removed. Hence, the Parliament has voted to take land from white farmers (without compensation) and give it to Blacks. That bit of political thievery has turned the nation into a powder keg as white farmers including children and the elderly have been tortured, raped, and killed by roaming black thugs. As of 2014, four thousand white farmers have already been killed, according to The Times of London.

Much of the New York Times article is old news to South Africans; however, the news is that they are dealing with the news! But more shocking is that they are willing to tarnish the image of Mandela with charges of self-dealing. The Times admitted, In the early years of A.N.C. rule, Mr. Mandela and other top leaders, who had helped defeat apartheid but had no personal savings, received houses, vehicles and money from white business leaders -- essentially bribes, critics say.

Again, the Times is right on target declaring, Almost no one comes out of this looking good.

Mandela is still considered their national hero, but the failure to keep his promise of jobs and homes is a growing, festering boil on the backside of most Blacks. Stating what all South Africans know, the Times declared, While Mr. Mandela is still revered in the West, his legacy is regarded more critically in South Africa, especially by some young black people. To them, he sold out the countrys black masses to the white business elite.

Ace Magashule is now the Secretary-General of the ANC, but he was weaned on early corruption in the Free State province. At the demise of apartheid, he was in charge of economic development in the cabinet of Mosiuoa Lekota the premier of the Free State. The premier said he caught Magashule stealing government money which Magashule denied. The premier fired his underling, but the firing was overruled by the ANC deputy Secretary General, Jacob Zuma, who would become the President and take corruption to a shocking level.

At the end of apartheid, Zuma campaigned for corruption because all the other leaders were getting rich -- people like Ramaphosa and others who were on Mandelas A list. Zuma showed all politicians how to major on sleaze and now faces 16 counts of corruption, money laundering, racketeering and fraud related to a government arms deal in the late 1990s. Plus he has been charged with other corruption accusations including spending $24 million of public money to remodel his private home. With all this facing the former president, he will either go to prison or back to the presidency this year.

Premier Lekota acknowledged, Zuma did go to some of the other guys and said to them, This is what Mandela is doing. We must wake up and we must go for the money ourselves This is the same Zuma that posters and banners declare, Zuma is like Jesus! Im afraid not. Jesus was not a thief.

Lekota left the ANC to establish his own party, the Congress of the People, in 2008.

The nation is in turmoil as election day approaches with assassinations, unrest in the black population, and reports of coups in the works. Reuters reported on September 10, 2018, The ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Sunday labelled reports that top ANC officials, including former President Jacob Zuma and the partys secretary-general, were plotting in secret to unseat Cyril Ramaphosa as party leader as Shameless gossip. However, photos have been published with the alleged plotters together at a local hotel; but were they conspiring to oust the President or playing dominoes?

Obviously, President Ramaphosa is busy trying to stay in power and get reelected, but he has so many warring factions inside and outside the ANC, plus the murder for hire of wayward members and multiple acts of sabotage in many major cities. Everyone seems to carry guns or has bodyguards -- even low-level provincial (state) leaders. If one complains about the shoddy work done on a government project or publicly complains about political corruption, he ends up dead in a few days. Of course, the culpable politicians often attend his funeral and may even weep copious tears.

President Ramaphosa pledged to clean out the massive, malodorous mess from South Africas stables he inherited from former President Zuma, but thus far, he has only added to the pile.

Dr. Don Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives, who ran a large Christian school in Indianapolis and wrote columns for USA Today for eight years. Boys book, Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! Is available here. Follow Dr. Boys on Facebook at CSTNews and TheGodHaters, Twitter, and visit his blog.
When is a genocide not a genocide? When it is a "rolling genocide." When it is an ongoing but never finished extermination of a people targeted for destruction. When it rolls on, generation after generation. When it is too profitable to bring to an end.

In ancient times, most cultures offered sacrifices to appease or honor their gods. Throughout the Old Testament, the term "burnt offering" referred to the Jewish ritual burning of crops ("firstfruits") and the sacrifice of animals ("firstborn") as an offering to God. In older translations of Scripture, the word for burnt offering was "holocaust." Contrary to common belief, the word did not originate with Hitler's "Final Solution" during World War II.

Child Sacrifice Forbidden by God

Throughout the pre-Christian world, most cultures, Hebrew and pagan alike, included their own children in their sacrificial offerings. However, the God of the Hebrews ordered an end to this inhuman practice.

The First Final Solution

In the aftermath of World War II, the word "Holocaust" took on a much larger and more dreadful meaning: the systematic slaughter of over 6 million European Jews and millions of other "undesirables" by the Nazi regime before and during World War II. The word has become synonymous with pure evil.

What do these ancient tales and distant horrors have to do with us in these enlightened times? Everything. Simply put, this is the story of Planned Parenthood and the systematic extermination of an entire people through the destruction of their own children. Since 1973, more than 18 million black children of the 60.9 million abortions (31%) have been deliberately killed. By one estimate, the black population has been reduced by more than 25% since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.

Margaret Sanger, "Father" of Planned Parenthood

The ghost of Margaret Sanger casts a century-long shadow. Because of her enormous influence in promoting and implementing her humanist, anti-religious, probirth control, and eugenic philosophy throughout the United States and around the world, one biographer called her the "Father of Modern Society." From the beginning of Sanger's birth control crusade, she specifically targeted immigrants and ethnic and religious minorities, especially blacks, Hispanics, and what she once described as "the Catholic race." Sanger referred to these inferior races as "human weeds" and a "menace to civilization" to be segregated and sterilized.

Sanger's first birth control clinic was opened in 1916 in a poor immigrant section of Brooklyn, where she could provide her "services" to "immigrant Southern Europeans, Slavs, Latins, and Jews." In 1921, she founded the American Birth Control League (predecessor to Planned Parenthood). In the same year, she established another birth control clinic in Harlem, a predominantly black section of New York. She was careful to appoint an advisory panel composed entirely of black Americans, as were most of the staff.

Sanger's efforts at birth control, sterilization, and abortion have always been disproportionately aimed at minorities, especially blacks. In November 1939, her director of the South for the Birth Control Federation of America wrote a proposal called "Suggestions for Negro Project," which was designed to bring the "good news" of birth control to poor Southern blacks. He wrote: "There is a great danger that we will fail because the Negroes think it a plan for extermination. Hence, let's appear to let the colored run it." Sanger approved the project, responding: "We do not want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population."

In George Grant's exhaustively researched book Grand Illusions: The Legacy of Planned Parenthood, the author characterized Sanger's program this way: "The project was quite successful. Its genocidal intentions were carefully camouflaged beneath several layers of condescending social service rhetoric and organizational expertise."

The Never-Ending Final Solution

Arguably, the eugenic war on blacks and other minorities waged by the "evil empire" of Planned Parenthood is an evil well on the level of the Holocaust of the Third Reich. Hitler's "Final Solution" had an end point: exterminate the Jews once and for all. Planned Parenthood has been engaged in an ongoing partial extermination of our black brothers and sisters for a century, resulting in the slaughter of about 18.3 million black babies since 1973, almost one third of the 61 million abortions since 1973 and triple the number of Jews murdered by the Nazis.

These modern racial exterminators cannot totally eliminate the black population  and they do not want to  because this would eliminate their major revenue source. So they must maintain enough of a core population to keep the "unwanted pregnancies" flowing into their eugenic clinics to be stripped of their motherhood, harvested for "spare parts, and "weeded out" of the human family.

In the meantime, pro-life warriors keep begging their victims to come out of the extermination chambers before it's too late. But the new holocaust rolls on, generation after generation, an ongoing, everlasting genocide. A new Dr. Josef Mengele arises from the dead in the form of a butcher named Kermit Gosnell. And millions upon tens of millions of tiny innocent victims are sacrificed on the eugenic altar of Sanger.

And these butchers call us Nazis.
Catch and release is back -- in a big way. Illegal migrants are pouring in now, and borders are apparently non-existent at this point.

Here's the Daily Caller report:

ICE detainment centers have become so overwhelmed with illegal aliens that the agency has been forced to release over 100,000 migrant family members in the past three months. While speaking to reporters on Thursday, Nathalie Asher, a senior official with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, revealed that her agency has had to reallocate resources as it deals with a crushing surge of illegal aliens on the countrys southern border. ICE has not only been forced to reduce its activity in the interior of the U.S., but the agencys overcrowded detainment centers have released 107,000 migrant family members in the past three months, averaging more than 1,000 illegals a day.

The U.S. starting to seem like Europe, circa 2015. Remember those days when German Chancellor Angela Merkel pretty much invited the world to come to Europe ... and they did? The Daily Caller reports that only "some" are being released with papers ordering them to appear in court or ankle monitors - meaning, many are not. California's Gavin Newsom is pretty much inviting them, too - with his ever-increasing banquet of incentives for them to come to California for the benefits. And with ICE legally unable to hold these people - and probably unwilling to even try, given the negative publicity they get whenever a water-starved or disease-ravaged migrant dies on their hands (funny how the smuggling cartels who put the migrants in those conditions never get any negative publicity) - they're not even a human border, which is what Democrats have been calling for in lieu of an actual wall.

It's a loss of control. Who knows who these people are? As they roll into border city neighborhoods and shelters, no one knows their criminal records from their home countries - whether they are gang members, or the very people making life hell for the others who are also emigrating. No one knows whether they have education, language, or skill sets needed to prosper in this country. No one knows whether they are bringing in infectious diseases. No one knows what their values are - whether they would actually like it here and fit right in, helping to contribute to the country's prosperity, or would be capable of assimilating only into the underclass, unable to rise, draining ever more resources they never paid into, and seething at bitterness at their own failure as prosperity swirls around them.

And somehow, anyone asking questions about this is the bad guy, not the people breaking in freestyle. From the Democrats who offer the incentive goodies to illegals and even literally escort the illegals into the U.S., to the leftist judges whose philosophy is that it's never over until the migrant wins, to the Catholic bishops who call on the faithful to 'welcome the stranger,' evading the question of whether that stranger has any obligation to obey U.S. law as they seek to fill the pews or at least the church's NGO coffers, to the mainstream press with its endless addiction to one-sided migrant sob stories, the migrants have a large alliance of power pulling them in.

Now, it's a crisis point, not because President Trump says it is, but because it really is. It's likely not going to be over until every last Central American who wants to get here is here. And with conditions still unacknowledged to be a crisis, and the broad left showing all signs of actually wanting the migrant surge, it's going to be that way until a wall is built.

For those of us who still dream of laws meaning something in the U.S., that wall can't start soon enough.

Image credit: Global News YouTube screen grab
Like her rival Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Amy Klobuchar is out poor-mouthing herself as a identity-politics pioneer who rose up through inconquerable barriers and impossible discouragement as a woman, and for that now deserves the right to rule us.

Here she is speaking to Chuck Todd, telling us all how tough she had it:

Amy Klobuchar to @chucktodd: Oh, that's the Beto lineNo, I wasn't born to run for office, just because growing up in the '70s, in the middle of the country, I don't think many people thought a girl could be president. I wasn't born to run. But I am running.  Matt Viser (@mviser) March 16, 2019

It doesn't get more fake than that, given that Klobuchar grew up in the 1970s, back when little girls were being told rather loudly by Gloria Steinem and the entire establishment that they could be anything they wanted to be. I remember the era and not once do I recall women being told they couldn't do something ball ecause they were women. Astronaut Barbie? Little girls were playing with that back in 1965, four years before real men walked on the moon. Sesame Street? It was loaded with this type of talk - as it says itself, it's always been all about 'empowering' the girls. Give me a break.

Here's the observation of one Twitterer wise to Klobuchar and calling her out:

I am literally sickened by these people who are my age and pretend that being a girl the 1970's was like being a girl in the 1870's



I was there. We played sports, did math, and were REPEATEDLY told we could be anything we wanted, including the president. https://t.co/i8m74mi5VV  atomickristin (@atomickristin) March 23, 2019

It's fake as heck, and it calls to mind the same effort put out by Kamala Harris to try to convince us that she grew up in Bull Connor's Berkeley in the 1980s. Remember this fakery Jim Hoft at GatewayPundit spotted?

Harris said she was a student in only the second class to integrate at Berkeley public schools.

Kamala Harris: Two decades after Brown v. Board, I was only the second class to integrate at Berkeley public schools. Without that decision, I likely would not have become a lawyer and eventually be elected a Senator from California. Thats the power a Supreme Court Justice holds.

Theres just one problem  Everything about that tweet is a lie. Kamalas parents were successful professionals. Kamala went to school in Berkeley for only 2 years. She then moved with her mother at age seven to Canada where she attended grade school and high school. Kamala Harris was born in 1964 She claims she was only the second class to integrate at the Berkeley public schools. Kamala lied.

Actually the classrooms in Berkeley were already integrated in 1963  before she was born.

Heres a photo from the 1963 Berkeley yearbook.

The rest can be read here.

So it's kind of interesting seeing the same pitch for votes coming from Klobuchar, who seems, like Harris, to have had a fairly privileged upbringing in a broken home, in her case, in Minnesota. Both women in fact, went into law and then became well-known as mean lawyers, mean prosecuting attorneys, which isn't exactly an attractive resume-enhancer with voters. Klobuchar is known to be utterly nasty as a human being, running every office she's roosted in through "fear, anger, and shame." Harris has had significant ethical problems throwing innocent people in jail through false testimony, which ought to mean jailtime for perpetrators, but she went to bat to defend. She too, is quite the nasty attorney.

Now the pair of them each want to be president, running on an undifferentiated socialism platform, leaving only identity politics as the selling point. In Democrat-world, claiming victimhood is the way to the top of the heap, so each privileged and mean lawyer seeks to push her status upward by poor-mouthing her background. When there's nothing to poor-mouth, and only a history of sleeping to the top in Harris's case, the next best thing is to make something up.

Color those of us who remember the real world for girls in the 1970s and beyond disgusted. We all know what went down back them. These women are phonies.

Image credit: DonkeyHotey caricature, via Flickr // CC BY-SA 2.0
I'm a little puzzled. Is there any Democratic candidate for president who has an idea that doesn't involve a massive increase in federal spending?

Kamala Harris isn't one of them. Harris has proposed using federal funds to augment teacher salaries, proposing "the largest federal investment in teacher salaries in the history of the United States."

Washington Examiner:

"We are a society that pretends to care about education, but not the education of other people's children. And we've got to deal with that," Harris told the crowd of 2,400 people. "We are not paying our teachers their value... That ain't right!" "So I decided in Harris County today to unveil, to announce, for the first time publicly an initiative of what I'm proposing, which will be the largest federal investment in teacher salaries in the history of the United States," she said. "And I pledge to you that by the end of my first term we will have improved teacher salaries to close the pay gap because right now teachers are making over 10 percent less than other college-educated graduates." Harris reacted to anticipated criticism over how she intended to finance her plan, saying the question should be what is the return on the investment. "We have got to think about how we can bridge the gap between helplessness and hope," she said, quoting former President Lyndon Johnson who taught in Texas. "We have got to reject people that don't understand the importance of bridging gaps, and instead of building bridges want to build a wall that is a vanity project."

When asked how much, change the subject. And note that massive increases in federal spending are now referred to as "investments" - as if the cash expropriated from taxpayers to pay for these grandiose schemes were buying stocks or houses or something.

I think teachers should get every dime they're worth. Some are worth more than others - a lot more. Others should be fired for incompetence - just like any other employee who fails to produce. Merit pay for teachers would go a long way toward winnowing out the losers and rewarding the winners. But merit pay is an anathema to teachers unions who profit from keeping bad teachers on school payrolls.

Federal funding for teachers pay is a bad idea on several levels and Harris's idea to institute such a massive program is idiotic.
One of the weirdest features of our current age is the eagerness of many westerners to embrace a sense of guilt toward Islam, even as Islamic terror dwarfs the few instances of anti-Islam terror, such as the detestable massacre at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. New Zealand is a beautiful country inhabited by people who, for the most part, are very nice. (Still, when I visited Auckland about 30 years ago in business, my Kiwi hosts cautioned me never to go out on the streets after dark because roaming gangs of Pacific Islanders were robbing and beating white people at the time. I do not know if this situation remains the same.)

The Prime Minister of New Zealand donned a hijab. And she had plenty of company aming Kiwi females.

YouTube screen grab

Bill Muehlenberg is an American journalist and blogger living in Melbourne, who has been following the reactions to the mosque shooting in New Zealands government and media, and he calls the level of official support for Islam that has emerged there The Kiwi Caliphate. Some excerpts from his blog:

... one New Zealand book chain has pulled the best-selling book 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson simply because he dared to pose with some fan who had a t-shirt on which was critical of Islam. A private business is free to do what it wants I suppose, but the rank hypocrisy here is sickening. As has been pointed out, while Whitcoulls has ditched Petersons book  which has sold millions of copies and helped so many people  it is still happily selling Hitlers Mein Kampf! Consider also some political fallout from this. On Tuesday March 19 Islamic prayers were heard in the New Zealand Parliament in a further show of solidarity. Um, whatever happened to the separation of mosque and state? Recall that over a year ago New Zealand dumped any mention of Jesus in its parliamentary prayer. As one report said at the time: Mentions of Jesus and the Queen have been removed from Parliaments Te reo karakia, or prayer. A consultation period for the new karakia isnt over yet but the Speaker of the House, Trevor Mallard, has already adopted it, RNZ reports. Thats been causing concern amongst some in opposition, but Mallard says hell consider any feedback before a final decision is made.

www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/98742522/parliament-prayer-changesno-more-queen-or-jesus And on Friday Muslim prayers were broadcast around the nation with full, official government support and backing. Not only that but many schools were strongly encouraging their female students to wear a hijab in support. But I thought education in NZ was supposed to be secular? Many are now wondering if the aim here is the eventual Islamisation of New Zealand. If so, not bad, considering only one per cent of its population is Muslim. While Christians make up around half of New Zealands population, it seems they have nowhere near such influence. Are we soon to witness the establishment of a Kiwi Caliphate? And recall that the previous Friday various newsreaders for the evening news in New Zealand had donned the hijab for yet more solidarity and identification with the Muslim community. Wow. Talk about falling over themselves in an attempt to appease Muslims while effectively slapping the faces of those in the Christian community and other faith-based or even non-faith-based groups in NZ. And even more frightening was this recent headline: Hijab wearing police officers photo makes powerful statement in wake of Christchurch mosque shootings. I offer the photo of this above.

www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-shooting/111491996/hijab-wearing-police-officers-photo-makes-powerful-statement-in-wake-of-christchurch-mosque-shootings So we now have the leader of the country, schools, the media, and the police  and who knows who else?  wilfully succumbing to dhimmitude as they seek the favour of Muslims. That is a real worry. While these clueless wonders and dhimmi dupes are donning the hijab all over the West, in Iran we have a different story: Iranian Attorney Sentenced to 38 Years, 148 Lashes for Defending Women Who Removed Their Head Scarves.

www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/scott-slayton/iranian-attorney-sentenced-to-38-years-148-lashes-for-defending-women-who-removed-their-head-scarves.html

There is much more.

Hat tip: John McMahon
Pro-life advocates were heartened by an important victory for life in Ohio, with a federal court ruling that the state can deny Planned Parenthood free taxpayer money if it chooses.

You know, the choice thing. Choices that are supposed to be good.

Here's what LiveAction had to report about it:

Earlier this month, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling and upheld a 2016 Ohio law that rerouted approximately $1.3 million in state funding from abortion facilities (like Planned Parenthood) to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). As Live Action News previously reported,  Planned Parenthood successfully managed to get an injunction blocking the law, with U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett ruling that stripping the abortion giant of its taxpayer funding would cause irreparable injury.' The Sixth Circuit disagreed, with Judge Jeffrey Sutton writing, Private organizations do not have a constitutional right to obtain governmental funding to support their activities. The state has no obligation to pay for a womans abortion. Case after case establishes that a government may refuse to subsidize abortion services. Now, Ohio has followed through with its original plan and has defunded Planned Parenthood and other abortion organizations in the state. The Associated Press reports that the Ohio Department of Health notified recipients and contractors Thursday that it will end that funding within a month to comply with the law, unless the court delays the effect of its ruling as Planned Parenthood requested.

If the rich people of Planned Parenthood want to pay for abortions now, they can hit up their celebrity backers for the cash, the taxpayers don't have to shell out.

Which is rightly the way it ought to be. It's astonishing to think how long it's gone on that Planned Parenthood could be mining taxpayer dollars at the same time it was profiting from the sale of baby parts from aborted children's bodies. The grim message of that proves that the bodies are real enough in comparison to what abortion advocates claim to be 'blobs of tissue' and those bodies have become commodities exchangeable for valuable money. The whole sickening scenario effectively says: 'we like your parts, o aborted babies, we just don't want you. We don't want you alive to enjoy them.'

And as numerous pro-life undercover groups have demonstrated, it's big business.

Planned Parenthood would have you like it's mainly a grassroots group of ordinary women wearing pink t-shirts and marching in the streets. But besides financing itself on what's effectively the sale (billed as 'expenses') of baby parts, it's also a big celebrity fundraiser draw, with Hollywood's finest wearing their pins on their gowns and holding glitzy fundraisers with them. Harvey Weinstein, of course, donated tons of money to Planned Parenthood, effectively concealing his sordid casting-couch activities through political correctness.

These people have millions. And yet the insane idea of forking over taxpayer money to them to bankroll their sick baby-killing profession that no respectable doctor wants to get involved with - continues. They've drawn it for so long they've decided they're entitled to it.

Fortunately, one of the federal district courts said no. They may appeal it, but the court's reasoning is airtight and there's a conservative, albeit apparently wimpy and evasive, Supreme Court to take it to next. That doesn't put them out of picture for federal funds, though LiveAction reports that they stand to lose $60 million if all states act as Ohio did. They can still get what they want through the legislatures, and that of course would require getting the consent of the voters. With the reality of their racket coming out, good luck with that one, word is getting around.

Ohio has always been a cutting-edge state, and now it's led the way. To paraphrase one of the most famous Ohioans: One small step for life, one giant leap for mankind...

Image credit: Jay Baker at Washington DC/Maryland GovPics, via Flickr // CC BY SA 2.0
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told key Democrats in a conference call yesterday that she would reject a classified briefing on the Mueller report, saying the entire report should be made public.

Politico:

Three sources who participated in a conference call among House Democrats said Pelosi (D-Calif.) told lawmakers she worried the Justice Department would seek to disclose Mueller's conclusions to the so-called Gang of Eight  the top Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate  which handles the nations most sensitive secrets. The substance of Gang of Eight briefings are heavily guarded. Everyone pounded the transparency drum continuously, said a source who was on the Saturday afternoon call. Pelosi said it was her belief that the findings of the report should be unclassified, a consistent theme from Democrats who said they wanted Attorney General William Barr to share virtually every scrap of paper connected to the Mueller report with Congress. Democrats repeatedly compared their demands for transparency to Republican efforts to obtain intricate details of the FBIs handling of the investigation of Hillary Clintons private email server. GOP lawmakers succeeded in obtaining thousands of FBI officials text messages connected to the Clinton probe, as well as agent notes, internal emails and thousands of files.

It's an idiotic comparison - a talking point, not based in reality. In the Clinton case, the FBI was probing a domestic scandal, where some classified information - easily redacted - was available on an open network, easily hacked by outsiders.

The Mueller report is partly based on highly classified sources - some of whose lives would be at risk if it was discovered they talked to the FBI or CIA. In addition, there were almost certainly intercepts - top secret wiretaps and other intelligence methods used to get information from Russians.

Why does Nancy Pelosi want to expose our intelligence sources and methods?

During the conference call, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) both cited the Clinton precedent as evidence to support their calls for complete transparency. Things kind of unfolded very, very quickly yesterday. The primary reason for the call was just to rally the troops, Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.), a member of the Judiciary and Intelligence committees, said in an interview Saturday. While the special counsels work appears to be done, our work is not. Democrats conferred as they awaited a high-level summary of Muellers findings from the Justice Department, which top Democrats said they expected to be delivered to Congress on Sunday or Monday. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who is likely to get the first indication from Barr when a summary is being delivered, said he would notify colleagues immediately.

Pelosi knows full well that the initial report to Congress has to be delivered in a classified setting. Her rejection of such a briefing is an indication of just how desperate Democrats are. With the collusion narrative in tatters, they are casting about for anything that will embarrass Trump and further other investigations by partisan prosecutors in New York.

It may not be over for Trump, but anything Democrats come up with will seem penny-ante compared to the Trump-collusion story.
Noted anti-Semite and Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar travelled to California to address a fundraiser sponsored by the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and was greeted at the venue by more than 1000 protesters.

CAIR, an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation trial, where several officials associated with the Muslim "charity" were convicted of funding Hamas, would not allow the press to hear what Omar had to say and the event was closed to the general public.

Fox News:

Burn the Quran!," Ilhan Omar, go to hell! and Shame on you, terrorists!" were among some of the messages shouted outside a Woodland Hills hotel where the Minnesota Democrat spoke at a fundraiser for the Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) of Greater Los Angeles, according to a report. The town is about 25 miles northwest of downtown L.A. The protesters lined a sidewalk area, where they waved Israeli flags and denounced the freshman congresswoman over recent remarks that some have described as anti-Semitic, the Los Angeles Daily News reported. The atmosphere was a mix of dancing and music mixed with the vitriolic comments against Omar, the report said. Omar, a 37-year-old immigrant from Somalia who came to the U.S. with her family in 1995, has faced a storm of criticism from pro-Israel politicians and groups after her February tweet that said Its all about the Benjamins baby, in reference to the support that some U.S. lawmakers have offered to Israel. The freshman Democrat drew scorn from Republicans and some in her own party. She later apologized and clarified her criticism of the Israeli government.

CAIR isn't the only terrorism linked group that Omar has spoken to. According to the Washington Free Beacon, she also addressed Islamic Relief, a group with deep ties to organizations that support terrorism against Israel:

Islamic Relief has come under congressional investigation for what lawmakers have described as its efforts to provide assistance to terrorist group such as Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. The charity has been banned by some countries as a result of these ties. In 2017, Congress sought to ban taxpayer funds from reaching the charity due to these terror links. A representative from Islamic Relief declined to provide the Free Beacon with any material related to Omar's appearance. "The event was closed to the media. No materials are available," the official said.

Nice company you're keeping there, Illy.

I'd love to know the subject and content of her speeches at these gatherings. But many Muslim groups refuse to open their events to the press, probably because they don't want remarks made by Muslim public figures like Omar to be "misinterpreted." So when she accuses American Jews of harboring "dual loyalties" - just like Hitler said of German Jews back in the 1930s - we won't "misinterpret" those remarks as being anti-Semitic.

Even though they are.

Democrats better wake up. Omar is becoming one of the new faces of the Democratic party. Her strident anti-Semitic comments are likely to get worse as she feels emboldened by the lack of criticism from her own party. While it's true, some Democrats have called her out for her Jew hatred, others have either remained silent or actually agree Jewish money controls politics and the media.
The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources has pledged its support towards mainstreaming small water enterprises into the sustainable water supply mix in Ghana.



At the Seventh Annual Forum, dubbed: Beyond the Pipe, organised by the Safe Water Network (SWN), a Non-Governmental Organisation,

Mr Michael Yaw Gyato, the Deputy Sector Minister, said small water enterprises were an important part of the mix for sustainable water supply.



The experience from Safe Water Network has taught us that small water enterprises are an important part of the mix for sustainable water supply in Ghana, especially in peri-urban, small towns, and rural areas, he said.



The Ministry will work in partnership with the Safe Water Network to support its efforts in mainstreaming small water enterprises into the Ministrys overall strategy and plan for water services delivery.



Mr Charles Nimako, the Director of Initiatives of the Safe Water Network, emphasized the role of small water enterprises in delivering safe, affordable, and reliable water services, especially for the poor.



Combined with the efforts of other implementers, and with an operating footprint in nine out of 10 regions and reaching 1.1 million people in Ghana, small water enterprises have been proven, are replication-ready, and have a critical role to play in achieving the SDGs, he said.



We estimate that with an investment of US$106 million, we can reach approximately 3.2 million people in 1,000 communities with reliable safe water access.

Source: GNA









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Has President Obama finally been caught in the act? Was he in on the FBI's FISA abuse all along?

Townhall editor Katie Pavlich has dug up something pretty interesting from the trove of newly released emails from the ultra-chatty FBI officials Lisa Page and Andrew McCabe, noted earlier here. She writes:

Next, while Page and McCabe are refusing to clarify, it appears the Obama White House may have been directly briefed on the matter.

She cites this news report from Fox News as the indicator:

On Oct. 14, 2016, Page again wrote to McCabe, this time concerning a meeting with the White House.



Just called," Page said to McCabe. "Apparently the DAG [Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates] now wants to be there, and WH wants DOJ to host. So we are setting that up now. ... We will very much need to get Cohens view before we meet with her. Better, have him weigh in with her before the meeting. We need to speak with one voice, if that is in fact the case. ("Cohen" is likely then-Deputy CIA Director David Cohen.)



McCabe responded within the hour: "Thanks. I will reach out to David." On Oct. 19, Page wrote to McCabe that the "meeting with WH counsel is finally set up."



Neither Lisa Page nor McCabe responded to Fox News' inquiries as to whether the meeting was designed to brief the White House on the FISA application or some other matter.

Seems like the Fox News question was pro forma. Could such a meeting, a month before the election, back when Hillary Clinton was projected to win, have been about anything else? Would these deep-staters, lining up with their plot to frame Donald Trump, really have lined up as a group to tell the White House Counsel all about their FISA abuse during those electric times and then asked the man to keep the information away from the president? Would the White House counsel have taken in such a meeting and then kept the news to himself, despite his job description? Would Obama have been incurious about such an unprecented meeting?

Color me skeptical.

It very much looks like Obama was in on the plot all along, getting his briefings about it and smiling to himself. And as GatewayPundit has speculated, it certainly would have made sense from Obama's point of view:

What was Obamas motive? Simple, he knew if he did that for Hillary, hed own the next President of the United States, and could blackmail her with the truth till the end of time. It literally would have given him a 3rd and 4th term.

Which is pretty creepy, but also perfectly believable.

Obama, as it happens, has a certain style of governance that is above all characterized by meddling and interference. Here are a few examples from Obama's post-presidency that I wrote about a few days ago - Obama's little minions trying to interfere in the Jussie Smollett case, interfering for sure in the Roseanne Barr firing, and maybe having some involvement in the elitist college admissions scandal. They interfere like crazy because they are accustomed to interfering, sticking their fingers in every pie if it benefits them politically. Would Obama have benefited politically from some FISA abuse to spy on Trump and his advisors? Darn tootin' he would.

Which way down on the horizon raises some questions about whether there should be legal consequences for the illegal activity. If we don't want to see more of it from Democratic leaders, maybe there has to be.

Image credit: Pete Souza, The Obama-Biden Transition Project, via Change.org, Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0
Marysville, CA (95901)

Today

A few showers early becoming a steady rain overnight. Low 46F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

A few showers early becoming a steady rain overnight. Low 46F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a quarter of an inch.
The leadership of the Licensed Lotto Operators and Agents Association(LLOAA) said the Concerned Lotto Agents Association of Ghana (CLAAG) does not speak for Private Lotto Operators in Agents in Ghana.



The association said it solidly believes in the vision and innovative policies and programmes of National Lottery Authority (NLA).

The leadership said, members of LLOAA are responsible citizens of Ghana, willing to comply with the terms and conditions of the NLA.



A statement signed by Mr David Agyekum, Chairman of LLOAA and copied to the media said most of the Private Lotto Operators and Agents have willingly paid their respective license fees at various sums to the NLA awaiting validation and background checks.

It said private lotto operators and agents have no issues concerning the License Fee of GHC 1, 000, 000 and other relevant conditions set by the NLA in collaboration with Private Lotto Operators and Agents.



The statement said, LLOAA attention has been drawn to Concerned Lotto Agents Association of Ghana (CLAAG) led by one Kwaku Duah-Tawiah, claiming to be the Official spokesperson for all Private Lotto Operators and Agents in Ghana.



According to the statement CLAAG is not known to the Private Lotto Operators are not part of CLAAG and the Association does not represent the interest of Private Lotto Operators and Agents in Ghana.



It added that CLAAG only consists of two people namely Solomon Aboagye and Kwaku Duah-Tawiah, and these two are Not Lotto Operators or Agents.



The statement therefore urged the general public to totally ignore CLAAG as they have no authority to talk on behalf of Private Lotto Operators and Agents.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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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.
RTHK: Malaysia threatens EU jet boycott over palm oil

Malaysia may retaliate against an EU plan to curb palm oil use by purchasing new fighter jets from China instead of European arms companies, its leader said Sunday.

The Southeast Asian country is the world's second largest palm oil producer after neighbouring Indonesia, and recently threatened to challenge the bloc's plan to phase out its use in biofuels at the World Trade Organisation.

Both Malaysia and Indonesia have been at loggerheads with EU lawmakers over the crop's cultivation, which has caused rampant deforestation and destruction of wildlife.

In his strongest statement yet on the proposed curbs, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said his country could look elsewhere to upgrade its ageing air force fleet of Russian Mig-29 fighters  in effect abandoning plans to purchase France's Rafale jet or the Eurofighter Typhoon.

"If they keep on taking action against us, we will think of buying airplanes from China or any other country," he was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

But the premier said he was not "declaring war" on the EU as his country needed goods from the bloc, many members of which are among Malaysia's top trading partners.

Mahathir's remarks come ahead of a five-day international defence exhibition starting on Monday on the resort island of Langkawi, where representatives of global weapons manufacturers have gathered.

Any EU palm oil curbs could seriously hurt farmers who represent an important voter base in both Malaysia and Indonesia.

Both countries are struggling to spur demand in palm oil, which is used in everything from soap to chocolate.

French lawmakers recently voted to remove palm oil from the country's biofuel scheme starting from next year. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2019-03-24. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will on Monday, March 25, visit the beautiful Central Mediterranean Sea Island of Malta, at the invitation of his counterpart towards deepening relations to prosper their citizens.



The historic visit follows one to Accra by the Maltese Leader, Marie Louise Coleira Preca, last July, at which both presidents affirmed their resolve to strengthen the already good relations between the two countries.



President Akufo-Addos visit will give impetus to the Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation agreed between both nations in 2013, and shore up the prospects for enhanced cooperation with Malta, which has one of the fastest growing financial, maritime, aviation and manufacturing sectors.



Whilst on the visit, the President will hold talks with his Maltese counterpart at the Magisterial Palace in Valletta.

He is also billed to meet the countrys Prime Minister, Dr Joseph Muscat, opposition leader Adrian Delia, and the Speaker of Parliament, Anglu Farrugia.



President Akufo-Addo will witness, also, the signing of some six agreements on Medicines, Bilateral Air Services, Avoidance of Double Taxation, Fisheries Cooperation, Tourism and the waiver of visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and service passports, as well as address a business forum of Maltese and Ghanaian entrepreneurs.



Both countries, members of the Commonwealth Group of Nations (CHOGM), have firmed ties at both the bilateral and multilateral levels since the relocation of Ghanas Mission in Tripoli, Libya, to Malta in 2014, following the political crisis in the North African state.



Malta, a former British colony, with a population of 460,000 and a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in excess of 19 billion dollars with an estimated per Capita GDP of 41,900 dollars, has also established in Accra a diplomatic mission, its first in sub-Saharan Africa.



The countrys first High Commissioner to Ghana, Jean Claude Galea Mallia, presented his credentials to President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House last Tuesday.



Malta has one of the best logistics port administration in the world, with connection to 165 ports on all continents.



Many Maltese companies are already operating in Ghana, particularly in the textile and garments and services sector, with exports from those business concerns, especially ready-made apparels and clothing, ending up at high-end retail outlets in Europe.



President Akufo-Addo is expected to return to Ghana on Tuesday, March 26, 2019.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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$300 million of a total of $1.8 billion in investments are going into Orion Township, Michigan to produce a new Chevrolet electric vehicle. Too little or too late, you decide on that. The American automaker sweetens the deal by adding 400 new jobs to the Orion plant, which is great news considering how many plants General Motors is closing in North America We are excited to bring these jobs and this investment to the U.S., declared chief executive officer Mary Barra in Orion. This new Chevrolet electric vehicle is another positive step toward our commitment to an all-electric future. As opposed to Tesla or even Ford with the Mach E, the golden bowtie doesnt mention anything at all about the body style of the yet-to-be-named model.The announcement did include based off an advanced version of the same vehicle architecture as the Bolt , but thats not nearly enough. With the Hyundai Kona Electric, Tesla Model 3, and Nissan Leaf Plus out there in stock, General Motors has to come up with a trailblazing product if the higher-ups expect to profit on the Bolt-derived newcomer.Moving on to internal combustion, Flint Truck Assembly is in the process of adding 1,000 jobs. The Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant prepares to roll out the Cadillac CT5, and speaking of Cadillac, the crown jewel of General Motors will introduce a crossover-styledon an all-new platform.Investments are pouring into Lansing Delta Township and Romulus Propulsion too, as well as Spring Hill in Tennessee. More than $22 billion have been invested by General Motors in U.S. manufacturing operations since 2009, but what for? All of the automakers brands are discontinuing products over dwindling sales, and the EV revolution is still far from full swing. Come on, GM, you can do better!
A SAFER HOME  Authorities are preparing for another mission to relocate gray wolves to Isle Royale National Park from a second Lake Superior island, Michipicoten Island, to save them from potential starvation
President Trump has publicly boasted that he could beat any of his 2020 Democratic challengers. But privately, several members of the Trump campaign see a few who could pose a threat to his re-election, and are in the early stages of building out their strategy for attack.

The bottom line: The three candidates that seem to concern the Trump campaign most are Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Beto ORourke. That's in no particular order, and youll get a different answer depending on who you talk to.

Why they're worried:

Joe Biden: Several Trump advisers think Biden is best positioned to take back the white Rust Belt voters Trump carried in 2016 and make purple states like Michigan and Wisconsin far more dangerous for the campaign.

A guy who loves his guns and God is not voting for Kamala Harris. But he would vote for Joe Biden. Hes a lot harder for them to demonize, a former Trump campaign staffer told Axios.

is not voting for Kamala Harris. But he would vote for Joe Biden. Hes a lot harder for them to demonize, a former Trump campaign staffer told Axios. And despite what he says about Biden in public, Trump respects him the way he respects House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the former staffer said: He looks at Biden as that elder statesman, the guy that can connect to the working class voter.

about Biden in public, Trump respects him the way he respects House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the former staffer said: He looks at Biden as that elder statesman, the guy that can connect to the working class voter. Biden is the only Democrat who passes the commander in chief test which makes him appealing  particularly to swing voters, David Tamasi, former finance director of the Trump Victory Fund, told Axios.

who passes the commander in chief test which makes him appealing  particularly to swing voters, David Tamasi, former finance director of the Trump Victory Fund, told Axios. The other side: "Hes low energy, and if he wins the nomination all of the energy on the Dems side will deflate like a balloon, a Republican operative close to the campaign said.

Kamala Harris: Trump was impressed by Harris' massive crowd for her announcement event, according to White House aides. Some of Trump's advisers view Harris as a major threat because it's obvious to them that Trump hasn't figured out how to talk about her.

He's given her no nickname and has yet to even test-drive a line of attack. A Trump adviser told Axios: "It's going [to be] hard for the president to attack her and debate her" because Democrats could easily cast his attacks as racist and sexist.

and has yet to even test-drive a line of attack. A Trump adviser told Axios: "It's going [to be] hard for the president to attack her and debate her" because Democrats could easily cast his attacks as racist and sexist. "With Kamala ... I don't know what she does to the young, but more broadly to the African-American vote. If they come out in huge numbers that's a challenge," a Trump campaign adviser said.

I don't know what she does to the young, but more broadly to the African-American vote. If they come out in huge numbers that's a challenge," a Trump campaign adviser said. The other side: Though several aides admit shes a winner when it comes to identity politics, they also question whether she has enough experience and can sustain the momentum shell need.

Beto ORourke: Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee told Fox Business News last week that Republicans shouldn't underestimate ORourke. That is a view shared by a number of people in Trumps inner circle.

He doesnt have a long resume or a huge amount of experience, one Republican strategist said, but hes got the X factor that lets you capture the media narrative. Hed also be a generational foil to Trump.

or a huge amount of experience, one Republican strategist said, but hes got the X factor that lets you capture the media narrative. Hed also be a generational foil to Trump. I have personally been very concerned about Beto for quite some time, a Trump campaign adviser said. He seems to generate that liberal grassroots energy without being particularly in-your-face with his points of view. And he's charismatic.

about Beto for quite some time, a Trump campaign adviser said. He seems to generate that liberal grassroots energy without being particularly in-your-face with his points of view. And he's charismatic. If O'Rourke was the nominee, he would also force the White House to spend a lot of money in Texas, which they dont plan to do.

he would also force the White House to spend a lot of money in Texas, which they dont plan to do. The other side: Others close to Trump think the only reason O'Rourke was so successful in his Senate campaign is because Sen. Ted Cruz ran a bad race, the Republican operative said.

The runners up: Several aides close to the president said Bernie Sanders shouldnt be discounted as a formidable contender. "He is to the left what Trump was to the right in 2016, Tamasi said.

And while no one on the campaign thinks Elizabeth Warren could secure the Democratic nomination, some said shes high on their radar because they see her as a great campaigner and her jabs often get under Trumps skin. She can still do some damage, a former White House official said.

It doesnt matter who emerges from the Democrat convention in 2020, because that candidate will be beat up, low on funds, without a national operation, and saddled with the socialist policy positions demanded by the extreme left of their party," Kayleigh McEnany, press secretary for the Trump campaign, told Axios.
Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg's foreign language skills proved a big talking point on a campaign visit to South Carolina during which he opened up about his same-sex marriage Saturday.

A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted.

The details: The 37-year-old mayor of South Bend, Indiana, spoke of the personal impact of the Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage at an event in Columbia, saying his marriage to Chasten Glezman exists "by the grace of a single vote" in the landmark 2015 ruling, the Associated Press reports.

Buttigieg said doctors were treating his father for chemotherapy when his mother was told she needed a triple bypass, according to the AP. His husband was able to stay at the hospital with his mother while Buttigieg went to tell his father because Glezman "is a member of our family."

The big picture: If Buttigieg were to become the Democratic nominee, he would be the first openly gay presidential candidate from a major political party. Buttigieg also speaks French, Spanish, Italian, Maltese, Arabic and Dari, his campaign adviser Lis Smith told the BBC.

Go deeper: Pete Buttigieg says U.S. let down its guard on monopoly policy
Democrats are calling 2 Republican-led bills in Florida's state legislature  that require former felons to pay a range of fees before they can submit their votes  a modern-day "poll tax" that discourages voting altogether, CNN reports.

The state of play: After a statewide referendum passed in the 2018 midterms restoring 1.4 million Floridian ex-felons' voting rights, Republicans quickly retorted, describing the law as ambiguous. The state House Criminal Justice Committee passed a bill on Tuesday that would order felons to repay court fines and reparations, including "any cost of supervision or other monetary obligation." A comparable bill was introduced in the state Senate's Criminal Justice Committee with a vote anticipated for Monday. The proposed fees are expected to range from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars, according to Lisa Foster, the co-director of the Fines and Fees Justice Center, an organization that works to cut fees in the U.S. justice system.

Why it matters: The a flood of more than 1 million new voters could significantly impact Florida voting outcomes, which are already often decided by slim margins.
The Ghana Muslim Mission (GMM) has called on politicians to desist from using zongo youth to cause mayhem in the country.



Dr Sheikh Amin Bonsu, the National Chairman of the GMM, urged the youth, especially Muslim youth, to name and shame any politician, groups or individuals who made an attempt to use them for such acts.



Per Islamic teachings and human wisdom, you shouldnt allow yourself to be used for such acts. However, if Muslim youths fail to dissociate themselves from such acts, we will have no option than to come together to pressurize them to do so, he said.



Sheikh Dr Bonsu said this at a press conference, organized by the GMM in Accra, to condemn some wrongs in the society and recommend ways to deal with them.



He condemned the recent attack on the New Times Corporation journalists encouraged them to be bold and prudent in the discharge of their duties.



The law must deal drastically with anyone who attacks or tries to take away the independence of journalists who are important tools for promoting socio-economic development.



The Chairman appealed to all nations to avoid violence, terrorism, racism, extremism, murder and all sorts of hate crimes.



Dr Sheikh Bonsu called on security agencies, especially the Ghana Police Service, to be circumspect in the discharge of their duties and to avoid extreme use of force on innocent citizens.



We also appeal to all Ghanaians to be law abiding and appreciate the work of the Security Agencies, especially the Ghana Police Service, who are always with us on our daily routines, he said.



On the GMMs developmental projects, Dr Sheikh Bonsu called on government, politicians, and all Muslims to support its fundraising activities for the construction of a College of Education at Kukuom and similar projects in other regions.



The Ghana Muslim Mission is a non-political association of Muslims aimed at promoting the development agenda of the government and generally contributing to socioeconomic development.



It has over 120 schools nationwide as well as hospitals, technical and vocational training centres.

Source: GNA









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Hundreds of people gathered outside a Muslim-American civil rights group's Los Angeles fundraising event where Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) was giving a speech Saturday, the Associated Press reports.

The details: The protesters accused Omar of saying anti-Semitic remarks, according to ABC News7. Protesters held signs saying "burn the Koran," "Ilhan Omar go to hell," and shame on you terrorists" at the Council of American-Islamic Relations of Greater Los Angeles event, a Los Angeles Daily News Ariella Plachta said in a Twitter post.

"A mix of MAGA hats, Jewish community members and Evangelical pro-Israel types," Plachta tweeted.

A small group of counter-protesters displayed signs at the Woodland Hills event declaring "I stand with Ilhan." They told told ABC News7 the 37-year-old freshman Democrat was being unfairly targeted because she's black and Muslim.

A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted.

The backdrop: Omar apologized in February for using language perceived as anti-Semitic while criticizing pro-Israel lobby's influence. There was further controversy this month when she suggested lawmakers and activists who support Israel hold "allegiance to a foreign country." The House passed a March resolution condemning anti-Semitism and other bigotry. The resolution was briefly delayed and language amended amid concern it unfairly singled out Omar.

Go deeper: House passes resolution condemning anti-Semitism, other bigotry
Tens of thousands of New Zealanders gathered to rally against racism and other forms of extremism at a vigil honoring the victims of the Christchurch terrorist attacks Sunday evening local time.

The latest: In Christchurch, Alabi Lateef Zirullah, imam of Al Noor Mosque where 42 people were killed, opened the Hagley Park vigil with an Islamic prayer. "Whatever happens will never, never separate us. This is New Zealand, we live in Aroha," the imam told the crowd, referring to the Maori word describing love and compassion.
Bernie Sanders said Saturday during a visit to a Los Angeles mosque to honor New Zealand's terrorist attack victims Americans should "stand up to hatred of all kinds," the Los Angeles Times reports.

The details: The 2020 presidential hopeful said at a later event in downtown Los Angeles the attacks on the two Christchurch mosques "shocked and disgusted" him, according to the LA Times.

What he's saying: "As president of the United States, I will not have kind words to say about authoritarian leaders around the world who espouse bigotry and hatred," the Vermont senator told the 12,000-strong crowd. "Together we will make the United States the leader in the world in the fight for democracy and human rights."

Go deeper: Bernie Sanders: Everything you need to know about the 2020 candidate
The Supreme Court this week will wade back into a fundamental question about American democracy: whether partisan gerrymandering can ever go too far.

The big picture: State lawmakers have gotten a lot more sophisticated and a lot more aggressive about redrawing their states legislative districts to help their party stay in power.

"I think electing Republicans is better than electing Democrats. So I drew this map to help foster what I think is better for the country," the architect of North Carolinas 2016 redistricting process said. His plan is now before the high court.

Driving the news: The justices will hear two hours of oral arguments Tuesday: one hour about North Carolinas map and one hour about a Democratic-led gerrymander in Maryland. Rulings are expected in June.

Why it matters: Critics say extreme partisan gerrymandering undermines the basic premise that each persons vote counts equally.

In North Carolina, for example, Republicans won 53% of the popular vote in 2016, yet ended up controlling 77% of the seats in the state legislature  the exact breakdown they were aiming for when they drew their map.

The other side: The most interesting debate here isn't partisan, but rather a divide between voting-rights advocates and conservatives who argue that redistricting is a quintessentially political process and the courts should stay out.

Where it stands: The Supreme Court has never struck down a partisan gerrymander. It has never said a state legislature crossed the line in trying to secure a partisan advantage  in fact, it has never even said whether theres a line to cross.
By Trend

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov first met the Vice-President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, as well as the President of the Senate of Uruguay Lucia Topolansky and then President of the Chamber of Representatives Cecillia Bottino. At the meetings the intensification of bilateral relations between the two countries, in particular the role of the parliament diplomacy was highly appreciated. In this context, it was emphasized that the mutual visits of interparliamentary friendship groups of both countries make a significant contribution to the bilateral relations, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

Expressing their satisfaction with the development of cooperation in political sphere between the two countries, the sides highlighted the importance of this cooperation covering as well the economic, energy, transport and agricultural fields. In this regard, starting of importing the Azerbaijani oil by Uruguay was particularly stressed.

During the meeting Minister Elmar Mammadyarov gave information about the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the current status of the negotiation process of conflict settlement, adding that the provocative actions of the members of the Armenian diaspora in various countries negatively impact the peaceful resolution of the conflict. On the other hand, it was underlined that defending the interests of aggressor Armenia, not the country of their citizenship by these community representatives is hard to understand.

Senior officials of the Uruguayan Parliament stated that they understand the position of Azerbaijan on the conflict, and support the resolution of conflicts within the framework of international law.

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By Trend

Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Rodolfo Nin Novoa and held discussions on wide range of issues of bilateral relations, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.

At the meeting successful development of bilateral relations was appreciated and intention of further developping the cooperation was expressed. The importance of considering the existing opportunities for wide cooperation in economic, agriculture, energy, transport, education, culture and tourism spheres and taking concrete steps in this direction was highlighted. Minister Mammadyarov noted that Azerbaijan was among 5 largest oil exporting countries to Uruguay last year, which is a vivid example of develeopment of trade relations between the two countries. Minister said that some states of Latin America get access to Asia by using the transit-transport infrastructure passing through the territory of Azerbaijan and stressed the possibility for Uruguay to use these opportunities.

At the meeting Minister Mammadyarov informed his counterpart on the current negotiation process of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and noted with satisfaction the position of Uruguay on the settelement of the conflict based on internationa law.

On his turn, minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa expressed the interest of his country in further deepening of relations with Azerbaijan. Realizing the sensitivity of the conflict issue for Azerbaijan, Minister Nin Novoa said that the current position of Uruguay based on international law and documents adopted by international organizations will remain unchanged.

Minister Mammadyarov noted the mutually beneficial cooperation between Azerbaijan and Uruguay within international organizations and pointed out that the positions of both sides over numerous issues of international agenda overlap. He expressed his hope on the participation of Uruguay at the highest level at the Summit meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement to be held in Baku on October of this year.

It was agreed at the meeting to evaluate the cooperation opportunities between the Azerbaijan International Development Agency (AIDA) and Uruguay International Cooperation Agency.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev expressed condolences to the President of the Republic of Iraq Barham Salih.

"I was deeply saddened by the news of heavy casualties as a ferry sank in the Tigris river.

On the occasion of this tragedy, on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my deepest condolences to you, families and loved ones of those who died, and the whole people of Iraq.

May those killed rest in peace!"

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

Italy signed deals worth 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion) during Chinese President Xi Jinpings visit to Rome, Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Saturday, adding that the value of the contracts could rise to 20 billion, Trend reported citing Reuters.

Earlier, Di Maio inked a preliminary deal making Italy the first major wealthy Western nation to endorse Chinas ambitious Belt and Road infrastructure project despite worries amongst key allies that this could undermine Western interests.

Di Maio told reporters the government remained committed to its Western partners but said it had to put Italy first.

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By Trend

The US company Epsilon Development in partnership with the Austrian company Oberhofer Projektmanagement GmbH will invest 100 million euros in the construction of a new plant in the Angren free economic zone in Uzbekistan, Trendreports referring to Uzbek media.

The companies have already created a foreign enterprise "Steel Innovation Systems" to implement this project.

"The new plant will be engaged in metal galvanizing and the production of various metal structures. At the moment, the collection of baseline data and the harmonization of technical conditions. The design capacity of the plant is 50,000 tons of steel per year, and the company will create 200-250 permanent jobs," a source at Epsilon Development said, Uzbek media reported.

The plans include manufacturing products for the automotive industry, including the production of engines, construction of bridges and power transmission pylons, various fences, production workshops and high-rise buildings, as well as for the oil and gas sector.

"Modern, high-performance and world-class production facilities for processing metal structures and their protection against corrosion can meet the demand of a large number of national and foreign customers. Construction of the plant will increase the export potential, expand import substitution, create new jobs, and attract advanced European technologies to Uzbekistan," the source at the company said.

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By Trend

Turkmenistan recently took part in the 62nd session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna, Trend reports referring to the Turkmen Foreign Ministry.

The Turkmen delegation informed the participants of the session about the state policy in the field of countering the circulation of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and precursors, the report said.

The active interaction between Turkmenistan and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the Central Asian Regional Information Coordination Center and the International Narcotics Control Board as part of regional and national drug control programs was noted.

Turkmenistan is a party to three international conventions on combating illicit trafficking in narcotic and psychotropic substances, adopted by the UN in 1961, 1971 and 1988. Turkmenistan shares a long state border with Afghanistan, the territory of which, according to the UN, is actively used for drugs production.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
The Swedru Divisional Police Command has arrested and placed in custody, Peter Danso, a municipal guard of Agona West Municipal Assembly, who assaulted one Kwame on Wednesday for allegedly stealing money from a mobile money vendor.



This follows a social media footage of the city guard assaulting the young man, who was on his knees, booting him severally on the head, whilst people looked as they insulted and cursed the victim.



The video, which went viral, has sparked public outcry for the city guard to be made to face the law.



Superintendent Seth Yirenkyi, the Swedru District Police Commander, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the suspect was arrested on Friday per the orders of the Inspector General of Police, and that investigations were on-going to establish the facts.



He said Danso, who was detailed by the Municipal Assembly to collect tolls at a Lorry Station in Swedru, attacked the boy after a mobile money operator (name withheld) reported to him that Kwame had stolen his money.



The City guard in the video was initially mistaken for a police officer but the Police Administration, in a press release, denied it saying the offender was a municipal guard and that the case was being investigated.



In a press release signed by Mr Simon Tenku, the Assistant Superintendent of Police for the Director-General, Public Affairs, the Police Administration said preliminary investigations established that the victim was arrested for the offence by some civilians and municipal guards.

Source: GNA









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A large local oil producer has won a deadline extension from its creditors that allows it to avoid filing for bankruptcy protection after it w
THE Akufo-Addo administration has pledged to underwrite the medical costs of victims of recent accidents in the Bono East and Central Regions.



It has also reiterated its commiserations to victims and families of the two accidents that reportedly left more than 60 persons dead.



On Friday, March 22, 2019, there was a deadly accident on the Techiman-Kintampo highway, when two buses a Grandbird with registration number GT 5694-18 travelling from Garu to Kumasi and a VIP bus with registration number GT 3916-17 which were travelling from Accra to Bolgatanga collided head-on.



About 55 persons were confirmed dead, and 30 injured. A total of 35 out of the 55 who died were burnt beyond recognition and were given mass burial at Jema on Saturday, March 23, 2019.



Another accident occurred along the Ekumfi-Winneba highway in the Central Region involving a Metro Mass Transit bus and Yutong bus, reportedly leaving eight persons dead.



President Akufo-Addo, immediately on Friday, commiserated with the victims and their families and challenged the Police Council to regulate road traffic and to speedily implement the recommendations of the inter-ministerial committee set up last year to propose ways to deal with carnage on Ghanas roads.



Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and his wife Samira also commiserated with the victims.



And announcing governments intention to underwrite the medical bills of the victims to journalists on Sunday, March 24 in Accra, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said, Reducing road accidents in the country is a major priority for government.



He stated that it is the reason why agencies like the National Road Safety Commission and the Police MTTD continue to receive support from central government to address road safety issues and also to tackle the major factors that contribute to road accidents in the country.



According to the minister, Government is also reviewing the road traffic regulations to address some implementation challenges, as well as incorporate innovations in the management of road transport services.



He urged that we must also scale up road safety education and sensitization to ensure compliance to road safety measures, procedures, and policies.



Meanwhile, official data shows that from January 2019 to February 2019, 411 persons have lost their lives through road accidents, with 2,048 injuries.



The Road Safety Commission announced to journalists at the Information Ministry that steps were being taken to address the carnages.















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State Rep. Dade Phelan has already had one of the most productive legislative sessions in some time for a local lawmaker, but hes not letting up at the halfway point. Phelan had the motivation  and the honor  of being the House sponsor of an important bipartisan bill that will restore an important provision of the Open Meetings Act that was undermined by a recent court ruling.

Phelan, R-Beaumont, in the House and Kirk Watson, D-Austin, in the Senate have filed identical bills that would restore the so-called walking quorum provision of state law. Their bills (HB 3402 and SB 1640) would prohibit members of public boards from meeting secretly in small groups to discuss public business. Instead, board members would have to follow a practice that helps taxpayers keep tabs on them  gathering in posted, public meetings with a quorum, and then discussing the publics business in public.
If theres an exception to every rule, the Electoral College might be it for the concept of democracy.

It seems clunky and outdated, and five times it has resulted in a president taking office despite losing the popular vote. That just doesnt seem right, and no other political office in the country labors under such creaky rules.

But if you step back and think about it, there are some advantages to the Electoral College. Heck, there might even be some disadvantages to electing a president directly by popular vote.

The beauty of the Electoral College is that it forces candidates to campaign in more states, not just the big clusters of population on both coasts. Even then, small states like Montana and Wyoming are usually bypassed. Without it, states like Kentucky and Missouri might be ignored.

Thats just not right. This is the most important country on Earth. Its home to 326 million people, the worlds biggest economy and the strongest military. Ideally, the leader of it should appeal to a broad spectrum of voters, from farmers to teachers to techies. No system will guarantee that, of course, but the Electoral College does it as well as any.

In four of the five elections that seated a loser of the popular vote, the margin was relatively small. You could argue that the broader geographic appeal of the Electoral College winner was more reflective of the national mood. In 1888, Benjamin Harrison lost the popular vote by only 90,000 votes. But he had a big margin in the Electoral College, 233-168 over Grover Cleveland.

The 2016 defeat of Hillary Clinton is harder for defenders of the Electoral College to justify, because she won the national vote by the huge margin of 2.8 million votes. But her margin in just one state (California) was exceptionally large, 4.3 million votes. If you exclude California, Donald Trump would have won the other 49 states by 1.4 million votes.

Granted, you can play the same math games with Trumps totals, pulling out this state or that to give him a defeat. But his appeal, however you analyze it, was more broad-based. Despite getting trounced in the national vote, he won the Electoral College by a landslide, 304-227. Even though he won some key states by slim margins, he still won them.

In 2000, Al Gore came up short in the Electoral College by a razor-thin margin despite winning the popular vote. But he didnt even carry his home state of Tennessee, which would have put him in the White House. Thats rare, and it raises red flags for the losing candidate. Those voters knew Gore better than those of any state in the union. His father had even served in the U.S. House and Senate representing Tennessee. Gore was coming off two terms as vice president. He still lost in his own backyard.

None of this matters to defenders of the popular vote. To them its simple: Get more votes than the other guy, and you win. And theres a lot to be said for that. The concept of majority rule is ingrained in our republic, as it should be.

But the Electoral College has some benefits. Its also the system we operate under for presidential elections, and all candidates know that going in. Their game plan should be to get enough votes in the right places to win, since thats going to put them in the White House.

If they have to make a few more stops in cities or states they didnt plan on visiting to accomplish that goal, they are endorsing the reason we have an Electoral College.

Thomas Taschinger, TTaschinger@BeaumontEnterprise.com, is the editorial page editor of The Beaumont Enterprise. Follow him at twitter.com/PoliticalTom
An SDLP representative has hit out at the flying of Parachute Regiment flags in Belfast describing it as an "insult" to the families of those killed at Bloody Sunday and the Ballymurphy massacre.

The flags were erected in north Belfast at the junction of the Oldpark Road and Ballysillan Road sometime on Saturday. There have also been reports of flags flying in other parts of Northern Ireland.

It is in contravention of the flags protocol put forward by the Loyalist Communities Council which stated flags should be flown in a "respectful" manner and not in a way to be used for provocative purposes and only between June and September.

Sources in the area told the Belfast Telegraph they were put up to show "solidarity" with soldier F, who faces prosecution over the killings of two people on Bloody Sunday and the attempted murder of four others.

Carl Whyte, who is the SDLPs member of the independent Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition said whoever put the flags up showed "complete ignorance of the history of the Parachute Regiment in Northern Ireland".

He said residents in the area had been in contact to voice their concerns.

"These flags should be taken down immediately before they cause any further distress," he said.

I am calling on community leaders in the area to exercise their influence. I have also written to the Department of Infrastructure requesting their immediate removal."

Thirteen people were killed and 15 wounded after members of the Army's Parachute Regiment opened fire on civil rights demonstrators in Derry's Bogside on January 30, 1972. A 14th person died in hospital.

A number of unionist representatives could not be reached or did not respond to request for comment.

However, a source in the community said the flags had been erected to show "solidarity with Soldier F".

"People in these communities are angry that republican protagonists have been handed down letters of comfort whilst veterans lie in their beds at night waiting for a rap at the door."
Ghanaian broadcast Journalist, Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey Santana aka Abeiku Santana has expressed displeasure over governments decision to adopt French as Ghanas second official language.



Abeiku Santana opposes govt decision to make French a secondary language, heres why.



According to the media personality, the current education is in shambles as students already have issues with the English language and adding French will make it worse.



There has been an inconsistency with our educational curriculum. From 1987 that we changed our educational curriculum from the Middle School Leaving Certificate to BECE, what we call the Junior Secondary School, and later we change to, we change titles, the working titles of it but nothing changes.



We just change it from Junior Secondary School to Junior High School. I think that we are joking and toying with our educational system let alone to say that we going to make French a second language.



Even our first language, the English language is a big problem. You can go and check from the Ghana Education Service and the West African Examination Council performance of English, and even today as we speak, those who have graduated from University, their kind of English construction.



Why is that, even if you have a pass in English and want to attend some Universities outside Ghana, they demand TOEFL  The Test Of English for Foreign Language students, why, because the quality of the English we speak, they dont classify and consider it as the standard, that is why you have to write English test before admission into some Universities in the UK and in America.



So we are going to burden ourselves again with a second language, in which excuse me to say, it will be difficult for us to communicate with because predominantly we have over 26 ethnic tribes or groups in Ghana and we communicate in the local dialect, why cant we make our local language a number one or the first language, why?



If you speak English and you make mistake, hey, unheard of but we are comfortable when people are pronouncing towns, villages and names locally and they make mistakes, we are alright. We are losing our sense of pride.



It doesnt happen in East Africa. Go to East Africa, Swahili is the most predominant language. They speak it parliament. Go to Kenya and South Africa, they speak Swahili. Zulus also speak their language.



We are changing our language and very soon, we will have nothing show. I am sorry; I disagree with the Honourable Foreign Affairs Minister. If we are trying to please our French partners, we are not going anywhere, well not go any far with this, because we teach the kids French in school, they come home, they cant come and speak French with me because I wasnt taught French and I dont know when we are going to reverse this or when we are going to change this, he stated.



However, Abeiku Santana is not the only celebrity to be against this decision. The Rap doctor, Okyeame Kwame has also criticized the ministry for taking such a decision.









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Police described the shooting of a man as "vicious and brutal" describing it as demonstration of how those involved have contempt for their own communities.

The victim aged in his 50s was shot in both knees and police said the shooting bore the hallmarks of a paramilitary attack.

It happened just after 8pm on Saturday in the Ardmonagh Parade area in the west of the city.

Detective Sergeant Armstrong said they attended the scene after a report from the Ambulance Service.

"The man was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment of the injuries to his lower legs that resulted from the shooting, which is believed to have occurred around 7.55pm," he continued.

"This was a vicious and brutal attack at a time in the evening when families were going about their business. The very fact that whoever pulled the trigger thought it was acceptable to recklessly shoot this man in a built-up area where children and teenagers could be passing by shows the contempt they have for their community.

"The bullets could have strayed at any moment and hit someone passing by. This is utterly appalling and needs to stop."

The officer added: "Anyone who witnessed this shooting would have been petrified, including the victim himself. This is not what we want in our communities.

There is absolutely no justification for an attack like this in our communities, and we must all work together to bring those responsible to justice and to stop this from happening to anyone else.

If you were in the area of Ardmonagh Parade or Norglen Parade last night, or if you know anything about this incident which could assist us with our investigation please, pick up the phone and call detectives at Musgrave on 101 and quote reference number 1162 of 23/03/19."

"Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime."
Police have launched a murder investigation following death of 23-year-old Limavady man who was seriously injured in an attack earlier in the week.

Darren McGurk sustained a serious head injury in an attack at a house in Glenbeg Walk on Wednesday. He passed away on Sunday morning.

Police have charged a man with his murder and he will appear in court on Monday. Detectives have appealed for anyone with information or who may have an idea of the Mr McGurk's whereabouts or tried to contact him to get in touch.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter McKenna said: First and foremost, I want to offer my heartfelt condolences to Darrens family and loved ones who are struggling to come to terms with Darrens untimely death.

We received a report around 4.20pm on Thursday (March 21) that Darren had sustained a serious head injury following an assault at a house in the Glenbeg Walk area of the town the previous evening (Wednesday March 20). We believe this assault occurred around 6pm on Wednesday.

Darren was taken to hospital where he sadly passed away this morning."

The officer continued: "On Friday we arrested a 32-year-old man in connection with the assault and that man was subsequently charged with grievous bodily harm and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Following Darrens death this morning, the same man was further arrested and charged with Darrens murder. He will appear before Coleraine Magistrates Court tomorrow (Monday, March 25) for the offences of murder and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

I want to establish Darrens movements in the hours before the assault on Wednesday night (20th March).

Were you in touch with Darren, via text or on the phone? Did you see him that day? Was he with anyone? Were you in the Glenbeg Walk around the time of the assault? Did you hear or see anything that was out of the ordinary?

Expand Close Darren McGurk / Facebook

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I am also keen to speak to anyone who knows Darren and may have been trying to get in contact with him between 6pm on Wednesday through to 4.20pm on Thursday (March 21). This includes any attempts to contact Darren by mobile phone or on social media.

I want to establish an accurate picture of what occurred on Wednesday night so Darrens family know exactly what happened to their loved one.

If you have any information, no matter how insignificant you think it is please, pick up the phone and call our detectives in Coleraine on 101, quoting reference number 901 of 21/3/19. You can also call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime.
Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 24th March 2019 The scene at the City Hospital in south Belfast where an incident happened on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 24th March 2019 The scene at the City Hospital in south Belfast where an incident happened on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

The scene at the City Hospital in south Belfast where an incident happened on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

The scene at the City Hospital in south Belfast where an incident happened on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

A cordon has been put in place along Dunluce Avenue, and a substantial police presence can be seen near City Hospital. Pic Pacemaker

Police have confirmed a body found beside a car at the gates of Belfast's City Hospital was the cause of an incident at the gates on Sunday morning.

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An area close to the hospital on the Lisburn Road was cordoned off and forensic officers attended the scene from Sunday morning and into the afternoon.

A car was covered in a police forensic tent.

There had been unconfirmed reports of a possible shooting as well as a body found at the scene, however, police later confirmed they were investigating a death in connection with a crash in Castlereagh.

The Belfast Trust confirmed the incident had happened on its grounds, however, it said it would be for the PSNI to comment on the matter.

It remained business as usual at the hospital, however, there was disruption with entrances closed as they were within the police cordon.

By 2pm police had left the scene.

Belfast City Councillor Declan Boyle passed the scene on Sunday morning.

He told the Belfast Telegraph there was a large police presence along with forensic officers.

He said that while he could not be certain there looked to be someone inside the car.

In a statement on Sunday evening, Chief Inspector Michael Gregg said: "Just before 2.35am this morning (Sunday, March 24) we received a report of a single-vehicle road traffic collision involving a silver Mercedes on Ballygowan Road in the vicinity of its junction with Manse Road in Castlereagh.

"Police attended and discovered a car on its roof in an undergrowth area in the vicinity of the roundabout. Police located an injured man.

"Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS), who were in attendance, transported the injured man to hospital for treatment of his injuries.

"The Ballygowan Road was closed for a time, but has since re-opened.

"A short time later, at 2.55am, we received a report from the NIAS they had located a female on the ground next to a grey-coloured MG car in the vicinity of Belfast City Hospital on the Lisburn Road.

"Sadly, the female was subsequently pronounced deceased. A post mortem will be carried out in due course to establish the cause of death."

He added: "Our investigation is at an early stage, however, we believe there is a link between the collision on Ballygowan Road in the vicinity of its junction with Manse Road, and the discovery of the teenager's body. I have a number of appeals to make this evening.

"Were you in the Manse Road area/general Ballygowan area between 1am and 2:30am this morning? Did you see a car matching the description of the silver Mercedes? Did you witness the collision? Did you see any other vehicles in the time after the collision, including a grey MG?

"If you were on the road at these times, please think back to what you may have seen. It's important we can track the movement of the vehicle involved to help us establish what happened.

"I also want to appeal to anyone who was in the Belfast City Hospital/Lisburn Road area of the city this morning and saw a grey MG, to please call us. We need to know how this young girl was brought to the hospital, by whom and from where.

"If you have information about the collision, or the circumstances surrounding the death of this young girl which you believe could assist our investigation, please, pick up the phone and call us on the non emergency number 101, quoting reference number 227 of 24/03/19. I would also urge anyone who may have captured footage of the collision on Manse Road or of the a Grey MG in the area of the City Hospital to call us.

"Alternatively information can also be provided by calling the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."
PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 24/03/2019 A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. The built-in ATM machine was removed by a digger, which police suspect was stolen from a nearby building development. The thieves are understood to have loaded the cash machine onto a trailer before setting the digger alight and fleeing. The incident happened at Dromore Road around 04:05 GMT on Sunday.

A cash machine has been torn from the wall of a filling station in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh. Pic: Pacemaker

A retail body has called for an urgent meeting with police, banks and the construction sector and for a review of security at building sites after another stolen digger was used to rip a cash machine out of a building.

There has also been a call for police to up patrols in a bid to catch those responsible and prevent further thefts.

Glyn Roberts head of Retail NI which represents independent shop owners described the latest incident in Fermanagh as "disgusting".

A digger was stolen and used to rip a machine from the wall at a petrol station in Irvinestown in the early hours of Sunday morning. The building was extensively damaged, as too was the digger used.

It comes just two days after a theft at a Newtownabbey bank and what's thought was the remains of a cash machine found in a field in a burnt out van. There have been a spate of incidents over recent weeks leading police to establish a special taskforce to probe the thefts. Officers are working to see if there is a link.

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Retailers are concerned banks may opt to remove their machines potentially cutting off rural areas from access to cash in their communities.

Glyn Roberts said the growing number of incidents was now a "major concern, given that these criminal gangs are able to hit retailers and bank branches in every part of Northern Ireland.

"I will be seeking urgent clarification from the PSNI on the status of their investigation," he said.

"Retail NI will also organise an urgent meeting of representatives from banks, the construction sector and the PSNI to discuss this crisis. The security at building sites needs to be urgently reviewed, given the apparent ease that these gangs can steal diggers and use them in these attacks.

Unless these criminal gangs are caught, many rural areas of Northern Ireland could be ATM free zones which will have a negative impact upon consumers and rural communities.

It seems that ATMs are removed without any fear of culpability, which is not acceptable. Rosemary Barton

DUP leader Arlene Foster said the shop would have to rebuild and she would be speaking with police about catching those responsible.

UUP MLA Rosemary Barton said the ATM was "crucial" to the local community. She also called for a review at building sites and for owners of diggers.

"It seems that ATMs are removed without any fear of culpability, which is not acceptable," she said.

"These despicable actions have become all to prevalent over the past few months across Fermanagh and South Tyrone, it must be made a priority now for the PSNI to put more resources into trying to prevent such deeds," she said.

"Patrols must be increased during the hours of darkness and a greater effort made to apprehend and bring to account those responsible."

In the latest incident at the petrol station on the Dromore Road in Irvinestown, Co Fermanagh police said they believed the machine was taken from the scene on the back of a trailer and the digger set alight.

Detective Sergeant Brian Reid said: Thieves used a digger to remove the built in cash machine from a filling station on the Dromore Road at around 4.05am causing extensive damage to the building. We believe the culprits used a trailer to remove the ATM from the scene.

We also believe the digger was stolen from ground under development nearby. The digger was set alight at the scene immediately after the theft.

We are investigating whether this ATM theft is linked to any other recent thefts and I want to make a number of appeals today.

"Were you in the Dromore Road, Irvinestown area between 3.30am and 4.10am? Did you see what happened? Did you notice any vehicles being driven in a suspicious manner in the Irvinestown?

"If you have information which you think could help our investigation, please pick up the phone and call detectives in Omagh CID on 101, quoting reference 306 of 24/03/19.

"Alternatively information can also be provided by calling the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."
An Ulster Unionist MLA has claimed Northern Ireland schools are going to overshoot their budget by more than 30m at the end of this financial year.

Rosemary Barton said the Education Authority had informed her of a 32m deficit in budgets which comes after savings and additional income over over 10m added to the pot over the past year.

This is a wholly untenable and unsustainable situation," she said.

"The Secretary of State can no longer get away with just sitting on the fence and showing a total lack of concern  she must either force the establishment of a local Executive to get on with the things that matter most to people, or announce her Governments plans for the immediate introduction of Direct Rule.

Over the past year education leaders have sounded warnings of perilous finances. At a Commons committee last year head teachers said they were relying on the charity of parents for essentials. One teacher even said parents had been supplying toilet roll for his school.

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UUP education spokeswoman Rosemary Barton added: "Growing pupil numbers and year-on-year tightening budgets are combining to create a perfect storm. The pressures have been building from 2010/11, but have greatly intensified from 2016/17 onwards.

The revelation that our schools this year are 32m short of key funding also debunks the myth from the DUP that their arrangement with the Conservative Party has somehow removed the pressures on school budgets. Instead of the problems being fixed, theyve actually never been worse.

Schools in recent years have been desperately trying to cut down on costs, including by reducing the numbers of teachers and classroom assistants that they are employing. As a result, class sizes have inevitably begun to swell and that is something I know from my over 30 years in teaching will now only come to the detriment of the young people.

There is a major challenge in education funding right across Northern Ireland and its clear that the current model is no longer fit for purpose. Yet in the absence of a local minister or functioning Assembly the problem will only continue to get worse."

The Department of Education could not be reached for comment.
Snow and ice could cause problems

The road has been closed.

Follow the latest updates from our travel feed below

The Dobbin Road in Armagh has been reopend folowing an earlier crash.

Diversions are in place and traffic is being diverted onto the Vicarage Road, delays are expected.

Our live updates from across Northern Ireland are compiled by @TrafficwatchNI, @BBCNITravel and @PSNITraffic.
Leo Varadkar during his speech at the Fine Gael National Conference in Wexford (Patrick Browne/Fine Gael/PA)

The Irish premiere says he will work with Britain on Brexit, regardless of who is British prime minister.

Leo Varadkar was speaking on RTES Week In Politics on Sunday when he was pressed on rumours that Theresa Mays position has become untenable in her Cabinet, and that ministers are allegedly plotting to oust the Prime Minister.

Mr Varadkar said he believed Mrs May could deliver Brexit, but added that his cabinet has ensured the British-Irish working relationship was not dependent on Mrs May alone.

I think she can, but one thing I know, is that I should not interfere in internal politics in the UK, he said.

Whoever the prime minister is, we will work with that prime minister, weve made sure over the last two years we have very good links not just at prime minister-level and taoiseach-level, but also between Phillip Hammond and Pascal Donohoe and so on. Whoever is prime minister we will work with them.

It didnt have to be this bad, I think whats happened is the UK is now consumed with Brexit.

Even after they leave, assuming they leave with a Withdrawal Agreement, they will spend two or three years consumed about what the future relationship is going to be like.

We have to make sure were not consumed and defined by it, and my job as Taoiseach is to sure we limit any damage so we can get on with our ambitious plan for the future.

Expand Close Leo Varadkar and Theresa May during a bilateral meeting in Brussels (Taoiseach/PA) Press Association Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Leo Varadkar and Theresa May during a bilateral meeting in Brussels (Taoiseach/PA)

The Taoiseach also responded to reports that German leader Angela Merkel had pushed for a task force to deal with the border issue, which had put Ireland under pressure.

Im not under any pressure from Chancellor Merkel or anyone else on this issue, he said.

What Chancellor Merkel or President Macron would do is ask reasonable questions.

Im not sure what people think happens at European Council meetings. We dont go to have dinner, we have robust engagements, hard questions are asked and answered and we come to a consensus position and stand by that position.

Mr Varadkar also took aim at Mrs Mays political opponent Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and his Brexit plan.

Our Plan A is getting the Withdrawal Agreement ratified and that is still possible.

Plan B could involve UK changing position in the next couple of weeks, on the customs union for example.

Corbyns customs union is cake and eat it as well. Its a customs union but still with the ability to have state aids and so on.

The Taoiseach was also asked for his opinion on Ireland rejoining the Commonwealth after the idea was floated by a DUP MP at the Fine Gael part conference.

Its not something thats on the agenda at the moment anyway.
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The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall arrive to attend a church service at St Michaels Cathedral in Bridgetown, Barbados (Jane Barlow/PA)

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall ended their visit to Barbados by attending a traditional Sunday service.

Charles and Camilla joined the congregation of the Cathedral Church of Saint Michael and All Angels in Bridgetown, Barbados, before flying to Cuba.

The heir to the throne usually goes to church if Sunday falls within a foreign tour and the couple were joined by Governor General Dame Cecile La Grenade.

Expand Close The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have visited five Commonwealth Caribbean countries on their tour (Jane Barlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have visited five Commonwealth Caribbean countries on their tour (Jane Barlow/PA)

The couple were greeted by Bishop Michael Maxwell of the Anglican Diocese of Barbados before a fanfare announced their arrival to the parishioners.

The prince and duchess were joined by a number of their entourage who sat in the seats behind the couple.

The service was staged for Charles and Camilla, who were featured in the prayers, as were the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.

Bishop Maxwell asked God to endue them with thy Holy Spirit, enrich them with thy heavenly grace, prosper them with all happiness and bring them to thine everlasting kingdom.

Charles and Camillas official trip to Cuba will be a first by members of the monarchy and comes after the couples tour of five Commonwealth Caribbean countries where the Queen is head of state.

The prince and duchess will be joined by Commonwealth minister Lord Ahmad, showing the importance the government places in developing ties with Cuba.

Expand Close A meeting with Buena Vista Social Club will be one of the highlights during the royal couples trip to Cuba (Yui Mok/PA) PA Archive/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp A meeting with Buena Vista Social Club will be one of the highlights during the royal couples trip to Cuba (Yui Mok/PA)

Charles met Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel in November last year at his London home, Clarence House, when the foreign leader visited the UK with a delegation of senior ministers.

At a Havana recording studio, the prince and his wife will meet members of the Buena Vista Social Club.

The group became worldwide celebrities when their 1997 album became a surprise global hit and Grammy award-winner.

Other highlights of the Cuban trip will include the couple meeting the owners of the famous vintage cars still running in Havana, although these will be British classics.

After being welcomed at the airport, the prince and his wife will start their visit by laying a wreath at the memorial for Cubas national hero, the essayist and poet Jose Marti.
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall (Jane Barlow/PA)

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall fly to Cuba for an historic visit which will see them celebrate cultural ties between the UK and the Communist state.

Charles and Camillas official trip is a first by members of the monarchy and comes after the couples tour of five Commonwealth Caribbean countries where the Queen is head of state.

The prince and duchess will be joined by Commonwealth minister Lord Ahmad, showing the importance the government places in developing ties with Cuba.

Expand Close The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall during their tour of Grenada (Arthur Edwards/The Sun/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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There are no plans for the royal couple to meet Raul Castro, the brother of Cubas former Communist leader Fidel Castro who died in 2016, but they will be guests of honour at an official dinner hosted by the countrys president Miguel Diaz-Canel.

Charles met Cubas president in November last year at his London home, Clarence House, when the foreign leader visited the UK with a delegation of senior ministers.

At a Havana recording studio, the prince and his wife will meet members of the Buena Vista Social Club.

The group became worldwide celebrities when their 1997 album became a surprise global hit and Grammy award winner.

Other highlights of the Cuban trip will see the couple meet Havana owners of the famous vintage cars still running in the capital, although these will be British classics.

Charles and Camilla will end their stay in Barbados by attending a traditional Sunday church service at St Michaels Cathedral before flying to Havana.

After being welcomed at the airport, the prince and his wife will start their visit by laying a wreath at the memorial for Cubas national hero, the essayist and poet Jose Marti.
David Lidington has dismissed speculation that he could be installed as a caretaker prime minister under a reported Cabinet plot to oust Theresa May.

The PMs de facto deputy said he had no desire to take over the reins, as speculation of a coup amongst ministers reached fever pitch after a turbulent week for the premier.

Chancellor Philip Hammond accused those allegedly trying to topple Mrs May of being self-indulgent, while former party leader Iain Duncan Smith told ministers who

briefed against the Prime Minister to apologise and shut up.

Meanwhile, Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay warned that the risk of a general election would increase if MPs took control of parliamentary proceedings this week and brought about a constitutional collision.

Mrs May is understood to be meeting prominent Brexiteers at her country residence, Chequers, on Sunday afternoon, before convening a meeting of the Cabinet on Monday morning.

Among those reportedly attending talks in Buckinghamshire are ministers Mr Lidington, Environment Secretary Michael Gove and Mr Barclay, along with chief whip Julian Smith, and Eurosceptics Mr Duncan Smith, Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Dominic Raab.

The Sunday Times claimed 11 Cabinet ministers wanted Mrs May to make way for someone else and that Mr Lidington was in line to take over the helm.

But the Mail on Sunday reported ministers were plotting to install the Environment Secretary as a caretaker leader.

David Lidington, who has been named as a potential caretaker replacement for the PM, says he has no wish to takeover from Theresa May



Read more about the reported coup against the PM here: https://t.co/otgCB3QAae pic.twitter.com/flk5onMFl4  Sky News Politics (@SkyNewsPolitics) March 24, 2019

Speaking to reporters in his Aylesbury constituency, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster said: I dont think that Ive any wish to take over from the PM (who) I think is doing a fantastic job.

I tell you this: one thing that working closely with the Prime Minister does is cure you completely of any lingering shred of ambition to want to do that task.

I have absolute admiration for the way she is going about it.

Despite heavy criticism of Mrs Mays handling of the Brexit process and calls from members of her party to stand aside, the Chancellor insisted ousting her would not solve the problem.

To be talking about changing the players on the board frankly is self-indulgent at this time, Mr Hammond told Sky Newss Sophy Ridge On Sunday.

This is not about the Prime Minister or any other individual, this is about the future of our country.

Changing Prime Minister wouldnt help us, changing the party in Government wouldnt help us: weve got to address the question of what type of Brexit is acceptable to Parliament.

Mr Hammond also announced that Parliament would be given the chance to hold indicative votes on alternatives to the PMs Brexit deal this week, but said a decision had not yet been made on whether Tories would be granted free votes.

And, after hundreds of thousands of people marched through central London demanding a so-called Peoples Vote, he said a second referendum was a perfectly coherent position which deserves to be considered along with the other proposals.

Expand Close An aerial view of marchers supporting a Peoples Vote in London (Screengrab/BBC/PA) / Facebook

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MPs will be given the chance to seek to take control of the Brexit process from the Government if they back plans for a series of indicative votes when they vote on their favoured Brexit outcomes on Monday night.

Mr Barclay warned that if the amendment, tabled by Tory Sir Oliver Letwin, passes and MPs bring about a constitutional collision then the risk of a general election would increase.

He told BBC Ones Andrew Marr Show: What Parliament has done is vote for a number of contradictory things so we would need to untangle that but ultimately, at its logical conclusion, the risk of a general election increases because you potentially have a situation where Parliament is instructing the executive to do something that is counter to what it was elected to do.

Brexiteer Mr Duncan Smith told the same programme the last week in politics had been as close to a national humiliation as I think Ive seen.

Lashing out a dissenting ministers, he said: I think thats appalling, I think they should be censured and some of them should be sacked.

And the idea of a cabal, a cabal that never wanted to leave the European Union, turning out to decide what should happen over our future would be unacceptable to my colleagues.
An online petition urging the Government to cancel Brexit has passed five million signatures with 100,000 of them from Northern Ireland.

The Revoke Article 50 petition is the most popular ever submitted to the Parliament website, having leapt ahead of the 4.1 million signatures amassed by a 2016 petition calling for a second EU referendum.

The milestone comes the day after around a million people attended a march on Westminster calling for a Peoples Vote.

Read More

The petition has had the highest rate of sign-ups on record, according to Parliaments official Petitions Committee, adding over two million signatures in 24 hours.

By contrast, a pro-Brexit petition on the Parliament website which urges the Government to leave the EU without a deal has received 455,000 signatures.

In Northern Ireland, and as of 4.30pm on Sunday over 101,000 had signed the petition. The following had signed the petition in each of the 18 constituencies.

South Belfast: 13,038 of 112,544 constituents - 11.58%

Foyle: 7,831 of 102,099 - 7.67%

North Down: 6,013 of 90,111 - 6.67%

East Belfast: 6,178 of 93,974 - 6.58%

South Down: 7,147 of 110,456 - 6.47%

Lagan Valley: 6,012 of 104,621 - 5.75%

North Belfast: 5,528 of 103,115 - 5.36%

South Antrim: 5,080 of 100,745 - 5.04%

Newry and Armagh: 5,807 of 115,999 - 5.01%

West Belfast: 4,524 of 94,639 - 4.78%

East Antrim: 4,223 of 90,065 - 4.69%

West Tyrone: 4,311 of 92,055 - 4.68%

Fermanagh and South Tyrone: 5,186 of 89,025 - 4.65%

Strangford: 3,954 of 90,285 - 4.38%

Upper Bann: 5,085 of 122,099 - 4.16%

Mid Ulster: 4,083 of 101,724 - 4.01%

East Londonderry: 4,008 of 100,279 - 4%

North Antrim: 3,701 of 110,225 - 3.36%

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March in London. Pic: Yui Mok/PA Wire PA Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March in London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 23, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit March. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire PA Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March in London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 23, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit March. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire PA Independent Group MPs Chuka Umunna and Anna Soubry have a selfie taken with Tracey Ullman as they join anti-Brexit campaigners taking part in the People's Vote March in London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 23, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit March. Photo credit should read: Aaron Chown/PA Wire PA Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the People's Vote March in London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 23, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit March. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire PA Anti-Brexit campaigners in Park Lane before they take part in the People's Vote March in London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 23, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit March. Photo credit should read: Aaron Chown/PA Wire PA Anti-Brexit campaigners before they take part in the People's Vote March in London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday March 23, 2019. See PA story POLITICS Brexit March. Photo credit should read: Aaron Chown/PA Wire PA Anti-Brexit campaigners take part in the Peoples Vote March in London (Yui Mok/PA) / Facebook

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The Prime Minister ruled out halting the Brexit process when in Brussels on Thursday, telling reporters: I do not believe that we should be revoking Article 50.

On Sunday, Chancellor Philip Hammond told Sky Newss Sophy Ridge a second referendum was a perfectly coherent position which deserves to be considered along with the other proposals.

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The petition, started in late February, leapt in popularity following the Prime Ministers appeal to the public on Wednesday where she told frustrated voters: I am on your side.

It quickly passed the 100,000-signature threshold needed for it to be debated in Parliament, with the official committee revealing nearly 2,000 signatures were being completed every minute over Thursday lunchtime.

Expand Close The petition rose in popularity following Theresa Mays Downing Street speech (Jonathan Brady/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Data provided by the committee on the location of signatories was paused on Friday to aid website operations after the official website crashed numerous times.

In a tweet, the House of Commons committee said approximately 96% of signatories were from the UK.

The website requires signatories to tick a box confirming they are a British citizen or UK resident and provide a name, email address, country and postcode.

People have been asking about who can sign petitions. Anyone who is a UK resident or a British citizen can sign a petition. This includes British citizens living overseas.  Petitions Committee (@HoCpetitions) March 22, 2019

Many celebrities and MPs have tweeted their support for Parliament to revoke the Treaty of Lisbon clause that deals with leaving the EU.

European Parliament Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt described the latest signature figure as impressive.

Five million people signed the petition to revoke article 50. Impressive! #petitiontorevokearticle50 https://t.co/T5eT7fdz3Y  Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) March 24, 2019

Lets make the biggest petition in UK history even bigger. We can do a million today surely... https://t.co/xqF2I91Irv  Deborah Meaden  (@DeborahMeaden) March 24, 2019

Petition: Revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU. https://t.co/7SMmEI0YS6  Luke Evans (@TheRealLukevans) March 24, 2019

In reference to the number of votes made in the 2016 referendum, Labour MP Owen Smith tweeted: If it gets to 17.42 million, can we just stop Brexit?

Asking for a friend (16,141,241 of them).

On Saturday former Ukip leader Nigel Farage described the Prime Ministers Brexit policy as one of the saddest chapters in the history of our nation as he rejoined Leave-supporting marchers heading for London.

Mr Farage was speaking as he arrived at the start of the latest stage of the March to Leave, which began a week ago in Sunderland and is aiming to end up in London on the original Brexit day of March 29.

Mr Farage was greeted on Saturday morning with cheers by around 200 marchers, who had gathered in a car park of the Horse And Groom pub in the village of Linby, in Nottinghamshire.
Peter Tabichi after he was awarded the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize at a ceremony in Dubai hosted by Hollywood star Hugh Jackman (Varkey Foundation/PA)

A maths and physics teacher from Kenya has been awarded the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize.

The award ceremony in Dubai was hosted by Hollywood star Hugh Jackman, who performed songs from his film The Greatest Showman.

Jackman announced Peter Tabichi, a teacher at Keriko Secondary School, as winner of the one million dollar (756,000) prize.

The nine other finalists, including Britains Andrew Moffat, from Parkfield Community School in Birmingham, rushed on to the stage to embrace and congratulate their colleague.

Mr Tabichi said: Every day in Africa, we turn a new page and a new chapter.

Today is another day. This prize does not recognise me but recognises this great continents young people.

I am only here because of what my students have achieved.

This prize gives them a chance. It tells the world that they can do anything.

Part of the ceremony, which was also attended by the Earl of Wessex, included a video message from Andrew Lloyd Webber, who paid tribute to teachers all over the world and emphasised the importance of music education.

Lord Lloyd-Webber said: Teachers deserve far more praise than they often receive.

Today, as I fear we all know, education is under threat all over the world from funding shortages, lack of resources, and importantly, too few teachers.

This is particularly true in the case of music education, where many young people lack access to instruments, tuition and opportunities to perform.

The award marked the end of the annual Global Education and Skills Forum.
An online petition urging the Government to cancel Brexit has passed five million signatures.

The Revoke Article 50 petition is the most popular ever submitted to the Parliament website, having leapt ahead of the 4.1 million signatures amassed by a 2016 petition calling for a second EU referendum.

The milestone comes the day after around a million people attended a march on Westminster calling for a Peoples Vote.

MP Anna Soubry of the Independent Group shared a photo of the petition passing the mark, tweeting: This is serious!

The petition has had the highest rate of sign-ups on record, according to Parliaments official Petitions Committee, adding over two million signatures in 24 hours.

By contrast, a pro-Brexit petition on the Parliament website which urges the Government to leave the EU without a deal has received 455,000 signatures.

The Prime Minister ruled out halting the Brexit process when in Brussels on Thursday, telling reporters: I do not believe that we should be revoking Article 50.

On Sunday, Chancellor Philip Hammond told Sky Newss Sophy Ridge a second referendum was a perfectly coherent position which deserves to be considered along with the other proposals.

Expand Close (Philip Hammond/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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The petition, started in late February, leapt in popularity following the Prime Ministers appeal to the public on Wednesday where she told frustrated voters: I am on your side.

It quickly passed the 100,000-signature threshold needed for it to be debated in Parliament, with the official committee revealing nearly 2,000 signatures were being completed every minute over Thursday lunchtime.

Expand Close The petition rose in popularity following Theresa Mays Downing Street speech (Jonathan Brady/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp The petition rose in popularity following Theresa Mays Downing Street speech (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Data provided by the committee on the location of signatories was paused on Friday to aid website operations after the official website crashed numerous times.

In a tweet, the House of Commons committee said approximately 96% of signatories were from the UK.

The website requires signatories to tick a box confirming they are a British citizen or UK resident and provide a name, email address, country and postcode.

People have been asking about who can sign petitions. Anyone who is a UK resident or a British citizen can sign a petition. This includes British citizens living overseas.  Petitions Committee (@HoCpetitions) March 22, 2019

Many celebrities and MPs have tweeted their support for Parliament to revoke the Treaty of Lisbon clause that deals with leaving the EU.

European Parliament Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt described the latest signature figure as impressive.

Five million people signed the petition to revoke article 50. Impressive! #petitiontorevokearticle50 https://t.co/T5eT7fdz3Y  Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) March 24, 2019

Lets make the biggest petition in UK history even bigger. We can do a million today surely... https://t.co/xqF2I91Irv  Deborah Meaden  (@DeborahMeaden) March 24, 2019

Petition: Revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU. https://t.co/7SMmEI0YS6  Luke Evans (@TheRealLukevans) March 24, 2019

In reference to the number of votes made in the 2016 referendum, Labour MP Owen Smith tweeted: If it gets to 17.42 million, can we just stop Brexit?

Asking for a friend (16,141,241 of them).

On Saturday former Ukip leader Nigel Farage described the Prime Ministers Brexit policy as one of the saddest chapters in the history of our nation as he rejoined Leave-supporting marchers heading for London.

Mr Farage was speaking as he arrived at the start of the latest stage of the March to Leave, which began a week ago in Sunderland and is aiming to end up in London on the original Brexit day of March 29.

Mr Farage was greeted on Saturday morning with cheers by around 200 marchers, who had gathered in a car park of the Horse And Groom pub in the village of Linby, in Nottinghamshire.
14-year-old Georgia Bonnett, who went missing after last being seen at a college in Fife (Police Scotland/PA)

Police are searching for a 14-year-old schoolgirl who was last seen at a college in Fife.

Georgia Bonnett was last seen at the Adam Smith College at 1pm on Friday.

Officers suspect that the Kirkcaldy teenager may have travelled to Glenrothes or Leven.

She is 5ft 6in and was wearing a black bomber jacket, black leggings and black and white trainers.

Anyone with information, or who may have spotted Georgia, is asked to contact police on 101, quoting reference number 2161 of 22/03/2019.
The Scottish Government has been urged to ban fracking after the publication of a legal opinion indicating that it is within the power of MSPs to do so.

Ministers announced an effective ban on fracking in 2017, however a legal challenge was mounted by Petrochemical firm Ineos.

Following the challenge, a Court of Session ruling in June last year found that as a matter of law, there is no prohibition against fracking in Scotland.

A legal opinion published by Aidan ONeill QC now suggests that the Scottish Parliament has the legislative competence to pass a fracking ban.

It also indicates that doing so would be less likely to result in successful legal challenges from companies with an interest in the industry.

It is time for ministers to live up to their rhetoric and legislate to ban fracking for goodMary Church, Friends of the Earth Scotland

Friends of the Earth Scotland, who commissioned Mr ONeill, say that the Scottish Government must now act to definitively ban fracking.

Communities on the frontline of this dirty industry have been waiting for over four years for the Scottish Government to bring its long drawn out process on unconventional oil and gas to an end, Friends of the Earth Scotland head of campaigns, Mary Church, said.

It is time for ministers to live up to their rhetoric and legislate to ban fracking for good.

Eighteen months ago, the First Minister promised a ban on the industry, but last year the Governments position was exposed by Ineoss court case as having no legal force.

When it is clearly within Holyroods power to legislate to protect peoples health, environment and the climate from the fracking industry, continuing only to use policy levers would be a betrayal of the tens of thousands of people across the country who called on the Scottish Government to act to stop this industry.

Holyrood has a clear mandate from the people of Scotland to do so. If the present Scottish Government cares an ounce about its legacy, then we urge it to work together with the other anti-fracking parties to pass a law banning fracking and finally put this issue to bed once and for all.

A Scottish Government spokesman said that further assessments would be required before the finalisation of policy on the issue.

He said: The Scottish Governments preferred policy position is it does not support onshore unconventional oil and gas development in Scotland.

Scottish Ministers are entering the final stages of the policy making process on this important issue. The preferred policy position is subject to a statutory Strategic Environmental Assessment and other assessments before a policy can be finalised.

These assessments, which involve public consultation, are the latest steps in a cautious, evidence-led approach the Scottish Government has adopted in its policy-making process on this issue.

The Scottish Government does not consider new legislation is necessary to control unconventional oil and gas development in Scotland and the adoption of a strong policy would provide appropriate and proportionate means to regulate such development.

The practical effect of the current moratorium, and the policy-making process currently under way, is that no fracking or other unconventional oil and gas activity can take place in Scotland at this time.

It is time for the SNP to finally recognise the strength of the Parliaments will on this issueScottish Labour MSP Claudia Beamish

Claudia Beamish MSP, Scottish Labours spokeswoman for Climate Change and Environment, said: This is a significant development that adds some much-needed clarity to the fracking debate in Scotland.

The SNP told the Scottish Parliament in clear terms that it would ban fracking in Scotland, before they awkwardly backtracked on that commitment before Parliament and the court.

This legal opinion shows Holyrood not only has the powers, but crucially that a ban in primary legislation is the surer way to defeat future legal challenges.

It is time for the SNP to finally recognise the strength of the Parliaments will on this issue, and to take a concluding position to ban fracking in Scotland  no ifs, no buts.
Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, leader of the Prachachart Party, casts his ballot in the Thai general election in his home constituency in the predominantly Muslim province of Yala in the countrys far south, March 24, 2019.

There were no reports of insurgency-related violence and voter turnout was heavy as up to 1.3 million voters in Thailands Deep South cast ballots in Sundays general election  and notably for a party with strong local roots  officials said.

The Prachachart Party, a pan-Muslim party based in the border region near Malaysia, won six out of 13 parliamentary seats representing Pattani, Narathiwat, and Yala provinces as well as two districts in neighboring Songkhla province, according to unofficial Election Commission counts of votes.

The Democrat Party, Thailands oldest party that dominated the Deep South in the 2011 general election, won only two seats in Sundays electoral contest in the heavily militarized region, officials said.

Prachacharts leader, Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, the first Thai Muslim to serve in parliament and lead the Wadah Group, a coalition of southern Muslim politicians, was running as Prachacharts prime ministerial candidate in the election.

I believe I could win 20 seats in this election with the Prachachart Party. Pro-democracy parties nationwide will win and form a coalition, the 74-year-old party leader, who is better known as Wan Noor, told Benar News before casting his ballot at a polling site in his home province of Yala.

Prachachart, a newly formed party, campaigned on a platform of promoting peaceful religious coexistence between Muslims and Thai Buddhists, cracking down on drugs and finding solutions to 15 years of insurgent violence. Nearly 7,000 people have been killed in the Deep South since the decades-old rebellion flared up again in 2004.

Roadside bombings and other attacks by ethnic Malay armed separatists are a frequent occurrence in Thailands mainly Islamic far south but, for a day at least, things were relatively peaceful on Sunday.

The situation is good and I urge people to come out, as many as you can, Pattani Gov. Kraisorn Wisitwong told reporters as he cast his ballot.

Security personnel and electoral officials count votes at a polling station after polls closed in Narathiwat, a province in Thailands troubled Deep South, March 24, 2019. [AFP]

A native

Sukifli Ayosae, the deputy village headman in Yalas Yaha district, was among Wan Noors supporters.

The leader is a native. He can pray and go for the Hajj [pilgrimage] like us, and he understands our trouble, Sukifli told Benar. Other persons in the party also have experience in the Deep South. They know what problems people are facing and how to solve them.

Thawee Sodsong, a retired police colonel who serves as secretary-general of Prachachart, said his party believed in engaging with local people to find solutions to the conflict.

When violence occurs, the victims are women, children and innocents, so we need multiple parties to get involved, Thawee said.

Involving people and giving them a voice in helping to solve the violence is important, given that martial law is in force throughout the Deep South and allows the military to arrest and hold suspects without charge, he suggested.

I think it is hard to change laws that quick but we can stop allowing military to solely use [martial] law [P]eople should have involvement in the case of the militarys detention of suspects, Thawee added.

Sundays vote took place against the backdrop of Malaysia-brokered peace talks between the Thai military government and MARA Patani, a panel representing various southern rebel groups and factions in the negotiations. The talks have lasted nearly four years but led to no breakthrough.

Before politicians swung through the Deep South while on the campaign trail earlier this month, a local man and former BRN operative in the region, who identified himself only as Abdullah in a recent interview, said the insurgents had urged their sympathizers to vote for pro-democratic parties in the March 24 polls.

BRN, or Barisan Revolusi Nasional (the National Revolutionary Front), is the largest and most heavily armed of the insurgent groups in the Thai far south.

They want to make sure pro-military parties wont make it, Abdullah told BenarNews, referring to the insurgents.
A voter casts her ballot at the Phyathai polling station in Bangkok as voting opens in Thailand's general election, March 24, 2019.

Updated at 3:50 p.m. ET on 2019-03-24

Millions of Thais cast ballots Sunday in Thailands first general election since a military coup in 2014, as Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha sought to transform himself from junta chief to elected leader.

With 95 percent of votes tallied, Prayuths Palang Pracharat Party (PPP) had won fewer seats in the 500-member lower house of parliament than the Pheu Thai Party of exiled and deposed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, according to Thai media reports.

Still, Prayuth, a retired army chief who began leading the country after heading the coup, could end up winning the countrys top political office.

Late Sunday, Election Commission (EC) Chairman Ittiporn Boonprakong announced partial results by province but declined to give a tally of parliamentary seats. Updated results would be announced Monday morning, he said.

Anything else, you will hear from me and the secretary general tomorrow, Ittiporn said.

The Election Commission said turnout was at 66 percent among the 51.2 million people who were eligible to vote to determine the 500 members of the House of Representatives, according to Reuters news service, which cited commission estimates based on 90 percent of ballots counted. That figure contrasted sharply with nearly 87 percent who turned out for early voting on March 17.

Close to 80 political parties competed for House seats.

Pheu Thai had won 129 seats outright, compared to PPPs 98, according to the Bangkok Post, which estimated at 12:30 a.m. Monday (local time) that PPP would be awarded 19 party-list seats compared to zero for Pheu Thai.

Of 500 seats in the lower chamber, 350 will be directly elected, and another 150 party-list seats will be assigned based on overall results, under new procedures. In addition, the 2017 constitution allowed Prayuths junta-led government to hand-pick the entire 250-member senate who will vote with the 500-member lower house for prime minister.

Because he appointed the senators, Prayuth is expected to have overwhelming support from them, giving him a good start on the 376 votes  one more than one half of the House and Senate combined  needed to become the next prime minister.

Junta chief Prayuth Chan-o-cha casts his ballot at Phyathai polling station in Bangkok, in Thailand's first election since the 2014 coup, March 24, 2019. [Pimuk Rakkanam/BenarNews]

Prayuth, the 65-year-old former army chief of staff, has rebranded himself as a man of the people with an Instagram account showing him cooking, hugging elderly women and riding a train with smiling children.

The military has been doing everything in order to be able to extend its power. The way the constitution has been drafted  everything has been skewed toward helping the military maintain its grip on power, Umesh Pandey, a former MP candidate with the now-banned Thai Raksa Chart party, told BenarNews hours before the polls opened.

Leader steps down

Another former prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, appears to be the first political casualty of the election. The leader of the Democrat Party, Thailands oldest political party, announced his resignation following a poor turnout at the polls.



The unofficial results did not meet my targets in terms of the number of seats or being No 1. I must apologize to all Democrat supporters for being unable to push our ideology forward, Abhisit said. I must show responsibility. I'm resigning as party leader.

Meanwhile, Sudarat Keyuraphan, the leader of Thaksins Pheu Thai party, took a firm stance after voting.

We have longed for an election for so long, to exercise the right to vote for the country and for us all, Sudarat told reporters after she cast her ballot. I hope the election commission takes good care of the elections, counts the tally with transparency.

She went on to say the party receiving the most votes should have the right to form the government, the Associated Press reported.

Kings message

Leading up to Sundays vote, King Maha Vajiralongkorn issued a message citing a speech delivered by his late father in which the revered monarch said he worried about national security and advised listeners to prevent bad people from grabbing power.

Maintaining national peace and order is therefore not about making everyone good; its about supporting good people so they can govern and prevent bad people from grabbing power and creating trouble and unrest, the statement said, quoting a speech delivered to boy scouts 30 years ago.

Chumphon Phansuwan, 69, a retired civil servant, was among Bangkok residents who came out to vote early on a hot, sunny election day.

I want democracy, of course, that is why I come out to vote. I want the government to solve problems. The economy is bad, he told BenarNews.
Updated at 1:42 p.m. ET on 2019-03-24



A pro-junta party and the party whose government was ousted in a military coup five years ago were running neck and neck in Thailands election, local media reported late Sunday.



With 95 percent of votes tallied, the Palang Pracharat Party (PPP) and the Pheu Thai Party each won 140 seats in the 500-member lower house of parliament, according to the Bangkok Post.



Earlier in the evening, Election Commission (EC) chairman Ittiporn Boonprakong announced partial raw results by province but declined to give a tally of parliament seats thus far, drawing howls of protests from reporters on site.



Anything else, you will hear from me and the secretary general tomorrow, Ittiporn said.



The Bangkok Post tally combined directly elected seats and projected party list seats, which are assigned according to a complicated formula devised by the junta. The EC had earlier announced it would not calculate the 150 party list seats until results are certified in May.



Pheu Thai directly won 125 seats and netted 15 party list seats, according to the Post. PPP took 97 constituency seats and 43 party list seats, it said.



Those results could pave the way for incumbent Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-Cha to remain in office, if all 250 senators hand-picked by the junta vote for him. 376 of 750 parliament seats are needed to form a government.



But the senate membership has not yet been announced.



The new Future Forward Party led by young businessman Thanatorn Juangroongruangkit came in third with 87 seats (26 constituency seats and 61 party list seats), according to the Post.



Abhisit Vejjajivas Democrat Party came in sixth with 39 seats total, leading the former prime minister to announce his resignation as leader of Thailands oldest political grouping.



The unofficial results did not meet my targets in terms of the number of seats or being No 1. I must apologize to all Democrat supporters for being unable to push our ideology forward, Abhisit said. I must show responsibility. I'm resigning as party leader.



Analysts had projected a win in the lower house for opposition parties, but said a junta-led government was still a potential outcome due to electoral laws the military government put in place.



I insist that the party that receives the most votes has the right to form the government first, Pheu Thai party leader Sudarat Keyuraphan told supporters after polls closed, the Associated Press reported.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly gave the total number of parliament seats as 700.
In a talk titled 'Why your story matters', in the driving demand track of the fifth eCommerce Africa conference, attendees heard from Mike Joubert, founder of the Billybo Group. Dubbed a godfather in SA brands and marketing, he walked us through the virtue of storytelling and why it matters, while shedding light through examples from some of the greatest commercial stories ever told.

Mike Joubert of the Billybo Group, in action on the eCommerce Africa 2019 stage.

Don't underestimate the power of a story in your brand communication

A brand's value is merely the sum total of how much extra people will pay, or how often they choose, the expectations, memories, stories and relationships of one brand over the alternatives.

Make your brand more human: Tell people who you are

Joubert's summary slide at eCommerce Africa 2019.

You put your left brain in, you put your right brain out...

The future belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind: artists, inventors, storytellers, creative and holistic 'right-brain' thinkers.

Joubert is a master storyteller himself, who could easily have kept the audience riveted for more than his allocated half-hour slot through his engaging style - that's what any brand aspires to, but Joubert convinced us over the course of his presentation that with the right storytelling skills and passion for your brand and customers alike, anyone can become a better storyteller.Joubert presented just a sliver of stats, with the bulk of his presentation serving as an inspiration to relook at who you are as a brand, and how you tell your story.Despite or perhaps because of technological advancement, Joubert said to keep in mind themes of simplicity, as well as the power of relevance, and the necessity of including emotion in the stories you tell.After all, we've experienced but a tiny blip of the overall time of our 14bn+-year-old universe, yet throughout the rapid changes we've faced, history has survived from the simple tradition of telling stories around the fire.No matter the language, great stories work when there's an emotional aspect. To demonstrate this, we watched the following:Joubert commented that even if you have no understanding of the Turkish language, the ad works as the story is clear and served a purpose.Seth Godins definition of a brands value is one of the best Joubert has seen so far, but he admits that its easier said than done to start telling your brand story:We tend to want to tell people what we do instead of who we are.Joubert adds that Simon Sinek famously postulated the need to ask why, but we often forget to first ask 'who'. It's important to include this information on your website for customers to see, as well as in the form of a manifesto for any new employees to understand and buy into your brand story.This has never been more relevant, with Nielsen's three-year study on trust in advertising showing that young people (those under the age of 25) expect meaning when they buy from a brand and they relate their purchases to your brand purpose; its social capital.Think no further than Coca-Cola for brands that do this well - they aim to serve joy and happiness.But Joubert says marketing has become too important to be left just to marketers, and in most companies, the organisational structure of the marketing function hasnt changed since the concept of brand management first emerged. Many agencies now embrace specialisation to such an extent that the work becomes repetitive, so we all need to work harder to tell a new story that resonates, even - especially - if you're an existing brand.But it can be overwhelming. How does your brand's storytelling stand out, when so many brands are trying to do so?Joubert likens this to the 'left brain-right brain' business paradox.For the left-brain, the numbers of the business form the backbone of what you do, but the often ignored soft science of storytelling from the right brain is also crucial, as Daniel Pink explained in his book,That said, you need a compelling, emotional reason to change consumer behaviour. To demonstrate this, Joubert showed the following example of "a beautiful story on a taboo subject,", which emphasises the 'beyond the bottom line' idea that when times are difficult, you need to show youre not just in business to make money but also to convey positivity and change in the world.But Joubert wants you to keep the momentum going, as one effective ad isn't enough, the mind assimilates all your brand storytelling over time, to form an overall picture.Is there a clear narrative, beyond the copy? Is it short and simple and not just trying to tell but to also show?Remember that great stories don't have to have words and that design devices like hashtags are extremely powerful in brand communication as consumers can join in with your story.On telling B2B stories, Joubert said this form of storytelling is often at its finest as you get to combine functional selling in an emotional way. Just think of Volvo Trucks' 'Epic split campaign:Or how about this - super-effective and Super Bowl-size budget aside, it's a case of storytelling at its best:Joubert concluded that in honing our storytelling skills, we should engage with heart and convert with smart, especially if you keep in mind you're not just dealing with 'a customer' - that customer is a person, who wants to know your brand story. Tell it well.So decide on your brand's 'who' then find your 'why' and tell that story with gusto. Remember to watch the #ecommerceconfex hashtag for updates from the eCommerce Africa 2019 conference.
PR Newswire

LOS ANGELES, March 23, 2019

LOS ANGELES, March 23, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Carinsuranceplan.org has released a new blog post that explains how accurate are car insurance quotes online.

Find out more and get free quotes from https://carinsuranceplan.org/how-accurate-is-a-car-insurance-quote/

People rely on online quotes for a fair price comparison. Providing accurate quotes is of utmost importance for any insurance websites, be it brokerage website or an insurer's official website.

The info sent by the user can be processed really fast by rate calculators. In a matter of seconds, the user will be notified about price estimates and potential offers. Modern technology allows insurers to provide accurate quotes.

Quotes will be accurate and provide a realistic estimate only if the user provides accurate and honest info. Online quotes can be as accurate as the user lets them be. The user must also provide an annual mileage estimate. Based on this estimate, he nay get a low-mileage discount.

It is recommended to keep relevant documents near when requesting online quotes. This includes documents include the car paperwork, VIN number, license number.

Drivers who look for accurate quotes should use lengthy, complex questionnaires. A short questionnaire, with 4-5 questions may provide only a basic estimate. Although filling a form with 20 questions requires more time, the degree of accuracy will be considerably improved.

For more car insurance info and money-saving tips, please visit http://carinsuranceplan.org

Carinsuranceplan.org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc.

SOURCE Carinsuranceplan.org
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The Fabled GMachine



The R ReduX GMachine is a theoretical computing machine  a concept. GMachine can manipulate any data structure using any processing engine via any query or programming language. In recent years, there has been an explosion in the number and types of databases and file formats (data structures), a profusion of stream and batch analytic engines (data processors), and an ever expanding gaggle of programming and query languages (data languages). To date, these technologies stand loosely coupled, finding their union within the confines of every data engineer's domain-specific application. GMachine strives for a domain-agnostic integration  a universal distributed computing machine.

The Rise of the Data Space

Over the last decade, significant advances have been made in the "data space." This is due, in part, to open source foundations such as the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) which has curated a cornucopia of application-agnostic data technology projects. The ASF maintains 24 database projects, 49 data storage and processing projects, and while not easily determined from their listing, at least 5 query language projects. The modern day software engineer is able design and develop distributed systems that were impossible for the typical engineer of preceding decades to even fathom, much less bring into being. However, while sophisticated technologies are readily and freely available, the modern engineer faces a unique challenge  managing the integration of these technologies as their respective relevances ebb and flow in synchrony with the theoretical advances and subsequent open source releases of projects which are bred, in large part, within the major data companies such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Twitter.

"NoSQL" databases were designed and developed by experts in data storage, scaling, and availability. Unfortunately, for many of these projects, queryability was a periphery concern. These databases either provide a collection of language-dependent APIs (e.g. a Java, Scala, or Python library) and/or offer a simple database-specific query language with limited expressivity. While the user is secure knowing that their application will be fault tolerant and will scale beyond their needs, their code is insecurely intertwined with and fragmented by the database's various exposed integration points. Some of the application's queries are accomplished using the database's custom query language. Some of the more expressive queries require direct API access. Then there are those queries that are so compute intensive that they demand a custom "server plugin" to be deployed to the cluster (typically as a JAR file) so as to limit the movement of data between the cluster and the application. Consequently, the application's database code incorporates different data access patterns and thus, different types of test cases and maintenance procedures. The application is left tightly coupled (unnecessarily so) to the idiosyncrasies of the underlying database.

Historically, and through to today, databases have been designed for real-time, transactional processing (OLTP). Individual queries are expected to only access, filter, aggregate, and return a limited amount of data. This expectation ensures sub-second return times. For queries that access a significant amount of data, an auxiliary batch or stream processor is leveraged (OLAP) and the engineer is responsible for yet another data access pattern. A decade ago, OLAP processing meant integrating the monolithic Apache Hadoop project and managing the infrastructure complexities associated with its custom cluster-oriented file system (HDFS). Over the last five years or so, Apache Spark has risen to become a major player in the batch analytics space due in part to its in-memory processing capabilities and its simple fluent DSL. These two batch processors have reigned as the staples of most every data application. However, this is currently changing given the rapidly emerging stream computing space and its abundance of competing projects such as Apache Storm, Apache Flink, Apache Nemo, Apache Apex, and many (many) others. Application engineers that originally wrote extensive libraries of Java-specific Hadoop-based MapReduce jobs transitioned to using the more convenient fluent DSL of Spark and now are needing to study and integrate with the latest stream processor project. Integration not only requires writing custom data processing logic, but also requires developing bindings between the processor and the data source (database). All the while, with each passing year, it is possible that the engineer's chosen batch/stream-technology will need to be replaced as new processors emerge on the scene.

Every sufficiently complex language (i.e. those supporting some form of recursion, branching, and state) is considered universal. A universal language can express any computation that any other universal language can express. For this reason, it is generally believed that the universal SQL query language is sufficient for all data processing needs  from real-time database querying to offline analytics. Application developers have a significant burden lifted from their shoulders when choosing SQL-compliant data technologies. Their applications are no longer coupled to technology-specific APIs and query languages (save for an insignificant amount of "connection code") and their SQL knowledge naturally transfers to all SQL-supporting technologies. Unfortunately, few modern data technologies have adopted SQL. The primary reasons are 1) the underlying data structure is not conveniently manipulated using the table/row-semantics of SQL (e.g. MongoDB [documents] and JanusGraph [graph]), 2) the complexities of compiler and execution plan development are too difficult to implement for technologists not versed in language theory and 3) the originally provided APIs and/or simple query language have sufficiently engrained themselves in the user community via their documentation, tutorials, template projects, etc. With respects to (1), while SQL is a universal language, its semantics are not fit for all data processing tasks. In analogy to the numerous programming languages in existence today (with many atop the JVM), there will always be new query languages focused on succinctly expressing particular types of queries (e.g. graph traversals, matrix operations, time-series analyses, etc.). The modern application engineer can no longer sit comfortably only knowing SQL. Their skills and developed applications must continuously adapt to the changing APIs and query languages of the time.

Data technology projects will continue to be developed. There will be more databases, there will be more processors, and there will be more query and programming languages. The landscape will change, indefinitely. However, what is not changing (or at least is changing at a much slower pace) is the theoretical foundation on which these technologies are based. Category theory exposes the similarities and morphisms between data structures, stream theory unifies the semantics of both unbounded and bounded (batch) analytics, and Turing Completeness renders all languages of a certain complexity interchangeable. GMachine focuses on the theory of computing so that when the technology landscape shifts (as it ultimately will), it will be poised to capitalize on the latest advances. To the application engineer, GMachine is a computer. Much like hard drives (databases), GPUs (processors), and compilers (languages) can be swapped on a physical computer with the entailed effects being realized in the machine's time and space performance characteristics, so to does GMachine provide the engineer consistency through the constant flux of advances made in the data space.

Structures, Processes, and Languages

A data structure is an amalgamation of inter-related data. An individual datum may be a pointer, a boolean, an integer, a floating point number, a character string, etc. While these primitives are data structures in and of themselves, at the level at which most computing machines are manipulated, such primitives are considered the lowest level demarcations of distinction  they are the "bits" for creating higher order structures. As such, higher order data structures are simply different ways in which values are organized by pointers. This organization can be abstractly modeled as a graph, where values are vertices and edges are pointers. The relationship between different types of graphically-defined data structures can be understood using category theory. Category theory is a theory of form. A data structure can be demonstrated (via morphisms) to be a generalization of, a specialization of, or equivalent to some other data structure. For instance, a linked list can be graphically modeled as a linear chain of vertices each having a value() vertex and corresponding edge to the next() adjacent vertex in the chain. A map is a list of entry vertices each maintaining edges to respective key() and value() vertices. A relational database table is a list of maps. A row is a map with each key() denoting the column and each value() denoting the particular row/column-entry. A document is a (potentially nested) map of values, lists, and maps. Even within the graph space, where different representations abound, the various RDF and property graph formats can be losslessly mapped to each other. Thus, the concepts of a list, a map, a table, a row, a document, a graph, etc. are all simply terms referring to recurring value/pointer-patterns within the GStructure.

Reconciliation of RDF* and Property Graphs by Olaf Hartig.

Mapping Semantic Networks to Undirected Networks by Marko A. Rodriguez.

A data structure is manipulated by a process. A process is a list of instructions generally understood to be functions that transform an input (argument) to an output (result). Every process can be represented as a graph, where the vertices denote functions and the edges represent the communication channels (or streams) between functions. Data flows through the process graph, where the interconnected functions map, filter, aggregate, and ultimately yield a result. For instance, to access the the first element of a list identified by the id 1, the function get(1) is evaluated. The function next() maps the current list element to its adjacent element. Finally, the value of an element is retrieved via value() . The concatenation of functions is itself a function and thus, the function get(1).next().next().value() retrieves the value of the third element of the list. Recent theoretical advances in stream computing have unified the seemingly disparate domains of serial/parallel, local/distributed, and stream/batch processing. This generalization has been realized in Apache Beam's unified stream programming model. The concepts of OLTP, OLAP, real-time, offline, etc. now seamlessly blur into one another. Moreover, any stream processor whose process graph (execution plan) can be represented as a directed acyclic graph has been proven to support universal computation. From real-time database queries to large-scale extractions, transformations, analytics, and loads, all common data processing patterns can be realized as process graphs of the GProcess.

Streaming 101: The World Beyond Batch by Tyler Akidau.

Streaming 102: The World Beyond Batch by Tyler Akidau.

The Dataflow Model: A Practical Approach to Balancing Correctness, Latency, and Cost in Massive-Scale, Unbounded, Out-of-Order Data Processing by Tyler Akidau, Robert Bradshaw, Craig Chambers, Slava Chernyak, Rafael J. Fernandez-Moctezuma, Reuven Lax, Sam McVeety, Daniel Mills, Frances Perry, Eric Schmidt, and Sam White.

Stream Ring Theory by Marko A. Rodriguez.

A query or programming language is any human readable/writable language capable of describing processes that create and manipulate data structures. A compiler translates human code to an execution plan aimed at the specific API of the executing database or processor. To decouple the language (and compiler) from the underlying data technology, an intermediate bytecode specification can be used. Bytecode is a portable, technology-agnostic definition of a process graph. Language compilers translate human readable/writeable code to bytecode and then the underlying data technology translates the bytecode to an execution plan tailored to its API or query language. For instance, the 4-step list access bytecode function get(1).next().next().value() may be optimized to the single API call get[1][2] if the underlying database supports direct list access. Any language that can compile to the standardized bytecode specification can automatically execute against any bytecode-supporting database or processor. The application engineer can then choose a language to use based on their expertise, the types of data structures they plan to manipulate, and the types of algorithms they intend to execute. Moreover, using the same language, the engineer can execute both real-time database queries and long-running analytical jobs while remaining confident that the next generation data technologies will support (or will be made to support) the common bytecode specification known as the GLanguage.

The Gremlin Graph Traversal Machine and Language by Marko A. Rodriguez.

Apache TinkerPop's Gremlin by Apache TinkerPop.

The Grand Unification

Database technologies like Redis and Apache Ignite, stream technologies like Apache Beam, and language technologies like Apache TinkerPop's Gremlin and Apache Calcite are pushing for agnosticism in their respective domains. While not explicitly stated, their collective goal points towards a data technology that supports the processing of any data structure, using any processor, controlled by any query language. To date, no such system currently unifies all these concepts into a universal distributed computing machine. One machine that could accomplish this is the fabled GMachine.




MONTREAL - Police in Florida have launched a double homicide investigation after an elderly Canadian couple was found dead in their mobile home on Friday.

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This article was published 24/3/2019 (993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MONTREAL - Police in Florida have launched a double homicide investigation after an elderly Canadian couple was found dead in their mobile home on Friday.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office says neighbours of 80-year-old Marc and 78-year-old Rita Gagne discovered the couple's bodies in their home in Pompano Beach, north of Ft. Lauderdale.

The neighbours had become worried after not seeing the couple for a few days, and entered through an unlocked door to discover what police called a gruesome scene.

Global Affairs Canada says consular officials in Miami are working with local authorities to gather additional details.

CBC has reported the couple were from Saint-Come-Liniere, Que., about 120 kilometres southeast of Quebec City.

Neighbours in the Golf View Estates say the Gagnes split their time between the Pompano Beach area and Quebec.

-- With files from The Associated Press
TORONTO - The father of the man killed by a collapsed stage at a Radiohead concert in Toronto in 2012 hopes an inquest into his son's death provides a blueprint to avoid such tragedies in the future.

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This article was published 24/3/2019 (993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO - The father of the man killed by a collapsed stage at a Radiohead concert in Toronto in 2012 hopes an inquest into his son's death provides a blueprint to avoid such tragedies in the future.

Ken Johnson is fresh off a tour of the Office of the Chief Coroner to get his bearings before the inquest into his son's death begins on Monday.

"I hope the outcome of the inquest will identify any gaps that existed and create new guidance to make sure these things don't happen," Johnson told The Canadian Press in a phone interview on Sunday.

Scott Johnson, Radiohead's drum technician, died on June 16, 2012, when a massive scaffolding structure crashed down on him just hours before the British band was set to take the stage at Downsview Park in Toronto. Three others were hurt in the collapse.

About a year after the collapse, 13 charges were laid against the show's promoter, Live Nation, contractor Optex Staging and engineer Domenic Cugliari under provincial health and safety laws.

The subsequent trial was derailed when the presiding judge declared he had lost jurisdiction over the case given his appointment to a higher court. That decision led to a senior justice declaring a mistrial, and a new hearing was planned. In September 2017, those charges were stayed after a judge ruled the matter took too long to get to trial.

The development shifted the focus to a coroner's inquest, an independent investigation designed to bring public attention on the circumstances of a death, rather than to assign blame. The jury may make recommendations, which are not binding.

"The inquest is not about whether the engineer or the contractor or the promoter were wright or wrong, but what they can do to prevent it," Johnson said. "I'm still a bit worried that they will be defending or trying to explain the situation rather than coming up with methods to eliminate any doubt and come up with solutions."

Johnson, from the village of Doncaster, England, flew to Canada on Saturday. His wife did not want to come, he said, because she doesn't want anything to do with Canada.

"Life is different now, and as my wife says, I'm as good as it gets," he said.

Scott Johnson's head was crushed, his skull fractured and his brain pressured when the scaffolding fell on him, his father said. And though his son was killed instantly, the pain of the loss "doesn't go away" for him and his wife.

"They say time heals, but it doesn't appear to be. You can't deal with things as you would have done (in the past)," he said.

The couple have struggled since their son died, said Johnson. They've both dealt with depression, with his wife still on medication to treat her mood seven years later. At 67, Johnson still works, ironically, as a scaffolding inspector. The work keeps his mind busy.

"It's when we're alone and quiet that it hurts," he said, choking back tears. "We used to holiday in Greece, the beach during the day and the bar at night, but we can't sit on a beach now. We've not been for seven years now. You can't sit still because your mind comes to Scott."

He said they no longer spend much time at their village's pub, because they became known as the couple who lost their son, rather than the couple whose son was part of the Radiohead team. And while Johnson still cries whenever he talks about his son, he refuses to stay quiet.

"We talked about him all the time when he was here, so we should still talk about him all the time," he said.

"We think we're OK. We're not going to jump off a bridge and we're not yet in the crazy house."

Of course they long to see their son, if only for a moment. A few weeks ago the couple were talking about their boy and Johnson's wife said she wished she could hold her son's hand at the end of his life and continue to hold it into the afterlife.

"You don't wish your life away, but to some degree, I understand what she's saying," Johnson said.
An online auction for a luxury home in Abbotsford, B.C., is drawing attention for its novel approach, which some observers say has potential to inspire new sales even if it doesn't have any notable impact on the housing landscape.

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This article was published 24/3/2019 (993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A house at 39623 Old Yale Road in Abbotsford, B.C. is shown in a handout photo. An online auction for a luxury home in nearby Abbotsford, B.C., is drawing attention for its novel approach, which some observers say has potential to inspire new sales even if it doesn't have any notable impact on the housing landscape. Bidding opens Tuesday on the 12-bedroom, 10-bath restored train power station listed as the "Sumas Powerhouse," which previously sold for $5 million. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Concierge Auctions MANDATORY CREDIT

An online auction for a luxury home in Abbotsford, B.C., is drawing attention for its novel approach, which some observers say has potential to inspire new sales even if it doesn't have any notable impact on the housing landscape.

Bidding opens Tuesday on the 12-bedroom, 10-bath restored train power station known as the "Sumas Powerhouse," which was previously listed for $5 million and has an assessed value of $2.2 million on B.C. Assessment.

It's one of three properties in Canada listed on global firm Concierge Auction's website. A news release says it's targeting Chinese buyers and will be sold in co-operation with Re/Max.

Scott Pate, a project sales manager with Concierge, said luxury real estate has been a buyers market for quite some time in both the United States and Canada and auctions are a way to give sellers more certainty.

"We'll bring the market to this sale instead of the normal way of selling real estate, which is putting it on the market and waiting for an offer, which could take years and years," he said.

"The market is motivated because there's a fear of missing out. This auction is going to end on a certain day ... so it creates a lot of interest."

Real estate auctions are typical in Australia and New Zealand, but the model is less common in Canada.

A real estate agent in Victoria tried the in-person auction approach in 2016 with a property in the city's upscale Rockland neighbourhood, holding a public auction featuring a pianist playing a grand piano in the ballroom at the event.

But local media reported that although 60 people filled the room, only one was an interested buyer so the auction was cancelled. In 2017, the B.C. Supreme Court accepted a $1.8-million offer for the historic mansion in foreclosure.

Tom Davidoff, director of the University of British Columbia's Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate, said online auctions aren't all that different from the way we buy and sell homes traditionally in Canada, especially in cases where there are multiple interested buyers and a bidding war.

That could make it comfortable for Canadian buyers to transition to the model.

"It certainly could be a direction the market could go. In segments where the market is slow today, people will try different approaches to move product, so it's certainly possible," he said.

But beyond creating another way for potential buyers to bid, he said he doesn't believe there will be an impact on the market in terms of housing prices or competition.

"This will have no impact on the market overall," Davidoff said.

In Toronto, On the Block sells real estate both the traditional way and through its online auction platform but doesn't focus on luxury sales.

Co-founder Daniel Steinfeld said online auctions offer a way around some of the frustrations that come with silent bidding wars under the traditional system.

As part of the company's model, buyers must sign agreements to make the value of their bids public while their identities remain protected. Real estate board regulations otherwise prohibit real estate agents from disclosing the substance of competing bids.

"Buyers, especially in the Toronto and Vancouver markets, have grown pretty frustrated with the blind bidding approach," he said.

The platform also allows the company to post more information than might be available through MLS listings, like copies of home inspections and agreements of purchase and sale, which makes it less likely for a sale to fall through.

The most important factor in a successful real estate auction is the starting price, which can inspire competitive bids, Steinfeld said. So when identifying potential properties for auction, the company interviews the sellers to determine their objectives and market expectations.

If the seller has unreasonable expectations about the market value of their property, it's probably not the right fit for auction.

Market conditions matter less, he said.

"We have seen in both good and bad market conditions that it can work, it really just comes down to the appropriate pricing strategy," Steinfeld said.

Auction properties are typically first-time listings and the company sets a reserve price, which represents the minimum value at which the seller is obligated to sell.

"Once bidding reaches that number, everyone knows for sure that property will sell," he said.

"Then everyone starts to bid quit a bit more because they know at that point that if they win, it's theirs."
OTTAWA - The prime minister's bureaucrats are hoarding a trove of decades-old records that chronicle Canada's Cold War intelligence history, say security researchers who are pushing to make the files publicly accessible.

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This article was published 24/3/2019 (993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In this May 17, 1961 file photo, U.S. President John Kennedy and Prime Minister John Diefenbaker meet to begin talks on U.S. and Canadian problems in Ottawa, Canada. The prime minister's bureaucrats are hoarding a trove of decades-old records that chronicle Canada's Cold War intelligence history, say security researchers who are pushing to make the files publicly accessible. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP Photo

OTTAWA - The prime minister's bureaucrats are hoarding a trove of decades-old records that chronicle Canada's Cold War intelligence history, say security researchers who are pushing to make the files publicly accessible.

They're puzzled as to why the Privy Council Office has not handed the extensive collection  which touches on everything from Iron Curtain defectors to possible Soviet invasion  to Library and Archives Canada for preservation and public release.

"I think Canadians have a right to understand their history," said Alan Barnes, a senior fellow at the Centre for Security, Intelligence and Defence Studies at Carleton University's Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. "To allow the government to hide this history away for their own convenience, it defeats the whole purpose of having an archival system."

Barnes cites the importance of government transparency in urging people to sign an online parliamentary petition to the prime minister aimed at ensuring people will be able to see the documents.

He became aware of the records while serving in the Privy Council Office's intelligence-assessment secretariat, where he worked from 1993 until his retirement in 2011.

The records were invaluable to historian Wesley Wark when he was asked in the late 1990s to write a classified history of the Canadian intelligence system in the decades following the Second World War.

A draft of the book-length study was disclosed through the Access to Information Act in 2005, though considerable portions  including an entire chapter  were deemed too sensitive to release.

Wark's project provided some unusual glimpses of Canada's post-war intelligence efforts.

The study revealed that Ottawa accepted some 30 defectors from Soviet and Communist Bloc diplomatic and consular missions between 1945 and 1952, and that Canadian spies secretly analyzed Soviet movies during the Cold War in the hope of gleaning useful intelligence.

Barnes has recently made requests under the federal access law for various records in the Privy Council archive, but has largely been met with delays and denials, prompting him to lodge complaints with the information commissioner.

Many of the old paper documents are of great historical significance but have not been preserved or handled properly, said Wark, who teaches at the University of Ottawa. "They sit moldering away."

The Privy Council Office was never meant to serve as a perpetual archive of important documents and none of these records has "any conceivable contemporary operational use," Wark said. "But PCO has guarded them as a fortress and constructed impenetrable walls to any researcher brave enough to tackle Canada's access legislation."

Privy Council Office spokesman Stephane Shank said the agency is reviewing records to ensure classified information is not improperly released before transferring them to Library and Archives.

The review includes more than 8,000 pages of minutes and other documents related to federal cabinet papers, including some documents from the security archive, Shank added. However, he did not say what would become of the many remaining intelligence records in the archive.

https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-2025, has been signed by over 200 people. It requires 500 signatures by June 11 to receive certification for presentation to the House of Commons.

"The petition offers the right solution," Wark said. "PCO must let go its iron grip on these records and transfer them to Library and Archives Canada where they can be properly preserved, indexed and made available to future generations of researchers."

 Follow @JimBronskill on Twitter
OTTAWA - Two weeks after Serhii Kniaziev's military career ended, the Iron Curtain fell, the Soviet Union crumbled and the young ex-soldier returned to Ukraine and quickly found his calling  the thin blue line of policing.

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This article was published 24/3/2019 (993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA - Two weeks after Serhii Kniaziev's military career ended, the Iron Curtain fell, the Soviet Union crumbled and the young ex-soldier returned to Ukraine and quickly found his calling  the thin blue line of policing.

In the latter days of his military service, he was posted to the volatile Caucasus region, where ethnic conflict and strife rose amid the Soviet Union's disintegration.

Two weeks after Serhii Kniaziev's military career ended, the Iron Curtain fell, the Soviet Union crumbled. The young ex-soldier returned to Ukraine in search of his calling, and quickly found it: the thin blue line of policing. Kniaziev is shown in Ottawa on Jan.24, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Blachfield

"I came back to an independent Ukraine," Kniaziev said through a translator on a recent visit to Ottawa. "That was also the reason I decided to become a policeman because I was exposed during my military service to blood and to fighting that took place in that time, at that area."

A generation later, Kniaziev is the chief of the National Police of Ukraine at a pivotal moment in his country's history. He is now responsible for protecting the integrity of Ukraine's March 31 presidential election.

The election faces daily threats from a familiar source: a determined Russia bent on using cyberspace to sow disinformation to undermine the democratic ambitions of a country it still considers part of its orbit.

"I feel a great sense of responsibility, ensuring the proper elections," said Kniaziev, whose furrowed brow and strapping, thick frame suggests the presence of invisible anvils on each of his broad shoulders.

"Unfortunately we are in a position that Russia is our enemy now, and Russia has never been weak. We have to be very honest and very realistic in assessing the capabilities of Russia."

Kniaziev spent time with RCMP counterparts, Toronto police and other leading federal government officials in Canada's diplomatic and security apparatus in Ottawa earlier this winter. Canada has been helping Ukraine build its national police force following the tumultuous events of early 2014 that saw the ouster of the country's Kremlin-backed president after pro-democracy Maidan protests in Kyiv, and Moscow's subsequent invasion and annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

The Police Training Assistance Project, run by Global Affairs Canada, is part of the government's broader assistance to Ukraine, which includes a Canadian Armed Forces mission of 200 trainers that was extended last week, the deployment of hundreds of election observers for the upcoming ballot and the imposition of sanctions on more than 100 Russians.

Kniaziev and his Canadian counterparts exchanged information and best practices on how to cope with the inevitable threat of foreign interference in elections.

Canada has struck a special committee, a "critical election protocol," composed of five senior public servants who will decide whether a malign act of interference in this October's federal election warrants going public in the middle of the campaign.

Kniaziev and his Ukrainian colleagues describe their country as a petri dish for Russian cyberattacks  known in 21st Century military doctrine as "hybrid war"  and say the countries that partner with it, such as a Canada, have a lot to learn from them as well.

Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland echoed that sentiment recently, calling Ukraine a "laboratory" for Russian disinformation campaigns in cyberspace that Canada has learned from.

Russia has also undertaken traditional military manoeuvres against Ukraine by seizing Crimea and supporting separatist rebels in its eastern Donbass region, but cyberspace has become the main battlefield.

"In 2014, these were military activities  war fighting. But in 2015, '16, '17, '18 they've changed their ways and we are in the midst of hybrid war," said Kniaziev.

That has come to encompass a wide spectrum of malign activity, from trying to directly hack the online infrastructure of elections, to influencing public opinion through misinformation and generally sowing unrest.

"Whenever Russia doesn't feel like it wants to be involved in direct, naked aggression they are involved in all of these subversive hybrid activities," said Kniaziev.

Ukraine's ambassador to Canada, Andriy Shevchenko, said as the election nears, Russia has launched daily cyberattacks on Ukraine's digital election infrastructure, its critical infrastructure and media.

Ukrainian police and the Mounties are also working together on a daily basis. "It's a very practical co-operation," he said. "We can witness true camaraderie between Canadians and Ukrainians."

The constant state of vigilance has also created a heightened state of national stress, something Kniaziev only realized after spending time on the beat with rank and file Toronto police officers during his recent trip.

As he headed back to Ukraine, he came to recognize the need to incorporate mental health professionals into the daily patrols of his country's police officers as part of their regular interactions with Ukrainian citizens.

"We have quite a number of people who have so-called Vietnam syndrome, meaning some mental issues," he said.

"The society in general does not understand who these people are, where they are coming from. The approach we saw in Toronto really impressed us."

Kniaziev blames the ongoing strife with Russia for affecting his country's national psyche.

"It's been six years of ongoing war with our neighbour, so Ukrainian society lives in a totally different reality, if we were to compare with the Canadian society."
Panti Bliss has been forced to postpone the opening of her new bar in Dublin amid fears over fire safety.

Panti, the drag persona of Pantibar owner Rory O'Neill, had hoped to open the new night spot, Penny Lane, around the corner from the popular Capel Street gay bar.

In an interview with RTE Radio One in January, Panti spoke about the new business.

"It is kind of a sister venue. Its going to be different but we thought it would be nice if our regular customers recognised the connection."

Coming soon:

PENNY LANE

2 Great Strand Street

Dublin 1 pic.twitter.com/WXmdcNQg1X  Dr Panti Bliss-Cabrera (@PantiBliss) January 15, 2019

She continued: "It's one of my favourite streets in Dublin, there's almost no chains apart from spar and AIB everything else is an independent business.

"There are four large hotels being built around there at the moment, lots of up and coming stuff.

"It's very diverse, we love working there and living there."

The Sunday Business Post reports that she and her business partner Jay Bourke will now have to make changes to the new bar and go back to court.
Stinging criticisms of Fianna Fail by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at his party's conference were cheap, complete nonsense and have gone down very badly.

Michael McGrath, the Fianna Fail's finance spokesman hit back at Mr Varadkar saying they were ill-judged and lacked the appropriate respect, given their support allowed the Taoiseach to remain in office.

Defending his attacks on the main opposition party, Mr Varadkar said he believed the Confidence and Supply deal had worked to some extent, he would much prefer to lead a majority government in order to get things done.

He said Fianna Fail are not averse to delivering personalised attacks on his ministers, be it Eoghan Murphy's affluent background or Simon Harris' age.

Meanwhile, Fine Gael are adamant they can stave off a General Election for another year despite rumours that we will be going to the polls before the Autumn.

There was a buoyant mood at the party's annual conference in Wexford over the weekend where senior Fine Gael members and Government ministers ruled out an election until next summer.

The possibility of a coalition with Sinn Fein was also strongly rebuffed by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar when he addressed the conference.

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy dismissed any reversal of the confidence and supply deal which would see Fine Gael support Fianna Fail after the next General Election.

"There is no general election on the horizon, we have the uncertainty around Brexit which we continue to face, we also have the belief and the desire of an Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to not have an election at least before the summer of 2020," he said.

He described Sinn Fein as "undemocratic" and said his party "couldn't work with that".

This was echoed by Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty said she would never go into Government with Sinn Fein.

"There are some very fine politicians in Sinn Fein as there are in every single party and that's why collectively get on so well in Oireachtas Committees and actually can do some real substantive work together.

"Would I personally ever go into Government with Sinn Fein? Not on your nelly.

"We have a very stable Government for the last number of years I think people wouldn't have expected it to lasted or have achieved as much."

She said Fine Gael have had a "very strong relationship" with Fianna Fail but added that she "doesn't get to make the decision" as to whether her party would enter Government with them.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe moved to rule out a General Election this year by insisting he will get another Budget passed.

"The good news is I am already working on Budget 2020 because I have to bring a stability programme update to Government in the next few weeks which will be laying out how we think the economy is going to perform next year and I believe I will be presenting Budget 2020 to the House in October and I think there is every chance we will get it passed," he said.

Despite ongoing rumours of a snap election anytime between May and the Autumn Agriculture Minister Michael Creed said even if Brexit is resolved in the coming weeks the consequences are so significant that a stable Government is required.

"I am fully focused on doing the business in the context of the biggest indigenous industry and not at all on when that election might be.

"Whenever it happens we will be ready for it," said Mr Creed.
Gardai at Dublin Airport are seeking the publics help to prevent incidents involving drones like that which brought operations there to a standstill last month.

A flyer has been distributed to plane spotters at Dublin Airport welcoming them to participate in the new Dublin Airport Drone Prevention Project.

This is in addition to an initiative launched by the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) in 2017 specifically aimed at drone uses.

The latest campaign by gardai based at the airport is aimed at informing the public, including plane spotters, of the dangers of drones being operated anywhere close to the airport and to ask them to report and document such occurrences.

On February 21 last, operations at Dublin ground to a standstill for half an hour after a drone was spotted in the vicinity of the airfield.

Hundreds of plane spotters descend on the airport every day documenting and photographing arriving and departing aircraft from a number of vantage points.

Flyers were distributed spotters at various popular plane spotting locations around the airport last week.

It read: As I am sure you are aware, illegally operated drones around the airfield and the flight paths, pose an extreme danger to aircraft and to the operation of the airport itself.

An Garda Siochana would like to take this opportunity to invite you to play your part, and help us protect the travelling public and keep Dublin Airport a safe place to travel to and from.

The leaflet continued: We are asking you to report any sightings of drones around the airfield and to call 999 immediately.

We would be grateful if you could report what direction the drone came from and, if you are able, to take a picture of it as well. This will help identify it in the event of a criminal investigation.
A new route's set to kick in on the Dublin Bus network in the capital from today.

Route 155 will operate seven days a week from IKEA in Ballymun to Bray Rail Station, serving DCU and Stillorgan Road.
Sinn Fein in Dublin has hit back at the Taoiseach after he took aim at local councils over the housing crisis in a speech to the Fine Gael party conference last night.

Last night Leo Varadkar told Fine Gael members at the party's annual conference, that parties on the left and Sinn Fein were voting against new housing projects.

He also hit out at the values of Sinn Fein, saying he would never enter a coalition with them.

At some point between now and the summer of next year, there will be a General Election. And I can tell you tonight that under no circumstances will Fine Gael enter Government with Sinn Fein, he said.

"They dont respect our Courts, they dont respect our Gardai, they dont respect any of the four parliaments they are elected to, including the ones they turn up for, they dont respect our democracy, he said.

Councillor Micheal Mac Donncha, the Sinn Fein deputy group leader on Dublin City Council, says the Taoiseach was trying to mislead the public with his statements.

"The Taoiseach was talking nonsense and quite deliberately so, I'm sure he knows what he is saying is not true," Cllr Mac Donncha claimed.

"There is a queue of proposals for housing - social and affordable - projects in Dublin City Council and the other Council areas and that's on the desk of the Minister Eoghan Murphy."

Cllr Mac Donncha added that the proposals were "either waiting for approval in principal or waiting for funding.

"The problem we have is government policy which sets its face against the type of direct state involvement in housing that we had for decades under successive governments - including Fine Gael governments.

"But now because this government is committed to the interests of big landlords, property speculators and vulture funds we see the housing crisis that we have suffered by thousands upon thousands of people," he added.
Ireland will work with whoever is British Prime Minister, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said amid talk of a coup against Theresa May.

Whoever is Prime Minister, we will work with them, he said.

Speaking on Sunday, Mr Varadkar said he thinks Mrs May can deliver an orderly Brexit between now and April 12.

Mr Varadkar said he shouldn't interfere with internal politics in the UK, but said: "whoever the Prime Minister is, we will work with that Prime Minister".

Speaking on RTE, Mr Varadkar said he will work with Britain on Brexit, regardless of who is British prime minister.

He made his comments when pressed on rumours that Theresa May's position has become untenable in her Cabinet and that ministers are allegedly plotting to oust the Prime Minister.

Mr Varadkar said he believed Mrs May could deliver Brexit, but added that his cabinet has ensured the British-Irish working relationship was not dependent on Mrs May alone.

"I think she can, but one thing I know, is that I should not interfere in internal politics in the UK," he said.

Whoever the prime minister is, we will work with that prime minister, we've made sure over the last two years we have very good links not just at prime minister-level and taoiseach-level, but also between Phillip Hammond and Pascal Donohoe and so on. Whoever is prime minister we will work with them.

"It didn't have to be this bad, I think what's happened is the UK is now consumed with Brexit.

"Even after they leave, assuming they leave with a Withdrawal Agreement, they will spend two or three years consumed about what the future relationship is going to be like.

"We have to make sure we're not consumed and defined by it, and my job as Taoiseach is to ensure we limit any damage so we can get on with our ambitious plan for the future."

The Taoiseach also responded to reports that German leader Angela Merkel had pushed for a task force to deal with the border issue, which had put Ireland under pressure.

"I'm not under any pressure from Chancellor Merkel or anyone else on this issue," he said.

"What Chancellor Merkel or President Macron would do is ask reasonable questions.

"I'm not sure what people think happens at European Council meetings. We don't go to have dinner, we have robust engagements, hard questions are asked and answered and we come to a consensus position and stand by that position."

Mr Varadkar also took aim at Mrs May's political opponent Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and his Brexit plan.

"Our Plan A is getting the Withdrawal Agreement ratified and that is still possible.

Plan B could involve UK changing position in the next couple of weeks, on the customs union for example.

"Corbyn's customs union is cake and eat it as well. It's a customs union but still with the ability to have state aids and so on."

The Taoiseach was also asked for his opinion on Ireland rejoining the Commonwealth after the idea was floated by a DUP MP at the Fine Gael party conference.

"It's not something that's on the agenda at the moment anyway."
The FAI has confirmed that John Delaney would be taking a "substantial reduction" in his salary in his new role.

Yesterday the association confirmed that Mr Delaney would be stepping down from his role as chief executive but would remain with the FAI as executive vice president.
An 11-year-old child and a woman have been injured in a suspected shooting in south-west London.

Police said they have been taken to hospital but are not in a life-threatening condition.

Officers were called to the scene in Figges Marsh, Mitcham, at 5.40pm on Sunday after reports a firearm had been discharged.

Scotland Yard said a large group of males were seen in the road before the suspected shooting and police are trying to trace them.

Two other people who went to a nearby hospital are also believed to have been injured during the incident.

Their injuries are also described as not life-threatening.

No arrests have been made and the Metropolitan Police have put a Section 60 order in place, allowing officers to detain anyone for searches, until Monday morning.

The force said in a statement: "A woman and an 11-year-old child were treated by the London Ambulance Service for injuries believed to have been caused by a firearm. They have been taken to hospital.

"A large group of males had been seen in the road prior to the firearm being discharged and inquiries are ongoing to locate these individuals.

"It is believed that two further people - who subsequently self-presented at a nearby hospital - were injured during the incident.

"None of those injured is in a life-threatening condition. There have been no arrests at this stage."
Special counsel Robert Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign or its associates "conspired or coordinated" with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 election, according to a summary of his report released tonight.

Mueller did not go as far as to exonerate President Trump of obstruction of justice.

Trump reacted to the news on Twitter saying that it was "complete and total exoneration"

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said a letter from the Justice Department describing the findings "does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him".

The department sent the letter to Jerrold Nadler on Sunday afternoon.

Mr Nadler tweeted that the Justice Department "determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment".

The Special Counsels investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence to 2016 presidential campaign, tweeted journalist Joe Concha, quoting the letter.

Barr says that the President may have acted to obstruct justice, but that for an obstruction conviction, the government would need to proved beyond a reasonable doubt that a person, acting with corrupt intent, engaged in obstructive conduct.  Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) March 24, 2019

Key addendum: Trump campaign or those associated did not collude or conspire with Russia to influence the 2916 election, and this is key: Despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign.  Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) March 24, 2019

White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders issued a statement on Twitter, calling the report a "total and complete exoneration" for President Trump.

"The Special Counsel did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction. AG Barr and DAG Rosenstein further determined there was no obstruction.

"The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States.

The Special Counsel did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction. AG Barr and DAG Rosenstein further determined there was no obstruction. The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States.  Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) March 24, 2019

Donald Trump Jnr also released a statement criticising the media for "two years of non-stop conspiracy theories".

"It's my hope that honest journalists within the media have the courage to hold these now fully debunked truthers accountable and treat them with the scorn and ridicule they deserve," he added.
BHP has shut down the world's largest iron ore export port, Port Hedland, as Cyclone Veronica bears down on the West Australian coast.

The miner has suspended all port and rail activities in the region, telling workers to get to safety ahead of the category three cyclone smashing into Western Australias north-west coast near Karratha, Port Hedland and the Pilbara.

BHP says Port Hedland has battened down the hatches as it waits for Cyclone Veronica to hit. Credit:David Gray

Port Hedland is now on red alert, the impacts of Severe Tropical Cyclone Veronica are imminent, BHP said in a release to workers.

We strongly encourage all BHP employees and Port Hedland residents to act immediately to put their safety first. Seek shelter immediately.
Residents who were evacuated ahead of Cyclone Trevor lashing the Northern Territory coast have begun to return home as the weather system moves inland and weakens to a tropical low.

But the threat is not over for communities near Tennant Creek, 500 kilometres inland, as the Bureau of Meteorology on Sunday warned of heavy rain and destructive winds in the NT's east.

Cyclone Trevor has slowed to a tropical low. Credit:Bureau of Meteorology

The ex-cyclone crossed onto the mainland as a category four storm on Saturday morning, producing wind gusts of 230km/h around the NT's border with Queensland.

Shortly after midnight on Sunday, the storm was downgraded to a tropical low.
Often after an election, the cliche that "history has been made" is overused and mostly misused. But over the weekend Premier Berejiklian has truly made NSW Liberal Party history. By the time this parliamentary term ends in 2023 the NSW Liberals will have been in government for their longest period since the partys formation in the mid-1940s. Indeed the 12 years will be the longest period of non-Labor government since the rise of political parties in the decade or so before Federation.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian celebrates victory on Saturday night. Credit:AAP

While it is true that Berejiklian has only won a third term for the Liberals and Bob Askin won four consecutive elections from 1965 to 1973, parliamentary terms in the old days were a maximum of three years and often shorter. Askins four wins delivered the Liberals state government for precisely 11 years, so the weekend win for the Liberals (barring a constitutional crisis in the next four years and the governor dissolving Parliament early) has truly made party history.

Winning a fourth term in 2023 is more than conceivable. The most impressive part of the Liberal win was that it was in the shadow of a federal Liberal government with the wobbles. Notwithstanding this weekends result, it is almost unprecedented in recent decades for a party to win any state election if the same party is in Canberra and on the nose. This is why, when Paul Keating lost in 1996, every state and territory (bar NSW) was Liberal and, when John Howards 12 years ended in 2007, every state and territory government was Labor.
According to Alan Marel of North Curl Curl, "the towns of Dull (Scotland) and Boring (Oregon) twinned in 2012 as a joke, to become Dull & Boring (C8). In 2017 Bland (Australia) was asked to join them to create 'the League of Extraordinary Communities', but were unkindly referred to in the press as 'the Trinity of Tedium".

Following the item about the unpublishable town name in Austria (C8), Jock Brodie of Port Macquarie believes that "Salzburg was googled so often that it looked like a denial-of-service attempt. And now you googlers will all receive weeks of advertisements for Salzburg tours".

Who could have foreseen that an aside in Thursday's Column 8 about a town called Toadsuck, Arkansas (C8) would lead to Reed Syler of North Balgowlah informing us that "there is a very enjoyable book called Tales from Toadsuck by John Black, which explains the name with many interesting stories of the area". An internet search to confirm this showed that not only is it true but that the author's name, in full, is actually John 'J-Dub' Black.

A radio ad heard by Jack Dikian of Mosman finally gives a frame of reference for the term 'never'. The ad in question was for "a printer where you never have to change the cartridge again  it comes with two years supply in the box".

A dilemma for our times from Ian Bulluss of Pyrmont: "Do I turn all the lights off on March 30 for Earth Hour to save the planet, or do I turn on all the lights on May 24 for Vivid?"
As well as those remarks, he had to fend off questions about preference deals with the Shooters party in the wake of the Christchurch massacre, and then absorb the impact of his stumbles on policy costings during the crucial leaders debate against Gladys Berejiklian last Wednesday. Loading It was perhaps the worst final week to a campaign in living memory, a senior Labor figure told the Herald on Sunday. We are not within a bull's roar of winning government next time. We are in a worse position. Yes, we might end up with one or two extra seats, but in parts of Sydney which we need to win to form government in the future, we have actually gone backwards. The source said it was the second election in a row where Labor has ended up picking a fight with the Chinese community, saying the ALPs anti-privatisation push in the 2015 campaign had also caused damage by playing up fears of Chinese companies buying electricity assets. What then-leader Luke Foleys campaign did achieve in 2015, though, was to put the party potentially within striking distance of victory this year. Foley managed to pick up 14 seats and a swing towards Labor of 10 per cent.

Daleys campaign was going well enough for insiders to be quietly hopeful 10 or 11 days ago that he might get Labor over the line and into minority government. We thought it was within reach. The ground campaign was well organised, the messaging consistent. Daley has to take a lot of the responsibility for that reversal, another senior party source told the Herald. However there are some who felt the focus on stadiums was overly narrow, and that there should have been a stronger emphasis on public transport, as well as health and education. There was poor communication. Labor was talking about nurse to patient ratios, but what did that mean to most people? one insider said.

Despite Daley declaring he wants to remain as Labor leader, there are doubts he can retain support. A leadership ballot is likely to be deferred until after the federal election due in May. His judgment was being called into question by a number of party figures on Sunday. According to Labor insiders, Minns approached Daleys office early on Tuesday after the Labor leader issued his first statement late on Monday night explaining the "Asians taking jobs" comments. Daleys initial explanation was that he'd been talking about housing affordability, that he could have expressed himself better, and that he meant no offence and hope[d] none had been taken. But several sources say Minns was unhappy that the statement of apology was not strong enough. They say the pair spoke later on Tuesday, and Minns urged Daley to spell out that he was not blaming the Asian community for cost of living increases. Chris was upset that there was not a full apology straight away a party source said.

Through a spokesman, Daley gave the Herald a different version of this conversation. I have only had one conversation with Chris Minns this week. He asked if he could convey to his community that I had apologised for my comments and I said of course," Daley said. Daleys subsequent statements of regret were more forthright. But by then Minns was taking action of his own, putting out his own messages on Chinese social media. Labor head office stepped in with ads running in Chinese language newspapers while Minns contacted federal shadow treasurer Chris Bowen to ask Paul Keating to step in. Keating did so, issuing a statement praising Minns among other things for his recognition of the positive contribution of Chinese Australians. Minns got out there fast enough to save himself," a party source said. That and the fact that a week's worth of pre-polls had already been lodged before the Daley comments emerged. A booth by booth analysis of first preference votes conducted by the Herald confirmed significant swings away from Labor in areas with large Chinese-Australian populations in Kogarah. Across booths in Hurstville, Hurstville South, Allawah and Carlton, Minns saw a drop in his first preference vote of about more than three percentage points while Liberal candidate Scott Yung recorded a seven percentage point increase.
A baby boy has fallen from the third floor of a building in Brisbane's south after climbing a piece of furniture and falling through an open window.

Paramedics were called to the private residence at Greenslopes after reports of the infant experiencing a long fall at 7pm on Saturday.

The boy was taken to Queensland Childrens Hospital after suffering facial and head injuries.

A QAS spokesman said he was lucky the injuries were not worse.

In light of the incident, he cautioned all parents and carers to closely monitor their children while playing.
A two-year-old girl hit by the starting gate in a harness racing accident north of Brisbane on Sunday is in a critical condition with facial injuries.

Police said one of the gates attached to the starting vehicle did not retract and hit spectators watching on the side of the track at Redcliffe Paceway just before 7pm.

The starting car at Redcliffe Paceway on Sunday night, with retractable gates either side. Credit:The Today Show - Twitter

The girl was taken by ambulance to Queensland Childrens Hospital in a critical condition with face and abdominal injuries.

Queensland Ambulance Service operations supervisor James Thompson described the scene as "fairly chaotic" when paramedics first arrived.
A Brisbane City Council meeting is a strictly regulated weekly procedure, working through a preplanned list of topics and motions - except when it's not.

And any councillor, at any time, can make sure it's not.

Any councillor who stands to move an urgency motion has to convince a two-thirds majority of the councillors that the motion is worth debating. Credit:Chris Hyde

By rising to their feet, calling a point of order and saying "I move to suspend as much of standing rules as required to allow the moving of the following motion", councillors can stop the meeting in its tracks and force a whole new conversation into the chambers.

But first, they have just three minutes to convince their peers their issue is worth talking about.
Australias "unique view of the galaxy" gives its space industry some key advantages to capitalise on, the deputy head of the national space agency says.

First, as a wide, open land in the southern hemisphere it offers plenty of potential for deep space tracking.

The International Space Station is far from the only destination in a changing space economy.

Second, a range of orbits are possible from Australia, offering cheaper fuel costs.

Third, the trend towards more frequent, smaller satellites at lower orbit heights provides a new range of uses for satellites.
Centrelink has threatened to charge daily compounding interest, garnishee wages or seize funds from the bank accounts of former welfare recipients who fail to pay 'robo-debts' issued by the government's automated recovery scheme.

The strong-arm tactics used by the Department of Human Services are expected to inflame tensions with social services advocates and legal experts who are planning to challenge the controversial robo-debt program in the Federal Court.

Former chief crown prosecutor Gavin Silbert. Credit:Jason South

The blunt warnings, which were part of a DHS letter sent on March 6, also include a potential ban on overseas travel, legal action or forfeiture of tax refunds if payment is not received within 14 days.

The department, which acts on behalf of Centrelink, has refused to say how many letters were sent, but insists its enforcement activities comply with all relevant legislation.
A man has been rushed to hospital in a critical condition after being brutally attacked in the early hours of Sunday.

Police say the 27-year-old from Seaford was approached by a group of strangers on King Street around 4.30am.

The men hit him over the head with a weapon, seriously injuring him. He remains in a critical condition at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Detectives believe the group was travelling in two vehicles, a red Subaru and a red Mitsubishi. Police are appealing for anyone with dashcam footage around the time of the attack to come forward.
The interactive lets you gauge a school's VCE performance over 10 years, so you can see whether it has improved or maintained its results over that time. When VCE results are released in December, only the current year's figures are provided. That information is useful, but it doesn't tell you anything about how representative those results were of the school's typical performance. By threading together data from the past decade, a much clearer picture emerges. You can also see how students enrolled in VET or VCAL programs fare and whether they continue on to vocational education or apprenticeships. Not all schools cater to students who are predominantly after a place at university, and the Schools that Excel dashboard reflects that. With so much information about the vital final years of secondary education in one place, the dashboard helps you research the schools in your area, and could help you select one that is a good fit for your child.

What does the dashboard show? The information about your school is divided into multiple panels. Heres how to interpret the data: Average student performance shows the median VCE subject study score for the school since 2009, which is a good indicator of typical student achievement. Study scores are out of 50, and a 30 is the average. The horizontal line at 30 on the graph is the yardstick that shows how the typical student at this school fares against the statewide average. High achievers shows the percentage of the schools VCE subject scores that were among the best in the state. These are scores of 40 or above, which put students within the top 10 per cent of all those who completed a VCE subject. This panel also shows the subjects in which students obtained the best results. Completion rates shows the enrolment numbers in VCE, VET and VCAL over the past five years, as well as the satisfactory completion rates among year 12s.

Student pathways shows what 2017s year 12 graduates were doing midway through last year  whether they had gone on to further study at university or TAFE, or whether they had taken on an apprenticeship or joined the workforce. This panel does not show up if a high percentage of a schools year 12 graduates did not complete the survey. School awards shows the 10 high-gain schools that The Age judged as having shown the best growth in their results over the past decade, following input from Nathan Zoanetti of the Australian Council for Education Research. Student success stories links to coverage of the schools VCE program from The Ages education team over the past few years. This panel only shows up if a school has been featured in articles. In each panel there is an "About the data" section that provides more detailed explanations and technical information to help you understand the data. Which schools are featured in the dashboard?

The interactive dashboard features data on more than 500 Victorian schools that offered VCE, VET or VCAL programs in 2018. If a school also offered the International Baccalaureate program, its 2018 results will show up in the Average student performance panel. Unfortunately, small schools or special schools for which there is insufficient data, schools that exclusively offer the International Baccalaureate, and adult education institutions do not show up in the interactive. There might also be gaps in the data for years in which student enrolments did not reach a certain threshold. Eltham College was a high achiever. Credit:The Age How were the Schools that Excel Awards decided? We used Department of Health and Human Services boundaries to categorise schools as metropolitan or regional, and divided the metropolitan region into west, north, east and south Melbourne. One government school and one non-government (Catholic or Independent) school was chosen for each area based on their records of improvement at year 12.

Of course there are many qualities in schools that cant be measured. These include a schools culture, its inclusiveness, the dedication of teachers, extra-curricular activities and that feeling you get when you walk through the school gates. Why is growth important? Measuring student growth was a key recommendation of the Gonski 2.0 review into achieving excellence in Australian schools. Instead of focusing on student achievement at one point in time, the landmark report adopts education expert John Hatties mantra of achieving a year of learning growth from a year of schooling. This offers an alternative way of looking at success. Loading While The Ages project does not focus on individual student growth, it tracks school improvement or growth over time. This is driven by individual student growth.

Australian Council for Educational Research chief executive Geoff Masters said excellent leadership and teaching were important drivers of school improvement. Improvement is more likely when there is a culture of high expectations, a school-wide improvement agenda, a focus on the professional learning of teachers and close monitoring to ensure that the learning needs of every student are addressed. How can we learn from these schools? The Grattan Institutes Julie Sonnermann says its important to identify what works well in improving schools. We need to look at the quality of the teaching, the school leadership, the support for students for personal development and growth, she said.
Victorians have hunkered down for a night of wind and rain as the weather bureau issued a severe weather warning for much of the state on Sunday night.

The high country was forecast to feel the full brunt of storms sweeping the state, with the possibility of overnight gusts reaching 120km/h and up to 50 millimetres of rain.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Dean Stewart said many alpine areas could receive falls of between 20 to 30 millimetres and gusts of between 80km/h and 90km/h.

By 6.30pm lightning strikes were flickering around Melbourne. But Mr Stewart said the strongest storms would likely sweep through Melbourne close to or just after midnight on Sunday.

He said gusts of up to 100km/h were possible in the capital, as well as much of the state.
Theres a tiny piece of spaghetti stuck on the wall of Annemarie Skrateks kitchen and she still cant bring herself to peel it off.

Her mischievous, loving son Harley wanted to be a chef. Hed often whip up a robust spaghetti bolognaise for his family. The pasta was cooked, hed tell them, when it sticks to the walls.

Its how wed know dinner was ready; thered be strands of pasta all over the kitchen, says Annemarie, with a sad smile.

Her son is still with her, in a sense. Harleys ashes sit in a large urn on a shelf in the living room of her modest home in Glenroy, in Melbournes northern suburbs.
The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party is preparing to launch a Federal election campaign targeting National seats, after a historic three-seat win in the NSW election.

Shooters upper house MP Robert Borsak said the party would run in as many as six regional NSW federal seats and would field a Senate ticket.

"We are going to give the federal election a shake. Weve got candidates knocking on our door already," Mr Borsak said.

Shooters MLC Robert Borsak says the party will contest the federal election, after an historic three-seat haul at the NSW election. Credit:Peter Rae

He said the party had not decided which seats it would contest, but would concentrate "on those parts of the state that have been our strengths."
Melbourne commuters will be able to use their Android smartphones to pay their public transport fares from Thursday.

But iPhone users will have to wait to join the digital transport revolution with the State Government unable, so far, to strike a deal with Apple.

Loading

Users of Google-powered Android phones will be able to buy tickets with their device from Thursday after paying with Google Pay with a minimum top-up of $10.

This will remove the need for carrying a physical myki card when catching a bus, tram or train in Melbourne or regional Victoria.
Bangkok: Thailand has embraced the country's first democratic elections in nearly eight years, with the vast majority of the nation's 51 million eligible voters expected at polling places across the country.

On the eve of this election, Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn - invoking a decades-old speech made by his now-deceased father - issued a surprise statement calling for Thais to support "good people" and "control the bad people" to prevent them ruling the country.

On Sunday morning, as voting got under way after 8, the phrase "already grown up, can choose for myself" was trending on social media across Thailand - reflecting, if nothing else, Thais' eagerness to have their say in who runs their country.

Thailand's PM Prayut Chan-o-cha addresses the waiting media after casting his vote on Sunday. Credit:Amilia Rosa

Despite Thais' enthusiasm for the democratic vote - and while most seat-by-seat results will be known within hours of the polls closing on Sunday evening - weeks of uncertainty lay ahead as parties horse trade and attempt to form a coalition government before the official declaration of results on May 9.
Paris: Police fired tear gas at demonstrators in Paris and clashes broke out in other French cities on the 19 consecutive weekend of "yellow vest" protests against President Emmanuel Macron's government.

However, with military units deployed in Paris for the first time to back up police, the unrest did not match the scale of last Saturday when shops along the Champs Elysees avenue were looted and vandalised.

The demonstration in the capital was largely peaceful but later in the afternoon police fired tear gas on protesters near Boulevard de Strasbourg. Some protesters set bins on fire.

Protesters take part in the 19th weekend rally in Paris, on Saturday. Credit:AP

Clashes also took place in cities including Lille in northern France, Lyon, Nantes, Toulouse, Montpellier and Nice.
Dunedin: New Zealanders are debating the limits of free speech after their chief censor banned a 74-page manifesto written by the man accused of slaughtering 50 people at two mosques in the city of Christchurch.

The ban, issued on Saturday, means anybody caught with the document on their computer could face up to 10 years in prison, while anyone caught sending or forwarding it could face 14 years. Some say the ban goes too far and risks lending both the document and the gunman mystique.

At the same time, many local media organisations are debating whether to name the Australian man charged with murder in the March 15 attacks, 28-year-old Brenton Tarrant, after New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern vowed she would never mention him by name.

In some ways, Tarrant's manifesto provides the greatest insight into his character and thinking, with neighbours and those he met in a gym in the seaside town of Dunedin recalling nothing particularly remarkable about him.
Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian mining giant Vale says that communities in the south-eastern state of Minas Gerais have been ordered to evacuate after independent auditors found that one of its dams could collapse at any moment.

On Friday, the company raised the level of risk at a mining waste dam in the city of Barao de Cocais to three, the highest grade. According to Brazil's mining and energy secretary, level three means that "a rupture is imminent or already happening".

Residents in a 10-kilometre perimeter of the dam had already been told to leave by state authorities in February after Vale raised risk levels to grade two, a company spokesperson told the Associated Press on Saturday.

The aftermath days after a dam collapse in Brumadinho, Brazil, in which about 300 people died in January. Credit:AP

The Vale spokesperson, who asked not to be identified in line with company policy, said 442 people had been relocated in temporary housing or with family members since February.
Latest News ANZ makes another rate hike New highest fixed among Big Four as 40pts added to 4 and 5 year rates

UBank sets cheapest ever advertised variable rate Despite widespread rises, digital lender slashes 20pts for lowest ever advertised variable rate

Labors negative gearing policy is likely to hit mum and dad investors, home owners, renters and the wider economy, according to a new report released by the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA).

While REIA welcomes the SQM Labor research report as a "valuable component of carrying on an informed debate", it has also highlighted several causes for concern.

REIA president Adrian Kelly explained, The analysis in the report provides evidence of the impacts of the policy, identifies the losers and the extent of their losses.

The losers are mum and dad investors, home owners, renters, the construction industry, state governments and the economy.

Kelly said that rent is expected to increase between eight and 15% across the capital cities from 2020 to 2022.

Predicted exceptions are Brisbane, which could face up to a 22% increase, and Darwin, which may remain relatively unscathed with an increase of around 4%.

This is in contrast to the current situation where we have the lowest annual increase in rents for two decades, explained Kelly.

The SQM research also forecasted a fall in housing construction activity in what will amount to a 25 to 30% decline from 2019 levels, which would have significant ramifications for employment and GDP.

According to Kelly, the property sales turnover falling by the predicted 12 to 15% will result in a drop in state stamp duty revenue of approximately $2.3bn  money which could be spent on schools, hospitals and roads, he pointed out.

There are no winners. Even first home buyers will face a faltering economy with lower employment prospects, the REIA president concluded.
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To the Editor,

This is in answer to the letter from Sunny Lowe, of Boerum Hill, in which she laments the changes of her neighborhood (Changing Brooklyn, Sound Off to the Editor, online Feb. 17).

I know exactly how she feels. A lot of people dont know where my neighborhood is, and I explain it is between Midwood and Sheepshead Bay.

In this area, the main shopping street is Kings Highway. At one time, it was the epitome of fine shopping  the best clothing for men, women, and children. The street was clean, and you didnt have to watch out for people not looking where they are going because they are on their phones. There were no bikes ridden on the sidewalk. There were no empty stores.

Now, all that has gone by the wayside. In the span of eight short blocks, there are about 17 banks  banks next door to each other, directly across the street from each other, diagonally across from each other, and more than one on a block, obviously.

We have shlock stores, and on every block there is an anteka, which is a Russian drugstore. They have childrens salons, sell childrens cothing, toys, and some sell adult hats and shoes, or pots and pans and other household items. Drugs seem to be a sideline.

We have a lot of empty stores, and when Payless goes, there will be another one, a large one. Two stores have just gone out. The street and surrounding areas are full of litter, and storekeepers put bags of garbage and cartons near light poles. The people who are moving into the area obviously come from areas where sanitation is unknown. The stores where we knew the owners are all gone. We have a lot of medical buildings, but no parking provided. CVS, Modells, and Planet Fitness have opened. There is a sign on the building that belongs in Times Square. Of course, there is no parking provided either.

How sad to see this once-great street fall into such disrepair.Rowena Lachant

Madison

Dignity for all

To the Editor,

I was deeply moved by Bob Capanos column in the Bay News (Every person deserves dignity in their last days, March 815), both by his concern for his terminally ill aunt and by the excellent care she is receiving in the new hospice at BrooklynCalvary Hospital. I share Mr. Capanos concern about the millions of ailing and terminally ill people who will never receive that kind of care or attention.

My mother died in a nursing home in the year 2000. The home was well-kept and nicely decorated, but, like every other nursing home and hospital I have ever encountered, it was underfunded and understaffed. Patients had to wait endlessly to be bathed or fed because each nurse, aide, or attendant had so many patients to care for. I saw the same problem at the hospitals my husband was sent to many times during the last years of his life. I also observed that many aides, attendants, and volunteers were improperly trained, or not trained at all, in how to treat a sick, confused, frightened, or helpless patient as a living, breathing human being. I shall never forget the man who suddenly grabbed my mothers wheelchair, with her in it, and started racing down the hall with it. My mother started screaming. I grabbed the wheelchair and stopped him and asked what he was doing. He said he was taking my mother to the occupational-therapy room. I tried to explain to my mother where she was going and wheeled her very slowly into the therapy room. It never seemed to occur to this obviously untrained young man that my mother was a living person and not a sack of potatoes.

Our governments  state, local, and federal  need to allocate enough money for hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices to hire and adequately train sufficient staff and volunteers to meet all the needs of the living, breathing patients who depend upon them. We also need free health and preventative care for those who do not have sufficient insurance. With adequate, affordable healthcare, far fewer people would wait until they got seriously ill to seek healthcare. In the long run, healthcare costs for all would go way down.

Unfortunately, our wealthy president has none of these worries and is opposing any measures to improve the healthcare system in our country or to improve the polluted environment that is adding to our health problems. I think that all Americans, regardless of party affiliation, must fight for better healthcare and a cleaner environment for all.

We need a president and a Congress who care more about our health and our environment than about how much money they can get from the wealthy industrialists and firms who are polluting our environment. Hopefully, in 2020, the American voters will find and elect a president who can and will bring about the changes America and the rest of the world need to improve the health and well-being of all of Earths citizens. Elaine Kirsch

Gravesend

Gone to EL

To the Editor,

Larry Penner, myself, and many other writers  and insiders, for that matter  have been foretelling, for years, the harrowing problems the subway and elevated systems are facing. While politicians and other officials unveil multi-billion dollar schemes for futuristic signal and control systems, the rest of the supporting structures have been allowed to deteriorate. It is no wonder that pieces are falling off the elevated structures. They, being in excess of a century old, are in dire need of rehabilitation.

While politicians bicker over funding and finger point in the never-ending blame game, the Council Speaker, Johnson, comes up with yet another batty scheme. Let the city take over NYC Transit Authority operations. Hes calling it Big Apple Transit  BAT, but maybe it should be Rotten Apple Transit, due to the way most other city-run facilities are failing. Its yet another sad attempt to fix with politics a broken system.

Johnson seemingly does not understand the intricate history of the citys transportation systems. That novel idea of a city takeover, from the turn of the 1900s through the formation of the MTA in the late 60s, proved to be an utter failure. Lack of funding, system deterioration, and bankruptcies forced an umbrella agency, or MTA, to take things over and turn things around. And now, city officials want to repeat history by inaugurating the same old problems once again.

New York needs a strong regional transportation organization, able to arrange adequate politics-free funding to maintain systems and subsystems. Remove the political hacks on the MTA board and replace them with the rail and bus professionals that can achieve positive results by making things work again. Failing this, I guess the grumbling of passengers will continue as they wait for their trains and buses, hoping nothing new falls off the Els.Robert W. Lobenstein

Sheepshead Bay

Transit transition

To the Editor,

Council Speaker and 2021 mayoral candidate Corey Johnson is correct that City Hall can actually regain control of the both the NYC Transit subway and bus systems and create his proposed Big Apple Transit. All have long forgotten that buried within the 1953 master agreement between the city and NYC Transit is an escape clause. New York City has the legal right to take back at any time control of its assets. This includes the subway and bus systems.

In 1953, the old NYC Board of Transportation passed on control of the municipal subway system, including all its assets, under a master lease and operating agreement to the newly created NYC Transit Authority.

Regaining total control comes with a number of financial liabilities. City Hall will have to negotiate with both the governor and state Legislature over how much of the MTAs $40 billion long-term debt and billions more in employee pension, health insurance, other benefits and liabilities come with the package. The city would also inherit a series of union contracts and work rule agreements. You also have to develop a plan for turning over management for billions in hundreds of ongoing capital improvement projects that are already under way. Dont forget current purchases for several thousand new subway cars and buses.

NYC Transit bus and subway are the largest transit operators in the nation with a fleet of 6,400 subway and 4,400 buses. MTA bus, with a fleet of 1,300 buses, is one of the top 10 bus operators in the nation. It is the equivalent of attempting to manage a Fortune 500 corporation. Does the city have the technical capacity to take on such an undertaking to support creation of the new Big Apple Transit?

Neither the citys Department of Transportation or any other city agency has any experience in management of either subways or buses.

Larry Penner

Great Neck
Dalondo Moultrie is the assistant managing editor of the Seguin Gazette. You can e-mail him at dalondo.moultrie@seguingazette.com
Am I the only woman in America who considers Preet Bharara her podcast husband? I am guessing not. His show, Stay Tuned With Preet, is a salve, an indulgence, a lifeline: It coasts along not just on the vitality of Mr Bhararas intelligence (uncommonly useful, given that he once was the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, and so many urgent questions these days are legal ones), and not just on his ability to do a good interview (one wonders if years of quizzing witnesses and summarising cases made him understand the rhythms of a good ...
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The cheekbones are more sharply defined, the hair tinged with grey. Those could be signs of natural ageing for Rajat Gupta, 70, the first Indian Managing Director of McKinsey, rather than the result of almost 19 months in prison for insider trading.

The real difference is that Gupta, trim and dapper as ever, is far more forthcoming an interviewee than he was in the early 2000s. Then, at the height of his powers, even innocuous questions about his creation, the Indian School of Business, yielded non-committal answers. Now, out of prison since 2016, he has plenty to say: Principally, that his ...
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Over 40,000 people took to the streets across France on Saturday (local time) as the Yellow Vest protests enter week 19, according to Interior Minister Christophe Castaner, despite troops being allowed to open fire on demonstrators if threatened.

The Military, along with police, has been deployed to protect public order in Paris, reports Sputnik. Adding to this, the military has been given the freedom to open fire on the demonstrators if their life, or the lives of those people whom they are defending, is threatened, according to Paris' Military Governor, General Bruno Leray.

"Their (soldiers') mission is to fight against terrorism and to protect vulnerable sites, this is for policemen and military police to get to the operational ground. In our country, the army is not in any way in charge of public order or law enforcement," French President Emmanuel Macron said with regard to the decision.

Protests have been banned on the Champs-Elysees and in its vicinity, following last week's protests which saw scores of shops being vandalised by the protesters in the area.

Clashes also erupted at Paris' Place de la Republique, as 5,000 people turned up for the protests in the French capital alone.

Meanwhile, 70 people were also detained in Paris during the protests. The police also had to resort to using tear gas to disperse protesters at the Boulevard de Strasbourg in Paris, according to Sputnik. The agitators were burning dustbins in the area, which led to the police response.

Clashes also erupted in Montpellier between police and protesters on Saturday.

The Yellow Vest protests started in November last year, against the Macron-led government's proposed taxes on fuel. While Macron has scrapped the fuel price hikes ever since protesters continue their agitation. The protesters are now demanding 20 per cent hike in minimum wages, equal pay for men and women, tax reform, development of public services and just environmental reforms.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Weeks after the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal walked out of the Government of Nepal, another party, Federal Socialist Forum- Nepal (FSF-N) has warned to quit the government if previously made agreements were not implemented.

Addressing the last parliamentary meeting of the winter session of Lower House of Nepal on Sunday, FSF-N MP, Rajendra Prasad Shrestha warned of walking out of KP Oli-led government if the demands were not met.

"About 9 months have already elapsed since the FSF-N came on board but the two-point agreement regarding the constitutional amendment which was signed on, do not seem to be taken forward for implementation," said Shrestha.

"If that thing does not come in regulation the Federal Socialist Forum Nepal's co-operation with Communist Party of Nepal also might break," he added.

The party currently holds a ministry as well as has started dialogues and preparations for the merger with the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal, the conglomeration of the disgruntled Madhesh-based parties.

The RJP-N on March 10 formally withdrew its support to KP Sharma Oli government after its demands were not met.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has called an emergency meeting of its working committee here on Sunday morning to discuss the Ayodhya issue.

All the 51 members of the committee are expected to be present in the meeting which is likely to be joined by a representatives of the Sunni Central Waqf Board.

The Supreme Court-appointed mediation committee for resolution of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute held its first sitting on Wednesday (March 13) and heard all parties who attended the proceedings.

The panel, headed by former apex court judge F M Ibrahim Kalifulla, had directed that there should not be any reporting of the mediation proceedings in the print or other media, pointing out the views expressed by the top court.

On March 8, the Supreme Court had referred the land dispute case for court-appointed and monitored mediation.

A five-judge Constitution bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, had said that the mediation proceedings will be held in Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh and the state government will provide the mediators with all facilities.

The bench was hearing appeals against the September 30, 2010 verdict of the Allahabad High Court which ordered a three-way division of the disputed 2.77 acres of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya between the Nirmohi Akhara sect, the Sunni Central Waqf Board, Uttar Pradesh and Ramlalla Virajman.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actress Kangana Ranaut who has been signed to act in the biopic of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and actress J Jayalalithaa on Saturday said she always wanted to work in a regional film.

"I was wanted to act in a regional film. There is a lot of disconnect with people belonging to Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and other Southern states since they love to watch their regional cinema. I was waiting for the opportunity," said Ranaut who celebrated her 32nd birthday here on Saturday.

Talking more about her upcoming film, she said, "I was thinking of making a biopic on me. It came my way when I hear the narrative, it was so similar so either I could do that or do this. Then I go ahead to that. The movie will be released in Tamil and then later in Hindi."

Ranaut further said she will learn Tamil for the movie adding that if she fails, they have to dub eventually.

The three-time national award-winning actress hopes to add another national award to her tally for his last flick 'Manikarnika'.

She said, "If a person through his acting is so good in himself that if you do not respect him then it is, in turn, disrespectful for that organization itself. So, if I or my film 'Manikarnika' doesn't win at National film awards, then it will question the credibility of that award ceremony."

"If I come across other good work then, I will be objective enough to say it's better than me. But I don't think, if any, is there now. Last year, Tabbu ji delivered a fabulous performance in 'Andhadhun'," she added.

Ranaut has won the National award for 'Fashion', 'Queen' and 'Tanu Weds Manu Returns.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Attorney General William Barr will not share "principal conclusions" of Robert Mueller's report on alleged Russian collusion in the 2016 US presidential elections with lawmakers today, US Department of Justice officials said on Saturday (local time).

Mueller's 22-month long investigation into probable Russian interference in the presidential elections culminated on Friday, with the special counsel submitting his findings to Barr.

All eyes are on the Attorney General, as it has been reported that Barr may share "principal conclusion as soon as this weekend" with lawmakers at Capitol Hill.

The wrapping up of the investigation, which has seen charges being filed against 37 defendants, seven guilty pleas and one conviction, means that there will be no further indictments, CNN reported.

US President Donald Trump, who came into power in 2016, has often decried the Mueller investigation, labelling it as a "witch hunt".

Democrat leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have urged Barr to not give a "sneak preview" of the final report to Trump or his aides at the White House.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday accused the Congress of blocking the release of compensatory funds meant for the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Speaking at an event here, Rajnath said: "When I took the office of Home Ministry in 2014, I got to know that the ministry had the extra fund of Rs 90 crore that was meant for the victims of anti-Sikh riots victims, but the Congress had not released it."

"I ordered the release of the fund. And we have given Rs 2 lakh to every family of the victim," he said.

"It is the first time, that a leader of the then ruling party has been convicted for his crime during the riots. It could be possible because the BJP was at the Centre. And I had also ordered the formation of SIT to investigate the riots."

He further criticised the Congress for questioning Balakot strike conducted by Indian Air Force. "I can assure you every action was taken after the intelligence input. I don't understand the attack was conducted in Pakistan, why Congress is feeling pain?"

Rajnath also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stating that he has emerged as the "most popular leader" of the world. Singh said, "I am not telling you because the election is coming, but India's Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) is not only India's favourite leader but has also emerged as the world's most popular leader.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is scheduled to meet here on Monday and is likely to discuss the poll preparedness for the Lok Sabha polls, party sources said.

The meeting will be held at the Congress office here.

According to party sources, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has convened the meeting of the highest decision-making body which had its last meeting at Ahmedabad in Gujarat on March 12.

Chaired by Congress president Rahul Gandhi, the Ahmedabad meeting was also attended by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress general secretary for eastern Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra among others. UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi was also present in the meeting.

The 17th Lok Sabha election, which will be held in seven phases beginning April 11. The final phase of voting will take place on May 19. The counting of votes will be done on May 23.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party and said its leaders speak in the same language used by Pakistan. He added that Diwali will be celebrated in Pakistan if Congress wins the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

"The language which is used by Pakistan, that same language is used by the Congress leaders. They are insulting Army, they are breaking the momentum of the citizens. Air Strike done by the government and press conference done by Army chiefs are being questioned. Whom are they supporting? Today it seems like congress party is Pakistan's party," Rupani said while addressing a rally here.

"Though it is not going to happen, if Congress wins May 23, then Diwali will be celebrated in Pakistan. If on May 23 Prime Minister Narendra Modi gets a clear majority, then there will be mourning in Pakistan," he said and added that Pakistanis are feared of Prime Minister Modi.

Seven-phased Lok Sabha election will begin on April 11, and will culminate on May 19. The counting of votes will be done on May 23.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India on Sunday shared its concerns through an official note to Pakistan Foreign office over the abduction and forced conversion of two Hindu girls to Islam, said sources.

India has also asked that suitable remedial action is taken by the Pakistan government to protect and promote safety, security, and welfare of its own citizens, especially from the minority communities.

Express Tribune quoted the Hindu community leaders from Daharki taluka of Ghotki district in Sindh, who claimed that the two underage girls, belonging to the scheduled caste community, were abducted by the people from Kohbar and Malik tribes on March 21.

The brother of the two girls, aged 13 and15 years old, further alleged that his sisters were "forcibly arrested" and "converted to Islam" before being subjected to underage marriages.

Meanwhile, the two girls on Sunday approached a court in Bahawalpur seeking protection. The incident came to light after the girls' father and brother revealed the details in videos that went viral on social media.

In a separate video, however, the girls can be seen saying that they accepted Islam out of their own free will. The police, under suspicion, has arrested a man from Khanpur who is believed to have assisted in the underage marriages of the two girls.

Pakistan Human rights activists have claimed that this is another case of forced conversion and abduction, which are becoming increasingly common in the southern region of Sindh.

The case of two Hindu girls from Sindh is one of many cases of forced conversion and marriage of underage Hindu girls to Muslim men, which are repeated in villages of districts of Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar and Umerkot in Sindh (close to Indian border) from time to time, many of which go unreported. These three districts Mirpurkhas (33 pc Hindus), Tharparkar (36 pc Hindus) and Umerkot (49 pc Hindus) contribute to the significant Hindu community in Sindh.

In January 2019, Anusha Kumari, a 16-year old Hindu girl, was abducted and forcefully married to a Muslim man. The High Commission has taken up this case with Pakistan.

On June 07, 2017, 16-year-old Ravita Meghwar, an underage Hindu girl, was forcefully converted and married to a Muslim man. Ravita Meghwar's parents claimed that their daughter was abducted by men from influential Syed community in Tharparkar district and forcibly converted by Pir Ayub Jan at the Sarhandi shrine in Samaro and married off to one of her kidnappers Nawaz Ali Shah.

Another case of forced conversion of a Hindu minority teacher was of Arti Kumari in Sindh in September 2017. Another minor Sikh girl Priya Kaur, 17, was kidnapped and married on April 28-29, 2017, to one Wajid Ali in Buner district of KP and was forced to embrace Islam.

The government of India has taken up cases of intimidation of Sikhs, Hindus, as also the desecration of their places of worship, with the Pakistan government in February 2019, June 2018 and December 2017.

A 2014 report from the Movement for Solidarity and Peace estimated that nearly 1,000 non-Muslim girls are forcibly converted to Islam in Pakistan every year. The report found that forced marriages usually follow a similar pattern: girls between the ages of 12 and 25 are abducted, made to convert to Islam, and then married to the abductor or an associate.

Normally, no cognizance is taken of such complaints. Even if a complaint is registered, during the conclusion of the case, abducted girls remain in custody of the abductors and suffer all kinds of abuse and violence. Such cases rarely end in the girls going back to their real families.

After the issue of forced conversions of underage Hindu girls in Sindh, social activists along with Hindu organizations pushed the Sindh Assembly to pass a bill against the practice in November 2016. But due to opposition from Muslim organizations, the Governor returned (January 2017) the Bill to Sindh Assembly, and the bill is lying with the Sindh Assembly.

According to Pakistan media reports, Sarhandi shrine in Samaro in Umerkot and Barchundi Sharif in Mirpurkhas are active in religious conversions of Hindus and claimed to have converted thousands of Hindu girls and young women to Islam, mostly those belonging to Scheduled Castes-Bheel, Meghwar, Bhaagri and Kohli.

Pir Waliullah Sarhandi at the Sarhandi shrine said, "When a young girl is brought before a qazi for conversion to Islam, the qazi must comply immediately, else he becomes kafir."

The northern and central Sindh is mostly home to upper caste Hindu business families, and most of them have now shifted to Karachi. These rich Hindu families experience fewer cases of forced conversions of their daughters, mostly for ransom or property or to drive out them from the particular area.

However, in the southern Sindh (Mirpurkhas, Umerkot , nd Tharparkar) the Hindus are of low castes and are agro-based bonded labour who do not have any access to education, health, and basic amenities and are called 'Haris' working on the landholdings of Muslim Zamindaars. The daughters and women of 'Haris' are easy prey for the Muslim Zamindaars.

According to Pakistan social activists, at least 25 conversions of young Hindu girls and women take place every month in Kunri and Samaro Talukas of Umerkot. After the conversion, the girls, in most cases, are never again seen by their families.

Before the conversion, the girls are kept 15-20 days in captivity where they are raped and intimidated not to go back to their families and the Maulvies convert them to Islam. The girls also due to social stigma and pregnancy choose the lesser evil of living with the kidnapper.

In most of the cases, the kidnappers are old Zamindaars who are looking for young consorts and domestic help. These girls and their children are never accepted by these Zamindaar families and they are given separate accommodation. According to local Hindus, only the wealthy Muslim Zamindaars prey on their young girls and women.

With the increase in the activities of various madrassas of different Islamic denominations and Muslim charity organisations in Tharparkar, Umerkot and Mirpurkhas, other than the forced conversion of underage Hindu girls and women, active efforts are being made to convert Hindu families by offering them material inducement such as ration, livestock, and housing. In recent times, the issue of forced conversion has become a burning issue in the region.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rishabh Pant's unbeaten knock of 78 runs and spirited performances by bowlers helped Delhi Capitals beat Mumbai Indians by 37 runs on Sunday at the Wankhede Stadium.

The unbeaten knock of 78 by Pant saw the batsman recording the fastest fifty ever scored against Mumbai Indians in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL).

In pursuit of 214, Mumbai Indians got off to a quickfire start as openers Quinton de Kock and Rohit Sharma started going after the bowling from the very start.

Ishant Sharma was able to strike big for Delhi as he dismissed Sharma for 14 runs in the fourth over of the innings. Suryakumar Yadav (2) who came into bat at number three, was sent back into the dugout early as the batsman was run out by Delhi skipper Shreyas Iyer after deciding to take a suicidal run.

Mumbai were pegged further back as de Kock (27) was sent packing by Ishant Sharma and Mumbai were reduced to 46 runs for the loss of three wickets after the first six overs.

The team's hopes were relying on Kieron Pollard and Yuvraj Singh and these two did not disappoint as they both stitched together a partnership of 50 runs. But Keemo Paul came to Delhi's rescue as he picked up the scalp of Pollard (21), dismissing him in the 11thover.

Capitals picked up the wicket of Hardik Pandya reasonably early dismissing him for a duck reducing Mumbai to 95 for five.

Krunal Pandya, who came out to bat at number seven played a cameo of 32 runs off just 15 deliveries, but when Trent Boult dismissed him, Mumbai were facing an uphill task.

With 80 required off the final five overs, Yuvraj gave it his best shot but he kept on losing partners at the other end and Delhi was finally able to win the match by 37 runs.

Earlier, Mumbai Indians won the toss and they opted to bowl first.

After being asked to bat first, Delhi Capitals got off to a poor start as they lost their opener Prithvi Shaw for just seven runs in the second over of the innings.

Iyer (16), who came into bat at number three, was looking good in the middle, but Mitchell McClenaghan dismissed him too in the fourth over reducing the Delhi side to 29 for two.

Colin Ingram, who came out to bat next, stitched together a partnership of 83 runs along with opener Shikhar Dhawan. Both the batsman mixed aggression with caution perfectly, allowing Capitals to stage a comeback in the match.

Ben Cutting provided the much-needed breakthrough for Mumbai as he dismissed Ingram for 47 runs. Pant came out to bat next, and he made his intentions clear from the start, playing some audacious shots to take the team to an above-par score on the Wankhede wicket.

Dhawan was finally dismissed for 43 runs in the 16thover by Hardik Pandya.

McClenaghan was among the wickets again as he sent back Paul to the dugout for just three runs but Pant continued to pile on the misery on the Mumbai bowlers as he kept on scoring boundaries at regular intervals.

Mumbai kept on taking wickets at regular intervals, but Pant's dominance allowed the Delhi Capitals to post 213 runs on the board for the loss of six wickets. Pant finished the innings with an unbeaten knock of 78 runs off just 27 deliveries and Delhi were able to score 99 runs in the final six overs.

McClenaghan was the pick of the Mumbai Indians bowlers as he was to take three wickets.

Delhi Capitals next take on Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday, March 26 whereas Mumbai Indians will play against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday, March 28.

Brief Scores: Delhi Capitals 213-6 (R Pant 78*, C Ingram 47, M McClenaghan 3-40, B Cutting 1-27) beat Mumbai Indians 176-all out (Y Singh 53, K Pandya 32, K Rabada 2-23, I Sharma 2-34,) by 37 runs.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
It is time to move on and govern the country, US Senator and senior Republican Lindsey Graham said on Sunday while hailing Attorney General William Barr's principal conclusions of the Robert Mueller investigations.

"I have just received topline findings from Attorney General Barr. Good day for the rule of law. Great day for President (Donald) Trump and his team. No collusion and no obstruction. The cloud hanging over President Trump has been removed by this report," Graham tweeted.

"Bad day for those hoping the Mueller investigation would take President Trump down," he said, outrightly showing his support for the US President.

"Great job by Mr Mueller and his team to thoroughly examine all things Russia. Now it is time to move on, govern the country, and get ready to combat Russia and other foreign actors ahead of 2020," Graham added.

The now culminated 22-month long Mueller investigation into Russian interference in 2016 Presidential elections - which saw Trump come into power - found that neither Trump nor his associates conspired with Russia to influence the elections.

Even though Mueller found that Russian government actors did indeed seek to influence the elections, he did not find any evidence which suggested that Trump was involved in these efforts.

However, Mueller fell short of completely exonerating the US President when it came down to concerns regarding obstruction of justice.

"The Special Counsel's decision to describe the facts of his obstruction investigation without reaching any legal conclusions leaves it to the Attorney General to determine whether the conduct described in the report constitutes a crime," Barr's summary stated.

The Attorney General, on the hand, made the decision to not prosecute Trump in relation to an obstruction-of-justice offence

"After reviewing the Special Counsel's final report on these issues; consulting with Department officials, including the Office of Legal Counsel; and applying the principles of federal prosecution that guide our charging decisions, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and I have concluded that the evidence developed during the Special Counsel's investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offence," Barr said.

Trump's legal team and most Republicans have readily welcomed the findings of Mueller's investigations - the very same that Trump decried on various occasions.

The Democrats, on the other hand, have alleged discrepancies and called for full transparency. In fact, the Chair of the US House Committee on the Judiciary, Jerrold Nadler, has announced that he will be calling Barr to testify before the committee in the "near future".

"There must be full transparency in what Special Counsel Mueller uncovered to not exonerate the President from wrongdoing. DOJ owes the public more than just a brief synopsis and decision not to go any further in their work," Nadler tweeted.

"Special Counsel Mueller worked for 22 months to determine the extent to which President Trump obstructed justice. Attorney General Barr took 2 days to tell the American people that while the President is not exonerated, there will be no action by DOJ," he highlighted.

"In light of the very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department following the Special Counsel report, where Mueller did not exonerate the President, we will be calling Attorney General Barr in to testify before @HouseJudiciary in the near future," Nadler lastly announced on Sunday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actor-turned-politician and chief of Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) Kamal Haasan will not be contesting any coming elections in the state.

Hassan will not be contesting either the Lok Sabha polls or the by-polls happening in 18 constituencies of the state.

"I take pride in lifting this (announced candidates) palanquin rather than being on one. I have a lot of work to do. I will work for the success of my candidates," he said on Sunday.

Hassan had founded the party on February 21, 2018, to contest elections in Tamil Nadu.

Last week, Haasan had hit out at the Tamil Nadu ruling party AIADMK over its alleged links and inaction in connection with the Pollachi sexual assault case.

In a video posted on his Twitter, Haasan said, "This is a country where gods lived and fought if something happened to their wives. How are you going to wipe the insult made to your Amma Mr Edappadi K Palaniswami."

Haasan was referring to ex Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha.

In Pollachi sex scandal, more than fifty women were lured and sexually harassed by a gang of four and the acts were video-graphed.

Four accused persons identified as Sabarirajan, Sathish, Thirunavukarasu, and Vasan Kumar were arrested in the case.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amidst tensions between the Congress-JDS coalition in Karnataka over the Tumkur Lok Sabha constituency, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara on Sunday urged Congress leader SP Muddahanumegowda to "obey the coalition dharma".

"I request him (SP Muddahanumegowda) to obey the coalition dharma. We have to follow high command's order that gave eight seats to JDS. If HD Deve Gowda changes his mind, please give this seat to us," Parameshwara told media here.

His comment came after Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Muddahanumegowda for "unnecessarily" creating disturbance in the state ahead of the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking to ANI, Kumaraswamy said: "We all are fighting unitedly but a few people are unnecessarily creating a disturbance for their personal gains." "It is Congress' responsibility to sort out its own issues."

On March 23, JDS confirmed that former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda will contest from Tumkur, one of eight Lok Sabha seats conceded to JDS as a part of the seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress in Karnataka.

However, JDS' announcement, Muddahanumegowda announced that he will file his nomination as the Congress candidate from Tumkur seat.

Karnataka will go to polls during the second and third phases of Lok Sabha polling on April 18 and April 23, respectively. Results will be announced on May 23.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 17 seats in Karnataka while the Congress bagged nine seats and JDS got two seats.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Congress Lok Sabha member SP Muddahanumegowda for "unnecessarily" creating disturbance in the state ahead of the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking to ANI, Kumaraswamy said: "We all are fighting unitedly but a few people are unnecessarily creating a disturbance for their personal gains." "It is Congress' responsibility to sort out its own issues," he said.

On March 23, JDS confirmed that former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda will contest from Tumkur, one of eight Lok Sabha seats conceded to JDS as a part of the seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress in Karnataka.

His comments come a day after SP Muddahanumegowda filed his nomination as the Congress candidate from Tumkur seat. His move has jolted Congress-JDS coalition in Karnataka.

On March 19, Chief Minister Kumaraswamy said the Congress and JDS will be fighting together in the impending Lok Sabha elections, in order to prevent the BJP from making strides in the state.

Karnataka will go to polls during the second and third phases of Lok Sabha polling on April 18 and April 23, respectively. Results will be announced on May 23.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 17 seats in Karnataka while the Congress bagged nine seats and JDS got two seats.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A recent study has revealed that obesity may play a role in reproductive problems in women with type 1 diabetes.

The study was presented at ENDO 2019; the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in New Orleans, La. Earlier studies have shown that type 1 diabetes is associated with menstrual irregularities and lower rates of fertility.

"Women with type 1 diabetes remain at risk of significant reproductive problems despite improvements in current therapies, and this may be partly explained by the high prevalence of obesity in this group," said lead researcher Eleanor Thong, M.B.B.S., Monash Centre for Research and Implementation, Clayton, Australia.

The researchers analysed data from the large community-based Australian Longitudinal Study in Women's (ALSWH). A total of 23,752 women aged 18-23 and 34-39 were included in the study.

Of these women, 162 had type 1 diabetes. The researchers found 24 per cent of women with type 1 diabetes were obese, compared with 16 percent of those without diabetes. Another notable finding was that one in four women with type 1 diabetes was current smoker, compared to one in six controls.

Menstrual irregularities were seen in 47 per cent of those with type 1 diabetes, compared with 35 per cent of those without the disease. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) was found in 14 per cent of those with diabetes, compared with 5 per cent in those without the disease.

Women with PCOS produce higher-than-normal amounts of male-type hormones. This hormone imbalance causes them to skip menstrual periods and makes it harder for them to get pregnant.

Menstrual irregularity was associated with increased body mass index (BMI), high blood pressure, smoking and PCOS in this cohort.

In women with prior pregnancies, those with type 1 diabetes experienced significantly more miscarriages (46 per cent compared with 33 per cent of those without diabetes) and stillbirths (7 per cent versus 1 per cent). There was no difference in pregnancy rates.

"Despite universal healthcare and improved diabetes management, the risk of miscarriages and stillbirths remain elevated in women with type 1 diabetes. Increased BMI may play a role in the development of PCOS, menstrual and reproductive problems. Furthermore, smoking is associated with an increased risk of menstrual disorders and miscarriage in this cohort," said co-author Professor Helena Teede, M.B.B.S. Ph.D., of the Monash Centre for Research and Implementation.

"Pre-conception care and counselling in reproductive-aged women with type 1 diabetes, including weight management and smoking cessation, is imperative to minimise complications in pregnancy," she added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Polling began on Sunday after nearly five years of military rule in Thailand where around 51 million voters are eligible to exercise their franchise, South China Morning Post reported.

In the Thai general elections, the current military-backed junta leader, Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is seeking to hold on to the Prime Minister's post, is pitted against the anti-junta parties led by loyalists to exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The polls, after being postponed several times, is being held for the first time since Prayuth toppled Shinawatra's government in 2014 and a new constitution was written by the military junta.

Meanwhile, Shinawatra's Pheu Thai Party that draws support from the rural poor, has won every election since 2001, however, only to be unseated by coups.

Polling began at 8 a.m. (local time) and will end at 5 p.m. when counting begins. The results are expected to be announced on Sunday night.

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who took the throne in 2016, late on Saturday issued a statement urging the people to choose "good people" and to maintain "peace and order".

According to The Daily Star, there are 500 parliamentary seats - 350 constituency wards and 150 party list seats - being contested by various political parties.

As many as 93,200 polling stations have been set up in 77 provinces across the country.

The 500 MPs and the 250 junta-appointed senators will each have a vote on who becomes the Prime minister.

Meanwhile, the Democrat Party, led by Abhisit Vejjajiva, which is in the fray, has favoured the formation of a neutral government.

"Time's up for dictatorship. Time's up for corruption. It's time for 'democracy with integrity.' Vote Democrat," he said.

In February, the Thai Election Commission disqualified Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya from running for the post of the Prime Minister after King Vajiralongkorn publicly voiced his disapproval for the Princess' foray, while labelling the move as "inappropriate."

Upon the orders of the King, the Thai Raksa Chart party, which gave the ticket to the Princess, was later dissolved, amid rumours of a coup once again.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Using hashtag #VoteKar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday went on a tweet spree again urging celebrities from various fields to motivate people to vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

Interestingly, Prime Minister Modi tweeted 16 times in just half-an-hour using the hashtag.

"My fellow Indians, The time has come to say- #VoteKar. In the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, ensure that you as well as your family and friends turnout in record numbers. Your doing so will have a positive impact on the nation's future," he tweeted.

He later went on to tag film celebrities like Hrithik Roshan, Anupam Kher, Kabir Bedi, R Madhavan, Anil Kapoor, Ajay Devgn, Madhuri Dixit, Madhur Bhandarkar, Rajkummar Rao, Parineeti Chopra and Kartik Aryan among others to ask their respective fans to go and vote in the coming election.

This was the second time when Prime Minister Modi made such an appeal.

On March 13, he had urged various politicians to encourage voter participation and urged them to inspire more people to come out and vote during the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

"I appeal to Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar, Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav and MK Stalin to encourage increased voter participation in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. A high turnout augurs well for our democratic fabric," Prime Minister Modi wrote at that time.

He later went on to call upon Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to "work towards bringing maximum Indians to the polling booths in the upcoming elections. May voter awareness efforts be strengthened across the length and breadth of India."

Seven-phased elections in the country will begin on April 11, and will culminate on May 19. The counting of votes will be done on May 23.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As many as 16 people were killed and 48 others injured in a warehouse explosion in Myanmar on Sunday, an official said.

Nyi Rang, External Relation Officer of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) in Lashio, said: "The explosion took place in Mongmao town in the Wa Self-Administered Division, or 'Special Region 2' of Shan state on Saturday evening.

"We had difficulties in providing medical services to so many injured people here. We sent them to the hospital in neighbouring China for medical treatment," Nyi Rang told the Xinhua news agency.

The explosion rocked the warehouse where construction materials, including gas cylinders and explosives, were stored.

--IANS

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Police have arrested three Indians, two men and a woman, for trading in locally-manufactured booze.

One of the bootleggers was seen standing near a mini bus on an open ground in Hawalli area on Saturday. When police approached him for routine check, the officers saw another man and a woman in the bus, the Arab Times quoted Al-Rai daily as saying.

Police seized from them polyethylene bags filled with booze and ready for sale. The three are likely to be deported from Kuwait.

--IANS

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Teen angst has long served as the inspiration for great musical theater. The Fantasticks (1960), Bye Bye Birdie (1960),  the 2006 Tony-winning musical based on an 1891 German play, and Fun Home, the 2013 winner inspired by cartoonist Alison Bechdels graphic novel.

 a rock musical with music by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul ( Greatest Showman) and book by Steven Levenson that took home six Tonys, including best musical in 2017, is the latest blockbuster to play on those familiar themes of adolescence.

The touring production comes to the Broward Center on Tuesday, March 26 for a two-week run starring Ben Levi Ross in the title role.

There are so many pieces why this show has been such a success, said Ross in a telephone interview. The characters are so specific, so real and so flawed. Theres not one person on the stage where you recognize a perfect moral compass. Everyone has their moments of levity and big pitfalls and they deal with them in real and different ways.

Dear Evan Hansen tells the story of a young man with social anxiety disorder who so yearns to make a connection with his peers that he fabricates a relationship with a deceased student.

In a misguided attempt to comfort the boys grieving family, Evan pretends that he was good friends with their son. He fabricates an email account to prove their friendship, and when a fake suicide note makes its way online, Evan finds himself the unintended face of a viral video about loneliness and friendship.

Evan is drawn deeper and deeper into the lie and his relationship with his actual mother wanes in comparison to that of his shiny new family. He finally lands the girl of his dreams, and, most importantly, hes no longer invisible.

Eventually, Evan is forced to make a decision: Will he give himself over to the fantasy hes created, or will he reveal the truth and risk losing everything hes ever wanted?

It really is a play with music, Ross said. Its not an operetta. There is a sturdy book by Steven Levenson, so audiences can expect a well-constructed story that is riveting and exciting and you never know whats happening next. The score is beautiful. Benj and Justin are geniuses. The score verges and converges with pop music in a tasteful way that maintains beautiful, intricate, lush musical theater melodies.

The role has been equally life-changing for Ross, who left his musical theater program at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh to join the Broadway cast as an understudy. He spent 10 months in New York before taking the lead in the first national tour last year and beginning his travels across the country to cities both large and small.

Its been a dream come true, he said.

The national touring production of Dear Evan Hansen opens March 26 and runs through April 7 at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale. Tickets start at $63 at BrowardCenter.org.
An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale hit Indonesia's North Maluku province on Sunday, but a tsunami alert has not been issued.

The quake struck at 1.37 p.m., with the epicentre recorded at 139 km northwest of Jailolo and the shallow at 10 km under the sea bed, a disaster agency official told Xinhua news agency.

"We didn't issue a tsunami alert as this quake had no potential for it," he said.

There were no immediate reports of any damage or injuries.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The first phase of voting begins from April 11 and WhatsApp - and not its parent company Facebook - has turned out to be the biggest social media platform for more than 87,000 groups to target millions with political messaging.

According to WhatsApp, over 20 crore Monthly Active Users (MAUs) are using its platform in India, but the fact is that these numbers are dated back to February 2017 and the company has not shared latest India numbers for over two years now.

India today has nearly 43 crore smartphone users, according to Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Research.

If we go by these numbers, 20 crore can't be a right figure as almost every smartphone owner - from your grandpa to the maid at home -- uses WhatsApp and is a potential target for the groups working round-the-clock to reach them.

"By the end of 2016, India had nearly 28-30 crore smartphone users. Today, it has crossed 40 crore.

"People across age-groups are using WhatsApp so it is safe to say that the Facebook-owned platform reaches over 30 crore Indians, almost to the size of Facebook users in the country or even bigger," Tarun Pathak, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, told IANS.

With Reliance Jio, data has gone ultra-cheap and political parties are now seen to livestream rallies, press meets and TV debates on Facebook and YouTube to reach their target audiences in the hinterlands.

"Over 87,000 groups aiming to influence the voters are currently active on WhatsApp. From fake statistics related to various government policies to news promoting regional violence, manipulated political news, government scams, historical myths, propaganda to patriotism and Hindu nationalism -- WhatsApp has it all in the election season," informed social media expert Anoop Mishra.

One WhatsApp Group can have a maximum of 256 users so these 87,000 groups can reach over 2.2 crore people directly.

Now imagine one user from these groups forwarding one message to five (maximum forward limit on WhatsApp) and these groups can actually engage a much bigger audience in their mission to influence voters.

Realising the importance of curbing fake news, WhatsApp has launched several initiatives, from awareness programmes on dangers of fake news on TV, radio and digital platforms to limiting the number of forwards to five.

It has also tied up with the Nasscom Foundation to train nearly 1,00,000 Indians to spot false information and provide tips and tricks to stay safe on WhatsApp.

"We're pleased that the recent changes we've made to limit viral content and educate users is having an impact. This work is never done -- there is more that we can and will do," WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose said in a statement recently.

WhatsApp, including other social media firms, will now have to process any request from the Election Commission to take down content within three hours during the 48-hour period before voting days.

The task is enormous and the stakes are high.

"WhatsApp has been trying to curb the spread of fake news but has got a little success in doing so. Let us see how the things unfold as we enter the crucial election time," added Mishra.

(Nishant Arora can be contacted at nishant.a@ians.in)

--IANS

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The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has removed a doctor from the post of Assistant Professor for not possessing the requisite qualification, following an order in this regard by the Delhi High Court.

An official letter issued by AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria, a copy of which has been accessed by IANS, said that subsequent to an order by the Delhi High Court, Kanika Jain's appointment "to the post of Assistant Professor of Hospital Administration hereby stands terminated with immediate effect".

Last year, a Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) bench headed by its Chairman Justice L. Narasimha Reddy, along with administrative member Aradhana Johri, were of the opinion that Jain's degree of Diplomate of National Board (DNB) was not sufficient qualification for the post.

The tribunal had then set aside her appointment and said and she needed to undergo an additional year of residency in a hospital recognised by the Medical Council of India (MCI).

The CAT had said that, as per the regulations, of the four years of training, one year had to be in an MCI-recognised hospital.

The tribunal's decision came on the plea by three doctors who had also applied for the post of Assistant Professor of Hospital Administration in the AIIMS.

They had challenged Jain's appointment on the ground that she did not have the requisite qualifications.

Jain, in her defence, had claimed that her DNB degree was equivalent to an MD degree and, therefore, she was qualified for the post.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amazon Echo with in-built Alexa or Google Home smart speakers can not only play your favourite songs at home but can also assist doctors during medical procedures, say researchers.

Smart speakers can be programmed to act as an aid to physicians in hospital operating rooms, researchers said on Saturday during the Society of Interventional Radiology's annual scientific meeting in Austin, Texas.

Smart home speakers offer a conversational voice interface that allows interventional radiology (IR) physicians to ask questions and retrieve information needed for their patient treatments without breaking sterile scrub.

During treatment, IRs rely on nuanced medical information delivered in a timely manner.

"When you're in the middle of a procedure, you need to remain sterile, so you lose the ability to use a computer," said Kevin Seals, MD, a fellow in interventional radiology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

This smart speaker technology helps us to quickly and intelligently make decisions relevant to a patient's specific needs, added Seals, who is also the lead author of the study.

To reach this conclusion, the researchers at UCSF developed a device-sizing application for the Google Home smart speaker.

The application processes questions from a human voice and provides recommendations on the precise sizing of medical devices.

There are hundreds of devices, with more being introduced every day, making it difficult to determine the correct sizing or materials needed in every circumstance.

"This technology allows physicians to concentrate more closely on the care of their patients, devoting less time and mental energy to device technicalities," noted Seals.

In developing the application, size specifications were acquired using literature reviews for 475 IR devices, such as catheters, sheaths, stents, vascular plugs and others.

"Further research will look to provide information from electronic health records and patient clinical data, such as allergies or prior surgeries," said researchers.

--IANS

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Lashing out at the "adulterated" of the opposition and corruption of the Congress, BJP President Amit Shah and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday urged voters to back Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA for better governance and national security.

Scoffing at the opposition alliance's politics, which he said, was without principles and policies, Shah, addressing a rally at the Agra College grounds, joked that of they came to power, each day of the week could have a new Prime Minister.

In a veiled attack at Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, he said some big players of the opposition were fighting shy of contesting elections.

Accusing the BSP and its alliance partner, the Samajwadi Party, of only promoting caste while the Congress thrived on corruption, Shah said that, on the other hand, there had not been a single corruption charge against the Modi government.

India today looked confident and fully assured of national safety, after recent strikes against cross-border terrorism following the Pulwama tragedy, he said.

About Agra, the hub of tourism, Shah said cleaning of Yamuna river would be a priority of the government.

Adityanath said that people all over wanted Modi back as the Prime Minister because he had truly and effectively championed the cause of the under-privileged and the poor without distinction of caste or community.

Detailing various achievements of the Modi government in infrastructure, construction of homes and toilets and provision of electricity and cooking gas, he also cited the Kumbh, attended by over 24 crore people, as a clear demonstration of its immense faith and commitment to promote cleanliness and security.

Shah and other senior leaders later welcomed a number of leaders from other parties into the BJP.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Confederation of All Indian Traders (CAIT) on Sunday said it would shortly release a National Charter of Traders which would include the core issues of the trading community.

In a statement, it said that traders across the country would vote for any political party in the the upcoming general elections which accepts its charter and provides solutions for the their issues.

Speaking at a conference here, CAIT's Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said: "CAIT will shortly release a National Charter of Traders carrying core issues of the trading community and whichever political party gives a logical roadmap of solutions, the traders will vote for that party as one unit across the country."

Criticising Congress President Rahul Gandhi's recent statement that if voted to power the party would replace the current form of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Khandelwal said that Gandhi does not have a blueprint for an alternate tax regime and demanded that he speak on the party's plans and programs for the trading community.

He also said that the Congress President should not do any "using shoulders of the traders".

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi became on one of the world's most-wanted terrorist leaders when he proclaimed the Islamic State terror organization's so-called caliphate from a pulpit of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in the Iraqi city of Mosul in 2014.

At that time, the IS had conquered half of Syria and around a third of Iraq and had under its control not only the historic city of Mosul, where it filled a power vacuum left by an Iraqi army in retreat, but also Raqqa across the border in Syria. reports Efe news.

Al-Baghdadi had aspirations to export the holy war to every corner of the world but now, almost five years later, the so-called caliphate lies in ruins.

Kurdish-led forces announced the capture of the last IS outpost in southeast Syria on Saturday, although remnants of the group may persist in deserted regions of Iraq and Syria.

The ruthless leader of the extremist group oversaw the murder of thousands of civilians in the name of By harnessing barbaric punishments, the IS imposed a theocratic regime over its de facto state drawing on medieval customs inspired by the early interpretations of Islam.

Al-Baghdadi's reign of terror will be especially remembered the bloodthirsty methods his acolytes used in their slick and professional propaganda videos of warfare, beheadings, torture and executions.

The high-quality production of IS media contributed to the widespread dissemination of the organization's crimes and radical beliefs.

The elusive Al-Baghdadi, who has been presumed killed on several occasions, only made one public recording - the video from al-Nuri Mosque, where he proclaimed himself caliph, a title historically endowed only to those who belong to the lineage of the Prophet Muhammad.

Dressed in black robes, identifying himself with Muhammad's lineage, and with a long beard, the IS leader took on the megalomaniac nom de guerre Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi al-Husseini al-Hashimi al-Qurashi, with which he wanted to associate himself with the Quraysh, an Arab tribe associated with Muhammad, as well as Abu Bakr, the first caliph.

Born in Samara, north of Baghdad in 1971, Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim al-Badri, al-Baghdadi's given name, studied Islamic theology at Baghdad University and became a preacher for several years before joining the armed resistance against the United States invasion under the umbrella of the Iraqi branch of al-Qaida.

During that period, he was arrested and imprisoned for four years in the US-administered Bucca detention camp. He later rejoined the armed struggle.

In 2010, by when he had already adopted his more famous pseudonym, he ascended to the head of the terror group then known as the Islamic State of Iraq.

He displayed seemingly limitless ambition, which led him into a dispute with Osama bin Laden's heir in Al Qaeda, the Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri, whom al-Baghdadi called "a pacifist".

The rupture between the two occurred in April 2013 when al-Baghdadi announced the merger between his group and an Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, which gave birth to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

This decision, which was not authorized by al-Zawahiri, led to his total disengagement with Al Qaeda in January 2014.

His military successes in Syria were followed by a dizzying expansion through Iraq, where the extremists made it to the gates of Baghdad thanks to a dishevelled Iraqi Army.

In the blink of an eye, al-Baghdadi came to dominate a vast territory. The so-called caliphate functioned as a de facto state, with its own institutions and mint.

It became a magnet for extremists across the world and inspired a slew of deadly terror attacks from Europe to southeast Asia.

In Syria and Iraq, al-Baghdadi's men decimated Christian and Yazidi minorities and murdered and tortured thousands of Muslims who refused to bend to their radical interpretation of the Quran.

Since the founding of the so-called caliphate, al-Baghdadi has remained largely silent and has only sent out a few speeches in audio messages.

The most recent proof of his existence came on August 22 when the IS broadcast a 54-minute recording of their rarely-seen leader, although the authenticity of that message could not be verified.

Abul-Hasan Al Muhajir, the IS spokesman, shared an alleged recording of al-Baghdadi on March 18 in which he insisted the so-called caliphate lived on.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actor Colin Farrell, who stars as Holt Farrier in Disney's new live-action version of "Dumbo", says his children are becoming unimpressed that he is a movie actor.

He said that his children Henry, 9, and 15-year-old James aren't "that easily impressed", reports femalefirst.co.uk.

When asked if his children think it's cool that he is in "Dumbo", Farrell told Bang Showbiz: "I don't know man, they are not that easily impressed. Massively disappointing. They see the man behind the mask darling; no no no they are bored of me!"

The "Lobster" star went on to praise the film's "absolutely divine" director Tim Burton and said it was "pure joy" working with the legendary 60-year-old fantasy filmmaker.

--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 and it's old ally the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT) have decided to fight the Lok Sabha elections together in Tripura, leaders of the two parties announced here on Sunday.

The INPT, the state's oldest tribal party, had announced its candidates for the two Lok Sabha seats in the state a week ago after its "seat-sharing negotiations with the Congress failed".

However, the two parties held a joint press conference on Sunday to announce their alliance before the Lok Sabha elections.

"We discussed the political scenario in Tripura and decided to prevent the division of votes. The INPT and the Congress would jointly contest elections to defeat both the ruling BJP and the opposition CPI-M led Left Front in the two Lok Sabha seats," Tripura Congress President Pradyot Bikram Manikya Debbarman said.

He also said Congress President Rahul Gandhi has approved the alliance.

"Without any preconditions, we are supporting the Congress candidates in the elections. The Congress President and the state party leaders have agreed to provide more power and autonomy to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council," said INPT President Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl, earlier nominated for the Tripura East seat.

INPT General Secretary Jagadish Debbarma said the two parties would leave no stone unturned to defeat the BJP and the CPI-M.

"For the welfare of the people of Tripura, especially tribals, the Congress and the INPT would work together like before," said Debbarma, earlier named by the INPT for the Tripura West seat.

The Congress and the INPT have been contesting polls in Tripura jointly since 1983. The two parties also ran a coalition government in the state for five years from 1988.

Polling for Tripura West will be held in the first phase on April 11 and Tripura East in the second phase on April 18. Votes will be counted on May 23.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dubai Police have honoured and promoted a policeman after he turned down a promised monthly bribe of 50,000 dirhams (Rs 942,000 approx).

Officer Mohammed Abdullah Belal's rank was elevated for refusing bribery, said Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, the Khaleej Times reported.

Belal rejected a bribe of 50,000 dirhams monthly, a car and an initial payment of 30,000 dirhams offered to him to prevent monitoring or arresting any member of a gang that wanted to illegally sell alcohol in Al Muhaisnah area in Dubai.

According to Dubai Police Facebook page, Al Marri also awarded Belal with a prize and an appreciation certificate for his honest act.

--IANS

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I was hoping, by now, to have the Ultimate Answer to a critical question, namely: is there a way to predict (or at least suggest) when a major real estate market correction is imminent?

The answer has, to date, eluded my analytical rigor. But I am still looking. There are, fortunately, many other real estate questions on which I can opine that will not only give you a better understanding of the market here in South Florida, but will also (ideally) make you a better informed citizen of our community.

We now find the 2020 campaign for president in full swing. There are so many candidates already, the debate stage is going to look like Wilton Drive the night before one of those big LGBT cruises leaves port.

But heres the thing. All these people  talented and sincere as they may be  are pushing top-down solutions to our problems. And yes, many situations do require that. But theres also a risk in that  namely, that nothing gets done until there are the votes, until after the compromises, until after things make their way back down through the bureaucracy.

Here in South Florida, though, there are things we can do in a bottom-up manner to affect and improve our real estate market, our communities, and our lifestyle that are not contingent on shifting political winds. We dont need to wait.

Among the hats I wear, I am on the Board of Directors of the U. Green Building Council South Florida region. We encourage sustainable building practices, improved use of resources, and creation of resilient communities  things that (in my opinion anyway) South Florida needs in spades.

We dont look at things and believe we are doomed  quite the contrary! In fact, I could argue that the summation of individual and community actions, bit by bit, can roll up to a vast regional and national impact, once a critical mass is achieved.

How would that work? Well consider three things we can do, starting right away, to work within the residential real estate ownership process to drive that sort of change:

1. Whats in your garage/carport? Around 80 percent of single family homes in Broward County have either a garage or a carport. How many of these have an electric car charging station? It would cost $1,000 or so to put one in if theres already electric service. And we know the typical car trip in Broward is about three miles  perfect for an electric car.

This would be an easy  and green  property differentiator in a market gone a bit squishy.

2. How old is that house? The typical single family home in Broward is 40 years old. At their time of construction, energy efficiency was not a prime consideration. But now the aging of the housing stock, and the understanding of impacts of electricity production on our environmentally fragile surroundings, presents opportunity for renovation and rehabilitation projects that would boost energy efficiency and improve sustainability  with a good economic return.

3. A flood zone?! Perhaps one day there will be a tech fix for sea level rise. However, to date Poseidon has not yielded to such efforts. Make it easy on yourself (or at least on your wallet). Avoid the flood zones. Let someone with a deeper pocket be on that risk.

What are some of your ideas? What can we do here, ourselves, regardless of what happens in DC, to use real estate to build a better and more resilient community?

James Oaksun, Florida's Real Estate Geek(SM), is Broker-Owner of New Realty Concepts in Oakland Park. In addition to having degrees from Dartmouth and Cornell, he is a Graduate of the Realtor Institute (GRI).
An unidentified Egyptian woman has filed a complaint with Kuwaiti Police accusing some men wearing Punjabi dress of beating her son, a media report said.

The woman alleged that the men beat her son for no reason and that some of them were armed with knives. She also brought a medical report from the concerned authority showing bruises on her son's body, the Arab Times quoted Al-Rai daily as saying.

She added that the suspects also harassed other teenagers living in the area and appealed to the authorities for help to ensure their security and safety, the report added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian is always moving along new, emerging trajectories. After 20 years of the Congress dominating electoral politics, it was perhaps in 1967 that for the first time the party faced a setback. In 1977, there was another strong anti-Congress mood prevailing in the country following the Emergency. But then, Indira Gandhi once again returned to power with a solid majority, partly due to the Morari-Charan Singh coalition experiment flopping.

After Indira Gandhi's sudden death, Rajiv Gandhi received a massive victory and from 1989 Indian entered, perhaps, its most dynamic phase. A coalition dharma continued until Narendra Modi's electoral victory in 2014.

I recall a particularly interesting anecdote from 1989. V.P. Singh had told both the communists and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that they needed to run the country collectively for a period of five years. He argued that there shouldn't be any open quarrel, that any differences which could and most likely come up needed to be dealt with. To cement this, he instituted a practice of a weekly dinner. But even then, the differences were plain to see.

At the dinner, with the Prime Minister playing host and the Left parties and the BJP - who supported his government - joining in, there would be two separate sections. One had vegetarian dishes and the other non vegetarian dishes. Veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani would queue up with his plate on the vegetarian side while the late Left leader Somnath Chatterjee would be on the other side. V.P. Singh would stand in the centre - a centrist leader trying to keep his two disparate allies together. We all know what happened next - the differences that emerged over the Mandal-Kamandal that defined politics.

In 2019, once again, we are seeing the resurgence of coalition politics. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ridiculed the 'mahagathbandhan' as an instance of 'mahamilawat', with the opposition parties arguing that the Modi government has failed to fulfil the different regional aspirations of the country. The government is autocratic, does not believe in the voice of democracy and is a 'threat to federalism' are hashtags of the opposition campaign.

The debate over federalism in the country is inevitably linked to the concept of coalition dharma in Indian politics. But, as we stand today in 2019, where does that coalition lie, what is the actual scene, the 'zamini hakikat' or ground reality.

Take the instance of Delhi's Arvind Kejriwal and his attempts at forging ties with Rahul Gandhi and the Congress in Delhi. It is a bad cocktail. Many in the Congress party's Delhi unit remain pathologically anti-AAP, arguing that a short-term alliance with the party that dethroned them in Delhi would pose a long-term existential threat in the state for them.

Let's take another example. In Uttar Pradesh, neither Mayawati nor Akhilesh Yadav have reacted well to Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's political overtures. Even within the Samajwadi Party, there remain divisions. Mulayam Singh Yadav, his wife and daughter-in-law are actively working against Akhilesh, said party leaders.

In West Bengal, the Congress and the Left alliance has crashed before it could start. West Bengal's senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan tried a lot to make this happen. But ultimately, the personal chemistry between Mamata Banerjee and Rahul Gandhi is not at its best. Banerjee was never keen on an alliance with the Congress because she knows that in Bengal, the grand old party is in a state of decay. Eventually, the BJP will become the main opposition. But right now, the Trinamool's domination, on the basis of Banerjee's brand equity in the state, is undeniable. She has virtually become the Congress in the state, taking up the space that they once occupied. She remains that rare leader who left the Congress and managed to take the entire vote share with her. She knows that if her party was to align with the Congress, it would be the Congress that would benefit more in the state than the other way around.

In Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu is in a more deplorable position. Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has become a serious threat to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and, as a result, Chandrababu had to forge an alliance with the Congress to try and portray Reddy as an agent of the BJP. For him, the strategy is perfect - but Banerjee remains more confident of her position so chose not to go into a pre-poll alliance. But does having Naidu on his side help Rahul Gandhi? In Telangana, he remains the main khalnayak since he was opposed to the formation of a separate state. One senior Congress leader admitted that the leader had become a "gale ka haddi" (bone stuck in throat) for the Congress.

Similarly in Maharashtra, the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party relations have not been the best. Sharad Pawar has never, personally, been a trusted leader for the Congress.

The problem, historically for the Congress, is that they are not a very ally-friendly party. In fact, the Congress style still has a 'zamindari' mindset, a feudal attitude that is as deeply rooted to their party as its history itself. Earlier, the Congress working committee meetings would take place with leaders sitting on mattresses on the floor, white sheets pulled over them. It was a tradition that started from the earlier days of the Congress in Anand Bhawan in Allahabad. The building is now a museum, with the room where the meetings were held memorialized, complete with the mattresses and the white sheets.

Rahul Gandhi has tried to bring about changes. Now, the Sonia-Rahul-led Congress Working Committee meetings are held in a corporate style. But this is just a change in form, an exterior change that failed to address the underlying issues. Can the Congress completely rework its zamindari DNA? When Rahul Gandhi took over the CWC, he also tried to go it alone. His goal was independent growth of the party. Why should the Congress presuppose coalitions? As a result, the formula for him was one of ekla chalo.

The Congress meet at Pachmarhi was where the seeds of the coalition were planted and then under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi a roadmap was drawn out during the Shimla Summit. This yielded the party dividends then, but today the Congress has to reconsider. This coalition can only come through federalism, keeping the regional, so-called secular forces with Rahul Gandhi. Recently, in the Karnataka Assembly elections, the Congress managed to remove the BJP government only by giving up the driver's seat to HD Deve Gowda's son, HD Kumaraswamy. But, that was a state election. Ultimately, at the national level, in order to combat Modi, a more serious face is needed and the grand alliance still remains in a shambles.

There is growing discontent among regional parties and secular left-liberal intellectuals against him and the main complaint is that, so far, the interpersonal relations required to make such a coalition work has not been seen. Sonia Gandhi had once famously walked to Ram Vilas Paswan's house from her own at 10, Janpath to forge an alliance. True, this was optics for the media. But, even then it was a strong message of her willingness. But, this is something that Rahul Gandhi cannot do.

I do not want to pin the blame solely on him. Regional parties also have to take a share of the blame. Take Mayawati, for instance. Why is she so dead set against the Congress? Advani had told me a very interesting story years ago. When, for the first time, the BJP made an alliance with the BSP and the latter rejected the Congress proposal - it was the late Kanshi Ram who forged the alliance with Advani. Kanshi Ram told Advani: "I have told Mayawati, in the futureawhen I am not there, never go with the Congress. There should be no direct alliance."

Why? The reason that Kanshi Ram had explained to Advani was that the Dalit vote had originally been the Congress vote. It was Gandhi who used the term Harijan and it was only much later that the Dalit vote emerged as a force that demanded its own separate representation. Simply put, an alliance with the Congress could mean that this vote returns to the fold.

Political scientist Rajni Kothari had once said in Indian politics it was the Congress system: a one party dominant (Congress), multi party system. Congress was the platform where all religions, all castes, all regional aspirations and all languages would vote. But as the leadership grew increasingly alienated from the masses, it was the end of innocence. Regional parties grew, and the BJP became a national party.

For India, there have been Morarji Desai, Chandrababu Naidu, V.P. Singh, Chandrashekhar, Deve Gowda and I.K. Gujral. So, the country has experienced a coalition government. But the reality is that the Congress is weak today and railway bogies cannot run the engine. The fate of the mahagathbandhan remains shrouded in pessimism.

(The writer is a senior journalist)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India may increase oil imports from Brazil and Mexico to offset the loss of Venezuelan oil in the wake of US sanctions on that country.

Venezuela is the fourth largest oil supplier to India after Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran. It accounted for about 11 per cent of India's oil supplies in 2017-18, supplying close to 18 million tonnes (mt). But the oil imports from Venezuela have come under threat following the US sanctions, forcing Indian companies to scout for alternate markets.

Diplomatic sources said that both Brazil and Mexico have expressed their desire to strengthen energy sector cooperation and India is evaluating the option and will take a call once it gets reports from its public and private sector oil marketing companies.

India shares good trade relation with both Mexico and Brazil. Both countries are also leading producers of oil, with Brazil at the 10th largest oil producer globally with a production of about 150 million tonnes (mt) of crude and Mexico at 11th position (production 110 mt).

"The two countries can be useful alternate to Venezuelan oil but a decision to enhance imports would depend only after accessing the quality of oil and terms of supply that should be comparable with of Venezuela," said the source.

India is already importing oil from both Brazil and Mexico but the quantity had come down progressively since 2013. While India imported crude worth $ 3.50 billion and $ 1.78 billion from Mexico and Brazil respectively in 2013, this went down to $1.38 billion and $0.81 billion now.

Mexico's state oil company Pemex has reported a decline in production due to its ageing fields resulting in lower output. But the situation may change soon with a new government pushing up production focusing on inviting foreign investment in their fields. Brazil also is undertaking big reforms in the energy sector to increase production and exports of oil.

India imported 155 mt of oil in 2017-18. The imports are expected to hit over 170 mt in FY19 with Saudi Arabia being the largest supplier followed by Iraq and Iran. Oil imports from Iran are already on the decline due to US sanctions. This is expected reduce further once the US removes the waiver given to certain oil importing countries.

The US is seeking to cut off Venezuela's oil revenue as part of its efforts to build pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to step down. The sanctions mean that anyone using US banking channels or having a big presence in the US and continuing to deal with Venezuela will also face restrictions.

In view of this, Indian buyers such as Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy (formerly Essar Oil) have already reduced oil imports. These companies are big on oil imports from Venezuela. In fact, Reliance Industries accounted for 80 per cent of Venezuelan oil imports to India in 2018 at 270,000 barrels a day. But the company has reduced its purchases of Venezuelan crude oil to well below its contracted levels.

(Subhash Narayan can be contacted at subhash.n@ians.in)

--IANS

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An Indian nurse who was stranded in Saudi Arabia along with her newborn baby following a dispute with her employer has finally left the Kingdom after a long legal battle.

Though Tintu Stephen, 28, had won a ruling in her favour from the labour court in Abha, she was barred from leaving the kingdom as her employed filed an appeal in the higher court, the Saudi Gazette reported.

However, in a rare move, the passport authorities granted her an exit-only visa without the consent of her employer after the intervention of the Saudi Human Rights Commission and other high-ranking officials, it said. She left for India on Saturday.

The employer had asked Stephen to deposit a guarantee money to ensure her return to Saudi Arabia after vacation to continue on her job until the contract period was over. The employer also filed a lawsuit in the court.

But the court rejected the employer's demand, paving the way for her return home.

The troubles for Stephen, a resident of Kottayam in Kerala, began when she sought maternity leave to go home in the early stages of her pregnancy, the Gazette said.

Her employer, a polyclinic in Abha where she worked as a staff nurse, delayed her request citing one or the other reason, according to Stephen.

She was arrested at Abha airport based on a complaint filed by her employer as she was about to board a flight to India, the daily said. She was freed on bail and eventually gave birth to a baby girl.

What prevented her from traveling back home after delivery was a runaway report filed by her employer.

Stephen then approached the governorate seeking justice and got the runaway report lifted.

When the court issued a judgment in Stephen's favour, the employer declined to issue her an exit visa saying he would file an appeal in the high court.

The aggrieved nurse, with the help of Indian Consulate representatives Ashraf Kuttichal and Biju Nair, then approached the Asir governorate and the Saudi Human Rights Commission.

Subsequently, the Director General of Passports in Asir Province issued her an exit-only visa without the consent of her employer, which is a rare move in the Kingdom, the report said.

Stephen came to Saudi Arabia on February 7, 2017 on a three-year contract. She said her recruitment agent had assured her that though her contract was for a three-year period, she could avail of annual vacations. She traveled home after one year to get married.

After spending a month in India, Stephen returned to work on May 19, 2018 only to realize that she was pregnant.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will leave on Saturday night for Washington to meet with US President Donald Trump.

The two leaders are scheduled to meet on Monday at the White House and on Tuesday over dinner, reports Xinhua news agency.

The prime minister's office stated that Netanyahu will discuss with Trump "the Iranian aggression, Iran's efforts to entrench militarily in Syria, how to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons, and the tightening of cooperation on security and intelligence matters."

According to the statement, Netanyahu will address the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference on Tuesday morning.

He will also hold diplomatic meetings on Capitol Hill with US politicians.

--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 Karnataka government has revoked the six-month ban its Transport Department slapped on cab ride hailing firm Ola on Friday, state Social Welfare Minister Priyank Kharge said on Sunday.

"@OlacabsAwill run their business as usual from today (Sunday). However, there is an urgent need for policies to catch-up with new technologies & also industries too should work closer with Govt to help evolve policies for innovations," Kharge said in a tweet.

The license to operate four-wheeler vehicles of the city-based online cab aggregator was suspended for six months on March 22 for running bike service in the city on it.

The ban order was issued to Ola operator ANI Technologies Ltd for violating the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules, 2016.

The Transport Department had impounded several of Ola's bike taxis over the last few months, the order said.

Terming the order "unfortunate", Ola said on Friday that it was evaluating all options to find a solution so that its driver-partners could continue to work in the city.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Asserting that Narendra Modi remains the first choice for the post of Prime Minister, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said that Modi does not need the chair, but it is the chair that needs him.

In an interview to IANS, Maurya also said that the alliance between the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party, Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party and the Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal will fail in the state as the people are with Modi and the BJP-led NDA will win more than 73 seats that it won in 2014.

"In the 2019 elections, people of the country have two options in front of them. One is Modiji and another is (Congress President) Rahul Gandhi or a dozen other leaders.

"So, the people are left with a choice of only one candidate - Modiji. The post of Prime Minister is very big. And I can say that Modiji does not need the chair but it is the chair that needs Modiji," Maurya said.

Commenting on the SP-BSP-RLD alliance in the state, the BJP leader said that fear is its basis.

"This alliance has failed in the state. They have done an alliance and announced their candidates but the graph of the BJP is rising.

"People have understood their plans and have formed an alliance with Narendra Modi... we are hopeful of getting more than 73 seats," Maurya said.

The BJP leader said the party was also confident of winning the Amethi parliamentary constituency represented by Rahul Gandhi.

Asked about Bhim Army chief Chandrasekhar wanting to contest against Modi, he said: "BJP never looks at who will contest against Modiji and what will be its effect on the elections."

"We know the people of Varanasi will support Modiji and this time we will get a much bigger mandate," he said adding that the caste or religion card will no longer work.

Commenting on the opposition parties accusing the BJP of politicising the armed forces and posters being brought out by the party leaders with images of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, he said: "For the respect of soldier and the security forces, the entire country is united. And those who will insult the Army will not be accepted by the people."

"After the Modi government came to power, surgical strikes happened twice and once we carried out an air strike against terror outfits in Pakistan. Demanding evidence of the results of the surgical strike and the air strike is respect or disrespect," he asked.

Responding to a question about situation in UP after the Pulwama terror strike that left 40 CRPF troopers dead, he said: "The condition in the state always remained in favour of Modi even before Pulwama happened. There is also no effect of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra or Rahul or Akhilesh or Mayawati."

The BJP had won 71 out of 80 seats in the state in 2014 Lok Sabha polls, while its ally, the Apna Dal won 2. The Congress won two and the SP five.

The seven phased Lok Sabha elections are scheduled from April 11 to May 19. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.

(Anand Singh can be contacted at anand.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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Launching a bitter attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, TDP President and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday said he was like a "demon" for minorities in the country.

Addressing election rallies in Kadapa district, Naidu said minorities were feeling insecure under the Modi government as they were subjected to atrocities in Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and various other states during last five years.

Addressing rallies in Rayachoti and Budvel, he said Modi had become like a demon for minorities having "engulfed" 2,000 lives in Gujarat.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief claimed that when minorities were massacred in Gujarat after Godhra incident in 2002, he was the first to demand Modi's resignation as the Chief Minister of that state.

"I am the first leader to take on Modi," said Naidu and pointed out that he also tabled a no-confidence motion against him in Parliament.

He alleged that Modi government targeted minorities by bringing a law to jail them over triple talaq. "TDP is the first party to raise its voice over this issue," he said.

Naidu, whose TDP pulled out of BJP-led NDA last year, reiterated that Modi betrayed Andhra Pradesh by not keeping his word over special category status to the state.

He alleged that Modi was targeting him and the TDP leaders for demanding justice to the state.

Alleging that YSR Congress Party leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy colluded with Modi to save himself in corruption cases, Naidu said a vote to the YSRCP would be a vote to Modi.

The TDP leader termed YSRCP 'B' team of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and said Modi, Jagan and KCR were partners in a big conspiracy.

Elections to 175-member Andhra Pradesh Assembly and all 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state are scheduled on April 11.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
They have different styles of campaigning and have adopted different strategies to woo voters in the Lok Sabha elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi are the lead campaigners for their parties, but have followed a diverse trajectory in reaching out to people ahead of the crucial polls.

Modi went for several inaugurations and foundation-stone laying functions ahead of declaration of Lok Sabha poll schedule on March 10. Gandhi's campaign has picked up pace since March 10 and he has already campaigned in around 13 states in the last fortnight or so. With the first phase of polling for 91 Lok Sabha seats across 20 states on April 11, Modi is also expected to embark on a whirlwind campaign.

Modi launched Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), the ambitious scheme of the BJP-led government, on February 24 at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. The programme provides vulnerable landholding farmer families, with cultivable land up to 2 hectares, with direct income support at the rate of Rs 6,000 per year.

On the same day, he addressed 'Swachh Kumbh, Swachh Aabhaar' programme in Prayagraj and washed the feet of sanitation workers.

On February 25, Modi dedicated the National War Memorial to the nation and addressed a gathering of ex-servicemen. He also addressed the Rising India Summit.

On Februray 26, he addressed a gathering to mark the unveiling of the world's largest Bhagavad Gita and the Gandhi Peace Prize presentation ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

On February 27, Modi addressed National Youth Parliament Festival Awards Function.

The next day he addressed the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize ceremony and made his widely noticed "pilot project" remarks after the aerial strike by India against a terror camp in Pakistan.

On March 1, Modi launched development projects in Kanyakumari, including flagging-off of the Tejas Express between Madurai and Chennai, and addressed a gathering.

The next day, he interacted with students at Smart India Hackathon, via video conference and addressed the India Today Conclave 2019. He also addressed Construction Technology India event.

On March 3, he unveiled various development projects in Amethi, Rahul Gandhi's parliamentary constituency. He also dedicated the Indo-Russian Rifles Pvt. Ltd. joint venture to the nation at Amethi.

On March 4 and 5, Modi was in Gujarat. He inaugurated new civil, cancer and eye hospitals in Ahmedabad and launched several development projects in the city. He also attended functions at Adalaj and Jaspur and dedicated the Guru Gobind Singh Hospital at Jamnagar to the nation.

On March 5, Modi launched Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM) Yojana from Gujarat. The scheme will assure a monthly pension of Rs 3,000 for the enrolled unorganised sector workers during their old age. He also laid the foundation stone of Shikshan Bhavan and Vidhyarthi Bhavan at Annapurna Dham Trust in Adalaj.

The next day, he launched key development projects at Kalaburagi in Karnataka and Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu.

On March 7, Modi flagged off the Nagpur Metro. The government also released a directory of martyrs of India's Freedom Struggle (1857-1947).

Modi also laid foundation stones of Integrated Command and Control Centres in Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura through video conference.

He interacted with beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana and released a new series of coins to make life easier for the visually impaired.

On March 8, Modi unveiled various development projects at Kanpur and Ghaziabad. He visited Kashi Vishwanath Temple in his Varanasi parliamentary constituency. He also attended the National Women's Livelihood Meet-2019 in the city.

On March 9, Modi launched various development projects at Greater Noida. He laid the foundation stone for two 1,320 MW thermal power plants at Khurja in Uttar Pradesh and Buxar in Bihar, and inaugurated the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Institute of Archaeology and the Noida City Centre-Noida Electronic City section of the Delhi Metro's Blue Line.

Modi addressed the 50th Raising Day celebrations of the CISF on Sunday, the day the poll schedule was announced.

He interacted with around 25 lakh security guards via audio bridge technology on March 20 as part of his campaign "Mai Bhi Chowkidar" ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

On the other hand, Gandhi too has set a hectic pace of campaign visiting 13 states in the past 13 days and has outlined the party's electoral thrust to raise social and economic issues including jobs, healthcare and farm loans to oust the Modi government.

Apart from political rallies, Gandhi has addressed booth workers meetings, interacted with health professionals and addressed a press conference. His programmes also include interactions with students and opinion makers.

Gandhi addressed booth workers meeting at Delhi on March 11. He addressed a rally after a Congress Working Committee meeting in Gujarat on March 12.

He addressed rallies and public meetings in Tamil Nadu on March 13, Kerala on March 14, Chattisgarh and Odisha on March 15, Uttarakhand on March 16, Karnataka on March 18, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur on March 19, Manipur and Tripura on March 20 and Bihar and West Bengal on March 23.

Before he embarked on a hectic campaign from March 11, Gandhi had been attending functions to bolster the party's poll prospects. He was in Punjab on March 7 and earlier interacted with students on February 23.

Both Modi and Gandhi have been stressing election themes in their speeches. Modi has been focusing on nationalism, boldness of his government in retaliating against the Pulwama terror attack by strikes on terror camps, apart from his government's development initiatives.

Gandhi has been emphasising on economic issues including jobs and farmers' distress. In his visit to Tamil Nadu, he promised 33 per cent reservation for women in government jobs.

During his visit to Chhattisgarh, he announced that Congress will ensure right to healthcare for people and it will be more beneficial to people compared to Ayushman Bharat scheme of the Modi government.

Gandhi has also been talking of minimum income guarantee scheme, farm loan waiver, jobs and removing "flaws" in implementation of Goods and Services Tax, which will be replaced by a single rate GST.

The election rhetoric on both sides is getting shriller as the day of polling for the first of seven-phased election approaches.

(Prashant Sood can be contacted at prashant.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address two rallies - one at north Bengal's Siliguri and other at Kolkata's Brigade Parade Ground -- on April 3 ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, a party leader said on Sunday.

"His first public meeting will be in Siliguri at 1 p.m. and then he will attend a rally at Brigade Parade Ground at 3 p.m.," BJP leader Mukul Roy told reporters.

He said no political party had earlier shown the courage to organise a Brigade rally as well as a rally in North Bengal in one day.

"We will successfully organise both the rallies in the time frame of just 10 days. People of north Bengal will come to Siliguri while supporters and activists will join the Brigade rally," he said.

Modi held three rallies in Bengal's Thakurnagar, Durgapur and Jalpaiguri in February where he launched a scathing attack on the Mamata Banerjee government, blaming it for violence, corruption and extortion.

Permission for party's "Save Democracy" programme was denied by West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress and a planned rally at the iconic Brigade could not be organised earlier because it was initially part of the Save democracy programme, Roy said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party holds two Lok Sabha seats in the state and hopes to win at least 22 of the 42 Lok Sabha seats.

West Bengal will see seven-phased polling from April 11 to May 19.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
NASA astronaut Anne McClain assists fellow NASA astronauts Christina Koch (left) and Nick Hague as they verify their U.S. spacesuits are sized correctly and fit properly ahead of a set of upcoming spacewalks. Credit: NASA.

Two Expedition 59 astronauts are checking their spacesuits today and reviewing procedures one final time before tomorrow's spacewalk. The other four residents aboard the International Space Station assisted the spacewalkers, maintained the orbital lab and conducted space science.

NASA Flight Engineers Anne McClain and Nick Hague readied the Quest airlock today where they will begin the first spacewalk of 2019 Friday at 8:05 a.m. EDT. The spacewalkers will work outside for about 6.5 hours of battery upgrade work on the Port-4 truss structure. NASA TV begins its live spacewalk coverage at 6:30 a.m.

VIDEO: NASA experts discuss the upcoming power upgrade spacewalks

The duo also confirmed their U.S. spacesuits are ready for the excursion with all the necessary components, such as helmet lights and communications gear, installed. Afterward, Hague and McClain conducted one more spacewalk timeline review.

They then joined astronauts Christina Koch and David Saint-Jacques for a final conference with spacewalk experts in Mission Control. Both astronauts also charged and set up GoPro cameras before attaching them to the spacewalkers' suit helmets.

Koch started her day cleaning ventilation screens in the Unity module and installing lights in the Permanent Multi-purpose Module. Saint-Jacques set up the AstroPi science education hardware in the Harmony module's window then swapped fan cables in the Life Sciences Glovebox.

Commander Oleg Kononenko and fellow cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin spent the majority of their day in the station's Russian segment. Kononenko and Ovchinin first collected and stowed their blood samples in a science freezer for a Russian metabolism experiment. Ovchinin then unpacked supplies from the recently arrived Soyuz MS-12 crew ship. Kononenko also worked on heart and radiation detection research before assisting the U.S. spacewalkers.

On-Orbit Status Report

AstroPi: Today the crew transferred the AstroPi IR (infrared) unit to the Node 2 window in support of the upcoming European AstroPi Challenge. In this challenge, students and young people are offered the opportunity to conduct scientific investigations in space by writing computer programs that run on Astro Pi's special Raspberry Pi computers aboard ISS. Students can choose either Life in space or Life on Earth as themes for their experiments.

Payload Network Attached Storage (NAS) Vent Clean: Using the AC vacuum cleaner, the crew performed this routine maintenance to clean vents on the front, back, and left side of the Payload NAS. NAS is a file server with 5 hard drive bays that provide a total of 20 terabytes of raw disk space when used with 4 terabyte hard drives. Among other capabilities, the PL NAS supports user file transfers from their machine via web browser and allows onboard ISS systems to access a shared folder location on the NAS.

Hatch Seal Inspection: The crew completed this scheduled maintenance to clean and inspect the USOS hatch seals (Node 2, Node 3, Permanent Multipurpose Module [PMM], Japanese Experiment Module [JEM] and Columbus), hatch plate sealing surface and hatch handle mechanism for Foreign Object Debris (FOD) and/or damage.

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations: In preparation for tomorrow's EVA the crew performed the following:

Equipment Lock prep

Procedures review

GoPro setup

Completed Task List Activities:

None

Ground Activities:

All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

EVA prep support

Look Ahead:

Friday, 03/22:

Payloads:

No utilization activities

Systems:

US Battery EVA #1

Saturday, 03/23:

Payloads:

No utilization activities

Systems:

EVA debrief

Housekeeping

Sunday, 03/24:

Payloads:

No utilization activities

Systems:

Crew off duty

Today's Planned Activities:

All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

R PAO event report preparation

ECON-M. Observations and photo (Task list)

Reminder Periodic Health Status (PHS) Evaluation

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Reminder for EVA In-Suit Light Exercise (ISLE) Preparation

Standard Measures Post-sleep Questionnaire

KORREKTSIYA. Venous blood collection

KORREKTSIYA. Photography

KORREKTSIYA. Venous blood sample processing using Plasma-03 centrifuge

KORREKTSIYA. Handover to USOS for MELFI Insertion

Insertion of Russian experiments blood samples into MELFI

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Periodic Health Status (PHS) Pre EVA Examination Setup

Daily Planning Conference

ISS Crew and  (RSA Flight Control Team) weekly conference

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Periodic Health Status (PHS) Pre EVA Examination - Subject

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Periodic Health Status (PHS) Pre EVA Examination - Crew Medical Officer (CMO)

Photo TV EVA Go Pro Battery Charging

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Periodic Health Status (PHS) Pre EVA Examination - Subject

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Periodic Health Status (PHS) Pre EVA Examination - Crew Medical Officer (CMO)

Inventory Management System (IMS) conference

In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Node 1 to Node 3 Intermodule Ventilation (IMV) Cleaning

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Pre-EVA Periodic Health Status Examination - Stow

Scheduled monthly maintenance of Central Post Laptop. Downlink Log-files via OCA. necessary

KORREKTSIYA. Data transfer from Actimeter device to data storage device

Behavioral Core Measures Journals Questionnaire

KORREKTSIYA. Closeout Ops

MORNING PREPARATION WORK

CARDIOVECTOR. Experiment Session.

PMM1SD2 Light Installation

CARDIOVECTOR. Photography of the Experiment Session

Hatch Seal Inspection

PMM1PD3 Light Installation

PILLE Dosimeter Reading

PMM1PD4-LIGHT-INSTALL

Soyuz 742 Transfers and IMS Ops

Equipment Lock (E-LK) Preparation

PILLE sensors gathering and setup prior to USOS EVA

Crew Time for ISS Adaptation and Orientation

AstroPi IR setup in Node 2

Weekly monitoring of video recording equipment performance on the ISS RS

Weekly Health Check of ISS RS Video Recording Equipment (Handover)

Soyuz 742 Transfers and IMS Ops

FGB Gas Analyzer Vacuum Cleaning

Health Maintenance System (HMS) ISS Food Intake Tracker (ISS FIT)

ISS Crew Orientation

Cleaning FGB 1 Circulation Fan Protective Screen

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review

Life Sciences Glovebox (LSG) Fan E-Box Cable Swap Part 1

EVA Procedure Review

Delta file prep

Payloads Network Attached Storage (NAS) Vent Cleaning

Photo TV GoPro Setup

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Conference

 Reconfiguration in MRM1

SEPARATION. [--] vacuuming unit [2-2] and [1] pump drying.

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) iPad Contingency Procedures preparation

NG11 Stowage Consolidation in JEM

Comm reconfig for nominal ops

Countermeasures System (CMS) VELO Exercise session, Day1

Replacement of urine receptacle () and filter-insert (-) in . Post-Replacement [] Activation

ISS Crew Orientation

Handover of Increment 59 Crew

 maintenance

Photography of Plume Impingement and Deposit Monitoring Unit [] position on MRM2 through SM window No.13 - Preparation

Life Sciences Glovebox (LSG) Fan E-Box Cable Swap Part 2

Photography of Plume Impingement and Deposit Monitoring Unit [] position on MRM2 through SM window No.13

Photography of Plume Impingement and Deposit Monitoring Unit [] position on MRM2 through SM window No.13 - - Closeout Ops

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Haryanvi artiste and popular stage performer Sapna Choudhary on Sunday denied joining the Congress and said her photograph with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, that went viral on social media, was an old one.

"I have not joined the Congress party. The photograph with Priyanka Gandhi is an old one. I have met her several times before. I am not going to campaign for any political party," she told reporters here.

About her political ambitions, she said she was not joining "When I will join politics, I will come out in the open," she said.

Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar had on Saturday night tweeted a photograph of Choudhary along with Priyanka Gandhi, saying "welcome to the Congress family".

Another photograph also surfaced in which Choudhary is seen signing some papers.

Asked about it, she said: "I cannot tell what kind of paper was that," and added that as an artiste, she keeps meeting with various people.

Choudhary's statement has put to rest speculations that she may contest the Lok Sabha elections from Mathura seat against veteran actor Hema Malini of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rising Indian paddler Archana Kamath proved her mettle once again as she clinched the silver in the Under-21 womens singles category of Oman Open, a part of the ITTF Challenge Plus, on Sunday afternoon.

While Archana dazzled in her category to bag a medal, World No. 28 Sathiyan Gnanasekaran fought hard to only lose out in the semi-final stage of the men's singles bracket, while Manav Thakkar faltered at the last four stage of the U-21 Men's singles category.

The Bengaluru lass, ranked World No. 26 (U-21), started off her campaign with an easy 3-0 win over World No. 6 Valeria Shcherbatykh of Russia before securing a win over Rui Xuan Goi of Singapore with an identical scoreline.

Archana didn't have the best of the starts in the penultimate round as she lost the opening two games 6-11, 5-11 but showed great tenacity to win the next three 11-2, 11-6, 11-9 against World No. 12 Mariia Tailakova of Russia.

In the finals, up against the World No. 4 Satsuki Odo of Japan, she tried her best but could not match her opponent's prowess and went down 0-3 to settle for the silver.

In the men's singles category, Sathiyan started off his campaign with a comfortable 4-2 win over Belgium's Martin Allegro and then romped past Belarus' Aliaksandr Khanin (4-1) to progress into the round of 16. Alongside Sathiyan, India's Anthony Amalraj and Sharath Kamal also made their way into the last 16.

As fate would have it, Sathiyan was drawn up against Amalraj and the former couldn't get off to a winning start but bounced back to win the next games and beat his compatriot 4-1 to book a berth in the quarters.

However, Sharath couldn't replicate his compatriot's heroics and went down to Tomislav Pucar of Croatia in the round of 16.

Sathiyan then got past World No. 36 Emmanuel Lebesson of France to set up a semis clash with World No. 15 Mattias Falck of Sweden. Sathiyan dug deep and stretched the Swede to the limits, but eventually had to bow out without a medal after a hard fought 3-4 defeat.

The U-21 Men's singles encounter saw World No. 16 (U-21) Manav Thakkar use his attacking approach to tower over Singapore's Lucas Tan before he beat his compatriot Jeet Chandra with an identical 3-0 score line, to reach the semi-finals.

In the last four clash, World No. 30 Artur Abusev of Russia, ranked lower than Manav, started off with two tough wins (11-7, 11-8) before Manav pulled one back in his favour. However, the Russian wasn't going to let this opportunity slip as he took it away from Manav with a clinical 11-5 win.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With the Lok Sabha elections round the corner, political discourse is touching a new low with leaders attacking each other using words like "terrorists" and "impotent".

The latest to join the ugly war of words is UP Power Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shrikant Sharma who in a tweet used the word "impotent" for Congress President Rahul Gandhi.

"The comments issued at the behest of coward, impotent Congress chief Rahul Gandhi are shameful. The entire world is standing behind the BJP government's tough action against terrorists, but the Congress is weakening India's fight against terrorism with their disgusting remarks," Sharma said in a Hindi tweet, posted two days ago.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has hit out at Sharma, dragging Prime Minister Narendra Modi into the controversy in the process.

"How do they know Rahul Gandhi is impotent and Narendra Modi not? The nation wants to know. When their chief's language is so objectionable, his track record so controversial and covered in blood, it is foolish to expect parliamentary language and behaviour from his disciples," the RJD tweeted in Hindi.

Meanwhile, a video surfaced on Sunday where a National Conference (NC) leader was seen calling the Prime Minister a "terrorist".

"This is the country of Maulana Azad, Nehru and Sheikh Abdullah. An arrogant (person) and murderer cannot lead us. The paid media feels bad when I say Modi is a terrorist. What is a terrorist? I will say 'terrorist is equal to Modi and Modi is equal to terrorist'," Former NC legislator Javed Ahmed Rana said while campaigning for the Congress.

In another shocking incident, Surendra Singh, BJP legislator from UP, took a sexist jibe at UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, saying she was a dancer in Italy and that Rahul Gandhi was following his father's footsteps by inducting Sapna Choudhary into the party.

"Rahul's mother was also in the same profession in Italy and his father made her his own. He (Rahul) should also take the family tradition forward and make Sapna his own," he said, while reacting to reports that Haryanvi artiste and popular stage performer Sapna Chaudhary has joined the Congress.

Chaudhary on Sunday denied that she had joined the Congress.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Sunday that the country will hold a national remembrance service on March 29 for the 50 victims of the attack in the Christchurch mosques.

The service will provide an opportunity for New Zealanders and people around the world to come together as one to honour the victims of the attack carried out at two mosques on March 15, Xinhua news agency quoted Ardern as saying in a statement.

"There has been an outpouring of grief and love in our country since the unprecedented terror attack. The service will be a chance to once again show that New Zealanders are compassionate, inclusive and diverse, and that we will protect those values," she added.

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel said she is proud of her city in responding to the attack, and that "this would be a time for everyone to come together in unity".

The service will be held at Christchurch's Hagley Park and will be jointly led by the government of New Zealand, the city, and the Maori and Muslim communities.

Foreign leaders and dignitaries would likely be in attendance, as well as global Muslim leaders.

On Sunday, peaceful rallies and vigils were held in the country to commemorate the victims.

--IANS

ksk/bc

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Veteran actress Shabana Azmi feels makers of "PM Narendra Modi" biopic intentionally added her husband and veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar's name to the film's credits list.

"It is quite clear this was done with deliberate intentions to mislead public into believing that Javed Akhtar has written the songs for 'PM Narendra Modi' when the song 'Ishwar allah tere jahan mein' is from Deepa Mehta's film '1947 Earth'," she tweeted.

Earlier this week, Akhtar also took to Twitter to express shock to see his name in the credits of the film's trailer. His name was mentioned among several other artistes in the lyrics category.

Akhtar said he had not written any songs for the film.

Soon after Akhtar's tweet went viral and created a buzz, Sandeep Ssingh, one of the producers of the film, cleared the air about giving credits to the lyricists.

"T-Series being the official music partner of our film...we have taken the song 'Ishwar Allah' from the film '1947: Earth' and the song 'Suno gaur se duniya walon' from the film 'Dus', thus we have given the due credits to respective lyricists Javed Sahab and Sameerji," Ssingh, also the creative director and story writer of the film, said in a statement.

Actor Vivek Anand Oberoi essays Modi in the biopic, which is scheduled to release on April 5.

--IANS

sim/rb/vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Sri Lanka Navy on Sunday detained nine Iranian nationals who attempted to smuggle 100 kg of heroin into the island country.

The Iranians were nabbed off the country's southern coast following a joint raid conducted by the Special Task Force and the Police Narcotics Bureau (PNB), reports Xinhua news agency.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects threw 50 kg of the heroin into the sea as the officers was approaching their trawler.

Sri Lankan investigators have launched a major crackdown on drug dealers and smugglers since January, with several arrests made within the past two months.

Last month, President Maithripala Sirisena said he would impose the death penalty on convicted drug traffickers.

--IANS

ksk/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) will not contest Lok Sabha elections in Telangana, party sources said on Sunday.

With several top leaders defecting to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and remaining leaders not keen to contest the polls, the TDP's Telangana unit is understood to have decided not to field candidates for next month's elections.

Monday is the last day for filing of nominations for the elections scheduled on April 11.

The TDP, which contested the recent Assembly elections in alliance with Congress, may announce support to Congress in all 17 Lok Sabha constituencies in Telangana.

The TDP, the ruling party of Andhra Pradesh, had contested Telangana Assembly polls as part of the four-party 'People's Alliance' led by the Congress. The alliance secured 21 seats in 119-member Telangana Assembly. They included two of TDP and one of them has crossed over to the TRS.

The decision came two days after former MP Nama Nageswara Rao quit the TDP to join the TRS, which gave him ticket from Khammam Lok Sabha constituency. He was one of the last key leaders to leave the TDP.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Thailand went to the polls on Sunday to vote in the first general elections after incumbent Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha came to power following a bloodless coup in 2014.

About 50 million people, including 7 million young Thais who will be participating in their first ever election, are eligible to cast their ballots to elect 500 members of the House of Representatives, the lower house, for a four-year term, reports Efe news.

All 750 representatives from the two houses will vote together to elect the next Prime Minister.

Around 90,000 polling stations across the country opened at 8 a.m., and will close at 5 p.m.

The Election Commission announced that preliminary results will start coming in from 9 p.m. onwards.

Sunday will be the first time Thais have the chance to vote since Prayuth overthrew the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Both are living in self-imposed exile after being found guilty in absentia of corruption and sentenced to five year prison terms.

The elections are also the first since a new constitution, enacted following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2016, banned large parties and ensured that the military oversees a 20-year national strategy plan, regardless of which party wins the polls.

The constitution, approved with the promise of providing stability to the country and preventing a potential stalemate in parliament, gives the military establishment powers to nominate all 250 members of the senate (the upper house) for a five-year term.

In a message released on Saturday night, King Vajiralongkorn made an appeal to Thai citizens to vote for the "good people" to govern the country and prevent "bad" ones from creating problems.

"Maintaining national peace and order is not about making everyone good but supporting the good people to govern the country and preventing the bad people so that they can have no power nor cause problems," the King said.

Meanwhile, no international observer mission has been authorised for monitoring the elections, but the European Union said it had accredited its diplomats to study the process for its own internal report.

Pre-election surveys have indicated that the Shinawatra-backed Pueu Thai party, which was overthrown in 2014, will secure most of the votes on Sunday, while pro-military parties, such as Prayut's Palang Pracharat, are not expected to fare well.

The Democrat Party, the country's oldest, which is popular among the middle classes and in the south, as well as the newly-formed Anakot Mai (Future Forward), which is hugely popular among younger voters, are also expected to win significant numbers of seats in parliament.

--IANS

ksk/bc

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
About 50 million voters headed to the polls in Thailand for the first general elections since the 2014 coup.

Around 90,000 polling stations across the country opened at 8 a.m., and will close at 5 p.m., reports Efe news. Voters will elect 500 members of the House of Representatives, the lower house, for a four-year term.

All 750 representatives from the two houses will vote together to elect the next prime minister.

Fifty-one million people are eligible to vote, including 7 million young Thais who will be participating in their first ever election.

Sunday will be the first time Thais have the chance to vote since a bloodless coup in 2014, led by incumbent Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha, overthrew the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Both are living in self-imposed exile after being found guilty in absentia of corruption and sentenced to five year prison terms.

Sunday's elections are also the first since a new constitution enacted following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2016 banned large parties and ensured that the military oversees a 20-strategic plan, regardless of which party wins the polls.

The constitution, approved with the promise of providing stability to the country and preventing a potential stalemate in parliament, gives the military establishment powers to nominate all 250 members of the senate (the upper house) for a five-year term.

Bhumibol's son and successor, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, made a surprise statement late Saturday night urging the Thais to elect "good people" to rule and not prevent "bad" people from "creating chaos".

That announcement came just two months after a royal decree barred his eldest sister, Princess Ubolratana, from running as a candidate for prime minister.

The Thai Raksa Chart party, which is linked to the Shinawatras, had nominated the hugely popular and respected princess in an attempt to swing the vote against parties backed by the ruling military junta.

But after the King called the move "highly inappropriate", the party was dissolved by the electoral commission in a major blow to the Shinawatra clan.

Pre-election surveys indicate that the Shinawatra-backed Pueu Thai, which was overthrown in 2014, will secure most of the votes on Sunday, while pro-military parties, such as Prayut's Palang Pracharat, are not expected to fare well.

The Democrat Party, the country's oldest, which is popular among the middle classes and in the south, as well as the newly-formed Anakot Mai (Future Forward), which is hugely popular among younger voters, are also expected to win significant numbers of seats in parliament.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actress Kalki Koechlin says she has witnessed several changes in the film indusrty after the #MeToo campaign against sexual harassment at workplace gained traction in India.

"I think there's more awareness. I have received code of conduct drafts before doing a play. I have learnt about actors agreeing on touch before intimate scenes," Kalki told IANS over e-mail.

According to the "Dev D" actress, "provision for safety" has increased.

She said: "There have been difficult conversations with men about the subject that are ongoing, I think the provision for safety has increased, as women we are demanding certain standards and productions are responding to that."

The #MeToo Movement got sparked in India last October when former actress Tanushree Dutta recounted an accusation she made against actor Nana Patekar for alleged sexual harassment on the sets of their 2008 film "Horn OK Pleasssss".

Her case led the #MeToo wave in India as it opened the floodgates for numerous other women from every walk of life to come forward with their stories.

On the work front, Kalki has recently featured in the web series "Made in Heaven" and is currently prepping up for her Tamil project called "Emma and Angel".

Apart from films, she is also associated with luxury brand Hidesign for her bag line. Kalki has now come up with her bag's latest collection.

"Each collection comes with some experience from the last and figuring where to improve and what to create next. It's a daring collection. It's got adventure and power in caps written all over it."

Kalki feels designing has led to enhancement in her creativity.

"You get to think about what women want (as mostly my collection is for women though I'm all for gender fluidity and hope men wear the bags too!) You start understanding your following and the market better," she added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress and emerging opposition BJP intensifying their fight ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, capturing and recapturing each other's party offices have become a regular occurrence.

Supporters of the BJP's Coochbehar candidate Nisith Pramanik, who recently switched to the saffron party from the Trinamool, have allegedly recaptured a "Trinamool-acquired party office" at Bamanhat market in Coochbehar district.

"My association with Trinamool was a sin. The BJP is like the holy Ganges. Our supporters clean the party office with water from the holy river," he said after taking over the office.

BJP supporters alleged that the party office was "built by the party but Trinamool Congress acquired it ahead of last year's panchayat elections".

Taking a jibe at Pramanik, Trinamool district President Rabindranath Ghosh accused him of being a turncoat.

Activists of another former Trinamool leader, Arjun Singh, who has been nominated by the BJP from Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency, have also painted a Trinamool office on Ghosh Para Road in saffron colour in North 24 Parganas. Singh says the office was built by him.

Later, Trinamool Congress "recaptured" the office.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ignoring national security concerns, Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, has been using WhatsApp to communicate with foreign leaders and conduct government businesses, which has been worrying cyber experts in the US.

"A source close to the Saudi royal court told CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen said Kushner has used WhatsApp to communicate with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman who allegedly ordered murder and dismemberment of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi," CNN reported on Saturday.

Kushner's online communication habits, which put to risk the access and open avenues for exploitation of confidential information by foreign governments and hackers, have raised concerns among cyber security experts, the report said.

Recently Kushner's attorney, Abbe Lowell, confirmed that Kushner has been using the private messaging app to communicate with foreign leaders. However, he did not testify whether Kushner shared any classified information via the app.

"Kushner on his personal phone is using a free commercial service that is connected to a company with huge security breaches. It's a recipe for disaster," the report quoted Daniel Schuman as saying, a former White House staffer who chairs the Congressional Data Coalition, a non-profit organisation, which aims to encourage smarter tech practices in Congress.

In 2017, the White House counsel's Office directed staff to conduct all work-related electronic communications on their official government email accounts, which are monitored for threats.

The staff is allowed to use other methods of communication only when mailing is inconvenient. But they are not allowed to share classified information and take screen shots.

An administration official said Kushner was aware of rules and complies. However, Lowell did not respond to an question whether Kushner follow basic cybersecurity practices, like keeping his operating system up-to-date, the report added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid the controversy over Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee's wife being allegedly detained by the Customs officials for checking at Kolkata's NSCBI Airport recently, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday alleged an FIR filed by the Customs in the case was not accepted by the Kolkata Police.

While Banerjee has called the allegations baseless, the incident has sparked a stand-off between the central agency and the local police.

Banerjee, a nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, also threatened to file criminal and civil defamation suits against the right wing portals carrying the report and opposition leaders tweeting on the issue.

The BJP has also accused the state police of not allowing the Customs authorities to follow the standard operating procedure at the Kolkata airport.

BJP Rajya Sabha member Swapan Dasgupta has alleged two women passengers, Rujira Naroola and Menka Gambhir, possessing Thai passport had arrived at the Kolkata airport on a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok in the wee hours of March 16.

"The two women refused to let Customs officials check their check-in baggage. One of them was the wife of Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee. Later, the police intervened and the two left for home," Dasgupta alleged.

"Many standard operating procedures have not been followed. Was it a result of intimidation? The Customs tried to lodge an FIR on March 22 but the police refused to register it. We have not been able to know the reasons behind the police refusing to register the FIR. The CCTV footages of the incident should be made public," Dasgupta said.

He said the Custom's FIR, which was not accepted by the police, suggested that there was "interference, obstruction and criminal intimidation".

"Why were public officials obstructed from carrying out their legitimate duty? I do not get into whether any costumes jewellery or any gold was found from the two passengers or what were the details of their passports," he said.

Dasgupta said a meeting was held between the Customs and police officials on March 16.

Citing a document about the proposal made by the police at the meeting, he said: "The police personnel proposed the preparation of a common SOP (standard operating procedures), which will include easy passage to their VIPs without any interception by the Customs in the green channel.

"They added if there would be any such complaint in future, it would be viewed seriously and severe action will be taken against the Customs officials concerned. What does it mean by free passage to VIPs of the police must be guaranteed? Can the police, a representative of the state, tell another responsible organisation like the Customs that 'there should one set of rules for ordinary passengers and another for designated VIPs.'"

Remarking that a distorted political culture has emerged in West Bengal, Dasgupta said "will there be a special dispensation for members of a family in West Bengal?"

"I ask these larger questions coming out from this incident and I do not want to make any personal attack on anybody. We seek and demand answers from the responsible authority," he said.

Asked whether the party will lodge any complaint before the Election Commission regarding this, Dasgupta said the case should be brought to the notice of the EC.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Wayanad, which could soon become a VVIP constituency if Congress President Rahul Gandhi decides to contest the Lok Sabha election from there, has been a Congress safe seat.

In the last two Lok Sabha elections, in 2014 and 2009, M.I. Shanavas of the Congress won the seat, defeating the Communist Party of India (CPI) in Kerala's predominantly bipolar electoral

In that sense, picking Wayanad as Gandhi's constituency is a careful choice as is the calibrated demand to have him contest from a southern Indian seat apart from Amethi where he faces Union Minister Smriti Irani.

The Wayanad Lok Sabha constituency is newly formed and was created following fresh delimitation of seats in 2008.

The seat has been vacant since last year following the MP's death.

For the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the total number of electors in Wayanad was 11,02,097. Shanavas got 410,703 votes, which was 49.86 per cent of votes polled. He defeated Advocate M. Rahmatullam of the CPI, who got 257,264 (31.23 per cent).

In that election, the Bharatiya Janata Party's C. Vasudevan Master got 31,687 votes which was a mere 3.85 per cent of the votes polled. He came a distant fourth in the contest.

K. Muraleedharan of the Nationalist Congress Party did better than the BJP candidate, coming third with 99,663 votes (12.10 per cent).

Compared to 2009, Shanavas had a tough time winning the seat in 2014, scraping through with a little more than 20,000 votes over the second placed CPI candidate to become one of the 44 Congress MPs in the last Lok Sabha.

In 2014, Shanavas got 377,035 votes or 30.18 per cent of the votes polled compared to CPI's Sathyan Mokeri who got 356,165 votes or 28.51 per cent. However, that election saw the BJP placed third with its candidate P.R. Rasmilnath bagging 80,752 votes (6.46 per cent).

The others in the race, all bit players, fared as follows. Independent candidate P.V. Anvar got 37,123 votes (2.97 per cent), SDPI's Jaleel Neelambra got 14,327 votes (1.146 per cent) and WPOI's Ramla Mampad got 12,645 votes (1.01 per cent).

NOTA votes figured seventh on the tally -- 10,735 or 0.85 per cent.

PPA Sageer of AAP got 10,684 votes, which was 0.85 of votes polled, Sathyan Thazemangad, an independent candidate, got 5,476 votes or 0.43 of votes polled.

The Wayanad Lok Sabha seat comprises seven Assembly segments. Three of these are from Wayanad district -- Mananthavady (ST), Sulthanbathery (ST) and Kalpetta. One is from Kozikode district (Thiruvambadi) and three are from Malappuram district -- Ernad, Nilambur and Wandoor (SC).

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The NCLAT has received intervening petitions from nearly 100 creditors, seeking redress in the proposed IL&FS Resolution Plan that was submitted by the government. The petitions are from both secured and unsecured creditors, including a wide array of corporates and their PF Funds, employee funds, MNCs, postal funds, banks, PSUs and some power companies.

A large part of the petitions, however, have been filed by employee fund and trusts that are seeking recourse in the resolution framework considering their investment is unsecured, but affects millions of underlying small-time, salaried and gullible investors. In the nearly 100 petitions filed, learns IANS, nearly 50 per cent petitions have been filed by the employee funds, super annuation funds, gratutity funds and Provident Funds. This means these are retirement savings of working class blue and white collar employees.

The main prayer by these funds, representing small savings of millions of small investors across a range of employees in corporates, public sector companies, Army Group Insurance Fund, media organisation, postal life services and MNCs, is to seek equal footing and fair share in the IL&FS resolution process.

"We need the government to help us in protecting our lifetime earnings, invested in IL&FS, by infusing funds or taking over the company. The present legal structure is biased towards secured creditors. The government needs to now stop lip service and start acting in the interest of small investors. We are not as organised and powerful as the secured creditors, banks and MNCs, who seem to have the muscle to fight for their share. But we do represent the salaried class, and electorate in large numbers, and are reaching out to our representatives to seek intervention", a fund representative told IANS on the conditions of anonymity.

On being contacted, IL&FS spokesperson declined to comment on the way forward for such hapless working class investors. The big question is: how will this money be recovered?

Moreover, in an election year, these salaried employees are also voters and since no one is forthcoming in giving or providing answers, the sensitive issue has gone into a tailspin. Some funds, learns IANS, would also be reaching out for political support on the matter and it will be difficult for any political party to turn a blind eye to millions of middle class voters affected by the IL&FS crisis.

Some of the list of petitioners include: Indian Oil EPF, Infosys EPF, EIL EPF, HUL's Union Provident Fund, Titan PF, IDBI Trusteeship, UTI Retirement Fund, Postal Life Insurance, Army Group Insurance Fund among others. The government, in its decision, on October 1, 2018, had ousted the erstwhile Board of IL&FS and replaced it with the new Board with a view to limit the crisis and help work a resolution.

The small creditors, however, feel that the resolution plan is aimed at providing resolutions to secured creditors, leaving the small-time investor and salaried employees in the lurch, and importantly, has not taken them into confidence while arriving at a plan.

IANS had earlier reported that many unsecured creditors are grappling with the issue of exclusion in the ongoing resolution process.

"The Resolution Framework should balance interest of all stakeholders. The current framework does not provide for payment to unsecured creditors" said one of the creditors in the intervening petition.

"The government appointed new Board to protect creditor interest and value. With no participation from small creditors so far, the resolution framework is only serving the high and mighty," said a fund representative to IANS.

Some creditors have also sought that the Section 53 of the distribution scheme does not address public and social interest and since IL&FS would be setting a precedent, the section needs to be suitably modified in current circumstances.

The next hearing of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLAT) is scheduled for March 29.

With the Opposition looking at every opportunity to connect with the masses and be seen as its caretaker and well-wisher, this could blow up as the Indian electorate gear up to vote in the next few weeks.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The move of a consortium of lenders led by the State Bank of India to infuse funds and keep the airline functioning is a highly risky decision and yet, this radical step will support the aviation sector as well as all employees. The present credit exposure of the consortium of lenders to Jet Airways is a potential bad asset, and despite that, any further infusion of bank funds into the company to rescue it from closure depends on the successful execution of the risk mitigation and management measures of ...

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Greta Thunberg is a 16-year-old Swedish school girl who is rocking the world with her protest against inaction on climate change. In August 2018, as Sweden was gearing up for its national elections, she decided not to go to school but to sit outside to raise the flag on the need to do more, much more, to combat deadly climate change.

At first, it is said, she was alone but as she persisted and persisted, her voice got louder and louder. Now she sits in protest every Friday outside her school, urging the world to act. And with her, at the last count, on a Friday of mid-March some 1,650 ...
Eleven Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy near Neduntheevu for allegedly fishing in the island nation's waters, an official said here Sunday.

The fishermen, hailing from Rameswaram, have been taken to Karainagar in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department Assistant Director Yuvaraj said.

Their two boats were also seized.

The Sri Lankan Navy personnel allegedly damaged over 50 fishing nets and seized GPS equipment from them.

The incident forced fishermen in more than 500 boats to return without fishing, the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Continuing crackdown on terror financers, security agencies have identified 13 people, including Hizbul Mujahideen founder Syed Salahuddin, Hurriyat leaders and businessmen, who are allegedly providing funds to terrorists and stone pelters at the behest of Pakistan spy agency ISI, officials said Sunday.

The Centre has started seizing properties belonging to terror financiers in a big way. Thirteen individuals and their properties have been identified by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and action has been initiated, they said.

"Individuals identified during these investigations have been found providing money to all major terrorist groups like LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen as also Hurriyat leaders, separatists and stone-pelters in Jammu and Kashmir," a senior government official said.

Funds were provided to the leadership of Kashmir-based terrorist groups for misguiding, motivating and recruiting local youths to militant ranks.

Operational activities of terror groups, including attacks on security forces, camps and convoys, are also being financed, the official said, adding money obtained through these channels are being used by major secessionist formations, especially the Hurriyat Conference.

These funds are used for maintaining Hurriyat's top leadership and a massive propaganda machinery to arouse disaffection among the people of Jammu and Kashmir against the Centre.

It is also being utilised to spread false information through media contacts, newspapers and social media, the official claimed.

The official said these are in turn used to instigate and lure misguided youths to resort to anti-India activities, violent street protests and stone pelting on security forces at encounter sites.

Extensive use of such funds is being made to finance institutions such as select mosques, madrasas and organisations like recently banned Jamat-e-Islami(JeI)(J-K), for focusing on subverting locals, another official said.

In the first strike, action was initiated to attach a plush bungalow of Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali in Gurgaon, the official said. He is, at present, lodged in Delhi's Tihar jail.

Watali is allegedly a major conduit for funnelling terror finances into India, the official said.

Documents seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) indicate that he was receiving money from Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, Salahuddin, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Pakistan High Commission here, the official claimed.

Watali is known to have important sources of Hawala financing operating out of Dubai. Besides him, another 10 leaders were brought into the multi-agency action on terror funding.

The ED has zeroed in on proceeds of such crime and begun action to freeze and seize such assets.

The ongoing investigation in the first phase has determined and quantified assets valued at over Rs7 crore as proceeds of terror funding crimes, the official said.

The 13 identified individuals include Mohd Yusuf Shah alias Syed Salahuddin, who through Hizbul, has been actively involved in creating unrest in Kashmir and other parts of India, according to a document prepared by security agencies.

Being a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, Salahuddin has a wide network of local sympathisers, who act on his instructions and collect funds sent by him to fuel secessionist activities, it said.

Hafiz Saeed, self-styled chief of Pakistan-based Jamaat-ul- Dawaa, and other separatist leaders of the state, including members and Hurriyat cadre, have been raising, receiving and collecting funds domestically and from abroad through various illegal channels like Hawala, for funding separatist and terrorist activities in J-K.

The document said Aftab Ahmad Shah alias Fantoosh, a Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (TeH) founder member, was spokesperson and legal advisor to the Hurriyat (Mirwaiz faction).

During a search at his residence in Srinagar, NIA seized various incriminating documents and during interrogation, Shah confessed that his charter of duties included monitoring incidents, issuing statements, arranging meetings and conferences.

Shah, son-in-law of TeH separatist leader Syed Geelani, was closely associated with JeI (J-K).

The 13 individuals also include Mohammed Nayeem Khan, Farooq Ahmad Dar, Akbar Khanday, Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Saifullah and Nawal Kishore Kapoor



Khan, self-styled chairman of National Front, an organisation affiliated to Hurriyat, was part of the Muslim Jaanbaaz Force and earlier involved in various militant activities, the document said.

Dar was JKLF-R chairman and is a terrorist involved in criminal and anti-national activities since 1990. He received arms training in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in 1989-90.Khanday is a JeI(J-K) member and trusted lieutenant of Geelani. He knew of anti-India protests in the Valley.

Kalwal, a former militant trained in PoK, is a key fund raiser for stone pelters.He collects funds on behalf of Hurriyat and spearheads protests, the document said.

Bhat, a former Hizbul militant, went to PoK for arms training and was involved militancy cases.He is a trusted aide of Geelani and was aware of systems of fund collection and distribution by the Hurriyat leader to operatives, who indulged in anti-India activities. He has visited the Pakistan High Commission here with Geelani several times, it said.

Kapoor, Watali's close associate, remitted Rs 5.6 crore to Watali for which he has not been able to produce any document.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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As many as 342 complaints related to violation of Model Code of Conduct have been received on cVIGIL mobile application in Haryana until Sunday, a senior election official said.

Haryana's Joint Chief Electoral Officer, Dr Inder Jeet said here on Sunday that out of the 342 complaints received after the announcement of Lok Sabha polls, 334 complaints have been redressed within the prescribed time.

Only eight complaints are pending which would also be redressed soon, he said, adding the people are ensuring their participation in the electoral system through cVIGIL mobile App.

cVIGIL mobile application has been launched by Election Commission of India in July last year and complaints on violations of poll code can be uploaded on it.

The App gives people an opportunity to click pictures and take videos of poll code violations and send it to election officers concerned. The App can find the exact location of the complaint.

Thirty-eight complaints have been received on cVIGIL App from district Faridabad, 35 from Gurugram, 31 from Ambala, 24 from Bhiwani, 21 from district Hisar, 20 from district Jhajjar and 15 from Fatehabad district.

However, the maximum 44 complains have been received from district Karnal, he said in a release.

"For strict complicance of Model Code of Conduct, the Election Commission of India has ensured participation of general public through cVIGIL app in the general elections to Lok Sabha-2019...through this latest mobile application, the citizens can directly report the complaints related to violation of Model Code of Conduct," he said.

"They can upload related picture or two-minute video on the App. Within 20 minutes after the registration of the complaint, the team concerned would reach the location and efforts would be made t redress the complaint within 100-minutes," he said.

Eighteen complaints were also received from district Panchkula, 15 from Sirsa, 14 from Rohtak, 12 from Sonipat and 10 from district Yamunanagar, the release said.

While nine complaints were received from district Rewari, 8 from Kurukshetra, 7 complaints each from Jind and Kaithal districts, 6 from Mewat, 4 from Panipat, three from Mahendergarh and one from district Palwal, it added.

Polls to 10 Lok Sabha seats in the state are scheduled to be held on May 12.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Four alleged drug peddlers were arrested in separate incidents in the state and 12 kgs of charas was recovered from them, police said on Sunday.

Mohammad Shafi of Mandakbass-Khari village was arrested along with 10 kgs of charas on the Mihar-Neera road, a police officer said.

In a separate incident, Shahnawaz Dar of Shopian and Ishfaq Majir Lohar of Banihal were arrested at T-chowk in Banihal area on Saturday and two kilograms of charas was recovered from their possession.

In the third incident, Azad Ahmad of Anantnag was arrested after 50 grams of brown sugar was seized from him near Mihar village, the officer said.

Separate FIRs were registered against the four under the relevant sections of the law, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nearly 500 people were treated at a medical camp in Mozambique under the Indian Navy's 'Operation Sahayta' to provide relief to the cyclone-hit African nation.

After Cyclone 'Idai' hit Mozambique last week, the Indian Navy deployed its ships Sujata, Sarathi and Shardul to carry out humanitarian and disaster relief activities.

The medical camp at Gaura-Gaurathe was terminated based on UN Mission request, as all the 500 people of the village were provided medical treatment till March 22.

However, the medical camp at Beira Harbour Master's office continued on March 23. A total of 70 personnel visited the camp for various medication and were attended by the medical team, the Navy said in a statement.

A Chetak helicopter also rescued four people from Buzi Island and dropped about 180 kg of relief material, including food and water, provided by the World Food Programme.

Over 400 people died after Cyclone Idai hit the east African country last week, crippling its infrastructure and affecting thousands of lives.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At a time when the trades of chaiwallas and chowkidars have become part of the political discourse, a humble street hawker in Patna is diligently working to raise awareness about voting and asking the electorate to vote on the basis of a candidate's merit to build a strong democracy.

Through his 'Cycle Jagrukta Yatra', Lal Mani Das travels across the Bihar capital and also tells people to not give in to temptation of money or other material gains offered by others to sway their votes.

Das, 50, is a 'bhunjawallah' -- street snack seller -- and puts up his cart near the Bazaar Samiti, city's huge vegetable and fruits market, but now only hawks the famous snack in the evening, spending early part of the day on his campaign.

Wearing a shirt and a trouser, a pair of slippers, and sporting a cap bearing the Election Commission logo and a slogan, he paddles around in Patna on his bicycle, and distributes pamphlets to people, carrying an appeal to vote wisely.

In front of his bicycle, he has put up a banner that enumerates the qualities a candidate should have, which every voter should keep in mind.

Das, himself wears a big, two-sided banner carrying a message -- 'Respect rights of a citizen. Cast your vote' -- over his shirt to spread the message.

"Voting is very essential part of ensuring a strong democracy. My first target is to reach out to as many people so that more and more numbers come out and vote on the polling day. Also, I am appealing to them to vote for candidates who have character and those who respect the rule of law," Das told PTI.

On the banner mounted in front of his bicycle, a slogan on the top reads in Hindi -- 'Will respect rights of a citizen, will vote'.

"In this banner I have mentioned 10 points for voters to keep in mind, whether first-timers or old-aged ones. So, first one says, we will elect those people who spend less money during election. And, those who respect the rule of law.

"Also, among those seeking re-election, we should vote for a candidate, who does not create ruckus in Parliament, has an attendance of at least 75 per cent, participates in House debates and who is committed," he said.

Voters should prefer NOTA (none of the above) option if they have to choose among those candidates who often break laws, Das said.

A father of four -- one daughter and three sons, Das who originally hails from neighbouring Begusarai district, says, he moved to Patna 15 years ago, in search of livelihood, and lives with his wife and children in a small house near Bazaar Samiti.

Asked, how much he earns from selling 'bhunja', he said, "I make around Rs 500 to Rs 600 on an average. But, as I am giving more time to my campaign, I am making some losses, but I have no regret."



Das admits that his wife, a homemaker, was against this idea of awareness drive, and still wants him to quit and go back to regular selling job.

"She is upset, and my children also are also half-supportive of this campaign, but, I feel that as a citizen, we must each do something towards strengthening our democracy. This is my humble contribution to that larger vision of building a great nation," he said.

Das, in a profound message printed on the pamphlet he hands out, quotes writers, poets and revolutionaries to inspire people to vote with discretion.

"...It is not as to who will solve the problem in the system, it is about who will take the first step towards it," he said, quoting the lines in Hindi from the pamphlet.

"If we have to save democracy, we will have to elect candidates with character, otherwise sacrifices made by the freedom fighters will go waste," he said.

The 2019 Lok Sabha polls will be held in a seven phases from April 11 to May 19.

In Bihar too, which has 40 Lok Sabha seats, the elections would be held in seven phases. As part of the first phase, four constituencies in the state -- Gaya, Nawada, Aurangabad and Jamui will go to polls on April 11.

Patna district has two Lok Sabha seats -- Patna Sahib and Pataliputra.

Das said, he has planned to spread the campaign from Patna to few other districts too, such as Begusarai and Gaya.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A Sangma passed away three years ago, but his daughter Agatha Sangma, the ruling NPP candidate for the Tura Lok Sabha seat is hopeful that the people of the constituency have not forgotten the 'tallest' leader while campaigning for the seat.

Agatha is pitted against Leader of the Opposition in the Meghalya Assembly and senior Congress leader Mukul Sangma in the Tura seat, the election for which will be held on April 11.

On the campaign trails in the five Garo Hills district of Meghalaya which fall under the Tura seat, Agatha and her brothers - Chief Minister Conrad Sagma and Home Minister James Sangma - remind the voters the legacy of their father P A Sangma and how he devoted his life for the Garos.

"I am here to serve the people. I am grateful for the opportunity given to me by the party, the NPP. I hope the people of Garo Hills will never forget my father for the contribution he has made for them," Agatha told PTI.

P A Sangma had represented Tura Parliamentary constituency for over four decades as its MP.

Agatha is seeking re-election to the Lok Sabha seat she had once represented in 2009 when her father returned to the state

Conrad Sangma won the byelection to the Tura seat in 2016 after P A Sangma died, but he resigned last year when he won the South Tura Assembly bypoll after he became the chief minister of Meghalaya.

Tura seat has been the stronghold of P A Sangma and his family.

Conrad admitted that the NPP managed to wrestle the seat from the might of the ruling Congress in 2014 and 2016 in Meghalaya.

"We won the elections in our worst. People of Garo Hills believe in our leader P A Sangma. It is all the more important that we take his mission forward and try to achieve the development goal for the people," Conrad told media persons at the sideline of a rally at North Garo Hills recently.

Agatha, who filed her nomination for the Tura seat on Friday said "the focus has always been development. The mandate will reflect the faith the people have on the government. There are a lot of development issues that we will be working together with the NPP leading the government in the state and I as the MP."



Tura seat is important for the ruling dispensation and the Opposition Congress knows this too well when it nominated Leader of Opposition Mukul Sangma to contest from Tura.

Mukul is also former chief minister of Meghalaya.

"The party knows that Mukul Sangma is the best bet to represent the Garo people in Parliament. He is a seasoned politician and has proved his mettle in the state when he led the pro-people government for 10 years," Meghalaya Congress president C Lyngdoh said.

He alleged that the present government under the leadership of Conrad K Sangma has "failed" on many fronts and is only good in lips service.

The war of words between Conrad and Mukul has also escalated in the otherwise quiet Garo Hills region each accusing the other of incompetence to lead the people.

In his rallies across North Garo Hills district last week, Conrad slammed the former chief minister over the "missions" he introduced since assuming office in 2010.

"He (Mukul) had introduced several missions in the state which led to financial burdens. He was least bothered to executive the mission properly, and the programs failed. Mukul has done all these without any research or papers based on mapping the skills of the farmers," Conrad said.

Reacting to this, Mukul said, "Conrad will need plenty of homework to do before he can understand about Agar (aquilaria malaccensis) plantation in private land and its positive economic ramifications.

The Leader of Opposition said it is with his initiative that a legal provision for harvesting agar plant for its commercial exploitation is now available.

The former chief minister also slammed Agatha for her "failure" to raise the issues concerning the common man in the Garo Hills during her tenure as MP.

"What was Agatha doing as an elected MP of Tura not voicing for the voiceless people who have voted her? Is this why people of Garo Hills elected her to have a vacation in New Delhi? People need to see the facts and not believe in the promises and lies of Conrad and his siblings," Mukul said.

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AIADMK Sunday reiterated that it would seek a credible international probe into alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka during the three-decade long ethnic conflict, which ended in 2009.

"We will urge the government of India, United Nations and international communities to press for a credible international probe into human rights violations, war crimes and genocide in Sri Lanka," the party said in its 10-page annexure of the manifesto, released on March 18.

The AIADMK said it would urge the union government to impress upon the United Nations for a referendum on various demands of the Eelam Tamils and also for devolution of administrative powers to Tamil dominated areas.

Sri Lanka Army along with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have been accused of war crimes during the final phase of the military conflict that ended in 2009 with the killing of LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran.

The island nation had faced the United Nations Human Rights Council's (UNHRC) ire for alleged human rights abuse during the last phase of the conflict.

The UNHRC had on Thursday approved giving Sri Lanka two more years to set up a credible war crimes investigation into the island nation's civil war.

International rights groups have accused the military of killing 40,000 Tamil civilians in the final months of the war. The government of the time said not one civilian was killed.

The AIADMK in its April 18 election manifesto had said the 'decimation' of lakhs of Tamils in the final stages of the civil war, particularly in Mullivaikal, "remains a burden in the conscience of Tamils all over the world."



It had recalled former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa having revealed 'information' about India's help to his country's army during the Congress-led UPA rule at the peak of hostilities with LTTE, which saw many civilian casualties.

DMK was a key constituent in UPA then, and was the ruling party in Tamil Nadu.

On the project linking Godavari-Cauvery rivers, the AIADMK Sunday said it would urge the Centre to expeditiously implement the project.

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Actor-director Aparna Sen, who is sharing screen space with thespian Soumitra Chatterjee in 'Basu Paribaar' after a gap of 19 years, has said she always yearns to work with the legend who was paired with her in her debut film 'Teen Kanya' in 1961.

The two veterans were last seen together in Sens's directorial venture 'Paromitar Ek Din' in 2000.

"I always look forward to working with Soumitra Chatterjee who is such a great actor someone having such a vast experience," Sen said recently at the trailer launch of 'Basu Paribaar' here.

Recalling her shooting experiences for the film, Sen said, "We used to spend time in adda sessions in between shots at the Mahisadal Rajbari (in East Midnapore) and that was really refreshing."



"Many years have passed since our first film together and we have come a long way," Sen, who stepped into the filmdom with Satyajit Ray's 'Teen Kanya' at the age of 16, told reporters here.

'Basu Paribaar', adapted from James Joyce's 'The Dead', has been helmed by director Suman Ghosh.

"I loved the way he (Ghosh) adapted James Joyce story for the film. I agreed to do the film immediately after reading the script. I am usually very choosy about my roles," the Padma Shri awardee said.

In 'Basu Paribaar', Sen essays the character of Manjari, the wife of retired lawyer Pranabendu (Soumitra Chatterjee).

Asked about her collaboration with Ghosh, she said, it was "heartening" to note that some of her suggestions were readily accepted by the director.

"He is open to suggestions, something that I appreciate. But as an actor, my job is to follow what the director has visualised for the film. I just did that," she added.

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The Information Commission of Rajasthan has denied copies of the 'Rojnamcha' (daily diary) of Sanvrad, Ladnu and Deedwana police stations in Nagaur district to the mother of dreaded gangster Anandpal, who was killed in a 2017 encounter.

Anandpal's mother, Nirmal Kanwar, had sought copies of the 'Rojnamcha' of the three police stations from June 20, 2017 to July 20, 2017 under Right to Information but the Nagaur Police refused to provide the same, saying the matter was under investigation.

She later appealed to the Information Commission, which upheld the decision of the Nagaur Police.

Disposing of the appeal, Information Commissioner Ashutosh Sharma said in an order that the information could not be provided in view of the ongoing investigation and for the safety of witnesses.

Anandpal, a resident of Sanvrad village of Nagaur, was killed in a police encounter in Churu district on June 24, 2015, which had led to riots and tension in Nagaur for several days.

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The Army Sunday held an interaction with 'Veer Naris' and widows of veterans in Pathankot garrison in Punjab, assuring that their problems would be attended to resolved in a time-bound manner.

The function was organised by 'Black Arrow Brigade' of the Army and attended by 80 'Veer Naris' and widows, a defence spokesperson said here.

He said the event was organised to resolve pension related issues, provide medical aid, wheelchairs and medical equipment, besides addressing the grievances of wives of the martyrs and the widows.

Brigade Commander, the Black Arrow Brigade, addressed the 'Veer Naris' and widows, lauding the contribution of the soldiers and martyrs in defence of the nation, the spokesperson said.

Asserting that they are a true reflection of the courage and valour of the Army, the officer assured that the Army cares for their 'Veer Naris' and widows and all their problems would be attended to and resolved in a time-bound manner.

A number of awareness and assistance stalls were set up by various banks Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS) and a Aadhaar Card Counter to resolve the problems of all the attendees, the spokesperson said.

He said paraplegic wheelchairs and medical equipment were distributed according to need, while shawls and hot water bottles were gifted to all who attended the event.

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Sunday said "opposition parties offered biryani to terrorists" while the Modi government fed them bullets, and termed a rival candidate from the Saharanpur constituency "son-in-law of Azar Masood".

Addressing a rally in Saharanpur, he said the "son-in-law of (Jaish-e-Mohammed chief) Azhar Masood" has entered the constituency and he speaks the language of the terror mastermind.

Imran Masood is the Congress candidate from the constituency.

"You people have to ensure that the person who speaks the language of Azhar Masood is defeated in the Lok Sabha elections," he said, seeking votes for the BJP candidate from Saharanpur, Raghav Lakhanpal.

Adityanath said Azhar would meet the same fate as Osama bin Laden.

You must have heard about Osama bin Laden. He was killed brutally. Azhar Masood will be killed in the same manner," he said.

The UP chief minister said the BJP is committed to nation building and will not allow "any traitor to dent India's integrity".

"Some parties offered biryani to terrorists, while the Modi government has only one medicine for terrorists - bullets and bombs," he said.

Taking a jibe at the SP-BSP alliance in the state, Aditynath said, "People who are contesting 37-38 seats are think of becoming prime minister."



Attacking Congress President Rahul Gandhi, he said, "You must have noticed that the Union finance minister had referred to an individual as 'man without brains'.

"Rahul Gandhi does not know Indian culture, so when he went to offer prayers at Kashi Vishwanath temple, he sat in a position as if he was offering namaaz."



Hitting out at Gandhi's close aide Sam Pitroda, Adityanath said, "There is a 'mahaguru' in the Congress. He raises questions on the valour of our armed forces. When this is the condition of the 'mahaguru', you can imagine the condition of 'mahachelas'.

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Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Sunday claimed that the BJD will win all the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha and play a major role in government formation at the Centre in the coming elections in which no national party will be able to get a majority.

"No national party will be able to win majority in Lok Sabha election this time. BJD will have decisive role to play in formation of the next government at the Centre," the Biju Janata Dal president said while formally kick starting his party's poll campaign at a rally in Nayagarh.

Claiming that the BJD will win all the 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha, Patnaik said this will give an opportunity for putting an end to the "historical injustice" meted out to the state.

Assembly election is also scheduled to be held along with the Lok Sabha polls in four phases in Odisha next month. In 2014, BJD had won 20 out of the 21 Lok Sabha seats and 117 of the 147 assembly segments.

Mounting a blistering attack on the BJP-led Government at the Centre, Patnaik said BJP had promised to accord special category status for Odisha in its manifesto before the 2014 elections, but "refused to fulfil" it after coming to power.

The BJD supremo asserted that the fight for securing special category state status for Odisha will continue as it will ensure speedy development.

"If Odisha is granted special category status, the state will be benefited immensely. Our youth will get employment and more funds would flow into state for ensuring speedy development," said Patnaik.

Lamenting that Odisha has poor railway network, the chief minister said though the railways is earning highest profit to the tune of Rs 20,000 crore from Odisha, no concrete step was taken for strengthening rail network in the state.

While Odisha is getting a meagre amount in railway sector, huge funds are being spent in other states. "Isnt it Central negligence," Patnaik asked.

Hitting out at Narendra Modi government, the chief minister said the Centre is collecting thousands crores of rupees as revenue from coal sector in Odisha, while the state is getting pollution and dust.

Stating that BJP leaders cannot fight for the rights of Odisha, Patnaik said they are controlled by their high command sitting in New Delhi.

The BJD, on the other hand, is the party of Odisha and people of the state are our high command. "Our remote control lies with the 4.5 crore people of Odisha. We have been fighting for Odia pride and safeguarding the interest of Odisha," the BJD supremo said.

Noting that 33 per cent of Lok Sabha seats in the state are reserved by BJD for women for the coming election, Patnaik said the state government has taken a number of measures for empowering women.

Affirming the state government's commitment towards the welfare of farmers, the chief minister said he is closely monitoring implementation of Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme which has benefited 35 lakh farmers families in the state.

Stating that no farmer would be left out in the direct benefit transfer scheme, Patnaik said opposition parties are "spreading lies" about KALIA and asserted that nobody can stop the scheme.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The BJP has announced the names of 297 candidates for the in six lists released so far, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi and party chief Amit Shah from Gandhinagar.

The lists include almost all candidates for those seats where polling will be held in first two phases.

In the first list released Thursday the party announced the names of 184 candidates, including the prime minister and the BJP chief. Later on the same day, the party announced its candidate for Daman and Diu constituency as well.

The party released three lists on Friday and one on Saturday.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh will again contest from Lucknow while party's senior leader and Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib in Bihar and national spokesperson Sambit Patra from Puri in Odisha.



The party fielded Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Jayant Sinha, Shripad Naik from Morena (Madhya Pradesh), Hazaribagh (Jharkhand), North Goa seats respectively.

Party leader Anurag Thakur has been renominated from Hamirpur.

Veteran party leader and sitting Kangra MP Shanta Kumar has been replaced by Kishan Kapoor as the BJP nominee from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh.

With these candidates, the party has so far announced the name of its 297 candidates for the election to the 543-member Lok Sabha which will held in seven phases beginning on 11 April and ending on 19 May. The counting will take place on 23 May.

The names for the first two phases have been cleared by the BJP's central election committee (CEC), headed by its chief Amit Shah and including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.



The names of its 17 candidates for Bihar Lok Sabha seats were shared with media by the BJP in a joint press conference with its allies in Patna.

The party is contesting on 40 Lok Sabha seats of Bihar in alliance with JD(U) and the LJP, where both BJP and JD(U) will fight on 17 seats each and the LJP on remaining six.

The big names which were announced on Saturday includes Ravi Shankar Prasad who will be now the party's candidate from Patna Sahib replacing film actor and sitting MP Shatrughan Sinha.



The party also announced the candidature of its national spokesperson Sambit Patra from Puri, where Modi's name was also speculated as a candidate.

The party has also changed the seat of Union minister Giriraj Singh from Nawada to Begusarai in Bihar.

The highlight of the first list was the party's decision to field Shah from Gandhinagar in place of its veteran leader L K Advani.
A woman BJP leader Sunday resigned from the ruling party after it renominated sitting MP Natubhai Patel from the Dadra and Nagar Haveli Lok Sabha seat.

Ankita Patel, national secretary of the Mahila Samiti of the BJP Kisan Morcha, submitted her resignation to party chief Amit Shah claiming that MP Natubhai Patel had done nothing for the constituency despite being parliamentarian for two terms since 2009.

Party leaders said the Kisan Morcha national secretary, who was appointed to the post about a year ago, was miffed as she was expecting to be fielded from the Scheduled Tribe reserved constituency.

"There are thousands of youth who are unable to get jobs either in the private or government sector. Their domicile benefit was taken away but our MP (Natubhai Patel) did not raise the issue in Parliament," she said.

Continuing her attack, Ankita Patel said, "The level of education is going down day by day. Our government schools do not have permanent teachers. People here are deprived of basic benefits."



"There were two villages which had no electricity. It was through my appeals that they got electricity. People trusted me because I worked for them on the ground. When I did not see that happening, I took a stand saying I would not like to continue," she said.

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Four persons including a BJP leader were injured when three-four persons opened fire at them after a social function in Rajasthan's Jhalawar district, police said Sunday.

The incident occurred on Saturday night in Bhawanimandhi area where former chairman of Nagarpalika and BJP leader Ramlal Gurjar (58) was returning after attending a function, they said.

The accused opened fire and targeted him, police said.

"Gurjar and three others received bullet injuries. They were admitted to the district hospital where their condition is stable. Different teams have been formed to locate and arrest the accused," they added.

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The BJP Sunday named Raju Singh Bisht as its candidate from Darjeeling seat for the Lok Sabha polls in place of sitting MP and Union minister S S Ahluwalia.

In a statement, the party said it has also received support from two local organisations, Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and Gorkha Liberation Front.

Leaders of the two Gorkha outfits met BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, who is in-charge of the saffron party's affairs in West Bengal, here, it said, describing Bisht as a young party leader.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has managed to win over a section of the Gorkha leadership and has been making a determined bid to wrest the hilly seat from the BJP.

The BJP has been winning the seat with support from these Gorkha parties.

Its leader Jaswant Singh had won from there in 2009 and Ahluwalia in 2014.

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The Congress' move to nominate party veteran Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal Lok Sabha seat in Madhya Pradesh seems to have prompted the BJP to revisit its strategy to ward off any eventuality and retain its bastion of the last three decades in the high-stake elections.

The BJP's worry stems from the fact that the Congress had won three out of eight assembly segments in Bhopal constituency in the assembly elections held last year. In remaining five seats, the BJP witnessed a slide in its margin.

Bhopal constituency is spread over eight assembly segments, namely Berasia, Bhopal Uttar, Narela, Bhopal Dakshin-Paschhim, Bhopal Madhya, Govindpura, Huzur and Sehore.

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) has been holding this seat since 1989.

Officially, the BJP has dismissed that Digvijaya Singh could pose any challenge to the party in the constituency.

However, if a BJP leader to be believed, the party is working on a "plan B" over selection of candidates.

According to rumours in political circles, former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan might be in reckoning as a contestant, as Muslim voters in the constituency view him as a moderate saffron leader.

"I cannot say anything right now. The BJP's central leadership will take a call on the candidate," state BJP president Rakesh Singh told PTI Sunday when he was asked whether Chouhan is in contention.

"He (Chouhan) is a former chief minister. The central leadership will decide whether to field him in Lok Sabha polls or not," the state BJP chief said.

He laughed away Digvijaya Singh as a lightweight.

"You all consider him a tough candidate. I was just now telling my friend that Singh is going to lose for sure. He is not that figure who can win elections, but he is a face that can vitiate the atmosphere," he said.

The Congress had last won the Bhopal seat in 1984.

Announcing Digvijaya Singh's name Saturday, Chief Minister Kamal Nath said that he had offered Bhopal seat to the former chief minister, who wanted to contest from his home turf Rajgarh.

Meanwhile on Sunday, Rakesh Singh, Chouhan and state BJP organisational secretary Suhas Bhagat went into a huddle in Bhopal, a party leader said.

The trio discussed about picking a tough contestant against Digvijaya Singh, according to BJP sources.

What might have prompted the BJP to visit the drawing board is the outcome of the last assembly elections wherein the saffron party ceded three assembly seats to the Congress.

Moreover, four lakh out of total 18 lakh voters in the constituency are Muslims, who generally vote for Congress.

The BJP leader said the state election committee had earlier shortlisted Mayor Alok Sharma and party general secretary VD Sharma as probable candidates from Bhopal and had forwarded their names to the central elections committee, which will meet on March 26.

"However, with Digvijaya Singh entering the poll fray, the BJP is working on the plan B, but the final call on the party candidate will be taken by the central leadership of the BJP," he added.

Bhopal Lok Sabha constituency was represented by Shankar Dayal Sharma of Congress in 1971-77 and 1980-1984.

Sharma had served as the President of India from 1992 to 1997.

K N Pradhan of Congress had won the seat in 1984 general elections. Since then the party has failed to upstage the BJP from this seat.

Among BJP stalwarts who had represented Bhopal in Lok Sabha is Union minister Uma Bharti who defeated senor Congress leader Suresh Pachouri in 1999 polls.

Alok Sanjar is the sitting MP from Bhopal.

Digvijaya Singh's candidature was reportedly pushed by Kamal Nath who had last week said that if Digvijaya wanted to contest the Lok Sabha polls, he should choose the "toughest seat" in the state.

"I had requested Digvijaya Singh that you had been the chief minister for so long, and it doesn't suit you if you say that I will contest from Rajgarh (Digvijay's home turf)," Nath said Saturday.

The chief minister said he had asked Singh to contest from any other seat like Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur etc.

"As Singh told me to take a decision, I have offered him to contest from Bhopal," he had said.

Singh, who had served as the chief minister of Madhya Pradesh between 1993-2003, is currently a member of the Rajya Sabha.

Polls for 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh will be held in four phases during April 29--May 19 period.

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The Karnataka BJP will lodge a police complaint against Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala for his "baseless allegations" attributed to a diary allegedly belonging to former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, which the I-T department has dismissed as "forgery document".

The Congress had on Friday sought an investigation by the Lokpal into a media report that alleged bribes of Rs 1,800 crore were paid to Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) top brass by Yeddyurappa.

The allegation was based on photocopies of BSY's purported diary which was submitted to the Income Tax (I-T) department on Saturday but was dismissed as a "forgery document" and a "set of loose papers".

"There is a statement by the income tax that the diary is a forgery document. It is now proved that the Congress has failed miserably in its attempt to malign our party leaders' image," BJP spokesperson and MLA S Suresh Kumar told a press conference.

"Since it is evident that Surjewala used forgery document, he should be immediately arrested for spreading baseless allegations," he added.

The BJP's Karnataka unit, said Kumar, has consulted the party central leadership and soon a police complaint would be lodged against Surjewala demanding his arrest.

"Since the Income Tax has called it a forgery document, we urge the Election Commission (ECI) not to allow anyone make use of the so-called diary as part of election campaigning," the BJP spokesperson said.

Kumar also demanded that Congress president Rahul Gandhi should apologise for his tweet accusing all BJP leaders of being "corrupt", citing the a report by the Caravan magazine.

"The enthusiasm with which he tweeted to malign Yeddyurappa's image, he should use the same medium to seek an apology," Kumar demanded.

Surjewala had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should come forward and clarify whether bribes were taken by the top BJP leaders as mentioned in the diary.

The BJP denied the charges and party chief Amit Shah said that after all the "fake issues" had collapsed, the Congress was desperately relying on forgery. Yeddyurappa too dismissed the charges as "atrocious and malicious.

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The body of grenadier Hari Bhakar, who was killed in a ceasefire violation along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistani troops, reached



here Sunday and will be taken to his native village in Nagaur by road.

Bhakar was part of the 4 Grenadiers Regiment.

The soldier was injured in the cross-border firing around 4 am on Sunday and was immediately taken to the nearest field hospital, where he succumbed to injuries, officials said.

His last rites will be performed on Monday.

Pakistani forces opened fire on the Shahpur and Kerni areas in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district around 5.30 pm on Saturday and it continued intermittently through the night, officials said.

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Bru voters lodged in relief camps in Tripura would exercise their franchise for the lone Lok Sabha seat in Mizoram on April 11 in special polling booths which would be set up for them at Kanhum village in Mizoram-Tripura border, officials said Sunday.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has instructed the Mizoram Election department to make arrangements so that the Bru voters lodged in relief camps in Tripura could exercise franchise at Kanhmun village, the officials said.

The ECI has also instructed the Tripura government to make arrangements for the transport of the Bru voters from their relief camps to the polling booths on April 11.

The officials said that Tripura government would make arrangements for transportation of over 12,000 Bru voters from their respective relief camps in North Tripura district to the Mizoram border on polling day.

Over 6,000 Bru voters lodged in relief camps in Tripura had exercised their franchise at the special polling booths set up Kanhmun village during the Mizoram Assembly election held last year.

Meanwhile, the Aizawl-based NGO Coordination Committee, an umbrella organisation of the civil societies and the student associations demanded that the Bru voters in the relief camps should exercise franchise in the Lok Sabha election at their polling stations where they were enrolled as voters in Mizoram.

The civil societies even threatened to boycott the Lok Sabha polls if the Election Commission goes ahead in making arrangements for the Bru voters to cast their votes at Kanhmun village.

The secretary of Mizo Bru Displaced Peoples Forum (MBDPF), Bruno Msha Sunday said during the Mizoram Assembly election last year vehicles were arranged by the Tripura government.

Msha said special polling booths would be set up for the camp inmates to exercise their franchise on April 11 at Kanmun village in Mamit district and Tripura government would arrange vehicles to transport them and food packets.

The joint chief electoral officer of Mizoram has arrived in Kanchanpur relief camp to discuss about the arrangements with refugee leaders and other camp inmates, officials added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The toll in the building collapse at Dharwad in North Karnataka rose to 16 Sunday, with one more body being pulled out of the debris, police said.

The rescuers had pulled out a body on Saturday.

Police said rescue operations are still on and that four people may still be trapped under the rubble.

So far 72 people have been rescued, they said.

The four storeyed under construction building collapsed on March 19 at Kumareshwaranagar in the heart of Dharwad, about 400 km from here.

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday had ordered a magisterial inquiry into the building collapse.

Police have already arrested the building's design engineer Vivek Pawar in connection with the case.

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Italy's participation in China's giant "Silk Road" infrastructure project sparked an outcry in Germany on Sunday, including a call for the European Union to block such deals with a veto.

"The expansion of transport links between Europe and Asia is in itself a good thing -- as long as the autonomy and sovereignty of Europe is not endangered," the EU's budget commissioner, Gunther Oettinger, told the Funke newspaper group.

But the German commissioner said he viewed "with concern that in Italy and other European countries, infrastructure of strategic importance like power networks, rapid rail lines or harbours are no longer in European but in Chinese hands."



"Europe urgently needs a China strategy, that lives up to its name," he added.

Noting that EU member states were sometimes not adequately taking into account national and European interests, Oettinger suggested that "an European veto right, or a requirement of European consent -- exercised by the Commission -- could be worth considering."



Oettinger's call came after German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas had sharp words for Rome over its deal with Beijing.

"In a world with giants like China, Russia or our partners in the United States, we can only survive if we are united as the EU," Maas told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

"And if some countries believe that they can do clever business with the Chinese, then they will be surprised when they wake up and find themselves dependant.

"China is not a liberal democracy," he stressed.

Europe has been struggling to find a coherent strategy to deal with China.

While the continent desperately needs to keep China on its side as a trade ally, it is also wary of the Chinese state's ambitions and growing global clout.

Italy on Saturday became the first G7 country to sign up for Beijing's new "Silk Road" project of road, rail and sea transport and trade links stretching from Asia to Europe.

The project has raised eyebrows in Washington and in some EU capitals where critics say it will give China too much sway.

China's President Xi Jinping has said it would be a two-way street of investment and trade.

Following his visit to Italy, Xi stopped in Monaco on the French Riviera Sunday before meeting later in the evening with France's Emmanuel Macron.

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The central paramilitary forces have asked the government to bring a new assessment system that would annually "weed out" unfit personnel as over 55,000 troops in their combat ranks are in the "low medical category".

The recommendation was made after the Union Home Ministry, under which these internal security forces function, recently held a meeting with all the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) at the North Block here.

The six CAPFs are the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the Border Security Force (BSF), the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Assam Rifles.

The meeting was called in the wake of a recent Delhi High Court directive to increase the retirement age of jawans and officers, up to the rank of commandant, in these forces from 57 to 60 years, like that in the CISF and the Assam Rifles.

The court had called the current policy of different age of superannuation in four paramilitary forces -- CRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSB -- as "discriminatory and unconstitutional" and said it created two classes in the uniformed forces.

While all the forces, except the CRPF, said they had no problems in enhancing the superannuation age of their combat troops, they raised concern over the fallout of this move as they needed to have young blood and an agile workforce to guard the country's borders and undertake anti-naxal and counter-terror operations.

The CRPF, which is undertaking new initiatives to enhance its operational effectiveness post the February 14 Pulwama attack, said it will be unviable for it to have accumulation of older personnel as maximum of its battalions are operationally deployed all times and have very less peace time duties.

It sad it will have more low medical category (LMC) cases if the retirement age of personnel, up to the commandant rank, is increased from 57-60 years.

The forces, as per records accessed by PTI, told the Home Ministry that they have a total of 55,330 personnel "in the low medical category at present, owing to injuries suffered by troops during action or the irreversible wear and tear their bodies take owing to deployment in inhospitable terrains for maximum time of their tenure".

The highest number of personnel in LMC, 22,120, are in the CRPF, the report said.

The BSF has 14,115 personnel in LMC or 5.5 per cent of its total strength, the Assam Rifles has 10,202 troops in the category (3.79 per cent) and the ITBP 5,619 personnel or six per cent of its total strength, it said.

The CISF has 2,180 and the SSB 1,094 personnel (1.37 per cent) in LMC, the report said.

The forces, after the conclusion of the meeting, recommended to the government that "in case retirement age is raised to 60 years, it may be explored if a system is put in place to make yearly assessment to weed out those who are not fit to continue in the force consistent with its objective."



People categorised under LMC are taken out of combat tasks and given administrative duties, and only certain select cases are chosen to be boarded out completely from the force, as per the present policy.

Conforming the move for a new assessment system to PTI, a senior official of the ministry said the proposal is being "analysed at the senior-most level of the Ministry of Home Affairs."



The data provided by the six CAPFs, said LMC cases were higher in the age group above 35-40 years and hence, it was essential to keep the "operational and physical efficiency" of these forces up to the mark, a mandatory requirement for uniformed forces.

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Continuing his outburst against YSRCP leader Y S Jaganmohan Reddy, the Prime Minister and the Telangana Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu Sunday said casting a vote for YSRCP would be akin to one for the TRS and Narendra Modi.

Addressing election campaigns in many parts of neighbouring Kadapa district and his native Chittoor district, including Tirupati, for the April 11 simultaneous polls for AP assembly and the Lok Sabha, Naidu, the TDP chief urged people to vote for Telegu Desam for good governance to have a better future for Andhra Pradesh.

"Casting a vote to YSRCP will be a vote for TRS, led by K Chandrasekhar Rao, who humiliated the people of Andhra Pradesh in the past," he said.

Naidu alleged that Rao had arranged an election fund of Rs 1,000 crore to YSRCP to defeat ruling Telugu Desam Party.

He also told the Muslim minorities that a vote for YSRCP was nothing but a vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Chief Minister said his government had spent Rs 5,000 crore in the last five years for the welfare of Muslims.

Accusing opposition leader Jaganmohan Reddy of looting the state when his father the late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy was ruling undivided Andhra Pradesh, Naidu asked the people not to vote for the YSR Congress Party.

If YSRCP was voted to power it would be a clear cut writing of the people's own 'death declaration' as the rival party would ruin the fate of the curtailed state of AP because the law and order situation would reach its nadir and criminals would raise their heads again, he alleged.

He flayed the Prime Minister for 'betraying' the people of Andhra Pradesh by not fulfilling the prepoll promises, including grant of Special Category Status.

Naidu said that Jagan, who had stated in his election affidavit, that he has 31 criminal cases pending against him, was now scared and so had 'surrendered' himself to Modi and KCR.

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There is an imminent need for change in attitude and will for the expeditious disposal of commercial suits, the Delhi High Court has observed.

The observation came while passing a slew of directions so that lawyers and litigants make efforts to expedite disposal of suits.

The court was deciding an application seeking permission to file certain additional documents in a commercial suit.

Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw said though the legislature, by enacting the Commercial Courts Act, intended expeditious disposal of suits, in majority of commercial suits, applications like delayed filing of documents or condonation of delay are being filed.

The court said these applications were envisaged by the Commercial Courts Act to be an exception in such cases, rather than the norm.

"There is thus an imminent need for change in attitude and will for expeditious disposal," it said.

The judge said the effort to expedite the case, as endeavoured by the Act, cannot be only by the courts but must be by all the stakeholders, that is, litigants and counsel.

"They are required to pay extra attention to making precise pleadings spelling out basis of claim or defence and to avoid making unnecessary pleas, which add to length of pleadings and ultimately lead to unnecessary issues being framed, evidence being led, which has no relevance at the time of final adjudication," the court said.

It said that in the beginning itself, lawyers should prepare an entire blue print of their case/ defence, including witnesses to be examined, by studying the law and judgments on the subject controversy.

The court noted certain practices, such as lack of strategy, lack of understanding of their own claim or defence, etc, which lead to unnecessary delay in disposal of commercial suits.

It also dealt with the practice of seeking time to file reply to interim applications and said highlighted that the opposite party or the advocate, out of habit, asks for time even when there is no need for a reply.

"Moreover, the law on various aspects which come up for consideration in such interim applications, is by and large settled and any counsel worth his salt knows the outcome of such applications."



"In such situations, no time should be permitted to be wasted on such applications and if the counsel knows that the application, even after reply and arguments would be allowed, should consent thereto," the court said.

"Else, the Commercial Courts Act, insofar as aimed at expediting disposal, will remain a piece of legislation only on paper," it added.

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Ahead of the crucial talks next month to finalise the texts of trade deal with the US to end the trade war, a top Chinese official said on Sunday that China will import more goods from the US to balance bilateral trade, a key demand of President Donald Trump.

Trump is demanding China to reduce the USD 375 billion trade deficit and protection of intellectual property rights (IPR), technology transfer and more access to American goods to Chinese markets.

He has already increased the tariffs on over USD 250 billion Chinese exports to the US and threatened to extend tariffs on USD 200 billion Chinese imports to 25 per cent.

Trump held back his threat to impose additional tariffs on the rest of Chinese imports as both sides stepped up talks to finalise the text of the deal.

The White House said recently that talks between Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He, China's main trade negotiator and the US Trade Representative Robert Lighthize and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will be held on April in Washington.

Ahead of the talks, Vice-Premier and Politburo Standing Committee member Han Zheng told the China Development Forum in Beijing on Sunday that China will work to boost imports and achieve a more even balance of trade with the US.

Han told a gathering of foreign business representatives and former government officials from the US and other countries that his government was committed to levelling the playing field.

We do not aim to (increase the) trade surplus and sincerely want to increase imports to achieve trade balance, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.

He said that China would improve market access, including shortening the negative list of industries in which foreign investment is limited or prohibited, and ban the practice of forcing foreign firms to transfer proprietary technology to joint venture partners.

As the next step, we will continue to shorten the negative list for foreign investors and allow sole proprietorship of foreign businesses in more sectors, he said.

China would also speed up the opening up of more sectors, including telecommunications, education and health care, he said.

We will continue to strengthen intellectual property protection, prohibit forced technology transfers, and build a penalty and compensation system (for infringement cases)," he said.

Beijing is reported to have promised to buy larger quantities of US agricultural and energy products to help achieve that goal.

The trade gap for goods bought and sold by the US and China in 2018 rose 11.6 per cent from the previous year to a record USD 419 billion, the Post report said.

China recently passed a new foreign investment law which for the first time provide an opportunity to foreign firms from June 1 to invest in China without joint ventures with protection to technology.

Chinese officials say the new law with a negative list provides level playing field treating foreign firms on par with that of the domestic companies.

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Taking a swipe at the BJP leaders in Uttar Pradesh, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday said these 'chowkidars' (watchmen) are only working for the rich and are not bothered about the poor.

She attacked the Uttar Pradesh government while citing a media report on Twitter that claimed the dues of sugarcane farmers had crossed Rs 10,000 crore in the state.

"The families of sugarcane farmers toil day and night but the Uttar Pradesh government does not even take the responsibility of paying their dues," Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said.

"Rs 10,000 crore of farmers' dues means everything, including their children's education, food, health, and the next produce comes to a standstill. These chowkidars only work for the rich and do not care about the poor," she claimed.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was recently appointed the Congress general secretary for Uttar Pradesh East.

All BJP leaders in the country had recently followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi in adding 'Chowkidar' to their Twitter handles, after Modi claimed that he was a 'chowkidar' (watchman) of the country and would not allow any wrongdoing.

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Two groups clashed in Rajasthan's Jaipur district on Sunday after members of a community objected to the music being played during a march by a local outfit, police said.

The incident occurred in Chomu town -- 32 km north of Jaipur -- when nearly 200 members of the Hindu Navjagran Sena were marching through a Muslim-dominated area, a police officer said.

Some members of the minority community objected to the DJ music being played, following which the two groups had a confrontation and pelted stones at each other, the officer said.

"It was a march prior to a religious yatra proposed on April 5. The members were passing through an area where similar tension had occurred during such a yatra last year. Police rushed to the spot and controlled the situation," said Bajrang Singh, additional deputy commissioner of police (Jaipur west).

There was no major injury to anyone. Additional police have been deployed in the area to maintain law and order, the officer added.

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A cleric who allegedly solemnised the wedding of two Pakistani Hindu minor girls, who were reportedly abducted and forcefully converted to Islam, was arrested on Sunday, as the teenagers approached a court in Pakistan's Punjab province seeking protection, according to a media report.

The two girls, Raveena (13) and Reena (15), were allegedly kidnapped by a group of "influential" men from their home in Ghotki district in Sindh on the eve of Holi. Soon after the kidnapping, a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown soleminising the Nikah (marriage) of the two girls, triggering a nationwide outrage.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan also ordered a probe into the issue.

According to Geo News' Urdu website jang.com, the teenagers approached a court in Bahawalpur in Pakistan's Punjab province seeking protection.

"The cleric who performed their marriage has been arrested from Khan Pur in Sindh," it said.

Earlier in the day, a war of words broke out between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry over the reported abduction, forced conversion and underage marriages of the two Hindu teenagers.

The spat started soon after Swaraj sought details from the Indian envoy in Pakistan into the reported abduction of two Hindu teenaged girls.

Swaraj, while tagging a media report about the incident, tweeted that she has asked the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan to send a report on the matter.

Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry responded to her tweet, saying it was his country's "internal issue".

In a Twitter post in Urdu on Sunday, Chaudhry said the prime minister has asked the Sindh chief minister to look into reports that the girls in question have been taken to Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab.

He said the prime minister has also ordered the Sindh and Punjab governments to devise a joint action plan in light of the incident, and to take concrete steps to prevent such incidents from happening again.

The Hindu community in Pakistan has carried out massive demonstrations calling for strict action to be taken against those responsible, while reminding Prime Minister Khan of his promises to the minorities of the country.

Last year, Khan during his election campaign had said his party's agenda was to uplift the various religious groups across Pakistan and said they would take effective measures to prevent forced marriages of Hindu girls.

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BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav Sunday said the Congress might win an election in Pakistan if it contests from there as the opposition party is "banking on lies" and the neighbouring country.

He also claimed that the statements of the Congress leaders are retweeted more by the people of Pakistan than their counterparts in India.

"Their comments are more retweeted and publicised by the people of the neighbouring country than our own. The Congress might win an election in Pakistan if it contests from there. This is the condition of our main opposition party," the BJP leader told a press conference here.

"The Congress does not have any issue to really take on our government, our leader and our party. It is banking on lies and Pakistan," the BJP leader said.

Pointing out that the Congress is fighting a "clueless battle", Madhav said "Nobody in the country is understanding what it wants to say and in which direction it wants to take the country. The people are also not understanding if the Congress is fighting for India or Pakistan."



Alleging that the Congress leaders are "doubting" the credentials of the Indian Army, the senior BJP leader said the opposition party was not only questioning the success of the BJP-led government, but also making "derogatory remarks" about the Army.

When asked about the allegation of former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa paying a bribe of Rs 1,800 crore to top BJP leaders, Madhav said, "It is bogus ..the Congress has no issue today to confront us and it is only banking on lies.

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The BJP Sunday said the Congress, National Conference and People's Democratic Party formed an alliance in Jammu division under "frustration" as they had no issues to face the public.

"The so called strategic alliance of the Congress, NC and PDP on the two Lok Sabha seats of Udhampur and Jammu is a step taken out of frustration due to (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi phobia as they have no issues to face the public," senior BJP leader and former deputy chief minister Kavinder Gupta said.

The Congress and the NC had announced a pre-poll alliance on Wednesday with the Congress fielding candidates from two seats of Jammu division and extending support to the candidature of NC president Farooq Abdullah, who is seeking re-election from Srinagar, while going for a "friendly contest" in rest of the three seats of Anantnag, Baramulla and Ladakh.

The PDP, on the other hand, decided unilaterally not to field any candidate from Jammu and Udhampur constituencies to ensure that the "secular votes are not divided".

Gupta said the the three parties have gone to "such a low level of that they are repeatedly questioning the air strike by the Indian Air Force on a JeM training centre in Pakistan".

"Every citizen of the state is aware of the real face of these parties," he said cautioning people against the "false propaganda".

Gupta, who addressed a series of gatherings in various parts of Jammu in support of party candidate Jugal Kishore who is seeking re-election from Jammu Lok Sabha seat, said the BJP has proved itself as a party of masses at every front and ensured overall development of all the three regions of the state.

Welcoming several youths into the party fold, he said doors of the party are open for those who want to join the party to take the country to new heights of development.

"The BJP will welcome them whole-heartedly. The party is not a place for fulfilling personal ambitions. For us, is a medium of social service," he said.

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The 'Mahagathbandhan' (Grand Alliance) in Jharkhand on Sunday announced the seat-sharing arrangement among the Congress, the JMM, the JVM (Prajatantrik) and the RJD for 14 Lok Sabha seats.

"The Congress will contest in seven seats, while the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) will contest four and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) two. The Mahagathbandhan has left the Palamau seat to the RJD," Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajoy Kumar told reporters here.

However, RJD Jharkhand unit general secretary Sanjay Singh Yadav said the party did not accept the seat-sharing formula, which was decided in its absence.

"Our stand is clear. We will contest from Palamau and Chatra. If not given that, we will decide to field candidates in other seats," Yadav told a press conference.

He added that the Congress, the JMM and the JVM announced the arrangement "unilaterally without RJD's consent".

As per the seat-sharing deal, the Congress will contest from Ranchi, Khunti (ST), Lohardaga (ST), Singhbhum (ST), Hazaribagh, Dhanbad and Chatra seats, while the JMM will field candidates from Dumka (ST), Rajmahal (ST), Giridih and Jamshedpur and JVM will contest from Godda and Koderma seats.

Kumar said that the Grand Alliance believes that the RJD would accept the seat-sharing formula "to unseat the BJP government".

The four-phase Lok Sabha polling will begin on April 29 in the state.

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: Amid suspense and dilemma in the BJP over its candidate for Bengaluru south constituency, the Congress Sunday announced fielding its controversial Rajya Sabha member B K Hariprasad from the constituency.

Hariprasad's staunch loyalty to the party dates from his college days when he was associated with the youth Congress.

"I have completed 40 years of service to the Congress. There was no specific Lok Sabha seat to contest. Party national president Rahul Gandhi and Karnataka Congress president Dinesh Gundu Rao decided that I should contest from Bengaluru South seat,"he told reporters after the party announced his name for the seat.

The Bengaluru south Lok Sabha seat is not new for Hariprasad as he was defeated by former union minister Ananth Kumar in 1999.

Exuding confidence about his victory this time, Hariprasad said the circumstances now were different from those of 1999 as things were at present in his favour.

In most likelihood, Hariprasad may have to contest against Ananth Kumar's widow Tejaswini Ananth Kumar as indicated byPadmanabhanagar MLA and former deputy chief minister R Ashok.

Ashok said the BJP core committee in Karnataka has sent the name of Tejaswini to contest from Bengaluru South constituency.

We sent the name of Tejaswini from Bengaluru South. We are confident that she will be our candidate. I have spoken to our general secretary B Muralidhar Rao. BJP has started campaigning for it," said Ashok.

Since the BJP has not announced its candidate from this seat, speculation was rife that prime minister Narendra Modi would contest from here. But it was dismissed by Union minister for science and technology Harsh Vardhan as a rumour.

Speaking to reporters at Belagavi in Karnataka Sunday, Vardhan quipped: "I think there is no tax in the country for spreading rumours. I havent even heard it as a rumour. I think I should not comment on rumours."



Hariprasad had courted controversies recently when he called the Pulwama terror attack a match-fixing between prime minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan.

Speaking to reporters on March 7, he had said, "There is a match-fixing between Narendra Modi and Imran Khan, or else this Pulwama incident would not have taken place."



The basis behind Hariprasad's apprehension was the undetected 350 kg of RDX used by a Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber to detonate and kill 40 CRPF Jawans on February 14 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier in January, he had mocked BJP national president Amit Shah's illness when the latter was admitted to the AIIMS for contracting H1N1.

Addressing a meeting in Bengaluru, Hariprasad had said in Kannada that Amit Shah got the 'swine flu' because he tried to destabilise the Congress-JDS coalition government in Karnataka.

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Employment, employment, and -- will be the focus of the Congress's election campaign, party's manifesto committee member has said, asserting that the country was going through a jobs "crisis".

Pitroda, a long-time Gandhi family adviser and the chief of the Indian Overseas Congress, said agrarian distress is also a major issue facing the country and it needs to be addressed.

In an interview to PTI, he said Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will make a huge impact in the general elections.

Priyanka Gandhi and Jyotiraditya Scindia took charge as AICC general secretary UP east and UP west respectively last month.

Asked what would be the key issues the will focus on during the campaign that will strike a chord with the people, Pitroda said: Employment, employment,

The country is going through a big crisis. We have not created new employment. We have in fact eaten into the employment base we already had. So, today the real challenge is how do we create new jobs, he said.

Pitroda said employment has been affected by factors such as demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

If you don't focus on employment there will be a major crisis, the technocrat-turned-politician warned.

On whether the has been able to take up the issue of employment in its campaign and narrative, Pitroda said: You will see it in the manifesto.

He expressed confidence that the will finish the process of stitching up alliances in various states and its tie-ups will become clear soon.

Asked if Congress president Rahul Gandhi was matching up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in terms of being the prime challenger, Pitroda said he doesn't see the contest as a challenge between two individuals.

I think it is a challenge between the idea of India. It is about what kind of a nation you want to build going forward, what are the real challenges you have on employment, inclusion and all that, he said



Pitroda also said it was a fight of ideologies and a fight between politics of hate and politics of love.

He asserted that agrarian distress is also a major issue.

I was told that there is problem of excess supply of onions and potatoes, and the prices are way down and that hurts farmers, he said.

Pitroda, who is credited with being the architect of the telecom revolution under Rajiv Gandhi, also alleged that science and technology, had been on the back burner in a big way under the Modi government.

Asked how the Congress will bring the narrative back to real issues such as employment and alleged agrarian distress post the Balakot air strikes, he said the party will raise key issues on the ground among people.

Pitroda is part of the 19-member Manifesto Committee set up by the Congress to come out with the party's manifesto for the general elections.

Pitroda has worked on the Knowledge Commission and also founded National Innovation Council later during the Congress-led UPA rule.
A critically ill Indian man, who was visiting his son in Dubai, has surging bills over lakhs in a Dubai hospital after he was diagnosed with lung infection, leading to a multi-organ failure, UAE media reported on Sunday.

Surendra Nath Khanna, 66, who hails from Punjab, was rushed to hospital after he complained of acute breathlessness on March 15, the next morning after he arrived in Dubai with his wife.

His son Anubhav did not avail any travel or medical insurance for his parents and is currently shelling out over Rs 300,000 every day on his father's treatment. He till now has unpaid bills mounting to over Rs 18,00,000.

"When my parents arrived, I could see that my father was a bit breathless, but he didn't show any signs of being sick. But, in the morning, we had to call an ambulance as he suffered from breathlessness," Khanna's son Anubhav, who migrated to Dubai 11 months back, was quoted as saying by Khaleej Times newspaper.

He said that doctors diagnosed it to be a severe lung infection and his limbs began getting discoloured.

According to the report, the growing infection affected Khanna's left hand which had to be amputated. His right leg seems to be affected with gangrene and may need to be amputated as well.

He said his father developed breathlessness and cough, which were dismissed as seasonal ailment by local doctors few days prior to the travel.

Urging the community to come forward and help the family, Neeraj Agrawal, Head of Chancery and acting Consul-General of India to the UAE, said, "The consulate officials and the community volunteer medical team are in touch with the family and doctors. We are keeping a close watch and helping in whatever capacity we can," the paper quoted the Indian official as saying.

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The death toll from a massacre in a central Malian village rose to 134 dead, the UN said, as new video emerged Sunday showing victims strewn on the ground amid the burning remains of their homes.

An ethnic Dogon militia already blamed for scores of attacks in central Mali over the past year attacked an ethnic Peuhl village just before dawn on Saturday.

Among the victims in Ogossogou were pregnant women, small children and the elderly, according to a Peuhl group known as Tabital Pulaaku.

Graphic video obtained by The Associated Press shows the aftermath of Saturday's attack, with many victims burned inside their homes.

A small child's body is covered with a piece of fabric, and at one point an ID card is shown covered with blood.

In the capital of Bamako, visiting UN Security Council President Francois Delattre, condemned the killings as an "unspeakable attack" late Saturday.

At least 55 people were wounded and the UN mission in Mali said it was "working to ensure the wounded were evacuated."



In New York, the UN secretary-general condemned the attack and called on the Malian authorities to swiftly investigate it and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Islamic extremists were ousted from urban centers in northern Mali during a 2013 French-led military operation.

The jihadists scattered throughout the rural areas, regrouped and began launching numerous attacks against the Malian military and the UN mission.

Since 2015, extremism has edged all the way to central Mali where it has exacerbated tensions between the Dogon and Peuhl groups.

Members of the Dogon group accuse the Peulhs of supporting these jihadists linked to violent groups in the country's north and beyond.

Peulhs have in turn accused the Dogon of supporting the Malian army in its effort to stamp out extremism.

In December, Human Rights Watch had warned that "militia killings of civilians in central and northern Mali are spiralling out of control."



The group said the ethnic Dogon militia known as Dan Na Ambassagou and its leader had been linked to many of the atrocities and called for Malian authorities to prosecute the perpetrators.

Mali's Dogon country with its dramatic cliff landscapes and world renowned traditional art once drew tourists from Europe and beyond who hiked through the region's villages with local guides.

The region, though, has been destabilized in recent years along with much of central Mali.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
People this time will vote for Delhi's full statehood as not having the status is directly linked with concrete issues such as unemployment, women's safety and lack of opportunities in higher education, AAP leader Atishi has said.

Atishi is one of the seven candidates fielded by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi.

The AAP is contesting the elections with the slogan 'Poorna Rajya Banao Jhadu ka Button Dabao', telling people that Delhi will get full statehood if they vote for the party.

In an interview to PTI, the Aam Aadmi Party's Lok Sabha candidate for the East Delhi constituency said the party is "talking of concrete issues of lack of safety and security, cleanliness and employment that is linked to Delhi not having full statehood".

"People in Delhi this election are going to vote on these factors," Atishi said.

Noting that there is "no narrative" this election and people would vote based on local issues affecting them, she said, "Like in 2014, there was 'Abki Baar Modi Sarkar', in 2015, there was narrative to make Kejriwal as the chief minister but if you see in this election there is no narrative across the nation either in favour of anyone or against anyone".

She added that a lot of people who voted for the BJP in 2014 were "not natural BJP voters" but the ones hoping for change in favour of development.

"When they voted for the BJP (in 2014), they thought it is on the agenda of development. They were also the elections that had mega narratives," she said.

"I think people would say we have seen consequences of voting for Modi, nothing changed in our lives. Our children still don't have education, they don't have jobs, women are still not safe. Now they will vote based on seeing the work that we (AAP) have done after coming to power," the 37-year-old Oxford graduate said.

On reforms in government school in Delhi, Atishi said when the AAP came to power, there were multiple gaps that had to be dealt with.

"One was that of the basic infrastructure, whatever infrastructure was there was poorly maintained. There were some schools in east Delhi having over 150 students in one class and with such infrastructure deficiency there is no way you can provide high quality education," she said.

"I think all this shortage of infrastructure gave this message to the children that you are second class citizens and you don't matter in this world and you are not going to make it anywhere," Atishi said.

The second major challenge was "lack of accountability" which, she claimed, is a "hallmark of a government system".

"I think changing that mindset was the biggest challenge. Everyone in this system used to believe that this system couldn't work," she said.

"Teachers are same, schools are same, children are same but the fact that you have a government in power that is willing to improve, an intent to improve and that changed things," she said.

But she noted that Delhi's higher is still facing a crisis.

"You have 2.5 lakh students passing out of class 12 every year in Delhi and that number is increasing. There are only one lakh seats in higher educational institutes for which children from across the country are seeking admission. So there is definitely a crisis," she said.

"Most of the children passing out of Delhi government schools do their undergraduation through correspondence and there are 28 colleges that are funded by the city government so at least 85 per cent seats should be reserved for children in Delhi as it is being run by their tax payers' money," she said.

She lamented that the Centre opposes such a reservation in the universities in Delhi for local students but at the same time prohibits opening of new universities according to the Delhi University Act.

"So where will the children of Delhi go," she asked.

"Once Delhi gets full statehood, this is a very big issue that would be solved. We would be able to give 85 per cent reservation to Delhiites in these colleges," she said.

She exuded confidence that the status, once granted to Delhi, will help expand higher under the AAP dispensation.

Atishi said women's safety in the national capital is also one of the biggest agenda for this election.

"We have shown that we can make government systems work. With full statehood, a transformation can also happen in the police system where there is a lack of accountability and complete statehood would bring that accountability," she said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Democrats are pressing for full disclosure of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the Trump-Russia investigation and vowing to use subpoena powers and other legal means if necessary to get it.

Attorney General William Barr was expected to release his first summary of Mueller's findings on Sunday, people familiar with the process said, on what lawmakers anticipated could be a day of reckoning in the two-year probe into President Donald Trump and Russian efforts to elect him. Since receiving the report Friday, Barr has been deciding how much of it Congress and the public will see.

Democrats are on a hair trigger over the prospect that some information may be withheld.

"I suspect that we'll find those words of transparency to prove hollow, that in fact they will fight to make sure that Congress doesn't get this underlying evidence," Rep. Adam Schiff of California, chairman of the House intelligence committee, said Sunday on ABC's "This Week." His plan: Ask for information and if that's denied, "subpoena.

If subpoenas are denied, we will haul people before the Congress. And yes, we will prosecute in court as necessary to get this information."



At his resort in Florida, Trump stirred from his unusual, nearly two-day silence on Twitter with the mild tweet: "Good Morning, Have a Great Day!" Then he followed up: "MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"



Mueller's investigation is known to have concluded without a recommendation for further indictments after having snared nearly three dozen people, senior Trump campaign operatives among them.

The probe illuminated Russia's assault on the American political system, painted the Trump campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails to hurt Democrat Hillary Clinton and exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.

Democratic Rep. Jerrold Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said Democrats won't be willing to wait long for the Justice Department to hand over full information on the probe into whether Trump's 2016 campaign coordinated with Russia to sway the election and whether the president later sought to obstruct the investigation.

"It won't be months," he said on CNN's "State of the Union." Asked if he still believes Trump obstructed justice, he indicated there has been obstruction but "whether it's criminal is another question." Although Democrats have stoutly defended Mueller's work against Trump's repeated cries of "witch hunt," Schiff was disappointed that the special counsel did not succeed in interviewing the president personally.

"It was a mistake to rely on written responses by the president," Schiff said, because those yield answers framed more by lawyers than by Trump. He said he was not surprised that Trump's lawyers resisted having him submit to a personal interview, given that "the president is someone who seems pathologically incapable of telling the truth for long periods of time."



On the other side, also on "This Week," Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said Democrats faced the prospect of seeing no blockbuster in the Mueller report and were flailing as they try to pin something on the president.

They considered Mueller "right next to Jesus, he can almost walk on water," Jordan said, but "now they're launching all kind of other charges, all kinds of other investigations."



Mueller submitted his report to Barr instead of directly to Congress and the public because, unlike independent counsels such as Ken Starr in the case of President Bill Clinton, his investigation operated under the close supervision of the Justice Department, which appointed him.

Mueller was assigned to the job in May 2017 by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversaw much of his work. Barr and Rosenstein analyzed Mueller's report on Saturday, laboring to condense it into a summary letter of main conclusions.

Barr said he wants to release as much as he can under the law. That decision will require him to weigh the Justice Department's longstanding protocol of not releasing negative information about people who aren't indicted against the extraordinary public interest in a criminal investigation into the president and his campaign.

Democrats are citing the department's recent precedent of norm-breaking disclosures, including during the Hillary Clinton email investigation, to argue that they're entitled to Mueller's entire report and the underlying evidence he collected.

Former FBI Director James Comey, for instance, famously held a July 2016 conference in which he criticized Clinton as "extremely careless" in her use of a private email server but said the FBI would not recommend charges.

Even with the details still under wraps, Friday's end to the 22-month probe without additional indictments by Mueller was welcome to some in Trump's orbit who had feared a final round of charges could target more Trump associates or members of the president's family.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Congress victory "by mistake" in the Lok Sabha election will see Pakistan celebrate Diwali, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani claimed on Sunday.

"While this is not going to happen, but when the results (of the general election) are announced on May 23 and (if) the Congress wins by mistake, then Diwali will be celebrated in Pakistan because they (Congress) are all associated with it," Rupani said in Mehsana at the launch of the Bharatiya Janata Party's 'vijay sankalp' rally.

"The people of the country will ensure Narendra bhai (Narendra Modi) wins on May 23, after which there will be grief in Pakistan," the BJP leader said.

Rupani attacked Congress leader Sam Pitroda for demanding proof of the Balakot airstrike.

"The world knows Pakistan shelters terrorists. And Sam Pitroda, Rahul Gandhi's teacher, says it is wrong to blame Pakistan for the act of five-seven youths (who carried out the Pulwama attack).... Congress leaders speak the language of Pakistan," Rupani said.

The chief minister accused the Opposition of insulting the armed forces. "Who are you trying to support by negating the words spoken by the heads of the armed forces (after the Balakot airstrike)?" he asked.

In response to accusations that the previous National Democratic Alliance government freed Masood Azhar, who then went on to form terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed, Rupani alleged that it was the Congress former that had released several terrorists during its tenure.

The BJP leader also accused the Congress of indulging in vote-bank and "encouraging separatist forces".

Describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah as "sons of Gujarat" who were working to make India stand tall among the league of nations, Rupani said disparate Opposition parties were uniting only with the aim of defeating Modi.

"When Narendrabhai is moving in the direction of making India a 'Ram rajya', the Opposition parties have come together. The Congress, communists, terrorists, naxals, corrupt, Mamata, Mayawati, Akhilesh, Chandrababu... all selfish people have come together (against him)," he said.

Calling the 2019 election a fight to the finish, Rupani exhorted party workers to make history with the ballot.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Sunday urged people not to vote for "liars" like the BJP and the Congress, saying they made "false promises" on granting full statehood for the national capital.

Underlining that how West Bengal votes for TMC chief Mamta Banerjee and Tamil Nadu votes AIADMK, Kejriwal said similarly the people of Delhi should also vote for the Aam Aadmi Party.

"First step to support the full statehood in Delhi is by voting for us in the upcoming elections. We will fight for full statehood and get it within two years," he said at a public rally in Malviya Nagar.

"I have planned it all on how to give employment, good education and houses to the people of Delhi. I am an educated man having a real degree not a fake one," the chief minister said amid cheers from the public.

"Do not vote for liars like the BJP and the Congress who made false promises on granting full statehood to the national capital," he said.

Kejriwal said people voted for Prime Minister Narendra Modi five years ago following which he said he became a "56-inch chest" man", and four years back when people voted for the AAP "we worked for them and made every person's chest in Delhi 59 inches".

Accusing the Centre of creating "hurdles" for Delhi's development, the chief minister claimed that he faced "several obstructions" at various stages to get clearances from the central government.

The people of Delhi pay Rs 1.5 lakh crore Income Tax and receive only Rs 325 crore from the Centre, he claimed while addressing another rally at Trilokpuri.

"Why should we pay so much and get so less in return. What have Delhiites done to the central government to deserve this? Kejriwal asked.

"Just for political enmity, PM Modi stopped the development work of the common man in Delhi. Last time you voted for him, but this time don't vote for him otherwise he would not let me work for development," he added.

The AAP is fighting the Lok Sabha election on the agenda of granting Delhi full statehood. It is contesting the polls with the slogan 'Poorna Rajya Banao Jhadu ka Button Dabao', telling people Delhi will get full statehood if they vote for the party.

Elections to the seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital will be held on May 12.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Department of Telecom has asked state governments not to disconnect electricity connections of state-owned BSNL and MTNL on account of pending dues as they are providing strategic services for the upcoming elections, sources said.

BSNL has already cleared 90 per cent of its power dues and is expected to clear the rest in the next 15-20 days.

"A letter from the Department of Telecom has been sent to state chief secretaries requesting them to avoid disruption in MTNL and BSNL electricity connections because it is providing strategic support to state machineries for managing elections," an official told PTI.

When contacted, BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Anupam Shrivastava said, "We have cleared 90 per cent of the dues for electricity connections. Now around Rs 250 crore is left, which will be cleared in next 15-20 days. There were some disconnections that took place but all of them have been restored now."



Status of MTNL could not be ascertained.

Both BSNL and MTNL were unable to pay salaries to their employees for the month of February.

The government released pending dues of Rs 171 crore to cash-strapped MTNL for paying February salaries while BSNL has cleared salary dues of around Rs 850 crore from its internal accruals.

In the hyper-competitive telecom environment, both the public sector firms have approached the government for financial support and to resolve legacy issues, but the Centre is yet to take any final call.

MTNL, which operates only in Delhi and Mumbai, expects that asset monetisation and other measures can help in paring its debt of around Rs 19,000 crore.

BSNL, which has the lowest debt of Rs 14,000 crore among all telecom operators, has sought 4G spectrum across India through equity infusion of Rs 7,000 crore to help it compete in the market.

BSNL has 1.76 lakh employees across India, while MTNL has around 22,000. It is estimated that 16,000 MTNL employees and 50 per cent of BSNL staffers will retire in the next 5-6 years.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Eva Mendes' last big screen outing was 2014 film "Lost River" and the actor says she wants to make a comeback with partner Ryan Gosling.

Mendes and Gosling have previously starred together in 2012's "The Place Beyond the Pines". They started dating during the making of the film.

In an interview with Extra, Mendes was asked who would she want to work with on her next project. "Ryan Gosling," she replied with a smile, noting that she would "absolutely" collaborate with the Oscar-nominated actor again.

"I'm excited to go back to work. It's just not, like, I'm dying to do a movie again, so it has to be something really special," the 45-year-old actor said.

Gosling and Mendes are parents to two daughters, Esmerelda and Amada.

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Manish Khanduri, former Uttarakhand chief minister B C Khanduri's son and the Congress candidate from Garhwal, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday of not being fair with his father.

"My father served the BJP with total honesty, but he was removed from important positions by the party towards the fag end of his career. He (Khanduri) is my father and I have his blessings. My fight is ideological," Manish Khanduri, who will file his nominations in Pauri on Monday, said here.

In his first interaction with the media after joining the Congress at party chief Rahul Gandhi's rally in Dehradun recently, Manish Khanduri described the BJP as an "one-man show" and alleged that the saffron party had not been fair with his father.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi had also raised the issue of the senior Khanduri's sudden removal as chairman of the parliamentary committee on defence, citing it as the reason behind Manish Khandhuri joining the grand old party.

Manish Khnaduri also said migration from the hills and unemployment were the major problems in Garhwal and he would try to solve them if elected.

Evading a direct reply to a question about his prospects in the upcoming polls, Manish Khanduri said apart from his father's blessings, he also had the blessings of S S Negi, who had defeated his father in the 2012 assembly election.

The poll battle in the Garhwal seat will be interesting with Manish Khanduri pitted against his father's political disciple and BJP secretary Tirath Singh Rawat.

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Fathers-to-be, take note! Smoking may increase the baby's risk of developing congenital heart defects -- the leading cause of stillbirth, a study has found.

Congenital heart affect eight in 1,000 babies born worldwide. Prognosis and quality of life continues to improve with innovative surgeries, but the effects are still lifelong.

The findings, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, suggest that fathers-to-be should quit smoking.

"Fathers are a large source of secondhand smoke for pregnant women, which appears to be even more harmful to unborn children than women smoking themselves," said Jiabi Qin, from Central South University in China.

"Smoking is teratogenic, meaning it can cause developmental malformations. The association between prospective parents smoking and the risk of congenital heart defects has attracted more and more attention with the increasing number of smokers of childbearing age," said Qin.

According to researchers, this was the first meta-analysis to examine the relationships between paternal smoking and maternal passive smoking and risk of congenital heart defects in offspring.

Previous analyses have focused on women smokers.

"In fact, smoking in fathers-to-be and exposure to passive smoking in pregnant women are more common than smoking in pregnant women," Qin said.

The researchers compiled the best available evidence up to June 2018. This amounted to 125 studies involving 137,574 babies with congenital heart defects and 8.8 million prospective parents.

All types of parental smoking were associated with the risk of congenital heart defects, with an increase of 74 per cent for men smoking, 124 per cent for passive smoking in women, and 25 per cent for women smoking, compared to no smoking exposure.

This was also the first review to examine smoking at different stages of pregnancy and risk of congenital heart defects.

Women's exposure to secondhand smoke was risky for their offspring during all stages of pregnancy and even prior to becoming pregnant. Women who smoked during pregnancy had a raised likelihood of bearing a child with a congenital heart defect, but smoking before pregnancy did not affect risk.

"Women should stop smoking before trying to become pregnant to ensure they are smokefree when they conceive," said Qin.

"Staying away from people who are smoking is also important. Employers can help by ensuring that workplaces are smokefree," he said.

"Doctors and primary healthcare professionals need to do more to publicise and educate prospective parents about the potential hazards of smoking for their unborn child," said Qin.

Regarding specific types of congenital heart defects, the analysis showed that maternal smoking was significantly associated with a 27 per cent greater risk of atrial septal defect and a 43 per cent greater risk of right ventricular outflow tract obstruction compared to no smoking.

The overall risk of congenital heart defects with all types of parental smoking was greater when the analysis was restricted to Asian populations.

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A fix to the anti-stall system suspected in the crash of a 737 MAX 8 jet that killed 189 people in Indonesia is ready, industry sources said Saturday, as the company tries to avoid a lengthy grounding of its planes.

was due to present the patch to officials and pilots of US airlines -- American, Southwest and United -- in Renton, Washington state, where the plane is assembled, other sources said.

" has already finalized the necessary corrective measures for the MAX," an aviation sector source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will receive the patch "early next week," a government source added.

Asked how long the certification process could take after the patch is in the hands of the authorities, this source said that nothing has been decided yet.

The FAA declined to comment.

The Lion Air crash in Indonesia last October and another accident this month involving an Ethiopian Airlines jet, which killed 346 people between them, have raised major concerns about the safety certification of the 737 MAX 8 model.

The Ethiopian Airlines crash on March 10 led to the global grounding of 737 MAX planes.

Although it will take months to determine the exact cause of both crashes, investigators in the Lion case have honed in on the MCAS automated anti-stalling system designed to point the nose of the plane downward if it is in danger of stalling, or losing lift.

American Airlines and Southwest pilots were set to test simulators with the updates on Saturday, according to the sources.

Boeing neither confirmed nor denied the information.

The FAA had given until April for Boeing to make the necessary changes to the critical anti-stall system, and on March 15 two anonymous industry sources told AFP the upgrade would be ready in about 10 days.

A spokesman for United Airlines, whose fleet includes 14 of the 737 MAX 9 planes, confirmed the company's attendance at the training session.

Southwest and its SWAPA pilots union "have subject matter experts from our Technical Pilot Team and Training Teams headed to Boeing to review documentation and training associated with the modification to the B737 speed trim system," a spokeswoman said.

The company is one of the biggest 737 MAX 8 customers, owning 34 of the planes.

"We've been working diligently and in close cooperation with the FAA on the software update. We are taking a comprehensive and careful approach to design, develop and test the software that will ultimately lead to certification," a Boeing spokeswoman said.

"There will be training provided by Boeing." In addition to the software modification, the industry sources said Boeing has also finalized updates to its flight and pilots' training manuals, as the FAA asked.

"We have been engaging with all 737 MAX operators and we are continuing to schedule meetings to share information about our plans for supporting the 737 MAX fleet," the Boeing spokeswoman said, declining to confirm the timeline for the changes.

In another modification, the 737 MAX will be outfitted with a warning light for malfunctions in the anti-stall system, an industry source told AFP on Thursday, standardizing a feature previously sold as an optional extra.

Neither the Lion Air aircraft nor the Ethiopian Airlines jet had the feature, the industry source said.

US and Ethiopian authorities have said this month's crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302 near Addis Ababa bore "similarities" to last year's Lion Air crash.

Since the Ethiopian crash, pressure has intensified on Boeing and the image of the company -- which also makes combat aircraft and space equipment -- has been eroded.

Share value of the firm, which says it is the world's largest aerospace manufacturer, has dropped 12 per cent since the accident, wiping out $28 billion in market capitalization Boeing and the FAA are under investigation by the Transportation Department over how the rollout of the jet was handled, including the anti-stall system.

The acting FAA head is among transport officials who are to testify on Wednesday before a congressional subcommittee.

Questioning is likely to focus on tight links between Boeing and the regulators, who maintain offices in the airplane factories and delegated a large part of the certification process for the 737 MAX and its anti-stall system to employees of Boeing, sources said.

Press reports say that the Department of Justice has also opened a criminal investigation into the 737 MAX's development.

Ralph Nader, the veteran US consumer protection advocate who lost a relative in the Ethiopia crash, called Friday for an organization to defend passengers' rights.
More than 70 years after the end of World World II, one of Germany's richest families has admitted to its dark links with Adolf Hitler's regime.

Spokesman of the Reimann family, Peter Harf, told Bild am Sonntag of plans to give 10 million euros (USD 11.3 million) to charity after learning of their elders' support for the Nazis and their company's use of forced labour during the war.

"Reimann senior and Reimann junior were guilty. The two entrepreneurs have both passed away, they belonged actually in prison," said Harf. Albert Reimann senior died in 1954 and his son in 1984.

The company they left behind, JAB Holding, is today a behemoth that owns household brands ranging from Clearasil to Calgon.

With wealth estimated at 33 billion euros, the Reimann family is believed to be Germany's second richest.

Harf said the family began digging into their dark past in the 2000s, and in 2014 decided to commission a historian to produce a thorough study into their ancestors' ties to Nazism.

The family plans to make public a full account when the book by the historian, Paul Erker of Munich University, is finished, said Harf.

Quoting letters and archival documents, Bild am Sonntag said Reimann senior was a willing donor to Hitler's SS as early as 1931.

His company was in 1941 deemed a "crucial" firm in the war, as it produced items for the Wehrmacht and the armaments industry.

In 1943, the company was using as many as 175 forced labourers, and employed a foreman who was known for his cruel treatment of the workers.

Harf, who confirmed the conclusions drawn by the Bild report, said there had been no known efforts to provide any compensation to the forced labourers.

"But we have since talked about what we can do now," he said.

"We want to do more and donate ten million euros to a suitable organisation."



Many of Germany's biggest companies have over the decades confronted their Third Reich history.

Among them is Volkswagen, which used concentration camp internees and prisoners of war as slave labour in its factories during the war.

In 1938, Hitler himself laid the foundation stone for the first Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg in northern Germany, tasked with building an affordable car for all Germans -- which would go on to become the iconic Beetle.

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Police have identified the girl whose body was found dumped in Chambi village in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Santosh Patial said the girl was identified as a minor from Una district.

"We are working on the case and will crack it very soon," DIG Patial told PTI Sunday.

Wrapped in a blanket, the body was found Saturday alongside Pathankot-Mandi national highway in Chambi, about 25 km from here.

Patial said Saturday the girl was apparently killed and her body later dumped along the roadside.

A forensic team has examined the spot and police have got some clues, Patial said, adding further probe is on.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The BJP is optimistic about performing well in states where the party did not have much presence earlier which will help push its overall tally to 300 in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the party's Karnataka unit president B S Yeddyurappa said here.

In Karnataka too, the BJP is "doing well" in Hyderabad-Karnataka region and "already has good presence" in Mumbai-Karnataka and Central Karnataka, the former chief minister said, and claimed if the party wins 20 to 22 seats in the state, it would lead to collapse of Congress-JD(S) coalition government due to infighting.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP won 17 seats out of 28, Congress bagged nine seats while the JD (S) got two seats. The Congress and the



JD(S) are fighting in alliance this time, with the two parties agreeing to contest 20 and eight seats respectively.

"There is a positive atmosphere across the country. Narendra Modi's wave has only increased manifold compared to the last Lok Sabha elections. We are expecting to win seats from new territories like West Bengal, Odisha and other North-Eastern states. This would push BJP's overall tally to 300 Lok Sabha seats," he told PTI in an interview here.

The party is also expecting to improve its tally in Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Yeddyurappa said, and expressed confidence that the party would open account in Kerala.

Though the BJP lost Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan assembly elections, the party is going to repeat its 2014 performance in Lok Sabha polls, he asserted.

The BJP's prospects are good in Karnataka as it is expecting to do well in Tumkuru and Mysuru, and put up a fight in Ramnagara and Hassan, which are JD(S) bastions, he added.

Yedyurappa also claimed that Congress strongman Mallikarjun Kharge is in a difficult situation in Hyderabad-Karnataka region after his supporters - Mallikayya Guttedar, Umesh Jadhav, Baburao Chinchunsur and Malaka Reddy - deserted him to join BJP.

"I am very optimistic of the BJP doing well in Hyderabad-Karnataka region, especially Kalaburgi. I am sure the entry of Guttedar, Jadhav, Chinchunsur and Reddy, can turn the tables on Kharge. The Congress leader is in a lurch by missing these leaders who made possible his victories," he said.

"As it is, the BJP has good presence in Mumbai-Karnataka and Central Karnataka, historically," he said.

Yeddyurappa said they were expecting positive impact from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rallies in Karnataka, "which have always worked in favour of the party".

"We have requested Modiji to address four rallies in Karnataka. The dates and places of rallies will be decided later," he said.

Asked about KPCC President Dinesh Gundurao's offer to Rahul Gandhi to contest from Karnataka, Yeddyurappa said the Congress is uncertain that Gandhi can retain Amethi seat, which he managed to win with a 50 per cent reduction in margin in last Lok Sabha elections against Smriti Irani.

"According to me, Rahul Gandhi is losing his Amethi seat to Shrimati Smriti Irani, and hence the Congress is offering him to contest from Karnataka. It will not be easy for him to win from Karnataka also. I think Rahul Gandhi will not take any such risk," he said.

Recently, Gundurao had written a letter asking Gandhi to contest elections from Karnataka so that it would act as a nucleus for the Congress to strengthen its position in southern parts of India.

Asked if the party is concerned about D K Shivakumar campaigning against B Y Raghavendra from Shivvamogga after wresting Ballari seat from BJP in last bypoll, Yeddyurappa said his son would win by one lakh votes margin as he has been working for the last six months without any break.

Yeddyurappa also said he is beginning his election tour in next two to three days.

Replying to a query, he said if BJP wins 20 to 22 seats, infighting in the Congress and JDS would begin, which would result in the collapse of coalition government.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Finance Minister is a key person for the BJP in the Northeast and is above party chief for the affairs related to the region, its General Secretary said on Sunday.

Madhav made the statement when asked why Sarma cannot contest despite being responsible for 25 seats, while Shah is the party in-charge of the entire country and still contesting from

"That means Himant Biswa Sarma's burden is much more than Amit Shah's, probably. Because he has to handle 5-6 governments here. He has to handle the entire election campaign in the Northeast," he said at a press conference here.

"That needs a lot of and time, so the party cannot confine him to one seat. We needed his time and for the larger campaign for all candidates in the Northeast," he said.

Putting to rest all speculation, Shah on Thursday night said that Sarma will not be offered a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections.

Despite the state unit sending his name unanimously, Sarma was asked to concentrate on developing the state and strengthening the party's base in the Northeast, Shah said in a series of tweets in Hindi.

Sarma also took to to say that he accepted the decision "humbly" and the region will not disappoint Shah in making Narendra Prime Minister again.

Earlier, Sarma himself had said on a number of occasions that he will not contest the Assembly elections in the state in 2021, indicating he was looking for a national role.

BJP sources said he was named as the candidate for the prestigious Tezpur constituency in while preparing the state unit's panel of names for the elections.

This, however, did not go down well with BJP's central election committee comprising and Shah, as the party's sitting Tezpur MP Ram Prasad Sarmah resigned from primary membership immediately after learning about the omission of his name.

The central leadership did not accept Sarmah's resignation and asked the state unit to reconsider the panel of candidates, which did not include the parliamentarian from Tezpur constituency.

Later, Sarma's close aide and Tea Tribes Welfare Minister Pallab Lochan Das was given ticket from the Tezpur seat.

Madhav also said the party may consider sending Sarma to the Rajya Sabha from Assam.

The senior BJP leader also commented that Sarma will convince the party's youth members and sympathisers, who were upset over denial of ticket to him.

To another question on giving tickets to existing state ministers, Madhav said: "Putting up a state minister is not a new practice. The best face is put forward. We found that our best available candidates are some legislators, so we fielded them. Once they are elected, we will get other best candidates for those legislator's seats.
India on Sunday raised with Pakistan an incident of alleged abduction of two Hindu teenaged girls and their forcible conversion to Islam in Sindh province even as a war of words broke out between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary over the issue.

Offcial sources said India issued a note verbale -- a diplomatic communication -- to Pakistan, sharing its concerns over the incident and called for suitable remedial action to protect and promote safety, security and welfare of people from the minority communities.

In a tweet, Swaraj said she has sought a report from Indian envoy in Pakistan Ajay Bisaria on the incident. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has already ordered a probe into it.

According to Pakistani media reports, Reena and Raveena, hailing from village Hafiz Salman near the town of Daharki in Sindh, were kidnapped and forced to convert from Hinduism to Islam on March 20, before being married to Muslim men.

Separately, there were Pakistani media reports of abduction and forced conversion of another minor Hindu girl, Shania from Mirpurkhas in Sindh, sources said.

Both girls have been taken to Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab to avoid their arrest by Sindh Police, they said quoting latest reports.

Responding to Swaraj's tweet asking the Indian envoy to send a report on the incident, Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said: "Maam its Pakistan's internal issue and (be) rest assured it's not Modi's India where minorities are subjugated, it's Imran Khan's Naya Pak where white colour of our flag is equally dearer to us."



"I hope you'll act with same diligence when it comes to rights of Indian minorities," he said.

Swaraj, in her response to Chaudhry, said she had only asked for a report from the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad about the kidnapping and forced conversion of two minor Hindu girls to Islam.

"This was enough to make you jittery. This only shows your guilty conscience," she said.

This prompted Chaudhry to respond again.

"Madam Minister I am happy that in the Indian administration we have people who care for minority rights in other countries. I sincerely hope that your conscience will allow you to stand up for minorities at home as well. Gujarat and Jammu must weigh heavily on your soul," the Pakistani minister tweeted.

In a Twitter post in Urdu, Information Minister Chaudhry said the prime minister has asked the Sindh chief minister to look into reports that the girls in question have been taken to Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab.

A number of Pakistani human rights activists have claimed that it is another case of forced conversion and abduction, which are becoming increasingly common in the southern region of Sindh.

After kidnapping of the two girls, a purported video emerged showing that the underage girls accepted that they were converting to Islam with their own desire.

In another video, a Maulvi is seen explaining that the girls were living in an area which was surrounded by Muslims and the girls were inspired by the teachings of Islam and wanted to convert.

Sources quoting reports from Pakistan said an FIR of the incident was registered in Daharki Police Station on behalf of the victims' brother, Shaman Das, son of Hari Das Meghwar.

On 20 March, Das claimed that he was at home along with his family members when six persons, armed with pistols, entered their house, the sources said.

The complainant said that the six men took the family members hostage on gunpoint and took away the two girls.

According to media reports, the Hindu community in the area staged protests, demanding action against perpetrators of the alleged crime.

India has been raising the issue of plight of minorities, particularly the Hindu community in Pakistan.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India's indigenous supersonic fighter jet Tejas will for the first time participate in aerial displays during the five-day Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) in Malaysia.

India has been projecting the Tejas aircraft in a big way as it has been manufactured indigenously at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy.

The Indian Air Force will participate in the Maritime Aero Expo for the first time, during which it will showcase its indigenously-developed light combat aircraft Tejas.

The IAFs' team departed from Air Force Station Kalaikunda for Langkawi on March 22 via Myanmar, Yangon.

"India's indigenous supersonic Light Combat Aircraft(LCA)-Tejas & the world's lightest supersonic fighter which has already joined IAF, is for the 1st time taking part in aerial displays during 05 day Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace Exhibition," the IAF said on its official Twitter handle.

"Today was the final practise session before the opening display for LIMA 2019, commencing 26th March 2019. IAF's Tejas (LCA) during the practise session today at Langkawi International Airport, Malaysia," the IAF tweeted.

The IAF also posted pictures and a video of the Tejas aircraft practicing.

The Langkawi International Maritime Aero Expo (LIMA-2019) is planned in Langkawi, Malaysia from March 26 to March 30, which will provide an opportunity to the IAF air-warriors to interact with their Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) counterparts and foster close relationship between the two services.

This will serve as a foundation for any future interaction with the Malaysian Air Force. It will also provide an opportunity to RMAF to assess the capabilities of LCA, an official statement said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ross Ramsey is executive editor and co-founder of The Texas Tribune, a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs Texans about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. This analysis originated at texastribune.com. Contact Ramsey at rramsey@ texastribune.org.
As part of its relief operations in cyclone-hit Mozambique, the Indian Navy has rescued more than 192 people and provided assistance to 1,381 people in medical camps set up by it, a statement said.

Cyclone Idai made landfall in East and Southern Africa around March 15 causing widespread destruction and loss of human lives in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

In response to a request from Mozambique, India immediately diverted three naval ships to the port city of Beira, a Ministry of External Affairs statement said.

Over the last several days, the three ships, INS Sujata, ICGS Sarathi and INS Shardul, are undertaking Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief in coordination with local authorities and the High Commission of India, Maputo.

"As of now, the Indian naval crew has rescued more than 192 people. Medical assistance has been provided to 1,381 persons in medical camps set up by the Indian Navy," the statement said.

India's Chetak helicopter undertook several sorties to facilitate aerial survey by disaster management officials of Mozambique to rescue people in coordination with local authorities and for dropping food and water packets in the cyclone-affected areas.

To sustain relief operations, another ship INS MAGAR, suitably loaded with relief materials is being sent to Mozambique, the MEA said.

The Indian Navy was the first responder in the evolving humanitarian crises in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai. Assistance is also being sent to Zimbabwe and Malawi, two other countries hit by the cyclone, it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress on Sunday hit back at Union Minister Arun Jaitley over his "dynastic character" attack and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP cannot use such "non issues" to hide the "real issues".

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala in a statement accused the BJP of being a "hypocrite". He alleged that the "dynasty diversion" by Modi and Jaitley is aimed at drawing away the public's attention from issues of "job crisis, rural distress and failed economy".

Dubbing Jaitley as a "blog minister", the Congress spokesperson said his "incessant rants" are being used by the Modi government to hide their failures -- unemployment, rural distress, mismanagement of economy and persecution of the weaker sections.

"PM Modi and Shri Arun Jaitley cannot hide behind daily blogs on non-issues in order to hide the real-issues," Surjewala said.

"The latest outburst of Shri Arun Jaitley against the Congress party is an orchestrated PR gimmick and a cheap cover up exercise for the colossal failures of the past five years," he said.

Jaitley, earlier on Sunday, took a swipe at the Congress leadership in a blog post titled "Is the Congress Party Now Paying the Cost for its Dynastic Character?".

"Dynastic parties" succeed on the strength of some generations of the dynasty but sink with the others, the Union minister said in his post which came weeks before the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections beginning April 11.

"The Congress party has been out of power for five years. Its leaders and workers are accustomed to existing with the frills of office. They are staring at another defeat, and the seeming reason for this is the dynastic character of Congress party," Jaitley said in a tweet.

Surjewala said the Congress, with its 133-year-old rich history, does not require any certificates of approval from the likes of PM Modi and Jaitley on its contribution to nation building.

"... those who destroyed 4.7 crore jobs in last five years are preaching instead of introspecting," he said.

Showing "a small mirror of truth" to the BJP, Surjewala cited examples of "dynasts" within the BJP. He named a number of such leaders whose fathers or elders held key positions in the BJP.

"Family background is not the guarantee for political success. It is the people who have the power to accept and reject in the political arena," the Congress spokesperson said.

"It is the people of India who have elected the Congress party time and again and shall vote the Congress party again to power in 2019 Lok Sabha elections," Surjewala said.

"Five state elections which the BJP lost were just a trailer, people of India shall show them the film on 23rd May 2019," he added.

Surjewala said India does not need a lecture "from forces who sided with the British against the Indian people in the struggle for freedom during the national movement".

India does not need a lecture from people whose "ideological forefathers" were responsible for assassinating Mahatma Gandhi, he said.

The Congress party is proud to have been elected by the people of India to reshape the nation's destiny for over five decades, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) MLA K M Shivalinge Gowda has courted controversy by asking people to "slap" those seeking votes for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chanting his name.

Reacting sharply, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) condemned the statement and also claimed that the lawmaker had asked his supporters to pelt stones at the prime minister.

In his controversial speech on Friday at Arasikere, Gowda purportedly said Modi had failed to bring back black money stashed in Swiss Banks and did not fulfil his promise of allegedly giving Rs 15 lakh to each citizen of the country.



ALSO READ: Congress picks Karti Chidambaram for Sivaganga seat in ninth nominees list

"You (Narendra Modi) had promised to bring back black money and give each one Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh," he said addressing an election rally.

"...Whenever you come across someone seeking votes by chanting Modi, Modi, give him a tight slap," the MLA said further.

Condemning the statement, BJP spokesperson and MLA S Suresh Kumar accused Gowda of inciting violence against Modi.

"The Arasikere MLA has asked his supporters to pelt stones at Narendra Modi. Earlier also many leaders had given objectionable statements. It reflects their hatred for the prime minister," Kumar said.
The Opposition grand alliance in Jharkhand on Sunday announced their seat-sharing formula among the Congress, the JMM, the JVM (Prajatantrik) and the RJD for the 14 Lok Sabha seats



"The Congress will contest in seven seats, while the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) will contest four and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik-JVM) two. The maha gathbandhan has left Palamau seat to the RJD," state Congress president Ajoy Kumar said at a press conference here.

Along with the state Congress president, JMM chief Shibu Soren, JMM's working president Hemant Soren and JVM president Babulal Marandi were present in the press conference, while there was no representation from the RJD.

In a separate media briefing Rashtriya Janata Dal state general secretary Sanjay Singh Yadav said the party did not accept the seat-sharing formula, which was decided in the absence of them.

"Our stand is clear. We will contest from Palamau and Chatra. If not given, then we will decide to field candidates in other seats," Yadav said.

He alleged the Congress, JMM and the JVM announced the seat-sharing formula unilaterally without the RJD's consent.

Asked whether the state unit would talk to RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav over the issue, the general secretary said he could not comment on this



As per the seat adjustments, the Congress will contest from Ranchi, Khunti (ST), Lohardaga (ST), Singhbhum (ST), Hazaribagh, Dhanbad and Chatra, while the JMM will field candidates from Dumka (ST), Rajmahal (ST), Giridih and Jamshedpur. The JVM will contest from Godda and Koderma seats.

Kumar said the grand alliance has left Palamau seat to the party and believed that the RJD would accept the seat-sharing formula to unseat the BJP government.

He reiterated that the Opposition had decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections under the leadership of the Congress, while the leadership would fight the assembly election under JMM working president Hemant Soren.

The four-phase Lok Sabha polls in the state will start on April 29.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First Indian-origin US Senator Kamala Harris has called for allocation of a large federal investment to improve teacher salaries nationwide.

The 54-year-old senator, who represents California, said that currently teachers are making over 10 per cent less than other college educated graduates and that gap is about USD 13,000 a year, the CNN reported on Saturday.

"I'm declaring to you that by the end of my first term, we will have improved teachers' salaries so that we close the pay gap," Harris said to a group of supporters in Houston.

"Because right now, teachers are making over 10 per cent less than other college educated graduates and that gap is about USD 13,000 a year, and I am pledging to you that through the federal resources that are available, we will close that gap," she added.

Harris, who formally launched her presidential campaign with an impressive rally of more than 20,000 people in her home town of Oakland in California on January 27, is said to be a potential formidable opponent to her eventual GOP incumbent President Donald Trump.

Harris said that her proposal would be the largest ever federal investment in teacher pay.

Though Harris didn't provide further details about where the funds will come from, the campaign has said they will unveil the details of the full policy plan next week, the report said.

As candidates sweep across key battle-ground states testing their economic messages with potential voters, Harris is the first to announce a plan to allocate funding to teachers -- a heavily unionised demographic that is reliably Democratic.

Education occupations have unions that represent more than 37 per cent of employees, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics -- far more than any other occupations, the report said.

Harris was born in Oakland, California, to a Tamil Indian mother and a Jamaican father in 1964. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, was a breast cancer scientist who immigrated to the US from Madras (now Chennai).

Her father, Donald Harris, was a professor of economics at Stanford University and emigrated from Jamaica in 1961.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Karnataka Chief minister H D Kumaraswamy Sunday alleged that various political parties were 'internally and externally' trying to sabotage the prospect of his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy who is contesting on the JD(S) ticket from Mandya Lok Sabha seat.

"Just watch how many and who all have come together against one Nikhil Kumaraswamy. People too are observing it. When Nikhil has the support of the people of Mandya, it doesnt matter how many political parties are working against him both internally and externally," the chief minister said.

The outburst of the Chief Minister was over the multi-lingual film actor Sumalatha contesting as an independent from Mandya.

The widow of Kannada film actor-turned-politician Ambareesh, Sumalatha received a shot in the arm with BJP not fielding its candidate in Mandya.

To complicate the situation, some local Congress office-bearers in Mandya were found openly supporting Sumalatha.

Kumaraswamy also charged that some moneybags, including those from the Kannada film industry, were splurging in Mandya to fight against his son.

The chief minister was, however, confident about his sons victory.

"Nobody can destroy the bond between the people of Mandya and the Deve Gowda family," the chief minister asserted.

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A Kashmiri organisation Sunday welcomed the Centre's move to ban separatist organisation JKLF and holdingits founder, Yasin Malik, responsible for thegenocide of Kashmiri Pandits.

TheGlobal Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora, a joint initiative of Kashmiri Pandit organisations in India and abroad, has been persistently and vehemently demanding the formal acknowledgement that what the Kashmiri Pandits suffered was nothing but genocide, a statement said.

The organisation thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "his bold and honeststep" in recognising that the militant movement in "Kashmir is not about liberation, not about economic suffering, not about justice but a theo-fascist movement which hasbrought great suffering to the land and its people," the statement added.

"It is so heartening to see that our Prime Minister means business as far as dealing with Pakistan's machinations in Kashmir is concerned," the statement reads.

The "victory" (ban on JKLF) has been achieved because of the sacrifices and hard work of the entire Kashmiri Pandit community, it said.

The GKPD has presented a MoU to Home Minister Rajnath Singh inSeptember, 2018, which articulated that the first and foremost demand of the KP community was to recognise Genocide and Ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits, the statement said.

The Yasin Malik-led Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) was banned on Friday for "promoting" secession of the militancy-hit state from the Union of India.

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba had said the JKLF wasbanned as the government has a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism.

The JKLF has been at the forefront of separatist activities in J-K and was involved in the killings of Kashmiri Pandits in 1989 leading to their exodus from the valley, he had said.

"Murders of Kashmiri Pandits by JKLF in 1989 triggered their exodus from the valley. Malik was the mastermind behind the purging of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir Valley and is responsible for their genocide," Gauba said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Kenyan teacher from a remote village who gave away most of his earnings to poor students has won a highly competitive USD 1 million global prize that honours one exceptional educator a year.

Peter Tabichi is a science teacher who gives away 80 per cent of his income to help the poor in the remote village of Pwani where almost a third of children are orphans or have only one parent, and where droughts and famine are frequent.

He was selected out of some 10,000 applicants and awarded the Global Teacher Prize on Sunday during a ceremony in Dubai hosted by actor Hugh Jackman.

He's the first African and male teacher to win the prize, which is awarded by the Varkey Foundation, whose founder established the for-profit GEMS Education company.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress leaders in Kerala are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping that their request to party chief Rahul Gandhi to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Wayanad constituency would be accepted.

Senior party leader and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the presence of Rahul Gandhi in the poll arena in Kerala would give a huge boost to party workers and that was why they wanted him to contest from Wayanad as a second constituency.

"However, the final decision has to be taken by Gandhi. He returned to Delhi late after campaigning in Patna," Chandy told reporters on Sunday.

The Congress has already announced that Gandhi would be contesting from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh.

Another senior leader P C Chacko said the party chief was yet to confirm if he would contest from Wayanad.

"Nothing has been decided on Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Wayanad.

He is the one who should decide on that. It's not right on the part of certain leaders making statements that Rahul has agreed or Rahul has responded positively.

I don't know who is spreading lies. Don't dream of putting pressure on Rahul and force him to become a candidate," Chacko said.

It was not right to "spread rumours" in this regard, chacko said.

He also said that the All India Congress Committee (AICC) was not happy with the factional war in the Congress unit in Kerala.

Opposition leader in the state assembly Ramesh Chennithala demanded that the CPI(M) clarify whether they would withdraw the Left candidate in Wayanad if Rahul Gandhi contests from there.

Senior CPI(M) leader S Ramachandran Pillai said whichever candidate the UDF brings in Kerala, LDF will put up a fight.

The LDF will fight the Congress chief politically in the Lok Sabha election if he contests in Wayanad, he said.

CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran said his party, which is contesting in the Wayanad seat for the Left Democratic Front (LDF), was not going to withdraw its candidate for a stronger one.

"Wayanad constituency has got a good presence of LDF voters since the last Assembly election.

P P Suneer is the best candidate to fight Rahul Gandhi. I think it's Rahul's fate to lose to Suneer in this election," Rajendran told reporters,



BJP state President P S Sreedharan Pillai said they would fight tooth and nail if Rahul Gandhi contests in Wayanad.

The state BJP leadership is also keeping a close watch on the recent development of talks on Rahul's candidature and the party was holding discussions to take back the Wayanad seat from its ally BDJS.

Springing a surprise, the Congress in Kerala had Saturday suggested party chief Rahul Gandhi's name for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, a party bastion in the State.

Meanwhile, jubiliant youth congress workers in Wayanad poured milk on a huge cutout of Rahul Gandhi as part of their celebration this morning.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Convener of the Left Front in Tripura, Bijan Dhar Sunday claimed that the Left would win the two Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Dhar, also the Central Committee member of CPI-M, ruled out possibility of any alliance with Congress or other regional political parties in Tripura saying Congress and BJP both work at the "behest of capitalist forces".

"If the polls are held peacefully and in a free and fair manner, we are confident of victory in both seats," he told a meet the press programme organised by the Agartala Press Club here.

He alleged that BJP made "false" promises and came to power but didnt fulfil any of the promises.

"They (BJP) made such promises which are impossible to implement, so people were frustrated and started opposing them," Dhar said.

He appealed to supporters of Congress, Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT), Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) and other regional political parties of Tripura to vote for CPI(M) in the Lok Sabha polls.

Dhar said senior CPI(M) leader and former chief minister Manik Sarkar would lead the party's campaign in Tripura.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday accused the United States of using frozen Venezuelan funds to bankroll mercenaries to assassinate him in a "plot" he said was directed by opposition leader Juan Guaido.

"We have dismantled a plan organized personally by the diabolical puppet to kill me," Maduro told thousands of supporters in Caracas, referring to Guaido, who is recognized as interim president by more than 50 countries.

He alleged that Colombia, Venezuela's US-aligned neighbour, was also involved, and said that an unidentified Colombian paramilitary chief had been captured in the country "and is giving testimony."



Maduro's government gave details of the alleged plot on state television, with Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez saying "hitmen" from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras had been recruited "using big sums of money" and sent to Colombia ahead of missions into Venezuela to carry out "targeted assassinations" and "sabotage."



Rodriguez accused Guaido's chief of staff, Roberto Marrero, of receiving money from the United States and being a key organiser of the alleged operation.

Marrero, a 49-year-old lawyer, was arrested on Thursday in his Caracas home, triggering an outcry and demands he be immediately released by the US, the European Union and major Latin American countries that recognize Guaido as Venezuela's interim president.

He yelled out to a neighbour, an opposition lawmaker, that the SEBIN intelligence officers arresting him had planted two assault rifles and a grenade in his home. Hours later, Maduro's government showed pictures of weapons it said it found and alleged Marrero was part of a "terrorist cell."



Rodriguez played recordings he said were from WhatsApp conversations between Marrero and Guaido in which he said they discussed using Venezuelan funds blocked by US sanctions to finance armed groups with the support of Colombian President Ivan Duque.

The accusations were repeated shortly afterwards by Maduro as he addressed a crowd of thousands of supporters in the capital.

According to his government, the United States has seized USD 30 billion is Venezuelan assets, including money in bank accounts. Rodriguez alleged funds in accounts in Bank of America and Banesco Panama were being used in the plot.

Guaido, the head of the opposition-run assembly, has asked the international community to keep up its pressure on Maduro's government.

The United States has ratcheted up successive rounds of sanctions on Venezuela, suspending visas for 300 Venezuelans deemed close to the regime and making it difficult for the state-run oil company PDVSA to operate or secure credit on the markets.

On April 28, the sanctions will jump up another level with an embargo on crude exports.

US President Donald Trump's administration has repeatedly warned Maduro to not arrest or intimidate Guaido or his aides, or else face unspecified consequences.

Trump has reiterated that "all options" -- implicitly including military action -- are on the table for dealing with Venezuela.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Irish telecom solutions provider Magnet Networks is bullish on the growth of smart buildings and housing projects in India and plans to expand its team to meet increasing demand.

Smart buildings have multiple sensors installed to manage power, water, security and other requirements efficiently. Magnet Networks is engaged in designing and laying out the network inside such buildings and projects.

"We are working on 44 smart buildings and housing projects. Of these, we are working in detail on 5 projects. These projects are north of USD 200-250 million. If we are successful across some of the projects, at the end of 2 or 3 years we will have north of 100 staff," Magnet Networks Group Chief Executive Officer Mark Kellett told PTI.

He said smart buildings will require telecom networks that can meet the various requirements for the next 15-20 years at least.

"Smart technology will be required to manage air quality, water pressure, measure footfalls and all of these require solid IT connected infrastructure," Kellett said.

He added that the growth of young population in India is leading to a rise in demand for smart housing.

"People are not looking for a house but they are looking at a service apartment type of model. There is tremendous demand across India...buildings and property owners need to make those buildings smarter to avail energy savings. That is something which can't be avoided whether it it is India or Sao Paulo... we see this issue globally which can be addressed by smart networks," Kellett said.

Magnet Networks is working on various projects that are in the design phase and when completed, their value will run in multiple of billions, for which the company will expand its team, he said.

"We have grown our team in Pune. We are hiring more staff in Dubai and India. There will be significant growth in headcount this year and next year.

"These projects that we are looking at will have 10-15 years age. It is not about building business for six months, it is about building partnerships, relationships and team in India who will be here in India till the next 15-20 years," Kellett said.

Overall, the company has seen year-on-year growth of 90 per cent in the last three years and it is currently in the investment phase in India, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In the first campaign rally of the BJP-led NDA for the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Sunday attacked the Congress for questionning 'genuineness' of the cross-border strike.

He said only two types of people--Pakistan and the Congress and its allies--are questioning veracity of the operation conducted by the Indian armed forces.

Fadnavis also attacked NCP chief Sharad Pawar in the rally, which was held in Kolhapur in western Maharashtra, known as the stronghold of the Congress and the NCP.

In his address, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray too attacked Pawar for "destroying" Maharashtra during his long political career.

"Only two types of people are questioning the surgical strikes. One of them is Pakistan and the other one is Congress and its allies," Fadnavis said.

"After the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, there was only condemnation. But after the terror attack in Uri (in 2017), our government carried out a surgical strike," the chief minister said.

Given that Kolhapur district is the nerve centre of sugar from where the NCP and Congress draw its electoral strength, Fadnavis took a dig at Pawar.

"We may understand little about sugar industry, but we have taken more decisions for this industry than anyone else," he said.

Kolhapur and Sangli districts had witnessed violence in January this year in the wake of the failure of some sugar factories to pay arrears to sugarcane cultivators.

Appealing the people to vote for the BJP again, Fadnavis said a large number of bank accounts were opened under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Some Rs 80,000 crore has been transferred into bank accounts under several welfare schemes. It is my open challenge to the Congress and the NCP to compare the figures of my government to their rule of 15 years prior to 2014," he said.

Thackeray also took a dig at Pawar.

"In his entire political career, Pawar destroyed Maharashtra. We know the quality of such people," he said.

The Sena chief also taunted the Congress and the NCP over a string of leaders from both the parties defecting to the NDA partners in the run-up to Lok Sabha polls.

"I do not know if anybody is left in the Opposition camp to contest against us. At this rate of exodus...I hope the BJP will not induct Sharad Pawar into its fold one day," he quipped.

Thackeray announced candidature of Narendra Patil from Satara Lok Sabha constituency, who will contest against NCP stalwart and sitting MP Udayanraje Bhosale.

Out of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, the BJP and the Sena will contest 25 and 23 seats each.

In the seat-sharing deal announced Saturday, the Congress and the NCP announced to contest 24 and 20 seats, respectively, while leaving four seats to smaller allies under the aegis of the "United Progressive Mega-Alliance".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Over two lakh disabled or 'Divyang' voters in Maharashtra can use a specially designed mobile app to seek special facilities at polling booths during the next month's Lok Sabha elections.

Facilities such as wheelchairs, ramps and transport from home will be rolled out for 2,24,162 registered Divyang voters in the state, an Election Commission official said.

"Accessible Elections" is the EC's slogan, he said.

The largest group --37,324 -- among Divyang voters are those suffering from visual impairment, while 18,022 voters suffer from handicaps of limbs (such as not being able to walk), the official added.

Maharashtra will witness voting in four phases, starting from April 11.

To make voting easier for Divyang voters, the Election Commission has come up with a mobile application called "PWD".

The app, available on Google Play store, provides information such as the location of voting booth and the facilities available there.

More importantly, a Divyang voter can seek free transport from home to booth through the app.

At the polling booth, Divyang voters will not need to wait in a queue.

Ramps, voting rooms with doors large enough to allow movement of wheelchairs and special parking space would be provided wherever needed, the official said.

As the administration is gearing up for elections, the Election Commission undertook a special drive this time to ensure that district collectors provide necessary facilities for Divyang voters, he said.

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A man arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage after attacks on five mosques across the city of Birmingham earlier this week has been detained under the UK's Mental Health Act, West Midlands Police said on Sunday.

The 34-year-old handed himself into a Birmingham police station on Friday after counter-terrorism officers launched an investigation into the smashing of windows and vandalism at five mosques in the city.

Local police said that while its investigation continues, they are not seeking anyone else in connection with the attacks and do not believe the man arrested was part of any organised network.

Another 38-year-old man arrested after being detained by members of the community on Friday afternoon will face no further action and has been released without charge, West Midlands Police said in a statement.

"We continue to work in partnership with mosques and local communities around the West Midlands. There will be a visual police presence at key locations to offer reassurance to our communities, said Matt Ward, Assistant Chief Constable of the police force.

"It is incredibly important that we unite together against those who seek to create discord, uncertainty and fear," he said.

The attacks, which occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning, came days after the terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, leading to the West Midlands Police's Counter-Terrorism Unit getting involved in the investigation.

The five mosques targeted included Witton Islamic Centre, Masjid Madrassa Faizal Islam, Al Habib Trust, Jamia Mosque, and Jam-E-Masjid Qiblah Hadhrat Sahib Gulhar Shareef.

It led to increased patrols around Islamic places of worship in the city and across the UK.

Police were alerted to a sixth mosque attack on Saturday and said that CCTV is currently being examined and investigations remain ongoing.

However, officers do not believe the latest attack to be linked to the attacks earlier in the week.

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A 49-year-old man from Kolhapur in Maharashtra allegedly killed his 38-year-old wife in a fit of rage, apparently after she refused to prepare him tea and snacks, police said Sunday.

After strangulating his wife Mangal with a nylon rape, the accused Ramesh Gaikwad surrendered himself to police on Saturday evening, a police official said.

The incident occurred at Kurundwad village in Shirol tehsil, around 390 kms from here.

The official said Gaikwad and Mangal used to quarrel over petty issues, which took a turn for worse Saturday when he asked her to make some snacks for him as he was on fast, and later tea in the evening.

However, Mangal refused to prepare tea and argued with her husband, he said, adding that she then left the house with her luggage for her parent's house.

Mangal was waiting at a bus stop when Gaikwad reached there and asked her to return.

"However, Mangal abused Gaikwad who flew into rage and strangled her using a nylon rope," the official said.

He then informed his family members about the incident and went straight to Kurundwad police station.

Gaikwad was arrested and booked under section 302 (Punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

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Congress' Manipur unit has accused the BJP of putting up an insurgent-backed candidate for a Lok Sabha seat here and compromising national integrity in a bid to win the upcoming elections at any cost, a charge rejected by the latter as an attempt to malign the party.

BJP's candidate H Shukhopao Mate for the Outer Manipur parliamentary constituency, which goes to polls on April 11, has been accused of being backed by insurgent groups in the state -- Zomi Re-unification Organisation (ZRO) and Kuki National Organisation (KNO).

The two outfits, which have signed "suspension of operation" agreement with Government of India (GOI) and are currently in peace talks, are reported to have written separate letters to BJP president Amit Shah, asking Mate be given the party's ticket.

Mate is vice-president of the BJP Manipur unit and is incharge of the party's Scheduled Tribe Morcha.

"It is not just the Congress but everyone in the state is aware that he (Mate) is backed by insurgent groups. He has been chosen based on just winnability factor and to win at any cost by the BJP," Congress Manipur spokesperson M Prithviraj told PTI.

He further accused the BJP of "compromising on the principle of national integrity" by succumbing to pressure from insurgent groups.

"The BJP giving the ticket to Mate shows that they don't have any such principle and all that they want is to win at all costs, irrespective of the background of the candidate," Prithviraj added.

The BJP, however, denied the allegations saying that media reports of Mate being backed by insurgent groups were an effort of "some vested interest" trying "to malign the image of the party intentionally".

"As of now, whether insurgents supported who or whom is not an issue for us. Above that the party did not have any knowledge about issues which you wish to have views of," BJP Manipur spokesperson Ch Chidananda Singh said when reached for comments on the Congress' allegations.

While the Congress is yet to announce its candidates for the two Lok Sabha seats in Manipur, the BJP has made the announcement for both. RK Ranjan has been named as the BJP's candidate for the Inner Manipur parliamentary constituency.

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A retired Army personnel working as a physical trainer with the Bhonsala Military School here in Maharashtra has been arrested for allegedly molesting four girl students, police said Sunday.

The alleged incident occurred earlier this week when the accused, identified as Machhindra Karpe, touched the girls of the Bhonsala Military School (BMC) inappropriately during training, said Gangapur police station inspector Kishore More.

Karpe, who retired as Subhedar from the Army, was appointed by the BMC only in February.

He was arrested Saturday night and booked under section 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code, and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, More said.

The school, being run by the Central Hindu Military Society (CHMES), imparts military training along with regular for students from class VI to X.

"After the girls reported the incident to their parents, they approached the headmaster who conducted an inquiry against Karpe. The ex-serviceman was handed over to police last night after the school authorities found him guilty of the act," the police inspector said.

According to CHMES sources, the committee headed bythe school secretary Dilip Belgaonkar conducted the inquiry into the allegations.

"An urgent meeting of the management committee was called, and a call was taken to dismiss Karpe, and report him to police," they added.

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The Narendra Modi government has worked for national security, country's development and public welfare during its tenure, Union Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Sunday.

Addressing a 'Vijay Sankalp Sabha' (victory pledge meeting) of the BJP here ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Swaraj also listed out the achievements of Cabinet colleague and party's Gautam Buddh Nagar candidate Mahesh Sharma.

"There is a principle of accountability in a democracy. It means, when you first reach out to people for votes, you make some promises to them. When you reach out to them again, you give them an account of your promises," the external affairs minister said.

Swaraj said to evaluate the work of any government, one should look at its commitment towards three important aspects -- national security, country's development and public welfare.

"On all these three accounts, I would say, our government has proved itself and these are the factors by which voters judge any government," she said.

"On the national security front, you saw we had surgical strikes after the Uri attack and the air strikes after the Pulwama attack," said Swaraj, who will not be contesting the Lok Sabha polls due to health reasons.

The Union minister said the Opposition has often criticised Modi for his foreign visits but it was due to such efforts that India could garner global support in the wake of terror attacks.

She also lashed out at the previous Congress-led government over its handling of the situation after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Swaraj cited the release of Indian Air Force (IAF) officer Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistan within two days of him being captured as a "diplomatic success" for the country.

The IAF officer was captured by Pakistan last month after his fighter aircraft was shot down in a dogfight.

Earlier during the meeting, Swaraj heaped praises on Sharma, describing him as her younger brother.

"I am beginning my Lok Sabha 2019 election meetings from Noida today. I feel proud to be seeking votes for Mahesh," she said, listing his work as the Union culture minister and the local MP.

She hailed development projects like the Noida-Greater Noida Metro and the upcoming international airport in the district's Jewar area, which is touted to be the country's biggest.

"One day this question may pop up on 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' (popular TV quiz show) that which is the biggest airport in the country and then the people of this region can proudly say, it's Jewar," Swaraj said.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address two back-to-back election rallies in West Bengal on April 3, BJP leader Mukul Roy said on Sunday.

Modi will speak at a public meeting at Siliguri in north Bengal around 1 pm, followed by another rally at Kolkata's Brigade Parade ground at 3 pm on the same day, Roy told reporters here.

"The party is fully prepared to hold the two election rallies of Modi on the same day. It is a historical day for the BJP to organise such big meetings of the prime minister back-to-back," he said.

Roy asserted that no other party has shown the "courage" to hold two such meetings on the same day.

Senior BJP leaders like Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari and Rajnath Singh would also visit West Bengal for campaigning before the general elections next month.

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The NDA government has turned opposition's " of destruction into of development" in the past 60 months, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha asserted Sunday, claiming that people will give a befitting reply in the Lok Sabha election.

Addressing BJP workers at the party's "Vijay Sankalp" programme in East Singhbhum district, Sinha said the opposition parties have united against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in their "desperate attempt to grab power".

Describing the Mahagathbandhan' as 'Mahamilavat', Sinha said, "The Modi-led government has closed shops of the opposition parties during its tenure. They (opposition) are now forming an alliance out of fear of Modi, but the people of the country will give them a befitting reply," Sinha, who is fighting to retain his Hazaribagh Lok Sabha seat, said.

Listing the development projects undertaken by the central government in Jharkhand, including the multi-purpose Konar dam in his home district Hazaribag, the minister said, "The difference between the opposition parties and the BJP is that they come to power for personal profits, while we strive to serve the society."



He claimed that the India's first prime minister Pt Jawaharlal Nehru had visited Hazaribag 64 years ago to set the ball rolling for the multi-purpose project, but it was only after Modi came to power the dam saw the light of the day.

"Nehru visited Hazaribag on 15th October, 1955 for the project. It was decided that the dam would be developed to supply water not just for industrial purposes in Bokaro, but for irrigation too. Sixty-four years had lapsed after that, but the project got to see the light of the day under the Modi government," he said.

Similarly, the demand for an airport in Dalbhumgarh remained unfulfilled for decades, but the Modi government recently laid its foundation, Sinha said.

He hailed the relentless effort of local BJP MP Bidyut Baran Mahato, who will contest the election from Jamshedpur parliamentary seat for the second term, for "fulfilling the dreams of the local people".

Lambasting the previous governments for failing to address the grievances of the masses, the minister said they were unsuccessful in procuring Rafael fighter jets, but committed scam while purchasing Augstawestland choppers.

Highlighting the achievements of the double-engine government at the Centre and the state, he said the NDA has opened bank accounts for poor people, constructed toilets, floated health schemes and distributed LPG gas connections, all in a span of 60 months.

Among others who spoke on the occasion were sitting MP Mahato, East Singhbhum BJP district committee president Dinesh Kumar and Jharkhand BJP spokesman Rajesh Shukla.

Jharkhand is set for a four-phase Lok Sabha election for 14 constituencies on April 29, May 6, 12 and 19.

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As many as 84 child labourers were rescued by Nepal Police from various parts of Rolpa district, an NGO said here on Sunday.

The children aged below 16 were working at brick kilns, hotels and restaurants and transport firms, according to the Rolpa unit of the NGO, Save the Children.

"Most of the rescued children were reunited with their families and were enrolled in schools with the support of various organisations," the NGO representative Dil Kamal Chhetri said.

Some of the children have been provided with skill-oriented training and rehabilitated in society, he added.

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Authorities in Nepal have planned to fit electronic chips on animals including cows and oxen to keep a record of loitering cattle in Kathmandu, a media report said Sunday.

The chips may be installed on the ear or neck of an animal, The Kathmandu Post reported.

"We will have a control room to monitor those animals," Dhanapati Sapkota, chief of the Implementation Department at the metropolis, said.

He said his office is planning to maintain a database of households that keep animals such as cows and calves.

The metropolis held a meeting with officials from Animal Nepal, a non-profit organisation working to set a standard of animal welfare.

"We'll be helping the metropolis for the installation of chips and handling the data," said Bishnu Prasad Joshi, former chief of the municipal police.

The metropolis has been consulting with other organisations as well and seeking technical consultancy to curb the problem of stray cattle.

"The metropolis had started a drive two decades ago of lifting animals from the streets and auctioning them but the problem has yet to be resolved. With this new initiative, we'll be able to root the problem out," said Sapkota.

Over 10,000 such animals have been auctioned in the past two decades, he said.

Joshi said the reason behind the lack of progress was the metropolis not having a shelter for loitering animals.

"Since we don't have a good Kanji (animal care) house, many stray animals, which were already sick, died in Teku last year," said Joshi.

Due to the ill-health of animals, people were not interested in buying them, he said.

Sapkota is hopeful that the new dive will be successful.

Reports show that 500 animals, including oxen and cows that do not give milk, are left on the streets of Kathmandu every year.

Sick animals are also abandoned by their owners.

These animals not only occupy the roads, they also cause accidents.

The Metropolitan Traffic Police Division had planned to search for the owners of abandoned cattle and fine them but not a single owner has been booked so far.

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Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington Sunday, looking for an electoral boost from Donald Trump amid expectations the US president will formally recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Trump broke longstanding international consensus last week over the status of the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Six Day War, saying the US should recognize Israeli sovereignty over the strategic plateau.

Israel's foreign minister said the US president will go one step further on Monday when he welcomes a grateful Netanyahu to the White House.

"President Trump will sign tomorrow in the presence of PM Netanyahu an order recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights," Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

Netanyahu has long pushed for such recognition, and many analysts saw Trump's statement, which came in a tweet on Thursday, as a campaign gift ahead of Israel's April 9 polls.

The prime minister is locked in a tough election fight with a centrist political alliance headed by former military chief Benny Gantz and ex-finance minister Yair Lapid.

New opinion polls last week showed Netanyahu losing ground to his electoral rivals, and the Washington visit was seen as an opportunity to regain momentum. The prime minister has a "working meeting" at the White House on Monday and a dinner on Tuesday.

Also Tuesday, he is to address the annual conference in Washington of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Gantz speaks at the high-profile event on Monday.

The Golan Heights decision is the latest major move in favor of Israel by Trump, who in 2017 recognized the disputed city of Jerusalem as the country's capital.

Syria and other states in the region condemned Trump's pledge, saying it violates international law. France said the same.

Israel annexed the Golan Heights in 1981 in a move never recognized by the international community.

Netanyahu phoned Trump to tell him he had made "history," and called the gesture a "Purim miracle," a reference to the Jewish holiday that Israel was celebrating that day.

Although Trump professed no knowledge of the Israeli in play, Netanyahu's relationship with the US president has long been a central feature of his campaign.

Trump appears on giant campaign billboards in Israel shaking hands and smiling with Netanyahu, and the premier has shared video of the US leader calling him "strong" and a "winner."



On the same day as Trump's Golan Heights tweet, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in Jerusalem, where he joined Netanyahu in a visit to the historic Western Wall, offering his host a prime pre-election photo opportunity.

It was the first time such a high-ranking American official had visited one of the holiest sites in Judaism, located in mainly Palestinian east Jerusalem, with an Israeli premier.

Trump relies on pro-Israel evangelical Christians as part of his electoral base and has moved US policy firmly in Israel's favor.

But Netanyahu has also deployed his considerable powers of persuasion to charm the mercurial president he calls his "friend." "Trump is very affected by personal things, and Bibi's stroked him a lot," said Jonathan Rynhold, a political science professor at Israel's Bar-Ilan University, using Netanyahu's nickname.

"I'm sure he's also very affected by the last thing that was said to him, so whispering in his ear is (Trump's son-in-law Jared) Kushner, who's got a good relationship with Bibi." There has been talk in recent weeks about similarities in style between Trump and Netanyahu -- although there are key differences.

Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the United States and now a deputy minister for diplomacy, said "they share a disdain for political correctness." Using phrases that echo Trump's, Netanyahu has castigated the corruption investigations into his affairs as a "witch hunt" and a plot aimed at forcing him from office.

He has sought to demonize his enemies and brokered a deal with an extreme-right political party many view as racist.

Like Trump, he has employed the phrase "fake news" to combat tough coverage of him.

But, as Rynhold points out, underneath the rhetoric the 69-year-old Netanyahu is an "extremely cautious politician," intensely attuned to the direction of the electoral winds.

He has been prime minister for a total of 13 years and will be on track to surpass founding father David Ben-Gurion as Israel's longest-serving premier if he wins next month.

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Veteran Congress leader Nikhil Kumar on Sunday expressed his anguish over denial of a chance to contest from the Aurangabad Lok Sabha seat, which has been represented by his family many times, and wondered why RJD supremo Lalu Prasad insisted that it be given to former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhis Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM).

"I am confident that I would have won Aurangabad for 'Mahagathbandhan' (Grand Alliance) this time. But at the insistence of Lalu Prasad, we had to concede the seat to HAM. In the interest of my party and the alliance, of which it is a part, I would not like to say more on the issue till elections are over," Kumar told reporters here.

A former Delhi Police Commissioner, Kumar had won the seat in 2004 general elections while his wife Shyama Singh was the MP in the previous Lok Sabha. His father Satyendra Narayan Sinha, who served as chief minister of Bihar for a brief period in the 1980s, had represented the seat several times on the trot.

Nikhil Kumar had fought from the seat in 2014, but was beaten by BJPs Sushil Kumar Singh by a margin of about 66,000 votes.

The JD(U), headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and an ally of the BJP, also said that "injustice" was done to the bureaucrat-turned-politician.

"This is unjust. Such treatment should not have been meted out to Nikhil Kumar whose familys contribution to Aurangabad is immense," JD(U) national general secretary Ram Chandra Prasad Singh said.

Hailing from an aristocratic family of Aurangabad, Nikhil Kumar is the grandson of Anugrah Narayan Singh, the first deputy chief minister of Bihar and a close aide of first president Dr Rajendra Prasad.

Aurangabad goes to polls in the first phase of elections. HAM candidate Upendra Prasad will be taking on the sitting MP who has been again fielded by the NDA from the seat.

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Senior UP Congress leader Pradeep Mathur Sunday claimed that there is no conflict of interest between the Congress and the Gathbandhan (the anti-BJP alliance), and the main target is to defeat the BJP.

"The main target of the Congress and the Gathbandhan (anti-BJP alliance) is to defeat the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections, and both the parties are going for the same target. We have no conflict of interests. Our target is to defeat the Modi government and form a UPA government in Delhi," Mathur told PTI.

Another important target for the party is to form a Congress government in UP in 2022, Mathur, a four-time MLA from Mathura, said. "We have our star general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra whose recent Ganga Yatra was a success," he added.

Asked to comment on the recent remarks of Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had embarked on a picnic, the veteran leader said, "Prime Minister Modi is on a picnic virtually everyday. He spent most of the time in the last five years travelling abroad. Apart from this, huge amount of money has been spent on publicity."



He also alleged that cleaning of the river Ganga, as claimed by the BJP, has not been done. Cleanliness is also missing from places of religious importance and pilgrimage in the state like Mathura, Kashi and Ayodhya.

Instead of raising questions on Congress president Rahul Gandhi, the BJP should respond to revelations made in the diary of former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, Mathur said.

The Congress had on Friday sought an investigation by the Lokpal into a media report that alleged bribes of Rs 1,800 crore were paid to the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) top brass by Yeddyurappa.

The allegation was based on photocopies of BSY's purported diary which was submitted to the Income Tax (I-T) department on Saturday, but was dismissed as a "forgery document" and a "set of loose papers".

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Normal life was affected in Kashmir Sunday due to a strike called by the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), an amalgam of separatist groups, to protest against the ban on Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front led by Yasin Malik, officials said.

Shops and business establishments remained closed while public transport was off the roads in most parts of the Valley due to the strike called by the JRL, they said.

The officials, however, said the strike call evoked little response in some parts of the Valley as the weekly flea market, locally known as Sunday market, operated normally.

This is the second organisation in Jammu and Kashmir which has been banned this month. Earlier, the Centre had banned the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir.

The Yasin Malik-led JKLF was banned on Friday for a series of violent acts and being in the forefront of separatist activities in the militancy-hit state since 1988, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba had said.

Separatists Saturday called for a strike against the Centre's decision to ban the JKLF, saying it was "undemocratic" and "political vendetta".

"The Government of India's decision of banning the JKLF for five years is highly authoritarian, autocratic and pure political vendetta," the JRL said in a statement.

"The way the Government of India is announcing bans and crackdowns on the organizations associated with the Kashmir struggle, arresting the leadership and slapping them with draconian PSA, killing youth in custody .... exposes their hollow claims of democracy," it added.

The JRL said by imposing ban on organisations and booking separatist leaders in "fake" cases , the government "cannot change the reality of the Kashmir issue".

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Rescuers were working Sunday to airlift more than 1,300 passengers and crew off a cruise ship after it got into difficulty in rough seas off the Norwegian coast.

The Viking Sky lost power and started drifting mid-afternoon Saturday in perilous waters two kilometres (1.2 miles) off More og Romsdal, prompting the captain to send out a distress call.

At that stage, the authorities decided to launch a helicopter airlift in very difficult conditions rather than run the risk of leaving people on board.

"We would rather have the passengers on land rather than on board the ship," police chief Tor Andre Franck said.

By early Sunday, the crew had managed to restart three of its four engines.

The vessel was making slow headway at two to three knots off the dangerous, rocky coast and a tug would help it towards the port of Molde, about 500 kilometres northwest of Oslo, officials said.

Five helicopters were scrambled along with coastguard and other rescue vessels.

Police said 338 of the 1,373 people on board had so far been taken off by helicopter, with each chopper able to take 15-20 people per trip.

The airlift was continuing early Sunday, emergency services spokesman Per Fjeld said.

"I have never seen anything so frightening," said one of the passengers who was rescued, Janet Jacob.

"I started to pray. I prayed for the safety of everyone on board," she told the NRK television channel.

"The helicopter trip was terrifying. The winds were like a tornado," she added. Pictures in media reports showed passengers on board as the boat rocked up and down.

"We were sitting down for breakfast when things started to shake... It was just chaos," said another passenger, American John Curry, as quoted in Norwegian by media.

The Viking Sky sent out a distress signal due to "engine problems in bad weather", southern Norway's rescue centre said earlier on Twitter.

The ship was travelling south en route from Tromso to Stavanger when it got into trouble in an area that has claimed many vessels.

"It is dangerous to encounter engine problems in these waters, which hide numerous reefs," said Tor Andre Franck, the head of the police operations.

A reception centre has been set up in a gym on shore to accommodate the evacuees, many of whom are from the US and Britain.

Police said 17 people had been taken to hospital.

"For the moment everything appears to be going well," said a rescue centre spokesman, Einar Knutsen.

The area where the ship got into problems, known as Hustadvika, is notoriously difficult to navigate.

The shallow, 10 nautical mile section of coastline is known for its many small islands and reefs.

"Hustadvika is one of the most notorious maritime areas that we have," Odd Roar Lange, a journalist specialising in tourism, told NRK.

In their time, the Vikings hesitated to venture into the Hustadvika, preferring instead to transport their boats by land from one fjord to another.

Operated by the Norwegian firm Viking Ocean Cruisers, the Viking Sky is a modern cruise ship launched in 2017 with a capacity of 930 passengers plus crew.

In addition to US and British nationals, there were also passengers from 14 other countries on board, Fjeld said.

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Pitching the Lok Sabha polls as an election for rooting out terrorism and giving a befitting reply to Pakistan, BJP president said Sunday said only a government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi can do it.

Addressing a "Vijay Sankalp" rally, his first after the Lok Sabha poll schedule was announced on March 10, he said the alliance led by opposition parties cannot secure the country and only a Modi-led BJP government can do so.

He accused Congress president of insulting the valour of armed forces by questioning the air strikes on a terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot.

"How low will you stoop for vote-bank politics? Don't play with national security for vote bank, Rahul Gandhi," he said.

The Congress has been accusing the BJP of politicising the air strikes.

Shah also hit out at Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav and Congress leader Sam Pitroda for their controversial comments on the Pulwama terror attack and the subsequent air strikes.

Targeting opposition leaders like BSP supremo Mayawati, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, DMK president M K Stalin and TMC's Mamata Banerjee, he said they are "dreaming" to remove Modi but don't have the guts to fight the Lok Sabha polls.

Shah also spoke at length about welfare initiatives of the Modi government and said the general election is also about the development of 50 crore poor people.

He claimed that people have decided to discard caste politics and vote Modi to power with a mandate bigger than he had got in 2014 due to his politics of "sabka saath, sabka vikas".

Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 MPs to the 543-member Lok Sabha, is crucial to the BJP's bid to retain power at the Centre.

It had won 71 and its ally Apna Dal two seats in 2014, making up for a little over 25 per cent of the 282 seats the saffron party had won. It is faced with a formidable alliance of SP and BSP in the upcoming polls.

The BJP said it organised over 200 "Vijay Sankalp" (pledge for victory) rallies across the country on Sunday.

While Shah addressed a rally in Agra, other top party leaders, including Union minister Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitharaman, addressed public meetings at different places.

The party said in a statement that Singh, Swaraj and Sitharaman spoke at Lucknow, Noida and Hyderabad respectively while Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh addressed rallies in Saharanpur and Bhopal respectively.

Adityanath also spoke in Agra.

The BJP said it will hold over 250 such rallies on Tuesday.
Leaders of opposition parties are anti-BJP, but they are unwilling to adjust or sacrifice seats to defeat it, said CPI general secretary S Sudhakar Reddy, raising questions on the leadership of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and other regional parties.

In a scathing indictment of Gandhi, Reddy, in an interview to PTI, said that his decision to let Congress state units have their say on seat-sharing issues has led to the breakdown in talks with other political parties.

"We feel the Congress should have been more large- hearted. Rahul Gandhi did not assert to make his state committees accept the understanding on the ground with other parties. Also, regional parties like SP, BSP, RJD are also responsible for the failure in talks.

"I believe the leadership is responsible. They were driven by local agenda, narrow outlook...They are all anti-BJP, but they are not ready to adjust or sacrifice some of their seats (to defeat the BJP)," he said.

Reddy said the inability of the Congress and the regional parties to see national interest ahead of local agendas had resulted in the failure of seat-sharing talks between opposition parties in states like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi.

Criticising the Congress president over his handling of the pre-poll talks with other parties, Reddy said that Gandhi should have pushed for alliances.

"He left it to the state leadership. Gave them too much freedom," he alleged.

While the talks between the Left Front and the Congress in West Bengal have virtually failed over seat- sharing, the opposition Mahagathbandhan in Bihar has left the Left Front in the cold by denying them any seat. The Congress on its part has ruled out any understanding with the AAP in Delhi, while even in Uttar Pradesh the party is going alone.

"In West Bengal, we had offered the Congress 12 seats based on vote share, four they had won and in eight they had come second. They wanted 17 seats...In Bihar too we had an understanding with Lalu Prasad Yadav, I don't know what was conveyed to his son. However, now, we will go independently.

"The Congress should have taken more initiative and also begun and finalised talks on seat-sharing early," he said.

The CPI leader said that it was unfortunate that the opposition was struggling to weave understandings at the ground level to take on the saffron party, despite the BJP being on the backfoot after loses in several bypolls and the recent setback in three Hindi heartland states.

"While we always said that a national level alliance was not possible, we hoped that there would be a ground understanding between the opposition parties. But that unfortunately has not happened in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi and in some other states. So, certainly this will have a negative effect.

"Now, the only way is to make post poll alliances," he said.

The CPI, he said, will contest around 50 seats in the 2019 elections and their main mantra would be -"Modi hatao, Desh Bachao".

The CPI has tied up with the LDF in Kerala, has an understanding with the DMK in Tamil Nadu, tied up with the Congress in Odisha, with the BSP and a splinter group of AAP in Punjab and has an understanding with the BSP, the Jana Sena and the CPM in Andhra Pradesh, he said.

"We still believe that non-BJP, anti-BJP parties will be in majority and will form the government," he said.

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Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh Sunday accused some opposition parties of questioning the valour of the armed forces in the wake of the IAF air strike inside Pakistan after Pulwama terror attack.

"The irony is that there are some political parties in the country which are more worried about the surgical strike than Pakistan," he said at an event organised in his parliamentary constituency of Lucknow.

"They are even asking how may persons were killed in the air strike," added Singh, who was on his first visit to the Uttar Pradesh capital after being re-nominated as the BJP candidate for the Lok Sabha polls.

"Rival political parties are raising questions on the courage and valour of our armed forces," he said further.

Upon his arrival earlier in the day, the home minister said that he had taken several steps to transform Lucknow into a world-class city.

"Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee wanted to make Lucknow a beautiful, world-class city," Singh said.

In the last five years, as the Lok Sabha MP, I have taken steps to move forward in that direction, he added.

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Scientists in China have discovered a "stunning" trove of well-preserved thousands of fossils estimated to be about 518 million years old on a river bank in the country's central Hubei province.

The fossils are particularly unusual because the soft body tissue of many creatures, including their skin, eyes, and internal organs, have been "exquisitely" well preserved.

Palaeontologists have called the findings "mind-blowing" - especially because more than half the fossils are previously undiscovered species, the BBC reported.

The fossils, known as the Qingjiang biota, were collected near Danshui river in Hubei province.

More than 20,000 specimens were collected, and a total of 4,351 have been analysed so far, including worms, jellyfish, sea anemones and algae.

They will become a "very important source in the study of the early origins of creatures", one of the fieldwork leaders, Prof Xingliang Zhang from China's Northwest University, told the BBC.

The discovery is particularly remarkable because "the majority of creatures are soft-bodied organisms like jellyfish and worms that normally stand no chance of becoming fossilised", Prof Robert Gaines, a geologist who also took part in the study, said.

The majority of fossils tend to be of hard-bodied animals, as harder substances, like bones, are less likely to rot and decompose.

The Qingjiang biota must have been "rapidly buried in sediment" due to a storm, in order for soft tissues to be so well preserved, Prof Zhang said.

Scientists are especially excited by the jellyfish and sea anemone fossils, which Prof Gaines described as "unlike anything I have ever seen. Their sheer abundance and their diversity of forms is stunning."



Meanwhile, palaeontologist Allison Daley, who was not part of the study but wrote an accompanying analysis in Science, told BBC's Science in Action programme the find was one of the most significant in the last 100 years.

"It blew my mind - as a palaeontologist I never thought I'd get to witness the discovery of such an incredible site. For the first time we're seeing preservation of jellyfish - [when] you think of jellyfish today, they're so soft-bodied, so delicate, but they're preserved unbelievably well at this site."



The research team are now documenting the remaining specimens, and conducting more drilling in the region to find out more about the ancient local ecosystem, and the fossilisation process.

Prof Zhang said he looks forward to studying "all these new species - I'm always excited when we get something new".

The fossils are from the Cambrian period, which began 541 million years ago and saw a rapid increase in animal diversity on Earth, the report said.

Prof Gaines hopes his work will also strike a chord with modern readers.

"Biotic diversity today is something that we take for granted, even though there are indications that extinction rates are sharply increasing.

"Yet most of the major animal lineages were established in a singular event in the history of life, the Cambrian explosion, the likes of which have never been seen before or after. It also reminds us of our deep kinship to all living animals," he said.

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A man suspected to have assisted in solemnising the wedding of two Pakistani Hindu minor girls, who were reportedly abducted and forcefully converted to Islam, was arrested on Sunday, as the teenagers approached a court in Pakistan's Punjab province seeking protection, according to a media report.

The two girls, Raveena (13) and Reena (15), were allegedly kidnapped by a group of "influential" men from their home in Ghotki district in Sindh on the eve of Holi. Soon after the kidnapping, a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown soleminising the Nikah (marriage) of the two girls, triggering a nationwide outrage.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan had also ordered a probe into the issue.

According to Geo TV, the teenagers approached a court in Bahawalpur in Pakistan's Punjab province seeking protection.

"Police have meanwhile arrested a man from Khanpur who is suspected to have assisted in the nikah (marital contract) of the girls," it said.

However, it is not confirmed whether the arrested man is the cleric who performed their marriage.

Earlier there were reports that the cleric who performed the minor girls' marriage was arrested from Khan Pur in Sindh.

Earlier in the day, a war of words broke out between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry over the reported abduction, forced conversion and underage marriages of the two Hindu teenagers.

The spat started soon after Swaraj sought details from the Indian envoy in Pakistan into the reported abduction of two Hindu teenaged girls.

Swaraj, while tagging a media report about the incident, tweeted that she has asked the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan to send a report on the matter.

Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry responded to her tweet, saying it was his country's "internal issue".

In a Twitter post in Urdu on Sunday, Chaudhry said the prime minister has asked the Sindh chief minister to look into reports that the girls in question have been taken to Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab.

He said the prime minister has also ordered the Sindh and Punjab governments to devise a joint action plan in light of the incident, and to take concrete steps to prevent such incidents from happening again.

The Hindu community in Pakistan has carried out massive demonstrations calling for strict action to be taken against those responsible, while reminding Prime Minister Khan of his promises to the minorities of the country.

Last year, Khan during his election campaign had said his party's agenda was to uplift the various religious groups across Pakistan and said they would take effective measures to prevent forced marriages of Hindu girls.

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Peeved over delay in possession of flats, a section of buyers in Noida and Greater Noida Sunday started a unique initiative pledging to go for NOTA instead of any candidate in the Lok Sabha election.

The flat buyers under a registered umbrella body Noida Extension Flat Owners and Members Association (NEFOMA) have launched the 'No Home, No Vote' drive to express their angst with their elected representatives and state as well as central governments, the body said.

Noida and Greater Noida are part of the Gautam Buddh Nagar parliamentary constituency which has over 22.5 lakh votes. Notably, over five lakh new voters have been enrolled since 2014 and a major chunk of them is flat buyers, according to the district administration.

"The flat buyers in Greater Noida west have not got the flats even after the assurance from the prime minister. (Uttar Pradesh) Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath constituted three ministerial committees but those also did not help. Hence our association has started today the 'No Home, No Vote' drive from Rudra Projects in Greater Noida, NEFOMA president Annu Khan.

"Buyers say there is no difference between the previous governments and the present government. No leader comes to the support of the flat buyers hence the flat buyers have decided they will vote for NOTA, Khan said in a statement.

In 2014, a total 3,836 votes were polled for None of the Above (NOTA) in Gautam Buddh Nagar constituency, less than one per cent of the total votes cast that year. NOTA was introduced to empower the citizens to indicate their disapproval for all contestants.

He claimed the issues of the flat buyers have been persisting for around 10 years now and they have taken up their grievances with the governments of the Samajwadi Party, the Bahujan Samaj Party and now the BJP but to no help.

"For years, the elected representatives have not come to resolve the flat buyers' problems and are now campaigning in residential societies just before the polls," he alleged.

Flat buyer Ajay Tomar claimed that Rudra Projects had promised to deliver his flat in 2015 but has not got it.

"In between the government, the local authorities and the builders, it is the common man who gets cheated after spending their life-long earnings," he said.

Khan claimed that the 2010-founded NEFOMA has a network of 20,000 to 25,000 flat buyers and indirectly links around a lakh people in Noida, Greater Noida and adjoining Ghaziabad.

He said the body has linked aggrieved flat buyers of major projects like Unitech, Amrapali, Jaypee and around 50 smaller ones across Delhi-NCR.

"We are reaching out to our network via different Facebook and WhatsApp groups that we have for various building projects for this campaign," he told PTI.

Voting for the Lok Sabha polls in Noida and Greater Noida is due on April 11 during the first leg of the seven-phased elections.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday condoled the death of people in abus mishap in Maharashtra.

Four people were killed and 45 others injured when a tourist bus in Maharashtra's Palghar district veered off the road.

"My thoughts are with the bereaved families and prayers with those injured. The Maharashtra government will provide all possible assistance to those affected," the prime minister's office tweeted quoting him.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Odisha twice -- March 29 and April 1 -- to campaign for the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state.

During his back-to-back visits to bolster the BJP's poll prospects in Odisha, Modi is scheduled to attend election rallies in Jeypore on March 29 and Kalahandi on April 1, the party's Odisha unit spokesperson Golak Mohapatra said on Sunday.

Ahead of Modi's tour, a galaxy of BJP leaders, including six Union ministers, are slated to visit the state to give momentum to BJP's electioneering.

Assembly elections in Odisha is slated to be held along with the Lok Sabha polls in four phases from April 11.

BJP has so far declared the names of its candidates for 15 Lok Sabha and 121 assembly seats.

In the 2014 elections, BJP had won one of the 21 Lok Sabha and 10 of the 147 assembly seats in the state.

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The Maharashtra Congress Sunday replaced its Lok Sabha candidate from Chandrapur, Vinayak Bangade, with Shiv Sena MLA Suresh Dhanorkar who recently defected to the party.

Dhanorkar will be pitted against the BJP's Hansraj Ahir, sitting MP and Union Minister of State for Home Affairs.

Bangade's candidature had come under a cloud and caused severe embarrassment to the Congress after a audio clip of Maharashtra state unit chief Ashok Chavan raising apprehensions about it went viral on social media platforms.

A miffed and despondent Chavan was heard telling a party worker in the audio clip that his suggestions were being ignored in the Congress and he was planning to resign as state unit chief.

The worker can be heard telling Chavan that Bangade was a weak candidate.

Chavan acknowledged the voice in the clip was his but added it was a private conversation.

Incidentally, despite Dhanorkar stating a week earlier that he was willing to take on Ahir in Chandrapur, the Congress leadership decided to give the party ticket to Bangade, a move that caused resentment among the party rank and file.

In another development, the Congress replaced Hingoli MP Rajiv Satav with former Sena MP Subhash Wankhede.

Satav, the Congress' Gujarat in charge, had told the party leadership that organisational duties in the crucial neighbouring state, a BJP stronghold and home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, would leave him with little time and preparation to fight Lok Sabha polls.

Wankhede, as Sena candidate, had lost to Satav with a slender margin of 1,629 votes in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Among the other candidates announced by the Congress were former IAS official Kishor Uttamrao Gajbhiye from Ramtek (SC) seat against sitting Sena MP Krupal Tumane, and Hidayat Patel from Akola.

Patel will take on sitting BJP MP Sanjay Dhotre.

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Dwaine Pretorius took advantage of a promotion in the South African batting order with a power-packed innings in the third and final Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka at the Wanderers Stadium on Sunday.

All-rounder Pretorius hit 77 not out off 42 balls at number three as South Africa made 198 for two after being sent in.

Reeza Hendricks made 66, his second straight half-century, and captain JP Duminy hit 34 not out off 14 deliveries as South Africa finished the innings strongly. South Africa have already taken the series after winning the first two matches.

Duminy said at the toss that Pretorius had been moved up three because of limited opportunities to bat in previous matches.

"It was a good surprise and I am just happy it came off," Pretorius told SuperSport television as he left the field.

Pretorius, who hit seven fours and three sixes, shared a second-wicket stand of 90 with Hendricks and a rapid unbeaten 71 in the last five overs with Duminy.

Hendricks, who made 65 in the second match in Centurion on Friday, started slowly but picked up the pace to make his 66 off 52 balls with eight fours and two sixes.

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The opposition Grand Alliance in Bihar Sunday announced the names of five Lok Sabha seats which will be contested by the RJD and the Congress in the second phase of polling on April 18.

The Congress will put up candidates from Kishanganj, Katihar and Purnea, while its ally the RJD will field its nominees from Banka and Bhagalpur Lok Sabha seats.

While the RJD has announced the names of the two candidates, the Congress is likely to make an announcement by this evening.

The last date for filing nominations for the second phase of polling is March 26.

"Of the five seats where polling will take place in the second phase, Kishanganj, Katihar and Purnea have gone to the Congress kitty while the RJD will contest from Banka and Bhagalpur," Bihar unit RJD president Ram Chandra Purvey told reporters here.

Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav and Shailesh Kumar alias Bulo Mandal, both sitting MPs of the RJD, have been fielded by the RJD from Banka and Bhagalpur respectively, Purvey said.

The Congress candidates for the three Lok Sabha seats will be named by late evening, Bihar Congress spokesman Harkhu Jha, who was also present at the press meet, told reporters.

"A meeting of the partys central election committee is going on in New Delhi and the names of the candidates for the three seats (Kishanganj, Katihar and Purnea) are likely to be announced after the meeting, probably in the evening or late evening," Jha said.

The opposition 'Mahagathbandhan' in Bihar on Friday had announced its seat-sharing formula for the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state, half of which will be fought by Lalu Prasad's RJD and nine by Congress.

As per the formula, Upendra Kushwahas RLSP would field candidates in five while former Bihar CM Jitan Ram Manjhis HAM(S) and Mukesh Sahnis VIP will be fielding their candidates on three seats each.

The Lok Sabha elections will be held in seven phases in Bihar.

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Two Russian military planes delivered troops and equipment to Venezuela over the weekend, Russian state agency Sputnik reported Sunday.

"Two Russian planes arrived in Venezuela on Saturday with equipment and personnel to fulfil technical military contracts," the agency reported on the Spanish-language version of its website.

It gave no other details but quoted an unnamed official from the Russian embassy in Caracas saying "there is nothing mysterious" about the flights.

The Sputnik report was published after an independent Venezuela journalist, Javier Mayorca, said on his Twitter feed that a Russian air force Antonov-124 cargo plane and a smaller jet, apparently an Ilyushin Il-62, had landed at the main airport outside Caracas on Saturday.

He said the planes offloaded around 100 Russian soldiers led by General Vasily Tonkoshkurov, head of the Mobilization Directorate of Russia's armed forces, and disembarked 35 tonnes of equipment.

Social media and non-state Venezuelan media picked up the information and posted pictures of the planes at the airport.

One picture of a Russian-flagged aircraft posted on social media showed men in uniform clustered around it.

An AFP journalist early on Sunday saw one of the planes on the tarmac at Maiquetia airport, with a Russian flag on its fuselage. It was guarded by a contingent of Venezuelan National Guardsmen.

A picture of a Russian-flagged aircraft posted on social media showed men in uniform clustered around it on the tarmac.

Venezuelan authorities offered no information about the flights. The Russian embassy in Caracas declined to comment to AFP on the reports.

Russia and China are the main allies of Venezuela. Both have lent billions of dollars to the oil-rich South American country, propping up the anti-US government of President Nicolas Maduro.

Russia has also vocally opposed US moves to sanction Maduro and his government, and to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's interim president.

US moves against Caracas have ratcheted up in recent weeks, with President Donald Trump warning that "all options" -- implicitly including US military intervention -- were being considered.

On April 28, US sanctions are to jump up a level with a ban on crude imports from Venezuela. Historically, the US has been Venezuela's biggest oil buyer, and the new sanctions are expected to severely crimp the Maduro government's already badly diminished finances.

Russia previously signalled its support for Maduro by sending two Tu-160 bombers to Venezuela last December to take part in a military exercise.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has a record of ordering his military -- or paramilitary -- forces into several theatres to challenge US strategies, notably in Syria and Ukraine.

Any Russian foothold in Latin America, especially Venezuela, would alarm the US military. It would also be a political test for Trump, who has routinely avoided criticizing Putin.

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Superstar Salman Khan has confirmed that he will be starring in the Hindi adaptation of another hit Korean film, "Veteran".

The actor, who is currently awaiting the release of "Bharat", which is also an official remake of 2014 Korean drama "Ode to My Father", said his brother-in-law, actor-producer Atul Agnihotri, has acquired the rights of "Veteran".

The 2015 Korean film revolves around a detective, who hunts down a young and successful man running a crime syndicate.

"I am doing 'Veteran'. Atul has the rights. It's a nice film. We will do this film after Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film," Salman said in an interview here.

The 53-year-old superstar will start working on the third installment of "Dabangg", followed by Bhansali's "Inshallah", that will see him teaming up with Alia Bhatt for the first time.

Salman is currently busy promoting his home production film "Notebook" featuring newcomers Zaheer Iqbal and Pranutan Bahl. It releases on March 29.

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Samples of mosquitoes and dead crows have been sent to the National Institute of Virology, Alappuzha to find the source of the West Nile Virus which claimed the life of a six-year-old boy in Kerala's Malappuram district.

West Nile Fever is a mosquito-borne zoonotic disease and is related to viruses that cause Japanese encephalitis, yellow fever and St Louis encephalitis.

It is transmitted to humans via mosquito bites. The mosquitoes get the virus through infected birds.

"Human infection is most often due to bites from infected mosquitoes. To date, no human-to-human transmission of WNV through casual contact has been documented.

"Infection with WNV is either asymptomatic (no symptoms) in around 80 per cent of infected people, or can lead to West Nile fever or severe West Nile disease," a senior Health Ministry official said.

A government official said samples of mosquitoes were collected from various sites in Venniyoor in Malappuram district by the Vector Control Department officials and they were sent for testing.

"Besides, remains of four dead crows which were found in and around Venniyoor have also been sent to NIV, Alappuzha for testing," the official said.

"Officials at the Animal Husbandry Department laboratory in Malappuram conducted a post-mortem of the dead crows to take out their brains, livers and kidneys and then sent them for testing," the government official said.

The results are awaited, the official said.

On Tuesday, the Health Ministry along with officials from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) had reviewed the state's preparedness and the action taken to deal with West Nile Fever (WNF) in Mallapuram district.

According to Health Ministry officials, the child's death could be the first fatality due to the vector-borne disease reported from the country.

A multi-disciplinary central team is already deputed in Mallapuram to investigate various epidemiological aspects of West Nile Virus (WNV) and also to help the district administration in its prevention and management.

The state has been advised to follow the National Vector Borne Disease Control Program (NVBDCP) guidelines of personal protective measures to prevent mosquito bites.

The ministry has also recommended that vector surveillance and control be carried out in coordination with the NVBDCP.

"It has been advised that all cases of Japanese Encephalitis (JE)/Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) are to be investigated as per guidelines of JE/AES and also tested for West Nile Virus. Further, the community is to be sensitized through IEC campaigns on use of personal protective measures to prevent mosquito bites as per the NVBDCP guidelines," a senior Health Ministry official said.

The boy was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital after he tested positive for the virus. He died on Monday.

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Seaplane operations will soon be a reality in four islands of with the opening of its bidding process, under an ambitious project to attract more tourists to the picturesque archipelago, officials said Sunday.

Seventeen islands in have also been identified for holistic development, that include building infrastructure, to promote tourism.

Bidding has been opened for seaplane operations at four locations in Andamans, Swaraj Dweep, Shaheed Dweep, Hut Bay and Long Island, under the UDAN Regional Connectivity Scheme of the Centre, a Home Ministry official told PTI.

With the civil works completed at Diglipur airport on the northern tip of Andamans, air operations by Andaman Airways are set to commence from June 2019.

Additional airfields are being explored at Car Nicobar, Campbell Bay and in Port Blair, for a second airstrip, the official said.

Port Blair has already been declared as an authorised immigration check post for entry into or exit from India with valid travel documents for all classes of passengers.

Paving the way for "Ease of Tourism", as many as 30 islands have been exempted from the Restricted Area Permit (RAP) regime.

The requirement of mandatory registration of foreigners arriving in the island within 24 hours of their entry has also been done away with.

The key sectors identified for the holistic development of islands include infrastructure, tourism, green energy and skill development.

To begin with, five Islands -- Avis, Long, Little Andaman, Smith and Ross -- have been identified for the project and another 12 islands will be added later.

Improvement of connectivity has been given the top priority to promote tourism, the official said.

Four tourism-based projects have been developed under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. Requests for Qualification (RfQ) have been floated for projects in Long Islands, Smith Islands and Aves Islands while Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance has also been obtained for these four projects including at Neil Island.

The lifeline of the Andamans, the Andaman Trunk Road, is all set to receive an upgrade following the grant of CRZ clearance in December 2018 for the Middle Strait Bridge, another official said.

In principle approval has also been obtained for Chatham-Bambooflat bridge in Port Blair, in fulfilment of a long standing demand of the island residents.

A Detailed Project Report is being prepared for the proposed Phase-1 of the Andaman Marine Drive from Junglighat to Dundas Point.

In addition, Rs 270 crore has been earmarked for providing 100 per cent rural road connectivity in Islands, the official said.

Out of this, Rs 100 crore has been released by the central government.

According to the data available with the Union Home Ministry, more than 16 lakh tourists have visited the Islands since 2015 till October 2018 to see the natural beauty, beaches, flora and fauna and historically-significant landmarks in around 38 inhabited islands out of the 572 islets.

The archipelago has received 4,02,393 tourists, including 11,818 foreigners, till October 2018 while it received 4,87,229 tourists, including 15,310 foreigners, in 2017.

In 2016, as many as 4,00,019 tourists, including 15,467 foreigners, had visited the and in 2015, a total of 3,11,358 tourists, including 14,674 foreigners, had gone to the Union Territory, the data said.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands comes under the administrative control of the Home Ministry.

The Andamans was in news last year in the wake of killing of John Allen Chau, 27, by members of the reclusive Sentinelese tribe in North Sentinel Island.

The archipelago has been inhabited for several thousand years, at the very least.

The earlier archaeological evidence goes back some 2,200 years; however, the indications from genetic, cultural and linguistic isolation studies point to habitation going back 30,000 60,000 years, well into the Middle Palaeolithic, according to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Tourism Department.
Controversial self-proclaimed godman Swami Om Sunday said he will contest the Lok Sabha elections from the New Delhi constituency.

A former Bigg Boss contestant, Swami Om, in a statement said he will fight against the "anti-Hindu" stance of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had put out a tweet depicting his party symbol, a broom, chasing a "Hindu swastika".

The statement said several Hindu organisations held a meeting on Saturday and finalised his name.

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Hitting out at the Opposition



and Congress in particular over questioning the air strikes inside Pakistan after Pulwama terror attack, Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman Sunday said the BJP government gave freedom to the armed forces to act and they delivered.

Not respecting armed forces, but to bring them to shame to make them kneel down to their interests and even defame them has been the approach of the Congress party, Sitharaman alleged.

"None of their (Congress) alliance partners be it from the Communists to the regional parties who are their friends today could even say please don't make badnaam of our armed forces," she said at an event here.

"Today they shed crocodile tears for Pulwama," she alleged.

The government, Sitharaman said, had credible information that more such (Pulwama like) suicide terror attacks may happen and to prevent such attacks "we had to take a pre-emptive strike in Balakot."



Sitharaman was addressing an ex-servicemen and intellectuals meet here organised by BJP candidate N Ramchander Rao who is contesting from the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha segment.

They (opposition) even had the courage to ask the government for evidence, she said.

"...The brave soldiers and air warriors go there to perform the task and not to take selfies. They don't need to come and show you (evidence).

"That's not the business of a soldier. He goes, finishes his task and gets back in safety to his country," she said.

"And one unfortunate man (Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman) who was held by Pakistan, you saw the dignity with which he stood up and the honour with which he held up his responsibility as a PoW," she said.

Varthaman was captured by Pakistan on February 27 after his MiG 21 Bison went down during a dogfight with Pakistani jets. But before his plane was hit, Varthaman shot down a F-16 of Pakistan air force.

"Standing there and wouldn't speak a word of what he should not be saying there. That's the training of a professional Indian soldier.

"Would you want to honour and respect them or would you want to demean them by calling 'sadak ka goonda'. By asking for evidence. How many people were dead...is there a limit...ridiculous," Sitharaman said.

She said during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, 90,000 Pakistan soldiers were sent back unconditionally by India.

"And after our PoW was sent back ... in Pakistan that was touted as a peaceful gesture," and demands were even made in Pakistan that Prime Minister (Imran Khan) should be given nobel prize.

Sitharaman said she could understand Pakistan saying that.

"Why would some sections in India speak that voice. I was astonished...

Who are these people mentioning it and the political parties who are supporting them. We do not want this and therefore the return of Narendra Modi (back to power at the Centre) is important," Sitharaman said.

"If there has been a government which has understood the needs of ex-servicemen and the men in uniform and catered to their every needs, it was this government under Modi," she said.

Slamming the Congress, Sitharman alleged that senior Congress leaders called the Army Chief a 'sadak ka goonda' (goon on the street). I am sorry to say it hurts me... shame on that party."



"The Chief of Air Staff has been called a liar by the Congress party because their vested interest was not served ... Rafale (fighter jet deal) came through not during their period but during Modi's period," Sitharaman said.

Referring to the November 26, 2008 terror attack in Mumbai, she claimed the armed forces had told the then government that if it wants them to do something they were ready and sought approval.

"Clear evidence showed Pakistan had perpetrated it. You (then Congress government) don't give the freedom to the armed forces to even stand up with honour.

"That's what this government has done and gave the freedom to the armed forces that you decide the time, you decide the way and how to handle because you are the best persons to handle it," Sitharaman said.

"They (armed forces) took the call and precisely the way in which they had to deliver which was much to the shock of Pakistan and entire world that India was capable of doing an operation of this kind precisely even in the opponent's territory, " she said.

It wouldn't have been necessary if only the previous government had taken a deterrent measure after the Mumbai attack, Sitharaman said.

Pakistan, which kept saying it was also a victim of terror attack after the Pulwama incident, also did not take action against camps where terrorists were being trained.

"Therefore we had to take the action," Sitharaman said.

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Six passengers were killed and 30 others injured Sunday when their bus fell into a gorge in Maharashtra's Palghar district, police said.

The incident occurred at around 2:45 pm in Torangan ghat between Mokhada and Trimbakeshwar villages, said Thane Region Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) chief Santosh Kadam.

The private bus had started from Nashik in north Maharashtra and was headed towards Gujarat, a Trimbakeshwar police station official said.

The deceased were returning to Surat after taking darshan of Saibaba in Shirdi in Ahmednagar district, neighbouring Nashik.

The official said the incident occurred due to failure of brakes of the bus.

The injured have been admitted in health centres at Trimbakeshwar, Mokhada and Nashik, he said.

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The CPI Sunday announced the candidature of former JNU students' union leader Kanhaiya Kumar from Begusarai Lok Sabha seat in Bihar, days after the party was left out of the RJD-led opposition alliance in the state.

The Communist Party of India (CPI), which was expecting to get the seat for Kumar as part of the 'mahagathbandhan' (grand alliance), has now decided to go alone.

"Kanhaiya Kumar will be our candidate from Begusarai seat. CPI(ML) has pledged their support to us too," senior CPI leader D Raja said.

Candidates for two more seats are yet to be finalised by the central leadership, he added.

As part of the seat-sharing pact of the 'mahagathbandhan', the Communist Party of India (MarxistLeninist) Liberation (CPI-ML), the biggest Left party in Bihar, got one seat from the Rashtriya Janata Dal's (RJD) share of 20.

In Begusarai, Kumar will be pitted against the BJP's Giriraj Singh. An influential upper caste Bhumihar leader, the Union minister has been shifted from his Nawada seat.

The 'mahagathbandhan' is yet to announce its candidate.

Kumar came into limelight after the 2016 Jawaharlal Nehru University sedition controversy. The student leader, accused of raising anti-India slogans on the varsity campus with nine others, has been charged with sedition by the Delhi Police.

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A soldier was killed Sunday when Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire by targeting forward posts and villages with heavy caliber weapons and rockets along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch and Rajouri districts, a defence spokesperson said.

The Indian Army retaliated in strong measure, inflicting adequate damage and casualties to Pakistani troops, Jammu-based Public Relations Officer (defence) Lt Col Devender Anand said.

He said grenadier Hari Bhakar, a resident of Rajasthan's Nagaur district, was seriously injured and admitted to the nearest field hospital, but succumbed later, taking the number of Army personnel killed since last week to three.

On March 18, rifleman Karamjeet Singh was killed in Pakistani firing in Rajouri district, while rifleman Yash Paul lost his life in unprovoked firing by Pakistan troops in the same sector on March 21.

Col Anand said heavy caliber weapons and rockets were also fired from across the border in unprovoked firing by Pakistan troops in Poonch sector Saturday evening.

"Own troops retaliated in strong measure inflicting adequate damage and casualties to Pakistani army," he said.

Officials said grenadier Bhakar wa/s guarding a forward post in Shahpur area and was critically injured in the cross-border firing, which continued intermittently throughout the night.

A wreath laying ceremony was held in northern Army headquarters at Udhampur to pay tribute to him, the officials said, adding that his his mortal remains were transported in a service aircraft from Udhampur to Jaipur.

Lt Col Anand said Pakistan also initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by shelling mortars and firing of small arms along the LoC in Nowshera sector of Rajouri district around 11.50 am.

The border skirmishes witnessed a spurt after India's air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26 in response to the February 14 Pulwama attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel.

Four civilians, including three members of a family, have been killed and several injured as Pakistan, since then, has targeted dozens of villages in over 125 incidents of ceasefire violations along the LoC.

The year 2018 witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violations -- 2,936 -- by Pakistani troops in the last 15 years along the Indo-Pak border.

Pakistan continues to violate the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the pact during flag meetings between the two sides.

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A war of words erupted on Sunday between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary over reports of abduction of two Hindu teenaged girls and their forcible conversion to Islam on the eve of Holi in the Sindh province.

In a tweet, Swaraj sought a report from Indian envoy in Pakistan Ajay Bisaria on the reported abduction of the girls and their forcible conversion to Islam.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered a probe into the matter.

Responding to Swaraj's tweet, Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary said: "Maam its Pakistan's internal issue and (be) rest assured it's not Modi's India where minorities are subjugated, it's Imran Khan's Naya Pak where white colour of our flag is equally dearer to us."



"I hope you'll act with same diligence when it comes to rights of Indian minorities," he said.

Swaraj, in her response to Chaudhary, said she had only asked for a report from the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad about the kidnapping and forced conversion of two minor Hindu girls to Islam.

"This was enough to make you jittery. This only shows your guilty conscience," she said.

The two girls were allegedly kidnapped by a group of "influential" men from their home in Ghotki district in Sindh on the eve of Holi.

Soon after the kidnapping, a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown solemnising the Nikah (marriage) of the two girls.

In a separate video, the minor girls can be seen saying that they accepted Islam of their own free will.

According to media reports, the Hindu community in the area staged protests, demanding action against perpetrators of the alleged crime.

In a Twitter post in Urdu, Information Minister Chaudhry said the prime minister has asked the Sindh chief minister to look into reports that the girls in question have been taken to Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab.

India has been raising the issue of plight of minorities, particularly the Hindu community in Pakistan.

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British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing intense pressure from within her own Cabinet on Sunday to step down over her handling of the Brexit process.

According to numerous UK media reports, disgruntled ministers and MPs are plotting to give her an ultimatum to resign as the price for backing her controversial withdrawal agreement in a third Parliament vote next week, a move which could even see her forced out to make way for a caretaker Prime Minister in the form of her deputy David Lidington.

Downing Street has dismissed reports of any such plot, with Lidington, Britain's Minister for the Cabinet Office, stressing he is "100 per cent behind the Prime Minister".

"This is not about the Prime Ministerchanging Prime Ministers wouldn't help, changing the party of government wouldn't help," said UK Chancellor Philip Hammond, calling on MPs to unite behind May.

Asked about calls for a second referendum after nearly a million people marched through the streets of London on Saturday to demand a so-called People's Vote, he agreed that another referendum over Britain's membership of the European Union (EU) should be considered.

"It is a coherent proposition and deserves to be considered, along with the other proposals," the senior Cabinet minister said.

The latest leadership row within the Conservative Party comes ahead of a week where May is expected to lose further control over the Brexit process as a cross-party group of MPs press for alternatives to her divorce deal to be debated in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

May had secured a short delay to the March 29 Brexit deadline from the EU, with the requirement to come up with a credible plan for Britain's exit from the 28-member economic bloc by April 12 or crash out without any deal in place.

If May's deal is voted through by MPs in a third Commons vote by next week, the EU has agreed to extend the Brexit deadline further until May 22 to finalise the exit strategy. If not, Britain would be heading for a chaotic no-deal Brexit on April 12.

The British PM spent the weekend at her countryside retreat at Chequers trying to finalise her next steps ahead of an expected Cabinet meeting on Monday, when ministers may threaten resignations over her Brexit strategy.

There is a growing expectation among MPs that Downing Street will try to delay holding the next meaningful vote on her twice-defeated withdrawal agreement over the controversial Irish backstop clause because of concerns that May would have to resign if she lost it for a third time.

The vote had been expected early next week if House of Commons Speaker John Bercow allows the motion to be tabled without any substantial changes.

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Three persons, including a couple, were arrested by Navi Mumbai police for allegedly abducting a toddler over a car loan dispute with his mother, police said Sunday.

A police official said the complainant Hasina Abdul Hamid Shaikh's son was allegedly abducted from Ulwe by Saroj Rao (27) whose husband Jinnat had purchased a car from Shaikh.

Shaikh had lodged a complaint with the NRI police station against the couple, he said, adding that the police found that the Raos and another accused have left for Rajasthan with the boy.

The car was intercepted at Bharuch in Gujarat and the trio were apprehended Saturday night, he said.

A team of Navi Mumvai police then arrested Jinnat Bacharsingh Rao (28), Saroj Rao (25) and Arjun Bacharsingh Rao (25), he said.

The official said the Raos and Shaikh fell out over a dispute over transfer of the car loan.

Further investigation is underway.

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Three Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists were arrested by security forces on Sunday from the outskirts of the city, police said.

"Three car-borne terrorists affiliated with proscribed terror outfit JeM (were) arrested by police and security forces at Lawaypora (on Srinagar-Baramulla road) (based) on a credible input today," a police spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said ammunition, including live rounds, was seized from the three terrorists. They were identified as Rayees Hurrah,Shahid Bhat and Ishaq Lone.

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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Sunday took a swipe at arch rival DMK on the Kodanad heist and murder case and claimed that people have raised doubts whether those involved belonged to that party.

Campaigning at Arakkonam seeking votes for alliance partners New Justice Party chief A C Shanmugham and PMK leader A K Moorthy, Palaniswami said police have arrested those involved in the case.

"..It is the DMK which is taking steps to get those arrested released and this has led people to doubt whether that party was involved in it," he said.

In April 2017, the security guard of the Kodanad estate, former chief minister J Jayalalithaa's retreat-home in the hilly district of Nilgiris, was found dead.

Ten people have been arrested in connection with the robbery attempt at the estate-bungalow which was used by Jayalalithaa for both official and residential purposes.

Two key accused-- C Kanagaraj and K V Sayan-- had recently alleged Palaniswami's involvement in the heist case in a video released by a journalist Mathew Samuel in Delhi.

Palaniswami had rejected the charges, dismissing it as a "lie".

The chief minister had also filed a defamation suit in the Madras High court which had restrained Samuel and six others, including Sayan and Manoj, from making any statement linking him to the case.

Holding that it was the responsibility of a government to clarify the doubts raised by the people, Palaniswami said "those involved cannot escape from the law and this government will take prompt action."



Referring to DMK leader and former union minister A Raja's close aide Sadiq Batcha, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances in 2011 amid the probe into the 2G spectrum scam, he said, "Members of his (Batcha) family released advertisements on his death anniversary recently, saying "bad friendship causes utter ruin."



Even Sadiq Batcha's wife was attacked recently by some miscreants while she was travelling, Palaniswami said.

An investigation will be conducted into the matter, he said.

Taking potshots at the DMK, he said an ordinary worker like him could rise to the level of Chief Minister in the AIADMK.

But that is not the case with the DMK as after the death of his father M Karunanidhi, Stalin became that party's president, Palaniswami said.

"Only in AIADMK, a cadre can rise to various levels and hold the top post. I myself am an example for it," he said.

Referring to MDMK chief Vaiko joining the DMK alliance for the Lok Sabha polls, Palaniswami said it was Vaiko who had vowed that he would never campaign for making Stalin the chief minister.

"But, today he has joined the DMK led alliance. Stalin has forged an alliance with parties which has lost the people's faith. People will teach a good lesson to the DMK alliance in this Lok Sabha elections," he said.

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Over 100 Tamil Nadu ryots will dress up like Aghori sadhus (Shiva followers) and seek alms in Uttar Pradesh to pay for filing their nomination to the Varanasi constituency from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi is contesting, farmers' leader P Ayyakannu said Sunday.

This plan is to try and bring back focus on the plight of farmers besides collecting money (about Rs 25,000 for each nomination) for filing papers, Ayyakannu said.

"We plan to dress up like Aghori sadhus and seek alms," Ayyakannu, president of the National South Indian Rivers Inter-Linking Farmers Association, told PTI in an interview.

Ayyakannu had said on Saturday that 111 farmers from Tamil Nadu would contest against Modi from Varanasi if the BJP does not assure them of fulfilling their demands such as profitable prices for farm produce and include it in the party manifesto.

Had the Centre fulfilled their demands following several protests in Delhi in 2017, he said they would not have been forced to resort to such "methods."



Ayyakannu said "our Aghori sadhus protest mode will help people realise that our demands are just and fair."



"We are also thinking of holding a nude protest to highlight our demands like we did in Delhi," he said.

The farmers leader had held various forms of protest including entering the sea in Tamil Nadu to highlight their demands.

In November 2018, farmers led by Ayyakannu had gone to Delhi with two skulls, to take part in a kisan rally, alleging it belonged to their colleagues who had allegedly committed suicide over debt.

A key demand, loan waiver, is doable if only the government has the will to do it, according to him.

"The total farmers loan outstandings is only about Rs 75,000 crore across the country," Ayyakannu said.

He claimed that very huge corporate bad loans were being waived by banks.

Ayyakannu wanted to know if farmers who fed the country did not deserve a better deal from the government.

"Our demand for loan waiver is just and fair. We don't have profitable prices for our produce. How do you expect us to clear up our crop loans?" he asked.

Loan waiver from all banks, pension for farmers over 60 years, a complete ban on genetically modified seeds and food products,linking rivers, comprehensive personal insurance are the key demands, the farmers leader added.

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Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, the sitting BJP MP from Patna Sahib who has been denied a ticket by the party this time, has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of treating party patriarch L K Advani in a "painful" and "shameful" manner.

In a series of tweets on Saturday, Sinha claimed that the BJP's decision to not give ticket to Advani, the sitting MP from Gandhinagar, and to field party president Amit Shah from the seat "has not gone down well" with many people.

"Sirji... it is worrisome, painful and according to some even shameful... that which your people have done was the most expected and awaited... orchestrating the departure of a most respected friend, philosopher, guide, father figure and ultimate leader of the party, Shri L K Advani from the political arena/election," Sinha tweeted.

Advani, 91, has served as Union home minister and deputy prime minister. He was also the national president of the BJP more than once. He is often credited with helping the party create a national footprint within a decade of its formation through active participation in the Ayodhya movement.

In another tweet, Sinha deplored "the replacement of Mr Advani by none other than the man who is also the president of the party and whose image or personality is no match nor even a patch on him".

"This has been done intentionally and deliberately and not gone down well with the people of the country," the rebel BJP leader claimed.

"No one can approve of such a treatment to a father figure. What you and your people have done to me is still tolerable. I am able and capable of answering your people back in the same coin. Remember Newton's third law, every action has an equal and opposite reaction," Sinha, who has been a vocal critic of the BJP, said.

Once considered a hardliner, Advani's decline began after he fell out of favour with the BJP's parent body, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) following his appreciation of "secular" personality of Pakistan founder Mohd Ali Jinnah in 2005.

His standing within the party diminished further after he fell out with Modi, whom he had mentored. Advani had also backed Modi when the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee wanted him gone as Gujarat chief minister in the aftermath of 2002 Godhra riots.

Sinha said the party's decision to deny ticket to Advani "smacks of ingratitude".

"Nonetheless, people are watching at this hour to give a befitting reply for all this that is being done by the one man show and two men army," he said, taking a swipe at Modi and Shah.

Responding to Sinha, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi also took to Twitter to offer "free" and "friendly" advice to his party colleague on Sunday.

He said Sinha would do well to "leave the electoral battle and join the Yashwant club", referring to the former Union minister who had been critical of the current BJP leadership and quit the party last year to concentrate on activism.

"Patna Sahib has five assembly segments, all held by the BJP, and you may struggle to even find a polling agent," the Bihar deputy chief minister said, referring to the possibility of Sinha seeking re-election as a nominee of the Opposition alliance in the state.

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A mother in the UK has urged a thief to return a stolen lock of hair which she said was all she had left of her dead two-year-old daughter.

Kirsty Baldwin's daughter Ellie Louise died six years ago of bronchial pneumonia and she had kept the hair in her handbag, which was stolen at a motorway service station in Greater Manchester, the BBC reported.

The bag was taken from her car by the thief in front of her and the robbery had "devastated" the family.

Baldwin, 35, from the Newcastle area, was robbed Wednesday by what she described as an "unkempt" man.

She said he opened the passenger door before she could lock it and grabbed the handbag.

The bag contained a tablet computer, a large amount of Euros in cash, a purse containing the lock of her daughter's blonde hair laminated on a card, the BBC reported.

Baldwin said the lock of hair was "all we had left of her".

She added: "Please, if anyone finds the lock shown in the picture, please do the right thing and hand it in to your nearest police station. Thank you."



A police official of Greater Manchester Police said, "Robbery in any circumstance is particularly distressing but Kirsty and her family have been left devastated.

"The hair is such a precious item that cannot ever be replaced and she's desperate it's returned to her.

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Aiming to expand its India presence, US-based online women fashion retailer Inc has got on board investment facilitation firm Nair Ventures for capital and infrastructure support.

Without divulging financial details of the collaboration, Nair Ventures said in a statement it is looking forward to help establish and expand its presence in markets like the UK, US and India by helping them execute business scaling processes.

Nair Ventures describes itself as an investment promotion, facilitation and execution agency with a business model focussed on contributing into the start-up success stories with the help of venture capital and private equity funds.

calls itself a fashion tech store offering digital customisation to the modern day customer, besides ready-to-wear clothes for women.

Samshek Fashion's Co-Founder Samiksha Bajaj said the company is looking to its next phase of growth and expansion in domestic and international markets with its new collaboration with Nair Ventures.

Through the collaboration, Samshek is looking to get help on capital investment, infrastructure support, business intelligence, and operations and market research.

Nair Ventures said increasing per capita disposable income and rising standard of living in India has led to creation of new opportunities for global brands.

Its Managing Partner Vinay Nair said, "Guiding them (Samshek) with the right strategy to penetrate the Indian market and their overall market positioning in countries like US and UK, is something that we look forward to achieve in the near future.

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When Lorena Delgado approached the Venezuelan consulate in Colombia's capital on a recent afternoon hoping to extend the life of her expiring passport, she found the metal gates to the languishing building shuttered.

Days earlier, Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro had severed ties with the neighboring Andean nation where over a million of his compatriots have fled in recent years, recalling all his diplomats and leaving the consulate and embassy buildings closed.

The man challenging Maduro's claim to the presidency had appointed a new ambassador, but he was at a loss about how to help her. Despite the fact that Colombia recognizes Juan Guaido as Venezuela's legitimate president, the ambassador he sent does not have access to the consulate or the ability to issue passport extensions.

"You feel trapped," said Delgado, 32, who needs to travel abroad to apply for a work visa. "We're in limbo." As Venezuela's power struggle stretches on, a parallel dispute for control of embassy buildings in the countries recognizing Guaido as Venezuela's true president has taken root.

While new opposition-appointed diplomats are being recognized around the world, the United States is the only nation where they control a consulate building. In no country do Guaido's envoys have the ability to carry out basic tasks like issuing a passport, as Venezuela's civil registration agency remains under the control of Maduro.

The diplomatic duel has left the estimated 3.4 million Venezuelans who now live abroad stuck between two administrations. In most countries holdover consular employees continue to carry out tasks like registering births abroad while new, Guaido-appointed ambassadors remain outside embassy walls, symbols of their movement's lagging advance.

"At this moment, we don't have a solution from either side," said Paola Soto, 25, who is trying to reunite with her 5-year-old son in Chile.

The battle for diplomatic recognition is largely taking place behind closed doors, but it has occasionally spilled out into public.

In February, the Guaido-appointed ambassador to Costa Rica, Maria Faria, announced she had taken control of the embassy in San Jose, proudly posting on Twitter a photograph of herself standing in front of a Venezuelan flag inside the building. A shouting match erupted outside when the Maduro-appointed diplomats tried to get in.

Costa Rica's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, despite recognizing Faria as Venezuela's ambassador, issued a statement deploring her actions, saying she'd broken an established protocol allowing Maduro appointees 60 days to leave.

In March, a similarly confusing incident took place in Lima, Peru when workers were spotted at night removing chairs and even a stately bust of South American independence hero Simon Bolivar from the Venezuelan embassy. The furniture was put back inside after anti-government protesters decried them.

"You've robbed enough in Venezuela!" one angry woman shouted.

More recently, on Monday, Guaido's U.S. ambassador announced he was taking control of the New York consulate and two military-owned buildings in Washington where images of Maduro have now been replaced with portraits of Guaido.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza accused the United States of violating articles of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations that require host countries to protect foreign embassy buildings even when ties are severed.

He warned that if the U.S. doesn't fulfill its international obligations, the Venezuelan government could pursue legal action and retaliate with reciprocal action - a not so veiled threat that they might occupy the recently vacated U.S. Embassy in Caracas. The U.S. withdrew all embassy personnel from Caracas due to safety concerns after Maduro severed ties with the U.S. over its support for Guaido.

Gustavo Marcano, an exiled Venezuelan mayor who now works for the Guaido-backed Venezuelan embassy in the U.S., said the building acquisition is one of several attempts to ensure Venezuela's assets abroad are protected. The U.S. is also working to transfer other prized belongings, like Houston-based CITGO, a subsidiary of Venezuela's state oil company, to Guaido.

"This is the first step toward ending usurpation," he said from inside the Manhattan consulate, where photos of the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez still hung on the walls.

He added that while they cannot issue documents like passports, the Guaido-led consulate does plan to look for other remedies to help the increasingly large number of Venezuelans who possess no valid form of identification. One idea being floated is the creation of a consular-issued identification card that would be recognized by the host nation.

In other countries, the Guaido-named ambassadors are taking a gentler approach, choosing to slowly work toward eventually taking control of consulates in conjunction with the host nation's foreign relations ministry - or avoiding the topic altogether.

Humberto Calderon, the appointed ambassador to Colombia, said he's focused more on tending to Venezuelan migrants, viewing occupying the buildings as a potential agitator that could harm Colombians living in Venezuela.

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A request would be sent to the US to seek details from a service provider of "virtual SIMs", which were used by the JeM suicide bomber behind the and his Pakistan and Kashmir-based handlers, officials said.

Piecing together probe from the site of the terror strike, searches carried out by the Jammu and Kashmir police and central security agencies at an encounter site in Tral as well as other locations, it was found that the bomber, Adil Dar, was in constant touch with the JeM across the border, they said.

The main mastermind of the audacious attack, Mudassir Khan, was killed in the encounter in Tral.

Forty CRPF personnel were killed on February 14 when Dar rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a paramilitary force bus at Pulwama in South Kashmir. India retaliated after the strike by bombing the Jaish terror group's hideout in Balakot in Pakistan.

It was a fairly new modus operandi where terrorists across the border were using a "virtual SIM", generated by a service provider in the United States. In this technology, the computer generates a telephone number and the user downloads an application of the service provider on their smartphone.

The number is linked to social networking sites like WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram or Twitter. The verification code generated by these networking sites is received on the smartphone and the user is ready.

In case of Pulwama, Dar was in constant touch with the Jaish handler as well as Mudassir Khan using the same technology, the officials said.

They said the numbers used were pre-fixed with "+1", the Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN) number used for the United States.

The request to the US will include details of phone numbers that got in touch with the "Virtual SIM" and who had activated it, they said, adding that Internet Protocol addresses would also be sought.

While the security agencies would attempt to find who had paid for the virtual SIM, they were also aware that the terror groups used forged identities, as was done during the the Mumbai 26/11 terror strikes.

During investigation of the 26/11 attacks it was found that an amount of USD 229 was wired to Callphonex, via Western Union Money Transfer receipt number 8364307716-0, for activating the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) used during the strikes.

The money was received from 'Madina Trading' located in Brescia in Italy and sender was claimed to be Javed Iqbal, a resident of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

However, after Italian police arrested two Pakistani nationals in 2009, it was alleged that the firm had made nearly 300 transfers in the name of Iqbal, who probably had never set his foot in Italy.

The Italian police, while concluding the probe, had said the Brescia-based company made several transfers using the identity of innocent, unsuspecting persons, whose identity cards or passports might have been stolen.
She made a stunning debut with "Dangal", but Fatima Sana Shaikh says getting a perfect launch pad was not a cakewalk as people told her she did not have the "looks" of a heroine like Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif.

Fatima, who started her journey in the movies as a child actor with Kamal Haasan's 1997 film "Chachi 420", says the rejections shifted her focus from waiting for a conventional lead role to searching for a good character.

"I have been a child actor. I quit but making a comeback after that was difficult. I was not getting any work. People used to tell me I don't look like Deepika Padukone or Katrina Kaif. They said, since I didn't have the looks of a heroine, I should do whatever I'm offered. There have been many incidents where I was told that I was not good enough," Fatima told PTI in an interview.

The actor says her desire to perform in front of the camera was so strong that she did not pay heed to what people thought of her.

"I only had acting on my mind. The reason why I used to go for every audition was because I would get to perform in front of the camera, even if the set-up was small."



The success of Aamir Khan-starrer "Dangal", however, made things easier for Fatima as it gave her the option to choose.

"Before 'Dangal', I never had the chance to choose my projects. I even did 'Dangal' because that was my only option at that time. Every actor goes through this. That's how things function. But I am happy that post the film and especially after 'Thugs of Hindostan', I have the space to choose," she says.

Citing an example of Rajkummar Rao, her co-star from Anurag Basu's upcoming anthology, the actor says there is no formula for success.

"There is no single rule that applies to everyone. But now there are so many opportunities because of Netflix, Amazon and other platforms. Influx of different mediums has given actors a lot more options."



Fatima says even though her aim is to establish herself as a sought-after performer, she does not believe in planning "too much".

"Where I want to reach it might take two or maybe six years. But I am happy that at least I'm on my way. Before 'Thugs...' I was a very competitive person I would keep a check on who is wearing what and what they were doing. But I realised everybody has a different fate and there is no point in following anyone's journey," she adds.

The actor says like every artiste in the showbiz, she craves for the love of the audience, but believes it is close to impossible to be a "superstar" in the current times.

"The superstar era ended way back. After the 'Khans', I don't think we will ever have superstars. Now we all are accessible but earlier the stars were not. We could not search them on social media or follow their lives. We were able to connect with them through their films and interviews," she says.

Fatima adds the only way the actors of her generation could survive is by doing good work.

"The moment we do good work, we get appreciation and when we don't things go the other way. Actors like Deepika have been in the industry for so long, but it is now that people have realised she is a very good actor because of her choices.

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Sunday asked the Congress where were the well-wishers of farmers during 2012-17 when they faced starvation.

The chief minister posed the query shortly after Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra launched a blistering attack on the UP government over alleged unpaid dues to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore to sugarcane farmers.

"When our government was formed, the pending cane dues were around Rs 57,800 crore. The amount was bigger than the budgets of many states. But we paid it," asserted Adityanath.

"In the previous regimes of the SP and BSP, nothing was done for the sugarcane farmers, (and) as a result, they died of starvation (bhukhmari)," he added.

Earlier during the day, Priyanka Gandhi had attacked the state government over the alleged unpaid dues of sugarcane farmers, claiming in a tweet that 'chowkidars' (watchmen) were only working for the rich, not for the poor.

The UP chief minister struck back and asked, "Where were the so-called well-wishers of the farmers from 2012 to 2017, when the farmers were on the brink of starvation. Why have they woken up from their slumber now?"



Seeking to put the records straight, he said, "The sugarcane cultivation area in the state has increased by 22 per cent to 28 lakh hectare, and a number of closed sugar mills have been restarted. The farmers are happy (khushaal) now."



Sharing a media report on Twitter, Priyanka Gandhi had claimed that dues of sugarcane farmers had crossed Rs 10,000 crore in the state.

"The families of sugarcane farmers toil day and night but the Uttar Pradesh government does not even take the responsibility of paying their dues," she had said.

"Rs 10,000 crore of farmers' dues means everything, including their children's education, food, health, and the next produce comes to a standstill. These chowkidars only work for the rich and do not care about the poor," she had claimed.

Priyanka Gandhi was recently appointed the Congress general secretary for eastern Uttar Pradesh.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of party supremo Mamata Banerjee, Sunday refuted reports that two kg gold was seized from his wife's baggage when she recently landed here from

Referring to the reports in a section of media that his wife, Rujira Banerjee, was found to be carrying two kg gold by customs authorities at the city airport, he said, "If that was so, why wasn't it confiscated? Was the 'chowkidar' sleeping?"



Terming the reports as "baseless and politically motivated", he said his wife was "not carrying even two grams of gold" or any other dutiable or objectionable item in the baggage.

He claimed that the commissioner of Customs Kolkata Zone had written to a junior officer to file an FIR against his wife on instructions from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs,

The leader, who heads the party's 'Yuva' wing, wondered how a covering letter by the commissioner, which was marked 'secret', could land in the hands of a television channel.

Banerjee, who called a press conference at his office at Amtala in South 24 Parganas district here on the matter, alleged that the BJP was indulging in personal attacks against his family members, after having "failed" to fight the TMC politically.

(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.)
Actor Joel Kinnaman says he is looking forward to director James Gunn's version of his 2016 film "Suicide Squad".

The 39-year-old actor played the role of Rick Flag, an Army Special Forces colonel who leads a pack of supervillain to save the world, in the David Ayer-directed movie.

Despite being panned by the critics, the film, which also featured Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie and Viola Davis, raked in over USD 745 million worldwide.

Last year, Gunn, best known for helming Marvel's "Guardian of the Galaxy" series, was hired by Warner Bros to direct the follow-up, which is scheduled to release on August 6, 2021.

"James Gunn is an incredibly talented director. It will be very exciting to see what he comes up with in terms of his take on 'Suicide Squad'," Kinnaman told PTI in a telephonic interview from New York.

The actor, however, said it is "too early" to talk about him reprising his character in the new movie.

"In terms of my involvement, I think it is too early to talk about that. But as soon as I can comment on it, I will," he added.

Kinnaman also refrained from commenting on producer Peter Safran's statement that the project will be a "total reboot".

The actor currently stars in Amazon Prime Video's series "Hanna". The show, which also features Esme Creed-Miles and Mireille Enos, is an adaptation of Joe Wright's 2011 film of the same name.

David Farr, who co-wrote the screenplay of the film with Seth Lochhead, is serving as the creator and writer on the series.

"Hanna" will premiere on the streaming service platform on March 29.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Monaco on the French Riviera Sunday seeking to press ambitious commercial goals ahead of talks with France's Emmanuel Macron who is trying to forge a united European front to contend with Beijing's advances.

Xi arrived at the airport of the iconic resort city of Nice accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan to be welcomed by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and an honour guard.

Prior meeting with Macron Xi went to the nearby principality of Monaco, where he was received by Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene.

A Monaco government spokesman said bilateral talks would "address economic and environmental issues".

Xi, who has made establishing China as a global player central to his government, travelled from Italy, whose government became the first G7 state to sign up to his landmark new "Silk Road" infrastructure project, a massive undertaking to join Asia to Europe.

The project has raised eyebrows in Washington and in some EU capitals where critics say it will give China too much sway. Xi says it would be a two-way street of investment and trade.

Earlier, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas criticised Italy over its participation in the new Silk Road project.

"In a world with giants like China, Russia or our partners in the United States, we can only survive if we are united as the EU. And if some countries believe that they can do clever business with the Chinese, then they will be surprised when they wake up and find themselves dependant," Maas told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

"China is not a liberal democracy," he added.

Amid tight security, Xi and his wife were Sunday evening to join Macron and his wife for a private dinner at nearby Beaulieu-sur-Mer overlooking the Mediterranean during which they would have what a Chinese official termed "a deep exchange of views on Sino-French, Sino-European relations and international and issues of mutual interest."



Xi's official visit to Paris on Monday will mark 55 years since Charles de Gaulle established diplomatic relations with Beijing.

A series of cooperation deals on nuclear power, aerospace and clean energy initiatives, some involving lucrative contracts, are expected to be signed.

On Tuesday, Macron and Xi will be joined by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker to explore "points of convergence" ahead of an EU-China summit in Brussels next month.

But Xi's visit poses a particular challenge for Macron, who wants to deepen EU ties with China while also pushing back against Beijing's growing global clout.

Europe's distrust of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, which is poised to become the dominant player in next-generation 5G mobile technology worldwide, is emblematic of the increasingly rocky relationship.

Monaco, which notably is eyeing a share of Chinese luxury tourism and has its own foreign policy, only last year signed an accord with Huawei to make the principality the first country entirely covered by the company's 5G mobile network by year end.

Macron has lauded the EU's "awakening" to the challenges posed by China, which the bloc now labels a "rival" despite being Europe's biggest trading partner.

"The reality is that the world has changed significantly -- China is not the country it once was, and we are dealing with a very major partner," a Macron aide said ahead of Xi's visit.

The US is pressuring European allies to not use the Huawei technology, saying it creates a security risk by potentially letting Beijing snoop on sensitive communications. But France has not ruled out using Huawei gear.

Beijing has accused Washington of trying to escalate President Donald Trump's trade battle with China.

Despite the many sources of friction, France wants to engage China as a closer partner as Washington makes a pointed withdrawal from global affairs under Trump's "America First" policy.

For example, Macron may seek more Chinese support of the French-backed G5 Sahel force fighting Islamist extremists in Western Africa.

China has been investing heavily in a diplomatic offensive across Africa, promising to help build infrastructure projects as part of the new Silk Road initiative.

Aides say Macron will press Xi to ensure such projects are fair and explore the participation of French companies amid allegations the deals could load African countries with unsustainable debt.

"If we're going to talk about a new Silk Road, then it must be one that goes in both directions," French Finance Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told BFM television on Friday.

Macron is also expected to urge Xi to commit to the ambitious global bid to cut carbon emissions, even if China is still building dozens of coal-burning power plants.

France also plans to voice concerns about rights abuses against China's Uighur Muslim minority.

"China talks about defending multilateralism and humanity's common future to anyone wanting to listen, but the reality is very different," said Emmanuel Dubois de Prisque, a China expert with the Thomas More Institute in Paris.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron met for dinner in the south of France Sunday ahead of official talks with the host leader seeking to forge a united European front to contend with Beijing's advances.

Xi earlier arrived at the resort city of Nice accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan to be welcomed by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and an honour guard.

Prior to meeting with Macron, Xi went to the nearby principality of Monaco, where he was received by Prince Albert II and where a government spokesman said bilateral talks would "address economic and environmental issues".

Xi, who has made a priority of establishing China as a global player, travelled from Italy, whose government became the first G7 state to sign up to his landmark new "Silk Road" infrastructure project, a massive undertaking to join Asia to Europe.

Washington and some EU states fear the huge project will give China too much sway. But Xi says it would be a two-way street of investment and trade.

Germany criticised Rome over its participation in the new Silk Road project.

"In a world with giants like China, Russia or our partners in the United States, we can only survive if we are united as the EU. And if some countries believe that they can do clever business with the Chinese, then they will be surprised when they wake up and find themselves dependent," Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

The EU's German budget commissioner, Gunther Oettinger, told the Funke newspaper group that Europe should ensure it retains its autonomy and sovereignty when dealing with China.

He expressed concern that already "infrastructure of strategic importance ... is no longer in European but in Chinese hands.

French Finance Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian had remarked Friday that "Silk Road cooperation must go "in both directions." Amid tight security, the Chinese and French first couples enjoyed a private dinner at Beaulieu-sur-Mer, near Nice, overlooking the Mediterranean.

They were due to have what a Chinese official termed "a deep exchange of views on Sino-French, Sino-European relations and international and issues of mutual interest." Xi's official visit to Paris on Monday will mark 55 years since Charles de Gaulle established diplomatic relations with Beijing.

A series of cooperation deals on nuclear power, aerospace and clean energy initiatives, some involving lucrative contracts, are expected to be signed.

On Tuesday, Macron and Xi will be joined by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker to explore "points of convergence" ahead of an EU-China summit in Brussels next month.

As well as addressing commercial cooperation and strategic issues with Xi, Macron has also been urged to deal with the case of Chinese former Interpol head Meng Hongwei.

Meng's wife has had no of her husband since his arrest in China nearly six months ago and it emerged Sunday she has written to Marcon asking him to bring up his disappearance with Xi.

He is believed to be facing corruption charges.

But Xi's visit poses a particular challenge for Macron, who wants to deepen EU ties with China while also pushing back against Beijing's growing global clout.

Europe's distrust of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, which is poised to become the dominant player in next-generation 5G mobile technology worldwide, is emblematic of the increasingly rocky relationship.

Monaco, which notably is eyeing a share of Chinese luxury tourism and has its own foreign policy, only last year signed an accord with Huawei to make the principality the first country entirely covered by the company's 5G mobile network by year end.

Macron has lauded the EU's "awakening" to the challenges posed by China, which the bloc now labels a "rival" despite being Europe's biggest trading partner.

"The reality is that the world has changed significantly -- China is not the country it once was, and we are dealing with a very major partner," a Macron aide said ahead of Xi's visit.

The US is pressuring European allies to not use the Huawei technology, saying it creates a security risk by potentially letting Beijing snoop on sensitive communications. But France has not ruled out using Huawei gear.

Beijing has accused Washington of trying to escalate President Donald Trump's trade battle with China.

Despite the many sources of friction, France wants to engage China as a closer partner as Washington makes a pointed withdrawal from global affairs under Trump's "America First" policy.

For example, Macron may seek more Chinese support of the French-backed G5 Sahel force fighting Islamist extremists in Western Africa.

China has been investing heavily in a diplomatic offensive across Africa, promising to help build infrastructure projects as part of the new Silk Road initiative.

Aides say Macron will press Xi to ensure such projects are fair and explore the participation of French companies amid allegations the deals could load African countries with unsustainable debt.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Veteran actor Zeenat Aman will open one of the UK's longest-running South Asian film festivals in London next Wednesday with an in-conversation event celebrating her journey in the Indian cinema.

The 67-year-old actor, who has featured in some of the biggest blockbusters of Hindi cinema such as "Hare Rama Hare Krishna" and "Qurbani", will kick-start the annual UK Asian Film Festival, which is now in its 21st year.

The festival is set to showcase a range of films from South Asia in five cities across the UK Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leicester, London and Manchester until May 4.

Presented by non-profit organisation Tongues on Fire, the festival aims to champion the cause of feminist films by supporting pioneering female artistes and auteurs through this year's theme of revolution.

"This year's festival will present pertinent stories of the ordinary person told through films that address global challenges of our time," said festival director Pushpinder Chowdhry.

"Revolutions help define who we are; they can either bring glorious freedom to our inner thinking and outer aspects of our lives or restrain us by what we think is acceptable. Only then can we break the boundaries to realise our full potential and to navigate our way in the world," she added.

As part of exploring the concept of revolution through the South Asian cinema, the festival will take a look at the #MeToo movement gathering momentum in the Indian and Pakistani film industries and the decriminalisation of homosexuality and the repeal of Section 377 in India last year.

Other key aspects of this year's festival programme will be the world premiere of "Kaifinama", a documentary celebrating the life and works of Urdu poet Kaifi Azmi to mark his birth centenary.

His daughter, veteran actor Shabana Azmi, will address a session on the film at Glasgow Film Theatre and also conduct a masterclass in Leicester in early April.

Other key highlights include a series of world premieres and screenings of films from across the Indian subcontinent.

The festival's creative director, Samir Bhamra, revealed British Film Institute (BFI) is funding for a new young curators lab to promote South Asian cinema among future generations in the UK.

"As a tribute to our pioneering start, the BFI has awarded funds from the National Lottery to also enable the UK Asian Film Festival to establish a young curators lab to nurture a new generation of cinema audiences to appreciate and distinguish independent, South Asian films from all over the world," said Bhamra.

The winning film of the young curators lab will be screened as part of a youth gala, with a special awards nigh planned for April 7.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two days after Karnataka Transport Department revoked the licence of Ola, Priyank Kharge, the social welfare minister in the state, tweeted that app-based cab aggregator will run their business as usual from today.

"Ola cabs will run their business as usual from today. However there is an urgent need for policies to catch-up with new technologies & also industries too should work closer with Govt to help evolve policies for innovations," Priyank Kharge tweeted on Sunday.

Responding to a user complaint about state-wide ban on the Ola cabs, the Minister said that the decision to resolve the issue was made after a meeting with Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and his deputy G Parameshwara.

Have spoken to Sri. @CMofKarnataka & Sri @DrParameshwara & will have it resolved by tomorrow. Our Govt will maintain a healthy balance between investors, industries, consumers & welfare within the ambit of law. https://t.co/qPtfJhsMIq - Priyank Kharge (@PriyankKharge) March 22, 2019

"Our Govt will maintain a healthy balance between investors, industries, consumers and welfare within the ambit of law," the Minister said.

Also Read: Ola banned in Bengaluru: State govt open for talks with company over six-month ban

Earlier this week, Karnataka government had issued a notice to suspend Ola's licence for six months for violating government rules by running motorcycle taxis which are not allowed for safety reasons.

"Based on the report given by senior officials in the Regional Transport Office, the licence given to M/S Ani Technologies Pvt Ltd, Ola Cabs to operate taxis till June 19, 2021 has been suspended under The Karnataka on Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules, 2016," an order from the Karnataka Transport Department said.

Responding to the ban, Ola said that it is a law-abiding company. The statement by the cab-hailing service emphasised that it has always worked with the Government to develop livelihood, improve mobility, and enable a new technology industry.

Also Read: Ola loses licence in Karnataka for running bike taxis in Bengaluru

It is to be noted that Karnataka's capital and technology hub Bengaluru is among Ola's top three markets in India. Ola's permit, obtained in 2017 and valid to 2021, allows it to run three and four-wheeler taxis in the capital city of Karnataka as well Mysuru, Manglore and Hubli.

Edited by Chitranjan Kumar
BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav Sunday said the Congress might win an election in Pakistan if it contests from there as the opposition party is "banking on lies" and the neighbouring country.

Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Madhav also claimed that the statements of the Congress leaders are retweeted more by the people of Pakistan than their counterparts in India.

"Their comments are more retweeted and publicised by the people of the neighbouring country than our own. The Congress might win an election in Pakistan if it contests from there. This is the condition of our main opposition party," the BJP leader said.

"The Congress does not have any issue to really take on our government, our leader and our party. It is banking on lies and Pakistan," the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said.

Pointing out that the Congress is fighting a "clueless battle", Madhav said, "Nobody in the country is understanding what it wants to say and in which direction it wants to take the country. The people are also not understanding if the Congress is fighting for India or Pakistan."

Alleging that the Congress leaders are "doubting" the credentials of the Indian Army, the senior BJP leader said the opposition party was not only questioning the success of the BJP-led government, but also making "derogatory remarks" about the Army.

Also Read: Congress has insulted martyrdom of soldiers and put a question mark on national security, says Amit Shah

When asked about the allegation of former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa allegedly paying a bribe of Rs 1,800 crore to top BJP leaders, Madhav said, "It is bogus news...the Congress has no issue today to confront us and it is only banking on lies."

Madhav claimed that the allegation was based on a handwritten slip recovered from the house of a Congress leader which claimed that the Karnataka BJP leader had distributed the money.

"And when was it distributed? In 2011. Was Congress party sleeping then when they were in government? The slip was accessed from the house of a Congress leader," he added.

Ram Madhav brushed aside the possibility of the allegations of corruption levelled by the Congress and other opposition parties in the Rafale fighter jet deal, impacting the outcome of the upcoming polls.

"On the contrary, some good cartoons are being made on the Congress. All these negative campaigns of the Congress are useful for making good memes and cartoons in social media. Other than that, there is no impact on the public," he added.

The senior BJP leader claimed that a bigger "Modi wave" is prevailing in the entire country this time, in comparison to 2014.

"Conventional political wisdom says that a ruling party cannot create a wave. A wave is always created by the opposition. But Modi has broken convention many a times. The situation is such that a Modi wave has been formed when he himself is in power," he said.

Sounding confident that the BJP "alone" will get more seats than what it won in 2014, Madhav expressed hope that NDA alliance partners, mainly the Shiv Sena, the JD(U), partners in the Northeast, UP and the south, comprising almost 30 parties, would get a good number of seats.

"We will slowly move towards two-third majority this time," he added.

Taking a dig at Congress president Rahul Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Madhav said they were hearing only Modi slogans wherever they were going.

"We are taking Modi's leadership and the report card of his five-year tenure to the people.

"The people are very clear about the poll result, though it will be announced on May 23, that NDA under Narendra Modi is coming back to power again," he added.

Also Read: Lok Sabha Elections LIVE: Congress releases list of 10 candidates, Karti Chidambaram to contest from Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu
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The three U.S. airlines that own Boeing Co's 737 MAX are meeting the U.S. manufacturer this weekend to review a software upgrade for the jet that has suffered two fatal crashes in five months, officials from the airlines told Reuters. The meetings are a sign that Boeing's planned software patch is nearing completion, though it will still need regulatory approval.

Southwest Airlines Co, American Airlines and United Airlines operate 34, 24 and 14 MAX jets respectively. Southwest's delegation includes experts from its technical pilot and training teams who will review documentation and training associated with Boeing's updated speed trim system, spokeswoman Brandy King said on Friday.

Boeing 737 Max won't be allowed in Indian airspace; airlines brace for flight cancellations

Boeing 737 Max ban: Air fares rise over 100% as airlines face disruption in flight operations

Boeing's signature jet was grounded across the world last week following a deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash near Addis Ababa on March 10, just five months after a Lion Air crash in Indonesia. Ethiopian and French investigators have pointed to "clear similarities" between the two crashes, which killed 346 people, putting pressure on Boeing and U.S. regulators to come up with an adequate fix. The causes of the crashes are still unknown.

American pilots told Reuters on Thursday that they also plan to test Boeing's software upgrade this weekend in Renton, Washington, where Boeing makes the jets and has two simulators. United will also meet with Boeing in Renton on Saturday, spokesman Frank Benenati said.

Meanwhile, Southwest is preparing to begin moving on Saturday its entire MAX fleet to a facility in Victorville, California, at the southwestern edge of the Mojave Desert. "The planes being in one place will be more efficient for performing the repetitive maintenance necessary for stationary aircraft, as well as any future software enhancements that need to take place," King said.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration must approve Boeing's software changes as well as new pilot training, a process that could take weeks or longer. Regulators in Europe and Canada have said they will conduct their own reviews of any new systems. Boeing shares have fallen 14 percent since the Ethiopian crash, and every day that its jets are grounded comes at a cost both to the manufacturer and the airlines that purchased them for their more fuel-efficient engines and longer range.

Boeing 737 Max 8 ban: SpiceJet cancels 35 flights; sets up passenger complaint cell

US joins queue of nations grounding Boeing 737 Max jetliners
Lenders of Jet Airways are likely to pick up a substantial stake in the debt-laden airline till a new promoter is roped in, sources said. The process of getting a new promoter on board is likely to take another two to three months and once that happens, the banks would offload their stakes, they added. The State Bank of India-led consortium of lenders is working on a resolution plan for the cash-strapped Jet Airways for the last five months. The full service carrier has a debt burden of more than Rs 8,200 crore and needs to make repayments worth up to Rs 1,700 crore by March end.

Sources said lenders of Jet Airways might pick up a substantial stake in the airline, a move that would provide comfort in the interim period till new promoters come in. Current promoters of Jet Airways have to exit before a new investor can be roped in. The entry of new promoter is unlikely before two to three months, one of the sources said. The lenders would ultimately sell their stake in Jet Airways to the new promoters as and when they are roped in, they added.

Jet Airways crises: Airline now suspends services to 13 international routes till next month

Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal holds 51 per cent stake while Gulf carrier Etihad Airways has 24 per cent shareholding in the airline, which has been in operation for over 25 years. Earlier this week, SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar along with Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola and Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Nripendra Misra apprised Finance Minister Arun Jaitley about the developments at Jet Airways. The airline is flying just about a third of its fleet, defaulting on interest payments and delaying salaries to pilots.

The lenders are trying to revive the carrier by change in management as they feel collapse of the airline would not be good for consumers as well as competition in the industry. They have also decided against taking the airline through insolvency process. On Tuesday, Jet Airways' pilots' union threatened to stop flying from April 1 if their salaries were not paid by March 31. Earlier this week, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said there may be "further attrition" of flights "in coming weeks".

Jet Airways crises: Pilots urge PMO to 'save' them; say salary delay has forced them to pawn mothers' ornaments
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An expert on memory says ACT Policing should appeal to the public for witnesses or information as soon as possible after crimes are committed, rather than waiting months like in several recent cases. But police say they don't need to ask for public assistance in most cases, and sometimes it can take weeks or months to determine that they need to appeal for help because they don't have enough evidence for a prosecution. In the past six months, ACT Policing has regularly gone public with calls for witnesses or information several months after the incident under investigation took place. Opposition police and emergency services spokeswoman Giulia Jones questioned this practice during annual report hearings in November, after three delayed appeals for help including the release of CCTV from an aggravated robbery that was more than eight months old. "Why does it take 46, 180 or even 261 days to get information out to the public seeking their advice? Is this ideal?" Mrs Jones asked, referring to the time taken in the three examples. Since then, ACT Policing has waited 71 days to call for witnesses to the alleged assault of a bus driver, and 60 days to appeal for witnesses to another alleged assault in Manuka. Both appeals were made in late February and followed incidents in December last year. Dr Janie Busby Grant, a memory expert from the University of Canberra, said if police were appealing for information, they should do so as soon as possible to ensure they were getting reliable information. She said memories became less detailed and specific over time, and people might even fill in details that had faded with more generalised, inaccurate information. "Memory is reconstructed. Its not like a video, so when we recall something were essentially patching it together and recombining elements to actually recreate the memory," Dr Busby Grant said. "Over time, the details become harder to recall; they become less specific and you start slotting in things. "It might be things that happen or it might be things that youve heard. For example, if theyre asking about a robbery and youve heard or read about a robbery in that intervening period, it would be very easy to accidentally slot in what youve heard since back into that original memory." Dr Busby Grant said a person who regularly parked their car in the same place might remember parking it there on a day they didn't, simply because their memory told them it was normal to park in that place. Asked whether police should look to engage the public as soon as possible if they planned to call for witnesses or information on a specific case, she said there was "no better recommendation than that". "Basically, the closer to the event that it happens, the better," Dr Busby Grant said. "But eyewitness memories are dodgy right from the get-go. In general, eyewitness testimony isnt terribly reliable, even immediately after the event, and it gets worse from then on." An ACT Policing spokesman said officers prioritised the collection of evidence and canvassed the areas around crime scenes for potential witnesses. "As the investigation progresses and the circumstances are established, police may call for additional witnesses or information to support the investigation and ensure all possible avenues of evidence are explored," he said. "In the majority of criminal cases, no public call for witnesses or assistance is required. Evidence and information collected during the investigation is sufficient for a prosecution to occur. "However, in some cases, the information collected by the investigation (over weeks or months) may not be enough for a prosecution, so a call for additional witnesses or the release of CCTV footage may then be required." The spokesman said the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions also assessed and validated witness testimony and evidence in order to proceed to trial.

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More than 60 environmental, consumer and social justice organizations on Thursday delivered a petition to California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara seeking what is believed would be the first regulations in the nation requiring insurance companies to disclose the fossil fuel projects they insure.

The petition states in part: To ensure the solvency of the insurance industry and protect consumers in California, we request that you immediately initiate a rulemaking proceeding and promulgate emergency regulations to require all insurance companies licensed to conduct business in California to fully disclose: (1) all their investments in fossil fuel-related entities, and (2) all the fossil fuel-related companies and projects that they underwrite or otherwise insure.

The petition, which seeks to reach much further than several climate change-related mandates issued by former Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, was first outlined in a webcast a few weeks ago. During the webcast, activists laid out plans to beef up their pressure on the industry to stop investing in and insuring fossil fuel companies and projects.

Some of the same groups behind this new push have been behind pressuring the financial industry to get out of fossil. They were behind efforts to get the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund in 2015 to divest an estimated $8 billion from the coal sector, and more recently BNP Paribas Asset Management, became the last of more than 100 major financial institutions to divest from coal, a total of $1 billion in their case.

The groups drew broad attention to their new focus on the insurance industry in 2018 by protesting outside the National Association of Insurance Commissioners meeting in San Francisco in insurance industry mascot costumes, including Flo, Jake, and the Gecko, to call out the industry for its investments in fossil fuel assets and its coverage of companies and projects that produce carbon.

Insurance companies are supposed to be the last line of defense against calamitous weather events like hurricanes and fires, Annie Leonard, executive director, of Greenpeace, said in a statement. But by continuing to invest in fossil fuel companies and underwriting their operations the U.S. insurance industry appears to just blithely continue to throw fuel on the source of the problem. Unless they start taking decisive actions to ditch coal, oil and gas  as many of Europes largest insurers and reinsurers have doneU.S. insurers risk being flooded by increasing claims, litigation and public indignation.

If the groups are successful, California would be the first state in the nation to mandate disclosure of insurance companies fossil fuel underwriting.

The petition also asks Lara to expand disclosure of insurance companies fossil fuel-related investments. The California Department of Insurances Climate Risk Carbon Initiative currently requires disclosure of fossil fuel-related investments by insurance companies writing more than $100 million in premiums.

This excludes half of the insurance companies in California, the groups have noted.

Public interest organizations signing the petition include: California Environmental Justice Alliance; Center for Biological Diversity; Center for International Environmental Law; Coalition for Clean Air; Consumer Watchdog; Greenpeace; Rainforest Action Network; Sierra Club California; Sunrise Project; and Sustainable Energy & Economy Network.

(This article was previously published by Insurance Journal.)
The Missouri River floodwater surging on to the air base housing the U.S. militarys Strategic Command overwhelmed round-the-clock sandbagging by airmen and others. They had to scramble to save sensitive equipment, munitions and dozens of aircraft.

Days into the flooding, muddy water was still lapping at almost 80 flooded buildings at Nebraskas Offutt Air Force Base, some inundated by up to 7 feet (2.1 meters) of water. Piles of waterlogged corn cobs, husks and stalks lay heaped everywhere that the water had receded, swept onto the base from surrounding fields.

Retired naval officer predicts Omaha air base will be latest military installation to have $1 billion or more in flood damage.

Though the headquarters of Strategic Command, which plays a central role in detecting and striking at global threats, wasnt damaged, the flooding provided a dramatic example of how climate change poses a national security threat, even as the Trump administration plays down the issue.

It is also a reminder that the kind of weather extremes escalating with climate change arent limited to the coasts, said retired Rear Adm. David W. Titley, founder of both the Navys Task Force on Climate Change and the Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk at Penn State University.

We probably do need some wallsbut theyre probably levees, Titley said, in a reference to President Donald Trumps proposal to take money from the military construction budget to fund a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. I would say those are the kinds of walls we need.

The late-winter floods that have swept over Plains states starting last weekbreaching levees, halting Amtrak trains, and killing at least three peopleare also the second major inundation in less than a decade to hit the air base outside Omaha.

It would takes weeks or more for scientists to determine if the Plains flooding, or any weather disaster, was caused or worsened by climate change, which is occurring as emissions from coal, oil and gas alter the atmosphere. But federal agencies and scientists around the world agree that climate change already is making natural disasters more frequent, stronger and longer.

The military has warned in a series of reports under past administrations that climate change is a security threat on many fronts. That includes through direct impacts on U.S. military infrastructure and by affecting factors, including food and water availability, that can exacerbate conflict outside U.S. borders, the federal governments grim climate report said last year.

But Trump has belittled his own governments warnings. During a January cold spell, he tweeted his wish for a little of that good old fashioned Global Warming! In response to security warnings on climate change, the Trump administration has allowed a physicist who rejects scientific consensus on manmade climate change to start organizing a White House panel to make its own determination.

Responding to an AP inquiry, the White Houses National Security Council did not directly address whether the administration sees climate change as a national security threat, but said it takes the issue of climate change seriously.

But the Trump White Houses national security strategy mentions climate only in the context of countering an anti-growth energy agenda for fossil fuels.

Department of Defense spokeswoman Heather Babb said the department works to ensure installations and infrastructure are resilient to a wide range of challenges, including climate.

DOD will focus on ensuring it remains ready and able to adapt to a wide variety of threatsregardless of the sourceto fulfill our mission to deter war and ensure our nations security, Babb said.

Under the Trump administration, unlike in previous administrations, the Pentagon has offered little public comment on climate change as a security threat. The Pentagons guiding star of defense planning, known as the National Defense Strategy, does not even mention climate change.

That leaves it to former military leaders to raise the alarm about how climate change could affect national security. Retired Brig. Gen. Gerald Galloway said that worsening bouts of weather floods cutting off troops way in and out of bases, high waves complicating landings, heat waves depriving aircraft of the lift they need to flyare all problems the military could be dealing with.

Military bases are launch platforms and you cant fight a war unless youve got a place to leave from, said Galloway, a member of the Center for Climate and Securitys advisory board.

Titley predicted Offutt Air Force Base would prove the latest military installation to have racked up $1 billion or more in damage. Hurricanes struck North Carolinas Camp Lejeune in September and Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida in October.

The current political atmosphere discourages any big efforts building up base defenses against climate change, said Titley, who also served as chief operating officer of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Defense Department officials by and large know what they need to do, but its very hard for them to do. White House dynamics are the White House does not want to hear about it, he said.

The Pentagon is really between a rock and a hard spot here, Titley said.

Earlier heavy flooding at Offutt has prompted the base to start raising its levee by 2 feet this year, said Maj. Meghan M. Liemburg-Archer, spokeswoman for Strategic Command.

Sandbagging had held back 2011 floods at the base. The flooding that poured in starting March 15 was worse, Norton, the bases support group commander, said.

It was all hands on deck, Norton said. All through the night, we worked. It was thousands of people, in total, working to sandbag, move in huge Hesco barriers; a whole host of people clearing equipment out of facilities, moving munitions  even crews doing things like disconnecting power. It was a massive effort.

More than 30 aircraft were towed to higher ground or flown to other locations. Crews hauled out loads of equipment, engines and tools.

By Saturday, the flood had rolled over a third of the base, swamping more than 1.2 million square feet of buildings.

Though Strategic Command headquarters escaped flooding, it had to cut staff to a minimum as high water blocked roads. The command holds down a range of responsibilities, including global strike capacity, missile defense, nuclear operations and strategic deterrence.

Inundated buildings include the 55th Wing headquarters, the massive Bennie L. Davis Maintenance Facility and a building that houses the 55th Wings flight simulators.

About 3,000 feet of the bases 11,700-foot runway is submerged.

The good news is that no one on the base was injured, Norton said. We know how lucky we are.

Touring Offutt, the bases fire chief, Dave Eblin, kicked one of the soggy corn cobs strewn throughout the base. Asked whether there had been some type of fodder silo that ruptured nearby, Eblin just laughed.

No, it came in from the fields. Miles of corn fields around the base, he said, nudging at the cob underfoot. It clogs everything: engines, boat motors. Its everywhere.

(Knickmeyer and Burns reported from Washington. AP science reporter Seth Borenstein contributed, also from Washington.)

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Scientists cant, for the most part, prove that a given product caused a particular person to get cancer not the way you can prove, say, that a car with faulty brakes caused a fatal crash. And so when a federal jury in San Francisco District Court decided that the weed killer Roundup was a substantial factor in causing someone to get a type of cancer called non-Hodgkins lymphoma, they didnt actually have proof for the individual case. What they had was evidence that the product was a probable factor in the mans cancer, based on studies that follow large populations.

Of course science should be the deciding factor in such cases, but theres no sense in implying that scientists can do the impossible. What scientists and society at large have come to agree upon is that its reasonable to award people compensation if its more likely than not that they would have avoided the cancer if theyd been able to avoid the product in question. This latest verdict, announced last week, is the second in favor of a plaintiff who got cancer after using Roundup, made by Monsanto, which was recently acquired by Bayer. In the first case, the plaintiff was awarded $80 million.

Why cant scientists prove individual cancer cases?

Cancer epidemiologist Richard Stevens of the University of Connecticut explains using a seemingly straightforward example: cigarettes. Theres abundant evidence that they cause lung cancer. But some nonsmokers get lung cancer, and many smokers never do. This is because there are other factors at work in the determination of who gets cancer, including, some say, random copying errors in DNA.

There will always be a few smokers who would have gotten lung cancer regardless of their smoking habits. So scientists can say smoking causes cancer in the population at large, but cant say for sure that Uncle Joes lung cancer was caused by his smoking habit.

The same thing goes for ionizing radiation, which is a well-studied cause of cancer. There, scientists have the advantage of data gathered from the survivors of the Hiroshima bombing, which show the higher the exposure, the greater the cancer risk.

That means if an exposed worker from a nuclear weapons facility gets cancer, and shes worn a dosimeter to measure her exposure, its possible to calculate how likely it is that she would not have gotten cancer if not for the exposure.

But as Stevens says, once you do that analysis, youre left with the thorny issue of deciding how much probable causation should lead to compensation for plaintiffs. If its 99 percent likely that a product caused your cancer, its easy, but what if theres just a 10 percent chance that the product had anything to do with the disease? For most such cases, people have settled on 50 percent.

When scientists try to determine whats a potential carcinogen, they can also use evidence from basic biology does the substance damage DNA in a test tube?as well as evidence from animal studies. It was a mix of these kinds of evidence that led the International Agency for Research on Cancer (part of the World Health Organization) to declare Roundup a probable human carcinogen in 2015. Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has deemed the herbicide most likely not a carcinogen.

A new paper combining different human studies was published in the February issue of the journal Mutation Research. The authors concluded that overall, in accordance with evidence from animal experiments and mechanistic studies, our current meta-analysis  suggests a compelling link between exposure to GBHs [the active ingredient in Roundup] and non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.

On the face of it, this new study looks quite good, said UCLA statistician and epidemiologist Sander Greenland, who corresponded with me by email. As for cause and effect, there is no consistent definition in law or science. In both arenas, people usually define cause as a counterfactual statement: Both reduce to saying X caused Y if Y would not have occurred if X had not acted or occurred.

But for cases like the current Roundup trial, Greenland said, such counterfactuals cannot be established for individuals, so both law and science have to fall back on probabilities of causation, and there, things get so complicated that both jurists and scientists make huge blunders in connecting this concept to real data.

To illustrate how, he sent several articles hes co-written, including this one in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. There, he cautioned that the current system for estimating probable cause could grossly underestimate the number of people affected.

Thats because theres an underlying assumption that someone was either going to get cancer or not. But in reality, a person exposed to radiation might have gotten cancer at 70 with no exposure, but instead gets sick at 66. Radiation, and other carcinogens, might accelerate cancer and thus rob people of healthy, productive years. He suggests that scientists calculate average years of lost life to determine compensation.

That deserves a closer look, because it could produce a fairer system of compensation and could avoid the problem of using the language of proof to describe probabilities. According to the New York Times, about 11,200 other people are also suing Monsanto over Roundup, so there will be plenty of opportunity to improve the way science is used in a courtroom and the way its communicated.

Faye Flam is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. She has written for the Economist, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Psychology Today, Science and other publications. She has a degree in geophysics from the California Institute of Technology.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.
Roughly seven of 10 companies in the United States, if not around the globe, use some form of pay-for-performance compensation system: bonuses, commissions, piece rates, profit sharing, individual and team goal achievements, and so on.

But does such an incentivized workplace create a negative effect on the mental-health wellness of those workers?

In the first big-data study combining objective medical and compensation records with demographics, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and Aarhus University in Denmark discovered once a company switches to a pay-for-performance process, the number of employees using anxiety and depression medication increased by 5.7 percent over an existing base rate of 5.2 percent.

And the actual number of affected employees is almost certainly much higher, said co-author Lamar Pierce, professor of organization & strategy and associate dean for the Olin-Brookings Partnership at Olin Business School.

This is the tip of the iceberg, and we dont know how deep that iceberg goes beneath, said Pierce, who has focused much of his Olin research on productivity, wellness and pay systems in organizations. If you believe that the generation of significant depression and anxiety requiring medication represents a much broader shift in overall mental health, its probably a much bigger effect in terms of people.

While also finding damaging impacts on women and those over age 50 when a company changes to a pay-for-performance workplace, the key conclusion of the study, recently published online by the Academy Academy of Management Discoveries Management Discoveries, concentrated on the workers prescribed benzodiazepines such as Xanax or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as Zoloft.

What this study shows is that pay policies have broader health and wellness implications.

Six-percent increase for workers on medications may be tip of iceberg, researchers say

The co-authors said theres no way to estimate, from this dataset, the overall cost a business absorbs from such issues.

But these types of mental health problems are incredibly costly to both the individual and firm, Pierce said. If this is reflective of a broader increase in stress and depression in employees, the costs are very high.

Three critical findings of the study that encompasses Danish workers ages 18 to 65 over a 1996-2006 period, involve:

Medication usage: Projecting the Danish data to U.S. companies, this would mean 100,000 more American prescriptions for pay-for-performance workers every year.

The study also revealed that workers taking benzos or SSRIs had a 5-9 percentage increased likelihood to exit that company in a given year, regardless of gender or age.

Attrition based on mental health: While the data didnt directly show workers reasons for leaving, the researchers observed a trend where women more often than men chose to depart these companies making the change to pay for performance.

Women were more likely to leave a job when it was likely to hurt their mental healthwhile the men stayed even in the face of similar problems, Pierce said.

Individual differences: The overriding differential the researchers found, though, was age.

Basically, older workers seem to be driving all of this effect, Pierce said. One, its harder for them to move, so they have less labor mobility. And, two, they have less flexibility: learning new roles, adapting to change, they have more fully-formed preferences at this point 

The increase in benzos and SSRIs prescriptions comes almost all among the older workers, Pierce said. For workers ages 50 and over, its almost doublean 8.9 percentage increase over the base rate.

Pierce concluded: What this study shows is that pay policies have broader health and wellness implications.

Funding for the study came from Statistics Denmark. Copies of the full study can be obtained via pierce@wustl.edu.

Source: Washington University in St. Louis
The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now.

Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market.

In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender.

India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex.

Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted.

But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted?

Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner.

If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems.

I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now.

I want more variation in masturbation

I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own.

If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end.

What is sex toys for Indian?

Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation.

It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms.

They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable.

Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner.

The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner.

It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past.

In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping.

Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order.

In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing.

Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome.

Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own.

But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance.

More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around.

Sextoy situation in India

Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years.

In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India.

Mumbai

Kolkata

Bangalore

Delhi

Chennai

Hyderabad

These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India.

In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well.

If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too.

If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it.

What are Sextoys for beginner?

Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms.

Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy.

I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion.

I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy.

If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma.

Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it.

Advantages of using sextoy for Indians

There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians

You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways.

Can have stimulating sex

Can develop new sexual zones

If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern.

However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways.

You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation.

Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever.

There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure.

This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it.

When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems.

It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms).

For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles

[Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou...

Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India.

Sextoy for beginner men in India

So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners.

For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men!

The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men

Masturbator

Cock rings

Love Doll

Sex Lubricants

Toys for the prostate

Lets check each one in detail.

Masturbator

The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products.

It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands.

Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands.

They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.)

Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much.

Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! !

Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa   SEXToys India PR  (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018

Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood.

If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here

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Cock Ring

A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis.

It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow.

It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber.

In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection.

Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction.

It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it.

Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time.

Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function.

Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy.

You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect.

[Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat...

Love Doll

Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex.

There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women.

Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price.

The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true.

You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste.

There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice.

You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls.

If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here

Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to...

Sex lubricants

Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules.

It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution.

Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse.

There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent.

Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent.

If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here.

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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.

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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.
Avery Duff, author, screenwriter, lawyer and all-around great guy, died January 21, 2019 in the Los Angeles area, where he had made his home for the last 36 years. The cause was an unusually virulent cancer and his ordeal was brief. He was 68.

Born in Chattanooga to the late Frank F. and Beck Avery Duff, he had a remarkably bright mind. He graduated from The Bright School, skipping the first grade, in part because his older brother, Frank, helped him memorize the See Dick Run books that all children of his generation cut their reading teeth on. He graduated from The Baylor School at age 16, went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was Phi Beta Kappa in his junior year. From there he entered Georgetown University School of Law, returned to Chattanooga, where he joined the law firm Witt Gaither Whitaker and was later made a partner.

But the law was not Averys calling. It served as an intellectual outlet, but not a practical one. Out his fascination for the cinema and his desire to execute a complete 180, he moved to Los Angeles and enrolled in screen writing school in early 1983. He wrote and directed numerous, small distribution films until co-writing the enormously popular big-screen hit, Takers, in 2010. It remains one the most notable heist films of this century.

Well traveled in his younger days, he grew increasingly impatient with the hassles in his older years, surprising all his friends when he announced an extended trip to Thailand. He spent six months in Bangkok, absorbing all the exotic customs and flavors and attending Thai language school, which he described as very difficult.



Always working on a book or screen play, Avery later amazed all upon his return to the states revealing that he had engaged an agent and sold the first manuscript in what would become the Beach Lawyer franchise, that will conclude this summer with the publication of the third book, The Boardwalk Option, posthumously. The books are published by Amazon, the largest publishing house in the world and the first two, Beach Lawyer and Boardwalk Trust were listed on the companys bestseller list. In an email to his East coast agent, Avery noted in the Spring 2017, Its still sinking in that Im not beating my head against the wall as a writer because you believed in my material and me. To be a published author at age 65 was a heady experience.

In addition to having a well-honed brain, Avery was razor sharp, clever and funny. He devised nicknames for all his family and friends. There were Junebug, Pink, Cooch, Daggy, Mule, Buster, Big Foot, the Kid and so on. He loved devising fictitious escapades in which these characters battled an evil force or a favorite dog became a famous economist. At times, talking with Avery was like journeying to a wonderful, make believe paradise where it was always like living in a parallel universe inside an epic Marvel comic book.



Avery had a secret side few knew about. He truly loved great causes. In his younger years in Chattanooga, he was, like several of his contemporaries, a founding member of Landmarks, a non-profit in the 1970s and early 1980s that fought to preserve older buildings and homes in the downtown and Fort Wood areas. He took the commitment a step further. While his like minded friends bought homes on Missionary Ridge and in St. Elmo, he bought homes in endangered Fort Wood, and was a pioneer of sorts in preservation. In the last years of his life, Avery took a keen interest in the Union Rescue Mission of Los Angeles, its oldest and largest emergency shelter that has served people experiencing homelessness since 1891. In his will, he bequeathed a important gift to the agency, once again emphasizing the seriousness of home and history to him.



He is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Frank and Libby Duff, Chattanooga; his sister and brother-in-law, Elizabeth and John Woods, Rye, New York; nephews and nieces, Hamilton Duff, Santa Cruz, CA; Reis and Lizzie Duff Costa, Chattanooga; Avery and Emily Woods, Kate Woods, New York, and Abby Woods, Rye, New York.



Memorial contributions may be made to the Duff Family Scholarship at The Baylor School, 171 Baylor School Road, Chattanooga, TN, 37405, the Union Rescue Mission, 545 S. San Pedro St., Los Angeles, CA, 90013 or a charity of your choice.



A celebration of Averys life will be held here in the near future.


The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution approved the nomination by the Judge David Campbell Chapter the Woman in American History award to the late Rosalind Ewing Martin.

According to the NSDAR website, the Women in American History award is given to a woman past and present with an emphasis of Women in American History.

The Judge David Campbell Chapter nominated Rosalind Ewing Martin as she was the chapter's past chapter regent and state regent.

Rosalind Ewing was born on July 28, 1894, to Henry Overton and Minnie Chamberlain Ewing of Lookout Mountain. In 1918, and prior to their marriage, Cyrus Martin served in Company B 321st Machine Gun Battalion, Detachment, 82nd Division, as a 2nd Lieutenant. She married Cyrus Griffin Martin in 1925 when they were both 30.



Mrs. Martins initial endeavor in volunteerism began with the chartering of the Chattanooga Chapter of the American Red Cross on June 2, 1917, into which she became immediately involved. Her main job during WWI was to staff the Railroad Canteen. She also rolled yards and yards of bandages and surgical dressing which went to Washington, D.C. for inspection before being sent overseas.

Another duty as a Red Cross volunteer was to watch the procession of soldiers escorting their comrades who died of the flu at Fort Oglethorpe to the train station. The Red Cross volunteers could hear the dirge of the funeral march as soldiers escorted the corpses to the train station. A short service was held before loading the body on the train. As the soldiers left to march back to Georgia, she recalled that the band would strike up a ragtime tune to lift the returning soldiers spirits. The epidemic was so bad that the undertaker had to call in help and so the Red Cross took on the task of providing food to the funeral workers to keep them going.

Mrs. Martin joined DAR on Oct. 17, 1918 and her national number was 141726. The following year she was a delegate to Continental Congress for the Judge David Campbell Chapter.

During her lifetime, Mrs. Martin served as chapter regent for five terms, each of which were single-year terms, covering the years of 1921-1925. Her final regency was 42 years later in 1967-68, again a single year term. Mrs. Martin was elected as TN state vice regent in 1945 but, in 1946 assumed the duties of state regent, completing the term of Mrs. Albert Lyons Craig, who died of acute cardiac failure during an operation on July 30, 1946. In Mrs. Martins report to the state conference that fall, she states, In many ways this is a most unusual administration, because first we are working under wartime restriction, second that perhaps I am the first regent, and I sincerely hope the only regent who will serve the second year without election but ruling of the National Society. (History of the Tennessee Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, 1990)

While state regent, and attending Continental Conference, she held an all day, informal reception in the Tennessee Room where the portrait of Andrew Jackson by Ralph Eleaser Whiteside Earl hung. This portrait, a gift of Mrs. Martin in February 1941, still graces the wall of the Tennessee State Room.

During her regency from 1921-1925 of the Judge David Campbell Chapter she presented the DAR Library a copy Goodspeeds History of East Tennessee, published in 1887, which contained the histories of 30 counties. In 1923, Miss Ewing headed the effort to pack boxes for immigrant women at Ellis Island. The boxes were filled with items such as material for sewing, needles, silk and wool for knitting and crocheting. These boxes were to be used to teach so that the women at Ellis Island could pass the hours while waiting at the immigration port for the privilege of entering the United States. (Chapter minutes, October 12, 1923.)

A series of newspaper articles from May to June, 1924, chronicles the chapters quest to place a bronze marker on the grave of Judge David Campbell. Although the chapter located and planned to mark the grave of Judge (Major) David Campbell in Rhea County during her term, the marking did not occur until July 4, 1925. In 1926, the chapter recognized the need for the out-of-publication Ramsays Annul to be reprinted. Mrs. Martin was placed in charge of the arranging the reprint and within one month the decision to proceed was made. This was mainly due to the full report provided by Mrs. Martin. A budget was set for $25 to be spent on circulars and advertising. Fifteen hundred copies were ordered and, although, initial sales were strong with orders being received daily and over 600 books sold during the first year, when the Great Depression hit, sales waned. It would take until 1941 for the chapter to break even with sales of 1,000 books.

During the intervening years of 1929 to 1935, she served on various committees and as delegate to both the state convention and Continental Congress. She served on numerous chapter committees. Because of her love for the library, having given numerous books to the Chattanooga Library, local school libraries, and the DAR Library, was bestowed the honorary title of Librarian for Life by the chapter.

In 1939, Mrs. Martin served as hostess at the luncheon for the Judge David Campbell chapter meeting. In 1940, the four Chattanooga chapters of the DAR endorsed Mrs. Martin for candidacy as state regent. However at the election, Mrs. William Lambert was elected as state regent.

With the war just around the corner, Mrs. Martins volunteerism did not stop with the DAR. At the February 1941 meeting, Mrs. Martin made a plea for Bundles for Britain. These were donations to the Mothers Kitchen, yarn for knitting, and articles of childrens clothes. The treasurers report from March 13 to April 10, 1941 shows distributions to be $10 and chapter donations of $36 for the Bundles for Britain fund. Mrs. Martin offered a plea for furnishing for the soldiers center to include tables, floor lamps, ash trays, pictures, mirrors, books, magazine and out-of-town newspapers. She also asked for donations for the recreational room for the Army post in Ft. Oglethorpe. At this time she was serving as a representative of both the chapter and on the American Legions Auxiliary for the meeting to consider plans for the recreational room.

In October 1941, a news article Speaking of Knitting - Mrs. Martin Does 196 Sweaters in Less Than a Year, covered her remarkable service in defense activity for the Red Cross at the beginning of World War II. Her prowess in knitting was commended. During that year she produced 12 pairs of socks, 18 caps and 19 pairs of mittens, in addition to the sweaters. She said that it was not done in single sittings but by carrying her knitting everywhere she went and doing a few stitches now and then. That fall, in October, Mrs. Martin was elected to head the Cookie Project which kept two cookie jars filled for soldiers at the Service Mens Club in the Memorial Auditorium. This project was the effort of patriotic groups, including the local DAR chapters, which shared the responsibility of filling the jars. Over the next four years, she was one of four blood bank chairmen from the DAR to the American Red Cross. She also solicited money to help establish Chattanoogas first blood plasma bank.

In 1945, Mrs. Martin was elected as vice regent for the TSDAR, but was appointed as regent upon the death of Mrs. Albert Lyons Craig. The State History gives a brief review of her time as regent with one of the most notable things accomplished was visiting 23 of the 63 chapters when the country transitioned from a war footing.

In 1947, Mrs. Martin was named Woman of Year by the Curling Ironers Club. A list of Mrs. Martins endeavors in public service was given. At that time, she was TN DAR state regent, vice chairman of the National Defense committee of the NSDAR, a regent of the Magna Charter Dames, the past president of Kosmos Womans Club, vice president of the board of directors at the Chattanooga Library, and a member of the American Library Association. The article also included that she was the past president of the Chattanooga Writers Club; the Summers-Whitehead Unit, American Legion Auxiliary; Gen. A.P. Stewart Chapter, UDC; and the Volunteer Chapter, US Daughters of 1812, of which she was serving as the national recording secretary. In addition to these organizations, Mrs. Martin was the state president of the Chattanooga Committee of Colonial Dames and had held office in the Daughters of American Colonist and the Little Miss Mag Day Nursery. Additionally, she was a member of the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants and the Daughters of Barons of Runnymemde. Mrs. Martin was also cited in the same article as sponsoring the idea of raising funds for a local blood bank; promoting the Buddy Bag projects; serving as Red Cross Motor Corps chairman; staff assistant; assistant chairman of knitting, and as chairman of three zones in residential districts during Red Cross drives. Also in that year, Mrs. Martin was appointed as the national chairman of the National Defense committee.

In 1956, Mrs. Martin served as co-chair for the Armed Forces Day parade. She also attended Continental Congress where she rose to defend the McCarran-Walker Immigration and Nationality Act. When the Act passed in 1952, it was vetoed by President Truman, but Congress overrode his veto. Even in 1956, it was still under contention. The act did little to control immigration, but was hailed by supporters as a necessary step in preventing communist subversion in the United States, while opponents decried the legislation as being xenophobic and discriminatory. The bill also removed previously established racial barriers and provide much more strenuous screening of potential immigrants.

Mrs. Martin Blasts at UN appeared in the Chattanooga Times on April 18, 1958. While a delegate at Continental Congress, Mrs. Martin called for withdrawal from the UN by the US. Although other delegates to Congress counter her argument, the President General, Mrs. Fredric A. Groves, called for a vote and the UN withdrawal became national policy for the 186,000-member patriotic organization.

In February 1959, Mrs. Martin attended the groundbreaking ceremony for a new annex to the Old Ladies Home, now called Oak Manor. The new section would be named honoring her many years of service in the Old Ladies Home Association, including her service as president and vice president of the association.

In April 1959, Mrs. Martin was the chairman for the President Generals reception at the 54th State Conference held in the Chattanooga area.

In 1967, Mrs. Martin was elected as regent of the Judge David Campbell for a fifth time. The state conference was held in Chattanooga during her tenure as regent.

Mrs. Martin continued her service with Judge David Campbell Chapter and various other patriotic and service organization until her death on Feb. 12, 1983. She was a DAR member for over 66 years. She is interned at Forest Grove Cemetery, 4016 Tennessee Ave, Chattanooga, TN 37409, plot: Section K 128 S280. Mr. and Mrs. Martin had two children, Cyrus Griffin Martin, Jr. (deceased), and Mary Ewing (Martin) Tucker.

(References not cited in the article include newspaper clipping from the Chattanooga newspapers, the Washington Post, Washington, DC, from our Chapter Scrapbooks, 1919-1988.)

Initially prepared for New Horizon/Bridge Course, 2018; rewritten for Grave marking, 2018








Amy Schumers Growing recently premiered on Netflix. The special dives into how the comedians life has changed since meeting the love of her life, getting married, and becoming pregnant (at the same time as the worst woman in the world to be pregnant with, no less: Meghan Markle).



Though everything in her life may look different from the outside, Schumers still the same ol Amy, filled with fire and unapologetically herself. Only, this time around, shes talking about avoiding sex with her husband and not the UTI-inducing conquests of yesteryear.



Amy Schumer | Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Amy Schumers difficult pregnancy



This pregnancy has not been an easy one for Schumer. In Growing, she jokes with the audience that they probably didnt know for sure if shed even show up since shes been so in and out of the hospital as of late.



On Instagram, Schumers been open about her condition. She suffers from hyperemesis, which makes her feel constantly nauseated. She throws up pretty much every time she has to ride in a vehicle.



In a recent interview with The New York Times, Schumer called the special the most difficult challenge of her career.



On top of her condition, Schumer doesnt exactly have the schedule of your average pregnant woman. Shes been on tour for Growing and still attends dive bars to work through new material.



In Growing, she talks about how everyones been saying shes strong to be keeping up with such a hectic schedule in the midst of her pregnancy. But she jokes the only reason she shows up at all is that shes contractually obligated to.



Jokes aside, though, Schumer has always possessed a gritty sense of drive. The New York Times reports that, in the middle of her latest tour, she contacted Saturday Night Live herself to see if there was an open host slot available. There was not.



Despite her hellish pregnancy, Schumer says that she and her husband are so, so excited to welcome their baby. She once thought that fame would bring her transcendent happiness. That didnt happen, but she thinks this baby will.



Young me thought [fame] would bring some other level of joy, she told TNYT. I think I will experience that with a baby. But other than that, it doesnt exist.



Facing the criticism



Schumers comedy has been polarizing since early on in her career. Shes faced criticism from both the left and right, and all the scrutiny finally started to get to the comedian whod made a career out of not caring.



She told TNYT that she asks the camera operators who work on her shows to send her footage of the audience laughing at her material.



Its a good thing to be reminded, she said.



She even began to retreat from the public, for a time, until a conversation with Dave Chappelle at a Cleveland Cavaliers game changed her outlook.



I was kind of retreating a bit in general after years of getting beaten down, and Chappelle was like: Theres a lot of love out there for you, Amy. I dont know why, but I heard it, she told TNYT.



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Dora the Explorer is growing up! The Dora and the Lost City of Gold trailer was recently released and people have a lot of questions about the live-action spin on the old Nickelodeon favorite.

Dora and the Lost City of Gold trailer announced at Kids Choice Awards | VALERIE MACON/AFP/Getty Images

Dora is a teenager now

Those who were expecting the live-action Dora the Explorer movie to be exactly like the TV series might have been a bit surprised that this isnt about the character as they remembered.

The Dora and the Lost City of Gold trailer, which dropped during the Kids Choice Awards, shows a new chapter for the character. Not only is she grown up, but shes about to embark on a huge new adventure: leaving the jungle and going to high school in the city.

Ah, high school, the ultimate adventure.

Who is playing Dora the Explorer?

Isabela Moner, who stars as Dora the Explorer, isnt a newcomer to the scene. You might have also seen Moner as CJ Martin on the Nickelodeon television series 100 Things to Do Before High School or in the Nickelodeon Original Movies Splitting Adam or Legends of the Hidden Temple.

Shes also appeared in the movies Transformers: The Last Knight, Sicario: Day of the Soldado, and most recently in the 2018 film Instant Family, starring Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne.

Diego and Boots are part of the adventure

No worries, Dora will have a friend in high school  her cousin, Diego. As you know, Dora had her trusty sidekick Boots along for all of her travels on the animated series and he makes an appearance as well.

Boots will be voiced by Danny Trejo, of Machete Kills fame, though in the trailer the monkey doesnt speak. Everyone is super interested in how Trejos voice is going to fit the slightly creepy CGI Boots. Trejo tweeted ahead of the trailers release: The rumors are true, I finally can tell you I am a monkey .. . Boots!!!

The exploring definitely kicks it up a notch

People are comparing Dora to Tomb Raiders Lara Croft and Indiana Jones and with good reason  shes thrown into a situation that is filled with excitement and shes definitely prepared for the journey, with her quirky purple backpack containing all the tools and weapons shell need to survive.

The synopses for Dora and the Lost City of Gold explains :

Having spent most of her life exploring the jungle with her parents, nothing could prepare Dora (Isabela Moner) for her most dangerous adventure ever  High School. Always the explorer, Dora quickly finds herself leading Boots (her best friend, a monkey), Diego (Jeffrey Wahlberg), a mysterious jungle inhabitant (Eugenio Derbez), and a rag tag group of teens on a live-action adventure to save her parents (Eva Longoria, Michael Pena) and solve the impossible mystery behind a lost city of gold.

Dora never once says Swiper no Swiping in the new #doratheexplorer trailer. I am thoroughly disappointed.  KoKo (@dbrouchelle) March 24, 2019

Wheres Swiper?

One of the constants of the Dora the Explorer animated series was Swiper, a villainous fox who would sneakily steal or try to steal items from Dora. She thwarted his attempts by saying Swiper, no swiping three times, which somehow did the trick with the fox snapping his fingers and, defeated, muttering, oh, man!

If she didnt get to the third chant of Swiper, no swiping, he would swipe the item and tell her youre too late, youl never find it now.

Those watching the Dora and the Lost City of Gold trailer were surprised that Swiper wasnt shown, but fear not  Swiper will be in the movie. In a surprising casting twist, the character will be voiced by Benicio del Toro.

Everyone thought that the Dora the Explorer movie was fake. Jokes on you. Its real and its really happening. Wheres the talking map tho? And why isnt Boots wearing BOOTS?!?  stevenn (@xst3venx) March 24, 2019

People are freaking out about this tiny detail

After watching the trailer, people understandably had some questions, with many people noticing one small detail thats missing: Boots isnt wearing his signature red boots!

While thats all enough to make people lose their minds a bit, there have also been questions swirling about the absence of Doras singing map and why her backpack doesnt talk.

Dora and the Lost City of Gold lands in theaters on August 2.
It seems like Prince William and Kate Middleton are a match made in heaven! The future king and his wife look at each other lovingly, and it is difficult to remember a time when they werent together.

From the moment the prince first laid eyes on his future wife at the University of Saint Andrews until their magical wedding, everyone knew they were a perfect fit. So, how was it that Prince William knew that Kate Middleton was the one?

They first met at college

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge first met in the early 2000s when they were students at the University of Saint Andrews in Scotland. Many people dont realize that Kate actually had a different boyfriend at the time. She caught the princes attention when she modeled a sheer dress in a fashion show, and William expressed his attraction.

The two would go on to be friends, then roommates, before finally taking their relationship to the next level.

Dating a prince is difficult

The pair had been together for several years in 2007. While being the girlfriend of Englands future king sounds like a fairy tale for most, it actually wasnt easy for Kate. She began to be harassed by photographers who followed her every move, and it took its toll on her. Prince William knew that the relationship wasnt easy on Kate, and there were times when he feared for her safety.

Ultimately, it was William who ended the relationship with Kate by calling her on the telephone and explaining how he felt that he wasnt putting her in a fair position.

William and Kates time apart

Cambridges Duke and duchess Prince William and Kate Middleton | Geoffroy Van der Hasselt/NurPhoto

Although the breakup was hard on them both, they would each go on to look back at the time as a growing and learning period. During their breakup, a devastated Kate headed to Ireland to sort out her feelings, while William spent time in Anglesey, working as a rescue pilot.

He had actually discussed his feelings with both his father, Prince Charles, and his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth. They both told him that they felt it was a good idea to take some space if that is what he felt he needed.

Kate partied it up in London

After returning to England, Kate spent time trying to get over William. At that point, she didnt know if they would be getting back together or not, and she was often seen out and about in the city with close friends, and her sister, Pippa.

William was also spending time with friends, and the two even tried dating other people. What a relief it is that it never worked out for either of them with anyone else, just one more sign that William and Kate were absolutely meant to be!

Kate and William realized that they wanted to be together

Perhaps a brief split was just what the doctor ordered because it made William realize just how much he loved Kate and that he missed her and wanted to rekindle their romance. Kate obviously agreed, since apparently she never wanted to break up in the first place.

The pair reconciled and got their relationship right back on track, much to the delight of the entire world who had been rooting for them all along.

A royal engagement

Over the next few years, William and Kates relationship continued to grow and get more serious. Everyone was eagerly awaiting an engagement announcement, with the media even dubbing Kate Waity Katie, since she had been waiting so long for a marriage proposal!

Finally, in 2011, Kate began sporting that famous diamond and sapphire ring on her left hand. A wedding soon followed, and the couple officially became the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!
By Trend





n March 23, a delegation of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan that is on an official visit to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan watched a military parade dedicated to the National Day of Pakistan.

Minister of Defense Colonel General Zakir Hasanov took part in the parade as a distinguished guest.

Our country has been represented by the parade squad of the Azerbaijan Army in a military parade held with the participation of representatives of the armed forces of many states.




Most people who believe in Steven Averys innocence without question are missing part of the story. When Making a Murderer debuted on Netflix in 2015, fans were outraged by the idea that an innocent man may be in prison for a crime he didnt commit. Considering all the details of the documentary, it appeared that Steven Avery was wrongly accused.

Then, little by little, more facts came to light that the documentary makers intentionally left out. We learned that Steven Avery may have been obsessed with murdered photographer Teresa Halbach. Then there was that whole incident when Avery set the family cat on fire just for fun. Just like that, fans of Steven Avery started to question if he really committed murder after all.

Years later, there are still some people who think Steven Avery is innocent of wrongdoing. His biggest advocate? Averys new lawyer, Kathleen Zellner. Read on to find out why shes convinced hes innocent  and why shell stop at nothing to get him out of jail.

Kathleen Zellner | Making a Murderer Part 2 via YouTube

Kathleen Zellner chose to represent Steven Avery

Shes no court -appointed attorney  Kathleen Zellner willingly chose Steven Avery as her client because she wanted to. She picked him as a client because of her history with wrongful conviction advocacy.

Like everyone else who heard about Steven Avery and the Halbach murder, the attorney had her suspicions about how the case was handled. But after poring over the details, she became even more convinced that Steven Avery was serving a sentence he didnt deserve.

Zellner says in the documentary Making a Murderer Part 2: The deeper we dig into the Avery conviction, the more evidence we uncover of his innocence. It does not matter how long it takes, what it costs or what obstacles we have to overcome  our efforts to win Mr. Averys freedom will never stop.

In the first episode on the series, Zellner warns felons that if they hiring her is a mistake for the guilty. She says shes better than a prosecutor at discovering the truth. But if youre innocent? Then Zellner could be the answer to getting out of prison.

Why does Kathleen Zellner believe Steven Avery is innocent?

The mishandling of evidence by the Manitowoc County Sherriffs department is a huge part of the reason why so many fans of the show think Steven Avery is innocent. Its also a deciding factor for Kathleen Zellner.

One of the key pieces of evidence that Zellner presents has to do with the bone fragments found on the Avery property. This was a major component of the prosecutions case  but Zellner says it could be a huge mistake.

As Steven Averys attorney, Zellner filed a motion to have bone fragments found in a nearby quarry tested for DNA. If the bones matched those found on the Avery property, it would prove that they could have been moved later, which may mean Teresa Halbachs body was somewhere else first.

Unfortunately, the state released all bone fragments to the Halbach family without giving notice to Averys family, which is a violation of Wisconsin law.

Bone fragments | Making a Murderer Part 2 via YouTube

But their error could mean the beginning steps of Steven Avery getting a new trial and  if all goes to plan  having his guilty conviction overturned in 2019.

We believe Mr Avery will be granted a new trial for this serious violation of both Wisconsin and federal law, Zellner said upon the appellate court granting the motion to review the case.

Does Steven Avery believe Kathleen Zellner will get him out of prison?

Steven Avery | True Crime Daily via Youtube

How does Steven Avery feel about all this? Sounds like its all pretty positive. As he said himself, Zellner is, the best lawyer that Ive ever seen. His perception comes from her success at freeing 19 wrongfully convicted prisoners. Now with Avery as a client, Kathleen Zellner has her work cut out for her.

But it sounds like shes up to the challenge. Well see how this all plays out for the rest of 2019.
The Netflix teen rom-com To All the Boys Ive Loved Before, based on the book of the same name, was a massive success, to say the least. The streaming service was so pleased with how well it did that it almost immediately gave the green light for a sequel. It took a few months, but we finally have some information about the movie, including a surprising change from the first.



Filming has started



i cant wait to see ya https://t.co/yGDgvOBIrP  Lana Condor (@lanacondor) March 19, 2019

The To All the Boys Ive Loved Before sequel, which could be titled P.S. I Still Love You if it follows the series of novels written by Jenny Han, doesnt yet have a release date or anything like that from Netflix. However we do know that filming has, or is about to start, thanks to the cast members themselves. Star Noah Centineo posted that he was at LAX airport, possibly on his way to wherever the sequel is filming (the first filmed in Vancouver, Canada). His co-star, Lana Condor, replied in kind.



Are they dating in real life?



There have been a lot of rumors about the IRL Lara Jean Covey and Peter Kavinsky, but rest assured, they are not a couple. Still, Condor and Centineo didnt exactly attempt to squash the early whisperings that they were together off screen. Later, though, it was revealed that Condor has a significant other in her life who is not Centineo. But fans can still dare to dream.



Lana Condor and Noah Centineo reunited at the Kids Choice Awards



Lana Condor and Noah Centineo | Rich Fury/KCA2019/Getty Images for Nickelodeon

Its understandable why audiences are shipping these two hard. Days after the Twitter exchange, on March 23, 2019, Condor and Centineo both attended the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards in Los Angeles. Not only did they take adorable photos on the orange carpet together, but Condor presented Centineo with the award for Favorite Movie Actor for their movie, resulting in a seriously cute photo op hug moment.



Why does the sequel have a different director?



Just one day prior to this reunion, The Hollywood Reporter wrote about the upcoming sequel. In addition to Centineo and Condor, three of the primary actors will be returning. John Corbett (Sex and the City) will again play Lara Jeans father, Dr. Covey, and Janel Parrish (Pretty Little Liars) and Anna Cathcart (Descendants 2) will return as her sisters, Margot and Kitty, respectively.



None of this is surprising, but one piece of news wasnt expected: Susan Johnson will not be returning to direct, and instead will be an executive producer. Instead, Michael Fimognari will step into the role, marking his first feature film as a director. He was previously the cinematographer for the first film, as well as for other Netflix projects like The Haunting of Hill House. According to Johnson, the change is simply an issue of timing in regards to other projects she has in progress.



Other casting questions



I have no idea  Noah (@noahcent) March 19, 2019

Thus far, the five actors mentioned are the only ones confirmed. While some other previous characters could appear, what most are more interested in is who will play new characters, like John Ambrose. The character showed up in a post-credits scene played by Jordan Burtchett, however this role may be recast, and as of now, even Centineo has know idea who will play his competition for Lara Jeans heart.



While fans are busy casting their favorite teen heartthrobs, Centineo is more interested in getting a certain actor to play his characters father in the sequel. Though theres no reason to believe that Mark Ruffalo will appear in the film, his striking resemblance to the young actor is notable enough to have caused a lot of gossip around the subject. Well have to wait and see what happens.



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Meghan Markle may be painted as a villain by the media, but she has plenty of friends. Considering her upbringing, many of Markles besties reside in the U.S. Thats why it isnt surprising she flew to the city that never sleeps to host an amazing baby shower among her nearest and dearest.

Despite being a member of the royal family, she cant hop on a plane to visit her posse all the time. She also cant count on her friends to come to her at the drop of the dime. So who does the Duchess lean on when her crew cant make a last minute flight?

George Clooney stands by Meghan Markle

#GMB EXCLUSIVE: George Clooney hails his friend Meghan Markle: 'She was an actress before so knows how to handle the press. She's not a complainer.'



Watch more of his chat with @CharlotteHawkns and @kategarraway: https://t.co/AXHO1ZyeXy pic.twitter.com/91R4kT0Lrh  Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 15, 2019

Surprise surprise, Americas 2018 top earner is one of Markles close friends. One would assume the former Suits actress must have rubbed shoulders with Clooney at some point during her Hollywood days. Well, as it turns out it was her royal hubby, Prince Harry, that formally introduced the two entertainers.

Clooney and the Duke of Sussex crossed paths at a private charity event in the United Kingdom. The two shared common ground and became fast friends. That means the Prince was well acquainted with Clooney long before he met his lady love despite them running in the same circles. Prince Harry didnt introduce his new girlfriend to the Clooneys until after their relationship turned up a notch. It was after that fateful meeting that Clooney and his wife became an integral part of Markles life. Among a sea of haters, Clooney has even gone as far as to stand up for the controversial Duchess.

Markle looks up to Amal Clooney

Amal Clooney, with George Clooney arrives at the wedding of Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle in a honey yellow midi dress with side tie detail in silk Cady, worn with head dress by Stephen Jones.#RoyalWedding pic.twitter.com/BPgaIu9fEc  Stella McCartney (@StellaMcCartney) May 19, 2018

George isnt the only Clooney that Markle and her husband Harry have turned to in trying times. Markle and Amal Clooney have built quite the relationship ever since the two couples began hanging out in close quarters. The two powerful women met early last year when Amal turned Markle on to her London-based hairstylist so she could get her tresses in check for her big day!

What started as a simple conversation blossomed into a full-on friendship as the ladies bonded over their mutual interest around everything from activism to enviable fashion labels. The Clooneys have also had lengthy discussions with the Royal pair about the harsh media coverage that has been aimed at the Duchess.

Why is Markle so close with Amal Clooney?

We are delighted that world renowned human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has accepted our invitation to support a global female empowerment campaign. @ClarenceHouse pic.twitter.com/xOTuRdTUwc  Prince's Trust Int. (@PrincesTrustInt) March 16, 2019

Markle is so taken with Amal she had her co-host her luxurious NYC baby shower. After the festivities were said and done with Mrs. Clooney even offered to give her new BFF a ride back home on her hubbys private jet! A testament to just how much the two fancy each other.

Their relationship isnt all glitz and glam though. Markle looks up to Amal for a variety of reasons. According to a Palace insider, Meghan thinks Amal has fabulous taste and she admires the way shes maintained her career while being married to one of the most famous men in the world. She sees a lot of herselfor rather wants to see herselfdoing things as flawlessly as she thinks Amal does.

Amal is a great role model

In a sense, Amal is the best possible role model for Markle, so its no surprise that she looks to her for support. Both women are married to powerful men, and neither has thrown their own lives to the side to just be a trophy wife. In Markles case, a Duchess has her own work to do by royal creed. In Amals case, shes a badass human rights attorney who always has important appearances at the United Nations.

Markle also admires how Amal manages to balance her career and motherhood. As a mother to be, Markle cant help but be enamored with Amals ability to juggle the various parts of her life effortlessly. Thankfully the Clooneys have a home just 30 minutes away from Frogmore Cottage so the Royal couple will be able to hang with their favorite pair quite often. Considering the Clooneys have a set of twins, perhaps some play dates are in order once Baby Sussex is born!
Queen Elizabeth has connections around the world. She has lived quite an impressive life, ruling the country of England for many decades, raising four children, and giving practical advice to her grandchildren. The queen still goes on engagements around the country of England and can be seen doing charitable work for the people of the United Kingdom.

While she has visited a countless number of countries in her life, you wont see her going overseas anymore. So, why is it that Queen Elizabeth refuses to fly, and how does she conduct her royal business without flying?

How long has Queen Elizabeth been ruling monarch?

As the longest-reigning British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne for an astonishing 65 years! She was 25 years old at the time of her coronation and has been the Queen of England ever since. This is a longer time than any other ruling monarch, just one of the ways the queen has made history. An interesting fact is that Queen Elizabeth was not actually born as a direct heir to the British throne. When King Edward VIII abdicated the throne, it changed the British line of succession.

What countries have Queen Elizabeth visited?

Queen Elizabeth is actually the most traveled member of the royal family, having visited over 100 countries on over 250 official visits! That is certainly a lot of time spent on airplanes for the queen, so she is no stranger to flying. Having been overseas hundreds of times, Queen Elizabeth is definitely not scared of flying. So, why is it that she refuses to step foot on an airplane?

Why does the queen refuse to fly?

The reason that the queen will not fly anymore is quite simple. It all has to do with her age. She is 92 years old and just doesnt feel comfortable on a plane anymore. There is a rumor that the queen is not allowed to fly anymore, however, this is simply not true. It all has to do with personal preference, and as we know, there are plenty of people to accommodate the queen!

How do royal duties get carried out if she wont fly?

That is where the other senior members of the royal family come in! We often see Prince William and Kate Middleton as well as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, traveling overseas to carry out royal duties on behalf of the queen. It is lucky for Queen Elizabeth that she has so many people in her life to help her along.

How does Queen Elizabeth travel?

Opting not to fly certainly does not keep Queen Elizabeth stuck at home! She still drives to this day and often can be seen behind the wheel of one of her many cars out and about in England. In addition, the queen has been known to take the train when her travel takes her a little farther than normal. And, of course, there are plenty of royal assistants to drive Queen Elizabeth wherever she wants to go.

When was the Queens last overseas trip?

Queen Elizabeth II | Samir Hussein/WireImage

The last time Queen Elizabeth traveled overseas was about four years ago when she and her husband, Prince Philip, went on a trip to Malta for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Although she loves the destination, and many others, after returning home, she decided that she just wouldnt be traveling by airplane anymore.

Has the queen ever been to the United States?

Of course, she has! The Queen has made many visits to the United States, meeting several presidents and also visiting Ground Zero in New York City. Although all countries surely miss visits from the queen, she has stopped flying for good reason!
Meghan Markle hasnt yet had Baby Sussex, but many royal fans are already wondering how long her maternity leave will be. With her due date sometime this spring, royal baby watchers are looking for the arrival of Prince Harry and Markles first child any day now.

Meghan Marle and Prince Harry | Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage

When is Meghan Markles due date?

The specifics of Markles due date are unclear, as the official announcement about her pregnancy revealed Baby Sussexs arrival simply in the Spring. That vague due date spans April through the beginning of June, so pinpointing the babys arrival has been challenging.

Those who have been watching closely, however, have taken note of some of the clues that could better estimate the Duchess of Sussexs due date. During a visit to Birkenhead, for example, when asked when she was having the baby, she noted, end of April, early May.

Markle will be taking time off for maternity leave

Once the baby arrives, Markle will of course be taking time off from royal engagements to enjoy their new addition. The duration of her maternity leave has also had many people guessing and looking to Kate Middletons leave with each of her children as a guide.

For Middleton, the time off varied: less than six weeks following Prince Georges birth, four months for Princess Charlotte, and six months for Prince Louis, with some public outings, including Prince Harry and Markles wedding.

Markles first post-baby appearance has been revealed

It looks like Markle may already have an engagement on her calendar, leading many to believe that appearance will signal the end of her maternity leave.

A palace insider told Vanity Fair that Markle is looking at her fall calendar, as she plans to attend the annual summit for One Young World, a global forum supporting 10,000 young leaders from around the world, in London in October.

The source noted: Harry is keen to support Meghan in developing her own role and the opportunity to partner with a cause so close to her heart is an ideal stepping stone. All being well with the baby, the timing is perfect for her to expand her Commonwealth work through this new One Young World partnership with the Queens Commonwealth Trust.

Why this is an important event for Markle

Markle has worked with the One Young World organization since 2014, as a counselor before she married Prince Harry, and she also addressed delegates at the 2014 and 2016 summit events.

The charity noted the partnership in a statement: One Young World, the global forum for young leaders, is delighted to be partnering with the Queens Commonwealth Trust to bring young leaders from across the Commonwealth to London for our tenth Summit. Bringing the young leaders of the Commonwealth together at One Young World will give them the opportunity to accelerate change in their communities.

In 2014, Markle wrote in an article published in the Irish Independent: When I was asked to join the panel of One Young World 2014 in Dublin, I was over the moon. My day job is working on a TV series called Suits, playing a strong and layered female character, whose self-identification is not wrapped up solely being in the kitchen, nor simply being the girlfriend .. .
Apologist breaks down why 'atheism is so attractive' to some

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Apologist Ray Comfort is known for his creative approach to sharing the gospel. Comfort, who founded the Living Waters ministry, regularly creates documentaries and other outreach projects aimed at reaching people with biblical truth.

But the well-known apologist wasnt always the Bible-believing man he is today.

In recent years, Comfort has produced and hosted films like 180, Noah and the Last Days, Audacity and his new project 7 Reasons  movies that lead people to think deeper about faith, the world around them and Gods love.

He recently spoke with PureFlix.coms Pure Talk about what he believes is the biggest barrier that prevents people from embracing God and the Bible.

READ ALSO: Want to Know How to Answer Atheists? Check This Out

Its not understanding the danger. The Bible says men love darkness and hate the light, neither will they come to the light lest their deeds be exposed, Comfort said, noting that this love for darkness clouds human judgment. So, everybody loves their sins.

Watch Comfort break down his views on atheism and share his own journey to faith:

Comfort is set to be a central fixture in the PureFlix.com sponsored Answering Atheist conference (April 17-21) this Easter at the Ark Encounter attraction. Its a conference that promises four days of solid biblical teaching to equip you to stand confidently on Gods word.

The apologist will join Answers in Genesis founder Ken Ham, among many others, in addressing key questions about faith, atheism and how to engage with non-believers. Comfort will also preach at a sunrise service on Easter morning at the Ark Encounter, leading in a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The reason atheism is so attractive to the unsaved is because it gets rid of moral accountability, Comfort told Pure Talk. If theres no God, theres no ultimately right or wrong and theres no punishment for right and wrong.

He also shared details on his own upbringing and spiritual journey, explaining that he grew up in New Zealand in a non-Christian household and didnt find God until he was an adult.

READ ALSO: Inside the Incredible Story Behind Lifesize Replica of Noahs Ark

I wasnt interested in God, he said of his early years. I was just interested in doing my own thing  but when I saw my danger  that caused me to let go of my sin.

At age of 20, Comfort was married, had a home and had already built a successful business, accomplishing most of his goals early on  a scenario that left him with a uniquely early midlife crisis of sorts.

Some deeper thoughts about life and meaning soon shocked him out of spiritual apathy. In fact, everything changed for Comfort one night when he was sitting in bed next to his wife and he came to a terrifying realization.

I began thinking, She could die and everything else would mean nothing, Comfort recalled, noting that this revelation left him in tears, looking up at the heavens and crying out with confusion and concern. Six months later God heard my cry.

Comfort was on a surfing trip and another guy shared the gospel with him. Suddenly, everything became clear and his purpose and understanding were transformed.

I understood that I was a sinner and the thing that convinced me was the 10 Commandments, he said, noting that these moral laws left him deeply impacted and convicted. [I thought], If God has seen my thought life  then Im in big trouble, and thats when I understood the cross.

READ ALSO: Be Bold for the Christian Faith: Your Key to Engaging Atheists

So, Comfort said he decided to become a Christian. Almost immediately, he was sharing his faith with the masses  something he continues to do here in America decades later.

One of Comforts motivators is that he is horrified at the thought of what happens to those who reject Christ. With that in mind, he seeks to bring the gospel to others in an effort to yield understanding and to build bridges to God.

Want to see Comfort share his views on faith and atheism in person? Youre invited to attend the Answering Atheists conference this April. You can learn more here.

This article was originally published on Pure Flix Insider. Visit Pure Flix for access to thousands of faith and family-friendly movies and TV shows. You can get a free, one-month trial here.

Billy Hallowell, author of "The Armageddon Code," has contributed to TheBlaze, the Washington Post, Human Events, the Daily Caller, Mediaite, and the Huffington Post, among other news sites. Through journalism, media, public speaking appearances, and the blogosphere, Hallowell has worked as a journalist and commentator for more than a decade.
How are men and women persecuted differently for their faith in Christ? Expert explains

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A new report from the Christian persecution watchdog Open Doors USA details differences in how men and women are persecuted for their faith in Christ.

Helene Fisher, a gender persecution specialist with Open Doors USA, who co-authored the new report on gender-specific religious persecution, testified on a panel before the United Nations NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief last week where she outlined the findings from the new report.

Open Doors is an international non-profit that works in over 60 countries to advocate some of the world's most persecuted communities.

Although Christian persecution across the globe seems to be ever-increasing, Fisher explained that there are completely different manners in which men and women are persecuted.

We characterize the persecution of men as being focused and severe and visible, Fisher told The Christian Post in an interview. And the persecution of women continues to be complex and hidden.

In most cases, persecution occurs along the lines of how it will negatively impact their roles in society. For women, Fisher stated, persecution often revolves around the idea of ruining their sexual purity. Meanwhile, men tend to suffer from forms of economic harassment that can impact their place in society.

Men and women both suffer from societal shaming and shunning.

Women

The three most common points of persecution for women are a sexual attack, forced marriage, and rape, according to Fisher.

Since there is great value place in many societies around a girls purity, targeted rapes of girls are often used to bring shame to a certain family.

Targeted rapes

In the Open Doors 2019 World Watch List, the most common trend in the gender-specific persecution of Christians is the targeted raping of women solely for the purpose of bringing shame upon their families and community.

When they are sexually assaulted, there is a shame that is brought upon them in society's views. And they are therefore viewed as tainted, having no future and their family also lose this honor, Fisher explained. And sometimes their whole Christian community is seen as less valuable, less pure.

According to the Open Doors report, the prospects of survival for the whole tainted family are compromised when shunned in a society where every aspect of life is communal.

In some countries, such as Saudi Arabia, it is a mortal sin to bring shame to a family. The shaming process can often lead a family into financial vulnerability.

Forced marriage

Fifty-seven percent of the 49 countries reported on the Open Doors 2019 World Watch List who provided reports on the gender-specific persecution of women cited forced marriage as an issue in their nation. No countries reported forced marriage as an issue for men.

The problem exists in places such as North Africa, the Middle East and Asia where young Christian girls can be lured into a relationship where the lines between abduction and seduction with intent are blurred.

Christian women are reported to have been lured or abducted by terrorist groups such as Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram. The girls are often used as sex slaves, breeders or militia wives.

Christian girls are also often abducted by men from the majority religion in society and forced into a marriage without their families consent.

In some cases, Open Doors warns, girls will eventually blame themselves and make fewer efforts to escape because of the perceived loss of honor and reputation due to the sexual assault committed against her.

The report finds some state laws make forced marriage more easily practicable in the case of converts. In places like Pakistan, abductors of girls will threaten families if they try to get authorities involved to rescue their daughters. In some cases, family members are killed trying to rescue their loved ones.

While there are many cases in which Christian girls and women have been abducted and forced into marriage, girls and women who convert to Christianity can often be forced into marriages by their own families.

Forced marriage is used by a family whose daughter has decided on her own through some kind of exposure to Christianity, maybe via satellite or a friend somewhere or maybe she's had a vision she has turned to Jesus and her family has found out, Fisher explained. [They will] marry her to somebody from the mainstream religion, and then it becomes more or less his problem to make sure that she adheres to the mainstream religion.

Denial of custody

In many places where national, tribal or religious laws permit spouses to remove a Christian convert from the home, women face the risk of forced divorce and losing custody of their children if they convert to Christianity.

While this dilemma can face both men and women who convert to Christianity, it appears to be a more common occurrence for women, according to Open Doors reporting.

Forced divorce is a seriously dissuasive element to conversion, which is also provoked by family honor; often (but not exclusively) the husbands family honor, the report reads.

Fisher explained persecution against Christian females is often done with impunity in some countries and states.

While conditions for women in general in many places around the world, things are even more tough for minority women in a lot of these cultures because it "blends in" and is "part of the societal and cultural practice."

They don't see anything wrong with what they're doing. And their society around doesn't see anything wrong, Fisher told CP. What they're doing is simply viewed as the way of life and viewed in some respects as saving a Christian from Christianity.

Men

Christian men are subject to various forms of abuse and persecution for their faith.

Among them are economic harassment, forced military duty, torture, imprisonment, shunning and shaming.

Economic harassment

Economic harassment is the top form of religious persecution for men, according to Open Doors, which had over 46 respondent countries provide details on the gender-specific persecution of men.

Economic pressure is often used to try to get Christian men to renounce their faith in Christ.

According to the report, 34 of the 46 countries say that economic harassment was used to put pressure on Christian men and converts.

Additionally, six countries were reported as having issued fines as a form of economic pressure on Christian men.

Male converts to Christianity in some countries are often prevented from getting and retaining gainful employment. In many cases, such economic pressure hits immediately upon a mans conversion.

In Nepal, according to an Open Doors researcher there, Christian men feel forced to migrate to new cities, live under a new identity and are economically deprived during their first phases of persecuted life.

After being persecuted, the family often suffers through a reduced income as the men and boys are severely beaten and socially ostracized, the researcher stated.

Shaming and Shunning

Just like it is used to persecute women, shaming and shunning are often used to target Christian men and their families. Shunning is used to directly impact the severity of economic harassment suffered.

[W]hen shaming and shunning is associated with men it's usually things like them no longer being able to sell their things in the market or be part of the team in the fields, Fisher explained.

The impact of shunning can be even greater in rural areas if men are excluded from the traditional ways of farming.

In places like Egypt, Muslim shop owners will call on their Muslim customers not to buy from Christian-owned shops.

Physical violence and torture

Torture and physical violence were reported in 35 percent of the 46 countries reporting information on the gender-specific persecution of men.

Half of the countries paired the mention of violence with the inclusion of death as a step that bad actors will take to pressure a Christian man to renounce his faith.

Violence is often used in conjunction with shame and socio-economic ostracism to persecute families.

A researcher in Somalia is quoted in the report as saying that men and boys were verbally abused, physically assaulted, tortured, burned alive, shot to death and even had their business taken over just the mere suspicion of conversion.

There have been countless stories of Christian converts attacked or killed  either by their own family members or enraged members of their community  simply for converting to Christianity.

Incarceration and military conscription

Fisher added that another global trend that is more so focused on teenage boys is militia conscription and arduous military service.

According to Fisher, military service is used as a way of controlling Christian men and coercing them into embracing whatever the natural national religion is.

Christian men worldwide are also more likely to be imprisoned for their faith, Open Doors reports. Imprisonment can also entail physical and psychological violence.

Several analysts connected government imprisonment with other pressure points, specifically violence and economic hardship, the report reads.

In China, Christian men can be held in custody for weeks or months while being traumatized physically and psychologically.

In Iran, Open Doors reports, an arrest can be used as a tool to economically harass Christian men. Upon conversion, Christian converts are at risk of losing their jobs, especially if they have been arrested.
'Truly a work of God': 150-y-o Bible survives 2 fires at Wisconsin church

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A Bible that is approximately 150 years old has survived two church fires in Wisconsin, including one from earlier this month, with the pastor declaring it truly a work of God.

Springs United Methodist Church of Plover recently endured a devastating fire, destroying the building and yet leaving the old Bible unscathed, according to a local news story from WSAW earlier this week.

The Good Book had previously survived a church fire in the 1950s, when located at St. Paul's Methodist Church in downtown Stevens Point.

Tim OBrien, pastor to both churches, said in a statement reported by WSAW that the Bibles survival of both infernos was a great testament to our faith that still stands strong.

I think this is really something special, truly a work of God, added OBrien. Yes this is a building, yes things can be replaced. But these places have lots and lots of memories.

Unable to be opened due to its advanced age, the Bible was the only object members of the church asked the Plover Fire Department to recover from the ruins of their former building.

The church held a prayer vigil on Tuesday, with the congregation asking attendees to join the United Methodist Church community together in prayer and to begin this walk in process of healing and understanding.

For the time being, members of Springs UMC will be attending St. Pauls Church for their worship services and other activities.

Last December, an Oklahoma man had his truck catch fire and yet a copy of the Bible he had had since he was a teenager survived the conflagration without damage.

My truck was parked 2 feet away from the house, if it wasn't for the horn blowing the house would've gone too, explained Steven Gaut on a Facebook fundraiser page.

The Vinita Fire Department had to pry the bible that was in a cloth cover. My bible was in great shape and the cover was in bad shape.

In an interview with a Fox News affiliate in January, Gaut explained that not only did the Bible survive the truck fire, but it doesnt even smell like smoke either.
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I believe that God is calling American families to become a very unique breed of home missionaries. For every revival that you read about in Christian literature or see on Christian television, I believe that there are multiple additional cases where God through His Holy Spirit showed up in an escalated manifestation. These outpourings were similar to the ones that explode into community wide revival, but died on the vine because the people of that particular church were not ready for God to show up in such a dramatic fashion.

I believe the Spirit of God wants to call forth some families across this country to join a movement of believers who will step up during an altar call and say to their pastor, Pastor as for me and my house, we commit our lives to get ourselves ready as a family for revival.

The pastor of my home church in upstate New York is Rev. Joe Chamberlin. Pastor Joe is an ordained minister in the Assemblies of God and traveled for many years as an evangelist/revivalist and has pastored several churches. Rev Chamberlins father was a pastor and he and all three of his brothers are in full time ministry. When I met him, he was the liaison for the New York District Evangelists, of which I was then a member. I consider it an honor to serve now with him as a parishioner in his church.

Pastor Joe believes with all of his heart that revival is coming to our church and will subsequently affect our whole region. What he teaches us as a church is; You cannot create a revival, but you can miss it by not preparing for it! You have to prepare for revival! Based on his teaching and my own conviction, I feel God is challenging me to put out this clarion call to the families of the churches of this nation.

Revival hit Pensacola Florida in 1995 and a couple of years later I had the privilege to attend a conference in which John Kilpatrick, the pastor of the Brownsville Assembly of God church spoke. He told us that as God poured out His Spirit and revival hit Brownsville, thousands came to Christ over a few year period. He shared with us that the church was running about six hundred when the revival hit. Sadly he then shared with us that about two hundred people left the church when the revival broke out.

However as Pastor Kilpatrick spoke to the few hundred pastors and Christian leaders in that conference that day, he said he was so blessed and impressed by the commitment of the rest of his congregation to step up to a huge responsibility. They almost tirelessly cared for the needs of these thousands of visitors who came from all over the world over the next couple years. For a long time services were held seven nights a week and Sunday mornings. Finally some of the leaders began to seek the Lord concerning taking a night off. They were literally concerned that it might grieve the Spirit of God away if they shut down for one night. It was then decided with Gods affirmation that they would take one night off for the working volunteers to take care of their needs at home. God then continued to show up in powerful ways as He did before.

Another similar thread emerges when we study the life of Kathryn Kuhlman, a healing evangelist, who filled large theatres and coliseums for divine healing crusades. During her meetings she used to admonish with great gentleness her crowds to enter into the holy hush present, and to guard their hearts while there from any inappropriate thoughts or attitudes that might grieve the Holy Spirit away that night. She understood that while the Holy Spirit is powerful, He is also so gentle and so easily quenched or grieved that we have to be very reverent and obedient to His leading. We are warned in Ephesians 4:30 to not grieve the Spirit of God. In 1st Thessalonians 5:19 we are also told to not quench the Holy Spirit. Its possible in a church for just a few families that are not ready, and have not prepared their heart for revival that their grumbling and complaining about extra services might very well grieve the Holy Spirit and kill a move of God that potentially could have impacted thousands.

Fathers and mothers I encourage you to do a family night. Perhaps you might consider preparing ahead of time the evening by securing some DVDs on what can happen when revival hits if we will let it. Transformations by the Sentinel Group is a very powerful movie on the subject of revival. It can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_Th6Trn1sc. This movie is based on true stories of modern day revivals which have changed entire towns and cities. You could make this a matter of prayer by your family to say Lord please make us ready for revival.

Pastors, I suggest that you consider promoting this idea in your churches. Perhaps you could have some tee shirts made up that simply say in a fun font. I am ready! Maybe you could highlight the topic for a few Sunday mornings and then in its conclusion ask that individuals and families that would like to take this step to come down to the altar and make a public profession of commitment to Be ready if the Lord shows up in a mighty way in your church at any given service. Believe it or not many revivals start up just that way. Too often though, churches are unprepared.

If we could just, figuratively speaking light a candle, then another, then another until this vision catches on it would be like hanging a huge invitation up addressed to the Lord saying Here we are Lord use us! It might just be the spark that ignites one of the biggest revivals in American history, one we need desperately!

Rev Nolan J Harkness is the President and CEO of Nolan Harkness Evangelistic Ministries Inc. since 1985. He spent most of his adult life working in youth ministry. He also felt the calling of Evangelist/Revivalist and traveled as the door was open holding evangelistic meetings in churches throughout the Northeast. His website is www.verticalsound.org.
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I seldom read the story of Joseph in Genesis 3750 without a tear welling up in my eye. To me, its one of the most emotional stories in the Bible. As a seventeen-year-old, Joseph had dreams of grandeur, but his brothers seized him and sold him into slavery. For thirteen years, he endured slavery, prison, and heartbreaking disappointments. But at age thirty, he was summoned to the palace to interpret a dream for Pharaoh, and subsequent events propelled Joseph to the leadership of the greatest empire on earth at the time. His oversight of Egypt saved multitudes from starvation, and at the end of the story he saved his own family, including the brothers who had betrayed him. What he told them has reverberated through time: You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives (Genesis 50:20, NIV).

The Lord took the iron chains around Josephs feet and refined them into golden chains around his neck. His purity of heart and perseverance of spirit provide a powerful motivation for us, and his amazing story helps us see how our problems can prepare us for Gods purposes in our lives.

Refined, Not Defined, by Problems

Rather than our problems defining us, we should let God refine our hearts through our problems. Dr.J. I. Packer wrote: We should notbe too taken aback when unexpected and upsetting and discouraging things happen to us now. What do they mean? Simply that God in his wisdom means to make something of us which we have not attained yet.

Josephs story is about a young man who was refined, not defined, by his problems. He illustrates a truth found throughout the Bible. The apostle Paul told us to boast in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope (Romans 5:3-4). James repeats this truth in similar terms: Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:2-4).

I dont know about you, but it helps me to know that my problems arent random, meaningless, or wasted. As we work through the difficulties of life, God is using them to refine us. Think of your biggest problem right now. I know you have several of themat least, most of us do. But what is your most vexing problem on this day of your life? Doesnt it help to know God has determined to use that problem for your good, to refine your qualities of perseverance, character, and hope?

In Gods economy, nothing is wasted; and if He allows trials to beset us, it is because He means to turn them into occasions for refining our faith, resilience, and hope. Psalm 66:10 says, For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.

Refined, Not Defined, by Persecution

Joseph also shows us how we are refined, not just by problems, but by persecution. His brothers sold him into slavery for a few coins, and they did it out of envy. They resented his goodness and the glory of God that rested on his life. Many years later, the apostle Peter wrote to those suffering persecution throughout the Roman Empire, saying, You greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faithof greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by firemay result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (1 Peter 1:6-7, NIV).

Few of those reading this page will endure the persecution of imprisonment, physical abuse, or martyrdom, although these evils are increasing every day and numberless multitudes of believers are paying a high price to follow Christ. Whats happening to Christians in oppressive countries is blood-chilling. But the Bible teaches that every follower of Jesus will face persecution on some level (2 Timothy 3:12); and if theres no pushback to our testimonies, perhaps we arent doing or saying enough for Christ. Have you encountered ridicule, rejection, or resistance for Christs sake? That can be a refining experience!

William Carey, the great pioneer missionary to India, suffered many setbacks and disappointments, but he later wrote, If I were deserted by all, and persecuted by all, yet my hope fixed on Gods sure word, will rise superior to all obstructions. I shall come out of all trials as gold purified in the fire.

Refined, Not Defined, by People

We are also refined by people, even the negative ones that come into our lives. The book of Genesis is sparing in its descriptions of Josephs suffering, but Psalm 105:18 says that his tormentors hurt his feet with fetters and put his neck in an iron ring. Its distressing to think of this young man stripped, chained, put in irons, and marched mercilessly across the blazing desert sands toward the human auction blocks in Egypt.

But talk about forgiveness! It may have taken years for Joseph to process what happened to him, but later in Genesis 45:4-8 he revealed his identity to those who had betrayed him. Struggling to hold back his tears, he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God.

I would never minimize the sufferings we endure at the hands of others; sometimes the ones we most love hurt us the most deeply. Yet nothing is beyond the redemptive touch of God, and He can help us process our relationships over time. He empowers us to release bitterness as we put past offenses under the overflowing blood of Jesus Christ. He can help us better understand how the things that have happened to us have, over time, resulted in our good and in blessings to others.

Give Him your hurts, and in coming years youll look back and see how He used them to refine you into a vessel fit for the Masters use, just like Joseph.

Refined, Not Defined, by Gods Purpose

Gods ultimate purpose for our lives is to refine us into vessels reflecting the image of Jesus. One of the most remarkable aspects of Josephs story involves the parallel between his story and that of the Lord Jesus Christ. Think of the elements of Josephs history:

 He was a dearly loved son of his father, clothed with regal garments, who was rejected by his brothers, stripped and abused, sold for pieces of silver, bound and condemned unjustly.

 Though sorely tempted by Potiphars wife, he did not sin; and nothing bad was said of him.

 Despite his flawless character, he became a servant.

 On one occasion, he found himself between two criminalsone who was lost and the other who was saved.

 At the age of thirty, this man entered his lifes great work of saving the world. He uttered the words, Do not be afraid, and he knew how to forgive in a way that is almost unimaginable.

 Though he descended to the lowest place, he was exalted to the highest, a man to whom reverence and respect was given as he sat on the most powerful throne known to men.

Dr. W. A. Criswell once said that whenever he read the story of Joseph, he seemed to have the same feelings in his heart as when he read the story of Christ and of Calvary and of Easter. It almost seems to be a story of our Lord in miniature and in advance.

Everything that happens to us can become a refining stage toward Christ-likeness. Isaiah 48:10 says, Behold, I have refined you ... I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. Its not an easy process, but its a blessed one.

Instead of growing bitter, lets grow better. Instead of letting our problems define us, allow God to do as He promised in Zechariah 13:9: I will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, This is My people; and each one will say, The Lord is my God.
Presidential hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., made her first big policy pitch on the campaign trail Saturday: A new federal program to boost teacher pay.

She promised to close a pay gap between teachers and other college graduates. Teachers make about $13,000 less than similarly educated college graduates, according to Harris. And a recent study by the left-leaning think tank, the Economic Policy Institute, found that the wage gap between teachers and comparable professionals has grown over time, with teachers now earning nearly 19 percent less than other college-educated workers.

You can judge a society by the way it treats its children, and one of the greatest expressions of love that a society can give to its children is educating those children with resources they need, Harris said at a rally in Houston, according to the Associated Press.

Teacher payand education funding more generallyhas obviously been a hot issue over the past year, triggering strikes in red states including West Virginia, Arizona, and Oklahoma, as well as big-city districts like Denver. Presidential candidates, including Harris, have stood up for striking teachers on social media.

So why is coming out with a plan to boost educators salaries right out of the gate smart politics? Harrisand other Democratic contendersare trying to capitalize on the energy of the #RedforEd movement, which fueled the teacher strikes.

And of course, the endorsements of the two big teachers unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, are up for grabs. The unions official seal of approval carries with it muscle (in the form of campaign volunteers) and money.

How exactly is Harris going to boost teacher pay? Harris campaign hasnt outlined the specifics of the plan, saying theyll be available later this week. But one possibility would be boosting Title II of the Every Student Succeeds Act, a $2 billion program that helps districts hire teachers and cover the cost of professional development. President Donald Trump has sought to scrap Title II in his budget requests, including the most recent one. But Congress hasnt gone along with that proposal.

Another possibility: something along the lines of the Obama administrations $5 billion RESPECT initiative , which was unveiled in 2012 and would have provided money to help revamp colleges of education, assist districts in creating career ladders for teachers, and give educators more time to collaborate. (The Obama proposal also would have provided resources to overhaul evaluation, which the federal government is now barred from monkeying with under the Every Student Succeeds Act.) Congress never gave serious consideration to the proposal.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: Melina Mara for the Associated Press

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By Trend





Azerbaijan and Paraguay signed an agreement "On the mutual elimination of visa requirements for persons with diplomatic and official passports.", Trend reports referring to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.

The agreement was reached during a meeting of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov with his Paraguayan counterpart Alberto Castiglioni as part of his first visit to Paraguay.

During the meeting, the sides expressed satisfaction with the current state of political relations between the countries. Discussions were held on strengthening political dialogue.

In order to expand economic ties between the countries, a common intention was expressed to create the Azerbaijan-Paraguay Chamber of Commerce.

During the meeting, Elmar Mammadyarov spoke about the socio-economic reforms carried out in Azerbaijan, as well as large-scale energy and infrastructure projects being implemented at Azerbaijan's initiative.

The Azerbaijani foreign minister informed his Paraguayan counterpart about the current state of the negotiation process on the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Mammadyarov praised the adoption of the statement by the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress of Paraguay, condemning the Khojaly genocide.








Church fears holding Catholic beliefs may soon be a 'hate crime'

A "climate of heightened sensitivity" and increasingly broad definitions of 'hate crime' are putting freedom of speech and belief at risk, the Catholic Church in Scotland has warned.

The Church said there needed to be "room for debate and a robust exchange of views" as it warned that holding to Catholic beliefs, particularly on marriage or sexuality, may soon be deemed "an attempt to stir up hatred".

The warning was made in a submission to the Scottish Government's consultation on hate crimes following a review last year by Lord Bracadale.

The consultation, which closed last month, asked members of the public for their responses to Lord Bracadale's report on hate crimes in Scotland in which he recommended that a protection of freedom of expression provision be included in any new legislation relating to stirring up offences.

The Church welcomed the proposed protection for freedom of expression but said it was concerned that the definition of hate was becoming "contentious and open to misuse".

"Care must be taken to allow room for debate and a robust exchange of views, ensuring that 'hate' doesn't include the kind of ordinary discourse where people reasonably hold divergent views," the submission states.

"The fundamental right to freedom of expression, and the right of an individual to hold and express opinions, even if they are considered by some to be controversial or unwelcome must be upheld."

The Church further warned that changes to hate crime laws may hinder, rather than help, community relations. This was a particular risk, it said, in communities where sectarianism is an issue.

Catholic Parliamentary Office Director Anthony Horan said: "We do not believe there is a need for sectarianism to be specifically addressed and defined in hate crime legislation. Existing legislation, including existing statutory aggravations, are adequate."

He went on to warn that suppressing the right to freedom of expression would "create divisions and foster grievances across society".

"In a climate of heightened sensitivity there is a very real danger that expressing or even holding individual or collective opinions or beliefs will become a hate crime," he said.

"We must guard against this and ensure freedom of expression, thought, conscience and religion are protected.

"Some people might suggest that expressing the Catholic Church's position on marriage or human sexuality could be an attempt to stir up hatred.

"This would obviously be wrong, but without room for robust debate and exchange of views we risk becoming an intolerant, illiberal society."

The definition of hate crimes in Scotland was called into question last year when the Scottish Police launched a series of controversial billboard posters aimed at tackling hate crime.

The posters were criticised by Christians who felt that they unfairly implied that they were bigots.

One particularly contentious poster read: "Dear Bigots, you can't spread your religious hatred here. End of sermon. Yours, Scotland."

The posters were withdrawn following a formal complaint by Barnabas Fund, a charity that supports persecuted Christians around the world.

According to the charity, Police Scotland "investigated themselves and belatedly responded in December, concluding that there was no case to answer and no further action would be taken".
Pro-life student group wins right to affiliate at Glasgow University after threat of legal action

A pro-life student group has successfully overturned a decision to deny it affiliation at Glasgow University after threatening legal action.

Glasgow Students for Life (GSL) was refused affiliation by the Glasgow University Students' Representative Council (SRC) last November because of its opposition to abortion rights.

At the time, SRC president Lauren McDougall said the decision had been made to deny affiliation because the views of GSL were "contrary" to the council's ethos.

"The executive view affiliation as a form of endorsement because affiliated clubs and societies are permitted to use our branding in their promotional material," she told the Scottish Herald newspaper.

"Given the SRC's campaigning on a number of related social issues over the years, including support for the recent Repeal the 8th campaign in Ireland, it would be contrary to our ethos to endorse a society which calls for limited rights for women."

Affiliation is a necessary step for student groups that want to have an official presence on campus. It also brings important benefits, such as funding, access to meeting rooms, and a promotional booth at the freshers' fair - the biggest event in the university calendar for new students.

GSL challenged the SRC's decision, claiming that it had discriminated against its beliefs in breach of equality laws and the SRC's own equal opportunities policy. It further argued that it was unfair to deny pro-life groups the privileges enjoyed by pro-abortion groups on campus.

Although GSL lodged a formal complaint against SRC, it wasn't until the threat of legal action that the original decision was overturned.

Grace Deighan, President of Glasgow Students for Life welcomed the SRC's U-turn.

"We are grateful that the SRC have decided to affiliate Glasgow Students for Life and we look forward to starting a conversation on campus," she said.

"We intend to hold lectures and debates, discussing issues such as Abortion, Euthanasia, IVF treatment and other contentious bioethical issues.

"The group's intention is one that is primarily academic, and given that there are other pro-abortion and pro-euthanasia groups affiliated to the SRC, we believe that it is only fair for the pro-life argument to have a place at the despatch box."

Laurence Wilkinson, Legal Counsel for ADF International in London, which was supporting GSL in its legal challenge said: "Freedom of speech is the foundation of every free and democratic society. Of all places, a university is where students should be free to debate and explore ideas, even those with which we may disagree.

"It simply does not work when a students' body 'picks sides' and censors the one with which it disagrees. It is sad that it took the prospect of legal proceedings for the Representative Council to recognize this. We congratulate the 'Glasgow Students for Life' on their new affiliation."
1. Where the

Crawdads Sing

by Delia Owens. A woman who survived alone in the marsh becomes a murder suspect.

2. Cemetery Road

by Greg Iles. Journalist Marshall McEwan returns to his hometown, which is shaken by two deaths and an economy on the brink.

3. Daisy Jones

& the Six

by Taylor Jenkins Reid. A fictional oral history charting the rise and fall of a 70s rock n roll band.

4. Silent Night

by Danielle Steel. After tragedy strikes, a child TV star loses her memory and ability to speak.

5. The Chef

by James Patterson with Max DiLallo. Caleb Rooney, a police detective and celebrity food truck chef, must clear his name of murder allegations.

6. The Last Romantics

by Tara Conklin. A family crisis tests the bonds and ideals of a renowned poet and her siblings.

7. The Malta Exchange

by Steve Berry. The former Justice Department operative tangles with a rogue cardinal and an ancient sect of knights.

8. The Silent Patient

by Alex Michaelides. Theo Faber looks into the mystery of a famous painter who stops speaking after shooting her husband.

9. The Island

of Sea Women

by Lisa See. The friendship over many decades of two female divers from the Korean Island of Jeju is pushed to a breaking point.

10. The Border

by Don Winslow. Art Kellers fight to keep drugs out of the country has taken a complicated turn.

Nonfiction

1. Becoming

by Michelle Obama. The former first lady describes how she balanced work, family and her husbands political ascent.

2. The Case for Trump

by Victor Davis Hanson. A defense stating that the current president adopted several traditional conservative positions.

3. Educated

by Tara Westover. The daughter of survivalists leaves home for university.

4. The Uninhabitable Earth

by David Wallace-Wells. How climate-related crises may cause food shortages, refugee emergencies and other catastrophes.

5. The Threat

by Andrew G. McCabe. The former deputy director of the FBI describes major events of his career and the ways the agency works to protect Americans.

6. Spearhead

by Adam Makos. An American tank gunner faces enemies in Cologne, Germany, during World War II.

7. Say Nothing

by Patrick Radden Keefe. A look at the conflict in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles.

8. Bad Blood

by John Carreyrou. The rise and fall of the biotech startup Theranos.

9. Women

Rowing North

by Mary Pipher. Reflections on the ageism, misogyny and loss that women might encounter as they grow older.

10. Grateful American

by Gary Sinise with Marcus Brotherton. The Oscar-nominated actor describes how he has entertained troops and helped veterans.

New York Times
Texans have a lot of pride when it comes to repping where they're from in the Lone Star State.

Just think of how many "H-Town" shout-outs you hear in songs by Houston rappers. Or the amount of Dallas Cowboys bumper stickers you see in the DFW. And, of course, the variety of Spurs gear spotted on proud San Antonians.
Harris County deputies say that a driver involved in a major crash told them he had been drinking alcohol before the accident.

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Drive for any length of time in Pearland, Friendswood, Pasadena, Deer Park or Clear Lake and you are very likely to spot a stream, bayou or see a pond or small lake.

If you have ever wondered if there are any fish in those ponds, the answer is probably yes.

Many of the small lakes and ponds that dot the landscape in and around Houston serve as retention ponds to aid in flood control.

In recent years, there has been an increased interest by municipalities and housing communities in providing more parks and green spaces. Retention ponds provide such an opportunity.

Many ponds have parks associated with them that offer amenities such as picnic tables, biking and jogging trails, and playground equipment. Many, have fish in them.

According to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fisheries Biologist Alice Best, TPWD maintains approximately 200 ponds and lakes in Houston and surrounding community parks as part of the Community Fishing Lakes program.

The TPWD department web site defines a community fishing lake as a public impoundment 75 acres or smaller located within an incorporated city limits or a public park, or any impoundment lying totally within the boundaries of a state park.

"The purpose of the Community Fishing Lakes program is to encourage people to get out and fish and to provide people with an opportunity to fish different types of habitats for a variety of species of fish," said Best.

"And, we want to make it easy."

"If I person wants to fish for bass for an hour or so on their lunch hour, we want to provide them a place to do that."

Any municipality or organization that owns a small lake or pond may make a request to the TPWD to include it in the CFL program.

A fundamental requirement mandated by the TPWD is that the lake or pond must be non-discriminatory and open to the general public.

"If a person wants to fish, they must be be reasonably allowed to do so, " said Best

Organizations are allowed to impose general rules such as limiting access to daylight hours to address safety concerns or collecting a park entrance fee to defray maintenance costs but not be so restrictive that it limits access of anyone that wants to fish there.

While most of the lake properties are owned by the organization or municipalities, they are stocked and maintained by TPWD.

The lakes are prioritized and maintained based on their age, habitat, fish population and fishing pressure.

An older established lake might have good fish habitat that allows for a healthy, naturally reproducing fish population", explains Best.

"These lakes would require less maintenance and less frequent stocking."

Other lakes have extremely heavy fishing pressure and fish are generally caught before they have a chance to reproduce. In such cases, the lakes are stocked more frequently.

An example is the small lake at Burke Crenshaw Park in Pasadena. The lake is one of four lakes in the Houston area included in the Neighborhood Fishing Program, a special category within the CFL program.

Because of such heavy fishing pressure, the Neighborhood Fishing Lakes are stocked every two weeks. In winter months the lakes are stocked with trout. In summer, they are stocked with catfish.

"The lakes are stocked regularly with fish that are ready to be caught and eaten," said Best.

The state imposed size limit for keeping channel and blue catfish is twelve inches and most of the stocked fish are that size. However, some caught fish might fall a bit short of the limit. For fish caught in stocked Neighborhood Fishing Lakes, the minimum size is waved.

Other Houston area lakes included in the Neighborhood Fishing Program are Herman Little Park in Spring, Mary Jo Peckham Park in Katy and Community Park Lake in Missouri City.

More information about the Neighborhood Fishing Program may be found at the TPWD web site:

https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/management/stocking/neighborhood-fishin.phtml

While there are numerous area lakes and ponds included in the Community Fishing Lakes program, popular destinations include:

Burke Crenshaw Park lake in Pasadena

Taylor Lakes Village park pond in Taylor Lake Village

Challenger 7 Pond at Challenger Seven Memorial Park in Webster

Rustic Oaks Park in League City

Friendswood Sand Pit in Friendswood

Centennial Park Lake in Friendswood

Resoft Lake Park in Pearland

Independence Retention Pond in Pearland

Centennial Park Pond in Pearland

Pearland Nature Center Pond in Pearland

More information about the Community Fishing Lakes Program including a map of where to fish may be found at the TPWD web site:

https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/fish/recreational/lakes/cfl.phtml

Everyone over the age of 16 must have a valid Texas fishing license to fish. Children 16 years old and under are not required to have a license. For example, if a mom and dad want to take their two young children fishing, the mom and dad over age 16 would be required to have a license, the two children 16 years or under would not be required.

There is one exception to the licensing requirement.

Free Fishing Day is June 1, 2019. On the first Saturday in June of each year, everyone can fish recreationally without licenses or endorsements to encourage more people to try fishing for the first time.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department provides many resources at their web site including maps of where to fish, how to fish what types of fish can be caught and where, fishing regulations and can provide help identify fish species if a person is unaware of what type of fish they hooked.

TPWD advise everyone to be considerate of the environment and to observe conservation practices.

"Be an ethical angler" says the TPWD web site. Everyone should be encouraged to "teach youth to respect the outdoors while fishing, about the animals you share the water with and laws that protect natural resources."
A breach in a containment wall at Intercontinental Terminals Co. that allowed flame-retardant foam to leak from the charred Deer Park tank farm likely caused the site to re-ignite on Friday afternoon, company officials said at a news conference Saturday morning.

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The 10-foot breach allowed an unknown volume of foam and volatile compounds from the storage tanks to leak into a nearby ditch and then the Houston Ship Channel, ITC Incident Commander Brent Weber said. Footage from television helicopters shortly before the eruption showed gaps in the foam blanket covering the site, increasing the risk of ignition.

DEER PARK DISASTER: Get your legal questions answered on Saturday about Deer Park plant fire

The fire erupted at 3:45 p.m. at the site of three storage tanks that had already burned and a new location, the ditch into which fuels had leaked. Unlike a brief flare-up on Wednesday, which firefighters extinguished within minutes, Friday's blazes took an hour to put out.

"Firefighters immediately begin spraying foam on both fires," spokeswoman Alice Richardson said.

HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM INVESTIGATES: Deer Park company battling fire accused of intentionally polluting water during Harvey

The fires forced crews back into a defensive position, scuttling plans Friday to continue siphoning fuel from the damaged 80,000-barrel tanks to secure containers, Weber said. The site is too unstable to determine the amount of product left in each tank, though he said they contain compounds including gasoline blends, xylene naptha and pyrolysis gasoline.

Weber said crews on Saturday hope to continue cleaning up the tank farm and nearby waterways into which chemicals have leaked.

"The focus of the unified command today, over the next 24 hours, is to transition back from reactive to proactive," he said.

The incident commander said he could not rule out further flare ups, and said continuously maintaining the foam layer on the site is key to preventing more fires. Higher winds on Saturday and the potential for rain by Monday may make that objective more challenging, he said.

The wall breach and chemical leak into Buffalo and Tucker bayous prompted the U.S. Coast Guard to close a portion of the Ship Channel. Coast Guard Captain Kevin Oditt said crews will continue to use booms and skimming devices to remove chemicals from the water.

"At this time, I do not have an exact timetable for reopening the Ship Channel," he said.

The company defended waiting 18 hours to brief the public on Friday's developments, which created an information vacuum Harris County officials struggled to fill as Deer Park residents clamored for updates. ITC cancelled a news conference planned for Friday afternoon.

"I will tell you, as you saw that happening, we saw that happening," Richardson said. "So it's fast. It's moving quickly. We're trying our best."

Richardson said ITC has yet to determine when the next news briefing will occur.

Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia, who has been critical of ITC's response to the incident, closed several parks in the area until further notice as a precaution. They are:

Bay Area Park in Houston

Clear Lake Park in Seabrook

Sylvan Beach in La Porte

Juan Seguin in La Porte

Rio Villa Nature Trail

Meadow Brook

River Terrace

Moncrief Park

NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.
The ticketed event celebrating Humble-based Ingenious Brewings one year in business on Saturday, March 23 sold out. Only attendees ages 21 and above were allowed to attend.

Although divided into two admission categories, VIP and Regular, all ticket buyers enjoyed free food, one free beer and one specialty glass. The events organizers advised attendees to take an Uber trip instead of driving to the venue.

Ingenious Brewing Company is located at 1986 South Houston Ave., Humble, TX and has an official Facebook page (ingeniousbeer). Its official website is under construction. Its phone number is 832-412-2142.

The taprooms hours of operation are 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays, noon to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and noon to 9 p.m. on Sundays.

New expansion at NC Customs LLC

An automotive accessories shop in New Caney, NC Customs LLC, will celebrate its new expansion from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 23, at 21035 Gene Campbell Road. Other than being able to tour the new space, attendees are also treated to a car show.

Some of NC Customs LLC partners are Holley, Magnaflow, Edelbrock and American Racing. The business, which listed on its official website as the only speed shop in north Houston, carries over 5,000 parts.

More information about NC Customs LLC is available on its official website (nc-customs.com), Facebook page (newcaneycustoms) or by calling 281-429-0075. Its operating hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and closed on Sundays.

New cabinetry showroom in Humble

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, March 23, a new family-owned furniture business will host a grand-opening event that will also feature refreshments, giveaways, raffle prizes and face-painting.

The first 100 attendees will receive a free swag bag.

Texas Cabinetry K&B is located at 907 East Main St., Humble, TX. For additional information please visit www.txcabinetry.com, its Facebook page (txcabinetry) or call 281-608-7534.

Know of a new business? Email details and photos to nguyen.le@chron.com
Farmers Market

The Farmers Market at LaCenterra will be open 11 a.m.-3 p.m. March 24. It is open the fourth Sunday of every month at 23501 Cinco Ranch Blvd., Katy. The market features local vendors and artisans selling honey, cheese, fresh eggs, seasonable vegetables and more. Visit yourneigh

borhoodfarmersmarket.com if youre interested in becoming a vendor.

March 26

Pages by the Pint

No Label Brewery, 5351 1st St., will host Pages by the Pint at 8 p.m. March 26, to discuss Fever by Mary Beth Keane. Copies of the book may be picked up at the front desk of the Katy Library, 5414 Franz Road. For more information, call the library at 281-391-3509.

Chess Wars

Teens and tweens are invited to Maud Marks Library, 1815 Westgreen Blvd., for Chess Wars on Tuesday, March 26, at 4:45 p.m. Come learn basic strategies and techniques to up your chess game so you too can play out of this world.

March 27

Hope Disaster Recovery

Katherine Tyra Branch Library @ Bear Creek will host Hope Disaster Recovery, a program for adults, to help the community recover after Hurricane Harvey and answer any questions, from 6-7 p.m. March 27. The library is located at 16719 Clay Road in Houston.

March 28

Book & Bite Club

Spend your coffee break at the Katy Branch Library, 5414 Franz Road, to discuss a book between bites. The Book & Bite Club will meet at 1:30 p.m. March 28 to discuss Into the Water by Paula Hawkins. Copies of the book are available at the front desk of the library.

March 29

JusCoz

JusCoz, four members of the Workship Team at Parkway Fellowship Church in Richmond, will perform at 6:30 p.m. March 29 at Central Green. Fans of classic rock, they perform hits from the 1960s to the 1990s including music by Aerosmith and ZZ Top. The concert is free. The park is at 23501 Cinco Ranch Blvd.

GROOVE

Tickets are on sale for GROOVE, the March 29 fundraiser for the Katy Independent School District Education Foundation. The event will feature an 80s glam evening with food, a casino and music by The Spazmatics at Royal Sonesta Houston, 2222 West South Loop, Houston. Visit https://katyisdeducationfoundation.salsalabs.org/groove2019/index.html for information and tickets.

March 30

Brazilian Food & Music Festival

Constellation Field, 1 Stadium Drive in Sugar Land, will present a Brazilian Food & Music Festival at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 30. The event will feature food, music and activities for children. Visit www.brazilianfoodmusicfestival.com for information.

Community food fair

Powerhouse Church, 1818 Katyland Drive, Katy, is sponsoring the Community Food Fair on March 30 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. The fair offers free food. Visit www.ktcm.org or call 281-391-9623 for information.

Spring Garage Sale

Keep Katy Beautiful is organizing its Spring Community Garage sale on Saturday, March 30. Visit www.cityofkaty.com to register a garage sale or visit City Hall at 901 Ave. C in Katy. Registration ends 5 p.m. March 27.

Historical Katy Crawfish Festival

No Label Brewing Co., 5351 1st. St., Katy will host the Historical Katy Crawfish Festival March 30-31. Free admission. Hubenak Country will perform from noon-3 p.m. and Chris Boise will perform from 3-6 p.m. Saturday. On Sunday, Trey Yenger will perform from noon-3 p.m. Texas Mesquite Grill will sell crawfish, nachos, hotdogs, snow cones and more. Visit http://nolabelbrew.com for information.

Used book sale

On Saturday, March 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Friends of the Maud Marks Library will hold their next used book sale at the library, 1815 Westgreen Blvd. There is a large selection of hardback fiction and nonfiction, as well as childrens books and paperbacks. All proceeds will benefit the library. Call 832-927-7860 for information.

Spring Community Garage Sale

Cane Islands Spring Community Garage Sale will be open 8 a.m.-noon on Saturday, March 30, at Cane Island resident homes. A garage sale map will be available online the day of the event. The event is rain or shine. Yard signs with QR codes also will be posted throughout the community. Visitors/residents can scan the QR codes to be directed to the map.

Garth Brooks tribute band

Come listen to Ropin the Wind (Garth Brooks Tribute Band) on March 30 at Central Green Park, 23501 Cinco Ranch Blvd., Katy. The eight-piece band will perform a free concert starting at 7 p.m. The band plays 28 Garth hits that consist of a two-hour show, including two encores.

Holi Festival of Colors

The Seven Lakes Hindu Students Association will present Holi Festival of Colors from noon-3 p.m. Saturday, March 30, at Willow Fork Park at Texas 99 and Cinco Ranch Boulevard.

March 31

TEAM send-off

Texans Embracing Americas Military are organizing a send-off for military recruits on Sunday, March 31, at Second Baptist Church-West Campus, 19449 Katy Freeway in Houston. The program will start at 2 p.m. Visit https://texansembracingamericasmilitary.com or www.facebook.com/TEAMKatyTx.

Markiton Fundraiser

The raffle to benefit Audrey and Matt Markiton ends at noon, March 31. Matt is in line for multiple organ transplants and fundraising events have been held to help cover medical costs. The March 31 fundraiser is a raffle for a week-long stay for six at Hacienda Del Lago in Ajijic, Mexico. Visit https://events.helphopelive.org/event/4923/signup for details.

April 2

Reduce your plastics footprint

In recognition of Earth Month in April, Fort Bend County Libraries Cinco Ranch Branch Library, 2620 Commercial Center Blvd., will present a free, special program promoting environmental awareness - Reducing Your Plastic Footprint - on Tuesday, April 2, from 7-8 p.m. Debby Wendt, program coordinator for the Coastal Prairie Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalists, will talk about the impact of plastics on the environment and ways to reduce or eliminate the amount of plastics that are used. For more information, call 281-395-1311 or 281-633-4734.
By Trend





President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has congratulated President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos.

"On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I sincerely congratulate you and the whole people of your country on the occasion of Independence Day," President Aliyev said in his congratulatory letter.

"On this remarkable day, I wish you the best of health, successes in your activities, and the friendly people of Greece lasting peace and prosperity," added President Aliyev.
During the 2018 Texas Senate race, Austin resident Michele Schwartz canvassed for Beto ORourke and opened a pop-up office for his campaign at her home. A religious follower of Pod Save America  a favorite podcast among liberals  the race between ORourke and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz presented her with an obvious choice.

On Saturday, though, Schwartz turned out for a rally at Texas Southern University to hear U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-California, stump to a Houston audience for the first time in her presidential campaign. Already, Schwartz, 50, has soured a bit on ORourke, turning instead to her preferred candidate: Harris.

I'm even less excited about him since his announcement rollout, she said, donning a black Kamala hat. I just didn't think it was very professionally done, and I think at this stage of our country, we need a candidate who can have the right people behind him and supporting him, or her  because they're going to throw everything they can at this candidate.

Hardly a week into his campaign, ORourkes prospects in the nascent 2020 Democratic presidential primary may depend on the loyalty of his Texas base at the polls next March, 16 months after his narrow loss to Cruz.

Now with a menu of alternatives, including Democrats who are not white men and those who have embraced the partys progressive policy planks with greater enthusiasm than ORourke, voters are considering candidates such as Harris, who sees an opening in the countrys third most delegate-rich state.

At Harris rally, some of the same Democrats who embraced ORourke for his slapdash campaign style and freewheeling rhetoric indicated they may be looking for something else in a presidential candidate.

I would rather have seen Beto run for Senate against (Republican Sen. John) Cornyn, said Houston resident Robert Tomlinson, 77. He would have had a better chance. That doesn't mean that he's not going to possibly win the race, the nomination for the presidency. But it's a lot different when you're running against the most hated senator in the nation, and then you've got to run against a lot of people who have a lot of similar ideas."

Tomlinson could do without ORourkes propensity for dropping f-bombs during stump speeches, he added, because presidential candidates should be held to a higher standard.

Harris, speaking at TSUs recreational center Saturday afternoon in front of signs proclaiming This is Harris County, reprised her campaign theme of speaking truth, using the phrase to tee up a stump speech that touched on climate change, gun control and the economic struggles of the middle class. Her early policy platform includes a proposal that would provide tax credits to poor and middle-income families.

One of the most important ingredients in trust is truth, Harris told the crowd of about 2,400, according to her campaigns estimate. So lets speak some truth, Harris County.

Though Harris did not touch on the news Friday that special counsel Robert Mueller had finished his Trump-Russia investigation, she did briefly unveil a plan to ramp up federal investment in teacher pay, pledging to close the pay gap between public teachers and similar professionals with college degrees by the end of her first term.

The vast majority of us have so much more to come, Harris said.

Notably, she took the stage to a rousing introduction from Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, who endorsed Harris on the spot while defending her prosecutorial record. Though some progressives have critiqued Harris for being overly tough on crime as the San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general, Ellis said, I know she's gonna fight for criminal justice reform.

Others in attendance included U.S. Reps. Sylvia Garcia and Sheila Jackson Lee, both Democrats of Houston. Harris also met Saturday with a group of female African-American judges elected to Harris County benches in the November midterms.

It was Ellis introduction, though, that drew attention due to his record of staunch criminal justice advocacy.

"She was a career prosecutor, but she was a thoughtful prosecutor, Ellis said of Harris.

Some attendees were undeterred by reports of Harris less-than-progressive prosecutorial record, including Kelly Broussard, a Harris County attorney who named criminal justice reform as a top issue and said Harris is learning as shes on the campaign trail about what voters want.

I know she has received a lot of flack, a lot of backlash about that, said Broussard, 43. But as a prosecutor, I think people don't understand that her position is not that of judge and jury. She's there to prosecute serious crimes.

Meanwhile, the prevalence of ORourke voters here who are now contemplating a Harris presidency underscored the challenge for both candidates. In some ways, they are courting a similar base of voters, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.

Both have more conservative-moderate records and are moving in a more progressive direction, Rottinghaus said. That, in a nutshell, is where Texas is. It has a long history of having conservative Democrats, who now find themselves in the same party as some very progressive Democrats.

Where Harris may have the edge over ORourke, Rottinghaus said, is in her ability to draw Latino voters  a group among which ORourke notably underperformed in the 2018 Democratic primary. For that demographic, Harris also will find herself competing in Texas with presidential candidate Julian Castro, the former San Antonio mayor and Housing and Urban Development secretary.

Castros self-acknowledged underdog campaign relies heavily on winning Texas, Rottinghaus said, and his path to victory becomes heavily clouded if non-Texas candidates continue to aggressively pursue delegates here.

I think he had hoped to have Texas to himself. That would have been a delegate goldmine, Rottinghaus said. He really needed Texas.

Before Houston, Harris stopped Friday evening in Grapevine, where she fielded questions from Tarrant County Democratic Party Chair Deborah Peoples. At both Texas stops, Harris did not appear to mention ORourke or address the question of how aggressively she plans to pursue delegates here.

The more the merrier, Harris said on MSNBC when asked earlier this month about ORourkes candidacy. Pressed to weigh in on the candidate, she told the moderator, I probably have not studied him as much as you have.
A Houston police sergeant was charged with murder Saturday after his wife was found shot to death in their Pearland home, according to enforcement officials.

Pearland police were called at noon Saturday to a house in the 1900 block of Canyon Creek Court, after a family member trying to get in contact with the victim found her dead inside the kitchen.

Hilario R. Hernandez, 56, was taken into custody hours later in Kingsville, southwest of Corpus Christi. Jodi Silva, a Houston Police Department spokeswoman, confirmed that Hernandez works for HPD.

Pearland ISD confirmed that Belinda Hernandez, the librarian at Shadycrest Elementary, died Saturday. The district will have extra counselors on campus Monday to help children cope.

"Please keep our Shadycrest family and the Hernandez family in your prayers," the statement said.

The couple had been married more than three decades and had two grown children. "I was very happily married; I loved my children," Belinda Hernandez told the Chronicle in 2014, when she was featured in a story for fulfilling her dream of becoming a teacher. "But I always had my one regret. I wished I had gone to college and become a teacher."

She returned to college in 2011 to make that dream a reality.

Investigators are now looking for surveillance video that could provide additional details, Pearland police spokesman Jason Wells said.

"We are going to conduct business as usual," Wells said. "The law is held accountable for everybody, actually more so for (officers)."

Police had not yet found anyone who heard gunshots. More than a dozen neighbors stood outside watching police investigate, with almost the entire dead-end block taped off by Pearland police.

They were shocked, describing the area as a quiet suburban neighborhood with no history of violence.

"They seemed like just everyday, normal people," said Lucretia Jeansonne, 64, who lives down the street.

She would wave at Hernandez when he drove by.

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Crews on Sunday continued to secure the Deer Park plant and surrounding waterways where officials reported that thousands of barrels of chemical product had been removed after a breached containment wall sent the hazardous materials sprawling into the Houston Ship Channel.

Officials at Intercontinental Terminals Co. said that theyve made significant progress after days of setbacks at the site. A fire that sparked last Sunday ravaged 11 tanks at the plant and sent Houston-area residents into a flurry over air and water quality as a result of flames and subsequent chemical releases.

We did make the transition in unified command back to a proactive mode, ITC incident commander Brent Weber said at a Sunday morning news conference. We are in a safe place as far as protecting our responders and protecting the community.

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In addition, the Environmental Protection Agency hasn't received any reports in the past 24 hours of excessive concentrations of chemicals in the air above one part per million.

The Environmental Defense Fund on Sunday released air sampling results on Sunday, however, that showed concentrations of benzene up to 495 parts per billion on Saturday near the fire site. The concentration is about .5 parts per million, below a count what would trigger public health warnings.

"Given the potential of exposure to high concentrations of benzene over multiple days, we are very concerned about the health and safety of residents living in the nearby communities," said Elena Craft, senior director for climate and health at the environmental advocacy group. "We urge everyone to be vigilant. Risk remains until these chemicals are fully contained."

Attention shifted to the Houston Ship Channel on Saturday, when The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality reported that it found nine toxins in the drainage ditch that leads to the channel. The agency said on Saturday that it has yet to complete analyses of samples taken from Tucker Bayou, the Ship Channel and Galveston Bay.

U.S. Coast Guard officials said they're doubling and tripling down on removing chemicals from the waterway, which drives the economy of the region. An estimated 60,000 gallons of watery-oil product have been taken out of the channel, said Lt. Commander Jared Toczko of the US Coast Guard. Most of the remaining product has been contained within booms in Tucker Bayou.

The impacted area is a span of 2 nautical miles from Patricks Bayou to the Lynchburg ferry, Toczko said. Pockets of oil remain in parts of the 2-mile span.

Responders have deployed 27,000 feet of booms, which is triple the amount from Saturdays efforts. Oyster beds on the eastern side of the channel have also been boomed.

More than 70 vessels are skimming the area, Toczko said.

The Coast Guard is working to recover the oil pockets Tucker Bayou and partially reopen the ship channel, which closed Friday around noon, when the containment wall breached.

We want to be able to get the ship channel open but we dont want to take a step back, Toczko said.

The updates presented Sunday stood in contrast to ITCs previous press conferences, where they reported repeated roadblocks in the mitigation process. After the fire was extinguished on Wednesday, authorities had trouble removing product from the remaining tanks and worked to keep a protective foam layer intact on top of the spilled chemicals.

And on Friday, a containment wall breached around the tank farm, sending the foam and volatile compounds into an adjacent drainage ditch that leads to the Houston Ship Channel. Several tanks re-ignited, and the fire spread into the ditch, sending up a plume of black smoke for the third time that week. It was extinguished shortly after.

Crews have since removed more than 12,647 barrels of pyrolysis gasoline, or pygas, from one of the compromised tanks, according to officials at the Intercontinental Terminals Co. plant. The full amount has yet to be removed from the tank, as Weber said he estimated on Friday that about 20,000 barrels were in the holding area.

The tank includes a fixed roof on top and a floating roof inside. ITC removed all of the pygas above the floating roof, and the chemicals that remain are contained under the floating roof, Weber said.

ITC is working to remove the remaining chemicals from all of the tanks in the 15-block tank farm.

The next steps today over the next 24 hours is to methodically go after each tank, Weber said.

About 650 barrels of product have also been removed from the ditch as of 6:30 a.m. Sunday, ITC officials said. Oil surrounding the tanks damaged in the fire is now sitting at 2 inches, instead of the 2 feet reported Saturday.

Its unclear how much liquid leaked from the site. The tanks held flammable compounds, including gasoline blends, xylene, naptha and pyrolysis gasoline.

Were extremely happy with the progress that has occurred in the last 24 hours but yet I would say were still very cautious in regards to what needs to occur, Mayor Jerry Mouton said at a Sunday morning news conference.

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By Trend





Italy signed deals worth 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion) during Chinese President Xi Jinpings visit to Rome, Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said on Saturday, adding that the value of the contracts could rise to 20 billion, Trend reported citing Reuters.

Earlier, Di Maio inked a preliminary deal making Italy the first major wealthy Western nation to endorse Chinas ambitious Belt and Road infrastructure project despite worries amongst key allies that this could undermine Western interests.

Di Maio told reporters the government remained committed to its Western partners but said it had to put Italy first.
PARKLAND, Fla. - In the span of one week, two teenagers have died by suicide in Parkland, the community still grieving the loss of 17 teachers and students last year in a deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

The mother of a recent graduate told CBS Miami last week that her daughter had taken her own life. Sydney Aiello, 19, was a senior at the school during the massacre. One of her friends, Meadow Pollack, was killed. In the year since the shooting, Aiello had struggled with survivor's guilt and had recently been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, her mother said.

During the weekend, word began to spread that another Parkland teenager had also died in what authorities called an "apparent suicide." The student's name and age were not released, and authorities said the death was under investigation.

The circumstances surrounding the second student's death are unclear, and mental health advocates cautioned against jumping to conclusions.

But in the South Florida community, student and parent activists quickly linked the two deaths - placing them in the context of the 17 other lives lost at Marjory Stoneman Douglas last year.

"17 + 2," tweeted Ryan Petty, who is the father of Alaina Petty, a student killed in the shooting, and the founder of The Walkup Foundation, a school safety organization. Hillary Clinton tweeted Sunday that "nothing is worth the tremendous costs our young people bear because of our inaction on guns." David Hogg, one of the student activists who rose to prominence in the wake of the Parkland shooting, called for officials to do more to prevent such deaths.

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Parent Teacher Association tweeted a flier with the contact information of trauma counselors on Sunday, which was retweeted by an account for the school's principal.

News of the second student's death came on the first anniversary of March for Our Lives, the massive student-led demonstration against gun violence that was held in several U.S. cities last March. The protest was led by student activists from Parkland, including senior Aalayah Eastmond, who spoke at the Washington march.

"This day is so heavy," Eastmond, 18, said Sunday afternoon while visiting a memorial garden called Grow Love outside the gates of her school. "It's the anniversary of the march, and then this sad news. It's all a lot."

Eastmond travels the country, speaking to community groups about school violence. There aren't enough resources for students across the country, she said, but there's also a shortfall in her own school. Eastmond said she sees a school therapist who has helped her, but she said there's only a handful available.

"This school of all places should have the resources. We're known nationwide because of the shooting," she said. "If we can't get it right here, where can we get it right?"

Elected officials, school personnel and members of various county organizations met Sunday afternoon to discuss how to improve the availability of counseling services and raise awareness about mental health, Parkland Mayor Christine Hunschofsky said in an interview.

The first priority would be "communicating to parents the need to talk to their children, and students to talk to each other," about mental health and suicide prevention, she said.

"I think we need to talk about it, I think we need to be educated more about it," she said. "Everybody deals with tragedy and trauma in their own trauma and their own way. Some people are doing better than others, and some are still struggling severely."

Parents and students would be provided with copies of the Columbia Protocol, the mayor said, which friends, family and loved ones can use to determine if a person is at risk of suicide. The group also decided to move up the opening of Eagles' Haven, a wellness and support center that would be available to members of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas community seven days a week.

A "resilience center" has also been set up by Broward County schools; it provides crisis and grief counseling, as well as support groups, for those who still grapple with trauma from the shooting.

But some at the school believed that the current resources provided to students were insufficient.

"The kids need help, and many of them that do need help are not getting any," history teacher Greg Pittman, who taught Aiello, told the Miami Herald. "They want to talk to people that were there."

He added that "many of them think that they don't need help, that only their friends who were there understand. More resources probably would help, but also the resources that knew them (are) leaving."

To reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, call 1-800-273-TALK (8255). You can also text a crisis counselor by messaging 741741.

- - -

Mettler and Epstein reported from Washington.
A portion of the Houston Ship Channel remained closed Saturday as the U.S. Coast Guard attempts to determine what amount of volatile chemicals have leaked from fire-damaged Intercontinental Terminals Co. tanks into the waterway that serves as an economic engine for the region.

Test results published by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Saturday afternoon confirmed what officials feared  that contaminants, including carcinogenic benzene, were found in hazardous concentrations in an ITC drainage ditch that flows into the ship channel.

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The Coast Guard has no timetable for when it plans to re-open the closed a 7-mile stretch, home to the second-largest port in the United States, measured by tonnage. What began as a small storage tank chemical fire a week ago now threatens to harm one of Houstons largest industries.

Jim Kruse, director of the Center for Ports and Waterways at Texas A&M University, said vessels can anticipate bad weather and adjust schedules accordingly. Sudden port closures can quickly bring financial pain to shipping firms. A Texas A&M study of a four-day closure of the entire Ship Channel in 2014, due to a fuel spill, found outgoing vessels suffered $7.3 million in losses.

HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM INVESTIGATES: Deer Park company battling fire accused of intentionally polluting water during Harvey

Its a big mess and a serious problem, Kruse said. They have to pay extra when theyre sitting at the docks. If they dont deliver on time, those penalties add up past, to many thousands of dollars.

Tim Hicks, a Coast Guard Vessel Control watch supervisor, said Saturday evening 25 vessels are stuck in the ship channel, while another 26 await permission to enter. They include cargo ships, as well as gas and chemical tankers of varying sizes.

Ive got ships as large as 820 by 144 feet and as small as 384 by 64 (feet), Hicks said.

The Guard closed roughly half of the channel shortly after noon Friday, after a containment wall breached at the ITC facility and allowed a sludge of firefighting foam and volatile compounds stored at the site to leak first into a nearby ditch and then into the channel, which flows into Galveston Bay.

Coast Guard Captain Kevin Oditt said crews will continue to use booms, pumps and skimming devices to remove chemicals from the water. The Coast Guard has also brought in its Alabama-based Gulf Strike Team, which assists with major spill clean-ups.

Once the release happened (Friday), that boom was able to contain much of the spill an contaminants, Oditt said. However, some of the product was able to get by the booms, and the Port of Houston fire boats detected an elevated level of benzene.

Company and government officials said they are unsure how much liquid leaked from the site, though they said the tanks held flammable compounds, such as gasoline blends, xylene, naphtha and pyrolysis gasoline.

TCEQ announced Saturday afternoon that water samples from the ITC ditch were found to have nine toxic substances in concentrations harmful to humans, including xylene, pyrene and toluene. The agency said it has yet to complete analyses of samples taken from Tucker Bayou, the Ship Channel and Galveston Bay.

TCEQ said worsening and unstable conditions because of the wall breach forced technicians to adjust their response, but the agency pledged to continue working around the clock.

The leak has also forced the closure of the San Jacinto Monument, Battleship Texas State Historic Site and Lynchburg Ferry crossing, which serves about 1,200 cars daily.

Second fire contained

The containment wall breach allowed flame-retardant foam to leak from the charred Deer Park tank farm and likely caused the site to re-ignite on Friday afternoon, company officials said at a news conference Saturday morning.

The 10-foot breach allowed an unknown volume of foam and volatile compounds from the tanks to leak into a nearby ditch and then the Houston Ship Channel, ITC Incident Commander Brent Weber said. Footage from television helicopters shortly before the eruption showed gaps in the foam blanket covering the site, increasing the risk of ignition.

The fire erupted at 3:45 p.m. Friday at the site of three storage tanks that had already burned and a new location, the ditch into which fuels had leaked. Unlike a brief flare-up on Wednesday, which firefighters extinguished within minutes, Fridays blazes took an hour to put out.

Firefighters immediately begin spraying foam on both fires, spokeswoman Alice Richardson said.

The blazes caused a brief spike in air pollution, tests showed. An air quality reading taken by the Environmental Protection Agency at 5 p.m. Friday on Peninsula Street, across the channel from ITC, found a benzene level five times higher than a level considered safe.

The fires also forced crews back into a defensive position, scuttling plans Friday to continue siphoning fuel from the damaged 80,000-barrel tanks to secure containers, Weber said. The site is too unstable to determine the amount of product left in each tank.

Crews resumed draining tanks Saturday afternoon and several vacuum trucks continued removing liquid from the ditch on the west side of Tidal Road.

The focus of the unified command today, over the next 24 hours, is to transition back from reactive to proactive, he said.

The incident commander said he could not rule out further flare ups, and said continuously maintaining the foam layer on the site is key to preventing more fires. Higher winds on Saturday and the potential for rain by Monday may make that objective more challenging, he said.

The company defended waiting 18 hours to brief the public on Fridays developments, which created an information vacuum that Harris County officials struggled to fill as Deer Park residents clamored for updates. ITC canceled a news conference planned for Friday afternoon.

I will tell you, as you saw that happening, we saw that happening, Richardson said. So its fast. Its moving quickly. Were trying our best.

Deer Park Mayor Jerry Mouton Jr. echoed the frustrations of many residents who wonder, after seven days, when the company will be able to declare the community safe from further fires and chemical discharges.

In this situation its been a never-ending, reoccurring, attempting-to-do-something and its just not working out the way its been planned, he said.

Richardson said ITC will brief reporters next at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

The cause of the initial fire this past Sunday remains unknown. The Harris County Fire Marshals Office and U.S. Chemical Safety board have begun probes, though the site remains too unsafe for investigators to visit.

Staff writers Jordan Blum and Andrea Leinfelder contributed reporting.

zach.despart@chron.com

www.twitter.com/zachdespart

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Senaat, one of the largest industrial investment holding companies in the UAE, reported a steady revenue growth in 2018 which totalled Dh16.3 billion ($4.43 billion), a 3.5 per cent increase over the previous years revenue of Dh15.7 billion ($4.27 billion).



More notably, EBITDA increased to more than Dh2.5 billion ($680.6 million) in 2018, a 20 per cent increase compared to 2017, reflecting margin enhancement realised by capitalising on market opportunities and through cost control initiatives implemented across the group, said a statement.



These outstanding results complement the sustained growth in the company's industrial assets portfolio which reached Dh27.3 billion ($7.43 billion) at the end of 2018, representing a compounded annual growth rate of 15.5 per cent since Senaats inception in 2004.



The company continues to invest to develop assets, increasing Senaats contribution to Abu Dhabis industrial asset base.



In the last quarter of 2018, Senaat successfully issued a Dh1.1 billion ($300 million) sukuk with a 7-year tenor dual listed on the London Stock Exchange and Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.



The new sukuk had strong investor demand both locally and internationally, enabling the issue to be 8.7 times oversubscribed. The sukuk was competitively priced, with a fixed rate of 4.76 per cent per year, underpinned by investment grade ratings of A3 by Moodys and A by Fitch.



These ratings are the first to be assigned to Senaat by Moodys and Fitch and have also been assigned to the sukuk itself.



Dr Mohamed Rashed Al Hameli, chairman of Senaat, said: In 2018, our company continued to successfully deliver towards supporting Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030. The company has played a significant role in progressing Abu Dhabi's vision to diversify economic resources and reduce dependence on the oil and gas sector by developing a solid industrial base that enables Senaat to compete globally.



One of the main strategic objectives of Senaat is to support the social and economic development of Abu Dhabi by spearheading industrial investments that will achieve long-term, sustainable returns, as well as to develop human capital, he said.



Al Hameli continued: These strong financial results reflect the resilience of our companys business model, and its adaptability and sustainability in the face of volatile and challenging market conditions.



We are proud of the company's remarkable achievements in its different sectors and we look forward to continuing this growth and capitalising on investment opportunities to maximise shareholder value, he added.



Engineer Jamal Salem Al Dhaheri, CEO of Senaat, said: Our company has once again delivered solid financial performance, which demonstrates its ability to deliver stable returns for our shareholder.



We must also remember the efforts of all our portfolio companies, whose management teams and staff deserve great credit for their contributions. We look forward to building on this growth trajectory and expanding our businesses. Over the past few years, we have been able to achieve outstanding results, supported by our strong efforts to develop our company and consolidate its position as one of the UAEs leading diversified industrial groups, he said.



We have been able to successfully fund investments, as well as build strategic partnerships, that will further strengthen and grow our industrial portfolio, he added.



Following a strategic plan to support and promote the national Emiratisation program at Senaat and across the industrial sector, Senaat has achieved an outstanding Emiratisation rate of 66 per cent, and 75 per cent nationalisation at leadership positions.



In 2018, Senaat successfully placed 161 Emirati employees throughout the group, while retaining a significant portion of 1,367 Emiratis in the same period. By 2020, the company aims to recruit 396 Emiratis across the group, to achieve 23 per cent Emiratisation of its total workforce.  TradeArabia News Service
U.S. Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, D-Houston, continued to chart a moderate course on the Democratic Partys top issues Saturday at her first town hall as a member of Congress, staying firm in her position that the Affordable Care Act should be built upon, not scrapped, and that the Green New Deal should not be the only part of the conversation.

The wide-ranging town hall at Frostwood Elementary School in Spring Branch touched on a host of topics that gave Fletcher ample opportunity to tour her bipartisan bona fides, though a contingent of Republicans in the room did not mistake Fletcher for one of their own, heckling the new congresswoman over her opposition to a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

What the data shows is that the number of apprehensions outside of the ports of entry has actually gone down over time, Fletcher said, eliciting a round of jeers from some members of the crowd, which totaled more than 400 people.

She then added: I have always said I am open to the idea, if somebody says we need to have increased fencing here, we need to have increased security, that we should be listening to them.

Flanked on the other side by her partys progressive wing, Fletcher declined to bite when a constituent attempted to appeal to her fiscally moderate side.

You mentioned that youre part of this pro-business and pro-growth (coalition), and I would urge you to help reframe the conversation about what that means, the constituent said. The Green New Deal  extremely pro-growth and pro-business.

Fletcher said its important that we are talking about the ideas in the Green New Deal, then pivoted to her healthcare stance. In an interview, she later expanded on her views about the sweeping economic stimulus proposal put forth by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., noting that it is a resolution and a set of ideas, not legislation.

Overall, we need to be leading the conversation on what our energy future looks like from this district and from this community, because  I keep saying it, but its true  its the energy capital of the world, Fletcher said. We understand how we make it, and how we deliver it, and how we use it.

So far, Fletcher said she has observed a disconnect between what she hears from energy-minded people in her 7th Congressional District, which runs from some of Houstons most affluent neighborhoods out to the suburbs of Harris County, and from folks in Washington, D.C.

Theres a sense that you have to choose between caring about the planet and having energy. Its a false choice, she said. Ive had a ton of people come in to talk to me, whether its on the strengths of various fossil fuels on the spectrum, light crude vs. heavy crude vs. coal vs. natural gas  theres definitely a sense that even among fossil fuels, not all are created equal.

During the town hall, Fletcher also fielded a question from a frustrated constituent who had flooded during Hurricane Harvey and discovered that she was ineligible for certain assistance because she did not meet the low-income threshold for aid required by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Fletcher said she sympathized with the concern and is looking for additional ways to get funding streams coming here that wont have those same limitations.

While I support the mission of HUD and understand the purpose, I think we also need to make sure that in a disaster like Harvey, there are avenues for recovery for (all) people who are affected, she said.

As for the news Friday that special counsel Robert Mueller had concluded his report on the long-running Trump-Russia investigation, Fletcher said the first step is to ensure Congress receives the report itself, along with underlying documentation, before making any moves.

The question of impeachment is one of whether the president has committed high crimes and misdemeanors, and we need to see the evidence, Fletcher said. ... Ultimately Congress has to be prepared to act on the information. It may be that it is not warranted, and it may be that it is.

Meanwhile, she said, members cannot be paralyzed by the report. For instance, Fletcher  who sits on the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure  said she is working on portions of a federal infrastructure bill, as well as pipeline safety guidelines.

Otherwise, Fletcher voiced support for the direction of Metros 20-year transit plan and an accompanying $3 billion bond, though she declined to delve into the weeds of the draft plan.

At the end of the day Ill just be one more voter in the Metro service area that gets to vote on the plan, Fletcher said. But I think the idea that we are addressing our transportation needs in a big and systematic way is really important.

Earlier this month, Fletcher and two other Democrats launched an investigation into a decision by state and federal officials to decline NASAs offer to monitor post-Harvey air pollution. Fletcher said she has received the requested documents from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality  the state agency that declined assistance  but has yet to hear from the Environmental Protection Agency or NASA.

jasper.scherer@chron.com

twitter.com/jaspscherer
The Brooks County Sheriff's Office is having a bit of trouble filling some job vacancies.

At least, that is one of the office's dispatchers said Saturday.

On Feb. 28, the organization posted these job listings on its Facebook page.

Almost a month later, the office, located in a county less than 70 miles from the Texas-Mexico border, decided it needed to be a little bit more ... direct with its job recruiting campaign.

So on Friday, the Brooks County Sheriff's Office posted a video to its Facebook page of an officer conducting a traffic stop on Hwy 281 South near Encino in Brooks County.

The search was conducted on a white Ford F-250 after the vehicle came back stolen.

The video shows the driver of the truck speeding away. Following a brief pursuit, the vehicle pulls over and the driver bails out.

But he isn't the only one to make a run for it.

You can watch the scene take a sudden turn below.

However, the BCSO dispatcher also said she believes the incident in the video actually took place in 2016.

The day, month and or year is not visible anywhere on that Facebook post.

The Brooks County Sheriff's Office does not make arrest records and reports available on its website.

RELATED: These Houston-area schools had the highest number of fights during the 2017-18 academic year

The dispatcher also said only certain administrators were authorized to release arrest reports and records.

None of those individuals have responded to Chron.com's request for comment as of yet.

Chron.com also reached out to the employee of the Brooks County Sheriff's Office who posted the video.

That individual has also not yet responded to a request for comment.

This story will be updated if more information becomes available.

Peter Dawson is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | Peter.Dawson@chron.com | NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.
A decision by the City Council to bar Chik-fil-A from opening a restaurant at San Antonio International Airport is drawing criticism from Sen. Ted Cruz.

"Ridiculous," Cruz tweeted Friday, with a link to a story about the vote. "The details of this story are even worse," he followed up Saturday, tweeting a link to another story. "San Antonio City Council voted to ban @ChickfilA from the airport bc the company gave to...the Fellowship of Christian Athletes & the Salvation Army?!?

"That's ridiculous. And not Texas," he wrote, along with the hashtag #LeftistIntolerance.

After council members Roberto Trevino and Manny Pelaez voiced concerns about the eatery's inclusion at the airport because of its anti-LGBT reputation, the council voted to reject the restaurant under a deal approved Thursday.

FOR SUBSCRIBERS: Council votes to block Chick-fil-A from airport over LGBT issues

The plan entails Paradies Lagardere bringing eight vendors to Terminal A at the airport, including Smoke Shack, Local Coffee and Sip Brew Bar and Market, and finding a replacement for Chik-fil-A.

"The heart of the LGBTQ community is in District 1, and that community has come together to voice its disapproval of this proposal because it includes a company with a legacy of anti-LGBTQ behavior," Trevino said.

In a statement Saturday, Chik-fil-A said that the press release put out by the council member "was the first we heard of his motion and its approval" by the council.

"We wish we had the opportunity to clarify misperceptions about our company prior to the vote. We agree with the councilmember that everyone should feel welcome at Chick-fil-A," the company said. "In fact, we have welcomed everyone in San Antonio into our 32 local stores for more than 40 years."

"We would welcome the opportunity to have a thoughtful dialogue with the city council and we invite all of them into our local stores to interact with the more than 2,000 team members who are serving the people of San Antonio," the statement continued. "We hope they will experience for themselves that Chick-fil-A embraces all people, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity."

Staff writer Dylan McGuinness contributed to this report.
GE Power, a leading technology company, recently showcased a suite of innovative technologies shaping the future of the energy sector, at the UAE Advanced Power Technology Day organised in collaboration with the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE.



The solutions presented complement the direction under UAE Energy Strategy 2050 to increase the contribution of clean energy to the total energy mix from 25 per cent to 50 per cent and reduce the carbon footprint of power generation by 70 per cent, thus saving Dh700 billion ($190.57 billion) by 2050, said a statement.



The event welcomed up to 70 high level attendees, including government officials, industry experts, power plant owners and operators, consultants, and others, it said.



Taking centre stage at the event were GEs record-setting HA technology  the worlds most efficient heavy-duty gas turbine; and the Advanced Gas Path (AGP) upgrade technology, which helps deliver higher levels of efficiency, output, and flexibility while lowering maintenance costs for customers, allowing them to better utilize existing assets.



Joseph Anis, president and CEO of GEs Power Services and Gas Power Systems businesses in the Middle East and South Asia, said: With the UAE Energy Strategy 2050 focused on sustainability, we need solutions that are more efficient, as well as more flexible so they can ramp up and down quickly to complement intermittent renewable energy and help stabilize the grid.



UAE Advanced Power Technology Day underlines GEs commitment to support the country in reducing the environmental impact of the power sector, with proven, cost-effective solutions that pay for themselves, he added.



An excellent fit for the UAEs evolving energy landscape, GEs HA technology offers more than 64 per cent efficiency in combined cycle power plants  higher than any other competing technology today.



The turbine has already helped to deliver two world records for efficiency, one each in the 60 hertz and 50 hertz segments of the global power market. Capable of ramping up or down at up to 88 megawatts per minute while still meeting emissions requirements, the turbine can help support countries transitioning to a larger proportion of renewable power in their energy mix by helping to balance grid instability.



GE was the first to launch H-class gas turbine technology in 2003 and its evolution led to the introduction of the HA turbine in 2014.



In the UAE, the HA technology is being adopted by the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) for an upcoming 1.8 gigawatts independent combined cycle power project located in Hamriyah, Sharjah.



GEs AGP technology has been installed on 450 units, generating $775 million a year in benefits to power producers and the markets they serve in 39 countries on five continents.



With AGP upgrades, GE 9F gas turbines can achieve up to an 8 percent output increase and up to a 2 per cent efficiency increase, whereas GE 6F gas turbines can realize up to a 4.2 per cent output increase and up to a 1.2 per cent efficiency increase.



GE 9E gas turbine operations with AGP upgrades have achieved up to a 6.2 per cent output increase and up to a 1.7 per cent efficiency increase. These turbines are widely deployed in the Middle East and the AGP solution is being implemented across the region to enhance gas turbine performance outcomes.



Steven C Bondy, Charge d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi, said: Working together to improve energy efficiency is a goal that continues to unite the United States and the UAE.



I am pleased that GE is answering that challenge by providing our Emirati partners with solutions to help the UAE achieve its ambitious targets. GE continues to demonstrate why it is a global business leader and has been a committed partner to the UAE for more than 40 years, he added.



Other technologies in focus at the event included integrated solar solutions, modular battery energy storage solutions, smarter, cleaner steam power technologies, and digital applications for better asset management and dispatch planning.



Dr Dalya Al Muthanna, president and CEO of GE Gulf, said: The UAE has been a regional leader in terms of designing and adopting innovations that leave a positive impact on society.



Our company is proud to be a part of the countrys innovation journey by bringing advanced, record-setting solutions to the UAE, and we remain committed to helping to diversify the energy mix, modernise the power sector and meet national energy security goals, Al Muthanna added.



GE has supported the development of the energy sector in the UAE and the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for over 80 years.



Today, GE-built technologies can generate up to 50 per cent of the GCCs electricity, supporting the energy sectors transformation by helping to utilise various fuel sources and working across the electricity value network from generation, to transmission and distribution, and deploying advanced digital industrial solutions.  TradeArabia News Service
OHCHR Moldova: Apel deschis pentru aplicatii din partea OSC-urilor pentru a beneficia de suport in desfasurarea activitatilor de advocacy la nivel international in contextul celui de-al treilea ciclu de EPU a R. Moldova
CLEVELAND, Ohio  The Cleveland Clinic plans to build a new hospital in Mentor, expanding its presence in Lake County and adding another actor to a crowded healthcare scene there.

The Clinic slated the hospital for property it already owns on Ohio 615, just north of I-90, at 8020 Center St., situated among two other existing hospitals within a few miles radius.

The health system has shared few details about the new hospital since it was announced in late February by CEO Tom Mihaljevic. At that time, Mihaljevic said the new facility would be small and offer both inpatient and outpatient care. The Clinic has since confirmed that the hospital also will have an emergency department.

A Clinic spokesperson said plans are still developing but that initial design work on the project should begin later this year.

The size of the hospital has not been determined but will be based on the healthcare needs of the community, the Clinic said in a statement.

The move is part of a larger effort by the Clinic to attract new patients. Mihaljevic has said the Clinic plans to double the number of patients it serves  to 4 million  in the next five years through telemedicine and population health, as well as expansions in and out of state.

Responsible stewardship will allow us to grow, and we will grow both physically and digitally. Well invest in our home base and our core infrastructure here in Ohio, Mihaljevic said during his annual State of the Clinic address.

When the Clinic purchased the 47 acres on Center Street in the Newell Creek development in 2012, it was granted a zoning change that allowed for a medical center instead of a lifestyle center.

While the Clinic still needs to go through Mentors planning commission, Kevin Malecek, director of economic development and international trade for Mentor, said he doesnt anticipate it will be a long, drawn-out process.

We all kind of know what the Cleveland Clinic footprint is and how they build and design hospitals, Malecek said.

Health of Lake County

The Clinics new hospital will be located within 7 miles in two directions of two hospitals  TriPoint in Painesville and Lake Health West in Willoughby  operated by Lake Health, as well as two health centers  UH Mentor Health Center and UH Concord Health Center  operated by University Hospitals.

The Clinics new hospital will be located within 7 miles in two directions of two hospitals operated by Lake Health.

Can such a small area support so many hospitals and medical facilities?

Malecek said he expects there will be enough customers to support growth in the medical industry. The Newell Creek area includes not only housing developments but also a handful of elder-care facilities and large manufacturing players such as Avery Dennison.

I think its always a good thing for us to have another hospital option, another medical service option for our population, Malecek said. As we have an aging population in this area, there will be plenty of patients.

Dino DiSanto, vice president of marketing and government affairs for Lake Health, said the health system will continue to be focused on providing care for [its] community.

We have been the community hospital in Lake County for more than 100 years. The core of our success has been partnering with our doctors, the community and other entities to provide the best possible care right here in Lake County. We will continue to do that, DiSanto said.

UH, which has partnership agreements with Lake Health, did not respond to requests for comment.

John Palmer, director of media and public relations for the Ohio Hospital Association, said its common for multiple health systems to locate in the same area.

A lot of that I think is driven by where infrastructure is: the freeway system, commercial development, high traffic areas, Palmer said. It occurs in a lot of areas around the state where you might have multiple facilities in one general area trying to get visibility and convenience of access.

But, as the population of an area ages, as it is doing in Mentor, more health systems are opening smaller hospitals to serve aging patients closer to home, Palmer said. In Cuyahoga County, MetroHealth opened two micro-hospitals  in Cleveland Heights and in Parma  last year.

These micro-hospitals are often the more appropriate type to meet the needs, Palmer said. Theyre really tailoring these facilities to services that are really targeted to the particular patients.
WESTLAKE, Ohio -- Theft, Center Ridge Road: A representative of a Center Ridge Road business contacted police at 11:30 a.m. March 18 to report that someone had entered and stolen various items while the building was unoccupied. An estimated $1,600 worth of office equipment was missing.

Telephone scam: On March 14, a city resident said he had received a phone call purportedly from AARP advising that he had won $4 million. The caller said he needed the winners credit card information to forward the prize. However, the wary resident refused to turn over the information and contacted police.

Shoplifting, Detroit Road: Officers responded at noon March 18 to Discount Drug Mart for a reported shoplifting. A man tried to take about $100 worth of clothing, according to police. When the store loss prevention officer confronted the suspect, he dropped the merchandise and fled in a black Ford Fusion.

Loss prevention suspects that the man is the same person who took more than $1,000 in energy drinks earlier in the month. Police have identified a suspect and obtained felony warrants for his arrest.

Disorderly conduct, Center Ridge Road: An officer about 1 a.m. March 3 spotted a woman walking in the center of Center Ridge Road near Walter Road. The woman appeared highly intoxicated and told the officer that she had grown up in Westlake and could walk in the road if she wanted, according to police.

Although she was staggering around when speaking to the officer, she said she only had taken cold medicine. The 54-year-old Rocky River woman became belligerent at the Westlake jail and was physically restrained as she was placed into a cell. Police cited her with disorderly conduct while intoxicated.

Stolen car recovery, Clemens Road: Officers at 1 p.m. March 13 spotted a suspicious car entering a motel parking lot. They learned that the car had been reported as stolen from Brooklyn. Police found the male driver and a woman in one of the motel rooms. The 26-year-old Rocky River man was turned over to Brooklyn police for the possible filing of charges.

If youd like to comment on this story, visit Saturdays crime and courts comments section.
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- The citys elected finance director has resigned after 19 years on the job.

John Veres announced in the citys weekly administrative update for Feb. 22 that he would be leaving the city and assuming the role of appointed finance director for the City of Macedonia.

He was quoted in the update as saying, Although I have enjoyed my role for the last 19 years with the city, at the end of the day, not seeking re-election is the best decision for me and my family going forward.

Veres explained that the opportunity of a new position came along sooner than expected, and that his new job will allow him to continue to use his municipal finance experience in an appointed position, rather than in an elected one.

The usual term for a finance director in Independence is four years; Veres has served nearly six terms. There is no limit as to how many times a person may run for re-election for this position.

With the next election for finance director not coming until November, the mayor and City Council plan to further discuss the procedure for finding a replacement for Veres.

Mayor Anthony Togliatti explained that the city cannot operate without a finance director in place. In this case, the mayor will appoint a director and City Council members will confirm the appointment. Due to a charter change approved by voters this past November, that appointee would have to run for election this fall to keep the position.

The requirements for the finance director position include a bachelors degree from an accredited college or university and at least five years of experience in accounting or finance. Veres is a certified public accountant.

During his time with Independence, Veres has earned the Ohio Auditor of State Award with Distinction for seven years and the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association for 10 years.

At the March 12 City Council meeting, Veres gave a statement as a part of his report.

After much discussion with my wife and family, I had made up my mind that I was not going to seek re-election, he said. I will be resigning as Independence finance director once an interim director is approved by council.

Following his report, audience members and council representatives applauded with a standing ovation in his honor.

During the audience participation portion of the evening, Independence resident Bob Wagner spoke highly of Veres, saying, You are caring, honest and trusted; a respected professional.

Youve done your fair share and we have no right to ask more of you," Wagner said.

Each of the council members also gave their own comments on Veres time with the city.

Councilperson Tom Narduzzi said: John has been a rock for me. You were one of the guys who answered our questions. Youve helped me for the last 18 years.

When you look at the economic development success, and we look at the various administrations and Economic Development Department, none of it happens without John Veres, said Councilperson Jim Trakas.

Veres began his position with the City of Macedonia as of this month, but has agreed to continue to work with both cities to ensure a smooth transition for Independence.

Im saddened to see him go. He is a tremendous asset to the city of Independence, said Togliatti. [He] cannot be leaving the city in a better financial position. [He is leaving] large shoes left to fill with his departure.
LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- Theft, Halstead Avenue: A woman called police early March 10 to report that she had invited a man to her home whom she did not know well, and that he subsequently stole her TV.

Disorderly conduct, Chesterland Avenue: Police arrested a man about 4 a.m. March 10 after receiving a call from a woman who said her son was intoxicated, had kicked in her bedroom door and had left with her dog. Police arrested a man for disorderly conduct by intoxication and returned the callers dog.

Driving under the influence, Hilliard Road: Police arrested a male driver about 1:30 a.m. March 13 near Atkins Avenue for operating a vehicle while impaired. The vehicle was towed from the scene.

Criminal damaging, Granger Avenue: Police responded at about 10:40 p.m. March 13 to a call about a car crashing into a utility pole. The pole was split in half, and the Cleveland Electric Illuminating company was notified and responded. The car was towed from the scene. Police cited the male driver for criminal damaging and driving under suspension.

MVA hit-skip, Olivewood Avenue: A caller at about 3:30 p.m. March 12 reported discovering that his vehicle had been hit while parked in the street.

If youd like to comment on this story, visit Saturdays crime and courts comments section.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has announced the signing of a strategic new agreement with Abu Dhabi Smart Solutions and Services Authority (ADSSSA), to accelerate the Abu Dhabi Government's digital transformation efforts.

The MoU is aimed towards the delivery and provision of key innovations and advancements for the Abu Dhabi government, remarked Dr Rauda Al Saadi, the director general of ADSSSA after signing the deal with Fabio Fontana, the VP and Managing Director, HPE Middle East, in the presence of Jassim Al Zaabi, the chairman, Abu Dhabi Executive Office and Antonio Neri, the president and CEO at HPE.

The signing of the MoU was one of the highlights of the recent meeting between Al Zaabi and Neri, where they also discussed the ambitious plans and projects that Abu Dhabi government is currently implementing as part of its commitment to deliver the highest levels of service performance and efficiency for the citizens of the emirate.

During the meeting, Al Zaabi hailed HPEs proven global track record of delivering exceptional experiences and the highest quality of solutions for its customers. Both parties expressed their confidence in the newly-signed agreement

With the utilization of modern day intelligence, organisations need to embrace the new world of digital by journeying on a digital transformation path, said Neri.

"We are excited to collaborate with ADSSSA to further accelerate and elevate digitisation across Abu Dhabi governments infrastructure and help the Emirate achieve its objectives of Ghadan 21, Abu Dhabis development accelerator programme," he added.

ADSSSA will leverage HPEs digital expertise to advance the Emirates Artificial Intelligence (AI) agenda and improve the citizen experience of their integrated online service, TAMM service.

HPE will engage in knowledge sharing with ADSSSA by connecting it with HPEs global innovation centres to offer the best digital practices adopted by governments around the world.

"We are looking forward to this strategic partnership between ADSSSA and HPE, which will elevate Abu Dhabi's digitisation efforts," said Al Zaabi.

"We are confident that HPE's range of solutions and services will drive further synergies for Abu Dhabi Governments platform," he added.

The partnership is also expected to support the UAE capital's emiratization agenda with HPE offering internships to the top Emirati tech graduates, providing them with key access and exposure to global best practices that will help them prepare for future roles in the technology sector.-TradeArabia News Service
(Updated 4:35 p.m.): Christine McKeever has been found safe and unharmed, Cleveland police said Sunday afternoon. The investigation into the incident continues.

CLEVELAND, Ohio  A 27-year-old man told police his 24-year-old girlfriend was abducted early Sunday from a gas station on the citys West Side.

Christine McKeever was last seen about 1:30 a.m. at the Speedy Gas Station at West 136th Street and Lorain Avenue in the citys Jefferson neighborhood, according to a post on the Cleveland police First District Facebook page.

McKeevers boyfriend said that while the couple lives in the citys Buckeye-Woodhill neighborhood, the woman went to the citys West Side on Saturday for a scheduled visitation with her children, the report states. A little while later, McKeever called her boyfriend, upset because she mixed up her visitation date and could not see her children.

The man told police he drove to the West Side and picked up McKeever. They went to Bar CLE on Lorain Avenue, where they played pool and had some drinks, the report says.

The couple was outside the bar, making up from an argument, when McKeever walked to the gas station, according to the police report. The boyfriend said he was sitting in the drivers seat of his vehicle when he saw McKeever in his rearview mirror, talking to someone in a vehicle at the gas station.

McKeever began waving her arms above her head and looking in her boyfriends direction, he told police. The boyfriend said he saw a man get out of the vehicle and throw McKeever into the backseat before speeding away, the report says.

The boyfriend said he tried to catch up to the vehicle but lost it before he could get too close. He did not know its make or model, the report says.

The man drove home to see if McKeever was at their apartment before reporting the abduction, according to police.

McKeevers cell phone goes to voicemail when it is called, and her boyfriend said he does not know where she could be. Cleveland police continue to investigate.

Anyone with information about McKeevers whereabouts should contact First District detectives at 216-623-5118 or 216-623-2508.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio  A 23-year-old man is dead after he was stabbed during a fight with two co-workers at an East Side restaurant, police said.

Officers were called about 8:30 p.m. Saturday to the Academy Tavern in the citys Larchmere district, Cleveland police spokeswoman Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said. At the scene, police found a 23-year-old man with stab wounds.

Officers administered first aid to the stabbing victim before paramedics took him to University Hospitals, where he died, Ciaccia said.

The 23-year-old man has not been publicly identified. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiners Office will release his name once his family is notified.

Investigators learned that the 23-year-old man got into an argument with two of his co-workers, a 24-year-old man and a 27-year-old man, in the restaurants kitchen, Ciaccia said. The argument spilled out to the parking lot and became physical.

The 27-year-old suspect was at the scene when authorities arrived, Ciaccia said. He suffered a cut to his leg and was treated at University Hospitals before he was taken into custody.

The 24-year-old suspect ran from the stabbing scene but returned and was arrested, Ciaccia said.

The two suspects have not been formally charged in the stabbing, court records show.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio  A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former Buchtel High School student who was the victim of sexual battery by a teacher.

U.S. District Judge John Adams wrote in an order Tuesday that the statute of limitations to bring the suit against Laura Lynn Cross and the Akron and Tallmadge school district officials was two years. The students lawsuit was filed after that timeframe expired, the judge said.

Adams, whose courtroom is in Akron, dismissed civil rights and federal education law violation claims.

The student filed suit in August and said administrators knew about the relationship between he and Cross, which progressed from meeting when the student was in sixth grade to having sex. Cross also obtained partial custody of him.

However, school administrators did not take action, the suit said.

Cross, 38, became pregnant with the plaintiffs child during the course of their relationship and gave birth in December 2015.

She pleaded guilty in March 2018 to three counts of sexual battery and was sentenced to three years in prison. Summit County Common Pleas Judge Tammy OBrien granted Cross judicial release on March 14 and placed her on probation for two years.

Cleveland.com is withholding the name of the plaintiff, who is now 21 years old, because he is a victim of a sex crime.

Adams wrote in Tuesdays ruling that the U.S. Supreme Court has said the statute of limitations for a states personal injury law should apply to federal civil rights claims. A federal appeals court over Ohio also said that applies to claims that federal education laws were violated.

While an Ohio law amended in 2006 gives the victims of child sexual abuse until age 30 to file lawsuits for state law violations, the states personal injury law only has a two-year statute of limitations.

Adams did not rule on the merits of any of the claims made by the former student. He dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice, meaning the man could re-file in state court.

Attorney Konrad Kircher said he plans to re-file his clients case in Summit County. He also said he intends to appeal Adams decision, as other courts have come to different conclusions regarding statutes of limitation in child abuse cases.

The reason the Ohio legislature passed a longer statute of limitations for state claims (regarding child sexual abuse) is because children suffered from shame and humiliation and things that prevent them from addressing their legal claims on time, Kircher said.

A spokesman for Akron Public Schools declined comment. The superintendent of the Tallmadge City School District did not respond to an email.

This story was updated to note Cross release from prison.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Hate speech directed at a sentencing judge can be costly. Career criminal Manson Bryant discovered this truth in brutal fashion earlier this month.

In a courtroom video that has received considerable attention, Bryant shouted profanity at Lake County Judge Eugene Lucci who had sentenced him to 22 years on an aggravated robbery and kidnapping conviction.

When the Painesville resident learned the severity of his sentence, he leapt to his feet and violently strained against his shackles as deputies led him from the courtroom.

I wont repeat Bryants diatribe, which was replete with the predictable insults of an angry man with an apparently limited vocabulary. However, something else that Bryant screamed caused me to momentarily pause.

He called Lucci a racist.

The racism charge is frequently bandied about without evidence. Like beauty, the perspective is often in the eye of the beholder. Bryant, 32, a desperate and angry man, suddenly realized his career of robbing and terrorizing people had been put on hold for decades. He likely saw no recourse but to empty his rhetorical tool kit on Lucci in a profane outburst.

The outburst may have been momentarily satisfying but it cost Bryant an additional six years of freedom. Lucci quickly lengthened the prison sentence to 28 years, explaining that he sensed that Bryant will remain an unreformed predator for the foreseeable future.

No big loss there. Bryant was a menace to society and apparently failed to comprehend the notion that continued freedom required he demonstrate the ability to stop being a criminal. His was the wrong voice to cry racism in a crowded courtroom.

However, race bias undeniably remains an issue and challenge for the American justice system. The justice system is premised on the aspirational notion that justice should be blind and objective. Our court systems are steeped in the ideal that characteristics of race, wealth, or influence dont matter. Were all seen as equals before the law. Sadly, that is not always reality.

That is why a death penalty case pending before the United States Supreme Court is a matter that will be closely watched. The case is an important exploration of the particular history of a Mississippi prosecutor to systematically deny African-Americans from sitting on juries hearing a capital case in a small Mississippi town.

Curtis Flowers, who is African-American, has faced trial six times for the 1996 murders of four people in a furniture store in Winona, Miss. The Mississippi Supreme Court has three times ruled to overturn guilty verdicts after determining that all-white or nearly all-white juries were deliberately and inappropriately selected to consider Flowers fate. Two other trials ended in mistrials when the juries, which included blacks, could not agree on a guilty verdict.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider Flowers case after a sixth trial in 2010 resulted in yet another guilty verdict for Flowers, with a jury that included one African-American. The court will now determine whether District Attorney Doug Evans engaged in prosecutorial misconduct in the most recent trial by unconstitutionally excluding blacks from serving as jurors. Evans has prosecuted each of Flowers death penalty cases.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh spoke of the importance of addressing issues of inclusion and fairness in the selection of trial juries during Wednesday Supreme Court hearing: (Its) not just for the fairness to the defendant and to the juror, but that the community has confidence in the fairness of the system, said the courts newest justice.

Manson Bryant, a violent career criminal, recently screamed racism at the top of his lungs as he was led away to face his fate. His screams were to no avail. He had exhausted second and third chances. His credibility was nonexistent. However, make no bones about it: Race matters. It remains a challenging and very real issue in our courts and in our systems of law enforcement.

The U.S. Supreme Courts decision to accept the case of Flowers V. Mississippi is stark recognition of the continuing challenge we face in the pursuit of blind justice.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Ohio Republicans declared that a summary of Special Counsel Robert Muellers report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election cleared President Donald Trump of wrongdoing and proved the two-year probe of whether Trumps campaign colluded with Russia was a politically motivated witch hunt.

A four-page summary that Attorney General William Barr released Sunday said the probe didnt find evidence that Trumps campaign conspired with Russia. It also said Barr and deputy attorney general Rod J. Rosenstein determined Muellers team didnt provide enough evidence to charge Trump with obstructing justice.

Democrats including Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and Niles Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan said the summary was not enough, and called for release of the full report.

Its important that the American public have the answers they deserve about the full scope of the Mueller report and its findings," said a statement from Brown. "The Department of Justice should turn over the full report to Congress, the Administration should preserve all of the information and underlying evidence it provided to the Special Counsel, and the report should be released to the public in full.

"The American people deserve complete transparency, added Ryan.

The summary nonetheless made clear that Muellers report described actions by Trump that raised potential obstruction of justice concerns, and said: The Special Counsel states that 'while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

Several Ohio Republicans overlooked that nuance in pronouncing that Trump was vindicated by Muellers findings

Champaign County Republican Rep. Jim Jordan said the investigation began when a handful of politically-biased actors within the Justice Department inappropriately used a campaign research document to launch a coordinated partisan attack on the President." He also said he hopes its findings will end partisan and political investigations in Congress aimed at undermining President Trump..

Now, after 22 months and over $25 million in taxpayer funds, we know what many of us suspected all along. There was no collusion, coordination, or cooperation with Russia, said Jordan, the House Committee on Oversight and Reforms top Republican. All the Special Counsels prosecutions of U.S. persons in the course of this investigation were wholly unrelated to collusion.

No collusion! No obstruction!



Its time to move on.  Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) March 24, 2019

After two years and millions of dollars in taxpayer money, this witch hunt is finally over, agreed Holmes County GOP Rep. Bob Gibbs, who is also a member of the Oversight Committee. I sincerely hope Congressional Democrats can finally accept that Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election despite the efforts by Andrew McCabe, James Comey, and others to smear Donald Trump. It is time the nation puts this spectacle behind us. Congressional Democrats should reconsider whether they want to drag this matter out after such a definitive conclusion from the Special Counsel.

Marietta GOP Rep. Bill Johnson said the investigation of Trump was based on a fabricated hoax perpetrated by those who could not accept the fact that Donald Trump won the 2016 election fair and square," and said those responsible for dragging the country through this mess, knowing it was all untrue, must be held accountable.

Moving forward, its time that we stop all this conspiracy theorizing and focus on the issues that are important to the American people...issues like fixing our broken immigration system and securing our borders, continuing the unleashing of Americas energy potential, and repairing our aging infrastructure, said Johnson. This is America, and the American people deserve better!

Some Ohio Republicans were more circumspect, with Sen. Rob Portman saying Mueller followed the facts where they led and completed the investigation expeditiously, without any political interference. Like Brown, he called for the report to be made public with important exceptions for grand jury or classified information.

Dayton-area Republican Rep. Mike Turner said the House Intelligence committee he sits on also concluded Trumps campaign didnt conspire or coordinate with the Russian government in its election interference activities.

"As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, I look forward to reviewing this report and working towards making this information public as soon as possible, said a statement from Turner.
LAKEWOOD, Ohio -- This morning I waited for a few minutes at a respectful distance while the particular citizen who has to represent me in affairs beyond my comprehension retired within the sacred precincts of the election booth to cast his vote.

Those words were written on Election Day in November 1918 for the Catholic Universe, official organ of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland (later merged into the Catholic Universe Bulletin). The writer, Anne OHare McCormick, was the 36-year-old suburban wife of an engineer and was a regular columnist in the paper.

When she wrote in 1918, women could vote in New York and several other states but not in Ohio and most of the United States. Although the House of Representatives in Washington had voted in favor of a constitutional amendment for womens suffrage, the issue was still under debate in the U.S. Senate.

John Vacha is a retired teacher who writes on historical topics.

One of the strongest (and strangest) arguments of that day against womens suffrage was that women didnt need the vote because they already had one, or a share in one, anyway, in the influence they could exert on the vote of their husbands. That would account for the scarcely concealed sarcasm dripping from Mrs. McCormicks reference to the particular citizen who has to represent me in affairs beyond my comprehension.

Mrs. McCormick did acknowledge that in her own case her husbands sense of justice and fair play had at times in the past induced him to vote her way rather than his. While they happened to be in happy agreement on the particular morning in question, however, one of her neighbors displayed signs of unhappy disagreement that day as he emerged from the sacred precincts:

He came out looking dutiful but abused. Well, all Ive got to say, he remarked, is that I hope my wife has a vote of her own before the next election. Then maybe Ill have mine to use as I please. 

Of course her neighbor, once ensconced within the sacred precincts, might nevertheless have used his vote as he pleased despite what he reported to his wife. For that matter, Mr. McCormick might have done likewise. Wives, not to mention unmarried women, undoubtedly would have preferred voting in person rather than by proxy.

As matters turned out, both Mrs. McCormick and her neighbors wife did have votes of their own by the time of the next biennial election in 1920, the Senate having passed and three-quarters of the states having ratified the 19th Amendment. Women throughout the United States were eligible to cast votes in the presidential election of that year.

Anne OHare McCormick, however, would soon be enabled to influence a large number of votes, male and female, beyond her own individual ballot. Ever since her marriage to Francis McCormick, she had been accompanying him on trips to Europe, where he bought and imported industrial equipment. Anne began putting her journalism experience to work on articles about European political developments.

She placed some of her pieces in The New York Times Sunday Magazine. Self-schooled as a journalist, she acquired the soubriquet of Verbose Annie for some of her early reports. Under the tutelage of Sunday editor Lester Markel, she trimmed her style to the point where it could pass through the copy desk untouched.

Before departing for another European trip in 1921, Mrs. McCormick asked Times managing editor Carr Van Anda if he would accept dispatches for the daily. He told her to give it a try and was rewarded with an especially perceptive analysis of the situation in Italy.

It is impossible to blink the fact that all over Europe there is growing up a generation tired of old mens wisdom, of the fumbling of Parliaments, of the cautious formulas of statesmanship, she wrote. That is what the Fascisti Movement really amounts to. It is a ruthless movement, as youth is ruthless. After hearing their leader speak in the Chamber of Deputies, she foresaw Benito Mussolini as the coming master of Italy.

Following that coup, McCormicks foreign reports began to appear regularly in the Times news pages.

Mrs. McCormicks keen analysis and interpretation were crisp and markedly free of fuzziness and guesswork, the Times would observe in her obituary some 30 years later. She had the uncanny knack of being where the news was breaking.

While her stories were welcome, McCormick herself was not invited to become a regular member of the staff due to Adolph S. Ochs resistance to admitting women to the newsroom. Shortly after the owners death in 1935, his son-in-law Arthur Hays Sulzberger made her the first woman to be appointed to the Times editorial board.

McCormicks column on international affairs, Abroad, appeared three times a week in the Times. In 1937 she became the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in one of the regular newspaper journalism categories. Clearly she had demonstrated that there were no public affairs beyond her comprehension.

John Vacha is a retired teacher of history and journalism who does historical research and writing from his home in Lakewood.

***********

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Eight years ago, the Ohio General Assembly, at then-Gov. John Kasichs request, set up JobsOhio as a privately run economic development outfit underwritten by public money, replacing many of the functions of Ohios Department of Development, established in the 1950s. Kasich said the new agency would be more nimble.

People will look back on  the creation of JobsOhio and see it as the vehicle for the transformation for our economy, Kasich said then.

Given the relative trickle of information on how JobsOhio is doing, its hard to know what there is to look back on.

Ohioans, however, deserve a clear answer.

JobsOhio is a privately managed nonprofit corporation, but its underlying money is public: the profits of Ohios liquor monopoly.

Among many failings, the agency doesnt release full terms of the grants and other incentive deals it hands out. Nor does it share details on whether and how it claws back money from companies that failed to live up to jobs, investment and payroll pledges.

That makes it impossible to judge how effective JobsOhio has been or how well its safeguarding the money it expends.

Then there are the eye-popping salaries -- topping off at $621,323 last year for outgoing President and Chief Investment Officer John F. Minor Jr. The average JobsOhio salary was six figures, cleveland.coms Andrew J. Tobias reports.

After critical reporting by The Columbus Dispatch on JobsOhios failure to report full compensation, as required by law, the agency is finally releasing salary numbers that include benefits and other compensation, and has amended its 2017 filing.

Last week, Gov. Mike DeWine rightly called on the agency to be more timely and transparent in how it reports salary figures. Yet we still dont know how much JobsOhio will pay DeWines pick to lead the agency -- Dayton economic development official J.P. Nauseef -- when he takes over after Minor leaves.

Far more transparency is needed if JobsOhio is to be able to show its effectiveness with meaningful disclosures.

The agencys recently released 2018 report boasted of record payroll and capital investment results. It said JobsOhio achieved 266 project wins with companies that committed to create 27,071 new jobs with $1.3 billion of new payroll, retain 69,905 existing jobs and invest $9.6 billion of new capital.

That represented a 19 percent improvement in job creation and a 23 percent boost in payroll metrics over 2017 results.

The report also noted that Ohio was ranked No. 1 by Ernst & Young in its 2018 U.S. Investment Monitor for job creation in business investment projects for the second year in a row, beating out Texas (#2) and Georgia (#3). Ohio also ranked first for total project wins and fourth for capital investment.

But while welcome, these results leave out critical measures needed to assess JobsOhios overall success.

Apart from aggregated annual metrics, JobsOhios public reports dont net out losses from earlier incentive deals gone bad, including prior job, investment and payroll pledges that werent met. Nor do they provide enough detail to be able to calculate a cost-benefit analysis on what JobsOhio spent to achieve these results, or on how nimble and effective the agency has been in interceding with firms contemplating layoffs or plant closures, such as General Motors Corp.'s Lordstown factory. The annual report includes no data on clawbacks.

Republican legislators at the Statehouse specifically shielded JobsOhio from such scrutiny at Kasichs behest.

Now Kasich is gone, but DeWine last week said he thinks the agency can achieve more meaningful transparency without a legislative fix.

We are skeptical. JobsOhio didnt even live up to its legal requirement on payroll disclosures until called out on the omissions by The Dispatch. If DeWine cant persuade the agency voluntarily to release meaningful performance data, lawmakers must step in to require it. Ohio taxpayers deserve no less.

The Ohio Senate last June amended a pending House bill to require JobsOhio to undergo periodic performance audits, but the requirement died in December, because the House didnt act on the Senate-amended bill before the legislative session ended on Dec. 31.

JobsOhio is an investment by Ohioans in economic opportunities for them and their communities. Before an Ohioan invests a couple thousand dollars in a mutual fund, its promoters must provide him or her with copious details on that funds performance and costs.

Thats the kind of information that Ohioans, who are investing millions of dollars in JobsOhio, should also receive. Today, they dont.

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Gartner, a global research advisory firm, has identified seven emerging security and risk management trends that will impact security, privacy and risk leaders in the longer term.



Gartner defines top trends as ongoing strategic shifts in the security ecosystem that are not yet widely recognized, but are expected to have broad industry impact and significant potential for disruption.



External factors and security-specific threats are converging to influence the overall security and risk landscape, so leaders in the space must properly prepare to improve resilience and support business objectives, said Peter Firstbrook, research vice president at Gartner.



The top seven security and risk management trends for 2019 and beyond are:



Trend No. 1: Risk appetite statements are becoming linked to business outcomes



As IT strategies become more closely aligned with business goals, the ability for security and risk management(SRM) leaders to effectively present security matters to key business decision makers gains importance.



To avoid exclusively focusing on issues related to IT-decision making, create simple, practical and pragmatic risk appetite statements that are linked to business goals and relevant to board-level decisions, said Firstbrook. This leaves no room for business leaders to be confused as to why security leaders were even present at strategic meetings.



Trend No. 2: Security operations centers are being implemented with a focus on threat detection and response



The shift in security investments from threat prevention to threat detection requires an investment in security operations centers (SOCs) as the complexity and frequency of security alerts grow. According to Gartner, by 2022, 50 percent of all SOCs will transform into modern SOCs with integrated incident response, threat intelligence and threat-hunting capabilities, up from less than 10 percent in 2015.



The need for SRM leaders to build or outsource a SOC that integrates threat intelligence, consolidates security alerts and automates response cannot be overstated, said Firstbrook.



Trend No. 3: Data security governance frameworks will prioritize data security investments



Data security is a complex issue that cannot be solved without a strong understanding of the data itself, the context in which the data is created and used, and how it is subject to regulation. Rather than acquiring data protection products and trying to adapt them to suit the business need, leading organizations are starting to address data security through a data security governance framework (DSGF).



DSGF provides a data-centric blueprint that identifies and classifies data assets and defines data security policies. This then is used to select technologies to minimize risk, said Firstbrook. The key in addressing data security is to start from the business risk it addresses, rather than from acquiring technology first, as too many companies do.



Trend No. 4: Passwordless authentication is achieving market traction



Passwordless authentication, such as Touch ID on smartphones, is starting to achieve real market traction. The technology is being increasingly deployed in enterprise applications for consumers and employees, as there is ample supply and demand for it. In an effort to combat hackers who target passwords to access cloud-based applications, passwordless methods that associate users to their devices offer increased security and usability, which is a rare win/win for security, said Firstbrook.



Trend No. 5: Security product vendors are increasingly offering premium skills and training services



The number of unfilled cybersecurity roles is expected to grow from 1 million in 2018 to 1.5 million by the end of 2020, according to Gartner. While advancements in artificial intelligence and automation certainly reduce the need for humans to analyze standard security alerts, sensitive and complex alerts require the human eye.



We are starting to see vendors offer solutions that are a fusion of products and operational services to accelerate product adoption. Services range from full management to partial support aimed at improving administrators skill levels and reducing the daily workload, said Firstbrook.



Trend No. 6: Investments being made in cloud security competencies as a mainstream computing platform



The shift to cloud means stretching security teams thin, as talent may be unavailable and organizations are simply not prepared for it. Gartner estimates that the majority of cloud security failures will be the fault of the customers through 2023.



Public cloud is a secure and viable option for many organizations, but keeping it secure is a shared responsibility, said Firstbrook. Organizations must invest in security skills and governance tools that build the necessary knowledge base to keep up with the rapid pace of cloud development and innovation.



Trend No. 7: Increasing presence of Gartners CARTA in traditional security markets



Gartners continuous adaptive risk and trust assessment (CARTA) is a strategy for dealing with the ambiguity of digital business trust assessments.



Even though its a multiyear journey, the idea behind CARTA is a strategic approach to security that balances security friction with transaction risk. A key component to CARTA is to continuously assess risk and trust even after access is extended, said Firstbrook. Email and network security are two examples of security domains that are moving toward a CARTA approach as solutions increasingly focus on detecting anomalies even after users and devices are authenticated.



Gartner clients can learn more in Top Security & Risk Management Trends.Visit the Gartner Digital Risk & Security hub for complimentary research and webinars.



Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit



Gartner analysts will provide additional analysis on IT security trends at the Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit2019 taking place on October 28-29 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.  TradeArabia News Service
Oils containing CBD (Cannabidiol) are seen in a shop in Paris on June 14, 2018. Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt | AFP | Getty Images

It's Hollywood's new favorite beauty product. It's the superfood du jour. Demand for CBD is so strong that companies are scrambling to infuse their products with it, but the CBD they're finding isn't all that great. Congress legalized industrial hemp in December. With it, they also legalized hemp-derived CBD, short for cannabidiol, a cannabis compound that supposedly delivers the calming effects of marijuana without the high from THC. Last year, retail sales of CBD consumer products in the U.S. were estimated at between $600 million and $2 billion, according to investment research firm Cowen. The bank conservatively forecasts sales to reach $16 billion by 2025, with health and wellness products leading the way and food, beverage, beauty and vapor to also play a role.

From seed to CBD

The current supply chain  from plants, to extraction, to labs  is riddled with issues. And the nascent industry is trying to work through the kinks at the same time demand is ramping up, leaving producers frustrated and consumers stuck trying to sift good products from bad ones. "There are huge challenges to producing the industrial hemp required for meeting the demand," said George Weiblen, a professor at the University of Minnesota who has been studying cannabis since 2002. "It's not as simple as growing tomatoes. It's just not. ... The possibility of failure to produce quality cannabis extracts is huge." Decades of modern farming techniques have tamed staple crops like corn and wheat. Farmers know what to expect when they plant these crops and can follow a pretty straightforward set of guidelines when they grow them. With hemp for CBD, not so much.

More religion than science

People have been growing hemp illegally for years. Farmers have kept their operations quiet and developed their own techniques that are all a little different, said Christian Cypher, a senior vice president at Pyxus International who is leading the agriculture company's cannabis work. "Growing hemp has been more religion than science," he said. Most hemp farmers are growing the plant like a tomato, a process that's expensive and intensive, said David Williams, an agronomist at the University of Kentucky who studies hemp. This model works for marijuana because you want the flower to look and smell nice. For hemp that will be used to extract CBD, this system is incredibly expensive and unnecessary since you only care about what's inside the flower, Williams said. "If the molecule is of interest and becomes broadly distributed, it will need to be far more efficient than what we have today," he said.

Incredibly expensive

Industrial hemp produces such small amounts of CBD that growing it and harvesting it to extract the molecule is incredibly expensive. One Canadian certified industrial hemp strain produced an average of 0.6 percent CBD and 0.03 percent THC, according to a study Weiblen conducted. Arcadia Biosciences, a company that has bred wheat to be more fibrous, recently entered the cannabis space with the aim of growing hemp that produces more CBD and no or reliably low THC. Federal law says CBD is legal so long as it contains less than 0.3 percent THC. "We think that's a significant opportunity," said Matt Plavan, chief financial officer of Arcadia and president of the new cannabis-focused unit, Arcadia Specialty Genomics.

A 'green rush'

Farmers won't find out how much THC their plants produce until they're harvested, dried and the CBD is extracted. During this process, the CBD becomes concentrated and the THC gets dragged along with it, Weiblen said, possibly to the point where the amount of THC exceeds the legal limit. With CBD coming into vogue, some are latching onto the trend and cutting corners along the way. Numerous studies, including from federal regulators, have found a slew of products don't contain the amount of CBD they say they do. There aren't any federal laws requiring companies to test CBD, whether it goes into beauty or food products. Some farmers or manufacturers send their extracts in anyway, and they're learning that lab tests are working through a similar learning curve as the rest of the supply chain.

Vastly different results

Chris Padulo, a farmer in Vermont who started growing hemp last year, sent samples to four different labs and got "vastly different results" from each. One lab said the plant he sent in contained 8 percent CBD. Another one said it contained 16 percent. The two others said it landed somewhere in the middle. "I figured science is science," he said. "There are no consistencies." Retailers say they're constantly receiving pitches from people asking to put their products on shelves. Chris Burton, retail partner manager at online CBD store HelloMD, grills brands on where their hemp is grown, how the CBD is extracted, where their lab tests are and more.

Wild West
Indian carrier Jet Airways has announced a further cancellation of flights, with Bahrain being the latest international destination to be dropped from its network, media reports said.



The cash-strapped airline has already cancelled all flights to Abu Dhabi and some of its flights to Dubai, with the airline stating "operational reasons" for the disruption.



A passenger expecting to fly out to India (Mumbai) from Bahrain via Jet Airways in April received the following message:



"Dear Guest,



Your Jet Airways flight has been cancelled. We regret the inconvenience to you and apologise for the same.

For your onward connection or for any information regarding your reservation and your revised ticketing details ; please contact any of your nearest Jet Airways offices."



Upon enquiring with the Jet Airways office in Bahrain, an official said that all its services between India and the kingdom have been cancelled until April 27.



An airline official said passengers affected by the cancellations will be offered full refunds and they can write to [email protected]

Planes grounded

Jet Airways has been forced to cancel a total of 41 aircraft as it failed to pay outstanding amounts to lessors, reports said.



Jet is down to operating 150 flights a day from 450 at full capacity.



The struggling carrier is desperately seeking an infusion of cash, and is currently in talks with state-run banks and its Gulf investor, Etihad Airways, which holds a 24 per cent stake in the airline, reports said.
U.S. President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping leave a business leaders event at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 9, 2017.

The U.S. and China could reach a trade agreement in a matter of weeks, but that's unlikely to improve relations between the two economic giants over the longer term, according to former U.S. diplomat.

The two largest economies in the world have been trying to negotiate a trade deal to iron out their differences on issues such as the forced transfer of technology from American firms to China, Beijing's subsidies for its domestic companies, and a trade imbalance between China and the U.S.

"I think we'll see a deal  I think both countries understand that it's in each of their best interests. I expect something to be done in the next four to six weeks," Kurt Campbell, chairman and chief executive of advisory firm The Asia Group, told CNBC's Martin Soong on Sunday at the China Development Forum in Beijing.

Campbell added that the eventual deal would address a number of "contentious" issues between the U.S. and China. But there are other conflicts that can't be solved in the short term, he said, though he did not specify what those issues are.

"I expect tensions will continue between the United States and China," said Campbell, who served as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs during the administration of President Barack Obama.

The U.S. and China have engaged in a tariff fight that began last year. The administration of President Donald Trump imposed additional tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports, while Beijing slapped duties on $110 billion of American goods.

Several experts have pointed out that friction between the U.S. and China goes beyond trade.

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, told CNBC last year that the two countries' vastly different governing methods make up the broader, more difficult issue to reconcile.
President Donald Trump speaks to the press before boarding Marine One as he departs from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, March 22, 2019.

Attorney General William Barr said Sunday that special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation did not find sufficient evidence to establish that President Donald Trump committed obstruction of justice, or that the president's campaign coordinated with Moscow's efforts to influence the 2016 election.

In a four-page letter to top lawmakers, the top Justice Department official summarized key findings from Mueller's historic investigation. The probe, which ended as Mueller submitted his final report to Barr on Friday, has dogged the Trump administration and gripped the nation for nearly two years. Barr had the authority to decide what information to share with both Congress and the public, including whether they will see Mueller's full report.

Read the full letter here.

In his letter, Barr breaks down two sections of Mueller's report: Russia's efforts to affect the 2016 election and whether the president obstructed justice. Trump's firing of former FBI Director James Comey and other actions throughout the probe raised concerns about the president trying to end the investigation.

While the president and his allies saw vindication in Barr's letter, Democrats questioned how Barr came to his conclusions and called for more information from Mueller's report. Citing "concerning discrepancies," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said he planned to call the attorney general to testify.

Nadler testimony tweet

The attorney general says Mueller did not conclude whether Trump obstructed justice. He quotes the special counsel as stating, "while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him." Barr concluded that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein "have concluded that the evidence developed during the Special Counsel's investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense."

The top Justice Department official also said the probe "did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated" with Russia. Barr quotes Mueller as writing: "[T]he investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities."

The attorney general also said Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia's cyberattacks on Democratic and Clinton campaign figures or the efforts to spread information obtained in the hacking incidents, "despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign." The president's son, Donald Trump Jr., has admitted that he took a meeting with a Russian lawyer after being offered dirt on former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, his father's 2016 opponent.
An employee walks through the production facility of BASF-YPC Company in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China.

The world's largest chemicals company wants the trade war to end quickly.

"The biggest issue here is the uncertainty. Uncertainty is causing problems with planning," Sanjeev Gandhi, a member of the board of executive directors at German chemicals firm BASF, told CNBC on Sunday. "The uncertainty is also affecting our business negatively."

Trade friction between the U.S. and China has hurt BASF, which has a large presence in China, the world's largest chemical market.

"The expectation is that there is a solution found, and the solution comes soon," Gandhi told Eunice Yoon at the China Development Forum in Beijing. "Short term, this will lift the sentiment of the market, it will clear away the uncertainties, and hopefully that brings us back to business as usual."

In January, BASF inked a $10 billion framework agreement with the Guangdong government to build a chemicals complex in China's most populous province. It will be China's first wholly foreign-owned chemicals complex  and the German firm's single largest investment.

Reuters reported that the deal concluded quickly, in part due to fears that the U.S.-China conflict could hurt investment prospects in Guangdong. That in turn prompted government officials to be more open to the BASF deal, the news agency said, quoting people familiar with the matter.

Gandhi disagreed with that assessment. He said that BASF has been active in China for more than 134 years, and has invested more than 8 billion euros ($9.06 billion) there in the past decade.

"We have a very good reputation. We bring the latest innovative solutions to our customers in China. If China is welcoming BASF, it is not because of the opportunity, it is because of our track record," Gandhi said.
An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight from Los Angeles lands at Reagan National Airport shortly after an announcement was made by the FAA that the planes were being grounded by the United States in Washington, March 13, 2019.

American Airlines is cancelling 90 flights per day through April 24 as a result of the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max aircraft.

The airline, which had been flying 24 of the Boeing planes, said the cancellations were being made in an effort to provide more certainty and avoid last minute flight disruptions.

"By proactively canceling these flights, we are able to provide better service to our customers with availability and rebooking options," American said in a statement.

American said it continues to await information from the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Transportation, National Transportation Safety Board, other regulatory authorities and Boeing that would permit the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft in its fleet to resume flying.

The Boeing 737 Max was grounded by aviation authorities across the world, including the FAA, after two similar crashes in recent months that have implicated a flight software system on the plane known as MCAS.

The Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed on Mar. 10, killing all 157 aboard, and the Lion Air plane that went down in Indonesia on Oct. 29, which killed all 189 passengers and crew, were both 737 Max jets.

The two incidents have also led the Department of Transportation to ask for an audit of the Federal Aviation Administration's approval of the 737 Max 8 planes, while the FBI has reportedly joined in a criminal investigation of the certification process for the jets.

As regulators and lawmakers continue to investigate the plane, Garuda Indonesia became the first airline to attempt to cancel its order for 737 Max planes on Friday, a deal worth nearly $6 billion.

American's reservations team is contacting affected customers directly by email or telephone. "We know these cancellations and changes may affect some of our customers, and we are working to limit the impact to the smallest number of customers."
One oil bull sees a "big, looming" risk bubbling up in the energy market.

RBC Capital Markets' Helima Croft, the firm's global head of commodity strategy, is generally bullish on oil prices.

She sees OPEC's commitment to productions cuts, the United States' sanctions on Iran and Venezuela and overall demand for crude as healthy drivers of the oil rally, which has taken per-barrel prices up by nearly a third so far this year.

But there's one major risk that could threaten this recent surge, Croft told CNBC in an interview on "Futures Now."

"The bear case [for oil] is continuing fears about global demand," Croft said Thursday. "That is a really big headwind for a lot of people on oil. They're very concerned still about where trade talks go. They're very concerned about potentially weak numbers out of China; what does that mean for oil demand? So I really do think that the demand story is the big, looming negative headwind for oil. I think it's kind of the sum of all fears in terms of the oil market."

Fears of an oil glut aren't new. The International Energy Agency warned in February that global oil supply was on track to outpace demand despite global production cuts and U.S. sanctions.

Yet bearish commodity-watchers have brought these worries back to the fore in their conversations with Croft, she said, as U.S.-China trade talks seemingly grow more complicated and tensions between Washington and Saudi Arabia come under scrutiny.

"There is a bit of a lingering fear that President [Donald] Trump could pick up the phone to Saudi Arabia and put pressure on the Saudis and say, 'You call off this OPEC cut,'" Croft said. "[Bears] look at something like the NOPEC bill, which would declare OPEC a cartel, and they say, 'If that moves through Congress, will OPEC still want to carry through with the cuts, or will they be so scared that Washington will break them up that they essentially abandon the production cut?'"

Still, Croft isn't quite in the bear camp. U.S. crude prices have been trading near four-month highs on several bullish factors, including OPEC's resolve to keep production on the lower end and falling U.S. stockpiles, and she sees the strength continuing in the near term.

"The question is, what does Donald Trump do in May? Does he try to take more Iranian exports off the market? Does he also try to impose secondary sanctions on Venezuela and force Venezuela's importers out of the market?" she asked. "I think those are the sort of bull stories for oil."

Croft's near-term targets are between $56.50 and $63.59 for U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude, and between $66.00 and $73.50 for the international benchmark, Brent crude.

WTI crude prices traded lower Friday, hovering in the $59-a-barrel range. Brent crude prices also headed lower, but maintained what Croft cast as a reliable floor of support at $66 a barrel.
The raft of investment deals that Italy's leadership has just signed with Beijing as part of its massive Belt and Road program is "nothing to worry about," Italian Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio told CNBC. "We are maximizing all precautionary measures, and I want to tell the U.S., and I will tell them as well in next week's visit, that they are our allies, and that we understand their concerns. But the contents of the MOU (memorandum of understanding) that we are signing tomorrow contains nothing for them to worry about, nothing relating to 5G or any agreement on strategic telecommunications," Di Maio told CNBC's Joumanna Bercetche on Friday just before the signing. Italy on Saturday became the first Group of 7 country to join China's expansive Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), drawing concern from the U.S. and European allies. Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Rome saw a total of 29 deals signed, altogether worth 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion). They were focused on agricultural, finance and energy sectors, and opened up new access to the Chinese market for major Italian energy and engineering firms. Western critics warn of Chinese debt traps and describe the initiative as a ploy to expand geopolitical and strategic influence, while Beijing pursues links to Europe and Africa via South Asia and the Middle East to expedite and increase the export of Chinese goods. China and the U.S. are in the process of negotiations to end their protracted trade war, while Washington tries to combat what it sees as a security threat posed by Chinese telecommunications companies, particularly its largest, Huawei. The U.S. says Huawei's role in building 5G internet infrastructure around the world could allow the Chinese government to spy on users, a claim Beijing rejects.

Di Maio, who also serves as minister of economic development and leader of the populist Five Star Movement, stressed that none of the deals discussed over the weekend involved 5G or telecommunications. "On the doubts of the U.S.  who remain our allies, and with whom we remain aligned in the West, in NATO and in the EU  these doubts are more than understandable, and were part of the discussions we have had with the U.S. government, in relation to their 5G concerns," he said. "5G is a strategic infrastructure that we are developing in our country. There are some concerns over the security of these telecommunications  and these are concerns that we share, and which we are addressing with new regulations on the 'golden power'. These are more restrictive and allow us to control the players that will enter the 5G telecommunications market in the coming years."

Protecting strategic industries

Italy's 'golden power' legislation refers to government powers designed to protect strategic industries, which it says it plans to extend to 5G technologies. This would entail requiring Italian companies in both the private and public sectors to declare to the government any 5G technology purchased from non-European countries. Italy's economy fell into recession at the end of 2018, and the collapse of its Genoa Bridge last August drew attention to the dire state of its infrastructure. It has one of the highest levels of debt in the EU, and the audacious spending plans announced by its right-wing government after last year's elections were pared back after disputes with the rest of the EU. Still, the deputy prime minister dismissed notions that his government was aiming for greater Chinese purchases of Italian bonds, and focused on the benefits the deals would bring for Italian businesses. "All the agreements that we are about to sign are based on the possibility of 'Made in Italy' to go to China, for our companies to export to China, after many years where 'Made in China' had been coming to Italy," he said. "We are reversing the trend and rebalancing our trade flows  but there isn't any intent on making any pacts on financial support relating to goods, to the Treasury, or to government bonds." "We are not looking to ask China for help with our government bonds," he added. "Instead, we are looking to advance our own agenda and create more jobs in Italy by increasing our exports to China."
Prudential, the United Kingdom's largest insurer, said it finished transferring some operations to Luxembourg about a week ago in preparation of Britain's impending exit from the European Union.

The insurer announced earlier this month that it was transferring 36 billion pounds ($47.58 billion) of assets to Luxembourg, which is to become the company's hub for its European business after Brexit.

But even without the divorce between the U.K. and the EU, it made sense for Prudential to make such a move, the insurer's Chief Executive Mike Wells said on Sunday.

"Strategically, it's not a bad thing for us to have product and structure closer to our European clients," Wells told CNBC's Martin Soong at the China Development Forum in Beijing.

"Even without Brexit, the Luxembourg product probably would have been an appropriate strategic step. I would say Brexit effectively defined the time frame that you want to make sure the work is accomplished," he said. "We finished that actually last weekend."

Prudential is one of the many financial institutions that have moved part of their operations out of London to other European cities such as Paris, Frankfurt and Dublin.

Consultancy EY said in a report this month that an estimated 1 trillion pounds of assets have been moved out of the U.K. because of Brexit.
While the U.S. and China are negotiating a trade deal, the world's biggest container shipping company is watching out for other problems between major economies.

One risk to import and export activity include the United States' outstanding trade negotiations with the European Union. Another is the possibility of changes in the relationship between Europe and China, Soren Skou, chief executive of A.P. Moller-Maersk, said on Sunday.

"First of all, it's pretty clear that the U.S. administration and EU have an outstanding discussion. It was kind of kicked to a corner last summer. While U.S. and China are negotiating, I'm sure that there'll be a revival of discussions about car tariffs and what-not between the U.S. and Europe," Skou told CNBC's Eunice Yoon at the China Development Forum in Beijing.

In addition, "Europe wants to reshape the relationship with China, so there's plenty of high level politics going on," he added.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs of up to 25 percent on European cars and auto parts last year. But Trump reportedly promised European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker that he would hold off on those tariffs for the time being.
Scene from 'Spider-Man Homecoming' Source: Sony Pictures

Sony Pictures' Chairman Tony Vinciquerra recently said Sony has seven to eight years of content planned in terms of its Spider-Man cinematic universe, but there's one big unknown: How the iconic webslinger will himself fit in the plans. Back in 2015, Sony struck a deal with Disney's Marvel Studios that permitted Spider-Man to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. According to the terms of that deal, as reported by Vanity Fair (the deal has never been publicly disclosed) Spider-Man would be shared across Sony and Marvel productions for a total of five films. Spidey has been in three thus far and Sony cannot incorporate the character into its own extended universe until the deal comes to a conclusion. That five-film cap will presumably be reached when two already filmed movies debut: "Avengers: Endgame" in April and "Spider-Man: Far From Home" in July (it is likely Spider-Man is in Endgame, though he has not been in any of the trailers released so far). In return for agreeing to the deal, Marvel Studios has provided A-list characters for Spider-Man's recent solo outings that star Tom Holland: 2017's "Spider-Man: Homecoming" saw Robert Downey Jr. headline as Iron Man. The movie grossed over $880 million worldwide, according to Comscore. And this summer's "Spider-Man: Far From Home" will see Samuel L. Jackson don his eye patch once more to play Nick Fury. Marvel doesn't share in the film revenue but can see a revenue boost from merchandise sales related to the movies' characters.

Sony will face a big decision about how best to leverage Spider-Man when the current deal with Marvel is up  reserving Spider-Man exclusively for its extended universe, or keeping the teen hero aligned with Marvel. The absence of Spider-Man hasn't prevented Sony from creating its own extended universe. Oscar-winning actor Jared Leto is filming "Morbius," which centers on a villainous vampire that Spider-Man is known for fighting in the comics, and will be released in 2020. More Spider-Man characters are expected to make it to the movies, including Kraven the Hunter, and a team up movie for Black Cat and Silver Sable, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Spider-Man has the best and most well known Rogues Gallery beside Batman. Daniel Richtman Media Influencer

The jury is still out on whether a Spider-Man cinematic universe without Spidey can pull off a string of successes like Marvel Studios has achieved. "Most causal Spider-Man fans have no idea who he [Morbius] is," said Jeremy Conrad, a media influencer who has made a career out of critiquing big blockbusters. "I think most consumers just want Spider-Man to be able to interact with the Avengers, which we already have and don't care enough about the supporting Spider-Man characters to show too much interest in a shared universe with them and without Spider-Man." Last year's "Venom"  which gave consumers an origin story for the infamous Spidey foe  was a big success, grossing $855 million worldwide, almost equal to the grosses for Holland's Spider-Man solo pictures. And next month's "Avengers: Endgame" is being marketed as the last straw for the original Avengers. Several actors contracts are coming to an end, including Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, who plays Captain America. "It depends on the character, but there are very few who can be popular on their own and even then it's a challenge to divorce them from Spider-Man convincingly, such as Venom," Conrad said. Marvel Studios and Sony declined to comment. Spider-Man has been a box office hit for close to two decades, ever since Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" in 2002. Each film in the original trilogy grossed over $750 million worldwide. 2007's "Spider-Man 3" is the top Spidey earner, grossing $890 million worldwide, according to Comscore. While the rebooted franchise starring Andrew Garfield in 2012, titled "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," both grossed above $700 million, the latter film actually grossed the least of any live action Spider-Man film. That was one of the reasons for the Marvel deal.

Spidey's history at the box office Title Opening Weekend Domestic International Worldwide Spider-Man 3 $151M $337M $554M $891M Spider-Man: Homecoming $117M $334M $545M $880M Spider-Man (2002) $115M $404M $418M $822M Spider-Man 2 $88M $373M $414M $787M The Amazing Spider-Man $62M $262M $506M $768M The Amazing Spider-Man 2 $92M $203M $506M $709M Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse $35M $190M $178M $368M Total gross $660M $2.1B $3.1B $5.2B

After the 2014's film lackluster success, Sony agreed to reboot the beloved character into the Marvel cinematic universe, debuting Spider-Man in "Captain America: Civil War," which grossed over $1.1 billion worldwide. "In some form or another, it's hard to imagine Sony won't revisit the character again. Whether or not that means waiting until Tom Holland's iteration in the Disney deal has run his course is anyone's guess right now," said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst for Boxoffice.com. Disney is preparing for big changes, too. This week, the acquisition of 21st Century Fox was completed, meaning that Marvel fans could see the X-Men, among other characters, crossing with some of Marvel Studios' biggest names.

A live action Spider-Verse

With the success of 2018's diverse, multi Spider-Man picture, the Oscar-winning animated film "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse", Robbins thinks it's possible that two Spider-Mans could co-exist on the big screen for Sony in the future, in separate worlds. "Given the popularity of that film, it seems like only a matter of time before we see a live-action take on Miles or someone like Spider-Gwen," Robbins said. "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" cost $90 million to make and grossed over $368 million worldwide, with a critics score of 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Plans for a sequel were kickstarted weeks before the movie even hit theaters. "Marvel itself has proven that it can create entire universes out of characters that existed somewhat in the shadows for decades and turn them into box office rock stars. Just look at 'Guardians of the Galaxy,'" said Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "This strategy can certainly work for 'Spider-Man' as long as the story and the characters are there. ... We actually need more superhero universes in order to keep the supply of interesting and fresh movies from this genre robust. New creation means no stagnation."
President Donald Trump uses gold scissors to cut a red tape tied between two stacks of papers representing the government regulations of the 1960s (L) and the regulations of today (R) after he spoke about his administration's efforts in deregulation in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC on December 14, 2017. Saul Loeb | Getty Images

President Donald Trump is happy to boast that he slashes more regulations than any president who preceded him. He literally cut red tape in the White House in December 2017 while standing before stacks of paper representing rules. The president may want to tread carefully on the issue as the 2020 election nears. Democratic candidates aim to turn Trump's rhetoric about regulation against him as they try to deny him a second term next year. Trump campaigned on chopping regulations, arguing fewer rules would boost businesses and the economy. He has made some significant changes  rolling back Obama administration efforts to limit emissions from coal-burning power plants and automobiles, among other steps. The president also backed a law to scrap some bank rules passed after the 2008 financial crisis. While bank stocks took a beating in December along with the broader market, the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF  which counts the largest U.S. banks among its top holdings  has climbed nearly 10 percent since Trump took office. The deregulation message features prominently in his re-election rhetoric. In his State of the Union address last month, Trump claimed his administration "has cut more regulations in a short period of time than any other administration during its entire tenure." The president has actually done more to slow the pace of new regulations, or ease enforcement of current rules, than cut them entirely, according to several experts who track regulation. But that has not stopped both Republicans and Democrats from acting like he has taken more drastic steps to slash government rules. Whether to put new limits on companies could become a point of conflict in the 2020 election. Lacking signature achievements beyond the GOP tax law, Trump wants to attribute a strong economy  his best selling point  in part to his push to cut regulations on businesses. At the same time, Trump's rhetoric could boost one of Democrats' main arguments: that the president has crafted his policy to help big business rather than consumers and the working class. "Inflating what he's done on the regulatory front is to his advantage," said Cary Coglianese, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and director of its regulation program. "But on the other hand, progressives will embrace that narrative too, to paint Republicans as being in the pocket of big business, of contributing to a system that's rigged in favor of the big banks, big insurance companies, big pharmaceutical companies." The argument becomes harder for Democrats to make if the economy and job market remain strong as November 2020 nears. A recent pickup in U.S. wage growth  which had previously lagged despite solid job creation  could only help Trump's re-election case.

Democrats take shots at deregulation

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) answers questions from reporters in Sioux City, Iowa, January 5, 2019 Brian Snyder | Reuters

How a Democratic victory in 2020 would affect the regulatory environment depends on who becomes the party's presidential nominee. It also hinges on whether Democrats and Republicans keep control of the House and Senate, respectively. But experts believe a Democratic president would seek to reverse Trump's deregulatory actions or tighten rules in at least three areas: the environment, the financial industry and the technology sector. A second Trump term would give his administration more time to reverse old rules or implement its own, which can take years to do. Democratic presidential contenders have been setting up their attacks on Trump's policies since he took office in January 2017. In a speech last year, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., argued that "President Trump and his team have embarked on an aggressive effort to kill the rules that protect the American people from corporate predators." Candidates such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., have used committee hearings to give dire warnings about the administration's environmental regulation rollbacks. The race is in its early stages, and only a few candidates have started to put forward specific policy proposals. Regardless, initial signs show a Democratic field hoping to win in part by pledging to reverse some of Trump's actions and take their own steps to keep companies in check. Various candidates in the crowded Democratic field have pledged to quickly reinstate the regulations on coal and car emissions that Trump scaled back. Simply reversing the previous White House's actions  as Trump has done with several Obama policies  would be "the first and easiest" step for a potential Democratic successor to take, said Elaine Kamarck, a fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution and former Clinton White House official. Democrats led by Warren have called to empower the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the watchdog and brainchild of the Massachusetts senator that the Trump administration has mostly defanged. Warren and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., among others, have called for new rules to make companies that handle sensitive consumer data more accountable to consumers. They have focused mostly on Equifax, the credit reporting agency that lost data on 140 million people in a cyberattack. Sanders has also called for putting certain conditions on companies before they buy back their own shares.

Calls by Democrats to put a tighter leash on social media companies have also grown more widespread. Klobuchar has pushed for rules to require companies such as Facebook and Twitter to share more information about who buys political ads and which third-party companies receive user data. Warren also made waves by calling to break up major technology companies including Facebook, Google and Apple. The push for tough regulation is mainstream enough that J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon  whose own industry could face more scrutiny in a Democratic administration  is taking notice. "They haven't had the benefit of the full monty yet," he told CNBC, in reference to tech companies facing a wave of new rules. He added that "if I were them, I'd be getting prepared for it." How much a Democratic president could accomplish remains to be seen. If Republicans hold the Senate, a Democratic White House occupant may have to act mostly through executive agencies, which would limit what they could do and open them up to more legal challenges.

Trump gears up to boast about deregulation

Trump's State of the Union address previewed many of his 2020 election messages. For instance, he has repeatedly argued Democrats want to embrace socialism after proclaiming during the speech that "America will never be a socialist country." Expect Trump to return to his bold claims about how much he has done for business by cutting regulation, especially if Democrats continue to call for tighter rules on companies. In a statement, Trump campaign spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said: "President Trump's deregulation has spurred job growth and raised paychecks across the country, unleashed entrepreneurship and saved billions of taxpayer dollars."
President Donald Trump began his victory lap over special counsel Robert Mueller's findings on Sunday with a tweet that read, simply: "No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!"

Trump tweet

Later, the president spoke to reporters at an airport in south Florida.

"It's a shame that our country had to go through this," Trump said. "This was an illegal takedown that failed."

"It's a shame that your president has had to go through this," Trump said.

Trump has routinely declared, on social media and in public forums, that he had not colluded with Russian operatives during the 2016 election and that he had not obstructed justice.

The president's remarks came shortly after Attorney General William Barr revealed that he had determined the Mueller's report showed there was insufficient evidence that Trump had committed crimes.

According to Barr, the special counsel did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.

Barr noted, however, that while Mueller's nearly two-year investigation did not provide sufficient evidence to establish that Trump had committed an obstruction of justice offense, the attorney general did say that Mueller did not exonerate the president on the matter.

Still, it was clear that Trump and his allies were prepared to use Barr's summary of Mueller's findings as a formidable political weapon on the 2020 presidential campaign trail.



Trump's 2020 campaign manager Brad Parscale claimed that the president was "completely and fully vindicated" by special counsel Robert Mueller, calling the allegations of Russian collusion a "conspiracy theory" and a "sham."

"The American people should take notice: the Democrats have lied to you, while President Trump has been hard at work building a booming economy and making you safer," Parscale said.

Mueller's probe, which wrapped up with the submission of his report Friday, had generated dozens of indictments, several guilty pleas, including from former Trump personal lawyer Michael Cohen, and the conviction of Trump's former campaign chief Paul Manafort.

This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
President Donald Trump claimed "complete and total exoneration" on Sunday after Attorney General William Barr released a summary of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on his Russia investigation.

In fact, Mueller specifically wrote that the probe "does not exonerate" the president, according to Trump's attorney general.

In a four-page letter to top members of Congress, Barr laid out the key conclusions from Mueller's investigation, which has captivated much of the country and frustrated Trump for nearly two years. The probe into Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election, whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow and whether the president obstructed justice ended Friday as Mueller filed his report to the Justice Department.

Barr writes that Mueller did not conclude whether Trump obstructed justice. The attorney general noted, though, that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein "have concluded that the evidence developed during the Special Counsel's investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense."

The top Justice Department official also writes that the probe "did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated" with Russia.

Based on those conclusions, Trump cheered Barr's letter on Sunday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average eked out a small gain on Monday after news that the special counsel found no collusion with Russia on the part of President Donald Trump. However, gains in the broader market were capped as worries over the global economy lingered.

The 30-stock Dow closed 14.51 points higher at 25,516.83 as Boeing outperformed. The declined 0.1 percent to 2,798.36, led lower by the financials and tech sectors. The index also closed below 2,800 for the first time since March 12. The Nasdaq Composite also pulled back 0.1 percent to 7,637.54.

Worries over the global economic outlook were stoked on Friday and lingered through Monday after the so-called yield curve inverted for the first time in more than a decade. The 3-month Treasury bill yield topped its 10-year counterpart on Friday, thus inverting the yield curve. Investors consider this to be a signal that a recession may be coming soon. Disappointing economic data released Friday out of Europe, coupled with a downgraded economic outlook from the Federal Reserve, added to those concerns.

The yield curve inverted again on Monday as the benchmark 10-year yield hit its lowest level since December 2017.

"Economies in Europe and China continue to deteriorate causing uneasiness that the problems overseas could affect the U. S. markets," Bruce Bittles, chief investment strategist at Baird, wrote in a note. "There are signs that our economy is not as robust as last year such as the decline in capital spending in the third and fourth quarters of last year."

Equities alternated between gains and losses for most of Monday as investors also digested comments from Attorney General William Barr. On Sunday, he said special counsel Robert Mueller's long-awaited investigation did not find enough evidence that Trump 's 2016 campaign colluded with Russia.

In a letter to top lawmakers, Barr wrote:
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn prior to his departure from the White House March 22, 2019 in Washington, DC.

The White House on Sunday celebrated the release of Attorney General William Barr's summary of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the investigation into Russian interference during the 2016 campaign.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders put out this statement not long after Barr's letter to Congress was released:

The Special Counsel did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction. Attorney General Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein further determined there was no obstruction. The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States.

Sanders' statement comes at the beginning of what will almost certainly be a victory lap for the White House, the president's allies and, of course, Trump himself  who has often claimed that he did not collude with Russian operatives and that he did not obstruct justice.

Barr's letter said Mueller investigated whether Trump and the campaign conspired with Russian operatives to sway the results of the 2016 election, as well as whether the president committed obstruction of justice.



According to Barr, the special counsel did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election.

When it comes to obstruction of justice, according to Barr: "The Special Counsel states that 'while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.'"

This, in turn, led it to the attorney general to determine whether Trump did obstruct justice. Barr, who received the report Friday, found that the evidence in Mueller's report "is not sufficient to establish" that Trump committed obstruction of justice.




India may increase oil imports from Brazil and Mexico to offset the loss of Venezuelan oil in the wake of US sanctions on that country.

Venezuela is the fourth largest oil supplier to India after Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran. It accounted for about 11 percent of India's oil supplies in 2017-18, supplying close to 18 million tonnes (mt). But the oil imports from Venezuela have come under threat following the US sanctions, forcing Indian companies to scout for alternative markets.

Diplomatic sources said that both Brazil and Mexico have expressed their desire to strengthen energy sector cooperation and India is evaluating the option and will take a call once it gets reports from its public and private sector oil marketing companies.

India shares good trade relation with both Mexico and Brazil. Both countries are also leading producers of oil, with Brazil at the 10th largest oil producer globally with a production of about 150 million tonnes (mt) of crude and Mexico at 11th position (production 110 mt).

"The two countries can be useful alternate to Venezuelan oil but a decision to enhance imports would depend only after accessing the quality of oil and terms of supply that should be comparable with of Venezuela," said the source.

India is already importing oil from both Brazil and Mexico but the quantity had come down progressively since 2013. While India imported crude worth $ 3.50 billion and $ 1.78 billion from Mexico and Brazil respectively in 2013, this went down to $1.38 billion and $0.81 billion now.

Mexico's state oil company Pemex has reported a decline in production due to its ageing fields resulting in lower output. But the situation may change soon with a new government pushing up production focusing on inviting foreign investment in their fields. Brazil also is undertaking big reforms in the energy sector to increase production and exports of oil.

India imported 155 mt of oil in 2017-18. The imports are expected to hit over 170 mt in FY19 with Saudi Arabia being the largest supplier followed by Iraq and Iran. Oil imports from Iran are already on the decline due to US sanctions. This is expected reduce further once the US removes the waiver given to certain oil importing countries.

The US is seeking to cut off Venezuela's oil revenue as part of its efforts to build pressure on President Nicolas Maduro to step down. The sanctions mean that anyone using US banking channels or having a big presence in the US and continuing to deal with Venezuela will also face restrictions.

In view of this, Indian buyers such as Reliance Industries and Nayara Energy (formerly Essar Oil) have already reduced oil imports. These companies are big on oil imports from Venezuela. In fact, Reliance Industries accounted for 80 per cent of Venezuelan oil imports to India in 2018 at 270,000 barrels a day. But the company has reduced its purchases of Venezuelan crude oil to well below its contracted levels.
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Andrew Smith is a councillor in Westminster and a consultant for Cicero Group. He writes in a personal capacity.

The possibility of indicative votes, giving MPs the option to vote on a number of possible Brexit outcomes to see which one might be able to gain the support of a majority, seems to have energised both Conservative and Labour supporters of a so-called Norway Plus model, or Common Market 2.0, This option would keep the UK in the Single Market as a member of the EEA and would additionally include a Customs Union.

Conservative supporters of the idea first proposed it as Norway for Now  a temporary safe harbour to help UK business make the complex transition from being a full member of the EU. The plan of the Common Market 2.0 group now seems to be for the Norway option to be the long-term outcome of Brexit.

Supporters of this proposal often suggest that it is a business-friendly outcome and a compromise approach which can unite Leavers and Brexiteers. In reality, a Norway solution would be dangerous for UK business and would leave both Leavers and Remainers dissatisfied.

I wrote on this site in 2017 that a deal which left us in the Single Market for the long term would not be a sustainable option for UK business. Being subject to all current and future EU regulations, but being unable to influence them, might work for economies of Norway, Iceland, and Lichtenstein, but it would be unsustainable in the long term for a diverse and complex economy like Britains. Only those few multinational businesses with the ability to influence Government and MEPs from remaining member states would have any voice at all on regulation impacting on their sector

Mark Carney, the hard Brexiteers, bete noire, has made it clear that the Norway option would be a dangerous one for the UK financial services, leaving Europes largest financial centre a sitting duck for European regulators, taking rules but having no formal say in their development.

For the vast majority of those who supported leaving the EU, a Norway option simply wouldnt be Brexit. As well as leaving the UK subject to Single Market rules it would leave the UK subject to the freedom of movement.

Claims that an emergency break or the unique arrangement enjoyed by Lichtenstein to control EEA migration into a country of 35,000 offer a model that could give the UK meaningful control over migration arent realistic. This paper by Open Europe, written before the referendum, provides a detailed analysis of what a Norway option would mean for freedom of movement, and should be required reading for all those contemplating the idea.

For those who supported remaining, rather than being a happy compromise, Norway would be a position of frustration, with the UK bearing most of the responsibilities if EU membership but having very little say in shaping how the EU does things.

The lack of accountability for issues that would affect the day to day life of all British workers and consumers would be even worse than the democratic deficit inherent in our membership of the EU. Vassal state, the term frequently used by Conservative Brexiters to attack the Prime Ministers deal, was actually coined by Labours Barry Gardiner to attack the idea of the UK remaining in the EEA. He was spot on. For those from the Left or the Right, the idea of an economy as large and complex as the UKs being subject to rules over which we have no say should be an anathema.

Supporters of the Norway model seem to believe that their solution would provide an answer to the Northern Ireland backstop by remaining aligned to the Single market and adding a Customs union  the plus in Norway plus. Simply bolting on a customs union isnt as simple as supporters of the idea believe. The UK couldnt simply join EFTA while remaining in the EU customs union. This would prevent the seamless transition from our current membership.

As Parliament searches for an acceptable outcome to the Brexit standoff, compromise is needed. MPs cant ignore the decision of the majority of British voters to support leaving the EU, but have also to accept that the idea of an ideologically pure clean Brexit is a mirage which would be a huge risk to the UK economy.

Rather than delivering a workable compromise solution, a Norway solution would deliver bad outcome for supporters both of leaving and remaining. If and when MPs do get the chance to vote on a series of Brexit options, Norway Plus needs to be rejected. MPs will need to find better solutions which recognise the need for the UK economy to maintain close relations with the EU as a our largest trading partner.
Profile: David Lidington  the Tory loyalist diverging from his leader over Brexit. And now tipped as her successor.

Lidington is one of the guilty men in this process. These words, spoken by Iain Duncan Smith, leaped from the pages of yesterdays Sunday Times.

It is astonishing, and until recently would have been inconceivable, to hear such abuse, flung anonymously in 1940 against Neville Chamberlain and other supporters of appeasement (Michael Foot was one of the three authors), directed by a fellow Conservative MP at the loyal, amiable, capable, self-effacing and unmemorable David Lidington.

Keith Simpson, who has known Lidington since they worked as ministerial advisers in the late 1980s, said of him this weekend: I dont think hes got an enemy in the House of Commons.

But Lidington, a Remainer who is conventionally described as Deputy Prime Minister in all but name, now finds himself suspected, by some Eurosceptics, of colluding with Labour MPs to try to bring about a second EU referendum.

This site yesterday warned of the danger of an SDP Mark Two being built from the top down, and remarked of Lidington that for such a lifelong Conservative  a Tory to his bones  to collude in discussing realignment [with Labour MPs] would surely be several steps too far.

Lidington responded to the coverage of him in the Sunday press by tweeting, I listen to views of MPs on all sides of EU debate, and referring to the opposition he expressed in the Commons last Tuesday to a second referendum.

And one of his Cabinet colleagues yesterday afternoon remarked to ConHome that if Duncan Smith were Prime Minister, Lidington, a quintessential party loyalist, would work as hard for him as for any other Conservative leader.

Helping the present Prime Minister get her deal through the Commons entails finding out how Labour MPs might vote, being told by some of them that they yearn for a second referendum, and then putting it to them that since they are not going to get one, they would surely prefer to vote for Mays Withdrawal Agreement rather than allow Britain to crash out of the EU with no deal.

Or as Lidingtons ministerial colleague put it:

He is not a plotter. He would go to hell and explain to Satan that dominion over all creation is not on offer, and in the absence of that, could we please come to a satisfactory arrangement on the future of Dr Faustus.

But Mays Cabinet is so divided that any talks held out of the public eye are in danger of being seen as suspicious. A former colleague says of Lidington:

I did notice how even before Chequers in July he was doing a lot of flying around Europe without the knowledge of Boris Johnson or David Davis.

Lidington accumulated a detailed knowledge of other European capitals while serving as Minister for Europe from 2010-16, a post he had also shadowed in Opposition. This is one of many reasons why he is so valuable to May. He knows the European issue inside out, and like her is a Remainer who has publicly accepted the referendum result.

This should not, however, be allowed to define his whole identity as a politician. He is a One Nation Tory, a devout Anglican (though born a Congregationalist) who is a man of moral seriousness. In his maiden speech, he quoted Edward Gibbons damning verdict on one of his best-known predecessors, John Wilkes:

A thorough profligate in principle as in practice  His life stained with every vice and his conversation full of blasphemy and bawdy.

No praise here for Wilkes as the father of civil liberty (as Boris Johnson wrote in an admiring essay). Lidington is the sort of Tory who turns out to have rather stern views, as he showed during the debate on the legalisation of same-sex marriage:

I think that marriage is such an important institution in our society that its definition should not be altered without an extremely compelling case for doing so. The Bills supporters have argued that the definition of marriage has changed over the years, citing the institution of civil marriage in the nineteenth century and changes to the age at which a person may legally marry. But that is to ignore the fact that whatever changes have been made, the essential nature of marriage in this country and in Europe as a whole has been as a public institution that binds together one man and one woman, exclusively and permanently. Its purpose is not only to provide mutual love and commitment but also for the procreation and care of children.

Born in 1956, the same year as the Prime Minister, he was educated at Haberdashers Askes School and at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he read history, chaired Cambridge University Conservative Association and in 1979 demonstrated his keen but wholesome competitive spirit by captaining the team from Sidney Sussex which won University Challenge.

This feat he repeated in 2002, when he led Sidney Sussex to victory in the champion of champions contest held to mark the 40th anniversary of the programme.

He had the intellect required for an academic career, and in 1988 received his doctorate for a thesis on The enforcement of the penal statutes at the court of the Exchequer c.1558  c.1576.

But instead he entered politics, serving in the late 1980s as an adviser to Douglas Hurd at both the Home Office and the Foreign Office. At the 1987 general election he stood and lost in Vauxhall, and in 1992 he won the seat, Aylesbury, for which he still sits. He was able recently to tell his ministerial colleagues that unlike them, he was an MP at the time of Black Wednesday, and they could not have that level of chaos again, which  by implication  they would have in the event of no deal.

From 1994 Lidington served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to Michael Howard, and from 1997 in the same capacity for William Hague. He shadowed various posts, including Northern Ireland (in which he has maintained a close interest), before being demoted by Cameron to the role of Foreign Affairs spokesman, outside the shadow Cabinet, followed by the long stint as Europe Minister.

The present Prime Minister is appreciative of merit never fully recognised by the Cameroons, and promoted Lidington to be Leader of the House and then Justice Secretary, before bringing him to Number Ten at the start of this year, when her friend Damian Green was forced to resign and Lidington took over as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, though not as First Secretary of State.

I am the man who stands on the stage spinning plates on the top of poles, Lidington recently told The Spectator. Every now and then the PM gives me another plate and I have to keep that going as well.

In the same interview, given at the end of September, he supplied a curiously unclear answer when asked if he wants her to carry on: She will decide, in due course, what she wants to do. But now, she is focusing on the task in hand.

He chairs a large number of Cabinet committees, belongs to even more, and deputises for the Prime Minister in the Commons. When she is performing there, he can usually be seen on the left-hand side of the picture, looking cheerfully supportive, though in the last week or two he has appeared markedly less perky.

He has an impressive grasp of the issues in his constituency, is respected by his parliamentary neighbours, who include the Speaker, John Bercow, and is married to Helen, a primary school teacher. They have four grown-up sons.

Although Lidington is unknown to the wider public, and has betrayed no sign of charismatic tendencies, he is liked and trusted by his fellow Tory MPs. As Simpson observes, Lidington belongs to the Breakfast Club of Tories who gather each morning in the Members Tea Room, where he can be found fortifying himself with poached eggs on granary toast.

In Simpsons words, Its like an RAF officers mess  no larks tongues in aspic for us. There could be few better places to take the temperature of the parliamentary party, while showing one is without side. Regular attenders include Andrew Selous, Alec Shelbrooke, Gavin Williamson, Mark Spencer and two or three of the Scottish Tory MPs. Steve Barclay often comes in to get a coffee and chats for ten minutes.

According to The Times, Lidington belongs to a group of five Cabinet ministers  the others are Amber Rudd, Philip Hammond, David Gauke and Greg Clark  who lean reluctantly towards a second referendum if all other options are exhausted.

But despite the convulsions of the last 48 hours, he remains a highly respected figure, about whom encouraging as well as discouraging things are said. In Saturdays Daily Mail, Peter Oborne ran through the runners and riders for the succession to May, before backing a complete outsider as far as the bookies are concerned (though in political terms, a complete insider):
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has congratulated President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos, AzerNews reported.

"On my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I sincerely congratulate you and the whole people of your country on the occasion of Independence Day," President Aliyev said in his congratulatory letter.

"On this remarkable day, I wish you the best of health, successes in your activities, and the friendly people of Greece lasting peace and prosperity," added President Aliyev.
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Website bwf.com uses latest and advanced technologies like: JQuery and Boostrap. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 82874 bytes (80.93 kb uncompressed) and 19234 bytes (18.78 kb compressed).

This CoolSocial report was updated on 2020-12-13, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.
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Website cma-cgm.com uses latest and advanced technologies. It is very popular on the web, it's within the 1 million most visited websites of the world at position 45123 by Alexa. It supports HTTPS and GZIP compression. The main html page has a size of 226287 bytes (220.98 kb uncompressed) and 57767 bytes (56.41 kb compressed).

This CoolSocial report was updated on 2020-09-07, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.
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This CoolSocial report was updated on 2021-04-10, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want.
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Website viladoartesao.com.br uses latest and advanced technologies. It supports HTTPS. The main html page has a size of 216 bytes (0.21 kb uncompressed).

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Honour the memory of victims of gross and systematic human rights violations and promote the importance of the right to truth and justice;

Pay tribute to those who have devoted their lives to, and lost their lives in the struggle to promote and protect human rights for all;

Recognise, in particular, the important work and values of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero of El Salvador, who was assassinated on 24 March 24,1980, after denouncing violations of the human rights of the most vulnerable populations and defending the principles of protecting lives, promoting human dignity and opposition to all forms of violence.

On October 14, 2018, Pope Francis canonised Archbishop Oscar Romero. In his homily during the ceremony, the Holy Father lauded Romero for leaving "the security of the world, even his own safety, in order to live his life according to the Gospel, close to the poor and to his people, with a heart drawn to Jesus and his brothers and sisters". He went on to add, "Let us ask for the grace always to leave things behind for love of the Lord: to leave behind wealth, the yearning for status and power, structures that are no longer adequate for proclaiming the Gospel, those weights that slow down our mission, the strings that tie us to the world".Pope Francis has constantly upheld St. Oscar Romero as someone to be emulated. Speaking to the Bishops of Central America in Panama on January 24, 2019, he described the murdered Archbishop of San Salvador as, no human resources manager. Rather he was, a father, a friend, and a brother. He can serve as a yardstick.Archbishop Oscar Romero was brutally gunned down on March 24, 1980, while celebrating the Eucharist in San Salvador. He was a fiercely outspoken critic of his Government, the military and of the right-wing elements of his country, for their continued oppression and exploitation of the poor.There has never been any doubt about who was responsible for his death. He took sides with the poor, the marginalised and the victims of injustices. His martyrdom made him a Saint for millions of these. It was estimated that more than 250,000 were present at his funeral as a sign of gratitude to the man who did so much for them and whom they deeply loved.As a young priest and even in his early years as a bishop, Romero was regarded as 'conservative'. He was afraid to rock the boat and preferred to maintain the 'status quo'. He never wanted to be on the wrong side of the powerful of El Salvador.Fr Rutilio Grande, a Jesuit, was a good friend of Romero. Grande left no stone unturned to highlight the plight of the poor and the oppressed and to make their struggles his own.Unlike Romero, Grande did not hesitate to take up cudgels against the powerful and other vested interests. On March 12, 1977, Grande was killed by the regime. Just three weeks earlier, Romero was appointed Archbishop of San Salvador.Grandes death came as a terrible shock to Romero. Presiding over the funeral Mass, Romero said, The government should not consider a priest who takes a stand for social justice as a politician or a subversive element when he is fulfilling his mission in the politics of the common good.He also said openly and emphatically, Anyone who attacks one of my priests, attacks me. If they killed Rutilio for doing what he did, then I too have to walk the same path. The death of his dear friend was a turning point in the life of Romero. From that day onwards, he wholeheartedly worked for the rights of the poor, until his own murder, three years later.On December 21, 2010, the United Nations General Assembly, in a fitting tribute to Oscar Romero proclaimed March 24 as the International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims. The purpose of this day is to:India and the rest of the world desperately need to emulate Oscar Romero. Untruth and injustice, divisiveness and discrimination gains more ground in many countries. Several political, business and even so-called religious leaders use hate, jingoism and xenophobia to nurture their lust for power and greed for wealth.Truth and justice in several countries of the world are totally disregarded. Hardly any attention is paid to the victims of crime and violence  particularly the institutionalised ones. The poor continue to be the victims of unjust structures everywhere. Human rights defenders are denigrated, hounded and even killed.On the day when we celebrate the memory of this great saint, let his challenging words on his own reality, a few days before his assassination, awaken us to respond to our context today:St Oscar Romero was truly a prophet: worthy of emulation in our broken world.---
The Syrian crisis can be solved only with Russias assistance provided that Moscow wishes to take part in searching for political levers, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in an interview published by Welt Am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday.

"Russia is trying to compensate its insufficient economic influence in the world by military influence. For example, in Syria. If we want to find a political solution to the Syrian conflict, we wont manage to do this without Russia. Russia will get a chance to show that it can take part in conflicts not only militarily and that it can search for political solutions," Maas said.

The search for solutions in these conflicts as a rule is "very and very long," the minister said, noting that at this stage he does not see any preconditions for returning Syrian refugees home because there they will face "repressions and tortures."

"Until this changes, no one wants to come back home and we wont deport anyone who is facing this threat," Maas stated.

Human rights will play a vital role on the path towards free elections in Syria, which should involve all social groups, he said.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said the countrys security forces have foiled a plan to assassinate him masterminded personally by the oppositions leader Juan Guaido, TASS reports.

"The North American imperialism wants to kill me. We have just exposed a plan to kill me, which was personally led by the devils puppet [Guaido]," Maduro said, noting that the prosecutors had made serious progress in investigating this case and would soon start arresting "new terrorists."

Earlier this week, Venezuelan authorities arrested Roberto Marrero, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido's chief of staff, on charges of organizing a terrorist cell and conspiring to assassinate politicians and military officials.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said that "combat weapons" and a large sum of money in foreign currencies was discovered when Marreros home was searched. The United States and the Lima Group countries condemned the politicians arrest and the European Union demanded his immediate release.
Three engines are propelling the Viking Sky toward the port of Molde in Norway at a speed of around four knots, according to local reports, along with two tugboats that are on the scene to assist the vessel.

Rescue operations are said to be continuing with five helicopters airlifting guests from the ship, which suffered an engine failure in bad weather on Saturday, prompting a mayday call and subsequent rescue effort on the 930-guest ship.

Viking founder and chairman Torstein Hagen arrived in Molde late on Saturday evening, according to local reports.

Of over 100 guests that have been airlifted off the ship, three are said to be seriously injured, according to NRK. One has been sent to a hospital in Bergen while the other two have been transferred to a hospital in Kristiansund.

In addition, a cargo ship that diverted to help the Viking Sky ended up issuing its own distress call, with nine crew needing to be rescued in a similar scenario.

Viking has issued the following statement:

On March 23rd at 2:00 pm (Norwegian time) the Viking Sky experienced a loss of engine power off the coast of Norway near Molde. Our first priority was for the safety and wellbeing of our passengers and our crew, and in close cooperation with the Norwegian Coast Guard, the captain decided to evacuate all guests from the vessel by helicopter. The ship is proceeding on its own power and a tugboat is on site. The evacuation is proceeding with all necessary caution. If you have questions or concerns about any guests onboard please call this number for US/AU booked guests 1-888-889-8837, and for UK booked guests 07585 779 853 or 0208 780 7900.

The next sailing, Scandinavia & the Kiel Canal, which was scheduled to embark on March 27th has been cancelled, and guests and their travel agents have been contacted directly. We do not anticipate any additional cancellations at this time.
The Royal Princess on the West Coast at the Port of Los Angeles today for her Mexican Riviera, the California Coast and Alaska programs.

In celebration of Royal Princess maiden call to the Port of Los Angeles and the cruise lines biggest West Coast cruise season, a "Royal" fanfare marked the occasion highlighting the arrival of the vessel.

Princess Cruises has the longest history of any cruise line to sail from the Port of Los Angeles, not to mention its celebrity status as the ocean-going co-star to the many exciting stories of romance and adventure on the high seas that were told on the hit TV series, The Love Boat," the company said.

To mark the ships maiden call and celebrate her West Coast season, the iconic University of Southern California Trojan Marching Band, under the direction of Dr. Arthur C. Bartner, provided pageantry and fanfare for guests sailing on Royal Princess from a grand location onboard Battleship IOWA. As Royal Princess departed and sounded its Love Boat harmony-tuned horn, the USC Marching Band then played back the beloved theme song.

Guests and well-wishers were then treated to a fireworks display as Royal Princess departed on her very first seven-day Mexican Riviera cruise  the same itinerary made famous by Princess and The Love Boat.

Royal Princess sails weekly to the Mexican Riviera from Los Angeles (San Pedro) now through April 27, then sails north to Vancouver for a season of Alaska cruises exploring The Great Land before returning to Los Angeles in September where the ship will homeport for six months, continuing cruises to Alaska, the Mexican Riviera and the California coast.
Arriving in Molde, Torstein Hagen, CEO and chairman of Viking Ocean Cruises, credited the Norwegian rescue team with having done an outstanding job.

As for why the Viking Sky sailed despite the weather conditions, when even Hurtigruten held their ships in Bergen and Trondheim, according to Norwegian press reports, Hagen said he could not answer that question and it was being investigated.

Meanwhile, Hagen said Viking is offering return flight options to the passengers aboard the Viking Sky, and responding to requests for medications and luggage.

According to Norwegian sources, three passengers suffered serious injuries, one being considered critical.

At press time, the Viking Sky was near Molde, moving under her own power with tugs standing by. Hagen is expected to hold a press conference later today.
The West is doing its utmost to conceal information about the real situation in Crimea from the rest of the world because it is afraid that the peninsula will be recognized as Russias territory, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Facebookpage on Sunday, TASS reports.

Earlier, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the situation with recognizing Crimea as part of Russia differed from acknowledging Israels sovereignty over the Golan Heights. According to him, what US President Donald Trump did is to "recognize the reality on the ground." Pompeo stressed that Washington seeks to work on Middle East stability, noting that "America is a force for good in the region" and its intentions are noble.

"Thats why Washington and Brussels are doing everything so that the world wont learn about the real situation in Crimea, otherwise the recognition will be automatic as follows from the Secretary of States logic. We understood everything and we will correct our information strategy. Thank you, Mr. Pompeo," Zakharova said.

"And as for memory about the US good forces in the region and Washingtons nobility, there are hundreds of thousands of graves and places of mass burial in Iraq, Libya, Syria and other regional states," the diplomat noted.
The Viking Sky is safely in Molde, Norway, as the ship arrived on Sunday afternoon.

Following an engine failure on Saturday in rough weather, the ship issued a mayday call. Some 460 passengers were evacuated by helicopter from the vessel following an engine failure.

By Saturday evening, the ship was back under its own power, with evacuations continuing throughout the night.

When the ship arrived in Molde this afternoon, a reception center was established at Rica Seilet Hotel, where passengers will be accommodated prior to their transfers home.

436 passengers were still onboard the ship together with 458 crew members when the ship arrived in Molde, according to local authorities.

The return of passengers to their homes is already in progress.

The first passengers will be leaving Molde by plane from Ar airport this evening, and all returns are scheduled to be completed by Monday evening.
Law on the Vietnam Coast Guard Updated: 08:27 - 24/03/2019

Vietnam Coast Guards ship 8001 sets off to perform public duty__Photo: VNA

,

The Law on the Vietnam Coast Guard (the Law) was adopted at the sixth session of the 14National Assembly last November. The Law was developed based on the 2008 Ordinance on the Vietnam Coast Guard and institutionalizes the guidelines and viewpoints of the Party and the Constitution on national defense and security in the maritime domain. This is a solid legal foundation for enforcement of Vietnams maritime law, greatly contributing to the protection of national sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the maritime zones of Vietnam.With 41 articles arranged in eight chapters, the Law defines the position, functions, tasks, powers, organization and operation of the Vietnam Coast Guard, and regimes and policies applicable to this force.As per the Law, the Vietnam Coast Guard is a peoples armed and specialized force of the State. It plays a key role in law enforcement and protection of national security and order and safety at sea. This force is placed under the supreme and direct leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam in all aspects, the command of the President, the unified state management of the Government, and the direct instruction and command of the Minister of National Defense.The Law assigns the Vietnam Coast Guard to perform three functions. Firstly, it will advise the Minister of National Defense to promulgate, or propose to the Party and the State, policies and laws on protection of national security and order and safety at sea. Secondly, it will protect national sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the maritime zones of Vietnam. Lastly, this force will manage security, order and safety at sea and ensure the observance of Vietnams law, treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party, and international agreements.According to the Law, the Vietnam Coast Guard will be organized in a centralized and unified manner according to decentralization of powers, consisting of the High Command; Regional Commands and units under the High Command, and grassroots units.The Law also prescribes tasks and powers, scope of operation and working measures of the Vietnam Coast Guard as well as law enforcement at sea by this force.Accordingly, the Vietnam Coast Guard will operate in the maritime zones of Vietnam to perform its functions, tasks and powers. This force may operate outside the maritime zones of Vietnam for humanitarian and peaceful purposes or for fighting crimes and law violations, but must comply with Vietnams law, treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party and international agreements related to its functions, tasks and powers.In the context of accelerated international integration, the Vietnam Coast Guard should increase its cooperation with other countries law enforcement forces in preventing and fighting maritime crimes, and carrying out other activities such as joint patrol, maritime security drills, and anti-piracy exercises. At the same time, this force must expand its cooperation with capable and experienced foreign coast guards to build its own capacity and foster its partnership with these organizations. Therefore, the Law gives provisions aiming to facilitate the Vietnam Coast Guards international cooperation as support for the States diplomatic activities and defense relations in resolving international maritime issues.The Law says that international cooperation of the Vietnam Coast Guard must be implemented on the principles of compliance with Vietnams law, treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party and international agreements. International cooperation activities must also respect the fundamental principles of international law, ensure national independence, sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction, and protect national interests and lawful rights and interests of agencies, organizations and individuals operating at sea.Contents of international cooperation are introduced in Article 20 of the Law, including:- Preventing and fighting piracy and armed robbery against ships;- Preventing and fighting drug crimes, human trafficking, illegal trading of weapons, terrorism, illegal exit and entry, illegal trading and transportation of goods across borders, illegal exploitation of aquatic products, and other crimes and law violations at sea;- Preventing and fighting marine environment pollution and preventing, responding to and remediating marine environment incidents; controlling the conservation of marine resources; protecting biodiversity and marine ecosystems; preventing and fighting, and giving warnings against, natural disasters; providing humanitarian aid and responding to catastrophes; providing search, rescue and salvage at sea;- Providing training, exchanging experience, and transferring equipment, science and technology in order to increase the capacity of the Vietnam Coast Guard.The Law will enter into force on July 1 this year.On January 31, the Prime Minister issued a plan to implement the Law. Accordingly, ministries, sectors and provincial-level Peoples Committees have to review in this March legal documents on the Vietnam Coast Guard and relevant legal documents and send reports thereon to the Ministry of National Defense for further reporting to the Prime Minister. They are also asked to propose the revision, replacement or annulment of current legal documents or promulgation of new ones.The Ministry of National Defense is assigned to draft regulations guiding the implementation of the Law, ensuring their simultaneous effect with the Law.-
The Culver City Democratic Club is holding a fundraiser for the Mayme A. Clayton Library and Museum with a preview screening of STXfilms' The Best Of Enemies at 7pm Thursday, April 4, at the Culver City Arclight. Tickets are available with a $5 donation to the Mayme A. Clayton Library. The donations will be taken at the door. If you would like to come you can get on the list of attendees by emailing pete_rockwell@hotmail.com

To find out more about the Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum go to; http://www.culvercityobserver.com

And type in Mayme Clayton in the search engine.

BEST OF ENEMIES stars Taraji P. Henson and Sam Rockwell. It was written and directed by Robin Bissell. The script is based on a non-fiction book by Osha Gray Davidson. It tells the true story of a civil rights activist and the head of the local Ku Klux Klan in Durham, North Carolina, in 1971, who became friends while taking part in a community meeting about public school integration.

The website for the film Best Of Enemies, which opens in wide release April 5, is: https://www.thebestofenemies.movie

The Culver City Arclight theaters are located behind the Culver Hotel in downtown Culver City.
Pine Grill Classic title could springboard Somerset's season

The Pine Grill Roundball Classic is in its 10th edition after a year hiatus because of COVID. A great local tournament opens the HS basketball season.
Watch in slow motion as Democrats, goaded by the media, conspire to re-elect President Trump:

Voters care about the economy and making education and health care affordable. And so Democrats are talking about  abolishing the electoral college?

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren started the latest distraction at a CNN town hall on Monday. Get rid of the electoral college, she said, neglecting to mention that this has zero chance of occurring in the foreseeable future.

The media took it from there.

On Tuesday, MSNBCs Garrett Haake pressed former representative Beto ORourke: Getting rid of the electoral college: Is that an idea youre exploring?

ORourke saw wisdom in the idea.

On Fox News, Martha MacCallum said everybody is talking about abandoning the electoral college and asked former representative John Delaney his view.

Its a total waste of time to talk about it, Delaney replied.

Apparently not. Jimmy Kimmel on ABC on Tuesday night asked California Sen. Kamala Harris if she agreed with Warren. She hedged.

Wednesday morning, Willie Geist of MSNBCs Morning Joe put the electoral college question to South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Its got to go, Buttigieg affirmed.

Naturally, Trump seized the opportunity. The Democrats are getting very strange, he tweeted Wednesday. Actually, youve got to win it at the Ballot Box!

Just like that, another Democratic litmus test was born. Encouraged by left-wing activists and the media, Democrats are performing acid tests like lab technicians. While the rest of the country built March Madness brackets, Democrats, in their own madness, put themselves in boxes, supporting proposals that are impossible, extreme or oversimplified: Medicare-for-all. A Green New Deal. Guaranteed jobs for all. Impeachment. Reparations to African Americans. Packing the Supreme Court. Late-term abortion. Banning PAC contributions. Abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Legalizing marijuana. Eliminating the filibuster. Opposing all Trump judicial nominees. Boycotting the American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference. Abolishing the electoral college.

Many of these have merit. The problem is that they have become a battery of binary tests of ideological purity  allowing Trump to caricature Democrats as extremist.

Opportunistic activists (generally not the established environmental, labor or abortion-rights groups) see a chance to put an issue on the agenda with a simple yes-or-no question. Some candidates in the crowded field, afraid of being outflanked on the left, reflexively agree with the proposition (never mind that typical Democratic primary voters are not so doctrinaire). Reporters, who love conflict and favor the shorthand of pigeonholing, force others to take the litmus test. And Republicans, with an assist from Fox News, gleefully fan the flames.

Much of the blame lies with the media, which, after creating Trump in 2015 and 2016 with endless, uncritical coverage, now facilitates his reelection with litmus-test coverage of Democrats. Trump got away with platitudinous promises, but now Democrats must take positions on purely theoretical ideas. This is an easy way to advance a story for content-hungry cable news. But for Democrats, the tests are potentially ruinous.

Consider the Green New Deal, now co-sponsored in the Senate by Warren, Harris, Cory Booker, N.J., Kirsten Gillibrand, N.Y., and Amy Klobuchar, Minn. Theyve committed to guaranteeing a job, higher education and paid vacations to all people of the United States.

Or take Medicare-for-all, promoted by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and others. It gets 56 percent support in the Kaiser Family Foundation poll, but that drops to 37 percent when private health insurance is eliminated or people are required to pay more in taxes, and 26 percent if it means delayed tests and treatments.

The purity tests are promoted by groups such as Progressive Change Campaign Committee (Medicare-for-all), Indivisible (filibuster), Sunrise Movement (Green New Deal), National Popular Vote (electoral college), MoveOn (boycotting AIPAC) and Demand Justice (judicial picks)  and furthered by charismatic progressives such as New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The press takes it from there.

Heres Morning Joe on Wednesday: Would you support adding seats to the Supreme Court? Would you support getting rid of the electoral college? Medicare-for-all? Do you support reparations for slavery? Obama said that he accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. Do you?

Heres CNNs Erica Hill, also Wednesday: There are calls to expand the Supreme Court. Where do you stand on that? Getting rid of the electoral college, and really giving people their vote? What about reparations?

Fox News: The Green New Deal  How do you vote?

Woe to those who dont answer correctly. On NBC, Chuck Todd observed that ORourke was once for Medicare-for-all. On Friday, he backtracked.

Fear not: On Monday, hell be asked again.

Dana Milbank is syndicated by the Washington Post Writers Group.
Listen to the Podcast! >>>>>

Below is transcript of podcast

On August 31st, the Izvestia newspaper published an interview by well known French historian and political analyst Emanuel Todd, in which he calls Western Europes face-turn to the former republics in the defunct Soviet Union, especially Russia, natural and predictable, saying that the only thing is for Europe to quickly become conscious of this.

In the wake of the Cold War, the liberal public opinion in Europe inexplicably remained silent and dormant, but politicians are more realistic. Germany has been quicker to establish mutually advantageous ties with Russia, particularly because of Russias vast natural resources and Germanys need to sell its industrial goods. Besides, Germany needs stability in Eastern Europe for its own dynamic growth. Speaking strictly, if Berlin and Moscow can hit it off, the rest of Europe will fall in line, said Mr. Todd.

France remains a key partner of Russia, and the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy who came to power in 2007, does not mince words in criticizing Russia, but always manages to bring back their bilateral relations to their traditional level- like a true pragmatist. Both sides are now thinking about strategic partnership, said Todd.Unfortunately, relations with Russia are being constructed by European states according to the American script because of NATO and similar organizations, the aim being to isolate Russia from the rest of Europe.

The U.S is deeply worried that Russia is no l onger viewed as a threat in Europe and America is busy throwing wedges into the Russo-European worksThe problem of Europe is the lack of independent geopolitical strategy and foreign policy concept, said Todd European partners of Russia are convinced that it poses no threat, but still cant reexamine the countrys place and role in international affairs from the European point of view, Russias role in the 20th century is more positive than negative. It did not attack Western Europe, but instead halted the Nazis, said Todd.

What does Emanuel Todd think about the CIS? A similar tendency to what happened in the 90s, when the Soviet Union broke up, while Western Europe transformed into the European Union- the EU is taking place in Western and Eastern Europe. Now, European integration is stagnating while republics in the former Soviet Union are cooperating ever more closely. The integration in the CIS is an objective geopolitical reality, said Todd.It is now widely realized that a complete break in ties between Ukraine and Russia could have led to a collapse of the first. Kiev wants political independence, but it cannot survive without economic integration with its Northern neighbour.

Mr. Todd believes that the Georgian episode was a turning point for the CIS. Russia behaved like a regional leader in the conflict, he said comparing a hypothetical war of intervention against Georgia with France deciding to fight against Monaco. The most important thing is that the August , 2008 events demonstrated the geopolitical absence in the region of the US, said Todd.

Emanuel Todd gained prominence in 1970 when he predicted the collapse of the Soviet Union. His latest book called After the Empire in which he said that the U.S was gradually becoming a problem for the rest of the world, has become a best seller.

Windows to Russia!
WEST CHESTER  Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day OConnor used to tell law clerks who worked for her that its good to be first, referring to her place in history as the first woman to serve on the nations top court.

But you dont want to be the last, Paula Francisco Ott said, finishing the quote from that inspirational figure in her own life.

The remark came as the Chester County Commissioners joined with the Chester County Womens Commission in honoring Ott, the countys first female elected Common Pleas Court judge, the first woman to serve as its president judge, and now a state Superior Court judge  the first woman from the county to serve in that role.

Now, Ott, of West Chester, is the recipient of the Womens Commissions inaugural SHEro Award, presented to a woman admired or idealized for her courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities, and who supports womens rights and respects womens issues.

She fits the mission perfectly, womens commission President Wendy Leeper told the commissioners. She is the very definition of a SHEro.

In issuing a proclamation honoring Ott for her achievements over the past 28 years, the commissioners noted that she had taken office as judge in 1991  10 years after OConnor broke the black-robed ceiling of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ott, in her remarks, noted with the same keen perception as OConnor that, its hard to believe that it took until 1991 for that to occur. And noting the presence of former colleagues on the county bench  President Judge Jacqueline Carroll Cody and Judge Katherine B.L. Platt  Ott noted that its wonderful to know that I started a tradition. There are now four full-time and one senior women judges on the bench.

According to the proclamations issued in her behalf, Ott was elected to, and currently serves on the state Superior Court in 2009, after having helped oversee the constriction of the countys new courthouse, the county Justice Center.

Throughout her career, Ott has served in leadership roles for many councils, committees and organizations including chairwoman of the Supreme Courts Advisory Council on Elder Justice in the Courts; as a member of the Joint State Government Commission Advisory Committee on Decedents Estates Laws; and a former co-chair of the President Judges Committee

For her many contributions, professionally and personally, Ott has also been honored by the state Commission for Women, the Honor Roll of Women, and is a March of Dimes of Southeastern Pennsylvania Women of Achievement honoree.

To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan, call 610-696-1544.
Brexit is dead, the Minister told me. Some rebels might start to come round, but its too late. On Monday the House of Commons will take control of the process and then its over.

A Downing Street aide agreed. Weve managed to hold them off for as long as we can. But we only stopped the Commons by two votes last time, and that was because Paul Flynns seat was vacant and Fiona Onasanya [the Labour MP jailed for lying about a speeding offence] was with her parole officer. Its done now.

Brexit was supposed to be a moment of national catharsis. Instead, it is about to go down as the greatest fraud ever perpetrated upon the British people.

The plan first contrived in secret by Dominic Grieve (pictured yesterday at a rally organised by the People's Vote campaign) and Speaker John Bercow in his ornate apartments will finally come to fruition. MPs will take back control

Everything they were promised before, during and after the 2016 referendum was a lie. They were told they would cast a single vote and it would be honoured.

They were told if they voted to leave, untold riches would flow into the NHS and other public services.

They were told the EU would be resistant, but then capitulate at the thought of John Bull turning his back on imports of prosecco and BMWs.

And as MPs begged again for their votes in the 2017 Election, they were told once more that their decision to leave would be respected and enacted.

Tomorrow, each and every one of those promises will turn to dust on the floor of the Commons chamber.

The plan first contrived in secret by Dominic Grieve and Speaker John Bercow in his ornate apartments will finally come to fruition. MPs will take back control.

Which brings us to the architect  or rather curator  of this whole catastrophe. Like others, I have written countless words about the Prime Ministers strength and resilience. But Brexit has finally broken her

And the process of erasing Brexit from history, and replacing it with a customs union, or a single market, or a new common market will commence.

Not that the MPs themselves want it framed this way. When Theresa May accused them last week of pitting themselves against the public, they reacted with fury. The Prime Minister was undermining the very foundation of parliamentary democracy, they warned.

Others claimed their personal safety was being put at risk. Im going back to my constituency this weekend and Im worried, one Tory backbencher admitted. I think something is going to happen.

Such fears are tragically not without foundation. But another fundamental principle of our democracy is that our elected representatives are held up to scrutiny and criticism. And while she might have expressed herself clumsily, Theresa May was right.

MPs were issued an instruction by the British people. Given the Byzantine complexity of the Brexit process, it would be foolish to pretend it was a simple one. But it was clear. They were told to withdraw the UK from the European Union.

They refused. Granted 1,000 days to reach consensus on an exit strategy, they had neither the competence nor the courage nor the foresight nor the sense of national duty to construct one.

Brexit was supposed to be a moment of national catharsis. Instead, it is about to go down as the greatest fraud ever perpetrated upon the British people. Everything they were promised before, during and after the 2016 referendum was a lie. They were told they would cast a single vote and it would be honoured

A process driven by public resentment at a political class addicted to telling voters to shut up and sit down because their politicians know best, is ending with the squalid spectacle of the referendum result being torn up by politicians who absolutely know they know best.

Fine. MPs have made their choice. But now they must live with it. They must be free to conduct their affairs safe from physical threats and intimidation. But there will be no escape from the political backlash set to engulf them.

Remain MPs are confident they will be insulated from it. Secure in constituencies that represent the 48 per cent, they believe they have found sanctuary. They have not. The impending implosion of public trust  one that will make the expenses scandal look like a model of good governance  will consume everything and everyone.

It will be they, rather than the Brexiteers, who become custodians of the ravaged post-Brexit landscape. And, most significantly of all, they will have proven the Brexiteers right.

The great conspiracy narrative  even if you vote to Leave, they will never let you  will have been embedded for all time.

But at least the Remainers can claim success. Their political strategy has worked. Which cannot be said for the diehards of the ERG.

If it was not for the little corporals of Brexit, we would be leaving the EU in five days time. All they needed to do was swallow a bit of pride, bide some time, and victory was theirs.

But they couldnt help themselves. Hubris, vanity, self-importance and ideological intransigence have claimed them.

They could not have played a more destructive role in the Brexit denouement had they been personally trained by Peter Mandelson, Andrew Adonis and Gina Miller, and despatched to do their bidding. In the end, the self-styled champions of Brexit turned out to be the Manchurian Remainers.

Which brings us to the architect  or rather curator  of this whole catastrophe. Like others, I have written countless words about the Prime Ministers strength and resilience. But Brexit has finally broken her.

Brexit is dead, the Minister told me. Some rebels might start to come round, but its too late. On Monday the House of Commons will take control of the process and then its over' [File photo]

Watching her railing against the self-indulgence of MPs, I was reminded of that moment Kevin Keegan began raging at how he would luv it! if Newcastle United beat Manchester United to the Premier League title. The passion and commitment were there. But psychologically and emotionally she was spent.

Theresa Mays premiership is over. But there is one last service she can render her nation.

Tomorrow, when she addresses Parliament, she must name a date for her departure. She must then lay to rest the fantasy she intends to lead Britain out of the EU without a deal. And she must then present the Commons with the truth. It is now either her deal or the end of Brexit. It might not be enough. It probably wont be enough. But there is a final, faint hope it could bring MPs to their senses.

And even if it does not, it will allow her to regain the self-respect her parliamentary colleagues are so intent on squandering.

Tomorrow, MPs will begin dismantling Brexit. When the vote is announced confirming they have taken control of the parliamentary process and timetable, they will cheer and wave their order papers and slap one another on the back.

Those cheers will then reverberate. They will reach the pubs and the housing estates and the shop-floors of the nation. And they will reach the ears of people who recall what their MPs promised them in 2016, and set that against what they actually delivered.

People who will never forget. And people who never forgive.
If Theresa May clings on long enough, her latest desperate Brexit message will be heard loud and clear above the din of the crunch Commons debates this week even if her voice gives out again.

Parliaments men in tights have a top-secret plan to kit out the PM out with a TV-style lapel microphone to boost her vocal cords even if shes reduced to a croaky whisper.

After former Brexit Secretary David Davis complained I cant eat this stuff, the Commons Leader swallowed her staunch anti-EU credentials and sent out to a pizzeria

The Pizza Club of top Tory Brexiteers, whose plottings in Andrea Leadsoms office were exposed by this newspaper last year, dined for its first meeting not on the Italian staple but more exotic Lebanese cuisine.

But after former Brexit Secretary David Davis complained I cant eat this stuff, the Commons Leader swallowed her staunch anti-EU credentials and sent out to a pizzeria.

Serial non-resigner Richard Harrington, an arch-Remainer, has become the butt of jokes from fellow Ministers after continual threats to walk in protest over Brexit never materialise.

He didnt help himself when he angrily hit back at teasing MPs by boasting he had his resignation letter drafted in his inside pocket. Let us know if you need a stamp, quipped a colleague.

Amber's troll is too close for comfort

The journalists rampant Remainer mum couldnt help saying: Trolled by my own daughter

Amber Rudds motherly instincts triumphed over her Brexit phobia when she gamely advertised a link to a Spectator article extolling the virtues of No Deal to millennials, penned by one of her own children Flora Gill.

However, the journalists rampant Remainer mum, above, couldnt help saying: Trolled by my own daughter.

Its not just the EU that avid Remainer Lord Adonis never wants to leave. Such was the length of his lunch in Brussels that the bijou brasserie near the EU summit was setting up for dinner by the time he finally paid his exit bill. No one was sure why he was even in Brussels, said one MP.

Corbyn's rising star

Jeremy Corbyns favourite newspaper, the communist-supporting Morning Star, contained a chilling call last week for disloyal careerist Right- wingers from the Blair/Brown era to be expunged from Labour for good.

Winning the next election is of secondary importance, screamed an article. Jezza couldnt have put it better himself.

Setting out the next steps in the Governments EU policy, Junior Brexit Minister Kwasi Kwarteng boomed that be it a short or long extension, in both scenarios, we would have to lie Cue gales of laughter from MPs not used to such frankness.

Haplessly, Kwasi stammered that he meant we would have to lay a motion to extend Article 50.

Asked for her views about worried parents withdrawing children from sex education lessons, Diane Abbott implied they shouldnt be so concerned about what their little ones might learn.

As I understand, the most exciting thing that happens is putting a condom on a banana, said Corbyns ex. She sounded disappointed.
When Mariana Sfakianakis uploads a 'transformation' photo of herself to social media it has nothing to do with gaining or losing weight.

Instead, the 25-year-old beauty from Sydney is showing a little girl who grew up in and out of hospitals, holding crutches and relying on wheelchairs who has blossomed into a strong and fiercely independent woman.

'My transformation wasn't about losing weight, gaining weight, preparing for a bodybuilding competition... it wasn't for a boy or for Instagram. It wasn't about wanting the biggest booty or biceps,' she explained to her 52,000 followers.

When Mariana Sfakianakis (pictured) uploads a 'transformation' photo of herself to social media it has nothing to do with gaining or losing weight

'My transformation wasn't about losing weight, gaining weight, preparing for a bodybuilding competition... it wasn't for a boy or for Instagram. It wasn't about wanting the biggest booty or biceps,' she explained to her 52,000 followers

'My transformation was about a little girl in those hospital beds fighting for her life, fighting for strength and fighting to prove that no disability could ever and never will stop her from feeling beautiful and having a kind soul.'

Mariana, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth, is set to appear on stage at an amateur bodybuilding competition in less than two months time, which for a girl who endured physical torments from bullies over her physical appearance is a dream she has had for a long time.

'Exercise helps me with cerebral palsy more so mentally than physically. It has gotten me through some pretty rough days as I use the gym and exercise as my getaway and happy place,' she told FEMAIL.

'There are a lot of exercises that I'm limited to doing which can sometimes effect my level of growth, especially in my lower body, although I have figured out different exercise alternatives which are easier for me to do.

'There are days were I wish it could be easier but I never give up and am always looking for new things to try.'

Having moved out of home recently Mariana had made 'huge steps of independence' and is grateful for every day she gets to 'wake up'.

Having moved out of home recently Mariana had made 'huge steps of independence' and is grateful for every day she gets to 'wake up' (pictured as a child and now)

'There are a lot of exercises that I'm limited to doing which can sometimes effect my level of growth, especially in my lower body, although I have figured out different exercise alternatives which are easier for me to do,' she said

Previously, FEMAIL spoke to Mariana about her condition, which resulted from a lack of oxygen at birth.

'I was born in Greece as a premature baby. Doctors had told my mum prior to giving birth that I was going to be a stillborn and so we had no preparation for post labour,' she said.

'I was immediately rushed over to the intensive care unit but by that time I had lost large amounts of oxygen which caused damage to my brain resulting in a permanent condition called cerebral palsy.'

Mariana's condition affected the movement in her legs, muscle control and balance. She moved to Australia at the age of five in hopes of finding more advanced doctors and treatments.

'As a young kid I never understood what was really happening and why I was different to all the other kids. I got bullied for not walking like all the others and for also being in a wheelchair.

'This caused major anxiety, depression and being so young I never really knew how to deal with it besides self harm. When I reached year six I had multi level surgery, almost not making it through the eight hour procedure leaving me with nine scars on my legs,' the caption continued.

The Sydney-based 25-year-old Mariana Sfakianakis posted this image to Instagram in an effort to explain what her life was like growing up with cerebral palsy

'I was born in Greece as a premature baby. Doctors had told my mum prior to giving birth that I was going to be a stillborn and so we had no preparation for post labour,' she said

The surgery was thankfully a success but the 25-year-old still couldn't move her legs for almost eight months. She was forced to learn how to walk again using a frame and then crutches.

'Although I was told that I would never be 100 per cent normal my results were incredible and I was gratefully content. I never wanted to be perfect. Just better,' she said.

Mariana's Instagram page is filtered with incredible fitness feats and personal bests.

She said exercise is what helped her overcome longstanding mental and physical issues.

'Starting high school in a wheelchair was a struggle that lead me to depression and anxiety. It took me many years to overcome it before I decided to drop out in year ten and start my fitness journey,' she explained.

'Although I was told that I would never be 100 per cent normal my results were incredible and I was gratefully content. I never wanted to be perfect. Just better,' she said

The surgery was thankfully a success but the 25-year-old still couldn't move her legs for almost eight months. She was forced to learn how to walk again using a frame and then crutches

The kids at school were not as educated about disabilities as they are now, Mariana went on to say.

The 25-year-old wasn't able to run and keep her balance and was in 'daily pain' as a result of her walking pattern.

Children found ways to stir her about it.

'It was quiet often verbal but also physical bullying. I was always very soft and didn't stick up for myself because I was scared,' she said.

'I thought that there was nothing I could really do and if I did stick up for myself it would only make it worse.

'Starting high school in a wheelchair was a struggle that lead me to depression and anxiety. It took me many years to overcome it before I decided to drop out in year ten and start my fitness journey,' she explained

'I spent most days crying and feeling very lonely which most times lead to self harm. That was the only way I knew how to deal with it,' she said.

Social media and exercise has completely transformed Mariana's life. Her followers see her an inspiration, particularly those in 'similar situations'.

'I've built myself to be a strong and independent young lady that is always focused on improving everyday. My fitness journey has had a huge impact on my life today and the support of all my friends and family,' she said.
A father-of-two has helped to make his late wife's dream come true after she passed away from cancer earlier this month.

John Merriman, 40, from London, who has two son's Asher, seven, and Nathan, 11, started an online campaign to record a version of Sounds of Blackness' 'Hold On Change Is Coming' for charity.

In July 2018, Ruth Merriman, 39, was training to be an advocate for teenagers in Merton and Sutton with charity Jigsaw4U when she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

She had always hoped her friends and family would record her favourite song and donate the proceeds to the charity she worked for, so when she died on 9th March this year, John set to work making her final wish become a reality.

The new version of the uplifting song, along with a moving video, will be released on Monday 25th March to coincide with Ruth's funeral, and what would have been her 39th birthday - and it has already raised over 21, 000 in donations.

'Out of something so tragic has come something so very beautiful that will impact thousands of people,' said John. 'I just wish Ruth were here to enjoy this  she would be as amazed as I am at everyone's creativity and generosity.'

Ruth Merriman, 39, was training to be an advocate for teenagers in Merton and Sutton with charity Jigsaw4U when she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Non Hodgkin Lymphoma last July

Ruth pictured with her two boys Nathan, 11 (left) and Asher, seven (second left), and her husband John (right)

A few of the children who helped contribute to the moving tribute - along with Nathan, (left) and Asher, 7 (middle)

Speaking of his wife's death, John said that Nathan and Asher have found it tough but admitted that him and Ruth were 'explicitly honest with them about her diagnosis from the start.'

'She spent 64 nights in hospital having chemotherapy and we knew early on that the prognosis wouldnt be good,' he explained. 'So we made sure we prepared the children as much as we could.

Ruth's heartwarming idea saw local schools, choirs, musicians and dance groups taking part in a project that she hoped would raise 3, 000.

Within just two days of her tragic death, Ruth's target was smashed and the total continues to rocket daily.

The project involved staff and 400 pupils from Ruth and John's sons' school, Hillcross Primary, with the support of local choir Inner Harmony of which Ruth was a founding member

Pictured, John and Ruth's young son John gets involved in the video for the song by playing on the drums

A young girl helps to sing one of Ruth's favourite song's 'Hold On Change Is Coming' for the upcoming charity single - which has already raised 21, 000 for Jigsaw4U

Following his wife's death, music studio owner and producer John, first set up a Just Giving page and promised anyone who donated an exclusive preview of the track ahead of its release.

Then he got to work, with much of the new recording taking place at this Crown Lane Studio in Morden, southwest London.

The project involved staff and 400 pupils from Ruth and John's sons' school, Hillcross Primary, with the support of local choir Inner Harmony of which Ruth was a founding member.

It also featured percussion performances from Asher and Nathan, as well as winners of the school's recent talent contest, and also solo cameos from students whom Ruth had mentored.

'Only five days after their mummy had died Asher was dancing again and both he and Nathan were drumming their hearts out,' said John. 'But this time in honour of their wonderful mum and to help raise funds for a charity close to our hearts.'

Pictured, John Merriman and his wife Ruth who tragically passed away on 9th March this year, aged 39

By donating via the Just Giving page the song will be sent to you personally on 25th March

Without John realising, Sutton Dance Academy, of which younger son Asher is a member, had heard about the project and secretly choreographed, rehearsed and filmed a stunning and very emotional dance to accompany the song

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to John, Sutton Dance Academy, of which younger son Asher is a member, secretly choreographed, rehearsed and filmed a stunning and very emotional dance to accompany the song.

The money raised with the sale of the song will go to Jigsaw4U, which offers help to children and young adults going through a variety of difficulties.

The charity has also been instrumental in supporting Ruth and John's own sons who have had to try and come to terms with their mother's diagnosis and illness, and so it seemed fitting for the family to donate all funds to the charity.

If you donate via the Just Giving page, the song will automatically be sent to you on 25th March.
It's natural to want to want the best for your children and to do everything in your power to make their lives as easy and straightforward as possible.

But could you be inadvertantly 'snowploughing' your kids?

The term, coined in 2014 by David McCullough, an English teacher at Wellesley High School in Massachusetts with more than 30 years' experience, is attributed to mums and dads who aggressively push their children to achieve, whatever the cost.

This includes clearing any obstacles that may stand in the way of their success.

Could you be snowploughing your kids? The term can be attributed to parents who push their children to achieve, whatever the cost

Snowploughing can often begin at birth, with enthusiastic parents going out of their way to put their children's names on waiting lists for elite preschools.

A snowplough parent will continue to ensure their precious little ones never feel obliged to do anything that might frustrate or unnerve them, reports The New York Times.

This continues throughout their school career, with devoted mums and dads dashing into their kids school with forgotten homework and calling up teachers demanding their child receives special treatment.

Psychologist Madeline Levine, author of Teach Your Children Well: Why Values and Coping Skills Matter More Than Grades, Trophies or 'Fat Envelopes', described snowplough parents as those who have 'cleared everything out of their kids' way'.

But doing so can be costly, with children growing up struggling to cope with basic tasks and commonplace problems life can throw up.

Snowplough parents often continue to push their kids throughout their school career and do anything in their power to remove obstacles from their path to success

Dr Levine told how she often sees first year university students who have had to return home from top educational institutions 'because they don't have the minimal kinds of adult skills that one needs to be in college'.

She said: 'Here are parents who have spent 18 years grooming their kids with what they perceive as advantages, but they're not.'

According to Julie Lythcott-Haims, the former dean of freshmen at Stanford University and author of How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success, snowplough parents have failed to 'prepare the kid for the road, instead of preparing the road for the kid'.

Devoted snowplough mums and dads will das into their kids school with forgotten homework and call up teachers demanding their child receives special treatment

By never letting their children make mistakes or face challenges, they end up having to continue to 'parent' their children even after they become adults.

Ms Lythcott-Haims recalled Stanford students who relied on their mums and dads to set up social events with people in their halls to initiate friendships.

The same sort of parents would then call up their child's employer to complain when an internship didn't lead to a job.

By never letting their children make mistakes or face challenges, snowplough parents end up having to continue to 'parent' their children even after they become adults as they are ill-equipped to deal with life's basic tasks

The trouble is, snowplough parenting is a tough habit to break.

'If you're doing it in high school, you can't stop at college,' explained Ms Lythcott-Haims.

'If you're doing it in college, you can't stop when it comes to the workplace. You have manufactured a role for yourself of always being there to handle things for your child.'
It was only when, strip by strip, the bandages were peeled away that Toni Goldenberg finally knew for sure. Tentatively, she touched her neck. Then, as a mirror was held up to her newly exposed face, she gasped in delight. A miracle was staring back.

At the remarkable age of 80, the great grandmother had just undergone a three-and-a-half-hour facelift, knowing that she risked dangerous complications  or even death  under the surgeons knife.

Toni had spent years scrimping and saving from her meagre pension for the 10,000 operation, driven to fulfil a long-held dream.

Toni Goldenberg pictured before and after her face lift that took three-and-a-half hours

Toni had spent years scrimping and saving from her meagre pension for the 10,000 operation, driven to fulfil a long-held dream

And now, with her daughter at her side, she knew for certain that the loathed lines, wrinkles and crepe skin had finally been smoothed away. The biggest gamble of her life had paid off.

They told me there were risks, but I was determined, she explains today. I said to the doctor, If I die, I die.

I didnt like the way getting older made me look like a wizened hag. It didnt match the way I felt inside.

Getting old is horrible. It creeps up on you so quickly. I have always felt young at heart, but for the past 40 years my face just didnt match the body Ive worked so hard to keep a size 10. And Ive succeeded. But the face is something different.

The baggy crepe skin has gone. I used to avoid looking in the mirror, because it made me feel so awful. But since the operation, Im happy and excited about the future. I think the surgery has taken ten years off me and each day I can feel my confidence growing. Im a much better version of myself.

Toni Goldenberg in her 40s with her son Giles. She has been dreaming of cosmetic surgery for more than half a century

Millions of women will sympathise with Toni, especially those approaching middle age or beyond, but a facelift is a serious operation with many risks

Its hard to believe this is the same woman I first met two weeks before her operation. Today, sitting in the tidy living room of her modest home in Wallington on the southern edge of London, Im genuinely amazed at the transformation and tell her that, in fact, she looks 20 years younger.

Her face  now clearly much smoother  lights up in response. Compliments about her appearance, it seems, are a surprising experience.

Everyone says I look fantastic and I cant get over how much better its already made me feel, Toni continues. Friends have reacted really well and my family are stunned. One friend whom Ive known for more than 50 years said that shed do the same if she could afford it  and shes 76.

Millions of women will sympathise with Toni, especially those approaching middle age or beyond, but a facelift is a serious operation with many risks.

It involves making incisions behind the ears and up into the hair. Then the skin and underlying muscles are pulled up and back to tighten the jawline and the neck, while also lifting the eyes upwards.

There are potential complications including bleeding, blood clots and infection. And the risk of a general anaesthetic increases dramatically with age.

Cosmetic surgery and expensive West End clinics are a world away from Tonis simple upbringing in rural southern Ireland.

The great grandmother with a giant coca cola bottle in Wallington, Surrey, raising funds for her face lift

The grandmother, aged 27 in this image, is shown holding her three-month-old daughter Josie

Toni Goldenberg in her 40s with her mother Ellen. She said her skin got worse every year and she didn't understand why, especially as her mother had good skin right into her 80s

She first started working at the age of 11, milking cows. Then at 14, she arrived in Wales to work as a nanny before going on to do silver service waitressing.

Marriage and children followed, but her husband left when she was in her 30s and she had the responsibility of bringing up daughter Josie, now 53, and son Giles, 42, by herself.

Toni had never been particularly concerned about her appearance until her mid-40s, when she began worrying that the skin on her face was getting more lined than girlfriends of a similar age.

It got worse every year and I didnt understand why, because my mother had really good skin even into her 80s, she says. I guess its just the luck of the draw, but it gradually ate away at my confidence.

She works hard at her figure, maintaining a regime of regular yoga, long walks and visits to the gym. She even keeps a pair of dumbbells handy in her living room.

Indeed, Toni still shops in Zara and other high street stores normally associated with a younger generation and, when she looks in the mirror, she sees the same, slender size 10 figure shes had since she was a teenager. Yet she was powerless to stop the lines and wrinkles spreading relentlessly across her face.

Then five years ago I decided it was time to do something for me and started the Grans Facelift Fund.

It was only when, strip by strip, the bandages were peeled away that Toni Goldenberg finally knew for sure

Family and friends helped by putting loose change into a giant Coca-Cola bottle she kept in her sitting room, but it would still take her five years to reach the 10,000 total, much of it saved from her 164-a-week state pension.

However drastic a decision it might have seemed, Tonis children supported her.

Mums backed us with everything we wanted to do, so it was only right that we do the same for her, says Josie. New technology and safer procedures mean that surgery is now accessible to everyone.

So why shouldnt older people benefit if they can afford it?

Our only concern as a family was that it had to be done in this country by a reputable surgeon.

After careful research, they chose The Harley Street Skin Clinic, where Josie and her daughter had already undergone chemical peels for acne.

Tonis initial consultation was for two hours and the second about 90 minutes. The doctor, she says, was very straight and didnt beat about the bush when he warned that he could not perform miracles. Toni told him that she didnt want a wind-tunnel effect, with her skin pulled back too tightly.

The doctor warned me there was a possibility that I could die, slip into a coma or become paralysed, she continues. But I told him that at least Id look good in my coffin.

Strong-willed as ever, she insisted he should finish the operation, even if she died!

Of course, I knew it was a risk, but thats a one-in-a-million chance. And its not as if I have so many more years to live. Whats the point of life without taking some chances?

The night before the operation, however, she admits to a churning feeling of apprehension.

I was scared but I was still determined to go through with it, she says. I would never have changed my mind. I accepted that anything could happen during the operation. But Im a great believer that you will go when your time is up and not before.

She had written a will just in case and made sure there was insurance to pay for a funeral.

In practice, there was little time to get nervous, however. I was lying on the operating table, the anaesthetist said he was going to give me the drug and the next thing I knew I was awake and my head wrapped up like an accident victim, she recalls.

Toni was surprised to feel no pain when she awoke. The surgeon said this would be the case and I didnt believe him. I kept waiting for the pain to kick in but theres been none, she confirms.

Once back home she had to sleep upright for at least four nights, with the aid of a special V-shaped pillow  and still does.

Toni Goldenberg, aged 27, at her house with her three month old daughter Josie

Apparently the longer you sleep upright, the better the result and Im determined to do everything possible to get the best look that I can for my money, she explains.

The only real discomfort, she says, was the tightness of the bandages. Indeed, Toni was able to move about the house freely within 24 hours of her operation and she took her dog Tallulah for walks in the evenings, with a scarf wrapped over the bandages.

While still wearing the bandages, she celebrated her 80th birthday with a family party, eating cake and drinking champagne without any difficulties.

Yet she couldnt be sure the gruelling operation had been a success until a week later, when the bandages around her face were removed by her surgeon, Mr Hagen Schumacher.

With her daughter and granddaughter by her side, Toni felt anxious butterflies as a mirror was held up.

But the result was all she had hoped for.

I could see the difference straight away, she beams. Although my face was still swollen, I thought my skin looked lovely. The ugly jowls that made me appear constantly miserable had vanished. So had the deep lines around my mouth and some of the wrinkles on my turkey neck. Im absolutely thrilled with the outcome. I feel that I look rested and fresh, instead of tired and cross. Some people might think Im being vain, but the operations not about looking beautiful.

I had no illusions about that because I never thought that I was a beauty. I wasnt trying to recapture my lost youth, either. I just wanted to feel better about myself.

Mr Schumacher is surprised at how quickly her skin has improved, saying that it usually takes about four months to achieve such a strong level of recovery. She is the oldest patient Ive done a full facelift on and her progress has been remarkable, he says.

I was positively surprised after removing her bandages by how few bruises and how little swelling she had.

And it will get even better as time goes by as it usually takes about a year to see the full effect.

Mr Schumacher attributes this astonishing recovery to his patients positive attitude and realistic expectations.

He says: Of course, it also helps that Toni was remarkably fit for her age and had no medical conditions.

Older people tend to have health issues that makes surgery so risky for them, but we did a full psychological and medical assessment before she was even considered for a face and necklift. She has truly been inspirational.

There is still some numbness in her lower jaw, but Toni has been assured the feeling will return.

She accepts that such serious surgery is most definitely not for everyone but says it has given her a new lease of life, making her more willing to meet new people and try new things. She is certainly not prepared to slip quietly into her twilight years.

Would she have further work done? Her eyes, perhaps, or even breast implants?

She laughs. I can understand why people become addicted to cosmetic procedures. My hands dont match my face, for example. But, honestly, Im done.
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank at Royal Lodge, Windsor, ahead of the private evening dinner

She is the young Royal who has already been heavily criticised for her extravagance in hosting no less than three parties to celebrate her marriage to Jack Brooksbank last year.

But last week an undaunted Princess Eugenie, 28, threw a fourth celebration  to thank everyone involved in the big day.

On Wednesday evening, guests at Windsor Castle enjoyed a private viewing of an exhibition devoted to the wedding, with items on show including the Peter Pilotto-designed wedding dress and Zac Posen evening gown.

Mr Pilotto and his design partner Christopher De Vos were at the party, which one guest described as a beautiful gesture to say thank you.

Also there were Eugenies wedding make-up artist Hannah Martin, who took care of the Duchess of Cambridge, Zara Tindall and Pippa Middleton on their wedding days, and Sandra Choi, creative director for her uncle Jimmy Choo, whose company made the bespoke gold leather shoes the Princess wore for her reception.

The Queens granddaughter was criticised for the ostentation of the wedding last October, with the celebrations even outdoing those for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle earlier in the year.

Security for the event cost the taxpayer an estimated 2 million. After the wedding ceremony at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle, the Queen hosted a champagne reception.

The couple smile at their wedding at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on October 12

Security for the event cost the taxpayer an estimated 2million and after their wedding ceremony, the Queen hosted a champagne reception

In the evening, Eugenie and Mr Brooksbank entertained 300 guests at Royal Lodge, the home of the Princesss parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.

The newlyweds arrived in the Aston Martin DB10 from the James Bond film Spectre to be greeted by celebrities including Demi Moore, Jamie Redknapp, Jimmy Carr, Ricky Martin and Ellie Goulding.

Inside a 100,000 marquee, liveried waiters served cocktails and gourmet pizza.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra played during dinner and Robbie Williams sang his hits before Eugenie performed a catwalk-style routine on the dance floor flanked by supermodels Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne.

At the following days 12-hour extravaganza, 500 guests were treated to fairground rides in the grounds of Windsor Lodge.

Last night a spokesman for the Princess declined to comment.
Ford Will Build a Second Plant in Russia

Ford Motors plans to build a second auto plant in Russia, according to Reuters, citing Ford European vice president Jim Tetreault.

Tet reault said the site for the new plant will be chosen next year. He also said the capacity of the Ford plant in Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad Region, will be brought up to 125,000 vehicles to meet the demand for Ford cars in Russia. That plant current produces 75,000 cars per year, and almost half of the Fords sold in Russia are imported. Tetreault did not specify what models would be made at the new plant. Experts suggest that the Fiesta family car and Kuga crossover SUV may be chosen.

Why are they building another plant in Russia?

The Russian market kept Ford from going belly up!

Ford made money in Russia last year and the years before. Ford sells all cars it made in its Russian Plant to Russians and can sell more. It even imports cars from outside of Russia to keep up with the demand. Ford lost money in the USA.

Looks like the rumor could be true, Ford is slowly moving overseas!

GM to Launch Carmaker in St. Petersburg Nov. 5 2008

General Motors will launch a plant in St. Petersburg on November 5, 2008, St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matvienko announced when delivering the annual address to the Legislative Assembly of the city, RIA Novosti reported.

The second automobile plant, General Motors, will be launched November 5, the governor said, reminding that laying the foundation stone of Hyundai has been slated for June, when St. Petersburg hosts the Economic Forum.

One of the global carmakers, General Motors, will launch in St. Petersburg the plant worth roughly $300 million with the annual capacity of 70,000 cars. Captiva off-highway vehicles are amid the models to be made by GM in that city of Russia.



General Motors is represented in Russia already. The company has a joint venture with local automobile giant AvtoVAZ. GM-AvtoVAZ was set into motion September 2002 and it currently makes Chevrolet Niva off-highway vehicles and Chevrolet Viva cars.

Goodyear Building Plant in Yaroslavl?

For the first time in three years, a foreign tire-maker may build a plant in Russia. The U.S. company Goodyear is considering a $200-250-million project in Yaroslavl Region to produce up to 5 million car tires a year. Goodyear executives met with regional governor Sergey Bakhrukov at the end of last month and asked him to allot them a plot of land. Sources say that Bakhrukov set aside about 70 ha. for the company. That land has no infrastructure, however. In addition, according to sources, Bakhrukov has asked Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to provide Goodyear with investment benefits, and the president has already asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to look into the question. Ernest & Young consulted Goodyear on the project.

Goodyear, the Yaroslavl administration and the Ministry of Industry and Trade were unavailable for comment Friday evening, but Igor Karavaev, deputy general director of OAO SIBUR  Russian Tires, which controls the Yaroslavl Tire Plant that the project really is being discussed and SIBUR is one of the participants in that discussion.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. owns 60 plants in 26 countries. It sells the most tires in the United States and second most in Europe. The company is made up of six divisions: British Dunlop Tyres, American Kelly-Springfield Tire Company  Lee Tire and Rubber Co., Slovenian Sava Tires, German Fulda and Polish Debica. It produces the Assurance, Fortera, Wrangler, Eagle, Nordic and Ultra Grip brands. There are two Western tire plants already operating in Russia. They are the French Michelin, built outside Moscow in 2004, which makes 2 million tires per year, and the Finnish Nokian Tires plant in Leningrad Region, which produces 4 million tires per year and may potentially increase its capacity to 10 million. The Japanese Bridgestone Co. considered building a plant in St. Petersburg, but rejected the idea.

Yaroslavl Region is relatively close to carmakers in both Leningrad and Moscow Regions. Goodyear already has experience there, since Yaroslavl Tire Plant has produced Goodyear tires on the off-take system (in which Goodyear sells them itself and the plant receives only a production commission). SIBUR  Russia Tires is likely to oppose the American companys plans. The state should support domestic producers first of all and create condition s for the innovative development of Russian enterprises, Karavaev asserted. He noted that the Peoples Republic of China requires foreign tire makers to form joint enterprises with local tire-makers. The rapidly expanding car assembly plants in Russia will have to be localized by at least 30 percent in the future. Therefore, if Goodyear is unable to finalize the project in Yaroslavl, it will be highly motivated to continue it in another region of Russia. Goodyear executives say unofficially that other regions are under consideration.

Renault to Make New Model in Russia!

Renault plans to assemble its new Sandro model, a five-door hatchback based on its budget model Logan, at its Avtoframos plant in Moscow. The Logan is also assembled at the Avtoframos plant. Assembly of the Sandro, with both gasoline and diesel engines, will begin in late 2009. The company has not said how many of the new car it plans to produce. Sources say that it may make 80,000-100,000 vehicles per year, which would use half of Avtoframos capacity. One source says, however, that the plants capacity will be increased next year to 190,000 vehicles. Officially, Renault plans to increase the plants capacity from the current 80,000 vehicles to 160,000.

Renault has been talking about expanding the capacity of Avtoframos and creating another model based on the Logan since 2005. The expansion at Avtoframos is estimated to cost $150 million. They note at the Ministry of Economic Development and Ministry of Industry and Trade that Avtoframos has yet to make amendments to its investment agreement for the industrial assembly of automobiles.

Observers say that the Sandro is likely to cost between $13,000 and $15,000, that is, more than the Logan. It would thus compete with AvtoVAZ models such as the Lada Priora (starting price $13,000), Kalina ($12,000) and Lada 110 models ($11,000). That price segment is one of the most popular in Russia. Renault owns a blocking (25-percent) package in by AvtoVAZ. A seven-passenger station wagon based on the Logan is made by AvtoVAZ.

French-Japanese Alliance to Build a Carmaker in Russia!

Another two car giants chose Russia for car assembly. French PSA Peugeot Citroen and Japans Mitsubishi Motors Co. have clinched a deal to set up a respective venture.

An automobile plant, which foundation stone will be laid in Kaluga June 10, will be making Mitsubishi, Peugeot and Citroen mid-size off-highway vehicles and mid-size cars of Peugeot and Citroen brands. The capacity is estimated at roughly 160,000 cars a year.

The initial plans were that Peugeot Citroen would independently construct the plant. But Mitsubishi is needed for a few models, which it makes for the French consortium. The matter at stake is all-wheel drive C-Crosser and Peugeot 4007.

Mitsubishi announced January 24, 2008 that it concluded an agreement on industrial assembly of cars in Russia with the RF Economic Development Ministry.

Quite a few of automobile giants have recently decided to launch car assembly in Russia. The Leningrad and Kaluga regions are the most favored whereabouts for that undertaking. Of interest is that Volkswagen has chosen both regions for Russias expansion.

Toyota Motor Corp. inaugurated its facility in St. Petersburg past fall. Suzuki and Nissan are also amid the companies that have decided to have plants there.

They all have one thing in mind.

MONEY!

Windows to Russia!
A millennial couple have revealed why they have quit their jobs to travel the world with just one carry-on bag of luggage each.

Alexandra Connors, 32, and her boyfriend Matt have been subscribing to the idea of 'minimalist travel' since 2017, when Alexandra walked 922 kilometres across Spain with nothing except the 10 kilograms she could carry on her back.

'After returning home to Sydney we started exploring the idea of living with less stuff,' Alexandra - who lives in Sydney's Northern Beaches - told Daily Mail Australia.

Now, the couple are set to take on a global adventure with just seven kilos of luggage each - or the equivalent of two carry-on bags.

A millennial couple (pictured) have revealed why they have quit their jobs to travel the world with just one carry-on bag of luggage each

This is the bag that Alexandra is taking away with her, when she and her partner travel to places including Cuba and Patagonia with just seven kilograms (pictured)

Alexandra Connors (pictured with Matt), 32, has been subscribing to the idea of 'minimalist travel' since 2017, when she walked across Spain with nothing except 10kg of luggage

Alexandra said her own minimalism has taken on different forms since it began.

What is Project 333? * Project 333 is the minimalist fashion challenge that invites you to live with just 33 pieces - clothing, accessories and shoes - for three months. * Consider that you are creating a wardrobe that you can live, work and play in for three months. Remember that this is not a project in suffering. If your clothes dont fit or are in poor condition, replace them. Source: Be More With Less Advertisement

'When I got back from Spain, I started by dealing with all of our excess clutter,' she said.

Beginning with the spare room, she went on to the bathroom cupboards kitchen and wardrobe.

'I would re-purpose items, give them to friends or recycle,' she said.

When it came to her wardrobe, Alexandra opted to try the 'Project 333' idea - an idea devised by Courtney Carver that says you pick 33 items and wear those solely for three months at a time.

'What started out as a great way to reduce the size of my wardrobe suddenly transformed the way I approached packing, travelling and buying new things,' she said.

Alexandra said she tried 'Project 333' several years ago - whereby you wear 33 items of clothing for three months and get rid of the rest; this sparked an idea to live more minimally

'No more lost luggage after a rushed airport connection, no more staring aimlessly at the baggage carousel and most importantly, an easy way to move from place to place without 20kgs to lug about,' Alexandra said of the approach (pictured with Matt)

What does Alexandra keep in her seven kilogram bag? * Six tops * Two pairs of shorts * Two skirts * Two dresses * One sweater * One jacket * One pair of jeans * Two pairs of shoes Advertisement

Before she knew it, the 32-year-old transferred Project 333 to her trips - travelling to and from different locations with just a carry-on bag.

'No more lost luggage after a rushed airport connection, no more staring aimlessly at the baggage carousel and most importantly, an easy way to move from place to place without 20kgs to lug about,' Alexandra said.

Alexandra got her boyfriend involved and recently, the couple planned out their year-long adventure, which begins in a month, with only 14 kilos of luggage.

'A rough guideline of what I pack when we go away is six tops, two pairs of shorts, two skirts, two dresses, one sweater, one jacket, one pair of jeans and two pairs of shoes,' she said.

'You don't need all that much really, especially since the majority of my clothes are made from natural fibres which means they should be easier to clean and they should last longer than synthetic clothing.'

Alexandra got her boyfriend involved and recently, the couple planned out their year-long adventure, which begins in a month, with only 14 kilos of luggage (both pictured)

On their one-way trip, the pair intend to start in Athens, before heading around Europe and to Botswana, Patagonia and Cuba.

'I've learned that clothing and homewares do not define who I am already,' Alexandra said.

'We've both realised how little we need to feel content, and that it is really the little things that fill you up more than buying new stuff.'

On their one-way trip, the pair (pictured) intend to start in Athens, before heading around Europe and to Botswana, Patagonia and Cuba

'I've learned that clothing and homewares do not define who I am already,' Alexandra said - they (pictured) realised how little you need to be content

Speaking about her tips for others who want to try the idea, Alexandra said the best thing you can do is get used to buying less things that you want and giving things a second lease of life.

'Try to repair, reuse and recycle anything that no longer sparks joy for you,' she said.

To follow Alexandra and Matt's adventures, you can visit their website here.
A young woman with an incredible 'Hamptons-style' home in Perth has revealed the DIY secrets behind her beautiful property.

Jo Borrello, 25, from Western Australia, had her home specially built and moved in in October 2017, upon which point she started decorating.

Today, Jo's home is the epitome of chic, with its sleek white design and light and bright finishes.

A young woman with an incredible 'Hamptons-style' home in Perth has revealed the DIY secrets behind her beautiful property (pictured: her kitchen)

Jo Borrello, 25, from Western Australia, had her home specially built with her partner and moved in in October 2017, upon which point she started decorating (pictured: her living room)

Today, Jo's (pictured) home is the epitome of chic, with its sleek white design and light and bright finishes

So what are her secrets?

'I'm a huge bargain hunter. While I like to think our home looks expensive, I made sure everything I bought was on sale,' Jo told FEMAIL.

'I love Kmart and have items from there all over the house, including their marble side table.'

The 25-year-old also said she visits other similar stores like Target and Spotlight, as well as 'places like The Furniture Gallery and Baker & Shuhandler, where I find more special pieces that aren't as budget friendly'.

'People often assume I spend a lot on home decor, but I like to mix luxe and affordable pieces together,' Jo said.

She also makes a point of re-purposing cheaper items, so they don't look as they do in store.

'I'm a huge bargain hunter. While I like to think our home looks expensive, I made sure everything I bought was on sale,' Jo told FEMAIL (pictured: her staircase and laundry)

'People often assume I spend a lot on home decor, but I like to mix luxe and affordable pieces together,' Jo said (pictured: her dining room)

The creative 25-year-old said you can save valuable money by doing some of your own decorating work at home.

'I painted our timber staircase balustrade and did the wainscoting [decorative panelling applied to walls] throughout our home, which saved us thousands,' Jo said.

'I've not been deterred by the colour of pieces from Kmart and IKEA.

'I've bough an outdoor bench, trellis and a bamboo ladder from these places and painted them all white to match our Hamptons-style home.

'Paint is the one thing that can give somewhere an instant face lift.

It also saves you money, makes anything look expensive and allows you to be creative.'

The creative 25-year-old also said you can save valuable money by doing some of your own decorating work at home (pictured: her living room)

For instance, Jo painted several areas of the house herself, as well as doing the wainscoting [decorative panelling applied to walls], which she said saved her thousands (pictured: the bathroom and the dressing area)

Speaking about her inspiration for her home, Jo said she wanted things to be 'light and bright with neutral tones and traditional touches'.

'This allows me to play around with the home decor, mixing traditional, glamorous and modern style aspects throughout, and adding a touch of colour when I want.'

Speaking about her inspiration for her home, Jo said she wanted things to be 'light and bright with neutral tones and traditional touches' (pictured: her bedroom)

When it comes to her interiors advice, Jo said you can't go wrong with neutrals - she likes to add pops of navy and blue, as well as blush pink (pictured: the dining room and wardrobe)

When it comes to her interiors advice, Jo said you can't go wrong with neutrals.

'Mixing different textures and materials also helps to create depth in a neutral home.

'If you want to add a pop of colour, navy and blues are beautiful and keep with the Hamptons style.

'I also love blush pink. Plants and flowers, real or faux, are a favourite of mine - as they bring so much life to a room.'

Jo shares much of her home on her Instagram page, Jo Marie.
A devastated woman whose first child was stillborn has released a range of moving Mother's Day cards for grieving parents in the hope of making them feel 'valued.'

Hannah Pontillo, 22, from Hove, East Sussex, was left heartbroken after her son Dexy died three weeks before his due date.

Hoping to help other heartbroken mothers feel important next Sunday, Hannah, who has since given birth to son River in December with her retail manager husband Phil, 30, has teamed up with card company Thortful to produce a range of touching designs.

'Giving birth to Dexy knowing he'd died was agonising, supermarket worker Hannah told The Mirror. 'Afterwards people forgot I was a mother. But I hadn't stopped being one just because my baby died.'

Hannah Pontillo, 22, from Hove, East Sussex (above) was left heartbroken after her son Dexy died three weeks before his due date. She has teamed up with company Thortful to release a range of Mother's Day cards for grieving parents

The moving range of cards come with a range of different messages. This one reads: 'I want you to know that I love you so, when you close your eyes I'm by your side. In the sky so bright. I know you miss me every night. Just know you're the best, you're better than all the rest

Supermarket worker Hannah and her husband retail manager Phil, 30, with baby Dexy in the hospital

She added: 'Mother's Day cards usually talk about tying children's shoelaces, playing and looking after them. For my cards I imagined what Dexy would say to me if he could.'

All proceeds from the cards will be donated to Kicks Count, a charity which aims to reduce the UK's shockingly high stillbirth and neonatal death rate by raising awareness of baby's movements.

The heartbroken couple had been trying to conceive for two years before tragically suffering a miscarriage in 2016.

Then in 2017, Hannah discovered she had fallen pregnant - something which she described as a 'dream come true.'

Hannah and Phil (pictured) were devastated to learn that their baby, Dexy had sadly passed away after suffering a loss of oxygen

Following the tragic stillbirth, Hannah found out she was pregnant with River (pictured) in May last year

But devastatingly, that feeling wasn't to last. In January 2018, when she was almost 37 weeks gone, Hannah suddenly stopped feeling her baby kicking.

After being rushed to hospital, medics informed the couple that their baby had sadly passed away after suffering a loss of oxygen.

'The days between learning there was no heartbeat and labour were horrendous,' said Hannah, who was induced and had to give birth three days later.

'We were told Dexy would weigh 5lb so bought him a tiny outfit. To the outside eye we looked like expectant parents. But we knew we'd be bringing home no baby.

'I had an epidural for the birth so was physically numb but my heart was breaking.'

After saying their final farewells to their precious son in hospital, they placed a teddy by his side and said 'goodnight.'

The moving cards include emotional tributes to grieving mums, with one which reads: 'I'm so glad you're my Mummy. From the second I was in your tummy, now in the sky so bright, I shine the brightest at night'

Hannah released the emotional cards in the hope of helping other grieving parents on Mother's Day next Sunday. 'To the greatest mummy you always looked after me. Now I'll watch over you in your heart. I will stay in your dreams. We will play. Happy Mother's Day'

Following the heartbreak, Hannah, who discovered she was pregnant with River in May, found Mother's Day a particular struggle and decided to get in touch with a card company.

She asked why you could buy cards for your pet dogs but there wasn't one that could be bought from her dead son.

Teaming up with Thortful, she has since released a range of cards with touching messages for grieving parents like herself.

'To the greatest mummy you always looked after me. Now I'll watch over you in your heart. I will stay in your dreams. We will play. Happy Mother's Day,' reads one.

While another says: 'I'm the brightest star in the night, with you as my mummy I'll hold your heart tight.'

Speaking of next Sunday, Hannah told the publication: 'This Mother's Day, I can't wait to get cards from both my children.

Thortful cards cost 3.29 from thortful.com
Shoppers have been left amused after online store ASOS began selling a unique pair of see-through trousers.



The 40 Flounce London sheer organza combat trousers in white was shared on the Asbos_Sos Instagram page, alongside the caption: 'When you did four squats this morning and the world must know.'

Made from 100 per cent polyester, it's no surprise that the rather cheeky pair of bottoms have left fashion fans rather bewildered.

'Thinking of getting a pair for casual wear, just shopping trips and the likes,' joked one, while another considered the practicality of the unique pair of trousers and penned: 'Those must get steamy in the summer.'

ASOS have started selling the 'Flounce London sheer organza combat trousers in white' for 40. They're made from 100 per cent polyester, so it's no surprise shoppers have been left confused

The outrageous design features a high-rise tie waist, cargo pockets and fitted cuffs and the site claims they are perfect for the days that 'call for a little extra'

Many amused shoppers joked about when they would fashion the unusual pair of trousers. 'Thinking of getting a pair for casual wear, just shopping trips and the likes,' joked one

The site claims that the revealing item, which features a high-rise tie waist, cargo pockets and fitted cuffs are perfect for the days that 'call for a little extra.'

And many took to social media to joke they'd be 'appropriate' for any occasion, including a work conference.

'Might get them for Zuma. I'm sure everyone will appreciate it,' wrote one shopper, while another penned: 'Going casual for conference?'

A third described them as 'like a peach wrapped in plastic,' while another considered wearing them to 'afternoon tea' with her mum.

One user described the product as being 'like a peach wrapped in plastic,' while another considered wearing them to 'afternoon tea' with her mum

Others considered the benefits of the unique design, with one writing: 'I am tempted like. Spill a beer? Wipe it off. Easy.'

A second added: 'Ideal for when you've shaved your legs and feel the need to show them off but it's too cold for a skirt.'

In the picture, the ASOS model can be seen wearing the see-through product with a black thong bodysuit and pair of high stiletto heels.

Despite the retailer's style suggestion, many shoppers were left baffled and couldn't get their head around when they would actually wear them.

'What's the point, seriously?' wrote one, while another commented: 'Just when you thought they couldn't get any more ridiculous...!'

The see-through pair of trousers were shared on the Asbos_Sos Instagram page, alongside the caption: 'When you did four squats this morning and the world must know' (above)

Some shoppers took a more sarcastic approach to the rather revealing design on sale, with one writing: 'They're so versatile'

Meanwhile, others took what can only be assumed as a more sarcastic approach to the cargo trousers.

'They're so versatile,' wrote one, while another said: 'They seem appropriate to me.'

But there were the odd few who needed the backing of a friend before they could pluck up the courage to even consider wearing them.

'Shall we get matching for Rome,' one social media wrote, to which her friend replied: 'I'm down if you are.'
The call that brought it all home came out of the blue,' says Annie Richards. 'It was the clinic telling me I had less than 18 months to use my frozen eggs, otherwise they would be destroyed.

'I was shell-shocked. I couldn't believe the intervening years had passed so quickly, but I knew I had to do something. I couldn't bear the thought that I had spent thousands of pounds, and two years, going through an invasive and emotionally exhausting process to freeze those precious eggs, only to have an outdated law deprive me of my only chance to have my own biological child.'

Nearly ten years ago, Annie, 51, who works in management in the travel industry, was among the first wave of women to freeze their eggs for non-medical reasons. Now, she intends to be the first woman to bring a challenge against the law that states eggs frozen for 'social' reasons must be used within ten years  or destroyed. In 2009, Annie had yet to find a partner she thought was ready for 'marriage, a house and then a child'. And, as she wanted to have a family, not only a child, she wasn't prepared to contemplate trying to conceive on her own using donor sperm.

So, single and approaching her 40s, she felt she didn't have many options.

'I could do nothing, certain that time would slowly but surely rob me of any chance of having a child of my own, or I could be proactive,' she says.

Fighting: Lawyer Salima Budhani, is helping Annie, 51. Salima says the ten year limit on destroying eggs is 'arbitrary'

'I knew there were no guarantees, but a small chance was better than no chance.'

At the time, so few cycles of egg freezing and thawing had been conducted that there were no statistics on exactly what that chance was. But a new, faster freezing method called vitrification had started to become more widely used by clinics, which meant more eggs could be preserved without damaging them.

The latest statistics from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) relate to 2016. Of the 178 treatment cycles carried out that year where women thawed their eggs, 18 per cent resulted in a live birth.

While that figure is lower than the overall figure for IVF cycles, which is around 26 per cent, it's significantly higher than the figure for women over 44 who are doing an IVF cycle using their own fresh eggs, which is just 6 per cent.

At the age of 40, Annie knew she would produce fewer high-quality eggs each cycle. Women under 30 have around a 25 per cent chance of getting pregnant naturally in any one month. For women over 40, that drops to around 5 per cent.

'I knew my age was against me, so over two years I did five cycles, each time injecting myself for around two weeks with drugs that would stimulate my ovaries to produce more eggs, and then having those eggs removed under sedation.

'That might seem excessive, but I looked at the IVF rates and knew that more eggs would give me a better chance. On my last cycle, aged 42, I didn't get a single egg, but in total I have 25 stored.'

While she recalls that the cost of each cycle was in the region of 3,000, she says she has, quite deliberately, never added up how much she spent in total.

'It was a huge burden at the time,' she says. 'And it was all on me. I didn't tell anyone about it  not even my friends or my family.

'But I had a good job, was in a good financial position and, although it meant not buying cars, not going on holidays and losing money when I took days off work, to me there isn't a price you can place on the chance of having your own biological child.'

But, of course, the costs continue to mount after the treatment. It's around 300 a year to store the eggs and several thousand to defrost them, fertilise them and have the embryos transferred when you eventually come to use them.

A glance at the price guide for one of the major UK clinics shows that a woman who freezes her eggs and then later tries to conceive, can expect to pay around 3,300 for the initial egg freezing cycle and a further 2,400 for the thawing, fertilising and transfer. That's a total of 5,700  around 1,500 more than if she had gone through IVF.

Law that states eggs frozen for 'social' reasons must be used within ten years (stock image)

And then, as if the financial costs weren't punitive enough, the law comes into play. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 imposed limits on how long eggs could be stored, partly to avoid overcrowding in egg banks, but also because there was no research into how long eggs could last.

The technology was so unreliable when the limit was introduced that nobody expected many women to freeze their eggs.

But experts say there's no scientific reason why eggs, or sperm, cannot be safely frozen for 200 years or more. And, in 2009, the legislation, which is enforced by the HFEA, was changed to allow women who become prematurely infertile, for example those facing early menopause, to store their eggs for up to 55 years.

'After two years, I was financially and emotionally exhausted,' says Annie. 'But I felt at least I'd done something to preserve my fertility.'

However, the call from the clinic changed everything.

'I wasn't in a relationship, so I started researching what I could do,' she says. This included fertilising the eggs with donor sperm and either re-freezing them or trying to get pregnant.

Experts say there's no scientific reason why eggs can't be safely frozen for 200 years plus (picture posed by model)

'I don't want to be a single parent,' she says. 'If I did, I'd have done it ten years ago.'

Another option was exporting the eggs to countries such as Cyprus or India, where the ten-year limit does not exist  'a lot of expense and inconvenience'.

Instead, Annie decided to take a legal route.

'In November 2018, I went to The Fertility Show in London and spoke to every stand that had a solicitor.'

That was where she found a law firm that had started looking into the issue. Salima Budhani, of London-based firm Bindmans, is now representing Annie.

'The ten-year limit is entirely arbitrary,' says Salima.

'It's not linked to the age of the woman when she reaches that ten-year point and, in fact, many women who have gone through the trauma of having their eggs destroyed would still be considered young enough to receive fertility treatment from a UK-based IVF clinic  only they would have to use donor eggs instead.

'This underlines the absurdity of the limit.

'It is difficult to see how it could be justified legally and we hope that the Secretary of State for Health will agree to review it. We believe that there is a very strong argument that the ten-year limit contravenes the Human Rights Act.'

27 per cent of patients thawing their eggs for use are over 44

The legal challenge is still in its early stages. Annie has launched a crowdfunding campaign with the aim of prompting a judicial review.

Ultimately, they hope a judge will rule that the current legislation is incompatible with the Human Rights Act and compel Parliament to debate the issue.

If the judge's ruling goes as they hope, a court could make an interim injunction that would mean the clinic could continue to store Annie's eggs beyond the ten-year limit while the legislation was being debated.

'We think it would make sense to link the limit with an age, and 55, the age beyond which most UK fertility clinics would no longer offer IVF, seems sensible,' says Salima.

'But ultimately any new rule is a matter for Parliament.'

For Annie, this is 'not just about me. It's about the next generation of women coming up. I feel a sense of responsibility.

'I'm one of the pioneers of social egg freezing. At the time there weren't many of us, so there are now maybe only a few hundred in my position. But more and more women are freezing their eggs.'

Women under 30 have around a 25 per cent chance of getting pregnant naturally in any one month. For women over 40, that drops to around 5 per cent

In 2010, the HFEA recorded just over 200 cycles of egg freezing; in 2016, that figure was 1,310, and it's rising every year.

Earlier this month, the UK saw its first ever 'egg-freezing party', offering single women information about the procedure over cocktails and canapes, and big technology companies, such as Apple and Facebook, are now offering egg-freezing as a perk to their female employees.

One woman watching the progress of Annie's legal campaign with interest is Lucy Duncan.

Nearly eight years ago, at the age of 36, she froze her eggs.

'I thought I was buying myself time  time to meet a man, time to become a mother,' she says. 'And I was. But not enough. To date, I haven't used a single one of those nine frozen eggs and, if I don't use them in the next two-and-a-half years, they will be destroyed.'

She describes the thought as 'horrific'.

Lucy, who has a successful career in the media, admits that many will think that, at 44, if she wanted to have children, she should have done it by now. And in an ideal world, she would have done.

'I'm the only child of a stable, middle-class family and my parents are still happily married,' she says. 'As a teenager I thought I'd be married with two children by the time I was 35.'

But, far from putting babies on hold for a career, Lucy simply hadn't found the right man, despite short relationships and flings in her 20s and 30s.

She was 35 when a friend, an IVF doctor, suggested she freeze her eggs, and she admits that, while not unexpected, 'it hammered home the reality of how my fertility was dropping off a cliff.

'I had a sinking feeling, but I knew I had to do something.'

Lucy's single cycle of egg freezing cost 4,000.

'I'd discussed it with my mum from the beginning and she offered to pay, which made things easier. I just don't think I could have afforded it on my own.'

Despite the cost and the process, Lucy, who describes it as 'traumatic, invasive, and even tougher when you haven't got someone to go home to at night', says the low point was having to inject herself with the drugs designed to stimulate her ovaries to produce more eggs. 'I'm not good with needles and the first time I had to inject myself, I simply couldn't face it,' she says.

'Instead, I went back to my parents' house and asked my mum to do it'. However, Lucy admits it gave her 'peace of mind' afterwards.

What's the point of a woman freezing her eggs in her 20s  the age that experts advise you should do it to get the best quality eggs  if she will have to destroy them at the very point she wants to use them?

'It stopped me putting as much pressure on new relationships,' she says. 'I was trying to meet a partner through internet dating, but I wasn't panicking as I might have.'

Both Annie and Lucy recall being told of the ten-year limit on storage at the time, but, as Lucy says, 'you think ten years is an eternity. You just don't think about it.'

She also believes it penalises women at the worst possible time.

'What's the point of a woman freezing her eggs in her 20s  the age that experts advise you should do it to get the best quality eggs  if she will have to destroy them at the very point she wants to use them?'

Annie knows that many will argue that, at 51, she should accept her child-rearing days are behind her.

'I wouldn't have chosen to be an elderly mother, but circumstance has brought me to this point. I think as a generation, women are healthier and fitter than they might have been in the past, but that's not to say I want to be getting pregnant when I'm 60. I'm giving myself a few more years and that's my cut-off.'

And she rejects the idea that extending the storage limit will mean women in their 60s will be routinely trying to get pregnant using their own eggs.

'These days, women in their late 40s or early 50s can conceive using donor eggs, so there's no reason they shouldn't be able to do so using their own eggs stored 20 years earlier,' she says.

For Lucy, although she has a little more time, things are no less complicated.

'I'm in a relationship. My partner knows about my frozen eggs and about how I feel and he's sympathetic, but it's early days for us. We've not yet been together a year. He's older and already has children. I don't think he would rule out having more, but it's not straightforward, and I try not to talk about it that much.

'In all honesty, I don't think going on about how much you want kids is attractive and I worry it puts too much pressure on things too soon.'

With a few more years before she needs to make a decision, Lucy is hoping Annie's legal case will mean she doesn't have to consider shipping her eggs abroad.

'The law needs to catch up with technology and the way that society is heading. I can't believe that anyone with a heart could read details of the existing legislation and not realise how ridiculous it is.

'It is as if someone randomly plucked a number out of the air and now we have to live with the consequences.'

Despite pressure from campaign groups, a recent statement from the Department of Health simply said: 'The Government has no plans to reconsider this legislation at this time.'

'It's so ironic,' says Lucy, who admits she doesn't want to force the conversation about children in her relationship, for fear of losing it, but knows that if she doesn't do something soon, she risks losing her eggs.

'Every year I have received a letter from the clinic that treated me, reminding me that I need to pay for another year's storage. And when that letter arrives, not only does it represent a financial burden of 300, but it's a jolt, a reminder that it's not only my biological clock that's ticking.

'The very thing that I put in place to take the pressure off having children is now putting pressure on me, too.'
Last July, in a watershed decision, the Government granted teenage boys protection from one of the deadliest and increasingly common forms of cancer. From September this year, a nationwide immunisation programme will vaccinate boys aged 12 to 13 against the cancer-causing Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)  now the fourth most common cause of male cancer.

Cases have trebled in 30 years, and it is now the leading cause of tumours in the genitals in both genders, and cervical cancer in women. Its also responsible for the rocketing increase in oral cancers, which have risen by 50 per cent in a decade and appear mostly in middle-aged men.

A series of protective jabs has been available for the past ten years to all schoolgirls but  scandalously  not boys, while older girls who missed out on the inoculation are entitled to take advantage of a catch-up scheme. As a direct result, pre-cancers of the cervix have fallen by 80 per cent.

David Rose, right, campaigned for boys to receive the HPV vaccine to help protect them from and increasingly common form of cancer. However, his son Daniel, left, is too old for the Government vaccination scheme so his family will pay the 450 to protect him privately

We should soon be expecting to see a similar fall in the number of men with HPV cancers. Its a result that cancer experts and campaigners had long been striving for.

But their optimism has been premature.

A statement from the Department of Health has revealed that boys will not in fact be granted the same protection as girls.

While boys in year eight, aged 12 and 13, will be vaccinated, there will be no catch up for older boys, leaving almost two million at risk. Despite the stark warnings from cancer doctors worldwide, the Government still refuses to grant the same treatment for both genders. Its baffling, given the potency of the virus and the nasty cancers that result.

Most commonly, HPV spreads through skin-on-skin contact, entering through the genitals or mouth and once there, can linger for years. While in most cases it is harmless, for some, it can trigger aggressive tumours which ravage the body. And its on the rise, with 2,000 new cases every year.

The Governments stance has been a particularly painful blow for me. Over the past nine years, Ive witnessed my sister-in-laws HPV infection, contracted in her youth, morph into two ravenous cancers  the first on her tonsils, the second between the back of her nose and her brain, known as the nasopharynx.

Parents can have their boys vaccinated privately against the condition at a cost of 150 per dose. Those under 15 require two doses while those over 15 need a further injection

Her gruelling treatment involved neck dissection surgery to remove lymph nodes, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, leaving her with permanent, painful mouth sores and difficulty swallowing. I am also a father to two teenage boys  Jacob, 19, and Daniel, 15. There is no way on earth Ill leave them at risk of the illness that almost killed their aunt.

This is why Ive campaigned in the pages of this newspaper for the Government to vaccinate boys of all ages.

My wife and I arranged for my eldest son to have the jabs privately two years ago. But so far we havent done the same for my youngest.

Hes in Year Ten and two years too old to qualify for the potentially life-saving vaccine. But since last July, Ive been convinced Ministers would come to their senses. After all, pressure was mounting thanks to the vocal outrage of leading charities  HPV Action and Cancer Research UK, and the Royal College of GPs.

On November 16, leaders of medical groups including the British Dental Association and the Royal College of Surgeons sent an impassioned letter to the Vaccines Minister Steve Brine, demanding a catch-up scheme for boys.

While boys in year eight, aged 12 and 13, will be vaccinated, there will be no catch up for older boys, leaving almost two million at risk. Despite the stark warnings from cancer doctors worldwide, the Government still refuses to grant the same treatment for both genders. Its baffling, given the potency of the virus and the nasty cancers that result

They wrote: On the grounds of both equity and improved public health, the opportunity must be seized to vaccinate as many boys as possible. Alas, theyve been ignored, leaving my son Daniel and 360,000 other boys in his year group, at risk.

He is all too aware of the human cost, should he contract the illness.

Ive seen my aunt go through hell, he said to me. Many people dont realise how awful these illnesses can be. But I do. And whats even worse is that I know they can be prevented.

Virus is a worldwide scourge Human papillomavirus (HPV) describes a group of viruses that affect the skin and moist areas of the body such as the cervix, mouth, back passage and throat. It spreads through skin-to-skin contact, including sex, and most people are infected with it at some point in their lives without it causing them any harm. But in some people the virus can linger and cause cells to divide more rapidly than usual, and eventually develop into cancer. HPV causes around five per cent of all cancers worldwide and one case every hour and 15 minutes in the UK. It appears most commonly as cervical cancer but can also cause cancer of the vagina, vulva, penis, anus and mouth. HPV is to blame for almost all of the 3,100 new cases of cervical cancer annually  which kills 850 women a year. The virus, which can be passed on during oral sex and kissing, is also behind a sharp rise in throat cancer in young people. Once most common in elderly drinkers and smokers, throat tumours are now as likely to be found in people in their 50s as those in their 80s. Advertisement

How can anyone think this is logical or justified? Surely its obvious that we are just as much risk  and anyway, giving me a couple of jabs now is bound to be cheaper than months of treatment when Im older like you.

For Daniel, inoculating boys and girls is a no-brainer. But according to the Department of Health and Social Care, a catch-up vaccination scheme for boys is an unnecessary expense. Ministers argue that because girls are vaccinated against HPV, it wont spread to boys.

But this doesnt protect boys who have sex with girls who have not been vaccinated or are from outside the UK. It also ignores evidence that in some areas of Britain, the take-up of the girls vaccine is barely 50 per cent.

This flawed argument was once used to justify not vaccinating boys at all. It was rejected last year by the NHSs own advisory body, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Yet now it is being used again.

Professor Giampiero Favato, a health economist at Kingston University London, whose research persuaded Italy to start vaccinating boys years earlier than in Britain, called the Governments justification for the absence of a catch-up scheme quite possibly the thinnest argument ever used in public health policy and said not vaccinating boys over the age of 13 was discriminatory on grounds of gender and age.

Peter Baker, director of HPV Action said Britain lagged behind other countries, such as Australia, in their failure to back-date immunisation, adding: Boys aged 14 or over are at exactly the same risk of developing the diseases caused by HPV as the 12-to-13-year-olds who will now be vaccinated.

Daniel is luckier than most. His parents need no educating about the need for HPV vaccination, and, thankfully, we can afford the 450 it will cost to have him vaccinated privately, as we did his brother.

Most other boys his age will be less fortunate. Some will go on to pay a terrible price.
Elizabeth wears: Jumper, River Island. Skirt, Kitri.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a journalist on a deadline is in want of a distraction. So it was that, before writing this column, I went on an entirely unnecessary shopping spree. I bought trainers, sunglasses and dawdled about, procrastinating. I was in one of my favourite high-street stores, & Other Stories, and everywhere there were signs heralding International Womens Day (held earlier this month). The signs encouraged me to search for your story! by going to the shops website, which I duly did. The website had a link to a film featuring 11 women from the LA City Municipal Dance Squad, who encourage everyone to let their bodies move in any way they want, regardless of what others think.

This International Womens Day, the accompanying tag read, get ready to get weird. And thats great: I love the idea of dancing like no ones watching, and its empowering to value what your body can do rather than what it looks like.

But it still left a slightly bad taste in my mouth, because the LA City Municipal Dance Squad were, naturally, all dressed in & Other Stories clothing. They were advertising its products along with their effective message, and I was subtly being encouraged to buy these clothes through the co-opting of International Womens Day to the cause of conspicuous consumption.

Which is a shame, really. International Womens Day is a brilliant, necessary annual institution. It celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, but it is also a call for accelerating gender parity. (And for all the disgruntled males asking about International Mens Day, its on 19 November, but its not as well known because global and institutional power is still balanced overwhelmingly in favour of men. Sexism against women is an endemic problem while sexism against men is comparatively rare. Also, feminisms ultimate goal is equal rights between the genders, so it helps everyone. Youre welcome.)

Walk into a gift shop and youre assailed by the future is female t-shirts

My point is that International Womens Day, and feminism generally, should not be a commercial opportunity for brands to sell us more stuff. It is a campaign for root-and-branch change, not some empty advertising slogan lazily using liberation as a hashtag. If & Other Stories really wants to support women, perhaps its parent company, H&M, should tackle the gender pay gap that ensures its female employees earn a mean hourly rate of 92p for every 1 that men earn. Perhaps it would also have eradicated the gender-based violence in its Asian factories which, according to reports last year by Global Labour Justice, included one female worker in Bangalore being grabbed by the hair, punched and called a whore.

And what of the childrens book Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, which tells the tales of 100 remarkable women including Amelia Earhart and Michelle Obama? Well, the book is a fantastic, timely antidote to centuries of princesses having to be rescued by Prince Charmings, but its publisher, Penguin Random House, has a board of directors comprising seven white men and one woman.

It reminds me of that time, a few years back, when politicians such as Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband posed in This Is What A Feminist Looks Like T-shirts, looking more like awkward schoolboys on a dress-down day for Comic Relief. This despite the fact that, back then, their parties had terrible records on appointing women to key positions and neither has ever had a female leader.

Im delighted that feminism is becoming more mainstream, but I dont want to be sold stuff on the back of it unless it makes a difference, or the people selling it consider their practices. You cant walk into a gift shop these days without being assailed by T-shirts proclaiming The Future Is Female. Its not that I dont think the goals are admirable  and I do love a proclamatory sweatshirt  its just that there needs to be more than an empty slogan behind it or its just window-dressing.



This week Im

Toast, Freya Ridings, Briogeo Farewell Frizz shampoo

Booking to see Toast, Nigel Slaters autobiography turned play, in London after its sellout at Edinburgh. At The Other Palace in Victoria from 4 April.

Listening to Freya Ridingss album Live at Omeara. She has such an incredible voice: think Adele meets Kate Bush. Available on Spotify.

Treating my hair to Briogeo Farewell Frizz shampoo and conditioner. They have transformed my wavy  and not in a good way  barnet.
How did housework become the biggest social media trend of 2019? Just ask Mrs Hinch  the ultimate queen of clean  whose passion for polishing began as a way to beat crippling anxiety and transformed her into a (very shiny) goldmine

Mrs Hinch wears: Jumpsuit, Coast

No one likes cleaning, do they? Wrong! Millions of people like cleaning. In fact, its pretty much the most fashionable thing you could be doing right now. A new wave of Instagram cleaning influencers  cleanfluencers, if you will  has arrived to show us the way to a happier, brighter life. And reigning over them all is Mrs Hinch  aka 29-year-old Sophie Hinchliffe from Essex.

Two years ago, she was a part-time hairdresser in the tiny town of Maldon; now shes a social-media superstar with more than two million followers, who only has to pick up a Vileda spray mop or Minky antibacterial pad for it to sell out in practically every shop in the country. Shes the figurehead of a cleaning craze that has swept all before it. Her photos of karate-chopped cushions and gleaming floors receive hundreds of thousands of likes and everyones joining in. Search #mrshinch on Instagram and prepare to be dazzled by shining surfaces and pristine interiors. Shes funny, too, and says memorable little things, such as how shed be happy to wear Flash Bathroom as a perfume.

Even if you lose weight, you never forget the comments

Sophie has singlehandedly rebranded cleaning as Hinching, while her followers, the Hinch Army, are referred to as my Hinchers. Her additions to the language have made it into the online Urban Dictionary and are probably heading for the OED. Now the cleaning phenomenon herself is sitting opposite me  not renowned for my cleaning prowess; in fact, something of a stain on the name of cleaning  in a studio in East London, spooning tomato soup into a red-lipsticked mouth. Shes five months pregnant and tired after a long photo shoot, but ready to crack on.

Her look could be described as Essex glam, all tumbling highlighted locks and plucked, pencilled brows, but shes changed out of the outfit she was wearing into a grey wool vest and trousers, and laughs about what her followers might make of her in a yellow suit. Everyone who follows Mrs Hinch knows her predilection for grey and white. Does she think theyd be shocked if she suddenly embraced colour? Gosh, yeah, theyd be, like, Mrs Hinch, whats going on? Theres pink on your cushion. Id be, like, Guys, its going off.

Top, WtR. Skirt, Karen Millen

Shes tall but slight and delicate-looking, though this wasnt always the case. There was a powerful response in January when she posted a picture of her 19-year-old self alongside a current photo in response to the popular #10YearChallenge on social media. She has lost eight stone in the intervening years. I think it surprised people, she says, adding that they seem to be able to relate to her more knowing that shes not this perfect cleaner with a perfect setup. I wanted to let them know that, because people have such pressure on themselves to have a perfect life. I went through a hell of a lot, which is why my confidence isnt great even now.

She put on weight in her late teens, after leaving home. Id just passed my driving test, so I was able to go out in the car and get takeaways at McDonalds Drive-Thrus. Before I knew it, I was eating for what felt like eatings sake. I was getting pizzas and deliveries. I love food, even now. Shopping became a struggle (I tried to wear baggy clothes as much as I could, just to blend in) and she found herself making excuses when her friends wanted to go out. She talks about the day she couldnt squeeze into the seat of a fairground ride: It hit me the stares, the way people look at you.

She decided to take drastic action. At 21, she took out a bank loan of 6,000 to have a gastric band fitted. Two years later, she was admitted to hospital when the band slipped and became wedged in her oesophagus. She was in agony and had to have an emergency operation to move the band back up. It is now unclipped, she says, which means its not working, although it has not been removed, and she regrets having it. The surgery works for some people. But for me, if I had known the complications and the risks, I wouldnt have done it.

Her well-polished posts include her latest Hinch Hauls

It wasnt the end of her difficulties. Her dramatic weight loss led to excess skin on her arms, and a 2016 operation to remove it led to a serious infection. She thought she was going to lose her left arm until antibiotics got the infection under control. As a result of her experiences, she says, body shaming angers me, because even if you lose the weight you never forget the comments. Im still not 100 per cent confident with my body but Im getting there.

She wasnt officially Mrs Hinchliffe until she married Jamie last year  hes known as Mr Hinch to her followers  but she decided she could get away with it when she set up her account in March 2017. She initially saw it simply as a keepsake album of the house theyd scrimped and saved to buy together in July 2016.

Theyve been together for five years, and met when they worked in sales for a Central London job-search company, before Sophie left to train as a hairdresser. She still colours hair for family and friends, but since problems emerged with a hereditary blood disorder  she has a protein deficiency and Factor V Leiden, which causes an increased risk of blood clots (leading to another health scare when she developed a clot in her leg)  shes not able to stand up for hours. Though deep down, Im still a hairdresser, she says.

She describes being an Instagram influencer as a hobby, but it can certainly be very lucrative. The business side of Sophies success is now managed by one of the most prominent agencies in the digital world, who will be working to maximise her market potential. Major brands often use influencers to promote their products, and for those with more than a million followers the rewards can be exceptional, with fees in the tens of thousands for a single post. Sophie insists that its not about money  I was living my best life before it, and I could do it again  and declines to put a rough figure on her earnings, although she says, Its not like Instagram has made me a millionaire.

Celebrating 2m followers With husband Jamie and dog Henry

She tells me how  when she first started and had about 1,000 followers  she was sent some Ava May Aromas wax melts and thought, My God, Im a brand rep. But since her account has grown, she says Ava May proprietor Hannah Chapman, who started the business in 2018 working in her bedroom, now has a team of employees. People assume Im paid a load of money by her; Im not. I get free wax melts, which I love, but her life has changed. It made me realise Ive helped passions become businesses, which I still find odd.

The trickle-down effect is profound. Sophies friend Tracy-Lou, for instance, who runs Tracy-Lous Nails (46k followers) does her elaborately manicured fingernails, which feature regularly in her stories. Followers will be familiar, too, with the rose tattoo on her wrist, often seen while polishing a door handle or unloading a Hinch haul  otherwise known as a shopping bag of products (especially pleasurable if it contains bargains  bargs). Everyone recognises me from that, she laughs. It covers up a tattoo of her name, which she had done aged 18. After five years of hearing the same joke  Is that in case you forget?  shed had enough, although she notes, My middle name is Rose, my nans name is Rose; Ive got roses on my thighs as well. Im basically a walking rose bush.

People sometimes assume she suffers from OCD, she says, but I dont. Today I didnt even make my bed and my pyjamas are on the floor; honestly, Im gonna go home to it but it hasnt been on my mind. I dont think people who have OCD need to be ashamed of it either, she adds. She does suffer from anxiety, though, and cleaning helps her to feel calm and control her panic attacks. She worries about things some people wouldnt even think twice about, she says, like going out to a little caff and sitting there on my own, having some lunch. When Im at home, and I start to feel a bit of panic in my chest, I will grab a mop or a cloth and put on some good music. It really helps me relax.

People have created Spotify playlists of the tracks featured in her stories. She receives lots of positive feedback, but the odd mean remark, too. In her new book, Hinch Yourself Happy: All The Best Cleaning Tips To Shine Your Sink And Soothe Your Soul, she reveals how she used to shake when she read the negative comments.

On This Morning with Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby

Ive had to grow a thicker skin, she tells me.

She recalls being called Essex scum after she appeared on ITVs This Morning. She admits that she even thought about closing her account, but says, Im not hurting anybody. Im at home shining my sink. If me and my followers enjoy doing that theres a lot worse going on out there.

Shes not the only cleanfluencer, by any means. Theres a panoply of them: several Clean Queens and a Queen of Clean; a Clean Mama and an Organised Mum; although none has anything like the following that Mrs Hinch does. She follows her rivals, picks up tips, loves Little Miss Mops (103k followers), who does end-of-tenancy cleans, the real strong before and afters  I do a bit of whats called pretty cleaning  shes amazing. She dislikes the idea that cleanfluencing could become competitive. I dont see how any animosity can come from cleaning, because we can all do it.

This might be her secret. Shes down-to-earth, good-hearted and live-and-let-live. She thinks the reason cleaning has become such a thing is that weve all got a bed we need to make, a toilet that needs to be cleaned. But she admits shes still in shock, because its never been looked at as anything other than a chore and boring. Now were, like, Im spending my weekend cleaning

Suit, Zara

She was very untidy as a child, she tells me, swiftly disabusing me of one of my longest-held get-outs  that youre either a tidy person or an untidy person. She also seems to keep her home pristine with the minimum of effort. I dont do too much. All my Hinchers know Ill either be going to the shops looking for more products or walking the dog or going round to my mums. I like to do a little bit of a Hinch every day, whether it be a 30-minute clean or something from my little checklist book.

Some people feel that what she and the other (mostly female) influencers are doing reinforces the idea that cleaning is womens work. Ive never given anyone reason to think that I believe this is just for women. I get some of my best tips and hints from the male accounts out there.

Does she think theres a gender divide when it comes to cleaning? No! Ive got so many male Hinchers and theyre amazing. People assume its always the women that clean  its not, the men are just as good. I also get messages saying, Mrs Hinch, youve helped my marriage. Were enjoying keeping our home the way that it is together. Now, dont get me wrong. I shout at Mr Hinch  Im, like, Your pants are on the floor, mate, but who doesnt step out of their pants sometimes?

Mrs Hinch may be a retailers dream, but some of her product choices, in their reliance on bleach and phosphates, make her vulnerable to a charge of ignoring the impact on our water supply and our health. Does she worry about it?

Ill be honest, before I watched the Blue Planet documentary, I didnt realise how bad it was, she says. David Attenboroughs 2017 follow-up to the 2001 series highlighted the effect of our lifestyles on the oceans, and is credited with bringing about a change in attitudes towards plastic.

She says shes been working with larger brands, wanting to know how theyre planning on becoming more environmentally conscious.

If I start to panic, I grab a cloth or mop and put on some good music. it helps me relax

So far, shes turned down TV offers and says she doesnt want to give up her present lifestyle, especially with a baby on the way. Is she aware of the theory that exposure to a bit of dirt is good for children as their immune systems develop? She laughs. I think my kids gonna be like I was, going outside, rolling round in the dirt. People think I have some sort of fear of mess. I dont  my dog has muddy paws, he comes through the house. Ah, Henry Hinch, her three-year-old cocker spaniel and Instagram co-star. I live for him some mornings. I wake up and hes there. He makes me smile.

Henrys going to have to get used to sharing her attention, though. As a first-time mum, its all gonna be brand new to me, but Im really looking forward to the challenge. Ill have my little secret Hinch-up maybe when the babys sleeping.
When author Kate Spicers rescue dog Wolfy went missing, she became a woman obsessed. Every hour was spent pounding the streets, drumming up celebrity support on social media and pursuing every sighting. But would her dogged determination pay off?

When author Kate Spicers rescue dog Wolfy went missing, she became a woman obsessed

My mouth is open but no sound comes out. Every cell in my body screams. As I climb into the car I imagine that we have brought Wolfy with us and his little sleeping form is curled in the back, inside the old pink and white wool blanket. As I start the engine, I begin to cry, big open-jawed, slobbery, salivary bawling. This is the most acutely terrifying thing that has ever happened to me. I drive hunched over the wheel calling both verbally and telepathically, Wolfy, please be OK. Wolfy, I am coming.

We drive to meet my brother Will in the dark of North London and Im hit by the massiveness of the city. The feeling of hope leaving my body is so strong, so visceral, it is dizzying. There are a billion hidden places and eight million human beings whose interest in the dog will be either nonexistent, possibly covetous, even murderous. The keening returns. This is hell.

How did he get out?

Bay [Wills daughter] opened the door. I told the kids not to open the door. His voice switches from stern to compassionate and defensive. Shes only three, she was excited about Halloween.

As we talk herds of kids dressed as ghosts and witches pass by trick or treating. Will has met several people over the past two hours who have seen Wolfy since he left the main road he bolted down  we patch together his movements, take separate streets and then the trail goes cold. I imagine Wolfy running deeper into an area I dont know, further and further from home. Im crouched on the kerb, crying and panicking, and my boyfriend Charlie cant find any words to reassure.

Back at home the air is suffocating without a tail whipping it, without 16 claws ticking back and forth over the floorboards. The way he raised the energy and brought love, humour and fur into every room was vast. His absence is present, the empty spot by the wall in the hall where he comes to watch us cook, the indent on his favourite spot on the sofa.

My tweet  Ive lost my beautiful dog  is retweeted by Jeremy Clarkson, Ricky Gervais, Amanda Holden

There are things you have to do when you lose a dog. Partly for your own sanity, partly because its genuinely helpful. The first is to make an attention-grabbing poster. I also attach a photo of Wolfy to a tweet. Ive lost my beautiful dog. Last seen belting towards Finsbury Park. Please Twitter, and God if youre there, help me find him.

By 9am the following morning that tweet has been retweeted by Jeremy Clarkson and a thousand other times. Wolfy has also made it to the website Doglost.co.uk, a charity that calls on volunteers to help ramp up local interest in finding lost dogs and cats. Resuming my search, I bang on Wills front door like I have so many times before and hear the erratic footsteps of a small person getting nearer. I do my usual thing and look through the letterbox shouting, Aunty Kate! As I walk into the house, Bay looks up at me but says nothing. Any other time she would have run to the door and been there for hugs, kisses, silly voices and being picked up and turned upside down.

Kate with Wolfy today. Kate recalls the panic of losing Wolfy: 'I walk through the streets, calling Wolfys name, putting posters through letterboxes and asking people if they have seen my dog. People are kind. No, sorry, but good luck

Bay, I put my arms out and she reluctantly lets me hold her. I am not cross about Wolfy. Aunty Kate loves you and its not your fault. She nods and backs away with her eyes down. I caused this, I think. Will is cheerful but the dynamic is unfamiliar and strained. I have to find Wolfy. If I dont, how will anything ever be normal again between us?

I walk through the streets, calling Wolfys name, putting posters through letterboxes and asking people if they have seen my dog. People are kind. No, sorry, but good luck.

Every retweet generates more people telling me that I am a terrible dog owner, that they hope I find him, that they are putting up posters and looking for him, or with news of sightings. Kay Burley, Ricky Gervais, Amanda Holden  the celebrity retweets are piling up but Jeremys fans are the easiest to spot, copying Jeremy in about seeing Wolfy in a kebab. Theyre so desperate to impress him. I create a Find Wolfy Facebook page and pay to boost its first post. It soon has hundreds of followers. At any point in the day when I am not trudging the pavements of Finsbury Park looking for him, my neck is hunched over the screen. Every so often I hear the squeaky floorboard at the door to my study. Thats Wolfy  I hope he comes to his nest under my desk. I ready my toes for the wriggle under his smooth pink belly  breathing deep and pulling the tears back inside, I let the ghost of my dog leave the room.

Charlie calls on his way home from delivering flyers and putting up more posters. His voice is weary. In bed, his warm body is reassuring and I curve around his back.

I cant stop thinking about him, its so painful, I say in a whimper.

I know. We cant crack up, though. How was it down on the travellers site? Were they any help? I had been told that travellers love lurchers and might know something.

Someone has rung my boyfriend Charlie to say they have Wolfy. Is it a con?

Singularly unsatisfying but Im still going to try some of the North London sites.

I lie on my back listening to the Wolfy-less silence. Dont cry. Two hours later, I sit bolt upright, crying and choking on my breath, and now that Im awake the tears turn to out-of-control bawling.

Get a grip, Kate.

I hadnt expected Charlie to be so cold. I get up and put on my grandmothers old ragged Chinese dressing gown, snot still running down my face, and go to the dogs nest under my desk and climb inside, covering myself in his blankets where I howl until Im exhausted. Wrung out, I pull down my laptop, check Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. Check, check, check. Soothe, soothe, soothe. Numb it all down to nothing but a blank sadness.

Every day we spend a lot of time discussing different theories about Wolfys whereabouts. I relay them on Twitter; Charlie deals with more tangible authorities and rescue centres. In between, we both work. Sometimes I cry; he doesnt. With no sightings later than Sunday, the day after he ran away, were drifting further into the realms of the hypothetical. Or in my case, the metaphysical when I consult a psychic who says hes with a man with a bad leg. Im running out of money and Ive put up the reward. This is costing us a lot. I notice youve got another parking ticket, says Charlie

Can we put a price on his life?

Look, Kate, I feel as bad as you but I cant help thinking its pointless to look any more. He is alive or dead and we may never find out which. To hunt on constantly is a kind of madness. We arent going to turn a corner one day and see him waiting for us with his waggy tail. Hes gone. He may well turn up but he may well not.

His tone is not uncaring, it is defeated, pragmatic and as close to tears as it gets with Charlie. The thing is, I dont disagree with him. In solid, grounded moments, I know that hunting all over London is irrational. But to do nothing is an impossible ask and there are people on there I say, dipping my head towards the laptop. I have it open on Twitter, typing my latest post on Charlies plans to check the Parkland Walk, who spend their free time searching for a dog they dont even know, who dont think were doing enough.

Kate on the sense of hopelessness she felt: 'There are a billion hidden places and eight million human beings whose interest in the dog will be either nonexistent, possibly covetous, even murderous'

This isnt about them, we dont even know them. Its about you, me and Wolfy. Were exhausting ourselves running around London. Hes an animal, Kate, not a child; they live and die by different laws. We have to expect that he may be gone for good.

I want him back. Every minute he isnt home I want to be out there looking for him.

So I continue, walking daily round streets alone, following sightings sent to me on social media, distributing Lost Dog posters, stopping passers-by. Like a chugger or a politician, I am recruiting people to the cause. Charlie texts me: Dog seen on Hampstead Heath again and inserts an emoji rolling its eyeballs. By the time I call him he is already jogging across the heath and talking to me with that mix of excitement and cynicism that only someone hunting for a dog will understand.

Nine days after Wolfy went missing, I start filling the streets around Wills house with scents that could draw him back to me, tying our smelly socks to a cane that I drag along behind me. Hes near here. I know it. At 10.30am Charlie calls. Someone has rung him to say they have the dog. Its probably a con but Im on my way there now. Do you want to come, too, and check it out with me. He gives me the address, a garage, no more than a mile from where I am now. My heart is beating so weirdly I am almost nauseous. The air is suddenly sharp and clean. I drop the stick, the socks, the Evian bottle full of pee [that Kate was planning to use to spread her scent].

The garage is in a series of railway arches and its not clear where we should go. There are Porsches everywhere, packed in small spaces like cattle in a truck. We walk to the back of the first arch to a reception desk with two suited ladies sitting by a telephone. I stand with my hands in my pockets turning over a small bone-shaped biscuit in my pocket. You have our dog here. A man rang us.

Youre here to see a man about a dog, says the elder of the two, cynical about our intentions. No dogs here, youve got the wrong place. Its a wind-up. I cant take it. I should have known after all the hoaxes and false alarms.

'There are things you have to do when you lose a dog. Partly for your own sanity, partly because its genuinely helpful. The first is to make an attention-grabbing poster'

Then a man emerges from a doorway leading to the next arch. Yeah, come with me, I think its this way. Charlie and I follow. Over and over I turn the biscuit in my pocket.

We walk into a garage and turn left. There sitting in the corner with electric flex tied round his scuffed brown collar is a grubby, wide-eyed, polite shaggy lurcher. It is Wolfy.

The dog limps over and Charlie and I both fall to our knees. Wolfy burrows deep into my body, making tiny bleeping squeaks. I fold around him, my forehead on the top of his skull. He smells deeply, richly terrible. What is time now? I cant feel it moving. I can only feel relief and love. I move back on my heels and Wolfy goes to Charlie, his whole emaciated body moving in a ripple of physical delight. After a few minutes Wolfy walks over to one of the guys in overalls and leans very firmly against his leg.

Did you find him? I ask.

Yeah, he is stroking the sides of the dogs ears.

Hes saying thank-you to you. I want to bark, scream and cry with happiness.

Another of the mechanics says: Dont think we need to check whether theyre the owners. Ive never seen a dog so happy.

Wolfy is not strong enough to leap into the car, so Charlie puts his arms under his hindquarters and lifts him up. I climb in with him and he collapses down, using my thigh as a pillow. I pull the biscuit from my pocket. His mouth nuzzles it from my hand like hes done a thousand times before, only this time the crunching is cautious. He has ravaged his mouth trying to chew through the steel fence of the railway line where the mechanic found him.

As we drive back to West London I call everyone to tell them the news. And while we wait at the vet I take a photo and share it to every corner of the social media we turned to for help. Wolfy is found. The reams and reams of responses are overwhelming.

Back home, after a shower to wash off the dirt of Wolfys adventures, Charlie and I open a bottle of champagne. Theres no more fitting time to drink it.

This is an edited extract from Lost Dog by Kate Spicer, to be published by Ebury Press on 4 April, price 16.99. To order a copy for 13.59 until 7 April, go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 0844 571 0640; p&p is free on orders over 15
She's the woman who put the swing in the 60s and made us go short and go bold. Ahead of a major new Mary Quant exhibition launching next month at Londons V&A, some of fashions most famous names share their recollections of the designer who defined the 1960s and beyond

She burst on to the scene and defined an era

- YOUs fashion director Shelly Vella

Mary Quant was my first go-to fashion icon. Shed leapt into my consciousness way before fashion college was a glimmer in my eye and when I was attracted to Mod culture in my teens. Id trawl Londons Kensington Market for original Quant hosiery in the distinctive Daisy logo packaging and buy the make-up from a tiny store on South Molton Street in Mayfair  all before I really knew the full extent of her influence. Mary went on to be the most relatable fashion icon I studied at the London College of Fashion. I was fascinated by how she burst on to the scene in the vanguard of the Swinging 60s and defined an era. The graphic cuts, trademark bob, coquettish eyelashes and quintessentially British style inspired a generation of women to go short, go bold and be more modern; to have fun with their fashion.

Mary in 1966 (left); a model wearing Mary Quant silver stockings, 1966 (right)

The designer at home with husband Alexander, 1967 (left), and bright shirts and shorts from her intimate apparel range, 1966 (right)

I loved the way her designs reflected what was going on in the wider world of politics, music and society  how rebellious they were. Often her imagery showed models goofing around with establishment norms such as police, palace guards, businessmen  injecting colour, vitality and humour into an erstwhile sober fashion arena.

She shook up everything: the dance moves worked with the shorter skirts, the haircuts were liberating, the make-up was striking, the clothes were a statement of individuality and a new-found freedom. To me, she was so exciting, smart and commercially savvy. Her quote, The fashionable woman wears clothes. The clothes dont wear her has stayed with me throughout my career.

My mother had a clear vision of what she wanted

- Marys son Orlando Plunket Greene

I remember the day an official-looking man with black shoes and an enormous clipboard came to our home to investigate why I still hadnt been enrolled at a school. He is having an amazing education travelling with us! my mother protested, baffled that the officer didnt share her logic.

Until the British government finally caught up with me, I travelled everywhere with the Mary Quant team and the first thing I always heard from people who worked with my parents (and still do to this day) was how much fun they had. Everyone worked like crazy because they were all having so much fun. Even by todays digital standards, the pace was eye-watering. New products were launched on a near-weekly basis.

A Quant model shows off Marys playful pop designs (left); the designer (bottom centre) at the launch of her footwear range, Quant Afoot, in 1967 (right)

Model Kellie Wilson, 1966 (left); Mary with Vidal Sassoon, the creator of her iconic five-point bob (right)

I dont think anyone really knew what they were getting into but my mother had a clear vision of what she wanted and my father, Alexander, had an innate ability to make everything riotously exciting. Thankfully, Archie McNairs legal and business skills managed to wrangle the whole circus into a business.

Amid the hubbub of the tiny office in Chelsea, I would be sprawled out on the floor with my crayons and toys. Countless times I would hear the phrase, But Mary, you cant do that. A momentary flash of defiance in my mothers eyes would quickly turn to a flirtatious and mischievous, Oh, come on, you can make it happen and it will be so much fun! Be it a lifelong career man from ICI or a fifth-generation artisan perfumer from the South of France, their balance sheets and conventional wisdoms would be tossed over their shoulders like it was the last day of school. Conventional wisdom no longer seemed necessarily wise and, most of all, it really wasnt that much fun.

From the grey of postwar Britain, necessity wasnt the mother of invention, fun was. Across Britain a generation decided to risk it, to go for it, unleashing an attitude revolution that changed much more than fashion.

She realised that her peers didnt want to dress like their parents

- Legendary fashion editor Suzy Menkes

Great fashion designers are those who offer people what they never knew they wanted  until, of course, they see it. Mary Quant, the graduate from Goldsmiths College of Art, who married aristocratic Alexander Plunket Greene in 1957, was a poster girl for the 60s before that postwar era let loose a cacophony of youth. Everything that Mary did with her husband, in partnership with their friend Archie McNair, was about creating a new society. That meant physically turning to Londons Kings Road in Chelsea, as a haven for fun new coffee shops and fashion boutiques, laced with lively music. Together with like-minded friends, they helped to create the Swinging 60s.

But mentally, the shift was even more profound, for the young designer realised that her peers no longer wanted to dress  or to live  like their parents. The renaissance of youth brought in simple clothes such as slip dresses worn over young bodies, with hemlines that climbed higher up the thighs with each season. Sex was not new to fashion. But the Mary Quant look not only founded the concept of youthful style with its mix of cheekiness and innocence, it also reflected the iconoclastic change in female behaviour following the invention of the contraceptive pill. Once again, the designer was a precursor, not a follower, of what was happening in society at large.

Mary (top) with Alexander and models, 1966 (left); an advert for berets, 1967

Dresses from the upcoming V&A exhibition

I lived through that era and, as the first woman editor of the Cambridge University newspaper Varsity, I asked, with the daring and certainty of youth, to interview Mary Quant in the mid-1960s. I can still remember the journey to London, wearing fishnet tights, square-heeled shoes and a skirt as short as I dared, to meet the designer. I recall Quant as a slight woman, deprecating herself by claiming her success was all about luck and chance and leaving her husband to do most of the talking.

A more experienced journalist might have asked her if she felt she had changed society or simply gone with the fashion flow. Approaching that question in the 21st century, it is clear that Quant was a crucial part of a cultural revolution that is still churning, half a century on.





Marys Muses

Mary Quants models, along with Mary herself and hair supremo Vidal Sassoon, came to dene the look. The photographic models she employed for presentations and fashion shows each season were at the forefront of a revolution in modelling.

Jean Shrimpton

Affectionately known as the Shrimp by the fashion press, Jean went on to become one of the most recognisable and highly paid models of the 60s. She was the first of a new breed who rejected the formality and convention of the previous generation; whose young, natural, tomboyish style embodied the spirit of 60s London and the ethos of the Quant brand. As Mary explained: I want model girls who look like real people I want girls who exaggerate the realness of themselves, not their haughty unrealness like the couture models do.

Models Jenny Boyd, Sandy Moss and Sarah Dawson backstage before a show in 1966

All aboard the Mary Quant Beauty Bus, 1971. Mary Quant's designs 'reflected the iconoclastic change in female behaviour following the invention of the contraceptive pill,' says Suzy Menkes

Jean featured in some of the most iconic images promoting Quant designs in the early 1960s. Born in 1942 and raised on a farm in Buckinghamshire, Jean was far more interested in horses and dogs than fashion, describing herself in her early years as gawky and tomboyish, more like one of the ponies I loved than a girl, with a lot of leg, a lot of hair and a lot to learn.

For Mary, Jean was the perfect model to promote her look and she went as far as modelling the mannequins in her Bazaar boutiques on Jeans long, lean legs.

As she explained: The most beautiful of all the models I have known was Jean Shrimpton. To walk down the Kings Road, Chelsea, with her was like walking through the rye. Strong men just keeled over right and left as she strode up the street.

Jeans relaxed, girl-next-door look came to define the Quant look of the early 60s: a democratic kind of beauty, refreshingly at odds with what had gone before. Now every girl wanted to look like Jean Shrimpton.

Twiggy

Born Lesley Hornby and also known as the Twig, the Londoner was just 16 years old when she burst on to the fashion scene, going from Saturday girl at a hairdressers to being named the face of 1966. Her childlike, boyish appearance was often highlighted in the fashion press, with Paris Match proclaiming, Garcon ou lle? Non! Cest Twiggy. Her waif-like, adolescent frame, skinny legs and doll-like face, accentuated by painted-on eyelashes, were perfectly suited to Marys playfully androgynous designs. Twiggys knock-knees and spindly legs emphasised Marys hemlines  which were well above the knee. Marys continued celebration of youth culture was mirrored in Twiggys exaggerated childlike image; in her brief career as a model from 1966 to 1970 (before she turned to acting and singing), she came to define the Quant look, taking on the mantle from her idol Jean Shrimpton.

Her working-class roots and cockney accent contrasted refreshingly with the image projected by the society girls who had dominated the modelling profession in the 1950s. As photographer Cecil Beaton remarked: Todays look comes from below. The working-class girl with money in her pocket can be as chic as the deb. Thats what Twiggy is all about.

Grace Coddington

Although these days she is better known as the creative director at large of US Vogue, Grace began her career as a model in 1959. She left her home on Anglesey aged 18 and began working as a waitress in Knightsbridge, London, to afford her modelling-school fees. After winning a modelling contest for Vogue, she swiftly established herself on the London scene, befriending photographer Terence Donovan and, like many models, became part of the same social circle as Mary and Alexander. Grace remarked: The artistic Chelsea people I usually ran around with congregated each evening at the Markham Arms, a rowdy pub next door to Bazaar, Mary Quants Kings Road boutique, where I became a serious shopper

The Cod, as she became known, recalled the dangers of stairs on buses while wearing the Quant look, with its progressively shorter hemline. She was Marys favourite model because of her mixture of fashion knowhow, beauty [and] stylish simplicity. Her tomboyish appearance and cropped hair perfectly reflected the increasingly androgynous direction of Marys designs of the 60s. She personified the Quant aesthetic, not least because she was an early house model and muse for Vidal Sassoon and sported his iconic five-point haircut, which became Marys signature look in 1964.

Vidal Sassoon

During the 60s, the bob became a powerful sign of the new era, with Sassoon revolutionising womens hairdressing. In creating Mary Quants new short hairstyle, he reinvented the sharp bob worn by 1920s actress Louise Brooks and reprised its original significance as a symbol of womens liberation. According to Sassoons 1968 autobiography, Mary wanted an alternative to the chignon to keep her models hair away from the clothes during her shows. Sassoons solution was to cut the hair off and use the bob style, already tried out on Mary, cutting her hair like she cut material. No fuss. No ornamentation. Just a neat swinging line.

An advert from the 60s

On several occasions journalists and photographers were invited to see Vidal Sassoon cut her hair in his famous five-point bob. Mary recalled in her 2012 memoir that she had discovered Sassoons salon while still working at [high-end milliner] Eriks, braving a rickety lift up to his salon in Mayfair to watch him perform like a four-star chef. As Mary described 50 years later, Sassoon completely changed hair, seeing that it could be cut into shapes and textures that not only attered its character and texture, but projected the best qualities of the head and face  pointing out the cheekbones and focusing on the eyes and making the maximum impact on the individuality of the face and personality.

Sassoon is credited with liberating women from tedious hours spent under a hairdryer hood, with rollers forcing hair into waves and curls fashionable in the 50s, and promoting the beauty of natural hair. His customers, says Mary, found the freedom to swim, drive in an open-top car, walk in the rain Your hair did not forget the shape and chunky curves he created, and it simply returned to base.

In a 2012 interview, Grace Coddington highlighted the contribution that Sassoon and Mary made to womens lives, saying: Vidal came along and liberated hair after Mary Quant liberated clothes He cut my hair in a bowl cut  everything before then was lacquered and stiff. Suddenly you could shake your head  it was a defining moment of the 60s. Mary herself deplored the overblown and unnatural hairstyles that dominated fashion in the 1950s and early 1960s, stating: I find it arrogant to wear elaborate, ornate hairstyles that look like wedding cakes or hats which are obviously so stiff that if you touch them theyre not hair.

This is an edited extract from Mary Quant by Jenny Lister, published by V&A Publishing at 30. To order a copy for 24 until 7 April, visit mailshop.co.uk/books or call 0844 571 0640; p&p is free on orders over 15. The V&A exhibition opens on 6 April; visit vam.ac.uk for more information
Throughout the Soviet world, Volga cars were seen as a high status symbols, used by party officials, the nomenclature, and security services. Also all Volga cars traditionally were used as taxi cabs, road police interceptors and ambulances. Today, Volga cars are seen as large and inexpensive family sedans. Cars under this GAZ 21 name have been in production since 1956. There are 3 major generations: M21 (195670), M24 (197092, over two minor generations) and M31 (since 1982, in various versions).

GAZ-21: The GAZ M21 Volga, the first car to carry the Volga name, was developed in the early 1950s. Volgas were built to last in the harsh climate and rough roads of the Soviet Union, with high ground clearance, rugged suspension, strong and forgiving engine, and rustproofing on a scale unheard of in the 1950s.

The Volga M21 was the most luxurious car any Soviet citizen was permitted to own.The cars large size and tough construction made it popular in the police and taxi trades, and V8-engined versions were produced for the KGB secret service.Today, the M21 is considered a motoring icon with fans all over the world, including at least a handful in the USA .

GAZ 24: The GAZ-24 Volga entered limited production in 1968 and with a two year switch from M21 to M24, full-scale manufacturing began in 1970. GAZ-24 production continued with many modifications and improvements until 1992 with the M31 permanently replacing it. This Volga enjoyed moderate success in export markets, and is the best-selling model in GAZ history with over 600,000 made.

During the 1960s-80s the Volga was also assembled in Belgium, with the model M21 at first. This took place at SA Sobimpex, NV, in Brussels. The cars came to the harbour in Antwerp without engine and with the gearbox, disassembled, in the boot. At Sobimpex they initially built in a Perkins Four-99 diesel engine. Later on the Perkins diesel engine was succeeded by a Rover engine, which was succeeded for the GAZ-24 by an Indenor engine from Peugeot; the model now gained the designation D, for Diesel.

Almost all GAZ passenger cars introduced since the 1970s are based on the venerable GAZ-24 platform, right down to the central body shell. In the 1970s, Volga also introduced a convertible 24 model which had a limited, but very successful run.

Volga car production was always very limited, and about 90% of them were sold to different organizations right on the assembly line, so one had either to wait for years to by a Volga or to get a special permit. Mostly because of this, Volga cars were cared by their owners with great love.

Engines were: 2445 cc (150 c.i.) 95-100 hp I4 with 4-speed manual and 5530 cc (340 c.i.) 195 hp (145 kW) V8 with 3-speed auto, V8 version was produced in very limited numbers and used primary by the KGB and road police. Power drum brakes were standard, power steering was standard on V8 cars. The car was equipped with AM-FM transistorized 3-wave radio with power antenna, heater with defroster, rear window defogger, front and rear central armrests, front and rear seatbelts (since 1977), electric clocks, 2 windscreen washers, instrument panel safety padding, padded sun visors, door-to-door carpeting, trunk and glove compartment lights. Custom-built cars were equipped with air conditioner, tinted glass, custom interiors, power windows and additional chrome trim.

GAZ-24-10: (This is the model of one of our cars)

The GAZ-24-10 (an improved version of GAZ-24 with many changes in appearance, engine, suspension, brakes, etc.) was produced from 198592. An estate, the GAZ-24-12 Universal, was also produced. 24-10 was sold to private owners without any restrictions, though the price was still rather high. GAZ-24-10 is also known as the third generation of GAZ-24.

GAZ-31xx: The model numbers of 31xx series conform to a new model numbering system adopted in the USSR at the time.



GAZ-3102: A restyled, improved and more luxurious version of the GAZ-24 with 105 hp (78 kW) engine, the Volga GAZ-3102, arrived in 1982 and continues in production to the present (with new engines: ZMZ-406, 4 cyl., DOHC, 2,3l, 130 h.p.; or Steir 4 cyl. diesel; or Chrysler, 4 cyl., DOHC, 150 hp (112 kW), totally new interior and improved suspension.) Front disk brakes became standard, as well as 3.9:1 rear axle and many other improvements. Again, V8-powered limited production version existed, called GAZ-31013, engine and transmission remained the same with only minor modifications. Also, in mid-1990s there was a limited production version with Rover V8 3,9L engine. Before 1991, the Volga 3102 was not sold to private owners because it was built exclusively for government organizations. Since the early 1990s, 3102 is positioned by GAZ as a luxury saloon and costs slightly more than a standard Volga, and it is often mentioned that production quality of 3102 Volgas is slightly better than for other GAZ cars.

GAZ 31029: The Volga 31029, featuring more aerodynamic front bodywork, was produced from 199197. Its reputation is rather poor because of rust problems and poor quality. A 31029 was featured as a getaway car in the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye.

GAZ-3110: A more modern derivative of the GAZ-31029, the Volga GAZ-3110, arrived in 1997 and remained on sale until 2003. The estate version of the 3110, the Volga 310221 Universal, remains in production as of 2007. The saloon received a minor front restyle for the final year of production, while the estate continued with the 1997 front styling, with everything from the A-pillar back dating to 1972.

The 3110s replacement, the Volga 31105, entered production in early 2004 and represents the most heavily restyled and modernized version of the GAZ-24 yet. In addition, even more heavily restyled GAZ-24 versions in both saloon and estate form are planned for the near future.

GAZ-3105: Besides the GAZ-24 derivatives, GAZ has also produced two truly modern Volga models in recent years. The all-wheel drive Volga 3105 luxury saloon powered by the all-new OHC V8 engine was produced in limited quantities (primarily for experimental use) from 199497, when production ceased after only a few hundred had been built.

GAZ-3111: The 3105 was succeeded by the rear-wheel drive Volga 3111 produced from 19982003. The 3111 was a modern luxury saloon targeted against used western cars on the ex-Soviet market. It featured GAZ M21-influenced retro styling cues and was developed in collaboration with US-based Venture Industries. Though very modern in appearance and packaging, the 3111 still used some parts from 1967-presented M24. 3111 production ceased after a short run caused by high production costs, and lackluster sales due in part to the cars uncompetitive $8,800 base price.

GAZ-31105: The GAZ 31105 Volga entered production in 2004 as a replacement for the one year-only Mark II version of the 3110. The car features a more heavily revised front, with a grille and headlights inspired by the modern, but discontinued, 3111. New, more conventional looking, body-coloured door handles were also instituted. The 31105 is available only as a saloon, with the estate continuing with the old 3110 styling.

What is to become of the Volga?

GAZ, announced that production of Volga passenger cars would be phased out over a 2-year period, with production to end in 2007. GAZ stated that they would instead concentrate on their more profitable truck, bus, and commercial vehicle businesses. At the same time the announcement was made, GAZ also introduced the Volga 311055, a long wheelbase derivative of the 31105. However, in the summer of 2006, GAZ reversed its earlier decision, announcing that further investments would be made in upgrading the styling and technology of the Volga sedans, keeping them in production as retro or historical vehicles. In early 2006, GAZ signed a deal with Daimler Chrysler to acquire the tooling and intellectual property rights for the Dodge Stratus and Chrysler Sebring mid-size cars, which will enter production in Russia, but under GAZ Siber brand, not Volga. GAZ owns the cars platform outright, allowing all-new future vehicles to be developed on the same underpinnings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volga_(automobile)

http://digilander.libero.it/cuoccimix/ENGLISH-automotorusse6(gaz).htm

http://www.quartzcity.net/2004/04/30/russian-retro-supercar/

http://www.tuningmag.net/?name=volga-gaz-m21-tuning

http://kylekeeton.com/2008/02/russia-volga-automobile-part-2.html

Here is Part 2!

Here is Part 3!

WtR
Jo and Sarah answer real questions from readers: to put your query, go to beautybible.com

Q Im trying to find a tinted moisturiser for summer that will match my skin as I get a bit tanned. Also: something for my dark circles please.

A At Beauty Bible HQ, we have just been trying a duo of products that should totally do the biz for you. Korean-inspired French brand Erborian, now under the umbrella of the LOccitane beauty empire, launched their CC (Complexion Corrector) Creme SPF25, 38 for 45 ml, a couple of years back to rapturous reviews, including from Beauty Bible tester panels.

For more information follow Beauty Bible online here or on Facebook and Twitter

The CC Creme helps skin looks smoother and more even-toned through the techno-wizardry of illuminating colour controller pigments. The clever thing is that the product comes out white and then adapts to your skin tone (in three seconds, they say) so you don't have any of that faff of finding the right colour for now, then needing to update through the summer.

After trialling the CC Creme, one tester commented it was The best product I have found for evening out skin tone. It seems to make my skin more radiant and look so much better that it gives me confidence. Several people had said how good my skin looks.

Another wrote: It did what it said, making my skin smoother and more luminous. And another tester reported This sits perfectly underneath foundation [as a primer] but I preferred to use it on its own. Wonderful product that made my skin look healthy and radiant, soft and dewy  and gave a good smoothing out of wrinkles, also camouflaged a couple of dark spots.

The big news is that the CC Creme has now been joined by CC Eye: Radiance Eye Contour Cream, 34 for 10 ml, which is a small work of genius if you have under eye creases from puffy eye bags, dark circles or blue shadows on the inner corners of your eyes. You put little dots from the teeny nozzle around the eye zone, then pat them in and  almost magically  it blurs lines and imperfections such as brown patches, illuminates shadowy areas, and brightens and lightens the whole eye zone.

Its an effective moisturiser of the delicate skin round the eye and it also promises that make up will last longer. Oh, and it all looks completely natural Were in for the long haul with these.

Beauty Bible loves

Spots & Stripes (skincare for teens and tweenagers), 12-14.

We once did a Beauty Bible book-signing tour of Britain in high street drugstores during which we spent much of our time trying to keep teenagers with troubled skins from buying paint-stripper toners and treatments. In point of fact, what teenage skins mostly need is gentleness, effectiveness  and formulations/packaging which invite diligent use. Ideally, earth-friendly, too  because these things (happily) matter a lot to the younger generation.

Spots & Stripes is targeted at boys AND girls, taking into account all the challenges of teenager and tween skin

And here is a range that ticks all those boxes, founded by an incredibly knowledgeable beauty editor, Charlotte-Anne Fidler, who tested them on her own daughters, Anouk, now 14, and Bo, 10. Spots & Stripes is targeted at boys AND girls, taking into account all the challenges of teenager and tween skin, with the range covering everything from haircare and bath products to deodorants via great skincare options like Gentle Cleansing Lotion (theres an option for boys and for girls), and Super Balm (a multi-tasking spot-zapper/lip-smoother/bite-buster).

These last two have particularly taken our fancy: the works a treat, getting its gentle cleansing power from kukui and coconut oils, while oils of chamomile, lavender and mint work to calm and target bacteria that can lead to spots. And that balm? Just luscious. (No idea how it does on spots or bites, but its pretty darned fantastic for lips.)

And with its eye-catching designs featuring spots (for girls) and stripes (for boys), this could be the first time in all of history that parents have been borrowing products from teenagers, rather than the other way around.
A new wave of 1,500 mobile handsets is being launched next month but you can snap up a high-tech smartphone for just 99.

The Samsung Galaxy Fold comes out in April and although a technological marvel with a folding screen, the phone will carry a hefty 1,515 price tag. This is the price you must pay to buy the phone without a SIM card or mobile contract.

Network providers try to lure customers into making such high-cost purchases with a monthly instalment deal  which may make it affordable but end up adding hundreds of pounds more before you eventually own the handset outright.

The new Samsung Galaxy Fold (left) with a 1,515 price tag, and the Nokia 2.1, which costs 99

Yet for 99 you could buy the sleek Nokia 2.1, a smartphone with enough bells and whistles to compete with most big budget phones.

And rather than getting trapped into a lengthy contract, it is possible to opt for a cheaper SIM-only deal, paying perhaps 10 a month for a flexible option where you can later change your calls plan.

Matthew Moreton, managing director of phone comparison service Compare and Recycle, says: It is worth looking at cheaper alternatives that offer realistic competition to handsets costing as much as 1,500  often with gimmicks you do not really need. Someone buying a phone outright avoids paying interest.

This extra interest gets added to the sums in a lengthy contract deal when you sign up. With a SIM-only option there is no need to be tied into a network deal.

Moreton suggests anyone seeking a new handset should consider trading in an old mobile and putting this money towards a new device. Compare and Recycle offers a comparison service that lists the dealers willing to buy old handsets.

For example, an iPhone 6 sells for 80 through the trading firm SellMyFone while those trading in a Samsung Galaxy S6 get 65 if using musicMagpie.

The best SIM-only contracts can be cancelled after just 30 days. Comparison websites such as broadbandchoices can provide details of the best deals from a range of network providers.

The major names include BT Mobile, EE, O2 and Three. But others  such as giffgaff, Plusnet, Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Voix and Smarty  are also worth considering.

Among the most competitive SIM-only deals at the moment is a 10-a-month offer with giffgaff for three gigabytes of data, unlimited texts and phone calls. The three gigabytes allowance is enough to watch 15 hours of movies or listen to 750 songs on Spotify.

Samsung Fold PRICE: 1,515. LAUNCH: April 26, 2019 (US); May 3, 2019 (UK). DISPLAY: A 4.6-inch touch screen when the phone is folded and opens up to be a 7.3-inch tablet. CAMERA: A triple lens camera on the back, three lenses on front, including one for selfies. STORAGE: Can surf the net and run apps. Internal storage space of 512 gigabytes. HEADPHONES: No headphone jack. Wireless Samsung Galaxy Buds cost 139. COLOURS: Black, green, blue or silver. BATTERY: Two batteries. Capacity of 4,380mAh. Power-hungry and needs recharging at least once a day. DIMENSIONS: Samsung has yet to reveal full details but believed to be 17mm thick when folded and 6.9mm when opened to a tablet.
Complaints about rip-off mobile phone text scams have soared by 44 per cent in just six months, alarming new figures have revealed.

Thousands of people are caught out by surprise charges on their mobile phone bills every month.

Spurious companies are charging customers up to 4.50 per text message  via their mobile phone bills  for useless and unsolicited subscriptions to services such as quizzes, competitions or money-saving deals.

Companies are charging customers up to 4.50 per text message

Victims are supposed to have signed up using their smartphones, but many are in the dark about how the charges have been triggered.

The Phone-paid Services Authority  the regulator for premium services charged to a phone bill  is fielding thousands of complaints a month from angry consumers who say they never gave consent to be charged.

The most recent figures show complaints between the first and second half of 2018 soared by more than two-fifths (44 per cent) to 6,700. These figures only relate to those who knew to complain to the regulator and took the time to do so.

Many more will have complained to their mobile networks and gone no further. Others may not even know they have been affected until they spot the small, but regular charges on their bills.

For more than a year, The Mail on Sunday has repeatedly highlighted the blight of rip-off texts  and readers continue to come forward to describe their experiences.

They include one person paying for texts from an unknown company based in Cyprus and a grandmother being charged for a text-based subscription service despite never using the internet on her phone.

Customers experiences all follow the same pattern. They do not know how they came to receive the messages, deny ever signing up to a service and have no use for the messages. Meanwhile, the companies behind them remain cloaked in secrecy.

End nuisance messages - once and for all Dealing with unwanted text messages can be a minefield  with the rules for stamping them out varying. Some people recommend sending a stop message, while others say this lets fraudsters know your number is in use and further fuels their efforts. In order to know what action to take, you first need to find out whether you are being charged to receive the unwanted messages. So scrutinise your mobile phone bill. If additional charges are appearing, follow the instructions contained in the text and reply to the number provided with STOP or STOP ALL. Then contact your mobile network to complain and ask for a refund. It should at least provide details of the company that took payment so a direct complaint can be made. If you are not being charged to receive the messages, they are spam messages but could have fraudulent intent behind them. Do not reply, but forward them to your mobile network using the number 7726 (which spells out spam on the handsets keypad). This forwarding service is free. Find more help at Ofcom.org.uk.

Mobile networks often allow the charges to be added to bills via the Payforit platform  owned by Three, EE, O2 and Vodafone.

When customers complain to their mobile networks, they are routinely redirected to contact the service providers. Often these companies are based overseas with contact only possible via a general email address from which replies are not always forthcoming.

When a response is generated, customers are usually told no refund will be issued because they willingly signed up and agreed to the terms and conditions.

Elaine Cottam, 64, was charged 4.50 each for three texts from a provider she had never heard of. She only noticed the additional payments when querying charges for phone use abroad.

The married retiree, from Cleveleys in Lancashire, says she is appalled at how easy it was for the company to take her money.

Elaine was unaware what the text service was even for. She contacted her network, Three, which pointed her towards a Cyprus-based company called Panadema. A spokeswoman at Three says Elaine signed up to a money-off alerts service.

But the service simply provided links to deals on the popular VoucherCodes website, including money off shoes and pizzas. Deals on the VoucherCodes website, which is not linked to the service, can be accessed and searched easily for free.

Threes spokeswoman adds: The online advert clearly stated the service would cost 4.50 per message. The customer contacted us to query the charges, and we were happy to provide a credit of 20 as a goodwill gesture.

We also placed a cap on her account so that she would no longer be able to send or receive premium rate text messages.

Elaine says: Whatever the advert was I cannot remember seeing it, and no way would I have willingly signed up to this.

Meanwhile, 73-year-old grandmother Pauline only spotted charges on her bill after reading about scam texts in The Mail on Sunday.

She says: Thank goodness I read the article because I have been charged twice. I did not agree to anything and dont know how they got my number. This is a terrible practice.

Pauline has never used the internet on her phone and is on a pay-as-you-go tariff, only using it to stay in touch with her family. She contacted her mobile network, which has now blocked any further charges from premium rate services.

Most customers affected by scam texts discover after much frustration that offending companies are not answerable to anyone, unless enough people complain. This then triggers an investigation by the regulator.

After raising a dispute with the company and being rejected, customers can only then hope that their mobile phone operator will reimburse them. Unfortunately, mobile networks do not always play ball.

As a result of the surge in complaints, the regulator is now looking at tighter rules to tackle the issue. It says more than 95 per cent of complaints it receives are about text subscriptions and that some services are causing significant harm to consumers.

Only last week the regulator issued its latest fine  a 375,000 penalty  to subscription provider Best VIP Games for misleading consumers.

Following the surge in complaints, the regulator is looking at tighter rules to tackle the issue

Incoming reforms could include a two-factor authentication process before payment is taken. Customers who sign up would have a PIN sent to their mobiles, which they then confirm with the service provider.

A spokesman for the Phone-paid Services Authority says: Were proposing new requirements that we hope will make it clearer for consumers what they are paying for and how, and prevent them from being charged without their consent.

To find out which company is behind a premium rate text message  usually from a five-digit shortcode number  use the service checker tool at psauthority.org.uk.

From here you can also find further details about the regulators consultation on new rules, which closes on April 16.

Have you been charged for a rip-off text? Email personalfinance@mailonsunday.co.uk.
Although all personal finance eyes are currently focused on investor-friendly Isas as a result of the impending end of the tax year  a use it or lose it annual allowance  pensions remain the backbone of most peoples retirement finances.

For many, the pension provided by the State, a reward for National Insurance contributions duly paid while working, is an essential part of their retirement armoury.

But it is the retirement income resulting from contributing to a works-based or a standalone scheme  private pensions  that determines whether later life will be underpinned by financial security or undermined by money worries.

Lifetime allowance: That's an amount determined by Treasury officials that our pension pots cannot exceed without the taxman taking a slice of any surplus in the form of a tax charge

For now, these private pensions remain the best retirement strategy in town because of the generous tax relief boost the Government gives on contributions.

Yet there is a pensions time bomb ticking away in the background which at some stage the Government must address.

It is (rather misleadingly) called the lifetime allowance, an amount determined by Treasury officials that our pension pots cannot exceed without the taxman taking a slice of any surplus in the form of a tax charge.

In recent years, this allowance has come crashing down, from 1.8million (for the tax year ending April 5, 2012) to 1.03million in the current tax year.

The result is that more people  hard-working, middle-class individuals as opposed to FTSE bosses  are being caught out by this nasty tax trap.

This can result in up to 55 per cent of any amount above the allowance being grabbed by the taxman.

Research released today by financial services group Royal London quantifies the breadth of this pension tax grab.

It says that 290,000 non-retired people have already built pension funds in excess of the lifetime allowance.

Many continue to add to their pension pots oblivious to the fact they are feeding the tax bill they will eventually have to pay.

Royal London also says a further 1.25million workers are expected to see their pensions wealth exceed the lifetime allowance by the time they retire.

Long-serving public sector workers in senior positions  doctors for example  and higher paid workers in the private sector (paying into a works pension where the employer makes generous top-up contributions) are most at risk of falling foul of this allowance trap.

While Royal London suggests the Government should do more to alert savers to the tax consequences of exceeding the lifetime allowance, it also argues for more radical reform.

It believes it is time to axe the allowance  a measure The Mail on Sunday has long called for.

It is a view based on utter common sense. After all, the amount we are allowed to put into a private pension each year is curbed by the annual allowance.

For most savers, this is capped at 40,000 (less for additional rate taxpayers), an amount that includes any employer contributions.

It is outrageous of the Government to then come back for a juicy slice of our pension, just because we have been prudent. Axe the lifetime allowance.
The high-tech titans of America must  and will  be tamed. That is clear.

Every time in history an interest group has become too powerful, society has found ways of curbing its power.

That has happened to oil companies, banks, telecom giants and trade unions. If market competition cannot do the job, governments step in.

The challenge to their dominance is happening right now.

Tech giants war: Elizabeth Warren, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for US President

Last week, the European Commission fined Google 1.5billion for abusing its dominance of search ads  its third such fine in two years.

Facebook is under attack for allowing live streaming of the dreadful New Zealand shootings.

The most extreme way of hitting the high-tech companies has come from Senator Elizabeth Warren, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for US President.

She wants to break them up. That idea is gaining traction in the business community, too, where influential figures such as Sir John Hegarty, the legendary adman who we interview here, are starting to speak out.

But there is another aspect of these companies behaviour that will be harder to tackle. It is the way in which they use their market dominance to buy out the competition.

A promising smaller company starts biting into a giants business, so the latter makes an offer that the former cannot refuse.

You sell, at of course a decent price, or the giant goes all out to compete against you, and in the end you are put out of business.

That is not new. Businesses have long sought to preserve their market by buying out potential rivals.

But the imbalance of power is particularly acute, and the monopolistic dominance of high-tech America is unprecedented. This is a particular challenge to the UK.

Not OK Google: Last week, the European Commission fined Google 1.5billion for abusing its dominance of search ads  its third such fine in two years

We create lots of new companies. There is no shortage of entrepreneurs. And there is a strong high-tech start-up community.

But when a business gets to a certain size, the owners usually sell out. Sir John Hegarty is troubled by this and he is right to be.

So whats to be done? You cannot change a culture that encourages people to sell businesses they have built up rather than pass them on to their families  assuming the next generation wants to run them.

For many people the fun of starting a business is more enticing than the slog of running them year after year. But we can do things to support entrepreneurs more generally.

One is to celebrate their achievements. We are a bit better than we used to be when the gongs went to corporate grandees rather than people who created a business out of nothing.

But you dont have to listen hard to detect a bias against wealth, particularly if it is self-made.

A second area to look at is taxation. Germany has special provisions that allow family businesses to be passed on free of inheritance tax. The UK has that for farm land.

There is scope for abuse, but are farms really more important to the country than high-tech start-ups? Surely, no.

A third area is support from the financial services industry. The UK is not doing badly.

For example, more than 1billion was invested in AI start-ups last year, almost as much as the rest of Europe combined. But while we are number one in Europe, we are way behind the US and China in creating unicorns, new businesses with a $1 billion value.

That surely is the great challenge: how do we create the next generation of global giants?

By getting todays giants to behave better, we are more likely to create a climate where our own potential high-tech champions can thrive.

London Capital & Finance lessons

Last week, it emerged several people connected to London Capital & Finance had been arrested by the Serious Fraud Office.

More than 11,000 people had invested in the company, and stand to lose up to 236million.

The company adverts promised an 8 per cent return on an Isa, and that it was regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

That gave people confidence. The ads did, however, say that your capital was at risk.

There may be some funds that can be recovered and some recourse for people who invested through an adviser. But the outlook is not good.

Meanwhile, its worth reiterating two golden rules. One is spread risk: never put too much of your money in any one pot.

The other: if a proposition looks too good, there is probably something wrong with it.
Tony Hetherington is Financial Mail on Sunday's ace investigator, fighting readers corners, revealing the truth that lies behind closed doors and winning victories for those who have been left out-of-pocket. Find out how to contact him below.

Row: Housebuilder Persimmon put in an extra home

R.M. writes: We purchased a new property off-plan from Persimmon Homes. But when our solicitor heard from the Land Registry he found the plot size had been reduced by about 30 per cent from the original plan. He asked Persimmon for compensation of 19,495 for us, as this was about a third of the value of the land. It is months since we last heard from Persimmon and we cannot keep asking our solicitor to maintain contact. We are pensioners and cannot afford huge legal costs.

You signed on the dotted line on April 29, 2016, and the purchase agreement includes estate plans drawn up in 2013, showing plot sizes. On September 30, 2016, the plot was transferred to you by Persimmon, still showing the same plan.

But when your solicitor tried to register this, Land Registry officials told him that Persimmon had replaced the layout plan with one showing a smaller plot size. This new plan was dated April 1, 2016, and it did not match the two plans you and your solicitor were given later.

Your solicitor took this up with Persimmon. It replied: 'The correct estate layout approval for this plot seems to be that dated September 26, 2013'. Persimmon even supplied a fresh copy. Everything matched your purchase agreement and the transfer  yet it was completely wrong.

Persimmon had taken a slice of the land you thought you were getting, and a slice of the next door plot, and had squeezed in another new house.

Why BA doesn't have a leg to stand on! A.T. writes: I booked a British Airways flight to Thailand. I am over 6ft tall so I paid a further 56 for extra legroom. On boarding the plane, I found I was in a standard seat. A flight attendant apologised, saying all the extra legroom seats were taken. Now, BA refuses to refund the 56. When you complained, BA replied that although its website lets you pick where you sit, you should not rely on this. The airline claimed you had actually been allocated the seat you chose online. Yet nobody seemed to wonder what you got for your extra 56. BA has now told me you originally booked a standard seat and then made a separate payment, assuming it would allocate you a better seat. So BA was right to say you got what you chose  and you were right to say you paid extra for nothing. BA has now repaid your 56 and given you 5,000 Avios loyalty points.

I put all this to Persimmon. It told me you had known all along that the plans had been changed. Unfortunately this had been explained verbally by the salesman and not in writing.

What was in writing was the old plan, attached to all the legal papers. Persimmon told me: 'As a result of human error, the wrong plan was attached to the customer's documents.' So, Persimmon gave you the wrong plan with your purchase agreement. It gave the wrong plan months later when it transferred the land. When your solicitor questioned this, he was reassured that the wrong plan was, in fact, the right plan.

Persimmon told me it could not say why this false reassurance was given, because it had 'let go' the employee who gave it. Persimmon would not stand by what its employee had written.

Despite all of this, Persimmon insisted that you had not lost a penny, you knew what you were getting and you had got it. The most it would do was pay the small extra fee charged by the Land Registry, leaving you to pick up the legal costs.

It even blamed your solicitor for not spotting its mistakes sooner. But here is a funny thing. Persimmon says you knew what you were getting because its salesman had told you verbally about the changes.

Yet the sales contract drawn up by Persimmon itself says you must not rely on any verbal representations offered 'by Persimmon or its employees or agents'. You must only rely on information given in writing. In a nutshell, the written contract beats the spoken word.

I am not surprised that Persimmon failed to answer your solicitor, or fobbed him off by saying the matter was under consideration. It made a complete mess of the sale and then tried to shrug off its false plans as some sort of minor clerical error.

What has been surprising is Persimmon's attempts to fob me off as well. At one stage, Persimmon even told me you really had been warned of the changes in writing before you agreed the purchase.

When I asked for a copy, I was given a two-page checklist dealing with such things as the colour of your roof and the type of paving for the driveway. Among all this was a handwritten note saying 'Need new conveyance plan'. This is nothing like the claim to have advised you of the changes. It was meaningless without the plan. When the plan arrived, it was the wrong one.

After several weeks, the only concession I have wrung out of Persimmon is that it will  grudgingly, I think  pay your solicitor's fees, approaching 2,000. It can easily afford this, after squeezing in a whole extra house.

A few months ago, Persimmon boss Jeff Fairburn left the company after pocketing what has been described as an 'obscene' 75million bonus. Much of this came from profits made by selling houses under the Government's Help to Buy scheme.

No wonder Ministers are said to be having second thoughts about cosying up to Persimmon. Almost half a century ago, Prime Minister Ted Heath condemned one City fat cat as 'the unacceptable face of capitalism'.

Today, Persimmon has earned that same title. It gives greed a bad name.

If you believe you are the victim of financial wrongdoing, write to Tony Hetherington at Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS or email tony.hetherington@mailonsunday.co.uk. Because of the high volume of enquiries, personal replies cannot be given. Please send only copies of original documents, which we regret cannot be returned.
There is no doubt Neil Woodford is one of the countrys few star investment managers.

Over a career spanning more than three decades, he has made serious money for thousands of long-term investors who have gone on to enjoy enriched retirements as a result of his prowess.

World cruises lapped up, new cars excitedly purchased and investment pots inflated  all as a result of this particular fund managers ability to make money for them from the stock market. More profits generated than nearly all his rivals.

There is no doubt Neil Woodford is one of the countrys few star investment managers

But is the Woodford star that shone so brilliantly in the 2000s at investment house Invesco Perpetual finally on the wane?

Has Woodford, in his late 50s and perhaps with more money than sense, finally lost his Midas touch, his investment killer instinct? Is he disappearing down a proverbial black hole? More a case of was a star than is?

Although Woodford answers with an emphatic No to each of these four questions  and has come out fighting in recent days  the charge sheet against the Oxfordshire-based fund manager is building by the month.

Poor investment decisions, indifferent performance across his three funds  Equity Income, Income Focus and Patient Capital  the loss of big fund investors (Jupiter) and a financial kingdom that by his own admission could crumble to ruins in two-and-a-half years unless he quickly turns things around. Just imagine it. The fall of the Woodford investment empire.

His flagship fund, the eponymous Woodford Equity Income, is melting faster than Greenlands glaciers as investors flee in search of better investment homes.

For the past 21 consecutive months, more investors have pulled their cash from the fund than bought into it  although in Woodfords defence, redemptions have slowed this year.

From a peak of 10.2billion in May 2017, the funds value has shrunk by more than a half to 4.5billion.

It is a downward spiral that will take all of Woodfords skills to arrest, although he argues the funds big positions in housebuilders (the likes of Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey) have great potential to grow provided the economy does not slide into recession. No guarantees there.

'I'll come good': What Woodford told Mail on Sunday 'Difficult period': Neil Woodford Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Neil Woodford said: 'Undoubtedly, this has been a difficult period for investors in Equity Income  I understand their disappointment and frustration. 'Ultimately, the criticism I receive is driven by performance and so let me explain what I am doing with your money and why. 'For me, everything in my investment world begins and ends with valuation. 'Although I have experienced some company-specific disappointments, the fund has underperformed because my valuation strategy has been completely out of step with a momentum-driven market. 'This is where market investors ignore valuation and buy stocks that have risen in price and sell those that have fallen. 'When I look at businesses, I judge their success or failure based on what they can control (say, actions of management) and what they cant, such as the economy in which they operate. 'This type of strategy will drive a fund manager towards certain stocks and away from others. 'From time to time, markets become detached from valuation reality and when they do, fund managers like me appear to be incapable of delivering good outcomes. 'I appreciate this can be an uncomfortable journey for investors but valuation is the only reliable predictor of long-term investment returns. 'I believe we are closer to an inflection point. The global economy is increasingly vulnerable. China is visibly slowing and the eurozone has slowed significantly. 'The US looks set to slow as Trumps fiscal stimulus wanes. The UK is one of the few bright spots  employment, for instance, is at its highest level since 1971. 'I remain focused on capturing the opportunity that exists in parts of the market that have been left behind since we voted to leave the EU nearly three years ago. 'The result is a fund that has a strong but selective bias towards profoundly undervalued companies, many that are exposed to the UK economy. 'Crucially, the portfolio is positioned how I want it to be and is completely focused on a valuation opportunity, the likes of which I havent seen for 30 years.'

Over the past one and three years, the fund has lost investors money  registering losses of 5.6 per cent and 7.1 per cent respectively.

They are time periods during which the FTSE All Share Index has risen by 7.5 per cent and 32.7 per cent respectively.

Since launch in June 2014, Equity Income has been comprehensively outperformed by its peer group and the FTSE All Share Index  although returns are positive (plus 9.9 per cent).

There is little solace to be found elsewhere in the Woodford ranks. Income Focus, a 573million fund with a mandate to generate a steady income (5p a share), is still in negative territory, with recorded losses since launch in early 2017 of nearly 13 per cent.

Over the same period, the average UK equity income fund and the FTSE All Share Index have delivered positive returns.

The last piece of the Woodford jigsaw, investment trust Patient Capital, is hardly a picture of rude health.

How blunders stacked up at flagship fund Woodford's stock-picking skills have been called into question on numerous occasions since Equity Income was launched in June 2014. Stakes in companies such as doorstep lender Provident Financial  currently subject to a takeover approach  Stobart Group, Kier Group and Purplebricks have all come under price pressure. These include regulatory issues (Provident), problems in overseas operations (Purplebricks), a cut in dividends and profits dive (Kier) and governance issues at Stobart. Investment specialist Allied Minds, another holding, has also had problems, resulting in management announcing a round of major cost cutting. All these companies remain in Equity Incomes 102-stock portfolio. Provident remains a top five holding, along with Barratt Developments, Imperial Brands, Burford Capital and Theravance Biopharma.

This trust, investing in minnow companies, has seen its share price fall by a fifth since launch in April 2015, although Woodford has always maintained that profits will only come to investors who are patient and play the long game (five to ten years).

So should investors in flagship Woodford Equity Income now take their losses on the chin and look for an alternative home for their money? Or should they wait in the hope of Woodford coming good  as he did at Invesco Perpetual in 2000 when his funds came out of the carnage of the dotcom bubble blowout smelling of roses?

Last week, Wealth asked leading investment experts a simple question: should investors in Woodfords flagship fund Equity Income stick or fold?

Bar one notable exception  Hargreaves Lansdown that still includes the fund in its recommended list of top wealth 50 investment vehicles  they advised either folding or at the very least taking a long hard look at whether the fund now remains appropriate in terms of investor risk and objectives.

Dzmitry Lipski, investment analyst at Interactive Investor, says Woodfords investment style has changed dramatically since his days at Invesco Perpetual where he built his reputation investing in large cap (essentially FTSE 100) stocks. Now, he says, Equity Income has a heavy small and mid-cap bias which is not an obvious hunting ground for investors looking for income. For this reason alone, he adds, we would look for alternatives.

Ryan Hughes of AJ Bell says he has higher conviction in other UK equity investment managers while Ben Yearsley, of Plymouth-based Shore Financial Planning, says investors should switch out of Equity Income although he still likes Income Focus because of its income bent.

Justine Fearns, research manager at adviser Chase de Vere, says that if the fund represents a large position in an investors allocation to UK equities, there is a strong argument for selling at least some of it and diversifying into other funds.

For those looking to move on from Woodford, there are alternatives. Wealth has come up with a list of other investment gurus worth considering  those renowned for generating attractive total returns and those with an income bent.

BEST OF THE REST

As well as being a fan of Yarrow at Evenlode, Jason Hollands, of fund platform Bestinvest, likes Richard Colwell at Threadneedle UK Equity Income. Top holdings include AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Imperial Brands and WM Morrison.

He is also a fan of Ben Whitmore at Jupiter Income, a contrarian renowned for identifying undervalued companies.

Yearsley likes Adrian Frost at Artemis Income  the grandfather of equity income investing  and Clive Beagles at JO Hambro UK Equity Income (an excellent long-term investor).

Beagles is also liked by Fund Experts Brian Dennehy.

Chases Fearns is a fan of Carl Stick who has run Rathbone Income since 2000 and Daniel Roberts who has managed Fidelity Global Dividend for the past seven years.

Laith Khalaf likes Frost and Whitmore while Interactives Lipski opts for Job Curtis (27 years managing income friendly investment trust City of London) and Martin Cholwill, manager of Royal London UK Equity Income for more than a decade.

Finally, AJ Bells Hughes likes Henry Dixon at Man GLG UK Income.

With a dividend yield in excess of four per cent, his fund pays investors a monthly income.
People wanting to invest in a way that will make their grandchildren proud are increasingly turning to ethical Isas.

These are plans where money is allocated to shares, funds, bonds or even cash deposits that go towards companies or projects that make a positive impact on society.

Those looking at these socially responsible options for their 20,000 Isa allowance this tax year are joining a small but growing band that is burgeoning faster than the market as a whole.

Popular: The over-55s are amongst those most passionate about ethical investing

According to the Investment Association, sales of ethically minded funds leapt from about 371million to 1.3billion in the three years to 2018 while total fund sales to retail investors fell from 23billion to minus 5.5billion  where overall more investments were sold than purchased.

The original ethical funds simply shunned 'sinner' shares such as tobacco and firearms manufacturers. But the more modern approach is to back companies that make their money from doing something positive, including doing business in a fair and progressive way.

The purist ethical investor might disapprove but an oil company developing renewable energy alternatives would even make the grade in this brave new world of responsible investing.

Rebecca Jones, of investment website Good With Money, says the ethical approach can only grow in importance because 'the world's problems are not going to solve themselves'.

She says: 'There is a 1.9billion gap to fill to meet the United Nations' sustainable development goals which include the transition to clean, safe energy and water, equality of women and healthcare and education for all.'

Altruistic: Meg Blumsom, 68, has been investing ethically on behalf of her three grandchildren

Evidence suggests that investors need not sacrifice profit for their principles. Fund analysis firm 3D Investing found that nearly four out of five of the 300 funds that it considers to have good to strong sustainability credentials outperformed their sectors in the three years to the end of February.

While the trend for ethical investing is often associated with the altruistic young, a new survey by investment trust Impax Environmental Markets suggests that the over-55s are amongst those most passionate about backing companies that are making a beneficial impact.

Among them is Meg Blumsom, 68, a retired probation officer from Cirencester who has three young grandchildren.

She has been investing ethically on the youngsters' behalf for several years through Isas with ethical bank Triodos. She says: 'I am concerned for my grandchildren's future not just to help them with university fees or getting on the housing ladder, but what sort of life will be there for them in the future.

'By investing ethically I am able to do something positive, either by supporting renewable energy or through helping to develop sustainable communities.'
Prime Minister Theresa May might have bought herself a few more days to avoid a No Deal Brexit, but the prospect of Britain crashing out without an agreement remains a real possibility.

And that could have big implications for UK shares.

Amid all the noise around Brexit last week, the European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma) chose an odd moment to reveal that EU banks and asset managers would have to trade shares of UK-based firms on Continental exchanges rather than in London if Britain leaves the EU without a deal.

Esma said 14 stocks had enough liquidity on Continental exchanges that they did not need to be bought or sold in London, even if that is their main listing.

Brexit chaos: Protesters at the 'Put It To The People March' on Saturday in London

The 14 are: BHP, G4S, Rio Tinto, BP, Shell (A and B shares), GlaxoSmithKline, Vodafone, AstraZeneca, Relx, Coca-Cola European Partners, TechnipFMC, EnQuest and Dialog Semiconductor.

Some of these are among the worlds biggest firms. It means trading volumes of these shares, and therefore the FTSE 100, could tumble if Britain crashes out.

Little wonder the Financial Conduct Authority is up in arms about it.

The Local Shopping REIT ding-dong

A good old-fashioned shareholder ding-dong broke out at The Local Shopping REIT last week.

LSR, which owns high street properties, wants to wind down the firm and return cash to shareholders after a poor performance that has left it with a market value of just 23million.

But shareholder Thalassa Holdings isnt happy.

Its chairman Duncan Soukup has launched a takeover offer for LSR and urged shareholders to consider that instead of listening to the weak and misleading statements of a failed board that has only ever destroyed shareholder value.

Punchy! The first closing of Thalassas offer is on Wednesday.

Fever-Tree shares could lose more of their fizz

Alcoholic mixer maker Fever-Tree could provide some tonic for investors suffering pre-Brexit nerves.

The British soft drinks maker, probably best known for its gin accompaniments, is expected to reveal revenues bubbled up 39 per cent to 236 million last year.

Earnings will be up by a third to 77.5million, according to forecasts. However, sales and profit growth at these levels would be well below 60 per cent-plus levels of growth achieved in 2017.

Any slight disappointment could cause the shares to lose more of their fizz after a 9 per cent fall on Friday.

Apple rumours

Apple's army of fans will be glued to their screens tomorrow night.

The iPhone giant has pencilled in an event in California that is widely expected to see it launch a TV streaming service.

Rumours that Apple is set to go after similar Netflix and Amazon services have been floating around for years, but it has yet to make a move into this space.

If the launch fails to impress, then the companys shares, which have recovered this year after the tech rout, could take a hit.

Apples deep pockets are no guarantee of success.

Contributor: William Turvill
The new boss of BT, Philip Jansen, has become one of Britain's richest executives after a massive windfall.

He is in line for a 43million payout after his former employer Worldpay agreed to a 32billion merger.

Jansen quit as co-chief executive of the London-listed payments processor last year to take over from Gavin Patterson at BT.

Windfall: Philip Jansen is in line for a 43million payout

Now Worldpay Inc has given the nod to a takeover by American financial technology giant FIS.

Jansen still holds more than 507,000 shares in the company, meaning he is in line for around 43million based on the takeover price of $112 (85) a share.

The deal is mostly in shares, but partly in cash, which means Jansen will immediately pocket 4.3million. Because he is no longer working for Worldpay, he could also sell the remaining shares should he choose to do so.

BT, where Jansen began working last month, declined to comment on the windfall or his plans for the shares.

The value of Worldpay has soared following a series of transactions. Jansen was chief executive of Worldpay when it was acquired by Vantiv in a 9.3billion takeover in 2017. It was renamed Worldpay Inc and Jansen became co-chief executive of the enlarged group.

Jansen defended the large sum he made from the Vantiv takeover at the time, insisting the money 'is not important to me' because he had already made a fortune from floating the company on the London Stock Exchange in 2015.

Worldpay was founded in 1997 by entrepreneur Nick Ogden and was owned by Royal Bank of Scotland until it was forced to sell it in 2010 as part of the European Commission's clearance of its taxpayer bailout.

The buyers were private equity firms Advent and Bain which then floated the company on the London Stock Exchange in 2015. Jansen had joined as chief executive in 2013 and led the company's float.

He was hired by BT's chairman Jan du Plessis last year in an effort to turn around the fortunes of the ailing telecoms giant.

Former boss Patterson was sacked after investors lost faith in his revamp and the company's share price collapsed.
That cup of coffee this morning was wonderful and it got me thinking about what I did to the Volga car this weekend. While in the village, I decided to do a little adjusting on our Volga and make her run better

I had to remove one of our fuel systems to get around technical difficulties. The propane had to come off for an overhaul. Then it got hotter than the ace of spades and I never was able to finish the job

Well this weekend I got the job done. We drove to the village on petrol and came home on gas. (petrol is gasoline and gas is propane) The difference in cost is amazing. Petrol 80 octane is 18.5 roubles right now and gas is 11.5 roubles. The difference is not as striking as many would see because we burn the cheapest petrol. Most have to spend 22+ roubles for 92 or above octane (Our Volga burns anything  )

But the cost of propane (gas) has not gone up in the last year and it is a wonderfully stable and clean fuel

The only issue that I ran into was I am going to have to pick up another solenoid valve for diverting the petrol flow when I use gas. I forgot to get that part and of course it is the part that is needing replaced. It works and you just have to smack it with a screwdriver handle once in a while and tell it who is boss. 

Sveta was so happy that we were purring along on propane that she is ready to go on a whole bunch more excursions all over Russia

So am I!

Windows to Russia!
Marks & Spencer is sizing up ambitious growth targets that could see the company double the amount of food it sells and propel it into the ranks of Britain's biggest supermarkets.

The surge would capitalise on the firm's new home delivery deal with Ocado and its plan to offer a full range of food in more stores to attract additional family shoppers.

City sources said the newly pencilled targets could see M&S's food sales soar to 12billion over the next five years.

That is larger than the company's total sales at present, which include food, clothing and international sales.

On the rise: Marks & Spencer's ambitious growth targets could see it eclipse food sales at Waitrose and Co-op

Success would result in the firm sailing past arch rivals Waitrose and Co-op and perhaps even start to challenge Morrisons as it seeks to return to its roots as a store with broad appeal.

Germans Aldi and Lidl are also growing rapidly.

A source told The Mail on Sunday the target reflected an 'aspiration rather than a plan' at present but said it had been discussed at senior levels within the business. The source added: 'This brings everything together and all adds up to a big push.'

But it also reflects a new-found optimism in the business which has been slow to react to the massive shifts in the retail market over the past decade.

The grand vision for the company's food business follows a 'transformational' agreement last month that will mean the chain replaces supermarket Waitrose as the main partner to 1.5billion delivery service Ocado. The home shopping firm has been growing at 13 per cent a year.

A new blueprint for more M&S Food stores to carry the full range of more than 6,500 products was revealed by The Mail on Sunday a week ago and will provide the company with fresh momentum.

A spokesman for M&S said the company did not comment on 'speculation'. But another senior source at one City institution, who declined to be named, said he thought the potential to double food sales was 'in the right ball park'.

He added: 'Food is now absolutely the engine for growth. M&S needs to focus on growing sales and cannot afford to cut itself profit growth while it executes that. The full range is pretty spectacular when you see it, but it's rare that you do because only a small number of stores carry it.'

Only about a dozen shops across the country offer the entire range at present.

The company is expected to use parts of shops currently selling clothing to be able to stock the full range of food in more branches.

It is understood that out-of-town stores and shops with car parking space will be a priority.

The vision for food is likely to be regarded as ambitious by many inside the business. It is not clear if the target will be made public in the short term.

Marks & Spencer's current annual sales total about 10.7billion, which includes around 6 billion of food sales and 3.7billion of clothing and home products.

Waitrose's sales were 6.4billion last year while Morrisons  the smallest of the so-called Big Four grocery chains behind Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda respectively  said its total sales in stores and via online deliveries were in excess of 13billion.

Meanwhile, Marks & Spencer is also trying to revitalise its clothing sales. Despite struggling sales in stores the division has recently been enjoying much more flattering online success.
British technology tycoon Mike Lynch last night hit out at 'outrageous' new claims in the US that he laundered money, destroyed documents and paid 'hush money' to cover up an alleged fraud.

The new criminal charges brought by the US government stunned Lynch and his team of lawyers on the eve of a blockbuster High Court battle in London.

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) on Friday night added three counts of conspiracy and securities fraud to its existing charge sheet against Lynch, carrying even heavier potential sentences.

Charges: Mike Lynch, who founded Cambridge-based software firm Autonomy

Lynch is accused of cooking the books of his Cambridge-based software firm Autonomy before an ill-fated 8.3billion takeover by Californian computer giant Hewlett Packard.

The latest set of charges, which carry a maximum 25-year sentence if the Autonomy founder is found guilty, represent a major blow to Lynch as he heads to the High Court in London tomorrow.

The $5.1billion trial brought by HP in the UK is one of the most eagerly anticipated cases ever involving a British businessman.

Lynch is countersuing for $160million, claiming his reputation has been damaged by the allegations.

It means Lynch, once dubbed 'Britain's Bill Gates', now faces an intensifying battle on two fronts. He will hope to clear his name in London over the coming months, but it remains unclear whether he will travel to America to contest the DoJ's charges or fight extradition.

In the US, he has now been accused by the DoJ of trying to 'cover up, conceal, influence witnesses to, and otherwise obstruct investigations' into the alleged conspiracy related to the sale of Autonomy to HP in 2011.

Lynch is alleged to have fraudulently inflated the accounts at the FTSE 100 software firm before the takeover, causing HP to write down the value of the deal by 6.7 billion shortly after. Lynch strongly denies any wrongdoing and claims the write-downs came from differences between US and UK accounting standards.

Lynch is accused of cooking the books of Autonomy before HP's takeover

In November last year, the DoJ first filed charges against Lynch and Stephen Chamberlain, Autonomy's former vice president of finance.

It has now added a series of new and even more damaging charges and allegations against Lynch.

These include claims that he bought a total of $4.2million worth of shares last year in private companies backed by his investment firm Invoke Capital from Sushovan Hussain, Autonomy's former chief financial officer.

Hussain was convicted in the US last year for his part in the alleged fraud and is still awaiting sentencing.

The new allegations include details of four separate 100million bank transfers made by Lynch into different bank accounts after the Autonomy takeover.

Last night, a spokesman for Lynch said: 'These are baseless, egregious charges issued on the eve of the trial in the UK, where this case belongs, and Dr Lynch denies them vigorously.'

Lynch's lawyers Chris Morvillo, of Clifford Chance, and Reid Weingarten, of Steptoe & Johnson, called the new charges unveiled in San Francisco 'outrageous' and questioned the timing given the High Court trial tomorrow.

They said: 'Something is horribly amiss in San Francisco, where the Wild West 'shoot first, ask questions later' approach to investigations  originally deployed by HP in this case  is sadly still alive and well.'

If Lynch, who lives in a Georgian manor house in Suffolk, does go to America to try to clear his name in court, he risks potential conviction.

However, if he refuses to travel, the US could try to extradite him. HP's lawyers will lay out their case against Lynch on Monday and Tuesday.

On HP's side is Laurence Rabinowitz QC, of One Essex Court. On Wednesday and Thursday, Lynch will give his defence.

Defending the entrepreneur is Robert Miles QC, of 4 Stone Buildings, who has worked on cases involving Robert Maxwell and Bernie Madoff.

On the civil case, a spokesman said: 'Mike Lynch is pleased to finally have the opportunity to respond in court to HP's accusations. There was no fraud at Autonomy.'
He's the advertising guru behind the famous Levi's launderette commercial, Audi's legendary 'Vorsprung durch Technik' catchphrase and the memorable 'Lynx effect' campaign.

Now, Sir John Hegarty, one of Britain's original 'Mad Men' who co-founded agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) in the 1980s, has a new message for the world: the time has come to break up the internet giants, which have strangled the advertising industry online, acted 'irresponsibly' and even held back economic growth in the UK.

'They're sucking money out, not paying tax on it and destroying what they've left behind,' he tells me in a top-floor bar area at the annual Advertising Week Europe event in Central London.

Legendary: Sir John Hegarty, one of the co-founders of agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty

It's an extraordinary attack  particularly given that the crop of start-ups which Hegarty has invested in, housed and nurtured through his Garage Soho business incubator rely heavily on Facebook and Google for advertising.

The two web companies have become so powerful that they dominate digital advertising. In the final three months of 2018 alone, Google generated a staggering $32.6billion worldwide revenues from advertising.

Facebook made $16.6billion global revenues from advertising in the same period.

Google's advertising revenues doubled between 2011 and 2017 and, with Facebook, the two companies scoop up 90 per cent of new digital advertising spending in the UK.

'These companies have turned into monopolies, and when you get a monopoly they eradicate innovation because they want to keep things as they are,' Hegarty says, referring to a 'buy 'em and kill 'em' approach to dealing with competitors.

Hegarty's comments come a week after a hard-hitting Government-commissioned report called for tougher competition laws to crack down on the 'bullying tactics' and 'killer' takeover strategies of the US giants.

Essentially this is a creative industry... so how come the richest man in it is an accountant?

The review revealed that Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google and Microsoft had swallowed up more than 400 smaller rivals over the past decade with little scrutiny from regulators.

In the advertising sector alone, Google bought giant rival DoubleClick for $3.1billion in 2007 (around double the price it paid for YouTube a year earlier) and has subsumed several other major players including Ad Exchange.

Just a day before we meet, Google is fined 1.5billion by the European Commission for abusing its dominant digital advertising position.

'Google are making nearly $9billion [profit] a quarter so when you fine them 1.5billion, it's like taking somebody out for lunch...one hell of a lunch,' Hegarty says.

Born to Irish parents in North London, the 74-year-old had a working-class upbringing. He went to the London College of Printing [now Communication] and it was there his love of advertising began.

Sir John Hegarty, 74, Hates meetings Lives: Clerkenwell, London, but also owns a vineyard in the South of France. Car: Range Rover Sport. Favourite Film: One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest. Favourite film: One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest Favourite Book: Sapiens: A Brief History Of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. Hobbies: Art. Message for creative people: If you read s***, youll think s*** and create s***. Dislikes: Meetings and brainstorming sessions. If Im in a meeting and it gets boring I just get up and go.

He has always gone against the grain.

He founded BBH in 1982 with John Bartle and Nigel Bogle and quickly became known for its iconic advertising campaigns. Thirty years later, when BBH was sold to Publicis, Hegarty had become a legend, known for his unconventional ideas.

The big ad agencies, including WPP and Publicis, are now all struggling with the challenges of digital advertising and the changing market.

Before, they created TV and print ads. Now, it is not quite so simple as Facebook and Google control the online market and take a huge share of spending.

Instead of the old-school scattergun approach to advertising, the online industry increasingly involves targeting specific groups of people identified by complex data analysis.

This data, ultimately, is held by the likes of Google, which controls a long supply chain where each participant takes a cut.

Websites say that whereas in the past they might have received more than 80p for every 1 spent by a company advertising with them, they now receive nearer 30p. Google's dominance means it can keep an iron grip on these prices.

Ill never retire. Nobody ever asks David Hockney if he is going to retire. Lifes just too interesting

Sir Martin Sorrell, another British ad mogul, believes using this type of new technology and data to target specific audiences online represents the future for the big ad agencies  and they must adapt.

But Hegarty disagrees. He thinks agencies which are the most creative will be the ones which survive. He bemoans the lack of creative people at the top of these giant agencies and even has a dig at Sorrell for 'stripping creativity out of WPP'.

He says Sorrell, who left WPP amid allegations  strongly denied by Sorrell  that he paid a prostitute using company money, won't have a legacy because he's a 'financial guy' rather than a creative type who has come up with ideas or campaigns that will 'live on'.

'Essentially this is a creative industry. So how come the richest man in it is an accountant?' Hegarty asks. 'He [Sorrell] hasn't created anything, he's just taken other companies and bolted them together. And eventually the bolts rusted and it all fell apart.'

Hegarty on WPP founder Sorrell: He won't have a legacy because he's a 'financial guy' rather than a creative type

But Hegarty doesn't dispute that the rise of the internet has changed the way the ad industry works  and made tighter regulation 'essential'.

'All corporations will want to monopolise,' he explains. 'It's in their nature. They'll grow as fast and as big as they can, exclude competition, dominate the market, keep it where it is.'

He believes a break-up is inevitable, raising the prospect of Facebook being forced to sell Instagram as one of the first steps.

While the political rhetoric is dominated by Brexit, Hegarty believes the economy has stagnated over the past 15 years and he points the finger at tech companies, partly, for taking far too large a share of advertising spend and not giving enough of the money to the companies which create ads and display them.

'They've been allowed to not just disrupt, but disrupt irresponsibly,' he says.

'They don't pay taxes and things like that. And they're not putting back into the economy. They're sucking all this money out and it's not going back into the economy,' he says.

He uses a newspaper analogy to explain. 'If I put more money into newspaper advertising, the newspaper can have more features, employ more journalists, it can have more advertisers in. It's a virtuous circle you're creating. I'm not sure that the tech companies as of yet are creating a virtuous circle.'

Before setting up his own agency, Hegarty worked with Charles Saatchi at Cramer Saatchi, which he joined in 1967

Politicians are partly to blame, he says, because they are 'so behind on what's actually going on' and so slow to act.

Facebook denies it is a media company and claims it only hosts content from news sites. But it already decides which sites its users should be reading more of.

Hegarty says: 'You can't be a platform and/or a media company.

'You've got to be one or the other. So that claim that, 'we're a bit like the telephone companies in that we can't control the conversation' is b******s. BT weren't selling my conversation to somebody else. It was a private conversation.'

He is, of course, referring to concerns about data privacy and misuse, which Facebook has been fined over.

Hegarty also has 'strong views' about protecting children online.

'You wouldn't allow a child to go into a bar and order a double vodka. You wouldn't allow a child to go into an X-rated movie. We've all these controls on things and yet they can go online and get everything they like.

'The tech companies don't want to stop that because they get more eyeballs.'

Before setting up his own agency, Hegarty worked with Charles Saatchi at Cramer Saatchi, which he joined in 1967, before becoming a founding shareholder of the world-renowned Saatchi and Saatchi agency in 1970.

With so much change since then, what would Hegarty's strategy be if he were starting out in the industry today? Would he join a big agency or pin his hopes on an innovative digital rival?

He says he's drawn to the world of 'influencers', where celebrities and social media stars are paid by brands to post promotional pictures and messages to their followers.

'I might be a creative influencer and join Whalar [one of his start-ups which helps brands work with influencers],' Hegarty enthuses.

'But I love being in a community of creative people too. What an agency can do is create an environment where you bounce off other creative people. I'd probably do both.'

Like fellow septuagenarian Sorrell, who has started S4 Capital, Hegarty has no plans to head off into the sunset, even to his vineyard in the South of France.

He is revelling in helping creative start-ups make their way, although admits he has called the 'undertaker' for some already.

'I'll never retire. It's like pulling the plug,' he says with a grimace just at the thought of it. 'Nobody ever asks David Hockney if he's going to retire. Life's too interesting,' he adds with a grin.
MPs have asked the City watchdog to stop banks hounding indebted business customers after The Mail on Sunday revealed that an entrepreneur was going on hunger strike over the scandal.

Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake has written to the Financial Conduct Authority requesting a moratorium that would prevent banks and debt collectors from chasing small firms through the courts if they are waiting for complaints against lenders to be examined.

The plea from Hollinrake, who co-chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fair Business Banking, comes after ruined property investor John Guidi, 63, camped outside the offices of his bank on hunger strike last week.

Property investor John Guidi during his protest

Guidi, who faces eviction from his home, claims he was mis-sold 10million of loans by Clydesdale Bank.

The APPG estimates that Guidi is one of 60,000 entrepreneurs who may have legitimate compensation claims against banks under a dispute resolution scheme that is due to launch in September.

The scheme, run by banking industry body UK Finance, will deal with historic cases  dating back to 2008  in which entrepreneurs feel they are owed compensation for treatment at the hands of their banks.

Hollinrake and other MPs are concerned that potential victims are suffering further damage ahead of their cases being considered because banks and other firms are pursuing their debts.

In Guidis case, his debt has been sold by Clydesdale Bank owner CYBG to an arm of Cerberus, a US private equity giant. Guidi blames CYBG for the collapse of his empire  which at its peak boasted 150 properties and annual revenues of 800,000  and wants his former bank to step in and help him.

He claims Clydesdale bankers mis-sold him 10million worth of loans and then abruptly withdrew funding, leading to a crisis for his business.

With Cerberus now chasing his debts, Guidi faces imminent eviction from his home of 30 years.

In a bid to persuade CYBG boss David Duffy to intervene, Guidi embarked on his hunger strike outside the banks Glasgow offices last week.

He put the protest on hold after four days to travel down to London for a meeting with Duffy.

Guidi said: I am convinced that David Duffy is genuinely concerned about my plight. Our negotiations were constructive and I hope they will continue in that way in the next week. As a result I am suspending my hunger strike further to Friday, March 29.

Guidis protest led to a Parliamentary debate last Tuesday, when City Minister John Glen was grilled on his plight and the troubles of other entrepreneurs.

Angela Crawley, Guidis local MP, said: This tragic case brings attention to the vulnerability of UK businesses to abusive treatment by lenders and vulture funds, and the inadequacy of current regulation in preventing it. Sadly, John is not alone.

Hollinrake last night told The Mail on Sunday he was hopeful Guidis case could help persuade the FCA to intervene and stop banks from chasing the debts of entrepreneurs with outstanding complaints.

He added: John has done everyone a great service. It shows the desperation and real anger [of entrepreneurs]. As a consequence of Johns particular case, weve been able to highlight issues in Parliament, which has helped escalate the issue to a position where people will start doing something about it.
Tens of thousands of grieving families are locked in a race against time to avoid a huge hike in an official fee for settling their loved one's estate  to as much as 6,000.

At present they can apply for a grant of probate, a legal document which allows an appointed person to sort out the funds, for a fee of just 215 or 155 if they use a solicitor.

But from next month  the exact date is still to be confirmed  the probate fee will rocket in changes condemned by critics as a cynical tax disguised as an administrative fee.

Death tax hike: Changes have been condemned by critics

While low value estates will escape the fee altogether, larger ones face a sliding scale of increasing charges, which are expected to raise an extra 185 million a year for the Government by 2022-23.

In the meantime, solicitors are facing a deluge of cases from clients rushing to complete the process before the cost increases by up to a staggering 3,771 per cent.

Here, The Mail on Sunday outlines how the 60,000 families who have been dealing with a bereavement since the beginning of this year and are estimated to be facing the tax on grief can escape it. And, in the box on the right, what the rest of us can do to maximise inheritance sums and minimise fees and taxes.

What is probate?

Probate is handled by an executor, a person who is appointed in a will to deal with the estate of a relative or friend after their death. When there is no will, relatives must apply for 'letters of administration' but the process is the same. The exercise can take months to complete, or longer if the will is contested.

How to avoid or meet fees in future Hard-pressed families risk being forced to rely on loans and credit cards to meet the upfront probate fee. But they can urge banks to release cash from a deceased person's account early to meet the cost. If there is not enough, the family can enquire at banks about specific executor loans to be repaid once the estate is distributed. They should also check whether an insurance policy has been left behind. This may be a policy 'written in trust', an arrangement which releases money straight away  bypassing probate procedures. Individuals should consider straightening out their affairs while they still can. This can include buying life insurance. Take advice using brokers such as LifeSearch and Drewberry. Consider giving away cash or assets to reduce the value of an estate when you die. Couples can also think about holding assets jointly as these are passed on to the survivor and not to the estate. Find an adviser via websites like unbiased and the Personal Finance Society at thepfs.org/yourmoney/find-an-adviser.

What will it cost?

Fees will start at zero for personal wealth up to 50,000, rising to 6,000 for estates worth more than 2 million. One in five grieving families are expected to have to pay 2,500, the fee for estates worth between 500,000 and 1 million.

The current flat fee of 215 or 155 if using a solicitor applies to all estates worth more than 5,000. It is cheaper with a solicitor because their applications are considered easier to process.

Can you avoid it?

The probate application fee must be paid up-front. As a result solicitors are being bombarded by applicants trying to submit forms before the new fees come in. They are warning that timing is tight and success in beating the hike is not guaranteed.

There are fears that those dealing with complicated financial arrangements will be unable to escape the increase. One solicitor told The Mail on Sunday the fee change is 'ridiculous' because there is no extra work involved for the courts to register probate on a larger estate. Experts say the fees are akin to a stealth tax sliding through the back door.

If it were a fresh tax, it would need to be introduced as a new law  subject to full debate by members of Parliament. Instead, the fees are being waved through as an amendment under existing legislation.

Critics argue it harms grieving families, dents inheritance or charitable donations left in wills, unfairly penalises homeowners whose property prices have risen and demands money be paid upfront by relatives who might not be able to afford it.

What should families do?

Family members handling simple estates, with no inheritance tax to pay, and who file straightaway stand the best chance of avoiding a higher charge. Sophie Rowe, probate solicitor for law firm Cripps says: 'If someone is recently bereaved and hasn't yet thought about probate we would encourage them to apply as soon as possible.'

Individuals can apply without legal help  which saves on solicitors' fees. For guidance visit gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance. Being highly organised helped Sarah Harrison, 60, from South-West London, narrowly avoid facing the soaring probate fees, which were announced shortly before her father's death late last year at the age of 91.

Acting swiftly means she paid 155, rather than the 2,500 she could have been charged later.

Individuals can apply without legal help  which saves on solicitors' fees

She enlisted the help of a solicitor charging 200 an hour who was familiar with her dad's estate, because it included his property being held in a discretionary trust. Such trusts are complex and treated differently by the taxman.

To keep fees under control she did much of the preparatory work herself.

She says pre-empting delays is key to sorting probate quickly, adding: 'Get plenty of copies of the death certificate. It is cheaper and quicker to do this when you register a death. I got six copies because banks and building societies all require sight of an original copy.'

The cost of death certificates has trebled since last month to 11 in England and Wales. But anyone requesting extra copies in a hurry could face double the cost again for next day delivery.

Being too quick to close a relative's bank account can slow the process too, if financial companies try to pay rebates, refunds or interest into it.

Sarah says she was not aware, until asked, that a solicitor will also need details of final utility bills.

The more organised executors can be, the less they will need to pay to solicitors charging by the hour.

Helen Clarke, tax partner at Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth, says: 'Executors cannot just apply for probate before the higher fee kicks in until all your ducks are in a row. This includes completing inheritance tax forms, making any necessary searches, and gathering and sending original documents to the Probate Registry  all of which takes precious time. If any of this is wrong it just creates more delays.'

Prepared: Adviser Helen Clarke says delays add to costs

Solicitors' fees can be anywhere between 1 and 5 per cent of the estate's value. If using a solicitor, ask multiple firms for quotes, whether they charge hourly rates or percentage fees, whether VAT is included and remember to factor in probate fees on top.

Online solicitors should be considered. Look at comparison websites such as comparelegalcosts.co.uk and thelawsuperstore.co.uk.

Find a solicitor via lawsociety.org.uk or by calling 020 7320 5650.

For legal help in Scotland visit lawscot.org.uk/find-a-solicitor and in Northern Ireland lawsoc-ni.org. Fixed-fee services are also offered by probate specialists, for example online company Beyond.

Anyone dealing with smaller estates should delay applying for probate. The starting threshold for probate fees is higher under the new system, with no fee on estates valued up to 50,000, compared to 5,000 now.

In Scotland there is a more modest increase of 2 per cent for those paying 'confirmation' costs. Confirmation is Scotland's equivalent of probate in England and Wales.

From April 1 relatives pay 261 on Scottish estates worth between 50,000 and 250,000. For estates valued above this threshold, the charge is 522.

In Northern Ireland applicants will pay 249 on estates worth more than 10,000, plus an additional 62 if done without the help of a solicitor.
Larry Cohen, the maverick B-movie director of cult horror films It's Alive and God Told Me To, has died at the age of 77.

Cohen's friend and spokesman, the actor Shade Rupe, confirmed the news on Sunday, saying Cohen has passed away Saturday in Los Angeles surrounded by loved ones.

Cohen's films were schlocky, low-budget films that developed cult followings, spawned sequels and gained esteem for their genre reflections of contemporary social issues.

Loss: Larry Cohen, the maverick B-movie director of cult horror films 'It's Alive' and 'God Told Me To,' has died at the age of 77, it was confirmed Sunday

His 1974 'It's Alive,' about a murderous mutant baby, dealt with the treatment of children. Bernard Herrmann, Alfred Hitchcock's frequent composer, supplied the score.

His New York-set 1976 satire 'God Told Me To' depicted a series of shootings and murders carried out in religious fervor.

Andy Kaufman played a policeman who goes on a shooting spree during the St. Patrick's Day parade. There were also aliens.

In Cohen's 1985 film 'The Stuff,' Cohen skewered consumerism with a story inspired by the rise of junk food. It's about a sweet yogurt-like substance that's found oozing out of the ground and is then bottled and marketed like an ice cream alternative without the calories.

The 'stuff' turns out to be a parasite that turns consumers of it into zombies.

Legend: Cohen's spokesman, the actor Shade Rupe, confirmed the news on Sunday, saying Cohen has passed away Saturday in Los Angeles surrounded by loved ones (pictured in 2015)

'It wasn't just going to a studio like a factory laborer and making pictures and going home every night,' Cohen told the Ringer last year. 'We were out there in the jungle making these movies, improvising, and having fun, and creating movies from out of thin air without much money.'

'You've gotta make the picture your way and no other way,' he added, 'because it can't be made otherwise.'

Cohen's approach - he would often shoot extreme scenes on New York City streets without permits or alerting people in the area - made him, like Roger Corman, revered among subsequent generations of independent genre-movie filmmakers.

A documentary released last year, 'King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen,' paid tribute to Cohen.

Classic: Cohen's films, including 1974's It's Alive, were schlocky, low-budget films that developed cult followings

Fan favourite: In Cohen's 1985 film 'The Stuff,' Cohen skewered consumerism with a story inspired by the rise of junk food

'Larry Cohen truly was an independent freewheeling movie legend,' the writer-director Edgar Wright ('Shaun of the Dead,' ''Baby Driver') said on Sunday, praising him 'for so many fun, high-concept genre romps with ideas bigger than the budgets.'

The New York-native Cohen began in television, where he wrote episodes for series like 'The Fugitive,' 'The Defenders' and 'Surfside 6.' New York would be the setting for many of Cohen's films, including 1982's 'Q,' in which a giant flying lizard nests atop the Chrysler Building.

Cohen's 1973 blaxspoitation crime drama 'Black Caesar,' scored by James Brown, was about a Harlem gangster. He and star Fred Williamson reunited the next year for 'Hell Up in Harlem.'

Huge volume of work: God Told Me To (1976) was a satire that depicted a series of shootings and murders carried out in religious fervor

Cohen later directed Bette Davis' last film, 'Wicked Stepmother,' in 1989. More recently, he wrote the 2002 Colin Farrell thriller 'Phone Booth' and 2004's 'Cellular,' with Chris Evans.

Cohen was often his own producer, director, writer and sometimes prop-maker and production manager. 'Otherwise,' he told the Village Voice, 'I'd have to sit down with producers, and producers are a real pain in the ass, believe me.'

From 1964 to 1987, he was married to Janelle Webb, who worked on his films. They had five children: Pam, Victoria Jill, Melissa, Bobby and Louis.

Cohen also is survived by his second wife, Cynthia Costas Cohen, who has also appeared in his films.
Big Brother was watching us for decades before governments had the technological power to track digital footprints and remotely record their citizens' every move.

Without satellite monitoring, data mining and biometric measurement, intelligence agencies relied on primitive physical surveillance to keep an eye on suspicious individuals.

Cold War spies really did hide tiny cameras inside books, radios and cigarette packets and they did sometimes communicate using invisible ink.

A new exhibition of spy gadgetry, surveillance photographs and declassified documents lifts the veil on how Australia's secret agents have gone about their covert trade over the past century.

Spy: Espionage in Australia has just opened at the Whitlam Institute within Western Sydney University and features exhibits never previously publicly seen.

This camera concealed inside a John Player Special cigarette packet from about 1970 was designed so that the filters would be visible if the operator was required to flip open the lid. Cold War spy gadgetry like this was literally found in the back of ASIO office cupboards

The tuning dial in this transistor radio has been removed to insert a concealed camera for covert surveillance in the mid 1960s. While the purpose of this device is clear, records were not kept of where and when it was used. It is on loan to the National Archives from ASIO

Surveillance photograph taken of Lydia Janovska at Sydney Airport in 1960. Janovska, also known as Mokrasova, had worked as a nurse in Czechoslovakia before the Communist coup. Janovski was suspected by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation of being a spy

This surveillance photograph taken of women and children marching in an innocent May Day demonstration at Wollongong in 1966 has been tagged with numbers on women and children. ASIO routinely took covert photographs of participants in peaceful marches such as this

Espionage in Australia, which has the backing of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), is on tour from the National Archives of Australia.

The exhibition promises to 'bring the stories of real spies out of the shadows and into the light' as it reveals the personal experiences of secret agents and the 'curious history' of espionage and counter-espionage in Australia.

Code-breaking machines, surveillance equipment and once-secret dossiers help show how our spies protect us from foreign threats, infiltrate radical domestic groups and profile individuals seen as a danger to society.

The NAA holds a large collection of ASIO material and the publication of the agency's three-part official history led to the public exhibition, curator Emily Catt said.

'It meant that our ASIO records now had additional context around them,' she said.

The exhibition includes artifacts related to Australian spying dating back to 1901 and covers ASIO's history from its establishment in 1949.

Items on show such as hidden cameras, secretly-taken photographs and security dossiers on individuals could all be linked by their respective roles in the espionage world.

This paperback copy of War and Peace by Russian writer Leo Tolstoy was used by ASIO to conceal a surveillance camera circa 1960-1970. A hole has been cut in the spine for the lens

The inside of a copy of War and Peace which has hollowed out to conceal a camera. Devices such as this were not made to last and it is luck rather than planning that they have survived

Evdokia Petrov is escorted by two armed Russian diplomatic couriers across the tarmac at Sydney Airport in 1954 after the defection of her husband Vladimir, before she too defected. The defection of the Petrovs was one of ASIO's most celebrated early Cold War victories

'They all sort of talk to each other quite well,' Ms Catt said.

ASIO defines espionage as 'the theft of Australian information by someone either acting on behalf of a foreign power, or intending to provide information to a foreign power which is seeking advantage.'

'Espionage can target defence, political, industrial, foreign relations, commercial or other information that is usually otherwise unavailable to the foreign power.'

ASIO began during the global espionage struggle between the West and the Soviet Union during the Cold War from the late 1940s.

Soon after its establishment the agency learnt through the interception of Soviet communications that an espionage ring was active in Australia.

In 1954 the agency secured the 1954 defection of Soviet diplomat and KGB officer Vladimir Petrov and his wife Evdokia, bringing international espionage to public attention.

'For the next three decades, most of ASIO's work focused on countering the threat of espionage and foreign interference directed against Australia by the Soviet Union and its allies,' ASIO's website says.

'The end of the Cold War in the early 1990s brought an end to the bipolar nature of international espionage, but the use of espionage and foreign interference techniques continued unabated as instruments of state power.'



None of these citizens attending a peaceful 'teach-in' or public forum on imperialism at Garema Place in Canberra in 1970 were aware they were being secretly photographed by ASIO

This surveillance photograph from 1962 shows Ivan Skripov, First Secretary of the Soviet Embassy in Canberra and a KGB officer, meeting double agent Kay Marshall. Skripov spent more than a year grooming Marshall to spy for the Soviets but she was really working for ASIO

Some pieces in the exhibition were used in well-known ASIO operations such as the Petrov affair.

On display is an emergency 'defector kit' like that provided to Petrov which contained some bare essentials for a spy wishing to change sides.

Inside a leather satchel is a a toothbrush, razor, comb, notepad, pencils, torch and pyjamas.

It was luck rather than good planning that many of the pieces on display survived to be shown today. Many were literally found in the back of ASIO cupboards.

Cigarette packs, books and magazines adapted to hold cameras were not intended to survive. 'The weren't built to last, they were built to conceal,' Ms Catt said.

Often an item had clearly been adapted so it could be used to hide something but what it had hidden was no longer there.

'Sometimes we don't know what was in them,' Ms Catt said. 'Quite often there isn't a record of where or what it was used for.'

The exhibition also includes two rare encryption devices: a Japanese Type B Cipher Machine from about 1940 and an American SIGABA from the same era.

The SIGABA is believed to be the only un-cracked code machine from World War II. Both machines are on loan from the National Cryptologic Museum in Maryland.

This SIGABA electronic cypher machine used to encrypt Allied communications during World War II is on loan from the National Cryptologic Museum in Annapolis Junction, Maryland

This high-speed message sender was given to public servant Kay Marshall, who the Soviets wrongly believed was working for them, by First Secretary of the Soviet Embassy, Ivan Skripov

A local 'Speakeasy' device used by the Australian Defence Force until 2008 to encrypt voice messages and faxes over telephone networks is also on show.

Ms Catt said most people would be unaware of Australia's role in deciphering Japanese signals during World War II.

'I think for me the code-breaking story is one that I was particularly fascinated by,' she said.

Australian intelligence personnel worked with their American counterparts breaking codes in a block of flats in inner-city Melbourne and a grand suburban home, Nyrambla, in Brisbane's Ascot.

The Monterey apartments on Queens Road in South Yarra have been described as Australia's own Bletchley Park, the site of British code-breaking during World War II.

As well as evidence of important work done during World War II and the Cold War there are less significant but still fascinating later operations covered in the collection.

In the 1960s ASIO was monitoring ordinary citizens taking part in protests over race, industrial relations, politics and the Vietnam War.

Such surveillance operations were not particularly useful, concentrating not on genuinely subversive behaviour but Australians exercising their democratic rights.

'The best way to describe it is they lost their way,' Ms Catt said of ASIO at that time.

Secret writing paraphernalia - invisible ink - collected during an investigation into the activities of Ivan Skripov, First Secretary of the Soviet Embassy in Canberra, about 1962

A crypto-linguist's matrix used to decipher a message from a Japanese minister in Stockholm to Tokyo from 1944. Code-breakers worked out of Melbourne and Brisbane druing World War II

One image of a 1960s May Day march in Wollongong would seem innocuous were it not for the numbers written on or next to individuals including children taking part in the march.

'There's a disquiet about it,' Ms Catt said. 'Every now and then someone might look at the camera and you wonder if they know someone's there watching them.'

Some of the surveillance pictures taken from low angles even showed fabric on the edge of the frame, revealing the images were taken with a concealed camera.

'You wonder what type of concealment they were using with that device,' Ms Catt said. 'It's a little uncomfortable.'

Along with covering those being watched the exhibition looks at what it was like to do the watching.

Ms Catt described a sort of 'shared experience' between a person being surveilled and the agent doing the surveilling.

'Someone's written that record or taken that photograph or captured that video footage,' she said.

Video interviews with ASIO officers whose identities have been disguised reveal what it is like to spy on your countryman and the difficulty of working in such a secretive job.

This surveillance photograph of an unknown subject taken by an ASIO officer with a concealed camera in 1958 shows some sort of fibre captured in the image at the bottom of the frame

This pamphlet circulated by the Communist Party of Australia from 1939 declares Johannes Frerck or Frerch, who ran a delicatessen in Sydney's central business district as a Nazi spy

'When you're choosing to work for an organisation like that you're choosing a lifestyle as well,' Ms Catt said.

'It's not something that you pack up at the end of the day and you're done. You can't necessarily talk to your relatives or your friends.'

Ms Catt said younger visitors who had always had a camera in their mobile phone might not have considered how difficult it would once have been taking photographs without drawing attention.

'When you're looking at someone trying to conceal a camera inside a radio there's a whole lot of different considerations,' she said.

Among the ASIO exhibits in the NAA collection were cigarette packets, magazines and glasses cases ingeniously used to conceal cameras.

'It's a pack of cigarettes until you know there's a camera in it,' Ms Catt said. 'It's the story around it that makes it fascinating.'

'It's been a really unique opportunity to tell a story that most people haven't heard before - taking an agency like ASIO from being a spooky entity that you didn't really understand.'

'Defeat US Imperialistic Aggression': Long-haired protesters were secretly photographed at a moratorium to end the war in Vietnam demonstration in Melbourne City Square in 1969

Marchers are secretly filmed by ASIO operatives taking part in a May Day protest in 1965 at Wollongong, south of Sydney. Protests for workers rights are still held in the city each year

In 1974, then prime minister Gough Whitlam announced a Royal Commission into ASIO headed by Justice Robert Hope, many of whose findings were not complimentary.

The NAA holds a significant collection of items from that Royal Commission, including the Teledex marked 'secret' which Justice Hope used during the inquiry.

National Archives director-general David Fricker, a former chief information officer and deputy director-general of ASIO, has been heavily involved in the exhibition.

'International spies have appeared in popular culture for decades but our own country's history of espionage is something that would be unfamiliar to many people,' Mr Fricker said.

'In this exhibition you'll find everything from quirky spy gadgets to serious historical stories.

'We were able to draw extensively from the Archives' collection and collaborate with security organisations that are normally out of the public view.'

The exhibition would provide a chance for Australians to ponder the 'purpose and nature' of our security and intelligence agencies as well as marvel at old gadgetry.

In 1974, prime minister Gough Whitlam announced a Royal Commission into ASIO headed by Justice Robert Hope. This is the 'secret' Teledex which Justice Hope used during the inquiry

The inside of Justice Hope's Teledex as he presided over the Royal Commission into ASIO

'The veil of secrecy over our intelligence agencies means that most Australians are left wondering about the reality of intelligence and espionage,' Mr Fricker said.

'They wonder what the agencies are up to and how much surveillance we are subjected to.

'Access by Australians to a national archival collection helps them to better understand their culture, heritage and democracy, and to hold their government to account.'

Duncan Lewis, the current director-general of ASIO, said it was the first time his organisation had actively contributed to a public exhibition.

He acknowledged spies continued to figure highly in popular culture and works of fiction but warned governments must remain vigilant against 'espionage, sabotage or subversion'.

In October last year Mr Lewis told a Senate estimates hearing that espionage and political interference by foreign powers was at 'unprecedented' levels in Australia and was still increasing.

'Hostile intelligence poses a real and potential existential threat to Australian security and sovereignty,' Mr Lewis said.

'The harm from this threat may not manifest for many years, even decades, after the activities occur. We are concerned about threats from wherever they emanate.'

Protesters demanding the withdrawal of Australian troops from South Vietnam attend a moratorium march in Canberra in 1970. ASIO took surveillance photographs of all such events

Communists including Laurie Aarons (with '8' on his shirt collar), general secretary of the Communist Party of Australia from 1965 to 1976, demonstrate in Sydney's 1966 May Day march

Leanne Smith, Director of the Whitlam Institute, said the exhibition grappled with the challenges of balancing national security and personal liberty in a democracy.

'The exhibition features perspectives of the spies, agents and those under surveillance,' Ms Smith said.

While there is plenty of serious material on display there is also fun to be had for children as young as three.

For those who want a feel for what it's like being a spy, the exhibition offers the chance to play a secret agent on an interactive trail, searching for 'dead drop' locations.

Participants can identify surveillance targets by comparing portraits with individuals in group photographs, and test their skills at code-breaking and reading invisible ink.

'What we really tried to do is involve young members of the audience,' Ms Catt said. 'Kids are captivated by spies but making real spies interesting is difficult.

'We really wanted a way to invite children into the collection as well.

'We didn't want to get too far down the Get Smart end of things but it's doing things a little bit differently.'

The exhibition will be on display at the Margaret Whitlam Galleries within Western Sydney University's Parramatta South campus until May 24. Entry is free. Further details here.
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The hidden tunnels and well-kept secrets lurking underneath Sydney's streets have been revealed by a former train worker.

In the carpark of an office building on Pitt Street, behind an electrical substation, is a metal door that leads to a tunnel winding its way under the city to Central Station.

One former Transport NSW employee told Daily Mail Australia the tunnel is one of many under central station shut off from the public.

He did not wish to be named but revealed he had access to the tunnels from his time as an employee.

The hidden tunnels underneath Sydney's historic train stations have been revealed by a former train worker

In the carpark of an office building on Pitt Street, behind an electrical substation, is a metal door that leads to a tunnel winding its way under the city to Central Station

'The entrance to this particular tunnel is near a loading dock in an underground carpark behind an electrical substation,' he said.

'It's used mainly these days for cleaners and freight, it's also a shortcut for the drivers and other train workers.'

'There's also a locked vault with a steel door in this tunnel, no one is allowed through the door and no one knows what's in there.'

'It's a bit unnerving if you're in there for long periods of time,' the former train worker revealed.

He posted a photograph of the tunnel to Reddit, where viewers were intrigued by the secret passageway.

'Is that one of the tunnels were they have a door that you're not allowed to go through,' one Reddit user asked.

'Yeah that's one of the baggage tunnels, the red door down the end goes through to the drivers quarters. Not much down there except some rats,' one man replied.

The former train worker also said there are tunnels under the heritage St James Station near Hyde Park.

The former train worker also said there are tunnels under the heritage St James Station near Hyde Park

One of the hidden 'ghost platforms' under St James station from a line that was abandoned in the 1940s

The tunnels under St James station contain a former bomb shelter and, surprisingly, an underground lake.

In addition to the secret tunnels, another spooky fact about Central Station is rarely known by commuters.

Stripped bare but largely still in tact, platforms 26 and 27 were built in the 1970s on the site of the old Devonshire Street Cemetery.

The bodies lying in the graveyard were reburied across the city decades before the station were built but workers recently inspecting the unused platform have reported some eerie goings-on in the dusty underworld.

Lying deep beneath Sydney's Central station is one of the city's hidden secrets - the stripped bare but fully in tact platforms 26 and 27

Sydney Trains officials have reported hearing voices echoing against the walls, and even the sound of children playing.

Director of operations with Sydney Trains Tony Eid also claims to have heard the sound of children's voices on a visit to station's never-used tunnels.

He previously told the Sydney Morning Herald: 'Workers down here said they would hear kids playing and, thinking they were vandals, would go and investigate.

'On one occasion I was down here with a radio crew and we all heard children playing. Take that as you wish but we all heard it'.

Sydney Trains officials have reported hearing voices echoing against the walls, and even the sound of children playing

Platforms 26 and 27 were built in the 1970s on the site of the old Devonshire Street Cemetery, and the ghosts of the deceased seem to still be present to this day

Sydney Open offer tours of the mysterious underground maze beneath Central station - featuring presenters from the Australian Railway Historical Society and Sydney Trains staff

Aside from the station's ghostly past, it is also the site of more tangible historical events like the Battle of Central Station - where soldiers rebelling against the army were involved in a shoot-out with armed military guards.

One stray bullet hole near platform one is what remains of the exchange started by a drunken soldier's gunshot - which led to the guards killing one and injuring eight when they returned fire.

Sydney Open offers tours of the mysterious underground maze beneath Central station - featuring presenters from the Australian Railway Historical Society and Sydney Trains staff.

The unnerving reports from beneath Central station are paralleled by similar reports elsewhere on the Sydney Trains network - such as Macquarie Fields where there have been reports of a ghostly apparition

The unnerving reports from beneath Central station are paralleled by similar reports elsewhere on the Sydney Trains network.

Ghost hunters at Macquaire Fields train station in the city's southwest claim to have seen a ghostly apparition clutching her bloodied chest and shrieking in terror.

Other claim to have heard a 'faint crying on the breeze' late night following the departure of the last train.
The son of a billionaire entrepreneur who was kicked out of one of the world's most prestigious schools and claims to have dated Lindsay Lohan has spoken out about his life of 'fast cars, beautiful women and parties'.

Bobby Misner is the son of Tom Misner, founder of the SAE Institute music school.

He grew up with his mother in a single-parent household after his parents divorced.

Bobby said it wasn't until he turned 15 that he realised his father was a billionaire businessman with private jets, super-yachts and mansions in some of the world's most desirable locations.

Bobby Misner (centre) is the son of Tom Isner, founder of the SAE Institute music school

Bobby (pictured) said it wasn't until he turned 15 that he realised his father was a billionaire businessman with private jets, super-yachts and mansions in some of the world's most desirable locations

Tom Misner sold the SAE Group in 2010 for $300million and his son Bobby (pictured) moved to Europe to live with him, something that caused his life to 'change forever'

Tom Misner sold the SAE Group in 2010 for $300million and his son moved to Europe to live with him, something that 'changed his life forever'.

'My dad started getting a lot of nice things,' Bobby said in a YouTube video titled 'Life of a Billionaire's Son'.

'Your life is like a movie and you're the main character so why wouldn't you make it the greatest movie you've ever seen?'

Calling himself a 'little bit of a misfit kid' and 'the kid who has everything', Bobby said because his father was absent from the home he misbehaved as a child.

'Bobby likes to live life fast - fast cars, beautiful girls, parties,' he said.

'My life hasn't always been like this. I was born in Australia, and I was raised by a single mum.

'She always saw me as a perfect child, so I got away with a lot more than I should have.

'This meant that I had to move to a lot of different schools, 10 to be exact. I didn't grow up rich, I didn't grow up poor, I was fairly average and I didn't know my dad had a lot of money until I turned 15.

Calling himself a 'little bit of a misfit kid' and 'the kid who has everything', Bobby said because his father was absent from the home he misbehaved as a child

'I moved to Europe [and] my dad started getting a lot of nice things. We got a villa in Saint Tropez, and houses in Monaco, a home in London, super yacht, private jet with our family name on the tail number.'

Bobby said he disliked being labelled as a 'spoiled brat' because his family was wealthy.

'Yes, my dad has a private jet, and I love flying in it. Yes my dad has a mansion and cars, and I love making videos with them, who wouldn't?' he said.

'But I have never pretended that those things were something that I earned and I recognise that my dad is the one who worked hard for them.

Bobby said he disliked being labelled as a 'spoiled brat' because his family was wealthy

'This is why I have the ambition to work hard enough to achieve a successful life of my own, and break the stereotype of all rich kids being lazy, spoiled and relying on their trust funds.'

Bobby revealed he was expelled from Millfield, one of the world's most prestigious independent schools.

He said he was a 'delinquent, rebel, outsider, misfit' compared to many of the other students at the school but he wasn't alone.

'Here were many other kids just like me. We'd all been sent there for reform, and we weren't about to let that happen,' he said.

'We spent the next two years at school bending and breaking the rules in every way shape and form.

Bobby revealed he was expelled from Millfield, one of the world's most prestigious independent schools

'Believe me, the things that you're not allowed to do are always the most fun. It was my last straw. Some of us decided that on my 18th birthday we needed to skip school and go to the south of France and party.

'When we got back the whole school was talking about it and I was asked to leave, along with 25 others that week.

'I was finally free. I never limit myself. I'm wildly ambitious.'

After leaving school Bobby said he worked for his father at Abbey Road Studios in London and he then moved to Los Angeles.

After leaving school Bobby said he worked for his father at Abbey Road Studios in London and he then moved to Los Angeles

'When I first moved out here [to Los Angeles] I imagined my life to be like a movie, girls sipping cocktails by the swimming pool, fast cars through the hills, the craziest parties,' he said.

'Guess what - most of it came true.

'I once met a girl on a night out, flew her to Ibiza with me the next day and married her on a Sunday. We divorced a week later.

'I even dated the queen of partying herself, Lindsay Lohan. She's a lovely girl.'

Bobby is now working as a filmmaker and has started his own fashion brand, as well as uploading videos to his YouTube channel.
drawn from action, water, lifestyle, or portrait photography with winners announced on April 2

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The finalists for the highly anticipated 2019 Nikon Surf Photo have been officially revealed.

Recognising the best single surfing-themed image taken during 2018 by an Australian photographer, the annual awards follow strict criteria for all entrants.

Focus for images is placed on dramatic effect, sensory impact, composition, innovation and creativity.

Photographer Russell Ord submitted this terrific up close portrait image of surfing legend Tom Carroll over in Indonesia during a tropical rainstorm

Currumbin based photographer Ted Grambeau has three images shortlisted - he captured Laurie Towner taking on this monster 'swell of the year' at Cloud Break in Fiji

Jan Waineright-Wilson photographed Australian surfing legend Mick Fanning at Bells Beach during the traditional Aboriginal landowners ceremony

Matthew Tildesley submitted this image as part of his project 'The Nocturnal Series' where he photographed exclusively at night

Experienced photographer John Respondek captured a local surfer 'Harry' from the NSW south coast 'mid speed pump' in 2018 at a 'secret spot'

Ed Sloane photographed seven-time women's world champion Steph Gilmore mid-barrel during round three of the Maui Pro in Hawaii

Duncah Macfarlane was overjoyed after capturing Anthony Walsh on a 'perfect dreamy wave' when Hawaii was pumping

Photographer Angus Sheridan was buzzing after capturing a local 'airing' through the middle of a picturesque Indonesian sunset

Experienced photographer Andrew Kaineder managed to capture an intense swell of over 10m battering the coastline of Ireland

Nominated photos can be taken anywhere around the world and can be drawn from action, water, lifestyle, line up or portrait photography.

Seven-time women's surfing champion Stephanie Gilmore was among the judges.

Veteran snapper Ted Grambeau has three images shortlisted, and the Currumbin based photographer told Daily Mail Australia he is hopeful of hearing his name read out next month.

'Over the years I've been fortunate to be a finalist a few times, but I've never managed to walk away with the prize,' he said.

'I would be stoked to win, the talent in the Australian photography arena is obvious.'

Other photographers in the running for the main gong include the likes of Stu Gibson, Russell Ord and Scott Bauer.

The finalists for the Video of the Year are talented trio Jack Robinson, Chippa Wilson and Nathan Oldfield.

Winners of the Nikon Surf Photo of the Year as well as the Nikon Surf Video of the Year will be announced at a gala evening on April 2 on the Gold Coast.

Currumbin based Ted Grambeau photographed Lucas Silveira at the Island of Nias, off Sumatra in Indonesia in July of 2018

Simon Williams captured Hawaiian charger Matt Meola mid-air in Indonesia in June of 2018 - Meola is best known for learning to surf with his father aged just two

Paul Smith took this image from a helicopter showing Noosa Heads in all its glory - as Smith says the 'perfect lines remind me of the lines on sheet music, with surfers representing the notes'

Photographer Scott Harrison was aided by 'some amazing morning light' - he chose not to disclose the location of his 'secret spot'

Scott Bauer photographed commercial diver Shanan Worrall at a 'very special' north swell in Western Australia - nursing an injured shoulder, Bauer snared the image on the water's edge

Ray Collins photographed this amazing image in Mexico - he described it as 'swimming on the line between order and chaos'

Matthew Tildesley entered a second photo as part of his 'Nocturnal Series' project from an undisclosed location last year

Emerging photographer Trent Mitchell submitted an image with a focus on ' investigating the interconnection of humans with nature'

Queensland's Ted Grambeau said it was a 'golden moment' - big wave surfer Mark Healey taking on a massive swell over in Indonesia

Stu Gibson photographed his good friend Mikey Brennan, again at a location the shooter did not want to reveal to the public
A teenager who survived the Parkland school shooting in Florida has killed herself while struggling with survivors' guilt, local media reported Friday.

Students and parents visit a make shift memorial setup at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in honor of those killed during a mass shooting to mark the one year anniversary, A year ago on Feb. 14th at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where 14 students and three staff members were killed during the mass shooting on February 14, 2019 in Parkland, Florida. [Photo: AP]

Sydney Aiello, 19, was a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas last February 14 when a former student opened fire with a semiautomatic weapon, killing 14 students and three staff members.

Among the dead were two of Aiello's best friends, Meadow Pollack and Joaquin Oliver.

Her parents told local news CBS4 that she had been treated for PTSD, and suffered from survivor's guilt, when a victim fixates on why they were the one to live, not someone else.

Her mother, Cara, told CBS Miami that Aiello had had a difficult time with her college classes "because classrooms now scared her."

Parkland Victims Remembered On One Year Anniversary of MSD Shooting Seventeen people were shot and killed by an ex-student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD) in Parkland, Florida on 14 February 2018. [Photo: AP]

Aiello graduated from high school in July. She was a yoga enthusiast, and took part in the national student movement seeking legal changes on gun control policy.

Stoneman Douglas students became crusaders against gun violence under the banner "March for Our Lives," lobbying for tougher gun control laws and organizing protests and rallies.

Meadow's father, Andrew Pollack, told the Miami Herald that his "heart goes out to those poor, poor parents.

"It's terrible what happened. Meadow and Sydney were friends for a long, long time," Pollack said.
Garuda said passengers in Indonesia had 'lost trust and no longer have the confidence' in the plane

Indonesia's national carrier Garuda has told Boeing it will cancel a multi-billion-dollar order for 49 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets after two fatal crashes involving the plane, in what is thought to be the first formal cancellation for the model.

"We have sent a letter to Boeing requesting that the order be cancelled," Garuda spokesman Ikhsan Rosan said.

"The reason is that Garuda passengers in Indonesia have lost trust and no longer have the confidence" in the plane, he said, adding that the airline was awaiting a response from Boeing.

The spokesman told AFP that Boeing officials will visit Indonesia next week to discuss Garuda's plans to call off the order.

Garuda had already received one of the planes, he said, part of a 50-aircraft order worth $4.9 billion at list prices when it was announced in 2014.

Garuda is also talking to Boeing about whether or not to return the plane it has received, the spokesman told AFP.

The carrier had so far paid Boeing about $26 million, while the company's head told Indonesian media outlet Detik that it would consider switching to a new version of the single-aisle jet.

"In principle, it's not that we want to replace Boeing, but maybe we will replace (these planes) with another model," Garuda Indonesia director I Gusti Ngurah Askhara Danadiputra told Detik.

- 'Probably not the last' -

Shukor Yusof, head of Malaysia-based aviation consultancy Endau Analytics, said Garuda's announcement appeared to mark the first formal plans by a carrier to cancel an order for the 737 MAX 8.

It "will probably not be the last. There is a risk that Garuda's rival Lion Air, which also has many 737 MAX 8 orders, might make the same decision," he said.

"That is a risk. This has been made public by the Lion Air CEO. He stated publicly that he is considering" a cancellation.

He added that it was difficult to predict whether more major carriers would follow suit.

"There are many unanswered questions and each airline has specific needs," Yusof said. "Each airline needs to deliberate how they want to strategise their fleet management."

This month, Lion Air said it was postponing delivery of four of the jets after an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 went down minutes into a flight to Nairobi, killing all 157 people on board.

Budget carrier Lion -- Southeast Asia's biggest airline by fleet size and a major Boeing customer -- said the planes had been on order for delivery this year, but the company was re-evaluating the situation.

Lion Air operates 10 Max 8 jets, part of a then-record $22 billion order from Boeing made in 2011.

The airlines are the only two that use the Max 8 in Indonesia.

The Ethiopian tragedy came after a Lion Air jet of the same model crashed in Indonesia in October, killing all 189 people on board.

Both planes reportedly experienced erratic steep climbs and descents as well as fluctuating airspeeds before crashing shortly after takeoff.

Investigators have honed in on an automated anti-stalling system introduced on the plane that is designed to point the nose of the plane downward if it is in danger of stalling.

Boeing's state-of-the-art model will be outfitted with a warning light for malfunctions in the anti-stall system, an industry source told AFP Thursday, standardising a feature previously sold as an optional extra.

The development comes as the US manufacturer struggles to cope with the fallout from the two crashes, which have cast a spotlight on the safety certification process and shaken confidence in a plane that is crucial to its future plans.
Democrats are beginning to concede that President Trump and his supporters may have a 'good day' once the principal conclusions of the Mueller Report are made public - perhaps as early as Sunday.

'I think there is more here for us to unpack here in Congress and there is more work to be done in terms of accountability and transparency, but, you know, once we get the principal conclusions of the report, I think it's entirely possible that [it] will be a good day for the president and his core supporters,' Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware said on Saturday.

But he warned that it was still too soon for anyone to celebrate, and no matter what Mueller concludes, there is much more investigating to do.

Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware concedes that the initial findings of the Mueller Report could be positive for the president

'It's the end of the beginning but it's not the beginning of the end,' the Democratic member of the Senate Judiciary Committee said in a Saturday conference call, echoing his party's strategy moving forward.

Congressional Democrats plotted strategy Saturday as they awaited the conclusions of Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, with senior lawmakers demanding full transparency and preparing for next steps if the results were favorable to Trump.

House Democrats conferenced by phone to share what they knew about the probe and to discuss how to move forward.

It was unclear when they would have more information from Attorney General William Barr, who received the report from Mueller on Friday.

Barr was photographed on Saturday evening arriving at his home in Virginia after spending the day at the Justice Department reading the report.

Barr was on pace to release his first summary on Sunday, people familiar with the process said.

In a call with 120 House Democrats, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would reject any kind of classified briefing on the report and that the information must be provided to Congress in a way that would allow lawmakers to discuss it publicly.

A person on the call described it on condition of anonymity because the session was private.

Democrats were plotting strategy in anticipation of the release of the report's principal conclusions, which are expected to be favorable to President Trump (seen above returning to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida on Saturday)

Pelosi told Democrats that the American people 'deserve the truth,' the person said.

She has said that Barr's offer to provide Congress with a summary of conclusions was 'insufficient.'

Six committee chairmen also spoke on the call, reiterating the push for releasing the report and underlying documents.

The conclusion of Mueller's probe comes as House Democrats have launched several of their own into Trump and his personal and political dealings.

Democrats have said they have to see the full report from Mueller, including underlying evidence, before they can assess it.

Those demands for information are setting up a potential tug of war between Congress and the Trump administration that federal judges might eventually have to referee.

Six Democratic committee chairmen wrote in a letter to Barr on Friday that if Mueller has any reason to believe that Trump 'has engaged in criminal or other serious misconduct,' then the Justice Department should not conceal it.

'The president is not above the law and the need for public faith in our democratic institutions and the rule of law must be the priority,' the chairmen wrote.

It's unclear what Mueller has found related to the president, or if any of it would be damning.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller has reportedly recommended no further indictments in the Russia investigation

In his investigation of whether Trump's campaign coordinated with Russia to sway the 2016 election, Mueller has already brought charges against 34 people, including six aides and advisers to the president, and three companies.

Lawmakers say they need that underlying evidence - including interviews, documents and material turned over to the grand jury - because the Justice Department has maintained that a president cannot be indicted and also that derogatory information cannot be released about people who have not been charged.

So if the investigation did find evidence incriminating Trump, they may not be able to release it, under their own guidelines.

The Democrats say it could be tantamount to a cover-up if the department did not let Congress and the public know what they found.

Barr testified at his confirmation hearings that he wants to release as much information as he can about the inquiry.

But the department's regulations require only that the attorney general report to Congress that the investigation has concluded and describe or explain any times when he or Rosenstein decided an action Mueller proposed 'was so inappropriate or unwarranted' that it should not be pursued.

Barr said Friday there were no such instances where Mueller was thwarted.

But anything less than the full report won't be enough for Democrats.

'If the AG plays any games, we will subpoena the report, ask Mr. Mueller to testify, and take it all to court if necessary,' said Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y.

'The people deserve to know.'

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff told CNN on Friday that he's willing to subpoena Mueller and Barr, if needed, to push for disclosure.

Though Trump himself has said the report should be made public, it's not clear whether the administration would fight subpoenas for testimony or block the transmission of grand jury material.

Attorney General William Barr is seen above arriving at his home in McLean, Virginia on Saturday after having spent the day at the Justice Department reading the Mueller Report

If the administration decides to fight, lawmakers could ask federal courts to step in and enforce a subpoena.

A court fight could, in theory, reach the Supreme Court.

But few tussles between Congress and the White House get that far. They often are resolved through negotiation.

In both the Clinton and Obama administrations, even when talks failed and courts got involved in assessing claims of executive privilege, the White House decided not to take the fight to the high court and complied with lower court rulings against it.

The Democrats, led by Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, could also formally ask Mueller to send his committee evidence that could be used in possible impeachment proceedings against Trump, as suggested by Benjamin Wittes, a senior Brookings Institution fellow and editor-in-chief of the Lawfare blog.

That's the course one of Nadler's predecessors followed during Watergate, although an impeachment inquiry against President Richard Nixon had already started by that point.

Grand jury material from special counsel Leon Jaworski, provided through the federal judge who presided over the Watergate trials, became the road map that the House committee used to vote for articles of impeachment.

Nixon resigned before the full House acted on his impeachment.

Pelosi said recently that she's not for impeaching Trump, at least for now.
Rafi Eitan, a former Israeli minister and veteran spy who led the operation to capture Holocaust mastermind Adolf Eichmann, died on Saturday at the age of 92.

Mr Eitan was one of the founders of Israel's intelligence community and among its most prominent figures in Israel and abroad.

His 1960 operation to capture Eichmann in Argentina and bring him to trial in Jerusalem was perhaps Mossad's most memorable mission.

Israeli Rafi Eitan during the 2011 opening of an exhibition about Eichmann's capture. He has died at the age of 92

It brought to life the horrors of the Nazi 'Final Solution', of which Eichmann was the architect, creating a blueprint to wipe out the entire Jewish population of Europe.

Eichmann was convicted in 1961 of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He was hanged the following year  the only time Israel has carried out a death sentence.

'Rafi was among the heroes of the intelligence services of the State of Israel on countless missions on behalf of the security of Israel,' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in tribute.

Mossad director Yossi Cohen said the majority of Eitan's exploits still remain unknown to the general public (Eitan pictured in January 2016 sits during a ceremony to mark 55 years since the Eichmann trial)

'His wisdom, wit and commitment to the people of Israel and our state were without peer.'

Known as the 'architect of the Holocaust' for his role in coordinating the Nazi genocide policy, Eichmann fled Germany after the Second World War and assumed the name Ricardo Klement in Argentina.

Adolf Eichmann, dubbed the architect of the Holocaust, while on trial in Israel

Mr Eitan, who headed a seven-man team on the ground, grabbed Eichmann on the way back to his Buenos Aires home, shoved him into a car and spirited him to a safe house.

In the back seat of the car, one agent shoved a gloved hand inside Eichmann's mouth in case he had a cyanide pill hidden in a tooth, as some former top Nazis were known to have to foil their capture.

Mr Eitan identified Eichmann by searching his body for distinctive scars on his arm and stomach, recalling years later: 'And once I felt it I was convinced. This is the man  we got Eichmann.'

Mossad director Yossi Cohen said the majority of Mr Eitan's exploits still remain unknown to the general public.

'His work and his actions will be etched in gold letters in the annals of the state,' Mr Cohen said in a statement.

'The foundations that Rafi laid in the first years of the state are a significant layer in the activities of the Mossad even today.'

Mr Eitan is embraced by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin in his Jerusalem residence in 2016

Mr Eitan, who was born on a kibbutz in British-ruled Palestine in November 1926, also won a rare eulogy from the Shin Bet domestic security service, for whom he had worked.

'Rafi, who was one of the founders of the Shin Bet's operations branch, led and participated in dozens of groundbreaking operations that will remain unknown for many years to come,' agency chief Nadav Argaman wrote in a statement.

'We grieve at his passing and are proud to continue on his path.'

Mr Eitan in 2007 at the site of the former German Nazi Auschwitz camp

Mr Eitan was also known for being the handler of Pentagon spy Jonathan Pollard, a US intelligence analyst who passed information to Israel in the 1980s.

Pollard was arrested in 1985 and pleaded guilty, in an espionage affair that embarrassed Israel and severely tarnished its relations with the United States.

Mr Eitan claimed his actions were sanctioned by his superiors, but eventually was forced to resign his post.

He went into business and later in life entered politics and scored an election sensation in 2006, at the age of 79, as head of the Pensioners Party, garnering seven seats in the 120-seat parliament and becoming a cabinet minister in Ehud Olmert's government.

'I had a heart operation a year ago, I can't see anything and I can't hear anything, but I run every morning, I sculpt and my wife says I'm doing well,' Mr Eitan said on becoming a lawmaker.

The short and stocky Mr Eitan was easily recognizable by his mop of white hair and his thick, large framed eyeglasses.

Mr Eitan, a longtime friend of Ariel Sharon, began his career fighting in the Palmach pre-state army, where he was wounded in battle and became partially deaf.

It was then he also earned his nickname, 'Stinky Rafi,' after hiding in a pit of sewage while on a mission. Sharon continued to affectionately call him 'the Stinker' for the next half century.

Mr Eitan died after being hospitalized in Tel Aviv, YNET news website and other Israeli media reported.
The Muslim-American Gold Star father who denounced then-candidate Donald Trump at the Democratic National Convention in 2016 criticized the president for attacking John McCain while praising Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un.

Khizr Khan is the Pakistani-American whose son Humayun Khan, a captain in the United States Army, was killed while serving in Iraq in 2004.

He has good words to say about Putin, our adversary, Khan told CNN on Thursday.

Khizr Khan (left) slammed President Trump (right) on Thursday for his comments about the late Senator John McCain

Khan revealed on Thursday that he and McCain were friends for years. The late senator (above) died of brain cancer last summer

He has good words to say about Kim Jong-un, yet he disrespects our hero, he disrespects Senator McCain and his family.

What a moment of shame for us to have such a commander-in-chief.

The bereaved father said that he had known McCain, the late senator from Arizona, for years.

Khan told CNN on Thursday that the last book his son read before he was killed in Iraq was McCains Why Courage Matters: The Way To A Braver Life.

While serving his country in Iraq in 2004, at the age of 27, Humayun Khan was killed as he ran towards a suicide bomber who had burst into his base in a taxi - and probably saved the lives of hundreds of soldiers.

After Humayun Khan told his father that he and the other soldiers in his camp were reading the book, Khizr Khan said that McCain agreed to personally sign the book and inscribe a message to dozens of cadets who were serving alongside his son.

Khan is the father of Humayun Khan, a United States Army captain who was killed in Iraq by a suicide bomber in 2004

In the ensuing years, Khan and McCain would meet so that the senator could sign and inscribe books for newly enlisted cadets.

Khan on Thursday took a swipe at Trump, saying that the president needed to read the book in order to understand some things that are not teachable like empathy and feeling...the pain that the other person may be feeling.

At least somebody should pick up that book and in easy English read it to him, maybe he will learn, Khan said.

Trump has repeatedly criticized McCain in recent days, once again sparking outrage given that the late senator died from brain cancer last summer.

The president told a crowd gathered for a rally in Ohio this week that the McCain family did not thank him for approving the funeral arrangements.

The comments prompted McCains daughter, The View co-host Meghan McCain, to defend her father.

Meghan McCain said on Thursday that the presidents comments reminded her of Trumps criticisms of the Khans from 2016.

Khan also slammed Trump for continuing his attacks on McCain even though he is not alive to respond.

Senator McCain had passed seven months ago, Khan said.

Khizr Khan says that McCain's book, Why Courage Matters: The Way to a Braver Life, was the last book his son read before he was killed

There is [a] limit. There is height of this clownishness.

I really don't have the words to condemn his behavior except to say that that office, that place where he sits has not changed him a bit.

He said that Trump's recent comments about McCain should give the president's supporters 'pause.'

'He's exactly saying what he was before the election, before he became [a] candidate, how he has lived his life and this is a moment to pause for those who support him,' Khan said.

'Nothing has changed.'

Khan said Trump has 'defrauded' his supporters 'as a hoaxer.'

'He showed them something that is not there,' he said.

'Now they have seen the true Trump who supports Putin, Kim Jong-un, but does not support the hero of this nation.'

Khan is a former Republican who switched allegiance to the Democrats after Trump proposed banning Muslims during the campaign and escalated his rhetoric against illegal immigrants.

He appeared with his wife, Ghazala Khan, at the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia and held a copy of the Constitution while slamming Trump.

Trump criticized Khan and his wife, wondering aloud why she stood there silently while her husband spoke.

The remarks by Trump sparked outrage, and prompted McCain to come to the Khans defense.

Trump attacked John McCain yet again on Thursday, calling him 'horrible' after the late senator's two daughters begged earlier that day for the president to leave their dad and family alone.

'I'm not a fan. He was horrible what he did with repeal and replace. What he did to the Republican Party and to the nation, and to sick people that could have had great health care was not good. So I'm not a fan of John McCain and that's fine,' Trump told Fox Business Network.

The president has repeatedly complained about McCain's 2017 vote on the GOP's so-called 'skinny repeal' of Obamacare, which would have repealed the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and rolled back a tax on medical devices.

Khizr Khan and his wife, Ghazala, appeared at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July 2016 to slam Trump for his comments about banning Muslims from the United States

McCain gave a dramatic thumbs down on the Senate floor during the vote, which killed Republican efforts to take down former President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law.

Trump has railed repeatedly against his late nemesis for the past week, starting off with a flurry of critical tweets over the weekend that segued into harsher language in the past few days.

But he denied to Fox Business Network he's spending a lot of time talking about the Vietnam War hero even as he went back to attacking McCain over the infamous Golden Showers dossier, a document with unverified allegations the Russians have blackmail material on the president.

'It's not a good portion of my time, it's a very small portion. But if you realize about three days ago it came out that his main person gave to the FBI the fake news dossier. It was a fake, it was a fraud, it was paid for by Hillary Clinton and the Democrats. They gave it to John McCain who gave it to the FBI for very evil purposes, that's not good,' he said.

Fox Business Network's anchor Maria Bartiromo pressed him on attacking someone who was dead and could not respond.

'But Mr. President, he's dead. He can't punch back. I know you punch back, but he's dead,' she said.

'No, I don't talk about it,' Trump said. 'People ask me the question, I didn't bring this up. You just brought it up, you asked the question.'

He added: 'You asked me the question, when I went out yesterday to the scrum they asked me the question. When they ask me the question, I answer the question. But you people bring it up, I don't bring it up.'

In fact Trump had spoken about McCain in Ohio on Thursday at a speech which featured no questions from reporters or members of the audience.

The interview was filmed shortly after McCain's daughters both pleaded with the president to leave their father and their family alone.

Khan appeared on CNN the same day that President Trump once again attacked McCain, calling him 'horrible'

In 2017, McCain gave a dramatic thumbs' down on a GOP vote to repeal Obamacare

McCain's youngest daughter Bridget made a rare public statement in defense of her late father and slammed President Trump in the process, calling him a 'child' and saying he wasn't invited to senator's funeral because 'you could not be counted on to be courteous.'

Bridget McCain, 27, offered her thoughts on the president's attacks on her father via her Twitter account, which her sister Meghan McCain then read Thursday morning on ABC's 'The View.'

'My little sister Bridget for the first time ever has decided that she wants to speak out,' Meghan McCain announced before sharing her younger sibling's reaction.

'Mr. Trump, everyone doesn't have to agree with my dad or like him, but I do ask that you be decent and respectful. If you can't do those two things, be mindful. We only said good-bye to him almost seven months ago. Even if you were invited to my dad's funeral, you would have only wanted to be there for credit and not for the condolences. Unfortunately, you could not be counted on to be courteous as you are a child in the most important role the world knows,' McCain read.

Her sister was adopted by the McCains from Bangladesh and until now has made rare appearances in public life.

Trump complained during a visit to a manufacturing plant in Ohio on Wednesday that he didn't get thanked for giving McCain 'the kind of funeral that he wanted.'

'I endorsed him at his request and I gave him the kind of funeral that he wanted, which as president I had to approve. I don't care about this, I didn't get a thank-you. That's okay. We sent him on the way. But I wasn't a fan of John McCain,' Trump said.

He claimed he 'got asked about' the late war hero but the comment came during a free-wheeling speech which was uninterrupted by questions from anyone.

His claim that there were no thanks was also challenged by McCain supporters Thursday.

They highlighted how in August, shortly after McCain's death from brain cancer, his former campaign manager Rick Davis offered a message of thanks from the McCain family to the Trump administration for their help with the funeral.

Meghan McCain read her sister Bridget McCain's defense of their late father during 'The View' on Thursday

John McCain with daughters Bridget and Meghan and wife Cindy on Election Night 2010 in Phoenix

'The combined efforts of the Trump administration, the White House, Secretary Mattis and the Department of Defense, especially and the Military District of Washington, are very experienced in these issues related to the logistics of a funeral of this magnitude. And we really thank them for coming together very quickly and pulling together all the federal resources that we have,' he said at the time.

And a spokesperson for the Washington National Cathedral said the president's permission was not needed for McCain's memorial service to be held there.

'Washington National Cathedral was honored to host the funeral service for Senator John McCain. All funerals and memorial services at the Cathedral are organized by the family of the deceased; only a state funeral for a former president involves consultation with government officials,' the spokesperson said. 'No funeral at the Cathedral requires the approval of the president or any other government official.'

The president was criticized after McCain's death for not keeping the flag flying at the White House at half-staff. It was eventually lowered and stayed that way until McCain was buried.

He was not invited to the funeral at the late senator's request. Former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush gave the eulogies. A slew of political VIPs - Bill and Hillary Clinton, Michael Bloomberg, Joe Biden, Mitt Romney and others - were in attendance.

It was a rare public statement from Bridget McCain in defense of her father

It was notable that Bridget McCain broke her long public silence and weighed in on the matter. The youngest McCain child has stayed out of the national spotlight and rarely appeared with her father in his public life.

She did read a bible verse at her father's memorial service at North Phoenix Baptist Church this past August.

But she has otherwise stayed out of the public arena.

'It's very brave of her. She's young and she does not speak publicly,' Meghan McCain said on 'The View.'

She also noted her younger sister is 'very, very private.'

'Anyone who knows anything about political history could probably surmise why she's chosen to lead a very private life but she felt inclined to say and tweet this,' Meghan McCain said.
An Islamic school teacher was horrified to discover her Audi Q5 luxury SUV covered in garbage after leaving work on Thursday.

An image snapped outside the unnamed school in western Sydney shows bags of rubbish piled on top of the white car, as well as sanitary pads placed on the door handles and wheels stuffed with trash.

The despicable act comes less than a week after the tragic Christchurch shooting that killed 50 worshipers in two mosques in New Zealand.

Covered in garbage, door handles jammed with sanitary pads and wheels stuffed with trash: This is not how an Islamic school teacher expected to find their car after a long day at work

'Even to go to the disgusting point of pushing used sanitary pads into the door handles of her car,' an anonymous source said

An anonymous source known to the teacher told Daily Mail Australia the vandalism left them feeling deeply disappointed.

'Even to go to the disgusting point of pushing used sanitary pads into the door handles of her car,' they said.

They believe someone living in the neighbourhood with 'anti-Muslim feelings' was responsible for the vandalism.

Neighbours with 'anti-Muslim feelings' are responsible, according to an anonymous source

Names of the school and those involved have been withheld to prevent retaliation

The source said most people in the area are 'welcoming' and the actions appear to be limited to 'a very small number of people'

'I'm so disappointed to see teachers get discriminated against in an area that I call home on a semi frequent basis.

'I know this behaviour is not reflective of everyone and I honestly do believe that the people of the area are welcoming and supportive as a whole.'

Police were called after the incident and a report was made.

No charges have been laid.

Names of the school and those involved have been withheld to prevent retaliation.

Police were called after the incident and a report was made. No charges have been laid

An anonymous source believes people in the area are 'welcoming' and the actions are limited to 'a very small number of people'




If you thought Jeremy Corbyn was something of a dope, just take a look at his youngest son.

Tommy Corbyn is pictured smoking what looks suspiciously like a joint, but he insists it is legal.

The 25-year-old was seen taking deep drags on the roll-up outside a cafe in Notting Hill, West London, where medicinal cannabis products are on sale.

Jeremy Corbyn's youngest son Tommy, 25, was spotted smoking what looked suspiciously like a joint outside a cafe in Notting Hill, West London

The 25-year-old, who took deep drags on the roll-up, insists he was smoking a type of hemp that is not illegal

He had put green buds in a 'rasta pocket grinder' before tipping them into his rolling paper. But last night Mr Corbyn said he was just smoking a type of hemp that is not illegal, as it only contains the compound CBD and not the psychoactive ingredient THC.

He and his girlfriend Chloe Kerslake-Smith plan to start selling legal cannabis-derived products in North London. They have set up two companies, The National Hemp Service and Hemp Cafe.

Mr Corbyn's father supports a relaxation of drugs law. Last year the Labour leader said: 'Criminalising people for possession of small amounts of cannabis is not a particularly good idea.

Tommy Corbyn and his girlfriend Chloe Kerslake-Smith, 25, plan to start selling legal cannabis-derived products in North London

The 25-year-old (pictured with his father, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn) together with his girlfriend has set up two companies- The National Hemp Service and Hemp Cafe
Students in Kentucky took a break from calculus and dodgeball to learn so real-life skills to help them 'adult' when they leave school.

Bullitt Central High School in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, have been educating its seniors in practical skills to help them become better prepared for 'real life.'

The so called 'adulting day,' held in the school, offered students workshops covering a whole host of adult topics from cooking to budgeting.

Bullitt Central High School in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, where seniors were shown dishes to cook while at college

On its Facebook page, Bullitt Central High School said it wanted its students 'to gain more knowledge and skills pertaining to their lives once they leave.'

Graduating seniors were able to choose which workshops they wanted to attend and could pick three out of 11.

Students interested in basic car maintenance skills were shown how to change a tire.

Others learnt how to whip up meals in their dorm room, presumably to help them save money and so they wouldn't have to eat out all the time.

Financial topics were also discussed from savings accounts to checking accounts, and how to responsibly use credit cards and build a credit score.

Finance topics were discussed such as budgeting and how to use credit cards responsibly

Students were also told how to behave if they were pulled over by a police officer

The Shepherdsville Police Department also came by and students were shown how to behave if they were pulled over by a police officer.

Members of the Army discussed potential careers in the military and the realities of army life while students took part in fitness drills.

On its Facebook page, Bullitt Central High School said it wanted its students 'to gain more knowledge and skills pertaining to their lives once they leave.'
Barnaby Joyce has come under fire after clashing with a female Senator live on air during Channel Seven's NSW state election coverage.

The former National Party leader became embroiled in a heated exchange with NSW Labor Senator Jenny McAllister within two minutes of being introduced to viewers as a panellist during Saturday's night televised election coverage.

The pair locked horns after Joyce dismissed claims by Channel Seven political commentator Mark Riley that state issues in country NSW such as water, drought and the massive fish kill in the state's west crossed over to the federal level.

NSW Labor Senator Jenny McAllister (left) and Barnaby Joyce (right) became embroiled in a fiery exchange on live television during Saturday night's NSW state election coverage

'A lot of that, Mark, is a message for the city, it's not the message you hear in the country,' Joyce said.

'What resonates for you is not what the true knowledge on the ground is in regional areas. Don't confuse the two messages.'

When asked for her thoughts, Senator McAllister expressed surprise at his comments but didn't get the chance to finish her first sentence before Joyce began talking over her.

Senator Jenny McAllister (pictured) snapped at the former National Party leader during Channel Seven's coverage after becoming fed up with his constant interrptions

She continued but became fed up when he interrupted her several more times.

'May I finish my remarks,' a frustrated Senator McAllister eventually snapped.

Joyce obliged but insisted on having the last word after she wrapped up her comments.

'Finished? You're wrong,' he said before throwing his hands up in the air as the discussion awkwardly stalled.

Channel Seven viewers weren't impressed after seeing Joyce's on-air exchange

Shocked viewers were quick to take to social media to slam Joyce's 'rude' on-air treatment of Senator McAllister.

'Seven News Sydney should be ashamed of themselves for not moderating that redneck misogynistic bully boy Barnaby Joyce. Senator McAllister just ridden over rough-shod and all the men just shrug. Disgusting, demeaning, and all too common,' a woman tweeted.

He was also criticised by male viewers.

Within two minutes of appearing on air, Barnaby Joyce was already sparking controversy

'Barnaby Joyce really showed his true colours last night. No doubt he was making a strong pitch for the Nat's leadership while being rude and belittling to other panel members. The bloke is a disgrace,' one man tweeted.

Another added: 'Senator McAllister bullied by Barnaby Joyce and host doesn't back her up?'

Joyce was also slammed by his own colleagues.

Liberal MP Trent Zimmermann suggested Joyce spend more time in Tamworth and less time on TV.

Joyce was a federal Senator before he quit in 2013 to runin the lower house for the seat of New England in Northern NSW.
Renowned Australian artist and author Jack Absalom died in hospital on Friday aged 91.

Dubbed the 'Brushman of the Bush', Absalom was best known for his landscape paintings and bush survival skills.

Also a miner and professional kangaroo shooter, he had several television shows on the ABC in the 1970s and 1980s.

Australian artist, author and man of the land Jack Absalom (pictured) died on Friday, aged 91

Born in Port Augusta in South Australia, he grew up in outback Australia after his family moved to the Nullarbor Plain when he was five.

A man of the land, Absalom spent much of his adult life in Broken Hill in far west NSW, where he and his wife Mary raised five children.

He didn't become a professional artist until later in life in the 1970s, which led to opening his art gallery in 1997.

The gallery has become a Broken Hill tourist attraction with more than 100,000 visitors a year.

In 2006, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for service to the visual arts as an artist.

Jack had his own art gallery in Broken Hill which attracted more than 100,000 visitors a year

He was also a member of the 'Brushmen of the Bush' - a group of five artists that exhibited in Australia and worldwide for many years, raising thousands of dollars for charity.

Members of the exclusive group included Pro Hart and John Pickup, who described Absalom as larger than life.

'I have the fondest regard for the nearly 20 years that I had in Jack's company,' Pickup told the ABC.

'Not only Broken Hill, but Australia, has lost a very fine artist.'

Many others who knew Absalom have also paid tribute.

'So fortunate to spend time getting to know this legend when I lived in the Far West. He truly was one of a kind,' one woman tweeted.
For a man said to have no enemies in the Commons, the notion of David Lidington (pictured) as Acting Prime Minister met with a less-than-friendly reaction from party colleagues last night

For a man said to have no enemies in the Commons, the notion of David Lidington as Acting Prime Minister met with a less-than-friendly reaction from party colleagues last night.

Tory arch-Brexiteers expressed astonishment, asking how installing the passionately pro-European MP as Theresa Mays successor could possibly be the answer to the partys ever-deepening Brexit crisis.

If you think the Tories are split now, just wait till Mr Europe takes the reins, fumed one Minister.

And even pro-Remain MPs have their doubts.

His reputation is so pro-European Union, the Brexit hard-core in the ERG group will eat him alive, sighed one.

For which, blame David Cameron, who used Mr Lidington as his Europe spokesman in Opposition and then as fully-fledged Europe Minister from 2010 to 2016.

No one in Government was more horrified at the Brexit referendum result than David Lidington.

But that partly explains his value to Mrs May, especially in his role as her de facto deputy since January 2018.

He knows the subject inside out, although thats a crime in itself for the Hard Brexit gang, one MP said.

The famously bright Mr Lidington (pictured) read history at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge  captaining the college team which won University Challenge in 1978

Born in 1956, the same year as the Prime Minister, the famously bright Mr Lidington read history at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge  captaining the college team which won University Challenge in 1978.

Having worked as an adviser to Douglas Hurd at both the Home Office and Foreign Office, he became MP for Aylesbury in 1992  just in time to experience the Tory nightmare of Black Wednesday.

A keep-fit fan, the 62-year-old is a regular in the Commons gym  or was until the Brexit crisis spiralled out of control. The father-of-fours unfailing courtesy and disdain for the traditional cut-and-thrust of Commons debates may leave him with few enemies but it has led to critics branding him the Grey Man of the Government.

Grey but quietly effective, in Mrs Mays eyes. Although not officially second-in-command, he deputises for her in the Commons and is  mostly  always at her side.

That said, the Brexit mayhem even appears to be taking its toll on Mr Lidingtons attention to detail  he accidentally voted with Labour last week on a health regulation motion.

British Prime Minister Theresa May holds a press conference on Friday, at the end of the first day of an EU summit focused on Brexit, in Brussels

And Tory MPs dreading a long Brexit extension could not help noticing how earlier this month, he branded a short, one-off extension as downright reckless.

But allies stress his One Nation Tory credentials and point out that, like the Prime Minister, he was a Remainer who has publicly accepted the verdict of the 2016 referendum.

Mr Lidington said recently: I am the man who stands on the stage spinning plates on the top of poles.

Every now and then, the PM gives me another plate and I have to keep that going as well.

Critics hope hes not set to become the man who hands out the plates himself?
After a torturous 14 hours at the EU Council, the Prime Minister returned to the British residency in Brussels in the early hours of Friday morning and demanded a large whisky.

But back in Westminster, her closest Cabinet colleagues were preparing to hand Theresa May a revolver to go with it.

Senior Cabinet Ministers and allies are privately urging Mrs May to set a departure date to help get her beleaguered Brexit deal over the line as a matter of arithmetic.

Michael Gove (right) has emerged as a consensus candidate who could bring the crucial backing of both Remainers and Brexiteers, and act as a caretaker Prime Minister should a plot to force Mrs May (left) from office go ahead

Cabinet sources have told The Mail on Sunday that Mr Lidington was initially reluctant to step into the role of caretaker but was told it would be a four-month job' with a strict mandate

But others have simply decided her time is up and have spent the last three days plotting how to oust her.

A senior Downing Street source told this newspaper: Discussions about the Prime Ministers future are ongoing.

On Friday evening, David Lidington, the pro-EU Cabinet Office boss and de facto deputy PM, was said to be in the advanced stages of a plot to force Mrs May from office and herald a long Brexit extension as an interim leader who could build a cross-party Brexit deal.

But as news of the plan leaked, it sparked a furious Cabinet backlash that saw Michael Gove emerge as a consensus candidate who could bring the crucial backing of both Remainers and Brexiteers.

Cabinet sources have told The Mail on Sunday that Mr Lidington was initially reluctant to step into the role of caretaker but was told it would be a four-month job with a three-pronged mandate: to negotiate a long extension, to oversee testing of what Parliament wants and to ensure a fair Tory leadership contest.

A source said: David is 60. It would be his last job in politics and what a way to go out. The key players are on board. Its just a matter of when.

The Mail on Sunday has learnt that Cabinet big beasts including Amber Rudd and Jeremy Hunt have urged Mr Lidington to knock on the door and call time on Mrs Mays premiership.

The Mail on Sunday has learnt that Cabinet big beasts including Amber Rudd and Jeremy Hunt have urged Mr Lidington to knock on the door and call time on Mrs Mays premiership

In the febrile atmosphere in Westminster, there were even claims Michael Gove had initially supported Mr Lidington acting as caretaker, with one source claiming the plot was far less factional than Brexit lines.

However, as word of Mr Lidingtons manoeuvrings ripped through Westminster on Friday evening, Brexiteer Ministers were quick to brand the Cabinet politicking a Remainer coup, with former Vote Leave boss Mr Gove touted by Ministers and MPs for the job instead.

One senior Cabinet Minister told The Mail on Sunday: The British public will never forgive us if, in a time of historical crisis, our answer is David Lidington.

This is where it is going to get very scary, whatever you think about it.

If we do not deliver Brexit, we are so unbelievably f*****, not just as a party or a government, but in a national way. Now is the time to be bold. A customs union is a cop out  its the easiest solution for Parliament but the worst solution for the country.

It has to be her deal, or no deal. We cannot be allowed to drift into the worst position and that is what David Lidington is manoeuvring us to  there is no upside to it.

And another Cabinet Minister branded the plot a f****** coup.

...And if he gets into No 10, will old foe Boris ever get him out? Bookies last night slashed Michael Goves odds of being the next Prime Minister. The Environment Secretary is now 5/1 joint favourite with his rival Boris Johnson to take the Tory crown. Should Mr Gove secure the keys to No 10, it would be a remarkable turnaround after he stabbed Mr Johnson in the back during in the 2016 Tory leadership battle, when he withdrew his support for his fellow Brexit campaigner at the last minute so he could stand himself. Bitter rivals: Michael Gove and Boris Johnson pull pints of beer at the Old Chapel pub in Darwen in Lancashire, as part of the Vote Leave EU referendum campaign Having initially been sacked by the victorious Theresa May, Mr Gove was subsequently brought back into the Cabinet fold and has spent the last year being studiously loyal to the Prime Minister in public, as he sought to repair his reputation among the Tory grassroots. Although Mr Gove was touted as a consensus caretaker last night, Mr Johnson will be wary of letting his nemesis become Tory leader without a fight. Last night, a Ladbrokes spokesman said: Money for Michael Gove in the past few days has left the firm with no choice but to cut his odds of becoming the next PM. Mr Gove continues to attract punters cash. Advertisement

Outside of the Cabinet, one Minister furiously rejected Mr Lidington stepping in, saying: You might as well put the permanent secretaries in charge.

They added: This is a pipe dream for the bland brigade, who must be deluded if they think replacing uncertainty with more uncertainty is going to fix anything.

The backlash also broke on to the airwaves and social media, as Tory MPs began openly discussing Mrs May standing down.

After it emerged Mr Lidington had discussed soft-Brexit plans with Labour MPs, Tory Brexiteer Michael Fabricant compared his pro-EU stance to that of Britains appeasing of Hitler in the 1930s.

The outspoken backbencher hit out: With the PM acting like Chamberlain, we now have David Lidington freelancing and acting like Lord Halifax hoping to come to an accommodation with Labour. Enough is enough! Asked if the PM would still be in post by next month, fellow Tory Marcus Fysh told BBC2s Newsnight: I dont know.

We are starting to get to the stage where it really would have been good to have better negotiations going on, he added. And fellow Leaver James Duddridge, tweeted #Resign.

Tory peer Lord Gadhia said: She may not survive to the end of the week. He added: It is quite possible that she herself may decide actually, look, I am an obstacle to a resolution of this process. So we may have a very dramatic week.

Leadership speculation is gripping all corners of the parliamentary Conservative party, with other Ministers privately accepting that a General Election under a new leader would be needed to achieve a fresh mandate from the public ahead of Round Two of EU negotiations over a trade deal.

And Brexiteer hardliners in the European Research Group are determined not to repeat their disastrous implosion during the 2016 leadership battle which allowed Mrs May, who had campaigned to Remain, to come through the divided Brexiteers.

Senior MPs in the ERG plan to hold their own leadership contest to unite around one candidate. They point out a Brexiteer only needs to come second, with 105 MPs behind them, to proceed to the final round  a vote of the overwhelmingly Eurosceptic party membership.

Last night a source close to Mr Lidington said the claims from his Cabinet colleagues were nonsense, adding: David has not discussed anything of the sort. His focus is on getting the PMs deal agreed.
As a schoolgirl, Caroline Farrow relished discussing politics and current affairs around the kitchen table with her family.

Her parents, both teachers, encouraged robust debate and Caroline and her elder sister were precociously well informed.

'Freedom of speech and expression was drummed into us from an early age,' she says.

She was ten in 1984, a landmark year when George Orwell's vision of a totalitarian future was revisited and reappraised.

Catholic journalist Caroline Farrow, 44, was told by Surrey Police that she had to attend an interview under caution or face arrest after she used the wrong pronoun to describe a transgender woman

Her father explained the novel's concepts of Big Brother, Newspeak and the Thought Police, and Caroline was fascinated.

'But I remember thinking at the time that none of it could ever come true,' she says.

Now 44, and a trenchant Catholic journalist, priest's wife and occasional TV commentator, Mrs Farrow was reminded of Orwellian themes last Monday when, in the middle of preparing dinner for her husband Robin and five children, a policewoman rang her at home with a startling demand.

Mrs Farrow was told she must attend an interview under caution or face arrest because she had used the wrong pronoun to describe a transgender woman.

Suddenly the dystopia described in Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four began to feel all too real. Scarcely able to absorb what she was hearing, she felt, in sharp succession, disbelief, fear and anger.

Anger because Mrs Farrow herself had been the victim of a cyber stalking campaign which, at its vile worst, made her fear for her family's safety  but which, she says, police failed to take seriously.

'It's double standards. When the complaint involves the word transgender, police leap into action,' she says. 'Something has gone terribly wrong in this country.'

In the event, the four-month Surrey Police investigation into Mrs Farrow, which prompted much controversy last week when made public, was hastily dropped as it hurtled towards full-blown fiasco.

Following a TV debate with Susie Green, the head of trans rights charity Mermaids, Mrs Farrow later called Ms Green's daughter Jackie (pictured) 'him' instead of 'her' on Twitter and said Mermaids promoted child abuse

Critics called the probe a waste of time and money at a time when officers are struggling with high levels of knife crime.

The roots of the sorry affair appear to lie in a TV debate. Mrs Farrow, known for her deeply held religious views, and Susie Green, the head of trans rights charity Mermaids, clashed on ITV's Good Morning Britain about Girl Guides allowing children who have changed gender to join the organisation.

Mrs Farrow later called Ms Green's daughter Jackie 'him' instead of 'her' on Twitter and said Mermaids promoted child abuse.

Five weeks later, Ms Green complained to police.

One of Mrs Farrow's tweets read: 'What she did to her own son [the youngest person in the world to undergo transgender surgery] is illegal.

She mutilated him by having him castrated and rendered sterile while still a child.'

Many might consider Mrs Farrow's choice of words unpleasant but she is unapologetic.

She says: 'I deliberately used the words castration and mutilation to shock because what happens is shocking. I was trying to bring home the harsh reality of what she [Ms Green] did.'

Jackie Green, who was born male and was once known as Jack, began taking puberty-blockers at 12, and went to Thailand aged 16 for reassignment surgery, which is now illegal for under-18s.

Whatever one feels about the tweet's tone, Mrs Farrow is convinced most right-minded people would agree it wasn't criminal.

As anger surfaced, Mrs Farrow was left facing a tirade of abuse on social media which made her fear for her family's safety

'Yes, it was strong language but I wanted to make people sit up. I wanted to get the country talking about this. So much is changing in our society.

'The notion of what it is to be a woman or a mother is being erased and rewritten by zealots. People are too scared to question what is going on. The tweets might possibly be spiteful but they were not intended to cause alarm or distress.'

Which is why Mrs Farrow was stunned to receive the phone call from the police officer on Monday as she juggled preparing a meal of gammon, roast potatoes and vegetables for her children  aged between four and 14  with overseeing homework and music practice.

The message left on her voicemail said: 'Hello there, I'm calling from Guildford police station I need to have a chat with you about some tweets that have been sent.'

Mrs Farrow says: 'My husband said, 'You know it's bound to be the trans stuff, you have been talking about this a lot lately and you know the lobbyists are looking to get you.' '

She spoke to the officer later that night. 'I pointed out that 'misgendering' wasn't a crime and that as a Catholic I believed that sex could not be changed.

I explained that the country is in the middle of an ongoing national conversation about sex and gender, what it means to be male and female, and I was contributing to that in a professional capacity.'

The officer reiterated that the CPS had 'authorised us to bring you in for a taped interview'.

That night, managing only an hour's sleep, Mrs Farrow tried to make sense of what was happening. Naturally she feared the worst. Who would look after the children if she went to jail? She would be destroyed. Her husband would lose his job.

The following morning, Mrs Farrow instructed a solicitor. She says: 'My lawyer said it seemed politically motivated but thought the case would be thrown out.

'He warned that I was likely to face a tough interview. What was happening felt so unjust, especially as over the past few months I have endured an unimaginable campaign of harassment, targeting not only me, but my entire family.'

A very PC force's links to trans charity Flying the flag: Inspector David Harland calls himself a 'trans ally' Susie Greens powerful transgender lobby group has forged close links with a police force behind a series of hate crime investigations. West Yorkshire Police launched probes into an award-winning TV writer, a mother of four and a transsexual man following complaints from Mermaids. But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the force received training sessions from Mermaids, which supports medical intervention for transgender children. West Yorkshire Police has promoted Mermaids work, tweeting one of its leaflets. Mermaids has also advised Merseyside Police, NHS staff, social workers, the Scouts and student nurses. One West Yorkshire officer, Inspector David Harland, declared himself on social media to be a trans ally, adding that he was dedicated to doing all I can for the trans community. In February last year, West Yorkshire sent officers to Wiltshire to investigate a mother of four following a complaint by Ms Green. Echoing the Caroline Farrow case, Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull was questioned on suspicion of a malicious communications offence after Ms Green reported her for tweeting that Ms Green had illegally castrated her son by allowing him to have sex change surgery in Thailand at 16. In April 2018, the force received another complaint, this time from Mermaid volunteer Helen Islan. She claimed that transsexual Miranda Yardley, who has had gender reassignment surgery, had outed Ms Islans transgender son by tweeting a picture of Ms Islan with her family, which included the child. West Yorkshire referred this incident to police in Essex, where Ms Yardley lives. In a third case, West Yorkshire officers gave Graham Linehan, co-creator of the hit TV comedy Father Ted, a verbal harassment warning when transgender activist Stephanie Hayden reported him for referring to her as he on Twitter. A force spokeswoman said it was committed to ensuring that anyone who feels targeted due to race, sexual orientation, religion, disability or gender identity is listened to. Advertisement

It should be noted that her stalkers were motivated not by her views on transgender issues but in part by the tragic case of Alfie Evans, the baby at the centre of a legal battle last year over turning off his life support.

It was a morally fraught case that aroused fierce debate, and Mrs Farrow joined the global campaign to keep him alive.

Mrs Farrow often comments on social issues and her deeply held conservative religious views have made her many enemies on social media.

Incensed by her intervention, opponents set up a blog solely for the purpose of attacking the journalist and her family.

On May 3 last year, five days after Alfie's death, a Twitter account posted a link to her home address with the sinister message: 'If anyone fancies having a chat with the illustrious Mrs Farrow'

Even more distressing, someone posted a link to her children's school.

Many of the abusive messages were sexually degrading, referencing her Catholic faith.

At one stage, trolls warned that their 'agents' were on their way to her village. Some of the most upsetting attacks involved her children and comments made about their appearance. Mrs Farrow says there were even attempts at extortion.

'I was ordered to delete all my social-media accounts and pay the LGBT lobby group Stonewall 1,000 if I wanted the blog to cease operation.

'They also got hold of our email addresses and set up accounts with pornographic websites in our name, and pictures. I had to cancel an order for 772 of sex toys.'

On January 8  more than two months after Mrs Farrow made a formal complaint to police  one of the suspected trolls was questioned. But Mrs Farrow was later told no action would be taken.

'I felt really let down. I have suffered so much with this, my mental health has deteriorated and I told the officer that this is the sort of thing that drives people to suicide. I was being hyperbolic, but then things turned nasty.

'The policeman said he needed to report me to social services because I said I was suicidal. Social services called a few weeks later and after chatting to me said I was fine and they would not take it further.

'Yet Susie Green makes a spurious complaint and, bingo, the police are straight on to me.'

Surrey Police said Mrs Farrow's claims of harassment were fully investigated but 'we were unable to find evidence that meets the threshold for criminal proceedings'.

Last Tuesday, the Farrows' 14-year-old daughter had a starring role in a school recital. Mrs Farrow says: 'I knew I was going to have to tell her [about the police interview] but I waited until after her concert.

'She burst into tears at the idea that I could face jail, but regained composure when I said that it was highly unlikely.

'I felt so guilty having to burden her with it and taint such a wonderful evening for her but I also knew that it wouldn't be fair for her to find out from friends.'

The next day, Ms Green withdrew her complaint because she said she did not want to give Mrs Farrow a public 'platform'. Instead of contacting police, she announced her decision on a television show.

Mrs Farrow believes police are only too willing to appease Ms Green and Mermaids, which she thinks is looking for a test case to codify misgendering into law.

Hers is not the first transgender 'hate crime' police have pursued. So far none of them have ended with a successful prosecution.

'Orwell's novel was a cautionary tale and an example of why we always need to be thankful for and guard our freedoms,' says Mrs Farrow. 'I never once envisaged I would face jail for refusing to state that man cannot be woman.'

Surrey Police said: 'We requested Caroline Farrow attend a voluntary interview to understand her intent in relation to the tweets. Details of this invitation were publicly shared and there has been criticism of our decision to investigate.

'We have been in contact with both parties as we have a duty of care towards both, and there was concern for their welfare as a result of publicity.

The victim will withdraw her allegation and has explained her reasoning. Without the support of the victim, it's unlikely a criminal case could be brought.'
A mother, father and their son are accused of running a 'well-organised' drug syndicate allegedly responsible for 'hundreds' of cocaine deals across Sydney.

The trio were arrested by police at a property in Bankstown, 16km southwest of the Sydney, on Friday around 4pm after officers conducted a drug raid.

Police allege Omar Fawaz Mahfouz, 27, was the supplier for the syndicate while both his mother Gladiss Mahfouz, 52, and father Fawaz Mahfouz, 53, allegedly had a hand in running the illegal operation.

Police allege 27-year-old Omar Fawaz Mahfouz (pictured) was the supplier for the syndicate

Mr Mahfouz is accused of taking customer orders via a mobile phone. His mother and father allegedly ran the business and oversaw the finances.

All three family members have been charged with drug supply, dealing with proceeds of crime and participating in a criminal group.

Taxi driver Abdul Arnout, 57, was allegedly employed by the syndicate to transport drugs to buyers across the city.

He was also taken into custody on Friday and was charged with ongoing drug supply, participating in a criminal group and proceeds of crime offences.

Gladiss Mahfouz, 52, (pictured) is alleged to have ran the business alongside her husband

The image shows one of the suspects being arrested on Friday before he was later taken into custody

Detective Inspector Glen Fitzgerald described the alleged drug business as 'well organised' and 'meticulously planned' (Suspect being arrested is pictured)

Police also executed search warrants at homes in Bankstown, Bass Hill, Campsie, and Rhodes.

While searching the properties, officers seized cash, a money counting machine, a baton, and various electronic items.

Detective Inspector Glen Fitzgerald said the alleged drug business would be described as 'well organised' and 'meticulously planned', reported The Daily Telegraph.

The image shows a bag of money that has been seized by New South Wales police officers

Defence lawyer Abigail Bannister said Mrs Mahfouz was a full-time carer for her 80-year-old father.

All four suspects appeared in Parramatta Bail Court yesterday and were refused bail.

The Mahfouz's are due to reappear at Burwood Local Court on March 25.

Mr Arnout is due to reappear at Bankstown Local Court on April 3.

Investigations into the alleged syndicate are continuing.
For a moment, I thought Id stumbled into a vast camping expedition  a slow-moving tide of fleeces, anoraks, walking boots and sandwiches.

Yesterdays Peoples Vote march was a resolutely middle-class affair.

From Hampstead to Hampshire, they came to demand we overturn the largest democratic vote in the history of our nation.

Demonstrator with a sign reading 'less Farage more fromage' at the People's Vote march

Exceedingly politely, of course. But hell-bent, all the same, on a second referendum.

Many on the packed pavements of Central London were decidedly mature in years, flasks of tea and Waitrose quiche at the ready.

One sported a blue beret decorated with yellow stars, armed with a banner reading: Listen to the young! Irony alert: she was about 80. Even the dogs were decked out in EU flags.

There was a younger, Instagram-friendly crowd, too, dressed in hipster tracksuits. And a proliferation of young children draped in EU propaganda and waving placards about safeguarding their future, hastily put together at the family craft table.

Three demonstrators wear felt berets in EU colours and flags draped around their shoulders

Joining proceedings were comedians Steve Coogan and Sandi Toksvig, while a predictable entourage of Remain politicians, including Sadiq Khan, Anna Soubry and Caroline Lucas, were also there.

We were told, breathlessly, that the initial count showed more than a million people were marching. The biggest protest march in UK history!

But, well, it wouldnt be the first time such figures have been inflated. Lets not forget the second Brexit referendum march in October 2018, which organisers claimed had more than 700,000 marchers, when the Greater London Authority put the number at a far more realistic 250,000.

Sophisticated analysis by the website countingcrowds.co.uk, using images of Octobers march, suggested the true number was closer to 82,000. Should the same apply to yesterdays rally, there might have been as few as 120,000 on the streets.

What I will concede, however, is that  for a political protest  the Peoples Vote was by far one of the politest events Ive ever been to.

For every rude poster  shouting Brexs**t, for instance  there were placards that merely fawned over the EU. Even when the crowds chanted b******* to Brexit there was no snarl.

They could have been ordering the gnocchi in Carluccios.

'Stop this tomfoolery' reads one sign while another reminds the crowd 'we can still change our minds'

To catch my breath amid the well-ordered chaos, I did what any true-blooded Brit would do  I went off in search of a restorative cup of tea. The elegant cafes of Mayfair were thronging with ravenous Remainers and their salads were laced with bulgur wheat.

Inside a particularly posh joint, I listened as all hell broke loose when a revolutionary told a waiter off for getting her latte order wrong. Her hand was decorated in flashy silver rings; on her bosom was a badge reading Cancel Brexit.

Suitably refreshed, I continued along the protest route, which took Europhiles away from Park Lane towards St Jamess Street and Pall Mall.

A joke slogan shared on several other placards read 'IKEA has better cabinets'

If I were more of a conspiracy theorist, I might be inclined to suggest the march was designed to promote Londons most elite retail establishments.

It was a veritable tour of the best in bespoke mens tailoring, cigar finery and the most expensive shaving sets Ive ever seen. And no one even tried to loot them!

Music kept everyones spirits up, even if it was sometimes the theme tune from EastEnders, being blasted from a megaphone by two teenage girls.

A dog wears a banner on its coat with the words 'Brexit is ... the wurst' during the People's Vote anti-Brexit march in London today

Why are you playing that? I asked one of them. Why not? she replied, nonchalant, her revolutionary spirit spilling over into outright confrontation.

Otherwise, it was classical music with all its pomp and circumstance that kept the crowds marching.

A man boldly played the 9th Symphony by Beethoven, the EUs anthem, albeit without the support of an orchestra. In fact, his musical device looked a bit like a kazoo. He messed it up, much to the amusement of the hundreds within earshot.

Of course, many Remainers came across as rational in their protests  they adore the EU and dont want to leave. But a lot appeared to have completely lost the plot. There was, for instance, the man whose placard read: If Brexit is the will of the people, then Im a giraffe. He wore a plastic giraffe mask.

A demonstrator wears a sticker on her forehead during a Peoples Vote anti-Brexit march

Others seemed to be using the occasion as an excuse for fancy dress; there was a little boy dressed as an astronaut and someone with a pineapple on their head. An Elvis impersonator weaved through the crowds on a bicycle, a Welsh flag protruding from his panier.

For a moment, I could almost forget the real revolution happening just down the road in Westminster  where hard choices and intransigence could soon cost us a Prime Minister and leave the fate of Britain on a knife edge. For some, yesterday seemed to be a jolly excuse for a day trip to London.

At another popular refuge point  the Hard Rock Cafe  I talked to Emma Fry, 44, who told me she had come in from Bristol, with an army of friends from other parts of the country.

A demonstrator leads a greyhound wearing a suit in the EU colors during a Peoples Vote anti-Brexit march in London

A young couple said theyd come from Hampshire, and Marrion Welham, from the Norfolk-Suffolk border, warned ominously that this whole saga had been dictated by hard Right-wing Research Group MPs... and that Remainers had been not really been given a voice.

Clearly she hasnt been watching too many shows on the BBC.

I worried, as a woman who  at 5ft 2in  is far from imposing, that Id feel intimidated in these crowds. On the contrary, I was rather embraced. I even made the ultimate faux pas: I told people Id voted for Brexit.

It could easily have got ugly. Expecting looks of horror  and perhaps a thrown quiche  I received only sympathetic glances and civility.

This was strangely reassuring  the country may be divided, but at least were not thumping each other. Yet.

Additional reporting by Holly Bancroft
Parliament's security watchdog has launched a probe into 'cover-up' claims around the resignation of GCHQ boss Robert Hannigan first revealed by The Mail on Sunday.

Mystery surrounded the 2017 departure of the spy chief until this newspaper discovered he had helped a paedophile priest escape jail by giving him a character reference, only to see him reoffend.

Theresa May was accused of a cover-up after allowing the powerful director of Britain's listening station and largest spy agency to quietly resign when alerted that Hannigan's connection to Father Edmund Higgins had been unearthed by a sister intelligence agency.

Parliament's security watchdog has launched a probe into 'cover-up' claims around the resignation of GCHQ boss Robert Hannigan who helped a paedophile priest escape jail

At the time of his departure, Mr Hannigan had cited 'family reasons', with the crucial Higgins link kept secret even after the paedophile was jailed for child abuse in 2018.

Now Parliament's intelligence and security committee is investigating whether the Mr Hannigan  at the time a Foreign Office official  used Foreign Office headed notepaper for the 2013 letter defending the disgraced priest, a family friend.

He wrote it shortly before he was promoted to his role at GCHQ and the letter helped Higgins receive a suspended sentence.

Within months, he went on to reoffend by peddling sick online child abuse images, before being snared by the National Crime Agency.

Security sources confirm the committee is probing the incident, with members furious they were 'kept in the dark about a serious national security incident'.
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Hundreds of supporters of Donald Trump gathered outside Trump Tower in New York City, Saturday, to celebrate the end of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's two year long investigation into Russian collusion in the 2016 election.

The gathering was referred to on social media as a 'Happy No Collusion Day' rally.

Many attendees wore MAGA caps and pro-Trump clothing while holding up banners and waving flags.

Local grassroots pro-Trump organizations throughout the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania areas had called supporters to gather, rally and network.

The gathering, which attracted hundreds of Trump supporters, was referred to on social media as a 'Happy No Collusion Day' rally

Supporters rallied on the corner of 5th Avenue and 56th Street in New York City outside Trump Tower

The rally was to celebrate the end of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's two year long investigation into Russian collusion in the 2016 election

One supporter took inspiration from Melania Trump and sported the same jacket worn by the First Lady

Many showed their support for the president to serve a second term, holding placards and waving flags saying, 'Trump 2020'

They rallied on the corner of 5th Avenue and 56th Street in New York City, outside Trump Tower.

Banners were held aloft emblazoned with a host of different messages, like, 'Happy No Collusion Day' while others showed their support for the president to serve a second term and waved flags saying, 'Trump 2020.'

The rally comes the day after Special Counsel Robert Mueller delivered his long-awaited report to Attorney General Bill Barr.

A senior Justice Department official said Friday that Mueller has not recommended any new criminal indictments and there will be no more indictments filed with federal courts.

This would mean the president, his inner circle of present and former confidants and his family members are out of immediate legal jeopardy.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller arrives at his office on March 21, in Washington DC. He has now concluded his two year long investigation into Russian collusion in the 2016 election

President Donald Trump waves and greets supporters as he arrives on Air Force One at the Palm Beach International Airport to spend time at Mar-a-Lago resort on Friday

Local grassroots pro-Trump organizations throughout the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania areas called supporters to gather and rally

Many attendees wore MAGA caps and pro-Trump clothing while holding up banners and waving flags

Trump has said for more than two years that the Mueller probe was a politically motivated operation inspired by an unverified opposition-research dossier funded by the Democratic National Committee and his 2016 rival Hillary Clinton's campaign.

The president has repeatedly blasted the probe as a 'witch hunt' and he repeated his 'no collusion' mantra on Friday morning.

The special counsel's office has filed nearly 200 charges against 34 individuals  including six former Trump advisers and 26 Russians.

Seven of them have pleaded guilty to federal crimes. Judges have sentenced five of them.

The rally comes the day after Special Counsel Robert Mueller delivered his long-awaited report to Attorney General Bill Barr

A senior Justice Department official said Mueller has not recommended any new criminal indictments as he wraps up his Russia probe

A young girl holds a Trump flag during the rally in support of President Donald Trump

Starting young: Supporters of all ages were in attendance at the rally in New York City on Saturday

Attorney General Barr has the momentous job of deciding which portions of Mueller's output can be released in a way that's consistent with federal law

Attorney General Barr has the momentous job of deciding which portions of Mueller's output can be released in a way that's consistent with federal law.

It's possible Barr could send an executive summary to Capitol Hill and keep the rest private.

However, in his letter to Judiciary Committee chairs and ranking minority members, Barr said he is 'committed to as much transparency as possible.'

Barr added that he plans to consult with Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein to decide what information 'can be released to Congress and the public.'

It's possible Barr could send an executive summary to Capitol Hill and keep the rest private

One supporter donned a Trump mask as others waved flags and appeared to be in a celebratory mood

Jovi Val, a local right wing activist, holds a confederate flag during the rally in support of President Donald Trump

The president's lawyers said they were happy to see Mueller bring what has been the Trump administration's longest nettling saga to an end.

'We're pleased that the Office of Special Counsel has delivered its report to the Attorney General pursuant to the regulations. Attorney General Barr will determine the appropriate next steps,' Giuliani and Jay Sekulow said.

Mueller's report followed a series of signals that his expansive probe, which accumulated costs of $25 million through the end of 2018, was entering its final stages.

Supporters of President Donald Trump rallied in front of the Trump Tower in New York City

Trump has said for more than two years that the Mueller probe was a politically motivated operation. The president has repeatedly blasted it as a 'witch hunt' and repeated his 'no collusion' mantra on Friday morning
Mrs al-Allaf was murdered by gunman on a mountain road near Annecy, France

The son of a woman killed in an unsolved quadruple murder in the French Alps has been denied compensation  because of a dispute over the spelling of his fathers name.

The 52-year-old suffers from severe mental illness and has been forced to live in a care home in Britain since his mother and carer, Suhaila al-Allaf, was shot dead in September 2012. She was aged 74.

Mrs al-Allaf was murdered by a mystery gunman alongside her daughter Ikbal al-Hilli and son- in-law Saad al-Hilli, of Claygate, Surrey, on a remote mountain road near Annecy. Local cyclist Sylvain Mollier, 45, was also killed.

Suhaila al-Allaf was shot dead in Annecy, France, in 2012 at the age of 74. Now her son, who has severe mental illness, has been denied compensation because of a dispute over the spelling of his fathers name

The al-Hilliss two daughters survived. Zeena, then aged four, hid in the footwell of the familys BMW beside her dead mother and grandmother while sister Zainab, then seven, was shot and beaten but lived.

Under French law, Mrs al-Allafs son, who has obsessive compulsive disorder that leaves him unable to go outside without supervision, is entitled to damages because his mother and sister died as a result of a criminal offence.

But officials at the Fonds de Garantie  the French equivalent of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority  says he is ineligible because his fathers name is spelt differently on his sisters birth certificate.

On one document it is Thaher and on the other Dhahir.

Despite accepting he is Mrs Al-Allafs son, and an expert translator commissioned by his lawyers confirming the anomaly is simply a quirk in the way Arabic is translated into English, the French authorities claim the inconsistency proves he is not related to his sister.

His solicitor, Isabel Bathurst, of law firm Slater and Gordon, said: This is beyond farce.

The French authorities have seized on an inconsequential and irrelevant anomaly in an attempt to tie the family up in knots.

The compensation would pay for the son, who wishes to remain anonymous, to live closer to his family in Britain.

Aerial photo of the family's BMW at the murder scene in the forrest near Chevaline and Lake Annecy in the French Alps

Losing his mother under these circumstances has been utterly devastating, a close relative said.

She was his world. She cared for him, supported him, gave him the confidence and ability to have some quality of life.

A source at the Fonds de Garantie said individual cases are not discussed publicly.

French police insist the hunt for the killer continues.

One theory is that Mr Mollier, the cyclist who was shot seven times, was the intended target and the al-Hillis family were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
A baby boy has been taken to hospital with head injuries after falling from the third floor of a Brisbane building.

Paramedics were called to a Greenslopes property around 7pm on Saturday where the infant was reported to have fallen from three storeys up.

He was taken to Queensland Children's Hospital in south Brisbane, in a stable condition with face and head injuries.

The young boy was taken to Queensland Children's Hospital (pictured) in south Brisbane on Saturday

A spokesperson for Queensland Ambulance Service told Daily Mail Australia the fall was an accident.

It's understood the child, who is under the age of five, was climbing on furniture near to an open window when the incident occurred.

The spokesperson also warned parents to keep a close eye on children while they played.

They also advised anyone who live in a tall building to ensure all windows are kept secured.
Michael Daley's role as NSW Opposition Leader could be under threat from party colleagues following Saturday's disappointing election loss.

Kogarah MP Chris Minns is set to challenge Mr Daley for the leadership of the NSW Labor party after the election result was called on within three hours of polls closing - despite his leader vowing on Sunday to stay put.

Mr Daley defeated Mr Minns' first challenge for the top job in November following the resignation of Luke Foley.

Mr Minns would become the party's third state leader within five months if he does have the numbers to topple Mr Daley as Labor leader.

A determined Michael Daley (pictured) vowed to stay put as NSW Labor Leader on Sunday

'I'm not ruling anything out and everybody in the Labor Party needs to do some soul searching about the future direction of the party including me and what policy approach needs to be looked at,' Mr Minns told The Australian on Sunday.

'Facing 12 years in Opposition we also need to take a look at the leadership.'

But Mr Minns admitted his first priority was to win his seat in Sydney's south, where vote counting continues.

He suffered a seven per cent swing against him, but is expected to retain his seat.

Mr Daley also suffered a backlash from his constituents, recording a 11 per cent swing against him.

On Saturday night, a disappointed but fairly upbeat Mr Daley told the party faithful at the Coogee Bay Hotel he intended to stay on as Labor leader and had no intention of giving up.

Kogarah MP Chris Minns (pictured) may put his hand up again for the NSW Labor leader role if he retains his seat, despite a massive swing against him

He reiterated those intentions at a press conference in Maroubra on Sunday morning, where he put the loss down to a 'disengaged electorate'.

'I am determined to remain as leader because I want the opportunity of having four years, not four months to go out and do that groundwork and establish myself with the people of NSW, particularly in regional NSW' he said.

He added he's yet to receive an indication from Mr Minns that he may run against him and he had the support from party head office.

'Challenge or not, it's up to the members of the caucus,' Mr Daley told reporters.

'I am the best person to lead the party.'

Mr Daley admitted he made mistakes and 'apologised unreservedly' for his comment about Asian migrants, which came to public's attention in the final days of election campaigning.

'I take responsibility for that comment and I've said from day one that it was a very poor choice of words,' he said.

Mr Daley has the backing of senior Labor MP Jodi McKay to stay on as party leader, who said he performed 'very strongly'.

Michael Daley's (right) role as NSW Opposition Leader could be under threat by party colleague Chris Minns (left) following Saturday's bitter election loss

Meanwhile, counting in the NSW election has resumed with Premier Gladys Berejiklian sweating on winning one more seat to allow the coalition to govern in its own right for its third term.

With 65 per cent of the lower house votes counted, the coalition had 46 seats - 34 for the Liberals and 12 for the Nationals.

Labor held 35, well short of the 47 seats needed to form a majority government.

Ms Berejiklian has already promised to work with the three independents - Joe McGirr, Alex Greenwich and Greg Piper and vowed not to take them for granted.

'I want them to be have a strong working relationship with my government from day one, not just when I might need them,' she told reporters on Sunday.

'While it looks like the Coalition will be able to govern in majority, I want to have a strong relationship with the independents 'from day one.'

Michael Daley (left) could still manage a smile on Sunday morning, despite the election loss

Ms Berejiklian became the first woman to be popularly elected premier in the history of NSW on Saturday night.

' I think women in particular are often underestimated. It was important for me to get 'outside the bubble' and listen to the public's concerns,' she said.

ABC election analyst Antony Green said the Berejiklian government suffered a swing of 2.3 against it, but it wasn't been enough to force it out of power.

The Liberal-Nationals went into Saturday's election with 52 seats in the lower house but it needed to only lose six seats to relinquish its majority.

Three Nationals seats - Dubbo, Barwon and Lismore - were still in doubt on Saturday night.

Candidate Dugald Saunders was in a tight fight with independent Mathew Dickerson to retain the seat of Dubbo being vacated by former leader Troy Grant.

The state's most marginal seat - East Hills in Sydney - was also going right to the wire with the Liberals' Wendy Lindsay enjoying a small swing towards her.

Gladys Berejiklian (pictured) needs one more seat to form a majority Coalition government

More than four million people had been expected to cast their votes on Saturday, at more than 2200 polling booths around the state.

Nearly 1.3 million people took advantage of early voting - at pre-poll centres or via the post, internet or telephone.

Meanwhile, in the upper house where half the votes have been counted, former federal Labor leader Mark Latham looks like making a return to parliamentary life as a One Nation MP.

Shooters, Fishers and Farmers candidate Mark Banasiak and the Greens' David Shoebridge appear certain to also be among the 21 people to win a new eight-year term.

Opposition leader Michael Daley (pictured) conceded defeat on Saturday night after Labor won 35 seats, well short of the 47 needed to form a majority government
After filing his most hotly anticipated Russia investigation report into the 2016 election Robert Mueller ended up taking the time to enjoy dinner with his wife at his favorite D.C. restaurant.

While the rest of the politicos in Washington were busy wondering what Mueller's report contained and theorizing over possible outcomes as a result, the Special counsel was spotted at Salt & Pepper in the capital's Palisades neighborhood.

While lawmakers on both sides of the aisle began debating possible next steps once the content of Mueller's report was known, the report's author was tucking into some tasty $24 scallops with his wife as they sat in one of the restaurant's booths.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller was seen arriving at his office on Thursday just a day before he completed his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election

Special counsel Robert Mueller handed over the highly anticipated final report on his Russia investigation Friday afternoon and was later seen dining out with his wife, Ann, by his side

Mueller seemed relaxed as he dined with his wife and ate scallops for dinner Friday night at the Salt & Pepper Restaurant in Washington, DC's Palisades neighborhood

The scallops cost $24 and are served in a creamy risotto coupled with arugula and pesto

'Over the course of the investigation, locals often spotted Mueller on weekends dining with his wife Ann and others at the American style restaurant,' Politico reported.

'He likes the scallops. Ann typically orders the salmon on a Caesar salad, according to a source familiar with their visits.'

After he had left, an NBC News reporter got to sit down at his empty and excited tweeted about the experience.

'I swear Im not making this up: Eating dinner at the table Robert Mueller just left, per waiter at a local spot he is known to frequent,' Julia Ainsley tweeted.

NBC reporter Julia Ainsley got particularly excited when she sat at the very table that Mueller had been dining. He did not leave any breadcrumbs...

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, ended up heading back down to his Florida residence of Mar-a-Lago to host a Republican dinner party with top GOP figures such as Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina present.

There have been calls for Mueller's report to be released to Congress and made public.

Attorney General William Barr may well release a summary of Mueller's final report some time over the weekend.

Mueller's report has already brought charges against more than 30 individuals including several former members of Trump's campaign or administration.
Boris Johnson repeatedly asked the Prime Minister to her face to promise not to lead the party into a General Election.

In their direct confrontation, the former Foreign Secretary is understood to have said: Can you assure me, Prime Minister, that you will not lead the party into another Election?

When Mrs May said that she had already made clear that she would not be leader in 2022  the planned date of the next Election  Mr Johnson said: That doesnt answer the question.

Boris Johnson (pictured leaving the Cabinet Office on Tuesday) is believed to have asked Prime Minister Theresa May to assure him that she would not lead the Tories into another General Election

Mrs May said she had already made clear she would not be leader in a 2022 General Election. But Mr Johnson said: That doesnt answer the question

The exchange came during a meeting to discuss Mrs Mays Brexit deal.

Downing Street aides have discussed in recent weeks the idea of calling an Election if the deal is again voted down in the Commons, with the Prime Minister asking the electorate to back her.

Wednesday is the last date on which an Election can be called if polling day is to coincide with the local elections on May 2.

However, Mrs Mays televised speech to the nation last week, in which she blamed MPs for the Brexit delay, has reminded Conservatives of their leaders failings as an election campaigner.
Defeated Islamic State fighters were blasted with booming techno music as their shattered final stronghold of Baghuz fell.

After a six-week siege, coalition forces stormed the final 700 square metres of the so-called caliphate, which four years ago ruled an area the size of England.

In a desperate last stand, hardened IS fighters thrust weapons into the hands of their wives and daughters, but they were helpless to protect territory reduced to a sea of rubble and twisted metal against a merciless bombardment.

On one of the few remaining buildings, members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who had been aided by special forces troops from the UK, US and France, ripped down the once-feared black flag of Isis and raised their own banner.

The Kurdish led US-backed Syrian Democrat Forces hold up the V for victory sign in front of a large yellow flag of the SDF at the village of Baghuz in Syria on Saturday

SDF forces gathered on the walls to survey the ruins of Baghuz as they raised their flag in victory

One SDF commander, Mustapha Bali, tweeted a photograph with the words: Baghuz is free and the military victory against Daesh [IS] has been achieved.

Victorious SDF fighters played Arabic techno music and danced arm-in-arm to taunt IS survivors.

Their brutal regime had imposed a total ban on music, punishable by flogging or even death.

The nondescript sun-scorched town of Baghuz, on the banks of the Euphrates in southern Syria, has been the scene of ISs last stand.

For two months, the SDF faced a stream of suicide bombers and a warren of heavily defended tunnels beneath the shattered town.

In a final move, rules banning women from fighting were dropped and pictures of women armed with AK-47s were posted on social media, even as some IS men donned burkhas in an unsuccessful bid to flee the besieged town.

Theresa May and several Cabinet Ministers celebrated the victory last night and praised British forces for their vital role through RAF air strikes and SAS operations on the ground.

But they warned that while the caliphate had fallen, the threat from IS remained real.

The liberation of the last Daesh-held territory wouldnt have been possible without the immense courage of UK military and our allies, the PM tweeted.

We will continue to do what is necessary to protect the British people, our Allies and partners from the threat Daesh poses.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson added: We cannot be complacent. Theyve dispersed, and theyll continue to pose a threat to Britain. And Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned: The fight is NOT over.

Footage released by ISIS appears to show burqa-clad women firing AK-47s at SDF forces during the final days of the so-called caliphate

An SDF warrior holds up the V for victory sign in the fallen Islamic State group's last bastion in the eastern Syrian village of Baghuz after defeating the jihadist group

At its height, IS ruled more than seven million people and made billions selling oil on the black market. By this weekend, 30,000 hardened fighters were pinned down on a tiny sliver of ground.

More than 11,000 SDF fighters have died in the four-year offensive, while an estimated 100,000 coalition air strikes have taken place.

This includes more than 1,700 by RAF assets, while 1,100 British Special Forces and personnel have been deployed across Syria and Iraq.
Prince Charles (right) and the Duchess of Cornwall (left) have been on a Royal tour of the Caribbean, and have just visited Grenada

The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall will today arrive in Cuba for the first visit by members of the Royal Family since the Communist revolution 60 years ago.

Their controversial trip risks angering President Donald Trump as he attempts to isolate Americas old foe by tightening a trade embargo and warning foreign firms against doing business there.

John Bolton, Trumps National SecurityAdviser, last year branded Cuba part of a troika of tyranny, along with Socialist states Venezuela and Nicaragua.

Prince Charles and Camilla will visit a medical research centre, where they will hear about a partnership with Manchester University that helps Cuba develop its own cancer drugs.

This is particularly important, according to one source, because Cuban doctors are blocked from getting certain drugs from the US.

Palace aides stress that Charles is visiting the centre due to the interest the Prince has in healthcare.

A former British ambassador to Cuba, Paul Webster Hare, told The Mail on Sunday: We have long told the US  and this has been the case for 20 years at least  that we dont agree with isolating Cuba.

Prince Charles' visit could anger President Donald Trump (pictured) who is trying to isolate Cuba through a trade embargo

Equally, we dont agree with everything the Cuban government does. The US has long known that we take a different view.

Despite Americas increasingly tough stance against the island state, the UK Government asked the Prince and Duchess to add Cuba to their Caribbean tour to boost commercial relations and political influence. They will be accompanied by Lord Ahmad, a Foreign Office Minister.

There are no plans for Charles to meet Raul Castro, the former president who remains head of Cubas Communist Party. His brother Fidel led the one-party state after seizing power in 1959 and died in 2016. The Prince will, however, meet Miguel Diaz-Canel, who took over as President last year.

Charles wont be meeting Raul Castro (left). His brother Fidel Castro (right) had led the one party state after seizing power in 1959

The Prince does not set the agenda for the visit, a palace source said last night.

According to Mr Hare, efforts will be taken to avoid putting the Prince in a difficult position.

Its complicated but that is how diplomacy often is, he said.

Its not going to be a visit where either side wants to engage in great controversy. The point of the visit is symbolic.

Yesterday the Royal couple flew into the island of spice, Grenada, where they enjoyed an afternoon sampling the wares at the House Of Chocolate emporium, pictured.

Camilla appeared to blanche at the bitter taste of her hot drink  much to her husbands amusement, who clearly enjoyed the experience, finishing hers as well as his own.

They were then given a selection of samples to try, which they greatly enjoyed.

Eyeing up a chocolate liqueur, the Prince joked: I might have to try some of that on the way back!

The couple were given a huge bag of chocolate to take home for the Queen.
Jacob Rees-Mogg (pictured) is seen as the best chance of getting Boris Johnson to support Brexit deal

Jacob Rees- Mogg was last night billed as Theresa Mays last chance of salvaging her Brexit deal.

A senior Government source confessed that Downing Street was pinning all its hopes on the arch Brexiteer to persuade Tory rebels to back the Prime Ministers deal in a third Commons vote this week.

The source said: Number 10 are now banking it all on Jacob. If he can persuade colleagues to back the deal, we may still  just  get over the line.

Its the last throw of the dice.

Mr Rees-Mogg, the powerful chairman of the Tories pro-Brexit European Research Group and an open supporter of Boris Johnson as a future leader, is seen as crucial to any hopes of getting the ex-Foreign Secretary to back the deal.

He is also seen by Number 10 as more reasonable than former Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab.

Mr Rees-Mogg declined to comment last night, but the Somerset MP has emerged in recent weeks as a potential peace-maker between Downing Street and Tory Brexiteers who are refusing to back her deal.

This has led to reports of splits between Mr Rees-Mogg and more die-hard members of the ERG such as Mark Francois and Steve Baker.

Mr Rees-Mogg has warned that despite his deep misgivings over Mrs Mays flawed accord, even that would be better than no Brexit at all.

He told The Mail on Sunday: If I had to choose between No Deal and Mrs Mays original accord, I would have no hesitation of opting for No Deal Brexit  but even Mrs Mays deal would be better than not leaving at all.

However, he has also said privately that if the Democratic Unionist Partys ten MPs held out against the deal, he would not desert them.

The Northern Irish partys Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson last week warned that his colleagues will not be threatened into voting for the Governments plan.
At least five British Special Forces commandos have been wounded in gun battles as part of a top-secret UK military campaign in Yemen, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The elite Special Boat Service (SBS) troops, whose presence in the war-ravaged country is shrouded in secrecy, suffered gunshot injuries in fierce clashes with Iranian-backed rebel militia in recent months.

The SBS men were treated for leg and arm wounds following the battles in the Sadah area of northern Yemen, where up to 30 crack British troops are based. The casualties are understood to be now recovering in the UK.

At least five British Special Forces commandos from the Special Boat Service have been wounded in gun battles as part of a top-secret UK military campaign in Yemen

The revelation that British forces are fighting in Yemen sparked angry criticism last night because the conflict, which has seen Saudi Arabia and Iran support opposing sides in a four-year civil war, has triggered the worlds biggest humanitarian crisis.

Aid agencies have pleaded for a ceasefire to be negotiated to enable charities to help eight million Yemenis facing starvation and two million rendered homeless. An estimated 10,000 people have been killed in the fighting.

MPs have also attacked the Governments support for the Saudis, who have been accused of war crimes and of deliberately targeting civilians.

The Mail on Sunday can also reveal how RAF engineers sent to Saudi Arabia to repair the kingdoms fleet of military aircraft narrowly escaped death last week. Iranian-backed rebels launched a suicide drone strike on the King Khalid air base, where they are maintaining Tornado jets used to bomb civilian areas in Yemen.

According to reports, the drone exploded on the runway, destroying two Tornados. The MoD said no UK personnel were wounded.

In response to the revelations, former Minister Andrew Mitchell said last night the UK was shamefully complicit in Saudi Arabias role in Yemen. He called on the Government to provide further explanations to Parliament about the role of the British troops.

The elite Special Boat Service (SBS) troops, whose presence in the war-ravaged country is shrouded in secrecy, suffered gunshot injuries in fierce clashes with Iranian-backed rebel militia in recent months (File photo)

A SBS source said: The guys are fighting in inhospitable desert and mountainous terrain against highly committed and well-equipped Houthi rebels. The SBSs role is mainly training and mentoring but on occasions they have found themselves in firefights and some British troops have been shot.

In a contact a few weeks ago, a SBS guy was shot in the hand and another guy was shot in the leg. Their injuries were a reminder that this is a very dangerous assignment. Obviously nothing about the mission will be confirmed publicly by the Ministry of Defence unless a UK soldier is killed  theyd have to announce that.

The Governments official position is that it is seeking a sustainable political solution to the Yemen conflict.

The SBS men were treated for leg and arm wounds following the battles in the Sadah area of northern Yemen, where up to 30 crack British troops are based. The casualties are understood to be now recovering in the UK

Saudi Arabia and its allies in the region are fighting a proxy war against Iran, which supports the Houthi rebels.

The conflict has also seen British Special Forces fighting on the same side as jihadis and militia which use child soldiers. This is because Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, its main partner in the war, have bribed Yemeni tribal leaders with links to Al Qaeda to take their side in the conflict.

Last night, a former British serviceman who returned earlier this year from Yemen said: These militia follow an Islamic fundamentalist agenda. The tribal leaders accept payments from the Saudis and the UAE in return for youths aged 13 and 14 to bolster the front line. They are poorly armed and have no body armour. So they get picked off by the Iranian-backed rebels.

RAF engineers sent to Saudi Arabia to repair the kingdoms fleet of military aircraft narrowly escaped death last week

Its not just the odd youth either  child soldiers can make up to 40 per cent of the manpower in these militia units. In spite of their disadvantages, the militia do most of the fighting in Yemen because the Saudi soldiers dont want to leave their air-conditioned camps.

They dont want to be in Yemen at all. It is the Yemenis who are sacrificing their lives.

The SBS mentoring teams inside Yemen include medics, translators and Forward Air Controllers (FACs), whose job is to request air support from the Saudis.

Iranian-backed rebels launched a suicide drone strike on the King Khalid air base (pictured), where they are maintaining Tornado jets used to bomb civilian areas in Yemen. According to reports, the drone exploded on the runway, destroying two Tornados. The MoD said no UK personnel were wounded

The 200-strong SBS, which is based at Poole in Dorset, is a maritime Special Forces unit and was founded in 1940. It recruits mainly from the Royal Marines. SBS personnel served with distinction in Iraq and Afghanistan and most recently in operations against Islamic State in Syria.

In March 2015, Houthi rebels forced Yemens president, Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, out of power and into exile. Saudi Arabia saw the rebels as backed militarily by Iran, and began an air campaign in Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition has since received logistical and intelligence support from the US, UK and France.

The coalition has repeatedly been accused by human rights groups of conducting unlawful air strikes on civilian targets. Research from 2016 concluded that more than a third of all Saudi-led air strikes had hit civilian sites.

An MoD spokeswoman declined to discuss the presence of the SBS in Yemen. She added that the MoD took the safety of RAF engineers in Saudi Arabia extremely seriously and that suitable and effective precautions were in place.
Blackpool MP Paul Maynard said he cried when he was told he had to go and talk to Theresa May

Theresa May was involved in an extraordinary confrontation with a tearful Government whip who told her that he wanted her gone because she had betrayed Brexit and destroyed the Tory Party.

Paul Maynard erupted when he was invited as part of a group to hear the Prime Minister pitch the domestic policy plans she hopes to pursue when she has got her Brexit deal over the line.

Frustrated by Mrs Mays failure to execute Brexit, the Blackpool MP told her: When I was told that we would have to come over and talk to you I began to cry.

I said I dont want to go over and talk to that woman any more. Shes betrayed Brexit, destroying our party. I want her gone.

The shocked Prime Minister replied: Im sorry you feel that way...

One MP present said: I have never seen anything like it. Her authority has gone.

Out of 18 MPs in the whips office  supposed to enforce party discipline and run by Chief Whip Julian Smith  just one junior whip thinks Mrs May should stay in No 10.

Speaking to Mrs May, Leave-supporting Mr Maynard added: Im sorry, Prime Minister. I find this really difficult because I put a high price on loyalty.

This is one of the hardest things Ive ever had to do, but Im going to have to say what Ive got to say: I think things are slipping away from us.

Mr Maynard was one of a number of MPs in the group who told Mrs May that her deal would never get through unless she resigned  only for her to insist that her departure would not make any difference.

The Prime Minister is now being advised to resign from all sections of her party.

Mrs May replied 'I'm sorry you feel that way.' And one MP who was present said: I have never seen anything like it. Her authority has gone

On Monday, Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs, visited Mrs May in Downing Street and told her that a growing number of Tories believe she has to go.

Sir Graham, the partys most powerful backbencher, said he had been bombarded with text messages by colleagues urging him to confront the Prime Minister with demands that she should quit.

His words are echoed today by Nigel Evans, the secretary of his committee.

Writing in The Mail on Sunday, Mr Evans says that Mrs May must announce her departure in order to win enough support from Brexiteer MPs.

The Ribble Valley MP says: The Prime Minister must now declare the timetable of her departure to get this most imperfect but necessary accord over the line. She must stay in office for only as long as it takes to win her deal.

Trying to cling on to power will endanger her deep desire to deliver on the referendum result and will only end in tears.

Such is the peril that Brexit now faces I believe that other Tory Brexiteers who so far have voted against her deal could be persuaded to back it if they were assured that the next phase of our negotiations with Brussels  on our future relationship  were led by a new Tory leader.

It might just persuade the DUP, who are vital to the Commons arithmetic, and with them Tory colleagues as yet unpersuaded of the settlement.

The current paralysis at Westminster is appalling to behold.
Social media chiefs such as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg will be personally hit with huge fines if they fail to remove harmful content from their sites under plans being drawn up by Ministers.

But the proposed clampdown has led to a clash in Whitehall, with Theresa May being warned the measures amount to 'press regulation by the back door'.

The move follows the public outcry over cases such as that of Molly Russell, the 14-year-old who took her life in 2017 after viewing self-harm images on Instagram and other sites.

14-year-old Molly Russell (pictured age six) took her own life after viewing disturbing content on social media

New regulations were due to be unveiled tomorrow, but protests that they are too draconian has led to the announcement being cancelled.

Leaked details seen by The Mail on Sunday reveal that a new regulator will be given sweeping powers to enforce a strict Online Harm code of conduct drawn up by Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Culture Secretary Jeremy Wright after months of public pressure.

The new body, dubbed Ofweb, could levy huge fines on firms  including individual bosses  if they breach a 'duty of care'. It would be the first time the Silicon Valley giants have been made directly responsible for the content on their sites  with a particular focus on child abuse and terrorism.

But Ministers have been warned the new rules risk dragging journalists and the public into a chilling regulatory framework. This newspaper understands that Liz Truss, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, is particularly concerned the clampdown could backfire.

14-year-old Molly handed in her homework and returned to her family home before taking her own life

The new rules will target any site that allows users to 'share or discover user-generated content or interact with each other online'.

Crucially, this would apply to 'a very wide range of companies of all sizes, including social media platforms, file-hosting sites, public discussion forums and messaging services'. This would mean newspaper websites and services such as Mumsnet and TripAdvisor would be forced to sign up to the regulator.

Affected websites would have to:

Obey a strict code of practice on tackling terrorist content or child abuse, and actively scan their pages to weed out such content.

Publish annual transparency reports outlining how much harmful content they have removed.

Declare how their algorithms select content aimed at users.

Set up an easy-to-use complaints service that forces companies to respond within a certain time, and an independent review system.

The Adam Smith Institute think-tank warned last night that such rules would threaten Britain's status as a free society.

Head of research Matthew Lesh told The Mail on Sunday: 'These proposals are a historic attack on freedom of speech and the free press, the very core of Britain's liberal democratic foundations.

'At a time when Britain is criticising violations of freedom of expression in states like Iran, China and Russia, we should not be undermining our freedom at home.'

He added: 'Websites have an existing legal responsibility to remove material that incites violence, but these proposals would create an extraordinary system of censorship and give the state the power to decide what we can view online under the guidance of safety in moments of crisis.

'We now see that the Government wants to regulate the press and your social media through the back door. Let us be blunt: Britain should no longer be called a free society if her citizens and her press are directed by Government as to what they can view, think and say.'

Mark Littlewood, director-general of the Institute of Economic Affairs think-tank, said: 'This is yet another example of knee-jerk Government overreach that could risk jeopardising freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

'Handing over control to government threatens our democracy and the cornerstones of a free society.

Molly, of Harrow, North-West London, was found dead in her bedroom 16 months ago. Her family later discovered that she had been 'suggested' disturbing posts on social media sites about depression, self-harm and suicide.

For confidential support in the UK call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details.
Criminals are being spared jail despite committing dozens of offences involving violence or weapons, according to shock new figures.

One dangerous offender was convicted 21 times for possession of a knife without being sent to prison. Another committed 33 assaults before being jailed for his 34th.

The disturbing examples of soft justice come amid fears that the approach is fuelling Britains epidemic of violence and knife crime.

There was fury when Joshua Gardner,18, was spared jail for this terrifying attack trying to smash his way into a car with a zombie knife. Three months earlier Gardner had received a community sentence for attempted robbery. He was eventually jailed for the knife attack after an outcry

Last night, a senior police representative said the figures showed criminals were laughing at the justice system. Other critics predicted that the scandal would only worsen under Government plans to axe short jail sentences.

The statistics were published by the Ministry of Justice last week in response to questions by Tory backbench MP Philip Davies. He asked what the highest number of total previous offences was for a range of offences committed by individuals before they were given immediate custodial sentences across England and Wales in the past three years.

The results taken from the Police National Computer show that one offender put behind bars last year had 21 previous convictions for possession of a blade or point while another had four previous convictions for possession of an offensive weapon.

One thug had acquired 17 convictions for assaulting police officers before finally being jailed last year for an 18th.

Career criminals with 15 previous cautions and convictions for burglary and robbery were eventually jailed after reoffending in 2018, and a sex predator accumulated eight previous convictions for sexual assault before a jail term.

Terence Maccabee, 18, got a suspended sentence after he was caught with a huge machete at a railway station. He has a previous conviction for threatening behaviour and a drugs caution

The biggest number of let-offs was accrued by a shoplifter who had an astonishing 70 previous cautions and convictions for theft before being jailed in 2016. Last year, another career criminal totted up 65 previous convictions for theft before being locked up.

Another offender committed 30 drug crimes before his 31st saw him put away, while a fraudster was convicted of 53 separate scams before finally being imprisoned for yet another.

Mr Davies said: This lays bare how soft our justice system is, and how criminals can carry on committing crimes with impunity. It also shows how idiotic the Government proposals are to abolish short sentences. These figures show we dont send enough people to prison.

And John Apter, chairman of the Police Federation union for frontline officers, said: A non-custodial route takes the pressure off a prison system which is struggling to cope. But all that means is that these people are laughing at the judicial system. There are too many slaps on the wrist and not enough adequate justice. For some, the only answer is to be locked up.

Inappropriate sentences help to fuel further drug, knife and gun crime. For officers  working against a backdrop of severe cuts in numbers and a dire lack of funding across the service  all it does is make their jobs harder.

Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said last night: We are clear that sentencing must match the severity of a crime. However, sentences should also rehabilitate. There is persuasive evidence showing community sentences, in certain circumstances, are more effective than short custodial sentences in reducing reoffending.
Speedboat killer Jack Shepherd could be sent back to Britain within two weeks to serve his six-year prison sentence.

The web designer, 31, is set to appear at a court in the Georgian capital Tbilisi by Friday for a hearing at which prosecutors will demand his extradition.

The father-of-one has previously blocked attempts for a swift extradition, saying he would be tortured in prison if sent back.

Shepherd was convicted at the Old Bailey in his absence of the manslaughter of Charlotte Brown, 24, on a boozy date on the Thames in his speedboat in 2015.

Jack Shepherd, 31, could be sent back to Britain within two weeks to serve his six-year prison sentence

Friends of Shepherd told the Mirror that he had come to terms with being sent back to the UK, having previously said he was determined to stay in Georgia and become a citizen there.

A source told the paper: 'Jack feels that as long as he gets assurances he needs over his safety, it's now time to come back home.

'He knows at the moment he's just delaying the inevitable  and lengthening his sentence by staying.'

Shepherd fled to Georgia a year ago and was sentenced in his absence.

Just two months after the Miss Brown's death he began dating a Georgian woman and reportedly spent ten months living and working as a web designer in the country.

Following a Daily Mail campaign, he handed himself in to the Tbilisi authorities in January.

The Crown Prosecution Service in the UK may charge him with absconding and for glassing a barman days before he fled.

Shepherd has continued to shamelessly blame Miss Brown for the accident.

Her mother Roz Wickens, 53, has urged him to 'stop lying' and 'tell the truth about what happened'.

Shepherd has claimed that Miss Brown was driving the speedboat when it flipped on the Thames in December 2015 following a date.

He fled the UK before a jury found him guilty in July last year of causing her death. He was sentenced to six years in prison in Britain.

He was condemned when he claimed legal aid to appeal his conviction while still a fugitive.

Shepherd was convicted of killing Charlotte Brown, 24, in 2015 while on a date on the Thames

He fled last March after his wife threw him out of the family home when she discovered he was on the tragic date with Miss Brown.

In the months before her death, Shepherd had entertained up to ten other women on the ageing and badly-maintained speedboat.

Georgian law states that extradition is granted over convicted individuals if they have been sentenced to at least four months' imprisonment.
John Hegarty, advertising Guru. Haagen-Dazs, Boddingtons and Levi have all been energised by this man's vision

One of Britains most influential advertising gurus has called for internet giants to be broken up, accusing them of sucking money out of the economy and damaging business and society.

In a withering attack, Sir John Hegarty  the man behind the famous 1980s Levis laundrette advert and Audis Vorsprung durch Technik slogan  said companies such as Google and Facebook must be regulated more strictly because they have turned into monopolies and are not putting enough back into the economy.

Google and Facebook have become so powerful that experts believe they account for as much as 90 per cent of all new digital advertising spending in the UK.

Sir John, a legend in the advertising industry who helped set up giants Saatchi & Saatchi and Bartle Bogle Hegarty, believes it is inevitable the Silicon Valley firms will be broken up. Theyre sucking money out [of the economy], not paying tax on it, and destroying what theyve left behind, he told The Mail on Sunday.

All corporations will want to monopolise. Its in their nature. Theyll grow as fast and as big as they can, exclude competition, dominate the market, keep it where it is. But he believes there will be a break-up, with the possibility of Facebook being forced to sell Instagram.

His criticism follows the release of a damning review into digital competition for the Government by Jason Furman, a former adviser to Barack Obama.

Mr Furman called on the UK to lead a global crackdown on the tech giants dominance and accused the firms of bullying tactics. He said the Competition and Markets Authority should be given powers to block takeovers of smaller rivals.

The report said the US tech giants had swallowed up 400 smaller firms over the past decade, highlighting Facebooks takeovers of Instagram and messaging service WhatsApp, as well as Microsofts deal to buy LinkedIn, the social media platform aimed at professionals.

Last week, Google was fined 1.5 billion by the European Commission for stifling competition in online advertising. But Sir John said: Google are making nearly $9 billion [profit] a quarter so when you fine them 1.5 billion, its like taking somebody out for lunch.
A popular priest from Western Australia appears to have taken his own life last week amid claims of sexual abuse - leaving the Catholic community in shock.

Worshippers were in disbelief on Saturday as they learned Father Joseph Tran had passed away following allegations he had abused a now 13-year-old girl over several years.

His body was reportedly found on Thursday, the same day police launched an investigation into the allegations.

The girl's mother had allegedly confronted Father Tran earlier in the week, according to The Weekend West.

Worshippers were in disbelief on Saturday as they learned Father Joseph Tran had passed away following allegations he had abused a now 13-year-old girl over several years (pictured)

In 2018, Father Tran was transferred to St Francis Xavier parish (pictured), in Perth's south-eastern suburbs

A statement issued by the Perth Catholic Archbishop Timothy Costelloe addressed the priest's passing.

'It appears that [Father Tran] may have taken his own life after being confronted with allegations of the sexual abuse of a young teenage girl,' he said.

'The young girl who with her family found the courage to go to police must be supported in every way.'

'Father Joe', as he was known, was appointed as the Whitford parish priest for 15 years, during which time he also served as Sacred Heart Catholic College's chaplain.

In 2018, Father Tran was transferred to St Francis Xavier parish at Armadale, in Perth's south-eastern suburbs, in a move that was seen as a promotion for his many years of service.

Nearly 2,000 people gathered at Our Lady of the Mission Church to farewell the priest from his old parish.

Nearly 2,000 people turned out at the Our Lady of the Mission Church in 2018 to farewell the priest from his old parish

'Many are in disbelief. There was concern about the heavy workload and pressure he had been under since moving to Armadale a year earlier,' a supporter said, according to the West Australian.

'He was still serving those parishioners in the northern suburbs who wanted him to baptise, marry or preside over funerals  driving the two-hour return trip between Armadale and the northern suburbs throughout the week.'

'He was intelligent, popular, and charismatic. We are all in shock. People are speechless,' another parishioner said.

'He had a massive impact on the whole community,' a third wrote online.

Among the tributes, however, others said the allegations of sexual abuse should not be ignored.

Those in need of help should call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
The war in Yemen began thanks to the megalomania of one man  Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MbS, the autocratic leader of Saudi Arabia (pictured)

Saudi Arabias barbaric murder of Jamal Khashoggi, the dissident writer who was strangled then cut to pieces in their Turkish embassy, has quite rightly drawn opprobrium from around the world.

Yet the kingdoms military actions in neighbouring Yemen attract all-too-little commentary despite the terrible death, destruction and starvation it has caused.

The scale of the disaster engulfing Yemen cannot be overstated.

As many as 60,000 people have died in the pitiless fighting between government forces, backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and the Houthi rebels, supported by Iran.

Three million Yemenis have been internally displaced and three-quarters of what is a very young population depends on international aid.

If that aid does not reach them they will die, for the countrys rudimentary health care system has collapsed.

Britains role in the conflagration is also significant.

We supply planes, bombs, military advisers and Special Forces troops on the side of Saudi Arabia  and this is something else we prefer to ignore.

The war in Yemen began thanks to the megalomania of one man  Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, or MbS, the autocratic Saudi leader widely blamed for ordering the death of Mr Khashoggi.

He is, of course, a prominent Western ally.

The kingdoms military actions in neighbouring Yemen attract all-too-little commentary despite the terrible death, destruction and starvation it has caused. As many as 60,000 people have died in the pitiless fighting between government forces, backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and the Houthi rebels, supported by Iran

Anxious to make his mark, MbS believed he could score a propaganda victory by crushing the Shia Houthis who had driven out his Yemeni ally, President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

There was no easy victory, however, even though Saudi Arabia controls the worlds fourth-largest defence budget at 62 billion.

In truth, the Saudis are useless at ground warfare, which is why they have brought in troops from Pakistan and Sudan, as well as mercenaries from Colombia and the US.

And it is why they have relied primarily on a ferocious campaign of bombing using Tornado, Typhoon and F-15 fighter-bombers supplied by the US and Britain.

The Tornados and Typhoons could not fly without our complicity. British-based BAE Systems employs nearly 6,000 people in the kingdom, while the Americans refuel the Saudi warplanes in mid-air, receiving $331 million last year in return.

The bombs those planes drop come from BAE, helping to generate an additional 3.8 billion of UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia since the war began.

Mohammed bin Salman was widely blamed for ordering the death of Jamal Khashoggi (pictured)

Britain also provides more direct military advice. RAF liaison officers in a Joint Combined Planning Cell take their seats in Saudi Arabias Air Operations Centre, helping select suitable targets in Yemen.

They claim that their expert presence helps prevent collateral casualties  which is to say, civilian deaths.

But it did not on August 9, 2018, when a bomb hit a school bus in Dahyans crowded market, killing at least 40 children, many of whom were under the age of ten.

In a total of 18,500 air raids since the war began, the Saudi-led coalition, quietly backed by Britain and the US, has hit factories, hospitals and schools indiscriminately. I am in no doubt that some of these raids are war crimes.

Foreign Secretaries Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt have lamented the human catastrophe in Yemen and it is true that the UK has supplied about 200 million in emergency aid.

Meanwhile, a British diplomat called Martin Griffiths is the lead United Nations envoy trying to broker a peace settlement between the warring parties.

However, the cold financial facts are these: two-thirds of the UKs arms exports go to the Arab Middle East, with the lions share sold to Saudi Arabia.

Foreign Secretaries Boris Johnson (left) and Jeremy Hunt (right) have lamented the human catastrophe in Yemen and it is true that the UK has supplied about 200 million in emergency aid

The sales are important to our economy  and that means turning a blind eye to the authoritarian Saudis and their counterparts in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Germany has done the right thing by banning arms sales to any of the Yemeni combatants but there is no sign of Britain following suit, even though two Commons Select Committees have urged the Government to impose an arms embargo.

The situation in Yemen is dire. As the poorest state in the Middle East, it is facing chronic drought.

Its capital city, Sanaa, will run out of water in the next five years  the only capital in the world to face such an existential threat.

News that British Special Forces are active in Yemen  along with their French and US counterparts  shows how deeply involved we truly are in this catastrophe, and it shames us as a country.

It is claimed that our Special Forces are there to secure safe drop zones for aid supplies, but this is just a fig leaf.

Yemen is unsafe precisely because of the colossal weight of British-supplied bombs dropped by Saudi and Emirati pilots.

The British Governments policy towards Yemen is not just hypocritical, it is indefensible  and a national disgrace.
The BBC are accused of being 'cultural colonialists' after airing a new comedy set in Wales is dominated by an English cast who botch the accent.

Pitching In centres around a widower played by Larry Lamb who runs a caravan park in north Wales.

His daughter, played by Caroline Sheen, turns up from England to help him run the business.

Plaid Cymru's shadow minister for international affairs Delyth Jewell wrote that it was 'catastrophic' and 'culturally colonialist.'

English actors Larry Lamb and Hayley Mills star in BBC's new Pitching In series which debuted on BBC Wales last month

Plaid Cymru's shadow minister for international affairs said: 'Wales is treated to a sub-standard 'comedy' showing Wales through English eyes, inaccurate preconceptions about accents included'

The series has infuriated viewers because many of the English cast are doing accents of south Wales rather than the north.

The writers and director of the show are also English and according to The Telegraph the leader of Cardiff Council thinks the programme is a terrible failure.

Huw Thomas told the paper it was 'one of the most unfunny, least culturally nuanced TV programmes ever commissioned.'

Plaid Cymru's Ms Jewell tore into Pitching In because the characters had Valleys accents and the show is supposedly set in a fictional Anglesey.

Ms Jewell accused the public broadcaster of treating Wales as a second-class audience, despite recently dedicating a channel to Scotland.

The politician claimed that Wales served as 'nothing but a lovely background for someone else's story.'

She said she had no issues with an English program but the show had promised an English-speaking Welsh one.

Ms Jewell wrote: 'As licence-fee payers in Scotland are treated to a new nine o'clock news programme committed to 'showing the world through Scottish eyes' on their new channel, Wales is treated to a sub-standard 'comedy' showing Wales through English eyes, inaccurate preconceptions about accents included.'

Lamb said he was delighted to be 'heading back west again' eleven years after Gavin & Stacey aired

The BBC have got Lamb back together with his Gavin & Stacey co-star Melanie Walters for Pitching In.

Lamb told the BBC in a promotional piece: 'Eleven years after Gavin and Stacey burst onto the scene I'm heading out west again, switching Barry Island for Anglesey this time!

'I'm delighted to be playing the role of Frank in Pitching In - it's a touching, funny and romantic story and a fascinating glimpse of life on the north Wales coast.'

A BBC spokesperson said: 'Pitching In is a light-hearted drama set on a caravan park in north Wales - a community of holiday-makers from all walks of life. The series is one of a wide range of BBC programmes made in Wales for a Welsh and wider UK audience, including the hit dramas Keeping Faith and Hidden.'
Up to 20 tonnes of UK aid is set to be delivered to help those caught up in the devastation caused by Cyclone Idai in south-east Africa.

It is estimated that across Mozambique 1.8million people have been affected by the cyclone - which also ravaged parts of Malawi and Zimbabwe.

Aid due to be delivered by an RAF aircraft is expected to include solar lanterns, water purifiers and shelter kits, the Ministry of Defence said.

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The A400M Atlas plane will provide relief for around 37,500 people in need of urgent shelter, including solar lanterns, water purifiers and shelter kits

People walk on the flooded street of Buzi, central Mozambique, after the devastation cyclone which the country's President fears may have killed as many as 1,000 people - amid fears that diseases could push the death toll even higher

People use makeshift boats to navigate the flooded areas after the passage of the cyclone Idai in Matarara, Sussudenga district, in Mozambique

The A400M Atlas aircraft will help provide relief for the 37,500 people in need of urgent shelter when it departs for Mozambique early this week, amid reports that at least 17,400 homes have been destroyed by the cyclone and subsequent flooding.

Unicef's executive director Henrietta Fore has said it is a 'race against time to help and protect children'.

She tweeted: 'We're assisting those sheltering in schools, setting up emergency medical tents, helping reunite separated families, and looking after orphaned children. Things will get worse before it gets better.'

People from the town of Buzi unload at Beira Port, Mozambique, after being rescued from the flood waters. Thousands of people are still stranded after after Cyclone Idai hit the country last week

An aerial view shows Beira, central Mozambique, on Wednesday, after the passage of cyclone Idai

A woman from the Inhamudima area of Berea washing her family's clothes as flood waters recede after cyclone Idai made landfall in Sofala Province, central Mozambique

People from the isolated district of Buzi take shelter in the Samora M. Machel secondary school used as an evacuation center in Beira

An aerial photo shows a damaged factory following the cyclone in Mozambique that has affected an estimated 1.8million people

People collect metal sheets from a damaged supermarket to re-build their destroyed houses following the devastation caused by Cyclone Idai in Beira

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: 'Our partners across the globe can count on our Armed Forces to lend a helping hand in times of need, which is why are sending an RAF aircraft to assist with the aid relief.'

The UK is also sending forklift trucks and other equipment to help quickly unload aid from planes and cut the time it takes to get relief items to those in need, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt announced on Friday.

That flight, which is scheduled to leave from Doncaster-Sheffield airport for Maputo in Mozambique on Sunday, is in addition to a flight containing more than 7,500 shelter kits and 100 family tents which arrived in the country last week.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said on Friday the UK will send forklift trucks with the plane to help quickly unload the relief items

Ms Mordaunt said: 'The UK Government was one of the first to respond to this crisis and is currently the biggest global donor to the response.

'It is doing all it can to provide life-saving help to the hundreds of thousands of people left homeless or without food by this devastating cyclone.'

The UK's total support for the survivors of Cyclone Idai now stands at 22 million, including 4 million of aid-match money for the Disaster Emergency Committee's appeal.

Eight million pounds was raised in the first 24 hours of the DEC's appeal, including personal donations from the Queen and Prince of Wales.
An Army rifleman has been reprimanded after going on a killing spree in a virtual battlefield exercise.

In the computer game, he shot dead one of his comrades and destroyed vehicles to kill several others.

The Edinburgh-based rifleman is believed to be the first soldier to be punished under UK military law for offences in a virtual scenario rather than real life.

Not impressed: A disgruntled squaddie's message on social media reads: 'Army's a joke... got me playing a game for two weeks...'

According to defence sources, the furious squaddie from 3rd Battalion, the Rifles, got fed up with playing soldiers on a computer screen and decided to go rogue.

His actions amused fellow soldiers, but commanders accused him of lacking professionalism.

A Rifles source said: Wed spent two weeks sitting in front of laptops pretending we were in a really hostile urban environment  Id challenge anyone to take it seriously for that long.

All this was taking place in an office at our headquarters, when wed rather be doing real-life soldiering outside in the fresh air. But theres less of that sort of exercise these days because the Army has committed to Unit-based Virtual Training.

We were supposed to imagine we were travelling in armoured vehicles through a really hostile built-up area.

The furious squaddie from 3rd Battalion, the Rifles (pictured), got fed up with playing soldiers on a computer screen and decided to go rogue

One of the lads just lost his rag and opened fire as it were, killing the soldier next to him.

He then drove down the street deliberately smashing into cars. Its safe to say the officers in our battalion did not find it as funny as we did.

After Exercise Urban Strike, the unnamed Rifleman received a dressing down from top brass and was formally charged with disobeying orders.

His punishment was to spend a weekend carrying out guard duties at the 3 Rifles base at Redford Barracks in the Scottish capital.

Another soldier in the unit wrote on social media: Armys a joke  got me playing a game for two weeks.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said last night: We take the training of our service personnel very seriously and anyone who is disruptive to this training will receive disciplinary action.

Virtual reality training programmes are able to deliver greater flexible training and replicate complex scenarios allowing for rapid experimentation, development of tactics and ability to test new vehicles in multiple environments.
A spate of alleged sex crimes, including two rapes and an assault, is being investigated by military police  at their own training school.

Service detectives are questioning instructors and recruits at the Defence School of Policing and Guarding (DSP G) near Portsmouth, where the incidents are said to have taken place.

Hampshire Police have also been drafted in and defence chiefs have launched a separate internal inquiry into the culture at the DSP G facility.

The DSP G provides an introduction to police training for up to 100 Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force recruits each year. Pictured above is Southwick House in Portsmouth [File photo]

A number of recruits have been arrested and questioned over two separate allegations of rape and one of sexual assault.

A source said: There is a lot of shock at the base. You get an occasional isolated allegation of this nature at a training establishment, but this is much more serious.

The DSP G provides an introduction to police training for up to 100 Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force recruits each year.

Last night a Ministry of Defence spokesman said: We are aware of the alleged incidents involving Service personnel. These allegations are being investigated.
One in three people wont buy a gift for their mum this Mothers Day and almost half will only bother with a card, according to a new survey.

And while thoughtless sons and daughters may think that the absence of a gift doesnt matter, more than three-quarters of mothers actually believe that a present is important.

The most common reason cited by those who wont be buying one was that they celebrated together with their mother.

Happy mother and daughter exchange gifts on Mother's day. The average spent on a gift is 17

But just over a quarter said they would not be seeing their mother next Sunday and 15 per cent said they could not afford a gift.

The survey of 1,000 adults found that for those who do treat their mum, the average sum spent is 17.

Lucia Polla, marketing manager at the online florists Serenata Flowers, said: Buying a gift for Mothers Day doesnt need to break the bank. Sometimes just a little something to give mum or send in the post is enough to make her smile.

Susie Boone, editor of the website MadeForMums, said: I think mums across the UK will be very disappointed to hear they may not be getting anything this Mothers Day.

When we asked them what they really wanted, their top choices were a lie-in, breakfast in bed, a long uninterrupted bath and a day without chores  all of which are free.
The Pentagon has identified two U.S. soldiers killed in Afghanistan while involved in combat operations Friday in Kunduz Province.

The men were identified Saturday as Spc. Joseph P. Collette, 29, of Lancaster, Ohio, and Sgt. 1st Class Will D. Lindsay, 33, of Cortez, Colorado.

Collette was assigned to the 242nd Ordnance Battalion, 71st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group, and Lindsay was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne). Both were based at Fort Carson, Colorado.

Two US defense officials added that initial indications are that they were killed during a fight with the Taliban. Afghan troops were also killed in the incident.

Sgt. 1st Class Will Lindsay, 33, of Cortez, Colorado and Spc. Joseph Collette of Lancaster, Ohio, 29, were both killed while complete a tour of duty in Afghanistan

Collete arrived in Afghanistan Dec. 27. He was a recipient of the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Badge and the Senior Explosive Ordnance Disposal Badge. Here he is with his daughter

Collette had married his wife, Caela, seen left, just prior to his deployment.

Collette died from wounds sustained when his unit encountered enemy fire.

'The 71st Ordnance Group is deeply saddened by the loss of Spc. Joseph P. Collette,' said Col. David K. Green, the group's commander. 'We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to his family and friends.'

Collette joined the Army in 2010, the Department of Defense said, and arrived in Fort Carson in June 2012.

He was first deployed to Afghanistan in December 2018, serving as an explosive ordinance disposal specialist, his bio stated.

Collette was the third a soldier to be killed in hostile actions in Afghanistan this year

He has received numerous awards, including a Purple Heart and four Army Achievement Medals. Collette had married his wife, Caela, just prior to his deployment.

Collettes family told Stars and Stripes he had joined the Army after graduating from high school.

According to Army spokesman Lt. Col. Loren Bymer, Lindsay enlisted in the Army in 2004 and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart Medal, among other awards. His deployments include a five tours in Iraq, as well as tours in Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

His awards include five Bronze Star Medals and the Purple Heart, along with the Military Free Fall Jumpmaster Badge and Master Parachutist Badge.

Collette was first deployed to Afghanistan in December 2018, serving as an explosive ordinance disposal specialist

He is survived by a wife and four daughters, officials said.

Col. Lawrence Ferguson, commander of the 10th Special Forces group, of which Lindsay was a member, said in a statement that his fellow soldiers are 'deeply saddened' by his loss.

'Will was one of the best in our formation, with more than a decade of service in the Regiment at all levels of non-commissioned officer leadership. We will focus now on supporting his Family and honoring his legacy and sacrifice,' Ferguson said to CNN.

The deaths marks the third and fourth US military casualties in Afghanistan in 2019 and comes as the Trump administration has sought to negotiate with the Taliban to help bring the conflict to an end.

In 2018, 12 U.S. troops were killed there. The deaths underscore the difficulties in bringing peace to the war-ravaged country.

Approximately 14,000 American military personnel remain in Afghanistan in the 18th year since the war began and more than four years after combat operations under Operation Enduring Freedom formally came to an end.
A woman from North San Diego has successfully sued for child support from her 'deadbeat ex,' 50 years after he left the U.S. for Canada without paying a dime for the couple's three-year-old daughter.

Toni Anderson, 73, told 10News that her ex-husband, Donald Lenhart, moved to Canada rather than paying court ordered child support in the early 1970s to their daughter Lane.

Donald Lenhart is now living back in the U.S., in Oregon.

Toni Anderson (pictured right) with her daughter Lane Lenhart (left, in an undated photo) whose father left when she was three years old

Anderson (right) said she supported her daughter, Lane (left) growing up while working as an interior designer in Los Angeles

Anderson (left) says she gave Lane (right) the best she could and sent her to college in Paris

'I realized in the middle of the night one night last year, 'Hey, there's no statute of limitations on child support,' she said.

Anderson looked up old court papers and last month notified her ex-husband that she was looking for him to pay up.

'He was only supposed to give me like a 160 dollars a month,' Anderson said.

She worked out that what he was due to pay per month 50 years ago is now considerably more in today's money.

Anderson looked up old court papers and last month notified her ex-husband that she was looking for him to pay up

'He was only supposed to give me like a 160 dollars a month,' Anderson said, referring to the amount owed over 50 years ago

Anderson (pictured) says she wants other single parents in California to be aware that they can still collect unpaid child support at any time

Anderson says she wants other single parents in California to be aware that they can still collect unpaid child support at any time.

Her message to ex's who haven't paid what they owe is to watch out.

Anderson says she gave her daughter the best she could and sent her to college in Paris, but admits that now she is retired money is tight and she rents out part of her house.

Anderson (above) admits that now she is retired money is tight and she rents out part of her house

Daughter, Lane Lenhart, (above) runs the firm in Los Angeles where her mother worked as an interior designer

Lane seen here in 2016. Toni Anderson's lawyer, Sara Yunus, said a private hearing has resulted in a settlement of $150,000

She supported Lane growing up while working as an interior designer in Los Angeles. Her daughter has gone on to run the firm Anderson worked at.

Toni Anderson's lawyer, Sara Yunus, said a private hearing in Vista Court on Wednesday resulted in a settlement of $150,000, according to 10News.

Anderson's ex-husband's attorney hasn't responded to requests for comments.
The final heartbreaking and horrific moments of the youngest Christchurch Mosque massacre victim has been detailed by his grieving family.

Mucaad Ibrahim, three, was inside the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch on March 15 with his father Aden, 60, when accused Australian terrorist Brenton Tarrant allegedly stormed the building and killed worshipers.

According to the young boy's devastated family, Mucaad was sitting on his father's lap and had just kissed him on the cheek when they heard gunshots.

Within seconds, Tarrant allegedly shot Mucaad in the chest and continued to fire until Aden fell to the ground with his son in his arms, The Advertiser reported.

As the blood of his son and others that had fallen on top of him pooled, the 60-year-old believed Mucaad was dead.

Then suddenly Mucaad moved and uttered his last words: 'daddy, daddy'.

But the gunman heard the three-year-old cal out to his father and allegedly returned to shoot Mucaad in the head, the publication reported.

The final heartbreaking and horrific moments of the youngest Christchurch Mosque massacre victims, Mucaad Ibrahim, has been detailed by his grieving family (pictured)

Mucaad's sister Luul Ibrahim, 31, recalled her brother's horrific final moments.

'The sad part of it is that after the first shot he was still alive, why did he shoot him a second time? He took that as a joke. The joke is on him. Nobody knows who he is. Mucaad has left a legacy of love,' she told the publication.

The shock of the horror unfolding around him caused Aden to pass out. He later regained consciousness and cradled his son until the shooting stopped.

Aden then walked from the Mosque with his son's body in his arms.

'Dad will never forget how Mucaad kissed him, the last kiss he had ... were in a state of shock. Maybe later well start to grieve,' Ms Ibrahim said.

The 'energetic and playful' boy was among the final group of victims to be buried on Friday. Fifty people lost their lives during the attack. Another 50 were injured.

Mourners carry the casket of the youngest victim 3-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim at the Memorial Park Cemetery in Christchurch on Friday

Family members wearing dark robes carried his tiny body in a coffin as he was laid to rest as part of the mass funeral at Christchurch's Memorial Park.

The small Somali-born boy with big brown eyes barely filled half his coffin.

More than 5000 mourners gathered at the cemetery for the funeral, which began at 4pm NZT (2pm AEDT).

Friday's funeral crowds stretched from a marquee reserved for prayers all the way to the freshly dug graves across the lawn cemetery.

Australian man Brenton Harrison Tarrant, 28, has been charged with one count of murder over the massacre that saw 50 people killed.
Actress Alyssa Milano has taken to Twitter to show her disdain at the state of Georgia after the Senate passed its 'heartbeat' abortion bill on Friday afternoon

Actress Alyssa Milano has taken to Twitter to show her disdain at the state of Georgia after the Senate passed its 'heartbeat' abortion bill on Friday afternoon.

Milano is urging Hollywood film companies to stop shooting in the Peach state as it moves ever closer to approving the nation's strictest anti-abortion measures.

'There are over 20 productions shooting in GA' she wrote late Friday, '& the state just voted to strip women of their bodily autonomy. Hollywood! We should stop feeding GA economy.'

Milano who currently stars in Netflix's dark comedy Insatiable tweeted from Atlanta where she was on set playing her character Coralee Huggens-Armstrong.

Alyssa Milano tweeted that the bill, which would limit abortions to six weeks after conception, would 'strip women of their bodily autonomy'

Pro-abortion rights and anti-abortion demonstrators display their signs in the lobby of the Georgia State Capitol building in downtown Atlanta

The bill, backed by Republican Gov. Kemp, passed on a 34-18 party-line vote and would be one of the nation's strictest anti-abortion measures if it becomes law and is not blocked in court battles

The 46-year-old previously called for Hollywood to pull out of Georgia, calling it a 'totally corrupt state' that 'suppresses democracy' last November after Brian Kemp became the State's governor, defeating Stacey Abrams.

A number of productions shoot in the southern state thanks to a generous 30 percent tax credit for TV and film companies with almost 40 shows currently filming there.

On Friday there were protests and a heavy police presence as the bill banning passed which bans almost all abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

The bill, backed by Republican Gov. Kemp, passed on a 34-18 party-line vote and would be one of the nation's strictest anti-abortion measures if it becomes law and is not blocked in court battles.

It will now go back to the House to approve Senate changes, where it's expected to pass again.

Women in Georgia can currently seek an abortion during the first 20 weeks of a pregnancy. A heartbeat can be detected in an embryo as early as six weeks into pregnancy, before many women know they're pregnant.

Although many doctors and women's rights groups are fighting the 'heartbeat' bill, which would limit abortions once a doctor detects a heartbeat in a fetus , the business community has largely stayed on the sidelines.

Georgia lawmakers and GOP-led legislatures in several other states have pushed anti-abortion measures in hopes of getting a case before the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge its 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.

A woman records a group of pro-abortion rights demonstrators stand outside the Georgia State Capitol building in downtown Atlanta

The push comes amid rising optimism among conservatives that the restrictions might prevail in the reconfigured high court that includes President Donald Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.

A large group of women at the Georgia Capitol protested the bill dressed as characters from 'The Handmaid's Tale,' which depicts a dystopian future where women are controlled by the government and forced to breed. The activists in red cloaks and white bonnets have been an almost daily presence ever since the House passed the measure earlier this month.

The Georgia bill makes exceptions in the case of rape and incest - but only when the woman files a police report first - and to save the life of the mother. It also allows for abortions when a fetus is determined to be not compatible with life due to serious medical issues.

If signed, the law would take effect January 1, 2020.

Gov. Kemp said in a statement Friday that he looked 'forward to working with the House to ensure this legislation's final passage in the coming days.'

Similar 'heartbeat' bills have been held up in other states after legal challenges.
Richard Brown, 25, of Apopka, Florida was arrested and charged with sexual battery on a child, sexual assault, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor

A 25-year-old man who claimed to be a wealthy, 19-year-old 'Instagram famous' celebrity raped a 17-year-old girl he met online and then paid more than $800 for her to take a 1,200-mile Uber ride to his home across three states.

Richard Brown of Apopka, Florida was arrested and charged with sexual battery on a child, sexual assault, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, WESH-TV reported on Saturday.

Brown was booked into Orange County Jail after police allege he lured a Texas girl to his Florida home.

The alleged victim, who was reported missing from her San Antonio home, told police that Brown told her he was 'Instagram famous and he would be able to take care of [her].'

Police allege that Brown 'ordered an Uber from San Antonio all the way to his home in Apopka.'

Police said the victim told investigators that Brown paid for an Uber to driver her from San Antonio to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, according to WFTV-TV.

From Baton Rouge, she took another Uber that dropped her off in Apopka last Sunday.

Brown allegedly raped a 17-year-old girl whom he lured from her home in San Antonio, Texas to his parents' house in Apopka (seen above)

Brown allegedly told the girl that he was 'Instagram famous' and was wealthy

Police allege that Brown 'ordered an Uber from San Antonio all the way to his home in Apopka.' Police said the victim told investigators that Brown paid for an Uber to driver her from San Antonio to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. From there, she took another Uber to Apopka last Sunday

The girl, who is not of legal age to consent to sex with an adult in the State of Florida, told police that she had been at Brown's home for at least three days.

During that time, she alleges that Brown forced her to have sex with him. She also alleges that Brown did drugs, including marijuana and cocaine.

The home belongs to Brown's parents.

Brown told police he believed the alleged victim was of age and that they were 'only friends.'

He said she was 'in need of a place to stay.'

The girl told police that she asked to leave once she realized that Brown wasn't 'Instagram famous'.

But Brown kept her in the house, allegedly telling her that she 'owed' him 'for bringing you all the way here.'

The girl told police she managed to escape after Brown fell asleep. She then started a Snapchat with her mother.

Brown is being held on $40,000 bond.
The German national who allegedly scammed friends and banks out of thousands of in hopes of reaching New York's exclusive circles, now faces deportation.

Anna Delvey, a 28-year-old whose real name is Anna Sorokin, is said to have overstayed her visa in the United States.

Rachael Yong Yow, a spokeswoman with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said that the agency has instructed New York City's Department of Corrections to hand the German citizen over as soon as her criminal proceedings wrapped.

Anna Delvey, a 28-year-old whose real name is Anna Sorokin, is said to have overstayed her visa in the United States and now faces deportation by ICE (pictured on March 22)

'ICE is requesting that we be notified prior to her release from local custody so she can be taken into ICE custody,' Yow said to Insider.

Sorokin posed as Anna Delvey, the heiress daughter of a fictitious billionaire Russian magnate and used the persona to dupe elite circles in Manhattan from 2013 until January of 2017

'Regardless of whether or not she is convicted, she is amenable for removal because she is a visa waiver overstay. If she is convicted, she is sentenced to serve her time in the US.'

Sorokin posed as Anna Delvey, the heiress daughter of a fictitious billionaire Russian magnate and used the persona to dupe elite circles in Manhattan from 2013 until January of 2017.

She talked banks into lending her money to start the 'Anna Delvey Foundation' and skipped out on bills at the end of a weeks-long stays in some of New York's finest hotels.

She also targeted individuals who she believed would serve her well and got them to pay for things with the promise that she would eventually give them the money back.

Yow stated that Sorokin came to the US under the Visa Waiver Program on June 7, 2017, but didn't leave the country in the appropriate time. The program allows citizens from 38 countries to visit the United States without a visa for a maximum of 90 days.

Sorokin was arrested in October 2017 and charged with 10 counts of larceny.

Sorokin came to the US under the Visa Waiver Program on June 7, 2017, but didn't leave the country in the appropriate time. The program allows citizens from 38 countries to visit the United States without a visa for a maximum of 90 days

The Manhattan District Attorney's office sent a notice to Sorokin telling her that any fraud-related offense 'in which the loss to the victim(s) is more than $10,000' becomes a 'deportable offense'. Her alleged thefts tally upwards to $275,000.

ICE plans to deport the woman after her sentence, if she is convicted.

Sorokin's trial will soon be underway, and the jury selection process is currently underway.

The suspect showed up to court on Wednesday wearing a black blazer, beige blouse and white sneakers. She wore her hair in a ponytail.
50-year-old Ann Beaumont is believed to have obtained a head injury before she wandered in to bush land

Police are frantically searching for a woman who crashed her car on a rural highway before disappearing in mysterious circumstances.

Ann Beaumont, 50, was seen wandering into bushland with a head injury near Maranboy, a small Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory.

Superintendent Peter Kennon said police were called at 1am on Sunday after people witnessed the crash on the Central Arnhem Highway, roughly 80 kilometres south-east of Katherine.

Ms Beaumont's white Holden Commodore which was crashed before being abandoned is believed to be the only car in the accident.

Police searched the bushland overnight and throughout the day using a helicopter with a Police and NTES ground team but have not yet found her

They are appealing to members of the public for any information on the woman to come forward as they are concerned for her safety.

She is described as Caucasian, with dark blonde hair.

Anyone with information can contact 131 444, quoting PROMIS number 8917989.
A young girl has died and a little boy is being flown to Brisbane in a critical condition after a car crash near Rockhampton.

The children, a nine-year-old girl and a boy, 6, were taken to Rockhampton Hospital in Central Queensland both in critical conditions after a two vehicle crash at Yeppoon Road and Artillery Road in Ironpot at about 9.40am Sunday.

The girl passed away in hospital and the boy was on Sunday afternoon being flown to Queensland Children's Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

A nine-year-old girl has died in two-vehicle crash at Rockhampton, Queensland on Sunday

One of them had been pinned inside a car with a serious head injury while the other suffered serious head and abdominal injuries.

Police say those children were with another girl 10, and an Emu Park woman, 40, in a blue Toyota hatchback, while a 33-year-old woman and two other girls, aged eight and 12, were in a grey Toyota hatchback.

They believe one car was travelling east on Yeppoon Road when it moved to the middle of the intersection, colliding with the side of the other car, which had been heading north on Artillery Road.

One child under the age of 10 was pinned by their legs inside the car by damage caused during the crash, a Queensland Ambulance spokesman said.

The other five patients sustained only minor injuries, and the forensic crash unit is investigating.

Emergency services have praised the members of the public who pulled over and rushed to the aid of the people trapped inside the crashed vehicles.

'There was people in shock, varying degrees of injuries, it was definitely not a good incident,' Barry Thompson, from the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service told ABC News.

By the time crews arrived, all children and two adults were out of the two vehicles except for one child - who had to be cut from the car.

'I think it's going to take a toll on my crews,' he said.

The Forensic Crash Unit are on the scene investigating and extended delays are expected along Yeppoon Road throughout the evening.

It is the fourth child to die in a traffic accident in Queensland in a week.

Two children died following a single-car crash at Peaks Crossing, and a three year-old was killed after running out in front of a ute in a service station carpark at Burpengary.
Controversial senator Fraser Anning says he 'couldn't care less' about his place in politics and that parliament is 'full of traitors'.

Senator Anning spoke to the Warwick Daily News while walking through a fair in the small country town of Warwick, inland of Brisbane.

'If I wasn't there (parliament) it's not going to bother me too much,' he said.

'But I will leave it to the Australian people to make the decision on who they put into the senate or into the Lower House.'

Fraser Anning said he 'couldn't care less' if he was re-elected while campaigning this week

The divisive politician was guarded by a team of Australian Federal Police.

The heavy security presence follows an incident last week where 17-year-old William Connolly, dubbed 'Egg Boy', smashed an egg on his head.

The teenager was behind Mr Anning at a Conservative National Party Meeting in Melbourne when he smashed the egg on the back of the senator's head.

A short scuffle ensued and the schoolboy was grabbed around the neck, tackled to the ground and restrained by up to five men after the egging.

Senator Anning previously faced heavy criticism after he blamed the terrorist attacks in Christchurch on Muslim immigration levels to the country.

This prompted bipartisan support from the major parties to pass a census motion on the senator, which will likely hinder his chances to be re-elected.

Senate leader Mathias Cormann and Penny Wong backed a motion to censor Senator Anning over divisive comments on victims of the Christchurch shooting

The motion backed by Senate leader Mathias Cormann and Penny Wong will likely be passed when the Upper House returns on April 2nd.

In a joint statement they said the motion was designed to censor Senator Anning over 'divisive comments seeking to attribute blame to victims of a horrific crime and to vilify people on the basis of religion'.

One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson said she will abstain from the vote to censor the senator, believing that it will not achieve anything.

Mr Anning also said the National Party had become too left wing and claimed that the major parties were 'going to kill this country'.

He said Australia needed to focus more on fixing the drought crisis and working on big infrastructure projects.

The heavy security presence follows an incident last week where 17-year-old William Connolly, dubbed 'Egg Boy', smashed an egg on his head.
The parents of missing Madeleine McCann are still being chased for hefty legal fees nearly a decade after the start of their court battle against the ex-police chief who has attacked them again in a new documentary.

Kate and Gerry McCann are about to be told by a Lisbon court they still owe thousands of pounds from their libel fight against Goncalo Amaral.

Goncalo Amaral is still chasing Kate and Gerry McCann for hefty legal fees

And the disgraced policeman, who has just accused the couple of putting their daughter's life at risk in a new Netflix series about Madeleine's 2007 disappearance, is set to increase their heartbreak by hitting them with a fresh four-figure demand for cash.

Amaral, 59, is waiting on a soon-to-come judgement from the European Court of Human Rights over the lengthy legal battle with the McCanns sparked by his hurtful 2008 book The Truth of The Lie before deciding whether to launch a compensation claim.

But legal papers at a Lisbon court show Madeleine's parents are already nearly 24,000 out of pocket after accusing Amaral of defaming them by cruelly claiming in the book she died in an accident at their Algarve apartment and they covered it up.

Another bill totalling 5,346 to cover left-over court costs - half what they were being asked for before a successful appeal a judge has just ruled on - is about to be sent to their lawyer Isabel Duarte.

And that is likely to pave the way for a fresh claim by Amaral to get Madeleine's parents to compensate him for another 5,148 in remaining fees he will be asked for that were incurred in persuading his country's top court to back him over the book fight.

Legal papers in a Lisbon court show how Madeleine's parents are nearly 24,000 out of pocket after accusing Amaral of defamation

Thirteen volumes of court files charting the ongoing battle the McCanns started after Amaral published in July 2008 - just three days after they were told they were no longer suspects - detail the cash settlements they have been forced into after their initial 2015 libel win was overturned by two higher Portuguese courts.

The 2,958 pages show Madeleine's parents had to pay 5,548 in costs to Truth of the Lie publishers Guerra e Paz despite its lawyer admitting to a miscalculation of nearly 1,800 in her initial estimate.

The files also show an error by Amaral's lawyer Miguel Cruz Rodriguez almost led to the McCanns paying Amaral around 1,800 more in costs than they had to.

The McCanns' lawyer Isabel Duarte paid the extra before complaining in writing to a judge to get the cash refunded.

The couple's total bill so far from their Amaral libel fight comes to just under 24,500.

That includes their own legal fees and court costs but also four-figure payouts to the former detective and Truth of the Lie publishers Guerra e Paz.

The figure - which does not include costs they have incurred taking the case to Europe - will rise to nearly 35,000 once the McCanns are sent their new bill and Amaral demands they compensate him for his final payment linked to the Portuguese court fight.

A new Netflix documentary about Madeleine's disappearance in 2007 has sparked fresh interest in the case

An appendix to the files - kept on a shelf in a seventh-floor office at the same Lisbon Civil Court which ordered Amaral to pay the McCanns 430,000 in 2015 before its first-round libel decision was overturned on appeal - also lays bare the ex-cop's dire financial position when he penned his controversial book.

Isabel Duarte applied to have his assets seized in June 2009 after lodging a claim for 1,000,000 in damages on behalf of the McCanns and their children.

But a financial probe revealed the 60,000 2700cc Jaguar car he drove was owned by a firm he set up four months after his book about Madeleine's death was published.

It also showed an Algarve home - registered in his then-wife Sofia's name - had liens totalling nearly 400,000 after the bank moved to repossess it following missed mortgage payments and Portuguese tax chiefs tried to recover a five-figure debt.

Amaral, now living in Lisbon, went on the attack again in a Netflix documentary series released earlier this month by claiming the McCanns put their toddler's life at risk by publicising her distinctive eye marking.

A spokesman for the couple said Mr Amaral's claims were 'unfounded'.

A source close to the McCanns was quoted as saying: 'Mr Amaral doesn't seem to have any compassion for Kate and Gerry and is only interested in publicising himself.'

The retired officer has played a prominent role in the American streaming giant's programme but has waived his normal interview fee.

He normally commands payment of up to 50,000 euros for participating with media in his native Portugal and other European countries.

A spokesperson for Netflix said today: 'We have categorically not paid Mr Amaral an appearance fee, he has not been paid a penny, nor have we paid any contributor working on our documentary The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann.

The spokesperson added that the production team had travelled to Portugal to film the former officer and the only money shelved out was 'production costs for travel, meals and accommodation expenses.'

A source close to the McCanns said: 'Mr Amaral usually demands a large fee when dealing with media about the Madeleine case.

He has now been given a global platform for free to spout and repeat his lies about Kate and Gerry. It seems that was reward enough. It is appalling.'
The youngest sister of Gladys Berejiklian made heads turn during celebrations for the premier's recent election win.

Fiery blonde Mary Berejiklian dazzled onlookers in a sparkling floor-length gown as she joined in on celebrations in her sister's honour.

On Saturday night, the NSW state premier was re-elected and will serve as the Liberal party leader in its third consecutive term in office.

The youngest sister of Gladys Berejiklian made heads turn during celebrations for the premier's recent election win

The fiery blonde dazzled onlookers in a sparkling floor-length gown as she joined in on celebrations in her sister's honour

Mary's disco-inspired black and silver sequined dress, paired with a striking red lip became a focal point of the post-win celebrations.

Social media lit up with support for Mary, who works as a corporate executive, after her appearance on Saturday night.

'Everyone needs a Mary in their corner!! Best sister!' wrote one woman.

'Thats the kind of woman you want in your circle. Not the one thats going to attack a public figure for something as superficial as their looks to detract from the actual debate,' added a second.

'What a great sister, a bare-fisted fighter,' wrote a third.

The duo are publicly close, with Mary known to defend her sister to social media trolls who target the premier for her appearance or policies.

Mary unleashed a slew of comments targeting the bullies who were attacking Premier Berejiklian on Instagram.

One person who left a comment under the premier's photo telling her she 'sucked' was promptly told to 'grow some pubes then we can talk'.

Under another of the premier's Instagram photos a user made a comment about her sister's 'f**k-off bird nose'.

Mary's disco inspired black and silver sequined dress, paired with a striking red lip became a focal point of the post-win celebrations

The duo are publicly close, with Mary known to defend her sister to social media trolls who target the premier for her appearance or policies

'Disgusting 12-year-old  you even allowed to have an account? You have an immature bird brain that can't come up with anything better than a bullying personal attack,' Mary wrote back.

The user replied, attempting to defend themselves by claiming the culture of music is dying because of the crackdown on festivals.

Mary hit back once more: 'A baboon could tell your age based on your behaviour and sophistication in your writing.'

She told another user she had 'more respect for possums' when they described her sister as being 'useless'.

Another user, who tried discussing how Sydney's night-life was taking a hit because of the 'war on festivals', was told they were a 'sheep'.

The corporate executive is extremely protective of her older sister

'You have become a sheep and rattling off the same BS that doesnt (sic) make sense. You don't even know what policies you are arguing,' Ms Berejiklian wrote.

The corporate executive is extremely protective of her older sister.

The premier took it upon herself to care for her younger sisters while their parents worked full-time.

Talking to The Daily Telegraph, she said her sister didn't deserve to be personally attacked 'by a minority of cowardly people', although she admits some of the responses weren't her 'finest'.

'Glad has worked hard and passionately for the people of NSW and this hasn't been limited to these past two years but since she was 17 years of age,' she said.

'She doesn't deserve being personally attacked by a minority of cowardly people hiding behind the comfort of their online social media accounts, hurling profanities with no ramifications.'.

'I didn't want any of these online bullies getting a free hit and I have no doubt several were shocked that someone fought back.'

Mary, a corporate executive, unleashed a slew of comments targeting the bullies who were attacking Premier Berejiklian on Instagram
Karen Matthews is said to have no one in her life other than her budgie Bobby

The UK's 'worst mother' Karen Matthews is so isolated after staging the kidnapping of her daughter her pet bird is now her only friend, it is claimed.

Matthews, 44, is said to have no one in her life other than her budgie Bobby, who is now 'her only friend in the world', according to a source.

The source, said to be close to Matthews, told the Daily Star: 'She asks him for advice on a daily basis. She has no-one else now.'

One source told the paper: 'She treats him like a child and calls him her 'baby boy'.'

Matthews reportedly used to own another bird named Archie, who died last year.

Last year she had complained of her loneliness, saying she was getting a pet.

Matthews was jailed over faking the kidnap of her daughter Shannon to cash in on the 50,000 reward put up after the child, who was nine years old, disappeared in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire in 2008.

She and her accomplice Michael Donovan were convicted of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice after Shannon was found in Donovan's flat 24 days after she went missing.

The mother-of-seven, who served four years of her eight-year jail term, has insisted she is not Britain's worst mother because she 'didn't kill anybody', and has claimed to have suffered more abuse than Baby P's mother Tracey Connelly and Maxine Carr, who covered up for Soham killer Ian Huntley.

Matthews, 44, was jailed over faking the kidnap of her daughter Shannon to cash in on the 50,000 reward (pictured: Matthews making an appeal for her missing daughter)

Matthews was jailed for eight years in 2008 after kidnapping her daughter Shannon (pictured)

Last year Matthews, who now reportedly lives in a one-bedroom flat with Bobby, said she was scared she will die alone but was not looking for a man because she 'doesn't trust them.'

It has been reported that Matthews wants to sell the rights to her autobiography to pay for cosmetic surgery, hoping a makeover will help her go unrecognised.

It has also been reported that Matthews wants to start a business supporting families of missing children and has offered her services to Kate and Gerry McCann, whose daughter Madeleine disappeared in 2007.

Matthews has said she never knew where her daughter was when she went missing in 2008.

She and her boyfriend at the time Craig Meehan made several public appeals for help finding the schoolgirl - who was found on March 14 at the flat of Michael Donovan.

The child had been drugged and kept in a small compartment under the bed.
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Top Tory Brexiteers including Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg have arrived for a Brexit showdown with Theresa May at Chequers amid a coup plot by ministers to remove her from power.

They were among hardliners summoned to the Buckingham retreat on Sunday afternoon as the MP desperately searches for a way to break the current Brexit deadlock.

Former foreign secretary Mr Johnson and European Research Group chairman Mr Rees-Mogg - along with his son Peter - led a string of senior politicians including Brexiteer former ministers David David, Iain Duncan Smith, Dominic Raab and Steve Baker.

They were joined by serving ministers including Environment Secretary Michael Gove, Mrs May's de-facto deputy prime minister and Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington, and Tory Chief Whip Julian Smith.

Their attendance came after Mr Gove and Mr Lidington had both pledged their support to the beleaguered Prime Minister after being named at the centre of the Cabinet coup.

As senior cabinet figures complained that the Prime Minister's judgement had reportedly gone 'haywire' in recent weeks Mr Lidington was named as a possible caretaker if she is forced out.

But Brexiteers who could not stomach the little-known Remainer being in charge at a crucial time for Brexit are plotting to get 2016 Leave mastermind and Environment Secretary Mr Gove installed instead.

However both men distanced themselves from any disloyalty today, with Mr Gove telling the BBC he 'absolutely' backed Mrs May, calling for 'cool heads'.

Jacob Rees-Mogg arrived at Chequers this afternoon with his son beside him. Boris Jonson was also among the guests at the discussion on Brexit

Iain Duncan Smith arrived in a flashy soft-topped sports car at Chequers, while Dominic Raab opted for a more conventional vehicle

Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis was driven into Chequers, as was Environment Secretary Michael Gove, who earlier said he was fully behind the Prime Minister

Former Brexit minister Steve Baker, an ultra-Brexiteer, made the short drive from his High Wycombe constituency, with David Lidington driving over from Aylesbury, having earlier denied having any desire to replace Mrs May

He said: 'It is not the time to change the captain of the ship, I think what we need to do is chart the right course.

'I think the Prime Minister has charted that right course by making sure that we have a deal which honours the referendum mandate and also allows us to leave in a way which means we can strengthen our economy and also take advantage of life outside the European Union.'

His comments came after Mr Lidington had told reporters in his Aylesbury constituency today: 'I don't think that I've any wish to take over from the PM (who) I think is doing a fantastic job.

'I tell you this: one thing that working closely with the Prime Minister does is cure you completely of any lingering shred of ambition to want to do that task.

'I have absolute admiration for the way she is going about it.'

David Lidington, the Cabinet Office Minister and Mrs May's de-facto deputy, said today: 'I don't think that I've any wish to take over from the PM'

Mr Lidington added that one effect of working with the Prime Minister was to 'cure you completely of any lingering shred of ambition to want to do that task'

Alarmed Brexiteers are aligning behind Environment Secretary Michael Gove (pictured today), a former leadership candidate and mastermind of the Leave campaign in 2016, as a caretaker leader

Ministers and MPs have started arriving arriving at Chequers in Buckinghamshire for Brexit discussions with Theresa May as she tried to find a way forward

Philip Hammond says MPs should discuss second referendum 'proposition' next week Philip Hammond said Mrs May's Brexit deal was his 'preferred way forward' but admitted: 'I'm realistic that we may not be able to get a majority' Philip Hammond has said a second EU referendum is a 'perfectly coherent proposition' as he urged MPs to decide on a 'compromise' Brexit deal if they cannot back Theresa May. The Chancellor said that 'one way or another' Parliament would this week be able to show what it wanted from Brexit, rather than constantly showing what it does not want. Mr Hammond told Sky's Ridge on Sunday that Mrs May's Brexit deal - already defeated twice by MPs - was his 'preferred way forward' but admitted: 'I'm realistic that we may not be able to get a majority'. 'One way or another Parliament is going to have the opportunity this week to decide what it is in favour of, and I hope that it will take that opportunity - if it can't get behind the Prime Minister's deal - to say clearly and unambiguously what it can get behind,' he added. But he warned that any alternative deal must be 'a variant that is deliverable, not some unicorn'. The Chancellor said Parliament would be given the chance to hold indicative votes on alternatives to Mrs May's Brexit deal this week. Tomorrow Parliament debates an amendable Government motion on the Brexit deal, which gives MPs a chance to put their favoured outcomes to a vote. And the day after an estimated one million people marched through London demanding a second referendum, Mr Hammond added: 'I'm not sure that there's a majority in Parliament for a second referendum but it's a perfectly coherent proposition. 'Many people will be strongly opposed to it, but it's a coherent proposition and it deserves to be considered along with the other proposals.' Advertisement

Mr Johnson, the former foreign secretary, is set to join Jacob Rees-Mogg and ex-Ministers Dominic Raab, David Davis, Iain Duncan Smith and Damian Green at her Buckinghamshire retreat this afternoon.

They will confront the Prime Minister as rival groups of current ministers battle to replace her as Brexit collapses into bitter Tory infighting.

Number 10 sources also confirmed that the Cabinet will meet at 10 Downing Street tomorrow ahead of what could be a pivotal set of votes by MPs as they attempt to seize control of Brexit.

Rumours have circulated for days that many MPs might support her Brexit deal if it is put to the vote a third time, were she to agree to step down.

Mr Lidington, a former Europe Minister, is reportedly backed by at least six ministers, said to include Remainers Philip Hammond, Greg Clark, Amber Rudd and David Gauke.

But Chancellor Mr Hammond said today that those plotting to topple Mrs May were 'self indulgent'.

Asked on Sky's Ridge on Sunday if he was backing Mr Lidington, he said: 'That is not the case at all.

'Changing the prime minister won't help us. Changing the party in Government won't help us.'

He refused to be drawn on whether his colleagues had approached him asking him to make an intervention.

However, he acknowledged that 'people are very frustrated and people are desperate to find a way forward in the just over two weeks that we've got to resolved this issue'.

Last night Mrs May's former policy adviser MP George Freeman said it was 'all over for the PM', tweeting: 'She's done her best. But across the country you can see the anger.

'Everyone feels betrayed. Government's gridlocked. Trust in democracy collapsing. This can't go on. We need a new PM who can reach out (and) build some sort of coalition for a Plan B.'

Mrs May is spending the weekend at her country retreat, Chequers, following her humiliation in Brussels on Thursday, where EU leaders refused to give her the Brexit delay she wanted.

The paper reported that officials concerned about the Prime Minister's health have drawn up 'protocols' on what to do if she collapses at the Dispatch Box following a gruelling schedule in recent weeks and months.

But while she regrouped in the Home Counties 11 Cabinet ministers said that they wanted her to go, with a plan to confront her when Cabinet meets week, according to the Sunday Times.

An online petition calling on the Government to cancel Brexit reached five million signatures today.

The Revoke Article 50 petition is the most popular ever submitted to the Parliament website, having leapt ahead of the 4.1 million signatures amassed by a 2016 petition calling for a second EU referendum.

The petition has had the highest rate of sign-ups on record, according to Parliament's official Petitions Committee, adding over two million signatures in 24 hours.

By contrast, a pro-Brexit petition on the Parliament website which urges the Government to leave the EU without a deal has received 455,000 signatures.

The petition, started in late February, leapt in popularity following the Prime Minister's appeal to the public on Wednesday where she told frustrated voters: 'I am on your side.'

A diagram showing what could happen after the third meaningful vote

Theresa May leaving church this morning. She is spending the weekend at Chequers planning her next move as her ministers also plot theirs - which includes replacing her

Mrs May is reeling from a torrid week in which her efforts to get a three-month Brexit delay weer dashed by the EU, which would only give her a shorter period in which to get a deal past MPs

Former May advisor George Freeman went public on Sunday night to suggest it was time for her to go.

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith attacked 'a cabal that never wanted to leave the European Union, turning out to decide what should happen over our future' as he appeared on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show today, along with Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay (right)

Officials 'draw up plans to deal with Theresa May collapse in House of Commons' Mrs May has put in some long shifts in the Commons in recent weeks trying to get a Brexit deal past MPs, but to no avail so far Commons officials concerned about Theresa May's health have reportedly drawn up contingency plans to whisk her out of the Commons if she collapses. The Prime Minister has faced a punishing routine of meetings and travel both here and to Europe as she battled to get a Brexit deal across the line. She has also put in a large number of hours in the Commons trying to win MPs over to backing her deal. Concerns about the health of the 62-year-old Prime Minister, who has type 1 diabetes, have led officials to develop a 'protocol' in case she becomes ill at the Dispatch Box, the Sunday Times reported. The signs of the toll that Brexit has been taking showed on March 12 as she lost her voice and struggled to speak as she put her deal to the Commons and lost by 149 votes. The Prime Minister brought back memories of her 2017 Conservative Party Conference speech as she was reduced to a croak as she addressed MPs in the Commons. After a red-eye trip to Strasbourg to meet Jean-Claude Juncker the previous night she was noticeably hoarse as she introduced the motion for her doomed second meaningful vote. Advertisement

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith hit out at the Cabinet plotting, saying that a leadership change now would make the UK 'a laughing stock in the world'.

He blasted Remainer minister for briefing newspapers while enjoying the privileges of government, telling the BBc's Marr Show: 'I think that's appalling, I think they should be censured and some of them should be sacked.

'And the idea of a cabal, a cabal that never wanted to leave the European Union, turning out to decide what should happen over our future would be unacceptable to my colleagues.'

Describing the last week as 'as close to a national humiliation as I think I've seen', he added: If the answer is a caretaker, whether it is David Lidington or anyone else what the hell was the question?'

Pro-EU former education secretary Nicky Morgan - who has worked on Brexit compromise plans with hardline Brexiteers in recent weeks, told the Sunday Telegraph that Cabinet ministers should tell Mrs May 'it's time to go'.

She said: 'Unfortunately, I think that what started off as qualities that people admired are the ones that now mean she's not the flexible leader to find a way through this.

'I understand that it is difficult to say to someone that it's time to go. But there are enough people around the Cabinet table who can step up  and she's got to listen.'

Other Tory backbenchers also lined up to call time on Mrs May's leadership.

Steve Baker, a former Brexit minister, told the same paper that potential leadership contenders in the Government should make their move, saying: 'If they will not act now, when are they ever going to be seen to step forward and how could they possibly persuade the country that they're the great statesmen to take us forward?'

And Anne-Marie Trevelyan wrote in the same paper: 'We now need a leader who believes in our country and wants to take her on the next stage of her journey.'

Conservative peer Lord Gadhia, a former member of David Cameron's inner circle, said the upcoming days in Parliament may be 'very dramatic' and could see the end of Mrs May's time as premier.

It came after an estimated one million people joined a march on Parliament yesterday demanding a final say for the public over Brexit.

The Commons is expected to be given the third chance to vote on her Withdrawal Agreement this week after EU leaders gave her as little as three weeks to create order from the Brexit chaos.

But on Friday night Mrs May wrote to parliamentarians warning if there is insufficient support for her Withdrawal Agreement in the coming days that she could seek an extension to Britain's EU membership beyond the European Parliament elections.

As many as one million people marched through London yesterday to demand a second Brexit referendum

Among those taking part in the march, which brought the political centre of the capital to a standstill, was actor Bill Nighy

At the EU Council in Brussels leaders offered to extend Article 50 until May 22 if MPs vote for a deal in Parliament next week.

But without a deal the Prime Minister she was given a fortnight 'flextension' to decide her next move.

MPs are expected to make moves to take control of Brexit this week, which could lead to a second referendum or a longer extension to Article 50 keeping us in the EU for as long as two years.

Cabinet coup: Theresa May is told she must go as ministers plot to install Michael Gove in No 10 to save Brexit

Theresa May could be ousted from No 10 within days after her Cabinet plotted to replace her with Michael Gove as a caretaker Prime Minister.

A senior Downing Street source told The Mail on Sunday last night that even Mrs May's Chief Whip, Julian Smith, had advised her to set out her departure plans, with Environment Secretary Mr Gove emerging as the 'consensus choice' to succeed her.

Mr Gove is being championed by Cabinet Brexiteers who are furious about what they see as an attempted 'coup' by Remain-backing David Lidington, Mrs May's de facto deputy.

At least six ministers are supportive of installing Lidington, the de facto deputy prime minister, as a caretaker in No 10 to deliver Brexit and then make way for a full leadership contest in the autumn.

Lidington's supporters include cabinet remainers Greg Clark, Amber Rudd and David Gauke. The chancellor, Philip Hammond, also believes Lidington should take over if May refuses this week to seek a new consensus deal on Brexit.

A senior Government source said yesterday that there was now 'complete unanimity' in the Cabinet that Mrs May should step down as soon as possible.

In a number of astonishing, fast-moving developments, coming just days before a series of historic Commons votes:

No 10 warned Tory rebels that, if they didn't back Mrs May's deal, the Commons could revoke Article 50, effectively cancelling Brexit;

Mrs May mounted a last-ditch effort to save the deal by pleading with Jacob Rees-Mogg to drop his opposition  as his European Research Group made plans to select their preferred leadership candidate;

A tearful Tory whip accused Mrs May of 'betraying Brexit' and 'destroying our party';

Boris Johnson demanded to the Prime Minister's face that she rule out leading the party into an Election, while her aides wargamed what would happen if Mrs May went to the country if the Commons rejected her Brexit deal again;

No 10 scheduled the crunch votes for Wednesday and Thursday, with MPs voting on Mrs May's deal and alternative options such as membership of a customs union;

Chancellor Philip Hammond refused demands by Cabinet colleagues to 'wield the knife' and tell the Prime Minister that she had to resign;

Tory MP Nigel Evans said that, if Mrs May agreed to resign, then the party's Brexiteers would support her deal;

Central London was brought to a standstill as anti-Brexit protesters staged a major march calling for another EU referendum.

The Cabinet's move against Mrs May comes after a disastrous week in which she blamed MPs for the delay to Brexit in a live televised address, which left Mr Smith incandescent with rage. She was then humiliated by EU leaders at a summit which agreed that, if her deal is defeated again, then Parliament will have just two more weeks to find an alternative, or risk a no-deal Brexit on April 12.

A senior Government source said Mr Smith had 'conveyed the message [that Mrs May's Cabinet colleagues believe she should stand down] to the PM'.

A Downing Street spokesman said that they did not comment on private conversations.

The collapse in the Prime Minister's authority has triggered rival Cabinet plots by Remainers and Brexiteers to seize power.

Pro-Remain Cabinet Ministers, led by Mr Hammond and Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd, have been backing Cabinet Office Minister Mr Lidington to take over as temporary Prime Minister.

But when pro-Brexit Cabinet Ministers, led by Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss, found out that Mr Lidington was holding talks with Labour MPs about votes on 'soft' Brexit measures they moved quickly to stifle the plot by backing Mr Gove instead.

Under the plan, Mr Gove would see through Brexit as PM, before a full leadership contest in the summer.

One senior Cabinet Minister told The Mail on Sunday: 'The public will never forgive us if in a time of historical crisis our answer is David Lidington. This is where it is going to get very scary, whatever you think about it'.

Last night Henry Newman, one of Michael Gove's most loyal supporters and a former aide, said the Prime Minister's 'ill-judged' speech blaming MPs for the Brexit crisis 'united Labour and Tory critics against her'. He added: ' I think she will have to offer to step down to get her deal through.'

A series of so-called 'indicative votes' will be held next week to test which alternatives to Mrs May's deal are likely to pass the Commons, including a Norway-style customs union or even cancelling Brexit.

One senior Minister warned rebel Tory MPs that, if they continued to vote down Mrs May's deal, then they would be on 'a conveyor belt to Norway  possibly with Jeremy Corbyn leading the way'.

The Minister added: 'If we do not deliver Brexit we are so unbelievably f****d, not just as a party or a Government, but in a national way. Now is the time to be bold, a customs union is a cop-out  it's the easiest solution for Parliament but the worst solution for the country.

'It has to be Mrs May's deal, or no deal. We cannot be allowed to drift into the worst position, but that is what David Lidington is manoeuvring us to  and there is no upside to it'.

Another Minister said that it was 'a matter of arithmetic' that Mrs May should set out her departure date: 'Just look at the numbers of people saying they would back the deal if she sets out a timetable for her departure and add them up. Say no more.'

A series of senior Conservative figures warned Mrs May last week that she has lost the confidence of her party.

Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservatives' 1922 Committee, visited the Prime Minister on Monday, where he told her that the number of colleagues calling for her to go was growing.

Mr Johnson also repeatedly challenged Mrs May to rule out leading the party into a General Election this year  which she has refused to do.

It is understood that all but one member of the Tory whips office think that her 'time is up'. One, Paul Maynard, was in tears recently when he told the Prime Minister: 'I've heard enough. When I was told that we would have to come over and talk to you I began to cry. I said I don't want to go over and talk to that woman any more. She's betrayed Brexit, destroying our party. I want her gone.'

Mrs May replied: 'I'm sorry you feel that way.'

Education Minister Nadhim Zahawi warned yesterday of a 'political meltdown' if Mrs May's deal is rejected again.

'It's a f****** coup': Cabinet war over plot to replace Theresa May with her No 2 leaves Michael Gove favourite to be caretaker Prime Minister

By Glen Owen and Harry Cole for The Mail on Sunday

After a torturous 14 hours at the EU Council, the Prime Minister returned to the British residency in Brussels in the early hours of Friday morning and demanded a large whisky.

But back in Westminster, her closest Cabinet colleagues were preparing to hand Theresa May a revolver to go with it.

Senior Cabinet Ministers and allies are privately urging Mrs May to set a departure date to help get her beleaguered Brexit deal over the line as 'a matter of arithmetic'.

Cabinet sources have told The Mail on Sunday that Mr Lidington (pictured today) was initially 'reluctant' to step into the role of 'caretaker' but was told it would be a 'four-month job' with a strict mandate

But others have simply decided her time is up and have spent the last three days plotting how to oust her.

A senior Downing Street source told this newspaper: 'Discussions about the Prime Minister's future are ongoing.'

On Friday evening, David Lidington, the pro-EU Cabinet Office boss and de facto deputy PM, was said to be in the 'advanced stages' of a plot to force Mrs May from office and herald a long Brexit extension as an interim leader who could build a cross-party Brexit deal.

But as news of the plan leaked, it sparked a furious Cabinet backlash that saw Michael Gove emerge as a 'consensus' candidate who could bring the crucial backing of both Remainers and Brexiteers.

Cabinet sources have told The Mail on Sunday that Mr Lidington was initially 'reluctant' to step into the role of 'caretaker' but was told it would be a 'four-month job with a three-pronged mandate: to negotiate a long extension, to oversee testing of what Parliament wants and to ensure a fair Tory leadership contest.'

A source said: 'David is 60. It would be his last job in politics and what a way to go out. The key players are on board. It's just a matter of when.'

The Mail on Sunday has learnt that Cabinet big beasts including Amber Rudd and Jeremy Hunt have urged Mr Lidington to 'knock on the door and call time' on Mrs May's premiership.

The Mail on Sunday has learnt that Cabinet big beasts including Amber Rudd (pictured) and Jeremy Hunt have urged Mr Lidington to knock on the door and call time on Mrs Mays premiership

In the febrile atmosphere in Westminster, there were even claims Michael Gove had initially supported Mr Lidington acting as caretaker, with one source claiming the plot was 'far less factional than Brexit lines'.

However, as word of Mr Lidington's manoeuvrings ripped through Westminster on Friday evening, Brexiteer Ministers were quick to brand the Cabinet politicking a 'Remainer coup', with former Vote Leave boss Mr Gove touted by Ministers and MPs for the job instead.

One senior Cabinet Minister told The Mail on Sunday: 'The British public will never forgive us if, in a time of historical crisis, our answer is David Lidington.

'This is where it is going to get very scary, whatever you think about it.

'If we do not deliver Brexit, we are so unbelievably f*****, not just as a party or a government, but in a national way. Now is the time to be bold. A customs union is a cop out  it's the easiest solution for Parliament but the worst solution for the country.

'It has to be her deal, or no deal. We cannot be allowed to drift into the worst position and that is what David Lidington is manoeuvring us to  there is no upside to it.'

And another Cabinet Minister branded the plot 'a f****** coup.'

...And if he gets into No 10, will old foe Boris ever get him out? Bookies last night slashed Michael Gove's odds of being the next Prime Minister. The Environment Secretary is now 5/1 joint favourite with his rival Boris Johnson to take the Tory crown. Should Mr Gove secure the keys to No 10, it would be a remarkable turnaround after he stabbed Mr Johnson in the back during in the 2016 Tory leadership battle, when he withdrew his support for his fellow Brexit campaigner at the last minute so he could stand himself. Bitter rivals: Michael Gove and Boris Johnson pull pints of beer at the Old Chapel pub in Darwen in Lancashire, as part of the Vote Leave EU referendum campaign Having initially been sacked by the victorious Theresa May, Mr Gove was subsequently brought back into the Cabinet fold and has spent the last year being studiously loyal to the Prime Minister in public, as he sought to repair his reputation among the Tory grassroots. Although Mr Gove was touted as a 'consensus caretaker' last night, Mr Johnson will be wary of letting his nemesis become Tory leader without a fight. Last night, a Ladbrokes spokesman said: 'Money for Michael Gove in the past few days has left the firm with no choice but to cut his odds of becoming the next PM. Mr Gove continues to attract punters' cash.' Advertisement

Outside of the Cabinet, one Minister furiously rejected Mr Lidington stepping in, saying: 'You might as well put the permanent secretaries in charge.'

They added: 'This is a pipe dream for the bland brigade, who must be deluded if they think replacing uncertainty with more uncertainty is going to fix anything.'

The backlash also broke on to the airwaves and social media, as Tory MPs began openly discussing Mrs May standing down.

After it emerged Mr Lidington had discussed soft-Brexit plans with Labour MPs, Tory Brexiteer Michael Fabricant compared his pro-EU stance to that of Britain's appeasing of Hitler in the 1930s.

The outspoken backbencher hit out: 'With the PM acting like Chamberlain, we now have David Lidington freelancing and acting like Lord Halifax hoping to come to an accommodation with Labour. Enough is enough!' Asked if the PM would still be in post by next month, fellow Tory Marcus Fysh told BBC2's Newsnight: 'I don't know.'

'We are starting to get to the stage where it really would have been good to have better negotiations going on,' he added. And fellow Leaver James Duddridge, tweeted '#Resign'.

Tory peer Lord Gadhia said: 'She may not survive to the end of the week.' He added: 'It is quite possible that she herself may decide 'actually, look, I am an obstacle to a resolution of this process'. So we may have a very dramatic week.'

Leadership speculation is gripping all corners of the parliamentary Conservative party, with other Ministers privately accepting that a General Election under a new leader would be needed to achieve a fresh mandate from the public ahead of Round Two of EU negotiations over a trade deal.

And Brexiteer hardliners in the European Research Group are determined not to repeat their disastrous implosion during the 2016 leadership battle which allowed Mrs May, who had campaigned to Remain, to come through the divided Brexiteers.

Senior MPs in the ERG plan to hold their own leadership contest to unite around one candidate. They point out a Brexiteer only needs to come second, with 105 MPs behind them, to proceed to the final round  a vote of the overwhelmingly Eurosceptic party membership.

Last night a source close to Mr Lidington said the claims from his Cabinet colleagues were 'nonsense', adding: 'David has not discussed anything of the sort. His focus is on getting the PM's deal agreed'.
















The predominance of a colour-focused world is so rampant it destroys the core of justice. The major problem behind colourism is the very fact that no one acknowledges it as a major issue or factor in actions regarding favoritism. However, it is.

Colourism is described to be discrimination of a particular group of people based on the color of their skin either too dark or too light. America is a centralized home for awareness in the issues of unfair advantage given to a specific group of persons due to an uncontrolled characteristic. In the issue of colorism, the USA is not the only culprit.

In Africa, colourism is so deep; it rules every aspect of social interaction. Models are given preference because of their lighter skin. The excuse most directors give is the ease it takes to edit and fewer complications in lightening direction. So a darker skin is not worthy of being glorified?

The skin condition albinism is so much discriminated and societal interaction between melanin sufficient individuals and the albinos is that of much scrutiny and disgust. This has gone on so long, especially in West Africa,it has become a norm. Other irregularities in skin colour are being discriminated and turning normal individuals with conditions beyond their control to freaks. The freaks get turned away at job interviews, the children in schools get bullied in school for their colour. Africa is already a continent tainted with slavery and colonization of the past. To hold specific people accountable for their colour and skin shade is trapping them among the unwanted and creating room for segregation in a system which requires more acceptability now than ever before

This trend follows through Asia, United Kingdom, Europe and the rest of the globe. Culture appropriation to look like individuals in the assumed lesser recognized race or skin shade in order to receive attention for beauty and jobs. Black-fishing became an exposed social injustice recently on twitter and brought along great controversy. At times, some shades of black are accepted just for how close to white they seem. Tainting the colours of the skin of young women and children to suit personal opinion and preference is borderline unacceptable. What a shame!

The consequence of colourism is the solution to change the shade into a finer more acceptable type to fit societys standard for appearance. In 2016, bleaching cream had become a multibillion-dollar industry. The revenues keep on booming and increasing year after year. Other dermatology procedures for lightening and correcting the mentally perceived deformity in skin colour also are possible. Tanning is the channel to change the white to just an up-shade. Cosmetic companies do not have a blend for darker skin shades and several others have labeled an innocent black man the criminal just because the color of his skin fits in with criminal tendencies.

The world must begin to live again for the equality of all. Everyone should have the right to be just as they are without getting berated or bullied. Around the globe, the ban of bleaching creams should be processed and mandated for. Tanning procedures must stop. Colouring actresses and actors to look a certain way is a trend that needs to end. The awareness of colorism is necessary to speak about. Young women and men together can build a life of peace and harmony, if only we do not judge beauty by the shade of our skin. The moment we open our eyes to see beyond the colour of our skin to the hearts and truth behind our actions is the moment of revolution.
A fisherman was left terrified when an enormous saltwater crocodile burst out of a creek and started chasing him after stealing his catch.

The man, known only as Daniel, was fishing with friends at a creek in Outback Australia when his line suddenly went taut.

'Cmon Daniel, keep the pressure on,' his friend can be heard shouting in the background as he struggles to haul in the huge fish.

Excitement quickly turns to fear when he pulls in the fish, thought to be a barramundi, only for a monster crocodile to quickly follow in pursuit.

A fisherman and his friends were fishing in Outback Australia when he realised he caught a big fish

'Run back bro, run Daniel run!,' his terrified friend screams as the pair sprint through the mud while the crocodile follows closely behind.

Bizarrely, the pair's attention soon becomes fixated on keeping the prized fish rather than worrying about their safety.

'Keep the pressure... no! No! It's so big! He's swallowing it, the whole thing's gone down his gob,' one of the men yells.

'F***!' Daniel screams in frustration.

'Daniel that was a beast of a fish... what a f***ing dog!' his mate screams, seemingly more concerned about the loss of the fish than the apex predator just metres away.

A crocodile leaped out of the water and swallowed the fish as the fisherman pulled in his fishing rod

The video was uploaded to YouTube by Last Cast Llewy, where it quickly racked up over a thousand views and dozens of comments.

'We all need a mate like Daniel's mate. He was giving great fishing advice and keeping him safe. He was sharing the high and devastating low and he videoed it all for us to enjoy,' wrote one social media user.

'This is the biggest confirmation of Australian stereotypes,' added another.

Crocodile attacks are rare in Australia, with less than one person being killed on average every year.

Male saltwater crocodiles grow up to six metres long and can weigh over a tonne.

Experts estimate there are as many as 200,000 saltwater crocodiles living in Australia, mainly in the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland.
A murder investigation is under way after a shop worker was stabbed to death during a robbery at a newsagent's in north-west London.

The 54-year-old man is believed to have been attacked as he opened Marsh Food and Wine in Pinner, near Harrow, on Sunday morning.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene and police said inquiries were under way to identify the man and his next of kin.

It comes amid another night of bloodshed in the capital with six more people stabbed as the number of homicides in London reached 29 this year.

A murder investigation is under way after a shop worker was stabbed to death during a robbery at a newsagent's in north-west London, police said. (Pictured, the scene today)

A large section of Marsh Road has been cordoned off. The scene pictured today

It comes amid another night of bloodshed in the capital with six more people stabbed

Officers were called to the scene in Marsh Road at around 6am but the victim was pronounced dead about 45 minutes later.

Scotland Yard said the shop's till was stolen and may have been discarded by the suspect, while detectives are appealing for witnesses who saw a black Vauxhall Astra driven away at speed immediately after the stabbing.

No arrests have been made and detectives from the Homicide and Major Crime Command have been informed.

A large section of Marsh Road has been cordoned off and a police forensics tent erected outside Marsh Food and Wine and a Costa Coffee outlet.

Local business owner Peter Brook, 55, who lives nearby, said: 'When someone actually violates your community, people will be shocked.'

He said there were a few employees from the newsagent's who delivered the morning papers to local businesses, all of whom he said are 'kind, polite and so committed to working in the local community'.

Mr Brook, who has lived in Pinner for nearly two decades, added: 'People sometimes don't appreciate the people who come out at 5am to deliver a service to the local community. When people like that are murdered going about their job it's such a tragedy.'

The man is believed to have been attacked as he opened Marsh Food and Wine in Pinner (pictured) on Sunday morning

Police activity in Marsh Road, Pinner, north-west London, today after the stabbing on Sunday

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene and police said enquiries were under way to identify the man and his next of kin

Officers were called to the scene in Marsh Road at around 6am but the victim was pronounced dead about 45 minutes later

Scotland Yard said the shop's till was stolen and may have been discarded by the suspect, while detectives are appealing for witnesses who saw a black Vauxhall Astra driven away at speed immediately after the stabbing

Norman Stevenson, a Conservative councillor for Pinner, said: 'I am shocked to hear what's happened here this morning. Pinner is a fairly prosperous, leafy suburb.

'A very safe part of the world. It's a real shock this has happened. There are only rumours at the moment about who the victim is. I have just been asking the police but they can't release any information.

'It's very unfortunate. We wouldn't expect it to happen. We don't expect this to happen in a typical leafy suburb.'

One resident described Pinner as 'lovely' but said she was not shocked by the news as such incidents are 'happening in all areas'.

Mary MacNamara, who has lived in the area for four years, said: 'We all see what's going on generally and it (such crime) seems to be happening in all areas.

Scotland Yard said officers were called to reports of an injured man at an address in Marsh Road (pictured), Pinner, at around 6am on Sunday

Police forensic officers scour the scene on Marsh Road, Pinner, where a man was stabbed to death at a newsagents

'It's happening every day. Nobody does anything about it. The Government are doing nothing about it. All they do is fight about Brexit.'

Local MP Nick Hurd said police are making house-to-house inquiries.

He tweeted: 'Deeply saddened to hear of a fatal stabbing in Marsh Road #Pinner earlier this morning. Area cordoned off; police conducting house to house inquiries and reassurance patrols.'

Detective Chief Inspector Simon Stancombe said: 'I am appealing to anyone who was in the area around Marsh Lane this morning and saw anything of interest to contact police.

'This was a violent robbery that has escalated, resulting in the murder of a man.

'It appears the till was stolen from the shop during this robbery and this may have been discarded by the suspect. If you have come across this, we want to hear from you.

Local MP Nick Hurd said police (pictured) are making house-to-house inquiries

Police activity in Marsh Road, Pinner, north-west London, after a man died following a stabbing incident

'I am particularly keen to hear from anyone who saw a black Vauxhall Astra that was driven away at speed south down Cecil Park immediately after the attack.

'We think that car was parked in Cecil Park prior to the murder - if you saw this, or have any other information that could help us progress this investigation, I would urge you to get in contact.'

Police are asking anyone with information to call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

A post-mortem examination will be scheduled in due course.

Police arrest eight people after a man 'in his 30s' was stabbed to death following a 'disturbance' on a leafy suburban road Six men and two women have been arrested after a man was stabbed to death during a 'disturbance' on a leafy suburban street, police have said. Avon and Somerset Police have launched a murder investigation following the death of the man, aged in his 30s. The force received a report of a disturbance at a property on Merlin Drive in Wells, Somerset, involving a number of people at 4.25pm on Saturday. One of the men died of his injuries at the scene and his next of kin have been informed. Avon and Somerset Police received a report of a disturbance at a property on Merlin Drive in Wells, Somerset, (pictured today) involving a number of people at 4.25pm on Saturday The injuries sustained by the other man, also in his 30s, are not life threatening or life changing but he remains in hospital for medical treatment. A force spokesman said: 'Armed officers were deployed to the scene and assisted their patrol colleagues with carrying out a number of arrests. 'The police helicopter was also used in the operation. 'In total, six men and two women, all from the Somerset area, were detained in connection with the incident and currently remain in police custody.' A post-mortem examination of the man who died and formal identification will be arranged 'in due course', he said. Officers attended the scene and found two men with knife wounds on nearby Wookey Hole Road. One of the men died of his injuries . The scene is pictured today Specially trained officers will be providing support to the man's family. Detective Inspector Alistair Hammett, senior investigating officer, said a full investigation was being carried out into the 'very tragic incident'. 'I appreciate this incident will shock local residents and we are increasing patrols in the area to provide reassurance,' he said. 'At this stage, we believe this to be an isolated incident involving people known to each other. 'A large cordon is in place around the Merlin Drive area and there will be a continuing police presence at the scene for some time while we carry out our enquiries.' Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call 101 giving the log 760 of March 25, or anonymously through Crimestoppers. Advertisement

The stabbing is the 29th to be classed as a homicide in London so far this year.

On Friday night, a 17-year-old boy was stabbed to death outside a block of flats.

Police arrived just after 10.30pm to reports of a fight and found a teenage boy dying in the street.

Paramedics battled in vain and the teen was pronounced dead at the scene in Isleworth, west London.

Another murder investigation has been launched and no arrests have yet been made.

Earlier this month, Nathaniel Armstrong, the cousin of Good Morning Britain weatherman Alex Beresford, was knifed to death in Fulham.

He was murdered outside a property on the same street that Crimewatch presenter Jill Dando was shot dead outside her home 20 years ago.

Jodie Chesney, in Harold Hill, east London, and Yousef Makki, in Greater Manchester, both 17, were stabbed to death during one violence-filled weekend earlier this month.

It comes as Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced a 100million funding package to tackle Britain's knife crime crisis.

Butchered for a wrong look: Azaan had never met the boys who killed him until a chance encounter ended in mayhem. But, as a chilling TV film reveals, that's just the reality of Knife Crime Britain

By Amy Oliver for The Mail on Sunday

It is broad daylight early on a Sunday afternoon and, just as in any other shopping centre up and down the country, The Mall in Luton is packed with families dragging bored children in and out of chain stores.

Suddenly, shouts and piercing screams erupt, the crowd parts and three teenagers start slashing at one another with knives, including a terrifying 18in machete.

Two run off  one of them wounded  as the third boy collapses to the ground with a terrible injury, blood spurting scarlet on to the polished marble floor. By the time security guards arrive at the scene, his life is ebbing away.

Scroll down for video

It was nothing more than a 'wrong' look that led to the senseless death of 18-year Azaan John Kaleem  the second violent episode at the heart of tomorrow's documentary

Outnumbered: CCTV shows gang surrounding Azaan and his girlfriend

As one guard tries to stem the flow from a massive gash in the 17-year-old's thigh, he pleads with the boy: 'Hold my hand and keep your eyes open.'

These horrific scenes, caught on CCTV, are a devastating depiction of Knife Crime Britain  a tide of violence rolling across towns and cities across the country.

In Luton, many miles from London's knife crime hotspots such as Islington or Tottenham, cases of stabbings have almost doubled over the last five years.

And no region is immune, with national crime statistics showing 40,000 blade-related incidents across the country in the year to September 2018.

Even this disturbing figure probably understates the total.

Brutal: Azaan is attacked, despite the appearance of a bystander. Shannon runs to escape

The terrifying trend is brought into sharp focus in tomorrow night's special edition of Channel 4's 24 Hours In Police Custody, in which TV cameras follow Bedfordshire detectives as they struggle to tackle a form of crime now so widespread it has become almost routine.

Tom Hamm is the detective sergeant who investigates the bloody Luton shopping centre knife fight.

He tells viewers: 'I'm tired of coming into work thinking, 'I wonder who is going to get stabbed today.' I've never known it in ten years to be as bad as it is now. If you were to equate it to a disease, this would be a national emergency.'

It was nothing more than a 'wrong' look that led to the senseless death of 18-year Azaan John Kaleem  the second violent episode at the heart of tomorrow's documentary.

Azaan had never been in trouble with the police and wasn't even known to the four-man gang that killed him.

He'd been walking through Luton with his girlfriend, Shannon, when he made the mistake of exchanging looks with a boy on a bicycle on the other side of the street.

As Shannon explains it, the other boy put his hand inside his trousers as though to pull out a knife. Azaan reached towards his pocket to show he too was armed.

Felled: Azaan crumples on to the road, fatally wounded in the sustained attack

He had started carrying a knife for his own protection a year earlier after being badly beaten up  a terrible error.

The boy on the bike sped off and the incident appeared to have ended but minutes later CCTV cameras record a grey BMW pulling up alongside Azaan and his girlfriend. Even the police were shocked by the level of brutality that ensued.

Four boys emerge from the car and immediately set upon Azaan. One seems to punch him repeatedly  but is actually stabbing him, probably with a bladed knuckleduster he was later found to be carrying.

Azaan is left lying in the road with multiple stab wounds to his back, chest and face, blood pouring out as the gang flee. He died of his injuries in hospital two days later.

His heartbroken mother, Roseann Taylor, told me about her teenage son's last moments.

'When they declared Azaan brain dead, curtains were pulled around and piece-by-piece they turned off equipment,' she said.

'They allowed me to stand behind him. I stroked his hair and told him I loved him. We waited for his heartbeat to stop.

Left to die: The thugs leave stricken Azaan as the bystander stays to offer help

'When I watched the CCTV and found out they didn't know Azaan, it reminded me of a pack of animals seeking out their prey.

'He was not a person, he was some 'thing' they wanted to attack.'

It was terrible twist of fate that Roseann had moved away from London to Luton when Azaan was a toddler. She believed Bedfordshire would be safer.

The men suspected of killing Azaan were identified thanks to a tip-off from a member of the public and were then rounded up by armed officers.

All four were known to police and one, 19-year-old Reece Bliss-McGrath, driver of the BMW, is shown in the film telling an officer: 'When you're not wearing that badge, I'll slap that smile off your face.'

The interviews that follow are hard-going: three of the suspects  18-year-old Rashaan Ellis, 19-year-old Callum Smith and 17-year-old Harrison Searle  answer 'no comment' to every question.

Ellis is said to be the main assailant, with the fearsome knuckle duster, but Smith is also accused of stabbing Azaan.

Bliss-McGrath is willing to talk, however, provided that the police can ensure his protection.

He tells detectives the four of them had been driving around in his newly purchased 2,500 BMW when Searle received a call from the boy on the bike to say Azaan had 'pulled a knife'.

They decided to 'go and do this', Bliss-McGrath explains, before telling officers that Ellis is 'the crazy one. He's nuts, he's hyped up. Like someone who takes coke'.

Flashpoint: Two of the knife-wielding youths, one brandishing a huge bladed weapon, square up in the shopping mall before one of them is stabbed

Bliss-McGrath believes the confession will allow him to walk free. After all, he didn't deliver any of the fatal blows. But he is deluded, and the cameras show his face turning ashen as he is charged with 'joint enterprise murder' alongside the other three.

As one of the detectives explains: 'With joint enterprise you don't have to be the person who did the stabbing. If you think you didn't play a part in it, it doesn't matter.'

The gang were jailed for a total of 63 years.

The two teenagers stabbed and wounded in the shopping centre knife fight are lucky  they have recovered. But now, they and the other youth involved are sitting in Luton police station, charged with affray and wounding with intent.

They show not the slightest sign of fear or concern. Slouching, bored on plastic chairs, anyone would think they'd been arrested for stealing a packet of crisps.

Che Stephens, 17, escaped without injury after stabbing Luca Sanni in the leg. Stephens is shown footage of the fight and asked how he feels when he sees Sanni collapse. He refuses to answer. Even Sanni sticks to 'no comment' despite the terrible wound he suffered, as does Imani Pobi Da Silva, 17, who was slashed.

DS Hamm says: 'The biggest obstacle we face in solving a lot of our stabbings is the reluctance of those involved to talk.

'It is definitely out there that if something happens, you don't tell the police. It's frustrating, tiring and demoralising. They're receiving some pretty serious injuries. Some of them are near death  and they don't want to be seen as a grass.'

Stephens, who instigated the fight, was jailed for seven-and-a-half years after admitting wounding with intent, Sanni, who produced the machete, was sentenced to five years and Imani Pobi Da Silva 12 months.

'Carrying a knife doesn't make you safer. It's either going to make you a criminal or a victim,' the detective says.

'But to go from a dirty look to dying is ridiculous. It just doesn't make any sense.'

Terrifying: CCTV shows the bloody aftermath of the knife fight in the mall in front of horrified Sunday shoppers

Meanwhile, the brutal manner of Azaan John Kaleem's death continues to haunt his mother.

She tells me: 'I didn't think [knife crime] was my problem because I didn't think my son would ever be engaged in it.

'I've never had the police come to the door, he's never been in trouble. He's just an average 18-year-old.

'He's not a threat to anybody and certainly wouldn't harm anyone. I just want to know why.

'Watching your child be murdered over and over again on CCTV during the court case was just gut-wrenching. I still play it over and over in my head. I feel like I've failed. At the very last moment I wasn't there for him.

'I'd do everything to hear him call me Mum again. The reality is, that will never happen.'

She now goes into schools to talk to children about the dangers of carrying knives but says that much, much more is needed  from everyone in society.

'We all need to play a part, from the Government to the people who allow knives to be delivered through the letterbox, to the witnesses and man on the street who doesn't go to help when they see someone being attacked,' she says.

'The younger generation has this energy but have nowhere to put it. Everything is disposable  even life.'

24 Hours In Police Custody airs tonight at 9pm on Channel 4.
ISIS terrorists are plotting kidnappings and suicide attacks in Europe after the group lost the last of its territory in Syria, it is claimed.

The ISIS fanatics are said to be setting up sleeper cells - so-called 'crocodile cells' - in Syria and the West to 'kill the enemies of God'.

According to letters written by the jihadists ISIS is aiming to recruit 'as many suicide bomber brothers as possible' and gather an arsenal of weapons.

The terror group's plans are revealed on a hard drive which was left behind during a battle in the Syrian desert, according to The Sunday Times.

ISIS was pushed out of its last holdout along the Euphrates river yesterday but the whereabouts of its leader remain unknown.

Smoke rises after an air strike in Syria amid the final push by U.S.-backed fighters against ISIS. The terror group is reportedly planning new kidnappings and suicide attacks in Europe

An Islamic State militant flag, foreground ,lies in a tent encampment after U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters took control of Baghouz yesterday

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters pose for a photo on a rooftop overlooking Baghouz, Syria, after the SDF declared the area free of Islamic State militants

Among the proposals in the ISIS letters are a 'Department of Operations in Europe' and elsewhere.

The jihadists claim to have allies 'who want to work in areas far away from the Islamic State' and carry out attacks in Europe.

One letter to an ISIS leader reportedly reads: ' Every person who forms a threat to the Islamic State of to our Caliph or his deputy, you only need to send us his photo, the place he lives and his number.

'Then wait for us to send you the video of his killing, by the will of God.'

Practical planning is said to include providing suicide bombers and vehicles for kidnappings and reconnaissance.

ISIS has previously claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks in 2015 among other attacks in Europe and its supporters were linked to the wave of terror in the UK in 2017.

Security chiefs in Europe and the U.S. have warned that ISIS remains a threat, despite losing its grip on the last of its territory in Syria.

Pictured: ISIS weapons seized by Syrian Democratic Forces. Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces, tweeted that 'Baghouz is free and the military victory against Daesh has been achieved'

Footage released by ISIS appears to show burqa-clad women firing AK-47s at SDF forces during the final days of the so-called caliphate

Until now, women have been stopped from joining ISIS forces on the frontline as it is considered taboo

The group proclaimed a 'caliphate' in Syria and Iraq in 2014 but had been reduced to a holdout in Baghouz in eastern Syria in recent weeks as fleeing terrorists, women and children poured out of the camp.

Yesterday the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces declared a 'total elimination' in Baghouz after flushing out the last ISIS fanatics.

The terrorist group's bloody last stand saw male and female fanatics hiding in caves as US-backed forces rained down an overnight barrage on Thursday.

But experts and politicians warned that ISIS would remain an 'enormous threat'.

Dr Karin von Hippel, the former chief of staff to the special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to counter Islamic State, said the fall of the group was an 'important milestone'.

'It is the territorial defeat of ISIS , but they still are an enormous threat,' Dr von Hippel, director general of the Royal United Services Institute think tank, added.

Nicknamed 'The Ghost', Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, last appeared in public to deliver this sermon at Mosul's famed Al-Nuri mosque in 2014 declaring himself 'caliph'

'Many thousands of them will remain in Iraq and Syria and they will go underground, they will conduct asymmetric attacks - they are already doing so in both countries.'

The director of international security studies at RUSI, Raffaello Pantucci, also warned that the territorial defeat of IS was not the end, and the 'biggest danger' was stepping back.

'I think the danger is that we end up doing what happened in Iraq in 2009 - we just kind of left and left the whole place to its own devices,' he said.

'And essentially it didn't get better, the governance continued to be a problem and that is how the environment was created for the group to grow in to.'

President Donald Trump declared victory over the self-declared caliphate yesterday, holding this upside down map showing the territory held by ISIS on election day versus Friday

Al-Baghdadi is not thought to be in Syria by the US-backed SDF forces - a recording purportedly of his voice surfaced in August addressing his followers (pictured in 2014)

The world's most wanted man Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who declared himself the tyrant of the regime in 2014, was apparently not among the last ISIS holdouts in Baghouz.

The 47-year-old Iraqi recluse, who suffers from diabetes, has been rumoured to have been wounded or killed several times in the past.

But his whereabouts have never been confirmed and a $25million price remains for his scalp.

Nicknamed 'The Ghost', he has not appeared in public since he delivered a sermon at Mosul's famed Al-Nuri mosque in 2014 declaring himself 'caliph'.

His last voice recording to his supporters was released in August, eight months after Iraq announced it had defeated IS and as US-backed forces closed in next door in Syria.
At least seven people were attacked by crocodiles and alligators in England last year, according to new statistics.

Humans being bitten or 'struck' by the cold-blooded creatures has increased from three the year before, as revealed by an annual reports into NHS admissions.

A further 51 people were 'bitten or crushed by a non-venomous reptile', before being taken to an A&E.

A whole host of creatures were responsible for attacks in 2018, from bees and wasps to pet dogs.

Crocodile (pictured) and alligator injuries caused seven hospital admissions in the last year to 2018

65 people were bitten by venomous spiders, 32 by rats, and 625 by wasps, bees and hornets.

One of the more surprising cases was a person being treated for 'contact' with a centipede or venomous tropical millipede.

The number of people in need of hospital care soared 17,708 in 2018 from 17,281 in 2017, which was in turn an increase from 16,249 patients in 2016 - a total of 51,238 people recorded by NHS Digital.

While Health Secretary in 2017, Cabinet Minister Jeremy Hunt joked about the same set of statistics, saying 'sounds like I need to commission a strategy paper on this one' for which he was mocked.

A further 51 people were 'bitten or crushed by a non-venomous reptile', before being taken to an A&E

The statistics prompted former-Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to mockingly suggest that he needs to do more to tackle the spate of cases

Dr Sarah Holmes, a governor at Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, also saw the funny side, posting: 'What we need is a public health campaign. Self care and all that!

'If you're ever being chased by a crocodile, run in a zigzag pattern to give you time to reconsider your life choices.'



Man's best friend accounted for 8,004 injuries, the most of any animal grouping and with an increase of 500 cases from the year before.

While Dr Sarah Holmes, a governor at Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, jokingly drew up a public health campaign to prevent crocodile bites in the future

Man's best friend accounted for a surprising 8,004 bites and other injuries on humans. NHS advice warns against leaving small children in the company of dogs, and to take care when meeting a new dog

NHS doctors have provided online advice to 'avoid stroking or petting unfamiliar dogs' and when greeting a dog for the first time, 'let it sniff you before petting it'.

Guidance also says that it is a good idea 'to avoid contact with any wild or stray animals, particularly while travelling abroad, as they can be aggressive and there's a chance they could carry serious infections'.

Insect bites and stings were the next biggest pest, with 4,897 people needing treatment.

A NHS spokesman said they do not hold information on whether bites were inflicted here or abroad, but that treatment was carried out in the UK.

Serious animal and human bites can get infected if they're not checked and treated quickly, always seek medical advice if a bite by either an animal or human has broken the skin.
A Miss Australia finalist could spend 21 years in an American jail after being found guilty of assaulting a flight attendant during a long-haul flight.

Adau Akui Atem Mornyang, 24, was on a United Airlines flight from her hometown of Melbourne to Los Angeles when she became disorderly after she was refused alcohol.

The Sudanese-born model lashed out at two United Airlines staff during the flight on January 21, and was verbally and physically abusive to staff and patrons.

She faces up to 21 years in prison after she was found guilty of assault and interference with flight crew.

Adau Akui Atem Mornyang was on a United Airlines flight from her hometown of Melbourne to Los Angeles when she became disorderly after she was refused alcohol

Several passengers were forced to complain to staff about Mornyang's disruptive behaviour

Several passengers were forced to complain to staff about Mornyang's disruptive behaviour about nine hours into the flight.

They said she was 'flailing her arms, and yelling obscenities and racial slurs', according to a release by the Department of Justice.

'When the flight attendant approached to assess the situation, Mornyang began to shout at the flight attendant and then slapped him across his face,' the court heard.

The 24-year-old Sudanese-born model lashed out at two United Airlines staff during the flight on January 21

'The flight attendant attempted to restrain Mornyang until federal air marshals could assist. The federal air marshals were forced to stay with Mornyang in the rear galley of the plane for the remainder of the flight.'

The former Miss Australia contender claims to have no recollection of the commotion.

'All I remember was waking up after sleeping for eight hours,' she said in a text message after the incident.

She claims to have mixed two glasses of wine with prescription pills to help her sleep, but attendants insist it was closer to five or six glasses before she was cut off.

She claims to have mixed two glasses of wine with prescription pills to help her sleep, but attendants insist it was closer to five or six glasses before she was cut off

Mornyang, who moved to Australia as a refugee when she was 10, said: 'I was so confused and begging and pleading for them to tell me what I did.

'I was ignored, I was in and out of consciousness, and was later locked up in federal prison still with no memory of what I was arrested for.

'This whole alleged slapping is a big shock to me and I cry every night wondering why I have no memory of it. How I could of done it while asleep,' she told The Herald Sun.

She said the accusations have ruined her burgeoning career, having just landed her biggest contract to date before she was arrested.

Mornyang has previously modelled for makeup giant Sephora, and recently walked in New York Fashion Week.

She is scheduled to be sentenced on June 24.
Job interviews lead to narcissist bullies being hired as managers so should be scrapped, a leading business expert has said.

Professor of business psychology Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, 43, has warned that the interview process encourages bosses to hire people similar to them rather than hiring people based on merit.

In his new book - Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders (and How to Fix It) - the professor makes the case that most organisations make a habit of promoting boastful narcissists into senior leadership positions, partly due to their confidence in job interviews.

He told the Sunday Times: 'Narcissists interview really well. We're not great at judging competence, so when someone is unaware of their limitations, we think: "Ooh, they must be good!"

Professor of business psychology Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, 43, has warned that the interview process encourages bosses to hire bullies and narcissists (stock image)

'They charm people initially, but they don't make good bosses. They are more prone to bullying and harassment, and are resistant to negative feedback. They blame others for their mistakes and take credit for others' achievements.'

The professor recommends a data-driven assessment through CVs, psychological tests and an analysis of past performance.

He claims that people with an inflated sense of self-worth, who he says are usually men, are better at climbing the corporate ladder due to their confidence in interviews, adding that women more often display humility, integrity and competence - qualities he says are the mark of a good leader, pointing to German chancellor Angela Merkel as an example.

Chamorro-Premuzic says that if the workplace were a perfect meritocracy then women would occupy more positions of authority due to the traits they more often display.

'Although I talk in the book about gender, I ultimately argue that it isn't just about having more women  we need more feminine leaders,' he told the Sunday Times.

He says the advice that women should be more confident is 'silly', adding that there is no connection between putting yourself forward for something and being competent at it.

People who are the best at something are often very critical of themselves, the professor said, adding that the most boastful and outgoing applicants perform better than introverted and understated peers on job interviews.

Chamorro-Premuzic warns that those with an inflated sense of their self worth often climb the corporate ladder, estimating that 60-70% or workers have a bad manager.

Business expert Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic has pointed to Angela Merkel as an example of good leadership

He says people are rewarded for 'sucking up' and playing office politics, even though good managers focus on giving constructive feedback and helping staff perform better.

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is a teacher at University College London and at Colombia University in New York whose previous work has included studying how to increase productivity through breaking repetitive habits.

He has previously suggested doodling each task that needs to be accomplished in a day to 'put a more creative spin on a typically mundane task'.

The professor also advised listening to rock music mid-morning to avoid the 11.30 'slump' between breakfast and lunch, and writing with different coloured pens and sleeping on the other side of the bed to shake up your routine.

He gave a TED Talk in 2014 urging the audience to take 'a more self-aware approach to confidence' and to embrace the power of negative thinking.
The NSW regional water minister is stepping down after mass fish deaths in the state's major inland rivers sparked a barrage of threats and fuelled voter backlash in the state election.

But Minister for Primary Industries, Regional Water and Trade and Industry Niall Blair on Sunday said he stands by 'every decision' made around the Murray Darling Basin Plan.

Mr Blair acknowledged hostility, directed at him after millions of fish died in struggling inland river systems, had impacted his family life.

Water minister Niall Blair said he stands by 'every decision' made on the Liberal's Murray Darling Basin Plan

'I know there are people who are suggesting I should be sacked or that my resignation from Cabinet is due to the challenges and incorrect accusations that have been made about the government when it comes to water management,' he said in a statement.

'I cannot deny that the level of aggression directed towards me around water policy has had a profound impact.'

The native fish kill prompted a large debate around water management in the drought-stricken regions and sparked accusations that cotton growers and irrigators were responsible for the ecological catastrophe.

The Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party campaigned heavily on the huge amount of fish deaths in the Murray River

Protesters poured a bucket of dead fish on the ground in front of Mr Blair's Sydney office earlier this year while the Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party called for him to resign.

'Public life does not come without costs and while the opportunities have been immense, the costs personally and more recently professionally, have taken their toll,' he said.

Mr Blair, who is also deputy leader of the NSW Nationals, informed leader John Barilaro 'some months ago' he does not want to be considered for any new ministerial roles or as a party leader.

He will remain in the Legislative Council.

'I am proud of my various achievements in Parliament and my Ministerial portfolios and am confident they will stand the test of time,' he said.

He paid tribute to Mr Barilaro and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, both of whom were returned along with their government in Saturday's election.

Mr Blair said the death threats he received over the fish deaths have impacted him and his family

But the Nats suffered massive swings against them across the state, losing two seats - Barwon and Murray - to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers.

The party had campaigned heavily on water management, including the fish kill, the drought and against the political status quo.

The western third of the state is now Shooters territory after the minor party expanded its lead in the seat of Orange as well.

Mr Blair thanked the state's farmers but said they needed someone new to take up their fight in increasingly tough times.

'In the face of the ongoing drought, our farmers and regional communities need someone who can continue to spend every waking minute fighting with them, among them and for them,' he said.

'I know I may not have always achieved the outcome you sought, but I hope you always trusted my commitment to serve you as best as I possibly could.'
An angry stray cat has been attacking men and dogs outside a market but stays clear of women and children passing by.

CCTV security cameras outside a market in Istanbul have caught the cat in action on several occasions.

The footage shows the cat pouncing on men and dogs who pass by the steps of a market in the Bayrampasa area of the city.

A stray cat has been attacking men walking past it outside a market in Istanbul

Turkish locals who look after the cat want a vet to examine it to try to work out why it is being so aggressive.

They claim it is normally a very calm cat but has recently taken to launching itself at men and dogs.

Neighbour Ali Aydin said the cat had recently had kittens and could be trying to defend them from perceived threats.

Mr Aydin said: 'This is not a wild cat, she's used to people. She crosses here every day, taking food to her kittens, we leave the door open for her.

'The cat is used to that spot. It's not an aggressive cat but due to her kittens she is attacking. It's a very good cat actually. Maybe somebody has hurt her.'

Beril Gencturk added: 'I've seen several people kicking it. It usually attacks only males and dogs. Maybe it's had some traumas.

The animal has an issue with dogs and men walking past but does not react when it sees women or children

Another resident Ayse Yuksel said: 'I have never seen it attacking a woman.'

Istanbul is famous for its stray cats with an estimated 30,000 in the city.

Many local people care for them by giving them shelter and leaving food in the colder winter months.
Philip Hammond has said a second EU referendum is a 'perfectly coherent proposition' as he urged MPs to decide on a 'compromise' Brexit deal if they cannot back Theresa May.

The Chancellor said that 'one way or another' Parliament would this week be able to show what it wanted from Brexit, rather than constantly showing what it does not want.

Mr Hammond told Sky's Ridge on Sunday that Mrs May's Brexit deal - already defeated twice by MPs - was his 'preferred way forward' but admitted: 'I'm realistic that we may not be able to get a majority'.

'One way or another Parliament is going to have the opportunity this week to decide what it is in favour of, and I hope that it will take that opportunity - if it can't get behind the Prime Minister's deal - to say clearly and unambiguously what it can get behind,' he added.

But he warned that any alternative deal must be 'a variant that is deliverable, not some unicorn'.

Philip Hammond said Mrs May's Brexit deal was his 'preferred way forward' but admitted: 'I'm realistic that we may not be able to get a majority'

Theresa May leaving church today. She is spending the weekend at Chequers working out her next move as ministers plot her downfall

The Chancellor said Parliament would be given the chance to hold indicative votes on alternatives to Mrs May's Brexit deal this week.

Tomorrow Parliament debates an amendable Government motion on the Brexit deal, which gives MPs a chance to put their favoured outcomes to a vote.

And the day after an estimated one million people marched through London demanding a second referendum, Mr Hammond added: 'I'm not sure that there's a majority in Parliament for a second referendum but it's a perfectly coherent proposition.

'Many people will be strongly opposed to it, but it's a coherent proposition and it deserves to be considered along with the other proposals.'

Mr Hammond also hit out at suggestions he was backing Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington as a caretaker Prime Minister to replace Mrs May.

'Changing Prime Minister wouldn't help us, changing the party in Government wouldn't help us,' he told Sky.

Mr Hammond denied helping a campaign to replace Mrs May (pictured above today with husband Philip), saying: 'Changing Prime Minister wouldn't help us, changing the party in Government wouldn't help us'

'We've got to address the question of what type of Brexit is acceptable to Parliament, what type of way forward Parliament can agree on so that we can avoid what would be an economic catastrophe of a no-deal exit and also what would be a very big challenge to confidence in our political system if we didn't exit at all.'

Former Tory leader and ex-Work and Pensions Secretary urged fellow Brexiteers to keep their options open on whether to support the Prime Minister's deal if it comes back to the Commons this week.

He said: 'I'm going to keep, and I recommend my colleagues do, keep their options open on this because we don't know what's happening this week, we've no idea what the alternatives are and whether people vote for this or not depends hugely on whether we are able to leave with no-deal or not or whether there is a change to this.'

He attacked MPs including former Cabinet colleague Oliver Letwin, who is behind a cross-party attempt to find out what Mps will back through a series of votes, criticising 'this idea that Parliament ... full of people that sometimes couldn't even run a whelk stall, can actually run the government for 15 minutes or a day or something like that.'

Former Tory leader and ex-Work and Pensions Secretary said he was 'keeping his options open' about how me might vote next week, saying efforts by MPs to take control of the Government must be defeated

Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay warned that the risk of a general election would increase if MPs took control of parliamentary proceedings

Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay has warned that the risk of a general election would increase if MPs took control of parliamentary proceedings and brought about a 'constitutional collision'.

He told the Marr Show: 'If an amendment goes through where Parliament takes control of the order paper then that leaves open the door to Parliament then legislating to take no-deal off the table.

'And that is something that Brexiteers like me would see as a massive risk to Brexit because if Brexiteers and Parliament votes against the deal and also votes to take no-deal off the table then the only option is to then have European parliamentary elections.'

Mr Barclay said if the Commons takes control of the order paper and votes for a different outcome, it would 'potentially collide with fundamental commitments the Government has given in their manifesto', though he said the vote itself would 'not be binding'.

Explaining the scenario, he said: 'What Parliament has done is vote for a number of contradictory things so we would need to untangle that but ultimately, at its logical conclusion, the risk of a general election increases because you potentially have a situation where Parliament is instructing the executive to do something that is counter to what it was elected to do.'

Hilary Benn, the Labour chairman of the Brexit committee and a supporter o a second referendum, told Ridge: 'Whoever is the leader of the Conservative Party, if Parliament decides that it is prepared to support a way forward, and if Parliament decides that it then wants to put that to the British people in a confirmatory referendum, then the nation needs leadership that is prepared to compromise.

'That's the crucial point and the reason Theresa May is in such difficulty this morning is she has steadfastly refused to shift an inch.'

'And it's no good saying 'my door is open, come and talk to me' if her mind is closed and I'm afraid that's what the last two-and-three-quarter years has demonstrated, plus there's been an unwillingness to tell the British people the truth about the real choices we face.'

Shadow Cabinet Office minister Jon Trickett MP said: 'Philip Hammond's interview was extraordinary.

'The Chancellor signaled that the deal they've worked on for nearly three years is dead and junked the idea of no deal which Theresa May has held onto from the beginning.

'This is a Government in which the country can have no confidence as the Chancellor confirmed we are on the edge of a catastrophe.'
There has been an alarming rise in teenagers as young as 13 seeking Botox treatment to mimic celebrities amid surge in mental health and self-esteem issues, plastic surgeons have warned.

Dr Nick Lowe, of west London, who is one of the dermatologists who pioneered the treatment in the 1990s, said it was an extremely sad and very worrying situation.

He said: Girls are having treatment at an age when they dont need it  were seeing body dysmorphic syndromes and a terrible loss of self- confidence.

Mark Henley, president of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons, said regulators need to stop 'inappropriate celebrity endorsements'

Speaking to The Sunday Times Magazine he added: Theyre convinced that looking like a celebrity is going to make them happier and more successful.

There are no legal age restrictions on having Botox - the brand name for botulinum toxin - and some plastic surgeons admit the trade is regulated poorly.

Mark Henley, president of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons, told the publication regulators need to pay more attention and stop 'inappropriate celebrity endorsements'.

He added that the targeting of 'vulnerable young people with self-esteem issues' also must be prevented.

Girls as young as eight were found to be targeted by online cosmetic surgery apps and games that mimicked the effects of procedures, a report by the Nuffield Council of Bioethics discovered.

Girls as young as eight were found to be targeted by online cosmetic surgery apps and games that mimicked the effects of procedures, a report by the Nuffield Council of Bioethics discovered

The council has previously called for people under 18 to be banned from all cosmetic treatment.

Earlier this year, Superdrug said it would carry out mental health checks on customers who wanted Botox, with the health and beauty retailer only offering their 99 cosmetic treatment to those aged 25 or over.

When injected into the face, Botox can help soften hard lines caused by muscles contracting, and lasts up to three to six months.

Dr Dan Marsh, who is a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, said: 'Young people are having botulinum toxin injections in the belief that they are preventing ageing - this is not the case.'


















The TLC original, 90 Day Fiance, has had us glued to our seats, popcorn in hand, as we watch the drama filled series. The premise of the show revolves around couple who have met abroad. They are followed through their journey to get their loved foreigners a K-1 visa (fiance visa), and eventually get them to the United States. During the 90 days, they are to get married in order to keep their love safely and legally within the United States.

With all the stress that comes with planning a wedding, making financial decisions, and family blending, this show has showed us that love can be extremely hard to upkeep. Many of the couples had hard, frustrating times trying to make it work. The most dramatic couples leave us wanting more. So here they are, 90 Day Fiance, the couples that we all hate to love:

Anfisa and George  This couple has become one of the most argumentative on the show. The couple met on an online chat. George became instantly infatuated with the beautiful, Russian Anfisa. They met, and got engaged. Shortly after, Anfisa came to be with her fiance. Her discomfort was visible in every episode. Anfisa did not hide the fact that she was marrying George because he had told her he was rich. Their episodes are full of her trying to buy ridiculously expensive accessories and clothes, and George trying to hid the fact that he is actually in debt. Anfisa repeatedly throws him out of the apartment, yells at him and even keys his car with the word idiot.

Leida and Eric  This couple met on an online chat. Eric fell helplessly in love with the beautiful Leida, and even traveled to meet her, asking her to marry him only two days after they first met. What makes this one of our favorite couples is the fact the Leida, who is from a wealthy family in Indonesia, downgrades to a tiny apartment in the US. Their episodes are full of Leidas anger because she wants her fiance to pay for many accommodations that he simply cannot afford. She even goes so far as to make her fiance throw out his own daughter out of the apartment, so that her son can have his own room. She also wants him to completely stop paying child support on the grounds that its not necessary to do that in Indonesia.

Larissa and Colt  One of the most chaotic couples on 90 Day by far, Larissa and Colt have made us both laugh and cringe. Their love story begins on an online chat. After some time, they decide to meet in Mexico, ending in an engagement after only five days. Colt, a Nevada resident, brings Larissa with the K-1 visa. However, Larissa hasnt even made it out of the airport, and shes already complaining. This goes on in the car, and all the way until they get to the home. Repeatedly, Larissa complains about everything. She dislikes Colts home, car, cats, and even his mother. Their episodes are full of attacks from Larissa in front of friends and family, and Colts mother trying to sabotage their relationship, while Colt simply tries to hang back.

Mohamed and DanielleThis is the most chaotic couple by far. A 26 year old Mohamed met a 41 year old Danielle on an online chat. The Tunisian nativewas granted the K-1 Visa and arrived in the United States to a disappointing life. Many fans believe Mohamed never intended to marry Danielle. The evidence is in the fact that he repeatedly said he wanted his green card, but never said he loved Danielle. During their wedding, Mohamed refused to kiss his bride, claiming he couldnt do so because of the Islamic holiday of Ramadan. After receiving legal approval, Mohamed left Danielle, and moved to Florida. He only responded to her when she threatened to get him deported. Their episodes are a rollercoaster of emotions, leaving fans feeling sorry for Danielle.

These couples have granted us many nights of juicy reality TV. Although not all couples have lasted, they made one great series. The couples that are still together, will be coming back for the WE spinoff, 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After. Thanks TLC, well all be waiting!
Clear skies mean parts of the UK are still in with a chance of seeing the Northern Lights tonight after the spectacular display failed to appear last night.

Aurora could be visible in parts of northern Scotland when there is cloud break, with the best locations in rural areas away from towns and cities.

Dry and clear conditions in northern areas are ideal for spotting the Aurora Borealis, which is caused by charged particles being thrown around by solar winds.

The Met Office said today that it is difficult to forecast but they are still expecting Aurora at some point in the north of Scotland when the skies darken and clouds separate.

Aurora Borealis over loch Glascarnoch, by Garve, in the Highlands of Scotland (file picture)

The Met Office said the phenomenon, known as the Aurora Borealis (pictured over St Mary's Lighthouse in Whitley Bay in 2014), may be visible in northern Scotland tonight

Gales across Scotland are easing today but a smattering of rain across parts of the country may hamper the chances for some tonight.

Those committed to getting a glimpse of the extraordinary weather phenomenon will have to endure heavy rain around Wick, north of Inverness around 6pm today.

Showers across Scotland today will eventually stop, giving way to clear skies - hopefully creating a platform for Aurora to shine.

The rest of the UK, whilst having slim chances to see the lights, will experience clear skies at night, except a band of cloud blanketing the midlands and parts of the north.

Wales will be cloudy whilst the east coast and south west of England will have a clear night.

Tomorrow will see clouds across parts of the west with patchy light rain. It will be dry and fine elsewhere with sunny spells.

Feeling rather warm in the sunshine, with light winds, the Met Office say.

Most of the showers will fade away overnight, although some will continue across Northern Ireland, northwest England and Wales.

There will be a patchy frost where skies clear.

The Met Office tweeted to tell people which parts of the countries are in with a chance of seeing the lights on Saturday evening

The Met Office said yesterday there was a 'moderate' chance of seeing the sky light up in fabulous colours but according to Service Aurora, the green belt failed to dip far below the south coast of Iceland.

The Northern Lights are created by disturbances in Earth's magnetosphere caused by a flow of particles from the Sun, and are usually concentrated around the Earth's magnetic poles.

The southward shift of the lights is caused by an ejection of plasma, known as a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) from the Sun, which followed a solar flare on Wednesday.

CME forecast to arrive late 23rd March following C5 flare from sunspot AR2736. Active-minor geomagnetic storm periods possible with low risk of moderate storms. As a result, aurora may be visible in Scotland where cloud breaks. Latest forecast available https://t.co/JL4kEFnjRa pic.twitter.com/kxTtoqolDc  Met Office Space (@MetOfficeSpace) March 21, 2019

Bonnie Diamond, meteorologist at the Met Office, said: 'A Coronal Mass Ejection has happened and the effects of that are expected to arrive later tomorrow evening.

'This type of active geomagnetic storm means that there is the possibility of the aurora borealis, commonly known as the Northern Lights.

'Whether or not you will see the Northern Lights depends on where you are and what the weather is like. Scotland is where you're most likely to see it.

'Further north, you're pretty likely to see something.'

The Met Office's Space account tweeted: 'CME forecast to arrive late 23rd March following C5 flare from sunspot AR2736. Active-minor geomagnetic storm periods possible with low risk of moderate storms.

'As a result, aurora may be visible in Scotland where cloud breaks. Latest forecast available'

NOAA, an American agency that monitors the atmosphere, said the Northern Lights could be visible as far south as Michigan and Wisconsin in the United States.
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar has faced hundreds of protesters waving Israeli flags in California following her controversial remarks about Israel.

Omar was met by the group of angry protesters as she attended an annual fundraiser for a Muslim American advocacy group in Woodland Hills on Saturday.

Protesters waved Israeli and pro-Trump flags outside a Hilton hotel where the Council of American-Islamic Relations event was being held.

Protesters demonstrated against Ilhan Omar in Woodland Hills, California on Saturday outside a fundraising event for Muslim Americans

Omar was met by the group of angry protesters as she attended an annual fundraiser for a Muslim American advocacy group

They could be heard screaming 'Burn the Quran!' and 'Shame on you, terrorists'.

Meanwhile, Omar - who is Muslim - was given a standing ovation inside and told the crowd the protest was ironic because some people say her religion is oppressive to women.

'Today they gather outside to protest a Muslim woman who is in Congress,' Omar said.

The protests came after Omar, who is one of the first Muslim women in Congress, provoked outrage last month when she suggested that supporters of Israel were urging lawmakers to have 'allegiance to a foreign country'.

The first-term Minnesota Congresswoman's repeated criticisms of Israel and a powerful pro-Israel lobby in Washington have been widely condemned as anti-Semitic.

Omar (above on Thursday) provoked outrage last month when she suggested that supporters of Israel were urging lawmakers to have 'allegiance to a foreign country'

A protestor holds a placard during a demonstration against the Minnesota Congresswoman

John Turano, center, separates the man raising his hands, left, and the man spraying mace, who got into a shoving match during the protest on Saturday

Several lawmakers expressed outrage over Omar's comments, warning that she was peddling in age-old anti-Semitic tropes about Jews having dual allegiances

Protesters waved Israeli and pro-Trump flags outside a Hilton hotel where the Council of American-Islamic Relations event was being held

Omar, a former Somali refugee, was assailed by Democrats and Republicans alike for the comments.

Several lawmakers expressed outrage, warning that Omar was peddling in age-old anti-Semitic tropes about Jews having dual allegiances.

She later apologized for the comment but Republicans have kept citing it as evidence of creeping bigotry.

President Donald Trump, who routinely cites his support of Israel, said on Friday: 'The Democrats have very much proven to be anti-Israel.

'There's no question about that. And it's a disgrace. I mean, I don't know what's happened to them but they are totally anti-Israel. Frankly, I think they're anti-Jewish.'

Protesters hold banners and flags during a demonstration outside the hotel on Saturday
Britain's wealthiest MP Richard Benyon billed taxpayers for a 6.80 toilet seat - and then a 10.87 one a month later

MPs are claiming one fifth more on their taxpayer-funded expenses than they did at the height of the 2009 expenses scandal which rocked faith in politicians for a generation, it has emerged.

The latest claims signed off by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) include 180 spent by Jeremy Corbyn last March on artwork for a 'Jeremy Corbyn MP calendar', and the cost of two replacement toilet seats for the office of Britain's wealthiest MP, Tory Richard Benyon.

The 2009 furore - which unearthed lurid details of MPs 'flipping' their designated second home, and claiming for duck houses and moat cleaning - forced six ministers from office and sent five members of Parliament to jail.

At the nadir of the scandal in February 2010, 389 MPs - more than half the House - were ordered to repay a total of 1.1 million to the Treasury over inappropriate expense claims.

Shamefaced MPs claimed just 86 million in the first year after the scandal, down from 95.6m in the tumultuous 2008/9 financial year, but claims have been creeping up ever since.

Now, driven in part by increased staff costs after minimum wage hikes and the decline of unpaid internships, expenses claims hit 116 million, 22 per cent more than in 2008/9, analysis of Ipsa records by the Sunday Times has revealed.

In the latest round Mr Benyon - who owns the vast Elizabethan country house where Pippa Middleton got married - submitted an expense claims for a 6.80 toilet seat from Wilko in August 2017, and then a month later asked taxpayers to buy another, for 10.87.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn charged 180 to the taxpayer for artwork for his own calendar

The MP told the Sunday Times both were for his Newbury office, saying: ' I don't claim for any housing expenses or many other costs that I could entirely legitimately claim for.

'I hope you will make that clear. I'm sure your readers don't expect to pay for their office loo seats'

Jeremy Corbyn's office defended his claim for the consistuency calendar. A spokeswoman said it advertised the Labour leader's surgeries and was useful for constituents. 'It's been produced for many years at a comparable cost,' she added.

The disclosure comes in the week Chris Davies, Conservative MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, pleaded guilty to falsifying expense claims when he split a single bill into two claims in the hope of having them approved.

The Tory MP admitted creating the invoices so that he could split the cost of a set of landscape photographs for his constituency office between two Parliamentary expenses budgets.

Chris Davies MP could lose his seat or even his liberty after admitting falsifying an expense claim in court last week

He faces a fine or even jail time, as well as the threat of being kicked out of parliament if 10 per cent of his constituents sign a petition demanding a by-election.

John O'Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, told the paper: 'It's deeply disappointing that 10 years on, the overall cost to taxpayers for expenses hasn't come down.

'MPs should remember that every time they opt for first-class travel, or submit an expense claim for something that they really don't need, it's coming out of the pockets of hard-pressed families in their constituencies.'

The Sunday Times' analysis also reveals that despite tightened rules designed to stop first-class travel, MPs have continued to dodge the rules.

According to Ipsa's rules, MPs may buy a ticket of 'any class', but will be only reimbursed only for the cost of an 'economy class ticket available at the time of booking'. That leaves open the loophole that MPs can bok first-class tickets in advance, which compare favourably in price to expensive standard options like an open standard ticket bought shortly before the journey.

In the past decade, 492 MPs have taken advantage of the loophole and enjoyed first-class train travel at the taxpayers' expense.

And of the 32,521 air tickets bought by MPs on expenses since 2010, a quarter (8,212) were business-class flights, the figures reveal, which are not strictly against Ipsa rules.

But it may anger taxpayers and indeed Parliamentary staff, who last month were granted a pay rise of just 1.5 per cent - only half the 2.7 per cent rise received by the MPs for whom they work.
Twitter and YouTube are facing criticism for acting as a gateway to a neo-Nazi radio station that defended the views of the alleged Christchurch gunman.

A host of Radio Aryan, which has previously broadcast readings of Mein Kampf and is thought to be based in Wales, described Brenton Tarrant's manifesto as raising 'genuine fears that all white people have' about 'the invasion of our lands', also claiming the New Zealand mass-killing was 'the price of diversity'.

The station's founder, using the moniker 'Sven Longshanks', had been using Twitter since 2015 under the handle @Radio Aryan, featuring a link to the Radio Aryan website, the Sunday Times reported.

Longshanks, whose real name is Steve Stone according to activist group HopeNotHate, also presents a show called The Daily Nationalist - which was reportedly accessible through The Daily National YouTube Channel and the Radio Aryan website.

Twitter and YouTube are facing criticism for promoting a neo-Nazi radio station that defended the views of the alleged Christchurch gunman

Labour MP for Cardiff South and Penarth Stephen Doughty, a member of the home affairs select committee, told the Sunday Times he had raised concerns with ministers and the online giants, claiming they did not act to take the material down.

'It is absolutely clear they do not give a damn,' he said.

Hours after Tarrant, 28, was said to have carried out the mosque shootings that saw 50 Muslim worshippers die, Longshanks had reportedly said: 'We condemn this attack, but the reasons he outlined in his manifesto are genuine fears that all white people have and that no politicians are actually speaking to.'

He also called the killings a 'price tag attack', saying they were 'the price of diversity'.

The Sunday Times reported that Twitter deleted Longshanks' account only after being contacted by that paper, and YouTube also removed broadcasts from The Daily Nationalist, accepting that the channel could have been hosting illegal content promoting white supremacists.

Online broadcaster Radio Aryan, which has previously broadcast readings of Mein Kampf and is thought to be based in Wales

A Twitter spokesperson told MailOnline: 'We are committed to combating abuse motivated by hatred, prejudice or intolerance. We do not comment on individual accounts for privacy and security reasons, however as per our Hateful Conduct Policy, we prohibit behaviour that targets individuals based on protected categories including race, ethnicity, national origin or religious affiliation.

'This includes references to violent events where protected groups have been the primary targets or victims.'

A spokesperson for Google, which runs YouTube, told MailOnline: 'We do not allow videos that incite hatred on YouTube and work hard to remove content that violates our policies quickly, using a combination of human flagging and review and smart detection technology.

'Every month, we remove millions of videos for violating our policies. We're making progress in our fight to prevent the abuse of our services, including hiring more people and investing in advanced machine learning technology.

'We know there's always more to do here and we're committed to getting better.'

Longshanks - whose nickname is a reference to Edward I, who expelled Jews from England in 1290 - had said they categorically condemn all violence associated with nationalism, and it is not supported anywhere in their broadcasts.

Brenton Tarrant making a sign to the camera during his appearance in the Christchurch District Court

The station has broadcast claims that black people 'prefer witchdoctors' over hiring lawyers and pornography is a 'Jewish enterprise' intended to damage non-Jews.

Nick Lowles, head of Hope Not Hate, had previously told the Mail on Sunday: 'Radio Aryan has become a platform for British Nazis to push out their dangerous and probably illegal hatred. It is vital the authorities immediately investigate the contents and the people behind it.'

A spokesman for Ofcom had said: 'Radio Aryan is an internet radio station. As such it is not licensed by Ofcom or subject to our broadcasting rules.'

In January Radio Aryan released a statement which said: 'Our content is not intended for mass public consumption, it is created by Nationalists for Nationalists with the intention of promoting virtue among our people and encouraging them to set a good example to others. Our content may not have this effect on non-Nationalists, as it is not intended for their ears.'

Forty-two victims of the Christchurch massacre have been buried since the terror attack, including a three-year-old boy.

A group burial for 26 of the victims was held on Friday after a Muslim Call to Prayer followed by a two-minute silence.

Tarrant, who has been charged with one count of murder and is being held in New Zealand's only maximum security prison, is alleged to have live-streamed the terror attack on Facebook.
GUILTY: MICHAEL FLYNN

Pleaded guilty to making false statements in December 2017. Awaiting sentence

Flynn was President Trump's former National Security Advisor and Robert Mueller's most senior scalp to date. He previously served when he was a three star general as President Obama's director of the Defense Intelligence Agency but was fired.

He admitted to lying to special counsel investigators about his conversations with a Russian ambassador in December 2016. He has agreed to cooperate with the special counsel investigation.

GUILTY AND JAILED: MICHAEL COHEN

Pleaded guilty to eight counts including fraud and two campaign finance violations in August 2018. Pleaded guilty to further count of lying to Congress in November 2018. Sentenced to three years in prison and $2 million in fines and forfeitures in December 2018

Cohen was investigated by Mueller but the case was handed off to the Southern District of New York,leaving Manhattan's ferocious and fiercely independent federal prosecutors to run his case.

Cohen was Trump's longtime personal attorney, starting working for him and the Trump Organization in 2007. He is the longest-serving member of Trump's inner circle to be implicated by Mueller. Cohen professed unswerving devotion to Trump - and organized payments to silence two women who alleged they had sex with the-then candidate: porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal. He admitted that payments to both women were felony campaign finance violations - and admitted that he acted at the 'direction' of 'Candidate-1': Donald Trump.

He also admitted tax fraud by lying about his income from loans he made, money from taxi medallions he owned, and other sources of income, at a cost to the Treasury of $1.3 million.

And he admitted lying to Congress in a rare use of the offense. The judge in his case let him report for prison on March 6 and recommended he serve it in a medium-security facility close to New York City.

GUILTY AND JAILED: PAUL MANAFORT

Found guilty of eight charges of bank and tax fraud in August 2018. Sentenced to 47 months in March 2019. Pleaded guilty to two further charges - witness tampering and conspiracy against the United States. Jailed for total of seven and a half years in two separate sentences. Additionally indicted for mortgage fraud by Manhattan District Attorney, using evidence previously presented by Mueller

Manafort worked for Trump's campaign from March 2016 and chaired it from June to August 2016, overseeing Trump being adopted as Republican candidate at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. He is the most senior campaign official to be implicated by Mueller. Manafort was one of Washington D.C.'s longest-term and most influential lobbyists but in 2015, his money dried up and the next year he turned to Trump for help, offering to be his campaign chairman for free - in the hope of making more money afterwards. But Mueller unwound his previous finances and discovered years of tax and bank fraud as he coined in cash from pro-Russia political parties and oligarchs in Ukraine.

Manafort pleaded not guilty to 18 charges of tax and bank fraud but was convicted of eight counts in August 2018. The jury was deadlocked on the other 10 charges. A second trial on charges of failing to register as a foreign agent due in September did not happen when he pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States and witness tampering in a plea bargain. He was supposed to co-operate with Mueller but failed to.

Minutes after his second sentencing hearing in March 2019, he was indicted on 16 counts of fraud and conspiracy by the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., using evidence which included documents previously presented at his first federal trial. The president has no pardon power over charges by district and state attorneys.

GUILTY AND GOING TO WEEKEND JAIL: RICK GATES

Pleaded guilty to conspiracy against the United States and making false statements in February 2018. Sentenced to 45 days weekend jail and three years probation, December 17, 2018

Gates was Manafort's former deputy at political consulting firm DMP International. He admitted to conspiring to defraud the U.S. government on financial activity, and to lying to investigators about a meeting Manafort had with a member of congress in 2013. As a result of his guilty plea and promise of cooperation, prosecutors vacated charges against Gates on bank fraud, bank fraud conspiracy, failure to disclose foreign bank accounts, filing false tax returns, helping prepare false tax filings, and falsely amending tax returns.

GUILTY AND JAILED: GEORGE PAPADOPOLOUS

Pleaded guilty to making false statements in October 2017. Sentenced to 14 days in September 2018, and reported to prison in November. Served 12 days and released on December 7, 2018

Papadopoulos was a member of Donald Trump's campaign foreign policy advisory committee. He admitted to lying to special counsel investigators about his contacts with London professor Josef Mifsud and Ivan Timofeev, the director of a Russian government-funded think tank.

GUILTY AND JAILED: RICHARD PINEDO

Pleaded guilty to identity fraud in February 2018. Sentenced to a year in prison

Pinedo is a 28-year-old computer specialist from Santa Paula, California. He admitted to selling bank account numbers to Russian nationals over the internet that he had obtained using stolen identities.

GUILTY AND JAILED: ALEX VAN DER ZWAAN

Pleaded guilty to making false statements in February 2018. He served a 30-day prison sentence and was deported to the Netherlands on his release

Van der Zwaan was a Dutch attorney for Skadden Arps who worked on a Ukrainian political analysis report for Paul Manafort in 2012.

He admitted to lying to special counsel investigators about when he last spoke with Rick Gates and Konstantin Kilimnik. His law firm say he was fired.

GUILTY: W. SAMUEL PATTEN

Pleaded guilty in August 2018 to failing to register as a lobbyist while doing work for a Ukrainian political party. Sentenced to three years probation April 2019

Patten, a long-time D.C. lobbyist was a business partner of Paul Manafort. He pleaded guilty to admitting to arranging an illegal $50,000 donation to Trump's inauguration.

He arranged for an American 'straw donor' to pay $50,000 to the inaugural committee, knowing that it was actually for a Ukrainian businessman.

Neither the American or the Ukrainian have been named.

CHARGED: KONSTANTIN KILIMNIK

Indicted for obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice. At large, probably in Russia

Kilimnik is a former employee of Manafort's political consulting firm and helped him with lobbying work in Ukraine. He is accused of witness tampering, after he allegedly contacted individuals who had worked with Manafort to remind them that Manafort only performed lobbying work for them outside of the U.S.

He has been linked to Russian intelligence and is currently thought to be in Russia - effectively beyond the reach of extradition by Mueller's team.

INDICTED: THE RUSSIANS

Twenty-five Russian nationals and three Russian entities have been indicted for conspiracy to defraud the United States. They remain at large in Russia

Two of these Russian nationals were also indicted for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and 11 were indicted for conspiracy to launder money. Fifteen of them were also indicted for identity fraud.

Vladimir Putin has ridiculed the charges. Russia effectively bars extradition of its nationals. The only prospect Mueller has of bringing any in front of a U.S. jury is if Interpol has their names on an international stop list - which is not made public - and they set foot in a territory which extradites to the U.S.

INDICTED: MICHAEL FLYNN'S BUSINESS PARTNERS

Bijan Kian (left), number two in now disgraced former national security adviser Mike Flynn's lobbying company, and the two's business partner Ekim Alptekin (right) were indicted for conspiracy to lobby illegally.

Kian, an Iranian-American was arrested and appeared in court charged with a conspiracy to illegally lobby the U.S government without registering as a foreign agent. Their co-conspirator was Flynn, who is called 'Person A' in the indictment and is not charged, offering some insight into what charges he escaped with his plea deal.

Kian, vice-president of Flynn's former lobbying firm, is alleged to have plotted with Alptekin to try to change U.S. policy on an exiled Turkish cleric, Fethullah Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania and who is accused by Turkey's strongman president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, of trying to depose him.

Erdogan's government wanted him extradited from the U.S. and paid Flynn's firm through Alptekin for lobbying, including an op-ed in The Hill calling for Gulen to be ejected. Flynn and Kian both lied that the op-ed was not paid for by the Turkish government.

The indictment is a sign of how Mueller is taking an interest in more than just Russian involvement in the 2016 election.

GUILTY AND AWAITING SENTENCE: ROGER STONE

Roger Stone, a former Trump campaign official and longtime informal advisor to Trump, was indited on seven counts including obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and lying to Congress about his communications with WikiLeaks in January 2019. Convicted on all counts November 15, 2019, awaiting sentence

Stone was a person of interest to Mueller's investigators long before his January indictment, thanks in part due to his public pronouncements as well as internal emails about his contacts with WikiLeks.

In campaign texts and emails, many of which had already been publicly revealed before showing up in Mueller's indictment, Stone communicated with associates about WikiLeaks following reports the organization had obtained a cache of Clinton-related emails.

Stone, a former Nixon campaign adviser who has the disgraced former president's face permanently tattooed on his back, has long been portrayed as a central figure in the election interference scandal.

'They got nothing,' he said of the special counsel's investigation.

Stone gave 'false and misleading' testimony about his requests for information from WikiLeaks. He then pressured a witness, comedian Randy Credico, to take the Fifth Amendment rather than testify, and pressured him in a series of emails. Following a prolonged dispute over testimony, he called him a 'rat' and threatened to 'take that dog away from you', in reference to Credico's pet, Bianca. Stone warned him: 'Let's get it on. Prepare to die.'

CLEARED: GREG CRAIG

Greg Craig, President Barack Obama's White House counsel, was indicted for failing to register as a foreign agent. Mueller's investigators uncovered Craig's work on behalf the government of Ukraine while probing Manafort, who did business with Craig.

Prosecutors released a grand jury indictment of Craig in April 2019, after Craig's law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP agreed to pay more than $4.6 million as part of a settlement. The prominent firm also acknowledged it had failed to register, and placed much of the blame on Craig, a senior partner there.

Craig's lawyer blasted the decision as an abuse of prosecutorial discretion, and prepared to argue that omission of information during an interview is not tantamount to making false statements.

The charges stem from a 2012 report Craig and the firm produced on behalf of the Ukrainian government on opposition figure and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko. She was an opponent of Manafort's client , former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

Craig was cleared on September 9 2019.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has vowed to reject any classified briefing on special counsel Robert Mueller's report so that lawmakers will be able to discuss the findings publicly.

That's what Pelosi reportedly told House Democrats during a strategic conference call on Saturday, according to a participant who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.

Mueller submitted his report from the 22-month investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election to Attorney General William Barr on Friday.

Barr is expected to provide Congress with a summary of the findings as early as Sunday.

Pelosi told members of her caucus that the findings should be made public because the American people 'deserve the truth', and that she would reject a classified briefing for top lawmakers and congressional intelligence committee members.

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During a strategic conference call with House Democrats on Saturday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed to reject any classified briefing on special counsel Robert Mueller's report so that lawmakers will be able to discuss the findings publicly (file photo)

Mueller submitted his report from the 22-month investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election to Attorney General William Barr on Friday. Barr is pictured arriving at his home in Virginia on Saturday evening after spending the day at the Justice Department reading the report. He is expected to release his preliminary conclusions as early as Sunday

More than 120 House Democrats joined the conference call, during which six committee chairmen reiterated the push for releasing the report and underlying documents.

Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware warned that President Trump and his supporters may have a 'good day' once the principal conclusions of the report are made public.

'I think there is more here for us to unpack here in Congress and there is more work to be done in terms of accountability and transparency, but, you know, once we get the principal conclusions of the report, I think it's entirely possible that [it] will be a good day for the president and his core supporters,' Coons said.

However, the member of the Senate Judiciary Committee said it was still too soon for anyone to celebrate, and no matter what Mueller concludes, there is much more investigating to do.

'It's the end of the beginning but it's not the beginning of the end,' he said.

Ahead of the call, Pelosi sent a letter to colleagues to discuss where Democrats 'go from here' in their oversight of the White House.

She said Barr's offer to provide Congress with a summary of conclusions was 'insufficient', writing: 'Even if DOJ chooses not to prosecute additional individuals, the underlying findings must be provided to Congress and the American people.'

In his investigation of whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 election, Mueller has already brought charges against 34 people (file photo)

Barr was photographed arriving at his home in Virginia on Saturday evening after spending the day at the Justice Department reading the report.

The attorney general was on pace to release his first summary on Sunday, people familiar with the process said.

The conclusion of Mueller's probe comes as House Democrats have launched several of their own into Trump and his personal and political dealings.

Democrats have said they have to see the full report from Mueller, including underlying evidence, before they can assess it.

Those demands for information are setting up a potential tug of war between Congress and the Trump administration that federal judges might eventually have to referee.

Six Democratic committee chairmen wrote in a letter to Barr on Friday that if Mueller has any reason to believe that Trump 'has engaged in criminal or other serious misconduct', then the Justice Department should not conceal it.

'The president is not above the law and the need for public faith in our democratic institutions and the rule of law must be the priority,' the chairmen wrote.

It's unclear what Mueller has found related to the president, or if any of it would be damning.

President Trump is seen above returning to Mar-a-Lago on Saturday as lawmakers await the attorney general's principal conclusions on the Mueller report

In his investigation of whether Trump's campaign coordinated with Russia to sway the 2016 election, Mueller has already brought charges against 34 people, including six aides and advisers to the president, and three companies.

Lawmakers say they need that underlying evidence - including interviews, documents and material turned over to the grand jury - because the Justice Department has maintained that a president cannot be indicted and also that derogatory information cannot be released about people who have not been charged.

So if the investigation did find evidence incriminating Trump, they may not be able to release it, under their own guidelines.

The Democrats say it could be tantamount to a cover-up if the department did not let Congress and the public know what they found.

Barr testified at his confirmation hearings that he wants to release as much information as he can about the inquiry.

But the department's regulations require only that the attorney general report to Congress that the investigation has concluded and describe or explain any times when he or Rosenstein decided an action Mueller proposed 'was so inappropriate or unwarranted' that it should not be pursued.

Barr said Friday there were no such instances where Mueller was thwarted.

But anything less than the full report won't be enough for Democrats.

'If the AG plays any games, we will subpoena the report, ask Mr. Mueller to testify, and take it all to court if necessary,' said Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y.

'The people deserve to know.'

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff told CNN on Friday that he's willing to subpoena Mueller and Barr, if needed, to push for disclosure.

Though Trump himself has said the report should be made public, it's not clear whether the administration would fight subpoenas for testimony or block the transmission of grand jury material.

If the administration decides to fight, lawmakers could ask federal courts to step in and enforce a subpoena.

A court fight could, in theory, reach the Supreme Court.

But few tussles between Congress and the White House get that far. They often are resolved through negotiation.

In both the Clinton and Obama administrations, even when talks failed and courts got involved in assessing claims of executive privilege, the White House decided not to take the fight to the high court and complied with lower court rulings against it.

The Democrats, led by Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, could also formally ask Mueller to send his committee evidence that could be used in possible impeachment proceedings against Trump, as suggested by Benjamin Wittes, a senior Brookings Institution fellow and editor-in-chief of the Lawfare blog.

That's the course one of Nadler's predecessors followed during Watergate, although an impeachment inquiry against President Richard Nixon had already started by that point.

Grand jury material from special counsel Leon Jaworski, provided through the federal judge who presided over the Watergate trials, became the road map that the House committee used to vote for articles of impeachment.

Nixon resigned before the full House acted on his impeachment.

Pelosi said recently that she's not for impeaching Trump, at least for now.
The federal prosecutor who oversaw the case against President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen will step down from his role.

Robert Khuzami, the Deputy US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, will be leaving on April 12, officials said on Friday.

According to US Attorney Geoffrey Berman, the move is strictly for personal reasons and not related to politics.

The office will continue its investigation into several of Trump's closest friends and business partners even as Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election comes to an end.

Robert Khuzami (pictured, August 2018), the Deputy US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who oversaw the case against Michael Cohen, is leaving the office. His last day is April 12

'Rob Khuzami is an extraordinary and brilliant lawyer who has upheld the ideals of integrity and professionalism that characterize the work of this office,' Berman said in a statement.

He added that Khuzami, whose family lives in Washington, DC, had been commuting weekly since his appointment in January 2018.

'While his desire to continue to serve remains strong, he understandably has decided to return home to his family,' the statement continued.

During his 15-month tenure, Khuzami oversaw several cases, but perhaps the most high-profile was that of Cohen. Khuzami took over after Berman recused himself from the case for unknown reasons.

Last year, Cohen pleaded guilty to several federal crimes including campaign finance violations and lying to Congress. He was sentenced to three years in prison, which begins in May.

Despite going after Trump's inner circle, Khuzami avoided the wrath that Trump has directed against other investigators, like Mueller.

Khuzami took over the case against Cohen (pictured, March 2019) after Berman recused himself. Cohen pleaded guilty to crimes including campaign finance violations and lying to Congress, and was sentenced to three years in prison

Khuzami did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Berman and Khuzami worked together as assistant US attorneys in Manhattan in the early 1990s.

Khuzami worked at the prosecutor's office until 2002, rising to lead the office's Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force.

He went on to work for Deutsche Bank AG from 2002 until early 2009, when he left and moved to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Khuzami left the agency in January 2013 and later that year joined the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis, where he remained until he joined the US Attorney's office.

He will be replaced by Audrey Strauss, who has been serving as senior counsel to the US Attorney, the office said.

Strauss previously worked as a prosecutor in the office from 1976 to 1983, before a career in private practice, including stints at law firms and as chief legal officer for Alcoa Inc.

In turn, Strauss will be replaced by Craig Stewart, who is leaving his role as a partner at the law firm of Arnold & Porter focusing on white collar defense, corporate internal investigations and criminal appeals, according to the office.
More than a thousand students at the University of Cambridge are now using a 'sugar daddy' website to help pay tuition fees and living costs, according to new figures.

Dating website Seeking Arrangement, which helps 'sugar babies' get financial support from older men and women, has revealed that a shocking number of students at top British universities are using its services.

Figures show 1,019 students at Cambridge are currently seeking a 'sugar daddy or sugar mommy' on the site - almost one in every 20 enrolled at the university.

Among the 475,320 UK students the Las Vegas-based company says are among its current users, 340 are studying at the University of Oxford.

More than a thousand students at the University of Cambridge are now using a 'sugar daddy' website to help pay tuition fees and living costs, according to new figures (file photo)

Meanwhile, reflecting the cost of living in London, 218 have signed up this year from the capital's University of Arts, resulting in a total to 845.

Students on average get 'a monthly allowance of 2,900' after finding an arrangement on the website, according to the American firm.

Seeking Arrangement lists 'student' as the most common occupation of a sugar baby and the website's own survey of users revealed 30 per cent spend their gains on 'tuition/school-related expenses'.

Founder and CEO of Seeking Arrangement, Brandon Wade said: 'With little regard from the institutions of students' inability to pay increasing tuition and living costs in the UK, many are being forced to find alternative methods to fund their education.

'Young people understand the importance of a degree and want to achieve their educational goals, but they can no longer depend on traditional means to get through school.'

On the website it states: 'If university students didn't have enough to worry about with tuition fees at a high of 9,250, post-graduation employment holds even more uncertainty.

'The amount of British students seeking Sugar Daddies and Mommies to help alleviate some of that stress grew to 475,320 in 2018.

'The value of an education is undeniable, but students aiming for first-class degrees have been overwhelmed in recent years by continuous tuition increases.

Dating website Seeking Arrangement, which helps 'sugar babies' get financial support from older men and women, has revealed that a shocking number of students at top British universities are using its services

'Furthermore, new legislation now allows universities to raise fees annually until 2020. It's easy to see why students in the UK are seeking wealthy benefactors to help offset education costs.

'Sugar Baby students receive an average monthly allowance of 2,910, which is double the potential amount one can earn working a part-time job at the national minimum wage.'

However student advisory site Save the Student has urged caution for those considering entering into such arrangements.

Jake Butler, operations director at Save The Student, said: 'Every year we run a national student money survey and around four per cent admit being involved in adult work as a way to make money and fund university.

'Within this many have told us that they are involved in sugar dating.

'Whilst some see this as a legitimate line of work, as an organisation our worry is that students are being forced into seeking ways of making money they wouldn't have if they were financially comfortable.

'We don't offer support directly but are constantly campaigning for the government to increase the student maintenance loan so students aren't left short at the end of each month.

'I would advise any student to speak to their university about available funding and support before considering signing up to something they may not feel comfortable with.'
Emily KesKes, 13, has not been seen since 8.30pm on Friday

Fears are growing for a vulnerable 13-year-old girl days after she disappeared outside a branch of KFC.

Emily KesKes vanished on Friday evening outside the fast food restaurant in Surrey and police have launched an appeal to find her.

The 13-year-old from Staines was last reported being seen at 8:30pm and was described as 'vulnerable' by a police spokesman.

The schoolgirl was said to be a confident traveller and it was thought she may have boarded a train following her disappearance from Sunbury Cross in Sunbury-on-Thames.

Emily is described as white with long dark brown wavy hair, of an average build and six feet tall.

On the night of her disappearance the teenager, from Staines, Surrey, was wearing red velour tracksuit with a hoody and top and bottoms.

The schoolgirl from Staines was last seen outside a branch of KFC in Sunbury Cross in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey

Police have launched an appeal to help find the missing teenager who they believe may have boarded a train

But it is suspected she may have changed as a pair of high heel stilettos is missing from her room.

A spokesman for Surrey Police said: 'We are appealing for help to trace a vulnerable missing teenage girl from Staines who was last seen yesterday.

'Emily KesKes, who is 13-years-old, was last seen outside KFC in Sunbury Cross at 8.30pm on March 22.

Anyone with any information should contact Surrey Police immediately on 101.
Dick Smith believes Australia needs to slash its immigration in half to preserve quality of life and reduce congestion in the capital cities.

The millionaire electronics chain founder said he was concerned about the negative impact a rapidly growing population would have on Australia.

'If we brought our immigration down to 70,000 a year, which is the long term average, our population would level off at about 30 million,' Smith told 60 Minutes.

'That's what we should be doing. Ask someone who's sitting in a traffic jam. I just think this is ridiculous. Our politicians say, "we just need more infrastructure". Crap!'

The former Australian of the year said the continual development of infrastructure and increasing congestion was decreasing quality of life for Australians

Mr Smith's comments follow the Federal Government's announcement that the population intake would be capped at 160,000 - a reduction of 30,000.

Mr Smith said the continual increase of congestion and build up of infrastructure around Sydney was depressing him.

'People are taking up to two hours to get to work and that's two hours there, two hours back. Just wasting so much family time, no wonder we're having so many social problems.'

Mr Smith said he wants to halve our current immigration intake to 70,000 a year

Australia's population reached 25 million in August last year and is predicted to reach 26 million by 2021 at current rates.

The former Australian Of The Year has previously said he is for migration but wants it to be on a sensible level.

Mr Smith mentioned examples such as increased house prices that have left many unable to buy their own home.

He also pointed to the city of Geneva as an example of a city with more gradual population growth.

The Swiss city has frequently rated highly for overall population happiness and quality of life due in part to strong social environments and accountable governments.

Australia has ranked higher than average immigration rates for western countries at 1.6% compared to the United States at 0.7% and the UK at 0.6%, however these countries already have a significantly bigger population.








A woman in Toronto has just set up a rental business where expectant mothers can rent their maternity wear. The new business owner, Joyce Lim told CBC News that she had struggled to find maternity clothing as a pregnant corporate lawyer two years ago and this struggle had inspired her to set up the maternity wear renting business.

"I was just shocked by how exorbitant prices were," she said, speaking to CBC News about her failed attempts to buy maternity wear while pregnant.

Lim says she did some research and found out that other countries such as the U.S and Singapore had businesses that rented out clothing to expectant mothers, but there was none of such in Canada. This inspired her to launch Sprout Collection in Canada, a subscripted service which according to Lim, has two goals: to help women like her save money on maternity clothing and to be more environmentally-friendly.

A lot of women who have been pregnant would confirm that spending money on maternity wear is often like pouring money into an ocean. Pregnancy is so temporary that spending a lot of money on maternity clothing is never a good investment, yet expectant mothers cannot do without maternity clothes.

For the above reasons, entrepreneurs in countries such as U.S.A and Singapore have established rental places with "Mother-to-Be" sections. Romper.com lists some of the website already offering similar services and they include Borrow for your Bump, Le Tot, La Belle Bump among others. These online stores offer services that allow you to rent everything from a few amazing maternity clothing to an entire wardrobe of them. These services offer a wide range of product quality and prices, some even go as far as offering personal stylists. Women patronize these businesses most probably because one gets to spend less money on these clothes and get to return them at the end of the pregnancy.

"Why commit to something only to throw it away?" said Lim. "Clothing is just going to pile up and contribute to more garbage, more waste."

"It's a drain on the environment."

Lim says she intends to expand the company in future to rent out clothing for all women.

The way Sprout Collection works is that women can choose between different packages and clothing online, and have it shipped to them each month. The clothes are dry cleaned after they are returned to the company.

"This is brilliant because I can just choose something new every month and not have to invest in something so short term," said Marjorie Celis, a customer and second-time mum quoted in the article.

"A good quality pair of maternity jeans are at least $150," she said. "My rate is under $100 (a month)."

Another customer Tanya Brown testified to how useful she found the new company.

"I'm a bit of a tomboy," she said.

"And the concept of being very green  it felt good to be able to do that."

Beatrix Dart, executive director of the Rotman Initiative for Women in Business at the University of Toronto, said Lims business was "One of the big trends is being environmentally conscious while simultaneously saving money.
Jeremy Corbyn is being treated at Moorfields eye hospital in London for the ongoing 'muscle weakness' in his right eye.

Corbyn, 69, was forced to deny rumours last week which claimed he had told allies he would be resigning as leader of the Labour Party because he was 'tired and fed up'.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: 'Jeremy Corbyn has a muscle weakness in his right eye which has become apparent in recent months.

Jeremy Corbyn is being treated at Moorfields eye hospital in London for continued 'muscle weakness' in his right eye. Last week Corbyn was forced to deny rumours that he had told allies he would be stepping down as Labour leader because he was 'tired and fed up'. Corbyn is pictured here at his allotment today

Angela Rayner and Emily Thornberry discussed a potential leadership contest where concerns about Corbyn's health were raised

'He is being treated at Moorfields Eye Hospital and thanks the wonderful staff for their care and expertise.

'He has been using corrective glasses as part of the treatment.

'He is otherwise in good health, is on the campaign trail every week travelling the country, and runs and cycles regularly.'

Angela Rayner and Emily Thornberry spoke of a potential leadership contest earlier this month during which Corbyn's health was discussed.

One insider told the Times: 'Rumours about Jeremy's health started to leak out about two weeks ago.

'Both Angela and Emily started to talk to folks in the party about whether they'd support them in a leadership bid if Jeremy was forced to stand down.'
A former NHS surgeon accused of joining ISIS is pleading with his former patients to back his bid for freedom from his cell in Syria.

Muhammad Saqib Raza, 40, was captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in January attempting to smuggle himself out of the country and now he's begging his former patients to speak up for him as a form of payment.

He was accused of trying to radicalise colleagues at a number of NHS hospitals before he travelled to Syria in 2016.

After he was captured, he told the SDF that he was not a fighter with Islamic State but worked as a medic in areas under the group's control.

Muhammad Saqib Raza was captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces on the Turkish border

The surgeon, who has been locked up in a Kurdish 'hell hole' jail for over a year, has pleaded with British authorities to repatriate him to face trial in the UK.

He told The Mirror that he is a 'victim of anti-terrorism terrorism' as the Home Office had done nothing to get the dual Pakistani-UK citizen back to the UK.

The facial surgeon from Leicester, who worked in hospitals all over the country during his eight-year stint at the NHS, said that he treated his patients 'like family' when they wanted help.

He pleaded with them, saying: 'My patients, maybe you care. I beg you, patients of mine, to help me in return for what I did for you.'

Raza split from his wife and left his four-year-old son to go to Turkey in 2017 after he became more extreme in his religious Islamist views, growing his beard out and wearing religious clothing, according to former neighbours.

The well-spoken doctor claims to have been kidnapped on the Turkish border with Syria before being sold to IS extremists, saying when he heard the bombs he wished they would kill him.

A female fighter of the US-backed Kurdish-led SDF flashes the victory gesture

The last IS stronghold- the town of Baghouz in eastern Syria is pictured above after the Syrian Defense Forces declared a 100 per cent territorial defeat of ISIS

The Kurdish-led, US-backed SDF forces declared victory over the Islamic State yesterday

He was captured by the Kurds in Raqqa last year, he said, when he escaped IS. Syrian Democratic Forces accused him of being a fighter for the terrorists but he denies this, despite being unable to explain why he had a laptop and 13,000 euros on him when caught.

The doctor, who still owns a home in Leicester said the British government won't even give him a chance to 'prove my innocence by bringing me back to England'.

'In fact, not even one British intelligence officer has come to interrogate me in my 419 days in a place that's not fit for cats and dogs. I call on them, 'Come talk to me',' he said.

The 40-year-old's explanation for being so close to the war zone is that he was given 'a soft heart by God' and wanted to spend a week treating victims of the conflict.

A Syrian refugee reacts as he waits behind border fences to cross into Turkey in 2015

The former NHS doctor said he was kidnapped on the Turkish border with Syria this year

Aside from wanting to return to the UK, Raza also said he is sharing a cell with IS fighters, one of whom - a British man - he recognises.

He said: 'I'm alongside a guy who I saw in IS territory. He was a feared intelligence officer. He is probably planning my death.

He also criticised ISIS bride Shamima Begum, saying she must 'be held responsible for a decision she made.'

Shamima Begum, who lived in Bethnal Green, London, left the UK in February 2015 to join ISIS.

She was found in the al-Hawl Refugee Camp in February 2019 by a journalist from The Times.

Begum was nine months pregnant and said she wanted to return home. She then gave birth to her baby son, who died earlier this month.

She was stripped of her citizenship by the Home Secretary Sajid Javid, but Begum's family have since started a legal challenge against the decision.

Syrians fleeing the war rush through broken down border fences to enter Turkish territory

The UK kept tabs on 900 people who travelled to Syria to engage in the conflict there, the Home Office says approximately 20% have been killed and around 40% have since returned to the UK.

He said: 'My only crime is being a Muslim. If I was a Jew or a Christian, people would believe I was a humanitarian and not a terrorist.'

He added that nobody hates 'those ISIS head-choppers' as much as he does.

He said that if he's allowed home he can help educate people against going to join ISIS and stop them from becoming radicalised.

'But now I see that no help coming, I want to die. For me, death is freedom,' he added.
The girlfriend of disgraced businessman Salim Mehajer has offered a rare insight into the couple's love life.

Melissa Tysoe made reference to her jailbird beau on Instagram after celebrating the union of two friends over the weekend.

After sharing a few pictures at the event congratulating the happy couple, she went on to share a throwback photo with Mehajer.

In the photo, Ms Tysoe wrote: 'Its you and me against the world, baby' and scribbled out both her and Mehajer's eyes.

The girlfriend of disgraced businessman Salim Mehajer has offered a rare insight into the couple's love life

In the photo, which has been widely distributed in the past, Ms Tysoe wrote: 'Its you and me against the world, baby' and scribbled out both her and Mehajer's eyes

Ms Tysoe keeps relatively quiet about her relationship with Mehajer, who is currently in prison.

In January 2018 Mehajer was arrested and charged with perverting the course of justice after allegedly faking a car crash on his way to a Sydney court date in 2017.

He was remanded in custody for three months before walking free on bail in April when a $200,000 surety was posted.

In June he was sentenced to 21 months in prison for electoral fraud, with a minimum of 11 months behind bars.

He will remain in Cooma jail until at least May, when he is eligible for parole.

Melissa Tysoe made reference to her jailbird beau on Instagram after celebrating the union of two friends over the weekend

Ms Tysoe keeps relatively quiet about her relationship with Mehajer, who is currently in prison

Since he first went to prison, Mehajer hasn't featured on Ms Tysoe's main Instagram page.

She generally prefers photos showcasing her work for various swimwear campaigns and clothing brands.

She recently returned from a work trip in New York and attended Fashion Week in Paris in 2018.

Ms Tysoe, a model and business graduate from the New South Wales Central Coast previously spoke glowingly about Mehajer and said he calls her daily from behind bars.

She told the Kyle and Jackie O Show she and Mehajer had discussed having a traditional Islamic wedding upon his release, and that the pair had abstained from sex in the meantime.

Ms Tysoe, a model and business graduate from the New South Wales Central Coast previously spoke glowingly about Mehajer and said he calls her daily from behind bars
Boris Johnson and a host of hardline Brexiteers will hold crunch talks with Theresa May today as Cabinet ministers orchestrate a coup to topple the beleaguered Prime Minister.

The former foreign secretary will join European Research Group chairman Jacob Rees-Mogg and ex-ministers Dominic Raab, David Davis, Iain Duncan Smith and Damian Green at her Buckinghamshire retreat this afternoon.

Sources said they were invited to meet with Theresa May, who is using the weekend to meet various groups with different views on Brexit, rather than demanding an audience.

All but Mr Green are bitter opponents of Theresa May's handling of Brexit and are considered among the leading Brexiteer canidates to replace her if and when she steps down.

It is also Mr Johnson's second meeting with Mrs May in three days, after he visited her in Downing Street on Friday afternoon.

The presence of senior ERG figures like Mrs Rees-Mogg and Mr Duncan Smith will give Mrs May a chance to talk them around over her Brexit deal.

The votes of its members will be key to any chance Mrs May has of getting it through Parliament next week - if it is brought to a vote at all.

Boris Johnson seen entering Downing Street on Friday, where he had a meeting with Theresa May. He has been a vociferous critic of her Brexit deal

ERG chairman Jacob Rees-Mogg is also among those believed to be attending Chequers this afternoon for a showdown with Theresa May

It came as Theresa May's deputy David Lidington insisted today he does not want to replace her as Prime Minister as he found himself at the centre of a cabinet coup.

The Cabinet Office minister spoke out ahead of crunch talks between the PM and hardline Brexiteers including Boris Johnson at Chequers this afternoon, as ministers plotted to topple her.

As senior cabinet figures complained that the Prime Minister's judgement had reportedly gone 'haywire' in recent weeks Mr Lidington, her de-facto deputy Prime Minister, was named as a possible caretaker if she is forced out.

But Brexiteers who could not stomach the little-known Remainer being in charge at a crucial time for Brexit are plotting to get 2016 Leave mastermind and Environment Secretary Michael Gove installed instead.

One Cabinet Minister branded the plot a f****** coup.

Mr Lidington told reporters in his Aylesbury constituency today: 'I don't think that I've any wish to take over from the PM (who) I think is doing a fantastic job.

'I tell you this: one thing that working closely with the Prime Minister does is cure you completely of any lingering shred of ambition to want to do that task.

'I have absolute admiration for the way she is going about it.'

David Lidington, the Cabinet Office Minister and Mrs May's de-facto deputy, said today: 'I don't think that I've any wish to take over from the PM'

Alarmed Brexiteers are aligning behind Environment Secretary Michael Gove (pictured today), a former leadership candidate and mastermind of the Leave campaign in 2016, as a caretaker leader

Theresa May leaving church this morning. She is spending the weekend at Chequers planning her next move as her ministers also plot theirs - which includes replacing her

After a torturous 14 hours at the EU Council, the Prime Minister returned to the British residency in Brussels in the early hours of Friday morning and demanded a large whisky.

But back in Westminster, her closest Cabinet colleagues were preparing to hand Theresa May a revolver to go with it.

Senior Cabinet Ministers and allies are privately urging Mrs May to set a departure date to help get her beleaguered Brexit deal over the line as a matter of arithmetic.

Michael Gove (right) has emerged as a consensus candidate who could bring the crucial backing of both Remainers and Brexiteers, and act as a caretaker Prime Minister should a plot to force Mrs May (left) from office go ahead

Cabinet sources have told The Mail on Sunday that Mr Lidington was initially reluctant to step into the role of caretaker but was told it would be a four-month job' with a strict mandate

But others have simply decided her time is up and have spent the last three days plotting how to oust her.

A senior Downing Street source told this newspaper: Discussions about the Prime Ministers future are ongoing.

On Friday evening, David Lidington, the pro-EU Cabinet Office boss and de facto deputy PM, was said to be in the advanced stages of a plot to force Mrs May from office and herald a long Brexit extension as an interim leader who could build a cross-party Brexit deal.

But as news of the plan leaked, it sparked a furious Cabinet backlash that saw Michael Gove emerge as a consensus candidate who could bring the crucial backing of both Remainers and Brexiteers.

Cabinet sources have told The Mail on Sunday that Mr Lidington was initially reluctant to step into the role of caretaker but was told it would be a four-month job with a three-pronged mandate: to negotiate a long extension, to oversee testing of what Parliament wants and to ensure a fair Tory leadership contest.

A source said: David is 60. It would be his last job in politics and what a way to go out. The key players are on board. Its just a matter of when.

The Mail on Sunday has learnt that Cabinet big beasts including Amber Rudd and Jeremy Hunt have urged Mr Lidington to knock on the door and call time on Mrs Mays premiership.

The Mail on Sunday has learnt that Cabinet big beasts including Amber Rudd and Jeremy Hunt have urged Mr Lidington to knock on the door and call time on Mrs Mays premiership

In the febrile atmosphere in Westminster, there were even claims Michael Gove had initially supported Mr Lidington acting as caretaker, with one source claiming the plot was far less factional than Brexit lines.

However, as word of Mr Lidingtons manoeuvrings ripped through Westminster on Friday evening, Brexiteer Ministers were quick to brand the Cabinet politicking a Remainer coup, with former Vote Leave boss Mr Gove touted by Ministers and MPs for the job instead.

One senior Cabinet Minister told The Mail on Sunday: The British public will never forgive us if, in a time of historical crisis, our answer is David Lidington.

This is where it is going to get very scary, whatever you think about it.

If we do not deliver Brexit, we are so unbelievably f*****, not just as a party or a government, but in a national way. Now is the time to be bold. A customs union is a cop out  its the easiest solution for Parliament but the worst solution for the country.

It has to be her deal, or no deal. We cannot be allowed to drift into the worst position and that is what David Lidington is manoeuvring us to  there is no upside to it.

And another Cabinet Minister branded the plot a f****** coup.

...And if he gets into No 10, will old foe Boris ever get him out? Bookies last night slashed Michael Goves odds of being the next Prime Minister. The Environment Secretary is now 5/1 joint favourite with his rival Boris Johnson to take the Tory crown. Should Mr Gove secure the keys to No 10, it would be a remarkable turnaround after he stabbed Mr Johnson in the back during in the 2016 Tory leadership battle, when he withdrew his support for his fellow Brexit campaigner at the last minute so he could stand himself. Bitter rivals: Michael Gove and Boris Johnson pull pints of beer at the Old Chapel pub in Darwen in Lancashire, as part of the Vote Leave EU referendum campaign Having initially been sacked by the victorious Theresa May, Mr Gove was subsequently brought back into the Cabinet fold and has spent the last year being studiously loyal to the Prime Minister in public, as he sought to repair his reputation among the Tory grassroots. Although Mr Gove was touted as a consensus caretaker last night, Mr Johnson will be wary of letting his nemesis become Tory leader without a fight. Last night, a Ladbrokes spokesman said: Money for Michael Gove in the past few days has left the firm with no choice but to cut his odds of becoming the next PM. Mr Gove continues to attract punters cash. Advertisement

Outside of the Cabinet, one Minister furiously rejected Mr Lidington stepping in, saying: You might as well put the permanent secretaries in charge.

They added: This is a pipe dream for the bland brigade, who must be deluded if they think replacing uncertainty with more uncertainty is going to fix anything.

The backlash also broke on to the airwaves and social media, as Tory MPs began openly discussing Mrs May standing down.

After it emerged Mr Lidington had discussed soft-Brexit plans with Labour MPs, Tory Brexiteer Michael Fabricant compared his pro-EU stance to that of Britains appeasing of Hitler in the 1930s.

The outspoken backbencher hit out: With the PM acting like Chamberlain, we now have David Lidington freelancing and acting like Lord Halifax hoping to come to an accommodation with Labour. Enough is enough! Asked if the PM would still be in post by next month, fellow Tory Marcus Fysh told BBC2s Newsnight: I dont know.

We are starting to get to the stage where it really would have been good to have better negotiations going on, he added. And fellow Leaver James Duddridge, tweeted #Resign.

Tory peer Lord Gadhia said: She may not survive to the end of the week. He added: It is quite possible that she herself may decide actually, look, I am an obstacle to a resolution of this process. So we may have a very dramatic week.

Leadership speculation is gripping all corners of the parliamentary Conservative party, with other Ministers privately accepting that a General Election under a new leader would be needed to achieve a fresh mandate from the public ahead of Round Two of EU negotiations over a trade deal.

And Brexiteer hardliners in the European Research Group are determined not to repeat their disastrous implosion during the 2016 leadership battle which allowed Mrs May, who had campaigned to Remain, to come through the divided Brexiteers.

Senior MPs in the ERG plan to hold their own leadership contest to unite around one candidate. They point out a Brexiteer only needs to come second, with 105 MPs behind them, to proceed to the final round  a vote of the overwhelmingly Eurosceptic party membership.

Last night a source close to Mr Lidington said the claims from his Cabinet colleagues were nonsense, adding: David has not discussed anything of the sort. His focus is on getting the PMs deal agreed.
Marc Gomez, 36, was arrested after he was captured on camera repeatedly kicking a woman on a New York Subway. He now claims she threatened him with a knife

The fiancee of the man who was caught on camera viciously attacking an elderly woman on a New York subway train claims she had threatened to kill them.

Asia, who did not give her last name, said she was riding the subway with Marc Gomez and her 11-year-old daughter when the 78-year-old woman began yelling at them.

She claims the woman screamed 'I'll stab you and your wife and your child!' at them.

'She kept going off about stabbing and killing people,' Asia told the New York Post.

When the family got up to get off at the stop, Asia claims the woman screamed 'I'll kill you, I'll kill your wife, I'll kill your daughter!'

'Again, she yelled "I'll kill your daughter" and she had something in her hand,' Asia said.

'She shifted towards us and the door and [Gomez] lost it. He just started kicking her.'

Gomez, 36, was charged with felony assault after the video was posted to Twitter and quickly went viral.

Nearly 13 million people have watched video of the vicious attack, which was posted on Twitter this week and prompted outrage both for its brutality and for the fact that bystanders on the train filmed the incident instead of trying to help the woman.

The video shows Gomez attacking the elderly woman at the Nereid Ave Station in the Bronx around 3.10am on March 10.

Gomez was charged with felony assault after the horrific video was posted to Twitter and quickly went viral

Gomez can be heard saying 'Who the f**k you was talking to' as he repeatedly kicks her head and body while wearing boots.

Prosecutor Theresa Genthe said Gomez 'viciously kicked' the woman six times.

Before he leaves the train, Gomez tells two people who are filming him to 'Worldstar that my n****r'.

The quote is in reference to WorldStarHipHop.com, a website known for its violent videos.

He then got off at the 238th Street/Nereid Avenue stop and fled on foot. The woman was left in her seat cradling her head in her hands.

Police weren't notified until the train arrived at the next and last stop, at Wakefield-241st Street station, when a bystander approached an officer in the station.

Gomez was arrested in Tribeca while wearing a double-breasted chef's jacket. He is a restaurant worker from Yonkers

He was ordered held in leiu of $30,000 bail due to a misdemeanor conviction and open gun possession charge

The woman exited at 241st Street station, where she was met by first responders. She suffered bleeding and swelling with cuts to the face.

Asia said Gomez was a 'good man' and that nobody had recorded the incident 'from the beginning'. She said her fiance also felt 'really bad' afterwards.

'I could see it in his face after it, he was upset,' she said. 'It wasn't like he intentionally went after her.'

Gomez, who was arrested on Saturday and charged with felony assault, has also claimed that that elderly woman threatened him with a knife.

'She was homeless and lying across the seat and wanted all other passengers to move,' his lawyer said during the arraignment on Sunday morning.

'She said, at that point, "I have a knife and I'm going to stab you" and flashed a sharp instrument.'

A former neighbor of the woman told the New York Post that she is mentally ill and has threatened others with a knife in the past.

Shocking footage of the incident shows the man kicking the elderly woman while she helplessly holds her hands over her face but to no avail

In a heartbreaking image, the woman is seen holding her head and appears to be crying. She suffered from bleeding and swelling with cuts to the face and received medical treatment

NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot O'Shea tweeted photo grabs of the man as police worked to identify him

They said she is a retired kindergarten teacher who had moved out of the residence three or four years ago.

'She was just mentally ill,' they said. 'She wasn't paying rent. She threatened at least three co-opers with a knife. She used to call the fire department, cops, all the time.'

Asia said she and Gomez hope that the woman 'gets all the mental health she needs'.

The video was first posted on Twitter by a user named @BKLYNRELL1. The caption read: 'He's crazy that's somebody grandmother. Rt and find this a*****e.'

'For everybody asking me if this is my video. No and if I was there it was not going down like that. He was not getting away,' he later added in a separate tweet.

NYPD Chief Dermot Shea announced on Saturday that Gomez had been apprehended and was in police custody.

Shea said the woman was treated in a hospital for her injuries and was 'getting the care, advocacy, and support needed'. She has since been released.

A tipster who had seen the viral video recognized Gomez and reported him to police.

Gomez was arrested in Tribeca while wearing a double-breasted chef's jacket. He is a restaurant worker from Yonkers.

He was ordered held in leiu of $30,000 bail due to a misdemeanor conviction and open gun possession charge.

Gomez had been free without bail on the charge since November, when police found a 12-gauge shotgun and ammunition in his car.

He has also been previously arrested for assault and possession of a gun and marijuana.
A woman who was the smallest baby born in Texas is now working at the same NICU that saved her life.

When Tammy Lewis was born in 1985, doctors told her parents that she only had a 5 to 10 percent chance of survival.

She was three-and-half months early and only weighed 1 pound 4 ounces.

Fast-forward 34 years, and now Lewis is working with some of the same doctors and nurses who saved her life.

Scroll down for video

Tammy Lewis, who was once the smallest baby born in Texas at 1 pound 4 ounces (pictured), now works at the same NICU that saved her life

Lewis (pictured) is now a respiratory therapist at McLane Children's Medical Center Baylor Scott & White in Temple, Texas

Lewis was a micro preemie, a baby who is born weighing less than 1 pound 12 ounces or before 26 weeks gestation.

'I was the smallest surviving baby in the state of Texas at the time,' she told CNN. 'I was born at 24 weeks. Normal gestation is 40 weeks.'

She spent three-and-a-half months at the NICU of Scott and White Hospital, now named McLane Children's Medical Center Baylor Scott & White.

Lewis beat the odds and survived, leaving the hospital right before her actual due date.

When it came time to decide her own path in life, she quickly became passionate about medicine.

It is the same hospital where Lewis (pictured) was born. She was a micro preemie, a baby who is born weighing less than 1 pound 12 ounces or before 26 weeks gestation

Lewis beat the odds and survived. When it came time to decide her own path in life, she quickly became passionate about medicine

'Once I started researching the medical field, I talked to a program director and immediately fell in love with it,' she said. 'I knew this was the place I wanted to be.'

'I knew that I wanted to work with children and, not just children, but NICU patients. Not many people can say that you can go back to the place where you were born and care for the same types of patients that you were and give back that way.'

'I wanted to be able to give back to the patients and families in the same situation that I was in.'

Lewis joined McLane as a respiratory therapist in 2009, connecting the same type of breathing tubes and ventilators that helped her lungs breathe when she was born.

And the mother-of-two can now give hope to parents who are going through the very same situation that her family did more than three decades ago.

Lewis joined McLane as a respiratory therapist in 2009, connecting the same type of breathing tubes and ventilators that helped her lungs breathe when she was born

And the mother-of-two can now give hope to parents who are going through the very same situation that her family did more than three decades ago

'To see a success story right there alongside you, day in and day out, working with your child, working with you as a family, getting to know them and showing there is hope, there is a light at the end of the tunnel,' she told KCEN.

'I hope I can give them a little bit of hope.'

Lewis' own photo stands on the hospital's 'Hall of Hope', which displays pictures of babies who beat the odds and survived.

And now she gets to watch the children that she has helped save grow up as well.

'There are lots of long, hard days that everyone puts in and it's very rewarding to see them grown up,' she said.

Lewis' own photo stands on the hospital's 'Hall of Hope', which displays pictures of babies who beat the odds and survived

And now Lewis gets to watch the children that she has helped save grow up as well

'It doesn't get much better than to take a 1 pound baby and then watch it grow up to a little human being.'

And her job prevents Lewis losing sight of her own incredible story.

'To be able to grow up and be an adult and get a job and have a career and be able to work alongside the people who cared for you was a truly humbling experience,' she said.

'As I work, I get daily reminders of how blessed I am to be here today.'
Donald Trump is still facing around a dozen legal threats from federal and state prosecutors despite reports Mueller will not be indicting anyone else, reports say.

The end of the probe, which has cast a dark shadow over Trump's presidency, does not remove the legal peril for the 72-year-old.

In fact, while the closure of the 22-month probe without additional indictments by Mueller was welcome news to some in Trump's orbit there remained the possibility of indictments already sealed, or that another body such as the Southern District of New York wold bring indictments.

That would see the focus shift from Mueller in Washington to New York.

Retired federal judge John S. Martin Jr. told The New York Times: 'The important thing to remember is that almost everything Donald Trump did was in the Southern District of New York.

'He ran his business in the Southern District. He ran his campaign from the Southern District. He came home to New York every night.'

Donald Trump is said to be still facing around 'a dozen' legal threats from federal and state prosecutors despite reports Robert Mueller will not be indicting anyone else. Trump was implicated in a potential campaign finance violation by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who says the president asked him to arrange the transactions

Special Councel Robert Mueller, and his wife Ann pictured Sunday after he handed his report to Attorney General William Barr on Friday

United States attorneys' offices in Brooklyn, the District of Columbia and the Eastern District of Virginia are also each said to be handling different strands of inquiry.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, told MSNBC there was a 'high probability' that additional indictments happen.

'I think there is a strong possibility of additional indictments, including president Trump's family,' Blumenthal said Friday evening.

'Maybe not by the Department of Justice, main Justice. But by other offices. I know that you want to stick to the Mueller report. But the Mueller report cannot be viewed in isolation,' the former prosecutor and Trump nemesis continued.

'Any more than an investigation, even though it may end, cannot lead to additional investigative leads and actions. And so I think there's a high probability of additional indictments.'

Trump faces a separate Justice Department investigation in New York into hush money payments during the campaign to two women who say they had sex with him years before the election.

He's been implicated in a potential campaign finance violation by his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who says Trump asked him to arrange the transactions.

Federal prosecutors, also in New York, have been investigating foreign contributions made to the president's inaugural committee.

It comes as House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff said that he believes there will likely be further indictments from Mueller as the full contents of his report are looked at in closer detail.

Schiff suggested he would call the special counsel before a House panel if necessary to learn what is contained in the long-awaited document.

'If necessary, we will call Bob Mueller or others before our committee, I would imagine the judiciary committee may call the attorney general if necessary,' the California Democrat said during an interview Friday on CNN.

In another interview with MSNBC, Schiff said that it is entirely likely that more indictments could be forthcoming, saying instead it is 'entirely possible, if not likely, that there will be' more.

Cohen claims Trump was aware of hush money he paid Stormy Daniels, pictured, to keep her quiet about their alleged affair ahead of the election and that he signed a $35,000 check that was reimbursement for what Cohen paid her

Former campaign adviser for President Donald Trump Roger Stone was arrested in January in a pre-dawn raid on his home in Florida, and is charged with one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, five counts of false statements, and one count of witness tampering

With Attorney General William Barr vowing to rush out information on the report's 'principal conclusions' as soon as this weekend, Democrats were insisting they see both the complete document and the evidence in its entirety.

Trump told Fox Business Network Friday that his lawyers 'don't even know what people are talking about' with regards to the reports he faces multiple investigations.

He said: 'I said to my lawyers, 'Are we being looked at here?'
A teenager has claimed she was left almost paralysed on a nightclub bathroom floor, unable to speak or move, after being stabbed with a needle filled with a date rape drug.

Shayna Karniewicz said she had been celebrating her 18th birthday at the Universal Bar in Northbridge, Perth, on Friday when the terrifying incident occurred.

Shayna and her group of friends had already visited some of the popular venues in the area before they made their way to the Universal Bar around 11pm.

Shayna collapsed on the bathroom floor and was taken to hospital for tests. She is waiting to find out whether she contracted any diseases

As she walked past crowds of revellers toward the toilets, the teenager claimed she felt someone 'grab her arm and stab her with a needle', leaving her with 'specs of blood and a puncher marks' in her arm.

Her close friend Hannah Hoddy spoke candidly with Daily Mail Australia about how the celebratory evening ended in turmoil.

'We went to the Universal Bar, the place was absolutely packed, I was holding a friends hand I had lost Shayna's hand but I knew she was behind me [because] I could hear her talking,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'As we pushed through people to get to the bathroom, we finally got to the bathroom and myself, [along] with some others waited outside,' Ms Hoddy said.

Hannah Hoddy (pictured) spoke candidly with Daily Mail Australia about how the celebratory evening ended in turmoil

Shayna (pictured) was celebrating her birthday at the Universal Bar in Northbridge, Perth, on Friday when the terrifying incident occurred

Ms Hoddy claims it was 'within seconds' of making their way to the toilets that Shayna was stabbed.

'While Shayna and [her sister] Miki were in the bathroom, Shayna had collapsed, her head smacked the ground, her eyes rolled around in her head, and there we're punchers in her arm that started to spec blood,' Ms Hoddy recounted.

'The staff picked Shayna up and took her outside, she couldn't move her arms or legs.

Shayna (left) was celebrating her 18th birthday with her sister Miki (right) when she felt someone grab her arm

'[A] manager of the bar called the ambulance, they arrived and took Shayna away to Royal Perth Hospital' she said.

'I was absolutely terrified, I couldn't think how Shayna was feeling, but we had to crack as many jokes as we could to keep her awake because her eyes kept shutting on us,' Ms Hoddy explained.

After her hospital visit, Shayna, who had a blood alcohol level of 0.00, did improve and has since returned home and is 'feeling a lot better'.

Ms Hoddy said the incident has 'opened her eyes' and she's vowed to be 'more aware of surroundings in the future'.

Universal Bar owners are investigating the incident.

On Friday, a man arrived to Royal Perth Hospital also saying he had been stabbed in the arm while walking near the WA Museum.

Another teenage girl was taken to hospital on Saturday claiming a similar incident happened to her at The Court Hotel.
The disappearance of an eight-month-old baby girl in Indiana has been reclassified as a homicide investigation.

Amiah Robertson was last seen with her mother's ex-boyfriend, Robert Lyons, around 1.15pm on March 9, reported WISH-TV.

However, her family didn't report her missing to Indianapolis Metropolitan Police until March 16 because they initially didn't believe her to be in any danger.

Lyons, 20, was arrested on Saturday for an unrelated domestic charge and has been named the main suspect in the case.

The disappearance of Amiah Robertson, eight months (left), of Indianapolis, Indiana, has been reclassified as a homicide investigation. Robert Lyons, 20 (right), is the main suspect after he took her from a home around 1.15pm and returned at 10pm without her.

Amiah's mother, Amber Robertson, initially told police that her daughter was last seen alive on March 14 at a babysitter's house before revealing further details.

Authorities say Lyons was supposed to bring Amiah to the babysitter's house, and Robertson had agreed.

He left the house on the 200 block of S Holmes Avenue driving a 1996 Maroon Isuzu Rodeo SUV that was in poor condition, WISH-TV reported.

Lyons allegedly returned to the home around 10pm without the baby. The babysitter said Lyons never brought Amiah over.

Police Chief Bryan Roach said at a press conference on Saturday that it turned from a missing persons case to a homicide investigation after things 'didn't add up.'

'The Missing Persons Unit, because of their expertise and experience, figured out quickly through their investigation that this was a little different than most missing person of a small child,' he said.

'We're telling you now that this is a homicide investigation, but it has been all week.'

Robertson, 19, told WTHR that she had been fighting with Lyons because she was trying to reconcile with her daughter's father.

Amiah's mother, Amber Robertson (pictured, with Amiah), said she was fighting with Lyons because she was trying to reconcile with her daughter's father

Lyons was arrested on an unrelated domestic charge and has given police several locations of where Amiah could be, but the baby has not been found. Pictured: Lyons' car he was driving when Amiah disappeared.

According to police, Lyons has been taunting Robertson ever since about possible locations where her daughter is.

During questioning, he's also given several locations on here Amiah could be, but officers have been unable to find the baby in any of those places.

'Robert has told family, friends, and myself where Amiah should be alive and OK. All of these locations and homes were checked with full cooperation from residents. Some places she was said to be by Robert do not exist,' said Detective Jeannie Burkert said.

Amiah is described as a white baby who is 23 inches tall, weighs 13 pounds, and has blond hair with blue eyes.

Police are asking for anyone with information to contact the IMPD Homicide Office at (317) 327-3475 or call Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at (917) 262-8477(TIPS).

'I think that we all hope for the best always, but I think that we can't ignore the reality of the situation,' Lt Bruce Smith during the press conference.

'Amiah cannot take care of herself. And absent somebody else who is currently taking care of her that hasn't come forward, we are very concerned about what happened to her.'
Commons officials concerned about Theresa Mays health have reportedly drawn up contingency plans to whisk her out of the Commons if she collapses.

The Prime Minister has faced a punishing routine of meetings and travel both here and to Europe as she battled to get a Brexit deal across the line.

She has also put in a large number of hours in the Commons trying to win MPs over to backing her deal.

Concerns about the health of the 62-year-old Prime Minister, who has type 1 diabetes, have led officials to develop a protocol in case she becomes ill at the Dispatch Box, the Sunday Times reported.

The signs of the toll that Brexit has been taking showed on March 12 as she lost her voice and struggled to speak as she put her deal to the Commons and lost by 149 votes.

The Prime Minister brought back memories of her 2017 Conservative Party Conference speech as she was reduced to a croak as she addressed MPs in the Commons.

After a red-eye trip to Strasbourg to meet Jean-Claude Juncker the previous night she was noticeably hoarse as she introduced the motion for her doomed second meaningful vote.

Theresa may leaving church with husband Philip today. She has faced a punishing diary in recent weeks with emergency trips to Brussels as well as a demanding serious of meetings

But she made light of it in the face of barracking and offers of throat sweets from Labour and other opposition MPs she joked: 'You may say that but you should hear Jean-Claude Juncker's voice after our talks'.

She subsequently struggled through Prime Ministers Questions the following day.

But as MPs tabled a series of voted on delaying Brexit on the Thursday she delegated speeches to her ministers to give her a chance to recover.

Mrs May said in November that her blood sugar levels go up when stressed. She take daily insulin injections to manage the condition.

She told LBC radio: 'Well if youre stressed if theres a lot of adrenaline it will tend to go up but you manage that with the amount of insulin youre putting in'.

Today her deputy David Lidington insisted he does not want to replace her as Prime Minister as he found himself at the centre of a Cabinet coup.

The Cabinet Office minister spoke out ahead of crunch talks between the PM and hardline Brexiteers including Boris Johnson at Chequers this afternoon, as ministers plotted to topple her.

As senior cabinet figures complained that the Prime Minister's judgement had reportedly gone 'haywire' in recent weeks Mr Lidington, her de-facto deputy Prime Minister, was named as a possible caretaker if she is forced out.

But Brexiteers who could not stomach the little-known Remainer being in charge at a crucial time for Brexit are plotting to get 2016 Leave mastermind and Environment Secretary Michael Gove installed instead.

Alarmed Brexiteers are aligning behind Environment Secretary Michael Gove (pictured today), a former leadership candidate and mastermind of the Leave campaign in 2016, as a caretaker leader

Mr Lidington told reporters in his Aylesbury constituency today: 'I don't think that I've any wish to take over from the PM (who) I think is doing a fantastic job.

'I tell you this: one thing that working closely with the Prime Minister does is cure you completely of any lingering shred of ambition to want to do that task.

'I have absolute admiration for the way she is going about it.'
















Prominent U.S. book fairs are the places where an author from Ottawa can make contact with the book-buying public - and get discovered by an audience who didnt even know theyexisted. That being said, lets backtrack a bit and look at what it takes to self-publish in the first place:

First and foremost, you have to finish your manuscript, format it correctly, and then print it through a self-publishing house. Then you have a real book that can be distributed to the reading public. It can be purchased on the internet, bought by libraries, and is published in a standard format that can also be sold in bookstores. But what happens next? You, as an author, are going to have to start selling your book.

There is a whole philosophy about how to sell a self-published book on the internet, and writers are generally comfortable with that process. However, what most writers soon find is that there are many other writers with books to sell at Amazon. Also, the competition is stiff and going it alone almost never works.

So writers from Ottawa, with the help of their relatives, start going to the local book fairs to sell their books. They do this to make contact with the reading public and to meet other authors. And what writers find is that the sales and feedback from book fairs is invaluable.

What they also find is that it is easy to order multiple copies of their book from AgoraPublishing.com, put them in their car, head to the local book fair, and pay the reasonable entry fee. There, they are greeted by fellow Canadians who love their book and make enough purchases to give then hope as an author and make it worth their while to have made the effort to attend.

So, if you have had an initial success, but found that the profits from a book fair in Ottawa isnt going to make you a rich and internationally acclaimed author, what do you do now?

Believe it or not, you have to do some more marketing for that to happen. And if you have had success at a local book fair in Ottawa, then what about U.S Book fairs? Since your book is a success locally, then why wouldnt people at the major U.S. book fairs like it as well?

But there is a catch. Now that you have done some research and added up the cost, it becomes too expensive and cumbersome to go to these book fairs on your own. And while its easy to order your books from a self-publishing company and take them around locally, its not so easy to take them on a plane, pay the transport fees, and go through customs. Then you have to lug the books to your hotel room and then take them to a book fair that may be miles away. Then what do you do with the left-over books? In addition, you will pay much more in American dollars for the entrance fee to register for a prominent U.S. book fair.

But it doesnt have to be that way!

Agora Books can help by representing you at prominent U.S. book fairs. This will save you all of the cost and aggravation that you would experience if you did it yourself. And this service provides so many opportunities for authors from Ottawa who have experienced local success and are now ready for a larger market.
A mother-of-two has been mauled to death by her pit bull dogs at a Texas animal shelter where they were being quarantined after biting another person.

Johana Villafane, 33, was attacked by her two dogs at the O'Connor Animal Hospital in Irving on Saturday morning.

The male and female pit bulls were being quarantined at the animal shelter so they could be tested for rabies after biting someone earlier in the week.

Johana Villafane, 33, died on Saturday after she was attacked by her two pit bulls at the O'Connor Animal Hospital in Irving, Texas

Villafane was feeding the dogs and walking them in an exercise area outside when they attacked her.

Staff at the animal shelter found Villafane lying on the ground severely injured.

Shelter staff had tried to rescue Villafane but called police and paramedics when the dogs wouldn't let anyone close to her.

Police said they were forced to fatally shoot the two dogs because their 'continued aggression' was preventing them from getting Villafane medical attention.

Villafane was feeding the dogs and walking them in an exercise area at the animal shelter (above) when they attacked her. Police had to fatally shoot the dogs when they wouldn't let anyone near her

Villafane was rushed to hospital with severe injuries but she later died.

Police said the animal shelter had allowed Villafane to visit her two dogs while they were in quarantine.

The dogs had gotten loose earlier in the week and bitten someone else.

Detectives and the department's animal services division is investigating Villafane's death.
A mother-of-three who punched a grandmother outside a school because she wasn't walking quickly enough has been spared jail.

Emma Sands, 32, and a 64-year-old woman were both taking children to the same primary school.

Sands, from Stoke-on-Trent, pleaded guilty to common assault after punching the grandmother in the back and pushing her down a verge, according to The Stoke Sentinel.

Emma Sands, 32, pleaded guilty to common assault after punching a 64-year-old grandmother on the way to school

Prosecutor Lynne Warrington told magistrates at North Staffordshire Justice Centre how the victim heard someone behind her say something as she walked towards the school.

Miss Warrington said: 'She asked the children what was said, and they said it was a comment about her not being able to walk properly. She turned to face the defendant and asked, "What did you say?"

'Miss Sands said, "Shut up". She was holding a bike lock and appeared angry. She swung her right hand in what is described as "a boxers hook punch".'

Sands's punch landed on the grandmother's back before she pushed her down a grassy verge.

The mother-of-three continued to swing at the woman while the children 'shrieked with fear'.

Sands was later arrested and told police she was annoyed because she couldn't get past the woman on the path.

Sands pushed the victim down a grassy verge and was later arrested. She told police she lashed out because the woman was walking slowly towards the primary school

She also told a probation officer she was going through a stressful period at the time and was 'in a rush' that morning.

Joanne Corbett, mitigating, said: 'Shes had an awful lot on her plate and it is also the anniversary of her husbands death at this time of year. Miss Sands is a lady who is crying out for help.'

Magistrate Joanne Fox said: 'This was humiliating for the victim and scary for the children. You are a mother of three children  you should know better.'

Magistrates gave Sands an eight-week prison sentence suspended for 18 months and ordered her to pay 150 in compensation to the victim.

The Stoke mother must also complete a rehabilitation programme.
The spy chief who led the Enigma team which cracked the Nazi's code during the Second World War has been denied a blue plaque by English Heritage.

Sir Stewart Menzies, without whom Bletchley Park would not have been expanded, was rejected as a blue plaque candidate because 'his historical profile was not quite strong enough'.

According to English Heritage, he is not as historically important as the man who gave his name to the J Lyons restaurant chain or the viola player Lionel Tertis.

Sir Stewart Menzies, without whom Bletchley Park would not have been expanded, was rejected as a blue plaque candidate because 'his historical profile was not quite strong enough'

He will not be honoured with a blue plaque at the house in central London where he lived when he ran MI6 during the Second World War.

Ronald Hutton, chairman of English Heritage's London blue plaques panel, said that they couldn't ignore the fact that Soviet double-agent Kim Philby was hired by MI6 while Menzies was in charge

In its rejection letter English Heritage said: 'His overall historical profile was not quite strong enough for his name to be added to the shortlist'.

This year the first female dentist in Britain, Lilian Lindsay, was awarded a plaque. As was Margaret Noble, a campaigner for Indian independence.

Ronald Hutton, chairman of English Heritage's London blue plaques panel, told the Times: 'In the case of Menzies, the panel could not ignore his promotion of Kim Philby, adopting the spy as his protege'.

Kim Philby was a Soviet double-agent who managed to infiltrate MI6 while Menzies was in charge.

Colonel Collins OBE believes that isn't a good enough reason for Menzies''s plaque to be rejected.

He said: 'The lunatics are running the asylum. If he had been an avant-garde potter, or had invented some obscure dance move, he would have definitely got a blue plaque'.

According to English Heritage, he is not as historically important as the man who gave his name to the J Lyons restaurant chain or the viola player Lionel Tertis. This year the first female dentist in Britain, Lilian Lindsay, was awarded a plaque.

During his time as head of MI6, also known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), Menzies regularly met with Prime Minister Winston Churchill to keep him continually updated on the Enigma code-breaking efforts

The official historian for MI5, Christopher Andrew, said: 'The official history of MI6 makes the case for Menzies's historical significance at some length'.

During his time as head of MI6, also known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), Menzies regularly met with Prime Minister Winston Churchill to keep him continually updated on the Enigma code-breaking efforts.

Politician Rupert Allason, who has written many books about intelligence under the pen name Nigel West, said: 'Without him Bletchley Park simply wouldn't have happened'.

Allason blamed the rejection on his belief that English Heritage is too heavily influenced by 'political correctness'.

While the application for Menzies's blue plaque was rejected, Mr Hutton confirmed that applications for code breaker Alan Turing and Tommy Flowers, who designed the computer that helped to crack the German messages, had been accepted.

He said: 'All our blue plaques are awarded purely on merit. No one has ever been turned down for a plaque or awarded one because of their gender, race or ethnicity. Nor will they be'.
A New Mexico archbishop is renewing his call for Catholics to stop worshipping the skeleton folk saint known as La Santa Muerte.

Santa Fe Archbishop John Wester says he fears the figure - known in English as Our Lady of Holy Death - is being mistaken for a Roman Catholic Church-sanctioned saint.

He added that he believes some Catholics may be fooled into venerating Santa Muerte even though the focus on death runs counter to the church's teachings.

'It's really wrong,' Wester said. 'I think in part, it's [because] people are looking and searching. It's a symptom of a search looking for answers.'

But the devotion to death is not in line with the church's teachings, Wester said, and Santa Muerte is misleading to people.

'Our devotion is to the God of life,' he said.

Santa Fe Archbishop John Wester says he fears La Santa Muerte (Our Lady of Holy Death) is being mistaken for a Roman Catholic Church-sanctioned saint. Pictured: Statues of La Santa Muerte are shown at the Masks y Mas art store in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in February 2013

Popular in Mexico and sometimes linked to drug cartels, Santa Muerte is believed to be linked with protection, healing and safe passage into the afterlife.

In recent years, she has found a diverse following north of the border: immigrant small-business owners, artists, gay activists and the poor, among others - many of them non-Latinos and not all involved with organized religion.

Shrines and statues of the skeleton figure - typically depicted wearing a black nun's robe and holding a scythe - can be found in New Mexico, California, Louisiana, Texas and elsewhere.

Perhaps the most famous shrine is the first public one built to her by Enriqueta Romero in her home in Mexico City, which can be seen from the street.

No services are held there, but members of the public stop by to pray or to give offerings to Santa Muerte.

People pray to Santa Muerte for all manner of otherworldly help, from fending off wrongdoing and exacting revenge to landing better jobs and stopping lovers from cheating. Others seek her protection for their drug shipments and to ward off law enforcement.

Wester is one of only a handful of US Roman Catholic bishops who have denounced Santa Muerte.

In 2017, he joined El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz and San Angelo Bishop Michael Sis in Texas in urging Catholics to avoid honoring to the folk saint.

The deity is popular in Mexico and among drug cartels, and is believed to be linked with protection, healing and safe passage into the afterlife. Pictured: A statue of La Santa Muerte holds a statue of Jesus on an altar inside a temple dedicated to her in Mexico City, March 2017

Church officials in Latin America and the Vatican have compared it to devil worshipping. Pictured: A child arranges statues of La Santa Muerte on the edge of Mexico City's Tepito neighborhood in February 2017

Sis said La Santa Muerte is 'spiritually dangerous' and has no link to Catholicism, adding: 'It should be completely avoided. It is a perversion of devotion to the saints.'

So far no other high-ranking Catholic church officials in the US have publicly criticized the worshipping of Santa Muerte, according to Andrew Chesnut, author of Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint.

'In Latin America, church officials rebuke Santa Muerte almost weekly,' Chesnut said.

Mexico's Catholic Church has compared Santa Muerte followers to idol worshippers, and even devil worshippers, according to TIME.

Perhaps the staunchest criticism has come from the Vatican, which has referred to the following as a 'cult'.

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Culture, told the BBC that worshipping Santa Muerte was a 'blasphemous' and a 'degeneration of religion'.

Chesnut said he believes US Catholic officials have been reluctant to aggressively attack Santa Muerte because of their focus on defending migrants' rights and concerns about portraying Mexican immigrants as 'dangerous and all connected to drug trafficking.'
Witnesses drove over to help and fired a gun in the ground to try to scare him off

Fernando Acosta, 25, allegedly stabbed his girlfriend to death after crashing her car of a freeway in Arizona this week

A 25-year-old Arizona man is behind bars after he allegedly stabbed his girlfriend to death after crashing her car off a freeway.

Fernando Acosta, of Phoenix, has been charged with premeditated first-degree murder and aggravated assault in the death of Martha Thy.

Acosta allegedly crashed Thy's white Lexus sedan after veering off the Loop 101 freeway in Peoria just before 7am on Friday and began stabbing her in the car.

Thy managed to escape from the vehicle and tried to crawl away from Acosta, who then got out of the driver's side of the car and continued stabbing her outside, according to the probable cause statement.

Several witnesses had tried to stop Acosta from attacking Thy, who was stabbed at least 20 times.

Gustavo Munoz immediately pulled over to help when he saw the crash. Acosta then allegedly accosted him with a knife.

Acosta allegedly crashed Thy's white Lexus sedan (pictured) after veering off the Loop 101 freeway in Peoria just before 7am on Friday and began stabbing her in the car

Thy managed to escape from the vehicle and tried to crawl away from Acosta, who then got out of the driver's side of the car and continued stabbing her outside, it is claimed

Several witnesses had tried to stop Acosta from attacking Thy, who was stabbed at least 20 times. She later died in hospital from her injuries

'I ran towards the vehicle, and when I got to the other side of the ditch the man comes out with a knife,' he told ABC 15. 'Hands full of blood. His face, body was filled with blood.'

Munoz then flagged down other drivers to get more help.

'The guys that were there, they got their guns so we could try to scare him,' he said.

'One man fired shots at the ground to see if he would drop the knife and stop stabbing the lady that was in the vehicle.'

One man finally tackled Acosta and knocked the knife away from his hands. Munoz and other witnesses then held him down until police arrived.

Several witnesses had tried to stop Acosta from attacking Thy and managed to tackle him and hold him down before police arrived on the scene

There was a massive police response to the incident as several bystanders became involved

Munoz said it was a chaotic and frantic scene.

'People everywhere, some screaming, yelling going on, so you can only imagine what an officer's feeling when he arrives on scene and all he sees are people running around,' he added.

Thy was rushed to the hospital, where she died from her injuries.

Acosta was still behind bars on Saturday. A motive has not been disclosed.

Thy lived in San Diego. Her landlord told 10 News that Acosta was her boyfriend and a 'normal guy'. He said Acosta had spent 'some time in jail'.

The landlord said Thy was a loving aunt, sister, and daughter and a hard worker. She was planning to move to Arizona to be closer to her sister, who had bought a house there. She will be laid to rest in California.
Police spent close to half a million pounds dealing with the drone crisis at Gatwick airport before Christmas.

Three months on, Sussex Police have announced no further progress or arrests in the case, since the arrest of a Crawley couple whom they held for 36 hours before releasing with apologies.

The force's response to reports of drone activity on December 19 at the country's second-busiest airport led to the cancellation of about 1,000 flights and disrupted 140,000 people's Christmas travel plans.

At one point a senior officer claimed there might never have been any drone - a statement Chief Constable Giles York later walked back, saying it may have 'amplified the chaos' surrounding the incident.

The drone was first spotted over Gatwick on December 19 and the airport was locked down for 36 hours causing delays to 140,000 passengers (stock image)

Flights eventually resumed on December 21 after thousands of passengers spent more than a day waiting with - and sleeping on - their luggage

Documents seen by the Sunday Mirror show Sussex Police spent 419,000 on their search, including 332,000 on overtime and extra bank holiday pay.

They spent 52,000 to base 10 specialist officers on the site, reduced to four this month, and 12,000 on aid from neighbouring forces in Cambridge and Essex.

The remainder of the bill included 5,000 on transport, 4,000 on search equipment and 14,000 on officers' food and accommodation.

A source told the paper: 'Given the shambolic handling of the investigation, it's astonishing that the public have been left with a 400,000 bill.'

The Ministry of Defence and specialist 'drone dome' hardware were eventually brought in to get the airport back up and running and the MoD has yet finalise its own bill for staff and equipment.

After a series of sometimes contradictory briefings from officers, Chief Constable Giles York spoke to BBC Radio 4's Today programme after the shambles to say: 'I am absolutely certain a drone was flying throughout the period the airport was closed.'

He said the officer who suggested otherwise 'was trying to describe an investigative approach, that asks: "How can we prove the presence of the drone in the first place?" '

He was asked whether that uncertainty 'amplified the chaos' surrounding the incident, replying: 'Certainly that was amplified at the time, but we have been able to corroborate 115 reports [since then], 92 of them are from credible people.'

Last month the Times quoted a Whitehall source saying police now believe the chaos might have been orchestrated by a disgruntle former Gatwick employee.

Police have now collected 130 witness accounts, The Times said, and made more than 1,000 door-to-door inquiries in the investigation.

The source said: '[The drone pilot] knew the blind spots for it, where it could not be "hit".

'It was clearly someone with really good knowledge of Gatwick, someone who had worked there. Hypothetically it could have been a disgruntled employee.'

Despite a 50,000 reward offered by Gatwick and the involvement of the Armed Forces and MI5 to assist police, there is growing resignation that those behind the drone incursion may never be caught.

Mr York apologised to the couple wrongly arrested over the chaos, defending the extended detention despite reports from the man's employer that detectives failed to call him back to confirm an alibi he had provided.

Gatwick Airport said it had lost at least 15million in revenue and airlines had lost more than 50million.

A spokesman for Sussex Police told the paper: 'Resource levels were reviewed throughout and stood down as soon as practicable.

'This figure reflects the cost of policing a deliberate criminal act of this nature.'
The Home Office is facing more questions about its attitude towards Christian asylum seekers amid claims it rejected an Iranian woman's application to move to Britain by telling her, 'your belief in Jesus is half-hearted'.

There was outrage this week after it emerged a convert was refused asylum in 2016 because an official said his conversion from Islam was 'inconsistent' with his suggestion Christianity was a peaceful religion - by highlighting violent passages from the Bible.

Now immigration caseworker Nathan Stevens, who exposed the first case, has said another Iranian he worked with had her application rejected after an official criticised her for admitting Jesus could not protect her from his country's tyrannical regime.

Immigration caseworker Nathan Stevens has revealed a second case of an Iranian Christian convert who had his asylum claim rejected after a Home Office official apparently questioned his faith

Immigration caseworker Nathan Stevens (pictured), who exposed the first case, has said another Iranian he worked with had her application rejected after an official criticised her for admitting Jesus could not protect her from his country's tyrannical regime

A part of the asylum rejection which says 'It is therefore considered that you have no conviction in your faith and your belief in Jesus is half-hearted

Mr Stevens posted a comment from the refusal on Twitter, which read: 'You affirmed in your AIR [Asylum Interview Record] that Jesus is your saviour, but then claimed that He would not be able to save you from the Iranian regime. It is therefore considered that you have no conviction in your faith and your belief in Jesus is half-hearted.'

The woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, spoke on BBC Radio 4 this morning, she said: 'When I was in Iran I converted to Christianity and the situation changed and the government were looking for me and I had to flee from Iran.

The interviewer then asks why the situation is difficult in Iran for Christians.

She added: 'Because in my country if someone converts to Christianity there is punishment is death of execution.

On the asylum process, she says: 'At first when I applied for asylum, the person who interviewed me was a very young and inexperienced person.

'At the interview process every time he was asking a question I was responding back to him, he was either chuckling or maybe just kind of mocking when he was talking to me.

'For instance he asked me why Jesus didn't help you from the Iranian regime or Iranian authorities.

'He was trying to tell me that or maybe just claim that I'm not a real Christian and he does not believe in my faith, or maybe my faith is just half-hearted. That's what he was trying to show me.

'I don't think that he was treating me fairly or was not giving the decision fairly and not understanding my faith and myself and how I talked about Jesus.'

A Home Office spokesman said: 'We continue to work closely with key partners, including the APPG for International Freedom of Religion or Belief and a range of faith groups, to improve our policy guidance and training provided to asylum decision-makers so that we approach claims involving religious conversion in the appropriate way.'

The first refusal - which Mr Stevens verified with documents from the Home Office - sparked fury from immigration campaigners and the Church of England when it was first reported last week. His most recent claim has not yet been verified with supplementary evidence.

In the first case, Mr Stevens posted excerpts from the letter on Twitter and said he was 'genuinely shocked' to read such an 'unbelievably offensive diatribe.'

He added: 'Whatever your views on faith, how can a government official arbitrarily pick bits out of a holy book and then use them to trash someone's heartfelt reason for coming to a personal decision to follow another faith.'

Officials appear to have used six examples taken from the Bible Gateway - a searchable online bible, and one of the world's most well-utilised Christian websites.

The refusal letter also quotes parts of The Book of Leviticus from the Old Testament.

The full statement below the verses says: 'These examples are inconsistent with your claim that you converted to Christianity after discovering it is a 'peaceful religion, as opposed to Islam which contains violence, rage and revenge.'

Mr Stevens added on Twitter that his client will be appealing the decision and he will be complaining to the Home Office.

It comes after Mr Stevens revealed the case of another man who was criticised for suggesting Christianity was a religion of peace

After quoting another bible package the letter says 'These examples are inconsistent with your claim that you converted to Christianity after discovering it is a 'peaceful' religion, as opposed to Islam which contains violence rage and revenge'

Social media users were so shocked by the content of the letter a number of them did not even believe it was real - with the decision being described as 'gobsmacking' and 'unreal.'

The letter led Paul Butler, the Bishop of Durham, to call for an overhaul of the ethos of the Home Office and said there was a problem of 'religious literacy' among staff.

He said: 'I am extremely concerned that a Government department could determine the future of another human being based on such a profound misunderstanding of the texts and practices of faith communities.

To use extracts from the Book of Revelation to argue that Christianity is a violent religion is like arguing that a Government report on the impact of Climate Change is advocating drought and flooding.

'It is good that the Home Office has recognised that this decision is inconsistent with its policies and that its staff need better training.

'But the fact that these comments were made at all suggests that the problem goes deeper than a lack of religious literacy among individual civil servants and indicates that the management structures and ethos of the Home Office, when dealing with cases with a religious dimension, need serious overhaul.'

He added: 'I look forward to hearing what changes in training and practice follow from this worrying example.

'The Church of England has regularly raised the issue of the religious literacy of staff at all levels within the Home Office.

'This fresh case shows just how radically the Home Office needs to change in its understanding of all religious beliefs.'

The first Iranian national claimed asylum in 2016, but was turned down, with Home Office (pictured) officials saying his conversion from Islam was 'inconsistent' with his claim Christianity was a peaceful religion - by highlighting violent passages from the bible

Conor James McKinney, deputy editor of website Free Movement, told Mail Online: 'Immigration lawyers often speak of a 'culture of disbelief' among the officials that make these life-or-death asylum decisions.

'This case seems to be an extreme example of an individual official manufacturing a reason to refuse an asylum claim, and the Home Office acknowledges that it was out of line, but those working with asylum seekers do report horror stories almost as bad on a regular basis.'

Stephen Evans, chief executive of the National Secular Society told the Independent it was 'wholly inappropriate' for the Home Office to use 'theological justifications for refusing asylum applications'.

He added: 'Decisions on the merits of an asylum appeal should be based on an assessment of the facts at hand  and not on the state's interpretation of any given religion. It's not the role of the Home Office to play theologian.'

A Home Office spokesman said about the first case: 'This letter is not in accordance with our policy approach to claims based on religious persecution, including conversions to a particular faith.

'We continue to work closely with key partners, including the APPG on International Freedom of Religion and a range of faith groups, to improve our policy guidance and training provided to asylum decision-makers so that we approach claims involving religious conversion in the appropriate way.'
Nearly 3,000 piglets have spilled across an Illinois highway after the truck carrying them crashed and overturned.

Roughly 100 of the piglets died when the crash occurred on Interstate 70 near Casey, about 135 miles northeast of St. Louis, on Friday.

The surviving pigs who were thrown from the truck were spotted wading in mud near the highway.

Nearly 3,000 piglets spilled across an Illinois highway on Friday after the truck carrying them crashed and overturned

Illinois State Police were called in to help rescue the wandering piglets.

They posted several photos on social media urging nearby drivers to keep an eye out for any stray pigs.

'Troopers are on scene assisting with corralling the spa goers!' officers wrote alongside a photo of the pigs bathing in the mud.

In another photo of an officer carrying a piglet, police wrote: 'Here's Trooper Jenkins hamming it up with a customer this morning!'

The surviving pigs who were thrown from the truck were spotted wading in mud near the highway

Illinois State Police were called in to help rescue the wandering piglets and it took about six hours to capture them all

It took authorities roughly six hours to collect all of the piglets.

The pigs were then reloaded onto a truck and continued onto their destination in Indiana.

Police said the crash occurred when the driver became ill and swerved the truck off the highway.

The driver was cited by police for improper lane usage.
Bishop Eamonn Casey, the Irish Bishop visiting Sydney in August 1981

Deceased Bishop Eamonn Casey faced at least three allegations of child sexual abuse before he died - with two high court cases being settled.

One of the women who have accused him was his niece, while another received a settlement under the controversial Residential Institutions Redress Board.

Documents obtained by the Irish Mail on Sunday confirmed the Redress settlement, and a second settlement was confirmed by the Limerick Diocese when the MoS directly asked them.

Patricia Donovan, the niece of the late Bishop Eamonn Casey has claimed she was raped and sexually abused by him from the age of five for more than a decade.

Speaking for the first time, his niece Patricia Donovan, now 56, said: It was rape, everything you imagine. It was the worst kind of abuse, it was horrific.

'I stopped being able long ago to find any words in the English language to describe what happened to me. It was one horrific thing after another.

The Irish Mail on Sunday can also reveal that two other complaints of child sexual abuse related to incidents in the 1950s and 1960s.

Ms Donovan, who lives in England, brought her allegations to police in the UK in November 2005, and later to gardai.

Limerick detectives travelled to the UK to take a statement from her in January 2006, but by August of the same year, the Director of Public Prosecutions directed that no charges be brought on 13 sample allegations.

But in the course of seeking documentation relating to her case, Ms Donovan received case notes that confirm that Bishop Casey made a Redress board settlement with a woman in 2005.

The former Bishop of Galway pictured outside his house in Shanaglish (lright) and left outside his former Sussex home

Due to restrictions in the redress legislation on information sharing, Gardai or the Director of Public Prosecutions would not have been aware of any such settlement while involved in the investigation, or determination of charges.

This is the first time it has ever become public knowledge that Bishop Casey is among those named to the redress board. The Government is now proposing to seal those documents on alleged child abuse in religious institutions for a period of 75 years.

This controversial move by the State, under the Retention of Records Bill, is due to come before the Dail this week.

After Ms Donovan made her allegations to authorities in England, he left England, and was sent back to the Galway diocese.

Canon Kieron OBrien, Diocese of Arundel and Brighton, has confirmed to the MoS that the diocese followed all proper channels at that time, and had Bishop Casey removed from England after Ms Donovans allegations.

Bishop Casey and Father Michael Cleary in Galway in 1979. Three accusations have been made against the former

In 2016, Limerick based solicitor Tommy Dalton came on record for one woman who took her case against Bishop Casey to the High Court.

However, in the midst of proceedings, Bishop Casey died on March 13, 2017, and the matter was listed as being struck out after compensation was paid.

The Limerick Diocese has now confirmed that a settlement was paid to this woman, among three complaints of child sexual abuse brought to their attention between 2001 and 2014.

The Galway diocese confirmed they knew about an allegation that fits Ms Donovans - but the Kerry Diocese this weekend refused to be drawn on if they are aware of any allegations against Bishop Casey in their diocese.

Bishop Eamon Casey outside his home in Firies near Killarney in 1974 with his car known locally as 'The Flyer'

Ms Donovan also wrote personally to the then Bishop of Galway, Martin Drennan, after the Galway diocese initially agreed to pay for counselling for her and her two children. The funding later ceased in 2007.

When contacted by the MoS, Bishop Drennan said: I can confirm that I was in correspondence with Patricia for a period of time. I heard her plea of suffering and alleged abuse, but I was not in a position to verify any allegations against any named individual.

I am very sorry to learn that Patricia is still suffering. I hope she finds peace through forgiveness, as she said is her wish. Though I am now retired, I believe, as Pope Francis said, the Church should reach out to help people find the healing and peace that they deserve, rather than waiting for them to come forward.

Bishop Eamon Casey in Cuernavaca Mexico in 1993. He died in 2017 and his niece has now spoken out

Ms Donovan also contacted a UK based group for abuse survivors founded by Wicklow native Dr Margaret Kennedy.

She told the MoS: I was aware of a number of allegations made by several women against Bishop Casey. He was certainly on our radar.

In 2010, Ms Donovan was also concerned when she learned that Bishop Casey was due to officiate at a baptism of a relative.

She again contacted a number of child protection bodies expressing her concern, and eventually the Bishop of Killaloe, Willie Walsh was contacted, as the Christening was due to be held in his diocese.

Contacted by the MoS, Bishop Walsh, 84, who has also retired, said: I can confirm that I advised Eamonn that he should not do the Baptism.
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Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall concluded the first leg of their Caribbean tour today with a trip to church.

The couple attended Sunday morning service at St. Michael's Cathedral in Bridgetown, Barbados, before flying on to Cuba for an historic royal visit.

Charles was dressed smartly for the tropical climate in a linen suit, while Camilla looked elegant in a chiffon patterned dress and heels.

The heir to the throne usually goes to church if Sunday falls within a foreign tour and the couple were joined by Governor General Dame Sandra Mason.

Charles and Camilla attended Sunday morning service at St. Michael's Cathedral in Bridgetown, Barbados, before flying on to Cuba for an historic royal visit

Charles shared a few words with Bishop Maxwell before a fanfare announced the arrival of the royals to the parishioners sitting in the pews pictured)

The prince and duchess were joined by a number of their entourage who sat in the seats behind the couple

Charles was dressed smartly for the tropical climate in a linen suit, while Camilla looked elegant in a chiffon patterned dress and heels

The service was conducted by the Fourteenth Bishop of the Diocese, Michael Bruce St. John Maxwell

The couple were greeted by Bishop Michael Maxwell of the Anglican Diocese of Barbados before a fanfare announced their arrival to the parishioners.

The prince and duchess were joined by a number of their entourage who sat in the seats behind the couple.

The service was staged for Charles and Camilla, who were featured in the prayers, as were the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.

Bishop Maxwell asked God to 'endue them with thy Holy Spirit, enrich them with thy heavenly grace, prosper them with all happiness and bring them to thine everlasting kingdom'.

Charles and Camilla's official trip to Cuba will be a first by members of the monarchy and comes after the couple's tour of five Commonwealth Caribbean countries where the Queen is head of state.

The prince and duchess will be joined by Commonwealth minister Lord Ahmad, showing the importance the government places in developing ties with Cuba.

Charles met Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel in November last year at his London home, Clarence House, when the foreign leader visited the UK with a delegation of senior ministers.

At a Havana recording studio, the prince and his wife will meet members of the Buena Vista Social Club.

The group became worldwide celebrities when their 1997 album became a surprise global hit and Grammy award-winner.

Other highlights of the Cuban trip will include the couple meeting the owners of the famous vintage cars still running in Havana, although these will be British classics.

After being welcomed at the airport, the prince and his wife will start their visit by laying a wreath at the memorial for Cuba's national hero, the essayist and poet Jose Marti.

A spokesman for the couple said: Their Royal Highnesses are looking forward to experiencing the culture and meeting the people of Cuba.

The service was staged for Charles and Camilla, who were featured in the prayers as were the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh. They couple are seen greeting senior clergymen outside the church

The royal couple's church visit will be there last public outing in Barbados before they fly to Cuba for an unprecedented trip tomorrow

During the service, Bishop Maxwell asked God to 'endue them with thy Holy Spirit, enrich them with thy heavenly grace, prosper them with all happiness and bring them to thine everlasting kingdom...' Pictured: The royal couple walking into church

The original cathedral - which Charles and Camilla are seen entering - dates back to 1665 but was demolished in 1780 by the great hurricane which left only 30 city buildings standing

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall are greeted by the Bishop of Barbados, John Holder (second from left), as they arrive to attend a church service at St. Michaels Cathedral

The service was staged for Charles and Camilla, who were featured in the prayers, as were the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh
















Travelling is an experience that goes beyond any possible expectations. However, health is not always on our side, so hiring a health insurance is a must before leaving your country. Skipping this step could lead you to having to spend exorbitant amounts of money if you happen to need medical assistance. Another very important issue about a health insurance is the things that cant slip your mind when evaluating your best option. According to our own experience as a family, these are the five most important considerations.

What you should not play down when thinking about a health insurance --

# 1  Make sure it includes evacuation

Im sure you will feel more protected and enjoy your trip without any worries at all if your health insurance covers the medical care and an eventual emergency transportation. Not all of the insurances give you this service, so make sure the one you choose does it. This is an extra fee you may need to pay to be transported in a case of emergency in countries where your own doesnt pay for this service.

# 2  Check policy options thoroughly

Having a thorough look, even at the fine print every agreement includes, is essential before stepping on the plane. You have to be completely sure of what it includes and what it does not. Sometimes, an extra payment may result in all the tranquility you need to have, especially if youre travelling with kids. Take the time to read everything in detail. Therefore, dont leave this issue for the last two days before your departure. Organize your insurance with enough time to find another company if the first option doesnt fit your needs. A wide coverage is always the best option. Whenever I travel, I hire insurances from any of these companies: the ten best health insurance companies, which have proved to be the best ones in their field.

# 3  Does it have a 24 hour contact phone line?

Dont think this is a minor issue. Being able to contact the company at any time may be the difference between solving a serious health problem or simply not. Accidents dont happen exclusively during office hours. It exists the possibility of you feeling really sick once everybody had gone to sleep. Ask this on first place before keeping on thinking youve chosen the right insurance company.

# 4  Trip duration

The time youre planning to stay is another issue to take into account. Are you going for a week or for three month? Some countries which require a visa to let you go there establish a health insurance as a mandatory requirement. For example, if youre planning to travel to the Schengen Area, which is the area that comprises twenty-six European countries, youll have important benefits if you take a health insurance. Meanwhile, travelling to Ecuador isnt allowed without health insurance.

# 5  Activities you will be involved in

Its definitely not the same booking a tour around Europe to admire the wonders inherited from the Renaissance than diving into a sub-aquatic adventure in Australia. Adventure tourism comes with its risks and a health insurance is the answer to enjoy such a trip leaving your worries in the experts hands.
Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand branded Donald Trump a 'coward' on Sunday as she formally launched her presidential bid at a rally outside of his New York City hotel.

Gillibrand presented herself as a 'brave' alternative to the Republican president, who she blasted as braggadocios in remarks that followed an introduction by and a hug from her longtime friend Connie Britton, of 'Nashville' and 'Friday Night Lights' fame.

She also took a jab at fellow senators seeking the presidency, saying that she has 'stood up to Donald Trump 'more than anybody else in the U.S. Senate.'

'President Trump is tearing apart the moral fabric of this country,' she said. 'He punches down. He puts his name in bold on every building. He does this because he wants you to believe he is strong. He is not. Our president is a coward.'

Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand branded Donald Trump a 'coward' on Sunday as she formally launched her presidential bid at a rally outside of his New York City hotel

Speaking down the block from Trump International Hotel & Tower near Central Park, Gillibrand told attendees, 'Look up at that tower, a shrine to greed, division and vanity. Now, look around you, the greater strength, by far, is ours.'

'I will go toe to toe with anyone to do the right thing. Whether it's powerful institutions, the president or even my own party. But I am not running for president because of who I'm fighting against,' she claimed minutes later. 'I am running for president because who I'm fighting for.'

Gillibrand's campaign unveiled 'bravery' as her 2020 message in the lead-up to the speech.

'Brave hasn't always won, and brave isn't winning right now. Brave doesn't spread hate,' the 52-year-old New York senator said. 'Brave doesn't put greed and self interest over millions of lives. Brave doesn't cower behind lies and walls. Brave doesn't pit people against one another. That is what fear does.'

She tore into Trump for his border proposal and proclaimed that 'racism and fear' and 'banning Muslims' are not national security strategies as she called on Americans to 'resist the backward pull of this administration' and reaffirm that the commander-in-chief 'is a dictator' in a half-hour of remarks.

'It's because of you, that I have chosen to be brave, too,' she told her constituents. 'Your bravery inspires me every day. And that is why I am running for president of the United States!'

Gillibrand commented on the as-of-yet unreleased special counsel report, as well, noting that it is 'not often' that she agrees with former Republican President Richard Nixon, who resigned before he could be removed from office for campaign crimes.

'The Mueller report must be made public. All of it. Nobody in this country, not even the president, is above the law or immune from accountability,' she said, arguing that even Nixon believed the 'American people have a right to know whether their president is a crook.'

On policy, she said she would push for publicly funded elections to level the playing field and continue to fight for a national paid leave policy.

'I have led this fight in Congress since 2013. It was not part of our national conversation. You're welcome,' she declared. 'And hear me when I say this, paid leave, equal pay and affordable daycare are not just women's' issues these are economic issues, ones that will determine whether or not our country succeeds.'

Gillibrand also said she would make Medicare-for-All a reality and implement the Green New Deal, saying America does not 'have time to waste' when it comes to climate change.

'We need to treat global climate change like the existential threat that it is,' she said. 'Addressing a global challenge of this urgency will take massive effort and transformational vision, which is why we should do it.'

Kirsten Gillibrand and Connie Britton during their study abroad summer in China

She took the stage after sexual assault survivors, Dreamers and Britton, who she roomed with one summer in college as part of a study abroad program in China.

'It's pretty unusual to, you know, like know the person. And I find myself in the rare position of actually knowing the person: my friend who is running for president. That's so crazy, right?'

She added: 'It really isn't, if you know her like I know her.

'I could have seen that it was obvious that this could, that this should, happen, that Kirsten always had what it would take to be president,' she said. 'Though, as young women, we would never have allowed ourselves to dream that.'

She recalled a storm from their time in China that him them while they were out biking. Gillibrand led them out of by singing loudly, so they didn't lose one another, she said.

Britton claimed 'our country is in a storm right now,' and Gillibrand can 'lead us out' as the nation's chief executive.

'She cannot be knocked down, guys. Not in front of Trump Plaza, or anywhere else,' said Britton of her longtime friend.

Welling up with tears, she said, 'It is my deepest honor right now to introduce my friend, the next President of the United States  I'm crying  Kirsten Gillibrand.'

Gillibrand and Britton shared a hug before the New York senator took the microphone.

'Thank you, Connie, for being such an amazing friend, incredible activist and actor. I love you very much,' she said at the beginning her remarks. 'It is a gorgeous day. And looking around at this diverse crowd, there is no doubt that America is great.'

Gillibrand presented herself as a 'brave' alternative to the Republican president, who she blasted by name as braggadocios

Speaking from Trump International Hotel near Central Park, Gillibrand directed attendees, 'Look up at that Tower, a shrine to greed, division and vanity. Now, look around you, the greater strength by far is ours'

The actress' introduction of the New York senator followed a string of endorsements from women Gillibrand had worked with over the years.

'My fight is your fight. Your fight is my fight. And our fight is her fight,' said Lisdy Contreras-Giron, an immigration activist and Dreamer. 'Together we're stronger together and together we will rise.'

Monica Sibri, another Dreamer and activist, told the crowd in a warm-up for Gillibrand, 'Our next president will believe in bravery. Our next president will be Kirsten Gillibrand.'

'Hate blindsided us to make us think that "make America great again" was putting personal agendas before the people,' she said. 'Hate will not win ... Hate will be defeated. Brave will win. Families belong together.'

End Rape On Campus co-founder Annie Clark opened up about her sexual assault experience while she was a student at the University of North Carolina.

She recalled how Gillibrand, who she would go on to work with on a campus sexual assault prevention bill, invited her and other students who showed at at the senator's office into her home and made them dinner.

'It's brave to stand up to your own political party when there are instances of racism and sexism there,' she said of Gillibrand.

Gun violence prevention activist Jackie Rowe-Adams encouraged attendees to 'stop being scared' and use their voices.

For 'so many years have' men have sat at the table 'and they removed us from the table,' she charged.

Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand shakes hands with supporters during a rally in New York City near Central Park

'But it's over now,' she claimed. 'And No. 45  we coming after you. We got a lady, we got a lady that's gonna deal with all the issues of the world. So get ready, cause here we come. So let me say this: ain't no stopping us now, because we are on the move. '

Tanya Asapansa-Johnson Walker also took aim at Trump directly saying, 'I'm a proud black transgender woman, and I know 45 hates women. As soon as identified as a woman, it was like a step down in society. As soon as I identified as transgender, I've been targeted by the Trump administration.'

She said she was an honorably discharged veteran as she lit into Trump for his restrictions on transgender service in the military.

'I served my country. People who did not serve our country should not have the right say who can join our military,' she said.
A second Parkland shooting survivor has died by suicide in less than one week, Florida authorities say.

The Miami Herald reported Sunday that a current Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student died in 'an apparent suicide' on Saturday night.

The student's name has not been released but Coral Springs police spokesman Tyler Reik said it was a sophomore boy. The police investigation is ongoing.

The boy's death comes less than a week after his classmate, 19-year-old Sydney Aiello, took her own life last Sunday.

Both students reportedly died of a gunshot to the head, bring the death toll from the Valentines Day 2018 attack to 19.

Ryan Petty, the father of 14-year-old Parkland victim Alaina Petty who founded a suicide prevention foundation called the Walk Up Foundation after his daughters death, told the Herald: 'The issue of suicide needs to be talked about. This is another tragic example.'

Petty, who has partnered with Columbia University for his Foundation, added: 'When you look at Columbine as an example, almost just as many students killed themselves after the fact than in the actual shooting. That needs to change.

'We need to get them the help they need.'

MSD graduate and gun control activist David Hogg wrote on Twitter: 'How many more kids have to be taken from us as a result of suicide for the government / school district to do anything? Rip 17 + 2.'

A second Parkland shooting survivor has died by suicide less than one week after 19-year-old classmate Sydney Aiello (above) took her own life. The second victim has not been named but was identified as a male sophomore enrolled at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School

The two suicides have brought the death toll from the Valentines Day 2018 shooting to 19

MSD graduate and gun control activist David Hogg responded to the news on Twitter

Sydney's family said she had suffered from 'survivor's guilt' and post-traumatic stress disorder after losing her best friend Meadow Pollack in the shooting that left 17 students and staff dead.

A GoFundMe page raising money for Sydney's funeral expenses reached $60,896 on Saturday, surpassing the goal of $20,000.

Meadow's grief-stricken family shared their heartbreak on having to bury yet another Parkland teenager.

'It was devastating to bury another beautiful young person in Parkland today. Our community is going through tragedy again. Please keep the Aiello Family in your prayers,' Hunter Pollack, Meadow's brother, wrote on Twitter on Friday.

'Rest in peace, Sydney. Please take care of my sister,' he added.

Hunter Pollock pictured above with his sister Meadow who was killed in the deadly Parkland High School shooting that killed 17 staff and students

Sydney lost her best friend Meadow Pollock in the attack. Meadow's brother took to Twitter to pay tribute to Sydney saying: 'Rest in peace, Sydney. Please take care of my sister'

He paid tribute to Sydney who was best friends with Meadow while they attended Parkland High together

Meadow's father Andrew Pollack, who has turned into a gun reform activist following the attack, told the Miami Herald his 'heart goes out to those poor, poor parents'.

'Its terrible what happened. Meadow and Sydney were friends for a long, long time,' he said.

'Killing yourself is not the answer,' he added.

Aiello died on Sunday at her home in Coconut Creek, Florida, suffering a gunshot wound to the head, according to the Broward County medical examiner's office. Her funeral took place Friday.

Meadow's father Andrew Pollock, who has become a gun reform activist following the Parkland shooting, also lamented Sydney's death saying his 'heart goes out to those poor, poor parents'

'Its terrible what happened. Meadow and Sydney were friends for a long, long time. Killing yourself is not the answer,' Meadow's father Andrew Pollock said on Sydney's death. Meadow pictured left smiling with Sydney

She graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, one month after the devastating shooting that killed 17 students and staff and shook the nation.

She went on to study at Florida Atlantic University, but struggled to attend college classes because she was afraid of being in a classroom.

Her mother Cara Aiello said her daughter was on campus at Marjory when Cruz opened fire, but was not in the Freshman Building.

Following the shooting Sydney was often sad but didn't ask for help before she killed herself.

In June 2018 on Facebook she a post about Robin Williams, Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain - all of whom have committed suicide in the past few years. The post said 'Sometimes you need to check on those who seem the strongest'.

Sydney is survived by her parents Cara and Joe, and her brother Nick. She loved yoga and according to her mother, wanted to dedicate her life to helping others.

A GoFundMe page raising money for her funeral expenses has crossed the $60,000 mark as of Saturday as loved ones filled the comments section, remembering Sydney as a beloved cheerleader who loved 'brightening up the days of others'.

'Sydney spent 19 years writing her story as a beloved daughter, sister and friend to many. She lit up every room she entered. Sydney aspired to work in the medical field helping others in need.'

If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741-741.

For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local branch. See www.samaritans.org for details.

For confidential support in Australia LIFELINE: 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au or Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800

The Broward County School District has urged parents to talk to their children and is providing them with the Columbia Protocol, a set of six questions used to assess someone's suicide risk
Authorities say street racers in southwest Albuquerque have killed a pedestrian and crashed a vehicle into an apartment building.

A member of the 58th Special Operations Wing out of nearby Kirtland Air Force Base was confirmed to be involved in the deadly crash by base Chief of Public Affairs Carl Grusnick, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

The public affairs official was unable to confirm if the unnamed airman was driving or a passenger.

Police say it appears a woman was crossing Louisiana Boulevard on Saturday evening north of Gibson Boulevard when she was fatally struck by one of the vehicles allegedly racing down a street, according to KOB news.

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A vehicle allegedly racing another one struck a woman crossing Louisiana Boulevard in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Saturday night before crashing into an apartment complex. One of the people involved in the crash is a member of the Kirtland Air Force Base nearby

An official with Kirtland Air Force Base confirmed that one of the men involved in the crash on Saturday was part of base personnel

'You can imagine all the experience of all the officers out here,' said Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Officer Simon Drobik. 'This may be the worst accident everybody here has ever seen.'

One of the vehicles in the race then crashed into a building in the Rising Phoenix apartment complex where three of the four people in the vehicle were listed in critical condition, according to the authorities.

'There was nobody, thankfully, inside that building,' Drobik said.

Police spokesperson Officer Simon Drobik said that the driver was in custody, but the other vehicle departed the scene

Three of the four people in the car were critically injured after crashing into the apartment complex after hitting the pedestrian

They say the driver is in police custody and the other car involved in the race did not stop at the scene.

The names of the dead woman, the three injured people and the arrested driver haven't been released yet by police.

The Albuquerque Police Department also said the fatal accident should be a warning to anyone else who might consider drag racing in the city.
Albert Reimann Sr (pictured) used Russian civilians and French prisoners of war to help build his fortune

One of Germany's richest families says it plans to donate ten millions euros (8.5million) to charity after learning about their ancestors' enthusiastic support of Adolf Hitler and use of forced labourers.

Albert Reimann Sr and Albert Reimann Jr used Russian civilians and French prisoners of war to help build their fortune, according to documents reported on in Germany's Bild newspaper.

Family spokesman Peter Harf, who is a managing partner for the Reimann's JAB Holding Company - which owns a controlling interest in Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Pret a Manger, said recent internal research confirmed the findings.

'It is all correct,' he told the newspaper. 'Reimann senior and Reimann junior were guilty ... they belonged in jail.'

The father and son, who died in 1954 and 1984, did not talk about the Nazi era and the family had thought that all of the company's connection to the Nazis had been revealed in a 1978 report, Harf said.

But after reading documents kept by the family, the younger generation began to ask questions and commissioned a University of Munich historian in 2014 to examine the Reimann history more thoroughly.

The expert presented his preliminary findings to the Reimann children and grandchildren, as well as Hanf, several weeks ago.

Reimann's JAB Holding Company owns a controlling interest in Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

They also hold a controlling interest in Pret a Manger, Keurig Green Mountain, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Caribou Coffee Co., Panera Bread plus other firms

'We were all ashamed and turned as white as the wall,' he said. 'There is nothing to gloss over. These crimes are disgusting.'

In addition to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Pret a Manger, the Luxembourg-based JAB Holding Company has controlling stakes in Keurig Green Mountain, Peet's Coffee & Tea, Caribou Coffee Co., Panera Bread plus other firms.

Many German companies have acknowledged using slave labourers during the Nazi era and have conducted their own independent investigations.

In 2000, the German government approved a 10billion mark (about 5.1billion euro) fund to provide compensation, with half the money coming from companies like Bayer, Siemens, Deutsche Bank, Daimler-Benz, Volkswagen, and AEG.

Even before the Nazis came to power, the Reimanns reportedly donated to the paramilitary SS.

Family spokesman Peter Harf, who heads the Reimann's JAB Holding Company said: 'We were all ashamed and turned as white as the wall. There is nothing to gloss over. These crimes are disgusting.'

During the Second World War, the company used forced labourers in its industrial chemicals company.

It was not clear how many were used overall, but it was reported that in 1943, 175 forced labourers were being used, about 30 percent of its workforce.

In addition to Russian and other Eastern European civilians, the company used French prisoners of war - about whom Reimann Jr. complained in a letter to the Ludwigshafen mayor in 1940 that they weren't working hard enough.

After the war, the two were investigated by the occupying Allied powers and initially banned by the French from continuing their business activities but then had the judgement overturned by the Americans.

Harf said the family would donate ten million euros (8.5million) to a not-yet-determined charity as a gesture, and once the historian's report is complete, it would be released to the public.

'The whole truth must be put on the table,' he said.
A rising star of the West End stage has said that Britain must 'come to terms with' the problems caused by its colonial empire.

Jamael Westman described the country's historical exploits as 'like a mental health issue', and said it would get worse if it is not addressed.

He plays the lead role of Alexander Hamilton in the hip hop-inspired historical musical alongside a predominantly black cast playing white revolutionaries.

Prince Harry meets with Hamilton stars Jamael Westman (centre in white) and Rachel John (second from right) after the Royal Variety Performance

Harry takes the microphone as he sang a number from the character of his ancestor George III

The plot tells the story of the founding fathers taking despotic King George III to war to gain independence from the crown.

Critics have lauded the cast as well as the story's relevance to politics, including the remains of Britain's empire.

'It is like a mental health issue and it will get worse if Britain doesn't come to terms with it,' Westman told the Observer.

He was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Best Musical Actor award, but lost out to his co-star Giles Terera who played Aaron Burr

Jamael Westman and Rachelle Ann Go in Hamilton, the musical. It tells the story of the founding fathers of the US taking on George III to gain independence

Jamael Westman with pals Christine Allado (left), Rachel John and Rachelle Ann Go at a performance of Hamilton at Victoria Palace Theatre, London, in December 2017

The 26-year-old, who is of Caribbean and Irish heritage, said the musical had changed not only his career but his politics as well.

'I've become fairly obsessed about the Hamilton legacy,' Westman said, adding that he believes rap can go some way towards curing the UK's troubled colonial inheritance.

'I have moments of despair about it. But [Alexander] Hamilton was young when he faced these things and he wrote himself out of his situation: rap does the same kind of thing.'

The part is Westman's first major role since leaving the RADA acting school three years ago.

The 26-year-old actor, who is of Caribbean and Irish heritage, returns to his old school with Brother Benedict Foy

Jamael said he wasn't much of a theatre-goer growing up as it wasn't particularly accessible in his area of south London

He was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Best Musical Actor award, but lost out to his co-star Giles Terera who played Aaron Burr (who shoots him in the production).

The actor says he wasn't much of a theatre-goer growing up, saying that the theatre wasn't particularly accessible in his area of south London.

'There weren't many theatres around my area or at least they weren't as prominent,' he said in an Observer interview.

'Whereas you've got the adverts for Lion King that was definitely my area, which was definitely a curious thing but you kind of known why they were selling it to my area.

'Because my area was predominantly black so its like "oh here's a way in".'

'It is not only the cuts in the funding of youth groups, but Brixton and Streatham have been through a lot of change.'

Hamilton is at the Victoria Palace Theatre until 27 July
A married mother-of-two was tricked into sending thousands of pounds to a secret Instagram boyfriend who threatened to send her naked selfies to her husband.

Gail Astin, 44, fell for a man online who said he was a widower called David Williams, a US marine engineer and dad working in Nigeria.

The housewife from Jedburgh, Scotland, had been signed off work with stress and connected with the trickster after struggling to confide in husband of 16 years, Simon, 44.

Gail Astin, 44, was tricked into sending thousands of pounds to a man she thought was called David

'David' used the photos of Pedro Hipolito, an innocent Portuguese businessman who works in Africa

Over four months, they exchanged thousands of Whatsapp messages, emails and phone calls and she secretly sent him a total of 5,500 he said he needed for food and bills.

But when she refused to send more money, he threatened to send her family and friends naked photos she said she was pressured into sending him months earlier.

One message asking for 2,000 within 30 minutes said: 'I wonder how your [family] will think of you when your nicked [sic] pictures get viral.'

Mrs Astin phoned police and confessed to husband Simon who promised to stand by his wife.

The fraudster was actually using photos of a Portuguese businessman, Pedro Hipolito, 46, who was furious after discovering the trickster was using his image to exploit vulnerable women.

Mrs Astin said:'I felt lonely and needed someone to talk to. He caught me at a low point.

Mrs Astin told her husband she had been sending money and naked photographs to the fraudster

The married mother-of-two was sent threatening messages by the con artist who threatened to release her naked pictures

'At first he asked for 200 for iTunes cards so he could buy data for his phone. He seemed so desperate and just kept asking me. He was persistent.

'He started asking for more and more but he promised he would get the money back to me. I honestly believed him.

'I knew in my head that what I was doing was wrong but I did still it. I can't explain why. I was just in the wrong frame of mind.

'I didn't want to send him anymore money. When I said no he told me he would send the photos to my mum, dad, sister and husband.

'I'm ashamed of what I did. I didn't want to take the photos but he wouldn't stop asking for them.

'I didn't want to hurt Simon but I didn't know what else to do. I had to tell him.'

Mrs Astin was contacted out of the blue by the man who said he was David, 55, in August last year.

She said she was desperate for friendship after feeling 'isolated' following the family's move from Burnley to the Scottish border, in 2011.

After threatening to publish the photographs which would be seen by her children, Mrs Astin decided to call the police and confess to her husband Simon

Mr Astin said he was angry when his wife revealed what she had done but he said he never considered leaving her

She says she couldn't find a way to talk to her family about her mental health so when 'caring' David got in touch, the mother-of-two felt 'special again'.

She has been married to Simon since 2003, but quickly fell for the stranger who said he was from Texas, after exchanging messages daily.

He said he had moved to Nigeria for work, and needed financial support for food and travel.

Mrs Astin said David came across as a 'genuine' person who seemed to take an interest in her life.

In September, after just a month of chatting on Instagram and later on WhatsApp, David 'pleaded' to Gail for her to send him naked photos.

Gail explained: 'He always told me to trust him, and I did.

The fraudster, who has not yet been traced, wanted Mrs Astin to wire money to accounts in Nigeria and the US

After months of building up trust, all of Mrs Astin's personal information was used against her by the fraudster

'He told me his wife had died and I felt sorry for him. He pulled on my heart strings.

'He always came across as caring and sympathetic towards me too.. He took an interest in what I was going through.

'My husband was struggling with how to deal with my feelings.

'He's not an emotional person so for a long time, I bottled my own emotions up.'

In several transactions between August and December, Mrs Astin sent hundreds and then thousands of pounds at a time.

They were sent to different banks in the US and Nigeria, into accounts belonging to different people.

'David' said they were collecting the cash on his behalf as he didn't have a Nigerian bank account.

David said his three-month contract in Nigeria was coming to an end, and he needed the money in order to get home to his daughter, Sharon, in the US.

Mrs Astin admits she knows she was being 'used' emotionally, but she sent him cash via international money transfer service, MoneyGram.

She said: 'He said he couldn't get home if I didn't send him the money.

The housewife said she was desperate for friendship after feeling 'isolated' following the family's move from Burnley to the Scottish border, in 2011

Pedro Hipolito said he is not the main victim and worries that his image is being used to exploit vulnerable people

'By this point he had made me feel special, I felt nice. I fell for him.

'I was getting more and more suspicious but he always promised to get the money back to me when he got back to America.'

She started to doubt David's promise to pay up when he refused to help pay off her Visa bill in November.

She refused to send him more money in December, and David instantly 'turned nasty' and threatened to send her naked photos to her friends and family, she said.

He hounded Gail with messages and said 'you will send 2,000 to an account of my choice'.

His messages said: 'I am going to be blunt with you as I don't have the luxury of wasting time.'

'You will listen to what I have to say and you will listen good.'

'You have one hour. Get the cops involved and everyone including Scottish borders will know.

'Do not f*ck with me am not here to play games. The tough girl act is just going to make things worse for you.'

Mrs Astin dialled 999 on December 5 after feeling 'suicidal' and then told Simon everything.

She said: 'I phoned Simon and told him to come home from work because the police were at our house. I said I'd explain everything.

'He was angry. I feared for my marriage and I did say that if he wants me to go, I will leave.

'We try not to talk about it because it makes him very angry. He has struggled to come to terms with it all.

'I feel guilty because we have lost so much money.

'I hate myself for what I've done and I thought he would leave me.'

Simon didn't leave his wife - despite admitting the experience almost 'broke' them - and paid off her debts by dipping into his late father's inheritance money.

Health and safety adviser Simon even blamed himself for a time and questioned whether or not he'd showed his wife enough love and attention.

He said: 'I had no idea what was going on and I was absolutely clueless and in the dark.

'I had all sorts running through my mind.

'I started to feel guilty. I thought I hadn't paid her enough attention and felt completely inadequate.

'It was all too much to take in. I couldn't comprehend why she would do what she did.

'I came to terms with the fact the money was gone forever.

'At one point I didn't know if we would get through it but I never actually considered leaving her.

'I just wanted to put it all behind us and move on. We are over that rocky patch and we are moving on as a family now.'

Mrs Astin last heard from David in mid-December, when he continued to send threats to distribute the photos.

She has since changed her phone numbers, email addresses and social media accounts and says she never wants to talk to someone online who she doesn't know again.

Mr and Mrs Astin are committed to repairing their fractured relationship.

She said: 'I'm so grateful that Simon has given me a second chance.'

'I have promised to never ever speak to anyone I don't know online.

'I will never hide anything from him again.

'We have just had to accept that the money is gone.'

Pedro Hipolito - the real man in the photos used by 'David' runs a business which helps companies work in Africa.

Mr Hipolito, who lives in Portugal, said he believes his work in Africa makes his identity an 'easy target'.

But despite enlisting staff to report 'countless' fake social media accounts posing as him, he says there's nothing he can do to stop the fraudster.

He said: 'It's a crime and I hate that people are doing this. It's unstoppable. Something must be done to stop these fake accounts.

'It has happened to me frequently. It's not the first time it has happened and it doesn't surprise me.

'It's terrible that lonely people are the victims. All they want is joy in their lives and they are vulnerable.

'It does concern me, that my photos are being used. But I am not the victim here although it does damage my image.'

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: 'Police in the Borders are investigating a report of an online fraud offence.

'The report was received on Tuesday December 5 in the Jedburgh area.

'Inquiries are currently ongoing.'
One heroic British SAS fighter brutally ended an ISIS onslaught to allow his comrades to take cover - killing 30 belligerents in a six-round blitz that 'shattered' their hideout.

SAS troops working alongside Kurdish forces were engaging in hand to hand combat in the then-ISIS stronghold of Baghouz last month.

A specially adapted Army Landrover operator responded to an ambush on SAS troops, firing with a grenade machine gun (GMG) - which can launch 350 high explosive rounds per minute.

Destroyed vehicles are seen in the destroyed ISIL encampment yesterday in Baghouz

The operation was part of the bloody final frontier of the conflict that ended today with Syrian forces announcing that ISIS has been defeated in the country after losing Baghouz.

The ISIS fighters had been given several chances to surrender, instead opting to die as 'martyrs'.

Soldiers were on the ground on the outskirts of the town when terrorists fired shots at them from a former bank, injuring one solider.

An AK47 rifle and explosives in the Islamic State group's last bastion of Baghouz in the east

Destroyed vehicles are seen in the destroyed ISIL encampment yesterday

Upon inspection of the scene a few days later, troops found around 30 bodies in the 'shattered' building, according to a source.

The source told The Daily Star: 'After the SAS and Kurdish fighters came under attack, one SAS trooper opened fire with the grenade launcher to allow other members of the patrol to get into cover.'

At least six grenades were fired into the building until it collapsed.

Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces put an SDF flag in al-Omar oil field in Deir Al Zor, Syria

The source added: 'When Kurdish troops returned a few days later they discovered at least 30 bodies inside the shattered building  all were IS fighters and most had died from shrapnel wounds from the grenades fired into the building.

'The automatic grenade launcher is a real force multiplier. It allows troops to lay down a massive amount of fire-power very quickly.'
An ancient skull discovered by an oysterman dredging the sea bed is thought to be around 3,000 years old.

Ross Wey, 58, found the cranium off the coast of Mersea Island, Essex, and it is believed to be from the Bronze Age.

The oysterman, who has been dredging for the molluscs for five years, said the lump on the back of the skull hinted at its age.

The ancient skull was found off the coast of Mersea Island in Essex and is thought to be around 3,000 years old

Oysterman Ross Wey, 58, found the ancient cranium which is believed to be from the Bronze Age

Mr Wey, who has been dredging for the molluscs for five years, said the lump on the back of the skull (right) hinted at its age

'As this dredge came up there were the oysters and then these pair of eyes looking at me,' he told the BBC.

A post on Richard Haward's Oysters Facebook page, which is in West Mersey, added: 'It's incredible that it has survived.

'The location of where it was found is believed to have once been a stream and fishing wasnt a means of survival then as the locals would have been hunter gatherers.

'It has been sent to a museum in London. Dredging is an amazing thing.'

The skull was initially looked at by police, but has now been sent to University College London for further research

Mr Wey, who lives on a boat at Mersea Island, described his discovery of the human remains as 'bizarre'

The cranium, which was initially examined by police, has now been sent to University College London for further research.

Mr Wey, who lives on a boat at Mersea Island, described the discovery as 'bizarre'.

He added that he did not know if the skull would go to a museum in London or Colchester Museum in Essex.
A body recovered from an Ohio river has been identified as a community activist who went missing on January 28 following a dispute with her boyfriend.

Police had been searching for Amber Evans, 28, for nearly two months when her body was pulled from the Scioto River in Columbus on Saturday, about a mile downstream from where her car was abandoned when she went missing.

Details about Evans' cause of death and how or when she ended up in the river have not yet been revealed.

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A body recovered from the Scioto River in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday has been identified as 28-year-old Amber Evans, a community activist who went missing on January 28

Evans' body was found about a mile downstream from where her car was abandoned after she went missing, according to Columbus authorities

The Columbus Division of Police released a statement on Sunday that said: 'While this is not the outcome we had hoped for, we understand this brings closure for the family. Our thoughts & prayers go out to them.'

Since the beginning of the investigation, police have stressed that there were no known domestic violence issues between her and her partner.

They maintained that there was not reason to suspect foul play, though it is unclear whether is still the case.

Evans' mother, Tonya Fischer, told 10TV that her daughter had texted her: 'I love you and I'm sorry' on the night she disappeared.

Investigators previously said that there was no reason to suspect foul play in Evans' disappearance, but it is unclear whether that is still the case

Evans was known as an active member of several community justice organizations including the People's Justice Project and the Juvenile Justice Coalition

Many accused Columbus police of conducting a slow investigation because of Evans' had criticized the department in the past.

Officials refuted that claim, saying that there were delays because it was initially too cold to drag the river.

Investigators tried to 'ping' Evans' cellphone to find its location and used drones to canvas the area near where she suddenly vanished.

Volunteer groups also organized several searches for the 28-year-old who was known as an active member of several community justice organizations including the People's Justice Project and the Juvenile Justice Coalition.

She was also a key organizer of protests at Columbus City Hall.
















In recent times, many things have been said about the death of maybe the most renowned terrorist in history: Osama Bin Laden.

According to the mass media, he died on 02 May, 2011, after a US Navy Seal raid in Pakistan. Then, his body was allegedly thrown into the sea. However, some people remember it being much different: they state that the Arabian extremist died due to health issues ten years prior, in 2001.

Regarding this, YouTube user and researcher BlaBlaBlaJessica1 published a very interesting video in which she analyses the discrepancy between these two versions of the fact.

First, she listed two reasons why it is hard to believe that Bin Laden died in 2011. One is that we never saw pictures of his dead body. The reason we were gives is that the pictures were too much for the American people to see. However, they have shown us pictures of getting blown up, body parts in buildings and it is more horrific than any bullet hole, the researcher affirmed. The second reason is the proper Muslim burial [American troops gave Bin Ladens body]. The Muslim people believe that the body, when it is dead, should not be exposed to the Natural Beasts. Putting the body in the sea is exposing it to all the Natural Beasts, and therefore cannot be considered a proper Muslim burial, she explained.

Then, she showed a shocking proof of why Bin Laden could have died in 2001: a Fox News article published on 26 December, 2001, that announces the terrorists death. When speaking to people about the war, I always use a Fox News report which used to say that he passed away due to kidney complications and he actually was on dialysis, the YouTube user said. The article also says that he peacefully passed away due to untreated lung issues, she continued.

In reference to this, researcher Carter Tweed wrote on conspiracy website Alternatememories.com: Some experiencing the Mass Memory Discrepancy Effect remember his death differently, apparently in hospital from kidney failure. [] There was so much deliberate disinformation surrounding Bin Laden, such as the body doubles in the videos of his terror announcements before his death, that this could all have just become part of the myth which people are now seeing as a Mass Memory Discrepancy Effect.

Draw your own conclusions

For more information: https://www.alternatememories.com/historical-events/people/osama-bin-ladens-death
American Airlines is extending cancellations of flights through April 24 due to the grounding of Boeing 737 Max aircraft, as federal regulators continue to investigate two deadly crashes involving the plane model.

American has 24 Boeing 737 Max aircraft in its fleet, and said Sunday that it will be canceling about 90 flights a day.

Not every flight that was previously scheduled to be on a Max aircraft will be canceled, and some flights scheduled to fly on other aircraft types may ultimately be canceled.

The airline said it will contact affected fliers directly.

An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight from Los Angeles approaches to land at Reagan National Airport shortly after an announcement was made by the FAA that the planes were being grounded by the U.S. over safety issues

Boeing on Saturday confirmed the flight-control software fixes that it plans to make for its grounded 737 Max 8, the plane involved in two fatal accidents within five months.

The company is tweaking the system designed to prevent an aerodynamic stall if sensors detect that the plane's nose is pointed too high.

After the update, the system will rely on data from more than one sensor before it automatically pushes the plane's nose lower.

An engine and landing gear lie among the debris at the crash site of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302 on March 12, 2019 in Bishoftu, Ethiopia. All 157 passengers and crew perished after the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max 8 Flight came down six minutes after taking off

The system won't repeatedly push the nose down, and it will reduce the magnitude of the change. Boeing said it will pay to train airline pilots.

Aviation authorities around the world grounded Boeing 737 Max aircraft earlier this month following deadly crashes involving the plane model in Ethiopia and Indonesia.

The Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crash on March 10 killed 157 people five months after 189 people died in an October crash off the coast of Indonesia.
A five-month-old boy has died after a botched circumcision by his parents at home, reports suggest.

The infant was rushed by helicopter to a Bologna hospital in Italy while suffering from cardiac arrest on Friday afternoon.

He is believed to have died in hospital later that night.

A manslaughter investigation has been opened against the boy's parents - said to be of Ghanaian origin - by the prosecutor's office in the northern province of Reggio Emilia and an autopsy will follow.

A five-month-old boy in Italy died after a botched circumcision was performed by his parents at home. The child suffered a cardiac arrest on Friday and later died in a hospital in Bologna (stock image of tools for circumcision)

The tragedy follows a botched home circumcision of a two-year-old who died of severe blood loss in December in Rome.

In that case, his twin brother also nearly died but survived following intensive care treatment.

That operation had taken place in a centre provided by the non-profit organisation Arci and the council in Monterondo, a north-western suburb of Rome.

The doctor, who was believed to be an American citizen of Libyan origin, called for emergency help when the boy began excessively bleeding, Italian media reported at the time.

What are the health risks of male circumcision? In the UK, complications after circumcisions carried out for medical reasons are rare and most men don't experience any significant problems. Apart from the initial swelling, bleeding and infection are the two most common problems associated with circumcision. There is between a one in 10 and a one in 50 chance that the person will experience bleeding or infection. Other possible complications of circumcision can include: Permanent reduction in sensation in the head of the penis, particularly during sex

Tenderness around the scar

The need to remove stitches that have not dissolved

Occasionally, another operation is needed to remove some more skin from around the head of the penis. Source: NHS Advertisement

His twin brother also underwent the operation and was admitted to Sant Andrea hospital but was later transferred to the paediatric intensive care unit at Gemelli Hospital in Rome.

The boy's mother was said to be a woman of Nigerian origin, who was believed to have sought asylum in Italy and has five other children in Nigeria.

She was said to have asked for the religious operations in line with Nigeria's Islamic traditions, despite being Catholic, local media reported.

Circumcision is not practised among Italy's Roman Catholic majority.

But many immigrants in Italy are Muslim and practise circumcision for cultural and religious reasons.

More than 5,000 circumcisions are performed in Italy each year, with more than a third carried out illegally, according to a health charity (stock image)

They sometimes have trouble accessing the practice in hospitals.

Sometimes Italian hospital costs are too high or doctors refuse to perform circumcisions until the boys have at least reached the age of four.

But more than 5,000 circumcisions are still performed in Italy each year - with more than a third carried out illegally, according to health charity Amsi.

Circumcision operations at private clinics in the country can cost up to 4,000, but they can be offered for 50 to 20 at backstreet surgeries.

Foad Aodi, founder of the association of foreign doctors in Italy, has appealed to health authorities to allow circumcisions at affordable prices and to lower the age of access to help fight clandestine attempts at circumcisions.
George Kearney, 78, was pronounced dead in jail on Sunday, less than two weeks after he pleaded guilty to beating a pregnant woman to death in 1988 in South Bend, Indiana. Authorities say Kearney (above in his mugshot) was terminally ill and had signed an order with jail medical staff to take no lifesaving measures if he stopped breathing

An Indiana man has died in jail less than two weeks after he pleaded guilty to the 1988 beating death of a pregnant mother.

The St Joseph County prosecutor's office says George Kearney was found unresponsive in the county jail's medical unit on Saturday night. He was pronounced dead early Sunday.

The 78-year-old was terminally ill and had reportedly signed an order with jail medical staff to take no lifesaving measures if he stopped breathing.

Results of an autopsy are expected to be released Monday.

Kearney entered a guilty plea in the slaying of 28-year-old Miriam Rice on March 11 and faced up to 60 years in prison at his sentencing on Friday.

He was serving prison time for an unrelated crime when he confessed and named his co-defendant, 56-year-old Barbara Brewster, as an accomplice. Both had been charged last year.

Rice left her home to walk her dog in South Bend on June 24, 1988, and was reported missing an hour later.

Her dog was found the next day, and her body was discovered four days later on June 29 about two miles away at Pinhook Lagoon, a man-made body of water off the St Joseph River.

The victim, who was four months pregnant and had a three-year-old son, had suffered multiple skull fractures.

Kearney entered a guilty plea in the slaying of 28-year-old Miriam Rice on March 11 and faced up to 60 years in prison at his sentencing on Friday. Rice (above) took her dog for a walk on June 24, 1988, and never returned. Her body was discovered five days later

Kearney told investigators he was camping with Brewster and her three children, then aged two, six and seven, on the day Rice was killed, according to court documents.

He said the group saw a woman running and claimed that Brewster pulled something from a bag and ran after the her. Kearney then said he lost sight of Brewster but soon heard screaming before Brewster came back to the campsite with bloodied hands.

Kearney's co-defendant, 56-year-old Barbara Brewster, is pictured above in her mugshot

It was the two older children, now adults, named Paula Brooks and Robert South, who helped investigators find probable cause against the pair, according to Vice.

Brewster's daughter Paula, 37, told police that during the camping trip, Brewster, Kearney and her six-year-old brother Robert left to get food, leaving her with her two-year-old brother.

Hours later, she claimed to hear a 'blood-curdling scream' and a woman 'pleading for her life.' Brewster, Kearney and the boy then returned to the campsite covered in blood.

She would tell the authorities that her brother would only say 'something bad happened'.

Court documents allege Robert South, now 35, later told investigators that Kearney abducted Rice as she walked her dog. The son said Rice fought back, so Kearney smashed her head into the side of the van before putting her inside the van.

Brewster's son, who says he was in the van, claimed Kearney yelled at his mother to kill Rice, and that it was his mother who fatally beat Rice with tools.

Robert told police he never told anyone over the decades because Kearney threatened to kill him. A motive for the crime is still unclear.
Chicago police responding to a noise complaint discovered that the offending party had several city officials in attendance as well as Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker.

Officers were called to a residence in the 4500 block of North Damen Avenue at around 10.30pm Saturday, according to the Chicago Police Department.

Several city officials were confirmed to be present at the gathering but police did not reveal their identities.

A spokesman for Pritzker said the governor had been at the party but left at 10.15pm, just before the police arrived.

Chicago police responding to a noise complaint discovered that the offending party had several city officials in attendance as well as Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (above in November)

City ordinances state that officers can't issue citations for noise complaints reported before 11pm on weekends, so the call was coded and no paperwork was filed.

Two other calls about a large party at a different address on the same block came in later that night, but responding officers said no one was at the location when they arrived.

It remains unclear whether the calls were related to the initial complaint.

Officers were called to a residence in the 4500 block of North Damen Avenue (above) at about 10.30pm Saturday. City ordinances state that officers can't issue citations for noise complaints reported before 11pm on weekends, so the call was coded and no paperwork was filed
An Iranian cleric has confirmed rumours that the country's government hacked the phones of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's family.

Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda, who is custodian of the shrine in Mashhad, said Iran had 'accessed all information' on Netanyahu's wife Sara and 27-year-old son Yair's mobiles.

'In the past few days, Iran's cyber-attacks have resulted in hacking the mobile telephone of a candidate in Israeli elections and access to all the information,' said Alamolhoda, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Scroll down for video

Iranian cleric Ahmad Alamolhoda confirmed that the Iranian government had hacked the phones of Netanyahu's family

He then added that Iran had hacked into the telephones of Netanyahu's family members.

Israel had previously denied that information on Sara and Yair's mobiles had been accessed by foreign agents after reports emerged in the Israeli press last week.

The Saudi-based news website Independent Arabic published a report, reportedly from the Israeli government, about the alleged hacking.

Immediately following the report, its authenticity was denied by both the Shin Bet (Israel's Security Agency) and the prime minister.

'The (Israeli) regime's officials are long used to spreading lies,' Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said about the Gantz phone-hacking report, according to the state news agency IRNA.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing to go to the polls in an election many believe he may lose

'They use their propaganda tools to link any event in the world to Iran.'

It comes as Netanyahu prepares to go to the polls in an election many believe he could lose.

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced the United States should acknowledge Israeli sovereignty over the hotly contested Golan Heights territory, in a major pre-election gift to his ally Netanyahu.

'After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel's Sovereignty over the Golan Heights,' Trump said in a tweet.

Trump called the Golan - a strategic area seized from Syria and annexed in a move never recognized by the international community - 'of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!'

The Golan is home to about 20,000 Israeli settlers.

Trump's abruptly announced decision was immediately cheered by Netanyahu, who faces a tough reelection battle and visits Washington next week.

'At a time when Iran seeks to use Syria as a platform to destroy Israel, President Trump boldly recognizes Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights,' the right-wing prime minister wrote on Twitter. 'Thank you President Trump!'
Supporters of Wikileaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning have called for her release from prolonged solitary confinement at a jail in Alexandria, Virginia.

Manning, 31, a former Army intelligence analyst, was jailed on March 8 after she refused to testify before a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks.

She said she did not like the secrecy of grand jury proceedings and that, when she was court martialed in 2010, she already revealed everything she knew.

US district judge Claude Hilton ordered her to be held at William G Truesdale adult detention center until she agrees to testify or until the grand jury is done working, reported The Guardian.

The Chelsea Resists group said in a Saturday news release that Manning 'has been kept in her cell for 22 hours a day. This treatment qualifies as Solitary Confinement.'

Supporters are calling for Chelsea Manning, 31 (left and right), to be released from William G Truesdale adult detention center on March 8 in Alexandria, Virginia, after she refused to testify before a grand jury about WikiLeaks

The statement also revealed that she is not allowed to be out of her cell when other prisoners are out of their cells nor can she talk to other people

'We have worked to monitor Chelsea's well-being since her arrival at Truesdale,' the statement read.

'In her first week she contracted a bacterial infection, which has since been resolved by antibiotics.

'More recently, she experienced the shift between the prolonged under stimulation of 22-hour lockdown and a 45-minute social visit as so jarring that she threw up.'

The statement also revealed that she is not allowed to be out of her cell when other prisoners are out of their cells nor can she talk to other people.

The only time Manning is allegedly allowed out of her cell is between 1am and 3am, and the group says she has not been outside for 16 days.

'The jail says keeping 'high-profile' prisoners in adseg is policy for the protection of all prisoners, but there is no reason to believe jail officials view Chelsea as either a target or a risk,' the statement continues.

While the group says she's been given her hormone medications, they worry spending so much time in isolation could have an ill effect on her mental health.

'Chelsea is a principled person, and she has made clear that while this kind of treatment will harm her, and will almost certainly leave lasting scars, it will never make her change her mind about cooperating with the grand jury,' they said.

Supporters say Manning (pictured, May 2018) is being held in solitary confinement and that it has taken an effect on her health. She allegedly contracted bacterial infection that has since cleared and, more recently, she experienced a bout of vomiting

Manning is transgender former Army private who was convicted of leaking hundreds of thousands of sensitive government documents to WikiLeaks

Alexandria Sheriff Dana Lawhorne, however, disputes that Manning is being held in those condition.

In a statement to the Associated Press, she called the group's accusations 'not accurate or fair.'

The sheriff says the facility does not have solitary confinement but uses 'administrative segregation' and inmates have access to visits, books and recreation.

At the time of her arrest, Manning was known as Private Bradley Manning. She was convicted of leaking thousands of sensitive government documents related to the war in the Middle East to WikiLeaks in 2010.

She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 35 years in prison, but in January 2017, then-President Barack Obama commuted her sentence.

Then-President-elect Donald Trump took to Twitter calling her a 'traitor' who should never have been released from prison.

Manning gained notoriety during her prison sentence when she went on a hunger strike to protest being denied gender transition surgery.

She ended it after the Army agreed to provide the surgery, but it wasn't done until October 2018.
Houston Police Sgt. Hilario Hernandez, 56, was arrested hours and charged with murdering his wife, Belinda Hernandez, Saturday evening

Investigators say a Houston police sergeant has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of his librarian wife.

Pearland police said in a statement that the body of 52-year-old Belinda Hernandez was located Saturday by a relative at their home in the 1900 block of Canyon Creek Court in the Houston suburb.

The Houston Chronicle reports that Belinda's family member had tried and failed to get in contact with her before visiting the home around noon and finding her dead body in the kitchen.

Belinda's husband, 56-year-old Houston Police Sgt. Hilario Hernandez, was arrested later that day some 230 miles away in Kingsville, Texas.

Police say the victim was a librarian at Shadycrest Elementary School, the culmination of a goal she'd set for herself years ago after previously attending college without finishing her degree, which she ultimately attained in 2011, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Belinda Hernandez, 52, worked as a librarian at Shadycrest Elementary School

A relative found Belinda Hernandez's body lying dead in the kitchen of her and her husband's home in Pearland, Texas around noon on Saturday

Authorities apprehended Hilario Hernandez about 230 miles away in Kingsville, Texas

'I was very happily married; I loved my children. But I always had my one regret. I wished I had gone to college and become a teacher,' Belinda said in a 2014 story about how she achieved her dream of becoming a teacher.

Pearland police Officer Jason Wells said Sunday that Hernandez is being returned to Brazoria County from Kleberg County, where he was arrested.

Pearland's school district issued a statement saying it was 'deeply saddened' to learn of Belinda's death.

'Mrs. Hernandez was a beloved, longtime employee who worked for Pearland ISD for 15 years,' Pearland ISD School Board Trustees member Charles Gooden Jr. said in a statement posted on Facebook.

Pearland's school district issued a statement saying it was 'deeply saddened' to learn of Belinda's death.

'Pearland ISD will provide counselors for students and staff for as long as needed. For the privacy of the family, this is the only information tat will be shared by Pearland ISD at this time.'

Belinda and her husband raised two children together during their marriage of more than 30 years.



Wells was unable to provide information on bond or an attorney representing Hernandez.

Kleberg County sheriff's officials didn't immediately return messages Sunday. Houston police also didn't immediately return a message for comment.
A Christian mother will sue her son's primary school after he was forced to take park in a Gay Pride event.

Izzy Montague said Heavers Farm Primary School in South East London did not give parents the option to choose whether their children took part in the parade.

And parents who complained were treated 'dismissively' and 'barred from the school premises', according to Christian Concern, whose legal team are supporting parents.

Izzy Montague said Heavers Farm Primary School in South East London did not give parents the option to choose whether their children took part in the Gay Pride parade (file pic)

Mrs Montague started the process of suing her son's primary school last week.

She said: 'After I complained about my young child being forced to take place in an event that goes against our Christian beliefs, the school's attitude towards me changed completely.

'It was like being bullied. They stopped treating me like any other parent but were antagonistic towards me.'

One staff member, also the daughter of executive headteacher Ms Susan Papas, is said to have worn a 'Why be racist, sexist, homophobic or transphobic, when you can just be quiet?' t-shirt to one meeting with parents.

Parents have complained this was 'confrontational'.

Mrs Montague said: 'I know other parents who are afraid to speak up because of how the school has treated me.

'I believe that they retaliated against me by unreasonably excluding me from the premises, victimising my child and not taking my safeguarding concerns seriously.

'I wasn't even trying to stop the Pride event. I just wanted my child to receive an education, rather than indoctrination.'

Parents claim that the school is forcing an aggressive LGBT agenda onto children under 12 years of age in a manner which abuses parental rights and victimises parents.

The Gay Pride parade, which took place in June last year, was compulsory for all students despite parent protests.

Andrea Williams, Chief Executive of the Christian Legal Centre said: 'The way Izzy was treated by staff at Heavers Farm Primary School shows the importance of maintaining parental rights to opt their children out of relationships and sex education.

'These lessons sometimes prematurely sexualise young children by introducing them to topics before they're ready.

Parkfield community school in Saltley, Birmingham, was forced to cancel LGBT lessons when 600 Muslim children, aged between four and 11, were taken out of school for a day in protest

'The lessons often seek not only to raise understanding and tolerance of alternative lifestyles but the outright acceptance and approval of them.

'The dismissiveness shown to Izzy and many other parents when they raised concerns will only be multiplied if the government proceeds with plans to take away these freedoms.'

It comes after Parkfield community school in Saltley, Birmingham, was forced to cancel LGBT lessons when 600 Muslim children, aged between four and 11, were taken out of school for a day in protest.

Mrs Montague has now taken formal legal action against both the school and Croydon Council and filed a complaint with the County Court against the Governing Body of Heavers Farm Primary School.

She claims they breached her parental rights, and that she was victimised and harassed by the school.

She also filed a complaint under the Education Act 1996 to the Secretary of State for Education, Damian Hinds, asking him to use his authority to stop LGBT teaching within Heavers Farm Primary School.

The Christian Legal Centre is providing support to Mrs Montague as she challenges her treatment.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said that Robert Mueller's report was a 'total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States'.

Her words come despite the fact the four-page summary released to Congress on Sunday clearly states that Mueller's report 'does not exonerate' Donald Trump.

Sanders took to Twitter on Sunday afternoon shortly after the summary was given to Congress.

Shortly afterward, Trump tweeted: 'No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!'

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said that Robert Mueller's report was a 'total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States'

Shortly afterward, Trump tweeted: 'No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!'

'The Special Counsel did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction,' she wrote. 'AG Barr and DAG Rosenstein further determined there was no obstruction.'

'The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States.'

Mueller, who spent nearly two years investigating allegations that Russia meddled in the presidential election to help Donald Trump win, found no evidence that any member of Trump's election campaign conspired with Russia during the election.

The special counsel also investigated whether Trump obstructed justice but did not come to a definitive answer.

In the letter to Congress, Attorney General William Barr said Mueller's report 'does not exonerate' the president on obstruction and instead 'sets out evidence on both sides of the question'.

Her words come despite the fact the four-page summary released to Congress on Sunday clearly states that Mueller's report 'does not exonerate' Donald Trump

Mueller wrapped up his investigation on Friday with no new indictments, bringing to a close a probe that has shadowed Trump for nearly two years.

Democrats vowed to press on with their own investigations, while the White House claimed vindication.

In reality, Mueller's investigation left open the question of whether Trump obstructed justice by firing FBI Director James Comey and drafting an incomplete explanation about his son's meeting with a Russian lawyer during the campaign. That left it to the attorney general to decide.

After consulting with DOJ officials, Barr said he and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, determined the evidence 'is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction of justice offense'.

Barr, nominated to his job by Trump last fall, said their decision was based on the evidence uncovered by Mueller and not based on whether a sitting president can be indicted.

Barr's chief of staff called White House counsel Emmet Flood at 3pm Sunday to brief him on the report to Congress.

Mueller's investigation left open the question of whether Trump obstructed justice by firing FBI Director James Comey and drafting an incomplete explanation about his son's meeting with a Russian lawyer during the campaign

Mueller's investigation ensnared nearly three dozen people, senior Trump campaign operatives among them.

The probe illuminated Russia's assault on the American political system, painted the Trump campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails to hurt Democrat Hillary Clinton and exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.

Mueller submitted his report to Barr instead of directly to Congress and the public because, unlike independent counsels such as Ken Starr in the case of President Bill Clinton, his investigation operated under the close supervision of the Justice Department, which appointed him.

Mueller was assigned to the job in May 2017 by Rosenstein, who oversaw much of his work. Barr and Rosenstein analyzed Mueller's report on Saturday, laboring to condense it into a summary letter of main conclusions.

Barr said that Mueller 'thoroughly' investigated the question of whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia's election interference, issuing more than 2,800 subpoenas, obtaining nearly 500 search warrants and interviewing 500 witnesses.
A toddler is fighting for life after she and her family were hit by a metal starting gate at a harness race track north of Brisbane.

The family were spectators at the Redcliffe paceway when the gate on a pace vehicle failed to retract and struck them on Sunday night.

A two-year-old girl suffered critical facial and abdominal injuries and was transported by road to the Queensland Children's Hospital.

The two-year-old was among four people from Kensington Grove injured at a paceway club in Redcliffe on Sunday night

Her mother and father were also injured, along with another child, aged one, but their injuries were not life threatening.

A workplace health and safety investigation was underway to determine what went wrong.

Police were involved with the investigation.

The ambulance service said paramedics faced a chaotic scene when they arrived, but worked quickly to help the family.

The Redcliffe Harness Racing Club has praised on social media those who assisted.

'Our thoughts and love with those injured in the mobile incident,' the club posted on Facebook.

'Thanks to everyone who helped so quickly.'
Here is a timeline of significant developments in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and whether President Donald Trump's campaign conspired with Moscow.

2017

May 17 - U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appoints former FBI Director Mueller as a special counsel to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election and to look into any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and people associated with Republican Trump's campaign.

The appointment follows President Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey on May 9 and days later Trump attributed the dismissal to 'this Russia thing.'

June 15 - Mueller is investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice, the Washington Post reports.

October 30 - Veteran Republican political operative and former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who worked for the campaign for five pivotal months in 2016, is indicted on charges of conspiracy against the United States and money laundering as is his business partner Rick Gates, who also worked for Trump's campaign.

- Former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleads guilty to a charge of lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials.

December 1 - Michael Flynn, Trump's national security adviser for less than a month who also had a prominent campaign role, pleads guilty to the charge of lying to the FBI about his discussions in 2016 with the Russian ambassador to Washington.

2018

February 16 - Federal grand jury indicts 13 Russians and three firms, including a Russian government propaganda arm called the Internet Research Agency, accusing them of tampering to support Trump and disparage Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The accused 'had a strategic goal to sow discord in the U.S. political system, including the 2016 U.S. presidential election' according to the court document filed by Mueller.

- An American, Richard Pinedo, pleads guilty to identity fraud for selling bank account numbers after being accused by prosecutors of helping Russians launder money, buy Facebook ads and pay for campaign rally supplies. Pinedo was not associated with the Trump campaign.

February 22 - Manafort and Gates are charged with financial crimes, including bank fraud, in Virginia.

February 23 - Gates pleads guilty to conspiracy against the United States and lying to investigators. He agrees to cooperate and testify against Manafort at trial.

April 3 - Alex van der Zwaan, the Dutch son-in-law of one of Russia's richest men, is sentenced to 30 days in prison and fined $20,000 for lying to Mueller's investigators, becoming the first person sentenced in the probe.

April 9 - FBI agents raid home, hotel room and office of Trump's personal lawyer and self-described 'fixer' Michael Cohen.

April 12 - Rosenstein tells Trump that he is not a target in Mueller's probe.

April 19 - Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump supporter in the election campaign, joins Trump's personal legal team.

June 8 - Mueller charges a Russian-Ukrainian man, Konstantin Kilimnik, a Manafort business partner whom prosecutors say had ties to Russian intelligence, with witness tampering.

July 13 - Federal grand jury indicts 12 Russian military intelligence officers on charges of hacking Democratic Party computer networks in 2016 and staged releases of documents. Russia, which denies interfering in the election, says there is no evidence that the 12 are linked to spying or hacking.

July 16 - In Helsinki after the first summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump publicly contradicts U.S. intelligence agencies that concluded Moscow had interfered in the 2016 election with a campaign of hacking and propaganda. Trump touts Putin's 'extremely strong and powerful' denial of meddling. He calls the Mueller inquiry a 'rigged witch hunt' on Twitter.

August 21 - A trial jury in Virginia finds Manafort guilty of five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failure to disclose a foreign bank account.

- Cohen, in a case brought by U.S. prosecutors in New York, pleads guilty to tax fraud and campaign finance law violations. Cohen is subsequently interviewed by Mueller's team.

August 31 - Samuel Patten, an American business partner of Kilimnik, pleads guilty to unregistered lobbying for pro-Kremlin political party in Ukraine.

September 14 - Manafort pleads guilty to two conspiracy counts and signs a cooperation agreement with Mueller's prosecutors.

November 8 - U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigns at Trump's request. He had recused himself from overseeing the Mueller inquiry because of his contacts with the Russian ambassador as a Trump campaign official. Trump appoints Sessions' chief of staff Matthew Whitaker, a critic of the Mueller probe, as acting attorney general.

November 20 - Giuliani says Trump submitted written answers to questions from Mueller, as the president avoids a face-to-face interview with the special counsel.

November 27-28 - Prosecutors say Manafort breached his plea deal by lying to investigators, which Manafort denies. Trump says he has not ruled out granting Manafort a presidential pardon.

November 28 - Giuliani says Trump told investigators he was not aware ahead of time of a meeting in Trump Tower in New York between several campaign officials and Russians in June 2016.

November 29 - Cohen pleads guilty in the Mueller investigation to lying to Congress about the length of discussions in 2016 on plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. 'I made these misstatements to be consistent with individual 1's political messaging and out of loyalty to individual 1,' says Cohen, who previously identified 'individual 1' as Trump.

- The president criticizes Cohen as a liar and 'weak person.'

December 12 - Two developments highlight growing political and legal risks for Trump: Cohen sentenced to three years in prison for crimes including orchestrating hush payments to women in violation of campaign laws before the election; American Media Inc, publisher of National Enquirer tabloid, strikes deal to avoid charges over its role in one of two hush payments. Publisher admits payment was aimed at influencing the 2016 election, contradicting Trump's statements.

2019

January 25 - Longtime Trump associate and self-proclaimed political 'dirty trickster' Roger Stone charged and arrested at his home in Florida. Stone is accused of lying to Congress about statements suggesting he may have had advance knowledge of plans by Wikileaks to release Democratic Party campaign emails that U.S. officials say were stolen by Russia.

February 21 - U.S. judge tightens gag order on Stone, whose Instagram account posted a photo of the judge and the image of crosshairs next to it.

February 22 - Manhattan district attorney's office is pursuing New York state criminal charges against Manafort whether or not he receives a pardon from Trump on federal crimes, a person familiar with the matter says. Trump cannot issue pardons for state convictions.

February 24 - Senior Democratic U.S. Representative Adam Schiff says Democrats will subpoena Mueller's final report on his investigation if it is not given to Congress by the Justice Department, and will sue the Trump administration and call on Mueller to testify to Congress if necessary.

February 27 - Cohen tells U.S. House Oversight Committee Trump is a 'racist,' a 'con man' and a 'cheat' who knew in advance about a release of emails by WikiLeaks in 2016 aimed at hurting rival Clinton. Trump directed negotiations for a real estate project in Moscow during the campaign even as he publicly said he had no business interests in Russia, Cohen testifies.

March 7 - Manafort is sentenced in the Virginia case to almost four years in prison. The judge also ordered Manafort to pay a fine of $50,000 and restitution of just over $24 million.

March 13 - Manafort is sentenced to about 3-1/2 more years in prison in the Washington case, bringing his total prison sentence in the two special counsel cases to 7-1/2 years.

- On the same day, the Manhattan district attorney announces a separate indictment charging Manafort with residential mortgage fraud and other New York state crimes, which unlike the federal charges cannot be erased by a presidential pardon.

March 22 - Mueller submits his confidential report on the findings of his investigation to U.S. Attorney General William Barr.

March 24 - Barr releases a summary of Mueller's report, saying the investigation did not find evidence that Trump or his associates broke the law during the campaign. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders says the summary is a complete exoneration of Trump.
A woman who suffered an epileptic fit in the city centre was robbed as she lay helpless on the pavement, her heartbroken husband has revealed.

Magazine editor Jordan Royce has shared shocking details of the crime that took place in the early hours of Wednesday.

His 39-year-old wife, who has asked not to be named, had been working late to meet a deadline at their office on Portland Street, on the edge of Chinatown.

As she left the office alone at around 1am she suffered a serious seizure and fell to the ground.

Jordan Royce revealed his wife was brazenly robbed by a gang of men after collapsing from a seizure

A group of men who were hanging around the area approached within seconds, he said.

But rather than help, Mr Joyce says they grabbed at his wife and stripped her of all possessions.

'They robbed her blind, they took everything off her,' Mr Royce said.

'It was like the Walking Dead, they saw somebody who was vulnerable and went after her like piranhas.'

It is understood local authority security cameras captured the incident as it unfolded.

That meant the police and ambulance service were alerted almost immediately and the suspects fled.

'The police saw what was happening and were there within two minutes,' Mr Royce, 50, said.

'They were wonderful, otherwise she wouldn't be here.'

The spot near Chinatown in the city centre where Mr Royce's wife was said to have collapsed

When the victim regained consciousness, she realised her phone, purse, bank cards and about 40 in cash had been stolen.

She was able to get back in the office and alert Mr Royce who rushed to the scene as fast as he could.

He said when he got there both police and paramedics were 'furious' at what had happened.

'The police were shocked and the ambulance workers couldn't believe it,' he said.

One of the officers immediately attempted to track the thieves using the 'Find My iPhone' app.

It was last traced to Whitworth Street where some men were seen running off.

'The PC was like Superman, he was off like a rocket [looking for the suspects],' he said.

But so far, there have been no arrests.

Detectives from Operation Valiant, which combats personal robberies, have taken on the case and officers are now combing through CCTV to identify exactly how the incident unfolded, and whether any suspects can be identified.

Mr Royce says his wife's fit lasted for six minutes and she has been left covered in cuts and bruises.

His 39-year-old wife had reportedly been working late and had just left the office when she had an epileptic fit

She was taken to hospital where she was treated for three days but is thankfully now back home recovering in Stockport.

'She's very badly injured to her face and she's traumatised by it. We don't know which injuries were caused by them and which were caused by the fall,' Mr Royce said.

'The police have seen the CCTV but I don't think I want to watch it.

'What's upset me the most is my wife says she feels ashamed and embarrassed.'

Mr Royce is the editor of sci-fi magazine Starburst and has worked in Manchester for more than twenty years.

But he feels the city centre has got more dangerous in the past five years,particularly the area around Chinatown and Piccadilly where he spends a lot of time.

'It hurts me to report this,' he said.

'The last thing I would ever do is say something like this about Manchester if I wasn't deeply concerned.

'It's damaging to my own business, but people need to know how bad it is.

'Some people are walking around with their eyes shut.

'In the last five years the situation has got increasingly worse.

'There's genuine homeless people suffering, but the thing is the drug dealers operate around the city centre and a lot of the homeless are being turned into dangerous people.

'The combination of people taking advantage, selling those drugs, it's not a shock [what has happened], sometimes it feels like it could explode.'

A city centre police spokesperson said: 'We received reports at 00:59 of a woman who was receiving treatment by the ambulance service.

'They requested our assistance as a group had gathered.

'Shortly afterwards the female reported her phone as being stolen, believed to have happened during the incident. CCTV enquiries are ongoing.'
Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani said Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report into Russian interference in the 2016 election, whether the Trump campaign colluded, and whether Trump obstructed justice was more positive than he had anticipated, based on the summary of the report released on Sunday.

'It's better than I expected,' said Giuliani, who, echoing Trump, relentlessly attacked Mueller and his work when he began to represent the president last year.

Mueller's report, according to the summary by US Attorney General William Barr, found no evidence President Donald Trump's campaign conspired with Russia in the 2016 election.

'This is a complete and total vindication of the President,' Giuliani and others on Trump's outside legal team later said in a statement.

President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani said Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report into Russian interference in the 2016 election, was more positive than he had anticipated

Mueller's (right) report, according to the summary by US Attorney General William Barr, found no evidence President Donald Trump's campaign conspired with Russia in the 2016 election

'They got it right,' said Washington lawyer John Dowd, who served as Trump's personal lawyer on the probe until March 2018.

'I'm just very, very happy for the president.'

Dowd said it has 'been an awful two years, in my opinion wholly unjustified'.

Mueller spent nearly two years investigating allegations that Russia meddled in the 2016 election.

It is a major political victory for Trump, who quickly hailed the announcement as 'complete and total exoneration'.

The long-awaited report into whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia to help Trump defeat his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, marked a major milestone of his presidency as he prepares for his 2020 re-election battle.

But Democratic opponents made clear that it would not end their political assault against him.

Mueller himself did not reach a conclusion on whether Trump broke the law by interfering with the various probes into the 2016 election but presented his evidence to Barr to make a determination.

Many of Trump's opponents had accused the president of obstructing the Russia probe when he fired former FBI Director James Comey.

Barr and Rosenstein concluded that the evidence did not justify bringing obstruction charges, in part because there was no underlying crime.

Mueller spent nearly two years investigating allegations that Russia meddled in the 2016 election

It is a major political victory for Trump, who quickly hailed the announcement as 'complete and total exoneration'

'While this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him,' Barr quoted Mueller as writing in his report on the issue of possible obstruction of justice.

Barr made clear he had rejected that possibility of a criminal charge after reviewing the findings of an investigation that has long cast a pall over Trump's presidency.

US Rep Jerrold Nadler, Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said it 'seems like the Department of Justice is putting matters squarely in Congress' court'.

Nadler called for Barr to testify to Congress, citing 'very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department'.

'It's a shame that our country had to go through this,' Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington from Florida.

'This was an illegal takedown that failed. And hopefully, somebody's going to be looking at the other side.'

Barr's summary said Mueller found no evidence that the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia, despite 'multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals' to help them.

The release of the summary is likely to ignite a new political fight in Washington as Democrats push for Barr to release the full report.

Trump has always denied collaborating with Moscow or obstructing justice and Russia says it did not interfere in the election.

US intelligence agencies concluded shortly before Trump took office in January 2017 that Moscow meddled in the election with a campaign of email hacking and online propaganda aimed at sowing discord in the United States.

The Department of Justice announced on Friday that Mueller had ended his investigation after bringing charges against 34 people, including Russian agents and former key allies of Trump, such as his campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former national security adviser Mike Flynn and his personal lawyer Michael Cohen.

None of those charges; however, directly related to whether Trump's campaign worked with Moscow.
A former Finks motorcycle gang member has been charged after police seized a freshwater crocodile, a Mercedes Benz, two Yamaha trail motorcycles and a jet ski from a Sydney home last month.

The crocodile was found along with cash and suspected stolen vehicles during a February 22 police search of a Colebee home in Sydney's west.

Police said no one at the residence held a wildlife exhibitor's licence for the reptile.

The freshwater crocodile was found along with cash and suspected stolen vehicles during a February 22 police search of a Colebee home in Sydney's west

The 24-year-old former Finks member was arrested at the home last Friday and was taken to Riverstone Police station where he was charged with dealing in protected animals.

The man was also charged with four counts of dealing with property suspected of being proceeds of crime and two counts of possessing a vehicle or vessel where the unique identifier has been interfered with.

The raid was executed by Criminal Groups Squad's Strike Force Raptor as part of an ongoing investigation targeting outlaw motorcycle gangs

The man was granted strict conditional bail and was due to appear at the Blacktown Local Court on April 29.
Australian actor Tom Long has revealed he's been suffering from an incurable blood cancer for seven years and could have just months to live.

Shortly after being diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2012, Long collapsed on stage while performing at the Sydney Opera House and he hasn't returned to acting since.

The 50-year-old, best known for his role in the hit series SeaChange, was told in December he may have as little as three months left to live.

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Australian actor Tom Long has revealed he's been suffering from an incurable blood cancer for seven years and could have just months to live

Tom Long and Ms Fleming (pictured together on their wedding day) got married in February just two days after the actor left intensive care

Australian actor Tom Long (pictured in 2007) has revealed he's been suffering from an incurable blood cancer for seven years and could have just months to live

He has also featured in several Australian hit movies, including Two Hands, The Dish and The Book of Revelation.

Multiple Myeloma is an incurable blood cancer where there is growth of cancerous plasma cells in the bone marrow, leaving little room for normal blood cells.

Doctors told the actor his condition was terminal, and when he looked up the life-expectancy of the disease back in 2012 he discovered he could have just two or three years left.

WHAT IS MULTIPLE MYELOMA? Multiple Myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells (a type of white blood cell) in the bone marrow. Widespread growth of cancerous plasma cells in bone marrow may leave little room for normal blood cells. The disease can damage the bones, immune system and kidneys. Multiple Myeloma can also cause anaemia and reduced immunity. Source: Better Health Victoria Advertisement

'Essentially, I thought, that's it,' the 50-year-old told The Sunday Project.

Now, seven years on from the diagnosis, Long has battled through chemotherapy, bone-marrow transplants and natural therapies.

He met his new wife, Rebecca Fleming, after being diagnosed with the disease, and tied the knot with her this year after being told in December 2018 that he could have just three months to live.

The pair met through a friend of Ms Fleming's who lived across the road from Long, but he was nervous about his future with his new wife due to his illness.

'That's why it took so long, probably, to get together...because I didn't want to put Bec through it,' the actor said.

It was the news in December that he had between three and 12 months to live that pushed the actor to marry Ms Fleming just two days after leaving intensive care.

Long is most notable for his role as Angus Kabiri in the ABC series SeaChange from 1998-1999

Doctors told the actor his condition was terminal, and when he looked up the life-expectancy of the disease back in 2012 he discovered he could have just two or three years left

There's since been a glimmer of hope for the couple, with the actor told by his new doctor, Miles Prince, that Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T Cell therapy in the United States could help him.

He will be just one of 18 participants in the clinical trial, where they hope to rebuild the actor's immune system.

The trial will take Long's T-Cells and genetically modify them to identify and kill the cancer cells in his body - and has proven to be widely successful.

Ms Flemming said the therapy is the next step for the couple and they're both hopeful the outcome will be positive.

The 50-year-old (pictured in a scene from The Book of Revelation in 2006) was told in December he may have as little as three months left to live

Devastated fans and former colleagues shared their shock at the news on Twitter

'I am very aware that I could be taken any time, but it's the hope I think, I go for hope,' Long said.

The 50-year-old and his family are preparing to head to Seattle on Thursday for the treatment and will remain in the US to see if it works.

Devastated fans shared their shock at the news on Twitter.

Virginia Gordon wrote: 'Tom, you are an absolute legend. You have brought us so much joy...and how beautiful to know of your joyful wife and family. Knock it out of the park mate!! Your many fans are with you at every step.'

Colleague Adam Zwar wrote: 'Had the honour of working with Tom Long on SeaChange. Wonderful actor, natural comic. Always the heart of any film or TV show he was in. God speed, mate.'

Another fan named Janelle said: 'Tom Long - one of my favourite Aussie actors. I wish him all the very best for his next course of treatment and hope so much it works out for him. Keep fighting Tom.'

Long appeared in the film, The Dish (pictured in 2000), one of his most famous acting roles

The 50-year-old (pictured left in 2007 with Asher Keddie) and his family are preparing to head to Seattle on Thursday for the treatment and will remain in the US to see if it works
Megyn Kelly says it is time for the news media to accept that there was no evidence of collusion with Russia by the Trump campaign.

The former Fox News and NBC host tweeted on Sunday: Mueller: no evidence of collusion w/Russia.

Now will the media who invested so much in this narrative accept it, remembering that they are not supposed to root for outcomes?

Or will they hold on, looking for ways to save face on their earlier (wrong) predictions/coverage?

Kelly then responded to a tweet from Tim Pool, who wrote: I feel bad for the people who built their careers around Russiagate. Where do you go after this?

Former Fox News and NBC host Megyn Kelly says the media must 'accept [that there was] no evidence of collusion with Russia'

Kelly tweeted on Sunday after William Barr, the attorney general, released a summary of the Mueller Report's principal conclusions

Kelly then responded to a tweet from Tim Pool, who wrote: I feel bad for the people who built their careers around Russiagate. Where do you go after this?

To which Kelly replied: They will hold on - it will be the journo/punditry equivalent of hes going to call me, right? The reason he hasnt called is he must be really busy, or on a trip, or in the hospital. Just stay steady! Its not over!'

To which Kelly replied: They will hold on - it will be the journo/punditry equivalent of hes going to call me, right? The reason he hasnt called is he must be really busy, or on a trip, or in the hospital. Just stay steady! Its not over!

People, collusion is over.

Kelly has had a complicated history with Trump - going back to her days as a primetime host on the Fox News Channel.

In 2015, Trump attacked Kelly during the Republican primary.

When Kelly grilled Trump during a debate over his history of poor behavior with women, the then-candidate slammed her as 'unfair.'

Trump commented that there 'was blood coming out of her... wherever', an implicit reference to her menstrual cycle.

A year later, after Trump clinched the Republican nomination for the presidency, Kelly interviewed him on Fox News in what appeared to be a rapprochement.

Eventually, Kelly left the Fox News Channel and signed a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract with NBC News.

In 2015, Trump attacked Kelly during the Republican primary. Trump commented that there 'was blood coming out of her... wherever', an implicit reference to her menstrual cycle

In 2016, Kelly interviewed Trump for the Fox News Channel

But her stint at the Peacock Network was a tumultuous one that ended in October, when she went off the air after making comments in support of wearing blackface.

Now Kelly is unemployed, though she did walk away from NBC with a hefty payout that will ensure she receives every penny of the $69million in her contract.

Special Counsel Robert Muellers report on Russian meddling in the 2016 election did not find that any U.S. or Trump campaign officials knowingly conspired with Russia, according to details released on Sunday.

Attorney General William Barr sent a summary of conclusions from the report to congressional leaders and the media on Sunday afternoon.

Mueller concluded his investigation on Friday after nearly two years, turning in a report to the top U.S. law enforcement officer.

President Trump is touting the Justice Departments summary of special counsel Robert Mueller findings, saying it was a shame the nation had to go through the investigation.

Trump claims the report found there was no collusion with Russia, there was no obstruction.

In fact, Mueller did not make a determination on whether Trump committed obstruction of justice in the Russia probe.

Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein determined that evidence gathered by Mueller was insufficient.

The summary does say Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign or its associates conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 election.

Trump is also lashing out at the investigation, claiming without evidence that it was an illegal takedown that failed.

President Trump claimed a 'complete exoneration' in the investigation

Robert Mueller attended church near the White House on Sunday

Trump spoke to reporters before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington from a weekend at his private club in Florida.

Earlier on Sunday, Trump on Twitter claimed Complete and Total EXONERATION in a celebratory tweet following the release of a summary of special counsel Robert Muellers report.

Trump writes, No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT! as he heads to the airport in Florida, where hes spent the weekend.

Trumps eldest son says a summary of the special counsels findings proves what those of us with sane minds knew all along.

Donald Trump Jr. issued a statement Sunday saying that a summary of special counsel Robert Muellers findings proves that there was zero collusion with Russia.

Trump Jr. has come under scrutiny during the investigation, for helping arrange a Trump Tower meeting at the height of the 2016 campaign with a Kremlin-linked lawyer.

President Donald Trump's campaign did not collude with Russia in the 2016 election, Robert Mueller found in his long-awaited report

Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein made the joint decision not to charge the president with obstruction of justice

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders declared it a 'total and complete exoneration' of the president

His brother, Eric Trump, is calling for a simple apology from the media for the hell everyone has been put through during the two-year probe.

The Justice Department gave the White House a heads-up about the letter summarizing Muellers findings in the Russia investigation.

A senior Justice official says the attorney generals chief of staff called White House lawyer Emmet Flood at 3pm Sunday and gave him a readout of the letter, which came out about a half-hour later.

The official further says the letter was put together by Barr and Rosenstein.

Several Democratic presidential candidates say Muellers full report on Russian election interference and Trump must be made public.

California Senator Kamala Harris says Barr, who submitted his summary of the report Sunday, must testify before Congress.

She tweeted, That is what transparency looks like.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts notes that lawmakers have voted to release the full Mueller report, not a summary from what she calls Trumps handpicked Attorney General.
Virgin Australia is planning to open a regional flying school to train Australian and Chinese pilots to combat a shortage of pilots in the industry.

The airline is negotiating with HNA Group, a Chinese company that owns 19 per cent of the airline and currently operates a flight training school in Port Macquarie.

Claims the discussions about the school are being held in secret have prompted calls for a Royal Commission by Australian businessman and pilot Dick Smith.

Virgin Australia is planning to open a regional flying school to train Australian and Chinese pilots to combat a shortage of pilots in the industry

Speaking to 2GB Radio, Mr Smith says that it appears that Virgin is mostly controlled by Chinese interests.

'By the look of it Virgin's pretty well Chinese controlled,' Mr Smith said

'It's just the most unbelievable thing I've ever heard we need a royal commission into this.'

The airline was selected by Tamworth Regional Council last year as the successful tenderer to operate the Aviation Centre of Excellence, which includes pilot, maintenance, and operations training.

The school will train pilots from Australia as well as being open to overseas pilots.

Claims the discussions about the school are being held in secret have prompted calls for a Royal Commission by well-known Australian businessman and pilot Dick Smith

Virgin has strongly denied the claims that any negotiations were being held in secret, telling Daily Mail Australia the issue has been 'blown out of proportion.'

'The idea that we are in secret talks is completely untrue We have been completely transparent in our discussions with the appropriate parties,' a statement from the airline said.

'This facility is designed to educate and train the pilots of tomorrow, it will support Virgin Australia Group's own pilot needs and be open to all nationalities, and will also benefit other airlines around the world.'

The project is currently being investigated by the Foreign Investment Review Board due to the links with the Chinese company.
Prince William bears all the hallmarks of a contented man. At 36, he carries none of the emotional baggage that plagued the life of his father, the Prince of Wales, for so many years.

Since leaving his job as an RAF and then air ambulance rescue pilot, he has become a popular and hugely respected working member of the Royal Family.

This hold on public affection is in no small part thanks to the charm of his three young children and the happiness he has found with wife Kate.

Yesterday William was determined to act as extraordinary rumours engulfed his family, threatening to disrupt their domestic tranquillity. Reports emerged in both the Saturday and Sunday newspapers which claimed a rift had opened up between Kate and her Norfolk neighbour Rose Hanbury, Marchioness of Cholmondeley (left)

Which was why yesterday William was determined to act as extraordinary rumours engulfed his family, threatening to disrupt their domestic tranquillity.

Over the weekend, reports emerged in both the Saturday and Sunday newspapers which claimed a rift had opened up between Kate and her Norfolk neighbour Rose Hanbury, Marchioness of Cholmondeley.

One account said the two women had had a terrible falling out; another suggested that Kate wanted her rural rival banished from their circle, though the words actually used were phased out.

William, meanwhile, was being painted as a peacemaker who, because of his own friendship with Roses aristocratic husband, David (the Marquess of) Cholmondeley, wants the two women to get along.

At a time when we are being besieged on all sides by endless gloom about Brexit and Britains place in the world, tittle tattle about the royals might seem diverting enough.

But the weekend reports have gone beyond mere gossip (although tittle tattle can itself do damage, reducing the royals to a soap opera).

One account said the two women had had a terrible falling out; another suggested that Kate wanted her rural rival banished from their circle, though the words actually used were phased out'

They are presented under serious headlines and, if nothing else, will be grist to the mill for the cause of republicanism, bringing a glow to the hearts of anti-monarchists everywhere.

For the royals, dealing with such rumours has long been a delicate conundrum. Ignore them and the risk is that they will be amplified, but by speaking out there is danger of somehow giving legitimacy to what, as we shall see, is almost certainly nothing more than scuttlebutt.

Princess Diana spent much of the last five years of her life firefighting endless speculative stories about her, often with little success. Ever since meeting Kate Middleton at St Andrews University, Prince William has been determined not to follow in his late mothers footsteps.

Instead, he has resorted to the law to defend both his familys privacy  such as when French photographers obtained pictures of Kate sunbathing topless  and when their reputation is endangered. Inconsequential reports are simply disregarded.

But in which category do the weekend stories sit, and how is William responding?

I am told the rumours of a falling out between these two attractive young women are false. I can also reveal both sides have considered legal action but, because none of the reports have been able to offer any evidence about what the so-called dispute is about, they have chosen to ignore it.

The weekend reports have gone beyond mere gossip (although tittle tattle can itself do damage, reducing the royals to a soap opera). They are presented under serious headlines and, if nothing else, will be grist to the mill for the cause of republicanism, bringing a glow to the hearts of anti-monarchists everywhere

In fact, gossip started doing the rounds at smart dinner parties late last year. Quite why is still a mystery, but there have been some malevolent undertones to it.

There has been talk that the rumours were got up to damage Kate. So what is going on?

Geography plays a part here. In 2014 William and Kate decided to move full time to Anmer Hall, the country house close to Sandringham that was given to them by the Queen.

Among their near neighbours was the Marquess of Cholmondeley, 58, who as Lord Great Chamberlain had a unique role at the State Opening of Parliament  walking backwards in front of the Queen.

An aesthete and former filmmaker, Cholmondeley had a string of glamorous girlfriends without showing any sign of wanting to settle down. Then, to the surprise of friends, in 2009 he married Rose Hanbury, a willowy ex-model, 23 years his junior.

They had met at a party at the Villa Cetinale, the grand Italian home of the disgraced Tory peer Lord Lambton  Roses sister, Marina, is married to Lambtons heir Ned, the Earl of Durham.

In 2014 William and Kate decided to move full time to Anmer Hall, the country house close to Sandringham that was given to them by the Queen

The comely sisters, who were once pictured in swimsuits with former prime minister Tony Blair have an impeccable pedigree. Their grandmother was Lady Elizabeth Longman, a bridesmaid at the Queens wedding to Prince Philip.

The Cholmondeleys home is Houghton Hall, a stunning Palladian mansion built in the 1720s for Britains first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole.

The 106-room pile is barely four miles from Anmer and it was soon being reported that the Cholmondeleys with their three children were part of the so-called turnip toffs, a set of well-born friends of William and Kate with North Norfolk homes.

Among their near neighbours was the Marquess of Cholmondeley, 58, who as Lord Great Chamberlain had a unique role at the State Opening of Parliament (pictured in 2007) walking backwards in front of the Queen

Members were said to include William and Rosie van Cutsem, the Earl and Countess of Leicester, who live at Holkham Hall and James and Laura Meade, who is a godmother to Prince Louis.

One weekend report said the Cholmondeleys twin sons, Alexander and Oliver, were playmates of Prince George, despite the four-year age gap between them.

Rose and David were both guests (of the Queen) at William and Kates wedding in 2011, and three years ago the royal couple attended a black tie gala at Houghton Hall.

Rose and Kate, meanwhile are patron and royal patron respectively of the charity East Anglia Childrens Hospices, and the Duchess has attended the Houghton Hall horse trials with her children.

William and David would appear to have less in common. The marquess  French-speaking, piano-playing and a lover of modern art  is, after all, the same age as his late mother.

The men have been shooting together, but this is normal among landowners in Norfolk.

So does all that add up to a close friendship? According to an authoritative family source, the two couples have been to each others homes only three times.

William appears to have little in common with the marquess  French-speaking, piano-playing and a lover of modern art  who is, after all, the same age as his late mother. The men have been shooting together, but this is normal among landowners in Norfolk

They see each other occasionally and like each other, a figure close to Rose tells me.

They are not part of each others close circle. It isnt even remotely a bosom-close friendship.

Nevertheless, tongues started wagging. Last week the Daily Mail did report in its diary gossip that there was competition between the duchess and the marchioness.

But Saturdays Sun newspaper reported that the falling out was much worse than first thought.

A source was quoted by the newspaper as saying: They used to be close but that is not the case any more. It said William offered to make peace but added: Kate has been clear that she doesnt want to see them any more and wants William to phase them out, despite their social status.

At first, William and David laughed the rumours off  I am told they even reached the ears of the wider Royal Family. But the latest reporting has changed the atmosphere.

I understand both men are baffled by the rumours and insist there is no rift between them or their wives.

A family source told me: These hurtful rumours of a fall-out are simply false. William and David were in touch with each other over the weekend, not knowing whether to laugh or complain. Both wives are hurt by the suggestion that there is any argument or even a coolness between them. They have plans for future events involving their charity.

This is a question of a lie going round the world before the truth has even had time to take its boots off. Another family figure said: A whisper which had no basis or truth has turned into a roar.

William and Kate (pictured at the St Patrick's Day parade in Hounslow) have not been photographed exchanging so much as a cross word in public. Richard Kay understands that both William and the Marquess of Cholmondeley are baffled by the rumours and insist there is no rift between them or their wives

Both couples laughed when it was first carelessly put around and endlessly repeated, even though it was patently not true. As more and more people passed it on, it took on a life of its own and has now become hurtful and toxic.

A family friend of Rose said: It has now become very upsetting and they are all concerned for each other, as they have never before had to start denying something for which these is no evidence or even a smidgen of truth. It is just mad.

David and Rose have been to Sandringham and shot with William and Kate, but they have been to each others houses fewer than three times each  some rift!

For William and Kate the developments are especially troubling. They have always been enormously careful about friendships and they have placed a premium on trust.

They have eschewed the celebrity friends that Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex appear to like to surround themselves with.

No friends of Kate have gone chatting to gossipy magazines as Meghans have done to People and Vanity Fair.

As a royal wife and mother, Kate has never put a foot wrong, her family are loyal and discreet. She carries out her official duties with enthusiasm.

She and William have not been photographed exchanging so much as a cross word in public.

But while William has never indulged in the kind of what Meghan wants, Meghan gets foot-stamping as Prince Harry is said to have done, he knows how important she is as a mother and a future queen.

And if this whole sorry episode turns out to be some cack-handed attempt to dent Kates unshakeable standing with the public, it has almost certainly backfired.
Four people, including an 11-year-old girl, have been injured in a pellet-gun attack in south-west London.

According to police, the incident took place in Figges Marsh, Mitcham at around 5:40pm on Sunday after a fighting broke out among a large group of men in the suburb.

Shots were fired and four people were injured, although none of their wounds were said to be life threatening.

Despite initial reports the gunman had a firearm, police later confirmed the teenage gunman actually opened fire with a pellet gun - hitting a woman, 30, and a young girl, 11, in the process.

The scene in the wake of the shooting after police cordoned off a public gym in Figges Marsh

Officers were called just before 6pm on Sunday amid reports of a shooting in Mitcham

An unnamed source told the Sun: 'A fight broke out between the guys. One of them ran away and came back with a long gun and started firing.

'A lady got shot three times and her daughter got shot in the leg by the pellets.

'We all got down on the ground to not get hit by the shots. It was a big gun but the bullets were pellets. He was running around with it. You could see it as he ran past us.'

Police revealed that the 11-year-old girl and older woman were rushed to hospital shortly after the horror incident.

The other two victims, said to be teenage boys, checked into hospital themselves and received treatment for their injuries.

Merton Police later tweeted that they had imposed an emergency Section 60 'Stop and Search' order until tomorrow morning in an apparent attempt to trace the weapon.

So far no arrests have been made.

'Section 60 in place in Mitcham until 06.55hrs Mon 25 March after reports of firearm discharged in Figges Marsh,' Merton Police said.

A police officer stands by a car after the bloody incident in the leafy suburb in south-west London

So far no arrests have been made although police are searching for those involved in the incident

'Police called at 17.40hrs, woman & 11y/o child injured, neither in life threatening condition. No arrests/enqs ongoing Call 101 or Crimestoppers 0800 555 111.'

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: 'Detectives are appealing for witnesses and anyone connected to an incident in which a pellet gun was fired in Mitcham to come forward.

'Police were called at 1740hrs on Sunday, 24 March, to reports of shots fired in Figges Marsh open space, off London Road, Mitcham.

'Officers attended the location along with London Ambulance Service (LAS).

'A 30-year-old woman and an 11-year-old girl were found suffering shotgun pellet injuries. Both were known to each other, but are not related.

'They were taken to hospital by LAS for treatment. We understand the woman suffered pellet injuries to her back, and the girl a pellet wound to her leg. Neither is believed to have been seriously injured.

A large crowd of men was said to have gathered near Figges Marsh (pictured) in Mitcham before gunfire erupted on Sunday night

'A short time later, police were alerted to two males  both aged in their late teens  who had self-presented at a south London hospital suffering shotgun pellet injuries which are not believed to be serious.

'The investigation is being led by detectives from South West CID. There has been no arrest at this stage.

'A large group of males had been seen in the area prior to the shots being discharged and enquiries are ongoing to locate these individuals. Detectives are urging anyone in this group who has not yet spoken with police to come forward.

'They are also asking witnesses or anyone with information to contact them on 101 and quote CAD5607/24March.

'To remain anonymous, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.'
Traumatised Britons last night told of their terror aboard a cruise liner battered by a massive storm.

And as the holidaymakers finally docked safely in Norway yesterday, many began asking why the Viking Sky had sailed in such appalling conditions.

The liner had been hit by 26ft waves and began swaying violently close to rocks off the coast of Norway amid 50mph gusts.

Viking Sky was hit by 26ft waves in the Norwegian Sea and passengers said conditions were comparable to being on the Titanic and feared they would drown. The ship arrives at Molde (pictured) in Norway today

The cruise liner was on its eighth day of the 12-day In Search of the Northern Lights cruise

Passengers on board the Viking Sky wear life jackets as they wait to be evacuated on Saturday. As many as 1,300 passengers and crew were rescued from the disabled cruise ship by helicopter

As many as 200 British tourists were among the 1,373 passengers and crew onboard when it ran into trouble on day eight of the 12-day In Search of the Northern Lights cruise.

At least 20 tourists were injured and 480 were winched to safety by helicopter.

Passengers described conditions as comparable to being on the Titanic and feared they would drown as the ship was tossed around the Norwegian Sea.

Denise and Michael Tozer, both 64, of Harpenden, Hertfordshire, were among the first 100 to be airlifted to safety.

Denise and Michael Tozer, both 64, from Harpenden in Hertfordshire, were airlifted to safety

Mrs Tozer was on the seventh deck near the ships swimming pool, when she was knocked down

Mrs Tozer said she was on the seventh deck, close to the ships swimming pool, when she was knocked over.

She suffered bruising to her face and needed several stitches to her leg.

She added: We were sitting there and it was rocking, we could hear the bulk doors being shut and no engine, we really thought our time had come.

We could tell we were very close to the rocks because we could see them. It [the ship] just went  chairs, tables, crockery, big pot plants smashed in front of me, I went with those.

We were frightened we would fall out of the window into the sea. Thoughts go through your head about what could have happened, but we were lucky.

The couple, who run their own textiles firm and have been married for 40 years, said they texted family in the UK to say they loved them in case the worst happened.

We are traumatised and in shock, Mr Tozer added.

Roberta Thake, of Lymington, Hampshire, said the most frightening part was hanging beneath the helicopter and being winched to safety in driving winds and rain.

Roberta Thake from Lymington, Hampshire, said the most frightening part was hanging beneath the helicopter in driving winds and rain

It was really windy  one of the crew had to hold you because you could have been blown to the side, she said.

I thought to myself I had to stay calm, perhaps because I was travelling on my own I had to look after myself it could have been so different. It was a close call.

Dramatic footage showed furniture skidding around the deck and debris falling from ceilings as the liner drifted within 330ft of underwater rocks near the town of Alesund on Norways west coast.

One huge wave broke the window of a door leading from a restaurant on to the deck, causing water to flood in and soak passengers. Among those injured onboard were a 70-year-old woman and 90-year-old man who suffered fractured limbs.

The captain of the Viking Cruises liner issued a mayday call and declared a full-scale emergency after losing three of his four engines in terrible conditions at 2pm on Saturday.

Reports suggested crew attempted to ready life boats for an evacuation, but the huge waves made it impossible.

Instead the coastguard was called in and five rescue helicopters spent much of Saturday night and early yesterday morning painstakingly airlifting passengers in ones and twos.

Photos taken by passengers and crew were posted on social media showing elderly people wearing life jackets huddled in corridors and asleep in lifts.

Other images revealed the extent of the devastation onboard, with broken glass from doors and windows covering floors in public areas, upturned tables, and chairs in the swimming pool.

The crew fortunately managed to restart another engine and it limped into dock in Molde, 330 miles north-west of Oslo, with 900 passengers and crew onboard yesterday afternoon.

Passengers, who paid around 4,000 each for the cruise, were yesterday being offered counselling services at make-shift evacuation centres in the town.

But questions were being asked about why the captain had decided to sail when many Norwegian ferry operators had stayed in port because the weather forecast had warned of gale force winds and rough seas.

George Davis, from Manchester, who waited ten hours to be rescued with wife Barbara, said: Locals told us they were amazed that we sailed into the teeth of a storm they knew was coming.

A shot from the ship shows plants and tables roll down the deck of the stricken liner which tilts as it is hit by waves

The two-year-old Viking Sky had sailed from Tromso in Arctic Norway on Thursday night and was thought to be sailing straight to Stavanger  missing out a planned call in Bodo in the north of the country.

The cruise had started in Bergen on March 14 and was to end her journey at Tilbury, Essex, on Tuesday.

The ship was in a shallow stretch of water known as Hustadvika, which is renowned for its fierce weather, when the storm hit.

Hans Vik, a rescue co-ordinator for Norwegian police, said: The ship drifted to within 100 metres of running aground before they were able to restart one of the engines. If they had run aground we would have faced a major disaster.

Jim Walker, a maritime lawyer and cruise liner expert, said: The central question remains why did Viking take their guests into such a storm? This part of the world is well known to be the graveyard of many ships.

This was a very dangerous voyage that the Viking Sky went on in rough weather in an area well known to have very, very little room for error.

'The Norwegian press reported that Norwegian ferries did not try and sail in this weather but the Viking cruise ship did anyway. Thats a big concern.

Olav Stromsholme, who captains diving boats in the area, told The Times it was the the most dangerous coast in all Norway.

Viking Cruises is owned by Norwegian billionaire Torstein Hagen, who visited injured passengers in hospital yesterday. Many are likely to mount compensation claims.

Mr Hagen said: Most of our passengers are senior citizens imagine what its like to hang there on that wire. It must be a terrible experience but they seem to have handled it very well.

A Viking spokesman thanked the emergency services, adding: Throughout all this, our first priority was for the safety and well-being of our passengers and our crew.
The Bloodhound supersonic car has been relaunched under new ownership and is back on its pursuit of the world land speed record.

Bloodhound Programme Ltd, the firm behind the initiative to hit speeds of 1,000mph, went into administration in October.

It was saved from the scrapheap after British entrepreneur Ian Warhurst bought the business and assets for an undisclosed sum.

There has been a complete rebranding of the programme, now named Bloodhound Land Speed Record (LSR), and the team has been freshly assembled.

They will focus on completing development of the jet and rocket-powered car and moving to the next phase of high-speed testing as soon as possible.

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The Bloodhound supersonic car has been relaunched under new ownership and is back on its pursuit of the world land speed record. Bloodhound Programme Ltd, the firm behind the initiative to hit speeds of 1,000mph, went into administration in October (file photo)

The car now has red and white livery and has moved into her new home at SGS Berkeley Green University Technical College (UTC) on the Gloucestershire Science and Technology Park.

Mr Warhurst, chief executive of Grafton LSR Ltd, said: 'Since buying Bloodhound from the administrators last December, the team and I have been overwhelmed by the passion and enthusiasm the public have shown for the project.

'Over the last decade, an incredible amount of hard graft has been invested in the project and it would be a tragedy to see it go to waste.

'Starting with a clean slate, it's my ambition to let Bloodhound off the leash to see just how fast this car can go.

Mr Warhurst, who's also heading the Bloodhound LSR team, said: 'I've been reviewing the project and I'm confident there is a commercial business proposition to support it.

'I'll provide robust financing to ensure there is cash-flow to hit the high-speed testing deadlines we set ourselves.'

Current world land speed record holder Andy Green will continue to be the driver of the car.

Many of Bloodhound's original mechanics and technicians will also work on the project.

Dates for the high-speed test runs and the world land speed record runs will be announced once operational and logistics planning is finished.

Revitalised Bloodhound LSR gets new livery and headquarters! Find out more at https://t.co/lINnAe3UwK pic.twitter.com/wEfEFI6PGY  Bloodhound LSR (@Bloodhound_LSR) March 21, 2019

The target is to first break the world land speed record of 763.035mph before aiming for the maximum design speed of around 1,000mph.

The car's current red and white livery is likely to change through sponsorship.

Ewen Honeyman, commercial director of Grafton LSR, said: 'We're already having detailed discussions with a number of organisations about exciting new sponsorship possibilities, as well as talking to those involved in the previous phase of the programme.'

Bloodhound is now based in a 975sq metre workshop facility in the college campus  tying in with the project's aim of delivering educational inspiration.

Kevin Hamblin, executive principal of SGS Berkeley Green UTS, said the college is 'excited' to have the project on site.
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The best and worst river cruise lines of 2019 have been revealed in a new report, with Avalon Waterways and Scenic Tours coming top and Shearings Holidays anchored at the bottom.

The research, by consumer group Which?, looked at 17 river cruise companies and asked over 1,700 passengers to rate their experiences out of five across nine categories - customer service, cabins, space, on-board facilities, food and drink, port excursions, social atmosphere, description matching reality and value for money.

Here's a closer look at why some companies floated their boats, and why some didn't.

BEST RIVER CRUISES

Avalon Waterways, average price 194 per night, customer satisfaction 82 per cent

US-based Avalon Waterways has been named joint-top in a new ranking by Which? for river cruises. Pictured is an Avalon ship sailing through Budapest

Which? says there was particular praise for the cabins on Avalon Waterways ships, pictured, which are smartly designed so that beds face out to the water rather than a wall

Avalon Waterways scores an excellent 82 per cent customer satisfaction score, with Which? respondents giving five-star ratings across five of nine categories

The report describes Avalon as offering 'high-end, all-inclusive cruises at affordable prices'

USA-based Avalon Waterways offers mostly all-inclusive trips on its 21 mid-tier price ships.

The river cruise firm scores an excellent 82 per cent customer satisfaction score with Which? members giving five-star ratings across five of the nine categories, including customer service and food.

Which? says there was particular praise for its cabins, which are smartly designed so that beds face out to the water rather than a wall.

And the consumer group added that some customers felt they got a better experience than was advertised.

The report describes Avalon as offering 'high-end, all-inclusive cruises at affordable prices'.

Scenic Tours, average price 250 per night, customer satisfaction 82 per cent

Scenic Tours river cruises comes joint top of the Which? ranking after scoring an 82 per cent customer satisfaction score. Pictured is a Scenic river cruise ship

Scenic scores five stars across many of the categories including customer service. Pictured is a deluxe balcony suite on board its Jasper river cruise liner

The Panorama Lounge and Bar on-board the Scenic Azure ship. Scenic now has 16 ships sailing around Europe and Asia

Australian brand Scenic now has 16 ships sailing around Europe and Asia, where butlers are available to guests.

The firm comes joint top, also scoring 82 per cent for customer satisfaction and receiving five-stars for customer service, which one passenger told Which? was 'absolutely first class'.

Which? adds that the dining options also score five stars as do the port excursions, with one passenger telling the consumer group that 'everything was organised to perfection'.

The report notes that Scenic is one of the most expensive cruise lines in the survey, but adds: 'Fantastic staff, food and just about everything else add up to a brilliant cruise, if you're willing to pay.'

BEST VALUE FOR MONEY RIVER CRUISE

APT Luxury River Cruises, average price 150, customer satisfaction 76 per cent

An APT Luxury River Cruises ship sails through Europe. The report says that one passenger described an APT cruise as 'interesting, stimulating, with very good menus and drinks'

The interior of the Amabella, which is used by APT Luxury River Cruises. Which? says that even though it has a low average price per night most things are included

Which? says low-cost cruise provider APT is an 'all-inclusive cruise experience at reasonable prices'

APT is an Australian low-cost cruise provider, and most of its European sailings take place on AMA Waterways ships.

Which? says that even though it has a low average price per night, all meals, drinks with meals, tips and excursions are included.

The report says that one passenger described an APT cruise as 'interesting, stimulating with very good menus and drinks'.

Overall Which? says it is an 'all-inclusive cruise experience at reasonable prices'.

WORST RATED RIVER CRUISE

Shearings Holidays, 139 per night, customer satisfaction 61 per cent

Shearings Holidays offer some river cruises on the Danube on board the A'Rosa Donna ship, pictured. Shearings Holidays river cruises earned a customer satisfaction score of 61 per cent

THE BEST AND WORST RIVER CRUISES OF 2019 Top three cruises 1. Avalon Waterways - 82 per cent 2. Scenic Cruises - 82 per cent 3. AMA Waterways - 79 per cent Bottom three cruises 1. Shearings Holidays - 61 per cent 2. Saga River Cruises - 69 per cent 3. Great Rail Journeys - 69 per cent Source: Which? Advertisement

Bottom-ranked Shearings Holidays earns a customer satisfaction score of 61 per cent with Which? noting that the firm's river cruises 'aren't bad'.

In fact, the firm scored either three or four stars across each category that it was assessed on.

However, according to the Which? report, even though Shearings had the cheapest average price, some passengers didn't feel they got enough for their cash.

A spokesperson for Shearings Holidays told MailOnline Travel: 'At Shearings Holidays we are committed to ensuring our customers have an enjoyable holiday from start to finish. It is therefore disappointing that some of the 78 Shearings customers who were surveyed did not feel they got enough value for money.

'Shearings Holidays are proud to offer a broad range of river cruise ships from great value entry level options to more premium lines and it is unclear from the survey which of the ships in our portfolio these customers travelled on.

'At Shearings Holidays we are committed to ensuring our customers have an enjoyable holiday from start to finish. It is therefore disappointing that some of the 78 Shearings customers who were surveyed did not feel they got enough value for money

'Shearings is an award-winning brand and we are very surprised by the results in this survey as they do not match the feedback we consistently get from both our customers and industry partners. We get very positive responses from our post holiday customer questionnaires and we monitor these very carefully. We have a customer repeat booking level of over 60 per cent and many people choose to travel with us time and time again.

'In the last 12 months we have introduced new river cruise lines and itineraries and these have proved very popular. Our river cruise programme continues to go from strength to strength and we are committed to offering all our customers the best experiences and value for money.'

Which? Travel editor Rory Boland said: 'Whether it's drifting down the Danube or sailing along the Seine, river cruises can be a fantastic way to introduce yourself to a country or region, with the chance to explore several towns and cities on each itinerary.

'But if you have been sailing with the same company for a while it might be time to jump ship - the most popular brands were not the most highly rated and a premium price tag did not guarantee a premium experience.'

For the full Which? Travel river cruise results click here.
Don't ignore the 'fasten seat belt' sign and stay safely in your seat when it's on

Learn the cabin crew ABC of what to eat at altitude - 'Anything But Chicken'

Every week our Holiday Hero Neil Simpson takes an in-depth look at a brilliant holiday topic, doing all the legwork so you dont have to. This week he finds out how to stay healthy on a holiday flight.

Squeeze hundreds of hot, stressed passengers into tiny seats in an aluminium tube for up to 12 hours. Make everyone breathe the same air and touch all the same surfaces. Serve lots of alcohol. Hit air pockets at 550mph. Its little wonder that recorded in-flight illnesses and injuries are rising, but there are ways to stay healthy in the sky.

ITS AS EASY AS ABC

The ABC of what to eat: A plate of airline food where the passenger has clearly ignored the cabin crew's rudimentary advice, where ABC stands for 'anything but chicken'

Cabin crew reheat dozens of meal trays in each tiny galley oven, so its perhaps no surprise to learn that many of the staff think some of the dishes on the bottom shelves dont always get cooked through, or that some half-cooked foods are more dangerous than others.

Ask cabin crew what they eat on board and many give ABC as their answer: Anything But Chicken.

HOT DRINKS ARE RISKY

Landing you in hot water: You will take your life in your hands chancing a hot drink at altitude as the tanks containing the water are rarely cleaned and the water is never properly boiled

Online forums for cabin crew are currently buzzing about the risks of potentially contaminated water. Crew allege that the tanks that hold an aircrafts fresh water are rarely (if ever) cleaned, and that the water for tea or coffee is never properly boiled.

That is why lots of crew only drink bottled water (or canned drinks) on board the aircraft.

FORGET THE FIZZ

What a fizz swizz: Carbonated drinks, like the alcohol shown or otherwise, should be consumed in moderation as they put more gas into your system and will make you bloat

Sparkling water and fizzy drinks (including champagne, if youre lucky enough to be offered any) can put extra gas into your system, so they arent a good idea if youre worried about bloating.

And while chewing gum can stop your ears popping at take-off and landing, it can also make you swallow excess air, so its best avoided in the middle of a flight.

WIPE AWAY THE GERMS

Plane surfaces can be breeding grounds for bugs, so use anti-bacterial wipes to clean touchscreen TVs, handsets and tray tables (people really do change babies nappies on the tables and cleaners only have time to give them a quick wipe between flights). But the dirtiest spot of all? Experts say its the toilet flush button, closely followed by the toilet door lock. No wonder they recommend touching both only through a paper towel.

STAY SOBER

Its tempting to have a few drinks on board, but youll need your wits about you if theres a real emergency. Thats also why doctors rarely recommend (or take) sleeping pills on planes. If youre still tempted to take any type of medication, then try it at home first. You dont want to be at 35,000ft when you discover youre allergic to a new drug, says flying doctor Ben MacFarlane, author of the Holiday SOS book about in-flight emergencies.

DONT IGNORE THE SIGNS

Don't ignore the 'fasten seat belt' signs and stay in your seat when they're on

Its not a good idea to go to the loo when the Fasten seat belt sign comes on, especially if you are small. If the plane hits sudden, severe turbulence, you can be thrown up and hit the cabin ceiling  and the smaller and lighter you are, the higher and harder you will go. Worse still, if you are injured in a plane toilet and fall to the floor, you may block the inward-opening door, making it hard to reach you.
She often posts glamorous selfies of her idyllic trips abroad but Vicky Pattison recently shared a tender moment with her mother ahead of mother's day.

The former Geordie Shore star, 31, took to her Instagram page on Saturday to share a picture of her mother Caroll Pattison as the pair enjoyed a spa break at Seaham Hall in Durham.

As the mother-daughter duo posed on the edge of a swimming pool, the reality star looked as radiant as ever as she swept back her brunette tresses and went au natueral.

'Love you with all my tiny heart': Vicky Pattison enjoys a spa weekend with her mother Caroll Pattison at Seaham Hall in Durham

With her mother's head resting gently on her shoulders, Vicky later took to Instagram to share the tender moment with her 4.2million followers.

A message on Instagram read: 'Brought me beautiful mother and wonderful sister to @seahamhall for an early mothers day spa weekend!

'I dont say it enough but I love you both... with all my tiny heart!!! Im so lucky to have you!' she continued to gush.

Candid: This comes after Vicky shared an 'honest' make-up free selfie on Friday while lying in bed with her dark locks scraped back off her face

Glam: Vicky typically litters her social media pages with glamorous selfies from her idyllic trips abroad and glitzy events, offering an idealistic view of her life

The heartfelt message, which has since received more than 7,000 likes, left her admiring fans filled with emotion.

The snap comes a day after the reality star revealed she was disappointed with the 'unrealistic' construction of her life on her Instagram page and vowed to her followers that she would change her ways by posting a more realistic view of her life.

Proving she was a woman of her word, alongside the lengthy post, Vicky shared an 'honest' make-up free selfie lying in bed with her dark locks scraped back off her face.

Fun in the sun: However the reality star vowed to her followers that she would change her ways and claimed she would post a more realistic view of her life in future

Her caption read: 'I was scrolling through my Instagram earlier (vapid I know) and I was disappointed with what I saw. It was awash with glossy images, campaign pictures and ads. Just my made up face and perfectly styled hair staring back at me.

'Dont get me wrong- I like to post pictures like that, every now and then its lovely to see how nice you can look when youve made a real effort (or in my case a whole team of people have made an effort) with your appearance.

'And makeup, hair extensions, tan and nails are a big part of who I am- but they arent my reality- not most of the time anyway.

'Unless Im filming, shooting or at an event I wear gym gear, I will not wear a scrap of make up, my hair will be up in a little bun and I am more often than not a bit spotty and pale and usually pulling a silly face.

'This is me.. it seems as though I havent been honest with Instagram and you all recently and for that I apologise- its easy to get bogged down trying to compete with the unrealistic images of perfection that saturate social media- but its not real... this however is...

Beach body: Vicky decided to shake up her Instagram page after reviewing her 'unrealistic' images

'I hope you accept this offering of my big moon face by way of an apology- I always strive to be honest on here and it seems I have let it slip. But I promise it wont happen again.

'Ive missed my moon face- I like it just as much as the one with all the makeup on- maybe a bit more actually as I can rub my eyes on this one. Have a wonderful weekend everyone... And be kind and honest to each other and yourselves, on social media and in real life.'

Some of Vicky's most recent glamorous shots were taken during a sun-drenched trip to Dubai, having enjoyed a romantic city break with her new boyfriend Ercan Ramadan weeks earlier.

The couple, who have only been dating for a few weeks, retreated away to Budapest, Hungary, for their first mini-break since going public as an item last month.
Married at First Sight 'groom' Mick Gould has gone to extreme lengths to leave the experiment during Sunday's upcoming commitment ceremony.

After unsuccessfully trying to leave 'wife' Jessika Power for three weeks in a row, a clip from the upcoming episode reveals Mick, 31, has not changed his mind.

Instead, the Queensland farmer is seen desperately scribbling 'leave' 19 times on his decision card, while hoping Jessika, 27, will finally agree to end their 'marriage'.

Frustrated: Married at First Sight's Mick Gould wrote 'leave' 19 TIMES during Sunday's upcoming commitment ceremony

'I've made it abundantly clear to Jess that I don't want to be with her and I don't want to be her friend,' says Mick in the teaser.

'Yet she stays and stays and stays. Hopefully bloody Jess will finally come to her senses and put this fragile little fella to rest.'

In the preview, Mick is seen making his decision while packing his suitcase, appearing certain he will finally be allowed to go home and leave Jessika.

Will he be put out of his misery? In a preview, Mick, 31, is seen making his decision while packing his bags, appearing certain he will finally be allowed to go home and leave Jessika, 27

Over recent weeks, Jessika has been writing 'stay' and remaining on the show with Mick so she can continue having an 'affair' with Dan Webb.

But in a bid to keep their romance a secret, the blonde has been insisting to Mick she does not want to end their 'marriage' until they've cemented a friendship.

However, an earlier preview for Sunday's episode reveals the shocking 'affair' is finally exposed to the rest of the group during the latest commitment ceremony.

The betrayal! Over recent weeks, Jessika has been writing 'stay' and remaining on the show with Mick so she can continue having an 'affair' with Dan Webb (pictured) behind his back

Bending the truth! But in a bid to keep their romance a secret, the blonde has been insisting to Mick she does not want to end their 'marriage' until they've cemented a friendship

In a surprising twist, Jessika went against Nine on Friday night by uploading a loved-up photograph with Dan out on the Gold Coast.

The picture, which proves they're officially a couple now, months after the current scenes were filmed, was deleted from Jessika's profile minutes later.

It is believed Nine removed the photograph from Jessika's page, with the network also sharing the star's social media log in details to monitor their posts.
Married At First Sight's Martha Kalifatidis, 30, has hit out at social media trolls after unearthed pictures from before she had plastic surgery went viral this week.

After being criticised for going under the knife by trolls, the makeup artist hit back on Saturday and bizarrely compared her pre-surgery face to fictional ogre character Shrek.

'So I should I just go through life looking like Shrek?' she wrote on Instagram page MAFSFunny.

Furious: Married At First Sight's Martha Kalifatidis has hit out at trolls who recently criticised her for getting plastic surgery

Martha went on to slam trolls who said her furture children will 'have her old features'.

'Troll me all you like... but why do you wanna go and talk about my unborn children?' Martha wrote.

'You people are sick! Draw the line.'

Last week, before and after photos revealed the Married at First Sight 'bride' went from a girl-next-door to a busty bombshell over a six year period.

'So I should I just go through life looking like Shrek?' raged Martha, while responding to people who said she had 'gone too far' on Instagram page MAFSFunny on Saturday

A little dramatic? Martha compared her pre-surgery face to animated ogre Shrek

'Why do you wanna go and talk about my unborn children?': Martha also slammed 'sick' viewers that said her children will 'have her old features'

In one throwback photo, the 30-year-old is seen with mousey brown locks, thin lips, a more prominent nose and natural makeup.

However, in a selfie shared last month, the Kim Kardashian-wannabe looked very different with black hair, a taut visage, plump pout, new nose and breast implants.

Martha - who is 'married' to Michael Brunelli, 27, on the show - previously bonded with her husband over their respective nose jobs.

Wow! Last week, before and after photos revealed the Married at First Sight 'bride' went from a girl-next-door to a busty bombshell over a six year period

Bonding: During Martha's honeymoon with Michael Brunelli (right) on the show, the pair both admitted to having their noses done and in addition, Martha has had breast implants and fillers

During their honeymoon last month, the pair both admitted to having their noses done and in addition, Martha has had breast implants and fillers.

'I don't have fillers in my lips - but I do have them in other places on my face. And I've had my boobs done,' she previously told NW magazine.

'I do Botox but I like to keep it really understated and natural, so I don't like to look like I've had anything done. If you can tell you've had it done, then it's gone wrong.'

Surgery fan: Martha had previously said, 'I don't have fillers in my lips - but I do have them in other places on my face. And I've had my boobs done'

'On my Instagram, I still have photos of what I looked like before and a lot of people can't tell the difference. It's minor,' she told 9Honey. Pictured with her grandmother in 2012

In an interview with 9Honey last month, Martha admitted that while she's an advocate for plastic surgery, it's just as important to know when to stop.

'Knowing that there's a line is important,' she told the publication.

'You have to draw a line and I didn't actually have some major makeover. I just had some some minor tweaking. On my Instagram and my Facebook, I still have photos of what I looked like before and a lot of people can't tell the difference. It's minor.

'It's about not overdoing everything, and doing everything understated, and not being aggressive when it comes to changing your appearance.'
They met when they worked together in The Place Beyond The Pines, and now share two daughters together.

And Eva Mendes revealed that she would love to work with Ryan Gosling again.

The 45-year-old actress told Extra.com on Friday in NYC, that she would sign on in a heartbeat to work with her 38-year-old beau.

Beau selector: Eva Mendes revealed that she would love to work with Ryan Gosling again

She laughed at the admission, and explained that she is 'excited' to go back to work after taking an extended hiatus to focus on caring for their young daughters.

They have Esmeralda, four, and Amada, two, and Eva told the website that she isn't in a rush to start working but would not think twice about a return to the big screen if she could work with Ryan.

'Im excited to go back to work, its just not, like, Im dying to do a movie again, so it has to be something really special,' she said.

Couple: Together they are parents to Esmeralda, four, and Amada, two (pictured Sept 2012)

Eva also admitted she is the stricter parent to the couple's daughters.

She said: 'I think I am [strict]. Theres that term "helicopter parent," but arent you supposed to be a helicopter parent? Im strict about what they eat, and what they wear, and what time they go to bed. And what they watch, so yeah.'

The beauty was launching her clothing collaboration for New York and Company.

She revealed that she looked to her own family and Cuban roots for inspiration for her designs.

On screen: The couple met on 2012 movie The Place Beyond The Pines (pictured)

'My grandmother - who I never met, who we named our little girl after, Amada - we have some beautiful photographs of her from '20s Cubaso I take a lot of inspiration from her and the jewelry she wore, the dresses she loved, a headpiece, and that's where I get my inspiration from,' she told them.

Of her wardrobe at home with a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old, she joked, 'Its a lot of wardrobe changes, but not in a cool way. Its a lot of T-shirt changes.'

Ryan and Eva have been in a relationship since 2011. The duo met when they starred as a couple in the crime drama, The Place Beyond the Pines.

In 2014, the Latina beauty gave birth to the couple's first child, daughter Esmeralda Amada Gosling, four.

In 2016, the 45-year-old welcomed the duo's second daughter, Amada Lee Gosling, two.
She is one of the UK's most acclaimed actresses.

So it's no surprise that Emma Thompson spends her downtime admiring the work of other hardworking thespians, as she visited the Aldwych Theatre to watch The Tina Turner Musical on Saturday evening.

The 59-year-old Love Actually star rocked a casual look as she hung out backstage with Tina Turner actress Adrienne Warren following the West End show.

Peace out: Emma Thompson visited the Aldwych Theatre to watch The Tina Turner Musical on Saturday evening

Emma donned a pair of black denim dungarees, which she wore under a basic black T-shirt which had a small silver star graphic on the chest.

She teamed her look with a pair of black leather lace-up shoes, but otherwise kept her edgy ensemble accessory free aside from her wedding ring.

Emma opted for a natural make-up look, rocking a pallet of neutral tones, while wearing her cropped blonde locks in a loose, unstyled fashion.

All smiles: The 59-year-old Love Actually star rocked a casual look as she hung out backstage with Tina Turner actress Adrienne Warren following the West End show

Adrienne looked sensational in a Tina-esque glitzy gold mini dress which was adorned with jewels and an on-brand voluminous blonde wig.

Emma's most recent career venture is a comedy called Late Night, where she stars alongside a hopeful young writer who attempts to revive her talk show career, played by Mindy Kaling.

The Nisha Ganatra-directed film was the talk of the town after its Sundance debut in January where studios battled into the night to acquire the movie, with Amazon Studios setting a new record after purchasing U.S. rights for $13million, according to Deadline.

Hugging it out: Emma donned a pair of black denim dungarees, which she wore under a basic black T-shirt which had a small silver star graphic on the chest

Simply the best: Adrienne looked sensational in a Tina-esque glitzy gold mini dress which was adorned with jewels and an on-brand voluminous blonde wig

Emma, who plays the terrifying head talent and late night host Katherine Newbury, fires a round of writers before Molly takes a seat at the table.

Emma's appearance comes after she addressed her decision to leave animated film Luck in an open letter to production company Skydance, after they hired 'Pixar predator' John Lasseter, 62, to oversee it.

The Howards End star hit out at the choice to bring the ex-Pixar head on board, after allegations of inappropriate behaviour and sexual harassment were made against the American animator in November 2017.

Cheese! She teamed her look with a pair of black leather lace-up shoes, but otherwise kept her edgy ensemble accessory free aside from her wedding ring
Married At First Sight's Sam Ball has denied Ines Basic's wild claim that he performed a sex act on her for four hours.

On Friday, Ines, 29, made the X-rated claim on social media and the following day, Sam, 26, slammed the 'lies' while responding to a fan on Instagram.

'I think in addition to this statement of hers I would run out of breath or more likely get hungry, tired or bored,' he wrote.

Fake news! Sam Ball (right) has denied Ines Basic's(right) wild claims that he performed a sec act on her for four hours

Sam, who had a brief 'affair' with Ines on the show, then claimed Ines started the rumour after he supposedly refused to have sex with her.

'I would be cut too if someone wanted to not sleep with me on the first night,' Sam wrote.

'Like from the start I wasn't just looking for a sexual connection. So again that stayed the same.'

Ines claims the act took place during a date on the Gold Coast, where they went on to spend the night together.

Rumour mill: Sam, who had a brief 'affair' with Ines on the show, then claimed Ines started the rumour after he supposedly refused to have sex with her

Casting further doubt on the rumours, Sam said he and Ines wore microphones the entire time, with a camera crew waiting outside.

Ines made her shocking claim on Friday after Sam said in a radio interview that their fling was 'fake' and they did not sleep together.

Sharing a screenshot of a Daily Mail Australia article about the interview, Ines wrote: 'Yeah, producers made you [perform a sex act] for four hours, hun. Yeah OK.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ines for comment.

Shock: Sharing a screenshot of a Daily Mail Australia article about the interview on Friday, Ines then wrote: 'Yeah, producers made you [perform a sex act] for four hours, hun. Yeah OK.'

During his chat with Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald and Michael 'Wippa' Wipfli, Sam claimed he was told what to say during the pair's secret rendezvous.

Sam alleged that MAFS producers would pull him aside during filming and tell him, 'It would sound great if you say this...'

He further claimed that, after repeating the producers' suggested lines, situations would naturally 'progress' towards a storyline.

This extraordinary admission suggests that Ines and Sam's 'affair' would not have happened without behind-the-scenes intervention.

'It was definitely pushed and manipulated. Like the whole show, we all know it's not completely real,' Sam said, adding that he and Ines never even had sex.
She denied being in a relationship with a woman last week on Instagram, following her failed 'marriage' to Matthew Bennett on Married At First Sight.

But former MAFS 'bride' Lauren Huntriss, 31, was recently spotted getting intimate with another woman.

Lauren was seen kissing marketing consultant, Ria Gan, 36, during a night out in Sydney earlier this month, following her disastrous 'marriage' to ex-virgin Matthew, 29.

Sealed with a kiss! MAFS' Lauren Huntriss (left) was spotted passionately kissing marketing consultant, Ria Gan (right), during a wild night out in Sydney on March 10

Lauren and Ria, who have been friends for four years according to New Idea, put on an affectionate display as they kissed, hugged and exchanged laughs.

The Sydney makeup artist was seen gazing adoringly into Ria's eyes as she gently touched her face.

Soon after, the pair were seen passionately locking lips in the middle of a busy street.

The look of love? The blonde MAFS star (left) was seen gazing adoringly into Ria's (right) eyes as she gently touched her face

Affection: Soon after, the pair were seen passionately locking lips in the middle of a busy street

Tender touch: Lauren was seen tenderly touching Ria on the face and chest during a wild night out

Close bond: However, the friendly display didn't stop there, as the duo were also spotted holding hands during the outing in the Harbour City

Hand-in-hand: Lauren continued to walk hand-in-hand with Ria as they made their way around town

Loving touch: Lauren (left) who was clad in a leopard-print skirt and an off-shoulder pleated crop top, continued to affectionately touch Ria (right) as they made their way through the Harbour City

Just friends? Lauren was seen walking alongside Ria during a recent night out in Sydney

Lauren, who was clad in a leopard print skirt and an off-shoulder crop top, continued the affection as they made their way around the Harbour City.

However, the friendly display didn't stop there, as the duo were also spotted holding hands.

Soon after, Lauren was seen whispering sweet nothings into Ria's ear as they enjoyed a one-on-one chat at a bar.

Moving on! Lauren's 'ex' Matthew Bennett debuted his new British girlfriend, Annabelle (right), last month after the pair met at wrestling training in December last year

Cheers to single life! Lauren and Ria sipped on drinks while having a private chat at a local bar

Sweet nothings: Soon after, Lauren was seen whispering sweet nothings into Ria's ear as they enjoyed a beverage at a bar

Flirting? Ria played with her hair while she conversed with Lauren at the Sydney venue

Puffing away: At one point, Lauren appeared to hold an unhealthy cigarette as she conversed with Ria

Ria appeared to flirt with Lauren during the conversation as she was seen playing with her hair and rubbing her cheek.

At one point, Lauren appeared to hold an unhealthy cigarette as she conversed with Ria.

Elsewhere, Lauren was seen tenderly embracing Ria by affectionately wrapping her arms around her head.

Warm embrace: Lauren was seen tenderly embracing Ria by affectionately wrapping her arms around her head

Peck on the head: Lauren appeared to plant a peck on Ria's head during the warm embrace while another friend watched on

Lauren and Ria's recent outing prompted the MAFS star to deny she's in a romantic relationship with a woman during an Instagram Q&A video last week.

One fan asked, 'Is the recent write up of you being in a relationship with a woman true?'

Lauren replied, 'It would be false. Sorry to burst your bubble but you should never believe anything you read in gossip magazines.'

Just friends? Lauren and Ria's recent outing prompted the MAFS star to deny she's in a romantic relationship with a woman during an Instagram Q&A video last week

'It would be false,' Lauren denied that she and Ria are more than friends

Close encounter: Lauren and Ria got up close and personal in Sydney on March 10

Spotted: Lauren and Ria continued to walk along the street while holding hands

Playful: The pair continued to play with each other's hand while Lauren took a phone call

Long-time friends: Lauren and Ria are said to have been friends for four years, before getting intimate.

Meanwhile last week a source spoke to New Idea about Lauren's supposed relationship with Ria.

'It's been more than 10 years since Lauren was with another woman and she feels like this might be The One,' an insider claimed.

The publication claims that Lauren's 'time with Matthew made her hate men again'.

Daily Mail Australia contacted Lauren and Ria for comment.

Girls night out: Lauren, Ria and a mystery brunette enjoyed a girls night out in Sydney this month
Danniella Westbrook has reportedly undergone a makeover as she prepares to film for The Jeremy Kyle Show from inside rehab.

The actress, 45, is currently seeking treatment for drug addiction after she discussed her struggles with substance abuse on the chat show earlier this year.

And the former soap star is said to be making another appearance on the chat show soon where she is expected to share her progress with treatment.

'She got her hair cut and dyed': Danniella Westbrook, 45, has reportedly undergone a makeover as she prepares to film for The Jeremy Kyle Show from inside rehab (Pictured 2018)

A source told the Daily Star: 'Danniella is in rehab for the next month and a half trying to overcome her demons.

'She is doing really well and is better than she has been in a long time.

'Earlier this week she got her hair professionally cut and dyed blonde ahead of Jeremy Kyle filming from inside the centre.'

Earlier this month, the former EastEnders star shared a selfie with fans following an operation to remove tumours from her womb, as she wore an oxygen mask while lying on a hospital bed in the diamond crown filtered snap.

Honest: The actress is currently seeking treatment for drug addiction after she discussed her struggles with substance abuse on the chat show earlier this year

The Sun reported on Friday that the actress was taken into Luton and Dunstable Hospital for observation after feeling lightheaded and revealing she was 'constantly bleeding' since the painful surgery.

After her initial surgery, Danniella likened her pain to having fought boxer Tony Bellew, as she shared an agonising selfie with her devoted fans.

At the time, she wrote: 'Feel like Ive had @TonyBellew use my tummy as a punch bag... feeling weak tired but happy its all over..

'Time to recover from this operation Im back in rehab & want to thank all of you for your love enjoy your weekend all stay blessed x.'

A source said: ''Earlier this week she got her hair professionally cut and dyed blonde ahead of Jeremy Kyle filming from inside the centre' (pictured in 2018)

The London native's operation came after her appearance on The Jeremy Kyle Show.

She teared up in front of the live studio audience in the pre-recorded chat as notoriously pushy host Jeremy, 53, demanded she own up to the extent of her addictions.

During the interview, Danniella admitted she last took cocaine within the last seven days, after first claiming it was eight weeks prior to the interview.

She then began to sob, saying through her tears: 'I think at the end of the day, I'd be better off not being here at all sometimes. The last seven days, I've suffered with my mental health terribly. And I find that really, really hard.'

Truth: Danniella admitted she last took cocaine within the last seven days of her interview, after first claiming it was eight weeks prior to the interview (pictured in 2018)

Jeremy made the unexpected decision to offer her a 12 week placement at a treatment facility and then called his aide Graham Stanier onto the stage.

'Right I'm doing something I never thought I'd do... I didn't think I'd do this I'm cutting through all of the BS. I tell you what, there is something I want to do for this girl. This is completely unplanned. I want to send you to rehab right now. I want to send you to rehab,' the presenter said.

The I'm A Celeb star had tweeted earlier this month that she was on her first day of a 10-week programme to 'change her life.'
Julia Roberts has owned up to her strict parenting style in a new interview, admitting that she has banned her three kids from social media, while restricting the amount of TV they watch.

The 51 year old actress opened up in a new interview with The Sun, where she spoke about the 'family meetings' they have while trying to not expose her kids to the 'pressures' of modern life.

'I have three young children so I'm very careful about turning the TV on,' Roberts said in her interview, promoting the UK release of her film Ben Is Back.

Strict mom: Julia Roberts opens up about her parenting style, revealing she has banned social media from her three children.

'It's interesting trying to raise kids in this day because it's all so new  the pressures, the resources, having the world in your hand like that,' she added.

'I try to keep them off social media, because I don't really understand what they need that for right now.'

The Notting Hill actress is mom to 14 year old twins Hazel and Finn and 11 year old son Henry.

Parenting choices: 'It's interesting trying to raise kids in this day because it's all so new  the pressures, the resources, having the world in your hand like that,' she added

She also spoke about her role as Holly Burns in Ben Is Back, about a mother whose drug-addicted son unexpectedly shows up at home for the holidays.

'I'm now more informed about drugs than I was before,' Roberts added about the research she had to do for the role.

'If you apply all the many nightmares that any parent could have in this world, you would lock the doors and never leave the house,' she added.

Drug knowledge: She also spoke about her role as Holly Burns in Ben Is Back, about a mother whose drug-addicted son unexpectedly shows up at home for the holidays

'You have to concentrate on the world's positive, optimistic things,' she added, before addressing her own rural upbringing.

'I grew up in a very small town in a community where drugs were not part of the high school scene, and if they were I was not aware of it,' she said.

'It was more about people downing beers in the parking lot of Domino's Pizza. But peer pressure is such a huge dynamic of school culture, whether it's drugs or something else,' she continued.

Staying positive: 'You have to concentrate on the world's positive, optimistic things,' she added, before addressing her own rural upbringing

Small town girl: 'I grew up in a very small town in a community where drugs were not part of the high school scene, and if they were I was not aware of it,' she said

Roberts also spoke about her marriage to cinematographer Danny Moder in the interview.

'Getting married to Danny is easily one of three turning points, because I found what for me is my perfect match,' she said.

'Theres nothing general about finding that person in this big wide world. That person shapes you, crystallizes the definition of who you are,' she added.

'I give Danny a lot of credit. He really shined the light for me. He makes me feel my most comfortable self. I dont alter myself in any way. And he points out aspects of myself  good and bad  that maybe I dont pay attention to.'
Will Smith posed up a storm with his Aladdin co-stars Naomi Scott and Mena Massoud at the Kids Choice Awards in Los Angeles this Saturday.

Matching a black denim jacket with his trousers and sneakers, Will, 50, rounded off his look for the evening with a simple white tee.

Meanwhile, Naomi cut a striking figure in a bright orange jacket with bits of feathery fluff and played up her legs in black leather platform boots.

Trio: Will Smith posed up a storm with his Aladdin co-stars Naomi Scott and Mena Massoud at the Kids Choice Awards in Los Angeles this Saturday

Mena glowed in a multicolored shimmering bomber jacket, complementing his faded denim shirt with a pair of artfully torn jeans.

The trio took the stage that evening at the beginning of the show, encouraging the audience to light up their glowing bracelets.

Ginning up the energy of the crowd, Will crowed: 'Let the Genie work!' and said: 'Give 'em gold!' prompting confetti in that color to shower onto the stage.

In the spirit of Nickelodeon, his third 'wish' - which he did not reveal until it came true - was for green slime to spill over the audience.

Looking fab: Matching a black denim jacket with his trousers and sneakers, Will, 50, rounded off his look for the evening with a simple white tee

Meanwhile: Naomi cut a striking figure in a bright orange jacket with bits of feathery fluff and played up her legs in black leather platform boots

Bombshell: Mena glowed in a multicolored shimmering bomber jacket, complementing his faded denim shirt with a pair of artfully torn jeans

He was not, however, let off the hook himself - Will got drenched with the slime while onstage before Mena introduced a clip reel from the film.

Due out this May 24 in the US, the new live-action film of Aladdin is Disney's remake of its smash hit 1992 animated movie of the same name.

The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air hunk has taken on the role of the Genie, the role immortally portrayed by the late Robin Williams in the original movie.

Lovely evening: The trio took the stage that evening at the beginning of the show, encouraging the audience to light up their glowing bracelets

Making it happen: Ginning up the energy of the crowd, Will crowed: 'Let the Genie work!' and said: 'Give 'em gold!' prompting confetti in that color to shower onto the stage

Meanwhile, Mena of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan fame is taking on the title role, and Power Rangers actress Naomi is portraying Princess Jasmine.

Naomi's casting ignited the anger of some internet commentators who took umbrage at the fact she is ethnically Gujarati and British rather than Arab.

Guy Ritchie, known for his failed marriage to Madonna and for directing such action movies as Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, is helming the new Aladdin.

Making waves: In the spirit of Nickelodeon, his third 'wish' - which he did not reveal until it came true - was for green slime to spill over the audience

What goes around: He was not, however, let off the hook himself - Will got drenched with the slime while onstage before Mena introduced a clip reel from the film

Saturday night's Kids Choice Awards are being hosted by DJ Khaled, who brought along his wife Nicole Tuck and their two-year-old son Asahd.

Khaled turned heads back in 2016 when he filmed Nicole giving birth to Asahd in the hospital and aired the footage on his Snap Story.

Last year, he found himself drawing headlines again when a 2015 The Breakfast Club interview resurfaced in which he explained that he refuses to perform cunnilingus on the grounds that 'A woman should praise the man, the king.'

Big shoes to fill: The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air hunk has taken on the role of the Genie, the role immortally portrayed by the late Robin Williams in the original movie

Star cast: Meanwhile, Mena of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan fame is taking on the title role, and Power Rangers actress Naomi is portraying Princess Jasmine

The man in charge: Guy Ritchie, known for his failed marriage to Madonna and for directing such action movies as Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels, is helming the new Aladdin

Glamour queen: Naomi could be seen in full costume and makeup as Jasmine in the clip reel that was broadcast during the Kids' Choice Awards

Hello, gorgeous: Mena was also seen in character as Aladdin - with his trusty pet monkey Abu sitting reliably on his left shoulder

Fireworks: The extravagant theatrics familiar to fans of the original animated movie will be back in action for the brand new live action version
Stephen Merchant has been transformed into the serial killer Stephen Port, in the first official look at his character in The Barking Murders.

Sporting a vacant glare and side-swept fringe, the acclaimed writer and director is noticeably different without his signature glasses, as he takes on the role of the so-called 'Grindr serial killer.'

Stephen will appear alongside actress Sheridan Smith, who will play the mother of one of Port's victims in the drama, which will also star Rufus Jones, Stephanie Hyam and Leanne Best.

Sinister: Stephen Merchant has been transformed into the serial killer Stephen Port, in the first official look at his character in The Barking Murders

According to Digital Spy, Stephen said about his role in the series: 'This is a story that can't be ignored  how four young lives were lost and their families' brave attempt to uncover what happened.'

'This factual drama will shed light on their story, so it's a privilege to be a part of telling it with the brilliant combination of Jeff Pope, Neil McKay and the BBC.'

This glimpse comes after a teaser image for the drama released last week showed Sheridan in character for the first time.

The actress will play the grieving Sarah Sak, the mother of Port's first victim Anthony Walgate.

Murdered: Stephen will play the role of the so-called 'Grindr serial killer,' who is currently serving life in prison after murdering four men in East London

Written by Jeff Pope and Neil McKay, the award-winning team behind The Moorside and Appropriate Adult, The Barking Murders will go beneath the headlines to shed new light on this story by telling it from the point of view of the families of Stephen Port's victims.

Alongside Sheridan, the previously-announced Stephen Merchant and Jaime Winstone, the cast will also include Rufus (Stan and Ollie), Stephanie (Bodyguard) and Leanne (Line Of Duty), as well as Samuel Barnett (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency) and Robert Emms (Cleaning Up).

On casting, Jeff Pope said: 'Neil McKay and I are delighted to be working with Sheridan Smith again, who brings such honesty and passion to every character she plays. Stephen Merchant didn't hesitate when we asked him to play serial killer Stephen Port and we are so grateful that he has agreed to take on such a difficult and challenging role.'

Embattled: Meanwhile Sheridan Smith will play the grieving mother of Stephen Port victim Anthony Walgate, in the BBC drama set to air later this year

Hard at work: Sheridan had previously been spotted filming scenes for the drama in Manchester, though it is set in Barking, east London

Lucy Richer, Executive Producer for the BBC, added: 'I'm so pleased that we've assembled such an extraordinary cast to be a part of bringing this important true story to screen with sensitivity and compassion.

'This compelling story shows the tireless courage and determination of the victims' families and friends to find out what really happened; it's an honour to tell it on BBC One.'

Port, 44, drugged, raped and murdered four young men-Anthony, 23, Gabriel Kovari, 22, Daniel Whitworth, 21, and Jack Taylor, 25 - between 2014 and 2015.

He met his victims online using dating apps including Grindr leading to him being dubbed The Grindr serial killer.

Between June 2014 and September 2015 he abused and killed them using date rape drug GHB before dumping their bodies in the street or his local graveyard in Barking, east London.

Star-studded: It has now been confirmed that Bodyguard star Stephanie Hyam (left) and Cold Feet's Leanne Best (right) will also appear

Suave: Rufus Jones has also been confirmed as part of the drama's cast, ahead of its premiere in 2019

With each of the murders Port tried to cover his tracks and he even wrote a fake suicide note for Daniel Whitworth and stuffed it into his hand,

He was sentenced to serve a whole life term for his crimes in November 2016, joining a list of killers including Fred and Rose West, the Moors Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, Robert Black, and Mark Bridger who were handed this sentence.

The serial killer, who worked as a cook in a bus garage canteen, was finally caught in October 2015 after the family of his fourth victim Jack Taylor carried out their own research and showed police the striking similarities between Mr Taylor's death and the previous three murders.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct launched an investigation after Scotland Yard admitted 'missed opportunities' to catch serial killer Port.

Its report, which includes an assessment of 17 officers, will be published after the victims inquests later this year.

Victims: (L-R) Daniel Whitworth, 21, Jack Taylor, 25, Anthony Walgate, 23, and Gabriel Kovari, 22, were killed by Stephen Port in 2014 and 2015
Actress Mary Lynn Rajskub took to to Twitter on Friday afternoon to reveal that she's done with auditioning in a series of tweets.

'Hey ! Im an actor. The audition process has finally broken me. Im done. Goodbye, Yours Truly, Mary Lynn,' Rajskub said on Twitter.

She added, 'I dont know if Ill get to be an actor for a living again... but I DO know Im done auditioning. Thanks for listening Twitter, you're always there,' she added.

Done auditioning: Mary Lynn Rajskub reveals she's done auditioning in a series of tweets

Actor: She added, 'I dont know if Ill get to be an actor for a living again... but I DO know Im done auditioning. Thanks for listening Twitter, you're always there,' she added

The 24 star didn't say if there was a specific audition that lead her to be 'done' with auditioning, but she did respond to a number of fans who reached out.

One fan who said, 'Ah come on you can do it,' which lead Rajskub to respond, 'I can..... but will I? No.'

She added in another tweet, 'The day when you say "Im better than this."'

Done: The 24 star didn't say if there was a specific audition that lead her to be 'done' with auditioning, but she did respond to a number of fans who reached out

Crying: 'Dont think I havent cried three different times today for various reasons,' she added in another tweet

Another fan said, 'Rejection sucks but you're a great actor. Please don't give up!,' which lead Rajskub to respond, 'What Im "giving up" is a pile of s**t. What Im gaining is authentic.'

'Dont think I havent cried three different times today for various reasons,' she added in another tweet.

'One of them the simple sadness letting go of something I loved and that no longer works for me,' she continued.

Mary Lynn: Another fan said, 'Rejection sucks but you're a great actor. Please don't give up!,' which lead Rajskub to respond, 'What Im "giving up" is a pile of s**t. What Im gaining is authentic'

Tweet: 'Dont think I havent cried three different times today for various reasons,' she added in another tweet

Authentic: 'One of them the simple sadness letting go of something I loved and that no longer works for me,' she continued

'You tube here I come,' she added in another tweet, along with, 'omg I kill me.'

Rajskub is also a writer and comedian, adding that, 'Writing.... I fear youre a crueler b***h than acting.'

'Mind you: I still love all the arts Im involved in, just not this one aspect of the biz that worked for me for many years. Ill be doing plays in the backyard. #staightedge #actor #artist #writer #comedian,' she added.

Message: She added in another tweet, 'The day when you say "Im better than this"'

24 cast: 'You tube here I come,' she added in another tweet, along with, 'omg I kill me

She also retweeted actor Michael McKean, who told her, 'Stop auditioning, keep acting. On your own terms.'

She responded, 'YAssssss you the BOSS u get it and are the best.'

On Saturday, after media outlets picked up her story, she said, 'I thought Twitter was like being alone in my bedroom.'
Dr. Susan Carland, the wife of The Project's Waleed Aly, attended a mosque open day in Melbourne this week in the wake of the Christchurch terror attacks.

As her husband Waleed, 40, interviewed Australian prime ministers, Scott Morrison, and New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern, Muslim feminist Susan, did her part to unite the community following the fatal shootings.

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Susan, 40, posted a photo at Benevolence Australia in Doncaster East, alongside founding director, Saara Sabbagh.

Using her platform: Dr. Susan Carland (left), the wife of The Project's Waleed Aly, attended a mosque open day in Melbourne this week in the wake of the Christchurch terror attacks. Pictured right, Benevolence founding director, Saara Sabbagh

'Mosque open day with my bff. Sincere thanks to everyone who came today,' she captioned.

On its website, Benevolence is described as 'a welcoming and inclusive space for spiritual growth'.

According to Facebook, this year's mosque open day at Benevolence was designed 'to provide a space for the Muslim community to gather together in this time of grief, and offer an opportunity for the wider community to engage in conversation on anything of topical interest, including themes of faith and contemporary issues, to unite and strengthen our shared humanity.'

Uniting the community: Melbourne-based academic Susan, who converted to Islam at age 19, spoke at the event, which was attended by dozens of people of all faiths

Melbourne-based academic Susan, who converted to Islam at age 19, spoke at the event, which was attended by dozens of people of all faiths.

In 2016, Susan shared her views on body image during a discussion about the hijab.

'There are some women who say [wearing the hijab] is a feminist statement,' she told Meshel Laurie on The Nitty Gritty Committee podcast.

Muslim power couple: Waleed and Susan share two children, Aisha 14, and Zayd, 10, and live in a $2.1 million home in Melbourne's Richmond. Pictured in February

'In a society where women's bodies are used to sell everything from toothpaste to cars, [for those women] covering [their] body is about saying, 'I'll decide who sees my body'.'

She continued: 'And what parts they get to see by wearing a hijab and covering my body, I'm choosing to not have my body commodified in that way.'

Meanwhile, Waleed clashed with Australian prime minister Scott Morrison on The Project on Thursday, while discussing anti-Muslim sentiment following the Christchurch attacks that saw 50 innocent people killed.

Tense: Meanwhile, Waleed (right) clashed with Australian prime minister Scott Morrison (left) on The Project on Thursday, while discussing anti-Muslim sentiment following the Christchurch terror attacks

Waleed's upcoming interview with New Zealand's Jacinda Ardern is expected to be a stark contrast as a preview of Monday's episode shows the pair sharing a warm hug.

At least 50 people were killed on March 15 after a terrorist opened fire at two Christchurch mosques where Muslims had gathered for afternoon prayer.

Accused gunman Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian man and suspected white supremacist, has since been charged with one count of murder.
Idris Elba has heartbreakingly revealed that watching his father Winston die of lung cancer was a strong reminder that we only get one life to live.

The 46-year-old actor told the Hollywood Reporter that he was devastated that plans he made with his late father never came to fruition and that he didn't get to show him 'the fruits of his labour'.

The Luther star said that this encouraged him to get the words 'one life' tattooed on his arm, so that he doesn't forget to grab every opportunity thrown at him.

Family: Idris Elba has heartbreakingly revealed that watching his father Winston (pictured) die of lung cancer was a strong reminder that we only get one life to live (pictured in 2011)

Discussing the meaning behind is tattoo: 'That's it. That's all we've got. I watched my dad die, and he and I had big plans. I never got to show him the fruits of my labour. We talked about things he could have if I made it, then he got sick.'

'It was heartbreaking, but it also grounded the f**k out of me.'

Idris' father was also his inspiration for playing Nelson Mandela in the film of his life, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom.

The actor also said that he does not like to just be labelled as an actor and says that he encourages people to stay away from those who say to 'stay in your lane'.

Honest: The 46-year-old actor told the Hollywood Reporter that he was devastated that plans he made with his late father never came to fruition (pictured in 2018)

He added that if someone wants to try something different, they should go for it.

The film star's one life inking will be joining eight other tattoos he has including a lion inside a black star and lyrics to the reggae song This Train by Culture.

Idris has long been thought to be a strong contender to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond when he bows out of the role.

Reminder: The Luther star said that this encouraged him to get the words 'one life' tattooed on his arm, so that he doesn't forget to grab every opportunity thrown at him (pictured in 2011)

Ralph Fiennes will reprise his role as Gareth Mallory/M in Bond 25 and discussed his thoughts on who might replace Daniel on ITV's Lorraine.

When Lorraine suggested Luther actor and hot favourite Idris, 46, Ralph replied: 'He would be great, he'd be fantastic.'

Bond 25 has had its release date pushed back for a second time to April 2020.

007: Idris has long been thought to be a strong contender to replace Daniel Craig as James Bond when he bows out of the role (pictured in 2015)

According to Variety, preparations to shoot the movie's opening sequence in Matera, Italy, are underway with filming expected to begin in July.

He said: 'Well I know we're shooting this year, I'm genuinely not being coy, I've not yet read a script, I don't have a start date.

'I know that Daniel is playing Bond and I'm looking forward to starting that...I think sometime in May or June.'
He was up for the prestigious Favorite Butt-Kicker award with a slew of action stars.

Chris Pratt took home the orange blimp on Saturday at the Kids' Choice Awards for his performance in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

But the 39-year-old actor got a sticky surprise when he was blasted with slime while accepting his award.

Surprise! Chris Pratt, 39, took home the orange blimp on Saturday at the Kids' Choice Awards for his performance in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, before getting a slime ambush

The fiance of Katherine Schwarzenegger dressed simply for the family-friendly awards spectacular.

He had on a tasteful tan suit over a stylish navy blue shirt covered in white dots.

Luckily, he ditched the tie for the casual event, because it would have only been one more casualty of the surprise slime blast.

Stylish suit: The fiance of Katherine Schwarzenegger dressed simply for the family-friendly awards spectacular, with a tasteful tan suit over a stylish navy blue shirt covered in white dots

Proud father: 'It's such an honor to be among that great list of butt-kickers,' he said. The Parks And Recreation star said a quick hello to his six-year-old son Jack, who was watching the show at home

'It's such an honor to be among that great list of butt-kickers,' he said while accepting the blimp.

The Parks And Recreation star said a quick hello to his six-year-old son Jack, who was watching the show at home. Chris shares him with his ex-wife, Anna Faris, 42. The two were married from 2009-2018.

'I've always loved the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards because there's a lot of fun, and there's a lot of slime and a lot of big stars,' he continued.

Chris started another round of thank yous when a blast of slime from the front of the stage.

Last words: 'I've always loved the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards because there's a lot of fun, and there's a lot of slime and a lot of big stars,' he continued

Slimed! Chris started another round of thank yous when a blast of slime from the front of the stage

Drenched: He paused momentarily in shock after getting blasted with the thick green glop

He paused momentarily in shock after getting blasted with the thick green glop.

'It's still worth it!' he shouted, hoisting the trophy up for everyone to see.

It wasn't the end for the Guardians Of The Galaxy star, who managed to keep his head above the slime. He got an even larger blast that covered every inch of his body.

Still happy: 'It's still worth it!' he shouted, hoisting the trophy up for everyone to see

Loving it: It wasn't the end for the Guardians Of The Galaxy star, who managed to keep his head above the slime

Head to toe: He got an even larger blast that covered every inch of his body

After being thoroughly doused, the Avengers star posed backstage with SNL veteran Jason Sudeikis, who helped present the Butt-Kicker honor.

He also got a few towels to help clean off the slime, though the task looked like it would require something more heavy duty.

There's a good chance Chris will be getting another nomination for next year's show thanks to his role in Avengers: Endgame, the conclusion to the current round of Marvel films.

The final chapter will be released nationwide on April 26.

Not touching: After being thoroughly doused, the Avengers star posed backstage with SNL veteran Jason Sudeikis, who helped present the Butt-Kicker honor

Hopeless cleanup: He also got a few towels to help clean off the slime, though the task looked like it would require something more heavy duty
Ant McPartlin and Lisa Armstrong's divorce settlement has reportedly reached a deadlock amid claims she refuses to sign an NDA, according to The Sun.

The 43-year-old TV presenter allegedly insisted that he will give his former wife her share of his multi-million pound fortune and has made several formal offers.

However insiders close to Lisa have since suggested that the make-up artist is yet to receive a formal offer from Ant's team regarding a settlement.

Battle: Ant McPartlin and Lisa Armstrong's divorce settlement has reportedly reached a deadlock amid claims she refuses to sign an NDA, according to The Sun

Lisa was granted a decree nisi in October however talks have apparently reached a stalling point following the end of their 12-year marriage.

The publication reported that the former couple's lawyers will meet soon at an arbitration hearing in a bid to bring the chapter to a close.

A source said: 'It's hit rock bottom. It's like Brexit. There's no deal, no way forward and lots of bickering. It could eventually be decided by the courts.

Ongoing proceedings: The 43-year-old TV presenter allegedly insisted that he will give his former wife her share of his multi-million pound fortune and has made several formal offers

'All Lisa wants is for a deal to be done so that she can move on with her life. But she feels she's been left in limbo. She says no one from Ant's side has made a formal financial offer.'

The Sun also reported that Ant's legal team have requested that she signs a non disclosure agreement but she apparently refused to do so.

MailOnline have contacted representatives for Ant and Lisa for further comment.

Ant and Lisa are still embroiled in a custody battle over their Labrador Hurley and amid ongoing reports it was becoming a drawn-out process, Ant told The Sun last month: 'We still share quite evenly. Hurley's welfare comes first and we both love him very much. That's the way it is really.'

No sign: However insiders close to Lisa have since suggested that the make-up artist is yet to receive a formal offer from Ant's team regarding a settlement

Meanwhile, it emerged last month that Lisa had been left 'disgusted and devastated' after Ant credited girlfriend Anne-Marie Corbett for 'saving his life'.

She took to Twitter following another part of the interview by Ant where he gushed about 'his rock' Anne-Marie and how he disagreed with Lisa's decision to express her heartbreak on the social media platform.

Venting she put up with the 'worst of him for years', the make-up artist liked a slew of tweets saying she has been hurt enough and didn't need to see Ant declaring his love to her former PA.

'Disgusted': Meanwhile, it emerged last month that Lisa had been left 'disgusted and devastated' after Ant credited girlfriend Anne-Marie Corbett for 'saving his life'

Lisa has had tumultuous past year since the split announcement in January 2018, with the two divorcing in a 30-second hearing in October and Ant going public with his romance with girlfriend, and their former PA, Anne-Marie Corbett.

In October, Ant and Lisa's divorce was finalised, after 11 years of marriage, in the 30-second hearing after he admitted adultery with his new girlfriend Anne-Marie.

Presenter Ant had to technically admit adultery with Anne-Marie as their relationship officially began while he and Lisa were still married.

Custody struggle: Ant and Lisa are still embroiled in a custody battle over their Labrador Hurley

He has taken an extended break from the showbiz world after crashing his car during a drink drive incident which saw him fined 86,000.

The I'm a Celeb host and his teenage sweetheart had been together for 23 years and married in 2006 but announced the end of their marriage in January 2017.

Court documents revealed that McPartlin had 'committed adultery' and that his former wife found it 'intolerable to live with' the TV star.

Under divorce laws, Ant technically had to admit adultery because he was still married when the relationship began.
Paramount Pictures has released the first trailer for Dora and the Lost City of Gold, a live-action adaptation of the hit animated series Dora the Explorer.

Stars Isabela Moner (Dora), Michael Pena (Dora's Father) and Eugenio Derbez (Alejandro Guttierez) introduced the trailer on stage during Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards on Sunday night.

It was also announced on Thursday that Danny Trejo will provide the voice of Dora's best friend, a monkey named Boots.

New trailer: Paramount Pictures has released the first trailer for Dora and the Lost City of Gold, a live-action adaptation of the hit animated series Dora the Explorer

Twitter announcement: It was also announced on Thursday that Danny Trejo will provide the voice of Dora's best friend, a monkey named Boots

The trailer begins with Dora, clad in her traditional pink top and orange shorts, running through the jungle while her father tells her that she knows the jungle, and, 'it's a part of you.'

'But exploring is not a game, and you don't look before you leap,' he adds, paired perfectly with footage of Dora actually taking a big leap and coming up way short.

She looks up from her fall at her monkey Boots, telling her beloved pet that she's OK after her fall.

Dora: The trailer begins with Dora, clad in her traditional pink top and orange shorts, running through the jungle while her father tells her that she knows the jungle, and, 'it's a part of you'

Parents: 'But exploring is not a game, and you don't look before you leap,' he adds, paired perfectly with footage of Dora actually taking a big leap and coming up way short

Big leap: She looks up from her fall at her monkey Boots, telling her beloved pet that she's OK after her fall

The trailer continues with her parents (Eva Longoria and Michael Pena), who are explorers in their own right, saying they're 'onto something big.'

They have discovered, 'an ancient city made of gold,' and they are going to prove it, but they can't bring Dora with them.

Instead, she's going to live with her cousin Diego (Jeffrey Wahlberg), with her father trying to explain what a rave is, badly.

Parents: The trailer continues with her parents (Eva Longoria and Michael Pena), who are explorers in their own right, saying they're 'onto something big'

Staying behind: They have discovered, 'an ancient city made of gold,' and they are going to prove it, but they can't bring Dora with them

School: Instead, she's going to live with her cousin Diego (Jeffrey Wahlberg), with her father trying to explain what a rave is, badly

The trailer picks up at the airport, with Dora reuniting with her cousin Diego, who is so 'skinny and tall,' while Diego comments on how 'energetic' she is.

She is next seen getting off the school bus telling herself to 'be herself,' before she gets in a bit of a mishap, as her backpack gets stuck in the bus door.

She also doesn't get off to a great start with security confiscating a lot of her items like a climbing axe and flares while she tells a teacher that she has transferred from, 'the jungle.'

Airport: The trailer picks up at the airport, with Dora reuniting with her cousin Diego, who is so 'skinny and tall,' while Diego comments on how 'energetic' she is

Mishap: She is next seen getting off the school bus telling herself to 'be herself,' before she gets in a bit of a mishap, as her backpack gets stuck in the bus door

School: She also doesn't get off to a great start with security confiscating a lot of her items like a climbing axe and flares while she tells a teacher that she has transferred from, 'the jungle'

During a school field trip, Dora is kidnapped by the villainous Powell (Temuera Morrison), who wants her to help them find her parents and the lost city of gold.

She's also kidnapped with a number of her classmates, when they meet Alejandro Guttierez, who borrows a line from The Terminator franchise, telling the kids, 'Come with me if you want to live.'

The trailer ends with a number of random shots including Boots reuniting with Dora and their whole crew tumbling down a jungle hill in a hollowed out log.

Dora and the Lost City of Gold hits theaters August 2 from Paramount Pictures.

Field trip: During a school field trip, Dora is kidnapped by the villainous Powell (Temuera Morrison), who wants her to help them find her parents and the lost city of gold

Exploring: She's also kidnapped with a number of her classmates, when they meet Alejandro Guttierez, who borrows a line from The Terminator franchise, telling the kids, 'Come with me if you want to live'
Emily Ratajkowski went for a camp rendition of Lone Star State chic when she swung into Texas, as she showed on her Insta Stories.

The 27-year-old pulled a black cowboy hat over a massive platinum wig, flashing her legs and cleavage in a sequined fringe dress skirt-bra combo.

Playing up her enviably svelte legs in a pair of snakeskin print boots, the supermodel accessorized with a glittering necklace and a silver wrap.

Emily Ratajkowski went for a camp rendition of Lone Star State chic when she swung into Texas, as she showed on her Insta Stories

Without the wig, she could be spotted on her Insta Stories playing pool in what appeared to be a bar with some evocative scarlet lighting.

A couple of nights earlier in Los Angeles, she attended a party celebrating the contemporary artist Blanda's collaboration with Adriano Goldschmeid.

Images posted to Insta Stories by Blanda herself, as well as by the hairstylist Raphael SIlerio, showed Emily hobnobbing with the swank guest list.

Meanwhile, Emily recently revealed via her Instagram that her swimwear line Inamorata is expanding to include a new collection called BODY.

Swanking about: The 27-year-old pulled a black cowboy hat over a massive platinum wig, flashing her legs and cleavage in a sequined fringe dress skirt-bra combo

Fabulous: Playing up her enviably svelte legs in a pair of snakeskin print boots, the supermodel accessorized with a glittering necklace and a silver wrap

Emily, who while showing Vogue around her vast apartment in 2015 said she was for a platform to 'redistribute wealth in this country,' married last February.

She made a splash with her surprise courthouse marriage to producer Sebastian Bear-McClard in New York, wearing a $200 Zara trouser suit.

Though they only became a couple weeks before the wedding, a source told Us Weekly that 'Emily has known Sebastian for years.'

The London-born model and actress recalled to Marie Claire last year: "People came after my marriage, like: "Wow. I give it three weeks." Im like: "What?"'

When you got it: Emily, who has a penchant for showing off her figure on red carpets and social media, also told Marie Claire that her breasts are 'a key to my sexuality'

Blending in: Without the wig, she could be spotted on her Insta Stories playing pool in what appeared to be a bar with some evocative scarlet lighting

She groused: 'No one can take women seriously on any choices that they make, especially if theyre unique to them and they dont play into the way we think women should get married. It's a constant writing-off.'

Emily, who has a penchant for showing off her figure on red carpets and social media, also told Marie Claire that her breasts are 'a key to my sexuality.'

The Gone Girl supporting player told the magazine: 'Boobs are funny. They hurt sometimes, and sometimes theyre the thing that makes me feel the most powerful.'

'I remember there was some article like: "Emily Ratajkowski Is the Mozart of Breasts." What was so bad is someone sent it to my dad, who sent it to me,' she recalled.

High life: A couple of nights earlier in Los Angeles, she attended a party celebrating the contemporary artist Blanda's collaboration with Adriano Goldschmeid

Trio: Images posted to Insta Stories by Blanda (right) herself, as well as by the hairstylist Raphael SIlerio (middle), showed Emily (left) hobnobbing with the swank guest list
She's the Australian actress who is attempting to crack into Hollywood.

And while in Los Angeles on Friday, Pia Miller took to Instagram Stories to compare notes with pal Sussan Mourad on who has the 'smelliest Uber ride'.

The 35-year-old former Home and Away star insisted that hers was the filthiest.

'Hiding my tears': Pia Miller (left), 35, compared notes with TV host pal Sussan Mourad (right), via Instagram Stories on Friday, on who has the 'smelliest Uber ride' in Los Angeles

In photos shared to Instagram Stories, Pia and Australian television presenter Sussan Mourad were seen comparing who had the 'smelliest Uber ride'.

Sussan, seated in the back of the car, was dressed in a black ensemble and had her brunette locks styled straight.

'Currently comparing notes with @pia as to who has the smelliest Uber,' she captioned the photo that saw her laughing.

Pia, who also had her brunette locks out and held her hand up to her nose, insisted that she was riding in the filthiest car.

Trouble Stateside: Pia insisted she had the filthiest Uber ride, and jokingly told Sussan that she was 'hiding my tears'

'I win @sussan_mourad my Uber smells like poo,' she wrote.

Looking to have experienced yet another smelly Uber ride, Pia took to Instagram Stories again, concealing her gaze behind tinted sunglasses.

'Hiding my tears @sussan_mourad #smellyUbers,' she wrote.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Uber and Pia for comment.

The pals appeared to be heading out to exclusive bar and restaurant Soho House in West Hollywood, Los Angeles.

Hollywood: Pia, who left Australian soap Home and Away in 2017, has consistently been auditioning for movie and TV roles in Los Angeles

Both Pia and Sussan later took to Instagram to share black and white photos of the pair in the venue's photobooth.

Pia, who left Australian soap Home and Away in 2017, has consistently been auditioning for movie and TV roles in Los Angeles.

However she previously denied she was headed to Hollywood in an interview with The Daily Telegraph in October 2017.

'I don't have my sights set on Hollywood, which is always publicised about me,' she said at the time. 'It's not the case.'
Outraged fans accused Elora Murger of taking a cruel jab at Married At First Sight star, Elizabeth Sobinoff, 27, while defending Sam Ball on social media on Saturday.

Now, the former Bachelor star is continuing to support the MAFS 'cheating groom' amid backlash from fans who called her a 'mean girl' for taking a swipe at Elizabeth.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia on Sunday, Elora, 28, explained: 'I am simply defending any reality cast that is getting trolled. Anger and aggression in comments put even the best of us down.'

'He's getting too much hate!' The Bachelor's Elora Murger (right) doubled down on comments defending 'cheating groom' Sam Ball (left) amid backlash from fans who called her a 'mean girl' for taking a swipe at Elizabeth Sobinoff

'What we go through on the shows is a mental manipulation that challenges every aspect of yourself,' she added.

Elora, who first rose to fame on the Network Ten dating series in 2017, continued to throw her support behind the MAFS 'villain' Sam.

She said he's currently receiving 'too much hate' following his 'affair' with Ines Basic, 29.

'I think both Lizzie and Sam are amazing. Hes getting too much hate and who knows what he went through. I saw him under pressure with high self control and words of respect. That is admirable,' Elora said.

'One of Lizzies best quality are her colourful emotions. TV thrives on that. So they pushed all her buttons to get the best out of her. I'll always defend against bullying. It hurts me too,' she added.

Under fire: Elora Murger (pictured) defended Married at First Sight's 'cheating groom' Sam Ball (right) on Saturday and appeared to take a swipe at his 'ex', Elizabeth Sobinoff (right)

On Saturday, tattooed tradie Sam shared an Instagram photo of himself with 'wife' Elizabeth on their wedding day and Elora, 28, posted an eyebrow-raising comment underneath it.

'I think you handled yourself beautifully with what you were given! (kiss emoji)' Elora wrote.

Soon after outraged critics accused Elora of taking a cruel swipe at Elizabeth.

'Wow. I didn't think you were a man (mean) girl. F*** how disappointing. That comment sounded so nasty,' one Instagram user wrote.

Elora quickly backtracked on her 'misleading' comment and claimed she was actually referring to the MAFS producers, not Elizabeth.

Criticism: Outraged critics accused Elora of taking a cruel jab at Elizabeth, 27

'I don't mean Lizzie, I mean production. I should have maybe said, 'what you were put through.' Remember guys - they don't choose their partners. I think Lizzie is lovely, both of them were jumping through production hoops,' Elora wrote.

'Sorry babe must have been multitasking and yes my comment seems rude. Let me rephrase my thoughts. Experts don't match for love. They match for a show. Drama. Lizzie is lovely.'

Apology: Elora quickly backtracked and apologised for her comment

'I meant by 'given' for what the producers put him through. I understand how my comment must be misleading.

'We all agree that when we are insecure and don't feel loved, and under pressure - We don't show up as ourselves anymore. We react. I am defending Sam, because he kept his calm under very high pressure. Had respectful words,' she wrote.

'I bet you producers don't push honesty. Trolling is bullying. And nobody deserves that. Sorry I was misunderstood. That goes for everyone in this thread, so quick to throw insults.'

Elora's initial comment was in response to Sam's post which featured the caption: 'The million dollar question everyone wants to know. Who sucked who's finger?'

Troubled union: Sam was 'married' to jewellery store manager Elizabeth Sobinoff on Married At First Sight

Sam, who was 'married' to jewellery store manager, Elizabeth, on the show, sparked outrage when he began an 'affair' with Bosnian beauty Ines Basic.

Sam and Ines secretly met up for drinks before getting into bed together at their hotel.

Sam was labelled by viewers as 'the most hated man' in Australia after he fat-shamed Elizabeth at their 'wedding.'

It all came to a dramatic end last month, when Sam admitted he regretted the affair and voted to leave the experiment - without Elizabeth or Ines.

Daily Mail Australia contacted Sam Ball and Elizabeth Sobinoff for comment.
Dr. Dre took to social media on Saturday to celebrate his youngest daughter's big accomplishment, while also throwing some shade at the recent college admissions scandal.

Dre, 54, took to Instagram on Saturday, sharing a photo with him posing with his 18-year-old daughter Truly Young, revealing that she got into the University of Southern California all on her own.

'My daughter got accepted into USC all on her own. No jail time!!!,' Dre (real name Andre Young) said on Instagram.

No jail: Dr. Dre celebrated his daughter getting into USC on her own, while throwing some shade at those involved in the recent college admissions scandal

Truly was seen holding her admissions packet from USC, along with her official certificate of admission, while her father stood by herside.

There is no indication as to what Truly will study at USC.

The rapper does have some connections to the university.

Young teamed up with his Beats By Dre and Beats Music partner Jimmy Iovine to donate a $70 million endowment to USC.

USC bound: 'My daughter got accepted into USC all on her own. No jail time!!!,' Dre (real name Andre Young) said on Instagram

That endowment was used to create the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation.

The Academy was described as, 'a new model for training and inspiring young innovators.'

The 'no jail time' comment was a jab at Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, who were among 50 arrested in a wide-ranging scandal that affected top-tier schools such as USC and Yale.

Proud dad: Young teamed up with his Beats By Dre and Beats Music partner Jimmy Iovine to donate a $70 million endowment to USC

Loughlin and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, have been accused of paying a whopping $500,000 to the Key Worldwide Foundation, allegedly disguised as a charitable donation.

That money allegedly went to disguise their daughters as recruits for the rowing team, despite them having no rowing experience.

Both Loughlin and Giannulli surrendered themselves to authorities and were ultimately released on $1 million bond.

As for Dre and his daughter, Truly is the rapper's youngest daughter, and his second with his wife of 22 years, Nicole Young.

Dre also has a son with Young, Truice, along with four other children from previous relationships.
Miss Universe Australia has received it's fair share of criticism over the years, with detractors claiming that the pageant objectifies women and perpertuates sexist views.

But Miss Universe Australia NSW finalist Veronica Cloherty, 26, has urged naysayers to 'do their research' on the pageant world, insisting that the competition prioritises brains over beauty.

'The audition process now focuses more on you as a person, your intelligence, what you know and what your opinion is,' Veronica told The Daily Telegraph on Sunday.

'The focus is less on visuals and more on our personalities!' Miss Universe Australia NSW finalist Veronica Cloherty (pictured), 26, has out at critics who label pageants as objectifying and sexist

'The focus is on empowering women and making sure women feel like they are being heard', she added.

While Veronica admitted organisers do ask the women to submit photos of themselves, she claimed that 'the main focus is on a video diary we need to submit saying a bit about ourselves and why we are entering the competition.'

It comes after US-based pageant Miss America made headlines for scrapping its controversial in a bid to prioritise the personalities of contestants over their physical appearances.

Brains not beauty! 'The audition process now focuses more on you as a person, your intelligence, what you know and what your opinion is,' Veronica (pictured) told The Daily Telegraph on Sunday

'We're not going to judge you on your appearance because we are interested in what makes you you,' said Miss America organiser Gretchen Carlson while making the announcement on ABC's Good Morning America last June.

Rather than parading themselves around in swimwear, participants in the US event highlighted their life achievements and goals to the judges.

Despite this, organisers of Miss Universe Australia announced in June last year that they wouldn't be removing the controversial swimwear section.

What's inside counts! While Veronica (pictured) admitted organisers do ask the women to submit photos of themselves, she claimed that 'the main focus is on a video diary we need to submit saying a bit about ourselves and why we are entering the competition'

While admitting that it is a divisive element of the competition, creative director Sophia Barbagello claimed it is still too well-liked in Australia to justify dropping it from the event.

Miss Universe Australia is the country's most high-profile local beauty competition.

The contest has launched the careers of Jennifer Hawkins, Erin Mcnaught, Jesinta Franklin, Rachael Finch, Olivia Rogers and Samantha Frost.

Don't judge a book by its cover! The brunette (pictured) urged naysayers to 'do their research' on the pageant world
She is a teen social media sensation, with a successful Youtube channel, hosting gig, fashion line and singing and dancing career to boot.

But despite her success, Jojo Siwa has faced her own set of 'haters,' and addressed her bullying as she took home the award for Best Social Media Star at the Kids Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday.

The 15-year-old, who is known for wearing her hair in a side ponytail with a large bow' noted that she gets 'hated on' for looking different.

'I get hated on every single day for looking different': Jojo Siwa, 15, addressed her bullying as she took home the award for Best Social Media Star at the Kids Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday

'What I want to say, what I want to tell you all, one little thing,' she began, as she accepted her blimp trophy from show co-host DJ Khaled, 43.

'I get hated on every single day for looking different. Looking not what a normal 15-year-old should look like. That is not the case. We are all human. We are all different.

'We are all allowed to look like we want to look. We're allowed to do what we want to do, because you are the number one you.'

How she started: Jojo has been in the international spotlight since she was eight years old, having appeared on the second season of Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition in 2012

Jojo has been in the international spotlight since she was eight years old, having appeared on the second season of Abby's Ultimate Dance Competition in 2012.

She transitioned to Dance Moms between 2014 and 2015, and is now a household name among young girls, including Kim Kardashian's daughter, North West.

On her Youtube channel last September, the star, who has 9.3 million subscribers on the social media network, admitted that ending bullying is 'close to impossible.'

'Just block it out and focus on the nice people': But the star, who penned the anti-bullying song Boomerang, said she has learned how to combat it

But the star, who penned the anti-bullying song Boomerang, said she has learned how to combat it.

'I'm not used to it [hate comments] but I just know what to do when I get a hate comment. Like I know how to delete and block it. Just block it out and focus on the nice people.'

The star followed up with practical advice for her fans.

'There's a big difference in listening to it and not focusing on it. Focus on the nice people.'
Warner Bros. debuted new footage from their upcoming superhero adventure Shazam at the Kids Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday.

Stars Zachary Levi (Shazam), Asher Angel (Billy Batson) and Jack Dylan Grazer (Freddy Freeman) were on hand to introduce the footage.

The new sneak peek offers a new glimpse at the villainous Dr. Thaddeus Sivana (Mark Strong), with just weeks left until its April 5 release date.

New trailer: Warner Bros. debuted new footage from their upcoming superhero adventure Shazam at the Kids Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday

The trailer opens with Shazam being approached by Sivana, though Shazam can't quite figure out what he wants.

After Shazam asks if he, 'wants an autograph or something, Sivana says he, 'wants your power,' before taking off his sunglasses, exposing a robotic eye.

Shazam, who is really a magical superhero who is formed from teenager Billy Batson once he says the name Shazam, ultimately deduces, 'Oh, you're like a bad guy or something.'

Hero: The trailer opens with Shazam being approached by Sivana, though Shazam can't quite figure out what he wants

Autograph seeker: After Shazam asks if he, 'wants an autograph or something, Sivana says he, 'wants your power,' before taking off his sunglasses, exposing a robotic eye

Bad guy: Shazam, who is really a magical superhero who is formed from teenager Billy Batson once he says the name Shazam, ultimately deduces, 'Oh, you're like a bad guy or something'

When Shazam tries to punch Sivana, he easily blocks it, grabbing Shazam and flying into the sky with him, as Shazam keeps saying he's sorry.

Sivana is surprised that he, 'grovels like a child,' with Shazam responding, 'That's because I am one,' as Sivana punches him and sends him hurtling back to Earth.

Having not yet mastered his powers, Shazam starts freaking out, trying to activate his power of flight, telling himself 'I believe I can fly.'

Sorry: When Shazam tries to punch Sivana, he easily blocks it, grabbing Shazam and flying into the sky with him, as Shazam keeps saying he's sorry

Groveling: Sivana is surprised that he, 'grovels like a child,' with Shazam responding, 'That's because I am one,' as Sivana punches him and sends him hurtling back to Earth

Freaking out: Having not yet mastered his powers, Shazam starts freaking out, trying to activate his power of flight, telling himself 'I believe I can fly'

Thankfully, he finds his ability to fly just in the nick of time, hovering just inches off the ground.

He then hovers back to a group of bystanders, joyfully screaming, 'I can fly!' before taking to the sky.

The trailer then features a number of quick shots of Shazam's heroic acts, saving a kid from getting hit by a car and saving a convenience store from being robbed.

Nick of time: Thankfully, he finds his ability to fly just in the nick of time, hovering just inches off the ground

I can fly: He then hovers back to a group of bystanders, joyfully screaming, 'I can fly!' before taking to the sky

No robbery: The trailer then features a number of quick shots of Shazam's heroic acts, saving a kid from getting hit by a car and saving a convenience store from being robbed

There is also a rather humorous shot with Shazam tossing a Batman toy at his nemesis, and a shot of Sivana showing off his powers.

The trailer ends with Batson running and jumping off a roof, saying 'Shazam' and causing him to transform in mid-air.

Shazam hits theaters nationwide on April 5.

Batman: There is also a rather humorous shot with Shazam tossing a Batman toy at his nemesis, and a shot of Sivana showing off his powers

Transformed: The trailer ends with Batson running and jumping off a roof, saying 'Shazam' and causing him to transform in mid-air

Coming soon: Shazam hits theaters nationwide on April 5

On stage: Stars Zachary Levi (Shazam), Asher Angel (Billy Batson) and Jack Dylan Grazer (Freddy Freeman) were on hand to introduce the footage

Kids Choice: Asher Angel, Zachary Levi and Jack Dylan Grazer introduces Shazam trailer
She left fans drooling when she showed off her incredible $42,000 diamond ring collection earlier this month.

But AFL WAG Rebecca Judd proved she wasn't all about glitz and glamour as she dressed down in casual activewear on Sunday.

The 35-year-old Postcards host showed off her enviable gym-honed physique in skintight leggings while stopping off for coffee in Tasmania.

Looking good: AFL WAG Rebecca Judd, 35, showed off her enviable gym-honed physique in skintight leggings while stopping off for coffee in Tasmania

Rebecca completed her look with a chic zip-up jacket and black and white trainers in the Instagram snap, which she captioned: 'Quick coffee stop then home to Melbs.'

Styling her glossy dark tresses in tousled waves, the mother-of-four framed her features with a slick of coral lipstick.

Rebecca's getaway to Tasmania comes after she launched her very own diamond ring collection for jewellery designer Paul Bram.

The TV presenter showed off her stunning 'Rebecca Judd' collection in a photo she shared to Instagram.

Working up a sweat: Rebecca completed her look with a chic zip-up jacket and black and white trainers

'Sure to leave every woman inspired': Rebecca's getaway to Tasmania comes after she launched her very own diamond ring collection for jewellery designer Paul Bram

'RJ Collection for Paul Bram. What shape is your fave?' the model captioned a photo of her fingers modelling the six rings, which retail for a whopping $42, 250 collectively.

Each ring in the RJ collection, including the 'Round, Pear, Asscher, Cushion, Emerald and Oval,' features a halo setting and an Argyle pink diamond.

The gorgeous pieces are also fitted with sparkling diamonds throughout the band and halo, according to the Paul Bram website.

Dripping in diamonds! In the accompanying photo, Bec, who has established herself as an influential figure in the Australian fashion scene, modelled the six-ring collection on her lean and long fingers

The official Paul Bram Instagram account also took to Instagram last month to gush over the RJ collection, inspired by the Melbourne-based mother-of-four.

'Each ring features a Halo Setting and a Argyle Pink Diamond, this collection is sure to leave every woman inspired,' the caption read.

Rebecca, who often lends her name to help promote fashion brands, took to the photo-sharing app last month to share a boomerang video of her playing with diamonds at the Melbourne jewellery store.

Diamonds are a girl's best friend! Rebecca, who often lends her name to help promote fashion brands, took to the photo-sharing app last month to share a boomerang video of her playing with diamonds at the Melbourne jewellery store.

Hit back! Rebecca's new venture comes just weeks after she hit back at trolls who claimed she had 'spoiled' her daughter Billie with an 'overindulgent' fifth birthday party

Rebecca's new venture comes just weeks after she hit back at trolls who claimed she had 'spoiled' her daughter Billie with an 'overindulgent' fifth birthday party.

Bec faced backlash after throwing an extravagant bash featuring a customised cake, giant balloons and a huge bouquet of flowers.

But she furiously defended herself in a post on Instagram, insisting it was 'hardly lavish' as she had used 'Kmart accessories' and discount party supplies.

She wrote: 'Kmart accessories, homemade fairy bread and fruit skewers, a cake from the shop around the corner and party supplies from the Discount Party shop - hardly lavish.'

Rebecca and her retired AFL star husband, Chris Judd, are parents to four children: son Oscar, seven, daughter Billie, four, and twins Darcy and Tom, two.
Married At First Sight's Tamara Joy revealed just how quickly her late mother had degenerated, following her Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis in 2012.

In an interview with 9Honey on Sunday, the 29-year-old said that over the course of three years, Kerry had 'basically become a vegetable.'

Tamara's mother passed away in hospital on June 25, 2015.

'She basically became a vegetable': MAFS' Tamara Joy, 29, revealed to 9Honey on Sunday just how quickly her late mother Kerry had degenerated in three years, after her Motor Neurone Disease diagnosis

Tamara revealed that Kerry received the devastating diagnosis in 2012.

'She came home from a doctor's appointment and basically told me what it was,' she said. 'I was oblivious. I had no idea. I just kept thinking, "What will we do? How will we fix this?"'

Motor Neurone Disease, also called MND, affects the nerve cells, causing weakness in muscles that leads to paralysis.

Loss: 'She basically became a vegetable,' Tamara said, going on to say that in time she 'needed full-time care.' Tamara's late mother is pictured right

Tamara recalled to 9Honey how quickly Kerry had deteriorated eight months after her diagnosis, and just two years later, was confined to a wheelchair.

'She basically became a vegetable,' she said, going on to say that in time she 'needed full-time care.'

Kerry passed away in hospital on June 25, 2015.

This is not the first time Tamara has opened up about the tragic loss of her mother.

In an episode of Married At First Sight aired in February, the human resources manager broke down in tears.

'It just breaks you as a human': In an episode of Married At First Sight aired in February, Tamara broke down in tears as she opened up about the tragic loss of her mother

Describing her perfect relationship, the Melbourne local said she wanted a marriage like her parents had.

'My mum met my dad when she was 16, and they were together ever since, right the way until she passed away three years ago. She had Motor Neurone Disease. I watched her deteriorate day by day,' she said, tears flowing.

'Her muscles started to die, and...Sorry,' she said, having to stop speaking as she choked back tears.

'Just watching somebody go through something like that... it just breaks you as a human,' she said, her voice breaking as she struggled to speak.

'I'm so sorry,' the tattooed brunette said, swatting away tears and no longer able to continue talking.
Married At First Sight's Mick Gould broke down in tears when his 'wife' Jessika Power finally confessed her feelings for their co-star Dan Webb.

The lovable farmer, 31, furiously branded Jessika a 'selfish, spoilt brat' after she revealed she'd been meeting up with Dan behind his back, in Sunday night's commitment ceremony.

He started sobbing when the 27-year-old Instagram model admitted to feeling 'giddy' when she was around Dan, muttering: 'Ive f**king wasted my time. Unbelievable. To think at one stage I actually bloody liked you.'

Emotional: Married At First Sight's Mick Gould broke down in tears when his 'wife' Jessika Power finally confessed her feelings for their co-star Dan Webb

Mick had been exasperated from the start of their session with the experts, complaining to Jessika that he wanted to leave.

'Weve only hung out once and that was the friend family thing,' he said angrily.

'Ive texted her a few times just to amuse her so I can get the s*** out of here. I've seen her once in a seven-day period.

'What the hell are you doing the rest of the time? Ive been hanging out by myself in a city that I hate.'

Clash: The lovable farmer, 31, furiously branded Jessika a 'selfish, spoilt brat' after she revealed she'd been meeting up with Dan behind his back, in Sunday night's commitment ceremony

Overwhelmed: He started sobbing when the 27-year-old Instagram model admitted to feeling 'giddy' when she was around Dan, muttering: 'Ive f**king wasted my time. Unbelievable. To think at one stage I actually bloody liked you'

Jessika hit back: 'I think thats disgusting. Ive shared with you my past relationships and my upbringing. My heart is pure and my heart is golden and you never deserved it.'

She went on: 'I came into this experiment wanting to find someone I could build a life with, someone who makes me happy and someone who makes me feel confident.

'Ive found that, but it's not with Mick, its with Dan.'

Mick looked around in shock, unable to hear what he was hearing, before exclaiming: 'What? What, what, who? Did you just say...?'

Horrified: Mick exploded: 'Now this all makes sense. You dragged me here and made me look like an idiot and go f**king mental so you could play footsie with him and bloody flirt with him'

Can't believe it: He went on furiously: 'You are a selfish brat. You spoilt b***h!'

A deeply uncomfortable Dan tried to explain: 'Me and Tam were in a place where the friendship was there... Jess spoke to me at the dinner party a couple of times. I was fighting it.

'I didnt want to speak to her because I was attracted to her from day one. We caught up on Monday this week and had a drink together. We just talked. We didnt have sex or anything like that, but we did kiss.'

Mick exploded: 'Now this all makes sense. You dragged me here and made me look like an idiot and go f**king mental so you could play footsie with him and bloody flirt with him. You are a selfish brat. You spoilt b***h!'

Dan's 'wife' Tamara Joy then turned on car broker Dan , snapping: 'Wait, hold on settle. Youre a liar. Everybody convinced me to stay and now I feel like a complete f**khead.

Outraged: Dan's 'wife' Tamara Joy then turned on the car broker, snapping: 'Wait hold on settle. Youre a liar. Everybody convinced me to stay and now in feel like a complete f**khead'

Furious: Becoming emotional, she went on: 'I dont care that you were together. Its the lying, the manipulating, not only to me but to everybody, its bulls**t. Were adults. Grow the f*** up. Seriously. If thats how you felt, speak to me about it'

'That respect that I thought we were going to have until the end, youve just thrown it up in the air.'

Becoming emotional, she went on: 'I dont care that you were together. Its the lying, the manipulating, not only to me but to everybody, its bulls**t. Were adults. Grow the f**k up. Seriously. If thats how you felt, speak to me about it.'

The brunette beauty then turned to a sheepish Jessika, declaring: 'Youve s**t all over me. As a girl. You could have said to me, "weve spoken, I fancy him," I wouldve been like, "cool".'

She started sobbing quietly, prompting Dan to lean in and apologise to her. Tamara then shot back furiously: 'Stop whispering, "Im sorry" to me. F**k off!'

Betrayed: The brunette beauty then turned to a sheepish Jessika, declaring: 'Youve s**t all over me. As a girl. You could have said to me "weve spoken, I fancy him," I wouldve been like "cool"'

Hurt: Tamara started sobbing quietly, prompting Dan to lean in and apologise to her. She shot back furiously: 'Stop whispering "Im sorry" to me. F**k off!'

Tamara then stormed out of the room and Ning Surasiang followed to comfort her.

Despite the chaos, a shaken-looking Jessika returned to the sofa to tell the experts that she and Dan wanted to stay in the experiment as a couple.

When asked about her feelings towards the Queenslander, she started blushing and admitted he made her feel 'giddy' and 'excited'.

But as Jessika gushed about Dan, Mick started crying as he listened in. The farmer covered his face with his hands as he sobbed, prompting an uncertain Jessika to stop talking and Heidi Latcham to rush over to console him.

Another chance? Despite the chaos, a shaken-looking Jessika returned to the sofa to tell the experts that she and Dan wanted to stay in the experiment as a couple

Upset: Mick told Jessika, 'Youre taking the p*** out of this whole experiment. Unbelievable,' before storming out himself

He then told Jessika, 'Youre taking the p*** out of this whole experiment. Unbelievable,' before storming out himself.

After deliberating, the experts decided that Mick and Tamara would go home and Jessika and Dan would remain in the experiment as a couple - much to the shock of the other contestants.

'I'm not hurt that she picked Dan over me, I had checked out of it a long ago. It's more that she wasn't honest about it,' Mick said.

Bombshell: After deliberating, the experts decided that Mick and Tamara would go home and Jessika and Dan would remain in the experiment as a couple - much to the shock of the other contestants

Warning: He said goodbye to everyone in the room and pulled Dan in for a hug, before delivering one last warning about Jessika

He said goodbye to everyone in the room and pulled Dan in for a hug, before delivering one last warning about Jessika.

'Dont do it seriously. For the love of god, youre better than that, champ,' he whispered in Dan's ear.

Tamara, meanwhile, seemed determined to stay positive, telling the producers: 'It's a slap in the face to me and it's a slap in the face to Mick. We have to walk out of here with our heads held high.'

Ominous: 'Dont do it seriously. For the love of god, youre better than that, champ,' he whispered in Dan's ear




Natalia Cooper certainly has a lot to celebrate.

The Today show's weather presenter marked her three-year wedding anniversary with Carl Fox on Saturday, along with the couple's first night out as new parents.

The 35-year-old welcomed her first child with the musician, son Ezra, in late January.

Plenty to celebrate: Today show weather presenter Natalia Cooper, 35, marked her three-year wedding anniversary with Carl Fox (both pictured), and their first night out as new parents, on Saturday

Natalia took to Instagram on Saturday, sharing a celebratory photo of herself and Carl seated at a dining table at Sydney's Aria Restaurant.

The TV personality cut a casual chic figure in a white T-shirt and trousers, and had her blonde locks styled sleek and straight.

Carl leaned in close to Natalia for the photo, and looked smart in a navy patterned dress shirt.

Natalia not only celebrated her three-year wedding anniversary in the caption, but also the couple's foray into parenthood.

Little family: 'Celebrating three years of marriage with my man,' Natalia shared to Instagram on Saturday. 'And our first night out as new parents!' Pictured is the couple's seven-week-old son Ezra

'Celebrating three years of marriage with my man,' she wrote. 'And our first night out as new parents!'

Natalia gave birth to the couple's first child, son Ezra, on January 28 2019.

The Channel Nine star announced the birth on Instagram at the time, writing: 'It's a boy! Our beautiful son was born late on Monday night. (28.01.19).'

'We are completely in love. So thrilled that our family of two is now a trio. We love you gorgeous boy,' Natalia added.

'We are completely in love': Natalia gave birth to Ezra in January, with the TV personality fawning over him on her Instagram account: 'So thrilled that our family of two is now a trio'

Natalia and Carl wed in March 2016, after meeting at a Perth pub more than eight years ago.

Natalia told 9Honey in October last year that she instantly knew Carl was 'The One'.

'I was instantly smitten  I think I knew that night,' she said. 'I remember going to work the next day and saying, "I think I'm in love".'
Tiffany Scanlon has been open about her battle with mental health issues.

And on Sunday the 32-year-old took to Instagram to assure her fans she is doing well and to offer hope to anyone who is also suffering.

Alongside two bikini photos taken in Perth, the former Bachelor star wrote at length: 'Feelin' goooooood. About bloody time! Happiness has felt fairly elusive to me for the past while.'

'I just want to remind anyone struggling right now that things can turn around': Tiffany Scanlon (pictured) revealed on Sunday that she is doing well in her mental health battle

She continued: 'If you've been following my journey, you've shared the ups and downs and know my mind often gets the better of me but, for the first time in a long time, everything feels aligned.

'I just want to remind anyone struggling right now that things can turn around... even if it takes years, even if it seems like they never will. I am proof of this!'

Tiffany added that the process was proactive, saying: 'I made conscious decisions over the past six months to get here.'

Alongside two bikini photos posted to Instagram, the Bachelor star wrote: 'Feelin' goooooood. About bloody time! Happiness has felt fairly elusive to me for the past while'

In the accompanying photo, Tiffany beams on the shore of a beach in a skimpy black bikini.

She wears a pale, blue cap and necklace, and appears to be make-up free, her long, blonde hair flowing down.

In a second photo, the former reality star turns her back to the camera to show off her derriere

Tiffany recently shared a rather more cheeky photo in which she strategically positioned herself over a 'phallic' shaped concrete pylon at Perth's Cottesloe beach.

She continued: 'If you've been following my journey, you've shared the ups and downs and know my mind often gets the better of me but, for the first time in a long time, everything feels aligned'. Tiffany is pictured in a recent social media snap

In the risque image, Tiffany posed with her sand-covered posterior to the camera lens as she simultaneously positioned her nether-regions directly on top of Cottesloe's iconic sea pylon.

'I love Cott and it's phallic symbol,' she wrote in the tongue-in-cheek caption.

Tiffany first rose to stardom as one of the 25 women vying for the heart of Richie Strahan on the Bachelor in 2016.
Ferne Mccann, 28, and Jack Fowler, 23, set tongues wagging when they were pictured enjoying a night out at Essex hotspot Sheesh on Friday night.

Although the two had been enjoying separate evenings with their respective pals, the two couldn't resist posing for a cosy snap together, which in turn sparked romance rumours.

Commenting on the image posted on Sheesh's official Instagram account, fans rushed to observe that the genetically blessed pair - who've both attempted to find love on Celebs Go Dating - would make a good couple.

Fuelling rumours: Ferne Mccann, 28, and Jack Fowler, 23, set tongues wagging when they were pictured enjoying a night out at Essex hotspot Sheesh on Friday night

One person wrote: 'They look good together. Wasnt a fan of him in love island tho.'

While another remarked: 'Look good coupled up.'

'Would kinda love them to be a couple,' responded a third fan.

With another echoing the sentiments, adding: 'You be a lush couple btw.'

In the snap, the pair were seen beaming away as former TOWIE favourite Ferne leaned in toward Jack to perfect her pose.

Ferne is said to be single, although she was briefly linked to Love Island's Charlie Brake last year.

What the fans want: Fans rushed to observe that the genetically blessed pair - who've both attempted to find love on Celebs Go Dating - would make a good couple

Meanwhile, Jack recently starred on Celebs Go Dating, with the hunk having been on numerous dates before hitting it off with Australian barmaid Kate.

Speaking about Kate, whom in the final told that he wanted to make their relationship official, he said: 'I mean come on how can you not, shes funny, shes attractive. Naturally attractive. Shes sexy.'

The romance rumours come as Ferne McCann unwound with pals after overseeing a photo shoot for her new fashion line Souki Belair earlier that day.

The First Time Mum star looked chic in a daring, low-cut patterned peach mini dress, which showed off a hint of her brown lacy bra underneath while also putting her endless and extremely toned legs on full display.

Single: Ferne is said to be single, although she was briefly linked to Love Island's Charlie Brake last year.

Still a thing? Jack recently starred on Celebs Go Dating, with the hunk having been on numerous dates before hitting it off with Australian barmaid Kate

Ferne, who has recently had a fitness overhaul and released a workout DVD, was sure to show off the fruits of her hard labour in the sexy mini.

The short ruffled hem of her dress perfectly showed off the reality star's tanned, toned legs, with Ferne adding a pair of pointed snakeskin boots to her look.

The mum-of-one, who shares 17-month-old daughter Sunday with her acid attacker ex Arthur Collins, looked glowing as her bronzed tan from her recent Maldives trip still remained, with the star upping the glam with a smoky eye and a slick of lip gloss.

Ferne let her honey-blonde tresses flow freely on her shoulders, completing her ensemble with delicate gold jewellery.
She is known to be the life and the soul of the party.

And Ferne McCann looked a little worse for wear as she left Bagatelle in London on Saturday night after celebrating her sister Sophie's hen do.

The reality starlet, 28, slipped into a satin black ruched minidress for the occasion as she joined her mum Gilly, Sophie and a slew of pals for the festivities.

Partytime! Ferne McCann looked a little worse for wear as she left Bagatelle in London on Saturday night after celebrating her sister Sophie's hen do

Ferne flaunted her fabulous figure in the one-shouldered dress, which featured ruffle detailing and a thigh-high hemline.

She added a boost to her height with gold sandals and wore her long blonde locks in soft tumbled waves.

Accentuating her bronzed tan with a glamorous make-up look, the First Time Mum star looked like she was thoroughly enjoying her night on the town without her beloved one-year-old daughter Sunday.

The reality starlet, 28, slipped into a satin black ruched minidress for the occasion as she joined her mum Gilly, Sophie and a slew of pals for the festivities

Scantily-clad: Ferne flaunted her fabulous figure in the one-shouldered dress, which featured ruffle detailing and a thigh-high hemline

Bleary-eyed: Ferne struggled to keep her eyes open as she made her way to the taxi

Having a blast: After partying the night away with plenty of champagne, Ferne clutched onto her fashion stylist pal Ellis Ranson for support as they made their way to a taxi

She accentuated her bronzed tan with a glamorous make-up look

Glam: She added a boost to her height with gold sandals and wore her long blonde locks in soft tumbled waves

Spoiled: Sparing no expense for her sister's hen do, Ferne treated Sophie to a ride in a white limo before heading to the swanky French restaurant

Sparing no expense for her sister's hen do, Ferne treated Sophie to a ride in a white limo before heading to the swanky French restaurant.

After partying the night away with plenty of champagne, Ferne clutched onto her fashion stylist pal Ellis Ranson for support as they made their way to a taxi.

The Essex beauty has undoubtedly picked up some party tips from her TOWIE best pal Billie Faiers and Greg Shepherd's wedding.

Funny: Ferne animatedly kissed a blow-up man doll during the festivities

Bride-to-be: The reality star also shared a snap with her sister Sophie

Ferne flew out with mum Gilly and Sunday to the Maldives earlier this month to watch Billie walk down the isle in an idyllic beach wedding.

Speaking after tying the knot at the five-star Kuramathi Island Resort Billie told OK! Magazine: 'It was such a lovely surprise.'

Ferne clearly impressed the happy couple with her vocal ability, with The Mummy Diaries star adding: 'Shes got a brilliant voice'.

Wedding bells: The Essex beauty has undoubtedly picked up some party tips from her TOWIE best pal Billie Faiers and Greg Shepherd's wedding

The former TOWIE favourite is no stranger to showcasing her voice, and shocked her Instagram followers with her vocals last year.

Fans were left stunned as Ferne sang baby daughter Sunday, 16 months, to sleep with a moving rendition of Paolo Nutini's Last Request.

The star also revealed last year that she once tried to make it big in the music industry by auditioning for the X Factor in the past - however, she wasn't successful.
Sunday night's explosive commitment ceremony on Married At First Sight showed Jessika Power unveiling her secret 'affair' with co-star Dan Webb to the couples.

And moments after the truth was revealed, Martha Kalifatidis lashed out at Jessika's 'husband' Mick Gould after he slammed the blonde for 'wasting' his time.

'Well, it's the risk that you take when you sign up to do it, mate, so stop saying it's a waste of your time,' Martha cried out during the heated showdown.

'It's the risk you take mate': Martha Kalifatidis (L) lashed out at Mick Gould (R) in a heated showdown... after he claimed cheating 'wife' Jessika Power 'wasted' his time on MAFS during Sunday's explosive commitment ceremony

'You got nothing to do with it,' Mick fired back, adding: 'It's bloody old mate here who's wasted two months of my life because she's not here for the right reasons, straight up.'

'Mick, you signed up to do this, mate,' Martha reiterated.

'You knew what it was gonna be, how much time it was gonna be,' she added.

'You got nothing to do with it,' Mick fired back, adding: 'It's bloody old mate here who's wasted two months of my life because she's not here for the right reasons, straight up'

'Yeah, I didn't realise it'd be a complete waste of my time, Martha,' he responded.

He then slammed the makeup artist for 'defending' Jessika's cheating.

'Don't defend her for her actions,' he told Martha while she responded with: 'I'm not defending her. I'm just saying - face it, you wanted to do this.'

'Mick, you signed up to do this, mate,' Martha (R) reiterated, saying: 'You knew what it was gonna be, how much time it was gonna be'

'I know, but be completely honest. So, she's wasted, like...' Mick trailed off.

An angry Martha interrupted him, stating: 'Stop saying "wasted my time"!'

During the dramatic commitment ceremony, Mick broke down in tears when his 'wife' Jessika finally confessed her feelings for their co-star Dan Webb.

Heartbreaking: It comes after Mick broke down in tears when his 'wife' Jessika finally confessed her feelings for their co-star Dan Webb

'I've f**king wasted my time. Unbelievable': The lovable farmer, 31, furiously branded Jessika (L) a 'selfish, spoilt brat' after she revealed she'd been meeting up with Dan (R) behind his back

The lovable farmer, 31, furiously branded Jessika a 'selfish, spoilt brat' after she revealed she'd been meeting up with Dan behind his back.

He started sobbing when the 27-year-old Instagram model admitted to feeling 'giddy' when she was around Dan, muttering: 'I've f**king wasted my time. Unbelievable. To think at one stage I actually bloody liked you.'

Meanwhile, Mick and Dan's 'wife' Tamara Joy left the experiment while Jessika and Dan were allowed to stay in order to explore their budding relationship.

Married At First Sight continues Monday at 7:30pm on Channel Nine
She will star as the leading lady, Charlotte Heywood, in ITV's adaptation of Jane Austen's final works, Sanditon.

And Rose Williams was spotted in character for the first time as she filmed coastal scenes in Clevedon, Somerset on Friday.

Rose, 25, was also in her 18th century attire; a long dove grey coat, khaki smock dress and straw bonnet hat.

On set: Rose Williams was spotted in character for the first time as she filmed coastal scenes in Clevedon, Somerset for ITV's adaptation of Jane Austen's final works Sanditon on Friday

The actress, whose is best known for her role in Reign, was spotted chatting to crew members before linking arms with her co-star to walk across the stone cobbled beach.

The Ladybird star wore a pinstriped ensemble and clutched onto a mini umbrella, in- keeping with the traditional time period.

The series will be created by BAFTA-winning screenwriter and period drama favourite Andrew Davies, who famous wrote 2016's War and Peace and most recently Les Miserables.

In character: Elsewhere in the town, members of the cast slipped into her traditional Georgian costume as filming for the miniseries got well under way

Transformed: Rose, 25, was also in her 18th century attire; a long dove grey coat, khaki smock dress and straw bonnet hat

Well-dressed: Other members of the cast also headed to the beach and was spotted filming scenes with two dapper gentlemen

In character: The actress, whose is best known for her role in Reign, was spotted chatting to crew members before linking arms with her co-star to walk across the stone cobbled beach

He is also no stranger to an Austen work, having written the 1995 miniseries of Pride and Prejudice, which famously starred Colin Firth as Mr Darcy.

The drama also stars veteran actress Anne Reid and Curfew actress Rose Williams, who takes on the female lead Charlotte Heywood.

Speaking about playing the leading role, Williams told Deadline: 'I am absolutely thrilled to be playing Charlotte Heywood. This role is such a blessing.

Big shoes to fill: She will star as the leading lady, Charlotte Heywood, in ITV's adaptation

Blessing: Speaking about playing the leading role, Williams said: 'I am absolutely thrilled to be playing Charlotte Heywood. This role is such a blessing'

'Shes a brilliant character- modern, headstrong, with heart and a voice.

'Andrews scripts are so beautifully written and wonderfully full of powerful female characters.'

Sanditon - which remains unfinished as it was written just months before Austen's death - tells the tale of a spirited Charlotte Heywood, and her unlikely relationship with the charming Sidney Parker.

She continued: 'Shes a brilliant character- modern, headstrong, with heart and a voice. 'Andrews scripts are so beautifully written and wonderfully full of powerful female characters'

Telling the tale: Sanditon - which remains unfinished as it was written just months before Austen's death - tells the tale of a spirited Charlotte and her relationship with Sidney Parker

It remains to be seen how Austen's original 11 chapters will be transformed into the eight-episode, but last year ITV's Head Of Drama Polly Hill explained the story in an interview with the Evening Standard.

She said: 'It's a rich, romantic, family saga built upon the foundations Jane Austen laid. There is no one better to adapt her unfinished novel than Andrew who has an incredible track record for bold and original adaptations.'

Davies himself added: 'Jane Austen managed to write only a fragment of her last novel before she died  but what a fragment!'

Exciting: It remains to be seen how Austen's original 11 chapters will be transformed into the eight-episode

Keeping warm: Cast member bundled up in navy coats and ugg boots as they waited to film their scenes

'Sanditon tells the story of the transformation of a sleepy fishing village into a fashionable seaside resort, with a spirited young heroine, a couple of entrepreneurial brothers, some dodgy financial dealings, a West Indian heiress, and quite a bit of nude bathing. It's been a privilege and a thrill for me to develop Sanditon into a TV drama for a modern audience.'

Austen is of course one of the most famous authors of the Romantic era, mostly for her satire on romance, marriage and feisty heroines, in novels such as Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Sense and Sensibility.

An air date for the series is yet to be announced, but is expected to be sometime in 2020.
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She was left furious after she was fat-shamed by a beach vendor who told her she had put 'on weight and needed to watch herself' on Friday.

But after venting on Twitter, Olivia Buckland was determined to not let the cruel body-shamer get to her as she showcased her incredible hourglass figure on a snorkelling expedition in Barbados on Saturday.

Joined by her husband Alex Bowen, the Love Island star, 25, looked the picture of confidence as she slipped into a high-rise sunshine yellow bikini for her fun boat trip.

Killer curves: Olivia Buckland showcased her incredible hourglass figure on a snorkelling expedition in Barbados on Saturday

Olivia flashed plenty of cleavage and her impressive rib inkings in the low scoop bikini top, while the high-rise bikini bottoms made the most of her peachy derriere.

She wore her blonde locks in a neat ponytail and donned a pair of goggles, ready to dive into the crystal-clear sea.

As the boat took to the waters, the reality beauty couldn't resist getting the camera out to pose with Alex, 26, who displayed his rippling muscles in a black pair of board shorts.

Bikini babe: Joined by her husband Alex Bowen, the Love Island star, 25, looked the picture of confidence as she slipped into a high-rise sunshine yellow bikini for her fun boat trip

Olivia flashed plenty of cleavage and her impressive rib inkings in the low scoop bikini top, while the high-rise bikini bottoms made the most of her peachy derriere

Pert: The high-rise bikini bottoms made the most of her peachy derriere

Having a blast: The star summoned up her courage to leap off the boat in a picture-perfect dive

After diving into the sea, Olivia swam around and floated above the water as she basked in the glorious sunshine.

The Love Island alumni looked like she was having the time of her life, giggling with glee as she shared a joke with Alex on the boat.

Her outing comes just 24 hours after she was left enraged when a beach vendor told her she had put on weight.

Bikini clad: During her time on the island, the Love Island star has been showing off the rewards of her fitness labours in a slew of different swimming costumes

Power couple: As the boat took to the waters, the reality beauty couldn't resist getting the camera out to pose with Alex, 26, who displayed his rippling muscles in a black pair of board shorts

Sunny climes: After diving into the sea, Olivia swam around and floated above the water as she basked in the glorious sunshine

Having fun in the sun: The Love Island alumni looked like she was having the time of her life, giggling with glee as she shared a joke with Alex on the boat

Taking to Twitter, she wrote angrily: 'Wowwww so one of the guys who runs the jet skis out here just thought it fine to tell me I had put on weight & that I needed to watch myself.'

The Instagram sensation said she tried to laugh off the cruel remarks as she made a joke at her own expense about 'married life' but the beach vendor made another dig.

She wrote: 'I tried to laugh it off saying "married life" and he continued to say I needed to just be careful & go back to what I was. CHEERS 4 THAT.'

Olivia admitted she was left mortified by his cutting comments as she spiraled into a furious social media tirade.

Cruel: Her outing comes just 24 hours after she was left enraged when a beach vendor told her she had put on weight

The reality star told how she was 'so shocked' she walked away from the beach vendor when she updated her fans with a follow-up tweet.

'Wish I had gave him a good earful but I was so shocked I walked away.

'oh well. Sometimes life will show you these kind of people & you just gotta take a breath & turn the other cheek, my apparent bigger a** cheek at that.'

During her time on the island, the Love Island star has been showing off the rewards of her fitness labours in a slew of different swimming costumes.

Before she jetted off on holiday, Olivia had a cosy chat with MailOnline about how her husband Alex has motivated her to be healthier as they work out together.

Furious: Taking to Twitter, she wrote angrily: 'Wowwww so one of the guys who runs the jet skis out here just thought it was fine to tell me I had put on weight & that I needed to watch myself'

She told us: 'Everyone thinks when you're married you let yourself go, but me and Alex have gotten quite into the gym and being healthy.'

The television personality chatted about how marriage has brought her even closer to Alex as she praised her love for being 'really caring' and 'noticing things'.

Talking more about her marriage, Olivia also said: 'I don't feel any different now that we're married. If anything, we feel closer.'

Beach look: Olivia boarded the boat in denim hotpants and a linen shirt, while Alex donned a black t-shirt

Olivia revealed her thoughtful husband Alex always makes her feel better because he senses when she is upset.

She added: 'Alex is really caring, and he really notices things. He has an awareness of when I'm feeling down, or when I don't feel right.

'We know how to make each other feel better, and feel good. It's a trust thing. If you don't have trust you have nothing.'
They engaged in the most scandalous affair yet on this season's Married At First Sight.

And Jessika Power and Dan Webb were both spotted arriving in Sydney separately on Sunday.

Touching down in the NSW capital on separate flights on the same day, the 'villain' duo strutted through the airport while occupied with their phones.

So, they're still together? MAFS 'villains' Jessika Power (left) and Dan Webb (right) both touched down in Sydney on Sunday... as the blonde is spotted without her wedding ring following sensational split from 'husband' Mick Gould

Dressed in a casual ensemble, Jessika, who was spotted without her wedding ring, opted for a white singlet teamed with a pair of Bonds sweatpants.

Perth-based Jessika sensationally split from 'husband' Mick Gould on Sunday night's episode of Married At First Sight while Dan walked out on 'wife' Tamara Joy.

Dan and Jessika then chose to continue to experiment with one another.

Instagram model Jessika completed the look with a pair of black slides and accessorised with a black handbag.

The 27-year-old opted for a minimal makeup look for the arrival while wearing her blonde looks swept back into a low bun.

Comfortable: Dressed in a casual ensemble, Jessika opted for this white singlet teamed with a pair of Bonds sweatpants

Moving on from Mick? Jessika was spotted without her 'wedding' ring on Sunday following her sensational split from 'husband' Mick Gould

Chic: The Instagram model, 27, completed the look with a pair of black slides and accessorised with a black handbag

While walking through the terminal, the reality TV star flashed her pearly whites and stopped to take a picture with a fan.

She then wore her earphones and appeared to make a phone call.

Arriving separately, Queensland-based Dan, 35, looked handsome in a dapper ensemble.

Famous! While walking through the terminal, the reality TV star flashed her pearly whites and stopped to take a picture with a fan

Planning a meet up? Jessika began to wear her earphones as she arrived in Sydney the same day as Dan

Chat: Jessika appeared to be occupied as she made a phone call at one point

Handsome: Arriving separately, Dan, 35, looked handsome in this dapper ensemble

He opted for a pasted blue muscle T-shirt teamed with a pair of quirky white shorts, ripped at the thighs.

The father-of-one completed the look with a pair of multi-coloured slides and carried a backpack for the trip.

Carrying a bottle of water as he made his way outside, Dan also appeared to engage in a conversation over the phone.

Dressed the part: Dan opted for this pasted blue muscle T-shirt teamed with a pair of quirky white shorts, ripped at the thighs

Important call? Carrying a bottle of water as he made his way outside, Dan also appeared to engage in a conversation over the phone

Details: The father-of-one completed the look with these multicoloured slides and carried a backpack for the trip

And the arrival comes after the pair were sensationally allowed to re-enter Married At First Sight as a new couple in Sunday night's episode.

The Perth-based beauty, and Queenslander hunk insisted that because of the distance between them, they needed to stay on the show to get to know each other properly.

Despite leaving their respective 'spouses' Mick Gould and Tamara Joy in floods of tears at their betrayal, the duo were permitted to remain in the experiment - much to the dismay of their castmates.

Married At First Sight continues at 7:30pm Monday on Channel Nine.

Controversial: And the arrival comes after the pair were sensationally allowed to re-enter Married At First Sight as a new couple in Sunday night's episode
She's made a name for herself as one of the most in-demand models of the moment.

And Taylor Hill took a well-earned night off as she spent Saturday evening at the The Peppermint Club in West Hollywood.

The Victoria's Secret angel, 23, flaunted her fresh-faced beauty as she clad her slender frame in a black AC/DC tee.

Stepping out: Taylor Hill took a well-earned night off as she spent Saturday evening at the The Peppermint Club in West Hollywood

She paired the number with sleek leather trousers and a matching coat while cladding her feet in black boots.

The brunette beauty sported a pair of gold hoop earrings while clutching on tightly to her iPhone.

Taylor completed her look by tossing her long locks over one shoulder while showing off her radiant beauty.

Stunning: The Victoria's Secret angel, 23, flaunted her fresh-faced beauty as she clad her slender frame in a black AC/DC tee

Style: She paired the number with sleek leather trousers and a matching coat while cladding her feet in black boots

Keeping it simple: The brunette beauty sported a pair of gold hoop earrings while clutching on tightly to her iPhone

She was joined by long term beau Michael Stephen Shank to watch band Fox Wilde perform.

The pair have been dating for over three years and Michael, 33, is said to be good friends with the rest of the Victoria's Secret Angels and has even been previously linked to Gigi Hadid, 23, in the past.

Taylor and Michael aren't afraid to openly declare their love for one another on Instagram with their combined following.

Low-key glam: Taylor completed her look by tossing her long locks over one shoulder while showing off her radiant beauty

Romance: She was joined by long term beau Michael Stephen Shank to watch band Fox Wilde perform (pictured February 2019)

Going strong: The pair have been dating for over three years and Michael, 33, is said to be good friends with the rest of the Victoria's Secret Angels

On her boyfriend's birthday, Taylor wrote: 'I LOVE YOU SO MUCH

'HAPPY BIRTHDAY thanks for putting up with me for so long, my life wouldn't be the same without you you're my best friend, my boyfriend, and my world thank you for all you do for me (did I already say I love you because I do) also you're cute.'

Taylor was discovered by a model scout when she was just 14, and two of her three siblings, sister Mackinley, 21, and brother Chase, 19, are also models.

The beauty became the youngest model on the Victoria's Secret rotation when she hit the catwalk for the lingerie brand for the first time in 2014 she was 18.

The model got her 'wings' and became a VS Angel the following year in 2015.
Lesley Joseph has reportedly hit out at BBC bosses for including footage of her loudly breaking wind in a religious documentary.

The Birds of a Feather actress, 73, joked 'she'll never work again' after she broke wind in front of her Pilgrimage: The Road to Rome co-stars, a source claimed.

And the mortified mother-of-two had no idea the mishap had made the final cut of the BBC Two documentary until she attended a preview event in London.

Mortified: Lesley, 73, joked 'she'll never work again' after she broke wind in front of her co-stars in the first episode of Pilgrimage: The Road to Rome, a source claimed

Lesley has now hit out at the broadcaster for including the clip, with an insider claiming the actress thought 'they'd be a bit more gracious' as it is a religious documentary.

A source told the Sun: 'Lesley can't believe bosses included that scene.

'She thought they'd be a bit more gracious, seeing as the show was meant to be about spirituality.

Embarrassed: The mortified mother-of-two had no idea the mishap had made the final cut of the BBC Two documentary until she attended a preview event in London

'She's joked she'll never work again.'

A representative for Lesley has been contacted for comment.

Pilgrimage: The Road to Rome follows eight celebrities with differing religious views as they embark on a 621-mile trek across Italy to Rome in just 15 days.

Pilgrim: Pilgrimage: The Road to Rome follows eight celebrities with differing religious views as they embark on a 621-mile trek across Italy to Rome in just 15 days

Lesley is joined by Les Dennis, Brendan Cole, Stephen K Amos, Katy Brand, Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford, Irish Eurovision Song contest winner Dana and television presenter Mehreen Baig for the pilgrimage.

The group will stay in hostels, sleep in shared dorms, and follow a largely untrodden route, which is currently in the throes of revival.

The eight pilgrims will walk sections of the ancient Via Francigena path and travel some of the route by minibus.

Gracious: An insider claimed the actress thought the BBC would 'be a bit more gracious' as it is part of a religious documentary

But when they eventually reach the final 61 miles - they will have to walk every step of the way.

It comes after Lesley told This Morning that if she, Pauline Quirke and Linda Robson are free at the same time there is potential for a Birds of a Feather revival.

The actress said: 'Never say never. Watch this space. I have to rely on three people all being available at the same time.'
She hit the red carpet for the Kids' Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday evening like a vet.

But 17-year-old Isabela Moner is a newcomer to Hollywood, and she's about to face sudden fame.

The beauty stars in the news Paramount Pictures film Dora And The Lost City of Gold, which debuted its trailer at the same event.

New star: She hit the red carpet for the Kids' Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Saturday evening like a vet. But 17-year-old Isabela Moner is a newcomer to Hollywood, and she's about to face sudden fame

Big film: The beauty stars in the news Paramount Pictures film Dora And The Lost City of Gold, which debuted its trailer at the same event

In character: Here the young actress from Ohio is seen as Dora in her pink top and orange shorts with her trusty backpack

The teenager had on a dusty pink outfit by Esteban Cortazar with shoes by Sergio Rossi.

Her brunette hair was worn down and in soft waves over her shoulders.

She was also seen with Dora co-stars Eugenio Derbez and Michael Pena.

Dressed to impress: Here she showed of her red carpet look in full with her pretty pink dress and stunning shoes

Co-stars unite: She was also seen with Dora co-stars Eugenio Derbez and Michael Pena

The film is a live-action adaptation of the hit animated series Dora the Explorer.

Stars Moner (Dora), Pena (Dora's Father) and Derbez (Alejandro Guttierez) introduced the trailer on stage during Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards on Sunday night.

It was also announced on Thursday that Danny Trejo will provide the voice of Dora's best friend, a monkey named Boots.

Making new friends: Here the teenager posed with Paris Berelc

New trailer: Paramount Pictures has released the first trailer for Dora and the Lost City of Gold, a live-action adaptation of the hit animated series Dora the Explorer

Twitter announcement: It was also announced on Thursday that Danny Trejo will provide the voice of Dora's best friend, a monkey named Boots

The trailer begins with Dora, clad in her traditional pink top and orange shorts, running through the jungle while her father tells her that she knows the jungle, and, 'it's a part of you.'

'But exploring is not a game, and you don't look before you leap,' he adds, paired perfectly with footage of Dora actually taking a big leap and coming up way short.

She looks up from her fall at her monkey Boots, telling her beloved pet that she's OK after her fall.

Dora: The trailer begins with Dora, clad in her traditional pink top and orange shorts, running through the jungle while her father tells her that she knows the jungle, and, 'it's a part of you'

Parents: 'But exploring is not a game, and you don't look before you leap,' he adds, paired perfectly with footage of Dora actually taking a big leap and coming up way short

Big leap: She looks up from her fall at her monkey Boots, telling her beloved pet that she's OK after her fall

The trailer continues with her parents (Eva Longoria and Pena), who are explorers in their own right, saying they're 'onto something big.'

They have discovered, 'an ancient city made of gold,' and they are going to prove it, but they can't bring Dora with them.

Instead, she's going to live with her cousin Diego (Jeffrey Wahlberg), with her father trying to explain what a rave is, badly.

Parents: The trailer continues with her parents (Eva Longoria and Pena), who are explorers in their own right, saying they're 'onto something big'

Staying behind: They have discovered, 'an ancient city made of gold,' and they are going to prove it, but they can't bring Dora with them

School: Instead, she's going to live with her cousin Diego (Jeffrey Wahlberg), with her father trying to explain what a rave is, badly

The trailer picks up at the airport, with Dora reuniting with her cousin Diego, who is so 'skinny and tall,' while Diego comments on how 'energetic' she is.

She is next seen getting off the school bus telling herself to 'be herself,' before she gets in a bit of a mishap, as her backpack gets stuck in the bus door.

She also doesn't get off to a great start with security confiscating a lot of her items like a climbing axe and flares while she tells a teacher that she has transferred from, 'the jungle.'

Airport: The trailer picks up at the airport, with Dora reuniting with her cousin Diego, who is so 'skinny and tall,' while Diego comments on how 'energetic' she is

Mishap: She is next seen getting off the school bus telling herself to 'be herself,' before she gets in a bit of a mishap, as her backpack gets stuck in the bus door

School: She also doesn't get off to a great start with security confiscating a lot of her items like a climbing axe and flares while she tells a teacher that she has transferred from, 'the jungle'

During a school field trip, Dora is kidnapped by the villainous Powell (Temuera Morrison), who wants her to help them find her parents and the lost city of gold.

She's also kidnapped with a number of her classmates, when they meet Alejandro Guttierez, who borrows a line from The Terminator franchise, telling the kids, 'Come with me if you want to live.'

The trailer ends with a number of random shots including Boots reuniting with Dora and their whole crew tumbling down a jungle hill in a hollowed out log.

Dora and the Lost City of Gold hits theaters August 2 from Paramount Pictures.

Field trip: During a school field trip, Dora is kidnapped by the villainous Powell (Temuera Morrison), who wants her to help them find her parents and the lost city of gold

Exploring: She's also kidnapped with a number of her classmates, when they meet Alejandro Guttierez, who borrows a line from The Terminator franchise, telling the kids, 'Come with me if you want to live'
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Alessandra Ambrosio sure has been in the mood to spoil her millions of social media fans.

The 37-year-old cover girl has been rolling out image after image of herself in her new fashionable swimwear line, called GAL Floripa.

This weekend the Brazilian bombshell - who is also a mother of two young children - shared more stunning images taken on a pristine beach at sunset.

More to love: Alessandra Ambrosio sure has been in the mood to spoil her millions of social media fans. The 37-year-old cover girl has been rolling out image after image of herself in her new fashionable swimwear line, called GAL Floripa

This bombshell - who modeled for Victoria's Secret for many years - is excited about the line GAL Floripa.

She launched the fun collection, which has the tagline 'Created in the Magic Island,' earlier this month with her sister Aline and one of her best friends.

'We were always in a swimsuit going from one beach to another and always wanted to have a bikini shop there one day.

'That was our dream when we were 18.'

A pinup poster: This weekend the Brazilian bombshell - who is also a mother of two young children - shared more stunning images taken on a pristine beach at sunset

Here she is seen in a rare closeup photo

And it's for all shapes: 'Everyone should feel good wearing a swimsuit because it shows your body,' she said.

'You shouldn't be self-conscious about it. We all have different shapes and need to embrace that. We need to love who we are because that's all we have anyway. If we don't love who we are, who are we going to love?'

In one of the latest images, Alessandra has on a flirty one piece that hugs her curves just right while showing off a peek of cleavage thanks to a low neckline and a plunging front.

There are thin straps holding the suit up and also a few across her body.

The suit comes up high on the hips making the model's legs look longer.

The stunner has fun modeling the suit as she stands next to a tree while looking down with a little pout. The cover girl is also seen running around on boulders while the sun sets.

In earlier photos she was seen in both a peach colored one piece as well as a bikini.

Sitting pretty: This bombshell - who modeled for Victoria's Secret for many years - is excited about the line GAL Floripa

Small white shells hung from the strings on the bikini lending a beachy feel.

Alessandra worked with her sister Aline Ambrosio and best friend Gisele Coria and they are manufacturing the product in Brazil.

'We always had this dream. We grew up in Florianopolis, which is an island south of Brazil, and swim was always like our second skin,' the model told People.

The suits all for many sizes: 'Everyone should feel good wearing a swimsuit because it shows your body,' she said. 'You shouldn't be self-conscious about it'

As the sun sets: In one of the latest images, Alessandra has on a flirty one piece that hugs her curves just right while showing off a peek of cleavage thanks to a low neckline and a plunging front

She also said it's important to be happy in your suit.

'We work all year long to take those vacations and we take those vacations and we go somewhere nice and warm and we need to feel as good as it gets.'

The name of their brand is a combination of the letters in their names (Gisele+ALessandra+ALine) and a tribute to their favorite beach spot they told the site.

Their Galactic Sun collection features one-piece and two-piece swimsuits. There is a '70s-inspired 'out of this world' feel.

Alessandra's last swimwear line is Ale by Alessandra.

Logical approach: She also said it's important to be happy in your suit. 'We work all year long to take those vacations and we take those vacations and we go somewhere nice and warm and we need to feel as good as it gets'

Trio: She started the line with her sister and a best friend. The name of their brand is a combination of the letters in their names (Gisele+ALessandra+ALine) and a tribute to their favorite beach spot they told the site.

'It was so much fun to create the collection. We chose our favorite cuts for the swimwear and from there chose colors and fabrics,' said Alessandra.

'We chose comfortable fabrics that had a little bit of shimmer and they're a little bit iridescent,' she said.

'We have four different types of bottoms and five different types of tops that you can kind of mix and match and just whatever makes your body feel comfortable and gives the nice shape that you're looking for'.

And she revealed the inspiration for the name of the swim line. 'I was like re-watching one of my favorite movies, Bernardo Bertolucci's Stealing Beauty, and this song came up [on the soundtrack]. And there's this part where it says "the galactic sun" and I was like "Oh my God!" So I called them  it was super late  and I was like "I got the name for the collection!" And they were so excited and loved it,' she said.

Prices ranging from $88 to 228.
A week after being rushed to the hospital for allegedly slashing her wrists, the late Michael Jackson's daughter Paris 'is eating better, exercising, and working on psychological issues.'

The Beverly Hills-born heiress - turning 21 in 10 days - is keeping busy 'organizing' her big birthday bash and maintaining a 'positive attitude,' according to TMZ.

The trust-fund bohemian has been reportedly in close communication with her godfather Macaulay Culkin, 22-year-old brother Prince, and college-bound, 17-year-old half-brother Blanket.

Health scare: A week after being rushed to the hospital for allegedly slashing her wrists, the late Michael Jackson's daughter Paris 'is eating better, exercising, and working on psychological issues' (pictured Monday)

Paris has completely denied reports she attempted suicide, tweeting then deleting a post Tuesday about how it was made up when she didn't deliver 'the crazy reaction they wanted from the doc.'

'I'm just tryna get everyone to chill out and go with the flow, be mellow and think about the bigger picture. That's me,' Jackson - who also allegedly slashed her wrists and overdosed on pills in 2013 - wrote.

'Y'all take my life more seriously than I do . Calm yo titt****sss.'

She was referring to Dan Reed's one-sided documentary Leaving Neverland featuring uncorroborated sexual molestation allegations from admitted perjurers Wade Robson and James Safechuck.

Big smile: The Beverly Hills-born heiress - turning 21 in 10 days - is keeping busy 'organizing' her big birthday bash and maintaining a 'positive attitude' (pictured Wednesday)

Circle of trust: The trust-fund bohemian has been reportedly in close communication with her godfather Macaulay Culkin, 22-year-old brother Prince, and college-bound, 17-year-old half-brother Blanket

'Pathetic': Paris has completely denied reports she attempted suicide, tweeting then deleting a post Tuesday about how it was made up when she didn't deliver 'the crazy reaction they wanted from the doc'

One sided: She was referring to Dan Reed's (M) documentary Leaving Neverland featuring uncorroborated sexual molestation allegations from admitted perjurers Wade Robson (L) and James Safechuck (R, pictured January 24)

Father and daughter in 2008: In February, the Jackson estate filed a $100M lawsuit against HBO for breach of contract after they included footage from his Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour concert in Leaving Neverland

In February, the Jackson estate filed a $100M lawsuit against HBO for breach of contract after they included footage from his Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour concert in Leaving Neverland.

'For 20 years, Wade Robson denied in court and in numerous interviews, including after Michael passed, that he was a victim and stated he was grateful for everything Michael had done for him. His family benefitted from Michael's kindness, generosity and career support up until Michael's death. Conveniently left out of Leaving Neverland was the fact that when Robson was denied a role in a Michael Jackson themed Cirque du Soleil production, his assault allegations suddenly emerged,' the MJ estate said in a statement to Variety.

'We are extremely sympathetic to any legitimate victim of child abuse. This film, however, does those victims a disservice. Because despite all the disingenuous denials made that this is not about money, it has always been about money  millions of dollars  dating back to 2013 when both Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who share the same law firm, launched their unsuccessful claims against Michaels Estate. Now that Michael is no longer here to defend himself, Robson, Safechuck and their lawyers continue their efforts to achieve notoriety and a payday by smearing him with the same allegations a jury found him innocent of when he was alive.'

Controversial: This week, both Diana Ross (L) and Barbra Streisand (R) were blasted for defending the tarnished King of Pop, who succumbed to 'acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication' back in 2009

74-year-old Ross tweeted Saturday: 'This is what's on my heart this morning. I believe and trust that Michael Jackson was and is A magnificent incredible force to me and to many others. STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE'

'Speaking their truth': 76-year-old Barbra apologized 'for any pain or misunderstanding' she caused for defending Michael's 'sexual needs' to the Times and said the so-called victims 'didn't die' from their experience and 'they were thrilled to be there'

This week, both Diana Ross and Barbra Streisand were blasted for defending the tarnished King of Pop, who succumbed to 'acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication' back in 2009.

'This is what's on my heart this morning. I believe and trust that Michael Jackson was and is A magnificent incredible force to me and to many others,' 74-year-old Ross tweeted Saturday.

'STOP IN THE NAME OF LOVE.'

The musical legends' close working relationship spanned nearly four decades starting when the Detroit-born Supreme was credited with discovering The Jackson 5 in the 1970s.

Star still shines: As for MJ's legacy, Billboard reported March 8 that his combined album and song sales increased 10 percent after the Leaving Neverland premiere and streams increased 6 percent (2017 stock shot)

The Grammy winner was named as a backup guardian for Jackson's three children in case Katherine Jackson couldn't take care of them.

And 76-year-old Barbra apologized 'for any pain or misunderstanding' she caused for defending Michael's 'sexual needs' to the Times and said the so-called victims 'didn't die' from their experience and 'they were thrilled to be there.'

As for MJ's legacy, Billboard reported March 8 that his combined album and song sales increased 10 percent after the Leaving Neverland premiere and streams increased 6 percent.
The Kid's Choice Awards turned into a family affair with many stars bringing their little ones to the event - including Tyga, who took his son, King Cairo, to the show on Saturday.

Sporting matching braids, the father/son duo hit up the carpet before dancing it up during the star studded performances at the Galen Center in Downtown Los Angeles.

As they mingled with the rich and famous, Cairo's mom, Blac Chyna, stayed home and promoted her Fashion Nova partnership.

Father, son bonding: Tyga, 29, took his son King Cairo, 6, to the 2019 Kid's Choice Awards on Saturday at the Galen Center in Los Angeles

The 29-year-old ex of Kylie Jenner, 21, scored some major brownie points with his 6-year-old son, as they posed together on the orange carpet for Nickelodeon's annual award show.

Tyga wore converse, camouflage army pants and a flannel and jean jacket, as he put a protective hand on his son's chest.

Looking cute and casual with his dad, King wore a neon green zip up hoodie, green sneakers and a matching green undershirt.

They both threw up some peace signs and smiled in the spotlight.

Look dad: The little boy pointed something out to his father, while Tyga did his best to play along

Secrets: King whispered something to his dad while cameras flashed on the orange carpet

And being a curious child, King also got his dad's attention while pointing and whispering in his ear.

The Rack City rapper humored the child and looked very attentive to his only son.

While the proud dad has been rocking straight locks ever since he got his makeover at the start of March, he instead twisted his hair into numerous braids for the 2019 award show, matching his son.

Making sure to show off some bling, Tyga sported a white watch and diamond chain as well.

Fashionista: Blac Chyna, 30, posed seductively for an Instagram photo wearing Fashion Nova clothing

This is not King Cairos first time attending the Kids Choice Awards, either  Chyna brought him to the show in 2017, as well.

And speaking of Chyna, the make up enthusiast spent her night away from the event, posting photos all over Instagram.

The 30-year-old, who was most recently linked to Rob Kardashian, 32, shared photos online during the show, promoting the popular clothing label, Fashion Nova.

In a sexy shot showing her voluptuous curves, Blac wore all purple in a skin tight crop top and leggings.

She perched herself up on a cabinet and leaned forward, resting her weight on her arms between her spread out legs.

Her hair was up in a messy bun, with a glowing purple light framing the picture and giving her light locks a neon tint.

Wearing glowing sneakers and holding a tiny, graffiti covered purse, the former stripper posted about the line, which she constantly supports via social media.

Sponsored: The model promoted the fashion line yet again, wearing a black and white vest standing in front of a matching wallpaper background

In another she looked much less done up, in a low cut black and white vest with a black, short wig.

For both of the partnership photos, Blac tagged the line, which is commonly seen on many influencer's accounts.

Blac and Tyga were together for three years, before breaking up in 2014.

After their split, Tyga famously got together with Kylie and Blac eventually moved on to the billionaire's step-brother, making for an interesting situation.

Chyna also shares her 2-year-old daughter, Dream, with Rob.
Cheryl enjoyed a mini Girls Aloud reunion at Rochelle Humes' 30th birthday party at Soho Farmhouse in Oxford on Saturday night.

The songstress took a night off from mummy duties to ring in the occasion with Nicola Roberts, Kimberley Walsh and a slew of stars.

Cheryl's night on the town comes just a day after her son Bear turned two, and is reportedly planning an equally lavish bash for the tot when her ex Liam Payne returns from Dubai.

Back together: Cheryl enjoyed a mini Girls Aloud reunion at Rochelle Humes' 30th birthday party at Soho Farmhouse in Oxford on Saturday night

Taking to Instagram, Nicola shared a snap of the three hugging inside the celebrations.

Cheryl, who was clad in a black blazer and ripped jeans, beamed for the camera while Kimberley and Nicola cut vibrant figures in red tailored suits.

The trio appeared to be having the time of their life as they watched Gary Barlow take to the stage to perform some of his best known hits.

Partytime! The songstress took a night off from mummy duties to ring in the occasion with Nicola Roberts, Kimberley Walsh and a slew of stars

Mum: Cheryl's night on the town comes just a day after her son Bear turned two, who is reportedly planning an equally lavish bash for the tot when Liam Payne returns from Dubai

At one point in the evening, Cheryl appeared to have wandered off, leaving Nicola to upload an Instastory with the caption: 'Where the hell is Cheryl?'

But it wasn't long until they were reunited once more, with the pals partying until the earlier hours with Emma Willis, Alesha Dixon and Ben Shepherd.

It comes as Cheryl's ex Liam revealed he celebrated Bear's second birthday before jetting to Dubai for work this week.

The One Direction star, 25, had received criticism after flying to Dubai on Friday as his hectic schedule once again caused him to work on his son Bear's birthday.

But speaking to The Kris Fade Show on Virgin Radio Dubai after his performance at The Global Teacher Prize Assembly concert on Saturday, Liam said he spent quality time with his son before his flight while he and Cheryl are planning a big party for the tot when he returns home.

'It was his second birthday yesterday so we had a little party, just family at the house,' Liam revealed of intimate celebrations on Friday, adding 'and we've got a bigger party coming up.'

Party hard: Emma Willis and Shane Cooper joined Kimberley and the gang for the raucous celebrations

Bold: Kimberley Walsh wowed in a tailored red suit and gold kitten heels as she posed up a storm on the dancefloor

Last year, Liam suffered a similar diary clash on his son's first birthday after he was booked to perform in Japan on March 24.

Although he was forced to cut the celebrations short, he managed to enjoy time with his son before jetting out of London that night.

Just hours before his trip, he marked the big day with a sweet Instagram tribute, where he called the baby his whole 'world,' while posting a very rare glimpse of the tot as a pictured captured them holding hands.

Although Liam and Cheryl called their romance quits nine months ago, they have been successfully co-parenting Bear and even spent Christmas Day together.
The indomitable comic Kathy Griffin is still receiving death threats 'online and in person' two years after posing with a President Donald Trump mask covered in ketchup for lensman Tyler Shields.

'I was in London a month ago and I had a driver who took myself and my assistant from London Heathrow to the hotel, and he recognized me from the photo,' the 58-year-old Grammy winner told CBS Sunday Morning.

'And he said that he was from Morocco and that if we were in Morocco he would cut my tongue off. So, that was a long drive...I called the president of the company and had him fired!'

Scary: Kathy Griffin (L) is still receiving death threats 'online and in person' two years after posing with a President Donald Trump mask covered in ketchup for lensman Tyler Shields (pictured last Monday)

The 58-year-old Grammy winner told CBS Sunday Morning: 'I was in London a month ago and I had a driver who took myself and my assistant from London Heathrow to the hotel, and he recognized me from the photo. And he said that he was from Morocco and that if we were in Morocco he would cut my tongue off'

After offending the 72-year-old reality star-turned-politician and his son Barron, the Chicago-born comedian was put on the No Fly list while under investigation for 'conspiracy to assassinate POTUS.'

'I'm Hanoi Jane, you know? I get it. This photo is gonna be with me forever, no matter what I do,' Kathy shrugged.

'My little story is historic. Whether you like it or not, it's the first time a sitting US president has used the full power of the Oval Office, the first family, the right-wing media and, more importantly, two departments within the Department of Justice to open an investigation on a private citizen who did nothing wrong. Didn't violate the First Amendment, didn't break the law.'

Even Griffin's 98-year-old mother Maggie - who's now suffering from dementia - was upset enough to ask: 'I thought I heard that you were in Al Qaeda. Why wouldn't you join another club?'

She added: 'So, that was a long drive...I called the president of the company and had him fired!'

'I'm Hanoi Jane, you know? I get it': After offending the 72-year-old reality star-turned-politician and his son Barron, the Chicago-born comedian was put on the No Fly list while under investigation for 'conspiracy to assassinate POTUS'

Even Kathy's 98-year-old mother Maggie (L) - who's now suffering from dementia - was upset enough to ask: 'I thought I heard that you were in Al Qaeda. Why wouldn't you join another club?' (pictured in September)

The two-time Emmy winner's career took a major hit with the loss of jobs and endorsements, but she took comfort in therapy, her two rescue dogs Olivia & Elliot, and $10.5M Bel-Air mansion.

'It's heaven. I'm not gonna lie. It's heaven,' the flame-haired funnywoman said of her cash-purchased property.

'[My dogs] have been game changers. Like, I know I sound really corny, but I do everything wrong: I let them sleep in bed with me, I cuddle with them, and I feel their little heartbeats against me, and they've really gotten me through, honestly.'

'It's heaven. I'm not gonna lie': Griffin's career took a major hit with the loss of jobs and endorsements, but she took comfort in therapy, her two rescue dogs Olivia & Elliot, and $10.5M Bel-Air mansion (pictured December 8)

'The crazy red-haired lady didn't go down': The two-time Emmy winner has no regrets after DIY-ing a $4M-grossing, 13-country Laugh Your Head Off World Tour

'I don't have a single day of paid work on TV ahead of me for the rest of my life': The flame-haired funnywoman has yet to secure distribution for her $1M self-funded concert film A Hell of a Story

Kathy has no regrets after DIY-ing a $4M-grossing, 13-country Laugh Your Head Off World Tour, but she has yet to secure distribution for her $1M self-funded concert film A Hell of a Story.

'I don't have a single day of paid work on TV ahead of me for the rest of my life,' Griffin confessed.

'The most important thing that I hope people see is that, long after I kick the bucket, they see the crazy red-haired lady didn't go down.'
Katie Holmes was seen grabbing a morning cup of coffee in New York City on Sunday.

The Dawson's Creek vet was bundled up in a green coat with plaid scarf.

The ex-wife of actor Tom Cruise has just returned from a trip to Greece where she and daughter Suri were visiting the Moria Refugee Camp.

Morning stroll: Katie Holmes grabbed a cup of coffee while strolling the streets of New York City on Sunday

The humanitarian and her 12-year-old child worked with women and children inside the camp during their stay in Lesbos, an island near Turkey.

The 40-year-old producer bundled up in a dark green pea coat and thick scarf with gray sweat pants and brown Ugg boots.

The talented director sported a pair of sunglasses with her hair pulled back away from her face and a red Chanel purse slung over her right shoulder.

Cozy comfort: The 40 year old producer bundled up in a dark green pea coat and argyle scarf with gray sweat pants and brown Ugg boots.

The performer took to her Instagram account on Saturday to post photos of Suri playing with a small child in the refugee camp.

She captioned the photo 'Moria Refugee Camp' followed by heart emojis.

Holmes, who is a global ambassador for the charity Artolution, went to the Syrian refugee camp to volunteer with the organization's work in Moria.

Child's play: The performer took to her Instagram on Saturday to post photos of Suri playing with a small child in the camp

Good work: Katie was also seen with the children who have been displaced

While the philanthropist has been busy with her social reform efforts, she has also kept working both in front and behind the camera.

The film star played a single mother in the 2018 satire comedy Dear Dictator which which received mixed reviews from critics.

Holmes also had a cameo role in the movie Ocean's 8 where she played herself.

The former Dawson's Creek star has stated she is in the process of adapting a screenplay of the historical fiction novel Rare Objects, which she will direct.

The screen siren's next film role will be in the horror movie The Boy 2 which is set to be released in July of this year.

Warmed up: Later Katie was seen without her coat as she showed off her Park City, Utah top
She shocked fans when she announced her brief split from her boyfriend in December, just months after they were crowned winners on ITV2 series Love Island.

And Dani Dyer has revealed she and her beau Jack Fincham have moved out of their East London home and now live separately in a bid to rebuild their relationship.

In an interview with Fabulous Magazine, the reality star, 22, admitted she can appreciate her 'own company' in her new pad, and insisted she and the former pen salesman, 27, are taking the time apart 'to grow' individually.

Stronger than ever: Dani Dyer has revealed she and her beau Jack Fincham have moved out of their East London home and now live separately in a bid to rebuild their relationship

The TV personality now resides closer to her parents Danny and Joanne in Essex, while the hunk has returned to South London.

It was first reported that Dani moved out of their flat in February after Jack confessed to abusing a Class A drug during a night out.

Sharing the reason behind their separate living conditions, she told the publication: 'Jack didnt want to live in Essex and I didnt want to live in south London so we thought wed both get our own places and live between them.'

Next steps: The reality star, 22, admitted she can appreciate her 'own company' in her new pad, and insisted she and the former pen salesman, 27, are taking the time apart 'to grow' individually

Apart: The TV personality now resides closer to her parents Danny and Joanne in Essex, while the hunk has returned to South London

The pair stunned Love Island fans when they briefly split late last year, but has since admitted the break-up was 'a silly mistake' and they're 'stronger now'.

Dani elaborated: 'Were building [the relationship] back up slowly. Wed both moved out of our areas and to Wapping together, where we had none of our home comforts.

'Its nice to have my own company sometimes. I can watch what I want  when Jacks there, he puts all these bird programmes on. When we buy a house, then we can decide where to live, but for the time being weve got to grow.'

Candid: 'Jack didnt want to live in Essex and I didnt want to live in south London so we thought wed both get our own places and live between them', the TV star said on their separate living conditions

Meanwhile, Dani and Jack are soaking up the sun during a romantic break in holiday hotspot Thailand.

The couple have been treating their Instagram followers to a glimpse into their envy-inducing getaway, which boasts idyllic dinners by the ocean and swimming sessions in an infinity pool.

Last month, Dani vowed to walk away from reality TV as speculation intensified regarding the state of her relationship with Jack.

Having fun: Meanwhile, Dani and Jack are soaking up the sun during a romantic break in holiday hotspot Thailand

Sun-kissed: The couple have been treating their Instagram followers to a glimpse into their envy-inducing getaway, which boasts jetski rides and swimming sessions in an infinity pool

The 2018 Love Island winner had arranged for her belongings to be moved out of her East London home after her boyfriend admitted to abusing cocaine on a night out.

But despite standing by her partner, the blonde beauty revealed the pair will never sign up to another show.

Responding to a concerned fan, she tweeted: 'We won't ever be doing another show again. Too many opinions and judgements. Keeping everything to ourselves from now on.'
She recently returned from a lavish spa resort in the French Alps after celebrating her 37th birthday.

And now Rebekah Vardy has been enjoying a family getaway in Dubai, hitting the beach with her family to enjoy an envy-inducing holiday in the iconic Burj Al Arab in the United Arab Emirates.

The TV personality, who is married to Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy, 32, has been treating her followers to an insight into the couple's lavish getaway.

Family getaway: Rebekah Vardy, 37, sweeps back her brunette tresses as she poses for a picture with her children on the sun-kissed beach in Dubai

Sweeping back her brunette tresses into a top knot, the reality star showed off her toned and bronzed physique as she posed for a picture with her children on the sun-kissed beach.

Dressed in a pearl white halter-neck bikini, Rebekah completed her look with a pair of shades and a simple gold bracelet on her wrist.

The stunning shot of the reality star embracing the sunny climate was shared on her Instagram page on Sunday following the couple's return home.

Among the idyllic images are snaps of the family lying on the bed in their loungewear and another showing the family at a swanky bar at the popular tourist resort.

Time for bed: Rebekah and her husband Jamie Vardy lay on a large hotel bed during their envy-educing holiday getaway in Dubai

Say cheese! The Vardys posed for a family photo during their envy-inducing holiday

Taking it all in: Rebekah shared a shot of her daughter sat in front of a large fish tank in Dubai

The swanky family holiday comes more than a month after the TV personality was spotted enjoyed a relaxing birthday trip with her children at the luxe Club Med Valmorel Chalets in France.

The snaps included glorious shots of the picturesque snowy French mountains and stunning pictures of the view from Rebekah's chalet balcony as she enjoyed a glass of wine.

On Instagram the beauty had written: 'I've let the crazies go in search of the black runs... I'll just chill with my rose.'

Ski holiday: The star recently came back from the French alps after celebrating her 37th birthday at the luxe Club Med Valmorel Chalets lavish spa resort

Swanky: The chalet rests on the slopes of the Massif du Cheval Noir and is part of Club Med's Exclusive Collection resorts

Rebekah, who shares daughter Sofia, four, and son Finley, two, with Jamie, is also the mother to children Megan and Taylor from a previous relationship.

Jamie is also a father to Ella, six, whom he shares with former partner Emma Daggett.

Earlier this month the pair, who married on May 25, 2016 at Peckforton Castle in Cheshire, were also spotted heading to the Bagatelle restaurant in Mayfair after Jamie reached his 100th goal for Leicester City.
They married in late 2018 and have been enjoying the honeymoon phase ever since.

And Nick Jonas, 26, and Priyanka Chopra, 36, proved their love was going nowhere anytime soon, enjoying a getaway together in Miami this weekend.

Taking to social media, the 26-year-old shared a selfie with his lady love, calling her his 'only sunshine'.

Love is in the air: Nick Jonas cozied up to his lady Priyanka Chopra on Saturday as the pair enjoyed a nice Spring getaway to Miami Beach together

'You are my sunshine my only sunshine... #miami,' he captioned the shot.

Really committing to the Spring break, Nick opted to wear an Onia blue tropical shirt with a gold chain necklace.

His lady love also kept things simple keeping her brunette tresses out with a pair of shades on the top of her head.

So close: Here the beauty has her arm around her new husband Nick

Baby on brain? Extending the invite, Priyanka also took to social media to share photos cuddling up to a baby with her family and friends

Priyanka appeared to be makeup free for the sweet selfie together.

The pair also appeared on Nick's Instagram Stories, in which they disclosed they were enjoying some afternoon drinks by the beach.

'We're here in Miami, it's a beautiful Saturday afternoon,' Nick began.

'We're just having a couple of adult beverages. And just want to give you all good wishes for your Saturday.'

And extending the invite, Priyanka also took to social media to share photos cuddling up to a baby with her family and friends.

Sending their good wishes: 'We're just having a couple of adult beverages. And just want to give you all good wishes for your Saturday'

Catch-up: She was also seen enjoying a meal and some wine with her pals. The image saw the beauty stun in a bold red blouse for the dining experience

'Family ,' she captioned, hugging the little tot.

She was also seen enjoying a meal and some wine with her pals as well. The image saw the beauty stun in a bold red blouse for the dining experience.

With her was husband Nick, dressed in a neutral colored strip shirt and sporting the beginnings of a trim beard.

Priyanka, who's now been married for four months, recently revealed on What Happens Live With Andy Cohen that she would like to have a double date with her man's ex, Miley Cyrus and her husband Liam Hemsworth.

Newlyweds: Priyanka, who's now been married for four months, recently revealed on What Happens Live With Andy Cohen that she would like to have a double date with her man's ex, Miley Cyrus and her husband Liam Hemsworth

Former loves: Miley and Nick were together from 2006 to 2007, then briefly reunited again in 2009 (pictured 2009)

When asked if shed ever double date with the Malibu hitmaker, Priyanka replied: 'We actually talked about that, doing a double date at some point. It was fun.

'Ive met Miley just a couple of times, but shes amazing.'

The Quantico actress met Miley after she starred with Liam in the comedy movie Isnt It Romantic, which premiered in February.

Miley was just a young teen when she and Nick first dated back in 2006 at the height of their Disney stardom.

The two were together from 2006 to 2007, then briefly reunited again in 2009.

Like Nick, Miley also found true romance as she tied the knot with longterm love Liam late last year, just a few days after Priyanka and Nick.
Donny and Marie Osmond announced the end of their Las Vegas show after 11 years of performing at the Flamingo Hotel.

The duo appeared on Good Morning America on Thursday to break the news to their fans.

And over the weekend the beauty took to Instagram to share her feelings. 'This week my brother Donny and I made it official: we will be taking our final bow this November at the @flamingovegas. We were very prayerful in coming to this decision and we both feel peace about it.'

Bye bye: Donny and Marie Osmond announced the end of their Las Vegas show after 11 years of performing at the Flamingo Hotel and on Saturday she took to social media to discuss

They go way back: The sister and brother team have been singing together for decades; seen here in 1975

But then she went on to say, 'Nevertheless it is so HARD to think about parting ways with so many amazing, talented and hard-working people who have become our "family" these past 11 years.

'I wish I could name each of them but this post would run for several pages!

'Then, theres youour dedicated and loyal friends, fans and acquaintances. Thank you for coming to our shows, some of you returning many times over. None of this would ever have been possible without you. How much do I appreciate you?! You have made all the difference. You have made us who we are.'

As kids: The two grew up in a family full of music. Seen here in 1970 as teens

America loves their clean image: The Osmonds never got arrested or made fools of themselves

The Nutrisystem spokesperson then turned her attention to Donny.

'I have always tried to remind myself that Donny is my brother first and my business partner second.

'I know the Lord placed me here for such a time as this. He knew I would need the support of my brother.

'Donny has been with me through some very difficult trials!! (read more about this on my FB page or @ MarieOsmond.com/sundaymessage).'

She added, 'I am so grateful to God for "saving me" by arranging my life and talents for this show and putting my sweet brother by my side.

So many Osmonds! In 1975 they posed with Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay and Jimmy

'The special blessings which have come over these past several years have been so tendersome too personal to mention.

'Others have created some amazingly beautiful silver linings such as becoming a grandmother, meeting the man of my dreams all over again and then remarrying him.

'My husband is truly the love of my life. And so, I look ahead to the reality of one door closing and another opening up.'

Marie wrapped up with: 'The other night I turned to Donny as we took our spots for the opening of the show and said: Hey D, lets just have fun with every show as we count down to the last one lets enjoy every moment.

'Saying good bye is never easy, but as Donny said Its the end of The Donny & Marie Show, its not the end of Donny and Marie.'

Donny and Marie's farewell: Donny and Marie announce on Good Morning America that The Donny and Marie Show in Las Vegas is coming to an end

Donny said on GMA on Thursday: 'It's been rumoured that we are bringing Donny & Marie to an end here in Las Vegas and we are here to say it's official.'

When asked by host Paula Faris if the announcement 'was hard to say', Donny, 61, replied: 'It's very, very hard.'

The Vegas Love hitmaker admires his sister, 59, as she has remained a professional and committed performer despite going through rough times in the past.

Official end: 'It's been rumoured that we are bringing 'Donny & Marie' to an end here in Las Vegas and we are here to say it's official,' Donny said.

'We have been through so much the past eleven years, her particularly - and she gets on stage and she's such a professional and she does a great job,' Donny added.

'I'm going to miss this a lot. What she's gone through and still remained a professional there's a bond here that will never be broken,' he continued.

Marie, 59, also revealed that her brother supported her greatly when her 18-year-old adopted son Michael Blosil died in 2010 after jumping from the eighth floor of his Los Angeles apartment.

Supportive brother: Marie, 59, also revealed that her brother supported her greatly when her 18-year-old adopted son Michael Blosil died in 2010 after jumping from the eighth floor of his Los Angeles apartment

'I have been through a lot but he's been my rock,' Marie added. 'I went through a terrible divorce here, and terrible custody battle and I lost a child here.

'We know each other's buttons, and I will never let anybody hurt him. Just me!' she joked.

Marie also recognized the success of the show and believes the pair's residency has been such a hit because 'there's a unique chemistry and 'people love that sibling sound'.

Sibling love: 'I have been through a lot but he's been my rock,' Marie added. I went through a terrible divorce here, and terrible custody battle and I lost a child here'

She also spoke about how the end will be bittersweet because of the fans, who have come 'around the world' to see them perform.

Faris said that when she saw the show, there was a woman who was screaming that she was waiting for that moment her entire life, which Marie said was 'the sweetest.'

When asked what tricks they have up their sleeve for the final show, Donny said he had 'no tricks,' he just wants to go out there and 'have the time of my life.'

Around the world: She also spoke about how the end will be bittersweet because of the fans, who have come 'around the world' to see them perform

'It's the end of The Donny and Marie Show. It's not the end of Donny and Marie,' Donny added.

Faris added at the end of the GMA segment that both Donny and Marie were looking forward to starting something new and stepping out of their comfort zone.

Marie has 'some film roles lined up,' according to Faris, who also revealed that the final performance of The Donny and Marie Show will be November 16 at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas.
Victoria, ITV last night

Rating:

As anybody who has looked at paintings of Queen Victoria will know, the former monarch was well, no oil painting.

Naturally eyebrows were raised when it was announced that the exquisitely pretty Jenna Coleman would play the leading role in ITVs royal drama.

Now, with the third series under way, nobody gives a second thought to the casting as Miss Coleman has made the part her own, and all without the aid (so far) of any silly prosthetic noses.

With the third series of ITV 1 drama Victoria under way, nobody gives a second thought to the casting of Jenna Coleman as Queen Victoria. She has made the part her own, and all without the aid (so far) of any silly prosthetic noses

Thats not to say that credulity isnt stretched in other areas.

In last nights opener, the action kicked off in 1848 and it was just as well that Buckingham Palace had plenty of spare bedrooms because the (not altogether welcome) guests were arriving thick and fast.

French king Louis Philippe had been ousted and was looking for a place to stay. My father lost his head to Madame Guillotine, he explained, not wishing to meet the same fate.

Hot on his heels was Victorias scheming and jealous half-sister Princess Feodora seeking sanctuary  and also the opportunity to fleece the queen for some new frocks and shoes.

The reason for their arrivals was that revolution was breaking out across Europe and the aristocracy were not safe from the commoners.

Thank God for the English Channel, said Her Majesty, at that point unaware that the poor people of England were feeling a little rebellious too.

For those who like their costume dramas to be glamorous, exciting and sumptuous  and with the promise of passion between hunky new footman Joseph (David Burnett) and Sophie, Duchess of Monmouth (Lily Travers)  then theres no better escapism on a Sunday night

Chartism (a working-class movement seeking electoral reform) was gathering pace and Prime Minister Lord Russell feared they may draw inspiration from France and try to overthrow the monarchy.

As good fortune would have it, Abigail Turner, the working-class woman who darned the Queens underwear, was a leading player in the Chartism movement and was invited to the Palace for a meeting with the Queen.

In true forelock-tugging style she assured Victoria that the hoi polloi meant her no harm. With her grubby dress and gor blimey accent there were times when it looked like a scene from Oliver.

I half expected Miss Turner to start singing Oom-Pah-Pah as she backed out of the palace and slunk back to her hovel.

Also stirring things up was ambitious Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston, a flirtatious rake from whom no woman is safe. He was played with charismatic aplomb by Laurence Fox, who admitted his character was a cross between Boris Johnson and Willy Wonka.

Writer Daisy Goodwins Victoria has had its share of snooty criticism. And its true that sticklers for historical accuracy are, for the sake of their blood pressure, best advised to swerve it

As far as Victoria was concerned, he certainly wasnt the Golden Ticket. Awful awful man, she said of Palmerston as he stoked the fires of revolution at home and abroad for his own political gain.

As it turned out, Abigail Turner was wrong, and the Chartists descended on Buckingham Palace breaking windows and demanding their rights. The barbarians are at the gate, said the hilariously cynical pantomime baddie Penge, the Queens royal steward.

The heavily pregnant Queen was ordered to retreat to the safety of Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, but it was too late. Her waters broke and she was forced to go through labour as the riff-raff smashed glass around her.

The episode ended on a cliffhanger with viewers left wondering if Victoria would survive the peasants revolt. As she went on to rule for a further 53 years and pop out another three children, I think we can all sleep easily in our beds until next weeks instalment.

Writer Daisy Goodwins Victoria has had its share of snooty criticism. And its true that sticklers for historical accuracy are, for the sake of their blood pressure, best advised to swerve it.

But for those who like their costume dramas to be glamorous, exciting and sumptuous  and with the promise of passion between hunky new footman Joseph (David Burnett) and Sophie, Duchess of Monmouth (Lily Travers)  then theres no better escapism on a Sunday night.
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom are adding a little Jesus to their lives.

The newly engaged couple were spotted leaving the church started by Kanye West and Kim Kardashian in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Wearing their Sunday best, the couple walked down the tree-lined trail leading to the secret location of this week's gathering.

The Lord's day: Katy Perry, 34, and Orlando Bloom, 42, were caught leaving Kanye West, 41, and Kim Kardashian's, 38, church in Los Angeles on Sunday

Betrothed: The pop diva rocked her $5M engagement ring with a pink outfit while the Englishman wore a checkered vest beneath his black jacket

With Kanye's church in full swing after launching at the start of the year, celebrities have been coming out in force to witness the new religious experience.

And Katy, 34, and Orlando, 42, enjoyed the day together as they went to the church surrounded by dozens of other celebrities.

For the occasion, Katy wore a velvet pink dress with a sheer white collared shirt buttoned only at the top over it.

A good time: Perry, best known for I Kissed A Girl, is seen with Tony Williams. She carried a beaded bag from Susan Alexandra to accessorize her outfit

She sported a matching ball cap and sneakers as her icy blonde bangs peered out from under the hat, and also carried a beaded handbag from Susan Alexandra to accessorize her look.

Staying by her side, Orlando dressed a bit warmer in blue jeans, a red and black checkered shirt and a dark blue bomber jacket.

The dirt road they were caught walking down, post the morning worship, was lined by rocks and greenery as the location to the event remained a secret.

The pop diva rocked her $5M engagement ring, which was given to her by the Englishman when he popped the question on Valentine's Day.

Announcement: Katy shared this sweet snap soon after her mother broke the news, simply writing: 'full bloom' and showing her stunning engagement ring

Worth a dazzling $3.8 million the ring is four-carats in vivid pink.

Katy and Orlando shocked fans when they announced their engagement on social media in February, following a three-year on-off romance.

A true romantic, Orlando popped the big question mid helicopter ride. Katy later gushed about, saying the move was very James Bond of him.

When talking about the big day, Katy shared on Instagram: 'We landed on a rooftop [in Los Angeles] and my whole family was there, and all my friends. He did so well.'

Church time: Keeping Up with the Kardashians stars Khloe (L) and Kourtney Kardashian (R) dressed down for their brother-in-law Kanye West's weekly Sunday Service in Los Angeles

Other high profile church goers of course included Kim's sisters and their kids, along with Courtney Love, 54, and Tyler, The Creator, 28.

Golden Globe-nominated grunge icon, Courtney, donned a dainty b&w-dotted dress, maxi- cardigan, and nude platform loafers for the occasion.

And the Grammy-nominated rapper also turned up with several layers in case he got chilly.

Golden Globe nominee: Grunge icon Courtney Love, 54, donned a dainty b&w-dotted dress, maxi- cardigan, and nude platform loafers for the occasion

Spring in Los Angeles: Grammy-nominated Tyler, the Creator, 28, also turned up with several layers in case he got chilly

Keeping Up with the Kardashians stars Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian dressed down for their brother-in-law's weekly Sunday Service.

The half-Armenian socialites' half-sister Kendall Jenner, 23, shared a video of the massive gospel choir and band led by the rapper-designer outside.

The controversial, 21-time Grammy winner launched his location-hopping, invite-only weekly Christian service back on January 6.

Twinning: 39-year-old Kourtney coordinated with her four-year-old son Reign (2-R) in white tops and khaki pants

So many kids: Kourtney shared this image that sees Penelope with her pals

They all wore grey: The half-Armenian socialites' half-sister Kendall Jenner shared a video of the massive gospel choir and band led by the rapper-designer outside

Relaxing: After attending the service, they headed to Nobu in Malibu for lunch

Chic: Katy rocked the same look as earlier - a pink and white dress and collared shirt

Handsome: Orlando donned a black and red ensemble

Happy: The engaged duo were seen leaving the celebrity hot spot on Sunday afternoon
Hit royal drama Victoria made a triumphant return to screens on Sunday night.

But Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes looked worlds away from their alter-egos when they were spotted out and about in London last Thursday.

The couple, both 32, play Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert in the ITV series and have been dating in real life since the period drama began in 2016.

Casual couple: Jenna Coleman and Tom Hughes looked worlds away from their Victoria alter-egos when they were spotted out and about in London last Thursday

Jenna was uncharacteristically dressed down in baggy maroon Adidas trousers and white trainers.

She kept a low-profile by layering up with black coat and hiding behind large sunglasses.

Her bearded boyfriend was equally casual in jogging bottoms, a knitted grey jumper and scuffed brown lace-up boots as they walked arm-in-arm.

Smitten: The couple, both 32, play Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert in the ITV series and have been dating in real life since the period drama began in 2016

In sync: Jenna previously praised Tom's 'completely authentic' commitment to his character on set

The third series of Victoria, set in 1848, began with the queen heavily pregnant and revolution sweeping across Europe.

Following on from the last series, which aired in 2017, viewers will see Her Majesty and her husband Albert at breaking point at tensions arise in their marriage.

Elsewhere, Kate Fleetwood - who made her debut on Sunday as Victoria's half-sister Feodora - arrives in England after being left destitute in her native Germany.

It's back! Hit royal drama Victoria made a triumphant return to our screens on Sunday night after a two-year absence

While the court quickly warms to this new princess, Victoria remains apprehensive, having always lived in her siblings shadow throughout their childhood.

Jenna and Tomn first started dating in 2016 after meeting on the set of the period drama.

She said of working with her partner: 'What's incredible about him is he's always completely authentic when he comes to set.

'There's never a moment when I don't see Prince Albert,' she told The Weekend Australian.

Casual: Jenna was uncharacteristically dressed down in baggy maroon Adidas trousers and white trainers, layering up with a black coat

The star said she is fortunate to have such 'good actors to work opposite', including her beau.

'You can be completely transported because when you look at them you actually believe everything they're saying to you,' she adds.

Their romance almost didn't happen; Jenna previously revealed she twice turned down the role of the iconic monarch before finally accepting the part.

Speaking to the Radio Times, the actress said of the near-miss: 'I had just finished doing nearly four years on Doctor Who and I didn't want to do another long TV project.

'I wanted to do lots of different things, but now I'm doing Victoria, I find her quite addictive.'
Jessica Rowe was 'just about keeping it together' while filming Studio 10 early last year, before eventually deciding to quit the show to spend more time with her family.

The 48-year-old journalist told The Australian Women's Weekly on Monday that she would be 'close to tears' by the time the cameras stopped rolling every day.

Jessica, who filmed her last episode of Studio 10 in late March 2018, said that her feisty on-screen persona masked her secret struggle with anxiety and depression.

'Close to tears': Jessica Rowe was 'just about keeping it together' while filming Studio 10 early last year, before eventually deciding to quit the show to spend more time with her family

'I could feel at the end of each show on most days I would be close to tears,' she said. 'I'd feel that behind my eyes and was just about keeping it together. And I thought, "Why am I doing this to myself?"

'I knew that I was heading down, I knew that my anxiety was there, that I was getting depressed and that if I didn't make a change I'd start to falter.'

On March 9, Jessica announced her resignation from Studio 10 live on air.

Announcing her exit: On March 9, Jessica announced her resignation from Studio 10 live on air. At the time, she said she'd decided to leave in order to spend more time with her family

The veteran broadcaster, who had co-hosted the morning program since 2013, said she'd decided to leave in order to spend more time with her family.

'I've got some news I want to share with all of you because you've been so incredible to me over so many years. I've decided to leave Studio 10,' she told viewers.

'It's been a very hard thing for me to do, but it's because my family need me. I want to be more present, I want to be a more present mum for my girls, Allegra and Giselle. They need their mum.'

Jessica is married to Channel Nine newsreader Peter Overton. The couple share daughters Allegra, 12, and Giselle, 10.

Family: Jessica is married to Channel Nine newsreader Peter Overton and the couple share daughters Allegra, 12, and Giselle, 10. Pictured on July 1, 2016 in Sydney

However, shortly after the announcement, Studio 10's former executive producer Rob McKnight claimed on Twitter that the network had been 'planning to sack her for over a year'.

He tweeted: 'Sad to hear [Jess] is leaving Studio 10. They've been planning to sack her for over a year. She blamed me, even though I was trying to save her job.'

A Channel 10 representative swiftly denied these claims, however, telling Daily Mail Australia at the time: 'Mr McKnight's claim is completely wrong, obviously spiteful and deliberately misleading.

'As Jess said, she has decided to leave Studio 10 to devote more time to her family and her other interests. Anyone who suggests otherwise is being petty and ignorant. Jess is welcome back to TEN anytime.'

Cosmetic treatments: In her wide-ranging interview with The Australian Women's Weekly, Jessica also spoke about her regular Botox use. Pictured with her daughters in December 2017

Meanwhile, Jessica also spoke about her regular Botox use during her wide-ranging interview with this month's The Australian Women's Weekly.

She told the magazine she gets the age-defying injections every few months 'to smooth out some frown lines'.

'I didn't tell Pete at the start because I knew he'd be so cross,' Jessica said. 'He'd think, "How ridiculous, how vain and what a waste of money". Of course, he didn't even notice that I'd had it done!'
The federal government should avoid short-term funding cycles for welfare programs, a parliamentary committee suggests.

Three to five-year agreements would help with funding certainty and ensure progress is made, the committee on intergenerational welfare dependence said in its report tabled on Friday.

The committee put forward 16 recommendations to the government, including working with the states and territories to immediately increase funding for emergency relief housing and low-cost accommodation.

Indigenous Australians and single parents are most at risk of entrenched disadvantage, the report found.

Education and employment were highlighted as key factors towards this.

In order to be successful, welfare programs should take into account a recipients' location, to ensure local circumstances are catered for, the committee says.

Research shows there is a link between parents receiving welfare and their parents also depending on government assistance, but the committee noted there was no single factor which caused this.

The report also notes the importance of early and targeted intervention to prevent entrenched disadvantage.

The best course of action is to target people during phases of life transition, such as pre-natal and parenthood, as well as educational and employment milestones, the committee says.

The committee also recommended the federal government should work with the states and territories to improve data collection and ensure there's no double-up with funding.
AAP FactCheck Investigation: Are water savings from the Murray-Darling disappearing into thin air in South Australia?

The Statement

"They're [South Australia] evaporating 900 gigalitres per year. That's basically half the amount they've [the Murray-Darling Basin Authority] bought back in water rights." - NSW upper house Liberal Democrat candidate David Leyonhjelm. March 20, 2019.

The Analysis

NSW upper house Liberal Democrat candidate David Leyonhjelm claims the problem with the Murray-Darling Basin Plan [MDBP] is South Australia, which has "got the rest of the country by the delicate bits". He claims SA is being "indulgent" by raising the level of Lake Alexandrina for a regatta when 900 gigalitres evaporates from the lake system annually. [1]

AAP FactCheck examined Mr Leyonhjelm's claims 900GL of water evaporates in South Australia and 900GL is about half the amount the Murray-Darling Basin Authority [MDBA] has bought back in water rights to help restore the river system to sustainable, healthy levels.

In January, 2019 Mr Leyonhjelm said he was disturbed that 900GL of water "taken from productive agriculture in Victoria and NSW" evaporated annually in Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert in South Australia. "If these lakes were allowed to remain open to the sea and subject to tidal influences, rather than being kept closed by man-made barrages, seawater could evaporate rather than precious fresh water." [2]

In his former role as a federal senator for NSW, Mr Leyonhjelm chaired a 2015-2016 senate inquiry into the MDBP which was signed into law by 'basin states' in 2012, to redress over-allocation of water and restore the river to sustainable, healthy levels. The basin states are Queensland, NSW, ACT, Victoria and South Australia. [3]

The senate inquiry found that the loss of irrigation water through the MDBP was crippling rural communities. [4]

Water rights were elevated as a NSW election issue after a South Australian royal commission into the management of the MDBP in January 2019 recommended a complete overhaul. [5]

The NSW government argues that overhauling the plan as recommended by the South Australian royal commission will further damage the state's regional communities. [6]

Mr Leyonhjelm's office told AAP FactCheck the 900GL evaporation figure he quoted came from a 2012 Australian Environment Foundation (AEF) report.

The 2012 AEF report said: "Upstream river regulation has not affected the positive hydrodynamic status of Lake Alexandrina. Annual evaporation from the lake system is between 878 and 1083 gigalitres, which is a very large volume of water, but significantly less than average inflows of nearly 6000 gigalitres." [7]

Lake Alexandrina is located on the SA coast about 70km south-east of Adelaide. Together with the nearby Lake Albert and a lagoon called The Coorong, it forms the mouth of the Murray River. The lake system is fully contained within SA borders and measures about 37km long and 21km wide. [8]

Mr Leyonhjelm's office told AAP FactCheck he arrived at his figure of 900GL by taking "the lower end" of the evaporation rate of between 878GL and 1083GL quoted in the AEF 2012 report.

Based on this evidence AAP FactCheck found Mr Leyonhjelm's claim that 900GL is evaporated in South Australia is mostly true as it is at the lower end of the published figure of 878GL and 1083GL.

The MDBP seeks from July 2019 to reduce the amount of water taken from the basin each year by 2750GL. Under the plan the water is returned through "buybacks" of water licences and via government-funded infrastructure improvements to increase water savings. [9]

As of November 2018, the MDBA estimated it had recovered 2118GL through water licences or savings, still 632GL short of its target. [10]

AAP FactCheck found Mr Leyonhjelm's claim that his quoted figure of 900GL is about half of the 2118GL the MDBA has been able to buy back is mostly true, as the recovered water was achieved through a combination of measures, not solely through water licence 'buybacks'.

The Verdict

Mostly True - Mostly accurate, but there is a minor error or problem.

The References

1: NSW People's Forum. Sky News. March 20, 2019: https://twitter.com/SkyNewsAust/status/1108322411806507008

2: 'The Murray-Darling and Australia's great river of nonsense'. The Australian Financial Review, by David Leyonhjelm. January 17, 2019: https://www.afr.com/news/economy/australias-great-river-of-nonsense-20190117-h1a5ro

3: 'What is the Murray-Darling Basin Plan and why are we still talking about it?'. By Anna Vidot. ABC. January 18, 2019: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-21/what-is-the-murray-darling-basin-plan/8043180

4: 'Parliament of Australia. Murray-Darling Basin Plan. Refreshing the plan'. March 17, 2016: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Murray_Darling_Basin_Plan/murraydarling/Report/b03

5: 'Murray-Darling authority acted unlawfully'. AAP/SBS. January 31, 2019: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/murray-darling-authority-acted-unlawfully

6: 'NSW govt says Murray report 'hit and miss'. AAP/SBS. February 1, 2019: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/nsw-govt-says-murray-report-hit-and-miss

7: 'Plugging the Murray's mouth: The interrupted evolution of a barrier estuary'. By Jennifer Marohasy. Australian Environment Foundation. February 2012: http://jennifermarohasy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Plugging-the-Murray-Rivers-Mouth-FINAL-ver4.pdf

8: 'Lake Alexandrina'. Encyclopaedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/place/Lake-Alexandrina

9: 'What is the Murray-Darling Basin Plan?'. Murray-Darling Basin Authority: https://www.mdba.gov.au/sites/default/files/pubs/What-is-the-Murray-Darling-Basin-Plan_0.pdf

10: 'Basin environmental watering outlook for 2019-20'. Murray-Darling Basin Authority. February 2019: https://www.mdba.gov.au/sites/default/files/pubs/Basin-environmental-watering-outlook-2019-2020.pdf
A quality century from captain Mitch Marsh has put Western Australia in a stronger position to claim victory in the must-win Sheffield Shield clash with Queensland at the WACA Ground.

After the ball dominated the first innings of both teams with WA making just 138 and then Queensland 175, it has been a totally different story in the Warriors' second dig.

WA were 7-310 by lunch on the third and penultimate day - a lead of 273 - with debutant quick bowler Aaron Hardie (2no) to be joined by Joel Paris at the start of the session to tea.

Marsh has been the batting star so far, with his 11th Shield hundred keeping WA's hopes alive of winning and advancing the the final against hosts Melbourne.

Resuming on 73, Marsh reached three figures but was out soon after for 105 when trapped lbw by by Mark Steketee.

The Warriors must win this match and then hope NSW doesn't beat Tasmania in Hobart to take on title favourites Victoria at the Junction Oval.

WA resumed on 4-224 on Friday with Marsh and Josh Philippe carrying their partnership to 71 for the fifth wicket before the latter exited for 34.

Josh Inglis then added a handy 23 alongside Marsh but both lost their wickets shortly before lunch as the Bulls keeping their own finals' hopes alive.
A forensic dig at the former home of Roxlyn Bowie, a NSW mother who went missing more than three decades ago, has unearthed items which could be relevant to the case.

Ms Bowie was last seen leaving her home in Walgett, in the state's north, about 6pm on June 5, 1982.

Her husband John denied having any further information about her whereabouts.

Earlier this week detectives carried out forensic tests at a home in Walgett - including luminol, a chemical used to detect blood.

They also seized items that may be "relevant to the investigation" for further testing.

On Thursday and Friday investigators undertook a forensic dig in a parcel of land at the side of the property.

A number of items were "located and seized" for further scientific testing to determine if they're relevant to the missing mother, NSW Police said on Friday.

Vision released by NSW Police shows carpet being removed from the taped-off small, weatherboard house by officers wearing coveralls.

Detectives, meanwhile, are appealing for the public's help finding a diamond ring that is believed to be Ms Bowie's.

It hasn't been seen since it was bought at a Bankstown pawn shop on June 6, 1984, and police have released a picture of a similar ring in a bid to track it down.

"We want to stress that whoever purchased the ring is not in any legal trouble," Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said in a statement on Wednesday.

"We are seeking them as the information they may provide could be of great benefit to the investigation."

In 2014, the NSW coroner ruled Ms Bowie was likely killed the day she disappeared or not long after but the manner of her death and location of her remains could not be established.

The NSW government announced a $1 million reward in November for anyone who could help find Ms Bowie and fresh leads from across Australia were passed on to police.

Police also excavated the concrete slab at an industrial estate and searched a dam on the edge of Walgett at that time.

"It doesn't matter how long it takes to find answers," Det Supt Doherty said.

"Our detectives are committed and will leave no stone unturned as they pursue justice for Roxlyn and her loved ones."
After 18 years living with Type 1 diabetes, Megan Wilkie feels more in control of her glucose levels now than she ever has.

The 32-year-old, who is pregnant with her third child, says it is hard to put into words the physical and mental benefits such control has brought.

"I sat there with my endocrinologist last week and cried because I was so happy about the control and the numbers that I had," she told AAP.

Ms Wilkie credits the control with a continuous glucose monitoring device she began using in August through a hospital-run trial, the FreeStyle Libre produced by pharmaceutical company Abbott.

The system reads glucose levels through a sensor worn on the back the upper arm, doing away with time-consuming and painful finger pricks.

But it doesn't come cheap, costing $90 a fortnight or $2400 a year.

For Ms Wilkie, footing the bill for the device now means cutting back on household spending.

But she is among thousands of Australians who believe the federal government should subsidise the technology, giving access to it to people who otherwise couldn't afford it.

More than 197,000 people have signed a petition to that effect in the past few years, after it was begun by former navy sailor Christopher Slingsby-Smith.

From the start of the month, the government has begun subsidising continuous glucose monitoring devices for eligible people.

That includes people with Type 1 diabetes aged under 21 who are pregnant or planning to be, or who have a valid concession status and a "high clinical need", along with children with conditions

But the FreeStyle Libre isn't on the list, despite the federal government saying in November it intended it to be.

A spokeswoman for Health Minister Greg Hunt says the Department of Health is still in negotiation with the product's manufacturers to agree on a price that is "justified by the evidence of its effectiveness".

Ms Wilkie says she had been awaiting the subsidisation of the FreeStyle Libre , but switched to one of the other options - which she finds more bulky and onerous - for the duration of her pregnancy, because it is subsidised.

"I was quite disappointed," she said.

Sydney-based endocrinologist Professor Maria Craig says it important the device be subsidised quickly, as it is now the global standard of care.

"The ability to be able to monitor your blood glucose levels much more frequently is important for your quality of life," she told AAP.

Prof Craig said the Freestyle Libre is less bulky than other glucose monitors, but what matters is that people have products to choose between.

Subsidised access to the technology is now available in 32 countries.
Newly-announced fast-rail links between major cities and regional centres will significantly cut travel times and Scott Morrison believes they will help ease population pressures.

But the prime minister has been criticised for jumping the gun on funding announcements in a bid to win votes just weeks out from the May federal election.

Mr Morrison announced $2 billion for fast-rail between Geelong and Melbourne, along with business cases for links in Sydney and Brisbane.

"To take the pressure off our fast growing cities you need to be able to improve your links with your satellite cities around the country," Mr Morrison told reporters in Geelong on Friday.

The funding for the 20-year fast-rail plan will be included in the April 2 budget, but the project relies on Victoria matching the $2 billion commitment.

Another $40 million will go to developing five new business cases across the country for the fast-rail links, which will travel at an average speed of 160km/h.

But Victorian Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said Mr Morrison had jumped the gun on the Geelong project.

"It's been interesting today to see an election eve thought bubble come from the prime minister," she told reporters.

"Two billion dollars is simply not enough money to do that work."

Mr Morrison said the money was a start, and based on advice from experts about what it would cost to upgrade the line.

"That's what business cases are for, that's our understanding at the moment, if the costs are greater than that then we'll have to address that at the time," he said.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said the announcement was a cynical attempt to chase votes in Victoria.

"How do you know when there's going to be a federal election? The Liberal Party discover infrastructure in Victoria. What a coincidence," Mr Shorten told reporters in Melbourne.

The fast-rail announcement is the latest slice of the government's population growth plan, with Mr Morrison announcing earlier this week the number of annually available immigration places will be cut from 190,000 to 160,000.
The very people who need aged care services are struggling to use a government system that is based on a website and call centre, a royal commission has heard.

Senior counsel assisting the commission Dr Timothy McEvoy QC has suggested changes are needed to My Aged Care, the main entry point to Australia's aged care system.

"The very people who most need to obtain access to aged care services in the home are confronted by aspects of the My Aged Care channels which inhibit their effective engagement with the system," Dr McEvoy said.

He said the generation most in need of aged care services was not generally adept at using computers and many people found using call centres challenging, let alone those with hearing impairments.

"It is not respectful to expect the people who most need to use My Aged Care to deal through these channels," Dr McEvoy said.

"Over time, as more computer-adept generations move into the cohort requiring aged care services, web-based channels may well become the more appropriate option.

"For the present, something else needs to be done."

During a week-long hearing in Adelaide focused on home care that wrapped up on Friday, the royal commission heard about the difficulties older people had trying to navigate the My Aged Care website or contact the call centre.

But Fiona Buffinton, who heads up the health department's In Home Aged Care division, did not accept My Aged Care was failing older Australians and was not fit for purpose.

She said improvements were being made to the website.

The federal government has also funded a trial program to test different types of services and activities to help people navigate the aged care system.

Dr McEvoy said suggested improvements to My Aged Care include adding individual case managers, providing face-to-face assistance and making improvements to the website and call centre.

The three contact centres receive 1.4 million calls a year.

Dr McEvoy said future hearings of the royal commission will examine the sustainability of the aged care system and the financial implications of changes to it.

The next public hearing will be held in Sydney in May and will focus on residential care, in particular the needs of people living with dementia.
NSW is headed to the polls as the latest Newspoll shows the coalition with a two-party-preferred lead over Labor, pointing to Premier Gladys Berejiklian becoming the first popularly elected female premier in the state's history.

A special NSW Newspoll for The Weekend Australian shows the coalition took a 51-49 per cent two-party-preferred lead over Labor on the eve of the state election.

It is the coalition's best Newspoll result in two years, representing a 3.3 per cent swing away from the government compared with its 2015 election result.

If uniform, it would see Ms Berejiklian lose six seats, meaning she would need one independent's support from the crossbench to form government.

Betting agency Sportsbet on Friday announced the odds the government would be returned to power had shortened to $1.38.

Labor was long odds at $3.

That was a change from just one week ago where the odds were roughly even for both major parties.

The government is going into the election with a six seat majority and will need to hold on to 47 to govern.

However the Newspoll found the coalition faces a big loss of support outside Sydney, with a six per cent slump in primary-vote support to 39 per cent, deadlocking it with Labor at 50-50 on a two-party-preferred basis.

Ms Berejiklian leads Labor leader Michael Daley 43-35 in the better premier stakes but 22 per cent of voters remained uncommitted.

Mr Daley's satisfaction rating dropped five points from 37 to 32 and his disapproval rating rose nine points from 38 per cent to 47.

A bad week for Mr Daley also hurt Labor's primary vote, now at 35 per cent.

The coalition's statewide primary vote is up one to 41 per cent, with the Greens steady at 10 per cent and "others", which includes independents, One Nation and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party, also steady at 14.

Many were predicting a hung parliament will be the outcome on Friday, ABC election analysts said on Friday.

Mr Daley campaigned heavily on schools and hospitals before stadiums until the end while the premier spruiked a solid budget position and big spending on infrastructure.

On Friday, the final day of campaigning, much of the focus turned to deals struck up with minor parties on both sides of the aisle.

Each accused the other of potentially watering down gun laws in the wake of the Christchurch terror attack with Labor shaking hands with the Shooters Fishers and Farmers in some regional seats and the Nationals dealing with David Leyonhjelm in the upper house.

Both denied they would weaken gun legislation.

The coalition lost regional seats Orange and Wagga to the Shooters and independent candidate Joe McGurr in respective by-elections since 2015.

Voting centres will open at 8am and close at 6pm on Saturday.
Bullet holes stand out against the white fence of a New Zealand mosque targeted in a terror attack a week ago.

But inside, Christchurch's Masjid a Noor has been restored to allow the community to return to their place of worship without graphic reminders of the slaying of 50 people during Friday prayers.

Police will return the al Noor and Linwood mosques to leaders on Saturday after crime scene investigators finished their work and contractors donated their time to return them to their original condition.

But it's up to the community when prayers will resume after last Friday's terror attack.

Al Noor Imam Gamal Fouda was interrupted by gunfire while leading prayers that day.

During a memorial service in nearby Hagley Park on Friday to mark one week since the attack he reflected on the hatred and rage he saw in the killer's eyes.

Thousands gathered to support the community in their Friday prayers, and he saw their love reflecting back.

"We are broken-hearted, but we are not broken," he said.

"We are alive, we are together, we are determined not to let anyone divide us."

A terrorist sought to tear the nation apart with evil ideology, but New Zealand showed itself to the world as an example of love and unity, Fouda said.

"Today, from the same place, I look out and I see the love and compassion in the eyes of thousands of fellow New Zealanders and human beings from across the globe that fill the hearts of millions more who are not with us physically, but in spirit," he said.

That compassion will be reflected again in a March of Love in Hagley Park on Saturday morning, when the community will gather again for speeches and performances.

Fouda's words were met with prayers and applause from the community and the Muslims there to pray on the most sacred day of the week in Islam.

Survivors attended, including 13-year-old Zaid Mustafa who took his place in the front row two days after the burial of his father Khaled and older brother Hamza, 15.

Following the memorial more than 5000 people made their way to the Memorial Park Cemetery for the mass burial of 26 mosque victims, and another man who died returning to his Dunedin home after mourning his uncle's death with family.

The last of the Christchurch burials, the goodbyes included the youngest victim, three-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim, new father Ramiz Vohra, 28, and his father Arif, 58.

A week on, more of the injured are being released from hospital, though 27 remain, including five critical in intensive care.

A four-year-old girl remains critical in Auckland's children's hospital.

The man charged with murder over the attack, 28-year-old Australian Brenton Tarrant, used two semi-automatic rifles legally bought with a licence.

From 3pm on Thursday such weapons became illegal under interim measures, until legislation is expected to be introduced by April 11.

Police received more than 1000 online notifications from gun owners surrendering weapons on Friday, and a dedicated hotline received 474 calls within 15 hours of the announcement.
The Australian government says the global fight against Islamic State is not over, after US-backed forces captured the group's last territory in Syria.

The Syrian Democratic Forces announced on Saturday they had liberated the country's Middle Euphrates River Valley, the last spot in either Syria or Iraq under under IS control.

Australians have contributed to the effort to combat the group, as part of a 79-member global coalition, with an average 600 Australian Defence Force personnel in the Middle East at any time since 2014.

In a joint statement, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Christopher Pyne have welcomed the latest milestone.

But the leader have also stressed there is still a long way to go in pushing back against IS, also known as Da'esh.

"Despite the significance of the milestone represented by this territorial defeat, it does not represent the end of the fight against Da'esh nor the extremism it embodies," the statement reads.

"Da'esh continues to pose a security threat in the Middle East region and beyond, including through the propagation of its extreme ideology."

Australia will continue to help the Iraqi Security Forces, at the request of the Iraqi government, including offering military training at the Taji military complex northwest of Baghdad.

A ninth rotation of military trainers is set to go to Iraq in June, with the combined Australian-New Zealand task group consisting of around 300 ADF and 110 NZ Defence Force personnel.

Islamic State originated as an al-Qaeda faction in Iraq but took advantage of Syria's civil war to seize land there and split from the global jihadist organisation.

In 2014, it grabbed Iraq's Mosul, erased the border with Syria and called on supporters worldwide to join a jihadist utopia, complete with currency, flag and passports.
Doctors are calling for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised from 10 years to 14.

Australian Medical Association president Tony Bartone said raising the age of criminal responsibility would prevent the unnecessary criminalisation of vulnerable children.

"Australia has one of the lowest ages of criminal responsibility in the world," he said.

Under current settings, 10-year-olds can be dealt with by the criminal justice system including being charged, prosecuted and imprisoned.

Dr Bartone said criminalisation of children was a national problem that disproportionately affected indigenous youth.

"Most children in prison come from backgrounds that are disadvantaged. These children often experience violence, abuse, disability, homelessness, and drug or alcohol misuse," he said.

"Criminalising the behaviour of young and vulnerable children creates a vicious cycle of disadvantage and forces children to become entrenched in the criminal justice system."

The AMA wants federal and state governments to support health, education and rehabilitative alternatives to the criminal justice system.
Christchurch sisters Madison and Sophie Hider attend a gathering for victims of the twin mosques massacre

Women across New Zealand wore makeshift hijabs as a statement of peace and solidarity on Friday, a week after a white supremacist killed 50 Muslims at two mosques in the southern city of Christchurch.

Rafaela Stoakes, a 32-year-old mother of two, said wearing the Islamic head covering gave her an insight into what it means to stand out and feel part of the minority.

On Friday morning she covered all but a few locks of her dark chestnut-coloured hair in a loose red and white scarf, crossed neatly beneath her chin and tucked into a black hiking jacket.

She was one of many women embracing #HeadScarfforHarmony, to make a stand against the hate espoused by the Australian man accused of killing dozens of worshippers.

Police officer were among the New Zealand women who donned headscarves as a mark of respect

Headscarves were also worn as a mark of respect by policewomen and non-Muslim volunteers directing the crowds around the site in Christchurch holding communal prayers on Friday.

Many were wearing a headscarf for the first time.

"It is amazing how different I felt for the short time I was out this morning," Stoakes told AFP.

"There were a lot of confused looks and some slightly aggressive ones," she said.

"I did feel a sense of pride to honour my Muslim friends, but I also felt very vulnerable and alone as I was the only person wearing one."

"It must take a lot of courage to do this on a daily basis."

The gesture caught on nationwide -- in offices, schools and on the streets -- as well as at the ceremonies held in Christchurch to mark one week since the killings at the hands of a self-avowed white supremacist.

Women flooded Twitter, Facebook and other social media -- which played a key role in allowing the gunman to spread his message -- with their images.

Women in New Zealand are embracing #HeadScarfforHarmony, to make a stand against hate

Kate Mills Workman, a 19-year-old student from Wellington, posted a selfie on Twitter wearing a green headscarf.

"If I could I would be attending the mosque and standing outside to show my support for my Muslim whanau but I've got lectures and I can't really skip them," she told AFP, using a Maori language term for extended family.

"Obviously this is all spurred on by the terrible tragedy in Christchurch, but it's also a way of showing that any form of harassment or bigotry based on a symbol of religion is never okay," she added.

"As New Zealanders, we have to make a really strong stand."

Headscarves were also worn by some non-Muslim volunteers at Friday's commemorative events

Although the headscarf has been the subject of contentious debate over gender rights in the Islamic world, for Stoakes the day has been a lesson in how pious Muslim women often do not have the option to melt away into the background when they feel vulnerable.

"We can nod and pretend to agree with people who we are afraid of, or plead ignorance if we feel in danger of confrontation," she said.

"But a Muslim is just right out there. Like a bullseye. Their hijabs and clothing speak before they do."
A Central American migrant carrying a child is helped after being sprayed by US Border Patrol agents while trying to cross the US-Mexico border

US Border Patrol agents on Thursday fired tear gas at Central American migrants attempting to cross the border from the Mexican city of Tijuana, AFP journalists saw.

A group of migrants, including children, used an improvised rope to try to scale fencing installed on the beach between Tijuana and San Diego, California -- but were forced back with tear gas, which agents had not deployed since January 1.

An AFP journalist witnessed only one migrant cross the border, where he was immediately detained.

It marked the third time in a week that a group of Central Americans had tried to cross the border to ask for asylum on the grounds their lives were threatened by violence at home.

A Central American man is taken into custody by Tijuana police

On the first occasion, a week ago, around 50 people made it across, with about 10 more crossing on Tuesday. All were detained by authorities.

"Someone brought them here, they train them because they know that upon crossing they must ask for asylum and that way they won't be deported and they have to be processed according to US laws," said one Tijuana policeman, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak.

Last November, hundreds of Central Americans that arrived from Honduras as part of a large caravan tried to cross en masse -- but only a few succeeded as the crowd was met with tear gas.

In recent months, thousands of Central Americans have arrived in Mexico in several caravans in the hope of finding a better life in the United States.

A Central American tries to climb the US-Mexico border fence to San Diego, California

US President Donald Trump has branded such migrants a threat to national security, demanding billions of dollars from Congress to build a wall on the southern US border.
Palestinians burn images of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump in protest at Israel's decision to withhold Palestinian tax receipts that has helped trigger a suffocating financial crisis

The Palestinian Authority faces a suffocating financial crisis after deep US aid cuts and an Israeli move to withhold tax transfers, sparking fears for the stability of the West Bank.

The authority, headed by President Mahmud Abbas, announced a package of emergency measures on March 10, including halving the salaries of many civil servants.

The United States has cut more than $500 million in Palestinian aid in the last year, though only a fraction of that went directly to the PA.

The PA has decided to refuse what little US aid remains on offer for fear of civil suits under new legislation passed by Congress.

Israel has also announced it intends to deduct around $10 million a month in taxes it collects for the PA in a dispute over payments to the families of prisoners in Israeli jails.

In response, Abbas has refused to receive any funds at all, labelling the Israeli reductions theft.

That will leave his government with a monthly shortfall of around $190 million for the length of the crisis.

The money makes up more than 50 percent of the PA's monthly revenues, with other funds coming from local taxes and foreign aid.

- Risk of 'explosion' -

While the impact of the cuts is still being assessed, analysts fear it could affect the stability of the occupied West Bank.

Analysts say the combined impact of deep US aid cuts and Israel's move to withhold tax receipts threatens an upsurge of violence in the occupied West Bank

"If the economic situation remains so difficult and the PA is unable to pay salaries and provide services, in addition to continuing (Israeli) settlement expansion it will lead to an explosion," political analyst Jihad Harb said.

Abbas cut off relations with the US administration after President Donald Trump declared the disputed city of Jerusalem Israel's capital in December 2017.

The right-wing Israeli government, strongly backed by the US, has since sought to squeeze Abbas.

After a deadly anti-Israeli attack last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would withhold $138 million (123 million euros) in Palestinian revenues over the course of a year.

Israel collects around $190 million a month in customs duties levied on goods destined for Palestinian markets that transit through its ports, and then transfers the money to the PA.

Israel said the amount it intended to withhold was equal to what is paid by the PA to the families of prisoners, or prisoners themselves, jailed for attacks on Israelis last year.

Many Palestinians view prisoners and those killed while carrying out attacks as heroes of the fight against Israeli occupation.

Israel says the payments encourage further violence.

Abbas recently accused Netanyahu's government of causing a "crippling economic crisis in the Palestinian Authority."

The PA also said in January it would refuse all further US government aid for fear of lawsuits under new US legislation targeting alleged support for "terrorism".

- US 'political decisions' -

Finance Minister Shukri Bishara announced earlier this month he had been forced to "adopt an emergency budget that includes restricted austerity measures."

The Palestinian Authority led by president Mahmud Abbas has only limited autonomy in West Bank towns and cities, and the economy remains dependent on Israel

Government employees paid over 2,000 shekels ($555) will receive only half their salaries until further notice.

Prisoner payments would continue in full, Bishara added.

Nasser Abdel Karim, a Ramallah-based economics professor, told AFP the PA, and the Palestinian economy more generally, remain totally controlled by and reliant on Israel.

The PA undertook similar financial measures in 2012 when Israel withheld taxes over Palestinian efforts to gain international recognition at the United Nations.

Abdel Karim said such crises are "repeated and disappear according to the development of the relationship between the Palestinian Authority and Israel or the countries that support (the PA)."

Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including now annexed east Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967 and Abbas's government has only limited autonomy in West Bank towns and cities.

"The problem is the lack of cash," economic journalist Jafar Sadaqa told AFP.

He said that while the PA had faced financial crises before, "this time is different because it comes as a cumulative result of political decisions taken by the United States."

Abbas appointed longtime ally Mohammad Shtayyeh as prime minister on March 10 to head a new government to oversee the crisis.

Abdel Karim believes the crisis could worsen after an Israeli general election next month "if a more right-wing Israeli government wins."

Netanyahu's outgoing government is already regarded as the most right-wing in Israel's history but on April 9 parties even further to the right have a realistic chance of winning seats in parliament for the first time.

Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts have been at a standstill since 2014, when a drive for a deal by the administration of President Barack Obama collapsed in the face of persistent Israeli settlement expansion in the West Bank.
Dale Zelko (C) and Zoltan Dani began exchanging emails about ten years ago

Twenty years ago, Zoltan Dani achieved a miraculous military feat: wielding outdated missile equipment, his army unit shot down an American F117 "stealth fighter" flying over Serbia as part of NATO's 1999 air strike assault.

The David-vs-Goliath victory was one of the most surprising achievements of the Serbian side as it was battered by NATO bombs that began dropping 20 years ago on Sunday, in a bid to halt Belgrade's war with Kosovo.

But in perhaps an even more remarkable twist, the retired army officer is now close friends with the American pilot whose Nighthawk he brought down.

"Bingo," Dani, now 62, recalls saying when he first learned he had struck the American aircraft, which was touted as invisible to radar.

The downing of the F117 three days into the NATO assault earned Dani national hero status.

It was the first and only time a F117 has been shot down in combat, leading celebratory Serbs to print shirts and posters with the slogan: "We didn't know it was invisible!"

After three months of air strikes, Serbia was forced to withdraw its troops from Kosovo, where its forces had been battling ethnic Albanian separatists.

While the NATO intervention is celebrated as the basis of Kosovans' liberation today, traumatic memories of the bombs remain deeply etched in Serbia's public memory.

But Dani and his US counterpart, Air Force pilot Dale Zelko, managed to put their past behind them.

Around a decade ago, they started exchanging emails.

"It was important, among other things, to learn what kind of man he was," Dani, who is part of Serbia's Hungarian minority, told AFP from his home in eastern Skorenovac.

"After two to three years we decided together that it was time to meet."

- 'Message of peace' -

That 2012 encounter, filmed in a documentary called 'The Second Meeting', saw Zelko travel to Dani's home where he had opened a bakery after retiring from military service.

"When he arrived... I handed him an apron, he took it and we worked together," recalls Dani with a grin.

In the documentary, the two men are seen rolling out pastry dough together before visiting a Serbian museum where tattered pieces of the F117 are on display.

"Hey, that's my stuff," Zelko jokes, pointing at the display.

They also visit the field where the American pilot landed after he ejected from his aircraft in a parachute.

"As soon as I saw those missiles I thought, oh man, they got me," Zelko says standing in the field.

At a screening of the film in Belgrade in 2012, Zelko addressed the room.

"I am sorry for your suffering and sorrow, loss and anguish," he said, visibly shaken.

"War is not between normal, average people, it is between the governments," he added.

Dani says he was initially hesitant about making contact with his former war foe, but ultimately decided it would "be an opportunity to send a common message of peace and understanding".

The following year he visited Zelko and his family at their home in New Hampshire.

Now they still talk "once or twice a week by email", reports Dani.

Near his computer is a large chunk of dark metal -- another recovered piece of the F117 -- leaning against the wall.
Supporters of the Phalang Pracharat party -- which has thrown its lot in with the Thai junta -- attend a campaign rally in Chonburi province ahead of the country's general election

Itthipol Khunpleum grabs the mic, bounds onto the stage and flashes a winning smile as he works the crowd gathered for a final rally: "Chonburi... show me your hands!" he says to wild applause.

But he need not have bothered. The feared and revered Khunpleums have run eastern Chonburi province for decades and -- like the other 'godfathers' who preside over swathes of Thailand -- carry voter loyalty wherever they go.

This time the Khunpleums have thrown their lot in with Phalang Pracharat, the party of the Thai junta which is scheming a return as a civilian government after Sunday's general election.

In an unpredictable poll whose outcome has pundits in a spin, Chonburi's eight seats could prove invaluable to a potential junta-led coalition.

Itthipol Khunpleum, a two-time former mayor of Thailand's boisterous sex capital Pattaya, was hired to advise the junta in early 2018, as it raced to cement pre-election alliances

"We are confident of winning," Itthipol told AFP, chuckling at the question of where the political loyalty of his family truly lies after years of taking posts in governments of all stripes.

"We are on the side of the people... and not the parties who divide the people by promising democracy or dictatorship."

The Khunpleums are the source of local power in Chonburi province, southeast of the capital Bangkok.

They are gatekeepers to political office, fixers of problems and businessmen whose name has been earned through cultivation of their constituents and a reputation for ruthlessness with their rivals.

The smooth, US-educated Itthipol, a two-time former mayor of Thailand's boisterous sex capital Pattaya, was hired to advise the junta in early 2018, as it raced to cement pre-election alliances.

The Khunpleums are among the most famous of Thailand's influential families, and act as gatekeepers to political office in the home base, fixers of problems and businessmen

The junta installed his gruffer older brother, Sonthaya, as mayor of Pattaya, while the notorious family patriarch -- nicknamed 'Kamnan Poh' -- was freed early from jail on a murder conviction.

The family's vote bank is with the junta, for now.

In return, the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), Thailand's biggest ever investment scheme worth nearly $60 billion, has been signed off, promising to upgrade the Khunpleums' patch into a tech, industrial and state-of-the-art tourism hub.

- 'Kamnan Poh' -

The Khunpleums are among the most famous of Thailand's influential families.

Father Somchai -- nicknamed 'Kamnan Poh', as kamnan is a term for a head of a cluster of villages -- is a storied bootlegger and smuggler turned local bigwig.

He carved out the family name and built a political and business empire, which sweeps in the lucrative resort town of Pattaya, visited by millions of tourists each year.

"He is a real 'godfather', he does exactly what he says... he helps his people the very best he can, and he competes his hardest against his opponents," a veteran Pattaya politician told AFP, requesting anonymity.

The party has thrown in its lot with the Thai junta, led by Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha

Kamnan Poh was given a 25-year sentence for masterminding the 2003 murder of one of those opponents, a business rival.

But made a dash across the Cambodian border before he could be arrested.

His impunity ended in 2013 when he was caught at a tollway in Thailand.

But in late 2017 as the junta came knocking for Khunpleum support, he was suddenly freed early on medical grounds.

Months later his family was working for the military.

The murder conviction of the head of the Khunpleum clan has not dimmed their star power in Chonburi.

"Two tigers can't share the same cave... it's up to one to make the first move," explained the Pattaya official of the conviction. "Thai politics is unfortunately like this."

The Khunpleums' revival is part of a wider junta move to reach out to local fiefs.

Initially after its 2014 coup, the military turned the screw on powerful clans as it hollowed out local political power structures across the country putting in its pointmen.

But it has now turned to them for electoral support.

"They (the influential families) are going to come back again for this election," says Thailand expert and historian Chris Baker, of a patronage system which has corroded local democracy in the Southeast Asian nation.

But in the absence of stable government -- Thailand is stuck on a merry-go-round coups and short-lived civilian administrations -- families like the Khunpleums are lauded by many in their communities.

Several people at a enthusiastic rally in Chonburi town on Thursday evening said they would defy their political instincts to vote for the junta-linked party on Sunday.

"No matter what, I support the Khunpleum family," said Jidapa Kerdpol, 60, bouncing a placard with Itthipol's face on it as music blared.

"They have done everything for Chonburi."
Opposition lawmakers have excoriated Moon Jae-in for his language flub

What's the difference between good afternoon and good night? In South Korea's cutthroat politics, it can be a furious political row and the foreign minister apologising to parliament.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited Malaysia earlier this month and greeted his audience at an afternoon press conference with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad using the phrase "selamat sore".

The line is more commonly used in Indonesia -- although the neighbours' languages are so similar they are generally mutually intelligible.

At the time, Mahathir smiled and appeared amused, while senior Malaysian senior ministers laughed, but Moon's South Korean critics slammed him for not using the correct Malaysian greeting "selamat petang".

And his use of that phrase, meaning "good afternoon", at a dinner beginning at 8pm -- rather than "selamat malam", or good night -- triggered another round of fury in Seoul.

Opposition lawmakers and newspapers lined up to excoriate Moon, with headlines calling it a "diplomatic disaster".

The Korea Times assailed the "incompetence" of the presidential protocol team on Friday.

"The absence of a protest from the host country does not excuse the unbelievable carelessness," it added, saying it was one of a series of incidents demonstrating a "serious lack of professionalism and ethics" in the Blue House.

South Korea's foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha has apologised to parliament, admitting that her ministry had made a "painful mistake".

"I apologise for causing concerns," she told the national assembly on Wednesday.

But an aide for the Malaysian prime minister's office told AFP that "selamat sore" was usable in Malaysian too.

"We were happy and amused when the President said it," he told AFP. "Personally, it is a non-issue."
The crowd reflected the sheer diversity of those affected by last week's devastating attacks

When the prayer memorial ended in Christchurch, Ahmad Khan stood shoulder-to-shoulder with three Maori men in traditional dress as they all stuck out their tongues.

"It's unbelievable looking at the crowd here, thousands of people gathering behind us during prayers," said Khan, a 36-year-old businessman who flew down from Auckland to attend the service.

"It's a feeling of rejoicing."

Joy might seem like an odd word for someone who hails from a community that just had an unimaginable atrocity committed against them.

The killings began only a short distance away at the bloodstained Al Noor mosque, which is still shuttered to the public.

But Khan said he was buzzing. No longer was his community isolated, shunned or viewed with suspicion.

The memory of those lost was, of course, painful. But for now, he wanted to bask in that newfound community spirit.

Khan was not alone.

A queue of worshippers waited for pictures with the three Maoris -- men in prayer caps and long tunics, veiled women and young children squealing with delight as the trio put on their most frightening war faces.

- Sea of colour -

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the prayer service

The crowd reflected the sheer diversity of those affected by last week's devastating attacks.

At the front, divided into male and female sections, were those hit the hardest -- thousands of Muslim worshippers facing the mosque for prayers, including survivors and relatives of those killed.

It looked much like any outdoor Friday prayer session.

But what made the gathering so extraordinary were the thousands of non-Muslims behind them.

There were families from across New Zealand, biker gang members standing guard, Maoris in traditional attire, and priests in clerical collars.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also attended, as did a self-declared wizard clad in flowing robes and a pointed hat.

Some brought guitars and sang songs. Others held placards.

Most women wore bright headscarves, creating a kaleidoscope of colour

One banner held by two people next to where Muslim men were washing ahead of prayers simply read: "We support our Muslim neighbours."

Instead of mourning in black, most women wore bright headscarves, creating a kaleidoscope of colour.

Many of those attending said New Zealand had been forever changed by the murders -- but in a way that would only bond people together.

"The country is united in this and nothing is ever going to break it," Christchurch local John Dale, 59, said, accompanied by his partner Shirley, who had decided to wear a white headscarf.

"We'll stand behind each other -- anyone. Muslims, Christian, any religion."

- 'Acts of kindness' -

There were families from across New Zealand along with biker gang members standing guard

Mohamed Nadir lost his brother Mohammed Daoud Nabi, the 71-year-old gunned down reportedly greeting his killer with the words "hello brother".

As he knelt down during the two minutes of silence, Nadir started to weep. The woman kneeling next to him, Alaska Wood, rested her hand and forehead on his shoulder.

"They're hurting, they need us, so the least we can do is to stand beside them," Wood, a Christchurch local, told AFP.

"There's only so much we can do. But if it's little acts of kindness, they will snowball into big acts. It's the only way things will change."

Hasma Adeeb, 23, had tears streaming down her face as she was hugged by a series of well-wishers.

Her father Adeeb Ahmed Sama was shot twice in the massacre, diving on top of her twin brother Ali.

She described the huge number of non-Muslim women wearing headscarves for the day as a "beautiful" gesture.

"Today we really did feel the support from everyone. New Zealand has been amazing. Just having everyone by our side -- it truly means a lot to all of us. It's beautiful, so thank you."

Soon after, she was embraced by another person.
An audio cassette made with magnetic strips in the production plant of Mulann, in Avranches, northwestern France

The humble cassette -- that tiny little plastic rectangle containing the homemade mixtapes of yesteryear -- is back, joining vinyl as a darling of audiophiles who miss side A and side B.

But as top musicians including Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber release their music on tape and demand continues to climb, the niche revival has faced a global shortage of music-quality magnetic tape needed for production.

Now, two facilities -- one in the American Midwest and the other in western France -- have stepped in to meet the need.

"It's a good place to be -- there's plenty of business for both of us," said Steve Stepp, who founded the National Audio Company in Springfield, Missouri with his father 50 years ago.

He said that around 2000 the "imperial hegemony of the CD" cut his business, which stayed alive as a major manufacturer of books on tape that remained popular.

But despite the astronomical rise of streaming, Stepp said rock bands like Pearl Jam and The Smashing Pumpkins began seeking to manufacture anniversary tapes in the mid-2000s, launching a cassette comeback tour.

"That convinced major record labels that there was still life in the cassette as a music form," he said.

Several years ago National Audio bought 300,000 reels of tape from a South Korean company that gave up music-grade tape production.

As that stockpile began to shrink, his facility in November 2016 was faced with a choice: either make reels, or fold.

Magnetic stripes used to make audio cassettes in the production plant of Mulann, in Avranches, northwestern France

His business invested several million dollars buying up old equipment from defunct production facilities, and last year National Audio manufactured 18 million audio cassettes, Stepp said, selling to 3,500 record labels globally.

"I think it's got a bright future," Stepp told AFP of the cassette market. "It died in 2000, as far as conventional wisdom was concerned, and it has made a strong comeback since."

"Reports of its death were greatly exaggerated."

- '90s vibes' -

Since November, Mulann -- a small French company near Mont Saint Michel -- has also rebooted production, the country's first manufacturing of music-grade tape in two decades.

Already selling magnetic tape for metro tickets or military recording studios, the Mulann group acquired a plant to produce analog audio tapes under the trademark Recording The Masters.

For Jean-Luc Renou, Mulann's CEO, there's still a place for analog sound in today's ephemeral music world.

"Take the example of heating: you have radiators at home. It's comfortable, it's digital -- but next to you, you can make a good fire."

"Pleasure" is the goal, he said: "That's the cassette or vinyl."

Production of magnetic stripes used to make audio cassettes in a French plant

The company sells tapes for 3.49 euros each, producing them by the thousands each month and exporting 95 percent worldwide, according to commercial director Theo Gardin.

The 27-year-old admits he didn't know in his youth the joys -- and pains -- of the Walkman personal tape player, or the delicate strip of tape that tangles up and must be rewound with, say, a pen. Or a finger.

According to Stepp, it's precisely 20-somethings like Gardin fast-forwarding demand, as young people seek something tangible in the internet age.

Urban Outfitters -- an American clothing brand catering to hipster types that also sells electronics -- on its site spells out the mixtape process.

"If you've never spent 3-5 hours sitting by the radio, waiting for that one Hanson song to come on so you could add it to your mixtape, get pumped: you can now relive that experience," it says.

"Let those '90s vibes wash over you, man."

- 'A uniqueness' -

Cassette tape album sales in the US grew by 23 percent in 2018, according to tracker Nielsen Music, jumping from 178,000 copies the year prior to 219,000.

It's nothing compared to 1994 sales of 246 million cassette albums, but significant considering the format was all but dead by the mid 2000s.

"As an old fogey I don't want to imagine a world with no analog," Stepp said. "The world around is analog; our ears are analog."

"Digital recordings are very clean and sharp but there are no harmonics. These are digital pictures of audio recordings, if you will."

Bobby May, a 29-year-old buyer at Burger Records in southern California, said that while "physical media in itself is a totally antiquated idea," cassette sound has what he called a uniqueness.

Wasted magnetic stripes used to make audio cassettes in the production plant of Mulann

"The consumer public is fickle and trends always change, but for the foreseeable future, I know tons of people will stay pretty crazy for records and vinyl."

Last year vinyl saw revenues hit their highest level since 1988, totaling $419 million -- an eight percent jump from the previous year.

Though vinyl's sound quality is unquestionably superior to cassettes, May said tapes' low cost makes them ideal for collectors.

"I still like stuff pilin' up around me," May laughed, adding that he probably has 500 tapes from Burger.

In addition to the homemade and indie cassettes, he cherishes several mainstream albums as well.

"I have a prized 'Baby One More Time' cassette," he said, referring to pop princess Britney Spears' debut album. "It looks great on my shelf."
Seoul's ties with Tokyo have remained icy due to bitter disputes over history and territory stemming from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean peninsula

South Korea's foreign minister has intervened over a provincial proposal to apply stickers to some Japanese-made items in schools as "made by a Japanese firm responsible for war crimes".

South Korea and Japan are both democracies and US allies faced with an increasingly assertive China and the long-running threat of nuclear-armed North Korea.

But their own ties have remained icy for years due to bitter disputes over history and territory stemming from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean peninsula, with forced labour and wartime sexual slavery key examples.

Now 27 members of the Gyeonggi provincial legislature have proposed ordering all schools in the region to put stickers on items such as cameras and photocopiers made by Japanese firms they believe are implicated in abuses.

They have put together a list of 284 companies, including household names like Toshiba, Mitsubishi and Hitachi.

"These Japanese companies caused Koreans serious harm during colonial rule," the label would read, "taking their lives and causing physical harm and financial damage by organising forced labour, among other actions."

Gyeonggi surrounds Seoul and is one of the South's richest provinces, with a population of 12 million people -- almost a quarter of the national total.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told the national assembly Thursday that the proposal needed to be "reviewed with caution" and "diplomatic relations should be taken into consideration".

Japan maintains that all historical compensation issues between the two nations were settled under the 1965 treaty that re-established diplomatic relations, which included a reparations package of about $800 million in grants and cheap loans.

Conservative South Korean lawmakers have criticised the proposal, with Kim Jeong-hwa, a spokeswoman for the minor opposition Bareunmirae party saying in a statement: "We urge the ruling party to differentiate the past and the present, as well as our diplomacy and our emotions."

She also accused the Moon administration of spreading anti-Japanese propaganda to "cover up its incompetence."

The Korea Herald newspaper condemned what it called "outmoded nationalism" in an editorial Friday, pointing out that the war ended more than 70 years ago and some companies had since changed hands.

"Their current employees can hardly be said to be related to the war or war crimes," it added.

The dovish South Korean President Moon Jae-in -- who brokered talks between Washington and Pyongyang -- has stressed the independence struggle against Japan is at the heart of national identity in both Koreas, while framing the South's right-wing as the descendants of pro-Japanese collaborators.

Earlier this month, he said: "The task of setting history right is what is needed to help our future generations stand tall."

The Gyeonggi educational department has come out against the sticker proposal, but the provincial assembly is due to discuss it next week.
Hun Sen regularly praises Beijing's "no strings attached" aid and China has pumped billions into Cambodia's economy

Cambodia broke ground Friday on a $2 billion Chinese-funded expressway -- the country's first -- as strongman premier Hun Sen denied his country was in danger of becoming a colony of Beijing.

Once complete in 2023 the expressway will connect the capital Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville, a southern resort and seaport that has become a honeypot for Chinese gamblers and investors.

The near 200-kilometre (124-mile) road is being constructed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation and is a part of China's ambitious Belt and Road project.

"This road will cost around $2 billion... this is a tremendous project," Hun Sen said during a groundbreaking ceremony in Kampong Speu province, adding the expressway is "the first one" in Cambodia.

But he defended the Chinese investment.

Critics say "China is colonialising Cambodia... although China wishes to control Cambodia, Cambodia will not let it do so," Hun Sen said.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou, who attended the ceremony, also brushed off concerns over Beijing's influence.

"Some groups with ill-will have turned white-to-black, colouring Chinese investment as a trap," he said through a translator.

"In fact, the Chinese investment is not a trap, it is not even a threat, but it is a help" in Cambodia's development, he added.

Beijing's communist rulers have lavished the poor but strategically useful kingdom with aid and loans.

Hun Sen regularly praises Beijing's "no strings attached" aid, compared to help from the United States and European Union, which is often accompanied by calls to address corruption and human rights abuses.

The largest investor in Cambodia, China has pumped billions of yuan into the economy.

Hun Sen has also repeatedly denied rumours that a Chinese naval base is set to be established on Cambodian soil, giving ships ready access to the disputed South China Sea.
The liaison office in the North Korean city of Kaesong was opened last year as Seoul and Pyongyang knitted closer ties

North Korea pulled its staff out of an inter-Korean liaison office Friday, Seoul said, weeks after leader Kim Jong Un's summit with US President Donald Trump ended without agreement.

The office in the Northern city of Kaesong was opened in September as the two Koreas knitted closer ties, but the South's vice unification minister Chun Hae-sung told reporters Pyongyang had "notified the South they are pulling out of the liaison office".

The decision had been taken "in accordance with an order from an upper command", he said, adding: "They said they didn't care whether we stayed at the liaison office or not."

The South's President Moon Jae-in was instrumental in brokering the talks process between the nuclear-armed, sanctions-hit North and the US, Seoul's key security ally.

Moon has long backed engagement with the North to bring it to the negotiating table, and has been pushing the carrot of inter-Korean development projects, among them an industrial zone also in Kaesong and cross-border tourism for Southerners.

But the failure by Kim and Trump to reach agreement in Hanoi last month on walking back Pyongyang's nuclear programme in exchange for relaxation of the measures against it has raised questions over the future of the process, despite both sides' expressed willingness to talk further.

In his New Year speech -- a key political event in the North -- Kim said without giving details that Pyongyang might see a "new way for defending the sovereignty of the country and the supreme interests of the state" if the US persisted with sanctions.

Seoul sought to keep the door open to more contact.

"We regret the North's decision," Chun said. "Though North Korea has pulled out, we will continue to work at the liaison office as usual."
An Israeli flag flutters over the wreckage of an Israeli tank overlooking the armistice line on the Golan Heights

Syria, its allies, and fellow states in the region Friday condemned US President Donald Trump's pledge to recognise Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights slamming the move as a violation of international law.

Trump said Thursday it was time for Washington to recognise Israel's sovereignty over the strategic territory, which it seized from Syria in the Six-Day War of 1967 and annexed in a move never recognised internationally.

His abrupt tweet triggered delight in Israel, but outrage from other countries in the region as well as powerhouses such as Russia and Turkey.

Moscow warned the policy U-turn could spark new conflicts.

"Such appeals can considerably destabilise an already tense situation in the Middle East," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Hopefully it will remain (just) a call."

Any such move would break with UN Security Council resolutions and with more than half a century of US foreign policy, which treated the Golan as occupied territory whose future would be negotiated in talks with Syria on a comprehensive peace.

The territory's return has always been a key Syrian national demand, championed by government and rebels alike throughout the bloody civil war that has ripped the country apart since 2011.

In an angry retort, the Syrian government said Trump's comments disregarded international law.

The Golan Heights

"The American position towards Syria's occupied Golan Heights clearly reflects the United States' contempt for international legitimacy and its flagrant violation of international law," a foreign ministry source told the official SANA news agency.

Trump's comments showed the extent of his administration's "blind bias" towards Israel.

"The Golan was and will remain Arab and Syrian," the source said.

The foreign ministry sent a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, urging him to reiterate the UN's rejection of Israeli claims over the Golan, SANA said.

- 'National commitment' -

Turkey, which hosted the last indirect peace talks between Israel and the Syrian government in 2008 but has backed Syrian rebels, said the change risked plunging the region into a "new crisis".

"We will never allow the occupation of Golan Heights to be made legitimate," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

The Golan Heights lies at a strategic chokepoint in the Middle East and through successive rounds of negotiations Syria has demanded its return as the price of peace with Israel

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted he was "shocked by @realDonaldTrump continuing to try to give what is not his to racist Israel."

And France added its voice to the chorus of outrage, saying the Golan had been "occupied by Israel since 1967" and it did not recognise Israel's annexation.

In his tweet, Trump said the Golan was "of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!"

"After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognise Israel's Sovereignty over the Golan Heights," he said.

The Arab League said Trump's comments were "completely outside international law".

President Donald Trump has upended decades of US policy over the Golan Heights

The Gulf Cooperation Council said Trump's statement would not change the internationally recognised fact that the "Golan heights are Syrian lands forcefully occupied by Israel".

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said lasting peace in the region requires Israel to withdraw from all Arab territories it occupies, including the Golan.

Egypt urged "respect (for) legitimate international resolutions and the United Nations Charter on the unacceptability of land appropriation by force".

Following decades of calm along the Golan armistice line after the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1973, tensions flared with the eruption of civil war in Syria in 2011.

Israel provided medical assistance to wounded rebel fighters and repeatedly struck government positions in response to stray fire across the frontier.

It has also targeted suspected positions of Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, which have intervened militarily to back President Bashar al-Assad.

- Israeli thank you -

Since the Syrian government decisively defeated rebel fighters near the armistice line last year with Iranian and Hezbollah support, Israel has repeatedly vowed to prevent its arch enemies from establishing a long-term military presence.

Israelis in the annexed Golan Heights watch the progress of fighting on the other side of the armistice line in July 2018 as pro-Damascus forces seize the upper hand over rebels

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is seeking re-election next month, swiftly thanked Trump for his announcement.

"At a time when Iran seeks to use Syria as a platform to destroy Israel, President Trump boldly recognises Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights," the right-wing prime minister wrote on Twitter.

Leon Panetta, a veteran Democrat who served as CIA director and defence secretary among other roles, blasted Trump for "tweeting out another policy that obviously has not been worked out with our international partners".

The Golan move is Trump's latest diplomatic bombshell as he seeks to redraw the fraught Middle East in Israel's favour.

In 2017, Trump went against decades of practice in recognising the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, rather than the previously accepted Tel Aviv.
(CNN)  Amy Poehler is down for a "Parks and Recreation" reboot.

The cast of the hit show came together Thursday night at the PaleyFest to celebrate their 10th anniversary and that's where Poehler revealed it's simply a matter of when.

"Mike Schur is currently working on about five shows," Poehler told Variety. "Whenever Mike is ready, I'll put on my suit again for sure."

The hit show ran on NBC for seven seasons starting in 2009. Poehler played Leslie Knope, the deputy director of the Parks and Recreation Department in the town of Pawnee, Indiana. The show also starred Rashida Jones, Paul Schneider, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza and Chris Pratt.

Poehler also told The Hollywood Reporter at the event, "I am so not cool, so from minute one I've been like 'I'm down!' Tell me where to go, I'll clear my schedule. I mean, Mike Schur currently produces and writes on, I think, 14 shows, so it'll really be whenever he is 'tech avail,' as we like to say in the biz. But yeah, I'm ready."

Offerman also said he's game.

"Oh, sure. I'll do anything Parks and Rec as long as the brass is behind it," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "I mean, the gifts that that show has brought to me I'm still collecting every day, and I don't imagine I'll ever feel that I've fully repaid them."

Plaza said she's open to the idea.

"It's hard to recreate magic, [so] not yet. But I want to be around [the cast] all the time," she said. "They're the best. I never have had more fun in my life. They're my family."

This story was first published on CNN.com "Amy Poehler is ready for a 'Parks and Recreation' reboot"
Government troops have been accused of killing at least 40,000 ethnic Tamil civilians in the final months of the island nation's 37-year civil war in 2009.

Sri Lanka's main minority Tamil party demanded Friday that foreign judges be included in a special court to investigate war crimes, a day after the UN again granted Colombo more time for a much-delayed probe.

Government troops have been accused of killing at least 40,000 ethnic Tamil civilians in the final months of the island nation's 37-year civil war in 2009. No one has been prosecuted for war crimes in the decade since.

With no measurable progress, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday gave Sri Lanka two more years to set up a credible investigation, the second time it has been given an extension.

The probe is meant to include a special "hybrid" court involving both local and foreign judges and prosecutors.

But on Wednesday in Geneva, Sri Lankan foreign minister Tilak Marapana said the country's constitution did not allow foreign judges.

This prompted uproar from Tamil National Alliance (TNA), with lawmaker Mathiaparanan Abraham Sumanthiran threatening on Friday to report Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

"If the government does not agree to a hybrid court, Sri Lanka will have to face a tribunal which will be entirely international," Sumanthiran said in parliament.

He said Tamils, who were the most affected by the separatist war that claimed over 100,000 lives, will not accept an accountability mechanism that did not involve outsiders.

"The state of Sri Lanka cannot be an independent arbiter," he said.

Colombo's no-holds-barred military campaign wiped out the leadership of Tamil Tiger rebels and ended the war in May 2009.

UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet warned this week that Sri Lanka risked slipping back into conflict unless it addressed the "worst crimes" of the war.

She noted that Colombo was yet to set up the special judicial mechanism as promised four years ago.
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US-led warplanes bombed the north bank of the Euphrates River in eastern Syria early Friday to flush out holdout jihadists from the last sliver of their crumbling "caliphate".

Friday's bombardment ended two days of relative calm on the front line in the village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces had paused its advance while it combed a makeshift jihadist encampment it overran on Tuesday.

An SDF official who asked not to be named said that warplanes of the US-led coalition resumed airstrikes on suspected jihadist positions in the early hours of the morning.

Top SDF commander Jia Furat said his forces were engaging with the jihadists on several fronts while the coalition warplanes provided air support.

The US-led coalition said the "operation to complete the liberation of Baghouz is ongoing".

"It remains a hard fight, and Daesh is showing that they intend to keep fighting for as long as possible," it said using an Arabic acronym for IS.

Islamic State group in last stand

The SDF launched an assault against the jihadists' last redoubt in the village of Baghouz on February 9.

On Tuesday, they cornered diehard fighters into a few acres of farmland by the Euphrates River, after forcing them out of the encampment where they had been hold up.

The six-month-old operation to wipe out the last vestige of IS's once-sprawling proto-state is close to reaching its inevitable outcome.

But the SDF said on Thursday that a declaration of victory would be made only after mopping up operations had been completed.

IS declared a "caliphate" in June 2014 after seizing a vast swathe of territory larger than Britain straddling Iraq and Syria.

The loss of the Baghouz enclave would signal the final demise of the "caliphate" in Syria, after its defeat in Iraq in 2017.

But IS has already begun its transformation into a guerilla organisation, and still carries out deadly hit-and-run attacks from desert or mountain hideouts.

The war in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it erupted following the repression of anti-government protests in 2011.
Algerians mass again on the streets of the capital demanding ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika step down

Hundreds of thousands of Algerians demonstrated Friday a month after ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's bid for a fifth term sparked a protest movement that shows little sign of abating.

Despite bad weather, people marched for several kilometres (miles) through one of the main streets of the capital Algiers for more than four hours to rally at the Grand Post Office in the city centre.

Like the past two Fridays, the Muslim day of prayer, when record numbers of protesters rallied in Algiers, drums and horns cheered the demonstrators as the crowds clogged other major roads.

Security forces said "hundreds of thousands" of protesters gathered in central Algiers and that demonstrations were also held in 42 out of the North African country's 48 provinces.

Demonstrators took to the streets of second city Oran and across the country of 40 million people, according to Algerian media and social networks.

Foreign diplomats say "millions" of Algerians have rallied against Bouteflika's plans to extend his two-decade rule since the protest movement began.

The national flag has become an indispensable accessory for the protesters

Now an indispensable accessory for protesters, the green and white Algerian flag with its red star and crescent moon could be seen everywhere draped around shoulders, flying from balconies or held aloft and waved.

"Stand down," read one banner.

- Marching for change -

Friday afternoon police used a water canon and tear gas to prevent a group of demonstrators from breaking through a security cordon to try to reach a road that leads to the presidential palace.

No one was hurt and by nightfall the protests in the capital -- largely held in a festive mood with music, dancing and free food offered to the marchers -- ended.

But retired civil servant Zineb, 59, said she would continue demonstrating "in rain or snow, until this rotten regime falls".

Bouteflika said on February 22 he would run for a fifth term in April 18 elections, despite concerns about his ability to rule.

The 82-year-old uses a wheelchair and has rarely appeared in public since suffering a stroke in 2013.

One month since the start of the demonstrations, there is no sign of the protests dying down

Following early protests, he made the surprise announcement on March 11 that he was pulling out of the race -- and also postponed the polls.

Protesters initially greeted the move with elation, but staged further mass demonstrations once they realised he intended to remain in office.

On Friday, many had again travelled far to attend demonstrations in the capital.

"I will march every Friday, until there is a radical change" to the system, said Younes Laroussi, an unemployed 24-year-old from Tiaret, 270 kilometres (170 miles) from Algiers.

In the northeastern city of Annaba, local journalists said "many people" took to the streets despite heavy rains that flooded the town.

Demonstrators also braved "the cold weather and storms" to pack the streets of Tizi Ouzou east of Algiers, with one protester, Mokran Zarabi, saying it took three hours to cover just 600 metres (yards).

Organisers used social media this week to call for further protests against Bouteflika and his entourage in the former French colony.

Algerians pack the streets of the northeastern city of Annaba to protest against Bouteflika

"The Algerian people demand the immediate and unconditional departure of President Bouteflika," read one widely-shared post, which urged that "the leaders of countries that support Algeria's illegitimate power stop... their interference".

The demonstrations, unprecedented since Bouteflika won a first term in 1999, have remained largely peaceful.

The government has responded with promises of political and constitutional reform.

Authorities have pledged to hold a "national conference" to discuss reforms, followed by a referendum on a new constitution and eventually the election of a new president.

- 'A future state' -

Marchers as far as the eye can see in Algiers

Deputy prime minister Ramtane Lamamra on Tuesday promised "open and transparent" steps to resolve the political crisis, as Algeria's ally Russia backed his government's plans.

Lamamra said Algeria was developing a "concept of a future state" and that a new constitution would be written "on the basis of an open and transparent discussion".

The national conference would decide the date of future elections, he said, adding Bouteflika was "ready to fully transfer his powers" to a new president.

But students, professors, medics, lawyers and magistrates have continued to protest this week and cracks have emerged within Bouteflika's own regime.

His National Liberation Front party said Wednesday it supports protesters' calls for change, while the main trade union confederation and business organisation have been hit by dissent and resignations over their leadership's initial support of another term for Bouteflika.
The liaison office in the North Korean city of Kaesong was opened last year as Seoul and Pyongyang knitted closer ties

North Korea pulled its staff out of an inter-Korean liaison office Friday, Seoul said, weeks after leader Kim Jong Un's summit with US President Donald Trump ended without agreement.

The office in the Northern city of Kaesong was opened in September as the two Koreas knitted closer ties, but the South's vice unification minister Chun Hae-sung told reporters Pyongyang had "notified the South they are pulling out of the liaison office".

The decision had been taken "in accordance with an order from an upper command", he said, adding: "They said they didn't care whether we stayed at the liaison office or not."

The South's President Moon Jae-in was instrumental in brokering talks between the nuclear-armed, sanctions-hit North and Washington, Seoul's key security ally.

Moon has long backed engagement with the North to bring it to the negotiating table, and has been pushing the carrot of inter-Korean development projects, among them the restarting of an industrial zone also in Kaesong and lucrative cross-border tourist visits by Southerners to the North's picturesque Mount Kumgang.

But the sanctions currently in place effectively block their resumption, while a preliminary study for a plan to renovate the North's decrepit rail system was repeatedly delayed.

Questions were even raised over whether supplies provided to set up the liaison office were a sanctions violation.

The failure by Kim and Trump to reach agreement in Hanoi last month on walking back Pyongyang's nuclear programme in exchange for relaxation of the measures against it has raised questions over the future of the wider process.

The four-storey joint liaison building includes separate Northern and Southern offices and a conference room

In Vietnam both sides expressed willingness to talk further, but it has since emerged that Washington presented Kim with a wider definition of what it regards as denuclearisation.

A senior Pyongyang diplomat told reporters last week that the North was considering suspending nuclear talks with the US.

Analysts said Friday's decision could be a sign Pyongyang felt Seoul was unable to exert sufficient influence on Washington.

"With the pull-out, the North is pressuring the South to do more as a middle man between Pyongyang and Washington after it didn't get the resumption of the Kaesong industrial complex and Mount Kumgang tours," said Yoo Ho-yeol, professor of North Korean studies at Korea University.

"It could be seen as either pressure, or a warning," he told AFP. "Internally, Pyongyang could use the withdrawal as a propaganda message to its people that it is taking a lead when it comes to inter-Korean relations."

The North has recently summoned several of its top diplomats around the world back to Pyongyang.

Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher at the private Sejong Institute, said that move and Friday's pull-out could signal "that the North is considering a shift in denuclearisation strategy and foreign policy".

It was "hard to rule out a hardline statement", he added.

In his New Year speech -- a key political event in the North -- Kim said without giving details that Pyongyang might see a "new way for defending the sovereignty of the country and the supreme interests of the state" if the US persisted with sanctions.

- 'Round-the-clock consultation' -

Seoul sought to keep the door open to more contact.

"We regret the North's decision," vice minister Chun said. "Though North Korea has pulled out, we will continue to work at the liaison office as usual."

The facility opened three months after Kim signed a vague pledge at his first summit with Trump in Singapore to work towards "denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula", and shortly before Moon went to Pyongyang for his third summit with Kim last year.

It stands in a city that was initially part of the South after Moscow and Washington divided Korea between them in the closing days of World War II, but found itself in the North after the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

The four-storey building includes separate Northern and Southern offices and a joint conference room.

When it opened Seoul's unification ministry said it would become a "round-the-clock consultation and communication channel" for advancing inter-Korean relations, improving ties between the US and the North, and easing military tensions.

But the Hanoi summit took place without the usual several rounds of preliminary negotiations between lower-rank officials, and broke up without even a joint statement.

A top security adviser to Moon, Moon Chung-in, told AFP last week that Pyongyang needed to take "actual action" on denuclearisation to persuade the US to grant concessions.

The South's presidency held an emergency meeting of the National Security Council after the North pulled out of the liaison office on Friday.
Dozens of high-flying executives and former officials have been ensnared in the anti-corruption dragnet carried out by a hardline administration

A Hanoi court jailed two former senior oil executives on abuse of power charges Friday, as Vietnam forges ahead with a crackdown on graft.

Dozens of high-flying executives and former officials have been ensnared in the hardline communist government's anti-corruption dragnet, captivating a country unused to seeing powerful figures punished openly.

The latest to fall worked for Vietsovpetro, a Russia-Vietnam joint venture petroleum firm based in the southern port city of Vung Tau, and were arrested last June on charges of "abusing power to appropriate property".

Former director-general Tu Thanh Nghia and ex-chief accountant Vo Quang Huy were sentenced to 3.5 years and seven years respectively, state-controlled Vietnam News Agency reported, with both also banned from holding managerial positions in state agencies and enterprises for three years after their release.

Both men were accused of pocketing excessive interest payments from Ocean Bank, a privately-owned lender already embroiled in its own corruption scandal.

Dozens of Ocean Bank employees have been convicted including former director Nguyen Xuan Son, who was sentenced to death for embezzlement and economic mismanagement in 2017.

Hanoi has vowed to root out graft at the highest ranks of business and government and said it will also go after day-to-day corruption.

But analysts have said the campaign is also being used to settle scores and sideline political rivals.

Vietnam is ranked 117 out of 180 on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index, among the lowest in the region.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai urged more funding for girls' education

Nobel Peace Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai Friday urged Japan and its fellow Group of 20 nations to pledge new funding for educating girls at June's G20 summit, hosted by the Japanese.

Speaking alongside Shinzo Abe, the celebrated Pakistani education activist told Japan's Prime Minister about "the importance of investing in girls now for future economic growth and global stability."

"As the chair of this year's G20, I hope Prime Minister Abe in Japan will lead on girls' education and encourage all leaders to commit to new funding to prepare girls for the future of work," she told reporters.

"I hope he can use his G20 presidency to help my sisters in Japan, G20 countries and around the world to reach their full potential because the world works better when girls go to school."

Malala became a global symbol for girls' education and human rights after a gunman boarded her school bus in October 2012, asked "Who is Malala?" and shot her.

After medical treatment in the UK, she continued her vocal advocacy and became the youngest-ever person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.
Relatives mourn over the body of a passenger who died in a ferry accident while crossing the Tigris river outside a morgue in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul

The capsizing of a Tigris River ferry packed with families celebrating Kurdish New Year in Mosul left at least 100 people dead, mostly women and children, the Iraqi interior ministry said on Friday, as grief and anger swept the city.

Residents of Iraq's second city, scarred by years of jihadist rule, demanded justice as Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi decreed three days of national mourning following Thursday's accident.

Mosulites had resumed the annual festivities this year for the first time since Iraqi forces ousted the Islamic State group following years of brutal jihadist rule.

But the celebrations turned to tragedy when the overcrowded vessel ran into trouble as it headed to a popular picnic site across the River Tigris.

Mosul security officials blamed the accident on high water levels and overcrowding on the boat.

A man looks at pictures on wall of unidentified passengers who died in the ferry accident while crossing Tigris river, outside a morgue in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul

Hundreds of relatives of victims and residents gathered Friday at the scene of the accident, where prayers were held for the dead.

Many said the disaster could have been avoided, and chanted "corruption is killing us!"

"We want those responsible to be brought to justice," said Mohammed Adel, 27, whose father was among those who died.

He accused officials of failing to enforce safety standards.

Abu Salem, who lost his wife and two children in the accident which also coincided with Mother's Day in Iraq, pinned blame for the tragedy on profit motives and the corruption that is endemic in Iraq.

The managers of the picnic site were "criminals... I want them to pay up and I won't leave here until they do", the 50-year Iraqi said.

Hundreds of demonstrators later gathered at the city's amusement park to stage an impromptu protest against "the thieves" running the city.

Reflecting the popular mood, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, spiritual leader of Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority, in his Friday sermon accused "the authorities in charge of supervision of not doing their job".

Transparency International ranks Iraq in 12th place in its list of the world's most corrupt countries.

- 'Investigation must produce results' -

Video footage from cameras at the picnic site, posted online, showed a severely overcrowded vessel beginning to list as water comes aboard.

As it capsizes completely, it traps dozens of people under its hull.

Authorities had warned people to be cautious after several days of heavy rains led to water being released through the Mosul dam, causing the river to rise.

Iraqis demonstrate during a vigil in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul a day after a ferry packed with families celebrating Kurdish New Year capsized in the River Tigris killing 100 people

Videos showed a fast-flowing, bloated river and dozens of people floating in the water or trying to swim around the partly submerged boat.

Abdel Mahdi announced Friday that a crisis team was being set up, comprised of top provincial officials but not the governor of Nineveh, of which Mosul is the main city.

The team would have "executive powers... to carry out an investigation as quickly as possible, punish those responsible and decide on compensation", the prime minister said.

He and President Barham Saleh have visited the site of the accident as the search continued for bodies, some of which were carried far downstream by the strong current.

While war and jihadist attacks have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in Iraq in recent years, such accidents are relatively rare.

But corruption and the dismal state of public services in Iraq were triggers for widespread protests last year.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi visits survivors of the ferry disaster at a Mosul hospital

IS turned Mosul into its de facto capital after sweeping across much of the country's north in 2014.

The city spent three years under the group's iron-fisted rule until it was recaptured by Iraqi troops backed by a US-led coalition in 2017.

Survivors of Thursday's disaster were treated in hospitals heavily damaged by the months-long military campaign against the jihadists.

A mortuary was receiving bodies wrapped in white shrouds, many bearing the names of women.

A forensics official said many had yet to be identified.

Iraq's justice ministry said it had ordered the arrest of nine ferry company officials and banned the owners of the vessel and the picnic site from leaving the country.

Officials implicated in various scandals have fled Iraq in recent years.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Gibran Bassil (R) gives a joint-statement with visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the Lebanese capital Beirut on March 22, 2019

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday urged Lebanon to pick a side as he visited the country on a regional tour to build a united front against Iran.

He especially expressed concern over the role of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shiite movement that is targeted by US sanctions but holds three cabinet posts in Lebanon.

Pompeo flew in from Israel a day after he became the first high-ranking American official to visit the Western Wall in annexed east Jerusalem with an Israeli prime minister.

His visit also came just hours after US President Donald Trump said Washington should recognise Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights, breaking with the policy of successive administrations as well as UN Security Council resolutions.

"Lebanon and the Lebanese people face a choice: bravely move forward as an independent and proud nation or allow the dark ambitions of Iran and Hezbollah to dictate your future," he said during a joint news conference with his Lebanese counterpart.

"The US will continue to use all peaceful means, everything at our disposal to choke off the financing, the smuggling the criminal network and the misuse of government positions and influence," by Hezbollah, he said.

- 'Not terrorist' -

"We will not hesitate to call out those who actively and passively support those activities."

Pompeo and Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil stood side by side at the new conference but their statements were contradictory.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Lebanon to pick sides during a visit to Beirut to build a united front against Iran and also voiced concern over the role of the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah movement

And a question and answer session with the media was cancelled "at the behest of the Americans", a Lebanese foreign ministry official said.

Bassil he held "constructive and positive talks" with Pompeo but stressed that their were differences of perspective with regards to Hezbollah.

"Hezbollah is a Lebanese party, not a terrorist group, and it enjoys a wide popular base," Bassil said.

"We don't want our ties with America to be affected and we want to work together to solve problems, including the issue with Hezbollah," he said, stressing that Lebanon's stability is of mutual interest to both states.

In an earlier meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Pompeo conveyed his worry over Hezbollah.

He stressed "the US government's strong concerns over the role of Hezbollah and Iran in Lebanon and the region and the risks this poses to Lebanon's security, stability, and prosperity", US deputy spokesman Robert Palladino said.

Hezbollah fighters have backed government forces in neighbouring Syria in the civil war that broke out there in 2011.

Pompeo also met parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who is himself a Shiite, and warned of the group's "destabilising activities" in the region.

Pompeo and Berri also discussed "the need to maintain calm along the boundary between Lebanon and Israel", Palladino said.

Lebanon and its southern neighbour Israel are still technically at war, even after Israeli troops withdrew from the south of the country in 2000.

- Provocation? -

Israel and Hezbollah fought a devastating month-long war in 2006, and skirmishes still erupt along a UN-patrolled demarcation line.

Pompeo and Prime Minister Saad Hariri discussed "the importance of the US-Lebanese security partnership and the need for continued support for Lebanon's legitimate state security institutions, particularly the Lebanese Armed Forces," Palladino said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri on the latest leg of a regional tour to build a united front against Iran

Pompeo "commended the Lebanese people for hosting more than one million Syrian refugees".

In a meeting with Interior Minister Raya al-Hassan, Pompeo "discussed regional and internal security challenges facing Lebanon and how the United States can help support the interior ministry's efforts".

Hassan became the first woman interior minister in Lebanon and the Middle East in a cabinet line-up unveiled in late January following an eight-month delay.

The United States has branded Hezbollah, the only group in Lebanon that has not disarmed since its 1975-1990 civil war, a "terrorist" organisation and targeted it with tough sanctions.

Hezbollah's cleric Ali Damush questioned the timing and purpose of Pompeo's visit during his Friday sermon.

"What are the Lebanese expecting from America and its foreign minister after these two announcements that are totally biased in favour of Israel, except for inciting (Hezbollah) and turning Lebanese against each other?".
'KAWS:HOLIDAY', an inflatable sculpture by US artist and designer Brian Donnelly, known professionally as KAWS, is on display in Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour

A massive inflatable floating sculpture reminiscent of Mickey Mouse was towed into Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour on Friday, as a crowd of curious locals looked on.

The 37-metre (121-foot) piece called KAWS:HOLIDAY -- about the length of three double-decker buses -- is the work of American artist KAWS, who is known for his whimsical characters which have Xs for eyes.

Tugboats towed the macabre grey figure -- a character named COMPANION, floating on its back -- into the harbour and stationed it off Hong Kong's busy Central district.

Part of an art festival in the city, it will remain there until the end of the month.

KAWS, whose real name is Brian Donnelly, said he hopes his work will help people to relax.

The giant sculpture, reminiscent of Mickey Mouse, was brought into the harbour by tugboats

"Hong Kong's such a busy city... I thought it would be a good juxtaposition to have a work like this just floating in Victoria Harbour," he told reporters.

"I just thought about... for myself, what's a really relaxing position, and that's really when you just zone out and look at the sky and think about nothing else."

Locals and visitors, some wearing t-shirts designed by KAWS, took photos and looked on excitedly as the sculpture was brought to its display site.

The figure has been compared to a huge floating yellow duck that was displayed in the Hong Kong harbour in 2013.

That work -- smaller than the KAWS piece -- by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman was hugely popular, inspiring special duck dishes in restaurants and even copies in several Chinese cities.

'KAWS:HOLIDAY' is being displayed as part of an art festival in Hong Kong

"The yellow duck is more attractive, more lively," said Fung Foon-yung, 67.

"I don't know what this one looks like, it's just lying there," she added, saying it reminded her of a corpse.

Cheer Chen, 31, a self-described KAWS fan and Sichuan resident, said she came to Hong Kong especially to see the sculpture after missing out on its previous stops in Seoul and Taipei.

"Maybe there are some things in the world it doesn't want to see," said Hong Kong resident Leung Kin-yee, referring to the figure's eyes.

"Inequality, human selfishness, greed."
Clashes have continued to rage in the restive mountainous region since the death of 40 Indian troops in a suicide bombing last month

A 12-year-old boy was among six people killed in three separate gun battles between rebels and security forces in Indian-administered Kashmir, the police and army said Friday.

Clashes have raged in the restive mountainous region since the deaths of 40 Indian troops in a suicide bombing last month provoked tit-for-tat air strikes between India and Pakistan.

The boy was killed after militants were trapped in his home in the northern town of Hajin and engaged in a two-day gun battle ending Friday, police told AFP. His father escaped.

Police later claimed the boy was "kept hostage" by the rebels.

"Despite repeated requests by community members and police for his release, he was brutally killed by the terrorists," a police statement said, referring to the two killed rebels identified as Pakistani nationals.

Two more militants were "eliminated" late Thursday in the frontier district of Baramulla, Kalia added, while one soldier and two policemen were injured.

Another militant died in a clash with soldiers in the south of the Kashmir valley, army spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said.

At least a dozen villagers were wounded when government forces clashed with protestors near the site of the fighting, firing metal pellets and live bullets to push them back.

Three of the villagers were taken to hospital in Srinagar and were in critical condition, a local police officer and hospital sources said.

Entire neighbourhoods in Kashmir often march towards sites of gun battles between rebels and government forces, attempting to rescue militants.

Scores of civilians have died during such clashes.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since British colonial rule ended in 1947. Both claim it in full and have fought two wars over the territory.

India has about 500,000 soldiers in the part it controls, where armed groups are fighting for independence or a merger with Pakistan.

Last month's suicide blast was claimed by a militant group based in Pakistan, and New Delhi has long accused Islamabad of backing a 30-year insurgency that has left tens of thousands of people dead, mostly civilians.

The death in police custody Tuesday of teacher Rizwan Asad Pandit -- one of around 1,000 people detained in recent weeks -- has further enraged locals.

Pandit's family claimed the young man was tortured, saying his bones and even his spine were broken and that his body bore cuts and clear signs of torture.

An investigation is ongoing, but police have registered a case alleging he attempted to escape from custody, prompting angry demonstrations across Kashmir in recent days.
Employees at this Bali money exchange were beaten and tied up in the violent robbery

Bali police have shot dead a Russian man after a violent robbery at a money exchange office, officials said Friday, with two more accomplices arrested and several others on the run.

The killing happened Tuesday on the Indonesian holiday island after police responded to calls about a robbery and confronted the armed trio, officials said.

Three men, including the man who was later killed, broke into a currency exchange office and beat several employees inside, knocking them unconscious.

When they woke up, they were tied with their mouths taped, police said, adding that the employees eventually freed themselves and called the authorities.

The police managed to locate the suspects who had fled, but when they wanted to arrest the men one of the suspects wanted to attack the officers.

"Our unarmed officer tried to fight back, but because the situation was very dangerous to our members, another officer who was armed took strict measures against the suspect... he then died," Denpasar police chief Ruddi Setiawan told reporters.

The Russian embassy confirmed one of its citizens was shot dead in Bali.

"During a fight with police who were trying to arrest them, one Russian citizen was shot dead," it said on its Facebook account.

"Two others -- one Ukrainian and one Russian -- were detained."

The arrested Russian was also wounded, the embassy said, adding that four others linked to the crime are still on the run, but "their nationality is unclear".

The embassy said the gang was suspected of robbing another money changer in December and, separately, stealing weapons. It did not elaborate.

Nearly $70,000 in Indonesian rupiah and US currency were reportedly stolen, according to police, who named the dead man as 45-year-old Alexei Korotkikh.

Foreigners are often arrested for drugs offences in Bali, which attracts millions of visitors to its palm-fringed beaches every year.

But arrests for violent crime are more rare.

In January, Bali police apprehended four Bulgarians accused of skimming bank card data at several ATM machines in the capital Denpasar.
Erdogan has presented the mosque attacks as part of a wider assault on Islam

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday called on the world to fight back against Islamophobia in the same way it responded to anti-Semitism after the Holocaust, following the deadly attacks on two New Zealand mosques.

The Turkish leader has presented the mosque attacks, by a self-avowed white supremacist who killed 50 people, as part of a wider assault on Islam and has demanded the West do more against anti-Muslim sentiment.

"Just as humanity fought against anti-Semitism after the Holocaust disaster, it should fight against rising Islamophobia in the same determined fashion," Erdogan told an emergency meeting of ministers from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul.

"Right now we are facing Islamophobia and Muslim hatred," he said.

In the March 15 attack in Christchurch, alleged gunman Brenton Tarrant killed 50 men, women and children -- the victims aged between three and 77 years old -- in a massacre that sparked global revulsion.

The alleged New Zealand mosque attacker referenced Istanbul's landmark Hagia Sophia in his manifesto

He livestreamed much of the killing and spread a manifesto on social media claiming it was a strike against Muslim "invaders".

Erdogan has angered New Zealand by showing excerpts of the footage at campaign rallies for local elections this month.

- 'Genuine measures needed' -

Representatives from the OIC, which groups Muslim countries, said in a statement that "genuine, comprehensive and systematic measures" were needed to tackle the "affliction" of Islamophobia.

They called on countries with Muslim communities and minorities to refrain from statements and actions that associate Islam with "terror, extremism and threats."

Peters said New Zealand authorities would make sure "no stone stays unturned" in the prosecution of the attacker

In his hate-filled "manifesto" before the mass killing, the accused killer suggested neo-Nazi ideology and immigration prompted his action and mentioned other right-wing extremists.

He also referenced Turkey, and Istanbul's landmark Hagia Sophia, that was once a church before becoming a mosque during the Ottoman empire and is now a museum.

- No stone unturned -

New Zealand's government on Friday reassured Muslims living in the country they would be "safe and secure" despite the deadly attacks in Christchurch.

"Ensuring Muslim communities in New Zealand feel safe and secure is a particular focus," New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters told the OIC meeting.

Peters said New Zealand authorities would make sure "no stone stays unturned" in the prosecution of the attacker.

"This person will face the full force of New Zealand law and spend the rest of his life in isolation in a New Zealand prison," he said.

The OIC meeting said "genuine, comprehensive and systematic measures" were needed to tackle the "affliction" of Islamophobia

Erdogan, campaigning for local elections this month, had angered New Zealand's government by repeatedly showing the video made by the alleged gunman, an Australian who was arrested after the massacre.

The Turkish leader also angered Australia with comments about anti-Muslim Australians being sent back in "coffins" like their grandfathers at Gallipoli, a bloody World War I battle.

More than 8,000 Australians and nearly 3,000 New Zealanders -- part of forces known as ANZAC -- died fighting Turkish forces at Gallipoli, which has a prominent place in Australia's collective memory.

On Friday, the tone was more conciliatory. Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu praised New Zealand authorities and their "sincere solidarity messages".

"We are here to show we are one body against Islamophobic actions across the world," he said.

Peters said he did not feel a need to discuss the Turkish leader's use of the attack video as he understood the president had stopped using it. But he said he had been reassured on Erdogan's Gallipoli comments.

"We are returning home to New Zealand with grateful reassurance that our people who come here to commemorate ANZAC will be as welcome as they always were," he told reporters.

Shortly after Peters spoke, Erdogan again showed footage from the massacre video at a political rally, with translated excepts from the killer's manifesto as well as images of a Turkish opposition leader.

He also called a far-right Australian senator a "terrorist" after his remarks blaming the attack on Muslim immigration to the country.

The Muslim call to prayer rang out across New Zealand on Friday followed by two minutes of silence nationwide to mark a week since the attack. Thousands of people -- including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern -- stood silently in a park opposite the mosque where the killing began.
As many as 54 people have been rescued alive by the team of around 400 who have been scouring through tonnes of concrete and steel

Indian emergency workers Friday rescued three people trapped under the rubble of a collapsed building for three days, officials told AFP as the death toll rose to 17.

Emergency workers were searching for eight more people after the five-storey building in southern Karnataka state caved in on Tuesday, officials said.

A video shared by M N Reddi, Karnataka's emergency services chief, showed a man and his wife being pulled out of the rubble after remaining trapped for about 70 hours.

While the woman was carried out on a stretcher, a rescue worker lifted her husband on his back up the ladder out of the debris amid claps and cheers.

"Two more survivors -- Dilip and his wife Sangeetha, rescued by our Fire Force rescuers just now! This takes the total rescued so far to 59. Kudos to the Rescue team!," Reddi said in a tweet.

Another man was rescued early Friday morning after being trapped for more than 62 hours. The man had no visible injuries and was hugged by the rescue team before he walked away from the debris and was taken to a nearby hospital.

As many as 54 people have been rescued alive by the team of around 400 who have been scouring through tonnes of concrete and steel.

"Those rescued have been shifted to the hospital and five persons have been arrested in the matter," emergency official Srikant, who goes by one name, told AFP.

Police have charged the owner of the construction company -- one of the five arrested -- with manslaughter.

Heavy earth-movers and rescuers with specialised equipment and sniffer dogs were deployed in the increasingly desperate operation.

The victims were mostly from northern Indian states who had come to the region for work.

Building collapses are frequent in India. Many firms use cheap materials and bribe officials to evade regulations, while on-site safety is lax.

Many Indian cities have seen rapid growth in the last few decades with new buildings often built without proper quality supervision, and the older ones poorly maintained.

Last September, five people were killed after a Delhi apartment block collapsed. Months earlier, a six-storey building in the capital gave way, killing nine.
Israeli border police surround the entrance of the French cultural centre in annexed east Jerusalem during a previous diplomatic spat over an event it hosted in 2009

France's foreign ministry said Friday that it had summoned the Israeli government's representative in Paris over what it called an "intrusion" by Israeli forces at its cultural centre in Jerusalem.

In a rare move, police entered the building Thursday to cancel an event with a women's group which Israel claims is sponsored or financed by the Palestinian Authority.

A diplomatic source said France's consul general had immediately protested the police's entry to the centre in east Jerusalem, which Israel has annexed in a move not recognised by the international community.

"Such actions are a serious and unacceptable infringement to the functioning of our cultural network in Jerusalem," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

It said the Israeli charge d'affaires had been called to meet with French officials for "necessary clarifications".

"France intends to maintain and develop its deep and longstanding relations with Palestinian civil society," it added.

Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement Friday said that the charge d'affaires had "protested" at the meeting "about the holding of an event funded and supported by the Palestinian Authority at the French Institute in Jerusalem".

It said that under accords with the Palestinians "any activity of a diplomatic or governmental nature by the PA is prohibited" in areas where the authority has not been assigned control.

"The Israeli representative made it clear that we would not agree to the holding of PA events in Jerusalem and that we also expect our friends to respect the rules," it added.

Israel considers all of Jerusalem to be its sovereign capital.

The French consulate in Jerusalem could not confirm Thursday if the women's association was indeed financed by the Palestinian Authority.

But Palestinians who were to participate in the event said the allegation was false.

"It was an event related to Mother's Day" and to sell crafts made by women from Jerusalem, said one of the women who was to participate, declining to give her name.

Similar events occur on a near-monthly basis, she said.
Princess Ubolratana smiled and chatted with the Shinawatras as they walked into the hotel for the wedding of Thaksin's youngest daughter Paetongtarn

The princess whose shock candidacy in Thailand's general election sent jitters through the country attended a glitzy wedding for ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra's daughter in Hong Kong on Friday, just two days before polling day.

Princess Ubolratana's short-lived political venture was stopped by her brother King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who said in a royal command that it was highly inappropriate.

Thais go to the polls on March 24 in the first election in eight years, and the princess's unexpected candidacy -- to front a now-dissolved Shinawatra-linked party -- was the campaign's biggest twist so far.

At the wedding she was welcomed on the red carpet by Thaksin, his eldest daughter and her husband.

Wearing a short pink gown, the 67-year-old princess smiled and chatted with the Shinawatras as they walked into harbourside Rosewood Hotel for the wedding of Thaksin's youngest daughter Paetongtarn.

Thaksin was dressed in a black suit with a red bow tie and a flower on his lapel as he greeted Ubolratana with a bow, while his eldest daughter Pintongta made a Thai style "wai" gesture.

Thailand's former PM arrived at the venue two hours before the reception, which was set to begin at 6pm (1000 GMT). On his way in he said to the gathered media in English: "I'm happy."

Asked who will win the election, Thaksin replied: "I don't know."

Thaksin and his younger sister Yingluck Shinawatra both now live overseas after fleeing what they say are politically motivated charges following coups that toppled their governments.

Yingluck arrived early with her son Supasek Amornchat dressed in a peach colour lacy evening gown and holding a silver purse.

She made the "wai" greeting to reporters and said "sawadika" (hello).

burs-je/amz
Iranian students show slogans on their palms, including one that says "nuclear scientist," during a November 2012 rally. The United States says it hopes new sanctions on Iran's former nuclear scientists will make it more difficult to find recruits

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on Iranian nuclear researchers, saying it wanted to warn young scientists to steer clear of any future effort to build a bomb.

Sanctioning 14 individuals and 17 entities, US officials acknowledged that the nuclear work was in the past but said Washington wanted to make the targeted figures "radioactive."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Twitter called the sanctions part of the "maximum pressure campaign" on Iran as the United States tries to roll back the clerical regime's regional influence.

"We'll be relentless in denying Iran the ability to engage in WMD proliferation and all its outlaw activities," said Pompeo, who is on a Middle East tour to build a united front against Iran.

President Donald Trump last year pulled out of an international accord negotiated under his predecessor Barack Obama, under which Iran drastically scaled back its nuclear program, and instead imposed sweeping sanctions.

But European nations still back the accord and the International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly said that Iran remains in compliance.

But the US Treasury Department said it was alarmed over the continued existence of the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, whose Farsi acronym is SPND, saying that it could get back to work -- including after some prohibitions under the nuclear deal start running out in 2025.

A senior US official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said that the United States wanted to "continue to stigmatize SPND and the reconstitution program-in-waiting that it represents."

The sanctions aim to "make it as unattractive as possible to be a part of that organization, make it hard to recruit the next generation of illicit nuclear weapons scientists and to make it all more clear that this is an option that is not and cannot be allowed to be made available to Iran," he said.

The sanctioned individuals include people who work with the Shahid Karimi Group, which the Treasury Department said focused on missile and explosives projects for SPND, and the Shahid Chamran Group, which researches electromagnetics and wave generation.

The US official said that the SPND was still in place and headed by Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a physicist identified by US and Israeli intelligence as the aspiring father of Iran's nuclear bomb.

"It's as if some evil version of Robert Oppenheimer had been kept in charge of keeping the Manhattan Project crew together years afterward," the official said, referring to the founder of the US nuclear program in World War II.
Smoke rises over the last sliver of the crumbling "caliphate" of the Islamic State group in eastern Syria with the flags of Kurdish-led forces battling them seen in the background

Kurdish-led forces on Friday battled a small group of Islamic State jihadists refusing to surrender and still defending the last few acres of their moribund "caliphate" in eastern Syria.

In the afternoon mortar rounds hit a former IS encampment in the village of Baghouz on the banks of the Euphrates River, sending a column of dark smoke up into the sky, an AFP correspondent said.

The White House said the once-sprawling "caliphate" had been wiped out but the Syrian Democratic Forces it backs on the ground stressed that clashes were ongoing.

President Donald Trump's spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, said "the territorial caliphate has been eliminated in Syria."

"Clashes are ongoing in Baghouz. Small IS groups refusing to surrender are launching attacks and our forces are responding," SDF spokesman Adnan Afrin told an AFP reporter near Baghouz.

The White House has jumped the gun several times on announcing the demise of IS territorial control.

Islamic State group in last stand

An SDF official who asked not to be named said warplanes of the US-led coalition resumed strikes on suspected jihadist positions before dawn on Friday.

Top SDF commander Jia Furat said his forces were engaging with the jihadists on several fronts.

The US-led coalition said the "operation to complete the liberation of Baghouz is ongoing".

"It remains a hard fight, and Daesh is showing that they intend to keep fighting for as long as possible," it said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

The SDF launched what it called its "final assault" against the jihadists' last redoubt in Baghouz on February 9.

Finally on Tuesday, they cornered diehard fighters into a few acres of farmland along the Euphrates River, after forcing them out of the encampment.

- Tunnels -

The damaged roof of a house and smoke rising over Baghouz in eastern Syria where diehard jihadists came under fresh intense air strikes by the US-led coalition

Inside Baghouz on Friday afternoon, SDF fighters languished idle on the roofs of abandoned buildings in the middle of a sea of ruins, an AFP reporter said.

In the no-man's-land on the edge of what was once the jihadist encampment, a few US-backed fighters walked about unarmed.

The six-month-old operation to wipe out the last vestige of IS's once-sprawling proto-state is close to reaching its inevitable outcome, but the SDF has said a declaration of victory will be made only after they have completed flushing out the last tunnels and hideouts.

According to SDF spokesman Kino Gabriel, hundreds of IS fighters, including some women, still remain on the outskirts of the jihadist encampment.

They are hiding along the bank of the Euphrates River as well as at the base of a hill overlooking Baghouz, he told AFP.

"In around one or two days, we will conclude military operations if there are no surprise developments," he said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said IS holdouts were hiding in underground tunnels in Baghouz.

More than 66,000 people, mostly civilians, have quit the last IS redoubt since January 9, according to the SDF.

They include 5,000 jihadist fighters and 24,000 of their relatives as well as 37,000 other civilians.

- Calls for more attacks -

A sniper with the Syrian Democratic Forces fires on remaining diehard Islamic State group fighters in Baghouz

The thousands who have streamed out have been housed in cramped camps and prisons run by Kurdish forces further north.

On Wednesday night, around 2,000 women and children from Baghouz arrived at the largest camp, Al-Hol, which is struggling to cope with the influx of tens of thousands of people, many in poor health.

Since December, at least 138 people, mostly children, have died en route to Al-Hol or shortly after arrival, according to the International Rescue Committee.

IS declared a "caliphate" in June 2014 after seizing a vast swathe of territory larger than Britain straddling Iraq and Syria.

The loss of the Baghouz enclave would signal the demise of the "caliphate" in Syria, after its defeat in Iraq in 2017.

The jihadists still retain a presence in eastern Syria's vast Badia desert and have continued to claim deadly hit-and-run attacks in SDF-held territory.

In a video released on IS's social media channels on Thursday, jihadists vowed to continue to carry out attacks.

"To those who think our caliphate has ended, we say not only has it not ended, but it is here to stay," said one fighter.

He urged IS supporters to conduct attacks in the West against the enemies of the "caliphate".

The war in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it erupted following the repression of anti-government protests in 2011.
Former presidential candidate and consumer rights crusader Ralph Nader has called for a full inquriy into Boeing after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, the latter of which killed his great-niece

Ralph Nader, the US consumer protection advocate who lost a relative in the crash of a Boeing passenger jet in Ethiopia, called Friday for an organization to defend passengers' rights.

Nader's 23-year-old great niece, an aid worker, was aboard the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 Max that crashed on March 10 just southeast of Addis Ababa, killing all 157 passengers and crew.

It was the second such Boeing plane to crash after takeoff in just five months, following a previous accident in Indonesia. In all, 346 people died in the two crashes.

Nader, a longstanding crusader for consumer rights who in the 1960s battled the auto industry to put seat belts in cars, said he was working to shed light on the close ties between Boeing and US regulators at the Federal Aviation Administration.

"The FAA is too cozy with Boeing and it's gone to an absurd length, where Boeing picks its own inspectors, the FAA doesn't even pick its own inspectors," he said, noting that a warning system to alert pilots to the technical fault believed to have caused both crashes was not fitted as standard.

"They're there in the factory and they're pointing out different parts and one Boeing employee says, 'Oh I think this meets the standard,' the other one says, 'I as a representative of the US government endorse it,' and then the FAA rubber stamps it," Nader told CNBC news.

"That's not regulation, that's the fox in charge of the chicken coop," he added.

"We really need a big aviation consumer organization in this country," said Nader, who ran for president as an independent in 2000.

The accidents on Lion Air in Indonesia and Ethiopian Airlines have raised major concerns about the safety certification of the 737 Max 8 model.

Facing budget cuts and difficulties finding staff qualified to inspect the highly advanced technologies of the new 737 Max, the FAA entrusted a large part of the certification process for the plane to Boeing employees.

In addition, the agency has offices in Boeing plants, including the one in Reston, in the western state of Washington, where the 737 Max is built.

It nevertheless insisted Sunday that the certification process had taken place within regulations.

The US Department of Transportation has launched an inquiry into the certification procedure.
Tiny victim: Two men carry the body of a baby retrieved from the rubble

Eunica Simango sits with downcast eyes as she waits at a relief centre in Chimanimani.

A week ago, everything she owned, including a poultry run where she kept chickens, was swept away by a mudslide when Cyclone Idai, after lashing Mozambique, turned its wrath on eastern Zimbabwe.

Yet this material loss is nothing compared to the gnawing absence of her teenage daughter, who was washed away in the raging tide.

She is one of nearly 200 people who are listed as missing, 30 of them schoolchildren, in addition to 139 confirmed dead.

A girl drinks water from a bucket next to a pile of donated clothes at at St. John's Catholic church in Chimanimani, where displaced families have been sheltered

"I lost everything," Simango, 34, said.

"My house, my property, chickens. I am now surviving on handouts something I never imagined myself doing.

"The most painful thing is: I dont know where my daughter is."

Well-wishers set up the temporary shelter in a conference room at a local majestic Chimanimani Hotel to feed victims of the storm.

But resources in this impoverished country are slender, and there is no guarantee that the centre can stay open.

- 'This is the situation' -

At another relief centre, food too was meagre.

"Do with the little that we have," volunteer Daina Mandevhana told the hungry.

"We should not expect to eat until our tummies are full or complain saying 'at my house I used to have my tea with milk'," she said.

"This is the situation we have, and we should accept it."

Fears are growing of starvation in communities that have been cut off after winds and torrential rain smashed bridges and swamped or destroyed roads.

Families in Chimanimani are still rummaging through debris, hoping to recover remains of missing relatives.

Josephine Mutambabishi, 52, said she lost her anti-HIV drugs in the disaster -- a friend has helped her out with a few days' supply

Some people on long-term treatment for conditions such as HIV have lost their medication and appealed for urgent supplies.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, after touring the area, said he had seen "unmitigated despair".

Zimbabwe has declared a state of disaster and appealed for assistance. According to the UN, 200,000 people have been affected.

Crops and livestock have been destroyed, threatening enduring hunger and poverty for those who do survive.

- Need for helicopters -

"There are people who have lost their homes and property places in places like Kopa and Rusitu," said Shawne Kidd, a local businessman who is helping in relief and recovery efforts.

He and other volunteers are running a feeding centre, in some cases digging into their own pockets to buy food for victims who lost their homes.

Military help: A soldier prepares breakfast for families sheltered at Ngangu secondary school in Chimanimani. But the most pressing need is for helicopters, to save lives and deliver aid

"The villagers want food but we have limited means of getting in and out. Roads were damaged and bridges broken."

Kidd said the big problem was not lack of willpower, but the means to move things.

"There are hundreds of organisations willing to help," he said.

"There is plenty of aid outside. The problem is getting it in. There is no airstrip. Helicopters are being used to bring in medical supplies."
The international community has long advocated that a referendum be held to decide the status of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony on the western edge of the vast eponymous desert

A second round of talks on the disputed Western Sahara region ended Friday with the sides agreeing to meet again, but with the UN acknowledging many positions remained far apart.

Morocco and the Polisario Front liberation movement appeared to have come no closer on the thorny issue of an independence referendum to decide Western Sahara's fate.

The Polisario has demanded a vote -- a proposal categorically rejected by Rabat.

"This is not and will not be easy," United Nations envoy and former German president Horst Kohler told reporters in Geneva.

"There is still a lot of work ahead," he said.

"Nobody should expect a quick outcome, because many positions are still fundamentally diverging."

Foreign ministers from Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania along with the Polisario's chief negotiator spent the past two days meeting in a secret location "near Geneva".

Kohler read a joint communique hailing the delegations for engaging in "courteously and openly in an atmosphere of mutual respect."

The UN's Western Sahara envoy and former German president Horst Kohler said "this is not and will not be easy"

The talks focused on finding "a mutually acceptable political solution ... that is realistic, practicable, enduring, based on compromise, just, lasting, (and) which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara," the communique said.

The parties had agreed to "continue the discussion in order to identify elements of convergence," it added.

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita told journalists the sides agreed to meet before the summer.

The international community has long advocated that a referendum be held to decide the status of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony on the western edge of the vast eponymous desert, stretching around 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) along the Atlantic coastline, a prime fishing region.

- 'Free referendum' -

The Polisario fought a war with Morocco from 1975 to 1991, when a ceasefire deal was agreed and a UN peace mission was deployed to monitor the truce.

Morocco, which annexed the territory after Spain withdrew in 1975, considers Western Sahara an integral part of the kingdom and has offered autonomy instead of an independence referendum.

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said his country would discuss "autonomy", but that under no circumstances would it "accept a referendum where one of the options is independence"

This week's talks followed an unproductive round at the UN in Geneva last December after six years of stalemate.

The positions did not appear to have gotten much closer on Friday.

Bourita reiterated his country would discuss "autonomy", but that under no circumstances would it "accept a referendum where one of the options is independence."

Polisario delegation head Khatri Addouh meanwhile insisted the Sahrawi people should be allowed to freely express themselves on how the territory should be run.

"Besides a free referendum, organised by the UN and guaranteed by the UN, we do not see how such an expression can take place," he told reporters.

The new round of talks comes as the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission that has helped guarantee a ceasefire in Western Sahara since 1991 is about to end next month.

The United States has warned it may allow MINURSO's presence in Western Sahara to lapse, or it could agree to prolong its mandate by another six months.

Other Security Council members are pushing for a longer engagement, including France which wants the mandate extended for a year.
The US Treasury has accused Electoral Commission head Corneille Nangaa and colleagues of obstructing democracy and of corruption

The United States on Friday placed new sanctions on three Democratic Republic of Congo officials who monitored last year's poll, including electoral commission head Corneille Nangaa.

The US Treasury sanctions also target commission vice president Norbert Basengezi and Marcellin Mukolo Basengezi, a son of Basengezi who is an adviser to Nangaa.

Washington accuses the trio of corruption and of obstructing democracy in Decembers presidential election.

"Yesterday, the US government imposed further sanctions on #DRC officials responsible for undermining the countrys democratic process," tweeted US ambassador Mike Hammer.

"We remain committed to working with President Tshisekedi in an effort to create a more peaceful and prosperous future for the Congolese people," added Hammer.

On Thursday, the US had demanded that Kinshasa release "accurate" election results, or face sanctions for undermining democracy.

"This action follows persistent corruption by senior officials within the DRCs National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI) and the former Kabila government to obstruct and delay preparations for credible and inclusive elections," said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

The Treasury found that "under Nangaa's leadership, CENI officials inflated by as much as $100 million the costs for the electronic voting machine contract with the intent to use surplus funds for personal enrichment, bribes, and campaign costs to fund the election campaign of Kabila's candidate."

The voting machines were bought from a South Korean company.

Mandelker said the Americans "remain concerned about a flawed electoral process in which, following the presidential election, CENI continued to obstruct the democratic process and failed to ensure the vote reflected the will of the Congolese people."

Basengezi is accused of delivering bribes to constitutional court judges "to uphold a decision by the CENI to delay DRC's 2016 elections."

The poll saw Felix Tshisekedi controversially declared the winner, marking the country's first peaceful handover of power since independence from Belgium in 1960.

Fellow opposition leader Martin Fayalu insisted he had won the poll by a wide margin in a disputed contest mired by fraud allegations.

The poll commission found Tshisekedi the winner and the constitutional court ratified the result, allowing him to be invested on January 24 with Kabila present.

The election was delayed several times as outgoing President Joseph Kabila clung to power having been scheduled to step down at the end of 2016.

Fayalu accused the commission of "fabricating" results.

Kabila retains considerable influence as his Common Front for Congo (FCC) wields a huge majority in the National Assembly, which also held elections on December 30.

The US State Department last month announced a first raft of sanctions against Nangaa and the chairman of the constitutional court, including barring them from visiting the United States, citing "legitimate concerns" over the election.
General Lecointre (L) meets troops in Menaka. French and British chiefs of staff are in Mali to highlight their shared fight against jihadism in the country

Storm clouds may lie over Britain's future relations with Europe, but British and French military chiefs say they are determined not to let this affect their cooperation in fighting jihadism in the Sahel.

A hundred British military personnel and three heavy-lift Chinook helicopters are in Mali to help the French military mission in the troubled region -- a presence that France has singled out for high praise.

"Within Europe our closest bilateral relationship is with France," British General Nick Carter told AFP in Gao, in the centre of Mali.

Carter was accompanying his French counterpart, General Francois Lecointre, for a West African tour scheduled to end in Nigeria on Friday.

The countries signed a defence cooperation agreement at Lancaster House in London in 2010 -- a pact that both sides have repeatedly said will not be affected by Brexit.

"Between us we are working hard to see how we can take it to another level," said Carter.

- Heavy lifting -

The Royal Air Force (RAF) Chinooks, deployed in Mali since July 2018, have been hugely appreciated by France's 4,500-man Barkhane mission in the Sahel.

The twin-rotor helicopters can haul nearly four tonnes of supplies and more than 30 troops -- a vital contribution in a region where road access to frontline troops is long, exhausting and dangerous.

They have notched up more than 750 hours of flying time, transported around 4,200 French personnel and 252 tonnes of supplies

France sent troops into Mali in 2013 to help drive back Islamist insurgents who took control of the north of the country.

Operation Barkhane remains in place, helping to support poorly-equipped local military forces, but at a hefty cost that France's European Union allies have only partially eased.

"Here, very concretely, we feel European solidarity," said Lecointre before he and Carter flew to a small advance position held by French troops at Menaka, near the border with Niger.

"The challenge now is to carry on nurturing this flame and to make Europeans aware of the scale of our shared responsibility across the Sahel."

- Brexit 'turmoil' -

France is hoping Britain will extend the Chinooks' mission in Mali beyond the scheduled end of their deployment, in December.

But this request is a delicate one, given the toxic political brew of the Brexit saga.

"The British are in complete turmoil. This is not the right time to carry out calm, long-term planning," a French government source said.

Denmark has said it will send two transport helicopters as a substitute for the Chinooks, but this needs to be approved by the Danish parliament.

"The military may have a view of things, and in this perspective, we and General Carter are completely aligned. But I certainly wouldn't want to speak for the British government," Lecointre said prudently.

Carter added: "Our politics is somewhat complex at the moment.

"Bringing all these sorts of decisions at this point in time in our political cycle doesn't necessarily mean you'll get the answer you might want to get.

"We are not going to make a decision very quickly but we'll make it in good time so that we don't let anybody down. I am here to provide unfettered military advice so when I get back to the UK I will provide our politicians with advice on how important this capability is and what it is doing in support of this mission."

Jihadist insurgencies in Mali and Nigeria have spread to neighbouring Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad, sparking fears of a domino effect in the West Africa coastal states of Benin, Togo and Ghana.

Carter pointed to Boko Haram's bloody campaign in northeastern Nigeria as a source of concern.

"The Nigerians undoubtedly need some sort of support," he said.

"There is a longer term, a more chronic problem, which is about building the capacity of the Nigerian institutions, in particular their security institutions, to be able to deal with over a long period of time.

"But of course, as we all know, much of it is about how you defeat the sorts of ideas spread by organizations such as Boko Haram (and) ISIS West Africa."
Two Palestinians were killed Friday by Israeli fire on the Gaza border, the enclave's health ministry said

Two Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in renewed clashes along the Gaza border Friday, the health ministry in the enclave said.

The clashes took place nearly a week before the first anniversary of the protests, when organisers have pledged larger than usual demonstrations.

Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra told AFP the two men were shot in separate incidents along the fractious border.

Jihad Harara, 24, was shot in the head east of Gaza City, while Nidal Shatat, 29, was hit in the chest near the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, Qudra said in a statement. He had previously said Harara was 18.

At least 62 other people were shot, Qudra said.

The Israeli army did not comment on the deaths but said "approximately 9,500 rioters and demonstrators" gathered in various locations, "hurling explosive devices, hard objects and rocks" at troops.

Troops were "firing in accordance with standard operating procedures," a spokeswoman said.

The often violent protests are demanding Palestinian refugees and their descendants be allowed to return to former homes now inside Israel.

Israeli officials say that amounts to calling for the Jewish state's destruction, and accuse Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip, of orchestrating the protests.

In a rare visit, Hamas leader Ismail Haniya visited protests east of Gaza City, AFP correspondents said.

Speaking to the demonstrators, Haniya said they were there to "send a message to the occupation that we will not stop until we uproot the occupation from our land."

He called for thousands to gather for the anniversary on March 30.

At least 257 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire in Gaza since weekly protests began nearly a year ago.

Most have been killed during protests, though others have died in airstrikes and by tank fire.

Two Israeli soldiers have been killed.
The US sanctions imposed this week were the first new sign of pressure since talks between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un broke down in Hanoi less than a month ago

President Donald Trump on Friday abruptly announced the cancellation of sanctions imposed by his own Treasury Department to tighten international pressure on North Korea.

"It was announced today by the U.S. Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea. I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!" Trump said in a tweet.

He appeared to be referring to measures unveiled Thursday that targeted two Chinese companies accused of helping North Korea to evade tight international sanctions meant to pressure Pyongyang into ending its nuclear weapons program.

They were the first new sign of pressure since talks between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un broke down in Hanoi less than a month ago. However, Trump, who has previously spoken of "love" for the totalitarian leader, appears to retain hope that his strong personal relationship will bear fruit.

"President Trump likes Chairman Kim and he doesn't think these sanctions will be necessary," the president's spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, said.

Adam Schiff, a Democrat who heads the intelligence committee in the House of Representatives, blasted Trump for cancelling sanctions "imposed only yesterday and championed by his own national security advisor, because he 'loves' Kim."

"Foolish naivete is dangerous enough. Gross incompetence and disarray in the White House make it even worse," Schiff tweeted.

On Thursday, Trump national security advisor John Bolton had tweeted that the sanctions were meant to put an end to "illicit shipping practices" by North Korea.

"Everyone should take notice and review their own activities to ensure they are not involved in North Korea's sanctions evasion," he said.

China complained, saying that it did enforce all UN resolutions and opposed "any country imposing unilateral sanctions and taking long-arm jurisdiction against any Chinese entity according to their own domestic laws."

This was Trump's second major, unexpected foreign policy announcement by Twitter in two days. On Thursday, he sent a tweet reversing decades of US policy and pledged to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the hotly contested Golan Heights border area with Syria.
Dozens of Senussi's relatives protested Saturday in Libya's capital Tripoli

Relatives and supporters of Libya's Kadhafi-era intelligence chief, jailed for his alleged role in a bloody crackdown during the country's 2011 uprising, protested in Tripoli on Saturday to demand his release.

Abdullah al-Senussi, a brother-in-law of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, was sentenced to death in 2015 over the part he allegedly played in the regime's response to a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled and killed Kadhafi.

Eight others close to Kadhafi, including the Libyan leader's son, Seif al-Islam, also received death sentences following a trial condemned by the United Nations as "seriously" flawed.

Several dozen relatives and members of Senussi's tribe, the Magerha, gathered in a central Tripoli square to demand he be freed over health concerns.

"The law and medical reports support our legitimate demand," said one protester, Mohamad Amer.

Officials have not released specific details on his alleged health problems.

In a statement, the Magerha said his liberation would "contribute to and consolidate national reconciliation" in a country torn apart by inter-communal conflicts since Kadhafi's fall.

The unusual protest comes just over a month after the release on health grounds of Abuzeid Dorda, Kadhafi's head of foreign intelligence who was sentenced at the same time as Senussi.

The protesters held up photos of Senussi behind bars and placards reading "Freedom to prisoners. Yes to national reconciliation".

Senussi was extradited in September 2012 by Mauritania, where he had fled after Kadhafi's fall.

Like the dictator's son, he had also been the subject of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for suspected war crimes during the 2011 uprising.

But in an unusual move, in 2013 the court gave Libyan authorities the green light to put him on trial.

He has since been detained in the capital, along with some 40 other senior Kadhafi-era officials including the dictator's last prime minister Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi.

Seif al-Islam, Kadhafi's son, was captured and imprisoned by an armed group in the northwestern city of Zintan and sentenced by a Tripoli court in absentia.

The group announced his release in 2017 but it was never confirmed and his fate remains unknown.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, has supported reparations for the descendants of slaves

In January 1865, as the US Civil War was drawing to a close, some freed slaves were promised "40 acres and a mule" to begin new lives.

The audacious experiment was fleeting -- repudiated within months by president Andrew Johnson, successor to the assassinated Abraham Lincoln, and the land returned to its former owners.

More than 150 years later, the question of whether the United States should provide compensation to African-Americans for past wrongs is still on the table.

Reparations for centuries of slavery and racial discrimination has emerged as a spirited topic of debate among the slew of candidates seeking to become the 2020 Democratic nominee for president.

Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, during his failed 1988 White House bid, raised the controversial subject but it has never figured so prominently before in a presidential race.

Barack Obama, America's first black president, and 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton did not support compensation for the descendants of slaves.

Among the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Julian Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio, have come out strongly in favor of reparations.

Former San Antonio mayor Julian Castro is seeking to become the first US president of Hispanic origin

"America was founded on principles of liberty and freedom and on the backs of slave labor," Warren, a senator from Massachusetts, said recently at a CNN event in Jackson, Mississippi.

"This is a stain on America," Warren said. "I believe it's time to start the national, full-blown conversation about reparations in this country."

Castro, seeking to become the first US president of Hispanic origin, said he backed reparations while acknowledging there is a "tremendous amount of disagreement" on what they should be.

"If, under the Constitution, we compensate people because we take their property, why wouldn't you compensate people who actually were property?" he said.

- 'Injustice, cruelty, brutality' -

Warren has thrown her support behind a bill in the US House of Representatives that would appoint a commission to examine the subject.

Senator Kamala Harris, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, has signalled support for reparations

The bill, HR 40, calls for a panel "to address the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality, and inhumanity of slavery in the United States and the 13 American colonies between 1619 and 1865."

The commission would "consider a national apology and proposal for reparations for the institution of slavery."

HR 40 -- so named for the unkept "40 acres and a mule" pledge -- was first introduced in the House three decades ago and has been resubmitted every year since, but has never reached the floor for a vote.

Senators Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, the two black candidates in the race, have also signaled support for reparations while former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke has said there should be a "conversation" about the subject.

"We need to study the effects of generations of discrimination and institutional racism and determine what can be done, in terms of intervention, to correct course," Harris said on National Public Radio.

Senator Bernie Sanders has said he does not support the idea of "writing a check" as reparations for the African-American descendants of slaves

Marianne Williamson, a self-help author considered a long shot for the nomination, is the only Democratic candidate for the moment advocating direct payments to African-Americans.

Williamson has proposed creating a $200- $500 billion fund to do it -- a number that scholars of the subject have ridiculed as far too little. A more reasonable figure, they argue, would run into the trillions of dollars.

Two other Democratic hopefuls -- Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar -- have supported addressing racial inequality as part of their wider plans to reduce income disparity.

"I think right now our job is to address the crises facing the American people in our communities," Sanders said on ABC's "The View." "And I think there are better ways to do that than just writing out a check."

- 'Frightening' -

Klobuchar said there was a need to "invest in those communities that have been so hurt by racism."

Senator Amy Klobuchar said she does not support direct payments as reparations to the descendants of slaves

"That means looking at, for our whole economy, community college, one-year degrees, minimum wage, child care," she said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "It doesn't have to be a direct pay for each person."

Blacks are a key voting bloc for Democrats and their support is seen as essential to the candidate running against Republican President Donald Trump next year.

Fifty-two percent of the African-Americans surveyed in a 2015 CNN-Kaiser poll supported cash payments to the descendants of slaves.

But 89 percent of the white Americans polled opposed the idea.

Author Ta-Nehisi Coates, in a seminal 2014 article in The Atlantic called "The Case For Reparations," said the idea is "frightening" to many Americans "not simply because we might lack the ability to pay."

"The idea of reparations threatens something much deeper -- America's heritage, history, and standing in the world," Coates said.

"But I believe that wrestling publicly with these questions matters as much as -- if not more than -- the specific answers that might be produced," he said. "An America that asks what it owes its most vulnerable citizens is improved and humane."

The United States has handed out reparations in the past including to Japanese-Americans put in internment camps during World War II.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pictured addressing AIPAC in 2018, is flying to Washington for the 2019 conference weeks before he faces elections

Powerful has long been the word used to describe America's pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, which for decades has helped assure nearly universal support in Washington for the Jewish state.

But as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee meets for its annual conference starting Sunday, it is seeing rare partisan cracks with none of the Democratic presidential candidates confirmed to attend.

The shift comes under the cloud of politics in Israel, whose right-wing prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is flying to Washington for AIPAC weeks before he faces elections.

President Donald Trump, who will warmly welcome Netanyahu, seized on the Democrats' non-attendance, telling reporters Friday: "They are totally anti-Israel. Frankly, I think they're anti-Jewish."

Democratic candidates have cited scheduling or given no reason, although an aide to Senator Bernie Sanders, who is Jewish, said the socialist was concerned that AIPAC was giving a platform to "leaders who have expressed bigotry and oppose a two-state solution."

Trump has rallied in full force behind Netanyahu, backing his hard line on Iran and taking once taboo steps such as recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and, just Thursday, accepting Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which the Jewish state captured from Syria in 1967.

But American Jews lean left and only 24 percent approved of Trump's job performance in a recent survey by the Pew Research Center.

"AIPAC is in a difficult position because it is supposed to be the voice of the pro-Israel community, but in reality the Jewish community as a whole is opposed to the government of Israel as well as the government of the United States," said Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the liberal Jewish advocacy group J Street.

- Still achieving goals -

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are attending the AIPAC conference, even though Democratic presidential candidates are staying away

AIPAC has hardly lost the Democrats. While candidates will stay away, its top brass in Congress will speak at AIPAC including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

And AIPAC's legislative goals face little serious pushback. Israel is the largest recipient of US aid, receiving more than $3 billion in military financing in the 2018 fiscal year.

"I think it's an established fact that on Capitol Hill there is overwhelming, bipartisan support and that support is just as deep in the Democratic Party as in the Republican Party," said Jason Isaacson, who heads the Washington office of the American Jewish Committee.

"I think it's not surprising that people in their visceral, passionate resistance to the US president associate him with the prime minister of Israel and from that draw the conclusion that to oppose the president you must oppose people who share common strategic concerns," he said.

Some analysts say Trump's staunch support for Netanyahu has more to do with evangelical Christians, a loyal constituency, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo highlighting his religious beliefs when he visited Jerusalem on Thursday.

A recent Gallup poll found that 76 percent of US Republicans sympathized more with Israel than the Palestinians, compared with 43 percent of Democrats.

- AIPAC at 'crossroads' -

Dina Badie, chair of the international studies program at Centre College in Kentucky, said that AIPAC was at a "crossroads" after decades of bipartisan outreach.

"AIPAC is not changing. AIPAC has remained largely consistent in terms of its approach to lobbying, its legislative agenda and the type of priorities it has. What has changed are the political circumstances and the environment in which it's operating," she said.

She added that that Netanyahu has alienated left-leaning Americans, including Jewish Americans, with his rightward turn, while the United States has become increasingly polarized.

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar caused an uproar with her comments on supporters of Israel

"AIPAC has always had a hardline approach that has been compatible with the way Netanyahu is dealing with the Palestinians, but because Netanyahu is seen as toxic in progressive circles, the fact that AIPAC is somehow aligned with Netanyahu's approach is becoming less palatable to Democrats," she said.

She said AIPAC, while not seeking to be partisan, could see itself enjoying less influence when Democrats are in power if this year's conference turns out not to be an aberration.

Among newly elected Democrats, Representative Ilhan Omar, who is Muslim, provoked outrage even among much of her party when last month she suggested that supporters of Israel show "allegiance to a foreign country."

She apologized for the comment, widely seen as anti-Semitic, but Republicans have kept citing it as evidence of creeping bigotry.

Ben-Ami, the head of J Street, said the focus on Omar was misplaced. The gunman who shot dead 11 people last year at a Pittsburgh synagogue had been enraged by Jewish support for refugees.

"The true threatening form of anti-Semitism is coming not from the left but the right. It's not just here, it's all around the world, and it's from the autocrats and ethnonationalists that not only Trump but Netanyahu are embracing," he said.
In a story March 21 about the U.S. flooding outlook, The Associated Press misspelled the last name of a weather forecaster. He is Kevin Low, not Lao.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Unprecedented spring flooding possible, US forecasters say

The National Weather Service says the flooding of Nebraska and Iowa is just a preview of potentially historic widespread major flooding to hit much of America this spring

By SETH BORENSTEIN and JEFF MARTIN

Associated Press

The stage is set for unprecedented major flooding this spring for most of the nation, U.S. weather officials said Thursday.

More than 200 million Americans are at risk for some kind of flooding, with 13 million of them at risk of major inundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in its spring weather outlook. About 41 million people are at risk of moderate flooding.

Major flooding now occurring in Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Missouri and other Midwestern states is a preview of an all-too-wet and dangerous spring, said Mary Erickson, deputy director of the National Weather Service. "In fact, we expect the flooding to get worse and more widespread," she said.

This year's flooding "could be worse than anything we've seen in recent years, even worse than the historic floods of 1993 and 2011," she said. Those floods caused billions of dollars in damage, and officials said this year's damage in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota has already passed the billion-dollar mark.

Forecasters said the biggest risks include all three Mississippi River basins, the Red River of the North, the Great Lakes, plus the basins of the eastern Missouri River, lower Ohio River, lower Cumberland River and the Tennessee River.

"This is the broadest expanse of area in the United States that we've projected with an elevated risk that I can remember," said Thomas Graziano, a 20-year weather service veteran and director of the Office of Water Prediction. "Is this the perfect storm? I don't know."

A lot depends on how much rain falls in the next couple months, Graziano said, but forecasters say it will be more than average.

The Missouri River has already set records with historic flood marks measured in 30 places in Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota, Kansas City forecaster Kevin Low said.

The river "remains vulnerable to moderate flooding for the remainder of the spring and early summer," Low said. "People should be prepared for major flooding along the Missouri River ... going into the future."

Most of Nebraska, except right along the Missouri River, is unlikely to see major flooding again this year, but the rest of the flooded area is still prone to more, Low said.

Several factors will likely combine to create a pulse of flooding that will eventually head south along the Mississippi: above average rainfall this winter- including 10 to 15 inches earlier this year in a drenching along the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys; the third wettest year in U.S. history; and rapidly melting snow in the Upper Midwest.

Extra rain will bring more farm runoff down the Mississippi, which will likely lead to more oxygen-starved areas in the Gulf of Mexico and likely make the summer dead zone larger than normal, said Edward Clark, director of NOAA's National Water Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

It's too early for scientists to make the complex calculations to see if human-caused climate change played a role in the flooding. However, scientists said the conditions are consistent with what they expect from global warming.

In addition to the year-to-year natural variability of weather, there is a long-term, climate change-driven trend that is making extreme rainfalls even more intense, said Texas A&M University climate scientist Andrew Dessler.

"You can think of climate change as steroids for these rain events," he said.

University of Illinois climate scientist Donald Wuebbles, co-author of a report released Thursday on climate change and the Great Lakes, said "we have been seeing a significant increase in precipitation coming as larger events, especially in the Midwest and Northeast, over the last five to six decades." It will get worse, so flooding will get to be a bigger concern, he said.

In part of the South, it already is.

Major flooding is already occurring this week on the Mississippi River near several Southern cities including Arkansas City, Arkansas; Natchez, Mississippi; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, according to river gauges and data from NOAA. Since Feb. 8, about 100 Army Corps of Engineers personnel have been monitoring levees and other flood protection in Memphis; Clarksdale, Mississippi; and Helena, Arkansas.

The swollen river has been flooding some unprotected western Mississippi communities since last month.

One Mississippi region protected by levees is also flooding. The smaller rivers there can't drain into the Mississippi River as normal, because a floodgate that protects the region from even worse flooding by the big river has been closed since Feb. 15.

Residents around Rolling Fork, Mississippi, first noticed water rising from swamps in late February. The water eventually invaded some homes in that community, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of Vicksburg.

___

Borenstein reported from Washington, Martin from Atlanta. Associated Press Writers Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee, and Jeff Amy in Jackson, Mississippi, contributed.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - The Latest on the Ethiopian plane crash (all times local):

7:15 p.m.

Ethiopian Airlines says its pilots went through all the extra training required by Boeing and the U.S. aviation regulator to fly the 737 Max 8 jet that crashed this month, killing all 157 passengers.

CEO Tewolde Gebremariam said Thursday that the airline's pilots completed the training meant to help them shift from an older model to the newer 737 Max 8.

He said the pilots were also made aware of an emergency directive issued by the U.S. regulator, the FAA, following the crash of a Boeing 737 Max 8 owned by Indonesia's Lion Air last year.

As investigators look into the crashes, attention has turned to a new software in the jets that can push their nose down in some circumstances.

FILE- In this March 21, 2018, file photo a Thai Lion Air employee displays a ceremonial key to the company's newest plane, Boeing's first 737 MAX 9 jet, following a delivery ceremony to the airline in Seattle. The United States and many other countries have grounded the Max 8s and larger Max 9s as Boeing faces the challenge of proving the jets are safe to fly amid suspicions that faulty sensors and software contributed to the two crashes in less than five months. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

The New York Times reported that the pilots of the Ethiopian plane never trained in a simulator for the plane.

Gebremariam said that the 737 Max simulator is not designed to simulate problems in the new jet software. He declined, however, to say whether the pilots had trained on the simulator.

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6:50 p.m.

The families of Kenyan victims of the Ethiopian plane crash are asking their government for legal assistance in pursuing compensation.

In an emotional gathering Thursday in the capital of Nairobi, the victims' relatives asked for lawyers to help them pursue their case. One of them, Erick Mwangi, spoke of what could be an "expensive and tedious" legal battle.

Kenya's foreign ministry is advising them to "come together as a group" as the attorney general takes up the matter. He said the government will assist in obtaining death certificates for the victims.

Ethiopian Airlines on Thursday urged patience as an investigation into the March 10 crash of its Boeing Max 8 plane continues. Thirty-two Kenyans were among the 157 victims of the plane crash.

The Boeing Max planes have since been grounded.

In this Monday, March 11, 2019 file photo, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplane being built for TUI Group sits parked in the background at right at Boeing Co.'s Renton Assembly Plant in Renton, Wash. The Transportation Department confirmed that its watchdog agency will examine how the FAA certified the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, the now-grounded plane involved in two fatal accidents within five months. The FAA had stood by the safety of the plane up until last Wednesday, March 13, 2019 despite other countries grounding it. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

FILE- In this March 13, 2019, file photo people work in the flight deck of a Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplane being built for TUI Group parked next to another MAX 8 also designated for TUI at Boeing Co.'s Renton Assembly Plant in Renton, Wash. U.S. prosecutors are looking into the development of Boeing's 737 Max jets, a person briefed on the matter revealed Monday, the same day French aviation investigators concluded there were "clear similarities" in the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Max 8 last week and a Lion Air jet in October. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, file)
JERUSALEM (AP) - The Latest on the United States and Israel (all times local):

12:55 a.m.

President Donald Trump has abruptly declared the U.S. will recognize Israel's sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, a major shift in American policy that gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political boost a month before what is expected to be a close election.

The administration has been considering recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the strategic highlands, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967, for some time. Netanyahu had pressed the matter with visiting Secretary of State Mike Pompeo just a day earlier.

U.S. and Israeli officials said Wednesday they had not expected a decision until next week, when Netanyahu is to visit the U.S.

But in a tweet that appeared to catch many by surprise, Trump said the time had come.

From left, Rabbi of the Western Wall Shmuel Rabinovitch, U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, center, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the Western Wall tunnels synagogue in Jerusalem's Old City on Thursday, March 21, 2019. (Abir Sultan/Pool Image via AP)

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8:15 p.m.

Israel's prime minister has praised President Donald Trump's recognition of its control over the Golan Heights as a holiday "miracle."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Trump's declaration is of "equal historical importance" to his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and his withdrawal from the international nuclear deal with Iran.

The announcement came as Israel was celebrating the holiday of Purim, which marks the Jewish victory over a Persian tyrant. Netanyahu noted that modern Iran is trying to use Syria as a "platform" against Israel and called Trump's announcement a new "miracle of Purim."

At a press conference Thursday with the visiting Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Netanyahu said: "The message that President Trump has given the world is that America stands by Israel."

___

7:25 p.m.

Israel's leader has thanked President Donald Trump for "boldly" recognizing Israel's control over the Golan Heights.

Israel captured the Golan, a strategic plateau overlooking northern Israel, from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed the area in 1981.

The international community considers the Golan to be occupied territory, and Syria has demanded its return as a condition for any future peace agreement.

After an eight-year civil war, peace talks with Israel are unlikely anytime soon. Throughout the war, Israel has carried out scores of airstrikes in Syria to prevent Iran from establishing a permanent military presence there.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted: "At a time when Iran seeks to use Syria as a platform to destroy Israel, President Trump boldly recognizes Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights." He added: "Thank you President Trump!"

___

7 p.m.

President Donald Trump says that it's time to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

In a tweet Thursday, Trump said that after 52 years, it's important for the United States for fully recognize Israel's control over what he says is an area of "critical strategic and security importance to Israel" and stability in the region.

Trump's tweet came as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in Jerusalem. Reporters asked Pompeo about the issue, but he declined to answer.

The Israeli prime minister has accused Iran of attempting to set up a terrorist network to target Israel from the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in 1967. He has used the incident to repeat his goal of international recognition for Israel's claim on the area.

__

2 p.m.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is to make an unprecedented visit to Jerusalem's Western Wall with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the highest-level American official to tour the holy site with Israel's leader.

Pompeo says he thinks it's important and symbolic to visit the wall with the Israeli leader Thursday as a show of U.S. support for Israel.

Senior U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump and numerous predecessors, have visited the wall in the past but never with an Israeli leader.

Since Israel captured east Jerusalem and the Old City in 1967, U.S. officials have avoided appearances at the Western Wall with Israeli leaders to avoid the appearance of recognizing Israel's control over the city's most sensitive holy sites. But that policy has been upended by the Trump administration.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A man convicted of a 1982 rape in Louisiana's capital city walked free Thursday after 35 years in prison, following his exoneration using an updated fingerprint database.

The Innocence Project, which works to free wrongly convicted defendants, said Archie Williams was freed after his conviction was vacated by a Louisiana district court commissioner, Kinasiyumki Kimble, in Baton Rouge. The organization said in its statement that it had been working to free Williams since 1995.

The group said in recounting Williams' case that he had been prosecuted and convicted despite having an alibi and based largely on an uncertain identification by the victim, who chose him from a photo lineup.

"Nearly one month after the crime, the victim was shown a photo array that included Williams, but she did not select him as the assailant. She did, however, tell police officers that when they look for the assailant, they should look for an individual who resembled Williams' photo," the news release said. It was only after she'd been shown photo arrays three times that she said Williams was the assailant.

Another complication: prosecutors long opposed Williams' efforts to have fingerprint evidence checked against a national database, according to the news release.

However, after Kimble called a status conference to discuss the case last month, prosecutors agreed to a search using an updated FBI fingerprint database, part of its Next Generation Identification system.

That led to a match of fingerprints found at the scene of the 1982 rape and stabbing in Baton Rouge to another man - a confessed serial rapist who died in prison in 1996, according to the Innocence Project.

"If there is potential proof of an incarcerated person's innocence, they must have access to it, no matter how old the case or how many times they have asked before," Emily Maw, senior counsel at the Innocence Project New Orleans, said in the statement. "If Commissioner Kimble had not insisted on, and First Assistant District Attorney Dana Cummings had not agreed to, a fingerprint search, Williams would have died in prison."

Maw said the case points to the need for state laws giving incarcerated people access to evidence that can prove their innocence, allowing court testimony from experts on eyewitness testimony.

The Advocate reports that Williams walked out of the state courthouse in Baton Rouge along with relatives and attorneys, including Innocence Project co-founder Barry Scheck.

"There are many innocent people at Angola," Williams said in Thursday's news release, referring to the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. "Guys who have served over 50 years. I'm happy to be cleared finally, but I'm not free until they are free."
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand pitched her ideas Thursday to improve the asylum process while touring a law clinic at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas that helps immigrants with legal matters.

The senator from New York kicked off her first presidential campaign trip to Nevada by meeting with immigration law students. The 2020 White House hopeful took notes while the students described the cases they've worked on and the problems they've encountered in the U.S. legal system as they try to help immigrants, including unaccompanied minors.

Gillibrand, who has stressed her role as a mother on the campaign trail, spoke to the students while she picked up and examined several small pieces of canvass with painted handprints of those unaccompanied children whose cases were handled by the clinic.

The Democrat said she's working on legislation that would guarantee asylum seekers a lawyer, create a system for Americans to foster immigrant children and break out immigration judges from under the U.S. Department of Justice so they can be independent.

"We want unbiased judges that are appointed for life so they can do the right thing, not the political thing," she told reporters.

Immigration reform is a prime issue in Nevada, which has a sizeable population of immigrants living in the U.S. without legal permission and 13,000 young immigrants seeking protection from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., speaks with law students at a legal clinic at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Thursday, March 21, 2019, in Las Vegas. The legal clinic works with unaccompanied immigrant children.(AP Photo/John Locher)

"I think this is a huge issue for all of America," Gillibrand said. "I think we have a crisis at the border that has been literally manufactured by President Trump, entirely creating a humanitarian crisis of separating families."

She met Thursday afternoon with former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and spoke to voters at a downtown Las Vegas bar Thursday night.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., second from right, listens while meeting with law students at a legal clinic at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Thursday, March 21, 2019, in Las Vegas. The legal clinic works with unaccompanied immigrant children.(AP Photo/John Locher)

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., center, shakes hands with law professor Michael Kagan, right, while speaking with law students at a legal clinic at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Thursday, March 21, 2019, in Las Vegas. The legal clinic works with unaccompanied immigrant children.(AP Photo/John Locher)
CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) - The Latest on the mosque attacks in New Zealand (all times local):

7:45 a.m.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has gone to the first mosque built in New York City to urge people "to reaffirm the sanctity of all places of worship" a week after a gunman killed 50 Muslim worshippers in New Zealand.

The U.N. chief announced that he was asking the head of the U.N. Alliance of Civilizations to develop "an action plan" so all U.N. bodies can help safeguard religious sites.

Guterres addressed a Friday prayer service at the Islamic Cultural Center of New York. He told reporters outside that "hate speech is spreading like wildfire."

The secretary-general warned that "social media is being exploited as a platform for bigotry" and that many political movements are admitting their neo-Nazi affiliation or using the symbols.

Sheik Saad Jalloh, left, imam of the Islamic Cultural Center, walks with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres as he arrives for a service in New York, Friday, March 22, 2019 in the wake of a white supremacist's deadly shooting spree on two mosques, March 15, in Christchurch, New Zealand. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

He calls it a spreading cancer and says "it is our duty to find the cure."

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10 p.m.

Malaysia's prime minister says Muslim countries need to look for new ways to reduce the atmosphere of hatred and anger toward Muslims that prompted the deadly attack on mosques in New Zealand.

Mahathir Mohamad, a prominent Muslim statesman, says he discussed ways to improve the perception of Muslims around the world in talks Friday in Pakistan with Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He says Muslims need to learn how to respond to the hatred directed at them, and warned that taking revenge and killing invites the same reaction. He didn't specify any alternatives, but his comments suggested more tolerance, patience and dialogue.

Mahathir arrived in Pakistan on Thursday for a three-day visit.

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5 p.m.

Thousands of people have gathered for a mass funeral to bury 26 of the victims of the mosque attacks in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The funeral is taking place at a Muslim cemetery where more than a dozen of the 50 killed last week already have been laid to rest.

Family members took turns passing around shovels and wheelbarrows to bury their loved ones.

The burials come hours after thousands gathered in a Christchurch park for Friday prayers, including Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Friday's burials also include the youngest victim of the attacks, 3-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim.

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3 p.m.

An Australian national security official says security agencies are increasing their "scrutiny and pressure" on white supremacists after the New Zealand mosque attack.

Home Affairs Department chief executive Mike Pezzullo told a Senate committee on Friday that Australian agencies were working to assist the New Zealand investigation into the Australian man arrested in the killings of 50 worshippers in two Christchurch mosques last week.

Brenton Tarrant espoused white-supremacist views in a manifesto describing his plans for the attack, and racist imagery was seen in his livestreamed footage.

Pezzullo said the Home Affairs Department stood resolutely against white supremacy and he addressed its adherents in saying," The scrutiny and pressure that you are under will only intensify.'"

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1:30 p.m.

People across New Zealand are observing the Muslim call to prayer as the nation reflects on the moment one week ago when 50 people were slaughtered at two mosques.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and thousands of others congregated in leafy Hagley Park opposite the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch to observe the call to prayer early Friday afternoon.

Thousands more were listening in on the radio or watching on television as the event was broadcast live. The prayer was followed by two minutes of silence.

The observance comes the day after the government announced a ban on "military-style" semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines like the weapons that were used in last Friday's attacks.

Muslims pray during Friday prayers at Hagley Park in Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, March 22, 2019. People across New Zealand are observing the Muslim call to prayer as the nation reflects on the moment one week ago when 50 people were slaughtered at two mosques. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, center, leaves Friday prayers at Hagley Park in Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, March 22, 2019. People across New Zealand are observing the Muslim call to prayer as the nation reflects on the moment one week ago when 50 people were slaughtered at two mosques. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Mourners embrace following a burial ceremony at Memorial Park Cemetery in Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, March 22, 2019. Funerals continued following the Friday, March 15 mosque attacks where 50 worshippers were killed by a white supremacist. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Injured victims from last week's mosque shootings pray during Friday prayers at Hagley Park in Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, March 22, 2019. People across New Zealand observed the Muslim call to prayer Friday as the nation reflected on the moment one week ago when 50 people were slaughtered at two mosques. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
BANGKOK (AP) - Thailand heads to the polls Sunday to vote in the country's first general election since the military toppled an elected government in a coup nearly five years ago.

Once the junta was in power, it tore up the constitution and had a new one written that significantly changed the nation's political structure and electoral rules.

Observers say the new system was designed to limit the power of big political parties like those that dominated past elections and to increase the need for a coalition government. They say it will also give the military's allies an inside track on leading the next government.

Here's a look at the system:

APPOINTED SENATE

A 250-member Senate has been established and all of the senators will be appointees selected by the junta. The junta has said its selections will be revealed after the general election.

In this March 12, 2019, photo, a pedestrian walks past the election campaign posters in Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand heads to the polls Sunday, March 24, 2019 to vote in the country's first general election since the military toppled an elected government in a coup nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

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ELECTED LOWER HOUSE

The lower house of parliament will consist of 500 members, all of them elected. The majority of members - 350 - will represent individual constituencies around the country and be directly elected by voters in those areas. The other 150 will be party list members, selected from slates of candidates designated by each party, with winning seats assigned in rough proportion to the total share of votes each party receives nationwide.

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AT THE POLLS

Voters used to cast two ballots, one for their local member of parliament and the other for their political party preference. The process was relatively straightforward and allowed voters to have local loyalties that differed from their national political party allegiances. Under the new system there is just one ballot and the vote for the local member of parliament will also count as one's party preference.

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POPULAR PARTY WOES

The number of seats allocated to each party is determined by a convoluted formula that handicaps those parties winning the most constituency seats, by putting a soft cap on the number of party list seats it can be awarded. Midsized parties that win fewer constituency seats are compensated with a lesser handicap, with the rationale that parties with substantial yet weaker vote totals deserve representation. In other words, voting for a big party's representatives dilutes the value of one's party list choice, and lowers the number of house seats that party can accumulate. This weakens bigger, more popular parties.

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PRIME MINISTER PICK

A voter has even less of a voice in picking the prime minister, not just because he or she is indirectly elected by parliament, but because the election is by a joint vote of the elected lower house and the unelected senate. In theory, if all senators vote in a bloc - say for the military candidate who appointed them - a prime minister nominee could win the job by getting just 126 votes in the lower house. That means such a nominee would just need to woo 25 percent of the elected members of the house, plus one more, to become prime minister. The prime minister does not need to be a member of parliament.

In this March 15, 2019, photo, a pedestrian walks behind an election campaign poster in Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand heads to the polls Sunday, March 24, 2019 to vote in the country's first general election since the military toppled an elected government in a coup nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this March 15, 2019, photo, a tuk-tuk driver waits for customers beside an election campaign poster in Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand heads to the polls Sunday, March 24, 2019 to vote in the country's first general election since the military toppled an elected government in a coup nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this Friday, March 15, 2019, photo, election campaign posters surround an outdoor eating area in Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand heads to the polls Sunday, March 24, 2019 to vote in the country's first general election since the military toppled an elected government in a coup nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this March 17, 2019, photo, the Thai Palang Pracharat Party members parade through a town on a truck in Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand heads to the polls Sunday, March 24, 2019 to vote in the country's first general election since the military toppled an elected government in a coup nearly five years ago.(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this March 17, 2019, photo, the leader of Palang Pracharat Party Sonthirat Sonthisajirawong, right, introduces his party during an election campaign in Bangkok, Thailand. Thailand heads to the polls Sunday, March 24, 2019 to vote in the country's first general election since the military toppled an elected government in a coup nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
BLYTHE, Calif. (AP) - Federal prosecutors say an 80-year-old California man defrauded donors by setting up fake political action committees purporting to support campaigns including Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential bid and former Rep. Beto O'Rourke's Senate race in Texas.

The Los Angeles Times reports Thursday that John Pierre Dupont is charged with wire fraud and identity theft. It wasn't immediately known if the Blythe resident has an attorney.

Prosecutors say Dupont pocketed $250,000 in contributions that donors thought was going to political candidates and causes.

Dupont allegedly collected more than $140,000 from contributions collected through a website claiming to support Sanders. He also allegedly collected money from donors who thought they were supporting Andrew Gillum's campaign for the Florida governorship.

The newspaper says Dupont appeared in federal court in Arizona and posted $100,000 bail.

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Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com/
WASHINGTON (AP) - Joe Biden says he has "the most progressive record" of any Democrat running, or mulling a run, in 2020. But many progressive activists disagree.

As the former vice president inches closer to a third White House run, several moments in his long career loom as immediate political liabilities. From his vote for the Iraq war to his key role in passing a bill that made it harder for debt-ridden Americans to declare bankruptcy, Biden would have to reconcile his past with a party that's moved to the left.

Biden leads many early polls, but his handling of those issues will determine whether that support fades in a primary fight. He is aware of his critics, using a speech last week before friendly Delaware Democrats to declare himself a progressive while also describing some of his detractors as "the new left" and defending his record. But several progressive activists are urging him to do more to address doubts about his progressive credentials by owning up to past missteps and developing a forward-looking agenda that recognizes the Democratic base's center of gravity has shifted.

"For him to actually own the label of progressive, he needs to acknowledge and reconcile that prior harm - not just in words, but by putting forth a policy agenda that's really rooted in challenging white supremacy and economic exploitation," said Jennifer Epps-Addison, co-executive director of the activist group Center for Popular Democracy Action.

As for Biden deeming his record progressive, she warned that "simply labeling yourself something doesn't make it true."

Leah Greenberg, co-founder of the activist group Indivisible, described Biden's progressive self-definition as "a confusing comment" given the number of other prominent liberals in the Democratic primary.

Former Vice President Joe Biden smiles as he exits the stage with his wife, former second lady Jill Biden, left, after speaking at the International Association of Firefighters at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 12, 2019, amid growing expectations he'll soon announce he's running for president. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

"He's going to need to reconcile his record on policy with where he is now and what kind of policies he's proposing as a presidential contender," Greenberg said, adding that "if he's trying to understand what animates the new left . I'd recommend that he talk to grassroots leaders on the ground."

A Biden spokesman declined to comment.

The 76-year-old Democrat has expressed some regrets for past actions. He was contrite in January about supporting a 1994 crime bill whose stiffer sentences fell disproportionately on minority offenders, telling an audience that the bill's harsher punishment was "a big mistake" that has "trapped an entire generation." He has called his vote to support the Iraq War "a mistake."

And Biden is known for pushing the rest of his party leftward on some key issues. He backed same-sex marriage in 2012 before Barack Obama did, effectively nudging the then-president into his corner on what was a politically volatile issue. He was also a lead architect of the Violence Against Women Act in 1994 and later used his perch as Obama's vice president to advocate for sexual assault victims, particularly on college campuses.

Sen. Chris Coons, who holds the Delaware seat Biden occupied and is a close ally, said he read Biden's "most progressive" comment as a way of championing the Obama administration's accomplishments on health care, climate change and other fronts.

"On the core issues progressives claim to care about most, Joe Biden actually has a record of leadership," Coons said in an interview. "Anybody can give a great speech on a college campus, but actually getting things done . that's something worth talking about and running on."

But progressives say he'll have more atoning to do, should he enter the 2020 race.

Karine Jean-Pierre, a senior adviser at MoveOn.org who worked with Biden during her time in Obama's administration, predicted "there are things he's going to have to answer to."

"Sometimes you're so popular, and then you jump into an election, and then you become less popular," she said. "He could avoid that by just going head-on and dealing with it from the get-go."

Even as Biden leads most early polls of the sprawling Democratic field, those surveys can't gauge how much of his advantage stems from voters' favorable views of his role as Obama's vice president - and whether that wellspring of goodwill would fade if Biden enters the presidential race to criticism from liberals.

Activists looking to push the party toward a progressive agenda aren't prepared to give Biden a pass based on Obama-era successes.

"You can only go so long on the coattails of a former president, no matter how well-liked a former president is," said Charles Chamberlain, chair of the progressive group Democracy for America.

Biden's advisers have talked for weeks about the prospect of assuaging concerns regarding his age and ideology by tapping a younger running mate early in the primary, before the Democratic nomination is secured. Those discussions, which have not coalesced into any firm decision, at one point focused on former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas and have shifted to former Georgia gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams, who met with Biden in Washington last week.

Allying with Abrams could bear fruit in bolstering Biden's relationships with progressives, but she's also being heavily courted by Democratic elders to challenge Republican Sen. David Perdue of Georgia in 2020 and has yet to rule out a presidential bid herself.

"There is an important dynamic to having your name considered as part of the national conversation because someone like me is not often on that list," Abrams, a 45-year-old African-American woman, said last week at a conference in Washington.

Even if Biden adds younger, more left-leaning energy to his prospective ticket, some activists won't be deterred from scrutinizing elements of his past. In addition to his votes on bankruptcy, the crime bill and the Iraq War, Biden is likely to face further questions about his treatment of Anita Hill during the 1991 confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his recently resurfaced 1970s remarks against the use of busing to diversify schools in his home state.

"I don't think his choice of running mate will matter that much," said Justice Democrats communications director Waleed Shahid, whose group worked to elect Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and other rising young liberal candidates in 2018. "Biden can't trick progressives who are at the center of energy in the Democratic Party right now into rebranding himself into someone he's not."

Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the International Association of Firefighters at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 12, 2019, amid growing expectations he'll soon announce he's running for president. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

FILE - In this March 12, 2019 photo, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks to the International Association of Firefighters at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill in Washington. As the former vice president inches closer toward a third White House run, several moments in his long career loom as immediate political liabilities should he decide to join a Democratic primary already stocked with more than a dozen candidates. From his vote for the Iraq war to his key role in passing a bill that made bankruptcy harder to declare for debt-ridden Americans, Biden would have multiple fronts on which to reconcile his past with the future of a party that's moved leftward even since he left former President Barack Obama's administration. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Former Vice President Joe Biden takes a photograph with members of the audience after speaking to the International Association of Firefighters at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 12, 2019, amid growing expectations he'll soon announce he's running for president. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. (AP) - The Missouri River floodwater surging on to the air base housing the U.S. military's Strategic Command overwhelmed round-the-clock sandbagging by airmen and others. They had to scramble to save sensitive equipment, munitions and dozens of aircraft.

Days into the flooding, muddy water was still lapping at almost 80 flooded buildings at Nebraska's Offutt Air Force Base, some inundated by up to 7 feet (2.1 meters) of water. Piles of waterlogged corn cobs, husks and stalks lay heaped everywhere that the water had receded, swept onto the base from surrounding fields.

"In the end, obviously, the waters were just too much. It took over everything we put up," Col. David Norton, who is in charge of facilities at the base, told an Associated Press reporter on a tour of the damage. "The speed at which it came in was shocking."

Though the headquarters of Strategic Command, which plays a central role in detecting and striking at global threats, wasn't damaged, the flooding provided a dramatic example of how climate change poses a national security threat, even as the Trump administration plays down the issue.

It is also a reminder that the kind of weather extremes escalating with climate change aren't limited to the coasts, said retired Rear Adm. David W. Titley, founder of both the Navy's Task Force on Climate Change and the Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk at Penn State University.

"We probably do need some walls - but they're probably levees," Titley said, in a reference to President Donald Trump's proposal to take money from the military construction budget to fund a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. "I would say those are the kinds of walls we need."

This March 17, 2019 photo released by the U.S. Air Force shows an aerial view of Areas surrounding Offutt Air Force Base affected by flood waters in Neb. Surging unexpectedly strong and up to 7 feet high, the Missouri River floodwaters that poured on to much the Nebraska air base that houses the U.S. Strategic Command overwhelmed the frantic sandbagging by troops and their scramble to save sensitive equipment, munitions and aircraft. (Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Blake/The U.S. Air Force via AP)

The late-winter floods that have swept over Plains states starting last week - breaching levees, halting Amtrak trains, and killing at least three people - are also the second major inundation in less than a decade to hit the air base outside Omaha.

It would takes weeks or more for scientists to determine if the Plains flooding, or any weather disaster, was caused or worsened by climate change, which is occurring as emissions from coal, oil and gas alter the atmosphere. But federal agencies and scientists around the world agree that climate change already is making natural disasters more frequent, stronger and longer.

The military has warned in a series of reports under past administrations that climate change is a security threat on many fronts. That includes "through direct impacts on U.S. military infrastructure and by affecting factors, including food and water availability, that can exacerbate conflict outside U.S. borders," the federal government's grim climate report said last year.

But Trump has belittled his own government's warnings. During a January cold spell, he tweeted his wish for "a little of that good old fashioned Global Warming!" In response to security warnings on climate change, the Trump administration has allowed a physicist who rejects scientific consensus on manmade climate change to start organizing a White House panel to make its own determination.

Responding to an AP inquiry, the White House's National Security Council did not directly address whether the administration sees climate change as a national security threat, but said it takes the issue of climate change seriously.

But the Trump White House's national security strategy mentions climate only in the context of "countering an anti-growth energy agenda" for fossil fuels.

Department of Defense spokeswoman Heather Babb said the department "works to ensure installations and infrastructure are resilient to a wide range of challenges, including climate."

"DOD will focus on ensuring it remains ready and able to adapt to a wide variety of threats - regardless of the source - to fulfill our mission to deter war and ensure our nation's security," Babb said.

Under the Trump administration, unlike in previous administrations, the Pentagon has offered little public comment on climate change as a security threat. The Pentagon's guiding star of defense planning, known as the National Defense Strategy, does not even mention climate change.

That leaves it to former military leaders to raise the alarm about how climate change could affect national security. Retired Brig. Gen. Gerald Galloway said that worsening bouts of weather - floods cutting off troops' way in and out of bases, high waves complicating landings, heat waves depriving aircraft of the lift they need to fly - are all problems the military could be dealing with.

Military bases are launch platforms and you "can't fight a war unless you've got a place to leave from," said Galloway, a member of the Center for Climate and Security's advisory board.

Titley predicted Offutt Air Force Base would prove the latest military installation to have racked up $1 billion or more in damage. Hurricanes struck North Carolina's Camp Lejeune in September and Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida in October.

The current political atmosphere discourages any big efforts building up base defenses against climate change, said Titley, who also served as chief operating officer of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Defense Department officials "by and large know what they need to do, but it's very hard for them to do. White House dynamics are the White House does not want to hear about it," he said.

"The Pentagon is really between a rock and a hard spot here," Titley said.

Earlier heavy flooding at Offutt has prompted the base to start raising its levee by 2 feet this year, said Maj. Meghan M. Liemburg-Archer, spokeswoman for Strategic Command.

Sandbagging had held back 2011 floods at the base. The flooding that poured in starting March 15 was worse, Norton, the base's support group commander, said.

"It was all hands on deck," Norton said. "All through the night, we worked. It was thousands of people, in total, working to sandbag, move in huge Hesco barriers; a whole host of people clearing equipment out of facilities, moving munitions ... even crews doing things like disconnecting power. It was a massive effort."

More than 30 aircraft were towed to higher ground or flown to other locations. Crews hauled out loads of equipment, engines and tools.

By Saturday, the flood had rolled over a third of the base, swamping more than 1.2 million square feet of buildings.

Though Strategic Command headquarters escaped flooding, it had to cut staff to a minimum as high water blocked roads. The command holds down a range of responsibilities, including global strike capacity, missile defense, nuclear operations and strategic deterrence.

Inundated buildings include the 55th Wing headquarters, the massive Bennie L. Davis Maintenance Facility and a building that houses the 55th Wing's flight simulators.

About 3,000 feet of the base's 11,700-foot runway is submerged.

"The good news is that no one on the base was injured," Norton said. "We know how lucky we are."

Touring Offutt, the base fire chief, Dave Eblin, kicked one of the soggy corn cobs strewn throughout the base. Asked whether there had been some type of fodder silo that ruptured nearby, Eblin laughed.

"No, it came in from the fields. Miles of corn fields around the base," he said, nudging at the cob underfoot. "It clogs everything: engines, boat motors. It's everywhere."

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Knickmeyer and Burns reported from Washington. AP science reporter Seth Borenstein contributed, also from Washington.

This March 17, 2019 photo released by the U.S. Air Force shows an aerial view of Offutt Air Force Base and the surrounding areas affected by flood waters in Neb. Surging unexpectedly strong and up to 7 feet high, the Missouri River floodwaters that poured on to much the Nebraska air base that houses the U.S. Strategic Command overwhelmed the frantic sandbagging by troops and their scramble to save sensitive equipment, munitions and aircraft. (Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Blake/The U.S. Air Force via AP)

This March 17, 2019 photo released by the U.S. Air Force shows an aerial view of Offutt Air Force Base and the surrounding areas affected by flood waters in Neb. Surging unexpectedly strong and up to 7 feet high, the Missouri River floodwaters that poured on to much the Nebraska air base that houses the U.S. Strategic Command overwhelmed the frantic sandbagging by troops and their scramble to save sensitive equipment, munitions and aircraft. (Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Blake/The U.S. Air Force via AP)

In this March 18, 2019 photo released by the U.S. Air Force, environmental restoration employees deploy a containment boom from a boat on Offutt Air Force Base in Neb., as a precautionary measure for possible fuel leaks in the flooded area. Surging unexpectedly strong and up to 7 feet high, the Missouri River floodwaters that poured on to much the Nebraska air base that houses the U.S. Strategic Command overwhelmed the frantic sandbagging by troops and their scramble to save sensitive equipment, munitions and aircraft. (Delanie Stafford, The U.S. Air Force via AP)

This March 17, 2019 photo released by the U.S. Air Force shows an aerial view of Offutt Air Force Base and the surrounding areas affected by flood waters in Neb. Surging unexpectedly strong and up to 7 feet high, the Missouri River floodwaters that poured on to much the Nebraska air base that houses the U.S. Strategic Command overwhelmed the frantic sandbagging by troops and their scramble to save sensitive equipment, munitions and aircraft. (Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Blake/The U.S. Air Force via AP)

In this March 18, 2019 photo released by the U.S. Air Force, environmental restoration employees deploy a containment boom from a boat on Offutt Air Force Base in Neb., as a precautionary measure for possible fuel leaks in the flooded area. Surging unexpectedly strong and up to 7 feet high, the Missouri River floodwaters that poured on to much the Nebraska air base that houses the U.S. Strategic Command overwhelmed the frantic sandbagging by troops and their scramble to save sensitive equipment, munitions and aircraft. (Delanie Stafford, The U.S. Air Force via AP)
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - When the Trump administration paved the way for Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido to name a new board to run the U.S. affiliate of Venezuela's state oil company, it was a rare glimmer of hope for the American families of six oil executives jailed for over a year without a trial in the politically turbulent South American nation.

But a month later, the families complain they are being left to fend for themselves as much as ever by the men's employer, Houston-based Citgo, which until the takeover had been the U.S. subsidiary of the Venezuelan oil giant known as PDVSA.

Citgo, the eighth largest refiner in the U.S. and Venezuela's biggest foreign asset, has emerged as a major prize in the battle for power in Venezuela between President Nicolas Maduro and Guaido, who heads the opposition-controlled National Assembly and is recognized by the U.S. and about 50 other governments as the country's legitimate leader. The families insist their loved ones are collateral damage in that high-stakes fight- first imprisoned on trumped-up charges by Maduro's government and now overlooked by a U.S. administration hell-bent on regime change while Citgo is hounded by creditors and battered by U.S. sanctions on PDVSA.

Their travail began the weekend before Thanksgiving in 2017, when the six executives got a call from the head of PDVSA summoning them to Caracas for a last-minute budget meeting. Once there, armed and masked security agents burst into a conference room and arrested them on embezzlement charges stemming from a never-executed proposal to refinance some $4 billion in Citgo bonds by offering a 50 percent stake in the company as collateral. Maduro himself accused them of "treason," though they have not been charged with that crime.

The families of the "Citgo 6" - five of them American citizens and all with deep roots in Texas and Louisiana - complain the men are being held in inhumane conditions, sharing overcrowded basement cells in a military counterintelligence prison and suffering severe weight loss in a country plagued by food shortages. Even worse, their case shows no sign of advancing. A preliminary hearing was postponed Friday by Judge Rosvelin Gil for the 14th time, with little apparent reason.

Citgo, when under Maduro's control, provided almost no support to the jailed executives or their families despite an indemnity agreement that obligates it to act on the men's behalf. In the months following their arrest the company even terminated their pay although they were never fired.

FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2019 file photo, Dennysse Vadell sits between her daughters Veronica, right, and Cristina holding a digital photograph of father and husband Tomeu who is currently jailed in Venezuela, in Katy, Texas, Friday. Tomeu Vadell is one of six executives from Houston-based Citgo who has spent 15 months jailed in Venezuela on what their families say are trumped-up corruption charges. (AP Photo/John L Mone, File, File)

Now, the families feel snubbed by Maduro's opponents as well.

Several emails and an upbeat letter sent Feb. 26 by certified mail to new Citgo chairwoman Luisa Palacios requesting a meeting to discuss the company's plans to facilitate the executives' release and mitigate the economic hardships the families have endured went unanswered, the families say. Other efforts to contact Citgo board members have also failed, including calls to vice president Rick Esser, the sole holdover from the previous board and someone the families say is intimately familiar with their plight.

"I feel like they're making a complete fool of me," said Maria Elena Cardenas, who has had to apply for food stamps to pay for mounting medical bills after the jailing of her husband, Gustavo Cardenas, who had been working as Citgo's head of public relations. "It's almost inhuman not to even acknowledge receipt."

Citgo did not reply to a request for comment.

The families did meet briefly in Houston last week with Guaido ally Carlos Vecchio, who is recognized as Venezuela's ambassador by President Donald Trump's administration.

"Our actions have always been guided by the goal of freeing political prisoners and denouncing torture and mistreatment," said Vecchio, who fled Venezuela to escape what were widely seen as made-up charges of inciting violence during 2014 anti-government protests. "If there's one party in Venezuela that has suffered first hand human rights abuses it's us."

Still, Guaido himself hasn't directly commented on the case, even when pressed by Fox Business Network's Trish Regan in two interviews last month.

Much to the families' frustration, the Trump administration has taken a hushed approach that contrasts with the very public diplomatic push that secured the release last year of Joshua Holt, a Utah man who was held for more than two years in a Caracas jail on weapons charges that were also seen as bogus. Maduro's decision to break off diplomatic relations with the U.S. and the departure this month of the last American diplomats in Caracas is likely to make it even harder to get the men freed or win them access to medical care.

The State Department said it continues to closely monitor the case and work through third countries to ensure the welfare of Americans while they remain in jail.

Cardenas believes that Guaido, like others, has been misled into believing the jailed executives were complicit in widespread corruption by government insiders that gutted Venezuela's oil industry under Maduro. But most of the families had lived in the U.S. for years, some even before the start of Hugo Chavez's socialist revolution two decades ago, and occupied midlevel jobs removed from the high finance positions where the crimes allegedly took place.

Meanwhile, Cardenas is getting desperate. With mounting medical bills for her 18-year-old son, who suffers from a rare metabolic disease that has stunted his growth, she is looking to sell the home outside Houston where she raised three children. Without her husband's paycheck, she has to send via courier at great cost the food her husband is fed in jail_an expense that she said Citgo at a minimum should be able to pick up for the anguished families.

"I know Citgo might not be able to win their release but at least they could come out and say we know they're innocent," she said of Citgo's new board. "Instead they've left us on the streets. The only thing Citgo cares about is covering its legal back."

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Joshua Goodman on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/APjoshgoodman

FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2019 file photo, wearing T-shirts with the message "Free the Citgo 6," the Vadell family poses for a photo in Katy, Texas. From left are Hayes Weggeman, his wife Veronica Vadell, his mother-in-law Dennysse Vadell and sister-in-law Cristina Vadell. Dennysse's husband and her daughter's father Tomeu, a Citgo executive, has spent 15 months jailed in Venezuela along with five other Citgo executives on what their families say are trumped-up corruption charges. (AP Photo/John L Mone, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 15, 2019 file photo, Sergio Cardenas holds a picture of himself with his father Gustavo as he sits on the lap of his mother Maria Elena Cardenas, Gustavo's wife, at their home in Katy, Texas. Gustavo, a Citgo executive, has been held in detention by the Venezuelan government along with five other Citgo employees since November of 2017, but their preliminary hearing has been postponed 12 times, leaving the families to question whether their loved ones are being held as pawns in a high-stakes political negotiation. The next hearing date is Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019. (AP Photo/John L Mone, File)

FILE - In this Feb.15, 2019 file photo, Sergio Cardenas, whose father Gustavo is being held in a Venezuelan jail along with five other Citgo executives since November 2017, holds a necklace emblazoned with a logo "Free the Citgo 6," as he poses for a photo outside his home in Katy, Texas. Sergio, who suffers from a rare metabolic disease called mucolipidosis that stunted his physical growth, visited his father for two hours at a Caracas jail, after he was taken there by his mother who fears their son could die before his father's release. (AP Photo/John L Mone, File)
BANGKOK (AP) - More than 70 parties are contesting Sunday's general election in Thailand, the first since a military coup nearly five years ago.

Up for grabs are 500 seats in the House of Representatives, where parties will need to win at least 25 seats to be able to nominate their preferred candidate for prime minister.

The prime minister will be chosen in a joint vote of members of the elected house and the unelected senate, whose 250 members will all be appointed by the junta after the general election.

Size, past performance and buzz suggest just a handful of parties will win enough seats to nominate a candidate.

Here are the leading contenders:

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In this March 13, 2019, photo, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and candidate for the same position, gives the love sign after attending a government-sponsored event in Nakhon Ratchasima. More than 70 parties are contesting Sunday's general election in Thailand, the first since a military coup nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Prayuth Chan-ocha, Palang Pracharath Party

Prayuth, 65, was a career soldier who made it to the pinnacle of his military career in 2010, when he was appointed army commander in chief.

The job put him in a pivotal position during the long-running and sometimes violent struggle for power between supporters and opponents of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a 2006 military coup.

Prayuth went on to lead his own putsch, the May 2014 coup against a government established by Thaksin's sister. Taking over as junta chief and prime minister, and wielding absolute power he granted himself, he cracked down on dissent and moved to prevent a comeback by Thaksin's political machine, primarily by pushing through a new constitution that weakens political parties.

In the past year, Prayuth has made himself over as a politician. But his gruff manner, sharp tongue and short temper raise doubts about his ability to work smoothly within a more democratic framework.

Prayuth is the candidate of the Palang Pracharath party, considered a proxy for the junta's interests. His biggest advantage is the bloc support most expect he will get from the Senate, which he will have appointed.

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Sudarat Keyuraphan, Pheu Thai Party

Sudarat, 57, is the latest stand-in to head a party backed by Thaksin, who lives in exile abroad to avoid a jail sentence but is still a key political player.

The daughter of a former member of parliament from the country's northeast, she was educated at Bangkok's top schools.

She entered politics in 1991, winning a house seat in Bangkok for the reformist Palang Dharma Party, which was also billionaire businessman Thaksin's entryway into politics. In 1994 she became deputy transport minister in a Democrat Party-led coalition government. In 1998, she helped Thaksin found his Thai Rak Thai Party, in which she became deputy leader.

When Thaksin led his party to victory in 2001, she was appointed Public Health Minister, and in 2006 she became Agriculture Minister. After the coup, she was one of 111 Thai Rak Thai party executives banned from politics for five years when a court disbanded the party for breaking election laws.

Sudarat's big advantage is that she is the candidate for Thaksin's flagship Pheu Thai Party - and Thaksin's parties have won every national election since 2001.

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Abhisit Vejjajiva, Democrat Party

Abhisit, 54, is a former prime minister whose fate has been intertwined with the country's political upheaval.

Born in England and educated at Eton and Oxford, he joined the country's oldest party, the Democrats, in 1992 and assumed the party leadership in 2005.

The Democrats, popular in Bangkok and their southern political strongholds, have been the main opposition party to those of Thaksin. They haven't been able to achieve nationwide electoral success in some time, and rather than compete against Thaksin at the ballot box, the party over the past 13 years has twice chosen to boycott elections.

Abhisit was, however, able to climb to the premiership in a 2008 parliamentary vote that followed another court decision to disband a Thaksin-backed ruling party. His time in office is most remembered for 2010 street protests in which Thaksin's supporters occupied central Bangkok as they demanded new elections.

Over several weeks, violence increasing engulfed the protests as the authorities tried to rein them in. Finally the army launched a full scale armed assault to end the demonstrations. The episode left 91 people dead and more than 2,000 hurt, most of them civilians.

Abhisit and the Democrats lost the next election in landslide to Thaksin's Pheu Thai.

Abhisit has tried to position himself as a potential compromise prime minister for those who don't want a continuation of army-aligned rule or to see another Thaksin-backed party in power.

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Anutin Charnvirakul, Bhumjai Thai Party

Anutin, 52, is the least ideological of the major candidates, heading a party that is a regional powerhouse in the rural northeast and known for cutting deals with parties on both side of the political divide.

He is heir to a major construction company fortune, and follows in his father's footsteps in having a hand in both the business and political worlds. The family conglomerate, Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction PCL, has a long history of contracts for government mega-projects such as Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport.

He holds an engineering degree from Hofstra University in the United States.

Bhumjai Thai is an offshoot of a former Thaksin-backed party formed by a faction of politicians whose shift in allegiances during political unrest in 2008 allowed Abhisit to become prime minister.

The party gain nationwide appeal by championing liberalization of marijuana laws, clear legalization of ride-sharing services and the easing of repayment terms for student loans.

The party placed third in the last election in 2011, but its place at the center of past political deals makes Anutin a dark horse candidate.

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Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, Future Forward Party

Thanathorn, 40, heads a party established last year that has positioned itself as a choice for progressive opponents of military rule.

Thanathorn is a wealthy businessman who was born and raised in Bangkok. Before entering politics, he ran his family's auto parts manufacturing business.

Most of Future Forward's leadership, tapped in large part from the NGO community, is in their 20s and 30s, which has earned the party a large following of young voters.

The party's inexperience and fairly narrow base mean it may not win enough seats to nominate Thanathorn for prime minister, but it could certainly boost any coalition that strives to block Prayuth.

In this March 21, 2019, photo, the leader of Pheu Thai Party and candidate for prime minister Sudarat Keyuraphan, center, meets supporters during an election campaign in Bangkok, Thailand. More than 70 parties are contesting Sunday's general election in Thailand, the first since a military coup nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this March 18, 2019, photo, a supporter takes a selfie with the leader of Thailand's Democrat Party and candidate for prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, center, during an election campaign in Bangkok, Thailand. More than 70 parties are contesting Sunday's general election in Thailand, the first since a military coup nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this March 15, 2019, photo, the leader of Bhumjai Thai Party and candidate for prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul delivers a speech to supporters during an election campaign in Bangkok, Thailand. More than 70 parties are contesting Sunday's general election in Thailand, the first since a military coup nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Krit Promsakla Na Sakolnakorn)

In this March 17, 2019, photo, the leader of the Future Forward Party and candidate for prime minister Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit waves to supporters during his election campaign rally in Bangkok, Thailand. More than 70 parties are contesting Sunday's general election in Thailand, the first since a military coup nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this March 13, 2019, photo, Thai Prime Minister and candidate for the same position Prayuth Chan-ocha, center, talks with supporters after attending a government-sponsored event in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. More than 70 parties are contesting Sunday's general election in Thailand, the first since a military coup nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this Feb. 15, 2019, photo, the leader of the Pheu Thai Party and candidate for prime minister Sudarat Keyuraphan waves to supporters during an election rally in Bangkok, Thailand. More than 70 parties are contesting Sunday's general election in Thailand, the first since a military coup nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this March 18, 2019, photo, the leader of Thailand's Democrat Party and prime minister candidate Abhisit Vejjajiva receives flowers from supporters during an election rally in Bangkok, Thailand. More than 70 parties are contesting Sunday's general election in Thailand, the first since a military coup nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this March 14, 2019, photo, the leader of Bhumjai Thai Party and candidate for prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul gives the traditional greeting or "wai" during an election rally in Chaiyaphum province, Thailand. More than 70 parties are contesting Sunday's general election in Thailand, the first since a military coup nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Krit Promsakla Na Sakolnakorn)

In this March 17, 2019, photo, the leader of the Future Forward Party and candidate for prime minister Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, right, gives the traditional greeting or "wai" during an election rally in Bangkok, Thailand. More than 70 parties are contesting Sunday's general election in Thailand, the first since a military coup nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this March 13, 2019, photo, elderly locals hug Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, center, and candidate for the same position, as he attends a government-sponsored event in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. More than 70 parties are contesting Sunday's general election in Thailand, the first since a military coup nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this March 21, 2019, photo, supporters hug the leader of Pheu Thai Party and candidate for prime minister Sudarat Keyuraphan, left, during an election rally in Bangkok, Thailand. More than 70 parties are contesting Sunday's general election in Thailand, the first since a military coup nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this Monday, March 18, 2019, photo, the leader of Thailand's Democrat Party and candidate for prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva delivers a speech to supporters during an election rally in Bangkok, Thailand. More than 70 parties are contesting Sunday's general election in Thailand, the first since a military coup nearly five years ago. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Assailants suspected of belonging to a left-wing militant group threw a hand grenade at the Russian Consulate in Athens on Friday, causing minor damage and no injuries, Greek authorities said.

Police sent a bomb disposal team to the consulate after cameras showed two people on a motorbike throwing a small object in the early hours of the morning at the fence beside the consulate's security guard post, reportedly causing minor damage. No security guard was at the post at the time.

Police cordoned off the area around the consulate, located in a suburb north of the city center. Greece's counter-terrorism police were investigating the attack.

The foreign ministry issued a statement condemning the attack, which it said would not affect "the traditional and inherently long-term friendly relations ... with Russia." it said a thorough investigation would be carried out to catch the perpetrators.

Authorities were examining a motorbike found partially burned in a central Athens neighborhood.

Greece has a long history of small groups that periodically attack symbols of state authority, wealth or foreign diplomacy. They usually plant small explosive devices that don't cause injuries.

Forensic experts search the area outside the Russian consulate in Athens, Friday, March 22, 2019. Police say a bomb disposal squad has been sent to the Russian consulate in Athens after cameras showed a suspicious object believed to be a hand grenade being thrown over the perimeter fence overnight. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavakis)

Police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity as the investigation was ongoing, said they suspect the attack was carried out by a leftist militant group called the Popular Fighters Group, which had claimed responsibility for a bombing against the offices of a television station and newspaper in December.

Authorities were also investigating whether other active militant groups might have been behind Friday's attack.

The Popular Fighters Group, known by its Greek acronym OLA, is considered responsible for several bombings and shootings since it first appeared in 2003, when it fired shots at the offices of Greece's conservative New Democracy party.

It has also carried out shootings against the residence of the German ambassador in Athens, fired a rocket against the offices of a car dealership and planted bombs outside the offices of Greece's federation of enterprises, a bank and a courthouse.

None of its attacks have caused any injuries.

Forensic experts search the area outside the Russian consulate in Athens, Friday, March 22, 2019. Police say a bomb disposal squad has been sent to the Russian consulate in Athens after cameras showed a suspicious object believed to be a hand grenade being thrown over the perimeter fence overnight. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavakis)

Forensic experts search the area outside the Russian consulate in Athens, Friday, March 22, 2019. Police say a bomb disposal squad has been sent to the Russian consulate in Athens after cameras showed a suspicious object believed to be a hand grenade being thrown over the perimeter fence overnight. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavakis)
ISTANBUL (AP) - New Zealand's deputy prime minister said the gunman accused of killing 50 people in two mosques in the South Pacific nation would spend the rest of his life in isolation in prison and called for solidarity to eradicate "hate-filled ideologies."

Winston Peters was speaking at an emergency session of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee called by Turkey to combat prejudice against Muslims in the wake of the attack.

Peters' attendance comes amid controversy sparked by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who, at election campaign rallies, has been screening video clips of the attack, despite efforts by New Zealand to prevent the video's spread.

Erdogan also drew Australia's ire for comments suggesting that Australians and New Zealanders with anti-Muslim sentiments would be sent back in coffins like their ancestors who fought against Turks in the World War I Battle of Gallipoli.

Peters took a conciliatory tone on Friday, welcoming comments by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who said at a news conference at the end of the OIC meeting that Australians and New Zealanders visiting Turkey would be still greeted warmly at Gallipoli remembrance ceremonies next month.

"We are returning home to New Zealand with a grateful assurance that our people will come here to commemorate Anzac and will be as welcome as they always were," Peters said.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the supporters of his ruling Justice and Development Party during a rally in Kutahya, Turkey, Thursday, March 21, 2019. Erdogan has again screened clips of a video taken by the Christchurch mosque gunman, a day before the foreign minister of New Zealand _ which is trying to stop its use _ is due in Turkey.(Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool)

Peters said, however, that he didn't discuss Erdogan's use of the footage with Turkey's foreign minister or president though it was widely expected that he'd raise the issue. Erdogan later on Friday again showed an excerpt of the video at an election rally in the central city of Konya.

"I did not see any sound, peaceful purposes in raising it," Peters said, adding that they had received "very assuring information" from the Turkish presidency.

Speaking at the emergency session, Peters told representatives of Muslim nations: "no punishment can match the depravity of his crime but the families of the fallen will have justice."

He also screened moving photographs of New Zealanders mourning the victims.

Brenton Harrison Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian, was arrested and charged with murder in the New Zealand mosque attacks. Tarrant livestreamed the attack and released a manifesto describing his white supremacist views and how he planned the shootings.

The OIC, in a statement, urged all countries to refrain from statements or policies that associate Islam with terror and extremism. It also demanded that March 15 - the day of the Christchurch attack - be marked as the International Day of Solidarity Against Islamophobia.

Addressing the OIC meeting Friday, Erdogan praised New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, saying her "reaction, the empathy displayed and her solidarity with Muslims" should serve as an example to all leaders.

Erdogan slammed populist politicians who he said encouraged attacks on Muslims and refugees.

"Politicans who pave themselves the road to power by alienating Muslims and creating enemies out of refugees, must pull themselves together," he said.

He also called for neo-Nazi groups to be considered terrorists.

"If we don't show our reaction in a strong manner, the neo-Nazi virus will engulf the body even more," Erdogan said. "If we don't raise our voices, Western governments will not disrupt their comfort."

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Suzan Fraser reported from Ankara.

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, third from right, is flanked by two New Zealander officials wearing Islamic headscarves during a meeting with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. An emergency meeting of the organization of Islamic Conference was held in Istanbul in Turkey after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in the South Pacific nation. New Zealand's Ambassador to Turkey, Wendy Hinton, is at the right.(Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool)

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the supporters of his ruling Justice and Development Party during a rally in Kutahya, Turkey, Thursday, March 21, 2019. Erdogan has again screened clips of a video taken by the Christchurch mosque gunman, a day before the foreign minister of New Zealand _ which is trying to stop its use _ is due in Turkey.(Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters attends an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. Peters has called for solidarity to eradicate "hate-filled ideologies" in an emergency session of Muslim nations Friday. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, left, attends an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. Peters has called for solidarity to eradicate "hate-filled ideologies" in an emergency session of Muslim nations Friday, after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in the South Pacific nation.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters attends an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. Peters has called for solidarity to eradicate "hate-filled ideologies" in an emergency session of Muslim nations Friday, after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in the South Pacific nation. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, center, shakes hands with Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, left, during an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019, with Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General, Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen, right. Peters has called for solidarity to eradicate "hate-filled ideologies" in an emergency session of Muslim nations Friday, after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in the South Pacific nation. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, left, attends an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. Peters has called for solidarity to eradicate "hate-filled ideologies" in an emergency session of Muslim nations Friday, after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in the South Pacific nation.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters attends an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. Peters has called for solidarity to eradicate "hate-filled ideologies" in an emergency session of Muslim nations Friday, after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in the South Pacific nation.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, left, with Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, second right, and Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General, Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen, second left, during an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. Peters has called for solidarity to eradicate "hate-filled ideologies" in an emergency session of Muslim nations Friday, after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in the South Pacific nation.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, left, attends an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019, with Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Secretary General, Yousef bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen, right. Peters has called for solidarity to eradicate "hate-filled ideologies" in an emergency session of Muslim nations Friday, after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in the South Pacific nation. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, front right, stands next to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, second right, and representatives of Islamic nation pose for a group photo during an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. An emergency meeting of the organization of Islamic Conference was held in Istanbul in Turkey after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, front second right, stands next to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center, and representatives of Islamic nation pose for a group photo during an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. An emergency meeting of the organization of Islamic Conference was held in Istanbul in Turkey after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, rear left, listens to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressing an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. An emergency meeting of the organization of Islamic Conference was held in Istanbul in Turkey after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters speaks during an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. An emergency meeting of the organization of Islamic Conference was held in Istanbul in Turkey after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, right, and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrive for an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. An emergency meeting of the organization of Islamic Conference was held in Istanbul in Turkey after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. An emergency meeting of the organization of Islamic Conference was held in Istanbul in Turkey after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. An emergency meeting of the organization of Islamic Conference was held in Istanbul in Turkey after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, front center right, stands next to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center, and representatives of Islamic nation pose for a group photo during an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. An emergency meeting of the organization of Islamic Conference was held in Istanbul in Turkey after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. An emergency meeting of the organization of Islamic Conference was held in Istanbul in Turkey after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, front right, stands next to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center, and representatives of Islamic nation pose for a group photo during an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. An emergency meeting of the organization of Islamic Conference was held in Istanbul in Turkey after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, front right, stands next to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center, and representatives of Islamic nation pose for a group photo during an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. An emergency meeting of the organization of Islamic Conference was held in Istanbul in Turkey after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters speaks during an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. An emergency meeting of the organization of Islamic Conference was held in Istanbul in Turkey after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, left, and Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu listen during an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. An emergency meeting of the organization of Islamic Conference was held in Istanbul in Turkey after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters speaks during an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. An emergency meeting of the organization of Islamic Conference was held in Istanbul in Turkey after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters attends an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. Peters has called for solidarity to eradicate "hate-filled ideologies" in an emergency session of Muslim nations Friday, after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in the South Pacific nation. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, left, and Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu listen during an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. An emergency meeting of the organization of Islamic Conference was held in Istanbul in Turkey after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu listens during an emergency session of 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation's executive committee meeting, in Istanbul, Friday, March 22, 2019. An emergency meeting of the organization of Islamic Conference was held in Istanbul in Turkey after a gunman killed 50 people in two mosques in New Zealand.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
BEIJING (AP) - A man who tried to kill his wife and daughter crashed his car into pedestrians in northern China on Friday, killing six of them, authorities said.

Cui Lidong, 44, was then shot dead by police in Zaoyang city in northern Hubei province.

The restaurant owner had attempted to kill his wife and daughter at home before taking to the streets, said a statement from the city government.

Six people were killed, including one child, the statement said. Cui's wife and daughter were among the eight people injured, four of whom were children.

Authorities did not give any details on Cui's possible intentions. The case is being investigated, the statement said.
SRINAGAR, India (AP) - Indian security forces killed five militants and an 11-year-old hostage in three separate clashes in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir, police and the army said Friday.

Army spokesman Rajesh Kalia said security forces found the bodies of two insurgents and the boy after an exchange of gunfire that started in northern Bandipora district on Thursday.

Police said the insurgents had taken two civilians hostage, apparently for use as human shields. One was rescued, police said in a tweet.

Separately, two insurgents were killed in western Baramulla district and another in southern Shopian area during search operations by security forces, Kalia and police said.

A grenade attack by insurgents wounded three police officers in Sopore area on Thursday, police said.

Insurgents have been fighting for Kashmir's independence from India or its merger with neighboring Pakistan since 1989. India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir, but both claim the region in its entirety.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the insurgents, a charge Islamabad denies. Pakistan says it provides only diplomatic and moral support to the rebels fighting Indian rule.

Tensions escalated last month after India launched an airstrike inside Pakistan, targeting militants blamed for a Feb. 14 suicide bombing in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed 40 troops.

Pakistan retaliated by shooting down two Indian planes and capturing a pilot, who was later returned to India. International pressure has helped prevent the situation from worsening between the two countries.

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This story has been corrected to show that age of boy killed is 11 instead of 12.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a string of bombings near a Shiite shrine and cemetery in the Afghan capital the day before that killed six people and wounded 20.

The Sunni militant group, which has repeatedly targeted Afghanistan's minority Shiites, said in a statement posted on an IS-affiliated website early on Friday that it was behind the attack.

The bombings in western Kabul came as people were gathering at the cemetery on Thursday to mark Nowruz, the Persian Iranian New Year. The police's initial investigation indicated that three explosive devices had been remotely detonated, setting off the explosions.

The IS statement said the attack's "aim was to spoil the ritual of the polytheists." The Sunni militant group considers Shiites as apostates deserving of death.

A wounded person in a bomb attack arrives at an emergency ward in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, March 21, 2019. An Afghan official says three explosions have struck near a Shiite shrine and cemetery in western Kabul as people gathered there to mark the holiday of Nowruz, the Persian New Year. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
MOSUL, Iraq (AP) - Iraqi residents of the northern city of Mosul, angry over the sinking of a ferry in the Tigris River that killed 95 people, blocked a road where Iraq's presidential convoy was passing on Friday, chanting "no to corruption" and pelting the provincial governor's car with stones in protest.

The visit to Mosul by President Barham Saleh came as search teams were still trying to find more bodies after the ferry, overloaded with holidaymakers celebrating both Nowruz, the Persian New Year, and also Mother's Day, capsized on Thursday near the city with dozens on board, including families with children.

The death toll on Friday rose to 95, after another body was found.

The protesters did not harm Saleh but shortly afterward, pelted the SUV of the governor of Nineveh province, Nofal al-Akoub, with bottles and stones, demanding that he be sacked from the post.

A video soon emerged, showing the two incidents. In one, Saleh is seen speaking from his car window with the protesters, many of whom were young men. Saleh had rushed to Mosul where he held meetings with security officials over the sinking of the ferry.

The other video shows protesters pelting the governor's SUV and breaking the windshield before the vehicle speeds away.

This image taken from video provided by Mohammed Issam shows boats trying to rescue people in the Tigris River after a overloaded ferry sank on Thursday, March 21, 2019 near Mosul, Iraq. Col. Hussam Khalil, head of the Civil Defense in the northern Nineveh province, told The Associated Press the accident occurred as scores of people were out in a tourist area celebrating Nowruz, which marks the Kurdish new year and the arrival of spring. (Mohammed Issam via AP)

The spiritual leader of Iraq's Shia majority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani called for accountability for those responsible for the sinking and urged officials whose ministries were linked to the tragedy to resign. Al-Sistani's message was delivered by his representative Ahmed al-Safi in the Shia holy city of Karbala.

Earlier Friday, relatives of the victims went to the local hospitals to collect bodies of their loved ones ahead of funerals. Some people gathered outside the hospital chanted: "No to corruption!" and "They are all thieves."

"How can a ferry sail with no means of rescue available," asked Dalia Mahmoud, a woman who was standing outside the coroner's office.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi ordered an investigation and also briefly visited Mosul, where he declared three days of national mourning.

Iraqi judicial authorities ordered the arrest of nine workers operating the ferry. The men were detained and an arrest warrant is out for the owner of the tourist island where it was headed.

Pope Francis sent a telegram of condolences to Iraqi authorities, expressing his "prayerful solidarity" with all those who lost loved ones. He wrote that he was praying for the whole Iraqi nation "the divine blessings of healing, strength and consolation."

The sinking of the ferry was a tragic blow to Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city that is still struggling to overcome the devastation wreaked by the Islamic State group. IS had captured Mosul it in the summer of 2014, making the city its main stronghold in Iraq. After U.S.-backed Iraqi forces retook Mosul three years later, in July 2017, much of the city was left in ruins.

"We lost a lot because of Daesh and we will not accept to lose more," said Mahmoud, using an Arabic name to refer to the Islamic State group.

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Abdul-Zahra reported from Baghdad. Associated Press writer Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.

People and relatives of victims waiting on the bank of the Tigris river where the ferry sank in Mosul, Iraq, Thursday, March 21, 2019. A ferry overloaded with people celebrating the Kurdish new year sank in the Tigris River near the Iraqi city of Mosul on Thursday, killing dozens of people, mostly women and children, officials said. (AP Photo/Farid Abdulwahed)
BRUSSELS (AP) - Extra time has been added to the Brexit countdown clock. The European Union has granted Britain a few more weeks to overcome its political deadlock and chart a smooth road out of the bloc - or change its mind and seek a much longer delay.

Here's a look at what might happen next:

DEAL OR NO DEAL

With Brexit due in little over a week, British Prime Minister Theresa May came to Brussels seeking a three-month delay so she could salvage her twice-rejected EU divorce deal. Instead, the 27 other EU leaders offered a two-stage "flextension." If U.K. lawmakers approve the divorce deal agreed between Britain and the bloc, Britain will leave on May 22.

If they defeat it, Britain has until April 12 to tell the EU what it plans to do next: leave without a deal, risking economic chaos, or seek a long delay to Brexit and chart a course toward a softer exit or even remaining in the bloc.

EUROPEAN ELECTIONS

European flags and a British Union flag placed by anti-Brexit remain in the European Union supporters are blown by the wind across the street from the Houses of Parliament, not pictured, backdropped by Westminster Abbey in London, Monday, March 18, 2019. British Prime Minister Theresa May was making a last-minute push Monday to win support for her European Union divorce deal, warning opponents that failure to approve it would mean a long - and possibly indefinite - delay to Brexit. Parliament has rejected the agreement twice, but May aims to try a third time this week if she can persuade enough lawmakers to change their minds. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

The key factor in the EU's decision is the election for the European Parliament due to be held May 23-26.

The bloc is adamant Britain must not take part if it is leaving - hence the May 22 cutoff date.

April 12 is the deadline for candidates to be enrolled, so the U.K. must decide before then if it is putting its departure on longer hold, in which case it would participate in the elections.

PARLIAMENTARY BATTLE

The battle now shifts back to the British Parliament, which is split down the middle between supporters and opponents of Brexit.

Both sides voted in large numbers, twice, to reject May's Brexit deal. But May plans to try again next week.

She hopes to persuade reluctant pro-Brexit lawmakers that backing her deal is their only hope of leaving soon and in an orderly fashion, and to convince pro-EU legislators that they must choose between her deal and a chaotic no-deal Brexit.

May's plan was complicated last week when the speaker of the House of Commons said the prime minister couldn't seek a third vote on her twice-defeated divorce deal unless it was substantially altered.

May is likely to argue that the EU's extension means circumstances have changed and that ruling should no longer apply.

If Parliament approves her Brexit deal, May plans to use the delay until May 22 to pass the legislation necessary for Britain's orderly departure from the EU.

OTHER OPTIONS

There is little evidence yet that lawmakers' opinion has shifted strongly in favor of May's deal.

Anti-EU supporters of "hard Brexit" still believe that rejecting it can lead to a no-deal departure from the bloc as soon as April 12.

The Brexiteers are in a minority, but form a powerful bloc in May's Conservative Party. A larger group in Parliament, from a range of parties, favors a compromise Brexit in which the U.K. keeps close economic ties with the bloc.

These pro-EU lawmakers will try to push through a plan next week that would give members of Parliament control of the House of Commons timetable in order to hold a series of votes on alternative forms of Brexit, to see if there is a majority for any of them.

Proposals could include seeking closer ties with the bloc than May's deal envisages, or putting the Brexit deal to a public vote.

THE END OF MAY?

May has spent almost three years trying to shepherd Britain out of the EU, and strongly opposes a long delay or a reversal of Brexit. She has hinted she could quit if Parliament forces one of those options on her.

Many on both sides of Britain's Brexit divide would be happy to see her go, but her replacement by a new Conservative leader would not solve the country's political crisis.

Opposition politicians think the only way forward is an early election that could rearrange Parliament and break the political deadlock. May has ruled that out, but could come to see it as her only option.

And anti-Brexit campaigners haven't abandoned the idea of a new referendum on remaining in the EU. There's currently no majority for that in Parliament, but the political calculus could change if the paralysis drags on.

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Follow AP's full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit

British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a media conference at an EU summit in Brussels, Friday, March 22, 2019. Worn down by three years of indecision in London, EU leaders on Thursday were grudgingly leaning toward giving the U.K. more time to ease itself out of the bloc. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

European Union leaders attend a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 21, 2019. British Prime Minister Theresa May is trying to persuade European Union leaders to delay Brexit by up to three months, just eight days before Britain is scheduled to leave the bloc. (Aris Oikonomou, Pool Photo via AP)
MOSCOW (AP) - Media reports say that more two dozen people have been detained in Kazakhstan's capital over a proposed name change.

The parliament in this Central Asian nation voted earlier this week to change the name of the capital Astana to Nursultan after the outgoing long-time president. The new president will have to sign the decree to make the change official.

The Interfax news agency and other local media reported on Friday that some 20 people have been detained in the commercial capital Almaty to protest the name change. More people were detained in Astana and Almaty on Thursday amid scuffles with police.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev abruptly resigned on Tuesday after nearly 30 years at the helm of this oil-rich country.

In this video grab from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty stream video, taken on Thursday, March 21, 2019, police officers detain a small group of people who were protesting against the renaming of the capital city, in central Astana, Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan has renamed its capital city Astana, now calling it Nursultan, to honour outgoing President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who unexpectedly resigned on Tuesday. (Serhii Nuzhnenko/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty via AP)
BRUSSELS (AP) - European Union leaders worried about China's growing power are devising plans to counter the ambitions of a country they describe as a "systemic rival."

The European Council will discuss on Friday a 10-point strategy set out by the European Commission before an EU-China summit next month.

The EU wants to "fully address the distortive effects of foreign state ownership" and "achieve a more balanced and reciprocal economic relationship."

China is the EU's second-biggest trading partner behind the U.S. while China is the EU's second largest partner. The trade in goods between the two is worth around 1.1 billion a day, but the balance is largely in China's favor.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is currently in Italy and will travel to France next week as part of a European tour.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker has netted the first endorsement from a sitting lawmaker in the crucial early-voting state of South Carolina.

State Rep. John King told The Associated Press that he's chosen to back the senator from New Jersey above other hopefuls in the sprawling field in part because he feels that Booker's experience combating corruption as mayor of Newark will help him do the same for the country as president.

"He has spent his entire career running toward big challenges, so I sat long and hard and thought about who I wanted to support and who I feel would take this country in the right direction," King said. "Cory Booker is that guy."

Booker returns to South Carolina on Saturday for events in Columbia and Rock Hill, a city in King's district and where he planned to join him.

South Carolina holds the first presidential primary in the South, and its Democratic primary electorate is mostly black.

In his sixth term in South Carolina's House, King is past chairman of the state's Legislative Black Caucus. In an interview with the AP, he said that Booker's commitment to issues affecting that community, like sickle cell anemia , is something that will resonate with voters in the state in next year's primary.

In this Feb. 10, 2019, file photo Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., talks with Deanna Miller Berry in Denmark, S.C. Several Democratic presidential candidates are trying to make a play for rural voters. Booker has traveled to small towns in South Carolina and New Hampshire and told voters that he hears some of the same concerns from them that he hears in his hometown of Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Barrow

"He's Cory. He doesn't care about a title," King said. "He wants people to know he's reachable, touchable and that he understands our struggles."

While no other South Carolina state lawmakers have publicly proclaimed their support for Booker, King said that he believes there are some ready to do so - soon.

Even though he's committing to backing Booker, King said he still planned to go out to meet contender Beto O'Rourke, a former Texas congressman who also is set to campaign in Rock Hill on Friday.

"I'm a fan of Democrats," King said. "And one of these people will be the next president of the United States."

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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP
BANGKOK (AP) - The political movement that has won every Thai election in nearly two decades is facing its biggest test yet: Squaring off against the allies of the military junta that removed it from power and rewrote the electoral rules with the goal of putting an end to those victories.

The latest public face of that movement, Pheu Thai party leader Sudarat Keyuraphan, warned that Sunday's vote will be anything but free and fair. Nevertheless, she is urging voters to turn out in force if they want any chance at derailing the junta's efforts to keep the coup-maker and now Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha in office.

"We have to tell the people that it's the only day that we can stop Prayuth extending his power," Sudarat told The Associated Press in an interview. "Therefore we need many people to go vote. I believe the power they have is not any bigger than the power of the people."

The vote will be the first since Prayuth, at the time the army chief, led a military coup that toppled the Pheu Thai-led government in May 2014 and put an end to months of political unrest. Prayuth said his coup was the only way to heal longstanding political divisions and to kick off reforms throughout Thai society that he said would "return happiness to the people."

Nearly five years on, Sudarat said Thailand is worse off. She said income inequality has increased and many Thais have struggled economically under military rule, while a few wealthy business owning families prospered.

"The economic opportunities are gone. It's hard to make a living. We could see that throughout these five years under the military regime, it has widened the inequality gap," she said.

In this Thursday, March 21, 2019, photo, a supporter takes a selfie with the leader of the Pheu Thai Party and candidate for prime minister Sudarat Keyuraphan, right, during an election rally in Bangkok, Thailand. The political movement that has won every Thai election in nearly two decades is facing its biggest test yet: Squaring off against the allies of the military junta that removed it from power and rewrote the electoral rules with the goal of putting an end to those victories. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Pocketbook issues have been the bread and butter for Pheu Thai and all of its predecessors since the movement was kicked off in 1998, when telecoms billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra founded what was then known as the Thai Rak Thai party. Sudarat was one of the other founding members.

In 2001 the party swept to a landslide victory with policies such as universal health care aimed at uplifting the country's poorer rural population. Thaksin went on to become the first Thai prime minister to ever complete a full term in office.

But his popularity and authoritarian tendencies rubbed many in the country's conservative establishment the wrong way. In addition to accusations of corruption and abuse of power, some said he was seeking to usurp the traditional role of the monarchy at the center of Thai society.

Thaksin denied all of the allegations, but nevertheless in September 2006 the military stepped in and overthrew his government in a coup.

That set off a cycle of political instability that has followed a familiar pattern for Thailand: Election, unrest, military intervention, new constitution, election and repeat.

After Thaksin's sister led his movement to another landslide in 2011, it took just two years before anti-government protests broke out and less than three years for Prayuth and the military to seize power.

This time, the military commissioned a constitution that aims to weaken the power of large political parties such as Pheu Thai. It also allows an unelected senate - its members all junta appointees - to join with the elected lower house of parliament in a vote for the next prime minister.

If the senators all vote for Prayuth as many expect, that means he would need the support of just over 25 percent of the lower house to remain premier. In that same scenario, Sudarat and Pheu Thai would need three quarters of the lower house seats for her to become prime minister.

Sudarat said measures such as the unelected Senate "distorts the will of the people."

"In 2014, they seized power from the people by the coup, by the barrel of a gun," Sudarat said. "In 2019, the same junta is plotting to extend its power."

Still, Sudarat said she was hopeful that with a large enough turnout her party would win enough seats to at least block Prayuth from the premiership.

Sudarat herself is veteran politician, having first entered politics in 1991, when she won house seat in Bangkok with the reformist Palang Dharma Party, which was Thaksin's first entry into politics. In 1994 she became deputy transport minister in a coalition government.

After the 2001 victory, she was appointed public health minister, and in 2006 she became agriculture minister. After the 2006 coup, she was one of 111 Thai Rak Thai party executives banned from politics for five years when a court disbanded the party for breaking election laws.

While in 2011 Pheu Thai ran under the slogan "Thaksin Thinks, Pheu Thai Acts," this time around Thaksin has denied any involvement with the party. Fresh election rules forbid parties from being led by outsiders, especially one like Thaksin, who lives in exile to avoid a prison term he says was politically motivated.

Sudarat said Thaksin is no longer part of the party's apparatus but remains its ideological leader.

"We use his principles," she said. "But using Thaksin's ideas doesn't mean he owns the party because Thaksin is not involved with the party's administration anymore."

Sudarat said the party's supporters remain loyal to Thaksin because his policies were able to improve their lives.

"They love Thaksin because Thaksin was able to solve their problems," she said. "We still stand by the principle of trying to lower expenditures for the people, increasing income for the people, and creating new opportunities for the people."

In this Thursday, March 21, 2019, photo, supporters hug the leader of the Pheu Thai Party and candidate for prime minister Sudarat Keyuraphan during an election rally in Bangkok, Thailand. The political movement that has won every Thai election in nearly two decades is facing its biggest test yet: Squaring off against the allies of the military junta that removed it from power and rewrote the electoral rules with the goal of putting an end to those victories. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In this Thursday, March 21, 2019, photo, the leader of the Pheu Thai Party and candidate for prime minister Sudarat Keyuraphan, center rear, takes photos with supporters during an election campaign rally in Bangkok, Thailand. The political movement that has won every Thai election in nearly two decades is facing its biggest test yet: Squaring off against the allies of the military junta that removed it from power and rewrote the electoral rules with the goal of putting an end to those victories. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
BEIJING (AP) - Despite criticisms, Beijing has been steadily gathering support for its "Belt and Road" initiative, which aims to weave a network of ports, bridges and power plants linking China with Africa, Europe and beyond.

Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte has pledged to sign a memorandum of understanding this week on supporting the initiative during a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has made it a signature policy of his administration.

Italy's involvement would give China a crucial inroad into western Europe and a symbolic boost in its economic tug-of-war with the United States.

Italy would be the first member of the G-7, a group of seven major economies that includes the United States, to join Belt and Road, following Portugal's embrace of the initiative in December. It appears to be driven partly by hopes that Chinese investment in Italy's ports might help revive the country's traditional role as a key link in trade between the East and West.

The Belt and Road program is a loosely defined umbrella for predominantly China-financed - and usually China-built - projects in more than 60 countries from the South Pacific through Asia to Africa and Europe.

As President Donald Trump squares off with China over trade and other issues, gaining Italy's support is a coup for Beijing.

FILE - In this May 15, 2017, file photo, a worker disassembles a photo display for the Belt and Road Forum at the China National Convention Center in Beijing. Despite criticisms, Beijing has been steadily racking up adherents to its Belt and Road initiative of a vast network of ports, bridges and power plants linking China to Europe and beyond. A decision by Italy to sign on with the plan would give China a crucial inroad into western Europe and a symbolic boost in its economic tug-of-war with the United States. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

"It's important for the Xi administration to show that you have Portugal and Italy, two well-known countries in western Europe breaking ranks with the western alliance in BRI," said Willy Lam, an adjunct professor of China studies at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

China says some 150 countries have signed Belt and Road related agreements since the program's launch more than five years ago. A major conference is planned next month in Beijing, marking further expansion of the initiative.

Beijing has marketed the initiative as a way to give some of the world's neediest countries a leg up, helping them gain access to more trade and investment. But it also helps Chinese companies tap new markets for their products while, inevitably, helping Beijing amass greater global influence.

Some governments including the United States, Japan and India worry that Beijing is trying to build a China-centered sphere of influence that would undermine their own sway, pulling developing nations into so-called "debt traps," that would give China ever-more control over their territories and economies.

China already has made inroads in Eastern Europe through investments in railways, ports and steel mills. That's stirred fears of a growing divide within the 28-member European Union between its wealthier and poorer members. Some also worry Chinese-led projects might undercut the bloc's standards on transparency.

As the U.S. takes on long-standing complaints of Chinese intellectual property theft and unfair trade practices, a Chinese win in Italy could boost Beijing's arguments that it is ultimately a force for good in the global economy.

China's official position is that Belt and Road is solely an economic initiative with no political motives. Xi said in a speech late last year that even as China moves closer to the center of the world stage, it will never seek hegemony.

"The Belt and Road Initiative in nature is an economic strategy," said Chu Yin, a researcher at the Center for China and Globalization, a think tank in Beijing affiliated with the government and with the ruling Communist Party.

"China has no intention to become a global hegemon and nor does China have such an ability," he said.

Launched in 2013, the initiative is at heart a business venture, not aid. China wants to attract non-Chinese investors but that has happened only on a few of the hundreds of projects, which range from oil drilling in Siberia to construction of ports in Southeast Asia, railways in Eastern Europe and power plants in the Middle East.

The initiative has run into some roadblocks in the past year, as the Chinese economy cooled and the U.S. and others accused Beijing of saddling developing countries with too much debt. Some governments including Thailand, Tanzania, Sri Lanka and Nepal have scrapped, scaled back or renegotiated projects amid complaints that they are too costly and give too little work to local contractors

Last year, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad canceled projects including a $20 billion railway he said his country cannot afford. And in 2017, December, Sri Lanka sold control of its port of Hambantota to a Chinese state-owned company after falling behind in repaying $1.5 billion in loans from Beijing.

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Moritsugu contributed from Tokyo. Researcher Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this story.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, shakes hands with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Presidential Palace, in Rome, Friday, March 22, 2019. Jinping is launching a two-day official visit aimed at deepening economic and cultural ties with Italy through an ambitious infrastructure building program called "Belt and Road" that has raised suspicions among Italy's U.S. and European allies. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, Pool)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, shakes hands with Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Presidential Palace, in Rome, Friday, March 22, 2019. Jinping is launching a two-day official visit aimed at deepening economic and cultural ties with Italy through an ambitious infrastructure building program called "Belt and Road" that has raised suspicions among Italy's U.S. and European allies. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, Pool)

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Italian President Sergio Mattarella review the honor guard at the Quirinale Presidential Palace, in Rome, Friday, March 22, 2019. Jinping is launching a two-day official visit aimed at deepening economic and cultural ties with Italy through an ambitious infrastructure building program called "Belt and Road" that has raised suspicions among Italy's U.S. and European allies. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

FILE - In this Jan. 2, 2018, file photo, a Chinese construction worker stands on land that was reclaimed from the Indian Ocean for the Colombo Port City project, initiated as part of China's ambitious One Belt One Road initiative, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Despite criticisms, Beijing has been steadily racking up adherents to its Belt and Road initiative of a vast network of ports, bridges and power plants linking China to Europe and beyond. A decision by Italy to sign on with the plan would give China a crucial inroad into western Europe and a symbolic boost in its economic tug-of-war with the United States. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2018, file photo, visitors look at an electronic panel displaying Chinese President Xi Jinping's signature "One Belt, One Road" foreign policy plan at an exhibition marking the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up at the National Museum of China in Beijing. Despite criticisms, Beijing has been steadily racking up adherents to its Belt and Road initiative of a vast network of ports, bridges and power plants linking China to Europe and beyond. A decision by Italy to sign on with the plan would give China a crucial inroad into western Europe and a symbolic boost in its economic tug-of-war with the United States. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
BEIJING (AP) - China said Friday it will look into charges against two Chinese firms sanctioned by the U.S. because they are suspected of helping North Korea evade sanctions.

China upholds all United Nations Security Council sanctions against the North over its nuclear and missile programs, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular press briefing. He said China will deal with any verified transgressors and "launch an investigation according to our domestic laws."

However, Geng said Beijing opposes unilateral sanctions on Chinese firms such as those imposed by the U.S. separate from those of the U.N.

The Trump administration on Thursday sanctioned two shipping companies - Dalian Haibo International Freight Co. Ltd. and Liaoning Danxing International Forwarding Co. Ltd. - for using deceptive methods to circumvent international and U.S. sanctions and the U.S. commitment to implementing U.N. Security Council resolutions.

The U.S. Treasury sanctions against the Chinese companies were the first targeted actions against Pyongyang since its nuclear negotiations with the U.S. in Hanoi last month ended without agreement.

Calls to Dalian Haibo and Liaoning Danxing rang without response Friday or were answered by people who immediately hung up the phone.
CAIRO (AP) - Sudan has summoned Egypt's ambassador to protest his country's announcement of an international tender in a disputed border area between the two nations.

According to the official SUNA news agency, an unnamed senior Foreign Ministry official conveyed Khartoum's protest over Egypt's announcement for a bid in the disputed Halayeb triangle, a point of contention between Egypt and Sudan that dates back to British colonial times.

The move came days after Egypt's oil ministry announced the international tender.

Sudan also warned international firms from joining the bid or carrying any explorations in this area and urged Egypt to employ "peaceful means" to solve the border dispute.

Since 1958, Sudan annually renews its complaint to the U.N. Security Council over the territory.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - An attorney representing the suspect in last year's Florida high school massacre and the judge overseeing the case got into a brief but heated argument Friday during an otherwise routine pretrial hearing over evidence.

Assistant Public Defender Melisa McNeill accused Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer of misrepresenting her arguments during a hearing over whether prosecutors are turning over in a full and timely manner evidence McNeill and Nikolas Cruz's other attorneys have requested. Scherer accused McNeill of being disrespectful.

The argument began as McNeill told the judge the Broward County State Attorney's Office is frequently slow in turning over officers' reports and police body camera video taken in the immediate aftermath of the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting that left 17 dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Cruz's attorneys are entitled to that evidence so they can interview witnesses and prepare Cruz's defense before his trial, which is tentatively scheduled for early next year.

Assistant State Attorney Nicole Chiappone conceded there have been occasional delays caused by police and prosecution error, but said some of the defense's written evidence requests haven't been clear. McNeill replied that if she needed to simplify her language so prosecutors could understand her, she would.

Scherer interjected, saying she didn't understand why McNeill's team couldn't conduct interviews and if more evidence appeared for a particular witness, do a supplemental interview. Scherer gave an example of an officer whose body camera video wasn't available for his scheduled interview. She said McNeill had said that after the defense lawyers received the video, they decided they didn't need to again interview the officer. McNeill jumped in, saying that's not what she said.

"Miss McNeill, let me talk," the judge said.

ADDS "SUSPECT" - Parkland school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz sits at the defense table for a hearing at the Broward Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Friday, March 22, 2019. (Taimy Alvarez/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

"But you're misquoting me, judge," McNeill replied. There was a brief back and forth. No one yelled, but the tone grew sharper.

Scherer told McNeill, "You need to take it down a notch."

"Judge, you are putting words in my mouth," McNeill said.

"You are being disrespectful," Scherer countered.

"Judge, I have to repeat myself so you can understand what I am saying," McNeill said.

Scherer called a recess, telling McNeill "you need to take a deep breath and sit down or whatever it is, but you are being disrespectful and I am not going to be talked to in this way."

Cruz, shackled and in a red jail jumpsuit, watched the argument intently from a seat at the defense table.

After the break, there were no further arguments and Scherer sided with McNeill, telling prosecutors to make sure the defense has all evidence it has requested. Chiappone said she believes the defense now has everything, but will make sure.

Cruz, a 20-year-old former Stoneman Douglas student, has pleaded not guilty but his attorneys have said he would plead guilty in return for a life sentence. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

ADDS "SUSPECT" - Parkland school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz walks out of court after a hearing at the Broward Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Friday, March 22, 2019. (Taimy Alvarez/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

ADDS "SUSPECT" - Parkland school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz walks into court for a hearing at the Broward Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Friday, March 22, 2019. (Taimy Alvarez/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)

ADDS "SUSPECT" - Parkland school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz listens to his public defender, Diane Cuddihy, right, during a hearing on police body-camera footage at the Broward Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on Friday, March 22, 2019. (Taimy Alvarez/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool)
LONDON (AP) - The World Health Organization says Ebola has spiked in Congo in recent days because of "increased security challenges," a week after its director-general predicted the outbreak might be contained within six months.

The U.N. health agency said in an update late Thursday the recent attacks on Ebola clinics slowed response efforts for days. Congolese officials reported dozens of new suspected and confirmed cases recently. Last week, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared the outbreak was "contracting" and praised the efforts to avert a larger crisis.

Tariq Riebl of the International Rescue Committee, who is currently working in Congo, had a starkly different perspective.

"I think all of us in the field are aware that we're very far from being near the end of this outbreak," he said. Riebl said the recent jump in cases also points to ongoing surveillance failures.

"The increase in cases also shows we are catching up with all the transmission that we haven't previously been aware of," he said.

In recent weeks, more than 40 percent of new cases in the hotspot towns of Katwa and Butembo had no known links to other cases, meaning doctors have lost track of where the virus is spreading.

FILE - In this file photo dated Wednesday, Aug 8, 2018, a healthcare worker from the World Health Organization prepares to give an Ebola vaccination in Mangina, Democratic Republic of Congo. Armed assailants attacked an Ebola treatment center in Butembo, in the heart of eastern Congo's deadly outbreak on Saturday March 9, 2019, with the mayor reporting one police officer killed. (AP Photo/Al-hadji Kudra Maliro, FILE)

WHO reported this week that many people with Ebola are refusing to seek care in health clinics and are dying at home, further increasing the chances of transmission, since the bodies of victims are highly contagious.

Outbreak responders have also been targeted by rebel attacks; Doctors Without Borders was forced to shut down two of its Ebola clinics in Eastern Congo after repeated attacks and has called conditions at the epicenter "toxic." Eastern Congo is home to numerous armed groups and the Ebola epidemic has deepened the political and economic grievances of many in the area.

WHO teams often visit communities with a police escort for security reasons, a move that some think could undermine community trust.

"We understand why some people might be scared of this and we believe that the use of force should be a last resort," Riebl said, adding that IRC doesn't use armed escorts.

He noted that the outbreak would soon hit 1,000 cases; it is already the second deadliest Ebola outbreak in history. To date, there have been 915 confirmed cases, including 610 deaths.

"It's a sad threshold to reach, but it should also be a time of reflection," Riebl said. "We will not be able to stop this outbreak without local support."

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), speaks at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, March 14, 2019 about the update on WHO Ebola operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) - Thousands of Algerians are demonstrating in the major cities of the oil-rich North African country, demanding the resignation of ailing, 82-year-old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

The number of protesters was much smaller than predicted by organizers, however, as rain appeared to dampen attendance on the fifth straight Friday since nationwide anti-Bouteflika protests began on Feb. 22.

Families joined professionals and students in the central squares of Algiers, the capital, holding signs reading "Get Out, Bouteflika" and "No Mandate Extension."

Bouteflika last week indefinitely postponed April's national election and overhauled the government. While he abandoned his bid for a fifth term in office, his simultaneous postponement of the election has critics worried that he intends to hold on to power indefinitely. He has been president since 1999.

Bouteflika, badly weakened by a 2013 stroke, has remained an enigma, with very few public appearances. The president returned earlier this month after two weeks in a Geneva hospital, but the exact state of his health is unclear.

Workers at Sonatrach, the national oil company whose executives are close to Bouteflika, held a symbolic sit-in Thursday in solidarity with the protests that span all sections of society.

An algerians woman holds a placards that reads, 'we need to disinfected the system' during a protest in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, March 19, 2019. Thousands of students, doctors, dentists and veterinarians have marched in the Algerian capital to demand that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika step down. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)

New Prime Minister Nourredine Bedoui has promised to create a new cabinet within days to respond to the demands of Algeria's demonstrators. Yet, Bedoui is still struggling to form a government, with many potential candidates seeking to keep their distance from the unpopular president.

Algerians march with banners and flags during a protest in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, March 19, 2019. Thousands of students, doctors, dentists and veterinarians have marched in the Algerian capital to demand that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika step down. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)

Algerians march with placards during a protest in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, March 19, 2019. Thousands of students, doctors, dentists and veterinarians have marched in the Algerian capital to demand that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika step down. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)

An Algerian woman holds signs that reads, ''doctors against a fifth term', left, and 'for an Algeria in good health' during a protest in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, March 19, 2019. Thousands of students, doctors, dentists and veterinarians have marched in the Algerian capital to demand that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika step down. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)

Algerians march with banners and flags during a protest in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, March 19, 2019. Thousands of students, doctors, dentists and veterinarians have marched in the Algerian capital to demand that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika step down. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)

Algerians holds signs that read, 'we are all united', bottom right, during a protest in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, March 19, 2019. Thousands of students, doctors, dentists and veterinarians have marched in the Algerian capital to demand that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika step down. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)
MOSCOW (AP) - A Russian court on Friday sentenced a Ukrainian teenager to six years in prison for plotting a bombing in a Russian school.

Pavlo Gryb is one of many Ukrainians who have been put on trial in Russia in the past years for various crimes since Russia's annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

Yet Gryb's case stands out, as the 19-year-old was kidnapped in summer 2017 in Belarus where he had traveled to meet a girl he met online. He later surfaced in a Russian prison.

Gryb claims he was having an online romance with the girl but says it turned out to be an officer from the Russian intelligence services who was messaging him on her behalf shortly before his trip.

Investigators claimed that Gryb was messaging the student online and was trying to get her to plant an improvised explosive device in her school in southern Russia. Gryb denies the charges.

The teenager has a grave liver condition that has deteriorated during his time in custody, and Ukrainian authorities have long argued for his immediate release, saying that Gryb may not survive the transportation and imprisonment in the high-security prison he is being sent to.

"Instead of urgent surgery that Pavlo needs because his life is in real danger, he has received this idiotic sentence of six years," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin told The Associated Press in Kiev on Friday.

Klimkin said he would continue to raise Gryb's case with all his foreign counterparts.

"We have to save Pavlo, we have to help him," he said.
ATMORE, Ala. (AP) - The Alabama Department of Corrections says a hunger strike by inmates protesting solitary confinement has ended after authorities shut off the water to their prison cells.

Corrections spokesman Bob Horton told the Montgomery Advertiser on Thursday that the water was shut off so that Holman medical staff could monitor the inmates' water intake. He said the strike ended late Thursday.

The eight prison inmates began refusing food on Monday, saying they were unjustly placed in solitary confinement.

The inmates were transferred to the prison in February for security reasons after a contraband raid.

Horton agreed that the striking inmates didn't violate any rules or regulations, but said they were put there while authorities figured where to put them among the general population at another facility.

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Information from: Montgomery Advertiser, http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com
KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) - Police in Pakistan say gunmen on motorcycles opened fire on a convoy carrying a prominent religious scholar and his associates in the southern port city of Karachi, killing the cleric's two guards and seriously wounding his driver.

Karachi police chief Ameer Shaikh says Maulana Taqi Usmani and his associates came under attack on Friday in an eastern neighborhood of the city.

He says Usmani and his two grandsons who were in the convoy were unhurt, but his private guard and an official police escort were killed.

The police chief says there were four attackers and that they fired over a dozen shots before fleeing the scene on two motorbikes.

Usmani runs a religious seminary and is known for preaching tolerance. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
BERLIN (AP) - The family of a seven-year-old boy stabbed to death in Switzerland as he walked home from school, apparently by an elderly woman he didn't know, expressed shock Friday over the attack and said they're still trying to understand what happened.

A 75-year-old Swiss woman, who wasn't named, was arrested shortly after the attack Thursday in the northwestern city of Basel. Swiss prosecutors said the suspect may not be criminally liable and a psychological evaluation is being prepared.

"When we heard the news of what happened it was very shocking for us," the victim's uncle, Syle Mahmuti, told The Associated Press.

Basel prosecutors said the boy's family was originally from Kosovo and that their investigations indicated he hadn't known the attacker.

"We couldn't find any answer of what really happen, how it happened," Mahmuti said at his home in Lipjan, about 30 kilometers south of Kosovo's capital Pristina. "The only information we received was that he got a cut in the neck."

Swiss prosecutors said an autopsy showed the boy, whose name wasn't released, had received "serious stab injuries to the neck" in the attack.

Flowers lay on the sidewalk where a 7-year old boy was stabbed on his way back from school in the Sankt Galler Ring area of Basel, Switzerland, Thursday March 21, 2019. Swiss prosecutors say they are trying to determine what motive a 75-year-old woman may have had for fatally stabbing a seven-year-old boy in the northwestern city of Basel. (Georgios Kefalas/Keystone via AP)

A passing teacher found him lying on the pavement and called an ambulance. The boy died shortly afterward in hospital, prosecutors said.

"There was no reason," said Mahmuti. "He went to school same as other kids, at quarter to one he came out from school, in the street he ran in to the 75-year-old lady.

"The rumors that we heard are that there was a bit of a scuffle, we don't know more," he added.

Basel prosecutor said the suspect turned herself in to authorities after sending text messages to several people and organizations saying she had stabbed the boy. They are appealing for witnesses to come forward.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana's largest teachers union says teachers at an elementary school were shot with plastic pellets during active-shooter training.

Members of the Indiana State Teachers Association told the state Senate's education committee Wednesday the teachers were left with welts, bruises and abrasions after being struck in January by plastic pellets as a local sheriff's office conducted the training.

The Indianapolis Star reports the union wants lawmakers to amend a school safety bill to add language that would prohibit teachers from being shot with any sort of ammunition.

Bill sponsor Republican Rep. Wendy McNamara of Evansville seemed amenable Wednesday to some sort of an addition. She says she doesn't believe "something like that should take place in an active-shooter drill."

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Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com
BRUSSELS (AP) - Prime Minister Theresa May used to promise "strong and stable" government. Fellow EU leaders used to believe her.

But then came almost three years of Brexit missteps and mayhem. For the EU, Britain's 2016 vote to leave was a shock; what has happened since has left the reputation of Britain's prime minister, and the country's political institutions, badly tarnished.

May triggered the formal two-year countdown to Brexit while Britain was still divided over departure terms. Then she called a snap election to strengthen her bargaining hand - and lost her majority in Parliament.

Since then, Brexit has become gridlocked, with May too weak to push through her plans and lawmakers too divided to force an alternate course.

Leaders across Europe have watched with surprise, dismay and mounting frustration as Britain's widely respected institutions - a 1,000-year-old Parliament, an electoral system built to supply stable majority governments - failed repeatedly to make crucial decisions while the clock ticked down.

"The patience slowly, slowly is running out," one EU official said at this week's Brussels summit as the bloc's leaders - without May - debated whether to step in to prevent Britain crashing out of the bloc on its scheduled March 29 departure date.

British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after addressing a media conference at an EU summit in Brussels, Friday, March 22, 2019. Worn down by three years of indecision in London, EU leaders on Thursday were grudgingly leaning toward giving the U.K. more time to ease itself out of the bloc. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

In response to May's request for a three-month delay, the bloc offered a short two-step extension, with a deadline of April 12 for Britain to choose between May's deal, no deal, a long delay or no Brexit at all.

EU leaders said they had stepped in where Britain had failed, to avert the chaos of a messy Brexit next week.

"The European Union has, very clearly, been faced today with a British political crisis," French President Emmanuel Macron said as he left the talks early Friday. "British politicians are incapable of implementing what the people asked them.

"It's a real political and democratic crisis. But this crisis is British. In no way must we (the EU-27) become stuck in this situation."

Newspapers in Britain and the EU were united in seeing the EU's offer as proof Britain had lost control of its Brexit destiny.

"EU takes control of Brexit as May is sidelined," said the front page of the U.K.'s Daily Telegraph. Spain's El Pais said the EU had given May a "20-day ultimatum." France's Le Figaro said the bloc's "confidence in Theresa May has evaporated," while Liberation summarized the mood of EU participants at the summit as "irritation, tiredness and a clear sense of being fed-up."

Some European politicians lay blame for the crisis squarely on May, a politician whose strengths - tenacity, stamina, a remarkable ability to keep plowing on in the face of opposition - have become weaknesses.

When May addressed EU leaders at the summit on Thursday, many were frustrated that she would not reveal a "Plan B" if her twice-rejected divorce deal was thrown out by Parliament again. They were downright alarmed by the impression that she would opt for a "no-deal" Brexit rather than accept a long delay.

"When she was asked what happens if you can't get the deal through next week, the answer was basically, 'I don't know,'" Philippe Lamberts, a Belgian member of the European Parliament, told the BBC. "And that is of course scary."

Giving Britain's Parliament a few more weeks to decide on Brexit offers lawmakers the chance to take control out of May's hands - if they can agree on a course of action. Many pro-EU lawmakers favor a long delay followed by a soft Brexit or remaining in the EU.

Either of those options would likely lead to May's departure - either voluntarily or under pressure from an exasperated Conservative Party.

EU leaders know better than anyone the burden of leading a government. For some, frustration over Brexit is tempered by sympathy and respect.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte recently compared May to the Black Knight in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," who loses limb after limb in battle but fights on, insisting "it's only a flesh wound."

Rutte said he had not meant it as an insult.

"Her tenacity is enormous," Rutte said at the summit. "I can only with the highest admiration and astonishment look how she is doing this."

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Follow AP's full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit

British Prime Minister Theresa May walks away after speaking with the media on arrival for an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 21, 2019. British Prime Minister Theresa May is trying to persuade European Union leaders to delay Brexit by up to three months, just eight days before Britain is scheduled to leave the bloc. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves after addressing a media conference at an EU summit in Brussels, Friday, March 22, 2019. Worn down by three years of indecision in London, EU leaders on Thursday were grudgingly leaning toward giving the U.K. more time to ease itself out of the bloc. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

French President Emmanuel Macron prepares to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 21, 2019. British Prime Minister Theresa May is trying to persuade European Union leaders to delay Brexit by up to three months, just eight days before Britain is scheduled to leave the bloc. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert, Pool)
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Catalonia's regional government on Friday removed eye-catching pro-independence banners from its headquarters in Barcelona, hours before police were due to take them down on orders from the country's electoral board.

Workers removed a large banner from a balcony on the front of the centuries-old palace, which said in Catalan and English "Free political prisoners and exiles."

That referred to the prosecution and self-imposed exile of Catalan separatist leaders for their role in a failed attempt to declare independence in 2017.

Elected officials and public institutions are prohibited from expressing support for one particular party or ideological position during a campaign period.

Spain's general election is on April 28.

On Thursday, the regional government removed a different banner which displayed a yellow ribbon symbol used to express support for the prisoners.

A banner reading "Free Political Prisoners and Exiles" and with a yellow ribbon, hangs at the headquarter of the Government and the Presidency of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, March 20, 2019. A dispute between Spanish authorities and Catalan separatists over a yellow ribbon symbol is building into a hot issue ahead of Spain's general election next month. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

The electoral board deemed the ribbons to be an unacceptable "tool of political propaganda" and ordered their removal earlier this month.

But Quim Torra, Catalonia's regional president who always wears a small yellow ribbon in his lapel, asked for more time to do so and argued that it was an issue of free speech.

Meanwhile, opposition parties chided the socialist government for not taking a harder line with the secessionists.

The public prosecutor's office announced Friday it is opening an investigation into Torra's conduct for possible disobedience.

Torra has said he will challenge the electoral board's order in court.
CHICAGO (AP) - A line of classical musicians marching with picket signs in front of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's historic downtown building is fast becoming one of the city's must-see spots.

About 100 of the orchestra's musicians have been on strike since March 11, at odds with orchestra officials over pension and wage issues. Their picket line has attracted support and visits from congressmen, mayoral candidates, musical theater performers and the musicians' own maestro, renowned Italian conductor Riccardo Muti. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin planned to visit Friday.

Symphony officials have canceled 17 concerts through Monday. The union has organized shifts of about a dozen picketers into four three-hour shifts daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Muti visited his musicians the second day of their picket, greeting them with hugs and handshakes and noting that their plans that day had been to be rehearsing inside Michigan Avenue's Symphony Center.

"This is a moment of crisis," Muti said a day after the strike began, explaining that he was trying to reconcile the parties. "The entire world, the entire musical world, is listening to what they do in Chicago."

The musicians also drew support from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who wrote them a letter saying "the symphony's success is only possible because of your talent and dedication."

Chicago Symphony Orchestra conductor Riccardo Muti joins in solidarity with striking CSO musicians during a press conference outside the Chicago Symphony Orchestra building, Tuesday, March 12, 2019. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune via AP)

The Chicago Federation of Musicians and the orchestra have been in negotiations for nearly a year. The union's contract with the orchestra ended March 10, leading the musicians to strike the next day. The sticking points are musicians' wages and an orchestra proposal to move them from a defined benefit to a defined contribution retirement plan.

Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association President Jeff Alexander said orchestra officials are trying to prevent financial challenges the symphony could face in coming years.

"What we feel is so important is that we don't enter into an agreement that puts the finances of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association at risk," Alexander said. "Our projections, especially on the pension topic, show that if we don't make a change now, then a few years from now things will be quite critical."

The union questions the symphony's money management and argues that a pension is necessary to retain and attract quality musicians.

"This is really about the future of the orchestra," said Stephen Lester, a symphony string bassist who is chairman of the union's negotiating team. "The Chicago Symphony is a destination job. People come, like I did, in their 20s and 30s and stay their entire professional lives. We give to the community through our artistry and our performance with the orchestra. That defined benefit pension is a major part of that commitment."

No future negotiation sessions are planned. Both sides have taken a break in discussions.

The last time Chicago symphony musicians went on strike was in September 2012 for two days over wages and health care costs. Musicians also picketed for about two weeks in 1991.

Musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra go on strike and walk the picket line outside the doors of Orchestra Hall on Michigan Avenue, Monday morning, March 11, 2019. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra go on strike and walk the picket line outside the doors of Orchestra Hall on Michigan Avenue, Monday morning, March 11, 2019. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra go on strike and walk the picket line outside the doors of Orchestra Hall on Michigan Avenue, Monday morning, March 11, 2019. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
ISLAMABAD (AP) - A Pakistani rights group says a mentally ill prisoner who spent the last 16 years of his life on death row has died at a hospital in the eastern city of Lahore.

A Friday statement by Justice Project Pakistan, which campaigns against the death penalty, says Khizar Hayat, 56, passed away Thursday night.

It said Hayat had been hospitalized in critical condition for being "severely anemic and hypotensive".

Pakistan's Supreme Court had suspended Hayat's execution early this year following a civil society campaign. The former policeman was sentenced to death in 2003 for killing a fellow officer.

The court also ordered a new hearing in his case, but Hayat passed away before any progress could be made.

Hayat is survived by four children and his mother.
McALLEN, Texas (AP) - A Mexican national suspected in a fatal 1998 shooting on a college campus in Texas has been extradited to face a capital murder charge.

McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez said Thursday that 39-year-old Roberto Ojeda Hernandez arrived in Texas on Wednesday. He was arrested in July in Reynosa, Mexico.

Ojeda Hernandez is being held on $2 million bond in the Hidalgo County jail. Court and jail records don't list an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Ojeda Hernandez is suspected of opening fire as students registered for classes at the Pecan Campus of South Texas College on Jan. 13, 1998. The campus is in McAllen, about 300 miles (483 kilometers) southwest of Houston.

The shooting killed 32-year-old security guard Carlos Hernandez and wounded three students.

Rodriguez says police believe at least two other people were also involved in the shooting during an attempted robbery.
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine (AP) - The National Transportation Safety Board says a United Express regional jet didn't slide off a runway in Maine - it missed the runway altogether.

A preliminary report Thursday indicates the 50-seat Embraer 145 approached to the right of the runway on an aborted first landing attempt and then again when it touched down March 4 at Presque Isle International Airport.

The document indicates it landed between the runway and taxiway.

Photos suggest the jet plowed through the deep snow alongside the runway before coming to an abrupt stop. Some of the landing gear was ripped off and ended up stuck in an engine cowling.

The NTSB report said one crew member and two passengers being hurt. The Commuter-operated flight from Newark, New Jersey, had 28 passengers and three crew members.
GENEVA (AP) - The top U.N. human rights body on Friday requested a larger presence in Palestinian areas following an investigation that found Israeli soldiers may have committed war crimes in a deadly response to Gaza protests last year.

The Human Rights Council made the request to U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet in a resolution that passed 23-8 with 15 abstentions, a vote loaded with political implications that quickly drew accusations of bias from the Israeli government.

Five central and eastern European countries joined Australia, Fiji and Brazil in opposing the measure. Britain and many EU countries abstained. Several Gulf Arab countries, with which Israel has claimed warming ties, voted in favor.

The resolution was the strongest among five considered by the council focusing on Israel and "Occupied Palestinian Territory," the only "country situation" considered at every council meeting. The issue made up more than one-sixth of the 29 resolutions considered as the four-week session ended Friday.

The Trump administration last summer pulled out the United States, long one of Israel's strongest backers at the 47-member Geneva body, from the council, in part alleging it has an anti-Israel bias.

The resolution comes after a three-person team of investigators commissioned by the council late last month issued an extensive report on violence during a string of Palestinian protests along Gaza's border fence with Israel, which started nearly a year ago.

In it, the Independent Commission of Inquiry said Israeli soldiers intentionally fired on civilians and could have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. The crackdowns that left 189 people dead. The panel said over 6,000 people had been shot by military snipers using live ammunition to repel protesters.

"The Human Rights Council repeated today its absurd and hypocritical ritual of creating a Commission of Inquiry singling out Israel, whose findings against Israel are predetermined, and then adopting them, all the while ignoring the reality on the ground," Israel's Foreign Ministry said Friday.

"Israel will continue to exercise its right of self-defense and will protect its citizens against terror and aggression," it said.

The Israeli government did not cooperate with the authors of the report.
ORION TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Less than a week after a series of critical tweets from the president over an Ohio plant closure, General Motors is announcing plans to add 400 jobs and build a new electric vehicle at a factory north of Detroit.

The company says it will spend $300 million at its plant in Orion Township, Michigan, to manufacture a Chevrolet vehicle based on the battery-powered Bolt.

GM wouldn't say when the new workers will start or when the new vehicle will go on sale, nor would it say if the workers will be new hires or come from a pool of laid-off workers from the planned closings of four U.S. factories by January.

The company also announced plans Friday to spend about another $1.4 billion at U.S. factories with 300 more jobs but did not release a time frame or details.

The moves come after last weekend's string of venomous tweets by President Donald Trump condemning GM for shutting its small-car factory in Lordstown, Ohio, east of Cleveland. During the weekend, Trump demanded that GM reopen the plant or sell it, criticized the local union leader and expressed frustration with CEO Mary Barra.

GM spokesman Dan Flores said the investment has been in the works for weeks. Indeed, GM has said it planned to build more vehicles off the underpinnings of the Bolt, which can go an estimated 238 miles on a single electric charge. The company has promised to introduce 20 new all-electric vehicles globally by 2023.

General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra waves before announcing the company investment of $300 million in its Orion Township, Mich., assembly plant to produce a new Chevrolet electric vehicle, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Orion Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

In November, GM announced plans to shut the four U.S. factories and one in Canada. About 3,300 workers in the U.S. would lose their jobs, as well as 2,600 in Canada. Another 8,000 white-collar workers were targeted for layoff. The company said the moves are necessary to stay financially healthy as GM faces large capital expenditures to shift to electric and autonomous vehicles.

Plants slated for closure include Lordstown; Detroit-Hamtramck, Michigan; Warren, Michigan; White Marsh, Maryland, near Baltimore and Oshawa, Ontario near Toronto. The factories largely make cars or components for them, and cars aren't selling well these days with a dramatic consumer shift to trucks and SUVs. With the closures, GM is canceling multiple car models due to slumping sales, including the Chevrolet Volt plug-in gas-electric hybrid.

GM has said it can place about 2,700 of the laid-off U.S. workers at other factories, but it's unclear how many will uproot and take those positions. More than 1,100 have already transferred, and others are retiring.

"Right now, we're focused on the people of Lordstown, making sure they have opportunities because we do have jobs," Barra told reporters following Friday's announcement. "We want every single person in Lordstown to stay within the GM family, and that's what we're working on."

The United Auto Workers has sued GM over the closings, which still must be negotiated with the union.

"I will not spoil a great occasion here today. But there is hardship amongst four of our locations. And we've made it clear that we disagree with that," UAW Vice President Terry Dittes said.

Trump's latest GM tweet on Monday said GM should: "Close a plant in China or Mexico, where you invested so heavily pre-Trump," and "Bring jobs home!"

"I understand a lot of the angst that people are feeling, and I feel it, too," Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Friday. "And I want to make sure that GM knows that their investment here in Michigan is encouraged and welcomed and appreciated. And we're going to keep doing that."

Ohio and the area around the Lordstown plant are important to Trump's 2020 re-election bid. The state helped push him to victory in 2016, and Trump has focused on Lordstown, seldom mentioning the other U.S. factories that GM is slated to close.

"General Motors is committed to supporting U.S. manufacturing, including the great states of Ohio and Michigan," said Barra, who maintains that she sees no further layoffs or plant closures through the end of 2020.

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Krisher reported from Detroit.

General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra announces the company investment of $300 million in its Orion Township, Mich., assembly plant to produce a new Chevrolet electric vehicle, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Orion Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra announces the company investment of $300 million in its Orion Township, Mich., assembly plant to produce a new Chevrolet electric vehicle, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Orion Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra announces the company's investment of $300 million in its Orion Township, Mich., assembly plant to produce a new Chevrolet electric vehicle, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Orion Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra announces the company investment of $300 million in its Orion Township, Mich., assembly plant to produce a new Chevrolet electric vehicle, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Lake Orion, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra, center, stands with U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, left, and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after announcing an investment of $300 million in its Orion Township, Mich., assembly plant to produce a new Chevrolet electric vehicle, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Orion Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra, right, shakes hands with with U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin after announcing an investment of $300 million in its Orion Township, Mich., assembly plant to produce a new Chevrolet electric vehicle, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Orion Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration hit Iran with new sanctions on Friday while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was denouncing Iran's growing influence on a visit to Lebanon.

The Treasury Department said the sanctions target 31 Iranian scientists, technicians and companies affiliated with Iran's Organization for Defense Innovation and Research, which had been at the forefront of the country's former nuclear weapons program. Officials said those targeted continue to work in Iran's defense sector and form a core of experts who could reconstitute that program. Fourteen people, including the head of the organization, and 17 subsidiary operations are covered by the sanctions.

The sanctions freeze any assets that those targeted may have in U.S. jurisdictions and bar Americans from any transactions with them. But, officials say the move will also make those targeted "radioactive internationally" by making people of any nationality who do business with them subject to U.S. penalties under so-called secondary sanctions.

U.S. secondary sanctions apply to foreign businesses and individuals and can include fines, loss of presence in the American economy, asset freezes and travel bans. Officials said the threat of such sanctions will significantly limit the ability of those designated to travel outside of Iran, participate in research conferences or be hired for other jobs.

"Individuals working for Iran's proliferation-related programs - including scientists, procurement agents, and technical experts - should be aware of the reputational and financial risk they expose themselves to by working for Iran's nuclear program," the State Department said in a statement.

The move is unusual because the sanctions are not being imposed based on what those targeted are currently doing.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Lebanon's President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon, Friday, March 22, 2019. (Jim Young/Pool Image via AP)

Instead, they were imposed because of their past work on nuclear weapons development and the potential that they would be at the forefront of any Iranian attempt to restart that program. Iran pledged not to resume atomic weapons work under the 2015 nuclear deal and the U.N.'s atomic watchdog says Iran continues to comply with the agreement.

The U.S., however, pulled out of the agreement last year, saying it was fatally flawed and allowed Iran to gradually begin advanced atomic work over time. The Trump administration has re-imposed U.S. sanctions that were eased under the terms of the deal and is continuing to impose new ones as part a pressure campaign to force Iran to renegotiate the agreement.

Officials said the decision to move ahead with the sanctions was in part based on Israel's recovery of what it and the U.S. call a "secret archive" of documents from Iran that they say shows Iran deliberately preserved and stored its early nuclear weapons work, known as the "Amad plan," with the intent to someday resume development of a bomb.

"As the world has learned from the recently-discovered secret Iranian nuclear archive - which revealed the names of some of the individuals sanctioned today - unanswered questions remain regarding Iran's undisclosed past nuclear-related activities under the Amad plan, including activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile," the State Department said in a statement.

The announcement came as Pompeo was in Beirut warning Lebanese officials to curb the influence of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement. He says Hezbollah is a terrorist organization and should not be allowed to set policies or wield power despite its presence in Lebanon's parliament and government.
CBIC's instructions follow a multi-departmental meeting called by the Election Commission earlier in the month.

General elections for the 17th Lok Sabha will be held in seven phases beginning April 11 and will continue till May 19. Counting of votes will take place on May 23. (Photo: Representational Image)

New Delhi: The indirect tax body has asked its field officers to step up vigilance in order to check illegal movement of currency, liquor and gold in the run up to general elections beginning April 11.

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has also asked the tax officers to share intelligence and seizure information with other government agencies on real-time basis.

General elections for the 17th Lok Sabha will be held in seven phases beginning April 11 and will continue till May 19. Counting of votes will take place on May 23.

CBIC's instructions follow a multi-departmental meeting called by the Election Commission earlier in the month on sharing of intelligence with a view to checking illegal activities.

In its instructions, the CBIC said, "All out efforts should be made to detect and seize illicit currency, liquor, gold, FICN (Fake Indian Currency Note), NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances), and other contraband items. Strict vigil should be maintained on domestic as well as cross border movement of vehicles, trains, and private chartered flights as well as commercial flights."



It said the field formations and officers should be duly sensitised to step up the preventive vigilance mechanism to rule out illicit movement of currency and commodities and conduct effective checking and surveillance during the election period to curb illegal activities.

"Intelligence units under your jurisdiction may be directed to gather information and develop intelligence to effectively accomplish this task. Mobile squads and special teams may be constituted to target sensitive areas, commodities and suspicious entities," the CBIC said, adding that information should be shared with the board on a daily basis.

It said coordinated efforts on the part of different government agencies is required and hence it is imperative that intelligence and detection/seizure information be shared with other agencies on a real-time basis. Close coordination has to be maintained with election authorities as well, it added.

The Election Commission in its multi-departmental meeting had underlined the need for greater coordination among different government agencies to keep a tab on expenditure incurred by candidates and political parties.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Democratic Socialists of America has endorsed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in his second run for president.

The New York-based group says its National Political Committee voted Thursday to endorse Sanders and move forward with "an independent campaign" to elect him and "advance a class-struggle agenda."

The 56,000-member organization calls Sanders "the only democratic socialist running for president in 2020" and "the only socialist in American history with a serious chance of winning the presidency."

Sanders is a self-described democratic socialist. He announced his Democratic presidential bid last month, saying his campaign is about "creating a government based on the principles of economic, social, racial and environmental justice."

Sanders spoke to striking university workers in Los Angeles this week and complained about "a war being waged against the working people."

In this March 10, 2019 photo, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders addresses a rally during a campaign stop, in Concord, N.H. The Democratic Socialists of America has endorsed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in his second run for president. The New York-based group says its National Political Committee voted to endorse Sanders at a meeting on Thursday and it's moving forward with "an independent campaign" to elect him and "advance a class-struggle agenda." The 77-year-old Sanders announced his Democratic presidential bid last month, promising a government about "economic, social, racial and environmental justice." (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
UTRECHT, Netherlands (AP) - The Latest on the deadly tram shooting in the Dutch city of Utrecht (all times local):

3:25 p.m.

Dutch prosecutors say the suspect in the deadly Utrecht tram shooting has confessed and said that he acted alone.

Prosecution spokesman Frans Zonneveld told The Associated Press on Friday that the motive for Monday's shooting that left three people dead and three seriously wounded is still under investigation.

The 37-year-old suspect, Gokmen Tanis, faces charges including multiple murder with a terrorist intent.

___

Women representing Utrecht's Muslim community lay a wreath at a makeshift memorial for the victims of a shooting incident in a tram in Utrecht, Netherlands, Tuesday, March 19, 2019. A gunman killed three people and wounded others on a tram in the central Dutch city of Utrecht Monday March 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

12:30 p.m.

An investigating judge on Friday extended by two weeks the detention of a man suspected of killing three passengers on a tram in the central Dutch city of Utrecht and seriously wounding three more, in what is being investigated as a likely terror attack.

Court spokeswoman Els de Stigter said that a judge ordered the suspect, identified by police as 37-year-old Gokmen Tanis, to remain in custody for a further 14 days as investigations continue.

In a statement, the court said that the judge ruled that "the suspicion is strong enough to detain the man for longer."

Tanis was arrested hours after the tram shooting Monday and police say he is being held on charges including multiple murder or manslaughter with terrorist intent.

A mourner weeps after putting flowers at the site of a shooting incident in a tram in Utrecht, Netherlands, Tuesday, March 19, 2019. A gunman killed three people and wounded others on a tram in the central Dutch city of Utrecht Monday March 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Children lay flowers at a makeshift memorial site for the victims of a shooting incident in a tram in Utrecht, Netherlands, Tuesday, March 19, 2019. A gunman killed three people and wounded others on a tram in the central Dutch city of Utrecht Monday March 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

People cry after laying flowers at a makeshift memorial site for the victims of a shooting incident in a tram in Utrecht, Netherlands, Tuesday, March 19, 2019. A gunman killed three people and wounded others on a tram in the central Dutch city of Utrecht Monday March 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

A sign reads "Lots of Strength" as a mourner lays flowers at a makeshift memorial for victims of a shooting incident in a tram in Utrecht, Netherlands, Tuesday, March 19, 2019. A gunman killed three people and wounded others on a tram in the central Dutch city of Utrecht Monday March 18, 2019. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - With President Petro Poroshenko slipping in the polls a week ahead of elections, Ukraine's government is trying to put a brave face on his achievements, insisting it is well on its way to delivering on the demands of the Maidan protest movement that drove the previous Russia-backed president from power in 2014.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Friday, Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin insisted that Ukraine has Russia on its knees, and that his country is making good progress toward taking its place among Western European democracies.

"Ukrainian society five years after Maidan is ripe enough ... to fight for an independent democratic and European country, and for me part of this future is of course our membership in the European Union, in NATO," he said. "Ukraine is already part of the trans-Atlantic community. It should formally become part of this trans-Atlantic community."

A war with Russia-backed forces in eastern Ukraine, along with Russia's annexation of the Crimea Peninsula, has stalled many of Ukraine's European ambitions. But Klimkin insisted the standoff is hurting Moscow more than Kiev.

"Look at the economic development in Russia: no growth. Look at their societal development. Look at Russian demography. Russia is going nowhere under current conditions," he said. "And I believe that quite soon the Russian leadership will have simply to face this fact."

Ukrainians will vote for a new president on March 31, with a likely second round in April. Poroshenko is trying to get re-elected, but a deep recession, endemic corruption and a war with Russia-backed separatists that has killed more than 10,000 people are weighing heavily on his ambitions.

Ukrainian Minister for Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin talks during an interview with The Associated Press in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, March 22, 2019. With President Petro Poroshenko slipping in the polls a week ahead of elections, Ukraine's government is trying to put a brave face on his achievements, insisting it is well on its way to delivering on the demands of the Maidan protest movement that drove the previous Russian-backed president from power in 2014. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Klimkin acknowledged that the government has made less progress than it would like.

"We have to do better with reforms here in the country. We have to do better with transforming our justice system. We have to do better with tackling corruption," he said. "But if you ... compare current Ukraine with Ukraine five years ago, right after Maidan, it's completely a different country."

He insisted that the corruption scandals won't deter the West from sending aid or weapons to help Ukraine - "I'm sure it will not" - and described EU and NATO membership as a "midterm exercise."

"I'm not saying it will come tomorrow or after tomorrow. We have to be honest. It's not a short-term exercise, but it will come," he said. "Let's be clear: We are not ready now. We are not ready either for EU membership or for full NATO membership. We need to do more in the sense of reforms and in the sense of getting our security and defense sector up to the standards."

But he described the project as inevitable.

"Ukrainians will not tolerate any kind of back off or veering off from this fundamental force," he said, adding of the presidential candidates: "If someone tries to become more pro-Russian, he or she will be thrown out of the office the next day."

Ukrainian Minister for Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin talks during an interview with The Associated Press in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, March 22, 2019. With President Petro Poroshenko slipping in the polls a week ahead of elections, Ukraine's government is trying to put a brave face on his achievements, insisting it is well on its way to delivering on the demands of the Maidan protest movement that drove the previous Russian-backed president from power in 2014. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ukrainian Minister for Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin talks during an interview with The Associated Press in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, March 22, 2019. With President Petro Poroshenko slipping in the polls a week ahead of elections, Ukraine's government is trying to put a brave face on his achievements, insisting it is well on its way to delivering on the demands of the Maidan protest movement that drove the previous Russian-backed president from power in 2014. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - A Syrian man suspected of having taken part in beheadings carried out by the Islamic State in Homs has been taken into custody and questioned by authorities in Hungary.

The 27-year-old, whose name wasn't released, has refugee status in Greece. He was initially apprehended in December at Budapest's Ferenc Liszt International Airport when he and a female companion were found to have forged personal IDs.

While he was awaiting deportation to Greece, officials discovered, in cooperation with Belgian prosecutors, that the man has been an IS member since 2016.

He is suspected of having taken part in the beheadings of about 20 relatives of a Homs resident who refused to join the extremist group. The killings were meant as revenge and to terrify local residents.
PARIS (AP) - The U.N.'s cultural agency said Friday it could remove Belgium's famed Aalst carnival from its cultural heritage list following accusations of anti-Semitism during a parade.

UNESCO, Jewish organizations and European authorities have condemned the supposed anti-Semitic and racist nature of a parade float at the Aalst Carnival that featured stereotypical puppets of Jews earlier this month.

The reaction in Aalst was swift enough, with mayor Christophe D'haese saying "UNESCO simply doesn't get it" and that the festival's uncensored iconoclast nature was its essence.

The agency's director-general Audrey Azoulay said, "It's not the first time that these racist and anti-Semitic floats parade in this festival," adding that UNESCO's duty is "to be vigilant and uncompromising regarding such occurrences."

A few days after the March 3 parade, European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said "it should be obvious to all that portraying such representations in the streets of Europe is absolutely unthinkable, 74 years after the Holocaust."

UNESCO representatives have decided to put the issue on the agenda of the next meeting of the Committee that makes decisions on the cultural heritage list in December in Colombia. A removal decision would be a first since the 2003 Convention that created the label.

FILE - In this Nov.4, 2017 file photo, the logo of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is seen during the 39th session of the General Conference at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The U.N.'s cultural agency considers the possible removal of the recognition of a Belgium carnival as intangible cultural heritage following accusations of anti-Semitism during a parade. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

The Aalst Carnival has been on the UNESCO cultural heritage list since 2010, an inscription which doesn't entail financial support.

UNESCO said the move also aims at sending a message of "tolerance zero" to all other elements inscribed on the list.

Aalst is one of Belgium's most famous carnivals and it is a celebration of unbridled, no-holds-barred humor and satire. Politicians, religious leaders and the rich and famous are relentlessly ridiculed during the three-day festival and imposing limits on that would take away the essence of its carnival, according D'haese who has seen puppets of his N-VA party leadership go around in Nazi uniforms.

"Others should not tell what we can laugh at," D'haese told VRT network Friday.

"I will always defend the people of Aalst and Flanders when they claim a right to humor, ridicule and satire," he said.

D'haese acknowledged said that despite the jarring floats "in Aalst, we never had any racist or anti-Semitic intensions."

___

Casert reported from Brussels.
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - Energy Secretary Rick Perry announced Friday that the Trump administration has finalized $3.7 billion in new loan guarantees to support completion of the first new U.S. commercial nuclear reactors in a generation, calling the expansion of nuclear energy "the real" Green New Deal.

The expansion of Plant Vogtle in eastern Georgia has fallen years behind schedule while its price tag has nearly doubled since the government approved two new reactors at the plant in 2012.

But Perry said the administration is determined to see the project finished despite the setbacks. He spoke Friday from the construction site in Waynesboro as a crane lowered a giant dome atop the containment building for housing one of the new reactors.

"The message that gets sent on this plant: America is back in the nuclear energy industry, folks," Perry told a crowd of workers in hardhats. "We are back. We're going to be leading the world."

President Donald Trump has singled out both the country's nuclear and coal industries for support from his administration, although the more politically influential coal sector has gotten most of the regulatory breaks so far.

The Green New Deal pushed by some Democrats has served to boost interest in nuclear power, which doesn't emit greenhouse gasses that contribute to global warming. But Democrats are divided over whether nuclear energy is a valid replacement for fossil fuels.

FILE - In this June 13, 2014, file photo, a new cooling tower for a nuclear power plant reactor that's under construction stands near the two operating reactors at Plant Vogtle power plant in Waynesboro, Ga. Energy Secretary Rick Perry announced Friday, March 22, 2019, that the Trump administration has finalized $3.7 billion in new loan guarantees to support completion of the first new U.S. commercial nuclear reactors in a generation, calling the expansion of nuclear energy "the real" Green New Deal. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

The new financial support brings to $12 billion the government's total loan guarantees for Plant Vogtle, with the initial assistance approved under President Barack Obama. The guarantees make the federal government responsible for covering unpaid debt if the electrical utilities in charge of the project default.

A U.S. nuclear renaissance predicted under Obama never materialized. The drive to build new reactors lost momentum after a 2011 tsunami in Japan triggered meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant. Cheap natural gas prices also made nuclear less attractive.

When federal regulators approved the Plant Vogtle expansion in 2012, the two new reactors were expected to cost $14 billion and to be finished in 2017. Now the cost estimate has ballooned to more than $27 billion. The first reactor is scheduled for completion in late 2021, with the second going online in 2022.

The project's biggest setback came in 2017 when the main contractor, Westinghouse Electric Co., the U.S. nuclear unit of Japan's Toshiba Corp., filed for bankruptcy. Months later, construction of two new reactors was abandoned in South Carolina after nearly $10 billion was spent, with the owners largely blaming Westinghouse's bankruptcy.

Soon after the South Carolina project failed, Perry offered conditional commitments for new loan guarantees to help the nuclear expansion in Georgia stay afloat. His announcement Friday that the additional support has been approved comes after one of the Georgia project's primary owners, Oglethorpe Power, considered pulling out last year after the cost estimate jumped another $2.3 billion.

Critics say expanding Plant Vogtle has proven too expensive and the myriad construction delays show it's too risky.

Sara Barczak of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said in a statement that the Trump administration was "rewarding failure by doling out billions more dollars in corporate welfare at taxpayers' expense."

Georgia Power, the partner with the largest stake in expanding Vogtle, has insisted finishing the two reactors makes more sense than abandoning the project or other alternatives. The utility says the new units will generate enough electricity to power approximately 500,000 homes and businesses.

Georgia Power CEO Paul Bowers said the first reactor, which had its 1.5 million pound (0.68 million kilogram) containment cap lowered into place Friday, will be 90 percent complete by the end of the year and ready to load nuclear fuel in 2020.

"We had our challenges, but we've been able to fight through those challenges to make the incredible success we see today," said Tom Fanning, CEO of Southern Company, Georgia Power's corporate parent.
NEW YORK (AP) - The prosecutor who led a New York probe of President Donald Trump's former personal attorney for the last year is stepping down.

Robert Khuzami, 62, who presided over the case that led to guilty pleas by attorney Michael Cohen, will leave his post April 12. Cohen has since been disbarred.

A release from U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said Khuzami will return to his Washington D.C. home after commuting to New York while serving the last 15 months as deputy U.S. attorney.

Berman called Khuzami "an extraordinary and brilliant lawyer."

"While his desire to continue to serve remains strong, he understandably has decided to return home to his family," Berman said.

Khuzami was put in charge of the Cohen prosecution when Berman was recused for reasons that were never disclosed.

In this Friday, Jan. 27, 2012 file photo, deputy U.S. attorney Robert Khuzami speaks at the Justice Department in Washington. Khuzami, who presided as prosecutor over the case that led to guilty pleas by attorney Michael Cohen will leave his post April 12. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

Those reasons were likely narrow since Berman is heading various other investigations related to the president, including probes of possible illegal contributions from foreigners to presidential inaugural events and actions taken by National Enquirer publisher American Media Inc. for its role in pre-2016 election payments to two women to stay silent about alleged affairs with Trump.

Khuzami worked in the Manhattan federal prosecutor's office in the 1990s, when he was among prosecutors who won a conviction and life sentence against a blind Egyptian sheik in a terrorism case that included a plot to blow up five New York City targets, including the United Nations.

Khuzami also served for four years as head of the enforcement division of the Securities and Exchange Commission when Barack Obama was president.

Khuzami will be replaced by Audrey Strauss, who has served as Berman's senior counsel since February 2018. She was a prosecutor in the office from 1976 to 1983 and served with Berman on the staff for the Independent Counsel for the Iran Contra matter during the 1980s.

Cohen is scheduled to report to prison in May after pleading guilty to violating campaign finance laws, lying to Congress and other crimes.
TIRANA, Albania (AP) - Albanian authorities say they have arrested an Indian citizen wanted in his country for money laundering.

A statement Friday by Albanian police said the individual, identified only as H.P., 59, was arrested at an airport trying to leave the country. The police say he is a resident of Nigeria.

A court in New Delhi, India, had issued an international arrest warrant for the individual for money laundering. Albanian authorities have started extradition procedures.

Albania's private Top Channel television station named the individual as Hiteshkumar Patel, the brother in law of Cetan Sandesaras. Sandesaras and his brother Nitin own the Sterling Biotech company and borrowed $725 million before leaving India. Last year they got Albanian citizenship.

It is unclear whether the Sandesaras brothers are in Albania.
LONDON (AP) - Authorities in Ireland say a parcel bomb found at an Irish postal depot appears identical to a series of devices sent to Britain earlier this month.

Irish leader Leo Varadkar said it was found at a return mail office in Limerick. The Irish police, the Garda, called military bomb disposal experts after the package was discovered Friday morning.

Irish Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan says a stamp on the package was similar to small letter bombs sent to the U.K. earlier this month.

Those devices had been designed to cause fires at Waterloo rail station in central London, offices at Heathrow and London City airports, and the University of Glasgow. One of the devices partially burned when opened.

An Irish dissident group claimed responsibility.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Iditarod musher who was hours ahead in the Alaska wilderness race when his dogs refused to keep running dismissed critics who say he ran them too hard and chalked it up to a bad memory that spooked them.

The team stopped last week after Frenchman Nicolas Petit yelled at a dog that was bullying another, but they "did not slow down like a tired team would," he said.

It came a year after they got lost in a blizzard near the same spot along the Bering Sea coast - close to the finish line of the 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometer) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race that takes global competitors across mountain ranges and wind-swept ice.

"I wouldn't say it's a curse for me, I just had a bad time last year and lingering effects of the bad time this year," Petit said.

It was pure coincidence that it happened at the same point in the race, he said.

"They remember that we didn't have a fun run," going through the snow the wrong way, Petit said Wednesday, sprawling out on a friend's sofa in Anchorage.

This Wednesday, March 20, 2019, photo shows Iditarod musher Nicolas Petit getting kisses from two of his dogs in Anchorage, Alaska. The Frenchman was in the lead of this year's race but his dog team quit running after Petit yelled at Joey, left, to stop picking on Danny, right. Petit says that isn't the reason the dogs quit running; instead, they quit about the same point the team got lost in a blizzard in the 2018 race. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Dogs from his team piled on top of him and licked his face. Also nosing their way in for attention were Joey, who was the bully on the trail, and Danny, the younger male dog who was bullied.

When Petit withdrew from the race this year, he said it was a "head thing" for the dogs.

Then the blowback began - in press releases, on blogs and on social media. The most vocal critic of the race, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said it wasn't the dogs that needed their heads examined, it was anyone who supports "the merciless race."

Others speculated that Petit overexerted the dogs, they were mistreated or were mentally unfit to run. Petit denies it all.

"This isn't any type of a reason to get rid of what I consider my children - the dogs I raised," Petit said. "No, I won't get rid of them. They are the most important thing in my life."

He also said he's "stopping plenty" along the grueling route, preferring to rest outside checkpoints and along the trail when possible, where he says it's quieter and the dogs get more sleep.

Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the Iditarod in 1985, said the sport requires a fine balance between being competitive and keeping the dogs happy - something she said Petit excels at.

"People have this idea that you can force these dogs" to the finish line, Riddles said last week. "It's not like that at all."

In 2018, Petit rested his dogs at a cabin between checkpoints before the disastrous run in the blizzard. He planned to stay at the cabin again this year but leave it with a well-rested team.

Video shows an energetic and eager dog team entering and leaving the first checkpoint.

Within a mile of the cabin, the dog dustup happened. Joey, a 2-year-old and the only non-neutered male on the team, was behind Danny, a 16-month-old pup. Every time Danny slowed down, Joey would pick on him.

Finally, Petit yelled, "Joey, that's enough!"

"I raise my voice a little bit and they are all like, 'Oh, boy, that's not normal,'" Petit said. "I try to be as calming and collected with my dogs as possible all the time, so they heard an upset daddy."

The team refused to keep going. He tried walking ahead of them to see if they would follow and putting different dogs in the lead. Other mushers came by, but even that didn't rouse the dogs.

They finally got the mile to the cabin. Fourteen hours after the dogs stopped, they took off but didn't make it far. Petit took them back and pushed the panic button on his GPS unit, effectively withdrawing from the race.

A snowmobile brought food and then carted the dogs off the trail.

Petit still expects to compete in next year's Iditarod. He's said he's planning to take his dogs next week to the problem area - the Bering Sea coast - to show them the fun they can have on that stretch of the trail.

"And that it's not always blowing, and we don't always get lost, and it can be a very positive experience as opposed to the last two years," he said.

This Wednesday, March 20, 2019, photo shows Iditarod musher Nicolas Petit posing with two of his dogs in Anchorage, Alaska. The Frenchman Petit was in the lead of this year's race but his dog team quit running after he yelled at Joey, right, to stop picking on Danny, left. Petit says that isn't the reason the dogs quit running; instead, they quit about the same point the team got lost in a blizzard in the 2018 race. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

FILE - In this March 10, 2019 file photo, Nicolas Petit arrives in Unalakleet, Alaska, on Sunday morning in the lead of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The Iditarod musher, Petit, who was hours ahead in the Alaska race when his dogs refused to keep running is dismissing critics who say he ran them too hard. Petit said this week that the dogs are treated well and they get plenty of rest during the 1,000-mile (1,600-kilometer) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. (Marc Lester/Anchorage Daily News via AP, File)

In this March 10, 2019 photo, Nicolas Petit comes down Kouwegok Slough to reach Unalakleet, Alaska, on Sunday morning in the lead of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The Iditarod musher, Petit, who was hours ahead in the Alaska race when his dogs refused to keep running is dismissing critics who say he ran them too hard and is chalking it up to a bad memory that spooked them. It came a year after they got lost in a blizzard near the same spot along the Bering Sea coast. (Marc Lester/Anchorage Daily News via AP)/

FILE - In this Sunday, March 10, 2019 file photo, Iditarod musher Nicolas Petit hugs one of his dogs before they leave Unalakleet, Alaska, during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Petit who was hours ahead in the Alaska race when his dogs refused to keep running is dismissing critics who say he ran them too hard and is chalking it up to a bad memory that spooked them. (Marc Lester/Anchorage Daily News via AP, File)

In this March 10, 2019 photo, Iditarod musher Nicolas Petit arrives in Unalakleet, Alaska, on Sunday morning in the lead of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The Frenchman who was hours ahead in the Alaska wilderness race when his dogs refused to keep running dismissed critics who say he ran them too hard and chalked it up to a bad memory that spooked them.It came a year after they got lost in a blizzard near the same spot along the Bering Sea coast. (Marc Lester/Anchorage Daily News via AP)
The BSP has already announced candidates for six LS constituencies in Chhattisgarh unilaterally, indicating a crack in the alliance.

Bhopal: In a last ditch effort to prevent split in the Jogi-Mayawati alliance in Chhattisgarh, JCCJ on Saturday authorised its supremo Ajit Jogi to initiate talks with his counterpart in BSP on seat-sharing between the two parties in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The parliamentary bo-ard of Janata Congress Chhattisgarh Jogi (JCCJ) met in Raipur in Chhattisgarh in the afternoon and decided to authorise the party chief Mr Jogi to begin talks with BSP supremo Mayawati to extend the JCCJ-BSP alliance sea-led in the last years assembly polls in the state, to upcoming LS polls. We are prepared to field our candidates in 11 LS seats in Chhatti-sgarh. But, we want the alliance to fight the elections together. We have authorised Mr Jogi to initiate talks with Ms Mayawati on seat sharing between the two parties in the upcoming LS polls in Chhattisgarh, JCCJ spokesman Debabrat Singh said.

The BSP has already announced candidates for six LS constituencies in Chhattisgarh unilaterally, indicating a crack in the alliance.

Mr Jogi had earlier admitted that he was not taken into confidence by BSP leadership before announcing the partys candidates for six LS seats. As it is JCCJ has not much stake in LS polls. But, BSP has high stake in the general elections. I will speak to Behenji on forging alliance, Mr Jogi had earlier said.

Sources said Ms Mayawati sent her representative to hold talks with Mr Jogi to strike a deal on seat sharing between the two parties.

Sources said BSP may leave some seats for JCCJ in Chhattisgarh to save the alliance.
BERLIN (AP) - German authorities arrested 11 people Friday during a series of raids on a group of people suspected of planning an Islamic extremist attack using a vehicle and firearms.

Frankfurt prosecutors said the aim of the alleged plot was "to kill as many 'infidels' as possible," news agency dpa reported.

The main suspects are two 31-year-old brothers from Wiesbaden and a 21-year-old man from Offenbach, near Frankfurt, all of them German citizens. The group under investigation - aged between 20 and 42, and from Frankfurt, Offenbach, Mainz and Wiesbaden - is suspected of offenses including terror financing and conspiracy to commit a crime.

It wasn't immediately clear how concrete the attack plan was.

Hesse state's interior minister, Peter Beuth, said "police intervened in a timely manner to prevent possible attack plans at an early stage."

The suspects are believed to have hired a large vehicle, contacted weapons dealers and collected money.

Investigators seized more than 20,000 euros ($22,780) in cash, several knives, small quantities of drugs and documents in the raids in the area around Frankfurt.
JERUSALEM (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a Christian broadcast network that it's "possible" that President Donald Trump is like Queen Esther, who saved Jews in the Old Testament.

Pompeo made the statement Thursday in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network on his trip to the Middle East.

The interviewer asked if Trump is "like Queen Esther," who interceded with her husband to save Jews in what was then Persia and is now Iran. Trump has backed new sanctions on Iran aimed at reducing its ability to threaten Israel.

Pompeo said in response that "As a Christian, I certainly believe that's possible."

The secretary of state recently drew criticism for holding a briefing exclusively for "faith-based" journalists.

Pompeo on Friday vowed new measures against what he said was the "threat" from Iran.
TIRANA, Albania (AP) - Kosovo's parliament has voted to suspend all casinos and betting shops.

Lawmakers voted 74-0 for a resolution suspending gambling activities until a draft law the government will prepare in 30 days is approved. It did not say what the new law will change.

Avdullah Hoti, a lawmaker with the Democratic League of Kosovo party who proposed the resolution, said "betting games have grabbed the citizens and no one has become rich with the betting shop businesses."

In a post on his Facebook page, Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj said he is looking for Cabinet approval next week.

In 2018, the government gained 16 million euros ($18 million) from gambling receipts.

After neighboring Albania closed all casinos and betting shops last year, many of them moved to Kosovo.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Treasury Department announced Friday that it is expanding again the relief it grants taxpayers who had too little in income taxes withheld from their paychecks in the first year of a sweeping tax overhaul.

Treasury said that taxpayers will be able to avoid penalties for paying too little in taxes as long as they paid at least 80 percent of what they owed the government.

That represents a reduction from the regular threshold to avoid penalties of paying 90 percent of what is owed. Treasury had earlier this year reduced the normal 90 percent threshold to 85 percent.

In a statement, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said his department was making the move "to help those who attempted in good faith to meet their withholding obligations."

Mnuchin had been urged by a number of lawmakers during appearances before Congress last week to make the move.

Before this filing season, taxpayers could avoid penalties for underpayment if they had paid 90 percent of the taxes owed for the current year. In January, the IRS lowered that 90 percent threshold to 85 percent in an effort to deal with issues raised by the transition to the tax cut law approved by Congress in December 2017.

FILE - In this Jan. 10, 2017 file photo, A 1040 tax form appears on display in New York. The Treasury Department is expanding for a second time this year the relief it grants taxpayers who had too little in income taxes withheld from their paychecks in the first year of a sweeping tax overhaul. Treasury announced Friday, March 22, 2019 that taxpayers will be able to avoid penalties for paying too little in taxes as long as they paid at least 80 percent of what they owed the government. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File )

Treasury has said that around 80 percent of taxpayers will see a decrease in their tax bill this year, while about 15 percent will owe roughly the same amount. Fewer people are expected to receive a refund this year. Officials point out that doesn't reflect rising or falling tax liability.

There has been confusion around the size of refunds, which have varied more than usual this year because of the new Republican-written tax law. After showing declines earlier in the filing season, the average size of refunds now is about the same as last year at $2,957, according to IRS data.

Democratic lawmakers had sharply criticized the Trump administration for under-withholding from workers' paychecks, suggesting officials may have schemed to inflate paychecks with the new withholding tables for the tax law - bringing negative surprises in refunds this spring. The Democrats endorsed Friday's move by Treasury.

"The Trump administration is taking a step to undo the harm the Republican tax law inflicted on millions of families whose taxes were under-withheld through no fault of their own," Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, senior Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement.

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., had proposed legislation to reduce the penalty threshold to 80 percent.

"As tax filing season is in full swing, Treasury's action will relieve the financial anxiety facing worried taxpayers across the country," Chu said Friday.

Democrats had uniformly opposed the tax law, which was pushed by President Donald Trump and hustled through Congress in late 2017 to take effect on Jan. 1, 2018. They maintained the sweeping overhaul of the tax code benefits mostly big corporations and the rich.

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AP Business Writer Marcy Gordon contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (AP) - A man has been charged with murder in the shooting death of a security guard outside a Chicago nightclub earlier this month.

Chicago police said Friday that 37-year-old Armond Williams faces two felony counts of first-degree murder.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that Williams is accused in the March 8 killing of 28-year-old Thurman Bailey outside Sound Bar, a nightclub in the city's River North neighborhood.

Police say the shooting stemmed from a fist fight that developed when a group was denied entry to the nightclub. Authorities say Williams shot Bailey multiple times during the fight.

Police say they identified Williams on surveillance video. There was no answer at a phone listing for Williams, who is from the Chicago suburb of Villa Park. He's due in bond court later Friday.

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Information from: Chicago Sun-Times, http://chicago.suntimes.com/
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - The arrest of a New York man on charges of harassing a Jewish co-worker at a health food store is the latest in a rising number of anti-Semitic episodes reported in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday.

The Democrat joined state police Superintendent Keith Corlett for the announcement of the arrest of William Sullivan, 21, of Saugerties, on a misdemeanor count of aggravated harassment.

Police said the conflict occurred March 11 at Mother's Earth's Storehouse in Ulster, outside Kingston, 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Albany. The female employee was in the produce cooler with another co-worker when Sullivan appeared in the doorway, shut off the lights and told her, "You're in the gas chamber now," and then insulted her Jewish faith with an expletive, troopers said.

Corlett said the woman told her managers about the encounter and later reported it to police, who haven't released the woman's name.

The store's owner, Kevin Schneider, told the Daily Freeman of Kingston that Sullivan was fired and that the woman has quit. Schneider, who also owns stores in nearby Saugerties and Poughkeepsie, didn't return a call seeking details.

The 40-year-old company posted a statement on Facebook apologizing for the "immense upset" to the community.

"The situation has been handled and the employee is no longer employed by us," the statement said. "We have never, nor will we ever tolerate hate."

Troopers said Sullivan was issued an appearance ticket and released. He is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday. It was unclear whether Sullivan has a lawyer who could comment.

While it's unusual for the governor to participate in news conferences announcing a misdemeanor arrest, Cuomo's office said he made the trip to Kingston to bring attention to the rise in anti-Semitic episodes in the state this year. Cuomo called the latest sad, disturbing and frightening.

"What makes it worse, frankly, is that this is not an isolated situation," he said. "We have been seeing a growing number of anti-Semitic activity."

Cuomo said there have been about 10 such instances since early January, including separate attacks on three Orthodox Jewish men in Brooklyn and the defacement of public spaces in New York City and on Long Island with swastikas.

The governor also mentioned the mass shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh in October that left 11 Jewish worshippers dead and last week's massacre of 50 Muslims at two mosques in New Zealand as examples of "a virus of hate" that is spreading across the globe.

"This is something that everyone must be concerned about," said Cuomo, a Roman Catholic who noted that his two brothers-in-law are Jewish.

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This story has been corrected to change the day to Friday instead of Thursday, and to correct that the Pittsburgh shooting was at a synagogue, not a mosque.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Maine fishermen began several weeks of taking to rivers and streams to fish for baby eels Friday, which marked the start of a high-stakes season harvesters hope isn't interrupted by poaching concerns as it was a year ago.

Fishermen in Maine use nets to harvest baby eels, called elvers, to feed demand from Asian aquaculture companies, who use them as seed stock.

The tiny eels are the source of one of the most valuable fisheries in the country on a per-pound basis, and they were worth a record of more than $2,300 per pound last year. Maine's home to the only significant elver fishery in the country.

Last year's season was shut down two weeks early by state regulators after investigators found that illegal sales had caused Maine to blow past its quota for the eels. New controls on the fishery are expected to clamp down on clandestine sales, and the use of a swipe card system to record transactions remains in effect.

Darrell Young, co-director of the Maine Elver Fishermen Association, said the health of the fishery also depends on members of the industry "behaving themselves" this time around.

"Buyers wanted to find their way around the swipe cards. They just made it harder for everybody else," Young said.

In this May 25, 2017 file photo, baby eels, also known as elvers, are held in Brewer, Maine. Elver season begins on Friday, March 22, 2019, with fishermen hoping the big-money season isn't interrupted by poaching concerns as it was in the previous season. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

The elvers are raised to maturity in aquaculture facilities so they can be used as food, such as kabayaki, which is a skewered, filleted cut of the fish. Most of the world's eel is produced in China, and the fish is especially popular as food in Japan. Some of the elvers harvested in Maine eventually come back to the United States for use in sushi restaurants.

An interstate fishing commission set the quota at 9,688 pounds. That was about the amount of elvers Maine fishermen harvested in 2014, when regulators decided to tighten controls on the fishery. The quota had previously been more than 2,000 pounds higher.

The elver fishing season has the ability to run until June 7, but it ends earlier if fishermen tap out the quota before then.

Elver fishing sometimes begins slowly and heats up in April and May because fishermen need rivers and streams to thaw before they can fish.

American elvers became especially valuable in the early 2010s, when other country's eel fisheries faltered. They've been worth anywhere from $875 to $2,366 per pound since.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Two of the Mississippi teenagers who helped rescue a toddler as her mother's sport utility vehicle was sinking in a creek say they are glad a judge has dropped charges against the woman, whose other two children drowned as the unattended vehicle slipped underwater.

Bobby Johnson, who is fire chief in the small town of Leland where the children died March 9, also says he agrees with Washington County Justice Court Judge Laverne Simpson's decision to drop charges against Jenea Monique Payne, 25. She was initially charged with negligent homicide and child neglect after investigators said she left her three children alone in her sport utility vehicle while she went into a grocery store.

A candlelight memorial service is set for Friday evening in Leland, and funerals are Saturday for Payne's sons, 1-year-old Rasheed Johnson and 4-year-old Steve Smith.

"I think they should have showed some mercy from the beginning because that woman lost two of her kids. She has to live with that for the rest of her life, so she needs some mercy," 17-year-old Jacob Humphrey, who worked with three other teenagers to rescue 2-year-old Raelynn Johnson.

The four young men - 18-year-old C.J. Holland, Jacob Humphrey and his twin brother Seth Humphrey, and 15-year-old Austin McNemar - spoke to The Associated Press on Thursday at the Mississippi Capitol.

The four are students at Riverside High School in the small community of Avon. March 9 was the final Saturday of spring break in the rural Mississippi Delta, and heavy rains had been pounding the flatlands. The four were hanging out in Leland, where the fire chief is the twins' stepfather.

In this March 21, 2019, photograph state lawmakers honor four teenagers who helped rescue a 2-year-old girl from her mother's car as it was sinking into a creek on March 9, 2019, in Leland, Miss., following an appearance before both chambers of the Legislature at the Capitol in Jackson. On the front row are Rep. Alyce Clarke, D-Jackson, left; Austin McNemar, 15, and Seth Humphrey, 17. On the middle row are Jacob Humphrey, 17 and C.J. Holland, 18, and Rep. John Hines, D-Greenville. On the back row are Rep. Otis Anthony, D-Indianola and Riverside High School principal Donald Coleman. All four of the teenagers attend Riverside High School. (AP Photo / Emily Wagster Pettus)

McNemar said he and his friends had just finished eating when they saw the vehicle roll into swollen Deer Creek. Seth Humphrey ran for help and Holland jumped from a small bridge onto the SUV and started kicking the windows to try to break them. A law enforcement officer threw a glass-breaking tool toward Holland, but the tool fell short, and McNemar said he and Jacob Humphrey jumped into the cold water to retrieve it.

McNemar said Jacob Humphrey used the tool to break a window, and Holland reached in and pulled out the little girl. Holland said he's not a strong swimmer and was tired.

"He had to hold me up," Holland said, pointing toward Jacob Humphrey.

The teens got Raelynn safely out of the creek.

"That's when we found out there was more in the car but we couldn't see them," McNemar said.

Mississippi lawmakers honored the teens Thursday, giving them standing ovations in the House and Senate. Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves called them "true Mississippi heroes." Democratic Rep. John Hines of Greenville presented them with certificates of appreciation, and several lawmakers posed for pictures with them.

"Gentlemen, if there's anything I can ever do for any of you, please do not hesitate to call me," Hines told the teenagers.

Simpson dismissed the charges against Payne after a hearing Tuesday. Holland, Jacob Humphrey, and Johnson said they agree with Simpson's decision. Prosecutors could still seek to indict Payne. Washington County District Attorney Dewayne Richardson previously said he was waiting for a report from Leland police before deciding what to do.

Donald Coleman, the principal of Riverside High School, accompanied the four teens and other students to the Capitol. Coleman said he's watching the four young men, in case they need counseling.

"I think it's a great, humanitarian, heroic thing they did on that day to save the life of someone else - someone they didn't know," Coleman said. "We always talk about being bold for the things that are right in our community and neighborhood. ... And that day, they didn't think about it. They just jumped out in that Deer Creek."

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Follow Emily Wagster Pettus on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EWagsterPettus .
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Gaza's Health Ministry says two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire at protests along the Gaza-Israel border fence.

The ministry said Friday that those killed were 18 and 29 years old, without elaborating. It added that 55 protesters were wounded.

Thousands attended the protests, including Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the militant Hamas group.

Haniyeh said that the protesters "insist on breaking" a blockade that Israel and Egypt imposed to isolate Hamas since it seized the Palestinian enclave in 2007.

The protest movement was unleashed this month a year ago. Since then, about 190 Palestinians and an Israeli soldier have been killed during the weekly rallies.

Egypt, Qatar and the U.N. have been negotiating a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, but an agreement has yet to be reached.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Some problem police officers in Philadelphia have been assigned to monitor security cameras in a highly sensitive Homeland Security intelligence facility.

The location has become a sort of holding area for officers on restricted duty, meaning they are unfit for street duty because of pending criminal charges or accusations of wrongdoing, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer .

Among those assigned to the unit is a homicide detective accused of making secret cash payments to an imprisoned informant and a former detective accused of coercing false confessions.

Police Commissioner Richard Ross defended the practice in an email to the newspaper, saying that it's a low-risk and "efficient" use of officers who work under stringent supervision, and that they have no access to data or information systems.

"This has been a practice since 2012," he wrote. "Since that time, to our knowledge, there have been no issues regarding officers accessing sensitive information, or utilizing the cameras for dubious purposes."

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania criticized the assignments, saying a facility with highly sensitive information isn't an ideal assignment for an officer accused of wrongdoing.

"This is the last place you should put an officer who has been credibly accused of lying or tampering with evidence or abusing people's rights," Mary Catherine Roper, deputy legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, told the newspaper. "I would rather have them do nothing."

Over the years, the department has assigned such officers to the vehicle impound lot, a check-in room for officers testifying in court and an office answering calls about minor traffic accidents.

According to Ross, the Real Time Camera Center, which monitors surveillance cameras throughout the city, was added to the list seven years ago.

It's located in a warehouse-like space that houses the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center. Local and federal law enforcement agencies in Philadelphia and surrounding states collaborate at the center, which was created in concert with the Department of Homeland Security. It allows Philadelphia police and other departments to interact with analysts from a host of federal agencies, including Homeland Security, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Coast Guard, according to the Inquirer.

Officers on restricted duty have limited computer access to police intelligence. For instance, they can't access tracking tools for cellphones and license plate readers.

Ross told the newspaper the department is open to reconsidering the placements at the center.

"We are aware of the perception that this practice may create," he wrote, "and as is the case with all of our policies and procedures, we will continue to evaluate the effectiveness and propriety of our current method of operation."

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Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.inquirer.com
The campaign against fake news was kicked off by the Twitter handle, @STFUIndianMedia.

The party has also repeatedly claimed that ruling BJP was tying to occupy the minds of the people through fake news and propaganda.

New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday launched its first online poll campaign, titled Shut The Fake UP, on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

The campaign against fake news was kicked off by the Twitter handle, @STFUIndianMedia.

Fake news and information has been in trend last 5 years, not anymore! Today we launch a surgical strike against this fake propaganda with #ShutTheFakeUp. No more fake, no more fraudulent!, it tweeted along with a short film on fake news.

When Unemployment Hits Nation and hits bad, media channels must sense an obligation to highlight this for the masses rather than focus over the attention seeking tactics of the ruling party, the handle added.

The entire plan on fake news being the first the-me for online campaign was cleared at the top levels of the party after the first clearance by the 13-member publicity committee, headed by senior leader and Rajya Sabha member Anand Sharma.

Other members of the committee include Congress chief spokespeson Randeep Surjewala, senior leaders Manish Tiwari, Pramod Tiwari and Rajeev Shukla. social media chief Divya Spandana and head of Data and Analytics department Praveen Chakravarty.

The Congress, which was caught napping by the aggressive social media presence of the Narendra Modi-led BJP in 2014, has worked hard to claw its way up into the digital minds of voters.

The party has also repeatedly claimed that ruling BJP was tying to occupy the minds of the people through fake news and propaganda.

Congress sources said that the fake news initiative was the beginning of a series of online campaigns planned by the Congress in the runup to the Lok Sabha polls.

After much differences among the members, the party earlier this week finally zeroed in on three companies  Designboxed, Silver Push and Nixon Advertising  to handle its Digital, Social Media and outdoor campaigns for the Lok Sabha polls.

There were also differences on the themes of the campaigns to be launched.

Sources said that all the initial suggestions were rejected by Congress president Rahul Gandhi and the companies were asked to come up with fresh themes and fake news was one of the topics which was unanimously accepted.

We have many more subject based online campaigns which we plan to roll out over the next few week in the run up to the general elections, the head of data analytics department, Praveen Chakravarty, told this newspaper.
NEW YORK (AP) - Federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a former suburban New York police officer charged in the kidnapping and killing of four men in 2016.

The decision, announced in court this week, marks the second capital prosecution announced by the Southern District of New York in the past six months and comes as federal prosecutors around the country are seeking the death penalty more frequently.

The former Briarcliff Manor police officer, Nicholas Tartaglione, is charged in what authorities described as the "gangland-style" killings of four men from Middletown, New York, who disappeared during a cocaine-related dispute at a bar in nearby Chester.

Prosecutors say their bodies were found buried on an Otisville property linked to Tartaglione. Authorities have said that one of the men appeared to be involved in a drug conspiracy but that some of the victims "were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Prosecutors are expected to outline their reasons for seeking capital punishment against Tartaglione in a court filing in the coming days. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office confirmed the decision, which had been several months in the making.

Tartaglione's defense attorney, Bruce Barket, said he was "extraordinarily disappointed" in the government's decision. The capital case, he said, could cost taxpayers "millions and millions of dollars" and is not appropriate, given the uncertainty of the evidence.

"In the best light for the government, it's unclear who did what to whom," Barket told The Associated Press, adding his client maintains his innocence. "You run the real possibility of executing somebody here for crimes that other people committed."

New York state no longer has the death penalty, but Tartaglione is eligible for the punishment because he was charged with the killings in federal court.

The U.S. Justice Department has sought the death penalty in more and more cases under President Donald Trump, an avid supporter of capital punishment, after a near moratorium on such prosecutions in President Barack Obama's last term.

In September, federal prosecutors in New York announced they would seek the death penalty against a man charged with using a truck to kill eight people on a New York City bike path.
GENEVA (AP) - U.N.-mediated talks aimed at resolving a decades-old standoff over Western Sahara failed to make headway on the key issue about how to provide for "self-determination" for the mineral-rich territory that is partially controlled by Morocco.

Former German President Horst Koehler, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' "personal envoy" for Western Sahara, said his aim during the two days of talks in Geneva that ended Friday was to "consolidate the positive dynamic" created in a first, groundbreaking meeting in December. He said he planned to host another meeting, but did not specify when.

Speaking to reporters, Koehler cautioned that "many positions are still fundamentally diverging" and that nobody should expect "a quick outcome."

The meeting brought together envoys from neighboring countries Algeria, Mauritania and Morocco, plus the Polisario Front independence movement. Last year, the U.N. Security Council called for accelerated efforts to reach a solution to a 43-year dispute over the territory.

Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita reiterated the North African kingdom's position that neither the word "referendum" nor "independence" should be used in any steps toward self-determination that the parties noted as an ambition of U.N. Security Council resolution 2440 of last year.

Morocco annexed the former Spanish colony in 1975 and fought the Polisario Front until the United Nations brokered a cease-fire in 1991 and set up a peacekeeping mission to monitor it.

Morocco has proposed wide-ranging autonomy for Western Sahara. But the Polisario Front insists the local population, which it estimates at 350,000 to 500,000, has the right to a referendum on the territory's future that was called for in the cease-fire but has never taken place.

"We must not relent in our search for a compromise," Koehler said.
NEW DELHI (AP) - India on Friday banned a pro-independence group in its portion of Kashmir as part of a crackdown on separatist organizations.

A government statement said it declared Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front an "unlawful association" as it tries to curb the activities of secessionist organizations posing a threat to the country's unity and integrity.

The group's leader, Yasin Malik, was arrested recently in a counteroffensive against dissent following a Feb. 14 suicide attack that killed 40 Indian soldiers in Kashmir. Over a thousand people have been arrested since then.

The government accused the group of raising money and distributing it to separatists to fuel unrest and subversive activities in the Kashmir Valley. The group didn't immediately offer a statement.

It was one of the pioneers of armed struggle in Kashmir and was banned in 1990. The ban wasn't extended after the group declared a unilateral cease-fire in 1994. Since then, it has challenged India's sovereignty in Kashmir politically.

In February, the Indian government declared another anti-India group, the Jamaat-e-Islami, an unlawful association. It said the group has been providing recruits, funding, shelter and logistics to a Pakistan-backed rebel organization, Hizbul Mujahideen.

FILE- In this Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016, file photo, Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chairman Yasin Malik, center, walks outside his home after he was detained by Indian police in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. India has banned a pro-independence group in its portion of Kashmir as part of a crackdown on separatist oganizations. A government statement Friday, March 22, 2019 says the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, led by Yasin Malik, has been declared as an "unlawful association'' to curb the activities of secessionist organizations posing a threat to the country's unity and integrity. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan, file)

Insurgent groups have been fighting for Kashmir's independence from India or its merger with Pakistan since 1989.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since they won independence from British colonialists in 1947. Both countries claim the region in its entirety and have fought two wars over its control.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training the insurgents, a charge that Islamabad denies. Pakistan says it provides only diplomatic and moral support to the rebels fighting Indian rule.

Tensions escalated last month after India launched an airstrike inside Pakistan, targeting militants blamed for the Feb. 14 suicide bombing on Indian paramilitary soldiers in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

Pakistan retaliated by shooting down two Indian planes and capturing a pilot, who was later returned to India. India says it lost one plane.

International pressure has helped prevent the situation from worsening between the two countries.
PARIS (AP) - French President Emmanuel Macron has addressed concerns about soldiers being deployed during yellow vest protests this weekend, saying they won't be in charge of maintaining public order.

Speaking Friday in Brussels, Macron said soldiers will protect sensitive sites. He says "those trying to scare people, or to scare themselves, are wrong."

Paris military governor Bruno Leray said on FranceInfo radio that French soldiers are authorized to open fire if they are threatened or other people's lives are at stake. He said they will ensure counterterrorism missions only, allowing police forces to focus on ensuring security during the 19th round of weekly anti-government demonstrations.

The French government announced new security measures and a ban on yellow vest protests along the Champs-Elysees in Paris and in two other cities following last week's destructive riots.

Tourists watch workers as they set up steel protections on the famed restaurant Fouquet's in Paris, Friday, March 22, 2019. French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that soldiers will be deployed across the country to help maintain security during yellow vest protests planned this weekend. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Workers set up steel protections on the famed restaurant Fouquet's of the Champs Elysees in Paris, Friday, March 22, 2019. French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that soldiers will be deployed across the country to help maintain security during yellow vest protests planned this weekend. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

A worker sets up protections on the famed restaurant Fouquet's of the Champs Elysees, in Paris, Friday, March 22, 2019. French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that soldiers will be deployed across the country to help maintain security during yellow vest protests planned this weekend. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Workers set up steel protections on a shop windows on the Champs-Elysees, Friday, March 22, 2019. French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that soldiers will be deployed across the country to help maintain security during yellow vest protests planned this weekend. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

A woman watches a worker as he sets up steel protections on the famed restaurant Fouquet's of the Champs Elysees in Paris, Friday, March 22, 2019. French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that soldiers will be deployed across the country to help maintain security during yellow vest protests planned this weekend. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a media conference at the conclusion of an EU summit in Brussels, Friday, March 22, 2019. European Union leaders gathered again Friday after deciding that the political crisis in Britain over Brexit poses too great a threat and that action is needed to protect the smooth running of the world's biggest trading bloc. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a media conference at the conclusion of an EU summit in Brussels, Friday, March 22, 2019. European Union leaders gathered again Friday after deciding that the political crisis in Britain over Brexit poses too great a threat and that action is needed to protect the smooth running of the world's biggest trading bloc. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press newspapers' top editor is leaving amid restructuring at the publications.

The Virginian-Pilot reports Friday that Tribune Publishing announced Marisa Porto's departure. She had been the Daily Press' editor and publisher since 2016 and The Virginian-Pilot's editor since shortly after Tribune bought the newspaper last year.

Porto previously led the Daily Press Media Group, which includes the Virginia Gazette and Tidewater Review. The publications under the two papers were combined to create Virginia Media.

Tribune executive Par Ridder told staff of Porto's departure Thursday, noting there will be a search for an editor overseeing all Virginia Media publications. Meanwhile, Managing Editor Ryan Gilchrest will oversee news coverage.

In a statement, Porto lauded colleagues' talent and dedication, saying they "make a difference every day" and she knows that will continue.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - An endangered federal program that has helped preserve the historic Route 66 Highway for two decades has issued its last call for grants aimed at saving aging buildings and landmarks.

The Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program is accepting grant applications until April 12, and it's not clear if Congress will continue the project after that. The program is set to end in the fall, and no agreement has been reached to keep it going.

At risk are millions of dollars in cost-share grants aimed at reviving old tourist spots in struggling towns.

The program has helped finance projects like the rehabilitating parts of the historic Rialto Theatre in Winslow, Arizona, and the Rock Cafe restoration in Stroud, Oklahoma. It's administered by the National Park Service.

"Failing to reauthorize this funding would do real damage to the 'Main Street of America,' hurting small businesses that have been left behind and leaving landmark locations to fall into disrepair," U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-New Mexico, said in a statement.

Udall said that's what he co-sponsored a proposal with Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, that seeks to designate Route 66 as a National Historic Trail. The bipartisan bill would amend the National Trails System Act and include Route 66 in an effort to help revitalize cities and small towns along the historic corridor. That bill is moving through Congress.

FILE - In this June 21, 2016, file photo, cars make their way along historic Route 66 in downtown Albuquerque, N.M. An endangered federal program that's helped preserve the historic Route 66 Highway for two decades is issuing its last call for grants in April 2019. At risk are millions of dollars in grants aimed at reviving old tourist spots in struggling towns. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)

U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland, D-Albuquerque, who is a member of Laguna Pueblo, said she remembers traveling along Route 66 as a child to visit her grandparents.

"The Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program is responsible for injecting economic activity into our City by preserving places like the El Vado Motel and the iconic neon signs that run up and down (Albuquerque's) Nob Hill," Haaland said.

Haaland said she's working with colleagues to look into "legislative options to provide a sustained source of funding for preserving Route 66."

Route 66, also called the "Mother Road," was born in 1926 after the Bureau of Public Roads launched the nation's first federal highway system, bringing together existing local and state roads from Chicago through St. Louis to Los Angeles. Small towns opened shops, motels and gas stations to pump revenue into local economies just as the nation's car culture took off.

One of the first roads in the U.S. highway system, it spanned more than 2,400 miles (3,862 kilometers). The highway ran through eight states, connecting tourists with friendly diners in small towns.

The route changed a number of times through the years. It eventually became less of a destination thanks to new interstate highways.

The World Monuments Fund in 2008 listed Route 66 on the "Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites."

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Follow Russell Contreras on Twitter at http://twitter.com/russcontreras

FILE - In this March 26, 2007, file photo, a rusted bridge sits along old Route 66 in Chelsea, Okla. An endangered federal program that's helped preserve the historic Route 66 Highway for two decades is issuing its last call for grants in April 2019. (AP Photo/Mel Root, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 11, 2009 file photo, Santo Plescia looks at the "End of the Trail" sign for Route 66 on the Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif. An endangered federal program that's helped preserve the historic Route 66 Highway for two decades is issuing its last call for grants in April 2019. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, File)

FILE - This Jan. 13, 2017, file photo, shows the Route 66 Casino outside of Albuquerque, N.M., along the historic Route 66. An endangered federal program that's helped preserve the historic Route 66 Highway for two decades is issuing its last call for grants in April 2019. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras, File)
NEW YORK (AP) - CNN's Dana Bash is learning the perils of doing personality profiles in a political city that's always on a war footing.

She's received a social media roasting this week for featuring White House adviser Kellyanne Conway as part of her ongoing feature series, "Badass Women of Washington." It was first distributed online late Wednesday, and it's unclear how much of it has been shown on the television networks.

Philippe Reines, a longtime communications adviser to Hillary Clinton, urged Bash on Twitter to "stop, just stop" and compared Conway to Joseph Goebbels, propaganda minister for Nazi Germany.

Bash's series was born two years ago, when she and co-workers wondered what Clinton's loss to Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election would mean for women working in Washington. Other profile subjects have included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Republican National Committee head Ronna Romney McDaniel, California Sen. Diane Feinstein and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

Some of Bash's online critics likened the Conway profile to "putting lipstick on a pig" and said Bash was shameless for posting a soft profile on a week that Conway's boss, President Donald Trump, has been aggressively criticizing Conway's husband. When Maggie Haberman, White House reporter for The New York Times, retweeted it as a timely story "from the great Dana Bash," she was attacked online, too.

Bash declined comment and a CNN spokeswoman would not immediately make anyone else available at the network to talk about it. Only Reines' comment drew a response from the CNN Washington correspondent on social media.

FILE - In this Feb. 22, 2019 photo, Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington. President Donald Trump is escalating his increasingly awkward public fight with the spouse of a top aide. Trump is continuing to target Kellyanne Conway's husband on Twitter, calling him "a stone cold LOSER" and "husband from hell!" That's after George Conway, an attorney, repeatedly criticized Trump and questioned the president's mental health. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

"I was ignoring your rants until you brought in the Holocaust," Bash wrote. "As the granddaughter of those who barely escaped the Nazis I implore you to take a deep breath."

Replied Reines: "I know your background, Dana. Invoking it won't shame me or spare you."

It must have felt a little familiar to Bash, whose Pelosi profile last November followed a similar outline: an interview about what it was like for a woman to work in Washington combined with a visit to where they spent their formative years.

She trailed Pelosi to Baltimore's Little Italy, buying chocolate ice cream in one of the speaker's favorite shops; Conway showed her a childhood home in working class southern New Jersey, where she was "Blueberry Princess" one year.

She was attacked for the Pelosi piece, too, only from a different side of the Internet.

The conservative web site Red State wrote that the Pelosi "puff piece" signaled that CNN was preparing to do what it could to help Democrats advance their agenda. Similarly, the Media Research Center's NewsBusters site wrote that CNN was gushing over Pelosi.

"In 2019, Americans should be ready for the tough, speak-truth-to-power CNN journalists to turn into kittens as Democrats take power in the House," wrote Scott Whitlock for NewsBusters.

It's worth wondering whether the idea of journalists trying to show a human side of easy-to-caricature public figures is outdated in today's anger-fueled climate.

"In-depth pieces, profile pieces are a helpful and insightful part of covering people in power," said veteran television executive Kate O'Brian. "However, the current era is so polarized and dealing with social media makes it more challenging to do these kind of pieces. It doesn't make it any less important for them to be done."

The timing of Bash's Conway piece was awkward, since it didn't allow for a direct response to the president's current attacks on her husband. Some consider her an unworthy subject given her job defending an administration known for making false statements. The CNN story described Conway as "relentlessly on message." Bash said "people love to love you and people love to hate you."

Only a week ago, CNN's Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon revisited on the air a subject that continually vexes them: whether Conway deserves to be on the network at all. Lemon said that it's "beneath the dignity of this network" to interview Conway.

Cuomo said the public deserves the chance to hear from the person that the president puts forth to defend his interests.

"If you are going to limit who you have on the show to people who only answer the questions and are truthful, you are going to be alone a lot of the time," Cuomo said.

Erik Wemple, media critic for The Washington Post, in effect took Lemon's side in arguing that Bash's piece on Conway was a misfire. You can do inspiring stories about the rises to power of everyone else profiled on "Badass Women of Washington," he wrote.

"You cannot do likewise for Conway," he wrote, "because there's nothing inspiring about her role in defending presidential racism, misogyny and dishonesty. The old rules of balance, both-siderism and bipartisanship don't work with this crew, a lesson that CNN has been slow to grasp."
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A Florida man convicted of setting off a pipe bomb in his backyard has been sentenced to a year in prison.

Court records show that 61-year-old Joseph Caltagirone was sentenced Friday in Tampa federal court. He pleaded guilty in December to possessing an unregistered destructive device.

Tampa police say the bomb squad happened to be conducting training last April when they heard a loud explosion. They followed a greyish-white smoke plume to Caltagirone's home, where they found PVC piping, hobby fuse, and chemicals commonly used to make explosives. Investigators also reported finding a pipe bomb that contained an explosive mixture of Tannerite.

A plea agreement says authorities found no evidence that Caltagirone intended to harm anyone.
BEIRUT (AP) - President Donald Trump's move to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights turns the tables on decades of U.S. diplomacy and international law and threatens to further inflame regional tensions.

It is unlikely, though, to have much impact on the actual status of the territory, where Israel acts with full military control despite the lack of international recognition for its annexation 38 years ago.

A look at the Golan Heights:

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WHAT IS ITS POLITICAL AND STRATEGIC SIGNIFICANCE?

The Golan Heights is a strategic high ground at the southwestern corner of Syria with stunning, broad views of both Israel and Syria below. It is roughly about 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) and borders the Sea of Galilee. Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed it in 1981, a move that was never recognized by any country in the world.

FILE - In this July 16, 2013, file photo, Israeli soldiers sit in a position on the border with Syria on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights as smoke rises following explosions of mortar shells. President Donald Trump's move to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights turns the tables on decades of U.S. diplomacy and international law and threatens to further inflame regional tensions. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)

U.N. Security Council resolution 497, issued after the annexation, refers to Israel's action as "null and void and without international legal effect."

For then-Syrian President Hafez Assad, the father of current leader Bashar Assad, the loss of the Golan Heights left a gaping wound, and he held various rounds of talks with the Israelis aimed at recovering the territory. The two sides appeared close to a deal in 2000, but disagreement over its fate ultimately foiled the talks.

For Bashar Assad, recovering the territory has been more of a rallying cry than a genuine concern. The civil war in Syria over the past eight years has been the priority and the areas adjacent to the Golan nearly fell to the rebels at one point .

Having recovered those areas with Russia's help, Assad and his allies will likely seize on Trump's move to renew its claims to the Golan. The Syrian government said in a statement Friday it is now more intent on liberating the Golan, "using every possible means."

WHO LIVES THERE?

The Golan front has been mostly quiet since 1974, a year after Hafez Assad mounted a failed attempt to retake the plateau. The U.N. Disengagement Observer Force, known as UNDOF, was established to monitor the cease-fire in May 1974 by a U.N. Security Council resolution.

Israel has built dozens of settlements in the Golan over the years, with an estimated 26,000 Jewish settlers living there as of 2019. Roughly the same number of Arabs live there, most of them members of the Druze sect of Shiite Islam.

Settlers have built wineries, boutique hotels and a ski resort, transforming the picturesque area into a popular region for Israel's domestic tourism. The Sea of Galilee is also Israel's main reservoir.

In contrast to the Palestinian territories captured in 1967, the Golan has remained quiet under Israeli rule. While most of the Golan's Druze have chosen not to take Israeli citizenship, they hold Israeli residency status that gives them the right to travel and work freely. Residents speak Hebrew.

Still, the community largely sees itself as inextricably linked to Syria. Many of the families living in the occupied Golan are separated from family in Syria. In past years, particularly before digital technology, they communicated with their brethren on the Syrian side through megaphones placed on two opposite sides of a valley named the "valley of tears." Before the war, brides would often cross at the border pass of Quneitra.

WILL TRUMP'S DECISION HAVE AN IMPACT?

Trump's decision won't change the status of the Golan as occupied territory in the eyes of the U.N. and most of the international community, although it may not be easy for a successor to reverse a decision once it has been made.

Michael J. Koplow, policy director of the Israel Policy Forum in Washington, said Trump's move may even signal to Israeli politicians that they can argue for the annexation of the West Bank.

It could embolden other leaders who have seized territory in violation of international norms, such as Russia's action in 2014, when it seized Crimea from Ukraine .

"This has a huge impact in terms of condoning occupation and has very negative implications if you're looking for peace in the Middle East," said Nikolaos Van Dam, an expert on Syrian War and former special envoy of the Netherlands to Syria.

WHAT ABOUT ARAB REACTION?

Trump's decision could be, in a way, a boost for Assad as well as Iran, Hezbollah and the so-called axis of resistance, allowing them to change the conversation and switch focus from the Syrian civil war to Israel's occupation of the Golan.

The Arab world is divided, and U.S. and Israeli officials may be betting no one will go to battle for Assad at this point.

Still, Arab occupied land remains a sensitive topic, even though Gulf countries may be more interested right now in partnering with Israel against Iran than in upholding notions of Arab nationalism. Even regional states opposed to Assad, while they may secretly rejoice at Trump's decision, will find it difficult to support it publicly.

The head of the Arab League, which suspended Syria's membership in 2011 over his handling of the civil war, rejected Trump's move and said the League fully supports Syrian sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

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DeBre reported from Jerusalem.

FILE - In this October 1973, file photo, Israeli soldiers look at a long row of burned-out Syrian T-62 tanks hit at the entrance of a village, background, during the Mideast War in the Golan Heights. The Golan front has been mostly quiet since 1974, a year after Syria and Israel fought a war during which Damascus tried unsuccessfully tried to retake the plateau. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - In this Oct. 9, 1967, file photo, an Israeli column passes a burning Syrian tank in the Golan Heights as they head toward the fighting on the Israeli-Syrian front. The Golan Heights is a strategic high ground at the southwestern corner of Syria with stunning broad views of both Israel and Syria below. Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed it in 1981, a move that was never recognized by any country in the world. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - In this Feb. 14, 2014, file photo, Druze protesters participate in a rally in Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights, demanding the return of the territory captured by Israel in 1967, near the Syrian border. The annual demonstration protests the 1981 Israeli law in which the Jewish state annexed the strategic plateau it captured from Syria in 1967. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File)

FILE - In this March 11, 2019, file photo, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, center, Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, left, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, right, visit the border between Israel and Syria in the Israeli-held Golan Heights. Graham says he will push for American recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a territory Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool Photo via AP, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2016, file photo, an Israeli Merkava Mark 4 tank drives close to livestock during an exercise in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, near the border with Syria. President Donald Trump's move to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights turns the tables on decades of U.S. diplomacy and international law and threatens to further inflame regional tensions. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)

Tourists visit an old military outpost overlooking to Syria in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights, Friday, March 22, 2019. President Donald Trump abruptly declared Thursday the U.S. will recognize Israel's sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, a major shift in American policy that gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political boost a month before what is expected to be a close election.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Tourists pose for photograph next to a mock road sign for Damascus, the capital of Syria, and other capitals and cities and a cutout of a soldier, in an old outpost in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights near the border with Syria, Friday, March 22, 2019. President Donald Trump abruptly declared Thursday the U.S. will recognize Israel's sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, a major shift in American policy that gives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a political boost a month before what is expected to be a close election.(AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

FILE - In this Sunday, June 5, 2011, file photo, Israeli troops take positions, front, as pro-Palestinian protesters approach the border between Israel and Syria near the village of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights. Israeli troops had earlier opened fire at a crowd of protesters who tried to break into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights from neighboring Syria in a burst of violence marking the Arab defeat in the 1967 Mideast War. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File)

FILE - In this June 5, 2011, file photo, Israeli Druze men watch as pro-Palestinian protesters approach the Israel-Syria border in the Golan Heights. The area is a strategic high ground at the southwestern corner of Syria with stunning, broad views of both Israel and Syria below. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File)

FILE - In this March 8, 2013, file photo, a U.N. peacekeeper stands guard on a watch tower at the Quneitra Crossing between Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. The Golan Heights is a strategic high ground at the southwestern corner of Syria with stunning, broad views of both Israel and Syria below. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)

FILE - In this August 2014, file photo, metal boards in the shape of gunmen sit on an old bunker at an observation point on Mount Bental in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights, overlooking the border with Syria. The Golan front has been mostly quiet since 1974, a year after Syria and Israel fought a war during which Damascus unsuccessfully tried to retake the plateau. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)

FILE - In this April 17, 2018, file photo, Druze men carry Syrian flags during a rally marking Syria's Independence Day, in the Druze village of Ein Qiniyye, Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Israel has built dozens of settlements in the Golan over the years, with an estimated 26,000 Jewish settlers living there as of 2019. Roughly the same number of Arabs live in the area, most of them members of the Druze sect. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump's meeting with leaders from the Caribbean (all times local):

3:45 p.m.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says President Donald Trump is committed to preventing President Nicolas Maduro and his regime from stealing Venezuela's resources for personal gain.

Sanders' statement comes after the Trump administration sanctioned a major Venezuelan bank and four subsidiary banks.

Sanders says Maduro and his regime are using the banks as slush funds to evade United States sanctions and to move money out of Venezuela.

The sanctions were announced by the Treasury Department after the arrest Thursday in Caracas of an aide to opposition leader Juan Guaido. The U.S. views Guaido as Venezuela's interim president.

President Donald Trump, right, meets with Caribbean leaders at Mar-A Lago, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Palm Beach, Fla. From left are Saint Lucia's Prime Minister Allen Michael Chastanet, Haiti President Jovenel Moise,Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina, Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Bahama Prime Minister Hubert Minnis. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Sanders says the U.S. will continue to take steps to pressure Maduro and his regime until they step out of the way and allow a democratic transition to occur under Guaido.

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2:40 p.m.

The U.S. Treasury Department says it has sanctioned BANDES, Venezuela's national development bank, and four additional subsidiaries that BANDES owns or controls.

The department says the sanctions are in response to the illegal arrest of Roberto Marrero, chief of staff to opposition leader Juan Guaido. It's the latest salvo in the battle for power between in Venezuela between President Nicolas Maduro and Guaido.

Treasury made the announcement while the president was meeting Friday with leaders from five Caribbean nations.

The U.S. had already sanctioned scores of top Venezuelan officials and has blocked U.S. banks from doing business with Venezuela, putting a financial strangle-hold on the cash-strapped country.

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12:10 a.m.

The political and economic crisis in Venezuela tops the agenda of President Donald Trump's meeting Friday with leaders from the Caribbean, a region that has been far from united in joining the U.S. call for the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro.

Trump is hosting leaders of Jamaica, Bahamas, Haiti, Dominican Republic and St. Lucia at his affluent Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida to show his support for Caribbean countries that back democratic transition in Venezuela. The five have either denounced Maduro, or have joined more than 50 countries in recognizing Juan Guaido as the interim leader.

The crisis has put some Caribbean nations in a tough spot.

For years, Venezuela has provided then with a reliable supply of oil on low-credit terms, leaving them indebted to Caracas.

President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order requiring colleges to certify that their policies support free speech as a condition of receiving federal research grants, Thursday March 21, 2019, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 24)  Elizabeth Goyal, 42, was diagnosed with tuberculosis (TB) in July 2016.

While there was an available treatment for the disease, her battle for recovery was tough.

Upon learning about her condition, Goyal immediately sought treatment from local Tuberculosis-Directly Observed Treatment Strategy (TB-DOTS) center, where she was given free regular medicines.

Her struggle, however, did not end.

"Umiinom ako tatlong tablet araw araw bago mag-almusal. Tatlong buwan na ako umiinom, napansin ko naninilaw ang katawan ko, namamaga ang tiyan ko, hindi na naman ako makakain," she recounted.

"'Yun nga nakita na tinamaan daw ang atay ko kakainom ng gamot," she said.

[Translation: I take three tablets every day before breakfast. I've taken medicines for three months now, and I noticed that I'm turning yellow, may stomach is swelling, and I can't eat.]

This prompted her to stop taking the prescribed medicines, leading to an even worse scenario.

Elizabeth Goyal

In November 2016, Goyal began losing her strength again. She was also experiencing severe cough, sore throat and back painall common symptoms of TB.

"Halos binubuhat na ko papuntang CR. Hindi na naman ako makakain, hinang hina na ko. 'Yung isip ko iba na, parang masisiraan na yata ako ng ulo nung bumalik yung sakit ko," she said.

[Translation: They almost carried me to the toilet. I couldn't eat, I was so weak. I got confused when my sickness recurred.]

Goyal was diagnosed with multidrug-resistant TB, a form of the disease that does not respond to first-line drug and can be passed from person to person through the air.

"'Yung anak ko iyak nang iyak noon, akala yata mamatay na ako. Sabi ko naman kung ito na ang panahon ko iiwanan ko na kayo, eh 'di tanggapin na natin kasi di ko na rin kaya noon, parang mamamatay na rin ako," she said.

[Translation: My child was crying at the time, thinking I would die. I said if this is my time, let's just accept it because I couldn't take it anymore. It's as if I was going to die.]

Despite losing hope, Goyal still sought the help of a local doctor to extend her life.

She was given regular treatment, which included over 33 kinds of medicines that she would hardly swallow everyday.

With discipline in following her regular medicines, coupled with her determination to live longer for her family, Goyal gained back her strength and is now on a way better condition.

"Apat na buwan parang nakaka-recover na ko, parang lumalakas na ako, gusto ko na bumangon, ayaw ko na sa wheelchair," she said.

"Bumalik na sa normal ang buhay ko. Kahit alam ng iba na nagkasakit ako, nagka-TB ako, hindi naman ako nahihiya kasi nagpagamot ako tapos gumaling naman ako," she added.

[Translation: It's been four months since I somehow have recovered. I seem getting strong, wanting to get up, and I don't want to use a wheelchair anymore.]

While Goyal's battle against TB is a story of success, many remain helpless and struggling against the disease. Some even die learning about their condition late.

Despite the massive efforts of both public and private sectors to combat the disease, TB still carries a stigma. It remains as the leading infectious disease killer in the world, with 1.6 million related deaths recorded per year worldwide.

In a bid to end stigma on TB, several companies are amplifying their initiatives to raise awareness about the disease  one of which is pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson.

The company recently launched its comprehensive 10-year commitment in support of global efforts to end TB by 2030. Its program focuses on improving access to treatment, accelerating how patients are identified, and advancing research and development efforts to create tomorrow's TB treatment regimens.

"It's time for people to be more aware of tuberculosis," Cat Oyler, vice president of Global Public Health at Johnson & Johnson, said.

"It's time for patients to be heard, to remove the stigma associated with TB, and for us all to commit to continue innovating in the fight against TB. This is a winnable battle. It is time to end this disease now," Oyler said.
In its seventh list of candidates announced in New Delhi on Friday night, the party declared its picks for nine Lok Sabha seats.

Bhopal: Ending weeklong speculation, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath on Saturday declared that veteran party leader Digvijay Singh would contest from Bhopal Lok Sabha seat, considered a BJP bastion, in the upcoming polls.

Barely an hour after the announcement, saffron leader Sadhvi Pragyan who has recently been acquitted in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, declared that she was ready to fight against Mr Singh in Bhopal to settle her personal score with him. I am ready to take on Mr Singh, if BJP decides. I consider enemy of the country is my enemy. I consider Digvijay Singh as my enemy, she told reporters. Sadhvi was being treated for cancer in an ayurvedic hospital.

Earlier, attending the meet-the-press programme, Mr Nath said, The Central Election Committee (CEC) of the party has decided that Digvijay Singh will contest from Bhopal.

Mr Nath said, I had earlier asked Digvijay Singhji to choose one of the three difficult constituencies, Bhopal, Indore and Jabalpur, to contest from, instead of opting for Rajgarh seat. The CEC has decided to field him in Bhopal.

Last week, the chief minister had literally thrown a challenge at Mr Singh asking him to choose the toughest seat to contest from if he desired to enter the fray in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Meanwhile, the Congress has changed the seat allotted to its Uttar Pradesh unit chief Raj Babbar from Moradabad to Fatehpur Sikri, in an apparent bid to make the Lok Sabha contest easier for the actor-turned-politician.

In its seventh list of candidates announced in New Delhi on Friday night, the party declared its picks for nine Lok Sabha seats.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump criticized European auto makers Friday, suggesting he could impose tariffs on imports from companies such as BMW and Mercedes unless they build more plants in the United States.

In an interview with Fox Business Network's Maria Bartiromo, Trump said that he has rejected proposals from the European Union that would bring auto tariffs on both sides to zero.

"They have BMW, they have Mercedes, they have a lot of very good cars that come in," Trump said of Germany. "I want them to make them here. ... If you're going to sell them to the Americans, make them here."

Trump's comments come roughly a month after the Commerce Department completed an investigation into whether auto imports threaten national security and forwarded its conclusions to the White House.

The results of the report haven't been released. But Derek Scissors, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, said he has seen a copy and that it concludes auto imports threaten national security by worsening the trade deficit.

The president has until roughly mid-May to decide what action to take, if any, in response to the report. He could impose tariffs of up to 25 percent on all auto and auto parts imports, or a just on specific items from specific countries.

The prospect of such duties has sparked strong opposition on Capitol Hill, where they have been criticized by members of Congress from both parties. Most White House officials oppose them too, analysts say.

"I don't think there's any official in the White House that supports" auto tariffs, said David Dollar, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

The U.S. auto industry also opposes the duties, because they use imported auto parts, which would be more expensive if the tariffs were imposed.

In his interview on Fox Business Network, Trump said that eliminating tariffs on all auto trade wouldn't necessarily help U.S. automakers.

"The problem is that the Chevrolet will never be accepted in Europe like the Mercedes is accepted here, so it's not a good deal," he said.

He also praised the 25 percent tariff the United States imposes pickup truck imports, a legacy of a decades-old trade fight with Germany.

"That's our best segment by far," he said.
A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these is legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked these out. Here are the real facts:

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CLAIM: Beto O'Rourke gave a remaining $4.5 million from his unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign to Texas Democrats and the party returned it to him on the day he announced his presidential campaign.

THE FACTS: The Texas Democratic Party did not give $4.5 million to O'Rourke's presidential campaign as social media posts suggest. O'Rourke did give that amount from his Senate campaign to the party ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, but the party spent it before he launched his presidential campaign. O'Rourke's announcement that he had raised $6.1 million online 24 hours after entering the race led to social media posts questioning whether the amount showed he had grassroots support. The issue was raised in a tweet by a supporter of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders who noted that O'Rourke had not released information on individual donors. According to a review of federal campaign data, O'Rourke's U.S. Senate campaign fund made several donations totaling $4.5 million to the state's Democratic Party in September and October. The state party spent more than $8.1 million between Oct. 1 and the end of the year, leaving the party with only $264,164 at the end of February. O'Rourke launched his campaign March 14. The Associated Press reported that O'Rourke said his first-day $6.1 million in donations came from 128,000-plus contributions. Sanders also raised about $6 million for his presidential campaign in the first 24 hours, which he said came from 225,000 donors. In an email, a Texas Democratic party spokesman confirmed the state party has not donated to O'Rourke's presidential campaign.

--AP Writers Beatrice Dupuy in New York and Amanda Seitz in Chicago reported this item.

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FILE - In this Thursday, March 21, 2019 file photo, former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke addresses a gathering during a campaign stop at a restaurant in Manchester, N.H. On Friday, March 22, 2018, The Associated Press has found that stories circulating on the internet that O'Rourke gave the remaining $4.5 million from his unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign to Texas Democrats and the party returned it to him on the day he announced his presidential campaign, are untrue. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

CLAIM: Tom Ford refuses to dress Melania Trump: "I have no interest in dressing a glorified escort who steals speeches and has bad taste in men." -tweets

THE FACTS: Designer Tom Ford did not make that statement. The fabricated quote was trending Tuesday on Twitter and was shared widely, including from the account of rapper 50 Cent, who has 10 million followers. A spokeswoman for Tom Ford released a statement on Twitter saying, "This is an absolutely fabricated and completely fake quote that somehow went viral. Mr. Ford did not make this statement; it is completely false." The company confirmed that statement in an email to the AP. The false claim also circulated online in 2016. Ford did say during an appearance on "The View" that year - shortly after Donald Trump was elected president - that he had been asked to dress Melania Trump before she became first lady and he declined. "She's not necessarily my image," he said. Ford also noted he is a Democrat, voted for Hillary Clinton and was disappointed she didn't win. But, Ford added that he didn't think either of the women should wear his clothes because he thinks they need to be relatable to the public and his clothes are "too expensive."

--AP Writer Chloe Kim in Washington reported this item.

CLAIM: Nearly nude person with words written on body is said to be Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke.

THE FACTS: A photo of a person with words such as "feminist," ''naturist" and "atheist" written on their body is not O'Rourke, despite posts that circulated widely on social media after he announced his run for president on March 14. The person in the photo is wearing red lipstick, a flower in their hair and a leaf-adorned thong. The caption reads: "REMIND EVERYONE OF THIS PIC WHEN THIS FOOL SAYS HE IS GONNA RUN FOR PRESIDENT. THIS IS ROBERT O'ROURKE (beto)." The photo, which can be found in Getty Images archives, was taken during a gay pride parade in Athens, Greece, on Jun. 11, 2016, according to its caption information. The photographer, Giorgos Georgiou, told the AP that the person in the photo is a "well-known Greek citizen" named Jason-Antigone Dane. Dane was featured in a 2017 article from the Athens Voice titled, "Jason-Antigone talks about how to be a non-binary person in Athens." Chris Evans, O'Rourke's communications director, confirmed that "the photo is not of Beto."

--AP Writer Chloe Kim reported this item from Washington.

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This is part of The Associated Press' ongoing effort to fact-check misinformation that is shared widely online.

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Find all AP Fact Checks here: https://www.apnews.com/tag/APFactCheck

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BLUFFDALE, Utah (AP) - The remains of a World War II pilot have been laid to rest in his home state of Utah after being returned from Germany.

The Salt Lake City Tribune reported that the burial for Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield came 74 years to the day German anti-aircraft fire hit his bomber and he crashed just months before the war ended.

Hadfield's daughter, Mary Ann Turner, mourned her father, who died when she was 2. After the funeral Thursday, she said an "emptiness is filled" and she had finally found peace.

A researcher found evidence of a crash in 2016 about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the German city of Dulmen. DNA analysis confirmed the remains belonged to the 26-year-old from Salt Lake City and two crew members.

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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com

Mary Ann Turner, the daughter of 2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield, places a flower on his casket during his graveside service at Veterans Memorial Park in Bluffdale, Utah, Thursday, March 21, 2019. The Salt Lake City Tribune reported Thursday that Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield's remains, returned from Germany, were buried 74 years to the day of Hadfield's crash during a bomber plane run from France to Germany just months before the war's end. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

Mary Ann Turner, the daughter of 2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield, watches the Honor Guard fold up the American flag during the graveside service for her father at Veterans Memorial Park in Bluffdale, Utah, Thursday, March 21, 2019. The Salt Lake City Tribune reported Thursday that Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield's remains, returned from Germany, were buried 74 years to the day of Hadfield's crash during a bomber plane run from France to Germany just months before the war's end. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

Major Jon Richardson, of the Utah National Guard, comforts Mary Ann Turner, the daughter of 2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield, after the graveside service for her father at Veterans Memorial Park in Bluffdale, Utah, Thursday, March 21, 2019. The Salt Lake City Tribune reported Thursday that Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield's remains, returned from Germany, were buried 74 years to the day of Hadfield's crash during a bomber plane run from France to Germany just months before the war's end. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

A member of the Honor Guard presents Mary Ann Turner, the daughter of 2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield, the flag from her father's casket during the graveside service for him at Veterans Memorial Park in Bluffdale, Utah, Thursday, March 21, 2019. The Salt Lake City Tribune reported Thursday that Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield's remains, returned from Germany, were buried 74 years to the day of Hadfield's crash during a bomber plane run from France to Germany just months before the war's end. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

The Honor Guard carries the casket of 2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield during funeral services at Veterans Memorial Park in Bluffdale, Utah, Thursday, March 21, 2019. The Salt Lake City Tribune reported Thursday that Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield's remains, returned from Germany, were buried 74 years to the day of Hadfield's crash during a bomber plane run from France to Germany just months before the war's end. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

Roy Solt, 92, who was in the Navy in World War II, visits with Mary Ann Turner, the daughter of 2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield, at Veterans Memorial Park, in Bluffdale, Utah, Thursday, March 21, 2019. The Salt Lake City Tribune reported Thursday that Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield's remains, returned from Germany, were buried 74 years to the day of Hadfield's crash during a bomber plane run from France to Germany just months before the war's end. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)

The funeral procession for 2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield arrives at Veterans Memorial Park, in Bluffdale, Utah, Thursday, March 21, 2019. Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Lynn W. Hadfield's remains were buried 74 years to the day of Hadfield's crash during a bomber plane run from France to Germany just months before the war's end. (Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP)
DALLAS (AP) - Federal prosecutors say they will not pursue charges at this time against the teenager accused of fatally shooting 10 people at a Texas high school.

Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 18, faces a state capital murder trial for the deadly shooting last May at Santa Fe High School that also wounded 13 people.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas says prosecutors and FBI agents met with the victims and family members Tuesday and that no federal charges will be filed at this time. A spokeswoman declined to say whether Pagourtzis might face future federal prosecution.

If convicted in state court, Pagourtzis could be sentenced to life in prison. But he has the possibility of parole after 40 years because he was a minor at the time of the shooting.
A defrocked Roman Catholic priest who was convicted of molesting two young brothers in New Jersey is now teaching English to children in the Dominican Republic.

NBC News reports Friday that Hadmels DeFrias says he's no longer a threat and doesn't "see the children with those eyes anymore."

DeFrias, who is originally from the Dominican Republic, was accused of fondling the boys, who were both under 14, in 2001 and 2002. He pleaded guilty to criminal sexual contact in 2004.

DeFrias told NBC News that officials with the Colegio del Caribe school in Punta Cana know of his past. They did not respond to calls for comment from NBC.

The 47-year-old said he doesn't "feel the attraction" to children anymore but "I'm not telling you that maybe someday it won't be there."
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The Latest on a court hearing on the Trump administration's policy of returning asylum seekers to Mexico (all times local):

1:15 p.m.

A U.S. judge says civil rights groups seeking to block the Trump administration's policy of returning asylum seekers to Mexico had cleared basic requirements to bring their case.

But Judge Richard Seeborg appeared skeptical at a hearing on Friday of one of their key arguments in favor of an order stopping the policy while a lawsuit challenging it moves forward.

The lawsuit says the policy violates U.S. law by failing to adequately evaluate the dangers that migrants face in Mexico.

The administration says the policy is in response to a crisis at the southern border that has overwhelmed the ability of immigration officials to detain migrants.

FILE - In this Tuesday, March 19, 2019, file photo, two men, both of Honduras, gather with attorneys to pray before crossing into the United States to begin their asylum cases after being returned to Mexico in Tijuana, Mexico. A U.S. judge in San Francisco will scrutinize the Trump administration's policy of returning asylum seekers to Mexico during a court hearing Friday, March 22, 2019, to help him decide whether to block the practice. Civil rights groups have asked Judge Richard Seeborg to put the asylum policy on hold while their lawsuit moves forward. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

Seeborg said the plaintiffs had authority to bring the case, and the court could hear it. But he questioned the argument that the policy violated a U.S. law that allows the return of immigrants to Mexico.

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10:15 p.m.

The Trump administration's policy of returning asylum seekers to Mexico will face scrutiny from a U.S. judge in San Francisco.

Judge Richard Seeborg has scheduled a hearing Friday to help him decide whether to block the policy while a lawsuit moves forward. He's not expected to rule immediately.

The lawsuit by civil liberties groups claims the policy violates U.S. law by failing to adequately evaluate the dangers that migrants face in Mexico.

It also accuses the administration of depriving migrants of their right to apply for asylum by making it difficult or impossible to prepare their cases.

The administration says the policy is in response to a crisis at the southern border that has overwhelmed the ability of immigration officials to detain migrants.
ELKHART, Ind. (AP) - Two Indiana police officers who are seen on video repeatedly punching a handcuffed man were charged with a federal civil rights crime.

Cory Newland and Joshua Titus of the Elkhart Police Department were indicted by a grand jury Thursday on a charge of depriving Mario Ledesma of his rights through excessive force. Police video shows them punching Ledesma after he spat at Newland while sitting handcuffed in a chair at the police station in January 2018.

Newland and Titus have been on leave since November and have pleaded not guilty to separate state charges. Titus' attorney, Edward Merchant, said the indictment was disappointing.

"Although we continue to investigate this matter, we remain confident that Officer Titus' actions were objectively reasonable," he said Friday.

But Grant Mendenhall, who heads the FBI in Indianapolis, said abuse of power won't be tolerated.

"The alleged actions by these individuals went against everything in the oath they took to serve and protect," he said.

Elkhart is in northern Indiana, 100 miles (161 kilometers) east of Chicago. In February, Mayor Tim Neese said a former federal prosecutor would conduct an assessment of the Elkhart Police Department, including use of force.

A new chief was named in January after the previous police chief, Ed Windbigler, downplayed the beating. Windbigler reprimanded the officers, saying they "went a little overboard."
POPLACA, Romania (AP) - Romanian children and youth spin burning tires and light fires in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual that marks the beginning of Orthodox Lent.

Dozens of young residents gathered on a hill outside the village of Poplaca, in the foothills of the Cindrel mountains on March 10, a day before the annual "Clean Monday" ritual, which is traditionally believed to ward off evil spirits before the onset of Lent.

As night fell, teenagers spin around flaming old car tires attached to metal chains, spraying burning rubber and making loud noises.

The children, some with their faces blackened from soot, jumped over fires during the festivities outside the village, about 315 kilometers (200 miles) northwest of Bucharest.

Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter on April 28 this year, a week later than Western Christians. Clean Monday, also known as Pure Monday and Ash Monday, traditionally begins on the Sunday evening before, and is seen as the last opportunity for culinary excess and partying before Lent begins.

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a young man spins a burning tire on a metal chain, during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a young man spins a burning tire on a metal chain during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a boy walks holding a metal chain, during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a children sit on tires during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this picture taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a children and youngsters stand by burning tires during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, children spin burning tires during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a young man spins a burning tire on a metal chain during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a boy pauses during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a little girl struggles to lift a tire during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a child cries after arguing with another during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a little girl spins a burning tire on a metal chain during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a little girl laughs during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a young man spins a burning tire on a metal chain during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a little girl rests leaning against used tires during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this picture taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a young man spins a burning tire on a metal chain during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a little girl laughs lifting a tire before a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a young man throws a tire during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this picture taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, children jump after pushing a burning tire during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a young man spins a burning tire on a metal chain during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a young man spins a burning tire on a metal chain during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a young man runs to stop a burning tire on a metal chain from rolling downhill during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a boy holds a tire, during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, a child spins a burning tire on a metal chain, during a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In this photo taken on Sunday, March 10, 2019, children play with used tires before a ritual marking the upcoming Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, 40 days ahead of Orthodox Easter, on the hills surrounding the village of Poplaca, in central Romania's Transylvania region. Romanian villagers burn piles of used tires then spin them in the Transylvanian hills in a ritual they believe will ward off evil spirits as they begin a period of 40 days of abstention, when Orthodox Christians cut out meat, fish, eggs, and dairy. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Special counsel Robert Mueller did not find evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election but reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice, Attorney General William Barr declared Sunday. That brought a hearty claim of vindication from Trump but set the stage for new rounds of political and legal fighting.

Trump cheered the outcome but also laid bare his resentment after two years of investigations that have shadowed his administration. "It's a shame that our country has had to go through this. To be honest, it's a shame that your president has had to go through this," he said.

Democrats pointed out that Mueller found evidence for and against obstruction and demanded to see his full report. They insisted that even the summary by the president's attorney general hardly put him in the clear.

Mueller's conclusions, summarized by Barr in a four-page letter to Congress, represented a victory for Trump on a key question that has hung over his presidency from the start: Did his campaign work with Russia to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton? That was further good news for the president on top of the Justice Department's earlier announcement that Mueller had wrapped his investigation without new indictments. The resolution also could deflate the hopes of Democrats in Congress and on the 2020 campaign trail that incriminating findings from Mueller would hobble the president's agenda and re-election bid.

But while Mueller was categorical in ruling out criminal collusion, he was more circumspect on presidential obstruction of justice. Despite Trump's claim of total exoneration, Mueller did not draw a conclusion one way or the other on whether he sought to stifle the Russia investigation through his actions including the firing of former FBI director James Comey.

According to Barr's summary, Mueller set out "evidence on both sides of the question" and stated that "while this report does not conclude the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One, Sunday, March 24, 2019, at Palm Beach International Airport, in West Palm Beach, Fla., en route to Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Barr, who was nominated by Trump in December, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in May 2017 and oversaw much of his work, went further in Trump's favor.

The attorney general said he and Rosenstein had determined that Mueller's evidence was insufficient to prove in court that Trump had committed obstruction of justice to hamper the probe. Barr has previously voiced a broad view of presidential powers, and in an unsolicited memo last June he cast doubt on whether the president could have obstructed justice through acts - like firing his FBI director - that he was legally empowered to take.

Barr said their decision was based on the evidence uncovered by Mueller and not affected by Justice Department legal opinions that say a sitting president cannot be indicted.

Mueller's team examined a series of actions by the president in the last two years to determine if he intended obstruction. Those include his firing of Comey one week before Mueller's appointment, his public and private haranguing of then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation because of his work on the campaign, his request of Comey to end an investigation into Michael Flynn, the White House's first national security adviser, and his drafting of an incomplete explanation about his oldest son's meeting with a Russian lawyer during the campaign.

Mueller's findings absolve Trump on the question of colluding with Russia but don't entirely remove the legal threats the president and associates are facing. Federal prosecutors in New York, for instance, are investigating hush-money payments made to two women during the campaign who say they had sex with the president. Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, implicated Trump in campaign finance violations when he pleaded guilty last year.

The special counsel's investigation did not come up empty-handed. It ensnared nearly three dozen people, senior Trump campaign operatives among them. The probe illuminated Russia's assault on the American political system, painted the Trump campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails to hurt Hillary Clinton and exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.

Thirty-four people, including six Trump aides and advisers, were charged in the investigation. Twenty-five are Russians accused of election interference either through hacking into Democratic accounts or orchestrating a social media campaign to spread disinformation on the internet.

Sunday's summary - and its suggestion that Mueller may have found evidence in support of obstruction - sets up a fight between Barr and Democrats, who called for the special counsel's full report to be released and vowed to press on with their own investigations.

"Attorney General Barr's letter raises as many questions as it answers," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.

"Given Mr. Barr's public record of bias against the special counsel's inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report," they said. Trump's own claim of complete exoneration "directly contradicts the words of Mr. Mueller and is not to be taken with any degree of credibility," they added.

Trump was at his Florida estate when lawmakers received the report. Barr's chief of staff called Emmet Flood, the lead White House lawyer on the investigation, to brief him on the findings shortly before he sent it to Congress. Mueller submitted his report to Barr instead of directly to Congress and the public because, unlike independent counsels such as Ken Starr in the case of President Bill Clinton, his investigation operated under the close supervision of the Justice Department.

Barr did not speak with the president, Mueller was not consulted on the letter, and the White House does not have Mueller's report, according to a Justice Department official.

Though Mueller did not find evidence that anyone associated with the Trump campaign coordinated with the Russian government, Barr's summary notes "multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign."

That's a likely reference not only to a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting at which Donald Trump. Jr. expected to receive damaging information on Clinton from a Kremlin-connected lawyer, as well as a conversation in London months earlier at which Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos was told Russia had "dirt" on Clinton in the form of thousands of stolen emails.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, said Congress needs to hear from Barr about his decision and see "all the underlying evidence." He said on Twitter, "DOJ owes the public more than just a brief synopsis and decision not to go any further in their work."

Barr said that Mueller "thoroughly" investigated the question of whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia's election interference, issuing more than 2,800 subpoenas, obtaining nearly 500 search warrants and interviewing 500 witnesses. Trump answered some questions in writing, but refused to be interviewed in person by Mueller's team.

Barr said Mueller also catalogued the president's actions including "many" that took place in "public view," a possible nod to Trump's public attacks on investigators and witnesses.

In the letter, Barr said he concluded that none of Trump's actions constituted a federal crime that prosecutors could prove in court.

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Associated Press writers Jonathan Lemire in New York, Deb Riechmann in Palm Beach, Florida, and Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.

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Online: Read the letter: http://apne.ws/Am0jB94

Follow all of AP's Trump Investigations coverage at https://apnews.com/TrumpInvestigations

Special Counsel Robert Mueller walks past the White House after attending services at St. John's Episcopal Church, in Washington, Sunday, March 24, 2019. Mueller closed his long and contentious Russia investigation with no new charges, ending the probe that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One, Sunday, March 24, 2019, at Palm Beach International Airport, in West Palm Beach, Fla., en route to Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Attorney General William Barr leaves his home in McLean, Va., on Sunday morning, March 24, 2019. Barr is preparing a summary of the findings of the special counsel investigating Russian election interference. The release of Barr's summary of the report's main conclusions is expected sometime Sunday.(AP Photo/Sait Serkan Gurbuz)

A copy of a letter from Attorney General William Barr advising Congress of the principal conclusions reached by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, is shown Sunday, March 24, 2019 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
WASHINGTON (AP) - A battle over funding for Puerto Rico is complicating the path forward for a long-delayed disaster aid bill that's a top political priority for some of President Donald Trump's Republican allies as it heads to the Senate floor this week.

At stake is $13.5 billion emergency relief legislation to help southern farmers, rebuild hurricane-damaged military bases, repair water systems, and assist victims of last year's California wildfires, among other purposes.

The measure has wide backing from both Democrats and Republicans and is perhaps most ardently backed by Trump loyalists such as David Perdue, R-Ga., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who face potentially difficult re-election fights next year.

The White House, however, isn't pleased with the bill and is particularly opposed to efforts by Democrats to make hurricane relief to Puerto Rico more generous. Senate Republicans are supporting food aid to the devastated island and are working with top Democrats like Patrick Leahy of Vermont to try to speed passage of the measure by adding additional help for Puerto Rico.

The House passed a companion $14.2 billion version of the legislation in January, but it got tangled up in the politics of the partial government shutdown and Trump's demands for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The measure is especially sought by lawmakers from southern states like Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, which were hit by hurricanes Michael and Florence last year. There's money to respond to an earthquake in Alaska, California wildfires and floods in South Carolina, and for the ongoing recovery effort in Puerto Rico, which was devastated by back-to-back hurricanes in 2017.

This June 18, 2018, file photo shows an aerial view of the Amelia neighborhood in the municipality of Catano, east of San Juan, Puerto Rico. A long-delayed disaster aid bill that's a top political priority for some of President Donald Trump's GOP allies is facing a potentially tricky path as it heads to the Senate floor this week. Although the measure has wide backing from both parties, the White House isn't pleased with the bill and is particularly opposed to efforts by Democrats to make hurricane relief to Puerto Rico more generous. (AP Photo/Dennis M. Rivera, File)

And now there's widespread flooding in Nebraska, Iowa and other Midwestern states.

In an official position paper in January, the White House said the House bill was far too generous, objecting to almost $6 billion worth of the measure. But it stopped short of an outright veto threat, and GOP aides say Trump has since told Perdue that he'd sign the Senate version of the bill, which mirrors the House plan in most respects.

For many lawmakers, passage is already overdue. Puerto Rico has already cut nutrition benefits by roughly 25 percent amid the funding crunch and Georgia lawmakers warn that their farmers need help in the run-up to planting season.

"We are past the time when this should have gotten done. I have spoken with the president many times about this. His commitment to our farmers is unwavering," Perdue said last month.

Trump's commitment to aid to storm-ravaged Puerto Rico is in question, however.

Last fall, Trump tweeted falsely that the government of Puerto Rico was using disaster aid funding to pay off its debt, and earlier this year Trump reportedly contemplated trying to shift some of Puerto Rico's disaster aid to address disaster in the mainland U.S.

While Trump supports $600 million to maintain food stamp benefits in Puerto Rico, Capitol Hill aides say the White House is opposing more generous terms for delivery of disaster aid dollars and funding to rebuild antiquated water systems and make them more resilient to future storms.

Allies of Puerto Rico say Trump treats the U.S. territory worse than states that have endured far less devastating hurricane disasters.

"These folks are living under the American flag," said Rep. Jose Serrano, D-N.Y. "They should not be treated any differently than any other American citizen."

The Puerto Rican vote is an increasingly potent vote in Florida, an essential state to Trump's re-election bid. Freshman Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., a Trump ally, is a strong supporter of aid to the island.

"Puerto Rico's success is America's success and Puerto Rico's recovery is America's recovery," Scott said in his maiden Senate speech earlier this year.

The measure represents leftover business from last year, but efforts to add it to a catchall spending bill fizzled last month. Advancing the measure on its own promises to be a delicate task and a test of divided government. It reconnects the main players in last month's successful negotiations on a catchall spending bill and border security measure.

That success has lawmakers and staff aides cautiously confident that talks between Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and top panel Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont will bear fruit and that the measure could pass the chamber by the end of the week.

And if the legislative planets aligned just right, supporters hope, the Democratic-controlled House could simply pass the Senate bill and immediately ship it to Trump, forgoing any need for time-consuming House-Senate conference talks.

Generally, the more disaster areas that are addressed in an emergency aid bill, the easier it is to pass. That seems to be true in this case, and the legislation could be helped as well because so many Trump-friendly areas were affected.

Tyndall Air Force Base on Florida's Panhandle took a direct hit from Hurricane Michael last October and Camp Lejeune in North Carolina took a big hit from Hurricane Florence. Communities in wildfire-ravaged northern California are eager for rebuilding help and thousands of homes in Alaska were damaged in last year's earthquake.
On the other hand, Mr Modi said Lohia would be proud of the NDA government, led by the BJP, for following his ideas.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose the occasion of 109th birth anniversary of socialist ideologue Ram Manohar Lohia to dub as reprehensible efforts by several regional parties  formed on socialist ideology  to cobble up a grand alliance with the Congress.

He also pointed out that Lohia would be horrified as most of these parties claim to be his followers.

Today those parties that falsely claim to be Lohias followers are desperate to form an opportunistic maha-milawat or adulteration alliances with the same Congress (which Lohia opposed). It is both ironical and reprehensible, Mr Modi alleged in a blog to mark the 109th birth anniversary of Lohia.

On the other hand, Mr Modi said Lohia would be proud of the NDA government, led by the BJP, for following his ideas.

Noting that anti-Congressism was Lohias heart and soul, the Prime Minister said, Unfortunately, today Lohia would be horrified at the political developments taking place.

The Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal-Secular, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Sharad Yadavs Loktantrik Janata Dal were some of the parties formed on socialist ideology, and are currently allied to or are in talks with the Congress for an alliance.

Lohias thoughts inspire us. He wrote about modernising agriculture and empowering farmers, which the NDA government is effectively doing through efforts such as PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, Krishi Sinchai Yojana, e-Nam, Soil Health Cards and more, he said in the blog shared on Twitter.

Referring to gender inequality, the Prime Minister said nothing pained Lohia more than the caste hierarchy and inequality between women and men.

But neck deep in vote bank politics, it was parties that dishonestly claim to be Lohias followers that opposed the NDA governments move to abolish the inhuman practice of triple talaq, he alleged.

Hitting out at the Congress, Mr Modi said whenever Lohia spoke, the Congress trembled with fear. He said Lohia had once claimed that during the Congress regime neither agriculture and industry nor the Army improved.

These words can accurately describe even subsequent Congress regimes, where farmers were harassed, industry was discouraged (except if they belonged to friends and relatives of Congress leaders) and national security was ignored, the PM wrote.

Those parties that claim inspiration from Lohia have completely abandoned his principles. They are leaving no opportunity to insult him... Lohia always believed that dynastic politics was inimical to democracy. He would have been flabbergasted to see his followers think about their own families first instead of the nation, he wrote.

Modi alleged that these parties are experts at grabbing power, looting as much as possible and exploiting others. Poor people, tribals, Dalits, OBCs and women are not safe in their rule because these parties give a free run to criminals and anti-social elements.

He said people should realise as as to how can those who betrayed Lohia be expected to serve the nation. Today they are betraying the principles of Dr Lohia, tomorrow they will also betray the people of India, Modi alleged.
The death toll from a massacre in a central Malian village rose to 134 dead, the U.N. said, as new video emerged Sunday showing victims strewn on the ground amid the burning remains of their homes.

An ethnic Dogon militia already blamed for scores of attacks in central Mali over the past year attacked an ethnic Peuhl village just before dawn on Saturday, according to witnesses.

Among the victims in Ogossogou village were pregnant women, small children and the elderly, according to a Peuhl group known as Tabital Pulaaku.

The scene after a violent attack which left at least 134 people dead and dozens more wounded

Graphic video obtained by The Associated Press shows the aftermath of Saturday's attack, with many victims burned inside their homes.

A small child's body is covered with a piece of fabric, and at one point an ID card is shown covered with blood.

In the capital of Bamako, visiting U.N. Security Council President Francois Delattre, condemned the killings as an 'unspeakable attack' late Saturday.

At least 55 people were wounded and the U.N. mission in Mali said it was 'working to ensure the wounded were evacuated.'

According to witnesses the attack was carried out by the ethnic Dogon militia who descended on Ogossogou village, Mali, early Saturday March 23

A burning vehicle is seen in a village after the attack in Ogossagou, Mali

In New York, the U.N. secretary-general condemned the attack and called on the Malian authorities to swiftly investigate it and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Islamic extremists were ousted from urban centers in northern Mali during a 2013 French-led military operation.

The jihadists scattered throughout the rural areas, regrouped and began launching numerous attacks against the Malian military and the U.N. mission.

Since 2015, extremism has edged all the way to central Mali where it has exacerbated tensions between the Dogon and Peuhl groups.

Francois Delattre, the president of the U.N. Security Council who spoke in Mali's capital on Saturday, condemned the massacre as an 'unspeakable attack'. A victim is pictured

Members of the Dogon group accuse the Peulhs of supporting these jihadists linked to violent groups in the country's north and beyond.

Peulhs have in turn accused the Dogon of supporting the Malian army in its effort to stamp out extremism.

In December, Human Rights Watch had warned that 'militia killings of civilians in central and northern Mali are spiraling out of control.'

On Thursday, French and British chiefs of staff took part in a joint visit to Mali to show their common strategic vision facing the challenges in West Africa

The group said the ethnic Dogon militia known as Dan Na Ambassagou and its leader had been linked to many of the atrocities and called for Malian authorities to prosecute the perpetrators.

Mali's Dogon country with its dramatic cliff landscapes and world renowned traditional art once drew tourists from Europe and beyond who hiked through the region's villages with local guides.

The region, though, has been destabilized in recent years along with much of central Mali.
The Latest on the 2020 campaign season (all times Eastern):

7:40 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidates are making it clear that there are new voices competing for voters' attention.

California Sen. Kamala Harris sent a signal to the nation's old-guard that there's a time to move aside. At an Atlanta church service Sunday dedicated to youth, the presidential candidate compared leadership to a relay race in which older leaders must ask themselves and decide "when to pass the baton."

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand made her official announcement in front of the Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York and called him a coward who "punches down." Sen. Elizabeth Warren told a New Hampshire crowd that the NRA is holding Congress hostage on gun laws.

___

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., shakes hands with Alabama State Sen. Henry Sanders at the Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma, Ala., on Tuesday, March 19, 2019. Democrats' road back to the White House runs through the Republican-run South, and not just in the early nominating state of South Carolina. (Jake Crandall/The Montgomery Advertiser via AP)

6:40 p.m.

Howard Schultz will attend the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on Monday evening. That from Schultz aide Erin McPike.

Schultz's decision to attend the annual AIPAC conference in Washington comes as Democrats have been grappling with the left's criticism of Israel and as most presidential candidates are sitting this year's conference out. Schultz is actively considering an independent presidential bid himself.

On Friday, Schultz responded to a tweet from the liberal advocacy group MoveOn, which has been urging Democratic presidential candidates not to attend. He said that the "unwillingness of the far left to even speak with people they may disagree with is one of the worst symbols of the dysfunction in Washington today."

___

2:30 p.m.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren says the National Rifle Association is holding "Congress hostage" when it comes to stemming gun violence.

The Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential candidate tells a campaign rally that if seven children were dying from a mysterious virus, "we'd pull out all the stops till we figured out what was wrong." But in terms of gun violence, she says the NRA "keeps calling the shots in Washington."

Warren finished a two-day campaign trip to New Hampshire with an event at middle school in Conway Sunday afternoon.

Warren focused much of her speech on her approach to economics, but paid special attention to unions Sunday. She says more power needs to be put back in the hands of workers.

___

1:50 p.m.

California Sen. Kamala Harris may be dropping a hint on what she thinks about former Vice President Joe Biden, who is considering a third bid for the White House.

At an Atlanta church service Sunday, Harris compared leadership to a relay race in which each generation must ask themselves "what do we do during that period of time when we carry that baton."

Then she added with a smile that for "the older leaders, it also becomes a question of let's also know when to pass the baton."

Harris is 54 years old. Biden is 76, and some of his supporters have said he's aware that his age could be a political liability in the Democratic primary. He wouldn't be the oldest contender, though. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is 77.

___

1:40 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand is assailing President Donald Trump as a coward who is "tearing apart the moral fabric of the vulnerable."

The senator is speaking in New York, feet away from one of Trump's signature properties, the Trump International Hotel and Tower.

She says that instead of building walls as Trump wants to do along the U.S.-Mexico border, Americans build bridges, community and hope.

Gillibrand also called for full release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report in the Russia investigation. Attorney General William Barr was expected to release a summary of principal conclusions, but Democrats want to see the full details.

Gillibrand is trying to position herself in the crowded field of Democrats seeking the party's nomination. While some hopefuls have shied away from mentioning Trump, Gillibrand has not hesitated to do so.

___

1:25 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke is telling voters in Las Vegas that President Donald Trump bears blame for the separation of families at the U.S.-Mexico border but responsibility lies with everyone in the country to fix the situation.

O'Rourke spoke Sunday to more than 200 people packed into and snaking around a taco shop on the city's north end. He says immigrant families are leaving their home countries and journeying on foot because they have no other choice.

The former Texas congressman says desperate families were broken up in the U.S. when they were at their most vulnerable and desperate moments, and what happened to them "is on every single one of us."

___

9 a.m.

As New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand officially kicks off her Democratic presidential campaign in New York City, her rivals are courting voters in early primary states.

Several Democratic White House hopefuls are campaigning Sunday, the day the Justice Department is expected to release key findings from special counsel Robert Mueller's confidential report on the Russia investigation.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders continues his California swing with a trip to San Francisco.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper are wrapping up campaign trips to New Hampshire.

California Sen. Kamala Harris is attending a church service before speaking at a rally in Atlanta at Morehouse College.

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., reacts to the crowd after making special remarks during the worship service at Ebenezer Baptist Church on Sunday, March 24, 2019, in Atlanta. The Democratic presidential candidate is one of several candidates to visit Georgia in the 2020 cycle. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Democratic presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke is introduced at a campaign stop at a home in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 23, 2019. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

In this Monday, March 18, 2019, photo, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., speaks at a campaign meet-and-greet in Clawson, Mich. Gillibrand is preparing to speak Sunday at the Trump International Hotel & Tower in New York. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
The Bloodhound supersonic car is back in pursuit of the world land speed record after being saved from the scrapheap at the last minute.

Ian Warhurst, a Yorkshire-based entrepreneur, stepped in after receiving a text message from his son telling him the project had collapsed.

Bloodhound Programme Ltd, the firm behind the initiative to hit speeds of 1,000mph, went into administration in October.

Ian Warhurst (top right) with the supersonic car at its new home in Gloucestershire (Grafton LSR/PA)

In December, it announced that no investors could be found to take the project forward  with plans to return equipment and sell the remaining assets.

At a relaunch of Bloodhound on Thursday, Mr Warhurst said: My eldest lad Charlie sent me a text on the Friday night when he heard the news that it was going to get broken up, saying Hey Dad, why dont you buy the car hahaha because he knew I probably could actually.

When I looked into it and realised it was being broken up I thought I need to save that.

So I came to visit the administrators. If Id have left that building and not done something to stop it, at that point it was going in the skip.

Bloodhound arriving at its new home (Grafton LSR/PA)

The sense of responsibility was there, that I just couldnt let that happen.

I like to think that anyone in my position would have done the same thing. You couldnt see something with so much effort gone into it just stop.

Mr Warhurst said there had been a national outpouring of goodwill for Bloodhound.

He described how he had been a fan of Thrust SSC, which set the world land speed record of 763.035mph with driver Andy Green in 1997.

It was amazing when they broke the sound barrier, Mr Warhurst said.

Heres @Bloodhound_LSR in her new home with new livery and a new logo. Focus here is completing development of the jet and rocket powered car for high-speed tests #BloodhoundLSR pic.twitter.com/z9XV63Yoxh  Claire Hayhurst (@clairehayhurst) March 21, 2019

He described taking his children to Birminghams NEC to see a Bloodhound event, where they spent the day building rocket cars.

Bloodhound over the past 10 years has been so inspirational for kids, he added.

Bloodhounds new home is SGS Berkeley Green University Technical College (UTC) on the Gloucestershire Science and Technology Park.

Students at the college visited the 975 square metre workshop on Thursday to view the car, excitedly posing for pictures next to it.

Since December, there has been a complete rebranding of the programme, now named Bloodhound Land Speed Record (LSR).

The newly assembled team will focus on completing development of the jet and rocket-powered car and moving to the next phase of high-speed testing as soon as possible.

Bloodhounds blue and orange livery has been replaced with red and white, though this could change with sponsorship in the future.

Mr Warhurst and the team spent a number of months assessing whether the car should be put in a museum or continue aiming for the world land speed record.

We came to the conclusion that this was a perfectly commercially viable project so therefore we should run the car  thats what it was supposed to do, he said.

Bloodhound during a previous run in 2017 (Ben Birchall/PA)

After 10 years of blood, sweat and tears, this car deserves to be put on the desert and run as fast as we can.

Im going to cashflow the project so it can get on with doing what it needs to do and not concentrate on the start and stop all the time with sponsorship, waiting for money to come in.

Current world land speed record holder Andy Green will continue to be the driver of the car.

Many of Bloodhounds original mechanics and technicians will also work on the project.

Dates for the high-speed test runs and the world land speed record runs will be announced once operational and logistics planning is finished.

Mr Green said: We are thrilled that Ian Warhurst has taken on the challenge of Bloodhound, to promote UK engineering on a global stage, to create a science and technology adventure for the YouTube generation and simply  as he put it so accurately himself  to let Bloodhound off its leash and find out just how far it can go.

The great news is we are now going to get this car running as soon as we can.

Mr Green said Bloodhound, which was founded in 2007, would go to the specially-built race track at Hakskeen Pan in the deserts of the Northern Cape of South Africa for testing.

The target is to first break the world land speed record of 763.035mph before aiming for the maximum design speed of around 1,000mph.
Tributes have been paid to university student Libby Squire after her body was found in the Humber Estuary.

Humberside Police had been searching for the 21-year-old who disappeared from near her Hull home seven weeks ago.

Detective Superintendent Martin Smalley said formal identification has now taken place after the body was found on Wednesday afternoon.

Professor Susan Lea, vice-chancellor at the University of Hull, said: As a close-knit University community of staff and students, we are all absolutely devastated by the loss of our student, Libby Squire.

Our hearts go out to Libbys family and friends at this incredibly difficult time and we will continue to give them our full support.

We have been incredibly moved by the way staff, students, Humberside Police and the local community have all come together over the past few weeks.

The kindness and care everyone has shown towards each other has been overwhelming, as has everyones commitment to finding Libby since she went missing.

Miss Squire was last seen just after midnight on Friday February 1 on Beverley Road close to the junction with Haworth Street in the East Yorkshire city.

Her body was discovered close to Spurn Point around 3.30pm on Wednesday and taken to Grimsby docks.

Miss Squire, from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, was studying philosophy at the University of Hull.

The Hull Community Church on Newland Road changed its profile picture on Facebook to one paying tribute to Miss Squire.

Posts on the page read: We are devastated at the news of Libby Squire. Our prayers and thoughts are with the family at this horrendous time.

We have taken Libby to our hearts, and she will never be forgotten by us here in Hull.

We have laid white tulips for Libby on the bench where she was last seen  only to find that others have come too to pour out their grief and send messages of love.

(PA Graphics)

The bench on Beverley Road has become a focus for tributes to the student in the hours since the confirmation of her death.

A succession of people laid flowers at the spot on Friday morning, which is just a few hundreds metres from her student home.

Among the bouquets, candles have been lit and other mementos, including balloons, have been left.

One tribute from a nine-year-old girl said: Gone from our sights but never from our hearts.

Another said: RIP lovely Libby. Hull will always hold you in our hearts.

A message from staff at a nearby shop said: Darling, you can rest in peace. Always in our thoughts and hearts.

Another tribute said: Please dont let one act of hate overshadow the outpouring of love for you.

Around 50 detectives worked on the case and a 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of abduction.

Pawel Relowicz, of Raglan Street, Hull, has been remanded in custody having appeared in court on unrelated charges of burglary, voyeurism, outraging public decency and receiving stolen goods.

In the week after she disappeared, Miss Squires parents Lisa and Russ thanked the public for their help, saying they had been overwhelmed with peoples kindness and support.
European Council president Donald Tusk said there was a lot of space in hell when asked about comments on those who promoted Brexit without a plan.

He was speaking alongside European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker after plans to push back Britains departure from the European Union were approved.

Mr Tusk was asked about comments he made last month in which he said he had been wondering what the special place in hell looks like for those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan with how to carry it (out) safely.

He was quizzed about whether this special place should be extended to MPs who vote against the Withdrawal Agreement next week.

According to our pope, hell is still empty, it means there is a lot of space, he replied.

Mr Juncker then added Dont go to hell! as the press conference drew to a close.
Theresa May has ruled out cancelling the Brexit countdown despite a public petition soaring past two million signatures.

The Prime Minister said she did not believe in halting the deadline after the EU offered a delay plan, adding: I do not believe that we should be revoking Article 50.

With the highest sign-up rate on record, more than 2,000,000 people had pledged their support by the time she fielded questions from reporters in Brussels on Thursday.

Asked by the Press Association whether she thought the publics view had shifted towards revoking Article 50, Mrs May said: If you look back to what happened in the referendum, we saw the biggest democratic exercise in our history.

And there was a clear result that we should leave the European Union.

We said heres the vote, what is your decision, and we will deliver on it.

The Petitions Committee said nearly 2,000 signatures were being completed every minute over Thursday lunchtime (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

And I believe its our duty as a Government and as a Parliament to deliver on that vote.

The petition on the Parliament website quickly gained support in the wake of the Prime Ministers speech on Wednesday night and Revoke Article 50 started to trend on Twitter.

As of 6am on Friday, nearly 2.3 million people had pledged their support to the cause.

Data from the petitions website shows support for the petition concentrated in London and constituencies around Cambridge, Brighton, Bristol, Oxford and Edinburgh.

In the 2016 referendum, these six cities were also in favour of Remain.

During her Downing Street statement, Mrs May controversially blamed MPs for failing to stick to the result of the 2016 vote and told the public: I am on your side.

The Petitions Committee said nearly 2,000 signatures were being completed every minute over Thursday lunchtime, crashing the website because of the unprecedented hit-rate.

It quickly passed the 100,000-signature threshold needed for it to be debated in Parliament.

The rate of signing is the highest the site has ever had to deal with and we have had to make some changes to ensure the site remains stable and open for signatures and new petitions. Thanks for bearing with us.  Petitions Committee (@HoCpetitions) March 21, 2019

On Thursday, EU leaders said Brexit could be delayed from March 29 to May 22  but only on the condition that MPs vote for Mrs Mays deal next week.

If it is rejected in the third meaningful vote then the UK would have until April 12 to tell the European Council a way forward.

An extension could continue for several more months if Britain agreed to vote in Mays European Parliament elections.

A House of Commons spokesman said: We know that the petitions website has been experiencing problems due to the number of people using the site.

This is a mixture of people signing petitions and refreshing the site to see changes to the number of signatures.

The majority of people are now able to use the website and we and the Government Digital Service are working to fix any outstanding problems as soon as possible.
People across New Zealand observed the Muslim call to prayer on Friday as the nation reflected on the moment one week ago when 50 people were killed at two mosques.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and thousands of others congregated in Hagley Park opposite the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch to observe the call to prayer at 1.30pm local time.

New Zealand mourns with you. We are one, Ms Ardern said.

Thousands more were listening in on the radio or watching on television as the event was broadcast live. The prayer was followed by two minutes of silence.

Officials laid out a large area of light brown carpeting where hundreds of Muslim men sat in socks or bare feet readying for the prayer.

One man in the front row was in a Christchurch Hospital wheelchair.

The Al Noor mosques imam, Gamal Fouda, thanked New Zealanders for their support.

This terrorist sought to tear our nation apart with an evil ideology But, instead, we have shown that New Zealand is unbreakable, the imam said.

We are broken-hearted but we are not broken. We are alive. We are together. We are determined to not let anyone divide us, he added, as the crowd erupted with applause.

Later in the day, a mass funeral was held to bury 26 of the victims at a cemetery where more than a dozen already have been laid to rest.

Fridays burials included the youngest victim, three-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim.

Imam Gamal Fouda, right, addresses Friday prayers at Hagley Park in Christchurch (Mark Baker/AP)

Fahim Imam, 33, of Auckland, returned to the city for Fridays service. He was born and grew up in Christchurch but moved away three years ago.

Its just amazing to see how the country and the community have come together  blows my mind, actually, Mr Imam said before the event.

As soon as I got off the plane, I saw a sign someone was holding that said jenaza, denoting Muslim funeral prayer. Others were offering free rides to and from the prayer service, Mr Imam said.

The moment I landed in Christchurch, I could feel the love here. Ive never felt more proud to be a Muslim, or a Kiwi for that matter. It makes me really happy to be able to say that Im a New Zealander, he added.

He called it surreal to see the mosque where he used to pray surrounded by flowers.

The observance comes the day after the government announced a ban on military-style semi-automatic firearms and high-capacity magazines like the weapons that were used in last Fridays attacks.

At least 42 people died at the Al Noor mosque and at least seven others at the nearby Linwood mosque.

An immediate sales ban went into effect on Thursday to prevent stockpiling, and new laws would be rushed through Parliament that would impose a complete ban on the weapons, Ms Ardern said.

Every semi-automatic weapon used in the terrorist attack on Friday will be banned, Ms Ardern said.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as she leaves Friday prayers (Vincent Thian/AP)

The gun legislation is supported not only by Ms Arderns liberal Labour Party but also the conservative opposition National Party, so it is expected to pass into law. New Zealand does not have a constitutional right to bear arms.

Among those planning to attend Fridays observance was Samier Dandan, the president of the Lebanese Muslim Association in Sydney and part of a 15-strong delegation of Muslim leaders that had flown to Christchurch.

It was an ugly act of terrorism that occurred in a beautiful, peaceful city, Mr Dandan said.

He said his pain could not compare with that of the families hed been visiting who had lost loved ones. He was inspired by their resilience, he said.

And Ive got to give all my respect to the New Zealand prime minister, with her position and her actions, and it speaks loud, he said.

Ismat Fatimah, 46, said it was sad to look at the Al Noor mosque, which was still surrounded by construction barricades, armed police officers and a huge mound of flowers and messages.

Were feeling stronger than before, and we are one, she said.
The death toll in an explosion at a chemical plant in eastern China has risen to 47, with hundreds of others injured.

Thursdays blast at the Tianjiayi chemical plant in the city of Yancheng is one of Chinas worst industrial accidents in years, and has left 90 people in a serious condition in hospital.

Nearly 1,000 area residents have been moved to safety as a precaution against leaks and additional explosions, the city government said.

The local government reports the death toll has risen, with dozens seriously injured ((Ji Chunpeng/Xinhua/AP)

Windows in buildings as far as three miles away were blown out by the force of the blast.

The city government statement said 3,500 medical workers at 16 hospitals had been mobilised to treat the injured, dozens of whom remain in critical condition.

The blast created a crater and more than 900 firefighters were deployed to extinguish a fire that burned into the night.

The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.

Chinese president Xi Jinping, on a state visit to Italy, demanded all-out efforts to find and rescue victims, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping demanded `all-out efforts to find and rescue victims (AP)

He added: Relief work must be well done to maintain social stability. Meanwhile, environmental monitoring and early warning should be strengthened to prevent environmental pollution as well as secondary disasters.

China experiences frequent industrial accidents despite orders from the central government to improve safety at factories, power plants and mines.

Among the worst accidents was a massive 2015 explosion at a chemical warehouse in the port city of Tianjin that killed 173 people, most of them firefighters and police officers.

In November, at least 22 people were killed and scores of vehicles destroyed in an explosion outside a chemical plant in the north-eastern city of Zhangjiakou, which will host competitions in the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Thursdays disaster occurred at a factory run by the Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical company. Located among a cluster of chemical factories in Yancheng, it has a dismal safety record.

In February 2018, Chinas State Administration for Work Safety cited 13 types of safety hazards at the company, including mishandling of tanks of toxic benzene, the source of Thursdays explosion.

The site of the blast (Ji Chunpeng/Xinhua/AP)

Those violations came despite the plant having racked up 1,790,000 RMB (203,000) in fines since 2016 for violations of environmental regulations, according to judgments issued by local county and city environmental protection bodies.

Those included improperly dealing with hazardous waste and evading air pollution supervision.

A 2017 explosion that killed 10 at a nearby plant prompted Chinas national safety regulator, the State Administration of Work Safety, to dispatch inspectors.

They discovered over 200 safety hazards at chemical factories in Yancheng and four nearby cities, including 13 at the Tianjiayi plant.

Safety hazards cited included leaks and drips, employees who did not understand safety procedures, and a lack of emergency shut-off valves on tanks carrying flammable chemicals.

In 2014, the companys chairman, Zhang Qinyue, and Wu Guozhong, its former supply chief, were arrested on suspicion of dumping and burying hazardous waste by-products near a temple and a village landfill, according to a Jiangsu court criminal judgement.

They were convicted in 2017 and the company was fined 1,000,000 RMB (113,000).
Chinese President Xi Jinping has been received with full red-carpet honours by his Italian counterpart as he launched a two-day visit aimed at deepening ties through an ambitious infrastructure programme.

The visit to Rome has raised concerns among Italys US and European allies.

President Sergio Mattarella greeted Mr Xi in the courtyard of the presidential palace, overseen by the regal guard while a band played the Chinese and Italian anthems.

The Chinese leader was accompanied by his wife Peng Liuan, while Mr Mattarella was joined by his daughter Laura, who accompanies the widowed president on official engagements.

Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan arrive at the Quirinale Presidential Palace in Rome (Giuseppe Lami/Ansa/AP)

Mr Xi will attend a wreath-laying ceremony at Italys monument for the unknown soldier, visit parliament and attend a state dinner where Andrea Bocelli will perform.

But the centrepiece of the state visit will be Saturdays signing of a memorandum of understanding to make Italy the first major democracy to join Chinas Belt and Road initiative, a huge infrastructure project that aims to better connect China to the rest of the world, which critics say is a vehicle for Chinese political influence.

US officials are sceptical of the burgeoning new ties, which they say favour Beijings interests. Critics have also questioned the transparency of the initiative and the potential for corruption with state-directed investment.

European governments declined to sign a joint declaration on the Belt and Road, arguing it lacked standards on financing and transparency.

Sergio Mattarella and Xi Jinping review the honour guard (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)

As though to underscore the concerns, European Union leaders were meeting in Brussels on Friday to devise plans to counter China, a country they describe as a systemic rival.

The European Council was discussing a 10-point strategy before an EU-China summit next month. The EU wants to fully address the distortive effects of foreign state ownership and achieve a more balanced and reciprocal economic relationship.

Mr Mattarella said Mr Xis visit was an expression of the solidity of the bond and mutual respect between the two countries which celebrates 50 years of diplomatic relations in 2020.

But the head of state also told Chinese state media that the framework for investments needs to secure transparency, security and equity.

Chinese investments in Italy have totalled 22 billion euros (19 billion), officials said, well below that of other European nations. Britain, for example, has received investments worth 68 billion.

Italian exports into China lag other nations by a decade or more, officials said, running at 13 billion euros (11 billion) compared with 20 billion euros (17 billion) for France and 87 billion euros (74 billion) for Germany.
The death toll following Cyclone Idai in Mozambique could exceed the 1,000 predicted by the countrys president earlier this week, officials said.

The secretary-general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Mozambique, Elhadj As Sy, stressed the need for humanitarian assistance, and added: We will be seeing more in the weeks and months ahead, and we should brace ourselves.

The confirmed death toll in Zimbabwe, neighbouring Mozambique and Malawi surpassed 500 on Thursday, with hundreds more feared dead in areas that were completely submerged.

The flooded land on approach to Beira Airport in Mozambique (AP)

Mozambiques president Filipe Nyusi warned earlier this week that as many as 1,000 people could be dead.

Thousands of people are making a grim voyage toward the city of Beira in Mozambique, which although heavily damaged is now a centre for rescue efforts.

Some walked along roads carved away by the raging waters while others were ferried by local fishermen.

A young boy sits on the edge of a collapsed bridge in Nhamatanda, west of Beira (AP)

Helicopters set off into the rain for another day of efforts to find people clinging to rooftops and trees.

For those who reach Beira with their few remaining possessions, life is grim. Waterborne diseases are a growing concern as water and sanitation systems were largely destroyed.

The situation is simply horrendous, there is no other way to describe it, Mr As Sy said, after touring transit camps for the growing number of displaced.

Three thousand people who are living in a school that has 15 classrooms and six  only six  toilets. You can imagine how much we are sitting on a water and sanitation ticking bomb.

He said that what moved him the most was the number of children without their parents, separated in the chaos or newly orphaned.

Zimbabwe was also affected by the cyclone. As roads began to clear and some basic communications were set up, a fuller picture of the extent of the damage there is beginning to emerge.

Pedestrians walk on the edge of a collapsed bridge in Nhamatanda (AP)

The victims are diverse: a mother buried in the same grave with her child, headmasters missing together with dozens of school students, illegal gold and diamond miners swept away by raging rivers and police officers washed away with their prisoners.

The ministry of information said 30 pupils, two headmasters and a teacher are missing.

In Mutare, fear gripped residents even though they are more than 85 miles from Chimanimani, the worst-hit part of Zimbabwe.

A man who travelled several miles to a reception centre for survivors in Chimanimani said several of his colleagues were swept away as they tried to cross a river while fleeing from a mountain known for rich gold deposits and frequented by hordes of illegal miners.
Chinooks can deliver heavy payloads to high altitudes and is eminently suited for operations in the high Himalayas.

Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa will induct the first unit of four Chinook heavy-lift helicopters in Chandigarh where these helicopters have been deployed. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Amidst increased military tension between India and Pakistan, the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday will induct the heavy-lift Chinook helicopters which can transport artillery guns in high altitudes and troops for action.

Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa will induct the first unit of four Chinook heavy-lift helicopters in Chandigarh where these helicopters have been deployed.

Chinook CH-47F (I) is an advanced multi-mission helicopter that will provide Indian Air Force with unmatched strategic airlift capability across the full spectrum of combat and humanitarian missions.

Chinooks can deliver heavy payloads to high altitudes and is eminently suited for operations in the high Himalayas.

It is being inducted by the IAF when there is a war-like situation currently at the LoC and the International Border with Pakistan.

Pakistan has mobilised some of its units close to the border after Indian Air Force struck terrorists camp at Balakot. This has resulted in counter-mobilisation by Indian Army. There is heavy shelling and cross border firing going on at the border from both sides. Three Indian army soldiers have been killed since last week in unprovoked firing from Pakistan.

The induction of Chinook helicopters will boost Indias capabilities for quick mobilisation of troops in higher reaches along the Line of Control and the China frontier along with artillery guns. What will help is that Chinook can land on small helipads and narrow valleys.

The helicopter is used by Armed Forces in 19 countries. Currently, India has been using the Soviet-origin Mi-26s for the missions. India has paid close to $ 1.5 billion for 15 of these helicopter. Chinook is one of the two helicopters other than the Apache attack choppers for which India had signed deals in 2015-16. The supplies of Apaches will also start by September this year when they start arriving at the Pathankot airbase.

Chinook helicopters have been used by US Army service since 1962 and was also deployed in Vietnam. The CH-47F Chinook helicopter has been certified combat-ready by the US Army and fielded to the first operational unit in July 2007. A central element in the Gulf War, they continue to be the standard for the US Army in the global campaign against terrorism. Since its introduction 1,179 Chinooks have been built.

It is capable of handling useful loads up to 24,000 lbs (10, 886 kg) and a maximum gross weight of up to 50,000 lbs (22,668 kg). It can reach a maximum speed of 315 km per hour.

Its tandem rotor configuration also provides exceptional handling qualities that enable the CH-47 to operate in climatic, altitude and crosswind conditions that typically keep other helicopters from flying.
Iraqs president has rushed to the northern city of Mosul and is holding meetings with security officials after 94 people died when a ferry sank in the Tigris river.

President Barham Salehs visit came as search teams were trying to find more bodies after the vessel capsized near the city with dozens on board, including families with children.

The boat was overloaded with holidaymakers celebrating both Nowruz, the Persian New Year, and also Mothers Day.

An image taken from video shows boats trying to rescue people in the Tigris River (Mohammed Issam/AP)

Iraqi prime minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi ordered an investigation and briefly visited Mosul, where he declared three days of national mourning.

Iraqi judicial authorities ordered the arrest of nine workers who were operating the ferry.

The men were detained and an arrest warrant is out for the owner of the tourist island where it was heading.
Police have made six arrests in early-morning raids targeting loyalist paramilitaries in Belfast.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) carried out six searches in what it described as a significant operation in a probe into the criminal activities of the East Belfast Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).

The raids were undertaken by the PSNIs specialist Paramilitary Crime Task Force.

The organisation posted an image on Twitter on Friday morning showing armoured vehicles parked in a residential area.

Officers said the operation was focused on the greater Belfast area.

A PSNI statement said: Officers from the Paramilitary Crime Task Force are conducting a significant operation in the Greater Belfast area into the criminal activities of East Belfast UVF.
Avoiding a hard border in Ireland in a no-deal Brexit scenario will be very difficult, the countrys European Affairs Minister has said.

Helen McEntee said the risk of the UK leaving the EU without an agreement remained very strong, but insisted Ireland was still not planning for border checks.

Ms McEntee said the Dublin government would only enter into negotiations with the UK and EU Commission on how a future border would work when, or if, it became clear that a no-deal is the only option.

If a no-deal scenario is the only option left and looking like that is going to happen, then we need to sit down with the Commission and with the UK and we need to understand and work with each other, and essentially this is negotiation as to how we can avoid borders on the island of Ireland and, be under no illusion, its very difficult without a deal, she told RTE Radio One.

We are not planning for a hard border and we have always said that.

When it gets to the point, and if it gets to the point, and we hope it does not, that if a no-deal scenario is the only likely and possible outcome then we need to engage with the UK and with the Commission as to how we would do that, but until that happens we will not be planning for a border.

Helen McEntee (Brian Lawless/PA)

She said the prospect of the UK having to participate in European elections if the Withdrawal Agreement was not passed could focus minds at Westminster.

I do believe that things are changing, I do believe the fact there is a very clear date of the European elections will focus peoples minds, she said.

I dont know if this will pass next week, I dont know if minds are focused enough on this, but I do believe that we now have a very specific timeline and I think we now need to give the Prime Minister the time to try and see what she is doing next, and obviously if the Withdrawal Agreement can be passed in the House of Commons.

Ms McEntees government colleague Regina Doherty said she remained positive that a Brexit deal could be agreed during the Flextension period.

Social Protection minister Ms Doherty said in the meantime the Dublin government would continue to ready itself to absorb the impacts of a no-deal.

We will continue to prepare for a no-deal Brexit, she said.

Thats because we dont know whats going to happen and the outcome of the next few weeks. But we remain positive.
Theresa May is returning from another tumultuous Brussels summit amid warnings that her premiership is on the line.

EU leaders agreed on Thursday night to give her more time to get her Brexit deal through Parliament.

But she faces a Tory Party losing patience with her leadership and threats that MPs could now seize control of the withdrawal process.

Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench 1922 committee, was reported to have met Mrs May to tell her that most Conservative MPs now want her to quit.

The Daily Telegraph said that Sir Graham visited her in Downing Street on Monday after being bombarded with text messages from MPs demanding she should go.

The paper said that it was one of a series of direct confrontations with Conservative MPs in the run-up to the summit.

Mrs May was said to have been challenged by a group of 15 whips just before last weeks meaningful vote  which she lost by 149 votes  with one directly calling on her to quit, while others warned that the trust of backbenchers had been lost.

And there was said to have been a further confrontation with Eurosceptic MPs on Wednesday when Nigel Evans, the executive secretary of the 1922, told her: Its not that people dont believe what you say, its that people dont believe you can deliver.

Stewart Jackson, who was David Daviss chief of staff when he was Brexit secretary, said she should stand down immediately if she loses next weeks vote.

Prime Minister Theresa May giving a statement about Brexit at the European Leaders summit in Brussels (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Conservative members will no longer tolerate her grovelling to the EU and national humiliation, said the former Conservative MP for Peterborough. I suspect the Whips, 1922 (Committee) and Cabinet will help the process.

Mrs Mays former policy adviser George Freeman said that if she lost the vote, Parliament would take control and switch to Plan B to join the European Free Trade Association with or without this PM.

At a late night press conference, the Prime Minister made clear that she intended to make another attempt to get her Brexit deal through the Commons.

If she succeeds, the EU leaders agreed to extend the Article 50 withdrawal process until May 22 to enable the Government get the necessary legislation through Parliament.

But if she fails to do so, the UK will have until April 12 to set out its next steps, with a longer extension on offer only if Britain takes part in European Parliament elections in May.

The Prime Minister told reporters the flextension plan offered MPs a clear choice.

We can leave with a deal in an orderly manner, have that extension until May 22, or if we dont get that deal, that vote, through, then we have to come forward with another plan, and if that plan means another extension, it means standing in those European elections, she said.

However, the chairman of the Commons Brexit Committee, Labour MP Hilary Benn, warned that he will table an amendment enabling MPs to hold a series of indicative votes on alternatives to Mrs Mays plan.

This wont work if the Prime Minister is not prepared to move an inch, he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

We need to open up this process because we have rejected her deal, weve rejected no-deal, the EU has decided to give us a little more time, and weve really got to get on with it.

(PA Graphics)

The amendment is backed by a cross-party group of MPs including Tory former ministers Sir Oliver Letwin and Dominic Grieve.

Aides confirmed that Thursdays agreement means that a no-deal Brexit is no longer a possibility on March 29, but stressed that it remains on the table if MPs have not approved the Withdrawal Agreement by April 12.

The format increases pressure on Leave-backing MPs to row in behind Mrs Mays deal, for fear that if it falls the UK could find itself electing new MEPs and remaining for month or years within the EU.

It also creates a fortnights breathing space if Mrs May reaches the end of next week without securing agreement for her package, or if Speaker John Bercow prevents her from tabling a motion which he regards as a repeat of those already defeated by 230 votes in January and 149 votes last week.

Downing Street was unable to say which day the Government would seek to bring back the Withdrawal Agreement for a third meaningful vote  known in Westminster as MV3.

But sources confirmed that Mrs May will table secondary legislation to remove the date March 29 from Brexit laws.
The mother of murdered six-year-old Alesha MacPhail said her killer is inhuman and should never be released from prison.

Aaron Campbell, 16, is beginning a life sentence with a minimum of 27 years for snatching Alesha from her bed, raping her and dumping her body on the Isle of Bute last summer.

Sentencing Campbell at the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday, judge Lord Matthews said the callous, calculating teenager had shown not a flicker of emotion during the nine-day trial that saw him convicted.

Campbell was found guilty by a majority verdict (Police Scotland/PA)

There was further turmoil for Aleshas family in court as Campbells lawyer revealed he had since admitted the crime, telling psychologists that when he came across Alesha sleeping in her bed all I thought about was killing her.

Aleshas mother Georgina Lochrane, 24, told the Daily Record: A life sentence should be a life sentence. He should have no human rights and doesnt deserve anything because he is inhuman.

I will do whatever I can to make the parole board see that that cant be released back into society.

Ms Lochrane, from Airdrie, told the paper: He doesnt deserve to breathe the same air as my family. It rubs salt into our wounds the fact he is still alive and she isnt.

Scotlands top law officer said the sentencing is a matter for the judge but the length of sentence reflects the exceptional and truly dreadful nature of the crime.

Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC added: Im immensely proud of the work that was done by prosecutors in dealing with the case against Aaron Campbell.

The outcome reflects hard work by the police and prosecutors.

Alesha was a few days into a summer holiday with her father and grandparents, staying at the home they shared on Bute in the Firth of Clyde.

Father Robert MacPhail, who split from Ms Lochrane after Alesha was born, told the trial how he put his daughter to bed on July 1 and was woken the next morning by his frantic parents Calum MacPhail and Angela King saying she was missing.

Members of the Bute community rallied to help find missing Alesha (John Linton/PA)

A few hours later her naked body was found dumped in nearby woodland, with a post-mortem examination recording more than 100 injuries.

Detectives recovered clothes and a knife from the area, and further evidence came from Campbells own mother, who provided CCTV footage which showed her son coming and going several times in the early hours of July 2.

He had been drinking with friends at his house and wanted cannabis, so went to the home of Robert MacPhail who had sold him the drug in the past.

There he found the door unlocked and went into the first room on the left where Alesha lay sleeping.

He told psychologists Alesha was drowsy but wakened a bit when they went outside, and he gave her his top because she was cold.

She asked who he was, and the killer told her he was a friend of her fathers and was taking her home.

Campbells clothes were recovered from the shoreline on Bute (Crown Office/PA)

Campbell was said to be mildly amused in the days following the murder that he had not yet been arrested.

He told how he was quite satisfied with the murder and had struggled to contain his laughter during the trial.

Lord Matthews told Campbell at his sentencing: You are completely lacking in victim empathy, the social worker noting your cold, calculating manner.

The only sentence I can impose on you is detention without limit of time.
Residents in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul have blocked a road where a presidential convoy was passing, in a protest over the sinking of a ferry in the Tigris River that killed 95 people.

The crowds chanted no to corruption and pelted the provincial governors car with stones.

The visit to Mosul by President Barham Saleh came as search teams were still trying to find more bodies after the ferry capsized on Thursday with dozens on board, including families with children.

People pray near the sunken ferry site in Mosul (Farid Abdulwahed/AP)

The boat was overloaded with holidaymakers celebrating both Nowruz, the Persian New Year, and also Mothers Day,

The death toll rose to 95 on Friday, after another body was found.

The protesters did not harm Mr Saleh but shortly afterwards, pelted the SUV of the governor of Nineveh province, Nofal al-Akoub, with bottles and stones, demanding that he be sacked.

A video soon emerged showing the two incidents. In one, Mr Saleh is seen speaking from his car window with the protesters, many of whom were young men.

(Twitter)

He had rushed to Mosul where he held meetings with security officials over the sinking of the ferry.

The other video shows protesters pelting the governors vehicle and breaking the windscreen before it speeds away.

The spiritual leader of Iraqs Shia majority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called for accountability for those responsible for the sinking and urged officials whose ministries were linked to the tragedy to resign.

His message was delivered by his representative Ahmed al-Safi in the Shia holy city of Karbala.

Relatives of victims waiting on the bank of the Tigris (Farid Abdulwahed/AP)

Prime minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi ordered an investigation and also briefly visited Mosul, where he declared three days of national mourning.

Judicial authorities ordered the arrest of nine workers operating the ferry. The men were detained and an arrest warrant is out for the owner of the tourist island where it was headed.

The sinking of the ferry was a tragic blow to Iraqs second-largest city which is still struggling to overcome the devastation wreaked by the Islamic State group.

IS captured Mosul in summer 2014, making the city its main stronghold in Iraq. After US-backed Iraqi forces retook the city three years later, in July 2017, much of the area was in ruins.
A motorist who died in a crash in the Highlands has been named.

Ian Bremner, 74, was driving on the A938 near Grantown-on-Spey on Wednesday when the collision happened near Dulnain Bridge.

Mr Bremner was driving a grey Citroen Picasso (Police Scotland/PA)

No other vehicles were involved in the crash at around 8.20pm.

Police offered their condolences to relatives of Mr Bremner, from Strathpeffer.

Road Policing Sergeant Chris Murray said: Our thoughts remain with Mr Bremners family and friends at this time.
The number of EU citizens registered to vote in Scottish Parliament and local government elections is at an all time high, official statistics have revealed.

A report published by the National Records of Scotland indicates that in the past year, the number of EU citizens registered increased by 7,800 (6.2%).

It means that EU citizens represented 3.2% of the total electorate in Scotland in 2018  the highest proportion recorded.

The figure of 132,800 is nearly three times higher than the 45,800 EU citizens who were registered to vote in Scottish elections in 2008.

Resident EU nationals do not have the right to vote in UK Parliament elections, but can vote in Scottish Parliament and local government elections.

We published Scotland's annual electoral statistics today - all sorts of interesting info! Figures show a slight decline in registered voters in the latest year. Find out more here, with a chart of major votes and changes... https://t.co/8O6ReUUT4Y @ScotStat #NRSStats pic.twitter.com/VbQLRYj9Bw  NatRecordsScot (@NatRecordsScot) March 22, 2019

The number of EU citizens choosing to register has been steadily rising over the past decade, with the largest increase of 18% recorded between 2015 and 2016.

The number of EU citizens registering to vote has been steadily rising over the past decade (John Linton/PA)

In the country overall, the number of people who were registered to vote in Scottish Parliament and local government elections last year fell slightly to 4,105,800  a decrease of 15,300 (0.4%) on 2017.

The number of registered young people aged 16 and 17 also decreased over the past year, falling by 6.2% to 78,400  accounting for 1.9% of the total electorate.

The total number of people registered to vote in Scotland peaked in 2014  the year of the Scottish independence referendum.

However, the number of people registered for both Scottish elections and for UK elections dropped off sharply in 2015  the year of a general election which saw the Conservatives under David Cameron win a majority at Westminister.
Conservative Brecon and Radnorshire MP Christopher Davies has been convicted over Parliamentary expenses claims. Almost 10 years since the scandal first broke, the Press Association looks at other politicians who have faced allegations and criticism:

Anthony Steen

The Conservative MP for Totnes said he would not stand for re-election after it was revealed in 2009 that he had spent 87,729 in four years towards the upkeep of his 1 million mansion.

Costs passed on to the public purse included tree surgery and a wrought-iron fireplace, but Mr Steen said he did not know what the fuss is about.

He said people were jealous of his very, very large house, adding: What right does the public have to interfere with my private life? None.

He was later given a CBE for his work tackling human trafficking.

Anthony Steen was presented with a CBE in 2015 (John Stillwell/PA)

Margaret Moran

The former Luton South MP falsely claimed more than 50,000 in expenses, a jury ruled, but it was unable to find her guilty of the offence as she was deemed not fit to stand trial in 2012.

She previously announced that she was standing down after days of public anger over claims of 22,500 for treating dry rot at her partners home in Southampton, 100 miles from both her constituency and Westminster.

Moran said the understandable public anger over MPs expenses had caused her great stress and seriously worsened my existing health problem, resulting in her not formally standing trial.

Marion Little

Not an MP, but a senior Conservative Party official, Little was found guilty in January 2019 of falsifying election expenses in a bid to defeat then-Ukip leader Nigel Farage.

The 63-year-old was convicted in the trial of Tory MP Craig Mackinlay, who was acquitted of breaking electoral rules in his 2015 South Thanet campaign against Mr Farage.

Little, who had worked for the party since 1974 and was held in high regard by Tory top brass, was handed a nine-month suspended jail sentence and ordered to pay 5,000 towards the very substantial prosecution costs.

Marion Little arrives at Westminster Magistrates Court in London, where she was convicted of falsifying expenses (Victoria Jones/PA)

Jacqui Smith

The then-home secretary became the first Cabinet casualty of the MPs expenses scandal, after it was revealed she told prime minister Gordon Brown within days of revelations about her finances that she wanted to quit the g+overnment in a reshuffle.

Sources close to Ms Smith said she was so hurt by the revelations in March 2009  including the humiliation of repaying the 10 her husband, Richard Timney, who worked as her assistant, claimed for watching two adult films  that she told Mr Brown just days later that she wanted to quit.

Ms Smith was also criticised for claiming that her main residence was a rented room in the property she shared with her sister, allowing her to claim the second home allowance on the family home in Redditch, Worcestershire.

Former home secretary Jacqui Smith filed an expenses claim for pornography (David Jones/PA)

David Chaytor, Elliot Morley and Eric Illsley

The trio were landed with massive bills to repay legal aid and prosecution costs in 2011 following their convictions for fiddling their expenses.

A judge at Southwark Crown Court ordered that Chaytor, former MP for Bury North, and Morley, a former environment minister and ex-Scunthorpe MP, should each pay prosecution costs of 23,176, with Illsley, ex-MP for Barnsley Central, ordered to pay 12,178.

Morley, 59, was ordered to pay 33,005 legal aid costs, with Chaytor told to pay 23,036 and Illsley, 56, 10,909.

No orders were made against Jim Devine, former Labour MP for Livingston, after the court was told that he was bankrupt.

All four received jail terms relating to expenses fraud.

Lord Hanningfield

The life peer and former Tory member was jailed for expenses fraud in 2011.

He was later accused of wrongly claiming around 3,300 in expenses in 2013, but was cleared after Parliament intervened.

He later told a newspaper: People are making a mountain out of a molehill. I may have made a mistake in the past but I am still being penalised for it.

Sir Peter Viggers filed an expenses claim for a duck house (Stephen Kelly/PA)

Sir Peter Viggers

The MP for Gosports bill for a floating duck house became a symbol of the 2009 scandal and forced him to end his Commons career.

The Tory grandee claimed 1,645 for the item, which appeared as a pond feature on his list of expenses.

It was disallowed by the Fees Office.

Douglas Hogg

The Tory former Cabinet minister, whose bill for moat-clearing was seen as another example of largesse, switched the designation of his second home in 2008 from his Lincolnshire manor house to a property in London.

In addition to what he described as core expenses of 1,091.42 a month  including 759 service charges and 40 a week for cleaning  he put in a series of claims for household items.

These included 20 for a toaster, 19 for low-energy lightbulbs, 4.99 for weedkiller, and 2.99 for refuse bags.
Natural resources in Scotland have been valued at one-third of the UKs total by a groundbreaking new study.

The research, by the Office of National Statistics, examined the value or profit provided by natural resources  such as wind, water, oil and gas  and how they are used.

In 2015, the partial-asset value of Scottish natural capital was estimated to be 273 billion, 34% of the UK as a whole.

The Scottish Natural Capital Accounts report explains: The benefits we receive from nature are predominantly hidden, partial or missing from the nations balance sheet.

However, by recognising nature as a form of capital and developing accounts of natural capitals contribution to the economy and our well-being, decision-makers can better include the environment in future policy planning.

New statistics show Scottish Natural Capital was worth at least 273 billion in 2015, 34% of the UK valuation. pic.twitter.com/qJogRgpxNt  OCEA (@scotgovocea) March 22, 2019

The study found that renewable energy is the fastest-growing natural resource consumed in Scotland, while oil and gas production has more than halved in less than two decades.

Renewable energy is the fastest-growing natural resource being used in Scotland according to a new study (Mars/PA)

Electricity generated from renewable sources was five times higher in 2017 than at the turn of the millennium and now accounts for more than half of all the countrys energy production.

Wind is the largest producer of electricity from renewable sources, overtaking hydropower as the main source of renewable energy in 2010.

It accounted for 67.8% of the electricity generated from renewables up to 2017.

Meanwhile, oil and gas production has steadily declined since 1998, falling 58.3% in less than two decades. In 2017, combined oil and gas production in Scotland was 73.7 million tonnes of oil equivalent, down from 176.6 million tonnes.

The fish caught in Scottish waters has also reached record numbers.

In 2016, the amount of fish captured was more than two-thirds higher than in 2003, a 70% increase from 628.2 thousand tonnes to 1,065.2 thousand tonnes.

The largest annual increases in fish capture occurred in the more recent years, with an annual expansion of nearly 35% in 2014 and an increase of 14% in 2016.

Scottish Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham welcomed the publication of the first-ever Scottish Natural Capital Accounts.

Ms Cunningham said: This is the first time we have produced a detailed set of accounts which puts a monetary value on the significant benefits we get from nature.

While this work cannot capture all of the benefits of our environment, it is a huge step forward in recognising and emphasising the importance of our natural capital.

Natural Capital is our stock of waters, land, air, species, minerals and oceans. It brings us clean air and water, food, energy, biodiversity, recreation and protection from hazards.

It contributes hugely to our health, our landscape and to our wider sense of being and wellbeing.

It also helps us deliver the Sustainable Development Goals set out by the United Nations and drives economic activity.

For these reasons, we want to grow our natural capital  a key aim in Scotlands National Performance Framework  and I look forward to this new data helping to drive an even deeper understanding and appreciation of the benefits nature provides.

Scottish Natural Heritage chief executive Francesca Osowska said: Our water, air, soils, animals and plants make a vital contribution to our economy and society.

Scotlands Natural Capital Accounts provide an exciting opportunity to put value on many of the benefits we get from nature, in a way that everyone can understand.
The two girls were allegedly kidnapped by a group of influential men from their home on the eve of Holi.

New Delhi: After a shocking incident in which two minor Hindu girls were kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam and married off to their captors in Pakistans Sindh province, a concerned India on Sunday sent an official note to the Pakistan government asking it to take remedial measures to ensure the safety of minorities, even as a war of words broke out between external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistans information minister Fawad Chaudhary over the issue.

Official sources said India issued a note verbale  a diplomatic communication  to Pakistan, sharing its concerns over the incident on Holi eve and called for suitable remedial action to protect and promote safety, security and welfare of people from the minority communities in Pakistan. It may be recalled that Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been lecturing New Delhi lately on treatment of minorities in India. The shocking incident comes as a severe embarrassment to Pakistan. Mr Khan has already ordered a probe into the two girls abduction.

In a tweet, Ms Swaraj said she has sought a report from Indian envoy in Pakistan Ajay Bisaria on the incident. As Ms Swaraj, in a tweet, sought a report from Mr Bisaria, Pakistans information minister Fawad Chaudhary tweeted, Maam its Pakistans internal issue and (be) rest assured its not Modis India where minorities are subjugated, its Imran Khans Naya Pak where white colour of our flag is equally dearer to us.

I hope youll act with same diligence when it comes to rights of Indian minorities, he said.

Ms Swaraj, in her response to Mr Chaudhary, said she had only asked for a report from the Indian high commissioner in Islamabad about the kidnapping and forced conversion of two minor Hindu girls to Islam.

This was enough to make you jittery. This only shows your guilty conscience, she said.

According to Pakistani media reports, Reena and Raveena, hailing from village Hafiz Salman near the town of Daharki in Sindh, were kidnapped and forced to convert from Hinduism to Islam on March 20, before being married to Muslim men.

The two girls were allegedly kidnapped by a group of influential men from their home on the eve of Holi.

Soon after the kidnapping, a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown solemnising the nikah (marriage) of the two girls.

In a separate video, the minor girls can be seen saying that they accepted Islam of their own free will.

According to media reports, the Hindu community in the area staged protests, demanding action against perpetrators of the alleged crime.

In a Twitter post in Urdu, Mr Chaudhary said the Prime Minister has asked the Sindh chief minister to look into reports that the girls in question have been taken to Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab.

India has been raising the issue of plight of minorities, particularly the Hindu community in Pakistan.

In January this year, Anusha Kumari, a 16-year-old Hindu girl, was apparently abducted and forcefully married to a Muslim man in Pakistan and it is learnt that the Indian high commission has taken up this case with Pakistan as well.
A violent and truly wicked criminal has been jailed for a minimum of 33 years after murdering an 87-year-old man in a burglary that left him with a skinned hand and broken ribs.

Arthur Gumbley was beaten black and blue by Jason Wilsher after approaching his killer in a friendly way and asking him why he was inside his home.

The pensioner, who walked with the aid of a stick, was punched in the face and kicked on the floor at his bungalow in Little Aston, Sutton Coldfield, in November 2017  in an act describe by a judge as callous, cowardly and ruthless.

Jason Wilsher, who has been jailed for a minimum of 33 years for murder at Stafford Crown Court (Staffordshire Police/PA)

At Stafford Crown Court, the 20-year-old Wilshers criminal history was detailed by the judge  listing offences including a similar attack on an 86-year-old man in his own home.

Wilsher, of Barlestone Road, Bagworth, Leicestershire, had recently avoided prison before murdering Mr Gumbley, after being handed a suspended sentence for kicking and stamping on a prison guard in a serious and sustained attack.

He also had previous convictions for battery, affray and burglary which were committed all across the Midlands.

Jurors unanimously decided Wilsher had ransacked Mr Gumbleys bungalow after they heard DNA found on a cupboard drawer at the property was an 860 million-to-one match.

A ransacked room at the home of Mr Gumbley (Staffordshire Police/PA)

The pensioner died about three weeks after the break-in as a result of his injuries, which included four rib fractures.

On Thursday, a jury panel at Stafford Crown Court convicted the traveller of murder and conspiracy to rob.

Wearing a white shirt in the dock, Wilsher showed no emotion and looked straight ahead as he was handed his mandatory life sentence.

On Friday, Judge Michael Chambers QC told the defendant: It was senseless.

Arthur Gumbley died weeks after the attack (Staffordshire Police/PA)

He was a vulnerable, elderly man. There was no need to commit this act. It was pointless.

To be attacked in ones own home is everyones worst nightmare. To target elderly victims in their own homes is truly wicked.

The judge continued: This was a well-prepared and professional crime.

I am quite satisfied that it was part of the intention to use serious violence in order to achieve your aims.

This was, in any view, a cowardly and callous act.

In victim impact statements read out by prosecutor Jacob Hallam QC, Mr Gumbleys children described the attack as a night we will never forget.

Arthur Gumbley walked with the aid of a stick (Staffordshire Police/PA)

Mr Gumbleys son, Michael, said: Theres not a day goes by where I dont think about how my dad died.

I dont understand why another human being would want to kick or punch an elderly pensioner.

To lose someone you love in the way we have is devastating.

Mr Gumbleys daughter Sandra Bromley also expressed her sadness at her fathers death, saying: He was a brave man. We love him and we miss him daily.

Every night I go to ring him but the only way I can hear his voice now is on a tape from his hospital bed.

Another daughter of Mr Gumbley, Susan Boyes, said the attack had made her an emotional wreck and it makes her cry every night.

The conspiracy to rob charge was related to another elderly man, Dennis Taylor, who lived in the Creswell area of Derbyshire and suffered injuries at the hands of burglars.

The 82-year-old told police he had his head banged on to the hearth of a fireplace four days after Mr Gumbley was attacked.
A petition calling on the Government to halt the Brexit process has passed three million signatures.

The Revoke Article 50 petition has become the second most popular submitted to the Parliament website with the highest rate of sign-ups on record, according to the official Petitions Committee.

Theresa May ruled out cancelling the countdown during her visit to Brussels on Thursday, telling reporters: I do not believe that we should be revoking Article 50.

The petition passed another proposal which sought to prevent Donald Trump from making a state visit to the UK, which had 1.9 million sign-ups.

A 2016 petition calling for a second EU referendum should the winning vote and turnout not reach a certain threshold has received the most signatories to date, at almost 4.2 million.

Data provided on the petition website shows a location for 1.3 million signatories to the latest proposal, of which 1.26 million claim to be from the UK, but the petitions committee said the figures were not updating automatically to aid website operation.

A spokeswoman said: Data is temporarily not updating because we have disabled the automatic count updates to let the site run more smoothly.

Theresa May ruled out revoking Article 50 in Brussels (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The official website has crashed numerous times since the petition leapt in popularity following the Prime Ministers statement on Wednesday, with MPs and celebrities publicly backing the appeal.

In her Downing Street statement, Mrs May blamed MPs for failing to implement the result of the 2016 EU referendum and told frustrated voters: I am on your side.

The petition quickly passed the 100,000-signature threshold needed for it to be debated in Parliament, with the official committee revealing nearly 2,000 signatures were being completed every minute over Thursday lunchtime.

People have been asking about who can sign petitions. Anyone who is a UK resident or a British citizen can sign a petition. This includes British citizens living overseas.  Petitions Committee (@HoCpetitions) March 22, 2019

On Thursday, EU leaders said Brexit could be delayed from March 29 to May 22  but only on the condition that MPs vote for Mrs Mays deal next week.

If it is rejected in the third meaningful vote, the UK would have until April 12 to tell the European Council a way forward.

An extension could continue for several more months if Britain agreed to vote in Mays European Parliament elections.
ScotRail has promised to invest around 18 million to help deliver significant improvements to its service, it has been announced.

It should see more frontline staff, an increased focus on fleet reliability and an upgrade to customer information screens at 16 stations across the country.

Funding will be provided after a remedial agreement was reached between ScotRail and Transport Scotland to ensure that performance levels improve after a number of delays and cancellations.

The operator also indicated that 500,000 will be spent every year on the Performance Improvement Fund (PIF)  aimed at empowering local managers to identify and implement changes.

A specially-created role within the ScotRail operations team was also announced to ensure delivery of a new three-year traincrew resource plan.

The rail operator has been issued with two remedial notices since December following a number of cancellations and delays.

A Remedial Agreement has been agreed between Transport Scotland and ScotRail (Danny Lawson/PA)

On Thursday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said that the rail operator was in the last-chance saloon and described recent performance levels as being completely unacceptable.

A remedial notice requires ScotRail to submit a plan within 12 weeks on how it will address performance issues raised.

On Friday, Transport Scotland stated that it had entered into the remedial agreement with ScotRail on acceptance of the proposals to improve performance.

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said: I have instructed my officials to ensure robust measures are put in place to monitor progress very closely and I expect to see a continued upward trend of performance improvement. I will give an update on this at the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee next week.

I have also been clear that franchising in its current format doesnt work and that is why I continue to push Scotlands interests, including further devolution of rail powers, to the UK-wide Williams review.

Rail must deliver a system of greater reliability for users  customers, businesses and stakeholders deserve this much.

ScotRail Alliance managing director Alex Hynes said: Improving the service our customers receive is the priority for everyone at ScotRail, working with Network Rail and key suppliers. I am confident that this plan will deliver significant improvements on Scotlands Railway.

We have worked hard to identify specific areas to focus our efforts where they will have the most impact. The funds we have invested in this plan is a demonstration of our commitment to delivering the service our customers expect and deserve.

Scottish Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Mike Rumbles MSP said: Does the Transport Secretary think that long suffering rail customers have short memories?

The previous Transport Secretary (Humza Yousaf) heralded his improvement plan in January last year. Now we have the current Transport Secretarys remedial plan.

Has he any explanation as to why anyone should believe him that the Scottish Governments remedial plan will work when their improvement plan failed so miserably?

The Scottish Government should stop making excuses for ScotRail and terminate their contract at the first opportunity in April next year.

Labour Transport spokesmanb Colin Smyth said: Nicola Sturgeon said this week that Abellio was in the last chance saloon, but they have had more final warnings from the SNP than the Rolling Stones have had farewell tours.

If the company were as good as running the railway as they are at running rings round SNP ministers then passengers would be getting a world class service at rock bottom prices.

Instead we have overcrowded, overpriced trains that either run late or dont run at all. Thats why Labours plans for public ownership is winning support across the country.

The Scottish Conservatives branded the plan a targetless, toothless and meagre attempt to buy time.
Emmeline Pankhursts great-granddaughter said her ancestor would be delighted and amused that she had been honoured with a CBE for campaigning on gender equality.

Dr Helen Pankhurst, who is descended from the famous suffragette, was handed the honour by the Queen at Windsor Castle on Friday.

She said: I think the fact that I am being given an honour on gender equality issues and people are still talking about the need to continue to address gender equality I think she would be amused, but obviously delighted.

The activist said that while it is important to celebrate success on the progress of gender issues, there is still so much that needs to be done.

She said: In every single area we are not there yet, but the direction of travel and the fact that we all know we are on a journey is really positive.

Dr Pankhurst said that companies need to engage better with gender issues, calling it disgraceful that two-thirds of companies are yet to publish their pay gaps with around a fortnight to go until the deadline.

Dr Pankhurst receives the honour at Windsor Castle (Jonathan Brady/PA)

She said: I think it really is disgraceful.

I think we need to continue to push so it is not just companies that have 250 people and above that have to report. Smaller companies dont need to report, and I think a lot of the inequality can be at the smaller companies as well.

She added that there was also some hiding of the data in cases such as partners of law firms not having to declare all their income.

Dr Pankhurst, who is also a writer and academic, said that a key area of progress on gender issues is that there are so many men who are happy to call themselves feminists that are more involved in bringing up their children and caring for their parents.

The University of Suffolk installed Dr Pankhurst as its first chancellor in December.

The campaigner, who was joined at the ceremony by her children and a friend, added: All of us, we are just absolutely delighted.

Also honoured at the ceremony were Greggs chief executive Roger Whiteside and Microsoft UK CEO Cindy Rose, who both received OBEs.
Theresa May has returned to face the fury of Tory MPs after EU leaders agreed to delay Brexit to give her a final chance to get her deal through Parliament.

Following late-night talks in Brussels, the Prime Minister said the plan would enable the UK to leave in an orderly manner in little over eight weeks time.

But amid signs her authority is crumbling, there were open calls for her to quit as MPs voiced their anger that Brexit will not go ahead on March 29 as planned.

One backbencher warned next week would be a defining moment for her premiership and urged her to consider her position.

It followed reports that the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, visited her in No 10 on Monday to inform her of the discontent after being bombarded with texts calling for her to quit.

Meanwhile pro-EU MPs have launched a fresh attempt to take control of the Commons business in a bid to secure a softer Norway-style Brexit.

Under the plan set out at the EU summit, leaders agreed to extend Brexit to May 22 if Mrs May can finally get MPs to back her deal in a third Commons meaningful vote.

However, if she fails the UK will have to set out an alternative way forward by April 12, which could mean a much longer delay  with the UK required to hold elections to the European Parliament  or leaving without a deal at all.

Following defeats by 230 votes in January and 149 votes last week, both pro-EU MPs and Brexiteers warned that she was heading for another heavy reverse.

Nigel Evans, the pro-Brexit executive secretary of the 1922 Committee, said she had made a big error in agreeing to a delay, adding pointedly she needed to consider what would be her legacy if she failed to deliver Brexit.

It has become a bit of a farce, he told BBC News.

When she leaves Downing Street  and a lot of people think it is not going to be long now before she does  what sort of legacy is she going to leave behind?

Backbencher Steve Double said the Prime Minister was isolated and that there were many people in the party at Westminster who now wanted her to go.

I think it is quite clear that she is not leading her party. She is isolated, sadly, from a majority of the parliamentary party now, he told the Press Association.

We need to find a way forward and I think that requires new leadership . I know that many people feel that next week is a defining moment and I would very much hope that she would reflect on her position.

Nigel Dodds, the deputy leader of the DUP whose votes are likely to be crucial if Mrs May is to get her deal through, said she had failed to secure any change to the Northern Ireland backstop, which it bitterly opposes.

Nothing has changed as far as the Withdrawal Agreement is concerned. We will not accept any deal which poses a long-term risk to the constitutional and economic integrity of the United Kingdom, he said.

However Tory grandee Ken Clarke warned that a Conservative leadership contest at such a crucial moment would be highly damaging.

The world would finally decide that the British and their political system had gone mad if we all broke off to have six weeks of a bloody leadership campaign that would probably produce somebody who has no more chance than she has of unifying the party, he told BBC Radio 4s The World at One.

(PA Graphics)

Meanwhile, ministers moved to try to head off a fresh cross-party attempt by MPs to take control of the Commons order paper, amid fears the Government is facing another damaging defeat in a vote on Monday.

A group including Tory former ministers Sir Oliver Letwin and Dominic Grieve, and the Labour MP Hilary Benn, have tabled an amendment to allow the Commons to stage a series of indicative votes on the alternatives to Mrs Mays deal.

However, Business Secretary Greg Clark stressed that David Lidington, Mrs Mays de facto deputy, had already promised the Government would enable the House to come to a view on the various options if her deal is rejected.

The Government will provide that so there is no reason why the Government should be forced to do something which it is committed to do anyway, he told the BBC.

Earlier Brexit minister Kwasi Kwarteng said it would be surprising if MPs were not given a free vote in that situation, however the prospect produced a furious response from Tory Brexiteers.

Steve Baker, the deputy chairman of the European Research Group, tweeted: National humiliation is imminent through these indicative votes.

Earlier aides confirmed Thursdays agreement meant a no-deal Brexit was no longer a possibility on March 29, but stressed that it remained on the table if MPs have not approved the Withdrawal Agreement by April 12.

The format increases pressure on Leave-backing MPs to row in behind Mrs Mays deal, for fear that if it falls, the UK could find itself electing new MEPs and remaining for months or years within the EU.

Downing Street was unable to say on which day the Government would seek to bring back the Withdrawal Agreement for a third meaningful vote  known in Westminster as MV3.

But sources confirmed that Mrs May will table secondary legislation to remove the date March 29 from Brexit laws.

Speaking at the end of the European Council in Brussels, French president Emmanuel Macron said Brexit is more a political lesson than a lengthy technical negotiation.

Mr Macron said the failure by Britain to deliver Brexit more than two years after deciding to leave the bloc proves that a proposition to leave Europe without a project leads to an impasse.

But he insisted that governments should listen to their people if they want to avoid a disaster.

He said: We should respect what the British people have decided. We need to hear our people, we need to address their fears. We cant play with fears, or simply tear up pages without offering anything else.

Mr Macron warned in the case of a no-deal Brexit, the first victims would be Britains less well-off.

We would continue to have a strong relationship with the United Kingdom, he said. Im not rejoicing at all. Its terrible.
Another week of Brexit drama in London and Brussels has done little to end the uncertainty over the UKs withdrawal from the EU. So what has happened and what will happen next?

Days to go

Certainly not 7, as the long-expected March 29 date of Brexit Day is now off the table. It could be 21, if the House of Commons rejects Theresa Mays deal and Britain decides to leave on April 12 without seeking a further extension. Or 61, if MPs back the Withdrawal Agreement and the UK leaves with a deal on May 22. Conceivably, it could be 284, if the EU grants a further extension to the end of the year, or even more if a longer postponement is agreed.

PA Graphics

Jean-Claude Juncker may have got it right when he answered the question of how long the UK could stay in: Until the very end.

What happened this week?

Theresa Mays plans for a third meaningful vote on her Brexit deal were scuppered by Commons Speaker John Bercow, who ruled on Monday that a 17th-century parliamentary convention meant the Government could not repeatedly bring back the same motion.

John Bercow cited a convention dating back to 1604 as he told the Commons that ministers cannot repeatedly table the same motion (House of Commons/PA Images)

A fiery Cabinet saw Leave and Remain-backing ministers clash over whether the Prime Minister should seek a long or short delay to Brexit and ended without settling the matter. Mrs May began Wednesday with an early-hours decision to go for June 30 as the new departure day, and ended it with a much-criticised TV address from Downing Street in which she blamed MPs for failing to make their minds up and told frustrated voters: Im on your side.

On Thursday in Brussels, the other 27 EU leaders brushed aside Mrs Mays plans and took back control, deciding a new Brexit timetable while she waited outside the room.

What happens next?

Having lost its second meaningful vote (MV2) by a margin of 149 last week, the Government has to table an amendable motion on Monday which will allow MPs to force debates and votes on their own preferred outcomes. A cross-party group headed by Sir Oliver Letwin will seek to seize control of the parliamentary timetable on Wednesday to force legally binding votes on the way forward. Mrs May is expected to put her Brexit package to a third meaningful vote (MV3) on Tuesday or Wednesday, with the prize of an orderly exit on May 22 if MPs approve it. If they again reject it, the scene will be set for a series of indicative votes to establish if there is a plan the Commons can unite behind.

Good week

Emmanuel Macron

Emmanuel Macron greets European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker as the EU27 debated Brexit in Brussels (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, Pool)

The French president was the driving force behind the EU27s rejection of Theresa Mays timetable for a delayed Brexit. The package drawn up in Brussels takes the timing of departure out of the UKs hands and delivers a two-week breathing space for Britain to think again before driving off the cliff-edge of a no-deal withdrawal. And  most satisfactorily for the EU leaders themselves, who were not relishing the prospect of a rapid return to Brussels  it avoids the need for an emergency summit next week if Mrs Mays plan falls.

Bad week

The hardline Brexiteers

Leave-backing Conservatives were left howling about national humiliation as they saw their long-cherished dream of a no-strings-attached clean Brexit on March 29 vanish before their eyes. They are now torn between backing an agreement which they have long derided as Brexit in name only or taking the risk of a lengthy delay  or even death-blow  to Brexit itself.

Quote of the week

According to our Pope, Hell is still empty. It means there is a lot of space.  European Council President Donald Tusk, when asked if there will be a place in Hell for MPs who vote against Mrs Mays deal next week.

Video grab from the European Council broadcaster ec.europa.eu of European Council president Donald Tusk making a statement on Brexit in Brussels

Tweet of the week

Following the news that Hastings Pier will remain closed past March, I update residents in my open letter below.

This apparently innocuous constituency message from Remain-backing Cabinet minister Amber Rudd had half of Westminster scratching its collective head. Was it a cryptic comment about delaying Brexit beyond the end of March? Was the long-standing structure stretching out from Britains shores towards continental Europe a metaphor for something? Or was it just a local gripe about an attractions doors being closed as the tourist season approaches? Few of those exchanging quips about it on Twitter really wanted to know the answer.

Following the news that Hastings Pier will remain closed past March, I update residents in my open letter below pic.twitter.com/WXM7C1nzwJ  Amber Rudd (@AmberRuddUK) March 21, 2019

Word of the week

Flextension

This hurriedly-invented phrase describes the multiple-option delay to the Article 50 process offered by the EU27, which could be short or could be long or could even go on for ever.
The main suspect in a deadly shooting in a tram in the Dutch city of Utrecht has confessed to the attack and said he acted alone, prosecutors announced.

The shooting is being investigated as a possible extremist attack, but prosecutors would not say if the suspect, Gokmen Tanis, has said anything about his motive.

The 37-year-old suspect this morning confessed the criminal acts he is charged with at a hearing before an investigating judge, the public prosecutors office said in a statement.

(PA Graphics)

Prosecutors did not elaborate on the confession and said the motive for Mondays attack, which left three people dead and three more seriously wounded, remains under investigation.

Tanis, a Utrecht resident of Turkish descent, was arrested hours after the shooting and is being held on charges including multiple murder or manslaughter with terrorist intent.

Prosecutors have said Tanis, who has a long criminal record, did not know any of those who were shot on the tram, according to their investigations so far.

They say the nature of the shooting and a note found in a getaway car led to strong suspicions of an extremist motive.

A makeshift memorial site in Utrecht (Peter Dejong/AP)

On Thursday, the local prosecution office said investigations are also continuing into whether the suspects actions flowed from personal problems combined with a radicalised ideology.

The team investigating the shooting has asked a forensic psychiatry and psychology institute to carry out a personality test on Tanis.

At Fridays closed hearing, an investigating judge extended Taniss detention by two weeks so investigations can continue. In a statement, the court said the judge ruled that the suspicion is strong enough to detain the man for longer.

A 40-year-old man who was detained a day after the shooting because Tanis was arrested at his home has been released without charge after no evidence was found that he helped in the shooting, prosecutors said.

Later on Friday, a silent march will be held from Utrechts main railway station to the junction where the shooting happened in a show of solidarity with the victims.

Prime minister Mark Rutte and the mayors of the Netherlands four biggest cities are to take part.
A new law making psychological or emotional maltreatment a form of domestic abuse is likely to lead to a rise in cases going to court, Scotlands top law officer has said.

The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act comes into force on April 1 and makes such abuse of a partner or ex-partner a criminal offence.

It covers behaviour such as controlling a partners finances or restricting their movements or activities

Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC said the new specific offence of domestic abuse, previously dealt with under various pieces of existing legislation, will address a gap in the law.

Given that the Act enables us to investigate and prosecute cases that currently are not criminal, I think it is likely that we will see more cases coming forward and more cases going to court, he said.

It will enable the police to take action to protect the victims of forms of abuse that at the moment are not criminal.

It will enable the police to investigate fully the circumstances of cases of domestic abuse and it will enable prosecutors to prosecute cases that we know cause real, lasting psychological harm both to the victims and also to children.

Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC said police and prosecutors are ready for the new law (Andrew Milligan/PA)

He said psychological abuse can be every bit as damaging as physical harm, and added: I think police officers and prosecutors are well aware of the effect that coercive, controlling behaviour can have on victims.

They are pleased they will be able to investigate the full nature of the offending behaviour and do something about it, do something to keep victims safe.

He spoke on a visit to Police Scotlands Domestic Abuse Taskforce in Glasgow where he was given an insight into training for officers on the legislation.

Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Gillian MacDonald said the new law will be hugely beneficial and encouraged anyone affected by abuse to report it to police.

She said: The new legislation is going to allow police to deal with aspects of abuse that we havent been able to deal with through the criminal justice process previously.

Behaviour that people have often suffered for many years that really the criminal justice system just hasnt been equipped to properly deal with and recognise.

She said some victims tell officers physical assaults have less impact on them than the psychological abuse they have suffered.
An investigation is under way into the alleged use of inappropriate restraint techniques at a school for pupils with additional support needs.

North Lanarkshire Council contacted police after video evidence emerged from Clydeview School in Motherwell.

It is understood a staff member has been suspended over the footage.

Clydeview provides learning and support for children aged five to 12.

Inspectors called for a number of improvements at the school following its latest review.

The council said it was confident that there was no risk to pupils following the alleged incidents, understood to date back to last year.

An investigation is under way after a video emerged of staff at Clydeview School (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

A spokeswoman said: Video evidence has come to light showing what appears to be inappropriate use of restraint and the deployment of inappropriate restraint techniques involving a small number of pupils at Clydeview School.

The safety and well-being of children in our care is our primary concern and, on being presented with this material, we took immediate steps to launch a formal investigation.

Given the nature of some of the video evidence, we also immediately contacted Police Scotland.

Both of these investigations are at an early stage and we will keep parents updated as they progress.

The safety of children is paramount and we are confident that there is no risk to children attending the school.

A police spokeswoman said: An investigation is under way after Police Scotland was made aware by the local authority of concerns about the conduct of staff at a school in North Lanarkshire.

Inquiries, which are at an early stage, are under way.
A woman has been subjected to a prolonged sexual assault on board a train.

Police said the victims attacker set next to her, engaged her in small talk and then blocked her in her seat.

He then carried out what officers said was a prolonged and repeated sexual assault.

The incident occurred between 10.45pm and 11.25pm on Wednesday on the Edinburgh Park to Dunblane service.

Can you help?



We're appealing for info after a woman was sexually assaulted on a train between Edinburgh and Stirling. Happened between 10.45pm and 11.25pm on 20/03.



Text us on 61016 and quote ref 436 of 21/03/19. More info here: https://t.co/ruazWuCGFt  BTP Scotland (@BTPScotland) March 22, 2019

The suspect and the victim left the train at Stirling, where he continued to touch her inappropriately and followed her throughout the station.

He is described as white, of a slim to medium build, with short dark hair.

Police are investigating the incident, which occurred on board a train on Wednesday evening (PA)

He was wearing a green jacket and chino trousers.

British Transport Police would like to speak to anyone who witnessed the offence or who knows the identity of the man.

They would particularly like to speak to a member of the public who was sitting opposite the victim who may have vital information.
In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 17 seats in Karnataka while the Congress bagged nine seats and JDS got two seats.

Speaking to ANI, Kumaraswamy said: We all are fighting unitedly but a few people are unnecessarily creating a disturbance for their personal gains. (Image: File)

Bengaluru: Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Congress Lok Sabha member SP Muddahanumegowda for unnecessarily creating disturbance in the state ahead of the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking to ANI, Kumaraswamy said: We all are fighting unitedly but a few people are unnecessarily creating a disturbance for their personal gains. "It is Congress' responsibility to sort out its own issues," he said.

On March 23, JDS confirmed that former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda will contest from Tumkur, one of eight Lok Sabha seats conceded to JDS as a part of the seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress in Karnataka.

His comments come a day after SP Muddahanumegowda filed his nomination as the Congress candidate from Tumkur seat. His move has jolted Congress-JDS coalition in Karnataka.

On March 19, Chief Minister Kumaraswamy said the Congress and JDS will be fighting together in the impending Lok Sabha elections, in order to prevent the BJP from making strides in the state.

Karnataka will go to polls during the second and third phases of Lok Sabha polling on April 18 and April 23, respectively. Results will be announced on May 23.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 17 seats in Karnataka while the Congress bagged nine seats and JDS got two seats.
Eleven men have been arrested by police during coordinated raids targeting loyalist paramilitaries in Belfast.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) also seized drugs, cash and expensive cars and jewellery in an operation against the criminal activities of the East Belfast Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).

A total of 14 searches were conducted in Belfast, Newtownards and Comber from early morning on Friday.

The suspects, who are aged between 22 and 48, were taken into police custody for questioning.

PSNI Detective Superintendent Bobby Singleton said 15,000 of suspected cocaine had been seized, along with a number of high value vehicles, and expensive clothing and jewellery.

He said a significant quantity of cash had also been seized.

Police have been investigating drugs offences (David Cheskin/PA)

The raids were undertaken by the PSNIs specialist Paramilitary Crime Task Force.

Mr Singleton said: Paramilitaries claim to protect local people but in reality they exploit them by supplying illegal drugs and using violence to try and control their markets.

East Belfast UVF are nothing more than a drugs gang who operate under a flag of convenience in an attempt to legitimise their existence.

Working with our partners and communities we are determined to rid our communities of these parasites.

Police have said the operation was indirectly linked to the murder of Belfast community worker Ian Ogle.

Mr Ogle, 45, died after being beaten and stabbed 11 times shortly after praying with a pastor near his home in Cluan Place in east Belfast on January 27.

Police have linked the crime to the East Belfast UVF.

Mr Singleton said those arrested would have associations with some of those held by detectives investigating Mr Ogles killing.

The PSNI are on record as saying we believe members of East Belfast UVF were responsible for Ian Ogles murder, he said.

So when we have an operation directed at their criminal activities its entirely foreseeable that people will be connected.
A convicted bomber has named four men he claims carried out the 1974 Birmingham pub attacks after telling inquests he had been given permission to do so by the head of the IRA.

The blasts at the Mulberry Bush at the bottom of the citys landmark Rotunda, and the basement Tavern in the Town in nearby New Street, killed 21 people and injured 220 others.

Bereaved families have waited 44 years for fresh inquests, which are now in their fourth week.

On Friday, in a dramatic turn, an anonymous ex-IRA volunteer giving evidence at the inquests, said he had been told by the current head of the IRA, six months ago in Dublin, that he could name those he knew were involved.

The man, identified only as Witness O  speaking over a secure video-link  named the officer commanding (OC) the Birmingham IRA at the time, Seamus McLoughlin, as the person responsible for selecting the targets.

He added that Mick Murray was one of the bombers, and claimed he recalled Murray telling him there would be no harm if similar attacks had been repeated, because of the chaos caused.

(PA Graphics)

Pressed by Leslie Thomas QC, the barrister representing nine of the bereaved families, that another member of the bombing team was Michael Hayes, he replied: Hayes, Hayes  Ill give it (the name) to you now.

But he added, in apparent reference to the Good Friday Agreement: But he cant be arrested.

There is nobody going to be charged with this atrocity.

The British Government have signed an agreement with the IRA.

Then asked about James Gavin, he replied: Well, he was (involved), I met him in Dublin and he said he was.

Earlier, the witness had said I only know about five, claiming at least one of the men was still alive, before adding: Hes no harm to anybody now.

Mr Thomas then asked whether a fifth man, Michael Patrick Reilly, had been involved.

The witness, who earlier told the jury he was a convicted IRA bomber who served a prison sentence in the 1970s, replied: No, I dont remember him at all.

Reilly? I would remember that.

The barrister then used an alleged reference to Mr Reilly, used in the book Error Of Judgement by former MP and journalist Chris Mullin, when he asked the former IRA man: Michael Patrick Reilly, sometimes referred to as The Young Planter?

You know who he is, dont you?

Hes the one youre protecting, isnt he?

The witness replied: Who? Protecting who? No.

My situation was I was in Manchester, and I came to Birmingham and I was only in Birmingham a couple of weeks.

He made reference in his evidence to two others, identified as Dublin Dave and Socks, who may also have been connected to the bombings.

But it was unclear if either reference was a pseudonym for the other five men named, or were separate individuals.

The witness added of the men he had named: The police already know who they are, and they havent done anything.

Witness O, who was in jail at the time of the attacks and said he had no knowledge they were being planned, described the bombings as an atrocity.

He added that the Birmingham IRA active service unit responsible was stood down by the organisations Army Council following the blasts.

The witness said he had been given permission to speak to the inquests, including giving the bombers names.

When coroner Sir Peter Thornton QC asked him who had given that authorisation, he replied The head of the IRA, adding that he had approached the organisations chief in Dublin six months ago.

Asked by barrister Mr Thomas who that man was, the witness replied: Well, Im not telling you his name.

Asked why not, the former IRA man said: Because hes the head of the IRA. He could be shot dead.

He also claimed to have given McLoughlins name to two detectives while in HMP Winson Green just days after the bombings, but heard nothing more.

Counsel to the coroner Peter Skelton asked: Was it the OC of Birmingham who would take decisions about which places to target for the bombs?

Yes, Witness O replied.

All the men have been named before in connection with the bombings, but never in a formal setting.

Mr Reilly and Mr Hayes have always denied any involvement in the blasts, though Mr Hayes has said he took collective responsibility for all IRA attacks in England, including the pub bombings.

Six men, known as the Birmingham Six, were jailed in 1975 for the double bomb attacks, but their convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeal in 1991.

Their case remains one of the most infamous miscarriages of justice in English legal history.

Witness O, who also told the coroner he was no longer an IRA member, voluntarily agreed to give evidence to the inquests on condition of anonymity.

The disclosure of the alleged bombers names was an unexpected twist, as the issue of who carried out the bombers was not within the scope of the inquests.

As the names were given, many of the bereaved family members broke down in tears.

Outside court, Julie Hambleton, whose sister Maxine was killed in the Tavern in the Town, reacted to the news, and said: Witness O has today named the bombers involved in the Birmingham pub bombings.

I have a letter from David Thompson chief constable of West Midlands Police that says this is an on-going live investigation (and) as such we expect action.

(We expect) information as a matter of urgency now as to what is going to happen, what, where and when.
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has told a Christian broadcast network it is possible that Donald Trump is like Queen Esther, who saved Jews in the Old Testament.

Mr Pompeo made the statement in an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network on his trip to the Middle East.

The interviewer asked if the president is like Queen Esther, who interceded with her husband to save Jews in what was then Persia and is now Iran.

Mike Pompeo (Amir Cohen/AP)

Mr Trump has backed new sanctions on Tehran aimed at reducing its ability to threaten Israel.

Mr Pompeo said in response to the question: As a Christian, I certainly believe thats possible.

The secretary of state recently drew criticism for holding a briefing exclusively for faith-based journalists.
Irish premier Leo Varadkar has denied the extension offered by the EU to the UK is an example of the rolling cliff-edge Brexit scenario.

Asked whether the EU was in the midst of a rolling exit, he replied: Its not. There wont be further extensions.

Weve set out now what the timeline is and in many ways the European Union has taken control of the timeline which in the past had been set by the UK.

Mr Varadkar made the comments at the end of the summit of EU leaders in Brussels.

The Taoiseach said the choices on offer were now very obvious.

Its this agreement; no deal; or the Parliament taking indicative votes for a much closer long-term relationship with the EU which would allow the joint political declaration aspect of the withdrawal package to be amended, he said.

Leo Varadkar speaks during a media conference at the conclusion of the EU summit in Brussels (Olivier Matthys/AP)

I dont see any other choices.

He added: I hope the Withdrawal Agreement will be ratified by the House of Commons. If it isnt I imagine theyll go on to indicative votes and that may point the way to a closer long-term relationship.

EU leaders agreed on Thursday night to give Prime Minister Theresa May time to get the Brexit deal through the UK Parliament.

If she succeeds, the EU leaders agreed to extend the Article 50 withdrawal process until May 22 to enable the Government to get the necessary legislation through Parliament.

But if she fails to do so, the UK will have until April 12 to set out its next steps, with a longer extension on offer only if Britain takes part in European Parliament elections in May.

Mr Varadkar said it was the view of Mrs May that it would be farcical for the UK to participate in the European Parliament elections.

(Mrs May) gave some indication in that from her point of view, there is no desire whatsoever to take part in the European elections, he said.

I think she feels, and most British politicians feel, it would be a farce for the UK to participate in the elections if it were to leave and thats mainly the reason why the date of April 12 was chosen.

Mr Varadkar added that Mrs May was confident she can win her planned upcoming vote.

Prime Minister May feels there is a pathway to victory and getting a majority in the House of Commons, and I hope she can achieve that, he said.

I wouldnt be in a better position than she is to access the parliamentary arithmetic that exists in the UK and its a political matter for the British Parliament.
Schoolchildren were left in tears by protests outside a school, the teacher at the heart of a sex education row has said.

Andrew Moffat, assistant headteacher at Parkfield Community School, explained how suspending the schools No Outsiders programme was the right thing for the students.

The primary school in Birmingham hit the headlines after some parents and local adults protested outside the building against the scheme which teaches diversity and inclusivity.

The No Outsiders programme  written by Mr Moffat  teaches about the Equality Act.

Pupils are taught about the positive values of diversity, tolerance and acceptance, in a broad curriculum encompassing LGBT rights, same-sex relationships, gender identity, race, religion and colour.

But the school has suspended the lessons in light of the demonstrations, some of which included chants of shame, shame, shame and get Mr Moffat out.

Andrew Moffat has defended the No Outsiders programme (Varkey Foundation/PA)

Speaking at the Global Education and Skills Forum (GESF) in Dubai, Mr Moffat said: In the end the most important thing for us is our children, and the teaching and wellbeing of our children, and the protests were damaging the welfare of children.

Because we have had children coming in on those days in tears, we have had children missing some part of their learning at the start of the day.

You cant have protests like that outside a school every week.

So we stuck it out for four weeks but in the end we thought we cant dig our heels in. That is what this is about.

The openly gay PSHE teacher, who has made the final of the GESFs 1 million dollar Global Teacher Prize, said the chants were particularly hurtful because teaching is his life.

When asked by the Press Association if he felt the protests had become personal, Mr Moffat said there were times when they did but it was important to put things in context.

He said: I have had maybe eight nasty messages. I have had literally six hundred from across the country saying this work is important.

In Britain today, schools have got to find a way to tackle that rise in hate.

We cant ignore this. We have got to find ways to teach children that if someone has got a headscarf on, I am not frightened of them.

If someone has got brown skin and I have got white skin, I am not frightened of them. I can be friends with that person.

Asked what messages he would like people to take from the programme and the controversy, Mr Moffat added: To children, I would say be yourself, be who you are and be confident and speak up

And to teachers, I would say that our job is to nurture global citizens of the future.

And look at the way the world is at the moment, there are lots of challenges.

The rise of the far right is very worrying  terrorist attacks. Look at Christchurch last week.

Why did that happen? That happened because someone doesnt understand about diversity and difference. Someone is frightened of people who are different-skinned, a different religion.

When children ask why terrorist attacks happen, we say because not everyone understands about No Outsiders.

When asked by the Press Association whether he hoped programmes like No Outsiders could prevent future terror attacks, or steer people away from radical ideologies, Mr Moffat said: When I wrote it, that wasnt my aim, but now I absolutely believe that.

He added he had no proof but that he was working towards a PhD that examines the issue.
Shipbuilding has a long future on the River Clyde, building on Glasgows historic connections to the industry, a Royal Navy commander has said.

HMS Defender, a Type 45 Destroyer, arrived in Govan on Friday in a return to the city where she was built in 2013.

The ship is berthed at King George V Dock, around a mile away from where it was built and launched, and will be open to visitors throughout the weekend.

HMS Defenders Commanding Officer, Richard Hewitt, described the return as a very special occasion.

He said:It was fantastic to arrive and see the HMS Taymar, who had a naming ceremony yesterday, seeing HMS Trent being built and looking not too far behind Taymar, and also the Type 26 which is being built on the Clyde as well.

So a long future for shipbuilding on the River Clyde exists.

Prior to its arrival in Glasgow, HMS Defender had been escorting a Russian naval task group along the UK coastline  keeping a watchful eye on frigate Admiral Gorshkov and three auxiliary ships.

The vessel and its 191-strong crew arrived in Glasgow on Friday (Lewis McKenzie/PA)

Commander Hewitt highlighted the Royal Navys lasting commitment to defending UK waters.

Defender is one of the six Type 45 destroyers of the Royal Navy, he said.

Shell be particularly used in the next few years in conjuction with the new aircraft carriers (HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales), escorting them on their duties around the world.

Its beholden on the Royal Navy to ensure the integrity of the seas around the UK and that is our enduring commitment to the UK.

He added: Glasgow, in being our affiliated city, is especially important to Defender and to the Royal Navy as a whole, as part of Scotlands commitment to the Royal Navy.

Theres a force of around 10,000 people from the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and the British Army located and working in Scotland.
Tom Watson will pledge to vote for Theresa Mays beleaguered Brexit deal to prevent the UK crashing out of the EU if she vows to let the public have a say on it.

Labours deputy leader will tell a rally that he has reluctantly come to the view that the only way to resolve the current impasse is for people themselves to sign it off.

Mr Watson is set to address the Put It To The People March in Parliament Square on Saturday, where hundreds of thousands of campaigners will call for a second referendum.

Labour officially supports a second referendum, but has not said whether it would back the Prime Ministers deal on the condition it is put to a public vote.

Mr Watson will tell the crowds in Westminster: Brexit is currently stuck in the pipework of Parliament, with MPs split, completely unable to agree or find a way forward.

The current impasse is not working for people who voted to leave or people who voted to stay. I really dont think Parliament will be able to resolve this.

Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson (Yui Mok/PA)

Thats why Ive come to the reluctant view that the only way to resolve this and have legitimacy in the eyes of the public is for the people themselves to sign it off.

It can only bring closure if were all involved in making the decision.

It can only begin to bring the country back together again if we all have a final say  and then live with the result.

So, I have an explicit message for Theresa May: I will vote for your deal or a revised deal you can agree with my party. I will help you get it over the line to prevent a disastrous no deal exit. But I can only vote for your deal  or any deal  if you let the people have a vote on it too.

Thats why Im proud to be marching. I trust the people I represent. And only they can sort this mess out.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine and London mayor Sadiq Khan will also address the protest.
Police have faced calls to act on the testimony of an anonymous IRA bomber who claims he knows who was behind the Birmingham pub attacks.

Unionist politicians in Northern Ireland demanded a response from officers in the UK and the Irish Republic after the man, identified only as Witness O, outlined the names to the ongoing inquests into the deaths.

He said he had been given permission to reveal the names in court of four men, three of whom are now dead, by the head of the IRA in Dublin.

DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the claims by Witness O must be pursued by the police.

The Lagan Valley representative insisted gardai in the Irish Republic had a role to play.

One of the individuals named today has previously admitted involvement in the Birmingham pub bombings, he said.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the claims by Witness O must be pursued by the police (Niall Carson/PA)

This further evidence demands a proper police investigation into his involvement in the murder of 21 people.

Sir Jeffrey also demanded answers from Sinn Fein, in particular its president.

Mary Lou McDonald needs to explain how the head of the IRA in Dublin can give permission for an individual to be named, when she tells us the IRA doesnt exist, he said.

He added: Mary Lou McDonald should step forward and state clearly whether she believes the actions of the IRA in Birmingham and elsewhere were criminal.

Ulster Unionist Assembly member Doug Beattie said: Given that numerous Sinn Fein politicians have claimed that there is no IRA, you wonder just who is sitting in Dublin, claiming to be the head of it?

The PSNI and the Garda need to give an assessment of this claim as a matter of urgency.

What are you doing about the current head of IRA still operating in your jurisdiction, Mr Varadkar? | https://t.co/eGKaMFM9EK https://t.co/g7Hyp5kwwg  Jim Allister (@JimAllister) March 22, 2019

Jim Allister, leader of the Traditional Unionist Voice party, asked: Have the four named persons been investigated fully by the police and what further steps will now be taken?

And, Mr (Leo) Varadkar, you who likes to mind everyone elses business, what are you doing about the continuing operation of the IRA in your capital city under a current head? What actions have you taken, and will take, to address this issue?

A West Midlands Police spokesman said: The pub bombing investigation has never closed.

Our approach is, where new facts come to light, they are scrutinised to see if people can be brought to justice.

The force will never lose sight of the tragic fact that 21 people lost their lives in the atrocities that took place in Birmingham in 1974.

Its not appropriate to make further comment at this stage while were in the middle of the coroners inquests.

A spokesman for the Garda in Ireland said: An Garda Siochana do not comment on named individuals and on matters before the courts in other jurisdictions.
Irish premier Leo Varadkar has insisted a specialist taskforce has not been set up to address the issue of the border on the island of Ireland in a no-deal scenario.

But Mr Varadkar acknowledged discussions are happening between EU leaders about how a hard border can be avoided if the UK crashes out of the EU.

The Taoiseachs comments came in response to a request from German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the EU ramp up its plans to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland in the event of a no-deal scenario.

Good to meet up with the Norwegian, Icelandic and Liechtenstein PMs. All in the single market for 25 years but not in the EU. Sensible solutions are possible once red lines dont restrict them https://t.co/ivDVGpLPdV  Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) March 22, 2019

Ms Merkel asked EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier to examine a fall-back plan to uphold the Good Friday Agreement in a no-deal situation.

The discussion between the pair and a number of other leaders took place on Thursday during the EU summit in Brussels.

It is understood it was the first time that EU leaders had discussed what would happen to the border if the UK crashes out of the EU.

Asked about the discussions Irish premier Mr Varadkar said no taskforce was being set up to address the border issue.

But he said talks had taken place.

Theres no taskforce being set up or anything of that nature, he said.

What that derives from is something that weve spoken about before, is that what will happen in a no-deal scenario, how we will uphold the Good Friday Agreement, keep the border with Northern Ireland open and still fulfil our obligations in European treaties to protect the single market and make sure Ireland is still fully a member of the single market and that the border doesnt become a backdoor to the single market.

Its of that nature, those types of discussions that we would have to have.

He made the remarks at the end of the two-day summit in the Belgian capital.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (Michelle Devane/PA)

It comes as Irish European Affairs Minister Helen McEntee said avoiding a hard border in a no-deal Brexit scenario would be very difficult.

But Mr Varadkar said special arrangements would have to be made if the UK leaves without the deal and that those special arrangements would look like the backstop.

He said in a no-deal scenario the British government intended to treat Northern Ireland differently, not to apply tariffs and not to apply the kinds of enforcement measures that it would in other areas.

There is a rolling acknowledgement that the only way you can avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland is special arrangements, and it is the detail of those well need to work through, he said.

But if you want to know what they look like, they look like the backstop.

Minister of State for European Affairs Helen McEntee (Brian Lawless/PA)

On Friday morning Ms McEntee said the risk of the UK leaving the EU without an agreement remained very strong, but insisted Ireland was still not planning for border checks.

Ms McEntee said the Dublin government would only enter into negotiations with the UK and EU Commission on how a future border would work when, or if, it became clear that a no-deal is the only option.

If a no-deal scenario is the only option left and looking like that is going to happen, then we need to sit down with the Commission and with the UK and we need to understand and work with each other, and essentially this is negotiation as to how we can avoid borders on the island of Ireland and, be under no illusion, its very difficult without a deal, she told RTE Radio One.

We are not planning for a hard border and we have always said that.

When it gets to the point, and if it gets to the point, and we hope it does not, that if a no-deal scenario is the only likely and possible outcome then we need to engage with the UK and with the Commission as to how we would do that, but until that happens we will not be planning for a border.
US President Donald Trump appears to have prematurely claimed defeat against the Islamic State terror groups last bastion in Syria.

The White House announced on Friday that its territory in the nation had been 100% eliminated, while the US president brandished a map to reporters apparently showing its destruction.

Just over two years ago, ISIS was considered one of the gravest threats to the future of the Middle Eastand to the peace and security of the free world.



Now, the self-declared caliphate has been obliterated off the map. Literally.



1600 Daily: https://t.co/A68ueVC88u pic.twitter.com/ip3xwESWKi  The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) March 21, 2019

But it is understood the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are not yet ready to claim victory in ISs final stronghold of Baghouz.

SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali went on to say heavy fighting continues around Baghouz to finish off the remnants of IS right now  some two hours after the White House announcement.

Heavy fighting continues around mount #Baghouz right now to finish off whatever remains of ISIS. pic.twitter.com/l6eHLcWM5h  Mustafa Bali (@mustefabali) March 22, 2019

Britain has supported an international coalition to destroy the group by delivering airstrikes on key targets with RAF jets and Reaper drones carrying out attacks, surveillance and reconnaissance.

British Army soldiers on the ground have also trained thousands of members of the Iraqi Security Services and provided Kurdish fighters with weaponry and ammunition.

Smoke rises from a strike on Baghouz on Friday (Maya Alleruzzo/AP)

Baghouz, which is on Syrias border with Iraq, is the last strip of territory left over from ISs so-called caliphate, which once stretched across swathes of both nations.

Mr Trumps press secretary Sarah Sanders had said he was briefed by acting defence secretary Patrick Shanahan, who travelled with him aboard Air Force One.

The president showed a map to reporters showing ISs apparent elimination, saying: Heres Isis on Election Day. And heres Isis right now, with no red marks for territory remaining.

It is not the first time he has spoken prematurely on the matter. On Wednesday he said Baghouz would fall that night.

The presidents latest claim was quickly disputed.

CNNs Ben Wedeman, who has been reporting from Baghouz, tweeted that airstrikes and heavy machine gun fire could be heard.

I guess not everyone heard the White House statement re 100 percent elimination, he added.
Prime Minister Modi was packaged as a doer, making decisions and implementing them at an unprecedented pace.

If Prime Minister Narendra Modi is really winning, then why does he look like a loser? The inverted snobbery of claiming that he was nothing but a humble a watchman of the nation has now come back to haunt him. His usual genius in political marketing is not evident in his 2019 campaign for re-election, which seems unsure, and even confused.

Prime Minister Modis attempt to turn around the Congress accusation Chowkidar chor hai (the watchman himself is the thief) by calling himself the First Chowkidar of the nation simply isnt pressing the right buttons. Neither is his social media campaign calling upon citizens to sign up as watchmen #MeinBhiChowkidar (I am also a watchman).

That he should have allowed this to happen is particularly curious since the 2019 general election is centred around him. The 2014 election was led by a wave of anti-Congressism across the length and breadth of the country. The Congress lost even in those states where it was not even pitted against the BJP, and the result was evident in the meagre number of Lok Sabha seats it won  44, the lowest in its history.

In this general election, by contrast, the persona of Prime Minister Modi is the sole reference point for the voter. The electoral choices are clearly polarised by pro-Modi and anti-Modi sentiments. In the face of anti-incumbency against his government, Mr Modi needs a positive vote in his favour. He needs to ignite his campaign, enthuse volunteers and swing the undecided voters.

On all these counts, his chowkidar campaign seems to be a failure. The sum and substance of Prime Minister Modis address to 25 lakh chowkidars earlier this week was still milking the sentiment of anti-Congress incumbency from five years ago. Only the right-wing Hindutva organisations have such a long and deep-seated hatred for the Congress version of nationalism. Normal citizens tend to have shorter memories and more immediate concerns.

Chowkidars are in fact a palpable reminder of public insecurity. A proliferation of citizen-chowkidars would underline the idea that the State is unable to protect its citizens. On top of that, security guards work in the most exploitative conditions. No one would actually aspire to their jobs, unlike, say, the glamour of being in the armed forces or snapping up a permanent government job.

The chowkidar campaign has also pushed into the background the chest-thumping nationalist narrative centred on Prime Minister Modis bombing of Pakistani territory. It had the potential to kickstart his campaign and rouse his supporters. Has he concluded, however, that the war narrative is not working or is he floundering?

His re-election campaign has been flitting from one slogan to another. On January 20, he introduced a potential tagline for his campaign, quoting a dialogue from the Bollywood film Uri: The Surgical Strike, asking an audience of film celebrities in Mumbai: Hows the josh (enthusiasm)? His supporters replied: Josh is very high Sir! Hows the Josh was sought to be revived after the Indian Air Force dropped bombs in Balakot in Pakistan, and it trended for a while on the social media.

However, by the end of February, Hows the Josh was replaced by the slogan: Namumkin Ab Mumkin Hai (The impossible is now possible). Using data showcasing the governments welfare schemes, full-page advertisements appeared in all the major newspapers. On March 14, finance minister Arun Jaitleys blog revealed that the tagline had been amended to Modi Hai To Mumkin Hai (Because Modi makes it possible). Prime Minister Modi was packaged as a doer, making decisions and implementing them at an unprecedented pace.

But the Prime Ministers detractors quickly unravelled this catchy campaign with counter-slogans: Chowkidar ka chori karna namumkin tha #NamumkinAbMumkinHai, Chowkidar hi chor hai kyonki #NamumkinAbMumkinHai. The social media was trending with bon mots such as that it was impossible to mislead the Supreme Court, but Prime Minister Modi had made it possible; and that it was impossible to loot `30,000 crores (the offset offered to Anil Ambanis companies by Dassault in the Rafale deal) from citizens, but it had been made possible; it was impossible for Jay Shah (BJP president Amit Shahs son) to increase his turnover 16,000 times, but that too had been made possible; it was impossible to take unemployment rate to a 45-year high but Mr Modi had made it possible; and to top it all entire political science mein degree nammumkin thi par #NamumkinAbMumkinHai in a direct dig at the controversy about the Prime Ministers claim of having got a masters degree in Entire Political Science.

Perhaps the BJP was at its wits end when its strategists suggested that the party take on the Congress allegations frontally.

However, the everyone-is-a-chowkidar campaign is not really uplifting for the voters. Whereas his chai par charcha (discussion over tea) campaign during the 2014 general election had projected the voter as having a role in framing the nations future, the chowkidar campaign lacks the same buzz.

Only aspirational campaigns have worked well the world over historically. In the United States, the taglines that have won elections included Vote Yourself a Farm (Abraham Lincoln, 1860), A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage(Herbert Hoover, 1928), Happy days are here again (Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1932), Change we can believe in and Yes we can (Barak Obama, 2008 and 2012) and Make America great again (Donald Trump, 2016).

In India, aspirational slogans have worked very well in the past, such as Jai Jawan Jai Kisan (Lal Bahadur Shastri, 1965  although a mobilisational slogan, and not an election one), Garibi Hatao (Indira Gandhi, 1972), Indira Hatao Desh Bachao (Jaiprakash Narayan, 1977), Congress ka haath, sabke saath (Congress, 2004), and Sabka saath sabka vikas and Achhe din aanewale hain a la Roosevelt (Narendra Modi, 2014).

#MeinBhiChowkidar doesnt fit into the aspirational slogans that have swung elections in the past. Far from setting the agenda, this is a defensive campaign that at best diverts attention from the Oppositions corruption allegations. It is unlikely that as a chowkidar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be able to woo voters.
Ministers have moved to try to head off an attempt by MPs to seize control of Commons business in a bid to secure a softer Brexit.

A cross-party group of pro-EU MPs claimed they had the numbers to force a series of indicative votes on alternatives to Theresa Mays Brexit deal.

However, Business Secretary Greg Clark said the Government was prepared to enable Parliament to express a view on the various options if Mrs Mays deal is rejected by the Commons for a third time next week.

Meanwhile, Mrs May hinted that she would not bring her beleaguered plan before MPs for another vote next week if sufficient support cannot be mustered.

In a letter to parliamentarians, she said: If it appears that there is not sufficient support to bring the deal back next week, or the House rejects it again, we can ask for another extension before 12 April  but that will involve holding European Parliament elections.

If it appears that there is sufficient support and the Speaker permits it, we can bring the deal back next week and if it is approved we can leave on 22 May.

Defeat for the Government on Monday on the amendment  tabled by former ministers Sir Oliver Letwin and Dominic Grieve and Labour MP Hilary Benn  would be a further humiliation for Mrs May.

Theresa May leaves Brussels after the EU summit (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The Prime Minister was already facing a furious backlash from Tory Brexiteers after she agreed a delay to Brexit with EU leaders in Brussels despite having repeatedly promised Britain would leave on March 29.

If the amendment is passed, it would pave the way for a series of indicative votes in the House on Wednesday, effectively taking control of the Brexit process out of the hands of the Government.

Sir Oliver said: We believe that we have the numbers to pass the amendment on Monday and thereby guarantee indicative votes on Wednesday.

However Mr Clark pointed to a commitment by David Lidington, Mrs Mays de facto deputy, to facilitate Parliament in expressing its view if she loses the third meaningful vote on her deal.

The Government will provide that so there is no reason why the Government should be forced to do something which it is committed to do anyway, he told the BBC.

Asked if that meant Mrs May would give MPs indicative votes on the way forward, he said: Yes.

The prospect however infuriated Brexiteers who fear it could see the Commons pivot towards a softer Norway-style deal.

Steve Baker, the deputy chairman of the European Research Group, tweeted: National humiliation is imminent through these indicative votes.

In a further setback for the Prime Minister, the DUP  whose support will be crucial if the Government is to win the vote on her deal  indicated they would not support her.

Steve Baker said holding indicative votes would lead to a national humiliation (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Deputy leader Nigel Dodds said she had failed to secure any change to the Northern Ireland backstop  which the the party bitterly opposes  at the summit in Brussels.

Nothing has changed as far as the Withdrawal Agreement is concerned. We will not accept any deal which poses a long-term risk to the constitutional and economic integrity of the United Kingdom, he said.

Mrs May returned to London with her party in disarray and MPs openly speculating that she will be forced to quit.

Under the plan set out at the EU summit, leaders agreed to extend Brexit to May 22 if Mrs May can finally get MPs to back her deal in a third Commons meaningful vote.

However, if she fails the UK will have to set out an alternative way forward by April 12, which could mean a much longer delay  with the UK required to hold elections to the European Parliament  or leaving without a deal at all.

Following defeats by 230 votes in January and 149 votes last week, both pro-EU MPs and Brexiteers warned that she was heading for another heavy reverse.

Former education secretary Nicky Morgan said there is no doubt Conservative MPs had made clear they wanted her to go.

If the third meaningful vote isnt approved, I think that makes her position very difficult, she said.

Nigel Evans, the pro-Brexit executive secretary of the backbench 1922 Committee, said a lot of people think it is not going to be long now before she does leave Downing Street.

Backbencher Steve Double said the next week would be a defining moment for her premiership and urged her to consider her position.

I think it is quite clear that she is not leading her party. She is isolated, sadly, from a majority of the parliamentary party now, he said.

We need to find a way forward and I think that requires new leadership.

However Tory grandee Ken Clarke warned that a Conservative leadership contest at such a crucial moment would be highly damaging.

The world would finally decide that the British and their political system had gone mad if we all broke off to have six weeks of a bloody leadership campaign, he told BBC Radio 4s The World At One.

Earlier, aides confirmed Thursdays agreement meant a no-deal Brexit was no longer a possibility on March 29, but stressed that it remained on the table if MPs have not approved the Withdrawal Agreement by April 12.

The format increases pressure on Leave-backing MPs to row in behind Mrs Mays deal, for fear that if it falls, the UK could find itself electing new MEPs and remaining for months or years within the EU.

Downing Street was unable to say on which day the Government would seek to bring back the Withdrawal Agreement for a third meaningful vote  known in Westminster as MV3.

But sources confirmed that Mrs May will table secondary legislation to remove the date March 29 from Brexit laws.
Detectives have charged a 50-year-old man with attempting to murder a teenager in a terror attack in Surrey.

Vincent Fuller, 50, of Viola Avenue, Stanwell, has also been charged with a series of other offences, detectives from Counter Terrorism South East said.

The charges relate to an incident on Saturday at a Tesco car park on Town Lane, Stanwell, where a 19-year-old man was stabbed.

Surrey Police said it will be charged as a terrorism case, and that Fuller is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court in central London on Saturday.

The Tesco in Stanwell where police were called to reports of a stabbing (Steve Parsons/PA Wire)

Fuller was charged with attempted murder, possessing a bladed article, affray, having an offensive weapon and racially aggravated fear or provocation of violence.

Police were called to the village, which is near Heathrow Airport, at around 10.30pm on Saturday.

Armed police attended and detained a man an hour later in nearby Town Lane.
Police believe an explosive device found at an Irish postal depot is linked to four others sent to locations in Great Britain.

The latest package found in Limerick had been addressed to Charing Cross in London, in an apparent attempt to send it to the station.

Counter-terrorism police said on Friday evening that it appears to be connected to those sent to other major transport hubs in the capital, as well as to Glasgow University, earlier this month.

The package found on Friday was in similar white packaging and sent with the same stamps branded with a heart motif.

Referring to the claim, Mr Haydon said: Whilst that remains a line of inquiry, we continue to keep an open mind on who may be responsible and any potential motivation.

I must also stress that we continue to urge the public to remain vigilant for any suspicious packages and to report anything suspicious to police.

Irish Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said we have reason to believe the latest package could be the fifth.

However, the group known to police as the New IRA had claimed on March 11 that the other parcel had been addressed to a British Army recruitment officer  not to Charing Cross.

Garda called army bomb disposal experts to the An Post depot in Dock Road on Friday morning after the suspicious package was discovered.

The Defence Forces said it was a viable improvised explosive device.

The first wave of packages arrived at Waterloo railway station and offices at Heathrow and London City airports on March 5 and 6.

They were posted with Irish stamps and had Dublin as the return address, prompting Irish police to join the investigation.

The latest also had the senders address as the republics capital, and added Irelan (sic) tourism.

Device found in Limerick, Ireland linked to ongoing investigation into small improvised explosive devices https://t.co/5impbrBN10 pic.twitter.com/QsZycx0I4J  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) March 22, 2019

All the stamps appeared to be those issued by the Irish postal service for Valentines Day 2018, featuring a heart motif and the words Love Eire N.

Police Scotland said a controlled explosion was carried out as a precaution on a suspicious package found in the mail room at Glasgow University, after several buildings had been evacuated.

All packages were A4-sized white postal bags containing yellow Jiffy bags and appeared capable of igniting a small fire when opened.

Speaking in Brussels, Irish premier Leo Varadkar said: First of all I condemn the actions of whoever did this without reservation.

No matter what is happening in politics at the moment, its no justification for violence and certainly no justification for potentially exposing civilians to injury or potentially death.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to march on Parliament calling for the public to be given the final say on Brexit.

Demonstrators will flood into the capital from across the country for the Put It To The People march in Parliament Square on Saturday.

The number of marchers calling for a second referendum could soar to more than one million after estimates for a similar rally in October were as high as 700,000.

Campaigners will march from Park Lane to Parliament Square from midday, followed by a rally in front of Parliament.

There, Labours deputy leader Tom Watson will tell crowds that he has reluctantly come to the view that the only way to resolve the current impasse is for people themselves to sign it off.

Brexit is stuck in the parliamentary pipework. The impasse works for neither Leavers or Remainers. I have come to the reluctant view that the only way to resolve this is for the country to have the final say. Tomorrow I will join the #PutItToThePeople march. pic.twitter.com/78abwJzqHF  Tom Watson (@tom_watson) March 22, 2019

Mr Watson will tell the crowds in Westminster: The current impasse is not working for people who voted to leave or people who voted to stay. I really dont think Parliament will be able to resolve this.

Anti-Brexit campaigners gathered in Parliament Square in October (Yui Mok/PA)

Thats why Ive come to the reluctant view that the only way to resolve this and have legitimacy in the eyes of the public is for the people themselves to sign it off.

It can only bring closure if were all involved in making the decision.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine and London mayor Sadiq Khan will also address the protest.

Ill be proud to speak at the @peoplesvote_uk march tomorrow. Scotland voted to remain in 2016 but people across the UK must have the chance to get out of this Brexit mess. Whatever Scotlands future - I hope independent - it is in all of our interests for UK to be in the EU.  Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) March 22, 2019

Other keynote speakers include former Conservative cabinet minister Justine Greening and former attorney general Dominic Grieve, former Tory turned independent MP Anna Soubry, Lib Dem deputy leader Jo Swinson, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas and SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford.

Campaigners will pour into London from across the country, with one embarking on a 715-mile journey on ferries, trains and buses from Orkney in Scotland.

Student Sorcha Kirker, 27, is the vice president for higher education of the Highlands and Islands Students Association, and studies archaeology at Orkney College UHI.

She said she will be joined by about 30 other students from the University of the Highlands and Islands.

She added: Personally I think its really unfair because predominantly students and young people dont want Brexit, and many were not old enough to vote in 2016, yet we are the ones whose futures it will affect for the longest.

The march comes on the same day pro-Brexit campaigners will continue their long hike from the North East to London, with former Ukip leader Nigel Farage re-joining the March to Leave when it sets off from Linby, near Nottingham, on Saturday morning.

The day of Remain and Leave demonstrations come at the end of a week when EU leaders agreed to delay Brexit to give Prime Minister Theresa May a final chance to get her deal through Parliament.

Under the plan set out at the EU summit, leaders agreed to extend Brexit to May 22 if Mrs May can finally get MPs to back her deal in a third Commons meaningful vote.

However, if she fails the UK will have to set out an alternative way forward by April 12, which could mean a much longer delay  with the UK required to hold elections to the European Parliament  or leaving without a deal at all.

A petition calling on the Government to halt the Brexit process had passed three and a half million signatures on Friday evening.
The prime responsibility for protecting the Good Friday Agreement lies with Britain, Irelands deputy leader has said.

The comments came after a request from German Chancellor Angela Merkel that the EU ramp up its plans to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland in the event of a no-deal scenario, with the creation of a taskforce.

The commission has always said that their responsibility will be to obviously respect the Irish situation, but also to protect the integrity of the EU single market and customs union, Simon Coveney said.

We also have a competing challenge here which is as a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement that needs to be protected.

The British Government also has that responsibility.

In fact, arguably I would say the British Government has the prime responsibility here, because of course it is British Government policy that has led to this challenge in the first place.

Simon Coveney said it was British Government policy that has led to this challenge in the first place (Brian Lawless/PA)

European Council Conclusions on an extension of Art 50 #Brexit. pic.twitter.com/4VRRwqeJpk  Simon Coveney (@simoncoveney) March 21, 2019

Ms Merkel asked EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier to examine a fall-back plan to uphold the Good Friday Agreement in a no-deal situation.

I dont accept that there is clearly a frustration with Ireland, there is an understanding across the European Union that the border question is a very emotive and political question on this island, thats why weve had so much support and solidarity across the European Union for solutions to that question, thats why we have the backstop within the Withdrawal Agreement, Mr Coveney added.

Its why, even in a no-deal scenario, the European Commission will work with Ireland to ensure that of course we need to protect the single market, we will also ensure that it doesnt result in physical infrastructure on the island.

The Fine Gael party conference which started in Wexford on Friday night will welcome DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson to speak over the weekend.

The DUP released a critical statement of Theresa May on Friday, in which MP Nigel Dodds claimed the Prime Minister had consistently settled for inferior compromises and criticised the fact that Theresa May did not secure changes to the Withdrawal Agreement.

Mr Coveney said that having the agreement changed was never the aim of the meetings in Brussels.

I read the statement that Nigel Dodds made today, it was very critical of the Prime Minister  I think we need to be careful not to read too much into emotive language now, he added.

We have tried to respond to their perspective by giving reassurance and clarification and the EU has responded very generously to the concerns they have over the backstop, and that is why we have to go with the Withdrawal Agreement, a legal document that requires the EU to set timelines and processes.

The statement that she hasnt changed the perspective of the EU is an unfair criticism, the European Council was never going to be about changing the Withdrawal Agreement it was about focusing on timelines and whether or not Article 50 got extended, and I think expecting anything else was unrealistic.

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long and SDLP MLA Claire Hanna will also attend the conference on Saturday.
Donald Trump said he has reversed his administrations decision to slap new sanctions on North Korea.

His press secretary explained that the President likes leader Kim Jong Un and does not think the measures are necessary.

It is unclear, however, which sanctions Mr Trump was referencing in his tweet, which took Treasury officials by surprise.

It was announced today by the US Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea, Mr Trump wrote from his private club in Palm Beach.

I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about which sanctions Mr Trump was referring to.

President Donald Trump said the sanctions were not needed (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

On Thursday, his administration did sanction two Chinese shipping companies suspected of helping North Korea evade sanctions  the first targeted actions taken against Pyongyang since Mr Trump and Mr Kim met in Hanoi, Vietnam, last month for negotiations about North Koreas nuclear weapons programme.

The summit ended without a deal.

Mr Trumps national security adviser John Bolton had described that step as Important action, tweeting, The maritime industry must do more to stop North Koreas illicit shipping practices.

Important actions today from @USTreasury; the maritime industry must do more to stop North Koreas illicit shipping practices. Everyone should take notice and review their own activities to ensure they are not involved in North Koreas sanctions evasion. https://t.co/AVnOPrWbH6  John Bolton (@AmbJohnBolton) March 21, 2019

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said that Mr Trump likes Chairman Kim and he doesnt think these sanctions will be necessary.

The White House had said Thursdays sanctions were evidence the US was maintaining pressure on North Korea in an effort to coax its leader to give up his nuclear weapons programme.

The Treasury Department sanctioned Dalian Haibo International Freight and Liaoning Danxing International Forwarding for using deceptive methods to circumvent international and US sanctions and the US commitment to implementing existing UN Security Council resolutions.
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall ended their visit to Barbados by attending a traditional Sunday service.

Charles and Camilla joined the congregation of the Cathedral Church of Saint Michael and All Angels in Bridgetown, Barbados, before flying to Cuba.

The heir to the throne usually goes to church if Sunday falls within a foreign tour and the couple were joined by Governor General Dame Cecile La Grenade.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have visited five Commonwealth Caribbean countries on their tour (Jane Barlow/PA)

The couple were greeted by Bishop Michael Maxwell of the Anglican Diocese of Barbados before a fanfare announced their arrival to the parishioners.

The prince and duchess were joined by a number of their entourage who sat in the seats behind the couple.

The service was staged for Charles and Camilla, who were featured in the prayers, as were the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.

Bishop Maxwell asked God to endue them with thy Holy Spirit, enrich them with thy heavenly grace, prosper them with all happiness and bring them to thine everlasting kingdom.

Charles and Camillas official trip to Cuba will be a first by members of the monarchy and comes after the couples tour of five Commonwealth Caribbean countries where the Queen is head of state.

The prince and duchess will be joined by Commonwealth minister Lord Ahmad, showing the importance the government places in developing ties with Cuba.

A meeting with Buena Vista Social Club will be one of the highlights during the royal couples trip to Cuba (Yui Mok/PA)

Charles met Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel in November last year at his London home, Clarence House, when the foreign leader visited the UK with a delegation of senior ministers.

At a Havana recording studio, the prince and his wife will meet members of the Buena Vista Social Club.

The group became worldwide celebrities when their 1997 album became a surprise global hit and Grammy award-winner.

Other highlights of the Cuban trip will include the couple meeting the owners of the famous vintage cars still running in Havana, although these will be British classics.

After being welcomed at the airport, the prince and his wife will start their visit by laying a wreath at the memorial for Cubas national hero, the essayist and poet Jose Marti.
Before we start, this is not a report of a private university/think tank/lifestyle-and-wellness centre that we can just shred into pieces.

The United Nations, whose Security Council wants to proscribe Pakistan-based terrorist Masood Azhar, has found that Pakistanis are actually a lot happier than Indians.

Wait a second before you rush to tweet your utter disbelief and outrage.

This was the case in 2017 as well.

Pakistanis are actually happier than Indians.

Whats new this year is that while Pakistan has progressed in this global happiness ranking further, India has not.

Thats okay. (Jobs and all, you can say).

But Pakistan is even happier than the poster boy of happiness in South Asia, Bhutan, which has gross national happiness instead of gross domestic product.

Really?

Are some Pakistanis happy because of imports from Afghanistan? Or because of the naya chief of naya Pakistan? (Photo: Reuters)

How can that even be possible?

This actually makes Pakistan (67) the happiest country in South Asia  surpassing Bhutan (95), Bangladesh (125), Sri Lanka (130) and India (140).

How is this even real?

(We cant even say that many Pakistanis are possibly high on Afghanistan's drugs as Afghanistan is quite a loser in this happiness chart!)

Jokes apart, whats making Pakistanis so happy?

This World Happiness Report arrives at the happiness level by combining various quantitative data, such as per capita GDP growth, and qualitative data, such as social support, freedom to make life choices and perceptions of corruption.

Now, seriously  do we have to believe that Pakistan fares better than India in all these spheres? In GDP? In perceptions of corruption? Also, what is the 'freedom to make life choices' in Pakistan? Were the Pakistanis who answered the UN's questions free to answer on their own? We really wonder!

The gap between India and Pakistan is so huge that we can't blame one miscalculation. There must be plenty. Like, the sample size cant be the same for a country with a 204-million population and one with a 1.37-billion population.

Cash-strapped, knee-deep in debt, globally suspected, a terror tinderbox  yet, the happiest?

Is this happiness because the eye of the storm remains the calmest?

Or simply because money can't buy happiness?

Also Read: Pakistan elects the gulab jamun as its national sweet: Here's why we're not biting into this entirely
China is known to be a Machiavellian power. It has an exalted sense of self. Colonisation and civil war have left deep scars. In lining up behind a terrorist, Jaish-e-Mohammed founder Masood Azhar, Beijing has lived up to its reputation of an economic behemoth that lacks the wisdom of a geopolitical superpower.

China lost the plot

Saving Masood Azhar from being designated as a global terrorist is largely symbolic. Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed has a $10 million bounty on his head but continues to freely preach sectarian hate under the protection of the Pakistan Army. Designating Azhar a global terrorist at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) would change nothing. The Jaish is already a proscribed terror group but gets funds and weapons from Pakistan without fetter.

This is why Chinas obduracy over Azhar is striking. It has miscalculated the geopolitical cost of its support for Azhar. As a putative great power poised to challenge the global economic and military supremacy of the US, China should have cut its losses over Azhar and earned global respect. Instead, it has earned global infamy.

For China, Masood Azhar is not so much terrorist as security guarantor for the CPEC. (Photo: AP)

In what will be a slap on its face, the other 14 members of the UNSC, including four veto-carrying permanent members (France, Russia, Britain and the US) who voted to designate Azhar as a global terrorist, could as soon as next week call for a full discussion and vote on the issue. China will have to defend its indefensible position at the UNSC. It will be a rare humiliation for Beijing. As one UN diplomat said coldly: If China is serious about terrorism, it should not protect terrorists from Pakistan or any other country from being held accountable to the council.

By protecting a terrorist proxy of the Pakistani Army, China is playing with fire. Terrorism lurks on its border. Islamist terrorists in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Gilgit-Baltistan are enraged by Beijings brutal treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang. Over a million Muslims remain in prison-like detention camps. The objective, China says, is to de-radicalise them. At the same time, Beijing protects radicalised Islamist terrorists in Pakistan.

The two objectives are so contradictory that even the mandarins in Beijing are aware of how unsustainable they are as a cogent strategy. Indias diplomacy with China has oscillated between resolute and conciliatory. Over Doklam, firm resolve paid dividends. China backed down and lost face. There is nothing Beijing dislikes more than losing face. It internalised the setback and recalibrated its strategy towards India.

Many contradictions

At the informal Wuhan summit, President Xi Jinping played the good host, telling Prime Minister Narendra Modi that China and India must stand together in a challenging global environment. Modi accepted the Wuhan spirit as a new beginning in India-China relations. He has been proved wrong. China is as hostile to India as it was pre-Doklam.

Xis obsession with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) lies at the heart of Beijings antipathy towards New Delhi. India is the only major regional power that has opposed the BRI and the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which is a key conduit of the BRI linking China to the oil assets of West Asia. For China, the Jaish and Azhar are not so much terrorists as security guarantors for the CPEC. According to ORF, a think tank, China expects to have around 5,00,000 Chinese nationals living in Gwadar port city by 2022. The Chinese are transactional. They have made a bargain with Pakistan over the CPEC. That involves using a terror group like the Jaish to keep insurgents at bay in Gwadar, located in Balochistan, Pakistans largest and most restive province. If anti-Pakistan terrorism from Baloch insurgents thrives there, the CPEC will be severely compromised, placing the entire BRI in jeopardy.

Let us recalibrate

India has mishandled its China policy for over 60 years. In the 1950s, India reportedly erred in ceding a UNSC veto-carrying permanent seat to China. Whatever the truth, it lies in the past. India is today not bereft of leverage with China. Beijing continues to be caught in a damaging trade war with the US. It is reviled by littoral states in and around the South China Sea, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea.

As an upcoming economic and military superpower, China should have cut its losses of Masood Azhar. Instead, it has earned global infamy. (Photo: AP)

China cannot afford to directly confront the emerging India-US strategic alliance. India is the balancing pole in this triangular relationship. Indias economy is set to be the worlds third largest by 2030, a fact the Chinese are keenly aware of. Their transactional relationship with Pakistan is uncannily similar to the US-Pakistani alliance of convenience after the 1989 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Both  the US then, and China now  see Pakistan as a necessary evil. Islamabad has played its cards adroitly. But terrorism is fungible. Those who use terrorists as arms of the state (as Pakistan does) or as security against other terrorists (as China does) will reap the whirlwind.

As China draws increasing global criticism for backing Masood Azhar, India must deploy all the levers it possesses to pressurise Beijing, including Indias own growing market and Chinas biggest Achilles heel: Taiwan.

(Courtesy of Mail Today)

Also read: Great Wall of India: How we can punish China for its Masood Azhar slight, and its attempt to interfere in our elections
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China is home to the worlds largest ride-hailing market, estimated by consulting firm Bain & Co to be worth USD 23 billion.

Suning will be the biggest shareholder with a 19 percent stake while Alibaba and Tencents investment units will together hold the remainder shares with some other funds.

Alibaba, Tencent, Suning, and car makers including Chongqing Changan Automobile have set up a USD 1.5 billion Chinese ride-hailing venture, a move that could test the dominance of ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxing.

Chongqing Changan Automobile said on Friday that it has invested 1.6 billion yuan (USD 238.36 million) in the Nanjing-based investment company alongside partners such as the investment units of Alibaba, Tencent and retailer Suning.Com Co Ltd, and automakers FAW and Dongfeng Motor.

China is home to the worlds largest ride-hailing market, estimated by consulting firm Bain & Co to be worth USD 23 billion. Of that, Didi Chuxing takes 90 per cent of all bookings.

However, a swathe of car makers, from BMW, Geely to SAIC as well as other tech firms such as Meituan Dianping have also launched their own mobility services in a bid to grab a share of the fast-growing market.

Didi, which is backed by Japans SoftBank Group Corp and Uber Technologies, also has joint ventures with BAIC and Volkswagen.

Wijaya Ng, who tracks Chinas automotive industry at Ipsos Business Consulting, said the new venture dovetails with a larger, global trend wherein traditional automakers are entering the ride-hailing sector.

They see that moving forward, if car-hailing is going to be the future, they want to tap into this market sooner rather than later, said Ng.

Changan said that itself, Dongfeng and FAW will each have a 15 per cent stake in the joint venture, which will set up a ride-sharing company with a focus on new energy vehicles.

Suning will be the biggest shareholder with a 19 per cent stake while Alibaba and Tencents investment units will together hold the remainder shares with some other funds, it added.

The new ride-hailing company and its investors, which come from a range of fields, will help form business synergies which will help enrich the companies ecosystems, Suning said in a statement.

FAW and Dongfeng confirmed the venture while Alibaba and Tencent declined to comment beyond the Changan statement. Didi declined to comment.

Shares of Changan and Dongfeng Automobile Co Ltd jumped by the maximum daily allowed 10 per cent after the news. FAW Car Co Ltd shares climbed 6.6 per cent.

The growing popularity of ride-hailing services for commuting and running errands in congested cities such as Beijing and Shanghai is showing early signs of reducing private car ownership.

However, the industry and Didi came under tighter government scrutiny and regulation last year after a Didi passenger was raped and murdered by her driver.
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Bunzl plc operates as a distribution and services company in the North America, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. The company offers food packaging, films, labels, counter-service packaging, foodservice disposables, take-out food packaging, first aid products, point of purchase displays, stationery, bags, and cleaning and hygiene supplies to grocery stores, supermarkets, retail chains, convenience stores, food wholesalers, ethnic grocers, and organic food outlets. It also provides food packaging, napkins, disposable tableware, food service disposables, guest amenities, light and heavy catering equipment, cleaning and hygiene products, and safety items to hotels, restaurants, caterers, the leisure sector, and food processors and packers; and footwear, gloves, safety helmets, workwear, harness equipment, tools, safety signs, traffic management, and ancillary site equipment, as well as ear, eye, respiratory, and face protection products to customers in the industrial and construction markets. In addition, the company offers cleaning systems, floorcare items, hand cleansing products, hygiene paper, janitorial products, cleaning machines, mops, polishes, and protective clothing and washroom chemicals to facilities management companies, contract cleaners, and other industrial and healthcare customers; and counter service packaging, point of purchase display items, stationery, and cleaning and hygiene products to department stores, boutiques, office supply companies, retail chains, and home improvement chains. Further, it provides gloves, aprons, bandages, facemasks, gowns, headwear, mattress covers, overshoes, procedure packs, tapes, wipes, incontinence products, and swabs to the healthcare sector, including hospitals, retirement and nursing homes, and doctors' surgeries and clinics; and various products to government and education establishments. Bunzl plc was founded in 1854 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Eli Lilly and: 1096401 B.C. Unlimited Liability Company, ARMO BioSciences Inc, ARMO Bioscience, Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Alnara Pharmaceuticals, Alnara Pharmaceuticals Inc., Andean Technical Operations Center, Applied Molecular Evolution Inc., AurKa Pharma, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals Inc., ChemGen, CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, CoLucid Pharmaceuticals Inc., Dermira, Devices for Vascular Intervention(DVI), Disarm Therapeutics, Dista Ilac Ticaret Ltd. Sti., Dista S.A., Dista-Produtos Quimicos & Farmaceuticos LDA, ELCO Dominicana SRL, ELCO Insurance Company Limited, ELCO Management Inc., ELCO for Trade and Marketing S.A.E., ELGO Insurance Company Limited, Elanco Animal Health Ireland Limited, Elanco Switzerland Holding Sarl, Eli Lilly (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Eli Lilly (Philippines) Incorporated, Eli Lilly (S.A.) (Proprietary) Limited, Eli Lilly (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Eli Lilly (Suisse) S.A., Eli Lilly Asia Inc., Eli Lilly Asia Pacific SSC Sdn Bhd, Eli Lilly Australia Pty. Limited, Eli Lilly B-H d.o.o., Eli Lilly Benelux S.A., Eli Lilly Bienes y Servicios S de RL de CV, Eli Lilly CR s.r.o., Eli Lilly Canada Inc., Eli Lilly Cork Limited, Eli Lilly Danmark A/S, Eli Lilly Egypt for Trading, Eli Lilly European Clinical Trial Services SA, Eli Lilly Export S.A., Eli Lilly Finance S.A., Eli Lilly Ges.m.b.H., Eli Lilly Group Limited, Eli Lilly Holdings Ltd., Eli Lilly Hrvatska d.o.o., Eli Lilly Interamerica Inc., Eli Lilly Interamerica Inc. y Compania Limitada, Eli Lilly International Corporation, Eli Lilly Ireland Holdings Limited, Eli Lilly Israel Ltd., Eli Lilly Italia S.p.A., Eli Lilly Japan K.K., Eli Lilly Kinsale Limited, Eli Lilly Nederland B.V., Eli Lilly Nigeria Ltd., Eli Lilly Norge A.S., Eli Lilly Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd., Eli Lilly Polska Sp.z.o.o. (Ltd.), Eli Lilly Regional Operations GmbH, Eli Lilly Romania SRL, Eli Lilly S.A., Eli Lilly Saudi Arabia Limited, Eli Lilly Services Inc, Eli Lilly Services India Private Limited, Eli Lilly Slovakia s.r.o., Eli Lilly Sweden AB, Eli Lilly Vostok S.A. Geneva, Eli Lilly and Company, Eli Lilly and Company (India) Pvt. Ltd., Eli Lilly and Company (Ireland) Limited, Eli Lilly and Company (N.Z.) Limited, Eli Lilly and Company (Taiwan) Inc., Eli Lilly and Company Limited, Eli Lilly de Centro America S.A., Eli Lilly do Brasil Limitada, Eli Lilly farmacevtska druzba d.o.o., Eli Lilly y Compania de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Eli Lilly y Compania de Venezuela S.A., Glycostasis Inc, Greenfield-Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Heart Rhythm Technologies Inc, Hybritech, Hypnion, ICOS Corporation, ImClone GmbH, ImClone LLC, ImClone Systems Holdings Inc., ImClone Systems LLC, Imclone Systems, Irisfarma S.A., Ivy Animal Health, Kinsale Financial Services Unlimited Company, Lilly (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd, Lilly Asia Ventures Fund I L.P., Lilly Asia Ventures Fund II L.P., Lilly Asian Ventures Fund III L.P., Lilly Cayman Holdings, Lilly China Research and Development Co. Ltd., Lilly Deutschland GmbH, Lilly France S.A.S., Lilly Global Nederland Holdings B.V., Lilly Global Services Inc., Lilly Holding GmbH, Lilly Holdings B.V., Lilly Hungaria KFT, Lilly Japan Financing G.K., Lilly Korea Ltd., Lilly Nederland Finance B.V., Lilly Nederland Finance B.V. - GCC, Lilly Nederland Holding B.V., Lilly Pharma Ltd., Lilly Portugal - Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Lilly S.A., Lilly Suzhou Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Lilly Trading Co. LTD, Lilly USA LLC, Lilly Ventures Fund I LLC, Lilly del Caribe Inc., Lilly ilac ticaret limited sirketi, Lohmann Animal Health, Loxo Oncology, Lylly Centre for Clinical Pharmacology PTE. LTD., Novartis Animal Health, OY Eli Lilly Finland AB, Origin Medsystems, PT. Eli Lilly Indonesia, Pacific Biotech, Pharmaserve-Lilly S.A.C.I., Physio-Control, SGX Pharmaceuticals, SGX Pharmaceuticals Inc, Spaly Bioquimica S.A., UAB Eli Lilly Lietuva, Valquifarma S.A., and Vital Pharma Productos Farmaceuticos.
There is not enough analysis data for FalconStor Software.

4.5 Community Rank

Outperform Votes FalconStor Software has received 133 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.)

Underperform Votes FalconStor Software has received 62 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.)

Community Sentiment FalconStor Software has received 68.21% outperform votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about FalconStor Software and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe FALC will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe FALC will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

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Tembo Gold Corp., a junior mineral development company, acquires, explores, and develops mineral properties in Tanzania. The company primarily explores for gold deposits. Its flagship project is the Tembo gold property located in the Lake Victoria goldfield district in northwest Tanzania. The company was formerly known as Lakota Resources Inc. and changed its name to Tembo Gold Corp. in September 2011. Tembo Gold Corp. was incorporated in 1937 and is based in Vancouver, Canada.

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While the guidance does not have legal force, it will carry political weight which can lead to national legislation in EU countries.

The United States has lobbied Europe to shut out Huawei, saying its equipment could be used by the Chinese government for espionage. (Photo: AP)

The European Commission will next week urge EU countries to share more data to tackle cybersecurity risks related to 5G networks but will ignore US calls to ban Huawei Technologies, four people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

European digital chief Andrus Ansip will present the recommendation on Tuesday. While the guidance does not have legal force, it will carry political weight which can eventually lead to national legislation in European Union countries.

The United States has lobbied Europe to shut out Huawei, saying its equipment could be used by the Chinese government for espionage. Huawei has strongly rejected the allegations and earlier this month sued the US government over the issue.

Ansip will tell EU countries to use tools set out under the EU directive on security of network and information systems, or NIS directive, adopted in 2016 and the recently approved Cybersecurity Act, the people said.

For example, member states should exchange information and coordinate on impact assessment studies on security risks and on certification for internet-connected devices and 5G equipment.

The Commission will not call for a European ban on global market leader Huawei, leaving it to EU countries to decide on national security grounds.

It is a recommendation to enhance exchanges on the security assessment of digital critical infrastructure, one of the sources said.

The Commission said the recommendation would stress a common EU approach to security risks to 5G networks.

The EU executives guidance marks a tougher stance on Chinese investment after years of almost unfettered European openness to China, which controls 70 percent of the global supply of the critical raw materials needed to make high-tech goods.

The measures, if taken on board, will be part of what French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday was a European awakening about potential Chinese dominance, after EU leaders held a first-ever discussion about China policy at a summit.

Germany this month set tougher criteria for all telecoms equipment vendors, without singling out Huawei and ignoring US pressure.

Big telecoms operators oppose a Huawei ban, saying such a move could set back 5G deployment in the bloc by years. In contrast, Australia and New Zealand have stopped operators using Huawei equipment in their networks.

The industry sees 5G as the next money spinner, with its promise to link up everything from vehicles to household devices.

Alongside from the Huawei issue, the bloc also plans to discuss Chinese subsidies, state involvement in the Chinese economy and more access to the Chinese market at an EU-China summit on April 9.
The following companies are subsidiares of Becton, Dickinson and: (Bard Istanbul Healthcare Limited Company), Accuri Cytometers, Accuri Cytometers Inc., Adaptec Manufacturing Singapore, Alverix, Alverix Inc., Atto Bioscience, BD Holding S. de R.L. de C.V., BD Infection Prevention BV, BD Kiestra BV, BD Kiestra Total Lab Automation, BD Rapid Diagnostic (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., BD San Luis Potosi S.A. de C.V., BD Switzerland Sarl, BD Ventures LLC, BD West Africa Limited, BDX INO LLC, Bard (Thailand) Limited, Bard ASDI Inc., Bard Access Systems Inc., Bard Acquisition Sub Inc., Bard Australia Pty. Limited, Bard Benelux N.V., Bard Brachytherapy Inc., Bard Brasil Industria e Comercio de Produtos Para a Saude Ltda., Bard Canada Inc., Bard Chile S.p.A., Bard Czech Republic s.r.o., Bard Devices Inc., Bard Dublin ITC Limited, Bard EMEA Finance Center Sp.z o.o., Bard European Distribution Center N.V., Bard Finance B.V. & Co. KG., Bard Financial Services Ltd., Bard Finland OY, Bard France S.A.S., Bard Global Holdings I LLC, Bard Global Holdings II LLC, Bard Global Holdings III LLC, Bard Healthcare Inc., Bard Healthcare Science (Shanghai) Limited, Bard Hellas S.A., Bard Holding SAS, Bard Holdings Limited, Bard Holdings Netherlands B.V., Bard Hong Kong Limited, Bard IP Holdings Inc., Bard India Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Bard International Holdings B.V., Bard International Inc., Bard Korea Ltd., Bard Limited, Bard MRL Acquisition Corp., Bard Malaysia Healthcare Sdn. Bhd., Bard Medica SA, Bard Medical Devices (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Bard Medical R&D (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Bard Medical SA (Proprietary) Limited, Bard Mexico Realty S. de R.L. de C.V., Bard Norden AB, Bard Norway AS, Bard Pacific Health Care Company Ltd., Bard Peripheral Vascular Inc., Bard Poland Sp. z.o.o., Bard Productos Plasticos e Medicos Ltda., Bard Reynosa S.A. de C.V., Bard S.r.l., Bard Sdn. Bhd., Bard Shannon Limited, Bard Singapore Private Limited, Bard Sourcing Office Singapore Pte. Ltd., Bard Sweden AB, Bard UK Newco Limited, Bard de Espana S.A., Becton Dickinson (Gibraltar) Holdings Ltd., Becton Dickinson (Gibraltar) Limited, Becton Dickinson (Gibraltar) Management Limited, Becton Dickinson (Mauritius) Limited, Becton Dickinson (Pty) Ltd., Becton Dickinson (Thailand) Limited, Becton Dickinson A.G., Becton Dickinson A/S, Becton Dickinson Argentina S.R.L., Becton Dickinson Asia Holdings Ltd., Becton Dickinson Asia Limited, Becton Dickinson Austria GmbH, Becton Dickinson Austria Holdings GmbH, Becton Dickinson B.V., Becton Dickinson B.V. Saudi Limited Company, Becton Dickinson Benelux N.V., Becton Dickinson Biosciences Systems and Reagents Inc., Becton Dickinson Canada Inc., Becton Dickinson Caribe Ltd., Becton Dickinson Croatia d.o.o., Becton Dickinson Czechia s.r.o., Becton Dickinson Dispensing Belgium BVBA, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Denmark A/S, Becton Dickinson Dispensing France SAS, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Ireland Limited, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Norway, Becton Dickinson Dispensing Spain S.L.U., Becton Dickinson Dispensing UK Ltd., Becton Dickinson Distribution Center N.V., Becton Dickinson East Africa Ltd., Becton Dickinson Euro Finance Sarl, Becton Dickinson Europe Holdings S.A.S., Becton Dickinson France S.A.S., Becton Dickinson GSA Beteilgungs GmbH, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings I Inc., Becton Dickinson Global Holdings II LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings IV LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings V LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings VII LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Holdings VIII LLC, Becton Dickinson Global Services Centre Sdn. Bhd, Becton Dickinson GmbH, Becton Dickinson Guatemala S.A., Becton Dickinson Hellas S.A., Becton Dickinson Holdings Limited, Becton Dickinson Holdings Ltd., Becton Dickinson Holdings Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson Hungary Kft., Becton Dickinson India Private Limited, Becton Dickinson Industrias Cirurgicas Ltda., Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy AB, Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy Holdings UK Limited, Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy Systems Inc., Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy Systems Inc. S.A. de C.V., Becton Dickinson Infusion Therapy UK, Becton Dickinson Insulin Syringe Ltd., Becton Dickinson International Holdings II Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson International Holdings III Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson International Holdings Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson Israel Ltd., Becton Dickinson Italia S.p.A., Becton Dickinson Ithalat Ihracat Limited Sirketi, Becton Dickinson Korea Holding Inc., Becton Dickinson Korea Ltd., Becton Dickinson Ltd., Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Finance S.a.r.L., Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Global Holdings Sarl, Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Holdings II S.a.r.L, Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Holdings III S.a.r.L, Becton Dickinson Luxembourg Holdings V S.a.r.L., Becton Dickinson Malaysia Inc., Becton Dickinson Management GmbH & Co. KG, Becton Dickinson Matrex Holdings Inc., Becton Dickinson Medical (S) Pte Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Devices (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Devices (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Products Pte. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Medical Technology (Jiangsu) Co. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Netherlands Global Holdings II C.V., Becton Dickinson Netherlands Holdings B.V., Becton Dickinson Netherlands Holdings II B.V., Becton Dickinson Norway AS, Becton Dickinson O.Y., Becton Dickinson Overseas Services Ltd., Becton Dickinson Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd., Becton Dickinson Penel Limited, Becton Dickinson Philippines Inc., Becton Dickinson Polska Sp.z.o.o., Becton Dickinson Portugal Unipessoal Lda., Becton Dickinson Pty. Ltd., Becton Dickinson Research Centre Ireland Limited, Becton Dickinson Rowa Germany GmbH, Becton Dickinson Rowa Italy Srl, Becton Dickinson S.A., Becton Dickinson Sample Collection GmbH, Becton Dickinson Scot Financing L.L.P., Becton Dickinson Scot Financing L.P., Becton Dickinson Sdn. Bhd., Becton Dickinson Slovakia s.r.o., Becton Dickinson Sweden AB, Becton Dickinson Sweden Holdings AB, Becton Dickinson Switzerland Global Holdings SarL, Becton Dickinson Technology Campus India, Becton Dickinson U.K. Limited, Becton Dickinson UK Financing I Limited, Becton Dickinson UK Financing II Limited, Becton Dickinson Venezuela C.A., Becton Dickinson Venture LLC, Becton Dickinson Verwaltungs GmbH, Becton Dickinson Vostok LLC, Becton Dickinson Worldwide Investments Sa.r.L., Becton Dickinson Zambia Limited, Becton Dickinson and Company Ltd., Becton Dickinson de Colombia Ltda., Becton Dickinson de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Becton Dickinson del Uruguay S.A., Benex Ltd., Biometric Imaging, Bridger Biomed Inc., C. R. Bard, C. R. Bard (Portugal) - Produtos e Artigos Medicos e Farmaceuticos, C. R. Bard Do Brasil Productos Medicos Ltda., C. R. Bard GmbH, C. R. Bard Inc., C. R. Bard Netherlands Sales B.V., CME America LLC, CME Ltd., CME Medical (UK) Limited, CME UK (Holdings) Limited, CRISI Medical Systems, CRISI Medical Systems Inc., Caesarea Medical Electronics, Cardal II LLC, Care Fusion Development Private Limited, CareFusion, CareFusion (Barbados) SrL, CareFusion (Shanghai) Commercial and Trading Co. Limited, CareFusion 213 LLC, CareFusion 2200 Inc., CareFusion 2201 Inc., CareFusion 302 LLC, CareFusion 303 Inc., CareFusion Asia (HK) Limited, CareFusion BH 335 d.o.o. Cazin, CareFusion Corporation, CareFusion D.R. 203 Ltd., CareFusion France 309 S.A.S., CareFusion Israel 330 Ltd., CareFusion Italy 312 S.p.A., CareFusion Manufacturing LLC, CareFusion Mexico 215 S.A. de C.V., CareFusion Netherlands 328 B.V., CareFusion Netherlands 503 B.V., CareFusion Netherlands 504 B.V., CareFusion Netherlands Financing 283 C.V., CareFusion Resources LLC, CareFusion S.A. 319 (Proprietary) Limited, CareFusion Solutions LLC, CareFusion U.K. 244 Limited, CareFusion U.K. 305 Limited, CareFusion U.K. 306 Limited, Carmel Pharma AB, Carmel Pharma Inc, Cato Software Solutions, Cell Analysis Systems Inc, Cellular Research, Cellular Research Inc., Clearstream Technologies Group Limited, Clearstream Technologies Limited, Clontech Laboratories Inc, Corporativo BD de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Cubex, Cytopeia, DLD (Bermuda) Ltd., DVL Acquisition Sub Inc., Davol Inc., Davol International Limited, Davol Surgical Innovations S.A. de C.V., Difco Laboratories Incorporated, Distribuidora BD Mexico S.A. de C.V., Dutch American Manufacturers (D.A.M.) B.V., Dymax Corporation, Embo Medical Limited, Enturia de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Enturican Inc., FJ International Inc., FlowCardia Inc., FlowCardia LLC, FlowJo LLC, Franklin Lakes Enterprises L.L.C., GSL Solutions, Gamer Lasertechnik GmbH, GenCell Biosystems, GenCell Biosystems Ltd., GeneOhm Sciences, GeneOhm Sciences Canada ULC, Gentest Corporation, Gesco International Inc., Gesco International LLC, HandyLab Inc, HandyLab Inc., IBD Holdings LLC, Iontophoretics Corporation, JoHome LLC, Kabushiki Kaisha Medicon (Medicon Inc.), Liberator Health and Education Services Inc., Liberator Health and Wellness Inc., Liberator Medical Holdings Inc., Liberator Medical Supply Inc., LifeBond, Limited Liability Company Bard Rus, Loma Vista Medical Inc., Loma Vista Medical LLC, Lutonix Inc., Med-Design Corporation, Med-Design Investment Holdings Inc., Med-Safe Systems Inc., MedChem Products Inc., Medafor Inc., Medegen LLC, Medinservice.com Inc., Medivance Inc., NAT Diagnostics, NAT Diagnostics Inc., NOW Medical Distribution Inc., NOW Medical Distribution LLC, Navarre Biomedical LLC, Navarre Biomedical Ltd., Neomend Inc., Nippon Becton Dickinson Company Ltd., Omega Biosystems Incorporated, P.R.C. (Isialys) Societe a responsabilitie limitee (Societe a associe unique), PT Becton Dickinson Indonesia, PharMingen, PreAnalytiX GmbH, Pristine Access Technologies Inc., ProSeed Inc., Procesos para Esterilizacion S.A. de C.V., Productos Bard de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Productos Para el Cuidado de la Salud S.A. de C.V., Puls Medical Devices AS LC, PureWick Corporation, Roberts Laboratories Inc., Rochester Medical Corporation, Rochester Medical Ltd., Saf-T-Med, Safety Syringes, Safety Syringes Inc., Sendal S.L.U., SenoRx Inc., SenoRx LLC, Shield Healthcare Centers Inc., Sirigen, Sirigen II Limited, Sirigen Inc., Sistemas Medicos ALARIS S.A. de C.V., Specialized Cooperative Corporation, Specialized Health Products Inc., Specialized Health Products International Inc., Specialized Health Products International LLC, Staged Diabetes Management LLC, Straub Medical, Straub Medical AG, Surgical Site Solutions Inc., TVA Medical, TVA Medical Inc., Tepha, Tepha Inc., Tri-County Medical & Ostomy Supplies Inc., TriPath Imaging, TriPath Imaging Inc., Vas-Cath Incorporated, Vascular Pathways Inc., Velano Vascular, Velano Vascular Inc., Venetec International Inc., Venetec International LLC, Y-Med Inc., Y-Med LLC, and ZebraSci Inc..
The largest US automaker has come under heavy criticism from President Donald Trump in recent days.

Last year, GM said it would end production at five North American assembly plants and eliminate about 15,000 jobs, prompting outrage and a two-day visit by Barra to Capitol Hill to answer questions about the job cuts.

General Motors Co confirmed on Friday it will invest USD 300 million in a suburban Detroit assembly plant, adding 400 jobs to build a new Chevrolet electric vehicle.

The largest US automaker has come under heavy criticism from President Donald Trump in recent days over its decision to end production at its Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant earlier this month.

GM officials said the announcement was planned well before Trumps series of angry GM tweets that started on Saturday. Trump called GM CEO Mary Barra on Sunday to urge her to reverse the decision to end production at the Ohio plant, which is in a crucial state for the 2020 presidential election. He again ripped the company in a speech in Ohio on Wednesday.

Barra, speaking to reporters after an event at the plant in Orion Township, outside Detroit, with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announcing the investment, said GM is focused on ensuring that all of the hourly workers at Lordstown find new jobs at other plants. But she has shown no indication it will reverse course and reopen the Lordstown plant.

She declined to say if she thought there was more tension between GM and Trump.

We want to create jobs, good paying jobs, Barra said, saying her talks with Trump had a business focus. She said GM needs to remain strong in order to continue to add jobs.

Reuters reported on Thursday on GMs investment plans for the plant.

Last year, GM said it would end production at five North American assembly plants and eliminate about 15,000 jobs, prompting outrage and a two-day visit by Barra to Capitol Hill to answer questions about the job cuts.

GM did not disclose the name or timing of the new GM EV but said it would be built on the same platform as the existing Chevrolet Bolt EV. GM did not disclose the name of the new EV or the timing of production.

The automaker said in total it is investing USD 1.8 billion in its US manufacturing operations this year, creating 700 new jobs and supporting 28,000 jobs across six states.

Additional product information and timing for the new Chevrolet EV will be released closer to production.

Barra said after event that GM supports the proposed United States, Mexico and Canada Agreement and we are making adjustments because we will comply with new rules requiring additional North American content.

Reuters reported Thursday that GM was initially considering building the new EV in China.

In February, GM disclosed that it had hired Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm run by Brian Ballard, a fundraiser for Trumps presidential campaign. The company has been eager to try to smooth over relations with the White House after Trump first began harshly attacking GM last year.
SRC Energy Inc., an oil and natural gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids primarily in the Denver-Julesburg Basin of Colorado. As of December 31, 2018, it had net proved oil and natural gas reserves of 88 million barrels of oil and condensate, 771.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas, and 89.1 million barrels of natural gas liquids; and operated 985 net producing wells, as well as had 95,200 gross and 86,200 net acres under lease in the Wattenberg Field. The company was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

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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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There is not enough analysis data for Eumundi Group.

4.4 Community Rank

Outperform Votes Eumundi Group has received 14 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.)

Underperform Votes Eumundi Group has received 7 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.)

Community Sentiment Eumundi Group has received 66.67% outperform votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Eumundi Group and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe EBG will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe EBG will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

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Varian Medical Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures, sells, and services medical devices and software products for treating cancer and other medical conditions worldwide. It operates through Oncology Systems and Proton Solutions segments. The Oncology Systems segment offers hardware and software products for treating cancer with radiotherapy, fixed field intensity-modulated radiation therapy, image-guided radiation therapy, volumetric modulated arc therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiotherapy, artificial intelligence based adaptive radiotherapy, and brachytherapy, as well as quality assurance equipment. Its products include linear accelerators, brachytherapy afterloaders, treatment accessories, and quality assurance software; and information management, treatment planning, image processing, clinical knowledge exchange, patient care management, decision-making support, and practice management software. This segment serves university research and community hospitals, private and governmental institutions, healthcare agencies, physicians' offices, medical oncology practices, radiotherapy centers, and cancer care clinics. The Proton Solutions segment designs, develops, manufactures, sells, and services products and systems for delivering proton therapy for the treatment of cancer. The company has a strategic agreement with McKesson Corp. to supply treatment delivery systems and planning, services, and radiotherapy information system solutions to its U.S. Oncology Network and Vantage Oncology affiliated sites of care; and a strategic partnership with Siemens AG to represent Siemens diagnostic imaging products to radiation oncology clinics in the United States and other select markets. Varian Medical Systems, Inc. was formerly known as Varian Associates, Inc. and changed its name to Varian Medical Systems, Inc. in April 1999. The company was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

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Karnataka earlier this week issued a notice to suspend Olas licence for six months for violating government rules.

Olas permit, obtained in 2017 and valid to 2021, allows it to run three and four-wheeler taxis in Karnataka.

Karnataka kept the door open on Saturday to talks with local ride-hailing service Ola to avoid a ban that could help rival Uber build market share.

Karnataka earlier this week issued a notice to suspend Olas licence for six months for violating government rules by running motorcycle taxis which are not allowed for safety reasons.

State capital and technology hub Bengaluru is among Olas top three markets in India.

V.P. Ikkeri, state commissioner for transport and road safety, told reporters the department had seized and issued fines for about 258 bikes during a probe after complaints.

Olas permit, obtained in 2017 and valid to 2021, allows it to run three and four-wheeler taxis in Karnataka. The company, backed by SoftBank Group Corp and Tencent Holdings Ltd, has until Monday to respond to the suspension notice.

Its a temporary suspension and if they give us a satisfactory response, then we wont need to implement the ban, Ikkeri said, adding that Ola would face financial penalties.

Ola did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It could lose out badly to Uber if pushed out of the market for an extended period.

If Uber comes up with a strategy to lock in some of the drivers or customers with more incentives, it will be difficult for Ola to make a comeback, said Neil Shah, partner and research director at Counterpoint Research.

Assuming the top three (Indian) markets contribute to roughly 35-40 percent of Olas revenues, if the ban is upheld, we could be looking at a 5-10 percent revenue hit to the company.

On Friday, the company said it was evaluating all options to find an amicable solution and was working closely with the authorities.

Ikkeri also said the department had sent a notice about penalties to the last known address of Rapido, another motorcycle taxi operator in Bengaluru. Rapido could not be reached for comment despite multiple attempts by Reuters.
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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Rogers Communications Inc. operates as a communications and media company in Canada. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Cable, and Media. The company offers mobile Internet access, wireless voice and enhanced voice, device and accessory financing, wireless home phone, device protection, text messaging, e-mail, global voice and data roaming, bridging landline, machine-to-machine and Internet of Things solutions, and advanced wireless solutions for businesses, as well as device delivery services; and postpaid and prepaid services under the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands to approximately 10.9 million subscribers. It also provides Internet and WiFi services; smart home monitoring services, such as monitoring, security, automation, energy efficiency, and smart control through a smartphone app. In addition, the company offers local and network TV; on-demand television; cloud-based digital video recorders; voice-activated remote controls, and integrated apps; personal video recorders; linear and time-shifted programming; digital specialty channels; 4K television programming; and televised content on smartphones, tablets, and personal computers, as well as operates Ignite TV and Ignite TV app. Further, it provides residential and small business local telephony services; calling features, such as voicemail, call waiting, and long distance; voice, data networking, Internet protocol, and Ethernet services; private networking, Internet, IP voice, and cloud solutions; optical wave and multi-protocol label switching services; IT and network technologies; and cable access network services. The company also owns Toronto Blue Jays and the Rogers Centre event venue; and operates Sportsnet ONE, Sportsnet 360, Sportsnet World, Citytv, OMNI, FX (Canada), FXX (Canada), and OLN television networks, as well as 55 AM and FM radio stations. Rogers Communications Inc. was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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Saint Jean Carbon Inc., a junior resource company, acquires, explores for, and develops mineral properties in Canada. It operates in two segments, Mineral Exploration and Development, and Research and Development. The company holds 100% interest in the Mount Copeland property; and 25% undivided interest the Red Bird property for the exploration of molybdenum deposits in British Columbia. Further, it focuses on the scientific study and technology applications for graphite and graphene. The company was formerly known as Torch River Resources Ltd. and changed its name to Saint Jean Carbon Inc. in October 2013. Saint Jean Carbon Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and is based in Calgary, Canada.

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Weatherford International plc, an oilfield service company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere. It offers artificial lift systems, including reciprocating rod, progressing cavity pumping, gas, hydraulic, plunger, and hybrid lift systems, as well as related automation and control systems; pressure pumping and reservoir stimulation services, such as acidizing, fracturing and fluid systems, cementing, and coiled-tubing intervention; and drill stem test tools, and surface well testing and multiphase flow measurement services. The company also provides safety, downhole reservoir monitoring, flow control, and multistage fracturing systems, as well as sand-control technologies, and production and isolation packers; liner hangers to suspend a casing string in high-temperature and high-pressure wells; cementing products, including plugs, float and stage equipment, and torque-and-drag reduction technology for zonal isolation; and pre-job planning and installation services. In addition, it offers directional drilling services, and logging and measurement services while drilling; services related to rotary-steerable systems, high-temperature and high-pressure sensors, drilling reamers, and circulation subs; managed pressure drilling, conventional mud-logging, drilling instrumentation, gas analysis, wellsite consultancy, and open hole and cased-hole logging services; reservoir solutions and software products; and intervention and remediation services. Further, the company provides equipment and drilling tools; tubular handling, management, and connection services; equipment rental services; and onshore contract drilling and related services through a fleet of land drilling and workover rigs. Weatherford International plc was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Baar, Switzerland.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Valero Energy: AIR BP-PBF DEL PERU SAC, BELFAST STORAGE LTD, CANADIAN ULTRAMAR COMPANY, COLONNADE TEXAS INSURANCE COMPANY LLC, COLONNADE VERMONT INSURANCE COMPANY, DIAMOND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY LLC, DIAMOND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY OF CANADA INC., DIAMOND GREEN DIESEL HOLDINGS LLC, DIAMOND GREEN DIESEL LLC, DIAMOND K RANCH LLC, DIAMOND OMEGA COMPANY L.L.C., DIAMOND SHAMROCK REFINING COMPANY L.P., DIAMOND UNIT INVESTMENTS L.L.C., DSRM NATIONAL BANK, ENTERPRISE CLAIMS MANAGEMENT INC., GCP LOGISTICS COMPANY LLC, GOLDEN EAGLE ASSURANCE LIMITED, HAMMOND MAINLINE PIPELINE LLC, HUNTWAY REFINING COMPANY, MAINLINE PIPELINES LIMITED, MAPLE ETHANOL LTD., MICHIGAN REDEVELOPMENT GP LLC, MICHIGAN REDEVELOPMENT L.P., MRP PROPERTIES COMPANY LLC, NECHES RIVER HOLDING CORP., NORCO METHANOL LLC, OCEANIC TANKERS AGENCY LIMITED, PARKWAY PIPELINE LLC, PENTA TANKS TERMINALS S.A., PI DOCK FACILITIES LLC, PICKARD PLACE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, PORT ARTHUR COKER COMPANY L.P., PREMCOR USA INC., PROPERTY RESTORATION L.P., PURE BIOFUELS DEL PERU S.A.C., PURE BIOFUELS HOLDINGS L.P., Parkway Pipeline, Premcor, Pure Biofuels Del Peru, SABINE RIVER HOLDING CORP., SABINE RIVER LLC, SAINT BERNARD PROPERTIES COMPANY LLC, SUNBELT REFINING COMPANY L.P., THE PREMCOR PIPELINE CO., THE PREMCOR REFINING GROUP INC., THE SHAMROCK PIPE LINE CORPORATION, TRANSPORT MARITIME ST. LAURENT INC., ULTRAMAR ACCEPTANCE INC., ULTRAMAR ENERGY INC., ULTRAMAR INC., Ultramar Diamond Shamrock, V-TEX LOGISTICS LLC, VALERO (BARBADOS) SRL, VALERO (PERU) HOLDINGS GP LLC, VALERO (PERU) HOLDINGS LIMITED, VALERO ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO ARUBA ACQUISITION COMPANY I LTD., VALERO ARUBA FINANCE INTERNATIONAL LTD., VALERO ARUBA HOLDING COMPANY N.V., VALERO ARUBA HOLDINGS INTERNATIONAL LTD., VALERO ARUBA MAINTENANCE/OPERATIONS COMPANY N.V., VALERO BROWNSVILLE TERMINAL LLC, VALERO CANADA FINANCE INC., VALERO CANADA L.P., VALERO CAPITAL CORPORATION, VALERO CARIBBEAN SERVICES COMPANY, VALERO COKER CORPORATION ARUBA N.V., VALERO CUSTOMS & TRADE SERVICES INC., VALERO EAST BAY LLC, VALERO ENERGY (IRELAND) LIMITED, VALERO ENERGY ARUBA II COMPANY, VALERO ENERGY INC., VALERO ENERGY LTD, VALERO ENERGY PARTNERS GP LLC, VALERO ENERGY PARTNERS LP, VALERO ENERGY UK LTD, VALERO ENTERPRISES INC., VALERO EQUITY SERVICES LTD, VALERO FINANCE L.P. I, VALERO FINANCE L.P. II, VALERO FINANCE L.P. III, VALERO FOREST CONTRIBUTION LLC, VALERO GRAIN MARKETING LLC, VALERO H2 PIPELINE COMPANY LLC, VALERO HOLDCO UK LTD, VALERO HOLDINGS INC., VALERO INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS INC., VALERO LIVE OAK LLC, VALERO LOGISTICS UK LTD, VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPLY (PANAMA) LLC, VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPLY COMPANY, VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPLY DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPLY DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO MARKETING AND SUPPY INTERNATIONAL LTD., VALERO MARKETING IRELAND LIMITED, VALERO MKS LOGISTICS L.L.C., VALERO NEDERLAND COOPERATIEF U.A., VALERO NEDERLAND COOPERATIEF U.A., VALERO NEW AMSTERDAM B.V., VALERO OMEGA COMPANY L.L.C., VALERO OPERATIONAL SERVICES DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO OPERATIONAL SERVICES DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO OPERATIONS SUPPORT LTD, VALERO PARTNERS CCTS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS CORPUS EAST LLC, VALERO PARTNERS CORPUS WEST LLC, VALERO PARTNERS EP LLC, VALERO PARTNERS HOUSTON LLC, VALERO PARTNERS LOUISIANA LLC, VALERO PARTNERS LUCAS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS MCKEE LLC, VALERO PARTNERS MEMPHIS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS MERAUX LLC, VALERO PARTNERS NORTH TEXAS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS OPERATING CO. LLC, VALERO PARTNERS PAPS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS PORT ARTHUR LLC, VALERO PARTNERS SOUTH TEXAS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS TEXAS CITY LLC, VALERO PARTNERS THREE RIVERS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS WEST MEMPHIS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS WEST TEXAS LLC, VALERO PARTNERS WYNNEWOOD LLC, VALERO PAYMENT SERVICES COMPANY, VALERO PEMBROKESHIRE LLC, VALERO PEMBROKESHIRE OIL TERMINAL LTD, VALERO PLAINS COMPANY LLC, VALERO POWER MARKETING LLC, VALERO RAIL OPERATIONS DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO RAIL OPERATIONS DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO RAIL PARTNERS LLC, VALERO REFINING AND MARKETING COMPANY, VALERO REFINING COMPANY-ARUBA N.V., VALERO REFINING COMPANY-CALIFORNIA, VALERO REFINING COMPANY-OKLAHOMA, VALERO REFINING COMPANY-TENNESSEE L.L.C., VALERO REFINING-MERAUX LLC, VALERO REFINING-NEW ORLEANS L.L.C., VALERO REFINING-TEXAS L.P., VALERO RENEWABLE FUELS COMPANY LLC, VALERO SECURITY SYSTEMS INC., VALERO SERVICES INC., VALERO SKELLYTOWN PIPELINE LLC, VALERO TEJAS COMPANY LLC, VALERO TERMINAL HOLDCO LTD, VALERO TERMINALING AND DISTRIBUTION COMPANY, VALERO TERMINALING AND DISTRIBUTION DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., VALERO TEXAS POWER MARKETING INC., VALERO ULTRAMAR HOLDINGS INC., VALERO UNIT INVESTMENTS L.L.C., VALERO WEST WALES LLC, VRG PROPERTIES COMPANY, VTD PROPERTIES COMPANY, WARSHALL COMPANY LLC, and ZELIG COMMERCIAL INC..
South Africa: NCOP to rise on Thursday

The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) is scheduled to rise on Thursday.

However, its members will remain in office until after the scheduled elections and until the day of the first sitting of the Provincial Legislatures.

The National Assembly, which held its last sitting on 20 March, also remains competent to function until 7 May 2019, which is a day before the elections.

Before they deliver their farewell speeches on Thursday, NCOP members will, amongst other things, consider 13 Bills.

These are the Division of Revenue Bill, the Carbon Tax Bill, the Customs and Excise Amendment Bill, Public Investment Corporation Amendment Bill, Financial Matters Amendment Bill, Public Audit Excess Fee Bill, National Land Transport Amendment Bill, National Gambling Amendment Bill, Copyright Amendment Bill, Performers Protection Amendment Bill, Foreign Service Bill, Property Practitioners Bill and the Electronic Deeds Registration Systems Bill.

Also scheduled for consideration are six international agreements, tabled in terms of section 231(2) of the Constitution.

This section says certain international agreements bind the Republic only after they have been approved by resolution in both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces.

The agreements are the World Intellectual Property Organisation Copyright Treaty; the World Intellectual Property Organisation Performances and Phonograms Treaty; the Beijing Treaty on Audiovisual Performances, 2012; the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the Southern African Development Community Protocol on Environmental Management for Sustainable Development; and the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer to include Hydrofluorocarbons.

Thursdays sitting is also scheduled to consider reports of the Select Committee on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs on termination of section 139(1)(b) interventions issued to eMadlangeni and Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Local Municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal and the inspection loco on notice of interventions issued, in terms of section 137 of the Municipal Finance Management Act, to Naledi Local Municipality in North West.

Also scheduled for consideration is the in loco inspection on the notice of intervention issued in terms of section 139 (1) (b) of the Constitution in Abaqulusi Local Municipality and the in loco inspection on the notice of intervention issued in terms of Section 139 (1) (b) of the Constitution in Endumeni Local Municipality.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2019-03-24. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 24)  With less than two months left before the elections, four more aspirants face off in CNN Philippines senatorial forum on Sunday, March 24.

The following aspirants will answer tough questions on the country's pressing issues:

Melchor Gongora Chavez

Chavez is running for a senate seat under the Labor Party Philippines, or more known as Workers and Peasants Party.

He is a broadcast journalist who previously served as the national president of the Association of Commentators and Announcers of the Philippines.

He has a degree in political science from Notre Dame College.

Chavez is pushing for land reform, freedom for information, and early retirement for workers as his main advocacies.

Nur-ana "Lady Ann" Suhaili Sahidulla

Sahidulla, who runs under the Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino, is among the two Muslim bets who will participate in the forum.

She served as mayor of Banguingui (formerly Tongkil) in Sulu from 1998 to 2001, then as vice governor of the province from 2004 to 2010. She also represented the second district of Sulu from 2010 to 2013.

Among her advocacies are the promotion of peace and unification of Muslims and non-Muslims, improvement of marine economic protection, and wage increase.

In 1995, she founded Anak Ilo Foundation which provides scholarships to orphans.

A businesswoman, Sahidulla has a degree in commerce from Zamboanga Arturo Eustaquio Colleges and mass communication from Western Mindanao State University.

Ibrahim Hussein "Shariff" Albani

Also running under the Labor Party Philippines, Albani advocates for safe elections in the Bangsamoro region, disarmament of private armed groups, and government's shift to federalism.

He previously worked as the consultant on Muslim affairs at the office of the governor in Tawi-Tawi.

Albani was the founding chairman and president of the Unity for Revival Foundation, where he pushed for the swift resolution of Mindanao conflicts and peace processes.

He was also the founding chairman of the International Movement on Peace, Unity and Reconciliation, as well as president of Muslim-Mindanao Poor Association

National Adviser, Christian-Muslim in Lumad Association.

Albani has honorary doctorate degree in humanities from the International Academy for Leadership and Management Edmond in Oklahoma, USA, and master's degree in public administration from Manuel L. Quezon University.

In 1994, he finished criminology in Universidad de Zamboanga.

Rodolfo "RJ" Javellana Jr.

Javellana is also a Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino bet.

He is advocating the protection of consumers' rights, development of agro-industry, and price stability for basic utilities such as water and energy.

Javellana previously led several groups pushing for consumer protection such as the United Filipino Consumers and Commuters; United Filipino Consumers and Commuters; and Water for all Refund Movements.

He was also the secretary general of Luntiang Pangarap (Green Team) Inc.

Javellana has a degree in political science from the Lyceum of the Philippines University.

Get to know these candidates in CNN Philippines' Senatorial Forum this Sunday at 5 pm.
First Indian-origin US Senator Kamala Harris has called for allocation of a large federal investment to improve teacher salaries nationwide.

Harris, who formally launched her presidential campaign with an impressive rally of more than 20,000 people in her home town of Oakland. (Photo:AP)

Washington: First Indian-origin US Senator Kamala Harris has called for allocation of a large federal investment to improve teacher salaries nationwide.

The 54-year-old senator, who represents California, said that currently teachers are making over 10 per cent less than other college educated graduates and that gap is about USD 13,000 a year, the CNN reported on Saturday.

"I'm declaring to you that by the end of my first term, we will have improved teachers' salaries so that we close the pay gap," Harris said to a group of supporters in Houston.

"Because right now, teachers are making over 10 per cent less than other college educated graduates and that gap is about USD 13,000 a year, and I am pledging to you that through the federal resources that are available, we will close that gap," she added.

Harris, who formally launched her presidential campaign with an impressive rally of more than 20,000 people in her home town of Oakland in California on January 27, is said to be a potential formidable opponent to her eventual GOP incumbent President Donald Trump.

Harris said that her proposal would be the largest ever federal investment in teacher pay. Though Harris didn't provide further details about where the funds will come from, the campaign has said they will unveil the details of the full policy plan next week, the report said.

As candidates sweep across key battle-ground states testing their economic messages with potential voters, Harris is the first to announce a plan to allocate funding to teachers -- a heavily unionised demographic that is reliably Democratic. Education occupations have unions that represent more than 37 per cent of employees, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics -- far more than any other occupations, the report said.

Harris was born in Oakland, California, to a Tamil Indian mother and a Jamaican father in 1964. Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, was a breast cancer scientist who immigrated to the US from Madras (now Chennai).

Her father, Donald Harris, was a professor of economics at Stanford University and emigrated from Jamaica in 1961.
The two girls, Raveena (13) and Reena (15), were allegedly kidnapped by a group of 'influential' men from their home.

In a separate video, the minor girls can be seen saying that they accepted Islam of their own free will. (File Photo)

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday ordered a probe into reports of abduction, forced conversion and underage marriages of two teenage Hindu girls in Sindh province and to take immediate steps for their recovery, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said.

The two girls, Raveena (13) and Reena (15), were allegedly kidnapped by a group of "influential" men from their home in Ghotki district in Sindh on the eve of Holi. Soon after the kidnapping, a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown soleminising the Nikah (marriage) of the two girls, In a separate video, the minor girls can be seen saying that they accepted Islam of their own free will.

In a Twitter post in Urdu on Sunday, Information Minister Chaudhry said that the prime minister has asked the Sindh chief minister to look into reports that the girls in question have been taken to Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab. Chaudhry said the prime minister has also ordered the Sindh and Punjab governments to devise a joint action plan in light of the incident, and to take concrete steps to prevent such incidents from happening again.

"The minorities in Pakistan make up the white of our flag and all of our flag's colours are precious to us. Protection of our flag is our duty," he said.

On Saturday, Chaudhry said that the government had taken notice of reports of the forced conversion and underage marriages of the two girls. The Hindu community in Pakistan has carried out massive demonstrations calling for strict action to be taken against those responsible, while reminding Prime Minister Khan of his promises to the minorities of the country.

Last year, Khan during his election campaign had said his party's agenda was to uplift the various religious groups across Pakistan and said they would take effective measures to prevent forced marriages of Hindu girls. Pakistan Hindu Council chief and Member of National Assembly from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Ramesh Kumar Vankwani condemned the incident and demanded that the bill against forced conversion, which was unanimously passed by Sindh Assembly in 2016 and then reverted due to pressure of extremist elements, must be resurrected and passed in the assembly on priority basis.

"All of those who are preaching hate under the cover of religion must be handled like banned religious organisations," he added. Sanjesh Dhanja, President of Pakistan Hindu Sewa Welfare Trust, an NGO, earlier urged Prime Minister Khan to take note of the incident and prove to everyone that minorities were indeed safe and secure in Pakistan.

"The truth is minorities suffer from different sorts of persecution and the problem of young Hindu girls being kidnapped at gunpoint and forced to convert to Islam or get married to much older men is widespread in Sindh, he said.

Dhanja said the Hindu community had staged several sit-ins in Ghotki district after which police reluctantly registered FIR against the accused persons. The Hindu community leaders have claimed that the accused belonged to the Kohbar and Malik tribes in the area.

Following the incident, an FIR was filed by the girls' brother, alleging that their father had an altercation with the accused sometime ago and on the eve of Holi they armed with pistols forcibly entered their home and took the sisters away.

A Pakistan Muslim League-Functional MPA Nand Kumar Goklani, who had initially moved a bill against forced conversions, urged the government to get the law passed immediately. Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan. According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan.

However, according to the community, over 90 lakh Hindus are living in the country. Majority of Pakistan's Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with their Muslim fellows.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - God's mercy leaves us time to convert, but "the possibility of conversion is not unlimited; hence, it is necessary to seize it immediately; otherwise it will be lost forever," warned Pope Francis before the Angelus, citing the parable of the barren fig tree in today's Gospel.

Speaking to about 20,000 people present in St Peter's Square for the Marian prayer, the pontiff also noted that today is the Day of Missionary Martyrs, pointing out that "in the course of 2018, throughout the world, numerous bishops, priests, nuns and lay faithful suffered violence, and 40 missionaries were killed, almost double compared to the previous year. Remembering the contemporary ordeal of our brothers and sisters, persecuted or killed because of their faith in Jesus, is a duty of gratitude for the whole Church, but also a stimulus to bear witness with courage to our faith and our hope in the One who, on the Cross, always defeated hatred and violence with his love."

Earlier, Francis mentioned the parable in which Jesus talks about a man who planted a fig tree in his vineyard, one that does not bear fruit and then decides to have it cut down. But the peasant to whom he fives the task asks his master to be patient and grant it a one-year extension.

"The master, Francis stressed, represents God the Father and the viticulturalist is the image of Jesus, whilst the fig tree is a symbol of an indifferent and arid humanity. Jesus intercedes with the Father in favour of humanity and does so always, asking him to wait and give it some more time, so that the fruits of love and justice can sprout in it. The fig tree that the master in the parable wants to uproot represents a sterile existence, incapable of giving, of doing good. It is the symbol of the one who alone lives for himself, satisfied and calm, perched on his comfort, unable to turn his gaze and heart towards those who are close to him and in a state of suffering, poverty and discomfort. This attitude of selfishness and spiritual sterility is countered by the viticulturalists great love for the fig tree: he has patience, knows how to wait, bid his time and devote his work to it. He promises his master that he will take special care of that unhappy tree."

"This similarity is the manifestation of Gods mercy, he who leaves us time for conversion. We all need to convert and God has patience and offers us the opportunity to change and make progress on the path towards goodness. But the delay implored and granted whilst waiting for the tree to finally bear fruit also indicates the urgency of the conversion. The viticulturalist tells the master: "leave it for this year also" (Lk 13:8). The possibility of conversion is not unlimited; hence, it is necessary to seize it immediately; otherwise it will be lost forever. We can think about this Lent: What must I do to be closer to the Lord, to convert, to cut away the things that dont work? No, no, I will wait for next Lent. But will you be alive next Lent? [. . .] We can rely deeply on God's mercy, but without abusing it. We must not justify spiritual laziness, but increase our commitment to respond promptly to such mercy with sincerity of heart.

"At Lent, the Lord invites us to conversion. Each of us must feel challenged by this call, amending something in our lives, in our own way of thinking, acting and living relationships with others. At the same time, we must imitate the patience of God who trusts everyones capacity to "get up" and resume the journey. He does not extinguish the weak flame, but accompanies and cares for those who are weak so that they may be strengthened and bring their contribution of love to the community. May the Virgin Mary help us experience these days of preparation for Easter as a time of spiritual renewal and trusting openness to the grace of God and his mercy."

After the Angelus, Francis said that since 27 February "important talks are underway in Nicaragua to resolve the serious socio-political crisis facing that country. I accompany the initiative with prayers and encourage the parties to find a peaceful solution as soon as possible for the good of everyone."

Lastly, the Holy Father noted that tomorrow he will travel to Loreto (Italy) where he will sign the document that came out of the Synod on young people.
If Uber comes up with a strategy to lock in some of the drivers or customers with more incentives, it will be difficult for Ola to make a comeback, said Neil Shah, partner and research director at Counterpoint Research. (Photo: File)

Bengaluru: Karnataka kept the door open on Saturday to talks with local ride-hailing service Ola to avoid a ban that could help rival Uber build market share.

Karnataka earlier this week issued a notice to suspend Olas licence for six months for violating government rules by running motorcycle taxis which are not allowed for safety reasons.

State capital and technology hub Bengaluru is among Olas top three markets in India.

VP Ikkeri, state commissioner for transport and road safety, told reporters the department had seized and issued fines for about 258 bikes during a probe after complaints.

Olas permit, obtained in 2017 and valid to 2021, allows it to run three and four-wheeler taxis in Karnataka. The company, backed by SoftBank Group Corp and Tencent Holdings Ltd, has until Monday to respond to the suspension notice.

Its a temporary suspension and if they give us a satisfactory response, then we wont need to implement the ban, Ikkeri said, adding that Ola would face financial penalties.

Ola did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It could lose out badly to Uber if pushed out of the market for an extended period.

If Uber comes up with a strategy to lock in some of the drivers or customers with more incentives, it will be difficult for Ola to make a comeback, said Neil Shah, partner and research director at Counterpoint Research.

Assuming the top three (Indian) markets contribute to roughly 35-40 per cent of Olas revenues, if the ban is upheld, we could be looking at a 5-10 per cent revenue hit to the company.

On Friday, the company said it was evaluating all options to find an amicable solution and was working closely with the authorities.

Ikkeri also said the department had sent a notice about penalties to the last known address of Rapido, another motorcycle taxi operator in Bengaluru. Rapido could not be reached for comment despite multiple attempts by Reuters.
Another director of the firm, Hitesh Narender Bhai Patel, was detained in Albania's capital Tirana on March 20 on the basis of an Interpol notice issued against him by the ED.

New Delhi: A Delhi court has allowed the Enforcement Directorate to send letters rogatory (LR) to 21 countries, involving the UK and the UAE, seeking assistance in the probe of a Rs 8,100 crore bank fraud case involving Gujarat-based Sterling Biotech Ltd.

Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora granted permission to the agency on its plea seeking nod to send the LRs, also known as letter of request, to countries, also involving the US, China, Panama and Austria.

The LRs will also be send to Albania, where the court recently allowed the ED to send extradition requests, after its special public prosecutor Nitesh Rana informed that its two directors -- Nitin Sandesara and Chetankumar Sandesara -- have obtained the citizenship.

Another director of the firm, Hitesh Narender Bhai Patel, was detained in Albania's capital Tirana on March 20 on the basis of an Interpol notice issued against him by the ED.

The application moved by ED's advocate A R Aditya also sought to send the LRs in some other countries which included Singapore, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cyprus, Comoros, Jersey, Lichtenstein, Mauritius, Nigeria and Seychelles.

It is alleged that the company took loans of over Rs 5,000 crore from a consortium led by Andhra Bank, which had turned into non-performing assets. The total volume of the alleged loan defraud is pegged at Rs 8,100 crore.

The ED registered its case based on Central Bureau of Investigation charge sheet and is probing money laundering.

The accused are also being probed by the ED for allegedly bribing senior Income Tax department officials as part of an earlier criminal complaint.

The agency has filed five charge sheets in this case till now and attached properties valued at Rs 4,710 crore.
National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has directed the Mumbai bench of NCLT to consider the Rs 4,000-crore resolution plan submitted by Sharad Sanghi and others for Jyoti Structures, while setting aside the order to liquidate the company.

Mumbai: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has directed the Mumbai bench of NCLT to consider the Rs 4,000-crore resolution plan submitted by Sharad Sanghi and others for Jyoti Structures, while setting aside the order to liquidate the company.

A two-member bench headed by Chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya has remitted back the matter to the Mumbai-bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) directing it to pass an order within two weeks.

"The case is remitted to the Adjudicating Auth-ority, Mumbai Bench (NCLT), Mumbai to approve the plan..." said NCLAT in its order.

"The appropriate order be passed on an early date preferably within two weeks from the date of the production of the copy of this order," the order said.

The NCLT had on July 31, last year rejected the resolution plan submitted by Sanghi and had passed an order to liquidate Jyoti Structures, which had a debt of Rs 7,010.55 crore. According to the Rs 3,965.06 crore resolution plan submitted by Sanghi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of information technology solutions provider Netmagic, along with others, Rs 50 crore will come as an upfront payment followed by Rs 75 crore in the next one year.

While, the remaining will come as staggered payments in 15 years from the effective date.

Earlier, Sanghi's resolution plan was voted by 62.66 per cent voting shares of the committee of creditors (CoC), while members with 23.12 per cent had voted against and the remaining 14.21 per cent remained abstained on March 26 and 27, 2018.

Later, some members of CoC changed their plans and, finally, tally was reached to 81.31 per cent of the votes in April 2, 2018.

However, Sanghi's resolution plan was rejected by the NCLT on the two grounds, as total period of 270 days as mandated under IBC had lapsed by the time last voting took place on April 2, 2018, and was approved with majority. Secondly, as on March 26 and 27, 2018, the voting percentage was 62.66 per cent which is less than 75 per cent votes of financial creditors.
In the wake of the incident, the senior actor Kota Srinivasa Rao said to Naresh that the MAA can resolve its issues internally and that there was no need to discuss their problems with the media.

The Movie Artists Association(MAA) has once again exposed its ugly side to the public. It all started at the oath-taking ceremony and once again, the MAA has stained the reputation of the Telugu Film Industry.

On the day of the ceremony, while Hema was delivering her speech, Naresh interrupted her, snatched the mic away, and demanded that she speaks later. She did express her displeasure, to which Naresh turned a blind eye. Later, when Hema got the opportunity, she said, I do not appreciate Nareshs behaviour. He needs to take everybody in the association into account.

The executive vice president Rajasekhar, too, criticised Naresh for his behaviour. The association belongs to everyone and we need to work as one unit. Unfortunately, Naresh is not taking anybody other than himself into consideration. He also added that after this experience, he is considering contesting for the position.

In the wake of the incident, the senior actor Kota Srinivasa Rao said to Naresh that the MAA can resolve its issues internally and that there was no need to discuss their problems with the media. He also requested the new association to give due importance to Telugu artistes. I do not mean to criticise or degrade other actors, but I humbly request the association to give preference to Telugu actors, he said.

Naresh interrupted Kotas speech as well and asked him to cut it short, and that certainly did hurt the senior actors sentiments. He said, I was touching upon the subject of the welfare of Telugu artistes, but unfortunately, no ones willing to listen.

On its very first day, the differences within the MAA have been exposed. Naresh is clearly feeling egotistical about his new position as the President of the association. An actor who attended the event said, All Naresh wants is publicity. But he needs to remember that the industry comprises 800 actors and that hes not the only one. His attitude is beginning to make me feel doubtful now.
Telugu cinemas King of Style Allu Arjun is ready to step things up a notch with his new caravan, on which he is spending a whopping Rs 7 crore!

Allu Arjun has now purchased a brand new caravan, on which he is spending an enormous sum of Rs 7 crore. The actor is hiring a designer from Mumbai to work on the interiors for his caravan. Hes going to to Mumbai soon, where he wants to explore design and interior options for the vehicle, said a source close to the actor.

He is planning to use it for his upcoming film with Trivikram Srinivas, he said, adding, This one is going to be South Indias first ever fully modified and sophisticated caravan. It is going to have the AA signature on it.

Sounds exciting, doesnt it? The actor is spending a whopping Rs 3.5 crore on the bus, and another Rs 2 to 3 crore on the design, said the source. We cant wait for the finished look!
Salman Khan was the star attraction at the wedding in Jaipur.

Actor Venkatesh wanted to keep his eldest daughters wedding very private.

Even the young couple Aashritha and Vinayak Reddy did not want to attract unnecessary attention or publicity. The wedding was celebrated in Jaipur, with family and close friends in attendance.

The star attraction however was Bollywood star Salman Khan.

Naga Chaitanya and Samantha.

Sources tell us Venkatesh and Salman are good friends they share a close bond though the former doesnt brag about it. So Salmans presence was no surprise.

Though guests present at the wedding ceremony were requested not to click pictures of the festivities and upload it on social media, pictures of Salman Khan at the function have gone viral.

Naga Chaitanya and his wife, Samantha, also attended the wedding, as one may infer from the picture that they have posted on Instagram. Likewise, it is heard that a few other actors from the Tollywood industry, who are very close to actor Venkatesh, were also present at the event in Jaipur.
The passenger was handed over to the AIU sleuths for checking and they found three packets of gold paste concealed in his innerwear. (Representational Image)

Hyderabad: The Air Intelligence Unit of the Hyderabad Customs apprehended two persons who tried to smuggle gold out of the Shamshabad airport after landing here on Sunday. A total of 688.94 gm gold was seized by the officials from the two persons in separate instances.

The passenger was intercepted by airport sub-inspector S. Venkateshwarlu and constables Srisailam and Raju after noticing his suspicious movements at the police outpost.

The passenger was handed over to the AIU sleuths for checking and they found three packets of gold paste concealed in his innerwear.

The passenger had arrived on an Air Asia aircraft (Flight AK 69) from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The gold after extraction was found to be weighing around 340 gm, worth over Rs 9 lakh. A case has been registered and further investigation is on, said the AIU officials.

In another incident on Saturday, AIU officials arrested a city resident, who was waiting outside the airport to collect smuggled gold from an air passenger. The passenger, M. Srinivas, who arrived from Dubai, was found to be carrying gold plates in a travel cooker. He was arrested and about 219.63 gm of gold valued at Rs 7.5 lakh seized from him.

On investigation, it was found that a receiver of the smuggled gold was waiting outside the airport who was also nabbed. He had received a consignment of smuggled gold. A passenger had brought gold in by concealing the metal in the transformer of a toy car, an AIU official said.

The plates of the transformer were placed in such a way that some were of iron and some were of gold. A total of 348.94 gm of gold was recovered and further investigation in the case is on, he said.
Actor Darshans house, which was stoned by miscreants at Rajarajeshwarinagar in Bengaluru on Saturday. (Image DC)

Bengaluru: Miscreants threw stones at the house of actor Darshan and damaged his car on Saturday, three days after he started drumming up support for actress Sumalatha Ambareesh, who is contesting from Mandya Lok Sabha constituency against Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's son.

Ms Sumalatha, wife of actor and three-time Mandya MP Ambareesh, is contesting as an independent against former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda's grandson and Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy. Flanked by an enormous crowd, she filed her nominations on March 20, which was followed by an emotional speech.

Darshan, who too hails from Mandya, is among the many film actors and prominent persons from the Kannada film industry, including Yash and 'Rockline' Venkatesh, who openly came out in support of Sumalatha.

According to police, the actor was in Hyderabad for shooting when the incident occurred in the early hours Saturday.

Reacting to the incident, Ms Sumalatha said "Such intimidating tactics will not work. Nobody can dare threaten Darshan and Yash. Our workers need get provoked by such incidents.

Protesting against the incident, fans of the actor blocked traffic in Raja Rajeshwari Nagar police station limits on Saturday, demanding immediate arrest of those who damaged the residence and car of Darshan.

Police said a security guard at the actors residence chased the accused but they managed to escape.
The rescue operation is being conducted jointly by the NDRF and the State Disaster Response Force. (Photo: File)

Dharwad: The death toll in the commercial building collapse in Karnataka's Dharwad has risen to 16, with the recovery of one more body from the debris.

Deputy Commissioner Deepa Cholan, who is monitoring the rescue operation at the commercial building collapse site said on Sunday: "A total of 57 people have been rescued so far by the state Disaster Response Force and the National Disaster Response Force. The death toll has reached 16 as one more body was found yesterday night."

Meanwhile, the Karnataka government on Saturday suspended seven corporation officials for negligence in connection with the collapse of the under-construction building in Kumareshwar Nagar, Dharwad on March 19.

The officers suspended by the state government include -- City Planning Officer Mukund Joshi, Assistant Director City Planning Ashok Gadag, Revenue Officer Prakash Dodamani, Executive Engineer V Shridhar, Assistant Executive Engineer Chandrappa, City Planning Assistant B V Hiremath, and Assistant Commissioner Santosh Anishetter.

The four partners of Renuka Construction, the entity looking after the construction project, surrendered before police earlier this week.

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had visited the site on Thursday and told the media that several people were suspected to be trapped under the rubble. He had also said the district administration has already announced a magisterial inquiry and the government is ready to appoint a retired High Court judge if required.

On Wednesday, the Indian Air Force airlifted two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to Karnataka's Hubli from Hindon in Uttar Pradesh to join the rescue and search operation.

The rescue operation is being conducted jointly by the NDRF and the State Disaster Response Force.
Thiruvananthapuram: Its been a surgical strike. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan greeted the state Congress leaders shocker announcement about party president Rahul Gandhis candidature in Wayanad with dismay: Who is he fighting against, asked Mr Vijayan.

Perhaps this is what AICC general secretaries Oommen Chandy and K. C. Venugopal, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and PCC president Mullapppally Ramachandran had intended: to deal a blow to the LDF complacence about the elections.

The wider reach of Rahul in south India constituencies by locating himself in Wayanad is a corollary. The main agenda of the state leaders in pushing the Rahuls southern sojourn is to checkmate the CPM in its tracks and lend greater thrust to the UDF campaign against CPMs murderous politics.

The LDF, for sure, will have to marshal its forces in Wayanad, matching the rivals charisma. To that extent the LDFs campaign would be distracted in the rest of the constituencies. The 45 percent minority concentration in the state fits in with the UDF agenda of utilising the Rahul persona as the mascot of secular aspirations.

But the manner in which the state Congress leaders have been atypical of the Congress, state leaders announcing the party presidents second constituency for contest, even before the partys central election committee had started deliberating. It is almost certain that the CEC imprimatur will be available tomorrow.

Some of the Congress leaders in New Delhi are not reconciled to the state coup.

They would have preferred the question of a second constituency to be discussed at the party forums to decide the question whether Rahul should be pitted against the Left in Kerala at a time when he is rallying Left and secular forces across the country.

They are more worried about the partys delay in tying up with the broad non-NDA parties in other parts where the stakes are high than in the 20-seat Kerala, which is not a major concern for the secular camp. They say the Left and the Congress are at loggerheads only in Kerala and so why miss the larger Indian picture.

These questions are organisationally sound and tactically valid but the LDFs extreme resort to filing FIRs against prospective Congress candidates, all of them sitting MLAs, on the eve of elections and the charge of being saffron turncoats muddied the electoral scene beyond a point, eliciting the kind of riposte from Chandy and company.
Hyderabad: Stating that the breaking up of the joint family system had led to an increasing community of hapless elders, the Telangana High Court said parents do not need not complete 60 years of age to claim maintenance from their children and protection of property under the law.

Justice Naveen Rao Punugoti was hearing a petition by a Ms V. Siva Lakshmi, 59, of Addagutta, during which he interpreted the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 and the State Act, 2011.

Ms Lakshmi alleged that her son and daughter-in-law had harassed her and forcibly thrown her out of her own flat. She sought police protection and possession of her flat.

Justice Rao said that irrespective of age, a parent, whether a senior citizen (above 60 years) or not, was entitled to protections provided by the law including maintenance, protection of property and restoration of possession in case of forced dispossession by their children.

Justice Rao noted that the primary object of the Act was to protect senior citizens and parents in general from deprivation and to provide them with basic amenities.

Mr Mirza Nisar Ahmed Baig, counsel for the petitioner, said Ms Lakshmi was entitled to protection under the Act in all respects. Ms Lakshmis son, daughter-in-law and the government pleader said she was not a senior citizen and therefore the provisions of the Central and state Acts were not applicable.

Later, Ms Lakshmis son and daughter-in-law filed an affidavit stating that they would take care of her. The court appreciated their stand and hoped that there would not be any resistance from them to put the petitioner back in possession of her property. The court directed the police to give protection to Ms Lakshmi and to restore possession of her property within three weeks.
CHENNAI: The AIADMK has now crossed the seas in making its poll promises saying it would get the Indian government to speed up an international probe into the Tamil massacre towards the end of Eelam war in 2009 in Sri Lanka.

Colombo had already ruled out any international intervention and so it's a moot question as to how the regional party can get Delhi to get the international community to move on this. The party reiterated that it would seek a credible international probe into alleged human rights violations in Sri Lanka during the three-decade long ethnic conflict.

Blaming the Congress-DMK combine for the genocide in Sri Lanka during the final phase of the ethnic war, the party said it would urge the government of India, United Nations and international communities to press for a credible international probe into human rights violations, war crimes and genocide in Sri Lanka.

In its 10-page annexure to the manifesto released on March 18, the party said the then Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, during his visit to India in 2018, had confessed that "but for the support of the then government of India (then UPA regime), we would have not won the war against Tamil Eelam freedom fighters."

This open confession about the cruel truth behind the success of Sri Lankan army over Tamil Eelam fighters has brought to light the hidden conspiracy of the Congress and the DMK in regard to the annihilation of the Eelam Tamils, it said. The party said it would urge the union government to impress upon the UN for a referendum on various demands of the Eelam Tamils and also for devolution of administrative powers to Tamil dominated areas.

The UNHRC had on Thursday approved giving Sri Lanka two more years to set up a credible war crimes investigation into the island nation's civil war.

International rights groups have accused the military of killing 40,000 Tamil civilians in the final months of the war. The government of the time said not one civilian was killed. The AIADMK had said the 'decimation' of lakhs of Tamils in the final stages of the civil war, particularly in Mullivaikal, "remains a burden in the conscience of Tamils all over the world."

Other poll assurances include linking the Godavari-Cauvery rivers and steps to release the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convicts. Social media and critics have already pointed out all the players in the April 18 poll battle have made and are making ridiculous and undeliverable poll promises in the hope that the Tamil voter would remain gullible.
Chinook is an advanced multi-mission helicopter that will provide Indian Air Force with unmatched strategic airlift capability across the full spectrum of combat and humanitarian missions.

New Delhi: Amidst increased military tension between India and Pakistan, the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday will induct the heavy-lift Chinook helicopters which can transport artillery guns in high altitudes and troops for action.

Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa will induct the first unit of four Chinook heavy-lift helicopters in Chandigarh where these helicopters have been deployed.

Chinook CH-47F (I) is an advanced multi-mission helicopter that will provide Indian Air Force with unmatched strategic airlift capability across the full spectrum of combat and humanitarian missions.

Chinooks can deliver heavy payloads to high altitudes and is eminently suited for operations in the high Himalayas.

It is being inducted by the IAF when there is a war-like situation currently at the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border with Pakistan.

Pakistan has mobilised some of its units close to the border after Indian Air Force struck terrorists camp at Balakot. This has resulted in counter-mobilisation by the Indian Army.

There is heavy shelling and cross-border firing going on at the border from both sides.

The induction of Chinook helicopters will boost Indias capabilities for quick mobilisation of troops in higher reaches along the LoC and the China frontier along with artillery guns.
New Delhi: Taking a dig at the BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday said these chowkidars (watchmen) are only working for the rich and are not bothered about the poor.

She attacked the Uttar Pradesh government while citing a media report on Twitter that claimed the dues of sugarcane farmers had crossed Rs 10,000 crore in the state.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was quick to rebut Ms Gandhis claim, and asked the Congress where were the well-wishers of farmers during 2012-17 when they faced starvation.

The families of sugarcane farmers toil day and night but the Uttar Pradesh government does not even take the responsibility of paying their dues, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said.

She added that `10,000 crore of farmers dues means everything, including their childrens education, food, health, and the next produce comes to a standstill. These chowkidars only work for the rich and do not care about the poor.

She was recently appointed the Congress general secretary for UP East.
Inspector Reddy said that during the music event, Tulasi Ram collapsed and asked his friends to get some water. But before they could bring him the water, he had moved away. (Representational Image)

Hyderabad: A 24-year-old graduate from Andhra Pradesh who attended the Sunburn music event at Shamshabad, died in suspicious conditions, with injuries to his face and bleeding from the nose and ears, on Saturday night. RGI Airport police registered a case of suspicious death on Sunday.

According to Inspector G. Vijay Bhaskar Reddy of the RGIA police, the deceased has been identified as M Tulasi Ram from Bheemavaram in Andhra Pradesh.

On Saturday, Tulasi Ram and seven friends - M. Dileep, Surya Varma, K. Sai Vamshi, R. Suryanarayana Raju, R. Siva Karthik Varma, Sai Varun and Ramesh  had come to Hyderabad in a car to attend the Sunburn event, in which DJ Snake featured. The programme was held at GMR Arena at Shamshabad.

Inspector Reddy said that during the music event, Tulasi Ram collapsed and asked his friends to get some water. But before they could bring him the water, he had moved away. His friends searched for him for a while and then continued partying.

At about 10.15 pm, a woman at the event suffered fits. An ambulance was arranged to shift her to the hospital. Tulasi Ram then reappeared and also collapsed near the ambulance. Both of them were taken to Trident Hospital, where Tulasi Ram was advised to move on to Osmania General Hospital, as his condition was extremely critical. He passed away before reaching the hospital, said the inspector.

We have found that all the youngsters consumed alcohol during their travel and also at the event. Tulasi Rams pulse was low when he was taken to Trident Hospital. Before he could be taken to OGH, he died. It is suspected that he could have suffered dehydration leading to a cardiac issue. We are waiting for the post-mortem report from the OGH mortuary," said Inspector Reddy.

Tulasi Rams cousin, M Naga Ganesh, has lodged a complaint with the cops stating that the death of his cousin seems to be suspicious as he had injuries to his face and was also bleeding from ears and nose. The inspector said that a case of suspicious death has been registered.
New Delhi: After a shocking incident in which two minor Hindu girls were kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam and married off to their captors in Pakistans Sindh province, a concerned India on Sunday sent an official note to the Pakistan government asking it to take remedial measures to ensure the safety of minorities, even as a war of words broke out between external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistans information minister Fawad Chaudhary.

In a tweet, Ms Swaraj said she has sought a report from Indian envoy in Pakistan Ajay Bisaria on the incident.

Following this, Pakistans information minister Fawad Chaudhary tweeted, Maam its Pakistans internal issue and (be) rest assured its not Modis India where minorities are subjugated, its Imran Khans Naya Pak where white colour of our flag is equally dearer to us.

Ms Swaraj in her response tweeted, This was enough to make you jittery. This only shows your guilty conscience.

The shocking incident comes as a severe embarrassment to Pakistan. Mr Khan has already ordered a probe into the two girls abduction.

In a tweet, Ms Swaraj said she has sought a report from Indian envoy in Pakistan Ajay Bisaria on the incident. As Ms Swaraj, in a tweet, sought a report from Mr Bisaria, Pakistans information minister Fawad Chaudhary tweeted, Maam its Pakistans internal issue and (be) rest assured its not Modis India where minorities are subjugated, its Imran Khans Naya Pak where white colour of our flag is equally dearer to us.

I hope youll act with same diligence when it comes to rights of Indian minorities, he said.

Ms Swaraj, in her response to Mr Chaudhary, said she had only asked for a report from the Indian high commissioner in Islamabad about the kidnapping and forced conversion of two minor Hindu girls to Islam.

This was enough to make you jittery. This only shows your guilty conscience, she said.

According to Pakistani media reports, Reena and Raveena, hailing from village Hafiz Salman near the town of Daharki in Sindh, were kidnapped and forced to convert from Hinduism to Islam on March 20, before being married to Muslim men.

The two girls were allegedly kidnapped by a group of influential men from their home on the eve of Holi.

Soon after the kidnapping, a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown solemnising the nikah (marriage) of the two girls.
The dimensions become mind-boggling when one considers the fact that the size difference between the Nano-device and a particle of dust could be equivalent to the size difference between the particle of dust and the size of Qutub Minar in New Delhi.

Michael Crichton's 2002 best-selling novel, Prey, is ostensibly about nanotechnology gone wrong. It's about a swarm of Nano-particle having the capability to self-replicate, wreaking havoc when an experiment in the Nevada desert goes horribly wrong. The little critters evolve swiftly becoming deadly predators with each passing hour.

Much before Crichton, this possible nightmare scenario famously called gray goo scenario was first dreamed up by futurist Eric Drexler, in his 1986 book Engines of Creation where uncontrollable self-replicating tiny Nanobots run amok disintegrating and devouring anything and everything they come across on the earth.

Vasily E. Tarasov, a quantum physicist at Moscow State University, believes that quantum replicating nano-robots are possible and will eventually be a reality. Even outside of the quantum field, experts discuss replicators as a legitimate possibility.

Now, imagine a mass of nanorobots, smaller than specks of dust, programmed to travel in a cloud over Balakot, Pakistan or for that matter any country, to not only carry out a surgical strike but also stream back videos of the attack. Unlike an aircraft, nano-robots can't be shot down; being microscopic, they can't even be seen by naked eyes, yet if they are seen, bullets will pass right through it.

Today, in the 21st century, we are skyrocketing into a new age of technological power, one that offers enormous promise for the future and colossal dangers as well. The new technology is Nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology is a general term that describes any material or device - whether electrical, medical, or any material, that has dimensions typically between 0.1 and 100 nanometers (nm) in size, with 1 nm being equivalent to one billionth of a metre. Nano-devices can be as much as one million times smaller than a particle of dust. The dimensions become mind-boggling when one considers the fact that the size difference between the Nano-device and a particle of dust could be equivalent to the size difference between the particle of dust and the size of Qutub Minar in New Delhi.

A nanometer is also the size at which the biological world functions and materials of this size display unusual physical and chemical properties. These abysmally different properties are attributable to an increase in surface area compared to volume as particles get smaller and smaller and also due to accompanying bizarre quantum effects.

In 1959, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Professor Richard Phillips Feynman first discussed nanotechnology in a lecture titled There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom, in which he described the possibility of synthesis via direct manipulation of atoms. The term 'nanotechnology' was used first by the Japanese scientist Norio Taniguchi in 1974, though it was not widely known.

Nanotechnology has the potential to change the world around us completely. Already, nanoscale technologies have revolutionised medicine by allowing for the detection of bacteria in bloodstreams and potentially even cancer;by contriving new ways to deliver drugs and fight ailments; by guiding drugs to tumours and destroying tumours with nano-bullets; by growing new organs; by starving cancer cells using Nanoparticles; by diagnosing diseases and monitoring health. Doctors are also planning to deploy viruses as Nano-cameras to get a view of the goings-on inside our cells.

In the field of computing, existing computer chips are already being manufactured taking advantage of techniques at the nanoscale. Some experiments have even demonstrated that it might be feasible to construct micro-parts for computers inside bacteria. Quantum computing and quantum cryptography also bank on advances in nanotechnology. Nanotechnology in future will make it possible to create powerful microchips with mind-boggling capacity and significant reductions in size.

Furthermore, new and powerful light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are replacing conventional electric bulbs, offering substantial energy savings. LEDs are built with semiconductors, increasingly developed at the nanoscale.

As far as the environment is concerned, nanotechnology is already being used to detect and filter pathogenic bacteria in drinking water supplies as well as degrade heavy metal and chemical toxins. The catalytic converter is already being used the world over, for detoxifying engine fumes. Nanotechnology is also helping create smaller, more efficient batteries and advanced solar power cells.

New and powerful nano-materials are under development. Graphene is a powerful nano-material discovered in 2004; it guarantees to be every bit disruptive as plastics were. The wonder material is hundredfold stronger than steel, weighs one-sixth as much, and conducts electricity head and shoulders above copper. Bridges and aeroplanes might be made from the material one day.

For the security forces, nanotechnology is helping develop weightless equipment and weapons, bullet-proof battle-suits that can transmogrify to provide camouflage or even stiffen to provide splints for broken limbs, and nanosensors that can spot chemical or biological perils.

Sci-fi fans are even aspiring a futuristic age of nanorobots that can tamper matter on the molecular level, leading to 'nanofabrication' which could help, us create an amazing variety of products. Other nanotech concepts include 'foglets' - nanorobots that could behave like programmable matter, and could assemble themselves into any desired shape. For instance, the furniture or things at our office or residences could rearrange itself into an entirely new form.

Sometime ago, scientists working on the nanoscale have created a multitude of other nanoscale components and devices, including: Molecular pistons, supercapacitors, biomolecular motors, chemical motors, a nano train set, nanoscale elevators, a DNA nano walking robot, nanothermometers nanocontainers, nanodiodes, nanosensors, nano weighing scales, a nano abacus,nano-guitar, a nanoscale fountain pen, and even a nanosized soldering iron.

Like the nanoparticles in Michael Crichton's book Prey in the real world too there is a possibility of Nano-robots developing the ability to replicate themselves.

When they do so, they will be able to infiltrate technological systems and produce a great capacity for biological harm. Due to the inherent difficulty in tracing them, it will become challenging to understand their unpredictability. It's for these reasons, in future nanotechnology could contribute to devastating new weapons. As a consequence, these weapons would add to massive human rights violations because of the massive numbers of people it could impact and imperil. And the horrors it would be capable of inflicting. The international community needs an active dissuasive element, to stop both the governments and individual actors that seek to weaponise nanotechnology. We would also need to put in place a proper and trustworthy system for punishing crimes which attempt to weaponise nanotechnology.

Israel has already developed a future Nano-weapon in the absence of effective international deterrence. The weapon called Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME) is an explosive device that scatters microparticles of shrapnel at intense heat and speed. The microparticles of shrapnel are extremely difficult for doctors to remove from the target of the weapon because of their minuteness. Weaponised nanoparticles from DIME once they enter the bloodstream, are capable of penetrating the brain by using pathways which are not even accessible to bacteria and viruses. The nanoparticles inflict a toxic effect at the blood-brain barrier. Deployment of DIME by Israel is perhaps tantamount to violating the international weapons treaties as DIME is similar to banned chemical weapons. A weaponised nanoparticle has a potential equal to or greater than a weapon of mass destruction. But no International body has so far come forward and condemned it nor has it called for a moratorium on such weaponised Nanoparticles.

Small things come with massive risks if nanoscale machines can build materials molecule by molecule, using such billions of assemblers or nanoscale machines, one can create any object or material one can imagine. But to get to that scale, first nanoscale machines would have to be built in the labs, which in turn would develop more assemblers, growing exponentially with each generation. In the process, self-replicating nanobots could become a weapon. For example, one rogue nation or a terrorist could program self-replicating nanobots to target another group or country, thereby making nanobots a technological counterpart to biological warfare. In the 2008 film, The Day the Earth Stood Still, the alien robot GORT fragments into a swarm of self-replicating nanobots which covers our planet and rampages through all life and matter by destroying them within seconds. We may dismiss this as sci-fi, but the movie has done its duty, to reveal the stark realities and capabilities of self-replicating Nanobots.

In another scenario, let's say billions of nanobots are released to clean up an oil spill disaster in an ocean. During the process, what if due to an inadvertent

programming error the nanobots start consuming all organic matter, instead of just the hydrocarbons in the oil. The nanobots might end up devouring everything in their path, turning the planet to dust. We know these machines are coming. We know we will have to control them when they do. It is not too early to plan how we will treat them, what we will allow in the way of research and what we will prohibit. Historically, human beings have a poor record of addressing the hazards of new technologies as they arrive. If we humans fail to have control over them, the Nanobots might as well write the last line in human history.

Nanotechnology, of course, is a double-edged sword. It can be used to create utopia or dystopia.We need to understand that it is not technology but humans using technology who wield it to cause harm. We can use nanotechnology to produce weapons of mass destruction and destroy all life on the planet or use the same tool to turn this planet into a utopia where humankind can lead happy, fulfilling lives. For which, humanity may need spirituality alongside technology to tune into compassion.
Agra: Pitching the Lok Sabha polls as an election for rooting out terrorism and giving a befitting reply to Pakistan, BJP president Amit Shah on Sunday said only a government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi can do it.

Addressing a Vijay Sankalp rally, his first after the Lok Sabha poll schedule was announced on March 10, he said the alliance led by Opposition parties cannot secure the country and only a Modi-led BJP government can do so.

He accused Congress president Rahul Gandhi of insulting the valour of the armed forces by questioning the air strikes on a terror camp in Pakistans Balakot.

How low will you stoop for vote-bank politics? Dont play with national security for vote bank, Rahul Gandhi, he said.

The Congress has been accusing the BJP of politicising the air strikes.

He also hit out at Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav and Congress leader Sam Pitroda for their controversial remarks on the Pulwama terror attack and the subsequent air strikes.

Targeting Opposition leaders like BSP supremo Mayawati, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, DMK cheif M.K. Stalin and the Trinamuls Mamata Banerjee, he said they are dreaming to remove Mr Modi but dont have the guts to fight the Lok Sabha polls.

Mr Shah also spoke at length about welfare initiatives of the Modi government and said the general election is also about the development of 50 crore poor people.

He claimed that the people have decided to discard caste politics and vote Mr Modi to power with a mandate bigger than he had got in 2014 due to his politics of sabka saath, sabka vikas.

Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 MPs to the 543-member Lok Sabha, is crucial to the BJPs bid to retain power at the Centre.

It had won 71 and its ally Apna Dal two seats in 2014, making up for a little over 25 per cent of the 282 seats the saffron party had won. It is faced with a formidable alliance of SP and BSP in the upcoming polls.

The BJP said it organised over 200 Vijay Sankalp (pledge for victory) rallies across the country on Sunday.

While Mr Shah addressed a rally in Agra, other top party leaders, including Union minister Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Nirmala Sitharaman, addressed public meetings at different places.
Vijayawada: BJP spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member G.V.L. Narasimha Rao said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would address two meetings in Andhra Pradesh. Titled Vijay Sankalp Sabha, Mr Modi would address the meeting in Rajahmundry on March 29 and on April 1 in Kurnool.

Mr Rao said BJP president Amit Shah would also address meetings in the state. The party's state manifesto will be released by Union minister Piyush Goyal on March 26.

Mr Rao alleged that the TD had set aside `6,000 crore to spend on the elections. Lok Sabha nominations were being given to those who could spend `70 crore, and an Assembly ticket to those with `25 crore.

He said it was quite some time that a common person had seen a `2,000 note, implying that the currency notes were being hoarded. He said the party would approach the Election Commission and seek a vigil on bank transactions during the elections.

He said Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu was not in a position to say what he had achieved in the state in the last five years. He said that Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan had been repeating whatever Mr Naidu was saying.

He asked Mr Kalyan to give details of the incidents where he had claimed that people of AP origin are being beaten up in Telangana.
Patna: After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) denied ticket from Patna Sahib, leader Shatrughan Sinha on Sunday said that the party could take away his seat but not the love of people for him.

Mr Sinha said, In spite of repeated snubs, the only reason why I stayed in the BJP is because of my loyalty. I had vowed I will not move until I was told to. But now it is the time to make the move.

Asserting his decision to contest from Patna Sahib, Mr Sinha said, The BJP is fielding a dear friend of mine Ravi Shankar Prasad in my place from my constituency. But I will be contesting elections from my constituency itself. I thank people of Bihar for the love and support they offered for years, as Ive always emerged victorious from there. But now we will know whom the public actually voted for, the party or me. Mr Sinha asserted that by the grace of God he would win from Patna. You can take away my seat, but you cant take away the love of my people from me. However, I have no ill-will towards Ravi Shankar Prasad. He is an old friend of mine and I wish him all the best. May the best man win, he added.

While bidding adieu to the BJP, Mr Sinha said that the party high-command disrespected the senior leaders of the party.

Look at how they behaved with respected Yashwant Sinha; they virtually pushed him out of the party. L.K. Advani, who was sidelined for years, has retired from elections at the same time, when Ive finally moved out of the BJP.

The party could have shown some grace towards the great leader Mr Advani, by offering a seat to his daughter Pratibha or son Jayant from his electoral constituency.

However, Mr Sinha ref-used to divulge the political party he plans to join. But it is being rumoured that he has been chosen by the Congress. In a few days you will come to know. I want to thank all the leaders of Opposition, Mamta Bannerjee, Arvind Kejriwal and Laloo Yadav, for standing by me.
The victim was working at a poultry farm in a small village in Kurdistan state in Iraq.

Hyderabad: A 35-year-old migrant met with an accident in Iraq on Friday night and was denied complete medical attention as he did not have a work permit. The victim, J. Venkat Swamy (35), sustained serious injuries on both legs and on his head.

J. Venkat Swamy was a tenant farmer who had incurred huge losses which caused him to slip into a debt worth Rs 10 lakhs. In order to earn money and clear his dues, he decided to move to Iraq and work there.

However, Mr Venkat Swamy was cheated by travel agents who promised to provide him with a work permit but instead, only provided him with a visit visa which expired quite soon. Consequently, he has been stuck in Iraq for the past 3 years.

The victim was working at a poultry farm in a small village in Kurdistan state in Iraq.

On Friday night, the victim had gone to Erbil to visit his friends place and was returning to his workplace afterwards.

While he was waiting for a taxi to go back, an unknown vehicle rammed into him and then fled.

The passersby noticed and immediately rushed him to the nearest hospital. The victims family comprises his wife and three children. They live in Thimmapur village, Jannaram Mandal, Adilabad(district) Telangana State.

Speaking to this newspaper, the victims wife J.Nagalaxmi, who is in India, said, His plan was to save some money and pay for the work permit, which costs around Rs 2 lakhs. He has been away for 3 years, and has been insisting that he will only return once he earns enough money to clear our debts.

She requested the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to come to their rescue. The Gulf workers rights activist Mr Basanth Reddy said, I have approached the Embassy in Iraq and have received a positive response from them. The State and the Central governments should come forward to help the victim.
The Supreme Court-appointed mediation committee for resolution of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute held its first sitting on Wednesday (March 13) and heard all parties who attended the proceedings. (Photo: File/ Representational Image)

Lucknow: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has called an emergency meeting of its working committee here on Sunday morning to discuss the Ayodhya issue.

All the 51 members of the committee are expected to be present in the meeting which is likely to be joined by the representatives of the Sunni Central Waqf Board.

The Supreme Court-appointed mediation committee for resolution of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute held its first sitting on Wednesday (March 13) and heard all parties who attended the proceedings.

The panel, headed by former apex court judge F M Ibrahim Kalifulla, had directed that there should not be any reporting of the mediation proceedings in the print or other media, pointing out the views expressed by the top court.

On March 8, the Supreme Court had referred the land dispute case for court-appointed and monitored mediation.

A five-judge Constitution bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, had said that the mediation proceedings will be held in Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh and the state government will provide the mediators with all facilities.

The bench was hearing appeals against the September 30, 2010 verdict of the Allahabad High Court which ordered a three-way division of the disputed 2.77 acres of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya between the Nirmohi Akhara sect, the Sunni Central Waqf Board, Uttar Pradesh and Ramlalla Virajman.
Gandhi in his speech also stated that a "sum of Rs 30,000 crore was paid to Anil Ambani in the Rafale deal". (Image: File)

Agartala: The BJP has lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer of Tripura against Congress president Rahul Gandhi for allegedly referring to party chief Amit Shah as a "murder accused" at a rally.

BJP Tripura spokesperson Ashok Sinha Sunday alleged that Gandhi "violated" the provisions of the model code of conduct as he had stated in his speech at the March 20 rally in Khumulwng that Shah was a "murder accused" . The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader stressed that the "false case" of murder against Shah was dismissed by Supreme court in 2014. "A false case of murder was filed against Amit Shah during the Congress-led UPA regime, which was dismissed by the Supreme court in 2014 itself.

Gandhi distorted facts for the sake of political mileage at a rally at Khumulwng," Sinha told reporters here. "We have filed a complaint against him on March 23 for violating the model code of conduct," he added. Gandhi in his speech also stated that a "sum of Rs 30,000 crore was paid to Anil Ambani in the Rafale deal". Sinha claimed that this was an unsubstantiated accusation which also violated the model code of conduct. He said that the Tripura BJP unit had on Saturday submitted a written complaint to the state's CEO against the Gandhi scion.

On Friday the Congress' Tripura unit had demanded an "unconditional" public apology from chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb for calling the party "sly fox, thief and satan", and said the use of "unparliamentary" words was unbecoming of a leader of his stature. The Congress had also filed a complaint against Deb with the Election Commission of India.
Bringing back captured Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistan in just two days was a major diplomatic success for India, said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj addressing 'Vijay Sankalp Sabha' on Sunday. (Photo: ANI)

Noida: Bringing back captured Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistan in just two days was a major diplomatic success for India, said External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj here on Sunday.

"A day after the airstrike, Pakistan retaliated and shot down one of our planes. We also shot down their plane. They captured our soldier. Bringing back captured IAF pilot in just two days is a major diplomatic success for India," Swaraj said while addressing 'Vijay Sankalp Sabha' here.

She said that accountability is a major principle of democracy. "If you seek votes after making promises, the next time you go back to seek votes, give an account of your promises and then seek votes," she said.

"As far as the national security is concerned, you have seen when the Uri attack happened, we retaliated with the surgical strike. When the Pulwama attack happened, we took revenge with the airstrike," Swaraj said.

"When the UPA government was in power, a major terror attack happened in the country in 2008 (Mumbai attacks) in which 166 people were killed including foreigners. Hence, it was an international level attack."

"If the then government would have wanted to create an atmosphere to confront Pakistan, it could have done that. But, the government only told Pakistan to investigate," the External Affairs Minister said.

"We gave the reason to the international world that we only destroyed the terror outfits and did not harm any civilian or military targets. After this, even the international community came to support us."

On February 26, the IAF carried out an airstrike at a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror training camp in Balakot.

The strikes were in response to the terror attack in Pulwama in which 40 CRPF personnel lost their lives. JeM had claimed the responsibility of the attack.
Bengaluru: The BJP is optimistic about performing well in states where the party did not have much presence earlier which will help push its overall tally to 300 in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the party's Karnataka unit president B S Yeddyurappa said here. In Karnataka too, the BJP is "doing well" in Hyderabad-Karnataka region and "already has good presence" in Mumbai-Karnataka and Central Karnataka, the former chief minister said, and claimed if the party wins 20 to 22 seats in the state, it would lead to collapse of Congress-JD(S) coalition government due to infighting.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP won 17 seats out of 28, Congress bagged nine seats while the JD (S) got two seats. The Congress and the JD(S) are fighting in alliance this time, with the two parties agreeing to contest 20 and eight seats respectively. "There is a positive atmosphere across the country.

Narendra Modi's wave has only increased manifold compared to the last Lok Sabha elections. We are expecting to win seats from new territories like West Bengal, Odisha and other North-Eastern states. This would push BJP's overall tally to 300 Lok Sabha seats," he told PTI in an interview here. The party is also expecting to improve its tally in Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Yeddyurappa said, and expressed confidence that the party would open account in Kerala. Though the BJP lost Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan assembly elections, the party is going to repeat its 2014 performance in Lok Sabha polls, he asserted.

The BJP's prospects are good in Karnataka as it is expecting to do well in Tumkuru and Mysuru, and put up a fight in Ramnagara and Hassan, which are JD(S) bastions, he added. Yedyurappa also claimed that Congress strongman Mallikarjun Kharge is in a difficult situation in Hyderabad-Karnataka region after his supporters - Mallikayya Guttedar, Umesh Jadhav, Baburao Chinchunsur and Malaka Reddy - deserted him to join BJP. "I am very optimistic of the BJP doing well in Hyderabad-Karnataka region, especially Kalaburgi. I am sure the entry of Guttedar, Jadhav, Chinchunsur and Reddy, can turn the tables on Kharge.

The Congress leader is in a lurch by missing these leaders who made possible his victories," he said. "As it is, the BJP has good presence in Mumbai-Karnataka and Central Karnataka, historically," he said. Yeddyurappa said they were expecting positive impact from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rallies in Karnataka, "which have always worked in favour of the party". "We have requested Modiji to address four rallies in Karnataka. The dates and places of rallies will be decided later," he said. Asked about KPCC President Dinesh Gundurao's offer to Rahul Gandhi to contest from Karnataka, Yeddyurappa said the Congress is uncertain that Gandhi can retain Amethi seat, which he managed to win with a 50 per cent reduction in margin in last Lok Sabha elections against Smriti Irani. "According to me, Rahul Gandhi is losing his Amethi seat to Shrimati Smriti Irani, and hence the Congress is offering him to contest from Karnataka. It will not be easy for him to win from Karnataka also.

I think Rahul Gandhi will not take any such risk," he said. Recently, Gundurao had written a letter asking Gandhi to contest elections from Karnataka so that it would act as a nucleus for the Congress to strengthen its position in southern parts of India. Asked if the party is concerned about D K Shivakumar campaigning against B Y Raghavendra from Shivvamogga after wresting Ballari seat from BJP in last bypoll, Yeddyurappa said his son would win by one lakh votes margin as he has been working for the last six months without any break. Yeddyurappa also said he is beginning his election tour in next two to three days. Replying to a query, he said if BJP wins 20 to 22 seats, infighting in the Congress and JDS would begin, which would result in the collapse of coalition government.
Kanhaiyas entry would be remarked as the firebrand into the electoral politics. (Photo: File)

Patna: The former president of the JNU students' union, Kanhaiya Kumar will be the CPI's candidate from Bihar's Begusarai for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

However, this announcement comes a day after the opposition's Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) allotted just one seat to the Left parties in Bihar.

Kanhaiyas entry would be remarked as the firebrand into the electoral politics.

On Friday, the opposition grand alliance in Bihar announced its seat-sharing deal for 40 Lok Sabha constituencies. Lalu Prasads Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will contest 20 seats, Congress to field 9 seats, RSLP to fight for 5 seats and Jitan Ram Manjhi-led HAM-S gets three seats. The Vikasheel Insaaf Party has got three seats and the CPI-ML Liberation one from the RJD quota.

CPI Bihar secretary Satyanarayan Singh said the party had taken a final call to field Kanhaiya Kumar. He also said that the executive committee meeting has been called on Sunday to decide on the other seats the party will contest.

Begusarai is likely to see a triangular contest with NDAs Giriraj Singh, CPIs Kanhaiya Kumar and RJDs Tanveer Hassan.

After his arrest in 2016 sedition case, Kanhaiya Kumar became an overnight sensation from the JNU. His fiery speeches had set the tone for the fightback and made him a Left icon. But he seemed to have issues with RJDs Tejashvi Yadav.

The general elections will be held from April 11 to May 19 in seven rounds. Bihar, which has 40 Lok Sabha seats, will vote in seven phases - April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12, and May 19. The results will be declared on May 23.
Speaking to ANI, Kumaraswamy said: We all are fighting unitedly but a few people are unnecessarily creating a disturbance for their personal gains. (Image: File)

Bengaluru: Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Congress Lok Sabha member SP Muddahanumegowda for unnecessarily creating disturbance in the state ahead of the ensuing Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking to ANI, Kumaraswamy said: We all are fighting unitedly but a few people are unnecessarily creating a disturbance for their personal gains. "It is Congress' responsibility to sort out its own issues," he said.

On March 23, JDS confirmed that former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda will contest from Tumkur, one of eight Lok Sabha seats conceded to JDS as a part of the seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress in Karnataka.

His comments come a day after SP Muddahanumegowda filed his nomination as the Congress candidate from Tumkur seat. His move has jolted Congress-JDS coalition in Karnataka.

On March 19, Chief Minister Kumaraswamy said the Congress and JDS will be fighting together in the impending Lok Sabha elections, in order to prevent the BJP from making strides in the state.

Karnataka will go to polls during the second and third phases of Lok Sabha polling on April 18 and April 23, respectively. Results will be announced on May 23.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 17 seats in Karnataka while the Congress bagged nine seats and JDS got two seats.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has forgotten about his bonhomie with "chaiwalas", is now remembering "chowkidars", and will focus on somebody else the "next time" for political gains, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal has said, taking a swipe at the PM's 'main bhi chowkidar' campaign. The former Union minister also accused Modi of politicising the Balakot air strikes and asked whether the 'chowkidar' (watchman) was sleeping when terror attacks took place in Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Uri, Baramulla, and Pulwama. On the prime minister's 'main bhi chowkidar' campaign to counter the Congress' 'chowkidar chor hai' barb, Sibal said: "First of all he has forgotten about the chaiwalas (tea sellers). He now remembers the chowkidars (watchmen). Next time he will remember somebody else and forget the chowkidars." "The sad part of it is that he was sleeping while we were attacked at Gurdaspur, at Pathankot, at Uri, at Baramulla, at Pulwama.

What was the chowkidar doing, was he sleeping. What happened to the slogan 'main bhi chowkidar' at that point in time," the 70-year-old Rajya Sabha MP told PTI in an exclusive interview. In the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, BJP launched a massive election campaign highlighting Modi as a 'chaiwala' (tea-seller) to connect with the masses after Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar dubbed him a chaiwala'. Since then, Modi has often called himself a chaiwala. The PM launched the 'mai bhi chowkidar' campaign after Congress president Rahul Gandhi relentlessly targeted the PM with the "chowkidar chor hai" (watchman is a thief) jibe, while alleging corruption and favouritism in the Rafale fighter jet deal.

The government rejected the charges. Sibal also accused the BJP of trying to gain political mileage from the Balakot strikes. "They (the BJP) were the first ones to politicise it (air strikes) by making public statements. He (Modi) has posters of the martyrs behind him as he is making his speeches.

He is alluding to the air strikes by saying that the mood of the crowd is now different," Sibal said. The former Union minister alleged all this shows that the government is least concerned about issues relating to life of the ordinary man such as farm distress, education, health, hunger, loss of credit facilities, and "destruction" of businesses. Sibal slammed the prime minister for his 'chowkidar campaign' and asked what was the 'chowkidar' doing when the likes of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi fled the country. "What was the chowkidar doing when people were losing lives post the air strikes, soldiers have lost their lives (at the border). Is this chowkidari of his residence or what is it, or of his privileges," Sibal asked.

On whether the focus has moved away from issues of jobs and government's alleged economic non-performance following the Balakot air strikes, Sibal said there was an attempt to do so. "The whole nature of the discourse is now about what a great job this government has done post Pulwama, and this is a new threshold -- we have shown to Pakistan that we are capable of air strikes across the border if they continue with their efforts to destabilise India through terrorist attacks," he said. Sibal said personally for him the messaging to Pakistan was fine, but to politicise such issues was not acceptable.

Days after the Pulwama terror attack that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF jawans, Indian Air Force fighter jets bombed a terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp near Balakot inside Pakistan on February 26. Pakistan retaliated by attempting to target Indian military installations the next day. However, the IAF thwarted their plans.

Asked if the Congress believes that it is a 'now or never' or a 'do or die' kind of election considering the Congress has been alleging that the BJP has been destroying institutions, Sibal answered in the affirmative. "Look at the institutions prior to 2014 and look at them after 2014 when Modi ji became prime minister," Sibal said, alleging that the BJP has "destroyed" institutions. Citing the example of the Central Investigation Bureau (CBI), Sibal talked about "infighting" in the agency and referred to the government's decision at midnight to remove then CBI director Alok Verma, to allege that institutions were being undermined. "The induction of key elements in the CBI which were close to the present administration. (Rakesh) Asthana being one of them and he handling the most sensitive cases...Look at the Central Vigilance Commission.

There are serious allegations against the CVC," he said. Sibal also alleged that the Comptroller and Auditor General was not acting with transparency on the Rafale deal issue. "The CAG report reflects the opacity of the office. It is trying to justify what the prime minister did, instead of putting all the data on record. Look at the office of governors.

Some of them even say that they owe their allegiance more to the Sangh (RSS) than to the office," he said. Sibal wondered which institution has been saved under the Modi government. "Look at the nature of the media today..If the media becomes the 'lap dog' of the government, and all the institutions toe the line of the government and of the Prime Minister's Office, what is left is a hollow constitutional structure which is bereft of its essence," the Congress leader said. "Therefore, I do believe, if we are not able to ensure the victory of the liberal forces in this country, we are in deep trouble," Sibal said.
Bengaluru: JD(S) national president HD Deve Gowda on Sunday said he will file his nomination from the Tumkur Lok Sabha seat, where sitting Congress MP SP Muddahanumegowda is also staking claim after the constituency was conceded to JD(S).

I will file the nomination papers tomorrow. There is no conflict. G Parameshwara (Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Congress leader) is sitting in Tumkur, calling all members and trying to settle the issue. There's no problem between Congress and JD(S), Deve Gowda told ANI.

While Congress will contest 20 out the 28 seats Lok Sabha in Karnataka, its coalition partner JD(S) in the state will put up candidates in 8 seats.

Muddahanumegowda was also one of the persons who was groomed by Parameshwara and by the party after he joined Congress five years back. The matter will be solved. There is no conflict between Congress and JD(S). We are going to the battle unitedly, he said.

Muddahanumegowda had said on Saturday that he will file his nomination as the Congress candidate from the Tumkur seat, one of the eight Lok Sabha seats conceded to JD(S) as part of the alliance with Congress.

"Elected representatives and all local leaders want me to contest. That is why on Monday, (March 25) we will start a procession from BGS circle to DC office and I will file nomination with the support of all our leaders as the Congress candidate for Tumkur," Muddahanumegowda had said.

Earlier, JD (S) spokesperson Ramesh Babu had announced that Deve Gowda will contest from the Tumkur constituency as the combined candidate of JD (S) and Congress.

Karnataka will go to polls during the second and third phases of the Lok Sabha elections on April 18 and April 23, respectively. The counting of votes will take place on May 23.
He also took a dig at leaders of the grand alliance and said, Mayawati wants that Modi should be removed but says she wouldnt contest elections. (Image: ANI)

Agra: Only BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi can assure security of the country, asserted party chief Amit Shah on Sunday.

I want to ask Congress as to who are they aiming to help by raising questions over air-strikes. Congress should not play with the security of the country for vote bank politics. The leaders of the coalition cannot assure security of the country. It is only BJP and its leader Prime Minister Modi who can assure the security of the country, he said addressing a public rally here.

People should choose a Prime Minister who prioritises the welfare of the poor of the country. The Prime Minister should be elected for the security of the country. The Prime Minister must be elected to eliminate terrorism from the country. The Prime Minister should be able to give befitting reply to Pakistan, Shah said.

He also took a dig at leaders of the grand alliance and said, Mayawati wants that Modi should be removed but says she wouldnt contest elections. Same is with Akhilesh Yadav, Mamata Banerjee, N Chandrababu Naidu, MK Stalin and Sharad Pawar. They dont want to fight the elections and are seeing the dream of removing Prime Minister Modi. They do not have a candidate for the Prime Minister's post, the BJP chief said.

Asserting that this election is for development vs. corruption, Shah said, On the one side Prime Minister Modi is taking the country ahead with development whereas on the other side there is a coalition of those who have self-serving intent of corruption and power.

There was Sonia-Manmohan government in the country for 10 years. For 20 years in the state (UP), there was a government of aunt and nephew. However, for all these years they did nothing other than corruption. They did corruption and scams of over Rs 12 lakh crore," he said.

Shah also said that the BJP government at the Centre has completed five years and the Yogi government in UP has completed two years but no one can put single allegations of corruption on both the government.

Referring to the recent air-strikes in Balakot in Pakistan, he said, Previously there were only two countries - the US and Israel which would avenge the deaths of their soldiers. Prime Minister Modi has added the country's name also to that list.

BJP has fielded SP Singh Baghel from Agra. Agra will be going to polls in the second phase of voting on April 18. The counting of votes will be done on May 23.
Hyderabad: For the first time in the 35 years of the partys existence, the Telugu Desam is not contesting Lok Sabha elections for any constituency in Telangana state.

The TDs senior leaders discussed the issue on Sunday. Senior leader K. Dayakar Reddy and others told party president L. Ramana that the party wanted to field candidates, but the final decision was not to contest and to support the Congress instead.

TD national president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu had left the decision to the Telangana unit of the TD, whether to contest or not. The Telangana unit has been reluctant to contest the parliamentary elections in Telanaga after its defeat in the recently-held Assembly elections.

Several senior leaders of the party in Telangana state deserted the party leaving it with no strong candidate to contest the elections, except in two or three constituencies.

The Telangana unit of the TD will support Congress candidates. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee leaders and TD leaders have held discussions on the subject and sources said the Congress leaders have asked the TD to support Congress candidates if the party was not contesting.
Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman obliges a party worker with a selfie as BJP state president Dr K. Laxman looks on, at a public meeting at Exhibition Grounds on Sunday. (Photo: Deepak Deshpande)

Hyderabad: Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman condemned those in India who, she said, are voicing an interest in Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan getting the Nobel Peace Prize for sending IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman back to India. Such people are against India and the armed forces, she said. She was speaking at a meeting of ex-servicemen organised in Secunderabad on Sunday morning.

She accused the Congress of speaking against the armed forces. She said her government had taken lots of steps to fulfil its commitment to the armed forces and ex-servicemen. The interests of ex-servicemen are being looked into and there have been issues with the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme, in which malpractices were detected.

During the pre-emptive Indian Air Force strikes, the pilots were bombing the territory and not sent to attack and take selfies, Ms Sitharaman said, a reference to calls for photographic proof that the terrorist training camp had indeed been destroyed along with hundreds of militants.

There is a limit to demanding proof from us for their work. In the 1971 war, India released 90,000 prisoners of war but when Pakistan has sent a pilot back there is talk of Nobel Peace Prize within India which is unbecoming, she said.

The interests of ex-servicemen are being looked into and there have been issues with the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme, in which malpractices were detected during the audit.

She said, The review found some lapses and for that reason there will be three super-specialty institutes like the All India Institute of Medical Sciences ECHS built especially for the forces. The appeal for the disability related court cases will not be taken up as dragging ex-servicemen to court is not in the interest of the forces.

The War Memorial is an example of the governments commitment to the armed forces, she said, and the government believes in giving freedom to the armed forces with due dignity.

The Balakot attack was Indias reply that we too can opt for pre-emptive strikes, she said. If Pakistan is keen to finish terror they must first go and attack those camps so that such destruction does not take place, she added.
Hyderabad: The Telangana Rashtra Samiti has appointed several ministers and party leaders as in-charges of affairs in the Lok Sabha constituencies for the current Lok Sabha elections. But the name of former minister and MLA, T. Harish Rao, is not on that list.

The in-charges list has been circulated within the party and not released to the media.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is in charge of three Lok Sabha constituencies  Medak, Zaheerabad and Khamm-am.

Apart from ministers, sever TRS leaders have also been assigned the responsibilities of specific Lok Sabha constituencies.

Mr Narendranath is in charge of Medak and Bharath Kumar for Zaheerabad.

Usually, Medak district affairs are looked after by former minister Harish Rao, who belongs to that district.
American is the second-largest US operator of the MAX in the United States with 24 jets, behind Southwest Airlines with 34. (Photo: AP)

American Airlines pilots will test Boeing Cos 737 MAX software fix on simulators this weekend, the pilots union told Reuters on Thursday, a key step in restoring confidence in the jet after two fatal crashes.

Boeing has been working on a software upgrade for an anti-stall system and pilot displays on its fastest-selling jetliner in the wake of the deadly Lion Air crash in Indonesia in October.

Similarities between the flight path in the Lion Air incident and a fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash on March 10 have raised fresh questions about the system. The two crashes killed a total of 346 people.

American is the second-largest US operator of the MAX in the United States with 24 jets, behind Southwest Airlines with 34.

This airplane can be a safe airplane, and there have been great strides on getting a fix in the works, but Ill have a better feel after we can test it out, said Mike Michaelis, safety committee chairman of the Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents American Airlines pilots.

Michaelis said one APA pilot and one pilot from Americans management team would test the software fix in Renton, Washington, where Boeing builds the MAX and has two simulators.

We have been engaging with all 737 MAX operators and we are continuing to schedule meetings to share information about our plans for supporting the 737 MAX fleet, Boeing spokesman Paul Bergman said.

MAX jets were grounded worldwide in the wake of the Ethiopian crash.

Boeing has indicated it would deploy the software update by April or sooner, though it was unclear how long it would take to get the jets flying again. Pilots must complete FAA-approved computer-based training on the changes, followed by a mandatory test, and some pilots have said more may be needed.

After Lion Air, American pilots met with Boeing executives in Fort Worth, Texas and demanded to know why the manufacturer had not told them about the new system, known as MCAS.

They also questioned whether a 56-minute iPad course on the MAX had been sufficient.

MAX simulator training is not required, partly because few simulators exist. Southwest and American expect to receive MAX simulators later this year.

The main simulator producer, Canadas CAE Inc, said it has delivered nine of the simulators, which are now in high demand but take about a year to build. CAE expects to deliver 20 more in 2019.

When it comes to safety issues, it has to be a full-course meal, nothing a la carte, said Dennis Tajer, a spokesman for the American Airlines pilots union and a 737 pilot.

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The shares pared some of the earlier losses to be down 5.4 percent at 1545 GMT.

Nokia sought to play down the risks of an investigation into compliance issues at its Alcatel-Lucent business after its shares fell sharply on Friday.

The Finnish network equipment maker flagged the issue in its annual report which was released late on Thursday to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Nokia said it had launched an investigation into certain transactions of the business it bought in 2016.

After the shares dropped more than 8 percent in Europe on Friday, Nokia issued a statement saying it did not think the issues would have any material impact on the group.

We believe it is highly likely that any penalties that might apply would be limited and immaterial, Nokia said.

The shares pared some of the earlier losses to be down 5.4 percent at 1545 GMT.

In its annual report Nokia said certain practices at the former Alcatel-Lucent business had raised its concerns during the integration process and it had informed relevant regulatory authorities, without elaborating.

Nokia told Reuters on Friday it was scrutinising certain transactions and its investigation was at a relatively early stage.

The telecoms sector has seen a number of relatively large deals in recent years: Nokia itself bought Siemens out from their mobile networks joint venture in 2013, and Alcatel-Lucent was a result of a 2006 merger.

However, integrating acquisition targets has been cumbersome  those deals have been plagued by difficulties including trying to cut costs in an R&D intensive business, rivals stealing contracts, and struggles over power.

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The USPS revealed two stamp designs celebrating the milestone. (Photo: Geek.com)

50 years ago, NASAs Apollo 11 lunar mission made a successful attempt at landing on the surface of the moon.

History was made when astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins on July 20, 1969. And now, the United States Postal Service (USPS) has introduced a special stamp to commemorate the special occasion, Cnet reported.

The USPS revealed two stamp designs celebrating the milestone. The stamps are designed by USPS art director Antonio Alcala and both include the inscription "1969 First Moon Landing".

One stamp features a photograph of Apollo 11 astronaut Aldrin in his spacesuit on the surface of the moon, taken by fellow astronaut Armstrong.

The second stamp shows the landing site of the lunar module in the Sea of Tranquility, taken in 2010 by Alabama-based amateur astronomer Gregory Revera.

The release date and details for the first day of issue ceremony are yet to be announced.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 24)  A possible war between the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and government forces is nothing but an empty threat, the defense chief said Sunday.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said MNLF founding chair Nur Misuari was just "bluffing" when he threatened to wage war if the government will not transition to federalism.

Lorenzana said the MNLF does not have enough forces to carry out a war, as most of its allies have gravitated towards the Bangsamoro region. Misuari had previously said he preferred a federal form of government over the Bangsamoro law.

"Misuari's threat is just sound bites in an attempt to make himself be noticed.  He should accept the BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao), work within it and lend his leadership, statureship and expertise to make it succeed," the secretary told CNN Philippines in a text message.

"My guess? He's bluffing," he added.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier revealed the threat in a speech on March 20 after meeting with the MNLF chair along with Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon.

Meanwhile, former MNLF chair Muslimin Sema maintained his support for the Bangsamoro law, saying there is no need to declare war.

"There is no valid reason to make threats of war, veiled or otherwise. War is not a child's play and already considered uncivilized," Sema said in a statement Sunday.

Sema said upon coordination with MNLF Central Committee, their organization has committed to pursue "lasting peace" through standing behind the President's decisions and pushing for the full implementation of peace agreements, citing the 1996 Final Peace Agreement and the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the President had offered to create a panel involving representatives from both sides  five members from the government and five MNLF officials  to discuss and address steps they could take regarding the federalism issue.

The House of Representatives has passed a federal charter on third and final reading, but the Senate said it has no time for charter change.
In a separate video, the minor girls can be seen saying that they accepted Islam of their own free will. (File Photo)

Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday ordered a probe into reports of abduction, forced conversion and underage marriages of two teenage Hindu girls in Sindh province and to take immediate steps for their recovery, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said.

The two girls, Raveena (13) and Reena (15), were allegedly kidnapped by a group of "influential" men from their home in Ghotki district in Sindh on the eve of Holi. Soon after the kidnapping, a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown soleminising the Nikah (marriage) of the two girls, In a separate video, the minor girls can be seen saying that they accepted Islam of their own free will.

In a Twitter post in Urdu on Sunday, Information Minister Chaudhry said that the prime minister has asked the Sindh chief minister to look into reports that the girls in question have been taken to Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab. Chaudhry said the prime minister has also ordered the Sindh and Punjab governments to devise a joint action plan in light of the incident, and to take concrete steps to prevent such incidents from happening again.

"The minorities in Pakistan make up the white of our flag and all of our flag's colours are precious to us. Protection of our flag is our duty," he said.

On Saturday, Chaudhry said that the government had taken notice of reports of the forced conversion and underage marriages of the two girls. The Hindu community in Pakistan has carried out massive demonstrations calling for strict action to be taken against those responsible, while reminding Prime Minister Khan of his promises to the minorities of the country.

Last year, Khan during his election campaign had said his party's agenda was to uplift the various religious groups across Pakistan and said they would take effective measures to prevent forced marriages of Hindu girls. Pakistan Hindu Council chief and Member of National Assembly from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Ramesh Kumar Vankwani condemned the incident and demanded that the bill against forced conversion, which was unanimously passed by Sindh Assembly in 2016 and then reverted due to pressure of extremist elements, must be resurrected and passed in the assembly on priority basis.

"All of those who are preaching hate under the cover of religion must be handled like banned religious organisations," he added. Sanjesh Dhanja, President of Pakistan Hindu Sewa Welfare Trust, an NGO, earlier urged Prime Minister Khan to take note of the incident and prove to everyone that minorities were indeed safe and secure in Pakistan.

"The truth is minorities suffer from different sorts of persecution and the problem of young Hindu girls being kidnapped at gunpoint and forced to convert to Islam or get married to much older men is widespread in Sindh, he said.

Dhanja said the Hindu community had staged several sit-ins in Ghotki district after which police reluctantly registered FIR against the accused persons. The Hindu community leaders have claimed that the accused belonged to the Kohbar and Malik tribes in the area.

Following the incident, an FIR was filed by the girls' brother, alleging that their father had an altercation with the accused sometime ago and on the eve of Holi they armed with pistols forcibly entered their home and took the sisters away.

A Pakistan Muslim League-Functional MPA Nand Kumar Goklani, who had initially moved a bill against forced conversions, urged the government to get the law passed immediately. Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan. According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan.

However, according to the community, over 90 lakh Hindus are living in the country. Majority of Pakistan's Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with their Muslim fellows.
Lahore: Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's condition had deteriorated in jail due to a kidney disease, a day after his family met him and expressed concern over his health, Pakistan media reported on Sunday.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremos daughter Maryam Nawaz tweeted about his worsening health on Saturday after she along with his personal physician Adnan Khan visited Sharif at the Kot Lakhpat jail here on receiving permission from the countrys interior ministry, according to The Express Tribune newspaper.

Sharif, 69, is in jail since December last year, serving a 7-year imprisonment in the Al Azizia Steel Mills graft case. After meeting her father, Maryam tweeted that his kidney disease had reached the third stage and he felt pain in his arm. The blood tests done yesterday reveal a further raise in his creatinine levels which means his kidney function has deteriorated, Maryam tweeted.

She also said that a letter had been written to the additional chief secretary to request him for a medical specialist to be sent to jail to diagnose Nawazs disease.
India's Reliance Industries , operator of the world's largest oil refining complex, on Friday said in a statement it was not breaching U.S. sanctions against Venezuela.

The company said its recent fuel exports to Venezuela were agreed to before Washington imposed sanctions in January, and that they were meant to settle Reliance's crude oil imports from Venezuela.

Reliance said it has been in "continuous communication with the US Department of State regarding its activities in Venezuela" since the imposition of sanctions.

The State Department referred a request for comment to the Treasury Department which did not immediately respond.

The Reliance statement came a day after Reuters reported that the conglomerate was selling fuels to Venezuela from India and Europe to sidestep sanctions that bar U.S.-based companies from dealing with state-run PDVSA, according to trading sources and Refinitiv Eikon data..

"Reliance's few transportation fuel shipments to Venezuela, treated as offsets for crude oil receipts, were committed and in-transit when there were no specific restrictions to such transactions. They were all fuels refined in India," Reliance said.

Reliance had been supplying alkylate, diluent naphtha and other fuel to Venezuela through its U.S.-based subsidiary before Washington imposed sanctions aimed at curbing the OPEC member's oil exports and ousting socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

Reliance, controlled by billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani, has significant exposure to the financial system of the United States, where it operates subsidiaries linked to its oil and telecom businesses, among others.

Additional Venezuela-related sanctions are possible in the future, as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has not yet tried to prevent companies based outside the United States from buying Venezuelan oil.

Reliance said it had been transparent with U.S. authorities and provided detailed feedback to Washington as they were formulating and adjusting policy regarding product shipments to Venezuela.

"Reliance not only has complied with US sanctions laws, but also has done its best to adjust its dealings with Venezuela on a voluntary basis to reflect the ongoing changes in US policy," the statement added.

Reliance reiterated that it has stopped shipments of diluent naphtha to Venezuela, and has reduced its purchases of Venezuelan crude oil to well below its contracted levels.

In 2012, Reliance signed a 15-year deal to buy between 300,000 to 400,000 bpd of heavy crude from PDVSA. Ship tracking data show that Reliance's average purchases from Venezuela were less than 300,000 bpd in 2018 and in the first two months of this year.
The searing heat on Sunday offered an ideal condition for a group of activists gathered before the Town Hall to declare a climate change emergency.

As smoke curled up from the blacktop in the 36 degrees Celsius heat, activists hoped forcing an emergency would stir a public discussion and create a list of action points for the government to address on the issue, which is threatening to cause widespread destruction.

The elections are round the corner and we wanted to do something more than just talking about the issue, said Dr Sanjeev Kulkarni, one of the organisers of the event.

My suggestion is to gather a larger group, prepare a list of demands, keeping mother earth and climate change in mind and ask the political parties to include them in their manifestos and commit themselves to implement them, he said.

Such efforts by citizen groups may have failed to move the government, but Dr Kulkarni believed that it would be possible to extract a promise from a politician facing an election.

Environmental writer Nagesh Hegde said Karnatakas climate scene is dreadful. He agreed that protecting the environment will not be possible without educating the public, but blamed Indias growing consumerist society for damaging the ecology.

India was the model for sustainability. We had it in us not to waste food or water. But with the advent of the Western culture, we lost our way, he said, pointing out that the idea of Westernism is something prevalent in the country for the past 50 years.

Part of Dr Kulkarnis proposal to the government was to urge the passing of legislation mandating farmers to devote 1/3rd of their land for tree-based agriculture.

This would help regenerate and percolate the topsoil. Trees would offer biomass and fruits to the family, he added. The activist said this could be one of the issues that the public could discuss.
A 34-year-old woman from Kyrgyzstan, deported from India for violating visa norms, not only was caught working for the same firm here but also managed to obtain an Indian passport.

Narina Dokturbekova, was arrested at the Kempegowda International Airport on March 21, while she was about to take a flight to Nepal.

Dokturbekova presented her Indian passport at the immigration counter for clearance. When the immigration officials crosschecked her name in their database, they found that she also had a passport of Kyrgyzstan.

She was then apprehended and questioned in detail. She had come to the city from Kyrgyzstan on a business visa, and was illegally working at the marketing division of an adhesive manufacturing company.

In November 2018, the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) found her visa violations after which she was deported from the city via Delhi to her home country.

However, Dokturbekova managed to sneak back into India through the porous borders along Nepal and came to Bengaluru on road, joining the same company for work. She then managed to obtain an Aadhar card and PAN card by which she applied for a passport, which was issued later.

She was produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody. The BIAL police have booked Dokturbekova under appropriate sections of Foreigners Act, 1946 and Passport Act, 1967 along with cheating. Further investigations are on to ascertain how she procured other documentation.
The Transport Department's Friday order banning Ola cabs "with immediate effect", which remained ineffective, was nullified on Sunday by Social Welfare Minister Priyank Kharge even though the Department itself did not make any comment.

The department had banned the cab aggregator in Karnataka for six months for violating licence conditions by running bike taxis, a service not yet allowed by the government.

Kharge, who voiced his opposition to the ban earlier, did not explicitly say that the ban has been revoked. In a tweet, the minister said the cab aggregator will operate as usual and called for better policies.

"@Olacabs will run their business as usual from today. However there is an urgent need for policies to catch-up with new technologies & also industries too should work closer with Govt to help evolve policies for innovations," Kharge tweeted on Sunday morning.

. @Olacabs will run their business as usual from today. However there is an urgent need for policies to catch-up with new technologies & also industries too should work closer with Govt to help evolve policies for innovations.  Priyank Kharge (@PriyankKharge) March 24, 2019

Besides the online campaign against ban from some cab drivers, the issue also took political turn with Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda stating that the ban has hurt more than 40,000 drivers who earned through Ola.

However, there was no response from the Transport Department headed by JD(S)'s D C Thammanna. The department seized two cabs on Friday and stopped taking action since.

Transport Commissioner V P Ikkeri did not answer calls. However, sources in the department said the department has not yet revoked the ban. The order is still in place. We have given them (Ola) three days to comply, the source said.

Officials in the Regional Transport Office said Ola submitted a petition on Saturday requesting that a fine be imposed on them, instead of the ban. A request for payment of fine in lieu of the ban was made. However, a decision will be taken only on Monday, a senior official said.
Bengalureans are booking trips to some new destinations this summer, and business for tour operators is up by at least 25 per cent since last year.

While Bali and Singapore continue to remain popular, Bengalureans are also heading to Turkey, Egypt, and Kazakhstan.

Cox & Kings Ltd says it has seen a spike of at least 25 per cent in inquiries since last year for Switzerland, Thailand (seaside destination Phuket in particular), Indonesia (Bali), Egypt and Kenya.

Karan Anand, head of relationships, Cox & Kings Ltd, says, Travellers are choosing new destinations because of better flight connectivity.

While destinations in Switzerland offer fresh air, outdoor adventure and contemporary urban breaks, Phuket and Krabi boast stunning tropical sunsets and the warm blue sea.

Bali, with its active volcanoes, dense jungles, stunning beaches, and rich, ancient culture, has been a popular destination among Bengalureans for years.

While the laidback attitude works for those out to relax, it is also an important party place, and a value-for-money beach destination, he adds.

The surprising additions to the list are Egypt and Kenya.

While there were some security concerns in Egypt earlier, it is a much sought-after destination now, he says.

Rahul Singh, CEO, Ithaka Travel, a chat-based travel planning platform backed by Thomas Cook, says about 60 per cent of 25 to 35-year-old Indian tourists going abroad are from Bengaluru.

They are friends groups or young couples, and prefer low-budget yet high on experience trips. The most common choice is Thailand for its exotic islands and scuba diving, he says.



Many young couples look forward to visiting Turkey.



He has seen a rise in interest in Turkey among young couples. Many media and travel platforms have listed Turkey as a hotspot, he says.

Bali is considered an intimate place that works best for couples, with its spas, dinners and cruises.

There is a rise in first-time international travellers opting for the Indonesian island. Fares are also relatively affordable, he adds.

Travels are often planned according to budget and time. While most bachelors choose Thailand and Philippines, families opt for Malaysia, Singapore (with or without cruises), Indonesia (Bali), and Hong Kong (Macau). The last offers attractions for children.

Honeymooners and young couples choose Maldives, Bali, Mauritius and Seychelles.

Nagesh Babu, managing director, World Trails Pvt Ltd, says about 30 per cent tour tourists are choosing new destinations like Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

People like to explore new destinations now, including Scandinavian countries like Iceland and Denmark. It is mostly those between 30 and 50 who like going to these places, he says.



Malaysia is popular among families.



Most first-time travellers (between 25 and 35) go to Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Sri Lanka, which are closeby, while well-travelled Bengalureans above 40 head to France,

Switzerland, Italy, Scotland and England, says S Mahalingaiah, director of Skyway International Travels.

First-time travellers tend to go to neighbouring countries, while people who have already travelled might seek distant sights. The budget is a major factor, but other reasons are time and ease of obtaining visas, he adds.

While it is cheaper and easier to get visas to countries around India, procedures to more distant destinations are not so easy.

Bengalureans who have seen nearby destinations are exploring Russia, Kazakhstan, Egypt and Turkey.

People across the globe are now seeking experiences, and not just sights. Domestic tourism has grown by 25 per cent since last year; it is at a high now, he elaborates.
A problem of plenty ails India's Opposition. Efforts to forge a grand, national-level alliance have failed to take off despite there being an all-round agreement about the primary goal of foiling an aggressive Narendra Modi re-election bid.

One of the reasons for the failure is the clash between ambitious leaders.

A surfeit of claimants from Mamata Banerjee to Mayawati to Chandrababu Naidu, each reportedly nursing prime ministerial ambitions, makes the question of leadership in the Opposition look undecided.

Therefore, when BSP chief Mayawati tweeted on March 20 that she was not an MLA or MLC when she became chief minister for the first time in 1995 while explaining why she wasn't contesting the Lok Sabha polls, the biggest problem in the Opposition ranks had once again come to the fore.

Among those championing Mayawati is Andhra Pradesh's Pawan Kalyan of the Jana Sena, who has announced a tie-up with her party in the southern state.

In the past, Haryana's Indian National Lok Dal and JD(S) have also hailed Mayawati as a future PM.

In August 2018, Pawar, who has since decided not to fight the polls, had said that former Congress president, Sonia Gandhi, JD(S)'s Deve Gowda and he were the three senior leaders who could unite the Opposition.

Incidentally, he had described all three as "leaders with no ambition to become the prime minister".

Not surprisingly, the BJP has repeatedly taken to asking who the Opposition PM candidate is  a question that seems to hang like Damocles' sword over the efforts to push Modi and the BJP back.

For example, when TMC's Mamata Banerjee organised a united Opposition rally in Kolkata in January 2019, the BJP had mocked the stellar gathering on the stage saying all of them had ambitions of becoming prime minister.

While the Congress has tried to evade a direct reply to the question of who will be prime minister if the Opposition wins, regional parties have unabashedly batted for their leaders.

Barring DMK's M K Stalin and some support from the JD(S), no other regional party has supported the idea of Rahul Gandhi as the PM candidate.

In 2018, RJD chief Lalu Prasads son, Tejashwi Yadav, said Rahul is not the only leader from the Opposition in the race for the post.

He had named leaders like Banerjee, Naidu, Nationalist Pawar and Mayawati, and made it clear that the RJD will support anyone named as the united Opposition's PM candidate.

In January 2019, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav gave a vague answer when asked about the PM issue: "As far as the leadership issue is concerned, it is actually the people who decide it... you will see, in time to come, how many choices we have."

In West Bengal, Banerjee is routinely projected by TMC leaders as the main challenger to Modi and BJP's "divisive politics".

Banerjee, whose party could emerge as the third largest after the Congress and the BJP in 2019, may be said to have more reasons to nurse this ambition than others.
Indian investigators have so far determined assets valued at around Rs seven crore as proceeds of terror funding crimes in Jammu and Kashmir, official sources have said.

Thirteen people, including Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Sayeed and Hizbul Mujahideen founder Syed Salahuddin, have also been identified as those behind terror funding in Kashmir valley.

Their properties have been identified as part of surgical strikes against terror funding, sources claimed. According to investigators, individuals identified during probes have been found to be providing money to all major terrorist groups as also Hurriyat leaders, separatists and stone-pelters.

Besides Sayeed and Salahuddin, the list of people under scanner includes separatist leaders Aftab Ahmad Shah, Altaf Ahmad Shah (son-in-law of Syed Ali Shah Geelani), Mohd Nayeem Khan, Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bitta Karate, businessman Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali and Mohd Akbar Khanday (Geelani's press secretary) among others.

According to the investigators, funds were provided to take up campaigns to misguide, motivate and recruit local youth to terrorist ranks including from madrasas and mosques. Operational activities of terror groups are also being financed including attacks on Security forces personnel, camps and convoys.

It is also claimed that the Hurriyat Conference also has received money through these channels and it is used for maintaining top leadership and also the massive propaganda machinery.

Extensive use of such funds is also being made to finance institutions focused on subverting the local population including through selected Mosques, Madrasas and organization like recently banned Jamat-e-Islami (JK), sources claimed.

The NIA had earlier arrested Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, who is presently lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail and now his posh bungalow in Haryana's Gurugram, near Delhi, has been attached, sources said claiming it was the first such action. According to investigators, he had allegedly received money from LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, Salahuddin, ISIS and the Pakistan High Commission here.

Watali is a major conduit for funnelling terror finances in India. Incriminating documents seized by ED clearly indicate that he has been receiving money from Hafiz Saeed, Syed Salahuddin, ISI and the Pakistan High Commission at New Delhi directly. He is known to have important sources of Hawala financing operating out of Dubai also, a senior official said.

Apart from Watali, the official said others have also been brought into the dragnet of terror funding and multi-agency surgical strikes on terror funding have been launched against them in a concerted manner for the first time.
Municipal Administration Minister C S Shivalli, who died of cardiac arrest in Hubballi on Friday, was laid to rest with state honours at his native, Yaraguppi, in Kundagol taluk on Saturday.

People flooded the JSS Vidyapeeth in Kundgol to pay their last respects till late Friday night. At 2 am, the cortege carrying Shivallis mortal remains arrived at Yaraguppi.

An emotional Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy offered floral tributes to the departed Congress leader and assured every help to Shivallis wife Kusuma and his three children. Irrigation Minister D K Shivakumar, former minister Vinay Kulkarni and several leaders expressed their condolences. A large number of people bid a tearful farewell to their departed leader.

The ministers daughter Roopa appeared for the SSLC examinations at one of the centres in Hubballi. Later, she arrived at Yaraguppi to take part in the last rites.
As the Parliamentary elections are nearing, the Anti-Naxal Force and police have carried out another round of combing operations in the border areas of the district.

Search operations are also being conducted in various parts of Kodagu.

A combing operation was recently carried out at Kutta, Talacauvery, Brahmagiri, Srimangala and Irpu, in order to search for Maoists said to have been hiding in the district. Since the last two days, the ANF is carrying out searches in Pushpagiri and Subrahmanya Ghat regions.

Teams of 100 personnel each have plunged into the operation.

High alert is maintained in the regions where the movement of Maoists was reported. The ANF has kept an eye on Kaluru, Mandalpatti, Kalmakaru and Kadmakallu villages.

A suspected Maoist was killed during an exchange of bullets between the Maoists and police in Wayanad in Kerala 15 days ago. The same group of Maoists are suspected to have gained entry into the state through the forest area of Kodagu, according to sources.
More trouble is in store for Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar as the Income Tax Department is in the process of confiscating benami properties estimated to be worth Rs 75 crore.

During the raids on the minister, unaccounted wealth to the tune of Rs 429.32 crore has also been detected. Addressing a press meet, Balakrishna B R, principal chief commissioner of Income Tax and director general (Investigation), Karnataka and Goa region, said that prosecution of the Cabinet minister in Karnataka government would be launched soon.

There is clear evidence that the land was purchased in someone elses name. I-T department will confiscate the property after which various tribunals set up for the purpose will adjudicate the matter, he said. However, the prosecution is yet to begin, he said. Sources also added that the attached benami property was registered in the name of Shivakumars mother and included a plot of land and a building.

To a question on the seizure made from a RDPR engineer, he said that a total of 1.57 cr has been recovered.

Balakrishna said that the money seized was to be used during the elections and investigation was under progress.

Tax evasion

Revealing details of tax evasion cases, he said that the Investigation Directorate has uncovered Rs 12,268 crore of concealed taxes, of which Rs 5,339 crore concealment was admitted by the taxpayer.

In the current year till the end of February, the directorate has conducted 144 searches resulting in the admission of undisclosed income of Rs 4,711 cr and detection of undisclosed income of Rs 7,098 crore, he added.
In the age of irony, Jeremiah Disneys death presented itself like a grapefruit tossed to a home run hitter.

But those taking swings at it have been  again, ironically  saying more about themselves than about the tragic and short life of an apparently misguided young man.

According to various news reports from Marion, Indiana, a small town in the north-central part of the state, a man noticed someone had been rummaging through his cluttered garage one day about a week ago. He decided the next day to clean things up and see what was missing.

That was when he discovered a 900-pound antique floor safe, handed down to him from his father, had been tipped over  and that a body was underneath.

My mind couldn't comprehend it. This can't be real, the homeowner, George Hollingsworth, told Fox59, a local station. I came in and told my wife, I think we've got a dead body out there. She thought I was kidding.

Having seen the gruesome aftermath, including Disneys face, which was not underneath the safe, Hollingsworth said, I would have rather seen him steal stuff and get out than die like that. What a horrible way to die.

A lot of ordinary folks saw things quite differently. Disneys Facebook page remains very much alive, and within days it was littered with nasty comments, cartoon memes of safes falling from the sky and bitter retorts to anyone who suggested that even a thief deserves respect and dignity in death.

One posted a picture of a pancake and suggested it was the coroners photo. Many posted puns about Disneys deeds weighing heavily. No sympathy at all, one person wrote. Saved taxpayers expenses. Thou shalt not steal.

Many posts were thick with profanities, especially those leveled at the few who urged a more dignified tone. I hate drug addicts and thieves, wrote one. I hate the people that sympathize them even worse.

You might think this is a lesson about the dangers of internet anonymity, but the commenters are easily identifiable, and their own Facebook pages reveal them as caregivers, hospital workers, auto mechanics  otherwise ordinary people from many walks of life.

An examination of the rest of Disneys page reveals a complicated life. News reports said he had a long rap sheet, including criminal confinement and domestic violence. To use a cliche, he was not to be confused with any boy singing in a choir. He seemed like the type to avoid. However, he also reposted heartfelt songs about Jesus, and his cover photo was of two little girls. News reports said he was a father.

In a rambling description of himself, he seemed uncertain what to do in life. God is on my side and he has a plan for me, he wrote. He was troubled, but a believing soul might have reason to consider him redeemable.

Why do people do the things they do? Psychologists and behavioral scientists have been studying that one for generations. But the question sounds as valid when directed toward criminals as when applied to people who feel it necessary to post nasty insults on a dead strangers Facebook page.

The latest pollon such things by Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate, with KRC Research, found 93 percent of Americans believe civility, or the lack of it, is a problem in todays world, with 69 percent calling it a major problem. On average, people reported 10.6 encounters with uncivil behavior each week, and 42 percent would like some sort of civility training provided at work.

Some observers dont see this as a problem, citing the nations relatively low crime rate and its high levels of prosperity. We can be nasty and still be safe and happy, they say.

They may be missing the point.

Author Norman Cousins may have hit on it when he said, Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.

Disneys Facebook page illustrates the great flaw of the age of irony. Deep thoughts and observations, even respect itself, cant seem to gain traction. Like ants at a picnic, people carry away amusing crumbs while never seeing the bigger picture, all the while robbing many of the opportunity to learn lessons or to see things as they really are.
BEIJING  A massive explosion at a chemical plant in eastern China with a long record of safety violations has killed at least 62 people and injured hundreds of others, 90 of them seriously.

The death toll appeared likely to rise still further, with another 28 people still listed as missing, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday. Just 26 of those confirmed dead in Thursday's explosion have been identified, it said.

The blast in an industrial park in the city of Yancheng, north of Shanghai, was one of China's worst industrial accidents in recent years. State-run television showed crushed cars, blown-out windows and workers leaving the factory with bloodied heads.

Schools were closed and nearly 1,000 residents were moved to safety as a precaution against leaks and additional explosions, the city government said in a statement posted to its microblog.

The blast created a crater, and more than 900 firefighters were deployed to extinguish the fire that burned into the night. Windows in buildings as far as 6 kilometers (4 miles) away were blown out by the force of the blast, which caused a magnitude 2.2 seismic shock.

The cause of the blast was under investigation, and people responsible for operations at the plant have been placed "under control," Xinhua said. It wasn't clear whether anyone had been formally arrested.

Drains and waterways running through and from the plant complex have been blocked to prevent toxic chemicals from running into the nearby Yellow Sea, under orders from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

The orders covered sewage and rainwater outlets while further assessments of air and water quality were ongoing, Xinhua reported.

A resident of the community of Chenjiagang, about 5 kilometers (about 3 miles) from the plant, said glass from windows smashed by the force of the blast injured neighbors.

"At the time of the explosion, I was almost deafened and I was terribly frightened," said the woman, who gave only her surname, Zhi.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, on a state visit to Italy, demanded "all-out efforts" to find and rescue victims, Xinhua reported.

"Relief work must be well done to maintain social stability. Meanwhile, environmental monitoring and early warning should be strengthened to prevent environmental pollution as well as secondary disasters," it quoted Xi as saying.

Xi said local officials need to learn the lessons of a recent series of industrial accidents to save lives and property, signaling a likely crackdown on safety violations at a time when many Chinese companies are being hit by a downturn in sales that is squeezing profit margins.

On Xi's orders, State Councilor Wang Yong led officials from the State Council, China's Cabinet officials to the explosion site to "guide the rescue and emergency response work and visit the injured people," Xinhua said. The State Council has been ordered to oversee the investigation into the cause of the explosion, an indication of the seriousness with which the government regards the incident.

The Yancheng city government statement said 3,500 medical workers at 16 hospitals were mobilized to treat the injured, dozens of whom remained in critical condition.

The U.N. said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was "deeply saddened" at the loss of life and injuries and sent "heartfelt sympathies" to the families of the victims and to the people and government of China.

China experiences frequent industrial accidents despite orders from the central government to improve safety at factories, power plants and mines.

Among the worst accidents was a massive 2015 explosion at a chemical warehouse in the port city of Tianjin that killed 173 people, most of them firefighters and police officers. That blast was blamed on illegal construction and unsafe storage of volatile materials.

In November, at least 22 people were killed and scores of vehicles destroyed in an explosion outside a chemical plant in the northeastern city of Zhangjiakou, which will host competitions in the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Thursday's disaster occurred at a factory run by the Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Co. Located among a cluster of chemical factories in Yancheng, it has a dismal safety record: In February 2018, China's State Administration for Work Safety cited 13 types of safety hazards at the company, including mishandling of tanks of toxic benzene, believed to be the source of Thursday's explosion.

Other local media reports said chemical fertilizer may have also been involved in the explosion.

Those violations came despite the plant having racked up 1.79 million RMB ($267,000) in fines since 2016 for violations of environmental regulations, according to a judgments issued by local county and city environmental protection bureaus. Those included improperly dealing with hazardous waste and evading air pollution supervision.

A 2017 explosion that killed 10 at a nearby plant prompted the State Administration of Work Safety to dispatch inspectors. They discovered over 200 safety hazards at chemical factories in Yancheng and four nearby cities, including 13 at the Tianjiayi plant. Safety hazards cited included leaks and drips, employees who didn't understand safety procedures, and a lack of emergency shut-off valves on tanks carrying flammable chemicals.

In 2014, the company's chairman, Zhang Qinyue, and Wu Guozhong, its former supply chief, were arrested on suspicion of dumping and burying hazardous waste byproducts near a temple and a village landfill, according to a Jiangsu court criminal judgment. They were convicted in 2017 and the company was fined 1 million RMB ($149,000).

___

Associated Press writers Yanan Wang and Dake Kang contributed to this report.
Politicos love nothing more than to politically triage officials, candidates and elections. We look at three recent events and the extent of hurt and injury.

The campaign bombshell of this year (so far) was the announcement by Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski that she will not seek re-election. How does this alter the race for announced and potential candidates James Dabakis, Stan Penfold, David Ibarra, David Garbett, Christian Harrison and Luz Escamilla?

Pignanelli: From politics, it was an easy step to silence. Jane Austen

Observers predicted the recently filed Inland Port lawsuit would energize the mayor's re-election campaign, enhancing her perception as the anti-establishment Joan of Arc in Utah. But we will never know.

A word of caution to readers who live outside Salt Lake City  it is very much not like the rest of the state. For capital city residents, international and national causes regarding the environment, human rights, urbane lifestyle, etc. are more important than traditional municipal issues.

Also, mayoral candidates endure the toughest challenge of any office seeker in the state. Fundraising demands are comparable to federal and statewide offices. Additionally, residents demand a campaign similar to legislative and council races, focused on door-to-door outreach, cottage meetings and attendance at Community Council functions.

Biskupkis departure benefits Dabakis but also opens another pathway for Penfold  a former city councilmember who understands the emotional levers of city residents. This election now mirrors the 2007 race  victory to not the best financed, but to most strategic in messaging and voter turnout.

Utahns should expect several mayoral contenders leading crusades on topics unique to their capital.

Webb: The mayoral race is wide open. Dabakis has the lead in the polls, but its all ephemeral name ID. The only candidate I know well is Christian Harrison, the former Downtown Community Council chair. Hes a fine person.

Salt Lake City is as liberal as any big city in the country, so the next mayor will obviously not be a conservative (as I would prefer), or even a moderate. But even liberals ought to understand that the next mayor needs to be able to work collaboratively with the business community, the Legislature, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The church contributes immensely to Salt Lake's economy, vitality and success. A hostile mayor could provoke the church to move its headquarters to Bountiful (just joking!).

The new mayor also needs to be business-friendly. Strong business and economic centers are popping up all over the valley and, especially, in northern Utah County. Salt Lake City faces plenty of competition for economic vibrance. An anti-business mayor would be disastrous for the city.

Candidates concerned about endangered species and oppressed minorities should listen to me  the very last old white male conservative Republican still living in downtown Salt Lake City.

Last week, Utah Sens. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney voted to overturn Pres. Donald Trump's emergency declaration on border wall funding. Then Romney criticized Trump's tweets disparaging former Sen. John McCain. Is the grumbling within GOP ranks a problem for Trump?

Pignanelli: Lees undisputed commitment to constitutional principles  even at the expense of legislation that benefits Utah  compelled his affirmative vote on this resolution. Trumpistas care nothing for such admirable consistency and are screaming betrayal. These objections will soon dissipate. Further, his decision solidifies him as a future conservative nominee for the Supreme Court.

Romney is an unusual commodity in Washington, D.C. He was literally drafted by Utah voters and expresses little ambition beyond. Therefore, no one can threaten him from providing the desperately needed parental supervision in Washington. Millions are grateful for his assumption of this burden.

Webb: I dont have a problem with Lee and Romney voting against Trump. But I have a very big problem with Congress itself being totally impotent in dealing with the immigration mess. Immigration policy, a quintessential congressional responsibility, is in shambles, desperately needing reform.

The reason Trump usurps congressional authority is that Lee and Romney and the rest of Congress are incapable of producing good public policy. The old saying is true: Congress is good at only two things  doing nothing and overreacting.

Republicans do have a problem with Trumps many foibles. But Democrats have a problem with leftist candidates and a Trump economy thats the best in many years. Which is the worst problem going into 2020?

Do any of the results of the recently concluded legislative session suggest electoral problems for lawmakers?

Pignanelli: The tax reform controversy overwhelmed every other issue that may have caused problems for lawmakers. Although hundreds of thousands of Utahns would have been impacted, little time was available for them to assess. Summertime committee hearings covered by the media, along with a potential special session, will provide opportunities for everyone to learn, and decide whether to support or oppose.

Webb: What will matter is how the Legislature performs in the special session later this year. Legislative leaders have forced themselves to take meaningful steps on tax reform, tax cuts and the state budget by deliberately spending $300 million in one-time money to pay for ongoing expenses. If they dont perform, chaos ensues.
Utahns are fortunate to cap off Womens History Month with some local history-making of their own when Astrid S. Tuminez is officially inaugurated this week as Utah Valley Universitys first female president.

She deserves the post. Both her professional background as a Microsoft regional director for Southeast Asia and the long list of her own educational achievements qualify her to run a school that serves more than 39,000 students.

After immigrating to the U.S. in 1982, Tuminez received a degree from Brigham Young University, a graduate degree from Harvard and a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

But its her belief in her pupils that may have the largest effect on those who pass through the institution. We are the university that says come as you are. I use that phrase a lot and I mean that phrase when I say it, Tuminez told the Deseret News.

Her passion likely reflects her own experience being raised in the slums of the Philippines and receiving a chance to go to school at age 5 after meeting two Catholic nuns who invited her and her siblings to their convent school.

She embodies the kind of grit UVU students have become known for. Tuminez achieved extraordinary heights in diverse career and education opportunities, not because she came from wealth or privilege, but because she tenaciously went after every opportunity or obstacle with a willingness to do whatever it took, learn whatever she needed to know and challenge the status quo.

That come as you are attitude opens up new worlds for thousands who might never have believed stepping inside a college was a possibility. To Tuminez, student success isnt just walking out with a degree; it means engaging in the holistic learning experience. A student studying mechatronics, for instance, shouldnt be content with tech classes only, but should also find value in modern art, theater or English literature.

For a country straining to help more kids get to college, UVUs model should stand out.

The open enrollment design ensures a place for anyone to expand their knowledge and start a track to a fulfilling career. Nearly 2 of every 5 students at UVU are the first in their families to attend college, and about a third of its students are older than 25.

The Career Pathways program also creates a pipeline connecting high school studies, technical training and a four-year degree, making UVU one of the few universities in the nation that offers a dual-mission approach to crafting an education designed by the needs of the students. It addresses inclusion in a big way at a time when the world and societies are polarized and socio-economic differences are becoming bigger and bigger, Tuminez said.

Her presidency is also historical for another reason: Half of Utahs public colleges are now led by women.

Tuminez joins Deneece Huftalin, president of Salt Lake Community College; Ruth Watkins, president of the University of Utah; and Noelle Cockett, president of Utah State University. Add to that list Bethami Dobkin, president of Westminster College, and the five female presidents create a powerful image of leadership in the state.

Wednesdays inauguration should cement for Utahns what Tuminez and her fellow female presidents already live. Says Tuminez, We have to be inspired and fearless and then step up when the opportunity comes. It's not the work of one or two or three or four women. It's the work of all of us.
SALT LAKE CITY  After taking his seat in the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, Mark Wait didnt dare move a muscle.

The opera house in Germany felt more reverent than any church Wait had ever entered.

For the five-hour opera, you don't even dare shift in your seat for fear that it will squeak and people will give you the stink eye, he said.

A longtime announcer for KBYUs Classical 89, Wait basked in each aria, absorbing every note. It was just the formality he couldve done without.

I would like to see the concert hall be a less formal, more welcoming and inclusive experience, he told the Deseret News. Going to a concert shouldn't be such an uptight experience.

But there is one thing Wait believes should never change when it comes to the classical music world: The unwritten  but widely spoken  rule to not clap between movements of a piece.

Were listening to beautiful music; dont interrupt it with this horrible sound. Save it for the end at least so I can hear the complete hour and a half Mahler Symphony the way it was meant to be heard, he said. The symphony or any other multi-movement work was written to be played as the complete whole, and I think clapping in between movements disrupts the flow.

The way Wait sees it, this concert etiquette doesnt just benefit the listener, though.

The conductor may want to have just a couple of seconds in between certain movements to let it settle  and reset the orchestra, he said. But if we as an audience erupt into applause, then weve taken control of that pacing away from the conductor.

But Utah is home to a couple of conductors, at least, who don't mind what many, including Wait, consider a concert faux pas.

If they clap, they clap

Sitting in his office at Abravanel Hall, Thierry Fischer doesnt have much time. In fact, he only has about 15 minutes to chat before running off to his next Utah Symphony engagement. Hes supposed to be talking about the symphonys upcoming season, but the Swiss conductor isnt opposed to a detour  especially when that detour involves tackling the clapping debate.

Many people talk about this, he said, leaning forward in his chair. You have to ask the question.

The question  to clap or not to clap  may never be definitively answered, but Fischers thoughts on the subject can be summed up in five words: If they clap, they clap.

I dont feel like Im a teacher and I have to tell the audience how to react, said Fischer, who will be conducting Dvoraks New World symphony during theUtah Symphony concerts March 29-30. If they want to leave after a slow movement is too long, whatever, Im cool with it.  Sometimes you have more intensity and people stay in silence, and sometimes you have even more intensity and they clap without even thinking (about it)  it just comes naturally. So honestly, Im the kind of conductor that I take what I get from the audience and it doesnt disturb me. It really doesnt.

But the Utah Symphonys music director did admit there are times when having pure silence between movements  or even throughout an entire program  can be a conductors best friend. As Fischer tells it, that silence can be crucial when moving from one of Bachs Brandenburg Concertos to the contemporary music of 20th-century French composer Pierre Boulez.

Then I have asked  the audience not to clap, to keep their applause until the end (so were) able to go from one world to the other  in silence, he said. Silence can help us.

As someone who was always taught not to clap between movements, Barlow Bradford has a deep love for the silence  so much so that hell sometimes make a note in his concert programs informing audiences when to applaud. For the Utah Chamber Artists annual concert at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, Bradford  who was conductor of the Orchestra at Temple Square from 1999-2003  asks his audience to save the applause for the intermission and end of the performance.

It has to do with the way we set the concert up. If there were applause, it would indeed ruin the flow of what were doing, he said. A lot of choral music is shorter than symphonic music, so you put together your own little symphony by grouping a set of pieces together.  Were making an artistic statement. And if youre setting it up as an artistic statement that these groups of pieces really need to be experienced without break,  as a conductor, I think you need to tell (the audience).

But even someone like Bradford, who cherishes the silence between movements and pieces as much as the music itself, doesnt mind spontaneous applause once in a while.

We put it on there when we feel that its important not to applaud, he said. Otherwise, we let our audience do what they feel like. Bottom line for me  theyre saying that they liked it when they applaud. You dont want to turn that down.

It wasnt always that way

Today many concertgoers, including Wait, uphold the common protocol of withholding applause until the absolute end of a piece. And sometimes, as Wait experienced in the opera house in Germany, valuing that silence can be taken to extremes  like glaring at someone when theyve so much as shifted slightly in their seat.

But the concert hall wasnt always that way (as Wait puts it, in Mozarts time, people were just there to party and have a good time).

In the 18th century, concerts were chances to socialize and movements of a symphony were not necessarily played one after another, according to Catherine Mayes, a University of Utah professor and musicologist. Today's tradition of silence didnt become the norm until around the mid-19th century, when ideas about the spiritual or transcendent experience that could result from very attentive listening began to develop, Mayes wrote in an email. In that vein, composers like Felix Mendelssohn began through-composing  writing movements without pause in order to maintain the mood of a piece.

But as concertgoers like Wait preserve this standard, conductors like Fischer and Bradford  while not wanting the standard to completely die away  seem to be embracing the return to a more natural relationship between performer and listener.

There are times when I think people will applaud because thats what you do, and there are times people applaud because they are really moved by something  theyre really taken by something and they need to express (that), Bradford said. And I think that when that happens, people should applaud.

And as Fischer prepares for the Utah Symphony's upcoming performance of the New World symphony, how his audience reacts in between movements is the farthest thing from his mind.

They clap, they don't clap, who cares? he said. The most important (thing) is that people love coming to the concert.  That's really what matters.

If you go 

What: Dvorak's New World symphony

When: March 29-30, 7:30 p.m.

Where: Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple

How much: $15-$96

Web: utahsymphony.org
SALT LAKE CITY  Salt Lake police stopped a car with a revoked registration in December 2016, finding heroin and a .44 revolver inside. They arrested the driver, who later took a plea deal and went to prison.

Pretty routine. Except that the driver claimed to be his brother the whole time, prosecutors say.

It was only after 32-year-old Aaron Fritz arrived at the Utah State Prison two years ago that his real identity was revealed, according to court filings. During intake, a corrections officer noticed the new inmate didn't match a photo in the system of Bela Fritz, the name he'd given. So the prison employee then pressed him on personal details.

Aaron Fritz confessed, the officer called a supervisor and the case made its way to the state's highest court, court documents say. In an opinion this week, the Utah Supreme Court directed a judge to revisit the conviction that remains on his brother's record.

"It is unclear what measures the state undertook to confirm the defendant's identity, but the state apparently followed his lead," the opinion states.

"Honestly, one of the greatest fears of a prosecutor is that of a wrongful conviction," said Tony Graf, a deputy Salt Lake County District attorney who worked on the case for a time. "It seemed like in this case, the right person was convicted under the wrong name."

Paperwork aside, Aaron Fritz emphasized to the Deseret News on Friday that he's the one who served two years in prison before he was released on parole.

When the case was playing out, "I wasn't really in the right mind state at the time. I wasn't on my meds. I was just going with whatever they said," he recalled. He said he is now taking medication for depression and seeing a therapist.

The 32-year-old construction worker acknowledges he made mistakes and regrets them.

"I'm just trying to get back to a normal life, be a normal citizen and a person that does good," he said. Fritz, of Kearns, has not been criminally charged with operating under a false name in court over the course of four months.

After the revelation at the prison, prosecutors found themselves in the curious position of seeking to undo a conviction. They argued Fritz would not have been offered as plum a deal if they had known who he really was, including that he was on probation in another case.

They challenged the conviction with three arguments in a Salt Lake courtroom, but a judge determined she couldn't grant their request. Third District Judge Ann Boyden concluded doing so would require a first-of-its-kind application of legal rules, and that would amount to creating a new law, according to the Supreme Court's written decision. The state appealed.

In an opinion released late Thursday,Justice John Pearce disagreed with Boyden and detailed the real harm a fake name could potentially do.

A defendants misrepresentation of his or her identity is an illicit attempt to game the criminal justice system. It carries with it troubling consequences," the opinion states.

In addition to tarnishing someone else's record, such a sentence may not be tailored to the actual offender's background, criminal history, or mental or physical health, Pearce wrote. It may not fit requirements designed to properly punish and deter crimes, and it could put public safety at risk.

What's more, in the Fritz case, "an innocent person was actually convicted," said John Nielsen, an assistant solicitor general for Utah who argued the state's case. "That could affect his brother's future legal proceedings and other rights he might have."

"It's not unusual for somebody to give a false name," Nielsen added. "It's a little more unusual for them to give a name belonging to somebody else, but it's highly usual for it to last this long, for somebody to successfully deceive police, prosecutors, the courts and everyone else about their real identity."

The 31-year-old Bela Fritz, the brother whose identity Aaron Fritz is accused of taking on, has not waded into the debate, Nielsen added.

Both brothers have a history of drug and theft charges dating back more than a decade, court documents show. Aaron Fritz's record includes a 2012 conviction of child abuse, a third-degree felony.

In its opinion, the Utah Supreme Court directed the lower 3rd District Court to reconsider prosecutors arguments.

"We sympathize with a district court that finds itself ruling on a novel issue of law with little guidance," Pearce wrote. However, ruling on questions of first impression," are part of a judge's job, he continued. Four other justices concurred.

Attorneys for Aaron Fritz had pushed back on the effort to reverse the conviction in his brother's name. They agreed with the judge that a rule allowing courts to revisit convictions applied only to those who have lost their case. Pearce again disagreed, explaining the doctrine could pertain to others, too.

Aaron Fritz on Friday said he believes the case had already been transferred to his name, though court records show they remain under his brother's. One of his lawyers declined to comment; another did not return a message.

He was originally charged in February 2016 with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, a first degree felony; having a firearm despite being a restricted person, a third degree felony; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor, court records show.

In a plea agreement with prosecutors, he admitted to the weapons charge and a reduced count of attempted drug possession, a second-degree felony. The misdemeanor drug count was dismissed in exchange. At sentencing, the judge dropped the remaining drug charge to a third-degree felony, ordering a prison term of up to five years.
SALT LAKE CITY  The Utah Supreme Court has ordered a new hearing for a man on death row, pointing to "damning revelations" from star witnesses in his case who later said police had threatened them, given them gifts and told them to lie about the financial help.

If those details had come to light before Douglas Carter was sentenced to die, "a significant possibility exists that the outcome would have been different," according to the court's written opinion released late Friday.

Douglas Stewart Carter, 63, was convicted in 1985 of murdering 57-year-old Eva Olesen, who was stabbed and shot during a home-invasion robbery.

Jurors in the case relied on Carter's confession and his bragging to friends Epifanio and Lucia Tovar that he killed a woman. He appealed the sentence in 1992, and another jury upheld the death penalty.

Carter, originally from Chicago, appealed again based on sworn statements from the Tovars, whom prosecutors tracked down in 2011.

The Tovars revealed officers had threatened them with deportation, prison time and possibly taking away their infant son. After relocating them twice to protect them from Carter, Provo officers paid the couple's rent of about $400, plus utility and phone bills, and instructed them to lie under oath about the benefits during the trial, court documents say. According to the Tovars, officers also brought them groceries, a Christmas tree and toys for their son.

On the stand, the couple's testimony was at times inconsistent and is "tainted as a whole" by the new evidence, the opinion states.

Yet it was "crucial" to the state's case, Justice Deno Himonas wrote in the decision, noting that fingerprints and blood were found at the scene but no physical evidence tied Carter to the crime.

Prosecutors also relied on the testimony to explain why they sought the death penalty, arguing Carter told Epifanio Tovar the night of the killing that he intended to "rape, break and drive." They pointed to Lucia Tovar's statement that Carter also laughed when he returned, arguing he was "a man who delighted in killing," the opinion says. But the couple's recollections of those moments varied throughout the case.

"Carter has a colorable claim that the Tovars testimony evolved over time to become more damaging to Carter in an attempt to please the people who had provided them with rent money and threatened them with deportation and separation if they did not cooperate," the decision says.

The state, however, has contended inconsistencies could stem from fear of retaliation from Carter and that his defense attorneys have never challenged his own confession to police. They have said the testimony from Carter's friends mirrored his own admission to police about killing Olesen, the aunt of a former Provo police chief.

A lower court in 2017 said the new details would likely not have led to a more favorable outcome. The decision countered that there was actually a "signifcant possibility" of a different outcome, though not for certain.

The justices ordered a 4th District Court to conduct a fresh review of the new evidence. A hearing date has not yet been set.
PROVO  No. 7/8 BYU lost the final match of the BYU Invite against No. 2 Hawaii in three sets (25-20, 25-17, 25-14) at the Smith Fieldhouse on Saturday, in front of a season-high 4,572 fans.

Gabi Garcia Fernandez led the Cougars with 12 kills, five digs and three blocks. He also had five aces to tie his career high. Davide Gardini contributed five kills, five digs and three blocks. Cyrus Faalogo and Brody Earnest traded off at the setter position with nine and eight assists, respectively.

After the Cougars (12-8, 6-3 MPSF) and the Rainbow Warriors (20-0, 4-0 Big West) traded points back and forth in the beginning of the first set, back-to-back aces by Garcia Fernandez gave BYU the advantage, 9-8. The Rainbow Warriors used a three-point run to take the lead, 15-12, but the Cougars responded with kills from Gardini and Andrew Lincoln to close the gap to one point, 15-14. Although the Cougars managed to tie the score 18-18 after a block by Gardini and Felipe de Brito Ferreira, the Rainbow Warriors extended their lead to 21-18 with three consecutive points. A Lincoln kill brought BYU close at 23-20 before Hawaii took the first set, 25-20.

Back-to-back aces by Garcia Fernandez opened up the second set for the Cougars with an early lead, 2-0. Hawaii edged out BYU with a four-point run to give them a 10-6 lead. Out of the timeout, kills by Garcia Fernandez and Faalogo and blocks by Gardini and de Brito Ferreira decreased the gap to 12-10. The Rainbow Warriors separated themselves from the Cougars with a 20-14 lead. Garcia Fernandezs fifth ace of the match then brought the score to 21-17. A four-point run gave Hawaii the second set, 25-17.

Set three opened with back-and-forth points from both teams until the Rainbow Warriors gained a 15-9 advantage. A kill by Garcia Fernandez and multiple Hawaii errors kept BYU within six, 20-14. The Rainbow Warriors then claimed the final set and the match 25-14.

BYU hits the road for the final three matches of the regular season, traveling to California first for a pair of rematches against Concordia on Thursday, March 28 and USC on Saturday, March 30, with both matches starting at 7 p.m. PDT. Live stats will be located on the mens volleyball schedule page.
WASHINGTON  Special counsel Robert Mueller did not find evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election but reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice, Attorney General William Barr declared Sunday. That brought a hearty claim of vindication from Trump but set the stage for new rounds of political and legal fighting.

Trump cheered the outcome but also laid bare his resentment after two years of investigations that have shadowed his administration. "It's a shame that our country has had to go through this. To be honest, it's a shame that your president has had to go through this," he said.

Democrats pointed out that Mueller found evidence for and against obstruction and demanded to see his full report. They insisted that even the summary by the president's attorney general hardly put him in the clear.

Mueller's conclusions, summarized by Barr in a four-page letter to Congress, represented a victory for Trump on a key question that has hung over his presidency from the start: Did his campaign work with Russia to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton? That was further good news for the president on top of the Justice Department's earlier announcement that Mueller had wrapped his investigation without new indictments. The resolution also could deflate the hopes of Democrats in Congress and on the 2020 campaign trail that incriminating findings from Mueller would hobble the president's agenda and re-election bid.

But while Mueller was categorical in ruling out criminal collusion, he was more circumspect on presidential obstruction of justice. Despite Trump's claim of total exoneration, Mueller did not draw a conclusion one way or the other on whether he sought to stifle the Russia investigation through his actions including the firing of former FBI director James Comey.

According to Barr's summary, Mueller set out "evidence on both sides of the question" and stated that "while this report does not conclude the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

Barr, who was nominated by Trump in December, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in May 2017 and oversaw much of his work, went further in Trump's favor.

The attorney general said he and Rosenstein had determined that Mueller's evidence was insufficient to prove in court that Trump had committed obstruction of justice to hamper the probe. Barr has previously voiced a broad view of presidential powers, and in an unsolicited memo last June he cast doubt on whether the president could have obstructed justice through acts  like firing his FBI director  that he was legally empowered to take.

Barr said their decision was based on the evidence uncovered by Mueller and not affected by Justice Department legal opinions that say a sitting president cannot be indicted.

Mueller's team examined a series of actions by the president in the last two years to determine if he intended obstruction. Those include his firing of Comey one week before Mueller's appointment, his public and private haranguing of then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation because of his work on the campaign, his request of Comey to end an investigation into Michael Flynn, the White House's first national security adviser, and his drafting of an incomplete explanation about his oldest son's meeting with a Russian lawyer during the campaign.

Mueller's findings absolve Trump on the question of colluding with Russia but don't entirely remove the legal threats the president and associates are facing. Federal prosecutors in New York, for instance, are investigating hush-money payments made to two women during the campaign who say they had sex with the president. Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, implicated Trump in campaign finance violations when he pleaded guilty last year.

The special counsel's investigation did not come up empty-handed. It ensnared nearly three dozen people, senior Trump campaign operatives among them. The probe illuminated Russia's assault on the American political system, painted the Trump campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails to hurt Hillary Clinton and exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.

Thirty-four people, including six Trump aides and advisers, were charged in the investigation. Twenty-five are Russians accused of election interference either through hacking into Democratic accounts or orchestrating a social media campaign to spread disinformation on the internet.

Sunday's summary  and its suggestion that Mueller may have found evidence in support of obstruction  sets up a fight between Barr and Democrats, who called for the special counsel's full report to be released and vowed to press on with their own investigations.

"Attorney General Barr's letter raises as many questions as it answers," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.

"Given Mr. Barr's public record of bias against the special counsel's inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report," they said. Trump's own claim of complete exoneration "directly contradicts the words of Mr. Mueller and is not to be taken with any degree of credibility," they added.

Trump was at his Florida estate when lawmakers received the report. Barr's chief of staff called Emmet Flood, the lead White House lawyer on the investigation, to brief him on the findings shortly before he sent it to Congress. Mueller submitted his report to Barr instead of directly to Congress and the public because, unlike independent counsels such as Ken Starr in the case of President Bill Clinton, his investigation operated under the close supervision of the Justice Department.

Barr did not speak with the president, Mueller was not consulted on the letter, and the White House does not have Mueller's report, according to a Justice Department official.

Though Mueller did not find evidence that anyone associated with the Trump campaign coordinated with the Russian government, Barr's summary notes "multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign."

That's a likely reference not only to a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting at which Donald Trump. Jr. expected to receive damaging information on Clinton from a Kremlin-connected lawyer, as well as a conversation in London months earlier at which Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos was told Russia had "dirt" on Clinton in the form of thousands of stolen emails.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, said Congress needs to hear from Barr about his decision and see "all the underlying evidence." He said on Twitter, "DOJ owes the public more than just a brief synopsis and decision not to go any further in their work."

Barr said that Mueller "thoroughly" investigated the question of whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia's election interference, issuing more than 2,800 subpoenas, obtaining nearly 500 search warrants and interviewing 500 witnesses. Trump answered some questions in writing, but refused to be interviewed in person by Mueller's team.

Barr said Mueller also catalogued the president's actions including "many" that took place in "public view," a possible nod to Trump's public attacks on investigators and witnesses.

In the letter, Barr said he concluded that none of Trump's actions constituted a federal crime that prosecutors could prove in court.

____

Associated Press writers Jonathan Lemire in New York, Deb Riechmann in Palm Beach, Florida, and Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.
Filmed during the summer of 2018, three-part series Oilithreacht (Pilgrimage) documents a 12-week season on the sacred site of Lough Derg, Co Donegal.

Made by DoubleBand Films with support from Northern Ireland Screens Irish Language Broadcast Fund, Oilithreacht will be broadcast on Monday, March 25, 10pm, BBC Two Northern Ireland. The documentary follows people young and old, as they undertake the challenging three-day pilgrimage of fasting, vigil and prayer.

Motivation

The series explores what motivates people to take part in this centuries-old mission to an island which dates from the fifth century and where, it is said, Jesus showed St Patrick a cave that was an entrance to purgatory.

For some, it is a way of attempting to deal with a personal issue or strengthen their faith.

For others, going on the pilgrimage is a long-standing family tradition, or an opportunity to detox from the modern world.

Oilithreacht captures the physical challenges that the pilgrims grapple with as they maintain a 24-hour prayer vigil and go barefoot and without food  with the exception of dry toast  throughout their three day stay on the island.

Young People

It also reflects on how the pilgrimage to Lough Derg has seen reduced numbers in recent years yet still manages to reach out to young people, often those seeking a form of release from the stresses and pressures of contemporary living.

As well as pilgrims, the series introduces us to the staff who work on the island and the clerics who explain that while the island has traditionally been seen as a place of purgatory and penance, it is also very much a place of reconciliation, healing and for some, a new beginning.

Capturing the pilgrims' joy and sorrow, their camaraderie and the suffering, the series delivers an insight into what a pilgrimage still means to people today and the various reasons that compel them to visit Lough Derg.
Home Two wheelers Royal Enfield To Assemble Motorcycles In Thailand Due To High Demand oi-Stephen Neil

Royal Enfield has announced the formation of its subsidiary in Thailand. This will be the first assembly plant for the motorcycle manufacturer outside Thailand. Royal Enfield has selling its motorcycles in the Thai market since three years now and the company has observed increasing demand, and hence the decision to set up its subsidiary there.

Royal Enfield is the oldest motorcycle manufacturer in the world that has been in continuous production. The brand manufactures motorcycles with a classic-retro design and these motorcycles are extremely popular in India.

Turns out, the demand for these motorcycles outside the Indian market too is high and is on a continuous upward surge. The brand image of Royal Enfield shot up after the launch of the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 in November 2018.

These motorcycles have also been on sale in the Thai market and Royal Enfield claims to have received over 700 booking for the 650 twins in the south-east Asian country. Hence, Royal Enfield's Decision to have a subsidiary and an assembly plant in Thailand makes more sense.

It will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Enfield and will function independent of the Indian unit. Siddhartha Lal, the CEO of Eicher, Royal Enfield's parent company was quoted as saying, "Thailand has become Royal Enfield's third home after its origins in UK and success in India. The initial success of the 650 Twins in Thailand has proven that Royal Enfield is well poised to fill the gap in the mid-size segment.

"With a massive segment of commuters ready to upgrade and a robust long-distance, leisure riding culture in the country, Thailand offers huge headroom for growth for Royal Enfield. We believe that localising our operations in Thailand will allow us to serve our customers at a closer and more intimate level."

The Royal Enfield assembly line in Thailand can also be used to export its motorcycles to other neighbouring countries like Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, etc.

Thoughts On Royal Enfield Assembly Plant In Thailand

Royal Enfield is a highly-respected motorcycle manufacturer across the globe. It always made motorcycles that looked great and these motorcycles had a cult following across the globe. The brand's latest motorcycles use modern technology and engineering, and this makes them more attractive.

You can read DriveSpark's review of the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 to see that the motorcycle is nearly perfect. With such motorcycles, demand is only set to increase and we can see RE entering more markets.

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Project Description

To meet its electricity needs, Moldova relies primarily on fossil fuel based generation from the Kuchurgan power plant located in Transnistria and on electricity imports from Ukraine, which together account for nearly 80% of total electricity demand.

Moldovan authorities are committed to reach a target of at least 10% of total electricity generation from RE sources by 2020, under the National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP). This is a significant increase relative to the 2% share achieved in 2016. According to the local TSO (Moldelectrica) there is high wind and solar PV generation potential and the grid has the capacity to absorb additional intermittent generation. Currently, most RE electricity generation is wind and hydro-based with the share of solar PV being negligible.

As part of their commitment to support the development of renewable energy sources, Moldovan authorities have improved the policy and regulatory frameworks to attract investments in RE through several reforms including Law 10/2016, which transposes the EU directive 28/2009/EU and follows the principles set in the EUs Guidelines on State aid for environmental protection and energy 2014-2020. Importantly, as part of these reforms, the Moldovan authorities aim to replace the previous cost-plus administratively set Feed-in Tariffs (FiT), which were unsuccessful in attracting substantial investment, by a strategy for supporting large RE projects based on competitive procurement.

Scaling-up investments in renewable energy (RE) will be an important means for Moldova to: meet its climate change mitigation commitments; increase private sector participation in its electricity sector; expand electricity generation capacity and increase the resilience of its electricity sector by reducing dependency on electricity imports and on generation from the Kuchurgan power plant, with solar and wind being the two priority renewable sources to be developed in the short and medium term.

In this context, the Moldovan Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure requested the Bank's assistance in further developing the necessary framework for the successful implementation of support and selection mechanisms based on competitive bidding processes. The request of the Moldovan authorities builds on the strong engagement of the EBRD in Moldovas energy sector. The work on the Moldova-Romania Power Interconnection (Phase I) contributes to the resilience of the Moldovan electricity sector by allowing it to integrate with the continental European ENTSO-E electricity grid (BDS17-169). This interconnection also catalyses the reform of the Moldovan power sector through the implementation of the Power Sector Action Plan (PowerSAP), a comprehensive reform package prepared in cooperation with the Energy Community Secretariat and designed to bring Moldovas electricity sector into compliance with the EUs Third Energy Package.

This Project consists of a comprehensive package of technical assistance to support Moldovan authorities in developing and strengthening the overall regulatory and institutional framework necessary for the successful implementation of the competitive procurement of renewable energy. The project also includes support to the relevant institutions for the implementation of RE auctions.

The Project includes a comprehensive technical assistance package that will provide the necessary support to the relevant institutions for the successful implementation of RE auctions. This implementation support to the national authorities for administering RE auctions the relevant institutions (including but not limited to the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, the regulator and the offtaker) with the necessary support for the practical implementation of competitive auctions for RE.



Project Objectives

The objective of the Transport Infrastructure Delivery Unit (TIDU) will be to ensure more efficient cross-minister coordination and implementation of the committed transport projects. The outcome of this Assignment is expected to be an acceleration of implementation of the transport projects and a significant decrease of the undisbursed loans amount. EBRD proposes that the TIDU comprises 4 international experts and one local expert funded by the Bank: two international Senior Experts in International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) standards, one international Environmental Expert with significant expertise in IFIs environmental policies, one Social Expert with relevant experience in land acquisition and expropriation, and one local expert to coordinate activities with the relevant ministries and state agencies, and to identify and facilitate the provision of capacity-building trainings by the international experts.

Project Cost

EUR 496,345.00

Any competitive selections for business opportunities relating to this project will be published on the EBRD's website: Consultancy Procurement Opportunities.

General enquiries

EBRD project enquiries not related to procurement:

Tel: +44 20 7338 7168

Email: projectenquiries@ebrd.com

Access to Information Policy (AIP)

The AIP sets out how the EBRD discloses information and consults with its stakeholders so as to promote better awareness and understanding of its strategies, policies and operations following its entry into force on 1 January 2020. Please visit the Access to Information Policy page to find out what information is available from the EBRD website.

Specific requests for information can be made using the EBRD Enquiries form

Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM)

If efforts to address environmental, social or public disclosure concerns with the Client or the Bank are unsuccessful (e.g. through the Clients Project-level grievance mechanism or through direct engagement with Bank management), individuals and organisations may seek to address their concerns through the EBRDs Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM).

IPAM independently reviews Project issues that are believed to have caused (or to be likely to cause) harm. The purpose of the Mechanism is: to support dialogue between Project stakeholders to resolve environmental, social and public disclosure issues; to determine whether the Bank has complied with its Environmental and Social Policy or Project-specific provisions of its Access to Information Policy; and where applicable, to address any existing non-compliance with these policies, while preventing future non-compliance by the Bank.

Please visit the Independent Project Accountability Mechanism webpage to find out more about IPAM and its mandate; how to submit a Request for review; or contact IPAM via email ipam@ebrd.com to get guidance and more information on IPAM and how to submit a request.
Russiagate skeptics have been proven wrong, but nothing will quench their need to blame Democrats for what Republicans do

The most dangerous psychosis in American politics is the one that allows Republicans to justify anything that helps Republicans win. And this political nihilism doesnt just belong to Mitch McConnell.

It allows hacks like Steven Moore and Paul Ryan justify doing anything that sweetens the economy and explodes the deficit when Republicans are in power, while doing the exact opposite when theres a Democratic president. This kind of thinking allows Republicans to defend to the death an electoral college that allows Republicans to win over dirt instead of black or brown people. And it would allow them to then eliminate the electoral college in a minute if it any way hurt their prospects.

A few secondary psychoses enable this sickness in our society. These related manias make it possible for Republicans to continually prioritize their power over anything from basic health health care Americans keep voting for themselves to survival of the planet.

First, theres the mainstream medias urge to be harder on Democrats in the foolish hope of appeasing right-wing critics who only take this appeasement as a signal to demand more bias in their favor. Then, theres the Democratic inclination to take mainstream media criticism seriously as if it speaks accurately for a non-existent centrist majority.

Finally, theres what were seeing now that the Mueller probe has ended: the passion some on the left have for anything that can be used to suggest Democrats are as bad as Republicans.

Matt Taibbi is epitomizing this sentiment by insisting Russiagate is this generations WMD.

This disgraceful comparison equates chronic war-criminal-enabler Paul Manafort suffering the first consequences of his life with a horrendous failure that led to thousands of American deaths and over 600,000 Iraqi fatalities.

Taibbis concern is as wrong as it is fatuous: Nothing Trump is accused of from now on by the press will be believed by huge chunks of the population, a group that (perhaps thanks to this story) is now larger than his original base.

This would likely be even MORE true if Mueller indicted Trumps whole family.

And Taibbis accusation is especially harmful when you realize that Trump administration  right now, TODAY  is repeating the Iraq WMD playbook to justify a war that cannot be won in Iran after many on the left insisted Trump was actually a non-interventionist.

Take a look at a sampling of what Mueller has documented, as laid out by Marcy Wheeler:

Trump pursued a ridiculously lucrative $300 million real estate deal even though the deal would use sanctioned banks, involve a former GRU officer as a broker, and require Putins personal involvement at least through July 2016.

The Russians chose to alert the campaign that they planned to dump Hillary emails, again packaging it with the promise of a meeting with Putin.

After the Russians had offered those emails and at a time when the family was pursuing that $300 million real estate deal, Don Jr. took a meeting offering dirt on Hillary Clinton as part of Russia and its governments support for Mr. Trump. At the end (per the sworn testimony of four people at the meeting) he said his father would revisit Magnitsky sanctions relief if he won. Contrary to the claim made in a statement authored by Trump, there was some effort to follow up on Jrs assurances after the election.

All of these facts were in dispute by Russiagate skeptics and as they were proven wrong, their skepticism only grew.

Our elections were attacked. One candidate and his party not only knew this and did nothing to stop it, they invited it and utilized it. And then they did everything they could to make sure the public did not find out what they did. These are the facts in the record, thanks to Mueller and the press.

Today we know some of the truth and its vile. And the horror is they get away with it the way the guys behind the financial crisis got away with it, Paul Manafort got away with 50 years of crimes, Trump is getting away with breaking the Emoluments Clause and spending 1/3 of his presidency collecting bribes from leeches and shills who prosper from polluting and exploiting everyone and everything. Meanwhile, Putin gets away with looting his people to become the richest human on earth as he aligns with autocrats, polluters, and racists around the globe who recognize freedom and democracy is their shared enemy.

The Mueller probe was essential when we had a House filled with Republicans who needed Trump to get away with his crimes. Refusing to immediately take over this work in the House was a mistake because Mueller could never capture the full scope of Trumps wrongdoing.

Those who want to take Muellers failure to indict more people as proof that it was wrong to ever take these crimes seriously do so in an effort to discredit Democrats who they blame for not implementing a left-inspired agenda they imagine would defeat conservatism.

But all they are doing is their best to make sure Trump gets away with it.

[Image via C-SPAN.]
(Wikimedia Commons / Michael Vadon)Donald Trump during his victory tour.

More than two years into the presidency of Donald Trump, U.S. white evangelical Protestants continue to overwhelmingly support him, a new analysis of Pew Research Center survey data shows.

However, other religious groups are more divided in their views of the president, Pew said on March 18.

Two U.S. Christian publications often seen as reflecting different political perspectives, the Christian Post and Sojourners have carried editorial content that reflect both consternation and condemnation of that support.

George Yancey wrote an op-ed column in CP on March 7 saying, "...I must admit that I fail to fully comprehend why there is continual evangelical support of Trump," noting that he finds the pattern vexing.

Yancey said, "Evangelicals have been his biggest supporters in his policies and seem to be the most loyal to him. They have ignored his immoralities and shortcomings in ways they clearly would not have done for Democrats. It is a blind loyalty that he is unworthy to receive."

The Pew analysis found that around seven-in-ten white evangelical Protestants, or 69 percent of them, say they approve of the way Trump is handling his job as president, the Center's latest polling found in January 2019.

This is somewhat lower than Trump's approval rating in the earliest days of his tenure  when about 80 percent of white evangelicals (78 percent) approved of his job performance.

Pew said this is in line with most polls conducted by the center since the inauguration.

White evangelical Protestants consistently give President Trump high marks.

Their support for the president has been consistently high, and many prominent evangelical leaders, such as Jerry Falwell Jr.  the president of Liberty University  have steadfastly stood with the president.

White mainline Protestants and white Catholics are, however, less approving of Trump's performance than are white evangelicals.

They are, however, more approving than religiously unaffiliated Americans, or those who identify as atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular.

Jim Wallis, founder and editor of Sojurners wrote an editorial in the publication on March 22 titled, "White Nationalism. White Supremacy. White Power." in which he was scathing of Trump.

'EVANGELIST OF WHITE NATIONALISM'

"Donald Trump is an evangelist of white nationalism and white supremacy and his message must be rejected on grounds of faith by responsible Christians around the world and here in the U.S.," wrote Wallis.

He added, "And the bargain for power made by the white evangelical leaders who unquestioningly support Donald Trump must become a debate within the American church  the integrity of our commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ is clearly now at stake."

In most of the 11 surveys conducted by the Pew Center since Trump's inauguration, between 46 percent and 55 percent of white mainline Protestants have approved of the president, including 48 percent in the January 2019 survey.

Around half of white Catholics have approved of Trump in these surveys, including 44percent in January.

Religiously unaffiliated Americans consistently express among the lowest levels of approval of Trump's performance.

These range from 17 percent to 27 percent across the polls the Center has conducted since the president assumed office.

Most black Protestants and nonwhite Catholics also have disapproved of the way the president handles his job.

While white evangelical Protestants generally give Trump high approval ratings, that does not mean they have no reservations about him.

HIGH MORAL STANDARD

An August 2018 survey found that roughly half of white evangelicals do not think that Trump has set a high moral standard for the presidency since taking office.

Some prominent evangelical leaders, such as Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church, have expressed ambivalence about Trump and concern about some of his policies.

Others, such as Beth Moore, founder of Living Proof Ministries, openly oppose the president.

Wallis wrote in Sojourners, "Donald Trump has proved his identification with white nationalism from his demonizing of immigrants, to making his anti-immigrant lies the central message of his midterm election strategy, to deciding to make his symbolic wall the heart of his vision and legacy."

Time magazine cover June 2018

He cited Trump's anti-Muslim ban, his expressed hostility and falsehoods toward the Muslim religion and beginning his political career with championing the racialized birther movement seeking to undermine the citizenship and credibility of Barack Obama.

Wallis also sharply contrasted Trump's anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies with former President George W. Bush who had spoken "unusually" in defense of immigration, and its role in making the United States the nation it is today.

Bush said the week before at an immigrant swearing-in ceremony, "Amid all the complications of policy, may we never forget that immigration is a blessing and a strength."
Cyclone Idai devastates Mozambique

Over 700 people have been killed in three countries of Southern Africa, a week after Cyclone Idai made landfall in Mozambique creating a major humanitarian crisis in the region, officials have said.

Mozambiques land and Environment Minister Celso Correia told reporters in the port city of Beira Saturday, at least 417 bodies had been discovered in his country alone and several people were still missing. The situation is still critical, local media quoted him as saying.

DEATH TOLL RISES

The UN Migration Agency IOM said in a statement at least 259 people had died in Zimbabwe alone after the cyclone struck nine days ago.

Some 217 are missing. Authorities confirmed that 16.000 households have been displaced, IOM said in a statement late Friday. At least 56 people were reported dead in Malawi, according to officials.

Cyclone Idai, made landfall in Mozambique's port city of Beira last Thursday with winds of up to 110 miles (177 kilometers) per hour, wreaking havoc in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and neighboring Malawi.

Thousands of victims are still trapped in flooded villages in Mozambique as humanitarian agencies work around the clock to rescue them.

Approximately 1.7 million people are affected by Cyclone Idai; almost half of those affected are children, The UN childrens Agency UNICEF said in a statement.

UNICEF said the situation in Mozambique remains critical as there is no electricity or running water. Hundreds of thousands of children need immediate help. The priority right now is to give them shelter, food, water, education and protection, UNICEF said.

According to relief agencies, about 100,000 people in Mozambique are being housed in temporary shelters.

Aerial images and videos were seen from parts of Mozambique show homes and villages submerged in water.

Video footage played on some local television stations in South Africa show residents of disaster-hit areas in Zimbabwe digging into the rubbles to search for bodies of their loved ones.
NEW ORLEANS-- Researchers using the world's largest twin registry to study seven autoimmune diseases found the risk of developing the seven diseases is largely inherited, but that some diseases are more closely related than others. These results will be presented Sunday at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in New Orleans, La.

"These results contribute to our understanding of what causes autoimmunity and how autoimmune diseases are related," said Jakob Skov, M.D., the study's lead investigator and a Ph.D. student at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. "We examined the risk of acquiring not only one specific disease, but any one in a cluster of conditions. The findings may be helpful in patient education and autoimmune risk counselling."

Autoimmune diseases tend to run in families. The basis of twin studies is to examine concordance rates--the likelihood of both twins in a pair having the same disease. Higher concordance rates in identical than in non-identical twins point to genetic influence. This information is typically used to calculate heritability--a measure of how much of the variation in disease risk is due to genetic factors. Skov and his co-workers also looked at the likelihood of both twins in a pair having different autoimmune diseases--which they named "pseudoconcordance" - and compared these rates to measure autoimmune clustering.

By using data on 116,320 twins from the Swedish Twin Registry, which is managed by the Karolinska Institute, they found that Addison's disease, a type of adrenal insufficiency; celiac disease, or gluten intolerance; and type 1 diabetes, are strongly influenced by genes with heritability greater than 85 percent, while environmental factors contribute to disease for Hashimoto's hypothyroidism, a form of underactive thyroid; the skin disease vitiligo; Graves' disease, an overactive thyroid; and atrophic gastritis, a chronic inflammation of the stomach.

Autoimmune clustering was high in Addison's disease and vitiligo, the researchers found, but low in celiac disease.

"Our results indicate that Addisons disease and vitiligo often overlap with other disorders, whereas celiac disease more rarely associates with the other diseases," Skov said.

###

Funding for this research came from the County Councils of Varmland and Stockholm, Swedish Society for Medical Research, Ake Wiberg Foundation, Swedish Research Council, Torsten Soderberg and Ragnar Soderberg Foundations, Novo Nordisk Foundation, and EU Horizon 2020.

Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions.

The Society has more than 18,000 members, including scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in 122 countries. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at http://www.endocrine.org. Follow us on Twitter at @TheEndoSociety and @EndoMedia.
NEW ORLEANS--New research suggests a hormone released from fat tissue is critical in the development of obesity-related asthma and may be a target of future treatments for the disease. The findings will be presented Saturday, March 23 at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in New Orleans, La.

Along with genetic susceptibility and environmental exposures, obesity is emerging as a risk factor for asthma. Many studies have shown obesity also affects the course of asthma. However, scientists do not understand how obesity contributes to asthma. An estimated 40 percent of people with asthma have obesity.

"There is a great unmet need for novel treatments for obesity-related asthma, because these patients are less-responsive to current therapies," said lead researcher M. Furkan Burak, M.D., of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Mass.

The study looked at the adipose hormone aP2, which is increased in the circulation of humans and animals with obesity. It is involved in the body's inflammatory responses and previously has been shown to contribute to chronic inflammatory diseases associated with obesity, such as diabetes and heart disease. In previous research, the investigators detected increased aP2 levels in blood and lung fluid in mice with obesity.

In the new study, they measured aP2 levels in blood and lung fluid of people with and without asthma. They found aP2 levels were 25.4 percent higher in the blood of people who were affected by asthma and met the criteria for obesity or being overweight, compared with people without asthma. Higher levels of aP2 were associated with asthma status only in people with overweight or obesity. There was no significant difference in aP2 levels in normal-weight people with and without asthma.

They also measured aP2 levels in lung fluid collected from 13 people with obesity and 36 normal-weight people with and without asthma. They found aP2 levels from the individuals with obesity were 23 percent higher compared with the other study participants.

"These data suggest that aP2 may be an independent risk factor for obesity-related asthma," said co-investigator Gurol Tuncman, M.D. Ph.D., of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "The findings also suggest anti-aP2 treatments can impede obesity-related asthma development and its chronic complications. Our studies present an exciting opportunity for clinical translation of anti-aP2 drugs to treat obesity-related asthma."

###

Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions.

The Society has more than 18,000 members, including scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in 122 countries. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at http://www.endocrine.org. Follow us on Twitter at @TheEndoSociety and @EndoMedia.
NEW ORLEANS--Increasingly aggressive insurance strategies have lowered the total costs and insurance costs of growth hormone drugs, but those savings are not being passed on to patients, according to new research to be presented Sunday at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in New Orleans, La.

In 2003, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved growth hormone treatment for idiopathic short stature (children who are short for no known cause). This expanded potential eligibility for treatment to the shortest 1.2 percent of the U.S. population, at a potential estimated national cost of $40 billion.

"However, in subsequent years, health insurance companies imposed greater barriers to reimbursement for growth hormone treatment," said lead researcher Adda Grimberg, M.D., of the Perelman School of Medicine and Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Penn. Insurers have instituted formularies--lists of drugs that are covered by the insurance plan--that exclude all but a few brands of growth hormone drugs, and change these lists frequently based on prices negotiated with manufacturers, forcing patients to switch brands during their course of treatment. Insurers have also adopted more stringent criteria for coverage, and many no longer cover growth hormone treatment for idiopathic short stature.

Grimberg and her co-author Genevieve P. Kanter, Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania, examined how use of growth hormone by U.S. youth changed over time. Using a database of 18 million individuals enrolled in commercial health plans, they examined changes in use and expenditures between 2001 and 2016. They focused on the 38,857 beneficiaries up to age 18 treated with growth hormone who had six or more months of insurance coverage in any year between 2001 and 2016.

The number of members with growth hormone prescriptions per 10,000 beneficiaries under age 18 rose steadily from 5.1 in 2001 to 14.6 in 2016, without a dramatic change around 2003, the year the FDA approved coverage for idiopathic short stature. Progressive restrictions on growth hormone coverage imposed by insurers and stricter formulary rules appear to have succeeded in lowering the total cost and insurer cost of treatment. However, those savings were not passed on to patients, who also were forced to switch drug brands as insurance companies changed their formularies.

While total growth hormone expenditures per patient decreased by 27 percent and the estimated insurance-paid amount decreased by 28 percent, average copayments, deductibles and total patient financial burden increased by 161 percent. Between 2001 and 2007, beneficiaries switching growth hormone brands at least once in the year ranged from 1.4 percent to 3.6 percent. After 2007, the range rose to 5.1 percent to 8.8 percent, with 25.6 percent switching in 2009 and 13.9 percent switching in 2015.

"These patterns are consistent with broader U.S. trends of increased patient cost-sharing and aggressive use of formularies and coverage restrictions to limit insurer costs from high specialty drug prices," Grimberg said. "The rising patient costs of insulin have emerged as an important health care concern in recent days, prompting Congressional hearings and legislative review. Our research shows that growth hormone, another endocrine medication like insulin, is costing patients more, even as costs to insurers have declined."

Grimberg noted that the patient burden of growth hormone brand switches and insurance denials/appeals is a source of great distress for patient families seeking evaluation and treatment of short stature. "Because the different growth hormone brands are delivered in different pen devices, insurance-mandated brand switches during the years a patient is treated with growth hormone require retraining on proper administration, so the process is more complicated than simply switching from one pill to another," she said.

###

Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions.

The Society has more than 18,000 members, including scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in 122 countries. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at http://www.endocrine.org. Follow us on Twitter at @TheEndoSociety and @EndoMedia.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 24)  Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Sunday said the communication filed by two former Philippine government officials against Chinese President Xi Jinping before the International Criminal Court (ICC) is intended to produce a political outcome than a legal victory.

"I humbly believe that the complaint was filed not with the faintest hope of a favorable judgment by the ICC (jurisdictional issues and legal standing are huge stumbling blocks), but probably to impress upon China that if the philippine government is not willing to vigorously assert its West Philippine Sea arbitration victory at this time, there are Filipinos who are unwilling to defer further action to enforce the arbitral ruling," Guevarra told CNN Philippines.

Guevarra was referring to the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbirtration in The Hague last July 2016. The tribunal invalidated China's nine-dash line claim to the South China Sea and recognized the Philippines' sovereign rights in the areas covered by the 20Q0-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, over China's artificial island building. Beijing has refused to observe the ruling.

The justice secretary added the communication filed by former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales may stress that the Philippines' withdrawal from the ICC was a mistake, as the international court may be a venue where enforcement actions in the West Philippines Sea can be sought.

The Philippines' exit from the ICC took effect on March 17, a year after President Rodrigo Duterte sent in his notice to the United Nations.

Guevarra, however, stood by Duterte's decisions on international policy.

"All of these notwithstanding, I trust that the president has the greater interest of the country in mind in pursuing his kind of foreign policy, and for that reason we ought to give him all the leeway and flexibility he needs," he said.

Justice Secretary Guevarra was part of the Philippines' legal representation in the arbitration case on the West Philippine Sea.

Duterte, in reaction to the complaint, reminded that China is not a State Party to the Rome Statute, the treaty which formed the ICC. However, the communication argued that since the crimes against humanity were committed by Chinese officials within Philippine territory during the time when the Philippines was still a State Party, China's Xi and other high-ranking government officers could also be held liable.
NEW ORLEANS--Burosumab, a new injectable medicine to treat X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH), an inherited form of rickets, demonstrates superior improvements in rickets and other outcomes compared with conventional therapy in an international, phase 3 clinical trial in children. Results from what investigators called the first head-to-head study comparing the new drug with conventional treatment for this rare disease will be presented Sunday at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in New Orleans, La.

"These improvements with burosumab have the potential to change the lives of children with XLH as they grow," said study principal investigator Erik Imel, M.D., associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, Ind.

XLH affects about 3,000 children and 12,000 adults in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates. Typically, XLH causes rickets, bowed legs, bone pain and short stature.

People with XLH have high levels of the hormone fibroblast growth factor 23, or FGF23, which causes low blood levels of phosphorus (hypophosphatemia). Conventional therapy has long been multiple daily doses of oral phosphate and active vitamin D (e.g. calcitriol), according to Imel.

The study included 61 XLH-affected children ages 1 to 12 years who previously received conventional therapy with oral phosphate and active vitamin D but still had evidence of rickets on X-rays. Patients were randomly assigned to continue this conventional therapy or switch to receive burosumab injections given every two weeks. Radiologists who were unaware of participants' drug assignments reviewed their X-rays and assigned a score for improvement of rickets.

By 40 weeks of treatment, that improvement was more than two times greater for the burosumab group than the conventional therapy group, Imel noted. Substantial healing of rickets occurred in 72 percent of participants receiving burosumab (21 of 29), the researchers reported, versus only 6 percent in the conventional therapy group (two of 32). Burosumab also reportedly led to greater improvements in leg deformities, height and distance walked in a 6-minute test, as well as larger increases in serum phosphorus and active vitamin D levels.

"We now know the magnitude of benefit from the new medication, burosumab, versus the prior approach with conventional therapy," Imel said. "This information is critical for doctors making treatment decisions for their patients with XLH."

###

In April 2018, the FDA approved burosumab, which has the brand name Crysvita, for patients with XLH ages 1 year and older. Burosumab binds and inhibits FGF23, according to its manufacturer, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc., which funded the new study in partnership with Kyowa Kirin International of Japan. The study took place in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia, Japan and Korea.

Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world's oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions.

The Society has more than 18,000 members, including scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in 122 countries. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at http://www.endocrine.org. Follow us on Twitter at @TheEndoSociety and @EndoMedia.
From: American Evaluation Association (AEA) For Immediate Release: Dateline: Washington , DC Sunday, March 24, 2019













Hello, we are your blog series hosts, Barbara Klugman, Heather Britt and Heidi Schaeffer, colleagues of Ricardo Wilson-Grau, the originator of Outcome Harvesting. Ricardo mentored and inspired many members of the AEA community. Sadly, he passed away on December 31, 2018. This series of posts on Outcome Harvesting is in his honor. In this first blog we use his own words to introduce Outcome Harvesting (OH).

Outcome Harvesting is designed for grant makers, managers, and evaluators who commission, manage or evaluate projects, programs, or organizations that experience continual change and contend with unexpected and unforeseeable actors and factors in their programming environments.

Unlike other monitoring and evaluation approaches, Outcome Harvesting does not necessarily measure progress towards predetermined objectives or outcomes, but rather, collects evidence of what has changed and then, working backwards, determines whether and how an intervention contributed to these changes. (2019, p1)

OH is an appropriate method when the evaluation is asking who changed and what changed? It is not the right method for evaluation questions such as: Did the training program increase participants knowledge and skills? It is a good method for asking questions such as: What are the participants doing differently after acquiring new knowledge and skills? And, What do the organizational policy and/or practice changes look like since the training program began?

OH describes an outcome as an observable change in behavior (relationships, actions, activities, practices or policies) of an individual, group, community, organization in civil society, corporation, government, media, or member of public. In every outcome harvest, the intended users of the harvest findings define what constitutes an outcome. An OH should seek outcomes that relate to the evaluation question, but also note unintended or unexpected outcomes and both positive and negative outcomes.

Outcome Harvesting follows six interactive steps:



An outcome description includes:

summary: who, when and where changed their behavior;

contribution: how the intervention contributed, directly or indirectly, towards influencing that change in behavior;

significance: of the outcome in relation to the organizations or initiatives goals. Harvesters compile and categorize outcome descriptions (e.g. by type of actor, location, or other useful grouping). Then, harvesters interpret the patterns in the aggregated outcomes to answer monitoring and evaluation questions. Harvest users should be deeply engaged throughout analysis and interpretation.

By the end of 2016, Outcome Harvesting had been used by over 400 networks and associations, NGOs, community-based organizations, research institutes, and government agencies in 143 countries on all seven continents.

Hot Tip: Ensure that the initiative is at the point of influencing outcomes, as it can be inappropriate and disempowering to do an OH too early.

Lesson Learned:

It takes practice to confidently and accurately identify and draft outcomes and to engage the users in the whole process. If using OH for the first time, consider working with a co-facilitator or mentor familiar with the method.

Rad Resources:

Outcome Harvesting: Principles, Steps and Evaluation Applications (IAP, 2018) by Ricardo Wilson-Grau

(IAP, 2018) by Ricardo Wilson-Grau World Bank, Outcome-based Learning Field Guide (2014)

(2014) Outcome Harvesting website The American Evaluation Association is celebrating Outcome Harvesting week. The contributions all this week to aea365 come from colleagues of the late Ricardo Wilson-Grau, originator of Outcome Harvesting, and these articles are written in his honor. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the

About AEA The American Evaluation Association is an international professional association and the largest in its field. Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of programs, policies, personnel, products and organizations to improve their effectiveness. AEAs mission is to improve evaluation practices and methods worldwide, to increase evaluation use, promote evaluation as a profession and support the contribution of evaluation to the generation of theory and knowledge about effective human action. For more information about AEA, visit www.eval.org. Hello, we are your blog series hosts,and, colleagues of Ricardo Wilson-Grau, the originator of Outcome Harvesting. Ricardo mentored and inspired many members of the AEA community. Sadly, he passed away on December 31, 2018. This series of posts on Outcome Harvesting is in his honor. In this first blog we use his own words to introduce Outcome Harvesting (OH).Outcome Harvesting is designed for grant makers, managers, and evaluators who commission, manage or evaluate projects, programs, or organizations that experience continual change and contend with unexpected and unforeseeable actors and factors in their programming environments.Unlike other monitoring and evaluation approaches, Outcome Harvesting does not necessarily measure progress towards predetermined objectives or outcomes, but rather, collects evidence of what has changed and then, working backwards, determines whether and how an intervention contributed to these changes. (2019, p1)OH is an appropriate method when the evaluation is asking who changed and what changed? It is not the right method for evaluation questions such as: Did the training program increase participants knowledge and skills? It is a good method for asking questions such as: What are the participants doing differently after acquiring new knowledge and skills? And, What do the organizational policy and/or practice changes look like since the training program began?OH describes an outcome as an observable change in behavior (relationships, actions, activities, practices or policies) of an individual, group, community, organization in civil society, corporation, government, media, or member of public. In every outcome harvest, the intended users of the harvest findings define what constitutes an outcome. An OH should seek outcomes that relate to the evaluation question, but also note unintended or unexpected outcomes and both positive and negative outcomes.Outcome Harvesting follows six interactive steps:An outcome description includes:Harvesters compile and categorize outcome descriptions (e.g. by type of actor, location, or other useful grouping). Then, harvesters interpret the patterns in the aggregated outcomes to answer monitoring and evaluation questions. Harvest users should be deeply engaged throughout analysis and interpretation.By the end of 2016, Outcome Harvesting had been used by over 400 networks and associations, NGOs, community-based organizations, research institutes, and government agencies in 143 countries on all seven continents.Ensure that the initiative is at the point of influencing outcomes, as it can be inappropriate and disempowering to do an OH too early.It takes practice to confidently and accurately identify and draft outcomes and to engage the users in the whole process. If using OH for the first time, consider working with a co-facilitator or mentor familiar with the method.The American Evaluation Association is celebratingweek. The contributions all this week to aea365 come from colleagues of the late Ricardo Wilson-Grau, originator of Outcome Harvesting, and these articles are written in his honor. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org . aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators.


Sunday, March 24, 2019

I picked up my parents at LAX the day after New Years. Itd been five years since theyd visited.

California looks the same,." my father commented as we drove the 405.

There are changes if you look carefully,." I replied. But its nothing compared to China.."

I knew what my father was talking about. I have a two-bedroom condo at the Suzhou Industrial Park in China. The last time I visited, a new shopping mall had suddenly appeared on the other side of the street. It definitely hadnt been there during my last trip there a year ago. The Chinese can build a 650,000 square foot complex in as much time as Americans take to fashion a lean-to.

My father first came to North America in 2008. He was impressed with Vancouvers natural beauty, clean air, and the ease with which people conducted their lives. He visited California five years ago in 2013. He was especially impressed with the designs of roadside storm drains. Back in China, his city was paralyzed nearly every time it rained. The countrys urban areas had expanded much faster than its infrastructure could handle. Abandoned cars would float down the street as commuters trudged through knee-deep water. Here in California, city planners had time to think ahead. Look at that!." he said excitedly. It hardly rains here, but you have drains that big just in case it happens. Amazing.."

This time around, my father seemed unimpressed with the American speed of development. LAX had just been renovated but failed to impress him. The landscape along the 405 had stayed the same and the house I lived in had apparently aged. Nothing was acceptable if it hadnt undergone a complete overhaul. Even though California offered all the natural beauty, clean air, and road drainage he could ever want, he felt the Chinese had some lessons to teach the Americans. Development is an unyielding principle,." he repeated, quoting a policy proposed by Deng Xiaoping.

A couple days after his arrival, we discussed the Huawei incident over dinner. The CFO of Huawei had been arrested in Canada on behalf of the US for Iran fraud. I forget who brought it up, but I remember that our differences were summed up neatly in only a couple of sentences.

The US is only doing this to suppress Chinese development,." my father complained. What fraud?."

I dont blame the US,." I said. If you want to do business with the US, you have to follow their rules.."

Those rules were made up by Americans and are completely arbitrary. Just because you dont do business with Iran, no one else is allowed to?."

I explained that everyone has the right to sell their own products, but Huawei bought stuff from the US and sold it to Iran, circumventing a trade embargo. That was where the fraud accusations were coming from.

My father was surprised. Hed never heard the details about the charges. He only read state-approved newspapers and watched state-approved TV. He gave it some thought and conceded that Huawei had made a mistake, but he insisted the US was overreacting. He still believed the real purpose of the charges was to hamper Huaweis ability to compete, and I didnt completely disagree.

The US brags about their free market, but its a lie,." my father claimed. Theyre using state power to target a Chinese company. Its not fair.."

I pointed out that it was China that didnt play fair in the first place. The Chinese government is pouring resources into companies like Huawei that fit into Chinas Made in China 2025." strategy. The plan was issued in 2015, and is aimed at elevating China from being known as a producer of cheap goods to being known as a manufacturer of high-end products.

My father denied that Huawei had received assistance from the Chinese government. He admired Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Huawei, and praised his spirit of adventure, his business acumen, and his hardworking nature. I didnt deny Ren had those qualities, but in my opinion he was also connected with the Zhao family.

In recent years, Chinese people have used the term Zhao family." to refer to those who thrive as a result of Chinas crony capitalism. The phrase first appeared in Lu Xuns novella The True Story of Ah Q.." Ah Q is from a poor rural family and wants to curry favor with those in power, who sadly despise him. Ah Qs surname is Zhao, but when he congratulates the powerful Zhao familys son on passing the imperial examination, the Zhao patriarch slaps him and rebukes: Do you really think youre worthy of the name Zhao?."

My father vehemently denied Ren had anything to do with the Zhao family. He was like a crazed fan whod heard their idol insulted, which I found funny. There are two types of success stories in China: One requires a person to be responsible, hardworking, imaginative and courageous. The other bears more Chinese characteristics and requires aligning yourself with the interests of the Zhao family.

Rens story clearly was the latter. My father asked what proof I had, but all I had was common sense. Suppose you were Ren Zhengfei. Would you really risk your chance to do business in the US by violating US law? How much money would you make in Iran to make up for what you were losing in the US? Its clear that Huaweis violation of US sanctions was not made for the sake of business, but had something to do with the Partys diplomatic strategy. If Ren Zhengfei wasnt a member of the Zhao family, he had to be following orders.

So what?." my father tilted his head condescendingly. Whats wrong with listening to his government?."

Following government orders even once raised red flags for me. One of the reasons I left China was the Partys increasingly tight grip on Chinas internet. Huawei is competing to introduce 5G technology to the US market. I wouldnt want my cyber life here controlled by a company under the thumb of an authoritarian regime.

Whatever,." my father smirked. Its too late. Huawei holds tons of 5G technology patents. If the Americans dont pay to use Huaweis patents, theyll never have 5G at all.."

But Huawei stole American intellectual property. What do you have to say about that?." I read him a Bloomberg article about Huawei stealing secrets from a glass manufacturer.

Huawei did the right thing! Otherwise, how will China ever surpass the US? China should lead at all costs.."

I was surprised that my father went that far to defend outright theft. Why would he align himself with an authoritarian regime? Hes not even remotely affiliated to the Zhao family.

In my opinion, the average Chinese citizen should stand against the one-party system, but my fathers case proved otherwise. He was anxious that Huaweis takeover of the US 5G markets would fall through. He hated it when the US stood in the way of Chinese ambitions.

I wondered how my father stood to benefit if China controlled the world. It was clear that any economic and political advantages would go to the Zhao family. But if China stopped its crazy expansion, average citizen like my father was clearly headed for disaster.

My parents own their homes and live on pensions. Theyre not rich, but comfortable. Compared to the 1970s, their living conditions have vastly improved. Believe it or not, theyre grateful for the Party. Since theyd worked for the State  there werent private sector around when they entered the workforce, their pension is paid by the state. As long as Chinas development keeps up and trade surplus continues, the nations affordability could be sustainable and the value of their house could keep rising. But after 40 years of rapid development, where does Chinas go next?

Thats why my father unwaveringly praised Chinas development. For China, its not a matter of development vs. stagnation, but a matter of continued expansion vs. complete collapse. One-party rule brought about an economic boom driven by corruption, and my parents were well aware of that fact. But that corruption had become so deeply rooted into society that it was impossible to picture China without it.

Thus, chasm grew between me and my parents. It can be described as the chasm between the Chinese living outside China and the Chinese at home. For me, a middle-aged Chinese writer living in North America, I am pleased to see the US government trying to force structural change in China, because I want my books to be published in my birth country instead of being banned, and I want China to become a trustworthy country that when my children grow up they can to be trusted in the workplace instead of being suspected of stealing secrets based on their ethnicity. But for the Chinese at home, especially for my parents generation, Im not sure if the proposed structural changes would disrupt Chinas current economic and social order. Even though Im confident that the changes would be good for China in the long run, whats the point of discussing a future my parents generation might not even see?
At 6 feet 4 inches, lobbyist Frank Burney doesnt blend into the background.

When hes standing at the rear of council chambers, following the back-and-forth between City Council members, he sticks out. Its the same when hes chaperoning a client around City Hall.

But when you talk to Burney, his presence is less pronounced. Hes unfailingly polite, with a pleasant Coastal Bend drawl, and he doesnt do sharp differences of opinion  at least not in a way that anyone would recognize as sharp. Hes good at derailing tough questions, sometimes by answering the question he would have preferred youd asked.

He was uneasy about this interview, saying, If I see my name in print somewhere, Ive failed.

But despite his publicity shyness, Burney, 64, is a key figure in San Antonios politico-development complex, and some of his clients are in the news a lot. Maybe his highest-profile client is Silver Ventures, the real estate firm thats redeveloped the Pearl and is backed by billionaire Christopher Kit Goldsbury. Other downtown developers, Zachry Corp., Uber, Google Fiber, the Fiesta Commission and many more have likewise hired him for City Hall lobbying.

Burney is also a one-time Zoning Commission chairman and has developed ties to the police and fire unions through his work on behalf of the Fire and Police Pension Fund.

Like most lobbyists, hes a frequent campaign contributor  in city races, he almost always gives to incumbents  and occasionally hosts political fundraisers.

But Burneys interest in politics isnt just an extension of his work at City Hall, where contributions are viewed as a way to maintain access to officeholders. He developed a taste for it as a kid in Corpus Christi, following his father, Cecil Burney, a banking lawyer, to Democratic rallies. His dad was a big wheel. President Lyndon B. Johnson twice nominated him to the federal bench, but Texas Sen. Ralph Yarborough  at war with LBJ and his prominent supporters, including Burney  blocked the lawyer both times.

On ExpressNews.com: Entrepreneur talks success in San Antonio tech - the hard fight for women to achieve it

Witnessing his fathers disappointment may be another reason he likes to keep a low profile.

We interviewed Burney over breakfast last week at Carmelitas Mexican Restaurant on Broadway. The following transcript has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: How did you wind up in San Antonio?

A: After I got out of Duke University, I wanted to come back to Texas, and (St. Marys University Law School) was close to Corpus Christi. I always thought it would be fun to practice law in South Texas. I graduated from law school in 1979. Then I went back to Corpus for two years  I was a clerk for the Court of Appeals down there. But after two years, my wife wanted to go to law school, and also we wanted to move to San Antonio. Shed been a student at Trinity University when I was at law school  thats when we met.

We wanted to come back to San Antonio because thats where we wanted to raise a family, even though I really didnt know hardly anybody here.

My dad was an old-time lawyer, when lawyer was not a dirty word. And he taught me that if you work hard and you dont care who gets the credit, you can be successful. He was very active in the community, and when I came to San Antonio, I did the same thing. I got involved in different organizations and tried to build a practice here.

Q: You arrived here 

A: In 1981.

Q: Early in Henry Cisneros time as mayor. What was the political and business atmosphere like in San Antonio?

A: Politically, it was a vibrant period, with both (Nelson Wolff) and Henry. But the problem was that when I came here, there was a boom in Texas, and I got involved in representing financial institutions. By 1985, the entire real estate market collapsed, and there were practically no banks or savings and loans left in Texas. Frost Bank was one of the only banks that survived. And a lot of my representation was with banks and savings and loans. After 85, I had to retool and work on other projects.

Q: Who were some of your banking and S&L clients?

A: Martin & Drought (the law firm where Burney has worked some since 1981) represented most of the savings and loans in San Antonio at that time. As soon as they changed the tax laws in 85 or 86, where you couldnt write off real estate investments, the market crashed. And basically the FDIC came in and shut down a lot of Texas banks, and allowed banks from across the country to come in and take over.

Lawyers have to evolve, and it was good for me. I got involved in other types of projects  more community activities. In the late 80s, we also got involved in trade with Mexico. This was before NAFTA. I was able to participate in a lot of those early efforts to build our relationship with Mexico. I was involved in (bringing the North American Development Banks headquarters to San Antonio). We worked with (local bankers) Glenn Biggs and Tom Frost and (head of Zachry Corp.) Bartell Zachry, and we worked with (former Texas Sen.) Lloyd Benson when he was President Clintons treasury secretary. We were able to make that happen. I was fortunate to associate with people like Glenn and Bartell.

Related: San Antonio tech exec talks about bridging the old and the new, and women's role in IT

Q: You referred to the fact that lawyer has become a dirty word. Lobbyist is an even dirtier word. At what point did you start lobbying, and why?

A: Im a lawyer. The city of San Antonio says Im a lobbyist, but Im a lawyer first and foremost. I do have to register as a lobbyist because of the citys ethics code. But were doing the same thing. Essentially, lawyers are hired to help clients succeed, and thats what we try to do from the lobby perspective. We work with our clients to build coalitions and build a product that can be accepted by City Council. Its been a great experience for me. Im the kind of guy who really works hard to build a product that will win the votes. Im not the lobbyist who takes people to dinner, takes them to Vegas. I just dont do that kind of stuff. Id rather have dinner with my wife than have dinner with a politician. We try to work on projects and make them succeed.

Q: Let the record show were having breakfast on Lower Broadway, which is developing quickly largely because of the Pearl. Silver Ventures is one of your clients. Whats your history with Silver Ventures?

A: Pretty much from day one, right after Kit bought the Pearl Brewery. That was 17 years ago. They called and asked me to be involved, and we started out working on land use issues and zoning. A lot of people forget that the Pearl was under water most of the time whenever it rained because it didnt have any kind of stormwater (drainage). It flowed into the San Antonio River. For the first major project  in fact, where were sitting now  we built an underground sewer line to take the water off of Broadway and deliver it into the sewer system. Most of my projects were about land use and zoning. Then we moved on to the incentives. We worked hard just getting incentives for the first projects because its just too expensive to build downtown without some kind of incentives. We were successful, and most of the projects on Broadway Ive been involved with  Silver Ventures and others  have been incentives projects.

You think back on the things that have transformed San Antonio during my lifetime, and youve got to give Silver Ventures and Kit a lot of credit for transforming San Antonio, the whole Broadway corridor. Thats opened the door to help millennials find a place to work, live and play.

And then you have (Rackspace co-founder) Graham Weston come in about the same time. He creates the tech district, which brings more young people to San Antonio. Those two factors, Graham Weston bringing the tech side and Kit building the place for millennials, have transformed our city in ways that I would have never thought would happen.

Q: In your opinion, does Silver Ventures still need incentives?

A: The question is, do you want to encourage more high-density, downtown development? Were getting close with our projects  market rate projects can sustain themselves. But its still very expensive to build downtown. Its a tight footprint. You usually build up rather than out. In certain projects, you need to have some additional incentives to make it happen. I know that theres a focus on housing affordability now, but the issue is whether you want to continue to build your urban core. Since the changes in the new incentive policy (approved by the City Council in December), I doubt youre going to see any new market rate projects come along. I think the council may have to revisit the decisions they made on the new incentives later in the year if they really want to encourage new projects. Im working on one right now thats an $80 million apartment project thats going to need incentives to happen. The question is, do you want that kind of development?

Q: Do you ever drive through Tobin Hill (which borders the Pearl) and look at whats happening there? You see property valuations going through the roof, and bigger tax bills as a result. Are residents there a victim of your success at the Pearl?

A: The way I look at it is that youre trying to build a city. The fact that the adjacent neighborhoods are feeling the pressure is not just related to the projects on Broadway. It has to do with all the incentives and other public investments that are going into downtown  for the Pearl, Hemisfair Park, the River Walk, the Tobin. All of those amenities come together and create a demand for living downtown and in the adjacent neighborhoods. Its still remarkably reasonably priced in adjoining neighborhoods, even though, obviously, the appraisals have increased value substantially. Theres still a lot of opportunity for people to move in when you look at the housing costs of other cities  like Austin, for example. You can still find reasonable housing in the adjacent subdivisions. I dont think that many people have been displaced, except for the projects like (Mission Trails) mobile home park on the South Side.

Q: The Museum Reach was a huge deal for River North and for the Pearl, and you were close to Mayor Phil Hardberger. Did you have any involvement in that project?

A: Phil was a very close friend of mine. I helped him get elected. (In 2005), we asked Nelson Wolff, who was the county judge, and Phil to meet with Kit to hear about his vision of what Pearl could be. The key to that was, at that point in time, the development of the River Walk on the northern reach. The first week that Phil took office, he met with Kit and he said, Im going to be in office for four years  two terms. The day I leave office, I want to dedicate the River Walk project. And (City Manager) Sheryl Sculley found the money to help make it happen. A week before Phil left office, they opened the Museum Reach. It shows what strong leadership Phil provided. He kept it alive.

Q: Youve represented Uber and Google Fiber 

A: I dont represent Uber now, but we did work with them. Its nice to have older clients but also have these new technology companies come into town and transform San Antonio.

Q: How did you land Uber and Google as clients?

A: I think, with both of them, I had connections with a politician or other people who knew about me  my reputation for doing things in San Antonio. Both of them contacted me. Uber was a long fight, but we got it done. Then Google Fiber came in. They came in to try to bridge San Antonios digital divide. Theyre still trying to do that. The problem today is that 5G and the new technology are changing so quickly that the infrastructure for Google Fiber is very expensive to install. Theyre still working. San Antonio is still a Google Fiber city, and theyre still committed to expanding. Its just difficult because its so expensive.

Q: Did you see the citys fight over regulating Uber and ride-share coming in 2014?

A: I really didnt, no. Although at the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, not to name a name, we tried to introduce Uber as a new member  and we were told the chamber didnt allow in members who violate the law. They had no idea what Uber meant in terms of millennial cities. Thats the kind of the opposition we faced. Fortunately, at about the same time  and this shows you the transformative nature of millennials  you had 1,200 people show up for Tech Blocs first rally at Pearl. The city of San Antonio started listening and understood that we should be welcoming Uber, Google Fiber and a lot other these technologies to town.

Q: Anybody whos spent any time looking through campaign finance reports for city officials has seen your name. You tend to back incumbents 

A: My dad was in politics. When I was just a young kid, I remember my dad  we were at a rally  he said, Ill give you a penny for every car you put a bumper sticker on. I was involved in politics early on. I went to three or four Democratic National Conventions with my father. So I dont have a problem with contributing to candidates. They have to get out and expose their views to the public. Contributions to candidates are part of the process. It helps them get out and communicate.

Q: Have you ever contributed to a challenger to a sitting council member?

A: A friend of mine told me early on that he had a friendly-incumbent rule. I essentially rely on that. I am in support of the incumbent, unless theres some reason that I shouldnt be. Its put me in some difficult situations before. I supported Mayor Bill Thornton when Howard Peak ran against him in 1997 (and beat the incumbent), but Ive always been able to come back and work day-to-day with them on issues because I want to see every officeholder succeed. Thats my approach to politics.

Q: You saw City Manager Sheryl Sculley up close in her early years, beginning in 2005, but you also represent the Fire and Police Pension Fund, so you also saw her fight with the fire union up close, too. Whats your final assessment of her?

A: Im one of those people who thought Sheryl was a great addition to the city of San Antonio. I have worked at City Hall for almost 40 years  she professionalized it. She brought in a great knowledge of planning procedures and did great things. But for whatever reason, later in her career, she got involved in policy decisions, and I think that was a mistake. Overall, I think she did a great job, but she started trying to make policy and getting involved in political issues. Personally, I think it came to be her undoing. ... The best thing she ever did was she got a professional staff. I give credit to Sheryl for that.
Family of missing service members came from 350 miles away for a remembrance ceremony to honor loved ones unaccounted for in conflicts that date back to World War II.

They stood up in the packed ballroom and held up black-and-white photos of young men who fought on foreign battlefields, in flak-clouded skies and upon murky waters. They spoke with pride of the airmen, sailors, soldiers and Marines they had never met, conjured to life by stories passed down from generation to generation. They recalled a young man who implored his mother to sign his enlistment papers and a soldier ordered to hold his ground and fight to the end.

And several people noted that their loved ones have grave sites and headstones, but they are not there.

On Saturday, government specialists from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency met with more than 350 family members at the Hilton San Antonio Airport Hotel to provide updates representing 200 cases. Since 1995, more than 26,000 families have received face-to-face conversations through the family update programs.

The agency estimates there are 82,122 service members unaccounted for around the world, and the remains of 34,000 GIs are recoverable.

DPAA Director Kelly McKeague said the agencys mission is to fulfill a promise that was made to the service members sent off to war: to bring them home.

I think it defines us as a nation, he said, that here, decades later we are still searching, still finding and providing answers to families. This uncertainty associated with their loved ones loss is why we, the United States, pursue this vigorously to make a wrong, right.

In addition to the remembrance ceremony, the all-day event included information about forensic work being done in Hawaii and the collection of DNA samples from relatives at the meeting.

Director of Department of Defense DNA Operations Timothy McMahon said the agency has 8 million DNA reference cards for current active duty military members. Its past accounting program includes mitochondrial DNA from maternal relatives, Y-DNA from paternal relatives and autosomal DNA from mother, father, siblings and/or offspring.

Casualty officers and other government specialists also conducted one-on-one discussions with families to provide updates on their loved ones cases.

According to the DPAA, 203 service members were accounted for in fiscal year 2018. The agency reported that 51 service members from Texas were identified this fiscal year.

Henry Lopez, 77, and his daughter Imelda Lopez-Sanchez, 50, were hopeful that investigators had identified the remains of their relative, Cpl. Alberto Lopez. But they learned the case to identify their cousin, who was in a tank battalion on Omaha Beach, is ongoing.

Its very touching all the efforts of the organizations to make sure every military person is coming back, Lopez-Sanchez said. He was the family member who didnt come home.

Searches have taken DPAA teams to mountain tops in the Himalayas and underwater in New Guinea. They have combed the Korean peninsula, scoured rice paddies in Southeast Asia and explored Europes and Asias World War II battlefields.

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Amara Timberlake is one of the members who has seen every step of the recovery process. Her first investigation was at a remote camp in the mountains of Laos. She photographed the site that included an aircraft frame and bomb fragments. At her third site, they found a service members identification card.

It makes you want to work harder, Timberlake, 29, said. Its so cool to see the story come full circle.

Vincent T. Davis is a reporter in the Greater San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | vtdavis@express-news.net | Twitter: @vincentdavis
Just over a week after 50 people were slaughtered at two New Zealand mosques, San Antonians of all ages, races and faiths gathered to commemorate them on Saturday.

Dozens crowded into Main Plaza downtown, as speakers prayed for the victims and their families and encouraged listeners to have hope and band together against divisive forces.

We gather this night in hope, while acknowledging our awareness of deep grief and sadness, said Rev. Beth Knowlton of St. Mark's Episcopal Church. We gather this night in solidarity.

They denounced hatred, grieved the victims and spoke of the sense of safety people should feel in a place of worship. Last week, a gunman opened fire on worshipers gathered for prayers at mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

One of the organizers of the vigil used FaceTime to include a survivor of the attack, identified as Serdar D., who mourned the killings and praised the strong faith of the victims.

(I) hope this bad incident will unite us and bring us together, he said.

The gathering was organized by the Muslim Children Education and Civic Center and Raindrop Turkish House. Religious leaders and politicians spoke at the event, which included a performance by the Santa Nino Church Choir.

There is no doubt across this world, even here at home, there is a rising tide of nationalism and nativism and isolationism that seeks to divide us based on who are we are, where we come from, the color of our skin and the way we worship our god, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said.

We are here together  from all of our walks of faith  to reject division and to embrace thy neighbor. We are here to defeat hate and to share love, he added.

Congressman Joaquin Castro said that weapons of war need to be taken off of our streets.

The people in that mosque hardly had an opportunity to save their lives, he said. Thats something that must change, not only in New Zealand but in our own country.

madison.iszler@express-news.net
LAREDO  Fire Chief Steve Landins cellphone is pinging repeatedly these days with short, perfunctory texts from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official.

Bus from Del Rio with 32, ETA 1500 hrs, he read on a recent afternoon.

He immediately forwarded it to city health officials and nonprofit leaders, sparking a mobilization for resources to assist migrants released by ICE. He received another text soon after, then another, amounting to the release of more than 100 migrants.

Similar waves of migrants are arriving by the day farther south in the Rio Grande Valley as border officials deal with a recent surge that has overwhelmed detention officials. More than 76,000 undocumented immigrants came through ports of entry or crossed the Rio Grande illegally in February, the highest number in more than a decade.

In a visit to McAllen last week, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said migrants are being released, with notices to appear later before immigration judges, because detention facilities are out of space. The Border Patrol has said it is devoting about a fourth of its manpower now to processing migrants for release.

The influx in Laredo began unexpectedly Feb. 5, the day after a large caravan of 1,800 migrants arrived by buses in Piedras Negras, Mexico, across the border from Eagle Pass, to request asylum in the U.S. After the migrants are processed by border officials there and given court dates, ICE takes them to Laredo, site of the nearest large bus depot.

Piedras Negras hasnt historically been a highly trafficked route for migrants planning to enter the U.S. But immigrants appear to be choosing the city, northwest of Laredo, after a metering system rolled out at larger ports of entry, limiting the number of migrants who would be allowed in.

I think that route was discovered, said Benjamin De La Garza, head of Catholic Charities in Laredo. The word spreads very easy.

The surge has forced shelters and churches that traditionally served the citys homeless, Catholic Charities and Laredos health department to take on a whole new kind of service.

We dont have the power to say no, we dont have the power to say yes, they just show up, said Fire Chief Landin, who also serves as Laredos emergency management coordinator. Theyre dropped in our laps.

Little notice of arrivals

Sometimes the texts from ICE will give a couple hours notice of the migrants arrival. Sometimes only a few minutes. Sometimes not at all.

As soon as they hear from Landin, Catholic Charities officials make calls to pick up sandwiches. The city dispatches medics  if theyre not at the station already, tending to a previous load. And the Holding Institute, a local shelter, assembles volunteers and loads up donations.

For weeks, staffs and volunteers have been providing humanitarian aid and screening for communicable diseases.

Responsibilities are being unfairly passed on to charities that are just trying to love their fellow human being, Landin said. Its a federal issue, but the federal government is just saying, Were going to drop them off, theyre youre problem, theyre not our problem.

Catholic Charities and the Holding Institute have been asking the community for more donations. Local officials say neither ICE nor U.S. Customs and Border Protection has answered questions about why they began the releases early last month or how long the situation will last.

In lieu of waiting for a response, what weve done is taken action ourselves, said Mike Smith, executive director of the Holding Institute. We would like some clarity, I think we would all like some clarity, but we know this is not coming anytime soon. We just act and respond to the need, and well ask later.

Strapped for resources, they sought an assist from San Antonios Catholic Charities, which sent volunteers and a mobile unit of supplies this month. The Laredo branch recently opened another shelter, at San Francisco Javier Catholic Church. The agency also sent out a call for support at the national level.

Nobody knows who is the responsible party. The city says its the feds responsibility. The feds dont respond, Smith said.

A group of city officials flew to Washington, D.C., early this month and met with CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan. They asked him to give the city more notice of the migrant arrivals and that they be dropped off during business hours, not at night.

Its been very difficult for us, said Rafael Benavides, a Laredo city spokesman. His (McAleenans) office said that theyre going to look into it.

Landin remembers the first out-of-the-blue text he received from ICE about the oncoming influx. It was Super Bowl Sunday. Back in December, he said the city had met with ICE and was told that if Laredo was to get an influx of immigrants, the city would be given 72 hours notice.

So then I get a text message telling me, Heads up, youre going to receive busloads of people starting Monday. So the 72 hours notice was out the window, Landin said. So we just said, Why are you sending them to Laredo? Theyre not even coming to our bridge. And they said, Thats a decision above our level in ICE.

More than 130 immigrants arrived the first day. The daily numbers dwindled for a time at the end of February but then picked back up in recent weeks, spiking last week to 200 a day, the highest yet.

Tickets to freedom

Families with small children, many if not most under 5 years old, fill the seats and line the walls at the Laredo bus station. The toddlers knock into each other, playing. The older kids stare wide-eyed at the vending machines as volunteers insert their money and bring them snacks.

And the infants  some only a few months old  whine fitfully in their mothers arms, squinting from the stations bright lights.

The families arrived with only the clothes on their backs, plastic bags of their belongings  cellphones, wedding rings, ICE paperwork  in their hands, and initial court dates scheduled a month out.

None of them was wearing ankle monitors that ICE places on some migrants to track their movements, an attempt to ensure that they make their court dates.

Some of the immigrants come with colds, the flu, various infections and, in a couple suspected cases, the mumps. A few children were taken directly to the hospital, said Hector Gonzalez, director of the citys health department.

Theyre hungry, thirsty and mostly penniless. They use phones from volunteers to call family members across the country, letting them know they made it safely to the U.S. and asking them for a bus ticket to their cities.

De La Garzas phone is filled with calls to cities across the country. Theres an 802 area code (Vermont), a 980 (Charlotte, N.C) and a 702 (Las Vegas). There are calls to Chicago, Houston and New York City.

Almost all these migrants are from Honduras. None stay in Laredo.

Once theyre here, basic necessities are the first thing, De La Garza said. First you feed them. You clothe them. You provide water and all the toiletries.

Some families spend the night at the Holding Institutes shelter nearby. Some, fearful of missing their bus, sleep at the station.

The conditions were horrible, Heidi Guzman, 30, said about the processing center she was taken to after she crossed the river and presented herself for asylum. But I am grateful to God and this country because its given me a chance at asylum.

The Honduran mother was waiting to catch a bus to Virginia with her 9-year-old son, her cousin and his 7-year-old son.

It looks like the entire country of Honduras has decided to come, De La Garza said to a line of them at the station, a well-worn joke he makes to elicit a few smiles.

Across the way, Rosa Villareal was speaking to an immigrants family member over the phone, trying to explain how to buy a bus ticket for them.

Laredo. Laredo bus station Villareal repeated over and over. And this is the number for Greyhound.

Francisca Martinez, 50, watched Villareal anxiously, biting her nails as she spoke with her relative. When her relative finally had success searching online for how to buy her a bus ticket, the Honduran mother broke into a smile and made the sign of the cross.

Im a single mother, and I knew I wanted a better life for my daughter, she said. Her daughter is 11.

She and two other girls sat in seats behind her, each with her hair pulled into a long, loose braid. The ends of the braids were tied with shiny material  ripped from the mylar blankets ICE gave them in its facilities, after agents stripped them of hair ties and shoelaces.

We had a woman here who was crying and crying because they had killed her 10-year-old daughter in Mexico, volunteer Elena Arredondo said. You hear sad stories here.

Also at the station was a father who was waiting for news of his wife and daughter. They had traveled to the border together, then crossed separately and lost contact. He didnt know where they were. Hed been waiting at the station for nearly a week, sitting on the chairs, eyes closed, or standing restlessly near the glass doors, gazing at downtown Laredo.

Catholic Charities here has six full-time staff members and relies on help from about 15 volunteers. Thank God for them, De La Garza said. We get better every day.

The city has begun offering Catholic Charities staff free parking at the station, which is owned by the city but leased by Greyhound. And various organizations have all but taken over a small office next to the vending machines at the station.

Ruth Melgar, 23, crossed the border in mid-March with 4-year-old son Kerim. She was wearing a necklace she had pulled from the bag of her belongings ICE had given her. It had the letter P, for Perla, her 6-year-old daughter who came with her husband in September.

Melgar said she prayed she would make it to the U.S. safely, so they could be reunited.

I miss her, Melgar said. But I will see her soon.

Silvia Foster-Frau covers immigration news in the San Antonio, Bexar County and South Texas area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | sfosterfrau@express-news.net | Twitter: @SilviaElenaFF
Kudos to Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen for making teachers a top priority this legislative session.

Teachers work hard every day to make a difference. They positively impact the future, and they deserve our support. Giving them all a raise is a good start.

I certainly hope it will encourage more young Texans to consider becoming teachers  and help keep more experienced teachers in the classroom  because Texas faces a teacher shortage.

Data from the Texas Education Agency shows Texas faces an increasingly tight supply of teachers. Since 2009, K-12 student enrollment is up by 14 percent, while the number of teachers has risen by less than 9 percent. Meanwhile, Texas has seen a 14 percent drop in the number of initial teacher certifications in the past decade.

Were trying to turn those numbers around at The Texas A&M University System with We Teach Texas, a systemwide campaign to focus attention on our 11 education colleges across the state and encourage more Texans who care to become teachers.

The 11 education colleges in the Texas A&M University System graduate more fully certified teachers than any other public university system in Texas. Were also No. 1 in producing certified teachers in mathematics, as well as bilingual and special education.

Simply put, we teach Texas. If you are interested in becoming a teacher, we are committed to your success.

At Texas A&M University-San Antonio, the College of Education and Human Development entered into a partnership with the San Antonio Independent School District and Communities in Schools, including financial support from the San Antonio Area Foundation, to assist Stewart Elementary School, which had been rated as improvement required for four years in a row.

In 2018, a group of students provided near-peer tutoring to 50 students at the school. As part of this effort, nine Texas A&M University-San Antonio students who are aspiring teachers completed 128 hours each of field residency on the elementary school campus. In addition, eight Texas A&M University-San Antonio who are clinical teachers completed a yearlong, paid-teacher residency, and five of them have been offered pre-employment contracts to work for the district after they graduate.

After the first year of the program, students at the newly named Democracy Prep at Stewart Elementary School have outperformed their peers in academic progress. Those students have shown the greatest percentage growth on district assessments of academic readiness of any school.

The Texas A&M University System has been providing highly qualified teachers for Texas schools for more than 100 years by encouraging consideration of teaching careers, growing the highest quality teacher and leadership programs, and providing ongoing quality support to boost retention in the field.

The need for dedicated teachers in San Antonio and across South Texas is constantly growing.

Teachers are on the front lines of building our economy, and they are enablers of young people who want to see their dreams come true. We take our charge to prepare them for the classroom on day one seriously.

John Sharp is chancellor of the Texas A&M University System. The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a budget of $4.7 billion. To learn more about becoming a teacher, visit www.WeTeachTexas.org.
Texas is adding more than 1,000 new residents every day, and they all bring cars, pickups and SUVs. The states population is projected to jump another 50 percent by 2035, a staggering 14 million more Texans, equal to the current combined populations of the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston metro areas.

A significant part of that growth is occurring in the San Antonio region. San Antonio is the fastest-growing big city in the country. Our local population will increase by 1.1 million residents by 2040.

Every day in the San Antonio region, these new residents are helping drive new vehicle registrations to 120 per day. Unfortunately, they dont bring any roads with them.

One of the most difficult challenges facing our growing state and region is maintaining and expanding a highway system in the face of massive population growth, while at the same time dealing with aging roadways and the rapidly expanding number of big trucks that fill our highways while keeping the Texas jobs machine spinning.

A decade ago, the Texas Transportation Commission assembled the 2030 Committee, a blue-ribbon group charged with providing an independent assessment of the states highway mobility needs through 2035. They concluded that the state needed more than $5 billion a year in additional funding just to maintain existing traffic conditions at that time.

When the comprehensive Texas Transportation Plan 2040 was prepared in 2014, it also concluded that about $5 billion a year in additional funding would be needed just to keep congestion and road safety from getting worse.

The Legislature went to work on the funding shortfall, and in 2014 and 2015, voters approved Proposition 1 and Proposition 7, two state constitutional amendments that, when in full effect next year, will dedicate about $3.5 billion a year in sales taxes and oil and gas production taxes to highway improvements. Both these revenue streams have the potential to grow in future years.

The Legislature also took a big step in 2015 by ending the practice of diverting about $600 million a year from the State Highway Fund to nontransportation purposes. Still, a total of $4.1 billion in transportation funding in 2020 has far less buying power than the $5 billion gap identified in 2009.

Together, decisions to redirect existing state revenues to highways has gone a long way toward dealing with our shortfall. Utilizing new funding, plus traditional fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees, the Texas Department of Transportation now anticipates it will be able to award $6 billion to $7 billion a year in highway contracts over the next 10 years. But that will only be true if lawmakers stay the course.

Even with our successes, there is much more to do if we are to meet Texas long-term transportation funding needs. For example, TxDOTs San Antonio district alone has 33 critical projects that require an additional $12.9 billion in funding that is simply not available during the next 10 years. As for statewide needs, the list of necessary but unfunded projects in the 10-year planning horizon exceeds $60 billion.

When legislators set up Proposition 1 and Proposition 7, they included potential termination dates that will cut off those tools unless extended by lawmakers. Unless lawmakers act, Proposition 1 will expire in just five years. The same thing happens to sections of Proposition 7 related to the general sales tax in 2029 and vehicle sales tax in 2032. In their recent interim report, members of the Texas House Transportation Committee recommended to colleagues that all three statutory sunset dates be removed.

Highway mobility and safety in Texas will decline dramatically if the Legislature allows these critical transportation revenue sources to expire. The Legislature should vote this year to eliminate or, at a minimum, extend these expiration dates.

The voters of Texas did their job by approving Proposition 1 and Proposition 7 by votes of more than 80 percent. Preserving them should be an easy call for state lawmakers, but we need to remind our legislators that transportation funding and sustaining mobility remains a high priority. Lets unlock gridlock in Texas.

Jim Reed is president of the San Antonio Medical Foundation and a past chairman of Transportation Advocates of Texas and the San Antonio Mobility Coalition.
Air Serbia will add extra capacity to its fleet this coming summer season by wet-leasing a Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft from Estonia's Nordica. The 88-seat jet will join the Serbian carrier's fleet from June 1, enabling it to introduce nine new routes. The lease contract was concluded between Regional Jet, a joint venture between Nordica and LOT Polish Airlines, and Air Serbia for a four-month period. As a result, both aircraft and crew will be provided to the Serbian airline until October. Nordica described the deal as "good and profitable", adding that the two carriers would explore expanding their future cooperation.





This will be the second time Air Serbia has wet-leased a CRJ900 aircraft. It previously used the jet for a three-month period during its last major network expansion, in the summer of 2016, when Adria Airways provided both its crew and equipment. However, Air Serbia utilised the jet free of charge, as Adria was repaying its old debt owed to JAT Yugoslav Airlines through the deal. The Serbian carrier previously said, "The Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft offers excellent performance and passenger comfort levels, and is a great match for network expansion". The incoming aircraft will not be painted in Air Serbia's livery, while the cabin crew on board will be Estonian, with exception to an Air Serbia guest ambassador.





Nordica CRJ900 cabin





Air Serbia is yet to schedule the CRJ900 within its network. During its last stint at utilising the jet three years ago, it was deployed on flights to Kiev, Hamburg and Sofia. The Serbian carrier is planning one of its busiest summers to date with the introduction of seven new year-round routes and two seasonal services, as well as an increase in frequencies on a number of destinations. Furthermore, the airline will operate close to 1.000 charters flights. In addition to the CRJ900, the carrier will maintain operations with eight Airbus A319, two A320, one A330, six ATR72 and three Boeing 737-300 aircraft. Earlier this year, the airline's part-owner Etihad Airways cancelled an order for ten A320neo jets which were destined for Air Serbia. Airbus returned the 23.5 million dollar deposit payment for the aircraft to the Serbian carrier in January.
BRIDGEPORT  A man was stabbed Friday evening in Bridgeport, according to police.

A woman called the Bridgeport Emergency Communications Center at approximately 10:30 p.m., reporting that she had come across a man and a woman in the area of Boston Avenue and Dover Street, according to a release from police.

The woman told dispatchers the man told her that the woman had stabbed him, according to police.

The Bridgeport Police responded immediately to the area and began canvassing it based on the provided description from the caller. A few minutes later they were able to find both parties on Sheridan Street, officials said in a release. Upon assessing the situation, it was determined that the male party was in fact stabbed in the abdomen at another location by a male party and not the female party.

The man was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said; the woman was hospitalized for intoxication.

Bridgeport police continue to investigate the incident, according to the release.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
OXFORD  Authorities are still piecing together what caused the fire that killed three adults and a dog over the weekend.

The fire, which started before 11:30 p.m. Saturday, completely gutted the home at 63 ONeill Road in the Quaker Farms section of town.

Its a terrible fire, First Selectman George Temple said, adding it is the first fatal one officials can remember in the town since the 1980s.

Our fire department did a great job for what they had to work with, he said. But when youre fighting a fire and you know there are dead bodies in there, its really tough on them.

The victims were older adults, said Temple, who added they have been identified, but declined to give their names. State police said it would provide their names once the medical examiners office and police investigate further.

The three victims were the only people in the home at the time, Temple said.

Neighbors said the Maseizik family had owned the property since the 1960s. Two brothers and a girlfriend lived at the home, one neighbor said. It was unclear whether these were the victims. Attempts to reach relatives of the Maseizik family were unsuccessful Sunday.

One neighbor, April Brooks, recalled going fishing and swimming behind the house, saying the neighbors were like family to her kids.

Godspeed guys, she said in a Facebook post. Fly high and try to keep a little goofiness in our lives from the other side. Thanks for being good neighbors and friends.

This was one of several fires in the area over the weekend. Flames broke out for the second time in less than a week at Silver Sands State Park in Milford, damaging construction trailers that stored materials for the $9.1 million project that was destroyed in a fire last week.

Seven people were displaced after a fire at a home in Stamford on Sunday, while two were displaced after a blaze in Middlebury. New Haven battled kitchen and car fires on Saturday evening.

When firefighters arrived at the Oxford home, the house was fully engulfed, state police said. The home was not safe at first for crews to enter, Temple said. Eventually, firefighters breached the house, but could not rescue the victims in time, he said.

Oxford fire and police, Seymour fire, and state police Troop A responded. Temple said there are no fire hydrants on the road, so crews used water tankards. The flames took about an hour to extinguish.

It was unknown why the victims were unable to escape the house on their own. Temple said it is impossible to tell whether the home had smoke detectors because the house is so badly destroyed.

I dont even know if they knew about (the fire), he said. It traveled through the rafters very fast.

He added the fire marshals investigation would determine whether that was true.

State and local officials surrounded the charred remains on Sunday morning as they investigated the fires origin. Various junk, including propane gas canisters, were outside.

Property records show the wooden house was built in 1970. It had three bedrooms, almost 1,500-square-feet of living space and electric heat. A stream runs nearby.

The home is surrounded by trees and is about a mile away from the Quaker Farms Fire Company.

Temple said he is not aware of any organized efforts yet in the community to support relatives of the victims.

My community will be in shock for a while, he said.

Temple said he hopes the fire will remind residents to check their smoke detectors and ensure they are not storing flammable materials.

Hopefully, people will learn a hard lesson from this fire, he said.

Jim Shay contributed to this report.
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Ltd, Abbott Vascular Limitada, Abbott Vascular Netherlands B.V., Abbott Vascular Solutions Inc., Abbott Ventures Inc., Abbott West Indies Limited, Abbott drustvo sa ogranicenom odgovornoscu za trgovinu i usluge, Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc., Alere, Alere (Shanghai) Diagnostics Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Healthcare Management Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Medical Sales Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Technology Co. Ltd., Alere A/S, Alere AB, Alere AS, Alere AS Holdings Limited, Alere BBI Holdings Limited, Alere Bangladesh Limited, Alere China Co. Ltd., Alere Colombia S.A., Alere Connect LLC, Alere Connected Health Limited, Alere Connected Health Ltd., Alere Diagnostics GmbH, Alere DoA Holding GmbH, Alere GmbH, Alere GmbH (Austria), Alere GmbH (Germany), Alere HK Holdings Ltd., Alere Health B.V., Alere Health BVBA, Alere Health Corp., Alere Health Sdn Bhd, Alere Health Services B.V., Alere Healthcare (Pty) Limited, Alere Healthcare Connections Limited, Alere Healthcare Inc., Alere Healthcare Nigeria Limited, Alere Healthcare S.L., Alere Holdco Inc., Alere Holding GmbH, Alere Holdings Bermuda Limited, Alere Holdings Pty Limited, Alere Home Monitoring Inc., Alere Inc., Alere Informatics Inc., Alere International Holding Corp., Alere International Limited, Alere Lda, Alere Limited, Alere Limited (New Zealand), Alere Medical BVBA, Alere Medical Co. Ltd., Alere Medical Pakistan (Private) Limited, Alere Medical Private Limited, Alere North America LLC, Alere Oy Ab, Alere Philippines Inc., Alere Phoenix ACQ Inc., Alere Pte Ltd, Alere S.A., Alere S.r.l., Alere S/A, Alere SAS, Alere San Diego Inc., Alere Scarborough Inc., Alere Spain S.L., Alere Switzerland GmbH, Alere Technologies GmbH, Alere Technologies Holdings Limited, Alere Technologies Limited, Alere Toxicology AB, Alere Toxicology Inc., Alere Toxicology S.r.l., Alere Toxicology Services Inc., Alere Toxicology plc, Alere UK Holdings Limited, Alere UK Subco Limited, Alere ULC, Alere US Holdings LLC, Alere s.r.o., Alisoc Investment & Co, Amedica Biotech Inc., Ameditech Inc., American Generics S.A.S., American Medical Supplies Inc., American Pharmacist Inc., Antares S.A., Apica Cardiovascular Limited, Aquagestion Capacitacion S.A., Aquagestion S.A., Arriva Medical LLC, Arriva Medical Philippines Inc., Arvis Investments Limited, Atlas Farmaceutica S.A., Avee Laboratories Inc., Axis-Shield AD III AS, Axis-Shield AD IV AS, Axis-Shield AS, Axis-Shield Diagnostics Limited, Axis-Shield Ltd., BBI Animal Health Limited, BBI Diagnostics Group 2 Public Limited Company, Banco de Vida S.A., Bioabsorbable Vascular Solutions Inc., Bioalgae S.A., Biohealth LLC, Biosite Incorporated, Bosque Bonito S.A., Branan Medical Corporation, Brandex Europe C.V., British Colloids Limited, CFR Chile S.A., CFR Interamericas EL Salvador Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, CFR Interamericas Nicaragua Sociedad Anonima, CFR Interamericas Panama S.A., CFR Pharmaceuticals, California Property Holdings III LLC, CardioMEMS LLC, Caripharm Inc., Cephea Valve Technologies, Cephea Valve Technologies Inc., Colibri Medical Aktiebolag, Comercializadora y Distribuidora CFR Interamericas Honduras S.A., Concateno South Limited, Concateno UK Limited, Consorcio Tecnologico en Biomedicina Clinico-Molecular S.A., Continuum Services LLC, Cozart Limited, Dextech S.A., Diagnostik Nord GmbH, Distribuciones Uquifa S.A.S., Domesco Medical Import-Export Joint-Stock Corporation, Duphar International Research B.V., Endocardial Solutions, Epocal (US) Inc, Esprit de Vie S.A., European Chemicals & Co, European Drug Testing Service EDTS AB, European Services S.A., Evalve Inc., Evalve International Inc., FARMINDUSTRIA S.A., Fada Pharma Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Fadapharma del Ecuador S.A., Farmaceutica Mont Blanc S.L., Farmacologia Em Aquicultura Veterinaria Ltda., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV Ecuador S.A., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV S.A., Fernwood Investment S.A., First Check Diagnostics LLC, Focus Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Forensics Limited, Forestcreek Overseas S.A., Fournier Pharma Corp., Fournier Pharma GmbH, Fournier Pharmaceuticals Limited, Framed B.V., Gabmed GmbH, Garden Hills LLC, Global Analytical Development LLC, Globapharm & CO LP, Glomed Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Golnorth Investments S.A., Gynocare Limited, Gynopharm Sociedad Anonima, Gynopharm de Centroamerica S.A., Gynopharm de Venezuela C.A., Hi-Tronics Designs Inc., IDEV Technologies Inc., IG Innovations Limited, IMTC Finance B.V., IMTC Holdings B.V., IMTC Technologies Inc., Ibis Biosciences LLC, Igloo Zone Chile S.A., Igloo Zone S.L., Inmobiliaria Naknek S.A.C., Innovacon Inc., Instant Tech Subsidiary Acquisition Inc., Instant Technologies Inc., Instituto de Criopreservacion de Chile S.A., Integrated Vascular Systems Inc., Inverness Canadian Acquisition Corporation, Inverness Medical (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Australia Pty Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Hong Kong Limited, Inverness Medical Innovations SK LLC, Inverness Medical Investments LLC, Inverness Medical LLC, Inverness Medical Shimla Private Limited, Inversiones K2 SpA, Inversiones Komodo S.R.L., Ionian Technologies LLC, Irvine Biomedical Inc., Kalila Medical, Kangshenyunga S.A., Knoll UK Investments Unlimited, LLC VeroInPharm, Laboratoires Fournier S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano Lafrancol S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano del Ecuador S.A., Laboratorio Internacional Argentino S.A., Laboratorio Synthesis S.A.S., Laboratorios Lafi Limitada, Laboratorios Naturmedik S.A.S., Laboratorios Pauly Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Laboratorios Recalcine S.A., Laboratorios Transpharm S.A., Laboratory Specialists of America Inc., Lafrancol Dominicana S.A.S., Lafrancol Guatemala S.A. Sociedad Anonima, Lafrancol Internacional S.A.S, Lafrancol Peru S.R.L, Lake Forest Investments LLC, Lightlab Imaging Inc., Limited Liability Company Abbott Laboratories, Limited Liability Company Abbott Ukraine, Limited Liability Company VEROPHARM, Lung Fung Hong (China) Limited, Mansbridge Pharmaceuticals Limited, MediGuide LLC, MediGuide Ltd., Medscreen Holdings Limited, Metropolitana Farmaceutica S.A., Midwest Properties LLC, Murex Argentina S.A., Murex Biotech Limited, Murex Biotech South Africa, Murex Diagnostics Inc., Murex Diagnostics International Inc., Natural Supplement Association LLC, Negocios Denia Sociedad Anonima, Neosalud S.A.C., Nether Pharma N.P. C.V., NeuroTherm LLC, Normann Pharma-Handels GmbH, North Shore Properties Inc., Novamedi S.A., Novasalud.com S.A., Nutravida S.A., OJSC Voronezhkhimpharm, Omnilab Iberia Sociedad Limitada, OptiMedica, Orgenics France SAS, Orgenics International Holdings B.V., Orgenics Ltd., PBM-Selfcare LLC, PDD II LLC, PDD LLC, PT Alere Health, PT. Abbott Indonesia, PT. Abbott Products Indonesia, Pacesetter Inc., Pantech (RF) (PTY) LTD, Pembrooke Occupational Health Inc., Penagos S.A., Pharma International Sociedad Anonima, Pharmaceutical Technologies (Pharmatech) S.A., Pharmatech Boliviana S.A., Polygon Labs S.A., Quality Assured Services Inc., RF Medical Holdings LLC, RTL Holdings Inc., Ramses Business Corp., Recben Xenerics Farmaceutica Limitada, Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Inc., Rich Horizons International Limited, SC VEROPHARM, SJ Medical Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., SJM International Inc., SJM Thunder Holding Company, SPDH Inc., Saboya Enterprises Corporation, Salviac Limited, Scanax AS, Sealing Solutions Inc., Selfcare Technology Inc., Shandong Abbott Dairy Product Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Medical Devices Science and Technology Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Shanghai Si Fa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Sinensix & Co., Spinal Modulation LLC, St. Jude Medical, St. Jude Medical AB, St. Jude Medical ATG Inc., St. Jude Medical Argentina S.A., St. Jude Medical Asia Pacific Holdings GK, St. Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Brasil Ltda., St. Jude Medical Business Services Inc., St. Jude Medical Cardiology Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Colombia Ltda., St. Jude Medical Coordination Center, St. Jude Medical Costa Rica Limitada, St. Jude Medical Europe Inc., St. Jude Medical Export Ges.m.b.H., St. Jude Medical GVA Sarl, St. Jude Medical Holdings B.V., St. Jude Medical India Private Limited, St. Jude Medical International Holding, St. Jude Medical LLC, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings II, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings NT, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings SMI S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings TC S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Mexico Business Services S. de R.L. de C.V., St. Jude Medical Middle East DMCC, St. Jude Medical Operations (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., St. Jude Medical Puerto Rico LLC, St. Jude Medical S.C. Inc., St. Jude Medical Systems AB, St. Jude Medical Turkey Medikal Urunler Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Standard Diagnostics Inc., Standing Stone LLC, Swan-Myers Incorporated, TC1 LLC, Tendyne Holdings Inc., Tendyne Medical Inc., Thoratec Delaware LLC, Thoratec Europe Limited, Thoratec LLC, Thoratec Switzerland GmbH, Tobal Products Incorporated, Topera GmbH in Liquidation, Topera Inc., Tremora S.A., Tuenir S.A., TwistDx, UAB Abbott Laboratories, UAB Abbott Medical Lithuania, Union-Madison Realty Company Inc., Unipath Limited (dba Alere International/aka Cranfield), Unipath Management Limited, Unipath Pension Trustee Limited, Veropharm, Veropharm Limited Liability Partnership, Vida Cell Inversiones S.A., Vida Cell S.A., Vivalsol, W&R Pharma Handels GmbH, Western Pharmaceuticals S.A., X Technologies Inc., Yissum Holding Limited, ZonePerfect Nutrition Company, eScreen Canada ULC, eScreen Inc.,      ( ), and Abbott Laboratories Baltics.
Magna International Inc. designs, engineers, and manufactures components, assemblies, systems, subsystems, and modules for original equipment manufacturers of vehicles and light trucks worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Body Exteriors & Structures, Power & Vision, Seating Systems, and Complete Vehicles. Its Body Exteriors & Structures segment provides body and chassis systems, as well as engineering and testing services; exterior systems, including fascia and trims, front end modules, front integration panels, liftgate modules, active aerodynamics, engineered glass, running boards, truck bed access products, and side doors; and roof systems, such as modular and textile folding roofs, and hard and soft tops. The company's Power & Vision segment offers dedicated hybrid, dual and e-clutch, and manual transmissions; engine drive plates and accessories; AWD/4WD products, rear drive modules, and hybrid and battery electric drive systems; transmission, engine, and driveline components; advanced driver assistance systems, camera systems, ultrasonic sensors, and electronic controllers; interior and exterior mirrors, actuators, door handles, overhead consoles, and camera monitoring systems; head, tail, and fog lamps; signal and other lighting products; and latching systems, door modules, window systems, power closure systems, hinges and wire forming, and handle assemblies. Its Seating Systems segment provides seat structures, mechanism and hardware solutions, and foam and trim products. The company's Complete Vehicles segment offers vehicle manufacturing and engineering services. It also designs, engineers, and manufactures tooling products. Magna International Inc. was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Aurora, Canada.

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Guyana Goldfields Inc. provides exploration and production of gold. It engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, production, and operation of gold mineral properties. The company also owns and operates gold drilling rights. The company was formerly known as Chiboug Copper Company Limited and changed its name to Guyana Goldfields Inc. in January 1995. Guyana Goldfields Inc. was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. As of August 25, 2020, Guyana Goldfields Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Zijin Mining Group Company Limited.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Prudential Financial: 210-220 E. 22nd Street SSGA Owner LLC, AIG Edison, AIG Star, AREF Cayman Co Ltd., AREF GP II Pte. Ltd., AREF GP Ltd., ASPF II - Feeder Fund GmbH, ASPF II - Verwaltungs - GmbH & Co. KG, ASPF II Management GmbH, ASPF III (Scots) L.P., ASSURANCE, AST Investment Services Inc., Adlerwerke CB Investment LLC, Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones Habitat S.A., Administradora de Inversiones Previsionales SpA, Aoba Life Insurance Company, Asia Property Fund III GP S.a.r.l., Assurance IQ LLC, Assurance Intelligence LLC, BSC CP LP, Braeloch Holdings Inc., Braeloch Successor Corporation, Brazilian Capital Fund GP Limited, Broad Street Global Advisors LLC, Broome Street Holdings LLC, CB German Retail LLC, CLIS Co. Ltd., COLICO INC., Campus Drive LLC, Capital Agricultural Property Services Inc., Chadwick Boulevard Investment Holdings Co. LLC, Cibecue LLC, Coconino LLC, Colico II Inc., Columbus Drive Partners L.P., Commerce Street Holdings LLC, Commerce Street Investments LLC, Coolidge LLC, Coral Reef GP, Coral Reef L.P., Coral Reef Unit Trust, Cottage Street Investments LLC, Cottage Street Orbit Acquisition LLC, DHFL PRAMERICA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, DICKENS AVENUE HOLDINGS VI LLC, DICKENS AVENUE PARTNERS VI (Ireland) L.P., DICKENS AVENUE PARTNERS VI (US) L.P., Don Cesar Investor LLC, Dryden Arizona Reinsurance Term Company, Dryden Finance II LLC, EVP II GP S.a r.l., EVP II Sweden Resi I GP S.a r.l., Edison Place Senior Note LLC, Essex LLC, EuroCore GP S.a r.l., European Value Partners GP S.a.r.l., Everbright PGIM Fund Management Co. Ltd., Flagstaff LLC, GA 1600 Commons LLC, GA 333 Hennepin Investor LLC, GA BV LLC, GA Bay Area GP LLC, GA Bay Area Investor LLC, GA Belden LLC, GA CLARENDON LLC, GA Cal Crossings LLC, GA Collins LLC, GA E. 22nd Street Apartments Holdings LLC, GA East 86 Street LLC, GA JHCII LLC, GA MENLO PARK INVESTOR LLC, GA Manor at Harbour Island LLC, GA Metro LLC, GA Mission LLC, GA TRITON INVESTOR LLC, GA W Paces LLC, GA/MDI 333 Hennepin Associates LLC, GIBRALTAR BSN HOLDINGS SDN BHD, GIBRALTAR INDIA SOLUTIONS LLP, Gateway Holdings II LLC, Gateway Holdings LLC, German Retail Income CP LP, Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad, Gibraltar International Insurance Services Company Inc., Gibraltar International Service LLC, Gibraltar Reinsurance Company Ltd., Gibraltar Universal Life Reinsurance Company, Glenealy International Limited, Global Portfolio Strategies Inc., Gold GP Limited, Gold II L.P., Gold L.P., Graham Resources Inc., Graham Royalty Ltd., Green Tree GP, Green Tree L.P., Greenlee LLC, Halsey Street Investments LLC, Hirakata LLC, IVP Fund GP LLC, Impact Investments Bridges UK S.a.r.l, Inter-Atlantic G Fund L.P., Inversiones Previsionales Chile SpA, Inversiones Previsionales Dos SpA, Ironbound Fund LLC, Jennison Associates LLC, Kyarra S.a r.l., Kyoei Annuity Home Co. Ltd., LINEUP LLC, Lake Street Partners IV L.P., MC GA COLLINS HOLDINGS LLC, MC GA COLLINS REALTY LLC, MC Insurance Agency Services LLC, Manor at Harbour Island LLC, Marble Canyon LLC, Maricopa LLC, Market Street Holdings IV LLC, Morenci LLC, Mulberry Street Holdings LLC, Mulberry Street Investment L.P., Mulberry Street Partners LLC, Mullin TBG Insurance Agency Services LLC, MullinTBG Insurance Agency Services, National Family Assurance Group LLC, New Savanna, Orchard Street Acres Inc., PAI Bay Farm LLC, PAI Bayrock Groves LLC, PAI Belvidere Farms LLC, PAI Big Cypress Farm LLC, PAI Corcoran 640 Ranch LLC, PAI DeKalb Farm LLC, PAI Delano 1500 Ranches LLC, PAI Flicker Orchard LLC, PAI Good Hope Farm LLC, PAI Hawk Creek Ranch LLC, PAI Hills Valley Ranches LLC, PAI Holly Hill Groves LLC, PAI Hunt Farm LLC, PAI Jackson Bayou Farm LLC, PAI Lake Placid Groves LLC, PAI Wallula Gap Vineyard LLC, PCP V Cayman AIV GP L.P., PEREF II Co-Invest 1 GP S.a r.l., PEREF II GP S.a r.l., PEREF II PV S.r.l, PFI EM-Tech Fund I LLC, PG Business Service Co. Ltd, PG Collection Service Co. Ltd., PGA Asian Retail Limited, PGA European Limited, PGI Co. Ltd, PGIM (Australia) Pty Ltd, PGIM (Hong Kong) Ltd., PGIM (Scots) Limited, PGIM (Shanghai) Company Ltd., PGIM (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., PGIM AVP IV GP S.a r.l., PGIM Advisory (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PGIM Agricultural Investments GP LLC, PGIM Agricultural Investors LP, PGIM Broad Market High Yield Bond Fund L.P., PGIM Broad Market High Yield Bond Partners LLC, PGIM Capital Partners Management (Feeder) VI LLC, PGIM Capital Partners Management Fund VI L.P., PGIM European Financing Limited, PGIM European Services Limited, PGIM Financial Limited, PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives Fund II L.P., PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives Fund L.P., PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives GP LLC, PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives II GP LLC, PGIM Foreign Investments Inc., PGIM Holding Company LLC, PGIM INDIA ASSET MANAGEMENT PRIVATE LIMITED, PGIM INDIA TRUSTEES PRIVATE LIMITED, PGIM Inc., PGIM International Financing Inc., PGIM Investments LLC, PGIM Japan Co. Ltd., PGIM Korea Inc., PGIM LTIF Berlin GP S.a r.l., PGIM LTIF Berlin MLP S.ar.l., PGIM LTIF GP S.a.r.l., PGIM Limited, PGIM Loan Originator Manager Limited, PGIM M Campus GP S.a r.l., PGIM Management Partner Limited, PGIM MetaProp Investor LP LLC, PGIM Netherlands B.V., PGIM Overseas Investment Fund Management (Shanghai) Company Ltd, PGIM Private Capital (Ireland) Limited, PGIM Private Capital Limited, PGIM Private Placement Investors Inc., PGIM Private Placement Investors L.P., PGIM REF EUROPE SCSp, PGIM REF Europe GP S.a r.l., PGIM REF Europe Member LLC, PGIM REF Intermediary Services Inc., PGIM Real Estate (Japan) Ltd., PGIM Real Estate (UK) Limited, PGIM Real Estate CD S.a.r.l., PGIM Real Estate Capital VII GP S.a r.l., PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest GP LLC, PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest GP S.a r.l., PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest L.P., PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest SCSp, PGIM Real Estate Co-Invest Holdings LLC, PGIM Real Estate Debt GmbH, PGIM Real Estate Finance Holding Company, PGIM Real Estate Finance LLC, PGIM Real Estate France SAS, PGIM Real Estate Germany AG, PGIM Real Estate Global Debt GP LLC, PGIM Real Estate Inmuebles S. de R.L. de C.V, PGIM Real Estate Italy S.r.l., PGIM Real Estate Loan Services Inc., PGIM Real Estate Luxembourg S.A., PGIM Real Estate MVP Administradora IV S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate MVP Administradora V S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate MVP Inmuebles IV S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate MVP Inmuebles V S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate Management Luxembourg S.a.r.l., PGIM Real Estate Mexico S.C., PGIM Real Estate S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate U.S. Debt Fund GP LLC, PGIM Senior Loan Opportunities Management (Feeder) I LLC, PGIM Senior Loan Opportunities Management Fund I L.P., PGIM Strategic Financing LLC, PGIM Strategic Investments Inc., PGIM USPF VI Manager LLC, PGIM Warehouse Inc., PGLH of Delaware Inc., PIFM Holdco LLC, PIIC Limited, PIISC Holdings (UK) Limited, PIM KF Blocker Holdings LLC, PIM KF Blocker V Holdings LLC, PIM USPF V Manager LLC, PLA Administradora Industrial SRL, PLA Administradora LLC, PLA Administradora S. de R.L. de C.V., PLA Asesoria Profesional II S. de R.L. de C.V., PLA Asesoria Profesional S.de R.L. de C.V., PLA Co-Investor LLC, PLA Mexico Industrial Manager I LLC, PLA Mexico Industrial Manager II LLC, PLA Mexico Residential Manager I LLC, PLA Residential Fund III Aggregating Manager LLC, PLA Residential Fund III Limited Manager LLC, PLA Residential Fund III Manager LLC, PLA Residential Fund IV Aggregating Manager LLC, PLA Residential Fund IV Manager LLC, PLA Retail Fund I Blue LP, PLA Retail Fund I LP, PLA Retail Fund I Manager LLC, PLA Retail Fund I Red LP, PLA Retail Fund II Aggregating Manager LLC, PLA Retail Fund II LLC, PLA Retail Fund II LP, PLA Retail Fund II Manager LLC, PLA Retail Fund II U.S. Carry/Co-Invest LP, PLA Services Manager Mexico LLC, PLAI Limited, PMCF Holdings LLC, PMCF Properties LLC, PPPF General Partner LLP, PR GA SCP Apartments LLC, PRAMERICA PRECAP VI GP (SCOTS FEEDER) LLP, PRAMERICA PRECAP VI GP LLP, PRECO ACCOUNT III LLC, PRECO ACCOUNT PARTNERSHIP III LP, PRECO Account IV LLC, PRECO Account Partnership IV LP, PRECO III GP LLP, PREFG Hanwha Manager LLC, PREI Acquisition I Inc., PREI Acquisition II Inc., PREI Acquisition LLC, PREI HYDG LLC, PREI International Inc., PRIAC Property Acquisitions LLC, PRICOA Management Partner Limited, PRISA Fund Manager LLC, PRISA II Fund Manager LLC, PRISA II Pooled Manager LLC, PRISA III Fund GP LLC, PRISA III Fund PIM LLC, PRREF II Fund Manager LLC, PRU 3XSquare LLC, PRUCO LLC, PRUDENTIAL CAPITAL ENERGY PARTNERS MANAGEMENT (FEEDER) LLC, PRUDENTIAL MORTGAGE SKP MEMBER LLC, PRUDENTIAL MORTGAGE SKP REIT LLC, PRUDENTIAL MORTGAGE SKP VENTURE 2 LLC, PRUDENTIAL MORTGAGE SKP VENTURE LLC, PT PFI Mega Life Insurance, Passaic Fund LLC, Pine Tree GP, Pine Tree L.P., Platinum GP Limited, Platinum II L.P., Platinum L.P., Pramerica (Hong Kong) Holdings Limited, Pramerica (Luxembourg) CP GP S.a.r.l., Pramerica (Scots) CP GP LLP, Pramerica Business Consulting (Shanghai) Company Limited, Pramerica EVP CP LP, Pramerica Financial Asia Headquarters Pte. Ltd., Pramerica Financial Asia Limited, Pramerica Fixed Income Funds Management Limited, Pramerica Fosun Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Pramerica General Partner LLP, Pramerica Holdings Ltd, Pramerica Insurance Agency (China) Company Ltd., Pramerica PRECAP I GP LLP, Pramerica PRECAP II GP LLP, Pramerica PRECAP III GP LLP, Pramerica PRECAP IV GP LLP, Pramerica Pan European Real Estate (Scots) LP, Pramerica Property Partners Fund (Scotland) Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital I (Scotland) Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital I GP (Scots Feeder) LLP, Pramerica Real Estate Capital II (Scots) Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital III (Scots) Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital IV (Scots) Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital IV GP (Scots Feeder) LLP, Pramerica Real Estate Capital IV GP Limited, Pramerica Real Estate Capital V (Netherlands) GP LLP, Pramerica Real Estate Capital V (Scots) Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital VI (Scots) Limited Partnership, Pramerica SGR S.p.A, Pramerica Systems Ireland Limited, Preco III (Scotland) Limited Partnership, Pru 101 Wood LLC, Pru Alpha Partners I LLC, Pru Fixed Income Emerging Markets Partners I LLC, PruVen Capital Partners Fund I L.P., Pruco Assignment Corporation, Pruco Life Insurance Company, Pruco Life Insurance Company of New Jersey, Pruco Securities LLC, Prudential 900 Aviation Boulevard LLC, Prudential Affordable Mortgage Company LLC, Prudential Agricultural Property Holding Company LLC, Prudential Annuities Distributors Inc., Prudential Annuities Holding Company Inc., Prudential Annuities Inc., Prudential Annuities Information Services & Technology Corporation, Prudential Annuities Life Assurance Corporation, Prudential Arizona Reinsurance Captive Company, Prudential Arizona Reinsurance Term Company, Prudential Arizona Reinsurance Universal Company, Prudential Bank & Trust FSB, Prudential Capital Energy Opportunity Fund L.P., Prudential Capital Energy Partners L.P., Prudential Capital Energy Partners Management Fund L.P., Prudential Capital Partners Management Fund IV L.P., Prudential Capital and Investment Services LLC, Prudential Chile II SpA, Prudential Chile SpA, Prudential Commercial Property Holding Company LLC, Prudential Customer Solutions LLC, Prudential Equity Group LLC, Prudential Financial Securities Investment Trust Enterprise, Prudential Fixed Income Global Liquidity Relative Value Partners LLC, Prudential Fixed Income U.S. Relative Value Partners LLC, Prudential Funding LLC, Prudential General Services of Japan Y.K., Prudential Gibraltar Agency Co. Ltd., Prudential Global Funding LLC, Prudential Holdings of Japan Inc., Prudential Huntoon Paige Associates LLC, Prudential IBH Holdco Inc., Prudential Impact Investments Mortgage Loans LLC, Prudential Impact Investments Private Debt LLC, Prudential Impact Investments Private Equity LLC, Prudential Industrial Properties LLC, Prudential Insurance Agency LLC, Prudential International Insurance Holdings Ltd., Prudential International Insurance Service Company L.L.C., Prudential International Investments Advisers LLC, Prudential International Investments Company LLC, Prudential International Investments LLC, Prudential Investment Management Services LLC, Prudential Japan Holdings LLC, Prudential Legacy Insurance Company of New Jersey, Prudential Life Insurance Company of Taiwan Inc., Prudential Mortgage Asset Holdings 1 Japan Investment Business Limited Partnership, Prudential Mortgage Asset Holdings 2 Japan Investment Business Limited Partnership, Prudential Mortgage Capital Asset Holding Company LLC, Prudential Mortgage Capital Funding LLC, Prudential Mortgage Capital Holdings LLC, Prudential Multifamily Mortgage LLC, Prudential Mutual Fund Services LLC, Prudential Newark Realty LLC, Prudential QOZ Investment Fund 1 LLC, Prudential Realty Securities Inc., Prudential Retirement Financial Services Holding LLC, Prudential Retirement Holdings LLC, Prudential Retirement Insurance and Annuity Company, Prudential Securities Secured Financing Corporation, Prudential Securities Structured Assets Inc., Prudential Seguros Mexico S.A. de C.V., Prudential Seguros S.A., Prudential Servicios S. de R.L. de C.V., Prudential Structured Settlement Company, Prudential Systems Japan Limited, Prudential Term Reinsurance Company, Prudential Trust Co. Ltd., Prudential Trust Company, Prudential Universal Reinsurance Company, Prudential Workplace Solutions Group Services LLC, Prudential do Brasil Seguros de Vida S.A., Prudential do Brasil Vida em Grupo S.A., Prudential/TMW Real Estate Group LLC, Pruservicos Participacoes Ltda., QMA JP EM All Cap Equity Partners LLC, QMA LLC, QMA Wadhwani LLP, Quartzsite LLC, Residential Services Corporation of America LLC, Rio CP LP, Rock European Real Estate Holdings S.ar.l., Rock Global Real Estate LLC, Rock Kensington Limited, Rock Marty GP S.a r.l., Rock Oxford S.a r.l., Rock UK Real Estate Holdings S.ar.l., Rock UK Real Estate II S.a.r.l., Rockstone Co. Ltd., Rosado Grande LLC, Ross Avenue Energy Fund Holdings LLC, Ross Avenue Minerals 2012 LLC, SCP Apartments LLC, SENIOR HOUSING PARTNERS VI GP LLC, SENIOR HOUSING PARTNERSHIP FUND VI GP LLC, SHP IV Carried Interest LP, SHP V Carried Interest L.P., SMP Holdings Inc., SVIIT Holdings Inc., Sanei Collection Service Co. Ltd. (Kabushiki Kaisha Sanei Shuuno Service), Senior Housing Partners IV L.L.C., Senior Housing Partners V LLC, Senior Housing Partnership Fund IV L.L.C., Senior Housing Partnership Fund V LLC, Sterling Private Placement Management LLP, Stetson Street Partners L.P., Strand Investments Limited, TBG Insurance Services Corporation, TENSATOR HOLDINGS LTD, TF Proveedora S.C., TMW ASPF I Verwaltungs GmbH & Co. KG, TMW ASPF Management GmbH, TMW Management LLC, TMW Real Estate Group LLC, TMW Realty Advisors LLC, TMW USPF Verwaltungs GmbH, TRGOAG Company Inc., The Gibraltar Life Insurance Co. Ltd., The Keynes Dynamic Beta Strategy (US) Fund GP LLC, The Prudential Assigned Settlement Services Corp., The Prudential Brazilian Capital Fund LP, The Prudential Gibraltar Financial Life Insurance Co. Ltd., The Prudential Home Mortgage Company Inc., The Prudential Insurance Company of America, The Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd., The Prudential Real Estate Financial Services of America Inc., The WMF Group, Thurloe Commercial Guernsey Limited, Times Square Center Associates, USPF V - Verwaltungs - GmbH & Co. KG, USPF V Carry LLC, USPF V Co-Invest LLC, USPF V Investment LP, United States Property Fund VI GP S.a r.l., Vailsburg Fund LLC, Vantage Casualty Insurance Company, Wabash Avenue Holdings V LLC, Wabash Avenue Partners V L.P., Wadhwani Capital Limited, Waveland Avenue Holdings I LLC, Waveland Avenue Partners I (Ireland) L.P., Waveland Avenue Partners I (US) L.P., Wellness Services Ecossistema De Bem Estar Ltda., Wellness Services SRL, Yamato Life, and Yavapai LLC.
A UK agri start-up has raised 2.2m to revolutionise livestock breeding practices using blockchain, machine vision and big data.

The seed round is led by London-based LocalGlobe and will help start-up Breedr transform the meat supply chain using smart contracts, blockchain, and machine vision.

Ian Wheal, co-founder and CEO of Breedr, said that funding will also be invested in the development of the Breedr app.

He said: We are bridging the gap between farmers, processors, retailers and consumers, using big data, machine learning and machine vision. The aim is to reduce uncertainty and improve productivity of the whole livestock market.

The beef, sheep and pig producers we are working with have a wealth of data about their animals and see our app as a way to directly add value.

Mr Wheal added: Today they might choose to see which animals are closest to the specification requested by their customers, but as more information is included they will be able to benchmark against other farmers in their group.

Breedr is set to become the worlds first marketplace for fully traceable meat and livestock.

Using the app and ear tagging system, farmers will be able to monitor individual animals from birth to sale, recording everything from lineage to feed and animal health records, before listing livestock on the Breedr marketplace.

Retailers will use the marketplace to source entirely traceable meat, directly from the farmers who produce it, giving end-consumers transparency about the products they put on their plate.

On-farm monitoring is merged with animal data collected from abattoirs and retailers, with insights fed straight back to farmers  all through the app's dashboard.

Mr Wheal added: We estimate that the improved productivity offered by the Breedr platform has the potential to reduce the average methane output from beef animals by over 50% in the UK, enabling farmers to quantify the environmental benefit of their improved farm practices.
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For today, it's been four months since Rebel Star Ambareesh passed away. Fans, friends and family are still mourning this legendary actor's loss. On the occasion of his fourth death anniversary, wife Sumalatha and son Abhishek visited his cemetery at the Kanteerava studio to pay their respects. Producer Rockline Venkatesh was present too. Dr Ambareesh's photo was decorated with a variety of flowers and garlands.

Some of his favorite food items such as upma, idli vada and more were placed before the picture. On November 24, 2018, the actor suffered from a cardiac arrest at his residence. He was taken to a private hospital in Bangalore, but failed to respond to the treatment and took his last breath.

Following his death, his wife Sumalatha has announced her entry to politics. She's contesting as an independent candidate from Mandya. Recently, she declared her property details while filing the nomination and it was revealed that she owns about Rs 24 crore worth property.

MOST READ : Puneeth Rajkumar's First Look From Yuvaratna REVEALES An Astonishing Detail About The Film!

Sandalwood actor Yash and Darshan have been by Sumalatha's side through the campaign, which has grabbed a lot of attention. Recently, they were threatened by a JD(S) MLA and then a miscreant pelt stones at Darshan's residence.
LONDON (Reuters) - British entrepreneur Mike Lynch vigorously denies new U.S. criminal charges against him, his spokesman said on Saturday ahead of a court case over the sale of his firm Autonomy which will begin in London next week.

LONDON (Reuters) - British entrepreneur Mike Lynch vigorously denies new U.S. criminal charges against him, his spokesman said on Saturday ahead of a court case over the sale of his firm Autonomy which will begin in London next week.

U.S. prosecutors on Friday added three new criminal charges to their indictment against Lynch related to the $11.1 billion sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.

Lynch faces a new charge of securities fraud, which carries a maximum prison term of 25 years, as well as additional charges of wire fraud and conspiracy in the 17-count indictment filed with the federal court in San Francisco.

"These are baseless, egregious charges issued on the eve of the trial in the UK, where this case belongs, and Dr Lynch denies them vigorously," a spokesman for Lynch said.

Mike Lynch, once hailed as Britain's answer to Bill Gates, faces Hewlett-Packard (HP) in London's High Court on Monday in a multi-billion dollar showdown over the U.S. technology company's 2011 purchase of Autonomy.

HP is accusing Lynch and former Autonomy Chief Financial Officer Sushovan Hussain of involvement in accounting irregularities that caused it to overpay for the company.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle,; Writing by Alistair Smout, Editing by Angus MacSwan)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Graham Fahy WEXFORD, Ireland (Reuters) - Ireland's agriculture minister Michael Creed on Saturday promised farmers a 'substantial' aid package if they suffer losses as a result of new UK tariffs under a no-deal Brexit. The Irish Farmers Association estimates that WTO tariffs on Ireland's beef and livestock sector will impose a direct cost of 800 million euro per year, devastating the 3-billion-euro industry and putting thousands of farmers out of business

By Graham Fahy

WEXFORD, Ireland (Reuters) - Ireland's agriculture minister Michael Creed on Saturday promised farmers a "substantial" aid package if they suffer losses as a result of new UK tariffs under a no-deal Brexit.

The Irish Farmers Association estimates that WTO tariffs on Ireland's beef and livestock sector will impose a direct cost of 800 million euro per year, devastating the 3-billion-euro industry and putting thousands of farmers out of business.

The beef sector is especially exposed to new tariffs, with half of all exports going to the UK.

The government will seek to provide domestic state aid such as grants and intervention, Creed told Reuters in an interview. Dublin may also provide private storage aid (PSA) for the industry, an EU measure usually reserved for smoothing out seasonal imbalances between supply and demand.

In addition, Ireland would apply to the European Commission for exceptional aid under Common Market Organisation rules covering agricultural products, Creed said.

"We are very satisfied that the Commission recognises the necessity for that and we have a substantial package," he said. "What we have also secured is the ability of the exchequer here under state aid rules to also intervene."

Ireland would seek EU financial aid based on the precedent set when exceptional support was given to the Baltic states and Finland following Russia's 2014 ban on EU food imports, Creed said. Moscow imposed the ban in retaliation for EU sanctions over the annexation of Crimea.

Creed said Ireland would make a case to the Commission that support for its primary producers would limit any possible contagion from UK tariffs to other European countries.

"Because otherwise we'll be looking for a home for 300,000 tonnes of beef in other European Union markets," he said.

The fallout from the UK leaving the European Union without a deal cannot be completely eliminated, he said, whatever the level of preparedness or government intervention.

"There will be cost implications, there will be job implications, there will be profit implications. And that's the tragic reality of Brexit, in any manifestation."

(Reporting by Graham Fahy; Editing by Clelia Oziel)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Giselda Vagnoni ROME (Reuters) - Italy endorsed China's ambitious 'Belt and Road' infrastructure plan on Saturday, becoming the first major Western power to back the initiative to help revive the struggling Italian economy.

By Giselda Vagnoni

ROME (Reuters) - Italy endorsed China's ambitious "Belt and Road" infrastructure plan on Saturday, becoming the first major Western power to back the initiative to help revive the struggling Italian economy.

Saturday's signing ceremony was the highlight of a three-day trip to Italy by Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the two nations boosting their ties at a time when the United States is locked in a trade war with China.

The rapprochement has angered Washington and alarmed some European Union allies, who fear it could see Beijing gain access to sensitive technologies and critical transport hubs.

Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio played down such concerns, telling reporters that although Rome remained fully committed to its Western partners, it had to put Italy first when it came to commercial ties.

"This is a very important day for us, a day when Made-in-Italy has won, Italy has won and Italian companies have won," said Di Maio, who signed the memorandum of understanding on behalf of the Italian government in a Renaissance villa.

Taking advantage of Xi's visit, Italian firms inked deals with Chinese counterparts worth an initial 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion). Di Maio said these contracts had a potential, future value of 20 billion euros.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) lies at the heart of China's foreign policy strategy and was incorporated into the ruling Communist Party constitution in 2017, reflecting Xi's desire for his country to take a global leadership role.

The United States worries that it is designed to strengthen China's military influence and could be used to spread technologies capable of spying on Western interests.

WARM WELCOME

Italy's populist government, anxious to lift the economy out of its third recession in a decade, dismissed calls from Washington to shun the BRI and gave Xi the sort of red-carpet welcome normally reserved for its closest allies.

Some EU leaders also cautioned Italy this week against rushing into the arms of China, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying on Friday that relations with Beijing must not be based primarily on trade.

There was not even universal backing for the BRI agreement within Italy's ruling coalition, with Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, who heads the far-right League, warning against the risk of China "colonialising" Italian markets.

Salvini did not meet Xi and declined to attend a state dinner held in honour of the visiting leader on Friday.

Di Maio, who leads the 5-Star Movement, says Italy is merely playing catch up, pointing to the fact that it exports significantly less to China than either Germany or France.

Italy registered a trade deficit with China of 17.6 billion euros last year and Di Maio said the aim was to eliminate the deficit as soon as possible.

After talks with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Di Maio in the morning, Xi flew to the Sicilian city Palermo for a private visit on Saturday afternoon.

He is due to head to Monte Carlo on Sunday before finishing his brief tour of Europe in France, where he is due to hold talks with Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

($1 = 0.8840 euros)

(Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Alexander Smith and Helen Popper)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's banking watchdog has launched an investigation into JP Morgan over complaints about a report it published on Friday, state-owned Anadolu news agency said on Saturday. The BDDK watchdog was quoted as saying that it had received complaints that the report hurt the reputation of Turkish banks and caused volatility in financial markets.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's banking watchdog has launched an investigation into JP Morgan over complaints about a report it published on Friday, state-owned Anadolu news agency said on Saturday.

The BDDK watchdog was quoted as saying that it had received complaints that the report hurt the reputation of Turkish banks and caused volatility in financial markets. A judicial process will be carried out regarding JP Morgan, Anadolu said.

It was not immediately clear what JP Morgan's report was about.

BDDK also said it was investigating claims that some banks lead clients to buy foreign currencies in a manipulative and misleading way and that a judicial process would be carried out regarding those involved, Anadolu reported.

(Reporting by Umit Bektas; Writing by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Clelia Oziel)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel to Beijing for the latest round of high-level trade talks scheduled to start on March 28, the White House said in a statement on Saturday. The United States also will receive a Chinese trade delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He for meetings in Washington that are set to begin on April 3, the White House said. President Donald Trump said on Friday the negotiations with China were progressing and a final agreement seemed probable, as the world's two largest economies seek to ease tensions from an eight-month-old trade war.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel to Beijing for the latest round of high-level trade talks scheduled to start on March 28, the White House said in a statement on Saturday.

The United States also will receive a Chinese trade delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He for meetings in Washington that are set to begin on April 3, the White House said.

President Donald Trump said on Friday the negotiations with China were progressing and a final agreement seemed probable, as the world's two largest economies seek to ease tensions from an eight-month-old trade war.

But earlier this week, Trump warned the United States may leave tariffs on Chinese imports for a while, though Beijing has pushed for them to be removed as part of any deal.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has called an emergency meeting of its working committee on Sunday morning to discuss the Ayodhya issue.

Lucknow: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has called an emergency meeting of its working committee on Sunday morning to discuss the Ayodhya issue. All the 51 members of the committee are expected to be present in the meeting which is likely to be joined by a representatives of the Sunni Central Waqf Board.

The Supreme Court-appointed mediation committee for resolution of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute held its first sitting on Wednesday and heard all parties who attended the proceedings.

The panel, headed by former apex court judge FM Ibrahim Kalifulla, had directed that there should not be any reporting of the mediation proceedings in the print or other media, pointing out the views expressed by the top court. On 8 March, the Supreme Court had referred the land dispute case for court-appointed and monitored mediation.

A five-judge Constitution bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, had said that the mediation proceedings will be held in Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh and the state government will provide the mediators with all facilities.

The bench was hearing appeals against the 30 September, 2010 verdict of the Allahabad High Court which ordered a three-way division of the disputed 2.77 acres of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya between the Nirmohi Akhara sect, the Sunni Central Waqf Board, Uttar Pradesh and Ramlalla Virajman.
An army jawan was killed on Sunday after Pakistan violated ceasefire in the Poonch sector in Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu: An Army personnel was killed on Sunday in firing by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district, officials said. They said the cross-border firing started in Shahpur and Kerni areas of Poonch around 5.30 pm Saturday and it continued intermittently through the night.

The Indian Army retaliated strongly but the casualties suffered by Pakistan were not known immediately, the officials said, adding Pakistani troops used mortar and small arms to target forward posts and villages.

The soldier was critically injured around 4 am in the firing and was immediately evacuated to the military hospital, the officials said. They said he succumbed to injuries, taking the number of Army personnel killed in the last four days to two.

On Thursday, 24-year-old rifleman Yash Paul lost his life in unprovoked firing by Pakistan Army along the LoC in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district. The border skirmishes witnessed a spurt after India's air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot on 26 February in response to the 14 February Pulwama attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel.

Four civilians, including three members of a family, have been killed and several injured as Pakistan, since then, has targeted dozens of villages in over 125 incidents of ceasefire violations along the LoC. The year 2018 witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violations  2,936  by Pakistani troops in the last 15 years along the India-Pakistan border.

Pakistan continues to violate the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the pact during flag meetings between the two sides.
We would do well to encourage all Indians to participate in democracy

Candidates to the first phase great Indian election will be busy filing their nomination papers, before the last date, which is Monday, 25 March (the deadline for nominations for phase 2 is Tuesday). I was interested at looking at some of the things that are routine for all candidates, but voters may not be aware of. The deadline is, of course, sacrosanct and cannot be messed with. Many years ago, former diplomat Syed Shahabuddin told me he had been physically blocked from filing his nomination to Kishanganj constituency in Bihar. His opponent, who was with the Congress then and is today in the BJP, though dropped a minister.

This was in the late 1980s and I think elections have become a lot smoother now. Lets look at the nomination process. Candidates must be over 25 and citizens of India, must submit to the Election Commission Form 2A. This is the nomination paper to the Lok Sabha (state Assembly election forms are 2B). The form is filled out by a voter who knows the candidate and proposes him or her. They must also swear allegiance to the Constitution of India and its sovereignty and integrity in an oath before the returning officer. Candidates standing from more than one constituency, like Prime Minister Narendra Modi did in 2014, from Varanasi and Vadodara, can take the oath only once (however, the security deposit for the second seat is not returned for such candidates). Candidates filing from jail can take the oath before the prison superintendent. You can swear either in the name of god, or just say that you solemnly affirm, if you are not a believer.

Then candidates must submit in full the record and details of any criminal charges against them. Candidates for seats reserved for the Scheduled Caste (there are 84 in all) must be on the list of Scheduled Castes anywhere in India. Candidates on seats reserved for Scheduled Tribes in Assam and Lakshadweep must be from those states' particular tribes. The candidates will be disqualified if they are: found to be insane by a court or if they are insolvent (bankrupt). I cannot think of any instances in our history where disqualification under these two grounds has occurred. Perhaps now with the bankruptcy law, this might change. Candidates are also disqualified if they have been convicted for some specific offences that are listed. They include promoting hatred between groups, bribery, rape, caste discrimination, smuggling, terrorism, drugs, insulting the flag and promoting Sati. The disqualification is for six years from the date of the conviction.

The Election Commission recommends that candidates fight for their nomination. The handbook it issues says: "In one word, when any objection is raised against your nomination paper you should try to impress upon the Returning Officer that he should not reject the nomination paper on any flimsy or technical ground. If he is satisfied as to the identity of the candidate and of the proposer then he should not reject the nomination paper only on ground of any technical defect or inaccurate description in the name of candidate or the proposer or the inaccurate description of any place.

and:

"Tell the Returning Officer that if he rejects any nomination paper on any such technical unsubstantial or flimsy ground then that may be regarded as an improper rejection of a nomination paper which may have the effect of voiding the entire election thus involving a huge waste of public money, public time and public energy." I think the process is fine except for the security deposit and its forfeiture. Candidates who do not get more than 16.6 percent of the total votes polled lose their deposit. This is often reported in the media, and the opponents laugh about it.

More than 75 percent of candidates, meaning over 64,000 people, have lost their deposits since our first election. My Election Commission handbook says the deposit is Rs 10,000 and for SC/ST candidates it is Rs 5,000. This isn't much. Its too small an amount to deter those who want to maliciously crowd a ballot paper and make it very long. On the other hand it does not prevent those who are contesting with ulterior motives (for example, with the intention of withdrawing later after collecting bribes from other candidates).

The law on forfeiting deposits exists in all or most Commonwealth nations and comes to us as a gift from England. There is no reason for us to continue with this tradition. Forfeiture of deposit discourages people from contesting, especially those who are not from the major political parties. The very idea of forfeiture seems to suggest some sort of failure on the part of those who do not get more than 16 percent of the vote, which is harsh, particularly in a large nation like India. It also punishes small groups and small interests and small coalitions. We would do well to encourage all Indians to participate in democracy by contesting and laws that prevent or deter individuals and parties should be relooked at.
Five Indians, who spent over 14 months in a Greek jail after their cargo ship was detained on charges of carrying explosive material on board, arrived in Mumbai Sunday morning

Mumbai: Five Indian sailors, who spent over 14 months in a Greek jail after their cargo ship was detained on charges of carrying explosive material on board, arrived in Mumbai Sunday morning.

MV Andromeda was detained by the Greek Coast Guard on 9 January, 2018. Although it was established that the cargo in question was only a raw material for firecrackers, the crew of the ship had to languish in jail for over a year.

The ship had set sail from Turkey on 6 January, 2018 and was headed for Djibouti when it was diverted to the Greek coast for repairs and later, detained by the coast guard. "The explosive material was legal. Local authorities did not go through the documents which the Greek ship owner had," Bhupendra Singh, one of the Indian crew members who returned home Sunday, told the media here.

"We were given consular access and they (the Indian embassy staff) were very supportive and were present at every hearing," said Singh, a native of Gurudaspur in Punjab, adding that they were not subjected to physical torture in any form.

Singh, however, said he had to undergo mental agony "especially when beef was served frequently". "There were few times when I thought of ending my life. I was the only son of my father...I could not be present in my sister's wedding," he added.

Another crew member Gagan Deep, who is from Bengaluru, said jail authorities informed them that they were the first Indians to be lodged in the jail since it was built in 1953. Gagan Deep claimed that he had not been paid salary for the last 23 months by the company which owns the ship.

Interestingly, it was the Pakistani inmates lodged in the jail who provided them emotional support, he said. "Whatever grudge we may hold against each other's country, but when we meet each other in other countries, we (Indians and Pakistanis) understand each other very well ... those two Pakistanis helped us a lot in every way," Bhupendra Singh said.

The other three Indian crew members are Rohtas Kumar, Jaideep Thakur and Satish Patil. They will meet officials of the Union Shipping Ministry on Monday and apprise them of the entire episode.

Amar Singh Thakur, General Secretary of the Maritime Union of India (MUI), said a court in Greece ruled a fortnight ago that the explosive material on board the ship was raw material for crackers, and not a banned explosive material. MUI, a city-based union of shipping workers, helped the crew members in their legal battle, he said.

The Korydallos Prison Complex, where they were kept, is infamous for overcrowding and inhumane treatment of detainees as per Amnesty International, Thakur claimed. The MUI will petition the Greek government not to release the ship until the owners pay the salaries of the crew, he said.

Amitabh Kumar, Acting Director General of Shipping, said the Directorate General of Shipping was following up on the matter with the Greek government through the Indian embassy.
Security agencies have identified 13 people who are allegedly providing funds to terrorists and stone pelters at the behest of Pakistan spy agency ISI

New Delhi: Continuing crackdown on terror financers, security agencies have identified 13 people, including Hizbul Mujahideen founder Syed Salahuddin, Hurriyat leaders and businessmen, who are allegedly providing funds to terrorists and stone pelters at the behest of Pakistan spy agency ISI, officials said Sunday.

The Centre has started seizing properties belonging to terror financiers in a big way. Thirteen individuals and their properties have been identified by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and action has been initiated, they said. "Individuals identified during these investigations have been found providing money to all major terrorist groups like LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen as also Hurriyat leaders, separatists and stone-pelters in Jammu and Kashmir," a senior government official said.

Funds were provided to the leadership of Kashmir-based terrorist groups for misguiding, motivating and recruiting local youths to militant ranks.

Operational activities of terror groups, including attacks on security forces, camps and convoys, are also being financed, the official said, adding money obtained through these channels are being used by major secessionist formations, especially the Hurriyat Conference.

These funds are used for maintaining Hurriyat's top leadership and a massive propaganda machinery to arouse disaffection among the people of Jammu and Kashmir against the Centre. It is also being utilised to spread false information through media contacts, newspapers and social media, the official claimed. The official said these are in turn used to instigate and lure misguided youths to resort to anti-India activities, violent street protests and stone pelting on security forces at encounter sites.

Extensive use of such funds is being made to finance institutions such as select mosques, madrasas and organisations like recently banned Jamat-e-Islami (JeI) (Jammu and Kashmir), for focusing on subverting locals, another official said.

In the first strike, action was initiated to attach a plush bungalow of Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali in Gurgaon, the official said. He is, at present, lodged in Delhi's Tihar jail. Watali is allegedly a major conduit for funnelling terror finances into India, the official said.

Documents seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) indicate that he was receiving money from Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, Salahuddin, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Pakistan High Commission here, the official claimed.

Watali is known to have important sources of Hawala financing operating out of Dubai. Besides him, another 10 leaders were brought into the multi-agency action on terror funding. The ED has zeroed in on proceeds of such crime and begun action to freeze and seize such assets.

The ongoing investigation in the first phase has determined and quantified assets valued at over Rs7 crore as proceeds of terror funding crimes, the official said.

The 13 identified individuals include Mohd Yusuf Shah alias Syed Salahuddin, who through Hizbul, has been actively involved in creating unrest in Kashmir and other parts of India, according to a document prepared by security agencies. Being a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, Salahuddin has a wide network of local sympathisers, who act on his instructions and collect funds sent by him to fuel secessionist activities, it said.

Hafiz Saeed, self-styled chief of Pakistan-based Jamaat-ul- Dawaa, and other separatist leaders of the state, including members and Hurriyat cadre, have been raising, receiving and collecting funds domestically and from abroad through various illegal channels like Hawala, for funding separatist and terrorist activities in J-K.

The document said Aftab Ahmad Shah alias Fantoosh, a Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (TeH) founder member, was spokesperson and legal advisor to the Hurriyat (Mirwaiz faction).

During a search at his residence in Srinagar, NIA seized various incriminating documents and during interrogation, Shah confessed that his charter of duties included monitoring incidents, issuing statements, arranging meetings and conferences. Shah, son-in-law of TeH separatist leader Syed Geelani, was closely associated with JeI (Jammu and Kashmir).

The 13 individuals also include Mohammed Nayeem Khan, Farooq Ahmad Dar, Akbar Khanday, Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Saifullah and Nawal Kishore Kapoor. Khan, self-styled chairman of National Front, an organisation affiliated to Hurriyat, was part of the Muslim Jaanbaaz Force and earlier involved in various militant activities, the document said.

Dar was JKLF-R chairman and is a terrorist involved in criminal and anti-national activities since 1990. He received arms training in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in 1989-90. Khanday is a JeI(Jammu and Kashmir) member and trusted lieutenant of Geelani. He knew of anti-India protests in the Valley.

Kalwal, a former militant trained in PoK, is a key fund raiser for stone pelters. He collects funds on behalf of Hurriyat and spearheads protests, the document said.

Bhat, a former Hizbul militant, went to PoK for arms training and was involved militancy cases.He is a trusted aide of Geelani and was aware of systems of fund collection and distribution by the Hurriyat leader to operatives, who indulged in anti-India activities. He has visited the Pakistan High Commission here with Geelani several times, it said.

Kapoor, Watali's close associate, remitted Rs 5.6 crore to Watali for which he has not been able to produce any document.
Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan on Sunday ordered a probe into reports of abduction, forced conversion and underage marriages of two teenage Hindu girls in the Sindh province and to take immediate steps for their recovery, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Sunday.

Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan on Sunday ordered a probe into reports of abduction, forced conversion and marriage of two teenage Hindu girls in the Sindh province and directed immediate steps for their recovery, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Sunday.

The two girls, Raveena (13) and Reena (15), were allegedly kidnapped by a group of "influential" men from their home in Ghotki district in Sindh on the eve of Holi. Soon after the kidnapping, a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown soleminising the nikah (marriage) of the two girls. In a separate video, the minor girls can be seen saying that they accepted Islam of their own free will.

In a Twitter post in Urdu on Sunday, Chaudhry said the prime minister asked the Sindh chief minister to look into reports that the girls in question have been taken to Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab.

However, Chaudhry also traded barbs with External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Twitter after the she requested details regarding the incident from the Indian envoy in Islamabad.

Chaudhry responded to Swaraj saying that it was Pakistans internal matter. Maam its Pakistan internal issue and rest assure its not Modis India where minorities are subjugated, its Imran Khans Naya Pak where white color of our flag is equally dearer to us. I hope youll act with same diligence when it comes to rights of Indian Minorities (sic).

Swaraj, in response, said, Mr. Minister @fawadchaudhry - I only asked for a report from Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad about the kidnapping and forced conversion of two minor Hindu girls to Islam. This was enough to make you jittery. This only shows your guilty conscience. @IndiainPakistan.

On the action being taken by the Pakistan government on the issue, Chaudhry said the prime minister has also ordered the Sindh and Punjab governments to devise a joint action plan in light of the incident, and to take concrete steps to prevent such incidents from happening again. "The minorities in Pakistan make up the white of our flag and all of our flag's colours are precious to us. Protection of our flag is our duty," he said.

On Saturday, Chaudhry said that the government had taken notice of reports of the forced conversion and underage marriages of the two girls. The Hindu community in Pakistan has carried out massive demonstrations calling for strict action to be taken against those responsible, while reminding Imran of his promises to the minorities of the country.

Last year, Imran during his election campaign had said his party's agenda was to uplift the various religious groups across Pakistan and said they would take effective measures to prevent forced marriages of Hindu girls. Sanjesh Dhanja, President of Pakistan Hindu Sewa Welfare Trust, an NGO, earlier urged Imran to take note of the incident and prove to everyone that minorities were indeed safe and secure in Pakistan.

"The truth is minorities suffer from different sorts of persecution and the problem of young Hindu girls being kidnapped at gunpoint and forced to convert to Islam or get married to much older men is widespread in Sindh, he said. Dhanja said the Hindu community had staged several sit-ins in Ghotki district after which police reluctantly registered FIR against the accused persons. The Hindu community leaders have claimed that the accused belonged to the Kohbar and Malik tribes in the area.

Following the incident, an FIR was filed by the girls' brother, alleging that their father had an altercation with the accused sometime ago and on the eve of Holi they armed with pistols forcibly entered their home and took the sisters away.

Pakistan Muslim League-Functional MPA Nand Kumar Goklani, who had initially moved a bill against forced conversions, urged the government to get the law passed immediately. Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan. According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan. However, according to the community, over 90 lakh Hindus are living in the country. Majority of Pakistan's Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with their Muslim fellows.

With inputs from PTI
The Karnataka BJP will lodge a police complaint against Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala for his 'baseless allegations' attributed to a diary allegedly belonging to former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa

Bengaluru: The Karnataka BJP will lodge a police complaint against Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala for his "baseless allegations" attributed to a diary allegedly belonging to former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, which the I-T department has dismissed as "forgery document".

The Congress had on Friday sought an investigation by the Lokpal into a media report that alleged bribes of Rs 1,800 crore were paid to Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) top brass by Yeddyurappa.

The allegation was based on photocopies of BSY's purported diary which was submitted to the Income Tax (I-T) department on Saturday but was dismissed as a "forgery document" and a "set of loose papers".

"There is a statement by the income tax that the diary is a forgery document. It is now proved that the Congress has failed miserably in its attempt to malign our party leaders' image," BJP spokesperson and MLA S Suresh Kumar told a press conference.

"Since it is evident that Surjewala used forgery document, he should be immediately arrested for spreading baseless allegations," he added.

The BJP's Karnataka unit, said Kumar, has consulted the party central leadership and soon a police complaint would be lodged against Surjewala demanding his arrest.

"Since the Income Tax has called it a forgery document, we urge the Election Commission (ECI) not to allow anyone make use of the so-called diary as part of election campaigning," the BJP spokesperson said.

Kumar also demanded that Congress president Rahul Gandhi should apologise for his tweet accusing all BJP leaders of being "corrupt", citing the report by the Caravan magazine.

"The enthusiasm with which he tweeted to malign Yeddyurappa's image, he should use the same medium to seek an apology," Kumar demanded. Surjewala had said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should come forward and clarify whether bribes were taken by the top BJP leaders as mentioned in the diary.

The BJP denied the charges and party chief Amit Shah said that after all the "fake issues" had collapsed, the Congress was desperately relying on forgery. Yeddyurappa too dismissed the charges as "atrocious and malicious.
On Saturday, separatists had called for a strike against the Centre's decision to ban the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), saying it was 'undemocratic' and 'political vendetta'.

Srinagar: Normal life was affected in Kashmir Sunday due to a strike called by the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), an amalgam of separatist groups, to protest against the ban on Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) led by Yasin Malik, officials said.

"Shops and business establishments remained closed while public transport was off the roads in most parts of the Valley due to the strike called by the JRL," they said.

However, the officials said the strike call evoked little response in some parts of the Valley as the weekly flea market, locally known as Sunday market, operated normally.

This is the second organisation in Jammu and Kashmir which has been banned in March. Earlier, the Centre had banned the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir.

"The Yasin Malik-led JKLF was banned on Friday for a series of violent acts and being in the forefront of separatist activities in the militancy-hit state since 1988," Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba had said.

On Saturday, separatists had called for a strike against the Centre's decision to ban the JKLF, saying it was "undemocratic" and "political vendetta".

"The Government of India's decision of banning the JKLF for five years is highly authoritarian, autocratic and pure political vendetta," the JRL said in a statement.

"The way the Government of India is announcing bans and crackdowns on the organizations associated with the Kashmir struggle, arresting the leadership and slapping them with draconian PSA, killing youth in custody .... exposes their hollow claims of democracy," it added.

The JRL said by imposing ban on organisations and booking separatist leaders in "fake" cases , the government "cannot change the reality of the Kashmir issue".
While the Tehri dam drew praise from several quarters, those who gave up their homes to ensure the project could be a reality were pushed to the fringes.

Editor's Note: A network of 60 reporters set off across India to test the idea of development as it is experienced on the ground. Their brief: Use your mobile phone to record the impact of 120 key policy decisions on everyday life; what works, what doesn't and why; what can be done better and what should be done differently. Their findings  straight and raw from the ground  will be combined in this series, Elections on the Go, over a course of 100 days.

Read more articles from the series here

***

Tehri: The memory of Tehris iconic Clock Tower standing defiantly against the rising waters of the Bhagirathi river, which had engulfed most of the town by 2006, is still fresh in the minds of residents of Roulakot village in the district. Tehri dubi ge (Tehri has sunk)  most of the local newspapers had chosen that headline to mark the day when this part of Tehris glorious heritage finally went under, the residents remember.

At least 39 villages in the erstwhile capital of the princely state of Tehri Garhwal were completely submerged as the dam came into existence. The dam was approved in 1965 but work on the project started only in 1973. The highest dam in the country was built at a cost of Rs 8,000 crore and eyed a power generation capacity of 2,400 MW. The first phase of the dam was finished in 2006, the second phase in 2011 and the entire project was completed by 2012.

While the engineering marvel drew praise from several quarters, those who gave up their homes to ensure the project could be a reality were pushed to the fringes. On paper, the rehabilitation of residents of submerged villages was initiated in 1998. But this remained on paper only.

A team of the Geological Survey of India conducted a survey of 45 villages along the valleys of Bhagirathi and Bhilangana and found that these villages were sinking into the ground because of the increased water levels in the lake (by 2010, the water level recorded in Tehri lake, which spans 42 square kilometres, was 830 metres). This led to cracks appearing on the floors and walls of many houses. The team recommended rehabilitation of 415 families living in 17 villages under the Collateral Damage Policy of the state. These villages were in the danger zone and the instability of the slope increased the risks of landslides in the area. Soon after, the Uttarakhand government announced that the families would be relocated to villages in Haridwar, Rishikesh and Dehradun, a proposal challenged in the High Court by the Tehri Hydro Development Corporation Limited (THDC), which had suggested that the families be relocated in Tehri itself. The matter is still in court.

Today, families in many villages say that the Tehri dam  a symbol of development for the outside world  is for them a painful, taunting reminder of days of yore as they are today struggling for basic amenities.

Isolated and forgotten

The Hanumant Rao committee set up in 1994 for effective rehabilitation of those displaced had recommended incentives such as free drinking water, subsidised electricity, reservation in state government jobs, a ring road to link villages around the dam and a bridge over the structure to boost connectivity. Many of the suggestions of the committee have been overlooked by successive governments, with several organisations in these villages protesting time and again for the recommendations of the committee to be implemented.

The guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Power have also not been followed. Those displaced are to be provided 100 units of electricity free for 10 years. The ministry recommends that 12 percent of the power generated from a hydel project should be given for free to the state government so that revenue generated from it can be spent on displaced families. The then Union Minister of Energy Sushil Kumar Shinde had even promised to increase the total percentage of free power for the rehabilitated. Revenue generated from an additional 1 percent of the electricity from the project is to be earmarked for a Local Area Development Fund. The fund was to provide a regular stream of income generation for infrastructure and welfare schemes in the area.

An official memorandum of the central government released in 2001 had held THDC liable to arrange money for the rehabilitation of people on a need basis. But officials at the rehabilitation office in New Tehri say they have not received a penny from THDC. Executive engineer at Directorate of Rehabilitation, Tehri, Subodh Maithani says that they last received Rs 40 crore for rehabilitation two years ago. No funds were released by the state government in 2018-19.

So not only have they failed to get these incentives, residents in villages around the lake say they have also lost basic facilities such as road connectivity. While the villages are a short boat ride from New Tehri, a road journey now takes anywhere between 8 and 10 hours. A few boats have fixed hours to ferry people for free from these villages thrice a day.

Roulakot is one such village accessible by boat. Shanti Devi, one of the residents, says that the fixed timing of boats has often led to crisis in cases of medical emergencies. And everyday life in the village is a struggle too. The residents fear for their lives as the lake swells up during monsoon. To go from one village to another, they have to climb down treacherous hills in tough weather to take the boat and then once again trek to reach their destination.

Getting daily provisions has also become an ordeal for the residents who add that they do not have enough agricultural land to grow crops or vegetables and depend on the nearest market to buy produce. Dhanpat Singh Bisht, a resident of Roulakot, says that one can reach the nearest market in Koti Colony in 25 minutes by boat while it is 65 kilometres by road. It is no wonder then that the residents compare their situation to Kala Pani, an informal name for a former jail on a remote island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The gram pradhan of Roulakot, Darvi Devi, says that the government had proposed a suspension bridge to provide accessibility to the village, but it has come to a naught. The 440 metre-long Dobra-Chanti bridge was approved in 2006. Despite Rs 130 crore being spent on the project touted as Asias longest bridge in the past few years, it is yet to see the light of day as it is caught in red-tapism. While Uttarakhand Finance Minister Prakash Pant assures that the bridge would be completed in the next financial year, the residents are unconvinced. They say that they have heard such promises several times.

We have even complained to the Directorate of Rehabilitation in New Tehri several times about the delay in the project, but it has fallen on deaf ears. We are being forced to live a secluded life, risking our lives on boats in the lake to reach the market and the hospital during the monsoons, Darvi Devi says.

Mahipal Singh Negi from the Tehri Bhoomi Visthapan Sangthan says that the lake has swallowed not just lands of people but their livelihood as well. Where are the vast pastures where people used to graze their animals? So many shops and livelihoods of traders were destroyed. People are jobless now, he says.

The majority of the residents were dependent on farming, fishing and cattle breeding for their income. Now, the waters where people used to fish are part of the dam and one needs a license to fish. Agricultural lands have been lost along with water bodies which acted as sources of irrigation. With little forest cover and fodder for livestock, even cattle breeding is not a lucrative alternative.

Executive engineer at Directorate of Rehabilitation, Tehri, Subodh Maithani, admits that people lost their livelihood after agricultural lands were submerged, but adds that those who were capable were given jobs in THDC commensurate with their abilities.

No land for this vote bank

Negi says that the money earned through power generation should be spent on the welfare of those displaced, but this hasnt happened. Successive governments have ignored our cause because this is not a sizeable vote bank for them, he says.

Many of the residents say that they are mulling a boycott of elections altogether. The five Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttarakhand, including Tehri, will go to polls on 11 April. BJP state vice-president Jyoti Gairola denies that the government has neglected the residents as they are not a large vote bank. Gairola says that rehabilitation is a long process and concerns of people would be addressed in due time. Finance minister Prakash Pant adds that the government is arranging funds and is committed to carrying out the rehabilitation in a phased manner. District panchayat president, Tehri, Sona Sajwan says that the government has not forgotten those displaced by the dam but the rehabilitation process has indeed been delayed.

Tehri MLA Dhan Singh Negi insists that 106 hectares of land in Rishikesh has been earmarked for rehabilitation of these 415 families and the proposal has been sent to the state government. But at the same time, the government also continues to actively endanger the lives of the people here. Vimal Bhai from Matu Jan Sangthan, an organisation working with displaced families, says that an agreement between the state and the Centre in 2017 dictates that the water level at Tehri lake would be kept under RL 825 metres. This would stop further sinking of land in nearby villages.

However, in October 2018, the state government issued a notification to fill the lake up to a level of RL 835 metres. According to Vimal Bhai, the decision was taken to meet the requirement of water for Kumbh in Haridwar.

The residents hope that the MP elected from the Tehri constituency in the upcoming elections would be more sympathetic to their cause. On 3 March this year, with an eye on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, the state cabinet had waived pending water bills to the tune of Rs 70 crore of 10,000 families relocated from Tehri. A new committee has been set up to study whether it would be feasible to stop charging displaced families water bills completely.

(The author is a Dehradun-based freelance writer and a member 101Reporters)
The BJP on Saturday cited the rise in Congress president Rahul Gandhi's income between 2004 and 2014 to question its source, claiming he had no ostensible source of income. There was no response from the Congress.

New Delhi: The BJP on Saturday cited the rise in Congress president Rahul Gandhi's income between 2004 and 2014 to question its source, claiming he had no ostensible source of income. There was no response from the Congress.

BJP leader and Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told the media that Rahuls income had risen from over Rs 55 lakh in 2004 to Rs 9 crore in 2014 as per his election affidavits, and asked an MPs income can witness such a jump.

"In his election affidavit in 2004, his income was Rs 55,38,123 while in 2009, it rose to Rs 2 crore and in 2014 it rose to Rs 9 crore. We know how much an MP earns. We want to ask Rahul about what this model of development is without an ostensible source of income," he said.

Referring to Gandhi's brother-in-law Robert Vadra, Prasad said, "Till now, we had seen the Vadra model of development under which you invest Rs 6-7 lakh and earn Rs 700-800 crore in two-three years. Now we have come across the Rahul Gandhi model of development."

The senior BJP leader also claimed that Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi had a 4.69-acre farmhouse in Delhi that was rented out to a firm, Financial Technologies (India) Limited, that had been issued show-cause notice for violations pertaining to National Spot Exchange promoted by it.

"When the notice was served, the place was rented out... FTL made a cheque payment of Rs 40 lakh. The firm was issued a notice and within 10 months the place was rented out to them," he said, questioning its timing.

He also questioned Rahul whether he had bought two properties of Rs 1.44 crore and Rs 5.36 crore from Unitech which was linked to the 2G spectrum allocation scam.

"The maximum trial in the case happened before we came to power. I had said the 2G judgement was legally unsound and morally improper. One judge had commented, 'I had been waiting for evidence for seven-eight years'. Is the wait for evidence and the property purchase linked? The matter is under appeal and we have asked for expeditious hearing," he alleged.
The Sri Lankan Navy personnel allegedly damaged over 50 fishing nets and seized GPS equipment

Rameswaram: Eleven Tamil Nadu fishermen were arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy near Neduntheevu for allegedly fishing in the island nation's waters, an official said here Sunday.

The fishermen, hailing from Rameswaram, have been taken to Karainagar in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department assistant director Yuvaraj said.

Their two boats were also seized.

The Sri Lankan Navy personnel allegedly damaged over 50 fishing nets and seized GPS equipment from them.

The incident forced fishermen in more than 500 boats to return without fishing, the official said.
According to the media report, the incident occurred in Dharki town of Ghotki district in Sindh province on the eve of Holi.

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has sought details from the Indian envoy in Pakistan into the reported abduction of two Hindu teenaged girls and their forcible conversion to Islam on the eve of Holi in Sindh province.

In a tweet, Swaraj, while tagging a media report about the incident, said she has asked the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan to send a report on the matter.

According to the media report, the incident occurred in Dharki town of Ghotki district in Sindh province on the eve of Holi.

It said the Hindu community in the area staged protests, demanding action against perpetrators of the alleged crime.

India has been raising the issue of plight of minorities, particularly the Hindu community in Pakistan.
Western medicine is relatively new in India, and despite coming from a region where caste divisions didnt exist, discrimination seems to have made its way into the Indian system, says Arun Vijai Mathavan

As you enter a room at the Senate House at Madras University, one of the venues of the Chennai Photo Biennale, you find a set of images displayed with tools. The instruments are large, harsh and could easily come from a mechanics shop. But look closer and you will see haunting images of corpses sewn up, pools of blood, sanitary workers, and their lives in a morgue. There are empty operation tables, empty chairs and piles of clothing  all of which are haunted by the looming presence of what was once there.

Arun Vijai Mathavan, hailing from the Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu, studied photography at NID Ahmedabad after a short stint at at BPO in Bengaluru. His interest in capturing environmentally and socially relevant subjects led him onto the search for one for his graduation project, that would enable him to visually map the evolution of caste-based discrimination in a technologically advanced society.

This was also the time when news of several 'honour killings' in Tamil Nadu was out in the media. That caste-based discrimination exists is something we know. I wanted to focus on the fact that it often evolves faster than technology and finds a place in modern/Western systems quickly, he says, For instance, we have seen enough technological advancement to look for a partner online, but still rely on a caste-based search. Some portals are even named after castes."

He chanced upon the Ahmedabad-based Navsarjan Trust and heard about sanitary workers from the Valmiki community, who perform postmortems in hospitals. Unable to document their work, he came to Tamil Nadu in 2016 with access to photograph. What began was a journey to uncover the grim, often morbid reality of sanitary workers, all of whom belong to the Dalit communities in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

Postmortems are often performed by forensic pathologists in other parts of the world. In India, the norms may be relaxed, but a registered medical practitioner is still needed to perform them, he adds. The ground reality is very different: Unofficially trained sanitary workers perform postmortems with little or no tools. Its much like a mechanic being inducted into the profession, learning on the job from his seniors. The methods too are primitive and risky. For instance, a sanitary worker would determine alcohol consumption in an accident case by smelling, he explains. Gloves come in a few standard sizes, failing to provide protection to those with smaller hands, he adds.

The stories are endless, and the only incentive that drives them is the distant dream of a government job. The task of dealing with the dead was traditionally relegated to Dalit communities. Western medicine is relatively new in India, and despite coming from a region where caste divisions didnt exist, discrimination seems to have made its way into the Indian system, he explains.

The process

During his initial visits to the morgue, Mathavan spoke to the workers, to hear their stories and establish a rapport. He took no pictures; in fact, he did not carry a camera. This lasted nearly month, after which I began taking some pictures and showing them to the workers. In due course, they forgot I was there and I had effectively become a fly on the wall, he says.

In the course of documenting every part of the process, Mathavan encountered numerous stories. One of the oldest workers came to the hospital from a village in Andhra Pradesh in 1965, giving up farming in the pursuit of a lucrative job. He began as a sanitary worker at the hospital, and one of his duties was to clean the mortuary. Slowly, the doctor began asking for help in physical tasks, such as lifting up the body. Over time, he began performing the postmortems, he says.

Since he is a Dalit, he was asked to bring in more workers from his community, he says, explaining the many unofficial ways in which caste divisions creep into new systems. He was also witness to the skills being passed on to newer recruits. I met a young boy who took up a job there. He began with helping lift up the body and smaller jobs. After three months, he was performing autopsies on his own, under supervision, explains Mathavan.

What started out as a graduation project  as his take on systematic caste-based oppression  became an exercise in documentation, with a scope much larger than he had imagined. Mathavan plans to take the self-funded exercise to other states where he can get access.

The implications

I had a few unexplained bouts of infection during the project and anxiety attacks that made me consider abandoning it. I had to be hospitalised on one occasion and developed several irrational fears, says Mathavan of his own trauma during the project. None of the sights were pleasant, and some of the things I observed made me re-examine the caste system and life at large. During an autopsy, when the throat is slit and the organs removed from the body, all that remains is a cage (rib) and flesh. Every person is no more than that, no matter what the caste, he says.
The Congress and the NCP on Saturday announced their seat-sharing pact in Maharashtra for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls with the two parties agreeing to contest 26 and 22 seats respectively.

Mumbai: The Congress and the NCP on Saturday announced their seat-sharing pact in Maharashtra for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls with the two parties agreeing to contest 26 and 22 seats respectively.

Addressing a press conference, Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar said 56 parties and organisations have come together to support the alliance to take on the BJP-Shiv Sena combine.

From its share of seats, the Congress will give Palghar seat to the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi and another undeclared seat to Raju Shetti's Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana. From its 22 seats, the NCP will leave Hatkanangle seat for Shetti, who is the sitting MP from there, and give another to Independent MLA Ravi Rana's Yuva Swabhiman Party.

Without naming any parties, Chavan and Pawar dubbed those who stayed away from the Congress-NCP alliance as the "B team of the BJP". The remarks were an apparent reference to Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh leader Prakash Ambedkar, who refused to join hands with the alliance.

Pawar said the Congress-NCP combine was ready to give six seats to allies, adding that some parties tried their best to ensure the alliance doesn't take shape. "There is no doubt such parties were the B team of the BJP and their actions were intended to help the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance," Pawar alleged.

Speaking at the press conference, Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil said like-minded parties had come together to "save democracy, protect the Constitution" and expose the BJP's "hypocrisy and lies".

Chavan accused the BJP of using muscle power and money to prevent parties from joining the opposition alliance. "If the BJP had worked so well at the state and in the Centre, why are they poaching Congress and NCP leaders and giving them tickets," Pawar asked.

Prominent among the parties which have joined hands with the Congress-NCP are Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), the Swabhimani Shektari Sanghatana (SSS), the Bahujan Vikas Agadhi (BVA), Independent MLA Ravi Rana's Yuva Swabhiman Party, People's Republican Party headed by Jogendra Kawade and the Republican Party of India (RPI Gavai).

While Kawade said he was happy all RPI factions had come together to fight the BJP, BVA leader Hitendra Thakur and Rana, who till some time ago supported the BJP-led state government, said they would try their best to ensure the opposition alliance wins maximum seats.

Overcoming their strained ties and grandiose declarations of going solo, the BJP and the Shiv Sena had announced their seat-sharing pact for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls last month. The BJP will contest 25 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra and the Sena 23.
Kanhaiya has been pitted against BJP-led NDA candidate Giriraj Singh, who was earlier shifted from Nawada as the seat went to Lok Janshakti Party (LJP).

The Communist Party of India (CPI) on Sunday confirmed that it would field former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar from Bihar's Begusarai seat for the upcoming seven-phased Lok Sabha elections, scheduled to be held from 11 April.

Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy, Communist Party of India: Former Jawaharlal Nehru University students union president, Kanhaiya Kumar will contest from Begusarai Lok Sabha constituency. #Bihar pic.twitter.com/aXtnEPQBvX  ANI (@ANI) March 24, 2019

This development comes a day after the Bihar 'Mahagathbandhan' snubbed the Left by excluding them from the seat-sharing formula. Kanhaiya has been pitted against BJP-led NDA candidate Giriraj Singh, who was earlier shifted from Nawada as the seat went to Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), reported The Times of India.

Slamming the Grand Alliance, the Left parties of Bihar on Saturday said that the decision to exclude them from seat-sharing formula was not in sync with the ground realities of the state.

The CPI(ML) Liberation, the major Left party in Bihar, said it would now contest in five seats and extend support to the CPI and the CPM, who have declared their nominees for two Lok Sabha constituencies.

"Had the Left been taken aboard, it would have added to the credibility of the challenge that the anti-BJP parties seek to pose to the NDA. It seems the Grand Alliance has not learnt its lessons from the betrayal of mandate," CPI(ML) Liberation state secretary Kunal said in a statement.

He was referring to chief minister Nitish Kumar, the Janata Dal(United) chief, who walked out of the Mahagathbandhan in 2017 and returned to the NDA.

On Friday, the Opposition announced its seat-sharing formula for the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar, half of which will be fought by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and nine by the Congress.

New entrants to the Grand Alliance: Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) and Mukesh Sahni's Vikasheel Insan Party (VIP) will field candidates on five and three seats respectively.

Former chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) has been given three seats.

"The Left had, on its own, decided to contest very few seats this time in order to prevent division of anti-BJP votes. The manner in which the seats have been allocated can be called anything but just," Kunal added.

The CPI(ML) has already announced candidature of Raju Yadav, from Ara. The NDA has fielded Union minister RK Singh, the sitting BJP MP, from the seat.

CPM state secretary Awadhesh told PTI that the party politburo has objected to the manner in which the seat-sharing formula was announced, keeping the Left out of the formation.

"We have decided to field young member of our state secretariat Ajay Kumar from Ujiarpur. We will be supporting other Left parties in seats where they field their candidates," Awadhesh said.

The NDA has fielded state BJP state president and sitting MP Nityanand Rai from Ujiarpur.

Announcement of the seat-sharing formula by the Grand Alliance had evoked resentment from CPI secretary general Sudhakar Reddy on Friday.

"We had an understanding with Lalu Prasad Yadav, but he is in jail. So, I don't know how things have been conveyed to his son (Tejashwi Yadav). He had agreed for six seats including Begusarai and Madhubani," Reddy had said.

With inputs from PTI
The tweet and the resolution were meant to tell people that Congress president Rahul Gandhi was taking into consideration the request from party workers.

A tweet by Randeep Singh Surjewala and a resolution by Amethi district Congress unit could prove to be a huge public perception disaster for Congress party in the run up to the 2019 parliamentary election.

The tweet and the resolution were meant to tell people that Congress president Rahul Gandhi was taking into consideration the request from party workers for the Congress chief to contest from two seats  Amethi, perceived Gandhi family pocket borough in Uttar Pradesh, and Wayanad in Kerala. Their justification for this request was that since he is to become prime minister of the country towards the end of May 2019, he must be seen to be representing both north and south India.

Little did Congress strategists and close advisers of Nehru-Gandhi family realise that in the age of social media, a premature announcement of this kind, howsoever well-planned and coordinated, could boomerang in a matter of hours.

It turned out to be a full toss which Rahul's challenger in Amethi, Textiles Minister Smriti Irani, and BJP delightfully hit for a six. She tweeted in Hindi, saying Rahul was orchestrating an invite from various states because he had been rejected by the people of Amethi. On Saturday, #BhaagRahulBhaag was one of the top trends on Twitter.

Contesting elections from two seats by some senior leaders across party lines is an age-old practice. It does not usually invite so much public debate. But Rahuls case is different. One can say that Congress strategists erred with early publicity on the issue due to four reasons.

First, there is widespread public impression that this time around, Rahul Gandhi may find his going tough in Amethi. In the last parliamentary elections, Rahul's winning margin in 2014 had dipped to 1.07 lakh from 3.70 lakh in 2009. His voting percentage in 2014 had dipped as compared to 2004, when he had first contested from there.

Irani, who was sent to Amethi at the last minute, had succeeded in narrowing down his victory margin and raising BJP's vote share from negligible thousands to over three lakh votes. This was considered unthinkable in Amethi, a constituency which has served as Gandhi-Nehru familys backyard for the last 40 years, since the time Sanjay Gandhi first contested from there in 1980.

Since then, Rajeev Gandhi won three times, Gandhi family nominee Satish Sharma held it once, and Sonia Gandhi once before she vacated it for Rahul by shifting herself to neighbouring Raebareli, a seat long held by Indira Gandhi. Rahul has won it three consecutive times. But for the last five years, Irani has made a determined bid to make defeat the Congress president on his home turf.

Ground reports suggest that she was finding resonance with people, enough to cause some apprehension in the minds of the Congress leadership. Two other opponents who together secured over 82,000 anti-Rahul Gandhi votes  BSPs Dharmendra Pratap Singh and Kumar Vishwas (then with AAP)  would be contesting these elections.

Second, if Rahul does indeed decide to contest from Wayanad too, it will be an interesting choice. Wayanad would be a safe seat for him for the simple reason that its a constituency which has around 60 percent minority population  43 percent Muslim and 17 percent Christian. The social composition is such that Congress has been winning comfortably. Party nominee MI Shanavas won it in 2009 and 2014 but this seat is presently vacant as Shanavas died in November 2018.

It is a seat which Muslim League, second biggest constituent of UDF after Congress, has been demanding for a long time. If Rahul contests the election from Wayanad, he will naturally be supported by Muslim League against a fight where the principle opponent will be CPM-led Left Front, not BJP.

The move will be much-desired fodder for BJP to shape up its poll narrative against Rahul and raise it to a higher pitch in public rallies.

Congress' actions also come at a time when Rahul is trying to portray himself as a janeudhariShiv-bhakt Hindu. Even his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, now general secretary of Congress, began her campaign in UP from Sangam in Allahabad to Varanasi and did her share of temple-hopping. She is expected to begin her second phase of campaigning from Ayodhya. Wayanad and its social composition (Muslim-Christian majority) could be used by BJP against this strategy.

Third, by asking its Amethi district unit, which functions under direct supervision of Congress' first family, to issue a resolution, Congress made another mistake. A district unit making such a resolution is unprecedented. Moreover, adding that contesting from constituencies in north and south India was needed to show wider representation for a prime minister-in-making is naive. The party leaders perhaps forget that Manmohan Singh, prime minister for 10 years of Congress-led UPA, was a Rajya Sabha MP from Assam. He or Congress never considered a Lok Sabha seat for him. Singh had contested parliamentary election from South Delhi once and had lost it badly.

Fourth, the references of Indira and Sonia Gandhi in this regard is completely devoid of sense of history. The least that was expected from Congress was knowledge about their supreme leaders. Indira Gandhi had gone to Chikmaglur in Karnataka to contest a by-election in October 1978 after she had suffered ignominious defeat in Raebareli by Raj Narain in 1977. In 1975, she had imposed Emergency after Allahabad High Court ruled her election to Lok Sabha illegal. Instead of quitting, Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency in June 1975 and remained in power till 1977.

Incidentally, the Chikmaglur by-election had happened in the immediate aftermath of a political blunder committed by Janata Party government, the arrest of Indira Gandhi in an alleged corruption case. Despite then prime minister Morarji Desais caution, the then home minister Charan Singh went for Indiras arrest. Rest is history.

Sonia Gandhi had gone to file her nomination from Bellary in Karnataka amid high drama and suspense in 1999 because the Congress leadership was apprehensive that the BJP may come up with some mischief in Raebareli on her maiden entry into electoral politics.
Sitharaman also accused the previous Congress-led UPA government of not taking deterrent action following the 26 November, 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai.

Hyderabad: Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday slammed the Opposition and the Congress in particular for questioning the air strikes in Pakistan after the Pulwama terror attack and accused them of politicising it.

The BJP government gave freedom to the armed forces to act and they delivered, she said.

Sitharaman also accused the previous Congress-led UPA government of not taking a similar deterrent action following the 26 November, 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai and claimed that the Army was willing to respond if the then government wanted them to do something.

"If only a similar deterrent action had been taken after the Mumbai attack and I have enough reasons to believe the armed forces did tell the government at that time, if you want us to do something we are ready, but we want you to take the call...," she said.

Her statement comes two days after Sam Pitroda, chief of Indian Overseas Congress, asked the government to come out with "more facts" on the Balakot air strikes.

Prime Minister Modi, using the hashtag 'Janta Maaf Nahi Karegi' (people will not forgive) in a tweet, had attacked Pitroda for reportedly saying he wanted to "know more" about the Balakot air attack, including the number of terrorists killed.

Several BJP leaders, including BJP chief Amit Shah, slammed Pitroda for his remarks.

Referring to the Balakot air strikes,she said the Prime Minister had clearly said it was now up to the armed forces to take the call on how to proceed and that freedom was given to them.

"When action was taken by us...what is being asked is how many people did you actually kill...what is the proof? It is absolutely shocking conduct. The morale of the armed forces is being hit. You (Opposition) are the ones who are politicising the Balakot strike by asking us for proof," Sitharaman said, addressing an event 'Telangana For Modi' organised by 'Modi Army' (supporters of Modi).

Speaking at another event, Sitharaman alleged that not respecting armed forces, but bringing them to shame and even defaming them has been the approach of the Congress party.

The government, Sitharaman said, had credible information that more such (Pulwama-like) suicide terror attacks may happen and to prevent such attacks "we had to carry out a pre-emptive strike in Balakot."

Sitharaman was addressing an ex-servicemen and intellectuals meet organised by BJP candidate N Ramchander Rao who is contesting from the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha segment.

Sitharaman said during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, over 90,000 Pakistan soldiers were sent back unconditionally by India. But, they (Pakistan) have been terrible in terms of record of dealing with PoW, the defence minister said. "I still feel heavy in my heart when I think of our soldier Kalia who was caught and mutilated. Justice has to be given to him. It's not been given..his parents are going around and saying no justice for my son," she said.

During the 1999 Kargil conflict, Captain Saurabh Kalia was tortured by his Pakistani captors, who later handed over his mutilated body to India.

Referring to the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, she said "...so many lives were lost in the attack and clear evidence showed Pakistan had perpetrated it. You (then Congress government) don't give the freedom to the armed forces to even stand up with honour. That's what this government has done and gave the freedom to the armed forces that you decide the time, you decide the way and how to handle because you are the best persons to handle it," Sitharaman said.

It wouldn't have been necessary if only the previous government had taken a deterrent measure after the Mumbai attack, Sitharaman said.

Pakistan, which kept saying it was also a victim of terror attack after the Pulwama incident, also did not take action against camps where terrorists were being trained. "Therefore we had to take the action," Sitharaman added.

Addressing BJP workers, Sitharaman said dynasty politics was not good for democracy and the BJP did not practice it.

Sitharaman said efforts have been made to control Naxalism, which has come down.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address two back-to-back election rallies in West Bengal on 3 April.

Kolkata: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address two back-to-back election rallies in West Bengal on 3 April, BJP leader Mukul Roy said on Sunday.

Modi will speak at a public meeting at Siliguri in north Bengal at around 1 pm, followed by another rally at Kolkata's Brigade Parade ground at 3 pm on the same day, Roy told reporters in Kolkata.

"The party is fully prepared to hold the two election rallies of Modi on the same day. It is a historical day for the BJP to organise such big meetings of the prime minister back-to-back," he said.

Roy asserted that no other party has shown the "courage" to hold two such meetings on the same day.

Senior BJP leaders like Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari and Rajnath Singh would also visit West Bengal for campaigning before the general elections next month.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is scheduled to meet on Monday and is likely to discuss the poll preparedness for the Lok Sabha polls, party sources said.

New Delhi: The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is scheduled to meet on Monday and is likely to discuss the poll preparedness for the Lok Sabha polls, party sources said. The meeting will be held at the Congress office.

According to party sources, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has convened the meeting of the highest decision-making body which had its last meeting at Ahmedabad in Gujarat on 12 March.

Chaired by Congress president Rahul Gandhi, the Ahmedabad meeting was also attended by former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress general secretary for eastern Uttar Pradesh Priyanka Gandhi Vadra among others.

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi was also present in the meeting. The 17th Lok Sabha election, which will be held in seven phases beginning 11 April. The final phase of voting will take place on 19 May. The counting of votes will be done on 23 May.
Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, the sitting BJP MP from Patna Sahib who has been denied a ticket by the party this time, has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of treating party patriarch LK Advani in a 'painful' and 'shameful' manner.

Patna: Actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha, the sitting BJP MP from Patna Sahib who has been denied a ticket by the party this time, has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of treating party patriarch LK Advani in a "painful" and "shameful" manner.

In a series of tweets on Saturday, Sinha claimed that the BJP's decision to not give ticket to Advani, the sitting MP from Gandhinagar, and to field party president Amit Shah from the seat "has not gone down well" with many people.

"Sirji... it is worrisome, painful and according to some even shameful... that which your people have done was the most expected and awaited... orchestrating the departure of a most respected friend, philosopher, guide, father figure and ultimate leader of the party, Shri L K Advani from the political arena/election," Sinha tweeted.

Advani, 91, has served as Union home minister and deputy prime minister. He was also the national president of the BJP more than once. He is often credited with helping the party create a national footprint within a decade of its formation through active participation in the Ayodhya movement.

In another tweet, Sinha deplored "the replacement of Mr Advani by none other than the man who is also the president of the party and whose image or personality is no match nor even a patch on him".

"This has been done intentionally and deliberately and not gone down well with the people of the country," the rebel BJP leader claimed.

"No one can approve of such a treatment to a father figure. What you and your people have done to me is still tolerable. I am able and capable of answering your people back in the same coin. Remember Newton's third law, every action has an equal and opposite reaction," Sinha, who has been a vocal critic of the BJP, said.

Once considered a hardliner, Advani's decline began after he fell out of favour with the BJP's parent body, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) following his appreciation of "secular" personality of Pakistan founder Mohd Ali Jinnah in 2005.

His standing within the party diminished further after he fell out with Modi, whom he had mentored. Advani had also backed Modi when the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee wanted him gone as Gujarat chief minister in the aftermath of 2002 Godhra riots.

Sinha said the party's decision to deny ticket to Advani "smacks of ingratitude".

"Nonetheless, people are watching at this hour to give a befitting reply for all this that is being done by the one man show and two men army," he said, taking a swipe at Modi and Shah.

Responding to Sinha, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi also took to Twitter to offer "free" and "friendly" advice to his party colleague on Sunday.

He said Sinha would do well to "leave the electoral battle and join the Yashwant club", referring to the former Union minister who had been critical of the current BJP leadership and quit the party last year to concentrate on activism.

"Patna Sahib has five assembly segments, all held by the BJP, and you may struggle to even find a polling agent," the Bihar deputy chief minister said, referring to the possibility of Sinha seeking re-election as a nominee of the Opposition alliance in the state.
Priya Gupta

With over 20 lakh cases of tuberculosis world over, India is the second leading country to add to the related mortality rate.

In India, female genital tuberculosis is an uncontrolled disease and has grown to become a major health issue that leads to infertility. As per various medical researchers, tuberculosis is a major cause of infection which amounts to infertility among 25-30 percent of women in India. Genital tuberculosis is a major cause of infertility not only in women but also men.

Usually, Tuberculosis (TB) is a deadly infectious disease which initially affects the lungs. It might further cause secondary infections in the genital tract, vagina, pelvic area, kidneys, spine, and brain.

When the bacterium assails the genital tract, it causes genital tuberculosis which is also known as pelvic TB that mostly affects women during childbearing years and is usually diagnosed during infertility workup. One of the leading issues is that the disease is easier to detect if it affects the lungs primarily. But if the bacterium directly attacks the genital organs, it is difficult to detect at later stages and decreases the chances of conception among women.

Tuberculosis has the ability to seriously damage the fallopian tubes if not treated at the initial stage which can further lead to serious health complications. Doctors suggest that 30 percent of women with any type of tuberculosis tend to develop genital TB, out of which, 5-10 percent evolves hydro salpingitis in which the water fills up into the tube, resulting in infertility.

The TB bacteria mainly affect the fallopian tubes by blocking it which leads to inadequate periods and infertility. In most cases, periods may entirely stop as the uterine lining gets deeply affected. Genital TB has the least effect on vagina, vulva, and ovaries as compared to the fallopian tubes. Therefore, it is extremely important to treat the disease quickly otherwise the chances of conceiving in the future may, unfortunately, become next to nil.

A disease like genital TB can cause deformity of the fallopian tube structures and adverse pain. As genital tuberculosis is asymptomatic; there is no one specific test to sight the disease. There are combined tests which are used to analyse whether a person is suffering from genital TB.

Endometrial biopsy and laparoscopy can be done to check whether the fallopian tube is affected or not. Other tests like tuberculin test or blood test can be done to sight tuberculosis. It is essential to get tested and treated at the right time to avoid any severe or serious health complications in the future.

The author is a fertility expert at FirstStep IVF Clinic in New Delhi.
BAMAKO (Reuters) - Gunmen killed about 60 Fulani herders in central Mali on Saturday, a local mayor said, in one of the deadliest such attacks in a region reeling from worsening ethnic and jihadist violence.

BAMAKO (Reuters) - Gunmen killed about 60 Fulani herders in central Mali on Saturday, a local mayor said, in one of the deadliest such attacks in a region reeling from worsening ethnic and jihadist violence.

The assault on the village of Ogossagou came as a U.N. Security Council mission visited Mali to try to find solutions to violence that killed hundreds of civilians last year and is spreading across West Africa's Sahel region.

Moulaye Guindo, mayor of the nearby town of Bankass, said the armed men, who were dressed as traditional Donzo hunters, encircled and attacked Ogossagou at about 4 a.m. (0400 GMT).

"It's a very heavy death toll," he told Reuters. "The village of Ogossagou is completely devastated."

One village resident, who asked not to be identified, said the attack appeared to be in retaliation for an al Qaeda affiliate's claim of responsibility on Friday for a raid last week that killed 23 soldiers.

The group said the raid was payback for violence by Mali's army and militiamen against the Fulani.

Jihadist groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have exploited ethnic rivalries in Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger to boost recruitment and render vast swaths of territory virtually ungovernable.

(Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo; Writing by Aaron Ross; Editing by Alexander Smith and Helen Popper)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Protesters descended upon the capital from up and down the UK to participate in the Put it to the People march

London: Thousands of people took to the streets of central London on Saturday for one of the biggest anti-Brexit marches to demand another referendum over Britain's membership of the European Union (EU). Protesters descended upon the capital from up and down the UK to participate in the Put it to the People march, dubbed as one of the UK's largest attracting an estimated 1 million people to demand that the British people are given another chance to vote on Brexit after MPs have failed to break the impasse over the issue in Parliament.

Here in London, thousands of people from across our city and country have come together to send a clear message: Enough is enough  it's time to give the British public the final say on Brexit, London mayor Sadiq Khan said in a Twitter statement as he joined the march. Campaigners marched from Park Lane to Parliament Square in the heart of London, followed by a rally in front of the House of Parliament.

They have found the backing of a series of anti-Brexit politicians, including former British prime minister Tony Blair, former Conservative Cabinet minister Justine Greening and former Tory attorney general Dominic Grieve, and former Tory turned Independent Group MP Anna Soubry. The protest, organised by anti-Brexit groups such as People's Vote, Britain for Europe and Open Britain, comes at the end of another hectic week in British politics when Prime Minister Theresa May secured a short delay to the 29 March Brexit deadline.

She will now try and get her own twice-defeated withdrawal agreement passed in a third vote in the House of Commons next week. However, the deal may not be tabled again unless the government is confident of winning this time. It is also preparing for a series of indicative votes in Parliament to give deeply divided cross-party MPs the chance to table some options they are willing to back on Brexit in place of her rejected divorce deal over the controversial Irish backstop clause.

Unless May's deal is passed by MPs, the UK will have to come up with an alternative plan or else face crashing out without a deal on 12 April under the EU's strictly set caveats to the delay of the Article 50 mechanism. If the deal does make it across the Commons finish line, the UK will be given until 22 May to finalise leaving the 28-member economic bloc under the withdrawal agreement.

In a letter to all MPs on Friday evening, May offered to talk to them over the coming days "as Parliament prepares to take momentous decisions". The anti-Brexit march comes as a counter pro-Brexit March to Leave, which started in the town of Sunderland in north-east England a week ago, continues its journey towards London. Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage re-joined the March to Leave in Linby, near Nottingham, on Saturday morning telling around 200 Brexit supporters that May had reduced the nation "to a state of humiliation".

Meanwhile, a record-breaking online petition on the UK Parliament's website calling for Brexit to be cancelled by revoking Article 50 has attracted more than 4.3 million signatures within days.

Many MPs have expressed the hope that it would add further weight to demands of a second referendum because the June 2016 referendum in favour of Brexit took place against a very different set of circumstances.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing intense pressure from within her own Cabinet on Sunday to step down over her handling of the Brexit process

London: British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing intense pressure from within her own Cabinet on Sunday to step down over her handling of the Brexit process.

According to numerous UK media reports, disgruntled ministers and MPs are plotting to give her an ultimatum to resign as the price for backing her controversial withdrawal agreement in a third Parliament vote next week, a move which could even see her forced out to make way for a caretaker Prime Minister in the form of her deputy David Lidington.

Downing Street has dismissed reports of any such plot, with Lidington, Britain's Minister for the Cabinet Office, stressing he is "100 per cent behind the Prime Minister". "This is not about the Prime Ministerchanging Prime Ministers wouldn't help, changing the party of government wouldn't help," said UK Chancellor Philip Hammond, calling on MPs to unite behind May.

Asked about calls for a second referendum after nearly a million people marched through the streets of London on Saturday to demand a so-called People's Vote, he agreed that another referendum over Britain's membership of the European Union (EU) should be considered. "It is a coherent proposition and deserves to be considered, along with the other proposals," the senior Cabinet minister said.

The latest leadership row within the Conservative Party comes ahead of a week where May is expected to lose further control over the Brexit process as a cross-party group of MPs press for alternatives to her divorce deal to be debated in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

May had secured a short delay to the 29 March Brexit deadline from the EU, with the requirement to come up with a credible plan for Britain's exit from the 28-member economic bloc by 12 April or crash out without any deal in place.

If May's deal is voted through by MPs in a third Commons vote by next week, the EU has agreed to extend the Brexit deadline further until 22 May to finalise the exit strategy. If not, Britain would be heading for a chaotic no-deal Brexit on 12 April.

The British PM spent the weekend at her countryside retreat at Chequers trying to finalise her next steps ahead of an expected Cabinet meeting on Monday, when ministers may threaten resignations over her Brexit strategy.

There is a growing expectation among MPs that Downing Street will try to delay holding the next meaningful vote on her twice-defeated withdrawal agreement over the controversial Irish backstop clause because of concerns that May would have to resign if she lost it for a third time.

The vote had been expected early next week if House of Commons Speaker John Bercow allows the motion to be tabled without any substantial changes.
Imran Khan has the option of taking Narendra Modi's message to heart

Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan must have been a moderately happy man on Pakistan Day on 23 March. He not only had a creditable guest of honour, a fine display of military might at the Shakarparian Parade Ground, and a delegation of aircraft from all-weather friend China. To top it all, he had a congratulatory message from New Delhi. Perhaps, just perhaps, the clouds of war had dissipated.

It is general knowledge that Pakistan Day is marked for the day that Muslims of the subcontinent are said to have voted overwhelmingly for a separate homeland through the Lahore Resolution of 1940. There are some interesting aspects to this however, that are worth observing briefly.

First, the Lahore declaration is in its entirety a political statement, and not a religious one. Second, there is no mention whatsoever in the text of the word Pakistan. Third, and arising from this, it talks of creation of independent states and not a single one. Fourth, the resolution was presented by a Bengali nationalist Fazal-ul Haq, which seems to back the longstanding belief that there was always an intention to create two separate states. And fifth, the beautifully concise text is democratic and revolutionary, particularly in its backing of the rights of minorities, both of which admirable characteristics, Pakistan has failed to comply with thereafter, though perhaps not due to the fault of the majority of its citizenry.

And finally, to mention an oddity, the text of the resolution is unusually difficult to get in its original form. This one is from a treatise by a retired Pakistani judge. Islamabad doesnt seem to want everyone to read it in full.

There is a second reality. The basis for the argument that a majority of Muslims of undivided India were in favour of a separate Pakistan is usually cited with statistics of the 1946 provincial Assembly elections where the Muslim League captured a huge vote. A statistical study. however, argued that given the limited franchise then prevailing, less than 7 percent of the 96 million Muslims then in India had the right to vote. Which means that the majority of the adult population simply could not be said to have supported the creation of Pakistan.

A good sized number also voted against it. None of this is valid today, since Pakistan stands tall as an independent country that is justly proud of itself. Except for one issue that lies at the core of not just Pakistan, but also its decision making. In 1947, the whole narrative was set by the elite among the Muslims, a circumstance that was somewhat identical in the Congress. The latter  and other political parties  have since come a long way with the noisy and boisterous masses being very much a part of running this country, sometimes to its detriment. In Pakistan, its still the elite that decides.

On Pakistan Day therefore, Imran  who is as elite as it gets  can justly argue that Indias attempt to isolate Pakistan failed dismally. Not only did Beijing choose to send a 90 member tri-service contingent to the parade, but it also sent the Chinese J-10s which thrilled the crowd with their show. A Saudi Special Forces contingent and a Turkish Janissary Band also participated. The Guest of Honour, Prime Minister Mahathir made suitable remarks about "brotherly countries", and there is talk of agreements signed for purchase by the latter of Pakistan made weaponry possibly including the JF-10 and anti-tank missiles. Pakistan, it must be said, has a far better defence industry capability than India that it can point to with pride.

All of this is very well, but the bottom line is that the whole exercise was for and by the elite. A recent research article pointed out how the Pakistan Army has continuously enriched itself and its off shoots over the years. Aligned to them  and often related by marriage or other ties  are different sections of the bureaucracy. And again aligned to them on occasions are the biggest looters of all, which are the political and religious parties. Imran doesnt quite fall neatly into any of these categories, though he was undoubtedly backed by the establishment during his election.

He has often said that the armed forces are at one with him in his decision making. So here comes the crux. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi chose to send a congratulatory letter to Imran for the occasion, he deliberately chose to send the message that Indias grouse was not against him or Pakistan, but against the terrorists and their backers who have successfully roiled relations between the two countries for decades.

Imran has the option to take that message to heart, and stop the terrorists who are bleeding Pakistan dry. Thats one way to bring the Lahore Resolution home to the people and make them proud to be Pakistani. Not to mention that life and visas would be made that much easier.
By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati as archbishop of Santiago, the highest-ranking member of the Catholic Church in Chile, who has been caught up in the country's sex abuse scandal.

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati as archbishop of Santiago, the highest-ranking member of the Catholic Church in Chile, who has been caught up in the country's sex abuse scandal.

The decision to accept Ezzati's resignation, announced in a Vatican statement on Saturday, comes at a time of sustained criticism of the Church's response to a decades-long sexual abuse crisis.

Victims of sexual abuse by clergymen say a top-level conference at the Vatican last month failed to come up with concrete measures to tackle the issue.

On March 13 an Australian court sentenced former Vatican treasurer Cardinal George Pell to six years in prison for sexually abusing two choir boys in Melbourne - the most senior Catholic to be convicted for child sex offences. Pell is appealing.

Ezzati, 77, faces multiple charges of cover up, including some relating to the case of Oscar Munoz, a former top aide to the Santiago Archbishopric, who is facing trial on charges he abused and raped at least five children. He denies wrongdoing.

"I leave with my head held high," Ezzati told reporters in Santiago. "Every accusation has been responded to, and we will have to wait for what justice says: it is not enough for one to be accused of a cover-up; it has to be proven".

In October, Ezzati exercised his right to remain silent after being summoned for questioning by a state prosecutor over the allegations.

His resignation brought to eight the number of bishops who have stepped down since all of the countrys 34 bishops offered their resignations en masse during an emergency meeting with the pope last May over allegations of a cover-up.

The May meeting was held after Vatican investigators produced a 2,300-page report alleging that senior Church officials in Chile had failed to act on abuse claims and in some cases hid them.

Despite his resignation as archbishop of the Chilean capital, Ezzati will keep his title of cardinal. Until he turns 80, he also will be eligible to enter a conclave to elect a new pope after Francis' death or resignation.

The Vatican said the pope had named Bishop Celestino Aos Braco of the Chilean city of Copiapo, as "apostolic administrator" to run the Santiago archdiocese until a new archbishop is named.

Apart from the eight active bishops who have resigned in Chile, last year Francis defrocked two other Chilean bishops who had been accused of molesting children.

The pope also defrocked Father Fernando Karadima, an 88-year-old Chilean priest who was accused of sexually abusing teenage boys over many years and who was at the centre of the Chilean abuse scandal.

Chilean civil justice has investigated about 120 allegations of sexual abuse or cover-ups involving 167 Church officials or workers..

On Monday, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, the French Roman Catholic archbishop of Lyon, who a French court convicted of failing to report sexual abuse charges, offered his resignation to the pope, but Francis turned it down.

Church authorities in Poland last week issued a study showing that almost 400 children had been sexually abused by clergy between 1990 and 2018.

(Additional reporting by Marion Giraldo Marroquin in Santiago, Editing by Crispian Balmer and Louise Heavens)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The pope's action on Ezzati contrasted with his rejection last Monday of a resignation offered by French cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who was handed a six-month suspended jail sentence earlier this month for failing to report sex abuse by a priest under his authority

Vatican City: Pope Francis on Saturday accepted the resignation of Chilean cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, who agreed to step down after being accused of covering up sexual abuse by priests, the Vatican said. Ezzati, archbishop of Santiago, is the seventh senior Chilean church official to resign over a scandal which the pope insists must be remedied. To date, 77-year-old Ezzati, the Catholic Church's highest official in Chile, has insisted he is innocent. He has promised to cooperate with the investigation into his activities: if the authorities first clear him.

"It's not enough for to say, 'You're an accomplice.' It needs to be proven. And I am going forward with my head held high," Ezzati said in a declaration to Chilean media. He presented his resignation to the pope in May 2018 along with all of Chile's 34 bishops. So far the pontiff has accepted seven of the resignations. The latest move in the Vatican's attempts to deal with abuse within the higher echelons of the Roman Catholic Church comes just days after disgraced Australian Cardinal George Pell received a jail term for sexually abusing two choirboys.

Pell, formerly the Vatican number three, has maintained his innocence and says he plans to appeal his conviction on five offences including oral rape and molestation of the boys in 1996-1997.

The decision over Ezzati was made after Chile's court of appeal on Friday confirmed he would face trial for not calling out sexual abuse by three priests, one of whom was his close aide. Ezzati was made a bishop by Pope John Paul II in 1996. He served as the bishop for Santiago from 2010, and four years later Pope Francis made him a cardinal.

Born in Italy, Ezzati took Chilean nationality in 2006. But in January a parliamentary commission voted to strip him of that citizenship, a measure that still needs to be ratified by both legislative chambers. In announcing Ezzati's resignation, the Vatican on Saturday said the pope named bishop Celestino Aos Braco, who was serving in Copiapo, a city 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of the capital, as the apostolic administrator for the Santiago archdiocese. Aos Braco was one among the bishops who offered to resign in May.

Chile is one of the countries most caught up in the widening scandal of sexual wrongdoing by priests. The pope, who is Argentine, was accused of not taking appropriate steps after a controversial visit he made in January 2018. Afterwards, Francis listened more acutely to Chilean victims and made an apology before summoning all of Chile's bishops to the Vatican in May 2018 for discussions that led to their resignation letters. One of the victims, Jaime Concha, told AFP that the ousting of Ezzati "is late... and not enough."

The pope's action on Ezzati contrasted with his rejection last Monday of a resignation offered by French cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who was handed a six-month suspended jail sentence earlier this month for failing to report sex abuse by a priest under his authority. Barbarin has appealed. Vatican-watchers noted that the matter related to Barbarin occurred under his predecessors and it was likely that the pope did not want to create a precedent even as he seeks to clean up historic scandals.

The pontiff stated last month that "no abuse must ever be covered up, as has happened in the past" as the Church struggles to restore trust in its efforts to fight child abuse, given the slew of cases.

In October, Francis did, reluctantly, accept the resignation of US cardinal and Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl, accused of helping to cover up hundreds of child abuse cases in his former diocese. And in February the pontiff defrocked former cardinal American Theodore McCarrick, 88, who a Vatican court found guilty of sexually abusing a teenager 50 years ago.

McCarrick became the first cardinal ever to be defrocked for sex abuse.
While long-term investing is a proven winner, it can pay to be aware of short-term catalysts looming over the horizon. Buying before they come to fruition can enable investors to earn even higher returns over the long term.

One stock with a couple of anticipated catalysts in the next month is natural gas pipeline giant Kinder Morgan ( KMI 0.94% ). They could propel the company's stock -- which has already rallied sharply this year -- even higher as they come to fruition. That's why investors might want to consider buying before this month ends.

Catalyst no. 1: Another 25% dividend increase

Kinder Morgan unveiled its 2019 financial expectations last December. Its plans include returning more cash to shareholders through another dividend increase. The company noted at the time that it expects to raise its dividend from $0.80 to $1.00 per share during the first quarter of this year. That implies a 25% boost from its current rate and 100% above what it paid in 2017.

With shares recently selling for around $20 apiece, Kinder Morgan's current dividend yields 4%. However, that will increase to an even more attractive 5% assuming the company follows through with its planned raise.

The company usually declares its dividend when it reports quarterly results. Historically, it has announced its first-quarter numbers and dividend in mid-April, with it typically making that payment 30 days later to investors who own shares as of the end of the month. While that means investors have time to purchase shares to collect that dividend, it's always possible that the stock could rally after earnings, especially if they come in stronger than expected or the company unveils other good news. That's why they might want to buy before March ends to lock in a 5% yield.

Catalyst no. 2: A decision on Kinder Morgan Canada

Another thing Kinder Morgan will likely announce by mid-April is its plans for Canadian subsidiary Kinder Morgan Canada ( KML ). The company initially formed that entity in 2017 to help finance the expansion of the Trans Mountain Pipeline. However, it sold that controversial system to the government of Canada last year, which left the future of Kinder Morgan Canada up in the air.

Chief strategy officer Dax Sanders commented on the ongoing review during the fourth-quarter call by stating that: "While we don't have anything to announce as the review is ongoing, we are hopeful that we will have the review completed and a direction to announce by the next earnings call." Among the options it's mulling over are merging Kinder Morgan Canada with another Canadian midstream company, selling it outright, taking it private, or maintaining the status quo.

Clarity on what the future holds for this company could boost Kinder Morgan's stock, especially if it sells Kinder Morgan Canada to a third party at a premium valuation, since that could give it the cash to buy back more of its dirt cheap shares.

Check out the latest earnings call transcript for Kinder Morgan.

Another potential catalyst to keep an eye on

In addition to the near certainty that Kinder Morgan boosts its dividend 25% and unveils its plans for Kinder Morgan Canada, the company could also sanction a few more expansion projects next month. The company currently has several projects in development that it could formally add to the backlog.

In January, for example, Kinder Morgan signed an exclusive agreement with Tallgrass Energy ( TGE ) for expanded crude oil transportation services out of the Rockies. Kinder Morgan would contribute two underutilized gas pipelines to the joint venture, which would move more oil through Tallgrass Energy's Pony Express Pipeline. If this partnership is successful in securing enough customer contracts to move forward, it could also enable Kinder Morgan to expand its Double H pipeline out of North Dakota.

In addition to those projects, Kinder Morgan launched a joint effort with Phillips 66 Partners ( PSXP 0.42% ) to secure additional shippers for two pipelines in Texas. If successful, Kinder Morgan would expand its crude and condensate system by 100,000 barrels per day, with that oil coming from customers on Phillips 66 Partners' Gray Oak Pipeline that's currently under construction.

If Kinder Morgan can officially secure these or other projects, it would improve the long-term visibility of the company's growth prospects. That would give investors more confidence in the company's ability to continue expanding cash flow and the dividend beyond its current outlook, which stretches through next year.

April could be a big month

Kinder Morgan's stock is already up sharply this year thanks to improving oil market conditions. The company could add more fuel to that rally when it reports its first-quarter results next month since it should also give investors another big raise and unveil its plans for Kinder Morgan Canada. Add in the possibility of the company greenlighting a boatload of new projects, and investors might want to buy before March ends just in case shares bounce even higher next month.
There's a pretty good chance that 10 years from now Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQ:ACB) and/or Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) will be worth a lot more, thanks to growth in the global cannabis market. Aurora is already a top marijuana stock. Alcoholic beverage maker Constellation is sort of a marijuana stock as well by virtue of its 35% stake in Canopy Growth (NASDAQ:CGC).

Both Aurora and Constellation turned in dismal performances in 2018. So far this year, though, Aurora is on fire with its share price nearly doubling, while Constellation has eked out a small gain. Which of these two stocks is the better buy now?

The case for Aurora Cannabis

The investing thesis for Aurora Cannabis boils down to three assumptions. First, the legal cannabis market is going to be enormous. Second, the primary keys to success in the cannabis market are capacity, distribution channels, and low operating costs. And third, Aurora is positioned to be an industry leader in all three of those keys to success.

As for the first assumption, over 30 countries have legalized medical cannabis. In the U.S., 33 states have legalized medical cannabis, with 10 also allowing the legal use of recreational pot. Although marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, signs are increasingly pointing toward the possibility that those laws could change in the not-too-distant future. Most of the international and U.S. state marijuana markets are only in their early stages, so there's a lot of room for growth.

The second assumption appears to be reasonable as well. No company can sell a product it doesn't have, so production capacity is critical. Even if a company has ample supply, it must have outlets to which it can sell the products.

That leaves the third assumption, which also seems pretty sound. Aurora stated in its second-quarter update in February that it expects to have an annual production run rate of more than 150,000 kilograms by the end of this month. The company, however, projects to boost its capacity to over 500,000 kilograms per year by the middle of 2020. And that amount doesn't include the additional impact from Aurora's acquisition of ICC Labs. In a nutshell, Aurora is clearly on track to be the No. 1 marijuana producer in the world in terms of annual production capacity.

What about distribution channels? At home in Canada, Aurora's distribution network covers 98% of the country's population. In the last quarter, Aurora captured roughly 20% of the Canadian recreational marijuana market. Aurora is also a leader in international medical marijuana markets with a leading market share in Germany and operations in 22 other countries.

Aurora's operating cost structure isn't leading the industry right now. In its fiscal Q2, the company's cost per gram produced actually increased from the previous quarter. However, Aurora expects to drive its costs down by leveraging its massive scale and by using automation and improved genetic strains of cannabis.

Check out the latest earnings call transcript for Canopy Growth and other companies we cover.

The case for Constellation Brands

With Constellation Brands, investors must look at the company's opportunities in its core business of marketing alcoholic beverages as well as in global cannabis markets. While many beer makers have struggled in the U.S., Constellation's premium beers have succeeded, beating the overall U.S. beer market in sales growth by a double-digit percentage margin.

Constellation should enjoy even more growth from its launches of new products. In particular, momentum is likely to pick up for the company's Corona Premier, Corona Familiar, and Modelo Especial beers. Constellation President and CEO Bill Newlands said in the company's Q3 conference call in January that the launch this year of Corona Refresca flavored beers could "be over 80% incremental to our core franchise and will bring new customers into our business."

However, the company's wine business has been a weak spot. Sales growth has been relatively sluggish. Constellation could have a remedy, though. It's reportedly in discussions to sell several of its low-end wine brands to E. & J. Gallo Winery. This could enable the company to focus more heavily on its faster-growing premium wine brands.

Constellation placed a big bet on cannabis, investing $4 billion in Canopy Growth in 2018. To understand Constellation's opportunities in the market, therefore, requires an understanding of Canopy's industry position. Most of what we saw with Aurora also applies to Canopy Growth.

Canopy is on track to have an annual production capacity of more than 500,000 kilograms. It claims the most extensive supply agreements in the Canadian recreational marijuana market and captured around 30% of the market in the last quarter. Constellation and Canopy are gearing up to launch a variety of cannabis-infused beverages as soon as Canada's market for the products opens for business.

Internationally, Canopy runs neck and neck with Aurora in most areas of the world, including Europe. But Canopy appears to have an advantage over Aurora in the U.S. hemp market. In January, Canopy announced that it had secured a hemp production license in New York state, where it plans to build a large-scale hemp production facility.

It wouldn't be surprising for Constellation to exercise its options to gain a controlling interest in Canopy in the future. If the global cannabis market grows as much as some think, Canopy Growth could even become a bigger part of Constellation's business than beer down the road.

Better buy

Both of these stocks could be big long-term winners. But I think Constellation Brands is the better pick.

Constellation is definitely in better financial shape than Aurora. The company is quite profitable, whereas Aurora isn't consistently profitable yet. Constellation pays a dividend with a not-too-shabby yield of 1.73%. It's also valued at a level that doesn't cause the heart palpitations some investors might get looking at Aurora.

Overall, I think Constellation Brands is a great way to profit from the cannabis boom and the rising demand for premium beers and other alcoholic beverages in the U.S.
The short history of DowDuPont (NYSE:DD) is entering its final chapter, as the company formed by the $130 billion merger between Dow Chemical and DuPont in September 2017 nears a three-way split.

Check out the latest earnings call transcript for DowDuPont.

The company's brief run has been unkind to investors. Shares of DowDuPont are down more than 17% since the merger's close, trailing the S&P 500 by more than 31 points.

Will the next few years be any better for investors? Here's a peek at the outlook for DowDuPont to determine whether the company is a good buy at these levels.

Growth through division

Dow and DuPont came together under activist pressure in 2017 with a plan to combine the best of both portfolios and then create three streamlined entities. The combined materials sciences division, which will retake the Dow name, is expected to begin trading in early April.

Corteva Agriscience, the combination's farm-focused unit, should follow on or around June 1, leaving a new stand-alone DuPont that will contain the companies' specialty products unit.

The ag business is about half crop protection products and half seeds, with a presence in more than 130 countries. Specialty products comprise advanced electronics and imaging materials, construction fibers, nutritional supplements, and advanced polymers for a range of industries, while materials sciences is a manufacturer of ethylene, propylene, and silicones used in consumer, packaging, and industrial segments.

DowDuPont CEO Ed Breen has a reputation as a master of corporate engineering, rescuing conglomerate Tyco International from near-collapse after Tyco chairman and CEO Dennis Kozlowski was accused of fraud. Breen eventually split Tyco into three businesses, and later further broke the unit he stayed with into three independent companies.

Some investors, notably activist Dan Loeb of Third Point LLC, have pushed for more of a breakup, with Loeb saying investors would be best served if DowDuPont splits into six pieces. Shareholders should expect additional portfolio trimming, and perhaps even mergers or large asset sales, in the years to come, with soon-to-be DuPont's nutrition business perhaps the most likely candidate to be sold or spun out on its own.

Breaking down the businesses

With the spin drawing near, the company has provided details about what the three units will look like as independents. The new Dow will easily be the largest of the three siblings, with about $40 billion in annual sales contained within a focused product portfolio that the company believes will be able to target 13% return on invested capital throughout the business cycle.

The materials business was the heart of the old Dow, and the company after going through the wash of a merger with DuPont and a spinout has shed about $14 billion in annual sales not related to its core business. It also picked up about $5 billion worth of legacy DuPont silicones and polymers that fit well into its new portfolio.

Current holders will receive one share of the new Dow for every three DowDuPont shares held at the record date. Dow intends to declare a cash dividend to be paid in June.

The Corteva agriculture business, meanwhile, weighed heavily on the combined company in 2018, with unit revenue falling 25% year over year in the first quarter of 2018 and then DowDuPont in October taking a $4.6 billion impairment charge related to the business. Bad weather and a poor planting season were responsible for the pressure early in the year, and declines in corn and soybean planting acreage exacerbated by the ongoing U.S. trade war with China and a corresponding fall in demand for soybeans continue to hang over the unit.

In the current year, Corteva expects total sales to be flat compared to 2018, with expected growth to be offset by about $350 million in currency pressure. The company's forecast calls for crop inventories to settle in 2019, allowing for commodity price stabilization during the year and setting the stage for growth beginning in 2020.

Corteva has targeted long-term sales growth of 3% to 5% annually, including annual organic sales growth of 1% to 2% above the market in seeds and 1.5% to 2.5% above the market for crop protection. It intends to pay a dividend equal to between 25% and 35% of net income and repurchase shares opportunistically.

Finally, the post-split DuPont should have the highest operating margins of the three businesses, with projected strength in probiotics, semiconductors, aerospace, health, and industrial applications. It also by some estimates could pay upwards of 40% of net income annually in dividends.

Is DowDuPont a buy?

Right now, immediately before the split, is the worst time to buy DowDuPont. The company despite its share price decline is not cheap relative to other large chemicals manufacturers, so there is little chance to step in and get shares of the future Dow or DuPont at a discount due to the weakness in the Corteva business.

There's a case for buying all three of the eventual companies to come out of this split, but the attractiveness of the individual units will vary based on an investor's tolerance for risk and desire for growth or income. I personally intend to take a long look at the post-split DuPont, in part because of its outstanding margins and exposure to range of attractive end markets but also because that is where Breen will remain as executive chairman. By waiting, an investor will have a chance to pick and choose which business best fits individual preferences.

The merger of Dow and DuPont brought together an attractive set of assets that have now been streamlined and positioned to outperform. Just hold off for a bit before committing your capital to any part of the combination.
Tiffany ( TIF ) recently closed out a solid fiscal year highlighted by a record $4.4 billion of global sales. But the luxury jewelry giant had some less exciting news for investors, too, including reduced profitability and slowing revenue growth.

These negative trends impacted Tiffany's results for the recently announced holiday-season quarter. They also played into a conservative outlook by the management team for fiscal 2019.

Let's take a closer look.

What happened

The headline numbers didn't convey many surprises, especially given Tiffany's post-holiday sales update in mid-January. Consistent with that announcement, the retailer saw weakening demand in many of its key markets. Sales were flat in the U.S. region, dipped slightly in China and Europe, and jumped higher in Japan.

Put together, these results left sales down 1% in the period, leading to just a 6% boost for full-year 2018. Yes, that marked a record result. But it was lower than the high-single-digit range that management had predicted months ago. Sales also landed toward the low end of the range that CEO Alessandro Bogliolo and his team issued in January. Executives said their results were again held back by softening spending on the part of foreign tourists, particularly Chinese travelers.

Tiffany's mid-quarter update didn't include profitability details, and news was mostly positive on this score. Gross profit margin inched higher -- as it has for over a year -- thanks to falling input costs, higher sales, and a shift away from wholesale diamond sales. Those gains were more than offset by higher selling expenses, though. The company's profit fell to $268 million, or 17.8% of sales from $311 million, or 20.3% of sales, a year earlier. Tiffany's full-year earnings landed at $4.75 per share, right within management's updated guidance range.

Check out the latest earnings call transcript for Tiffany.

Management's comments

Executives sought to put the weakening results into big-picture context for investors. "Our team is proud of its accomplishments in 2018," Bogliolo said in a press release, "that contributed to net sales surpassing levels not seen since 2014." Still, he admitted that the company saw "softer trends in the second half of the year," that he said were driven by "uncertainties and market volatilities."

Stepping further back, Bogliolo said the retailer remains "in the early stages of a journey to achieve long-term sales, margin and earnings growth for this legendary brand."

The updated outlook

Management's 2019 forecast reflects that unsteady march toward stronger results. Executives are predicting that sales will rise at a low-single-digit rate this year to mark a slowdown from last year's 6% increase. Earnings growth should be stronger, but investors will have to wait until the second half of the year for confirmation of that optimistic outlook. That's because Tiffany is expecting lower profits over the next two quarters as it continues to deal with the sluggish demand trends that pushed sales into slightly negative territory over the holiday season.

Management's outlook implies that these pressures will lesson as the fiscal year progresses, leading to better earnings and a second straight year of record sales. But investors will have to take executives at their word here since results over the last few quarters have pointed toward slower, not faster, sales growth.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 24)  A Senatorial candidate vowed to go after the alleged ill-gotten amassed by the family of former President Ferdinand Marcos if elected to public office.

During the CNN Philippines Senatorial Forum on Sunday, Labor Party Philippines bet Melchor Chavez said he will pursue an investigation on the issue, if given the chance to serve in the upper chamber.

Yung mga pera na inilagak ni Marcos sa iba't ibang bansa, hanggang ngayon, hindi pa rin natin alam kung saan. Hindi man nagnanakaw si Marcos doon sa lupa natin, pero doon sa gold, nawawala na, nasaan na? Chavez said during the forum.

[Translation: The wealth and money placed by Marcos into different countries, until now, we still dont know where they are. Marcos may not have stolen in our lands, but our gold (resources), they are still missing, where are they?]

Sa tingin ko, ito nalang ang dapat nating imbestigahan kung tayo ay manalo sa Senado, meron tayong aspeto na imbestigahan natin itong mga ito, he added.

[Translation: In my opinion, this is what we need to investigate if we win a seat in the Senate, we have an aspect to look into this.]

The Marcoses and their cronies have an estimated $10 billion or around 530 billion supposedly stolen from government coffers. The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) -- which is tasked to collect the stolen wealth -- has only recovered 171.359 billion from 1986 to 2017.

The government has 255 pending civil, criminal and administrative cases before the Supreme Court, Sandiganbayan, Court of Appeals and other lower courts as part of efforts to recover ill-gotten wealth.

President Rodrigo Duterte in a speech in February raised doubts on the familys ill-gotten wealth, saying the allegations were still unsubstantiated.
Could Venezuela Crisis End Hezbollah's Presence There?

By Sirwan Kajjo, Mehdi Jedinia March 22, 2019

As the political and humanitarian tumult in Venezuela unfolds, analysts say illicit activities by Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in the South American country could be disrupted.

Since the beginning of the crisis in January, many observers have been wondering about the future of the Lebanese militant group and its activities in Venezuela, particularly with growing U.S. sanctions on the Venezuelan government.

For years, the government of embattled President Nicolas Maduro has maintained a close relationship with Hezbollah and its benefactor, Iran, which has empowered Hezbollah financially, analysts say.

U.S. officials have been warning about Hezbollah's growing presence in Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America.

"People don't recognize that Hezbollah has active cells  the Iranians are impacting the people of Venezuela and throughout South America," U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a recent interview with Fox Business Network.

"We have an obligation to take down that risk for America," he said.

U.S. sanctions

Hezbollah, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, has been increasingly targeted by U.S. sanctions in the past few months.

In October 2018, the Department of Justice named Hezbollah as one of the top five transnational criminal organizations in Latin America.

In an attempt to step up efforts to prevent Hezbollah's illicit activities in the Western Hemisphere, the U.S. hosted a conference last December. It was attended by senior officials of 13 U.S. partners across the Americas who discussed threats posed by transnational terrorist groups.

Analysts charge that recent U.S. sanctions against several key Hezbollah figures could ultimately harm the group's financial operations in Venezuela and elsewhere in Latin America.

Hezbollah's financiers "have integrated themselves into [the Venezuelan] government in a variety of different ways," said Phillip Smyth, a research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "Everyone is kind of getting a cut from the apparatus.

"So, it wouldn't shock me if there are reverberations down to Hezbollah's finance network. The way [the U.S.] Treasury has done this is they've targeted certain individuals that are kind of key brokers of the Hezbollah money, so it will have its effect," he told VOA.

Analysts say the relationship between the Venezuelan government and Hezbollah is largely centered on a strategic partnership between Venezuela and Iran, which provides Hezbollah members, facilitators, financiers and fixers with the ability to covertly move people, money and material.

Iran's "proxy Lebanese Hezbollah maintains facilitation networks throughout the region that cache weapons and raise funds, often via drug trafficking and money laundering," U.S. Southern Command's Adm. Craig Faller told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee during a hearing last month.

The convergence of Hezbollah's networks in Venezuela has created an environment that enables the Shiite group to move large amounts of money in illicit revenue, using gold refineries in the Middle East and financial hubs in Central and South America and the Caribbean, according to the Center for a Secure Free Society, a Washington-based research organization that has extensively researched Hezbollah's activities in Latin America.

Vast network

Some experts believe that Hezbollah has built a vast network that is made up of mostly underground Syrian-Venezuelans who facilitate movement for the group's members in the Middle East and Latin America.

"Hezbollah is already helping Maduro through an established transregional network between Lebanon, Syria and Venezuela," said Joseph Humire, executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society.

"The main reason for Hezbollah supporting the Maduro regime is the same reason it protects the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria  to protect the logistical network Iran needs to export its revolution," he told VOA.

Since the outbreak of Syria's civil war in 2011, Iran and Hezbollah have been playing a major role defending the Syrian president against the rebel forces.

"In the case of Syria, it's for the land bridge to Lebanon, and in the case of Venezuela, it's the air bridge to Latin America," Humire added.

Smyth of the Washington Institute echoed a similar analysis of the entangling relationship between Venezuela and Hezbollah.

"If you look at certain representatives that Venezuela has put in the Middle East as diplomatic staff, a lot of them are full-fledged Hezbollah supporters and are linked in a variety of ways to Hezbollah networks," Smith said.

The role of Hugo Chavez

Hezbollah's activities in Venezuela flourished during the term of former President Hugo Chavez, who died in 2013 and was succeeded by Maduro.

"The presence of Hezbollah expanded during the time of [former Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad, who opened the doors for Iranian and Lebanese businesses [and] facilitated trade for them in Venezuela through a cemented friendship he developed with Chavez," a Tehran-based journalist, who worked in Latin America for years, told VOA. He requested anonymity for security reasons.

He added that many multimillion-dollar business ventures were established in those years.

"Lebanese businessmen work with Hezbollah because it's a lucrative business, but some of them do it because their business interests in Lebanon could be under threat if they refuse to cooperate with Hezbollah in Venezuela," the Iranian journalist added.

With growing pressures on Maduro's government, some analysts say it is unlikely that he would sever ties with Hezbollah.

"Ideologically speaking, [Maduro] has thrown his lot in with groups like Hezbollah and with the Iranians. They have the same motivations, which are anti-American," analyst Smyth said.

"These are the allies [Venezuelan government officials] have. I seriously doubt that they would cut [these allies off] as a signal to the U.S. ... I think they're in this for good," he added.

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Afghan MP assassinated in Kandahar

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Kabul, March 23, IRNA -- Commander of Kandahar police announced that a member of Afghanistan House of the People was assassinated by unknown assailants.

Tadin Khan announced on Saturday that Obeidollah Barkazi was killed in an attack on Kandahar district 6.

He added that the attackers escaped from the accident site.

Police is trying to find attackers, he noted, adding that no individual or groups have yet claimed the responsibility for the attack.

Barkazi was against Kabul-Washington security treaty and also presence of foreign military forces and has always underlined their withdrawal.

Earlier, an explosion in a ceremony in Helmand, southern Afghanistan claimed the lives of 3 and injured 31 more.

A member of provincial council, border guard police commander and head of economy department of the province were among those who were injured.

Some sources claimed that Helmand governor was also injured.

Taliban has claimed the responsibility of the attack.

Taliban is seriously against Nowruz celebrations and had earlier banned holding these ceremonies.

Meanwhile earlier, three consecutive explosions shook Karte Sakhi, Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, on Thursday morning.

Karte Sakhi is the place for commemorating Nowruz festival in Afghanistan.

The first explosion took place in Nowruz commutation place, the second one on a road leading to the same place from Kabul University, and, ten minutes later, the third one in Kabul University.

The incident claimed the lives of 6 people and injured 23 more.

9376**2050

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Blast kills 3, injures 31 in southern Afghanistan

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Kabul, March 23, IRNA -- Deputy Spokesman of Afghanistan Interior Ministry announced that the explosion in a ceremony in Helmand, southern Afghanistan has claimed the lives of 3 and injured 31 more.

Some governmental officials were also killed in the incident, Afghan sources quoted Nosrat Rahimi as saying.

A member of provincial council, border guard police commander and head of economy department of the province were among those who were injured.

Some sources claimed that Helmand governor was also injured.

Taliban has claimed the responsibility of the attack.

Taliban is seriously against Nowruz celebrations and had earlier banned holding these ceremonies.

Three consecutive explosions shook Karte Sakhi, Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, on Thursday morning.

Karte Sakhi is the place for commemorating Nowruz festival in Afghanistan.

The first explosion took place in Nowruz commutation place, the second one on a road leading to the same place from Kabul University, and, ten minutes later, the third one in Kabul University.

The incident has claimed the lives of 6 people and injured 23 more.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi denounced the recent terrorist attacks.

Qasemi sympathized with Afghan government, people and the bereaved families of the victims of the inhuman act which resulted in killing and injuring defenseless and innocent people.

He said Nowruz and its culture is a unifying factor among different groups and ethnicities in the region, adding that Daesh has targeted this unifying factor in the region.

9376**2050

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Al-Shabab attacks Somali government building in Mogadishu

Iran Press TV

Sat Mar 23, 2019 02:15PM [Updated: Sat Mar 23, 2019 03:06PM ]

At least 15 people, including an assistant minister, have been killed after al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab militants stormed a government building and detonated a suicide car bomb in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

The huge explosion shook the heart of Mogadishu on Saturday and a large plume of smoke rose above the scene of the blast, a building that houses Somalia's ministries of labor and works.

Police said the gunfight between security forces and militants had ended.

Earlier, Major Mohamed Hussein, a police officer told Reuters that two al-Shabab militants, who entered the building after the initial car bombing, had been killed in a firefight and that much of the building had been secured.

"We believe there are other militants hiding themselves," Hussein said.

Meanwhile, Abdikadir Abdirahman, director of Amin Ambulance Service, also told Reuters that some people were still trapped inside the building.

Al-Shabab said one of its members had rammed the ministry building with a car bomb, allowing others to enter.

"We are inside the building and (the) fighting goes on. We shall give details later," Abdiasis Abu Musab, al-Shabab's military operation spokesman told Reuters.

It was the latest bombing claimed by al-Shabab, which has long sought to topple Somalia's Western-backed government.

The militant outfit was forced out of Mogadishu with the help of African Union forces in 2011. However, it still wields control in large parts of the countryside, and every now and then carries out deadly attacks against government, military, and civilian targets in the capital as well as regional towns.

The terrorist group has fought successive Somali governments as well as neighboring governments in Kenya and Uganda.

Earlier this month, a deadly car bomb explosion claimed by the group hit near the presidential palace in the capital.

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Daesh territorial defeat 'historic milestone': British PM

Iran Press TV

Sat Mar 23, 2019 02:13PM

British Prime Minister Theresa May has said the fall of the last bastion held by Daesh terrorists in Syria marked "a historic milestone" as she paid tribute to British forces and coalition partners.

"The liberation of the last Daesh-held territory is a historic milestone that would not have been possible without their commitment, professionalism and courage," she said in a statement, using an Arabic acronym for the terrorist group.

"I commend the tireless work and extraordinary courage of the British forces and our global coalition partners that have fought Daesh in Syria and Iraq," she added.

Britain is part of the US-led coalition claimed to be fighting Daesh terrorists in Syria. London has deployed about 1,400 troops to the region to support local forces, while Britain's Royal Air Force has conducted more than 1,600 air strikes in Iraq and Syria.

"We must not lose sight of the threat Daesh poses and the government remains committed to eradicating their poisonous ideology," May said.

"We will continue to do what is necessary to protect the British people and our allies."

American and British leaders have tried to take credit of major victories achieved in Syria by Syrian forces.

On Friday, US President Donald Trump said Daesh no longer held any territory in Syria. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters aboard Air Force One that the territorial Daesh-held had been "100 percent eliminated" from the Middle Eastern country.

In December, the US president said he would withdraw all 2,000 troops from Syria. However, the Wall Street Journal said recently that Washington planned to keep about 1,000 troops in Syria.

US Joint Chiefs Chairman General Joseph Dunford later rejected the report as "factually incorrect," stressing that there was no change to the planned 400 troops which the White House wanted to keep in Syria.

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Saudi jets raid Yemeni capital after drone shot down

Iran Press TV

Sat Mar 23, 2019 07:37AM

Saudi warplanes have carried out a string of airstrikes against targets in the Yemeni capital city of Sana'a as relentless aggression against the impoverished Arab country continues.

According to local reports, Saudi jets targeted al-Dailami airbase among other points on Saturday, without providing any information about the extent of damage.

The raids came after Yemen's army, backed by fighters from popular committees, shot down a Saudi drone as it was on a reconnaissance mission in the north of the capital earlier in the day.

"Our air defenses shot down an MQ-1 Predator Drone in Hamdan district north of the capital Sana'a," said Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement, Saba news agency reported.

The MQ-1 is an American remotely-piloted aircraft built by General Atomics that was used primarily by the US air force and Central Intelligence Agency.

Some 20 spy drones have been shot down since the Saudi war on the impoverished country began more than three years ago.

Yemeni forces usually respond to Saudi airstrikes with rocket attacks on the gathering of troops and mercenaries in the kingdom's southwestern Jizan region.

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 former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi back to power and crushing Ansarullah.

A number of Western countries, the United States and Britain in particular, supply the Saudi-led forces with advanced weapons and military equipment as well as logistical and intelligence assistance.

On Monday, a British government minister admitted that his country is servicing fighter jets supplied to Saudi Arabia which are being used in an indiscriminate bombardment of civilians in Yemen.

Armed Forces Minister Mark Lancaster told the parliament that Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) was providing "engineering support" and "generic training" to Saudi Arabian military in its war on its southern neighbor.

UK-supplied weapons and aircraft have repeatedly been used to bomb schools, hospitals and other types of civilian infrastructure in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country.

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US Special Counsel Robert Mueller submits report on Trump-Russia probe

Iran Press TV

Sat Mar 23, 2019 05:28AM

US Special Counsel Robert Mueller has closed his two-year investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and any potential wrongdoing by US President Donald Trump.

Mueller submitted his confidential report to US Attorney General William Barr on Friday, triggering calls from lawmakers in Congress for the document's quick release.

Barr, the top US law enforcement officer who heads the Justice Department, will have to decide how much of the report to disclose.

Throughout his investigation, Mueller has brought charges against 34 people and three companies.

It is not clear yet whether the report contains allegations of wrongdoing by Trump or exonerates him.

Mueller, a former FBI director, had been examining since May 2017 whether Trump's election campaign colluded with Moscow to try to influence the 2016 presidential election and whether the Republican president later unlawfully tried to obstruct his investigation.

US intelligence agencies claim Moscow meddled in the election with a campaign of email hacking and online propaganda aimed at sowing discord in the United States, hurting Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and helping Trump.

Both Trump and Russia have repeatedly denied the accusations. Trump has sought to discredit the investigation, calling it a "witch hunt" and accusing Mueller of conflicts of interest.

Lawmakers from both major political parties called for prompt release of the report.

Barr told lawmakers in a letter he may be able to provide the "principal conclusions" of Mueller's findings to Congress as soon as this weekend and added that he was "committed to as much transparency as possible."

A small number of Democrats in the US House of Representatives have pushed for Congress to impeach Trump and remove him from office but the party's leadership including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has urged caution.

No president has every been removed from office via impeachment. The last president to be impeached by the House, Democrat Bill Clinton, was acquitted by the Senate in 1999 on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, meaning he was not removed from office.

The House Judiciary Committee in 1974 voted to recommend impeachment of then President Richard Nixon, accusing him of planning to obstruct an investigation in the Watergate scandal. Before the full House could vote on impeachment, Nixon became the only US president ever to resign.

Trump's legal woes go beyond the Mueller report

However, the closure of Mueller's investigation does not mark the end of legal worries for Trump and people close to him. Other ongoing investigations and litigation are focusing on issues including his businesses and financial dealings, charitable foundation, personal conduct and inaugural committee.

These investigations, pursued by prosecutors at the federal and state level, could result in charges beyond those brought in Mueller's investigation or civil liability.

Trump potentially could face charges once he is out of office because the US Justice Department has a decades-old policy that a sitting president cannot face criminal charges.

But some legal experts have argued the department is wrong and that a president is not immune from prosecution.

Trump may face significant peril from federal prosecutors in New York over his business practices and financial dealings, according to legal experts.

His former personal lawyer Michael Cohen already has implicated Trump in campaign finance law violations to which he pleaded guilty in August 2018 as part of the Southern District investigation.

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U.S. Exchanges Views On Afghanistan With Russia, China, EU

By RFE/RL March 23, 2019

WASHINGTON -- U.S. officials have "exchanged views" with representatives of Russia and China on the current status of the Afghan peace process, the State Department says.

In a statement on March 22, the department said representatives met in Washington on March 21-22 and "discussed common efforts to bring peace, prosperity, and security to Afghanistan."

"They underscored their respect for the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Afghanistan, as well as Afghanistan's right to make its own political, security, and economic decisions," the statement added.

It said the three countries agreed to hold further discussions on the issue and that the exact dates and sites for such talks were to be decided.

The statement did not list which officials were involved in the discussions, although on March 20, the State Department announced that the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, would meet with officials from Russia and China on the matter.

That statement said Zamir Kabulov, Russia's presidential envoy to Afghanistan; Deng Xijun, his Chinese counterpart; and Roland Kobia, the EU's special envoy, would be part of the briefing.

Russian state-run TASS news agency said Kabulov attended the talks in Washington.

And, simultaneously but separately, the State Department said Khalilzad had held consultations with Kobia, although it was not clear if the talks were together with the other diplomats or bilateral.

'Peace Must Be Key Objective'

Khalilzad and Kobia "agreed that bringing an end to Afghanistan's war and achieving peace must be the key objective, and that violence should cease," the statement said.

"Both sides underscored their respect for the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Afghanistan," it said, adding that the United States and EU "encourage all countries to support the current peace process, inclusive intra-Afghan talks, and lasting development and reconstruction in Afghanistan."

The government in Kabul is fighting against Taliban extremists, who are attempting to reclaim control of the Afghan government.

The Taliban controlled the Afghan government before being driven from power in 2001 by a U.S.-led invasion after it refused to end support for Al-Qaeda terrorists following the September 11 terror attacks in the United States.

Taliban leaders, who took control in 1996, imposed a harsh form of Islamic law that denied education and work to women and girls as they cracked down on other social activities.

They were accused by international groups of human rights violations, causing concerns among more-moderate Afghans about their participation in any future government.

The U.S. military has some 12,000 troops in Afghanistan, mostly serving in training and advisory roles, but President Donald Trump has indicated a desire to reduce U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts and withdraw American forces.

Khalilzad has held several rounds of peace talks with the Taliban in Qatar, but the Western-backed government in Kabul has been absent from the negotiations, with the militant group insisting it will not engage with a Western "puppet."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/us-russia-china-eu-afghan -peace-talks-khalilzad-taliban/29837629.html

Copyright (c) 2019. 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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India, Pakistan Were on Edge of War After Kashmir Dogfight  Report

Sputnik News

16:27 23.03.2019

The report comes as Pakistani President Arif Alvi underscored during a military parade in Islamabad on Saturday that "India should accept facts and not make the mistake to view it in a pre-partition light"  something that Alvi warned may be "very dangerous for the region's stability".

Relations between India and Islamabad almost reached breaking point on 27 February, when the two immediate neighbours were on the edge of war, the Hindustan Times cited several unnamed sources in New Delhi, Islamabad and Washington as saying on Saturday.

The sources claimed that the threat emerged after Pakistan downed an Indian Air Force (IAF) plane and captured its pilot following the 27 February dogfight between Pakistani and Indian warplanes over Kashmir, which also reportedly led to the downing of a Pakistani F-16 fighter jet.

The air battle came just a day after a raid by Indian fighters on what New Delhi said was a terrorist camp in Pakistan. Islamabad denied the existence of any such camp in the area and claimed that the Indian bombs had exploded on an empty hillside.

"Don't know about nuclear button or nuclear flashpoint. But [Indian] PM Modi gave green signal to all measures if any harm came to the IAF officer at the hands of Pakistan Army []. India was prepared to go down the missile road on 27 February", a member of the Indian Cabinet Committee of Security (CCS) told the Hindustan Times.

Other sources argued that "the entire Indian military machine was on red alert" at the time, citing Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi as saying that the night of 27 February was "critical".

According to him, any Indian attack would be perceived as an "act of war" if there were casualties or military facilities were targeted.

"I have no doubt there will be another attack. I am telling the country that we must remain prepared, we must do everything to defend ourselves and we must be united. There could be an aerial attack or a ground attack, and they will try to derive political mileage [] But I hope they will show restraint, as the international community desires", Qureshi stressed.

The remarks followed Reuters reporting last week that India and Pakistan came close to firing missiles at each other and that it was the intervention by other countries, including the US, that stopped this.

Pakistani President Arif Alvi has meanwhile accused India of an "irresponsible" attitude amid bilateral tensions, praising Islamabad's immediate and effective response to what he described as "Indian aggression".

"After the Pulwama attack, India blamed Pakistan without any evidence. India did not adhere to international laws and violated Pakistan's airspace", Alvi said, referring to the February 14 attack on an Indian security convoy in the Indian-controlled area of Kashmir by Pakistan-based Islamist militants, which claimed the lives of at least 40 security personnel.

 Sputnik

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China Finances Sri Lanka's Expressway with Largest Ever Single Loan of $989 Mln

Sputnik News

15:09 23.03.2019(updated 16:17 23.03.2019)

Sri Lanka has accepted another huge loan of $989 million from China's EXIM Bank for the Central Expressway project which will connect the country's more rural areas with its economically developed provinces.

New Delhi (Sputnik): Sri Lanka's Finance Ministry on Friday signed a concessional loan agreement valued at $989 million with China's EXIM Bank for the Central Expressway project.

The loan will cover 85 per cent of the cost for section one of the infrastructure project.

"The total estimated cost of the project is $1.164 billion. Furthermore, this loan is the single largest loan approved by the EXIM Bank for Sri Lanka," a Sri Lankan Finance Ministry statement reads.

The Central Expressway runs through the central part of Sri Lanka, connecting the western, northwestern, central and the Sabaragamuwa provinces with other densely populated and economically developed provinces.

"Under the Belt and Road Initiative, we have accomplished a series of inclusive and sustainable win-win results. In view of the two countries' traditional friendship and at the strong request of the Sri Lankan government, the loan agreement for the first phase of the Central Expressway was signed after prudent assessment," Ambassador Cheng said.

Sri Lanka has remained undeterred by reports of growing Chinese loan burden despite the poor performance of the Hambantota port under the Belt and Road Initiative. Currently, more than 90 per cent of Sri Lankan government revenue is going towards servicing debt.

Meanwhile, apprehensive of growing Chinese investments in Sri Lanka, India has expedited its investments in its southern neighbour in terms of developing energy infrastructure and housing projects in the northern part of the country.

China, for its part, has said that it has no qualms involving other partners like India to help boost Sri Lanka's development.

"China adopts an open attitude toward the mutually beneficial cooperation between Sri Lanka and India as well as other parties. China stands ready to work with India and other relevant sides to help boost Sri Lanka's development. In foreign relations, China is more broad-minded than you might have imagined," Geng Shuang, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told reporters on Thursday.

 Sputnik

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Cyclone Idai: UNICEF warns of 'race against time' to protect children, prevent spread of disease in flood-ravaged Mozambique

23 March 2019 - A week after the flooded Mozambican port of Beira was hit by Cyclone Idai, "aid agencies are barely beginning to see the scale of the damage", the head of UNICEF said on Saturday, as she called for more international support to help quickly get relief to more than a million people across the country and prevent the possible spread of waterborne diseases like cholera.

"We are in a race against time to help and protect children in the disaster-ravaged areas of Mozambique," UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said at the end of a visit to Beira, one of the areas worst affected by Cyclone Idai.

According to initial Government estimates, 1.8 million people across the country, including 900,000 children, have been affected by the cyclone which slammed into the country last week. However, many areas are still not accessible and UNICEF and partners on the ground know that the final numbers will be much higher.

"The situation will get worse before it gets better," Ms. Fore said, noting that as aid agencies get a clearer picture of the devastation, some have reported that entire villages have been submerged, buildings have been flattened, and schools and health care centers have been destroyed in the days since the storm struck.

"While the search and rescue operations continue, it is critical that we take all necessary measures to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases which can turn this disaster into a major catastrophe," she warned.

UNICEF said it is concerned that flooding, combined with overcrowded conditions in shelters, poor hygiene, stagnant water and infected water sources, is putting them at risk of diseases like cholera, malaria and diarrhoea.

Initial assessments in Beira indicate that more than 2,600 classrooms have been destroyed and 39 health centers impacted. At least 11,000 houses have been totally destroyed. "This will have serious consequences on children's education, access to health services, and mental wellbeing," the UNICEF chief said.

In Beira, Ms. Fore visited a school which had turned into a shelter for displaced families. Classrooms were converted into overcrowded bedrooms with limited access to water and sanitation.

Safety of women and children a major concern

"We are particularly concerned about the safety and well-being of women and children who are still waiting to be rescued or are crammed in temporary shelters and at risk of violence and abuse," she said, also raising concerns about children who were orphaned by the cyclone "or who became separated from their parents in the chaos that followed."

Ms. Fore also visited a UNICEF warehouse which was severely damaged in the cyclone, causing the loss of essential supplies that had been pre-positioned before the cyclone made landfall.

Cyclone Idai started as a tropical depression in Malawi, where it forced families from their homes into churches, schools and public buildings. Nearly half a million children are affected. After Mozambique, the cyclone moved to Zimbabwe where it caused significant damage to schools and water systems.

"For children affected by Cyclone Idai, the road to recovery will be long," Ms. Fore said. "They will need to regain access to health, education, water and sanitation. And they will need to heal from the deep trauma they have just experienced."

She said that UNICEF teams are on the ground in the three countries helping children learn, play and heal, "but our resources are overstretched. We will initially need $30 million in the first stage of the response and look to our public and private donors to be generous to the thousands of children and families who need support."

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Al-Shabab Attack in Somali Capital Kills at Least 10

By Mohamed Olad Hassan March 23, 2019

Militants stormed Somali government offices in Mogadishu on Saturday after setting off a car bomb, and officials said at least 10 people were killed, including a deputy minister. Authorities of Mogadishu's only free ambulance service said they had collected nearly 10 other wounded civilians.

According to eyewitnesses, the attack began when the suicide bomber blew up his explosives-laden car at the front gate of the compound that houses the Labor and Public Works and Reconstruction ministries.

"A car bomb hit the main gate of one of the compounds and then extremists armed with assault rifles stormed to the buildings, engaging a fierce battle with security forces," Ahmed Mohamed Iman, director general of Somalia's Ministry of Public Works and Reconstruction, who was present during the attack, told VOA Somalia.

Iman said some attackers rampaged through the buildings in an attempt to take some workers hostage, but were shot by the security forces.

"A huge blast occurred that forced my car to almost fly. Then I saw at least four gunmen in government uniforms storming into the building. I also saw the dead bodies of four civilians and several others wounded, lying along the road," said Somali lawmaker Mohamud Abdullahi Ahmed.

He said the Somali security forces evacuated dozens of government staff members from the buildings immediately after the assault, but during the attack the militants shot Saqar Ibrahim Abdalla, the deputy labor minister, who also was a lawmaker in the Somali Parliament.

Al-Shabab militants said in a statement that the group was behind the attacks and had killed number of government officials.

Separately, at least three other, smaller blasts were reported Saturday in different areas in Mogadishu.

Two of those explosions targeted a checkpoint manned by Somali security forces and patroling soldiers, killing four soldiers and wounding 10 civilians.

The latest assault and the blasts came days after dozens of Somali National Army soldiers staged a mutiny and left their front-line bases in the Lower and Middle Shabelle regions, complaining for months about the lack of salaries.

Analysis during the last six months shows the number of militants coming to and hiding in Mogadishu has increased because they are fleeing from U.S. drone attacks and special operations that target them in their bases outside Mogadishu.

Harun Maruf contributed to this report.

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Spinoff Trump Cases Will Continue Long After Mueller Report

By Giulia Petroni March 23, 2019

The nearly 2-year-old probe into potential ties between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russian election interference has come to an end.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Friday submitted his confidential report to U.S. Attorney General William Barr.

But will Mueller's report be the end of the story?

Hardly. Prosecutors from outside the special counsel's office, including the U.S. attorney's offices in New York, Virginia and Washington, D.C., are all pursuing cases that have spun off from the Mueller investigation.

State investigators in New York and Maryland have ongoing Trump-related investigations. And in Congress, the House and Senate intelligence and other committees are actively looking into Trump's finances, potential Russia-Trump ties and other matters.

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Besides Mueller, here's a rundown of who's investigating what:

Violations of federal campaign finance law. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York is investigating Trump's role in silencing former Playboy model Karen McDougal and adult-film actress Stormy Daniels with hush payments in August and October 2016, respectively. The two women have previously claimed to have had affairs with President Trump.

Inauguration funding. Trump's inaugural committee received a subpoena in February 2019 from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. Federal prosecutors are looking into where the money raised and spent by the Trump inauguration committee, $107 million, came from and where it went.

Paul Manafort's activity. In March, a Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, on 16 counts of mortgage fraud and conspiracy. The state-level indictment came after Manafort was sentenced in federal court in Alexandria and Washington, D.C., to more than seven years in prison for a host of crimes.

Trump Super PAC Funding. Federal prosecutors are examining whether foreigners illegally funneled donations to the pro-Trump super PAC "Rebuilding America Now." U.S. law prohibits foreign nationals from giving to federal campaigns, PACs and inaugural funds.

Russian Accountant Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia indicted Khusyaynova in October 2018 for conspiracy to defraud the United States by interfering in the 2016 presidential elections and 2018 midterm elections.

Turkish Influence. Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is cooperating with federal prosecutors in eastern Virginia in a criminal case against two former associates. The two worked on behalf of a Turkish entrepreneur who financed a campaign to discredit Fethullah Gulen, the cleric accused by the Turkish government of helping instigate a failed coup. Flynn pleaded guilty Dec. 1, 2017, to lying to the FBI about his contact with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, and his plea agreement includes some details of the Turkish case.

Trump Foundation Tax Case. The New York Attorney General's Office is collaborating with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to look into possible criminal charges against the now-defunct Donald J. Trump Foundation for alleged tax evasion and aggressive pursuit of tax breaks. Trump agreed to dissolve the charity in December 2018.

Emoluments Lawsuit. The state of Maryland and the District of Columbia have sued President Trump for allegedly violating two anti-corruption provisions of the U.S. Constitution. The plaintiffs say Trump has violated the so-called Domestic Emoluments Clause, which prohibits the president from accepting gifts from states and the Foreign Emoluments Clause, which bans him from accepting payments from foreign governments.

Roger Stone and WikiLeaks. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and Mueller's office are jointly prosecuting the case against Trump's longtime adviser and confidante, Roger Stone. Stone was charged with witness tampering, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to Congress about Democrats' emails stolen by Russian hackers and published by the website WikiLeaks before 2016 election. Stone, now under a judge's gag order, has pleaded not guilty.

Masood Farivar contributed to this report.

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Lawmakers Call for Release of Full Mueller Report

By VOA News March 23, 2019

U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's completion of a long-awaited report on his investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 presidential election and any potential wrongdoing by President Donald Trump is drawing calls from lawmakers for the report's release.

Mueller submitted the report Friday to the Justice Department, headed by Attorney General William Barr, who is now reviewing it before deciding if any of it will become public.

The results of the report are still confidential, but the Justice Department confirmed that it includes no new indictments.

Barr, the top U.S. law enforcement official, said he could update Congress as early as this weekend about the findings in the report, which concludes Mueller's nearly two-year-long investigation.

It is not clear how much of the report will be provided to Congress or how much, if any of it, could become public.

Top congressional Democrats said it is "imperative" to make the full report public. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement, "The American people have a right to the truth.''

They also said that Barr must not give Trump any "sneak preview'' of the findings or evidence.

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White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the White House has not received or been briefed on the report and says "we look forward to the process taking its course.'' She said the next steps are "up to Attorney General Barr."

The Associated Press reported that Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani has requested an early look at the findings before they are made public, but has not received any assurances that the Trump legal team will get a preview.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he hopes that Attorney General Barr will "provide as much information as possible'' on the findings, "with as much openness and transparency as possible.''

Georgia Representative Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, said he expects the Justice Department to release the report to the committee without delay "and to the maximum extent permitted by law."

Another top Republican, Senator Chuck Grassley, said the findings must be made public to end the "speculation and innuendo'' that hangs over Trump's administration.

It is not known if Mueller found criminal conduct by Trump or any of his staff, beyond the charges already brought against several aides. So far, Mueller has brought charges against 34 people, including Russian intelligence officers, and three Russian companies. Charges have also been filed against Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.

The Democratic heads of six House committees wrote a joint letter to Barr Friday, saying, "If the Special Counsel has reason to believe that the president has engaged in criminal or other serious misconduct, then the Justice Department has an obligation not to conceal such information. The president must be subject to accountability."

Democratic presidential hopefuls also joined the chorus of calls for the report's release.

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a frequent critic of the president, requested that Barr disclose the report "to the American public. Now."

Kamala Harris, a senator from California, not only demanded "total transparency," but said Barr "must publicly testify under oath about the investigation's findings."

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said Americans "have a right to know its findings."

Senator Bernie Sanders, who represents Vermont, circulated a petition calling on Barr to release the full report, saying, "The president claims that's what he wants."

Pressure for the report's release is also being applied by special interest groups.

The American Civil Liberties Union urged the Justice Department to "release the report swiftly" because Americans "have the right to know if President Trump and his associates coordinated with Russia to interfere in our elections, the full extent of Russian efforts to affect our elections, and any attempts to interfere with" the investigation.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights declared, "No one, not even the president, is above the law." It added the report's release "is about restoring trust in our elections and shining light on potential crimes and corruption that threatens our democracy."

The liberal advocacy group, People for the American Way, said, "To the greatest extent possible, Americans deserve to see the results of an investigation into the attempts to subvert our democracy. Our elected representatives have a constitutional obligation to review every single aspect of the Mueller investigation and to make sure that the public knows exactly what role the president and his allies played in Russia's campaign to meddle in our elections."

In a letter to Congress, Barr said that the Justice Department did not block Mueller from taking any action during the investigation. Barr is required to report to Congress any instance in which the Justice Department overruled a requested action by Mueller.

Trump's lawyers, Giuliani and Jay Sekulow, issued joint statements Friday saying they are "pleased'' that Mueller has delivered his report on the Russia investigation.

A spokesman for Mueller says he will be concluding his services as special counsel in the coming days and says a small number of staff will remain to assist in closing the office's operations.

The central questions that Mueller, a former FBI director, have been examining are whether Trump or his aides colluded with the Russians to undermine Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016 and whether the president attempted to obstruct the subsequent investigation to protect himself and his political advisers and aides.

As of Saturday morning, Trump had been notably silent on the report's release. During the course of the probe, he repeatedly denied any collusion and obstruction, and called the investigation a "witch hunt." Russia has denied interfering in the election.

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Sino-European joint space mission to send satellites in 2023

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 13:51, March 23, 2019

BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced that a Sino-European joint space mission known as SMILE was launched Friday.

The Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer is a comprehensive collaboration between the CAS and the European Space Agency (ESA). Satellites will be launched by 2023 to study the impact of solar activity on the Earth's environment.

Wang Chi, director of National Space Science Center under the CAS, said the SMILE program would create images of interaction between solar winds and the Earth's magnetosphere with innovative X-ray and ultraviolet technologies.

It will achieve an overall imaging of large-scale structure of the Earth's space, which plays an important role in predicting and mitigating weather disasters, according to Wang.

SMILE has gathered the world's leading resources in space weather. The UK Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency will also participate.

China and Europe are responsible for the construction and operation of the application system. The data obtained by satellites in orbit will be available to all participating countries.

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Chinese, Italian presidents agree to promote greater development of ties

Global Times

Source:Xinhua Published: 2019/3/22 23:10:11

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, held talks here Friday, and agreed to jointly push for greater development of the China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era.

The two heads of state agreed to guide the direction of bilateral ties from a strategic height and long-term perspective.

During their talks, Xi noted that both as countries with an ancient civilization, China and Italy have profound historical relations.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership, and the two countries will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations next year, Xi said.

He recalled that for nearly half a century, China and Italy have respected, trusted and helped each other, enhanced high-level exchanges and strategic mutual trust, facilitated communication, cooperation and convergence of interests, and deepened mutual understanding and traditional friendship.

As the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, China is willing to carry forward the spirit of cooperation with the Italian side, strengthen strategic communication, encourage the international community to seek common ground while reserving differences and promote development through cooperation, so as to contribute new wisdom and strength to building a better world, Xi said.

The Chinese president arrived in Rome Thursday for a state visit to Italy.

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Italy's plan to join the Belt and Road Initiative a pragmatic path to boosting its economy

People's Daily Online

(Global Times) 13:23, March 23, 2019

Italy is set to be the first G7 country to join the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by signing on to the initiative with China, a development that is expected to meet the respective needs of both sides.

From the perspective of China, promoting the BRI, or expanding China's global economic cooperation, will allow it to build more ports that can handle large-scale container ships. Except for Piraeus Port in Greece, which has been acquired by China's Cosco, there aren't many large-scale container hub ports in Europe. In fact, China's investment interest in European ports is mainly because ports that can accommodate large container ships carrying Chinese goods can not only reduce the costs of trade transactions and logistics but can also help increase Chinese exports to European countries. Against the backdrop of the US-China trade war, the move could be seen as China's attempt to seek diverse export markets. In this sense, Italy's plan of joining the BRI is essential for China.

From the Italian side, the country's economy hasn't fundamentally recovered from the 2008 financial crisis and the European debt crisis. Despite some recovery, its overall economic performance has not been very satisfying. Under these circumstances, Italy's new populist government is now committed to improving people's livelihood and boosting economic growth, which is why foreign investment is urgently welcome. Meanwhile, port cooperation with Chinese investors will lead to increased freight volume, bringing substantial economic benefits to its economy.

Moreover, with multiple ports, Italy has great geographical advantages in the Mediterranean region. Therefore, port cooperation between Italy and China under the BRI framework is of strategic significance to both sides as it will allow Chinese goods to enter the European market through the ports of Venice and Ravenna, representing a considerable reduction in logistics costs between China and Europe.

The big picture that has to be mentioned is that the EU is currently pushing for a harder line on China across the board. A few days ago, the European Commission published a joint communication on the EU-China strategic outlook. In addition to setting out 10 concrete actions for EU leaders to discuss at their next meeting, the communication set a defensive tone toward China by calling it "an economic competitor in pursuit of technological leadership and a systemic rival promoting alternative models of governance." Apparently, the EU is likely to put pressure on China on some trade issues. Nevertheless, Italy seems to have different values and standards from other EU countries as its new populist government sings a different tune on many issues. In fact, the EU is experiencing an internal differentiation due to the rise of populism in some countries, such as Italy.

However, Italy's open expression of its willingness to join the BRI indicates that its populist leaders are quite pragmatic and are really concerned about bringing benefits to their people. They are more motivated to boost the country's economy because their power comes from the people.

As for how the BRI could boost Italy's exports to China, it is certain that progress will be made in this respect. China has already begun preparations for the second China International Import Expo, a platform representing its welcoming attitude toward high-quality foreign products. Meanwhile, there are already many China-Europe express freight trains running between Chinese and European cities. It is also believed that port construction under the BRI will inject new vitality into the country's export development.

Finally, Italy's plan of joining the BRI could be a major example for some pragmatic countries to abandon their ideological thinking. There is no doubt that the move by Italy is bound to add momentum to its economy. If the cooperation could yield some substantial gains in the short term, the BRI will become really attractive to other EU countries - not just those in Central and Eastern Europe, but also Western European countries with interest in the BRI. Of course, the choice to join the BRI is still up to each country. Some countries are more cautious, while others may be more flexible or pragmatic. But since Italy, as a major EU country, is willing to take the first step, it won't be the last one.

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China's New Silk Road May Hurt Italian Workers, Analysts Say

By Jamie Dettmer March 23, 2019

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte signed up his country Saturday to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), an ambitious trillion-dollar transcontinental trade and infrastructure project. The memorandum signing in Rome was the centerpiece of Chinese President Xi Jinping's three-stop visit to Europe and it will make Italy the first G-7 nation to participate in China's so-called New Silk Road.

Italy's endorsement of the BRI, which spans Eurasia as well as the Middle East and parts of Africa, has prompted the disquiet not only of the United States, but also of European Union leaders, who have voiced concern about Beijing's growing political clout in Europe and its use of commerce as a tool of statecraft. The U.S. has been critical of the trillion-dollar project and warned about the risks of "debt-trap diplomacy." Members of the EU are worried the plan could add to fissures in an already strained coalition.

They aren't alone in worrying about what the longer-term consequences on Italy might be if signing up for BRI moves from symbolism into full participation. Matteo Salvini, head of the populist Lega party, which represents one-half of Italy's coalition government, is indicating his opposition by staying away from the signing ceremony and won't be present at a scheduled gala dinner afterward.

Salvini, an ideological bedfellow of Donald Trump and friend of the U.S. president's former adviser, Steve Bannon, frets the BRI risks turning Italy into a Chinese colony and will saddle it with more debt. He also has publicly indicated his security concerns about allowing the Chinese control of critical infrastructure, including major ports.

"Before allowing someone to invest in the ports of Trieste or Genoa, I would think about it not once but a hundred times," Salvini said earlier this month.

Some Italian officials in the economy and finance ministry have also offered behind-the-scenes warnings. They argue that while engaging with Beijing in this manner may help boost Italian exports to China, a prospect highlighted by Xi in marketing BRI, it will likely result in a bigger boost for cheap Chinese exports to Italy.

Such a scenario, they caution, could have a ruinous impact on domestic Italian producers and workers.

"If trade does take off significantly, it might be a matter of short-term gain, but long-term pain," one official told VOA.

Despite the warnings, as well as U.S. and EU disapproval of Italy's BRI endorsement, Conte and Luigi Di Maio, leader of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, which makes up half of the country's populist coalition government, says Chinese investment could kick-start Italy's sputtering economy.

Several of the EU's smaller cash-strapped nations have also signed up in the past two years to China's BRI, hoping that by doing so their economies will be boosted.

Italy slipped into recession last year and its debt levels are among the highest in Europe. The populist coalition government came to power in June 2018 with high-spending plans, promising expensive pension reforms and a living wage for all Italians.

Italian ministers favoring BRI accuse other large EU countries, including France, which is critical of the BRI, of hypocrisy, saying they conduct multi-million-dollar deals anyway with China albeit outside the framework of the New Silk Road initiative.

"The way we see it, it is an opportunity for our companies to take the opportunity of China's growing importance in the world," Italy's under secretary of state for trade and investment, Michele Geraci, told foreign reporters.

But some Italian officials worry that view might be short-sighted.

They say while the BRI may offer Italy new funding sources  the country is still lagging well behind the foreign investment levels it enjoyed before the 2008 global financial crash  it could trigger a significant wave of Chinese imports, which would have long-term detrimental consequences for Italian industry, employment and politics.

The officials in the country's finance ministry, who declined to be identified for this article, have been scrutinizing recent academic studies on the impact of Chinese imports on local labor markets. A series of studies, including those by economists David Autor, David Dorn and Gordon Hanson, suggests that Western countries and regions exposed to rising Chinese import competition see a major jump in unemployment, lower labor force participation and lower wages. Unskilled and manual workers are especially adversely affected.

The impacts "are most visible in the local labor markets in which the industries exposed to foreign competition are concentrated. Adjustment in local labor markets is remarkably slow, with wages and labor force participation rates remaining depressed and unemployment rates remaining elevated for at least a full decade after the China trade shock commences. Exposed workers experience greater job churning and reduced lifetime income," noted Autor, Dorn and Hanson in a paper for the National Bureau of Economic Research, an influential U.S.-based nonprofit.

Other recent academic studies have noted that the regions of the U.S. and Europe most impacted by trade with China are the ones which in recent elections and plebiscites have backed populist candidates and nationalist causes like Brexit, support fueled by anger at the effects of globalization. Brexit is Britain's decision to leave the European Union.

"Ironically, looking to Beijing for an economic boost and to alleviate economic deprivation could well hurt the workers and businesses who backed populists in the first place and who the populists want to help  Salvini gets that, but the rest of the coalition doesn't," observed an Italian official.

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Solutions to radical behaviour around the world requires a clear and bias-free analysis.

Of concern to many are the actions of leaders like Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, who arbitrarily and against the expressed will of her citizens let a million immigrants into Germany.

It is also well documented that our own prime ministers, past and present, have opened the floodgates to millions of immigrants from Third World countries.

Our politicians tell us we must help the poor people in those countries, but taking them away from friends and family, and transplanting them into radically different cultural and geophysical environments will not bring resolution to any of the problems they are experiencing in those countries, regardless of what their social, economic, or political issues may be.

If we are serious about helping them, then we must take our money and talents into those countries, and build infrastructure like schools, hospitals, and better homes, to help them become more self-sufficient.

Canadian corporations are already doing a commendable job in many Third World countries, educating and employing local people in the development of their natural resources.

Politicians have no mandate to arbitrarily decide how many people are allowed into any country.

Such decisions promote serious dissension, in some cases even bordering on hatred. Banning guns will not mute that frustration.

Arrogant and insensitive politicians are easily perceived to be the main villains in these horrible developments.

Andy Thomsen, Kelowna
It's Official: Kazakh Capital Now Called Nur-Sultan

By RFE/RL's Kazakh Service March 23, 2019

Interim Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev has signed a decree to rename the capital Astana after former President Nursultan Nazarbaev, who stepped down abruptly earlier in the week.

The signed decree to rename the city Nur-Sultan was published on the official Kazakh presidential website on March 23.

Toqaev, who will serve as interim president until a presidential election in April 2020, proposed the name change on March 20, one day after the 78-year-old Nazarbaev announced on March 19 he was stepping down as president after ruling the energy-rich Central Asian country for nearly 30 years.

He still, however, remains chairman for life of the Kazakh Security Council and chairman of the ruling Nur-Otan party.

Parliament quickly approved the change, but members of the public oppose it.

Dozens were detained in the Kazakh capital during rallies against the change on March 21 and 22.

Rights activists and critics say Nazarbaev persistently suppressed dissent, prolonged his time in office through undemocratic votes or referendums, and used the levers of power to neutralize potential opponents.

The city is no stranger to changing its name.

It was known as Akmolinsk up till 1961 when it was renamed Tselinograd (meaning "Virgin Lands City" in Russian). It became Aqmola ("White Grave" in Kazakh) after Kazakhstan became independent following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

After the capital was moved from Almaty in southeastern Kazakhstan to Aqmola in 1997, the city was once again renamed, this time to Astana ("Capital" in Kazakh).

Now it will be known as Nur-Sultan.

With reporting by Interfax

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/it-s-officia l-kazakh-capital-now-called- nur-sultan/29837884.html

Copyright (c) 2019. 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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Alleged Footage of Brand New Russian Gunship Operating in Syria Surfaces Online

Sputnik News

19:59 23.03.2019(updated 21:30 23.03.2019)

Earlier, it was reported that a prototype Mi-28NM was deployed to the Hmeymim Airbase in Syria's Latakia province to conduct field testing in high temperature and desert conditions, and to test out a new mobile radar complex.

A video purportedly showing the Mi-28NM gunship, operating in tandem with a Russian military Mi-24 in Syria's Hama province, has surfaced online.

In the footage, which has yet to be verified or commented on by the Russian Defence Ministry, the new helicopter, distinguishable by its unique ball-shaped radar installed above its main rotor, is seen making repeated passes over a local settlement thought to contain Nusra*-affiliated militants.

A second unverified video shows the pair of helicopters striking a ground target.

Russian media citing military sources reported on the deployment of the Mi-28NM attack helicopter to Syria for field testing last week.

Dubbed the 'Super Night Hunter', the Mi-28NM was created after taking previously accumulated Syrian combat experience into account, and features improved engines, control and anti-air defence systems, fuselage, navigation and communications equipment, and specially created helmets with an augmented reality function to project map, intelligence and helicopter status information into the pilot and copilot's field of vision. The anti-armour helicopter is said to be capable of coordinating with autonomous drones, and can be armed with a new guided missile with a range of over 25 km.

The first test batch of the new all-weather, day-night two-seater helicopters is expected to start delivery to the Defence Ministry next month. Developed in the early 1980s, the Mi-28 design has seen multiple upgrades during its service life, and is operated by the Russian, Algerian and Iraqi militaries.

*Aka al-Qaeda in Syria, outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

 Sputnik

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Russian Su-27 Escorted US B-52 Bombers Over Baltic Sea Twice Over 24 Hours: MoD

Sputnik News

13:20 23.03.2019(updated 13:55 23.03.2019)

The US Air Force has conducted 7 flights over the Baltic Sea within 10 days, the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The Russian Air Defence Forces Su-27 fighter jets twice in 24 hours escorted strategic B-52H bombers of the US Air Force, flying over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea, according to MoD.

"Two American planes were detected by Russian airspace controls at a considerable distance from the Russian state border and escorted," the statement said.

According to the ministry, the crews of the Su-27 fighters did not allow foreign strategic bombers to approach the Russian state border.

US and NATO planes have been regularly flying close to Russia's borders since 2014, according to the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to NATO report.

Earlier, the Defence Blog reported that a bomber task force of B-52 Stratofortresses, airmen, and support equipment from the 2nd Bomb Wing based out of Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, arrived at RAF Fairford to participate in operations in Europe.

According to CNN, the deployment of the military unit is a warning to Russia in the wake of the 5th anniversary of Crimea's reunification that occurred on 18 March 2014.

Last month, the Russian military said that a Russian Su-27 fighter jet had been scrambled to identify and intercept a Swedish spy plane near the border.

 Sputnik

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Golan, Syrian land occupied by Israel: PGCC

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, March 23, IRNA -- The Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) expressed regret on Friday at US President Donald Trump's call to recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, territory captured from Syria in a 1967 war.

Trump's statement "will not change the reality that () the Arab Golan Heights is Syrian land occupied by Israel by military force in 1967," said Abdul Latif Al-Zayani, the PGCC Secretary-General, Muscat-based Oman Observer reported.

"The statements by the American president undermine the chances of achieving a just and comprehensive peace," he said.

The PGCC's comments came as the Syrian government vowed on Friday to recover the territory from Zionist regime. Other countries, both Syria's allies and enemies, in the region and the West also condemned the US president's comments  which marked the latest major US policy shift on Israel.

Damascus said the Golan would remain "Syrian, Arab" and Trump had shown contempt for international law.

The Arab League said Trump had paved "the way for official American recognition" of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan and called this "completely beyond international law".

Egypt said it still considers the Golan as occupied Syrian territory.

Russia said Trump's comments risked seriously destabilizing the region, and it voiced hope the statement was just declaratory.

The European Union said its position on the status of the Golan Heights was unchanged. "The European Union, in line with international law, does not recognize Israel's sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967."

9191**2050

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Syrian state media says militants shell village with gas, injuring 21

Iran Press TV

Sat Mar 23, 2019 10:10PM

Syrian state media on Saturday cited a hospital in government-held Hama as saying 21 people suffered choking symptoms from poison gas after militants shelled a village.

A war monitor, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, also said 21 people were hospitalized with choking symptoms, but it was not known if this was from chemicals or smoke and dust raised by the shelling.

State news agency SANA cited the head of the Saqilbia National Hospital as saying the attack took place in the village of al-Rasif in Hama's northern countryside and it published images and footage of people lying in hospital beds wearing oxygen masks.

In the past several years, militants have launched dozens of chemical attacks in Syria. Damascus has called on the United Nations to take action in this regard.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a global watchdog, has documented systematic use of nerve agent sarin and chlorine during Syria's eight-year conflict.

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Syrian Kurds announce death of Daesh 'caliphate'

Iran Press TV

Sat Mar 23, 2019 11:30AM

Syrian Kurds have pronounced the death of Daesh's nearly five-year-old "caliphate" after flushing out diehard terrorists from their very last bastion in eastern Syria.

The victory on Saturday came in Baghouz, the remote riverside village where Takfiri militants of a variety of nationalities made a desperate, dramatic last stand.

"Syrian Democratic Forces declare total elimination of so-called caliphate and 100 percent territorial defeat of ISIS," spokesman Mustefa Bali said in a statement, using another acronym for Daesh.

The recapture of the territory now removes the last hurdle to its return to the Syrian government fold even though the US military presence remains yet another sticking point.

The US professes support for Syrian Kurds, including Syrian Democratic Forces, but many observers see it in the context of Washington's plans to carve out a foothold in the region.

US leaders have always tried to hijack major victories achieved in Syria. On Friday, US President Donald Trump said Daesh no longer held any territory in Syria.

The United States is also a key advocate of autonomy for Syrian Kurds which Damascus has roundly rejected.

Last month, a senior adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad flatly rejected the idea of giving Syrian Kurds a measure of autonomy, saying such a move would open the door to the partition of the country.

The Kurdish-led authority that runs much of north and east Syria has presented a roadmap for a deal with Assad in recent meetings with Russia.

The Kurds want to safeguard their region inside a Syrian state when US troops pull out and hope a deal with Damascus would dissuade neighboring Turkey from attacking them.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad has expressed optimism over dialogue with Kurdish groups as he stressed that Damascus wanted to retake every inch of territory lost during eight years of war.

"Autonomy means the partition of Syria. We have no way to partition Syria," senior adviser Bouthaina Shaaban said last month.

"Syria is a country that is a melting pot for all people and all people are equal in front of Syrian law and in front of the Syrian constitution," she added, calling the Kurds "a precious and very important part of the Syrian people."

She also criticized Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his idea of carving out "a safe zone" in northeast Syria.

"Turkey has all the new ambition to occupy other people's land and I think we are facing Erdogan who has dreams of reinvigorating and recreating the Ottoman Empire," she said.

"But I don't think he will be able to do that because our people are there to defend our land."

Last month, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad called on SDF militants to return to the Syrian army, warning them against reliance on the United States.

"We say to those groups who are betting on the Americans, the Americans will not protect you. The Americans will put you in their pockets so you can be tools in the barter, and they have started with it," he said.

"Nobody will protect you except your state. If you do not prepare yourselves to defend your country, you will be nothing but slaves," Assad added.

In December, the US president said he would withdraw all 2,000 troops from Syria. However, the Wall Street Journal said recently that Washington planned to keep about 1,000 troops in Syria.

US Joint Chiefs Chairman General Joseph Dunford later rejected the report as "factually incorrect," stressing that there was no change to the planned 400 troops which the White House wanted to keep in Syria.

Trump's December announcement to withdraw all troops from Syria has infuriated the UAE crown prince, according to a recent report by Middle East Eye.

"You are leaving Syria to be under Iranian and Turkish influence and that will bring everyone back. They will act against your acts and our interests," Mohammed bin Zayed told US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The crown prince said if the US changed its mind, the United Arab Emirates would be prepared to fund the cost of keeping US troops in Syria from its own budget, the report added.

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Islamic State Driven From Last Village In Syria

By RFE/RL March 23, 2019

U.S. President Donald Trump has hailed the recapture of the last Islamic State-held territory in Syria, but said the United States would remain vigilant until the extremist group "is finally defeated wherever it operates."

"We will continue to work with our partners and allies to totally crush radical Islamic terrorists," Trump said in a statement on March 23.

U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on March 23 that they had liberated the village of Baghouz, the last area held by Islamic State (IS) in Syria, marking the end of a brutal self-styled caliphate, which the extremist group carved out in large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014.

Earlier, Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), tweeted on March 23 that the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz was "free," declaring victory over the extremists and the end of their self-declared caliphate.

SDF fighters paraded in memory of 11,000 comrades killed in years of fighting against IS. A band played the American national anthem.

The SDF has been battling to capture Baghouz at the Iraqi border for weeks.

Bali says the so-called caliphate, which once sprawled across much of Syria and neighboring Iraq, is gone, and pledged to continue the fight against remnants of the extremist group until they are completely eradicated.

'Committed To Enduring Defeat'

Western officials, including U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, said the United States and coalition partners still had much to do despite the group's territorial defeat in Syria.

"We still have work to do to make sure that radical Islamic terrorism doesn't continue to grow," Pompeo said.

U.S. Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said the "work is far from complete" and added that the United States remains committed to Islamic State group's "enduring defeat."

"We will continue our work with the Global Coalition to deny [IS] safe haven anywhere in the world," Shanahan said in a statement on March 23.

France's President Emmanuel Macron and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May welcomed the recapture of Baghouz as a major step. Both France and Britain back the SDF.

In a statement, May cautioned that the coalition must not lose sight of the threat IS still poses.

Syria's Ambassador to the UN Bashar Jaafari said on March 22 that it was the Syrian government backed by Russia and Iran that was genuinely battling IS, not the United States.

The fall of Baghouz marks the end of a nearly five-year campaign by multiple forces against the extremist group, which at one time controlled an area the size of Britain.

The Iraqi government declared victory against IS in 2017.

The group no longer controls any territory in Syria or Iraq, but continues to carry out attacks in both countries.

It also has affiliates in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/islamic-state-syria/29837684.html

Copyright (c) 2019. 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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Syria Militant Attack Leaves 21 Hospitalized With Poisoning Symptoms - Reports

Sputnik News

23:39 23.03.2019(updated 03:24 24.03.2019)

Following shelling by militants in the Syrian province of Hama, 21 people have been delivered to the Al-Suqaylabiyah hospital with gas poisoning symptoms,Syrian TV reported.

A reported 21 people were delivered to the Al-Suqaylabiyah hospital in Hama, suffering from asphyxia, thought to be caused by the use of poisonous gas by militants who fired several shells at the city, the Ikhbariya broadcaster reported, citing a head of the local hospital.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with government forces fighting numerous opposition groups as well as militant and terrorist organizations.

Syrian forces in the province of Hama reportedly regularly repel militant attacks from Idlib, one of the last strongholds of anti-government fighters in the country. At the moment, the city is a part of a demilitarized zone negotiated in last September 2018 by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

So far, there have been a number of reports on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, putting responsibility for attacks both on Syrian authorities and the Daesh terrorist group, with Syrian authorities refuting any involvement in the incident, saying that the complete elimination of the Syrian government's stockpile of chemical weapons was confirmed by the OPCW in January 2016.

 Sputnik

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Syrian Envoy Urges UN to Condemn Trump's Statement on Golan Heights

Sputnik News

04:10 23.03.2019

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - The UN Security Council should condemn US President Donald Trump's statement calling for the recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights, Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Jaafari said in a statement on Friday.

Trump said via Twitter on Thursday that the time has come for the United States to fully recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

"We call the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Security Council and the General Assembly to condemn President Trump's statement and to take all the necessary steps to ensure the implementation of the relevant resolutions in order to maintain peace, security and stability in the world," Jaafari told reporters.

Jaafari said that he expects France's Ambassador to the United Nations Francois Delattre, who is now presiding over the UN Security Council, to take "firm steps" in condemning Trump's statement.

Jaafari referred to Trump's tweet as a "flagrant violation" of existing UN resolutions and international law, adding that the government of the United States has no right to decide on the fate of the Golan Heights.

"Our Minister of Defense, a couple of days ago, said that we have the right to get back our Golan by all means, legal means, including by force," Jaafari added. "This is our territory, and we will get it back."

Meanwhile, Syrian Foreign Ministry has urged the UN Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council to establish a clear official position on the status of the Golan Heights, local media reported.

"Syria demands UN Secretary-General [Antonio Guterres] to take an unambiguous official stance confirming the stable position of international organizations in relation to the problem of the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights," the Syrian Foreign Ministry's letter to the UN secretary-general and the UN Security Council president read, as quoted by the Syrian Ikhbariya TV.

Damascus has called upon the UN Security Council to "take effective measures" that will ensure the fulfilment of the mandate to implement the resolutions stating that Israel has "to withdraw from the entire territory of the Golan Heights to the June 1967 line." "These are resolutions 242, 338, 497," the letter notes.

According to Damascus, the US administration has no right to decide the fate of the Syrian occupied territories, and the recognition of the Syrian land under the sovereignty of another state is viewed as an act of aggression against Damascus.

The Golan Heights is a strategically important land that has been mostly under Israel's control since the country seized the area after the 1967 Six-Day War. In 1981, Israel adopted a law that officially annexed the Golan Heights, but the United Nations declared the legislation as null and void and without international legal effect.

Syria has repeatedly stated the Golan Heights is an integral part of its territory, and that it will work to return it by any means necessary.

 Sputnik

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Thousands of IS Escapees in Dire Straights at Syrian Camp

By Lisa Schlein March 23, 2019

The United Nations reports thousands of people, mainly women and children, are continuing to flee to al-Hol Camp from Baghuz amid reports that U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces have seized control of Islamic State's last stronghold in eastern Syria.

According to the U.N., more than 74,000 people, 90 percent of them women and children, now are residing at the al-Hol Camp. Many are family members of IS fighters. Spokesman for the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Jens Laerke said many of an estimated 2,000 people who recently arrived were in very poor health.

"Most of the new arrivals show signs of distress and suffer from malnutrition, fatigue, medical conditions and war injuries, which is caused by months of hostilities and lack of access to food, medical assistance and basic services," Laerke said.

Aid workers report shelters for the camp residents are inadequate to protect them from the cold, windy weather. Heating is scarce. Laerke said humanitarian agencies on the ground expect an additional 15,000 people to soon arriving the already crowded camp.

"The camp has significantly exceeded its capacity and there is an urgent need for additional plots to accommodate those currently being hosted in communal spaces and big size tents and also to expand the camp for the new arrivals," Laerke said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross is running a relief operation in the camp together with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent Society. The ICRC notes that not all of the families in al-Hol are Syrian. It says a significant number of foreign nationals, also mainly women and children, have taken refuge there.

Red Cross officials say these people are in a particularly precarious situation. They say many want to go home to their countries of origin, but a number of governments do not want them back. The officials say governments have a responsibility to care for their stranded citizens regardless of the reasons why they left for Syria.

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Photo: Contributed

The Ocean Wise AquaVan will splash down at the Okanagan Science Centre in Vernon Sunday, March 31.

The award-winnng AquaVan features interactive displays of British Columbias marine life and a 200-litre mobile touch tank that allows you to get up-close with marine invertebrates.

The AquaVan team is ready to make this educational experience fun for the whole family.

The AqauVan will be at the Okanagan Science Centre from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Admission is free.

The OSC will also be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. that Sunday, with free admission for members and a suggested $2 per family donation for non-members.

Were thrilled to have the AquaVan back in Vernon, said Jim Swingle, executive director of the OSC. I remember seeing them with my son several years ago, and he absolutely loved the experience.
SEATTLE, Feb. 28, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- CFN Media Group (CFN Media), the leading agency and financial media network dedicated to the North American cannabis industry, announces publication of an article and exclusive CEO video interview covering Chemesis International Inc.'s (CSE: CSI) (OTCQB: CADMF) (FRA: CWAA) development of cannabis operations in Colombia. Chemesis owns a licensed cultivator there, growing on more than a thousand acres as well as in a 10,000 sqft greenhouse. The company is also building a GMP-certified production lab and extraction facility in Bogota with an eye toward both the Colombian domestic and the international export markets.

Chemesis International CEO Edgar Montero discusses the companys operations in Colombia and its presence in Puerto Rico, among other things, in Part II of CFN Medias exclusive interview. Please use this link to see the interview: https://www.cannabisfn.com/cfnvideo/?id=A7AAqZqu. Here is a link to Part I, where Mr. Montero focuses on the companys California production, fulfillment and distribution operations as well as its brand partnership with Jay and Silent Bob: https://www.cannabisfn.com/cfnvideo/?id=0Hy9eKzR.

Cannabis industry research firm Prohibition Partners anticipates the legal cannabis industry in Latin America will reach $12.7 billion in annual sales by 2028. Uruguay led the way in the legalization movement, making recreational cannabis legal in 2013. No other countries have made that step, but several have legalized medical programs in the years since. Still, Colombia is currently the only country whose government is aggressively promoting cannabis exports, making that country the current hot spot for cannabis development.

Please click here to follow Chemesis' corporate developments.

Colombias Advantages

In early 2018, the Colombian governments Drug Control Fund authorized the harvest of up to 40.5 tons of medical marijuana for export purposes. The agency estimates that at full capacity, the country could supply about 44% of the worlds current demand for medical marijuana products. The program is just getting off the ground, however, and the country is a long way from reaching that production level.

The combination of a government-directed focus on exports, an ideal growing climate, and very low cost of production makes Colombia a crucial focus for near-term development. The country also boasts a population of about 6 million medical marijuana patients. One interesting aspect of the countrys laws is the general prohibition on the sale of cannabis flower. Companies operating there are necessarily focused on oils and extracted products, areas of the market that offer higher margins and are generally more attractive to consumers anyway.

Please click here to follow Chemesis' corporate developments.

Chemesis Colombian Operations

Chemesis has been working closely with the Colombian government since acquiring subsidiary La Finca Interacviva-Archna Med SAS to expand its existing licensed operations in the country. La Finca is currently licensed to cultivate, produce extracted products, and distribute those products domestically. La Finca is a founding member of Colombias Association for the Promotion of Hemp Growing, and has established relationships with over 2,000 farming families throughout the country. It is partnered with Colombias largest university for research and development, and is involved in farmer education programs across the country.

La Finca currently offers cannabinoid-based cosmetic products and is expanding its product lines as the company grows. La Finca anticipates achieving export capabilities upon completion of its GMP-certified production facility in Bogota, opening up a much wider market for its derivative product lines.

Looking Ahead

Colombia recently announced a renewed focus on prosecuting the cannabis black market in the country, which has only solidified the countrys legal medical program. That program is just finding its legs, and many companies establishing operations there are kind of building from scratch in a market still in its infancy. By acquiring La Finca, a company that has been operational in Colombia since 2017 and has extensive relationships throughout the country, Chemesis has positioned itself as a strong early mover in what could prove to be an international hub of low cost, high quality, high volume production for the international cannabis market.

Investors may want to keep an eye out for Colombian developments as the company also expands its existing operations in the California and Puerto Rico markets. Chemesis focus on cannabis extracts and derived products in key markets looks promising as demand rises across the globe.

Please click here to follow Chemesis' corporate developments.

Please follow the link to see the interview and read the full article: https://www.cannabisfn.com/chemesis-in-colombia-the-place-to-be-for-south-american-cannabis-plus-exclusive-ceo-interview/

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CFN Media is a leading agency and financial media network dedicated to the cannabis industry. We help private, pre-public and public cannabis companies in the US and Canada attract capital, investors and media attention.

Our powerful digital media and distribution platform conveys a companys message and value proposition directly to accredited and retail investors and national media active in the North American cannabis markets.

Since 2013, CFN Media has enabled the worlds preeminent cannabis companies to thrive in the capital and public markets.

Learn how to become a CFN Media client company, brand or entrepreneur: http://www.cannabisfn.com/featuredcompany

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Smart cities are those who manage their resources efficiently. Traffic, public services and disaster response should be operated intelligently in order to minimize costs, reduce carbon emissions and increase performance. Eduardo Paes

We [MIT Smart Cities research group] try to identify the fundamental underlying design assumptions that everybody takes as a sort of given and unchallengeable when you think about solving these problems. And we try to challenge those assumptions. William J. Mitchell

Before we bring in technology, we need to look at how we organize our communities. Why cant people live on the second floor and work on the first floor? Why cant we create communities where they are responsible for their schools, parks, teachers and doctors, and not somebody from [New] Delhi? Sam Pitroda [Note: To read his full Wharton interview on why smart cities need to be happy cities, go here.]

New, and seemingly outlandish, mobility offerings Continued consolidation The changing face of parking Scooter predominance over bikes New ways to pay Continued emphasis on 5G

Prediction 7: Investment in Smart City Use Cases Will Reach $158 Billion by 2022, with the Fastest Overall Growth in the Americas and the Most Spending on Fixed Visual Surveillance and Public Transit

Prediction 8: By 2023, 50% of Cities Will Deploy Platforms That Formalize Crowdsourced Participation in City Budgeting and Neighborhood Decision Making

Prediction 10: With Water Scarcity a Developing Risk Multiplier, by 2024, 45% of Cities and Communities Will Adopt IoT-Enabled Water Management for Usage and Quality Monitoring and Leak Detection

The global buzz surrounding smart cities has been growing steadily louder over the past few years.Here are a few intriguing quotes on the subject of building smart cities:And for a vision of what a smart city is, the expectations and what a smart city can become, I really like this Forbes interview with Asset Issekeshev, mayor of Astana, Kazakhstan, from 2017.What's Next with Smart Cities?So what are some of the recent encouraging (and discouraging) developments in this important space? Why is trend set to explode in overall growth in the 2020s?Here are a few of the interesting articles from the past week alone on smart cities:Here's a quick 2019 overview of smart cities technology from CES:At the end of last year, many predictions emerged about smart cities for 2019 and beyond. Here are a few of those predictions worth reading, in six categories Another excellent report was IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Smart Cities and Communities 2019 Predictions Here are a few highlights:For some balance, read this article from Axios.com titled:Heres a quote I like from the article: Across the country, mayors are issuing open calls for smart city tech. One reason, as we've reported , is that second-tier cities are desperate to attract jobs and people  and boost their flagging and sometimes dire circumstances. The effort is to beat a trend in which the best talent and money are going to so-called " superstar cities ."Back in 2017, Professor Herman van den Bosch wrote an insightful article for SmartCityHub.com titled: If smart city is the solution, what was the problem?  Heres an excerpt:The promise of the smart city is one of the digitally-enabled data-driven, continually sensed, responsive and integrated urban environment and a manageable entity. Whether this promise will be kept is questionable: what remains to be seen, is the extent to which the smart city agenda is anything else than another instantiation of corporate power grabs, entrenching surveillance, private control over urban management. I really like his four questions at the end of the smart cities piece:1. What is the most desirable use of urban space, seen from a multi-actor and multi-stakeholder perspective?2. How can all residents maximize their participation in urban life?3. What mix of companies generate the most diversified sustainable employment?4. What is the best way to involve as many citizens as possible in decision-making at all levels?The role of data, digital facilities and other technologies must be considered in conjunction with answering these four questions.I have written a series of blogs and articles on smart cities and smart city security over the past five years. Here are a few of those pieces for review:Also, the first 2019 prediction for smart cities from IDC (above) is more sober with cybersecurity concerns highlighted:Prediction 1: In 2019, the Security Weaknesses of Legacy Systems Will Hinder the Adoption of New Technologies in One-Third of Cities with the Connection Between New and Old Systems Posing a Major Security Risk.I want to keep this blog shorter, but offer some practical advice and touch-on our overall "smart everything" direction.I see this smart city trend (even transformation) marching on in the 2020s, but with some pragmatic twists that need to help solve serious urban problems and not just deploy what tech vendors want to sell. For example, I really like this Edmonton Smart Cities Challenge proposal which is called  Healthy City .In conclusion, smart cities will continue to evolve and grow around the world as technology advances. I expect to be writing even more about cities and life in "smart buildings" with "smart transportation" and "smart communities" in 2025, although we will eventually use a different word than "smart."What do you think that new word will be?
Madison Erhardt



The Kelowna Islamic Centre held a vigil Saturday afternoon to remember and honour the 50 victims who lost their lives in the New Zealand mosque shooting.

''We need to stand in solidarity for peace and harmony. It has nothing to do with religion. We have groups from all around the community today,'' said Hamid Butt, Islamic Centre director.

''We want to unite together, look to the future and help each other overcome this grief and manage the loss,'' Butt added.

The Mosque also hosted an open house Saturday.

The Mosque was open for anyone to learn about Islam and to come and go freely. Everyone was invited," Butt added.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 24)  Majority of the casualties in the vehicular accident that occurred along North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) on Saturday were female overseas Filipino workers (OFW), the police said.

Supt. Elmer Decena of Apalit Police said 13 of the 14 casualties were OFWs leaving for Saudi Arabia while the remaining one was their agency's representative.

Five of the Filipino workers died while the remaining nine passengers were injured.

The figures are different from yesterday's count of six dead and five injured.

The passengers were headed to the Clark International Airport in Pampanga onboard a Hyundai 100 van when the vehicle lost control from a blown tire while traversing through the northbound lane of the NLEX.

The impact from the tire caused the van's door to open, throwing out five of the passengers. It also rolled over and crushed some of the people inside it.

The driver of the van, identified as John Leo Jaylo, 28, was arrested. A charge of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide, physical injury, and damage to property is being prepared against Jaylo, Decena said.
Photo: The Canadian Press Ontario Premier Doug Ford makes a keynote address at the Manning Networking Conference in Ottawa on Saturday, March 23, 2019.

Premier Doug Ford says mainstream journalists have become irrelevant because social media allows him to speak directly to Ontarians.

The Ontario premier told a conference of conservative thinkers, strategists and politicians Saturday that journalists are "losing the battle" to inform people about the news.

Speaking at the annual Manning Networking Conference, Ford accused journalists of being "far-left" and intent on distorting the messages of politicians.

"I get along with them one-on-one, I really do," Ford told the crowd.

"I like them but it's like the cheese slipped off the cracker with these guys and they just went far-left."

Ford said the spin put on political messages by mainstream media no longer matters.

"But guess what? Now there's social media so we're circumventing the media through our social media."

During last year's provincial election, he recounted how he "drove the media crazy" by going directly to voters through social media tools like Facebook and Youtube and Twitter.

He boasted that his campaign website "Ford Nation Live" got 18 million hits  purportedly more than all the mainstream television news networks combined. And as premier, he said they're continuing that approach through the Ontario News Now website.

"They want to take what you said and clip and chop and twist it around but we went direct to the people. And they know they're losing the battle," Ford said.

Attacking the media is a favourite ploy of U.S. President Donald Trump, but Ford insisted he's no Trump.

"People always say, 'Oh, you're like Trump.' No, I'm Doug Ford. I'm not Donald Trump."

Still, Ford praised Trump's policies, particularly slashing the corporate tax rate and reducing regulatory red tape that he said has spurred economic growth.

"Down in the U.S., it's absolutely booming and, just my opinion, when the U.S. is booming, Canada is booming," he said.

"You couldn't ask for a better neighbour anywhere in the world than the United States of America."

Ford also reiterated his vow to fight tooth and nail against the federal Liberal government's plan to impose a carbon tax in Ontario, starting next month. Ontario is one of four provinces that has refused to meet the federal threshold for putting a price on carbon so the federal government is imposing its own tax, the revenue from which is to be rebated directly back to residents in those provinces.

Ontario, along with Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick, are fighting the tax in court.

"The carbon tax is a tax with the word carbon in front of it and it does absolutely nothing for the environment, nothing at all," Ford said, arguing that Ontario is being penalized even though it is "leading the country" in reducing carbon emissions.

"Everything you do is going to cost more," he predicted.
Photo: The Canadian Press A bullet hole can be seen at the law office of Patrick Thomassey, attorney who represented acquitted former East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld, on Saturday, March 23, 2019 in Pittsburgh.

The father of a slain black teenager pleaded for peace Saturday after the acquittal of a white police officer triggered an apparent retaliatory shooting at the defence attorney's office and touched off protests in the streets of Pittsburgh.

Police put officers on 12-hour shifts until further notice.

The verdict late Friday in the deadly shooting of 17-year-old Antwon Rose II angered his family and civic leaders and prompted hundreds of people to gather Saturday afternoon at an intersection called Freedom Corner in the Hill District neighbourhood, the historic centre of black cultural life in Pittsburgh. One man held a sign with the names of black men killed by police around the U.S.

"It's very painful to see what happened, to sit there and deal with it," Rose's father, Antwon Rose Sr., told the crowd. "I just don't want it to happen to our city no more."

Afterward, he told reporters: "I want peace, period, all the way around. ... Just because there was violence doesn't mean that we counter that with violence."

The mostly white crowd then marched through downtown Pittsburgh and other city neighbourhoods, periodically blocking streets as they chanted, "Who did this? Police did this!" Police reported no immediate arrests or injuries.

Early Friday, five to eight shots were fired into the building where the officer's attorney, Patrick Thomassey, works, police in nearby Monroeville said. No one was hurt. Police said they had been staking out the place as a precaution, and the gunfire erupted after they left to answer another call around midnight.

Former East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld was charged with homicide for shooting Rose as the unarmed teenager ran away from a traffic stop last June. Rosfeld testified that he thought Rose or another suspect had a gun pointed at him and that he fired to protect himself and the community.

"I hope that man never sleeps at night," Rose's mother, Michelle Kenney, said of Rosfeld after the verdict, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I hope he gets as much sleep as I do, which is none."

Rose's family is now pressing ahead with a federal civil rights lawsuit filed against Rosfeld and East Pittsburgh, a small municipality about 10 miles (16 kilometres) from downtown Pittsburgh, where the trial was held.

Thomassey told reporters after the verdict that Rosfeld is "a good man, he is." The defence attorney said he hopes the city remains calm and "everybody takes a deep breath and gets on with their lives."

The leaders of two major Pittsburgh charities issued a statement expressing "shock and outrage" over the verdict.

"Pittsburgh now sadly joins a disturbing and ever-growing catalogue of cases across the United States where law enforcement or security officials have walked free after the killings of young black men under questionable circumstances," wrote Maxwell King, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Foundation, and Grant Oliphant, president of the Heinz Endowments.

"We have asked the question, 'Would Antwon Rose be alive today if he had been white?' We, his family and African American community leaders believe that more than likely he would be."

Pittsburgh was in the spotlight less than five months ago, when a gunman ranting about Jews killed 11 people at a synagogue.

Rose was riding in an unlicensed taxi that had been involved in a drive-by shooting minutes earlier when Rosfeld pulled the car over and shot the teenager in the back, arm and side of the face. Neither Rose nor another teen in the taxi was holding a weapon when the officer opened fire, though two guns were later found in the vehicle.

Rosfeld had worked for the East Pittsburgh Police Department for only a few weeks and was sworn in just hours before the shooting.

The 12-person jury  including three black members  saw video of the fatal confrontation. The jury took less than four hours to reach a verdict.

Prosecutor Jonathan Fodi argued that the video showed there was no threat to the officer. But a defence expert testified Rosfeld was within his rights to use deadly force to stop suspects he thought had been involved in a shooting.

The prosecution did not call its own use-of-force expert, a decision the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania questioned. But Mike Manko, a spokesman for the district attorney's office, said prosecutors were confident they had what they needed to make their case.

Shortly before the traffic stop, another person in the taxi, Zaijuan Hester, rolled down a window and shot at two men on the street, hitting one in the abdomen. Hester, 18, pleaded guilty last week to aggravated assault and firearms violations. He said he, not Rose, did the shooting.

Prosecutors had charged Rosfeld with an open count of homicide, meaning the jury had the option of convicting him of murder or manslaughter.
PARKLAND, Fla. - Ronni Isenberg was away at college when one of her former neighbors stormed into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last year and killed 17 people, including one of her friends.

As she watched the aftermath of the tragedy unfold from Syracuse University in New York, feeling too far away from home, Isenberg immediately knew she had to join other Parkland, Florida, students in channeling her anger into political support for tougher gun laws.

Last March, a month after the shooting, Isenberg flew from college to Washington to participate in the March for Your Lives demonstration on the Mall, organized by Parkland students. She made sure she was registered to vote in Florida, and then encouraged her friends at Syracuse University to also register.

But Isenberg recently learned that her vote - as well as those of dozens of students from Parkland - was probably never counted.

About 1 in 7 mail-in ballots submitted by college-age voters in Parkland was rejected or failed to arrive in time to be counted, according to a new analysis. The findings are adding to questions about the reliability and fairness of the Florida electoral system, including its ballot signature requirement that became a flash point in the November recount between U.S. Sen Rick Scott, R, and the Democrat he ousted from office, Bill Nelson.

"We wanted to make a change and vote for change," Isenberg said. "I should have had the right to vote, and my vote should have been counted."

The problem with Isenberg's ballot was discovered by Daniel A. Smith, chairman of the political science department at the University of Florida who analyzed Florida's open-source voting file. A veteran researcher of Florida elections, Smith said that 15 percent of mail-in ballots submitted by Parkland residents between ages 18 and 21 were never counted in the midterm election, far exceeding the statewide average.

Among all Floridians between 18 and 21, about 5.4 percent of mail-in ballots were rejected or uncounted, Smith said. The statewide average of rejected or uncounted mail-in ballots for all ages was 1.2 percent, Smith noted.

"If you are voting in Florida, and you are young in Florida, you have a good chance of your ballot not being accepted," Smith said. "Imagine going to the ATM, and every 10 times you go, instead of spitting out your money, they take it or they lose it."

A spokesman for the Broward County Supervisor of Elections said he could not comment on Smith's findings "unless and until" the office reviewed his data and methodology.

But the office found a countywide rejection rate within the 18-to-21 age range that was "half" of the 10 percent that Smith discovered. Among all mail-in ballots cast in Broward County regardless of age, 5,464 ballots were not counted - a rejection rate of 2.8 percent, the elections office said.

More than half of those ballots, 3,458, were not accepted because they arrived after Election Day and could not be legally counted. Others were not signed, contained a mismatched signature, were signed by someone other than the voter, or returned to the elections office as "undeliverable," according to country records.

Under Florida law, elections officials must compare the signature on an absentee ballot to the signature on the voter's registration form.

If the signatures do not match, the voter can file an affidavit, along with proof of identify, to try to rectify the problem. But the Vote-by-Mail Ballot Cure must be received at the elections office by 5 p.m. on the day of the election.

In a report issued in September and written by Smith, the American Civil Liberties Union concluded that Florida's vote-by-mail system disenfranchises younger voters as well as racial and ethnic minorities.

During the 2016 election, the report stated, people under 30 made up just 9 percent of all vote-by-mail participants but accounted for about 31 percent of all rejected ballots. Black voters made up 9 percent of the vote-by-mail participants but accounted for 17 percent of rejected ballots, the report concluded.

In November, as the nail-biter election between Scott and Nelson went to a recount, there was a flurry of lawsuits challenging Florida voter laws.

One lawsuit noted that Florida elections officials had rejected more than 4,000 ballots for mismatched signatures. And under existing law, those challenged signatures needed to be rectified by 5 p.m. on Election Day, even though state law gave voters until 7 p.m. for their mail-in ballot to arrive at local elections offices. (There is an exception for overseas and military ballots, which are accepted up until 10 days after the election).

Siding with the plaintiffs, a federal judge ruled that the state's signature-match standards were unconstitutional. The judge gave Florida voters a 10-day extension to fix their signatures. Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit upheld that lower-court ruling.

Myrna Perez, a voting rights lawyer with New York University Law School's Brennan Center for Justice, said more public education is needed to better inform voters about mail-in ballot deadlines, especially those voting for the first time. But Perez isn't sure major changes are needed to the state's signature requirement, saying such laws help prevent legislators from enacting even more onerous conditions.

"We don't want people to demand strict voter ID instead of a signature," Perez said.

In Parkland, Smith suspects, many students preregister to vote in high school before their 18th birthday. As they age into young adults, he added, their signatures evolve.

"Many of those students go off to college, develop a new identity, including some more-sophisticated signatures," Smith said. "Their new signature may not look anything like it did in high school civics class."

About 250 Parkland residents ages 18 to 21 registered to vote between last February, when the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting took place, and Election Day. More than half of them voted, an unusually strong turnout among young voters in a midterm election, Smith noted.

Many of the Parkland young adults whose ballots were rejected say state and local elections offices are to blame.

Luciany Capra, a 19-year-old student at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, said she requested her absentee ballot at least a month before the election. It still had not arrived weeks later, and for two consecutive days, no one answered the phone at the Broward County elections office, Capra said.

She said she finally got through the Friday before the election. After being placed on hold for an hour, "They were like, 'Oh, you should have gotten it.' But I never got it," Capra said.

The elections office mailed it again and she received it on Election Day.

Capra filled out the ballot, voting for mostly Democratic candidates. She mailed the ballot back, even though she doubted it would arrive in time to be counted.

Then, a few days after the election, Capra said somebody called her and told her that her ballot had been rejected because her signature did not match and that a judge had granted her more time to re-sign her ballot.

"I submitted the request for it to be counted, and signed a whole bunch of papers, and then I never heard back from anyone," said Capra, a sophomore who was voting in her first election. "If there was any mistake, it was a mistake on their end."

The Broward County elections office said that for years it has expressed concern about how slowly the post office has delivered ballots and other correspondence to voters. It noted that all mail from Broward County is first sent to a processing center in Miami-Dade County.

But Reagan Edgren, 19, said she doesn't think the problem with her ballot rests with the Postal Service. She believes the Broward elections board was too overwhelmed to diligently account for all the mail-in ballots.

Elections board records examined by Smith show that Edgren, a student at American University in Washington, D.C., requested her mail-in ballot Oct. 27. The records show the elections board mailed it to her Oct. 30,and didn't receive it back until Nov. 17, nearly two weeks after the election.

Edgren is certain she mailed it before Election Day.

"They kept telling us that voting is going to be the way we can make a change," Edgren said. "But when they don't allow our votes to be counted, they are essentially saying we don't get a voice."
Photo: The Canadian Press Muslim men pray in Hagley Park across the road from the Al Noor mosque following last week's mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, Saturday, March 23, 2019.

A Jordanian prince and the family of a slain 3-year-old boy and were among those who visited a New Zealand mosque Saturday when it reopened for the first time since a terrorist killed dozens of people there.

Hundreds of people stopped at the Al Noor mosque in Christchurch to lay flowers or pray after police removed a cordon and those running the mosque decided to reopen.

Inside the mosque, there were few signs of the carnage from eight days earlier. Crews had replaced windows that worshippers smashed in a desperate attempt to escape when the attacker mowed them down during Friday prayers. Bullet holes were plastered over and painted. There wasn't time to replace the carpet, which was pulled out and buried because it was soaked in blood.

Shagat Khan, the president of the Muslim Association of Canterbury, said they hadn't planned to open the mosque so soon but when they saw the crowds gathering after the police cordon was removed they decided to allow people to enter in managed groups "so the mosque will be alive again."

"Those who lost their families are of course quite emotional," he said. "And those who were present here during the incident, of course the memories come back. The flashbacks."

The gunman killed a total of 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch on March 15, in the nation's worst terrorist attack. Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, has been charged with murder in the attacks and is scheduled to make his next court appearance on April 5.

Abdullahi Ibrahim Diriye, the uncle of the youngest victim of the shooting, 3-year-old Mucaad Ibrahim, visited the mosque with the boy's father. Diriye said he helped lift the boy's coffin to a gravesite Friday as Mucaad's mother wept. The coffin was very light with such a young child inside, he said.

"Always he was a happy boy, and he liked every person he met, not only Muslims," Diriye said.

Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan, who travelled to New Zealand to pay his respects, hugged a man at the entrance of the mosque and told him to "be patient."

"He was crying deeply from his heart for a loved one he had lost," the prince later explained. "And I was saying, this is God's will, be patient. Because only through patience can you endure."

Prince Hassan said in the Middle East there have been wars every decade.

"To feel that this form of violence and cruelty is visited on you, living in this idyllic part of the world, is deeply, deeply moving," he said.

Human dignity is being assailed on all fronts by extremists, he said, and people need to stand together as human beings.

Officials say four Jordanian nationals died in the attack, while a 4-year-old Jordanian girl is also recovering in an Auckland hospital.

Jereeth Abdeen, who was visiting from Auckland, said a friend of his escaped the attack. He said he found it hard to walk through the mosque, especially after glimpsing the gunman's livestream of the attack after it was sent to him on social media before quickly closing out of the link.

"It's terrible," he said. "Nobody should do that in this world."

Abdeen said he took some comfort that those killed were in a holy place and were about to pray.

"The sad thing is the way they died," he said. "But our belief is they will be in paradise."




Haiti - Justice : Human Rights Watch calls for an independent investigation into the protesters killed





On Friday, March 22, the international human rights NGO Human Rights Watch said the Haitian authorities should ensure that a prompt, thorough and independent investigation is conducted into those killed during the February 2019 demonstrations.



34 people were killed and 102 injured  including 23 police officers  in the course of these demonstrations as police sought to patrol and control the crowds and remove barricades protesters had erected, according to the United Nations Mission for Justice Support in Haiti.



"Haitian authorities should investigate the use of force by police during these protests, and ensure that any police officer who used excessive force is held accountable," said Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - Environment : Access to drinking water for all Haitians by 2030





Friday as part of the World Water Day, celebrated in Haiti around the theme "Tout moun dwe jwenn dlo", the Minister of the Environment, Joseph Jouthe, joined the National Directorate of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DINEPA), to sensitize everyone on the crucial issues related to water resources and the need for sustainable management, with a view to facilitating equitable access for all Haitians.



In this circumstance, Minister Jouthe noted the availability of water resources in Haiti stressing "The problem of the availability of water in the country, is neither a bad luck, nor a punishment loas or that of God is mostly the result of environmental degradation and watersheds accelerated by climate change."



However, Jouthe recognizes that the problem of water resources management requires an integrated approach that includes both State actors and the population. To this end, it promises to continue to work with DINEPA and the technical partners, with a view to the treatment of river basins and thus to increase their plant cover, concluding "Pou tout moun jwenn dlo fok tout moun sansibilize, pou tout moun ka aji."



Guito Edouard, the Director General of DINEPA, pointed out that this year's theme is in line with the objectives of his institution, which is working hard to enable Haiti to achieve one of the goals of for Sustainable Development (SDG) : "Guarantee all Haitians access to drinking water by 2030."



At the same time, he acknowledges that much remains to be done, confident however, that armed with good will, his team will succeed in gradually filling the water needs of the urban populations and those of the most remote places of the country...



Let's mention that various activities (conferences, talks, guided tours) are planned throughout the country, through the Departmental Directions of the Environment and the Regional Offices of Drinking Water and Sanitation (OREPA). These activities are aimed specifically at schools, community organizations and local authorities.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















By Panos Kotzathanasis | Published on 2019/03/23

After a number of documentaries dealing with North Korean defectors, with "Mrs. B. A North Korean Woman" being the most successful, Jero Yun decided to make his theme into a feature film, in the movie that opened last year's Busan Festival. Let us see how he fared.

"Beautiful Days - 2017 (festival entry) screened at Cine Aasia Film Festival

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Zhenchen is a Chinese young man living with his sick father in a rundown house in the country. He has not seen his mother since he was a child, and as per his father's last wish, he decides to go to S. Korea to search for her. To his bitter surprise, he finds her working in a hostess bar, and being with a man that seems to be the bouncer of the place. His frustration builds up as time passes, since, in his mind, his mother left them for a better life, and despite her efforts to treat him as her child, things end in violence. At about that point, a series of flashbacks begin, that explain how the woman ended up in that situation, while through two letters, one from each parent, her and his father's story also becomes known to Zhenzhen.

The film starts really impressively, both in terms of narrative and visually. Jero Yun proves quite adept in building his story, with the various secrets being revealed in a way the keeps the interest from wavering, while presenting a rather captivating life story. This prowess, however, lasts for 80 minutes give or take, since Yun, in his effort to connect this story with the one in his documentaries, added another arc in the past, which faults the narrative significantly. I dare say that if the film ended at that point, it would be among the best of the year, but unfortunately that did not happen. This arc by itself is not bad, but in combination with the rest of the story, it really goes overboard, despite the fact that it explains some of the previously arisen questions.

The visual aspect, on the other hand, remains impressive for the whole movie, with the neon lights that dominate the segments in Korea coming in complete contrast with the bleakness of the ones in China, where a sad realism permeates the images. One of the best aspects in the work Kim jong-sun did in the department is the way he highlighted Lee Na-young's undeniable beauty, through a number of close ups and middle shots that are quite artful. The close-ups approach is used quite frequently actually, in one of the most arthouse elements of the production, which also works quite well. Jean-Marie Lengelle and Jero Yun's editing is good in the way it connects the various timelines, and in general, the pace suits the aesthetics of the film. As I said before, though, a few more cuts in the last part would have been beneficial.

The acting is in complete resonance with the film, with all the actors playing their parts convincingly. Lee Na-young as the mother is great as she highlights the many transformations she experienced in a rather turbulent life. Jang Dong-yoon is also good as the frustrated teenager, who acts as a kid while he tries to be a man. Lee Yoo-joon is excellent as the ultimate villain in the film, with him benefitting by both his appearance and his overall composure.

"Beautiful Days - 2017" shows that Jero Yun also has much potential in the feature film, despite the fact that in the end, the sense the move leaves is that of a wasted chance about a really great title. Its audience, however, will not be disappointed, at least for the most part.

Review by Panos Kotzathanasis

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"Beautiful Days - 2017" is directed by Jero Yun, and features Lee Na-young, Jang Dong-yoon, Oh Kwang-rok and Lee Yoo-joon.
Published on 2019/03/24 | Source

Elderly men fill in a form at a driving test site in Seoul on Friday. /Yonhap

The Seoul Metropolitan Government's new incentive encouraging elderly people to give up their driving license has met with a positive reception.

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The city government dangled a prize of a transit card pre-loaded with W100,000 credit to people over 70 who voluntarily return their license (US$1=W1,133). Last week alone, 613 did just that, nearly half of the 1,387 elderly people who did so through the whole of last year.

At this rate, over 80,000 people are expected to turn in their license by the deadline at the end of September. The Seoul Metropolitan Government will then choose 500 winners based on their age and another 500 in a blind draw. Applications can be submitted at 31 police stations and four driving test centers across Seoul.

Korea's second-largest city Busan, which first introduced the incentive in July last year, had 5,280 applicants in just five months, 11 times more than the 420 who voluntarily returned their license throughout the previous year.

The benefit was immediate -- the number of people who died from traffic accidents caused by elderly drivers dropped from 35 in 2017 to 18 in 2018.

The elderly apparently liked the idea even though they can already use the subway for free. But there is no similar exemption for buses, and many elderly people prefer them because there are no steps to climb and they take them closer to their destination. The transit cards can also be used as debit cards in some convenience stores.

Many elderly people agree that they should probably stop driving. Jo Ji-hyun, a 74-year-old living in Mok-dong in western Seoul, recently returned her license with her husband. Although she had an accident-free driving record for 30 years, her children encouraged them to stop.

"It's going to be a bit less convenient, but at least I have peace of mind that I won't cause any accidents", she said.

This incentive policy is spreading across the country. Gyeonggi Province, the most populous province with 13.1 million people, will pay out W100,000 to 10,000 people over 65 who return their license in the second half of this year. It hopes to persuade 37,000 people to return their license by 2022.

But critics say raising awareness is better than financial incentives. Lee Young-mi, who teaches safety education at the Seoul branch of the Korea Road Traffic Authority, said, "It is important to make people recognize that returning their license is a valuable thing to do for the elderly themselves, their families and society".
Published on 2019/03/24 | Source

Hyundai is investing US$300 million in Indian ride-hailing app Ola, the Korean carmaker said Tuesday.

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Hyundai vice chairman Chung Eui-sun met with Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal in Seoul to sign for what will be the largest investment the conglomerate has ever made in another company.

Ola was established in 2011 and offers ride-hailing services in 125 cities around the world using 1.3 million vehicles, from tuk-tuks to luxury cars.

A senior Hyundai executive said, "We used to sell cars to individual consumers, but future sales will often involve large volumes supplied to car-sharing services".

He added the company will then be able to use mileage data, highway information and other big data from such companies to develop self-driving cars.

Hyundai also invested $12.3 million in Revv, another Indian ride-hailing service, last August.

The main attraction of the Indian car market is its rapid growth. With a population of 1.3 billion, India's car saturation remains low at just 35 cars for every 1,000 people, compared to 144 in China.

Sales rose from 2.54 million cars in 2014 to 3.37 million in 2018, growing between three to eight percent annually. By contrast, growth in China's car market already shrank 3.4 percent last year.
Published on 2019/03/24 | Source

Korea's arms exports have nearly doubled over the past five years, making the country the world's 11th-largest exporter of weaponry.

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According to a recent report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Korea's total weapons exports for 2014 to 2018 rose 94 percent over the period from 2009 to 2013. Korea now accounts for almost 2 percent of the world's total arms exports. The top two exporters are the U.S. and Russia.

Meanwhile, Korea's weapons imports were down by 9 percent, making the country the ninth-largest arms importer. The largest importers are Saudi Arabia, India and Egypt.
Chelsea Powrie

The Cannery Trade Centre turned 35 Saturday with a birthday party open to the public celebrating its current businesses and historic past as the Aylmer canning factory.

There was cake, live music and plenty of people.

"So happy to see so many different kinds of people, people who had never been here, people who had been here but didn't realize all of the different businesses," said building manager Jill Bateman.

Two of those visitors were women who remembered working at the canning factory decades ago when it was still in operation.

"That was amazing, we have some old pictures up so I asked both of them to have a look at the old pictures especially the pictures of the canning line, because that's what they did," Bateman said.

Bateman was kept busy all afternoon hosting the many people who came through for the festivities, slicing up a giant cake provided by the Nest and Nectar. She isn't sure how many people she saw, but knows about 70 were there at the beginning.

"And it's been non-stop ever since then!" Bateman said. "And we almost demolished the giant cake, I'm amazed."

Kids loved the scavenger hunt. Papers were provided with the names of Cannery businesses and spaces beside them to collect a stamp, encouraging visitors to explore more of the building.

"Running free, going to visit the different businesses, getting stamps, and meeting people, and they've had such a good time," Bateman said.

Participants in the scavenger hunt were entered into a draw for a basket of Cannery business goodies.




We're a family of seven living in Georgia where Andrew's working as a professor at GSU. You can read more about us here
A MAN has warned dog owners to take care after discovering rat poison on a public footpath in Peppard.

Richard Mitchell says a pet could become ill or even die if it was to eat some of the pink pellets that he found while walking his own dogs through a field next to Spring Wood.

He believes the poison was put down deliberately but does not know why anyone would do that.

The owner of the land surrounding the path says he is also concerned.

Mr Mitchell, 62, of Blounts Court Road, Sonning Common, made the discovery while walking his 10-year-old dogs, a red setter called George and cocker spaniel Millie.

He was about to put the dogs on the lead when he saw some of the pellets on the ground. He thought they looked like mincemeat but did not know what they were so he continued walking home.

When he got back he told his wife Vivien, 62, what had happened and the couple searched the internet for an answer.

Mr Mitchell said: As soon as we Googled pink pellets poison we got pictures of exactly that. There is no question that is exactly what it was.

Obviously I was very worried because it would kill a dog. We have had a situation with one of our dogs passing a little bit of blood. We dont know if this was related but rat poison causes internal bleeding in rats. It is such a danger to birds and other wildlife.

The couple posted a message on a Sonning Common web page to warn other people and Mr Mitchell returned to the site the next day to check if the poison was still there.

He went with the couples son Zachary, 23, who was visiting for the weekend.

Mr Mitchell said: Now that we knew it was rat poison we were afraid peoples dogs would eat it.

We went back to get rid of it but it had gone so we were relieved but walking back, we saw a whole lot of rat poison, which I had not seen before. This was very serious because it was all over the path.

Another resident came up with her dog and we explained what it was. The lady from a house just opposite came out with a bag to put the poison in.

We had a discussion about who on earth could be doing this. I went straight back to the house and got a spade, rake and gloves and my son and I raked it up.

It was a bit tricky because the poison had been trodden in by walkers and it took us an hour to get rid of it all. They put some of the pellets in a bag for expert analysis and placed a warning sign at the start of the path.

Mr Mitchell said: Any dog or child could have trodden in it and got it in their shoes or paws. The dogs could have eaten it.

His wife said: People just need to be aware of the danger. If they thought it was some kind of dog treat that had been scattered, they would not stop their dogs eating it.

I can only think it was done deliberately to dissuade people from walking their dogs. You put rat poison where the rats are, not in the middle of a field.

Mrs Mitchell contacted the environmental health department at South Oxfordshire District Council, which asked her to keep the sample.

Peppard parish councillor Ray Freeman said it was impossible to know who was responsible or how to trace them.

He said: I do not see what we can do to be honest. We cant put CCTV cameras in an open field. Even the police cant do anything.

People should be aware and keep their dogs on leads. If they are loose, they can pick up anything.

Graham Payne, who owns the land, said: We do not know who has done it or why. We are very concerned. We have horses and dogs.

Why would anyone do it? My concern is that someone is being malicious but I cant think of any reason why.
'So much we want the public to know': Meritus COVID cases surge again
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 24)  Senatorial bets from the opposition-coalition Otso Diretso will visit Cebu province this week to woo voters for the upcoming midterm elections.

Candidates Chel Diokno, Samira Gutoc, Florin Hilbay, Romy Macalintal and Erin Tanada will be embarking on a two-day visit from Monday to Tuesday, passing by barangay halls, the University of San Carlos, the Southwestern University and public markets. Meanwhile, representatives will stand in for Gary Alejano, Bam Aquino and Mar Roxas.

Cebu is home to over three million voters. Vice President Leni Robredo earlier said the opposition slate will get overwhelming support from the vote-rich province.

However, in the latest Pulse Asia survey released on March 18, among the opposition candidates, only Mar Roxas was included in the top 12.

This, after the President lambasted the opposition slate while convincing the public to vote for his personal candidates.

"Sinong ipalit mo diyan sa 'yang 'Otso Diretso' papuntang impyerno? Walang ginawa 'yang mga tao na 'yan puro criticize," he said in a campaign rally in Zamboanga City on March 3.

[Translation: Who are you going to replace with the Otso Diretso who is going straight to hell? They have not done anything but criticize.]

The midterm elections will be held on May 13.
And still our PM is greeting Pakistanis for Pakistans National Day ! Just few surgical strikes and airstrikes are not enough ! Indians expect that our Govt should deal decisive blow to Pakistan by eliminating all jihadi terrorists, ISI and Pakistani Army !  Editor, Hindujagruti

Jammu : An Army personnel was martyred Sunday in firing by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmirs Poonch district, officials said.

They said the cross-border firing started in Shahpur and Kerni areas of Poonch around 5.30pm Saturday and it continued intermittently through the night.

The Indian Army retaliated strongly but the casualties suffered by Pakistan were not known immediately, the officials said, adding Pakistani troops used mortar and small arms to target forward posts and villages.

The soldier was critically injured around 4 am in the firing and was immediately evacuated to the military hospital, the officials said.

They said he succumbed to injuries, taking the number of Army personnel killed in the last four days to two.

On Thursday, 24-year-old rifleman Yash Paul lost his life in unprovoked firing by Pakistan Army along the LoC in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district.

The border skirmishes witnessed a spurt after Indias air strike on a Jaish-e-Muhammed (JeM) terror camp in Pakistans Balakot on February 26 in response to the February 14 Pulwama attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel.

Four civilians, including three members of a family, have been killed and several injured as Pakistan, since then, has targeted dozens of villages in over 125 incidents of ceasefire violations along the LoC.

The year 2018 witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violations  2,936  by Pakistani troops in the last 15 years along the Indo-Pak border.

Pakistan continues to violate the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the pact during flag meetings between the two sides.

Source : TOI
A picture of actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan went viral recently in which she can be seen walking on a beach in Goa with her husband and actor Abhishek Bachchan. Several fans speculated if the actor was pregnant again, judging by a slight bump on her belly. However, her representative has denied the rumours.

Talking to Bollywood Life, the spokesperson said that the picture is clicked from a bad angle. They confirmed that Aishwarya and Abhishek are indeed not expecting a second child.

The Goan Everyday photographed Aishwarya strolling bare foot on a beach with actor and husband Abhishek Bachchan and was wearing a white shirt and a pair of shorts. Looking at her bulging stomach, a couple of Twitter users felt Aishwarya was pregnant with her second child.

A social media user asked if the actor was pregnant. Another replied: No shes not. An excited fan tweeted: I am also waiting Aish to having one more baby.

Also read: Priyanka Chopra holidays with husband Nick Jonas in Miami

Aishwarya married Abhishek in 2007. They welcomed their first child, Aaradhya, a daughter, in 2011. Aishwarya was last seen on screen in the 2018 film Fanney Khan.

She recently said that she is in talks with a few producers for her next project but refused to divulge in details. Normally, when it comes to announcing my future projects, I leave it to the prerogative of my directors and producers. I have just very recently okayed a wonderful script and idea and character. So, Ill let them make the announcement, she said at a special event for a brand in Dubai recently.

A recent report in Mid-day claimed the couple may star in Sanjay Leela Bhansalis next film, a biopic on Sahir Ludhianvi. While Abhishek will be seen as the famous Bollywood lyricist, Aishwarya will play the role of the celebrated Punjabi poetess Amrita Pritam. Incidentally, Bhansalis film on Sahir-Amrita love story has in the pipeline for a long time.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Actor Katrina Kaif ran into actor couple Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt at the 64th Filmfare Awards on Saturday. The Bollywood stars exchanged hugs and their pictures have gone viral on social media. Katrina is Ranbirs ex girlfriend and dated him for six years.

Pictures from the awards show Katrina walking up to Ranbir and Alia, who were seated together in the front row. Both Alia and Ranbir rose from their seats to give Katrina a hug. Check out their pics:

Katrina wore a powder blue gown to the awards night while Alia wore a black number. Ranbir was dressed in a suit. Ranbir and Alia were also joined by actor Ranveer Singh and his actor wife Deepika Padukone. Ranbir and Deepika had also dated for a few years before he dated Katrina.

Also read: Priyanka Chopra holidays with husband Nick Jonas in Miami, he calls her my only sunshine. See pics, video

Alia won Popular Best Actor In A Leading Role (Female) Award for Raazi while Ranbir won the Popular Best Actor In A Leading Role (Male) Award for Sanju. Both of them even posed for pictures together after the awards night and were spotted walking hand in hand after the event.

Alia talked about Ranbir in her acceptance speech. Meghna for me Raazi is you, your blood and sweat. You are my main chick. Vicky without you, the film wouldnt be complete. Thank you my mentor Karan for being my mentor, father and my fashion police. Tonights all about love there my special one, I love you (Ranbir). The cameras caught Ranbir blushing and he was seen covering his face. A picture also showed Alia giving him a kiss.

Alia and Ranbir will soon be seen together in Ayan Mukerjis Brahmastra. The films logo was recently revealed at the Kumbh mela and the film will be out in December this year. This will be their first film together.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Just a day after my one-hour long conversation with filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj at the Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival in Guwahati, one statement went viral.

Id have replaced the leading man in Haider, Bhardwaj had told me, referring to Shahid Kapoor in his much-acclaimed adaptation of Hamlet. But I would never have been able to make the film without Tabu!

Tabu played the protagonists mother, a casting decision that was much talked about at the time. How could a Bollywood actress still in her prime play a mother? Is her career faring so badly?

In the role, Tabu subtly showcased The Unspeakable between a mother and son, and gave Bollywood storytelling an edge of maturity.Did her career as a leading heroine spiral to an end? Was she the next Maa of Bollywood? Certainly not!

At 46, Tabu takes on an interview that focuses on the wrong decisions that have been the best ones she has ever made (Top, Marks & Spencer) (Prabhat Shetty)

In 2017, she wowed the front benchers as part of the ensemble cast of the blockbuster, Golmaal Again. Then she surprised critics by playing a sassy, scheming murderer in the breakthrough film of 2018, Andhadhun. In this movie, she was cast opposite Ayushmann Khurrana, an actor a few years younger than her son Shahid Kapoor.

To resort to a convenient pun, breaking taboos has shaped Tabus career. Now 46, still single, but far more DTE and seemingly happy, the actress takes on an interview that focuses on the wrong decisions that have been the best ones she has ever made.

The taboo of being single

Tabu believes she has never thought of men and women as different in a relationship (Top, pants and jacket, Love Birds) (Prabhat Shetty))

I do not think single is a bad word. There may have been a stigma attached to being single in the past, but not anymore. Your happiness comes from many things unconnected with the status of your relationship. On your own, you can deal with your aloneness, but with a wrong partner, what could follow would be worse than any kind of loneliness.

Wise words. But how willing is Tabu to talk about her own relationships?

A man-woman relationship is a complicated thing. When we are young, we have an idea of love. Then we grow, have new experiences, get independent, and outgrow some things, she says cryptically. I was working and wanted to see the world on my own. If Id have given it all up, itd have been a disservice to me and my ability. An ideal relationship is when both individuals grow just by being in each others lives. Relationships are meant to liberate, not stifle.

I know my thinking is a bit different. For instance, I have never thought of men and women as different in a relationship. Does gender matter over the individual people you are?

The taboo of playing mother

Haider was a tricky decision for me, Tabu confesses. I took it on the merit of the role, the character and the script. I knew that as an actor, it was a very good thing. And, of course, there was Vishal [Bhardwaj]. I love him for what he said [to you]. I have the kind of synergy with him that one has with very few people. I believe that when I did Maqbool [with Vishal Bhardwaj], a mould inside me broke.

The taboo of popular films

Tabu refused Neena Guptas character in Badhaai Ho as she didnt think she was right for it, and went on to recommend Neena to the director (Dress, Shruti Sancheti ) (Prabhat Shetty)

How does an actor whose subtlety is noticed in a full-blown Bollywood project also do senseless comedy? How does the National Award-winning actress of Maachis (1996) and Chandni Bar (2003), and the person who has done The Namesake (2006) and Cheeni Kum (2007), do a leave-your-brains behind films like the Golmaal series (2006, 2008, 2010 and 2017) and keep a straight face?

Ive done and I enjoy all kinds of films, theres no judgment or bias, and Golmaal is such a big, attractive franchisee, ya, she chides.

[For the sake of my relationship], if Id have given up my career, it would have been a disservice to my ability

Different faculties of your mind are at play when you do different films. Even watching a film depends on the mood Im in: Ive seen Angoor (1982) two dozen times, I remember watching Sadma (1983) and being hugely affected by it. Different films have a different effect on you. The deeper, more intense ones have a longer lasting effect.

What I am clear about, Tabu adds, is what I dont want!

Is it true, then, that Tabu refused Neena Guptas character in Badhaai Ho (2018)?

Yes I did, she says candidly. I didnt think I was right for the character. But I knew the movie was going to be a big hit.

And that she is the one who recommended Neena to the director?

Yes. I knew Neena ji would do a great job.

The taboo of being a powerful woman

They say Im in a powerful position in my career today. Its great to know that, says Tabu.

My definition of beauty? 80 or 90 per cent of your attractiveness comes from your personality

It helps me in a lot of ways. But inside, something remains unchanged. Im in a position to explore anything that I want to do because of the people I have access to. I can choose work with more energy, deeper impact, something of meaning I like being here.

The taboo of awards and rewards

The problem with awards is that price toh bilkul nahin badhta hai! Tabu laughs with a carefree spirit thatd be more suited to a millennial. The recipient of two National Awards, innumerable popular award trophies, and even the Padma Shri, Tabu is nonchalant, but respectful.

I dont have the bandwidth to think of competition. I know itll wear me out

If you have attempted something against the odds and it gets appreciated, you feel validated, she says. When I got my first National Award, I was shooting with Kamal [Haasan] ji for Chachi 420. Gulzaar sahab called me at 7.30 in the morning and sounded so emotional. Youve got the National Award for best actress [for Maachis], he said, and I said Ya? No, I cant be deserving of this big an honour. I hadnt won any of the popular awards for this role that year, and Gulzaar Sahab said, Im not sad about that. I knew youd get the biggest one! Incidentally, the same year, Kamal ji got it for Indian, and we were shooting together!

And the Padma Shri? Surely that must have meant even more?

Will you believe me if I said I didnt even know I was being considered? I was sitting at the salon doing my hair and saw the news on TV. Someone texted me, and I thought it was a joke. There had been no prior information. Then my friend Harneet [Singh, journalist] came to the parlour, and it sank in.

I was headed to Pondicherry the next morning to shoot for Life of Pi, and coincidentally, Irrfaan, my co-star in that film, also won the National Award for best actor. So the entire team celebrated it together!

How does Tabu deal with competition?

Were living in a world that feeds off each other, she says. Honestly, I dont have the bandwidth to think of competition. I know itll wear me out. Id rather focus on getting better. I also know that this attitude can be counterproductive: some people thrive when they have competition to nudge them. Not me. I acknowledge that the scenario today is very competitive and, more or less, you are replaceable. If you allow yourself to get bogged down, then thats it!

The taboo of ageing

Growing up, looks pe itna significance nahin tha. Would you believe it if I said my mother had never used lipstick her entire life? She did so for a wedding after we were grown up, and we were laughing, saying she cant open her lips! she says.

My definition of beauty has never been frantic. I understand that ones appearance is currency. But I never thought beauty is the only thing; 80 or 90 per cent of your attractiveness comes from your personality, explains Tabu.

Till today, when something is not suiting me, why should I wear it? And on the other hand, if something is not trendy, but is comfortable and works for me, I am OK with it. Itna conscious bhi nahi hona chahiye.

Its the same with age. There are some days you look like a mess, on others, you are glowing so much, you want to take selfies with everyone around. Its also important to accept where you are at the moment. Do things that complement your maturity and experience appropriately, she adds.

The taboo of being Tabu

Would you believe my mother never used lipstick her entire life? She did so for a wedding recently, and we were laughing, saying she cant open her lips!

Tabus jokes about herself are things thatd make any heroine terribly insecure. She refuses to surround herself by yes-men and managers, keeping herself just an SMS away from the rest of the world.

My strongest relationship has to be with the work I do, she says. Work is my space and I dont want to crowd it. My voice has been strong, persistent, relentless. I like to keep communication direct; I dont like things to be lost in translation. I dont like walls being created. Ive always been like that.

And beyond work? I want to constantly widen my world. Ive learnt Spanish and French. I cannot be pigeon-holed into one thing. Once a year, I must visit my sister and get my breather. Its important for me to connect to the world thats outside my world.

Join in the conversation using #Tabutiful

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From HT Brunch, March 24, 2019

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The government plans to ease eligibility norms to make its pension scheme for unorganised sector workers more inclusive and is considering replacing the fund manager, Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), with the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to ensure better synergy, officials privy to the proposal said.

The Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM), a contributory scheme that offers a pension of 3,000 per month to those employed in the unorganised sector, from cobblers to construction workers, excludes those covered by the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and EPFO. This exclusion criterion appears restrictive, based on a mistaken assumption that workers cannot move from the unorganised sector to the organised sector and vice versa, two officials with direct knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity The government is considering relaxing the criterion so that those who enrol in PM-SYM continue to receive its benefits even if they move to a job in the organised sector, the officials said.

The proposed changes are based on feedbacks received by the government. The scheme has become quite popular, attracting around 2.56 million subscribers in less than three weeks after its formal nationwide launch on March 5 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad, the officials cited above said. The pension of 3,000 per month will start after a worker reaches the age of 60. Those with a maximum monthly income of 15,000 can enrol in the scheme. The government is also considering a proposal to enlist EPFO as the administrator of the new pension scheme because the retirement fund manager, with at least 45 million subscribers, has better infrastructure and expertise than LIC in managing the funds, the officials cited above said.

The changes will be effected only after obtaining the approval

of the EC, given that the general election process is underway and the model code of conduct is in place, they said. LIC could not actively participate in the launch of PM-SYM. Given that the scheme has been conceived and launched by the ministry of labour and employment, it will have better synergy with EPFO because the labour minister is also the chairman of its Central Board of Trustees, one of the officials cited above said. The finance ministry is the administrative ministry for LIC. According to the officials, the government realised during the nationwide launch that the EPFO, with over 20,000 staff, was better equipped to handle the scheme compared to the LIC. In fact, EPFO was roped in for expeditious implementation and it could deliver to the satisfaction of the authorities, the second official said. Email queries sent to the labour ministry and LIC

did not elicit any response. The labour minister [Santosh Gangwar] wants that social security benefits of workers must not be discontinued even after they join organised sector and becomes subscribers of ESIC or other schemes. No government scheme should discourage upward mobility of workers, the second official said. There is a synergy in managing the funds for both organised and unorganised sector. It would mean economies of scale and consequently better returns for the subscribers; besides it would help EPFO to become one of the largest pension funds of the world, the first official said. Labour economist Alakh N Sharma,director of the Institute for Human Development, said the scheme could have been better drafted and should have been more inclusive. The income criterion of up to 15,000 appears restrictive, he said.
I cant claim to have known Manohar Parrikar well but what I knew of him I liked. He was warm, affable, candid and a very accessible politician. He may not have been the most fluent of speakers but he was among the most frank. And when he wanted, he could be delightfully indiscreet.

I first met him in the early 2000s when he was chief minister of Goa and my colleague and former producer, Ashok Upadhyay, invited him to be a guest on the BBC programme, Question Time India. We were recording at Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) auditorium and I walked up to greet him as his car drove in.

I know your secret, he said with a large smile as we shook hands. I was quite taken aback. Parrikar laughed. He knew he had me stumped. I know about your Goan connection.

Parrikar did not reveal how he had found out that my late wife, Nisha, was Goan. But I was rather chuffed that he had made the effort. Years later, when he was defence minister, he would joke about my Goa connection. In early January 2015, I rang to ask for an interview. Its the son-in-law of Goa! And he laughed heartily. How can I refuse?

This was his first television interview as defence minister and Parrikar was staying in a small apartment in Kota House. It was fixed for 2 oclock but when I arrived I found he was running late. Come in and join me, he shouted from an adjacent room. Im having lunch and Ive got some lovely Goan food which youll enjoy.

Though it was a bitterly cold day in early January, I found him dressed in a bush-shirt and sandals. Just looking at him made me shiver. Parrikar, of course, was unaffected by the temperature.

Alas, he was eating prawns and Im allergic to them. So I sipped coffee instead. You dont know what youre missing, Parrikar said. How can you like Goan food and not be able to eat our prawns and crabs? That reminded me of Nisha. She would often suggest I have an antihistamine and then indulge myself. I never had the guts to try.

Even as defence minister, Parrikar was always accessible on his mobile. If you called and he was busy, he would promise to ring back and unfailingly did. On one occasion when he had taken a little longer than normal, I bumped into him in the Gymkhana club dining room. I was with friends when he walked past our table. Recognising me, he stopped and turned around. I havent forgotten to return your call. There was a smile on his lips. But I know why you have rung. You want an interview and Ill fix the date tomorrow.

It was the last I did with him. This time it happened early in the morning at his Akbar Road home. The crew and I were ready and waiting when he walked in carrying two cups of coffee.

Here, he said, as he held out his hand. This is good coffee. Not the dreadful Nescafe they drink in North India! It was an act of kindness that was typical of the man.

I only spoke to him once after he took over as chief minister of Goa in 2017. I rang to congratulate him. Come to Goa and Ill give you an interview, he said. Sadly, I didnt make it and now when I do, it will be too late.

Karan Thapar is the author of Devils Advocate: The Untold Story

The views expressed are personal
The family of arrested alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed operative Sajjad Khan claimed he had been arrested by the police more than a month ago, and not on March 21. The familys allegations come a day after the Delhi Polices special cell arrested Khan, allegedly a close aide of Pulwama attack mastermind Mudasirs.

Khans family says he was arrested on February 16 along with other six other Kashmiri shawl vendors and said he was innocent, claiming he was earning a livelihood by selling shawls.

The suspects family, who live in Handoora village in Tral Pulwama said Khan, had gone to Delhi with other people from across the district in search of work, and had all been arrested.

My son, along with other youths, was arrested in a raid on February 16. It is baseless that my son was arrested on March 21. I went to Delhi and met officials there and remained there for 24 days. They (officials) assured me that my son will be released very soon, but they neither allowed me to meet him, nor did they give me a chance to see him, said his father, Ghulam Nabi Khan.

He said officials in Delhi told him to go home and that his son would be released and sent home without any harm. I reached home three days ago, and now they are saying my son was arrested on March 21. If I am lying about hism being arrested last month, the other Kashmiri persons who were arrested with my son can reveal the true story, if they are released soon. They have framed incorrect charges against my son.

Ghulam Nabi said two of his sons had been killed, allegedly by security forces, after which Sajjad went to Delhi. Sajjads brothers were both militants, and were killed last year in two separate operations.The special cell on Friday termed Sajjad Khan a close aide of Pulwama attack mastermind Mudasir and said he was arrested near the Lajpat Rai market late Thursday night.
CUSAT CAT admit card 2019: The hall ticket or admit card for the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) Common Admission Test (CAT-2019) has been released on the official website at cusat.ac.in. The Computer based test (CBT) or CAT 2019 will be held on April 6 and April 7, 2019.

In an official notification on the CUSAT CAT 2019 admissions page of the website, the university said that the hall ticket download link is available in the candidate home page.

The university has released the revised schedule for the exam which can be checked by clicking here.

The online application process for CUSAT CAT 2019 began from January 30, 2019.

CUSAT CAT admit card 2019: Steps to download

Visit the official website of Cochin University of Science and Technology

Click on the link for CAT 2019 in the top left

Key in your user Id, password and captcha code in the candidate login to go to the candidate homepage

Download admit card as directed on the candidate homepage

CUSAT CAT 2019 Eligibility:

The candidates belonging to Kerala SC (KSC) and Kerala ST (KST) communities are eligible for applying.

For undergraduate programmes, the candidate should have passed class 12 or an equivalent exam from a recognised board. They should have scored at least 45 per cent PCM (physics, Chemistry Mathematics).

For postgraduate courses, science with mathematics as one of the subjects or graduate in Electronics/Information Technology/Computer Science/Computer Applications/ Engineering/Technology with 55 per cent aggregate marks (except language and humanities) is needed.

CUSAT CAT, a computer-based test, is held for admission to different undergraduate and postgraduate courses at the Cochin University of Science and Technology. Candidates clearing the written test will have to pass the interview/group discussion rounds for final admission.

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The Rajasthan Subordinate and Ministerial Services Selection Board (RSMSSB) on Saturday declared the result for the tax assistant examination 2018. The examination was held on October 14 in two sessions.

Candidates can access the RSMSSB tax assistant results using log-in credential at - sso.rajasthan.gov.in

Rajasthan RSMSSB tax assistant exam admit card 2018: Heres how to download

1) Visit the official website of Rajasthan Staff Selection Board

2) Click on the link for result

3) Click on Download Result of Direct Recruitment of Tax Assistant(TA) Exam 2018

4) Click on Login

5) Enter SSOID/username, password and Captcha code

6) Login to check results

7) Take a print out and download it on your computer

The examination was held to fill 162 vacancies. The admit card for the Tax Assistant exam was issued by RSMSSB on October 8, 2018, Monday.

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The city police booked two officials of a humanitarian organisation for allegedly sexually harassing and stalking a co-worker, the said police. No arrest has been made so far.

According to the police, a Gurugram resident deployed at the organisations Sector 15 office, had gone to the Regional Transport Office (RTO) at Mini Secretariat on Tuesday to deposit money, when a clerk from her department allegedly tried to touch her inappropriately. He passed obscene remarks to which she objected. Later, he approached her in the training hall and asked her to meet him in the office room near Civil Hospital.

In her complaint, she alleged that this was not the first time that she was sexually harassed. The clerk had, in May 2018, molested her and after she had complained to the secretary, he was asked to work from Pataudi.

The woman complained to the senior, who asked her to ignore it and told her not to take the incident seriously as such incidents keep happening at workplace. He also passed lewd comments, following which the woman approached the deputy commissioner, who gave directions for a case to be registered, said Shamsher Singh, assistant commissioner of police.

The woman also alleged that the accused used to stalk her when she left the office in the evening, said police.

The accused refuted the allegations and said this is a conspiracy against him. I joined office last week and have never met the woman personally. Her office is three kilometres away from mine. Since I have joined, I have not spent much time in the office. These are false and baseless allegations against me. I have submitted all the relevant documents to the police and an investigation is underway, he said.

A case under sections 354A, 354D, 509, 506 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code(IPC) were registered at the womens police station (west).
An Army jawan was killed in firing by Pakistani troops along the line of control (LoC) in Shahpur sector of Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday.

Grenadier Hari Bhakar suffered grievous injures during unprovoked ceasefire violation by Pakistan on Sunday morning.

On Thursday, 24-year-old rifleman Yash Paul lost his life in firing by Pakistan Army along the LoC in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district

Bhakar was manning a forward post when he was hit by bullets fired from the across the border. He lost conciseness and colleagues from the nearby posts rushed him to the nearest medical facility. However, he later succumbed to his injures in the hospital.

Bhakar, a resident of Joosari village in Nagaur district of Rajasthan, is survived by mother Kamla Devi.

The unprovoked ceasefire from Pak Army commenced on Saturday evening in Shahpur and Kerni areas of the Poonch sector with heavy calibre weapons and rockets were fired from across the border, said PRO defence, Lt Col Devender Anand. However, Indian troops retaliated in strong measure inflicting adequate damage and causalities to Pakistan army.

There has been a spurt in ceasefire violations by Pakistan after Indias air strike at Jaish-e-Mohammad terror camp in Balakot on February 26.

Valley shuts down

Meanwhile, normal life was affected in Kashmir on Sunday because of a strike called by separatists against the Centres ban on the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front led by Yasin Malik.

Shops and businesses were shut in Srinagar while traffic movement was also affected in many parts of the Valley.

The weekly flea market in the city was open, although there was no rush of customers because of the strike.

Schools and government offices were already closed with Sunday being a holiday.

The Centre had on Friday banned JKLF led by Malik for five years for promoting what it called secessionist ideology and supporting terrorist and separatist groups.

Its proscription followed a ban imposed on the Jamaat-e-Islami (J&K) by the central government in February.

The Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) comprising separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Malik had asked people to observe a shutdown terming the ban on JKLF authoritarian, autocratic and pure political vendetta.

The way GoI is announcing bans and crackdowns on the organisations associated with the Kashmir struggle, arresting the leadership and slapping them with draconian PSAs  exposes the hollow claims of democracy of Indian government and also its aggressive and anti-human tactics adopted towards the peace loving people of Kashmir, the JRL had said on Saturday.

The shutdown also affected life in other district headquarters of the Valley.

A police official said that they had not imposed any restrictions in old city. The situation remained peaceful, he said.

The JKLF has called the ban an election stunt. After the persuasion of international community and Indian civil society, JKLF renounced its militant wing in 1994 and tread the path of peaceful and non-violent

struggle for freedom and right to self-determination, said partys acting chairman

Abdul Hameed Butt in a statement
Congress has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indigenous Nationalist Party of Twipra (INPT), a regional outfit, for the Lok Sabha elections, state Congress chief Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma said on Sunday.

This is the second time in the Tripuras political history that an MoU has been signed for forging an alliance between two political parties. An MoU was signed a week ago between All India Congress Committee, state Congress and INPT in New Delhi, Pradyot told reporters at a joint press conference with INPT. In the MoU, both agreed to fight the LS polls on issues, including scrapping of the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

Congress has fielded Subal Bhowmik, who recently joined after quitting BJP from Tripura West constituency and Pragya Deb Burman, a social activist, in Tripura East. If any other party wants to support us, our doors are open, said Pradyot.
A top expert with the Chinese defence forces has claimed it wasnt Pakistan Air Forces (PAF) US-made F-16 that shot down Indias MiG-21 Bison during last months dogfight when the two air forces had scrambled jets along the Line of Control (LoC).

Professor Jin Yinan from the National Defence University (NDU) of the PLA (Peoples Liberation Army) hints - without actually saying so - that it could have been a China-built jet, possibly the jointly built JF-17 fighter aircraft, which shot down Indias jet.

Jin also argued that it wasnt a surface-to-air missile that hit the MiG-21 Bison but an air-to-air projectile.

Jins interview was first published earlier this month on a Chinese website run by the PLA where he attempted to counter the narrative that it was an F-16, which shot down the Indian aircraft.

Jin, a retired general and an author, was a director of the strategic research institute at the NDU.

Expert: Who shot down Indias MiG-21 in India-Pakistan air battle? was the headline of the English version of the interview.

Watch: Once Rafale is here, Pak wont come near LoC: Air Force Chief Dhanoa

The Chinese experts reasoning comes against the backdrop of Beijings announcement that it had, along with Islamabad, started upgrading the JF-17 fighter jet. The development and production of the JF-17 Block 3 are underway, Yang Wei, a Chinese legislator and chief designer of the China-Pakistan co-developed fighter jet, was quoted as saying by the state media.

A day after Pakistans attempt to retaliate the Indian Air Forces air strikes at a Jaish terror camp in Balakot, the Indian armed forces, in a rare tri-service press conference, had displayed parts of an AIM-120 AMRAAM (Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile) fired by an F-16, which fell in Indian territory. New Delhi had also underlined that electronic signatures captured by Indian radars had established the use of F-16 for the offensive.

Soon after, the US State Department had announced it was seeking more information from Pakistan on the potential misuse of American-made F-16 jets against India in violation of the end-user agreement.

The Chinese expert did not elaborate his counter to the IAF stand and appeared to accept Pakistans claim about not using the F-16 at its face value.

He said: The Indian side tried to find reasons for its loss, saying that Pakistan had dispatched its most advanced F-16 fighters, which was denied. Pakistans saying is more reliable for three reasons.

First, the sales of F-16 fighters had been cut off by the US, so Pakistan now has only less than 20 such aircraft left, not to mention how many of which could still perform a flight mission, Jin said.

Second, Pakistan had signed an agreement with the US, which banned the use of F-16 fighters in offensive operations. This time, Indian warplanes flew into the Pakistani airspace and attacked ground targets first, and then Pakistan sent aircraft into Indias airspace for retaliation. From this perspective, it was a retaliatory, offensive operation conducted by Pakistan, in which the F-16 was inapplicable according to the aforesaid agreement.

Jin then argued that the Indian Air Force is well aware of the capabilities of the US-made jets including firepower and radar frequencies.

Third, the Indian military had already obtained basic data about the F-16 jets. The U.S. planned to export the F-21 - an upgraded version of the F-16 - to India, so it had informed the Indian side of all performance parameters about the aircraft. For this reason, India is familiar with the combating performances of the F-16, including its fire-control and searching radar frequency, the PLA expert said.

Given all this, Pakistan was unlikely to use its F-16 fighters in the air battle because there was a small chance to win even if it sent out the aircraft.

Asked what kind of missile would have hit the Indian jet, Jin claimed it was an air-to-air missile.

All existing signs indicate that it is improbable a surface-to-air missile. The wreckage of the MiG-21 fighter jet should be comminuted debris caused by the cellular explosion. However, it is evident that part of the crashed MiG-21 fighter jet was cut by a missile, instead of exploding in the air. It was directly hit by a missile warhead. In this case, it is unlikely to be a surface-to-air missile, but probably an air-to-air missile, he said.

Jin said IAFs frontier jets are in poor shape and flying outdated aircraft.

The aircraft equipped in Indias frontier troops are poor in performance. For instance, the MiG-21 fighter is already outdated. The captured Indian pilot is a senior wing commander. Among air force pilots, wing commander is already a high military ranking, who needs to fly at least 1,000 hours, so he is actually an experienced pilot. However, limited by its backward avionics, the MiG-21 fighters search radar could not detect the enemy and its fire-control radar cannot guide medium-range air-to-air missiles, Jin said.

The Chinese expert added: So, it could not perform preemptive detection and firing. As a result, it was detected and shot down first by the enemy. If the Indian military commissioned some more advanced fighters in the frontier, it would not only enhance its image but also not lose so badly. This is a feature of air warfare: a single pilot and a single aircraft can determine the result of an air battle.
A fire broke out in the basement of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Trauma Centre on Sunday evening, prompting an evacuation of more than 50 patients to safer blocks, police said.

Fire department officials said that there were no casualties in the incident and some patients  from the ground floor till the sixth floor  were evacuated and shifted to other blocks of the hospital building.

The fire triggered panic among patients, their attendants and visitors. Police suspect that the blaze may have started due to a short-circuit.

The AIIMS administration issued a press statement and said that they have initiated an enquiry to ascertain the cause of the fire and to suggest further measures for improvement in their fire fighting mechanism.

Chief fire officer Atul Garg said that the fire control room received a call regarding the blaze AIIMS after which four fire tenders rushed there within a couple of minutes.

As the fire had originated from one of the stores adjacent to the operation theatre in the basement and heavy smoke was coming out, 20 more fire tenders  along with 40-50 fire fighters  were rushed to the hospital to contain the blaze. The fire was controlled by 8pm. However, the cooling operation continued till late in the night, said Garg.

Garg said that since the smoke was rapidly spreading towards the upper floors, the hospital authorities were asked to evacuate the floors and shift the patients to safer places in the building. The electricity supply was cut and the lift operations were also disabled.

A senior doctor at AIIMS Trauma Centre, requesting anonymity, said, Almost all of us were trying to shift patients to safer blocks.

Patients from four floors (3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th), which house private wards, were moved to other departments. According to the doctor, around 50 patients were moved to safety, most of who were mainly accommodated in the emergency department.

Almost all patients moved are non-critical. Private wards usually dont have critical patients. The fire seem to have caught in the OT store, the doctor said.

Since the lifts were disabled, the hospital staff members were using stairs to move patients. No patient was evacuated from the building as that situation hadnt arisen. However, we were prepared to evacuate the building, , the doctor said.

Deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Devender Arya said that the preliminary enquiry into the fire revealed that it originated from the store room in the operation theatre complex on the basement. The presence of beds and other inflammable items in the store caused heavy smoke. A search operation was conducted after the fire was doused. Luckily, nobody was hurt in the fire, he said.
The Goa Congress has approached the Election Commission of India over appointment of two deputy chief ministers in the state.

The Congress has alleged that Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant violated the model code of conduct by announcing the appointment of the deputy chief ministers in the state.

The issuance of this order during the period of the model code of conduct is a clear violation and as such this order should be immediately set aside and strict action should be taken by the officer, the Congress said in its complaint. The complaint alleges violation of article 6(d) of the code which states that ministers and other authorities shall not make any ad hoc appointments in government, public undertakings etc which may have the effect of influencing the voters in favour of the party in power while it is in force.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government through an order issued by an undersecretary of the General Administration Department had designated Sudin Dhavalikar and Vijai Sardesai, leaders of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party and the Goa Forward Party respectively as deputy chief ministers with immediate effect.

BJPs Pramod Sawant was sworn in as the states chief minister in a late night development on March 18, after protracted negotiations with the alliance partners, who agreed to come on board after it was assured that they would be made deputy chief ministers.

Responding to the complaint state BJP president Vinay Tendulkar said that the chief minister was well within his powers to madetheappointments. Letthe Congress file the complaints. The election commission will decide. The Congress too in the past has appointed Deputy Chief Ministers. They have taken oath only as ministers, Tendulkar said.

Formation of a new government was necessitated in Goa following the death of chief minister Manohar Parrikar, who passed away on March 17 after a prolonged illness.
Residents of this small town in north Kashmirs Bandipora are coming to terms with the death of 12-year-old Aatif Mir, a Class VI student of Army Goodwill School, who was held hostage in his own home by two Lashkar-e-Taiba militants and then killed by them even as security forces tried to secure his release.

He was taken hostage during a search-and-cordon operation by the security forces.

On Saturday, the boys parents and sisters were huddled together at the home of a relative, adjacent to their own in the towns Mimoh neighbourhood. Relatives, neighbours and the boys many school friends streamed in through the day to offer condolences.

Khalid, one of Aatifs friends who lives in the same locality, said, Our school is closed today [Saturday]. I cant believe Aatif is not alive. He was very good at studies. We used to play and study together.

The school will remain shut till Monday. Vice-principal Irfan Ahmad said, We remember Aatif as a good and obedient student who scored over 90% in exams. I saw many of his friends crying at the funeral. We are planning to go to his house again to express our condolences.

There was a virtual shutdown in Hajin town on Saturday but anger was palpable on the streets, especially against one of the two militants  identified as Ali Bhai  who was active in the area over the last three years. The militant deliberately held the boy hostage. Many requests were made by local people, security forces and officials to free him but the militant didnt allow him to leave the house. I have never seen such a thing in my life and I never want to see it again, said Abdul Majeed, a neighbour.

Aatifs uncle Abdul Hameed, who was also held hostage but fled when the militants were injured in the gunfight and were ultimately killed, said the boy had been terrified the entire time he was held hostage. As the firing was going on, I put several blankets around him to keep him safe.

The militants heard the announcements seeking the boys release but they were unmoved. I pleaded with them to free the child, even if that meant I would be killed, but they wouldnt listen. They opened fire on me but I am lucky the bullets flew past me, he said.

Aatifs father, Mohammad Shafi Mir, was inconsolable. Aatif was very dear to me. He was my only son and the youngest of my children... my daughters are older to him, he said.

Refusing to blame the boys uncle or the forces, he continued, I was not home when the security forces cordoned our house. My other family members came out but Aatif and his uncle were kept hostage by the militants. They didnt allow them to come out. The forces made every attempt to save my son. But the militants were adamant not to free him, he added.

It isnt clear what the militants were doing in the home, although a police officer suggested that the family may have known the militants. Bandipore senior superintendent of police Rahul Malik said some of Aatifs family members revealed that the militants, both of whom were killed, had been beating them up.

There was this theory that Ali wanted to marry some girl in the family and that the family members sent the girl to some other place, so he was demanding that she should be brought back if he were to allow the others (including Aatif) to go out. Basically, he wanted the girl to be brought back, he added.

Over the past few years, the town and adjoining areas in north Kashmir have gone from being an epicentre of anti-insurgency to a militant stronghold. In the mid 1990s, the town was the base of an anti-insurgency force, Ikhwan, led by Kuka Parray. But in the last three years, militants have made a comeback in the area.

Officials say that some local and foreign militants are active in the area but add that most of them, including some top commanders, were killed last year. A senior police officer dealing with counter-insurgency operations said this is the first time that militants used a boy as a human shield. There is anger against the killing of the young boy in the entire area, he said on condition of anonymity.
Union defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday fired a barb at the previous Congress-led UPA government for not responding to the 26/11 Mumbai attack.

Hinting that the armed forces had at that time also approached the government at the Centre to take action, she said that there are enough reasons to believe that the government did not take a call.

If only a similar deterrent action (#airstrike) was taken after Mumbai attack... & I have enough reasons to believe that armed forces did tell the govt at that time, if you want us to do something, we are ready but we want you to take the call, she said.

She was speaking at an event in Hyderabad. She was responding to allegations from the opposition parties over the politicisation of the Balakot air strike and the recent tension between India and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, speaking at a separate event, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj also spoke on the matter and hailed Indias diplomacy in getting Wing Commander Abhinandan repatriated to India within two days of his being captured in Pakistan after his MiG-27 was shot down in an aerial engagement across the Line of Control.

Referring to the airstrike conducted by the Indian Air Force on Jaish camps at Balakot in Pakistan, she said that Pakistan had conducted a retaliatory strike.

She said, The next day (after the airstrike) Pakistan sent its planes to conduct a retaliatory strike. We shot down one of their planes, they shot down one of ours and captured one of our pilots. The success of Indias dilomatic prowess can be judged from the fact that we got our pilot repatriated within 2 days.

The comments by both Sitharaman and Sushma Swaraj came a day after Indian Congress chief Sam Pitroda raised questions about the airstrike after the Pulwama attack, which had led to criticism from the BJP.

The most trusted advisor and guide of the Congress President has kick-started the Pakistan National Day celebrations on behalf of the Congress, ironically by demeaning Indias armed forces. Shame!, PM Modi had tweeted.

PM Modi accused the Opposition of insulting the forces time and again.

I appeal to my fellow Indians- question Opposition leaders on their statements. Tell them- 130 crore Indians will not forgive or forget the Opposition for their antics. India stands firmly with our forces, he had written on Twitter.
A fresh row appeared to be brewing between India and Pakistan on Sunday after external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj asked Indias envoy in Islamabad for details about the alleged abduction and forced conversion of two Pakistani Hindu girls in a tweet that triggered an exchange on social media with a minister of the neighbouring country.

Reports said that two Hindu teenage girls, 13 and 15 years old, were allegedly kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam before being married to Muslim men in Pakistans Sindh province. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday ordered the provincial Sindh and Punjab governments to retrieve the two girls, who were said to have been moved to Rahim Yar Khan from Ghotki in his countrys south-east.

In videos circulating on social media over the last two days, the father and brother of the girls can be heard saying the two were abducted and forced to change their religion.

In another clip, however, the minor girls appear to say that they have accepted Islam of their own free will. Hindustan Times could not independently verify the video clips.

While tagging a media report about the incident in Pakistan, the Indian external affairs minister on Sunday tweeted that she had asked the Indian high commissioner in Islamabad to send a report on the matter. Pakistans information minister Fawad Chaudhry responded to her tweet, saying it was his countrys internal issue.

Swaraj hit back in another tweet: Mr Minister, I only asked for a report from Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad about the kidnapping and forced conversion of two minor Hindu girls to Islam. This was enough to make you jittery. This only shows your guilty conscience.

To this, Chaudhry responded by tweeting: Madam Minister I am happy that in the Indian administration we have people who care for minority rights in other countries. I sincerely hope that your conscience will allow you to stand up for minorities at home as well. Gujarat and Jammu must weigh heavily on your soul.

Non-Muslims constitute about 3% of the 190 million people in Pakistan, about 7.5 million of them from the Hindu community. The minority populations are concentrated in some areas and they are said to have a crucial impact in a few seats during elections in the Sindh and Punjab provinces.

The incident comes weeks after the Pakistani government sacked a provincial minister for making offensive remarks about Hindus amid tensions with India following a suicide bombing in Kashmirs Pulwama that killed 40 troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) claimed responsibility for the attack that was carried out by a 22-year-old Kashmiri man.

In an operation carried out on February 26, fighter jets of the Indian Air Force bombed a site in Balakot, in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region, known to be a militant training centre of the JeM. The air strike triggered a sharp escalation in tensions with Pakistan, which attempted an air operation in retaliation.

The tensions eased after Pakistan released Indian Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman, whose jet was shot down in a dogfight over the Line of Control on February 27.

In a Twitter post in Urdu on Sunday, Pakistans information minister Chaudhry said that the Prime Minister of his country asked the Sindh chief minister to look into reports that the two Hindu girls had been taken to Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab. Chaudhry said that Khan also ordered the Sindh and Punjab governments to devise a joint action plan in light of the incident, and to take concrete steps to prevent such incidents from happening again.

The minorities in Pakistan make up the white of our flag and all of our flags colours are precious to us. Protection of our flag is our duty, he said.

The Hindu community in Pakistan has carried out massive protests, calling for strict action to be taken against those responsible, while reminding Imran Khan of his promises to the minorities of the country. During his election campaign, Khan had said his partys agenda was to uplift the various religious groups across Pakistan and said they would take effective measures to prevent forced marriages of Hindu girls.

(With inputs from PTI)
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath on Sunday ordered for a probe into the issuance of an inflated power bill to a farmer who allegedly in protest consumed poison in the office of Central Zone Power Distribution Company in Bhopal on Saturday, officials said.

The condition of farmer Awadh Narayan Sisodia, 48, a resident of Behta village of Bhopal district is stated to be critical, according to police.

Chief minister Nath asked the district collector, Bhopal to probe into the matter so that action is taken against if they are found guilty.

The CM also asked the power departments principal secretary to direct the companys officers across the state to act swiftly on the farmers complaints related to inflated bills.

In a note, Sisodia blamed the officers and employees of the power distribution company for the inflated bill and his taking the extreme step, said police.

Police inspector Ajay Mishra said, Sisodia in his two-page suicide note addressed to chief minister Kamla Nath shared his ordeal. Sisodia said he had installed a motor of five horsepower on his agricultural land two years back. He is paying 2,000 per month. In January, he received an inflated bill of 1.2 lakh.

Sisodia said he had been requesting officers concerned to rectify the mistake and release a revised bill for the past two months but no one heard his plea. According to Sisodia, the company snapped his power connection a few days back whereupon Sisodia came to the power distribution companys office on Saturday for the same but didnt receive any response, he consumed poison, said Mishra.

Refuting the allegation that an inflated bill was issued the power distribution companys assistant engineer Anil Verma said, The connection was snapped as the bill of 65,000 was pending in the farmers name. We asked him to pay the bill in installments and that the power connection would be resumed after his paying first installment but he didnt agree.
Even years after he opted out of tumult of Canadian politics in which he created an unrivalled milestone with his election in 2000 as the first India-origin premier of British Columbia province, Ujjal Dosanjh, 72, is widely recognised as an influential and insightful voice in the Maple country and beyond. Steadfast and clear-eyed in his ideological stand against Khalistani extremism, the former federal minister and Liberal MP revels in speaking his mind even if it is contrary to the party line. One thing he doesnt skip is his at least once-a-year trip to his native village Dosanjh Kalan near Jalandhar from where he, then 17-year-old, had migrated first to Britain and later Canada in the 60s. Dosanjh spoke to Executive Editor Ramesh Vinayak in Chandigarh on Saturday on a range of issues from the new wave of migration from Punjab, India-Canada relations and Punjabi diaspora to ethics in politics. Edited excerpts:

Punjab has in recent years seen a wave of migration of young population to the West, particularly Canada. What do you make of this?

Canada needs people and also knows that people from India, including Punjab, are well-versed with English as a language, more than the Chinese. The number of Indian students has outstripped the Chinese. They allow foreign students to stay as permanent residents because they need a skilled workforce. Canadas population will decline if we didnt have immigrants. This, from the Canadian perspective, is a better way of continuing to increase its population. It is a smart move to bring both talent and money into Canada.

What does it mean for Punjab?

Im conflicted on this. Im a Canadian and also an Indian. Punjab should be worried because it is losing energy. Its like a safety valve. You are losing the young and talented, the aspiring young men and women who want to do better in life. If they start leaving in a significant number, that urge and pressure for change in Punjab itself is released. Punjab will suffer in the long run. There is also outflow of money. Previously, you had remittances coming into Punjab. That is low now. The money flow is in the other direction to support studies because foreign fees are high. Families are selling assets to finance their children abroad, hoping they will be immigrants. Punjab has to find a strategy to use its own youth to fuel growth here.

Why dont youngsters see hope here?

It is a humongous problem. Successive governments have failed to create that sense of hope.

What is your take on the India-Canada relations that turned frostier since Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeaus visit last year?

This strain goes back to 1998 when Canada imposed sanctions after India conducted the nuclear test. When I became premier of British Columbia in 2000, I was officially invited by New Delhi and met prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. For a while, things were unclogged, but Trudeaus election in 2013 set the whole process in reverse motion. That was partly because of the Government of Indias perception that his associates from the Indo-Canadian community are essentially Khalistanis or Khalistan sympathisers. Then, Trudeaus trip was bungled completely. Little was accomplished. The two PMs may not have seen eye to eye. Sometimes the relationship between countries depends on the chemistry between the leaders. Since then, the relationship is on the backburner.

Khalistani extremism has become the most sticking issue in bilateral ties?

That is my belief, too. Because it goes back to the time when the Trudeau government forestalled Capt Amarinder Singhs travel to Canada ahead of the 2017 Punjab assembly polls. He had just wanted to speak to the Punjabi diaspora who dont vote here. That was offensive and hypocritical as Trudeau, during his India trip later, visited all kinds of temples in all kinds of garbs  and all this was meant for elections back home.

New Delhi blames the Trudeau dispensation for soft-pedalling on pro-Khalistan elements who spew venom against India?

Until recently, the leaders of most Canadian political parties, including Liberals, have been participating in religious processions, including the Baisakhi parade, where floats glorifying Khalistani terrorists are put up. Trudeaus trip highlighted the tensions and it generated a debate in Canada. Now, Canadian politicians have been put on notice that this is improper and they should not be doing it. Hopefully, that implicit condoning and glorification of terrorists will stop.

How serious is the threat of Khalistani extremism?

In Canada, the United Kingdom and parts of the United States, it is a serious issue. Not in the sense of numbers but in the sense that if five or 10 people stand up and say that we are aggrieved at what happened in India in 1984. Because of the religious sentiments, other people dont say anything and they simply follow the lead. But in terms of the real impact on India, it is less so because India is a big place. Even 3,000 diehard Khalistanis in two or three foreign countries are not going to make much impact on India. In fact, it is much more dangerous for the host societies. Because the dream of Khalistan will remain in the cranial cavities of the second or third generation who were born and raised in Canada, and some of them have never visited India. They are fed the lie of Sikhs today being persecuted, massacred and discriminated against. If you continue to believe that lie and there is nothing to counter it, it becomes a problem in the form of a ghetto of Khalistani ideology developing in Canada which may be more worried about some perceived grievances and imagined situation in Punjab than the real issues in the home country. That is more dangerous for Canada.

Given that pro-Khalistan ideology has no resonance in Punjab, what keeps it alive in Canada?

At one level, it is linked to identity politics. More important is the recent past. Post the 1984 massacre, people were angry. But they realised that it was an aberration. That Hindus and Sikhs have never had problems. There has been an unquestionable integrity between the two communities. If you have a riot or a massacre, people still need to live with each other. They realised that ordinary people saved each other and that neighbours are not enemies but friends as they have been for centuries. So there is that ameliorative effect of living together. So there is an opportunity to heal because you see everyone living together, inter-marrying and no discrimination. Manmohan Singh became the prime minister. The country had a Sikh army chief. Those became healing symbols. But in Canada, if you are an immigrant or born and raised there and if you have that anger and grievance in your head, there is no context to heal it. In the 60s when I went to Canada, there were few Hindu temples. Most Indians worshipped at gurdwaras. That had brought the communities together. Today, there is no such thing. Though there are personal relationships and inter-faith marriages, there is no composite living as it is in Chandigarh or in my ancestral village in Jalandhar. That fragmentation of life allows these grievances to fester in peoples heads without any counter to it. That will remain a problem for long unless the leadership in places such as Canada begins to say to these people: Hey, we see no problem in Punjab. If you see it, go and fight it. But in Canada we need to live together, worry about the here and now, and move on.

What kind of sway do Khalistanis have among Sikhs overseas?

They are a tiny minority. In terms of sway, it is the silence of the majority that allows Khalistanis to claims that they have vast support.

The 2018 Public Report on the Terrorism Threat to Canada, tabled recently in the Canadian parliament, acknowledged Khalistan extremism as terror threat. Is it a signal that the Trudeau government has woken up to Indias sensitivities and is attempting a course correction?

I found that report encouraging. Of course, the Khalistani elements were upset and so were some of Trudeaus ministers and MPs at the mention of Sikh radicalism. I wouldnt call it a course correction. But, its a beginning and may help thaw Indo-Canadian relations.

Which are the social issues facing the Punjabi diaspora in Canada?

The gang problem has been more significant than the drug issue. The gang problem revolves around drugs. Weve lost more than 200 youngsters, mostly Sikhs, since the 90s. I was the attorney general when the first Punjabi kid was killed and he happened to be a Dosanjh from my village.

How has the diasporas participation in power politics in Canada changed?

There are more people participating; thats good. I worry more about the quality and caliber of people coming to politics. They say more the merrier. But, I say better the merrier.

You speak passionately about ethics in politics. How does India fare?

Not to be critical or partisan but it saddens me when I look at the canvas of Indian politics. There is really no moral or ethical leadership in this country. Not to criticise any one current or past, but we must recognise that ethically India is wanting; Indians are wanting. Without a deep sense of ethics in each and every Indian, India will not make the progress as fast or the kind of progress it could make. India produced so many prophets, saints and reformers because this country needed them. Unfortunately, they did not succeed in transforming India ethically. We believe that once there was satyug. My belief is that India has always been in search of satyug, but has not achieved it. I wish it does in my lifetime.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadras tweet on alleged unpaid dues worth ?10,000 crore for farmers in the sugarcane belt of Uttar Pradesh sparked a slugfest on Twitter with chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday. The Uttar Pradesh CM asked the Congress leader where the well-wishers of farmers were between 2012 and 2017 when farmers in the state faced starvation.

Adityanath asserted that his government has made record payments to cane farmers in the state. When our government was formed, the pending cane dues were around ?57,800 crore. The amount was bigger than the budgets of many states. But we paid it Previous SP-BSP governments did nothing for sugarcane farmers which resulted in them getting struck by penury, Adityanath said.

Earlier during the day, Priyanka Gandhi had attacked the state government over the alleged unpaid dues of sugarcane farmers, claiming in a tweet that chowkidars (watchmen) were only working for the rich, not for the poor.

The region of the state that votes in the first phase of the 2019 Lok Sabha election on April 11 in western UP is widely referred to as the cane belt. The opposition had earlier raised the issue of farmers due ahead of the Kairana bypolls in 2018, which the BJP had lost.

Priyankas tweet was taken by the BJP camp as a ploy to provoke the same sentiments in the region, local leaders said.

The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), whose votebank is largely centered on farm politics, too has been raising the issue of the farmers arrears. The RLD is contesting polls in alliance with Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Congresss in-charge of western UP Jyotiraditya Scindia also targeted the BJP governments at the Centre and the state. The pending sugarcane dues of ?10,000 crore are a big example of ineffectiveness of the present government. Farmers of Meerut, Baghpat, Kairana, Saharanpur, Bijnor and Muzaffarnagar would respond to this injustice on April 11, Scindia tweeted.

UP BJP leader Chandramohan, who hails from western UP, said, We have several achievements to our credit and we dare the opposition to challenge them. Unlike in the past when sugar mills were closed and sold, when sugar cane dues werent cleared, our government has not only cleared record dues, including payments pending from SP rule but also provided better facilities to them, he said.

Also read: Priyanka Gandhi hits back after PM Modis attack, says people can see through
The winner of a Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) lottery has surrendered his prize-winning costly flat in Mumbai citing bad vaastu.

Vinod Shirke, the shakha chief of Shivsena in Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had in December last year won two flats valued at 4.99 crores and 5.08 crores each, the costliest flats in history to be ever sold in a MHADA lottery.

The BMC official said he decided to relinquish the costlier flat on the suggestion of his vaastu consultant.

Speaking to ANI, Shirke said, I had won two flats in the same building and as per the guidelines of MHADA, I can establish a claim on any one of them. After seeking advice from my Vaastu consultant, I have decided that I wont be accepting the costlier flat which is worth of 5.80 crores.

My Vaastu consultant has suggested some mandatory alterations to be made in the flats to ensure a better career in politics and social life for me. But the suggested amendments cannot be undertaken in the costlier flat (5.80 crores) of Dhavalgiri but those can be made in the second flat which amounts for 4.99 crores. I have informed the authorities about withdrawing my claim from the costlier flat. 

While confirming the news, a MHADA official told ANI that Shrike has intimated the department about his decision and now as per procedure, the flat will be offered to people in the waiting list for the said flat.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)
Abandoned central government flats in Sarojini Nagar are now occupied  not by government employees or anyone authorised by the government, but by squatters.

The flats are not locked. Just get your luggage. No one has stopped us, said Sukhdev (who goes by his first name), who is living in one of the flats with three others.

Another occupant, a woman in her mid-forties who refused to give her name, said that the only challenge is lack of electricity and water. It is a little inconvenient but when you are getting to live in such a prime locality, connected with metro and bus services, and that too for free, it is a small price to pay, she added.

Her family of six moved into a two-bedroom flat from the Kanak Durga slum cluster in RK Puram Sector-12 a month ago. Her husband is a vendor at the Babu Market in Sarojini Nagar and moving nearer his workplace was a convenient option.

We have a house at KD Colony and whenever these houses have to be pulled down we will move out, she said.

In 2017, central government employees vacated the flats -- there are over 15,000 in total --- after it was announced that they would be redeveloped into high-rise housing for them and others. Sarojini Nagar is one of seven neighbourhoods in south Delhi selected for the redevelopment and last year, as first reported by Hindustan Times, the government had approved the felling of at least 14,000 trees for the purpose.

The trees proved to be the plans undoing, though, and after Hindustan Times first broke details of just how many would be felled, activists and environmental groups approached the courts. In June last year, the Delhi high court stayed construction in all seven neighbourhoods  Sarojini Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Nauroji Nagar, Thyagaraja Nagar, Mohammadpur, Kasturba Nagar and Sriniwaspuri. While the stay on all neighbourhoods, except Nauroji Nagar, was later lifted, construction has been delayed with permissions from the Delhi and central governments needing to be sought afresh.

With no one living here, it became a great option for those who wanted a roof over their head, said a shopkeeper in Sarojini Nagar who asked not to be named.

On a recent March day, inside the colony which is supposed to be abandoned, women chatted as they bought groceries, children played, and residents parked their cars (yes, some of the squatters have them) close to the neighbourhood park.

Battery powered fans and emergency lights have been brought in and water is sourced from water tankers that visit the market area.

Street vendors in the area too seem to have taken a room or two to serve as the storehouse for their wares.

The mink blanket stock needs to be rolled back now that winter is over. We have kept these here as a stopgap arrangement, said Dhirendra Nautiyal, one such street vendor.

Several flats at Netaji Nagar too are occupied, but by central government employees, who were allotted Type-1 (one room, kitchen ) apartments elsewhere and refused to vacate the colony. This despite the houses around them being demolished.

Mahadevi Sapodiya, who lives near the Netaji Nagar post office with her family of five, agreed that it is a safety concern but this is the most convenient location for them and they do not want to move.

There are only about 10 families living in this entire colony now. Things have changed, it is lonely but we have no other option, Sapodiya added

Anoop Kumar Mittal, chairperson and managing director of NBCC (India) Limited, the developer of the project, said that the high courts stay order was the primary factor behind the squatting.

Our teams have filed several police complaints to vacate these quarters, he said.

Senior officials in-charge of the project said that they have tried every trick in the book (and then some) to move the people. In some flats, doors and windows have been removed to encourage the people to move out.

Demolition is the only way to get these people to move out. We remove them from one house and they start living in another. The break in the work has caused us several problems, an NBCC official said on condition of anonymity.
Normal life was affected in Kashmir Sunday due to a strike called by the Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), an amalgam of separatist groups, to protest against the ban on Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) led by Yasin Malik, officials said.

Shops and business establishments remained closed while public transport was off the roads in most parts of the Valley due to the strike called by the Joint Resistance Leadership, they said.

The officials, however, said the strike call evoked little response in some parts of the Valley as the weekly flea market, locally known as Sunday market, operated normally.

This is the second organisation in Jammu and Kashmir which has been banned this month.

Earlier, the Centre had banned the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir.

The Yasin Malik-led Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front was banned on Friday for a series of violent acts and being in the forefront of separatist activities in the militancy-hit state since 1988, Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba had said.

Separatists Saturday called for a strike against the Centres decision to ban the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front , saying it was undemocratic and political vendetta.

The Government of Indias decision of banning the JKLF for five years is highly authoritarian, autocratic and pure political vendetta, the Joint Resistance Leadership said in a statement.

The way the Government of India is announcing bans and crackdowns on the organisations associated with the Kashmir struggle, arresting the leadership and slapping them with draconian Public Safety Act (PSA), killing youth in custody .... exposes their hollow claims of democracy, it added.

The Joint Resistance Leadership said by imposing ban on organisations and booking separatist leaders in fake cases , the government cannot change the reality of the Kashmir issue.

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External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday got into a tweet duel with Pakistans minister for information and broadcasting Chaudhary Fawad Hussain over a report of two teenaged Hindu girls being kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam in Pakistans Sindh province.

In a tweet earlier in the day, Swaraj had, while tagging a media report, said that she had asked the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan to send a report on the matter of the abduction of the two Hindu girls.

In an unsolicited response, Chaudhary Fawad Hussain had responded to Swaraj saying, that it was an internal issue of Pakistan.

Mam its Pakistin internal issue and rest assure its not Modis India where minorities are subjugated its Imran Khans Naya Pak where white color of our flag is equally dearer to us.I hope you ll act with same diligence when it comes to rights of Indian Minorities https://t.co/MQC1AnnmGR  Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) March 24, 2019

Mam its Pakistin internal issue and rest assure its not Modis India where minorities are subjugated its Imran Khans Naya Pak where white color of our flag is equally dearer to us.I hope you ll act with same diligence when it comes to rights of Indian Minorities, Hussain tweeted.

Swaraj, while replying to Hussain wrote it was Pakistans guilty conscience that had evoked the response from Hussain.

Mr. Minister @fawadchaudhry - I only asked for a report from Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad about the kidnapping and forced conversion of two minor Hindu girls to Islam. This was enough to make you jittery. This only shows your guilty conscience, she tweeted.

According to a media report, the incident of kidnapping and forcible conversion to Islam of two teenaged Hindu girls took place on the eve of Holi in Pakistans Sindh province.

Mr.Minister @fawadchaudhry - I only asked for a report from Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad about the kidnapping and forced conversion of two minor Hindu girls to Islam. This was enough to make you jittery. This only shows your guilty conscience. @IndiainPakistan  Chowkidar Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 24, 2019
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu called upon the youth to strive to build a new India which is free of fear, corruption, hunger, discrimination, illiteracy, poverty, caste barriers and urban-rural divide.

Interacting with students of Delhi University, who called on him at his residence here on Saturday, Naidu urged youth to develop a constructive attitude and focus on achieving perfection in whatever they do. Learn to preserve traditional values, shun negativism, develop a positive attitude, be socially conscientious, peace-loving and affectionate, he added.

You must be in the forefront in the fight against social evils, bigotry, prejudices and promote gender equity and inclusiveness, Naidu told students here.

Naidu further opined that the future belongs to those who dare to dream and possess the courage, resilience and competence to create a better tomorrow.Reflecting upon the development of the Indian economy in recent times, Naidu said that it was Advantage India now.

With India consistently achieving a growth rate of more than 7 per cent for the past few years, the Indian economy is projected to become the third largest in the coming 10-15 years. One must strive to build an inclusive and a prosperous New India and usher in Ram Rajya, the vice president said.

Asserting that knowledge would be the driver of the Indian economy, Naidu called for reorienting of the higher education system to make it globally competitive. The overhauling of the education system should totally eliminate colonial mindset and teach real history, ancient civilization, culture and heritage and instil the values of nationalism among the students, he said.

Naidu also opined considering Indias demographic, providing adequate skilling and knowledge to youth can help them become job creators instead of job seekers.
Srinagar A request will be sent to the United States to seek details from a service provider of virtual SIMs, which were used by the Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber behind the Pulwama attack and his Pakistan and Kashmir-based handlers, officials said.

Piecing together probe from the site of the terror strike, searches carried out by the Jammu and Kashmir Police and central security agencies at an encounter site in Tral as well as other locations, it was found that the bomber, Adil Dar, was in constant touch with the JeM across the border, they said.

The main mastermind of the audacious attack, Mudassir Khan, was killed in an encounter in Tral.

Forty CRPF personnel were killed on February 14 when Dar rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a paramilitary force bus at Pulwama in south Kashmir. India retaliated after the strike by bombing the Jaish terror groups hideout in Balakot in Pakistan.

It was a fairly new modus operandi where terrorists across the border were using a virtual SIM, generated by a service provider in the United States. In this technology, the computer generates a telephone number and the user downloads an application of the service provider on their smartphone.

The number is linked to social networking sites like WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram or Twitter. The verification code generated by these networking sites is received on the smartphone and the user is ready.

In case of Pulwama, Dar was in constant touch with the Jaish handler as well as Mudassir Khan using the same technology, the officials said.

They said the numbers used were pre-fixed with +1, the Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN) used for the US.

The request to the US will include details of phone numbers that got in touch with the Virtual SIM and who had activated it, they said, adding that Internet Protocol addresses would also be sought.

While the security agencies will attempt to find who had paid for the virtual SIM, they were also aware that the terror groups used forged identities, as was done during the Mumbai 26/11 terror attack.

During investigation of the 26/11 attacks it was found that an amount of USD 229 was wired to Callphonex, via Western Union Money Transfer receipt number 8364307716-0, for activating the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) used during the attack.

The money was received from Madina Trading located in Brescia in Italy and sender was claimed to be Javed Iqbal, a resident of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

However, after Italian police arrested two Pakistani nationals in 2009, it was alleged that the firm had made nearly 300 transfers in the name of Iqbal, who probably had never set his foot in Italy.

The Italian police, while concluding the probe, had said the Brescia-based company made several transfers using the identity of innocent, unsuspecting persons, whose identity cards or passports might have been stolen.
BJP President Amit Shah on Sunday taunted the opposition saying it has no leader to become Prime Minister even if it were to win the general elections.

No one is willing to fight the elections. Mayawati wants Narendra Modi defeated as Prime Minister but she is not willing to fight elections. Neither is Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee or Stalin, he said at an election rally in Agra.

He said the Modi government has worked for the development for the entire nation and not for any particular community and cited the scheme of direct cash transfers to farmers and medical insurance for the poor as the .governments commitment to all-round development.

It is the BJPs development versus the corruption of the mahagathbandhan in these elections, he said

Shah praised PM Modi for the surgical strikes across the LoC and in Balakot after the terror attacks in Uri and Pulwama. He criticised Congress president Rahul Gandhi and Sam Pitroda for their comments on Balakot air strike and accused the opposition of indulging in vote bank politics by abusing the defence forces of the country.

Sam Pritoda raised questions about Balakot air strike. I ask if they are related to Pakistanis, he said.

There used to be two countries, US and Israel which used to be known for avenging its soldiers. Now India has become the third country to do so under Modi.... Only Modi can ensure the countrys security, Shah said to chants of Modi, Modi.

Election should be fought for the nations security and development and should not be contested to fulfil someones wish to become Prime Minister, Shah said.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday launched its Lok Sabha campaign in Delhi with road shows and public meetings led by party convener and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Harping completely on the demand to grant full statehood to Delhi, Kejriwal reiterated some of his promises, and introduced new ones.

He announced 85% reservation in jobs and colleges to Delhi residents, cheaper loans to build houses, and stopping the ongoing sealing drive against commercial establishment within 24 hours of becoming a full state.

In a rally in North Delhis Timarpur on Saturday evening, Kejriwal sought votes using local issues and making all promises conditional to the national Capital gaining full statehood. For this, the AAP chief contended, the party had to win all seven parliamentary seats.

Dont think about making a prime minister in the upcoming elections. Think about yourself, your family and your children. Let this election be about you and not the PM. If AAP wins in Delhi then getting works done would become much easier and faster, he said in his over 30-minute long speech.

Delhi goes to polls on May 12 and AAP has announced candidates for all these seven seats in the city, the only party yet to do so.

Raking up the issue of the sealing drive in the city, Kejriwal took a dig at the BJP-led central government. He said that all the Modi government had to do was pass a one-line ordinance in this direction, which it didnt.

If Delhi becomes a full state, then in 24 hours I will stop all sealing activities in the city, he promised.

For the first time, the CM, in his speech, elaborated on his promise to provide every Delhi family a house.

For all these years, it is the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) that is responsible for housing in the city... and it has done nothing but to cut plots and hand it over to builders. If you make AAP win, then in 10 years, we will provide houses for every voter family in cheap and easy installments, he said.

While also assuring 85% reservation in jobs and colleges, the CM said that on gaining full statehood AAP would open so many colleges and universities that even those Delhiites who get 60% would manage to get admission in good colleges. Kejriwal also alleged that the BJP would obstruct its political rallies in the coming days using the Delhi police as it is already fearing a defeat in the upcoming polls.

Apart from Kejriwal, the opening day of AAPs election campaign also saw leaders such as deputy CM Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai hold road shows and rallies in different parts of the city. On Sunday, the party has at least four rallies scheduled in different assembly constituencies.

AAP leaders have taken the line - Dilli ka samman adhura, poorn rajya se hoga poora (Delhis partial honour will be completed with full statehood) as their main slogan for this election.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will kick off its election campaign for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with Vijay Sankalp (victory pledge) rallies in majority of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies of Uttar Pradesh though the party will focus majorly on western UP where polls will be held in the first phase.

BJP chief Amit Shah will launch the party campaign in Agra while chief minister Yogi Adityanath will be in Saharanpur for the campaign on Sunday.

Yogi will also be in Mathura on Monday to address a rally in favour of party candidate Hema Malini. Several union ministers and BJP leaders would similarly address public meetings across the state.

BJP spokesman Harish Srivastava said Shah would also attend a public meeting in Moradabad on Tuesday even as union home minister Rajnath Singh arrives in Lucknow on Sunday.

The party is also finalising schedule for election rallies by its star campaigner Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose appeal, they hope, would help blunt the caste advantage that the SP-BSP-RLD alliance enjoys in Uttar Pradesh.

Deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya would be in Lakhimpur Kheri to address a BJP rally and, leading the BJP charge in Rae Bareli, the LS constituency of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, would be state BJP chief Mahendra Nath Pandey on Sunday.

Deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma will address a rally in Amethi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday.

Party leaders say that having announced the candidature of union minister Smriti Irani from Amethi seat, from where Rahul is re-contesting, the BJP would continue to focus on the two constituencies.

Irani will be in Kanpur on Sunday for a rally while union railway minister minister Piyush Goyal will be in Bareilly.
As the Lok Sabha electoral race gathers pace, demand for chartered planes and helicopters to fly around candidates and their political paraphernalia is rising rapidly. Most available aircraft have already been booked, air service operators said, and given that the April 11-May 18 elections are spread over as many as seven phases, candidates need to scramble for the rest.

Political parties depend heavily on helicopters and private aircraft during election campaigns, specially when they have to travel to far-flung areas or constituencies with poor road connectivity, such as the those in the north-eastern states.

Obviously there will be a gap between demand and supply during elections but the party that pays well and on time will get the choppers. I have been supplying both fixed-wing aircraft and twin-engine choppers to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and have never faced an issue, said Gulab Singh, owner of Saarthi Airways.

According to Singh, the per-hour cost of hiring a chopper is roughly around 2-2.5 lakh. The per-hour cost of hiring a nine-seater fixed-wing aircraft is around 90,000 per hour.

India has around 20 twin-engine helicopters and some 100 fixed-wing chartered plane operator, according to DGCA. Total Indian has 356 aircraft with non-scheduled operators. For use by political leaders and other VIPs, the aviation regulator has made the use of twin-engine helicopters mandatory.

In general, the cost of helicopter does not go beyond 2 lakh per hour, but during election season it goes up to 4 lakh... While there are many operators in India, there are only 3-4 brokers who provide them to the political parties, said another operator, requesting anonymity.

These brokers take the plane from owner and then rent it out to the political party since owner doesnt want to rent it out directly. Broker ends up getting 15000-20000 per hour.

A senior BJP functionary said the party has no option but to hire choppers and aircraft for engaging with the electorate during poll season. On an average the PM and senior ministers, travel between two to three rallies in a day sometimes, it is not feasible to rely on road transport or even commercial flights..., he said requesting anonymity. On how much the expects to spend paying the companies from which hire choppers and planes ,the leader said the costs usually spiral during the polling season and given the rush for these services, the costs often spill over the allocated budget.

The Election Commission keeps tabs on the choppers and chartered planes used by political parties for campaigning given that these services entail big spending.

After the elections, all parties have to furnish a breakup of their spending, including travel by aircraft to the EC within 75 days; candidates have to do so within 30 days.

Parties that are not cash-rich complain that the use of private aircraft and helicopters for campaigning doesnt make for a level playing field.

The CPIs D Raja said, ... The BJP was the biggest beneficiary of these. Its time the EC considers state funding of elections to give all parties an equal chance, he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched a concerted attack on the Opposition on Sunday at over 200 rallies across the country  many of which featured top leaders  as part of a mega opening to the partys 2019 election campaign, focussing on national security and the NDA governments welfare schemes over the past five years.

BJP president Amit Shah, foreign minister Sushma Swaraj, home minister Rajnath Singh, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari, and railways minister Piyush Goyal, among other heavyweights, hit the ground running in the first leg of the blitzkrieg comprising over 450 rallies.

Through these rallies, we are drawing a comparison between the government of [Prime Minister] Narendra Modi, which is dedicated to the countrys development, self-respect and honour, and the team of [Congress president] Rahul Gandhi, which is dishonouring the valour of Indias armed forces, said Anil Baluni, a Rajya Sabha member and the BJPs media cell chief.

He said similar public meetings will be held at over 250 places on March 26. PM Modi, however, will not take part in these Vijay Sankalp (Victory Oath) rallies, which appear to be focusing on a two-pronged offensive over the IAFs operation against a Jaish camp in Balakot, and the NDAs development agenda.

Some of the leaders in the opposition camp have questioned the air strike and asked for the exact number of casualties suffered by the terrorists, triggering a sharp response from the government in the election season.

Responding to the BJPs push, the Congress said the people have realised the truth, and the ruling party would face defeat. While they are welcome to campaign, it will be good on their part to inform the people as to how many people got the promised ?15 lakh, how many of the promised 100 million jobs came to our youth. People would also want to know about the...lessons that China and Pakistan learnt, said Congress spokesperson Pranav Jha, referring to the BJPs previous election promises.

On Sunday, a day before the last date for filing nomination papers for the first phase of elections on April 11, Shah, Singh, Swaraj, Goyal and Union textile minister Smriti Irani stepped up the BJPs offensive in the politically crucial state of Uttar Pradesh, which sends 80 members to the Lok Sabha. The state contributed to the partys sweep in 2014, giving the party 71 out of its 282 seats. BJP ally Apna Dal won two seats in UP.

In Agra, Shah praised Modi for the Indian Armys surgical strikes targeting terror launch pads across the Line of Control in 2016 and for the Balakot operation, which came in retaliation against the suicide bombing of a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy that killed 40 security personnel in Jammu and Kashmirs Pulwama on February 14.

There used to be two countries, the US?and Israel, which were known for avenging its soldiers. Now India has become the third country to do so under Modi...Only Modi can ensure the countrys security, Shah said.

He went on to target the Opposition over what he said was the absence of a prime ministerial candidate. No one is willing to fight the elections. [BSP leader] Mayawati wants Narendra Modi defeated, but she is not willing to fight elections. Neither is [Nationalist Congress Party leader] Sharad Pawar, [West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress leader] Mamata Banerjee or [DMK leader MK] Stalin, he said, pointing out that they are not in the poll race.

In his parliamentary constituency Lucknow, home minister Singh, too, spoke of Indias action against the JeM, which claimed the Pulwama attack. The irony is that there are some political parties in the country which are more worried about the surgical strikes than Pakistan. They are even asking how many persons were killed in the air strike, he said.

Goyal, who was in Bareilly, took a jibe at Congress president Gandhi. Information has started pouring in that he [Rahul Gandhi] has surrendered and is planning to vacate 74th seat [Amethi] for us in Uttar Pradesh. He got so scared of our sister Smriti Irani [who will contest from?Amethi] that he cannot even find a seat [to contest] in UP and is going to Kerala, Goyal said.

Goyals remarks came a day after the Congresss Kerala unit chief asked Gandhi, who is currently the Lok Sabha member from UPs Amethi, to contest on a second seat from north Keralas Wayanad constituency in order to boost the party in the southern states.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath kicked off his campaign by offering prayers at a temple in Behat constituency of Saharanpur. Modis name is echoing across the country. He made India proud everywhere and a strong India will be established under his leadership, he said, attacking UPs Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party (SP-BSP) alliance that, experts say, could pose a strong challenge to the BJP.

In Noida, Swaraj, too, touched upon the air strike, saying foreign ministers from around the world who called her were in agreement with the operation. But she added that they were concerned that the situation could escalate. To which, I very clearly mentioned that India is a peace-loving and responsible nation that wont escalate the problem. But, if Pakistan does anything further, we wont stay quite to which they all gave their support, she said.

The BJP, which is eyeing a second term in office, has already announced 306 candidates for the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections that will conclude on May 19. Results will be announced on May 23.
Launching a scathing attack on the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance in the state, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis termed it as a corruption management company at a joint rally organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena in Kolhapur on Sunday ahead of the elections.

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray was also present at the joint rally.Fadnavis was responding to NCP leader Jayant Patils comment who had termed the BJP as an event management company earlier this month.

He said, The Congress-NCP alliance is nothing, but a corruption management company. We will neither indulge in corruption nor let anyone support it.

This rally marks the strength and unity of the BJP-Sena alliance which is set to win all the seats in western Maharashtra and in the rest of the state, added Fadnavis. The chief minister also took a dig at NCP chief Sharad Pawar and said, Pawar has become a non-playing captain by refusing to contest the elections. His refusal to contest the elections indicates the growing strength of the BJP-Sena in the state.

Sena chief Thackarey said, I will reiterate my request to CM Fadnavis to not include Sharad Pawar in the BJP under any circumstances. People of this state and the country are aware that he (Sharad Pawar) has done no good for them.

Thackarey also praised CM Fadnavis and called him a man of his words, and said, I am proud of his leadership.

Questioning the BJP-Sena alliances seat sharing formula, state minister Mahadeo Jankar, an alliance partner who was also present at the joint rally, said, We have accepted the BJP and Shiv Sena as our big brothers, however, it is my earnest request to both of them to incorporate smaller parties like us, as well in the seat sharing formula.

Jankar reminded the BJP-Sena that he and his party workers stood by the Sena and the BJP during their difficult times.
The Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will set up its election offices on Monday after a bhoomi puja (special prayers).

The bhoomi puja will be held on Monday after which we will set up our election offices for all seven parliamentary constituencies. We will start the election campaign after that, Rajesh Bhatia, Delhi BJPs general secretary, said.

On Sunday, senior leaders of the party will hold public meetings in South Delhi and Northwest Delhi parliamentary constituencies.

Union defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman and home minister Rajnath Singh will hold public meetings in New Delhi and Northeast Delhi constituencies, respectively, on Tuesday.

Senior BJP leaders said by then, the names of all Lok Sabha candidates are likely to be announced.

While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress have started campaigning in the area, BJP is yet to start election activities. The party has asked all mandals to hold meetings. We will be soon setting up election management committees at the district-level and the parliamentary constituency-level. These committees will have members of the district, former and present councillors, MLAs and other senior leaders. These committees will oversee the poll preparations at the grassroots level. We are carrying out door-to-door campaigning, Bhatia said.

While the party plans to focus on the achievements of the Modi government, it will also inform people how the AAP government in?Delhi did not implement Central schemes such as Ayushman Bharat.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said, The Modi government has started the Ayushman Bharat scheme through which lakhs of people have benefitted. The party blames Kejriwal government for not implementing the scheme under which people of Delhi could have availed of free treatment up to Rs 5 lakh.
The Congress plot in Maharashtra seems to be unravelling fast as the Lok Sabha polls inch closer. The latest controversy to hit the party, which has failed to put together a formidable grand alliance so far, is a leaked audio clip of a telephonic conversation between state Congress chief and MP Ashok Chavan and a harried party worker from Chandrapur. In the audio clip, which was leaked on Saturday, Chavan can be heard saying that he is in the frame of mind to resign. Although HT is in possession of the clip, it could not be independently verified.

The incident has brought to the fore the simmering dissent in Maharashtra unit of Congress. If Chavan resigns amidst elections, the party organisation in the state will be in trouble. Saturdays controversy pertains to the selection of a candidate for Chandrapur constituency in Vidarbha. Although the party top brass selected former district president Vinayak Bangade, his candidature attracted opposition from local party workers. The party worker who can be heard in the clip identified himself as Rajurkar, and complained about Bangades candidature. He said Chandrapur could be a sure seat if the ticket was given to sitting Sena MLA Balu Dhanorkar, who had announced he would leave his party.

Chavan can be heard telling Rajurkar, I am with you on this. But, nobody is listening to me here. You speak to Wasnik [Congress leader Mukul Wasnik]. I am also in a frame of mind to resign . Chavan was planning to give Dhanorkar the ticket to put up a tough fight for sitting BJP MP and Union minister Hansraj Ahir.

However, this is not the end of Chavans worries. His close aide and Aurangabad legislator, Abdul Sattar also revolted on Saturday after the party announced Subhash Zambads name for the Aurangabad seat. Sattar said, I will contest Aurangabad seat as an independent candidate. I have nothing against the party or the candidate. Why dont you want a Muslim to go to the LS?

Chavan tried to downplay both the audio clip leak and Sattars rebellion. I have not heard the audio tape. But, I have no hesitation in admitting that there is some discontent among leaders over Chandrapur. It is my duty to resolve the issues. Commenting on Sattar, Chavan said, Such things happen during elections. All the issues will be resolved soon.

The Congress has been dealing with a bunch of problems in the run up to the LS polls. According to a senior leader, the efforts to put up strong candidates or accommodate allies to counter the BJP-Sena alliance are being strongly opposed by party factions. Party leaders need to come together, but theyre working against each other.

Significantly, Opposition leader in the Assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, whose son defected to the BJP, has also been sulking for being kept out of a key party meeting in Delhi. He stayed away from the Congress-NCP alliance meeting on Saturday.

The party rivalry has also been on full display in Mumbai, where city chief Sanjay Nirupam faced opposition. Congresss plan of a grand alliance has also not materialised. Despite initiating alliance talks since September 2018, the Congress-NCP could not get the SP-BSP and the local Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi on-board. These fronts will cut into the Oppositions votes of both Muslims and Dalits, who are not in a mood to support the BJP.
The Bharatiya Janata Partys decision to field its president, Amit Shah, from Gujarats Gandhinagar is way bigger than announcing a mere candidature. Its a hand dealt for a pecking order thatll formalise Shahs de facto number two status in the event of Prime Minister Narendra Modis return to power.

If it is for the sitting Gandhinagar MP and former deputy prime minister, Lal Krishna Advani, the end of the road, for Shah, it seems the beginning of the lastmile-lap to his dream destination. Controversies never deterred him from aspiring to be to Modi what Advani was to AB Vajpayee the second among equals to the PMs first.

In that sense, Shah is on track to becoming the BJPs LKA-2. Even his worst critics do not doubt his electoral prospects in Gandhinagar, a constituency he knows like the back of his palm. He ran Advanis poll campaign there for most of the six elections he contested and won between 1991 and 2014.

He also was Vajpayees major domo when he successfully contested the seat in 1996.

Not just that. The Sarkhej seat Shah represented in the Gujarat legislature was, until delimitation, the largest assembly segment of the Gandhinagar parliamentary seat, and has been a BJP fief since the 1989 victory of Shankarsinh Vaghela who later joined the Congress.

Comparisons can be disagreeable. Never mind the rough edges, Shah qualifies to be a latter day Advani --who cultivated at his zenith an exaggerated strongman image to evoke and claim the political inheritance of Sardar Patel. His writ then ran with as much force as Shahs runs today in the government and the party.

That was Loh Purushs time, now it is Chanakyas. Like Vajpayee-Advani, the Modi-Shah duo has their roles defined: the former the popular face, the latter the organisational muscle and armour.

A rewind to the Advani era would make Shahs work style look strikingly similar. Hes secretive, autocratic and ruthlessly pragmatic. Thats the way the former was at his prime, especially when leading the Ram Temple movement in the 1990s.

Regardless of who held the BJP presidents office, Advanis grip on the party organisation was matched only by his omnipresence in the Home Ministry. During his tenure, senior officials would discourage journalists from visiting them in the North block. I had one such experience with a special secretarylevel officer Id known for years. His cryptic explanation: Here the big man is always watching.

Advanis fall began when he tried to merge his radical past with Vajpayees liberal veneer. The Sangh Parivar was up in arms when he called Jinnah secular during a 2005 visit to the mausoleum of the architect of Pakistan in Karachi. He somehow managed to survive the RSSs wrath, became the BJPs PM face in the 2009 polls but failed to lead the party to victory.

His fate was sealed eventually when he opposed Modis PM candidature in the 2014 elections that saw the BJP wrest power with a majority of its own. The outcome heralded a new chapter under the new Modi-Shah order.

Advani suddenly was distant history.
Former Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken on Saturday said he would support an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi even if he was not fielded as a candidate from the New Delhi constituency, which he has represented twice in the Lok Sabha.

Both the AAP and Congress are working on the possibility of an alliance in the Lok Sabha polls but the claim over New Delhi constituency has been one of the issues of disagreement between the two, senior Congress leaders said.

Maken said for the larger interest, he was willing to give up the constituency he has been campaigning in the area ever since he gave up the post of Delhi Congress chief if the party leadership so decides.

I have expressed my support for the alliance and my personal candidature comes after this, he said on Saturday.

While the Congress is yet to announce candidates for the seven seats in the national capital, Maken has been conducting public meetings and discussions with residents welfare associations, traders, slum dwellers and other groups in the constituency.

I have been conducting these meetings in the capacity of a two-time MP from the area and a former Cabinet minister. The idea was to get things moving on the campaign front for the party and it was not for pre-empting anything, he said.

Senior Congress leaders said the party was likely to announce the alliance with AAP in the next 48 hours. We might hear something positive on the alliance by Sunday evening. (Congress president) Rahul Gandhi will be meeting some senior leaders and we hope a decision is taken, PC Chacko, Delhi Congress in-charge, said.

Senior leaders of the Congress and AAP, who have been mediating the talks to form the alliance, said the New Delhi constituency is one of the seats over which both parties have laid a claim.

The AAP has been insisting on a 5:2 seat distribution (five for AAP and two for Congress), but the Congress has stuck to its demand for a 3:3:1 seat sharing arrangement (three for AAP, three for Congress and one for an independent).

In either of the cases, the New Delhi constituency is likely to slip away from Congress.

Meanwhile, the AAP said the Congress has been on the brink of an alliance several times before as well. There is a trust deficit as Congress leaders have been making contradictory comments. For 15 days this month, we analysed the Congress attitude towards our alliance offer. After that, the AAP took a decision to fight the elections on its own, Gopal Rai, AAPs Delhi unit convener, said.

Rai also said the party is no longer in any official talks with the Congress. There are no talks happening. How can an announcement happen without involving the other party concerned? How can they announce an alliance tomorrow when we are not aware of it?

When asked if senior party leader and AAPs Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh is still in touch with leaders of other opposition parties, Rai said, What leaders talk at their personal level cannot be considered as the partys stand. AAP is going to contest the seven Delhi seats alone on the issue of full statehood.
In an exclusive interview with Sadiq Naqvi, senior Assam minister and convener of North East Democratic Alliance Himanta Biswa Sarma lays out BJP strategy in Northeast.

Is Citizenship (Amendment) Bill still an issue?

Yes, BJP is committed to bring in the Bill through a process of consultation and consensus. The vision document will speak about CAB. There will be a chapter on Northeast in the national vision document and CAB will be there. We are not shying away from raising CAB. But this election is not about CAB. It is about making Narednra Modi Prime Minister again. So the whole list of his good work will be discussed.

So you will discuss it in election rallies in Brahmaputra Valley, too?

Everywhere. Why Brahmaputra and Barak? There is one television channel and if you raise something in Barak Valley, it will be heard in Brahmaputra Valley.

You wont lose any votes because of it?

No, we will gain. If you are serving these Hindu, Christian displaced people, everyone will bless you.

But Assamese are angry in Brahmaputra Valley

Who are the Assamese? Am I not an Assamese? Who has given this theka of Assamese? I am a proud Assamese, and I espouse their cause. Assam does not just belong to agitators, it belongs to me. So they can raise their issue, I can also raise mine and let the people decide. There is a need for certain modifications in the bill, you need to have certain safeguards.

What is the reason that the party has changed so many sitting MPs in Assam? One of the sitting MPs RP Sarmah even alleged that the older guard is being ignored.

Winnablity is our basic criteria, for we need to win ten seats. In this election, in our assessment there are better candidates who can win. But having said that, whether it is a Kamakhya Tasa, Ramen Deka, everybody is accepting the partys decision and they are working. You will not see them out of action for more than two to three months. Everybody will have a job, everybody will have a responsibility and you might see our senior leaders with more responsibility than today. In our party, this is the policy that if you are not giving him a ticket today you cannot keep them out of the system for too long because they have experience and they have their own merits.

Three months back in our conversation you said that if the party gives you a ticket you would contest Lok Sabha polls. The state president of the party said you were willing to contest. The state unit, too, sent your name. What happened that you were not fielded?

Amit Shah, my party president, feels that I should not contest in this election. Many things are going to happen in Northeast in a positive way and he said I should be on the ground so I have accepted his decision.

Is it because NEDA, the regional alliance led by the BJP seems to be in a disarray?

I think we are not looking for anything for this election. When I had a discussion with the prime minister and party president, it was centered around post election. We have whole agenda for Northeast. They feelm in order to implement this agenda, I should be in the Northeast and I should not go to Delhi at this time. So if you see his (Amit Shahs) statement also, he said filhal. So at this time I should be in Northeast. And I think that it is a rare honour.

Did Amit Shah give that statement at your insistence?

If you have a fair idea of a personality like Amit Shah, then you would not put that question to me. Nobody can influence Amit Shah. Whatever he said, I think it is his genuine opinion.

You are the convenor of NEDA. Why, despite being a partner in the alliance, the NPP is fielding candidates in Assam, in Arunachal Pradesh where BJP MLAs have joined the party and BJP is fielding candidates in Meghalaya where the NPP has a better chance?

NEDA as an alliance was established to keep Congress out of Northeast. So all my partners, whatever they are doing, they are doing their bit to keep the Congress from coming to power. Post election you will see that NEDA will have 19 to 20 MPs and all of them will support prime minister Modi.

Basically in Arunachal Pradesh, where the MLAs quit to join the NPP, they pose no danger to the BJP?

We have no issue because there was a fair discussion with Conrad Sangma. We have agreed where he should not field candidates in strategic seats. If we both contest, then the seat may be won by Congress like the inner Manipur consitutency. In Assam, on many seats they are not fieldign candidates. So in places where there is a chance of Congress winning because we are fighting, we have decided to go the other way... In Arunachal, Congress will be in third or fourth place. Either NPP will win or we will win.

So BJP is helping the rise of NPP which is perceived as a Christian party.

I will not answer this question because there is no Hindu, Muslim or Christian party in India.

But you call AIUDF a Muslim party.

AIUDF, their leader (Badruddin Ajmal) and followers are communal and fundamentalists. The party has to be registered under the Election Commission and Indian Constitution.

Will the Muslims vote for the BJP?

Going by the development, they should vote. And I think the indigenous Muslim community of Assam both in Barak and Brahmaputra Valley will vote lock, stock and barrel for the BJP and we will get more votes from the community than the Congress.

So how many seats do you think NEDA will win?

19 out of 25, I think is a feasible and possible target.
With authorities in Chennai increasing their vigilance on illegal trade of marine species, Mumbai is emerging as a new hub for these smugglers. Items like shark fins and dried sea-horses are usually sourced at Rameshwaram and the Gulf of Mannar, then routed to Mumbai before being sent to Malaysia, officials said.

Recently, the Mumbai Mangrove Conservation Unit (MMCU), under the state mangrove cell, arrested three smugglers who revealed during interrogation that consignments of illegal marine species are being routed through Mumbai. The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) will issue an advisory this week to carry out rigorous checks to intercept marine species like sea-horses, sea cucumbers, shark fins and pipefish.

Chennai ports have tightened vigilance from air and port authorities. Consignments are being diverted through Mumbai. We have now issued an alert about these marine products and a formal advisory will be issued by Wednesday requesting the alertness of customs, police and other agencies, said M Maranko, regional deputy director, WCCB.

On March 7, Chennai resident Sadiq Basha Jamal-u-din, 53, was caught with 30kg of dried seahorses (a protected species) at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. He was flying to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

On interrogating the accused, we found out he was a trafficker with links to an international illicit marine products racket. He revealed the names of two other accused who were already in custody of Chennai courts, said Makarand Ghodke, assistant conservator of forest, state mangrove cell.

Abdul Rahman, 52, and Muhammad Abu Bakar, 43, were arrested at Chennai airport on February 25, while on their way to Mumbai. This was one of the largest seizures of marine products in history: 111kg pangolin scales, 160kg dried sea-horse, 180kg dried pipe fish, 5kg sea cucumber, 125 kg sting ray gills, and 79kg shark fins. While we have identified the international buyer and leader of the network in Malaysia, one person was identified as the source collecting marine products from Rameshwaram and Gulf of Mannar and informing the network, said Ghodke.

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Three years after a directive by the Bombay high court (HC), the four Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in Mumbai are still awaiting 250-metre-long permanent test tracks to hold fitness tests of vehicles.

Barring four RTO offices in Mumbai, we have permanent test tracks ready at all other 46 RTO offices, including an automated test track at Nashik, said a senior official of Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Department (MMVD).

In February 2016, while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Pune resident Shrikant Karve, the HC had directed MMVD to make available 250-metres-long test tracks at every RTO. According to RTO officers, currently, Tardeo and Wadala RTOs send vehicles from their jurisdiction to Navi Mumbai for fitness tests, while vehicles from Andheri and Borivli RTOs are sent to the Aarey track.

After MMVD had approached the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), the latter has allowed the Tardeo and Wadala RTOs to hold fitness tests inside its depots. But problems arose over charging vehicle owners for using the track. The issue is pending with the government.

RTO officers said they approached district collectors to get plots for the tracks, but such big government plots are unavailable in the city and suburbs. So the MMVD proposed an automated fitness testing centre at the Kurla depot of BEST. The corporation has already floated tenders to set it up. It is expected to cost around 14 crore. If it proves successful, it can be replicated at other RTOs, the officer said.

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More than 130 people were killed in an attack on a Fulani village in central Mali on Saturday, the United Nations said, as a delegation visited the country.

Survivors accused traditional Dogon hunters of carrying out the deadly raid in Ogossagou, according to Boubacar Kane, the governor of Bankass district which covers the village. A security source told AFP the victims were shot or hacked to death with machetes.

The Secretary-General is shocked and outraged by reports that at least 134 civilians, including women and children, have been killed, Antonio Guterress spokesman said in a statement, adding he called on Malian authorities to swiftly investigate it and bring the perpetrators to justice.

The attack was launched at dawn on Saturday in the village near the border with Burkina Faso, said several sources. The district has been the scene of frequent inter-communal violence.

Two witnesses questioned separately by AFP said hunters had burned down nearly all the huts in the village.

Guterress spokesman said the UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, provided air support to deter further attacks and assisted with the evacuation of the injured.

The massacre took place as a delegation from the United Nations Security Council visited the Sahel region to assess the jihadist threat there.

Earlier, the UN said the visiting ambassadors from the Security Council countries met on Saturday with Malis Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga and discussed with him the volatile situation in the centre of the country.

Land disputes

While local attacks are fuelled by accusations of grazing cattle on Dogon land and disputes over access to land and water, the area is also troubled by jihadist influence.

In the past four years, jihadist fighters have emerged as a threat in central Mali. A group led by radical Islamist preacher Amadou Koufa has recruited mainly from the Muslim Fulani community.

Since then, there have been repeated clashes between the nomadic Fulani herders and the Dogon ethnic group.

Last year that violence cost the lives of 500 civilians, according to UN figures.

In January, Dogon hunters were blamed for the killing of 37 people in another Fulani village, Koulogon, in the same region.

The Fulani have repeatedly called for more protection from the authorities. The government in Bamako has denied their accusations it turns a blind eye to  or even encourages  Dogon attacks on the Fulani.

Once considered a beacon of democracy and stability in Africa, Mali in recent years has been dogged by a coup, civil war and Islamist terrorism.

Extremists linked to Al-Qaeda took control of the desert north in early 2012, but were largely driven out in a French-led military operation launched in January 2013.

In June 2015, Malis government signed a peace agreement with some armed groups, but the jihadists remain active, and large tracts of the country remain lawless.

Despite the presence of UN peacekeepers, a strong French military contingent and the creation of a five-nation military force in the region, jihadist violence has not abated.
Pakistan wants peace with India and they should focus on health and education, the Pakistani president said on Saturday during on the occasion of its Republic Day.

We do not believe in war and want to solve problems through dialogue. Instead of war we should focus on education and health, Pakistan president Arif Alvi said in his speech.

The president, said India had blamed Pakistan for the suicidebomb attack without evidence. Todays parade is sending the message that we are a peaceful people but we will never be oblivious of our defence, Alvi said.

The parade was attended by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who was invited to attend as the chief guest, and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Khan said on Twitter earlier that he had received a message from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his best wishes for Republic Day and calling for peace and regional cooperation.

I welcome PM Modis message to our people, Khan said.

I believe its time to begin a comprehensive dialogue with India to address and resolve all issues.The dispute over the former princely state of Kashmir sparked the first two of three wars between India and Pakistan after independence in 1947. They fought the second in 1965, and a third, largely over what become Bangladesh, in 1971.
Claiming that Prime Minister Theresa Mays intransigence is part of the problem, several of her cabinet colleagues and others want to see her resign to resolve the Brexit crisis, as nearly a million people walked through London on Saturday and 5 million people signed an anti-Brexit petition.

May is immune from a leadership challenge until December under Conservative party rules, since she won the last challenge in December 2018. But a new party leader and prime minister can be elected if she resigns on her own. Her aides briefed Sunday newspapers, insisting she needs to go.

The current Brexit crisis involves two dates set by the European Union last week: leave the EU by May 22 if the withdrawal agreement is passed in parliament; or, if it is not passed, clarify by April 12 the way forward, which also implies the UK needing to participate in elections to the European parliament on May 23.

Amid continuing all-round uncertainty, one clarity is that the UK will not leave the EU at 11 pm on March 29, the date and time mentioned in the EU withdrawal act. This has caused much ennui among those who voted to leave since it contradicts Mays repeated assertions that the UK will leave on March 29.

If Mays continued efforts to gain support for the withdrawal agreement succeed, it will be brought before parliament for the third time next week, subject to speaker John Bercow allowing it to be tabled again. It was voted down twice in January and earlier this month.

As Downing Street rubbished reports that May could be persuaded to resign, chancellor Philip Hammond told Sky News on Sunday: This is not about the prime minister... changing prime ministers wouldnt help, changing the party of government wouldnt help.

To be talking about changing the players on the board, frankly, is self indulgent at this time, he added.

David Lidlington, effectively the deputy prime minister, is mentioned as a temporary possible successor to May, while senior party leader and former cabinet minister Iain Duncan-Smith said aides briefing against May should be dismissed for being disloyal.

Calling their behavior appalling, he told BBC they should be censured, sacked, or at the very least they should be apologising and they should shut up.
Donald Trump declared himself absolved after Attorney General William Barr said that Special Counsel Robert Mueller didnt find evidence that the president or his campaign conspired with Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Its a shame that our country had to go through this, Trump told reporters before he departed Palm Beach, Florida to return to the White House. He called Muellers probe, which began nearly two years ago, an illegal takedown that failed.

Barr sent a letter to Congress on Sunday reporting that Mueller found no evidence that Trump or his campaign aides conspired with Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election. Barr also wrote that while Mueller declined to make a judgment about whether Trump committed obstruction of justice by interfering in investigations into the Russian meddling campaign, Barr himself determined there wasnt sufficient evidence to charge the president.

The special counsel did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction, Sanders said in a statement, inaccurately describing Muellers findings. Attorney General Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein further determined there was no obstruction. The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States.

Trumps lawyer Rudy Giuliani said in a text message: Its better than I expected.

Trumps eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., told Bloomberg News that Barrs summary of Muellers report proves what those of us with sane minds have known all along, there was ZERO collusion with Russia.

Sadly, instead of apologizing for needlessly destabilizing the country in a transparent attempt to delegitimize the 2016 election, its clear that the Collusion Truthers in the media and the Democrat Party are only going to double down on their sick and twisted conspiracy theories moving forward, Trump Jr. said.
Adrien Broner has found himself embroiled in more drama. According to TMZ, Broner was in South Beach, Miami around 9 PM on Saturday, walking the streets with fellow boxer Gervonta Davis. Witnesses say that Broner jaywalked on Collins Avenue, a busy intersection, and a driver honked at him. As expected, Adrien got annoyed and smacked the hood of the car while yelling at the driver. The Miami Police force was already out in ample numbers due to Spring Break, and they heard the uproar and responded immediately. Not one to back down, Broner began to yell at the police when they approached and warned him to calm down or else he would be arrested. Broner refused to calm down (as if asking someone to calm down has ever worked), and police cuffed him.

The police did not arrest him and he was let go in time to hit Exchange Miami not too long after. It's been a busy week for Broner. He threatened to punch or shoot homosexuals that flirt with him after social media star Andrew C. Caldwell allegedly slid in Broner's DMs. "If any f*g, punk ass nigga come run up on me, trying to touch me on all that gay shit, I'm letting you know right now -- if I ain't got my gun on me, I'm knocking you the fuck out," retorted Broner. "If I got my gun on me, I'm shooting you in the fucking face, and that's on God and them." A restraining order has since been filed against Broner by Caldwell.
While some of Hollywood's stars are facing controversy for their part in bribing admissions officers and top college officials in order to gain their children entry to the United States's top schools , Dr. Dre is making it clear that his daughter has just been accepted into the prestigious institution of the University of Southern California, no bribery necessary.

In a new post, the proud father, uploaded a shot of him and his daughter, Truly Young, with her certificate of admissions from the school, adding the caption, "My daughter got accepted into USC all on her own. No jail time!!!"

https://www.instagram.com/p/BvX1OLwJljR



Naturally, a host of users under the photo were quick to point out the fact that Dre and Jimmy Iovine donated $70 million to the university in 2013 for the creation of the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation.

But, it's important to note the difference between a scholarly donation and plain old bribery that the likes of Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman have allegedly committed, leading to the removal of their children from USC's campus and leaving them to deal with criminal charges over fraudulent activities. At least 50 people have been charged for their involvement with the parents of each student implicated in court documents being charged with at least one felony count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of honest services mail fraud.
Every morning the writers here at HNHH embark on their obligatory social media recaps, hunting for any stories that may have developed on Instagram or Twitter overnight. Today, we were shocked to find that Kodak Black has deactivated his Instagram page. The reason for the Floridian to go dark isn't clear, but he has had a controversial week on social media, to say the least. For example, last week, Black took to social media to claim that he punched veteran rapper Sticky Fingaz and pulled out a gun on him. Fingaz has since responded with a diss song.

Next, Black claimed that he should be respected on the same level as Tupac, Biggie, and Nas... a claim that earned him the wrath of the hip-hop community. While certain rappers, such as Kendrick Lamar or J. Cole, have garnered enough love and respect from the hip-hop community to be compared to some of the late greats, practically no one thinks Black belongs in that conversation. If that wasn't enough, Black then began to take flirtatious shots at Young M.A, who wasn't impressed at all. The internet began to mock Black for his Biggie and Nas comments, and he was universally berated for his Young M.A comments as well. Has all of the online hatred finally gotten to Black?
A portion of the Houston Ship Channel remained closed Saturday as the U.S. Coast Guard attempts to determine what amount of volatile chemicals have leaked from fire-damaged Intercontinental Terminals Co. tanks into the waterway that serves as an economic engine for the region.

Test results published by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Saturday afternoon confirmed what officials feared  that contaminants, including carcinogenic benzene, were found in hazardous concentrations in an ITC drainage ditch that flows into the ship channel.

The Coast Guard has no timetable for when it plans to re-open the closed 7-mile stretch, home to the second-largest port in the United States, measured by tonnage. What began as a small storage-tank chemical fire a week ago now threatens to harm one of Houstons largest industries.

Jim Kruse, director of the Center for Ports and Waterways at Texas A&M University, said vessels can anticipate bad weather and adjust schedules accordingly, butsudden port closures can quickly bring financial pain to shipping firms. A Texas A&M study of a four-day closure of the entire ship channel in 2014, due to a fuel spill, found outgoing vessels suffered $7.3 million in losses.

Its a big mess and a serious problem, Kruse said. They have to pay extra when theyre sitting at the docks. If they dont deliver on time, those penalties add up fast, to many thousands of dollars.

Tim Hicks, a Coast Guard Vessel Control watch supervisor, said Saturday evening 25 vessels are stuck in the ship channel, while another 26 await permission to enter. They include cargo ships, as well as gas and chemical tankers of varying sizes.

Ive got ships as large as 820 by 144 feet and as small as 384 by 64 (feet), Hicks said.

Beyond the booms

The Coast Guard closed roughly half of the channel shortly after noon Friday, after a containment wall breached at the ITC facility and allowed a sludge of firefighting foam and volatile compounds stored at the site to leak first into a nearby ditch and then into the channel, which flows into Galveston Bay.

Coast Guard Capt. Kevin Oditt said crews will continue to use booms, pumps and skimming devices to remove chemicals from the water. The Coast Guard has also brought in its Alabama-based Gulf Strike Team, which assists with major spill clean-ups.

Once the release happened (Friday), that boom was able to contain much of the spill an contaminants, Oditt said. However, some of the product was able to get by the booms, and the Port of Houston fire boats detected an elevated level of benzene.

Company and government officials said they are unsure how much liquid leaked from the site, though they said the tanks held flammable compounds, such as gasoline blends, xylene, naphtha and pyrolysis gasoline.

TCEQ announced Saturday afternoon that water samples from the ITC ditch were found to have nine toxic substances in concentrations harmful to humans, including xylene, pyrene and toluene. The agency said it has yet to complete analyses of samples taken from Tucker Bayou, the ship channel and Galveston Bay.

TCEQ said worsening and unstable conditions because of the wall breach forced technicians to adjust their response, but the agency pledged to continue working around the clock.

The leak has also forced the closure of the San Jacinto Monument, Battleship Texas State Historic Site and Lynchburg Ferry crossing, which serves about 1,200 cars daily.

Second fire contained

The containment wall breach allowed flame-retardant foam to leak from the charred Deer Park tank farm and likely caused the site to re-ignite on Friday afternoon, company officials said at a news conference Saturday morning.

The 10-foot breach allowed an unknown volume of foam and volatile compounds from the tanks to leak into a nearby ditch and then the Houston Ship Channel, ITC Incident Commander Brent Weber said. Footage from television helicopters shortly before the eruption showed gaps in the foam blanket covering the site, increasing the risk of ignition.

The fire erupted at 3:45 p.m. Friday at the site of three storage tanks that had already burned and a new location, the ditch into which fuels had leaked. Unlike a brief flare-up on Wednesday, which firefighters extinguished within minutes, Fridays blazes took an hour to put out.

Firefighters immediately begin spraying foam on both fires, ITC spokeswoman Alice Richardson said.

The blazes caused a brief spike in air pollution, tests showed. An air quality reading taken by the Environmental Protection Agency at 5 p.m. Friday on Peninsula Street, across the channel from ITC, found a benzene level five times higher than a level considered safe.

The fires also forced crews back into a defensive position, scuttling plans Friday to continue siphoning fuel from the damaged 80,000-barrel tanks to secure containers, Weber said. The site is too unstable to determine the amount of product left in each tank.

Crews resumed draining tanks Saturday afternoon, and several vacuum trucks continued to remove liquid from the ditch on the west side of Tidal Road.

The focus of the unified command today, over the next 24 hours, is to transition back from reactive to proactive, Weber said.

Its moving quickly

The incident commander said he could not rule out further flare-ups, and said continuously maintaining the foam layer on the site is key to preventing more fires. Higher winds on Saturday and the potential for rain by Monday may make that objective more challenging, he said.

The company defended waiting 18 hours to brief the public on Fridays developments, which created an information vacuum that Harris County officials struggled to fill as Deer Park residents clamored for updates. ITC canceled a news conference planned for Friday afternoon.

I will tell you, as you saw that happening, we saw that happening, Richardson said. So its fast. Its moving quickly. Were trying our best.

Deer Park Mayor Jerry Mouton Jr. echoed the frustrations of many residents who wonder, after a week, when the company will declare the community safe from further fires and chemical discharges.

In this situation, its been a never-ending, reoccurring, attempting-to-do-something, and its just not working out the way its been planned, he said.

Richardson said ITC will brief reporters next at 10 a.m. Sunday.

The cause of the initial fire last Sunday remains unknown. The Harris County Fire Marshals Office and U.S. Chemical Safety Board have begun probes, though the site remains too unsafe for investigators to visit.

Jordan Blum and Andrea Leinfelder contributed to this report.

zach.despart@chron.com

twitter.com/zachdespart
Gene Barton, 76, missed two days of work because of the Intercontinental Terminals Company fires. He would have gone, despite the shelter in place, if it was not for his wifes protests.

Barton was among some 300 people who showed up to a town-hall meeting Saturday to discuss the legal ramifications of the ITC fires that began Sunday afternoon.

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He grew concerned when he started having symptoms that he worries may be caused by the chemicals. Ive been having headaches, extreme headaches and sore throat, coughing, and breathing, he said I dont have asthma but Ive had a hard time breathing.

Residents could receive free legal advice at the meeting, held at Chicago Title Southeast office in Deer Park. Lawyers reminded those in attendance that they are not doctors, and could not speak on behalf of the city or ITC.

HOW TO FILE A CLAIM: Here are the steps to file a claim for illness or smoke damage after Deer Park plant fire

We are here to give people answers on what we know and what rights you may or may not have, attorney Bill Ogden said. That is it. Im not a doctor; Im not a specialist in the industry.

Residents concerns ranged from questions about their health to concerns about how their home value would be affected. The lawyers advised residents to not sign any settlement-releases until seeking legal advice.

DEER PARK DISASTER: One week later, "Significant progress' made in clean-up effort at Deer Park plant

Yesterday a lawsuit was filed, we filed a lawsuit but we weren't the first ones. Some people in La Porte  Ken Paxton, the attorney general, filed a lawsuit against ITC, said Chance McMillan, one of the lawyers who hosted the meeting. There are things going on that we know and want to talk to you about.

Ogden advised anyone who had been feeling sick to go to the doctor and get their symptoms documented.

Many in attendance just wanted to know how to be repaid for lost wages.

I was not able to work all week, said Carlos Flores, 42. Im a single father, I need to work just like everybody else.

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The 2020 presidential election will tell us much about the future political direction of Texas. The nations political future runs through our state and the other booming southwestern states that are changing just as speedily.

But ours is a newly softened political battleground, and candidates of all stripes are trying to make uncommon impacts as soon as they can. Last month, President Donald Trump visited El Paso to build support for the proposed border wall in an effort to shore up his support among the more conservative voters of our state. News networks broadcast Trumps speech on a split screen with former U.S. Rep. Beto ORourke, D-El Paso, who objected vociferously to the presidents plans at a rally across town, all while teasing a presidential run. Since then, he has jumped into the 2020 presidential race. Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro announced his candidacy for president at his home in San Antonio. Howard Schultz, Starbucks founder and a prospective independent candidate for president, spent the whole week in Texas just a few weeks after he participated in a CNN town hall meeting in Houston. Other 2020 presidential candidates such as U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, a Republican, were in Austin to speak at South by Southwest.

Though Texas has given its Electoral College votes to the Republican candidates in every election the past four decades, the convergence of candidates here may not be as surprising as some might think.

The Lone Star State is changing rapidly, and with it, its politics. Our population has surpassed 28 million people  3 million more than a decade ago  and the Office of the State Demographer predicts the number of Texans will almost double over the next 30 years. These changes highlight our states explosive growth in diversity as people from all over the country migrate here. These rapid changes also portend serious challenges that need to be met with consensus leadership. Texas is a place where common-sense politics can prevail. Building a broad coalition  rural, blue collar, religious and nonbelievers, inner city, young, suburban  through centrist consensus political agreement is key to securing Texas bright future.

The opportunities in Texas are as great as any time since World War II. But the state also faces significant problems. Growing suburbanization has strained county budgets. More Texans means the need for more infrastructure, efficient transportation and affordable housing. Millions of Texans are income insecure, without health care insurance, or denied access to quality medical care. An aging Texas population means stress on family support networks, a profound need for access to mental and physical health care and strain on pension systems.

Amid all these changes and challenges, Texas is searching for a new political identity. Republicans may have won statewide in 2018, but the victory was narrow, and suburban districts across the state flipped from reliably GOP to moderate Democrat. Texans are starting to reject the politics of divisiveness and are willing to embrace new common-sense, centrist solutions to issues that have pulled us apart, especially on public education funding and infrastructure improvements  just look at the progress being made in the Legislature.

Despite national fights about the border, Texans recognize the cultural and economic value of the states border with Mexico. A plurality of Texans embrace the states growing diversity with optimism, according to a recent poll by the University of Texas and Texas Tribune.

Texans of both parties have come to expect economic progress as a significant feature of government, combined with responsible growth. The new politics of Texas will have voters open to innovative ideas and the need for policy responsibility balanced with economic growth.

Meanwhile, the two major parties are undergoing their own changes. Political fights about moderation inside our polarized parties sapped significant energy in the 2018 cycle. Liberal and moderate factions of the Democratic Party sparred for nominations up and down the ballot, most prominently in the fight for the nomination for governor that led to more progressive Lupe Valdez edging out moderate Andrew White. The Republican Partys decades-long civil war that has pitted conservatives against moderates rehashes family rivalries every two years and even in legislative sessions between.

As the Republican and Democratic parties move further apart ideologically, driven by policy differences but also distaste for each others motives and attacks, heightened frustration with politics in Texas is emerging. Many Texans dont feel either party is welcoming to people like them and express concern about the direction of the country. Its true that millions more Texans were motivated to vote in 2018 than a decade prior, but its also true that millions of Texans still choose not to vote. This gives rise to continuing concerns about Texas being not a red or blue state, but a nonvoting state.

Appeals to engage attentive and inattentive voters with a fresh message will shape Texas for decades. Candidates also need to balance what voters want with the needs of the state and nation. Voters need to do their part, too, by carefully considering all candidates, looking past labels and learning candidates positions beyond sound bites.

Rottinghaus is a professor at the University of Houston.
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Dan Frering from the Lighting Research Center developed three different concepts for the park.

Berkshire Lightscape Turns Focus To Lighting Up Park Square



The lights in Dunham Mall were added at the start of the winter. PITTSFIELD, Mass.  Berkshire Lightscapes is honing in on a plan to add lighting to Park Square.

The non-profit raised a little more than $100,000 for its plan to add lighting to City Hall, Dunham Mall, and Park Square. The Dunham Mall lights were added in the winter, decorating the walkway with rotating snowflakes, and Park Square is next.

Dan Frering from Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer (N.Y.) Polytechnic Institute designed multiple concepts to highlight key areas of Park Square with new lighting.

The key areas will be the Civil War monument, the elm tree, the fountain, the Vietnam memorial, and the pathways. Frering developed three different options.

For the monument, Frering is suggesting a soft light aimed upward in a way that allows the inscription to be read but more significantly highlights the soldier at the top. He is suggesting similar lighting for Elm Street. Those lights will be inground pavers that shine upward.

Frering envisions the fountain as being blue, though the colors could change either all the time or just for certain events. He'd like to do lighting strips on the inside and outside and then uplight the water in the fountain.

The concept also looks to add a light attached to the trees to shine down on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

But the biggest question remaining is what to do on the walkways. Frering said the options include mounting lights on trees to shine down on the path to "softly illuminate the pathways." He'd also be asking to change out the post tops on the poles inside the park.

Another option is to add lighting underneath the benches, again with light strips.

"We would want to increase the number of benches so the path is evenly illuminated," he said.

A final option would be to do in-ground pavers throughout. Those can be more elaborate and change colors when people walk on them. He said those could also be installed around the elm tree and the fountain.

"Kids are going to love to play with this," he said.

Frering said additionally, the city could use this project to delve into light art. He suggested the city look to commission sculptures that can be lit up.

He also mentioned the possibility of having light festivals such as is done in Montreal.

"I encourage you to think about how other cities really do use their parks like a winter festival," Frering said.

The equipment costs for the various concepts range from $35,000 to $132,000. Two of Frering's concepts were in the $35,000 range and the option to install in-ground pavers on the walkways, around the tree, and around the fountain was at $132,000. Frering said that cost could be brought down by using fewer pavers.

Frering also did a cost estimate on the electricity the new lighting would need and said each option uses around the same about of electricity the city currently uses. The annual cost to the city could go up as little as $42 or as high as $86 depending on the option that is chosen.

"If the power available for those fixtures are already in the park then you don't need to run new power lines," he said.

The high-cost option is likely out as Elie Hammerling, who founded Berkshire Lightscapes, said it would exceed the budget. Hammerling brought the concepts to the Parks Commission on Tuesday and the commissioners gave their support to move forward.

"I think something like this would be a great addition," said Parks Commissioner Anthony DeMartino, particularly supportive of the idea of adding new benches and lighting underneath them.

Hammerling said the next steps include having the committee decide on the final option and budget, get the engineering work completed, shop for the specific fixtures the group would want to use, and determine the mounting locations.

"My interest is to do tasteful, artistic lighting," Hammerling said.

Meanwhile, Hammerling is trying to convince downtown business owners to install lights on their buildings so all of them can be coordinated.
The Fear of Smell: Pungent Pot Plants Worry Williamstowners



An overflow crowd on Thursday filled the Selectment's meeting room to oppose plans for a pot plantation on Green River Road. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  More than two years after town voters overwhelmingly supported legalizing recreational marijuana, some residents are feeling the unintended consequences of Question 4.

"As a state, we wanted to decriminalize marijuana, but we created a monster," Blair Road resident Jamie Barstow told the Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday evening. "And we're the canaries in the coal mine on Blair Road."

Barstow was part of an overflow crowd at Town Hall as the ZBA heard a petition from Massflora, which wants to develop a cannabis plantation on a 20-acre Blair Road parcel.

The proposal already has received the approval of one town body, the Conservation Commission, whose decision is being appealed by an abutter.

The Zoning Board is being asked to grant a special permit under a bylaw provision passed by a wide margin by town meeting in May 2017, shortly after 61 percent of the town voted in favor of Question 4, which passed by a margin of 53.6 percent to 46.4 percent statewide.

On Thursday, the panel voted unanimously to continue the hearing on Massflora's request to its April meeting after taking more than two hours of testimony  most of it from opponents to the plan.

After a 45-minute presentation and Q&A between the board and the applicant, represented by Williamstown attorney Don Dubendorf, ZBA Chairman Andrew Hoar opened the floor to public comment, touching off about 1 1/2 hours of discussion that saw nine different residents address the board from the floor  some repeating arguments they previously had made in written submittals to the body.

Much of the debate centered around the anecdotal evidence from other states about the negative impact of smell from outdoor pot farms.

"I'm hearing the plants will be outside from June until the first of October," Jane Peth of Green River Road told the board. "If you're at all familiar with Williamstown, you know that is basically our summer.

"It's going to impact our lives, and it is a nuisance."

Without citing it specifically, the objectors  mostly homeowners who live near the proposed site  alluded to Section 70-8.3(c) of the town code, which defines how the ZBA should exercise its powers, including the power to grant a special permit.

The paragraph reads in part, "  [the board] shall give due consideration to promoting public health, safety, convenience and general welfare of the Town, and conserving property values, and that it shall permit no building or use injurious, noxious, offensive or detrimental to a neighborhood "

A 5-acre field of cannabis plants that can grow as high as 8 feet is both offensive and detrimental to the neighborhood, numerous abutters told the board.

Dubendorf indicated that his client is open to conditions from the board that require Massflora to plant "masking" plants whose scent could counteract the odor from the pot plants. A grower for Massflora, a division of Colorado-based Euflora Cannabis Dispensaries, told the board that plants like basil, calendula, marjoram and lavender have been effective at masking smells from marijuana fields in California.

In its application for a special permit, Massflora notes that the smells from cannabis plants are strongest for a four- to five-week period and argues, "The odor produced by the growing crop is certainly consistent with other agricultural operations in the area, where growing plants may not create odor but the fertilizing process with manure in the spring and fall certainly is noticeable."

Hoar appeared sympathetic to that case  to a point.

"When I grew up, I lived across the street from a dairy farm, and I lived near the raising of pigs," Hoar said. "I endured many an agricultural smell.  There are smells associated with agriculture.

"But I have to admit I've never smelled a 5-acre field of maturing marijuana plants."

One issue the board may have to grapple with is whether marijuana production is agriculture.

Williamstown attorney Stanley Parese presented the ZBA with a four-page memo that, in part, argues that pot production is not an agricultural venture under Massachusetts law or the Williamstown zoning bylaw.

"The uses described in the project narrative fit squarely within the [Section] 70-9.2 definition of 'Marijuana Production Facility,' " Parese wrote, referring to the local code. "The town of Williamstown has classified 'Marijuana Production Facility' only under the 'Business Uses' category of the Use Regulation Schedule, [Section] 70-3.3(2). 'Agriculture' is a separately listed use, under a separate section of the Schedule, [Section] 70-3.3(5) (Extensive Uses). A 'Marijuana Production Facility' is a nonagricultural use."

The town's Agriculture Commission has not taken a position on the Massflora application but has discussed it, Chairwoman Sarah Gardner told iBerkshires.com last week. Gardner said she expects the commission may take up the issue again in the future.

Parese appeared before the board on behalf of Herbert Allen Jr., a 1962 graduate of Williams College and investment banker reported by Forbes.com as having a net worth of $2 billion. Allen's company, HAA Corp., owns 10 Williamstown parcels worth just more than $4 million; most of that (about $3.75 million) is on Green River Road.

In a separate action, Allen has filed an appeal against the Conservation Commission; Parese is not representing Allen in that case.

Parese on Thursday reminded the ZBA that pot production is specifically listed in the 2017 zoning bylaw as an activity allowed by special permit, not by right, and therefore is subject to the board's scrutiny.

And he specifically took issue with one argument made by Dubendorf  like Parese, an attorney very familiar with and to town boards that deal with land use.

Dubendorf argued that the town's zoning bylaw was enabled by the commonwealth's cannabis law, which allowed a certain amount of local regulation. But unless the town votes some sort of moratorium on pot-related businesses  a step considered but discarded by the town back in 2017  that local regulation cannot be so onerous that it makes the activity impossible.

"You can pass bylaws  with one limitation," Dubendorf said. "The limitation is ... if you have the uses in your town, you can regulate the uses, but you can't do it in a way that makes it unreasonably impractical."

Dubendorf argued that rejecting the special permit application based on the visual impact  Parese's memo describes a proposed security fence as "startlingly incongruent with the neighborhood"  would be tantamount to an "unreasonably impractical" restriction.

"There is no way to produce the permitted cultivation of marijuana in Massachusetts without providing security," Dubendorf said. "It is the nature of this use that it will have rigid security.

"To deny on the basis of security provisions is to deny the use."

Parese countered that state law does not demand that the Williamstown give up its land-use regulation rights.

"The statute allows the town to prevent a public nuisance," Parese said. "There's nothing in Mass General Law that says we're bound to accept a public nuisance because it's marijuana."

Paresee indicated that Williamstown may have parcels where a marijuana farm like the one Massflora seeks to build would be more appropriate, where there are not as many neighbors in close proximity.

"There are RR2 [Rural Residence 2] and RR3 parcels in this town that are hundreds of acres," Parese said, contrasting with the 20-acre parcel on Blair Road. "The issue here, and the point I want to make clear is just because it's RR2 doesn't mean it's by right."

While Dubendorf and Parese argued the law, the residents' testimony focused on the real world impacts of the proposed farm.

Peter Dolan of Green River Road told the board that as a former member of the ZBA himself, he reviewed the bylaw and focused on the "detrimental" impact clause.

"I argue this would be disastrous to the neighborhood," Dolan said. "I argue that neighboring properties will be affected by noise, odor and visual pollution.

"The visual picture [the applicant] presents is more like a minimum security correctional facility."

Dolan gave the board a petition signed by more than 100 Williamstown residents opposing the granting of a special permit to Massflora.

Several of Thursday's speakers, including Parese, focused on the 8-foot security fence, which, by law, needs to be opaque and topped with barbed wire.

Dubendorf said that when first installed, the chain-link fence would be woven with material to provide opacity but said the applicant was amenable to a condition that vegetative screening be planted to achieve that end eventually.

One of the requests the board made to the applicant at the end of Thursday's meeting was that Massflora come to April's continuation of the public hearing with more detailed drawings of how the planned facility will look to abutters.

While the fence was described as potential eyesore and blight on the neighborhood, it also was described as being inadequate to deter crime that residents predicted will come with the cannabis business.

No amount of fencing or the state-mandated infrared cameras will stop the criminal element, the board was told.

Andrew Skinner of Cluett Drive read the board passages from a Rolling Stone article about an attack on a California pot farm.

"Several men in tactical gear, posing as authorities and armed with rifles, had ambushed the property, Chaplin tells Rolling Stone," the January 2018 store reads. "The trimmer told him that the robbers pointed an AR-15 at one of the trimmers and asked him to get down on the ground."

"It doesn't matter that there is security," Rob Ross of Blair Road told the Zoning Board. "What matters is that these people are idiots, and they want money. It's a cash crop.

"We would become a target of this cash crop crime. We chose to live in Williamstown  to feel safe in our daily lives."

Safety also came up as a concern regarding traffic.

"The application states that traffic won't increase by more than 10 percent," Carol Dolan said to the board. "I ask, how is that known? I ask that a traffic analysis by done by the town or the state. When vehicles of any kind exit Blair Road onto Green River Road, they do so at a very dangerous intersection.

"Picture a 10 percent or more increase in traffic at this dangerous intersection. Will a traffic light be needed there?"

Dubendorf promised the board to come back with more concrete numbers to support Massflora's claim on traffic when the hearing continues.

He also said he will talk to the town about how to arrange some experience that will give the ZBA members a sense of what Hoar alluded to as the great unknown in the room on Thursday night: just what a 5-acre cannabis plantation might smell like.

Odor pollution was the number one complaint raised by residents at the hearing  so much that Hoar at one point told the room that the ZBA members "got it," and, given the late hour, asked the crowd to refrain from any more testimony centered on the scent of growing cannabis.

"The smell can affect people in so many ways," said Dr. Fernando Ponce, a resident of Green River Road, who referred to reports of allergic reactions and asthma attacks related to proximity to growing cannabis. "If I had known I'd live next to a facility like this, I wouldn't have moved here."

Robert Behr of Blair Road focused on a newspaper article he submitted from the The Business Times, a Singapore-based English-language publication. The story, under the headline, " 'Dead Skunk' Stench from Marijuana Farms Outrages Californians,' " focuses on a resident of Carpinteria, Calif., who lives a half mile from a pot farm who calls the problem "just brutal."

"I submit to the board a map, with a circle not even three-tenths of a mile, showing all the homes that would be affected," Behr said. "There are at least 36 homes homes within a half-mile of the 5-acre plot planned for marijuana.

"Within one mile, you'll see even more homes as well as Pine Cobble School."

Behr was one of several residents who expressed fears that property values would drop in the neighborhood near the proposed farm if it comes to fruition.

"These homes are our lifetime investments," Behr said. "We cannot afford to have their value depreciate.

"A marijuana farm would indeed be detrimental to the neighborhood and a public nuisance."

And declining property values could offset revenue the town would receive from the proposed farm, Zirka Filipczak told the ZBA.

"In Oregon and Colorado, homeowners have asked for a tax abatement," Filipczak said. "They've been granted, with a 10 percent loss in taxes."

Memorandum Submitted to ZBA re: MassFlora Special Permit by iBerkshires.com on Scribd
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 24)  A Senatorial bet on Sunday issued a strong message against some of the countrys justice officialsin relation to the controversial pork barrel case involving former lawmakers.

During the CNN Philippines Senatorial forum, Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino candidate Lady Ann Sahidulla alleged that the Philippines justice system is now all about money.

Kumbaga, you can give money, if you can afford na bayaran mo, alam mo naman ang mga Justices natin ngayon ay pera-pera na lang, Sahidulla said when asked how the government will be affected if it lost the pork barrel scam cases. Kaya isa din yan sa mga dapat ding tutukan, dahil ang mga justices natin ay nakakahiya na.

[Translation: Its like, you can give money, if you can afford to pay, you know our Justices now are all about the money. So thats something that we need to address, because our justices are shameful.]

The anti-graft court on Wednesday allowed former Senator Jinggoy Estrada and businesswoman Janet-Lim Napoles-- who are both facing plunder charges in relation to the pork barrel scamto seek outright dismissal of their raps while their trials are proceeding.

Sahidulla added the two should face appropriate consequences if proven guilty of plunder and graft.

Kung sila ay corrupt at napatunayan, why not? Kailangan talaga silang parusahan. Pero bakit nakalabas pa rin? Kahit nakasuhan na, ika'y lalabas pa rin. So ibig sabihin, there will be more corrupt politicians to come, she said.

[Translation: If they are corrupt and its proven, why not? They need to face consequences. But why are they not in jail? Even if they are charged, they are still freed. That means, there will be more corrupt politicians to come.]

Estrada, who is seeking a Senate comeback, is out on a 1-million bail for his charges. He was detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center in Camp Crame for three years. He was accused of receiving 183 million in kickbacks from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), also known as pork barrel or funds set aside for lawmakers' pet projects. The Supreme Court has declared PDAF unconstitutional.
North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty for His Role in International Tech Support Scam

Charlotte, North Carolina - A Charlotte, man pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to access a protected computer, for his role in an international Tech Support Scam that defrauded hundreds of victims, including seniors, of more than $3 million.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, First Assistant U.S. Attorney William Stetzer for the Western District of North Carolina and Special Agent in Charge John A. Strong of the FBI Charlotte Field Office, made the announcement.

Bishap Mittal, 24, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer. Mittal has been released on bond. A sentencing date has not been set.

According to the information and plea agreement, Mittal was part of a conspiracy that carried out an international internet Tech Support Scam, by placing fake pop-up ads on victims computers to convince them they had a serious computer problem, and to induce them to pay for purported technical support services to resolve the issue. Mittal admitted in court today that he and Individual 1 resided together in Charlotte. Individual 1 was the owner/manager of Capstone Technologies LLC (Capstone), a company headquartered in Charlotte that claimed to provide computer-related services to its customers. Capstone conducted business using several different aliases, including Authenza Solutions LLC, MS-Squad Technologies, MS-Squad.com, MS Infotech, United Technologies, and Reventus Technologies, (collectively, Capstone Technologies). Individual 1, Mittal, and others carried out the tech support scam using a call center located in India, set up to handle tech support calls with potential victims.

According to the information, pop-up ads were a central part of the conspiracys tech support scam. Individual 1 and other co-conspirators purchased blocks of malicious pop-up adware from publishers around the world. The fake pop-ups would suddenly appear on victims computers freezing their screens, prompting victims to contact Capstone Technologies at a number shown on the pop-up ad. When victims called the Indian-based tech support center for assistance, the co-conspirators used remote access tools to gain control of the victims computers. Once in control of the computers, the scammers identified various fictitious causes for the victims purported computer malfunction, including the presence of malware or computer viruses, and induced victims to pay for virus clean-up or other tech support services. The co-conspirators then charged victims between $200 and $2,400 to make computers operable again. According to the information, Mittal and his co-conspirators defrauded hundreds of victims throughout the United States, some of whom were elderly, of more than $3 million.

The FBI conducted the investigation. Trial Attorney Timothy Flowers of the Criminal Divisions Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor Phillips of the U.S. Attorneys Office in Charlotte are prosecuting the case.

Earlier this month, the Justice Department announced the results of the largest-ever coordinated nationwide elder fraud sweep, involving more than 250 defendants from around the globe who victimized more than a million Americans, most of whom were elderly. As part of the sweep, the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners announced a tech-support fraud takedown, designed to combat an increasingly common form of elder fraud in which criminals trick victims into giving remote access to their computers under the guise of providing technical support. In 2018, technical-support schemes generated over 142,000 consumer complaints to the FTCs Consumer Sentinel Network. Consumers 60 and over filed more loss reports on tech-support scams from 2015 to 2018 than on any other fraud category reported to the Consumer Sentinel Network.
Former Candidate for U.S. House of Representatives Pleads Guilty to Fraud and Campaign Finance Violation

Providence, Rhode Island - A former candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives pleaded guilty Thursday to wire fraud and willfully violating the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) by operating fraudulent and unregistered political action committees.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division and Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBIs Washington Field Office made the announcement.

Harold Russell Taub, 30, of Cranston, Rhode Island, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of willfully violating FECA before U.S. District Judge William E. Smith for the District of Rhode Island. Sentencing is set for July 12, 2019.

According to the Information, in late 2016, Taub began soliciting donations to an organization he called Keeping America in Republican Control (KAIRC), which he represented to be a legitimate political committee, organized in accordance with federal law to support Republican candidates at the state and federal level. In March 2018, Taub began soliciting donations to another purported political action committee, Keeping Ohio in Republican Control (KOIRC), with the stated purpose of supporting Republican candidates in Ohio. Taub collected a total of approximately $1,630,439 in contributions to KAIRC and KOIRC, but never registered either entity with the FEC or made required reports to the FEC, as required by FECA.

Taub admitted as part of the plea that he held KAIRC and KOIRC out as legitimate, federally-registered political actions committees on his website, in social media posts, and in email solicitations that reached hundreds of donors. Taub represented that all of KAIRC and KOIRCs staff were volunteers and that 100 percent of donations were used to support candidates. However, of the more than $1.6 million in contributions to KAIRC and KOIRC, Taub used more than $1 million for purely personal expenses. In furtherance of his fraudulent scheme, Taub also repeatedly used the name of a former Ambassador and high-level military officer without the knowledge or permission of the person, even after being instructed not to do so.

The FBI investigated the case. Trial Attorney Peter M. Nothstein of the Criminal Divisions Public Integrity Section is prosecuting the case.
California Resident Sentenced to Prison for Stealing Over $1.6 Million of Taxpayer Money

Salinas, California - Jacqueline Ramos, aka Jackie Acosta, of Salinas, California, was sentenced to 60 months in prison on conspiracy and bank fraud charges, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Departments Tax Division and United States Attorney David L. Anderson.

According to court filings, Ramos conspired with her co-defendants to file false income tax returns seeking refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). These returns reported fake wages and fraudulently claimed dependents, education expenses, and tax credits. Ramos and her co-conspirators directed the fraudulently obtained refunds into bank accounts they controlled. United States District Court Judge Lucy H. Koh determined that the returns sought more than $1.6 million in refunds from the IRS.

On July 13, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Ramos, 49, and four of her co-conspirators, charging them with conspiring to submit false claims against the United States. Ramos and her husband, Antonio Ahumada Rivas, were also each charged with two counts of bank fraud. On Oct. 17, 2018, Ramos entered a guilty plea to the conspiracy count and two counts of bank fraud. On Nov. 14, 2018, co-defendant, Norma Morfin Mandujano was sentenced to 30 months in prison for conspiracy. Co-defendants Antonio Ahumada Rivas and Ana Bajo have sentencing dates of March 27th and April 10th respectively.

In addition to the 60-month sentence, Judge Koh ordered Ramos to pay $1,641,610 restitution to the United States. Judge Koh also ordered forfeiture in the amount of $736,592 and ordered Ramos to serve three years of supervised release. The defendant will begin serving the sentence on May 29, 2019.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and United States Attorney Anderson commended IRS-Criminal Investigation special agents, who investigated the case, and Assistant United States Attorney Michael Pitman and Trial Attorney Christopher Magnani, who are prosecuting the case.
Two Men Found Guilty in International Cyber-Fraud Scheme Involving Online Dating and Business Email Compromises

Washington, DC - A citizen of Nigeria residing in Atlanta, and a citizen of Mexico residing in California, were convicted Wednesday after a seven-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee on charges related to the part each played in an international cyber fraud scheme.

Olufolajimi Abegunde, 31, of Atlanta, Georgia, and Javier Luis Ramos-Alonso, 29, of Seaside, California, participated in a criminal organization in which members spoofed emails and created fake profiles on dating websites in order to fool victims into sending money to bogus bank accounts under the control of members of the conspiracy. The proceeds would be laundered and subsequently wired out of the United States to destinations including West Africa.

Abegunde, who received an MBA from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, engaged in black-market currency exchanges over the life of the conspiracy. Purporting to hold himself out as a legitimate businessman, the proof at trial showed that Abegunde claimed association with a business entity that was not yet operational in late 2017, so for his primary source of income he relied on his off-the-book currency exchanges. Through this network, Abegeunde played a key role, along with Ramos-Alonso, in laundering fraud funds from an Oct. 3, 2016, business email compromise (BEC) of a land title company located in Bellingham, Washington. The proceeds of another BEC perpetrated in July 2016 upon a real estate company in Memphis, Tennessee, also moved through parts of the same criminal organization.

Abegunde, who faced numerous account closures from banks in the United States, used a complicated network of third-party bank accounts to disguise his illicit activity. The proof at trial established that Abegunde told people that he could not receive payments into accounts that could be tracked, and that he preferred to engage in cash transactions because they were easier to clean and eliminated the risk.

In July 2014, Ramos-Alonso met Tammy Dolan through an online dating site. Ramos-Alonso engaged in a three-year romantic relationship with Dolan, who claimed to be an Australian American living in Africa, despite never meeting or speaking with Dolan. Shortly after meeting Dolan, Ramos-Alonso began sending money to her through an intricate network of strangers based in Africa and the United States, and he continued to do so despite receiving multiple warnings from businesses and individuals that he was facilitating criminal conduct. The evidence at trial established that Dolan was actually a front for individuals connected to the money-laundering scheme who were directing Ramos-Alonso to move funds. The evidence at trial established that, by the time of the first BEC in July 2016, Ramos-Alonso had graduated to a position of trust within the criminal organization, as he received and disbursed a large portion of a $154,000 wire transfer before the victim bank could freeze the funds. In October 2016, Ramos-Alonso received and dispersed approximately $60,000 associated with the Oct. 3, 2016 BEC in Washington, a portion of which he deposited (or attempted to deposit) into accounts controlled by Abegunde. Ramos-Alonso funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraud funds on behalf of the criminal organization.

In addition to his financial activities, Abegunde also engaged in a conspiracy to commit marriage fraud. Abegunde was married during his studies at Texas A&M, but divorced his wife in 2016 to marry a U.S. service member through whom he could obtain immigration and health care benefits and also open new bank accounts. He continued to live with his first wife in Atlanta while his U.S. service member wife was deployed to South Korea. While incarcerated and awaiting trial in the Western District of Tennessee, Abegunde continued his conspiratorial activities, trying to convince his fake spouse, who has since filed for divorce, to refuse to testify against him. Abegunde is contesting the divorce from his fake spouse. Abegunde also engaged in witness tampering by sending a self-written Motion to Dismiss bearing his former attorneys name and professional attestation. The evidence at trial established that Abegunde drafted and sent the motion, which his attorney expressly did not authorize, to his faux spouse in an effort to deceive her into not testifying against him.

Five other individuals have pleaded guilty to being involved in the scheme. Additionally, three foreign nationals are awaiting extradition to the United States to face trial. Several others are still at large.

Sentencing for Abegunde and Ramos-Alonso is set for June 21, 2019, before the Honorable Judge Sheryl H. Lipman.

The FBIs Memphis Field Office investigated the case with assistance from agents in Atlanta and San Jose, California. Senior Trial Attorney Timothy C. Flowers with the Department of Justices Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra L. Ireland prosecuted the case.
Cesar Sayoc Pleads Guilty to 65 Felonies for Mailing 16 Improvised Explosive Devices in Connection with October 2018 Domestic Terrorist Attack

New York - Cesar Altieri Sayoc, aka Cesar Randazzo, Cesar Altieri, and Cesar Altieri Randazzo, pled guilty Thursday to a 65-count Superseding Information in Manhattan federal court before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff. In connection with the guilty plea, Sayoc admitted to mailing 16 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) to 13 victims throughout the country, including 11 current or former U.S. government officials, and that he intended to use the IEDs as weapons and to cause injuries.

Assistant Attorney General John C. Demers for the National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman for the Southern District of New York, Assistant Director Michael McGarrity of the FBIs Counterterrorism Division, Assistant Director in Charge William F. Sweeney, Jr. of the FBIs New York Field Office and Police Commissioner James P. ONeill of the NYPD made the announcement.

Cesar Sayoc has admitted to acts of domestic terrorism that are repulsive to all Americans who cherish a society built on respectful and non-violent political discourse, no matter how strongly held ones views, said Assistant Attorney General Demers. Our democracy will simply not survive if our political discourse includes sending bombs to those we disagree with. I applaud the efforts of so many in our law enforcement community whose alertness and tirelessness led to the prompt arrest of the defendant before he was able to injure anyone, as well as those whose efforts led to todays plea.

For five days in November 2018, Cesar Sayoc reigned terror across the country, sending high-ranking officials and former elected leaders explosive packages through the mail, said U.S. Attorney Berman. Thankfully no one was hurt by these dangerous devices, but his actions left an air of fear and divisiveness in their wake. Sayoc has taken responsibility for his crimes, and will soon be sentenced to significant time in prison.

This case shows that the FBI will be tenacious in pursuing all those who wish to intimidate those they disagree with by threatening violence, said Assistant Director Michael McGarrity of the FBIs Counterterrorism Division. When it comes to identifying and stopping those who terrorize our communities, we wont hesitate to bring the full force of our combined resources of the FBI and our partners.

Sayoc's crimes were intended to incite fear among his targets and uncertainty among the general public, leading to a significant deployment of various law enforcement resources in a nationwide search to find him, said Assistant Director Sweeney. When called upon, our FBI JTTFs across the countryalong with our partner agenciesdid what we do best, working swiftly, and side by side, to bring him to justice. Unlike most of our investigations, this case played out in plain view from beginning to end. The announcement of today's plea is as good a time as any to remind the public that our JTTFs are working behind the scenes on a daily basis, in much the same way, to keep our communities safe.

The NYPD and our law enforcement partners will continue to work tirelessly to keep New York City safe from threats of terror, said Commissioner ONeill. I commend the members of the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the Southern District of New York for their work in this case.

According to the allegations in the Complaint, Superseding Information, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings:

In October 2018, Sayoc mailed from Florida 16 padded envelopes, each containing an IED, to addresses in New York, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Atlanta, and California. Sayoc packed each IED with explosive material and glass shards that would function as shrapnel if the IED exploded. Sayoc also attached to the outside of each IED a picture of the intended victim marked with a red X. As Sayoc admitted today during his plea, he designed the IEDs for use as weapons and mailed them understanding that they were capable of exploding and causing injuries and property damage. In alphabetical order, Sayocs intended victims were former Vice President Joseph Biden, Senator Cory Booker, former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, CNN, Robert De Niro, Senator Kamala Harris, former Attorney General Eric Holder, former President Barack Obama, George Soros, Thomas Steyer, and Representative Maxine Walters. Between Oct. 22 and Nov. 2, 2018, the FBI and the U.S. Postal Service recovered all of the 16 IEDs mailed by Sayoc.

The FBI arrested Sayoc in Plantation, Florida, on Oct. 26, 2018less than five days after the October 22 recovery of the first IED, which Sayoc mailed to Soros in New York. The FBI seized a laptop from Sayocs van, which contained lists of physical addresses that match many of the labels on the envelopes that Sayoc mailed. The lists were saved at a file path on the laptop that includes a variant of Sayocs first name: Users/Ceasar/Documents. A document from that path, titled Debbie W.docx and bearing a creation date of July 26, 2018, contained repeated copies of an address for Debbie W. Schultz in Sunrise, Florida, that is nearly identical, except for typographical errors, to the return address that Sayoc used on the packages. Similar documents bearing file titles that include the name Debbie, and creation dates of Sept. 22, 2018, contain exact matches of the return address used by Sayoc on the 16 envelopes.

Sayocs laptop also revealed extensive Internet search history related to his investigation of the intended victims and his desire to injure or kill them. For example, Sayoc conducted the following Internet searches, among others, on the dates indicated in 2018:

July 15: hilary Clinton hime address

July 26: address Debbie wauserman Shultz

Sept. 19: address kamila harrias

Sept. 26: address for barack Obama

Sept. 26: michelle obama mailing address

Sept. 26: joseph biden jr

Oct. 1: address cory booker new jersey

Oct. 20: tom steyers mailing address

Oct. 23: address kamala harris

Sayoc, 57, of Southern Florida, pled guilty to four sets of charges related to each of the 16 IEDs: (1) sixteen counts of using a weapon of mass destruction; (2) sixteen counts of interstate transportation of an explosive device; (3) sixteen counts of conveying a threat in interstate commerce; and (4) sixteen counts of the illegal mailing of explosives with the intent to kill or injure another. Sayoc also pled guilty to using an explosive to commit a felony, which relates to felonies committed in connection with the use and mailing of all 16 IEDs. A chart identifying the charges and maximum penalties applicable to Sayoc is below.

Counts Charge Penalties Per Count 1  16 Using a weapon of mass destruction Maximum per count: life 17  32 Interstate transportation of an explosive Maximum per count: 10 years 33  48 Conveying a threat in interstate commerce Maximum per count: 5 years 49  64 Illegal mailing of explosives with intent to kill or injure another Maximum per count: 20 years 65 Carrying an explosive during the commission of a felony Mandatory minimum: 10 years to run consecutively to any other sentence imposed

The maximum and minimum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge. The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Rakoff on Sept. 12, 2019.

Mr. Demers and Mr. Berman praised the outstanding efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigations New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which principally consists of agents from the FBI and detectives from the New York City Police Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Mr. Demers and Mr. Berman also thanked the U.S. Attorneys Offices for the Southern District of Florida, the District of Columbia, the District of Delaware, the District of New Jersey, the Central District of California, the Eastern District of California, the Northern District of California and the Northern District of Georgia for their assistance in the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg, Emil J. Bove III, Jane Kim, and Jason A. Richman are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney David Cora of the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justices National Security Division.
MedStar Health to Pay $35 Million to Resolve Allegations that it Paid Kickbacks to a Cardiology Group in Exchange for Referrals

Baltimore, Maryland - MedStar Health Inc. (MedStar) in Columbia, Maryland., MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, and MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, both in Baltimore, have agreed to pay the United States $35 million to settle allegations under the False Claims Act that it paid kickbacks to MidAtlantic Cardiovascular Associates (MACVA), a cardiology group based in Pikesville, Maryland, in exchange for referrals, through a series of professional services contracts at Union Memorial and Franklin Square Hospitals in Baltimore.

The settlement was announced by Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt of the Justice Departments Civil Division, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur; and Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General - Office of Investigations.

Kickbacks made in connection with the provision of medical services undermine the integrity of our health care system, said Assistant Attorney General Jody Hunt for the Department of Justices Civil Division. We will take action against medical service providers who through unlawful conduct put their own financial interests ahead of the best interests of patients.

Kickbacks give doctors an incentive to pursue unnecessary treatments that are costly and sometimes even dangerous to patients, said U.S. Attorney Robert K. Hur. We will not tolerate medical care providers who put their patients at risk and waste taxpayers dollars in order to line their own pockets.

Patients rightly expect their doctors will make recommendations based on sound medical practice  not payoffs that too often result in needless and sometimes even harmful procedures, said Maureen R. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge for the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We will continue to protect patients and taxpayer-funded government health programs from these unnecessary services, as the government contended in this case.

The allegations resolved in the settlement include the payment of kickbacks to MACVA under the guise of professional services agreements, in return for MACVAs referrals to Union Memorial of lucrative cardiovascular procedures, including cardiac surgery and interventional cardiology procedures, from Jan. 1, 2006, through July 31, 2011.

Under the settlement MedStar also agrees to settle allegations that it received Medicare payments from Jan. 1, 2006, through Dec. 28, 2012, for medically unnecessary stents performed by John Wang, M.D., a one-time employee of MACVA who was later employed by MedStar.

The settlement resolves a lawsuit brought by whistleblowers, Stephen D. Lincoln, M.D.; Peter Horneffer, M.D.; and Garth McDonald, M.D., cardiac surgeons who practiced together as members of Cardiac Surgery Associates in Baltimore. The lawsuit, which was filed in the District of Maryland in June 2010, alleges that Union Memorial and Franklin Square, and others, violated the Anti-Kickback Act and the False Claims Act by paying various forms of illegal remuneration to MACVA to induce referrals of patients insured by Medicare for cardiac procedures which caused false claims to be submitted to Medicare.

The settlement also resolves another lawsuit brought by whistleblowers who were former patients of John Wang, M.D. who claimed that Dr. Wang, MedStar, and Union Memorial engaged in a pattern and practice of performing medically unnecessary percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty with stent placement procedures and submitted false claims to Medicare for those cardiac stent procedures. The lawsuit was filed in the District of Maryland in December 2012.

The whistleblowers, or relators, brought their actions under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private citizens with knowledge of false claims against the government to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. Under the civil settlement announced today, the relators will receive a portion of the federal share of the recovery.

The settlement announced today was the result of an investigation by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Maryland and the Commercial Litigation Branch of the Justice Departments Civil Division with assistance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. The case was handled by Maryland Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew P. Phelps and Roann Nichols.
Barbra Streisand has apologised after appearing to sympathise with Michael Jackson over allegations of child abuse made against him.

Streisand told The Times that while she believed the accusations by Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who feature in the documentary Leaving Neverland, Jacksons actions didnt kill them.

His [Jacksons] sexual needs were his sexual needs, she said, coming from whatever childhood he has or whatever DNA he has. You can say molested but those children, as you heard say, they were thrilled to be there. They both married and they both have children, so it didnt kill them.

I blame, I guess, the parents, who would allow their children to sleep with him, she added.

Leaving Neverland  photos show Michael Jackson with his accusers Show all 9 1 /9 Leaving Neverland  photos show Michael Jackson with his accusers Leaving Neverland  photos show Michael Jackson with his accusers Michael Jackson with accuser Wade Robson Sundance Insitute Leaving Neverland  photos show Michael Jackson with his accusers Accuser Wade Robson meeting Michael Jackson for the first time Channel 4 Leaving Neverland  photos show Michael Jackson with his accusers Michael Jackson with the Robson family Channel 4 Leaving Neverland  photos show Michael Jackson with his accusers Michael Jackson at the home of accuser James Safechuck Channel 4 Leaving Neverland  photos show Michael Jackson with his accusers Dan Reed approached the Michael Jackson documentary with 'all the scepticism and rigorousness that I would approach a story about a terrorist attack' Channel 4 Leaving Neverland  photos show Michael Jackson with his accusers Michael Jackson leaves the courtroom on a break at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse for the second day of closing arguments in his child molestation trial in Santa Maria, California, 2005 AFP/Getty Leaving Neverland  photos show Michael Jackson with his accusers Michael Jackson accuser Wade Robson Channel 4 Leaving Neverland  photos show Michael Jackson with his accusers James Safechuck, another of Jackson's accusers Channel 4 Leaving Neverland  photos show Michael Jackson with his accusers Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed Channel 4

Safechuck and Robson claim they were abused hundreds of times by the late pop star. In the documentary, both detail how the alleged abuse had a profound impact on them as adults.

Jackson was dogged by allegations of child abuse, which he vehemently denied, before his death in 2009.

In 2003, police raided his Neverland Ranch in California while investigating claims he had molested a 13-year-old boy. He was acquitted of all charges in 2005.

Streisands comments sparked a huge backlash online, including from Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed.

The singer issued a statement on Instagram that says she believes the parents of the two young men were also victimised and seduced by fame and fantasy.

She also expressed her deep remorse at not choosing her words more carefully.

To be crystal clear, there is no situation or circumstance where it is OK for the innocence of children to be taken advantage of by anyone, her statement reads, adding that she didnt mean to dismiss the trauma these boys experienced in any way.
Protesters at the Put it to the People march on Sunday were asked to write letters to Theresa May.

Cocoa Laney, a documentary photographer, wanted to capture more than just pictures at the demonstration, which brought a claimed one million protesters to central London.

She asked each photographed protester to write a letter to the prime minister.

As little as two words, for some, were enough: "Do better!!"

Some of the her subjects were children, who wrote longer missives.

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All of my friends and family are part-European, one youngster wrote to the UKs leader. Do you want to ruin this?

The Put it to the People march is thought to have been one of the biggest protests in the UKs history, with most attendees demanding a second referendum on Brexit and for the public to have the Final Say.

An online petition to revoke Article 50 and cancel Brexit has also been signed more than five million times, putting further pressure on Theresa May, who has struggled to maintain cabinet and party unity in the midst of the crisis.

 Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

For more of Cocoa Laneys work you can visit her website here
A secondary school in Texas has thrown a mock ceremony for one of its students whose fathers dying wish was to see her graduate.

Mark Patterson was diagnosed with stage four esophageal cancer in June 2017 and was told he wouldnt have long left to live.

After his condition worsened, Mr Pattersons oncologist asked him if he had any bucket list goals.

He broke down crying and said: I just want to see my baby graduate, revealed Mr Pattersons wife, Darla, in an interview with KLTV.

So a special graduation ceremony for Mr Pattersons daughter, Christan  who is not due to actually graduate from Lindale High School until May  was held at the Hospice of East Texas on Wednesday to fulfil his wish.

Graduation photos show harsh reality of student debt Show all 7 1 /7 Graduation photos show harsh reality of student debt Graduation photos show harsh reality of student debt Students graduation day pictures capture the harsh reality of debt after university Maigan Kennedy, 27, from North Carolina in the US has been gathering attention online for her unique - yet somewhat accurate - vision of life after university by capturing the harsh reality of debt that students are leaving the American education system with. Ms Kennedys images have come as activists in the US mark April 2016 as being four years since the total outstanding student loan debt amount hit $1 trillion. Areon Multimedia Graduation photos show harsh reality of student debt Students graduation day pictures capture the harsh reality of debt after university 'We got artsy' Areon Multimedia Graduation photos show harsh reality of student debt Students graduation day pictures capture the harsh reality of debt after university 'I got a prize!' Areon Multimedia Graduation photos show harsh reality of student debt Students graduation day pictures capture the harsh reality of debt after university 'But I don't want it!' Areon Multimedia Graduation photos show harsh reality of student debt Students graduation day pictures capture the harsh reality of debt after university 'Sorry about the BA in Theatre, Mom and Dad' Areon Multimedia Graduation photos show harsh reality of student debt Students graduation day pictures capture the harsh reality of debt after university 'Debt is sexy' Areon Multimedia Graduation photos show harsh reality of student debt Students graduation day pictures capture the harsh reality of debt after university 'Sallie Mae centrefold' Areon Multimedia

Mr Patterson, who previously worked as a bus driver for the school, was brought out in his bed for the occasion, where he was joined by Christans teachers and fellow students.

In a video posted by the school on its Facebook page, Christan and her father can be seen waving to one another ahead of the proceedings.

We feel so honoured to have been able to present one of our senior students, Christan Patterson, with a mock graduation in honour of her father, the caption reads.

Speaking to KLTV on the day itself, Christan said: I know my dad is very caring and very loving and he thanks everyone that was a part of this. Im so glad hes here with us right now.

While Mr Patterson was too unwell to speak on the day of the ceremony, his wife added that if he could, he wouldve described the day as amazing.

The family is currently raising money via GoFundMe to help pay for treatment and support Ms Patterson, whose car was recently written off in a crash, the fundraising page states.

Darlas son was also diagnosed with eye cancer on 15 January, it adds.

To say this woman is walking through fire is an understatement.
The worlds first bricks and mortar vagina museum is set to open in London later this year  but it needs to raise 300,000 first.

Founder Florence Schechter launched a crowdfunding campaign on Friday urging the public to make donations that will go towards organising exhibitions, comedy nights and performers at the innovative cultural site.

The Vagina Museum first launched as a pop-up project in March 2017. Schechter hopes a permanent physical site  she has been offered a space in Camden Market  will focus on removing the stigma that surrounds discussions of vaginas while highlighting other important issues affecting women such as consent, body image and intersectionality.

While there is currently a virtual vagina museum in Austria, this would be the first physical museum dedicated to female genitalia.

The Vagina Museum is so important because this area of the body is so stigmatised and this has real world consequences like people being too embarrassed to get their cervical smear, says Schechter.

Most beautiful 'bread and roses' costumes at the Women's March 2019 Show all 12 1 /12 Most beautiful 'bread and roses' costumes at the Women's March 2019 Most beautiful 'bread and roses' costumes at the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent Most beautiful 'bread and roses' costumes at the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent Most beautiful 'bread and roses' costumes at the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent Most beautiful 'bread and roses' costumes at the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent Most beautiful 'bread and roses' costumes at the Women's March 2019 Rex Features Most beautiful 'bread and roses' costumes at the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent Most beautiful 'bread and roses' costumes at the Women's March 2019 Rex Features Most beautiful 'bread and roses' costumes at the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent Most beautiful 'bread and roses' costumes at the Women's March 2019 Rex Features Most beautiful 'bread and roses' costumes at the Women's March 2019 Rex Features Most beautiful 'bread and roses' costumes at the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent Most beautiful 'bread and roses' costumes at the Women's March 2019 Angela Christofilou/The Independent

Our top priority is to fight the taboo that surrounds our bodies and provide a place where we can have an open and honest conversation.

Schechter added that the museum will also host an outreach programme in which she hopes to work with sex and relationships educators and medical professionals to provide better services and support to transgender and intersex communities.

Dr Alison Wright, vice president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, praised the museum as a huge asset in terms of progressing conversations surrounding womens health.

Founder Florence Schechter (Nicole Rixon)

Meanwhile, leader of Camden Council Georgia Gould said she was incredibly excited about the prospect of hosting the museum in Camden.

Camden has a proud and radical history of challenging prejudice and orthodoxy, however, we acknowledge that the stigma associated with talking about gynaecological health has meant ignorance, confusion, shame, and poor medical care for too many, she said.

We are therefore incredibly excited that the Vagina Museum is seeking to establish in Camden, and hope that it is funded to provide an inclusive and intersectional centre for learning, creativity, activism and outreach that will add immeasurably to our collective understanding of our bodies.

You can read more about The Vagina Museum and donate to its crowdfunding campaign here.
Neo-Nazi groups have been allowed to remain on Facebook because the social media giant found they did not violate its community standards, it has been revealed.

Pages operated by factions of international white supremacist organisations including Combat 18 and the Misanthropic Division were reported, but Facebook refused to remove the content and told researchers to unfollow pages if they found them offensive.

A Counter Extremism Project report, seen exclusively by The Independent, showed the same response was received for chapters of Be Active Front USA, a racist skinhead group, and the neo-Nazi British Movement.

Several of the pages unsuccessfully reported included racist and homophobic statements, such as calling non-whites vermin and gay people degenerates, images of Adolf Hitler and fascist symbols.

Facebook refused to take down a page used by Combat 18s Greek wing, despite its cover photo showing a man performing a Nazi salute, in front of a wall sprayed with a swastika.

New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Show all 11 1 /11 New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Zakaria Bhuiyan People gather hoping to find out information about Zakaria Bhuiyan who is still missing after the mosques shootings in Christchurch. David Moir/AFP New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Mucad Ibrahim Three-year-old Mucad Ibrahim, the youngest known victim of the mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 15 March 2019. Abdi Ibrahim via AP New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Nadeem Rasheed Nadeem Rasheed, brother of Pakistani Naeem Rashid who died alongside his son Talha Naeem, 21, who were killed in shooting at a Mosque in Christchurch, at their home town in Abbottabad, EPA New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Omar Nabi Omar Nabi speaks to the media about losing his father Haji Daoud Nabi, 71, in the mosque attack REUTERS New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Ash Mohammed Ash Mohammed, right, talks to a police officer about his father and two brothers who are missing near the Masjid Al Noor mosque AP New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Akhtar Khokhur Akhtar Khokhur, 58, shows a picture of her missing husband Mehaboobbhai Khokhar, 65. AP New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Wasseim Alsati A note is seen on a window of a door at the family home of Wasseim Alsati in Christchurch on 17 March 2019. AFP/Getty Images New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Haroon Mahmood Relatives offer condolences to nephew (centre) of Haroon Mahmood, a Pakistani citizen who was killed in Christchurch mosque shootings. AP New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Farid Ahmed Farid Ahmed (pictured) survived the Al Noor mosque shootings but his wife Husne was killed. AFP/Getty Images New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Syed Areeb Ahmed A relative shows a picture of Syed Areeb Ahmed, a Pakistani citizen who was killed the Christchurch mosque shooting. AP New Zealand shootings: Victims of Christchurch mosque terror attacks Naeem Rashid A relative looks at a picture on a mobile phone of Pakistani nationals Naeem Rashid and his son Talha Naeem (right) who died in the Christchurch shootings. AFP/Getty Images

Another page for Combat 18s Australian faction complained that after the New Zealand terror attack, the media and leftists would carry on for months, while spreading the same ideology that inspired the shooter.

Originating in the UK as a neo-Nazi street-fighting group, Combat 18 has units in dozens of countries and has been suspected in the murders of immigrants and ethnic minorities.

Others pages left online were being used to sell neo-Nazi merchandise and music, which generates funding for extremists.

Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), said Facebook and other platforms were allowing hate groups to network and build echo chambers worldwide.

Facebook services a third of the worlds population [2.32 billion monthly active users[, its the biggest platform there is, he added.

But the companys business model is content on the platform, not content off the platform, [so] unless there is clear, sustained public pressure on the right-wing extremism issue, we will not see significant progress.

Mr Schindler called for legal regulation, as the British government prepares to publish a white paper on tackling online harms.

The fresh controversy comes after Facebook was condemned for failing to stop the New Zealand attackers livestream until it was reported by police.

 Christchurch mosque attacks: What we know so far

Days later, The Independent revealed that anti-Islam group Britain First had set up three new pages a year after being banned for hate speech.

Mr Schindler said that although Facebook and other social media firms have dramatically improved their response to Isis propaganda and other Islamist material, the response to far-right extremism was lagging behind.

Terrorism is terrorism, and Christchurch unfortunately proved our point that both sides of the equation are equally concerning and equally dangerous, he warned.

Recommended The white genocide conspiracy theory cited by alleged mosque gunman

In the west, we have right-wing nationalist extremist groups who feel encouraged at the moment to take action.

The alleged Christchurch shooter published an online document that said he got his views from the internet, of course, and the white genocide conspiracy theory cited as his main justification was being spread by several Facebook pages reported by the CEP.

One, a Canadian branch of the Blood and Honour neo-Nazi music network, claimed to condemn the New Zealand terror attack but openly stated its belief in cultural replacement tactics that are plaguing Western civilization in a public post.

The page, which remained online on Sunday, called the atrocity a misguided effort to make a positive change in the world.

The Facebook page for the neo-Nazi Blood and Honour Canada group, which was reported to Facebook but not removed

It was one of 40 Facebook pages belonging to right-wing extremist groups and retailers, which were monitored by CEP researchers between September and November last year.

The sample included 22 groups that promote the ideology of neo-Nazism and white supremacy, and 18 Facebook stores promoting extremist music and merchandise.

By the end of the period, five of the 40 pages monitored had been taken down for unknown reasons and the remaining 35 had increased their audience by more than 2,300 likes.

When the CEP reported the 35 online pages, Facebook said it would remove six but dismissed reports for others with a generically-worded response that read: We looked over the page you reported, and though it doesnt go against one of our specific community standards, we understand that the page or something shared on it may still be offensive to you and others.

Facebook advised researchers to avoid things like this by blocking or unfollowing the pages. Several have subsequently been removed.

One American retailer reported by the CEP was selling T-shirts with the slogan kill your local drug dealer, alongside stickers showing antifascists being shot in the head.

The Facebook page for the Australian branch of neo-Nazi group Combat 18, which was reported to Facebook but not removed

Factions of the international neo-Nazi group Green Line Front also remained on Facebook, alongside antisemitic Christian identity groups and the US National Alliance Reform and Restoration Group, which calls for supporters to mount a white revolution  and take back our homeland from the invaders.

Facebooks community standards define hate speech as a direct attack on characteristics including race, national origin, religion and sexual orientation.

When neo-Nazi groups that clearly violate the platforms policies are allowed to maintain pages, it raises serious questions regarding Facebooks commitment to their own policies, the CEPs report concluded.

Facebook figures show it removed 12.4 million pieces of terrorist content in six months last year. Around 2.5 million pieces of hate speech were deleted in the first quarter of 2018.

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A spokesperson said: We want Facebook to be a safe place and we will continue to invest in keeping harm, terrorism, and hate speech off the platform.

Our community standards ban dangerous individuals and organisations, and we have taken down the content that violates this policy. Every day we are working to keep our community safe, and our team is always developing and reviewing our policies.

Were also creating a new independent body for people to appeal content decisions and working with governments on regulation in areas where it doesnt make sense for a private company to set the rules on its own.
Political billboards have popped up across the UK, from Glasgow to Dover, thanks to anti-Brexit group Led By Donkeys.

Each board is emblazoned with a quote from a politician or public figure, taken from past speeches, interviews and social media.

The four friends behind the popular campaign wanted to highlight the hypocrisy of politicians engaging in the Brexit debate, according to the groups crowdfunding page.

This Brexit chaos is founded on the forgotten lies of our leaders, the page says.

Lets remind the country of them with giant billboards.

Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Show all 15 1 /15 Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Nigel Farage has spent his political career campaigning for the UK to leave the EU. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Boris Johnson's support for Brexit took many by surprise before the EU referendum. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises The UK and EU are yet to agree on a withdrawal deal. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises This was taken from a 2012 speech delivered by Mr Davis. He does not currently support a second Brexit referendum. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Boris Johnson now supports a hard Brexit and resigned from the cabinet in 2018 over Theresa May's strategy. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises The US recently issued trade negotiation objectives for future talks with the UK. The country made clear that it expects access to the UK's agriculture industry, reviving the debate about chlorinated chicken. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Nigel Farage does not support the current campaign for a second Brexit referendum. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Despite this quote, in February 2019 Boris Johnson said a no deal Brexit "may yet be the best option for the UK". Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises The UK and EU are yet to begin negotiating a deal regarding their future relationship. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Theresa May announced that the UK would be leaving the Single Market in her Lancaster House speech in January 2017. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Theresa May triggered Article 50 on 29 March 2017. Her withdrawal deal is yet to be passed. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises A classic from the 2015 general election campaign. David Cameron resigned on 24 June 2016, following the EU referendum result. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises David Davis resigned from his post as Brexit secretary in July 2018 after disagreeing with Theresa May's negotiation strategy. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Michael Gove was one of the most influential Leave voices during the EU referendum campaign. Twitter/Led By Donkeys Brexit billboards: Campaigners remind MPs of past promises Jacob Rees-Mogg, a prominent backbencher, does not support a second Brexit referendum. He has called the use of this quote "fundamentally dishonest" as it was taken from a 2011 speech discussing the option of referendum before David Cameron entered negotiations with the EU. Such a vote was never held. Twitter/Led By Donkeys

One example, in Dover, reads: The Free Trade Agreement that we will do with the European Union should be one of the easiest in human history.

The quote is attributed to Liam Fox, currently minister for International Trade.

A second board, in London, is emblazoned with David Camerons promise in 2015 to bring stability and strong government to the UK.

He resigned just over a year later, after the EU referendum result became clear.

Although the quotes are from a range of sources, they are presented as tweets on the billboards.

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Led By Donkeys has raised more than 272,000 through crowdfunding to pay for the billboards.
Philip Hammond has urged MPs of all parties to get themselves together in a room to find a solution to the Brexit crisis, admitting Theresa Mays deal is all-but dead.

The chancellor took the extraordinary step of asking the Commons to seize control with an alternative plan, saying: Lets hear about it this week and then we can move forward.

Mr Hammond attacked Tory plotters seeking to topple the prime minister as self-indulgent  but admitted cabinet members are very frustrated with her.

The comments will inflame Brexiteer Tories, some inside the cabinet, who oppose indicative votes, fearing the Commons will chart a way to a softer Brexit  or even a Final Say referendum.

Mr Hammond said he was still battling for Ms Mays deal, but admitted: Its looking very difficult to bring together a majority for it.

Amid claims of a cabinet coup being hatched, the chancellor denied the prime minister had run out of road, insisting: Changing the prime minister wouldnt help this.

Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Show all 15 1 /15 Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Pork There will be tariffs on pork in order to protect British farmers Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Cheese There will be tariffs in place on some cheeses including 22.10/100kg of cheddar, 19.10/100kg of processed cheese and 18.60/100kg on some blue cheeses Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Milk There will be no tariffs in place on milk Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Car Parts There will be no tariffs on car parts imported from Europe PA Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Cars However finished cars will face tariffs of 10.6% Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Alcoholic drinks There will be no tariffs on alcoholic drinks - except on some rums due to ingredients used in their distilling process Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Beef There will be tariffs on beef in order to protect British farmers Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Fish There will be no tariffs on many types of fish including cod, haddock, salmon and sea bass Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Fruit and vegetables There will be no tariffs on almost all fruit and vegetables Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Chocolate There will be no tariffs on chocolate or other cocoa products Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Poultry There will be tariffs on poultry in order to protect British farmers Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Ceramics There will be some tariffs in place on ceramis Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Steel There will be no tariffs on steel Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Coal There will be no tariffs on coal Getty Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit Lamb/Mutton There will be tariffs on the meat of sheep in order to protect British farmers Getty

He denied reports that he wanted David Lidington, Ms May's de facto deputy, to be installed as a caretaker prime minister, saying: That's not right at all.

My position is that this isn't about individuals  this is about how we move forward, he told Sky News Sophy Ridge on Sunday programme

However, Mr Hammond did lift the lid on the cabinet infighting, saying: People are very frustrated and people are desperate to find a way forward in the just over two weeks that we've got to resolve this issue.

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A fresh Brexit referendum deserves to be considered, Philip Hammond has said, becoming the first cabinet minister to agree its supporters have a case.

The chancellor described a second public vote as a perfectly coherent proposition and agreed that MPs should vote on it this week.

The comment will give an enormous boost to the push for a Final Say referendum, a day after an estimated one million people marched through London to call for it.

Theresa May has repeatedly said she opposes another vote, because it would betray the British publics decision in the first referendum three years ago.

Speaking on Sky News, Mr Hammond insisted that his number one priority was to ensure the UK left the EU with a deal.

But he took the extraordinary step of urging MPs of all parties to get themselves together in a room to find a solution to the crisis, admitting the prime ministers deal was all-but dead.

Papers react to the Brexit vote Show all 10 1 /10 Papers react to the Brexit vote Papers react to the Brexit vote The Guardian The Guardian highlights just how soon the Prime Minister's defeat has come Britain's scheduled date of departure Papers react to the Brexit vote Daily Mail The Daily Mail takes aim at MPs who political editor Jason Groves claims have "plunged Britain into chaos" by rejecting the Prime Minister's deal Papers react to the Brexit vote The Independent Daily Edition The Independent calls for a second referendum as a way forward Papers react to the Brexit vote Daily Express The Daily Express leads with exasperation, with political editor Macer Hall writing that "Brexit was hanging in the balance last night" Papers react to the Brexit vote The Sun The Sun take the Prime Minister's "croaky" voice into account as it reports on last night's "Brexit shambles" Papers react to the Brexit vote Financial Times The Financial Times claims that the Prime Minister's authority is "in shreds" and reports on the fall in the pound in the wake of the vote Papers react to the Brexit vote The Daily Telegraph The Daily Telegraph calls the Prime Minister's defeat "humiliating" and claims that a delay to Brexit is likely Papers react to the Brexit vote The i The i claims that parliament is "out of control" Papers react to the Brexit vote The Times The Times claims that Britain is in crisis and that the Prime Minister "may face resignation calls" Papers react to the Brexit vote Daily Mirror The Daily Mirror says that the Prime Minister "surrenders" in reference to the likelihood of Brexit being delayed after the vote

And, on a new referendum, the chancellor said: Im not sure that theres a majority in parliament in support of second referendum.

Many people will be strongly opposed to it, but its a coherent proposition. And it deserves to be considered along with the other proposals that youve got on the list.

That list included a softer Brexit, a crash-out no-deal Brexit and revoking Article 50 to scrap departure  only the last two of which Mr Hammond ruled out.

A new referendum is likely to be among the options if MPs successfully seize control of the Commons agenda to stage indicative votes on Wednesday.

However, its best chance of success is if the prime ministers deal is allowed to pass  subject to it being confirmed in a referendum, with the alternative of remaining in the EU.

Ms May has hinted she will not allow the third meaningful vote, after the Democratic Unionist party read the last rites on it last Friday.

On indicative votes, Mr Hammond said: One way or another, parliament is going to have the opportunity this week to decide what it is in favour of, and I hope that it will take that opportunity  if it can't get behind the prime minister's deal  to say clearly and unambiguously what it can get behind.

Crucially, he said a decision had not yet been taken on whether Tories, including all ministers, would be given a free vote  the only way the Commons true preference could be revealed.
Cabinet ministers are openly at war over solving the Brexit crisis, after MPs were threatened with a general election if they try to force through an alternative to Theresa Mays deal.

As claims of a plot to topple the prime minister were denied by potential replacements, a bid by the Commons to seize control this week was dramatically torpedoed by the Brexit secretary.

Stephen Barclay vowed that any softer exit plan that crossed Tory red lines would be rejected, warning MPs tempted to vote for it that the risk of a general election increases.

Extraordinarily, just moments earlier, the chancellor Philip Hammond had urged MPs of all parties to get themselves together in a room to find a solution, admitting Ms Mays deal is all but dead.

Mr Hammond also gave a big boost to the campaign for a fresh Brexit referendum  a day after up to a million people packed London in support  describing it as a perfectly coherent proposition that deserves to be considered.

Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Show all 24 1 /24 Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent Put It To The People march: Best of The Independents pictures Angela Christofilou/The Independent

Meanwhile, a parade of Brexiteer Tories drove to the door of Chequers, the prime ministers country retreat, some to urge her to set a timetable for quitting.

However, as both the mooted candidates to take over as caretaker  David Lidington and Michael Gove  rushed out denials of interest, no cabinet coup appeared imminent.

Despairing Tories feared the prime minister would not listen to pleas that the only way to save her deal is to fall on her sword immediately afterwards. Others believe it would fail to make the difference anyway.

The guest list for the emergency Chequers summit drew criticism that Ms May was still turning to an an old boys club, rather than listening to different voices on Brexit.

It included Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab, David Davis, Damian Green, Iain Duncan Smith, who arrived in an open-top convertible, and Jacob Rees-Mogg  with his young son, in suit and tie, in tow.

Downing Street sources said the aim was still to win backing for a third meaningful vote on the Brexit deal this week, although Ms May herself has said it could be pulled.

A spokesperson for the prime minister said: The PM and a number of government ministers met today at Chequers for lengthy talks with senior colleagues about delivering Brexit.

The meeting discussed a range of issues, including whether there is sufficient support in the Commons to bring back a meaningful vote this week.

Mr Lidington, Ms Mays de-facto deputy, was also in attendance, after denying a plot by saying: I dont think that Ive any wish to take over from the PM [who] I think is doing a fantastic job.

Jacob Rees-Mogg and his eldest son Peter arrive at Chequers (LNP)

Likewise Mr Gove, the environment secretary, said before heading to Chequers: This is a time for cool heads. Its not the time to change the captain of the ship.

Many questioned how a caretaker could be imposed, given that  under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act  he or she would need the backing of the entire Tory party to win a no-confidence motion in the Commons.

The next twist in the Brexit drama will be a cross-party attempt on Monday to grab the Commons floor on Wednesday, to stage so-called indicative votes on all options, to try to find a winner.

Some ministers had suggested free votes for all Tory MPs, including ministers, to truly open up debate, but Mr Barclay stamped on the process in a BBC interview.

He made clear a result would be rejected if it were to collide with fundamental commitments the government has given in its manifesto  which included leaving the EU customs union and single market.

MPs trying to legislate for such a dramatic shift in UK policy would also be triggering a longer Brexit delay, requiring participation in the European parliament elections.

The risk of a general election increases, because you potentially have a situation where parliament is instructing the executive to do something that is counter to what it was elected to do, Mr Barclay said.

The threat was angrily dismissed as nonsense by Nick Boles, a pro-EU Tory behind the Common Market 2.0 plan for a softer Brexit, by retaining single market membership.

The PM cannot call a general election whenever she feels like it, he tweeted. She would need the backing of 2/3 of MPs. No way that most Tory MPs are voting for an early election.

Mr Boles condemned the refusal of European Research Group hardliners to compromise with reality, adding: They cant impose hard Brexit because they dont have the votes. They cant force an election because they dont have the votes.

On the Labour side, Keir Starmer strengthened the partys backing for a Final Say referendum  despite, like Jeremy Corbyn, failing to attend Saturdays march.

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If a deal goes through, if the prime ministers deal, if she tries it a third time, goes through, it ought to be subject to a lock or a check, which is its got to be confirmed by the public, he said.

The prime minister will host a cabinet meeting on Monday morning, ahead of a testing statement to the Commons on the EUs imposition of a new Article 50 deadline at last weeks summit.

A No 10 source was not ruling out a second cabinet gathering on Tuesday, as the crisis gathers pace, saying: One day at a time.
An online petition calling on the government to revoke Article 50 and cancel Brexit has attracted more than 5 million signatures.

The petition, started in late February, became the most popular petition ever submitted to the parliament website after it hit over 4 million signatures on Saturday.

The record-breaking number came as an estimated one million people marched through London demanding a second referendum on Brexit.

The parliament website has crashed numerous time since the petition leapt in popularity on Wednesday following Theresa Mays appeal to the British people to support her as she demanded MPs back her deal.

But Ms May rejected the message of the petition on Thursday, when a No 10 spokesperson said failing to deliver Brexit would cause potentially irreparable damage to public trust.

Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Show all 50 1 /50 Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Best signs from the Put It To The People protest A cheerful reminder Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest I will always love EU EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Naughty Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Bridget Jones vox populi Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Anyone fancy a spot of birdwatching? Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Not the only one EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest 800sqm banner of a David Davis quote in Parliament Square Led By Donkeys/PA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Does anyone? Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Prime concern Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Managing well to keep their wigs on Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Name a more moronic duo. I'll wait EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Is telekinetic intervention the only way out of the Brexit mess? Tom Bell Best signs from the Put It To The People protest The sane voice of youth Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Needs must Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest The scarier sequel Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest 'Tis only a flesh wound EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Put the kettle on Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest What's scarier - a shark attack or Brexit? EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest An artistic take Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest A cryptic one Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest As a matter of fact EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest A windy one Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest A pioneering solution Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Analogies EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest A joyful image EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Generation Z priorities Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest You're never too young to march for change PA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest A cheesy line PA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest The number one single Getty Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Quite the point Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Do you? Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Allegedly Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Let's be considerate PA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Something smells foul Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Stuck in the middle with EU Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Decked out Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Is it too late? Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Ikea's set the bar high Getty Best signs from the Put It To The People protest This picture puzzle is pretty darn clear Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Witty wordplay EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Wonder Woman's battle cry for unity Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest No one can question the wisdom of Spock PA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest The younger generation has spoken AP Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Throw us a bone here AP Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Canine stay in the EU? AP Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest AP

The petition also has the highest rate of sign-ups the website has ever had to deal with, according to the House of Commons petitions committee. At one point nearly 2,000 people were signing up every minute.

Bristol West and Hornsey and Wood Green in London tie for the two constituencies with the highest proportion of sign-ups with 33 per cent of the electorate having signed it, according to the website livefrombrexit.com.

Caroline Lucas constituency Brighton Pavilion comes in third place, with 32 per cent of the electorate supporting the petition.

Jeremy Corbyns constituency Islington North has the tenth highest proportion, with 30 per cent of voters having signed the petition.

Recommended The most popular political petitions in UK history

And in pro-Brexit Labour MP Kate Hoeys Vauxhall constituency, 25 per cent of voters have signed the petition.

By contrast, just 2 per cent of voters in Walsall North, Conservative MP Eddie Hughess constituency, have signed the petition.

A heat map of the petition shows the areas where the greatest support lies, with petition responses mirroring Remain-voting areas in the 2016 referendum. This includes London and cities and towns with a relatively high student population such as Warwick, Canterbury, Oxford and Cambridge.

As the petition attracted attention, conspiracy theories arose suggesting that a small proportion of signatures from addresses listed as overseas meant that Remain campaigners had been adding fake signatures.

Others suggested that the technical problems on the parliament website were a plot to prevent further signatures.

But in a tweet, the petitions committee clarified that 96 per cent of the signatures are listed as from the UK.

They added that overseas signatures were valid, since anyone who is a UK resident or a British citizen can sign a petition. This includes British citizens living overseas.

The woman behind the petition, Margaret Anne Georgiadou, says she has received multiple telephoned death threats after it rapidly gained signatures this week.

The 77-year-old, who is currently in Cyprus, said she deleted her Facebook account following the torrent of abuse online.

In a tweet on Saturday, she wrote: Who wants Brexit so much that they are prepared to kill for it?

On the petition itself, Ms Georgiadou wrote: The government repeatedly claims exiting the EU is the will of the people.

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We need to put a stop to this claim by proving the strength of public support now for remaining in the EU. A Peoples Vote may not happen  so vote now.

Ms May ruled out halting the Brexit process when in Brussels on Thursday, telling reporters: I do not believe that we should be revoking Article 50.
Silverstone, in a denim jumpsuit, looked less lighthearted than she did at 17. Faison looked a touch larger. Meyer looked a bit grayer. But Rudd  at his first comic con, he said  looked almost exactly the same at 49, like Americas boyfriend. He said: You know how in Dazed and Confused Matthew McConaughey looks older than the rest? When Clueless was filmed, he was older than most of the young cast. Today, he looks younger than them. Asked his secret, he said: Im 80 years old on the inside. He pointed to his chest: In here, pure darkness  and a little moisturizer.
The Tory party will not accept a ghastly cabal of pro-EU cabinet ministers stitching up a replacement for Theresa May, Iain Duncan Smith has warned.

The former Conservative leader declared war on senior ministers rumoured to be planning to topple the prime minister in favour of David Lidington, her de-facto deputy.

However, significantly, the arch-Brexiteer left open the option of backing Ms Mays deal if it returns for a third meaningful vote, for fear of a worse alternative.

Lashing out at media briefings of a cabinet coup, Mr Duncan Smith said: I think thats appalling, I think they should be censured and some of them should be sacked.

And the idea of a cabal, a cabal that never wanted to leave the European Union, turning out to decide what should happen over our future would be unacceptable to my colleagues.

Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Show all 50 1 /50 Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Best signs from the Put It To The People protest A cheerful reminder Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest I will always love EU EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Naughty Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Bridget Jones vox populi Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Anyone fancy a spot of birdwatching? Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Not the only one EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest 800sqm banner of a David Davis quote in Parliament Square Led By Donkeys/PA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Does anyone? Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Prime concern Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Managing well to keep their wigs on Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Name a more moronic duo. I'll wait EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Is telekinetic intervention the only way out of the Brexit mess? Tom Bell Best signs from the Put It To The People protest The sane voice of youth Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Needs must Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest The scarier sequel Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest 'Tis only a flesh wound EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Put the kettle on Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest What's scarier - a shark attack or Brexit? EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest An artistic take Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest A cryptic one Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest As a matter of fact EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest A windy one Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest A pioneering solution Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Analogies EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest A joyful image EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Generation Z priorities Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest You're never too young to march for change PA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest A cheesy line PA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest The number one single Getty Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Quite the point Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Do you? Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Allegedly Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Let's be considerate PA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Something smells foul Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Stuck in the middle with EU Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Decked out Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Is it too late? Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Ikea's set the bar high Getty Best signs from the Put It To The People protest This picture puzzle is pretty darn clear Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Witty wordplay EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Wonder Woman's battle cry for unity Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest No one can question the wisdom of Spock PA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest The younger generation has spoken AP Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Throw us a bone here AP Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Canine stay in the EU? AP Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest AP

Speaking on the BBCs Andrew Marr Show, he insisted: If there is to be a leadership change, that leadership change has to be done through the correct process, with the membership out there deciding who will be their leader  not some ghastly five or six man and woman cabal that actually decides things internally.

On suggestions of Mr Lidington as a stand-in leader, he said: If the answer is a caretaker Mr Lidington, or someone else, what the hell is the question?

The attack came as Mr Lidington attempted to stamp on the speculation, saying: I dont think that Ive any wish to take over from the PM [who] I think is doing a fantastic job.

 Iain Duncan Smith says Cabinet ministers should be apologising and should 'shut up, for God's sake'

I tell you this. One thing that working closely with the prime minister does is cure you completely of any lingering shred of ambition to want to do that task.

The cabinet office minister said he was not attracted by, nor had time for plotting, adding: Ive learnt to take rumours in the papers with a bit of a pinch of salt over the years.

Ms May has hinted she will not allow the third meaningful vote, after the Democratic Unionist Party read the last rites on it last Friday.

However, some Brexiteers fear indicative votes this week could pave the way for a softer Brexit or a longer delay to departure from the EU.

Asked if he could yet back the deal, given the opportunity, Mr Duncan Smith said: Im going to keep, and I recommend my colleagues do, keep their options open on this because we dont know whats happening this week.

Weve no idea what the alternatives are and whether people vote for this or not depends hugely on whether we are able to leave with no-deal or not or whether there is a change to this.
Cabinet ministers Michael Gove and David Lidington have emerged as bookmakers favourites to replace Theresa May at No 10, amid reports the prime minister is facing pressure from senior Conservatives to resign.

Mr Gove, the environment secretary, is now favourite for the job with the majority of bookies, having been cut from 6/1 to as short as 11/4, according to Oddschecker  the comparison site which compiles odds from all the leading betting firms.

But Ms Mays de facto deputy Mr Lidington is joint favourite with several companies at 11/4, having been priced way out at 14/1 just yesterday.

It follows speculation members of the cabinet are plotting an imminent coup to get rid of Ms May.

According to The Sunday Times, 11 cabinet ministers said they wanted her to make way for someone else and at least six favour Mr Lidington in taking over as a caretaker to help deliver Brexit.

Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Show all 50 1 /50 Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Best signs from the Put It To The People protest A cheerful reminder Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest I will always love EU EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Naughty Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Bridget Jones vox populi Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Anyone fancy a spot of birdwatching? Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Not the only one EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest 800sqm banner of a David Davis quote in Parliament Square Led By Donkeys/PA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Does anyone? Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Prime concern Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Managing well to keep their wigs on Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Name a more moronic duo. I'll wait EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Is telekinetic intervention the only way out of the Brexit mess? Tom Bell Best signs from the Put It To The People protest The sane voice of youth Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Needs must Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest The scarier sequel Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest 'Tis only a flesh wound EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Put the kettle on Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest What's scarier - a shark attack or Brexit? EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest An artistic take Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest A cryptic one Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest As a matter of fact EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest A windy one Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest A pioneering solution Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Analogies EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest A joyful image EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Generation Z priorities Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest You're never too young to march for change PA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest A cheesy line PA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest The number one single Getty Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Quite the point Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Do you? Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Allegedly Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Let's be considerate PA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Something smells foul Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Stuck in the middle with EU Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Decked out Angela Christofilou / The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Is it too late? Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Ikea's set the bar high Getty Best signs from the Put It To The People protest This picture puzzle is pretty darn clear Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Witty wordplay EPA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Wonder Woman's battle cry for unity Reuters Best signs from the Put It To The People protest No one can question the wisdom of Spock PA Best signs from the Put It To The People protest The younger generation has spoken AP Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Throw us a bone here AP Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Canine stay in the EU? AP Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best signs from the Put It To The People protest AP

Speaking outside his home on Sunday morning, Mr Lidington told reporters the speculation was far-fetched. He said: I dont think that Ive any wish to take over from the PM (who) I think is doing a fantastic job.

Mr Gove later told the BBC: Its not the time to change the captain of the ship, I think what we need to do is to chart the right course.

Chancellor Philip Hammond has accused any MPs allegedly trying to oust Ms May of being self-indulgent. Mr Hammond said replacing the prime minister would not solve the Brexit crisis, despite fierce criticism of her handling of the process.

Pro-EU former education secretary Nicky Morgan told The Sunday Telegraph that cabinet ministers should tell Ms May its time to go.

Several Brexiteer MPs told the newspaper Ms Morgan would make a good unity candidate to take over and lead current negotiations. Brexiteer Steve Baker said any potential leadership contenders in the government should act now.

Ms Mays former policy adviser MP George Freeman said: Im afraid its all over for the PM, tweeting: Shes done her best. But across the country you can see the anger.

Everyone feels betrayed. Governments gridlocked. Trust in democracy collapsing. This cant go on. We need a new PM who can reach out [and] build some sort of coalition for a PlanB.

Michael Gove, favourite with most bookies, headed the Vote Leave campaign with Boris Johnson (PA)

Conservative peer Lord Gadhia, a former member of David Camerons inner circle, said the upcoming days may be very dramatic and could see the end of Ms Mays time at Downing Street.

Oddschecker said 44 per cent of all bets on the next prime minister in the last 24 hours have been placed on Mr Lidington. Mr Gove has been the second most backed with 23.8 per cent.

Mr Lidington, the 62-year-old MP for Aylesbury, has emerged as a surprise frontrunner given his relatively low public profile.

He was appointed Leader of the House of Commons in 2016, before the prime minister promoted him to her deputy earlier this year. The senior Tory has supported Ms Mays efforts to pass the Withdrawal Agreement in the Commons.

Mr Gove was a leading figure in the campaign to leave the EU, as is reportedly the Brexiteers favoured candidate to replace the prime minister.

Boris Johnson is third favourite to become the next prime minister, with odds of 8/1.

With it looking more likely Ms May could be replaced by her own party before any general election, the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has drifted out from Fridays favourite to 9/1 on Sunday.
She struggles home with food, her small daughter and the proof she is still alive.

Veronica Fatia huddles on a wooden boat leaving the cyclone-shattered city of Beira for what is now the unknown: the flooded town of Buzi, which for a week people have been fleeing with little but their clothes.

The fishermens boats ferry the displaced daily to Beira, sometimes scores at once. But Fatia is going against the tide, up waters that recently carried corpses to the sea. More than a week after Cyclone Idai roared in, the muddy flood waters are still pouring off the river banks, draining what aid workers have called an inland ocean.

After the three-hour boat journey, carrying bags of rice and her two-year-old daughter, Fatia steps carefully out of the vessel and walks into the remains of Buzi, looking for her mother, hoping she is still alive.

She passes the Jesus Saves Bank, past the three-storey building where on the rooftop residents cluster in search of signal for their mobile phones. She passes the people now living in the open along the sandy main road, cooking, mending, and a young boy reading a textbook.

Mozambique cyclone Idai Show all 28 1 /28 Mozambique cyclone Idai Mozambique cyclone Idai A young boy makes fire as he plays in Buzi district, 200 kilometers (120 miles) outside Beira, Mozambique, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun of efforts to find and help tens of thousands of people after Cyclone Idai devastated a large swath of Mozambique. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai Displaced families arrive after being rescued by boat from a flooded area of Buzi district, 200 kilometers (120 miles) outside Beira, Mozambique, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun of efforts to find and help tens of thousands of people after Cyclone Idai devastated a large swath of Mozambique. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai Children wait as their parents disembark from a boat after being rescued from a flooded area of Buzi district, 200 kilometers (120 miles) outside Beira, Mozambique, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun of efforts to find and help tens of thousands of people after Cyclone Idai devastated a large swath of Mozambique. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai A displaced family arrives after being rescued by a boat from a flooded area of Buzi district, 200 kilometers (120 miles) outside Beira, Mozambique, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun of efforts to find and help tens of thousands of people after Cyclone Idai devastated a large swath of Mozambique. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai A man docks a boat carrying displaced families after being rescued from a flooded area of Buzi district, 200km outside Beira, Mozambique, Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai An elderly woman is assisted disembark from a boat after being rescued from a flooded area of Buzi district, 200km outside Beira, Mozambique, Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai Two men rescue an animal using a boat in Buzi district, 200km outside Beira, Mozambique, Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (AP (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai A man holding his child watches a boat carrying displaced familie arrive after being rescued from a flooded area of Buzi district, 200km outside Beira, Mozambique, Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (AP (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai A woman walks along a flooded road in Buzi district, 200km outside Beira, Mozambique, Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai Relatives and friends watch as the boat arrives from Buzi disembark from a boat after being rescued from a flooded area of Buzi district, 200km outside Beira, Mozambique, Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai A young girl is carried off the boat after being rescued from a flooded area of Buzi district, 200km outside Beira, Mozambique, Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai A young girl is carried off the boat after being rescued from a flooded area of Buzi district, 200km outside Beira, Mozambique, Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai A woman walks along a flooded road in Buzi district, 200km outside Beira, Mozambique, Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai A displaced family arrives after being rescued by a boat from a flooded area of Buzi district, 200 kilometers (120 miles) outside Beira, Mozambique, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun of efforts to find and help tens of thousands of people after Cyclone Idai devastated a large swath of Mozambique. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai Veronica Fatia carries her 2-year-old daughter as they travel in a wooden boat to Buzi district, 200 kilometers (120 miles) outside Beira, Mozambique, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. They left the cyclone-shattered city of Beira for the town of Buzi, which for a week people had been fleeing to with little but their clothes. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai A fisherman navigates a wooden boat to Buzi district, 200 kilometers (120 miles) outside Beira, Mozambique, Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai Children stand in-front of a business building in Buzi district, 200 kilometers (120 miles) outside Beira, Mozambique, Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai Veronica Fatia carries her 2-year-old daughter as they travel in a wooden boat to Buzi district, 200 kilometers (120 miles) outside Beira, Mozambique, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. They left the cyclone-shattered city of Beira for the town of Buzi, which for a week people had been fleeing to with little but their clothes. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai A displaced young boy sleeps on the floor at a school in Buzi district, 200 kilometers (120 miles) outside Beira, Mozambique, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. People left the cyclone-shattered city of Beira for the town of Buzi, which for a week people had been fleeing to with little but their clothes. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai A young boy walks through a muddy walkway in Buzi district, 200 kilometers (120 miles) outside Beira, Mozambique, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai Passengers of a wooden boat travel to Buzi district, 200 kilometers (120 miles) outside Beira, Mozambique, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai Displaced families rest inside a damaged classroom in Buzi district, 200 kilometers (120 miles) outside Beira, Mozambique, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai Relatives and friends watch as a boat arrives with people rescued from flooded areas to Buzi district, 200 kilometers (120 miles) outside Beira, Mozambique, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai A group of men watch the arrival of a boat carrying displaced families rescued from a flooded area of Buzi district, 200 kilometers (120 miles) outside Beira, Mozambique, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai A young boy sits outside their flooded house in Buzi district, 200 kilometers (120 miles) outside Beira, Mozambique, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) Mozambique cyclone Idai An aerial photo shows a damaged factory following the devastating Tropical Cyclone Idai in Beira, Mozambique, Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. AP Mozambique cyclone Idai An aerial photo shows local residents walk on a damaged road following the devastating Tropical Cyclone Idai in Beira, Mozambique, Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. ( AP Mozambique cyclone Idai Displaced families set up their bedding on top of the roof in Buzi district, 200 kilometers (120 miles) outside Beira, Mozambique, on Saturday, March 23, 2019. A second week has begun with efforts to find and help some tens of thousands of people in devastated parts of southern Africa, with some hundreds dead and an unknown number of people still missing. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

Her mother might be at the school, Fatia decides. A cry goes up as she approaches it and people come running.

Mama! She is there. They embrace on a concrete walkway now littered with cooking fires and tiny children, one nodding off beside a pile of still-warm ashes.

My home is gone, but Im also happy because I can see my family, Fatia says.

Her mother, Maria Antonio, says she last saw Fatia the Tuesday before the storm. I didnt know anything about her, she says. Im very happy to see her.

But the fate of her other daughter, in the seaport town of Quelimane, remains unknown.

 Cyclone Idai wreaks havoc across Zimbabwe

It is a common heartbreak for thousands of families in central Mozambique, who have no way to learn about missing loved ones as destroyed communications networks struggle to return. People are desperately searching for family members separated by the flooding, destruction and death brought to the area more than a week ago by Cyclone Idai. Some will not be as lucky as Fatia.

The fishing boats between Buzi and Beira are now a lifeline, braving spattering rain, rolling waves and still the punching stench of death. Near Buzi, a dogs carcass hangs from the branches of a tree.

Cut off from the world, people can easily panic. One member of the Mozambican Red Cross, Assane Paul, tries to calm a knot of people who had heard a rumour that another cyclone was on its way.

If you dont answer well, we wont eat! the people call out, as he speaks to the Associated Press.

Other residents of Buzi try to adapt however they can, from the Bible reader on the rooftop blaming the cyclone on peoples sins to the man walking down the road in soaking wet trousers. They are the only clothes he has left, he explains.

Many people are still on the move. Dozens wait at Buzis small pier where the fishermens boats pull up, bags of belongings at their feet and concern on their faces. Or they simply watch for news.

The other end of the journey is the beach in Beira. Small children and barefoot women are carried off on a fishing boat and gathered together by aid workers in spitting rain. Some look lost. Few carry much. One small girl stands alone, hugging herself, her eyes wide and pleading.

I hid in the mosque, says a 12-year-old boy, Ramadan Gulam. I was there for a week. He had come from Buzi with nothing but a bag of clothes and his brothers. My father said to go because the floods would come again... I dont know what to do now.

Christina Machado arrives with her two children and a bandage on her ankle. It was cut by a tin roof during the cyclone, she says. It was treated just yesterday.

Im looking for my husband, she says. He had been working in Beira for two months. She doesnt know where she will be taken next.

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Francisco Mambonda spent about a week on a rooftop with nothing to eat. He and his wife and sons drank dirty water to survive.

Barefoot, shivering and in tattered shorts, he adds another plea to the growing chorus, saying: I dont know what to do now.

Emergency responders still have some hope.

As night falls and one wooden boat from Buzi approaches the flickering, generator-lit Beira skyline, another passes in the dusk. It carries soldiers to their duties. Some raise their guns and cheer.

Associated Press
A second survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting has died, police have confirmed.

The Coral Springs Police Department was quoted in US media as saying the student had died in an apparent suicide on Saturday.

The case is being investigated further and officers did not release the students age or cause of death.

Sydney Aiello, who was a student at the school when the shooting occurred, died last Sunday.

The 19-year-old had been suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder and survivors guilt since the shooting and took her own life, according US media.

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. 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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

A gunman killed 17 adults and children at the school on 14 February 2018 when he opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle.

Nikolas Cruz, the suspected shooter, is charged with murdering 14 students and three teachers.

Around a dozen other people were also left injured.

After news of the unnamed students death emerged on Sunday, some of the shootings survivors urged local authorities to act.

How many more kids have to be taken from us as a result of suicide for the government / school district to do anything? David Hogg, a survivor who has since become a prominent gun control advocate, said. Rip 17+2.

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In March 2018 thousands of pupils walked out of schools across the US demanding action on gun control, prompted by the Florida shooting.

For confidential support on mental health call Samaritans free from any phone, at any time, on 116 123 (UK & RoI) or email jo@samaritans.org. In the US call 1-800-273-TALK or chat online.
Vermont senator Bernie Sanders would beat Donald Trump if the 2020 election were held today, a new Fox News poll suggests.

The poll from the conservative news outlet shows Mr Sanders and former vice president Joe Biden  who has not announced a run just yet  are the only two democrats right now who would beat the president in a hypothetical head-to-head match up.

For his part, Mr Biden enjoys a bigger lead in the poll results, with a 7 point advantage over the incumbent president. Meanwhile, Mr Sanders received support from 44 per cent of those surveyed compared to Mr Trumps 41 per cent.

While Mr Biden and Mr Sanders are the only two to lead Mr Trump in the poll, the results show that the crowded democratic primary field has several other strong contenders.

Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, for instance, both trail the president slightly in the Fox News survey, coming up just 2 per cent short in their own head-to-head scenarios.

Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Show all 23 1 /23 Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Joe Biden The former vice president - poised to be a frontrunner - has announced his run. He recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Bernie Sanders The 2016 runner-up has announced that he will be running again in 2020 Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Hillary Clinton The 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State says she is still considering whether she will run again. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Pete Buttigieg The Indiana mayor and war veteran will be running for president. If elected, he would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Kamala Harris The former California attorney general will be running for president in 2020. Introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions testimony, she has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts Senator has formally launched her bid for president in 2020. A progressive Democrat, she is a major supporter of regulating Wall Street. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Beto ORourke The former Texas congressman told Oprah Winfrey that he has been thinking about running for presidency, but stopped short of formally announcing his bid to run in 2020. AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam has announced his bid. He intends to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord. Vice News Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has announced that he will be running for the presidency in 2020. If he secures the nomination he said finding a female vice president would be a priority. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a special meaning for the Latino community in the US. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but is likely to face tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Andrew Yang The entrepreneur has announced his presidential candidacy, and has pledged that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18. AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual advisor has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? John Kerry The former secretary of state has said he is still thinking about whether to run. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Michael Bloomberg The entrepreneur and former New York mayor with a net worth of around $50bn  has said he will decide by the end of February whether to seek the presidency. AFP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Howard Schultz Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has not yet ruled out running for president in 2020, despite criticism that his bid could help re-elect Mr Trump by dividing the Democrat vote. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Eric Holder The former attorney general has said he will decide in the next month or so whether to run as a 2020 presidential candidate. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Eric Swalwell The California congressman said he is ready to do this and will decide before April whether to run. MSNBC Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Terry McAuliffe The former Virginia governor, who worked to elect Democratic governors during 2018 midterms, said there was a 50 per cent chance he would run. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Sherrod Brown The Ohio senator is still undecided about whether to run for president in 2020. Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Mitch Landrieu The former New Orleans mayor said he doesnt think he will run for president, but never say never. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

That Mr Biden and Mr Sanders had such a strong showing is perhaps unsurprising, given their general polling in the 2016 democratic field so far.

In poll after poll, the two men rein supreme in the crowded field, with Mr Biden often leading the pack. In the Fox poll, for example, Mr Biden comes in first with 31 per cent of the support, followed by Mr Sanders with 23 per cent, among Democratic primary voters surveyed.

All of the other candidates in the field fall below 10 per cent.

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But, the first votes in the democratic primary season are months away, and much can change as the dust settles in the campaigns.

Former congressman Beto ORourke, who saw just 8 per cent support in the poll, recently announced his bid and was met with a record-breaking first day fundraising total  an accomplishment that has led to considerable media attention on the failed Texas senate candidate.

Other candidates could see a major boost when the Democratic primary debates begin later this year.

The Fox News poll contacted 1,002 randomly chosen voters across the country using cell phones and landlines, including 403 democratic primary voters between 17 March and 20 March. The poll has a margin of error of plus-or-minus three points for all voters, and plus-or-minus five points for democratic primary voters.
Joe Biden might be about to do something unusual. So unusual, in fact, nobody can remember it ever happening before.

Reports suggest the former vice president may announce he is entering the 2020 presidential contest with a named running mate beside him. The reports suggest he would like that person to be Stacey Abrams, a progressive 45-year-old rising star within the Democratic Party, who last year narrowly failed in her bid to win the governors race in Georgia.

Last month, in an event that underscored the shift in the partys direction, she was asked to deliver the Democratic response to Donald Trumps State of the Union address.

Biden, 76, who for decades served as a senator from Delaware, has told supporters he is 95 per cent committed to running. Even before any declaration, he heads the polls of potential Democratic candidates.

One thing that may help him seal the deal with himself, is if he gets an agreement from Abrams to be his running mate, more than a year before he would hope to secure the presidential nomination.

Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Show all 23 1 /23 Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Joe Biden The former vice president - poised to be a frontrunner - has announced his run. He recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Bernie Sanders The 2016 runner-up has announced that he will be running again in 2020 Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Hillary Clinton The 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State says she is still considering whether she will run again. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Pete Buttigieg The Indiana mayor and war veteran will be running for president. If elected, he would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Kamala Harris The former California attorney general will be running for president in 2020. Introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions testimony, she has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts Senator has formally launched her bid for president in 2020. A progressive Democrat, she is a major supporter of regulating Wall Street. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Beto ORourke The former Texas congressman told Oprah Winfrey that he has been thinking about running for presidency, but stopped short of formally announcing his bid to run in 2020. AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam has announced his bid. He intends to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord. Vice News Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has announced that he will be running for the presidency in 2020. If he secures the nomination he said finding a female vice president would be a priority. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a special meaning for the Latino community in the US. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but is likely to face tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Andrew Yang The entrepreneur has announced his presidential candidacy, and has pledged that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18. AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual advisor has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? John Kerry The former secretary of state has said he is still thinking about whether to run. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Michael Bloomberg The entrepreneur and former New York mayor with a net worth of around $50bn  has said he will decide by the end of February whether to seek the presidency. AFP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Howard Schultz Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has not yet ruled out running for president in 2020, despite criticism that his bid could help re-elect Mr Trump by dividing the Democrat vote. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Eric Holder The former attorney general has said he will decide in the next month or so whether to run as a 2020 presidential candidate. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Eric Swalwell The California congressman said he is ready to do this and will decide before April whether to run. MSNBC Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Terry McAuliffe The former Virginia governor, who worked to elect Democratic governors during 2018 midterms, said there was a 50 per cent chance he would run. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Sherrod Brown The Ohio senator is still undecided about whether to run for president in 2020. Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Mitch Landrieu The former New Orleans mayor said he doesnt think he will run for president, but never say never. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

In what appeared to be the floating of a trial balloon, Axios recently reported Biden supporters were discussing declaring a run with Abrams as an out-of-the-gate VP choice, even though they recognised there was a danger it could damage the former vice president by feeding the same sort of air of inevitability that ultimately harmed Hillary Clintons 2016 run.

At the same time, the Associated Press reported Biden and Abrams met earlier this month in Washington DC  something he had requested. Abrams also had breakfast with another Democrat running for president, New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who tweeted a picture of the pair.

On the face of it, Biden and Abrams would be an impressive ticket, as well as a study in contrasts. He would bring experience of governance to the table, as well as an inside knowledge of the politics of Washington DC. He would also seek to appeal to white working class voters, some of whom voted for Donald Trump in 2016.

In turn, Abrams would bring energy, dynamism and be a spearhead for the progressive ideas that are now ascendant within the party. She is a woman, and a person of colour. She is from the south, he from the north.

I think it would be a very attractive ticket, Christina Greer, professor of politics at Fordham University in New York, told The Independent. Some Democrats might prefer she be on the top half of the ticket, but I think even though she is a brilliant politician, it would be hard for her to go from the loss in Georgia to run for the presidency  even though we have white men doing that.

Biden already has some standing among African Americans, especially older ones, as a result of his eight years of partnership with Barack Obama, Greer said. At the same time, during a career that included 36 years representing Delaware in the Senate, there are several incidents in his record that count against.

His apparent bullying of Anita Hill, a witness during the 1991 Clarence Thomas confirmation hearing, who accused the man about to be made a Supreme Court of sexual harassment, was one. Another was his championing of a 1994 crime bill  the toughest, most comprehensive crime bill in our history according to him  which disproportionately impacted minority offenders.

Abrams has avoided commenting on the prospect of joining Biden, as he embarks on what would be his third run for the Oval Office. She told the AP she had not yet decided whether to challenge Republican David Perdue for the Senate seat from Georgia that will be contested in 2020.

 Stacey Abrams: 'I'm supposed to say nice things and accept my fate'

There certainly is a connectivity between that and other 2020 opportunities, she said. My objective is to make sure I want to do that job. Id not thought about the Senate before. The Senate is a different way to tackle the issues I see.

After Democrats last autumn regained control of the House of Representatives on the backs of women voters, and with four high profile women  Elizabeth Warren, Gillibrand, Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar  already running, Biden is not the only person who sees the value of having a woman VP.

The New York Times said New Jersey senator Cory Booker had claimed a woman would be on the Democratic ticket, whether alongside him or someone else.

No matter what  Im looking you in the eye and saying this  there will be a woman on the ticket, he said. I dont know if its in the vice presidents position or the presidents position, but if I have my way, there will be a woman on the ticket.

Texas congressman Beto ORourke made a similar undertaking to an audience in Iowa.

It would be very difficult not to select a woman, with so many extraordinary women who are running right now, he said. First, I would have to win, and this is as open as its ever been.

Mike Fraioli, a veteran Democratic strategist and fundraiser based in Washington DC, said if Biden declared with a named running mate he could think of no precedent.

The only similar situation came in April 2016  late in the Republican primary contest  when senator Ted Cruz named businesswoman Carly Fiorina as his theoretical VP pick. He did so in a last ditch effort to inject energy into his flailing campaign. A week later, he pulled out, ceding the field to Trump.

Fraioli said the strategising of Biden, Booker and ORourke marked an important inflection point.

It shows the country has changed, he said. For the Democrats, a woman or a person of colour will fill one of the top two spots. Its not going to be two white guys. Thats not happening. Thats gone.
Democrats have yet to see details of special counsel Robert Muellers report on President Donald Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election, but are insisting they will press ahead with their investigations no matter what the conclusions.

In a rare Saturday conference call for House Democrats, Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted on full disclosure of Mr Muellers report, telling her colleagues she would reject any classified briefing on the report from the 22-month investigation for just a select group of lawmakers. Separately, six committee chairs said they would proceed with enquiries into whether Mr Trump obstructed justice or abused the powers of his office.

Congress requires the full report and the underlying documents so the committees can proceed with their independent work, including oversight and legislating to address any issues the Mr Mueller report may raise, Ms Pelosi wrote in a letter to colleagues shortly before the call.

Americans, she told Democrats on the call, deserve the truth, to know the truth. Transparency is the order of the day.

Mr Mueller submitted his report to the Justice Department on Friday. The conference call for Democrats came shortly after Justice officials informed lawmakers that they would not be receiving Attorney General William Barrs summary of the report until Sunday at the earliest.

Mueller investigation: The key figures Show all 12 1 /12 Mueller investigation: The key figures Mueller investigation: The key figures Robert Mueller is the special counsel overseeing the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election, and potential obstruction of justice by the president. Mr Mueller has a pristine reputation in Washington, where he was previously in charge of the FBI. Throughout his investigation, he and his team have been notoriously tight lipped about what they know and where their investigation has led. REUTERS Mueller investigation: The key figures Former FBI director James Comey was the catalyst that led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller. Mr Comey was fired by the president after Mr Trump reportedly asked him to drop his own Russia investigation. Mr Trump has long maintained that the investigation is a "witch hunt". AFP/Getty Images Mueller investigation: The key figures Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein had authority over the special counsel investigation for much of the two years it has been active. Mr Rosenstein found himself with that responsibility after then-attorney general Jeff Sessions recused himself from that oversight. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Attorney general Jeff Sessions's decision to recuse himself from oversight of the special counsel investigation may have cost him his job in the end. Mr Sessions resigned last year, after weathering a contentious relationship with Donald Trump who vocally criticised his attorney general for taking a step back. Mr Sessions recused himself from the oversight citing longstanding Justice Department rules to not be involved in investigations overseeing campaigns that officials were apart of. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Attorney General William Barr is currently responsible for oversight of the special counsel investigation. Mr Barr's office will be the first to receive the Mueller report when it is finished. His office will then determine what portion or version of that report should be delivered to Congress, and also made public. EPA Mueller investigation: The key figures Michal Cohn is the president's former personal lawyer, who has been helping the special counsel investigation as a part of a plea deal over financial crimes, and campaign finance crimes, he has pleaded guilty to. Among those crimes, Cohen admitted to facilitating $130,000 in hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign. Cohen has said he did so at the direction of Mr Trump. Cohen has also admitted that he maintained contacts with Russian officials about a potential Trump real estate project in Moscow for months longer than Mr Trump and others admitted. The talks continued well into 2016 during the campaign, he has said. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Stormy Daniels has alleged that she had an affair with Donald Trump in 2006, soon after Melania Trump gave birth to Baron Trump. The accusation is of particular importance as a result of the $130,000 hush money payment she received to keep quiet about the affair during the 2016 campaign. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Paul Manafort was Donald Trump's former campaign chairman. Manafort was charged alongside Rick Gates for a slew of financial crimes, and was convicted on several counts in a Virginia court. He then pleaded guilty to separate charges filed in a Washington court. Manafort has been sentenced to just 7.5 years in prison for his crimes  in spite of recommendations from the special counsel's office for a much harsher sentence. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures George Papadopoulos was one of the first individuals associated with the Trump campaign to be charged by the Mueller probe. He ultimately received a 14 day prison sentence for lying to investigators about contacts he had with Russian officials. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Roger Stone is a well known political fixer and operative, who has made a name for himself for some dirty tactics. He has been charged by the Mueller probe earlier this year, and he has been said to have had prior knowledge that WikiLeaks planned on publishing stolen emails from the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016. Getty Images Mueller investigation: The key figures Rick Gates was charged alongside former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort for a range of crimes. Gates, who worked alongside Manafort for a pro-Russia Ukrainian political party. The two were charged with conspiracy and financial crimes. Gates pleaded guilty. AP Mueller investigation: The key figures Former national security adviser Michael Flynn was one of the first casualties of the Russia scandal, and was forced out of his position in the White House weeks after Donald Trump took office. Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to "willfully" making fraudulent statements about contacts he had with Russian officials including former Russian ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Flynn then lied to Vice President Mike Pence about that contact. REUTERS

The committee chairs discussed their enquiries during the call, according to participants who spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss the conversations.

Representative Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, described his ongoing probe of Mr Trumps interactions with Russian president Vladimir Putin as well as his interest in Mr Trumps business interests in Moscow.

Representative Maxine Waters who heads the House Financial Services Committee, discussed her probe into the role banks played in funding the Trump Organisation and accepting potentially fraudulent documents. Representative Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, suggested news of no further indictments didnt mean criminal activity did not occur.

The Mueller report is one document; it is not, however, the final word on ongoing investigations, criminal or otherwise, said representative Gerald Connolly, a senior member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. There is a lot that falls beyond the jurisdiction of Robert S. Mueller III which the Congress is involved in  and some other investigative bodies, like the Southern District of New York and the attorney general of New York... So the fact that Mueller [is finished] does not in any way circumscribe the ongoing work of the Congress.

The insistence of the Democrats to move forward came as Republicans cited the news from the Justice Department of no further indictments as vindication for Mr Trump, who has maintained that there was no collusion between him and Russia.

 Donald Trump launches furious tirade against Mueller on White House lawn as he calls Comey a 'bad cop'

Noteworthy during the 35-minute call involving 120 Democrats was that the word impeachment never came up. Ms Pelosi has sought to tamp down taking that step, arguing that it makes no sense politically without Republican support and is too divisive for the country.

Democrats for weeks have argued if Mr Barr withholds the report from lawmakers and the public, it would amount to a legitimised cover-up that shields Mr Trump from accountability.

The committee chairs said they expect to receive a limited readout of Mr Muellers findings and predicted the Justice Department would argue against releasing damaging information on anyone it didnt indict.

Democrats laid out a series of counterarguments of past instances when reports or information were fully disclosed. They pointed to the Republican investigation into the deadly 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, and Hillary Clintons use of a private email server for government business while she was secretary of state. During that years-long probe, the Democratic-led Justice Department provided more than 880,000 documents to Congress.

House Democratic leaders also stressed on the call that special counsel John C Danforths report on the 1993 standoff at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, was made public.

Several Democrats said Mr Muellers findings would be interesting but not dispositive in terms of the next steps members would take in the six ongoing House probes of Mr Trumps campaign, his businesses and his familys links to foreign individuals and entities.

We need to follow the evidence, and while the special counsel had a special charge . . . we have a broader charge: to determine whether there was obstruction of justice or abuse of power, representative Jackie Speier, a member of the House oversight and intelligence committees, said in an interview after the call.

Democrats said on Saturday Mr Muellers findings might inform the details of what lines of inquiry they would pursue during their probe.

We will be in a position as soon as we get the report and underlying evidence to make the judgment about where we need to go in terms of a number of different live investigations ... some matters might be resolved by what is learned on the report, some matters might be rendered moot, other matters might be opened up for greater investigation, representative Jamie Raskin said in an interview after the call.

But he stressed there are plenty of things that have gone wrong with this administration that have absolutely nothing to do with the subject of the Mueller investigation.

In other words, Democrats say there will be plenty to investigate regarding Mr Trump, even if Mr Muellers report largely exonerates him.

The delivery of the report and underlying evidence is going to sharpen our inquiry and give us the road map for thinking about precisely where all these investigations are going, Mr Raskin said.

The Washington Post
Democratic presidential candidates have issued calls for transparency over the findings of the Mueller report, and made it clear they believe Donald Trump is guilty of wrongdoing.

Special counsel Robert Muellers report was delivered to the Justice Department on Friday and is now in the hands of attorney general William Barr.

The reports submission sparked a frenzy of speculation about what it might contain, even though virtually nothing was released to the public except the special counsels recommendation of no new further indictments.

But, as Democratic hopefuls stopped in diners and at college campuses around the country over the weekend, the lack of details did not stop the candidates from making bold claims.

It is beyond a shadow of doubt that, once in office, the president of the United States sought to obstruct justice, former Texas congressman Beto ORourke said during a campaign stop in South Carolina. First, by firing the principal investigator into what had happened in the 2016 election and then, in the light of day, tweeting at his attorney general to stop the Russia investigation.

Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Show all 23 1 /23 Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Joe Biden The former vice president - poised to be a frontrunner - has announced his run. He recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Bernie Sanders The 2016 runner-up has announced that he will be running again in 2020 Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Hillary Clinton The 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State says she is still considering whether she will run again. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Pete Buttigieg The Indiana mayor and war veteran will be running for president. If elected, he would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Kamala Harris The former California attorney general will be running for president in 2020. Introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions testimony, she has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts Senator has formally launched her bid for president in 2020. A progressive Democrat, she is a major supporter of regulating Wall Street. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Beto ORourke The former Texas congressman told Oprah Winfrey that he has been thinking about running for presidency, but stopped short of formally announcing his bid to run in 2020. AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam has announced his bid. He intends to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord. Vice News Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has announced that he will be running for the presidency in 2020. If he secures the nomination he said finding a female vice president would be a priority. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a special meaning for the Latino community in the US. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but is likely to face tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Andrew Yang The entrepreneur has announced his presidential candidacy, and has pledged that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18. AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual advisor has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? John Kerry The former secretary of state has said he is still thinking about whether to run. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Michael Bloomberg The entrepreneur and former New York mayor with a net worth of around $50bn  has said he will decide by the end of February whether to seek the presidency. AFP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Howard Schultz Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has not yet ruled out running for president in 2020, despite criticism that his bid could help re-elect Mr Trump by dividing the Democrat vote. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Eric Holder The former attorney general has said he will decide in the next month or so whether to run as a 2020 presidential candidate. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Eric Swalwell The California congressman said he is ready to do this and will decide before April whether to run. MSNBC Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Terry McAuliffe The former Virginia governor, who worked to elect Democratic governors during 2018 midterms, said there was a 50 per cent chance he would run. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Sherrod Brown The Ohio senator is still undecided about whether to run for president in 2020. Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Mitch Landrieu The former New Orleans mayor said he doesnt think he will run for president, but never say never. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Mr ORourke joined his fellow candidates, senators Amy Klobuchar, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Bernie Sanders in demanding that the results of the investigation be made public.

Ms Harris, a former prosecutor from California, vowed that she would work to ensure that Mr Trump does not get a free pass should she become president.

I know and will know and do know how to prosecute the case against Donald Trump, Ms Harris said during a campaign stop in Texas.

Vermont senator Bernie Sanders also made a somewhat veiled threat to the president, saying during a campaign stop in California that Mr Trump would be brought to justice if it were determined that he broke the law.

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Nobody, including the president of the United States, is above the law, Mr Sanders said.

Mr Barr must now determine how much of the Mueller report will be handed over to congress, where Democrats have already indicated they will fight for full transparency in the process.

Congress is among several institutions with ongoing investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and all indicators point to the Democratically controlled House using the report findings to inform their investigations.

Other institutions with ongoing investigations include prosecution teams in the Southern District of New York and in Washington.
Australia is bracing for a second powerful cyclone in two days as Cyclone Veronica bears down on the country's northwest coast.

The storm was expected to make landfall Sunday afternoon, a day after Cyclone Trevor hit a remote part of the Northern Territory coast. Weather authorities were forecasting Veronica would hit the coast about 1,600km (1,000 miles) to the west, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia state.

While that area is also lightly populated, residents were warned that because the cyclone was moving slowly  at just eight kilometres per hour (five mile per hour)  they would likely have to shelter for several hours.

A category 3 system on a scale in which 5 is the strongest, Veronica has winds of up to 220 kph (136 mph).

With Trevor downgraded on Sunday to a tropical low pressure system as it moved inland, the more than 2,000 people evacuated from Northern Territory coastal areas in its path began moving back home.

Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Show all 29 1 /29 Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Evacuations under way in Townsville on February 4 AFP/Getty Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Army vehicles enter Townsville to help evacuate people on February 4 AFP/Getty Townsville, Australia - Monsoon A major intersection in the flooded Townsville suburb of Idalia on February 4 Getty Townsville, Australia - Monsoon An Australian soldier helps a Townsville resident evacuate her home as the military is deployed to tackle the floods on February 4 AFP/Getty Townsville, Australia - Monsoon A boat steers down a flooded road in Townsville on February 4 Getty Townsville, Australia - Monsoon A flooded neighbourhood in Townsville on February 4 EPA Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Rosslea residents Stephen Jubbs, Stacie Little and Stephen Dobbs take their boat around floodwaters in Rosslea, Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 02 February 2019. Thousands of residents downstream from the Ross River dam were evacuated after flash floods hit the region following heavy rains, media reported. EPA/Andrew Rankin Townsville, Australia - Monsoon A child is seen playing in floodwater in the suburb of Idalia in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 01 February 2019. Authorities asked Townsville residents downstream from the Ross River dam to evacuate an emergency measure after high-risk that up to 100 homes could be flooded. EPA/Andrew Rankin Townsville, Australia - Monsoon A resident rides his bicycle in floodwaters in the suburb of Idalia in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 01 February 2019. Authorities asked Townsville residents downstream from the Ross River dam to evacuate an emergency measure after high-risk that up to 100 homes could be flooded. EPA/Andrew Rankin Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Townsville Residents are seen watching the raging floodwaters of the Ross River in the suburb of Douglas on February 01, 2019 in Townsville, Australia. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has declared Townsville a disaster area and has ordered school closures today after heavy rains caused flooding and landslides in the area. The bureau of meteorology is predicting 400mm of rain to fall over the weekend and into next week. Ian Hitchcock/Getty Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Seen is a lone tree in raging floodwaters of the Ross River on February 01, 2019 in Townsville, Australia. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has declared Townsville a disaster area and has ordered school closures today after heavy rains caused flooding and landslides in the area. The bureau of meteorology is predicting 400mm of rain to fall over the weekend and into next week. Ian Hitchcock/Getty Townsville, Australia - Monsoon An Australian soldier from 3CER helps sandbag a home in the suburb of Railway Estate on February 01, 2019 in Townsville, Australia. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has declared Townsville a disaster area and has ordered school closures today after heavy rains caused flooding and landslides in the area. The bureau of meteorology is predicting 400mm of rain to fall over the weekend and into next week. Ian Hitchcock/Getty Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Seen is a flooded street in the suburb of Railway Estate on February 01, 2019 in Townsville, Australia. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has declared Townsville a disaster area and has ordered school closures today after heavy rains caused flooding and landslides in the area. The bureau of meteorology is predicting 400mm of rain to fall over the weekend and into next week. Ian Hitchcock/Getty Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Seen is a 4WD vehicle in a flooded street in the suburb of Railway Estate on February 01, 2019 in Townsville, Australia. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has declared Townsville a disaster area and has ordered school closures today after heavy rains caused flooding and landslides in the area. The bureau of meteorology is predicting 400mm of rain to fall over the weekend and into next week. Ian Hitchcock/Getty Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Warning signs are seen on a flooded road in the suburb of Railway Estate on February 01, 2019 in Townsville, Australia. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has declared Townsville a disaster area and has ordered school closures today after heavy rains caused flooding and landslides in the area. The bureau of meteorology is predicting 400mm of rain to fall over the weekend and into next week. Ian Hitchcock/Getty Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Residents are seen in floodwaters in the suburb of Idalia in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 01 February 2019. Authorities asked Townsville residents downstream from the Ross River dam to evacuate an emergency measure after high-risk that up to 100 homes could be flooded. EPA/Andrew Rankin Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Locals are seen filling sand bags supplied by the Townsville City Council at Hermit Park in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 01 February 2019. Authorities asked Townsville residents downstream from the Ross River dam to evacuate an emergency measure after high-risk that up to 100 homes could be flooded. EPA/Andrew Rankin Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Kyle Konings, Courtney Turner and Luke Eketone walk through floodwaters in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 01 February 2019. Authorities asked Townsville residents downstream from the Ross River dam to evacuate an emergency measure after high-risk that up to 100 homes could be flooded. EPA/Andrew Rankin Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Floodwaters across Ross River in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 01 February 2019. Authorities asked Townsville residents downstream from the Ross River dam to evacuate an emergency measure after high-risk that up to 100 homes could be flooded. EPA/Andrew Rankin Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Wayne Clayton with Cooper walk through floodwaters in Mundingburra, Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 01 February 2019. Authorities asked Townsville residents downstream from the Ross River dam to evacuate an emergency measure after high-risk that up to 100 homes could be flooded. EPA/Andrew Rankin Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Courtney Turner and Luke Eketone walk through floodwaters in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 01 February 2019. Authorities asked Townsville residents downstream from the Ross River dam to evacuate an emergency measure after high-risk that up to 100 homes could be flooded. EPA/Andrew Rankin Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Rocks are seen blocking Muller Street in Wulguru, in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 01 February 2019. Authorities asked Townsville residents downstream from the Ross River dam to evacuate an emergency measure after high-risk that up to 100 homes could be flooded. EPA/Andrew Rankin Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Floodwaters are seen at Aplins Weir in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 01 February 2019. Authorities asked Townsville residents downstream from the Ross River dam to evacuate an emergency measure after high-risk that up to 100 homes could be flooded. EPA/Andrew Rankin Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Residents Kerry and Josephine Guinea observe rocks blocking Muller Street in Wulguru, in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 01 February 2019. Authorities asked Townsville residents downstream from the Ross River dam to evacuate an emergency measure after high-risk that up to 100 homes could be flooded. EPA/Andrew Rankin Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Floodwaters at Alpins Weir along Ross River in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 01 February 2019. Authorities asked Townsville residents downstream from the Ross River dam to evacuate an emergency measure after high-risk that up to 100 homes could be flooded. EPA/Andrew Rankin Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Residents of the suburb of Idalia are seen playing in floodwaters in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 01 February 2019. Authorities asked Townsville residents downstream from the Ross River dam to evacuate an emergency measure after high-risk that up to 100 homes could be flooded. EPA/Andrew Rankin Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Wayne Clayton with Cooper walk through floodwaters in Mundingburra, Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 01 February 2019. Authorities asked Townsville residents downstream from the Ross River dam to evacuate an emergency measure after high-risk that up to 100 homes could be flooded. EPA/Andrew Rankin Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Rocks are seen blocking Muller Street in Wulguru, Townsville, as flooding continues in northern Queensland, Australia February 1, 2019. AAP Image/Andrew Rankin via Reuters Townsville, Australia - Monsoon Local resident Paul Shafer and his daughter Lily stand in floodwaters near star pickets that show where the storm water cover has been removed in Hermit Park, Townsville, northern Queensland, Australia February 2, 2019. AAP Image/Andrew Rankin via Reuters

Officials were still awaiting word on any damage to property and livestock. Flood warnings were still in effect for inland areas as the system moved south.

 Muslim mother reacts after swastikas and Islamophobic abuse sprayed on family's car in Perth, Australia

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster James Ashley said Veronica was unique because of its slow speed, which would bring a long danger period.

"We are expecting a prolonged period  12 hours or more  of destructive winds near the core of the cyclone," Ashley said.

Cyclones are frequent in Australia's tropical north and rarely claim lives. But two large storms such as Trevor and Veronica hitting on the same weekend is rare.

AP
A naked man has reportedly been arrested in Moscow after trying to board a plane while shouting about how clothes made him less agile and aerodynamic.

Eyewitnesses said the would-be passenger passed through checks at Domodedovo Airport before suddenly taking off all his clothes and running on to the jet bridge, which connects airport terminals to planes.

He shouted that he was naked because clothing impairs the aerodynamics of the body. He flies with more agility when undressed, a witness told Russian channel REN TV.

Airport staff prevented the man from boarding his flight to Crimea and he was later detained by police officers.

Fellow passengers told Ren TV the man did not appear drunk.

The worst ever inflight meals Show all 8 1 /8 The worst ever inflight meals The worst ever inflight meals Cockroach curry A cockroach was found in an Air India breakfast meal. Twitter/Manoj Khandekar The worst ever inflight meals Apples and pears Avianca's idea of a vegetarian meal was an apple and a pear on board one flight. Twitter/Steve Hogarty The worst ever inflight meals Chicken sandwich Emirates served this disappointing Cajun chicken and cheese sandwich on a flight to Dubai Paul Carlin The worst ever inflight meals Gluten-free banana Martin Pavelka was handed this banana, complete with "gluten-free" label, as his inflight meal on an ANA service from Tokyo to Sydney. Martin Pavelka/Evening Standard The worst ever inflight meals Mushroom sandwich Oman Air's finest: presenting something approximating a mushroom sandwich on a flight to Heathrow. Nick Boulos The worst ever inflight meals Raw vegetables Aegean Airways served up some raw pepper and carrot sticks as its veggie option on one flight. musterknabe The worst ever inflight meals More cockroaches An Air India passenger wasn't impressed when she found this in the business class lounge. Twitter/Harinder Baweja The worst ever inflight meals Leftovers Not everyone turns their nose up at plane food - this Urumqi flight attendant was suspended after a video of her eating leftovers went viral. Viral Press

After the police had detained the offender, he was taken to the airports medical room and then was hospitalised in a medical facility, a spokesperson for Russias Interior Ministry said.

The offender is a native of Yakutsk but lives in the Moscow region, they added, according to The Moscow Times.

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A video released after the mans arrest showed him sitting on the ground, still naked and surrounded by police officers.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, once a close friend of McCains but increasingly a pal of Trumps, released a statement that belied about as much conviction as a wet sponge. "I think the president's comments about Sen. McCain hurt him more than they hurt the legacy of Sen. McCain," Graham said. "My job is to represent the people of South Carolina. They want me to work with the president where I can. I've gotten to know the president. We have a good working relationship. I like him. I don't like it when he says things about my friend John McCain."
The first passengers evacuated from a cruise ship off the coast of Norway have spoken about the frightening moment they were airlifted onto five helicopters after the vessels engines failed in stormy weather.

The Viking Sky, which had more than 1,300 people board  including 200 British tourists  was forced to send out a mayday signal on Saturday as it floundered in the Norwegian Sea.

Video footage showed the ship rocking dramatically, with debris falling from the ceiling and chairs crashing across the floor, as passengers waited to be airlifted to safety.

Rescue services airlifted 479 people, hoisting them one-by-one onto helicopters, before the weather subsided on Sunday and allowed tug boats to tow the ship and its remaining passengers to Molde port.

Derek and Esther Browne, from Hampshire, said the whole boat was swaying before they were airlifted to safety.

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. 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We had a few people on stretchers, several with cuts, two with broken limbs, but fortunately we were alright. We were airlifted onto the helicopter which was quite a frightening experience, Mr Browne told the BBC.

He added: Id never been in a helicopter before, there were a lot of high winds, hovering overhead and the winchman came down and we were then collected up and so I shut my eyes as we arrived into the helicopter and there were 15 of us for about a 20-minute ride.

Some 20 injured passengers had been taken to hospital, Viking Cruises said, while others had only minor injuries.

 Wave 'blows door in' on Norway cruise ship

Police in Moere og Romsdal said the ships crew had managed to anchor in Hustadvika Bay, amid fears the vessel would run aground.

The boat was then towed to Molde on Norways west coast with 436 passengers and 458 crew members still on board.

Norwegian media said the majority of the cruise ship passengers were British and American tourists. The ship had been due to arrive in the Essex port of Tilbury in England on Tuesday.

I was afraid. Ive never experienced anything so scary, Janet Jacob told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. She said her helicopter ride to safety came amid strong winds like a tornado, causing her to pray for the safety of all aboard.

The Norwegian Red Cross said: Many have also been traumatised by the experience and need care when they arrive on shore.

Passengers rescued from cruise ship are helped from a helicopter into Hustadvika rescue centre (AP)

US passenger John Curry said he had been having lunch as the ship started to shake. It was just chaos. The helicopter ride from the ship to shore I would rather not think about. It wasnt nice.

A spokesperson for Viking Cruises said: A small number of non-life threatening injuries have been reported. Guests are being accommodated in local hotels when they arrive back on shore, and Viking will arrange for return flights for all guests.

The operator's chairman, Torstein Hagen, told Norway's VG newspaper the events were "some of the worst I have been involved in, but now it looks like it's going well in the end and that we've been lucky".

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: We are in touch with Norwegian authorities and stand ready to help any British people who require our assistance.

The operator advised anyone with concerns about guests onboard to check updates on the Viking Cruises website.

Additional reporting by agencies
An Isis plan to direct new terror attacks in Europe has been uncovered after the group lost the last sliver of its former caliphate in Syria.

Documents on a hard drive, which was dropped by Isis jihadis killed in a desert battle, detail proposals for a Bureau of Foreign Relations for the Department of Operations in Europe to organise, arm and fund atrocities.

In a letter passed to The Sunday Times, a senior militant calling himself Abu Taher al-Tajiki told local Isis leaders he was in contact with individuals who want to work in areas far away from the Islamic State.

Requesting permission to set up the new bureau, he added: Before they carry out the operations, they will send us the targets if the connection is secure. Otherwise, they do the operation. And by the will of Allah we will meet all of their needs, for those who want it.

Other letters saw the same writer offer to use sleeper cells across Syria to assassinate targets named by Isis leaders, following a series of murders and bombings in the groups former territories.

Timeline of the Isis caliphate Show all 19 1 /19 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Timeline of the Isis caliphate ISIS began as a group by the merging of extremist organisations ISI and al-Nusra in 2013. Following clashes, Syrian rebels captured the ISIS headquarters in Aleppo in January 2014 (pictured) AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi declared the creation of a caliphate in Mosul on 27 June 2014 Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis conquered the Kurdish towns of Sinjar and Zumar in August 2014, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. Pictured are a group of Yazidi Kurds who have fled Rex Timeline of the Isis caliphate On September 2 2014 Isis released a video depicting the beheading of US journalist Steven Sotloff. On September 13 they released another video showing the execution of British aid worker David Haines Timeline of the Isis caliphate The US launched its first airstrikes against Isis in Syria on 23 September 2014. Here Lt Gen William C Mayville Jnr speaks about the bombing campaign in the wake of the first strikes Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis militants sit atop a hill planted with their flag in the Syrian town of Kobani on 6 October 2014. They had been advancing on Kobani since mid-September and by now was in control of the citys entrance and exit points AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Residents of the border village of Alizar keep guard day and night as they wait in fear of mortar fire from Isis who have occupied the nearby city of Kobani Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Smoke rises following a US airstrike on Kobani, 28 October 2014 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate YPG fighters raise a flag as they reclaim Kobani on 26 January 2015 VOA Timeline of the Isis caliphate Isis seized the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra on 20 May 2015. This image show the city from above days after its capture by Isis Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces are stationed on a hill above the town of Sinjar as smoke rises following US airstrikes on 12 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Kurdish forces enter Sinjar after seizing it from Isis control on 13 November 2015 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi government forces make the victory sign as they retake the city of Fallujah from ISIS on 26 June 2016 Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Iraqi forces battle with Isis for the city of Mosul on 30 June 2017 AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of the Iraqi federal police raise flags in Mosul on 8 July 2017. On the following day, Iraqi prime minister Haider Al Abadi declares victory over Isis in Mosul Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Members of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Female fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces celebrate in Al-Naim Square after taking back the city of Raqqa from Isis. US-backed Syrian forces declare victory over Isis in Raqqa on 20 October 2017 after a four-month long campaign AFP/Getty Timeline of the Isis caliphate Trucks full of women and children arrive from the last Isis-held areas in Deir ez-Zor, Syria in January 2019 They were among the last civilians to be living in the ISIS caliphate, by this time reduced to just two small villages in Syrias Deir ez-Zor Richard Hall/The Independent Timeline of the Isis caliphate Zikia Ibrahim, 28, with her two-year-old son and 8-month-old daughter, after fleeing the Isis caliphate, on Saturday 26 January 2019 Richard Hall/The Independent

One document detailed the leadership structure of cells hidden in northeastern Syria, including bombmakers and fighters.

The documents said one planned meeting with Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had been delayed and it was unclear whether the proposals were ever presented to leaders, or if other copies existed.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have vowed to fight sleeper cells, following several bombings targeting their fighters and international troops from the US-led coalition.

International security services have long predicted that Isis would seek attention and legitimacy through terror attacks after losing its former caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

Last week, an audio message from the groups spokesman was released on propaganda channels urging supporters around the world to launch massacres in revenge for the New Zealand shooting that left 50 Muslims dead.

The foreign secretary warned that people should not mistake the loss of territory by Isis for final defeat.

As they are driven underground, they are adopting insurgency tactics and forming covert networks, Jeremy Hunt wrote in The Sunday Times.

 Baghouz: Syrian Democratic Fighters begin final push to recapture the last sliver of territory controlled by ISIS

The survival of their murderous ideology does not depend on control of territory. They can still use the internet to raise funds and spread the propaganda that encouraged young people in Britain such as Shamima Begum with such terrible consequences.

The deadliest Isis massacres seen in Europe, the November 2015 Paris attacks, were directed by the groups leadership and carried out by a well-trained and armed cell who previously fought in Syria.

Other suspected Isis cells have been arrested in several countries including Germany, where groups of Iraqi and Syrian asylum seekers were found to be planning bombings.

A former Isis militant interviewed by The Independent said that shortly after arriving in Syria in 2015, members of the groups secret service asked him whether he would be prepared to carry out atrocities in his home country of Germany.

He was speaking openly about the situation, saying that they have loads of people living in European countries and waiting for commands to attack the European people, Harry Sarfo said in 2016.

The deadliest Isis terror attack in Europe, the 2015 Paris attacks, was carried out by a cell dispatched from Syria (AP)

But subsequent terror attacks in Europe, including those that struck London and Manchester in 2017, are believed to have been inspired rather than directed by Isis.

Like its predecessor al-Qaeda, the group has reverted to an insurgency in Iraq and Syria, as well as in other nations across the Middle East, Africa and Asia where its fighters are active.

In recent days, updates on Isiss main propaganda channels have claimed killings in countries including Egypt, Nigeria, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Raffaello Pantucci, the director of international security studies at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said terror attacks in Europe are not the groups biggest priority and it is unlikely to dedicate massive amount of resources to plots.

The idea that Isis may have networks around Europe that might try to do something is possible but my question is why havent we seen it yet? What are they waiting for? he told The Independent.

Where they carry out their plots is to some degree a reflection of the leaderships interests, and the core leadership is always going to be more interested in the Levant than they are in Europe.

A bigger problem is what happens with foreign fighting networks. Some will keep on fighting, some will die, some will go to other battlefields but some will stay connected and get back home. Then they can inspire a next generation and that can cause problems.
Rafi Eitan, the legendary Israeli spy who led the operation to capture the architect of the Holocaust, Adolf Eichmann, has died aged 92.

Eitan died after being hospitalised in Tel Aviv, Israeli media reported.

Rafi was among the heroes of the intelligence services of the State of Israel on countless missions on behalf of the security of Israel, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. His wisdom, wit and commitment to the people of Israel and our state were without peer.

Eitan was among the founders of Israels revered intelligence agencies.

We have lost a brave fighter whose contribution to Israels security will be taught for generations to come, president Reuven Rivlin said.

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In 1960, Eitan led the Mossad operation to capture Eichmann in Argentina and bring him to trial in Jerusalem.

Known for his role in coordinating the Nazis genocide policy, Eichmann had fled Germany after the Second World War and was living under an assumed identity.

Eitan, who led a seven-man team on the ground, snatched Eichmann on the way back to his home in Buenos Aires, bundled him into a car and spirited him away to a safe house.

Eitan identified Eichmann by searching his body for distinctive scars on his arms and stomach. And once I felt it I was convinced. This is the man  we got Eichmann, he recalled years later.

Rafi Eitan stands next to a showcase during an exhibition about Adolf Eichmanns capture (AP/Sebastian Scheiner) (AP)

Mossad director Yossi Cohen said the majority of Eitans exploits still remain unknown to the general public.

His work and his actions will be etched in gold letters in the annals of the state, Mr Cohen said in a statement on Saturday. The foundations that Rafi laid in the first years of the state are a significant layer in the activities of the Mossad even today.

However, Eitans reputation took a hit in the 1980s over his handling of Jonathan Pollard, a civilian intelligence analyst for the US Navy who sold military secrets to Israel while working at the Pentagon.

Pollard pleaded guilty after being arrested in 1985 and was sentenced in 1987 to life imprisonment, in a trial that embarrassed Israel and damaged its relations with the US.

Eitan was eventually forced to resign his post over the affair.

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He later entered politics in 2006 as head of the Pensioners Party and served for three years as pensions minister.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia authorised a secret campaign to silence dissenters  which included the surveillance, kidnapping, detention and torture of Saudi citizens  more than a year before the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, according to US officials who have read classified intelligence reports about the campaign.

At least some of the clandestine missions were carried out by members of the same team that killed and dismembered Khashoggi in Istanbul in October, suggesting that his killing was a particularly egregious part of a wider campaign to silence Saudi dissidents, according to the officials and associates of some of the Saudi victims.

Members of the team that killed Khashoggi, which US officials called the Saudi Rapid Intervention Group, were involved in at least a dozen operations starting in 2017, the officials said.

Some of the operations involved forcibly repatriating Saudis from other Arab countries and detaining and abusing prisoners in palaces belonging to the crown prince and his father, King Salman, the officials and associates said.

One of the Saudis detained by the group, a university lecturer in linguistics who wrote a blog about women in Saudi Arabia, tried to kill herself last year after being subjected to psychological torture, according to US intelligence reports and others briefed on her situation.

The rapid intervention team had been so busy that last June its leader asked a top adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed whether the crown prince would give the team bonuses for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan, according to US officials familiar with the intelligence reports.

Details about the operations come from US officials who have read classified intelligence assessments about the Saudi campaign, as well as from Saudis with direct knowledge of some of the operations. They spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions from disclosing classified information or, in the case of the Saudis, from angering the Saudi government.

A spokesman for the Saudi embassy in Washington said the kingdom takes any allegations of ill treatment of defendants awaiting trial or prisoners serving their sentences very seriously.

Saudi laws prohibit torture and hold accountable those involved in such abuses of power, the spokesman said, and judges cannot accept confessions obtained under duress. The kingdoms public prosecutor and the Saudi Human Rights Commission are investigating recent allegations, he said.

The Saudi government insists that the killing of Khashoggi  a dissident journalist living in the United States who wrote for The Washington Post  was not an assassination ordered from Riyadh. The decision to kill him was made by the team on the spot, government officials say, and those responsible are being prosecuted. Turkey and US intelligence agencies say the killing was premeditated.

The kingdom says that 11 Saudis are facing criminal charges for the killing and that prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for five of them, but officials have not publicly identified the accused.

After the killing of Khashoggi, Saudi officials acknowledged that the Saudi intelligence service had a standing order to bring dissidents home. What they did not acknowledge was that a specific team had been built to do it.

Saudi officials declined to confirm or deny that such a team existed, or answer questions about its work.

Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and dismembered with a bone saw (AFP/Getty) (AFP)

Saudi Arabia has a history of going after dissidents and other Saudi citizens abroad, but the crackdown escalated sharply after Mohammed bin Salman was elevated to crown prince in 2017, a period when he was moving quickly to consolidate power. He pushed aside Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who oversaw the security services, giving the young prince sway over the intelligence agencies.

Since then, Saudi security forces have detained dozens of clerics, intellectuals and activists who were perceived to pose a threat, as well as people who had posted critical or sarcastic comments about the government on Twitter.

Weve never seen it on a scale like this, said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA analyst now with the Brookings Institution. A dissident like Jamal Khashoggi in the past wouldnt have been considered worth the effort.

Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and dismembered with a bone saw. Turkey used surveillance video and audio recordings to uncover the crime, identify the team that carried it out and leak their names and photos to the news media.

Riedel said the teams sloppiness showed that it was used to operating freely inside the kingdom and not under the watchful eye of an adversarys intelligence service.

The Rapid Intervention Group was authorised by Crown Prince Mohammed and overseen by Saud al-Qahtani, a top aide whose official job was media czar at the royal court, US officials said. His deputy, Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, an intelligence officer who has travelled abroad with the crown prince, led the team in the field.

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Another operative on the team was Thaar Ghaleb al-Harbi, a member of the royal guard who was promoted in 2017 for valour during an attack on a palace of Crown Prince Mohammeds.

Mutreb and al-Harbi are on trial in Riyadh for charges connected to Khashoggis death, a Saudi official said, while Qahtani is under house arrest, has been banned from travel and is under investigation, making it unclear whether the team is still operating.

US intelligence reports did not specify how involved Crown Prince Mohammed was with the groups work, but said that the operatives saw al-Qahtani as a conduit to the prince.

When Crown Prince Mohammed locked hundreds of princes, businessmen and former officials in the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton in 2017 on accusations of corruption, al-Qahtani and Mutreb worked in the hotel, helping pressure detainees to sign over assets, according to associates of detainees who saw them.

Many of those detained at the Ritz were subject to physical abuse, and one died in custody, according to witnesses. It is not known whether members of the rapid intervention team were involved in the abuse. The Saudi government has denied that any physical abuse took place there.

But it was only after Khashoggis killing that the extent of the teams work began to emerge. Mutreb and al-Harbi were both in the consulate when Khashoggi was killed, according to Turkish officials. US intelligence about the teams previous operations informed the assessment by the CIA in November that Crown Prince Mohammed had ordered Khashoggis killing, US officials said.

The CIA declined to comment.

US intelligence agencies do not appear to have conclusive, smoking-gun proof that Crown Prince Mohammed ordering the killing, but they have pieced together a pattern of similar operations carried out by Saudi operatives under the princes authority.

The agencies continue to gather evidence about Crown Prince Mohammeds role in the operations, and in December the National Security Agency produced a report saying that in 2017, the prince told a top aide that he would use a bullet on Khashoggi if he did not return to the kingdom and end his criticism of the government.

Intelligence analysts concluded that Crown Prince Mohammed may have not spoken literally  that he was not ordering Khashoggi to be shot  but that he intended to silence the journalist by killing him if the circumstances required it.

Despite the CIAs assessment that Crown Prince Mohammed ordered the operation, Trump has said repeatedly that the evidence was not conclusive (AFP/Getty) (AFP/Getty Images)

The CIA assessment has created tension between US spy agencies and President Donald Trump, who has made warm relations with the Saudis a cornerstone of his foreign policy. The crown prince has been a close ally of the Trump White House, especially Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law and senior adviser. Despite the CIAs assessment that Crown Prince Mohammed ordered the operation, Trump has said repeatedly that the evidence was not conclusive.

The grisly killing of Khashoggi led to a storm of outrage in foreign capitals and a new scrutiny of the powerful crown prince, who had billed himself as a forward-thinking reformer with a grand vision to modernise the kingdom. But the journalists killing was just the latest in a string of clandestine operations against less high-profile Saudis, including members of the royal family.

US intelligence officials said that some of those detained in these operations were held at secret locations, including opulent palaces used by King Salman and his son, until November 2017, when many were moved to the compound surrounding the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton. At the time, the hotel was being used as a five-star jail in the kingdoms anti-corruption campaign.

That crackdown became a cover for clandestine operations against Saudi dissidents, who were moved into detention in the Ritz at that time, according to US officials.

The Rapid Intervention Group also appears to have been involved in the detention and abuse of about a dozen womens rights activists, who were detained last spring and summer. The activists, who had campaigned for lifting the kingdoms ban on driving by women, included several well-known figures: Loujain al-Hathloul, who had been jailed for trying to drive her car into the kingdom from the United Arab Emirates; Aziza al-Yousef, a retired computer science professor; and Eman al-Nafjan, the linguistics lecturer.

At first, the women were not held in a prison, but were detained informally in what appeared to be an unused palace in the Red Sea port city of Jiddah, according to al-Hathlouls sister, Alia. Each woman was locked in a small room, and the windows were covered. Some of the women were frequently taken downstairs for interrogation, which included beatings, electric shocks, waterboarding and threats of rape and murder.

In an op-ed article for The New York Times, Alia al-Hathloul wrote that al-Qahtani was present several times when her sister was tortured, and that he threatened to kill her and throw her body in the sewer.

The treatment was so harsh that al-Nafjan tried to commit suicide, according to a US intelligence assessment.

The women were later moved to the Dhahban Prison in Jeddah, where the physical abuse stopped and their relatives were allowed to visit, al-Hathloul said.

Their trial opened in Riyadh on 13 March, but journalists and diplomats were not permitted to attend, and the government did not announce the charges against them.

The Saudi official said that al-Hathloul, al-Yousef and al-Nafjan were being tried in connection with activities that threatened the kingdoms national security.

In the kingdoms effort to forcibly repatriate Saudi citizens living abroad, it was not always clear which operations were carried out by the rapid intervention team and which by other parts of the security services.

At least one Saudi who was detained in the Ritz and accused of corruption, Rami al-Naimi, a son of a former Saudi oil minister, was forcibly repatriated from the United Arab Emirates in November 2017. An associate of a senior member of the royal family, Faisal al-Jarba, was snatched in a midnight raid on an apartment in Jordan last June and returned to Saudi Arabia. His family has struggled to get information on where he is or why he is being held.

In August 2017, a minor prince, Saud bin al-Muntasir bin Saud, was sent back to the kingdom from Morocco. Last May, a university student who had dual Saudi-Qatari citizenship was arrested during a visit to Kuwait and sent home.

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A mother and daughter pilot duo has taken Twitter by storm after a photograph of the pair was shared online last week.

On Saturday 16 March, John R Watret, chancellor of the EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University Worldwide Campus (ERAU), boarded a Delta Air Lines flight from Los Angeles to Atlanta.

As Mr Watret took his seat on the flight, he overheard a child whod requested to visit the flight deck and had met the planes pilot and co-pilot, who turned out to be a mother and daughter.

After asking whether he could visit the flight deck as well, Mr Watret made the acquaintance of captain Wendy Rexon and first officer Kelly Rexon.

Mr Watret later shared a picture of the pair on Twitter, which received a hugely positive response.

Four female pilots discuss life on the flightdeck Show all 4 1 /4 Four female pilots discuss life on the flightdeck Four female pilots discuss life on the flightdeck Jessica Sundquist: 787 Dreamliner captain at Norwegian Jessica Sundquist, a Swedish 787 Dreamliner captain for Norwegian, has spoken extensively about being a woman in the industry. In the past shes spoken about the concept of putting your femininity aside in order to succeed. Sundquist says today that she felt she didnt have to do it, but also wanted to fit into the industry without being known as the girl. Today, times are changing, she says, and more women are joining the industry  but its not all good news. Despite working hard to get to where I am today as a captain at one of the most modern and exciting airlines, the industry still has a lot more work to do to give women more opportunities, she says In the future, shed like the discussion on gender inequality to remain open and ongoing, but argues that real action also needs to take place to make any difference. Norwegian Four female pilots discuss life on the flightdeck Joanna Riggs: A380 first officer at British Airways First officer Joanna Riggs says she was never particularly exposed to aviation as a career choice, but became a BA cabin crew member after university in order to see more of the world. She says that entering such a highly male-dominated profession wasnt daunting, but that she felt lucky to have two other females on her course. Colleagues have always been supportive in Riggs experience as have  for the most part  passengers, though some are surprised when they see a female pilot. I hope it will one day be normal to everyone, she adds. Some passengers give a thumbs up or a girl power sign. As for gender differences on the flight deck, Riggs says, We are very professional on the flight deck so it doesnt matter what the gender, race or sexuality of my colleague is. Flying with a fellow female is always a treat though. My brother is also a British Airways pilot, and although I havent flown with him, I get the feeling we would be very similar. British Airways Four female pilots discuss life on the flightdeck Lucy Tardrew: Boeing 747 captain at Virgin Atlantic Lucy Tardrew had always wanted to join the RAF, she says, but it was never allowed to happen  because they werent taking girls at the time. Instead, she travelled to America, where she trained before becoming a flying instructor. After returning to the UK and converting her licences, she began flying night mail  literally all the posts around the country at night  before stints flying executive jets, and last-minute jobs including air ambulances and freighting transplant organs, before joining Virgin 23 years ago. Tardrew is enthusiastic about the company, but is saddened that the ratio of women in the industry as a whole remains low. As for challenges in the workplace, shes never experienced any discrimination. Noting the rare pay equality in the piloting industry, Tardrew feels the reason there arent more female pilots is down to the fact that there arent enough female role models for schoolchildren to think, Im going to become an airline pilot. Virgin Atlantic Four female pilots discuss life on the flightdeck Kate McWilliams: captain at easyJet At 26, Kate McWilliams became the youngest commercial captain in the world. I love being a captain for easyJet, she says. And Im really happy to be working for an airline that is working hard to increase the number of female pilots. Flying was always her goal  but she didnt realise how far she could take it. I joined the air cadets at 13-years-old, but it wasnt until much later that I realised I could become a commercial pilot, she says. EasyJet is aiming to inspire young women, with the Amy Johnson Flying Initiative and their sponsorship of the Brownies, giving girls aged seven to 10 the opportunity to earn an Aviation Badge. The work its doing is really important. The Amy Johnson Flying Initiative was launched in October 2015 with the aim of doubling the number of female new entrant pilots, to 12 per cent, over a two-year period. After achieving its aim in the first year, the airline set a target of 20 per cent for new entrant cadet pilots in 2020. easyJet

The tweet has garnered more than 40,000 likes and more than 16,000 retweets, with many praising Mr Watret and the pilots for raising awareness of women in aviation.

I would probably burst with pride if I was this mum, one person tweeted.

Its still so rare to have women pilots. A legacy crew like this in the cockpit? Is amazing, another added.

In Mr Watrets initial tweet, he said the Rexons were inspiring for you women.

He later clarified this had been a typo, as he said hed meant to write inspiring for young women.

Kelly Rexons sister is also a pilot, Mr Watret revealed in an article published on the ERAU website.

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Only four per cent of airline pilots in the UK and the US are women, the Centre for Aviation states.

While promoting her new film Captain Marvel earlier this month, actor Brie Larson said she hoped her portrayal of US Air Force pilot Carol Danvers will inspire more women to enter the profession.

I really do hope that it inspires girls and women  that if thats the path that they want to take, that they know that its available to them, Larson said.
Viking Cruises says All passengers and crew are safe after one of its cruise ships finally docked in a port on the coast of Norway.

Hundreds of cruise passengers, many of them elderly, experienced a nightmare evacuation after the ship, Viking Sky, was battered by extreme weather and its engines stopped working.

The emergency raises many serious questions.

What was the ship, and where was she sailing?

The vessel was the two-year-old Viking Sky. She was carrying 915 passengers and 458 crew, making her a relatively small cruise ship.

The cruise was a two-week In Search of the Northern Lights voyage, starting and ending in Tilbury in Essex.

 Wave 'blows door in' on Norway cruise ship

This was the last cruise in the first winter for the Viking Cruises itinerary.

When the plans were unveiled, the cruise lines chairman, Torstein Hagen, said: No other cruise line can show guests this part of the world like we can. Norways landscapes in the winter are truly magnificent.

I am pleased to offer this exclusive opportunity for our guests to explore my homeland.

The basic price for the cruise was around 4,000, or about 300 per person per day, making it a relatively expensive voyage.

Onboard, guests find serene Scandinavian spaces, where every room is beautiful and functional, quiet and filled with light, the company says.

When and where did things start going wrong?

Viking Sky had sailed from the turnaround port of Tromso in Arctic Norway in the evening of Thursday 21 March. It is believed she was sailing direct to Stavanger in the southwest of the country, missing out a planned call in Bodo in northern Norway. She was due to arrive at Tilbury on Tuesday 26 March.

The shipping forecast for the planned voyage was for gale-force winds and very rough seas.

Mayday was declared at 2pm on Saturday afternoon, 23 March. The company says: Viking Sky experienced a loss of engine power off the coast of Norway near Molde.

Unable to make progress or steer, the ship was hit by extreme waves, with passengers belongings thrown around their cabins.

An emergency was declared. Passengers put on life jackets and went to the muster stations. It was at one of these locations that a huge wave smashed windows, with a large inflow of water that swept a number of passengers off their feet and caused injuries, including broken limbs.

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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. 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What was the response?

A helicopter evacuation began, with the injured, wet and cold passengers winched off the ship individually and taken in batches of 15 to 20 to the nearby city of Molde.

By 10.30am, 479 passengers had been airlifted from the vessel.

The vessel finally docked under its own power in the port of Molde at 4.30pm, local time.

Viking Cruises says: Currently we understand 20 people suffered injuries as a result of this incident, and they are all receiving care at the relevant medical centres in Norway, with some already having been discharged.

Throughout all of this, our first priority was for the safety and wellbeing of our passengers and our crew.

Recommended Drifting Norway cruise ship evacuated after engine failure

We would like to thank the Norwegian Redningssentral and the Norwegian emergency services for their support and skill displayed in managing the situation in very challenging weather conditions.

We would also like to thank the local residents who throughout the whole process have been extremely supportive and hospitable.

British residents with concerns about passengers on board can call 07585 779 853 or 0208 780 7900.

What is happening to the passengers?

Passengers will be flying home starting tonight, says the cruise line.

The nearest international airport to Molde is at Alesund, about 50 miles by road. But at least two departures to Oslo on Sunday evening have been cancelled, and the cruise line is likely to organise extra flights.

Will they get compensation?

Undoubtedly. It remains to be seen how much, and whether it will be in cash or vouchers for future travel on Viking.

In addition, injured and/or distressed passengers may mount legal claims, probably in a class action.

What is likely to happen to the vessel?

Viking Sky will stay in port in Molde while repairs are carried out. Her next voyage, from Tilbury to Germany and Scandinavia, due to depart on Wednesday 27 March, has been cancelled.

We do not anticipate any additional cancellations at this time, Viking Cruises says.

Are these difficult waters?

Yes, they can be  but many thousands of British travellers take cruises along the Norwegian coast each year.

Most of them are aboard the Hurtigruten, the coastal ferry service that connects coastal communities but also takes tourists.

Passengers rescued from the cruise ship are helped from a helicopter into Hustadvika rescue centre (AP)

What is the official advice for this part of the world?

The Foreign Office has specific advice for Arctic travel (though at the time of the emergency Viking Sky was about 200 miles south of the Arctic Circle.

It says: The most popular way of visiting the Arctic is by ship. As some areas of the Arctic  specifically the more northerly and remote regions  can be uncharted and ice-covered, you should check the previous operational experience of cruise and other operators offering travel in the region

You should also consider the on-board medical facilities of cruise ships and talk to cruise operators as appropriate, particularly if you have a pre-existing medical condition.
Theresa Mays time as prime minister is over. She could yet take the country out of the EU, but would have to give up her job to do so. She met Boris Johnson twice this week, and told him she had no intention of standing aside.

The next time they speak, though, she might offer to announce her departure in return for his vote and the votes of his supporters for her Brexit deal. I dont know how many supporters Johnson has, but I doubt if it would be enough.

And if she fails to get her deal through the House of Commons in time to avoid the UK taking part in the European Parliament elections in May, she will probably resign anyway.

I suspect the critical decision will not come next week. In the Brexit story, there is always another week. Next week there will be a fuss about indicative votes, as MPs argue about how best to organise an X Factor contest to eliminate the Brexit options one by one until they arrive at the one magic solution capable of uniting the Commons.

If they did so, the answer would probably be the Labour policy of a permanent customs union, which could easily be added to the political declaration, the non-binding part of the Brexit deal.

But would Jeremy Corbyn support it if a Conservative prime minister proposed it? Most Tory MPs would vote against it, so it would need a pretty full turnout of Labour MPs to get it through.

That would be a different way for May to end her time as Tory leader, but as she is at the end anyway, she might think that she had at least delivered Brexit.

If she doesnt get a deal through next week, she will be back in Brussels the following week asking for another delay. This time it would have to be a long extension, possibly to the end of the year.

If the EU agrees, MPs would be asked to vote to change the exit date in the Withdrawal Act. They would then be voting explicitly to hold European Parliament elections in May  by changing the exit date, the law providing for those elections would stay unrepealed.

Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Show all 65 1 /65 Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Hundreds of thousands of people take part in the protest calling for a referendum on the final Brexit deal EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Young marchers sit on the lions at Trafalgar Square in London Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest A young marcher speaks into a megaphone Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Anti-Brexit campaigners gather in Parliament Square PA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest 800sqm banner of a David Davis quote Led By Donkeys/PA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest AP Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Reuters Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Getty Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest l EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Norman Cook aka Fat Boy Slim with the Stop Brexit Sound System, Thousands of people flocked around the Stop Brexit Sound system as it wound it's way through crowds. Artists such as Fat Boy Slim, Deadmau5, Gideon and members from Orbital, Desert Storm Sound System, Horse Meat Disco, Secretsundaze and others blasted beats to protest the UK's exit from the EU and the impact Brexit will have on artists and musicians in the UK and in EU countries. Neneh Cherry also made an appearance. The soundsystem took a surprise turn into a side street near the National Gallery where a truck with sound system and DJs including Norman Jay (MBE) awaited. Thousands of pro-EU party people rocked out to house tracks including a remix of Donna Summer's disco classic I Feel Love. People with banners filled out the space as a police helicopter hovered above. Authorities allowed the music to continue for an hour or so before it was switched off. Revellers helped collect rubbish before peacefully moving on Anu Shukla Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest A man clibs from a bus as he joins demonstrators Getty Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Scientists for EU march Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest A placard 'I will always love EU' during the 'Put it to the People' march EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest A group of marchers wear The Independent's Final Say t-shirts Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest AFP/Getty Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest A group of marchers sit in the road Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest A float in the march by Trafalgar Square Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Editor of The Independent Christian Broughton addresses the marchers Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Marchers stand below Nelson's Column Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest A young marcher edits his sign Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest People hold up placards and European flags AFP/Getty Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest A box of foam hands are handed out Getty Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest A banner with British Prime Minister Theresa May and slogan 'Enemy of the People' EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Getty Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Vince Cable MP takes part Getty Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Getty Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Reuters Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Thousands of demonstrators take to the streets Getty Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest A protester with a banner 'Strong and Stable or just Stubborn?' EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Marchers hold up an EU flag Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest A marcher holds a familiar sign Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest AP Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest A man with a placard 'We Love EU' EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Reuters Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Marchers show The Independent's Final Say t-shirt Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest AP Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest A marcher wears The Independent's Final Say t-shirt Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Reuters Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Open Labour protesters Angela Christofilou/The Independent Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest A float depicting British Prime Minister Theresa May EPA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Reuters Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Reuters Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest PA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest PA Best pictures from the Put It To The People protest Getty

As that vote approaches, MPs might finally be asked to vote for the deal  any deal  to avoid that outcome. Finally up against a hard deadline, they might vote for it at last. Or they might not, in which case we will be staying in the EU for the foreseeable future, and possibly for ever. We will be like someone trying to leave the house but not being able to find our keys, our phone, our coat or our bag and deciding not to go out after all.

Whether we stay or go, however, Theresa Mays time is up. She has to go, either as the price of leaving or as the penalty for staying. She said this week: As prime minister, I am not prepared to delay Brexit any further than 30 June. If the EU agrees a long extension and she doesnt keep her word, I think her party will keep it for her.

Which means we will need a new prime minister within weeks, and yet the field of candidates is wide open. So wide open that some bookmakers have Jeremy Corbyn as the favourite to be next prime minister, which doesnt reflect the likelihood of an early general election but simply that there are so many Tory candidates to succeed May that each of them individually is a long shot.

Recommended We need to embrace people who voted to leave if we want to stop Brexit

Boris Johnson currently has the best chance, for what it is worth. I think his main rivals are Jeremy Hunt, Michael Gove, Andrea Leadsom and Dominic Raab, in rough order of Euroscepticism. Any two of those could emerge from the MPs stage of the contest, with the assumption being that party members would choose the more Eurosceptic of the two.

All leadership campaigns unfold in unexpected ways, though, and my view is that Gove is less likely to self destruct, and more likely to demonstrate the intellectual ability and creativity needed. He is not popular with the general public, but his winding-up speech in the confidence debate in January impressed MPs and party members.

The Tory party is so consumed by the Brexit crisis that it is not looking for an election winner so much as someone who can hold the party together and deliver a real Brexit. For many Tories that means a no-deal Brexit, which is something that the House of Commons has rejected twice  last week by 412 votes to 202.

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The problem for any Tory leader is that the 202 included 60 per cent of Tory MPs  supported by a larger proportion of party members.

Within weeks, the Tory party could choose one of the leaders of the Vote Leave campaign  Boris Johnson or Michael Gove  to be prime minister. But whoever becomes prime minister would be trying to secure a form of Brexit that is even less likely to get through parliament than Mays deal.

Which is why I think that, if we do not leave the EU in the next few weeks, we never will.
Tom Watson is the alternative leader of the opposition as well as the deputy leader of the Labour Party. Because he has his own mandate from party members, he can speak for the other part of a divided party.

While Jeremy Corbyn had other priorities, Mr Watson attended and spoke at the Put It To The People march in London today. Here are the people, Theresa May: you dont speak for us, he said.

Many of the thousands who marched today will have voted for Mr Corbyn as Labour leader. Many of them will have been inspired by the message of hope and change of his straight talking, honest politics.

And many of them will have been disappointed by his equivocation on the question of Europe and in particular his obfuscation over giving the British people the Final Say on the terms of Brexit.

So they will be grateful to Mr Watson for giving voice to this growing demand for a democratic check  one that is supported by the overwhelming majority of Labour Party members, a large number of Independent readers and a significant proportion of public opinion.

Unlike Mr Corbyn, Mr Watson is clear that a fresh EU referendum is the only way to solve the crisis. And while Mr Watsons words to the crowds today were ostensibly directed at the prime minister, many of them seemed aimed just as much at the leader of the official opposition.

At every turn we have been ignored, he said. At every stage Theresa May has doubled down rather than reaching out. The way to solve this crisis is to recognise were all in it together. The way to break the stalemate is for parliament and the people to come together.

Mr Corbyn should heed those words. Just as Ms May should engage in dialogue across party lines in the House of Commons, so should the Labour leader put aside factional differences and reach out to all who share a progressive vision of Britains place in Europe.

Mr Corbyns refusal to take part in a meeting attended by Chuka Umunna, spokesperson of The Independent Group of MPs, was a significant and depressing moment this week.

Mr Watsons decision to speak today for the more inclusive and open minded tendency in the Labour Party was a promise of something better. Let us hope that Mr Corbyn has learned that lesson for the decisions that MPs must make in the next few weeks.
Even now, she might cling on. In this One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest rewrite, where Nurse Ratched is the craziest inmate, nothing is impossible.

But if a dollop of sanity infiltrates the madness, and the cabinet acts with merciful speed, I offer this helpful suggestion.

Anyone prepared to accept the job must first sign this declaration (in their own blood if they prefer it to ink). I promise to serve for 12 months. On the day the year elapses, I will resign and be ineligible for the leadership election that follows.

Every potential candidate for any Michael Howard-style coronation would tell you that the last thing they want is to be PM, and that theyd only take the job with the utmost reluctance from a sense of duty to serve in an emergency.

Alright then, be it Michael Gove, Jeremy Hunt, Sajid Javid, David Lidington, or whoever, let them prove it.

Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Show all 9 1 /9 Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Boris Johnson Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson has long been hopeful, he previously stood in the leadership contest that followed the Brexit vote and has at many times since been thought to be maneuvering himself towards the goal. He remains a darling of the party's right wing, particularly those in the ERG, and is the most popular choice among Tory voters but his leadership bid would be fiercely opposed by many MPs PA Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Michael Gove Environment secretary Michael Gove is another member who has long wanted to be leader. He has lately been known for rousing his party in the commons, his recent speeches on the Brexit deal and Labour's no confidence motion have overshadowed the Prime Minister's. He has been loyal to the Prime Minister, partly to shed his reputation as a backstabber who abandoned Boris Johnson to stand against him in the 2016 leadership election Getty Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Dominic Raab Former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab has emerged as a favourite to be the Brexiteer candidate in a contest to succeed to Ms May. He displayed a grip on detail in his role as Brexit secretary. When asked recently if he would like to become prime minister he replied "never say never" Getty Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Rory Stewart International development secretary Rory Stewart is pitching himself as the sensible candidate, promising to rule out both a second referendum and a no-deal Brexit. He was only recently promoted to the cabinet, previously serving as prisons minister, where he caught headlines with a pledge to resign if he could not reduce levels of violence within a year PA Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Esther McVey The former work and pensions secretary announced that she will be standing for the leadership when May leaves. McVey is the first to explicitly state that she intends to stand. She resigned from the cabinet in protest over May's Brexit deal AFP/Getty Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Sajid Javid Home secretary Sajid Javid is said to have a plan in place for a leadership race. He made headlines over Christmas when he declared that people smuggling over the English channel was a "major incident" and more recently when he revoked the citizenship of ISIS bride Shamima Begum. Son of a bus driver, he wants the Conservatives to be seen as the party of social mobility PA Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Jeremy Hunt Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt was recently thought to be the favourite in the event of a leadership race as he could sell himself as the man to unite the party. Critics worry that his long stint as health secretary could return to haunt him at a general election. He has reportedly been holding meetings with Tory MPs over breakfast to promote his leadership PA Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Andrea Leadsom Following the Prime Minister's second defeat over her Brexit deal, Leader of the house Andrea Leadsom hosted a dinner party at which "leadership was the only topic of conversation", The Times heard. Leadsom ran against Theresa May in the 2016 leadership election before dropping out, allowing May to become Prime Minister AFP/Getty Who could succeed Theresa May as Conservative leader? Priti Patel Former international development secretary Priti Patel is thought to be positioning herself as a contender. One MP told The Independent "she knows she's from the right of the party, the part which is going to choose the next leader, so she's reminding everyone she's there." Patel left the government late in 2017 after it emerged that she had held undisclosed meetings with Israeli officials PA

One reason behind that proposal is that I dont think I could survive watching Gove parade the lack of personal ambition by which hes so tragically riven again.

Seven seconds of the Aberdonian Uriah Heep act, staring ever so umbly into a lens and regretting that events have propelled him into No 10, would bang the cocktail hour gong. Equal measures of antifreeze and bleach, with a twist of strychnine. Garnished with a Novichok olive.

There are less selfish reasons than that. Whoever takes over might want to flip the form book by acting in the national interest.

We have all seen close up what happens when a PM acts in the interest of her party and her own career. Pretty viewing in no way has it been.

The way to ensure that the next one does the opposite, is to free them from the survivalist motives that led May to become the ERGs prisoner, by eradicating the craving for an indefinite Downing Street stay in advance.

The only one of the aforementioned candidates who might willingly sign the oath has a name known to very few: Lidington. If the Aylesbury MP walked up to you and rubbed his nose against yours, Eskimo fashion, youd no more recognise him than I would.

But there is a precedent for the least recognisable candidate succeeding a deranged Tory PM removed by her cabinet, in what some would call a coup and others an act of euthanasia.

In November 1990, despite having briefly held two great offices of state, John Major was barely known beyond Westminster. He beat Michael Heseltine and Douglas Hurd not in spite of his obscurity, but because of it.

He was inoffensive and had no enemies. His dullness made him the ideal antidote to the draining psychodrama of a late Thatcher era defined by the pathological inability to listen and change course.

For Lidington, Mays de facto deputy, its trickier. Being a Remainer, this long-time Europe minister under David Cameron does have enemies.

But from what little is gleanable, the enmity is purely ideological. Personally, hes uniformly liked and respected. He is as close as the Tories have to a clean skin.

And he reputedly has the most precious quality imaginable right now. He is said to be unambitious and indifferent to power. He might willingly sign my pledge.

The others would find it incredibly difficult to sign if they were in a Damascus interrogation cell with high voltage electrodes strapped to their genitals (though, oh my great aunt Ada, it wouldnt half be fun watching them try).

We know enough about Hunts power lust from his lightning sprint from passionate Remainer to adamantine Leaver. Javids leadership repositioning, though it began from closer to In/Out ambivalence, has been barely less cynical.

As for Gove, who has moved in the opposite direction from ultra to pragmatic soft Brexiteer, all that need be said about him can be distilled into three words: He is Gove.

But first, of course, comes the small matter of putting May out of our misery. It should never have come to this.

Her doctors and the Arthur Askey husband ought to have joined forces and done a Denis Thatcher on her months ago. One factor that makes type 1 diabetes even more dangerous is stress. It releases cortisol and makes controlling blood sugar harder.

There are now fears for both her physical health (contingency plans have been made should she collapse at the dispatch box) and her psychological state. If she isnt on the edge of a nervous breakdown, she cant be far away.

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On medical and humanitarian grounds as well as political, she needs pulling out of the ring immediately.

Fingers crossed it happens tomorrow at the cabinet meeting, where the only minister who will want to her stay will be the only one virtually guaranteed to follow her out of the door if she goes.

But so wickedly impaired has Mays judgment become that Chris Grayling would probably be her pick to take over. Tiberius chose Caligula as his heir because he was the only family member who could make him look good.

Thankfully, British PMs dont appoint their successors. In this case, a six-week leadership campaign is too deranged a thought for even these Tories to entertain, that will fall to the cabinet.

It would be awfully nice if just this once they postponed the internecine bloodletting for a while, and coalesced around the candidate best placed to dig us out of this hole rather than deeper into it.

That self-evidently is the candidate who would most enthusiastically sign that oath. You neednt have the first clue who Lidington is to hope that his hour, or year, is at hand.
The world is constantly reassessing womens place in society: their reproductive rights, workplace equality, safety on the streets, education. We talk about liberation, from the patriarchy, from stigma and from religion; some people believe that the world would be a better place without Islam in particular. We in the west are often on the receiving end of reports that the lives of women in Islamic republics are endangered, restricted and alien to what we know.

But having spoken to women on the other side of the veil, I discovered why freedom of religion can often be more empowering than freedom from it.

In February this year, Iran celebrated the 40th anniversary of their Islamic Revolution, a time when many stayed and many fled. Families were divided, lost and separated indefinitely.

Shahrzad, 65, left Tehran in 1983: My husband and I were studying in Tehran and moved to Germany to continue, but always intended to return.

The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on Show all 20 1 /20 The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on Women praying during Ashura festivities in Yazd in February Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on Cars cemented in at the Holy Defence Museum-Garden in Khorramshahr  in 1980 occupying Iraqi forces used such formations to deter paratrooper landings Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on Women on the Si-o-se-pol bridge over the Zayanderude river in Esfahan Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on Iranian tourists at Vank cathedral in the Armenian quarter in the city of Esfahan Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on A reddened fountain in Yazd  a national motif recalling the countries martyrs Pictures by Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on Prayers before a list naming the fallen of the Iran-Iraq war in Tehran Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on In a museum in central Tehran, a wax figure of Ayatollah Khomeini Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on Carom billiards in Tehran Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on Nearly two thirds of Irans population is under-30 Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on Sanctions are exacerbating poverty Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on Young people are adept at catching moments of freedom, such as this one in the capital Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on At an art auction in Tehran, the wealthy turn out Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on Propaganda murals are everywhere Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on Tehranis love their outdoor spaces too Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on The hypersaline waters of Lake Urmia are fast diminishing  Iran faces ecological catastrophe Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on A martyr is depicted outside the huge Beheshte-e-Zahra cemetery in Tehran Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on A guard naps outside Irans foremost tourist attraction  the ancient ruins of Persepolis Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on Memorial to Iranian pilgrims who died during a stampede in Mecca 1987 Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on The martyr fixation on display in the southern city of Shush Jan Schneider The Islamic Republic of Iran 40 years on Emamzadeh Saleh mosque in Shemiran, Tehran Jan Schneider

The revolution began while they were away. Shahrzad returned to Iran in 1980 where she saw change amongst her female friends and family; their hair was covered and they were without makeup. Despite this shock, she was assured that women were able to keep their jobs. She told me that even now you see women in elected positions and in governmental roles. Talking to Shahrzad, I realised that while Iranian lifestyle may be different, the experience of work is not unlike the successes and trials faced by western women.

Pakistan has been an Islamic republic since its independence within the Commonwealth in 1947. A, 24, currently lives in the UK. She has lived in Dubai, Malaysia and Egypt but will always call Pakistan home. Pakistani culture is family-centred, meaning there was no question over As return to Pakistan to get married. In order to embrace her British-Pakistani husbands culture, they also had a reception in the UK. There is an assumption that Pakistani families expect newly married women to stop working and have children.

This mentality is rapidly changing in Pakistan. A told me that she is a management consultant in Canary Wharf, a job that her family are very proud of. I admire her wish to return to use her experience and education, and to be part of her home country reaching its true potential.

The Gambia was made an Islamic republic in 2015 under president Yahya Jammeh. This title was recently revoked, and locals are experiencing a new democracy.

Marie, 42, now living in the UK, found this time uncomfortable for her Christian family. Islamic law is what Muslims believe she said, implying a differentiation from Gambian national ideals. Nine per cent of Gambians are Christian, meaning that inter-religious cohabitation is common. Gambians are tolerant, supportive and respectful, of each other and anyone who visits. she said, noting that the hope of the future is a popular phrase describing young, educated, Gambian women.

Zahra, one of the interviewees, in one of her modelling shots (George for Asda)

We just need to be given a chance, continued Marie. And I see signs that this is becoming a reality. The number of female medical students is relatively high and a significant part of the national stance against FGM, meaning that a safe and secure future for many Gambian girls is a real possibility.

Over 90 per cent of Libyans are Muslim, and before the revolution, religiously-motivated crimes were low. Although Zahra was born in a British seaside town, her Libyan heritage has shaped her relationship with the world. Everybody who can afford it leaves Libya, she said. Government cuts have created a gulf in society. I asked Zahra how she felt as a young Muslim woman in the UK. I have learnt that I need to work 10 times as hard to achieve and to prove myself.

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An influencer, model, designer and blogger, Zahras Instagram following see her travelling the world; from Dubai Fashion Week to climbing Everest for charity. When I travel I am often questioned about my intentions or singled out to be searched.

Despite these challenges, for me, Zahra is a symbol of change. She has recently modelled for George at Asda and Liberty London. British Muslim women are becoming more visible, she told me, and I am very proud to be part of that change.

This week, in the aftermath of the devastating terrorist attack on a mosque in New Zealand, five Birmingham mosques have been vandalised. Clearly, Britain and the rest of the wests scepticism of Islam has grown considerably in recent years. Sharia (the way in Arabic), is interpreted in many ways around the world.

In some cases, it is used in undeniably oppressive ways, yet my conversations with these women demonstrate a more complex reality. It should go without saying, but women of Islamic republics are educated, hold positions of power, work and live modern lives. Freedom from religion is not necessarily the antidote to oppression. Instead, we should be encouraging the ways in which freedom of religion can overcome inequality. These women, like countless others we dont always hear from, are helping along the growing understanding that not all women of Islamic republics are silent.
Mike Salvesen works in his yard on his farm at Mt Somers, outside Christchurch, New Zealand March 20, 2019. Picture taken March 20, 2019. To match INSIGHT NEWZEALAND-SHOOTOUT/GUNLAWS REUTERS/Tom Westbrook

Mike Salvesen was working on his farm in the foothills of New Zealand's Southern Alps last Friday when his phone began pinging with news of a tragedy unfolding about 110 km (70 miles) away in Christchurch.

A lone gunman, armed with two powerful semi-automatic rifles and other weapons, had entered two mosques, shooting dead 50 people and wounding 50 more.

Six days later, Prime Minister Ardern announced New Zealand's gun laws - little altered for almost three decades and much less restrictive than neighbouring Australia - would be overhauled to ban the type of semi-automatic weapons used in the attack.

Ardern was applauded by many, but there was uncertainty about how the rural community that make up most of the country's quarter of a million gun owners, would react.

"I'm fine with it," said Salvesen, who owns three guns but not of the type that will be banned. "I don't have a need for them and very few do."

Salvesen said he admired Ardern's response since the tragedy. "She's come across confident when needed, sympathetic when needed and she's said pretty much what most people were thinking."

Most farmers in New Zealand own guns, which they use for killing pests such as possums and rabbits, and for putting down injured stock.

Recreational hunting of deer, pigs, and goats is popular for sport and food, while gun clubs and shooting ranges dot the country.

The new laws allow for some exemptions for pest control.

Shaun Moloney, who culls pests including goats and wallabies across the South Island, said there was "definitely a place" for semi-automatic weapons with larger magazines for jobs like his.

"If you are having a very tightly controlled access to that style ... but it's still available, that is welcomed by several of my associates and myself," he said.

Hunting - with the kinds of weapons excluded from the ban - was an important part of life for his family, Moloney said.

"My daughter would go out and shoot rabbits, with a semi-auto, with me, and then we'd skin and gut it, she'd cook and eat it and then go to ballet," he said.

WIDE SUPPORT

New Zealand's main farm lobby group quickly came out in support of the new laws.

"This will not be popular among some of our members but...we believe this is the only practicable solution," Federated Farmers Rural Security spokesman Miles Anderson said in a statement. "Christchurch, Friday March 15 has changed everything."

The main opposition National Party, which draws strong support in rural New Zealand, also backed the plans.

Under the changes, all military style semi-automatics (MSSA) and assault rifles will be banned, along with parts used to convert weapons into MSSAs and all high-capacity magazines.

The changes exclude two general classes of firearms which are commonly used for hunting, pest control, stock management on farms, and duck shooting: small bore rifles with magazines of no more than 10 rounds, and pump action shotguns holding no more than five rounds.

Bruce Plant, a rifle range club secretary in Oamaru, south of Christchurch, said there was little need for military-style weapons in New Zealand.

If you are out hunting and cant hit an animal with one shot you are certainly not going to hit it with 20 shots."

Experts say the changes don't go as far as Australia which toughened gun laws 12 days after the shooting of 35 people at Port Arthur in Tasmania in 1996. There all semi-automatic rifles and semi-automatic and pump-action shotguns are banned. There is also a restrictive system of licensing and ownership controls.

HIGH GUN OWNERSHIP

New Zealand has a lot of guns. With a population of just under 5 million, there are an estimated 1.5 million firearms.

In 2017, it had the 17th highest rate of civilian firearm ownership in the world, with 26.3 guns per 100 residents, according to the Small Arms Survey. The United States tops the list with 120.5 guns per 100 residents.

The last real change to New Zealand's Arms Act was made in 1992, following a shooting where 13 people were killed by a gunman with a semi-automatic weapon in Aramoana, a small South Island coastal settlement.

A special E-category license, which requires tough checks, was added to cover MSSAs.

Advocates say New Zealand's high gun ownership rates and low rates of gun violence are evidence of a system that works. Restrictions are certainly tighter than in the United States.

However, individual weapons are not registered, meaning police have little oversight over how many guns people hold.

Ardern said a further tranche of reforms will cover the firearm registry and licensing.

John Hart, a farm owner and former Green Party candidate, surrendered his semi-automatic rifle to police after the shooting, one of 37 weapons police said had been voluntarily returned ahead of the new laws.

"The time is right. I have spoken to many farmers who feel the same way. They have not given theirs (guns) back but they support the idea - although they won't do it until they have to."

Noel Womersley, who slaughters cattle for small farmers around Christchurch, said he was happy to sell his AR-15 rifle into a government buyback expected to cost up to NZ$200 million ($138 million)

"I'm using guns every day. I use them on the weekends, in my spare time, and I use them at work every day. But I don't need a semi-automatic military firearm."
"I have seen rock and roll's future and its name is Bruce Springsteen." With these rousing words, the world was introduced to 'The Boss' in 1974.

Recently, I was struck by a similar feeling, regarding the future of rural Ireland, when I visited Billy's Tea Rooms and Shop in Ballyhale, Co Kilkenny.

Driving into the village on a dreary March morning, it looks little different to numerous struggling settlements across the country.

Albeit with one notable exception: the famous white and green bunting of Ballyhale Shamrocks, the most successful club in the history of the All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship.

It is easy to pick out Billy's, because there are lots of cars parked outside, with few elsewhere.

The place is humming with soft country chat and the gentle rattle of mid-morning cutlery and delph. The decor is bright and cheerful. The furniture is not perfectly matched. The staff are wearing their own aprons.

I have visited a number of such ventures but this seems to be an ideal mix of old and new, of rustic and urbane.

On the shop shelves, there's Batchelors mushy peas, Kelloggs Cornflakes, Chef brown sauce and Chivers strawberry jam alongside penne pasta and olive oil. But there are also lots of artisan foods, with emphasis on the local, including several award- winning Mileeven and Highbank Orchards products.

Home baking is a bridge between the past and the present, with apples tarts and boiled fruit cake alongside chocolate biscuit cake.

The overall affect is one of homeliness. There is a coat stand but it's the kind of place where people tend to hang their coats on the back of their chairs.

Out of respect, or possibly the instruction of a companion, a farmer had dropped his coat, bearing signs of a recent encounter with manure, on a 10kg bag of spuds.

Someone obviously recognised that business might get slack after lunch, so they offer afternoon tea, for 12.50 per person.

As usual for such ventures, prices are reasonable.

The Full Irish is 8, or you could have crepes for 3.50. A tea or coffee with a cake is a fiver. I had the carrot cake and it was delicious. Most of the baking is done on site. Home-made soup with brown bread is 4, with a range of teas and coffees from 2.

Refills cost 1 but, it being International Women's Day, they were free to all female customers. The euro is very fair and the 'free' bit was a nice touch.

There are lots of nice touches. The first lady I called to take my order was momentarily busy. Another appeared instantly. When the first lady returned to check on me, she touched me gently on the arm, as your mammy might.

The building itself dates back to the 19th century and was an estate gatehouse. The last person to live in it was Billy Kiely, hence the name.

In recent years, Ballyhale has lost five shops, three pubs, the post office and numerous other businesses.

In 2015, the community came together to take action to revitalise the area. A committee came up with the proposal of a tea rooms and shop, to be run by the community for the benefit of the community.

Billy's opened last July and has already won a number of community awards, also attracting visitors from afar and many from closer to home who are exploring similar ventures.

If location, location, location is the golden rule of business, I suggest that, in terms of rescuing rural Ireland, the motto has to be Community, Community, Community.

Thus, I would urge government and any relevant agencies to do everything possible, both practically and financially, to help communities who are trying to get such ventures off the ground.
Ireland has become the fifth most attractive country in the world to do business in, according to a new study.

Ireland has risen by two places in the latest BDO International Compass, which measures the competitiveness of a country across the three areas of economic, politico- legal, and socio-cultural. Managing partner at BDO Ireland Michael Costello said the result will "surprise some people".

"In a way it shouldn't surprise people, we are a very good country to do business in and we rank very highly across a number of areas," he said.

"Ireland has continued to improve across a range of economic factors and that has been one of the main drivers as to why we've moved up two places. Our debt-to-GDP ratio and unemployment have been two big movers and they've had a big impact on the economic assessment of the country."

The country's high level of education was also cited as one of the most prominent reasons for its strong competitiveness. Ireland is now three places ahead of the UK with Denmark and Norway sandwiched in between.

Costello said that while a hard Brexit will negatively affect some sectors if will also have a positive impact on others.

"Ireland's performance is phenomenal given that when you look at one and two being Singapore and Hong Kong, which are very specific city states very geared towards business," he said.

"One of our closest competitors is the UK and I think we'll actually improve our competitiveness against them. Clearly some sectors will take a hit, particularly in some manufacturing and food and agri. There are other parts of the economy that will be positively affected by it such as FDI and financial services. The wider international services sector shouldn't be as impacted as the traded goods sector."

Ireland ranked fourth in economic performance, 12th for its political and legal landscape, and 15th for its social and cultural climates according to the monitor.
Negative equity will finally end next year, sparking a new "wealth effect" and increasing consumer spending on luxury goods.

The surge in spending is expected to be fuelled by borrowers relieved of the burden of negative equity while making mortgage repayments.

Negative equity occurs when the value of an asset used to secure a loan is less than the outstanding balance on the loan.

At the height of the economic crash, 230,000 homes were in negative equity. This dropped to 57,000 by late 2017, according to the latest figures available from the Central Bank

Expand Close Kieran McQuinn of the ESRI. Photo: INM / Facebook

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Now three property experts, including the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), have told the Sunday Independent they believe there will be no more homeowners in negative equity by the second half of next year.

And the ESRI, one of the State's leading think-tanks, said the ending of negative equity would boost confidence in the economy and create a "wealth effect".

ESRI research professor Kieran McQuinn said this would lead to families loosening the purse strings and create a feeling that they have more disposable income.

This would encourage families to splash out on luxury items such as cars and holidays, he said.

Property expert David Duffy, director of IBEC's Property Industry Ireland, said homeowners should emerge out of negative equity by the end of next year: "This is due to a combination of rising house prices and households making their mortgage repayments, and so reducing their debt," he said.

Mr Duffy managed the well-known Permanent TSB house price index for a number of years and carried out research for the ESRI. The prediction has also been supported by Trinity College economist Ronan Lyons.

"If people perceive that the value of their property is increasing, that leads them to increase their levels of consumption in the economy. That generates economic activity," Mr McQuinn told the Sunday Independent.

"If the value of your property is increasing, you perceive there to be a wealth effect and that leads to increasing your consumption of goods and services in the economy."

As a result, some borrowers whose loans are in arrears will feel buoyed by the increased value of their property and work towards addressing their personal debt.

Negative equity is seen as a driver of mortgage arrears. Mr McQuinn said this wealth effect would therefore also have a positive impact on banks.

"If you perceive yourself to be in high levels of negative equity, you may not be as enthusiastic about paying your mortgage as somebody who is not in negative equity," he said.

"Therefore, if the degree of negative equity is declining in the economy, it should help, considerably, the issue of mortgage arrears. We still have people in long-term mortgage arrears so it should help in that sense.

"It will help people address the arrears and have a knock-on effect on the banking sector in terms of getting the number of long-term loans down as it is still relatively high compared to other European countries."

He said housing demand outstripping supply was boosting values for homeowners in negative equity.

"Most experts estimate structural demand to be in the region of 30,000 to 35,000 units per annum. This year, you are talking about housing supply in the region of 20,000 units [coming on stream].

"As long as you have that imbalance, you are going to have upward pressure in terms of housing demand and that will put pressure on prices," Mr McQuinn said.

"People are paying down their mortgages but the value of their property is going up as well every day. Between those two factors, that should alleviate negative equity quite a bit," he added.

In the midst of the recession in late 2011, about 230,000 homes were in negative equity. This had dropped to 57,000 by late 2017, according to the latest figures available from the Central Bank.

Experts say this is likely to be lower today, given the house price growth of 2018. There were 66,000 buy-to-let properties in negative equity in late 2011 and this has since fallen to fewer than 16,000.

The latest figures from property website Daft.ie show average national sale prices have increased from 181,924 at the end of 2011 to 253,925 by last December - a rise of 40pc.

Many homeowners in negative equity have been unable to sell their homes in recent years because the proceeds from any sale would not have cleared their mortgage. This forced many to stay in properties which they bought during the Celtic Tiger boom - even if their circumstances had changed and they wished to move house.

The number of loans in arrears has fallen steadily in recent years.

Central Bank figures show 63,402 loans were in arrears of more than 90 days in the first half of last year, down from 72,610 for the corresponding period a year earlier.

Mr McQuinn said these figures will be boosted further by households emerging from negative equity.

Housing economist Ronan Lyons warned it may take longer for owners of investment properties to emerge out of negative equity. Those who bought smaller units outside of the major cities when prices peaked may also take slightly longer to recover.

However, the owners of bigger units and traditional starter homes would see major gains next year, he said.

"Prices are 25pc to 30pc off their peak," Mr Lyons said.

"The distinction worth making is that the average is not true for everyone. Also, in particular, the bigger the property, the less of a fall they will have seen relative to their peak.

"One beds are probably 50pc below, whereas five beds are probably 20pc below their peak [values].

"If you have been paying back your mortgage and you are 13 years in, even with a small deposit, you should be roughly breaking even.

"Somebody who bought a three-bed home at the height of the bubble with maybe only a 5pc deposit but paying back their mortgage, that person, the way things are going, by paying down their mortgage and [property] values going up, will emerge from negative equity.

"The person who bought a one-bedroom apartment outside of the main cities with a 100pc mortgage, I think they are nowhere near emerging yet."
Visitors to any of the five Center Parcs holiday resorts in the UK can be safe in the knowledge that each one sticks to a tried and tested formula. At the heart of each is a water park, high-quality self-catering accommodation and a number of family-friendly restaurants. But the company has broken away from its standardised layout for its first Irish resort.

"It was pretty clear almost immediately that actually having a good Irish family pub with good food, good ales, etc, is what would go down really well. So we've built that into the mix of the areas," says Martin Dalby, CEO of Center Parcs.

Since announcing plans for a 230m investment in Ballymahon, Newcastle, Co Longford - and indeed for some time before - Dalby has become a regular visitor to Ireland. He has seen the pub culture firsthand.

"We've actually noticed it coming out to Dublin. You go out at 10 o'clock at night and the places are absolutely throbbing with people. Whereas in the UK everybody's gone to bed," he says.

Yorkshire-born Dalby, dressed in a sleeveless jacket and casual trousers, is also taking care to make sure the pub as authentic as possible.

"We're working with an Irish designer, an Irish company in terms of the menu development. So we want everything to be absolutely Irish. All the sourcing, the food supply, everything is all from the island of Ireland. And that's been a key factor actually all the way through the project. We've really said right from the beginning, as much as is humanely possible we want to source all of our goods and services from Ireland. We want to become a part of the business community, a part of the local community as well."

In Britain, Center Parcs needs no explanation, particularly among its core customer base of affluent families. But there will be some surprises for Irish visitors who are not familiar with the Center Parcs model.

For one, it's based on a very tightly regimented system. The holidays slots are broken down into weekday breaks and weekend breaks. Visitors have a window during which they can arrive and leave. For laid-back Irish holidaymakers, a new mindset may be required.

Dalby is confident that Irish customers will adapt and embrace the model. "The way that we manage Centre Parcs is very regimented," he says. "It's a massive logistical exercise.

"So, for example, on changeover day we ask our guests who are leaving to be out of their accommodation by 10 o'clock. And the guests who are arriving for the weekend, we ask that they join us at three o'clock. Which means we've got five hours, which is a small window to clean hundreds of units of accommodation. It's no mean feat. So unfortunately it has to be like that. You couldn't have people just deciding to come out whenever they felt like it, it just wouldn't work."

Another aspect of the group's five British resorts which Irish tourists will notice when the Longford property opens this summer will be cost. According to Dalby, the holidays will be keenly priced. Yet while the water park is included, additional activities are extra and can add up for larger groups.

But add-ons such as activities are central to the group's business model.

"Approximately 60pc of our business in the UK is from selling the accommodation. And the other 40pc is then based on what you do when you come to Center Parcs," he says. "So restaurants, bars, cafes, leisure activities, the spa, all those things where you pay to do those things is about 40pc of our business."

There will be a learning curve at Ballymahon, which is aimed squarely at the domestic market. But Dalby is very confident that it will work and that Center Parcs is here for the long haul.

He references Woburn in England, which opened in 2015.

"It was an instant overnight success, because it was opening in the UK where the brand awareness was already extremely strong and high. And everybody knew what Center Parcs were all about. Most people you'd meet on the street have actually been at some point."

"That won't be the case in Ireland, clearly. We think it will take two to three years to build up the amount of occupancy and the level of demand for the products in Ireland."

He believes word of mouth will play a huge part in that, although the company is already investing heavily in marketing here.

"But we are absolutely crystal clear that within two to three years Longford Centre Parcs will be 95pc occupancy, it'll be no different to the UK. It'll be part of everyone's repertoire for a short-break holiday where they can spend time with the family, make some great memories, and we'll become part of the establishment."

Dalby himself comes from a working-class area near Leeds and was ambitious from an early age. He left school at 16 because that was what every else did at the time.

"There was one or two posh kids that stayed on into sixth form, but the majority of kids left at 16 and they went to get a job because they needed money. The family needed money. It wasn't just about the individual," he recalls.

Soon afterwards he joined a small regional office of brewing company Scottish & Newcastle and they offered him further training. "I used to go every Friday for five years and at the end of it I was a fully qualified accountant," he says.

"My whole career experience proves that if you work hard and are driven to make a career of something then anything is possible. You know, I didn't leave school at 16 thinking 'One day I'm going to be the CEO of Centre Parcs.' But I always knew I was going to be something."

Scottish & Newcastle bought Center Parcs in 1990, as part of a diversification strategy, which at that time was in Europe and the UK. Ten years later it sold the business, splitting it into two businesses - one in the UK and one in Europe. There were three Center Parcs in the UK then and two have opened since.

The Irish one, owned by the UK operation, will be the first international expansion for that business.

"We've been looking at Ireland for over a decade or so. And then, of course, the financial crisis came along. It seemed to make sense just to hold back," says Dalby.

"So we sat back and just watched the world correct itself and all of that. And then probably in about '12/'13 or so, we felt we could see the green shoots in Ireland starting to come and things were picking up."

Finding a site is always the biggest challenge for Center Parcs and Longford might not seem like the most scenic of holidays destinations.

For Dalby it ticks all the boxes. "Because we look for certain characteristics. It needs to be 400 acres in size. We need a coniferous woodland. We need it to be fairly wet. We need the building conditions to be good.

"And the main thing is the access for people in terms of the road network is very good. And strategically, and if you drew the map of the whole of Ireland and stuck a pin in the middle, you'll land on the site."

He is not unduly worried about the possible impact of Brexit on their Irish plans.

"First of all, this is a product for domestic customers in Ireland. I think the other thing is this is a very long-term investment for the company, we're going to be here for many, many years to come. I'm sure that all the issues of Brexit will be long resolved and forgotten about as we continue to trade in Ireland."

In fact, he believes the company will perform well through economic challenges. "We really are not concerned. If you look at the track record of Center Parcs through recession and the financial crisis in the UK we were one of the very strongest companies out there. Our occupancy levels of over 95pc continued all the way through the financial crisis."

Just like in the UK, the company expects its target market to be relatively well off, although he says that during "off-peak periods the prices are very attractive and absolutely affordable".

But generally "slightly more affluent, larger families, are the main target market for our business".

And although families make up the bulk of visitors, adult groups also go - with the high-quality Aqua Sana spa a particular draw, says Dalby.

Irish customers sometimes feel they get fleeced by British companies with operations here, but Dalby says not so with Ballymahon.

"It's slightly cheaper than the other ones," he says, partly because location such as Woburn target the affluent London market.

As well as the Irish pub, Center Parcs has made a couple of other changes for this market.

It won't have a Starbucks, as the company's research found Irish people prefer independent coffee houses.

And the research also found that there isn't the same love of Indian food as there is in the UK.

"We've actually developed the menu, and we've been trialling it in the UK, to introduce some more Asian dishes as well to make it a bit more Thai/fusion-based. And they are going down really well in the UK."

Center Parcs Longford Forest opens in the summer, although the exact dates has not yet been confirmed. So Dalby won't have long to wait to see if the research has paid off.
The gambling industry has moved fast to embrace new technology and online betting but regulation reforms have moved at a glacial pace. Stock photo

Betting firms move at lightning speed when it comes to using new technology or even new marketing or advertising techniques. Gambling regulation on the other hand is more glacial.

This week the Cabinet approved a plan to set up a gambling regulatory authority.

This had been recommended in the Gambling Control Bill (2018), which itself was derived from the Gambling Control Bill (2013), which in turn had all begun with a review of gambling legislation back in 2008.

So 11 years later this growing multibillion-euro industry will finally get a regulator. Not quite. The Taoiseach said it could take another 18 months. This seems optimistic given that the legislation will have to make its way through the Oireachtas.

Given the length of time, prevarication and amendments made on the alcohol bill, the gambling bill could be a real political dogfight. It will also be a lobbyist's dream.

The new regulator cannot get going until the best model or structure is found for the office. Law firm McCann FitzGerald was contracted in December 2018 by the Structural Reform Support Service of the European Commission to conduct a research project on a modern regulatory environment. Their work will conclude by mid-summer 2019.

Then there is the Gaming and Lotteries (Amendment) Bill 2019 which will govern the regulation of gaming machines of which there are believed to be thousands around the country which are unlicensed.

This bill proposes a series of interim reforms before the establishment of a regulator. This at least might fast-track some aspects of regulation but the whole sorry saga has taken far too long.

The question is why? There have been more stories of problem gambling and addiction in recent years but in general politicians have sat on their hands on this issue. Why?

The biggest betting firm in Ireland, Paddy Power Betfair, welcomed the idea of a regulator years ago. The political will has simply not been there.

Applying for a betting licence in Ireland is done under 1931 and 1956 legislation. Some betting firms have sought to self-regulate in the absence of a proper regulatory structure.

They have voluntarily donated money towards treating problem gambling and curtailed some of their betting offers, in a show of social conscience and social responsibility.

In the UK the situation is very different. Aside from the proliferation of fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTs) which are not allowed in Ireland, there has been a tight regulatory regime.

If you want to operate as a bookie or online betting firm in the UK you must go through a strict and detailed application process. The Gambling Commission, which regulates the sector, was set up 14 years ago.

It clearly shows the weaknesses of token self-regulation. After years of regulation in the UK, it still handled several complex legal breaches even among large well-known firms.

It carried out 75 regulatory and criminal investigations in 2017, and applied penalties including 7.8m on betting firm 888 following serious social responsibility failings. It also took action against Gala Interactive (2.3m) and William Hill (6.2m).

It took 318 calls to its confidential phone line and logged 2,200 intelligence reports on gambling activity.

So, if firms break the rules with the full knowledge they may be caught out by a very well-resourced regulator, imagine what they get up to where there is no regulator at all, as is the case in Ireland. Despite this week's progress, no such regulator will exist here until 2021, if we are lucky.

ESB generating same revenues - but with 400 extra staff

ESB delivered what it called a "satisfactory" financial performance last year. Pre-tax profits were a modest 78m but this came after a hefty non-cash impairment charge of 140m on some of its older assets.

In fact ESB has taken 414m in such exceptional costs in the last two years. It is all part of a transition towards a lower-carbon energy model which also requires considerable new capital investment.

So that is all OK then? Well ESB is doing some necessary heavy lifting to prepare for the future while battling with higher gas prices and competition at home.

But the Irish economy is growing rapidly. These are the good days. In 2018 it reported revenues of 3.4bn. This is exactly the same figure as it did in 2013. Leaving aside the price of electricity, the performance of the economy etc, the employee numbers make an interesting comparison.

In 2013 it had 7,490 employees to generate revenues of 3.4bn. Last year it took 7,874 employees to generate the same revenues. That is nearly 400 more staff.

Average earnings come in at 75,500, which is down slightly on 2017. But when you add on the 51m in pension costs, it works out at an average of 6,500 more per employee.

There is no doubt the state company has a job of work to do when it comes to making the transition from older power generation technology to a bright new sustainable future.

It has even taken the sensible step of owning a 12.5pc stake in an offshore wind farm off the coast of England. The Galloper venture should make money and can generate enough electricity to supply 380,000 homes.

But it should also provide ESB with valuable insight and experience which could be applied back in Ireland as offshore wind becomes a valuable alternative.

Mind you, wind farms require even fewer staff.

Dublin Port's cruise U-turn shows capital dependence

Another state company making headlines this week was Dublin Port. The port has got some flak for saying it will more than halve the number of berths available to cruise ships from 2021. During the bad old days of the recession, Dublin Port talked up the possibilities of attracting more cruise ships and even having some of them based in Dublin.

It didn't just talk the talk, it delivered with a huge increase in cruise traffic and extra millions in tourist euros going to the city centre in particular. This major about-turn is enraging retailers in the city centre.

As recently as 2017 the port was talking about the opportunities to be had from greater cruise ship numbers coming to Dublin.

In 2016 it said it wanted to establish the capital as the main port of choice for cruises coming to Ireland. It launched Cruise Dublin to work with the industry.

"We want to promote Dublin as a premium cruise destination directly to cruise companies and work with businesses in Dublin to tailor packages to the needs of the cruise lines and their passengers", the company said at the time.

Now capacity constraints and growing trade have changed that tune.

Ultimately, the ability of the port to deliver on the trade requirements of getting goods into and out of Dublin, will trump extra tourist numbers.

But it raises a much bigger question about the size constraints at the port into the future, and the huge dependence the country has on Dublin for both trade and tourism.
Most concert pianists will tell you their greatest fear is damaging their hands, jeopardising not just their career but their means of expression. Chinese superstar Lang Lang used to say the same. Now 36 and possibly the most celebrated pianist living, he believes a far greater loss would be to fall out of love with music-making.

"You don't want to have a mental breakdown," he says. "Because, as a pianist, you have to keep the fire, keep the passion. I see musicians who just don't want to play a concert any more. Whether you are scared or annoyed or bored, if you lose interest, that's the most serious thing."

Lang Lang himself took a much-needed break from his hectic schedule in 2017 after developing tendonitis in his arm and says the rest, which lasted 15 months, deepened his love for music.

"Now when I play a sonata, I feel better, I feel deeper," he says. "I think I needed a little intermission in my career. Someone was saying to me: 'Hey, take a rest. Do something else.' At the bottom of my heart, I was calm. It was a matter of time."

He met friends, got fit and thought about his future. When he returned to the concert hall last year, he says he felt like a newborn baby. It was to a much-reduced schedule. He is now doing 70 recitals a year instead of 130, with three days in between each concert instead of one. "This will give me time to heal, mentally and physically."

Familiar though it is, the Lang Lang CV still astonishes. Inspired by watching Tom and Jerry's cartoon escapades in The Cat Concerto, featuring Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No 2, he started playing the piano at three. At five, he gave his first public recital in his home town of Shenyang, in industrial northern China.

"The stage felt like a sweet home to me," he wrote in his 2008 autobiography Journey of a Thousand Miles. "Right at that moment, I decided to be a concert pianist."

His father Lang Guoren - whose own musical ambitions had been thwarted by Mao's Cultural Revolution (which outlawed Western classical music) - sacrificed everything to make this happen. He gave up his job as a policeman and moved with his son, when he was nine, to Beijing, so Lang Lang might have the chance of studying at the Central Music Conservatory. Father and son lived hand-to-mouth in Beijing while Lang Lang's mother worked in Shenyang as a telephone operator to pay for his lessons.

At 10, he entered the Conservatory. By 13, he had won first prize at the Tchaikovsky International Young Musicians' Competition. At the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, he studied under Gary Graffman, the country's leading music professor, and became an overnight star at 17 when he performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as a last-minute replacement for an indisposed soloist.

Lang Lang has used his subsequent fame and fortune - he is said to be worth 25m- to bring music into the lives of children through the Lang Lang International Music Foundation, through two piano academies in China, masterclasses and a series of books that teach and popularise the piano. The so-called Lang Lang Effect is said to have produced 60 million aspiring young pianists in China alone. "Piano is becoming more global these days," he says. "The passion is incredible."

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His own teaching methods are more motivational than academic. "I just start playing," he says. "I don't talk much because the students already get enough talk. They might want me to play a Lady Gaga song or some Mozart. Or we just compose together."

At the end of the session, there are high-fives all round, a game of ping pong, maybe some sport.

"We wanted to find a better way for them to overcome the things I struggled with when I was a kid. I believe people will learn music in a slightly more joyful way. I like to find ways to spark their imagination and let them discover their own fantasy. Some teachers are very narrow-minded and just say, 'Do this, do that.' You cannot teach kids in that way... No one is a machine. Especially when you are a kid, you are so sensitive."

His latest album, Piano Book, is a touching collection of miniature pieces that made him want to become a musician in the first place, including folk tunes from different cultures.

His approach is so far from his own experience as a child that you wonder if it's partly a reaction to his father's harsh regime.

"I wouldn't say that. For sure, my father was pushing quite hard, but that wasn't everything. I also had other encouragement. My father is not always like a dictator. Sometimes, he's quite nice."

Pushing "quite hard" is a breathtaking understatement about a man who used to make his son practise scales and exercises for hours on end and tell him over and over again, "You must be number one, you must be number one."

On a day that is now a notorious part of the Lang Lang legend, he once ordered his son to take his own life. His piano tutor had vindictively announced, just before Lang Lang was due to take the entrance exam to get into the Conservatory, that she would no longer train him, he was a lost cause, and Lang Guoren had taken the news badly. When Lang Lang came home late from school, his father flew into a rage. "You've missed nearly two hours of practising and you can never get them back. It's too late! Everything is ruined! Dying is the only way out."

Lang Sr then told his son to take an overdose and, when Lang Lang fought back, ordered him to jump off the 11th-floor balcony. The boy brought Lang Sr to his senses by hammering his fists against the wall until they bled, shouting, "I hate my hands!" Does the pianist feel any lingering resentment towards his father?

"That was a long time ago. I was nine. Anyway, it wasn't completely his fault, because I had this professor who liked to torture us and I think [my father] just went nuts."

Lang Lang understands now the mixture of love, hardheadedness and ambition that drove his father. "Unfortunately, I had to work harder than others. I am not from a rich family. I had no connections. Without those experiences, I may not even have crossed the road from Shenyang to Beijing. To get to where I am today was not easy."

Lang Lang is courteous and composed, even a bit stiff at first, despite the casual Louis Vuitton jacket and black T-shirt. His trademark off- centre quiff looks as if it has been sculpted by a high wind. I find his fingers mesmerising - long, pliable and blunt-ended with small but prominent knuckles. When he plays a virtuoso piano piece, they blur to the point of invisibility.

His hands are so precious as to be almost uninsurable. "I don't play very dangerous sports. I put gloves on, keep my hands warm... try not to fight people."

Some critics feel his extravagant stage style can get in the way of nuance and subtlety, but he argues that is just his way of expressing himself.

"I am quite a physical player, and I feel pretty good about it. I am not a stone, I am a musician."

Adverse criticism stings, but not for long. This is a man who can fill concert halls all over the world and is reportedly paid up to 200,000 for private recitals. He has homes in New York, Paris and Beijing, gives his name to high-end merchandise and was in Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. He has a huge young fan base - 239,000 followers on Instagram and 14 million on Weibo, Chinese Twitter. So he can afford to be dismissive, but isn't.

Critics, he believes, are a necessary reminder, especially to young musicians, not to get carried away. "When you are flying high and you think you're invincible, it's great that someone says your interpretation is pretty bad. You have to pay attention: don't be so proud of yourself - you're just another young man, watch your step. That's good. It gives my music focus, makes me more solid."

Though firmly in the classical tradition, Lang Lang sometimes collaborates with musicians from other genres - the jazz legend Herbie Hancock, Pharrell Williams, Metallica, Julio Iglesias.

He says they keep his mind open and enrich him on a personal, as well as a musical level.

He bridges East and West with an eclectic repertoire that encompasses film soundtracks, new works, Chinese music, as well as the great Western classical canon. Though he has no desire to become a crossover artist, he doesn't look down on others who are. "I don't believe classical music should be played for what you call an elite. The 'elite' also like to listen to rap."

Known details of his personal life could so far be written on a stamp. Shuttling between planes, concert halls and hotels leaves little space for deep friendships. But being suddenly exiled from the concert hall by illness has given him time for reflection about marriage and children, and he is in a steady relationship with a fellow musician, Gina Redlinger. According to reports last year, the two are engaged. The Lang Lang autobiography could soon be due a radical update.

'Piano Book' is released on Deutsche Grammophon on March 29
'Hello Canada, hello Canada." These were the first spoken words transmitted across the Atlantic from the Marconi Radio Station in Ballybunion 100 years ago. The Kerry seaside town is pulling out all the stops to commemorate the event in the coming days.

As a young boy, Guglielmo Marconi built a laboratory in the attic of his home in Pontecchio in Italy, where he first experimented with sound waves. Many years later, on March 19, 1919, the fruits of years of his labour came together when the first spoken words were transmitted across the Atlantic by his engineers at the radio station he owned in Ballybunion, to Nova Scotia in Canada.

Danny Houlihan, a Ballybunion-based historian, who has researched the background to the transmission, says Marconi had many links with this county. His mother was Irish whiskey heiress Annie Jameson and his first wife was Clare woman, Beatrice O'Brien.

In May 1897, Marconi sent the first radio communication over the sea from the Welsh mainland to an offshore island and it was then that he turned his attention to sending a signal across the Atlantic. According to Houlihan, Ballybunion with its wide open beaches looking straight across the expanse of the Atlantic, was the perfect place.

Houlihan explains that Marconi, a wealthy man, bought a radio station that had been built in the Kerry town and used by the British navy to monitor submarine activity in the Second World War. That station - which must have looked other-worldly in a small Irish town in the early 1900s - consisted of one 500ft mast surrounded by six smaller 300ft masts on a massive 72-acre site.

Marconi installed personnel and equipment at the station, and on March 19, 1919, Irish steeplejack Michael Daly climbed the mast, installed the aerial, and one of Marconi's engineers, WT Ditcham, made the historic transmission to Nova Scotia, uttering the words: "Hello Canada, hello Canada."

Padraig Hanrahan, who is one of the organisers of the commemoration, which will take place on Monday and Tuesday, says Ballybunion's links with Marconi should be celebrated. "This was a massive feat of engineering 100 years ago. There's great stories about how all the equipment was first taken to Ballybunion. When the equipment got to Listowel, it had to be put on monorail to Ballybunion, but it was too big for the train, so they had to get a steam generator to bring it. It took three weeks to bring it from Listowel to Ballybunion, which are nine miles apart," says Hanrahan.

No strangers to famous visitors, Ballybunion will welcome Marconi's family to town for the celebrations and Hanrahan explains that his daughter, Princess Elettra Marconi Giovanelli, and her son, Prince Guglielmo Giovanelli Marconi, are jetting in to join locals to mark the event.

The Italian princess and her son will be present when a plaque with the details of the transmission is unveiled at a bandstand between the Ladies Beach and the Men's Beach in the town on Tuesday.

According to Declan Horan, an engineer and chairman of Kerry Amateur Radio Group, celebrating the event is fitting as Marconi is the father of modern communications. "I'm really looking forward to meeting the Marconis. It's once-in-a-lifetime stuff," he says.

Horan isn't the only one waiting patiently for the royal visitors. Killarney man Michael O'Connor, who is 105 years old and used to work for the Marconi company in Ballybunion as a radio officer, is also looking forward to meeting them.

Speaking from his home in a Palazzo near the Spanish Steps in the Italian capital, Marconi's grandson, Prince Guglielmo, told Review that Ballybunion plays an important role in his grandfather's work. The Prince, whose grandmother, Maria Cristina Bezzi-Scali, became Marconi's second wife, was raised in Rome by his grandmother and his mother Elettra. When he was very young, he was sent to a Christian Brothers School in Rome and cherishes his Irish heritage, passed on from his great-grandmother, Annie Jameson.

"Annie Jameson understood the genius of her son. She gave him pocket money for his equipment. My own grandmother told me all about their adventures and their travels on the yacht Elettra, which was a navigating laboratory," says Prince Guglielmo.

He and his mother have travelled extensively in Ireland, but this is their first trip to Ballybunion.

And he believes that places like Ballybunion, which are linked with important contributions to mankind, should always be remembered. "One of the most common things my grandfather used to say was that his experiments were done for the benefit of humankind," he says.
The late John O'Grady, the Dublin dentist kidnapped by ''Border Fox'' Dessie O'Hare, has left more than 1m in his will, according to papers lodged in the Probate Office in Dublin.

The dentist, who at the time was the son-in-law of multi-millionaire medical businessman Austin Darragh, never spoke afterwards of his 23-day ordeal at the hands of the terrorist and his gang, during which the tops of two of his fingers were severed.

But he did resume his career as a dentist and was honorary dentist to the Irish rugby team for many years.

Mr O'Grady, of Herbert Road, Sandymount, Dublin and formerly of Seamount, Stillorgan, died from cancer at the Blackrock Clinic on September 20, 2016 at the age of 67.

According to probate documents, he left an estate valued at 1,456,959.

He left the contents of his suite in the Blackrock Clinic to his children Darragh, Anthony and Louise and the residue of his estate to his partner Rachel Fehily.

He also left a number of personal bequests with a request that they be used for the education of Christian Fehily.

Dr O'Grady came to national prominence when he was dragged from his home in Cabinteely, Dublin in front of his wife Marise Darragh and their family, on October 13, 1987, by O'Hare and his gang, a splinter group of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA).

They demanded IR1.5 million in cash for his safe return and at one point in the drama part of the little fingers on both his hands were severed with a hammer and chisel and left in a bloodied package in Carlow Cathedral as a warning of their intentions to further harm him if the money was not forthcoming.

In a phone call, O'Hare said: "It just cost John two of his fingers, now I'm going to chop him into bits and pieces and send fresh lumps of him every f**king day if I don't get my money fast."

The well-known priest Fr Brian D'Arcy acted as an intermediary with the terrorists as Dr Darragh frantically tried but failed to raise the necessary cash.

The gang moved Dr O'Grady to different locations in Dublin and Cork before he was finally freed by gardai on November 5, 1987, after a shoot-out in the Cabra suburb of Dublin during which one of his rescuers was shot and injured.

O'Hare had already left the scene before gardai arrived and after a dramatic car chase in the follow-up operation he was stopped at a roadblock near Urlingford, Co Kilkenny, during which his associate Martin Bryan was shot dead and O'Hare was injured by an army sniper.

The terrorist subsequently pleaded guilty to kidnapping charges, which meant that Dr O'Grady did not have to give evidence of his ordeal.

Dessie O'Hare was sentenced to 40 years' imprisonment.

He was given extended temporary release in 2006 by order of the High Court under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and is living in Ireland.

He never apologised to Dr O'Grady or his family for the kidnapping.
'Our first winter there was the worst. We had 17ft of snow," recalls Kildare-born Maura Mannion as she sets a plate of freshly baked muffins on the table in their cosy and elegant dining room. Husband, Galway-man, John chuckles and pours out the strong Barry's Tea and says, "I had started my PhD on the Irish in Canada. In Toronto I learned there were a lot of Irish in Newfoundland who were more Irish than any others in North America; in terms of accent and cultural traditions."

You could see Maura visualise the start of their adventure as newly-weds when she says: "We bought our first Volkswagen and a tent in Toronto in 1965, and spent three months travelling to Newfoundland. We came here with the intention of staying for about six months, or until a job came up for John in Dublin. That was 50 years ago."

John began lecturing at St John's Memorial University and with no particular plan in mind, the couple began to delve into the roots and lives of 7,600 Irish emigrants who came to Newfoundland from 1715 to the mid-19th Century. Their passion has resulted in the creation of a unique archive which consists of more than 86,000 handwritten documents; now stored at St John's Memorial University. These records trace each individual back to their place of origin, parish and town land in the south of Ireland.

While the distinguished academic tells how he conducted the field interviews, from the basement of their house, Maura began documenting the records, painstakingly poring over journals, church records of marriages, births, death, newspaper obituaries, will registries and a host of other sources. In time the archive spilled over into the laundry and upstairs to the ground-floor office. Their home is located in the hills, just outside St John City - the oldest city in North America. With up to 200 days of fog annually, Newfoundland is also the most north-easterly point in North America. John explains: "Most of the migrants came from Waterford City and from within a 40km radius including Kilkenny, Carlow, Tipperary, Wexford and Cork."

Putting this remarkable Irish couple's work in context, Loyola Hearn, Canada's former Ambassador to Ireland, says: 'The Mannions have done more than anyone could imagine to tell the story of the Irish who came to Newfoundland. Along the Southern Shore, known as 'the Irish Loop', the Irish culture and accent is so strong in this area, you would think you are in south-east Ireland."

Ray Bassett, former Irish Ambassador to Canada, describes John and Maura Mannion as 'Irish and Newfoundland national treasures', He says: "During my time, the Mannions were a huge resource and two eminent people whose advice I greatly valued on many issues. They have made a massive contribution to our understanding of early Irish migration to North America."

The Vikings were the first to arrive in Newfoundland around the year 1000. They didn't stay long. It was the Italian explorer John Cabot who re-discovered the territory in the 1400s. The Portuguese were followed by the Basques and French. A hundred years after the arrival of the English in the 16th Century, the Irish started arriving out to work for the English settlers.

The big ships, which sailed from Bristol, stopped off in the port of Waterford to stock up with salt provisions and other supplies, and a strong workforce ready and willing to adapt to the thriving cod-fishing industry in Newfoundland.

"Each spring, up to 5,000 Irish men and boys would board ships there, and make the five-week voyage across the Atlantic. They did it because of the wages," says John, "They could earn up to four times' that of a farm labourer in Kilkenny."

Half of the migrants spoke Irish only, and heard spoken English for the first time by their employers who, of course, spoke no Gaelic.

"This was a harvest migration, similar to the people from Donegal going to Scotland to pick potatoes, or going to North Yorkshire to make hay from Galway, Mayo or Donegal," says John. And they were unable to 'blow' their wages in the pub - if there were any pubs at the time - the fishermen had to wait until they got back to Waterford to cash the Bills of Exchange issued by the English employers.

"The Christian Brothers, who came here in the 1880s, taught the Catholics of Irish descent and were very involved in Irish nationalism. The young men were full of the 1916 Rising and the emergence of the Free State. This is when the ethnic 'Catholic' label began to change to 'Irish' which is now the trend among the young in Newfoundland," according to John.

Speaking about the links with the United Irishmen and with Daniel O'Connell in Newfoundland, Maura says: "There was a ship named after him, and there was always a strong tradition of people coming out here after the 1798 Rebellion.

A number of Irish soldiers in the garrison were hanged here in St John's, and some were sent on to Halifax where they were shot. That was seen as a follow-on to the '98 Rebellion. Many families have this tradition that their ancestor came out in a flour barrel! We have a memorial to the United Irishmen, which is located in the heart of St John's."

Explaining how the Irish managed to cultivate virtual rock, Maura says: "They made highly nutritious manure by mixing the small caplin forage fish with bog and fish offal. Somehow they managed to nurture the land and create fertile topsoil." They must have had strong stomachs to live with that aroma, but it was clearly worth the while. The bulk of the interior of Newfoundland Labrador is pine forest wilderness, inhabited by bears, moose and coyotes, and fish-filled glacial lakes. Driving along the 'Irish Loop', it was easy to imagine you were in Donegal or Connemara. Not just a charming sight in the out-ports, the iconic 'jellybean' coloured wooden, salt-box houses once helped to guide ships through the fog draped along the coastline waters.

St John's City is not unlike a miniature version of San Francisco, with wooden townhouse-lined streets sweeping down to St John's Harbour. The shops carry back-to-back Irish surnames which would easily fool you into thinking you were in some regional Irish town. The pace is easy, calm and reminiscent of Dublin in the Eighties, in a good way. And just like home, everyone wants to chat. Once they pick up the Irish accent, you'll find yourself being quizzed to within an inch of your life, and all of them saying with a forlorn note, "I've always wanted to go to Ireland".

Saying 'goodbye' to Newfoundland, it didn't 'feel' as though I'd been very far from home in the first place.

Neither was this Canada or America; just a chip off the old block really; out there in the Atlantic.

Listen to Maura and John Mannion, and a few familiar accents on Nuala Macklin's documentary 'Big-Wind, Big-Sea, Big-Welcome' on Newstalk 106fm's podcast.
Police were looking into whether Rivera and the other victim were shot in a case of mistaken identity, said a source familiar with the case. Investigators were looking into whether the shooter was involved in an altercation with another group earlier in the night by the McDonalds at Ohio and Clark streets about a block away from the shooting and later mistook Rivera and the other victim as being part of that group.
The fact that there was no bus that directly connected UCD, Trinity, DIT and DCU, had been the bane of students life in the capital for decades, but the newest Dublin Bus route finally resolves the third level bugbear.

Until today there were no direct routes between the universities, other than the number 11, which is accessible only by a hike to Clonskeigh Road at the edge of UCDs 330 acres.

From today however, Dublin Bus new 155 route will travel from Ballymun to Bray Rail Station, stopping on the Ballymun Road at DCU and Stillorgan Road at UCD.

The bus will also stop at OConnell Street and Dawson Street, walking distance from many of the Technological Universitys campuses [DIT, IT Tallaght and IT Blanchardstown], and the latter just over a five minute walk from the University of Dublin [Trinity].

The new route will also connect IKEA with the City Centre, allowing shoppers, using public transport, easy access to the Swedish furniture company in Ballymun.

The route comes to Dublin amid criticism from students that Dublin buses are not stopping at universities after dark because of reports of anti-social behaviour.
The world is getting smaller - and that's not necessarily a bad thing. Design doesn't do well in a vacuum. Twentieth century Ireland learnt that one the hard way.

In the 1950s, Irish manufacture was protected by tariffs. If you wanted a chair or a teacup, you were stuck with buying Irish or paying the premium for something fancy from abroad. Isolated from the wider world, Irish design was almost universally poor. In the end, the Irish Export Board called in some Scandinavian experts to advise. The outcome of their visit was the Kilkenny Design Workshops (1966-1988), which brought in talented European and British designers to help pull Irish design up by its bootstraps. A bit of cultural crosspollination did us a power of good.

Fast forward to 2019 and the Design Indaba Festival in Cape Town, South Africa, where Ikea has just launched its Overallt collection, designed in collaboration with 10 African designers. In terms of multi-cultural collaborative design, it looks like the Scandinavians have done it again! The Ikea spin doctors describe it as, "a limited-edition collection that is all about building bridges and not walls, ultimately creating room for better habits together. Including larger pieces of furniture, tableware, textiles, and a fashionably sustainable tote bag." The collection is expected to hit the shops in May.

What's interesting about Overallt is that is showcases the cutting edge of African design. And it's not just about craft. Unlike projects designed to create sustainable trade in indigenous communities, Overallt was made with input from 10 high-profile professionals from five different African countries. Many of these already have an international profile.

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This sets the Ikea collaboration apart from other initiatives like the TK Maxx sustainable trade programme, which aims to help Ugandan families send their children to school by marketing their traditional woven baskets.

"This is how design makes the world smaller and brings people from different cultures closer together," says Bibi Seck, who designed the Overallt rocking chair (70) and footstool (40) with Ikea designer Mikael Axelsson. The furniture is designed for indoor and outdoor use and, although it could be used in any country, carries the influence of Western Africa, where the pace of life is more reflective and less rushed. "I imagine people sitting in this rocking chair, rocking and reflecting. I imagine my father, who is in his eighties, sitting in it, smoking his cigar; my sister-in-law with her newborn baby; my niece and nephews playing on it," Seck says.

Born in Paris, with Senegalese heritage, Seck is a product designer based in New York. He was one of the designers, with Ayse Birsel, for the M'Afrique collection from Italian brand Moroso. Their Madam Dakar sofa, also an indoor/outdoor piece, is handwoven in Senegal using polyethylene cord normally used for fishing nets. It's a beautiful piece and costs 2,090 from Milia. The Overallt rocking chair shares the combination of a metal structure and a woven seat, but it's a fraction of the price.

Ikea is all about affordability. The Overallt Easy chair (50; or 95 with cushions) is designed by Issa Diabate, an architect from the Ivory Coast, and Mikael Axelsson. To my mind - and I haven't yet sat on it - it is a stunning piece of design. It's made from plywood and held together with wooden slats. This means that it can be assembled without nails, glue, or screws or even that bugbear of Ikea assembly, the Allen key. "I wanted to design a pleasant and functional object without using costly materials or sophisticated technology," Diabate says. The range also includes a bookshelf (45) designed with the same incredibly simple construction.

"Our dream is to have a blueprint and make the design open source," says Johanna Jelinek, one of the Ikea designers who collaborated on the project. This, were it to happen, would make the chair available to people living in Africa. At the moment, there's no Ikea store in South Africa, or any other countries on the African continent apart from Egypt and Morocco.

Jelinek collaborated with textile designers Renee Rossouw and Sindiso Khumalo on the printed textiles in the collection. Originally from Durban, South Africa, Khumalo studied in Central St Martin's, London, and works between the two countries. Internationally she's known for graphic patterns that draw on her Zulu and Ndebele heritage.

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I spoke to Khumalo on Skype during the Design Indaba Festival. "It's not traditional African handcraft - it's contemporary - but you can see the colours coming through," she says. For her, the joy of working for Ikea was that the designs will reach a far wider audience. "It was an honest collaboration," she said. "Ikea didn't have a top-down approach." This part of the collection ranges from the bright bold graphic Overallt padded blanket (20) to a cushion cover for 5. The trio have even designed a multi-coloured elephant patterned shower curtain (7).

The woven textiles in the collection were designed by the Egyptian design duo Mariam Hazem and Hend Riad, who work together as Reform Studio, with Ikea designer Hanna Dalrot. Sustainability is the Reform Studio thing, and their contribution to Overallt was no exception. "We found this beautiful material, silver food package waste, which can be found in crisp bags and chocolate bar wrappers. Tons of waste come out of the production and it's hard to recycle because it is mixed aluminium and plastic so we wanted to find a way to use it," they explain.

"At first we thought that making use of this waste material would be really hard to achieve on a mass production scale but Ikea loved the concept and pushed the extra mile to make it come true in their production." The material is used, to a greater or lesser extent, in the Overallt flatwoven rug (75), cushion (8) and tote bags (8 and 10).

It's hard not to see Ikea as an all-powerful, all-seeing roaming eye, observing design around the world and waiting for the moment to pounce. One day, maybe, the Swedish giant will turn its benevolent eye on Ireland.

In the meantime, Irish manufacture has already been discovered. Last year, Ikea launched the Omedelbar collection, a Gothic and slightly terrifying ensemble in collaboration with stylist Bea Akerlund. The mesh hands in the collection - a type of ornament that you could use to stash your rings - were made in Tralee by the 3D printers, Wazp.

See ikea.com, tkmaxx.ie, miliashop.com, lolaandmawu.com
The window has all but closed: With London property prices teetering and a final Brexit date looming, UK-based buyers are probing for Irish boltholes

The window has all but closed: With London property prices teetering and a final Brexit date looming, UK-based buyers are probing for Irish boltholes

Your anxious Brexit buyer in Ireland is typically an Irish ex-pat who today owns a house in the London area and is now worried about its value. He or she wants to sell there and buy here and is looking to spend in excess of 500,000 on a one-off house in a rural Irish location; but the exchange rate (86c per Stg 1) is softening.

What to do? Just like the British Parliament, many are dithering. At this late hour for Brexit, most parts of Ireland are now experiencing a surge of anxious Irish ex-pats and Brexiting Brits looking to come and live here; or at least to buy an Irish property, so that they can move over in the near future.

A good measure of Brexit bedlam in the Irish property market comes this week courtesy of the Real Estate Alliance (REA) network, whose member firms countrywide have just participated in a Brexit buyer survey at the request of Irish Independent Property.

The results show that a whopping 74pc of REA firms report an increase in interest from British-based buyers in the last 12 months while sales to UK buyers have risen by 12pc on average in the year.

It shows that more than one in 20 homes offered for sale are being sold to a British-based buyer (suggesting around 3,600 British bought properties over twelve months). "UK buyers now make up 10pc of overall enquiries and 6pc of sales in the Irish market, with our agents reporting an average of 4.3 sales to UK buyers," said REA spokesperson Barry McDonald.

The difference between enquiries for properties and those biting the bullet and actually buying, highlights that aforementioned Brexit 'dither'.

As a 'bad' Brexit becomes increasingly likely, some counties have been experiencing an influx of buyers while others are being adversely affected. To sum up, the late 'chaos' stage of Brexit appears to be giving a boost to the regional markets while at the same time continuing to cool the upper end in Dublin, the border counties, holiday locations beloved of English buyers and farm locations heavily dependent on exports to the UK.

While emmigrants who left in the 1980s or after the 2008 crash make up the majority of buyers, it is also telling that a full quarter (25pc) of enquiries from the UK are now from 'true' British buyers with no Irish connections at all, marking an historic change in migration patterns.

Prior to the survey, Brexit fallout has already been blamed for flattening demand and softening prices in the luxury home market in Dublin (a realm of business Brits based here and of Irish with big business dealings in the UK). It has already been blamed for squashing demand in the holiday home markets of West Cork and Donegal (the usual Engish- and Northern Ireland-based buyers have stayed away).

Of the UK-based parties contacting Irish estate agents in the last 12 months, almost one third (30pc) have openly cited Britain's EU departure as the reason for wanting to move to Ireland. This is an increase of 13pc on a previous survey carried out six months ago. And 14pc of subsequent sales resulting have directly come about because of the buyer's job being moved to Ireland.

The average uplift in enquiries in areas where demand has increased is 23pc, while those locations reporting a Brexit decrease are seeing British enquiries down by 20pc. There has also been a marked change in where British-based buyers of Irish property are coming from. Not surprisingly, given that British industries like finance are likely to be among those most adversely affected, demand from London and the South East of England has shot up by 40pc on six months ago.

This trend is also likely linked to recent price slippages in the London market (4pc in the last year). Many fear this could mark the beginning of a more pronounced tumble in values in the British capital as the realities of Britain's departure kicks in for banking and financial services sectors in particular.

It also means the timing couldn't be better for Irish estate agents looking to proactively engage the departure lounge. Around 7,000 UK-based buyers are expected to view Irish properties at the UK Property Investor Show being organised by the REA network on April 12-13 at ExCel London. "After April's event we will have a much better picture of what's going on," says Mr McDonald.

The REA Brexit survey also tells us quite a bit about the type of people looking to buy. Almost a quarter (23pc) are buying for eventual or immediate retirement, while 8pc are investors, 8pc are looking for a change in lifestyle, and 9pc are purchasing holiday homes despite slippage in that segment.

The most typical UK-based buyer wants a rural property (54pc), with 66pc looking for a one-off home rather than an estate property. And UK-based purchasers are spending more than an average buyer with the over-500k category accounting for the largest tranche (22pc).

Brexit is also driving an upswing in commercial property investment on the vital M1 north-south corridor, according to REA agents in Co Louth, with REA Dundalk reporting a doubling of UK and Northern Ireland enquiries in the past 12 months. Around the country the effects are still very mixed. For example, while REA in Roscrea reports a doubling of sales from the UK this year, in contrast, REA Clonmel has reported a notable increase in sales by rural-based vendors who are getting out of Ireland and heading back to the UK.

If we also look to Central Statistics Office (CSO) data we can see that since 2016 considerably more British residents are now coming to Ireland in search of a property, a life and a job; instead of an Irish tide going the other way.

While 300 or so more people came here than went there in 2015, it is symbolic that the big reverse occurred in 2016, the year of the Brexit vote, when the net difference shifted up to 3,800 incoming.

In 2012, 8,000 more people moved to the UK from Ireland than those who made the reverse move. But in 2017 (the latest figures available) a massive sea change saw 6,600 net incoming to Ireland from the UK.

In truth the latest REA and CSO data really only shows us the latter effects of Brexit bedlam - the uncertainty phase. Where 'Brexit reality' will leave the Irish property market is still a great big unknown. For a clear answer to that million dollar question, you'll need to tune in again, likely at the end of this year.
Rachel Ingalls, who has died aged 78, was a novelist and short story writer who - if the adage "all good things come to those who wait" is true - had to wait almost until it was too late.

Her 1982 novella, Mrs Caliban, largely ignored at the time, was republished in 2017 to huge acclaim and Rachel Ingalls was rediscovered in her late 70s.

Rachel Holmes Ingalls was born on May 13, 1940 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where her father, Daniel Ingalls, was a professor of Sanskrit at Harvard; her mother was Phyllis (nee Day).

After a year in Germany, she worked back in the US as a theatre dresser, then attended Radcliffe College in Massachusetts.

After graduating, she returned to Europe and settled in Britain, where she stayed for the rest of her life. She liked to say it was a love of Shakespeare that attracted her to England; it was also the fact that she had found a publisher for her short stories, and an editor - Charles Monteith at Faber - who declared that she was "a genius, and that is not a word I use lightly".

In 1982, she published her masterpiece, Mrs Caliban, the tale of an unhappy housewife who gives shelter - and more - to a handsome sea creature who has escaped from a research institute (years later, many saw the story as having distinct similarities to the Oscar-winning 2017 film The Shape of Water, though its director, Guillermo del Toro, said he had never read Rachel Ingalls).

In 1986 the British Book Marketing Board named Mrs Caliban as one of the 20 outstanding novels by living American post-war writers. But even that accolade - and the praise of people such as John Updike and Joyce Carol Oates - hardly served to make Rachel Ingalls' name better known.

This was partly due to the strangeness of her work, and what she called its "odd, unsaleable length", and partly to the extreme shyness, not to say eccentricity, of the writer herself. She lived alone in a north London flat that was as chaotic within as she appeared ordered and neat outwardly.

She had a few close friends, and made an annual visit back home to see her sister, as well as the occasional trip to Italy, but otherwise, aside from her writing, she cared only for the theatre, the opera and cinema - going to as many as four films a day during the London Film Festival.

"I'm not exactly a hermit but I'm really no good at meeting lots of strangers," she said in 2018.

After Mrs Caliban, she published several more books of short stories, and a novel set in the world of big game hunters, Binstead's Safari.

After that, though she published more novellas and short story collections, she seemed to disappear from view almost entirely.

Then in 2017, two things happened. She was diagnosed with myeloma and told it would prove terminal; and Mrs Caliban was republished in the US, receiving not only ecstatic reviews but wide publicity; translation rights were sold around the world, and she began to receive the attention she had always deserved.

Despite failing health, this made her happy, and when, in the last week of her life, The New Yorker published an appreciative profile of Ingalls and her work, she seemed to be not merely happy, but - like Violetta in the final scene of her favourite opera, La traviata - reborn.

Rachel Ingalls died on March 6.

Telegraph

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
In the aftermath of the massacre of 50 worshippers by a lone far-right gunman in Christchurch, it's only natural for people to want to do something to show Muslims that they're valued as a community. Doing nothing, saying nothing, would be monstrous. The decision by huge numbers of women in New Zealand, from Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to TV reporters to policewomen on the streets, to wear head scarves last Friday as a mark of respect for Muslims isn't the right way to do it, however.

The campaign came about because some Muslim women had expressed fears about going out in their usual attire after the shootings, in case it made them a target for hatred or bigotry, or worse, from those who sympathised with the gunman's "eco fascist" ideology. It's outrageous that any woman should be afraid or intimidated just because of what she's wearing, whether that's a bikini or a burqa.

The movement was born out of a desire to offer those women some much-needed solidarity in a time of trauma. "We want to show them we are them," as one local woman put it. It's a basic issue of human dignity and public safety.

All the same, arguing for the right of Muslim women to wear Islamic head dress is not the same as wearing it yourself or encouraging its wider use as a political gesture against Islamophobia. Muslim headgear, whether it's the hijab (a square scarf that covers the head and neck, but leaves the face clear), burqa (a full body covering with mesh over the eyes), or niqab (another full body covering, but with a slit for the eyes instead of a mesh), is a long-standing source of controversy, not only in the West where Muslims have migrated to make new homes, but in majority-Islamic societies too.

To wear it in response to an appalling terrorist incident in New Zealand is effectively to take sides in a debate whose nuances and significance we don't fully understand. Across the Islamic world, women are resisting the imposition of a religious dress code which many reformers argue has no basis in the Koran, where it's merely stated that men's and women's bodies alike must be covered "except that which is necessary", a form of words open to multiple interpretations.

How must they feel when seeing women in the secular West suddenly adopting what are widely regarded to be the very symbols of oppression against which Muslim women are increasingly fighting at huge personal cost?

According to Amnesty International, at least 39 women were arrested in Iran alone in 2018 for removing their head scarves in public, under laws which have "allowed police and paramilitary forces to harass and detain women for showing strands of hair under their headscarves or for wearing heavy make-up or tight clothing". Girls as young as seven have been caught up in the crackdown and forced by the morality police to wear hijabs.

The protesters, who are known as the "Girls of Revolution Street" after the road where the protests against the compulsory wearing of the hijab began, include Azam Jangravi, who took off her headscarf in the centre of the capital Tehran and waved it in the air. "I was feeling a very special kind of power," she said afterwards. "It was as if I was not the secondary gender anymore." She was arrested, fired from her job, and sentenced to three years in prison for "promoting indecency". She managed to escape Iran before the sentence could be carried out.

Just two weeks ago, her lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was sentenced to 33 years in prison and 148 lashes on charges including "disrupting public order" and "openly committing a sinful act by... appearing in public without a hijab".

The bravery of these women is humbling, and seeing those who don't have to contend with men with guns telling them how to dress suddenly donning hijabs in an effort to demonstrate their supposedly progressive values must feel like a slap in the face. That's certainly how Asra Nomani sees it.

Her long campaign for women's equality has seen her compared to civil rights bus campaigner Rosa Parks, and she famously took part in protests at her local mosque in the US state of Virginia to demand the right of women to pray in male-only rooms.

Now a professor in Washington, she expressed dismay last week at the campaign in New Zealand, saying of the hijab: "It is a symbol of purity culture antithetical to feminist values. We have women in jail and dead, for refusing the interpretation of Islam you promote."

Pakistan-born Canadian author Tarak Fatah, a proponent of "liberal, progressive" Islam, also spoke up to decry the hijab as a "symbol of Islamic patriarchy" and "flag of mediaeval mullahism".

Western feminists have been disgracefully quiet about backing these protests by Muslim women. They fulsomely support Muslim women's right to wear the hijab, burqa or niqab, but stay silent on their right not to wear them if they don't want to. Partly that's because they fear being tainted by association with the far right which has been bullish in demanding bans on Islamic face and hair coverings. In some European countries, including France, Belgium and the Netherlands, such bans have passed into law. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2014 that these laws did not violate human rights; last October, the UN Human Rights Committee begged to differ, censuring France following a case taken by two women who were fined for wearing veils. In the new intersectional world of identity politics, everyone seems hopelessly confused about whether siding with feminists in the Muslim world might itself be anti-Muslim.

Western feminists would never stay silent on similar abuses of women by Christian churches. In the clash of competing identities and rights, some women seem to have been left behind.

There is no easy answer. Banning religious face coverings would only further isolate women from conservative families who would likely be confined to the home; but naively embracing the hijab as a symbol of free choice for women ignores the complex history behind these religious proscriptions and the huge social pressure on women to obey them. Many Muslim feminists would argue that there's no such thing as a free choice when it comes to the hijab; that it's enforced with an underlying threat.

The real mistake is thinking that those of us who aren't Muslims can magically make things better by adopting the hijab for the day as a gesture to make ourselves feel virtuous.

There are many more practical ways to help minorities feel safe . Muslim women in Dublin have launched the Yellow Sticker Campaign, which displays notices in shops and other public places to reassure anyone who feels threatened to walk in and take refuge. Safe spaces are a serious and respectful response to the insecurity felt by Muslim women. Wearing head scarves raise far more questions than it answers.
The UK is blessed with an embarrassment of media riches - the ever-alert Daily Mail managed to detect a negotiating triumph last Friday morning: "May Calls the EU's Bluff", it pronounced, as Simon Nixon, a columnist with the London Times, summarised an opposite and more popular response:

"Is there any precedent in modern history for the vital interests of a major country to be determined behind closed doors by 27 other countries and then presented as a fait accompli? Even for those of us who always expected it would come to this, the humiliation is hard to take."

The Guardian columnist Rafael Behr offered a more concise understanding of the summit message to Westminster: "If you want to leave with a deal, vote for the damned deal. If you are foolish enough to leave without a deal, do not blame us. But if you want something else, a referendum or a softer Brexit... send someone who isn't May to talk to us about it."

Sky News, sticking to the facts, reported last Thursday that the British army had arranged a command headquarters in a nuclear bunker deep underneath the Ministry of Defence, an imposing edifice located conveniently on Whitehall, just a hundred metres from Downing Street. Upwards of 3,500 troops will be available from tomorrow (not all billeted in the bunker) for Brexit duty.

The alarming announcement coincided with Theresa May's request to the European Council for a three-month extension to the UK's departure from the EU. The council deftly declined the request in the form sought, seeming to offer a whole new supply of cans to kick towards new dates in April, May or even later. There is a catch in the offer, since it is designed to force choices and bring the can-kicking to an early end.

Having accepted the EU's Plan B last Thursday, lacking one of her own, Theresa May sent a letter to MPs last Friday evening intimating that Tuesday's vote on the withdrawal agreement (her promised Plan A) will not go ahead, in the absence of support. Her response to the EU, whose bluff, according to the Mail, she had called just a day earlier, reads "The dog ate my Brexit".

The outcome extolled by victorious Leavers through the sunlit post-referendum summer of 2016 was meant to be very different. Swashbuckling entrepreneurs should by now be cruising the seven seas harvesting the fruits of freedom for Britannia Unbound. The actual outcome is not just a harsh lesson in economic and political realities, it is a disaster foretold. It has been on the cards since Mrs May's intentions emerged at the Birmingham Conservative party conference in October 2016, and more definitively in her Lancaster House speech in January 2017. The red lines meant departing the EU's single market, ironically the handiwork in large degree of Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government of the 1980s. The intention to escape also the EU's customs regime ensured an end to the frictionless trade with Europe which May also promised, not to mention problems with border controls in Ireland.

There was no possible negotiation which respected the red lines and delivered on May's promises. Any version of Brexit which respected the red lines would do serious economic damage, mainly to the UK itself, while any solution minimising economic damage would never satisfy the Brexiteers. Only if the EU really was the arbitrary, unaccountable super-state of Eurosceptic imaginings could it have torn up the treaties, jeopardised the internal market and abrogated its existing trade agreements around the world in order to accommodate delusional UK demands for 'flexibility'. A trouble-free Brexit has been unattainable since the speech Mrs May made at Birmingham to appease the minority of Tory ultras. To sustained applause, of course, and fawning coverage. Happy days.

The list of possible outcomes has not even been pruned. A withdrawal agreement could go through if it is ever put to a vote, perhaps with a new political declaration after a further delay; there could still be a crash-out, a second referendum, a general election, a change of government without an election, or a straight revocation of Article 50 and the cancellation of Brexit. But the European Council has imposed order on the process, and the UK parliament must start pruning next week. One possibility is that the prime minister could herself be pruned through a vote of no confidence, with the sovereign forced to send for an alternative prime minister, since she cannot be removed as Tory leader against her will until next December. She could resign if the Tory men in grey suits come calling, and a more self-aware individual would already have done so.

The structure and sequencing in the council decision is important. Crash-out will not come next Friday but could occur just two weeks later. A further extension to May 22 would follow a positive House of Commons vote, endorsing the withdrawal agreement, should it be tabled again. If the Commons fails to endorse, a longer deferral requires decisions which a May-led minority government is unlikely to take - an abandonment of red lines and a new Brexit framework, plus agreement to hold European Parliament elections in the UK. If May survives, the available options will narrow to accepting her deal or crashing out. Her replacement without an election could lead to a second referendum, a wholesale revision of the political declaration towards an eventual soft Brexit or even to revocation of Brexit, a unilateral get-out-of-jail card still available to the UK which May would never use.

All will be revealed in Westminster over the next three weeks. The judgment of history, or at least of the commentators, on the Theresa May premiership is already in draft. She will be competitive with David Cameron, the author of the spin-the-bottle referendum, for the title of the UK's poorest prime minister of modern times. It was open to May when she assumed the leadership of the Conservative party in July 2016 to pursue a policy reliant on the centre-of-gravity in the Commons which is for some soft form of Brexit, but she opted for appeasement of the ultras, reinforced by the Ulster battalion when she blew her inherited majority in the needless general election of June 2017.

The damage was done in the immediate post-referendum period. Many Leave campaigners had signalled that a softer Brexit was acceptable - several, including the official Leave campaign in its leaflets and advertising, had explicitly committed to remaining in the single market. May chose instead to side with the Brexiteers, has backed the wrong horse and may be gone as parliament takes control next week.

The European Council may have killed the no-deal outcome last Thursday and the eventual deal could consist of a similar withdrawal agreement plus a very different political declaration, signposting a Norway-style alignment for the whole UK with the single market and a close customs arrangement. Theresa May declined this approach in October 2016 in order to avoid splitting the Tory party.

The failure of her strategy means that the split may now be unavoidable. Sticking close to both single market and customs union minimises the damage but raises the unavoidable dilemma of Brexit. Why bother?
What position will the German chancellor take on the Irish Border if Britain crashes out of the EU? What position will the next British prime minister take toward Brexit and Ireland? These questions have rapidly moved up the agenda over the past week.

Last Thursday night's meeting of EU leaders extended Britain's scheduled departure from the EU by at least 14 days. That was well worth doing - anything that prevented the worst from starting next weekend is to be welcomed. But the worryingly high risk of a no-deal exit has not been reduced by the decision. It has merely been postponed by two weeks.

The EU 27 leaders want the British parliament to reverse its position on the existing withdrawal deal negotiated by Theresa May and the EU. If the Commons reverses two previous votes and swallows the deal, the Border backstop included, Britain will leave the EU on May 22. It will enter into a transition period until the end of next year in which nothing changes for people and businesses. While the outright cancellation of Brexit remains the slimmest of possibilities and the best outcome from an Irish perspective, an orderly exit in two months' time, now looks to be the least bad achievable outcome.

But as the withdrawal deal has not changed, any third vote in the House of Commons this week on that deal, if it even takes place, is almost certain to be rejected. If that happens, last Thursday night's plan formulated by the EU leaders envisages that the British "indicate a way forward" while at the same time accepting that the withdrawal agreement rejected in three votes cannot be changed.

There is still a lot of talk in British politics about "parliament taking back control" and of a "softer Brexit" emerging. But given the failure of the British political system to agree a path to Brexit over more than 1,000 days since the referendum, the chances of an agreement over the next 19 days - on the backstop and many other divisive issues - are poor. As such, a no-deal exit is still a very real prospect.

The gravity of this for Ireland is becoming clearer. At the summit, the most powerful EU leader, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, raised the issue of the Irish border in the event of the worst happening in three weeks. She is reported to have asked how the new EU external border that would emerge on this island would function.

This issue has been largely avoided during the Brexit negotiations, in part because the Irish and EU side has always been (overly) confident that it would never have to be addressed. The Taoiseach has long maintained that no preparations have been made for how Ireland would fulfil its border obligations to other EU countries if Britain crashed out without a deal. Last week, he spoke of potentially "difficult discussions" with the countries that have supported the Irish position throughout the talks. This is an extreme understatement.

Ireland is a member of the EU's single market and its customs union. It has cast- iron obligations to ensure that goods coming into the bloc are checked to meet single market standards and that the EU's common external tariff on those goods, if applicable, is paid over. Any member which fails to meet those most basic obligations threatens the integrity of the EU market.

The Brexit fiasco has highlighted many things about how Europe works, including how market integrity is considered a vital national interest by members of the union. If Ireland does not meet its commitments to maintaining that integrity it will, sooner or later, cease to be a full member of that market. And let it be crystal clear: being in the EU market is the reason, above all others, why hundreds of thousands of multinational company jobs are located here.

If "difficult discussions" loom with the remaining members, relations with Britain risk deteriorating even further under any alternative leader of the Conservative Party. That issue jumped up the agenda last week as the current leader and prime minister, Theresa May, lost whatever authority she possessed seven days ago.

Over the past week she was blindsided by the decision of the Speaker of the Commons not to allow a third vote on her withdrawal deal, harangued MPs in a bizarre televised address last Wednesday and failed to convince other EU leaders she can deliver on any deal last Thursday night.

These failings come on top of much more fundamental miscalculations including: committing to leave both the EU single market and customs union in January 2017 without working out how these positions clashed so starkly with her commitment to avoid a hard border on this island; triggering the two-year exit process two months later with so little preparation; and signing up to the blatant contradictions in the December 2017 compact with the EU which brought the backstop into being.

Along with these major errors, May has been consistently unable to do the political basics - win people over, build coalitions and isolate opponents.

Her failure two weeks ago to square her own attorney general on the backstop, when her entire strategy for winning a second vote on it depended on his legal advice, was perhaps the starkest example of her ineptitude. It is hard to think of a political leader anywhere who has gone so far with so little nous.

Could her replacement be any worse? No and yes.

No, because no alternative could possibly make unforced errors at every turn as she has, and it is always easier to deal with the capably malign than those who are incapable but benign.

But her successor is likely to be considerably worse from an Irish perspective because the leading contenders are all more pro-Brexit than May and the two favourites are not well disposed toward Ireland.

All the many contenders for the Conservative Party leadership are more pro-Brexit than the current leader, including the three second-tier contenders - Dominic Raab, Jeremy Hunt and Sajid Javid, who are all on roughly similar odds to replace May. None of the potential candidates has given any indication of wanting a closer long-term relationship than has already been negotiated.

But the greatest concern from an Irish perspective comes in the form of the two leading contenders. Boris Johnson is also the bookies' favourite. Opinion polls show him to be wildly popular with the rank and file. He has a long antipathy toward the EU and has been unscrupulous in exploiting the issue for his own ends. He has never shown any affinity toward this island and is known to believe that the Border issue should not be the "tail that wags the dog".

Michael Gove is the second favourite. Although his opposition to the Good Friday Agreement at the time it was concluded does not necessarily make him hostile to Ireland, anyone of that view moving into Downing Street now could only cause further uncertainty in Northern Ireland and raise suspicions in Dublin.

It is now very easy to envisage a scenario within weeks in which Dublin-London relations deteriorate further under a new British prime minister and, at the same time, questions arise over Ireland's full participation in the single market.

Brexit was always going to be a strategic nightmare for Ireland. That nightmare is getting worse almost by the hour.
Now we know. Theresa May has a Plan B and it is called a no-deal Brexit. She is said to have arrived at Plan B last Wednesday night, shortly before her extraordinary address to her nation during which, in the manner of an autocrat, she set the people against parliament.

It is not just the men in grey suits who will go to her this week. It may be the men in white coats. At this stage, do not rule out an intervention from Queen Elizabeth. These are extraordinary times in the UK and Europe. And Ireland is in the crosshairs, hoping for the best, fearing the worst and passing the blame.

How we got to this point is for historians to unravel. Let us call it a series of unfortunate events, which started when the former UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, called an in-out referendum in the first place. There is little point in going over that now. In advance of what happens this week, Ireland remains on the precipice, about to fall into a deep and damaging ravine.

What will Leo Varadkar do? He will not back down on the backstop now. So all he can do is close his eyes, cross his fingers and hope for the best. And hope that nobody blames him if it all goes terribly wrong, which it still might well do.

Theresa May has deferred, for now, a third attempt to get her negotiated withdrawal agreement through the House of Commons, fearing that it would not pass and with it she would fall.

Alternatively, it may be that she is biding her time, aware that there is not a majority in the Commons for any other form of Brexit. At this stage I have given up trying to figure out what will happen next, other than to expect that the settlement of sorts arrived at in Brussels last week will hardly be the end of the matter.

Should she eventually get her agreement through, however, neither will that be the end of the matter. May's withdrawal deal is still bad for this country. And that agreement will not be re-opened. A new political declaration might improve matters, of course. But how to get to that point...

The men in grey suits have already called. After her address to the nation, Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the Conservatives' 1922 Committee, told May that many of her MPs want her to resign.

But May is said to be holding out, perhaps delusional or, alternatively, more aware than commentators, or leaders elsewhere, just how difficult it will be to find agreement in the Commons. It may be that her deal will rise again.

After the EU-imposed latest deadline, there is no time for a Conservative Party leadership election anyway. So, in itself, her resignation will solve not a lot in the immediate days and weeks.

Another course may be a motion of no confidence in the UK government.

For such a motion to be passed, an extraordinary alliance between the middle-ground wing of the Conservatives and a riven, Labour Party would be required and there is no certainty that such an alliance will be formed.

Let us assume, or hope that such a no confidence motion is passed. This could be followed by the intervention of the queen. She may be required to ask somebody else, probably in the Conservatives, to form a caretaker government.

It is doubtful the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, will be so asked. For a start, he does not have a sufficient mandate. In any event, it is unlikely he would be able to put together the numbers to form a new government.

The point is, a no deal can still not be ruled out this weekend, notwithstanding a two-week window of opportunity provided by the EU to find a solution which would be supported by a majority in the House of Commons.

And what of Theresa May's state of mind? This is a genuine, not facetious question. Senior officials in Westminster are currently asking that question. They genuinely fear she is prepared to settle for a no deal. What then, Leo?

May's stance on a no-deal Brexit, her arrival at her Plan B, has "caused alarm" at senior levels in government, according to the Financial Times. The Guardian has called her a "rogue prime minister". Theresa May has caved in to pressure from the hard-line Brexiteers, the FT says, "at huge risk to the integrity and economic prosperity of the UK". We can add to that, at huge risk to the economic prosperity of Ireland.

There are other reports that decisions taken by May last week has fuelled concerns in the Treasury about her judgment.

This is what it has come down to: loaded statements as to the well being and judgment of Theresa May, a decent woman but woefully out of her depth, hither and thither, repeatedly questioned, casually referred to as stubborn, weak and to have surrendered her claim to the respect that comes with the office she holds.

Leo Varadkar should take no pleasure in her public fall. His judgment, and that of the EU, is also in question, though not in a psychological manner, of course. But politically, yes - was it really necessary to allow matters get to this point? The EU's leaders will say the course was set by the UK, and that they followed. Perhaps. But it has been a shabby business to say the least, this argument over a backstop that Ireland maintains will not be needed even in the event of a no deal. Go figure.

As he closes his eyes and crosses his fingers, Varadkar must be hoping that events in the UK in the coming weeks will finally provide a clearer picture as to what a majority in the Commons will support, through a series of indicative votes.

But as I say, there is no certainty that a majority will indicate, one way or the other. Do not underestimate how divided the Commons continues to be.

Ultimately, the best outcome for all, the UK included, would be a revocation of Article 50, which would create space within which to start again: a general election in the UK, a new government, a new prime minister and, probably, a second referendum.

To revoke would also create the space for an election here. Varadkar may be inclined to fill that space. But will the minds of voters be informed by how close he has taken the country to economic Armageddon on the back of a huge gamble, or instead by satisfaction at the humiliation of a neighbouring island and a decent, if limited woman? Probably the latter, but do not bank on that either.

Do not bank on anything, in fact. Because right now, Theresa May's on-the-hoof Plan B, a no-deal Brexit, is an outcome which cannot be ruled out. And anybody who tells you otherwise is blindly hoping and praying as much as is Leo Varadkar.
what do we know? There is a general misplaced tendency to associate science with the expression of facts or truths, but this fails to comprehend the reality that science and scientific theories are evolutionary works in progress. Science does not stand still, and facts we hold true today may be dismissed as falsehoods tomorrow.

Many years ago, it was widely believed that the Earth was flat, that it lay at the centre of the universe, and that all other planets and the Sun revolved around it. Few now subscribe to these theories, not because the Earth has since changed shape, or has moved its position in the solar system, but because our understanding of these phenomena has changed.

Great scientists such as Galileo and Copernicus were condemned for challenging these consensuses, with Galileo tried for heresy by a papal-led inquisition, and being forced the spend the last decade of his life under house arrest.

The era of religious inquisitions seems at an end, but a subversive culture continues to prevail within Irish society, which condemns as heretics those who seek to challenge a cosy consensus.

This cosy consensus can be heard routinely in political debate on radio panel discussions, or read in the opinion features and letters pages of certain broadsheet newspapers. It is the voice of the chattering classes of bourgeois Ireland, who wine and dine together, and have convinced themselves of the invincibility of their own beliefs.

They are the kind of people who, because they see a few white swans, deduce that all swans are white. And woe betide anyone who disagrees with them.

Those who choose to stray from the wisdom of bourgeois Ireland are depicted as misguided deviants, blinded to the obvious truth. The cosy consensus demands that they are silenced, or at least mocked, for their non-conformist views. Hence why you read or hear of so few dissenting voices to this consensus in the Irish media.

Not only does this stifle a healthy pluralistic debate, but the danger with consensuses is that in time, many are shown to have as little substance as the flat-Earth theories. And so we should not cling to them as if they are universal truths. But this is exactly what happens with debate in the cosy consensus of Irish politics.

Take Brexit as an example. The prevailing line of thinking is that the EU is good and Brexit is bad. Our commentariat seems incapable of any notions other than that Brexiteers are misinformed, stupid and ignorant. They cannot contemplate any fathomable reason why more than 17m British voters would want to leave the EU.

Those buying into such sentiment have short memories. It was not so long ago that Irish public opinion had similar misgivings about the European project. We voted No to the Nice and Lisbon Treaties, and during the depths of the recent recession, had plenty of misgivings about the manner in which we were treated by the EU and the Troika.

But, that is all now forgotten, and official Ireland has decreed that the current consensus must be not to challenge the EU. The green flag is being waved, as a hardline stance over the backstop, and the potential for a unified island, are being championed.

Brexit is not the only issue where the cosy consensus prevails. Another favourite target of bourgeois Ireland is the localism of Irish politics, which it sees as representative of a backward-looking gombeen-man-type culture. In the eyes of this consensus, parish-pump politics, where local TDs and councillors represent the views of their constituents, is a disease, symptomatic of an ill-functioning system.

This consensus derides the likes of Michael Healy-Rae and Shane Ross, who are guilty of nothing more than speaking up for the interests of their local community. What is so wrong with this? In many countries, there is a considerable element of apathy because of the disconnect between people and their politicians. In contrast, in Ireland, anyone can make contact with their local parliamentarian, which should be celebrated as an example of a functioning linkage between a demos and its rulers, a necessary component of any successful democracy.

So, rather than indicating an illness, localism is a healthy sign of the openness of our political system. Whose wishes but the people should our TDs represent?

Of course, bourgeois Ireland doesn't want to contemplate this. It shares a disdain for local and rural politics, which feeds into, and correlates with, another consensus, that of a recently dominant liberal culture, whose mantra is "liberal good, conservative bad".

While in the past those who subscribe to these beliefs bemoaned the intolerance of a then conservative majority, they are now acting in the same manner. Wanting to impose their value system on the rest of society, this new consensus condemns as atavistic dinosaurs anyone who does not subscribe to its creed. We thus have confused Catholics being told by this consensus that the right thing is to vote for marriage equality and abortion, even if this is in contradiction of the teachings of their church on these matters.

Just as it was not appropriate for a previous Catholic consensus to foist its belief-systems on the populace as a whole, so too the current liberal consensus should not express similar dogmatism.

After all, we have no idea what will be the dominant paradigm in another generation. Just as science evolves, so too do political mindsets, but at a much faster rate. Today's consensus may be tomorrow's fish and chip paper.

For this reason, we should encourage more challenges, not more consensus. What we need more of in our politics are individuals such as the late Limerick TD, Jim Kemmy. In the 1980s, he opposed the silent nationalist consensus that supported the H-Block protests. He defied the Catholic majority who wanted to enshrine religious values in the Constitution.

The subject of vicious campaigns, with the Bishop of Limerick, Jeremiah Newman, a vociferous cheerleader, Kemmy lost his seat in 1982 because of his stances against the prevailing sentiment.

In time, though, much of what Kemmy fought for has now come to pass, as his policies have been embraced by the cosy consensus. This should be a salient message for those wishing to silence the current incarnations of Kemmy looking to challenge the status quo.

We need to remember that in all these cultural clashes, between liberals and conservatives, between isolationists and integrationists, between rural and urban, it is not necessarily a battle between right and wrong. It is a battle between different perceptions of what is right.

And these perceptions change over time. Liberals become conservatives. Truths become myths.

There is no correct way of doing things, just the best policy based on what we know. And what do we know? I posed this question at the beginning of this piece, because those who think they know the truth are misguided. We cannot know everything, and so we should seek to challenge consensuses because they are all based on limited information. There may be black swans who disprove the theory that all swans are white.

It's not often I quote former US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, but in 2002, he provided a meaningful insight on the limited extent of our wisdom, and of any consensus: "There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns - the ones we don't know we don't know".

Would someone please remind the cosy consensus of these unknown unknowns?
After all the headlines about the supposed defeat of Isil, anyone who doesn't believe a word of it may seem a bit of a spoilsport. But whenever I read that victory has been declared - whether it be of the Bush "mission accomplished" variety or the "last Isil stronghold about to fall" fantasy - I draw in my breath. Because you can make a safe bet that it's not true.

Not just because the fighting around Baghouz is, in fact, still continuing outside the wrecked town. But because there are plenty of Isil fighters still under arms and ready to fight in the Syrian province of Idlib, along with their Hayat Tahrir al Sham, al-Nusra and al-Qaeda comrades - almost surrounded by Syrian government troops but with a narrow corridor in which they could escape to Turkey; always supposing that Sultan Erdogan will let them.

There are Russian troop outposts inside these Islamist front lines, along with Turkish forces but the tentative ceasefire which held for five months has become a lot more tenuous in the past few weeks.

Maybe it's a failure of our institutional memory - or it's just plain simpler to go along with the simplest story - but Idlib has for three years been the dumping ground of all Syria's Islamist enemies, or at least the antagonists who didn't surrender when they fled the big cities under Syrian and Russian bombardment.

Last September (have we forgotten this?) Trump and the UN were warning of the impending "last battle" for Idlib, fearing - so they said - that the Syrians and Russians would use chemical weapons in their assault on Isil. Even the Syrian army announced the impending conflict, minus the chemicals, on a military website called 'Dawn at Idlib'.

But I took a long trip around the Syrian front lines at Idlib, from the Turkish frontier, then south, east and north again up to Aleppo, and saw no tank convoys, no troop transporters, few Syrian helicopters, no supply trains and concluded - even as the warnings of final extinction continued - that this particular "last battle" was still a long way away. On the day I arrived south of Jisr al-Shughur, al-Nusra and Isil had fired a few mortars at Syrian army positions - the Syrians had fired a few shells back at them - but that was it.

A complicated truce agreement, involving both the Turks and the Russians, managed to forestall the carnage everyone predicted. There was much talk of the Isil, al-Nusra and al-Qaeda men (some of whom are Saudis) being shipped by the Turks under a laissez passer to the wilds of Saudi Arabia for a little "re-education".

But they are still in Idlib, happy no doubt to hear that the West thinks it has scored its "final victory" over Isil.

The battle for Baghouz, of course, was always likely to pick up the headlines. The American air bombings and the presence of the friendly (and brave) Kurds made this a more accessible - although still dangerous - story. And it switched attention away from other questions: like who invented the title 'Syrian Democratic Forces' - which are in fact mostly Kurdish, many of whose members would prefer not to be thought of as Syrians, and whose ranks have never enjoyed a democratic election in their lives.

If the Americans are in fact leaving, the Kurds are still going to be betrayed and left to the mercy of their enemies - be this Turkey or the Syrian regime. A good time for the Americans, therefore, to call it a day outside Baghouz - a victorious one of course - and get the hell out. Hoping the world will forget about Idlib.

But I don't think it will. The Syrian war is not yet over - although that's what the world (including, it seems, the Syrian government) believes. Idlib remains a land of tens of thousands of refugees and fighters, a place of destitution, broken railways and blown-up motorways and Islamist groups who sometimes fight each other with more enthusiasm than they wish to fight the Syrian military.

But this will now be Russia's chance to show it knows how to defeat Isil. There are contacts, of course, between Moscow and every group involved in the Syrian war. Isil fighters left Syrian cities over the past two years under Russian military protection. This could be repeated. Putin has allowed the Isil women and children to return home. There is still just a chance that Isil, Nusra/al-Qaeda and their comrades will be able to leave unharmed - although time suggests they may yet have to fight a real last battle for Idlib.

But even then, it might be a good idea to put a hold on our 'victory' headlines.

Independent
The man was in a vehicle in the 3600 block of West Garfield Square Drive about 1:20 p.m. when someone in a gray vehicle next to him fired shots, police said. The man was hit in the face and chest and pronounced dead on the scene. The shooter fled east on West Garfield Square Drive.
One in two Irish people know someone who is living with dementia. Despite this, only one in three people feel they have a good understanding of dementia.

On average, 11 people develop dementia in Ireland every day, and this number is set to increase as our population ages. Over 500,000 of us have had a family member with dementia. Thats mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends, colleagues  people like you and me.

To separate the facts from fiction, we spoke to Professor Brian Lawlor, consultant psychiatrist and Chair of the Dementia: Understand Together Steering Group.

Many people seem to believe that dementia is a natural part of aging, or that only the elderly develop dementia, says Professor Brian Lawlor. Although dementia usually affects people as they get older, it is not a normal part of aging. In fact, nine out of 10 older people dont get dementia. A lot of people mature into their 80s and 90s without much memory decline."

Professor Lawlor says there also tends to be some confusion around the differences between dementia and Alzheimers disease.

Dementia is an umbrella term that refers to a condition whereby the person has problems with memory, orientation, language and judgement. It can be caused by various diseases that affect the parts of the brain that are normally used for learning, memory and language.

It is usually a progressive condition and the symptoms gradually worsen over a number of years. Alzheimers disease is the most common cause of dementia.

Reducing the risk

Although Alzheimers disease usually presents itself in people in their 60s, 70s and 80s, Professor Lawlor says the build-up of toxic proteins that are the key characteristic of the disease occurs in the brain over approximately 20 years. Over the course of this time, nerve cells are being damaged. It is only later that people start showing the symptoms.

So, is there anything we can do to reduce our risk of developing Alzheimers disease and dementia?

One of the more exciting research findings over the last number of years has been the understanding of risk factors for dementia and what we can all do to improve our brain health, says Professor Lawlor.

There is this window of opportunity early on in mid-life or even before mid-life to make positive changes that can help protect our brains. We could potentially reduce our risk of developing dementia, by taking steps such as exercising more often, not smoking, eating healthily, reducing alcohol intake and controlling high blood pressure. It is also vital to keep the brain active by being social and meeting people or challenging yourself by doing something new.

Support and understanding

Professor Lawlor also stresses that it is important to avoid thinking that once you or a loved one has dementia, there is nothing that can be done.

I know people, both on a personal and professional level, who are living with the experience of dementia at different stages. Although there is no cure, there are steps you can take to improve your quality of life, help symptoms and potentially slow down the disease, at least for a time. These include prompt medical treatment for infections, community supports, practical life changes and availing of support from family, friends and the wider community.

In terms of the experience of dementia, its important to realise that everyone is different. Not everyone progresses at the same rate or will develop the same symptoms at particular stages.

Its so important to keep engaging with, and supporting, people who have dementia. Keeping the brain stimulated through activities or music can reduce anxiety and improve quality of life.

Professor Lawlor says there are six actions we can all take to support and include people with dementia in their community. These are:

1. See the person, not the dementia

2. Ask how you can help

3. Stay in touch with the person and those around them

4. Support the person to keep up their hobbies and interests

5. If you have a business, make sure your space or service is easy to use

6. Talk about dementia

Although Maureen OHara, who has been diagnosed with dementia, has her off days, she says it is the support and her hobbies which help her.

It has given me a freedom I never thought I would have, says the former physiotherapist and keen hill-walker.

Im in my fifties and Im retired. I am still physically fit and can still indulge all my pastimes. I have great hillwalking friends and lots of links within the local community  Im very connected with people around me.

Maureen urges people not to be apprehensive about approaching and talking to her, or other people with dementia.

Just act normal. Dont be afraid to greet me as you usually would. I might not remember your name but I will remember your face and I will remember a feeling of being with you. Im always upfront with people.

Professor Lawlor says that carers have an immensely valuable role although he acknowledges that it can be tough at times.

One of the most difficult challenges for carers is the loneliness and isolation that they can experience. For many of those who have received a diagnosis, their families and loved ones have told us of feeling isolated within their own communities, of being written out of daily life.

But it doesnt have to be this way. We can all make a difference by offering support to our friend, neighbour or family member who is caring for someone with dementia.

If you know someone who is a carer, dont shy away and think that they are too busy to see you. Drop by for a chat. Dont underestimate the difference that friendship and emotional support can make. It goes a long way towards improving the health and well-being of the carer, lessens the sense of isolation and loneliness they can experience and gives them a sense of wellbeing, comfort and hope.

While a person with dementia may have problems with short-term memory and orientation, they can still interact quite normally and understand much more than they can express. Very often, their emotional memory of events that happened in the past is relatively intact, which is why reminiscence, conversation and music can be helpful and positive.

Caregivers should not be afraid to ask for help and support from their family and friends. They should push themselves to take breaks and make sure they have time for themselves so that they can recharge their batteries.

The Dementia: Understand Together campaign, led by the HSE in partnership with the Alzheimer Society of Ireland and Genio, aims to create an Ireland that embraces and includes people with dementia, and which displays solidarity with them and their loved ones.

For more information, check out the Dementia: Understand Together website or Freephone 1800 341 341. Phone lines are open Monday to Friday 10am to 5pm; Saturday 10am to 4pm.

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The Duchess of Cambridge present shamrock to officers and guardsmen of 1st Battalion the Irish Guards as she attends the St Patrick's Day parade at Cavalry Barracks in Hounslow. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Sunday March 17, 2019. See PA story ROYAL Cambridge. Photo credit should read: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge gestures on her arrival to visit the Foundling Museum, where young people are taught to use art in order to make a positive contribution to society, in central London on March 19, 2019. (Photo by Niklas HALLE'N / AFP)

The Duchess of Cambridge strokes the Irish Guards mascot as she attends the St Patrick's Day parade at Cavalry Barracks in Hounslow, to present shamrock to officers and guardsmen of 1st Battalion the Irish Guards

In this handout image provided by the Royal Communications, Princess Eugenie and Mr Jack Brooksbank at Royal Lodge ahead of the private evening dinner, following their wedding on October 12, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Bramall/Royal Communications via Getty Images)

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend the Commonwealth Service on Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey on March 11, 2019 in London

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive at a social entrepreneurs event and market at the Andalusian Gardens in Rabat on the third day of their tour of Morocco

Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry the Duke of Sussex arrive at the residence of Moroccan King Mohammed VI in Rabat, Morocco February 25, 2019. Yui Mok/Pool via REUTERS

(L-R) Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (L), talks with Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (R) as Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, stand by attending the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in London on March 11, 2019

Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank during a visit to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital to open the new Stanmore Building on March 21, 2019 in Stanmore, Greater London. (Photo by David Mirzoeff - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visits the New Zealand High Commission to sign a book of condolence on behalf of the Royal Family, in London, Britain March 19, 2019. Ian Vogler/Pool via REUTERS

Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank arrive at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital to open the new Stanmore Building on March 21, 2019 in Stanmore, Greater London. (Photo by David Mirzoeff - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Princess Eugenie of York during a visit to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital to open the new Stanmore Building on March 21, 2019 in Stanmore, Greater London. (Photo by David Mirzoeff - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Who could have foreseen that Britains Princess Eugenie would be seen as such a welcome breath of fresh air in the overly polished and well-oiled royal machine?

For years, Eugenie and her sister Beatrice have been cast aside as surplus next generation royals thanks at least in small part to Prince Charles tempestuous relationship with his brother, their father Prince Andrew.

In an attempt to tighten the royal purse strings, Charles spearheaded the decision to focus on his sons Prince Harry and Prince William and their children, and even now as Harry is moving down to sixth in line for the throne, things are changing once again. Eugenie, a 28-year-old newlywed, who works full-time as an art gallery director in London, made a rare official engagement on Thursday alongside her father at the opening of state of the art Stanmore Building at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH), a fitting pairing thanks to her role as an unofficial spokesperson for scoliosis.

And over the course of 24 hours, she has been universally praised just for being herself.

Expand Close Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank arrive at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital to open the new Stanmore Building on March 21, 2019 in Stanmore, Greater London. (Photo by David Mirzoeff - WPA Pool/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank arrive at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital to open the new Stanmore Building on March 21, 2019 in Stanmore, Greater London. (Photo by David Mirzoeff - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

She arrived to the venue in a cream tweed dress, just a little bit wrinkled, with a more relatable price tag at 295. She added the perfect amount of royal pizzazz in Chloe's Nile small bracelet bag (1,350), and embraced a spring/summer essential in the form of a leather hairband. It evoked a sense of down-to-earth charm, relevance to her age group and most importantly, marked the next phase in her evolution from 2011s royal wedding where she became a subject of ridicule for her fashion choices.

Over the years, she has pursued a more streamlined style, taking advantage of the freedoms afforded to her by her birth order instead of having to stick to the same uniform as the queen consorts-in waiting, wearing a custom hat with the words Love emblazoned on it after getting engaged last May; a chic touch to an otherwise understated ensemble.

While her cousins families are being primed for central roles in Buckingham Palace and are constricted in pursuing their personal passions, she can enjoy the best of both worlds. Although she still lives a live of immense wealth and privilege, she works for a living and is happily married to former nightclub manager Jack Brooksbank.

She has largely escaped the criticism pointed at her sister Beatrice in recent years, for her career hopping and in 2015, when she was pictured on 15 different lavish holidays. Behind the scenes, Eugenie was quietly working and last year, she spent much of it focusing on wedding planning.

Her decision to showcase her scoliosis scar on her wedding day in October at St Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle, a mere months after Meghan and Harry exchanged vows there, was one met with widespread praise. She walked the walk in the most permanent fashion, strategically posing so the focal point would remain on her back, a sort of coming out moment in which she could bury her insecurities of the past and elevate herself to a role model status.

Guests at her wedding fussed over the genuine love between she and Jack, who had been dating for seven years before he popped the question, and there were plenty of opportunities for comparisons to the Sussexes nuptials, there was an air of authenticity between the happy couple and their guests. Not to mention her jaw-dropping gold silk gold gown by Zac Posen which made just about every royal watcher sit up and take note.

Expand Close Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry the Duke of Sussex arrive at the residence of Moroccan King Mohammed VI in Rabat, Morocco February 25, 2019. Yui Mok/Pool via REUTERS / Facebook

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Over the years, Eugenie and Beatrices place within the family has been at odds with the publics perception of them: yes, they are millionaire princesses, but they have been pushed out of the family business. In 2011, their 24-hour personal protection was cut because of its 600,000 annual cost and they are now only granted Scotland Yard protection at events which they in an official capacity. Behind the scenes, Andrew sought for his daughters to pursue the gilded royal life full-time, but his mother Queen Elizabeth made it clear they should be educated and make their own professional pursuits, only supporting causes when required.

Cost is a huge factor when considering public perception outside palace gates and, as Eugenie isnt a full-time working royal, the fact that the British taxpayer had to foot the 2.2m bill to cover the security for her wedding was met with widespread disdain only a fraction of the outrage of the cost for Harrys 34m detail.

Over the years, Eugenie has grown more accustomed to her role and enjoys the benefits of her status without the downsides like an extensive invasion of privacy and public dissection that Kate and Meghan endure, while also enjoying cover shoots with Harpers Bazaar and British Vogue. Not to mention, she's allowed to have an Instagram account.

It sounds like life is pretty grand for Eugenie.
It's an annual favourite of ours at Weekend magazine, when we go behind the scenes of the ARC extravaganza to photograph some of the outfits from designers taking part in Ireland's biggest fashion show of the year.

All proceeds from the show, produced by Eddie Shanahan, go to the ARC Cancer Support Centre, which provides a range of professional support, counselling and complementary therapy services to men and women affected by cancer (see page 20).

Couturier Helen Cody will open Thursday's show with her distinctive imagination and craftsmanship. Last year's ARC show was a very difficult one for Helen. After years supporting the cancer charity, the Dubliner had just been diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer and was facing immediate surgery in an emotional month which also saw her get married and spend her honeymoon in St Vincent's Hospital. Twelve months later, Helen returns to the RDS as an ARC Ambassador, and having successfully recovered, her personal journey battling cancer will also be matched on the night by other survivors, like the ARC Angels who will take to the catwalk.

Helen's former intern, Sarah Murphy, has created a special 12-piece finale for the show. Sarah has been making waves since she graduated from Griffith College Dublin in 2016 with a multi-award-winning knitwear collection and the highest fashion design degree ever awarded by the college. She has featured in Create at Brown Thomas and her current collection is sold at Havana in Donnybrook. Sarah's full-skirted red dress is made from laser-cut chiffon, tufted onto the back of net. It is part of her pre-fall 2019 collection, which was inspired by William Shakespeare's Richard III and features a mix of slogan T-shirts, as well as evening wear.

Expand Close Red confetti dress with tulle underskirt, 950, worn with pearl-embellished hairband and black bag, both to order from Sarah Murphy, sarahmurphy.com / Facebook

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Whatsapp Red confetti dress with tulle underskirt, 950, worn with pearl-embellished hairband and black bag, both to order from Sarah Murphy, sarahmurphy.com

Sarah explains that she didn't study Richard III at school and the inspiration came one night when she was watching a programme about Richard, who was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. "I was watching that Channel 4 documentary, where they dug him up in a car park. I got this mad idea to make female versions of the kings from all of the works of Shakespeare and that is what the collection is about," says Sarah.

In an exciting first, Leonora Ferguson will be debuting her first ever clothing range, with six pieces worn with the highly intricate lace-wire headpieces for which she is famous. A textiles graduate, Leonara used silk noil in the cream dress (pictured left), which has a lovely texture and dullness, yet it boasts a subtle sheen when it catches the light. The long dress features a circular inset of gold, laser-cut Pinatex. This interesting, ethical leather substitute is a sustainable textile made from pineapple leaf fibres, a by-product from the harvest. Leonora has worked in costume for productions such as HBO's Game of Thrones, Universal's Dracula Untold and, most recently, Syfy's Krypton.

Helena Malone's dramatic draped statement-piece jewellery is where her 'Celestial Mechanics' collection meets her 'Pure Baroque' pearl collection. It features a series of handmade, hand-forged silver pieces with pearls and chrysoprase stones, all completely natural in colour.

Helena explains: "I wanted it to evoke and signify the flow of seaweed and the lovely flow of the sea , just a gentle movement - but a firm movement, so it keeps its shape."

At the ARC show, Helena will be showcasing three new statement pieces for the first time, so her keen collectors should watch out. She will also be dressing the ARC Angels for their walk down the runway.

The slimline, red two-piece comes from Helen Hayes, who has a keen interest in couture finishes and techniques, and a life-long love of traditional, hand-crafted finishes. The duchess satin was cut with carpenter's tools and the squares were folded down individually, ending up half their original size. Sculpted like a patchwork, the effect is very architectural and the surface detail is fascinating.

Expand Close Hand-forged recycled silver and baroque pearls showpiece, 2,900, Helena Malone, helenamalone.ie / Facebook

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Other designers taking part in the ARC show include Mona Swims, a resort-wear collection designed by Carla Johnson, who had just returned from a successful New York Fashion Week. Seasoned participant Sara O'Neill will be joined by fellow Northern Irish designer Fintan Mulholland, who will show his exquisite knitwear for the first time at the show. London-based Irish designer Colin Burke will make his first appearance at the show this year, too, with some wonderful knitwear. Rebecca Marsden is returning from London to show in Ireland for the first time in 18 months. Watch out for new names like Four Threads by Alanagh Clegg, artist designers Jill & Gill and innovator extraordinaire Alla Sinkevich!

The full line-up of Irish talent also includes Amie Egan, Theo+George, FAO Millinery, a collaboration by Heidi Higgins and Aoife Kirwan, Niamh O'Neill, Charlotte Lucas, Aoife Mullane and a selection from the CIFD/DCCOI Collaboration Project.

A selection of new season footwear from Brown Thomas will be used to accessorise the looks.

Photography: Frank McGrath

Styled by: Eddie Shanahan

Models: Simona Va and Katie Geoghan

from Catwalk Models

Hair: Suzie Dowling for Peter Mark

Makeup: No7
It is hard to put into words just how soul-destroying it is to see vast swathes of flooded fields in Malawi following the havoc wreaked by Cyclone Idai.

Just three weeks ago, I visited Malawi and saw the vibrant maize crop which was due to be harvested in April.

It was the 'hungry season' in Malawi - that time of the year when people were trying to stretch what was left of their last harvest while waiting for the current crop to mature. But there was a sense of hope.

Now this rich harvest has been snatched away. Concern's teams working in some of the worst-hit districts are reporting that 80pc to 100pc of the crop has been destroyed. It is difficult to explain to people in Ireland just how devastating an impact the floods have had.

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with limited capacity to cope with such disasters. Even prior to Cyclone Idai, 3.4m were dependent on external supports. And now this.

Concern has been working in Malawi since 2002. Today, the immediate needs are water and sanitation facilities for the 90,000 people displaced by the disaster. But Concern is also looking to the future. When the waters subside it is essential that farmers plant quick-maturing winter crops to enable them to feed themselves. We will provide seeds, tools and assist in repairing irrigation systems damaged by the floods.

We can only do this work with the financial support of the Irish public. Concern launched its Cyclone Idai appeal to raise 5m to fund our work in Malawi. With your support we will help families recover.

Anne O'Mahony is international programmes director at Concern Worldwide. To donate to Concern visit www.concern.net
Flooded buildings are seen in Beira, Mozambique, in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai

Cyclone Idai and the storms resulting flood is beginning to subside in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, but as flood waters recede, the devastation caused by the disaster is only now becoming evident.

The current death toll of the cyclone is thought to have surpassed 700 in the three affected countries, but estimations are that it will soar into the thousands as searches continue.

An update on the crisis from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reveals that access to many of the affected areas is still limited, creating problems with distributing healthcare, food and water to those most badly in need.

According to the report, healthcare infrastructures and thousands of homes were also destroyed by the storm, which is thought to have affected some 1.7 million people. As the dust clears, this is the latest update on the countries affected.

Mozambique

The number of dead in Mozambique, as a result of the cyclone, has risen and is currently thought to be at least 242, with more and more people being located every hour.

The government of Mozambique have managed to transport a generator to Beira, where Cyclone Idai rampaged nine days ago. This comes after humanitarian agencies raised alerts over hygiene and safe drinking water with cases of cholera, typhoid and malaria reported in the city of 500,000 people and in surrounding areas.

The generator, when installed, could allow citys municipal water treatment plant to be run again, helping to prevent further proliferation of these waterborne diseases.

Many roads are still cut off, restricting access for all emergency responders into the disaster zone. It also prevents those living in poorer areas of Beira to access the safe municipal water supply regardless of the generator.

Much of the healthcare infrastructure was also damaged by the cyclone and Ministry of Health is facing a big challenge to get sufficient base-line essential health services running again. MSF is currently re-roofing two health centres in Beira, which will provide medical care for sufferers.

In some of the only positive news to come out of the usually picturesque African paradise, as the downpour of rain becomes less torrential, several dams that had been planned to be opened to avoid dam collapse may not have to be opened.

MSF has stepped up activities in all three countries. Moving from the assessment phase of the emergency response to initial medical assistance phase, they can now assist in providing medical attention in the areas affected.

This does not extend to some areas they believe to be in a really critical situation outside of Beira where additional MSF teams will be arriving to see what the most urgent needs are and to launch response activities.

Malawi

Malwai, where the weather system that lead to Cyclone Idai originated, have been most greatly affected by flooding. The heavy rains that moved from Malawi offshore to form the cyclone have prevailed in the landlocked country, which borders Mozambique.

At least 56 people died in the floods in Malawi when heavy rains hit before the cyclone was formed. The majority of the Nsanje district, in southern Malawi was hit with flooding as around 16,000 households were affected, according to the national disaster report

Rains have dramatically subsided and access to affected areas is improving but many areas are still submerged and communication services are down.

Many thousands remain in displacement camps and makeshift accommodation like schools and churches as thousands of houses lay collapsed.

The area is expected to be hit with huge economic problems as an estimated 50pc of the areas crops might have been lost. MSF have reported not witnessing any challenges with food availability but have admitted that access restrictions have left many areas still needing assessment.

The worst affected area, Makhanga on the eastern bank of the Shire river district, remains inaccessible by road but electricity has finally returned.

An MSF team of 18 people is supporting the Health Ministry to cover the needs of an estimated 18,000 people in Makhanga, with health, sanitation and non-food-item supplies.

To date, there have been no reports of waterborne diseases but it remains a concern.

Zimbabwe

The Chimanimani district in the Manicaland Province in Zimbabwe was where Cyclone Idai last hit with intensity before blowing itself out.

At least 259 people in Zimbabwe are thought to have died as a result of the cyclone with latest official figures revealing hundreds more injured and up to 5000 displaced.

The Chimanimani district remains one of the least accessible with many roads completely wiped away for several kilometres. Destruction in the region is on a huge scale and a lack of safe drinking water remains an issue, with many water pipes having been blown away.

MSF team finally made access into the district on Thursday despite the heavy rock fall blocking roads and bridges having been completely washed away. Many in the area have lost their homes and livelihoods as entre sections of towns were destroyed.

In an effort to rescue those affected, volunteer pilots, the armed forces of South Africa and Tanzania and international aid agencies on Thursday stepped up their activity in the areas.

The US government also announced its military would join the effort while Britain has flown in tents and rescue kits as well as pledging 12m (14m) for the humanitarian mission being mounted to feed and house hundreds of thousands who are homeless.

MSF will also continue to provide assistance in the three countries.
Rescue mission: Survivors of Cyclone Idai arrive by boat at an evacuation centre in Beira

A second week has begun of efforts to find and help tens of thousands of people after Cyclone Idai devastated large parts of southern Africa.

Members of the Indian and South African military are joining aid groups in flying over stretches of central Mozambique to look for signs of life and people in need.

No one can say with any certainty just how many people are missing. As of yesterday, more than 732 people were confirmed dead in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. That number is certain to rise as flood water recedes.

The shattered Mozambican city of Beira and other communities are now home to crowded displacement camps, both organised and informal.

With communications badly affected by the cyclone and some families separated in the chaos, a programme aimed at reunification has begun.

"Every day we discover the destruction left by Cyclone Idai is worse than we imagined," said Hicham Mandoudi of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"We are deeply concerned about remote communities cut off by flooding and landslides and yet to receive any humanitarian assistance.

"More rain is expected to come, which will compound the suffering of people who have already lost everything."

The torrentially heavy rain that was been forecast will pour into the low-lying Beira area and fill nearby dams, threatening to burst local rivers once again.

Mozambique's government has formally requested assistance from the international community, the UN humanitarian office said, opening the door to further aid efforts.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week appealed for more support for victims of Cyclone Idai, saying the UN and its humanitarian partners are scaling up the response - but insisting a "far greater international support is needed."

The UN chief said: "With crops destroyed in the bread- basket of Mozambique, more people are at risk of food insecurity in all three countries."

Beira, the city at the centre of aid efforts for Mozambique, can still only be reached by land or sea. Local fishermen have joined the rescue efforts, ferrying stranded people about 50 or so at a time to the city's beach or port.

Prices of food are doubling and even tripling. People wait in line outside stores, let in one by one in an effort to prevent looting.

Left with nothing, many survivors were fretting for their future, while others mourned losses.

"All our food got wet, we didn't know where to go with the children. We don't have anything," said Mimi Manuel, a 26-year-old mother of four who lost her home and was sitting on the floor of a makeshift shelter in a primary school in Beira.

Throughout the region, emergency air efforts focus on spotting stranded people and communities in the hope of dropping aid or plucking those in dire need to safety.

There are signs of life in the inundated landscape, even smoke from cooking fires.

As water recedes, however, aid workers expect the death toll to rise as bodies are found.

With water and sanitation systems largely destroyed, water-borne diseases are also a growing concern.

In Ireland, Bishop of Cloyne William Crean called for support for Trocaire's Lenten campaign in order to bring relief to people affected by the cyclone. The bishop, the current chairman of Trocaire, the overseas development agency of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference, said: "The scenes of devastation in southern Africa following Cyclone Idai are heart-breaking. Our hearts go out to the millions who have lost loved ones, homes or livelihoods as a result of this terrible disaster.

"Trocaire is responding to this crisis in all three countries. As well as providing immediate humanitarian relief, Trocaire will work with communities over the months and years ahead as they rebuild their lives. The immediate needs are huge, but the long-term implications are very worrying. Crops have been destroyed, which will lead to serious food shortages.

"As chair of Trocaire, I urge people to support Trocaire's Lenten appeal. Donations to Trocaire during Lent will go towards providing short-term relief and long-term security to people affected by Cyclone Idai, as well as millions more facing similar crises around the world."
One protester holds up a sign that reads: Fromage not Farage (Yui Mok/PA)

An online petition urging the Government to cancel Brexit has passed five million signatures.

The Revoke Article 50 petition is the most popular ever submitted to the Parliament website, having leapt ahead of the 4.1 million signatures amassed by a 2016 petition calling for a second EU referendum.

The milestone comes the day after around a million people attended a march on Westminster calling for a Peoples Vote.

MP Anna Soubry of the Independent Group shared a photo of the petition passing the mark, tweeting: This is serious!

The petition has had the highest rate of sign-ups on record, according to Parliaments official Petitions Committee, adding over two million signatures in 24 hours.

By contrast, a pro-Brexit petition on the Parliament website which urges the Government to leave the EU without a deal has received 455,000 signatures.

The Prime Minister ruled out halting the Brexit process when in Brussels on Thursday, telling reporters: I do not believe that we should be revoking Article 50.

On Sunday, Chancellor Philip Hammond told Sky Newss Sophy Ridge a second referendum was a perfectly coherent position which deserves to be considered along with the other proposals.

The petition, started in late February, leapt in popularity following the Prime Ministers appeal to the public on Wednesday where she told frustrated voters: I am on your side.

It quickly passed the 100,000-signature threshold needed for it to be debated in Parliament, with the official committee revealing nearly 2,000 signatures were being completed every minute over Thursday lunchtime.

Data provided by the committee on the location of signatories was paused on Friday to aid website operations after the official website crashed numerous times.

In a tweet, the House of Commons committee said approximately 96% of signatories were from the UK.

The website requires signatories to tick a box confirming they are a British citizen or UK resident and provide a name, email address, country and postcode.

People have been asking about who can sign petitions. Anyone who is a UK resident or a British citizen can sign a petition. This includes British citizens living overseas.  Petitions Committee (@HoCpetitions) March 22, 2019

Many celebrities and MPs have tweeted their support for Parliament to revoke the Treaty of Lisbon clause that deals with leaving the EU.

European Parliament Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt described the latest signature figure as impressive.

Five million people signed the petition to revoke article 50. Impressive! #petitiontorevokearticle50 https://t.co/T5eT7fdz3Y  Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) March 24, 2019

Lets make the biggest petition in UK history even bigger. We can do a million today surely... https://t.co/xqF2I91Irv  Deborah Meaden  (@DeborahMeaden) March 24, 2019

Petition: Revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU. https://t.co/7SMmEI0YS6  Luke Evans (@TheRealLukevans) March 24, 2019

In reference to the number of votes made in the 2016 referendum, Labour MP Owen Smith tweeted: If it gets to 17.42 million, can we just stop Brexit?

Asking for a friend (16,141,241 of them).

On Saturday former Ukip leader Nigel Farage described the Prime Ministers Brexit policy as one of the saddest chapters in the history of our nation as he rejoined Leave-supporting marchers heading for London.

Mr Farage was speaking as he arrived at the start of the latest stage of the March to Leave, which began a week ago in Sunderland and is aiming to end up in London on the original Brexit day of March 29.

Mr Farage was greeted on Saturday morning with cheers by around 200 marchers, who had gathered in a car park of the Horse And Groom pub in the village of Linby, in Nottinghamshire.
British Prime Minister Theresa May held crisis talks with senior colleagues and hardline Brexiteers on Sunday trying to breathe life into her twice-defeated European divorce deal after reports her cabinet was plotting to topple her.

The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union was already slipping from May's weakened grasp as she struggled to increase support for her deal and parliament prepared to grab control of Brexit in the coming days.

At one of the most important junctures for Britain since World War Two, politics was at fever pitch.

Yet, nearly three years since the 2016 referendum, it remains unclear how, when or if Brexit will ever take place.

May called rebel lawmakers including Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees Mogg and Steve Baker to her Chequers residence on Sunday, Downing Street said, along with ministers David Lidington and Michael Gove. The two ministers denied reports they were being lined up as a possible caretaker prime minister.

"The meeting discussed a range of issues, including whether there is sufficient support in the Commons to bring back a meaningful vote (for her deal) this week," a spokesman said.

May was told by Brexiteers at the meeting that she must set out a timetable to leave office if she wants to get her deal ratified, Buzzfeed reporter Alex Wickham said on Twitter.

With May humiliated and weakened, ministers publicly downplayed any immediate threat to her leadership, insisting she is still in control and the best option is for parliament to ratify her Brexit deal.

Expand Close File photos of (from the left) Michael Gove, David Lidington, Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt, and Dominic Raab, whose names stand as key contenders as speculation that Theresa May will be moving out of Downing Street sooner than expected has reached fever pitch after another turbulent week in Westminster / Facebook

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Whatsapp File photos of (from the left) Michael Gove, David Lidington, Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt, and Dominic Raab, whose names stand as key contenders as speculation that Theresa May will be moving out of Downing Street sooner than expected has reached fever pitch after another turbulent week in Westminster

The 2016 referendum revealed a country divided over much more than EU membership, and has sparked soul-searching over everything from immigration to what it means to be British.

The divisions show no sign of healing: hundreds of thousands of people marched through London to demand another referendum on Saturday and 5.2 million have signed a petition calling for another vote. Brexit supporters are also mobilising for what they fear will be a betrayal of the referendum.

Illustrating the high stakes, the Sunday Times reported that senior ministers were plotting a "coup" against May.

The newspaper said 11 unidentified ministers agreed May should stand down, warning she has become a toxic and erratic figure whose judgement has "gone haywire".

But two potential candidates to replace her denied such ambitions.

"I think (she) is doing a fantastic job," Lidington said.

"One thing that working closely with the prime minister does is cure you completely of any lingering shred of ambition to want to do that task," he quipped.

Gove also downplayed the possibility of ousting May: "I think it is not the time to change the captain of the ship."

Expand Close Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond / Facebook

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Finance Minister Philip Hammond, too, said a change of prime minister would not break the impasse, though he acknowledged it may be impossible for parliament to back May's plan.

"If that is the case then parliament will have to decide not just what it's against but what it is for," he told Sky News.

That opens an array of possibilities including a much softer divorce than May had intended, a second plebiscite, a revocation of the Article 50 divorce papers, or even an election.

Hammond did not rule out another public vote.

"I'm not sure there's a majority in parliament in support of a second referendum," he said. "Many people will be strongly opposed to it, but it's a coherent proposition and it deserves to be considered along with the other proposals."

Brexit had been due to happen on March 29 before May secured a delay in talks with the EU.

Now a departure date of May 22 will apply if parliament passes May's deal. If she fails, Britain will have until April 12 to offer a new plan or decide to leave without a treaty.

Some lawmakers have asked May to name her departure date as the price for supporting her deal.

Lawmakers are due on Monday to debate the government's next steps on Brexit, including the delayed exit date. They have proposed changes, or amendments, including one which seeks to wrest control of the process from the government in order to hold votes on alternative ways forward.

Amendments are not legally binding, but do exert political pressure on May to change course.

Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay said an election could be the consequence if lawmakers back proposals contrary to the pledges on which the government was elected.

"At its logical conclusion, the risk of a general election increases because you potentially have a situation where parliament is instructing the executive to do something that is counter to what it was elected to do," he told the BBC.
Special counsel Robert Muellers investigation did not find evidence that Donald Trumps campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election, the Justice Department said.

Mr Mueller also investigated whether Mr Trump obstructed justice but did not come to a definitive answer, Attorney General William Barr said in a letter to Congress summarising Mr Muellers report.

The special counsel does not exonerate Mr Trump of obstructing justice, Mr Barr said, and his report sets out evidence on both sides of the question.

However, the President tweeted that he had been completely exonerated of collusion and obstruction of justice.

Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One to return to Washington from a weekend at his private club in Florida, Mr Trump said it was a shame the nation had to go through the investigation.

Mr Trump claimed the report found there was no collusion with Russia, there was no obstruction.

He also lashed out at the investigation, claiming without evidence that it was an illegal takedown that failed.

Expand Close President Donald Trump talks to the media before boarding Air Force One (Carolyn Kaster/AP) / Facebook

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After consulting with other Justice Department officials, Mr Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein determined the evidence is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction of justice offence.

Mr Barr released a four-page summary of Mr Muellers report on Sunday afternoon. Mr Mueller wrapped up his investigation on Friday with no new indictments, bringing to a close a probe that has shadowed Mr Trump for nearly two years.

Expand Close President Donald Trump spent the weekend in Florida (Carolyn Kaster/AP) / Facebook

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Mr Barrs chief of staff called White House counsel Emmet Flood on Sunday to brief him on the report to Congress. Mr Trump was at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, about to return to Washington after spending the weekend there.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted that Mr Trump had been completely exonerated.

The Special Counsel did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction. AG Barr and DAG Rosenstein further determined there was no obstruction. The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States.  Kayleigh McEnany 45 Archived (@PressSec45) March 24, 2019

Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Lindsey Graham added that the cloud hanging over President Trump has been removed.

Mr Graham, a close ally of Mr Trump, also said it is a bad day for those hoping the Mueller investigation would take President Trump down.

Republican Doug Collins said there is no constitutional crisis while House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, also a Republican said it is time we move on for the good of the nation.

Eric Trump, the Presidents son, called for a simple apology from the media for the hell everyone has been put through during the two-year probe.

But the House Judiciary Committee chairman said Mr Mueller clearly and explicitly is not exonerating the president.

Democrat Jerry Nadler tweeted that Mr Barrs letter to Congress says that while Mr Trump may have acted to obstruct justice, the government would need to prove that beyond a reasonable doubt.

But Mr Nadler tweeted that Congress must hear from Mr Barr about his decision making and see all the underlying evidence for the American people to know all the facts.

There must be full transparency in what Special Counsel Mueller uncovered to not exonerate the President from wrongdoing. DOJ owes the public more than just a brief synopsis and decision not to go any further in their work.  Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) March 24, 2019

Top Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer said Mr Barr is not a neutral observer and they urged the full release of the report.

Ms Pelosi, the House speaker, and Mr Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, said that Mr Barrs letter to Congress raises as many questions as it answers.

In a joint statement, the leaders said that Mr Barrs past bias against the special counsel inquiry shows he is not in a position to make objective determinations.

They say that the fact that Muellers report does not exonerate the president on a charge as serious as obstruction of justice demonstrates how urgent it is that the full report and underlying documentation be made public without any further delay.

Several Democratic presidential candidates said Mr Muellers full report must be made public.

Kamala Harris said Mr Barr must testify before Congress, adding: That is what transparency looks like.

Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, noted that lawmakers have voted to release the full Mueller report, not a summary from what she called Mr Trumps handpicked Attorney General.

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker said the public deserves the full report and findings immediately, not just the in-house summary from a Trump Administration official.

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said the Mueller report must be made public. She tweeted: The President works for the people, and he is not above the law.

Mr Muellers investigation ensnared nearly three dozen people, senior Trump campaign operatives among them.

The probe illuminated Russias assault on the American political system, painted the Trump campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails to hurt Democrat Hillary Clinton and exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.

Expand Close A copy of a letter from Attorney General William Barr advising Congress of the principal conclusions reached by Special Counsel Robert Mueller (Jon Elswick/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp A copy of a letter from Attorney General William Barr advising Congress of the principal conclusions reached by Special Counsel Robert Mueller (Jon Elswick/AP)

Mr Mueller submitted his report to Mr Barr instead of directly to Congress and the public because, unlike independent counsels such as Ken Starr in the case of President Bill Clinton, his investigation operated under the close supervision of the Justice Department, which appointed him.

Mr Mueller was assigned to the job in May 2017 by Mr Rosenstein, who oversaw much of his work.

Mr Barr and Mr Rosenstein analysed Mr Muellers report on Saturday, labouring to condense it into a summary letter of main conclusions.
Around 11:05 p.m. Saturday, officers went out to a call of a man threatening suicide in the 2400 block of West Bryn Mawr Avenue, police said. There, they found a man who would not come out of an apartment, police said.
Airlines have often been accused of mishandling passengers baggage. While many flyers have received their luggage in a dilapidated condition, some others dont receive them at all. Indian airlines fail to assume responsibility when it comes to compensating their riders for the damage incurred.

In the most recent incident, Panchkula district consumer disputes redressal forum has directed Jet Airways to pay Rs 58,000 to an NRI whose bag went missing once he landed in India from Canada.

Jasbir Singh Purba a resident of Ontario, Canada was carrying a total of four bags from Ontario, Canada however, he received only three of them upon reaching the New Delhi airport. The fourth bag not only contained luxury clothes worth Rs 1.30 lakh but also medicines of heart ailment and high blood pressure for his wifes diabetes.

Photo: Reuters

The incident had taken place on October 24, 2016 when he and his wife had boarded the Jet Airways flight. Times of India reported that Purba then contacted the employees of the airline who asked him to fill an application form and assured that his baggage will be delivered the next day.

Jasbir said that he along with his wife had to suffer a lot of trauma, stress, agony and harassment upon losing such expensive luggage. On November 05, 2016 the airline delivered the baggage at Jasbirs address but he alleged that it was destroyed and broken beyond usage.

When the forum sent a notice to Jet Airways and the representatives appeared before the forum, they accused Jasbir of raising fake claims so that the company could be blamed of deficiency in service.

The representatives of Jet Airways said that the complainant had not disclosed the value of his baggage at the time of check-in.

The forum observed the case and stated that Jasbir had to purchase new clothes in emergency, which he already had in his bag. They also observed that the clothes purchased by him, amounting to Rs 1.30 lakh, would be used in the future, therefore, they deemed it just, fair and reasonable to compensate the complainant to the extent of 1/3rd of the expenses incurred by him on account of purchase of cloth items.

The forum directed Jet Airways to pay Rs 43,333 which is one-third of Rs 1.30 lakh on account of damages suffered by Jasbir plus Rs 10,000 on account of mental agony, harassment and Rs 5,500 as litigation charges.

In September last year, a consumer court had directed the airline to pay a compensation of Rs 65,000 to a passenger for serving him non-vegetarian food though he had ordered a vegetarian meal.

The passenger, Banuprasad Jani of Rajkot, had sued Jet Airways for making him  a pure janeu-dhari Brahmin  eat non-vegetarian food. He affirmed that he had never tasted even eggs in his life.
New Zealand mosque shootings, carried out by a radicalised white man, have received widespread condemnation. More than NZ$10.8 million ($7.4 million) have been raised in public donations to help families of the 50 people killed.

A support fund on New Zealand site GiveaLittle.co.nz had received NZ$8,271,847 from more than 91,000 donors as of Sunday, while LaunchGood.com, a global crowdfunding platform focused on Muslims, had netted NZ$2,546,126 from over 40,000 donors, said an AFP report.

The quite country was shocked when a white terrorist slaughtered 50 people at Friday prayers in two Christchurch mosques on March 15. The act prompted global horror, heightened by the gunman's cold-blooded livestreaming of the massacre.

AFP

Since that day, New Zealanders have responded with an outpouring of support for the country's small Muslim community.

Last week, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern said last week that the country would cover the costs of burying the 50 victims as well as "repatriation costs for any family members who would like to move their loved ones away from New Zealand."

AFP

She has garnered massive support from all over the world for handling the critical situation and leading the way in eradication of global homophobia. She wore a hijab while meeting the families of the victims. All news anchors and women in general in New Zealand wore a hijab as a mark of solidarity for the community.

Brenton Tarrant, a 28-year-old Australian white supremacist, was arrested within minutes of the massacre and has been charged with murder.
The two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch where a white supremacist killed 50 worshippers last week, reopened today. Many survivors were among the first ones to walk in and pray for those who died.

At the Al Noor mosque, where more than 40 of the victims were killed by a suspected white supremacist, prayers resumed with armed police on site.

Most victims of the shooting, which was quickly denounced as a terrorist attack, were migrant or refugees. This was the worst attack in New Zealand.

AFP

The country has been under heightened security alert since the attack. NZ prime minister Jacinda Ardern quickly moved a tough law banning some of the guns used in the March 15 shooting.

On Saturday, close to 3,000 people walked through Christchurch in a march for love as the city seeks to heal from its tragedy.

Carrying placards with signs such as He wanted to divide us, he only made us stronger, Muslims welcome, racists not, and Kia Kaha - Maori for stay strong, people walked mostly in silence or softly sang a Maori hymn of peace.

We feel like hate has brought a lot of darkness at times like this and love is the strongest cure to light the city out of that darkness, Manaia Butler, 16, one of the student organisers of the march told Reuters.

AFP

New Zealand and Ardern have been widely praised for the outpouring of empathy and unity in response to the attacks.

Muslims account for just over 1 percent of New Zealands 4.8-million population, a 2013 census showed, most of whom were born overseas.
In a heartwarming gesture, a welding labourer from Nagercoil, Tamil Nadu made a remote controlled bed for his wife after she remained bedridden for two months. 42-year-old S Saravana Muthu, made the bed so his wife would be comfortable. He was even awarded the second prize by the National Innovation Foundation.

Muthus wife underwent surgery and became bedridden. After seeing his wife struggle he decided to do something to help her and came up with the idea of a remote-controlled toilet bed.

BCCL

I understand the woes of bedridden patients and how they are dependent on others for almost everything. Even the caregivers often show signs of disgust while attending to them. More often than not, the privacy of the patients is affected in such cases. To maintain the dignity and independence of the patients, I decided to design the bed, Muthu told the Times Of India.

Muthu has designed a bed that consists of a flush tank, closet, a linkage to the septic tank and an opening in the middle. The remote control consists of three buttons - one button is meant to open the base of the bed while the second one opens the closet. The third button is used to flush the toilet.

Muthu - third from the right/BCCL

Muthu even spoke to former President APJ Abdul Kalam a few months before his death. It was Kalam who guided him and asked him to apply for the National Innovation Foundation award.
This election is really about what type of police force were going to have in the city of Chicago, and everyone who votes for Lori, the blood of the next young black man or black woman who is killed by the police is on your hands, Rush said from the stage. If youre against police brutality and murder, you ought to be for Toni Preckwinkle. Shes the only one who is going to have the police under her control.
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The theatre of the last few weeks in Westminster has meant that all our attention has been focused east across the Irish Sea. But that begs the question as to whether we should be looking west rather than east.

It is some time ago since that the then Tanaiste, Mary Harney, described Ireland as being closer to Boston than Berlin.

An inevitable consequence of Brexit is that for many Irish businesses, the Atlantic will become narrower than the Irish Sea. The main impact of Brexit on the UK will ultimately not turn out to be the difficulties associated with the trade in goods, because that is not where modern economies are most dominant, rather, the issue will be in the context of the trade in services.

From speaking to business executives in the US in recent days, their recurring mantra is how difficult it is to secure talent. The days of the open US visas for well-qualified professionals are in the distant past, and many professional services firms are reliant on short-term visa arrangements to attract talent from abroad into their US offices.

Brexit brings such problems back into the UK. No matter what the final arrangement between the UK and the EU looks like, it will be harder for professionals looking to work in the UK than it has been before. That's a major problem for services exporters like the UK, but it is also an opportunity for Ireland.

This is no way to downplay the disruption to the Irish economy which will arise because of our heavy reliance on Britain as a destination for goods exports, particularly agri-exports.

But just as we had to compensate in the past for changes in the international environment, we are going to have to get used to a new world order where Ireland can be a conduit to Europe for regulated industries such as financial services and pharmaceuticals.

Much is made of the Irish corporation tax regime, but the real competitive advantage in the coming years might not be tax, but rather the availability of skilled labour operating in an English-speaking regime with a common law system. Industries investing in Ireland will know that, under our legal system, the title they might hold to their office block or factory will be as good in 20 years time as it is now. That is not the case with many other territories.

However, unlike goods, the nature of services means that the flow must be two-way. We associate the IDA as the driver of investment into Ireland, but Enterprise Ireland as promoters of Ireland abroad will have just as vital a role to play. Service outflows ultimately support inflows, and the more activity into potential reinvestment destinations that can be achieved, the better for the Irish economy.

There is life beyond Brexit too. In time, I hope that we may look back on 2019 with a greater sense of amusement than regret, contemplating the sad pantomime that has been played out in the self-styled mother of parliaments.

Every crisis provides opportunity. While, arguably, we missed an opportunity to be leaders in the European context at the time of the accession of the 10 eastern EU states in 2004, we must not repeat that mistake again. The current initiative by the Irish Government to double foreign diplomatic representation is critical, because what is frequently overlooked - in terms of our diplomatic ties - is their capacity for generating economic links.

It's time to stop looking east and start looking west. What's going on at the moment with Brexit may be pantomime, but all pantomime audiences have to shout "look behind you".

- Brian Keegan is director of public policy and taxation at Chartered Accountants Ireland
The Brexit roadshow rolls on and last weeks commotion in the House of Commons shows just how difficult it is for businesses to cope with the uncertainty it throws up.

When a political system is as broken as the UKs system is right now, the only sensible response from business is to hope for the best and plan for the worst.

Last week we saw many examples of the mess the UK government has got itself into. It was capped by the Speaker of the House pulling the rug from under the governments attempt to put the withdrawal agreement to parliament for a third time.

After a shambolic week, British Prime Minister Theresa May thought she had found a way to pressure Tory Brexiteers and induce the DUP to accept the agreement or risk losing Brexit. It was a last shot to extricate herself from the corner she has painted herself into with each red line she drew to get through successive difficult meetings.

While political observers now reckon a no-deal Brexit is less likely than several weeks ago, anyone looking for consistency and logic in all of this has long given up.

For example, the UK government insists it is undemocratic for the electorate to vote a second time on an issue that was decided by 52% of the voters. However, it sees no contradiction in trying to make parliament vote three times on the same withdrawal agreement, which was first rejected by two-thirds of MPs.

The tariff arrangements in the event of a no-deal Brexit would treat Northern Ireland differently from the rest of the UK. This is despite the crux of the problems with the backstop is that it is currently structured to placate the DUP who wished to avoid a situation where the North would be treated differently to the rest of the UK. The irony seems lost on the DUP and the UK government.

Stepping back from the political mess, there are businesses in Ireland and the UK who need to deal with the fall-out. These businesses cannot discount a no-deal Brexit, even if it seems now that a long extension to Brexit is most likely and the prospect of a second vote is enhanced.

Any kind of Brexit is damaging to the Irish economy, but it has to be remembered that the impact will not be the same for every sector and every region in Ireland.

The Irish agri-food sector, and as a result more rural locations, are most at risk. The UK tariff scheme in the event of a no-deal Brexit will also have a larger negative effect on agri-food than other sectors of the economy. The UK accounts for half of all of Irish beef exports and the UK imports 4.5bn (5.3bn) of Irish food and live animals each year.

However, while the effect of Brexit may be to reduce the level of Irish economic activity, particularly felt in vulnerable sectors, the Irish economy is dynamic enough and Irish businesses vibrant enough to eventually deal with Brexit setbacks.

Attempts to measure the economic effects of Brexit assume that the structure of trade remains unchanged, but of course economies are not static. In any disruption, there are always opportunities as well as threats. This is without exploring potential loopholes in the treatment of Irish goods imported to the UK through the North.

For example, in relation to agri-food, the UK exports 15bn of food and live animals every year and three-quarters of that goes to the EU, with 4bn to Ireland. The Dutch, French, and Germans will need alternatives to the more expensive, tariffed British food. How quickly can Irish producers replace that produce?

It is probable that the EU will help Irish producers with efforts to meet this new market gap. In addition, Irish food products may now also be more competitive in the domestic market relative to UK imports.

Breaking into new markets is easier said than done, of course, and in the short-term Brexit will have a negative disruptive effect on Irish businesses. But the January trade data released last week shows that total Irish exports to the UK are now less than 10% of our total exports for the first time.

Already, the shift to new markets is happening and the uncertainty with Brexit will speed that up irrespective of the final outcome.

- Dr Declan Jordan is director of the Spatial and Regional Economics Research Centre in Cork University Business School
Fine Gael TD Noel Rock says the FAI has major questions to answer in relation to its corporate governance structure.

He says he made a complaint to the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement.

Today it was revealed the organisation had been paying 3,000 a month to rent properties for the use of former chief executive John Delaney.

He stepped aside into a more junior executive role last night.

"This accommodation is worth 3,000 per month, 36,000 per year, in an organisation where the chief executive has to loan 100,000 to the organisation itself," Deputy Rock said. "There is a lot going on at the FAI."

"There are major questions to answer over the bridging loan provided by the Chief Executive of the FAI to the organisation," said Fianna Fail spokesperson on Transport, Tourism, and Sport Robert Troy.

The larger question remains. The uncertainty around the loan must be answered and I expect John Delaney to come before the Oireachtas Committee in early April or sooner to answer this, explain the remit of the new role, and if his actions were not becoming of a CEO why should he take up an executive vice president role within the FAI.

The FAI has indicated their willingness to bring forward their appearance before the Oireachtas Committee and I will be raising this possibility at our Committee sitting this week, Deputy Troy added.

Earlier today, the FAI announced that Delaney's new role would mean he would take a pay cut.

A statement issued by the association said: "As regards John Delaney's salary in his new role as Executive Vice-President, the FAI can confirm that the salary is substantially less than the salary he previously received as CEO."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 24)  Four senatorial candidates who participated in CNN Philippines forum on Sunday said candidates with existing criminal cases should not be allowed to run in the upcoming polls.

Labor Party Philippines bets Melchor Chavez and Shariff Albani, and Katipunan ng Demokratikong Pilipino candidates Lady Ann Sahidulla and RJ Javellana Jr. answered in the negative when asked if candidates with criminal and administrative raps should be allowed to run in the elections.

The four bets meanwhile shared the same view in relation to the issue of contractualization in the Philippinessaying that they are in favor of ending it once and for all.

They likewise backed the creation of a Water Department, amid the ongoing water crisis in Metro Manila.

Albani, for his part, proposed that basic utilities and water management should be returned back to the government.

Ang water shortage na ito, this is work by the capitalist. Ang dapat gawin ay maibalik ito sa pamahalaan, Albani said.

[Translation: This water shortage, this is work by the capitalists. What we need to do is to return it to the government.]

Chavez, on the other hand, claimed corruption was behind the current water woes of the metro.

The four, however, were divided on the case of honesty being an election issue.

Sahidulla and Albani said they agreed with Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpios sentiment. Chavez and Javellana, on the other hand, said they did not agree with Duterte-Carpios stand.

Creation of interfaith department, livelihood program

The four candidates also bared different plans and priority legislation should they win a seat in the upper chamber.

If elected, Muslim bet Albani will prioritize the establishment of an interfaith department.

He said the agency will resolve all conflicts between members of different religions and promote unity among Filipino Muslims and Christians.

"The problem of our community today is also a religious conflict," he said during CNN Philippines Senatorial Forum on Sunday.

"Upang maalis na ang hidwaan, hindi pagkakaintindihan between the Muslims and the Christians, kailangan mabuo natin ang interfaith department," he said.

[Translation: To eradicate the conflicts and misunderstandings between Muslims and Christians, we need to establish this interfaith department.]

Chavez, who had worked as a broadcast journalist, vowed to go after the supposed ill-gotten wealth of the family of late former President Ferdinand Marcos.

Yung mga pera na inilagak ni Marcos sa iba't ibang bansa, hanggang ngayon, hindi pa rin natin alam kung saan. Hindi man nagnanakaw si Marcos doon sa lupa natin, pero doon sa gold, nawawala na, nasaan na? Chavez said during the forum.

[Translation: The wealth and money placed by Marcos into different countries, until now, we still dont know where they are. Marcos may not have stolen in our lands, but our gold (resources), they are still missing, where are they?]

Another Muslim senatorial candidate Sahidulla meanwhile said her priority legislation, if elected, will be an effective livelihood program.

I believe the Philippines now is on poverty. Ang kahirapan at kaguluhan ay more on poverty, she said.

Javellana, for his part, said he will push for the deregularization of basic utilities.
"I was a Beto supporter for Senate, not for president," said Jennifer Giles, 45, a small-business owner and Harris supporter from Flower Mound, Texas, who was at Sunday's rally. "Once we see the debates and see these candidates next to each other, I think the stellar candidates will be obvious, and I think experience and gravitas will show."
Now that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has submitted the report on his investigation of Russias role in the 2016 US election, Attorney General William Barr must decide how much of the document - if any - to make public.

Justice Department regulations governing special counsels adopted in 1999 give Barr, the top US law enforcement official, broad discretion in deciding how much to release to Congress and the public. Barr, in his January Senate confirmation hearings after being nominated by Trump, promised to provide as much transparency as I can consistent with the law - a pledge that still gives him a lot of wiggle room.

Trump said on Wednesday he does not mind if the public is allowed to see the report.

Mueller was named special counsel in May 2017 by the departments No. 2 official, Rod Rosenstein, to take over an investigation that had been headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

He examined whether Trumps 2016 campaign conspired with Russia and whether the president unlawfully sought to obstruct the probe. Trump has denied collusion and obstruction and Russia has denied election interference.

Here is an explanation of the rules Barr must follow and the political pressures that he faces in deciding on disclosure of Muellers findings.

WHAT DO JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REGULATIONS CALL FOR?

Justice Department regulations do not require the release of the entire special counsel report but also do not prevent Barr from doing so, giving him leeway to disclose it if it is in the public interest.

Special counsels can be appointed by the department to investigate matters of high sensitivity that are not handled through the normal channels.

The department placed limits on special counsel powers in the 1999 regulations creating the post.

The regulations state that when an investigation is conducted a special counsel must provide the attorney general a confidential report explaining why particular individuals were or were not charged.

The regulations require Barr to notify the top Republicans and Democrats on the House of Representatives and Senate Judiciary Committees that the investigation has ended. Department policy calls for Barr to summarize the confidential report for Congress with an outline of the actions and the reasons for them.

According to the regulations, Barr may determine that public release of these reports would be in the public interest, to the extent that release would comply with applicable legal restrictions.

In deciding what to release, Barr may have to confront thorny legal issues involving secrecy of grand jury testimony, protecting classified information, communications with the White House possibly subject to the principle of executive privilege shielding certain information from disclosure, and safeguarding confidential reasons for why some individuals were not charged.

WHAT POLITICAL PRESSURE MIGHT BARR BE FEELING?

Some Democrats have expressed concern Barr may try to shield Trump and bury parts of the report. Barr may feel pressure from the Republican president to conceal damaging parts of Muellers report and release any findings that may exonerate him.

Barr, 68, is a veteran Washington insider who also was attorney general from 1991 to 1993 under Republican President George H.W. Bush. He has embraced an expansive view of presidential powers but also is considered a defender of the rule of law.

Trump fired Barrs predecessor, Jeff Sessions, in November after complaining for months about Sessions 2017 decision to recuse himself from overseeing the Russia investigation.

WHAT IF BARR DECLINES TO RELEASE THE FULL REPORT?

Democrats control the House and some already have pledged to subpoena the report and Mueller and go to court if necessary to secure its full release. The House on March 14 voted 420-0, with four conservative Republican lawmakers voting present, to approve a non-binding resolution urging Barr to make public everything in Muellers report that is not expressly prohibited by law and to provide the entire document to Congress.

HOW HAVE OTHER SPECIAL COUNSEL REPORTS BEEN HANDLED?

Only two special counsels have been appointed under the 1999 regulations: Mueller and former Senator John Danforth, who was appointed that same year to investigate the deadly 1993 federal raid on the Branch Davidian cult compound in Waco, Texas. Danforths report in 2000 cleared government officials of wrongdoing.

In appointing Danforth, Attorney General Janet Reno specifically directed him to draft a report for public release on his findings, which he did. Rosenstein made no such demand on Mueller.

Reuters
As the high stakes drama in Westminster on how to exit the EU rolled on last week, pushing Britain to the verge of a national emergency, business and trade union leaders have called for the political parties to come up with an alternative acceptable exit plan to the apparently doomed Theresa May plan. The rolling uncertainty looks scheduled to continue for some weeks yet.

Since the UK voted, back in 2016, to exit the EU, Irish exporters have consistently been warned that they were far too reliant on the British market. Recent events in Westminster have heightened the concern.

However, the criticism over an apparent lack of effort by Irish businesses to get out into the wider global market may well be wide of the mark.

The recent releases from the CSO, which for the first time, gives a full picture of the progress of both goods and services exports to the end of last year, paints a different picture.

There is now clear evidence that Irish exporters have, in fact, created most of their sales growth in markets outside the UK in the three years since the Brexit referendum.

Initially, a look at the manufactured goods sector - inclusive of agri-foods which have been in the forefront of the debate on over-exposure to the British consumer - demonstrates the giant steps taken by exporters to ease back from the UK. We see that total exports to Britain have increased by less than 1bn since 2015  the year before there was any concern about membership of the EU. Total goods exports to all markets globally, have increased five times faster, increasing by just under 30bn, in the same three-year period.

And, when we look at the agri-food exports to the UK, we see that they have remained static at much the same level as they were back in 2015, whereas total food exports to global markets increased by 13%.

Computer software exporters and others in the business services trade have also reduced their reliance on exposure to the UK market in recent years. Total services exports from Ireland rapidly expanded into global markets, hitting a 39% rise over the past three years, but exports to the UK only increased by 22% in the period.

The sector - which includes aircraft leasing, banking and insurance - although aware that Brexit may have a positive impact on their business, has obviously been hedging its bets and opting to but higher effort into other markets.

The markets which have responded most to the push away from the UK have been the US, the eurozone and Asia  mainly China. There has been very rapid growth in exports to the US, where Irish exporters have increased sales of their manufactured goods by 50% since 2015, despite all the protectionist moves by the Trump administration. Expansion has also been very strong into the eurozone, the principle region at the core of the Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia promotional campaigns.

However, the most rapid growth in export sales has been achieved in the Chinese market, where exports have more than doubled, up from 2.2bn in 2015 to 5.4bn last year.

The trend away from the UK over the years since 2015 has continued into the current year, with the latest figures from the CSO showing a slight fall in goods exports to the UK in January, while exports to global markets increased by 12%.

Of course, many exporters to the British market are rightly concerned that a hard Brexit, could severely damage their business. For a wide range of small exporters, the UK is their only export market. It is never easy being forced into losing good customers, built up over many years. And, there is no indication that Irish exporters will pull away completely from the British market, Brexit or not.

In fact, not all exporters have products or services that they can sell in markets outside the UK and are locked in regardless of Brexit. The unsavoury truth is that despite the trojan efforts made by a wide range of exporters to expand on global markets, for some there will still be severe contraction if a hard Brexit emerges.

- John Whelan is managing partner of international trade consultancy The Linkage-Partnership
Speculation that Theresa May will be ousted from Number 10 has reached fever pitch amid reports that UK Cabinet ministers are plotting a coup to get rid of her.

The British Prime Minister could be forced to resign within days, one paper claimed, amid a furious backlash over her handling of Brexit.

Mrs May's former policy adviser MP George Freeman said it was "all over for the PM", tweeting: "She's done her best. But across the country you can see the anger.

"Everyone feels betrayed. Government's gridlocked. Trust in democracy collapsing. This can't go on. We need a new PM who can reach out (and) build some sort of coalition for a PlanB."

Im afraid its all over for the PM. Shes done her best. But across the country you can see the anger. Everyone feels betrayed. Governments gridlocked. Trust in democracy collapsing. This cant go on. We need a new PM who can reach out & build some sort of coalition for a PlanB.  George Freeman MP (@GeorgeFreemanMP) March 23, 2019

Pro-EU former UK education secretary Nicky Morgan told the Sunday Telegraph that Cabinet ministers should tell Mrs May "it's time to go" while Brexiteer Steve Baker said potential leadership contenders in the Government should "act now".

Tory backbencher Anne-Marie Trevelyan wrote in the same paper: "We now need a leader who believes in our country and wants to take her on the next stage of her journey."

Conservative peer Lord Gadhia, a former member of David Cameron's inner circle, said the upcoming days in Parliament may be "very dramatic" and could see the end of Mrs May's time as British Prime Minister.

The Sunday Times reported 11 Cabinet ministers had told the paper they wanted Mrs May to make way for someone else and that Mrs May's de facto deputy David Lidington was in line to take over the helm.

The Sunday Telegraph: Cabinet told to oust May #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/hwejwq54BT  Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) March 23, 2019

But the Mail on Sunday reported ministers were plotting to install UK Environment Secretary Michael Gove as a caretaker leader.

On Saturday, around one million people were said by organisers to have joined a march on Parliament demanding a final say for the public over Brexit.

Marchers waving EU flags and carrying their placards emblazoned with political messages weaved their way from Hyde Park Corner to Parliament Square.

Elsewhere, pro-Brexit campaigners will continue their long hike from the North East to the capital, leaving Loughborough on Sunday morning.

Michael Gove

After another turbulent week for the British Prime Minister which saw her come under fire for delaying Brexit and seeking to blame MPs for the impasse, the Commons was expected to be given the third chance to vote on her Withdrawal Agreement this week.

But on Friday night Mrs May wrote to parliamentarians warning if there is insufficient support for her Withdrawal Agreement in the coming days that she could seek an extension to Britain's EU membership beyond the European Parliament elections.

Mrs May said she was holding Brexit meetings over the weekend as she tweeted pictures of herself on the local election campaign trail in Milton Keynes.

Tory former UK Brexit secretary David Davis argued leaving without a deal on World Trade Organisation terms "looks much better than the other options in front of us" in a piece for the Sunday Telegraph.

He wrote: "If Parliament rejects the deal on offer, the Prime Minister has it in her power to deliver a WTO outcome. That is what she should do.

"And if some Ministers resign as a result? That would be a pity, but there are always volunteers to replace every departure."

PA
On This Day Celebrated Bengali Artist Tagore Made 2nd Visit to Myanmar

Rabindranath Tagore.

Ninety-five years ago, Rabindranath Tagore (May 7, 1861  Aug. 7, 1941), a Bengali polymath, poet, musician and artist, made his second visit to Myanmar. He made his first visit in 1916 and his third and final visit in 1927.

Tagore received a red-carpet welcome on all of his visits. The governor of British India, Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler, hosted a lunch for Tagore on his second visit.

Myanmar politicians organized a welcoming ceremony at Jubilee Hall, and the Bengalis Association also welcomed him at Sooneran Hall in Yangon, then known as Rangoon.

Tagore stayed at a building that later housed the Guardian Newspaper on Merchant Street in Yangon. In honor of his stay, the building put up a plaque with an excerpt from one of his poems that read as follows:

In Remembrance of the immortal Poet Rabindranath Tagore who during his sojourn in Rangoon stayed here on 24th March 1924.

Thou hast made me known to friends, whom I knew not

Thou hast given me shelter in houses not my own

Thou hast brought the distant near

And made a brother of the stranger.

Tagores works have influenced Myanmar readers, and many were translated by famous Myanmar writers into Burmese.

Prominent Myanmar modern artist Bagyi Aung Soe studied at Shantiniketans Visva-Bharati University, which was established by Tagore.
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According to Comey, Trump also encouraged him to drop an investigation into his former national security adviser Michael Flynn; harangued his hand-picked attorney general over his decision to step aside from the Russia investigation and tried to get him to reverse his recusal decision; and publicly attacked at least one cooperating witness, his former attorney Michael Cohen, as a "rat," raising questions about whether he was attempting to intimidate associates to prevent them from testifying against him.
The European Commission is set to urge countries within the European Union to ignore calls from the United States to ban Chinese telecommunications equipment vendor Huawei Technologies from playing a role in 5G networks within the political bloc.

A Reuters report, citing people who were familiar with the matter, said the 28 nations within the EU  Britain is set to leave soon, with a date not yet set  had been asked to share more data to tackle any risks that were associated with the rollout of the next-generation of telecommunications technology.

The report said the head of digital for the EC, Andrus Ansip, would make the recommendations on Tuesday; while not binding, they will have the necessary political heft which could finally end in legislation.

For nearly two years, the US has been pushing countries it considers allies to avoid using equipment from Chinese companies, Huawei foremost, in 5G networks. But Washington has produced no proof to back up its claims that these products could be used to spy for China.

Onlyandhave fallen in line with American dictates, but Wellington has nowthat the initial refusal for telco Spark to use Huawei gear is not the end of the matter. Huaweion 7 March, seeking to be reinstated as a telco supplier in the country.

Whether the EU directives will be followed by the UK or not is uncertain, given that London is set to leave the bloc soon. But last month, the head of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, told a conference in Brussels that any likely risk posed by Huawei was manageable.

"Because of our 15 years of dealings with the company and 10 years of a formally agreed mitigation strategy which involves detailed provision of information, we have a wealth of understanding of the company," Martin said.

"We also have strict controls for how Huawei is deployed. It is not in any sensitive networks  including those of the government. Its kit is part of a balanced supply chain with other suppliers. Our regime is arguably the toughest and most rigorous oversight regime in the world for Huawei."

Ansip is set to tell EU nations to use processes detailed in the directive on network and information systems which was adopted in 2016 and also the recently introduced Cyber Security Act, the report said.

An EU-China summit on 9 April is expected to discuss this and other related topics such as gaining broader access to the Chinese economy.
The investigation into the attack on the networks of the Australian Parliament and the three main political parties  Liberal, Labor and National  is ongoing and the Australian Signals Directorate says it can offer no comment on it now.

In response to an inquiry from iTWire as to whether the ASD had any update on the breach, an Australian Cyber Security Centre spokesperson offered a one-line response: "The Australian Signals Directorate cannot comment on ongoing investigations."

The breach was made public on 8 February but no mention was made whether data was exfiltrated or not. There were claims of China being behind the break-in, but the ASD said at the time that accurate attribution would take time.

iTWire also pointed out to the ASD that there been competing claims at the time, with some organisations like the ABC blaming China, while Resecurity, a security outfit in the US, blamed Iran.

There was no comment from the spy agency to indicate that either of these claims held water.

Resecurity said an Iranian-linked entity had been responsible for the network attack, adding that it had informed the ASD about its findings and claiming the agency had confirmed this attribution.

But the credentials of Resecurity came under question shortly thereafter, with journalists and technical researchers both citing what they saw as irregularities about its approach. The firm had also blamed Iran for a network attack on multinational software company Citrix Systems.

Among them were Costin Raiu, a senior researcher and the head of Kaspersky Lab's Global Research and Analysis Team, who said: "Some facts: the Resecurity website doesn't even have an About page. Their corporate movie has a bunch of actors talking about security but no names or titles. Their president has no work history before 2017. Of course, it may be legit, but for now it looks odd."

He added: "I'd be cautious with this story (the Citrix story on CNBC), feels like there's a lot of FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) surrounding it. Eg: 'Iridium broke its way into Citrix's network about 10 years ago, and has been lurking inside [...] ever since'. Then 'Citrix came under attack twice, once in December and again Monday."

Brian Bartholomew, another senior researcher from Kaspersky, said: "These Resecurity folks are really jacking some shit up lately. First they say Iran is responsible for the AU parliament hack, and now they say an Iranian group named 'Iridium' is behind the Citrix stuff."

Asked whether it had any comment about Resecurity, the ASD was silent.
Indianapolis Quartet to Perform With IWU Faculty

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.  The Indianapolis Quartet, an ensemble of prominent stringed musicians from the University of Indianapolis, will join Illinois Wesleyan University Professor of Piano R. Kent Cook in concert on Sunday, March 24 at 3 p.m. in Westbrook Auditorium. This event is free and open to the public.

Founded in 2016, The Indianapolis Quartet is an ensemble-in-residence at the University of Indianapolis that has performed throughout the Midwest. The ensemble consists of violinists Zachary DePue and Joana Genova, violist Michael Strauss and cellist Austin Huntington.

In addition to to being an accomplished soloist and chamber musician, DePue was one of the youngest concertmasters in the country when he became concertmaster of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) in 2007. Before joining the Indianapolis Quartet, he also served as a founding member of Time for Three, ISOs first-ever ensemble-in-residence.

Assistant Professor of Violin and Director of Chamber Music Initiatives at the University of Indianapolis, Genova began her prominent music career after debuting in Bulgarias National Competition at the age of twelve. She was concertmaster of the Amsterdam Bach Consort and is currently Artistic Director of Taconic Music in Manchester, Vermont.

Strauss has performed on the viola at concerts, live-radio broadcasts and festivals across Europe, North America, and Asia, both as a solo and a former member of the distinguished Fine Arts Quartet. Strauss was principal violist of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for 20 years and has served as a faculty member at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Indiana Universitys Jacobs School of Music, and Swarthmore College.

One of the youngest principal musicians in a major American orchestra, Huntington made his solo orchestral debut at the age of 10, and at age 20, he was appointed principal cello of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Huntington has received awards on both the national and international levels, including first place at the 2012 Irving M. Klein International Strings Competition and the 2009 MTNA National String Competition.

The Indianapolis Quartet will be joined by IWU Professor of Piano R. Kent Cook, whose career has taken him to performance venues across the United States and Europe. Cook has recently appeared on Guest Artists Series at several universities and has performed as a soloist at the Kindred Arts Concert Series in Manteca, California and the Atlantic Music Center in Orlando, Florida.

By Rachel McCarthy 21
The healthcare industry is set for explosive growth as global populations grow older and wealthier, but many aspiring newcomers to the field are uncertain of the skills they should be developing to ensure a long-term future for themselves. Healthcare employers may be trying to scoop up new professionals in droves, but that doesn't mean they want sloppy, unskilled laborers - to make it big, you need an alluring set of soft skills.

Here are 5 soft skills that healthcare employers desire in their employees, and how you can go about developing them to guarantee a well-paying job in your future career.

1. Patient communication

Perhaps the most important soft skill that any budding healthcare employee can develop is the ability to communicate effectively with patients. Medical school and your early-industry experience will help you understand the jargon of the industry, and you'll also accrue experience talking with doctors and other highly-skilled medical professionals who are used to complex conversations on medical subjects. Talking with patients is a whole different matter, however, and you'll quickly discover that it's one of the most difficult yet rewarding aspects of the healthcare profession.

The importance of emotional intelligence when it comes to communicating with patients can't be understated. Healthcare employers want to hire workers who can determine how patients feel, even when they're being noncooperative, as this is an essential part of discovering what's wrong and helping to fix it.

2. Humility is imperative

For those aspiring young professionals who hope to attain fancy degrees and gain an aura of importance, it's worthwhile to consider how important humility is to long-term success. The medical field is jam-packed with competitive workers who, thanks to the rigor of medical school and the complex nature of their industry, develop a superiority complex that can be grating for others to deal with. Older doctors with seniority in their hospital are infamous for sometimes lacking humility with addressing younger colleagues, especially if they're from underprivileged backgrounds.

It's imperative to understand that humility is always needed in healthcare - you're here to help people, not to brag, and being full of yourself is something that healthcare employers will quickly pick up on. Interviewers want to hear you boast about your ability to improve their team with your skills, but they also need to hear about how you won't upend the apple cart and get other workers to resent you.

3. Good time management skills

It's not an exaggeration to say that your time management skills could ultimately end up saving a life if you become a healthcare professional. After all, some patients are at death's door when they're being wheeled into an emergency room, and medical professionals always need to be prepared for a sudden crunch where multiple patient's lives may be on the line. For newcomers to the healthcare industry trying to bolster their employability, it's important to establish good time management skills for yourself so that you remain productive and in charge even in the event of a crisis.

Still, healthcare can be disastrous difficult and immensely wearing on the professionals expected to deliver it to patients. It's thus worthwhile to review a guide to better time management for healthcare professionals if you're struggling to get your calendar in order.

4. You must collaborate with others

Male healthcare employers dressed in their men's scrubs aren't looking for the next Doogie Howser who can solve the world's problems on their own - they want competent employees who can collaborate well with others. Collaboration is the key to success in the modern world, with workers being able to achieve infinitely more when working together than when they're all alone. Before you try to ace your next interview by talking about how much work you can single-handedly shoulder, then, you should consider stressing your ability to get along well with others and work as a member of a team.

Healthcare units must be cohesive, as industry professionals need to know one another well to work together in order to save lives. Don't be afraid to open up to your coworkers, and never miss an opportunity to collaborate with someone else in a fashion that will bolster both of your careers.

5. Understand you need to be flexible

Finally, you can improve your chances of being hired by being immensely flexible. Ask any healthcare professional who works in HR what the number one problem their department faces is, and they'll likely tell you it's employee retention. Healthcare HR is inundated with ways that organizations can recover from employee turnover because so many in the industry don't possess the flexibility needed to endure in it for long.

Healthcare employers want workers who can stick around for the long-term, and that means being flexible and staying on your toes. Keep an open mind and never forget that you need to adapt to survive, and you'll be an alluring option to healthcare employers in no time.
The war in Yemen has left thousands dead and triggered the worlds worst humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations.

The war between Huthi rebels and pro-government troops escalated in March 2015, when a Saudi-led military coalition intervened against the rebels.

 Civilians on front line 

Around 10,000 people  mostly civilians  have been killed and more than 60,000 wounded since the Saudi-led coalition joined the conflict, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

But the exact numbers are not known and aid groups warn the toll is likely to be significantly higher, with Action Against Hunger putting it at more than 57,000.

On March 18, 2019, the Norwegian Refugee Council said that civilian casualties have risen in Yemen despite a three-month-old truce in the vital aid port of Hodeida.

According to French aid group Action Contre la Faim, 3.3 million people have been displaced within Yemen.

The country has also been ravaged by cholera, which has killed more than 2,500 people since April 2017. Around 1.2 million suspected cases have been reported, according to the WHO.

 Hell on earth for children 

The UN childrens fund (UNICEF) has regularly pointed to the devastating effects of the conflict on children.

It is a living hell for every boy and girl in Yemen, it said in November 2018.

It said 1.8 million aged less than five are suffering from acute malnutrition.

Save the Children said that between April 2015 and October 2018 some 85,000 children may have died of severe malnutrition or related diseases. Others have been killed by combat.

 Lost generation 

According to the UN, two million of the countrys seven million children of school age go without education in Yemen.

More than 2,500 schools are out of use, of which two thirds have been damaged in attacks, 27 percent closed and seven percent used by the military or as shelters for displaced people.

Largely due to their families poverty, two out of five girls are married before the age of 15 and three quarters before 18, according to UNICEF.

Thousands of boys have been recruited as child soldiers.

 Worst humanitarian crisis 

In March 2017, Stephen OBrien, the UNs under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, said Yemen was the scene of the largest humanitarian crisis in the world.

The United Nations warned in February 2019 the situation was getting even worse.

An estimated 80 percent of the population  24 million  require some form of humanitarian or protection assistance, including 14.3 million who are in acute need, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

The number of people in acute need is a staggering 27 percent higher than last year, it said, adding two-thirds of the country was already pre-famine.

According to Action Contre la Faim 16 million people lack access to water and sanitation and basic health care. Fifty percent of Yemens clinics are closed and more than 70 percent do not have a regular supply of medicines.

 War crimes 

In March 2018, rights group Amnesty International accused Western countries of supplying arms to Riyadh and its allies, who could stand guilty of war crimes in Yemen.

Last August a UN expert mission concluded that all warring parties had potentially committed war crimes.
Eric Zorn's staunch support for abortion rights has caused him to lose perspective (No, a teen who wants an abortion should not be forced to tell her parents, March 22). He's against minors having to get parental consent before having an abortion, saying it's inconsistent with other reproductive laws. Of course it is! A pregnant minor has to decide whether to end the life she is carrying. The full impact of her decision is hard to comprehend, especially during those emotional teen years. Her decision will affect her life forever, no matter which choice she makes. Parents deserve the right to guide their children through this. This particular decision affects them too. Part of our role as parents is to help our kids navigate the road of life and support them through the tough times. This is not about discouraging abortion, as Zorn claims, but about the long-term physical and emotional health of these young girls.
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AI, artificial intelligence, is all the rage right now in medical news media. And this has many practicing physicians, even medical students, concerned. Will AI make diagnose heavy specialties such as dermatology and radiology obsolete? Can AI give rise to new medical specialties? How many tasks traditionally done by doctors will now be handled by AI?

I believe that there is a right to be worried. We do not have any regulatory laws for AI. Moreover, once hospital systems across the nation start implementing AI into medical practice, who will oversee this? For physicians who have practiced medicine for decades, how will they feel about incorporating AI into their day-to-day practice? Will this become an unstated requirement? Or something similar to the electronic health record where a doctor can opt out, but later say yes if the doctor feels it will make patient care and operations more efficient?

Some of us are fearful of AI stepping into the human-driven world of medicine. Our emotional and cognitive intelligence is the accumulation of years, even decades, of experiences since the day we were born. AI is something that can acquire knowledge and information in a vastly short period of time, and most of all can quickly adapt to changing circumstances. AI can learn, like us. Thats terrifying, but at the same time, it is fascinating.

If you are either a med student or a physician, take a step back and see whats around you. You have your cell phone which has medical apps that you use every day: UpToDate, Epocrates, MDCalc, Doximity, Figure 1, Human Dx, Medscape, and UWorld. At many hospitals, you would see the occasional robot that moves from room to room, from floor to floor, delivering medications, lab samples, and other essential items to medical staff. There are even portable, handheld ultrasound devices that you connect via Bluetooth to your smartphone. The point is that we are entrenched in technology, and we are already comfortable with the assistance we get from these resources. AI will be the ultimate resource that is here to stay.

I remember when Elon Musk did a podcast with Joe Rogan, and he spoke to Congressional leaders time and time again about the risk of AI. I think Elon is right; there are always risks when something new and powerful is set to transform how something has always been done. Here, of course, that is the relationship between AI and medicine and whether or not it will be a symbiotic relationship.

I firmly hold that AI will enrich health care and ultimately help fulfill the quadruple aim of medicine: enhancing the patient experience, improving population health, reducing costs, and improving the work life of health care providers. And ultimately, AI will help minimize the rate of burnout. AI will reduce the rate at which residents and practicing physicians suffer from moral injury and will reduce the rate of physician suicide. Let that sink in.

As a society, we visualize doctors as being paid handsome salaries, driving nice cars, and living in homes only a kid could dream of. We as a society hold doctors as impermeable to the stresses of medicine, and that when doctors are confronted with difficulties and obstacles, they should not complain and just push through it. No! The process of burnout starts as early as medical school and accelerates in residency training. 300 to 400 doctors end their lives every year, and the physician suicide rate is notably higher than the general population. According to the American Psychiatric Association at their 2018 annual meeting, the general population suicide rate is 12.3 per 100,000. It is 28 to 40 for physicians. This is outrageous and damaging to the medical profession, and we need to help doctors now as much as they have helped you and me in our most trying times.

This is where AI comes in. When we want to treat and have face time with our patients, but instead must complete an endless amount of tasks to satisfy hospital administration, is that right? No. We need to streamline our healthcare system, and if AI is what its supposed to be, tasks such as ordering labs/imaging for patients, scheduling appointments, calling services for consults, will all be done by an AI-driven system. The only step that would be taken is for the physician to review the AI suggestions and either approve or disapprove. Thats simplifying things, but I hope you get my point.

I am in no way saying that AI is the cure-all for burnout because it certainly is not, but it is a monumental step forward.

My call to action is this: I urge hospital administration and those in roles of leadership to carefully consider every aspect of the integration of AI into health care. It must not only be of significant benefit to patients, to improve their care in and out of the hospital, but AI must also contribute to the sanity and well-being of the physicians who provide this care.

Ton La, Jr. is a medical student and student editor, The New Physician.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
SALEM, Ore. -- As the gun debate intensifies around the country, hundreds of people gathered across the street from the Oregon State Capitol Saturday to rally their support for the Second Amendment.

Nearly 2,000 people descended on Salem to defend their right to bear arms.

Organized by Oregon-based weapons manufacturers, this event comes as a response to a number of bills, including Senate Bill 501, which if passed would require gun owners get a permit before purchasing a firearm, add mandatory gun locks and limit ammunition purchases.

Gov. Kate Brown has made firearms legislation a priority and those backing the bills said it's a move to prevent gun violence.

Oregon Rep. Andrea Salinas said in a statement: "There is a balance that we can achieve in finding common sense gun safety solutions but we must commit to listen to one another."

However, the people at the rally said this legislation infringes on their rights.

Meanwhile, just blocks away, before the rally began Republican Joey Nations met with supporters to kick off his campaign for Congress in Oregon's 5th District where he spoke about gun rights.

"So, when you look at the infringement that's happening  not just in Oregon  but nationwide, you're talking about the first one to go...so when the Second Amendment is gone, everything else will follow," said Nations.
The Herald reported:

New Zealand has received advice from a wide range of countries on how to improve its human rights, including from Venezuela, Russia, Syria and Myanmar.

The advice is included in the United Nations Human Rights Council draft report on New Zealand.

Thats lovely that Russia, Syria and Venezuela could share their expertise with us on how to improve our human rights so we can match their levels.

Russia wants New Zealand to consider not only a written constitution but wants to see the Treaty of Waitangi enshrined in law.

Venezuela wants the Bill of Rights Act to be given a constitutional status and it wants to see women and girls guaranteed a life free from violence.

Iran wants New Zealand to improve anti-discrimination legislation to ensure the protection of rights of ethnic minorities.

Belarus wants to see less over-crowding in prisons and better access of prisoners to quality medical services.

How can we say no to any of these proposals.

And Oman wants New Zealand to strengthen measures in the area of womens empowerment and the promotion of equal opportunities for women.

Always amusing when a country which up until 2010 required a woman to get permission to marry to tell us we should have equal opportunities for women.

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There are lots of ways to stretch your meals and use up every bit of the food you buy and prepare. From piling roasted vegetables into an omelet to using leftover potato chips as a breading for chicken, here are some smart moves when it comes to using up your leftovers.
Over the weekend I reflected that arguably the Christchurch terror attack was the least successful terror attack I could think of.

I dont mean unsuccessful in terms of killing people. Sadly he was successful there. The loss of life was appalling and we wont forget the victims.

What I mean is that in terms of his objectives, he has been a miserable failure. In fact he has achieved almost the polar opposite of what he aimed to do.

He said that he decided to attack Muslims in New Zealand because (his words) they are the most despised group of invaders and attacking them will receive the greatest level of support.

Well he has achieved the opposite. He has done more to foster goodwill and empathy for Muslims in New Zealand, than many would have though possible. The 50 victims have been the human face of what happened. Almost $10 million has been donated to their families. Tens of thousands of New Zealanders have attended memorial services. The words of mosque leaders preaching peace and tolerance have been heard up and down the country. Muslim prayers have been said in Parliament, on television and radio.

Again this is the greatest backfire I can recall. The overwhelming reaction from New Zealanders has been the total opposite to what he wanted.

His other aim is to help incite global war by sparking revenge attacks against New Zealand. But again the opposite has happened. To the rest of the world, New Zealand has been the victim not the perpetrator. The response led by Jacinda Ardern has had New Zealand praised around the world. The President of Turkey did an op ed in the Washington Post praising her. Her image is being beamed onto the tallest building in the Middle East. The response of New Zealand as a whole, but especially Ardern, has seen New Zealand praised by most Muslim nations.

So once again he has scored an incredible own goal. He has probably done more to frustrate his own aims, than anyone else could have done on purpose.

That doesnt lessen the tragedy for the 50 dead and their families. It doesnt lessen the fear that many Muslims will have in having been targeted in this way. It goes without saying that we would all be better off if he had somehow been detected before he could launch his attack.

But the fact his hatred has backfired so massively in terms of his aims, is some comfort I hope.

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A 6-year-old child was hurt when a motorcyclist crashed his bike Saturday afternoon.

Police say the little girl was on the motorcycle sitting in front of the rider when the man lost control and crashed into a garage on Brady Boulevard. The motorcyclist left the scene -- and the child -- before police arrived. A lieutenant tells 11 News the motorcyclist was giving relatives rides around the block, so other family members were nearby and able tend to the child. The little girl was transported to the hospital and is expected to be OK.

The rider hasn't been charged yet, but could face reckless endangerment charges, the lieutenant said.

Police have not said what the relationship is between the rider and the child, only that they are relatives.
The disease is not well-known, says her sister Heather Friedman, which is part of the problem. Tamar was enjoying an active life with husband Jason Dyhouse, a band teacher at Granger Middle School, and their two children, ages 4 and 8, until about 20 months ago when she began experiencing tingling in her feet that gradually turned into painful spasms traveling up her body, along with crushing headaches that led to dizziness and blurred vision.


By Troy Stangarone





In the most recent report by the U.N. Panel of Experts (UNPE), the 1718 Committee documented the increasing number of ways that North Korea continues to evade U.N. sanctions. However, the report also discusses the unintended consequences of sanctions, one of which is the impact on humanitarian assistance in North Korea.



Aid groups looking to engage in humanitarian activities in North Korea have faced difficulties as the sanctions on the North have increased over the last two years, despite a move by the U.N. to provide exemptions for these.



According to the UNPE, they have faced challenges from the deliberative nature of receiving exemptions from sanctions, delays at customs, a disruption of banking channels, a decline in suppliers willing to provide materials, increases in prices, and reductions in available funds.



Some of these issues are perhaps inevitable. While the report notes some entities still unwittingly work with North Korea, the increased scrutiny of transactions with Pyongyang will inevitably lead to longer times to clear customs as exports are inspected and a decreasing number of suppliers willing to do business related to the North.



At the same time, some of the challenges from sanctions could be minimized. As the sanctions expanded in an effort to pressure North Korea to suspend its nuclear and missile tests and return to talks, large categories of goods were prohibited from being exported there.



These are not always complex, dual use goods that could contribute to Pyongyang's weapons programs or that might help it earn hard currency, but mundane items such shovels, hoes, nail clippers, and office supplies such as paper clips.



More complex equipment related to irrigation, harvesting, and water sanitation is also prohibited under U.N. sanctions. This often happens because the U.N. sanctions ban exports of items in whole sections of the harmonized code, which is used to classify exports and imports that include both prohibited items and items which are needed for humanitarian assistance.



To address this challenge, the UNPE recommends creating a whitelist of goods that are approved for humanitarian export. This would be a step forward in separating out items that are humanitarian in nature from those that would either help further Pyongyang's weapons development or help it earn hard currency.



At the same time, legitimate humanitarian assistance needs to be balanced with helping North Korea become self-sufficient. In recent weeks there have been concerns about a food crisis in the North with an expected shortfall in the coming year.



According to North Korea, crop production was down 16 percent last year from 2016 and it is expected to face a shortage of 1.4 million tons of food this year. The U.N. estimates that 10.9 million people are in need of aid.



The good news is that, unlike in prior years, the regime has also been importing increasing quantities of food from China despite exports declining to minimal amounts and its hard currency dwindling. There is also reason to suspect that the growing number of markets help to fill the food gap as well.



When it comes to food aid, there may need to take a more nuanced approach. Where there are real needs for food assistance the international community should be willing to provide assistance. However, it should also be careful not to provide such large amounts of food that aid undermines the growth of the markets and the small scale farmers who provide them with produce.



In this sense, the creation of a whitelist for goods that will help to support agricultural production may be more beneficial than direct food aid. Allowing for the exports of shovels, irrigation equipment, or other supplies that will help North Korea grow food are useful steps that should be pursued.



The nuclear talks with the North could also help alleviate shortages. If the United States and North Korea are able to restart talks after the breakdown in Hanoi and reach an initial understanding, an early area for sanctions relief should be the creation of a mechanism that would allow for Pyongyang to purchase the food it needs.



At times there has been the discussion of developing an escrow account to hold North Korean earnings until dismantlement has reached the point of no return. Funds held in this type of account could be dedicated to the North initially buying food on international markets, but in time, shifting to the purchase of basic equipment and fertilizer to help boost agricultural production domestically.



The U.N. sanctions were never meant to hinder humanitarian aid to North Korea. Steps that the U.N. can take to ease the process, such as a whitelist, should be perused, but the idea of humanitarian aid to North Korea should also go beyond food to what should be provided so it is able to sustain itself.





Troy Stangarone (ts@keia.org) is the senior director of congressional affairs and trade at the Korea Economic Institute.


The Rev. Dave Hogsett is a retired United Methodist pastor. He can be e-mailed at davidh15503@embarqmail.com.
(CNN)  Royal visits overseas always attract a great deal of scrutiny, but none in recent memory has been quite as politically sensitive and potentially inflammatory towards the UK's closest ally than this one.

When Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, set foot in Havana Sunday, they'll be making history by embarking on the first ever official visit to Cuba by members of the British royal family. But they're doing so at a time when much of the western world is denouncing Cuba's role in the unfolding political and humanitarian crisis in its close socialist partner, Venezuela.

It's a trip that would have seemed impossible only a handful of years ago, before former U.S. President Barack Obama and former Cuban President Raul Castro thawed more than half a century of tense relations between the North American neighbors and their allies. But since that 2016 breakthrough, the world is a very different place.

U.S. President Donald Trump has reversed many of the Obama-era policies toward Cuba, reinstating travel and trade restrictions. His sharp rhetoric has only become more aggressive since the presidential crisis unfolded in Venezuela. The role of Cuban military and intelligence advisers serving the disputed regime of President Nicolas Maduro is one of the main concerns of the U.S. administration and its allies.

"For decades, the socialist dictatorships of Cuba and Venezuela have propped each other up in a very corrupt bargain," Trump said in February, adding: "Maduro is not a Venezuelan patriot; he is a Cuban puppet."

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo went further earlier this month: "No nation has done more to sustain the death and daily misery of ordinary Venezuelans, including Venezuela's military and their families, than the communists in Havana."

It's against this backdrop of American hostility that Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall will spend four days in Cuba highlighting "the growing bilateral relationship with the UK and showcasing some of the cultural links between the two countries," according to a royal spokesman.

But while Charles and Camilla are the ones who'll have to navigate dinner with politicians in Havana's Palacio de la Revolucion, it's the British government who is responsible for sending them there.

"The royal family don't make these decisions," points out Andrew Lewer, a member of the UK Parliament for the governing Conservative Party. "It's the Foreign Office, so the royal family themselves shouldn't be blamed for this. Our friends in the United States, the many Cubans in Florida, will rightly be perplexed at the sight of the British royal family making a visit, going on tour, looking around the place, at a time when these despicable acts are taking place."

Another Conservative MP, Julian Lewis, says the visit will be awkward for the heir to the British throne: "It is not for a constitutional monarch on a royal visit to get sucked into political confrontation. He will constantly have to balance the need to behave diplomatically with the danger of seeming to endorse the regime and being used as a propaganda tool by it."

The fabled "soft power" of the royal family has long been used as a diplomatic tool by the British government and in this instance, the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office confirmed the strategic value of the visit: "This is part of our longstanding approach towards Cuba of engagement and frank dialogue over the issues that divide us like human rights, but also the engagement towards progress on the matters that bridge us together," a spokesman said.

This approach to relations with Cuba could not be more different than that exhibited loudly in Washington.

Former Florida governor and now U.S. Sen. Rick Scott has written to British Prime Minister Theresa May to protest the royal visit and is perplexed by the timing: "Why would the British government want to recognize Juan Guaido as the new President of Venezuela when we all know the Castro regime is the one propping up Maduro, dictator in Venezuela... and then at the same time have the Prince, who has unbelievable worldwide influence, go prop up the regime?"

Sen. Scott suggested that while in Cuba, Prince Charles should meet with dissidents and take a leaf from President Trump's book: "He says 'I'm going to stand for freedom and democracy' and that's exactly what Prince Charles ought to do."

No such meetings are planned during the tour, but neither are there any planned encounters with Castro, who continues to serve as first secretary of the Communist Party. The Prince and Duchess will meet current President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who recently described Trump's rhetoric towards Cuba as "warlike and dirty."

It is, of course, a sensitive time for the UK as Theresa May navigates the endgame for Brexit. Royal visits are likely to continue to play a key role in Britain's international relationships, especially in the years immediately following its departure from the European Union.

But it's the timing of this historic royal visit that makes it so contentious -- especially as the UK seeks post-Brexit trade deals. Trump is unlikely to warm to images of one of the UK's most senior representatives enjoying the hospitality of Havana.

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Historic royal visit to Cuba at odds with US stance."
I always pinch myself. Its a dream come true, Schaible said. Thats the thrill of going into STEM: making what is impossible possible. That is what drove me into that field.
According to additional information released by the police department Monday, OConnor had been accused of threatening three people, two of them family members, with a gun during a disagreement over the planned sale of the Dee Road residence. One family member fled the house and was reportedly pursued by OConnor, who was believed to still be armed with the gun, said Park Ridge Police Chief Frank Kaminski.
The measure was one of GOP Gov. Eric Holcombs top priorities when the General Assembly convened in January. Sklar said national corporations have shown reluctance to move to Indiana because it lacks the bias crimes law.
Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong has stressed all-out efforts to treat the injured and deal with the follow-up work well following a deadly chemical plant explosion in east China's Jiangsu province.

Wang led officials from departments of the State Council Friday to arrive at the explosion site in a chemical industrial park in Xiangshui county in the city of Yancheng, to guide the rescue and emergency response work, visit family members of the victims and the injured people, and express regards to the rescue teams.

The death toll from the explosion has risen to 64 as of 7 a.m. Saturday after the explosion ripped through a chemical factory owned by Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Co. Ltd. in Xiangshui county at about 2:48 p.m. Thursday.

Wang visited the First People's Hospital of Yancheng shortly after his arrival at about 8 p.m. on Friday, consoling the injured people and asking medical workers to do everything to save them. At 11 p.m., Wang presided over a conference at the explosion site.

Wang urged Jiangsu officials and all parties concerned to resolutely implement the instructions of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and Premier Li Keqiang to make all-out rescue efforts with a strong sense of responsibility towards the people. Saving lives is the top priority while best medical resources and experts must be organized to minimize casualties, Wang said.

Every corner must be searched over and over again for the victims, and every injured person must be rescued, he said.

Hazardous chemicals and pollutants must be promptly dealt with, while environmental monitoring on air, soil and drinking water must be strengthened to avoid secondary disasters, Wang said.

Wang also ordered timely and accurate disclosure of authoritative information to respond to public concerns.

Thorough probe into the blast shall be carried out in a timely manner and those responsible shall be held accountable, he said.

Wang visited the injured at the People's Hospital of Xiangshui Saturday, then went to the explosion site again to discuss follow-up rescue measures, and offered condolences to family members of the victims at their homes.

Wang was sent to the site by General Secretary Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang to guide the rescue work on behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council.
When Jerry Schubel joined the Aquarium of the Pacific as president and chief executive in 2002, he knew it was time to expand  not with bigger tanks or more creatures, but in scope. In May, the $53-million project spearheaded by Schubel will open with a focus on the one animal putting all others on the planet at risk: us. The new wing will be welcomed by 250 employees and more than 1,000 volunteers. It will be the Long Beach nonprofits first major expansion since it was founded in 1998 and one of the biggest endeavors of Schubels long career in academia, conservation and science.

Natural curiosity

Schubel, 83, says his interest in conservation can be traced to the concerns he developed observing the Great Lakes while growing up in a small Michigan town on Lake Huron. He saw firsthand how the freshwater lakes affected his community, including his familys clean drinking water supply. This curiosity paved Schubels way into academia with an interest in making scientific advances accessible to the public. He earned a masters degree in physics from Harvard and a doctorate in oceanography from Johns Hopkins University, where he worked with the Chesapeake Bay Institute.

Going West

He moved on to lead Stony Brook Universitys Marine Sciences Research Center in 1974. After 20 years, including three spent as the universitys provost, he was recruited to head the New England Aquarium in Boston. Long Beach called eight years later.

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Ive always wanted to create an institution that focused on how humans are affecting the Earth and the world ocean. All the stars were aligned to do that in Long Beach, Schubel said.

Bold vision

In California, Schubel saw an opportunity to turn the energy, food and water issues facing the state into a sustainable model showing how people can live in harmony with the Earth and the ocean, and thrive. That model required deep collaboration, a commitment to educational resources for the public and an aquarium willing to take a risk.

I came knowing that I wanted this to be an aquarium that would be operated at the interface of science and society and that would combine art and science and telling stories, Schubel said. The most important things in nature and in society happen across interfaces.

New direction

In 2005, the aquarium weighed three options for an expansion: a traditional expansion with more exhibit space, one that would allow visitors to swim with marine life, and a Pacific Visions concept that would capture human impact on the planet and its oceans. After the board selected Pacific Visions, Schubel led efforts to translate the aquariums concept into programs, raised money for the project and worked with scientists from around the globe to identify the most pressing environmental issues that would be featured.

Theres no other aquarium, science center or museum anywhere in the world that attempts to tell this really big story of people and the ocean, Schubel said. So weve got our fingers crossed that people are going to like it.

Staying flexible

Schubel said the project has been one of the most challenging, but also most rewarding, of his career. Along the way, he embraced the unpredictability of the issues the aquarium has to tackle.

One of the most challenging things always is being flexible enough to come at achieving your vision in a variety of ways, Schubel said. You have to be adaptable and know where you want to end up, but realize sometimes you have to take a different route.

Leading the way

Schubel said that flexibility, an understanding of how to operate a growing nonprofit and a leadership background in education have been key elements in his career.

I was the director of an institute. I was the provost, I was a vice president for research and the dean of the graduate school for a while. So I had experience in managing routes, Schubel said. I think thats very important because leadership without management doesnt get you anywhere.

Empowering a team

In leading his team and working with the aquariums board of directors to create an expansion with enduring value, Schubel has found success in avoiding micromanagement.

I try to give [my team] as much freedom to pursue our vision in ways they think work best, Schubel said. Our board has also understood the difference between governance and management. So while they largely left us alone to run the aquarium, they have been generous in their financial support and theyve been willing to take risks.

Lifelong learning

Schubel settles into his office before 6 a.m. when things are quiet. Before his staff gets to work and after they go home, thats when Schubel can think about implementing the aquariums vision  and write.

Schubel and his wife, Margaret, have co-written more than a dozen short films that are screened at the aquarium to help the public understand Earth and its changing climate. As with their latest work, The Time Is Now, the Future Is Here, the couple are dedicated to making science and its findings accessible.

I think we underestimate the ability to learn in the very young and in the elderly, Schubel said.

Supporting education

Schubel, who has taught adult classes for more than 40 years, created the Aquatic Forum, which connects scientists, decision makers and citizens to discuss important environmental issues facing California. He also founded the Aquatic Academy, which hosts a series of courses about the ocean and the environment.

I find all the things I need in my work. I spend my free time reading, writing and thinking how we can make this aquarium better, Schubel said. And thats not a chore. Its something I really enjoy doing.

An engaged society

Through his work  in the forums, the expansion and building a community  Schubel hopes to support an informed society for a stronger democracy.

Right now, I think were so polarized that we dont have the kinds of thoughtful discussions that we need to have to surround these issues and look at them from all perspectives and make the right decisions, Schubel said. Most people arent environmentalists, but they care about the environment.
Some day, female choreographers will get their due. And eventually a program of dances made exclusively by women will cease to be an anomaly. Until then, heres a warm nod to Ballet Hispanico.

The companys repertory night Friday at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica (repeating Saturday night) was devoted to thoughtful and acclaimed choreographers you might not have heard of: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Michelle Manzanales and Tania Perez-Salas. But what made it truly wonderful was how good each piece was, with Manzanales Con Brazos Abiertos an exceptional, heart-tugging beauty.



For the record: An earlier version of this review stated the title of one dance as Catorce Dieciseis. The compete title is 3. Catorce Dieciseis.

Lyvan Verdecia in Con Abrazos Abiertos. (Paula Lobo)

SPRING DANCE PICKS: Spring dance picks: Alvin Ailey, Eifman Ballet, Night of 100 Solos and more 

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Ten years ago, former Ballet Hispanico dancer Eduardo Vilaro succeeded founder Tina Ramirez as the groups artistic director, and though past programs havent always been stellar, the performance Friday indicated that the Manhattan company  committed to exploring the Latino experience through movement  is flourishing. It has a small group of powerful dancers from multinational backgrounds, bound together by intense focus and distinctive clarity.

In Linea Recta from 2016, Lopez Ochoa takes pages from the flamenco rulebook and rewrites them in a balletic way. She pairs snakelike arms, ever-twisting hands and that lordly torso with classicisms lightness, long legs and pointed feet.

Eric Vaarzon Morels stunning recorded guitar music underscored the Spanish influence and atmosphere as did curvilinear projections on the white background (lighting by Michael Mazzola) and costume designer Danielle Truss red leotards with a ruffled bustle and the mens slim high-waist pants. Truss dressed soloist Eila Valls in a floor-dragging train for a fanciful opening quintet with four male partners, the pieces most striking section.

Linea Recta was simultaneously sexy and staccato, teasing and sincere. Lopez Ochoa, who this past week received the prestigious Jacobs Pillow Dance Award, kept her four couples shifting between extremes.

Projections on the white background (lighting by Michael Mazzola) in Linea Recta. (Paula Lobo)

L.A. DANCE: 12 companies to know and see 

Manzanales brought us back home for an examination of self and identity in her 2017 work Con Brazos Abiertos (With Open Arms). Who are you if you straddle two cultures, in this case Mexico and America? This fascinating piece that so cleverly pulls from cultural touchstones began like a dream, with dancers blown across the stage one by one, each repeating the same flowing phrase, in a kinetic round. Maybe it wasnt a dream at all, but a birthing  the men wearing white boxer shorts while the women had on lacy halter tops and briefs (costumes by Diana Ruettiger).

In each subsequent number, the songs shifted and the cast put on different outfits suggesting different people and stereotypes, such as the skirt-waving folkloric dancer from Veracruz (with men and women in shimmering white silk skirts).

Manzanales takes a straightforward approach to some familiar dances and exaggerates others, such as a foot-stamping, head-down number with sombreros. With a deft touch, she inserted a humorous recording from Cheech & Chong and a narrated excerpt from the movie Selena, in which Edward James Olmos complains that its exhausting to have to be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American that the Americans.

Dancers Melissa Verdecia and Lyvan Verdecia portrayed a troubled couple locked in the duality of love and hate. Manzanales work was terrifically musical and infectiously rhythmic. As the dancers paraded to the electronic spoken word of Mexico, by Mexican Institute of Sound, it was hard not to spring up and march along.

Melissa Verdecia in Con Brazos Abiertos. (Paula Lobo)

MICAELA TAYLOR: How the L.A. choreographer became a hot name in dance 

Perez-Salas 2017 dance 3. Catorce Dieciseis (3. Fourteen Sixteen) was pictorial, almost an illustration of the various instrumental and choral works from Baroque master composers. The choreographer, from Mexico, draws the eye across complex patterns and shapes through a kind of drill-team manipulation of the dancers.

Perez-Salas apparently began this piece by thinking about the number pi (3.14, and the 16th letter in the Greek alphabet, perhaps explaining the title). The takeaway, though, was of beautiful bodies in kaleidoscopic display, which was a fine enough image to take home.

Melissa Verdecia and Lyvan Verdecia in Catorce Dieciseis. (Paula Lobo)

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See all of our latest arts news and reviews at latimes.com/arts.
In 2007, Los Angeles Opera launched an outreach project that has turned into an annual tradition: The company took over the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels and staged Brittens Noahs Flood, which was designed by the composer to involve an entire community.

In one of his earliest acts as L.A. Opera music director, James Conlon took on the conducting himself rather than delegate it to an assistant, as he could have. Admission was free.

Lo, the show was a hit, and it has been repeated in every odd-numbered year since, with other religion-themed pieces performed during the even-numbered years. But in this odd-numbered year, L.A. Opera tried something new and different  or mostly different.

The company commissioned an Old Testament opera titled Moses from San Jose composer Henry Mollicone and librettist Shishir Kurup from the Cornerstone Theater Company, rounded up a cast of hundreds from a sprawling roster of community collaborators too numerous to list here, and threw it all together at the cathedral Friday night. It made an appealingly big noise in a big space, a lively biblical community shout.

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Community members participate in Los Angeles Operas Moses at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. (Taso Papadakis)

PLAY WITH RAY: Winner of contest will perform onstage at the Hollywood Bowl 

The plot picks up the story of the baby Moses being plucked out of the Nile by an Egyptian princess who raises him as her own son. In this telling, his half brother Ramses becomes Pharaoah (Moses older brother Aaron is nowhere to be found) and banishes Moses to the desert after he kills a cruel bully. Eventually, Moses confronts Ramses and leads the Israelites out of Egypt, parts the Red Sea and endures his peoples worship of a golden calf before delivering the Ten Commandments to restore their faith

When you think of Moses operas, the ones that come to mind most frequently are Rossinis Mose in Egitto and Schoenbergs Moses und Aron. Yet as Conlon said to the audience before the music started, the Noah production was indeed the model for this Moses in several ways.

Mollicone inserted three Bach-inspired chorales into the score for the congregation (a.k.a. the audience) to sing  as did Britten  and before the performance, Conlon again enthusiastically rehearsed us with a glockenspiel bonging out the melody line as a guide track. Eli Villanueva, the resident stage director for L.A. Operas Education and Community Engagement wing, returned to direct.

As vigorously led by Conlon, the cast, orchestra and chorus were again a mix of a few L.A. Opera pros with amateurs from Southern California. The littlest ones among them were again turned loose to run somewhat amok, dressed in costumes representing some of the 10 plagues that descended upon ancient Egypt.

As before, some waved turquoise streamers signifying a body of water  the Red Sea. The earth-toned desert sets were minimal; their angular features seemed to sprout from those of the cathedral itself. Those who were seated along the central aisle were inches away from some of the action.

SPRING ARTS PREVIEW: Critics recommendations and the emerging artists to know 

Granted, Mollicones score was leagues apart in sound and feeling from Brittens. This was a mostly grandiose thing of Middle Eastern scales and irregular meter dances for the Israelites, some cinematic bombast, lots of attractive tunes, highly descriptive orchestration for the plague scene and even a wisp of Sprechstimme (spoken song) for the Egyptians at one point. (Was this an inside-joke reference to Schoenbergs opera?)

The score had to fight its way to be heard through the cathedrals notoriously long reverberation decay, with overbearing amplification doing little to clarify the ingredients of the sonic soup. Yet precisely because of its grandiosity, this 64-minute opera seemed a better fit for this acoustically cavernous room than the subtleties of Britten.

The Moses of baritone Michael J. Hawk had a commanding presence whether as a young hothead or an older, crustier figure laying down the law. Baritone Juan Carlos Heredia also boomed imposingly as Moses father-in-law, Jethro, and as the Voice of God in tandem with soprano Sarah Vautour (also Zipporah). Tenor Alok Kumar was an effective vocal foil as Ramses. Try as everyone did to make their English words clear in this difficult space, the supertitles were definitely needed.

Noah should be returning to its odd-numbered-year slot in 2021, while Moses is tentatively scheduled to repeat in 2022.

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See all of our latest arts news and reviews at latimes.com/arts.
All southbound lanes of the 5 Freeway in Gorman were reopened Saturday night after a fiery multi-vehicle crash forced the closure of the roads for about four hours, clogging weekend traffic for miles, authorities said.

The freeway was reopened shortly before 7 p.m., according to the California Department of Transportation.

Several people were injured in the pileup that occurred about 3 p.m. about two miles south of Gorman School Road, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. About 30 vehicles were involved.

Some pictures and videos posted on Twitter showed two vehicles on fire and at least a dozen cars severely damaged. Several ambulances and firetrucks were dispatched to the scene.

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More than two dozen people suffered injuries, according to the Fire Department. About a dozen people were transported to local hospitals, one in critical condition. One child was taken by helicopter to Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

All southbound lanes of the freeway were shut down while injured people were cared for and the wreckage was cleared, officials said. Emergency personnel from neighboring Kern and Ventura counties were also on the scene.

carlos.lozano@latimes.com
Granada Hills Charter High School has won the California Academic Decathlon in Sacramento and will advance to the national competition next month, officials announced Sunday.

The teams victory was announced by the school on Twitter. The students now move on to the national tournament, scheduled for April 25-27 in Bloomington, Minn.

The Granada Hills team will be seeking its seventh national title.

El Camino Real Charter High School, which won the state title last year, finished second in the competition.

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In Academic Decathlon, nine-member teams of ninth- through 12th-grade students compete in academic contests in 10 categories plus the Super Quiz, a question-and-answer session that draws from all subjects. This years state competition was themed The 1960s: A Transformational Decade.

Schools from LAUSD have won the national competition 18 times since 1987, and California has held the national title for the last 15 consecutive years.

carlos.lozano@latimes.com
You are here: China

China recorded 23,219 cases of voluntary organ donations, with 64,087 organs donated, from 2010 to the end of February this year, official figure showed Saturday.

Since China made posthumous voluntary donation the only legitimate source of organs in 2015, the country saw an annual increase of over 20 percent in donation cases, said Huang Jiefu, director of the China National Organ Donation and Transplantation Committee.

"China has developed a nation-wide system of voluntary organ donation and achieved healthy and sustainable development in the area," said Huang at a biotech innovation conference in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province.

In China, about 300,000 patients need organ transplants each year. More than 992,000 voluntary organ donors have registered across the country.




Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, one of the first two Muslim women in Congress, accused President Trump on Saturday of inciting hatred of Islam and inspiring attacks like the killing of 50 people this month in mass shootings at mosques in New Zealand.

In a speech to a packed hotel ballroom at a Muslim civil-rights banquet in Woodland Hills, the newly elected Democratic congresswoman said the New Zealand attack by a white supremacist fit a pattern of threats and assaults at American mosques and schools.

We all kind of knew that this was happening, she said. But the reason I think that many of us knew that this was going to get worse is that we finally had a leader in the White House who publicly says Islam hates us, who fuels hate against Muslims, who thinks it is OK to speak about a faith and a whole community in a way that is dehumanizing, vilifying.

Trump, she told the crowd, doesnt understand, or at least makes us want to think that he doesnt understand, the consequence that his words might have. Some people like me know that he understands the consequences. He knows that there are people that he can influence to threaten our lives, to diminish our presence.

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White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said last week that it was outrageous to suggest Trump had any responsibility for the New Zealand shooting.

Omars speech at the Council on American-Islamic Relations dinner sparked a protest by more than 100 people outside the hotel hours earlier. Police closed a stretch of Canoga Avenue, and uniformed officers stood watch over demonstrators waving Israeli and U.S. flags and calling Omar an anti-Semite.

Several of them marched with an enlarged photo of Omar, a Somali immigrant, with a swastika over her face and the slogan: Your Hate Makes Us Stronger.

Protesters gather outside the Woodland Hills hotel where Rep. Ilhan Omar spoke Saturday night. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

Recent comments by Omar that many criticized as anti-Semitic led the House to pass a resolution condemning hate speech. She had said that pro-Israel advocates push for allegiance to a foreign country, and earlier this year she apologized for suggesting money was the source of Israels influence in Washington.

The turmoil led Trump to claim that Democrats oppose Israel and Jews.

Trump points finger on hate speech 

Omar was applauded enthusiastically by the crowd at the banquet.

Faisa Mohamud, a pharmacy technician from Bellflower who is also a Somali immigrant, said she agreed with Omars comments on Trump.

When you are a leader of a country, you shouldnt be downgrading some people and uplifting other people, she said.

In her remarks, Omar mocked the protesters.

There are thoroughly fascinating people outside who for so many years have spoken about an Islam that is oppressive, an Islam that lessens and isolates its women, and today they gather outside to protest a Muslim woman who is in Congress, she said. The irony in that is very entertaining to me.

I dont think many of them realize that people like myself, and many of the people in this room, could care less about what they have to say, because we know who we are, and where we belong, and what we stand for, she added.

Omar, who wrote a column in the Washington Post last week backing a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, referred only elliptically to the uproar over her comments on Israel.

She said Muhammad had stones, fruit and other objects thrown at him, so you know that when Ilhan is facing some controversy, that that is not to be afraid of.

michael.finnegan@latimes.com
A recent leak of more than 200,000 online chat logs from a white supremacist group reveals how local members are targeting students on San Diego college campuses and trying to project a respectable image even as the groups members privately espouse Islamophobic, anti-Semitic and racist views.

The group, called Identity Evropa, is nationally known for helping organize the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., where a protester was killed and dozens injured over two days of clashes.

More recently, the group made news because online whistleblowers began identifying Identity Evropa members, publishing their online chat messages and linking them with social media posts. In the last week, their efforts have led to official investigations of a Virginia school police officer and seven service members from various branches of the U.S. military.

A San Diego Union-Tribune review of the chat logs has revealed that a local branch of Identity Evropa has visited area colleges at least a dozen times since fall 2017, though fliers first appeared at San Diego State University the year before. The chat logs also refer to publicity and recruitment activities at Southern California colleges as recently as last month.

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The Southern Poverty Law Center considers Identity Evropa a hate group, and the Anti-Defamation League categorizes it as a white supremacist organization.

Its leadership rejects these definitions.

Current CEO Patrick Casey, who graduated from San Diego State University in 2016, has tried to rein in his groups extremist expressions online, the chats show.

REMINDER, he wrote under his acknowledged pseudonym Reinhard Wolff. Do not post negative things about other races, do not advocate violence, do not use crude language. In short, do not say anything that, if leaked, would make us look bad.

The leaked chats showed Caseys efforts to muffle hate speech were ineffective.

My ultimate goal is subversion of my schools TPUSA chapter into a front for IE. Identity Evropa member

Identity Evropa members sometimes referred to Islam in the chats as a cancer and warned about Muslims immigrating to and holding public office in predominantly white countries.

Group members discussed the great replacement in more than 150 comments, referring to the idea of Europeans being replaced by people of color. A similar concept was part of the written message by the mass shooter who killed 50 people in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, last week.

Members also wrote more than 200 times about the Jewish Question, a conspiracy theory that posits that Jewish people yield wide-ranging societal and governmental control.

In a series of interview emails with the Union-Tribune last week, Casey said Identity Evropa was not a hate group.

We explicitly denounced racial hatred and extremism on many occasions, Casey said. When asked about the types of comments Identity Evropa members posted in the chats, Casey declined to answer, calling the question boring.

Even so, he said he had started a new group, the American Identity Movement, which also recently distributed fliers and stickers on the campuses of UC Berkeley and Sacramento State, according to its Twitter account.

The leaked chats from Identity Evropa show members targeting mainstream, conservative student organizations, such as College Republicans and Turning Point USA.

One Identity Evropa member bragged online in February about manning a Turning Point USA table at a college while promoting his groups beliefs  and getting Turning Point USA to pay for lunch.

My ultimate goal is subversion of my schools TPUSA chapter into a front for IE, he wrote, referring to Identity Evropa.

Turning Point USA did not respond to requests for comment.

Someone chatting under the name TMatthews in September said he was an officer of the College Republicans on his campus and believed many other Identity Evropa members also had joined.

Its easy to infiltrate low-level GOP stuff if you just show up, he wrote.

Ben Rajadurai, deputy executive director of the College Republican National Committee, said these extremists were not welcome.

Racial divisiveness has no place on our college campuses, and students joining our organization are committed to treating people with respect and defending human rights for everyone, he said in an email.

Nationally, Identity Evropa was responsible for at least 191 of 319 reported incidents of white supremacist propaganda at colleges and universities in 2018, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Peter Simi, a Chapman University researcher specializing in extremist groups, said Identity Evropa was potentially more dangerous than traditional skinhead and neo-Nazi organizations because Identity Evropas strategy was to feign respectability while playing down violent or racist themes.

Its more dangerous because it potentially has broader appeal, Simi said. There are folks who wouldnt necessarily get involved with a group thats more extreme-looking. You have to see it as part of a larger strategy to normalize their presence.

Even the name of the groups online chat channel  Nice Respectable People Group  reflects Identity Evropas desire for a sanitized public face. More than 800 individual accounts were registered to the groups server before that channel was shut down, according to the leaks.

In San Diego County, the leaks showed Identity Evropa members engaged in at least a dozen instances of white supremacist propaganda postings and distribution on college campuses.

Members usually posted materials at night in common areas on campuses and on bulletin boards and light poles. They often returned the next day to take photos of their work, according to the chat entries.

Casey told the San Diego State student newspaper, the Daily Aztec, last year that there were 50 to 100 members of Identity Evropa attending the university. But leaked online chats show 13 individual accounts from the San Diego area and just a handful of people posting pictures of their activities from September 2017 to March 2019.

This small group, whose members posted under pseudonyms, were responsible for fliers at San Diego State in September 2017 and February 2018, and banners at UC San Diego in October 2017 and fliers the next month, the chat logs show.

Last year, Identity Evropa posted materials at San Diego City, Palomar, Grossmont and Mira Costa colleges. A San Diego-Southern California cell also posted materials at Cal State Fullerton and Mt. San Jacinto College and last month spread fliers around UC Irvine and Saddleback College campuses.

Some of the groups posters and fliers proclaimed: Its OK to be white. Other fliers left off Identity Evropas logo and name while promoting a white supremacists book, using the phrase Your professor is scared of this book.

Identity Evropa held a private speaking event in an San Diego State lecture hall in November 2017. A photo from the groups closed Twitter account showed at least 30 attendees.

In January 2018, two people claiming to be part of Identity Evropa announced they were observing an ethnic studies class at UC San Diego. They texted on cellphones during class, and on the way out, one flashed an Identity Evropa badge, according to a UC San Diego Guardian story.

According to Identity Evropas chat logs, none of the groups members were UC San Diego students at the time.

In 2017, a group of Identity Evropa members hung two banners from the universitys Price Center & Bookstore.

A UC San Diego spokeswoman condemned the organization and its activities.

As hate groups continue to target colleges and universities throughout the country, taking advantage of policies that protect freedom of expression, UC San Diego will continue to unequivocally condemn all language and actions that espouse and support hate as well as any doctrines that elevate one group above another, said spokeswoman Christine Clark.

The antidote to hate speech is more speech  speaking out against intolerance and bigotry  and one the university will continue advocating.

Andrew Dyer writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Deep in the Otay Mountain Wilderness, there is no wall.

The only boundary between the U.S. and Mexico is a section of barbed wire fence in a pastoral valley. And miles and miles of treacherous terrain.

Its a territory crisscrossed by steep trails that disappear into tunnels of thick brush, a place looped by violently rutted roads that Border Patrol agents negotiate daily.

Land such as this is not a likely candidate for President Trumps big, beautiful wall.

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But it is fertile for an invisible kind of fence, one built of artificial intelligence, radar, drones, sensors, motion-activated cameras and even lidar, the same technology used in self-driving vehicles.

Virtual walls or smart walls along the southwest border are increasingly being billed as an alternative to the proposed concrete and steel barriers that have so sharply divided public opinion.

An electronic fence is not about preventing intrusion as much as it is about detecting intrusions and then intercepting them.

Although even the strongest proponents for such a technological solution admit physical barriers are likely best in urban areas such as San Diego and El Paso, they see a virtual wall as a cheaper and more effective way to police much of the rest of the 2,000-mile southwest border.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has asked that $223 million of its fiscal 2019 budget focus on technology improvements, funding that could have bipartisan support.

But the increased focus on smart walls is deepening concern about a growing Big Brother-is-watching network, and civil liberties organizations have asked lawmakers to proceed with caution.

Warrantless use of these technologies comes at an unacceptably high cost, Neema Singh Guliani and Michelle Fraling, officials with the American Civil Liberties Union, said last month. They allow the government to track, surveil and monitor individuals indiscriminately and with precise detail. Individuals in the border zone should not be subject to near-constant surveillance that intrudes on the most intimate aspects of their lives.

Lessons learned

An electronic fence is not a new idea. It is one that the federal government has actually failed to implement wide-scale at least three times in the last few decades.

From 1997 to 2005, the government spent about $429 million on two border technology programs deemed unsuccessful, according to congressional reports.

The third and most recent iteration was the Secure Border Initiative Network, known as SBInet, a massive project started in 2006. Boeing was contracted to build a network of surveillance towers and ground sensors that would detect intrusions and relay the information to command posts, where agents would decide how to react.

It was rolled out first along the Arizona border, but expansion was halted in 2010 due to serious concerns about its feasibility.

The Government Accountability Office faulted SBInet for being poorly managed, overrun with costs and missed deadlines. The technology was also troubled, pulled off the shelves rather than custom-designed for the border environment and the job at hand.

The program was killed in 2011, at a price tag of more than $1 billion.

Instead of one technology system borderwide, we now follow a system customized to the particular conditions on the border. Alan Bersin, former U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner

I terminated it when I was commissioner. It was a failure, Alan Bersin recalled in an interview last week with the Union-Tribune. Bersin, a former U.S. attorney in San Diego, served as a so-called border czar under two presidents and was appointed U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner from 2010 to 2011.

Part of the problem, Bersin said, was pursuing a one-size-fits-all approach to the border.

Instead of one technology system borderwide, we now follow a system customized to the particular conditions on the border, Bersin said. The setting up of an electronic fence in the Sonoran Arizona desert is far different than doing so around San Diegos urban area.

Aging technology

Even before SBInet was terminated, doubts about the program led authorities to redirect millions of dollars in funding to deploy other technology across the border. That included mobile and fixed surveillance towers, cameras, drones and thermal imaging devices.

Many of those systems are in use today, although they are aging  both physically and in concept as technology leaps forward.

To cope, Border Patrol sectors have largely focused on incremental improvements in a piecemeal strategy.

Evidence of that effort can be seen in the Border Patrols Brown Field Station east of San Diego, a 568-square-mile region stretching from Otay Mountain to Tecate, with 11 miles of international border.

Agents there typically spend a large amount of their time on the job investigating alerts from seismic sensors tripped by potential intruders. Problem is, the sensors are also tripped by rabbits, deer, the rain, other agents.

A sensor in a remote canyon could mean a two-hour hike, only to discover fresh mountain lion tracks nearby.

The recent addition of several motion-activated Buckeye cameras has helped tremendously, agents said. The camera takes a grainy snapshot immediately after being triggered, sending the information back to the Tactical Operations Center at the station for quick analysis.

The command post, better known as TOC (pronounced talk), monitors other surveillance, too. Radar returns predict the presence of suspicious activity and send images that can distinguish vehicles and people. An agent sitting at the computer can then direct a field agent to intercept.

The TOC also takes a high-tech approach to one of the Border Patrols most low-tech tactics  tracking sign.

Sign refers to the traces left behind by a person on the move, whether it be footprints, litter, broken branches or overturned rocks. Reading sign is how agents have done the job for decades, something unchanged by even the best technology, they say.

For instance, an agent who discovers fresh footprints from a group of people headed up a specific trail will report it to the TOC. The spot will be marked with GPS coordinates and updated as more sign is discovered. The information can be passed on to the next shift for continued tracking.

The TOC can track a sign for two, three days, said Border Patrol spokesman Fabian Carbajal, who has spent 13 years of his career patrolling Brown Field Station.

The future

The capabilities are a start, but innovators at many smaller firms have their sights set on technology that seemed futuristic not too long ago.

Quanergy, a Silicon Valley company that developed lidar for driverless vehicles, has been testing new laser technology in the Texas border town of Del Rio with the cooperation of a local sheriff, the New York Times reported. Laser sensors give a 3D view of an area, building on the existing technology already being used.

Anduril Industries, based in Orange County, is working to apply the power of artificial intelligence to national security settings. Its founder is Palmer Luckey, the entrepreneur behind the virtual-reality company Oculus.

One of the big advantages to the use of AI-enabled technology is that you can deploy it without having to increase manpower, said Matt Steckman, Andurils head of corporate and government affairs. You get computers to do a lot of the work and let the humans be the decision-makers.

Andurils system, called Lattice, uses hundreds or even thousands of sensors, then lets artificial intelligence scan the environment five times per second and interpret the results. Only meaningful results will be transmitted to an agent in the field, on a smartphone or tablet, in the form of a cropped image of the form. The agent can then decide how to respond.

Tech companies are also working to make devices more mobile, and therefore more nimble.

David Aguilar, former acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said technology would unquestionably be a large part of securing the border  used in combination with physical barriers where appropriate as well as manpower.

He gave the example of SAR radar, being looked at to constantly map and remap a portion of land in remote areas to detect terrain change, such as a new trail or road implicating fresh trafficking routes.

Thats good intelligence, said Aguilar, who also served as Border Patrol chief, in a recent interview. You can go in there, drop ground sensors in the area, fly a drone on a persistent basis or post tethered aerostats to watch that area.

But he warned against viewing any one solution, including technology, as a silver bullet.

There is no such thing. Youre never going to have a border that is going to be impenetrable. Thats just not going to happen. Does that mean we stop working toward it? No.

David writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com
An arsonist set a fire that blackened the walls of an Escondido mosque early Sunday and left a note on the house of worships driveway referencing a shooting rampage at two New Zealand mosques that left dozens dead, investigators said.

There were seven people inside the Islamic Center of Escondido on West 6th Avenue when the incident occurred about 3:15 a.m., Escondido Police Lt. Chris Lick said. One person who was awake at the time spotted the flames, and the group managed to put out the fire before it caused any serious damage.

Officers and firefighters arrived soon after and quickly determined the fire was intentionally set. Lick said an accelerant was used to set the blaze, but he did not elaborate. No information on suspects was available.

Lick said investigators found a note on the driveway of the mosque that referred to the March 15 shootings at the Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre in New Zealand that left 50 people dead.

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A morning prayer at the center was canceled while a team of law enforcement agencies investigated.

Escondido police and fire investigators, a regional bomb/arson task force and agents with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating the incident as an arson and a hate crime.

Everyone should remain absolutely vigilant and watchful at their prayer centers, Lick said. If there are people who are not supposed to be there, please give us a call.

Yusef Miller, a spokesman for the Islamic community in Escondido, echoed those sentiments, encouraging other mosques across the county to remain vigilant.

Everyone is on edge here today, Miller said. When they connected it to New Zealand, it gave us a more real fear that something outlandish might happen.

#BREAKING: Police are investigating an alleged arson attack at the Islamic Center of Escondido. https://t.co/nI8qOZI68o  #NBC7 San Diego (@nbcsandiego) March 24, 2019

An arson investigation is underway at an #Escondido mosque pic.twitter.com/pa83KBUPge  Ramon Galindo (@RamonGalindoNBC) March 24, 2019

A prayer and security vigil were scheduled to be held at the mosque from 8 to 9 p.m. Sunday night to show support and protect those who wished to participate in evening prayer.

Dustin Craun, the executive director of the San Diego office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, who will participate in the vigil, condemned the fire and called for stepped-up security and police protection at Islamic institutions.

It is disturbing enough that some sick individual would attempt to burn a house of worship to the ground, but referencing the slayings in New Zealand is beyond the pale, Craun said in a statement. While the majority of humanity has responded to the tragedy to draw closer to one another and refute hatred, a violent and hate-filled minority seeks further divisions.

Lick said officers planned to keep a close eye on worship centers in the area. He encouraged members of the public to report any suspicious activity near religious centers.

Lyndsay Winkley and Lauryn Schroeder write for the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Most people know it as razor wire.

It coils atop the walls and fences that divide the U.S. and Mexico, snaking through weeds and past traffic signs, splintering the sunlight with its shiny knife-like barbs.

For the record: This article indicates the Border Patrol asked the military to install 350 miles of wire and that troops had about 180 miles to go. A military spokesman says the agency asked for the installation of 210 miles of wire and that troops had a few miles to go.

The U.S. military prefers a less menacing name: concertina wire.

Troops on the southern border have installed hundreds of miles of the wire during the last few months as part of President Trumps effort to stop caravans of Central American migrants from entering the country.

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Barbed wire, used properly, can be a beautiful sight, Trump said to cheers at a rally in Montana in November.

But many U.S. communities along the border strongly disagree. Border city leaders and other officials argue that the wire is better suited to war zones and prisons and that any benefit is not worth the damage it is doing to their images or the threat it poses to wildlife, livestock and people.

We dont like to see concertina wire anywhere unless theres imminent danger, said Laredo, Texas, Mayor Pete Saenz.

The troops, which were deployed to the southwest border in October, unfurled about a mile of the wire near two bridges in Laredo in anticipation of a migrant caravan that never arrived.

It makes you wonder, Saenz said. Are we overreacting?

At the citys request, the Border Patrol instructed the troops to take down the wire.

They left some coils of wire behind, Saenz said, in the event theres another caravan.

In December, Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), whose district includes part of the Rio Grande Valley, complained in a letter to the Border Patrol commissioner that the wire had contributed to the militarization of our border.

The Border Patrol said in a statement Friday that the wire has been used along the border in the past and is working now.

In places where the wire was recently installed, the number of migrants caught crossing the border has dropped dramatically, the statement said.

Officials have already seen the effectiveness of the additional strands of wire, it said, touting the benefits of placing several strands of razor wire side by side.

Previously, criminal organizations posted individuals on the Mexican side of the border to scout and cut wire installed on the top tier of the fence, the statement said. Once removed in sections, human smugglers would exploit the opening and send individuals over illegally into the U.S. The new multi-layered wire prevents individuals from using this tactic.

The Border Patrol does not track wire-related injuries, but the agency said the wire deters people from trying to scale border barriers, which is a common cause of broken ankles and other injuries.

U.S. Army Spc. Alexander Gomez installs concertina wire near the banks of the Rio Grande on the border in Brownsville, Texas. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

The wire  supplied by Allied Tube and Conduit of Hebron, Ohio, under a $41-million contract with the Department of Defense  is also popular with conservative groups that lobby for increased border enforcement.

Its another barrier, another thing in the way to slow people down, said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington.

Vaughan said the wire could be used to quickly fortify weak spots along outdated border fences and that it deterred deportees trying to sneak back into the country as opposed to migrant families seeking asylum at the border.

Its not a silver bullet, but it does help, she said.

The Border Patrol has asked the military to install 350 miles of wire. The troops have about 180 miles to go, according to Maj. Mark Lazane, a spokesman for U.S. Northern Command.

Of the 4,000 troops now on the border, 1,850 are involved in the effort, which is currently limited to Arizona and California, Lazane said.

Once emplaced, the concertina wire barrier becomes the property of [Border Patrol], including any decision to move or remove it, he said.

The Border Patrol said it has no plans to remove wire that has been erected in recent months. But pressure has been growing to do just that.

Jesus Jesse Morales, the fire chief in Naco, Ariz., worried that his 16 volunteer firefighters, including three paramedics, could get hurt rescuing someone from the concertina wire.

Were just waiting for something to happen, he said. To me, its a ticking time bomb.

About four years ago in Naco, a young girl fell off a 14-foot-high border fence, landed on a pile of wire and was cut so badly she had to be taken to a hospital in Tucson, Morales said.

Last month, residents of the 14,000-person town gathered at the border crossing to protest the wire and demand its removal.

Other opponents of the wire expressed concern that animals could get caught up in it.

The Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson has documented spots in the Rio Grande Valley where wire was spread through brushland.

Theres not a single document that weve turned up  and weve done a lot of research  that shows any strategy, any consideration for wildlife, said Laiken Jordahl, a campaigner with the group.

We saw it just staked into the ground in places where its near irrigation canals or the river where the environmental impacts are potentially severe, he said. It can ensnare wildlife.

In McAllen, Texas, Mayor Jim Darling said the city deemed some of the newly placed wire unnecessary and took it upon itself to remove it. Were secure, he said. Our cities are safe.

In some places, troops strung wire perpendicular to the Rio Grande, the meandering line between Mexico and the U.S.

In fairness to the military, its hard to tell where the border is, Darling said.

But the wire made things more confusing.

We didnt know if they were trying to fence people in or out, he said.

In the Arizona border city of Nogales, Mayor Arturo Garino demanded a meeting with Border Patrol officials last month after troops started posting concertina wire along the sides of the fence through downtown.

They didnt want to talk to me, he said.

Garino met with local police and fire chiefs, who didnt like the concertina wire either.

They were concerned about the first responders having to go if someone was to fall into it, one of the citizens on our side or somebody trying to jump over, Garino said.

A week later, he and the chiefs met the local Border Patrol chief, who told them the wire was meant to fortify the area.

When Garino asked why, he said, the Border Patrol commander told him: Because were having rapists, murderers and child molesters jump over the wall.

The mayor walked out of the meeting. I couldnt believe that was their explanation, he said.

The Border Patrol said in its statement that it has taken various measures to protect people from the wire around Nogales. Those include adding fences and warning signs and not posting the wire near the ground where there is high pedestrian activity.

Among the mayors worries is that the wire will hurt his citys trade and tourism with Mexico.

Last month, the Nogales City Council passed a resolution calling for the Border Patrol to remove the lethal wire, designed to entangle its victim as the razors slice/cut deeply into the flesh.

The cities of Bisbee and Tucson passed resolutions supporting Nogales.

In their latest move, Nogales officials have threatened to sue the federal government for violating their zoning laws, which restrict concertina wire to industrial areas.

This is not our city. It looks like a prison, the mayor said. If that wire stays around, its going to hurt us.
Getting a new drivers license in Mississippi can be a multi-day ordeal with long lines at short-staffed Department of Public Safety stations.

Its just a mess, having to wait in line like this, said 18-year-old Stuart Alcorn of Raymond, who was back at a station outside Pearl last week for the fifth time.

He said that after waiting one day, examiners would not administer his road test because it was raining. After waiting several hours three other days, he said he didnt get to take either his written test or his road test because too many people were in front of him and the office closed before everyone was served.

Theres only 30 people ahead of me now, Alcorn said as he studied for the written exam Wednesday. Hopefully Ill get in.

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Lines are a problem in other parts of the state as well. On the Gulf Coast, people have waited hours to get licensed.

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety is requesting more money to fill vacant jobs for drivers license examiners, but its unclear whether legislators will fulfill that request.

Its hard to say right now, said Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Buck Clarke, a Republican from Hollandale. Were going to look at it.

The Department of Public Safety says it has 134 jobs for regular drivers license examiners, and 48 are vacant. It has 44 jobs for commercial drivers license examiners, and 14 are vacant.

The department is seeking money to fill the vacant jobs and to add 70 regular examiners and 25 commercial examiners, in addition to other new employees to be supervisors or to be greeters who make sure people have all the documents they need as they enter license stations.

Public Safety Commissioner Marshall Fisher said he knows getting a drivers license is a necessity, and he knows about problems with long lines.

Ive been aware of it since the day I walked in the door, said Fisher, who has led the Department of Public Safety since early 2017.

Maj. Ken Brown, the departments director of driver services, said filling the license examiner jobs is difficult because of low pay. The regular examiners job starts at about $23,500 a year, and the top salary after decades on the job is about $41,600. Commercial examiners, who have more training, are paid about $3,000 a year more.

Because of the prohibitively long waiting times in Pearl, its common for people to drive an hour or more to seek shorter lines in smaller towns. Even then, theres no guarantee the station in the smaller town will be open.

On March 12, about a dozen people stood in line outside a drivers license station in the small town of Walnut Grove, waiting for it to open at 8 a.m. A sign taped to the door said the office was closed that day because of a temporary personnel shortage. It said people could go to the nearest stations, about 40 miles east in Newton, or 60 miles west in Pearl.
A student from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School died Saturday night in what police are calling an apparent suicide, just a week after a 19-year-old survivor of the 2018 mass shooting at the school took her own life.

We are not going to release the name, said Officer Tyler Reik, a spokesman for the Coral Springs Police Department. Its a juvenile  and out of respect for the family.

It was unclear Sunday whether the death was related to the school shooting that took 17 lives last year on Feb. 14.

I know he attended Stoneman Douglas, Reik said. I cant tell you if its related to the Parkland shooting. We dont know the reasoning behind it. Its still an ongoing investigation. It hasnt even been confirmed as a suicide.

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Sources said the teen was a sophomore at the school.

The news comes a week after the suicide of Sydney Aiello, who was a senior at the Parkland, Fla., school when a former student infiltrated the campus and killed 17 people. Another 17 were left wounded. One of her friends, Meadow Pollack, was killed in the shooting.

After the shooting, Aiello suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, her mother told reporters.

Aiello died March 17. Her funeral was held Friday.

News of the students death comes on the first anniversary of the March for Our Lives, the massive student-led demonstration against gun violence that was held in Washington, D.C., and several other U.S. cities.

On Sunday, David Hogg, one of the student activists who rose to prominence in the wake of the Parkland shooting, called for officials to do more to prevent such deaths.

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School parent-teacher association tweeted a flier with contact information for individuals who could help with trauma counseling on Sunday. The recent [Marjory Stoneman] Douglas High School tragedy has profoundly impacted our community, the flier said. If you have been affected ... please know that free help is available.

The Washington Post contributed to this report.
Even as floodwaters receded in hard-hit places in the Midwest, experts warned Saturday that with plenty of snow still left to melt in northern states, the relief may only be temporary.

Rainfall and some snowmelt spurred flooding in recent weeks thats blamed in three deaths so far, and two men in Nebraska have been missing for more than a week. Thousands were forced from their homes in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, as water broke through or poured over levees in the region. The damage is estimated at $3 billion, and that figure is expected to rise.

As temperatures start to warm, snowmelt in the Dakotas and Minnesota will escalate, sending more water down the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and their tributaries.

Lt. Col. James Startzell, deputy commander of the Corps of Engineers Omaha district, said even warmer temperatures are possible into next week. He urged people living near rivers to be watchful.

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Bill Brinton, emergency management director for hard-hit Buchanan County, Mo., which includes St. Josephs 76,000 residents, said his counties and surrounding ones have already been ravaged by flooding.

Theres a sense from the National Weather Service that we should expect it to continue to happen into May, Brinton said. With our levee breaches in Atchison and Holt and Buchanan counties, its kind of scary really.

A precautionary evacuation involving hundreds of homes in the St. Joseph area was lifted as the Missouri River began a swift decline after unofficially rising to a new all-time high, inches above the 1993 record. St. Joseph was largely spared, but Brinton said 250 homes were flooded in the southern part of Buchanan County. It wasnt clear when residents would be able to get back.

When they do, officials say they need to be careful. Contaminants that escaped from flooded farm fields, industrial operations and sewage plants are part of the murky water now saturating homes.

In Fremont County, Iowa, homes remain underwater, so it will be some time before residents can return, said County Supervisor Randy Hickey.

We dont want them in that water, anyway, Hickey said.

Experts also warn that sharp objects  broken glass, pieces of metal, sticks and rocks  could lurk in muddy debris. Downed or broken power lines also may pose electrocution hazards.

On Saturday, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, said President Trump granted her request for an expedited disaster declaration for 56 counties with flooding damage. The move makes assistance available to homeowners, renters, businesses, public entities and some nonprofit organizations.

The Missouri River had yet to crest further downstream in Missouri, but the flooding impact in those areas was expected to be far less severe.

In South Dakota, Republican Gov. Kristi Noem activated 13 members of the Army National Guard to help distribute water on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation after floodwaters washed out a county waterline. The guardsmen will provide drinkable water to people in the communities of Red Shirt, Pine Ridge, Porcupine, Evergreen and Wounded Knee.
I met with G, an asylum seeker from Honduras, in a large open space at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, last month. As a volunteer attorney working with immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, it was my job to help her prepare for her initial asylum interview. First, though, I needed to hear her story.

The setting was not ideal, since anyone in the room could overhear what she said, including her two daughters, aged 10 and 12. She began hesitantly, describing how she had been raped by her father when she was 12. Her mother and six siblings, rather than being supportive, blamed G, whose full name I am not using because of her pending asylum claim, and her mother began beating her regularly. When she was 14, her father committed suicide, and the family held her responsible for his death.

In her neighborhood, everyone knew of her abuse history, G told me, and she was considered damaged goods, available to any man who wanted her at any time. She soon met an older man who said he loved her and, for two years she stuck with him. He was abusive, though, and she learned he was married.

As she sat across from me crying, recalling events shed rather forget, I learned she was now 25 and had four children. As best as I could tell given the timeline, the two daughters sitting nearby had been fathered by her father. Since the girls had never heard these stories, G was ashamed and tried to minimize what she had been through. It took two hours of patient questioning to pull the full story out of her, and as she spoke, her daughters cried.

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The process for asylum seekers is long, grueling and often arbitrary.

In the end, it hadnt been her own troubles that made G flee Honduras. That decision was made in December of last year, she said, when local gang members told her that if she did not make her daughters sexually available to them, all her children would be killed.

I spent 10 days in February interviewing women like G at Dilley. I realize that many Americans suspect that Central American families come to the United States simply because its a better place to live, and that their asylum claims are fraudulent. But I wish they could meet the women I spoke with and hear their stories of fleeing to protect their children from imminent danger back home. I believe it would change even the most skeptical minds.

Nearly all of those I met with were, like G, applying for asylum, a process that begins with an interview to establish whether an applicant has a credible fear of returning home. Former Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions attempted last year to disallow asylum claims based on fear of gang violence or domestic abuse, but in December a federal judge in Washington blocked the administration from categorically banning such claims. An appeal by the government is pending.

Whatever the outcome of that case, the process for asylum seekers is long, grueling and often arbitrary, and most Central American applicants will not ultimately be granted asylum.

The women I talked to all knew the difficulties they faced, but felt they had no alternative but to try to stay in the United States for their childrens safety.

Two days after our initial meeting, G had her credible fear hearing, in a windowless trailer 50 feet from the detention center. The stakes were high. If she did not persuade the asylum officer she had a justifiable fear her children would be harmed in Honduras, they would all be sent back.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute 

Although I have practiced law for many decades, Ive never felt as terrified and helpless entering a legal proceeding. I had no idea whether G would be able to tell the hearing officer what she had told me, and I could do nothing to help her. In a regular courtroom, I could ask questions, object and make statements on behalf of my client. Here I was not allowed to speak. I hoped I my presence would provide at least a modicum of emotional support.

The asylum officer explained at the outset that attorneys who urged their clients to tell false stories would be prosecuted and asked G if I had told her what to say. She said no. Then, hesitantly, she told her story.

G passed her credible fear interview, but there is no knowing what will happen ultimately to her or her children when their case is heard in immigration court. What I do know is that they and thousands of other women and children are at high risk of being returned to dangerous situations. Most have little education and dont understand or speak English, yet they must navigate a complicated legal labyrinth to avoid being sent back to their torturers.

Asylum laws exist to provide refuge to people like G. The United States should not abandon its responsibility to assist them.

Martin Garbus, a trial attorney, is the author of the forthcoming book North of Havana.
Early in 1963  in the midst of wrangling with a local printer who refused to set type for a text vivid with expletives  Lawrence Ferlinghetti drafted a letter to his friend and fellow poet, Allen Ginsberg: If it werent for having that there City Lights book rack, [my wife] Kirby and I would live out of the country permanently. We both have had enough of the whole evil government scene of provincial petty back-biting San Francisco especially. A real hick town What I continue to hang around for Ill never fathom. Maybe Ill move City Lights publishing to Paris...

Its a provocative What if?

The few years preceding this imbroglio had been a difficult patch for Ferlinghetti, co-founder of City Lights Booksellers and Publishers. Hed gone head-to-head with the city of San Francisco over obscenity charges against Ginsbergs Howl and Other Poems, which hed published in 1956. Along with the bookstores manager, Shigeyoshi Shig Murao (who sold Howl to an undercover police officer, Ferlinghetti was arrested and put on trial. The court, however, found Ginsbergs work not obscene, and the proceedings changed the landscape of poetry and publishing, pivoting the literary worlds attention toward San Francisco and the early bloom of the Beat generation.

It was a spectacular early act for Ferlinghetti, City Lights and the Bay Areas countercultural reputation. As an editor, publisher and bookseller, he would always deal in more than words on the page, modeling ways to live boldly and authentically.

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City Lights has been a place to go for answers, but also its been a place to go to help refine or explore the questions.

Now San Francisco, and the world, will show the poet just how grateful it is that he stuck it out in California through many incarnations of  evil government, provincial petty backbiting, poetic booms and busts, and the vagaries of the book business. March 24 marks Ferlinghettis 100th birthday  he wont be in attendance at the parties (he opted out of birthday celebrations some years ago), but he is receiving cards and gifts via the bookstore.

A busy roster of festivities was set in motion earlier this month. On Sunday, Doubleday publishes Ferlinghettis new waggish, stream-of-consciousness, autobiographical experimental novel Little Boy. An open house at the Columbus Avenue store features a series of readings; exhibitions, toasts and more readings are scheduled throughout North Beach and beyond.

Its impossible to separate the man and his impact from City Lights and its influence. As well as hammering away at his own work (his 1958 poetry collection A Coney Island of the Mind has been translated into more than a dozen languages, with roughly a million copies in print), Ferlinghett has spent his long lifetime investing incalculable time providing writers a platform, sharpening their poetry or prose, and ushering them out into the world. Not just on his racks, but through his imprint. The familiar City Lights glyph  a heavy circular brush stroke suspended over a Y found on book spines, T-shirts and tote bags  is a conversation starter connecting enthusiasts around the globe.

After a World War II Navy tour and work on a doctorate at the Sorbonne in Paris, Ferlinghetti, a Yonkers, N.Y., native, set out for the Bay Area in the early 1950s. He settled into an easy orbit  he taught French, wrote literary criticism and painted. But he also recognized something crucial  foundational  was missing. San Francisco needed, he felt, a particular sort of meeting place, where people could swap ideas, argue, shape and refine their thinking or just sit and read. Early in the summer of 1953, he and Peter D. Martin opened the store. They started publishing poetry and journals two years later.

The two-story building at 261 Columbus Ave. lives in the worlds imagination in large part due to the band of bards, artists and activists who worked, scrapped and celebrated with one another there  and then committed those adventures to the page. (Jack Kerouac often referred pseudonymously to Ferlinghetti and his great Balzacian back room in his book store in his novels.)

The scene didnt just exist as a fictive backdrop or an insiders clubhouse  anyone could access it, bask in it. Writers, hopefuls and hangers-on drifted through looking for friends, picking up mail, chancing on a conversation. It has never been simply a bookstore, it is a way station.

Kind of a mecca, is how Peter Richardson, coordinator of American studies at San Francisco State University, defines the devotion City Lights inspires. They never sold out. They were never stuck in their own amber; they were always chugging along at their own tempo.

By college, as an aspiring writer, Id begun my own pilgrimages to City Lights. I wandered into the alley (then Adler, now Kerouac) that runs between the store and Vesuvio Cafe next door  and posed with my best friend under the stores venerable signage, arms flung across each others shoulders, end-of-the-road fashion. But mostly, I wanted to get inside  find what I was looking for, or better, happen upon what I didnt yet know I needed.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute 

When I lived in San Francisco, I came to see that the bookstore was the neighborhood, with Ferlinghetti as part of the everyday backdrop, holding forth in a cafe; paused on a traffic island, observing. The store was draped with ever-changing signs that sent out salvos against oppression, for compassion, in defense of free speech. Those messages, often Ferlinghettis own words, were a whispering conscience.

Years later, as a reporter working on a feature about Ferlinghetti and his by-then executive director Nancy Peters passing the baton to a new director, Elaine Katzenberger, I got a behind-the-scenes tour, including the poets office space overlooking Columbus Avenue. I sat with Katzenberger, who started working at City Lights in the 1980s, in Vesuvio in the weeks before she took charge, watching through the window as a new generation took We made it! photos at Columbus and Kerouac. Her new task, she acknowledged, was way more than just curating a collection of books.

Preparing for Ferlinghettis 100th birthday this month, Katzenberger amplified the thought. She knows the continued existence of the store  and its founder  is an anchor, even as the bohemian sensibility that City Lights has always signaled diminishes in San Francisco. The same thing that brings the people to work here is what brings people on pilgrimages, she says. There is an integrity that Lawrence represents and that were trying to maintain.

City Lights has been a place to go for answers, but also its been a place to go to help refine or explore the questions. Even Ferlinghettis own: That What if? floating between the lines of his letter to Ginsberg all those decades ago was a fate averted. In closing, he reflected: Am I to be stuck here forever, to carry on this here institution? The question, history shows, was rhetorical. San Francisco wasnt done with him and like a text still to be tinkered with, sharpened, he isnt quite finished with it yet.

Lynell Georges latest book is After/Image: Los Angeles Outside the Frame.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook.
As part of China's opening up drive in the new era, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has aroused interest around the world and won widespread international participation as a result of its inclusive, win-win nature.

When he delivered the government work report at the the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) on March 5, Premier Li Keqiang pointed out that China's opening up has occurred on all fronts, and that joint efforts to pursue the BRI were setting a new pace. Mechanisms of cooperation for countries along the BRI routes are improving, and trade, cultural and people-to-people exchanges under the initiative have gathered momentum. Joint construction of the BRI will continue to be a major measure of China's opening up.

An interconnected, modern and open economic system

The 19th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress report pointed out that China should prioritize joint construction, give equal emphasis to "bringing in" and "going global," follow the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration, and increase openness and cooperation in innovation.

The BRI has already created concrete results related to "bringing in" and "going global." According to data from the National Development and Reform Commission, of the 279 items on the outcomes list released at the inaugural 2017 Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF), 269 had been completed by the end of last year. The remaining 10 items are advancing, and will be in action by the time of the second BRF, to be held in April 2019.

Meanwhile, trade volume is expanding. China has made significant achievements with the countries and regions involved in the BRI in the past five years, with total trade volumes between China and those regions exceeding US$6 trillion.

China's outbound direct investment (ODI) into BRI countries is also increasing. According to official data from the Ministry of Commerce, non-financial direct investment by Chinese enterprises in 56 countries along the Belt and Road routes reached US$15.64 billion in 2018, up 8.9 percent year over year, accounting for 13 percent of the total volume in the same period. In 2018, a large number of countries signed onto BRI  particularly in Africa, where China signed memorandums of understanding with 37 countries or regions at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in September 2018.

The importance of outbound economic and trade cooperation zones is also growing. By the end of 2018, a total of 933 enterprises passed confirmation assessment to enter cooperation zones. The accumulated investment was US$20.96 billion, with US$2.28 billion being handed over in taxes and dues. Additionally, 147,000 jobs were created, realizing mutual beneficial results.

Lastly, cooperation in third-party markets was promoted. Chinese enterprises conducted practical cooperation in Asia and Africa, by working together with enterprises from the U.K., Germany, France and Singapore.

The evolution of the global governance system

The BRI offers new solutions to meet the demand for change in the global governance system.

Jointly building the BRI has the important effects of upholding justice and friendship while pursuing shared interests through diplomatic work, especially the reform of the global governance system. The BRI is not a one-way promotion of the Chinese model; instead, it promotes the safeguarding of national interests and the benefit to all economies involved in the initiative.

The 19th CPC National Congress report emphasized that China has made generalized efforts in the pursuit of major country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, thus advancing its diplomatic agenda in a comprehensive, multifaceted manner.

Since the BRI was proposed in 2013, China has signed 171 cooperation documents with 29 international organizations and 123 countries, including developed and developing countries.

2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. The second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation will be held this April, with the theme "Belt and Road Cooperation: Shaping a Brighter Shared Future." The forum aims to enable high-quality cooperation, striving for green and sustainable development. Wang Yi said on the sidelines of the 2019 National People's Congress session that China will seek greater synergy with participating countries and their development strategies, will promote implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and will emphasize the improvement of people's lives while deepening cooperation. China will strive to uphold open cooperation, support economic globalization and multilateralism, and join hands with its partners to build an open global economy.

In a nut shell, as the 19th CPC National Congress report concluded, China has made great contributions to global peace and development, and will continue to do so in the future, as it champions the development of a community with a shared future for mankind.

The author is Associate Research Fellow with Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China.

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

If you would like to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn.
To the editor: The Golan Heights was not seized from Syria in 1967. It was captured in a war instigated by the surrounding Arab countries that were threatening to destroy Israel. Who knew that tiny Israel would win that war?

In 1963, I swam in the Sea of Galilee. It was a beautiful day. Shortly after I left, I heard on the news that the Syrians controlling Golan were shooting down into the farm and lake below  where I had just been swimming.

Israel uses its control of the Golan Heights only for its protection, not aggression. The Golan Heights must remain under the control and sovereignty of Israel.

Flo Ginsburg, Santa Monica

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Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont called on Americans to stand up to hatred of all kinds on Saturday as he paid a visit to a Koreatown mosque to commemorate the victims of the mass shooting in New Zealand.

Your background is different than mine, the candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination told about 200 Muslims at the Islamic Center of Southern California. What a joy it is to share that.

The senator echoed that theme later in the day, telling an estimated 12,000 people at a downtown Los Angeles rally he was shocked and disgusted by the New Zealand shootings.

As president of the United States, I will not have kind words to say about authoritarian leaders around the world who espouse bigotry and hatred, Sanders told the crowd. Together we will make the United States the leader in the world in the fight for democracy and human rights.

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Sanders morning stop at the mosque came as he traveled the state to build support for his campaign nearly a year in advance of Californias March 2020 primary.

It also coincided with his effort to diversify his team of top advisors following allegations that his 2016 campaign was dominated by white men and tolerated sexual harassment and discrimination.

Muslim community leaders in California invited Sanders to speak at the Islamic center to pay tribute to the 50 people killed March 15 at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, by a gunman identified as a white supremacist.

Sanders, 77, who acknowledges he does not like to talk about himself, shared memories of crying when he was a boy as he read about the Holocaust.

Once the site of Bernie Sanders last stand, California now is pivotal to his 2020 prospects 

I never could understand why would people do such terrible and horrible things to people, he said at the mosque.

He mentioned the killing of Native Americans by European settlers in early America, the enslavement of African Americans, prejudice against Asians, Irish and Italians, and the genocides of the 20th century, saying there was reason to hope the world would now understand that we share a common humanity.

Who really stays up at night worrying that the color of your skin is darker than mine? he said. Who worries that your religion is different than mine?

Sanders bemoaned hate crimes, the rise of authoritarianism and demagogues picking on minorities.

Now is the time, as never before, for us to stand up to hatred of all kind, he said. He did not mention President Trump, whom he has described as racist.

The invited audience greeted Sanders with frequent applause.

I like that he unites people, said Erica Schley Ali, 34, of La Canada, a Sanders supporter who brought her three young children to hear him speak. Minorities especially. I think our country needs that.

High school teacher Karima Razi, 54, a Sanders backer from Laguna Niguel, said she appreciated that his message at the mosque went beyond his usual economic agenda.

It just shows that he has a vision that encompasses the best for everybody, she said.

Sanders followed the visit with a rally in Los Angeles, the second of three large events he planned in California this weekend. His final event will be a midday gathering in San Francisco on Sunday.

A Los Angeles Fire Department official estimated the downtown rally crowd Saturday at about 12,000.

Sanders drew on his biography to underscore his call for an economic revolution, noting that he grew up in a family that lived paycheck to paycheck.

I know where I come from, and that is something I will never forget, he said.

Sen. Bernie Sanders wades through a crowd during a presidential campaign stop at the Islamic Center of Southern California in Koreatown. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Supporters gathered in the grassy Grand Park outside of City Hall, watching opening acts of folk rock and hip-hop performers. Many said they were Sanders backers since 2016  or even earlier.

Jane Jefferies, 66, said shes been a fan since the 1970s, citing his civil rights work. The retiree from Lancaster said the rally on Saturday felt not as energetic, because fellow supporters were wary that the Democratic establishment was not supportive of Sanders.

It looks like now theyre focusing on the wrong people, like Beto, Jefferies said, referring to former Rep. Beto ORourke of Texas, who is also running. Hes always on the news  why?

Others said they were intrigued by Sanders Democratic rivals, especially Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator who has been a stalwart antagonist of Wall Street.

Theyre almost all good, in my opinion, said David Siegel, a 60-year-old computer analyst from Beverly Hills. Sanders ranks No. 1, Siegel said, and Warren a close second. No matter what, he said, hed vote for the Democratic nominee.

Thats not even a question, he said.
Almost six months after Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered, the man believed to have ordered the killing has cemented his position as President Trumps closest ally in the Arab world.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, has weathered the initial storm over the Oct. 2 killing in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Trump and his aides have made clear that they consider the prince an essential U.S. partner in the Middle East.

If they were thinking long-term about American interests, theyd see that hes also one of their biggest problems.

MBS, as hes widely known, is an autocrat, a hothead and a disruptor. Hes a younger, Saudi version of Trump  only with fewer checks and balances.

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The 33-year-old prince hasnt done much to stabilize the Middle East. Instead, hes made the area even less stable  not only by ordering a savage crackdown against dissidents like Khashoggi, but also by bullying other princes, kidnapping Lebanons prime minister, imposing an economic blockade on one neighbor, Qatar, and launching a disastrous war against another, Yemen.

When Trump talks about Saudi Arabia under MBS, he extols the kingdom as a buyer of U.S.-manufactured weapons, pointing to deals he claims (with characteristic exaggeration) could reach $110 billion.

I dont want to lose an order like that, he said last year.

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo describes the Saudis in more strategic terms, as important allies in counterterrorism and the U.S.-led campaign to pressure Iran.

Its a mean, nasty world out there, the Middle East in particular, Pompeo said. There are important American interests. Saudi Arabia [is] an important partner.

Both make it sound as if the United States faces a single, all-or-nothing choice: stand by MBS, or walk away from the relationship entirely.

I want to stick with an ally that in many ways has been very good, Trump said.

But theres a third alternative, of course  one the United States has often used when leaders of client states acted against U.S. interests. Call it tough love.

You dont want to walk away from the relationship. What you want to do is improve their behavior, Robert W. Jordan, a U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia under President George W. Bush, told me last week. I dont see much of a strategy in place to do that.

Part of the problem, Jordan said, is that the Trump administration has ceded leverage to the Saudis. We treat them as if theyre our most valued customer in the world, and the customers always right, he said.

Instead, he said, the administration should make it clear that its not happy with some of MBS decisions and back up its words with action.

You have to make it clear that youre serious about it, he said. There are subtle ways we can make clear that they need us more than we need them. Take spare parts. Their F-15s would be grounded in weeks if we held up their spare parts.

In the months since Khashoggi was killed and his body dismembered, the Trump administration has done nothing like that.

Instead, Trump has questioned whether MBS should be held responsible for the crime, despite a CIA finding (with medium to high confidence) that he ordered it.

The administration has been similarly muted about the kingdoms imprisonment of dissidents, including womens rights activists who have been subjected to physical abuse and threats of rape.

Even in the case of Dr. Walid Fitaihi, a Saudi American dual citizen who has reportedly been tortured, the United States has said little.

And when it comes to the Saudi intervention in Yemens civil war, which MBS launched three years ago, the administration has backed the prince  despite mounting reports of civilian casualties from Saudi airstrikes.

The way to alleviate the Yemeni peoples suffering is  by giving the Saudi-led coalition the support needed to defeat Iranian-backed rebels, Pompeo said March 15.

If the administration wanted to send a tough-love message, one way would be to get an ambassador to Riyadh. Trump didnt nominate a candidate for the job for almost two years; the Republican-led Senate hasnt yet confirmed his choice, retired Gen. John P. Abizaid.

Abizaid has said hes willing to talk tough.

We should speak frankly to our partners when they do wrong, he said in his Senate confirmation hearing on March 6.

But once he gets to Riyadh, Abizaid will face a problem: MBS has gotten used to doing business directly with Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law.

They have to empower Abizaid; he has to be seen as the presidents man, said Barbara A. Leaf, a former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. You cannot have MBS thinking that all he has to do is call Jared.

The U.S.-Saudi relationship needs to be reset, argues Aaron David Miller, a Middle East expert who worked in both Republican and Democratic administrations. We are tethering ourselves to a regime that is undermining American interests and American values.

He acknowledged that it wont be easy. How do you identify a policy between abandonment and embrace?

But it wont happen at all unless Trump and his aides resolve to try, and theres no sign that they have.

In this test of statecraft, theyre failing.
If the state Capitol had a hall of fame for legislative influence, a no-brainer inductee for playing defense would be the California Chamber of Commerce  a feared linebacker with a two-decade record of tackling and stopping new laws.

But last week, the powerful group lost an early round against the first two 2019 bills on its annual job killers list. And it highlighted one of the years most intriguing questions in Sacramento: Will the largest Democratic majority in the Legislatures modern era and one of the states most liberal chief executives, Gov. Gavin Newsom, be able to further push policies that expand government oversight in the business world?

The job killers list, compiled every year but one since 1997, draws attention to legislation the Chamber of Commerce insists will most threaten job creation and economic growth. The CalChamber policy staff is very judicious about the difference between legislation that merits opposition and a job killer, stated an overview document published earlier this year.

California lawmakers and lobbyists hustle to write hundreds of bills, many not fully cooked 

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Many of the bills on recent lists were efforts to raise business taxes and fees or impose new workplace rules and employer regulations. Not all of the legislation was fully cooked  in other words, they were bills in which significant questions lingered throughout the legislative session and thus might have died on their own without a major lobbying effort.

Still, the Chambers record is impressive  on average, 92% of the bills on each years list have failed to become law. The vast majority never even made it to the governors desk. And some of those that were enacted had been amended in ways that prompted the business group to remove its political scarlet letter.

That the state Chamber of Commerce maintained its powerful position during the last eight years is one of the more interesting side stories to the long legacy of former Gov. Jerry Brown. The group ran TV ads criticizing Brown during the 2010 campaign but later relied on him to veto bills or help squash them behind the scenes. Democratic legislators gave Brown tremendous deference, a key to the unusual relationship between the iconic governor and the business group.

Novembers election results, though, suggested a surge in the power of progressive politics. Newsoms agenda  which includes universal healthcare and a major expansion of paid family leave  may end up promoting some of the more muted ideas supported by Democrats. They hold three-quarters of the seats in the state Assembly and will likely surpass two-thirds of the Senate seats after an upcoming special election.

The business group lost some key allies last year. A review of CalChambers legislative scorecard finds eight seats, held by Republicans who voted with the group consistently in recent years, are now occupied by Democrats. And even a handful of lawmakers can keep bills from moving forward or result in compromises with opponents.

In that light, its easy to see why so many Capitol lobbyists and activists noticed when lawmakers renewed previous efforts that Brown and business-aligned forces had blocked, including efforts to expand the rights of those workers in the sharing economy and a proposal to allow only the sale of zero-emission vehicles by 2040. Tax proposals are also plentiful among the more than 2,500 bills introduced by last months deadline.

The first two bills on this years business hit list are also 2018 do-overs: a ban on mandatory arbitration and settlement agreements for workplace disputes and a bill that would allow speedy state implementation of federal environmental regulations abolished by President Trump. CalChamber helped stymie both efforts last year; this years bills will be an early indicator of whether a major political shift is underway.

john.myers@latimes.com

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The long-awaited Avion project, which is proposed to be a combination of light-industrial buildings, multiple office campuses and a hotel, is one step closer to receiving the green light from Burbank officials.

The Burbank Planning Board unanimously voted on Monday to recommend the City Council approve the development.

Developer Overton Moore Properties plans to build on the 61-acre area, known as the B-6 site, located just north of the Hollywood Burbank Airport on Hollywood Way. The project is proposed to have six industrial buildings, nine two-story office buildings, two retail or restaurant spaces and a six-story, 150-room hotel.

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, which sold the site to Overton Moore in November 2015 for $72.5 million, is in the works to construct a 14-gate replacement terminal next to the B-6 site.

The Avion project, if approved by the City Council during a future meeting, would be the first major development to be built in Burbanks Golden State District  an area near the airport focused on being a technology and media industry hub in the city.

Timur Tecimer, chief executive of Overton Moore, said on Tuesday that the developer is eager to start construction this year, and company officials hope they can break ground in August.

In order for the project to be constructed, Overton Moore had to request a zoning change for a portion of the property that is currently designated for airport use.

Additionally, a few components of the projects environmental impact report, specifically air quality and traffic, require a statement of overriding considerations because they cannot be mitigated, said Scott Plambaeck, a deputy city planner for Burbank.

He said nitrogen-oxide levels around the project site would significantly increase because of additional vehiclar traffic and having industrial facilities on the site.

Plambaeck added that there would be unavoidable negative impacts to traffic when the project is complete, particularly on Hollywood Way, Buena Vista Street and San Fernando Boulevard.

Although air quality is expected to decrease and traffic is projected to increase if Avion is built, Plambaeck said the developer is hoping that those who work in the business park will take advantage of public-transportation options  there are Metrolink lines located north and south of the project as well as protected bicycle lanes.

One way the developer plans to incentivize people to use public transportation, especially Metrolink, is by dedicating 60 public parking spaces on the site for those who choose to travel via railways.

Despite the air-quality and traffic issues, Planning Board members were in full support of the project because of its potential as a modern campus for new and existing technology, media and aerospace companies.

Additionally, the project is expected to provide the city with up to $23.5 million in public benefits, which would include helping the city build a new electric substation, maintenance of the Metrolinks north station, the 60 public parking spaces and maintenance of the right-of-way within and adjacent to the site.

Congratulations on bringing such a fine project to our city, Christopher Rizzotti, planning board chair, said.

anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio
No visitor to Orange County can mistake the impact that philanthropic Irvine family members have made on the growing Southern California landscape.

Since its creation in 1937 by agricultural pioneer James Irvine, the James Irvine Foundation has awarded over $1 billion in grants to more than 3,000 nonprofits that elevate arts engagement, education and public policy decision-making.

Joan Irvine Smith, an arts patron and the great-granddaughter of James Irvine, who established the Irvine Co. real estate and development firm, announced Oct. 27 that she will donate her entire California Impressionist painting collection, valued at $17 million, to the UC Irvine campus.

The collection of 1,200 works is currently housed in The Irvine Museum, a space Smith established in 1993 to exhibit California Impressionist paintings that reminded her of the undeveloped Orange County of her youth.

The Irvine Museum is dedicated to California Impressionism, as exemplified by Guy Roses Laguna Eucalyptus (Courtesy of The Irvine Museum)

Smith, who began collecting California Impressionism in the early 90s, founded the nonprofit museum in an office tower off Von Karman Avenue, which today attracts 35,000 to 40,000 annual visitors.

The family plans to christen a personal landmark with an anticipated new museum at the UC Irvine campus, and the permanent home will house the collection that consists of works by Guy Rose, William Wendt, Granville Redmond, Edgar Payne and many others.

The focus wasnt just about starting a museum  it was to talk about the environment issues we face today, which are just as equally important, Smiths son, Irvine Museum President James Irvine Swinden, said Wednesday afternoon during a tour of the museum. My mother has always been involved in these issues, and it seemed appropriate that the collection end up on the ranch.

See this bridge? he asked, pointing to a Franz Bischoffs landscape, Arroyo Seco Bridge. This now is where the Pasadena Freeway is.

Educational and community outreach has remained one of the museums paramount missions, Swinden said, as it provides students attending both public and private schools in the Orange County school districts field trips, free busing and a donation of a complete set of hardbound museum publications.

The museum, which offers complimentary admission to all visitors, also welcomes elementary school children to view the collection and travel to the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary to experience the wetland habitat and its inhabitants.

Many of these children never have set foot in a museum, and oftentimes, Swinden said he learns they return to view the art collection with their parents.

The donation was also seen as a victory for the home team, UC Irvine, as The Irvine Museum collection has traveled across the U.S. and around the world 18 times to international institutions.

Its so tremendously exciting, said Howard Gillman, who became UCIs sixth chancellor in September 2014. We know how historic and foundational the collection is for our broader aspirations.

Two years ago, Gillman designed a new program, Illuminations, an arts and culture initiative aimed at preparing students to participate in a discussion that addressed questions of human culture and social values.

James Irvine Swinden and his wife, Madeline, stand beside Guy Roses The Green Parasol at The Irvine Museum, which opened in 1993. (Courtesy of UC Irvine)

The programs list of activities and events coincide with the universitys plans to connect with regional arts and cultural institutions, Gillman said, and in the long run, he envisions UC Irvine becoming the center for California art with the Irvine familys world-class pieces.

Its an added benefit to have the pieces exhibited on a college campus as current art faculty members may provide valuable insight into the history of works in the museum collection, Gillman said.

Plans for a museum have come full circle since Los Angeles modernist architect William Pereira included a regional art museum in his original campus master plan more than 50 years ago, Swinden said.

UC Irvine will not demolish the campuss Aldrich Park to build a new museum, but it will seek funds to build one near the center of the campus.

I hope a visitor understands theyre observing first-class works of art created by artists who were trained in Paris, New York and all over Europe, Swinden said.

But I also hope they understand the environment message, Swinden said. Everyone has a responsibility to preserve natural resources and were asking, How do you take a step further in doing so? How do we maintain that now? It cant just be preserved in a painting.

kathleen.luppi@latimes.com

Twitter: @KathleenLuppi
Laguna Beach is known far and wide as an art town.

That reputation stems from its establishment as an art colony in the early 1900s, with artists Norman St. Clair, William Swift Daniell and Gardner Symons buying and building properties there.

The artists who settled in the sleepy beach community were mostly transplants from the East Coast and Midwest. Many of them would go on to form the influential Laguna Beach Art Assn. in 1918.

Through Jan. 13, the Laguna Art Museum is presenting Art Colony: The Laguna Beach Art Association, 1918-1935, an exhibition that looks back at the organization that would evolve into the art museum. Its also the cornerstone presentation of the museums centennial celebration, which has been taking place since the beginning of the year.

Without those artists of a hundred years ago, we wouldnt even exist, said Malcolm Warner, the museums executive director since 2012. We try to keep up the traditions of openness and outreach that were part of their mission from the beginning, and will continue to pay homage to them by showing their work in our galleries.

The Laguna Beach Art Assn.s first exhibit was in July 1918. The group officially formed in August that year with 150 charter members, of whom only 35 were artists.

Janet Blake and Deborah Epstein Solon co-curated Art Colony, which features about 100 paintings, plus photos, ephemera and lots of historical information about individual artists. Blake is curator of historical art at the museum; Solon is an adjunct professor of art history at Saddleback College, Santa Ana College and Cal State Fullerton.

Charles Percy Austins La Buenaventura is one of the works in the Laguna Art Museums current exhibition, Art Colony: The Laguna Beach Art Association, 1918-1935. The piece is on loan from the Bowers Museum. (Courtesy of Laguna Art Museum)

Blake says she organized a similar show in 1986, celebrating the establishment of the Laguna art colony. But in this day and age, with the internet and computers ubiquitous and uber-powerful in research, the two found much more about the artists than had been unearthed in previous efforts.

When I did this show in 1986, there was no internet, Blake said. There were none of the tools available today to research. Both Deb Solon and I learned so much more about the impact of the artists on this community and how it literally shaped the community as an American art colony and as a community whose focus remains today on the arts.

Among the Laguna Beach Art Assn. founders were Anna Hills, Edgar Payne, Frank Cuprien, William Wendt, Marion and Elmer Wachtel and Conway Griffith. Works by each of those artists are featured in the current show.

Over time, it became clear that many of the association members were not just artists but also environmental conservationists. They pushed for the preservation of the coastline and Laguna Canyon from massive development, and to a large extent succeeded, Blake said.

The art association implored developers not to develop the ocean side of Cliff Drive, she said. Heisler Park exists partly because the artists really pushed to keep it undeveloped.

From its start, the association also had a significant number of female members and artists in an era before womens suffrage. Many important women  Hills, Mabel Alvarez, Donna Schuster, Julia Bracken Wendt, Marion Kavanagh Wachtel, Marion George  were associated with the group.

Inside the Art Colony

The museum exhibit features dozens of significant artworks, including paintings by major artists who were seen in the Laguna Beach Art Assn.s original exhibits.

William Wendt might be one of the best known of that group, and the exhibit features several of his grand, picturesque California Impressionist paintings, including Old Coast Road (1916), The Mantle of Spring (1917) and Laguna Coast (1930).

Joseph Kleitschs The White House" is on display in Art Colony: The Laguna Beach Art Association, 1918-1935" at the Laguna Art Museum. The painting is on loan from the city of Laguna Beach. (Courtesy of Laguna Art Museum)

Joseph Kleitsch also is well-represented in the show, which is fitting because he may be best recognized for his nostalgic depictions of old Laguna. His oil on canvas The Old Post Office (circa 1922-23) has become a mainstay at the Laguna Art Museum, which owns the work in its permanent collection.

There also are notable works by Alvarez, Cuprien, Clarence Hinkle, Edouard Vysekal, Lorser Feitelson and George Hurrell, a onetime Laguna resident who photographed many Hollywood stars during his career, including Bette Davis, Clarke Gable, Joan Crawford, Humphrey Bogart and Rita Hayworth. He also photographed members of the art association, and one gallery is dedicated to their portraits.

Interesting trivia is sprinkled throughout the show and its accompanying catalog. The first art association gallery was a ramshackle old building on the grounds of the Laguna Beach Hotel that presented the first exhibit in 1918.

Ten years later, a groundbreaking at the corner of Coast Boulevard and Cliff Drive initiated the construction of the LBAA Gallery. It opened its first exhibition in February 1929 at 307 Cliff Drive, where the museum now stands.

Organizers of the current exhibit have decorated the main Steele Gallery to look as close as possible to how it appeared in 1929.

The Red Planet, painted by Helen Lundeberg in 1934, is shown in Art Colony: The Laguna Beach Art Association, 1918-1935" at the Laguna Art Museum. The work is on loan from a private collection. (Courtesy of Laguna Art Museum)

Racial diversity lacking in the group

One thing a visitor might notice is that all the artists from the establishment of Laguna Beach as an art colony  and the early days of LBAA  were white. The same goes for all 66 artists in the exhibit.

Apparently that was simply the racial consistency of the group that settled the art colony in the early 1900s, though the land had been occupied by the Spanish and by Native Americans for generations.

This was a pretty much lily white organization, Blake said of the art association. In 1900, when people first started coming to Laguna Beach and painting, thats the way it was.

Almost all the associations members came from European backgrounds, and some were first-generation immigrants, Warner said. The phenomenon of the artists colony started in Europe, so maybe its not so surprising.

The 1920s and 30s saw some stylistic diversity, with modernist works from more avant-garde perspectives making their way into LBAA shows. Ultimately, though, the members of LBAA reflect the Laguna Beach population through the years and today. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, whites made up 90.9% of the citys population. A 2017 Census Bureau estimate placed the number at 90.3%.

The exhibit includes portraits of people of color, including John Hubbard Richs Mme. Yup See (1919), Charles Percy Austins La Buenaventura (circa 1927) and Edgar Paynes Untitled, Navajo riders (circa 1929).

IF YOU GO

What: Art Colony: The Laguna Beach Art Association, 1918-1935

When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (closed Wednesdays), through Jan. 13; open until 9 p.m. Thursdays

Where: Laguna Art Museum, 307 Cliff Drive, Laguna Beach

Cost: $7 general; $5 students, senior citizens and active military; free for children younger than 12

Information: (949) 494-8971, lagunaartmuseum.org

Richard Chang is a contributor to Times Community News.

UPDATES:

5:20 p.m.: This article was updated with information about the exhibits portraits of people of color.

This article was originally published at 2:10 p.m.
Steve Herr assumes he wont live to see the execution of the man convicted of murdering and then decapitating his son in the attic of an Orange County theater.

Realistically, Im not going to be around when hes put to death, Herr, 67, said a few days after a jury recommended the death penalty for Daniel Wozniak. Ill be dead.

Orange County Superior Court Judge John Conley is scheduled in March to render the official sentence for Wozniak, 31, for the slayings of Army veteran Sam Herr, 26, and his friend Juri Julie Kibuishi, 23, in May 2010.

Wozniak, a community theater actor from Costa Mesa, was desperate for money to fund his upcoming wedding, so he killed the two as part of a plan to steal $62,000 from Herrs bank account, according to prosecutors.

After his conviction last month, jurors took less than an hour of deliberation Monday to decide that Wozniak deserved death for the murders. Orange County District Atty. Tony Rackauckas said it was the fastest decision on capital punishment he could recall.

*

Executions take decades to be carried out

Wozniaks case took more than five years to go to trial, and despite the jurys decisiveness, its death sentence verdict is just the beginning of another long process that may or may not end with Wozniaks execution.

In California, where capital punishment has been on hold for a decade, its an open question whether convicts sent to death row today will ever have their sentence carried out.

The state put a moratorium on the death penalty in 2006 when a judge ruled that a three-drug lethal injection could cause inhumane suffering.

In November, officials unveiled a one-drug injection that could restart executions, but the method still faces months of public vetting and possible legal challenges.

Even before the moratorium, however, the reality in California is that, of those who are sentenced to death, very few have been executed and its taken an enormously long time, said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Irvine law school.

Since the death penalty was reinstated in California in 1977, juries have sent 900 inmates to death row  13 have been put to death, according to court papers authored by Judge Cormac Carney of the U.S. District Court in Orange County.

On average, there is a 25-year delay between a death sentence being handed down and it being carried out, and that gap is getting longer, according to the judge.

*

Why does it take so long?

Many factors add up to the decades of lag time between a death sentence and an execution, according to Chemerinsky.

To begin with, all death sentences in California are automatically appealed.

Before any work can be done on the case, a lawyer must be appointed. That in itself can take years.

A 2004 report commissioned by the California Legislature blamed that on budget cuts at the state public defenders office and on a low rate of pay offered to private attorneys willing to take the assignments.

Another factor is that all such appeals go directly to Californias Supreme Court, which hears only about 20 to 25 such cases a year, according to Carney.

After years of reviewing and briefing their cases, attorneys might wait two to three more years before the court has time to hear their arguments, the judge wrote.

Inmates who lose their appeal to the Supreme Court can appeal again for the courts consideration. If those appeals are exhausted, inmates can petition a federal court for review, further extending the process.

*

Is it cruel and unusual?

The future of capital punishment in California became even more uncertain in 2014 when Carney ruled the states death penalty unconstitutional, saying the long and unpredictable waits had made the system cruel and unusual and undermined its effectiveness.

In November, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overruled Carney, but the decision was on procedural grounds, leaving the possibility of another challenge at the state level based on the same arguments, Chemerinsky said.

More condemned inmates die of natural causes than are put to death, according to California Department of Corrections figures that Carney cited in his decision.

As for the random few for whom execution does become a reality, they will have languished for so long on death row that their execution will serve no retributive or deterrent purpose and will be arbitrary, Carney wrote.

But such arguments and the death penaltys murky future did not deter the Orange County district attorneys office from pursuing capital punishment for Wozniak.

Cases like this are a perfect example of why the death penalty is appropriate, Senior Deputy District Atty. Matt Murphy said in a news conference after the jurys decision.

Prosecutors in Orange County seek capital punishment on only about 4% of eligible cases, but the brutality of Wozniaks crimes called out for the highest available penalty, Murphy said.

During the trial, jurors heard testimony that Wozniak dismembered Herrs body before tossing some of the parts in a Long Beach park in a failed attempt to throw police off his trail.

To further the cover-up, Wozniak used Herrs phone to lure Kibuishi to Herrs apartment, then killed her and staged her body to make it seem as if Herr had raped her and fled, according to Murphy.

*

States voters may play a big role

Wozniaks final fate, however, may rest with what voters decide this year.

Competing propositions, one intending to abolish the states death penalty and the other to speed it up, are expected to appear on the November ballot.

Steve Herr is aware the question of Wozniaks execution may be moot for him.

But whether Wozniak lives or dies, Herr said, the jurys decision carries a comforting weight.

You have 12 people from different backgrounds, different genders, different religious beliefs  all of them agree that this crime was so heinous, so evil, it warranted the ultimate punishment, he said. That was important to me.
Coast Community College District officials have lifted a ban on skateboarding and rollerblading at Orange Coast College until June 30 to encourage more students to skate, rather than drive, to campus.

Staff members and students at the Costa Mesa college are surveying the community response to skateboarders return as part of a trial of the Core Campus Loop, in which administrators hope to improve traffic flow and safety by marking lanes and installing signs for a dedicated bike path.

For the record: The original version of this article misspelled Marc Perkins first name as Mark.

Were trying to create a culture of skateboarders as commuters and skateboards as transportation tools, said Marc Perkins, a professor of biological sciences who spearheaded the OCC bicycle and skateboard master plan.

Perkins said he bikes or walks to the campus every workday.

At the end of the day, it helps me decompress and gets me out in the open air, he said. For those 20 minutes on my bike  it helps me leave work when Im [going home] and get in a good mind-set on my way to work.

Perkins said hes seeing growing interest in physically active types of transportation among his students.

Costa Mesa and OCC teamed up on the Explore Merrimac project, a recent event that temporarily featured protected bike and skateboard lanes on Merrimac Way, which runs along the southern edge of Orange Coast College. Perkins and his students are collecting data of near-collisions on campus to determine whether that is a viable option for the campus community.

Before the Core Campus Loops installation, students observed three close calls between pedestrians and skateboarders or bicyclists. Theyve seen none since the project launched, Perkins said.

To me, thats some really telling data that this may be actually improving safety, he said.

DANIEL LANGHORNE is a contributor to Times Community News.

Twitter: @DanielLanghorne
The Glendale City Council joined faith and community leaders this week in signing a declaration of partnership celebrating their work on the future Armenian American Museum.

Museum and city officials inked the document during a joint press conference Wednesday following Glendale City Councils unanimous approval of the ground lease agreement for the museums future site. The event was held on the second floor of the Downtown Central Library, overlooking the southwest corner of Central Park where the museum will be built.



For the record: An earlier version of this story contained incorrect information about the cost of the project and the number of spaces in the parking structure. The cost of the museum is estimated at $30 million and the parking garage will have 262 parking spaces.

Its great to be here on this momentous occasion, said Glendale Mayor Zareh Sinanyan. It is a proud day for the city of Glendale and we are excited that the Armenian American Museums future home is going to be in our city.

Initially, the museum was going to be built on a 1.37-acre, city-owned parking lot at Mountain Street and Verdugo Road, but community push-back forced it to be relocated.

Councilwoman Paula Devine said Wednesday was one of the proudest days of her life in public service.

The Armenian American Museum is going to be a jewel in our city and a world class center that we are all going to be proud of, Devine said.

The $1-a-year ground lease agreement will be for 55 years with options to extend the lease term for four 10-year periods, for a maximum lease of 95 years. The current parking areas around Central Library and park will be turned into additional green space.

Construction on the 60,0000-square-foot, three-story museum will begin within the next year, once museum board members and city officials begin raising funds for the $30-million project and reviewing paperwork, said Berdj Karapetian, museum executive chairman.

The museum will also include a performing arts theater, a learning center, a demonstration kitchen and a cafe. A parking structure, which is projected to cost an additional $12 million and is expected to have 262 spaces, will also be built.

People from all walks of life will see that the citizens of Glendale led the charge for this marvelous building, Karapetian said.

Museum officials will announce opportunities for the public to get involved with the project at a later date.

Councilman Vartan Gharpetian spoke about a portion of the museum being dedicated to the Armenian Genocide, the extermination of roughly 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire 103 years ago.

As a descendant of a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, people ask me how did Armenians survive? Gharpetian said. First, we settled into an area were comfortable with. We build our churches first, then we build our schools and our cultural centers.

This is a center for children, as well as present and future residents, to come in and learn about where Armenians came from and where were going, Gharpetian said.

Councilman Ara Najarian, the self-described Armenian from Ohio, talked about how committed he would be to the museum.

I intend to be an active partner because I am committed to this museum, and I will help make sure it is is done timely and with the full communitys support, Najarian said.

The museum will be a legacy for the next generation and we have taken a great step towards making the project a reality, he said.

michael.livingston@latimes.com

@MLivingston06
 Flash

U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Saturday the "liberation" of all territory controlled by the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq, while vowing to remain vigilant until "it is finally defeated."

Trump said in a statement that the United States, together with its partners in Global Coalition to Defeat IS, has liberated "100 Percent of 'the caliphate.'"

"We will remain vigilant against ISIS (IS) by aligning global counterterrorism efforts to fight ISIS until it is finally defeated wherever it operates," the president added.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced Saturday the defeat of the IS militant group in eastern Syria.

The victory ended the IS rule that once spanned a third of Iraq and Syria.

The SDF, with the help of the U.S.-led coalition, has been fighting the IS group in the region of eastern bank of the Euphrates River since last September.

The IS emerged in Syria after the Syrian crisis began in 2011, after it was formed first in Iraq amid the U.S.-led invasion of the country.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the group's leader, broke ties with al-Qaeda and renamed his group "the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" in 2013.

In 2014, the extremist group captured Raqqa Province in Syria and declared the establishment of a caliphate.

Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan on Saturday called the liberation of the territory once held by IS in Iraq and Syria "a critical milestone," adding that the work "is far from complete."

"We will continue our work with the Global Coalition to deny ISIS safe haven anywhere in the world," Shanahan said in a statement.

Declaring victory over the IS, Trump announced in December the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, leading to the resignation of then Secretary of Defense James Mattis and wide opposition from home and abroad.

Last month, Trump announced a small fraction of U.S. forces would remain in Syria with troops from other countries. Currently, there are about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told the press on Friday that the territorial caliphate of IS had been eliminated in Syria, saying that the Pentagon confirmed this information. However, Russian media Sputnik reported on Friday, citing a Russian Foreign Ministry source, that Washington's statements about the complete liberation of Syria from IS were not convincing.

General Joseph Votel, head of the U.S. Central Command, said earlier this month that the operation against IS was far from over.

"Reduction of the physical caliphate is a monumental military accomplishment -- but the fight against ISIS and violent extremism is far from over and our mission remains the same," Votel said.

Following Shanahan's statement, Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a statement that the U.S. military remains committed to working closely with its coalition and regional partners to "ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS."

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who's visiting Lebanon, told reporters Saturday that work remains to be done to "make sure that radical Islamic terrorism doesn't continue to grow."
On Wednesday, Father Movses Shannakian was joined by a dozen ministers as they visited Adventist Health Glendale, formerly Glendale Adventist Medical Center, to partake in the annual Blessing of the Grapes ceremony.

Armenian churches around the world recently celebrated the religious ceremony dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

The main event is Sunday. Wednesday is just a tradition we have in Glendale, said Shannakian of the Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America after the ceremony.

Every second Sunday of August, members of Armenian churches sing, chant and pray in celebration. Priests enhance the atmosphere with incense from a censer as people eat and dance.

Every year on the Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God, Armenian ministers lead attendees in prayer and worship in the hospitals chapel. The grapes are blessed and then passed around to patients.

Rev. Vazken Atmajian of St. Marys Armenian Apostolic Church officiated the ceremony with about 40 people in attendance, he said.

Since grapes were the first fruits of the harvest, the Holy Spirit is called upon to make the grapes holy and those who partake of them receive healing and spiritual nourishment, said Naira Khosrovian, marketing and communications specialist at Adventist Health Glendale.

Shannakian recalled telling people in attendance that at the core of Gods word is sharing love with the world.

We must all make love a priority, Shannakian said.

michael.livingston@latimes.com

@MLivingston06
A series of drug-related incidents at La Canada High School last week, which led to the arrest of two students and the hospitalization of two others, left school officials scrambling to calm fears about a drug problem on campus.

Two high school students were hospitalized Wednesday, Feb. 21, for medication-related health emergencies, according to La Canada Unified School District officials, who assured parents in a Feb. 22 email the episodes were not related to each other.

One of those students  a male junior whose identity is not being released to protect the privacy of a minor  was taken to USC Verdugo Hills Hospital after a teacher observed him in medical distress at around 11:35 a.m., sheriffs officials reported.

It was determined the student had ingested an unknown amount and unknown type of pills, according to a statement the Crescenta Valley Sheriffs Station released following the incident.

When asked whether the pills were sold on the La Canada High School campus, Dep. Eric Matejka, who works closely with LCUSD schools, said not to our knowledge.

An investigation into that medical emergency led sheriffs deputies to 18-year-old LCHS student Dax Shmidt, who was thought to have supplied the male student with some kind of substance. A search of his residence and vehicle turned up loose pills.

They appeared to be Xanax, Matejka said of the pills recovered from Shmidts vehicle.

Shmidt was taken into custody and booked at the Crescenta Valley Sheriffs Station at around 6 p.m. on Feb. 21, according to the deputy.

LCUSD officials were quick to post an official comment from Supt. Wendy Sinnette that same night on the La Canada Flintridge Parents Facebook page, informing community members the matter was being investigated by school administrators.

In an updated letter posted online by school board member Ellen Multari the following day, Sinnette said the incidents had been thoroughly investigated.

We are aware that there are substance abuse issues at LCHS  it is the reality at every high school and we face it as well, Sinnette wrote, highlighting constant collaboration among officials, staff and administrators and ongoing educational outreach. But we also know that these extensive efforts, which for so long have been a comprehensive response, are no longer enough.

Still expressing their shock on social media about what had happened Wednesday, the high school community learned Friday from district officials a second student had been arrested, after a tip from a fellow student led to the discovery of illegal substance and other paraphernalia on campus.

Law enforcement was contacted and the student was placed under arrest, Sinnette said in an email sent out Friday evening. We have no further details to share at this time but will keep you apprised as we learn more.

Crescenta Valley Sheriffs Station Watch Commander Lt. Mark Slater confirmed Monday a female juvenile was arrested for being in possession of a controlled substance. She was eventually released to her parents, pending a court appearance.

It was pills of some sort, but we wont know exactly what [kind] until its positively identified, Slater said of the drugs seized during a search of the female students vehicle.

Also Friday, a suspended Shmidt returned to the LCHS campus without permission at around 8:45 a.m., entered the school office and reportedly had a seizure. Sinnette, along with campus principals Ian McFeat and Jarrett Gold, apprised parents of the incident that day in yet another email, although they did not name Shmidt because of student privacy and confidentiality rights.

Site administrators, they wrote in the email, immediately called 911, and the student was transported to a nearby hospital. Whether that medical incident was connected to substance use or abuse could not be confirmed by school or sheriffs officials.

We are concerned about the recent incidents and are monitoring and investigating all activities of concern on campus, the email continued. We appreciate the home-to-school partnership at LCHS and encourage parents to talk with your students about positive choices to avoid risk-taking behaviors.

They told parents administrators were at work on creating an anonymous reporting instrument, such as a tip line, to provide more information and avenues to support all students.

sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine
Regarding the article on the Hertz settlement with the San Francisco city attorneys office because of charges on the rental car transponder (A $32 Golden Gate Bridge Fee?, Need to Know, by Catharine Hamm, Feb. 24), heres one strategy: A couple years ago, my husband and I flew into Bostons Logan Airport. At the rent-a-car pickup we asked the employee how we could leave the airport without driving across the bridge that would begin the daily transponder charge. He did not know or wouldnt tell.

But we knew. Before leaving California, I had gone online and researched the cities on our route from Boston to Quebec City, Canada; to Freeport, Maine; and return to Logan. I searched for all the places we would be that had transponder-required (no cash) toll roads/bridges and then figured out how to avoid them.

This was not the first time I had done this. I had successfully researched Buffalo, N.Y./Niagara Falls/Toronto/Buffalo a few years earlier. The information is available to all who search.

Finding the free way out of Logan was difficult, because the signs send you to the transponder-required toll bridge, but we had taken notes and were able to leave and return without getting trapped into paying the fee. I now do this on all trips. Its worth the effort.

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Barbara Ann Snyder

Ojai

::

I rented a car at the Tampa, Fla., airport. It was a terrible experience all around. When the employee offered the SunPass used in Florida, he did not indicate that choosing not to use it would turn out to be highly regrettable. I had never driven in Florida and did not realize how many highways and bridges charge tolls. I declined the SunPass.

A few weeks after returning home, I received a bill that showed $10 in toll fees and an $105 administrative fee. I called the company and insisted on speaking with a supervisor after getting nowhere with the customer representative. The agency eventually agreed to meet me halfway and cut the administrative fee in half.

Still highway robbery, but its those painful lessons that we remember, right?

Christine Williams

Claremont

Editors note: To see other reader responses to toll-road woes, go to bit.ly/tollroadwoes.

Missing flights

In her piece about missing an airline flight (Missed Flight, Costly Lesson, On the Spot, March 10), Catharine Hamm suggested that if you cannot make a flight for whatever reason, call the airline and seek to reason with it to modify the booking, get credit for a return flight or both.

The best response is the opposite: Do not call, beg or plead; consider that you got a good deal, even if you didnt, and that the money is gone. The exception is where taxes are substantial and, in many cases, are more than the fare, then by all means call the carrier to have the taxes returned to you, because airlines do not pay taxes on flights you do not take. Ive heard the price is not divided between fare and taxes on international flights, but it is in the U.S.

Dean Monroe

Washington, D.C.

::

As I book a fare, I often see less than one hour between connections. In airports such as Chicago, Newark, N.J., Houston and even San Francisco, less than one hour can be a challenge for even the very able-bodied. I refuse to play this game and make sure I have ample time to make it from one flight to the next, depending on the connecting airport.

Paul Brown

Santa Ana

All that jazz

Although I loved your team report on San Diego (San Diego Rocks, by Calvin B. Alagot, Mary Forgione, Catharine Hamm, Anne Harnagel and Christopher Reynolds, March 10), you missed out big time on the great jazz scene, particularly a free event every Wednesday evening at Panama 66 in Balboa Park.

The Young Lions Jazz Series is a youth conservatory (classes are taught at Liberty Station) led by Gilbert Castellanos (horn) and bassist Rob Thorsen. The youths, ages 12 to 18-plus, perform from 6 to 8 p.m. in the patio for jazz-loving listeners, then the grownups and youths move inside for two more hours of fantastic free jam sessions by some of San Diegos top musicians. Theres also great jazz at the Westgate Hotel and a few other venues around town.

Leslie A. Westbrook

Carpinteria

travel@latimes.com

@latimestravel
The leaders of Romania and Honduras on Sunday announced that they will recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital, following the lead of President Trump.

Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez delivered their announcements at the American Israel Public Affairs Committees annual conference in Washington. The announcements were welcomed by Israeli politicians.

However, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, a government rival whos in charge of the East European nations foreign policy, said the prime minister hadnt consulted with him over the decision. He accused her of total ignorance of foreign policy.

The move is considered controversial as it goes against the rest of the European Union. Romania currently holds the blocs rotating presidency.

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Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israels capital and moved the U.S. Embassy to the city, a move that was applauded by Israel. Guatemala followed suit.

The move angered the Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as capital of a future state.

Most countries have embassies in Tel Aviv out of sensitivity over the contested city. The Palestinians, and most of the international community, say the citys final status should be resolved in negotiations.
A party backed by Thailands military government had a strong showing Sunday in its first elections since a 2014 coup and appeared likely to hold off opponents who campaigned on restoring democracy in the Southeast Asian kingdom.

With more than 90% of the votes counted, unofficial results released late Sunday showed the pro-military party Palang Pracharat in first or second place, and on track to win enough parliamentary seats to control the appointment of the next prime minister.

That would probably mean an extension of the rule of the junta leader, former Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, who has been serving as Thailands self-appointed prime minister since shortly after the coup and is seeking to remain in office as a civilian.

It was a surprisingly strong result for Palang Pracharat, which was formed just months ago with the sole purpose of prolonging Prayuths grip on power, and a sharp disappointment for pro-democracy parties that had campaigned against the juntas repressive policies and lackluster economic record.

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The military spent the last five years rewriting electoral rules and clamping down on opposition parties, giving itself a significant advantage before votes were cast, and repeatedly postponed the balloting.

Everything is already decided: Thailands army is set to cement power with an election 

The pro-junta party came into Sundays vote needing to win only 126 out of the 500 seats up for grabs in order to appoint the prime minister, thanks to its control of an additional 250 seats in a handpicked Senate. The unofficial returns announced late Sunday by the government Election Commission indicated the party had crossed that threshold.

Palang Pracharat was running neck and neck with Pheu Thai, the main opposition party whose prime minister was ousted in the bloodless 2014 military takeover.

There were several reports of irregularities, including voter turnout figures in some constituencies that exceeded the numbers of eligible voters. In a news conference late Sunday, Pheu Thais secretary-general, Phumtham Vejchayachai, described the Election Commissions vote-counting procedures as problematic and said that results released by the commission in some cases did not match vote totals the party had gathered from polling stations.

We would like to check the accuracy, Phumtham said.

Palang Pracharat leader Uttama Savanayana said that Prayuth congratulated the party for its showing, but added that it was too early to claim victory. Uttama said the party was not worried about reports of irregularities.

The final result is not in yet. But what we have seen so far for Palang Pracharat Party, we are pleased with the results so far, he said.

Election officials said they would hold a news conference Monday to announce the results, which are not expected to be certified until May.

A new pro-democracy party called Future Forward, led by a charismatic young auto parts scion, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, was in third place and was expected to form a coalition with Pheu Thai and smaller parties to control the legislature and serve as a check on the military.

Voting passed uneventfully nationwide with about 66% of Thailands 51 million eligible voters casting ballots, according to election officials. That was on par with past parliamentary elections but a lower figure than opposition parties had hoped for, convinced that only a wave of voter anger could help dislodge Prayuth from power.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha stands in line to vote in Bangkok on March 24, 2019. (Gemunu Amarasinghe / Associated Press)

The turnout suggested that some voters believed the election outcome had been preordained.

This election will not affect anything in my life. We all know who is going to win, said Sirimongkol Ngernwattana, a 41-year-old barbershop owner who cast his ballot in central Bangkok.

We know we can vote  but things have been fixed right at the beginning, he said. This is just another game they have thrown at us.

Thailand, a tourist-friendly nation with the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia, has been mired in a cycle of coups and political crises for two decades. The army twice stepped in to oust democratically elected governments, both loyal to populist tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, the patron of Pheu Thai who now lives in exile.

A pro-Thaksin party, Thai Raksa Chart, was disqualified from the vote this month after nominating the sister of the monarch as its prime ministerial candidate. King Maha Vajiralongkorn called the move extremely inappropriate because the royal family was not supposed to enter politics.

Ex-princess shocks Thailand with prime minister bid. Her brother, the king, objects 

The king intervened again on the eve of the vote, issuing a statement calling on Thais to ensure that bad people dont come to power and to preserve the countrys stability. The words were taken by many to be an implicit endorsement of the pro-military party.

Many supporters of army rule said it had brought stability to a political system bitterly divided between pro- and anti-Thaksin camps.

Our country is going in the right direction, Thawawat Nithisuntornpong, the 55-year-old owner of a clothing shop, said after voting in Bangkok. If other people come to power, our country will be chaotic.

U.S. officials have offered little criticism of army rule in Thailand, a longtime security partner that Washington fears could move closer to China. Last week, after a visit to Bangkok, senior State Department official Patrick Murphy said only that the U.S. was very keen to see Thailand return to elected government.

Democracy has served Thailand and the Thai people well in the past, and served the [U.S.-Thai] relationship and the region, Murphy told reporters in a conference call. Were hopeful that the current process, which is the culmination of many months and years of effort, does produce those kinds of results.

Special correspondent Amatatham reported from Bangkok and Times staff writer Bengali from Singapore.
Its militants believed they would conquer Rome, Paris and Washington. It sought to smash the century-old borders that defined the Middle East, and create a project whose central slogan was Enduring and expanding.

Instead, the culmination of that vision came in a dust-swept hamlet on Syrias border with Iraq on Saturday. There, U.S.-backed Syrian and Arab militiamen punched through Islamic States final sliver of territory in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz, marking the end of the almost five-year battle to destroy the caliphate.

Syrian Democratic Forces declare total elimination of so-called caliphate and %100 territorial defeat of ISIS. On this unique day, we commemorate thousands of martyrs whose efforts made the victory possible, tweeted Mustafa Bali, spokesman of the militiamen known collectively as the Syrian Democratic Forces or SDF.

Islamic State is also known as ISIS.

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We renew the covenant to continue the war and pursue their remnants until they are totally destroyed, he said in another tweet.

Syrian Democratic Forces declare total elimination of so-called caliphate and %100 territorial defeat of ISIS. On this unique day, we commemorate thousands of martyrs whose efforts made the victory possible. #SDFDefeatedISIS  Mustafa Bali (@mustefabali) March 23, 2019

Activists and local Kurdish outlets published videos on Saturday of the SDFs victory parade. A red-coated marching band played a martial tune amid a throng of the groups yellow flags, while an audience gathered before a dais for celebratory speeches.

The final weeks of the battle had been a bare-knuckled slog to dislodge the extremists, most of them Islamic States die-hard adherents who had shadowed the groups retreat.

Besieged in an encampment on the edge of Baghouz, as warplanes and artillery of the U.S.-led coalition pounded what remained of their caliphate, they refused to surrender.

Images released by Islamic States media arm last week depicted militants racing through desert fields lined with the husks of destroyed vehicles. One video also showed women, clad from head to toe in the traditional Abaya covering, brandishing weapons and said to be firing toward Kurdish lines alongside men in the camp.

Over the last few weeks, as the offensive bore down on Baghouz, pauses in the fighting had allowed 60,000 people to head for the SDFs internment camps, tens of miles away.

The majority of those streaming out were women and children. Islamic State families left only at the order of the groups emirs (or commanders). They spoke of horrific conditions, with many forced to boil and eat weeds growing by the side of the road amid a maelstrom of destruction.

Many of those who emerged were foreigners; some had left their homes in nations as far away as Kazakhstan and France to help construct what was to be a religious utopia.

Though their caliphate is no more, the legacy of its destruction will endure well beyond its almost five-year existence.

The militants had been viewed as a spent force after 2010, when they were forced to retreat to the shadowlands near the Iraqi-Syrian border. But the chaos in neighboring Syria, where a raging civil war began in 2011, allowed Islamic State to export its uniquely vicious brand of terror across the border.

From its new base in eastern Syria, it launched a new offensive in Iraq in June 2014.

The militants emerged from the border area, streaking across northwestern Iraq in a blitzkrieg that netted them Mosul, the countrys second-largest city. Iraqi security forces literally threw away their U.S.-supplied weapons and ran away, bequeathing the militants an arsenal they would use to expand their territory.

A month later, the groups leader, Abu Bakr Baghdadi, plodded to the podium of Mosuls Grand Nouri Mosque. He declared the caliphate had been created, with him as its religious leader. Muslims worldwide owed him their fealty, and were obliged to come, he said.

Many heeded the call, including thousands of foreigners who snuck to cities in southern Turkey before making the trip into Syria.

Meanwhile, ISIS militants, many of them veterans of insurgent conflicts in Afghanistan and elsewhere, appeared unstoppable. They created a war machine, with its own production of car bombs, sniper rifles and even weaponized drones.

At the same time, the groups state-building project took shape. It commandeered existing government institutions and emerged with a functioning bureaucracy that administered details as quotidian as the length of a mans pants or the rental price for fisheries on the Euphrates River.

And, as the groups dominion spread, so did its revenue. Oil, taxation, real estate, electric power generation, agricultural products; all were absorbed to create a functional economy that even had its own currency.

It also wielded its bureaucracy to mete out punishments dictated by its harsh interpretation of Islamic law: Homosexuals were thrown off buildings. Women were beaten for any deviation from the militants dress code. Islamic States religious police would confiscate satellite dishes and haul in for questioning those whose smartphones contained pictures that were considered haram, or forbidden.

Fighters with the U.S-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces attend a ceremony celebrating victory over the Islamic State in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz. (Giuseppe Cacace / AFP/Getty Images)

For their enemies, the militants reserved the more creatively gruesome ways of killing.

Islamic States media regularly featured cinematic clips, with multiple cameras capturing the torturous death of orange-clad prisoners by drowning, immolation or beheading by sword.

But they also sought to erase the very identity of their adversaries, such as the Yazidis, members of a sect linked to Zoroastrianism but which Islamic State considered infidels.

They slaughtered their men and boys; their women and girls they pushed into sexual slavery while forcing them to convert to Sunni Islam. The children they either sent to orphanages or had them adopted by Islamic State families.

In its wake, Islamic State leaves a third of Iraq and Syria in ruins, communities ravaged by sectarian bloodshed and millions steeped in the groups ideology.

Even for the tens of thousands who endured the final weeks of Islamic States violent collapse, though they emerged dust-covered and ragged from the desert, they remained defiant.

Destroyed vehicles left in an Islamic State camp on March 23, 2019, in Baghouz, Syria. (Chris McGrath / Getty Images)

As they waited to be taken to Kurdish-run internment camps, they raised their index fingers in the Shahada, the traditional symbol of the Muslim profession of faith but which had been appropriated by Islamic State. Others hurled sand and water bottles at cameramen.

That defiance was mirrored in a speech released this week by Abu Hassan Muhajir, Islamic States spokesman, mocking the U.S.-led coalitions impending victory as a hallucination.

The end of the caliphate, he said, would not bring safety and peace. Instead, it would herald seas of blood and the flying of body parts, a reference to the growing insurgent campaign to which Islamic State had reverted in the wake of its retreat.

Even now, he continued, thousands of fighters all over Iraq, Syria, Africa and elsewhere wait for the moment to rise again.

Far from being defeated, the Dawlah, as supporters call Islamic State, was victorious, said Muhajir.

The caliphate was victorious the day its soldiers and sons were steadfast, and they are still like mountains, attacking with their faith and creed, uncaring of their enemy even when they are among them and shackled.
Comfort Dooshima, the INEC collation officer in the Gboko local government area of Benue state has reportedly been shot by unknown gunmen while on her way to the INECs office in Makurdi, the Benue state capital.

Dooshima, who is a professor at the University of Agriculture, was was reportedly heading to INEC headquarters in Makurdi to present results from the local government when she was shot, Sahara Reporters states.

Live updates: Situation reports, collation of results as APC, PDP battle for votes in supplementary gov elections

At the time this report emerged on Saturday, March 23, it was unclear if the professor was still alive or dead.

Supplementary elections were held in Benue, Plateau, Sokoto, Bauchi and Kano states following the inconclusive governorship elections recorded in the affected states.

Follow our live updates: Live updates of supplementary governorship elections

In another report, suspected thugs on Saturday, March 23, reportedly set ablaze electoral materials meant for supplementary elections in the entire Azendeshi ward in Chito town of Benue state.

Chito town is the headquarters of Azendeshi ward with 13,000 voting population.

According to The Nation, the electoral materials were said to have been kept at a public primary school before thugs belonging to one of the political parties overpowered security men and set them ablaze.

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2019 elections: Do you still trust INEC to conduct fair elections? - Nigerians speak| Legit TV

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- Nollywood actress and producer, Regina Chinedu Chukwu, has clocked a year older

- To celebrate, the movie star took to social media to share stunning new photos

Going for photo shoots and posting lovely snaps have become a sort of trend for Nigerian celebrities, especially on their birthdays.

Birthdays are obviously special occasions in their lives and they often have a lot to be grateful for.

Nigerian film star and producer, Regina Chukwu, became a year older on March 23, 2019. To celebrate, she toed the line of most of her colleagues and also released gorgeous photos of herself

The screen goddess showed off her sultry and fashionable side as she was spotted in different outfits and every one of them looked good on her.

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In one of the photos, Regina wore a blue ankara peplum top with details on the shoulder and she teamed it up with a pair of blue trousers. She finally complemented the look with brown court shoes.

It seems the actress has a thing for the colour blue as her second outfit was also in the same colour. This blue dress with stoned details on the body is also a hit.

READ ALSO: 15 Memorable Photos From The Amazing Baby Shower Of Meghan Markle

The birthday girl also looked every bit like a princess in this baby pink number. Her smile also lit up the already bright outfit.

READ ALSO: Personal letter from the Editor-in-Chief of Legit.ng (formerly NAIJ.com)

Finally, the celebrant stunned in a colourful ankara skirt and blouse. The outfit was perfectly stoned and made her shine like the star she is.

Happy birthday to her.

Meanwhile Legit.ng previously reported that controversial on-air-personality, Daddy Freeze, took to Instagram to celebrate his young son, Ayoyimika Enzo Olarinde, on his birthday.

The broadcaster shared series of photos showing the growing years of his son as he wished him a happy celebration.

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Davido Gifts Girlfriend, Chioma N45 Million Present | Legit TV

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People in relationships have been known to celebrate their partners on their birthdays or special occasions. However, some others show appreciation to their spouses even on regular days.

When some people get married they eventually stop the things that made them win their partners heart in the first place but this is also not the case for others.

Nigerian actress, Stella Damasus, has taken to social media to celebrate her actor and producer husband, Daniel Ademinokan. Interestingly, it is not Daniels birthday or Valentines Day but the film star still felt it was important to show him love.

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According to Stella, her husband is a hardworking, intelligent, caring and sweet man. She also reaffirmed her love for him and called him her best friend.

The actress wrote: I just want to celebrate this talented, intelligent, hardworking, kind hearted, caring, stubborn (in a good way) and sweet guy @dabishop007 my husband and best friend. Thank you for everything. God bless you and guide you. Love ya boo.

See her post below:

READ ALSO: Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and Other Celebrities Who Have Crashed Normal People's Weddings

READ ALSO: Personal letter from the Editor-in-Chief of Legit.ng (formerly NAIJ.com)

Well, we can see that Stella and Daniel are obviously going strong despite the controversy that surrounded the initial stages of their union. It is interesting to note that they have not let naysayers affect their union.

Meanwhile Legit.ng previously reported that another Nigerian celebrity couple, 2baba Idibia and his wife Annie, took to social media to celebrate their six years of marriage.

2baba and Annie are one couple in the industry who have inspired many with their love story. After enduring many storms together they have still remained a happy couple.

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- Nigerian actress, Funke Akindele-Bellos sister, Olubunmi Akindele, has clocked 45

- The movie star took to her social media page to celebrate her sibling

- Funke reaffirmed her love for her sister and also showered prayers on her to celebrate the occasion

Popular film star, Funke Akindele-Bello, has taken to social media to celebrate her sister, Olubunmi Akindele.

Olubunmi clocked 45 on March 24, 2019, and the actress was sure to make the day a special one. Funke took to her Instagram page to share a lovely photo of her sister.

The actress also used her caption to reaffirm the love she has for her sibling and she took it a step further by adding words of prayers. She wrote: My darling sister is a year older today!! All glory to God!! I pray you live longer in good health and abundant wealth. May all your prayers be answered in Jesus name. Love you Sista @neeceebosslady

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See her post below:

See more photos of the celebrant below:

READ ALSO: Personal letter from the Editor-in-Chief of Legit.ng (formerly NAIJ.com)

READ ALSO: 15 Rare But Remarkable Images Of The Royal Family

Happy birthday to her.

Meanwhile Legit.ng previously reported on Nollywood actress, Regina Chukwu, who became a year older on March 23, 2019.

To mark the occasion she toed the line of most of her colleagues and also released gorgeous photos of herself.

The screen goddess showed off her sultry and fashionable side as she was spotted in different outfits and every one of them looked good on her.

HELLO! NAIJ.com (naija.ng) upgrades to Legit.ng We keep evolving to serve our readers better.

Top Nigeria Celebrities: What Do Paul Okoye, Akpororo, And Teju Babyface Have In Common? | Legit TV

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has transferred the collation of the supplementary election from Nasarawa local government area to its state headquarters on Sani Marshal Road, Kano.

Nasarawa is the last of the 28 affected areas in the state. The development is due to tense security situation of the area.

The collation of Nasarawa results followed the completion of similar exercise in the governorship re-run election from Kibiya local government area.

READ ALSO: Live Updates: Lalong, Tambuwal win governorship election as INEC gives official announcement of results in rerun election - Day 2

The final supplementary election result is expected to be announced immediately after the collation of Nasarawa LG results.

Legit.ng prviously reported that the Nasarawa PDP governorship candidate, David Ombugadu, vowed to challenge the result of the March 9 governorship election in the state at the tribunal.

Ombugadu made this known on Thursday, March 14, while addressing newsmen at his residence in Akwanga, Akwanga local government area of the state.

He said he had rejected the outcome of the election as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He vowed previously reported that he Nasarawa Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, David Ombugadu, vowed to challenge the result of the March 9 governorship election in the state at the tribunal.

Recall that Legit.ng reported that the INEC declared Engr Abdullahi Sule of the APC winner of the Saturday, March 9 governorship election in Nasarawa state.

Abdullahi Bala, returning officer for the election announced Sule as governor-elect on Monday, March 11 in Lafia after the collation of results from the 13 local government areas of the state.

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Bala said the APC candidate polled a total of 327,229 votes to defeat other opponents in the election. According to him, David Ombugadu of PDP scored 184,281 votes, while Labaran Maku of the APGA polled a total of 132,784 votes at the election.

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2019 elections: Do you still trust INEC to conduct fair elections? - Nigerians speak - on Legit TV:

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A 20-year-old man took his fathers SUV, wallet and a bottle of Tylenol before being reported missing Friday, Pennsylvania State Police said.

State police in Media, Delaware County said Joshua Zhixiang Luo of Rose Valley, Delaware County was last seen at 1:30 p.m. Friday. Luo, a Rochester, New York college student, is believed to have left in his fathers white Subaru Forrester between the last time he was seen and 6:30 a.m. Saturday. The Subaru displays Pennsylvania registration LZJV333.

Investigators checked area hospitals in search of Luo, who police said suffers from anxiety disorder. The college also has been notified, police said.

Luo is not believed to have any friends or people he could be staying with in the area. Those with information on Luos whereabouts are asked to call Pennsylvania State Police in Media at 484-840-1000.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Its easy to get excited about this years applicants for millions of dollars in state economic development funds.

The list includes plans for a public market in South Bethlehem and a science museum in Easton. The projects promise to boost the economy or at least the civic profile of the communities in which theyre located.

So Easton city Councilman Peter Melan was surprised to see a grocery store on the list.

The German discount grocer, Lidl, seeks $1 million in state funds for a discount supermarket in Wilson Borough.

I didnt think they would quality for something like that, Melan said.

The store proposed at 1120 S. 25th St. is among the contenders for Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program funds. Those funds usually arent awarded until after the state budget is approved, according to a spokesman for the governors office. The new fiscal year starts July 1.

Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. describes RACP funds as but for grants. But for the grant money, the project would not be economically feasible.

The Lidl store, however, is weeks away from opening. Workers were installing shelves this month.

Lidl on March 13, 2019, in Wilson Borough (Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com)Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com

Lidl on March 13, 2019, in Wilson Borough (Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com)Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com

Once it is built it is difficult to make the case to the governor that they need the funding to pursue the project, admitted state Rep. Robert Freeman, who represents Wilson Borough.

Regardless of the grant status, Panto looks forward to the store opening.

I think its a beautiful addition to Wilson Borough on what was a bad Brownfield, he said.

Lidl demolished and leveled the former Victor Balata complex, where industrial belts were once manufactured.

Lidl spokesman Will Harwood said the company invested $20 million to remediate the site.

We often work with local government agencies and apply for available investment programs when we expand into new markets, including on sites that require significant remediation or rehabilitation, Harwood said. He said the most important factor in choosing a site is convenience of customers.

Wilson Borough Council President Anthony Verenna acknowledged the investment Lidl made to prepare the property for development. Securing the grant can only help a business he wants to see succeed. But the decision to award the grant is out of his hands.

If they get it, good. I dont see any harm if they dont get it. Whatever happens, happens, Verenna said.

Lidl was founded in 1973 and has more than 10,500 stores in 29 countries, its website says. It expanded into the United States in 2017.

A philly.com report says Lidls U.S. expansion is going slower than expected. The report cites a German trade magazine in which a Lidl executive blames its site selection team for buying overly large sites in carelessly chosen locations and paying too much for them.

Lidl paid $2 million for the Wilson Borough site, according to Northampton County property records. Thats on top of the remediation cost.

Harwood did not address the allegations made by philly.com.

A lot of companies look into these types of investment programs. I think its something a lot of localities encourage, he said of the grant application. Lidl applied for RACP grants for three stores in Philadelphia, one in Delaware County and another in York County.

Harwood said Lidl looks forward to opening soon. It will compete directly with the German-owned Aldi discount grocery store across the street. A Grocery Outlet Bargain Market opened last year in Palmer Township a mile and a half away.

We are excited to grow in the area. Across the East Coast we are getting great feedback from our customers, Harwood said.

A Lidl grocery store is weeks away from opening on March 13, 2019, in Wilson Borough (Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com)Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
(CNN)  A 26-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder and assault with a weapon after allegedly stabbing the elderly rector of a church in Canada during a livestreamed Mass as shocked parishioners watched, Montreal police said.

The attack happened as the priest of St. Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal led Mass on Friday morning at the church in Montreal, police said.

Father Claude Grou, 77, was taken to a hospital and is recovering, Constable Caroline Chevrefils said.

Grou has "no resentment" toward the suspect and "hopes he gets all the support he needs and find peace," said Celine Barbeau, a spokeswoman for St Joseph's Oratory.

She said Grou was "in a very good place in his mind" and was standing, walking and talking.

"He is doing well," Barbeau said. "He needs to rest but he is very well surrounded by his people. He needs to get away for a little while. We hope he will be away for a few days or a week."

The suspect, Vlad Cristian Eremia, made his court appearance by video feed Saturday.

Police said the stabbing was not considered a terrorist attack and described it as "an isolated act committed by one individual."

Church security staff stopped the attack

The suspect was detained by security staff at the church and taken into custody by police, Chevrefils said. She said the suspect is known to police.

Grou was celebrating Mass for about 60 people in the church and the service was being livestreamed when the suspect went toward the priest and stabbed him several times with a sharp object, Chevrefils said.

Police were called to the church at 8:40 a.m. Video showed Grou moving away as the man approached, then falling and getting up after the attack. Parishioners separated the attacker from the priest.

"What a horrible attack at Saint Joseph's Oratory in Montreal," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted. "Father Claude Grou, Canadians are thinking of you and wishing you a swift recovery."

This story was first published on CNN.com, "Suspect charged in stabbing of priest during livestreamed Mass in Montreal."
An application is in Harrisburg seeking $1 million for the Bogert Covered Bridge restoration project in Allentown. We have nothing against covered bridges, but they dont drive people to spend money in a community and they certainly dont drive business owners to create jobs.

Thats the problem with this particular request.

It is among 19 in the Lehigh Valley vying for state revenue under the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. The Pennsylvania governors office is authorized to borrow more than $3 billion this year to fund economic development projects statewide. Its a competitive process; developers, governments and nonprofits apply for the funding.

Although the funds can technically go to historical projects such as the covered bridge, before the state makes its decision, it ought to spend some time contemplating the importance of economic development to ensure it awards money. Of the 19 local projects, some  including the Bogert Covered Bridge restoration  fall woefully short of qualifying as economic development projects.

There are other local projects unworthy of this taxpayer-backed program for another reason. They appear on the surface to be an attempt by developers to grab a slice of taxpayer funding when the only pie they should be eating comes from their own coffers.

Speaking of pies, the German grocery store chain Lidl, which has nearly completed construction of a supermarket in Wilson Borough, wants money for work its already paid for out of its own pocket. Its seeking $1 million for removing a former manufacturing plant on the property. Arent you supposed to ask for the handout before you make the payment?

Then theres the Readington Farms project, a proposal for a 350,000-square-foot dairy processing plant on 35 acres in Palmer Township. How much do the developers want: $20 million. That alone is enough money to fund the plurality of local applications. We like milk and cheese even more than covered bridges, but that kind of money makes us strongly consider veganism.

These projects should be put at the bottom of the list. Those at the top of the list represent fiscally responsible investments that could have highly noticeable effects on the neighborhoods in which theyre located and the region as a whole. Here are a few we support:

$1.2 million for the Riverport Market in South Bethlehem. This is a $3 million project that calls for renovating the former Starters Riverport pub into a market for as many as 30 vendors. Judging by the success of the Easton Public Market and the viability of the Allentown Farmers Market, theres no question this type of reuse would be a boon to the Southside and breathe new life into Riverport, one of the first major redevelopments of former Bethlehem Steel property.

$8 million for the Da Vinci Science City in Easton. Yes, it is a hefty price tag, but the city has tremendous momentum when it comes to economic development. This $130 million attraction is a gamechanger. Imagine how attractive enticing a visit to the city will become for families if they could take in both the science city and the Crayola Experience. Easton would truly become a destination.

$2.2 million for Iron Works Catasauqua. The borough has been in the midst of transforming the massive Crane Iron Works into a mixed-use development. It deserves a shot at seeing through the vision. This part of the Lehigh Valley often gets left out of the conversation when it comes to planning for the future, but its a central location and theres no reason why such a development shouldnt thrive.

Were not saying all the other projects arent worthwhile, but the reality is that this is a statewide competition and those in Harrisburg often seem oblivious to the fact that the Lehigh Valley is the third most populous region in the state behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Were bound to get shafted. We can make that argument another day, but for now lets make sure whatever we get is going toward the best local projects.
Are you thinking of trading in your car this year and is it time to trade in for an electric car?

In Ireland, sales of electric cars started off slowly, but now, Irish people are coming around to the idea of plugging in their car before they make a trip. It makes sense, we have a compact island where most towns and cities are accessible within three or four hours.

Figures from Eurostat indicate there were 26,220 cars in Ireland driven on alternative energy in April 2018, which equates to 1% of the total stock. This appears small, but in Spain the proportion is just 0.1%. Carzones recent motoring report, found that two thirds of those surveyed, plan to purchase an electric car in the near future. The government is also keen to increase ownership to 10% of all vehicles in 2020, with a number of incentives.

How much are electric cars?

As the technology is still relatively new, electric cars tend to be more expensive than their diesel/petrol counterparts. A huge proportion of the cost is actually down to the electric battery. As technology advances, costs have been coming down and combined with government incentives, owning an electric car has now become a viable alternative.

Electric cars have been criticised for their range, but the technology has moved on: with the Jaguar I-Pace offering a super range of 292 miles or 470km and the 191 BMW i3 range offering 161 miles or (260km).

The biggest fear for motorists is that the car will run out of power on a journey, which has been dubbed range anxiety, however there are now over 1,100 free public charging points all around Ireland, including 70 high speed charging points, which can charge your car to 80% capacity in as little time as 25 minutes.

Why Go Electric?

There are a number of obvious benefits and the biggest is fuel costs. Using the online ESB calculator, if you travel around 20,800 km per year, this would cost around 265 per year in electricity, and 1637 in your diesel car. Using any of the public charging points will cost you nothing! A full list of these points is available on the ESB site. Through the SEAI, you can claim up to 600 towards the purchase and installation of an electric vehicle home-charger unit. The BMW i Wallbox Connect is 1080, or 480 with the grant. This charger allows you to charge a BMW i3 within three hours to 80% capacity and it can also utilise home solar panels and access the best electricity tariffs when charging. Other benefits include lower service costs, SEAI grants, motor tax of 120 per year, and reduced toll charges.
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Scoil Mhuire Junior School recently celebrated Seachtain na Gaeilge with a packed programme of Irish-based events and activities to encourage children to speak through the medium of Irish.

Seachtain na Gaeilge is an important fixture in the school calendar and ran from March 4 to March 15.

It featured artwork/flags on display, along with music, Irish dancing and traditional song-singing and storytelling.

First and second classes took to the airwaves over the intercom for five minutes each day for Radio Scoil Mhuire and the entire school turned green for La Glas on March 15.

Visiting artistes include Mary Beth Taylor, director of Sean-Nos Dance Ireland who will gave outreach classes facilitated by Newbridge library and storyteller Helena Byrne, who recently performed Tales of Irish folklore at the Embassy of Ireland, Washington DC.

Local musicians such as Mairead Carroll, Rossagh Purcell and Brid Leddy all volunteered their time and Mary Donohue taught some lively Irish jigs.

Speaking prior to the event, principal Caitlin O Connor said: We are lucky to have our own very talented fiddle player, Sandie Purcell to add to the fun.

At the heart of Seachtain na Gaeilge in Scoil Mhuire Junior is the sharing of ceol agus craic between classes which take place as part of the festivities and the encouragement given to young children to speak the cupla focail at home and at school.
A social farming open day was recently held at Val and Una Crosss farm at Drumsru, Rathangan.

Social farming is an initiative which provides people who use support services with the opportunity for inclusion, to increase self-esteem and to improve health and well-being by taking part in day-to-day farm activities on a family farm.

Helen Mulhall, rural development officer with County Kildare Leader Partnership (CKLP) explained: In October 2017 I attended a social farming open day in County Cavan hosted by Social Farming Ireland. Having heard first-hand accounts of the benefits of social farming I was eager to introduce the model to Kildare. At the time, there were no social farms in the county.

During 2018, CKLP joined up with Social Farming Ireland to promote the idea to local farmers. We held information nights with Andrew Chilton (Social Farming Ireland regional development officer) as guest speaker. The idea gathered appeal and there are now three active social farms in County Kildare.

In 2018, CKLP secured 50% funding for nine placements from Healthy Ireland. The remaining 50% was matched by Social Farming Ireland.

To see the farmers and their participants now out and actively farming and socialising together is a fantastic result. We are keen to continue to be a champion for social farming in County Kildare and to working with Social Farming Ireland and support their efforts.

Val Cross said it is a really worthwhile initiative, which he thoroughly enjoys.
Following the recent sell out of The Plough and The Stars by Sean O Casey, the Breffni Players stay loyal to great Irish playwrights as they present Tom Murphys acclaimed play Conversations of a Homecoming.



Set in 1972 in a run-down pub in Galway, the economic downturn and the troubles in Northern Ireland feature amongst some of the many topics of conversation in a one act play which follows the interactions of a group of friends who are gathering together after an absence of ten years.



Michael (Oliver Fallon) returns home from America in the hope of being re-inspired by JJ, the owner of The White House pub and his childhood idol who offered refuge to him and his friends many time during their teenage years.

JJ filled their heads with hope and aspirations, urging them in his many speeches to fulfil their potential and realise their dreams.



In a way, JJ became their very own JFK, captivating Michael and his best friend Tom (Pat Guckian) with his fervent eulogies on youthful idealism, hoping to open their minds to see beyond the parochial perimeters of their rural town.

As they gather in a the pub run by Missus (Annetha Kieran Loughran) and her daughter Anne (Aoife Roddy) the local gang are intrigued by the return of Michael.

Tom, along with other friends, Liam (Martin Branagan), Junior (Donal Mc Cabe), Johnny (Pat Reid) and Peggy (Eithne Tansey), begin a long process of self-discovery as pints are poured and souls laid bare over the course of a November evening.

This well chosen cast, in the capable hands of director Sinead Quinn, bring Tom Murphys characters to life in a very thought-provoking play.



Conversations on a Homecoming runs for four nights from the Tuesday March 26 to Friday March 29 at 8pm in The Dock Theatre, Carrick on Shannon.

Booking on (071) 9650828.

Also read: World Marmalade Award for Leitrim's Lena's Tea Room
The Saint Vincent de Paul shop in Carrick-on-Shannon is launching campaign for volunteers.

The SVP has a network of almost 230 shops in Ireland including one on Dublin Road, Carrick-on-Shannon

This week SVP has launched a campaign urging people to come forward to volunteer in their shops to help with customer care, general housekeeping, merchandising, sorting and pricing clothing and other donated items.

Padraic McDonagh, manager of the SVP West/North West Region Shops says that volunteering in Vincents shops creates memories and is a great benefit to someoness life experience.

It can enhance your skills and knowledge and you get to meet new people. Also by donating your time, talents, and passion you are making a real difference in your local community.

There is no barrier to volunteering in terms of age, gender or nationality and to learn more we are asking people in Leitrim to call into the Carrick-on-Shannon shop, telephone (01) 884 8217 or go online to svp.ie/shops he said.



Vincents shops are a hugely important aspect of the service SVP provides to those who seek its assistance.

Not only do the shops provide goods at affordable prices, they also provide an income source for the Society, which is directed back into the local community.

Profit generated by the shops is recycled into local SVP Conferences to provide assistance to those in need.

The shops also facilitate local SVP Conferences who often provide people with Vincents Gift Tokens for clothing and furniture. These gift tokens can be used in any of the Vincent shops.
While politicians and journalists speculate about an extension of the withdrawal date until May 22nd, the deep concerns and potential impact of Brexit on Irish border communities are being ignored say members of Border Communities Against Brexit (BCAB).

BCAB elieve the British Government is likely to crash out of the EU on March 29 despite talks of an extension to Article 50 and note that "this is despite the democratically expressed wishes of a majority in the North of Ireland to remain within the EU".

"Brexit threatens to re-impose a hard border in Ireland. This would be devastating to the economy, industry and jobs, to farming, to the free movement of people crossing the border every day to work, study or trade. It threatens hard won access to human rights protection and completely undermines the Good Friday Agreement," said the group.

Border Communities Against Brexit (BCAB) say they remain "focused on ensuring that Irish voices from the border area continue to be heard across the world at this the critical time".

They are organising a people's demonstration against Brexit and a hard border, at various points along the border, for Saturday, March 30 at 3pm - the day following the original British EU withdrawal date.

The meeting points for the nearest protest for Co Leitrim is in the border towns of Blacklion, Co Cavan and Belcoo, Co Fermanagh.

"We are calling on all trade unions, representative groups, civic leaders and citizens to join with us in demonstrating our anger at being taken out of the EU and our opposition to any return to a hard border in Ireland," said BCAB this week.

"We will be sending to a very clear message that the people of the border region and, indeed, the people of Ireland will not acquiesce in any construction of new border installations, Customs posts or on any restriction of movement in their own country. We will not tolerate any new hard border in Ireland. It is time to make your voice heard. It is time for action. It is time to protest. Join with us on the border on 30th March."
I recently attended the Butterfly Ladies Luncheon launch at the Savoy Hotel to announce details of the first inaugural fundraiser for the Mid-Western Cancer Foundation.

The Fundraiser will take place in the Savoy Hotel on Friday, March 29 at 12 noon. I am so looking forward to attending this very deserving charity luncheon which I am sure will be a huge success.

Thinking back to the Butterfly Ball, I attended the inaugural gala ball for many years now and it currently one of the most prestigious and glamorous events every autumn in Limerick city.

I hope you will all join us on March 29 at the Savoy Hotel at 12noon, for the inaugural Butterfly Ladies Luncheon Make sure you put it in your diary.

Tickets are available from Lisa Tracey at the Mid-Western Cancer Foundation office at the cancer information and support centre - telephone 061 210979 or info@mwcf.ie or online at the www.cf.ie.

Crystal collection

What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon in the surroundings of Adare Manor, where the Holman Lee agency worked alongside Tipperary Crystal to launch their very exciting TC collection of handbags and sunglasses. It was great to see some of the top boutiques in the region enjoying afternoon tea in the beautiful ballroom which was ideal to showcase the fabulous new TC collection.

Well done to Tipperary Crystal and TC collection .

Talk soon,

Celia xxx
EVERY time Limerick North local election candidate Eleanor McSherry hears a helicopter over the Shannon she prays that its not some lost soul gone into the river.

Ms McSherry, who is running for Fine Gael, said Limerick has one of the highest suicide rates of any county in Ireland.

The well known special needs and arts/ culture rights campaigner and lobbyist is calling for a county-wide suicide prevention strategy to be spearheaded by the council.

We need to bring people together who work in the area of suicide prevention to come up with a plan for Limerick. Every time I hear that helicopter over the Shannon I pray that its not some lost soul gone into the river and it nearly always is. We need to do something now, to save lives. My son with autism was suicidal when he was 14 years old so I know that there is a need for action. I have been saying it since 2004. Suicide is a scourge on our county, it has affected me, my family and many others. We need to do something now, said Ms McSherry.

This strategy, she proposes, would bring together all stakeholders from mental health to suicide prevention groups, both voluntary and professional, to draw up a strategy for Limerick to prevent more deaths.

The strategy would work within the parameters set out by the National Strategy, Community for Life (2015-2020) but would contain an action plan specific to Limericks needs. It would aim to not only provide an official support to services already available, of which there are many fantastic groups working in this area in Limerick. I believe that the council should be at the core of this issue, the driving force that brings everyone together, said Ms McSherry, who admits that the council are not experts in this area, so they need to work with the stakeholders for the strategy to work.

Ms McSherry has a strong track record in bringing together groups, nationally and locally, for common goals. She set up the Special Needs Parents Association with six parents in 2010. It now has thousands of members from all over Ireland. It is a totally voluntary organisation that shares information, lobbies for change and provides support.

She also was involved in setting up Limerick Arts and Culture Exchange in 2015, along with other people working in the arts and cultural industries. It is also a completely voluntary organisation. It boasts a membership of over 600.

Ms McSherry is currently its co-chairperson and is an artistic representative on the councils cultural strategic policy committee, one of the first of its kind in Ireland, which she, along with others lobbied for.

Ms McSherry also lectures on UCCs Mental Health in the Community course and on its Autism Studies diploma - both based in LCFE. She contributed to the National Suicide Prevention Strategy: Reachout (2005-2014) so is very experienced in this area.
THE PRINCIPAL of Laurel Hill Secondary School has congratulated five of his students who were named the overall winners of the 2019 Certified Irish Angus Beef Schools' competition.

Michael Cregan, principal, said the journey began for Jane McNamara, Meelick; Aishling ONeill, Donoughmore; Aoibhinn Leahy, Crecora; Susan ONeill, Crecora, and Emily Walsh, Ballyneety when they were in transition year. Together the teenagers thought up the brilliant title - Wellies to Bellies.

They created lesson plans that could be used by primary school teachers to explain agriculture, beef production and the unique characteristics of Irish Angus beef. The winning students helped to rear their Angus calves at Salesian Agricultural College over an 18-month period. This is an excellent achievement for all the girls involved as none of them are from a farming background, said Mr Cregan.

The competition  created by Irish Angus Producer Group, ABP and Kepak  challenges students to rear five Irish Angus calves for beef production. It aims to promote the Certified Irish Angus Beef brand while communicating the care and attention required to produce quality beef for consumers.

Announcing the winners, Charles Smith, general manager of the Irish Angus Producer Group, said: The students from Laurel Hill were deserving winners of this competition; not only for their work ethic, commitment and interest in the project they were given  but also because, for them, everything was a bigger challenge and they met that challenge head on. None of them have a farming background or any agricultural knowledge; yet they fully embraced this project and excelled in its delivery.

The girls helped to rear their calves until they accompanied them to the meat factory where they were processed as beef. They said winning the Certified Irish Angus Beef Schools competition was an amazing experience.

It was definitely something we didn't expect. It was a surreal feeling getting up on that stage. Back in fourth year, we would never have thought that we would be here today as the overall winners of the competition. None of this would have been possible without the support of our teacher, Deirdre Condon Gaffney and of course Salesian Agricultural college who helped us rear our cattle.

We would especially like to thank the Certified Irish Angus producer group and the sponsors of the competition ABP and Kepak without whom the competition would not be running, they said.

The five sixth years put a lot of hard work into the project over the past two years and are so glad it all paid off in the end.

We started out in this competition completely clueless and ignorant to the world of agriculture but now we are fully immersed in agriculture and its safe to say this competition has been life changing. We will be putting the prize money towards our third level education and will also be getting some presents for people who have helped us along the way and of course we will have to spend a little bit of money on ourselves too! they smiled.

Each of the finalists receive the financial benefit involved in the selling of the animals to the processors on completion of the project which amounted to an average 6,500. The Laurel Hill students also received an additional grant of 2,000 for their further education.

The hardest day for them was taking the cattle to the factory last November..

Even though we knew the day would come it was difficult to part with our five Irish Angus animals but we do realise that this is the reality of farming. We were so pleased with the exceptionally high standard of animal welfare at ABP Rathkeale, where we were assured that our animals would not be unhappy or stressed in the slightest. It was also very educational and informative to see the Wellies to Bellies process in action from the very first day we saw the cattle at the ploughing to November 9, they said.

Meanwhile, there could be more Limerick success in the future as three local schools were among 31 groups to exhibit their project ideas for the new competition.

John the Baptist Community School in Hospital, Villiers and Laurel Hill are all hoping to make it into the final five.
THOUSANDS of people could be approached by a debt collector, as a shocking amount of emergency department bills have been left unpaid.

This newspaper can reveal that emergency department patients have amassed significant six-figure bills that have been left unpaid between 2016 and 2018.

Figures received under Freedom of Information show that unpaid emergency department bills amounted to 250,851 in 2016, rising to 256,910 in 2017. This figure dipped to 189,841 last year.

Anyone who attends the emergency department at UHL is liable for an attendance charge of 100, a spokesperson for the UL Hospitals Group said. Some patients, depending on their circumstances, are exempt . This charge also applies to those attending the local injury units at St Johns Hospital, Nenagh Hospital and Ennis Hospital.

Costs for treatment thereafter will depend on whether a patient is admitted to the hospital. Where ED charges remain unpaid, the group utilises the services of a debt collection agency for the collection of unpaid charges, the spokesperson said.

She added that income raised within ED forms part of the net operating budget for the hospital and is utilised for the running of hospital services.

This week, UHL set a new record for highest level of overcrowding in 2019, with 76 patients being treated on trolleys in the emergency department and in the wards. This was four patients short of the overall national record of 80 patients, set by UHL on March 22, 2013, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation.

The unions Mid-West industrial relations officer strongly criticised the UL Hospitals Group for planning to close the 17-bed Ward 1A.

Ms Fogarty said that the closure of the beds will worsen the trolley crisis at UHL and will lead to compromised treatment and patients being forced to wait on public corridors.

The UL Hospitals Group explained Ward 1A is to close to facilitate the completion of works on a new fracture unit.

This is in accordance with the overall plan to redesignate the space occupied by the old emergency department at UHL, a spokesperson said.

He said that staff were fully involved in the process, and that the outcome of this process was to open a new fracture clinic in a part of the old emergency department. This will have a significant benefit for patients attending our busy fracture clinic in terms of reduced wait times and improved patient experience.
KOSTAL in Abbeyfeale has confirmed that 200 of its 693 workers have been put on a three-day week since last Friday because of reduced demand for one of its products.

The arrangement, the company said, is expected to last five weeks until April 19.

But Siptu, the union representing workers in the plant, is not happy with the companys approach and says the move was made without their agreement.

Joe Kelly, industrial organiser with Siptu, said he was only informed there was a problem the week before the company imposed the three-day week.

We met the company on Tuesday, March 12, and they us that due to circumstances outside their control, production had to be cut and they were imposing a three-day week, Mr Kelly said.

To impose a three-day week, without our agreement, and at that short notice is unfortunate to say the least, Mr Kelly said. It is ten days pay lost, he added.

The union was now consulting with members, he continued, and was looking closely at members contracts. However, he added, they have remained in communication with Kostal and are seeking to schedule another meeting.

In a statement released to the Leader, a spokesman for Kostal explained their reason for the three-day week. It was, he said, due to an unexpected reduction in customer demand for its on-board charger products that are used in all-electric and plug-ins in hybrid electric vehicles.

The company gave no explanation as to what was behind the reduction in demand but it is understood it was not Brexit-related.

Kostal has two plants in Ireland, one in Abbeyfeale and a second in Mallow, employing 1038 workers in total and manufacturing electronic and mechatronic products for the automobile industry.

It is disappointing news but if that is what it takes to keep the plant going, then so be it, local councillor Liam Galvin said this Tuesday. I would be hoping they would be back up in full production again in five weeks.

The Kostal announcement has, however, come as an unsettling surprise in the town which is heavily dependent on the plant for employment.

It is only for a few weeks, but its still a bit of a joke. Ive rent to pay and mouths to feed, was the reaction of one employee. Things are going from bad to worse for this town. Kostal is one of the last places providing work in Abbeyfeale and if it was to close, we would be in trouble.
LANDS in Ballycummin, Raheen, Mungret and Rosbrien could all be transformed into park-and-ride sites for the city, councillor Joe Leddin has said.

The Labour councillor, who is seeking re-election in City West has proposed these four specific locations which could facilitate areas to allow people take leave their cars outside the city and ride by public transport the rest of the way.

In my own electoral area of Limerick City West we are witnessing the significant development of Mungret as part of the Limerick 2030 plan while the expansion of industries and jobs in Raheen industrial estate and the University Hospital is causing huge traffic and parking problems in the surrounding housing estates, he said, There are land banks available in the Ballycummin, Mungret and Raheen area that can be developed to provide motorists with parking and rapid access into the city.

He added: In the Rosbrien area the Council own a significant land bank of 27 acres which can could potentially help to dramatically reduce the traffic volumes on the Greenfields Road on a daily basis.

At present, there are no park-and-ride facilities in Limerick city, unlike in Cork and Dublin.

The only exception to this in recent times has taken place in the Christmas shopping period when the former Cleeves toffee factory is used for parking before busses ferry people the rest of the way.

Cllr Leddin says for any park-and-ride facility to be successful, bus services must operate every ten minutes at a minimum.

We cannot expect to create a vibrant liveable city if those working, visiting or looking to shop cannot easily access and leave the city without the hassle of trying to source parking, he points out, The existing park and ride facilities in operation in Black Ash Park in Cork have recently been upgraded arising from increased demand by motorists to change their driving habits and avail of the ten-minute frequency of buses into and out of the city.

Every modern city must provide sustainable modes of public transport. Limerick has at different times of the year including Christmas provided parking in temporary locations however we must now plan for the provision of permanent park and ride facilities, he concluded.
A NUMBER of gardai in Limerick are under investigation for serious corruption and malpractice.

Gardai in Limerick have found themselves at centre of one of the biggest internal corruption investigations of recent years, with at least two officers facing questioning on corruption and malpractice, it was confirmed at the weekend.

Specialist units of the gardai are not informing officers in Limerick of planned raids in case the information is given to criminals, according to a report in the Sunday Times.



It is believed a number of organised searches against the criminal organisation known as the Rathkeale Rovers were compromised last year.

Gardai in the city were not given any notice of a series of raids that were carried out on properties and businesses in the county in the past few weeks, in case the operation might be compromised, security sources told the Sunday Times.

Two private houses in west Limerick were searched on Friday March 15, as were the offices of two local solicitors who have had dealings with one or both of the men in the past.

One Limerick based detective allegedly received cash in return for providing the Rathkeale Rovers, a well known organised crime gang, with classified information on investigations.

The garda has already been arrested and suspended. He was identified by the force's security and intelligence division after they listened in on private telephone calls he was making to criminals using a "pay as you go phone" which he believed could not be traced.

It is believed that the officer received at least 20,000 for giving information on an investigation by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) into the Rovers.

The gang, also known as the Rhino Rovers, became notorious for their suspected involvement in the theft of antique rhino horns from museums across Europe and America, as well as other serious crimes including fraud, drug dealing, and money laundering.

At least one other garda is believed to have been turned by the gang, after he was "blackmailed" into committing insurance fraud after they discovered he was involved in a sexual relationship with a young woman from Limerick. the suspected garda is a married man.

Gardai in Dublin are now trying to establish if any other members of the force have been targeted, as well as establishing how much damage has been done to intelligence-gathering operations in Munster.

The Criminal Assets Bureau conducted a major search operation targeting the assets and activities of criminals in Limerick.

Among the premises searched were houses and two car showrooms. The bureau seized 115 vehicles in the Limerick operation along with 43,000 and a Rolex watch. Documentation in relation to the ownership of assets financial documentation, mobile phones and electronic storage devices were also taken.

While no arrests were made, the Limerick Leader understands that one of the men who is the subject of investigation may have traveled to Spain over the weekend.

A short video of the second man  apparently socialising in a pub in North Cork  has been widely circulated in recent days.

In the video, which was allegedly recorded on the same day as the CAB operation, the man can seen with another man joking that they were looking for a cab out of here before adding they could not get a cab out of the named town.

"The extent of the problem in Limerick has yet to be determined. Two officers have been implicated," said a senior officer to the Sunday Times. "One sought and received possibly tens of thousands in bribes."
A NIECE of the late Bishop Eamonn Casey, who served in Limerick for a number of years, claims she was raped and sexually abused by him from the age of five for more than a decade.

And the Irish Mail on Sunday also have reported that two other allegations of child sexual abuse by Bishop Casey let do separate settlements.

Now living in London Limerick born Patricia Donovan, niece of the late Bishop claimed she was raped and sexually assaulted in Limerick and Kerry and Galway by her uncle. His sister Josephine was Patricia's mother.

"He was quite organised and selective and I think he saw that I was vulnerable and quite sensitive. It was rape, everything you imagine. It was the worst kind of abuse, it was horrific," she told former Limerick Leader journalist Anne Sheridan who now works for the Mail.

Ms Donovan brought the allegations to the UK police in November of 2005. Detectives from limerick traveled to England to take a statement from her in January of 2006 but by August, the Director of Public Prosecutions directed that no charges be brought on 13 sample allegations.




EFCC has declared a former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ayodele Oke and his wife, Folasade, wanted after they failed to answer for fraud charges filed against them.

Justice Chukwujeku Aneke of a Federal High Court Lagos, had on February 7, 2019 issued an arrest warrant on them, consequent upon an oral application by counsel for the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo.

Oke and his wife are wanted in connection with the $43,449,947, 27,800 and N23,218,000 cash recovered by the EFCC from an apartment at Osborne Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, in April 2017. They are facing a four-count charge bordering on money laundering offence to the tune of N13 billion.




One of the voters who was attacked in Kano State during Saturday's supplementary elections, Nasir Mansur Mohammed says he doesnt think the fraud called elections in Nigeria is worth dying for.

Mohammed was attacked by thugs weilding weapons when he went to cast his vote at Santulma Primary School polling unit in Gama Ward. According to his account, he was saved by good Samaritans and taken to the hospital where he spent three hours in admission.

In his words: Alhamdulillah. I survived. I was violently attacked by thugs at Santulma Primary School polling unit at Gama Ward in Kano today Saturday. I was saved by the grace of God and some good Samaritans, who also took me to Gwagwarwa hospital, where I was admitted for three hours, stitched and discharged. Is the fraud called elections in Nigeria worth dying for? I dont think so. Lessons learnt.
"The evil of political defections has been a matter of national concern. If it is not combated, it is likely to undermine the very foundations of our democracy and the principles which sustain it This Bill is meant for outlawing defection and fulfilling the above assurance."  Introduction to the 10th schedule of the Indian Constitution

Back in 1967, Gaya Lal, a legislator in the Haryana state assembly, changed his political party twice in a day, and then a third a time within the fortnightall because he wanted to be part of the governing party, and things were in a bit of a flux after elections. He succeeded in his short-term mission, but at the rather hefty cost of seeing his name associated forevermore with the practice of defections" in Indian politics. Aya ram, gaya ram (come and go men) became the derisive Hindi phrase used to describe politicians who switch parties for money and government office, including the sought-after job of a minister.

Gaya Lal was not alone in his political exploits. Between 1967 and 1971, there were 142 defections in Parliament and 1,969 in state assemblies, according to PRS Legislative Research, a think tank. Gaya Lals Haryana was only the first among a series of states that saw governments topple during the period, and 212 defectors were rewarded with ministerial positions. Between 1967 and 1983, there were approximately 2,700 defections at the state level, with 15 defectors becoming chief ministers.

Regional politics was becoming increasingly influential in Indias federated structure and in 1985, when the Congress led by Rajiv Gandhi stormed to power with the largest mandate in Indian history, the new prime minsters first legislative act was to follow up on a campaign pledge for an anti-defection law. The law amended the Constitution and added the 10th schedule to the Constitution, from which the quote above has been taken.

In the nearly 35 years since then, the spirit and letter of this piece of landmark legislation, which aims to discourage defections and violations of the party whip, has been violated time and again by politicians. And in the run-up to the general election beginning 11 April, such violations have assumed epic proportions.

In assembly elections in state after state, from Arunachal Pradesh in the furthest eastern corner (it borders China) to Goa in the western tip, voters have made it abundantly clear that they have no strong, single-party preference, a testimony to the influence of the multiplicity of parties that crowd the Indian political stage. Such verdicts have led to protracted periods of uncertainty and negotiations between leaders of national political parties, those of regional parties, and winning candidates.

Winners can be spirited away to luxury hotels located miles from the capital city and kept under heavy guard in what is known as resort politics", candidates feign illness or go on vacation", bargains are struck, candidates switch sides, governments are toppled and governments are formed. One of the main reasons this practice has been able to flourish is that the anti-defection law is allowed to be violated by the ruling party. The law says a defector can be disqualified by the Speaker on the basis of a petition by any other member of the House. However, the practice of naming Speakers from the ruling party (which immediately compromises the independence bestowed on this office in democracies, but thats another story) means defections are allowed in nearly all circumstances, with no regard for the motive behind defections.

In the southern states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, this has led to a farcical situation, where dozens of opposition legislators have switched sides to strengthen the ruling party while the Speakers have looked the other way. Some were made ministers even before they officially changed their party tag, thus becoming opposition party ministers in the government".

The Speakers decision on defections is subject to judicial review. But judicial reviews of the enforcement of the anti-defection law are a developing arena. In 2016, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government imposed Presidents Rule in Uttarakhand, dismissing the states Congress government amid a rebellion by some Congress legislators. The chief justice of the Uttarakhand high court, K.M. Joseph, quashed Presidents rule, thus restoring the popular mandate. Two years later, his promotion to the Supreme Court was sought to be held back by the central government despite a strong recommendation for elevation by other senior judges, who eventually had their way.

The story of defections in India is interesting if for no other reason than the anomaly presented by the near-constant presence of defections in electoral politics and the absence of a public debate around it. There are deeper, related issues around the nature of political representation and electoral politics that, too, need urgent debating in public. For instance, it can be presumed that the whole notion on which the anti-defection law is predicatedthat elections are won by political parties rather than individualsis indisputable. Yet, this idea is also problematic in Indian society, where deeply entrenched traditional cultural values may mean an election candidate is also judged, defeated or elected for a raft of reasons other than their politics alone. These may include broader factors such as gender, class, religion, caste and kinship as well as more local and tangible ones such as whether the candidate can deliver on a promise to, say, get you a specific job thats going.

That such local considerations can be important even in national elections finds resonance, for instance, in the jobs versus nationalism debate in the current hustings.

It would take a pretty large leap of faith to describe Indian election candidates as individuals (independents) rather than representatives of political parties with well-defined and recognized ideologies. Yet, from the prism of the voter, the candidate often is a well-recognized individual rather than someone necessarily identified with a political party.

Within a scenario where all major political parties (except those on the Left) appear to have found a positive consensus around economic liberalization (including its need and impact), such locally based identities and considerations come into even sharper focus. A plague on all your houses, but can you get us a job", could be one way of describing a common voter perception in election time.

A criticism of the anti-defection law is that the penalty for defection comes into play after the defecting legislators have destabilized a government. It is also an example of implementing a legal solution to solve a political problem," says an analysis by PRS Legislative Research.

Of all the pending legislative reforms before the next Indian government, tightening and cleaning up the anti-defection law is among the most urgentif only to tend to the health of the worlds largest democracy.

Dipankars Twitter handle is @Ddesarkar1

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At the time, it was one of the worst man-made disasters in the history of the United States.

And a Texas owned-and-based company was responsible for it.

Sunday marks the 30th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

The Exxon Valdez catastrophe started on March, 24, 1989, when an Exxon Shipping Company tanker ran aground near the town of Valdez, Alaska.

Gallons of visible, toxic crude oil proceeded to flow into into the Prince William Sound.

RELATED: UPDATE: ITC provides deadline, additional info for incident claim forms

As the pollution stretched to hundreds of miles of shoreline, scores of local wildlife (on land an in the water) were drenched in oil and many commercial fisherman who worked in the area suffered difficult financial losses.

The only oil spill that has eclipsed it over the course of the past 30 is the one that took place at BP's Deepwater Horizon, located in the Gulf of Mexico.

You can see images of the event, as well as how tragically it impacted the community and surrounding environment, in the gallery above.

Peter Dawson is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | Peter.Dawson@chron.com | NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.
A man pulled out a knife and threatened a person who was viewing movies at a Redbox, according to Laredo police.

Francisco Aranda, 68, was arrested Sunday and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
In a case spearheaded by the Webb County Sheriff's Office and assisted by Border Patrol, two men were arrested on drug charges along North Interstate 35 following a reported armed robbery.

READ MORE: Laredo schools with most drug-related incidents on campus in 2017-2018 school year

The case developed after a woman called to report that two armed men had stolen her husband's wallet at a ranch road near the 23 mile marker of I-35.

When deputies arrived, they spoke to the complainants and then sought the assistance of Border Patrol, which launched their helicopter and helped locate the suspects.

The suspects were then turned over to sheriff's deputies, who continued with the interrogation.

Jose Juan Ramos, 17, was arrested on marijuana charges, while Arturo de Hoyos, 23, was charged with making a false report and delivery of marijuana.

During the interrogation, however, it was determined that Ramos met De Hoyos to purchase the marijuana, but together with an undocumented immigrant, they fled on horseback as soon as they received the pot, which weighed 5.7 ounces, according to authorities.

The undocumented immigrant was turned over to Border Patrol.

READ MORE: Immigrants allegedly found living in 'deplorable conditions' in central Laredo stash house



"This is a perfect example of what is going on in our community. These drug users are desperate and are getting very creative on how to obtain the drugs. I thank the United States Border Patrol for their assistance in this case," said Sheriff Martin Cuellar. "We need the community to help us fight this epidemic. If
On Friday, Attorney General William Barr offered up just four paragraphs of explanation for what happens next with special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the Russia investigation. Here's the section from his letter where he addresses that directly, to some extent:

"I am reviewing the report and anticipate that I may be in a position to advise you of the Special Counsel's principal conclusions as soon as this weekend.

"Separately, I intend to consult with Deputy Attorney General [Rod] Rosenstein and Special Counsel Mueller to determine what other information from the report can be released to Congress and the public consistent with the law, including the Special Counsel regulations, and the Department's long-standing practices and policies. I remain committed to as much transparency as possible, and I will keep you informed as to the status of my review."

The "you" is the leaders of the House and Senate judiciary committees, and Barr suggests they'll be briefed rather quickly. Apparently it won't be Saturday, but it could be Sunday.

The chief question from this is: What is a "principal conclusion"?

Barr has made clear that he sees himself as being constrained not just in what he can release publicly from the Mueller report but also in what he can tell Congress. There are Justice Department guidelines and federal laws designed to protect law enforcement from releasing derogatory information about people who aren't being charged with crimes. In his testimony and since, Barr has said he will be as transparent as he can. But we don't really know much beyond that about what he feels he'll be able to share.

The phrase "principal conclusions" is not a legal term of art, so it carries no specific definition, and we don't have much to judge it upon. But it does sound as if it should be more than brief explanations of who was and wasn't charged. That has given those who argued for more disclosure hope that Congress, at the very least, will get some details about the biggest questions in the Mueller probe. Among them:

- Was there a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia?

- How extensive and successful was the Russian interference campaign in the 2016 elections?

- Did President Donald Trump obstruct justice?

This would be important, because Congress is the body charged with holding a president accountable, through possible impeachment proceedings. Given the Justice Department's long-standing position that a sitting president can't be indicted, there's a potential Catch-22 situation if Barr were to decide not to share any incriminating information about the president that Congress would need to actually make its determinations.

But it's also worth emphasizing that Barr's characterization of "principal conclusions" could be read as being narrow. "Its main significance is its limitation - 'principal' as in 'not all,' " said former top Justice Department aide Harry Litman, who is a Washington Post columnist.

That suggests that Barr may not go into detail - at least not yet - about some of the biggest questions. What did Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner talk about with that Russian banker? What exactly happened with Trump apparently asking then-FBI Director James Comey for leniency for former national security adviser Michael Flynn? Did the White House deliberately mislead or lie to the public about specific events? Etc. While these pieces of information could be used to explain principal conclusions, they aren't principal conclusions in and of themselves.

And from there, there is the question about whether this is all Barr will share. Is this just a first step in disclosure, or is this all he feels he can provide? His letter doesn't say. It's possible he is trying to get the big stuff out of the way first and then could work toward decisions about what other information to share. That would certainly seem to require more than just two days of review over a weekend.

In short, as with almost all things in the Mueller probe thus far, we're left with a limited amount of words and a whole lot of unknowns.

"I take it just in the plain-English sense of the term to mean major findings," former federal prosecutor Elie Honig said about "principal conclusions." "As to what those might be, I don't think anybody can know at this point."
WASHINGTON - Undeterred by President Donald Trump's claim of "complete and total exoneration" from a summary of the special counsel's report on Russian interference, Democrats on Sunday vowed to press ahead with their multiple investigations into the president and whether he obstructed justice.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., whose panel has jurisdiction over impeachment, pledged to pick up where investigators left off and, if necessary, subpoena Attorney General William Barr to testify. In an impromptu news conference in New York City, he seized on special counsel Robert Mueller's refusal to exonerate Trump on the question of obstruction of justice, suggesting that Barr's summary was "a hasty, partisan interpretation of the facts."

"President Trump is wrong. This report does not amount to a so-called total exoneration," Nadler said. "It is unconscionable that President Trump would try to spin the special counsel's findings as if his conduct was remotely acceptable."

Mueller on Friday submitted a confidential report to Barr, who reviewed the document and sent congressional leaders a four-page summary of Mueller's "principal conclusions" late Sunday afternoon. Democrats argued that the summary was insufficient - and a work product from a Republican attorney general appointed by Trump.

They insisted that Congress and the American people need to see the full report from Mueller and the underlying documents so they could reach their own conclusions.

In a joint statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Barr's letter "raises as many questions as it answers."

"The fact that Special Counsel Mueller's report does not exonerate the president on a charge as serious as obstruction of justice demonstrates how urgent it is that the full report and underlying documentation be made public without any further delay," they said. "Given Mr. Barr's public record of bias against the Special Counsel's inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report."

House Democrats have faced resistance from the White House to their repeated requests for documents, and the Barr summary and Trump's response increase the likelihood of an escalating standoff between Congress and the executive branch over material and witnesses.

In a joint statement Sunday night, Nadler, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., called for Barr to appear before the Judiciary panel "without delay" and for the Justice Department to release the full Mueller report and all of the underlying documents.

"The Special Counsel's Report should be allowed to speak for itself, and Congress must have the opportunity to evaluate the underlying evidence," the chairmen said in their statement. "These shortcomings in today's letter are the very reason our nation has a system of separation of powers."

In addition to seeking testimony from Barr, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee discussed pursuing Mueller to appear before Congress, especially if the panel is unsuccessful in obtaining the special counsel's full report. The committee's Democrats, scattered around the country, held an emergency conference call Sunday evening to discuss the summary and the next steps, according to a participant who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely describe the conversations.

Even before Barr sent his summary to Capitol Hill, six House committee chairmen had told their Democratic colleagues on Saturday that they would pursue their investigations into Trump's businesses, the role banks played in funding the Trump organization and whether the president abused the powers of his office no matter what Mueller concluded.

In the summary, Barr said Mueller also found no conspiracy between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia, a conclusion that took what little wind was left in the sails of Democrats calling for impeachment.

In an interview with The Washington Post this month, Pelosi spelled out a critical precondition for moving toward impeachment proceedings: support from Republicans so that it would be considered a bipartisan movement against Trump, similar to the last days of Richard Nixon's presidency in 1974.

Pelosi said impeachment would be "so divisive to the country that unless there's something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don't think we should go down that path."

"He's just not worth it," she said of Trump.

Now, after Sunday's findings, Republicans rallied around Trump and signaled that it would take dramatic new discoveries to ever get them to break from the president.

Democrats will face intense pressure from jubilant Republicans, who welcomed Barr's summary and insisted it had cleared the president. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., said the report vindicates Trump, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., declared Sunday that "it is time we move on for the good of the nation."

Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Del., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, predicted Sunday that "we will have a hard fight ahead over release of the full report and materials" but insisted that Democrats are "justified in seeking a broad view of what materials led to [Mueller's] conclusion."

In the House, Judiciary Committee member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., voiced the similar conviction that "now more than ever, we need to see the Mueller report and all of the underlying evidence."

He added that Barr's "analysis and rationale are fair game for congressional investigation too," pointing out that it was Barr's conclusion, not Mueller's, that Trump had no ill intent behind the evidence that could be considered obstruction of justice.

As for the Mueller report's apparent confidence that Trump and his subordinates had not conspired with Russians to sway the 2016 election, even when presented with the opportunity, Raskin insisted that he had "regarded the question of so-called collusion as an irrelevant distraction from the very beginning."

"There is no crime known as collusion except in the field of antitrust law," he said.

But that doesn't mean Democrats are likely to drop the Russia-focused probe of their Trump investigations.

"The job of the special counsel is very different than our job; they're looking for specific statutory offenses and a quantum of evidence that surpasses beyond a reasonable doubt," Raskin said. " That's very different than what we're looking for in terms of examining threats to the political sovereignty of the United States."

Some Democrats responded to Sunday's news by immediately questioning Barr's motives, noting that he was appointed by Trump. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., took to Twitter to write that "maybe Barr's interpretation is right. Maybe it's not. But why the heck would we be ok with an ally of President, appointed because of his hostility to the Mueller investigation, tell us what the report says?"

"Give Congress the report," he wrote. "Give the public the report. Now."

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, also pressed for greater transparency, saying in a tweet that on the issue of obstruction of justice, Mueller "tossed a jump ball, & the AG tipped it to President Trump, but shared none of the information supporting his conclusion."

- - -

The Washington Post's Paul Sonne, Drew Harwell and Devlin Barrett contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON - House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., delivered a strong defense Sunday of the U.S.-Israel alliance and directed a thinly veiled rebuke to a fellow Democrat whose remarks sparked charges of anti-Semitism that roiled the party's new majority.

Hoyer, a longtime ally of Israel, came down squarely on the side of standing with Israel at a time when younger Democrats and some contenders for the party's 2020 presidential nomination criticize Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rightward shift and his moves closer to President Donald Trump and Republicans.

"I stand with Israel, proudly and unapologetically. So, when someone accuses American supporters of Israel of dual loyalty, I say: Accuse me. I am part of a large, bipartisan coalition in Congress supporting Israel. I tell Israel's detractors: Accuse us," Hoyer said at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual conference at Washington's Convention Center.

The meeting was supposed to ease tensions between Muslim and Jewish Democrats. It ended with tears

Hoyer's "dual loyalty" remarks served as a rejoinder to Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), the first-term lawmaker whose recent remarks have sparked the heated debate inside the Democratic caucus and across the nation among liberal activists.

This month, Omar suggested Israel's supporters are motivated by political donations and have "allegiance" to a foreign country, sparking a messy public reckoning over anti-Semitism. That led to several days of heated debate among Democrats about whether to condemn those remarks, before they eventually reached a compromise on a broadly worded resolution that condemned many forms of hate.

But the issue has not gone away. A new resolution sponsored by Reps. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and Bradley Schneider, D-Ill., rejects the global boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, or BDS, which tries to apply economic pressure to compel Israel to change its policy toward the Palestinians. Israel's allies in Congress say the changes BDS supporters want would effectively end Israel's identity as a Jewish homeland.

AIPAC backs the resolution, and Hoyer on Sunday threw his full support behind it with a promise to "defeat BDS."

The organization's annual Washington gathering is reviving many of the heated discussions from early March. Hoyer was the first of several top-ranking Democrats to speak to the powerful group, followed later this week by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

Netanyahu, who arrived in Washington on Sunday, meets with Trump on Monday and will address the conference Tuesday just weeks ahead of a tense reelection battle back home.

Hoyer began his remarks by explaining that, although he is not Jewish and does not have many Jewish constituents, he has traveled to Israel 15 times, many of those AIPAC-sponsored trips with him serving as the lead Democrat.

He delivered some mild criticism - that the United States and Israel at times fail "to follow our own ideals" - but he said politicians do a disservice to that by using tropes about Jews and money. In early February Omar suggested that U.S. politicians had a loyalty to AIPAC that was "about the Benjamins."

"What weakens us, though, is when, instead of engaging in legitimate debate about policies, someone questions the motives of his or her fellow citizens or tries to silence others through exclusion, disenfranchisement, or fear," Hoyer said.

"In a region of dictatorships and dynasties, Israel remains a beachhead of freedom and representative government. In Israel's democracy, where rule of law is upheld and freedom of expression is assured, Americans see a mirror image of our own."

Democratic divide over Omar's remarks tests Pelosi's ability to unify caucus

Republicans have tried to use the controversy to split Democrats from one of their traditional blocs of support - a recent Gallup poll found that only 16 percent of Jewish Americans identified as Republicans last year.

Trump recently called the Democratic Party "anti-Israel" and "anti-Jewish" after House leaders broadened a resolution responding to Omar by condemning all forms of hatred.

"We are loyal Americans, patriots who believe it is in America's interest that Israel remains strong and free and supported as a place of refuge from the haters of the world," Hoyer said, concluding his remarks with another rejection of the "dual loyalty" charge.

"We proudly stand with Israel. Accuse us."
Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and other cabinet colleagues publicly backed Theresa May on Sunday as several British newspapers said the prime minister is under increasing pressure to stand down over her handling of Brexit.

Speaking on Sky News, Hammond said that removing the prime minister won't help the U.K., and talk of a new leader is "self-indulgent." Still, in comments that could harden splits in May's cabinet, the chancellor refused to rule out holding a second referendum to help break the impasse over her Brexit deal, saying it was a "perfectly coherent proposition."

The chancellor was speaking after the Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, Mail on Sunday and the Observer said that cabinet ministers were taking steps to remove May and install an interim leader to complete the Brexit process.

According to the Sunday Times, at least six senior ministers want her deputy, David Lidington, to take the job until there's a formal leadership election. They'll confront her at a cabinet meeting Monday, and threaten a mass resignation if she doesn't step down, the report said. Michael Gove, a leading Brexiteer in the 2016 referendum, and Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt also have some support.

Lidington said Sunday that he had no interest in taking May's job, adding that "one thing that working closely with the prime minister does is cure you completely of any lingering shred of ambition to want to do that task." He was interviewed outside his home.

Gove, speaking outside his home, later Sunday said he backed May and rejected any plan to change the prime minister.

"This is a time for cool heads," he said. "It's not the time to change the captain of the ship, what we need to do is chart the right course."

May has two weeks to find a way forward after the European Union postponed the U.K.'s March 29 exit date, and hopes to hold a third vote on her Brexit deal in the coming week and give members of Parliament a chance to weigh in on alternatives. The prime minister has grown increasingly isolated in recent months, both at home and in Brussels, and colleagues were irked by last week's televised address that blamed the deadlock on the House of Commons.

On Sunday, Hammond reiterated that it was up to lawmakers to come together to find a way forward if they continue to reject May's deal, and that the government would give them time to do that in coming days. "One way or another Parliament is going to have the opportunity this week to decide what it is in favor of," he said on Sky's "Sophy Ridge on Sunday."

When presented with a list of possible options, he ruled out a no-deal exit or revoking Article 50 - which is the formal notification to the EU - but he was less equivocal about the prospect of a second vote.

Another referendum "deserves to be considered" along with other proposals, he said, but added that he didn't think there was majority in Parliament for such an outcome.

Hammond's comments could enrage anti-EU members of May's party, who - along with the prime minister herself - have argued against another vote. The Times reported that key Brexiteers, including Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg, have been invited to the prime minister's Chequers retreat northwest of London on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay, who told the BBC's "Andrew Marr Show" that it wasn't the right time for a leadership contest, said that any majority in indicative votes planned in the coming week will not be binding. If Parliament voted for a softer Brexit, it would collide with the Conservative's 2017 manifesto and risk a general election, he said.

With Parliament due to enter another crunch week of votes, an estimated 1 million anti-Brexit protesters rallied alongside leading politicians in central London on Saturday to demand a second referendum. Meanwhile, an online petition urging the government to cancel Brexit neared 5 million signatures - the most names ever collected in a public campaign.

On Sunday, Labour's Hilary Benn, chairman of a Parliament committee on Brexit, and Green Party politician Caroline Lucas - both long standing critics of May's agreement - said they'd support a plan to hold a confirmatory public vote on the prime minister's twice-defeated deal.

Lucas said she'd back May's Brexit deal "with a heavy heart" if it was "intrinsically linked" to another vote - a similar pledge to that made by deputy Labour leader Tom Watson on Saturday.
Two women were recently arrested by Webb County sheriff's deputies after about $900,000 in cocaine and crystal methamphetamine was found in a vehicle on Interstate 35.

Dulce Gisela Coronado Cortes, 31, and Veronica Guadalupe De Hoyos Ramirez, 32, were each charged with two counts possession of controlled substance.

READ MORE: U.S. gang member among individuals arrested near Hebbronville by Border Patrol



At about 4:35 p.m. Wednesday, deputies conducted a traffic stop on a Chevy Malibu bearing Mexican plates at the 13 mile marker on North Interstate 35.

During questioning, deputies noticed inconsistencies with their responses. After receiving consent from the occupants to search the vehicle, deputies found two wooden boxes consistent with built-in aftermarket speakers located in the trunk of the car. A canine alerted deputies to the presence of narcotics and a search immediately ensued.

Both wooden boxes did not contain speakers, and they were sealed, deputies said.

Two women were recently arrested by Webb County sheriff's deputies after about $900,000 in cocaine and crystal methamphetamine was found in a vehicle on Interstate 35.

READ MORE: Wild video taken near Texas-Mexico border has secret purpose

The boxes contained 13 pounds of methamphetamine and almost 15 pounds of cocaine, according to the Sheriff's Office.

"I congratulate my patrol division for keeping our streets safe. These drugs could have ended in our children's path. We remind the public to join the fight against crime and report any suspicious activity by calling 956-415 (BUST) 2878," said Sheriff Martin Cuellar.
What is the minimum salary you need to buy a home in Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Austin?

One company sought to find the answer.

On Mar. 19, smartasset.com released a report that calculated the figures for those five locations, as well as the other top 10 largest cities in the United States.

You can examine the organization's methodology more deeply here.

The company describes itself as "a financial technology company aiming to provide the best personal finance advice on the web."

You can click through the slideshow above to see the minimum salary you need to afford home payments in the 15 largest U.S. cities in 2019, according to smartasset.com.

All of the pictures above are homes in those cities.

RELATED: Several Houston area universities among top nursing schools in Texas

Peter Dawson is a digital reporter in Houston. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | Peter.Dawson@chron.com | NEWS WHEN YOU NEED IT: Text CHRON to 77453 to receive breaking news alerts by text message | Sign up for breaking news alerts delivered to your email here.
An Uber driver is in "dire" condition after he was shot Thursday by two passengers on San Antonio's Southwest Side, police said.

The driver picked up the two suspects at an unknown location and took them to the 7400 block of New Laredo Highway, where they shot him, at about 8:20 a.m., officials said.
Using a term coined by local meteorologist Steve Browne to describe the haze that dominates the atmosphere over San Antonio each May, the May Murkies will soon be upon us.

The haze that drifts in from the south is smoke from the burning of sugar cane fields. Sugar production in Central America is a multibillion-dollar business and growing. A similar phenomenon occurs annually in South Florida when regional sugar cane growers burn their fields before harvest.

The fires are lit to rid the fields of leaves and other vegetation, leaving nothing standing but the cane. This makes harvesting much easier.

During the process of burning the fields, dark clouds of smoke billowg into the atmosphere. Aerosols and accompanying gases generated during the burning are laden with pesticides, herbicides, their oxidation products (products of combustion) and the carcinogenic heavy metal cadmium, which is contained in the phosphate fertilizers used to grow the sugar cane.

The black clouds from Central America dissipate as they are transported by the prevailing winds, first over the Gulf of Mexico and then northward to the Gulf Coast and nearby inland areas of the U.S.

The affected residents need to understand what is going on, the potential consequences of exposure to the airborne toxins, and the measures they can take to mitigate the effects of exposure for themselves, their loved ones and their pets.

When the May Murkies began last year, one of my cats experienced severe respiratory problems, and one of my aunts cats suddenly and unexpectedly died. At the same time, I suffered from vertigo, something I had experienced years before as a result of exposure to an airborne insecticide. It wasnt until I heard Browne announce that the leading edge of the cloud of smoke had arrived and showed satellite photos of the cloud emanating from Central America that I began putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

Respiratory problems are reported annually by residents of Gulf Coast states who are exposed to this toxic smoke, and for years I have read about the annual deaths of thousands of agricultural workers in Latin America due to kidney failure. I asked myself, Could there be a connection? I performed a Google search. Numerous articles popped up, indicating that the problem was primarily among sugar cane workers and their kidney problems were typically accompanied by respiratory issues.

I further investigated the toxicity of the heavy metal. Cadmium accumulates primarily in the kidneys, lungs, pancreas, liver and bones, and its renal toxicity is well-documented. Sugar cane field workers are exposed to the toxic smoke every harvest, and the kidney damage they suffer is categorized as tubulointerstitial nephritis. And although the toxic smoke from the burning of sugar fields is by no means the only exposure to cadmium experienced by residents of the U.S. Gulf Coast, it almost certainly contributes to the high incidence of kidney disease in those states, which is significantly higher than the rest of the nation.

I suggest the following:

Stay indoors, if possible.

Avoid outdoor physical exertion.

If you have to be outside, consider wearing breathing protection.

Prepare for the next exposure by taking phosphate-free zinc supplements (it reduces assimilation of cadmium).

Bolster your immune systems with zinc and vitamin C.

Arturo Riojas, Ph.D., is a chemical and environmental engineer and is a licensed professional engineer in Texas.
The Skyline flying club, based at the Abbeyshrule Aerodrome on the banks of the Royal Canal and River Inny, was founded in the early part of last year.

Their mission is to provide people with an opportunity to fly in a safe, fun and affordable facility, something most definitely achieved.

We wanted to set up a club up almost like a community resource, to make aviation fun and accessible, whilst doing it for the lowest cost and highest standards of safety, Chairman Colm Murphy told the Roving Leader.

The group have made significant strides in a short space of time and now have state of the art facilities in Abbeyshrule, with an airplane of their own (an Urban Air Samba XXL), a hangar and clubhouse now on their site.

A number of people got together and we decided we were going to do this. So, we raised some finances between us all and purchased the airplane, the hangar and the clubhouse, Colm said.

The group also currently have a team of four instructors in their ranks, Aaron Dineen, Luis Reromarta, Derek Leddy and Longford native, Rory White.

Colm said: We are very fortunate to have four very experienced instructors that give a huge amount of their own time. They have a great wealth of experience there to draw on.

Colm explained that the group was one first set up to allow members with an interest in aviation and flying, to do so whilst getting to see different parts of the country in the process. There are now 35 active members on the groups roster and they conduct fly-aways to areas such as Donegal, the Aran Islands, and Sligo. Some have even flown internationally.

Colm explained: It is a bit of an unusual hobby, but it can be great fun and an achievement for somebody, whether they go on to do their first solo flight or get their full licence.

All the instructors say, your licence is really a licence to learn.

For the group, the focus is not solely on flying, but having as much fun as possible. They undertake many flyaways and social events throughout the year, some of which have no connection to aviation whatsoever. This includes canoeing, card games, diving and more. They also host their own Christmas dinner and Summer barbeque in Abbeyshrule.

Colm said: It is more of a social group than it is anything else. Last year, we went to Donegal, Sligo, Shannon, Ballyboy, all over the country

We have as many social events as we can throughout the year, he added.

Also read: Prestigious Moto Stages Rally returning to Longfords roads

Colm says the group not only benefits its members, but also the area of Abbeyshrule, with people now flocking in their droves to see one of Irelands top, small-scale airfields.

There are people coming to see Abbeyshrule and down to the airfield, which is a fantastic resource. People are even coming from abroad as Longford has a fabulous facility here and it is right in the heart of the midlands.

There is also a fantastic runway there, which is in very good condition.

Anybody looking to join this unique club which is in its infancy can do so by contacting Colm by phone on 083 893 4756 or through the club's official website www.skylineflyingclub.ie.

It is just some grown ups having a bit of fun, doing something a little bit different he said.

It is exciting times ahead for the group as they have big plans for the coming months. One such plan is a trip to the Bray air show.

For fun, craic and a chance to see Ireland from a different angle while making friends, contact the team now. You would be plane mad not to.
Trade marks: the good, the bad and the ugly, ugly trolls

After many years of anticipation and after several false alarms, it seems that Canada will soon be overhauling its trade mark law. The Canadian Trademarks Office is anticipating that the new law will be in force in early 2019. While the Trademarks Office previously, on several occasions, anticipated that the new law would come into force earlier, they seem considerably more committed this time.

These will be the most significant changes to Canadian trade mark law in more than 50 years. With these changes, Canadian trade mark applications will be simplified, looking increasingly like European applications and somewhat less similar to US applications.

A summary of some of the main changes:

Simplified applications

Trade mark applications will be simplified and will no longer include a date of first use. Details of use and registration of the mark abroad will also no longer be required.

Trade mark applications will be simplified and will no longer include a date of first use. Details of use and registration of the mark abroad will also no longer be required. Madrid

Canada will become a member of the Madrid Protocol.

Canada will become a member of the Madrid Protocol. New non-traditional marks

The definition of a trade mark will be greatly expanded to cover anything that functions as an indicator of source and will include any "sign, or combination of signs" that serve that purpose.

As a result, protection will be available for traditional and non-traditional marks, including a word, a personal name, a design, a letter, a numeral, a colour, a figurative element, a three-dimensional shape, a hologram, a moving image, a mode of packaging goods, a sound, a scent, a taste, a texture or the positioning of a sign.

The definition of a trade mark will be greatly expanded to cover anything that functions as an indicator of source and will include any "sign, or combination of signs" that serve that purpose. As a result, protection will be available for traditional and non-traditional marks, including a word, a personal name, a design, a letter, a numeral, a colour, a figurative element, a three-dimensional shape, a hologram, a moving image, a mode of packaging goods, a sound, a scent, a taste, a texture or the positioning of a sign. Divisional applications

It will finally be possible to divide applications in Canada, which will be of strategic assistance during prosecution and in some oppositions.

It will finally be possible to divide applications in Canada, which will be of strategic assistance during prosecution and in some oppositions. No more Declarations of Use

A Declaration of Use will no longer be required. This will apply to all pending applications.

A Declaration of Use will no longer be required. This will apply to all pending applications. Term harmonised with other countries

The term of registration will be reduced from 15 to 10 years.

The term of registration will be reduced from 15 to 10 years. Letters of Protest

Third party correspondence (i.e. Letters of Protest) will be permitted during prosecution.

Third party correspondence (i.e. Letters of Protest) will be permitted during prosecution. No more registration fee

The government registration fee will be eliminated.

The government registration fee will be eliminated. Nice

The Nice Classification of goods and services will be adopted (classification is currently voluntary).

Fees per class

Consistent with the rest of the world, fees per class will be introduced.

Some examples of the new fees include:

Trade mark application filing fee

The filing fee will be $330 CAD for the first class plus $100 CAD for each additional class instead of the current $250 CAD filing fee regardless of the number of classes.

Multi-class applications should therefore be filed prior to the implementation of the new law to avoid this significant fee increase for multi-class applications.

The filing fee will be $330 CAD for the first class plus $100 CAD for each additional class instead of the current $250 CAD filing fee regardless of the number of classes. Multi-class applications should therefore be filed prior to the implementation of the new law to avoid this significant fee increase for multi-class applications. Registration renewal fee

The registration renewal fee will be $400 CAD for the first class plus $125 CAD for each additional class instead of the current fee of $350 CAD regardless of the number of classes.

Registrations renewed prior to the implementation of the new law will not be subject to the higher, per-class fees. Accordingly, renewals should be considered prior to the implementation of the new law.

What should Americans consider prior to implementation of new Canadian trade mark law?

A few key strategies can be employed during the months that remain before the new law takes effect in order to both obtain maximum benefit from the current legal landscape for trade marks in Canada and to positively position American brand owners for the upcoming new law:

File multi-class applications before new law is implemented to save fees.

Renew registrations before the new law is implemented to save fees.

File applications to register sound marks now. Currently, they can be registered with no evidence of distinctiveness. Under the new law, applicants will have to prove distinctiveness.

Protect your important brands in Canada as soon as possible, before a troll does.

Beware of trolls

Historically, trolls (or squatters, or pirates) were not a problem in Canada. Sadly, the trolls have arrived.

In some cases, trolls apply to register trade marks in one country that are used by brand owners in other countries with the goal of forcing those owners to negotiate with the trolls when they enter the new market. In light of Canada's current trade mark application requirements, this was not previously a serious problem. However, with the announcement that the trade mark amendments will eliminate the use requirements to obtain a trade mark registration, trolls have started to capitalise on the impending changes.

New data shows that seemingly baseless applications filed by trolls are already on the rise.

All-class applications filed per year

What is happening?

In 2017, there was a sharp increase in the number of applications filed in all 45 classes. Trade mark applications listing all 45 classes immediately evoke suspicion since it is unlikely that any one individual or business has a genuine intention to use a trade mark in association with every class of goods and services.

As of December 2017, there were 427 of these all-class applications on the Canadian database. Of those, four were filed in 2015 and six were filed in 2016. The remaining 417 all-class applications were filed in 2017, representing a huge increase in comparison with the preceding years. The majority of these all-class applications appear to be held by known trade mark trolls. Among the suspicious applications are those seeking to monopolise established brand names such as EUIPO, Fashion Week, and Pan Am, given names such as Pedro, Melanie, and Claire, and generic words such as TAXI, PERK, CHOCOLATE, DEAL, and EXCELLENT. These applications are currently pending.

While the ultimate intentions of these trade mark trolls are unclear, this activity is troubling and is already creating problems for brand owners. There have been many instances of these troll applications being cited against the legitimate applications of brand owners. Overcoming these citations can be difficult.

Why now?

Why have the trolling activities already started? There are two reasons.

Firstly, all of the applications mentioned above were filed based on proposed use in Canada. Currently, applicants who file based on proposed use must eventually declare that they have used the mark in Canada prior to obtaining a registration. However, once the new trade mark law comes into force, it will no longer be necessary to file any declarations of use.

Secondly, as noted above, Canada does not currently have a per-class filing fee. Rather, the fee to file a trade mark application is the same whether it contains one class or 45. However, once the changes are implemented, Canada will adopt a fee-per-class system for new applications. As a result, there are significant cost advantages to filing multi-class applications now rather than waiting until the amendments come into force. Once the new law comes into force, the cost to file a 45 class application will rise from $250 to $4,730 CAD.

What to do?

As the implementation of the amendments approaches, we will undoubtedly continue to see an increase in trolling activity. Accordingly, it is important for companies to review their Canadian portfolios now to ensure that all important marks are protected, whether by filing new applications or maintaining existing registrations. Similarly, American brand owners should consider proactively filing applications in Canada as soon as (or even before) they contemplate entering the Canadian market.

It is also important to regularly monitor the Canadian Trademarks Office database to identify trolling applications as soon as possible, so that more options are available to defeat them. Since the trolls have already arrived and appear to be sophisticated, brand owners should be prepared to engage in oppositions and expungement proceedings in order to protect their trade marks.

Patents: changes associated with the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)

Amendments to the Patent Act and associated regulations came into force on September 21 2017, giving effect to Canada's obligations under CETA. There are significant changes, particularly with respect to pharmaceutical patent law.

Firstly, certificates of supplementary protection (CSPs) were introduced, providing for restoration of patent term to account for marketing delays resulting from lead time required to obtain regulatory approval. The maximum term of a CSP is two years, substantially less than the maximum five-year patent term extension available under US law to account for marketing time lost awaiting FDA approval. This is the only form of patent term extension or restoration available in Canada. Unlike US patents, the term of Canadian patents is not subject to adjustment to account for patent office delay.

It is important for American applicants to be aware that a CSP is only available if the Canadian application for marketing authorisation is filed within 12 months of the first application for marketing authorisation in any of the United States, the European Union or any member country thereof, Australia, Switzerland, or Japan. It therefore may be necessary to revise regulatory approval plans for Canada in order to benefit from a CSP.

Only a single CSP can issue in connection with a marketing authorisation. A priority regime, based on the date of patent grant, determines CSP eligibility when there are multiple applicants. American applicants therefore should consult with their Canadian representatives with respect to measures for expediting grant of patents for which a CSP will be sought.

The CETA changes also comprehensively alter the regime that has governed pharmaceutical patent litigation in Canada for nearly 25 years. The summary proceedings previously in place, in which an innovator seeks an order from the Federal Court, enjoining the Minister of Health from issuing marketing authorisation to a second person, has been replaced by a full right of action, with accompanying procedural guarantees and discovery obligations. The new regime is intended to provide equivalent and effective rights of appeal to all litigants (the previous summary proceedings were moot once marketing authorisation issued), and to end the practice of dual litigation, wherein a full patent infringement action followed summary proceedings.

Changes associated with the Patent Law Treaty (PLT)

Amendments to the Patent Act and Patent Rules are anticipated to come into force perhaps as soon as 2019, largely for compliance with the PLT. These amendments will simplify and harmonise a number of administrative practices. Separate from the PLT requirements, the Patent Act and Rules will be amended to provide improved protection for applicants and patentees during force majeure events such as floods or power failures, which prevent them from communicating effectively with the Patent Office.

Significant changes under the amended Patent Act and Rules that will be of interest to American applicants and practitioners include the following:

Reduced requirements to obtain a filing date

It will be possible to defer payment of the filing fee and a translation of the application into English or French. It will also be possible to defer filing a specification at all by instead making reference to a previously regularly filed application.

It will be possible to defer payment of the filing fee and a translation of the application into English or French. It will also be possible to defer filing a specification at all by instead making reference to a previously regularly filed application. 24/7/365 electronic filing

A filing date may be secured on a day when the Patent Office is closed for business (e.g. Saturday or Sunday) if the application is filed by electronic means.

A filing date may be secured on a day when the Patent Office is closed for business (e.g. Saturday or Sunday) if the application is filed by electronic means. Addition to specification or addition of drawing

A procedure is introduced whereby the applicant may add to the specification or add a drawing, without loss of the original filing date, if the addition is wholly contained in a priority document, and the addition is made within two months from filing, or within two months from notice by the commissioner of patents that part of the application appears to be missing.

A procedure is introduced whereby the applicant may add to the specification or add a drawing, without loss of the original filing date, if the addition is wholly contained in a priority document, and the addition is made within two months from filing, or within two months from notice by the commissioner of patents that part of the application appears to be missing. Restoration of priority

Restoration of priority is introduced, such that it will be possible to claim priority to a previously regularly filed application filed up to 14 months before the Canadian (or PCT) filing date, if the request is made within the same time period, and the applicant states that the failure to file the application in a timely manner was unintentional.

Restoration of priority is introduced, such that it will be possible to claim priority to a previously regularly filed application filed up to 14 months before the Canadian (or PCT) filing date, if the request is made within the same time period, and the applicant states that the failure to file the application in a timely manner was unintentional. Shortened term for national phase entry

A PCT application must enter the Canadian national phase within 42 months from the priority date, although an additional late fee is payable if the applicant enters the national phase more than 30 months from the priority date. Under the proposed Rules, the late entry option is removed. If the applicant fails to enter the national phase by the 30 month deadline, it is still possible to do this within 42 months of the priority date, but only upon submitting a declaration that the failure to enter the national phase in a timely manner was unintentional and a statement of the reasons for the failure. The commissioner of patents has to determine that the failure was unintentional.

A PCT application must enter the Canadian national phase within 42 months from the priority date, although an additional late fee is payable if the applicant enters the national phase more than 30 months from the priority date. Under the proposed Rules, the late entry option is removed. If the applicant fails to enter the national phase by the 30 month deadline, it is still possible to do this within 42 months of the priority date, but only upon submitting a declaration that the failure to enter the national phase in a timely manner was unintentional and a statement of the reasons for the failure. The commissioner of patents has to determine that the failure was unintentional. Extension of time limits in unforeseen circumstances

The amended patent regime will provide greater flexibility to deal with floods, power failures, and other events by permitting the commissioner of patents to extend time periods on account of unforeseen circumstances, if the commissioner is satisfied that it is in the public interest to do so.

The amended patent regime will provide greater flexibility to deal with floods, power failures, and other events by permitting the commissioner of patents to extend time periods on account of unforeseen circumstances, if the commissioner is satisfied that it is in the public interest to do so. Notice of certain deadlines prior to abandonment or expiry

The Patent Office will be obliged to provide notice that certain deadlines have been missed before an application is deemed to be abandoned. This will include failure to pay, request examination, or to pay a maintenance fee on a pending application. Notice will similarly be required before a patent is deemed to have expired for non-payment of a maintenance fee.

The Patent Office will be obliged to provide notice that certain deadlines have been missed before an application is deemed to be abandoned. This will include failure to pay, request examination, or to pay a maintenance fee on a pending application. Notice will similarly be required before a patent is deemed to have expired for non-payment of a maintenance fee. Due care standard for reinstatement in some instances

Canadian patent applications become abandoned if action is not taken by the prescribed deadline. At present, the application may be reinstated by request, paying a fee, and taking the omitted action within 12 months of the date of abandonment. That is, reinstatement is as of right. Under the amended Act and Rules, the requirements for reinstatement will be more stringent in certain cases where abandonment only occurs after notice of the missed deadline  namely missed payment of the examination fee or a maintenance fee. In such instances, a due care standard will apply if reinstatement is effected more than six months from the original deadline. The applicant must state the reasons for the failure to take the action that led to abandonment, and the commissioner must determine that "the failure occurred in spite of the due care required by the circumstances having been taken." What constitutes due care is currently unknown. Reinstatement under the due care standard may be subsequently challenged in Federal Court.

Canadian patent applications become abandoned if action is not taken by the prescribed deadline. At present, the application may be reinstated by request, paying a fee, and taking the omitted action within 12 months of the date of abandonment. That is, reinstatement is as of right. Under the amended Act and Rules, the requirements for reinstatement will be more stringent in certain cases where abandonment only occurs after notice of the missed deadline  namely missed payment of the examination fee or a maintenance fee. In such instances, a due care standard will apply if reinstatement is effected more than six months from the original deadline. The applicant must state the reasons for the failure to take the action that led to abandonment, and the commissioner must determine that "the failure occurred in spite of the having been taken." What constitutes due care is currently unknown. Reinstatement under the due care standard may be subsequently challenged in Federal Court. Payment of maintenance fees

Currently, only the Canadian patent agent may pay a maintenance fee on a pending application. This will change such that anyone, such as an annuity service, can pay maintenance fees on pending applications, as is presently the case for issued patents.

Currently, only the Canadian patent agent may pay a maintenance fee on a pending application. This will change such that anyone, such as an annuity service, can pay maintenance fees on pending applications, as is presently the case for issued patents. Third party rights

An exception from infringement of a patent is introduced for otherwise infringing acts that a third party, in good faith, first committed or made "serious and effective preparations" to commit during a prescribed period after an applicant or patentee failed to request examination or pay a maintenance fee by the original deadline. It will be for the courts to clarify what constitutes "serious and effective preparations" to commit an infringing act. The application of third party rights may be avoided by taking action within six months of the original deadline.

Privilege

Already in force since June 2016 are amendments to the Patent Act and Trademarks Act, establishing privilege for communications between clients and their patent and trade mark agents. Importantly, such privilege extends to communications between foreign patent and trade mark agents and their clients in jurisdictions which similarly recognise such privilege. Accordingly, this protection may extend to communications between American patent and trade mark attorneys or agents and their clients, if those communications are privileged under US law.

Final tips

American trade mark and patent owners should make preparations now in order to best accommodate and benefit from these changes to Canadian IP laws. Indeed, in some instances, action may be warranted before the new laws come into force.

Trade mark applicants may wish to take advantage of the current low trade mark application filing fees and registration renewal fees available before the new law is in force. As well as this, companies may wish to ensure that their important brands are protected in Canada to protect against trolls.

Patent applicants must be mindful that it will no longer be possible to enter the Canadian national phase of a PCT application as a matter of right more than 30 months from the priority date. Pharmaceutical patentees seeking a CSP will need to ensure that their application for marketing authorisation in Canada follows within 12 months of the first application for marketing authorisation abroad, and should aim to expedite prosecution of the relevant Canadian patent application.

The preceding is intended as a timely update on Canadian intellectual property and technology law. The content is informational only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. To obtain such advice, please communicate with Smart & Biggar's offices directly.

David Schwartz David Schwartz is a partner in Smart & Biggars Ottawa office. His practice focuses on patent law in the fields of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and chemistry, as well as plant breeders rights. David advises on regulatory matters relating to the Patented Medicines (Notice of Compliance) Regulations, data protection under the Food and Drug Regulations and matters concerning the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board. He appears regularly in oral proceedings before the Patent Appeal Board and has handled first-to-invent conflicts under the pre-1989 Patent Act. David has testified on patent law reform before both the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology and the Senate National Finance Committee, and has lectured on patent law at Queens University and the University of Ottawa. In 2013 he was named LMG Life Sciences Canadian Patent Attorney of the Year and Best Lawyers 2016 Biotechnology Law Lawyer of the Year in Ottawa. David is a past president of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada.

Philip Lapin Philip Lapin is a partner in Smart & Biggars Ottawa office. He is the chair of the Smart & Biggars trademark operations group and is recognised as one of Canadas leading trade mark lawyers. With more than 20 years of experience, Philip is responsible for managing and providing strategic advice concerning the trade mark portfolios of many Canadian and multinational corporations. He has handled the clearance, prosecution and registration of thousands of trade marks, and has particular expertise in trade mark opposition and cancellation proceedings before the Trademarks Office. In addition, Philip files, prosecutes and advises clients with respect to all aspects of Canadian industrial design law and practice. He is listed in World Trademark Review 1000, Euromoneys Expert Guides: Guide to the Worlds Leading Trademark Law Practitioners and Managing Intellectual Propertys IP Stars Handbook: Trademark & Copyright.

The material on this site is for law firms, companies and other IP specialists. It is for information only. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Notice before using the site. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws.  2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQs.

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A 27-year-old man who was wanted on several charges, including assaulting a police officer on Cape Cod, was arrested in Michigan over the weekend.

The Provincetown Police Department made the announcement Saturday that Darren Patrick Devine, a man with 91 priors on his criminal record, is now in custody.

Devine was wanted by the Provincetown Police Department on warrants including assault and battery on a police officer, breaking and entering, and destruction of property.

In a previous alert issued by the Yarmouth Police Department, authorities called Devine dangerous and mentally unstable with a long violent criminal history in Massachusetts.

On Facebook, Yarmouth police wrote, The YPD is very familiar with this wanted Career Criminal and mentally ill man who has attacked people and Police Officers in the past multiple times.

According to CapeCod.com, Provincetown police were trying to arrest Devine recently when he struck one of the officers in the face. An officer used a Taser on Devine, but he was able to run away.

Devine was is out on bail for an alleged breaking and entering in Wellfleet and did not show up for a recent hearing at Orleans District Court, according to the website.

Devine has threatened suicide by cop and fought with police in the past.
HADLEY -- A pharmacy employee who has been missing for nearly two weeks was found dead Saturday morning.

Patrick B. Kroll, 57, of West Street, was found dead in a barn. The barn was on the same street as Kroll's home but located on a separate property a distance from his house, said Mary Carey, spokeswoman for Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan.

"No foul play is suspected, and the death is not considered criminal in nature," she said in a written statement.

Kroll was reported missing on March 12 by co-workers after he failed to show up to work at the Williamsburg Pharmacy.

His disappearance prompted an intensive search. Officers called local hospitals, clinics and doctors offices and went door-to-door to talk to residents, police said.

Massachusetts State Police also assisted by conducting an aerial search of woods, fields and the river. They also used a K9 officer and dog to search the area, police said.

During the search, police found Krolls car and also located his cell phone in his home. They continued to ask people to keep watch for him and reported him as missing to the National Crime Information Center.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death and to make a positive identification, she said.

Krolls death remains under investigation by the Hadley Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit attached to the Northwestern District Attorneys Office.
SPRINGFIELD -- For six years, State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier has been fighting to make it possible for undocumented immigrants to drive to work, drive their children to school and drive to the doctors office without fear.

Sunday, she joined a coalition of area residents who marched down Main Street, from Calhoun Park to Court Square, to show their support for the passage her bill, which would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain legal drivers licenses.

The group of about 75 people chanted in English and Spanish and held signs reading "Driver's Licenses 4 All" and "Another World is Possible."

"In Massachusetts we should have access to a driver's license," said Nanny Pintado, one of the protesters. "More people would be able to get a job and take their kids to school."

The rally was planned by the Pioneer Valley Workers Center and brought together many undocumented residents who must get to their jobs as farm workers, construction workers and service employees every day, said Rose Bookbinder, lead organizer with the center.

Many of the residents live in Springfield but work on farms in Connecticut making transportation difficult, she said.

"Licenses shouldn't be a privilege. It should be a right," she said.

Currently to apply for a learner's permit or license in the state, people must show citizenship or lawful presence in the country, provide a Social Security number and show proof they live in Massachusetts, according to regulations posted by the Registry of Motor Vehicles.

Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, pledged to continue to fight for the bill but warned protesters that in the current political climate it is an uphill battle. Still told people she still has hope and support, especially from labor unions including local branches of the Service Employees International Union.

We just need to live our lives...without fear and its not OK that people are afraid to do such a simple thing as drive, she said.

Passage of the bill is especially important in Western Massachusetts because there is limited public transportation, unlike in the Boston area, Farley-Bouvier said.

She encouraged each person attending the rally to contact their state legislators and speak to them one-on-one about the importance of voting for the bill.

In several cases undocumented immigrants do drive locally without a license because they must get to work. If they get pulled over by police they end up being identified as being in the country illegally and the process to deport them begins, said Andrea Schmid, a center organizer.
If youre looking for a political airplane that will never reach takeoff, look no further than the Democratic Partys embrace of abolishing the Electoral College.

To question the current system of electing a president is quite fair. No other election in the United States uses a math equation instead of the popular vote. No other country copies our Electoral College system, even though scores of nations have drawn from virtually all other aspects of our democracy.

Calls to abolish the Electoral College and use a straight popular vote, however, amount to grandstanding. The Democrats promoting this idea must know that.

Getting rid of the current system, where each states electoral vote total is the result of adding their senators (two for each) with representatives (based on population) would require a Constitutional amendment. Doing that would require a two-thirds majority of the House and also the Senate, which in the current climate is mathematically implausible.

It would also take a three-quarter support of the state legislatures. Thirty-eight would have to say yes. Politically, thats impossible - now more than ever.

Candidates with the higher popular vote have lost five times in our history. Two have come recently, in 2000 and 2016. Donald Trumps electoral victory (despite a popular vote defeat of about 3 million votes) has the Democrats hollering for change and claiming small, rural states have too much influence.

But 30 states voted for Trump, as they did for George W. Bush in his 2000 win over Albert Gore, and that cannot be ignored. Even assuming all 20 of Hillary Clintons states supported the amendment (which in itself is highly, highly improbable), another 18 of the 30 which went for Trump would have to willingly forfeit their influence in presidential politics.

That wont happen. Period.

One reason the Electoral College always prevails is that one party always wins with it and wont want to change the rules. In the 21st Century, that party has been the Republicans, but the system didnt keep Democrats from owning the White House for 28 of 36 years from 1932 to 1968, and for 16 of 24 years from 1992 to 2016.

The Democrats are hurting themselves with this dead-end argument. It strengthens the conviction in the South and West, and increasingly in the Midwest, that Democrats treat voter sentiment in those states as inconvenient to their party agenda of catering to urban populations on the two coasts.

Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio said getting rid of the Electoral College is about diminishing the electoral power of what liberals arrogantly call the flyover states and that the same people always preaching about our constitutional norms want to change the ones they find inconvenient.

The recently deceased Senator Birch Bayh was part-author of the closest call weve had to dumping the Electoral College. An amendment proposal in 1969 received significant bipartisan support - the key to any amendments passage - but died in 1971.

That came before liberal-conservative lines hardened to where they are now. In todays politics, the lines are so sharply drawn that its doubtful any amendment would get through the House or Senate, let alone the states.

One way to address the competing arguments would be to consider a nationwide amendment to follow what Maine and Nebraska already do. Those states do not award their entire electoral vote as winner-take-all, but award two votes to the statewide winner (recognizing the senators) and split the rest based on Congressional district results.

For example, Californias 55 electoral votes now all go to the statewide winner. Under the Maine-Nebraska policy, if Candidate A won 33 of the 53 Congressional districts plus the overall vote, and Candidate B won the other 20 districts, Candidate A would get 35 electoral votes and Candidate B would get 20.

That would reduce the feeling of disenfranchisement among Candidate B voters. It would probably encourage more voter participation. As it stands now, in the California example, even a close victory would produce a 55-0 result for Candidate A.

More likely is that nothing will change, and a system designed for America in 1788 is here to stay. By calling to abolish the Electoral College, the Democrats are only alienating the large swaths of America where they are struggling. Their efforts would be better spent, figuring out how to win back the voters of more than two dozen states who are tuning them out.
It has been said that dismantling the private insurance companies would be disruptive. Its pathetic that our health care depends on a parasitical industry thats too big to fail. If wed introduced national health care years ago like most of the world did, this industry wouldnt have grown like cancer.

Our government didnt care when when millions of our jobs went abroad when they signed NAFTA and other trade agreements. They dont care if millions of public school teachers lose their jobs or have to switch to low pay non union ones as they privatize our public schools. Theyre champing at the bit to privatize our post office sending droves to the unemployment lines. Our government is more concerned about the obscene profits of the insurance industry and ridiculous pay of their CEOs than they are about us.

My sister died of cancer because she couldnt afford health insurance. She let a lump on her breast go. This wouldnt happen in Canada. And many of our jobs are going to Canada because employers dont have to provide health care, a huge savings.

Charlotte Burns, Palmer
NORTHAMPTON, MASS. -- At least two members of Massachusetts congressional delegation voiced concerns Sunday about Attorney General William Barrs synopsis the long-awaited special counsel report on the 2016 election and called on the Trump administration to make all of Robert Muellers findings available to federal lawmakers and the public.

U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, and U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, briefly weighed-in on the Mueller report before discussing the Green New Deal agenda at a Northampton town hall-style event.

McGovern, chairman of the House Rules Committee, said he and other Democrats will not be satisified with a short, brief letter from (President Donald) Trumps hand-picked attorney general telling us what he thinks is important.

Let me just say this: I dont need a report to tell me or you that this is probably the most corrupt administration in U.S. history," he told Western Massachusetts residents, who crowded Northampton High Schools auditorium. "Im not even exaggerating. Based on what we already know, they make Richard Nixon look like a Boy Scout. ... The bottom line is this: This is the United States of America, this is not Russia -- youre entitled to know what your government knows and were going to do everything we can to make sure that the report is made public.

My response to Attorney General Barr's summary of Special Counsel's Mueller's report. pic.twitter.com/P0r5Q83Viu  Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) March 24, 2019

Comparing Barrs letter to the cliff notes of a book, Markey joined McGovern in calling for the special counsels report to be released to the American people.

Were being asked to make a judgment about a report that has been summarized. ... Thats not going to be something we accept until weve read and understand everything Special Counsel Robert Mueller found out and didnt find out," he said.

The Democrats remarks came just hours after Barr sent congressional lawmakers a letter on the conclusions reached in Muellers recently completed report.

The attorney general offered that the special counsels investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Barrs letter added that evidence developed during the special counsels investigation is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said "the findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the president of the United States.

Trump also told reporters Sunday that Muellers reported findings are a "complete and total exoneration of allegations he faced after the 2016 election.

After a long look, after a long investigation, after so many people have been so badly hurt, after not looking at the other side where a lot of bad things happened ... it was just announced there was no collusion with Russia, he said, according to White House pool reports.

No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2019

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
NORTHAMPTON, MASS. -- U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, and U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, stopped in Western Massachusetts Sunday to promote the Green New Deal -- a controversial and wide-ranging anti-climate change agenda -- at a town hall-style event.

The senator, who introduced the Green New Deal resolution with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in early February, and McGovern made their respective cases for advancing policies that grow green energy and combat climate change during an evening forum at Northampton High School.

The Democrats further took constituent questions on the Green New Deal, Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation and other issues.

Casting the Green New Deal as a series of preventative measures aimed at combatting climate change, Markey argued that Congress must act now to grow green energy jobs, lower emissions and take other steps to preserve the planet for future generations.

This is the number one national security, health care, environmental and moral issue for us to resolve. ... We have to deal with the issue: The planet is running a fever and there are no emergency rooms for planets, so we have to engage in preventative care, he said.

McGovern, the House Rules Committee chairman and a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal resolution, called the legislation a common sense" proposal and urged voters across Western Massachusetts to get behind the agenda.

We should not get on the defensive, we should be on the offensive. We should say to fellow elected officials at every level, If youre not with us, were not going to be with you, he told attendees, who crowded the schools auditorium. Its that simple. We can argue about how were going to get there, but were not arguing that we have a climate crisis.

Although both Markey and McGovern acknowledged criticism the Green New Deal has garnered from Republicans and President Donald Trump over its feasibility and potential costs, the Democrats argued that theres no debating the science behind climate change.

Contending that polls show climate change is a top issue in early presidential primary states, the Democrats further pledged to make the 2020 election a referendum on the Green New Deal.

The Green New Deal is a response to Donald Trump. ... We are going to rise

up and we are going to deliver the message: Either you act on this or were injecting it into the 2020 election cycle, Markey said. It is no longer an issue, but one of the issues at the very top of what will be the responsibility of the next president and House and Senate to discharge.

Stressing there is no room for failure, the senator added that itd be a death sentence for the planet if Trump were to win re-election in 2020.

According to sponsors, the Green New Deal lays out a series of goals and projects to be achieved over a 10-year period, including: building resiliency against climate change-related disasters; repairing and upgrading U.S. infrastructure; meeting 100 percent of Americas power demand through clean, renewable and zero-emission energy sources; and building or upgrading to smart power grids.

It further seeks to spur growth in clean U.S. manufacturing, overhaul American transportation systems and make the United States the international leader on climate action, among other things.

The Republican National Committee, however, has called the plan a long socialist wish list that is woefully short on details" and argued that it lacks a funding mechanism, offers no tangible framework for transitioning to renewable energy and would cost an estimated $2 trillion.

The AFL-CIO has also raised concerns that the Green New Deal is not achievable or realistic."
Former Red Sox DH, Hanley Ramirez, who signed a minor league deal with the Indians on Feb. 26, will be on Clevelands Opening Day roster barring a last-minute acquisition, Indians manager Terry Francona told the media Sunday.

If we stay put, I mean, Hanleys on the team, Francona told reporters, per MLB.com. If theres another move on the outside made, it could affect Hanley and we told him that.

The 35-year-old Ramirez batted .278 (10-for-36) with a .316 on-base percentage, .528 slugging percentage, .844 OPS, two home runs, three doubles, eight RBIs and four runs in 12 spring training games.

The Red Sox released Ramirez last May.

Cleveland plays at Boston May 27-29.
by Cait Bladt

While most of the political media has been speculating on whether Joe Biden will enter the race and considering the rising and falling popularity of Bernie Sanders, several underdog candidates have been building strong coalitions. Andrew Yang is a 44-year-old political novice who started a tech company and a non-profit before entering the race. Pete Buttigieg is the 37-year-old gay mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Both are seen as interesting political outsiders. But which do you prefer?

While Yangs rollout has been slow, he has steadily been building support. According to FiveThirtyEight, he has seen a sharp increase in his popularity among young internet users and members of the tech industry.

Yangs strongest constituencies might be Millennials and Hispanic and Asian voters. Yang has a strong following on Reddit and his fans have been producing hundreds of memes there and on Twitter, both platforms whose user base skews younger. And should he win, Yang would be the first Asian-American president.



...One constituency that might be in his corner, though, is the tech establishment. But this will probably help more with scaring up money than with scaring up votes. The campaign claims Yang has already reached 65,000 unique donors, which is one of the thresholds for qualifying for the first two debates. And Graumann says the campaign has raised about $950,000 in February and the first half of March, which would be solid for a House or Senate candidate, but it probably wont cut it for president, especially if Yang doesnt plan to self-fund his campaign, which Graumann says is the case.

Buttigieg has made a name for himself as a highly intelligent, calming presence on the campaign trail. While he has not held higher office, FiveThirtyEight reports he still has many qualities that make him an appealing candidate.

On paper, Buttigieg is impressive. The son of an immigrant father from Malta, Buttigieg graduated from Harvard, earned a Rhodes Scholarship, and worked as a consultant at McKinsey before moving back home to Indiana at age 29 to become the mayor of South Bend, making him the youngest mayor of a city with more than 100,000 people. While still serving his first term, Buttigieg took a seven-month leave of office to serve with the Naval Reserve in Afghanistan in 2015. Less than a year later, Buttigieg came out as gay. Buttigiegs sexuality didnt stop South Bend voters from re-electing him to a second term with more than 80 percent of the vote.



All that success didnt go unnoticed. In a 2016 New Yorker interview, Barack Obama name-dropped Buttigieg as a potential leading light for the party. And the New York Times (The First Gay President?) and Washington Post (Could Pete Buttigieg Become the First Millennial President?) have both published profiles of Buttigieg in the last three years.

Both candidates have thrown their support behind hot ticket issues. Yang's signature platform is Universal Basic Income:

Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a form of social security that guarantees a certain amount of money to every citizen within a given governed population, without having to pass a test or fulfill a work requirement. Every Universal Basic Income plan can be different in terms of amount or design.

Andrew Yang is running for President as Democrat in 2020 on the platform of Universal Basic Income. The UBI he is proposing for the United States is a set of guaranteed payments of $1,000 per month, or $12,000 per year, to all U.S. citizens over the age of 18. Yes, that means you and everyone you know would get another $1,000/month every month from the U.S. government, no questions asked.

Yang, with his background in the tech industry, emphasizes that many American jobs will be lost in the next few years due to changing and improving technologies. He proposes the UBI is a way to safeguard against a massive economic hit from these lost jobs.

We report fundraising totals at the end of March. The better we do in both number of donors and dollars the more the press will be forced to acknowledge us. Lets make sure that everyone knows that we can win. Donate and tell friends to donate today. https://t.co/Gp4E3EFZO0  Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) March 20, 2019

In a recent appearance on Morning Joe, Buttigieg drew widespread praise from liberals on Twitter for throwing his support behind causes like ending the Electoral College and cracking down on gun violence.

We accept the fact that in our so-called "democracy" the person who gets the most votes doesnt necessarily get to become president, or that there are policies the vast majority of Americans want, like universal background checks, that Congress cant make it happen. pic.twitter.com/Hza1gPgl8a  Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) March 20, 2019

The New York Times spent time talking to Yang about his growing support among young, internet savvy denizens of Reddit and Twitter.

Mr. Yang, 44, an entrepreneur and a political neophyte running on the idea that the United States should provide a universal basic income, is popping up in unexpected places in the Democratic contest.



He has catapulted out of obscurity thanks in part to a devoted internet following known as the Yang Gang. His fans have plastered Mr. Yang into memes and produced songs and music videos about his candidacy. They have also created a hashtaggable slogan  #securethebag  out of his signature campaign proposal to give $12,000 a year in no-strings-attached cash to every American adult, as a cushion against the mass unemployment he believes is coming thanks to artificial intelligence and automation.

Both candidates have garnered profiles in major media outlets. Buddigieg talked to Esquire about his policies, his feelings on Bernie Sanders and what he feels the Democratic party needs to do to win in 2020.

The problem with making it all about [Trump] is that's what we did in 2016, and when we make it all about him, then there's a lot of voters in places like the industrial midwest, where I live, who say, "Okay, but who's talking about me?"



...For the same reason I dont think that we should do the usual Democratic thing, which is experiencing your competition through competing policy proposals. I think that policy matters, Im a policy guy. But I think that you need our altitude to be both higher and lower. Higher in the sense that I think we need to talk about values and principles, thats why Im out there talking about what freedom and democracy and security mean before we get into the depth of any policy idea. And at the same time also be talking in terms that are nearer to the ground, really explaining what we believe in in terms of everyday lived experience and how different under us it will be than under them. And thats how good political narrative works.

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, wed love to hear what you have to say.
A Worcester man accused of lying to firearms dealers after purchasing several guns plans to plead guilty to firearms charges in federal court Monday.

Authorities say he was unable to account for nine of the 16 purchased guns.

As police investigated 23-year-old Ruben Ramos for allegedly lying to firearms dealers during the purchases they also noted his brother is a known gang member.

Ramos said his brother and other gang members never asked him to buy weapons for them and never asked to borrow one of his guns, authorities said in federal court records.

Ramos is facing five counts of lying to licensing firearms dealers, two counts of making a false statement during firearms purchases and possession of a stolen firearm in federal court.

Records show he plans to plead guilty Monday in a Worcester federal court.

Michael Finnerty, special agent for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said Ramos listed that he lived in a Worcester Housing Authority apartment in Great Brook Valley when he received a license to carry and firearms identification card from Worcester police in December 2016.

Records show however his mother removed him from the lease at the apartment two years earlier.

Ramos bought 16 guns between May 2017 and May 2018 and on at least five occasions  during which he purchased seven firearms  Ramos provided a false address to the federally licensed firearm dealer, authorities said.

The guns, mostly pistols, one shotgun and one rifle, were purchased from dealers in Berlin, Webster, Worcester and Woburn, authorities said in federal records.

One Glock was purchased during a private sale.

In June 2018, investigators spoke with Ramos as his apartment on Hollis Street.

When agents interviewed Ramos in June 2018 about his purchase of a large number of guns over a short period, Ramos was unable to account for nine of the 16 guns, first claiming that he had sold the missing guns and later claiming that some of the guns had been stolen, investigators said.

During the interview, Ramos said three of the guns were stolen in 2017 but he was afraid to call the police, records show. He claimed he sold some of the guns including a sale to some guy he met online.

When police searched the residence, a shotgun was found leaning against a wall, unsecured, according to federal records. A rifle, also unsecured, was found under a bed. Some of the guns were in a locked box.

Investigators said two more guns were unsecured in Ramos car.

Ramos, according to federal records, agreed his brother was a gang member, although the specific gang is not mentioned.

Although Ramos told investigators that people ask him for guns all the time, and agreed that his brother was a gang member, Ramos denied that his brother or any other gang member had asked Ramos to buy the firearms for them or had asked to borrow the firearms from Ramos, the ATF agent wrote.
OTTAWA

March 24, 2019

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September 2018

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March 8

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/CNW/ - Today, on World Tuberculosis Day, I am encouraged by the ongoing efforts to eliminate tuberculosis (TB) in, and by the fact that governments, researchers, community leaders and those impacted by TB are joining together to address the medical, social, and historical factors that have allowed TB to persist in our country.Since the release of my report on TB in, much has been done to maintain the momentum necessary to reach our objectives. In, the first-ever United Nations (UN) General Assembly High-Level Meeting to End TB was held, marking a major milestone in collective efforts to bring an end to the global TB epidemic. I was privileged to attend this historic gathering of political leaders, where I witnessed the commitments made on behalf of all UN member states, including, to accelerate progress towards eliminating TB by 2030.Onof this year, Prime Ministerapologized for the government's mistreatment of Inuit with TB from the 1940s to the 1960s. In his statement, Prime Minister Trudeau acknowledged the injustices of the past and spoke of the need to work together to create a better future for Indigenous Peoples, one that is built on the recognition of rights, respect, cooperation, and partnership.The Government ofis working with many partners to reduce the disproportionate impact of TB on Indigenous peoples, in particular Inuit, where rates of active TB continue to be unacceptably high. Through the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee, the Government ofand the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami are working together to eliminate TB across Inuit Nunangat by 2030, and to reduce the rate of active TB disease by at least 50 percent over the next six years. Collaboration also continues with provincial and community partners to ensure information and health care services are available to newcomers to, among whom TB may be more common due to increased prevalence of the disease in their country of origin.The Government of, along with many partners has taken a leadership role in the operation of community-based mobile TB screening clinics. Last year and earlier this month I had the opportunity to visit two of these clinics and meet with elders, community members, and clinic staff. Throughout these visits, I was impressed and inspired by the incredible leadership and level of community support, which has been making such critical progress in some of the most impacted communities. Clearly, engaging with local community partners is key to building sustainable and culturally appropriate approaches to effective TB prevention and control innorth. We must also strengthen the public health system by ensuring that leading-edge diagnostics, treatment and care are made available to public health practitioners and the communities they serve.For its part, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is supporting the goals of the Inuit-Crown Partnership Committee and the work Government ofdirectly, through placement of three public health officers dedicated to TB elimination in the North and mobilisation of expertise and equipment from the PHAC's National Microbiology Laboratory into support local capacity building for community-based TB screening.Eliminating TB will not be easy. Addressing the conditions that increase susceptibility to and promote spread of the disease, such as crowded housing and food insecurity, and ending the stigma and discrimination too often associated with it, will require ongoing commitment and collaboration among all partners.The time is now to end TB inDr.Chief Public Health Officer ofSOURCE Public Health Agency of
Dr. John R. Watret/Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University(ATLANTA) -- A photo of a mother-daughter duo after they flew a cross-country flight together has gone viral, and sparked a conversation about the need for more women pilots.

On Match 16, Dr. John R. Watret, chancellor of the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, tweeted a photo of Capt. Wendy Rexon and her daughter, First Officer Kelly Rexon, in the flight deck after the pair piloted a Delta Boeing 757 from Los Angeles to Atlanta. Watret was a passenger on the flight after he returned to the U.S. from the Embry-Riddle Asia campus in Singapore.

Just flew from LAX to ATL on Delta piloted by this mother daughter flight crew," Watret tweeted. "Great Flight. Inspiring for young women.

Watret learned that the Rexons were flying the plane after overhearing a woman ask a flight attendant if her two children could visit the flight deck, according to a press release from Embry-Riddle.

The flight attendant replied yes, adding that they would be surprised when they got there, Watret said. When they returned, he then overheard them talking about a mother and daughter piloting the plane, prompting Watret to ask permission to visit them as well.

"I thought that was amazing," he said. "I was in awe."

There are actually three women pilots in the family. Kelly Rexon's sister is also a pilot, according to Embry-Riddle, which said it makes a "commitment to creating more opportunities for women in all areas of the aviation industry."

Over the next 20 years, the aviation industry will require 790,000 new pilots and 754,000 new maintenance technicians, according to Boeing.

"There has to be more diversification in the industry, Watret said. Its crucial and one of the key factors we focus on. When there are more opportunities, everyone wins."

Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
(CNN)  One of Theresa May's most senior Cabinet ministers has raised the prospect of a second referendum to break the Brexit deadlock, as speculation over the future of the beleaguered UK prime minister and her twice-defeated divorce bill reaches fever pitch.

A day after hundreds of thousands marched in central London to demand another public vote, Chancellor Philip Hammond said a second referendum  likely to be one of the options put to lawmakers in the coming days  was a "coherent proposition" that deserves consideration.

His comments signal a clear break from May's repeated refusal to allow the British public a second poll on Brexit, and mark the first time a senior Cabinet minister has spoken about such a move as a viable possibility.

The Chancellor confirmed parliament would vote on a series of alternative Brexit options this week, and acknowledged that May will be unlikely to salvage her own plan, which lawmakers have already crushed by historic proportions on two occasions.

"One way or another Parliament is going to have the opportunity this week to decide what it is in favor of, and I hope that it will take that opportunity  if it can't get behind the Prime Minister's deal  to say clearly and unambiguously what it can get behind," Hammond told Sky News.

"I'm not sure that there's a majority in Parliament for a second referendum but it's a perfectly coherent proposition  many people will be strongly opposed to it, but it's a coherent proposition and it deserves to be considered along with the other proposals."

MPs could vote as soon as Monday on that and a series of other Brexit alternatives, in an attempt to find a route out of the country's chaotic political standstill before the new April 12 deadline imposed by the European Council on Thursday.

Options are likely to include continued membership of the EU's single market or customs union, a second vote, a Canada-style free trade agreement and a no-deal exit.

May has not yet confirmed whether she will bring back her Brexit deal for a third time, after the previous votes were defeated by 230 and then 149 votes. She would need to flip 75 MPs for it to succeed, but opposition parties and hardliners on her own backbenchers have so far been firmly opposed to the bill.

If it does pass, the Brexit delay would be extended until May 22 to allow parliament time to enact necessary legislation.

But its anticipated defeat would set Britain on another collision course with the EU, with any alternative other than a no-deal break likely requiring the government to seek a further extension and possibly forcing the UK to take part in European elections in May.

May 'facing coup' from her cabinet

The chances of May being in office to see any Brexit strategy through are increasingly being thrown into question, with several senior Cabinet ministers reportedly preparing to force a coup when they meet the Prime Minister on Monday.

The Sunday Times newspaper reported that 11 Cabinet ministers  almost half of her senior government ministers  are to confront May with an ultimatum, urging her to quit in return for support for her Withdrawal Agreement.

The paper reports that her de facto deputy and close ally David Lidington is being lined up to take over, while The Mail on Sunday says Environment Secretary Michael Gove is the "consensus choice" for the job. Both have since stressed their loyalty to the PM.

Speculation was heightened further when George Freeman, a Conservative MP and former policy adviser to May, said on Saturday evening that it was "all over" for May.

"I'm afraid it's all over for the PM. She's done her best. But across the country you can see the anger. Everyone feels betrayed," Freeman tweeted.

Downing Street told CNN that it would not comment on speculation from newspapers, and that the rumors have not affected the schedule for the upcoming week.

Hammond added that such rumors were "self-indulgent." He added: "This is not about the Prime Minister or any other individual, this is about the future of our country. Changing Prime Minister wouldn't help us, changing the party in government wouldn't help us."

Nonetheless, uncertainty over the government's role in the Brexit process if it were to see its plan defeated for a third time has bolstered the suggestion that May could be cast aside, and added to the clamor for an alternative route.

One million people, organizers claimed, marched through London demanding a second referendum on Saturday, and 5 million have signed an online petition urging the government to revoke Article 50 and cancel the Brexit process altogether.

Those heightened calls for a so-called "People's Vote" could also provide May's Brexit deal an unlikely lifeline, with some senior opposition figures suggesting they would vote in favor of the plan if it were then put to the people in a confirmatory referendum.

"I will help you get it over the line to prevent a disastrous no deal exit. But I can only vote for a deal if you let the people have a vote on it too," Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson told Saturday's rally.

This story was first published on CNN.com "Second Brexit referendum 'deserves to be considered,' senior UK minister says"
In March 2014, at Naval Hospital Bremerton, Washington, Navy Lt. Rebekah "Moani" Daniel was admitted to have her first child. A labor and delivery nurse who worked at the facility, she was surrounded by friends and co-workers when daughter Victoria entered the world.

But four hours later, the 33-year-old was dead, having lost more than a third of her body's volume of blood to post-partum hemorrhaging. Her husband's attorney argues that the doctors failed to deploy treatments in time to halt the bleeding, leading to her death.

Her baby, now 5, never felt her mom's embrace.

This Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether to hear a petition from Moani Daniel's husband, Walter Daniel, in his case against the Navy hospital where his wife died. Like every other service member, Daniel was required to get medical care from the U.S. military, but her family is prohibited from suing for medical malpractice, barred by a 69-year-old legal ruling known as Feres that precludes troops from suing the federal government for injuries deemed incidental to military service.

"Suppose you had two sisters. One was on active duty and the other was a military dependent. Both of them give birth in adjoining rooms at the same military hospital [by the same doctor]. Both are victims of malpractice. One can sue and the other one can't. How can that make sense?" asked attorney Eugene Fidell, a former Coast Guard judge advocate general and military law expert who lectures at Yale Law School.

While the issue has come back before the Supreme Court in previous years, it could now have a stronger chance of being taken up by the justices, a first step in what Walter Daniel and others hope will be a major policy overturn.

When Walter Daniel's case is distributed to the justices for conference, it will be the first Feres case before the court since 2016, when an Air Force captain settled with the federal government for an undisclosed amount in another malpractice case involving childbirth.

Distribution of a case for conference means the justices may discuss it among the hundreds of petitions to be considered and will decide whether to hear oral arguments from the parties involved.

The U.S. Supreme Court takes between 70 to 80 cases a year.

Unlike many previous Feres cases, the court in the Daniel case ordered the U.S. government to file a response, an indication that at least one of the nine justices is interested the in case, explained Andrew Hoyal, Daniel's attorney.

Meanwhile, another veteran is also working to end Feres.

In March 2017, Army Sgt. First Class Richard Stayskal was training at the Army's Special Forces Underwater Operations School in Key West, Fla., when he noticed something amiss: In top shape, the Green Beret was having trouble with his health, unable to catch his breath.

Once Stayskal arrived home at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the symptoms continued, including wheezing, numbness and blurry vision. To find the cause, he went to several doctors, including one in the emergency room at Womack Army Medical Center, where he'd undergone his pre-dive training physical four months before.

Sent home repeatedly with diagnoses of asthma and pneumonia, Stayskal began coughing blood. On June 22, when he went to a civilian pulmonologist for answers, the doctor found a large tumor in his lungs. Stayskal later learned it was lung cancer -- and apparently, the suspicious nodule was clearly visible in his January pre-dive CT scan, a nearly 3-centimeter node that should have prompted follow-up care and more tests. Military doctors also had noticed it in May and recommended follow-up, but never told Stayskal.

Instead, the Army Green Beret and former Marine is dying of Stage IV lung cancer, the disease having spread to his spleen, liver, spine, hip joints and lymph nodes. His attorney says if he'd received proper care in January, he may have had a chance at defeating the deadly non-small cell adenocarcinoma.

If the Supreme Court justices decline to accept the Daniel case, Stayskal's attorney, Natalie Khawam of Whistleblower Law Firm in Tampa, has set the wheels in motion in Congress to change the law that many say is patently unfair.

"I could not imagine if this happened to my son. So, I took it on, saying that I'm just going to focus on fixing and changing this law, even if that's the last thing I do in law," Khawam said.

The History of Feres

The Feres ruling stems from three separate court cases decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1950 over the Federal Tort Claims Act, the law that permits citizens sue the government for wrongdoings by federal employees or agencies.

The widow of Lt. Rudolph Feres sued the Army for negligence after her husband died in a barracks fire caused by a faulty heater. The other two cases involved medical malpractice, including one in which a soldier sued the Army after learning that a 30- by 18-inch towel, with the words "Medical Department U.S. Army" on it, had been left in his abdomen during a surgery.

The Supreme Court ruled the government is not liable for injuries sustained on active duty or resulting from the negligence of other military personnel. The justices added that the ruling was needed to ensure that Congress was not "burdened with private bills on behalf of military and naval personnel."

In his case, Walter Daniel argues that the military health system has changed substantially since the initial Feres ruling, and the development and expansion of the non-combat military health care mission -- including treating dependents and hiring thousands of civilian health care providers -- makes the ruling "unjustifiable."

"The only difference in the two groups is that a member of one group has a uniform hanging in the hospital room while the other does not," Daniel's petition to the Supreme Court reads.

"Every person in the United States of America, even illegals, even inmates, can sue for malpractice insurance. The only people in the U.S. who can't sue for malpractice insurance are our soldiers. This is discrimination against a certain class of people -- the military," Khawam, Stayskal's attorney, said.

In the government's response to Walter Daniel's petition, the U.S. Solicitor General said that Feres has stood for more than 60 years and, shortly after the Federal Tort Claims Act was adopted, the ruling was decided, and it included the prohibition of medical malpractice claims.

Citing numerous cases, including a 1987 decision that involved medical treatment of an active- duty service woman who was pregnant, Solicitor General Noel Francisco argued that the petition should be denied.

He said the military has an established system for compensating malpractice victims and said the limits on malpractice help pay for health care for military dependents and retirees, and "abandoning Feres ... would upset the assumptions" on which Congress based the expansion of health care to those groups.

"Service members are entitled to generous, no-fault statutory benefits for injuries sustained as a result of medical services provided by the military," Francisco wrote.

When a person dies on active duty, their beneficiary receives a lump-sum payment of $100,000 if the service member dies during hazardous duty or while training for combat, and $12,420 for all other deaths. They receive a Service Member's Group Life Insurance policy payout of $400,000, unless the service member requested in writing a lesser amount, and also are awarded unpaid pay and allowances. Surviving spouses also are entitled to a monthly annuity as well as dependency and indemnity compensation and education benefits. Children also are eligible for benefits, to include Social Security and scholarships.

"Because Lt. Daniel was on active duty at the time of her death, her heirs received (and continue to receive) numerous statutory benefits as a result of her death," Francisco wrote.

Advocates for military personnel suggest that the compensation package is not enough. Fidell said that while Feres should continue to be applied to battlefield malpractice, it should not be used to protect individuals, including military doctors and civilians employed by the Defense Department, from professional malpractice.

"Congress has not made provision for the kinds of damages that our society expects, particularly in medical malpractice [in the military]," Fidell said. "The compensation is robust, but it doesn't include the kinds of things Americans are used to in tort law -- pain and suffering."

Sentinel Events

In 2017, the military health system experienced 112 "sentinel events" across 78 medical facilities, according to the Defense Health Agency. A sentinel event is an unexpected occurrence involving serious injury or death as defined by the Joint Commission, a not-for-profit group that accredits U.S. hospitals.

The data appears not to be comprehensive, however: according to the 2017 figures, Womack Army Medical Center experienced zero "delays in treatment: Lab, pathology, radiology, referral."

Stayskal's case apparently didn't count.

Between 2016 to 2018, 196 administrative claims for malpractice were filed against the Air Force. The service did not say how many resulted in medical malpractice suits or settlements. During the same timeframe, the Navy had at least 48 cases of malpractice settled. (The exact number is not known because the Navy declined, for privacy reasons, to detail cases at facilities that had three or fewer claims filed against them). The Navy did not provide the total number of administrative claims filed.

The Army, which provided the information on request in 2016, referred a 2019 query for the same information to its Freedom of Information Act offices. Military.com has not yet received a response.

Hoyal, Daniel's attorney, remains hopeful the Supreme Court will hear the case. Before becoming justices, both Clarence Thomas and Ruth Bader Ginsburg expressed interest in reviewing Feres. Plus, there are several new additions to the court -- Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh -- who weren't present the last time a Feres case was petitioned and may have an interest in the legality of Feres for medical malpractice.

"Our petition presents the U.S. Supreme Court with legal and factual arguments not previously made or considered in prior cases challenging the Feres doctrine," said Hoyal, who practices law with Luvera Law Firm in Seattle. "In our view, the government's response simply fails to come to grips with these arguments."

But, Fidell explained, the request for the solicitor general to respond simply means one or more justices wanted to see the government's position "spelled out," Fidell said.

"That's all you can really infer from it. Is it better than nothing? Yes. Is it much better than nothing? We won't know until the orders list comes out," he said.

Seeking Help From Congress

Khawam, on the other hand, is tackling Feres from the legislative side. She has spent months walking the halls of Congress with Stayskal to meet lawmakers and push for a bill, either a single piece of legislation or one that will be included into the fiscal 2020 defense authorization bill.

Her and Stayskal's goal is to ensure that military patients have the right to sue, and that doctors in the military health system -- who are both uniformed and civilian employees -- can be held accountable for egregious mistakes.

Besides drafting bill proposals and making the rounds on Capitol Hill, Stayskal and Khawam are planning a march June 12 in Washington, D.C. to call attention to the Feres doctrine and what Khawam calls its' unfairness.

She said she is lining up celebrities and lawmakers to speak and has galvanized bipartisan support to change the law. If successful, she and Stayskal would achieve what many have not been able to -- people like the families of Air Force Staff Sgt. Dean Witt, who died in 2003 from complications of irreversible brain damage during a routine appendectomy; of Army Maj. Chad Wriglesworth, who died when his melanoma was diagnosed as an ingrown toenail; and of Air Force Capt. Heather Ortiz, whose baby suffered injuries during childbirth as the result of Ortiz receiving the wrong medication.

Stayskal isn't the first service member to convince lawmakers to introduce a bill overturning Feres in cases of medical malpractice. But Khawam says her client's story simply can't be ignored.

"He is a superstar and it's not from being a celebrity ... it's from being such a great guy, from his work to just being a good kid," she said. "It speaks volumes when people you know from grade school are calling your lawyer and saying 'I want to help.'"

Stayskal is on palliative care, meaning he is receiving treatment to keep him comfortable, but no longer fighting the cancer. While he has been in and out of hospitals, he remains strong and is trying to see every congressional representative and senator who will meet with him.

"People tell me that [Feres] is the law, but you know what? Separate-but-equal was the law and people had to ride in the back of buses. Gay people couldn't get married -- that was the law. Here's the thing: the law changes, and it only gets fixed when it's brought to the attention of everyone else," Khawam said.

--Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @patriciakime.
Airmen Have Five Days to Get Immunized After Vaccine Exemption Is Denied or They Face Punishment, Air Force Says

The service required all active-duty troops to become fully vaccinated by Nov. 2 after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in...
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  A Lowell man has received an outpouring of support and more than $66,000 in donations through a GoFundMe page after he lost his wife and 3-year-old son in a crash on Saturday, March 9.

Ryan Lahaie, 38, has been hospitalized at Sparrow Hospital since the crash that killed his wife, Dana Lahaie, 36, and their son, Reed.

The support through the GoFundMe and the outpouring of support has been amazing, said his mother, Betsy Ormsbee. We really feel it ... its helping carry us day to day.

Ormsbee said Danas family, the Reeds, are amazing and that the two families are very close. They have been supporting one another every day through the tragic experience, she said.

Danas smile and personality lit up a room when she walked in... She was just a beautiful, intelligent woman and a wonderful wife to my son and mother to my grandson, Ormsbee said. Reed was a happy little beautiful boy .... he was just excited about life.

Clinton County sheriffs deputies responded at 6:35 p.m. Saturday, March 9, to the scene of a two-vehicle crash on westbound I-96, at Wright Road, according to a news release.

Ryan Lahaie was driving, with his wife in the front passenger seat and their son in the rear. An eastbound driver, Thomas Hahn, 55, of Ottawa, Illinois, crossed the median and struck the Lahaie familys vehicle head-on, police said. Alcohol appears to be a factor in the crash, according to the news release. The investigation of the I-96 crash is still open.

Dana Lahaie died at the scene of the crash, police said. Ryan Lahaie is listed in critical condition and their son died at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing.

Hahn is reported to be in critical condition at Sparrow Hospital.

Joellen Podoll, a family friend of Ryans of 30 years, and Shaun Dennis, Ryans cousin, started the GoFundMe on Monday, March 11, to help support Ryan financially. Within 24 hours, they had raised more than $20,000.

We didnt want him to worry financially, Podoll said. Life keeps moving and bills still have to be paid. This is the easiest thing we could take off his plate while he recovers mentally and physically.

Dennis said he and Ryan Lahaie were like brothers growing up.

"We are very close. I have been destroyed and damaged forever since hearing the news, Dennis said. I constantly think about what has happened recently and the nightmare he will wake up to. Everything plays out in my head over and over. I cant shake it.

Dennis said the comment section on the fundraising page might be Lahaies biggest asset years down the road.

It just might help heal a broken human. People have taken time to really write wonderful messages to him and the families. Written word is powerful, and he will be able to reflect on that.

Funeral arrangements for Dana and Reed Lahaie are pending.

To donate to Ryan Lahaies GoFundMe, click here.
ANN ARBOR, MI - After 88 years in Ann Arbor, the family-owned Fingerle Lumber Company plans to close its doors for good Saturday, March 30.

The closing date was announced on the company website in a letter to customers.

John Fingerle, president of the lumber yard, told MLive in November 2018 the business would sell its assets and shut down some time in 2019. He and his brother Mark, the third generation of family members to run the business started by their grandfather in 1931, said theyre ready to retire.

Weve reached the point where we sold most of our inventory and expect to sell almost the entire balance between now and next Saturday, John Fingerle said. The outpouring of kind words that Ive heard in person, over the telephone, as people have stopped by or done business with us just to say farewell ... thats been overwhelming, to listen to those kind words.

I know many of our employees have received the same kind words. Customers have sought out the Fingerle salespeople and other people theyve gotten to know, and told them how much theyd be missed. Those comments mean the world to all of us at Fingerle.

Most of their properties will be sold to the University of Michigan, Fingerle previously told MLive. The UM Board of Regents in December 2018 approved a purchase of 6.54 acres of Fingerle land for $24 million.

The family also owns lumber storage property at 545 South Main St., which could be redeveloped into a two-story brewery and restaurant if the proposal is approved, according to a city planning commission application filed in February.

The proposed brewerys main floor would have a bar, lunch counter, private dining area and retail space. The second floor would have a bar, dining area and an entry to rooftop seating, according to the floor plans.

The design also shows the space would be surrounded by an expansive lawn with walkways, a small parking lot and an outdoor stairway to access the rooftop on a 45,000-square-foot site adjacent to a University of Michigan Orange parking lot.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Joey Miedema and two friends stopped along Market Avenue SW on Saturday to see where a good friends vehicle plunged into Plaster Creek a week ago.

They're still coming to grips with what police say is the presumed death of 25-year-old Austin Huisingh.

He had a lot of friends," said Miedema, who graduated from Unity Christian High School with Huisingh.

As Miedema and others stood near a makeshift memorial along the Market Avenue bridge -- the spot where Huisinghs vehicle broke a railing and went into the river -- Grand Rapids firefighters used boats nearby to search the Grand River.

The crash location is where Plaster Creek enters the Grand River.

Police said that, based on witness accounts, Huisingh was driving south on Market Avenue about 9:15 p.m Saturday when his car crossed into oncoming lanes then struck the cement and metal guardrail on the east side of the road. The car was traveling fast, witnesses told police.

Police and firefighters made rescue efforts that night but were hampered by dangerous river condition because of high and fast-moving water. The vehicle was recovered the next day but no one was inside.

Police said they do not believe Huisingh survived the crash. Firefighters have continued to search the river and divers will go back into the water once the high water subsides, police said.

Friends of Huisingh said he was devoted to his faith and was definitely a man of God.

He was passionate for the well-being of others, Miedema said.

Huisingh had volunteered with Paradise Bound Ministries and went to Guatemala in the past to help build houses and serve at medical clinics. He worked in the Grand Rapids area as a therapist at a local hospital, friends said.

Miedema and another friend, Cody Dykstra, said Huisingh was very close to his older brother. They said he was a good athlete and enjoyed sports.
The next presidential election is still more than a year and a half away, but four candidates, including President Donald Trump, are already setting their sights on Michigan as it shapes up to be a 2020 battleground.

Michigan, long considered a solidly blue state in relation to Ohio, which historically swings between both parties, morphed into a key player when voters here helped put Trump in the White House. The 2018 midterm elections -- where the state veered back toward blue -- set Michigan up as a competitive state in the next presidential election.

Trump narrowly won Michigan by 10,704 votes in 2016, but the only statewide election since then swept in a wave of Democratic candidates last year.

In the Buckeye State, 2016 and 2018 elections both trended red. Ohio is historically a reliable predictor of the presidential election winner -- voters sided with the losing candidate only once since 1944. But the state is no longer considered a swing state by Cook Political Report, while Michigan is.

More than a year out from the election, presidential candidates are already prioritizing stops in Michigan.

Its very early, but Michigan is an important state, said Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at a presidential campaign stop last week. I think its critical that all the candidates get to Michigan and engage with Michigan voters.

Between 1992 and 2012, Michigan voted exclusively for Democratic presidential candidates. But Trump broke through that blue wall in 2016, winning 75 of Michigans 83 counties to flip the state, along with Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

But while Michigan seems within reach for either party, its southern neighbor is trending solidly Republican.

William Angel, professor emeritus at the Ohio State University, said economic forces have driven blue-collar working-class Ohio voters into the arms of Republicans. Meanwhile, demographic shifts have concentrated Democratic voters in fewer areas across Ohio.

A decline in factory workers and union voters reduced the Democratic Partys power, he said, a situation made worse when progressive Democrats targeted the coal industry as part of their agenda on climate change. Ohio is slipping out of the swing state category," Angel said.

The Democratic Party in this state has been fighting a war that was over 20 years ago, Angel said about Ohio. A lot of those union voters are voting for Trump.

But in Michigan, votes from union workers and suburban women are very much up for grabs. Boosting turnout and appealing to those demographics could make the difference for Democrats seeking to reclaim the Great Lakes state.

Trumps blue-collar strongholds

David Dulio, head of the political science department at Oakland University, said working-class Reagan Democrats came out for Trump with a vengeance" and will be a key constituency for the president in 2020.

The demographics of the voting-age population in Michigan and Ohio are extremely similar, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2016, Trump flipped nine counties in Ohio and 12 in Michigan.

Women voters in Michigan played a key role in supporting Trump. During the last two years, remarks made by the president could hurt his standing with them. EPIC-MRA pollster Bernie Porn said Trumps favorability rating in Michigan has slipped while in office, particularly among well-educated Republican women.

He also expects Democrats to focus on winning back blue-collar suburban voters in Macomb County. Trump won the states third-largest county by 48,000 votes, becoming the first Republican to do so since 2004.

Those are folks who were thinking the Democrats left them behind and they were tired of that and wanted something else, Dulio said. (Trump) gave it to them. The populism message, trade and manufacturing hit home with those folks.

Democratic candidates should focus on rebuilding turnout in former Democratic strongholds, said Peter Wielhouwer, director of Western Michigan Universitys Institute for Government and Politics. Ohio is too important for Democrats to give up on entirely, he said.

In Michigan, Democratic voters in Michigans heavily blue-collar Macomb County werent as energized to hit the polls in 2016. Clinton earned 31,700 fewer votes in Macomb County than President Barack Obama did in 2012.

Trump handily won the working-class, mostly-white suburban communities northeast of Detroit, but Porn said Trump could be susceptible to an argument that the average American hasnt benefited economically. His polling shows Michiganders believe the economy is improving but dont feel their incomes have increased.

Stagnant wages for the middle class is an economic message that may resonate (among Democrats)," Porn said. The fact that everyone has a shot at a job and the unemployment rate is low does not make voters feel they are gaining in terms of incomes.

In Ohio, Angel said Democrats have failed to come up with a message to appeal to auto workers.

Trump comes here a lot and gets a lot of support in what used to be strong Democratic areas, Angel said. Democrats dont want to share the turf with him and will concentrate their energy in other places.

In Michigan, Democratic candidates will have to convince primary voters in blue counties to pick them from what has quickly become a crowded field of potential nominees. Meanwhile, Porn said, Trump can focus on areas where his support in 2016 was weaker.

Wielhouwer said Trump should focus on Michigans suburban counties, particularly on the west side of the state.

Dulio said the Trump campaign will have to grow his support to offset potentially higher turnout in metro Detroit. Clinton earned nearly 72,000 fewer votes in Wayne County and 6,000 fewer Oakland County votes than Obama in 2012.

If Democrats can get turnout in Detroit to what it normally is, it almost doesnt matter what Trump does in the rest of the state, Wielhouwer said.

Trump is scheduled to hold a rally on March 28 in Grand Rapids. Michigan Republican Party Chair Laura Cox said the visit is proof that the president is making Michigan a priority in 2020.

Trump won Kent County in 2016 by 9,497 votes, then Whitmer won the county two years later by 11,641 votes.

Porn said Trump has the latitude to focus on independent voters, as an incumbent with little primary opposition so far.

Democrats build on Whitmers gains in 2018

Democrats have already begun to set their sights on historically important counties around Detroit.

U.S. Sen Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, and former U.S. Rep. Beto ORourke, D-Teaxs, both visited Oakland County days after formally announcing their 2020 campaigns. The Michigan Democratic Party announced this week that U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., will visit Detroit in May.

Oakland was one of only eight counties Clinton took in 2016, winning by 54,867 votes. Strong Democratic turnout in Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties helped Whitmer and other Democrats sweep races for statewide offices in 2018 and flip two seats in Congress.

Whitmer is leveraging her support across the state to help candidates campaign in 2020. Not only did she win back half of the counties flipped by Trump in 2016, Whitmer won four other counties that supported Trump, including Kent County.

Whitmer said she will connect any Democratic candidate who comes to Michigan with local organizations and participate in campaign events. Whitmer said Gillibrand was the first to call her after the governor announced she is rolling out the red carpet for Democrats seeking the presidency.

Oakland County Democratic Party Chair Vaughn Derderian said its encouraging to see Whitmer invite presidential candidates to Michigan early in the campaign. In 2016, he said, the Clinton campaign failed to communicate with Democratic organizers at the local level.

In the last week or two (of the 2016 election), we were screaming to the larger campaign that (Clinton) needed to come to Michigan, she needed to get here because the numbers were not looking good, Derderian said. "It just was not connecting with the campaign. You still have to do the work and pay attention to the small parts of the campaign.

During an MSNBC town hall in Auburn Hills, Gillibrand said she visited Oakland County first because its an example of places that very much felt left behind in the last election.

They didnt feel like the Democrats were going to help them, she said. "Michiganders deserve to have a voice in our politics.

ORourke said he wanted to come to Michigan as early as I possibly could while visiting a union carpenters training center in Ferndale Monday morning. ORourke made stops in Center Line and Detroit the same day his campaign announced it raised $6.1 million in online donations within the first 24 hours of declaring his candidacy.

A March poll of Michigan voters conducted by EPIC-MRA found half of those surveyed plan to vote for someone other than Trump. Half of likely 2020 voters surveyed believe the country is on the wrong track, while 58 percent expressed a negative opinion of Trumps performance.

Michiganders should expect to be courted by candidates on both sides of the aisle throughout the upcoming election season.

This going to be a steady parade of candidates through the state, Dulio said.
Finlands foreign minister could have been hit by a man thought to belong to a far-right anti-immigration vigilante group, if it were not for the top officials security detail.

An unknown assailant tried to break through to Timo Soini when he was meeting people at a marketplace in Vantaa, Finlands fourth largest city, according to local media. The attacker, who the media said was dressed in a black top bearing a Soldiers of Odin badge, was quickly overpowered by the diplomats bodyguards.

Finnish newspapers featured photos of the man being apprehended by Soinis security detail. Still, the attacker managed to hit one of the guards on the head with a bottle before they wrestled him to the ground. Soini carried on his meet-and-greet activities at the market following the attack.

Soldiers of Odin, named after a Norse god, are part of a grassroots anti-immigration vigilante movement that gained notoriety on the back of the EU refugee crisis. In Finland, where it was established, authorities referred to the group as having extremist features.

Also on rt.com Swedish right-wing parliamentary candidate attacked by 'immigrant' during campaign meeting

Ironically, Soini himself co-founded the rightwing Finns (formerly True Finns) Party, which stands for defending Finnish values and imposing curbs on immigration.

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More than 900 people and crew are still aboard the Viking Sky cruise ship over 15 hours since it sent out a mayday signal following engine failure off Norways rocky western coast. Passengers posted dramatic photos from inside.

Rescue team tweeted on Sunday morning that 397 people have been evacuated from the cruise liner after its engines failed. Three helicopters are airlifting passengers from the vessel anchored in Hustadvika Bay, authorities told local media. The liner initially had 1,373 passengers and crew on board, 915 of which were passengers from the UK and US.

Some people sustained injuries, and three of them are serious. Sixteen people have been hospitalized, according to local authorities. They also say that the crew managed to restart three of the vessels four engines, adding that the ship is likely to be towed to the port city of Molde later on Sunday.

One passenger tweeted that people are still waiting to be evacuated.

Waves are continuing to batter the ship. Videos from passengers posted on social media show chairs and other furniture, as well as a piano, sliding back and forth across the floor as the ship is rocked from side to side.

The ship was traveling from Bergen, Norway to London. It requested emergency help on Sunday as it started to drift towards the rocky western coast of Norway following the engine failure.

Helicopters and rescue boats rushed to the scene but faced difficulties due to severe weather conditions. Officials say its too early to speculate on whether the weather was a cause of the incident. The Viking Sky, a vessel with gross tonnage of 47,800, was commissioned to the operator in 2017.

Also on rt.com 1,300+ people in distress as crippled cruise liner is battered by huge waves off Norway (VIDEOS)

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Another dam operated by the Brazilian mining giant Vale is in imminent danger of collapse and has been assessed at the highest level of threat. The warning comes two months after a deadly dam burst that killed over 200 people.

On Friday, the tailings dam attracted the highest, third level of threat, according to the Brazilian municipality of Barao de Cocais, located in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais. The dam was examined by independent experts, who said that the structure might collapse at any moment, the dam operator, mining giant Vale, revealed.

Also on rt.com Awful moment of colossal Brazil dam collapse caught on CCTV

The poor condition of the dam was recognized in early February, following the deadly tailings dam collapse on January 25, which occurred in the same state. The colossal disaster killed over 200 people and heavily polluted a wide area affected by the slush.

According to Vale, the area around the latest crumbling dam has already been evacuated. Nevertheless, additional civil defense force personnel have been deployed to the area, as a possible rupture of the dam still poses a threat to the public and the environment.

Vale is a company thats surely no stranger to large disasters at its facilities and is linked to another dam rupture at the same region back in 2015. Back then, a dam jointly owned by the company flooded the area with toxic iron waste, polluting a river below, killing 19 people and displacing hundreds more.

Also on rt.com At least 7 dead, 150+ missing after dam burst in Brazil (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

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As the last remnants of Islamic States caliphate is dealt a severe blow on the ground, sleeper cells from the group are already planning devastating revenge attacks in Europe and Syria, recently discovered files reveal.

The documents, obtained by the Sunday Times, show that Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) operatives are supporting jihadists to plan fresh attacks in European cities, while sleeper cells within Syria have formed hit-squads to assassinate its enemies.

The cache was contained in a hard drive dropped by an IS sleeper cell during a firefight with local forces in the Syrian desert in February. Attesting to its authenticity, the paper said the files contained the types of meticulous detail that have become a hallmark of the groups record keeping and bureaucracy. Lists of fighters names and allotted weapons were joined by budget spreadsheets and payments to fighters and their wives. Others lament the lack of availability of suicide bombers and vehicles for use as car bombs.

Also on rt.com Total elimination of ISIS in Syria? US-backed forces confirm, Damascus calls it a bluff

However, more startling are letters from a senior IS leader who goes by the name Abu Taher al-Tajiki, claiming he has fighters willing to conduct operations far away from the Islamic State and would be in touch with them to carry out the operations. To facilitate these attacks, he requests the setting up of a Bureau of Foreign Relations for the Department of Operations in Europe.

Other letters addressed to group leaders in Iraq and Syria by al-Tajiki proposes the establishment of what he calls crocodile cells, called such to represent IS killers who hide beneath the surface before attacking. Their missions would involve killing the enemies of God and taking their money. Online hackers and technicians were also available for missions without the need for weapons.

Also on rt.com Was UK paying White Helmets to produce Syria chemical weapon PR as cover for Jaish Al Islam?

Al-Tajiki had planned to present the plan to the groups elusive head, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but this didnt go ahead after a go-between was killed.

News of the plans comes as the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) claimed victory over the so-called caliphates last remaining pockets in Syria on Saturday. The victory comes following months of efforts to oust the last remaining IS holdouts along the Euphrates.

However, the Syrian government remains skeptical of Washingtons claim that the jihadist group has been defeated militarily following several previous claims of victory over the group by US President Donald Trump. Speaking on Friday, Syrias UN envoy warned that terrorists were hiding within the Rukban refugee camp, located in a US-protected zone near the Jordanian border.

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Construction of the first Chinese floating nuclear power plant will begin within 2019, according to Luo Qi, head of the Nuclear Power Institute (NPI) of China.

It will be a marine platform equipped with scaled-down nuclear reactors, which can provide electricity and heat to areas with difficult access, such as remote areas, islands, and offshore oil and gas platforms, Luo told the Global Times.

Also on rt.com Russias Rosatom to start construction of 7th power unit at Chinese nuclear power plant

He noted that the floating nuclear platform, which does not take up a lot of space, will not be affected by earthquakes and will create no pollution. The platform will be built by China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).

Gu Jun, the general manager of CNNC, said earlier the corporation is in preparation for a floating nuclear power plant off the coast of East Chinas Shandong Province. He did not reveal further details of the project, saying that information including the volume of investment is still unknown.

Media reported in November that the platform will cost 14 billion yuan (US$2.1 billion), and will be put into use in 2021.

Also on rt.com China & India to drive the worlds nuclear power production growth  experts

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section
The president of Venezuela has accused Juan Guaido of plotting to kill him, after the opposition leaders aide was arrested as an alleged terrorist and charged with recruiting foreign mercenaries to carry out attacks and sabotage.

American imperialists want to kill me. We just exposed the plan that the devil's puppet [Juan Guaido] personally directed to kill me, President Nicolas Maduro told his supporters on Saturday, claiming his government has evidence on the oppositions alleged criminal activities.

Roberto Marrero, chief of staff to the US-backed opposition leader Guaido, conspired with his boss to finance terrorist acts in Venezuela, Communications Minister Jorge Rodriguez told the nation on Saturday, accusing the arrested members of the opposition of trafficking hitmen from Central America.

Also on rt.com Armed terrorist cell: Venezuelas Interior Minister confirms arrest of Guaidos aide

Assassins and paramilitaries have been recruited using large amounts of money so that they can be sent to Colombia to receive training, he said. Marrero was involved in contracting people from Guatemala and Colombia to comply with the recruitment and training plan for assassins.

Information gathered from Marreros cell phone indicates that the opposition was planning to put together eight to 10 hit teams, each comprising at least eight mercenaries, to carry out assassinations, sabotage and acts of terrorism against government institutions in Venezuela.

At least 60 people had received special paramilitary training in Colombia and half of them have allegedly already infiltrated Venezuela, following the failed attempt to bring in the so-called humanitarian convoys from the US on February 23.

At least 30 paramilitaries hired from El Salvador, Honduras or Guatemala trained in Colombia entered Venezuela. We are looking for them. We have already identified some, he said on state television, showing screenshots from Marreros phone as proof and accusing the US of running the operation.

Also on rt.com US sanctions Venezuelan development bank in response to arrest of Guaido's 'terrorist' aide

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New Zealands chief censor has banned mosque shooter Brenton Tarrants white supremacist manifesto, as well as videos of his violent rampage. The bans have ignited a debate over free speech in the grieving country.

Chief censor David Shanks declared the killers 80-page manifesto  entitled The Great Replacement  objectionable on Saturday, and ordered anyone in possession of it to destroy it.

New Zealanders can all play a part in denying those who exhort hatred, killing and terror, Shanks said. Do not support the murderous objectives of its author by republishing or distributing it.

Following the classification, anyone caught with the document on their computer could face between 10 and 14 years in prison. Video footage of the attack, originally live-streamed by Tarrant on Facebook, has also been deemed objectionable. A teenager has already appeared before Christchurch District Court last week for allegedly sharing the banned video.

The attempt to scrub Tarrants views from the internet follow Prime Minister Jacinda Arderns global call to fight the ideology of racism. Ardern pledged to to weed it out where it exists and make sure that we never create an environment where it can flourish.

Free speech advocates, however, are concerned with Arderns censorship-heavy approach.

People are more confident of each other and their leaders when there is no room left for conspiracy theories, when nothing is hidden, Stephen Franks, a constitutional lawyer and spokesman for the Free Speech Coalition, told AP. The damage and risks are greater from suppressing these things than they are from trusting people to form their own conclusions and to see evil or madness for what it is.

Speaking about Tarrants first-person-shooter-style video, counterterrorism expert Jennifer Breedon told RT that banning such videos does nothing to prevent future attacks. We need to stop putting band-aids on gunshot wounds, she said. Were spending so much time talking about we cant have videos like this...rather than answering questions that need to be asked.

Commentators on social media chimed in.

Free speech is protected in New Zealand by the 1990 Bill of Rights Act. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and opinions of any kind in any form, the Act reads.

However, the protection is not as legally watertight as the US First Amendment. In the case of Tarrants manifesto, Shanks argued that the Act doesnt apply. It promotes, encourages and justifies acts of murder and terrorist violence against identified groups of people, he said. It identifies specific places for potential attack in New Zealand, and refers to the means by which other types of attack may be carried out. Shanks censors, therefore, treated the manifesto the same as propaganda from terrorist organizations like the Islamic State.

Also on rt.com Zero Hedge, LiveLeak blocked, sharers warned of jail as NZ censors crack down on mosque attack video

Before Shanks declared the manifesto verboten, New Zealands internet service providers gladly censored it themselves. Any site that may have hosted the killers polemical screed was blacklisted, with the censorship even spilling over into neighboring Australia, where internet users were locked out of 4chan. With New Zealands objectionable content laws allowing corporations to be fined up to NZ$200,000 (US$173,000) for sharing the video or any related content, their willingness to self-censor is unsurprising.

However, some applications of censorship have left commentators puzzled. Kiwi journalist Nick Monroe  himself skeptical of the governments censorship efforts  complained that any of his commentary on the shooting was being removed seconds after upload.

Likewise, a nationwide chain of booksellers responded to the shooting by pulling copies of psychologist Jordan Petersons self-help book 12 Rules for Life from its shelves, citing disturbing photo that had emerged of Peterson with a fan wearing a Proud Islamophobe t-shirt. Bizarrely, the bookseller has continued to stock copies of Adolf Hitlers Mein Kampf.

Perhaps the most famous piece of extremist literature in the world, Mein Kampf has been banned in some European countries and in Russia. Reprints of the book were forbidden in Germany until 2016, when the work entered the public domain.

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Irans oil exports so far in March are down from January and February to average around 1 million bpd-1.1 million bpd ahead of the US decision to extend or deny new waivers, Reuters reported Thursday.

This compares to around 1.3 million bpd estimated Iranian exports for February.

The US waivers for eight key Iranian oil customers, including China, India, Japan, and South Korea, expire in early May. While the US Administration says that it continues to pursue zero Iranian oil exports, analysts expect Washington to extend waivers to at least a few of the currently exempted buyers, with reduced volumes allowed under the new waivers, as the Administration wouldnt want to push oil prices too high.

Also on rt.com Trump loves surprises, so well entertain him  Iranian FM warns of retaliation over oil sanctions

In January and February this year, Iranian crude oil exports were higher than expected, as several of Irans customers were using up their US sanction waivers to continue importing Iranian oil, according to industry sources and shipping data, quoted by Reuters 10 days before the end of February.

According to tanker-tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon and a source at a company tracking Iranian oil flows, Irans exports in February averaged 1.25 million bpd, while the January exports were between 1.1 million bpd and 1.3 million bpd, higher than the previously expected below 1-million-bpd level, which was seen in December.

While tracking Irans oil exports has become an increasingly difficult task after the US sanctions returned in early November, some of the key Iranian oil customers that received US waivers resumed Iranian oil purchases in 2019 or increased imports to their respective ceiling allowed under the waivers, after an initial wait-and-see mode for November and December purchases amid uncertainties who is getting waivers.

Also on rt.com 'Perfect storm' of tight supply & global demand drives oil prices higher

As the waivers window will be shrinking as we approach early May, buyers may be rushing to buy what they can before April in order to be able to complete transactions before May in case waivers are not extended, according to analysts.

Japanese refiners, for example, are unlikely to continue buying Iranian crude from April onwards, the president of the Petroleum Association of Japan, Takashi Tsukuoka, said earlier this week, as quoted by Reuters.

However, Tsukuoka added that refiners would continue importing Iranian crude if Tokyo agreed on a sanction waiver extension, which it was currently negotiating with Washington.

This article was originally published on Oilprice.com
The Israeli Air Force has struck at least two Hamas outposts in Gaza in retaliation for what the IDF claimed was an overnight barrage of some 300 explosives thrown across the border fence at Israeli troops.

The strike came in response to ongoing border disturbances by Hamas so-called night-time unit which staged a massive demonstration along the Gazan border with Israel on Saturday night, burning tires, throwing homemade explosive devices, and launching incendiary balloons at southern Israel.

Our stance is clear, either [Israel] lifts the blockade [on Gaza] or [Israeli] residents of border communities evacuate, the statement by the unit read, as its operatives vowed to continue their unrest throughout next week between the hours of 7pm until the first light of dawn.

Video from the scene, released by the IDF, showed a night-time cannonade unfolding right at Israels doorstep. At least 300 explosives have been thrown at our forces, the IDF claimed, according to the Jerusalem Post, before proceeding to strike Hamas targets on Sunday morning.

Earlier on Saturday, three Palestinians were injured at the border fence after the IAF drones struck two groups that allegedly had been launching explosive balloons at Israel.

In November, Israel struck a ceasefire deal with the leadership of Gaza following an intense two-day border confrontation, that was triggered by a botched Israeli special forces raid, after which Hamas and the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine launched over 400 rockets while the IDF destroyed over 150 terrorists targets in the enclave.

Also on rt.com Israel hit 100 terror targets in Gaza in response to rocket attacks  IDF

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The harsh gun control measures introduced by New Zealand triggered a protest backlash, with pranksters flooding police with bogus applications to surrender unlikely weapons such plasma rifles, fighter jets and even nuclear bombs.

After New Zealand adopted a ban on military-style semi-automatic and assault rifles following the Christchurch mass shooting, the police set up a special telephone number and an online application form to facilitate the collection of the newly banned weapons. The measure turned out to be quite popular as the officers received 474 calls in less than a day and, on Friday, almost 130 calls in just one hour.

However, the online application form was also targeted by what some local media called a digital protest against the tighter restrictions on weapon possession.

Some pranksters reportedly even attempted to register old Soviet MiG 15 fighter jets and American B61 nuclear bombs as weapons they would like to hand over. Some with more devious minds also tried to submit non-existent, futuristic plasma rifles, among other things.

Others directly vented their anger at the new rules right in the comment sections below the submission form, by saying that the New Zealand government seeks to steal peoples property. The total number of online applications amounted to 1,000, according to the police statement. It is unclear though, how many of these fake requests had been filed by actual New Zealanders, before authorities decided to shut down the facility to submit the forms from overseas.

Also on rt.com NZ adopts harsh gun control measures after Christchurch massacre to cheers & jeers in US

Unfortunately, some people have decided it is a good use of their time to misuse the form and submit fake notifications to hand in weapons, Police Assistant Commissioner Tusha Penny wrote, in an angry statement. While these individuals may be short of productive work to do, Police are not.

Last week, a self-avowed white supremacist from Australia killed 50 people in two mosques in the city of Christchurch and injured almost as many, in what became the deadliest terrorist act in New Zealands modern history.

Less than a week later, to cheers of gun control advocates in the US and elsewhere, New Zealand banned all military-style semi-automatic and assault rifles, as well as high-capacity magazines and parts used to convert other weapons into the banned guns. The new regulations are expected to take effect by April 11. Those found in possession of the prohibited weapons after that date could face a fine up to NZ $4,000 ($2,751) or up to three years in prison.

Also on rt.com #ICYMI: Does mosque massacre livestream show we need online censorship to save us from ourselves?

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Pakistan has deployed more Chinese medium-range air defense missiles across several cities and military bases, to prevent any intrusions after the Indian Air Force carried out cross-border anti-terrorist strikes last month.

Five units of LY-80 (HQ-16) surface-to-air missiles (SAM) and IBIS-150 air defense surveillance radar units were spread across Pakistan following New Delhis strike last month against terrorists in Balakot, deep inside Pakistans territory, Indian news outlets reported, citing the latest intelligence reports.

Besides SAM systems, Islamabad also reportedly has deployed additional Chinese-made Rainbow CH-4 and CH-5 drones, for surveillance and even potential strikes at the Kashmir Line of Control. At least three of those drones have been shot down following the February 26 strike against the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist camp.

The Indian raid inside Pakistani territory came in retaliation for the Pulwama attack on February 14, in which a Kashmiri member of a Pakistan-based militant group killed 40 Indian paramilitary police in a suicide bombing. That attack was soon followed by a mid-air dogfight, with one of India's MiG-21 Bison shot down by Pakistans F-16s. The Indian pilot, who was captured by Pakistan, was later returned to India in what Islamabad called a peace gesture.

Also on rt.com Indian Air Force seeks fresh replenishments of missiles to counter Pakistans F-16s  report

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Oleg Rezanov, also known as Lord of the Cold, broke a world record for jumping out of a plane dressed in nothing but a pair of shorts in the freezing skies above Yakutia, Russia.

Rezanov jumped from a height of 4.1km (2.5 miles) on Saturday, setting his 12th personal record for survival in extreme conditions. The Republican Parachuting Federation said the temperature at the time was -23C, RIA Novosti reports.

Rezanov did the jump as a tandem skydive, attached to a  fully dressed  instructor.

The extreme daredevil prepared for the freezing jump by doing open training in the cold, combined with national rites and traditions, he wrote on Instagram, where he shared videos of himself lying half-naked and half-buried in the snow. Another photo shows him standing in his bare feet in the snow, wearing just a pair of shorts.

Landing is wonderful - three kilometers from the target, in a snowdrift, Rezanov told Yakutia 24 TV channel.

Also on rt.com Surf like a Russian: Athletes defy subzero temperatures to ride icy waves in St. Petersburg (PHOTOS)

The Russian set his first extreme cold record during the opening of the Winter Olympics in Sochi when he swam for two minutes in the icy waters of the Black Sea, Sakha Life reports.

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Tens of thousands of protesters marched all across Europe to vent their anger at the controversial EU copyright bill critics say will curb freedom to upload content on social media platforms like YouTube or Tumblr.

Europe saw massive rallies on Saturday with countless protesters united by a motto Save our Internet. In Germany alone, as many as forty demonstrations took place. Munich and Berlin were the venues for the largest protests, with 40,000 and 30,000 people taking part.

Many were seen holding hand-made banners that read We are not bots, Make art not articles or Yes to copyright, not to censorship.

The rallies took place as the European Parliament is set to vote for the EU Copyright Directive. The bill brings existing copyright legislation up-to-date with the demands of the digital age but features clauses that courted controversy among users.

One clause, Article 13, in the directive demands that various online platforms be legally responsible for users that upload copyright-infringing content. Critics argue that the only way to do so is to scrutinize content before it is uploaded, leading to installing filters that will likely be prone to errors.

The rallies specifically targeted Article 13 and addressed fears that filtering content will eventually lead to censorship.

Other European cities have also hosted similar rallies with people uploading photos under a #SaveTheInternet hashtag.

Frequently-visited websites and online services followed suit earlier this week protesting the controversial changes. German, Czech, Danish, and Slovak Wikipedias went dark for one day to take a stand on the kind of issue that may impact Wikipedia and the broader free and open internet.

Meanwhile, any users uploading content on Reddit are shown the following notice.

Adding to the website blackouts and the demonstrations, more than five million netizens have signed a Change.org petition calling to withdraw Article 13.

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The dishonesty of the asylum seekers is a difficult challenge for Germany as most apply without valid reasons and lack papers or use forged IDs, the head of the countrys migration service said.

Too many people without a reason for asylum arrive in the country, Hans-Eckhard Sommer, who is in charge of BAMF (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees), complained in an interview with the Welt am Sonntag paper.

With its lavish welfare programs, Germany had been the dream destination for refugees from the Middle East and North Africa since the massive migrant crisis broke out in Europe in 2015. The country took in around one million refugees that year, with influx still remaining high for years later.

We registered 162,000 asylum applications last year. It's like a big city that comes to us every year.

Only 56,700 (35 percent) of those applications were approved, with the remaining 105,300 rejected due to being groundless, Sommer added.

However, the official spoke out against the idea of limiting the quantity of submitted applications by a certain number. If someone comes with a legitimate asylum reason, then we must recognize it. Its cant be all about statistics.

Also on rt.com German police failed to probe THOUSANDS of tip-offs on refugees suspected of war crimes  reports

Another problem is that 54 percent of those, who seek asylum in Germany, fail to sublime their identity documents, Sommer said.

And those, who do, often carry EU papers that actually belong to another person and were stolen or obtained some other way. In some cases, counterfeits are used. This is a difficult challenge, he added.

Migrants are a dividing issue in German society. While many locals welcome the newcomers, the others accuse them of an unwillingness to adapt to European lifestyle and the rising crime rate. Such views have propelled the anti-migrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) to the third-largest party in the country, with 91 seats in the parliament and thousands flocking to the rallies its stages.

Also on rt.com Afghan serial offender deported from Germany & flown back to Germany  media

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American airstrikes have killed around a dozen Afghan civilians in the northern province of Kunduz, local officials have said. The strikes came as US-backed Afghan forces and Taliban militants vie for control of the area.

One provincial councillor put the death toll at twelve, while another estimated that 13 civilians died, including children, in Saturdays strikes. NATO spokeswoman Sergeant. Debra Richardson told Reuters that the alliances Resolute Support mission is aware of the casualty reports, and that it investigates all such credible allegations.

We take every measure to prevent civilian casualties, in contrast to the Taliban who intentionally hide behind women and children, Richardson said in a statement.

Afghan and coalition forces have been locked in intense combat with the Taliban in Kunduz and Helmand provinces recently, despite ongoing peace talks in Qatar between the Taliban and the US. Afghan and US forces fought the Taliban in Kunduz for over 30 hours on Friday and Saturday, Richardson said, during which time the airstrike took place. Two US soldiers were killed in the fighting, while four Afghan soldiers lost their lives, according to Reuters.

In the southern province of Helmand, the situation was equally dire over the weekend. Taliban attacks in Helmands Sangin district killed as many as 65 Afghan troops and police officers between Friday and Saturday, local politicians told the New York Times. However, precise casualty figures are difficult to ascertain.

Amidst the chaos, the Taliban has re-emerged as a formidable opponent. A report by the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, released in January, found that the Afghan government now controls only half of the countrys 407 districts, a drop of two percentage points since last summer. A more pessimistic independent analysis puts the government in control of only 35 percent of these districts, with the remainder contested or under Taliban rule.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said in January that around 45,000 Afghan security personnel have been killed since he took office in September 2014, roughly 849 per month. Suicide attacks by Taliban fighters and aerial attacks from US and coalition forces also killed more Afghan civilians in 2018 than in any other year since the US invasion in 2001, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan revealed last month.

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Rescued passengers are describing horror filled hours on board the Viking Sky Cruise liner stranded in turbulent Norwegian sea waters. Videos from the ship show objects flying as waves crash against the vessel.

The storm that started on Friday caught the ship off Norways coast and as it intensified on Saturday the engines broke down, American couples, Leslie and Gary Collins, and Karen and Dennis Ferra, recalled. They were among the first passengers evacuated, but over 900 people still remain on board. We feared more that the ship would capsize, the passengers told local media.

Videos posted online by other passengers show chairs, tables and other objects including a piano and a planter slide back and forth across the floor as high waves toss the ship from side to side.

The last few hours on board the ship were some of the most terrifying [moments] we have ever experienced, said the Americans, who have over 30 cruises behind them.

In the meantime, the holiday-makers gave a credit to the crew saying that there was no panic on board as the alarm went off. The captain promptly informed people about the engine problem and ordered to prepare for getting on the lifeboats, witnesses said. The rescue team, however, opted to use helicopters as gusty winds and huge waves made it impossible to approach the vessel by sea.

Also on rt.com Cruise ship in distress for over 18 hours off Norways coast, 900+ still waiting to be evacuated

The tourists were caught off guard as they were invited to the deck to board a helicopter. One from the crew just came over to us and said: Join me, they remembered adding that the 30-meter high climb up to the helicopter was something they would not forget soon.

We had booked a new cruise in September, but I think we would cancel it, the travelers said.

The liner, which was traveling from Bergen to London, carried 1,373 people on board  915 of which were passengers from the UK and US. 479 people were evacuated via helicopters before the crew managed to restart the engines. Tugboats are currently hauling the ship to the nearest port of Molde.

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Serbia will never be part of NATO, even if it is the only non-member European country, the countrys defense minister, Aleksandar Vulin, said during anniversary events of the 1999 NATO bombing of former Yugoslavia.

Vulin said on Saturday that Belgrade has chosen to be militarily neutral at all times.

We made this choice because we were bombed, but first of all because we will never do to other nations what they have done to us

On March 24, Serbia marks 20 years since the 1999 NATO bombing that saw hundreds of civilians killed and many more injured. Countless civilian structures across the country were left in ruins after the airstrikes.

We wont be in NATO, I made it clear speaking to [Secretary General Jens] Stoltenberg, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in a sit-down interview with Russias Channel 1 on March 22. Serbia, which was the heartland of former Yugoslavia, isnt something that you can break down or destroy, he said.

Yes, we are ready to forgive but we will never forget.

The NATO bombing also polluted the land with depleted uranium. The toxic substance used for armor-piercing munitions is believed to be the cause of the spike in cancer cases today.

We cant rely on being reimbursed for our losses, nor can we expect a punishment of those who took part in this horrid crime, Vucic stated. But the most important thing now is [to ensure] that this will not happen to us again.

Also on rt.com How NATO bombed Serbs into submission and left toxic legacy behind (DOCUMENTARY)

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The BJP has announced the names of 297 candidates for the Lok Sabha polls in six lists released so far, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Varanasi and party chief Amit Shah from Gandhinagar.

The lists include almost all candidates for those seats where polling will be held in first two phases.

In the first list released on March 21 the party announced the names of 184 candidates, including the prime minister and the BJP chief. Later on the same day, the party announced its candidate for Daman and Diu constituency as well.

The party released three lists on March 22 and one on March 23.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh will again contest from Lucknow while party's senior leader and Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad from Patna Sahib in Bihar and national spokesperson Sambit Patra from Puri in Odisha.

The party fielded Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Jayant Sinha, Shripad Naik from Morena (Madhya Pradesh), Hazaribagh (Jharkhand), North Goa seats respectively.

Party leader Anurag Thakur has been renominated from Hamirpur.

Veteran party leader and sitting Kangra MP Shanta Kumar has been replaced by Kishan Kapoor as the BJP nominee from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh.

With these candidates, the party has so far announced the name of its 297 candidates for the election to the 543-member Lok Sabha which will held in seven phases beginning on 11 April and ending on 19 May. The counting will take place on 23 May.

The names for the first two phases have been cleared by the BJP's central election committee (CEC), headed by its chief Amit Shah and including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The names of its 17 candidates for Bihar Lok Sabha seats were shared with media by the BJP in a joint press conference with its allies in Patna.

The party is contesting on 40 Lok Sabha seats of Bihar in alliance with JD(U) and the LJP, where both BJP and JD(U) will fight on 17 seats each and the LJP on remaining six.

The big names which were announced on March 23 includes Ravi Shankar Prasad who will be now the party's candidate from Patna Sahib replacing film actor and sitting MP Shatrughan Sinha.

The party also announced the candidature of its national spokesperson Sambit Patra from Puri, where Modi's name was also speculated as a candidate.

The party has also changed the seat of Union minister Giriraj Singh from Nawada to Begusarai in Bihar.

The highlight of the first list was the party's decision to field Shah from Gandhinagar in place of its veteran leader L K Advani.
A Delhi BJP delegation led by party leader Vijender Gupta on March 23 met the chief electoral officer and sought action against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over his alleged "misuse of Twitter" and violation of the model code of conduct (MCC).

In its complaint to the CEO, the BJP alleged that Kejriwal, through social media platforms, was trying to incite religious frenzy and communal tensions.

The development comes a day after Gupta hit out at the chief minister for tweeting a picture that depicted a broom, the symbol of Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), chasing a "Hindu swastika".

Gupta had said the tweet was a violation of the MCC and aimed at disrupting communal harmony.

Kejriwal's tweet, posted late night on March 20, had triggered an uproar, with the Twitterati slamming the chief minister.

Following the outrage, the ruling party clarified that the picture showed the Nazi symbol and not a 'swastika'.

Referring to Kejriwal retweeting on March 23 a video of an attack on the members of a Muslim family in Gurgaon on Holi, the Delhi BJP claimed that the chief minister was trying to give a religious colour to the incident.

Gupta alleged that Kejriwal was trying to incite feelings of two communities even after the district administration of Gurgaon had taken appropriate action in the matter.

This is the second complaint filed by the BJP against the AAP this week.

Earlier on Tuesday, the BJP had lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against the AAP over the latter's alleged attempts to "create communal tension" by "politicising the cow".

The complaint followed a tweet by AAP Lok Sabha poll candidate Raghav Chadha wherein he shared an image of a cow and a calf standing at the doorstep of a house and wrote "door to door campaigning by BJP"
File image

BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav on March 24 said the Congress might win an election in Pakistan if it contests from there as the opposition party is "banking on lies" and the neighbouring country.

He also claimed that the statements of the Congress leaders are retweeted more by the people of Pakistan than their counterparts in India.

"Their comments are more retweeted and publicised by the people of the neighbouring country than our own. The Congress might win an election in Pakistan if it contests from there. This is the condition of our main opposition party," the BJP leader told a press conference.

"The Congress does not have any issue to really take on our government, our leader and our party. It is banking on lies and Pakistan," the BJP leader said.

Pointing out that the Congress is fighting a "clueless battle", Madhav said "Nobody in the country is understanding what it wants to say and in which direction it wants to take the country. The people are also not understanding if the Congress is fighting for India or Pakistan."

Alleging that the Congress leaders are "doubting" the credentials of the Indian Army, the senior BJP leader said the opposition party was not only questioning the success of the BJP-led government, but also making "derogatory remarks" about the Army.

When asked about the allegation of former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa paying a bribe of Rs 1,800 crore to top BJP leaders, Madhav said, "It is bogus news...the Congress has no issue today to confront us and it is only banking on lies.
Congress leaders in Kerala are keeping their fingers crossed, hoping that their request to party chief Rahul Gandhi to contest the Lok Sabha polls from Wayanad constituency would be accepted.

Senior party leader and former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said the presence of Rahul Gandhi in the poll arena in Kerala would give a huge boost to party workers and that was why they wanted him to contest from Wayanad as a second constituency.

"However, the final decision has to be taken by Gandhi. He returned to Delhi late after campaigning in Patna," Chandy told reporters onMarch 24.

The Congress has already announced that Gandhi would be contesting from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh. Another senior leader P C Chacko said the party chief was yet to confirm if he would contest from Wayanad.

"Nothing has been decided on Rahul Gandhi's candidature from Wayanad. He is the one who should decide on that. It's not right on the part of certain leaders making statements that Rahul has agreed or Rahul has responded positively. I don't know who is spreading lies. Don't dream of putting pressure on Rahul and force him to become a candidate," Chacko said.

It was not right to "spread rumours" in this regard, Chacko said. He also said that the All India Congress Committee (AICC) was not happy with the factional war in the Congress unit in Kerala.

Opposition leader in the state assembly Ramesh Chennithala demanded that the CPI(M) clarify whether they would withdraw the Left candidate in Wayanad if Rahul Gandhi contests from there. Senior CPI(M) leader S Ramachandran Pillai said whichever candidate the UDF brings in Kerala, LDF will put up a fight.

The LDF will fight the Congress chief politically in the Lok Sabha election if he contests in Wayanad, he said. CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran said his party, which is contesting in the Wayanad seat for the Left Democratic Front (LDF), was not going to withdraw its candidate for a stronger one. "Wayanad constituency has got a good presence of LDF voters since the last Assembly election.

P P Suneer is the best candidate to fight Rahul Gandhi. I think it's Rahul's fate to lose to Suneer in this election," Rajendran told reporters, BJP state President P S Sreedharan Pillai said they would fight tooth and nail if Rahul Gandhi contests in Wayanad.

The state BJP leadership is also keeping a close watch on the recent development of talks on Rahul's candidature and the party was holding discussions to take back the Wayanad seat from its ally BDJS.

Springing a surprise, the Congress in Kerala had on March 23 suggested party chief Rahul Gandhi's name for the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, a party bastion in the State. Meanwhile, jubiliant youth congress workers in Wayanad poured milk on a huge cutout of Rahul Gandhi as part of their celebration this morning.
(File Photo)

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's condition had deteriorated in jail due to a kidney disease, a day after his family met him and expressed concern over his health, Pakistan media reported on March 24.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo's daughter Maryam Nawaz tweeted about his worsening health on March 23 after she along with his personal physician Adnan Khan visited Sharif at the Kot Lakhpat jail here on receiving permission from the country's interior ministry, according to The Express Tribune newspaper.

Sharif, 69, is in jail since December last year, serving a 7-year imprisonment in the Al Azizia Steel Mills graft case.

After meeting her father, Maryam tweeted that his kidney disease had reached the third stage and he felt pain in his arm.

"The blood tests done yesterday reveal a further raise in his creatinine levels which means his kidney function has deteriorated. His kidney disease is already at stage 3. The pain in the flanks persists," Maryam tweeted.

She also said that a letter had been written to the additional chief secretary to request him for a medical specialist to be sent to jail to diagnose Nawaz's disease and treat the problem in the presence of his personal physician, the newspaper reported.

The duo met Sharif for two hours during which the leader informed them that his blood samples had been taken and he had been informed about the reports. He also told them about his kidney ailment.

Meanwhile, PML-N workers, who gathered outside the prison, chanted party slogans on her arrival and started removing barricades placed outside the prison building. They later retreated on her request.

The workers also stopped a passenger train by blocking a nearby track, mounted its engine and shouted slogans in favour of their leader. They cleared the tracks after police reached the scene.

The National Accountability Bureau filed three corruption cases against Sharif on the orders of the Supreme Court following the publication of Panama Papers.

Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law retired Captain Mohammad Safdar were granted bail in September last year in the Avenfield properties case that involved buying of four luxury flats in London through fraudulent means.

He was acquitted in December last year in the Flagship Investments corruption case.
March 24, 2019

The MoA Week In Review - OT 2019-16

Last week's posts on Moon of Alabama:

They don't even hide their evilness: US official says cumulative sanctions have Venezuela in a "Darth Vader" style grip around the throat

March 20 - WaPo Gives Campaign Space To Main Sponsor Of ISIS Who Also Jails More Journalists Than Anyone Else

March 21 - How Theresa May Botched Brexit

The EU gave May two extra week to get her deal or something else through parliament. The next thing she did then was to postpone the vote for another week. Brussels will remember that when her next delay request comes in. Her attempts to run out the time to put parliament under pressure might well have catastrophic consequences.

Members of May's cabinet seem to plot a coup against her. Her potential replacement is Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington, who is a remainer. How is that supposed to work?

Jonathan Pie with a wonderful rant: Brexit: What's the f**k is going on? (vid)

Druze in Golan Heights Protest Trump's Call for Recognition of Israeli Sovereignty

Elijah Magnier - The occupied Golan Heights is offered to Israel and yet the indignation is verbal, nothing more

March 23 - Russiagate Is Really Finished

Matt Taibbi - It's official: Russiagate is this generation's WMD:

Stories have been coming out for some time now hinting Muellers final report might leave audiences disappointed, as if a President not being a foreign spy could somehow be bad news.

The Russiagaters won't give up. They are not only moving the goalposts, but the whole stadium.

Cenk Uygur @cenkuygur - 22:48 utc- 22 Mar 2019

Let me be clear before we find out whats in #MuellerReport, my contention has been that the collusion was after the election. Ive said countless times that I dont care about tweets sent during election. Hope Mueller investigated connections to Russia before & after election.

Cenk Uygur @cenkuygur - 12:03 utc - 23 Mar 2019

It means @realDonaldTrump has very likely been helping the Russians get money out of Russia for decades. And after the election they call in their favors. That doesnt mean they rigged the election but it does mean Trump is doing favors for them. Ive said this countless times.

The collusion to help Trump win the election was after the election? Trump helped(!) Russians to move money and they(!) are now making demands? What's the logic with that? And what are the favors?

Use as open thread ...

Posted by b on March 24, 2019 at 18:03 UTC | Permalink

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Selene Saavedra Roman was nervous about going to work.

She's been a "dreamer" since 2012, when the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program first started. Born in Peru, she's lived in the United States for 25 years, but her immigration status has always been in the back of her mind.

Which is why, when she got a job as a flight attendant, she decided to work for a regional company, Mesa Airlines, that wouldn't ask her to travel around the world. And it's why she told the company she was a DACA recipient and didn't want to fly internationally.

Yet, in February, Mesa scheduled her to fly to Mexico anyway, Saavedra Roman's attorney said. And when she told them her concerns, the company wrongly assured her that she wouldn't have trouble reentering the United States.

But on Feb. 12, customs officials detained Saavedra Roman shortly after she landed in Houston on her return flight. She would remain in custody for another six weeks. She was released Friday evening, but advocates are pointing to her case as an example of how the Trump administration's attempts to end DACA - and the tug-of-war with the courts that followed - have confused recipients, their families, government agencies and private employers, muddling an already complex web of immigration policies.

"They've been lost in legal limbo and it's getting quite ridiculous," Saavedra Roman's attorney, Belinda Arroyo, said in an interview before her client was freed. "Her case is basically the poster child for what happens when you leave these people in legal limbo."

Arroyo acknowledged that Saavedra Roman made a mistake by leaving without seeking the government's permission - permission that would've been denied anyway, since Trump's DACA order also ended the exemption that allowed recipients to leave and re-enter the country.

But, Arroyo said, Saavedra Roman didn't know any of that. She relied on Mesa Airlines to determine whether she was able to leave and come back, and company officials made a mistake, Arroyo said. They could have consulted an immigration lawyer, or recommended Saavedra Roman do so. In a statement, the airliner's chairman, Jonathan Ornstein, apologized and said he was asking authorities to drop any charges that stemmed from Saavedra Roman's detention.

"It is patently unfair for someone to be detained for six weeks over something that is nothing more than an administrative error and a misunderstanding," Ornstein said.

Saavedra Roman is married to an American citizen, a man she met while they were both in college at Texas A&M. She graduated in 2014, and the couple has been working to get her permanent residency.

After her arrest, officials tried to revoke her DACA status, Arroyo said. They considered her an "arriving alien," which gave her fewer rights than if she had been apprehended before leaving the country. And, paradoxically, because she has DACA status, it actually prevented authorities from deporting her, and was one of the reasons she was initially taken into custody, Arroyo said.

A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman, Steve Blando, said the agency doesn't comment on specific cases, but reiterated the Trump-era policy shift that prevents DACA recipients from getting permission to leave the country.

In a statement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Tim Oberle acknowledged officers released Saavedra Roman on Friday, "pending adjudication of her immigration proceedings," though it wasn't immediately clear why she was released Friday and not six weeks ago. The agency says it makes its custody decisions on "a case-by-case basis."

David Watkins, Saavedra Roman's husband, found out in a text message: "I'm being detained, please call the lawyer."

"I called, I texted, I screamed to the sky," he said. "I dropped to my knees and screamed as loud as I could."

Right then, he said, he knew they were headed for a legal maze - he called it a "quagmire" - but he didn't think it would be a month and a half before he'd hug his wife again. The weeks that followed, Watkins said, were the hardest of their lives. In custody, Saavedra Roman struggled with anxiety and depression, he said.

"I think my wife is going to have PTSD for a long, long time," Watkins said in an interview, which he did from his car as he sped from his parents' home in San Antonio to the detention center in Conroe, near Houston.

He'd seen her a handful of times since she boarded the flight to Mexico, but they had to look at each other through a thick plastic window, and they spent those visits revisiting the details of the immigration case, almost always through tears.

After she got out, Saavedra Roman said she couldn't describe how it felt to be released.

"I cried and hugged my husband and never wanted to let go," she said in a statement. "I am thankful and grateful for the amazing people that came to fight for me, and it fills my heart. Thank you to everyone that has supported. I am just so happy to have my freedom back."

Arroyo and Watkins had negotiated with immigration agencies for weeks to get Saavedra Roman out of detention. Then their fears grew that the hearing process could stretch on indefinitely. At that point, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA - a union that has sparred with the Trump administration before - sounded its own alarms, publicly, Thursday night.

In less than a day, Saavedra Roman became a symbol for those who oppose President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration stance - a rule-abiding, tax-paying Texan who made an honest mistake and was paying an outrageous penalty.

Major news outlets filed stories, more than 20,000 people signed a petition supporting her and national political figures championed her case.

"This is an awful story," tweeted Hillary Clinton before Saavedra Roman early Friday afternoon.

"Heartbreaking stories like Selene's underscore the cruelty of the Trump immigration agenda," said Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro, a little more than four hours before she was released. "The hundreds of thousands of DREAMers whose futures are jeopardized by this administration deserve better."

Bernie Sanders celebrated in a tweet when he heard Saavedra Roman would be released Friday evening, but said there is still work to be done.

"Selene has been released, but the fight is not over!" he said. "She will be fighting her deportation in the upcoming months. It makes no sense to deport Dreamers like Selene from the only country they have known as home. We must stand with our immigrant sisters and brothers."

Watkins said he and Saavedra Roman did not participate in much immigration activism in the past - he was afraid what would happen if she marched and drew attention to her status. It was safer to keep their heads down, he said. But after all they've experienced in the last six weeks, her inside the detention facility and him outside, they might reconsider it.

- - -

The Washington Post's Maria Sacchetti contributed to this report.
Midlander Suzy Prucka is used to getting messages from her parents when they cruise the seas, but not the 25 she received Saturday morning.

Larry and Valerie Prucka were on Viking Sky, a cruise ship that ran into trouble off Norways western coast. The 1,300 passengers and crew were evacuated amid stormy seas and heavy winds in a high-risk helicopter rescue operation, according to Associated Press reports.

There were 25 messages from Mom, Prucka, a Lee High School graduate and Midland County District Attorneys Office prosecutor, told the Reporter-Telegram in a phone interview. I read them and thought she must be kidding.

Prucka learned it was the real deal. She said communication with her parents was limited Saturday but that a friend of hers provided updates as the cruise ship situation received constant TV coverage in the Scandinavian country. Prucka also has passed along updates to her friends on her Facebook page.

Prucka said her parents  a pair of cruise veterans -- were taking the Northern Lights cruise. It was at least their second cruise along the coast of Norway; they took their daughter on a similar cruise one summer.

The Viking Sky was on a 12-day trip that began March 14 in the western Norwegian city of Bergen, according to the Associated Press, which cited the cruisemapper.com website. The ship was visiting the Norwegian towns and cities of Narvik, Alta, Tromso, Bodo and Stavanger before its scheduled arrival Tuesday in the British port of Tilbury on the River Thames.

As Prucka talked with the Reporter-Telegram, her parents were waiting to be evacuated. Prucka said she was told the evacuation involved helicopters that typically transported workers to oil rigs off the coast.

The AP reported that Norwegian public broadcaster NRK said the Viking Sky's evacuation was likely to be a slow and dangerous process, as passengers needed to be hoisted one by one from the cruise ship to the five available helicopters. By 6 p.m. local time, about 100 people had been rescued.

Authorities told NRK that a strong storm with high waves was preventing rescue workers from using life boats or other vessels to take passengers ashore, according to the AP.

Prucka said that evacuees were told to take just the essentials  IDs, currency and medications. She said it remains to be seen how travelers would be reunited with their luggage and other belongings.

They are waiting their turn, Prucka said.

She said someone told her that Norwegians are seafaring people and so should have the ability to handle a rescue like this. She also said the incident provides perspective that the reality is, this could happen to anyone, as evidenced by other cruise ship incidents off the Italian coast and in the Gulf of Mexico.

No one wants to lose parents before its time, Prucka said. When I saw what was happening, it kind of freaked me out.
Midlanders Larry and Valerie Prucka finally are disembarking from the cruise ship that ran into trouble off Norways western coast on Saturday.

It was expected that the Pruckas would be evacuated from the Viking Sky on Saturday. The Associated Press reported that more than 475 passengers were airlifted one-by-one off the ship on Saturday. However, the winds, which had reached 43 mph, eased, and the decision was made to halt the rescues and head to Molde, which the ship reached about 10:30 a.m. (CDT) Sunday.
Associated Press Writer

The top U.S. military base in Afghanistan stood still Tuesday for a solemn ceremony to honor six Air Force rescue team members who died in a helicopter crash while trying to reach two injured Afghan children.

Led by a color guard, teams of six Air Force airmen carried each casket draped in an American flag past two medical helicopters sitting on a gravel offshoot to the Bagram Air Base airstrip.

Scores of servicemen, including fellow rescuers wearing shoulder patches that read "That Others May Live," formed an aisle along a cracked tarmac and stood in salute as the caskets were carried into a C-17 transport plane to begin their voyage home.

Hundreds of others lined a muddy, potholed road for about a mile to view the procession as dawn broke over the misty Afghan mountains.

"It was a solid wall of people the whole way," Army spokesman Col. Roger King told the Associated Press. The base "pretty well shut down for a minute just to give proper respect to those people who lost their lives."

Several members of the Air Force wiped their eyes or exchanged hugs shortly before the transport plane left for Landstuhl, Germany, where the bodies are to be transferred on to the United States.

The HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter, from the 41st Rescue Squadron at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia, crashed Sunday in the Afghan foothills about 20 miles north of the eastern town of Ghazni.

The two medics and four-person crew were on their way to rescue two Afghan children with serious head injuries, King said. It was not clear how the children had been injured, but U.S. forces are occasionally brought in to provide emergency medical assistance to Afghan civilians.

Killed were 1st Lt. Tamara Archuleta, 23, of Los Lunas, N.M.; Staff Sgt. Jason Hicks, 25, of Jefferson, S.C.; Master Sgt. Michael Maltz, 42, of St. Petersburg, Fla.; Senior Airman Jason Plite, 21, of Lansing, Mich.; Lt. Col. John Stein, 39, of Bardolph, Ill.; and Staff Sgt. John Teal, 29, of Dallas, Texas.

Grief spread through the south Georgia military base and the nearby city of Valdosta. The crew of the squadron _ part of the 347th Operations Group _ was trained to use helicopters to save downed pilots, sometimes in enemy territory.

The cause of the crash was being investigated, but military officials said the helicopter was not shot down. There were thunderstorms in the area at the time of the crash Sunday evening, and the Ghazni area is not known as a hostile region, officials said.

U.S. military officials in Washington and Afghanistan said the helicopter flight was not connected with Operation Valiant Strike, a mission involving members of the Army's 82nd Airborne Division in southeastern Afghanistan.

That mission, which began earlier this month, is meant to root out remnants of the al-Qaida and Taliban believed to be operating in the area.

The Air Force members who died were part of the 11,500-person U.S.-led coalition fighting terrorism in Afghanistan from headquarters at the Bagram base.
Midland ISD will focus on one primary topic during Monday nights board meeting: innovation schools.

When the 2019-20 school year begins, Carver Center could be an in-district charter, Ben Milam Elementary could host an international academy, Bunche Elementary and Goddard Junior High could be part of the REACH Network, Jones Elementary campus will house the Young Womens Leadership Academy and Travis Elementary could be placed under the leadership of IDEA Public Schools.

At the meeting  set for 5:30 p.m. at Bowie Fine Arts Auditorium -- the district will request trustees approval to make these changes in order to create autonomy for the schools leaders. The changes align with the boards Earned Autonomy Theory of Action that would help meet its goal of becoming a System of Great Schools by 2027.

Elise Kail, MISD chief transformation officer, said the autonomy is derived from the schools being transformed into in-district charters and partnered with a 501(c)(3) organization.

The 501(c)(3) board is being created to support the academic mission of the school and to oversee the finances and academic performance of the school, Kail said. They do have to report to our board. Our board does not go and tell them what to do, but they do have to report academic and financial goals to the board.

Autonomy is important because it would allow campus leaders to make decisions that are best for their students, Kail said.

She said another advantage of these innovation schools is that they will add to MISDs existing portfolio  magnet schools, alternative schools, traditional schools and signature schools.

Kail said if the board approves these changes, she believes each schools success will be on an upward trajectory.

Transformation is happening --Carver Center to become in-district charter that would be governed by its own board and operate under the 501(c)(3) board and agency called Carver Center. -- IDEA Public Schools to work at Travis Elementary as another in-district charter. is one of the --Milam International Academy and its dual-language program would be under the operation and governance of Educate Midland. --Bunche and Goddard would unite under one program called the REACH Network and would enter a performance contract with Educate Midland. --Young Women's Leadership Academy would be part of the Young Women's Preparatory Network - the 501(c)(3 )it operates under. See More Collapse

I dont know if were going to see immediate change, but always the end of the result is that we hope we will, Kail said. But things take time, and to change a school is more than putting a new name on it or changing the way it operates. It takes a lot of time to implement that and create a positive learning environment for the students and for the staff.

By the end of next school year, I hope we can make a lot of tweaks and create a lot of opportunity for the principals and staff at each of the campuses and really take their ideas and make them flourish to benefit the student.

--Carver Center would become an in-district charter that would be governed by its own board as a 501(c)(3). Under the leadership of Executive Director Stephanie Carnett, Carvers current principal, the school would also be governed by Nikki Langford, assistant principal; Sara Burleson, board president; Leah Robertson, board secretary; and Marcy Madrid, board member.

Kail said becoming an in-district charter doesnt change the facility; it gives school leaders more freedom with what they can do. Since the autonomies are in a contract, it would help secure the future of Carver if there were ever leadership changes in the district or within the board, she said.

It is an assurance to that campus that what they are wanting to do can continue for more than a short term, Kail said.

--IDEA Public Schools is one of the most successful school systems in the state. Four IDEA schools in the Rio Grande Valley  Brownsville, Edinburg, Mission and San Juan  are among the top 22 high schools in the state, according to U.S. News and World Report. Meanwhile, Travis has the states eighth-longest streak as an improvement-required  or failing  school.

The full transformation would be completed in August 2020, but the process would begin over the next academic year to prepare staff and students.

--Milam International Academy would be directed by Iliana Bermea. The dual-language program would allow students, as young as kindergarteners, to learn Spanish and English. The goal is for students to be completely bilingual and biliterate when they leave elementary school. In 2019-20, the academy would offer classes only for kindergarteners; the district would add a new grade each succeeding year.

Milam would be under the operation and governance of Educate Midland  a nonprofit focused on connecting people and resources to ensure students receive the highest education potential they can get.

--Bunche and Goddard would unite under one program called the REACH Network. The two schools would be under Chief School Operator Shelly Haney, Goddards current principal. Each school would have a new principal.

The students are these two schools historically are underserved learners, according to the meeting agenda packet. REACH will attempt to address this issue because the networks schools are built upon strong relationships, utilizing a structure called Family Time  a period each week when students are separated into small groups with an adult advisor. The goal is to develop close relationships between students and staff. MISD believes this would offer additional support for the emotional and academic needs of students, as well as better connect them to the school.

The network would also incorporate professional-learning-community curriculum, assessments and intervention practices  which are the methods MISD believes would best serve these students based on research and data.

Both schools would enter a performance contract with Educate Midland.

--Young Womens Leadership Academy initially will be housed at the east side of the Jones campus in modular buildings. The school would offer STEM-related courses and have AP-based curriculum for sixth- through 12th-graders.

The YWLA would offer sixth- and seventh-grade classes the next academic year, and the district would add a new grade to the school each year.

Under the leadership of Jennifer Seybert, current principal of Abell Junior High, the academy would be part of the Young Womens Preparatory Network  the 501(c)(3 )it operates under. The YWPN focuses on supporting the young womens leadership schools and will provide support through professional development, summer learning for students and specific needs each campus has. Kail said the network currently has eight schools across the state.

People told us to make changes, Kail said. So, were making changes.

Midland ISD alternatives

Midland ISD currently offers several alternatives to the traditional public school.

--Choice schools: Bowie Fine Arts Academy, Carver Center, Houston Collegiate Prep Academy, Pease Communications and Technology Academy, San Jacinto Junior Highs AVID program and Washington STEM Academy

--Transformative academies: petroleum academy; business, management and technology academy; and health sciences academy.

--Alternative high school: Coleman

--Early college high school: ECH at Midland College
Wealth has a strong bearing on how safe your community is, according to a recent study.

The new numbers from SafeWise, a research company specializing in home security and safety products, use federal crime data to calculate a safety ranking of the most populous cities and suburbs in Texas.

The ranking also includes median income levels, and there appears to be a strong link between wealth and safety rating.

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The safest Texas communities ranking is dominated by wealthy affluent suburbs, mostly near Houston and the Dallas-Fort Worth areas, with small populations.

SafeWise used data from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's Unified Crime Reporting Program from 2017, the most recent available, to formulate their rankings.

SafeWise reports that the population threshold for the study was based on the state's median city population. For Texas, cities with populations above 5,000 were considered for the study, according to SafeWise.

The company then calculated how many instances of reported violent crimes (aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery) there were per one thousand residents. They also used property crime reports to determine the final rankings.

Click through the gallery to see the 20 most dangerous cities in Texas.
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Several area school districts will reopen on Monday, after a week of fires at a nearby chemical plant.

The Galena Park, Channelview, Goose Creek Consolidated and Shelton ISD districts will resume classes, according to district officials. Likewise, Houston ISD is proceeding with a normal schedule as is San Jacinto College.

La Porte ISD and Deer Park ISD also will resume normal class schedules.

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The maintenance team has been working to ensure that facilities and students are safe. Air conditioning filters were changed at College Park Elementary and Heritage Elementary schools.

"Although La Porte ISD was never directly affected by the plume of smoke, the district has taken precautionary measures to inspect air conditioning filters at all facilities, beginning with our two campuses that are located in the City of Deer Park," district leaders said.

DEER PARK DISASTER: One week later, 'significant progress' made in clean-up effort at Deer Park plant

Grounds have also been inspected, and playground equipment in the district has also been washed off, officials said.

"The district's air conditioning system has been shut off since Tuesday night when there was a possibility that the wind would shift the plume in the direction of our campuses. If favorable conditions continue, the air conditioning will begin operating on a humidity schedule on Sunday, March 24, until students return to school," the statement continued.

No decision has been made about whether school will resume Monday for Deer Park ISD students, according to the district's website. The district will participate in a 7:30 p.m. conference call with Harris County leaders before making a decision.

The district has undertaken similar efforts to replace air filters and wash down playground equipment. Air filters have been replaced at San Jacinto Elementary School, Deer Park High School - North Campus and Deer Park Junior High. Air filters are currently being replaced at the Deepwater-area schools, according to the district.

The air systems will be turned on before students come back to school.

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A second arrest has been made in connection to the shooting of a local Uber driver, according to San Antonio police.

Joe Albert Gover, 25, was arrested without incident Saturday by the department's Robbery Task Force, a post read on the department's Twitter feed.

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In a news release Sunday morning, police say Gover was apprehended with the assistance of the Street Crimes Unit and Eagle, SAPD's helicopter. The weapon believed to have been used in the shooting was also recovered, police said.

According to court records, Gover has been charged with aggravated robbery.

Kim Troy Williams, 51, was shot twice in the abdomen at about 8:20 a.m. Thursday after he had picked up two passengers at an unknown location and drove them to the 7400 block of New Laredo Highway, the Express-News previously reported.

Police made the first arrest in the case late Friday when they apprehended Jesus Luna, 18, and charged him with aggravated robbery.

While Luna denied taking part in the incident to media as he was led away in handcuffs Friday night, police reported in a release Sunday that Luna "confessed to his involvement" in the incident.

As of Friday, Williams remained in a medically induced coma after enduring four surgeries.

Williams, who works at a T.J. Maxx distribution warehouse, joined Uber to earn extra money for his daughter's ninth birthday party, his family said.

RELATED: Arrest made in shooting of Uber driver

"He's such a sweet guy," Amy Williams, the victim's sister-in-law, said. "He never had a bad word to say about anyone. He likes to smile and laugh and loves hanging out with his daughter."

A Gofundme set up by the family to help cover his medical expenses has raised $10,865 as of Sunday.

Staff writers Jacob Beltran and Liz Teitz contributed to this report
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has hired a luxurious private jet for his trips locally and regionally, with the Airbus A318-100 being kept on standby ahead of his trip to South Africa tomorrow.

The jet flew seven hours and 16 minutes from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday to be in position in Harare before Mnangagwas flight to Bulawayo on Thursday, remained in the country ahead of another foreign trip by Mnangagwa to South Africa tomorrow.

Then coming to the Bulawayo issue, the aircraft you are talking about came in on Thursday and has been here preparing to take the president to South Africa for the Sadc Solidarity Conference on Western Sahara, scheduled for 25-26 March 2019 in Pretoria, Charamba said in an interview with The Standard.

We booked the aircraft to be here until it brings back the president from the summit on Tuesday. If you were going to check, the aircraft is currently at the tarmac of the domestic flights and it is cheaper to hire the aircraft for days than to hire it on the day when the president wants to fly out.

Since he took over through a military-assisted process in 2017, Mnangagwa has projected himself as a simple leader who wants to cut costs, but instead he has often used hired private jets for most of his foreign trips.

Last week he had to use a hired jet for a local trip to Bulawayo where he met civil society members, raising questions on his sincerity to tackle public expenditure.

Charamba said his boss was committed to cost-cutting and his officials were feeling the pinch.

Let me pre-empt you; I know you would want to ask why not use scheduled flights for the president. Here is the tricky issue. One, it is very risky to do that for both the president and the airline. In this case, we are talking of a national airline which has one aircraft to service all its routes. If the president was to use a scheduled flight, it means that all the luggage in that flight will be opened and subjected to search by our security systems, he said.

This inconveniences the reputation of the airline and the passengers. Also the passengers themselves will have to be subjected to those security systems and this definitely will lead in some people leaving the airline and it loses business. Also when the president is flying, he would fly in the business class and no one will be allowed there.

Charamba added: Just imagine you as a reporter you are supposed to fly to South Africa and you have bought your business class ticket and just because the president has joined the flight, you will have to move to the economy class. This will definitely lead to some people abandoning the airline. Remember the aviation business works on a patronage system and losing one customer is a big blow, which no airline would risk.

So we look at all those factors and if you are to look at the opportunity cost, you are bound to agree with us that hiring an aircraft for the president is much better than going through all those challenges. Key to this, the scheduled flight will have to change its time to suit the president. This is dangerous for any airline. Talking about the Bulawayo trip and the idea that the president could have used a scheduled flight, it meant that he would need to divert the Harare-Johannesburg route to go via Bulawayo. Do you think people were going to agree to that? So really let us be realistic when we discuss some of these issues, Charamba said.

The deputy chief secretary also defended the use of private jets by Vice-Presidents Constantino Chiwenga and Kembo Mohadi and other senior government officials whenever they fall ill, saying it was part of their conditions of service.

This is part of conditions of service for the top three. Even ministers, if their conditions of service stipulate that they should be airlifted whenever they need medical attention at the expense of the state, it must be done. Even top civil servants, if their benefits include airlifting, there is nothing that we can do to change that, it is in their contracts, Charamba said.

He, however, said if it was not an emergency, VPs and ministers should use scheduled flights as long as that does not compromise their safety and the countrys international image.

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Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet responsible for presidential communications, George Charamba (GC), has said President Emmerson Mnangagwa will continue to use hired private jets for his travels for as long as the national airline Air Zimbabwe, does not have aeroplanes that are reliable enough to fly him.

Charamba said this yesterday in a wide-ranging interview with our Senior Reporter, Xolisani Ncube (XN), where he also spoke about other controversies surrounding Mnangagwas recent actions. Below are excerpts from the interview.

XN: We understand that President Emmerson Mnangagwa has today left the country for Angola. What is his mission in Angola?

GC: Yes, the president left for Angola this morning. He is due to return home late today. Its a fly-in fly-out situation due to serious commitments here at home. As you know, we have a day set aside in the Sadc region to commemorate the Cuito Cuanavale battle, fought in the Angolan province of Cuando Cubango in 1988, between the Angolan army, aided by Cuban forces, and the invading troops of the former apartheid regime in South Africa. The Angolan government has been pushing that we declare this day a Southern African Liberation Day. The invitation came over the weekend and it was presented to the president on Monday during the usual Monday briefings. But because we have the disaster that befell us and the declaration of the two days of national mourning, the president decided to make it a fly-in fly-out scenario. He has to show support at the meeting in Angola as well as remain cognisant of the fact that we have pressing issues at home. He has to be here for tomorrows (todays) prayer day as well as attend to the rescue efforts in Chimanimani.

XN: Many people have complained that the president is flying too much using hired expensive luxurious private jets for all his foreign trips. Who is footing the bill?

GC: (laughs)  You ask me who is footing the bill for the president? Well, who is flying in this case? The president right, so who do you want to foot the bill? It is government because he is not travelling for his personal business. This is what international engagements come with. We would want to be part of the global village and we have to carry the cost. I often hear people say this and that, but if we want that global presence, the state has to meet the cost that this comes along with.

If I was to talk about the recent trip to the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and you look at the benefits of that trip, the opportunities alone that came with that trip, surely the costs are way less than the results we reaped from the trip. If you were to look at the business opportunities for the country created thereof, indeed you could see that this was a necessary expenditure by the state. The assistance coming from there, the energy business deals and so on and so forth, you will appreciate that it was a necessary cost.

XN: Many people have been complaining that it does not make sense for the president to be hiring an aircraft from as far as Dubai for him to fly from Harare to Bulawayo. In fact, some have said it is like hiring a tax from Gweru to go to the airport from the city centre. What do you say about that?

GC: Again you have to understand how the aviation industry works. For starters, we have to appreciate that we do not have a national airline with an adequate fleet to service both the presidential trips and its commercial needs. Then coming to the Bulawayo issue, the aircraft you are talking about came in on Thursday and has been here preparing to take the president to South Africa for the Sadc Solidarity Conference on Western Sahara, scheduled for 25-26 March 2019 in Pretoria. So it had to take the president to Bulawayo since it was here already and it did so at the same charge that it had billed the state to take the president to South Africa. We booked the aircraft to be here until it brings back the president from the summit on Tuesday.

If you were going to check, the aircraft is currently at the tarmac of the domestic flights and it is cheaper than to hire the aircraft on the day when the president wants to fly out. Let me pre-empt you. I know you would want to ask why not use scheduled flights for the president. Here is the tricky issue. One, it is very risky to do that for both the president and the airline. In this case, we are talking of a national airline which has one aircraft to service all its routes. If the president was to use a scheduled flight, it means that all the luggage in that flight will be opened and subjected to search by our security system. This inconveniences the reputation of the airline and the passengers.

Also the passengers themselves will have to be subjected to those security systems and this definitely will lead in some people leaving the airline and it loses business. Also when the president is flying, he would fly in the business class and no one will be allowed there. Just imagine you as a reporter you are supposed to fly to South Africa and you have bought your business class ticket and just because the president has joined the flight, you will have to move to the economy class and this will definitely lead to some people abandoning the airline. Remember the aviation business works on a patronage system and losing one customer is a big blow which no airline would risk. So we look at all those factors and if you are to look at the opportunity costs, you are bound to agree with us that hiring an aircraft for the president is much better than going through all those challenges.

Key to this, the scheduled flight will have to change its time to suit the president. This is dangerous for any airline. Talking about the Bulawayo trip and the idea that the president could have used a scheduled flight, it meant that he would need to divert the Harare-Johannesburg route to go via Bulawayo, do you think people were going to agree to that? So really let us be realistic when we discuss some of these issues.

XN: But surely the opportunity cost for taking an aircraft from Dubai for $200 000 to take the president to Bulawayo does not make sense?

GC: Well, on the figure that is the creation of the media. It is someone who created that figure in the newsroom and decided to make it real. I have said this, the aircraft has been here in preparation for the Monday trip to South Africa and the trip to Bulawayo did not matter at all. No extra charge whatsoever.

XN: So the president flew to Angola using the same aircraft, the one for the SA trip or he used our local Air Zimbabwe?

GC: The president went to Angola using a small aircraft, hence I am here, because of the nature of the visit. Let me hasten to say we are dealing with a man who is trying by all means to cut costs. Believe you me, this man is serious about cost-cutting. He is very serious to an extent that today he compromised his security. He trimmed down the delegation and opted to use a smaller aircraft so that it becomes cheap and affordable. Imagine, he went to Angola leaving behind even his press secretary and his security. Who does that? I have been in government for years and I know what I mean when I say he means business when it comes to cost-cutting. This is a touch-down touch-up situation.

XN: So the state had to hire another aircraft for the president which is smaller than the one we have?

GC: I think he used a small executive jet that has been availed by a well-wisher for use by the president in attending to the disaster that befell us. This jet could not be used to go to Mutare because of the state of our aerodrome, so now it has been used to fly to Angola.

XN: So you mean the Airbus from Dubai has been here for five or so days and we are paying for it while it is here? Does that make economic sense?

GC: If you were to talk to people in the aviation industry, you will realise that it would be cheaper to book an aircraft for long days because it comes with a discount. Also you have to understand that this business and its charges are determined by when you book, is it at its peak or not, so all those issues come into play. From the transport economics perspective, booking the aircraft here for days could be cheaper than making short-notice bookings.

XN: Would you mind sharing how much we are paying for its stay here?

GC: I dont have the figures and I know the agenda you are pushing, its an assumption premised on wrong information. Let me tell you something. Airlines that are in the business of hiring out executive or VVIP aircraft are normally not busy. I know you want to say the aircraft has been here since Thursday to Tuesday and try to calculate the figure based on those assumptions you have been peddling that are false anyway. The issue you have to understand is that the aviation industry is very complicated. The charge is determined by the demand of the aircraft. If it is off-peak, definitely it would be cheaper and those who are in the business of engaging these airlines know that.

XN: So for how long are we going to be hiring private jets for the president, Cde Charamba?

GC: Until such a time we have a presidential jet or a functioning national airline with a fleet of aircraft. At the moment, our economy cannot sustain the purchase of a presidential jet. Imagine what would happen if the president decides to get a presidential jet. Definitely it would cause an uproar. So until such a time when our economy can sustain the purchase of a presidential jet or we have a national airline with many aircraft, we shall always resort to hiring of private jets. The idea to buy a presidential jet is part of our plans in the long to medium-term, but for now, our economy cannot allow us to do that.

XN: You have explained well on the presidential jet and why the state hires, how about the VPs (vice-presidents), why not use scheduled flights? We have seen them being flown using hired private planes, at whose cost?

GC: This is part of conditions of service for the top three. Even ministers, if their conditions of service stipulate that they should be airlifted whenever they need medical attention at the expense of the state, it must be done. Even top civil servants, if their benefits include airlifting, there is nothing that we can do to change that, it is in their contracts.

XN: I understand well on the need to airlift them when they are in need of medical attention, how about when they are travelling for government business, a trip which cannot be booked within time, why do they use private jets and still who foots the bill?

GC: Well, I dont know that part, do you have an example when such a thing happened?

XN: When VP Chiwenga was travelling to the Democratic Republic of Congo for the inauguration of the new president there, he took a private jet.

GC: As I said on the president issue, it comes down to circumstances. In this case, we do not have a direct flight to the DRC and if we were going to use scheduled flights, it meant that the VP was to fly to South Africa and connect from there. The security risks at play here are so huge and also the time factor. Again it meant that we were going to disturb the business class of the airline and this is something that has issues with many airlines. Look at the event he was attending, it was an inauguration, something to do with international relations. Remember as well, this inauguration was organised within a short period of time and the VP had to represent the country within that short time.

XN: So you are suggesting that when the VPs are going for scheduled trips they are supposed to use the normal system like ministers and others?

GC: Oh yes, that is the case.

XN: Lastly, when the president flew to Mutare and Chimanimani we saw a picture of a private helicopter delivering luxurious sofas to be used at the interface with victims of Cyclone Idai, what was the logic behind the act?

GC: (laughs) Did you verify that indeed that picture was from Zimbabwe? Did you verify that indeed the sofas were there in Chimanimani as is being alleged?

XN: There is a picture of a jet that supposedly delivered the sofas behind VP Chiwenga and from that point, one makes an easy conclusion thereof.

GC: You are a senior journalist and I expect better from you. Did you verify that indeed the picture you are referring to is authentic and the said act happened? Well, yes, we had a number of private jets that were there when the president visited Cyclone Idai victims, but let me say this: I was there too. At no point did we have a jet delivering the said sofas. The private jets that were there had no capacity to carry the said sofas. We had jets with a capacity to carry only four people. This is the reason we did not bother ourselves to respond to the lies peddled by people with ulterior motives.

XN: Thank you very much.

GC: Most welcome.

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A quiet community on the East Rand has been rocked by the death of a local businessman who kicked the bucket while having sex with his well-endowed nyatsi at a nearby bed and breakfast last week.

Pensioner and small-scale farmer Jottah Sibanda met his creator in the most dramatic fashion as he took his last breath while in the arms of his talented mistress of more than 20 years.

Sibanda, 67, according to what the woman told the police, took off like a stolen VW GTi on Tuesday morning last week but started tapering off before losing power and then started to struggle with his breathing when she started exhibiting her bedmatic skills. The woman then quickly wrapped herself in a towel and called for help.

Staffers at the B&B called an ambulance as well as police. The man was certified dead on the spot. The incident took place at a nameless B&B, which is two streets away from his home in the farming suburb of Putfontein in Benoni, while the mans wife was at work in Durban.

Gauteng police spokesperson Lungelo Dlamini said: Police are investigating an inquest docket [opened] after the deceased died at a plot, where no foul play was suspected. Once the postmortem results and other relevant statements have been obtained, the case will be forwarded to an inquest court for a decision.

When Sunday World visited the suburb this week, staffers at the B&B confirmed that the incident took place, saying the madala booked a room at 8am and paid R150. According to a police statement seen by Sunday World, officers found the man lying on the floor when they were taken to the room by the B&B security guard at 9am.

He [the police officer] was told by an African female [name witheld]  that she was busy having sex with Mr Jottah Sibanda and the deceased happened to be weak and he was not breathing well.

She then tried to assist him but he couldnt wake up. She called the security and the security called an ambulance; when the ambulance arrived they certified him dead, read the police statement.

When Sunday World visited Sibandas home, tenants who reside in a row of back rooms on his property said his wife and other family members were not available as they were in Zimbabwe to bury him.

They left yesterday [Tuesday] with his body. We understand that the funeral will be on Thursday in the village of Nswazi in Gwanda [a town situated more than 100km outside Bulawayo], said the tenant, who refused to be named.

When asked if he knew the cause of death, the tenant giggled and claimed that he heard Mr Sibanda died while having sex because he had taken vuka vuka [sex-enhancing] pills.

The tenant said Sibanda retired as a road maintenance manager in 2017 and has been farming cattle, sheep and crops.

When Sunday World visited the middled-aged nyatsi at her home in the nearby township of Etwatwa, she confirmed that she was in the presence of Sibanda when he checked out from this world but declined to comment further.

She said she needed the permission of Sibandas wife and family before she could grant an interview.

We must wait for them to come back from Zimbabwe then I will talk to them and tell them about your request. I dont have a problem to tell you what happened. I loved him, she said, with tears rolling down her face.

One of the womans neighbours said she and others were aware of the relationship between her and Sibanda as it had been going on for decades.

Even her children know about ubaba Sibanda, said the neighbour, asking to remain anonymous.

They started dating while he was still staying here in our kasi many years ago, she said.

 Sowetan

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By Jerri-Lynn Scofield, who has worked as a securities lawyer and a derivatives trader. She is currently writing a book about textile artisans.

A San Francisco jury found last Tuesday that Roundup  the glyphosate-based weedkiller  was a substantial cause  of the plaintiff Edwin Hardemans non-Hodgkins lymphoma, in the first of a three-phrase process, which focused only on scientific evidence.

Roundup is the largest selling herbicide in the world, originally developed and marketed by US agricultural company Monsanto. Following a $63 billion acquisition last June, Bayer, the German pharmaceuticals company better known for its aspirin, also assumed the Roundup legal liability.

On Wednesday, the same jury began the second trial phase, during which it will decide whether Bayer is liable. If the jury decides yes, the third and final phase would determine damages.

This is the second time since last August that a jury has found in favour of a Roundup plaintiff, according to the Wall Street Journals account, Monsanto Hit by $289 Million Verdict in Cancer Case. A judge scaled back the jury damages award to $78 million from $289 million; that earlier verdict is under appeal.

At least 11,200 further legal claims are pending  more than 760 in the same San Francisco federal district court that heard Hardemans case, as reported in U.S. Jury Hears More Evidence as Second Phase of Roundup Cancer Trial Begins by the New York Times.

Bayers Legal Tactics

The Grey Ladys coverage warns that this second verdict is a serious setback to the new trial strategy Bayer had adopted for the second proceeding in Jury Finding Upends Bayers Roundup Defense Strategy: Experts:

Bayer AG had hoped a new trial strategy focusing jurors on scientific evidence could stem a burgeoning tide of U.S. lawsuits over its glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup, but a second jury finding on Tuesday that the product caused cancer has narrowed the companys options, some legal experts said.  The jury decision was a blow to Bayer after the judge in the Hardeman case, at the companys request, had split the trial, severely limiting evidence plaintiffs could present in the first phase. Tuesdays defeat on terms considered advantageous to Bayer sets up the second phase to be even tougher and limits the grounds on which the company could appeal any final verdict, the experts said. The fact that Bayer lost this trial despite it being set up in the most favorable way for them is a huge setback, said Thomas Rohback, a Connecticut-based defense lawyer.

The Hardeman trial isnt yet over. The NYT account examines some of the relevant issues more fully, and I wont repeat all that analysis here. A key takeaway:

Bayers new strategy was focused on keeping out plaintiffs allegations that the company improperly influenced scientists, regulators and the public about the safety of Roundup. Bayer has denied it acted inappropriately and said in public statements following the August verdict that it thought the jury was inflamed by the claims of corporate misconduct. Vince Chhabria, the San Francisco federal judge overseeing the Hardeman case, agreed with the companys argument that such evidence was a distraction from the scientific question of whether glyphosate causes cancer. He agreed to split the trial in a January order. Had Bayer had won the first phase, there would have been no second phase looking at company liability. Now that it has lost, almost all of the previously excluded evidence can be presented to the jury.

On Wednesday when the second phase of the trial began thats exactly what the plaintiffs attorneys did, emphasizing, according to the NYT account:

Monsanto influenced the science around Roundup through its cozy relationship with regulators. Bayer could convince the jury in the second phase that, despite their finding that Roundup played a substantial role in Hardemans cancer, the company was not liable. Experts said that was unlikely.

Scope of Bayers Liability

Just as one swallow does not a summer make, so its too early to call a trend based on these two verdicts. The second action continues, and not only has Bayer not yet been found liable, but no damages have been awarded. Nor has the appeals processs even begun, let alone been exhausted.

So it is premature, to say the least, to attempt to calculate what potential legal liability Bayer may face. Six further Roundup cases are docketed for trial this year. The two pro-plaintiff rulings may prod other potential plaintiffs into bringing actions.

But Mr. Market is seriously reassessing the wisdom of Bayers decision to acquire Monsanto.

Last Wednesday, following announcement of the Hardeman verdict, Bayers shares plummeted by nearly 10%; the share price has declined a total of 35% since last Augusts verdict, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Bayer Shares Fall After Jury Finds Exposure to Roundup Helped Trigger Cancer.

And today, the NYT reported in Bayer CEO Says His Team Retains Backing of Supervisory Board-Report:

Bayers management retains the backing of its supervisory board, its chief executive said, after pressure on the company increased when a second jury in the United States ruled its glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer caused cancer.

Todays NYT account picks up on a report in the German press:

The share price is significantly impacted by the legal cases related to glyphosate in America, the discounts are greatly exaggerated, Chief Executive Werner Baumann told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FAS). The management board enjoys the full backing of the supervisory board, added Baumann, who has been Bayer CEO for almost three years.

As to the wisdom of acquiring Monsanto:

Baumann defended Bayers move to acquire Monsanto, saying it was and is a good idea, according to the FAS interview. Asked about a potential breakup of Bayer, Baumann said the group had a clear strategy based on three divisions  pharmaceuticals, crop science and consumer health. . Talk of a break-up has been fuelled since it emerged in December that activist fund Elliott had taken a stake.

Los Angeles County Stops Roundup Use

In the wake of these two jury verdicts, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has stopped the use of Roundup by county departments, according to this NBC News Los Angeles report, LA County Halts Use of Popular Weed Killer on County Property.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger recommended the moratorium on glyphosate  a main ingredient in the herbicide brand Roundup. I am asking county departments to stop the use of this herbicide until public health and environmental professionals can determine if its safe for further use in L.A. County and explore alternative methods for vegetation management, Barger said.

The motion to impose the moratorium, co-authored by Supervisor Sheila Kueh, also cited a growing body of scientific study questioning the of safety of the herbicide:

In a 2015 study led by 17 experts from 11 countries, the World Health Organizations International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that glyphosate should be classified as probably carcinogenic to humans,' Kuehl said. That conclusion makes it imperative that we question any long-term use of this controversial herbicide, and thats exactly what this motion calls for.

The US Environmental Protection Agency in 2017 concluded that the weedkiller is not likely to cause cancer in humans, according to NBC. California does not agree and sought instead  unsuccessfully  to get the maker to label Roundup with a warning.

Skepticism over the WHO position is not confined to the US. In December 2017, the European Food Safety Organization renewed approval for the use of glyphosate, for a further five years, according to Europa.

The waters are very muddy here, and it will take some time for some of this to clear.

For the time being, the WSJ ran a happy clappy piece, suggesting farmers have yet to abandon the product, Despite Rulings, Farmers Remain Loyal to Bayers Roundup:

Farmers are standing by Bayer AGs BAYRY -3.90% Roundup herbicide despite rulings from two juries that the worlds most widely used weedkiller caused cancer in plaintiffs. The chemical, used on the vast majority of corn, soybean and cotton acres planted in the U.S., remains prized by farmers for its low cost and effectiveness. I dont have any concerns with safety, said Danny Murphy, who raises soybeans and corn near Canton, Miss. Mr. Murphy on Wednesday was preparing to apply glyphosate to his soybean fields after a bout of wet weather over the past week delayed his work.

The Bottom Line

Roundup plaintiffs are just beginning to get their days in court. Bayer will need to expend significant money defending against these lawsuits.

In the meantime, entities such as LA County are likely to abandon use of Roundup.

And a tetchy Mr. Market may be unwilling to wait and see whether courts ultimately accept Bayers position that Roundup doesnt cause cancer.
Originally published at the Tax Justice Network

In Edition 87 of the March 2019 Tax Justice Network monthly podcast/radio show, the Taxcast (available on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify and other podcast platforms):

we discuss misleading reporting from the mainstream media on the financial crisis: it was overloaded with finance experts, fed us all sorts of misunderstandings about the financial crash, sold us the austerity narrative and omitted alternative solutions

Plus: two huge court case tax and social justice wins  firstly, an unprecedented case in Kenya by Tax Justice Network Africa regarding a double tax agreement between Kenya and the tax haven of Mauritius. Secondly, a US court has ruled that international financial institutions like the IMF and the World Bank CAN be sued when their development projects hurt communities

And were happy to report that the EU Commission WILL now investigate one of the cases exposed by the #LuxLeaks whistleblowersin last months Taxcast we joined the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in calling on the Competition Commissioner to prove there was no conflict of interest.

the way the mainstream media reported on the financial crisis, the structural explanations were largely missing from most media accounts, the deeper structural problems with the banking sector and issues around financialisation and how that affected the economy these werent really covered Mike Berry of Cardiff Universitys School of Journalism, Media and Culture and author of The Media,the Public and the Great Financial Crisis

Featuring:

Want to download and listen on the go? Download onto your phone or hand held device by clicking save link or download link here.

Want more Taxcasts? The full playlist is here and here. Or here.

Want to subscribe? Subscribe via email by contacting the Taxcast producer on naomi [at] taxjustice.net OR subscribe to the Taxcast RSS feed here OR subscribe to our youtube channel, Tax Justice TV OR find us on Acast, Spotify, iTunes or Stitcher.

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(Natural News) Eleven Asian elephants submerged in a mud pit for three days inside a wildlife reserve in Cambodia were rescued after a major group effort. The rescue of these animals prevented a tragedy for wildlife conservation.

Tan Setha, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)s technical adviser for the area said, These elephants represent an important part of the breeding population in Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, and their loss would have been a major blow for conservation. If the community had not come togetherthis would have been a tragedy.

The elephants were found trapped in a mud hole that was actually a bomb crater left over from the Vietnam War. The 10-feet deep crater had been enlarged by farmers to store water. Most likely, the elephants walked into the hole to drink but were unable to get out again.

Local farmers found the herd and immediately contacted the Department of Environment, who notified the WCS. This is a great example of everyone working together in Cambodia to save wildlife, said Dr. Ross Sinclair, Country Director of WCS. Too often the stories around conservation are about conflict and failure, but this one is about cooperation and success. That the last elephant to be rescued needed everyone to pull together on a rope to drag it to safety is symbolic of how we have to work together for conservation. Sinclair is referring to the groups last effort to rescue a baby elephant who was unable to climb out on its own, even after rescue workers pumped more water into the pit to loosen the sludge.

The herd consisted of three calves, three adult females, and five juveniles of various ages, including a male almost at its maturity. Losing these eleven animals would have been a devastating blow to Cambodian wildlife. It is thought that there are only a few hundred Asian elephants alive in the country to date.

Elephant conservation

Elephants are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)s red list. This is a world database of all animal species that are in danger of extinction. All three types of elephants (Asian, African forest, and African savanna) are at risk. WCS says that the elephant population is dropping at an alarming rate. Illegal hunting and habitat loss are to blame, along with the long gestational period of the animal. Elephants carry their young for nearly two years before giving birth. This is logical considering that elephants are the largest living and biggest-brained land animal in the world. However, this long gestation period is a factor that contributes to the decline in population; the loss of life caused by accidents, poaching, and lack of habitat is outpacing the natural re-population of the species. In terms of habitat loss, a 2013 PLOS ONE study showed that forest elephants in Central Africa suffered a 62 percent loss of population and a 30 percent loss of geographical range in only 10 years.

The goal of WCS, and other conservation groups, is to prevent illegal killing and reduce the amount of ivory trafficking around the world. This can be done by closely monitoring elephant numbers and threats to elephant habitats. The Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary (KSWS) in Cambodia  where this recent rescue was performed  is one of the key conservation sites for the Asian elephant. It has operated in the country for more than 15 years. The sanctuary also supports other important wildlife populations. The elephant conservation work in KSWS is supported by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Elephants are important to the ecosystem. This gentle, highly intelligent animal helps create new pathways for smaller animals to use and helps trees disperse their seeds. Several tree species rely solely on elephants for their seed dispersal. Elephant dung contains a number of seeds from which many types of grass, bushes, and trees grow.

*Photo credit: Japan Times: AFP PHOTO / KEO SOPHEAK / MONDULKIRI PROVINCE

Sources include:

ScienceDaily.com

DailyMail.co.uk

WCS.org

MNN.com

SaveTheElephants.org
(Natural News) In the wake of New Zealands worst mass murder, in which avowed eco-fascist and Communist Chinese sympathizer Brenton Tarrant killed 50 worshipers in two Christchurch mosques, the Leftist Kiwi government has responded predictably: by limiting speech and curbing gun rights.

In other words, the reaction of the government has been to punish the vast majority of its citizens for the actions of a single madman.

Because Tarrant live-streamed his attack on social media, the video immediately became available to anyone around the world who had access to the platform. Thats a big deal in New Zealand because of a law known as the Films Videos and Publications Classification Act, which relates to the censorship of books, films, videos, and other publications.

According to the New Zealand government website, the law targets for censorship any materials that, if published, would be injurious to the public good. Such material includes any that depicts harm to a persons body whether it involves infliction of pain or notor self-inflicted death, and conduct that, if imitated, would pose a real risk of serious harm to self or others or both. among other provisions.

Fine. New Zealand is a sovereign country. It can pass its own laws. That said, the countrys legal jurisdiction should end at its own shores, but in the connected world, thats not the case.

Because New Zealand forbids anyone to host or share Tarrants video, somehow that prohibition applies equally to American video hosting services as well  like Brighteon, the free-speech, anti-censorship platform built by Natural News founding editor Mike Adams, the Health Ranger.

In recent days, as Adams noted in a statement, Brighteon has been threatened with destruction if all versions of the video posted there were not immediately removed. The question is, why?

Is the video chilling? Yes. Does it portray unspeakable violence and death? Yes. Is it sadistic and cruel? No doubt. But its hosted on an American site, not a New Zealand site, so that shouldnt be an issue. While New Zealand doesnt have a First Amendment, America does and so as long as the end hosting site is on American soil, there should be nothing a speech Nazi from half a world away can do about it. (Related: Government authorities begin prosecuting Internet users who shared the New Zealand mosque attack video.)

And yet

Why are other platforms getting away with it?

Whats flagrantly ironic and hypocritical about this is that Netflix and other streaming services that use the same global Internet infrastructure can host and show similar content all day, every day. Whether the content that is being hosted and offered for streaming is fiction or real, Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and others arent facing global Internet censorship for it.

Does that kind material exist on the servers of mainstream video and streaming services? You bet it does. A person can view photographs of Civil War dead on Netflix; on YouTube, you can see actual footage of fighters in Syria the moment they are shot and killed; on Amazon, you can download or stream hundreds of graphic, violent movies or war documentaries; and so on.

So whats the problem? Is it that the Leftist New Zealand government doesnt want to upset Muslims? Okay, but on YouTube, you can see actual footage of Islamic State fighters executing captives by shooting them in the head. Is that okay?

Granted, you will encounter a graphic content warning for many of these videos, but the point is YouTube hasnt been threatened with being shut down or destroyed like Brighteon was over hosting Tarrants video. Whats the difference?

The excuse we are being given is that hosting or sharing the videos is promoting violence  an absurd claim on its face, Adams noted, adding that users can even see videos of Nazi soldiers torturing Jews in World War II concentration camps online.

Have we really reached the point where videos that show Jews being mass murdered are perfectly okay, but videos that show followers of Islam being murdered are criminalized?

Read more about the worldwide effort to censor and ban any content the globalists dont like at Banned.news and Globalism.news.

Sources include:

NaturalNews.com

NewsTarget.com

Legislation.govt.nz

YouTube.com

YouTube.com
(Natural News) Democrats have become predictable in their efforts to capitalize politically off the tragedy of others, so it didnt surprise us when a few of them came out in support of new gun bans in America following the horrific terrorist attacks on two mosques in New Zealand.

Following that horrific attack and without batting an eye, the Kiwi government, led by Leftist Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (who adorned herself in a hijab when visiting with Muslims following the attack), moved to immediately ban semi-automatic rifles of the kind used by shooter Brenton Tarrant, 28. There was no conversation with New Zealand citizens or the countrys other semi-automatic gun owners, none of whom were guilty of shooting anyone that day or any other day. There was no effort to compromise. There was no outreach to the countrys gun community. There was just this decree: We will ban these guns! And poof, it was done.

Thats just fine and dandy with Americas Democrats including perennial semi-auto gun banner Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California. Never one to miss an opportunity to grab more guns, Feinstein declared on Twitter, In country after country, massacres are followed by sweeping changes to gun laws, as logic would dictate. The United States needs to follow these examples and take action to protect Americans from this deadly public health scourge.

In addition, as Breitbart News gun issues correspondent Awr Hawkins reported, Feinstein attached a statement to her tweet which read, in part:

Here at home in America, since the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School, weve suffered through at least 227 school shootings that killed 143 and left 290 wounded. And those are just shootings at schools. Weve seen massacres at offices, churches, theaters, concerts, malls  all the places that Americans should feel safe, not threatened.

As Hawkins pointed out, of course, those shootings all occurred in gun-free zones where the killers knew they could fire on their victims without being worried that anyone was going to shoot back, at least until police arrived.

Action isnt good when its tyranny

Democratic Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who is learning the Democrat tactic of never allowing a good tragedy to go to waste, echoed Feinsteins call. She retweeted a story complaining about teachers training to deal with school shooting to call for bans on bump stocks, semiautos, & high cap mags designed to kill people.

You know, instead of training children, teachers, houses of faith, & concertgoers to prep for being shot, we could just: -Pass Universal Background checks (#HR8!)

-Disarm domestic abusers

-Mandate safe storage

-Ban bump stocks, semiautos, & high cap mags designed to kill people https://t.co/5SaLxEfYBT  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 22, 2019

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Independent who keeps running for the Democratic presidential nomination, also would like to see a New Zealand-style ban and, presumably, one that is brought about in the same manner  by decree.

This is what real action to stop gun violence looks like. We must follow New Zealands lead, take on the NRA and ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons in the United States, he tweeted.

This is what real action to stop gun violence looks like. We must follow New Zealand's lead, take on the NRA and ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons in the United States. https://t.co/lSAisDG9Ur  Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 21, 2019

In reality, this isnt what action looks like, its what tyranny looks like. Each of these Democrats, as well as Bernie the pretender Democrat, would  if they could  do exactly what PM Ardern and her Cabinet did: Enact gun control by decree, and in doing so, punish tens of millions of Americans while turning them into criminals overnight. (Related: How the media distorts the New Zealand shooting to protect radical Muslim jihadis while demonizing white people.)

Besides, lets look at the reality of what happened in New Zealand. Tarrant engaged in an act of terrorism; the objective of a terrorist is to force political change or destroy freedoms. Its unclear whether Tarrant had that as a motive for his attack, but it doesnt matter: His act of terrorism had the same effect of getting the government to take away some of his fellow citizens freedom.

If theres any lesson for Democrats to draw from New Zealand, however, its this: Gun bans wont be tolerated in America because our founding and our Constitution guarantee our right to keep and bear arms  and it shall not be infringed.

Read more about how Democrat-imposed gun confiscations would cause a civil war in America at CivilWar.news.

Sources include:

Breitbart.com

TheNationalSentinel.com

Twitter.com

Twitter.com
(Natural News) Warnings from concerned experts about the dangers of wireless communication devices like cellphones and tablets have been rumbling in the distance for some time now. And these warnings are becoming increasingly insistent as more evidence emerges linking this type of technology to brain, heart and other cancers.

The established health effects of the non-ionizing electromagnetic fields (EMFs) dispensed by these devices also include increased electrosensitivity, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), immune system disorders, infertility, asthma and neurological disorders  and thats with older, less damaging 2G, 3G and 4G technology.

Experts are incredibly worried about the effects of 5G, which is already being rolled out in several U.S. cities and is scheduled to be installed in countries around the world in the next few years. Consumers are excited about promises that 5G will facilitate downloads at up to 100 times greater speeds than 4G technology, all while providing more stable connections and greater capacity.

Those who know the potential dangers, however, are gravely concerned. As reported by Waking Times, a group of 250 scientists from over 40 countries recently handed in a petition to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN), warning about the scientifically proven dangers of EMFs. (Related: Studies confirm that potential risks of 5G wireless radiation are too serious to ignore.)

A scientific basis for concern

The international appeal, entitled Scientists Call for Protection from Non-Ionizing Electromagnetic Field Exposure, warns:

Based upon peer-reviewed, published research, we have serious concerns regarding the ubiquitous and increasing exposure to EMF generated by electric and wireless devices. These includebut are not limited toradiofrequency radiation (RFR) emitting devices, such as cellular and cordless phones and their base stations, Wi-Fi, broadcast antennas, smart meters, and baby monitors as well as electric devices and infra-structures used in the delivery of electricity that generate extremely-low frequency electromagnetic field (ELF EMF).

The scientists explain in the appeal that multiple studies by respected scientists have confirmed that EMF affects living organisms negatively, increasing cancer risk, causing genetic damage, changing the structure and function of the reproductive system, increasing the number of damaging free radicals in the body and generally having a negative impact on the well-being of humans.

Damage also extends beyond the human race, they explain, and there is growing evidence that EMFs have harmful effects on both plant and animal life.

The scientists say that there is more than enough reason for public health agencies like the WHO to take a firm stand and establish proper international guidelines for the safe use of the technology that modern society has become so reliant on:

These findings justify our appeal to the United Nations (UN) and, all member States in the world, to encourage the World Health Organization (WHO) to exert strong leadership in fostering the development of more protective EMF guidelines, encouraging precautionary measures, and educating the public about health risks, particularly risk to children and fetal development. By not taking action, the WHO is failing to fulfill its role as the preeminent international public health agency.

The scientists have urged the WHO and the UN to:

Ensure that women and children are protected;

Strengthen guidelines and regulatory standards regarding EMFs;

Encourage manufacturers to focus on developing safer technology;

Educate the public properly about the dangers of wireless technology;

Encourage governments to fund further scientific studies into the dangers of EMFs;

Enforce regulation that the media has to disclose possible conflicts of interest when citing opinions about the health and safety aspects of wireless technology; and

Establish radiation-free areas known as white zones.

Learn more about the dangers of electromagnetic fields at EMF.news.

Sources for this article include:

WakingTimes.com

EMFScientist.org
City officials are considering whether or not cannabis cafes should be allowed in San Diego.

Some cities have Cannabis lounges- a restaurant-like setting where patrons can pick pot from a menu, sit down and chat with friends.

The San Diego Economic Development Committee heard proposals for pot lounges last week. The meeting was for information purposes only and no vote was taken.

During the committee hearing Councilmember Chris Ward asked the city's independent budget analyst to conduct a study of consumption lounges and provide the results to the committee.

When we have a cool place like this where people can gather and participate in the legal market, thats ultimately going to take people away from the illicit market and bring revenue back to the city, said Dallin Young, a board member with the Association for Cannabis Professionals.

There are cannabis lounges in the Bay Area, Eureka, West Hollywood and Palm Springs. Most close by 10 p.m.

Many local businesses have come out with new pot products since legalization. Everything from marijuana-infused craft beer to cannabis coffee.

Young said there is not currently a place to enjoy these products. California law says that recreational cannabis can only be consumed in an owned home. He believes pot cafes could give people a safe place to consume.

"There's a big concern with drug-impaired driving," said Scott Chipman of San Diegans for Safe Neighborhoods. "The economic benefit would be far outweighed by the cost."

Chipman gives the example of the state of Colorado.

"They're spending way more on pot enforcement, impaired driving, medical bills and other things than the economic revenue and taxes coming in," said Chipman.

A study by the National Transportation Safety Board found that crashes are up as much as 6 percent in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington compared with nearby states that have not legalized recreational cannabis.

According to Forbes, California has had over $2.75 billion in cannabis sales since recreational marijuana was legalized.

Do you think there should be cannabis cafes in San Diego?
What to Know Climate skeptics have endorsed "both sides" approaches taken in the fight that began decades earlier over teaching evolution

The scientific consensus is that global warming is real and man-made

A Connecticut lawmaker wants to strike climate change from state science standards. A Virginia legislator worries teachers are indoctrinating students with their personal views on global warming. And an Oklahoma state senator wants educators to be able to introduce alternative ideas without fear of losing their jobs.

As climate change becomes a hotter topic in American classrooms, politicians around the country are pushing back against the scientific consensus that global warming is real and man-made.

Of the more than a dozen such measures proposed so far this year, some already have failed. But they have emerged this year in growing numbers, many of them inspired or directly encouraged by a pair of advocacy groups, the Discovery Institute and the Heartland Institute.

"You have to present two sides of the argument and allow the kids to deliberate," said Republican state Sen. David Bullard of Oklahoma, a former high school geography teacher whose bill, based on model legislation from the Discovery Institute, ran into opposition from science teachers and went nowhere.

Science education organizations and climate scientists have blasted such proposals for sowing confusion and doubt on a topic of global urgency.

"These efforts are dangerous and require vigilance in the academic community to make sure that they don't succeed," said Michael Mann, director of the Earth System Science Center at Penn State University.

He said the proposals reflect bad-faith efforts to undermine scientific findings that "prove inconvenient to vested interests, be they the fossil-fuel lobby or fundamentalist religious groups."

Some climate science skeptics have cast the debate as a matter of academic freedom.

James Taylor, a senior fellow at Heartland, an Illinois-based group that dismisses climate change, said it is encouraging well-rounded classroom discussions on the topic. The group, which in 2017 sent thousands of science teachers copies of a book titled "Why Scientists Disagree About Global Warming," is now taking its message directly to students. A reference book it is planning for publication this year will rebut arguments linking climate change to hurricanes, tornadoes and other extreme weather.

"We're very concerned the global warming propaganda efforts have encouraged students to not engage in research and critical thinking," Taylor said, referring to news reports and scientific warnings.

Neither Discovery nor Heartland discloses the identities of its donors.

Instruction on the topic varies widely from place to place, but climate change and how humans are altering the planet are core topics emphasized in the Next Generation Science Standards, developed by a group of states. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have adopted the standards, and 21 others have embraced some of the material with modifications.

Still, a survey released in 2016 found that of public middle- and high-school science teachers who taught something about climate change, about a quarter gave equal time to perspectives that "raise doubt about the scientific consensus."

Climate skeptics have endorsed approaches taken in the fight that began decades earlier over teaching evolution, in which opponents led by conservative Christians have long called for teaching both sides of the issue.

By early February, the Oakland, California-based nonprofit National Center for Science Education flagged over a dozen bills this year as threats to the integrity of science education, more than the organization typically sees in an entire year.

Several of them  including proposals in Oklahoma, North Dakota and South Dakota  had language echoing model legislation of the Seattle-based Discovery Institute, which says teachers should not be prohibited from addressing strengths and weaknesses of concepts such as evolution and global warming.

Similar measures became law in Louisiana in 2008 and Tennessee in 2012. In states where they may not be feasible politically, Discovery has urged legislators to consider nonbinding resolutions in support of giving teachers latitude to "show support for critical thinking" on controversial topics. Lawmakers in Alabama and Indiana passed such resolutions in 2017.

Discovery officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Florida state Sen. Dennis Baxley is pressing legislation that would allow schools to teach alternatives to controversial theories.

"There is really no established science on most things, you'll find," the GOP legislator said.

Elsewhere, lawmakers in Connecticut and Iowa, which both adopted the Next Generation Science Standards, have proposed rolling them back. Connecticut state Rep. John Piscopo, a Republican, said he wants to eliminate the section on climate change.

"It's one-sided, totally one-sided. The teachers are not able to teach," said Piscopo, a Heartland Institute member. "I want students to have the freedom to understand it's a scientific debate."

Other bills introduced this year in such states as Virginia, Arizona and Maine call for teachers to avoid political or ideological indoctrination of their students.

"If they're teaching about a subject, such as climate change, and they present both sides, that's fine. That's as it should be. A teacher who presents a skewed extension of their political beliefs, that's closer to indoctrinating. That's not good to kids," said Virginia state Rep. Dave LaRock, a Republican.
A Stanford student studying abroad in Spain died after he and fellow classmates went on a hike Friday.

Mischa Nee, a junior from Palo Alto, was hiking with other students in Mallorca when he separated from his group to explore a nearby hill.

Local authorities searched for Nee late Friday before discovering his body Saturday. Local news reports in Spain suggested Nee fell from a distance on rocky terrain, the university said in a statement.

"Nothing in our community is worse than the death of a student, and it is with deep sorrow that I share this news," said Susie Brubaker-Cole, vice provost for student affairs.

Stanford has been in touch with his family and with fellow students studying abroad in Mallorca and have initiated their international emergency response to provide support to students.

Nee was an undergraduate student majoring in computer science and planned to minor in art history.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday requiring U.S. colleges to protect free speech on their campuses or risk losing federal research funding.

The new order directs federal agencies to ensure that any college or university receiving research grants agrees to promote free speech and the exchange of ideas, and to follow federal rules guiding free expression.

"Even as universities have received billions and billions of dollars from taxpayers, many have become increasingly hostile to free speech and to the First Amendment," Trump said at a White House signing ceremony. "These universities have tried to restrict free thought, impose total conformity and shut down the voices of great young Americans."

The order follows a growing chorus of complaints from conservatives who say their voices have been stifled on campuses across the U.S. Joining Trump at the ceremony were students who said they were challenged by their schools while trying to express views against abortion or in support of their faith.

Trump initially proposed the idea during a March 2 speech to conservative activists, highlighting the case of Hayden Williams, an activist who was punched in the face while recruiting for the group Turning Point USA at the University of California, Berkeley. He invoked the case again Thursday, noting that Williams was hit hard "but he didn't go down."

Under the order, colleges would need to agree to protect free speech in order to tap into more than $35 billion a year in research and educational grants.

For public universities, that means vowing to uphold the First Amendment, which they're already required to do. Private universities, which have more flexibility in limiting speech, will be required to commit to their own institutional rules.

"We will not stand idly by to allow public institutions to violate their students' constitutional rights," Trump said. "If a college or university doesn't allow you to speak, we will not give them money. It's very simple."

Enforcement of the order will be left to federal agencies that award grants, but how schools will be monitored and what types of violations could trigger a loss of funding have yet to be seen. White House officials said details about the implementation will be finalized in coming months.

Many colleges have firmly opposed the need for an executive order. Following Trump's speech, Janet Napolitano, president of the University of California, said many schools are "ground zero" for the exchange of ideas.

"We do not need the federal government to mandate what already exists: our longstanding, unequivocal support for freedom of expression," she said. "This executive order will only muddle policies surrounding free speech, while doing nothing to further the aim of the First Amendment."

The American Council on Education, which represents more than 1,700 college presidents, called the order "a solution in search of a problem."

"No matter how this order is implemented, it is neither needed nor desirable, and could lead to unwanted federal micromanagement of the cutting-edge research that is critical to our nation's continued vitality and global leadership," said Ted Mitchell, the organization's president.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who has spoken against a government answer to campus speech issues, issued a statement that only briefly mentioned free speech, and instead largely focused on another part of the order dealing with transparency in college performance data.

Her statement said students "should be empowered to pursue truth through the free exchange of all ideas, especially ideas with which they may not agree. Free inquiry is an essential feature of our democracy, and I applaud the president's continued support for America's students."

The order was supported by conservative groups including Turning Point USA, which has pushed for action on the issue. In Trump's speech, he specifically thanked Charlie Kirk, the group's founder, who has pushed for action on the issue. On Twitter, Kirk called the order "historic," adding that while harassment by campus faculty is not uncommon, "it ends today!"

Several free speech groups raised concerns about the order, including the American Civil Liberties Union, which took issue with "the partisan nature of the administration's rollout of this executive order."

The top Republican on the Senate education committee, Sen. Lamar Alexander, said he supports the push for free speech but criticized Trump's approach.

"I don't want to see Congress or the president or the department of anything creating speech codes to define what you can say on campus," said Alexander, R-Tenn. "The U.S. Constitution guarantees free speech. Federal courts define and enforce it. The Department of Justice can weigh in."

Debate over campus free speech has flared in recent years following a string of high-profile cases in which protesters shut down or heckled conservative speakers, including at UC Berkeley and Middlebury College in Vermont. Republicans called hearings on the issue when they controlled both chambers, but proposed legislation backing campus speech never made it through committee.

Some colleges leaders have said they worry the order could backfire. If a speaking event threatens to turn violent, for example, some say they might have to choose between canceling the event for safety and allowing it to continue to preserve federal funding. Some say it could force religious universities to host speakers with views that conflict with the universities' values.

Still, the order has gained support from some religious institutions including Liberty University, a Christian school in Virginia whose leaders say they denounce censorship of either the left or right.

Separate from the free speech requirement, the order also calls for several measures meant to promote transparency in the student loan industry and in how well colleges prepare students.

By January 2020, Trump is directing the Education Department to create a website where borrowers can find better information about their loans and repayment options, and he's calling on the agency to expand its College Scorecard website to include data on the graduates of individual college programs, including their median earnings, loan debt and their default rates.

Trump, a Republican, also is asking the Education Department to prepare a policy that would make sure colleges "share the financial risk" that students and the federal government take on with federal student loans.
Special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election but reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. That brought a hearty claim of vindication from Trump but set the stage for new rounds of political and legal fighting.

The battle began Monday as White House aides and allies blanketed television news broadcasts to trumpet the findings and claim that Trump has been the victim in a probe that never should have started.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Trump will let Attorney General William Barr decide whether the special counsel's Russia report should be publicly released, though she adds that "he's more than happy for any of this stuff to come out."

Trump cheered the Sunday outcome but also laid bare his resentment after two years of investigations that have shadowed his administration. "It's a shame that our country has had to go through this. To be honest, it's a shame that your president has had to go through this," he said.

Democrats pointed out that Mueller found evidence for and against obstruction and demanded to see his full report. They insisted that even the summary by the president's attorney general hardly put him in the clear.

Mueller's conclusions, summarized by Barr in a four page letter to Congress, represented a victory for Trump on a key question that has hung over his presidency from the start  whether his campaign worked with Russia to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton.

That was further good news for the president on top of the Justice Department's earlier announcement that Mueller had wrapped his investigation without new indictments. That could deflate the hopes of Democrats in Congress and on the 2020 campaign trail that incriminating findings from Mueller would hobble the president's agenda and re-election bid.

But while Mueller was categorical in ruling out criminal collusion, he was more circumspect on presidential obstruction of justice. Despite Trump's claim of total exoneration, Mueller did not draw a conclusion one way or the other on whether he sought to stifle the Russia investigation through his actions including the firing of former FBI director James Comey.

According to Barr's summary, Mueller set out "evidence on both sides of the question" and stated that "while this report does not conclude the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

Barr, who was nominated by Trump in December, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in May 2017 and oversaw much of his work, went further in Trump's favor.

The attorney general said he and Rosenstein had determined that Mueller's evidence was insufficient to prove in court that Trump had committed obstruction of justice to hamper the probe. Barr has previously voiced a broad view of presidential powers, and in an unsolicited memo last June he cast doubt on whether the president could have obstructed justice through acts  like firing his FBI director  that he was legally empowered to take.

Barr said their decision was based on the evidence uncovered by Mueller and not affected by Justice Department legal opinions that say a sitting president cannot be indicted.

Mueller's team examined a series of actions by the president in the last two years to determine if he intended obstruction. Those include his firing of Comey one week before Mueller's appointment, his public and private haranguing of then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation because of his work on the campaign, his request of Comey to end an investigation into Michael Flynn, the White House's first national security adviser, and his drafting of an incomplete explanation about his oldest son's meeting with a Russian lawyer during the campaign.

Mueller's findings absolve Trump on the question of colluding with Russia but don't entirely remove the legal threats the president and associates are facing. Federal prosecutors in New York, for instance, are investigating hush-money payments made to two women during the campaign who say they had sex with the president. Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, implicated Trump in campaign finance violations when he pleaded guilty last year.

The special counsel's investigation did not come up empty-handed. It ensnared nearly three dozen people, senior Trump campaign operatives among them. The probe illuminated Russia's assault on the American political system, painted the Trump campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails to hurt Hillary Clinton and exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.

Thirty-four people, including six Trump aides and advisers, were charged in the investigation. Twenty-five are Russians accused of election interference either through hacking into Democratic accounts or orchestrating a social media campaign to spread disinformation on the internet.

Sunday's summary  and its suggestion that Mueller may have found evidence in support of obstruction  sets up a fight between Barr and Democrats, who called for the special counsel's full report to be released and vowed to press on with their own investigations.

"Attorney General Barr's letter raises as many questions as it answers," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.

"Given Mr. Barr's public record of bias against the special counsel's inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report," they said. Trump's own claim of complete exoneration "directly contradicts the words of Mr. Mueller and is not to be taken with any degree of credibility," they added.

Trump was at his Florida estate when lawmakers received the report. Barr's chief of staff called Emmet Flood, the lead White House lawyer on the investigation, to brief him on the findings shortly before he sent it to Congress. Mueller submitted his report to Barr instead of directly to Congress and the public because, unlike independent counsels such as Ken Starr in the case of President Bill Clinton, his investigation operated under the close supervision of the Justice Department.

Barr did not speak with the president, Mueller was not consulted on the letter, and the White House does not have Mueller's report, according to a Justice Department official.

Though Mueller did not find evidence that anyone associated with the Trump campaign coordinated with the Russian government, Barr's summary notes "multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign."

That's a likely reference not only to a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting at which Donald Trump. Jr. expected to receive damaging information on Clinton from a Kremlin-connected lawyer, as well as a conversation in London months earlier at which Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos was told Russia had "dirt" on Clinton in the form of thousands of stolen emails.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, said Congress needs to hear from Barr about his decision and see "all the underlying evidence." He said on Twitter, "DOJ owes the public more than just a brief synopsis and decision not to go any further in their work."

Barr said that Mueller "thoroughly" investigated the question of whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia's election interference, issuing more than 2,800 subpoenas, obtaining nearly 500 search warrants and interviewing 500 witnesses. Trump answered some questions in writing, but refused to be interviewed in person by the Mueller team.

Barr said Mueller also catalogued the president's actions including "many" that took place in "public view," a possible nod to Trump's public attacks on investigators and witnesses.

In the letter, Barr said he concluded that none of Trump's actions constituted a federal crime that prosecutors could prove in court.

____

Associated Press writers Jonathan Lemire in New York, Deb Riechmann in Palm Beach, Florida, and Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.
NOTE: Watch the start and finish line cameras in the player above beginning at 8:30 a.m. Sunday.

Thousands of runners will cross the finish line at the 2019 Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle 8K this weekend, but if you can't be there to watch it in person, we've got you covered.

Whether you're at work, on the go or at home you can watch complete live coverage of the race, including start and finish line coverage, on the NBC Chicago app. You can also watch NBC 5 for live reports of the race kickoff and winners.

We will offer a live stream with complete coverage of both the start and finish lines beginning at 8:30 a.m. online and in the app. The coverage will continue until 11 a.m.

The first wave of runners steps off at 8:30 a.m. with a second wave beginning at 9 a.m.

This year's Shamrock Shuffle, which marks the 40th anniversary of the popular race, will once again take runners on a route through downtown Chicago, starting and ending in Grant Park. The shuffle is known as the unofficial kickoff to outdoor running season in Chicago.
Sen. Bernie Sanders kicked off his presidential campaign Saturday miles from the rent-controlled apartment where he grew up in Brooklyn and forcefully made the case that he is nothing like fellow New Yorker Donald Trump, proclaiming himself the Democrat best prepared to beat the incumbent in 2020.

"My experience as a child, living in a family that struggled economically, powerfully influenced my life and my values. I know where I came from," Sanders boomed in his unmistakable Brooklyn accent. "And that is something I will never forget."

The Democrats in the 2020 race have taken varied approaches to Trump, with some avoiding saying his name entirely, while others make implicit critiques of his presidency. Sanders has never shied from jabbing Trump in stark terms, and during his speech at Brooklyn College, he called Trump "the most dangerous president in modern American history" and said the president wants to "divide us up."

The Vermont senator positioned himself in opposition to Trump administration policies from immigration to climate change. Beyond the issues themselves, Sanders, who grew up in the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Flatbush in a middle-class family, drew a stark contrast between himself and the billionaire in the White House who hails from Queens.

"I did not have a father who gave me millions of dollars to build luxury skyscrapers, casinos and country clubs," said Sanders, who has lived in Vermont for decades. He pegged his allowance as a kid at 25 cents a week.

Sanders also said he "did not come from a family of privilege that prepared me to entertain people on television by telling workers, 'You're fired.'"

"I came from a family who knew all too well the frightening power employers can have over every day workers," he added.

More than 200 miles away in suburban Washington, Trump reveled in his 2016 victory and said Republicans "need to verify it in 2020 with an even bigger victory."

While Trump didn't mention Sanders explicitly in a two-hour speech, he railed against the policies of "socialism" in a continued attempt to portray Democrats as out of touch with ordinary Americans. Sanders is a self-described democratic socialist.

"Socialism is not about the environment, it is not about justice, it is not about virtue. It is only about one thing - it is called power for the ruling class," Trump said. "We know the future does not belong to those who believe in socialism"

Speaking at the same conference Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence called Sanders an "avowed socialist."

Sanders enters the race at a moment that bears little resemblance to when he waged his long-shot bid in 2016. Democrats have been mobilized by the election of Trump and are seeking a standard-bearer who can oust him from office. Many of Sanders' populist ideas have been embraced by the mainstream of the Democratic party. The field of Democrats that he joins includes a number of liberal candidates, most notably Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who share similar sensibilities.

As Sanders launched his campaign in Brooklyn, Warren was campaigning in Waterloo, Iowa and was questioned repeatedly about Sanders. Though the two have been friends since before they came to the Senate, Warren did not endorse Sanders in 2016, a decision that angered his supporters.

"I'm going to be blunt - we can't go back and relitigate 2016," she told a voter who asked why she declined to back Sanders. "We've gotta keep our focus on how we're going to win in 2020."

Later asked by reporters how she'll distinguish herself from Sanders, she said she would focus on issues, and emphasized the need for the Democratic field to stick together.

"The way I see it, I got plenty to talk about as it is  about the structural change we need in this country and laying out how we can do this. This is hopeful. People come and they hear what's broken, that we can fix it and that we do it together."

Sanders' rally was his first campaign event since announcing a week ago that he would run against for the White House. Hours before his speech in Brooklyn College's East Quad, a line of supporters snaked down the snowy streets.

A reggae band played before Sanders spoke, and he was introduced by a number of supporters including Nina Turner, the former Ohio state senator who is a co-chair of Sanders' campaign this year, and Shaun King, the writer and civil rights activist.

King cited Sanders' participation in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, when he was a student at the University of Chicago.

"This is the origin story of an American revolutionary," King said of Sanders, who will return to Chicago on Sunday evening for a second campaign rally, where he's expected to further highlight his own activism.

Paul Crewdson, 37, of Brooklyn, came to the rally carrying a hand-drawn cardboard sign that read, "Win Michigan, Win Ohio, Win Wisconsin."

"I think this was the reason that Democrats lost in 2016," he said.

As he began his speech, Sanders himself hinted at how he sees the race, a campaign that runs beyond the battlegrounds. "This is a 50-state campaign," he said. "We will not concede a single state to Donald Trump."

Associated Press writers Alexandra Jaffe, Kevin Freking and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.
Connecticut lawmakers are poised to cast the first vote of the legislative session on a bill that could legalize recreational marijuana in Connecticut.

The General Law Committee is scheduled to vote Monday on legislation establishing a new Cannabis Control Commission within the Department of Consumer Protection. It would regulate the industry, issue licenses and study outstanding issues, such as whether consumers should be able to grow their own marijuana.

The bill spells out many details of a proposed legalized system, such as limiting consumption to people who are at least 21 and prohibiting the sale of cannabis via products and packaging designed to attract children.

While several marijuana-related bills are under consideration, it remains unclear if legalization will ultimately pass.

Lawmakers in neighboring Rhode Island are also debating whether to legalize recreational marijuana.
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The mother of a toddler whose disappearance prompted the biggest criminal investigation in Maine history says she's been unable to locate the father.

In a Facebook post that has gone viral, Trista Reynolds wrote that no one can find Justin DiPietro, who reported then-20-month-old Ayla Reynolds missing in 2011 in Waterville.

Court documents show DiPietro's last known address was in Winnetka, California.

State police have long believed the girl is dead, and a judge declared her legally dead in 2017.

Reynolds has blamed DiPietro for the toddler's death. But the body has never been found and no charges have been filed.

Last year, Reynolds filed a wrongful death lawsuit but she says her team is running out of time to serve DiPietro with legal papers. She asked for information about his whereabouts in her social media plea.

Maine toddler Ayla Reynolds has been missing for five years, and her mother says she may have to wait even longer for answers in her daughters death.

Reynolds also said she seeks to depose DiPietro's sister and his ex-girlfriend, who were with DiPietro at the time of Ayla's disappearance. Investigators say those three people have not been forthcoming and may hold the key to the case.

"I hope they do kind of contradict each other [in their testimony] and someone slips," Reynolds said in 2017. "I hope somebody tells the truth."
In an unusual step, China's ceremonial legislature is due to endorse a law meant to help end a bruising tariff war with Washington by discouraging officials from pressuring foreign companies to hand over technology.

The battle with China's biggest trading partner is overshadowing the National People's Congress, the country's highest-profile event of the year. It brings 3,000-plus delegates to the ornate Great Hall of the People in Beijing to endorse the ruling Communist Party's economic and social welfare plans.

The congress will go on for two weeks.

It gives President Xi Jinping's government a platform for advertising changes aimed at ending the fight with President Donald Trump that has disrupted trade in goods from soybeans to medical equipment.
Special counsel Robert Mueller was clear that he did not find "that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election," the attorney general told Congress Sunday.

But an NBC News analysis noted that Mueller, a Vietnam combat veteran, surprised many who know him by punting on another key issue. He left to Attorney General William Barr, who had criticized the Mueller probe before taking office, the question of whether there was sufficient evidence that President Donald Trump obstructed justice.

Gregory Brower, a former top FBI official, said it was curious that Mueller didn't step into the obstruction issue, because the "point of the special counsel was to (mostly) take the investigative and prosecutorial decisions away from the Trump appointees."

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., tweeted that he would call Barr to testify about his decision.
U.S. business groups said Friday they are encouraged by China's approval of a new law that loosens restrictions on foreign investment and said it could help smooth the way to a substantive trade agreement between the two countries.

China's ceremonial legislature passed a measure Thursday seeking to prevent Chinese officials from forcing U.S. and other foreign companies to turn over proprietary technology, a key sticking point in the trade fight between the two countries.

The U.S. has imposed tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods in an effort to force changes to a range of China's economic policies. China has retaliated by slapping duties on most U.S. imports.

"It's one of those confidence building measures," Erin Ennis, senior vice president of the U.S.-China Business Council, said of the move by Chinese legislators. It suggests "the two sides are talking the same language."

U.S. companies have long complained that Chinese officials informally push them to turn over trade secrets in order to access China's market. In some cases U.S. businesses are required to form a joint venture with a Chinese partner, and share technology with them. In other cases, U.S. companies are forced to provide trade secrets to win regulatory approval from local officials, who then turn over those secrets to Chinese firms.

The Trump administration also wants China to reign in subsidies for state-owned firms and for companies that are focused on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and self-driving cars.

The new law would bar Chinese officials from leaking technology to Chinese firms, and would also make it easier for more U.S. companies to do business in China without a partner.

Still, it's not clear how close the two sides are to an agreement. Earlier this week, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer told a Senate committee that "there still are major, major issues that have to be resolved."

Ennis said China needs to publish regulations that would implement the new law, a step they have delayed taking in the past.

Lighthizer has emphasized that the agreement must include enforcement provisions that would allow the U.S. to impose tariffs or other sanctions if China doesn't follow through on its promises. That remains a key sticking point between the two sides, business lobbyists have said.

Lighthizer sketched out how the United States wants to enforce the deal in his testimony Tuesday. U.S. companies that are forced to turn over technology, for example, could bring that concern to U.S. officials, who would raise them in monthly meetings with their Chinese counterparts. Lighthizer and his Chinese counterpart would meet every six months and seek to resolve the toughest cases.

If they were unable to do so, Lighthizer said, the U.S. could "unilaterally act to enforce change," which would likely mean tariffs. The Trump administration wants China to agree to not retaliate, but that is a major sticking point.

Still, both presidents want a deal, business lobbyists say.

"We are cautiously optimistic that the two sides are going to get there," said Jeremie Waterman, president of the U.S. Chamber China Center. "They're clearly whittling the number of outstanding issues down."

Some business groups think an agreement, if it is reached, won't happen until the end of April.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday at the White House, "We'll have news on China probably one way or the other over the next three or four weeks."
Tucked neatly into locked case atop James Wilburn Wilson's cabinet of World War II memorabilia is a grim reminder of why his service was so important.

The Daily Sentinel reports there, the 92-year-old keeps a well-worn and yellowed copy of an American-produced pamphlet once distributed to German civilians about the horrors of concentration camps.

"They claimed they didn't know about it. Everybody knew better. General Patton made them take a copy of this. Every one of them. He passed out thousands of those things," Wilson said.

The pamphlet is titled KZ -- the Nazi code for concentration camps -- and the text is entirely in German. Thousands of copies were printed, but only a handful are known to still exist, according to rare bookseller Abe Books.

As a member of the 26th Infantry Division, Wilson joined in the liberation of a series of more than 100 concentration camps known as the Mauthausen-Gusen Complex on May 4, 1945.

"I was in two different camps and helped liberate them," he said. "I don't know the names of them. Half the time I didn't even know where I was at."

After capturing Linz, Austria, in May 1945 the men of the Yankee Division set forth on the camps largely filled with Jews, Catholics from Poland and Soviet prisoners of war.

"That's sickening to see people in the shape they were in. I gave them everything I had to eat. Some of them were so weak they couldn't get around. It was sickening. That made me hate the Germans more. I didn't mind shooting them after that," Wilson said.

Wilson's shelves of memorabilia also feature photographs, Nazi buttons, bayonets and shoulder patches, all of which tell their own story.

He's also got a shadowbox full of medals that took decades to get after his military records were lost.

Part of that loss happened when the National Personnel Records Center in Overland, Missouri, burned in 1973, but the rest came from the results of seasickness, measles, and the butt of an M1 carbine.

Wilson's life in the Army, like so many young men during World War II, began with the draft.

"When I got 18, they didn't lose no time calling me to Tyler to be examined," he said.

The Army saw potential and soon sent him to Little Rock, Arkansas, where he trained as a machine gunner. Uncle Sam gave him a 47-inch Browning Automatic Rifle, or BAR, and sent him on his way to Europe.

He hadn't even made landfall before he came under attack. Wilson's not sure if the boat hit a mine or was hit by a German bombardment that happened the same day.

"I was in a little destroyer from Houston. It got a hole blown in the front that you could drive a truck in," Wilson said.

Unscathed in the attack, Wilson got severely seasick.

"About a week before we got over there, they took me up to the hospital. They had put me on guard duty; I could much less stand up than go on guard duty," he said.

He caught up with his unit sometime after the Allied invasion of France while Americans were working to break the Siegfried Line. Most of the men in the Yankee division were from the Northeast.

"Naturally, I didn't get along with too many of them Yankees in there. I had a rough time I'll tell you -- fighting with the Germans and fussing with my comrades."

Wilson also ended up ditching his heavy BAR for a much lighter M1 carbine. It was a move he was glad for in the winter when the snow began to fall.

"The snow was waist deep. I tell you it was rough. My feet froze, but that was OK. You kept a-going. Finally, I got shrapnel in my side. The medics thought they dug all that out, and about a week later I took the German measles. That sent me back to the hospital," he said.

After recovering, Wilson went to work at what he calls a "rehabilitation center," knocking down a brick wall with a sledge hammer. One day a truck rolled through headed back to the front. He decided it was time to go and went to retrieve his records from the headquarters office. The lieutenant was out to lunch.

"There was a little old fuzzy-tailed private who had just come overseas. I don't think he was even 18. He didn't look it."

The private told Wilson he would have to wait.

They argued.

"I had that carbine and I swung the butt against the side of his head. He fell back on the floor and I got on the truck," Wilson said.

Back at the front, Wilson was offered a job as a messenger. He accepted, and spent the rest of the war running messages back and forth between headquarters and the front lines.

"I went for a couple months and I didn't get no pay. I went in to my company commander and he said, `Who are you?' He had no record of me."

Toward the end of the war, the Yankee Division moved into Czechoslovakia where they surrounded the Nazis along the Vlatava River.

"The Russians were on the other side of the Germans, and they were closing in. I still say that's why they surrendered. The Russians were fighting them on one side and we were fighting them on the other. They didn't have nowhere to go," he said.

There came the happiest moment of the war.

"The Germans came in and started stacking their guns up and throwing tents. They lined up as far as you could see," he said. "That was the best thing. I enjoyed seeing them stacking those guns up."

Wilson's records never caught up with him. When the war was over, his commander said he couldn't be sent home yet, and Wilson was assigned to work as a cook in an officer's mess hall in Vienna, Austria.

After the war, Wilson went to work for NIBCO where he retired as a master mechanic. He also spent years competing in shooting sports, archery and drag racing.

His crash helmet? A Nazi helmet painted white with the image of Spooky the tuff little ghost.
Investigators say a Houston police officer has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of his librarian wife.

Pearland police said in a statement that the body of 52-year-old Belinda Hernandez was located Saturday by a relative at her home in the Houston suburb. Her husband, 56-year-old Sgt. Hilario Hernandez, was arrested later that day some 230 miles (370 kilometers) away in Kingsville, Texas.

Police say the victim was a librarian at Shadycrest Elementary School.

Pearland police Officer Jason Wells said Sunday that Hernandez is being returned to Brazoria County from Kleberg County, where he was arrested. Wells was unable to provide information on bond or an attorney representing Hernandez.

Kleberg County sheriff's officials didn't immediately return messages Sunday. Houston police also didn't immediately return a message for comment.
To help make sure you stay informed on the most shared and talked about stories across North Texas, each Saturday and Sunday we'll revisit 5 stories from the previous week and capsulize them in this digest with the most recent updates.

In our 5+5 format, we published the first 5 on Saturday morning, while you can find the second five below.

College Student Murdered in Fort Worth Fight Involving 50 People: Police

Police are investigating the Sunday night shooting death of an 18-year-old college student killed during a fight involving as many as 50 people at a Fort Worth apartment complex. As of this writing no one has been arrested and a suspect has not been named. Click here to read more about this story.

An 18-year-old college student was shot and killed at a south Fort Worth apartment complex Sunday night after someone pulled out a gun in a fight involving as many as 50 people, police said.

Human Bones Found on DFW Airport Property Identified

Skeletal remains found in January on Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport property have been identified as a 48-year-old man, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office. Click here to read more about this story.

Frank Heinz, NBC 5 News

North Richland Hills Police Recover 100-Year-Old Stolen Swing, Family Heirloom

A 100-year-old swing and family heirloom stolen from a home in North Richland Hills over the weekend was recovered by police and returned to the family Tuesday. "I was just shocked," said Matt Gildon, the great-grandson of the man who built the swing. Click here to read more on the story and how the swing was found.

A 100-year-old swing and family heirloom that was stolen from a home in North Richland Hills over the weekend was recovered by police and returned to the family Tuesday.

Local Whataburger Team to Compete in 'Whatagames'

A Whataburger crew in north Texas is one of 22 teams selected to compete in the 'Whatagames.' Click here to read more about this story.

A Whataburger crew in north Texas is one of 22 teams selected to compete in the 'Whatagames.'

Wallaby, Yes a Wallaby, Captured in Dallas

Officers with Dallas Animal Control captured a wallaby on a leisurely jaunt in the east Dallas neighborhood of Lakewood Wednesday morning. Click here to read more about this story.

Officers with Dallas Animal Control captured a wallaby on a leisurely jaunt in the east Dallas neighborhood of Lakewood Wednesday morning.
What to Know New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft issued his first statement Saturday since he was charged last month.

"I am truly sorry," his statement read.

Kraft was charged in February with soliciting prostitution at a Florida spa.

Robert Kraft issued his first statement on Saturday since being charged with soliciting prostitution last month, and Pats fans are not holding this one against him.

The New England Patriots owner says he's been wanting to get this off his chest for the past month, and he finally got to do so in a statement released Saturday.

"I am truly sorry. I know I have hurt and disappointed my family, my close friends, my co-workers, our fans and many others who rightfully hold me to a higher standard," his statement said.

"Throughout my life, I have always tried to do the right thing. The last thing I would ever want to do is disrespect another human being. I have extraordinary respect for women; my morals and my soul were shaped by the most wonderful woman, the love of my life, who I was blessed to have as my partner for 50 years."

Kraft said in his statement that he had been wanting to apologize since charges were filed against him but had to remain silent "in deference to the judicial process."

"I expect to be judged not by my words, but by my actions. And through those actions, I hope to regain your confidence and respect," his statement concluded.

Meanwhile, fans are sticking by him.

"The fact that he apologized shows he's truly sorry and he's owning up to his mistakes," one fan said.

Longtime Pats fan Harry Binzan believes Kraft is a good person.

"I think, personally, that prostitution should be legal," Binzan said.

He hopes this will shine a light on the larger issue.

"I'm hoping that would help young ladies and even men who are involved in that, who are the victims, get help," Binzan said.

Niman Kankre says Kraft's status is what shines a light on this case.

"When you're a person that's in the public eye like this, that's responsible for such a huge entity like the Patriots, I think that there's some responsibility that comes with that. And what makes his missteps kind of worse," Kankre said. "He needs to take responsibility."

NBC10 Boston legal analyst Michael Coyen says Kraft's statement could be the first step in Kraft taking a plea deal. The deal would require him to enter a diversion program, but all charges would be dropped.

"He would complete a short program of education, pay a fine and the charge ultimately will be expunged, as they would for most first-time offenders," Coyen said.

So far, Kraft has pleaded not guilty to two counts of solicitation.

"People in all walks of life have made major mistakes," Kankre said.

"As long as he's sincere, let's move on from it," Binzan said.

On Friday, an attorney for New England Patriots owner told ESPN a video of his client at a Florida spa, where he allegedly solicited prostitution, was obtained illegally.

Adam Schefter of ESPN tweeted a statement from attorney William Burck Friday evening.

"There was no human trafficking and law enforcement knows it. The video and the traffic stop were illegal and law enforcement just doesn't want to admit it," Burck said, according to Schefter. "The state attorney needs to step up and do the right thing and investigate how the evidence in this case was obtained."

William Snyder, sheriff of Martin County, Florida, told CNBC Thursday that he expects the "explicit, sexual and graphic" content on the surveillance videos to be made public.

"I watched and just left the room," Snyder said. "There is nothing to see. It's pretty ugly."

Kraft, 77, is one of hundreds charged in in the Palm Beach County prostitution sting. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of solicitation. Prosecutors have reportedly offered to drop the charges if Kraft and the other suspects admit they would have been found guilty at trial, complete a course and 100 hours of community service. The deal also reportedly stipulates that the suspects be screened for sexually transmitted diseases.

After the charges were announced on Feb. 22, a spokesperson said, "We categorically deny that Mr. Kraft engaged in any illegal activity."

The spotlight will be on Kraft Sunday as the NFL kicks off its annual league meeting in Phoenix, Arizona.
Beto O'Rourke leaves room for voters to decide for themselves what he is and what he could be.

He's Bobby Kennedy and Barack Obama. He's nothing new. He'd be a great vice president. He's a man whose candidacy will be a melted candle in a matter of months. He's exactly what this nation needs.

In interviews with more than 30 voters as O'Rourke campaigned for president in New Hampshire this week, the former Texas congressman meant conflicting things to different voters, though passion, one way or the other, was much more common than any semblance of passivity.

There's still plenty of time before the state's first-in-the-nation primary, and O'Rourke has a lot of convincing to do if he wants to make a dent in the large 2020 Democratic primary field.

"We're blessed with so many good candidates," said Kathleen O'Donnell, a 55-year-old attorney, as she waited through an hourlong delay for O'Rourke to arrive for his first event over a two-day visit. "So, it's like, 'Well, why are you doing this?'"

The O'Rourke experience, as it rolled through New Hampshire, happened the way some Democrats fear has become the candidate's trademark: He can play it "too cute," they say, with his informal style and approach to social media and campaigning.

Others acknowledged that he's the kind of guy voters know they've seen before but want to see again. The concerns that he is high on charisma but light on policy are there, however.

O'Rourke is clearly very bright, said 72-year-old retired teacher Linda Fuerst. He knows how to move people, how to charm people.

"And he's very appealing," she said. "But I have no idea, really, what his substance is. So, I'm just not going to let myself go for him just because I like him."

If criticism of any kind bothers O'Rourke, he doesn't show it.

"I'm trying to do better," he told a crowd of reporters, a common refrain from event to event.

Some saw that as a cop-out, a rookie move from a novice candidate.

Others saw it as another sign of authenticity, the kind they find from a man who will stand on a chair and talk to a crowd that has spilled out from an at-capacity venue in the hope of getting what they came to see.

They don't mind that he lost the U.S. Senate race in Texas to Republican Ted Cruz last fall and is now running for president. The loss comes off to them like a proud battle scar rather than a mortal wound for the future.

New Hampshire voters have long memories. They're willing to fall in love, but not right away. They've been burned before and know it could happen again.

Walking away from O'Rourke's events, some voters filled in the gaps in his resume with what they can't explain.

"He's got it," several said after seeing him in person for the first time.

Gino Funicella, a 77-year-old who works in marketing, left O'Rourke's stop at a brewery saying he'll support him.

"I definitely think he'll be president," Funicella said. "And I don't know why. I just feel that."

He's the kind of candidate who has young voters, who weren't alive for the likes of John or Bobby Kennedy and barely remember the rise of Obama, thinking of the Democratic icons who have come before him.

"I was really young when Obama started running, but I definitely see a lot of Obama vibes," said Tim Ennis, a 19-year-old college student wearing a "Beto for Texas" shirt who drove from Massachusetts to see O'Rourke speak in Keene.

"I love history, so I really get a lot of Bobby Kennedy or JFK vibes from him, especially with Bobby's kind of energizing movements to young people," Ennis said. "I definitely see that in Beto's candidacy."

If one thing is clear so far, it's that O'Rourke can draw a crowd.

All his public events in New Hampshire were advertised by his campaign the same way: "Space is limited."

"We will be back!" O'Rourke told the last crowd of his New Hampshire trip that had spilled out onto the street outside a coffee shop in Laconia. "We will find a larger space."

O'Rourke isn't the only 2020 Democratic candidate with packed rooms and fans wanting photos. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont received similar receptions.

Some say O'Rourke is a student of politics at a time when his competitors are tenured professors. They've run for president before (Sanders). They've run more statewide races (Harris). They actually were tenured professors (Warren).

He's a work in progress, he's well aware. But people who have warmed to O'Rourke don't seem to mind.

"We'd love to see you in the White House," 76-year-old John Law, a retired government worker, told O'Rourke as he waded through a crowd of onlookers and into a coffee shop.

Law didn't stick around to see O'Rourke's last speech. The coffee shop was too full.

Besides, Law had already gotten the face time he wanted with O'Rourke.

"I like his thoughts," Law said. "I like the way he speaks."

Other voters, like 70-year-old college professor Leslie Smith, watched O'Rourke's speech from the street outside the venue where his voice could barely be heard.

She could tick off what made O'Rourke so appealing from a curbside view: He's got lots of energy, he's very good-looking, he's young, he's got a cool name.

"But God, the country needs more than that," she said.
The way Felix Sater tells it, his life is a screenplay just waiting to be written, with tales of drunken brawling, Wall Street rip-offs, international spying and a behind-the-scenes role in Donald Trump's effort to build a skyscraper in Russia.

Sater, a Soviet emigre who befriended Trump in the 2000s and helped push the Trump Tower Moscow project during the 2016 presidential campaign, hasn't shied away from his past on both the right and wrong sides of the law, even as he has become a key figure in the House Democrats' investigations into Trump's ties to Russia.

Sater, 53, is due to testify in public Wednesday before the House Intelligence Committee about his dealings with the Trump Organization and the Moscow discussions. That will be followed the next day by questioning behind closed doors before the House Judiciary Committee.

So just who is Felix Sater?

When he was in his late 20s, Sater served 15 months in jail and permanently lost his stockbroker's license for stabbing a man in the face with the stem of a broken margarita glass at a Manhattan bar. They were arguing over a woman neither of them knew, Sater said.

A few years later, in 1998, Sater turned state's evidence against New York's Genovese and Bonanno crime families after getting caught in a $40 million pump-and-dump stock fraud, in which shady brokers drove up the price of stocks they secretly owned and then sold them, causing prices to crater and wiping out unsuspecting investors.

He has also boasted of his exploits in the spy game, joking privately that he is "the Jewish James Bond." (He said in a recent interview that he is in frequent contact with a Hollywood screenwriter in hopes of getting a movie made about himself.)

Testifying before Congress in 2017, he claimed to have helped the government track Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida and assembled a mercenary team of ex-Russian special forces and Afghan fighters in an attempt to kill bin Laden.

He also said he helped foil plots to assassinate President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell, provided the government with intelligence on North Korea's development of nuclear weapons and assisted in upending Russian cyberattacks on the U.S. financial system.

How much of that is true is unclear, since U.S. intelligence agencies don't typically talk about such things. But former Attorney General Loretta Lynch acknowledged some of Sater's cooperation when asked about him at her 2015 confirmation hearing.

Lynch, the former chief federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, said Sater had provided "information crucial to national security and the conviction of over 20 individuals, including those responsible for committing massive financial fraud and members of La Cosa Nostra."

Sater's guilty plea in the stock case and his cooperation with the government were kept under wraps for more than a decade. The case file wasn't made public until 2012, three years after he was sentenced to probation and a $25,000 fine. Some documents are still under seal.

Given the secrecy, Sater was able to reboot his life in 2003 as an executive at Bayrock Group LLC, a real estate development company formed by a Kazakh-born former Soviet official. Sater's work there led to lawsuits from people who said they wouldn't have done business with Sater if they had known about his past.

One lawsuit, brought by two former employees, alleged that Bayrock was started with backing from "oligarchs and money they stole from the Russian people" and that the company was "substantially and covertly mob-owned and operated." The company has denied the allegations.

It was through Bayrock that Sater got to know Trump. The company moved into Trump Tower and presented Trump with a plan to build a Manhattan hotel, a $450 million, 46-story project that was completed in 2008 and originally called Trump SoHo.

Trump named Sater a senior business adviser in 2010, using him to scout out high-end real estate deals. The Trump Organization's chief legal officer, Alan Garten, told The Associated Press in 2015 that Sater held that position for only six months.

Still, Sater lingered and was a driving force in trying to kickstart the Moscow project into the summer of 2016. Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen said Sater talked with him about having Trump visit Russia during the campaign and pitched the idea of offering Russian President Vladimir Putin a free penthouse in the planned tower as a marketing stunt to drive up the price of condos.

Sater was also involved in trying to get the White House to look at a Ukrainian peace proposal that favored Russia.

Early in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, Trump critics seized on Sater's Nov. 3, 2015, email to Cohen: "Our boy can become president of the USA and we can engineer it. I will get all of Putins team to buy in on this, I will manage this process."

Sater later said he was referring to exploiting Trump's popularity and Putin's interest in the Moscow development to boost the project, not any attempts to influence the outcome of the election. Sater  who stood to make upwards of $100 million on the deal, which never went through  contended it was strictly business.

Sater declined an interview request for this story, saying he was busy preparing for his testimony. But on MSNBC last March, he denied trying to harm U.S. interests.

"I have risked my life to try to protect our country for over 20 years in situations and places that would make your hair stand on end," he said. "The insinuation that I would get together with anyone, especially Russia of all places or any other country in the world, for the detriment of our country is not only insulting but laughable."

Garten, the Trump Organization executive, said in the 2015 interview that Trump didn't know details of Sater's crimes.

But "if Mr. Sater was good enough for the government to work with, I see no reason why he wasn't good enough for Mr. Trump," Garten said.
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An increasing number of San Diego schools are turning to well-trained dogs to help campus officials find what they can't see.

Interquest Detection Canines, one of the largest companies of its kind in Southern California, contracts with nearly 2 dozen school districts in San Diego County.

The handlers bring the dogs to campuses to sniff out illegal substances and items like drugs and guns.

The company has five different dogs capable of detecting four categories of contraband: alcohol, drugs, medication, and gun powder.

In their first ever demonstration for a news organization, Interquest San Diego Regional Manager Tonya Anderson showed NBC 7 how a 1-and-a-half-year-old Australian Kelpie named Astro could zero in on a splash of vodka hidden inside a locker.

"I do this and I find it rewarding because I know we're keeping schools safe" Anderson said.

The dogs are rewarded with their favorite toy when they alert their handler to a suspicious scent and consider the campus visits akin to a game of hide and seek.

But administrators who rely on the service as part of their continuing effort to keep their campuses safe say the dogs are part of the larger plan to make students aware of the choices they make before arriving to school.

Eric Solorzano, who oversees the program with the Escondido Union School District, said the feedback from parents has been pretty positive.

Escondido Union brings the dogs to their middle school campuses once a month to search classrooms.

The students are not inside the classrooms, when the dogs do the searches of backpacks, jackets, and desks.

According to Solorzano, most of the time the dogs pick up on "residual smells" on the personal items of students.

The smells could be leftovers from things like a drip of alcohol on a backpack or a purse which used to carry marijuana.

"What that does is allows us to have a conversation with that family. Where is that residual smell coming from? What are the students having access to outside of school that is giving that smell onto the backpack or jacket?" said Solorzano.

Anderson once had a dog alert to a blue plastic chair in a classroom.

The administrator called the student who had been sitting in the chair moments before to the office only to find two bags of cocaine in the student's wallet.

"The dog never had to sniff that student to smell that cocaine in the wallet," Anderson said.

Interquest's dogs usually spend 1 to 3 hours on a campus searching classrooms, lockers, bathrooms, parking lots, and anywhere else where contraband could be hiding.

Click here for a full list of Interquest Detection Canines' campus clients.
Hundreds of protesters rallied outside an event where a congresswoman spoke to a Muslim-American civil rights group.

The demonstrators were protesting the presence Saturday of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota at the fundraising event for the Council of American-Islamic Relations of Greater Los Angeles.

Omar has drawn criticism for her recent remarks on Israel, including comments that American supporters of Israel are pushing people to have "allegiance to a foreign country." Omar later apologized, saying "anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes."

The Los Angeles Daily News reports that the protesters lined a sidewalk area outside the Hilton hotel in Woodland Hills, waving Israeli flags. A smaller group of counter-protesters held up signs in support of Omar.
A bill that would make the first two years of school free for many of California's 2 million community college students has passed its first legislative hurdle.

The state Assembly Committee on Higher Education passed AB-2 by an 11-1 margin on March 19. The bill is an extension of the California College Promise, a program established in 2017 that allowed community colleges to waive fees for the first year. This new bill would waive fees for a second year as well.

The bill was written by Assemblymember Miguel Santiago, who represents areas of Downtown Los Angeles.

"When college degrees are unaffordable, our economy suffers," Santiago said. "If we're going to tackle income inequality and empower the next generation to succeed, we need to release the pressure on young people to take out loans they can't afford."

Adding a second year would mean students can earn a two-year associate's degree or transfer to a university without having to pay any tuition.

The new bill also expands the pool of students who are eligible for free tuition. Previously, the fee waiver was only available to first-time students. Under the new bill, anyone who doesn't already have a degree would be eligible.

The bill will have to pass through the main legislature and be signed by the governor before it can be enacted.
A second survivor of the Parkland school shooting has died in what police are calling an apparent suicide, officials said Sunday.

Coral Springs officers found Calvin Desir, 16, on Saturday night. He was a sophomore at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

The Broward County Medical Examiner's office has not officially ruled on a cause of death, police said Tuesday. The investigation is still ongoing.

On Monday, Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie tweeted about the sudden tragedy, saying that he met with the young man's family on Sunday.

"It is with great sadness that I report to you that a student enrolled at Marjory Stoneman Douglas committed suicide yesterday evening," he said. "After visiting with the his wonderful family today, I got a sense of what a great young man he was. Please hold up this family in your prayers."

It is with great sadness that I report to you that a student enrolled at Marjory Stoneman Douglas committed suicide yesterday evening. After visiting with the his wonderful family today, I got a sense of what a great young man he was. Please hold up this family in your prayers.  Supt Runcie (@RobertwRuncie) March 25, 2019

News of the teenager's death comes days after 19-year-old Sydney Aiello was laid to rest. Aiello  a graduate of the school who also survived the shooting  died by suicide last weekend.

17+2   Ryan Petty (@rpetty) March 24, 2019

How many more kids have to be taken from us as a result of suicide for the government / school district to do anything?



Rip 17+2   David Hogg text VOTE to 954-954 (@davidhogg111) March 24, 2019

Ryan Petty, whose daughter Alaina died in the school attack, started the Walkup Foundation to raise awareness of mental health issues both to prevent mass shootings and to help those suffering after they occur.

"Its devastating, it was hard enough to lose the 17 and to think that more people are suffering to the point where they feel like they need to take their own life, its heartbreaking," Petty said of Aiello's death.

Sydney Aiello, 19, killed herself Sunday, friends of the former Parkland student told NBC 6.

The American Psychological Association states that survivors of mass shootings have improved long-term outcomes when helped by the community and by having access to mental health support.

"As a community psychologist, I've seen firsthand the importance of mental health promotion efforts that have nothing to do with counseling per se, but that help the community heal together," University of California, Santa Barbara, assistant psychology professor Erika Felix, who led a study on the subject of mass shooting survivors, wrote in a statement.

Parkland Mayor Christine Hunschofsky is urging her community to visit the Broward County Resiliency Center if help related to mental health is needed. Located at Pine Trails Park at 10561 Trails End in Parkland and open from noon until 7 p.m. on weekdays and 5 p.m. on weekends, the center offers grief counseling, community resources referrals and specialized groups.

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. Other helpful organizations: The Columbia Lighthouse Project and Children's Services Council of Broward.
A Florida man facing sexual battery charges allegedly lured a teenage Texan girl via Instagram and paid for her cross-state Uber rides to his home.

The girl told police 24-year-old Apopka resident Edward Brown forced her to stay at his home but that she eventually escaped and called for help.

The alleged victim said Brown told her he was "Instagram famous" and that he would "take care of her." The teen was reported missing out of San Antonio, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Brown is being held in the Orange County Jail under a $40,000 bond  facing charges including sexual battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

An arrest report said Brown "ordered an Uber from San Antonio all the way to his home in Apopka."

NBC affiliate WESH 2 News spoke with Zachary Russ, who said he's Brown's best friend.

"He's not a rapist, man. He's got a thing for young girls, but he's got to wise up and make sure they're 18," Russ said.

The teen told police she had been at Brown's house, owned by his parents, for three to four days. She said Brown forced her to have sex and that he used drugs.

The alleged victim also told police that Brown wouldn't let her leave, as he allegedly said: "No. You owe me now for bringing you all the way out here."

She told police she escaped through the front door when Brown fell asleep.

Brown told police he and the teen were "only friends and nothing more," adding that they "never had any type of sexual contact and that he does not consume any drugs."

Brown showed police a $822 receipt for an Uber ride from Louisiana to Apopka.

The Florida Department of Children and Families is investigating the case.
Charging onto the home turf of their Democratic rivals, Sen. Kamala Harris campaigned in Texas for the first time Saturday while Sen. Bernie Sanders swung through California  both a test of early strength in a crowded presidential race and a peek at the country's two biggest states carrying big stakes in 2020.

The timing of Harris' visit to Houston was hard to miss  the California senator came to Beto O'Rourke's backyard less than two weeks after the former Texas congressman jumped into the field with massive crowds, heavy cable news coverage and blockbuster fundraising.

She chose the rally at Texas Southern University, a historically black campus, to roll out a teacher pay plan that marked the first policy proposal of her campaign. She did not so much as allude to O'Rourke or former San Antonio mayor Julian Castro, the first Texan in the 2020 race, but she drew a packed and diverse crowd in a city that will be the state's biggest Democratic battleground.

One Texan that Harris did reference was former President Lyndon B. Johnson, who she praised while calling for a federal investment in teacher salaries.

"LBJ was actually the last president that made a meaningful investment in public education," Harris said. "He said famously that the reason to do that was to bridge the gap between helplessness and hope."

For Sanders, meanwhile, the Vermont senator was back in California three years after arriving there as a beaten man in the 2016 presidential race. Now he is trying to reawkaen the West Coast donor base and devoted volunteers he built then in the shadow of Harris, the state's junior senator who has won statewide races in California three times.

Sanders was in Los Angeles on Saturday for the second of three campaign rallies in California.

Although Texas and California are not typical early campaign stops, the lure is both practical and symbolic  both states are delegate-rich, loaded with big donors and are early on the primary calendar in 2020. But Harris and Sanders are also sending the message they're not ceding ground in rival territory.

The Democratic stronghold of California is the biggest prize in the primary season, and it's obvious that Harris plans to win her home state as part of her strategy to become the Democratic nominee.

But Sanders' string of rallies in the state this week is a reminder that she will have to fight to defend her home turf. And it didn't appear coincidental that his schedule took him to key battlegrounds, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

The Vermont senator made a notable, second-place finish in California's 2016 presidential primary, when he won 27 of 58 counties. Where you win is especially important in a Democratic presidential contest in the state, because party election rules that divvy up delegates reward candidates who do well in areas thick with Democrats, like Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Harris, who grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and now lives in L.A., has performed strongly in those areas in her three statewide races  she served two terms as state attorney general before going to the Senate.

And it's those places where Sanders needs to improve on his 2016 showing. In a speech in San Diego Friday, he promised to steal California from Harris in 2020.

"He's going where the Democratic voters are," said Claremont McKenna College political scientist Jack Pitney.

Sanders is expected to make a strong push in the state, in part because even the second and third place finishers could end up with a significant load of delegates under the party's complicated election rules.

Harris has locked up key endorsements in a show of home-state muscle, including from Gov. Gavin Newsom, an old friend, and a bevy of Democratic lawmakers.

Leah Stephanow, a high school government teacher in suburban Houston, said she didn't come to the Harris rally sold yet on the former prosecutor. Stephanow is a longtime Texan, but she called Castro, the San Antonio mayor, too passive to take on President Donald Trump, while wishing O'Rourke had made another run at Senate.

"I just don't think Beto's ready for the national stage," Stephanow said. "Just because you're from Texas doesn't mean you're going to get Texas voters. Texans are very selective. I just think there's a lot of curiosity right now."
The young mother huddled on a wooden boat clutching her 2-year-old daughter, headed for the unknown: The flooded town of Buzi, which thousands have fled with little but the clothes on their backs.

Fishermen's boats have been ferrying out Buzi's displaced, sometimes scores of people crammed into a single vessel. But Veronica Fatia was going against the tide, up waters that only recently carried corpses to the sea. She was looking for her mother, hoping she was still alive.

Ten days after the fierce rains and winds roared in, the death toll stood at more than 750 in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi  a count that was certain to rise. Thousands of families swept apart by the storm were now seeking to reunite.

After a three-hour journey, Fatia stepped carefully out of the boat and walked into the remains of Buzi, a once bustling riverside city of 200,000 now reduced to homelessness and despair.

She passed the shuttered Jesus Saves Bank and a nearby three-story building where residents clustered on the rooftop in search of a signal for their cellphones. She passed people living in the open along the sandy main road. Some were cooking, others building crude shelters. A young boy read a textbook. Her mother might be at the school, Fatia thought.

A cry went up as she approached the building and people came running.

"Mama!" she shouted as she caught sight of her mother. They embraced on a concrete walkway now filled with cooking fires and small children, one nodding off beside a pile of warm ashes.

"My home is gone, but I'm still happy because I can see my family," Fatia said.

Her mother, Maria Antonio, said she last saw her daughter two days before the storm. "I didn't know anything about her," she said. "I'm very happy to see her."

But the fate of her other daughter, in Quelimane further north, remains unknown.

It is a common heartbreak for thousands of families in central Mozambique, who have no way to learn about missing loved ones as destroyed communications networks struggle to return. People are desperately searching for family members separated by the flooding, destruction and death. Many will not be as lucky as Fatia.

The fishing boats between Buzi and the cyclone-shattered port city of Beira about 125 miles (200 kilometers) away are now a lifeline carrying survivors and essential supplies, braving bursts of rain, rolling waves and the ever-pervasive stench of death. Near Buzi, a dog's carcass hung from the branches of a tree.

Cut off from the world, people can easily panic. One member of the Mozambican Red Cross, Assane Paul, tried to calm a knot of people in Buzi who had heard a rumor that another cyclone was on the way.

Others tried to adapt however they could, from the Bible reader on the rooftop who blamed the cyclone on people's sins to the man walking down the road in soaking wet trousers. They were the only clothes he had, he explained. It was very much wash and wear.

Many people were still on the move. Dozens waited at Buzi's small pier for the fishermen's boats to pull up, bags of belongings at their feet and concern on their faces. Others simply watched for news.

At the other end of the journey, the beach in Beira, children and barefoot women were carried off a fishing boat and gathered together by aid workers in the rain. Some looked lost. Few carried much. One small girl stood alone, hugging herself, her eyes wide and pleading.

"I hid in the mosque," said 12-year-old Ramadan Gulam. "I was there for a week." He had come from Buzi with nothing but a bag of clothes and his brothers. "My father said to go because the floods would come again. ... I don't know what to do now."

Christina Machado came with her two children and a bandage on her ankle. It was cut by a tin roof during the cyclone, she said. It was treated just yesterday.

"I'm looking for my husband," she said. He had been working in Beira for two months. She didn't know where she would be taken next.

Francisco Mambonda spent about a week on a rooftop with nothing to eat. He and his wife and sons drank muddy water to survive.

Barefoot, shivering and in tattered shorts, he added another plea to the growing chorus: "I don't know what to do now."

Still, there was a ray of hope for emergency crews.

As night fell and one wooden boat from Buzi approached the flickering, generator-lit Beira skyline, another passed in the dusk. It carried soldiers to their duties. Some raised their guns and cheered.
A woman died from her injuries after her own two dogs mauled her outside an animal hospital in Irving Saturday morning, police say.

Police shot and killed the dogs when they arrived because the pets would not allow authorities to come close to the owner, police say.

Police said the dogs' owner was transported to Parkland Hospital in Dallas, where she later died.

The woman was identified by Irving police Saturday afternoon as 33-year-old Johana Natalie Villafane.

Irving police confirmed the dogs were both pit bulls.

The dogs were in quarantine at O'Connor Animal Hospital to be tested for rabies after they got loose and bit someone earlier in the week, according to the Irving Police Department.

The animal hospital allowed the woman to visit the dogs during the week while her pets were in quarantine, police said.

Police said animal hospital staff told them the dogs attacked the woman when she took them on a walk in an enclosed area behind the building. When someone noticed the woman injured and on the ground, police said the dogs would not allow anyone to go near the her.

The scenario repeated itself when Irving fire and police officials both arrived, which led to police shooting the dogs.
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla began their first full day in Cuba Monday with a visit to Old Havana, touring churches, shops and cafes in the narrow cobblestoned streets of the historic center before other events around the capital city.

The heir to the British throne arrived in Cuba Sunday with an agenda including visits to historic sites, a solar park, organic farm, bio-medical research center, a meeting with entrepreneurs, a cultural gala and a dinner with President Miguel Diaz-Canel.

The agenda does not include visits with political dissidents or other critics of Cuba's single-party system, a decision prompting criticism from Cuban exiles.

The Trump Administration has found European and Latin American support for its Venezuela policy but less backing on Cuba, whose government has already withstood a 60-year U.S. embargo without showing any signs of losing its grip on power.

The United Kingdom backs Trump in Venezuela but is eager to expand relations with the island nation, and arranged for Prince Charles to extend his Caribbean tour to Cuba to shore up relations between the two nations.

The royals stopped in at Bohemia, a cafe facing the historic center's iconic Plaza Vieja.

"It's the first time in real life that we receive a real prince at the Cafe Bohemia, although at the Cafe Bohemia all customers are princes," manager Annalisa Gallina said. "It has been a very big emotion, with several days of preparations, from learning how to greet him to learning what he wants to drink or what tea he prefers."

Charles and his Camila also visited the studio of famed former Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta, 45. After greeting the dancers, the royal couple watched a performance blending classical, modern and traditional Cuban dance.

The Cuban choreographer spent most of his career in the United Kingdom. Acosta, who retired from the Royal Ballet in 2015, has been appointed to head the Royal Ballet of Birmingham, a position he will assume in 2020.

"I am very excited by this visit," Acosta said. "The fact that he wanted to come here to see us, that for me is very special."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 21)  The communication filed by two former Filipino officials against Chinese President Xi before the International Criminal Court has no bearing on Philippine-China ties, President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday.

"They are entitled to file a case. They are Filipino citizens. And I think we just also have to defend our position vis-a-vis sa kanila. They think they have a good case, and I would say that there is no jurisdiction over this country and of China. Mas lalo na sa [Especially with] China. We will just go along that line," Duterte said in an ambush interview after the 122nd Philippine Army Founding Anniversary at Fort Andres Bonifacio in Manila.

Former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales filed the communication before the international tribunal on March 15, two days before the Philippines formally withdrew from it. They argued the ICC can have jurisdiction over the "crimes against humanity" committed by China over their encroachment, militarization, and illegal reclamation in the South China Sea.

Duterte merely shrugged the communication off.

"The Philippines is a democratic country. And anybody can bring a suit against anybody. But whether or not it would prosper, whether or not we have the jurisdiction, that's something else," he said.

China is not a State Party to the Rome Statute, the treaty which forms the ICC. This strips the ICC of power to prosecute China, but the communication pointed out the ICC can do so since the crimes were committed within Philippine territory.

Duterte argued the Philippines was never a State Party to the Rome Statute as well, since the law was supposedly not published in the Official Gazette.

"Remember, China is not a member of the ICC. Dito [Here], we were never. We did not withdraw. Because there was no law at all," he said.

The President is known to have warm ties with China. During his term, the Philippines saw an influx of Chinese workers, a multitude of bilateral agreements including infrastructure deals with Beijing, and a softer stance on the South China Sea dispute.
President Donald Trump and the White House claimed vindication by the summary of special counsel Robert Mueller's report on alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election of President Donald Trump after the attorney general said it found Trump's presidential campaign did not coordinate or conspire with Russia.

Other Republicans, like Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham and Vice President Mike Pence, cheered the summary after its release on Sunday, but Democrats wanted to learn more about a part of the report that stated that Mueller "does not conclude that the President committed a crime [but] also does not exonerate him."

Top Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer said in a statement that the summary "raises as many questions as it answers."

The report was submitted to Attorney General William Barr on Friday, and Barr sent Congress his summary of its "principal conclusions" on Sunday. Read more about it here.

Mueller's investigation has captivated Washington and much of the country, in part because of the secrecy around it. The summary from Barr, a Trump appointee, is the first window into what Mueller found.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that Mueller "did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction," though Mueller did not exonerate Trump on the second point, according to the summary.

She continued, "Attorney General Barr and Deputy Attorney General (Rod) Rosenstein further determined there was no obstruction. The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States."

Trump later celebrated the report as "a complete and total exoneration" and knocked Mueller's investigation as "an illegal takedown that failed."

Graham, who'd been golfing with Trump earlier Sunday, said in a statement that it was a "Great day for President Trump" and that the "cloud hanging over President Trump has been removed by this report."

Pence said in a statement, "This total vindication of the President of the United States and our campaign should be welcomed by every American who cherishes the truth and the integrity of our elections."

Trump aide Dan Scavino tweeted about Mueller's investigation not finding that the Trump campaign or its associates "conspired or coordinated with Russia," commenting, "As we've been saying for the past two years."

But Pelosi, the House speaker, and Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, said in their joint statement that Barr is "not a neutral observer," urging the full release of Mueller's report.

They also said Barr's prior "bias" against the special counsel inquiry shows he is "not in a position to make objective determinations." He had criticized the investigation before Trump nominated him to be attorney general, and, in his confirmation hearings, Barr didn't pledge to release them in full.

Pelosi and Schumer added that "the fact that Mueller's report does not exonerate the president on a charge as serious as obstruction of justice demonstrates how urgent it is that the full report and underlying documentation be made public without any further delay."

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, said the public needed to learn more about the fact that Mueller chose not to draw a conclusion on whether Trump committed obstruction of justice and why the summary was released within two days of the report being submitted.

"There must be full transparency in what Special Counsel Mueller uncovered to not exonerate the President from wrongdoing. [The Department of Justice] owes the public more than just a brief synopsis and decision not to go any further in their work," the New York congressman tweeted, calling for Barr to testify.

Barr wrote that he and Rosenstein decided that the evidence was not sufficient to establish that Trump had committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.

The report capped a nearly two-year-long investigation in which 34 people were indicted, including Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was recently sentenced to 7  years in prison, and former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who has been cooperating in the probe.

Former FBI Director James Comey, who was fired by Trump as the FBI investigated whether his campaign was tied to Russia, tweeted on Sunday a photo of himself in the woods with the comment, "So many questions." His termination was believed to be part of Mueller's obstruction of justice investigation.
A federal safety agency is sending a three-member team to investigate a fatal crash involving a Tesla electric car and a semitrailer that is strikingly similar to a 2016 crash involving another vehicle made by the company.

The National Transportation Safety Board said late Friday on Twitter that the team would work in cooperation with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, which is probing the Friday morning crash in Delray Beach.

A sheriff's report says the tractor-trailer was making a left turn onto a divided highway to head north when the southbound 2018 Tesla Model 3 hit the semi's driver side, tearing off the Tesla's roof as it passed under the trailer. The Tesla's driver, 50-year-old Jeremy Beren Banner, died at the scene.

The report didn't say whether the Tesla's Autopilot semi-autonomous driving system or its automatic emergency braking system were working at the time of the crash. Tesla released a statement Friday expressing sadness and saying the company is "working to learn more and are reaching out to the authorities to offer our cooperation."

The circumstances of the crash are much like one that occurred in May 2016 on the opposite side of Florida, near Gainesville. Joshua Brown, 40, of Canton, Ohio, was traveling in a Tesla Model S on a divided highway and using the Autopilot system when he was killed.

The NTSB, in a 2017 report, wrote that design limitations of the Autopilot system played a major role in the fatal crash, the first known one in which a vehicle operated on a highway under semi-autonomous control systems. The agency, which makes safety recommendations to the National Highway Safety Administration and other agencies, said that Tesla told Model S owners that Autopilot should be used only on limited-access highways, which are primarily interstates. The report said that despite upgrades to the system, Tesla did not incorporate such protections.

Tesla has said that Autopilot and automatic emergency braking are driver-assist systems, and that drivers are told in the owner's manual that they must continuously monitor the road and be ready to take control if necessary.

In January of 2017, NHTSA ended an investigation into the Gainesville-area crash, finding that Tesla's Autopilot system had no safety defects at the time.

But the agency warned automakers and drivers not to treat the semi-autonomous driving systems as if they could drive themselves. Semi-autonomous systems vary in capabilities, and Tesla's system can keep a car centered in its lane and away from other vehicles. It can also change lanes when activated by the driver.

The NTSB likely will incorporate the Delray Beach crash into other investigations from last year involving Tesla vehicles. Investigators are probing a fatal March 2018 crash involving a Tesla SUV near Mountain View, California. That vehicle was operating on Autopilot when it struck a freeway barrier, killing its driver, the agency determined.

In addition, the NTSB is investigating the crash of a Tesla Model S sedan that may have been using Autopilot when it hit a parked firetruck on Interstate 405 near Los Angeles. The driver told authorities the Autopilot was working at the time.

NHTSA also is looking into a May 11 crash involving a Tesla Model S near Salt Lake City. Autopilot was in use when the car hit a stopped fire department truck.
Local and federal law enforcement launched an investigation into an alleged arson attack at an Escondido, California, mosque early Sunday morning, where the suspect left behind a note referencing the terrorist attacks at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, that killed 50 worshippers.

The fire broke out at 3:15 a.m. at Dar-ul-Arqam in what authorities are investigating as arson and a hate crime.

"If its an arson, its possibly a hate crime as well," Escondido Police Department (EPD) Lt. Chris Lick said.

Yusef Miller, a member of the Muslim community in Escondido, said it was fortunate the fire happened before the early morning prayer when there weren't as many people at the mosque.

"God bless that it didnt happen that way, he said.

Police do not have a description of the suspect, and no arrests have been made at this time.

The FBI, ATF and the San Diego County Sheriffs Bomb/Arson Unit also responded to the scene, where there was visible scorching to one of the mosque's exterior walls, Lick said. It appeared that the fires damage was contained to that area of the mosque, located at 318 W. Sixth Ave.

The mosques security camera spotted an unidentifiable person breaking a lock to a parking lot gate and then pouring a flammable liquid near a side door and setting it on fire.

Seven people were inside the mosque for religious purposes at the time of the fire, police said. They were able to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher before firefighters arrived on the scene.

There are people who sleep there overnight, Miller said. They heard the sounds, they smelled some funny smells, and there was a letter saying something connecting to New Zealand at the same time. So, this made everybody especially on edge.

Dar-ul-Arqam was built four years ago and serves a community of several hundred people in Escondido, Miller told NBC 7.

He said the tension is high following the fatal shooting in New Zealand.

Were not surprised by this incident," Miller said. "But, were very on edge right now.

Police said the suspect left a message in graffiti in the mosques parking lot. EPD did not reveal what the graffiti said, only noting that it referenced the New Zealand shooting.

The graffiti was covered in dirt to block out the hate-filled message.

Everybody should stay absolutely vigilant and watchful over their prayer centers. If there are people in the neighbor that are not supposed to be there, please give us a call, Lick said. We have also just re-doubled our efforts in terms of making sure that theres a high police presence in the area.

Anyone with information may call the EPDs Community Safety Tip Line at (760) 743-8477.

The stretch of West Sixth Avenue in front of the mosque was closed for a time while officials investigated; however, Miller said it wouldn't stop the mosque from remaining open as a place of worship.

Were going to stay vigilant. Were not going to close down this mosque yet. People are still going to come pray, he said. We wont stop praying. We wont stop gathering.

The Escondido Fire Department, the Escondido Police Department, and the San Diego County Sheriffs Bomb/Arson Unit responded to the scene.

Hours after the New Zealand terrorist attacks on March 15, San Diego Muslims unified in worship during a prayer at the Islamic Center of San Diego.

Days later, a vigil was held at Balboa Park in honor of the victims of the New Zealand massacre.

Following the New Zealand attacks, Lick said the EPD began doing extra patrols in the area. Lick reaffirmed these additional patrols after Sunday mornings incident.

Miller said, although we are heightened in our awareness, were still resolved in the idea that there are people here that love us and support us.

A page was set up on a crowdfunding site called LaunchGood to collect money for repairs and added security for the mosque and its members.

As of 3 p.m. Monday, more than 75 supporters had donated over $2,000. The pages goal is set at $20,000.
Schoolteacher raises of $5,000 are on the table in Texas -- a proposed pay hike that ranks among the biggest in the U.S. since a wave of teacher unrest began last year. But protests aren't why the money is suddenly available.

Texas hasn't even had a teacher strike. But as in other GOP strongholds this spring, lawmakers who have spent years clashing with public schools by slashing budgets, ratcheting up testing and cheerleading private schools are blinking in the face of election pressure as much as picket lines.

Rattled by a dreadful midterm election for Republicans -- and looking ahead to 2020 -- conservative-leaning states including Georgia, Oklahoma and South Carolina are pouring new money into schools. And to ensure it doesn't go unnoticed, Republicans are making a show of a renewed commitment to public classrooms, courting voters turned off by years of cost-cutting that catered to the party's base.

Nowhere is this political whiplash more on display than in Texas, where just two years ago conservatives pushed heavily for private school vouchers and restrictions on which bathrooms transgender students could use. That was followed last November by Republicans losing 14 seats in the Statehouse, their worst election in a generation.

To some, the message was clear. Said Republican state Sen. Kel Seliger, quoting a top GOP official "way up" whom he wouldn't name: "Urban Texas is now blue. Suburban Texas is purple and it's rural Texas that is still red. And then what does that mean for the future" of the party?

Seliger added, "You're not hearing anything about a bathroom bill. You're not hearing anyone utter the word `vouchers' this session. And I think that's significant."

A nationwide teacher revolt that began with walkouts in West Virginia in early 2018 is still kicking. In Kentucky, recurring "sickouts" for teacher protests forced schools to cancel classes, and a six-day teacher strike in Los Angeles ended with a 6 percent pay hike and commitment to smaller classes.

Elsewhere, new worries over elections are moving Republicans to act on their own.

In Oklahoma, the state's new CEO-turned-governor , Kevin Stitt, made giving teachers another pay boost a key plank of his campaign. He's pushing ahead with an additional $1,200 pay increase for classroom teachers, a year after several Republican opponents of a pay package were ousted in GOP primaries. In South Carolina, a state budget passed by House lawmakers would give all teachers a 4 percent raise and bump the minimum salary for first-year teachers to $35,000. Teachers there have asked for a 10 percent raise.

Public concern about education is growing, said Pat McFerron, a GOP pollster and strategist in Oklahoma. "In a red state where Republicans are in control, it's going to fall on Republicans."

Texas is in the middle of the pack nationally in classroom funding for the state's 5.5 million public school students, and teacher pay is about $7,000 below the national average. In recent years, conservatives have pushed for directing some funding to students attending private and religious schools.

That talk has now gone silent. Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who pushed the "bathroom bill" in 2017, is now calling for $5,000 teacher raises, while House Republicans have called for an extra $9 billion for public schools.

"There's no doubt about it. When Dan Patrick goes from bathrooms and vouchers to, `We need to give every teacher a $5,000 pay raise,' his pollsters are telling him you took a bath with educators this time around," said Louis Malfaro, president of the Texas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers. "We're nine seats off from flipping the House."

Not all Republicans are running scared: Some GOP lawmakers in West Virginia and Arizona have proposed measures that would effectively punish striking teachers, but those bills have had little support. And while governors in at least 18 states have proposed teacher pay hikes this year, elections are not always the driving factor, said Michael Leachman of the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

For both parties, "you do have a political constituency that supports public schools that reaches deep into the business community, deep into school boards and parent groups," Leachman said.

Near Austin, Shea Smith brings home about $55,000 in her 10th year teaching in the Del Valle school district. She took a half-day from work to take part in a rally for more funding this month at the Texas Capitol, where some Republican lawmakers stood side-by-side with union leaders.

"I think people are fired up because of the results in November," Smith said.

Associated Press Writer Sean Murphy and Jeffrey Collins contributed to this report.
As Washington, D.C., gears up for cherry blossom tourist season, a toothy rodent has made a reappearance.

A beaver was spotted in the Washington Channel off the Southwest Waterfront as cherry blossoms reach stage three of their development: extension of florets.

The varmint was spotted Friday near the Wharf in Southwest D.C., scrounging on a piece of wood and staring into the distance.

The scaly tailed rodent, nicknamed "Justin Beaver" by the people who spotted it, could be a bad sign for the District's cherry blossoms: 20 years ago, a beaver wreaked havoc on the trees.

According to Washingtonian, the debacle unfolded on April 3, 1999, when visitors to the Tidal Basin were shocked to see a Yoshino cherry three had been gnawed through and toppled over "in full flower."

The next few days, four more trees were discovered with beaver damage, and residents took to the streets to patrol the Tidal Basin.

"When a midsize female was caught, it seemed the ordeal was over," Washingtonian reported. "Then rangers trapped a small pup...Finally, on April 13...a large male was taken into custody."

It turned out the cherry trees were feeding an entire family.

Beavers are native to North America, according to the National Zoo, but no word is out yet about a new beaver hunt.
A man with a history of violent behavior is wanted by police in Vermont after a Sunday morning shooting.

Alfred Wisher, 37, was identified by witnesses as the shooter, Burlington police said. Wisher allegedly approached 28-year-old Khyann Jones in front of a home on Clarke Street around 8:50 a.m. and shot him after a brief argument. He then ran away down Elmwood Avenue.

Jones was unresponsive with a gunshot wound when police found him. He was brought to the University of Vermont Medical Center for treatment, and was in critical condition as of 3:40 p.m.

Wisher is a convicted felon, according to Burlington police, and has ties to several cities in New York as well as Charleston, South Carolina. He goes by the nickname "Wish Kid" and knew Jones personally.

The firearm used in the shooting has not been recovered. The Burlington Police Department considers the suspect to be armed and dangerous.

The investigation is ongoing.
Former Vermonter detained on charges in Pennsylvania

Federal marshals and state troopers have arrested a former Vermont man on a fugitive from justice charge out of Pennsylvania

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PUTNEY, Vt. (AP) _ Federal marshals and state troopers have arrested a former Vermont man on a fugitive from justice charge out of Pennsylvania.

Officials say 36-year-old Brent Mansur-Carr was wanted in Pennsylvania for one count of sexual assault and one count of rape.

The U.S. Marshal's Service says a warrant was issued when he failed to appear in court last week. He was tracked down and arrested Friday in Putney, Vermont.

Mansur-Carr was being held while awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania. It's not known whether Mansur-Carr has a lawyer.

Federal marshals and state troopers have arrested a former Vermont man on a fugitive from justice charge out of Pennsylvania.

Officials say 36-year-old Brent Mansur-Carr was wanted in Pennsylvania for one count of sexual assault and one count of rape.

The U.S. Marshal's Service says a warrant was issued when he failed to appear in court last week. He was tracked down and arrested Friday in Putney, Vermont.

Mansur-Carr was being held while awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania. It's not known whether Mansur-Carr has a lawyer.
A judge has granted the mother of a missing Maine toddler an extension to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the child's father.

The attorney for Trista Reynolds says he plans to publish a legal notice soon in the Morning Sentinel newspaper since efforts to locate Justin DiPietro in person have been unsuccessful.

The judge ruled Tuesday that Reynolds has 60 days to publish the notice and leave a copy of the complaint at DiPietro's last known address in California.

DiPietro reported then 20-month-old Ayla Reynolds missing in 2011 in Waterville.

State police believe the girl is dead, and a judge declared her legally dead in 2017.

The body has never been found and no charges have been filed.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 24)  The lawyer of the suspect in the mutilation and killing of a 16-year-old Cebuano student said Sunday his client did not confess to the crime, contrary to what authorities said.

The suspect's legal counsel, Atty. Vincent Isle, told CNN Philippines that his client never admitted his involvement in the death of Christine Silawan, who was found dead in a parking lot last March 11. She was stabbed and her face was skinned, revealing her skull.

Central Visayas National Bureau of Investigation Director Tomas Enrile on Monday said Silawan's former boyfriend was arrested in Maribago, Lapu-Lapu City on March 16. Enrile previously said the killer confessed to killing Silawan.

Isle maintained that his client is innocent of the charge.
Police in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, are looking for this man who is accused of damaging a motor vehicle.

According to police, the incident occurred at the Hobbs Brook Plaza on March 16.

Police ask anyone with information on the identity of the person to contact Officer Thomas Giordano at 508-347-2525 extension 308.
Police say a man was arrested for trafficking cocaine after a routine traffic stop Saturday morning.

According to Massachusetts State Police, a trooper stopped a 2001 Volkswagen Passat for speeding, among other violations, on Route 10 north at the intersection of Main Street in Northfield.

The trooper discovered that the driver, Ryan Spath, 21, of Richmond, New Hampshire, was unlicensed and had an active default warrant for failing to appear in court after personal recognizance.

Spath was then placed under arrest, police said.

The trooper searched the car and found 28.3 grams of cocaine and $6,708 cash inside a backpack.

Spath was booked at the Shelburne Falls Barracks. He faces charges including trafficking cocaine, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, speeding and marked lanes violation.

Spath was released on $3,500 bail. He will be arraigned in Greenfield District Court on Monday, police said.

It is unclear if he has an attorney.
Many New England lawmakers are demanding the full report on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign after the U.S. attorney general's summary of the report said there was no collusion between the campaign and Russia, but didn't exonerate the president, either.

The four-page summary was sent to Congress on Sunday afternoon after the much-anticipated report was delivered to the Department of Justice Friday.

MASSACHUSETTS

Massachusetts' senior U.S. senator was among the first to react after U.S. AG William Barr's report was delivered.

"Congress voted 420-0 to release the full Mueller report," Elizabeth Warren tweeted. "Not a 'summary' from his handpicked Attorney General. AG Barr, make the full report public. Immediately."

U.S. Ed Markey also quickly weighed in on the summary's release.

"You should not write a book report from Cliff Notes, and Congress should not make any final determinations from one summary," he said in a statement. "We need the full Mueller report and underlying documents. I want to read it all and so do the American people. Make it public."

NEW HAMPSHIRE

New Hampshire's U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas said Americans and Congress "deserve the opportunity" to read Mueller's full report, adding, "It's the least we are owed ... and it will help restore faith in our democracy."

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen also pushed for the release of the Mueller report, and said she would question Barr when he appears before the Senate.

"This report could have serious implications for our national security -- there is no excuse for not disclosing all the facts and keeping its details secret," she said in a series of tweets.

Fellow U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan called for transparency regarding the Mueller report's release, and said a summary written by an attorney general appointed by Trump "will not suffice."

VERMONT

"I don't want a summary of the Mueller report," Vermont's U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted. "I want the whole damn report."

U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy said in a statement that he appreciates Mueller and his team's work, but stressed the entire report needed to be released because Americans "deserve better."

"Transparency is the touchstone of democracy," he said. "If no person, however powerful, is truly above the law, then no person should be permitted to conceal the results of such a critical national security investigation from public view."

MAINE

In a series of tweets, Maine's U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree pointed to Mueller's team charging 37 defendants and netting seven guilty pleas and a guilty trial conviction in connection with the 22 monthslong investigation as reason enough to have the full report be released.

"The American public deserves more than a four page summary," she wrote.

In a statement, U.S. Sen. Angus King said he still has "lingering questions" after the summary was delivered to Congress, including Barr's "thought process and reasoning surrounding the Special Counsel's office decision to not make a 'traditional prosecutorial judgment' on the issue of obstruction of justice."

CONNECTICUT

Connecticut U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy also called on the release of the full report.

"Congress should be able to review the evidence independent of the interpretation of Trump-appointed allies like the Attorney General," he said in a statement. "This is too important to our democracy to keep anything hidden from public view, especially when the future of our democracy is at stake."

U.S. Richard Blumenthal also demanded the report's release in a series of tweets.

"On obstruction of justice, the Special Counsel tossed a jump ball, & the AG tipped it to President Trump, but shared none of the information supporting his conclusion," he said, adding, "Now Congress must demand transparency & full disclosure -- moving forward to protect the rule of law & our democratic institutions."

RHODE ISLAND

The Ocean State's U.S. Rep. David Cicilline, who is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, pointed to the fact that Mueller's report did not explicitly exonerate President Trump as reason enough to release the special counsel's full report.

"According to the Attorney General's letter, he described a pattern of evidence suggesting the President engaged in obstruction of justice," he said in a statement. "The Attorney General needs to make this evidence available to Congress immediately, along with the entirety of the Mueller report, so we can decide what steps to take next."

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed stressed he would want to see supporting documents released as well as the full report.

"Filing this report does not end this process, as we know from every prior Special Counsel investigation. The crucial next step is Congress fulfilling its constitutional oversight duty," he said in a statement. "Mr. Mueller and others involved in the report should testify before Congress in open setting."

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said it was apparent from Barr's confirmation hearing that the attorney general would not conclude Trump obstructed justice, "which is why it is critical for Congress to see the full Mueller report and the evidence behind it."

Whitehouse added that Americans and Congress need to review the report and evidence "to decide whether the President acted appropriately, and how to best protect our democracy from the sweeping assault on our elections the Kremlin executed in 2016. This is not the time for a cover-up."
On March 24, 2019, Sparrow SMS, the leading SMS service provider in Nepal turns nine. Over this period, the SMS service provider has served over 15 million users with its SMS services.

Janaki Technology initiated the Sparrow SMS in 2010, with an aim to provide easy access to information to Nepalese through mobile messaging service called SMS. That time, the internet access was a very big thing and was out of reach to the majority of the population. After the proliferation of mobile phones, SMS/text messaging had begun to use as a tool for accessing important information.

Since then, Sparrow SMS became a house hold name for the SMS service. Whenever you ask for a service to send messages to Group, people suggest Sparrow SMS.

ALSO READ: How to send free SMS by Ntc, Ncell?

Coming this far, Sparrow SMS has grown as the market leader in mobile messaging, and provides SMS services to various government organizations, local level governments, and some of the most well-known brands in Nepal.

Service by Sparrow SMS

Currently, Sparrow SMS provides daily crucial information and alerts to the public via SMS in Nepal. Some of its crucial services are

National Exam Results,

Safe Migration Labor Permit Status,

Election Updates,

Human Trafficking Vulnerability SMS Reporting,

SMS Based Disaster Response Management System,

Blood Donors search,

SMS Based Livestock Management & Reporting System,

Health Report,

Agro-Market Info, etc.

In the devastating earthquake of 2015, Sparrow SMS team came up with an online app portal through which people could offer and ask for help via SMS, which could be mapped in Google Map. With this mapped information, volunteers could dispatch relief distribution programs accordingly.

Sparrow SMS has been providing SMS service to over 1800 organizations including government institutions, I/NGOs, banks, and financial institutions, schools and colleges among others. Furthermore, the company is serving over 250 municipalities and rural municipalities across Nepal with its SMS service.

Recently, the company facilitated the Department of Transport Management (DoTM) to provide license exam result and smart card print status of service seekers across Nepal via SMS.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Viber to get latest news, information about Ntc, Ncell, Smart Cell and phones in Nepal.



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NAUGATUCK  Lieutenant Bryan Cammarata will be suspended without pay for five days, permanently lose his position as departmental spokesman and be required to complete additional training as Naugatuck police conclude an investigation into two videos he posted on Facebook in February, according to My Citizens News.

The two videos that sparked the investigation were obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media in February.

In one video, Cammarata said had been able to get to the front of the line at a walk-in clinic, Department of Motor Vehicles office and a Walmart store in the city of Waterbury. He put on a cap emblazoned with ICE, for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, in the video.

The second video began with Cammarata saying, Today is day without an immigrant or some crap but I gotta tell you, this thing is working out great.

The video appeared to be referring to Day Without Immigrants, which occurred Feb. 16, 2017 as a protest and boycott against President Donald Trumps stance on immigrants and his plan to build a border wall.

In that video, Cammarata said he went to a coffee shop and, spoke English, they understood in English. He goes on to say hes going to make phone calls to businesses and do everything to be able to speak to, and be understood, in English that day.

In a February release, former police chief Chirstopher Edson said the message relayed in these videos is in contrast to the values of the Naugatuck Police Department and not representative of the high level of public service the community of Naugatuck expects and deserves.

Cammarata, in a statement issued at the time, said that the videos were an attempt at humor, and that he would need to earn back the trust and respect of the community.

I have offended folks in the community with my commentary. I am truly sorry for that. As a police officer, father, and community volunteer, I can do better, Cammarata said in the statement. Our communities are strong because of the diverse views, opinions and cultures of the people who live in them. Naugatuck is a reflection of that diversity ... Broad disparagement of groups of people does not build community strength. My commentary and videos likely weakened the bonds that bring our communities together.

Chief Steven Hunt said that Cammarata had violated the departments policies classifying conduct unbecoming of an officer and appropriate social media use, according to My Citizens News.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
Following are some of the scholarship funds currently accepting applications from students in Greater New Milford this year.

Gaylordsville Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary scholarship: Deadline: April 1. Open to graduating high school seniors residing in the Gaylordsville fire district. Applications available at New Milford High School or by calling 860-355-9390.

New Milford Community Ambulance Gail P. Carlson Memorial Scholarship: Deadline: April 1. Available to a New Milford resident enrolled in or planning to attend college or technical school and pursue a medical course of study. Applications available at NMHS guidance office.

Bridgewater Grange Scholarship: Deadline, April 8. Open to full-time residents of Bridgewater, Roxbury, Washington, New Milford or Woodbury and have a plan to attend, or are currently attending, a recognized program of study to further their agriculture-related education. Award will be made to a student who demonstrates hands-on knowledge of and interest in farming through extra-curricular activities, work experience, family background, or other, and who embodies the Grange values of character, citizenship, and community service. Applications available at www.bridgewatergrange.org. Completed applications, including reference letters, must be received by April 8. For more information, email info@bridgewatergrange.org, attention Peggy Zottola.

Greater New Milford Board of Realtors Jay Solomon Memorial Scholarship: Deadline: April 10. Open to high school seniors who reside in New Milford, Sherman, Kent, Roxbury, Bridgewater, Washington and Warren. Applications available at guidance offices and at www.gnmbr.com.

Washington Environmental Council scholarship -- the Ken Williams Memorial Scholarship: Deadline: April 12. Grants of up to $1,000 to middle, high school and college students who live in Washington, Roxbury and Bridgewater, provided they attend or attended school in Washington, and who would like to attend environmentally oriented programs during the summer. Washington residents will have preference, but all other application factors will be equal. For more information, visit www.wec-ct.org/scholarships. Applicants will be notified by May 1.

Washington Environmental Council scholarship -- Mary Anne Erichsen Memorial Scholarship (college scholarships): Deadline: April 12. Grants of up to $2,000 available to students from Washington, Roxbury or Bridgewater who are in sound scholastic standing, provided the student attended or has attended high school in Washington, and are interested in pursuing environmental studies in college. Residents of Washington will have preference, all other application factors being equal. Applications available at www.wec-ct.org/scholarships. Applicants will be notified by May 1.

Roxbury scholarships: Deadline: April 22. Open to those who are Roxbury who have been accepted into an undergraduate or graduate program at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or state approved school for trade instruction or special occupational training that offers a degree or certification. Part-time students with extenuating circumstances will be considered. Applications available at town hall, Minor Memorial Library, the guidance office at SVS and online at www.roxburyscholarshipfoundation.com. For more information, email roxburyscholarshipfoundation@gmail.com. Applications must be returned to Roxbury Scholarship Foundation, P.O. Box 106, Roxbury, CT 06783.

Gaylordsville Historical Societys Alan S. Farnham Memorial Scholarship: Deadline: May 1. A $500 scholarship is open to a graduating senior who lives within the Gaylordsville fire district. Scholarship is in memory of Alan S. Farnham. Lt. Farnham, who attended the one-room schoolhouse in Gaylordsville and died in combat in Vietnam. Applications are available Gaylordsville Post Office and at New Milford High School, Henry Abbott Tech and Nonnewaug.

Roger Sherman Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution Scholarship: Deadline: May 1. Open to New Milford High School seniors who will graduate this year and plan to go to college. Applications available at NMHS Career Center, through Naviance or by emailing merryall@sbcglobal.net.

To have a scholarship listed, mail or drop the information off to Deborah Rose at The Greater New Milford Spectrum, 43E Main St., New Milford, CT 06776; fax it to 860-350-6794; or email drose@newstimes.com.
Temple Sholom on Route 7 North in New Milford will host its first womens Seder, Women at the Table, led by Cantor Laura Breznick, April 4 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The Passover Seder tells the story of the Exodus, when the Jews left Egypt, focusing on Moses and the Pharaoh.
MyBoard Advisors, a private business consulting firm launched in late 2018 by founding partners Kip Marlow and Jerry Cirino, announced this week the addition of seven new associates to its team of board members.

MyBoard, which provides a complete advisory board for businesses, already serves clients in medical distribution, construction, information technology, fastener distribution and funeral services.

With an expanded team of associates to serve on clients boards, we can now broaden our industry reach and expand to larger clients who see the need for a formal advisory board to guide them toward growth, improved operations and value creation, said Cirino.

According to a news release, the new team associates are:

Tim Eippert  president and CEO of the MC Group, formerly MC Signs, which Eippert founded and sold to private equity.

Steve Ellis  partner with Tucker & Ellis Law firm, who brings significant experience in board governance and transaction.

Jane Hamrle  president of Private Company Consultants. Hamrle has held senior finance positions at several large companies in range of industries.

Chris Madison  partner with Cohen and Company, who brings experience in capital formation, business structure and business development.

Jim Schultz  former owner/operator of Great Lakes Integrated, who transitioned the company into the digital age.

John Srsen  financial operations manager with experience in numerous industries, and practical experience in financial management, reporting and operations.

Steve Tardio  middle market investment banking professional with extensive experience in buy/sell transactions, strategic planning, capital raising and business valuation.

With the addition of these associated to the MyBoard team, clients will now be able to choose from a diverse and experienced team to create a custom advisory board, Marlow said.

Cirino and Marlow said they created MyBoard because they saw many private businesses with the need to have a non-statutory board work with them on value creation growth, organizational structure, exit planning and diversification.

Many business owners we have talked with clearly see the need for and advisory board.but they just dont know how to get one together, Cirno said. What MyBoard does is put it all together for the client and brings an advisory board to their door in a matter of days.

Marlow added having an advisory board has become quite popular in modern business circles.

The challenge is to find the right people with the right experience who are available not just for periodic board meetings, but whenever the owner/CEO needs guidance, he said.

For more information, private companies interested are encouraged to visit www.myboardadvisors.com/ or call Jerry Cirino at 216-409-0383 or Kip Marlow at 216-214-4859.
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New Delhi:

With India home to seven of the top 10 most polluted cities in the world, Germany-based mobility solutions provider Wunder is pitching carpooling as an effective remedy to the alarming levels of vehicular pollution in the country. Wunder has drawn up an aggressive expansion strategy for India, starting with the national capital, and has also begun actively engaging with the central and state governments, a top company executive said.

Having achieved a user base of more than 300,000 in Delhi and more than one million rides in 2018, Wunder is now looking to make carpooling a pure business model this year through cost optimisation and revenue generation, its India Marketing Manager Vivek Kumar told PTI.

Hamburg-headquartered Wunder Mobility, which is focusing on both B2B and B2C models by tying up with corporates and offering its carpooling platform directly to end-users, is also betting on B2G or 'business to government' as a key growth strategy going forward, he said.

The company wants to engage with the authorities for helping create a robust urban mobility ecosystem for carpooling, Kumar added.

"Our main source of revenue is charging a small platform fees per ride,'' Kumar said, referring to a percentage component it charges on total compensation that a car owner earns during the journey. "We are also looking for additional models for revenue generation like subscription and partnerships."

The company is also open to work with the governments to build a sustainable carpool ecosystem as per their requirements in any city in India, he said. Wunder is reaching out to Niti Aayog besides other central and state government departments, as its seeks greater support and regulation from the authorities.

"If carpooling needs to be presented as one of the solutions to the existing traffic and pollution problems in cities, then it should be operated in a more regulated and transparent manner like setting mandatory requirement for proper ID verification process," he said. As per estimates, vehicular pollution accounts for about 11 per cent of the nation's carbon emissions and is a key source of air pollution.

Kumar pitched for proper guidelines by the government for carpooling to ensure best services for the consumers and also to address safety concerns especially for women. He said Wunder's main focus is on increasing the number of rides with more frequent carpools and on expanding the user base as a majority of revenue comes from platform fees. While the company, which recorded 40 per cent month-on-month growth in the number of rides in 2018, is mainly focusing on Delhi market, it is already present in two other Indian cities -- Mumbai and Bengaluru. Globally, it is present in Manila and Rio De Janeiro as well.

Kumar said the benefits from Wunder Carpool are not limited to lowering of transport costs as it sees itself empowering users with a platform to interact with the person before accepting or requesting a ride.

"For women, we have a feature where they can hide their ride but can get the matches from other carpoolers and in that scenario, they can see their profiles or their reviews. Therefore, the choice is more in the hands of people to make the best choice for themselves and allow people whom they want to network rather than just carpooling," Kumar said.

There are also safety features such as SOS button, live tracking and verification through driving licence and other government IDs for car owners as well as passengers.

He said most Wunder users are salaried working professionals who have built a strong and trustworthy network on the app with the help of a robust reviewing system, helping the company do over a million rides last year in New Delhi without ever facing an issue.

The company is also hosting local events for users to meet other carpoolers and help build a strong network and a healthy carpooling culture based on trust and security.

Besides Carpool, Wunder has two more flagship products for shuttle service and fleet software solutions which they plan to later launch in India.
New Delhi:

About 4.74 crore small and marginal farmers registered under the PM-Kisan scheme before the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for general election came into effect on March 10 will get the second installment of Rs 2,000 each in their bank accounts, a senior government official said Saturday. Of these 4.74 crore beneficiaries, 2.74 crore farmers have so far received the first installment and the rest will be covered by month-end, he said.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has allowed the Union Agriculture Ministry to transfer the first and second tranche of the payment to all those beneficiaries registered under the scheme before March 10, the official added.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Centre announced the Rs 75,000-crore Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme under which Rs 6,000 per year would be disbursed in three instalments to around 12 crore farmers who hold cultivable land up to 2 hectares.

In the budget, the NDA government allocated a sum of Rs 20,000 crore, to transfer Rs 2,000 each to farmers in the first installment by March-end, for the ongoing fiscal under the scheme.

The scheme was formally launched at national level by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 24 at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh by transferring the first instalment to 1.01 crore farmers, amounting Rs 2,021 crore. "We were hoping to have the data of 12 crore farmers from across the country. But the data of 4.74 crore farmers has come before the MCC was enforced," the official told PTI.

The government has already released the first installment of Rs 2,000 each to 2.74 crore beneficiaries and the remaining will be covered before this month-end, he said. With regard to the payment of second tranche to begin from April 1, the official said the ECI has allowed to make the payment to all those beneficiaries registered before the MCC kicked in.

"We can go ahead and make the payment of first installment to the rest of the people whose names are on the portal. We can go ahead and make the payment for the second installment as well," the official said.

In Uttar Pradesh, the first installment has been released to around one crore farmers so far and the Centre has received data of additional 66 lakh farmers. The official further said that Punjab and Haryana are amongst the top beneficiary states as more than 80 per cent of the farmers registered under the scheme have received the first installment.

While, some states including West Bengal, Delhi and Sikkim have yet not submitted the farmers' data and therefore no money has been transferred. The official also mentioned that no fresh data has come from states after the MCC came into effect.

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New Delhi:

Seaplane operations will soon be a reality in four islands of Andamans with the opening of its bidding process, under an ambitious project to attract more tourists to the picturesque archipelago, officials said on Sunday. As many as 17 islands in Andamans have also been identified for holistic development, that include building infrastructure, to promote tourism. Bidding has been opened for seaplane operations at four locations in Andamans, Swaraj Dweep, Shaheed Dweep, Hut Bay and Long Island, under the UDAN Regional Connectivity Scheme of the Centre, a Home Ministry official told PTI.

With the civil works completed at Diglipur airport on the northern tip of Andamans, air operations by Andaman Airways are set to commence from June 2019.

Additional airfields are being explored at Car Nicobar, Campbell Bay and in Port Blair, for a second airstrip, the official said.

Port Blair has already been declared as an authorised immigration check post for entry into or exit from India with valid travel documents for all classes of passengers.

Paving the way for Ease of Tourism, as many as 30 islands have been exempted from the Restricted Area Permit (RAP) regime.

The requirement of mandatory registration of foreigners arriving in the island within 24 hours of their entry has also been done away with.

The key sectors identified for the holistic development of Andaman and Nicobar islands include infrastructure, tourism, green energy and skill development.

To begin with, five IslandsAvis, Long, Little Andaman, Smith and Rosshave been identified for the project and another 12 islands will be added later.

Improvement of connectivity has been given the top priority to promote tourism, the official said.

Four tourism-based projects have been developed under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. Requests for Qualification (RfQ) have been floated for projects in Long Islands, Smith Islands and Aves Islands while Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance has also been obtained for these four projects including at Neil Island.

The lifeline of the Andamans, the Andaman Trunk Road, is all set to receive an upgrade following the grant of CRZ clearance in December 2018 for the Middle Strait Bridge, another official said.?

In principle approval has also been obtained for Chatham-Bambooflat bridge in Port Blair, in fulfilment of a long standing demand of the island residents.

A Detailed Project Report is being prepared for the proposed Phase-1 of the Andaman Marine Drive from Junglighat to Dundas Point.

In addition, Rs 270 crore has been earmarked for providing 100 per cent rural road connectivity in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the official said.

Out of this, Rs 100 crore has been released by the central government.

According to the data available with the Union Home Ministry, more than 16 lakh tourists have visited the Andaman and Nicobar Islands since 2015 till October 2018 to see the natural beauty, beaches, flora and fauna and historically-significant landmarks in around 38 inhabited islands out of the 572 islets.

The archipelago has received 4,02,393 tourists, including 11,818 foreigners, till October 2018 while it received 4,87,229 tourists, including 15,310 foreigners, in 2017.

In 2016, as many as 4,00,019 tourists, including 15,467 foreigners, had visited the Andamans and in 2015, a total of 3,11,358 tourists, including 14,674 foreigners, had gone to the Union Territory, the data said.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands comes under the administrative control of the Home Ministry.

The Andamans was in news last year in the wake of killing of John Allen Chau, 27, by members of the reclusive Sentinelese tribe in North Sentinel Island.

The archipelago has been inhabited for several thousand years, at the very least.

The earlier archaeological evidence goes back some 2,200 years; however, the indications from genetic, cultural and linguistic isolation studies point to habitation going back 30,000-60,000 years, well into the Middle Palaeolithic, according to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Tourism Department.

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New Delhi:

The candidates who are preparing for CUSAT CAT 2019, we have some important news for you. The Cochin University of Science and Technology or CUSAT, Kochi, has released the CUSAT CAT 2019 admit card for the Computer Based Test (CBT), which will be conducted on April 6 and 7, 2019.

Interested candidates can download the admit card from the official website of the university till April 7, 2019. CUSAT CAT hall tickets will not be sent via post and must be downloaded from the official website only. To download the CUSAT CAT hall ticket, a candidate will have to login to his/her candidate profile. The login option is available on the home page of the website, cusat.nic.in. The candidate must retain the admit card till the examination and admission process is over.

The official release of the hall tickets was scheduled from March 25, however it has been released one day earlier.

"Hall Ticket download link is available in the candidate home page," says a notice posted on the homepage of CUSAT CAT 2019.

For the convenience of the students, we have mentioned the steps through which the candidates download the results:

Step 1: Visit the official CUSAT website: www.cusat.nic.in

Step 2: On the right hand side of the web page, click on the CUSAT Admissions link

Step 3: On next page find the candidate's login option.

Step 4: Login to candidate's profile using User ID and password created at the time of registration (along with the Captcha provided there).

Step 5: On next page, click on the download admit card link. Take a print out of the admit card.

After downloading the admit card, check the details mentioned on the CUSAT CAT 2019 hall ticket. The date, time and venue for the exam will be mentioned on the CUSAT hall ticket.
New Delhi:

The Bhartiya Janata Party on Sunday fielded Raju Singh Bisht from Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat, replacing sitting MP and Union minister SS Ahluwalia.A "Raju Singh Bisht to contest from Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal. SS Ahluwalia in a letter to Amit Shah has expressed his inability to contest from Darjeeling. He has stated that he can contest from any other seat in West Bengal," BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya was quoted as saying by ANI.

Ahluwalia, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, was elected from this seat in 2014 with the active support of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) in May 2014.A

BJP Gen Secy Kailash Vijayvargiya: Raju Singh Bisht to contest from Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal. SS Ahluwalia in a letter to Amit Shah has expressed his inability to contest from Darjeeling. He has stated that he can contest from any other seat in West Bengal pic.twitter.com/IgpB7FM3uF a ANI (@ANI) March 24, 2019

Vijayvargiya, who is in-charge of the saffron party's affairs in West Bengal, said that the two Gorkha groups have extended their support to the BJP candidate from Darjeeling. The outfits which have extended support are Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and Gorkha National Liberation Front.A

"Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and Gorkha National Liberation Front to support BJP in Darjeeling in upcoming Lok Sabha elections," Vijayvargiya said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has managed to win over a section of the Gorkha leadership and has been making a determined bid to wrest the hilly seat from the BJP. The BJP has been winning the seat with support from these Gorkha parties.

Its leader Jaswant Singh had won from there in 2009 and Ahluwalia in 2014.A
New Delhi:

A day after being left out of the RJD-led opposition alliance in Bihar, the CPI on Saturday confirmed that Kanhaiya Kumar  former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union  will be its candidate from Bihars Begusarai for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

According to reports, the decision was taken by the Left on Saturday, a day after the opposition 'Mahagathbandhan' in Bihar announced the its seat-sharing formula for the 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

CPI Bihar secretary Satyanarayan Singh said that a final call on Kanhaiya Kumar has been taken and the executive committee meeting will be held on Sunday to decide on the number of seats the party will contest.

With the former JNUSU president making his political debut, the Begusarai Lok Sabha seat is likely to witness a three-way contest between Kanhaiya Kumar, NDAs Giriraj Singh and RJDs Tanveer Hassan.

Kanhaiya Kumar became an overnight sensation in 2016 after his arrest in a sedition case. His fiery speeches had set the tone for the fightback and made him a Left icon. But he seemed to have issues with RJDs Tejashvi Yadav.

As per the seat-sharing formula, the RJD will contest on 20 seats while on Congress nine seats. Recent entrants to the 'Grand Alliance' - Upendra Kushwaha's Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP) and Mukesh Sahni's Vikassheel Insan Party (VIP) will field their candidates in five and three seats.

Former JD(U) president and NDA convener Sharad Yadav will contest on the RJD symbol and merge his party Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) with it after the Lok Sabha polls.

As per the analysis of the seat sharing formula, the RJD, which wanted to contest 20, had to part with one seat from its quota to the CPI(ML) Liberation, while the Congress, which had reportedly bargained hard for 11 seats, had to settle for nine with the assurance of a Rajya Sabha berth.

Among other constituents, the HAM, which claimed to have a "stronger support base than even of the Congress" and had insisted on more seats than at least the RLSP, had to settle for only three.


New Delhi:

Former deputy prime minister and BJP patriarch LK Advani is "extremely upset" about the way he was dropped from the BJP's Lok Sabha seat ahead of next month's General Elections 2019. What appears to be the end of the road in electoral politics for Advani, the BJP had on Thursday replaced him with party president Amit Shah in Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency. So far, Advani has won from the Gandhinagar seat for six consecutive times.

"Not getting to be in Lok Sabha is not the issue, but the manner in which the denial was done was disrespectful... No big leader contacted him," a source close to the BJP veteran told NDTV.

With veterans such as LK Advani, BC Khanduri, Hukumdeo Yadav and Karia Munda being dropped from their Lok Sabha seats, it seems that the BJP may have decided to ease out several of its old guards from electoral politics after keeping them out of government by introducing an age bar of 75 years.

In anticipation of the party leadership's move, senior leaders like Kalraj Mishra and Bhagat Singh Koshyari had announced their unwillingness to contest the coming Lok Sabha polls. Other leaders who refused to retire voluntarily have been dropped from the list.

The fate of another party veteran, Murli Manohar Joshi, who had won from Kanpur in 2014, remains uncertain as the party is yet to announce its candidate from the seat. It is also unclear whether Sumitra Mahajan, the 75-year-old Lok Sabha Speaker, would be allotted a seat in 2019 elections. The party has not included her name in the list for her home state, Madhya Pradesh.

Meanwhile, BJP's decision to not give a ticket to Advani has received wide condemnations from across party lines who accused the Modi government of treating the veteran leader in a "painful" and "shameful" manner.

Advani, the 91-year-old BJP leader, was first elected to Parliament as a Rajya Sabha member in 1970 and has been the most experienced parliamentarian. Credited for orchestrating the BJP's rise to a pre-eminent position in the late 80s and 90s along with Atal Bihari Vajpayee after it won only two Lok Sabha seats in 1984.

However, Advani, along with Joshi was moved out of the BJP's highest decision-making body, Parliamentary Board, in 2014 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the party to victory and Shah was made its president. He was made a member of Margdarshak Mandal (Group of mentors), a body which has never met so far.

The senior BJP leader did not make any representation to stake a claim for Gandhinagar seat before the BJP observers. The BJP veteran won from Gandhinagar for the first time in 1991 and retained the constituency in 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009 and 2014. In 1996 he did not contest, citing the Babri Masjid demolition case against him.
New Delhi:

Putting all speculations to rest, the Congress on Saturday announced Manish Khanduris name from the Pauri Garhwal constituency in its ninth list of candidates for all the five Lok Sabha seats in Uttarakhand. Khanduri, the son of veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former chief minister of the state BC Khanduri, had joined the Congress on March 16. Khanduris induction into the Grand Old Party was seen by experts as the Congress partys response to the BJPs defection strategy.

The Pauri Garhwal constituency is held by sitting BJP MP BC Khanduri. However, he will not contest the Lok Sabha this year elections citing poor health. Pauri will witness an interesting battle with Manish Khanduri up against Tirath Singh Rawat, the BJP veteran's political disciple. Both the candidates will try to cash in on the popularity of Khanduri Senior, who is the most formidable leader from the state with a strong support base in his constituency.

Addressing a rally in Dehradun after joining the party, Manish had hailed Congress president Rahul Gandhis leadership and said that he sought blessings of his father before coming to the rally.

I believe that under Rahul Gandhi's leadership, Congress will make country stronger. Before coming here, I sought blessings of my father. He asked me if I can walk on path of truth, I said, 'yes, he said.

BC Khanduri was removed last year as chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on defence allegedly after he questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi on national security.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi latched on to the removal of the former army general from the committee to attack the BJP. Speaking at his mega Dehradun rally, Gandhi said, He (BC Khanduri) gave all his life to Army. But when he asked a question on national security in Parliament & spoke the truth that the way govt should help Army, it is not there, then he was removed from the Chairmanship of that Committee.

The Congress also fielded former chief minister Harish Rawat from Nainital, state Congress president Pritam Singh from Tehri Garhwal, Pradeep Tamta from Almora (SC) and Ambrish Kumar from Haridwar. It will be a clash of heavyweights in Nainital with Harish Rawat taking on state BJP president Ajay Bhatt and Pritam Singh battling it out with sitting MP Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah in Tehri.
New Delhi:

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Saturday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Pulwama terror attack and asked if the prime minister had eaten 'beef biryani and slept', while the attack took place. "Indian Air Force dropped bombs in Balakot. On this, BJP chief Amit Shah said that 250 terrorists were dead and Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that NTRP tapped 300 cell phones," Asaduddin Owaisi said.

"You can see that 300 cell phones were there in Balakot, but you failed to see how 50 kg RDX was moved to Pulwama under your nose, Owaisi said. "I want to ask PM Modi and Rajnath Singh whether they ate beef biryani and slept," Asaduddin Owaisi added, as quoted by ANI.

Asaduddin Owaisi will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections 2019 from Hyderabad. He said, If anyone says that there are two national parties in India, I will say no to them because one national party is BJP and the other is 1.5 BJP," he said. "There is no difference between BJP and Congress," Asaduddin Owaisi asserted.

After the Pulwama attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed by Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists, the Congress had launched a scathing on the prime minister for shooting for a documentary at Jim Corbett National Park on that fateful afternoon on 14 February,

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar had also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for conducting rallies and critising the Opposition in light of the Pulwama terror attack.

Sharad Pawar also criticised the prime minister for being absent from an all-party meeting that was called by the Centre over the Pulwama terror attack.

"An all-party meeting was called by the Centre after Pulwama attack. We were told that the meeting had been called by the PM. When I reached, I saw that the prime minister was not there," Sharad Pawar said.
New Delhi:

The Jammu & Kashmir Police on Sunday arrested three terrorists affiliated to the proscribed terror organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) near a check-point at Narabal on the Srinagar-Baramulla Highway based on a credible input. Incriminating material, including ammunition and live rounds, were recovered. The police have registered a case.

"Three car-borne terrorists affiliated with proscribed terror outfit JeM (were) arrested by police and security forces at Lawaypora (on Srinagar-Baramulla road) (based) on a credible input today," a police spokesperson said.



The spokesperson said ammunition, including live rounds, was seized from the three terrorists. They were identified as Rayees Hurrah, Shahid Bhat and Ishaq Lone.



On March 22, the Delhi Police Special Cell arrested a man affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammed from the national capital. The arrested was identified as Sajjad Khan. He was arrested from near the Red Fort area on March 21. According to the police, Sajjad Khan was in contact with the mastermind of the Pulwama attack, Mudassir Ahmed Khan. Sajjad Khan had moved to Delhi and living as a shawl seller before the Pulwama attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir on February 14.

Sajjad Khan, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, knew the details of the Pulwama attack on the CRPF convoy. His two brothers were also Jaish terrorists but were killed by the forces in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir, as reported by India Today. One of his brothers was killed in an encounter along with Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar's nephew Usman in South Kashmir's Tral in October 2018.





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New Delhi:

The Goa government has ordered probe into the reports that the state-run Kala Academy in Panaji conducted a "purification ritual" of the place where former chief minister Manohar Parrikar's body was kept before last rites. Goa Art and Culture Minister Govind Gawade said an inquiry has been ordered after a section of media reported that a purification ritual was performed inside the Kala Academy premises where Parrikars mortal remains were kept.

Taking a strong note of the unscientific activity, Gawade said such things will not be promoted in government buildings. "I have taken a strong note of these activities.... We cannot promote or patronise unscientific activities in government buildings," he said.

The former Goa chief minister died last Sunday after battling pancreatic cancer for over a year. He was cremated with state honours Monday with thousands bidding the affable politician a fond farewell.

BJP president Amit Shah, some Union ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states attended the funeral at Miramar. The funeral procession started from the Kala Academy where thousands, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid their last respects to the former defense minister.

(With inputs from agencies)

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New Delhi:

An Indian Army soldier, who was injured in heavy firing by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Saturday, succumbed to his inujuries on Sunday. The Pakistani soldiers violated the ceasefire and shelled forward areas and Indian posts with artillery and mortar bombs in the area.

The soldier has been identified as Hari Waker. He was shifted to Army hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

On Thursday, an Army jawan was killed after Pakistani troops violated ceasefire and carried out heavy firing along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district. The soldier, killed in the Pakistani firing, was identified as 24-year-old Rifleman Yash Paul, a resident of Mantalai village in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistani troops have violated the ceasefire over 110 times along the LoC since January.

On Monday night, Pakistan army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by resorting to shelling with mortar bombs and firing of small arms along the LoC in Akhnoor and Sunderbani sectors.

The border skirmishes witnessed a spurt after India's air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Balakot, Pakistan, on February 26 in response to the February 14 Pulwama attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel.

The year 2018 witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violations -- 2,936 -- by Pakistani troops in the last 15 years along the Indo-Pak border.

Pakistan continues to violate the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the pact during flag meetings between the two sides.





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New Delhi:

When it comes to desi food, be it ghee, coconut oil of curd rice no critic is spared be it a Michelin star chef or a regular tweet. There's nothing more soothing that curd rice called, 'dahi-chawal' in North and Thayir Sadam in South in the summers and any disregard to this will never be entertained.A

After Richa Chadha shut down a Harvard University Professor, over calling coconut oil 'Pure Poison', the Indian curd rice lovers on Twitter schooled a Twitter user from London who uploaded a photo of a bowl of curd rice and shared an unpopular opinion about how she didnat like it much.

Many informed her how healthy curd rice is at it aids digestion, cools the body, acts as a stress reliever, helps with weight loss and increases oneas body immunity while others asked her to have it in the right way. Some even asked her to get 'cultured'.

Which part of the world are you from!!...its delicious and well known in most of middle East and India. Helps with digestion problems too a Joker (@kamleshsahu29) March 21, 2019

chore??? and thire?!? this is a staple in a malayalee household maaam get cultured https://t.co/2Kti8bPCna a king crystal (@k1ngcrystal) March 23, 2019

chore??? and thire?!? this is a staple in a malayalee household maaam get cultured https://t.co/2Kti8bPCna a king crystal (@k1ngcrystal) March 23, 2019

chore??? and thire?!? this is a staple in a malayalee household maaam get cultured https://t.co/2Kti8bPCna a king crystal (@k1ngcrystal) March 23, 2019

A

Curd rice or dahi-chawal is a dish originating from India. Itas also known as thayir saadam (Tamil Nadu) and daddojanam (Telangana and Andhra Pradesh). While food choices differ from one place to another, but curd rice is comfort food for people all over India and even in the Middle East for its cooling properties. South Indians add a tempering of mustard seeds, curry leaves and spices to it, dahi chawal is consumed solo with a pinch of salt and a dash of lime in the north.

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Abu Dhabi:

Eleven Arab states including Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Morocco signed on to the first regional team to cooperate on a space programme, the UAE said. Today at the Global Space Congress in Abu Dhabi, we attended the signing of a charter to establish the first Arab body for space cooperation, bringing together 11 Arab states, said Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum in comments carried by the government media office.

The pan-Arab teams first project is a satellite that Arab scientists will work on from here in the UAE, he said.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed, the UAEs vice president, and prime minister, vowed in 2017 to send four Emirati astronauts to the International Space Station by 2022.

The UAE announced last month that its first astronaut will blast off on a mission to the station on September 25.

The oil-rich Gulf state has two astronauts in training as it looks to get an ambitious space programme aimed at exploring Mars off the ground.

The astronaut programme would make the UAE one of only a handful of states in the Middle East to have sent a person into space, as it looks to make good on a pledge to become a global leader in space exploration.

The first Arab in outer space was Saudi Arabias Sultan bin Salman Al-Saud, who flew on a US shuttle mission in 1985.

Two years later, Syrian air force pilot Muhammed Faris spent a week aboard the Soviet Unions Mir space station.

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New Delhi:

The Facebook-owned social messaging platform WhatsApp is working on new updates for forwarded message feature to counter fake news. The new feature will tell the user how many times the message has been forwarded. WhatsApp is working hard to fight fake news, rumours from spreading through social media. WhatsApp on Android shows two features on forwarding messages. One is the Forwarding Info and the other is Frequently Forwarded, according to WABetaInfo.



The feature help users get more information about the messages being shared by them. WhatsApp also puts a global limit on forwarded messages to five people.



Earlier, ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora said to check for fake news, social media platforms have been asked to appoint officers and take action against offenders. These "grievance officers" will take "necessary and prompt actions against the contents published on their platforms."

All major social media platforms  Facebook, Twitter, Google, WhatsApp are committed to accepting only pre-certified political advertisements, sharing expenditure on it with the Election Commission (EC) and adhering to the silence period that comes into effect 48 hours before the polls. "The [Election] Commission has also asked that print and social media be brought within the ambit of Section 126(1) of the Representation of the People Act so that the concept of 'silence period' is honoured and opinion polls are restricted," he said.
Bamako:

Militia fighters descended on a village in central Mali before dawn on Saturday, killing at least 115 people in the latest deadly attack blamed on an ethnic militia, local authorities said. The massacre in the village of Ogossogou left the village chief and his grandchildren dead in the ethnic Peulh community, according to a local official who had received detailed accounts from the remote area.

The victims included pregnant women, young children and the elderly, according to Abdoul Aziz Diallo, president of a Peulh group known as Tabital Pulaaku.

It was not immediately possible to independently corroborate the toll given by those in contact with survivors from the Peulh village.

The UN mission in Mali confirmed reports of an attack but gave no figures.

Militants from a Dogon group known as Dan Na Ambassagou have been blamed for scores of attacks over the past year, according to Human Rights Watch.

The umbrella group comprises a number of self-defence groups from the Dogon villages among others.

The growing prominence of Islamic extremists in central Mali since 2015 has unravelled relations between the Dogon and Peulh communities.

Members of the Dogon group accuse the Peulhs of supporting these jihadists linked to terror groups in the countrys north and beyond.

Peulhs have in turn accused the Dogon of supporting the Malian army in its effort to stamp out extremism.

In December, Human Rights Watch had warned that militia killings of civilians in central and northern Mali are spiraling out of control.

The group said that Dan Na Ambassagou and its leader had been linked to many of the atrocities and called for Malian authorities to prosecute the perpetrators.

Malis Dogon country with its dramatic cliff landscapes and world renowned traditional art once drew tourists from Europe and beyond who hiked through the regions villages with local guides. The region, though, has been destabilized in recent years along with much of central Mali.

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New Delhi:

A candle-light vigil was held here on Saturday to mark the 88th death anniversary of Indian freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. The programme was organised by the Lahore-based Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation under police security to the participants after the organisation filed an application with the district administration that it feared some religious extremists might sabotage the event in the current Pak-India scenario.

Singh was hanged at the age of 23 in Lahore on March 23, 1931, along with Rajguru and Sukhdev. The capital punishment had inspired thousands of people to take up the cause of the freedom movement.

The participants hailed the contributions made the the three freedom fighters and called for peace between India and Pakistan. People like these three revolutionaries are born in centuries. We should fight hatred and promote peace between the two countries,Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi, Chairman of Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation, said.

The participants also observed one-minute silence for the people killed in the New Zealands Christchurch terror attack, in which 50 people were killed by an Australian gunman. at least five Indians and nine Pakistanis were also killed in the attack.

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Islamabad:

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered a probe into reports of abduction, forced conversion and underage marriages of two teenage Hindu girls in Sindh province and to take immediate steps for their recovery, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Sunday.

The development comes hours after Indias External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said she sought the Indian envoy in Pakistan into the matter. In a tweet, Swaraj, while tagging a media report about the incident, said she asked the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan to send a report on the matter.

The two girls, Raveena (13) and Reena (15), were allegedly kidnapped by a group of "influential" men from their home in Ghotki district in Sindh on the eve of Holi. Soon after the kidnapping, a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown soleminising the Nikah (marriage) of the two girls.

In a separate video, the minor girls can be seen saying that they accepted Islam of their own free will.

In a Twitter post in Urdu on Sunday, Information Minister Chaudhry said that the prime minister has asked the Sindh chief minister to look into reports that the girls in question have been taken to Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab.

Chaudhry said the prime minister has also ordered the Sindh and Punjab governments to devise a joint action plan in light of the incident, and to take concrete steps to prevent such incidents from happening again.

"The minorities in Pakistan make up the white of our flag and all of our flag's colours are precious to us. Protection of our flag is our duty," he said.

On Saturday, Chaudhry said that the government had taken notice of reports of the forced conversion and underage marriages of the two girls.

The Hindu community in Pakistan has carried out massive demonstrations calling for strict action to be taken against those responsible, while reminding Prime Minister Khan of his promises to the minorities of the country.

Last year, Khan during his election campaign had said his party's agenda was to uplift the various religious groups across Pakistan and said they would take effective measures to prevent forced marriages of Hindu girls.

Sanjesh Dhanja, President of Pakistan Hindu Sewa Welfare Trust, an NGO, earlier urged Prime Minister Khan to take note of the incident and prove to everyone that minorities were indeed safe and secure in Pakistan.

"The truth is minorities suffer from different sorts of persecution and the problem of young Hindu girls being kidnapped at gunpoint and forced to convert to Islam or get married to much older men is widespread in Sindh,? he said.

Dhanja said the Hindu community had staged several sit-ins in Ghotki district after which police reluctantly registered FIR against the accused persons.

The Hindu community leaders have claimed that the accused belonged to the Kohbar and Malik tribes in the area.

Following the incident, an FIR was filed by the girls' brother, alleging that their father had an altercation with the accused sometime ago and on the eve of Holi they armed with pistols forcibly entered their home and took the sisters away.

A Pakistan Muslim League-Functional MPA Nand Kumar Goklani, who had initially moved a bill against forced conversions, urged the government to get the law passed immediately.

Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan.

According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan. However, according to the community, over 90 lakh Hindus are living in the country.

Majority of Pakistan's Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with their Muslim fellows.

(With PTI inputs)

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Baghouz:

Dozens of Islamic State group jihadists emerged from tunnels to surrender to US-backed forces in eastern Syria on Sunday, a day after their "caliphate" was declared defeated. Syria's Kurds warned that despite the demise of the proto-state, the thousands of foreign jihadists they have detained are a time-bomb the world urgently needs to defuse.

An AFP reporter saw dozens of people -- mostly men -- file out of the battered jihadist encampment in the remote village of Baghouz near the Iraqi border to board pickup trucks. "They are IS fighters who came out of tunnels and surrendered today," Kurdish spokesman Jiaker Amed said.

Some sported thick beards and wore long woollen kaftans over their dark-coloured robes, or a chequered scarf around their faces, as they trudged out of their final hideout under the drizzle.

"Some others could still be hiding inside," said Amed. World leaders were quick to hail Saturday's announcement by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that the last shred of land controlled by IS in Syria had been conquered.

But the top foreign affairs official for the country's semi-autonomous Kurdish region warned IS members captured during the assault still posed a threat.

"There are thousands of fighters, children and women and from 54 countries, not including Iraqis and Syrians, who are a serious burden and danger for us and for the international community," Abdel Karim Omar told AFP.

"Numbers increased massively during the last 20 days of the Baghouz operation," he said.

He also warned of the continuing danger posed by IS sleeper cells. As the SDF's months-long assault closed in against the last IS strongholds in the Euphrates Valley, jihadists and their families gradually gathered in Baghouz.

While some managed to escape, many foreigners stayed behind, either surrendering or fighting to the death. According to the SDF, 66,000 people left the last IS pocket since January, including 5,000 jihadists and 24,000 of their relatives.

The assault was paused multiple times as the force allowed people to evacuate from the enclave on the banks of the Euphrates. The SDF has screened droves of people scrambling out of Baghouz in recent weeks, detaining suspected jihadists and trucking civilians and IS relatives to camps further north.

Most relatives have been crammed into the Al-Hol camp, a facility built for 20,000 people but which now shelters 72,000. The Kurdish administration in northeastern Syria has warned it does not have the capacity to detain so many people, let alone put them on trial.

But the home countries of suspected IS members are reluctant to take them back, due to potential security risks and the likely public backlash.

Several held in Syria have been stripped of their citizenship.

"There has to be coordination between us and the international community to address this danger," Abdel Karim Omar said.

"There are thousands of children who have been raised according to IS ideology," he added.

"If these children are not re-educated and re-integrated in their societies of origin, they are potential future terrorists."

The SDF's main support has been the international military coalition launched by the United States in mid-2014 to counter the expansion of IS.

Its aerial campaigns against IS hubs across a "caliphate" which once spanned territory the size of the United Kingdom have levelled major cities and contributed to the biggest wave of displacement since World War II.

According to the Airwars monitoring NGO, at least 7,500 civilians have died as a result of coalition actions in four and half years. The conflict in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people since it erupted eight years ago, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor says.

US President Donald Trump has vowed to drastically scale down US military presence in Syria once IS is defeated, leaving the Kurds exposed to threats by Damascus and Turkey.

Ankara sees the SDF as a terrorist organisation and Abdel Karim Omar warned that any cross-border offensive risked leading to mass breakouts from the jails where jihadists are currently held.

"Any new threat or new war would give an opportunity to these criminals to slip out," he said. IS, faced with multiple offensives in Syria and Iraq since 2014, has morphed from a territorial force back into a clandestine insurgency group carrying out hit-and-run attacks in both countries.

The SDF's top commander said Saturday that anti-IS operations were entering a new phase. Mazloum Kobane said the new focus would be IS sleeper cells that "are a great threat to our region and the whole world."

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New Delhi:

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has sought details from the Indian envoy in Pakistan into the reported abduction of two Hindu teenaged girls and their forcible conversion to Islam on the eve of Holi in Sindh province.

In a tweet, Swaraj, while tagging a media report about the incident, said she has asked the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan to send a report on the matter.

The two girls, 13-year-old Raveena and 15-year-old Reena, were allegedly kidnapped by a group of "influential" men from their home in Ghotki district on the eve of Holi.

Soon after the kidnapping, a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown soleminising the Nikah (marriage) of the two girls.

Later another video surfaced in which the two sisters claimed they embraced Islam themselves and no one forced them to covert or get married.

The Hindu community in Pakistan has carried out massive demonstrations calling for strict action to be taken against those responsible, while reminding Prime Minister Imran Khan of his promises to the minorities of the country.

Sanjesh Dhanja, President of Pakistan Hindu Sewa Welfare Trust, an NGO, called on Prime Minister Khan to take note of the incident and prove to everyone that minorities were indeed safe and secure in Pakistan.

The truth is minorities suffer from different sorts of persecution and the problem of young Hindu girls being kidnapped at gunpoint and forced to convert to Islam or get married to much older men is widespread in Sindh, he said.

Dhanja said the Hindu community had staged several sit-ins in Ghotki district after which police reluctantly registered FIR against the accused persons.

The Hindu community leaders have claimed that the accused belonged to the Kohbar and Malik tribes in the area.

Following the incident, an FIR was filed by the girls' brother, alleging that their father had an altercation with the accused some time ago and on the eve of Holi they armed with pistols forcibly entered their home and took the sisters away.

A Pakistan Muslim League-Functional MPA Nand Kumar Goklani, who had initially moved a bill against forced conversions, urged the government to get the law passed immediately.

We demand the government to take up my bill and get it passed without any delay, he said.

Goklani said: "The fact that the two girls were underage confirmed it was a crime and they couldn't show free will on getting married or conversion to Islam".

"One of the accused persons has been arrested, while the police were conducting raids to arrest the others," a senior police official of Ghotki district said.

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London:

British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing increased pressure from her own Conservative Party to either resign or to set a date for stepping down in order to build support for her Brexit plan. British media reported Sunday that senior party figures were urging May to recognize her weakened political position and resign.

There is no indication from Downing Street a resignation is near. May has thus far been unable to win more backing for her European Union withdrawal plan, which lawmakers defeated twice already.

She has raised the possibility of bringing the plan back to Parliament a third time if there is enough support for it to pass. Britain is set to leave the EU on April 12 unless a deal is approved or other arrangements made.

Thousands demand second referendum at anti-Brexit march in London

Meanwhile, thousands of people took to the streets of central London on Saturday for one of the biggest anti-Brexit marches to demand another referendum over Britain's membership of the European Union (EU).

Protesters descended upon the capital from up and down the UK to participate in the Put it to the People? march, dubbed as one of the UK's largest attracting an estimated 1 million people to demand that the British people are given another chance to vote on Brexit after MPs have failed to break the impasse over the issue in Parliament.

Here in London, thousands of people from across our city and country have come together to send a clear message: Enough is enough, it's time to give the British public the final say on Brexit, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said in a Twitter statement as he joined the march.

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Municipal authorities in the Southern Governorate have demolished a private kitchen allegedly set up by a group of Asians right in the middle of a busy street in Riffa. The move follows efforts by the municipal officials to tackle encroachment of public place and rule violations.

The cabin was built on Al Beheer Street in Riffa. It was being used as a kitchen by a group of Asian bachelors and this was in violation of rules. The authorities have taken action by demolishing the cabin, sources said. According to the law, one must take authorization from the Ministry of Housing, Municipalities and the Supreme Council For Environment to set up a cabin, the sources added. The Southern Governorate has also been carrying out an intense campaign to crack down on violations related to roadside businesses.

The Inspection and Licensing Inspection Department has recently held numerous inspection efforts. According to reports, the violating businesses used the space in front of their shops to either sell their products or to use it as a workspace thereby encroaching the road.
The High Appeals Court has upheld the life in prison sentence issued against a Bahraini man, who was part of the team, which made an improvised bomb and detonated it in Abu Saiba.

The explosion on February 24, 2017, had left a police officer injured apart from causing damages to a police vehicle and a mosques windows. According to prosecutors, the defendant had the intention to murder police officers, therefore he decided to make the bomb with the help of other unknown men.

He used Telegram to communicate with other terrorists in order to get their help in constructing the bomb and detonate it. I talked with two men and revealed to them my wish of killing police officers. They agreed with me to make the bomb and we made one.
The Kingdom, which is home to over 400 financial institutions, is a major target of hackers from across the world, said Yacoub Al Awadhi, CEO of NGN International, a system integration company.

This came as NGN International organized a Cyber Security Workshop at the Capital Club in Manama, in collaboration with Group-IB, an international cybersecurity company. The event was held in the presence of senior information security professionals from a number of leading Bahraini banks.

Mr. Al Awadhi highlighted that Group-IBs products and services provided by NGN in the Gulf region are state-of-the-art cybersecurity tools and solutions relying on unique cyber intelligence and proactive threat hunting tailored to all financial institutes in Bahrain and the rest of the GCC.

We offer these advanced solutions at a time when we are witnessing a surge in hacker attacks against vital institutions such as government, banking, energy, and healthcare, he said. The presence of more than 400 financial institutions in Bahrain makes it a major target for many hackers around the world, he added. The co-operation between NGN and Group-IB extends to providing quality training for Bahrainis in cybersecurity and closing the skills gap in the related market in the region.

There are over 900 Bahraini graduates in ICT courses and figures indicate that there are about one million vacancies in cybersecurity around the world, he stated. Group-IB specialists have trained law enforcement agencies, corporate security teams, and universities around the world, as well as experts within Group-IBs official partners, Interpol and Europol. The new programme becomes available for Bahraini companies thanks to the NGN-Group-IB partnership.

Vice President of International Business at Group-IB Nicholas Palmer highlighted that the co-operation with NGN will play an important role in the development of Bahrains national economy.
Pakistan Day is a very unique and significant day for every Muslim in the subcontinent. March 23rd, every year, commemorates the adoption of Pakistan Resolution in 1940 at Lahore, which stands for social justice, religious harmony, economic parity, legal protection, cultural tolerance, enlightened vision of future, elimination of ethnic and religious differences, and above all a patriotic fervor to espouse the above ideals. On this Great Day, Pakistan School sends its best wishes to all our fellow compatriots in Bahrain. Lets salute and remember the sacrifices and sufferings of great many for this great achievement.

We are happy to present a synopsis of Pakistan School, Bahrain on this joyous occasion. The genesis of Pakistan School goes back to the later part of 1960s when the leading visionary members of the community realized the need for a schooling system for their children, leading to the establishment of a small primary school in 1968 in a rented building in Fariq Fadil area of Manama. After a few years the school was upgraded to secondary level education following affiliation with the Federal Board, Islamabad, Pakistan.

In 1984, the new campus of the Pakistan School was constructed in Isa town, which was inaugurated by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier. Two new blocks, Jinnah Block and Sir Sayed Block were constructed in the Isa town campus, between 1994-95. Today Pakistan school has two wings, Manama (Primary) and the main campus Isa Town.

The school is delivering education to more than 2435 students from 17 different countries. Besides Pakistanis, around 800 Bahraini students are on the roll of the school, which is an indicator of the quality of education offered here and the trust reposed by the Bahraini community in Pakistan School. Our school is the first non Bahraini private school in Bahrain to introduce Arabic as a compulsory subject in the curriculum for all classes. An Islamic Center has been established in the school to create a generation equipped with the right knowledge of Islam.

The Board of Management, the governing council of the school, comprised of an elected parent body has been contributing immensely to the progress and development of the school. The sitting Board, elected again for a three year term in the election held on 2nd March 2019, has covered many distinctive landmarks over the last three years in academic and administrative areas.
For nearly two years, the nation has been bitterly divided by special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs ongoing investigation into the 2016 presidential election and its aftermath. To President Donald Trump, the Mueller investigation has been the single greatest witch hunt in American political history  a disgrace and scandal that is nothing short of corrupt, illegal and rigged. To Trumps opponents, on the other hand, it has been merely justice at work, a necessary effort to determine whether an unfit and undeserving candidate (or those who reported to him) colluded with another country to seize control of the most powerful job in the world.

Now, finally, the work is done, the report is filed, and the U.S. Attorney General has in his hands the most comprehensive study yet of the connection between Russia, the election and the Trump campaign. But this must not be the end of the story.

It is vital that Congress and the public see the full report. The nation deserves to learn what Mueller has concluded not only about possible cooperation by the Trump campaign with Russia but also about possible obstruction of justice by the president. Thats crucial whether or not Mueller has decided that Trump violated the law or committed actions that require further action by Congress. The report must not be buried.

Of course, we already know much of what Muellers team believes happened and, assuming it is true, it tells a shocking story about the fragility of the American election system and the willingness of malign outside forces to subvert our democracy. Muellers team has already asserted in court documents that there was an intricate, sophisticated Russian effort to meddle in the 2016 election through deception and disinformation  including the dissemination of fake news and the hacking of emails  to help Trump win the election. Though collusion has not been proved in any of the documents that have as yet become public, the indictments filed so far point to dozens of contacts between the Trump campaign and various Russians and their associates, many of whom had connections to the government.

For example, campaign adviser George Papadopoulos sought repeatedly to arrange a Trump-Putin meeting. Trump lawyer Michael Cohen struggled to broker a Trump Tower deal in Moscow while the campaign was under way. Campaign chairman Paul Manafort had repeated contacts during the campaign with a Russian associate with ties to that countrys intelligence services. Donald Trump Jr. held a meeting at which he was promised damaging information on Hillary Clinton from Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. And the list goes on.

But what does it add up to? What does it mean? Is it collusion or isnt it? Was justice obstructed after the fact? Was Trump in the loop or out of it? This is what Mueller still has to tell us. And even if he has concluded that no further crimes were committed than the ones hes already charged, the details need to be revealed so Congress and the country can figure out what needs to happen next.

For example, suppose that Mueller has concluded that Trump didnt violate laws against obstruction of justice by dismissing former FBI Director James B. Comey or by expressing the hope that Comey could go easy on former national security advisor Michael Flynn (an accusation by Comey that the White House has denied). Considering the same evidence that Mueller adduced, Congress might come to a different conclusion, or decide to use Muellers report as a resource in its own investigations. Or voters might conclude, on the basis of that evidence, that they cannot vote for President Trump again in 2020.

Last week, Trump insisted that he would like the report to be released. But the final decision rests with U.S. Attorney General William Barr, who was less than completely reassuring during his Senate confirmation hearings when he was asked whether he do so. Barr noted that the regulations governing Muellers appointment provided for the special counsel to send the attorney general a confidential report.

But Barr also acknowledged that, under the same regulations, the attorney general makes a follow-up report to Congress that could be made public. Barr promised senators to provide as much transparency as I can consistent with the law. He repeated that promise in the letter he sent to congressional leaders Friday reporting that Mueller had concluded his investigation. Barr said he would consult with Mueller and Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein about what other information from the report can be released to Congress and the public.

The longer the report remains under wraps, the more that Trump and his allies will be able to advance whatever narrative they please about it. Lately, the spin has been that Mueller somehow vindicated Trump because he has not brought charges against the president or alleged explicitly that the campaign worked with Russian agents. Thats ridiculous.

And its all the more reason Barr must err on the side of transparency, resisting any efforts by the White House to cloak some contents of Muellers report by invoking national security. Because Muellers investigation was at least in part a counterintelligence probe, its possible that some information in his report could compromise sources and methods and should legitimately be withheld. But redactions should be minimal and based on recommendations from professionals in the intelligence community, not on political considerations.

For almost two years, the nation has waited for Mueller to finish his work, while worrying with good reason that Trump might move to dismiss the special counsel or abort or drastically rein in his investigation. While the prosecutors have worked quietly, Trump has repeatedly attacked the Russia investigation  hundreds of times, in speeches, on Twitter and elsewhere. No doubt some who are insisting that Muellers conclusions be made public have already made up their minds about Trumps culpability. But you dont have to prejudge Muellers conclusions to recognize the importance of sharing them with the public. Barr must move quickly to do that.

This editorial is from the Los Angeles Times.
Its the legislative law-growing season, and the majority party in Hartford has been spawning a crop of horrid bills, taxes, fees, burdensome mandates and measures of overreach and control as I have never seen in the 27 years Ive been a Connecticut resident.

The plethora of new taxes and tolls, supported by some of the Bethel areas own legislators, are not in our interest and will eventually force higher property taxes on top of most regressive increases in the reach and scope of what will be subject to the sales tax. The middle class will take it on the chin!
For weeks the maple sap has been flowing into buckets across Connecticut, as temperatures have warmed by degrees with the last vestiges of winter now behind.

As for any stream of entrepreneurs looking to sell food concocted in their own kitchens? Call it a trickle at best, despite efforts by the state to make people aware of the opportunity.

Nearly six months into a throwback era of cottage food in Connecticut, the state Department of Consumer Protection lists fewer than 120 individuals who have sought licenses to produce food in their own kitchens for commercial sale, as allowed under regulations enacted last October. That number includes in a handful of cases applications that were withdrawn or otherwise lacked sufficient information to be considered complete by the department.

It is a take-up rate that falls short of one new cottage food business for each of Connecticuts 169 municipalities, despite significant interest in the Nutmeg State from would-be food entrepreneurs who previously had to find commercial kitchen space to test out their ideas; and the Department of Consumer Protections efforts to promote the opportunity prominently on its website.

As of late March, the cottage food law has generated the most interest to date in Trumbull, where a half dozen people have sought licensing. Statewide, however, only 30 municipalities statewide are home to at least two entrepreneurs to have done so.

Just four people in Bridgeport, Connecticuts largest city, have signed up to make food at home for commercial sale in the laws fledgling run, with Stamford also producing four early registrants according to the most recent roster posted online by the Department of Consumer Protection. Just three have sought licensing who live in the capital city of Hartford, with the restaurant meccas New Haven and Norwalk having produced two each; and Danbury and Waterbury one apiece.

In other significant population centers like Greenwich, Shelton and Stratford, the Department of Consumer Protection has yet to list any cottage food licensees.

Maple syrup, butter-cream frosting

In the early going, baked goods like cakes and cookies have dominated the licenses, with confectionery sweets also seeing some interest and in a few instances teas and granola.

As spelled out by the Department of Consumer Protection  including in online manuals translated into Spanish and Polish  the rules place limitations on the kinds of foods entrepreneurs can produce, the equipment they can use and the channels to deliver food to customers. Any online sales require person to person delivery or pickup, and wholesale channels for food sales are not allowed. Cottage food producers can sell at farmers markets, but must comply with any additional regulations required by any market organizer.

In short, the regulations are written to help entrepreneurs get on the path to a business that eventually would shift to a fully regulated commercial kitchen, with the application costing $50 to complete.

Licensees must have completed a food safety course under the ServSafe Food Handler program, with the Connecticut Restaurant Association offering full-day courses on an ongoing basis statewide that cost $165 for nonmembers, including this spring in Stratford at Connecticut Distributors and later in the year at the Milford headquarters of Subway.

In several aspects, the current Connecticut law is more stringent than equivalent cottage food rules in other states, with a number of prepared foods barred from commercial sale out of home kitchens, to include staples of American kitchens like vegetable-based pasta sauces or pies made with home-preserved fruit (the Connecticut law allows for the sale of pies using commercially canned fruit, as well as the sale of fruit jams and preserves made in a home kitchen).

And those who obtain licenses must adhere to a number of measures designed to promote food safety, to the extent of surprise home visits from state inspectors to check kitchens for sanitary standards.

One early question that has come up repeatedly from home-based cake bakers  how butter-cream frosting is regarded under the new rules, with the Department of Consumer Protection requiring samples of any homemade concoctions to be tested by an independent laboratory, and linking to recipes determined to be safe by Texas regulators.

In the current legislative session, the Connecticut General Assembly is currently considering amending the new law to place regulation of syrup and honey producers with the state Department of Agriculture, on the argument those products do not pose the food-borne risks as other options for home commercial production. The new law had included both foods under its auspices, prompting a backlash from operators of sugar shacks and apiaries heading into the spring of 2019.

Maple syrup  the way its produced and the temperature that its boiled at  it will not breed bacteria, said John Hall, whose Maple Breeze Farm in Westbrook has a heritage dating back to the 1600s, while testifying last month in Hartford. Ive never heard of a maple syrup epidemic in 400 or 500 years since the Native Americans started making it.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
NEW HAVEN  The 2020 presidential election could turn out to be the year that young voters make the difference.

The Yale University chapter of Every Vote Counts, a nationwide nonpartisan student network, is working to make sure more members of their generation register and make their voices heard in the voting booth.

And at Yale, theyre in the vanguard of making sure voters preferences are heard, helping to get ranked-choice voting approved for this years elections for officers of the Yale College Council, which represents undergraduates.

Nationally in 2018, about 31 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds voted on Nov. 6, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University, 10 points higher than in 2014, the last midterm election, and the highest rate of young voter turnout in a quarter century.

Those voters from Generation Z, as those born after 1996 have come to be known, chose Democratic candidates for the House of Representatives over Republicans by a 2-1 margin, CIRCLE reported, which almost certainly helped Democrats take over the House, according to its website.

Harold Ekeh, who co-founded Yales Every Vote Counts chapter in 2017, is president of the national executive board. His co-founder, Thomas Rosenkranz, a 2016 Yale graduate, is also on the national board.

The chapter got 1,100 students to commit to vote in 2018, including 800 first-time voters. On Election Day itself  we went into every single entryway on the campus and put up posters, Ekeh said. At City Hall, they didnt anticipate the high amount of interest.

New voters who wanted to register on Election Day had to do so at City Hall, and at 4 p.m., individuals were being told to turn away and go home, said Ekeh, a senior and Nigerian immigrant who lives in Elmont, New York. That was active voter disenfranchisement.

If youre in line by 8 oclock, they cant tell you to go home, but sometimes they do, said Phil Hinkes, a sophomore from Chicago who is president of Yales chapter. Through our efforts, hundreds of people got to vote on Election Day.

The energy behind getting students to vote is high at Yale, which, Hinkes said is the first chapter so we are the most active chapter. The chapter counts 80 members in its ranks.

Yales chapter is looking beyond New Haven, however.

Were dedicated to increasing voter turnout nationwide and expanding voter access through civic education, legislative advocacy and voter engagement, Ekeh said. The group is advocating for early voting and voter registration at the Department of Motor Vehicles, both of which are on Secretary of the State Denise Merrills agenda.

Ekeh got involved in increasing voter participation when he was interning with the Congressional Black Caucus in the summer of 2017 and found that 23 states had passed laws that were meant to suppress voting rights. When he arrived at Yale that fall, Ekeh found that Yale students voted at a lower rate in 2014 than those at Harvard University.

Now, through Every Vote Counts efforts, TurboVote, an online app that allows voter registration in two minutes and keeps track of absentee and vote-by-mail rules in every state, was incorporated into Yales Student Information System.

The goal is to integrate into the first-year onboarding  register for classes, register to vote. Very simple, Ekeh said. Thats important for students in a digital age who have to get absentee ballots if they want to vote in their hometowns. A lot of them dont know how to use stamps and envelopes, he said.

You have to Google where the stamp goes, Hinkes said.

Every Vote Counts has been putting its efforts especially into ranked-choice voting, a system that allows voters to list candidates in multiple-candidate elections by preference, eliminating the concern that voting for a third-party candidate will take votes away from the Democrat or Republican who may be more likely to win.

Also known as instant runoff, the system is used to elect the Australian Parliament, the president of Ireland, mayors of London, San Francisco and Portland, Maine, as well as on 50 college campuses, according to instantrunoff.com and fairvote.org. Its also the system used to nominate and pick winners for the Academy Awards.

In traditional elections (though not the vote for president, in which the Electoral College is used), the candidate with the most votes may win with a plurality but less than a majority. The winner is first past the post, Hinkes said.

There were 14 candidates in Chicagos Feb. 26 mayoral election, with the highest two vote-getters, Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle, moving on to an April 2 runoff. Lightfoot received 17.54 percent of the vote and Preckwinkle won 16.04 percent, according to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.

Under ranked-choice voting, the candidate with the least number of votes would have been eliminated and his votes distributed to his voters second-choice candidate. The process would continue until one candidate gained a majority.

If you dont want to vote for a candidate, you dont have to, said Lucy McCurdy, vice president of Yales chapter of Every Vote Counts. This allows you to vote for third parties without throwing away your vote.  It reduces polarization because youre also competing for peoples second-choice vote.

Hinkes said the system eliminates strategic voting, in which voters choose the candidate they believe will win rather than the one whose policies they most agree with. It incentivizes instead to look for common ground, he said.

Theres typically less negative attack ads, said McCurdy, a sophomore from Washington, D.C., who is registered in Connecticut and voted at the Ives Memorial Library in November. She added that the biggest obstacle to implementing the system is educating voters that it is fair. Hinkes said that in Minnesota, where it is used to elect the mayors and city councils in Minneapolis and St. Paul, more than 95 percent of voters like the system.

Those who oppose the system think that youre giving voters more than one vote, which youre not, he said. The ballot isnt necessarily who the voters are voting for, its just giving who their preferences are.

In the 2000 presidential election, in which Floridas electoral votes decided the election in favor of George W. Bush, the recount gave Bush 2,912,790 votes, 48.847 percent, to Vice President Al Gores 2,912,253 or 48.838 percent. Many have blamed third-place finisher Ralph Nader, a Winsted native who received 97,488 votes, for taking votes from Gore.

There were seven other candidates on the Florida ballot with 40,575 votes total, so if ranked-choice voting had been used, all those candidates votes, split between Bush and Gore, would not have been enough to give either a majority and Naders votes would have come into play.

Hinkes said voter apathy and suppression, with voters being removed from the rolls for various reasons, is another big problem. I think if you look at 2016, the total votes between Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin was 78,000 that decided that election, and 120 million people didnt vote or couldnt vote. Thats basically the size of Darien, Connecticut, deciding the leader of the free world, and that is kind of crazy, he said.

Voting is the best way to be represented in our government and, no matter what issues you care about, voting is the best way to make your voice heard, McCurdy said.

Turnout doesnt match enthusiasm

But while young people are some of the most engaged voters  their level of enthusiasm is not reflected in their voting level, Hinkes said. How do we get their level of turnout to match their enthusiasm? he asked. Accomplishing that is Every Vote Counts mission.

According to Hinkes, the Higher Education Act of 1965, which created Pell grants and other government scholarships, contained a provision  that said universities need to make a good-faith effort to register students.

He said Northwestern University is like the gold standard for voting. The Evanston, Illinois, school requires students to opt out of registering, so close to 99 percent of students are registered, he said.

I think Yale students in general want to vote and will vote when its not unnecessarily difficult, McCurdy said. Theres all these things that get in the way, like missed deadlines and misinformation that Every Vote Counts is well situated to address.

One issue is the high number of out-of-state students at Yale and confusion about where to vote and whether registering in Connecticut cancels an out-of-state registration, because states arent good at talking to each other, Hinkes said.

The thing that we always say is, Just vote once, McCurdy added.

The Yale students understand how important the right to vote is and how it is threatened. Hinkes referred to the Supreme Court case of Shelby County v. Holder, in which an Alabama county succeeded in having a portion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 struck down as unconstitutional.

That was something that people got beaten up and tear-gassed for, Hinkes said of the 1965 law. It was something that a generation of activists fought for to make the Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal  a reality. To just have five justices strike that down 50 years later because it was outdated  that was untenable.

Getting ranked-choice voting approved for five elected officers of the Yale College Council was Every Vote Counts most recent achievement. Council Vice President Heidi Dong, who oversees elections, met with the group and was persuaded that it would be both fairer and easier than the system used in the past. That system required a candidate who doesnt win a majority to have 40 percent of the vote and at least five percentage points more than the second-leading candidate or, if less than 40 percent, more than 10 percentage points more than the nearest candidate. Otherwise there would be a runoff.

We found that it works but its definitely difficult to run, said Dong, a junior from Peoria, Illinois. She and YCC President Saloni Rao presented the plan to the council Senate, which is made up of two members from each of Yales 14 residential colleges. Everyone seemed pretty supportive, Dong said. Im definitely excited to see how it turns out.

She said she hopes Yale will start a trend within the Ivy League.

One of the challenges was technical. We started out with a simple Excel file with manual counting, said Saul Roselaar, a sophomore from Appleton, Wisconsin, and Every Vote Counts legislative director. Then one night I just sat down and wrote an R algorithm. R is an open-source computer-programming language. He then worked with the council to draft an explanation of ranked-choice voting and the new voting system for candidates to use, he said.

Dong said the number of candidates can vary. Some years we have as many as five for a position, some years fewer. The registration deadline for candidates for next years board is April 4 and the election will be held April 11 and 12. Dong and Rao wont be running for re-election. Traditionally, the president and vice president of the YCC are juniors.

Rao, a junior from Washington, D.C., said, On a small scale Im just really happy that the Yale College Council was able to be a part of pioneering this change, which she hopes will be a springboard to extend ranked-choice voting to elections in the local, state and federal level.

edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382.
MIDDLEBURY  Two people were displaced Sunday morning after a fire destroyed an 85-year-old home.

Flames were coming out of the first and second floor of the house at 44 Kelly Road when firefighters arrived around 6:30 a.m., Fire Chief Brett Kales said.

The house, built in 1934, was a total loss, he said.

The construction back then is a little different than what you have nowadays, so the fire really got going pretty quickly, Kales said. But overall the guys at the firehouse did an outstanding job of knocking it down.

He said the fire was under control in about 45 minutes.

The residents evacuated safely, Kales said. Red Cross came to assist the residents, who plan to say with family nearby, he said.

The fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.
NEW HAVEN  The city library has been encouraging discussion on a weighty issue: The state of American democracy today .

The ongoing series of presentations and civic discussions by Public Humanities at Yale invites a broad public of New Haven neighbors together to reflect upon the state of American democracy today, including widening inequality, polarization, eroding norms, divisive media, and failing institutions in addition to centuries-long traditions of resilience, dissent, and idealism in the face of injustice and imperfection.
Washington Township High School senior Kayla Webster has been named the 2019 Princeton Prize in Race Relations Award winner for Central and Southern New Jersey.

The Princeton Prize, a program sponsored by Princeton University, honors students in grade 9-12 who are doing outstanding work in their schools to advance the cause of race relations. Webster was nominated for the award by WTHS English teacher Melissa Leskie.

The Princeton Prize includes a $1,000 cash award; an invitation to an all-expenses paid trip to Princeton University to attend the Princeton Prize National Symposium on Race the weekend of April 26; and recognition by the Central /Southern NJ Committee at the official local ceremony during the first week of May.

We are so incredibly proud of the leadership that Kayla Webster has demonstrated time and again at Washington Township High School, WTHS principal Jonathan Strout said. I can say that I personally rely on Kayla regularly to provide me feedback on how we can make our school a better place for all of our students, and she never lets me down.

In addition to formal leadership roles shes earned by helping to formulate the WTHS NAACP chapter and her election to serve as president of our African-American Culture Club, Kayla also has been a critical member of our Student Leadership Team and our No Place for Hate Committee at the high school, Strout said. "Kayla Webster is precisely the kind of young lady that I hope my own daughters grow up to be just like.

I nominated Kayla for this honor because of all that I have learned about her character these past two years, said Leskie. Kayla believes that she is here to use her voice and give rise to voices that have not been represented in the past. She believes she is here to change the status quo and spark dialogue that fosters change. She believes she has been given the opportunity to create a legacy of diversity and equity -- leaving our high school better than how she found it.

Kayla personifies the service-minded principles that race relations are built on and has demonstrated her ability as an impactful leader who will most certainly blaze new paths, Leskie continue "This nomination was my way of showing her how proud I am and how honored I am to have been a small part of her journey.

Webster hopes to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering and is awaiting acceptance notifications before making her final college choice.
In one sense it was uneventful. But in another, a trip to the neighborhood health clinic helped shaped the course of his life.

Shan K. Bagby didnt know much about dentistry, but as an 8-year-old boy growing up in Newark, meeting a dentist in the 1970s stuck with him. The gentleman was African-American, like him.

I can do that," Bagby recalled thinking, not knowing what that was or how to do it.

He parked that memory with his curiosity, which took him to the library to explore his love of science. He spent lots of time immersing himself in books with his late mother, Dollie Bagby, who was a nurse at East Orange General Hospital. Bagbys dad, Philip, a retired barber, only finished third grade, but his parents understood where a good education could take him.

I didnt know it was possible to do what I am doing now," Bagby said.

Please rise.

Bagby, 51, is chief of the U.S. Army Dental Corps and the first African-American Army dentist officer to be promoted to brigadier general, a one-star general officer rank extremely difficult to obtain.

The chances of anyone getting promoted to general officer in their career is like a thousandth of a percent," he said.

First of all, only a certain number of such positions are in each branch of service. Then, someone has to retire. The candidate, Bagby in this case, needs an array of leadership experience. Trust me, he has it. Lastly, the officer must receive a nomination from the Army to the president, who then nominates the officer to the Senate for confirmation.

I guess I was in the right place at the right time," Bagby said.

It never crossed his mind that one day hed be a general and the Armys No. 1 dental officer. Hes the 28th chief of the dental corps to hold the position.

Im humbled," Bagby said.

Modest, too.

As we speak, Bagby is considered a rising star in the Army, but this Rutgers University alum sidesteps the recognition. In a 22-year military career with many stops, Bagby understands it takes more than the hard work that hes put in to be successful.

There are plenty of people that work hard," he said. But if youre not given the right opportunities to express that hard work, you dont grow. Youve got to be in an environment that supports you so that people can see you and they pull you up."

In the Army, Bagby has taught oral surgery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C. He had fellowships for reconstructive surgery in Houston and worked at Brooke Army Medical Center, the Armys level one trauma center in San Antonio.

For 15 months, from 2005 to 2007, he was the commander of eight dental facilities in northern Iraq. There were more teaching assignments and a directorship before the U.S Army War College, a school designed to prepare officers for strategic leadership positions, came calling in 2014. He earned a masters degree there and another in health care administration from Baylor University.

The surgeon generals office found him in 2017 to be its deputy chief of staff for the medical command after he was a dental commander at a joint base in Washington state.

His resume and bio have legs, and theyre longer than whats here.

The assignment he has now is as huge as the title. Bagby is deputy chief of staff for support for the surgeon general and the U.S. Army Medical Command.

It means hes the eyes and ears for Lt. Gen. Nadja West, the surgeon general of the U.S. Army. He ensures that West has the best information to advise senior army leadership on anything to do with medical personnel, logistics and information technology policy.

West, a senior officer of the U.S. Army Medical Department, knows he can handle it.

She said Bagby is an exceptional officer, leader and clinician, who has been a commander at the company and brigade level. His current duties reflect, not only his past performance but also (are) a clear indicator of his potential in our Army."

Bagbys march to this point has not been conventional. He didnt attend West Point or another military school. His parents couldnt afford college, so he enrolled in the ROTC at Rutgers, where he majored in physics, an unlikely course of study since Bagby wasnt good at math.

When you have interest in something, you tend to overcome your shortcomings and gaps," said Bagby, who wanted to do something in the medical field.

Mentors had his back and made him see further than he could on his own. Dr. Alonzo E. McDonald, the first African-American oral surgeon in Pittsburgh, was one of them when Bagby graduated dental school at the University of Pittsburgh.

He took me under his wing," Bagby said. He understood what I didnt have."

Military life came into focus after dental school in 1997. He had just finished his oral surgery training in South Central, Los Angeles, but liked the structure of the armed services from eight years in the reserves. Bagby, who now lives in Virginia, never thought hed be in the Army this long. His wife of 25 years, Melanie, has been with him the whole time.

When he considered retirement, opportunities to grow continued to surface, but Bagby doesnt view his climb as special. Bagby said hes smart enough to know that hes not the first African-American man qualified to be a general officer in the Army Dental Corps, a fact he highlighted during his promotion speech last September.

Had I been born 50 years earlier, my pedigree would have been meaningless because the opportunity wouldnt have been there," he said.

Bagby appreciates his good fortune. He took advantage of his intellectual curiosity as a kid, who moved around a lot, before settling in Maplewood long enough to graduate in 1985 from Columbia High School.

He read about things like rocketry and thermodynamics and was always open to new ideas. As an adult, hes inspired by working with smart people to solve problems. The enormity of his experiences and accomplishments can take a while to comprehend.

Im kind of an odd duck," he said.

But its important for young people to know hes real and that their dreams do not have to be elusive. He had no idea that his profession was attainable -- even after meeting that well-spoken dentist.

These are not waters that I grew up swimming in," Bagby said. I get to be a symbol of what is possible for others."

Read More

Barry Carter may be reached at bcarter@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@BarryCarterSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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We dont know who they were, or when they died. But now, at least, more of us know they were here.

Inside an old Belleville cemetery that once belonged to the Reformed Church, theres a red-bricked monument topped with a white pagoda roof. The five-foot-tall structure is the only marker in this town of 36,000 residents that memorializes the Chinese immigrant workers who once lived here, establishing the first community of Chinese laborers on the East Coast, according to Michael Perrone, president of the Belleville Historic Society.

We built this monument to all the Chinese immigrants who lived and died in Belleville, said Perrone, who has led efforts to recognize the towns history with Chinese laborers.

Not much is known about the lives led by the first 68 Chinese workers who arrived in 1870, except that they eventually reached a population of 250 and remained in Belleville for about 15 years. Those who died were buried in the basement of the Belleville Reformed Church where they remain, without a name or trace of who they were.

Nobody kept records of this historically," Perrone, 62, said.

A retired sea captain, James Hervey, who owned a laundry factory in what was then Belleville, brought one of the first groups of Chinese workers from California to the East Coast in 1870, Perrone said. The men, aged between 14 and 36, worked on the transcontinental railroad. When it was completed, they came to live and work at the Passaic Steam Laundry.

There had previously been little other exposure on the East Coast to the Chinese population. One other group of Chinese workers was hired in North Adams, Massachusetts, but they stayed for only three years, having been brought in to break up a union strike -- which prompted a hostile reception.

Belleville, on the other hand, struck a more tolerant chord.

They were welcome in town, Perrone said, offering as an example a worker who died shortly after arriving in town. Between 200 and 300 people gathered for his funeral, which was solemnized by a Belleville Methodist preacher.

Still, anti-Chinese sentiment was ramping up elsewhere in the U.S. in the 1870s through racial and economic fears over the impact of the addition of Chinese workers.

The importation of Chinese workers to Belleville got some publicity at the time because it was a spectacle of white women, Irish women being replaced or added to by Chinese male workers," said Beth Lew-Williams, assistant professor of history at Princeton University. I was struck by the friendliness that came about in that community ... There were newspaper reports of white members of the community coming to the New Years celebration.

The following year, in 1871, the workers celebrated Chinese New Year, which eventually became the largest celebration on the East Coast, even luring Chinese workers from New York.

There was sort of toleration in the long term, Lew-Williams said.

The workers stayed in Belleville for a few years and then began moving to the cities, including Newark, starting their own small laundry businesses, said Yoland Skeete-Laessig, author of When Newark Had a Chinatown. Eventually the number of Chinese in Newark ballooned to 3,000.

Skeete-Laessig, too, is working on getting Newark to recognize its history with the Chinese and memorialize the Chinatown that once centered around Mulberry Street.

Newarks population is now about 2 percent Asian; in Belleville its 11 percent, Census numbers show.

Pastor Miguel Ortiz, who took over the Reformed Churchs property in Belleville eight years ago and started La Senda Antigua, a pentecostal church, said its important to remember this piece of forgotten time.

History shouldnt be buried, he said. History should be open for our children and our next generation to know about it.

Ortiz said hes trying to find the best way to honor the remains still in the churchs basement so people can pay their respects.

Lew-Williams says there was a belief among the Chinese that, when they died, they needed to be returned to their homeland. "There was a fear if Chinese immigrants came to the U.S. and their bones never were returned to China they would be forgotten, she said.

Margaret Lam, president and founder of the United Chinese American Association of New Jersey, said itll be hard to do since they dont have any record of who is buried there.

We cant find any of their ancestors, the next generation," said Lam.

Since the Belleville monument was installed in 2016, Lam organizes an annual event to pay respects to Chinese ancestors, to coincide with the tomb-cleaning festival known as Ching Ming.

We can only symbolically rest their souls, she said.

Lam will hold a Ching Ming celebration at the Belleville monument on April 13 at 11 a.m. at 171 Main Street.

This article is part of Unknown New Jersey, an ongoing series that highlights interesting and little-known stories about our past, present, and future -- all the unusual things that make our great state what is it. Got a story to pitch? Email it to local@njadvancemedia.com.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.

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Your doctor has delivered the most frightening prognosis imaginable: You have no more than six months to live.

On Monday, lawmakers in both the state Senate and Assembly will decide the fate of a bill that would give you and other terminally ill patients in New Jersey have a legal right to decide how and when you die.

For six years, religious leaders and disability advocates have succeeded in casting doubt on whether the law would be abused and consequently lead to the premature deaths of people who could outlive a dire diagnosis.

The bill has benefited from the deliberate pace of the discussions, said Assemblyman John Burzichelli, D-Gloucester, the prime sponsor of the Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act.

More protections have been added over the years to make sure patients are making the decision freely. Opponents remain unconvinced, however, that some patients will end their lives out of fear they are a burden to their families.

This is the kind of topic where it just takes time to have people put the pieces together on their own, said Burzichelli, who embraced the issue after watching family members grapple with terminal illness. This is not an issue that involves twisting any arms.

If the bill (A1504) passes both Democratic-controlled houses, Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, will decide whether to sign it into law. New Jersey would be the eighth state permitting aid in dying.

The law would apply to New Jersey residents who have received a terminal diagnosis, defined as an incurable, irreversible and medically confirmed disease that will end the persons life within six months. Disabilities are not terminal illnesses, according to the legislation.

In order to get the prescription for the life-ending medication, patients will have to verbally ask their doctor twice over the span of 15 days. A second physician would need to verify the diagnosis, according to the bill.

Patients would also need to submit a request in writing, stating they had been fully informed of alternatives, such as palliative care and pain control. The declaration would need to be witnessed by two people who attest the person is acting voluntarily. One of the two must not be a relative or entitled to any portion of the patients estate or the persons doctor.

Anyone who coerces a patient into requesting the medication would face up to three to five years in prison, a $15,000 or both, according to the bill. Doctors and pharmacists would also be protected from arrest or the loss of their license by complying with the law.

Burzichelli emphasized people who make the request can change their minds, and those who obtain the medication dont have to use it.

People may change their minds of their own volition, and nothing changes for those who are against this, he said.

The latest poll on the topic taken by Rutgers University in 2015 found 63 percent of residents said they believed it was morally acceptable to let terminally ill people end their lives; 29 percent did not.

California, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Vermont, Washington and Washington D.C. enacted right to die laws. Montanas right-to-die was established under a court ruling, which provides physicians a legal defense or immunity from prosecution.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
HARRISON  A teen was stabbed in the abdomen during an attempted robbery in Harrison Saturday evening, authorities said.

The 18-year-old man was assaulted at 6 p.m. in the area of Cross and Patterson streets, Harrison Lt. David Doyle said. Police located him a block away in the area of Cross Street and Davis Avenue.

The 18-year-old, who told police he didnt know who stabbed him, was taken to a local hospital and was expected to undergo surgery, Doyle said,

After further investigation, police said the incident was a robbery attempt and more than one person was involved, Doyle said. Additional suspects have been identified, but no charges have been filed. The investigation is ongoing.
JERSEY CITY  The director of the Jersey City public library system will retire this year after half a century of service, but the city isnt letting her leave without a parting gift: the main library on Jersey City will be renamed for her.

I am elated, thankful, blessed and grateful that the mayor would bestow this honor upon me before my retirement, Library Director Priscilla Gardner said in a statement. I never expected this. I have simply tried to be the best library director I could be and serve our patrons well.

Mayor Steve Fulop announced the news Wednesday during his annual state of the city address. The city will hire a search firm to help find Gardners successor.

The new director will have some big shoes to fill, Fulop said in a statement. Were looking for a dynamic leader who will continue her legacy.

Beginning as a junior library assistant in 1969, Gardner broke barriers to become the librarys first African-American director in 2002. She spent 30 years working at Miller Branch Library as branch head from 1987 to 1999.

The new library director will oversee the Jersey Avenue building along with six regional branches, three neighborhood branches and a bookmobile, with a wide variety of programming for children and adults.

(Gardner) has expanded the idea of what the library should be, state Sen. Sandra B. Cunningham said. Im thankful her legacy will continue.

Next week, two separate resolutions will be introduced to the city council.

The first will approve the hiring of the search firm, National Executive Service Corps. The second will establish a committee responsible for reviewing applications. The seven-member committee -- three members from the library board, Gardner, one mayoral designee, one city council member, and one community member -- will present their candidate recommendations to the Library Board for final approval.

We have invested more money into our libraries than any administration in the history of our city, Fulop said, because we know the importance of libraries in the community for people that may not otherwise have access to books and other educational resources.
Move over, Hamilton, a North Bergen High School drama club production was the hottest theatrical production in the region this week.

The schools theater kids presented a most unusual offering on Tuesday and Friday: a stage version of the 1979 sci-fi/horror classic Alien. Videos and photos of the production went viral on Saturday and now the teens behind it are at the center of national attention for their sheer chutzpah.

We are all left speechless, said Efren Martinez, 18, a senior who worked on sound effects. So much went into this and we are happy people appreciate it.

Students at this school of about 2,300 started planning for Alien: The Play in September and rehearsed daily in recent months, staying hours after school to get everything right and fundraising to pay the expenses. They patched together the 15 sets and the costumes and props from recycled items and recreated the films Academy Award-winning special effects any way they could.

I love that north bergen high school did alien last night as their school play, so Im gonna keep tweeting about how great it is..everything was made from recycled materials .. so nuts amazing Im so proud of my hometown pic.twitter.com/EEMEbankDz  Andrew Fernandez (@bhsdrew) March 23, 2019

They found ways to make it work from nothing at all, said Jess Angel, a 17-year-old senior who handled video recording for the play.

There was barely a budget, but Alien: The Play did not skimp on the thrills. The moment the creepy facehugger claimed its first victim got people jumping," according to 16-year-old Aisha Roman.

Xavier Perez, a 16-year-old sophomore, played the title creature. His entrance scene is straight out of the Broadway classic Gypsy, with Perez appearing from the back of the auditorium and stalking around the audience in his foam-and-cardboard costume.

It felt great being able to recreate something that happened 40 years ago and became such a big part of culture, he said, adding, But it was hot as well."

This isnt the first time North Bergen High School has ventured beyond Oklahoma! and Guys and Dolls for a theatrical production. Last year, it produced a version of Night of the Living Dead that mixed footage from the original film with action on the stage.

The students credit teachers Perfecto Cuervo and Steven Defendini for skipping the plays and musicals typically staged by high schools. Cuervo was the plays director and Defendini its art director.

"Mr. Cuervos a big fan of things that keep audiences engaged, said Gabriella Delacruz, 17, who played Ripley, the alien slayer played in the film and its sequels by Sigourney Weaver.

Some students said when they first heard the teachers plans for this years production, they were skeptical.

Youre kidding me, right? is how 17-year-old Justin Pierson reacted, he said.

But, Delacruz said, They know how to get the job done when they put their minds do it."

Fridays performance was the last, so anyone who missed it may have to settle for short clips that have popped up on Facebook and Twitter. Students said they are hoping the townships school board will OK a third performance.

This was the first North Bergen High School drama club production for Sarah Padron, a 16-year-old freshman who is now hooked on theater.

Everyone, the stage crew members, the cast members  its a family, she said. You feel like a family there."

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
EDITORS NOTE: Entrepreneurs everywhere are eyeing the billion-dollar legal weed industry, an economic opportunity unrivaled in modern N.J. history. NJ Cannabis Insider features exclusive and premium weekly content geared toward those interested in the marijuana industry. View a sample issue.

In a few days, New Jersey could become the 11th state to legalize recreational marijuana and the first to launch a full commercial weed industry through its state legislature.

That would mean people in the Garden State could legally have and use marijuana, a network of pot shops across the state, and past marijuana convictions could be cleared. But before any of that can happen, state lawmakers have to vote for legalization.

NJ Advance Media has reported all of last week that the votes arent in place to secure legalization as the Legislature prepares to vote on the bill at the Statehouse in Trenton on Monday. But the governor and other lawmakers are working hard to swing the votes needed.

If New Jersey does get legal weed, theres a lot to unpack. So here are a handful of the biggest questions around legalization to help explain what would happen, based on whats in the legalization plan.

After it passes, I can just walk around with weed, right?

Not immediately. Lawmakers have built in a six-month window to allow regulators a chance to make the rules and launch the industry. People wouldnt be allowed to possess or use marijuana until the rules are made and sales have started.

When would sales start?

Again, probably about six months. This depends on the existing medical marijuana dispensaries getting approved to sell to the public. They would have to prove they have enough marijuana to sell to patients before they could sell to anyone else.

Right now there are six medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, and that number could double before sales would start. It would likely be another six months  so a year after passage  before recreational pot shops would get up and running.

Where could I buy it?

There would be pot shops all across the state, except in towns that have banned marijuana businesses. However, any grower, processor or retailer would have to be approved by the state as well as by the town where they plan to open.

More than 60 towns have already taken steps to ban marijuana businesses, but theyd have to do so again after legalization, since the bill voids any bans that were enacted before passage. Expect dozens of towns to enact bans.

What could I buy?

There will be a variety of products available at the dispensaries. Everything from flower  what most people call buds  and oils to edibles. As the market matures, there will likely be even more marijuana products for sale.

Where would I be able to consume?

This one is pretty straightforward. Marijuana use would only be allowed at private residences or at sanctioned consumption lounges, which would be opened at some dispensaries. You wouldnt be able to smoke while walking down the street or in the park.

But even in towns that have banned marijuana, people would still be allowed to have and use weed. The bans would only apply to marijuana businesses. Towns would not be able to ban marijuana outright.

What about my marijuana conviction?

People with low-level marijuana convictions would be eligible to have them expunged, a fancy word for clearing a criminal record. Those convictions include distribution up to one ounce and possession up to five pounds. This would not happen automatically. Anyone seeking an expungement would have to apply with the Superior Court where they were charged, but would get extra help from the courts.

Theres a lot more to get into, but these are the basics of the legalization plan. Expect more details if lawmakers are able to pass the bill on Monday.

Payton Guion may be reached at PGuion@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @PaytonGuion.

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Holmdel High School junior Boris Kizenkos meteoric rise to young conservative stardom started with a radio interview on New Jersey 101.5 FM in January, when he told host Bill Spadea that he had been denied membership in the National Honor Society because he supported President Donald Trump.

Kizenko said that wearing a Make Holmdel Great Again t-shirt during his campaign for junior class president and posting the Trumpism, If youre going to think, think big, on a school Instagram account were the examples of the supposed character flaw that guardians of Honor Societys local chapter held against him.

Holmdel Superintendent of Schools Robert McGarry and a spokesman for the Virginia-based National Honor Society insisted that political belief is not a criteria for society membership, though they have avoided discussing specifics of Kizenkos case, and McGarry declined to be interviewed for this article.

Meanwhile, Kizenkos appearances on Fox News segments, with young Republican podcasters, at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last month in Maryland, and other right-leaning venues have propelled the teen into the upper echelon of young American conservatism.

And Kizenko, who moved to Monmouth County from northern California two years ago, is already envisioning a run for president in 2040, after he turns the minimum age of 35.

Meanwhile, he made his first trip to the White House on Thursday, when Trump signed an executive order that he said will protect free speech on college campuses, following complaints from mainly conservative students that their views have been censored or marginalized by classmates or faculty.

Kizenko, a rower, hopes to attend Harvard, Princeton, Georgetown or another collegiate crewing powerhouse, and possibly, though not necessarily, law school. His political role model, after all, was a real estate developer and reality television star, not a lawyer.

Holmdel High School Junior Boris Kizenko. posted this photo on his Facebook page, showing him at the 2019 Conservative Police Action Conference, or CPAC, in February. (Facebook.)

The busy teen spoke to NJ Advance Media following his White House visit.

Did you meet the president and what was your impression of him?

BORIS: We didnt really get a lot of chances to interact with the president individually, it was more of just some students were invited to hear the presidents remarks on higher education. I believe I was the only high school student there, so it was an honor to represent high school conservatives at this event. And I was talking about this on Fox yesterday. Were doing a great job on college campuses. We need to extend that to the high schools and middle schools. And I feel comfortable saying that because I know we have a president thats going to fight for us next.

What was your impression of the president? What was he like?

BORIS: He was saying some pretty important things that I dont think previous administrations have focused on, you know? I was surprised that he even has to make a mandate for free speech on college campuses, I mean, this is one of our constitutional rights. And the fact that the president has to mandate this and threaten colleges funding has shown how far our country has strayed away from our original values and why we need to get back to that.

Okay. But on a more personal or human level, heres the most powerful man on earth, hes somebody youve admired and you finally getting a close look at him. What was that like?

BORIS: Well, he really resonates with a lot of the people there. He has business experience coming in, and people know when he comes into the room, hes the president of the United States. And people understand the backlash that he had, and all the things that hes done to become the president. And all the students in the room had similar things, so when he went into the room there was that instant sense of rapport. I felt like I was right at home.

Was it fun? Was it a thrill?

BORIS: Its hard to describe. First of all, let me tell you, we were waiting in the rain for a little while  the Washington bureaucracys a little inefficient; were working on that. So then we went through security, they have nice Marine gentlemen in uniform saying Were delighted to have you, sir. Thank you very much for coming. Please come this way. Theres a great Marine Corps band playing, a lot of important people. Its easy to inflate your ego when youre in that kind of environment. But youve got to remember the mission here, why were here, what our mission is, what the presidents mission is. I would actually say at the end of it, it was a humbling experience realizing how many other students have had other issues with free speech on campus like I have, and the severity of this problem.

Whats it like to be a rising star of the young conservative movement?

BORIS: Ive realized this the past couple of days when Ive been getting some backlash after Fox, it makes you realize that the people who are going to be against you, that they dont have great intentions and when you come out and you stand up for principals theres always going to be people who want to take you down, right? And what I say to other young conservatives out there is that, this is our fight, right? We are the ones that have to fight socialism. We have to fight today for free speech inside the classroom, outside the classroom. You have to campaign, you have to be active today, so that when you can vote tomorrow, youll have an America you can recognize.

Speaking of tomorrow, or a couple of tomorrows, is it really your goal to run for president in 2040? Is that really an ambition of yours?

BORIS: Thats very serious. Its a goal of mine because Ive seen whats been happening to this country from socialism, my family fleeing from socialism, hearing the stories of what socialism has done to our family, in the Gulag, in the concentration camps. Believing that, I dont want any of that to happen here.

What was your familys experience with the Gulag, the former Soviet Unions network of forced labor camps?

BORIS: Im second generation, so, my (Russian) grandparents were born in the Soviet Union and they fought against the communists coming in, and you know, they were sent to work in Soviet mining camps. And they were split up. And (the Soviets) didnt care about your health and well-being in these camps, so a few of them, a number of them died of scarlet fever, and then they just tried to come to the United States. Those stories, those emotions, carry over the generations, and those emotions are hitting me now. Those emotions are hitting America now, with other students that also have grandparents and parents that lived in the Soviet Union.

Boris Kizenko and Leadership Institute founder Morton Blackwell inside the White House on March 21, during a free speech conference. Kizenko said he will serve as an intern at the institute this summer. (Photo courtesy of Boris Kizenko)

What are your immediate plans?

BORIS: The Trump campaigns definitely an option. (But) I will be interning with the Leadership Institute, I think its a great opportunity. Theyre doing some great work over there, and I would be honored to go out and work with them.

Youve said that Holmdel school administrators and teachers are more liberal than the students, and you believe your rejection by the honor society is one example of how that divide manifests itself. Are there any other examples?

BORIS: Well, these things dont come out of nowhere, right? Things dont really happen randomly. Theres kind of a buildup of events, an evolution, when things like this happen. In English class, my teacher had said things like, the Vietnam War was a genocide. Ive hear other things: students, if they feel its necessary, they should burn the flag in protest. So you hear those kinds of things and then another example  this has not happened to me, this happened to another student which I shall not name  a couple of years ago, the choir teacher told them, and the teacher has since been fired, that students on Trumps inauguration, or when Trump got elected, they should wear black for the death of America.

So, you hear those kinds of things in high school and then the issue with the National Honor Society is like, Oh, well, we have this administration that already has pre-conceived biases. And I think of Holmdel High School as a school with good rankings, its in a great town, you know, a conservative town, and then you have that its not the same with the school administration.

How does that make you feel when teachers are overtly political of their beliefs clash with yours. Is that hurtful or troubling, or does it get in the way with your learning?

BORIS: I mean, its not really about how I feel. I sympathize with other students that have these problems and students that have told me the same thing after I went on Fox the first time. A lot of people from around the country told me similar stories. And a lot of people dont have the opportunity to speak up like I do. So, Im fine with going out there and speaking up and representing these students because someone needs to say something. The president has given us this opportunity at the White House, and it made me realize we have to speak up for this. This is the time.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters.
About a year ago, Kevin Corbett went from being a commuter who rode the train to work to NJ Transit executive director, the man who runs the trains and buses.

I ride the trains every day, many riders recognize me and say its the most thankless job in America, Corbett said in an interview. It comes with the territory.

Corbett is the first to empathize with commuters because hes experienced what they have, including having his M&E line train canceled and delayed. Like them, hes been frustrated and said hes tried to make it better.

Hows he doing? We asked commuters and experts to give Corbett a letter grade and talk about what hes done right and wrong at the agency. The upshot? Hell has no fury like commuters enduring a year of canceled trains, delayed buses and standing shoulder to shoulder on those that are running.

Experts and some riders gave Corbett credit for winning the race to install the first phase of Positive Train Control by a federal deadline at the end of 2018, to keep the trains running. Low marks were given for how that battered NJ Transits day to day operations and how officials communicated those problems to customers.

Corbett also was interviewed and cited accomplishments that he said arent visible to riders, but were critical to reduce the number of canceled trains and out-of-service buses and rail equipment.

Well start with the experts, then riders who responded to our questions on social media, and finally, Corbett will defend his record and grade himself. Some riders also graded his boss, Gov. Phil Murphy and NJ Transit as an agency.

The Experts.

David Peter Alan, Lackawanna Commuter Coalition chairman

Grade: C-

Except for meeting the first PTC deadline, Alan said he cant think of anything else hed give the boss or the agency high marks for.

Its very difficult to be a rider these days, said Alan, who doesnt drive and depends on NJ Transit. Our transit has never been less reliable, we never know when trains might be annulled."

Direct communication from NJ Transit got worse, especially about delays and cancelations, Alan said.

We want specifics and transparency, Alan said. The Murphy administration reduced it. NJ Transit used to give us a lot more information.

Its also time to stop blaming former Gov. Chris Christie for all NJ Transits woes, he said.

There is some truth to the fact that Christie treated transit badly. They had to do catch-up to meet the PTC deadline, that put stress on system, he said. Its time for the Murphy administration to take responsibility, they took the job.

Len Resto, NJ Association of Railroad Passengers president and a regular NJ Transit rider

Grade: D

It would have been a F, but for the fact that by meeting the PTC deadline, total disaster was avertedbarely, he said.

Resto also gave Corbett credit for purchasing new multi-level rail cars and articulated buses and going on a hiring spree of new engineers and bus drivers.

He did the best he could with the money provided by the State, Resto said.

But Resto listed a dozen mistakes he believes Corbett made, including what he called an unnecessary suspension of the Atlantic City line, off peak Raritan Valley Line New York service and Princeton Shuttle, also known as the Dinky, and poorly communicating a date when those lines would return.

Among the missteps were how NJ Transit handled providing dates for service restorations and ending fare discounts before service returned to normal on rail lines with missing trains, Resto said.

The Riders.

Commuters are dissatisfied whether they ride on steel or rubber wheels.

Montclair-Boonton commuter Edward Hancox

Grade: F

Hancox cited his constantly canceled 5:25 p.m. train from Hoboken last year as a reason for his grade.

Is NJ Transit materially better now than it was a year ago? Its hard to argue it is, Hancox said. (The) biggest issue? Reliability. If a train is scheduled to arrive/leave at X time, it needs to arrive/leave at X time.

Nick Dougert, bus rider from Hoboken

Grade: D+

Dougert said NJ Transit officials claimed more buses were added to Hoboken routes, but most bus stops in Hoboken still have long lines during rush hour.

Some of the buses that do come are the long haul models that are ill-suited for quick urban travel, he said. All buses on Hoboken routes are dangerously overcrowded during rush hours.

Bus commuter Lylianne Ware

Grade: F

Ware said commuters are standing on her bus, the condition of buses is deteriorating and they need a cleaning. After incidents where passengers had to provide directions, she said drivers need better training.

What is supposed to be a 45-minute bus ride now (is) leaning towards an hour and a half, Ware said. Half the time its because another bus has broken down in the XBL (Xclusive Bus Lane) or in the tunnel. Everyone knows odds are good that the broken-down bus is probably an NJT bus.

Martin Kelley, an Atlantic City Rail line commuter

Grade: D

Since I havent had a NJT train to ride on for most of his tenure, I cant give him a passing grade," Kelley said. I realize he inherited a mess, but the poor communication is on him.

Especially embarrassing was when legislators from both parties pressured Gov. Murphy to demand NJ Transit provide a date when Atlantic City rail service would return, Kelly said.

We all know it will take years to fix the longer-term problems of NJT, but good communication and integrity don't need to wait, Kelley said.

Ellen Herb, bus commuter

Grade: C

Herb said she hasnt seen improvement, even after Murphy announced last April her line would get additional express buses after new drivers were trained. Its still difficult to get an express bus to New York and those buses and the Port Authority Bus Terminal are standing room only during rush hours.

@NJTRANSIT we could fill up an entire empty 126 bus with the line at 19th and willow. Does anyone care? Will any bus drivers stop and ask people to move back and make room? Or should we just go back home and call it a day? pic.twitter.com/I0Ii9z4C1S  VL (@vLauraTony) March 19, 2019

North Jersey Coast Line commuter Bob Bresenhan Jr.

Grade: D

As a 30-plus year NJT commuter, I give him and the agency a 'D' for disturbingly poor, Bresenhan said. It seems riders from Elizabeth, Linden, Rahway, Perth Amboy and a couple stops in between are asked to deal with the worst service on NJT rails, with almost daily cancellations of this train. Its almost down right abusive.

Northeast Corridor commuter Dora Martin Ramos

Grade: B-

She gave Corbett credit for recruiting more engineer trainees and reducing training time from 24 to 20 months. She also gave him credit for ordering new rail cars, although it will be four years before they are delivered.

NJT is still more reactive than proactive, and I dont feel engaged at all. Schedules still seem like suggested timetables, said Martin-Ramos said, who commutes between Metropark and Newark. Its not his fault that (more PTC work) didnt get done (under Christie), but trying to get it done was a hot mess that made 2018 the NJ Transit year from hell.

Benjamin Bright, who rides the Montclair-Boonton line

Grade: F (but for NJ Transit, not Corbett himself)

I dont think its fair to give Corbett specifically a grade. What could he really have gotten done at such a poorly funded and crippled organization in a year? NJ Transit gets an F- and Christie should get 100 percent of the credit for running it into the ground.

Issues that didnt improve were communications, especially on NJ Transits smartphone app, collecting tickets and fares and what Bright called the mad rush on Penn Station platforms, when one train is unloading and another is loading simultaneously, causing dangerous overcrowding.

A couple of shots from @NJTRANSIT track 4 train at Penn Station tonight about 4:30p... little crowded dont you think? Where is the extra service @GovMurphy cc @CommutingLarry @NJTrainDelays @brian4NY #enough pic.twitter.com/Gy4BEBntNG  Alex (@RealAlexNovelo) November 21, 2018

The Boss.

Kevin Corbett, who still rides M&E trains from Morris County,

Grade for himself: between a B and a C

Im a hard grader. For me, Id give it a C, Corbett said. This is my mid-term grade. Im focused on my final grade.

He said improvements have been made that help riders even though they dont see them. One of them decreased the time to buy needed parts for train and bus repairs from 365 days plus. Another improved human resources procedures to make hiring faster.

Procurement is shortened to 180 to 200 days I want to cut it down further, he said.

The problem was compounded because the agency had no statistics or controls on how much money NJ Transit owed suppliers and contractors, Corbett said. Some major suppliers cut the agency off, he said. In turn, that delayed getting parts to repair trains and buses.

They wouldnt supply us, Corbett said. We owed them money, they deserve to get paid and and we paid interest on top of it.

The companies still doing business with NJ Transit adjusted their prices and added the cost of waiting for payment into bids they submitted, he said.

NJ Transit also caught up on its back rent and joint benefit payments owed to Amtrak last year and negotiated to have that money used on Northeast Corridor improvements in New Jersey, he said. That includes more infrastructure repairs between New Brunswick and the Hudson River tunnels.

Citing a cultural change between the two agencies, NJ Transit officials are negotiating for more operations control in Penn Station New York, Corbett said. That will require a financial commitment to do what NJ Transit didnt do several decades ago, jointly fund a new train control center with Amtrak and the MTA, he said.

New engineer candidates were vetted better to decrease the number of drop-outs from training classes. New new bus drivers, whove received a $6,000 signing bonus have to repay it if they change quickly jobs.

On his to do list is to improve the reliability of trains and buses, by reducing breakdowns and improving on-time performance, Corbett said.

Weve had to change the culture to support the operations people customers judge us by the operations, which were still working on. We have to up our game.

When can commuters expect to see a noticeable turn around? The wild card is how Amtrak Penn Station New York track work will affect NJ Transit.

Rail will still be a rough summer, but the end of the year in 2019 theyll see some turnaround," Corbett said. "They will see more in 2020.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Of all the facts swirling around the marijuana debate, this one stands out:

If this is a typical week in New Jersey, police will arrest more than 600 people for possession. They will be handcuffed, stuffed in the back of police cruisers, and lined up for mug shots and fingerprints.

They will face fines and legal bills. Worse, they will be marked as criminals for the rest of their lives, targets of legal discrimination as they seek jobs, college loans, and even a license to cut hair.

That, folks, is insane. Most American adults have smoked weed at some stage of their lives, and 55 million do so regularly. The folks in the back of those police cruisers arent bad guys. They are just unlucky.

Now add this second fact: Those arrested will be overwhelmingly black and Latino, even though white people smoke marijuana at about the same rate.

At a December hearing in Trenton, a panel of senior police officers was asked to explain why African-Americans are arrested for possession at three times the rate of whites. I dont think we know the underlying reasons, said Sayreville Police Chief John Zebrowski.

Assemblyman Jamel Holley, an African-American whose father spent time in prison on drug charges, shot back with the unavoidable truth: Its their skin color, he said.

So, aside from being insane, the policy is racist.

A showdown vote is set for Monday, and its facing long odds, especially in the Senate.

Reasonable opponents worry that legalization will lead to more car crashes, in part because they are fed statistics about an increase in marijuana related accidents in states like Colorado. Thats misleading, though. Its based on finding marijuana in the blood, which means it includes a driver who smoked weed three weeks earlier at a rock concert.

Its like blaming a crash on alcohol because the driver had three martinis at an office party a week earlier. On the whole, fatal crashes in Colorado are lower than the national average.

A second big concern is that more kids will smoke weed. Colorado was worried about that, so they conduct regular surveys of thousands of kids to monitor it. They found no increase since legalization. It seems the kids have had access to weed all along.

As for concern about marijuana being a gateway drug, I can speak from personal experience: When a kid buys weed on the black market, the dealers dont restrict themselves to marijuana. They offer the harder stuff, too. The black market itself is the gateway. (Regrets? Sure, I have a few.)

The bill is taking some shots from the left as well. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka supports the bill but testified Monday that it was too weak on expungement of criminal records, saying the process should be automatic. The problem is a technical one  the states criminal justice system is not computerized enough to pull that off. The bill provides money for upgrades, and in the meantime would eliminate all fees, streamline the process, and ban discrimination by employers, landlords, bankers, and others.

Our goal was to get automatic expungement, but this is the next best thing, says Amol Sinha of the New Jersey ACLU.

Another concern: Senate President Steve Sweeney opposes a recent amendment that offers expungement to dealers caught with up to five pounds of marijuana. The original bill put the cap at about two ounces. I raised hell about that when I saw it, says Sweeney, D-Gloucester.

Again, a practical concern: The states criminal law makes it a third-degree crime to sell more than one ounce, but less than five pounds. There is no way to know how much these dealers were selling within that range, so a two-ounce limit is impossible to enforce.

On Monday, legislators will be bargaining for changes in the details of all this, threatening to oppose the entire bill unless they get their way. Fine, but I hope in the end they step back and look at the sweep of history.

About one-quarter of Americas population now lives in regions where adult recreational use of marijuana is legal, and that number is obviously going to grow. This is like the debate over gay marriage; you can see the arc of the story, and where it will land. It may not happen Monday, but it will happen.

A February poll from Monmouth University found that 62 percent of New Jersey adults favor legalization, with half that number opposed. We live in a democracy, and that super-majority should count for something.

Sen. Nick Scutari, D-Union, spent 16 years as a municipal prosecutor in Linden, watching decent people get flushed down this rathole. New Jersey, it turns out, is unusually aggressive -- our arrest rate for marijuana possession is the second highest in the nation, behind Wyoming.

If people want to stick their heads in the sand, well watch New York and Pennsylvania legalize it while were still arresting the hell out of people, and well get nowhere, Scutari says.

Heres hoping that legislators think about those 600 people, a fresh haul every week. That has to stop, and there is no point in waiting past Monday.

More: Tom Moran columns

Tom Moran may be reached at tmoran@starledger.com or call (973) 836-4909. Follow him on Twitter @tomamoran. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.
By Raymond Lesniak

I will never forget helplessly watching my Godmother, Alice Rog, spend the last few weeks of her life as a cancer patient, trapped in the hospital room, suffering from excruciating pain every time she swallowed. Tragically, there was no legal option in New Jersey to shorten her agonizing, prolonged dying process.

Like most people, I would prefer to die peacefully in my sleep, at home, surrounded by my loved ones, rather than dying as she did.

That is why I support legislation that would allow mentally capable, terminally ill adults with six months or less to live to have the option to get a doctors prescription for medication they can decide to take if their suffering becomes unbearable, so they can die peacefully in their sleep.

Last month, the New Jersey Senate Health Committee approved the bill, called the Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act (S1072/A1504), after the Assembly Judiciary Committee approved the legislation last year.

I respectfully urge my former legislative colleagues to bring this compassionate bill to the floor of the Senate and Assembly and pass it ASAP, and for Gov. Phil Murphy to sign it into law. Assemblymember John Burzichelli originally introduced this legislation in 2012, nearly seven years ago. Terminally ill New Jerseyans do not have the luxury of more debate on this issue, especially when there are decades of publicly available data from other states showing there is no evidence, only baseless anecdotes, to justify opponents concerns.

Washington, D.C. and seven states  representing nearly one-fifth (19 percent) of the nations population with more than 40 years of combined experience  have successfully implemented this medical practice: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

New Jersey residents favor this legislation by a 2-1 margin (63 percent vs. 29 percent) according to the most recent poll on the issue by Rutgers-Eagleton, including a majority of Protestants (73 percent), Catholics (64 percent) and other non-Protestant residents (59 percent). This is not really a partisan issue in New Jersey, said poll manager Ashley Koning. Though a difficult subject for many, the issue has widespread support and acceptance here. Public opinion is mainly on the bills side.

As Assemblymember Burzichelli, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, Senate primary sponsor Nicholas Scutari, Senate President Stephen Sweeney, and Gov. Murphy, I am Catholic. I disagree with the Catholic Churchs opposition to medical aid in dying, as I disagree with other of the churchs positions, including its opposition to contraception.

However, this legislation respects New Jerseyans who oppose medical aid in dying by making participation by patients or healthcare providers in this end-of-life care option 100 percent voluntary. At the same time, medical aid-in-dying opponents should respect the wishes of New Jerseyans who want this palliative care option to peacefully end their suffering when no other option will provide relief.

While less than 1 percent of terminally ill adults use medical aid in dying where it is authorized, reports show these laws improve care for many terminally ill people, by spurring doctor-patient conversations about all end-of-life care options, such as hospice and comfort palliative care, and better utilization of them. These laws and the New Jersey bill require doctors to advise terminally ill patients who request medical aid in dying about all available end-of-life care options, including hospice and palliative care.

Oregons Death with Dignity Law has helped spur the state to lead the nation in hospice enrollment, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, and 90 percent of the Oregonians who used medical aid in dying since the law took effect in 1997 were enrolled in hospice. About one-third of Oregonians who received aid-in-dying medication didnt end up taking it. But they got the comfort from knowing they had the option to take it, if they needed it, so they could live their final days as fully as possible with their loved ones.

Medical aid in dying doesnt cause more deaths; terminally ill people who want this option are already dying. It just results in less needless suffering at lifes inevitable end.

Raymond (Ray) Lesniak served in the State Senate from 1983 to 2018 and in the General Assembly from 1978 to 1983.

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By Sarah Steele

As a two-time cancer survivor, I am scared to death of the proposed bills in our legislature, A1504 and S1072, which would allow doctors to help their patients kill themselves.

I beat lymphoma with chemotherapy and radiation when I was 22 years old. Just over a decade later I experienced acute depression. I had recently delivered our youngest, so the doctors all attributed it to post-partum depression. I wasnt convinced. I had not experienced anything like this with my other two children.

Then, in April of 2005, I blacked out and awoke in the hospital. Initially, the doctors thought I was just another addict looking for an opioid prescription. Thankfully, my husband was there to advocate for me and we had tests done.

Eventually, tests revealed a mass in my left frontal lobe. It was Grade 3 Anaplastic Astrocytoma. This malignant brain tumor is a combination of Glio cells  the same as are in Glioblastoma - and Astrocytes. Anaplastic Astrocytoma can be is as aggressive as Glioblastoma. We were devastated. Would all the treatment, surgeries, and burden on my family all be worth it? Would I be the same person after a risky brain surgery?

My family was very supportive and we decided to forge ahead with treatments. I had surgery at Thomas Jefferson Hospital and then onto Fox Chase for chemotherapy and radiation, at first, to no avail. The tumor grew again. A second brain surgery was performed at Temple University Hospital and treatment continued, but this time, the tumor responded. I was then on a high dose medication for the two years after more chemotherapy.

Most people with my prognosis live about three years. So far, I have survived 13! Under the proposal in Trenton, a doctor must predict their patient has six-month or less to live. What if a doctors educated guess is wrong, and people throw away good years or even decades of their life when they might have lived, like I did?

A terminal prognosis itself can be enough to precipitate a request for assisted suicide. Illness-induced clinical depression and anxiety are common among patients with life-threatening illness. I know this intimately. But these feelings can come and go. They may not be evident at the time of the request or may be missed by the attending physician. No psychiatric evaluation is required to get lethal medication under the proposal now being considered.

In fact, most people requesting assisted suicide in states that have legalized the practice are motivated by psycho-social concerns, not physical pain, which doesnt even make the top five reasons. People fear losing dignity, autonomy, and the ability to do what they used to enjoy. They worry they will become a burden on their family or caregivers. Most people with a six-month or less prognosis will experience life with disabilities. But these disability-related concerns can be resolved in ways other than suicide.

Should New Jersey face those challenges with compassionate counseling, in-home personal care support, and painstaking social work? Or will we instead set up a two-tier system, where the well and able receive suicide prevention care and services, while people with illness and disability get suicide assistance? Lets not let New Jersey be known for disability discrimination.

Given my experiences with cancer, however, my greatest concern is the perverse incentive it gives to insurers, whether for-profit or government-run. If assisted suicide becomes a legal medical treatment, it could be prescribed by your doctor and paid for by your insurer. Insurers will always prefer to cover the cheapest treatment option. It doesnt take much to see that a quick death through assisted suicide will always be the cheapest treatment option. Elsewhere where this practice is legal, there are multiple cases of people being denied coverage for life-extending or curative treatments, while coverage for assisted suicide is offered instead.

For all of these reasons, I implore all legislators to vote NO on assisted suicide today. This dangerous public policy poses a grave threat to the most vulnerable in society.

Sarah Steele lives in Voorhees, N.J.

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By Walter Fields

Gov. Phil Murphys proposal for the legalization of marijuana marks a watershed moment in criminal justice reform in New Jersey. This is a matter of civil rights and social justice. For far too long, marijuana convictions have disproportionately harmed blacks and disrupted lives and family stability.

The ACLU has indicated that black people are three times more likely to be arrested for a marijuana offense than white people, even with similar rates of using marijuana. Between 2015 and 2016 New Jersey had the biggest spike in marijuana arrests in the nation. The gross racial disparities are evidenced in the labor market and in the continued economic disadvantages faced by black families. The overzealousness to prosecute and imprison blacks for marijuana offenses has destabilized the black community.

The governors proposal raises important issues of social justice and equity that we can no longer afford to ignore. The cost of incarceration and the resulting economic loss of having able-bodied citizens removed from the labor market has become too great for society to bear. From a purely self-interested perspective, the people of New Jersey should stand in support of Gov. Phil Murphy on this issue. As a longtime civil rights activist, this is a reform that is long overdue and a recognition that government has a responsibility to fix policy that has little social value.

The nature of marijuana convictions has been akin to a civil death penalty. The proposed legislation calls for expungements of all marijuana possession offenses and distribution of up to five pounds  the vast majority of all such offenses. The bill also includes a provision for expedited expungement that will be made possible by the revenue generated by the $42 an ounce excise tax.

For individuals currently incarcerated or on probation or parole for these offenses, a statutory change would allow those individuals to petition the court to vacate their sentences. In addition, under the legislation, convictions for possession or distribution of up to five pounds of marijuana could not be used in hiring decisions, mortgage and rental applications. Violations of this provision could result in fines of up to $10,000.

The disproportionate impact on certain communities caused by marijuana convictions has also been acknowledged and addressed in this legislation. Municipalities will be allowed to impose a surcharge on marijuana products that originate within their jurisdiction and use that revenue for any purpose they see fit. The revenue generated by the excise tax will be earmarked toward public awareness of the expungement process and job training programs for those eligible for expungement.

The legislation also addresses marijuana industry participation, with a goal of 15 percent of licenses awarded to certified minority businesses and 15 percent to certified women-owned and disabled veterans businesses. Residents of impact zones  Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Elizabeth, East Orange, Irvington, Plainfield, Passaic, Perth Amboy, Trenton, Hamilton, Camden, Bridgeton, Millville, Vineland and Atlantic City  will receive priority in licensure.

The bill calls for 25 percent of licenses to go to microbusinesses, which are limited to New Jersey residents and require less in capital investment because they are limited in terms of size and sales. In all, 35 percent of licenses (regular and micro-license) are to be designated conditional, and limited to a certain income threshold (under $200,000 for individuals and $400,000 for individuals filing jointly).

New Jersey has a unique opportunity with this legislation to get from beneath the tremendous costs of prosecution and incarceration for marijuana offenses and repair the damage imposed upon the black community specifically. It is time to free ourselves from the hysteria and propaganda of the 1936 film Reefer Madness and advance public policy that is humane, just and within the values of fairness and proportionality.

I applaud Governor Murphy for taking a leadership role on this issue and putting our state on the path to being a leader in a growing movement.

Walter Fields has been a journalist, writing and commenting on race and public policy with MSNBC, MSNBC.com, NPR, The Record (Bergen County NJ), The New Jersey Reporter, and City Limits. He currently serves as the executive editor of NorthStarNews.com.

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Its not unusual for federal investigators and prosecutors to announce a major drug bust with great fanfare and, sometimes, show off an impressive display of the loot.

Agents have been particularly busy around here in recent weeks, having made three large seizures of suspected cocaine and marijuana at area ports.

This past weeks haul of an estimated $38 million in cocaine at the Port of Philadelphia was eye-opening. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials posed with some of the 450 bricks of coke  1,185 pounds in all  that were recovered from a shipping container aboard the MSC Desiree that was also loaded with liquid rubber. The ship originated in Colombia  the likely source of the contraband  and also stopped in Guatemala before reaching Philadelphia.

On Feb, 28, at the Port of Newark, authorities found 60 packages of suspected cocaine, also hidden in a shipping container, with a stunning street value of $77 million. Then, on March 8, back at the Port of Philadelphia, more than 600 pounds of marijuana destined for New Jersey  still illegal, at least until Mondays scheduled vote in the Legislature  were seized from another shipping container. Officials estimated the value at $2.5 million.

The three seizures were among the largest such busts at the ports in years. Although none was record-setting, youve got to hand it to these agents for doing their jobs effectively. In addition to Customs and Border Protection, part of the Department of Homeland Security, the Philadelphia cocaine bust received assists from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Pennsylvania and Delaware state police.

To put the recent bounty in sobering perspective, however, customs officials say they stop a nationwide average of 4,657 pounds of illicit narcotics every day from reaching the street. Imagine the huge quantity that still slips through these spot checks. To see cocaine, a scourge of the 1980s, make a big comeback is also depressing.

However, there is a thread here, and it is the manner in which these drugs arrived: on ships, hidden in opaque cargo containers that are the lifeblood of import-export trade, at legal ports of entry.

Its impossible to say that President Donald Trump is entirely wrong when he cites illegal border crossers, who mostly arrive on foot, as another source of illegal drugs. But the Pennsylvania and New Jersey busts demonstrate what experts have long maintained: When drugs come into the United States, its mostly through manned border crossings, or marine terminals and airports.

This is pretty clear evidence about where additional resources can best be deployed for improved interdiction. Experienced custom agents must have a sixth-sense that brings them to search a particular ship, container, etc., We could use more of these agents, plus additional drug-sniffing dogs and added visual screenings.

How does spending billions on a border wall fit this scenario? Even if you want a such barrier for other reasons, its unsupported fear-mongering to shout that drugs will overrun the country without this wall. Trumps new budget blueprint calls for $8.6 billion in wall funding, even more than the $5.7 billion he sought before shutting down the government late last year.

If the idea is to keep drugs out, use some of that money to amp up port-of-entry monitoring. And, dont forget the demand side, which can be reduced with better substance-abuse treatment programs. Like it or not, what leaders of some drug-exporting countries say is true: If U.S. residents stopped buying illicit drugs, their countries would stop sending them.

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By Kevin Brown

I got my drivers license on my 16th birthday and I can remember the sense of freedom that I felt as soon as I had the card in my hand. As a young teen, I could drive myself to my after school and summer jobs, or school, or even hang out with my friends.

But, after years of holding this little plastic card in my wallet, I now realize how I took it for granted. If it was taken away for even a week, it would throw a major wrench in my routine. I wouldnt be able to get to work, buy groceries, or take my daughter to college and it would take an immense effort to course correct if I was forced to live without it.

As New Jersey gets ready to implement the REAL ID Act, more New Jersey workers are likely to face difficulty when obtaining a drivers license due to the increased federal requirements.

Both the REAL ID Act license and standard drivers license require drivers to prove identity and address, but the REAL ID Act requires that all documents presented be uploaded into a government database, including SSN along with 6 points of other identification, such as a birth certificate, passport, N.J. drivers license, and more. The standard basic drivers license would allow a variety of official documents to be presented as proof and would not upload an individuals personal documents into any government database.

With the stringent requirements, the REAL ID Act increases barriers for obtaining a drivers license, especially for marginalized folks who are more likely to have limited or lost documentation. This includes the formerly incarcerated, undocumented immigrants, victims of domestic violence, and low-income individuals. Some of New Jerseys most vulnerable populations could struggle, including domestic violence survivors who have been forced to change their identity or leave behind documents, as well as transgender individuals whose documents often do not accurately match their gender identity. Senior citizens who do not drive but need identification should not be forced to obtain a REAL ID.

A standard drivers license is the clear answer. We need to give people in our communities who are struggling to lift themselves out of poverty, or to support themselves and their families, all the tools possible to be able to succeed, not limit their access to transportation that could enable them to get good, family sustaining jobs. For these workers who may be living paycheck to paycheck, access to a drivers licenses is necessary to put food on the table and keep the lights on in their home. An alternative standard license that is accessible for all residents will keep New Jersey moving forward without anyone left out due to federal REAL ID Act requirements.

For those of you who are skeptical, I encourage you to practically consider how you would have to rearrange your life to make things function as normal without a drivers license. We all know the key to not only surviving but participating fully in your community, depends on the ability to find a stable job, ideally with fair wages and full benefits.

The second and equally important part of the equation is often forgotten. The average worker in New Jersey doesnt live within a reasonable distance from their place of work - at least without a car. Its unfortunate, but we all know it to be true that the NJ public transit system, while helpful, is far from a reliable daily option for most families. According to the census, more than two-thirds of New Jerseyans live and work in different towns.

Even still, its hardly ever that simple. Many individuals have kids to drop off at school in the morning and pick up at the end of the day, and do not have a spouse or significant other to coordinate pick up. We cannot force countless New Jersey workers to have to face the option of losing their access to a drivers license. Aside from being frustratingly inconvenient, its flat out impossible for many parents. Especially when you depend on an hourly wage to support yourself and your family, its unlikely that you can leave work an hour early because you have to take the bus to your kids school in order to pick them up before daycare closes for the evening.

Legislation A4743/S3229, introduced in November, would allow New Jersey workers and their families to continue going about their daily routines without disruption. We cannot strand such a strong component of New Jerseys workforce and make it impossible for them to contribute. Not only would it be a moral stain on our state, but it would be an impact that would be felt across all families in New Jersey. This is an urgent issue that I hope will become a priority to lawmakers in the state.

Kevin Brown is vice president and New Jersey district director of 32BJ SEIU.

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WASHINGTON  New Jersey raised its gas tax three years ago, and since then, there are 24 fewer bridges in poor condition in the state.

Now theres talk about raising the federal gas tax to fund road and bridge construction in New Jersey and across the nation.

Rep. Tom Malinowski, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said an increase in the federal gasoline tax, which hasnt been raised since 1993, is being discussed as federal lawmakers look to pass a new surface transportation bill. The federal gas tax is 18.4 cents a gallon..

I see one of my jobs in Washington as leading the country to do what New Jersey has proven can work, said Malinowski, D-7th Dist.

The most recent Federal Highway Administration statistics show 1 in 12 New Jersey bridges in poor condition in 2018. Thats 544 of New Jerseys 6,746 spans.

Thats slightly lower than the 556 poor bridges reported the year before and continues an almost-steady decline from 602 in 2012.

There has certainly been an increase in construction and roadwork happening throughout the state, said Tracy Noble, a spokeswoman for AAA Mid-Atlantic. Its very visible everywhere. We do see progress being made."

New Jersey had one of the lowest gasoline taxes in the country until Gov. Chris Christie signed a 23-cent a gallon increase in 2016. Last September, Gov. Phil Murphys administration raised the tax again by 4.3 cents under a formula in the law designed to keep money flowing into Transportation Trust Fund when motorists buy less gas.

Its now the ninth highest in the country, at 41.4 cents.

The higher gasoline tax has allowed the state to boost its funding for local bridges to $44 million a year from $25 million, state Transportation Department spokesman Steve Schapiro said.

The additional funding will allow counties to repair, rehabilitate, or reconstruct even more bridges under their jurisdiction to continue to reduce the number of structurally deficient bridges at an even faster pace, he said.

Theres talk of trying to get more money on the federal level as well. Nationally, 7.6 percent of bridges, 47,054 of 616,096 are rated as poor.

The Fixing Americas Surface Transportation Act, which authorizes federal funding for transportation programs that cover roads, bridges and transit, expires in 2020. The bill provided New Jersey with $5.3 billion for highways and $3.1 billion for transit over five years.

Both Malinowski and Rep. Albio Sires, another New Jersey member of the House Transportation Committee, said they could support a gas tax hike if its guaranteed that all of the money raised would go for infrastructure.

As long as its dedicated, Im all for it," said Sires, D-8th Dist. You cant have money and then have people siphon it to do something else. We have a big infrastructure problem in this nation and I think people will understand if you have some sort of a tax on gas and its dedicated to fix the bridges and the roads."

Both the American Trucking Associations and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce also have come up in favor of higher fuel taxes. The trucking group suggested phasing in a 20-cent per gallon increase at the wholesale level. The chamber proposed a 25-cent per gallon tax at the pump, five cents a year for five years.

Chris Spear, president and chief executive of the trucking trade group, told the Senate Commerce Committee last month that a gas tax hike would cost the average motorist an extra $100 a year, compared with the $1,600 he or she now pays in additional vehicle maintenance, wasted fuel and time sitting in traffic.

In addition, President Donald Trump repeatedly has mentioned infrastructure as an issue that he work with Democrats on, though his only proposals have relied primarily on local and private money rather than federal funds.

President Trump ran on this, Malinowski said. He could have had it at any point in the last two years. Instead, he decided to prioritize corporate tax cuts. Our intention is to pass it and give him a chance to support what he said he wanted."

One immediate problem, Noble said, is the myriad of potholes that have sprung up. New Jersey AAA has responded to more than 18,000 tire-related service calls this year due to potholes, she said.

Theres certainly more work to be done, especially after this strange winter that weve had, Noble said. Our roadways unfortunately are littered with potholes.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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How sad that seven months after U.S. Sen. John McCain died from brain cancer that President Donald Trump feels the need to continue to criticize him.

Is the reason envy, jealousy  or possibly both?

I think Donald Trump is envious of McCain's record. McCain's entire adult life was in the form of service to our country and to his state. Trump's service over his adult life primarily has been for himself.

Trump received several draft deferments from Vietnam-era military service for college and heel spurs. McCain was a naval pilot who flew 23 combat missions before he was shot down over North Vietnam and captured. He put his life on the line each time he took off. He was held prisoner for 5 1/2 years, during which he was tortured and beaten.

Trumps sarcastic comment that McCain was only considered a war hero because he was a prisoner of war, was one of the worst statements Ive ever heard a politician make. During a 2016 Trump presidential campaign rally, a wounded veteran came on stage and presented Trump with his Purple Heart. Trumps comment was, "I always wanted to get the Purple Heart. This was much easier.

Sorry, Donald, these medals are awarded only to our heroes who sacrifice so much.

When McCain was released from captivity, he continued his military service, then turned his attention to his state and country by serving two terms in the House and six terms in the Senate. He was an American first and a Republican second.

John McCain was admired and respected during his life, and will continue to be so honored and admired in death. I'm curious to see if people in our country will view Donald Trump the same way.

Paul Bunkin, Turnersville

Thanks to Norcross for gun-control votes

As a member of Moms Demand Action, thank U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross, D-1st Dist., for his vote in favor of one firearms measure and for also co-sponsoring another.

H.R. 8, The Bipartisan Background Checks Act, passed the House on Feb. 27. It aims to expand background checks to all gun sales, including online and at gun shows. Since federal background checks for firearm sales were introduced 25 years ago, the internet has emerged as a massive and unregulated market for gun sales. A 2015 survey stated that nearly a quarter of gun sales in America in the prior two years occurred without any background screening.

Considering this, H.R. 8 can help make sure that weapons do not land in the hands of criminals and other dangerous people.

H.R. 1112, which Norcross is co-sponsoring, was approved in the House Feb. 28. It would end a shortcoming in current federal law that allows a licensed dealer to transfer a firearm to a buyer before the required background check has been completed. This has become known as the Charleston Loophole because the shooter in the tragic 2015 hate-crime killing of nine members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina took advantage of this loophole to purchase the gun he used.

These measures will make our communities safer, and seek to reduce the instance of gun violence. Both await final action in the Senate.

As a volunteer for the nonpartisan advocacy group, Moms Demand Action, which supports the 2nd Amendment but seeks common-sense legislation to reduce gun violence, I am deeply appreciative of the continued support that we have received from Rep. Norcross. He has heard us out, and has promptly acted on our behalf.

Vandana Nittoor, Voorhees Township

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New Orleans police are seeking the publics help to find a 36-year-old woman who has been missing for a month.

Update: New Orleans police said Monday (March 25) Karrera Joseph was found Sunday and was reported to be in good health.

Karrera Joseph was last seen by her mother on Feb. 24, police said. Joseph is 5 feet, 7 inches tall, weighs 180 pounds and has brown and gray hair.

Anyone with information about Josephs whereabouts is asked to contact the Eighth District at 504-658-6080, or call the NOPD at 504-821-2222.

Note: This story was updated Monday (March 25) after NOPD reported Joseph had been located.
Dozens of people gathered in front of the charred ruins of a Broadmoor beauty salon Saturday (March 23) to honor the life of the woman who was rescued from Wednesday nights blaze but later died of her injuries.

Family members said Schwann Herbert, 54, was getting her hair styled inside Unity 1 Beauty Supply & Hair Salon when a car crashed into the shop, sparking the three-alarm blaze that led to her death a day later.

They can rebuild this building, but we cant rebuild Schwann and her smiling face, Herberts uncle, Vincent Bailey, said at Saturdays vigil. He described his niece as full of fun and friendly.

Authorities said the car crashed into the two-story, corner-facing business shortly after 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, setting off the fire that resulted in three deaths and injuries to six people. Two people, whose names have not been released by authorities, died in the vehicle, NOPD Chief Shaun Ferguson said at the scene Wednesday night.

The crash happened after the cars driver had evaded a traffic stop and led officers on a chase, police said. Investigators have since opened a formal investigation into a possible violation of NOPD chase protocol.

Three days after the fire and crash, on the corner of Washington Avenue and South White Street, a framed photo of Herbert, smiling, rested against a sign that read: Let the good times roll. Who Dat! Herbert grew up in Jefferson Parish and moved to New Orleans when she was 14 years old for high school, said her cousin, Marie Bailey.

Herbert had been going to the salon for more than 20 years, Marie Bailey said, and often took her son Anthony, now in his 20s, to the salon when he was younger.

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Marie Bailey remembered her cousin as being always happy and someone who loved kids. She said Herbert was a preschool teacher and a big fan of second-lines.

They got a second-line and she would be there, smiling, she said.

Broadmoor beauty shop destroyed in fatal, fiery crash a pillar of the community

Others came to show support for the rebuilding of the beauty salon, which owners Beverly and John Smith have owned for 38 years. Both were at the vigil Saturday.

Aviana Sheppard-Williams spoke at the vigil, explaining that she was really connected to her aunts salon, where the 10-year-old has been going to get her hair done since she was 4. She said the salon was an important place for many people in the community, including kids who had their birthday parties there.

Her mom, Nicole Sheppard, stressed the importance of prayer within the community. The emotional healing will be the trying test, she said.
Update: An arrest has been made in this shooting, police said.

New Orleans police reported that a man was shot Sunday morning (March 24) in the 100 block of Decatur Street.

An NOPD statement sent around 7:15 a.m. indicated the man had been shot in the body. A section of the street about 100 feet long was still closed off with crime scene tape as of 8 a.m.

A private transportation company worker, who asked not to be identified, said he heard gun shots from inside of his bus parked at the corner of Canal Street and Decatur and allowed people nearby to take cover inside. Immediately after the shooting, a French Quarter Task Force vehicle and two State Police cruisers sped toward Canal Street, he said.

There were no other passengers on the bus at the time of the shooting, the bus driver said. When he approached the apparent shooting scene, he said he counted 10 shell casings.

No additional information was available from police.

UPDATE: Suspect arrested in Decatur Street shooting, NOPD reports

Stay with NOLA.com for more on this story.
A suspect has been arrested in a Sunday morning (March 24) shooting on Decatur Street in which one man was wounded, New Orleans police said. Kwane Brown, 25, was apprehended just blocks away from the shooting scene, and a handgun was recovered, according to an NOPD statement.

Police said the victim, a 34-year-old man, was sitting inside a vehicle in the 100 block of Decatur when he was shot multiple times at about 6:45 a.m. The victim drove to the 800 block of Iberville Street to seek help, according to police. He later taken to a hospital where police said he was in stable condition.

Brown, who police believe is from Georgia, is charged with attempted first-degree murder. He was arrested about four hours after the shooting. Orleans Justice Center records show he was booked at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

New Orleans police say Brown confessed to the shooting and also confessed to committing very violent crimes yesterday in Georgia and Alabama. Authorities in those states have been notified, police said.

A driver for a private transportation company said his bus was parked on Canal Street near Decatur when he heard gunfire. There were no passengers on his bus, but he said people nearby jumped inside to take cover. The driver said he counted 10 shell casings at the shooting scene after seeing a French Quarter Task Force vehicle and two State Police units speed off toward Canal Street.

An NOPD officer working a French Quarter Task Force detail identified Brown as the shooting suspect, police said. He was apprehended in the 100 block of Convention Center Boulevard, and state Police recovered a Glock 9 mm handgun with an extended magazine, according the NOPDs statement.

Anyone with information regarding the shooting is asked to reach the NOPD 8th District detectives at 504-658.6080 or call Crimestoppers at 504-8221-1111 or toll-free at 1-877-903-STOP.

Note: This story has been updated with information regarding Kwane Browns arrest.
If you cant afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you. The statement so ubiquitous today, once wasnt familiar. Thanks to the dogged persistence of a poor, Florida drifter nearly 60 years ago, the public defender system so fundamental to criminal justice today began.

In Gideon v. Wainwright the U.S. Supreme Court agreed Clarence Gideons constitutional rights were violated by his being denied a lawyer. Justice Hugo L. Black wrote that because of the adversary system, any accused person who cannot afford a lawyer cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him. The right to counsel means we are all entitled  rich, poor, and in between  to effective representation. The court made clear over the years a warm body or placeholder lawyer is not enough.

However, in Louisiana, the right to effective counsel is threatened by years of chronic underfunding and a user-pay funding structure that remains inadequate, unstable and unreliable. This is no surprise. The Orleans Public Defenders Office (OPD), and public defenders across the state continue to criticize and highlight the inequities in and dangers of our criminal justice system. At best an underfunded public defender system slows down court proceedings and delays justice for the accused, for victims and our entire community. At worst, it steals innocence with wrongful convictions, punishes poverty by jailing poor people unable to afford bond and erodes confidence in a criminal justice system meant to protect innocence and keep our communities safe.

In Louisiana, the promise of effective legal representation remains unfulfilled, due in large part to continued, chronic underfunding and a failure to provide public defense with resource equity. In fact, the amount invested in public defense at the state level remains inadequate, forcing the Louisiana Public Defender Board to play whack a mole with funding to prevent systems from going bankrupt.

Once again, OPD faces significant service restrictions in the coming months unless additional funding is provided. OPD will continue to move from crisis to crisis until resource equity becomes a reality in New Orleans and throughout Louisiana. Its is time to create an equitable system of public defense funding, using adequate, stable and reliable sources.

Three years ago, OPD refused more than 1,000 cases because of our failed user-pay system. We may have to refuse cases again. OPD is not alone. Many other parishes are facing their own endless service restrictions due to failing resources. This surely isnt how Gideon envisioned equal representation.

Consider Cherrie Mitchell. For 14 months, she sat in jail, away from her son who suffered from disabilities requiring her constant care. She couldnt afford her bond, so for 14 months she waited, hoping her son was safe and praying she could make up for the lost time. OPD attorneys Arthur Rowe and Laura Bixby fought for her release and innocence. Facing decades away from her son, she was acquitted of attempted murder. As she left the courtroom, her brother shouted, two thumbs up for the public defenders!

The U.S. Supreme Court deemed public defenders essential to justice. Put another way, there is no justice without us. Our clients and our communities show us every day they care about justice. Every poll, panel and conference reveal the same things. Specifically, we all want safer, healthier communities. Our communities also continue to tell us jailing poor people for minor offenses is expensive and ineffective; criminalizing addiction doesnt make us healthy; and detaining people because they are poor or mentally ill doesnt keep us safe.

In a criminal justice system perceived as a conveyor belt to the penitentiary, it is the job of public defenders to not be complicit. In the words of Congressman and Civil Rights icon John Lewis, our job is to [B]e bold, brave, and courageous and find a way... to get in the way. The role of the defender is to protect innocence, fight for clients and hold power accountable.

OPD attorneys, client advocates and social workers connect clients to treatment programs, shelters or permanent housing. OPD staff create unique re-entry plans to help our clients succeed when returning home to their communities. We stand with our clients to empower them to accept responsibility with dignity, while offering hope for fairness and redemption. This is the work being done by public defenders.

Justice is real only if every person  rich or poor  has the effective assistance of counsel and can face his or her accuser equally in a court of law. That is the promise of Gideon. Public defenders fight every day to fulfill that promise, but until that promise made almost six decades ago becomes a promise kept, justice will remain elusive.

Derwyn Bunton is the Chief Defender for Orleans Parish. He can be reached at dbunton@opdla.org.
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Rafael Eitan was born on Nov. 23, 1926, in the British Mandate of Palestine to Zionists who had immigrated from Russia three years earlier and lived in a small settlement near Tel Aviv. Not yet a teenager, Rafi joined the Haganah, the forerunner of the Israeli Army, to defend the settlement against Arab attacks and was later recruited into its more elite branch, the Palmach.

With Jews pressing the British for an autonomous homeland, his most dazzling venture was to crawl through sewers to blow up a British radar installation on Mount Carmel. It earned him the sobriquet Rafi the Smelly, to distinguish him from another Rafael Eitan, who went on to become chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces. Mr. Eitan also played an important role in smuggling Jewish refugees from Nazism into Palestine.

Mr. Eitan was twice wounded in the 1948 war for independence. After telling his superiors that it was difficult for him to run in the field, they assigned him to an intelligence unit. His spying career had begun, though he took time to earn a degree from the London School of Economics.

Over the next few decades he served as operations chief at Shin Bet, Israels equivalent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and as Mossads deputy operations chief. In 1965, posing as an Israeli government chemist, he visited a nuclear fuel plant in Apollo, Pa., outside Pittsburgh. It was later discovered that a large quantity of enriched uranium had vanished. Though the case has never been solved, some American analysts concluded that it was more than a coincidence that Mr. Eitans visit had occurred around the time of the disappearance.

In 1985, Mr. Pollard, an intelligence analyst for the Navy assigned to monitor classified materials on global terrorist activities, was arrested on charges of spying for Israel and turning over thousands of documents to it. He confessed and was sentenced to life imprisonment. After serving 30 years, Mr. Pollard, now 64, was granted parole and released from prison in 2015.

The Pollard affair strained the close ties between the United States and Israel and raised the specter of divided loyalties among some American Jews  though today, after revelations in 2013 of the United States spying on allies through the National Security Agency, the double-dealing seems routine.

Israeli officials at first tried to depict the Pollard case as a rogue operation by Mossad. But Shimon Peres, Israels prime minister at the time, publicly apologized and allowed State Department officials to question Mr. Eitan, who had been the adviser on terrorism to a previous prime minister, Menachem Begin, and had overseen Mr. Pollards spying. Mr. Eitan later told journalists that he had acted with permission and authority.
A painting at a Connecticut museum that has long been thought to be by Vincent van Gogh has been authenticated by Dutch researchers.

The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford announced Friday that Vase With Poppies, a still life oil painting, has been verified by researchers at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam as having been made by the Dutch artist in 1886, just after he moved to Paris. It has been in the Atheneums collection since 1957.

The paintings authenticity was called into question in 1990 by the art historian Walter Feilchenfeldt, who raised concerns about many purported van Goghs around the world, the Hartford Courant reported. The artwork was taken out of museum displays and shelved.

Years later, with advances in technology and knowledge of van Gogh, the museum decided to revisit the painting.
The remarkable number of notable writers who have studied or taught at the Iowa Writers Workshop includes Flannery OConnor, Robert Lowell, Dylan Thomas, Rita Dove, Sandra Cisneros, Kurt Vonnegut, John Irving and Marilynne Robinson. In A Delicate Aggression, David O. Dowling, an associate professor at Iowas journalism school, tells the cultural and industrial history of the workshop through a series of biographical portraits. He captures writers in their formative years taking their first tentative steps toward professional careers, forming alliances and rivalries among intimidating world-renowned faculty and high-powered peers. He writes about the programs blend of mentoring and marketing, its rigor and its wiles. Below, he discusses the workshops founder, Irving defending Vonneguts honor in a fight, how Ralph Waldo Emerson helped to inspire this book and more.

When did you first get the idea to write this book?

I had written a book called Emersons Proteges, published in 2014. It was about how the promotion of young literary talent took place in Concord, Mass., and how the growth of creative writing happened within this enclave, this literary circle. Then I thought: How does that promotion move into the 20th and 21st centuries? I wanted to follow how the growth of young talent becomes institutionalized.

I didnt have to look too far. Doing some preliminary research, I strolled into Prairie Lights bookshop and asked the bookseller Paul Ingram what they had in the way of histories of the workshop. He took me over to a big shelf of books, and said: Everything here is either a memoir or retrospective collection of commemorative pieces. These are all inside jobs. There wasnt one book there by someone who wasnt an alumnus or a former faculty member. So, Paul looked at me, someones got to write this book.

Whats the most surprising thing you learned while writing it?

Too many to tell you. One was the business savvy of many of the authors  their ability to move themselves into favorable positions in the marketplace. For example, Flannery OConnor advocated for herself in a way that demonstrated her business acumen by essentially pulling out of a deal that she had originally arranged with a publisher  standing up for herself and having the wherewithal to know when she was working with an editor who was blind to her talents.
BEIJING  Top Chinese economic policymakers promised this weekend that Beijing was ready to open up the countrys economy to more market-based competition and international trade, in the latest sign of strong Chinese interest in ending a multibillion-dollar trade war with the United States.

Senior American officials are scheduled to come to Beijing in the coming days for trade talks, with Chinese officials then headed to Washington the following week in an attempt to wrap up a deal.

But Chinese officials have an extra incentive in pledging to loosen their hold over the worlds No. 2 economy, and not just to the Trump administration. In addition to a trade war that is hitting the countrys exporters, Chinas economy has also been hurt by private sector business leaders who have become increasingly cautious in recent months about making new investments.

The economy has slowed, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of skepticism that further private investments will be profitable. State-owned enterprises have claimed a growing share of the loans available in the economy, a sign that the government may be crowding out the private businesses that could drive future growth. Xi Jinping, the countrys leader, has insisted that the Communist Party play an ever-greater role in corporate decision making and daily life.
Im Jordan Peele. Im the writer, producer, and director of the movie Us. Theres a family in our driveway. So here we have the scene where the tethered family arrives at the Wilson house for the first time. Jason, of course, says theres a family in our driveway. A line designed, giddily, to attempt to be an iconic line, like theyre here from the Poltergeist movie and sort of help congeal this sense of an Amblin-esque predicament with a black family in the center of it. - [heavy breathing] What? Zora, give me your phone. Im not on it. Zora! This is the point in the movie where I want the terror to really kick into a new gear for the audience. One of the techniques that I utilized to get that terror was that all of a sudden we go into real time. The movie before this has been going from some time dashes here and there. When we get into this moment where the four family members are standing holding hands outside, then we go into this sort of fluid  we use a lot of the Steadicam with very few edits. Really trying to subliminally signal to the audience that this sort of relentless, real time event has begun and is taking place. Wait, wait, wait, just one sec  Gabe. So we see Gabe leave. He goes out. Hes the dad, hes got to deal with it. This is kind of like  probably pulled from my own anxieties of being a father and realizing, yeah, you got to man up sometimes. Hi. Can I help you? One of the things in this scene that really inspired me was the scene in Halloween where Michael Myers has the ghost sheet over him. And no matter how many questions hes asked, he just doesnt respond. The less response you get, the more impending and physical, I think, the threat gets. Probably after the second time someone doesnt respond, you know one of yous got to go down. [laughing] Aight, I asked you nice. Now I need yall to get off my property. One of the pieces of this scene that works really well is weve got Winston to this spot where hes code switching. You know, he goes back to some of his roots, as it were, to try and intimidate this mysterious family out there. That maybe if sort of reasoning with them doesnt work, a good old fashioned low register, throwing some bass into his voice, coming out with a little swagger and a bat might work. O.K., lets call the cops. Winston is just remarkable in this scene, and the audience really I think is in this tug of war between feeling the tension ratcheting up and the fear of whats to come and the little bit of a comic relief of watching this kind of goofy dad whos in over his head. Gabe. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. All right. Gabe! I got this.
The skeptics say the case is reminiscent of the beating and rape of a jogger in Central Park in 1989. In that case, the police investigation resulted in the wrongful convictions of five black and Latino teenagers.

Over the last 25 years, scores of convictions in which the defendants confessed have been overturned, and juries have begun to view confessions with more skepticism, legal experts said. Some jurors have begun to question DNA evidence and police integrity. That trend holds particularly true in minority communities where distrust of law enforcement is greater.

Before the second trial began on March 18, prosecutors sought to weed out potential jurors who, during questioning, said they or someone they knew had had a negative experience with law enforcement. Most of those members were either black men, or women who recounted incidents involving someone they knew who had been profiled or treated badly by the police.

Ronald L. Kuby, a civil rights lawyer, said trials were often won or lost during jury selection. In a case like this that is fraught with race and police overreaching, and questions about a rush to judgment, the defense would like a diverse jury with diverse life experiences, he said.

In the end, half of the 12 jurors chosen to decide Mr. Lewiss fate were white, including four men. The remaining six members are black, Hispanic and Asian. There are no black men on the jury. The jury that served on the first trial included three white members.

With an older and whiter jury, prosecutors with the Queens district attorneys office have sought to reinforce what they believed all along: that the evidence of Mr. Lewiss guilt is overwhelming. The prosecution has also tried to counter the defenses argument that the evidence was mishandled or contaminated.
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Words are written on it, steelworkers words like OK to weld that do not speak to what happened in the place where it is going.

They are written on the last steel beam for one of the last major construction projects at the World Trade Center site, brand-new metal bound for a place where 18 years ago ruined girders became symbols of destruction.

At some point in early April, truckers will haul the 374,000-pound, 34-feet-long, 12-feet tall beam over the George Washington Bridge and down the West Side Highway under a police escort. It has been lying on its side on a trailer in a parking lot in New Jersey. One of the trucking-company executives involved in the move said the tolls would probably cost about $700.

When it arrives in Lower Manhattan, it will play an important role at a performing arts center, holding the place up  literally. It is to be the linchpin of a building that will have three theaters close to 1 World Trade Center, so close that the beam will be fitted into two slots in the concrete foundation of that 1,776-feet-tall tower.
He worked on a number of prominent projects, including the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands, which opened in 1994, for which he was lead architect. He invited several other architects to design separate pavilions for the museum, resulting in, as one travel website puts it, a postmodern masterpiece, or a postmodern monstrosity, depending on who you ask.

His other architectural works include the Ceramics Museum and Exhibition Complex in Incheon, South Korea, and factories in Omegna, Italy, for Alessi, the housewares manufacturer. He designed numerous products for Alessi over the years, among the most famous being the Anna G. corkscrew, a whimsical tool with a feminine shape that he said was inspired by Anna Gili, a friend and fellow designer.

I remembered as a child when my grandmother would open a bottle of wine at the table it always seemed like a good performance, a kind of ritual ballet: the turning of the head, the arms moving up and down, the sound of the cork popping from the bottle, he told The Financial Times in 2016. Thats when I decided on an anthropomorphic object. I made a drawing of a ballerina, a female figure. It was evident, though, that I had subliminally drawn a portrait of Anna.

The corkscrew came out in 1994 and was a success. It spawned related products, including an Alessandro M. corkscrew  a male version of the Anna  and an Anna pepper mill.

Mr. Mendini designed products for other companies as well, including Swatch and Samsung. He designed a skateboard for the gear and clothing line Supreme.

He also exerted considerable influence on the design world as an editor at several magazines, including Casabella, where he worked for six years beginning in 1970. That put him at the heart of Italys so-called radical design movement of the 1960s and 70s.
ROME  Cardinal Godfried Danneels of Belgium, a liberal supporter of Pope Francis and a former Vatican adviser whose long pastoral career was damaged in a sex-abuse scandal after his retirement, died on March 14 at his home in Mechelen, north of Brussels. He was 85.

A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Brussels-Mechelen, which Cardinal Danneels had led for three decades, confirmed the death. No specific cause was given.

Cardinal Danneels, who spoke several languages, was considered a progressive in Roman Catholic leadership, supporting a greater role for women in the church and a less rigid policy against contraception. He believed that H.I.V.-positive people should be able to use condoms rather than risk transmitting the virus.

Years before Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world by retiring in 2013, Cardinal Danneels had raised the possibility of popes retiring in advanced age or when their health deteriorated.
Americans are frustrated by the inaction of their federal government on comprehensive immigration reform and border security. So are we.

We both represent districts on Long Island, and we have both worked on immigration-related issues for over 25 years  one of us, Representative Suozzi, from the perspective of immigrants rights as a mayor, as a county executive and now as a member of Congress; the other, Representative King, from the perspective of border security as a former county comptroller, and now as a congressman and former chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.

We come at this from different points of view and different parties, but with a shared commitment to finding a solution to our countrys border-security issues. Together, we have found common ground to address the problems faced by undocumented immigration and the need for robust border security.

For more than 30 years, our government has failed to solve these problems. This year, the American people endured the longest government shutdown in American history when lawmakers and the president failed to reach a spending deal that centered around border security and immigration along the United States and Mexican border.
The special counsel regulations were written to provide the public with confidence that justice was done. It is impossible for the public to reach that determination without knowing two things. First, what did the Mueller report conclude, and what was the evidence on obstruction of justice? And second, how could Mr. Barr have reached his conclusion so quickly?

Mr. Barrs letter raises far more questions than it answers, both on the facts and the law.

His letter says Mr. Mueller set out evidence on both sides of the question and leaves unresolved what the special counsel views as difficult issues of law and fact concerning whether the presidents actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction. Yet we dont know what those difficult issues were, because Mr. Barr doesnt say, or why Mr. Mueller, after deciding not to charge on conspiracy, let Mr. Barr make the decision on obstruction.

On the facts, Mr. Barr says that the government would need to prove that Mr. Trump acted with corrupt intent and there were no such actions. But how would Mr. Barr know? Did he even attempt to interview Mr. Trump about his intentions?

What kind of prosecutor would make a decision about someones intent without even trying to talk to him? Particularly in light of Mr. Muellers pointed statement that his report does not exonerate Mr. Trump. Mr. Mueller didnt have to say anything like that. He did so for a reason. And that reason may well be that there is troubling evidence in the substantial record that he compiled.

Furthermore, we do not know why Mr. Mueller did not try to force an interview with the president. The reason matters greatly. Mr. Mueller could have concluded that interviews of sitting presidents for obstruction matters are better done within the context of a congressional impeachment investigation (perhaps because a sitting president cannot be indicted, the Barr letter says this legal argument didnt influence Mr. Barrs conclusion but again is pointedly silent as to Mr. Mueller).
To the Editor:

Re Mueller Finds No Trump-Russia Conspiracy but Stops Short of Exonerating President on Obstruction of Justice (nytimes.com, March 24):

Lets be perfectly clear: While the Mueller report may not have found that President Trump colluded with the Russians to meddle in the 2016 election, it did not specifically clear him of all wrongdoing. Mr. Trumps conduct did not meet the rigorous legal standard of participating in a criminal conspiracy, but it was far from being blameless.

There is incontrovertible proof that Russia interfered in our electoral process on behalf of Donald Trump; few disagree with this. It is also clear that President Trumps rhetoric and actions have been highly aligned with the interests of the Russian government.

So President Trump and his fellow Republicans may gloat that the Mueller report has fundamentally exonerated the president, but it has not alleviated valid concerns about his past and continuing behavior toward Russia.

One of the terrible unintended consequences of the Mueller report is that it will not force the president to publicly acknowledge and reject Russias election meddling. Nor will it force him to allocate the resources necessary to actively thwart President Vladimir V. Putin from doing so again in 2020.
President Trumps proposed reversal of decades o f American policy on the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights has more to do with Israeli politics than American interests  or good sense.

On Thursday , he announced on Twitter that the United States should recognize Israeli sovereignty in the disputed Golan Heights, on Israels border with Syria, even though no other country has done so. The United Nations has declared that official annexation of the territory would violate international law.

Mr. Trump created a controversy where none needed to exist. Israel has been under no pressure to end the occupation of the Golan, which began during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War with the seizure of some 400 square miles by Israeli troops.

But Israels prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is facing a tough re-election fight, and he has pleaded with Mr. Trump to make the move. The tweet bolsters his claim that he can best keep Israel safe because of his close ties to the White House.
Some people would talk about the way they enjoyed them, and how their enjoyment reduced over time, she said. But the things they were saying they enjoyed were symptoms of post-traumatic stress. They were describing anxiety. They were reexperiencing their time on the site, as one might after a trauma, but describing this with a sense of accomplishment. Further, Dr. Tait said, I noticed a desire to transmit that trauma to other people, so that you could have other people to talk about it with.

This called to mind recent conversations shed had with fellow Christchurch residents, one of whom had told her in a brief encounter at the supermarket that hed watched the shooters video twice. He spoke abstractly about how it hadnt affected him as much as he had expected. It reminded me of people on Ogrish, Dr. Tait said. It felt to me that this guy who was watching it was a bit disappointed.

Experts almost universally advise against casting the consumption of violent footage as a fringe phenomenon. Jennifer Malkowski, an assistant professor of film and media studies at Smith College, who uses they/them pronouns and is the author of Dying in Full Detail: Mortality and Digital Documentary, pointed out that Liveleak, which is just one of many sources for such footage, is ranked by the web tracking firm Alexa as the 695th biggest site in the world, right alongside The Onion, Jezebel, and Forever21. Mainstream internet platforms have thrown vast amounts of money and labor (much of it invisible) at removing nightmarish content, hiring thousands of content moderators to identify and remove often traumatic and illegal content. But theyre circulated by many many people, they said. I think when you see those numbers from Facebook, youre confronted with that reality.

You realize that these videos arent circulated by a few maladjusted individuals, they added.

To be focusing on the tech platforms is kind of like an imported crisis, said Barbie Zelizer, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and author of About To Die: How News Images Move the Public. She said: You cant extricate one part of the media environment from the rest. Conversations and norms around representing death, violence and terrorism in media span generations and mediums. (She notes in her book that Google experienced an extended surge of search for footage of a 2004 beheading of an American in Iraq.) Norms about what should be shown on television and in newspapers  which Dr. Zelizer says have become more conservative  have given way to debates about tech platforms. Theres no question that images have impact, she said. But we dont know what that impact is, not in a way that could propel some sort of reasoned set of responses.

The big tech platforms, in other words, are inheriting, with much else, a problem that was once understood as the medias. But services like Facebook are far larger than any individual newspaper. Big social media platforms have inherited much of the rest of the web and its users  including the ones who might have spent time on a site like Ogrish.

Violence and More, Made for Sharing

There are still plenty of videos of viscerally awful things on Liveleak. There are also a lot of videos about immigration, about how the media is attacking Donald Trump, about political correctness and about Islam. Its one of the few platforms that still hosts videos from Infowars, which was banned from YouTube and Facebook last year, although they do not appear to garner many views.
MIAMI  A student at the Florida high school where 17 people were killed in a mass shooting last year apparently took his own life on Saturday, the police said. It was the second apparent suicide in the span of a week involving a student survivor of the shooting in Parkland, a community still reeling from the aftermath of the massacre.

Officers in Coral Springs, Fla., responded Saturday night to the apparent suicide of a minor who attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Officer Tyler Reik, a police spokesman, confirmed on Sunday. He said the death was still under investigation.

Ryan Petty, who lost his daughter Alaina during the massacre at Stoneman Douglas on Feb. 14, 2018, said the child who died on Saturday was a 16-year-old boy. Mr. Petty alluded to the boys death in a Twitter post late Saturday, in which he wrote 17+2 with an emoji of a broken heart.

What we feared could happen is happening, Mr. Petty said in an interview.

The foundation that he created in his daughters memory held an event last May trying to raise awareness about suicide prevention.
Many Democratic presidential candidates on Sunday called for the release of the special counsels entire report and said they were dissatisfied with relying on Attorney General William P. Barrs four-page summary of the two-year investigation.

Mr. Barrs letter said the investigation, led by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, concluded that neither the president nor his aides conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its interference in the 2016 presidential election.

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Julian Castro, one of the 15 Democrats to have announced their candidacy for president in 2020, said Congress should be allowed to see the report in its entirety. He said Mr. Barr was too close to the Trump administration for his summary to be the only peek into Mr. Muellers work.

A politically appointed Attorney General shouldnt decide how much of the Special Counsel report Congress can read, Mr. Castro tweeted minutes after the letter was released. The full report should be released and Robert Mueller should testify to its findings.
WASHINGTON  Top House Democrats, anxiously awaiting the findings of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, insisted on Sunday that their own investigations must go on regardless of whether the Justice Department accuses President Trump of wrongdoing.

Expecting the principal conclusions of Mr. Muellers 22-month investigation to be made public by Attorney General William P. Barr as soon as Sunday afternoon but lacking any information on its findings, they sought to play down Mr. Muellers investigation into Russias election interference and possible ties to the Trump campaign as a relatively narrow endeavor that does not relieve Congress of its own oversight responsibility.

The job of Congress is much broader than the job of special counsel, Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, said on Fox News Sunday. The special counsel was looking and can only look for crimes. We have to protect the rule of law. We have to look for abuses of power. We have to look for obstruction of justice. We have to look for corruption.

Mr. Nadler said that Congress must see Mr. Muellers full report and evidence  not just a summary from Mr. Barr  and that he would use a subpoena and take the fight to the Supreme Court if necessary to secure those.
Neal K. Katyal in The Washington Post:

Absolutely nothing in the law or the regulations prevents the report from becoming public.

Mr. Katyal, the former acting solicitor general under President Barack Obama who drafted the special counsel regulations in 1998 and 1999, said that Attorney General William P. Barr could and should release the report. The law, he wrote, gives all the latitude in the world to make the report public. Read more.

_____

David A. Graham in The Atlantic:

But the president might find himself missing Mueller more than he expects.

Despite all the anticipation of the Mueller report, Mr. Graham wrote, few will be happy that it is finished. His argument: Democrats will no longer be able to use the continuing investigation as a reason to wait to act against President Trump. Republicans will also be forced to reckon with the president. And Mr. Trump, who has succeeded when he has a nemesis to rally against, will find himself without a villain. Read more.

_____

David Remnick in The New Yorker:

The emergency that the Trump presidency represents leaves the Democratic Partys cast of candidates with a singular responsibility  to win the election 

Mr. Remnick, the editor of The New Yorker, wrote that it was unlikely that Mr. Trump would change his behavior after the Mueller report. Of the Democratic candidates for president in 2020, he suggested that the right one not only has to be able to win the election but also be up to the challenge of undoing the legacy of Mr. Trumps moral and material corruption. Read more.
WASHINGTON  Democrats hoped to put their wrenching intraparty debate over anti-Semitism to rest when they passed a catchall antibigotry resolution in the House this month, but Senate Republicans, eager to court American Jews outraged by the rise of anti-Semitism, have other plans.

Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate, is backing two new bills timed to be trumpeted at this weeks annual meeting in Washington of the largest pro-Israel advocacy group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Mr. McConnell has already passed a measure this year giving local and state governments the authority to break ties with companies that boycott or divest from Israel.

The actions are part of a larger political strategy aimed, in part, at showing that Republicans are more willing to directly tackle anti-Semitic hate speech and anti-Israel language than divided Democrats in the lower chamber, Republican aides and operatives said. But hate speech has hardly been a longtime cause celebre for the Republican Party, whose members have opposed efforts to expand similar protections to victims of discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation.

One measure, a sense of the Senate resolution, is intended as a direct rebuke of comments made by Representative Ilhan Omar, Democrat of Minnesota, who suggested that some American Jews had dual loyalties to both Israel and the United States. The bill, sponsored by Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, could reach the floor as early as this week, leadership aides said, and is likely to be passed unanimously or with only minimal opposition.
WASHINGTON  The fight to expel the Islamic State from its last shard of territory in Syria may be over. But the United States and its partners still face significant battles against the terrorist group, its affiliates and other networks that are less formally aligned with it elsewhere, in Afghanistan, West Africa and the Philippines.

Even before an American-backed Kurdish and Arab militia ousted the last extremist fighters from the eastern Syrian village of Baghuz on Saturday, the Islamic State had shifted gears. The organization that once staked out a self-proclaimed caliphate across Iraq and Syria has now metastasized into a more traditional terrorist group  an atomized, clandestine network of cells engaged in guerrilla attacks, bombings and targeted assassinations.

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Thousands of American troops are helping the Afghan Army and security forces combat the Islamic State and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan. Armed American drones are hunting Islamic State cells in Libya. And American forces are advising and providing intelligence to local troops fighting the Islamic State in Burkina Faso and in the Philippines.

Thousands of Islamic State fighters are also still at large in Iraq and Syria, biding their time to rearm and regroup to strike the same regions again. Many of them slipped out or surrendered when the final wave of civilians fled Baghuz, American commanders and intelligence analysts said.
ALGIERS  High above the sea in a heavily guarded villa, Algerias 82-year-old president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, sits in a wheelchair  mute, paralyzed, barely able to move his hands. Hovered over by a flurry of attendants and family members, he has not uttered a single word in public, much less given a speech or interview, since a stroke in 2013.

Twenty miles away in the capital, Algiers, tens of thousands of demonstrators fill the streets every week loudly demanding his departure, and that of the extensive, ill-defined entourage around him that Algerians call simply the power, the nexus of high-ranking officials, wealthy businessmen and military officers who actually run the country.

The demonstrations, the largest in over 30 years, have grown larger every week and seem unstoppable. Algeria, the largest country in Africa and a rare pillar of stability in the Arab world, now faces an uncertain future.

The protesters demands are unambiguous: After two decades of undivided reign, Mr. Bouteflika, his clan, and his system must go.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  A Kenyan science teacher from a remote village who gave away most of his earnings to the poor and tutored students on the weekends won a $1 million prize on Sunday that honors one exceptional educator from around the world.

The teacher, Peter Tabichi, was selected from 10,000 applicants for the Global Teacher Prize. He teaches in the semiarid village of Pwani, where almost one-third of children are orphans or have one parent, and where drought and famine are frequent.

Classrooms are poorly equipped, and the school, which teaches students 11 to 16 years old, has one computer with intermittent internet access.
BANGKOK  Cambodia faces a serious blow to its economy as the European Union investigates the governments deteriorating human rights record and considers revoking a special trading deal with the country.

For 17 years, Cambodia has benefited from preferential access to the European Union a major trading partner, under a program called Everything but Arms, which allows what the bloc calls vulnerable developing countries to pay fewer or no duties on all their exports to the bloc, except weapons and ammunition. The trading deal has contributed to a period of rapid economic growth in Cambodia.

But the program stipulates that countries meet international norms of human rights and democracy. Instead, Cambodia has engaged in one of its harshest waves of repression in recent years, actions that have prompted the European Union to consider ejecting the country from the program.

The bloc has said that the Cambodian government has engaged in serious and systematic violations of core human rights and labor rights, and in February it set in motion an 18-month process that could lead to the suspension of Cambodias preferential status under the Everything but Arms program.
Sitting at home in Davao, Edgar Barriga, Ms. Barrigas father, said he was relieved to hear news of his daughter, even though he was devastated by her chosen path.

I am happy if she is with ISIS in Syria, he said, because at least that way I know my Ellen is alive.

A movement like the Islamic State needs two types of people: rank-and-file recruits, often poor and uneducated fodder for battle, and ideologues who can entice the masses to their cause. Mr. Kiram and Ms. Barriga were in the latter camp: smart, charming, well connected.

We need to figure out how people like Reza Kiram, with no prior indication, become violent extremists, said Col. Leonel Nicolas, the commander of the joint task force in the southern city of Zamboanga, where Mr. Kiram grew up.

Even to their closest family and friends, the couples path to radicalization is indistinct. There were no defining traumas or fractures with society, only small signs that, in retrospect, hinted at trouble: too much time spent online, perhaps, or a fearlessness that could ripen into fanaticism.

I feel regret whenever I think of him because he was such a good student, said Sheikh Mahir Gustaham, who taught Mr. Kiram Islamic jurisprudence and considered him his favorite pupil. For me its a lesson learned: to watch closely and intently the good and quiet students because they may change.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan  The Afghan military has suffered its worst loss of the year in southern Afghanistan, with at least 40 security force members killed in a Taliban attack this past week, but senior officials had still not released a death toll two days later, according to residents and functionaries from the area who spoke on Sunday.

The national authorities and those at the provincial level in Helmand confirmed that an attack occurred in Sangin District, one of the most heavily contested areas in the country, on Friday night, but they either refused to give any details or claimed not to have any as of Sunday.

It was yet another indication that the Taliban were continuing to attack Afghan government forces aggressively even as they have entered peace negotiations on an American withdrawal from the country, with another round of talks expected in Qatar this month.

Some estimates put the number of security forces killed in Sangin late Friday and early Saturday at 65, including 48 Afghan National Army soldiers, 10 pro-government militia fighters and seven police officers, with 43 others wounded, according to Mohammed Hashim Alokozai, an Afghan senator and member of the Defense Committee in Parliament, who is from Sangin.
LONDON  A cruise ship that set out with more than 1,300 people but became stranded off Norways coast finally reached the shore on Sunday afternoon, after rescuers launched a harrowing operation in rough weather to evacuate hundreds of people one by one by helicopter.

More than 890 people  436 passengers and 458 crew members  were left on the 47,800-ton ship, the Viking Sky, as it headed to Molde, a coastal town in western Norway. On Sunday about 4:30 p.m. local time, after about six hours of traveling at sea with one tugboat in front and another in the rear, the vessel docked.

In footage shared on Twitter, cheers and whoops could be heard from onshore.

It has reached Molde; everything has gone according to plan, Einar Knudsen, a spokesman for the Joint Rescue Coordination Center for Southern Norway, which led the rescue operation, said by phone on Sunday.

Earlier, some passengers, who were airlifted from the ships deck, had arrived onshore bruised and battered, the Red Cross said. Passengers told NBC News that many had been hurt by falling objects and shattered glass as waves rocked the ship.
MONACO  President Xi Jinping of China has found one country in Europe that isnt worried about his countrys growing global clout or its ambitions to dominate the future of technology: Monaco.

Mr. Xi visited the tiny Mediterranean principality on Sunday as part of a European tour that is clouded by mixed feelings about how to engage with China and benefit from its trade  while setting limits on its appetite for greater economic and diplomatic influence.
GAZA CITY  The young tea and coffee vendor from northern Gaza said he was not asking for much. He just wanted to get by.

So the vendor, Amir Abu Oun, 19, joined the peaceful protests in the Jabaliya refugee camp this month against the daily hardships in the impoverished Palestinian coastal enclave.

The first day, he said, security forces from Hamas, the militant Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip, beat and punched him. The second day, he was detained and held for five days, during which he said he was slapped, beaten and deprived of food.

Injustice will not last, he told the security officers.

[A rocket fired from Gaza prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut short his trip to the United States.]
WASHINGTON  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu landed in Washington on Sunday for what amounted to a brief campaign swing through the White House, hoping that President Trumps praise and latest gift  recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights  would persuade wavering voters that his diplomatic achievements should offset any worries about his integrity.

Yet with barely two weeks left until Israels parliamentary elections, in which he is running neck and neck with Benny Gantz, a retired army chief, a fresh new scandal has embroiled Mr. Netanyahu, delaying his flight to Washington by hours and dogging him even after he arrived.

Mr. Netanyahu, who will also be leaving Washington earlier than expected after a rocket from Gaza struck a house in Israel, was already facing indictment on bribery and other corruption charges. He now faces two related accusations:

The first is that he improperly authorized the sale of advanced German-made submarines to Egypt without the approval of top military officials, possibly at a cost to Israels national security. The second is that he engaged in self-dealing, through an undisclosed and enormously profitable financial stake in a company that supplied the German builder of both the Egyptian subs and several new Israeli warships.

The new scandal builds on an earlier one involving the multibillion-dollar purchase of submarines and missile boats from the same Germany manufacturer.
The destruction of the jihadists so-called caliphate, which was once as large as the United Kingdom and ruled over millions of people, marked a major milestone in the battle against the terrorist organization.

But American officials and Syrian fighters have warned that the group is not defeated, but has returned to its insurgent roots and continues to stage deadly attacks.

NBC had been among the dozens of news outlets reporting on the battle to push the Islamic State out of its last patch of territory, near the village of Baghouz in eastern Syria.

After the announcement of the end of the caliphate, the NBC correspondent Matt Bradley walked through the destroyed village of Baghouz, talking about how many of the Islamic States adherents remained committed to its ideology.

While the caliphate may be dead, Islamic State as we know it may still be alive, he said.

The explosion that killed the NBC teams driver occurred after that report, but it was not immediately clear whether the group had been targeted. A United States-led coalition fighting the Islamic State has heavily bombed the area, raising concerns about unexploded ordinance that may remain.
Thailands complicated system of apportioning seats from votes means that Pheu Thai could still win around the same number of seats in the 500-seat lower house as Palang Pracharat, but with the Senate firmly in the militarys hand, its power as an opposition party will be diminished.

Uttama Savanayana, the leader of Palang Pracharat, said in a news conference that Mr. Prayuth had already called to commend him on the partys performance.

The official election results will be released by early May. With the unexpectedly strong performance by the military, it appears that the tense status quo will continue in Thailand, with the military-backed government in control and voters seeking change frustrated.

On social media on Sunday night, the hashtag #prayforthailand was trending high.

Ever since Mr. Thaksin, a former telecommunications billionaire from northern Thailand, swept to power in 2001, buoyed by support from the countrys rice-growing heartland, the nation has been split between an establishment elite and a populist groundswell. By some accounts, Thailand is the most unequal society on earth, and its wealth gap has only widened during five years of junta rule.

Pheu Thai Party is always on the peoples side, said Nongnuch Waree, who voted for the Thaksin-associated party on Sunday. Their policies touch the people of all classes, especially the lower class.

In election after election, the largest bloc of voters has chosen parties aligned with Mr. Thaksin, appreciative of his parties health care and rice subsidies. Just as predictably, the military has launched coups, one against him and one against the government of his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra. Security forces crushed protests by loyalists to Mr. Thaksin, killing dozens.
By Josh Di Falco 24.03.2019

The title of the penultimate episode for Telltales The Walking Dead series, was part of a line uttered during the early stages of the third episode, made by Skybound Entertainment. Broken Toys not only referred to the broken body of Abel, but it also seems to be a reflection on the group of children and the predicament upon which they find themselves in at the episode's conclusion. While the previous episode brought down the pacing of The Final Season , Episode 3 sees the story get back to the sudden rise; with more drama that promises to finish off the series with a bang.

Like Episode 1, Broken Toys begins with the aftermath of the death of another student; this time it is Mitch's, while some of the other kids in the camp got kidnapped by the Raiders. Following the theme of all the other The Walking Dead stories, it seems that grief and suffering is the only company these characters will ever get in this new world. Almost following the exact same formula from the previous episode, poor Tennessee cops the brunt of the raw emotion from Willy, who blames him for Mitch's death, after he was tricked into coming out of hiding when Lilly taunted him with the promise of seeing his sisters.

However, this time around, Clementine and the children have got a member of the Raiders in their clutches: Abel. So instead of resting on their laurels, Clem and little but less innocent AJ take on the duty of interrogating him for the whereabouts of the Raiders hideout, and the possible location of the kidnapped children. The theme of AJ growing up continues here; from the interrogation scene with Abel early on where Clementine can make decisions that may forever stay with AJ, to the important scene later in the episode where Clem and James have a philosophical discussion about AJ possibly growing up to become a murderer if he gets too comfortable with the action.

With only one episode remaining, there seemed to be little time left in the way of storytelling to wrap up all the story threads - and the futures of AJ, Clem and the other students are as vague as they've ever been. James is a character who continues to spout his holistic beliefs regarding the undead, and, unfortunately, his sentiments don't seem to get any better here. James is still of the belief that the zombies are not purely evil; which is fine, though bringing this thread into the mix with one episode left to complete the series seems a bit tacked on, with the possibility of not having an actual payoff from it.

While Clem and AJ share a few more touching scenes, they seem to be the key two characters carrying this season. The voice actors for both those characters have done extremely well to bring their childhood and adulthood into the one due to their forced environment upon which they must grow up in. Unfortunately, the other characters are still not coming across as well-developed characters or are lacking strong performances. Funnily enough, Marlon's performance in the first episode is still the most memorable behind AJ and Clem, and this episode does little to bring a new character into the main spotlight.

There is a scene that plays out during the middle portion of the episode, where the students are decorating their home in celebratory style - before they sit down to play a game where they each reveal their "true selves" to Clem and AJ. It is interesting as it does throw heighten the issue that these kids are not angels. They have been put at this school for the reason of being troubled children, with some causing more serious issues than others. However, that doesn't mean that these kids should be left alone to fend for themselves, which is exactly where they were found in the first episode.

While this is the most we have seen any of the minor characters develop, it still seemed a bit forced due to the time constraints of only having a four-episode season. Willy was practically unsighted in the first episode, and now he is happy to reveal all his "teenage" issues to Clem and AJ like they were best buddies. None of this really seems natural to the characters, but again, this is probably due to not having an extra episode up their sleeve to allow the pieces to fall naturally. Broken Toys does finish off on another cliff hanger - one where the story could head off in all sorts of directions in the final episode. The penultimate finale does feel a bit odd in the scheme of things, as it seems to tie up the major story threads without leaving any sort of direction for what will happen next. Still, this is an exciting prospect as one of the more beloved episodic stories comes to an end.
Centre renames 2 prominent institutes after Sushma Swaraj on the eve of her birth anniversary

Abhinandan's return in two days is India's diplomatic win: Sushma Swaraj

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Mar 24: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday said the return of Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman from Pakistan in two days was a huge diplomatic win for India.

Swaraj, while speaking at the BJP's 'Vijay Sankalp Sabha' in Gautam Buddha Nagar said "A day after airstrike in Balakot, Pakistan sent its war jets and India struck one down. Then, they shot one of our jets down and captured our IAF pilot Wing Commander Abhinandan. However, we got our pilot back within 2 days and that in my opinion is India's diplomatic victory."

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday kick-started its nationwide election campaign by organising 'Vijay Sankalp Sabha' on March 24 and 26.

Nirav Modi's arrest is an event: Sam Pitroda

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday slammed Congress party after Indian Overseas Congress chief Sam Pitroda, who is also known as a close aide of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, questioned the airstrikes carried out by the Indian Air Force at JeM camps in Balakot, Pakistan in an interview with news agency ANI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also took to Twitter on Friday, and in a series of tweets, lashed out at Pitroda.

Slamming the Overseas Congress chief over his comments on the Indian action in Pakistan in retaliation to the Pulwama terror attack, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, "The most trusted advisor and guide of the Congress President has kick-started the Pakistan National Day celebrations on behalf of the Congress, ironically by demeaning India's armed forces.

Shame!"Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out at the Congress over controversial comments of Sam Pitroda and said, "Loyal courtier of Congress' royal dynasty admits what the nation already knew- Congress was unwilling to respond to forces of terror."

The Prime Minister added that this is a New India. We will answer terrorists in a language they understand and with interest! Narendra Modi wrote.
TMC brings its fight against BJP to Delhi; party MPs meet Amit Shah after sitting on dharna for 4 hrs

No one will be able to destroy Congress, leaders joining TMC 'drama', says Venugopal

Allegations against my wife "baseless, politically motivated", says Mamata's nephew

India

pti-PTI

Kolkata, Mar 24: TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of party supremo Mamata Banerjee, on Sunday refuted reports that two kg gold was seized from his wife's baggage when she recently landed here from Bangkok.

Referring to the reports in a section of media that his wife, Rujira Banerjee, was found to be carrying two kg gold by customs authorities at the city airport, he said, "If that was so, why wasn't it confiscated? Was the 'chowkidar' sleeping?"

Terming the reports as "baseless and politically motivated", he said his wife was "not carrying even two grams of gold" or any other dutiable or objectionable item in the baggage. He claimed that the commissioner of Customs Kolkata Zone had written to a junior officer to file an FIR against his wife on instructions from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, New Delhi.

The Trinamool Congress leader, who heads the party's 'Yuva' wing, wondered how a covering letter by the commissioner, which was marked 'secret', could land in the hands of a television news channel.

[Lok Sabha elections 2019: In WB, Congress-CPI(M) breakup will help TMC]

Banerjee, who called a press conference at his office at Amtala in South 24 Parganas district here on the matter, alleged that the BJP was indulging in personal attacks against his family members, after having "failed" to fight the TMC politically.

PTI
Armed forces were ready to retaliate after 26/11, but govt kept mum: Nirmala Sitharaman

India

oi-Vikas SV

Hyderabad, Mar 24: Stepping up the attack on the UPA government over the issue of national security, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said she "enough reasons to believe" that the armed forces were ready to retaliate after 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack in 2008, but the then Congress-led government did not take a call.

Speaking at an event in Hyderabad, the Defence Minister lashed out at the opposition parties over the politicisation of the Balakot air strike which were carried out after Pulwama terrorist attack.

"If only a similar deterrent action was taken after Mumbai attack... and I have enough reasons to believe that armed forces did tell the govt at that time, 'if you want us to do something, we are ready but we want you to take the call'," she said, according to reports.

On the morning of February 26, the Indian Air Force's Mirage 2000 fighter jets bombed JeM camps deep inside Pakistani territory - Balakot. Pakistan's Director-General, Inter-Services Public Relations (DG-ISPR) Asif Ghafoor did acknowledge that IAF fighters did cross into their territory. India struck inside Pakistani territory for the first time since 1971. It was also the first time that nuclear power had conducted an airstrike on another nuclear power's territory.

[Sam Pitroda questions death toll in Balakot air strike]

But what transpired in India after that was political war of words. Opposition parties raised many questions and doubts about the airstrike. Some even demanded that the government reveal the exact number terrorists killed in the strike.

[Air strike at Balakot hit four JeM buildings, SAR evidence suggests]

In fact, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah today said that the aerial attack was carried out to "rebuild Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image after he lost on several fronts back home".

Earlier, Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan also resonated the same views and said that the votes are being fetched in the name of surgical strike and lives of the Army jawans.

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Story first published: Sunday, March 24, 2019, 17:48 [IST]
Ayodhya is getting its glory back with new grand Ram Mandir: PM Modi

Ayodhya land dispute: AIMPLB calls for emergency meeting today

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Lucknow, Mar 24: All India Muslim Personal Law Board(AIMPLB) has called for an emergency meeting on Sunday morning to discuss the Ayodhya issue.

All the 51 members of the committee are expected to be present in the meeting which is likely to be joined by a representatives of the Sunni Central Waqf Board.

[Ayodhya dispute: Mediation gets underway, 50 people meet panel]

The Supreme Court-appointed mediation committee for resolution of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute held its first sitting on Wednesday (March 13) and heard all parties who attended the proceedings.

The pex court has given the panel, led by former Supreme Court judge F.M.I. Kalifulla, eight weeks to explore the possibility of an amicable settlement over the disputed site in Ayodhya.

The panel, headed by former apex court judge F M Ibrahim Kalifulla, had directed that there should not be any reporting of the mediation proceedings in the print or other media, pointing out the views expressed by the top court.

On March 8, the Supreme Court had referred the land dispute case for courtappointed and monitored mediation.

A five-judge Constitution bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, had said that the mediation proceedings will be held in Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh and the state government will provide the mediators with all facilities.

The bench was hearing appeals against the September 30, 2010 verdict of the Allahabad High Court which ordered a three-way division of the disputed 2.77 acres of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya between the Nirmohi Akhara sect, the Sunni Central Waqf Board, Uttar Pradesh and Ramlalla Virajman.

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Story first published: Sunday, March 24, 2019, 9:50 [IST]
Be present in Lok Sabha, RS says BJP in 3 line whip to its MPs

BJP in talks with Amarinder, Dhindsa for alliance in Punjab: Amit Shah

Election expenditure: How much did BJP, Congress, DMK, CPI, TMC, AIADMK receive funds and spent during polls?

BJP ends suspense on Pathanamthitta, the constituency that houses Sabarimala

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 24: Ending the suspense over its candidate in Pathanamthitta,where the Sabarimala shrine is located, BJP Saturday announced the name of K Surendran, state general secretary who will try his luck from the constituency.

The BJP, while announcing its first list of 184 candidates on Thursday, including 13 from Kerala, had left out only Pathanamthitta constituency.

In the list released by the party Saturday, Surendran's name was included.

Kerala Congress invites Rahul Gandhi to contest from Wayanad LS seat

The saffron party, which is seeking to open its account in Lok Sabha from Kerala in the April 23 polls, is contesting 14 of the 20 seats in the state, leaving five to its allies -- BDJS (Bharat Dharma Jana Sena) and one to Kerala Congress led by P C Thomas.

The party, which had spearheaded the agitation over the CPI(M) led LDF government's decision to implement the Supreme Court's verdict, allowing women of all age groups to offer prayers at the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa late last year, is pinning hopes on Pathanamithitta constituency.

BJP state President P S Sreedharan Pillai, state General secretaries K Surendran and M T Ramesh and Union minister Alphons Kannanthanam were all keen on the Pathanamthitta seat.

However, Kannanthanam has been fielded in Ernakulam.

Surendran was in the forefront of the agitation over the entry of women in menstrual age into Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala and had been incarcerated for nearly a month over the protest.

BJP-BDJS gear up to fight Kerala polls together

Surendran told reporters that BJP would face the polls unitedly and expressed confidence of a massive win in Pathnamthitta.

He described the Congress party's proposed move to field Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad as a "historical blunder".

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Story first published: Sunday, March 24, 2019, 7:54 [IST]
Congress to go solo in UP polls, contest all 403 seats: Priyanka Gandhi

UP polls: Now Cong to demonstrate strength at the Mahoba hotbed

'Chowkidar only for rich', says Priyanka over unpaid dues of Sugarcane farmers

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Mar 24: Congress general secretary for UP east Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government over unpaid dues of sugarcane farmers.

In a veiled attack on BJP and its leaders who have recently added the prefix Chowkidar to their Twitter handles, the Congress leader reiterated that 'chowkidars' (watchmen) were only working for the rich, not for the poor.

Taking to Twitter, Priyanka said,''The families of sugarcane farmers toil day and night but the Uttar Pradesh government does not even take the responsibility of paying their dues.''

Furthermore she claimed, "Rs 10,000 crore of farmers' dues means everything, including their children's education, food, health, and the next produce comes to a standstill. These chowkidars only work for the rich and do not care about the poor."

[Congress keeps suspense over Sivaganga, Chidambaram's stronghold]

Meanwhile, reacting to the allegations made by Priyanaka, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath asked,"Where were these 'so-called' well wishers of farmers when they were on the brink of starvation from 2012 to 2017?"

   ''      2012  2017             ?      22   28                         Chowkidar Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) March 24, 2019

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath asked,"Where were these 'so-called' well wishers of farmers when they were on the brink of starvation from 2012 to 2017?"

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Story first published: Sunday, March 24, 2019, 14:28 [IST]
Abducted CoBRA jawan Rakeshwar Singh Manhas released by Naxals after six days of captivity

J&K: Army jawan martyred in ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Poonch sector

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Jammu, Mar 24: An Army jawan has lost his life in ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch sector, on Sunday.

The Pakistan forces continued to violate ceasefire by shelling forward areas and posts along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. The Indian Army, however, is retaliating beffitingly.

At 5.30 pm on Saturday, the Pakistan Army initiated unprovoked ceasefire along the LoC.

On Friday, two Army jawans were injured as Pakistani troops continued night-long mortar shelling and firing in Pallanwala, Sunderbani and Nowshera sectors of Jammu and Kashmir. The two Army jawans, who were injured in Pallanwala sector, were admitted to a hospital, the officials said.

[Army jawan martyred in ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Sundarbani sector]

On Thursday, an Army jawan was killed as Pakistani troops shelled forward areas and Indian posts with artillery and mortar bombs along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district.

Pakistani troops have violated the ceasefire over 110 times along the LoC since January.

The border skirmishes witnessed a spurt after India's air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed terror camp in Balakot, Pakistan, on February 26 in response to the February 14 Pulwama attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel.

The year 2018 witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violations -- 2,936 -- by Pakistani troops in the last 15 years along the Indo-Pak border. Pakistan continues to violate the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the pact during flag meetings between the two sides.

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Story first published: Sunday, March 24, 2019, 11:46 [IST]
Bengaluru: Apartment with 3 or more COVID-19 will be deemed a cluster

Karnataka lifts six-month ban on Ola, returns as usual

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Bengaluru, Mar 24: In a relief to thousands of cab drivers, owners and users, the suspension of license of Ola cabs for six months by the transport authority in Bengaluru has been revoked.

State capital and technology hub Bengaluru is among Ola's top three markets in India.

In a tweet on Saturday evening, Karnataka's Minister for Social Welfare, Priyank Kharge, said, "@Olacabs will run their business as usual from today. However there is an urgent need for policies to catch-up with new technologies & also industries too should work closer with Govt to help evolve policies for innovations."

. @Olacabs will run their business as usual from today. However there is an urgent need for policies to catch-up with new technologies & also industries too should work closer with Govt to help evolve policies for innovations.  Priyank Kharge (@PriyankKharge) March 24, 2019

The Minister also pointed out in his tweet the the need for government policies to policies to catch up with new technologies and keep up with innovation.

[Ola cabs banned in Karnataka for 6 months]

On Friday, March 22, Karnataka had issued a notice to suspend Ola's licence for six months for violating government rules by running motorcycle taxis which are not allowed for safety reasons.

VP Ikkeri, state commissioner for transport and road safety, had told reporters the department had seized and issued fines for about 258 bikes during a probe after complaints.

Ola's permit, obtained in 2017 and valid to 2021, allows it to run three and four-wheeler taxis in Karnataka. The company, backed by SoftBank Group Corp and Tencent Holdings Ltd, has until Monday to respond to the suspension notice.
No, L K Advani did not says he regretted handing over country to Modi-Shah

PM Modi, Shah meet Advani at his residence to wish him on birthday

L K Advani tallest BJP leader says Shiv Sena

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

Mumbai, Mar 24: The Shiv Sena said L K Advani would remain the "tallest leader" of the BJP irrespective of his poll presence, two days after the party nominated its chief Amit Shah from Gandhinagar, a seat represented by the BJP patriarch.

In an editorial in the party mouthpiece "Saamana", the Sena said Shah contesting in place of Advani is politically translated as the 'Bhishmacharya' of Indian politics being "forced" to retire.

Advani replaced deliberately, Amit Shah no match for him: Shatrughan Sinha

"Lal Krishna Advani is known as the 'Bhishmacharya' of Indian politics, but his name does not feature in the list of BJP's candidates for Lok Sabha polls, which is not surprising," the edit said.

The Sena said the development underlined that the BJP's Advani era has come to an end.

"Advani has been elected from Gujarat's Gandhinagar constituency six times. Now, Amit Shah will be contesting from that seat. This simply means Advani has been forced to retire," the editorial said.

Marking a generational shift in the BJP, the party recently announced candidature of Shah, who will be contesting his debut parliamentary election, from Gandhinagar.

Advani, 91, had served as Union home minister and deputy prime minister. He won the Gandhinagar seat six times.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the BJP to massive victory in 2014 and Shah was made the party president, Advani was made a member of Margdarshak Mandal (group of mentors).

The Sena said, "Advani was one of the founding members of the BJP, who along with former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee steered the rath of the party ahead.

"But today, Modi and Shah have taken the place of them (Vajpayee and Advani). An environment has already been created in the party to ensure that seniors do not get any responsibility this time," it stated.

The Sena further said Advani has played a "long innings" in politics and would remain the "tallest leader" of the BJP.

The Sena is contesting the next month's Lok Sabha elections in alliance with the BJP.

The Sena said it didn't believe that a leader retains his top position only if he continues to be in active politics.

Shiv Sena terms Advani as BJP's 'tallest leader', says 'forced to retire'

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party also attacked the Congress which has said the Gandhinagar seat has been snatched from Advani.

"The party (Congress) should not talk about insult to elders. The then prime minister P V Narasimha Rao, who had steered the Congress governments in difficult times, was insulted by the party even after his death," it said.

The Sena also referred to the 2013 incident when Rahul Gandhi tore an ordinance (on protecting convicted lawmakers) in the presence of the then prime minister Manmohan Singh.

"What happened with Sitaram Kesari (former Congress president who was succeeded by Sonia Gandhi)?....Therefore it does not suit the Congress to talk about respecting elders," the Sena said.

Praising Advani, the Sena said he was responsible for expanding the BJP's footprint across the country.

"Every shining sun has to set. The BJP could reach the top because of Advani's 'Rath yatra' in Ayodhya in 1990s. The BJP is reaping (dividends) because of Advani's toil," the Sena said.

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Story first published: Sunday, March 24, 2019, 7:41 [IST]
Lok Sabha elections 2019: BJP announces list of nine more candidates

India

oi-Vikas SV

New Delhi, Mar 24: The BJP on Sunday released a list of its nine more candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. With this, the BJP has announced names of 306 candidates.

Today's list had names of six candidates for Chhattisgarh and one each for Meghalaya, Maharashtra and Telangana.

The party had earlier announced that none of its nine sitting Lok Sabha members from Chhattisgarh will be fielded in the polls, a move aimed at any perceived anti-incumbency they may have after the saffron party suffered a big defeat to the Congress in the assembly polls.

Putting to rest speculation on whether former Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh will be fielded from his home constituency Rajnandgaon or not, the BJP named Santosh Pandey its candidate from the seat. It has fielded Jyoti Nand Dubey from Korba, Arun Saw from Bilaspur, Vijay Baghel from Durg and Sunil Soni from Raipur in the state.

[Congress releases 9th list; Karti Chidambaram fielded from Sivaganga,BK Hariprasad from B'lore South]

Earlier today, Congress released its ninth list of 10 candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. With this, the Congress has announced the names of its 228 candidates for the election to the 543-member Lok Sabha so far.

The ninth list has some prominent names such as former union minister P Chidambaram's son Karti Chidambaram, who will contest from Shivganga in Tamil Nadu, BK Hariprasad, who will contest from South Bengaluru, and Tariq Anwar who will fight from Katihar in Bihar, among others.

The election to the 543-member Lok Sabha which will held in seven phases beginning on April 11 and ending on May 19. The counting will take place on May 23.

OneIndia News with PTI inputs

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Story first published: Sunday, March 24, 2019, 20:37 [IST]
Madhya Pradesh: Congress has not won from these 14 Lok Sabha seats in 15 years

India

pti-PTI

Bhopal, Mar 24: The 15-year power drought ended for the Congress in Madhya Pradesh last year but the state has 14 parliamentary constituencies which the party is yet to win in the last a decade and a half.

On the contrary, there are only two Lok Sabha seats in the state which the BJP failed to win in the same period. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had won 27 of the total 29 seats except for Guna and Chhindwara constituencies, which were retained by Congress stalwarts Jyotiraditya Scindia and Kamal Nath, respectively.

Scindia has been representing Guna in the Lok Sabha since 2002 and has been MP from the seat for four straight terms. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has been the Chhindwara MP for 10 times and has been winning the constituency since 1980, except for in 1997 when the senior Congress leader lost to former chief minister and BJP leader Sundar Lal Patwa in a bypoll.

[Congress releases 9th list; Karti Chidambaram fielded from Sivaganga,BK Hariprasad from B'lore South]

The saffron party has failed to wrest the two seats from the Congress in the last 15 years. The 14 Lok Sabha seats which the Congress could not win in this period are Bhopal, Indore, Vidisha, Morena, Bhind, Sagar, Tikamgarh, Damoh, Khajuraho, Satna, Jabalpur, Balaghat, Betul and Rewa. Except for Rewa, the BJP has been winning all these seats in the last 15 years. Bahujan Samaj Party's Deoraj Singh Patel had won Rewa in 2009.

The BJP had won the seat in 2004 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections. There are nine Lok Sabha seats in the state considered as BJP strongholds. The BJP has not faced a single defeat since 1989 in Bhopal, Indore, Vidisha, Bhind and Damoh, whereas it has been winning Morena, Sagar, Jabalpur and Betul since 1996. Madhya Pradesh Congress spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi told PTI-Bhasha that the party has taken the issue of not winning the 14 Lok Sabha seats "seriously".

"We are making efforts to win maximum seats as there is anti-incumbancy against Prime Minister Narendra Modi," Chaturvedi said.

He said the party has sought suggestions from grassroot- level workers, on the lines of the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh last November, for deciding winnable candidates for those 14 seats. "The Congress will definitely field senior leaders for Bhopal, Indore and Vidisha seats," the state Congress spokesperson said. State BJP chief spokesperson Deepak Vijayvargiya said the party will field "strong" candidates for Guna and Chhindwara and try for a "clean sweep" this time.

PTI
PMLA court allows restoration of Vijay Mallya's properties to banks

'Best assurance' from UK on Vijay Mallya extradition

'Incredible': Vijay Mallya goes on Twitter rant after being declared bankrupt

We cannot wait longer now: SC to hear Vijay Mallyas contempt case in January for final disposal

Mallya set to lose more properties

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, Mar 24: A Delhi court has ordered attachment of liquor baron Vijay Mallya's properties in Bengaluru in a case relating to FERA violations.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Deepak Sherawat issued fresh directions after the Bengaluru Police, through Enforcement Directorate's special public prosecutor N K Matta and advocate Samvedna Verma, sought more time to execute its earlier order in this regard.

The court directed the state police to attach the properties by July 10, the next date of hearing.

More trouble for Vijay Mallya, court orders to attach his properties

The Bengaluru Police had earlier informed the court that it had identified 159 properties belonging to Mallya, but had not been able to attach any of them.

Mallya was declared a proclaimed offender by the court on January 4 last year for evading its summons in the case.

The court had on May 8 last year directed the attachment of Mallya's properties in the case through the Bengaluru Police commissioner and sought a report on it.

It had declared Mallya a proclaimed offender for evading summons in a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FERA) violation case after noting that he had failed to appear despite repeated summonses.

Vijay Mallya's defiance prompts Sebi to seek changes to Companies Act

It had on April 12, 2017 issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant (NBW) against the liquor baron.

Unlike a non-bailable warrant, an 'open-ended NBW' does not carry a time limit for execution.

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Story first published: Sunday, March 24, 2019, 6:45 [IST]
Modi wave has increased manifold, BJP likely to cross 300 seats, says BSY

India

pti-PTI

Bengaluru, Mar 24: The BJP is optimistic about performing well in states where the party did not have much presence earlier which will help push its overall tally to 300 in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, the party's Karnataka unit president B S Yeddyurappa said here.

In Karnataka too, the BJP is "doing well" in Hyderabad-Karnataka region and "already has good presence" in Mumbai-Karnataka and Central Karnataka, the former chief minister said, and claimed if the party wins 20 to 22 seats in the state, it would lead to collapse of Congress-JD(S) coalition government due to infighting.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the BJP won 17 seats out of 28, Congress bagged nine seats while the JD (S) got two seats. The Congress and the JD(S) are fighting in alliance this time, with the two parties agreeing to contest 20 and eight seats respectively.

"There is a positive atmosphere across the country. Narendra Modi's wave has only increased manifold compared to the last Lok Sabha elections. We are expecting to win seats from new territories like West Bengal, Odisha and other North-Eastern states. This would push BJP's overall tally to 300 Lok Sabha seats," he told PTI in an interview here.

[BJP to support Sumalatha in Mandya Lok Sabha seat]

The party is also expecting to improve its tally in Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, Yeddyurappa said, and expressed confidence that the party would open account in Kerala. Though the BJP lost Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan assembly elections, the party is going to repeat its 2014 performance in Lok Sabha polls, he asserted. The BJP's prospects are good in Karnataka as it is expecting to do well in Tumkuru and Mysuru, and put up a fight in Ramnagara and Hassan, which are JD(S) bastions, he added.

Yedyurappa also claimed that Congress strongman Mallikarjun Kharge is in a difficult situation in Hyderabad-Karnataka region after his supporters - Mallikayya Guttedar, Umesh Jadhav, Baburao Chinchunsur and Malaka Reddy - deserted him to join BJP.

"I am very optimistic of the BJP doing well in Hyderabad-Karnataka region, especially Kalaburgi. I am sure the entry of Guttedar, Jadhav, Chinchunsur and Reddy, can turn the tables on Kharge. The Congress leader is in a lurch by missing these leaders who made possible his victories," he said.

"As it is, the BJP has good presence in Mumbai-Karnataka and Central Karnataka, historically," he said.

Yeddyurappa said they were expecting positive impact from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rallies in Karnataka, "which have always worked in favour of the party".

"We have requested Modiji to address four rallies in Karnataka. The dates and places of rallies will be decided later," he said.

Asked about KPCC President Dinesh Gundurao's offer to Rahul Gandhi to contest from Karnataka, Yeddyurappa said the Congress is uncertain that Gandhi can retain Amethi seat, which he managed to win with a 50 per cent reduction in margin in last Lok Sabha elections against Smriti Irani.

"According to me, Rahul Gandhi is losing his Amethi seat to Shrimati Smriti Irani, and hence the Congress is offering him to contest from Karnataka. It will not be easy for him to win from Karnataka also. I think Rahul Gandhi will not take any such risk," he said.

Recently, Gundurao had written a letter asking Gandhi to contest elections from Karnataka so that it would act as a nucleus for the Congress to strengthen its position in southern parts of India.

Asked if the party is concerned about D K Shivakumar campaigning against B Y Raghavendra from Shivvamogga after wresting Ballari seat from BJP in last bypoll, Yeddyurappa said his son would win by one lakh votes margin as he has been working for the last six months without any break.

Yeddyurappa also said he is beginning his election tour in next two to three days. Replying to a query, he said if BJP wins 20 to 22 seats, infighting in the Congress and JDS would begin, which would result in the collapse of coalition government.

PTI
Priyanka's influence 'bound to grow' in party in long term, says Tharoor

India

pti-PTI

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 24: Though Uttar Pradesh is her 'karm-bhoomi' for now, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's influence in the Congress is "bound to grow" in the long term, party leader Shashi Tharoor said here. Priyanka, 47, was appointed AICC general secretary of Eastern Uttar Pradesh on January 23 this year, marking her formal entry into politics.

The party is hoping that the move will boost its prospects in the politically crucial state which sends 80 MPs to Lok Sabha. "She (Priyanka) is a very impressive lady, who speaks well, speaks with confidence, idiomatic and fluent Hindi. She is very comfortable in public gaze and reminds a lot of people of her grandmother," Tharoor said when asked about Priyanka Gandhi's formal plunge into politics. "That's on the very upbeat side.

[Congress keeps suspense over Sivaganga, Chidambaram's stronghold]

Perhaps more modestly one should say, she is at the moment general secretary for one-half of Uttar Pradesh. And that's going to be her karma-bhoomi. "That's where she will be working in the immediate prospect. But in long term I think her influence in the party is bound to grow and her popularity among the people has already been established," Tharoor told PTI in an exclusive interview. Priyanka recently launched the party's polls campaign in eastern UP with her three-day 'Ganga yatra' on boat, where she reached out to voters residing along the banks of the holy river.

On the poll alliances of the Congress in various states, Tharoor said it varies from state to state. "Each state has got a different logic. We have possible alliance with some parties in some states and are fighting against them in another state," he said. There was nothing wrong in the adjustments made between the Congress and the CPI(M) in West Bengal, he said.

While both the parties are engaged in a bitter fight in Kerala, the national leadership has agreed to some adjustments in West Bengal. The BJP has been using this to accuse the two parties of "double standards". "There is nothing wrong with that and it's not the first time. In 2016 Kerala Assembly election, they (state BJP) tried the same argument. But we had a bitter fight against them.

"In 2011 elections, that was not much an issue because the CPI(M) and the Congress were fighting each other in Bengal also. But today, each state is reacting to its own political reality. And the political reality in Bengal is very much different from the political reality of Kerala," Tharoor said. Tharoor, who has been fielded from Thiruvananthapuram again, said the post-poll scenario will be more interesting as there are parties who are running independently but after the polls they are far more likely to support the Congress than the BJP.

PTI
Year 2021: How many foreign trips did PM Narendra Modi go in this year?

Reprehensible, says Modi on Grand Alliance

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

New Delhi, Mar 24: Prime Minister Narendra Modi dubbed as "reprehensible" efforts of regional parties to form a grand alliance with the Congress, saying socialist ideologue Ram Manohar Lohia would be "horrified" as most of these parties claim to be his followers.

In a blog to mark the 109th birth anniversary of Lohia, Modi alleged, "Today those parties that falsely claim to be Dr. Lohia's followers are desperate to form an opportunistic 'maha-milawat' or adulteration alliances with the same Congress (which Lohia opposed). It is both ironical and reprehensible."

111 Tamil Nadu farmers to fight polls against PM from Varanasi

The Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal-Secular, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Sharad Yadav's Loktantrik Janata Dal, which will merge with the RJD after the Lok Sabha polls, were some of the parties formed on socialist ideology.

On the other hand, Modi said Lohia would be "proud" of the NDA government led by the BJP for following his ideas.

"Dr Lohia's thoughts inspire us. He wrote about modernising agriculture and empowering farmers, which the NDA government is effectively doing through efforts such as PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, Krishi Sinchai Yojana, e-Nam, Soil Health Cards and more," he said in the blog shared on Twitter.

Referring to gender inequality, the prime minister said nothing pained Lohia more than the caste hierarchy and inequality between women and men.

"But neck deep in vote bank politics, it was parties that dishonestly claim to be Dr Lohia's followers that opposed the NDA government's move to abolish the inhuman practice of triple talaq," he alleged.

Hitting out at the Congress, Modi said whenever Lohia spoke, the Congress "trembled with fear".

PM Modi is Anil Ambani's 'Chowkidar', not of the poor: Rahul Gandhi

He said Lohia had once claimed that during the Congress regime neither agriculture and industry nor the Army improved.

"These words can accurately describe even subsequent Congress regimes, where farmers were harassed, industry was discouraged (except if they belonged to friends and relatives of Congress leaders) and national security was ignored," the PM wrote.

Noting that anti-Congressism was Lohia's "heart and soul", Modi said, "Unfortunately, today Lohia would be horrified at the political developments taking place."

"Those parties that claim inspiration from Lohia have completely abandoned his principles.

They are leaving no opportunity to insult him... Lohia always believed that dynastic politics was inimical to democracy. He would have been flabbergasted to see his 'followers' think about their own families first instead of the nation," he wrote.

Modi alleged that these parties are "experts at grabbing power, looting as much as possible and exploiting others. Poor people, tribals, Dalits, OBCs and women are not safe in their rule because these parties give a free run to criminals and anti-social elements."

He said people should realise as as to how can those who betrayed Lohia be expected to serve the nation.

"Today they are betraying the principles of Dr Lohia, tomorrow they will also betray the people of India," Modi alleged.

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Story first published: Sunday, March 24, 2019, 7:47 [IST]
Centre renames 2 prominent institutes after Sushma Swaraj on the eve of her birth anniversary

Sushma Swaraj seeks report into kidnapping of 2 Hindu girls in Pak's Sindh province

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Mar 24: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has sought details from the Indian envoy in Pakistan into the reported abduction of two Hindu teenaged girls and their forcible conversion to Islam on the eve of Holi in Sindh province.

In a tweet, Swaraj, while tagging a media report about the incident, said she has asked the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan to send a report on the matter.

[After coalition snub, Kanhaiya Kumar to contest from Begusarai on CPI ticket]

According to the media report, the incident took place in Dharki town of Ghotki district in Sindh province on the eve of Holi.

It said the Hindu community in the area staged protests, demanding action against perpetrators of the alleged crime. India has been raising the issue of plight of minorities, particularly the Hindu community in Pakistan.

PTI
Venkaiah Naidu says Nationalism does not mean Bharat mata ki Jai

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Mar 24: Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday asked the youth to strive to build up a New India which will be free of fear, corruption, hunger, discrimination, illiteracy, poverty, caste barriers and urban-rural divide.

"The overhauling of the education system is long overdue. We must eliminate totally colonial mindset, teach real history, ancient civilisation, culture & heritage and instill values of nationalism among students," Naidu told students of Delhi University who called on him at his residence in national capital.

Interacting with students of Delhi University at his residence, the Vice President said that it was 'Advantage India now'. With India consistently achieving a growth rate of more than 7 per cent for the past few years, he said that the Indian economy was projected to become the third largest in the coming 10 to 15 years.

[Lok Sabha elections 2019: SP releases candidate list; Akhilesh Yadav to contest from Azamgarh]

"Nationalism does not mean Bharat Mata ki Jai. Sabke liye jai ho, that's patriotism. If you discriminate people on the basis of religion, caste, urban-rural divide then you are not saying Bharat mata ki Jai Ho," he said.

Observing that India was being recognised and respected for its tremendous growth and age-old civilization values, the Vice President said the adoption of UN resolution declaring June 21 as 'The International Day of Yoga' by 177 countries was a testimony to India's growing influence.

Naidu also opined considering India's demographic, providing adequate skilling and knowledge to youth can help them become job creators instead of job seekers.

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Story first published: Sunday, March 24, 2019, 12:33 [IST]
With Advanis exit, will there be an end of poll road to BJP's Murli Manohar Joshi?

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Mar 24: With veterans such as L K Advani and B C Khanduri being dropped from their Lok Sabha seats by the BJP, it seems that the party may have decided to ease out several of its old guards from electoral politics after keeping them out of government by introducing an age bar of 75 years.

However, the fate of another party veteran, 85-year-old Murli Manohar Joshi, who had won from Kanpur in 2014, remains uncertain as the party did not announce its candidate from the seat in the first list which was released on Thursday.

If reports are to be believed, BJP said that Murli Manohar Joshi may be dropped from his Kanpur constituency and is unlikely to be fielded from from any other constituency. The party is actually planning to field a stronger candidate against former Union minister Sri Prakash Jaiswal who holds the advantage of being from the district and has also represented the seat twice consecutively from 2004-14.

[Lok Sabha Election 2019: Mulayam's name not in list of SP star campaigners]

In case, if BJP plans to go with the same technique, then the party is likely to give away the ticket to Joshi due to his caste, which appears to be somewhat disenchanted with the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, where eventually the ruling party's fate might be decided.

While, in case of 77-year-old BJP leader and former Union minister Kalraj Mishra, who is presently representing the Deoria constituency in Eastern UP, the BJP is unlikely to field him again since he was inactive in his constituency according to the feedback given by the organisation to the top leadership.

However, senior leaders like Kalraj Mishra and Bhagat Singh Koshyari had already announced their unwillingness to contest the coming Lok Sabha polls.

A number of veteran leaders, including Shanta Kumar, B C Khanduri and Kariya Munda- all in their 80s- have not been fielded by the BJP in the polls, seen as part of its strategy under Modi and Shah to ease them out and groom younger leaders in their place.

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Story first published: Sunday, March 24, 2019, 15:36 [IST]
In a move that could upset US, China seals pact with EU

Emmanuel Macron calls for easing raw material supply for production of Covid vaccines to India, others

Defeat of ISIS has removed a significant threat to France

International

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Anuj Cariappa

Paris, Mar 24: French President Emmanuel Macron said that the fall of the so-called "caliphate" run by Islamic State jihadists in Syria has removed a source of potential terror attacks against France.

"A significant threat to our country" has been "eliminated", Macron said on Twitter, adding that "the step taken today is immense." "But the threat remains and the fight against terrorist groups must continue," he said.

France has suffered a wave of jihadist-inspired terror attacks that have killed 250 people since 2015, when gunmen massacred 12 people at the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris.

Final IS bastion in Syria has fallen, claim White House, Syrian Democratic Forces

The next day a man took hostages at a Jewish supermarket on the edge of Paris, killing four before being shot and killed by police.

"If you attack the caliphate, we will attack you," the attacker, Amedy Coulibaly, said in a posthumous video.

Macron's comments came as Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and other officials gathered in Trebes, southern France, to mark the first anniversary of a shooting spree by a man claiming allegiance to the Islamic State.

Four people were killed by gunman Radouane Lakdim, including a police officer who volunteered to take the place of a hostage.

Kurdish-led forces pronounced the death of the nearly five-year-old "caliphate" Saturday after flushing out Islamic State group jihadists from their last redoubt in Baghouz, eastern Syria.

France has said it would maintain its participation in the coalition in case the fighters attempt to regroup, despite plans by the United States to withdraw the bulk of its troops from Syria.

The Western allies in the US-led coalition fighting IS remnants are negotiating with Washington on the residual force that will remain after most of the American soldiers are brought home.

'Thousands still inside last IS pocket'

France has contributed around 1,200 soldiers to the coalition backing the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

"We all understand that we have to continue the anti-terrorist fight" even after Baghouz eventually falls, a French defence ministry source told AFP earlier this month.

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Story first published: Sunday, March 24, 2019, 6:52 [IST]
Collapse of Kabul will go down as one of the greatest defeats in American history: Donald Trump

Donald Trump will not accept 'bad deal on Afghanistan, says White House official

International

oi-Shubham Ghosh

Washington, March 23: US President Donald Trump is known to be fastidious when it comes to accepting international deals. The world has already seen him pulling his country out of key international deals like the Paris Climate Agreement and the nuclear pact with Iran.

A White House official now has said that the president will not be ready to accept any "bad deal" with the Taliban on the question of Afghanistan either. The Taliban and US negotiators are amid talks over establishing peace in the country and recently had their latest rounds in Qatar.

"We are certainly prioritizing peace efforts in Afghanistan. But as with all negotiations that involve vital US national security interests, we have contingency plans. The president has indicated he hopes for the best in these peace talks, but he will also not accept a bad deal," the official told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.

US-Pak ties very good now, says Trump; surprise announcement, says Pak media

The official also warned that if the peace talks with the Taliban fail, the US will weigh other options, including the military one though the same has failed to yield results for Washington for more than 17 years now as they have remained stuck in the Afghanistan quagmire.

Afghanistan's TOLO News has cited an political analyst, Sayed Naqibullah Hashemi as saying: "It is difficult to resolve Afghanistan's issue through military. Because, in the four decades of war in Afghanistan and 18 years of foreign forces presence in Afghanistan, the issue has not been solved."
Italy becomes first G7 nation to join Chinas BRI; move makes West anxious

International

oi-Shubham Ghosh

Rome, March 24: While the world remained glued to the Brexit fiasco, another European country has done something unusual. On Saturday, March 23, Italy - one of the members of the G7 group - joined China's controversial Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), defying both the US and European Union (EU) that have reservations over China's grand plan.

Italian Prime Minister Guiseppe Conte, whose government is having issues with the EU, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who visited the country, to endorse the global scheme for infrastructure-building.

Rome became the first G7 capital to take such a step. Twenty nine separate sections of the MoU were signed by members of the two sides following which the two top leaders shook hands.

Chinese President Xi Jinping in Italy today: Why EU is watching the visit closely

Although the MoU is non-binding in nature, the development is set to see greater tension between Rome and its traditional allies and also within Italy's own fragmented coalition government.

China's BRI, which is often accused of promoting 'debt-trap diplomacy' to strengthen Beijing's clout, has been endorsed by Italy at a time when the European nation is facing a heavy public debt and faced recession at the end of last year.

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Story first published: Sunday, March 24, 2019, 16:32 [IST]
Robert Mueller concludes probe into Russia link with 2016 poll, hands over report

International

oi-Shubham Ghosh

Washington, March 24: Robert Mueller, the special counsel of the US on Friday, March 22, handed over the final report of his long and much-talked about report on the investigation into the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election in America.

The investigation has been one of the most sensitive ones in the history of the US as it casts a shadow over none other than the president of the country, Donald Trump, his family and even some of his closest aides.

Donald Trump will not accept 'bad deal' on Afghanistan, says White House official

The report is still a confidential one and is expected to unleash bigger fights in the near future. As per the Justice Department, Mueller gave his final report to Attorney General William Barr and officially concluded his investigation.

The probe has been going on since 2017 to ascertain whether Trump's electoral campaign joined hands with Moscow to influence the presidential election and whether the president later tried to illegally obstruct his probe.

While Russia has always denied the charges of interference, Trump called the investigation a "witch hunt" time and again.

Barr, a Trump appointee, has said he looks to publicise the findings as soon as possible. Last week, the House voted 420-0 over a non-binding resolution calling for Mueller's report to be released both to the Congress and the party although it is not clear how the episode will play out in the Senate, a report in Al Jazeera said.

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Story first published: Sunday, March 24, 2019, 16:40 [IST]
Sushma Swaraj, Pak ministers engage in war of words over abduction of Hindu girls

International

pti-PTI

Islamabad, Mar 24: A war of words broke out between two senior ministers of Pakistan and India on Sunday over the reported abduction, forced conversion and underage marriages of two teenage Hindu girls in Sindh province.

The spat started soon after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sought details from the Indian envoy in Pakistan into the reported abduction of two Hindu teenaged girls. Swaraj, while tagging a media report about the incident, tweeted that she has asked the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan to send a report on the matter.

Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry responded to her tweet, saying it was his country's "internal issue".

Replying to Chaudhry's tweet, Swaraj said, "Mr Minister, I only asked for a report from Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad about the kidnapping and forced conversion of two minor Hindu girls to Islam. This was enough to make you jittery. This only shows your guilty conscience."

This prompted Chaudhry to respond again. "Madam Minister I am happy that in the Indian administration we have people who care for minority rights in other countries. I sincerely hope that your conscience will allow you to stand up for minorities at home as well. Gujarat and Jammu must weigh heavily on your soul," the Pakistani minister tweeted.

[Sushma Swaraj seeks report into kidnapping of 2 Hindu girls in Pak's Sindh province]

The two girls, Raveena (13) and Reena (15), were allegedly kidnapped by a group of "influential" men from their home in Ghotki district in Sindh on the eve of Holi. Soon after the kidnapping, a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown soleminising the Nikah (marriage) of the two girls, triggering a nationwide outrage.

In a separate video, the minor girls can be seen saying that they accepted Islam of their own free will. Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday ordered a probe into reports of abduction, forced conversion and underage marriages of the two Hindu girls and to take immediate steps for their recovery.

The Hindu community in Pakistan has carried out massive demonstrations calling for strict action to be taken against those responsible, while reminding Prime Minister Khan of his promises to the minorities of the country.

PTI
The dead symbolically speak to the living in this room. Slowly, they give up the facts of their lives to those willing to spend hours on a scavenger hunt of sorts, looking for clues and digging deeply into the past.

Within this Southeast Portland basement are nearly 52,000 books, periodicals and microfilm files containing nuggets of history from families across the United States and world. Computer terminals at desks link to nine expensive global databases, some esoteric, holding millions of records.

Its the joy of the search that brings people daily to the Genealogical Forum of Oregon, now the biggest of its kind in the Pacific Northwest.

Vince Patton, president of the 73-year-old forum, calls it a hidden gem. It has no paid staff and is run by 127 volunteers in the Ford Building, 2505 S.E. 11th Ave.

Started by three Portland women who met in a house, the organization now has nearly 1,000 members. Their $45 annual dues support the nonprofit operation, open seven days a week save holidays. Membership grants access to all material and the databases.

On one level, its a hobby.

Yet it speaks to something inherently human.

We long to understand ourselves and our place in the world. What forces brought us to this exact moment? Some of the answers come by examining the lives of the people who came before us.

Our family. Our ancestors. Our blood.

***

Research showed Patton that he has Southern roots. He wonders if he is descended from slave holders. His great-great-grandfather fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Im not proud of it, he said. But its something that deeply informs my history.

People often become intrigued with genealogy after signing up with commercial operations to get links on a symbolic family tree or receive possible connections from a DNA sample.

For some, thats enough.

For others, its the first step of what will be a long journey.

What we do is start with what we know and work backwards, Patton said. Parents, grandparents, great-grandparents and on and on. Think about it mathematically. It grows exponentially, which means theres no finish line because you always have one more person to research and help connect the dots to your life.

Spending time in the sprawling room appeals to people who like mysteries and enjoy crossword and jigsaw puzzles. It has the feel of a college library before finals: books open, notes taken, silence. Patience is at a premium. One bit of information, sometimes seemingly inconsequential, leads to another scrap.

Liz Porter, a member and volunteer, learned shes a direct descendant of Perry Baker and Maria Loomis, whose marriage was the first one recorded in Multnomah County. They were wed by a justice of the peace on Jan. 11, 1855.

Porter found the official book  Marriage Record, Volume 1  on a shelf in the forum library.

I held it in my hands, she said. When I saw their names, I got goosebumps. These are my people.

Porter, like other forum volunteers, helps newcomers who want to research their family history and have no idea where to begin. What they will ultimately discover is what she and others have learned over the years: Dates, places, births and deaths are only the skeleton of the real story. Through deep research, those facts become people who, in a very real sense, are brought to life.

I learned my descendants left Germany in the 1860s, Porter said. They came through New York and ended up in Kansas in the middle of the Civil War. They went to Tennessee, to Missouri and then to Oregon. Theres always a brick wall, something I have to figure out.

She doesnt find it frustrating.

That, she said, is what makes it fun.

***

The group formed in 1946 when three women met to start a genealogy group. Soon, four other women joined. Dues were $2 a year to pay for genealogy magazines.

By the 1980s, it had become the largest independent genealogical library in the region, attracting visitors from across the nation.

Many of the books and records have been donated over the decades. The forum received, for example, records from the Daughters of the American Revolution, as well as national Masonic Lodge records dating back to 1851. In a different era, families often self-published books of family histories and many of those line the shelves here.

The forum has one of the largest collections of French-Canadian records in the United States. The shelves have entire sections dedicated to places and ethnicities.

The organization has a limited budget for buying records and books. Last year, it decided to focus on acquiring books, records and data relating to African American and Mexican people, two groups the forum believes are underrepresented in its archives.

More than 180 free classes are offered a year, including a boot camp for beginners and monthly meetings to discuss research issues.

Long ago, one volunteer spent years documenting any reference to Civil War veterans who came through Oregon, looking at newspapers, books and photographs, no matter how obscure. He typed each name on a card, with details to help researchers find the document. The card catalogue holds 10,000 entries.

The forum has an annual open house and this years is scheduled all this coming week. National speakers will give presentations, including one on African American genealogy.

***

Volunteer Laurel Smith was on duty a few years ago when a member arrived with an out-of-town friend who lived in the Midwest. The man had never seen a photograph of his father.

He explained that his mother was pregnant with him and then his parents split up, Smith said. His father enlisted in World War II and was killed before he was born. His mother never introduced him to his fathers side of the family and disposed of anything to do with his father.

The visitor had only his fathers name and the name of his fathers high school sweetheart.

Smith began researching, learned the father had apparently once attended a high school in the Pacific Northwest. She led the visitor to the shelves holding old yearbooks from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska. She found one for the high school where records showed the mans father had gone. She handed it to the man, and he searched for his fathers name in the index, found the page and turned to it.

He saw his fathers photograph, Smith said. He said he had a lifelong wish to see what his father looked like. He began crying right there in the aisle. Later, I found two more photos, scanned them and emailed them to him.

Through research on her own roots, Smith discovered her birth mother, using only a hospital receipt that her adoptive mother gave her when her birth parents paid the final bill 64 years ago.

That was a hint, she said. With records, I began to connect the dots. I found my birth mother, knocked on her door and told her I believed she was my mother. I told her I would leave if she wanted me to go. We both began crying.

She now sees her birth mother twice a week.

--Tom Hallman Jr.

thallman@oregonian.com; 503 221-8224

@thallmanjr

OPEN HOUSE: Daily from Sunday, March 24, to Sunday, March 31

COST: Free

WHERE: Basement in Ford Building, 2505 S.E. 11th Ave.

TIME: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but doors will open earlier during open house to let people prepare for speakers.

WHAT: Speakers to help with research
BIRTHDAY GAL: Actress Alyson Hannigan was born in Washington, D.C. on this date in 1974. This birthday gal portrayed Lily on How I Met Your Mother and Willow on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She currently plays Esther Dunkel on Pure and voices the role of Claire Clancy on the animated series Fancy Nancy. On the big screen, Hannigan starred as Michelle Flaherty in four installments of the American Pie movie franchise.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): New ideas can challenge even the most adept. Don't be waylaid by temporary changes. Your ambitious desires could run into roadblocks this week so it may be best to refrain from pushing forward an agenda.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Hard work is the only sure way to reach a modicum of success. Surprises might offer challenges so be prepared to shift gears at the drop of a hat. In the week ahead, you may learn that a partner is a financial genius.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Be alert for finely tuned fine print. The ability to adapt to new situations and rethink your position is your best asset. Don't get sidetracked by differences of opinion or tempted by get-rich schemes this week.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Past problems might re-emerge and require your attention as this week unfolds. Someone's mood or gloomy outlook could squash your exuberance so it may be wise to wait for better timing to proceed.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Life is complicated. One day you are the center of attention and the next day you aren't. Using logic to deal with financial matters can backfire during the upcoming week if you are focused on merely making profits.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Wordless communication is never worthless. You might experience an intuitive link that makes a relationship feel more romantic. Friends can bring their business expertise to your rescue in the week to come.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Your flirtatiousness will only be an issue if you let emotions overpower your head. New romances that blossom in the coming week need a "wait and see" attitude, as a permanent relationship may be only a mirage.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You could be faced with impractical ideas. Ask for advice from those you trust this week and you will receive excellent guidance. Financial planning seminars could offer you knowledge that is profound or profitable.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Act as an anchor. You can be a soothing influence on partners who may be in too much of a hurry. In the coming week you may meet those who appreciate your brilliance and ability to transcend the ordinary.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Fight off the sleight-of-hand. You may meet a Houdini-like character in the week ahead or find a mysterious object in the workplace that tricks you into making a mistake. Remain skeptical of shortcuts.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Partnerships take a turn for the better in the beginning of the week ahead after a brief spat or rehashing of viewpoints. Listen to your intuitions before you act on matters of major importance and you won't go wrong.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Pavlov had a dog and Schrodinger had a cat. You probably have an experiment in mind, but you also need someone to lavish love and affection upon. You could develop dreams and fantasies in the week ahead.

IF MARCH 24 IS YOUR BIRTHDAY: The more you demonstrate how trustworthy you are the more likely others will hand you the reins of power in the upcoming five to six weeks. You have that magic spark that draws others to you so if you are looking for love you might find Mr. or Ms. Right or a new job could drop in your lap. In June your business sense is at a high point, making this a good time to evaluate your financial security. You might meet important people in July who spur you to greater success and set a fire under your deepest ambitions in August. In September your popularity hits a high note and you can make successful career changes.

(c) 2019 TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.
SALEM  An Oregon mother who watched her 7-week-old baby die of meningitis is calling for changes at a hospital from which the child was initially discharged.

Ginger McCall said her daughter was discharged from Salem Hospitals emergency room with what staff said was a routine infection, the Salem Statesman Journal reported. Hours later, the girls vital signs crashed. She died two days later.

"My hope is that something good can come out of this," McCall said. "What I want the most is to raise awareness so this doesn't happen to anyone else."

Salem Hospital officials cited privacy concerns in declining comment on the death. "This is a heartbreaking loss, and Salem Health offers its deepest condolences," officials said in statement.

McCall is an attorney and state official who works as Oregon's public record advocate.

Her daughter, Evianna Rose Quintero-McCall, came down with a fever on March 15, McCall said. She cried a weak, moaning cry, which McCall later learned is a sign of Group B strep meningitis.

McCall and her mother-in-law rushed the baby to Salem Hospital. She was given Tylenol and sent home.

McCall wishes that she would have known to insist on a meningitis test, she said, or that she had driven to OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, where the infection might have been recognized.

"There's a stereotype of a hysterical, panicked, first-time mom, and that probably affected the situation," McCall said.

She told staff she tested positive for Strep B while pregnant. Expectant mothers are typically tested for the Group B strep infection and treated with antibiotics. However, the bacterial infection can be passed to babies.

A few hours after leaving the emergency room, McCall brought her baby to her pediatrician. After the baby threw up, the doctor told her to rush back to the emergency room and he called to alert hospital staff. A flurry of activity followed and the baby was transported by ambulance to OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital. She died March 17.

"They did their very best, but by the time she got there, it was just too late," McCall said.

According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4,100 cases of bacterial meningitis, and 500 deaths, are reported on average every year.

Babies can contract meningitis at birth, through the air from people coughing and sneezing, or from contaminated food.

McCall wants parents to know the warning signs.

"I hope they will strongly advocate for themselves and their children," she said. "I hope they will appreciate every moment they have with their children."

Her main hope is for hospital staff to become better educated about meningitis symptoms, she said, and for hospitals to change their protocol.

I would like if for them to be trained to recognize the signs of this because it is so catastrophic and it happens so fast, she said. Every minute matters.

-- The Associated Press
American grandparents have long raised their grandkids when their children are unfit or unable to do so.

Now grandparents are stepping up again, Census Bureau data show, and the burden is largely falling to low-income white families.

As the middle generation has been hollowed out by the abuse of opioids and other substances, the oldest generation has become increasingly responsible for their grandkids, experts say. It's a responsibility that many didn't expect and weren't prepared for. Retired folks find themselves trading their sedans for minivans, moving out of their adult-only communities and searching for work to cover the expenses that come with raising a child.

The shift tends to be sharpest in rural, white states such as New Hampshire and West Virginia, which also ranked in the top three in substance-abuse death rates. These figures are for the five-year period ending in 2017, the most recent available. Death rates are reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Synthetic opioids have hit black communities hard since then.

The weight the opioid crisis has placed on grandparents was made heavier by changes to the foster-care system, experts say, particularly the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008, which encouraged the placement of children with relatives.

Grandparents took over child care during the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s, especially among African American families. The decline in grandparent caregiving among black children follows the larger decline in the share of black children living in poverty. The limited data available on the Native American population shows a large and rising share of grandparents in those communities are also taking care of grandkids. The fastest-in-the-nation increase in children being cared for by grandparents was in South Dakota and concentrated in counties with large Native populations.

Statistics often focus on the number of grandparent caregivers, rather than the share of children who are cared for primarily by grandparents. These figures could be distorted by falling fertility rates and an aging population.

The arrival of two preschool-age children upended Bette Hoxie's life, even though, in theory, nobody should have been better prepared.

The 72-year-old from Old Town, Maine, northeast of Bangor, has raised more than 150 foster children. She has adopted at least eight children and given birth to three more. A national organization named her Maine's 2018 Mother of the Year.

In 1997, the year her husband died, she helped found Adoptive and Foster Families, an organization that helps Mainers who care for relatives' children. She was the group's executive director until she retired in November 2017, in part to take care of her own grandchildren.

Less than a year later, she was back at the organization. She works as a kinship specialist so she can afford to care for her own kin, newly arrived under her roof.

"I sometimes think God has one heck of a sense of humor," she said.

Hoxie said it has been more challenging to work with the foster system this time around. It's worse for those who haven't made it their life's work.

"Unlike traditional foster parents who typically plan and go through a series of trainings, and plan for months or years to take on the role of caring for an additional child, grandparents and other relatives typically step into the role of raising children with little to no warning," said Jaia Lent, deputy executive director at the advocacy group Generations United. "They often get a call in the middle of the night, saying, 'Pick up your grandchild, or they'll go into foster care.' "

Little about a grandmother's work status, income or pension influences whether she'll end up caring for her grandchildren, according to a 2015 analysis of the long-running Health and Retirement Study in the journal Demography by Robin L. Lumsdaine (American University's Kogod School of Business) and Stephanie J.C. Vermeer (Roland Berger Strategy Consultants). Their work adjusts for differences in family characteristics and health.

"Care decisions are sometimes driven by the needs of the grandchildren's parents, rather than the circumstances of grandparents," Lumsdaine said. "The birth of a new grandchild increases the chances that a grandmother will provide care by nearly 70 percent."

Retired grandmothers weren't more likely to become caregivers, but grandmothers who became primary caregivers were 9.6 percent more likely to retire, Lumsdaine and Vermeer found. The researchers also found that about 10.5 percent of those retired caregivers would, like Hoxie, return to the workforce within two years - while still raising their grandchildren. Another 13 percent would stop caregiving entirely and return to work during that time.

About 95 percent of caregiving relatives work outside of the official foster system, according to Generations United. They often lack official financial, practical and emotional support.

In a 2013 analysis in Marriage and Family Review of caregivers in rural Montana, Sandra J. Bailey (Montana State University) and her collaborators found that "for many grandparents in our study, retirement became a distant or unreachable goal."

Grandparents who had grown up in a culture of rugged self-reliance now faced a rise in food, transportation, heating and child-care costs beyond what many could handle alone.

"For grandparents still in the workforce or simply needing respite care, the cost of child care was shocking," Bailey and her colleagues wrote. "Although many grandparents anticipated child care costs, the current rates were much higher than when they had parented the first time."

The latest figures from the Census Bureau show the share of Americans age 65 or older living in poverty has remained steady, even as the rate among younger groups has fallen.

The silver lining? Research shows that compared with children in foster care with non-relatives, children raised by grandparents or other relatives are healthier, mentally and physically. Theyre more likely to be kept together with their siblings and to report that they always feel loved.
A tourist spotted the wreckage of an SUV below a coastal cliff at a Northern California lookout point March 26, 2018. Inside and around the vehicle, officials found the bodies of Jennifer and Sarah Hart, both 38, and three of their six children, Markis, 19, Jeremiah, 14, and Abigail, 14. The bodies of the couples three other children Hannah, 16, Devonte 15, and Sierra, 12, were not immediately found.

The family lived in West Linn from 2013 to 2017, when they bought a home in Woodland, Washington. Their deaths triggered a monthslong investigation that reached Oregon, Washington, Texas, Minnesota and South Dakota.

Why did police launch such an in-depth investigation?

Officials in Mendocino County, California, said soon after the crash that they found no evidence that Jennifer Hart had applied the brakes before the SUV carrying her family went over the cliff. Toxicology tests showed she was intoxicated and that her wife and at least two children had traces of an active ingredient in Benadryl in their systems.

At the time of the crash, Washington state officials were trying to track down the family to investigate reports of child abuse.

Why did the investigation cross so many state lines?

The Harts grew up separately and attended college together in South Dakota. They moved to Minnesota where they started their family. All of their children were born to different families in Southeast Texas and placed into the foster care system, where the Harts adopted the children. The Minnesota child safety net received six reports of abuse or neglect involving the Harts before they moved to Oregon in 2013. Oregon child welfare workers also checked into allegations the women abused the children. None of the investigations ever resulted in removing the children from the home.

Siblings Devonte Hart, left, Jeremiah Hart and Abigail Hart stand among hundreds of vegetarian burgers that their mother, Jennifer Hart, said they planned to distribute to people in need. Child abuse case workers in three different states investigated whether the children and their three siblings were being denied food. Facebook/Jennifer Hart/2015

What is the status of the investigation?

The investigation is almost complete. Investigators will testify about their findings in April as part of a coroners inquest to determine the manners of death of each family member. A special jury in Mendocino County will consider the evidence and make the determinations.

Have police located the bodies of all of the children?

Authorities have never found the body of middle son, Devonte, who gained fame in 2014 after a photo of him hugging a police officer went viral. Police believe he is dead. Police found the body of his youngest sister, Sierra, weeks after the crash. Months later, officials confirmed a foot found washed ashore had belonged to the oldest sister, Hannah. They confirmed her identity after testing DNA from her birth mother, who came forward months after the crash.

What happened to their home in Washington?

A Portland woman bought the house and the two acres of land it sits on in November, Clark County records show.

-- Molly Young

myoung@oregonlive.com
The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved the first drug specifically for postpartum depression - a debilitating condition that affects hundreds of thousands of women a year in the United States.

The disorder, which begins during pregnancy or within a month of childbirth, is characterized by feelings of worthlessness or guilt, or thoughts of suicide and is far more severe than the common "baby blues." The condition can interfere with a mother's ability to bond or with an infant, which can affect the baby's development. An estimated 400,000 women in the United States each year suffer from postpartum depression.

The newly approved drug, called brexanolone, will be marketed under the name Zulresso. Its manufacturer, Sage Therapeutics in Cambridge, Mass., said a course of treatment would likely cost $20,000 to $35,000.

Tiffany Farchione, acting director of the psychiatry products division at FDA, said in a statement that the medication represented "an important new treatment option" for a potentially life-threatening condition. The drug, she said, is administered intravenously for 60 continuous hours. The approval requires that it be administered under strict safety conditions because of concerns it can cause "excessive sedation and sudden loss of consciousness."

The drug will be available to patients only through a restricted distribution program at certified facilities - such as doctors' offices or clinics - where health care providers can carefully monitor the patient. It will carry a "boxed warning," which is the strongest warning required by the FDA.

The FDA-approved label says data from a study in which a dozen women who were breastfeeding received the drug showed that the medication is transferred to breast milk in nursing mothers. However, the amount that is passed on to the infant is low, and available data "do not suggest a significant risk of adverse reactions to breastfed infants from exposure to Zulresso."

The FDA said the drug's efficacy was shown in two clinical studies in which participants received either the medication or a placebo and were then followed for four weeks.

Experts called the drug a major advance for a serious illness that does not get enough attention. "We don't have any treatments that are anywhere near this effective," said Jess Fiedorowicz, a psychiatrist at the University of Iowa and a member of an FDA advisory panel that recommended agency approval of the drug. "So this is ground-breaking in that regard."

Women diagnosed with postpartum depression currently are treated with antidepressants and psychotherapy, but the drugs take four to eight weeks to be fully effective and generally have only a small-to-moderate impact. The new drug, by contrast, takes effect quickly and lasts at least 30 days, according to clinical studies.

Still, said Fiedorowicz, the cost and method of administration could prevent women from getting it.

Samantha Meltzer-Brody, a psychiatrist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who led the clinical trials for the drug, said the medication is such an improvement over current therapies that she doubts the IV administration will discourage its use. She noted postpartum depression, one of the most common complications of childbirth, is "under-diagnosed and neglected," and that suicide is a major cause of maternal death.

"For women suffering, you can say, 'You can come in and be treated and in 2.5 days it can go away, and not come back," she said. In clinical trials, she added, the IV administration did not prevent women from getting the drug.

The main component of drug is allopregnanolone, "a breakdown product" of the hormone progesterone that affects the GABA neurotransmitters, which have a role in mood regulation, said Meltzer-Brody. She added that the exact mechanism of action is unknown.

Sage is developing another drug to treat postpartum depression and major depressive disorder that would be administered as a once-daily pill. The medication recently showed good results in a phase 3 clinical trial. If approved, it could be a blockbuster, some industry analysts say.

The FDA's advisory committee recommended approval of brexanolone in early November, but the agency delayed the green light to evaluate concerns about the small number of women who lost consciousness while receiving the drug. The agency's safety requirements are designed to deal with those safety concerns.

Anna Glezer, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco, said she was encouraged to see an entirely new approach to medication for depression and, in particular, a product aimed specifically at women's mental health.

She said mild to moderate cases can be missed because the fatigue and sleeplessness that accompany the arrival of a new baby are also some of the physical symptoms of depression. In her clinical practice, she said, she asks women: "Can you sleep when your baby is sleeping? Is your energy lower given how much sleep you're getting?"

Post-partum depression also is frequently accompanied by anxiety, she said.

Given the way the drug will be administered, Glezer said she expects it to be used mainly on the most severe cases, especially women whose post-partum depression requires hospitalization.

The FDA action is the second important approval involving depression this year. Earlier this month, in biggest advance for depression in years, the FDA approved esketamine, also called Spravato, for people with major depression who have not responded to other treatments.

Still, said Fiedorowicz, the cost and method of administration could prevent women from getting it.

Samantha Meltzer-Brody, a psychiatrist at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, who led the clinical trials for the drug, said the medication is such an improvement over current therapies that she doubts the IV administration will discourage its use. She noted postpartum depression, one of the most common complications of childbirth, is "under-diagnosed and neglected," and that suicide is a major cause of maternal death.

"For women suffering, you can say, 'You can come in and be treated and in 2.5 days it can go away, and not come back," she said. In clinical trials, she added, the IV administration did not prevent women from getting the drug.

The main component of drug is allopregnanolone, "a breakdown product" of the hormone progesterone that affects the GABA neurotransmitters, which have a role in mood regulation, said Meltzer-Brody. She added that the exact mechanism of action is unknown.

Sage is developing another drug to treat postpartum depression and major depressive disorder that would be administered as a once-daily pill. The medication recently showed good results in a phase 3 clinical trial. If approved, it could be a blockbuster, some industry analysts say.

The FDA's advisory committee recommended approval of brexanolone in early November, but the agency delayed the green light to evaluate concerns about the small number of women who lost consciousness while receiving the drug. The agency's safety requirements are designed to deal with those safety concerns.

Anna Glezer, a psychiatrist at the University of California, San Francisco, said she was encouraged to see an entirely new approach to medication for depression and, in particular, a product aimed specifically at women's mental health.

She said mild to moderate cases can be missed because the fatigue and sleeplessness that accompany the arrival of a new baby are also some of the physical symptoms of depression. In her clinical practice, she said, she asks women: "Can you sleep when your baby is sleeping? Is your energy lower given how much sleep you're getting?"

Post-partum depression also is frequently accompanied by anxiety, she said.

Given the way the drug will be administered, Glezer said she expects it to be used mainly on the most severe cases, especially women whose post-partum depression requires hospitalization.

The FDA action is the second important approval involving depression this year. Earlier this month, in biggest advance for depression in years, the FDA approved esketamine, also called Spravato, for people with major depression who have not responded to other treatments.
No one answered the door at the West Linn home where six children lived, so the case worker there to investigate reports of child abuse left behind a note and her business card.

Mother Sarah Hart called within hours.

The next case worker assigned to investigate the family, nearly five years later in Washington, also left a business card at the unanswered door of their home. But she received no response. When the family of eight piled into their GMC Yukon and fled rural Woodland, the case workers business card was still tucked inside their front door.

One year has passed since Sarah Harts wife, Jennifer Hart, drove the SUV off a California coastal cliff with her family inside. Police discovered most of their bodies in and around their vehicle. Authorities believe the mother intentionally drove over the edge and into the sea.

Workers in Oregons child welfare system were the last to interview the two mothers and their six adopted children. All eight denied any abuse. But two adult friends insisted, based on first-hand observations, that the children were extremely isolated, severely punished and denied food.

Case workers concluded the investigation with a finding of unable to determine, meaning they found evidence of abuse or neglect but not enough to substantiate the claims.

Few other states acknowledge they allow this finding, according to a federal survey. But when concerned adults questioned the safety of Markis, Hannah, Devonte, Jeremiah, Abigail and Sierra Hart, Oregons child welfare agency was closing one in every five investigations as inconclusive.

An analysis by The Oregonian/OregonLive found the rate was even higher in Clackamas County, where the Harts lived: one in three. In fact, for most of 2007 through 2014, workers in the county closed more reports as undetermined than founded.

Only seven states, Oregon not among them, told the federal government that they allowed investigations to end that way as of 2017. Oregon officials once tried to deter the practice, changing the rules in 2008 to set stricter standards.

But the Hart children came to the attention of Oregons child welfare system when the practice was still commonplace. The allegations were set on a path likely to to end with an uncertain conclusion, particularly in Clackamas County. That is exactly what happened.

Fariborz Pakseresht, who leads Oregons Department of Human Services, defended the practice. Reviewing his agencys rates of closing child abuse and neglect investigations as unable to be determined in a silo doesnt convey how the system works as whole, he contended.

Founded and unfounded defines those things as black and white, and yet quite often, life situations dont lend themselves to that, you know, unless theres a case thats absolutely clear, he said during an interview Monday.

For a child, the effect of an inconclusive ruling is normally the same as when a suspected abuser is cleared. Oregons child welfare agency backs out of the familys lives. In contrast, substantiated reports of abuse, by rule, trigger actions meant to make sure kids are safe.

Policy requires that any time there is reasonable cause to believe abuse or neglect occurred, the investigation must be founded. But former case workers say they sometimes wrote unable to determine, despite evidence of adult wrongdoing, because their office didnt want to impose consequences that employees felt were too harsh or difficult to carry out.

Stephen Raleigh, a former case worker, said a supervisor had overturned some of his decisions from founded or unfounded to not able to be determined.

If its founded, why are you changing it to unable to determine? Raleigh asked, reflecting on his time at the agency.

We put kids in peril, because there was just a big push to make sure we didnt take kids into custody.

Southern Oregons Jackson County, where he worked, closed out more than half of investigations as unable to determine for most of 2007 through 2009, and continued to close roughly 20 percent of investigations that way through 2013.

Case workers are supposed to close an investigation as inconclusive only in very specific circumstances: if they are faced with conflicting information after interviewing everyone possible. Federal officials count children investigated in those cases as victims of maltreatment, because case workers did find some evidence to of abuse.

Oregons use of unable to determine did decline after the state started a pilot project meant to keep more children at home. That program ended in 2017, and inconclusive cases rebounded.

In the year since the Hart children died, Oregons case workers concluded they werent able to determine whether children were neglected or abused more than 4,100 times, according to state figures.

11 Leaders at the Oregon Department of Human Services and its child welfare division

Pakseresht said his agency uses data about past outcomes to inform its future decisions. But during the same interview, neither Pakseresht nor child welfare director Marilyn Jones would discuss the disparate degree to which cases are closed as unable to determine statewide. Clackamas, Klamath, Josephine and Jackson counties consistently used it at among the highest rates in the state, for instance, while Marion and Lane counties used it sparingly.

The Oregonian/OregonLive provided agency leaders with written questions about unable to determine rates seven work days before the interview.

Jones said the safety of children drives every decision that case workers make.

Five former case workers and managers interviewed by The Oregonian/OregonLive agreed. But many said that pressure from supervisors, policy changes or incessantly high caseloads increased their stress when they were faced with difficult decisions.

You go home and youre trying to eat dinner, and its churning around in your stomach because of what youve seen that day, said Barbara Jackson, a retired case worker who worked mainly with foster families in Jackson County.

Jones acknowledged that the job was grueling, but said she believed all case workers err on the side of caution for a child. She questioned that managers would ever change a case decision to unable to determine.

I have not ever heard anybody tell me that there was an unfounded or a founded that they were asked to reverse, she said. That just wouldnt be acceptable.

A Washington child abuse case worker left behind her business card after she was dispatched to investigate possible neglect at the Hart family home in Woodland, Washington in March 2018. No one answered the door. Days later, the family was found dead in California. Courtesy of Clark County Sheriff's Office

No safety threat

The Hart children spent their lives on the radars of state child welfare systems.

Sarah and Jennifer Hart adopted their six children from foster care in Texas. The Texas child welfare system had removed them from the homes of their biological parents. Markis, Hannah and Abigail were adopted in 2006. Devonte, Jeremiah and Sierra completed the family two years later.

At the time, they lived in Minnesota. That states child welfare system received six reports about the family from 2010 to 2011. Most were either not investigated or closed as unfounded. But Sarah Hart was convicted in 2011 of misdemeanor domestic assault after she admitted hitting middle daughter Abigail.

Many of the allegations revolved around food, records say. School employees spotted Abigail digging through the trash and taking classmates food. Hannah asking classmates for food. Hannah telling the school nurse that her mom shoved a banana and nuts in her mouth.

The Minnesota worker said after a while the school stopped calling the parents about the child(ren) taking food, because they didnt want the children being disciplined or punished, a child abuse screening report said.

A family friend didnt know that history when the Hart family spent the night at her home in July 2013. By then, the Harts had withdrawn the children from school and moved to Oregon.

Everyone shared a pizza, and Jennifer Hart gave each child very small slice, the friend later told child welfare workers. The leftover pizza was gone the next morning. Hart became angry that one or more of her children ate it and pulled the children into the bathroom. Then she forced all six kids to lie on the bed for four to five hours as punishment.

The woman called Oregons child abuse hotline. The screener assigned the report to a case worker, and Sarah Hart did call the number on the business card left at the front door.

Then the investigation stalled.

Two months after this photo was shared by their mother online, Hannah, Sierra, Jeremiah, Devonte, Markis and Abigail Hart told case workers that they weren't being neglected or abused. Family friends worried that the children weren't been fed enough and were being subjected to severe discipline. Facebook/Jennifer Hart

Citing schedule conflicts, the Hart parents postponed case workers visit to their home. Thirty-eight days passed before case workers interviewed the family. When they walked into the house at the appointed time, they saw the six children, ages 8 to 15, coloring. All denied the abuse. Their parents did, too. Sarah Hart wouldnt tell the Oregon case workers how Abigail received the bruises that had led to the criminal conviction in Minnesota.

She became emotional during this line of questioning and would say, It just got out of control, the case workers notes said.

The mothers agreed to have the children be evaluated by doctor. But months passed before they were all seen. The physician concluded that, compared to normal ranges of height and weight, all the children were far too small for their ages, but she wrote in her reports that she had no concerns about their wellbeing. The doctor was not provided prior records to compare their growth to, and the case worker did not request them from Texas or Minnesota.

Its not clear whether the case worker told the doctor that the children had come to the states attention because of a report of food being withheld and had a history of similar complaints in Minnesota.

Months after the initial deadline passed for the outcome to be decided, Oregons child welfare agency closed its investigation as unable to be determined. The case worker marked safe next to each childs name.

Although the children made no disclosures of abuse or neglect, two collateral contacts expressed concern regarding the parents limiting food for the children and having witnessed what they believed was excessive discipline, the worker wrote in justifying the decision. There is no evidence a supervisor signed off on her decision, as rules require in every case.

The worker has left the agency and is now a liquor regulator. She declined to speak to The Oregonian/OregonLive before a reporter could ask any questions.

The agency says she made the right decision.

At that time, child welfare personnel followed procedures in place, conducted interviews and also reviewed records of a doctor who examined the children, the department said in a statement.

Officials said they reviewed the agencys history with the family anew after the crash. But they failed to respond to The Oregonian/OregonLives request for a copy of the review.

The death of the children occurred five years following one CPS report assessed by Oregon, the statement said. Much has changed around case work practice since that time, it said, including better training, updated policies and new mentors for case workers.

But the case workers still close one in seven cases as inconclusive.

Oregon's child welfare system closed its July 2013 investigation into the Hart family in June 2014 with this determination.

A child could die

The job of case workers is incredibly difficult. They must sift through information to find out what is really happening in a home. And some parents are extremely convincing that nothing is amiss, said Janet Rosenzweig, executive director of The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, based in Ohio.

Its not always as cut and dry as wed like it to be, she said.

Research has shown that many factors can influence case decisions and affect workers perception of seriousness, she said. Those variables can include the state of the home that workers visit and the amount of time they have to spend on any one case, Rosenzweig said.

Sarah Font noticed those outside influences on her case decisions when she was a child protective services case worker in the 2000s. She is now a professor and child welfare researcher at Pennsylvania State University.

One of things that would interest me about decision-making was how often I would disagree with coworkers, she said.

How do you decide if something is severe enough for substantiation?

National data shows most investigations of child maltreatment involve allegations of neglect, four researchers told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Children in single-parent households are more likely to be the subjects of those calls than their peers living in two-parent homes, said John Fluke, associate director of the Kempe Center for the Prevention of Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect at the University of Colorado medical school.

A case worker may bring inherent bias to the task of investigating alleged neglect in a two-parent household, he said.

The same is true for investigating possible neglect in a high-income community such as West Linn, where the Harts lived. Allegations of neglect are closely correlated with areas of high poverty, Rosenzweig said.

Good supervision is the key to countering unintentional bias, she said. Supervisors who havent been exposed to those outside influences can offer objective input.

Many states, including Oregon, also set guidelines for case workers to follow to make their decisions more uniform. But those tools can have limited effect, said Kathryn Maguire-Jack, a professor at Ohio State University. Case workers may come to a decision, then fill out the assessment to match what they believe it should say.

Every decision has critical consequences, Maguire-Jack said.

If you make the wrong decisions, a child could die, she said.

Siblings Abigail Hart, Devonte Hart and Jeremiah Hart run through a sprinkler in a photo posted to their mother's Facebook page in June 2014, the same month Oregon officially closed its investigation into the family with a finding of "unable to determine." If this photo were taken around the same time it was shared, Abigail would have been 10 years old, Devonte would have been 11 years old, and Jeremiah would have been 10 years old. Facebook/Jennifer Hart

An agency in turmoil

The last decade has rocked Oregons child welfare agency.

For years, the department has consistently failed to meet federal benchmarks for child safety. The agency had four different leaders and five different child welfare directors between 2015 and 2017, Pakseresht said.

Case workers told The Oregonian/OregonLive the turmoil affected them. Workers said they were poorly trained to carry out new directives.

The feeling they gave every time (was) The way youve been doing things, weve realized is crap, but now youre doing it this way, and its going to be much superior to the way things have been done, said Jackson, the foster care worker.

Child safety program manager Tami Kane-Suleiman acknowledged the agency didnt do a great job training in the past but now prioritizes it.

Every former worker interviewed by The Oregonian/OregonLive also cited staff turnover as an issue with widespread consequences. Child protective services investigators were relatively inexperienced because case workers left so frequently, many said. Often they were tasked with investigating a list of cases that never stopped growing.

I knew case workers that were actually two years behind on cases, said Raleigh, the former case worker.

The Department of Human Services said the number of cases assigned to each worker did not affect case decisions. But in the next sentence, the agency said caseload can impact the time spent on any given case.

The agencys investigation into the Hart family was officially open for nearly a year, far past set deadlines. That year, 2013, Clackamas County closed as many as 33 percent of its cases as unable to determine. The practice contrasted sharply with other counties, such as neighboring Marion. Since 2012, case workers there have never closed more than 15 percent of investigations as unable to determine.

Gayla May was a veteran child protective services manager during that time in Clackamas County. She said she constantly reviewed case data with her bosses and the workers she supervised. Shes sure they discussed investigation decisions but does not remember ever focusing on the countys elevated use of unable to determine. She said she felt no pressure to close cases that way.

Siblings Abigail, left, Jeremiah, Devonte, Sierra, Markis and Hannah Hart pose for a family photo shared in April 2014, months after an Oregon doctor evaluated them following reports of neglect. Facebook/Jennifer Hart

Jones, the child welfare director and a longtime supervisor at the agency, said even if investigations conclude in uncertainty, case workers often connect families to extra help, such as food stamps.

Both Jones and Raleigh said closing investigations as inconclusive can serve as a flag if case workers receive another report about the family. Raleigh said he worked with Jones in Eastern Oregon and admired her leadership. He said thats where he learned that case workers should use unable to determine sparingly.

Kane-Suleiman said case workers only conclude cases that way if there is no more information to gather, or cannot find a family.

Its not a simple finding, she said. We really ask workers to check with multiple people. We dont like to leave that with that conflict there, but oftentimes, theres just no other information to gather, so we land on that unable to determine.

Case workers statewide began closing investigations as inconclusive less often when the department started an alternative method of responding to reports of neglect. The approach, called Differential Response, was supposed to keep families together while connecting them with services that families might need. Reports handled that way werent assigned a disposition.

But a 2017 internal review of many alternative-response cases found that case workers incorrectly determined that children were safe nearly half the time. In response, lawmakers required the agency to make a clear decision, even if the decision is unable to determine, to close out every investigation.

The rate of investigations closed as inconclusive has increased slightly since then, according to agency figures, but has not shown a steep or steady climb.

Pakseresht said repeatedly that he considers data the key to turning around the agency. The department is developing an algorithm based on past data that he will direct case workers to use to inform their case decisions, beginning with call-takers initial decisions about whether to look into allegations. He said the mathematical formulas have a predictive accuracy of 80 percent.

Were looking at the past cases to see what we can learn from it, and we, at the same time, are trying to create the future, Pakseresht said, so that were being responsive and not reactive.

-- Molly Young

myoung@oregonian.com

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.
Legislators would like Oregonians to believe that the hefty campaign contributions they receive dont affect their voting.

Tens of thousands of dollars in timber industry money had nothing to do with lawmakers pressuring state regulators to reverse new wildlife protections that would have restricted logging, they claim. Donations from construction contractors played no role in gutting legislation that would have required those same contractors to get rid of aging diesel engines in their equipment. The suggestion that it did, a lawmaker scoffed, was insulting.

Oregonians would be justified in feeling a little insulted themselves.

As The Oregonian/OregonLives Rob Davis detailed in his four-part series, Polluted by Money, Oregons campaign finance laws allowing unlimited donations and liberal spending of campaign cash have given corporations an outsized voice in shaping the states environmental profile. The result: Compared to neighboring states, Oregon has looser regulations, fewer requirements and lower standards that appear to put corporate objectives above the publics time and again, Davis reported. Despite multiple attempts, legislators have made little progress in curbing harmful diesel emissions blamed for causing as many as 460 premature deaths of Oregonians each year. The state has been unable to pass a bill requiring spill response plans for oil trains  even after the fiery derailment of a train in 2016 near Mosier. With elected officials raking in $43 million in corporate campaign contributions over a decade  more per capita than any other state  its no wonder Oregonians might doubt whose best interest lawmakers are protecting.

But legislators have an easy way to show Oregonians that such contributions  from corporations, labor unions and others that routinely give big to protect their interests  are truly unrelated to the positions they take. They can refer to voters a constitutional amendment that expressly permits the setting of campaign contribution limits and allows caps passed by voters in 2006 to finally take effect.

Gov. Kate Brown has said that a constitutional amendment allowing contribution limits is a priority for her. Under a 22-year-old Oregon Supreme Court ruling, previous efforts to cap campaign contributions were viewed as violating the states free-speech clause. An amendment would resolve that conflict.

But Brown has not indicated what such an amendment should include. And while she addressed a campaign finance committee meeting at the beginning of the session, she has not given her position on either of the referral bills that have received public hearings.

More worrisome was a statement sent by her spokeswoman, Nikki Fisher, that seems to cast the problem of campaign finance in Oregon as limited. The governor believes that across the country, and in Oregon, a wealthy few seek to unduly influence the electoral process, Fisher wrote in an email.

As Davis reporting clearly established, its not just a wealthy few, who are influencing public policy with their money. The comment seems more of a swipe at Nike co-founder Phil Knight, who donated $2.5 million to Browns last Republican opponent, than recognition of how companies, unions, advocacy groups and outsiders are all using Oregons loose campaign finance laws to their own advantage. It begs the question of whether Brown considers donations from her own backers problematic. New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg gave more than $2 million to fight a ballot measure that would have barred grocery taxes and contributed $750,000 to Brown through a gun-safety group he funds. And her focus on the wealthy few simply misses the point  driven home over and over by Davis reporting  of just how broadly this problem of limitless donations and freewheeling spending undermines government policy.

A constitutional amendment is a critical step, not just for capping corporate donations, but also donations from those from labor unions, individuals and organizations as well. While corporations may collectively account for the largest chunk of money, labor unions donated $11 million over 10 years to legislators alone  nearly all Democrats  comprising a significant portion of their campaign funds.

Just as corporate contributions are arguably driving inaction by legislators on environmental issues, so are labor union donations arguably keeping lawmakers and Brown from tackling much needed reforms to the states public employee pension system. The massive unfunded liability and leaders refusal in recent years to adopt legal changes that would help ease the pain defy their responsibility to the public to ensure that tax dollars are going to public services  not pension debt. But once again, it appears that the good of the state takes a backseat to campaign donors.

Legislators have taken up a couple bills proposing an amendment, with the most promising one from Sen. Jeff Golden of Ashland. Among other changes in the works, the bill is expected to be revised to allow campaign contribution limits recently passed by Portland and Multnomah County voters to go into effect. Ideally, however, it would be amended to allow caps passed by Oregon voters in 2006 to take effect.

A lot can still go wrong. Lawmakers  who directly benefit from our big-money system  failed to pass referrals in previous sessions, notes Dan Meek, an attorney and longtime campaign finance reform advocate. Or, he said, they may refer a weak amendment that leaves too much power in the Legislatures hands to set the caps.

But the momentum is there. This is what voters want, as they showed with overwhelming support for the campaign finance reform measures in Portland and Multnomah County. Its what Oregonian/OregonLive readers want, as shown by their strong response to Davis reporting.

Now, its up to elected officials: Is this what they want? If they understand their duty to Oregonians, then the answer must be yes. Legislators and Gov. Brown: serve the public, not your donors.

- The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board
By Guadalupe Guerrero

Guerrero is superintendent of Portland Public Schools.

For the Spanish translation of this commentary piece, click on this link.

As families were preparing for another typical school day earlier this month, the father of one of our students was doing the same, loading his 11-year-old daughter into the car to drive her to class. But his day turned out far differently from the other families. He was surrounded by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and put under arrest as his children and wife watched. Ive reviewed video footage of this incident taken by a family member and it is traumatic: a daughter sobbing as her father is surrounded by armed agents and led away in handcuffs. The scene still plays vividly in my mind as I consider the devastating impacts -- on this student and her family, their school community and neighbors. And it causes me to reflect on my own responsibilities as the leader of Portland Public Schools.

As superintendent, my most important role is to keep our students safe. I know that students learn best when they feel secure and supported, physically as well as socially and emotionally. And I believe deeply that every student deserves a place to call home as well as a safe and welcoming school and community environment. Whenever this sense of safety and security is disrupted, it is the student who suffers.

I met with the family mentioned above, and the impact of their fathers absence is heartbreaking. Like so many others, this family is of humble means, simply trying to make a home, find a community and provide their children with opportunities to thrive. My upbringing was not so different.

Like many of my colleagues at PPS, and like many leaders in our community, I come from a family of immigrants. School was the place where hard work opened doors so that eventually I earned advanced degrees from one of the top universities in the world. Education empowered me with the privilege of leading the transformation of a major urban school district. Isnt it our collective obligation to provide these same opportunities to all of our students, no matter where they came from or how they got here?

No thoughtful and compassionate person would ever wish the sort of anguish on a child, a family or community that I witnessed on the video -- or in any of the multiple cases that have occurred recently in Portland. And no matter your political beliefs about immigration reform, I hope that we can all agree that we should do no harm to children.

If we are to reach our aspirations as a caring, progressive and successful school system and community, we must continue to support and serve all families, including our immigrant families. They are integral to the fabric of Portlands past, present and future, and public education offers the best opportunity for their children to succeed. Living in fear of arrest and possible deportation diminishes that opportunity.

Our success as a civil society will be judged by how well we look after our most vulnerable members. I will continue to raise my voice when it comes to the unjust treatment of our immigrant children, families and community. I hope you will do the same.
Rev. W. J. Mark Knutson, Rabbi Michael Z. Cahana and Rev. Alcena Boozer

Knutson is senior pastor of Augustana Lutheran Church. Cahana is senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Israel; Boozer is pastor emerita at St. Philip the Deacon Episcopal.

We mourn with our Muslim sisters and brothers the great loss of life in the horrific shootings at the Al Noor and Linwood Mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Our faith communities have long stood together united in love to overcome violence and hate. We take solace in the actions of their prime minister for immediately taking steps to fix weaknesses in their gun laws  in particular, banning military-style semi-automatic weapons and large capacity magazines. And we hope that our own leaders in Oregon can find inspiration and show the same courage to protect Oregonians.

Two bills of enormous importance are before the Oregon Legislature: House Bill 3223, which seeks to regulate and restrict assault weapons and House Bill 3265, which aims to ban large-capacity ammunition magazines. If these measures sound familiar, they should. Our coalition had sought to put these same questions before voters last year but ran out of time before we could get it on the ballot. How we got here, however, shows why this effort will succeed.

One year ago, just weeks after the devastating mass shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, a group of faith leaders came together to take action, and to let our youth know they are not alone. A grassroots organization, Lift Every Voice Oregon, was formed and we took on the challenge of getting these measures on the November 2018 ballot.

Oregonians in every part of the state - rural, suburban and urban settings  joined in because of the courageous leadership of our students. College and high school students underwent training to gather signatures. Contributions came in, ranging mostly from $5 to $100. While we ultimately were unable to secure a ballot title in time to start collecting signatures, we declared that we would not stop until victory for the wellbeing of our youth was won.

So, we turned our attention to the Legislature, crafting these two bills for the 2019 session. Our wording reflects the most reasonable legal concepts adopted in seven other states in the years before Parkland. All have been challenged in court and all have been upheld.

This is not a dispute about the Second Amendment. It is about public safety and public health. HB 3223 and HB 3265 do not confiscate weapons. Rather, they call for common sense registration of currently owned assault weapons, modification of large-capacity magazines and the banning of future sales of both. They are supported by those who own guns and those who do not, by people of faith and people of good will. As responsible adults, we must consider and make laws that protect the wellbeing of our young people, as we did with seat belts.

Why assault weapons and large capacity magazines? The majority of mass shootings have involved these military-style weapons, created only for the battlefield, not for our communities. The physical cost of human life is appalling, but the health implications for our young, and quite frankly all of us, go much deeper.

We know the death and injury these weapons can inflict. Think also about the emotional impact of these weapons used in school shootings. The current generation of students, from preschoolers to high school seniors, has never lived without lockdown drills and the fear of gun violence in their schools, shopping malls and houses of worship. The social impact is equally great as we debate how to make our schools safer for students and teachers. As spiritual leaders, we know the cost is profound if we allow lives to be endangered and taken. We need to be bold and responsible enough to act.

To those who oppose these bills, we respect you and your freedom to speak out. As faith leaders, we will continue to take the high ground of respect and love for every person, including those who passionately disagree. We call upon you as fellow residents of this beautiful state to do the same. Intimidation, anonymous threats and hateful messages directed at us, our elected leaders or anyone else have no place in our great democracy that we all cherish.

Together with a network of thousands, we are saying the time to act is now and we expect our Legislature to do so by hearing and, then, passing these bills. When the governor signs these bills into law, it will be the youth of Oregon, who have called us all to be our better selves, who will fill her office and cheer. Yes, Oregon, the time to lift every voice for our childrens wellbeing is now. Contact your legislators and tell them you agree.

Other leaders of the Lift Every Voice Coalition are Imam Muhammad Najieb, senior imam of the Muslim Community Center of Portland and Rev. Lynne Smouse Lopez, senior pastor of Ainsworth United Church of Christ.
David Atiyeh

Atiyeh, a retired CPA and Portland businessman, remains active in several community organizations. He lives in Lake Oswego.

Leadership can draw on many personal traits, but most of us would agree that honesty and ethics must be a foundation for leaders to be truly effective and achieve results.

Lawmakers are currently debating how to raise $2 billion in new corporate taxes to support schools at a time the state will collect $1 billion more from taxpayers in the coming biennium than ever before. Gov. Kate Brown has been promising increased funding to lengthen the school year, reduce class sizes, hire more teachers and improve the second lowest graduation rates in the country.

Oregonians generally concur with these needed improvements. However, there is no guarantee that any of the additional taxes will go to directly help these education priorities.

In this time of record wealth, the education systems struggle to educate students is an indictment of Oregons leadership. The Public Employees Retirement Systems unfunded liability has jumped more than $4 billion and schools required PERS contributions, on average, will equal 29% of their payroll costs, not including side accounts some districts established. Schools, municipalities, and public agencies are sinking in pension debt and relentless benefit cost increases while the governor and legislative heads refuse substantial reforms that would prevent new money from being sucked up by the pension system. As a recent Oregonian/OregonLive story showed, the governor and Legislature will not be able to substantially deliver on their promises to support schools because Oregons pension crisis will take much of any new revenue.Oregonians should demand specific outcomes and results for their tax dollars. Raising revenue without dealing with skyrocketing cost issues is not a sustainable way to fix thestate budget.

Now the governor is considering confiscating $1.4 billion from private-employer reserves of the workers accident insurance fund, SAIF, to hold down public pension debt. This capital reserve provides for the security of policyholders and injured workers. There is no logical connection between this privately funded insurance and PERS debt. Will the governors next proposal be to tap into the bank accounts of Oregon corporations?

The ethics of Oregons government leaders were the focus of an unprecedented January report by state labor regulators who found substantial evidence of sexual harassment and hostile working conditions in Salem. It concluded that the most powerful lawmakers in the Capitol mishandled, downplayed and ignored the issues. The Legislature recently announced a $1.3 million settlement to resolve these claims.How many more school teachers could have been hired instead with these funds? The incident only reinforces what leaders inaction on PERS already shows. Our elected officials would rather pay a penalty than confront glaring problems.

Oregon has a history of governors and legislative leaders from both parties who set high standards: Mark Hatfield, Tom McCall, Robert Straub, Barbara Roberts, Ted Kulongoski and Victor Atiyeh, my uncle. Oregon will continue to struggle with its budget priorities, education system and public services without leaders who will confront the problems facing us with integrity and honesty. Or it just may be time to consider electing some real leadership for the state of Oregon.
Recently there has been much written about Portland Police struggling to fill vacancies (New Portland police recruits failing probation at double the rate of past years, March 13). Is it possible that the reason there are so few quality applicants is that in Portland, police arent allowed to do their jobs and receive no backing from City Hall?

The mayor appoints himself as police commissioner (with zero experience), and now I just read that City Commissioners Jo Ann Hardesty and Chloe Eudaly are consulting with an activist group, Black Lives Matter, for advice on the labor contract with police. More people with no experience and no business interfering with police business. Why not bring in antifascist activists? They seem to have a high regard for the police and the mayor likes them.

Pretty silly isn't it! Why not appoint a real police commissioner and allow the officers to do their jobs? I suspect you would get many more qualified applicants.

John Chaikin, Milwaukie
By Jennifer Rubin  OPINION

Attorney General William Barr released his letter setting forth the principal conclusions relating to the Russia probe conducted by special counsel Robert Mueller.

Let's first be clear about what the letter does not say.

It does not say whether Mueller found a preponderance of evidence of crimes. (The criminal standard, beyond a reasonable doubt, is much higher.)

It does not say whether Mueller found that President Donald Trump lied to the American people.

It does not say Mueller exonerated the president; to the contrary, it says the opposite. It does not say anything about possible financial crimes under investigation in the Southern District of New York.

It does not say why there were more than 100 contacts between the Trump presidential campaign and transition team and Russia-linked operatives, or why so many people denied that there were contacts.

The report does not say whether Trump and his associates welcomed the help of a foreign hostile power.

It does not say anything about possible state prosecutions.

Now, for what it does say:

- There were two main Russian efforts, one through primarily through social media and the other via email hacks disseminated through intermediaries such as WikiLeaks, to interfere with our election. If we accept Mueller's investigation, the claim that there is uncertainty about who interfered with the election and on whose behalf is false.

- Mueller did not find that Trump or those with his campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia to interfere with the election.

- Mueller found a list of actions under the part of his investigation into obstruction of justice but did not reach a prosecutorial decision. Mueller explicitly did not exonerate Trump of obstruction. Trump's appointed attorney general and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein decided it was not sufficient to establish that an obstruction-of-justice offense occurred.

The demand for the complete report is overwhelming. Only the report can answer questions such as:

- What was the series of actions that Mueller looked at when investigating obstruction?

- Why did Mueller decide not to opine one way or the other on obstruction?

- Did he find a preponderance of evidence of obstruction?

- Why did Barr and Rosenstein conclude there was no obstruction-of-justice crime?

- Did Mueller not find evidence of coordination/conspiracy, or did he rule it out (disprove it)?

- What explains all the Russian contacts?

- What financial incentives, if any, did Trump have to favor Russia?

- Did the Russian government attempt to cultivate Trump as an asset or have leverage over him?

- Why did Michael Flynn lie about Russia contacts?

- Why did the president wait so long to fire Flynn?

- Did any of Trump's family members or associates lie to Congress, and if so, why is there as yet no indictment?

To his credit, Barr seems to understand that demand for the report is bipartisan and compelling. He writes that he must separate out grand jury testimony and other material that could "impact other ongoing matters." WAIT. What?! If Mueller came across evidence of crimes that the Southern District of New York or other parts of Justice are investigating, shouldn't we know if the president is under investigation?

However, in a major respect, Barr's action in declaring no crime of obstruction is inexplicable. Because it is the Justice Department's position that Trump cannot be indicted as a sitting president, there is no requirement - indeed, it is inappropriate - for Barr to weigh in. The job is up to Congress, according to Barr's own department guidelines. Suspicions about Barr's willingness to clear the president, based on a memo he wrote to the Justice Department before being nominated as attorney general, look well-founded.

We know have an entirely untenable situation: The special counsel did not render a judgment on obstruction but clearly found evidence thereof. Trump's own attorney general and deputy attorney general wouldn't prosecute (duh), but other independent prosecutors could certainly find that information sufficient to charge Trump now or later. Moreover, the evidence might be so compelling as to reach the standard of high crimes and misdemeanors.

We are, as I suggested, at the end of the beginning. But the investigation into the president is nowhere near completion.

One more observation is in order. If the investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails had been handled exactly the same way - saying they found no evidence a crime was committed - public reaction and even the outcome of the election could have been far different. For that, former FBI director James Comey will have to answer to history.

-- Jennifer Rubin writes reported opinion for The Washington Post.
Oregons regulations on lead in drinking water at schools and daycares have improved significantly in the last two years, according to a new national report released this month.

Two advocacy groups that conduct the biannual analysis awarded Oregon a C+ this year, up from an F in 2017. The Environment America Research & Policy Center and U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund based the grades on their review of regulations in 31 states and the District of Columbia.

Oregons rising grade is largely thanks to the states new mandates for schools and daycares to test for lead in their drinking water, which took effect last year. Schools must also share with the public both their test results and any work they have done to remove lead from drinking water.

Oregonians have been hearing more about lead in the drinking water at schools and child care centers since news broke three years ago that nearly every school in the states largest district, Portland Public Schools, had unsafe water. School officials initially downplayed parents concerns but eventually gave in and tested the water, which revealed widespread toxicity.

Since then, the district has replaced fixtures and tested the water to make sure lead levels are below the states limit of 15 parts per billion. Now, the district is looking at installing lead-capturing filters at schools where lead levels remain high.

In 2017, Oregon lawmakers passed a law  Senate Bill 1062  that required state public health officials to adopt mandatory guidelines for schools to test for lead in drinking water and water used to prepare food. The Oregon Health Authority finalized those rules last year.

Oregons Early Learning Council also adopted a rule requiring child care providers to start testing for lead last fall. It was a reversal after the same body opted against requiring tests at daycares in 2017, saying it would be too expensive.

In both cases, the action level at which schools and daycares must make changes to lower the amount of lead in the water is 15 parts per billion. That is better than nothing but still too high, according to the reports authors, who point out that medical and public health experts say there is no safe exposure level for lead where children are concerned.

Even states with laws on the books use standards that allow health-threatening levels of lead to persist in our childrens water at school, they pointedly wrote.

Children are particularly vulnerable to lead, whether in dust, paint chips or drinking water. It can permanently damage their ability to learn and grow.

Environment America Research & Policy Center and U.S. PIRG Education Fund want states and local communities to pass stricter laws, including adopting a 1 part per billion lead in drinking water standard recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and proactively replacing fountains, faucets and other plumbing parts containing lead at facilities that serve children.

The groups also want the federal government to strengthen federal drinking water rules and approve a major cash infusion for states and local communities to remove lead parts from the water infrastructure.

State regulations are important because roughly 90 percent of schools and pre-schools are not subject to federal regulations on lead in drinking water, according to the report.

No state received an A and only four others ranked as high or higher than Oregon.

 Hillary Borrud | hborrud@oregonian.com | 503-294-4034 | @hborrud

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.
Algiers, Algeria (PANA)  About 7,000 Algerian lawyers on Saturday held a peaceful protest in central Algiers being part of the ongoing popular movement to press for the exit of the current regime and the respect of the Constitution, as well as the freedom of speech in the country
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The main Libyan newspapers this week have given wide coverage to the announcement of the date for the inclusive national conference under the auspices of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) paving the way for the chance to achieve a political settlement of the Libyan crisis
Banjul, Gambia (PANA)  Gambias former Information minister Demba A Jawo on Saturday launched an autobiography which has been described as something depicting the life of the author as well as a reflection of struggles within the Gambian society
Harare, Zimbabwe (PANA)  Legal think tank Veritas, has said Zimbabwes new currency is not constitutional as Statutory Instruments (SI) 32 and 33 of 2019 legalising it circumvented Parliaments primary lawmaking power
While theyre not the best-selling act from Idaho (that coveted title goes to Paul Revere and the Raiders), Built To Spill are perhaps the most recognizable band from their home state. Before this weekend, if I heard you say music and Idaho in the same sentence, Id have automatically assumed you were referring to the rock band from the 90s and early 2000s who made one of the quintessential indie efforts of the early millenniumnot the 70s hitmakers famous for Indian Reservation.

Built To Spill, currently touring behind the 20th anniversary of that 1999 release Keep It Like A Secret, returned to Treefort on Thursday (March 21) to play the festivals Main Stage, situated atop an accessible plot of concrete in the middle of downtown Boise. It felt a little bit like a family reunionchildren ranging from toddlers to teenagers, wearing protective earwear, of course, accompanied their Gen. X parents, most of whom had likely seen BTS a dozen times before, while college-aged volunteers (likely students at the local Boise State University, fittingly on spring break this week) sang along to every lyric. The band, making a return to its original concept as a five-piece fronted by Doug Martsch, played KTLAS hits like Carry the Zero and The Plan, plus a great cover of R.E.M.s Harborcoat.

Later in the night, things quieted down over at the Boise Contemporary Theater where folk songstress and storyteller extraordinaire Laura Veirs charmed an at-capacity crowd. Ive never played with a string quartet before, she said before the Boise Philharmonic four-piece, who had just performed a showcase of their own, joined her on stage for a few tunes. At that point, Veirs switched to the keyboard, an instrument she said she didnt know how to play and thusly marked with color-coded tape. Youd never know she was a novice, thoughthe five musicians delivered a spotless and whimsical set. After the quartets exit, Veirs returned to solo acoustic at which time she played a few songs from 2013s Warp and Weft, including Sun Song. This song is about the sun, she said. I live in Portland, Oregon, so we dont get much of that. Perhaps not, but her sunny disposition was enough to easily win over audience members, many of whom sat cross-legged on the ground in front of her.

The magic of Treefort and other festivals like it is that you can go from hearing quiet story-songs in a community theater one minute to ear-busting noise-rock in a dive bar the next. Its a model that not only nurtures diverse music discovery among attendees but also caters to a breadth of artists. After Veirs set, I journeyed to local spot The Shredder to see Mike Krol, one of our cant-miss acts of the whole festival. Fellow Merge Records signee Allison Crutchfield (of Swearin) joined Krols band as bassist, and they put on the most raucous show Ive seen this week. Playfully mirroring the album art for Krols latest release Power Chords, Crutchfield sported a painted-on bloody nose while Krol appeared in complete costume, black eye and all. Had I not brought ear plugs, my drums would have been just as pummeled.

Earlier in the night, I caught up with Seattle-based Whitney Ballen, who played songs from her recent album Youre A Shooting Star, Im A Sinking Ship to a calm crowd at local coffee shop The District. She has one of the most distinct new voices Ive heard on the festival circuit these last few weeks, and she has a twisted, sly way of making topics like loneliness sound relatable and funny.

Anemone, another group I was stoked to see in Boise, brought their playful groovy art-pop to the Neurolux for a late-night party. Frontwoman Chloe Soldevila didnt sit still for a single moment during their time on the tiny stage. It was a tremendously fun performance that lived up to the hype they attracted last week at South By Southwest.
Patna: Police in Patna on late Monday night arrested four men in connection with the March 10 killing of Ram Bachchan Rai, a building construction materials trader, under Digha police station.

According to the police, Rai was killed due to an ongoing personal feud with Sunny Kumar, his neighbor who, a day after a physical altercation when punches were thrown from both sides, hired three men to eliminate the businessman.

Rai paid Rs. one lakh in advance to the three criminals, police said.

Acting on a tip-off, police, besides apprehending mastermind Sunny Kumar, also arrested Ravi Dom of Alamganj, Mahesh Yadav of Patna, and Arjun Ram of Khagaul from near Bind Toli in Digha area.

"On the day of the killing, the three hired guns were monitoring the movement of Rai. When they saw their intended victim near the Digha railway line, they pulled the trigger on him killing him on the spot," police said.



Two pistols, four live cartridges, three mobile phones and several pieces of jewelries were recovered from their possession, police said adding the three had been wanted in many cases of crime under Sultanganj and Alamganj police stations in Patna.
Patna: Once again, electrical short circuit was blamed for a massive fire that broke out in the Prema Honda Service Center located on Exhibition Road on Saturday evening destroying properties worth several lakh rupees.

As reported, the fire began around 5:00 pm and within minutes the entire place filled with smoke as people inside the building and around it hurried to stay out of the fume.

Though no one was said to be seriously hurt in the incident, two persons were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

About half-a-dozen fire trucks battled the blaze for over an hour before they were able to bring the situation under control.

Officials said the flame spread across the building within minutes because of large storage of plastic materials and canisters of engine oil.

Initial observations put the cause of fire to electrical short circuit but other causes have not been ruled out, a fire official said.
Protests continued in Pittsburgh Saturday, the day after a former East Pittsburgh police officer was found not guilty in the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Antwon Rose II.

The protests disrupted traffic on main roadways and intersections, according to media reports.

The former officer, Michael Rosfeld, who was charged with homicide, was acquitted by a jury Friday afternoon, a decision that was made in less than four hours, according to The Associated Press.

Rosfeld was charged for shooting and killing 17-year-old Antwon Rose during a June 19 traffic stop. In the stop, Rosfeld pulled over an unlicensed taxi that had been involved in an earlier drive-by shooting, police said.

Rose, an unarmed passenger in the vehicle, fled the stop, and as he ran away, Rosfeld shot him in the back, arm and side of the face, according to The AP.

Prosecutors argued the shooting of Rose was unjustified because he posed no threat to Rosfeld, but the former police officer ultimately was found not guilty.

Protesters took to the streets of Pittsburgh in the hours after the not-guilty verdict, marching down main roads and blocking intersections while chanting about their disgust in the acquittal.

Similar protests continued Saturday, with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporting that hundreds of demonstrators marched in the city, again blocking traffic and marching into restaurants to disrupt meals.

The Post-Gazette also quoted Roses father, Antwon Rose Sr., who spoke at a Saturday vigil.

"I dont have a lot of words because Im still stunned, the father said, according to the Post-Gazette.

Here are some of the images and videos of the Saturday protests shared by reporters through Twitter:

Walking down Forbes in Oakland back towards the Cathedral of Learning pic.twitter.com/1lioXK2Xbu  Nate Smallwood (@nsmallwoodphoto) March 23, 2019

Ppl are marching the streets through Pittsburgh a day after former E. Pgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld was found not guilty on all counts in the fatal shooting of 17-yr-old #AntwonRose II. "Black lives matter. I'm angry, I'm tired, & I'm hurt,"said Taylor Walters, in 1st photo. pic.twitter.com/dhW6lxdx00  Stephanie Strasburg (@StephStrasburg) March 23, 2019

Community members gathered this afternoon at Freedom Corner in the Hill District for a community solidarity service for Antwon Rose Sr., the father of Antwon Rose II. pic.twitter.com/AriG5GRQ4O  Andrew Rush (@andrewrush) March 23, 2019

Protests continue in Pittsburgh today following yesterday's acquittal of former East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld, who fatally shot Antwon Rose II.@PittsburghPG is covering the latest updates here: https://t.co/PrFXqGBJow pic.twitter.com/ZZr0OWy0UD  Post-Gazette Visuals (@PGVisuals) March 23, 2019

Theyre now in the middle of the intersection at Schenley and Forbes. Traffic stopped. pic.twitter.com/26chTmFzE1  Julian Routh (@julianrouth) March 23, 2019

Oakland traffic stopped by Antwon Rose protest rally pic.twitter.com/tzHgQmqzId  Scott Mervis (@scottmervis_pg) March 23, 2019
PITTSBURGH (AP)  The father of a slain black teenager pleaded for peace Saturday after the acquittal of a white police officer triggered an apparent retaliatory shooting at the defense attorneys office and touched off protests in the streets of Pittsburgh.

Police put officers on 12-hour shifts until further notice.

The verdict late Friday in the deadly shooting of 17-year-old Antwon Rose II angered his family and civic leaders and prompted hundreds of people to gather Saturday afternoon at an intersection called Freedom Corner in the Hill District neighborhood, the historic center of black cultural life in Pittsburgh. One man held a sign with the names of black men killed by police around the U.S.

"It's very painful to see what happened, to sit there and deal with it," Rose's father, Antwon Rose Sr., told the crowd. "I just don't want it to happen to our city no more."

Afterward, he told reporters: "I want peace, period, all the way around. ... Just because there was violence doesn't mean that we counter that with violence."

Antwon Rose, the father of Antwon Rose II, speaks at a solidarity rally before marchers moved through the streets Saturday, in Pittsburgh, Pa. They were calling for justice the day after former East Pittsburgh police officer Michael Rosfeld was acquitted in the homicide trial where he was charged with killing 17-year-old Antwon Rose II last summer. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)AP

The mostly white crowd then marched through downtown Pittsburgh and other city neighborhoods, periodically blocking streets as they chanted, Who did this? Police did this! The protest soon moved onto the University of Pittsburgh campus. Police reported no immediate arrests or injuries.

Early Saturday, five to eight shots were fired into the building where the officers attorney, Patrick Thomassey, works, police in nearby Monroeville said. No one was hurt. Police said they had been staking out the place as a precaution, and the gunfire erupted after they left to answer another call around midnight.

Former East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld was charged with homicide for shooting Rose as the unarmed teenager ran away from a traffic stop in June. Rosfeld testified that he thought Rose or another suspect had a gun pointed at him and that he fired to protect himself and the community.

"I hope that man never sleeps at night," Rose's mother, Michelle Kenney, said of Rosfeld after the verdict, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "I hope he gets as much sleep as I do, which is none."

Roses family is now pressing ahead with a federal civil rights lawsuit filed against Rosfeld and East Pittsburgh, a small municipality about 10 miles from downtown Pittsburgh, where the trial was held.

Thomassey told reporters after the verdict that Rosfeld is "a good man, he is." The defense attorney said he hopes the city remains calm and "everybody takes a deep breath and gets on with their lives."

The leaders of two major Pittsburgh charities issued a statement expressing "shock and outrage" over the verdict.

"Pittsburgh now sadly joins a disturbing and ever-growing catalogue of cases across the United States where law enforcement or security officials have walked free after the killings of young black men under questionable circumstances," wrote Maxwell King, president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Foundation, and Grant Oliphant, president of the Heinz Endowments.

"We have asked the question, 'Would Antwon Rose be alive today if he had been white?' We, his family and African American community leaders believe that more than likely he would be."

Pittsburgh was in the spotlight less than five months ago, when a gunman ranting about Jews killed 11 people at a synagogue.

Rose was riding in an unlicensed taxi that had been involved in a drive-by shooting minutes earlier when Rosfeld pulled the car over and shot the teenager in the back, arm and side of the face. Neither Rose nor another teen in the taxi was holding a weapon when the officer opened fire, though two guns were later found in the vehicle.

Rosfeld had worked for the East Pittsburgh Police Department for only a few weeks and was sworn in just hours before the shooting.

The 12-person jury  including three black members  saw video of the fatal confrontation. The jury took less than four hours to reach a verdict. The jury was selected in Dauphin County after a judge previously raised concerns about finding an impartial jury in Allegheny County.

Prosecutor Jonathan Fodi argued that the video showed there was no threat to the officer. But a defense expert testified Rosfeld was within his rights to use deadly force to stop suspects he thought had been involved in a shooting.

The prosecution did not call its own use-of-force expert, a decision the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania questioned. But Mike Manko, a spokesman for the district attorney's office, said prosecutors were confident they had what they needed to make their case.

Shortly before the traffic stop, another person in the taxi, Zaijuan Hester, rolled down a window and shot at two men on the street, hitting one in the abdomen. Hester, 18, pleaded guilty last week to aggravated assault and firearms violations. He said he, not Rose, did the shooting.

Prosecutors had charged Rosfeld with an open count of homicide, meaning the jury had the option of convicting him of murder or manslaughter.

___

Associated Press journalists Michael Rubinkam in northeastern Pennsylvania, Ramesh Santanam in Pittsburgh and Keith Srakocic in Pittsburgh contributed to this story.
While unlikely, snow could fall early next week in central Pennsylvania as a weather system moves cold air into the area.

That is according to National Weather Service meteorologist Michael Colbert who said the system is expected to remain south of Harrisburg, but, if it moves north, snow could move with it.

There could be a few wet snow flakes mixed in, Colbert said Even then, I dont expect accumulation."

That snow could fall Sunday night into Monday, but before that, the area will see warm weather Colbert said, calling for a high temperature of 57 degrees Sunday.

The remainder of the week likely will see temperatures in the 40s, he said. Fluctuations between warm and cold temperatures are common this time of year, Colbert said.

Its pretty typical, he said.

The National Weather Service forecast for the next few days is listed below:
This week marks the 40th anniversary of the accident at Three Mile Island.

The partial meltdown at TMI took place on March 28, 1979 and it remains the nations worst nuclear accident. And it left an indelible mark on Pennsylvania.

Today, the plant is slated to be shut down, although lawmakers are working on solutions to keep the plant open.

This month, PennLive and WITF have collaborated on stories examining the accidents impact, the efforts to save TMI and what happens if the plant shuts down. Both news organizations have produced stories, photo galleries, videos, radio programs and podcasts exploring this signature event in Pennsylvanias history.

Look for more stories on PennLive this week. And Thursday, WITF will air two documentaries looking back at the accident and the plants uncertain future.

If youve missed some of the coverage, heres a roundup of our stories on TMI, with links to our coverage.

TMI and public health

PennLive and WITF have produced a pair of stories examining at the lingering questions surrounding TMI and its impact on public health. Government officials and scientists have long maintained no one died or was harmed due to the accident. Many who live in central Pennsylvania reject that conclusion, citing cancers and early deaths of loved ones.

PennLives Ivey DeJesus details the long history of medical studies around TMI and the suspicions of illnesses and deaths that endure four decades later.

WITFs Brett Sholtis looked at the 2017 Penn State study pointing to a correlation between TMI and a certain type of thyroid cancer, a study that only stoked fuel to the ongoing debate.

Saving Three Mile Island?

Lawmakers and lobbyists are working feverishly to keep Three Mile Island open. Some say the plant is a key component of the regions economy and Pennsylvanias energy portfolio. Critics say they dont want what they see as a bailout at the expense of consumers. PennLives Charles Thompson details the effort to preserve TMI.

In a separate story, Charles examines if the Keystone State energy market and environment can do without Three Mile Island.

The question of nuclear waste

If Three Mile Island shuts down, what happens to the plants nuclear waste? PennLives Wallace McKelvey examines the plants plans to deal with the nuclear waste.

If TMI closes, then what?

WITFs Ed Mahon examined the impact of TMIs closure on the businesses and lives of communities surrounding the plant.

A PennLive story explores another consequence if TMI closes: the plants surrounding counties could lose financial aid for emergency planning. Some also say those emergency planning efforts should continue even if the plant shuts down.

What would a TMI evacuation look like today?

When the accident occurred in 1979, more than 144,000 people in central Pennsylvania hit the road. If there was a need for a mass evacuation today, it would be very challenging, since the regions population has surged over the past four decades. This PennLive piece looks at the daunting challenges of an evacuation.

The environmental debate

Some view nuclear energy as an undeniable threat to the environment. Others view nuclear energy as a key component in strategies to combat climate change. Ivey DeJesus looks at the thorny issue of the environmental debate concerning nuclear energy.

TMI and pop culture

The TMI accident inspired a song that became a hit on radio stations throughout the Harrisburg area in 1979. PennLive spoke with members of the band Maxwell who created Radiation Funk, a song fondly remembered to this day.

WITFs Lisa Wardle looked at how Three Mile Island influenced popular culture, from a board game to a memorable sketch on Saturday Night Live.

How Hollywood foreshadowed TMI

Less than two weeks before the accident, The China Syndrome opened in movie theaters and delivered the chilling scenario of a nuclear emergency. A PennLive piece recalls the eerie timing of the Hollywood blockbuster.

They covered the TMI accident

A few of The Patriot-News reporters who covered the accident recalled their experiences.

John Troutman shared his stories of covering one of the most staggering events in the commonwealths history as a very young reporter. Roger Quigley explains what it felt like when all hell broke loose. Bill Blando relayed the confusion and chaos at the time.

PennLive/Patriot-News columnist Nancy Eshelman shared how the TMI accident unfolded amidst unimaginable terror in her personal life.
Well-oiled machine: Eta Nu's Dress for Chill program continues to provide warmth, smiles

Thanks to the Boyne Eta Nu Charities' "Dress for Chill" program, a total of 187 Boyne City students will be dressed warmly this winter season.


By WND , March . 23, 2019





The atheist activist group Freedom from Religion Foundation is demanding that a school district in Texas censor private comments made by its teachers in their off hours.





The non-profit First Liberty, however, is advising the district to simply ignore this unfounded complaint and recommit Greenville ISD to the protection of the private speech of the citizens it serves.

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One of the biggest threats to peoples retirement, Barrons found, is fighting their childrens drug addiction. Its the number one cause of accidental death in the U.S. Read more

The U.S. college-admissions scandal strikes the main note of Barrons March 25 cover story, Parent Trap, about moms and dads wanting to help their children but often going too far, even at the risk of harming their retirements.

Setting some boundaries on when to help and when to sit back is best for kids, no matter what theyre going through.

Parents are putting two times as much toward financially supporting their children as towards retirement accounts, Barrons said. Almost 80 percent of parents give some financial support to adult children, according to estimates by consulting firm Age Wave. That comes out to $500 billion a year, twice whats going to retirement, according to a 2018 survey from Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Age Wave.

Addiction: the new retirement threat

One of the biggest threats to peoples retirement, Barrons found, is fighting their childrens drug addiction. Its the number one cause of accidental death in the U.S.

With addiction, affluence can even make things worse. Families can spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and get no closer to long-term recovery.

Some people can throw $500,000 at the problem, and its not enough, Steve Feldman, a case manager at Feinberg Consulting in West Bloomfield, Michigan, told the newspaper.

Parents should pay for things such as rent directly because giving drug abusers cash is dangerous, says Catherine Seeber, a financial planner at CapTrust, who has had the experience with her own son.

Paying for college

Retirement accounts should be a last resort when paying for college, especially now that the outlook for stock returns is about half what it was in the past 10 years, Barrons says.

Barrons advice: Secure an emergency fund, max out retirement accounts and then contribute to a 529 college plan. For parents with resources but not liquidity, Angie OLeary, head of wealth planning for RBC Wealth Management in the U.S., advises using nonpurpose loans to leverage stock portfolios.

If you need cash flow to meet a tuition payment and can pay it back, this allows you to have the money to do so without liquidating in a downturn  or selling a stock with good momentum, she says.

College costs are rising, more 25- to 35-year-olds are moving in with parents, and student debt is becoming senior debt. In six states, the amount of student debt held by people age 60 and over has more than doubled since 2012.

After kids graduate college, paying for vacations, Uber rides and car loans can prevent adults from becoming financially independent. But when an adult child is mentally or physically ill, tough love is harder, Barrons says.

When money and emotions mix, parents dont make decisions in their best interest, says Edythe De Marco, a financial adviser for Merrill Lynch.
A group of nearly 100 protesters gathered in Rittenhouse Square Saturday afternoon to speak out against the trial of the former East Pittsburgh police officer who shot and killed 17-year-old Antwon Rose II last year. Read more

A group of more than 100 protesters gathered in Rittenhouse Square late Saturday afternoon to speak out against the acquittal of a former East Pittsburgh police officer who shot and killed 17-year-old Antwon Rose II after a traffic stop last summer.

The protest  joined by a diverse group, mostly people in their 20s and students  came less than 24 hours after a jury of seven men and five women concluded that Michael Rosfeld was not guilty following a four-day trial. Rosfeld, who is white, had been charged with homicide after he shot Antwon, a black minor, three times last June  once in his back, arm, and the side of his face.

The shooting, which was captured on a bystanders cell phone and circulated widely, occurred after Rosfeld pulled over a car in which Rose had been a passenger for a traffic stop. The car matched the description of a vehicle that had been involved in a drive-by shooting only minutes earlier. Upon being stopped, Rose and another teenager fled, and Rosfeld opened fire.

Rose was declared dead at a local hospital. He was unarmed.

While this is a time of mourning and supporting [Roses] family, this is also a time to be angry, 19-year-old Keely Brady, who organized the Philadelphia protest, announced to the crowd. Three shots to the back, how do you justify that?

The speak-out in Philadelphia came only a few hours after Roses father pleaded for peace at a vigil 300 miles away in Pittsburgh. Speaking in front of more than 100 people, Antwon Rose Sr. encouraged attendees to head to the polls in order to spur change. His entreaty followed a night of protests in Pittsburgh, during which gunshots were fired through the window of Rosfelds attorneys office.

Philadelphias gathering, hosted steps from the Rittenhouse Square fountain, started small as it began around 5 p.m., as a handful of participants made signs with markers that said phrases, such as He Was Seventeen," No Justice, No Peace, and #JusticeForAntwonRoseII." Yet within an hour, the gathering had swelled to more than 100, all of whom stood in a large circle, singing together, hoisting signs into the air, and speaking about their experiences.

As a black woman with a black son, it gets so redundant and so painful that its just too much to bear at times, said Amber Owens, 33, a lawyer who is originally from Pittsburgh, at the rally. Im very grateful that you all are here and present, that you stopped what you were doing in your day to come and support Antwon and his family, but the reality is this is Americas history. This has been going on since Emmett Till.

My son is 17-months-old, and when I looked at him today, I just cried because there is nothing I can do, there is nothing I can do to protect him, Owens continued, her voice quivering as she shouted. I can move him out of the 'hood, I can get him a better education, ... but at 17, your parents aint picking your friends. ... So we can try as parents, but you cant guarantee who they are going to be with. But it doesnt justify getting shot in the back three times.

The death of Antwon has become the latest flashpoint in a national conversation about the kind of force police are using  particularly against African-Americans. Protests against police violence have swept the country in recent years after numerous black men, many times unarmed, have been killed by officers.

At Philadelphias protest, the names behind those fatal encounters were not forgotten. Those who gathered hummed the lyrics to the popular Freedom Side chant, often substituting Antwons name for the names of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, among others. Both men were unarmed and killed in recent years. (While Brown was shot by a Ferguson police officer, Trayvon was killed by a neighborhood watch captain.)

The rally, which lasted about 90 minutes, remained peaceful throughout. Several police officers were present at a distance on the perimeter of the square.

Brady, a student at Philadelphias University of the Arts said in an interview before the gathering that she felt compelled to organize a rally after reading about the verdict. Originally from Pittsburgh herself, she said she wished she could have been home to protest.

I felt like I couldnt just sit here and not do anything, Brady said, addressing the gathering crowd. ... As a white person, it is our duty to break down that system that was built in our favor. We need to take action, and we cant rely on marginalized peoples to advocate for their lives, to try to prove that their lives matter when they should not have to do that.

She encouraged attendees to speak about their own experiences, saying it was not [her] story" and that this is not something I can ever understand on the level that other people do."

Not long after, 20-year-old Maya Rimpsey spoke.

It is really easy to go home and feel like yall did something today ... but people are paying for this with their lives, Rimpsey said. This is not your quota for the year. There is so much work that needs to be done, and when you get lazy, and you feel like you just want to lay back, dont.

Moments later, one attendee silently rose a sign above her head.

Am I Next?" it said.
President Donald Trump talks with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, March 22, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Read more

(Bloomberg)  U.S. President Donald Trump doesnt take kindly to his Twitter critics, and like many users of the social network hes used the block function to prevent them from engaging with him.

But for much of the past year, Trump has been constrained by a federal judges ruling that he couldnt block users because his account is a public forum. On Tuesday, lawyers for the president will urge an appeals court in Manhattan to overturn that ruling, arguing that the account belongs to him personally and isnt controlled by the government.

The case is likely to help further clarify how government officials will be able to communicate on social media as the networks become further ingrained in daily life. While U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwalds ruling in May isnt the only one to find that a public official cant block critics on the networks, its the first to apply to the presidents feed.

Its a hugely significant case in terms of how government officials can use social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter and whom they can permissibly block from following them, said Clay Calvert, director of the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project at the University of Florida.

Government officials can still have private accounts without triggering First Amendment concerns if they use those accounts only for non-governmental purposes, he added. But when its Trump and he uses Twitter on a daily and nightly basis to comment on government issues and to criticize politicians, then that is where the First Amendment comes into play.

Trump has wielded Twitter as a cudgel since he joined a decade ago  attacking his critics, blasting news coverage of his administration and offering a constant, running stream of commentary on issues from border security to Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation of Russian interference in the election. He has 59.2 million followers.

Just last week, he waged a war of tweets with George Conway, a Republican lawyer whos married to Trumps senior adviser Kellyanne Conway and has been a fierce critic of the president.

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University sued Trump and White House Social Media Director Dan Scavino on behalf of seven users who were blocked by the president after they criticized him and his policies  including Rebecca Buckhalter, a writer and political consultant, University of Maryland sociology professor Philip Cohen and political organizer and songwriter Holly Figueroa. The institute, which works to protect free speech, claims the users First Amendment rights were violated by the presidents action.

Trump uses Twitter not to provide a platform for public discussion, but to disseminate his own views to the world, the presidents lawyers argued in a brief to the appeals court. When he blocks a particular user from reading or replying to his tweets, he is exercising his right to choose with whom he will engage in speech. Nothing in the First Amendment divests him of that prerogative or compels him to receive messages that he does not wish to hear.

Sean Spicer said in June 2017, while he was White House spokesman, that Trumps tweets should be considered official statements.

Buchwald ruled that blocking users prevented them from interacting with others who replied to Trumps tweets  limiting their right to speak freely. While the judge declined to order the president to take action, saying her decision should be enough, Trump unblocked the seven users and dozens of others after the ruling.

The case gives the appeals court the chance to show government officials that their decision to use social media, including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, has consequences, said Helen Norton, a professor at the University of Colorado Law School, who is part of a group of First Amendment scholars supporting the plaintiffs in the suit.

Government speakers need not choose to speak through platforms that permit public interaction  for example, they can have blogs or websites without enabling comment threads, Norton said. When government officials speak to the public about the governments work through platforms that permit public interaction, they enable a forum for public comment, and the First Amendment permits them to control the content of their own posts but forbids them from controlling private parties participation.

The notion that the Constitution allows the government to control its own speech, but not that of others, is longstanding, Norton said. She cited the example of a city council meeting where the panel allows for public comment. It cant stop people from expressing opposing views to those of council members.

New Technologies

Its not hard for governments to comply with this principle, and theyve done so for a long time, Norton said. The interesting wrinkles in this case are that it involves the president, and newer expressive technologies.

Groups including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Georgetown Law Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection support the plaintiffs. The Coolidge-Reagan Foundation, a conservative free-speech advocate, said Buchwalds ruling would allow a government officials or employees accounts to be considered official simply when multiple tweets they send are deemed too closely related to their work.

Politicians from California to Florida have been sued for blocking users, and courts have mostly ruled against them.

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan agreed to implement a new social media policy to settle a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of four residents who had claimed he censored them by deleting their comments and blocking them from his Facebook page. In January, a federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, upheld a ruling finding that the chairwoman of the Loudon County Board of Supervisors had violated the First Amendment rights of a constituent by banning him from her Facebook page.

But Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin won an initial round when a federal judge denied a request for a preliminary court order barring him from blocking anyone on Twitter or Facebook.

Trump offered his own argument in support of his Twitter use to reporters before boarding Marine One last week.

Twitter is a way that I can get out the word, Trump said. Because our media is so dishonest, Twitter is a way that I get out the word when we have a corrupt media.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Dolmetsch in Federal Court in Manhattan at cdolmetsch@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Glovin at dglovin@bloomberg.net, Joe Schneider, Steve Stroth

2019 Bloomberg L.P.
A longtime bar employee was shot and killed during a robbery at Germantown's DelMar Lounge, right at closing time on March 21. Police say the man shot a 58-year-old bar back in the chest before robbing the bartender of several hundred dollars. He then took off. Read more

A person of interest connected to the robbery and killing of a Germantown bar worker has been taken into custody, Philadelphia police said Saturday.

Police could not confirm any other details, a spokesperson said.

Earlier this week, 58-year-old DelMar Lounge bar worker Jeffrey Johnson was shot once in the chest amid a robbery that occurred shortly after closing time. According to police, a man had been drinking at the bar, which is located on the 300 block of West Chelten Avenue, and waited until the other patrons left around 2 a.m. before pulling out a gun and announcing a robbery.

According to police, Johnson was shot after he briefly hesitated when responding to the suspects commands. The gunman then stole about $200 from a witness and left. He was last seen running eastbound on Chelten and then south on Pulaski Avenue.

Johnson was taken to Einstein Medical Center and pronounced dead at 2:30 a.m. Homicide Capt. Jason Smith said Thursday that Johnson had presented no threat to the robber.

Following the incident, police released a video that showed the gunman entering the bar, pointing his weapon, and walking away after the shooting. Chief Inspector Scott Small also said the suspect left behind possible DNA evidence and fingerprints.
Philadelphia City Council voted to commission a study of the city's tax on soda and other sweetened beverages. Read more

With several studies reporting conflicting findings on the impact of Philadelphias controversial sweetened-beverage tax, City Council has come up with another possible solution: yet another study.

Council approved a resolution Thursday to commission an independent study.

What might it find?

If other research completed since the tax took effect in 2017 is any indication, the only certainty is that its results are sure to be contested and spun by advocates on both sides.

And if the heated debate at Thursdays City Council meeting was any indication, there is no end in sight to disagreement over the tax. Clashes over Mayor Jim Kenneys signature legislation are likely to intensify as the May 21 primary for mayoral and City Council races approaches.

Since the tax on soda and other sweetened beverages took effect to fund pre-K, community schools, and improvements to parks, recreation centers, and libraries, study results have been varied. Those paid for by the beverage industry have concluded that the tax hurts businesses, but research funded by supporters of the tax has suggested that there is no adverse economic effect.

Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez, who sponsored the resolution authorizing a third-party study of the taxs economic impact, said Friday that Council now needs to hire a consultant and that the study would take several months. She said it would be different from other research because she hopes it will be based on businesses tax returns.

This is not to argue ... peoples perceptions, but to really look down at some of these businesses, look at their tax returns, and see if theres a pattern there, said Quinones-Sanchez, who was one of four Council members to vote in 2016 against the 1.5-cents-per-ounce tax on beverage distribution.

Quinones-Sanchez and a group of her colleagues also introduced a bill this month that could change or repeal the tax. She said some changes, such as exempting products such as almond milk, should be considered even before the study is complete.

Councilwoman Helen Gym opposed the resolution. It will breed cynicism and distrust on a signature initiative in this city, she said.

Now, let me be clear, because a lot of people wonder, whats wrong with a study? Gym said. Weve had plenty of studies that examined the impact of the beverage tax. ... How long are we going to allow this body to be used for the narrow interests of one particular lobby?

Other studies so far include:

Catalina, a Florida-based marketing firm, found soda sales dropped in Philadelphia, while sales spiked at stores just outside the city. Catalina works with retailers but claimed to be an independent third party.

The American Beverage Association commissioned two studies  one by Oxford Economics and one by St. Josephs University professor John Stanton  that found sales at Philadelphia grocery stores decreased. Stanton said sales increased at stores outside the city.

Funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies  which supports the tax  researchers at Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Johns Hopkins University found that overall sales at chain stores in Philadelphia have not suffered.

An internally funded Drexel University study found consumption of sweetened beverages decreased after the tax took effect, based on a telephone survey of residents.

A study released this month from researchers at Stanford University, Northwestern University, and the University of Minnesota that received no external funding found that there was an increase in consumers leaving the city to shop, and that there was no significant decrease in sugar intake. (The Kenney administration questioned the studys methodology, while those in the beverage industry said it validated their stance.)

As for the study funded by City Council, Councilwoman Cherelle Parker was quick to call it political weaponry, and said she has been getting calls from pre-K providers who are concerned about a possible repeal of the tax.

Others pushed back against the idea that the timing of the Council study and legislation was tied to the upcoming election.

It was a necessary action, Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown said of her 2016 vote to support the tax. In a letter to Council President Darrell L. Clarke on Thursday, she asked to remove her name as a co-sponsor of the bill to change the tax  but she still supported the study.

There is still value in getting subsequent information based on new evidence that research will give us," Reynolds Brown said.

Council members who spoke Thursday were in agreement on one issue: The programs funded by the tax should remain in place. Councilman Allan Domb said hed consider lowering the rate of the tax. And the resolution calls for looking into a fee on single-use plastic bags as replacement revenue.

The Kenney administration and Ax the Philly Bev Tax, a coalition backed by the American Beverage Association, also publicly agreed on one concept: They welcome the study by City Council.

Anthony Campisi, a spokesman for Ax the Philly Bev Tax, said he sees it as a first step toward Council members realizing that the tax is harmful.

That said, we dont think that action from Council should wait for the conclusion of this study, Campisi said. Philadelphians know that the tax is hurting them and deserve quick action from City Council.

Kenneys administration, meanwhile, hopes the study will look at the impact of the programs funded by the tax, including the educational impact on students in free pre-K and community schools and the health benefits of taxing sweetened beverages.

A thoughtful and impartial analysis would complement ongoing studies of the impact of the tax, and is particularly appropriate in light of the unrelenting stream of disinformation spread by the beverage industry, said Mike Dunn, a spokesman for Kenney.

The Council resolution, which passed on a voice vote, also calls for holding hearings on the study after it is complete.
When ex-traffic court judge Willie Singletary was sentenced in 2015 to 20 months in prison for lying to the FBI during a corruption investigation, the sentencing judge called him so unqualified for his office that his election was a symptom of a diseased political system.

That same Willie Singletary is running for City Council, and is likely a front-runner by virtue of the fact his name is the fourth one voters will see on the list of more than 30 Democratic Council candidates on the ballot. Singletary got that plum position because he picked a small red ball out of an old Horn & Hardart coffee can -- a decades old Philadelphia tradition that has gotten no less stupid over that time.

In low information races, ballot position matters a lot. On election day, voters are asked to make a lot of choices. In the upcoming primary, voters will need to choose the mayor, City Council members (district and at-large), City Commissioners, Register of Wills, Sheriff, Superior Court judges, Court of Common Pleas judges, and Municipal Court judges. Every Democratic voter will need to select 20 names and every Republican voter 16 names.

Knowing the qualifications of dozens and dozens of candidates to then be able to select the most qualified 16 or 20 people is an extremely hard task. After people choose the few names that they know for the offices that matter to them, voters just pick the first names on the list.

For some candidates, running for office is basically a game that is decided not by election but by a coffee can. For example, David Conroy was running for both an at-large seat and a Municipal Court judgeship. After he was essentially guaranteed an appointment as a judge by picking the number one ballot position in the Municipal Court race, he dropped out of the Council race. The can determined his destiny.

Merit, not ballot position, should be the deciding factor in elections. In cases where there are lots of candidates, there are alternatives to make it fairer. One way to cancel out the ballot position effect is by using technology. According to the Office of the Commissioners, the new voting machines that the City is planning to purchase will likely be able to randomize the ballot positions for every voter. That would require the states election code requiring a lottery for ballot position to be overturned. What better reason to change a law than to strengthen the integrity of our elections?

From City Council to judges, the stakes of offices are too high to rely simply on luck.

At the end of the day, though, the only way to make ballot positions matter less is to insure an informed electorate. The City, media, campaigns, and organizers have a role to play to ensure that candidates are accessible and that information is available. To help this effort, the Inquirer is partnering with a number of civic organizations and other media to host a City Council candidate convention, April 22 at WHYY studios next to Independence Mall. For details and registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/philadelphia-city-council-candidate-convention-tickets-59230437834
Supporters of the Charter School for Architecture and Design, or CHAD, rally on the Philadelphia School District steps before a recent School Reform Commission meeting. The SRC voted to begin nonrenewal proceedings against the school. Read more

Standardized test scores at Charter High School for Architecture and Design dropped during the last four years. For the most part, it compared unfavorably to schools with similar student populations and to the Philadelphia School District. Attendance declined. The School Reform Commission, before it went out of existence, recently voted against a five-year renewal for the school's charter.

But that doesn't mean it's shutting down  or ever will.

It can take years to close a charter school in Philadelphia, a decision drawn out by state law and local resistance.

Three charter schools recommended for nonrenewal by the School District in 2016 and another three for nonrenewal or revocation in 2017 remain open, with no closing dates imminent. The charter for one of those schools, Aspira-run John B. Stetson, expired even earlier, in 2015.

At the SRC's final meeting on June 21, it renewed two charters that the district had previously advised it to close. The outgoing head of the district's Charter Schools Office, DawnLynne Kacer, said both schools agreed to surrender their charters if they didn't meet certain conditions at the end of their terms  three years in the future for one, and four years for the other.

The end result could be the same, Kacer said, because "that's probably the amount of time it would take" for them to close anyway.

As charter schools have grown in Philadelphia, educating about 70,000, or one-third, of the city's public-school students in 84 brick-and-mortar schools, the prolonged process for closing means "we are really putting kids in continuously detrimental situations," said Amy Ruck Kagan of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers.

Ruck Kagan, a former director of a Philadelphia charter group, noted that the decision on whether to close a school becomes more complicated the longer it stays open, because the school has time to make changes: replacing the principal, for instance, or hiring a high-powered attorney.

For charter schools, "the biggest issue" with the nonrenewal process "is that it creates uncertainty. Uncertainty for parents, uncertainty for staff, uncertainty for the entire school organization," said Larry Jones, a former president of the Pennsylvania Coalition for Public Charter Schools and the CEO of Richard Allen Preparatory Charter School in Philadelphia. The SRC issued a notice of nonrenewal to Richard Allen in October; Jones said a hearing will be held this fall.

In other states, "you see a process that's much more transparent, much more consistent," Jones said.

While it's similarly difficult to close charter schools in some other states, Ruck Kagan said, others have laws that promote closure of poor performers.

In New Jersey  where Ruck Kagan previously led the state's charter office  state regulations lay out a time frame for renewal decisions. Unlike in Pennsylvania, where local school districts authorize charters, the New Jersey Department of Education is the lone authorizer. It must notify charter schools of renewal decisions by Feb. 1 in the last year of their charter terms; school leaders must then quickly implement any closure plan.

As in Pennsylvania, New Jersey charter schools have the right to appeal. And they can ask a court to stay a closure decision. But a New Jersey court has never granted a request for a stay, Ruck Kagan said.

In Pennsylvania, the law spelling out standards for charter schools "doesn't have a lot of teeth," said Joe Dworetzky, who served on the SRC from 2009 through 2014.

And the nonrenewal process is far lengthier. A local school board must issue a notice of nonrenewal to a charter school; in Philadelphia, this had occurred through an SRC vote after the School District made a recommendation.

Then a hearing must be scheduled  and it can be extensive. One for Eastern Academy Charter School in Philadelphia, for instance, spanned 14 days this past October through December.

After a public comment period, the school board must again take action to nonrenew or revoke the school's charter. The charter school can then appeal to a state board  all while continuing to operate.

Pending before the state Charter Appeals Board is an appeal from Philadelphia's Khepera Charter School, which had its charter revoked by the SRC in December. The Charter Schools Office doesn't have any recent reports of payroll issues at Khepera, which ended the 2016-17 school year early due to financial troubles. But a district spokesman said the school had not yet submitted its most recent audit, which was due Dec. 31.

Eastern Academy, which the SRC voted to nonrenew in April, is also fighting closure. A spokeswoman said an appeal to the state board was mailed last week  though there wasn't a clear deadline to do so. "We don't see a hard time frame" in the state charter law, said lawyer David Annecharico. He said the school, which says it was unfairly evaluated by the district, felt during its hearings that it was "highly likely" it would be preparing for an appeal.

Philadelphia School District officials also assess the possibility of an appeal in deciding whether to recommend nonrenewal of a charter  and what changes a school might be able to make in the time it takes to get to the appeals board.

"What could a school reasonably do in two years? Our office tries to play that scenario out," said Kacer, who is stepping down from the charter office Monday. If a school that isn't meeting standards could improve, the office sometimes proposes renewal with conditions, rather than moving to close the school.

It took that route recently with two schools that didn't measure up on its evaluations. While Universal Alcorn and Universal Institute approached the charter office's standards in academics and organizational compliance, both failed to meet financial standards.

In the case of Universal Alcorn  an elementary and middle school in Grays Ferry formerly run by the district  the office's evaluation notes that the school "has suffered a substantial operating loss and has a deficiency in net assets. This creates an uncertainty about the charter school's ability to continue as a going concern."

With "internal controls" and cash-management strategies, the Universal schools  run by music legend Kenny Gamble's company  could improve, Kacer said. Her office also recommended renewal with conditions for a third Universal-run school, Vare Promise Neighborhood Partnership, after previously advising it not be renewed. The SRC earlier this year directed Kacer's office to negotiate with Vare.

Bill Green, who was appointed to the SRC in 2014, said the commission used negotiations to its advantage, though he acknowledged it hadn't always obtained its desired result. Green had pushed to delay votes for the Aspira-run Olney and Stetson charter schools, recommended for nonrenewal in 2016.

Despite the added time for Aspira  whose management of five charter schools drew scrutiny from the state auditor  the SRC voted in December against renewing the schools. "We probably waited too long, in hindsight," Green said.

The challenge with closing a school once it's "up and running  it's a business," with employees, students, and neighborhood presence, said Dworetzky, the former SRC member. "There's a lot of momentum behind a school once it's open."

As much as people complain about the quality of individual public schools, when its the schools they go to or their kids go to, they come out and they tell you how hard it is for them, Dworetzky said. You cant just brush that away.

Before the final SRC meeting, supporters of CHAD, the architecture and design school facing nonrenewal, rallied on the steps of School District headquarters. Wearing orange T-shirts that read "CHADvocate," they chanted in response to an activist's prompts, amplified by megaphone.

"This is not the end," the activist, Sixx King, a director and actor whose presence was arranged by a public relations consultant, told the crowd. "This is the beginning."
Its been almost one year since Philadelphias soda tax went into effect. Studies about its impact offer a variety of  and sometimes conflicting  findings. Read more

Philadelphia's tax on soda and other sweetened beverages has been in effect for nearly a year. As city officials, business owners, and beverage industry lobbyists continue to debate the controversial, 1.5 cent-per-ounce tax  and other cities watch closely  researchers have scrambled to study its impact.

All agree sales of soda and other taxable beverages have decreased under the tax, and prices have risen. But has the tax had a negative impact on businesses' bottom lines? The answer to that question, it turns out, depends on which study you consult, and maybe even who paid for it.

Here is a roundup of the current findings, and when they were released, about the first beverage tax of its kind in a major U.S. city.

University of Pennsylvania (November)

What it was: Penn researchers analyzed beverage prices at stores and restaurants in Philadelphia and outside the city to determine how much of the 1.5 cents-per-ounce tax was passed to consumers.

What it found: Stores passed an average of 1.19 cents per ounce on to customers after the tax went into effect, while restaurants hiked prices an average of 1.52 cents per ounce. The greatest proportional increase was for 2-liter bottles of soda, which cost 47 percent more than before the tax. Twelve-packs jumped 41 percent, and 20-ounce bottles,19 percent.

Who paid for it: Penn funded the research internally.

What supporters of the tax say: Mike Dunn, a spokesman for Mayor Kenney, said the study is scientifically sound and is noteworthy because it includes restaurants  a portion of the beverage sector that industry-funded studies have ignored. "The bottom line is that some stores are choosing to absorb some of the cost of the tax, a behavior that we fully expect to continue and perhaps even increase amid strong competition among dealers," Dunn said.

What opponents of the tax say: Economists with knowledge of food merchandising are better fit to study the tax's impact than public health professionals, said Anthony Campisi, a spokesman for the Ax the Bev Tax campaign, which is funded by the American Beverage Association. But Campisi said the findings support the beverage industry's arguments that the tax is causing prices to shoot up and is, in turn, hurting businesses.

Harvard, Penn, and Johns Hopkins (November)

What it was: A separate group of researchers from the three universities have launched a two-year study examining the impact of the tax by comparing beverage sales in Philadelphia, outside the city, and in Baltimore, which has no tax on soda.

What it found: Sales of soda and other sweetened beverages have dropped 57 percent in volume since the tax went into effect. But overall sales at chain stores in Philadelphia have not suffered, suggesting that stores' bottom lines are not hurt by the tax.

Who paid for it: The research is funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, through which former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has poured millions of dollars into advocating for taxes on soda across the country.

What supporters of the tax say: Kenney's administration has touted this study as the first scientific look at the tax. A city spokesman said that the preliminary findings were great news for both public health and the city's economy, because it showed that people are drinking less soda but that overall store sales have not been hurt.

What opponents of the tax say: They cast doubt on the findings because the research is funded by Bloomberg, and because the anti-tax group has its own take on some of the data used by the researchers, which comes from market research company IRi. "They're sort of talking about preliminary data in a vacuum" because no findings have been formally published, Campisi said.

St. Josephs University (September)

What it was: John Stanton, a professor of food marketing at St. Joe's, studied sales before and after the tax at five grocery stores of the same supermarket chain in Philadelphia and four stores outside the city.

What it found: The tax has contributed to an overall decrease in sales. Philadelphia grocery stores typically see a decrease in beverage sales between November and February, but the average loss was $82,000 steeper after the tax began compared to those months one year earlier. Also , total store sales decreased by an average of more than $300,000 in Philadelphia grocery stores. Stores outside the city, meanwhile, saw increased sales, on average, between November 2016 and February  a reversal from the same span the previous year.

Who paid for it : The American Beverage Association.

What supporters of the tax say: The mayor's office questioned the credibility of the study because the beverage association paid for it, and noted that grocery store sales account for less than half of the total beverage sales in the city.

What opponents of the tax say: Campisi said this study attaches real numbers to the complaints of supermarket owners in Philadelphia and shows that they are experiencing a negative impact from the tax.

Oxford Economics (September)

What it was: Oxford Economics, an international consulting firm, used data from market research company IRi to analyze sales from January through mid-April at 27 grocery stores in Philadelphia and 36 outside the city.

What it found: Beverage dollar sales declined in Philadelphia chain grocery stores by 28 percent, compared to the same time period in 2016. Beverage sales by volume decreased 24 percent. Total store sales, the analysis found, declined 9 percent compared to 2016. The study concluded that consumers are leaving the city to shop.

Who paid for it: The American Beverage Association.

What supporters of the tax say: Using only grocery store data is not an accurate reflection of the tax's impact. "We believe a far more accurate picture of the impact of the beverage tax is attained by looking at all chain retailers, not just a subset," Dunn said. The city also took issue with the conclusion that shoppers are leaving the city for groceries. "It appears that cross-border shopping for beverages may have taken place initially after tax implementation, but not for other groceries. "

What opponents of the tax say: Oxford Economics was asked to focus only on grocery stores because grocery store owners have been the most vocal about the impact of the tax. "What we're saying also makes some common sense beverage sales declined. I think that's something that in the city at least everybody agrees on," Campisi said.

Catalina (August)

What it was: A review of sales data at nearly 1,000 stores in the Philadelphia region by Catalina, a Florida-based digital marketing firm.

What it found: Soda sales at franchised grocery and drug stores dropped 55 percent inside the city in the first five months after the tax went into effect, while sales spiked by 38 percent at stores just outside the border.

Who paid for it: Catalina, which works with retailers and claims to be an independent third party with no stake in the tax in Philadelphia. It said it used its existing data and took no funding from any clients.

What supporters of the tax said: Kenney's office questioned the study, saying that supermarkets account for less than half of beverage sales. Restaurants, universities, hospitals, and non-supermarket stores were not included in the study.

What the soda tax opponents said: The Ax the Bev Tax campaign said Catalina's findings were consistent with its argument that the tax hurts retailers and drives consumers to shop outside of the city.

Other opinions

Philadelphia's outgoing controller, Alan Butkovitz, who has spoken out against the tax, surveyed business owners and found that a majority claim the tax is hurting them. The mayor's office has used wage tax data to suggest that the beverage industry has not lost jobs to the tax. Various other groups have conducted opinion polls. A Drexel professor is studying the tax's impact on consumption and expects to release written results in 2018. And the Penn, Harvard, and Johns Hopkins study will update its results in 2018.
Wagontown Volunteer Fire Company engineer Sohn Stark, right, watches as firefighter Nick Sheplock, left, aims his hose at a small brush fire during a training exercise at the Chester County Public Safety Training Campus in Coatesville, Pa., on Saturday, May 5, 2018. Aardvark Video Works owner Mike Fanaro, center, films the exercise. Fanaro's company was hired by Communication Solutions Group, a public relations firm working with the Chester County Fire Chiefs Association, to produce television and movie theater commercials to help recruit volunteer firefighters. Read more

Pennsylvania needs to provide funding and incentives and take other actions to fight a worsening "public safety crisis" resulting from a dramatic decline in volunteer firefighters during the last 40 years in the state  and nationally  according to a report released Wednesday.

About 300,000 people volunteered as firefighters in Pennsylvania in the 1970s, but that number has dwindled to fewer than 38,000, due in part to more time demands, an aging population, and societal shifts, said the commission of Pennsylvania lawmakers, municipal officials, and emergency service professionals that produced the report.

Underscoring the dimensions of the crisis, the updated figures were even more discouraging than those state fire officials cited last year when, working with old data, they calculated the number at about 70,000.

More than 90 percent of the state's roughly 2,400 fire companies are volunteer.

State fire officials estimate that volunteer firefighters save Pennsylvania communities about $10 billion annually. Volunteer agencies have turned to hiring full- or part-time staff to fill the volunteer gap.

Meanwhile, the number of calls to which firefighters respond has increased with more medical, hazardous-material, false-alarm, and faulty smoke-detector calls, but communities have fewer trained personnel  whether volunteer or staff  available to respond.

>>READ MORE: Alarming situation: Volunteer fire companies fight shortage "crisis"

To bolster the ranks of emergency services, the state should centralize its fragmented fire services; encourage emergency responders to consolidate; and offer more tax credits, education credits, and other incentives to attract and retain volunteers, the report says.

"I've never been one to cry wolf. Never in my life. And I'm saying we are in a crisis," said State Sen. Randy Vulakovich (R., Allegheny), cochair of the commission and chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee. "While individually these recommendations won't solve all the problems, together they can help preserve these two groups of first responders that are there when we are at our most vulnerable."

The report cited the need for "resources, funds, and legislative change" to improve public safety. Its authors want local fire and emergency medical services companies to use the report to lobby municipal officials for financial and staffing support.

State Rep. Steve Barrar (R., Chester/Delaware), cochair of the commission and chair of the House Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, called the report "our playbook going into the next legislative session."

The 39 commission members included fire and emergency medical services groups, municipal organizations, the majority and minority chairmen of the Senate's and House's emergency preparedness committees, and the acting state fire commissioner. The effort marked the first time in members' memories that fire and EMS and volunteer and career first responders came together to produce a shared report on the future of emergency services. The chairs of the Senate's emergency preparedness committee had called for the report, which originally was due June 30 but was granted a five-month extension.

Meanwhile, fire departments across the region and the country have turned to marketing campaigns, recruitment centers, billboards, commercials in movie theaters, and mailers to attract volunteers.

Wednesday's report follows up on a 2004 assessment from another state commission, which identified the same issues as similar efforts in the '70s, '80s, and 2000s.

"The delay or failure to take appropriate action has continued to extend and expand the challenges facing Pennsylvania emergency services," the report released Wednesday said.

The decentralized nature of fire service in Pennsylvania is part of the problem. Recruiting and retaining volunteers have been local responsibilities, but the report's authors said the commonwealth must share them. The report recommends that the Office of the State Fire Commissioner stand on its own and report directly to the governor, instead of being attached to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency. The state would task the office with providing technical assistance to fire departments and collecting data on the state of fire protection. Members of the commission said even getting an up-to-date figure of the number of volunteer firefighters in the state was a challenge.

The nearly 100 recommendations for local agencies and the state include:

Create a single statewide recruiting tool and website.

Partner with the Department of Education to offer high school and college credit to volunteers and work with community colleges and state universities to offer free tuition to firefighters and emergency medical professionals.

Remove regulatory and other barriers to encourage emergency service agencies to combine into regional companies.

Provide free background checks through the Pennsylvania State Police or local police.

Partner with colleges to provide housing for students who volunteer and explore offering college loan forgiveness.

Set  for the first time  minimum firefighter training standards, which fire companies can adjust for urban, suburban, and rural environments.

Fund basic fire and emergency medical technician training.

Consider tax or other financial incentives for employers that allow employees to leave work for scheduled emergency services training.

Lawmakers introduced more than a dozen bills to support firefighters and EMS agencies this legislative session. Of those, one bill  compensating EMS agencies for services even if they don't transport anyone to a hospital  made it to the governor's desk and will become law. Legislators plan to reintroduce the others.

Commission members hope to meet periodically to check progress and adjust recommendations if circumstances change.

"In the past it has always been 'Here's the work, and let's hope it takes a hold,' " said Beau Crowding, Chester County's deputy director for fire services and commission member.

Neil Vaughn, president of the Chester County Fire Chiefs Association, said Wednesday's report outlines the support that the state's fire service needs.

"Now," he said, "we just have to make sure [it's] being followed through."


By Washington Times , March . 23, 2019





Special counsel Robert Muellers historic decision to end his Russia probe on Friday without filing election conspiracy charges against any Trump associate is vindication for Devin Nunes.





A year ago, Mr. Nunes, a Republican congressman from California farm country cleared President Trump and his advisers in a report by the majority of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

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FILE - In a Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2019 file photo, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., speaks with reporters after his panel voted in a closed session to send more than 50 interview transcripts from its now-closed Russia investigation to special counsel Robert Mueller, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Schiff threatened Sunday, Feb. 24 to call special counsel Robert Mueller to Capitol Hill, subpoena documents and take the Trump administration to court if necessary if the full report on the Russia investigation is not made public. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) Read more

WASHINGTON (AP)  A top House Democrat threatened on Sunday to call special counsel Robert Mueller to Capitol Hill, subpoena documents and sue the Trump administration if the full report on Mueller's Russia investigation is not made public.

Rep. Adam Schiff, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said his committee will keep close watch on new Attorney General William Barr to see if he were "to try to bury any part of this report." Schiff, D-Calif., also pledged to "take it to court if necessary."

He said anything less than complete disclosure would leave Barr, who now oversees the investigation, with "a tarnished legacy."

Schiff's comments come as Democrats have made it clear that they are ready for an aggressive, public fight with the Justice Department if they are not satisfied with the level of access they have to Mueller's findings.

Mueller is showing signs of wrapping up his nearly 2-year-old investigation into possible coordination between Trump associates and Russia's efforts to sway the 2016 election. The report isn't expected to be delivered to the Justice Department this coming week.

Barr has said he wants to release as much information as he can. But during his confirmation hearing last month, Barr made clear that he will decide what the public sees, and that any report will be in his words, not Mueller's.

Schiff, in a television interview, suggested that anything short of Mueller's full report would not satisfy Democrats. He pointed to a public interest in seeing some of the underlying evidence, such as information gathered from searches conducted on longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone and Paul Manafort, a former Trump campaign chairman.

With Democrats taking control of the House in January and Schiff now the committee chairman, he has undertaken his own investigation. That means re-examining issues covered by a now-closed GOP probe that concluded there was no evidence Trump's campaign conspired with Russia. Schiff has said the committee also will pursue new matters, including whether foreign governments have leverage over Trump, his relatives or associates.

Some Democrats are pointing to documents that Justice Department officials provided to Congress in the wake of the investigation of Hillary Clinton's emails, as well as information that Republicans demanded as part of their own inquiries.

Schiff said he told department officials after they released information related to the Clinton investigation that "this was a new precedent they were setting and they were going to have to live by this precedent whether it was a Congress controlled by the Democrats or Republicans."

Beyond that, however, is "the intense public need to know here, which I think overrides any other consideration," he said.

Democrats could use Mueller's findings as the basis of impeachment proceedings. In a letter Friday, Democrats warned against withholding information on Trump on the basis of department opinions that the president can't be indicted.

"We are going to get to the bottom of this," Schiff said. "If the president is serious about all of his claims of exoneration, then he should welcome the publication of this report."

Many Republicans have also argued that the full report should be released, though most have stopped short of saying it should be subpoenaed.

"We need to get the facts out there, get this behind us in a way that people thought that anybody that should have been talked to was talked to any question that should have been asked, was asked," said Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

But asked if he thought there could be a subpoena, Blunt, R-Mo., said, "I don't know that you can."

The Senate committee also has been investigating whether Trump's campaign conspired with Russia. Blunt suggested a conclusion in that probe might wait until after Mueller's report.

"We'd like to have frankly a little more access to the Mueller investigation before we come to a final conclusion," Blunt said. "His report will help us write our final report. We've given Mueller full access to all of our interviews all of our investigation. We haven't had that reciprocated and so we'll soon find out what else is out there that we might not know about."

Schiff appeared on ABCs This Week, and Blunt was on CBS Face the Nation.
The act of generosity has been shown to have several health benefits, but its also important to be generous to yourself. This is especially true during the holiday season when anxiety, tension and added pressure are common.
Masliankou Leads Final 8 of the EPT Sochi 2019 National

March 24, 2019 Lisa Yiasemides

Day 2 of the EPT National at PokerStars EPT Sochi is in the books! Yury Masliankou (lead photo) finished on top of the counts and will enter the final table with 5,260,000 chips. Giorgiy Skhulukhiya (4,145,000) returns in second place and Leonid Bilokur (3,210,000) rounds out the top three.

Daniil Lukin, Andrey Lukyanov, Alexandr Sergutin, Kartik Ved, and Sarkis Karabadzhakyan are all still in contention and with RUB 9,317,000 ($139,755) up top, we don't expect anyone to give up without a fight.

2019 PokerStars EPT Sochi 77,000 EPT National Final Table

Seat Name Country Chip Count Big Blinds 1 Yury Masliankou Belarus 5,260,000 105 2 Kartik Ved India 1,385,000 28 3 Leonid Bilokur Russia 3,210,000 64 4 Daniil Lukin Russia 2,595,000 52 5 Andrey Lukyanov Russia 2,380,000 48 6 Sarkis Karabadzhakyan Russia 670,000 13 7 Giorgiy Skhulukhiya Russia 4,145,000 83 8 Alexandr Sergutin Russia 1,985,000 40

The Day began with 108 players that had made it through from the three starting flights, and all of them were guaranteed a min-cash of RUB 122,500 ($1,895).

After almost 10 hours of play, Masliankou is the man who will start in front. In the biggest hand of the tournament so far, he took the chip lead from Skhulukhiya in the last hand of Level 25. Masliankou took a chunk of Skhulukhiya's chips after six-betting all in, and Skhulukhiya thought long and hard before folding. The Belarussian held onto that lead for the remainder of the day and starts with a quarter of the chips in play, which is double the average.

Matous Houzvicek

It was an exciting day of poker from the start with a slew of eliminations before the first break. Matous Houzvicek began with the chip lead and had a strong start for the first few levels but the tide turned, and Houzvicek lost a series of pots that chipped away at his stack. One of the most significant setbacks was in a clash with Kartik Ved. Ved moved all in on the river with four clubs down, and Houzvicek let it go. He was unable to recover from there.

Houzvicek wasn't the only big name to exit during Day 2, with Team PokerStars Pro Mikhail Shalamov eliminated before the first break. Kiryl Radzivonau, Aleksandr Denisov, Dmitry Yurasov and Day 1b joint chip leaders Yaniv Peretz and Andrey Chernokoz, were just some of the notables to fall by the wayside during Day 2.

With 40 minutes and 47 seconds left on the clock for Level 26, the final table was reached. It came at the expense of Artur Martirosyan who three-bet all in from the small blind against Daniil Lukin's cutoff open and ran ace-jack into pocket queens. It wasn't long after the final table redraw that we saw the last elimination of the night. Sergey Petrushevskiy moved all in with ace-ten for a total of 10 big blinds over an open by Alexandr Sergutin and ran into pocket rockets. He earned RUB 700,000 ($10,500) for his ninth-place result.

Sergey Petrushevskiy

Today, the eight remaining finalists return at noon to continue their campaign. Levels will increase from 60 to 90 minutes and play resumes at Level 27 with blinds at 30,000/60,000 and a big blind ante of 60,000.

Join PokerNews for all the action from the moment cards are in the air until the new EPT Sochi 2019 National Champion is crowned.

Position Payout (CSU) Payout (RUB) Payout (USD) 1 CSU 133,100 RUB 9,317,000 $139,755 2 CSU 81,500 RUB 5,705,000 $85,575 3 CSU 58,100 RUB 4,067,000 $61,005 4 CSU 43,700 RUB 3,059,000 $45,885 5 CSU 34,400 RUB 2,408,000 $36,120 6 CSU 25,800 RUB 1,806,000 $27,090 7 CSU 18,500 RUB 1,295,000 $19,425 8 CSU 12,700 RUB 889,000 $13,335

The Stars Group owns a majority shareholding in iBus Media.


By Fox News , March . 22, 2019





The Trump administration announced Friday that it is slapping new sanctions on more than two dozen Iranian individuals involved in the countrys nuclear and missile research programs, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced Irans growing influence.





The Treasury Department said the sanctions target 31 Iranian scientists, technicians and companies affiliated with Irans Organization for Defense Innovation and Research, which is known to have been at the forefront of Irans nuclear weapons program.

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By David Morgan and Mark Hosenball

WASHINGTON (Reuters)  President Donald Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner is cooperating with a wide-ranging probe by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee into Trump and possible obstruction of justice and abuse of power.

Just hours earlier, a lawyer for Trump adviser Roger Stone said in a letter seen by Reuters that Stone was not cooperating with the same committee and cited his right to avoid self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The contrasting responses to Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadlers probe targeting 81 individuals and groups came on the same day the Justice Department announced the completion of a report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Trump and Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. [nL1N2191QR]

As a cloud of legal risk darkened over Trump, he was spending the weekend at his private club Mar-a-Lago in Florida.

Kushner submitted documents to Nadlers panel on Thursday in response to a wave of document requests sent by the committee on March 4, the knowledgeable person said.

Kushners attorney Abbe Lowell, who received the committees document request, was not immediately available for comment.

Democrats in the House of Representatives have launched numerous inquiries into Trump, his presidency, his family and his business interests. The Mueller investigation has been focused on the election and whether Trumps campaign colluded with Moscow in its effort to sway U.S. voters in Trumps favor.

Although Muellers report is finished, its contents were not yet known late on Friday. Details were expected soon.

Russia has denied U.S. intelligence agencies findings that the Kremlin interfered in the 2016 campaign. Trump has denied any collusion and dismissed Muellers probe as a witch hunt.

Among the Judiciary Committees aims are determining if Trump obstructed justice by ousting perceived enemies at the Justice Department and abused his power by possibly offering pardons or tampering with witnesses.

It was not clear how much material Kushner provided to the committee. But investigators sought documents from him on more than two dozen topics. Those topics ranged from a June 9, 2016, Trump Tower meeting with a Russian lawyer who claimed to have damaging information about Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to any Trump transition team contacts with Russia.

Stones lawyer Grant Smith said in the letter to Nadler that Stone faces federal criminal charges and that it is not in Mr. Stones best interest to participate in any other proceedings.

Stone was arrested in January and charged with lying to Congress about the 2016 Trump campaigns efforts to use stolen emails to undercut Clinton. Stone declared himself innocent hours after a team of FBI agents raided his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. [nL1N2110RA]

Smith called Nadlers demand for documents a fishing expedition request. Stone, who is under a gag order from the judge hearing his criminal case, had no comment.

(Reporting by David Morgan and Mark Hosenball, Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Rosalba OBrien)
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House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) made it clear that if Trump committed crimes and cant be indicted right now, impeachment is still on the table.

Trump could still be indicted or impeached

Transcript via ABCs This Week:

STEPHANOPOULOS: You mentioned  you told the San Francisco Chronicle on Friday if there is no bombshell, there is no impeachment. Does no in up indictments qualify as no bombshell?

SCHIFF: Not necessarily, because again, George, as you pointed out, they cant indict the president. Thats their policy. And therefore there could be overwhelming evidence on the obstruction issue. And I dont know that thats the case, but if this were overwhelming evidence of criminality on the presidents part, then the Congress would need to consider that remedy if indictment is foreclosed.

So, its really too early to make those judgments. We need to see the report. And then I think well all have a factual basis to discuss, what does this mean for the American people? What risks are we running with this president? What steps does Congress need to take to protect the country, but in the absence of those facts, those judgments are impossible to make?

Video:

Rep. Adam Schiff says "it's too early" to tell if Congress will no longer consider impeachment. "If there were overwhelming evidence of criminality on the president's part then Congress would need to consider that remedy if indictment is foreclosed" https://t.co/nrxArqv2MF pic.twitter.com/0shV6EJn7z  This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 24, 2019

Adam Schiff was right. Trump isnt off the hook

If the Mueller report clears Trump of any wrongdoing, why are Democrats preparing to go to court to get the report? If Muellers findings were such great news for Trump, the White House would have been demanding that the report be released yesterday. This is a spin job by the administration and the Republican Party. They are trying to spin the findings of the report before anyone has seen it.

The reality is that the Mueller report might end up being key evidence leading to the impeachment of the president.

Trumps problems will get much worse when the report is released, which is why the White House is preemptively spinning while doing nothing to call for the public release of Muellers report.

The nation has entered the calm before the storm.
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We all know that under Department of Justice (DOJ) guidelines Robert Mueller had to submit a report on his findings of criminal conduct to Attorney General William Barr. And we know that Barr has discretion, and may or may not release this so-called criminal report to Congress and to the public.

But most people are not aware that Mueller will issue a second report  called the counterintelligence report  that cant be kept from either Congress or the public by William Barr or anyone else.

According to former federal prosecutor Nelson Cunningham, who wrote about this for The Daily Beast, the counterintelligence report will deal only with counterintelligence findings and not whether crimes were committed.

Thus it is this report that will address the question of whether or not there was collusion between Russia and Trumps 2016 presidential campaign.

From the very beginning, Mueller has worn two hats and borne two missions relating to the Russia investigation, wrote Cunningham, a former prosecutor and former White House counsel.

The most public and familiar one is as a criminal investigator under the special counsel regulations, he said, before adding:

But Mueller has also carried a second charge, as a counterintelligence expert, with a much broader charge to determine and report the scope of any interference and any links to the Trump campaign  what Trump himself might refer to as collusion.

The Russia probe first began as a counterintelligence investigation. Later Mueller was given the additional task of uncovering whether any crimes were committed.

The counterintelligence investigation must produce a report which will be shared with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) along with all other agencies in the 17-member intelligence community.

The Counterintelligence Report Must Be Made Public

According to Cunningham:

Unlike a final criminal report, a Mueller counterintelligence report cannot be bottled up. By statute it must be shared with Congress.

The House and Senate intelligence committees are legally entitled to be given reports, in writing, of significant intelligence and counterintelligence activities or failures. Muellers findings will certainly qualify.

It is Muellers counterintelligence report we should really be anticipating.

Cunningham maintains that this second report will go into detail about Russias efforts to interfere in 2016, as well as the nature of any links or cooperation between the Russians and the Trump campaign.

It will also disclose whether Trump and/or his associates and family members were intelligence assets being used by the Russians.

Federal Law Requires That Muellers Findings Be Given to Intelligence Committees

Cunningham wrote:

Neither the special counsel regulations nor Attorney General Barrs discretion will keep Muellers counterintelligence findings from Congress.

Muellers second report, with detailed findings and counterintelligence conclusions, will make its way to the intelligence committees.

And then, the final chapter of Muellers Russia investigationcongressional consideration of the implications for the Trump presidencymay begin.

Neither Trump Nor Barr Can Prevent Muellers Report on Collusion From Being Made Public

It is now very clear that the most critical elements of Robert Muellers report and findings will be seen by Congress and the American people. These elements deal with national security and intelligence risks posed by the Trump presidency.

The criminal elements of Muellers investigation were contained in the report that William Barr received on Friday. He might try to keep that report secret, but in fact the criminal aspects of Muellers probe have already been farmed out to other federal prosecutors, including the Southern District of New York (SDNY).

In short, Donald Trumps possible treason and conspiracy against the United States, will soon be known to the American people. And he will soon be paying the price for those crimes.
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Democrats are raising doubts and questions about William Barrs summary of Robert Muellers report.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said in a statement to PoliticusUSA, Attorney General Barr needs to make the entire Special Counsels report public immediately. Congress should be able to review the evidence independent of the interpretation of Trump-appointed allies like the Attorney General. This is too important to our democracy to keep anything hidden from public view, especially when the future of our democracy is at stake.

House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer said in a statement to PoliticusUSA, I will carefully review Attorney General Barrs summary of the Special Counsels report, but I will not be satisfied until the full report and all underlying evidence is made available. Americans deserve to know all the facts, which is why the report itself should be released  to the fullest extent of the law  in addition to the Attorney Generals summary. Congress must remain a bulwark of justice and the rule of law, and House Democrats will do our part to ensure that it performs its duties faithfully under our Constitution.

Sen. Murphy also tweeted:

Maybe Barrs interpretation is right. Maybe its not. But why the heck would we be ok with an ally of President, appointed because of his hostility to the Mueller investigation, tell us what the report says? Give Congress the report. Give the public the report. Now.  Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) March 24, 2019

Ex-acting U.S. solicitor general Neal Katyal brought up some serious questions about Barrs interpretation of Muellers report:

Ex-acting U.S. solicitor general Neal Katyal: I think this letter causes me much more concern, grave concerns. On Barrs obstruction call: How the heck does he determine that in 48 hours after a 2 year investigation, and particularly without even trying to interview Trump?  Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 24, 2019

Democrats have good reason to doubt Barrs interpretation of Muellers report. Barr went beyond Mueller and cleared Trump of obstruction of justice. Mueller didnt come to this conclusion. Trumps hand-picked attorney general did. The administration is clearly trying to white wash the Mueller report and spin it. Trump has not been exonerated by this report.

The country needs to see the full report and see what Mueller actually wrote, not what Trumps best boy at DOJ decided to think what Mueller wrote means.

Democrats arent buying what the White House is selling, and neither should you.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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House Democrats wasted no time in announcing that Attorney General William Barr will be called to testify before the Judiciary Committee.

Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) tweeted:

In light of the very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department following the Special Counsel report, where Mueller did not exonerate the President, we will be calling Attorney General Barr in to testify before @HouseJudiciary in the near future.  (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) March 24, 2019

Democrats arent falling for Trumps Mueller report con

William Barr was nominated by Trump to be attorney general to do one thing. Barr was supposed to end the Mueller investigation. His conclusion that Trump did not obstruct justice has raised a giant red flag with both legal experts and members of Congress. Barr is not in a position to make a determination on whether or not Trump obstructed justice.

The rushed wrap up of the Mueller investigation combined with the White Houses refusal to release the Mueller report has alarm bells going off.

Trump is trying to con his way out of this scandal.

House Democrats arent having any of it. They are going to bring Barr to the Hill and make him answer questions about the Mueller report, his letter, and his role in ending the investigation.

The letter from William Barr to Congress is not the end of this matter by a long shot.

Democrats are fighting back, and are going to get to the truth which may lead to the impeachment of Trump.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) is calling for Attorney General William Barr to burn the Mueller report so that it cant be read.

Nunes said on Fox and Friends Sunday, So the Mueller report  a lot of people, Oh what does it say? We can just burn it up. I mean, it is a partisan document, so theres going to be a lot of calls for that and the Democrats say, Weve got to see the underlying information. What we really need to see is what was the FBIs involvement with Fusion GPS? Who were they, who did they know about? What  and Im sorry I dont want to gloss over this for the viewers but Fusion GPS was essentially the Hillary Clinton campaign. They were hired by the Clinton campaign, so we need to see all of that, we need the FISA fully disclosed. We need everyone that Mueller talked to, including his interactions with Jerome Corsi, who you just had on the show. Look, I cant imagine why they would bring Jerome Corsi in to interview with the special counsel. Jerome Corsi is just a long time kind of press guy. You know, I think you guys have known him for a long time. You know, he had every right to call Julian Assange or anybody else that he wants to. Now look, I dont agree with that, I wouldnt call Julian Assange. But press people do that all the time. Thats part of our First Amendment rights.

Video:

Innocent people always want to destroy the evidence. It is a normal thing, right? Rep. Nuness rationale for destroying the Mueller report was Fox News talking points and conspiracy theories. The Mueller report was written by a Republican. Nunes, Trump, and others have never been able to explain how a Republican is writing a partisan document concerning an investigation into a Republican presidential campaign.

What Rep. Nunes had to say was nothing more than panicked gibberish.

Republicans are trying to hide the Mueller odds are because it is bad for them and for Trump.

Nuness reaction suggests that there is some very damaging information in the report that could lead to impeachment for Trump.

Burning a report wont make it go away, but the fact that Republicans want it destroyed so badly suggests that there are major problems coming for Trump.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

Follow Jason Easley on Facebook

>Correction: In a previous version of this story, Rep. Nunes was mistakenly listed as a Democrat. He is a Republican.
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Democratic U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will give her first speech as an official presidential candidate in New York City today, and will call Donald Trump a coward in front of his own hotel. The new 2020 candidate will also accuse the president of tearing apart the moral fabric of our country.

The New York senator will stand at the doorway of the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Manhattan and label it as a shrine to greed, division and vanity.

She plans a fiery speech that will hold no punches and take on Trump directly. In one excerpt from her speech she says:

He demonizes the vulnerable and he punches down. He puts his name in bold on every building. He does all of this because he wants you to believe he is strong. He is not. Our president is a coward.

According to her campaign, she believes this direct approach will separate her from other 2020 Democratic candidates who have been reluctant to attack the current president by name.

Shes trying to differentiate herself from the field, said Maria Cardona, a former senior adviser to Hillary Clinton. Its a pretty crowded field. Shes not really in the middle of it, and she needs to be in the middle of it.

Gillibrand has struggled to stand out among the large group ofother announced and potential 2020 candidates, such as Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren all of whom have higher name recognition among Democrats.

Gillibrand simply lacks the star power or national prominence that would lead to extensive free media time, said Patrick Murray, director of the Polling Institute at Monmouth University.

Opinion polls have shown Gillibrand stuck in the 1-percent range with at least a half dozen other candidates ahead of her.

The senators speech today in front of the Trump International Hotel & Tower is her attempt re-launch her campaign. She announced in January that she was exploring a run, then earlier this month announced that she was definitely running.

In her speech today Gillibrand will praise the bravery of high school students who have been organizing to end gun violence. She will also recognize the bravery of young people brought to the country illegally as children who are fighting for their right to call this country home, and of course, the formerly well-behaved women who organized, ran for office, voted and won in 2018.

That is brave, she says.

Gillibrand will also talk about her own courage, which she says was shown by her winning a House seat in a Republican district, by her fighting for funds to cover the cost of medical care for rescue workers and survivors of the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, and by her fighting on behalf of survivors of sexual assault and harassment at the Pentagon, in Congress and on college campuses.

There is no question that Kirsten Gillibrand is a brave and strong advocate for causes she believes in. But there are many questions about her ability to compete for and win the 2020 Democratic nomination for president.
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Yesterday we reported that since Bob Mueller has delivered his report to William Barr, the fight against Donald Trump and his criminal family and businesses will move to the U.S. Attorneys office in the Southern District of New York (SDNY).

Robert Mueller apparently will not indict anyone else, but Democratic leaders in Congress made very clear that they are expecting additional indictments from other sources.

Mueller has already handed off high profile federal criminal cases to the SDNY. For example, when Robert Mueller investigated Michael Cohen he determined that Cohen didnt commit crimes central to the Trump-Russia election scandal, but he did commit other Trump-related crimes. So he then referred the case to the SDNY, which had jurisdiction over those crimes, for prosecution.

SDNY then brought the criminal case against Cohen, and now hes going to prison.

When he handed the Cohen case to the Feds at SDNY they kept it secret. The public didnt find out about it until SDNY was ready to indict him.

Mueller didnt even recommend to SDNY that Cohen be indicted. He just gave them the case and let them make the decision based on the evidence.

So weve already seen Mueller send one of Trumps people to prison without indicting him or recommending that he be indicted.

Weve learned that hes also handed off cases and evidence to six other federal prosecutorial entities. And well see more announcements about those cases at a later time.

What Will Happen to Trumps Family?

The big question now of course is whats going to happen to Donald Trumps family.

Weve already received a big clue about this from Paul Manaforts case.

New York State waited until the minute Paul Manaforts federal case was over, then immediately unsealed indictments against him. Waiting was a way of keeping the prosecution clean, even though New York had been sitting on the Manafort indictments for a long time.

We know that New York State has been investigating Trumps business, charity and children for a long time also. And it is likely they have obtained sealed indictments, and when the federal cases are over they will unseal the indictments, like they did with Manafort.

If the SDNY wasnt planning to indict anyone in Donald Trumps family, wed have seen New York State move forward with the indictments they are planning to bring.

But New York State is still waiting. They are waiting for the SDNY to indict and prosecute Trumps family first  just like they did with Manafort.

New York Attorney General Tish James promised, after being elected on November 6, that she would begin large-scale investigations of President Donald Trump, his family and anyone in his circle who may have violated the law.

James said the investigations and prosecutions of Trump criminal conduct would be a top priority after she took office. For a long time New York States been aggressively investigating the Trump businesses and family members for their alleged crimes. The fact that no indictments of Trumps children have yet been unsealed is very strong evidence that New York State is waiting for the SDNY to finish their business.

Which means that indictments of Trumps family will probably be coming very soon.
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The Mueller report does not conclude that Trump committed a crime, nor does it conclude that Trump did not do anything wrong.

Read Barrs letter to Congress on Muellers findings:

Mueller left the complicated legal questions on Trump unanswered, For each of the relevant actions investigated, the report sets out evidence on both sides of the question and leave unresolved what the special counsel views as difficult issues of law and fact concerning whether the Presidents actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction. The Special Counsel states that while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.'

Congress is going to have to investigate obstruction of justice

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler put it best:

The Special Counsel states that while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.  (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) March 24, 2019

Mueller stuck to his narrow legal mandate, and as legal experts have been warning for years, conspiracy is one of the most difficult crimes to prove. The Mueller reports lack of decisive conclusions means that congressional investigators are going to have to do their own investigations. As Rep. Nadler said earlier on Sunday, Democrats dont want to waste time redoing Muellers investigation. They want to see the report and follow any leads that come from Muellers work.

This report does not convict or exonerate Trump. It leaves more questions that will have to be pursued in the days to come.

The lack of detail and context in Barrs summary is why the full report must immediately be released.
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House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said that Trump couldnt assert Executive Privilege hide the Mueller report.

Transcript via NBC Newss Meet The Press:

CHUCK TODD:

All right. Well, that brings us to this ambiguous phrase, right? Executive Privilege. And Im just curious. Who gets to decide  who gets to arbitrate this? Is this up to the attorney general?

REP. JERROLD NADLER:

Well, no. The president must personally assert executive privilege. And I do not believe it exists here at all because, as we learned from the Nixon tapes case, executive privilege cannot hide  cannot be used to hide wrongdoing. And in that case, the Supreme Court nine to nothing ordered that all the claims of executive privilege be overridden and the tapes be public. So I dont think that executive  I mean, the president may try to assert it, may try to hide things behind it. But I dont think thats right or be successful. I want to say that we know a few other things which are very relevant here. We know that the president pressured the FBI director to go easy, to drop the investigation on Mike Flynn and some others. We know that he fired the FBI director for not giving him the personal loyalty that he demanded and for not dropping those investigations. We know that many of the presidents closest associates, his national security advisor, campaign manager, et cetera, have been convicted of various crimes. And we know that hes waged a relentless two-year campaign to attack the law enforcement institutions, the FBI, the special prosecutor, all to demean the power 

Video:

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said that Trump couldn't assert Executive Privilege hide the Mueller report. https://t.co/fWXrOib4Eq pic.twitter.com/zOhi3FIGmo  PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) March 24, 2019

Democrats are very confident that they will win

One of the main reasons why the Democratic victory in 2018 matters so much is playing out right now. If Republicans had kept control over the House, there would be no fight over the Mueller report. A Republican House would have shrugged its shoulders and walked away if Trump tried to not release the Mueller report. It is looking more likely that the Trump plan for months has been to bury the Mueller report and make sure that it never sees the light of day.

Democrats are confident that if Trump tries not to release the report, or hide details, they will win. The law and precedent are both on their side. Trump cant hide the report, which is why Republicans are calling for the reports destruction.

A new chapter is beginning in the fight for truth and justice against Donald Trump.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

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Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Showers this evening, becoming a steady rain overnight. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Showers this evening, becoming a steady rain overnight. Thunder possible. Low 54F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Col. Esther Aguigui has acknowledged having received $26,494.96 in military housing allowance she was "not authorized" to accept, according to a letter of reprimand issued to her on Jan. 12, 2018, a year before she was nominated to lead the Guam National Guard.

As Aguigui faces legislative confirmation to lead the Guam Guard, documents have surfaced indicating that, for about a year, she received a higher housing allowance rate meant for service members serving overseas  while she was attending the Army War College in Pennsylvania.

The letter of reprimand was written by Maj. Gen. Roderick Leon Guerrero, the former adjutant general of the Guam National Guard, a position now held by Aguigui. At the time of the housing allowance in question, Aguigui was a lieutenant colonel but she was recently locally promoted to colonel in a pinning ceremony led by the governor.

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In his letter of reprimand to Aguigui, Maj. Gen. Leon Guerrero wrote, On 29 September 2017 you acknowledged with the (U.S. Property and Finance Office on Guam) the validity of a debt to the U.S. government in the amount of $26,494.96. An overpaid military housing allowance is considered a debt to the U.S. government.

Aguigui paid the debt back in full on Sept. 29, 2017.

According to Maj. Gen. Leon Guerreros letter, $26,494.96 is the amount of money Aguigui received in overseas housing and cost of living allowance payments between July 2016 and June 2017 while she was earning a degree at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Maj. Gen. Leon Guerrero concluded that Aguiguis acknowledgment of the debt and agreement to pay it all back indicates to me your knowledge that receipt of the sum of $26,494.96 was improper.

Housing allowance

When contacted for comment, Guam National Guard spokeswoman Maj. Josephine Blas referred The Guam Daily Post to David Riano, the attorney adviser of the Guam National Guard.

Riano told the Post that he had been authorized by Aguigui to discuss the letter of reprimand and talk about how it was resolved.

Riano explained that when Aguigui was transferred from Guam to the war college in Pennsylvania she was paid the overseas housing allowance for some reason, unknown.

The housing allowance on Guam is classified as an overseas housing allowance. Its substantially higher than the allowance paid for stateside military assignments.

It wasnt anything that she did, and it wasnt anything that the war college did. It just continued to be paid," Riano said.

When Aguigui returned to Guam, the finance office at the Guam Guard caught the fact that she was paid the overseas housing allowance, rather than what you get paid in the states, which is called BAH, for basic allowance for housing.

For a Guard member without dependents, at the lowest level pay grade, the current overseas housing allowance for Guam is $2,205 a month. The equivalent basic allowance for housing in Pennsylvania is $1,050.

The overpayment to Aguigui was the subject of a U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division report issued in March 2017.

In that CID report, Aguigui told investigators that she believed her unit may have been behind in processing personnel actions so she did not inform anyone about the payments.

The CID report also states that Aguigui declined the opportunity to undergo a polygraph examination.

Riano said, Thats not unusual.

"As a lawyer, anybody that would come to you as a client and ask whether or not they should take a polygraph, any lawyer worth his salt would say no," Riano said.

'Not a prosecutorial decision'

The CID report states its findings are not a prosecutorial decision. However, the Guam Army National Guard staff judge advocate opined probable case exists to believe LTC Aguigui committed the offense of false official statement, larceny of government funds, and pay and allowance fraud.

The CID report was provided to Maj. Gen. Leon Guerreros command for "consideration of action.

Maj. Gen. Leon Guerrero agreed with the CID conclusion that the case did not warrant prosecution, writing in his January 2018 letter to Aguigui: This is an administrative reprimand," adding later, "it's not punishment under the Guam Code of Military Justice.

There were enough fuzzy areas on this to cast doubt as to whether or not you could actually prove this, Riano said.

In previous years, a number of Guam National Guard members were charged and subsequently entered guilty pleas in federal court for receiving more than the amounts of military housing allowances they were entitled to. Some cases involved Guam Guard members who received the full housing allowance while they had roommates or were living with relatives. For the Guard members who were charged and pleaded guilty, not only did they agree to repay the military, the charges also cost them their jobs.

In response, Riano said he could not speak for the U.S. attorney or the FBI when asked why authorities prosecuted some cases and not others. However, he noted: I dont think a conviction could have come out for larceny.

There were too many questions, Riano said. She never requested the money, but she got paid the money.

He pointed out that the Guam Army National Guard bears some responsibility. He said, It was this command that paid her. We should have known not to pay her."

Still, Maj. Gen. Leon Guerrero concluded that Aguiguis acceptance of these allowances for 12 months while assigned off island demonstrated faulty reasoning and judgment.

Administrative solution

After reviewing Aguiguis response to the reprimand, and the response of her legal counsel, Maj. Gen. Leon Guerrero wrote in a letter dated Feb. 13, 2018: After due consideration, it is my decision to sustain the proposed Letter of Reprimand.

The letter of reprimand will be filed in the performance portion of your Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) for a period of one year to be followed by its filing of one year in the restricted portion of your OMPF," Maj. Gen. Leon Guerrero wrote.

The end result of the investigation was an administrative resolution of the matter and a letter of reprimand for bad judgment, which is not uncommon in the military, Riano stated.

'Agents of change'

On Jan. 3, Maj. Gen. Leon Guerrero was among the agents of change named by the transition team for the incoming governor. He was tapped to be the director of the Department of Military Affairs, which allowed him to continue as adjutant general of the Guam Army National Guard.

Twenty-five days later, Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero changed her mind and announced that she had nominated Aguigui to replace Maj. Gen. Leon Guerrero.

The decision followed the release of a transition report on the Guam Guard that made allegations of inequities in promotions and job assignments and an "abuse of power" that has created a "climate of fear" and an "untenable" ratio of men to women in senior leadership positions."

The governor has stated she did not fire Maj. Gen. Leon Guerrero. The governor said he resigned.

The governor explained she and Maj. Gen. Leon Guerrero "had a different vision in the leadership than I wanted.

"We have the utmost trust and confidence that she is the best soldier to lead the Guam National Guard into its next chapter," the governor has stated, calling Aguigui a "model soldier who has greatly represented our Guam National Guard through her exemplary work."

Her nomination is still subject to confirmation by the Legislature.
SECOND SUMMIT: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump sit down for a dinner during the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 27. Kim has discussed the possibility of a third meeting.
The Washington Post greets the Mueller report with its standard, all-purpose story about chaos at the Trump White House. The title of its paper edition article about the White House response to the Mueller is Trump team didnt have a plan of attack.

But the White House didnt need one. Mueller has not called for the indictment of President Trump or any member of his family. And given the news that there will be no further indictments of anyone, it seems clear that Mueller found no collusion related crime.

From Trumps point of view, this news speaks for itself. Its his enemies who need a plan. House Democrats reportedly had an emergency phone conference to formulate one.

The White House probably understood that, in all likelihood, the transmission of Muellers report to the Attorney General would not necessitate a response. In the unlikely event that it did, Trump would have responded in his usual way, by blasting Mueller on Twitter. His team would have taken it from there.

The real story here, in my view, is how Trump instinctively came up with an effective plan for dealing with Muellers investigation from the outset. It consisted of at least three elements.

First, state at every opportunity that there was no collusion. That way, the focus would remain where it was supposed to be  on whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia, an issue where Trump could expect to prevail.

Second, call the investigation a witch hunt at every opportunity. That way, Muellers credibility would be driven down (as polls suggest it was).

If Mueller then reported that the administration was guilty of wrongdoing, the idea that Mueller is biased would be planted, and half the country might not accept his conclusions. If, on the other hand, Mueller reported no wrongdoing and the Democrats kept pressing anyway, the Dems might well be seen by more than half the country as witch-hunting. Theres a good chance now that things will play out that way.

Third, resist Muellers efforts to have the president give live testimony. That way, Trump would minimize the risk of falling into a perjury trap.

Whatever one thinks about the propriety of the second part of Trumps approach  attacking the investigation  it was a smart move. And given the events that led to the investigation  an unconscionable attempt by Trumps enemies to gin up a Russia collusion narrative  I think Trump was entitled to take the gloves off.
Minnesota Fifth District Rep. Ilhan Omar appeared as the featured fundraiser for the CAIR Los Angeles chapter in Woodland Hills last night. CAIR is of course the fake civil rights organization and Muslim Brotherhood front/Hamas affiliate. Omar did not disappoint. She CAIRied on in her accustomed fashion. Omar, incidentally, told a mythical CAIR founding story in her remarks last night. I have posted the video below.

Toward the end of her remarks last night (at about 18:00), Omar alluded to her criticism of Saudi Arabia in connection with the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. Omar presented herself as a neutral critic of all countries that abuse human rights. I think she has missed quite a few so far, and she has certainly missed the heart of the subject when it comes to Saudi Arabia. If this was also intended to explain her focus on the Jewish state, it fell a bit short. Omar is a raving Islamist supporter of BDS with a focus on the alleged failings of the Jewish state, but she isnt too crazy about the United States either.

Last night Omar compared her own experience in Congress so far to that of Muhammad. And thats not all. Moses was in the mix too. We might be headed to the promised land of speaking the truth, she proclaimed, and finding our external liberty once we internally liberate ourselves.

As always, however, Omar portrayed herself  a Somali Muslim refugee to the United States from a Kenyan camp  as a victim. Heres the truth. Far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen, Omar said. Frankly, she declared, Im tired of it and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it. At around 11:30, she depicts the denial of hospital services to herself and other Muslims. She conjured a parade of horribles.

Omar also presented herself as a messenger of love, but she is an ardent hater. I commented on her love shtick in this RCP column.

The video is 21 minutes long. Its a slog. Omar is an attractive woman until she opens her mouth. Listening to Omar is not a pleasant experience. It is an ordeal. I can only say that attention must be paid.
Byron York identifies five things that didnt happen during the course of Robert Muellers now-concluded investigation. Below, I list the five things Byron identified and provide my brief commentary:

First, Mueller did not indict Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, or other people whose purported legal jeopardy was the subject of intense media speculation in the last year.

Thus, Mueller found no criminality arising from that famous meeting Trump Jr. and Kushner had with the Russian lawyer. And President Trump, who was stung by seeing associates like Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn in the dock, wont have to endure the pain of seeing family members there.

Second, Mueller did not charge anyone in the Trump campaign or circle with conspiring with Russia to fix the 2016 election, as was the subject of intense media speculation in the last year.

Thus, Mueller found no collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia that gives rise to a criminal offense meriting prosecution. Trumps repeated insistence that there was no collusion, though not necessarily what Mueller concluded, will be the publics takeaway, barring the disclosure of information in Muellers report indicating otherwise. When the Democrats nonetheless continue their quest to find collusion, they will seem to most observers to be grasping straws.

Third, Mueller did not subpoena the president, as was the subject of intense media speculation in the last year.

Thus, Trump stuck to his guns on the issue of providing live testimony, and he prevailed. By doing so, he avoided falling into a perjury trap.

Fourth, the president did not fire Mueller, as was the subject of intense media speculation in the last year.

Thus, the president exercised good judgment here, as well. Trump must have been tempted to fire Mueller, but Ive seen nothing to indicate that he ever seriously contemplated doing so. Here again, the intense media speculation seems to have been off-base.

Fifth, the president did not interfere with the Mueller investigation, as was the subject of intense media speculation in the last year. In his letter to Congress, Barr noted the requirement that he notify lawmakers if top Justice Department officials ever interfered with the Mueller investigation. There were no such instances, Barr wrote.

Thus, again the intense media speculation was baseless. After the blowback that resulted from Trump encouraging James Comey to find a way to go easy on Michael Flynn, Trump was never going to interfere with Muellers investigation.

The mainstream media, it seems, was consistently off-base in its coverage of the Mueller investigation. A combination of hysteria and wishful thinking ensured that it would be.
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The automatic barriers help to a great level in keeping up congested traffic rapidly by limiting access to the authorized workforce as it were. In addition, these automatic barriers are combined with different kinds of access control systems, for example, keypads, contactless smart cards, hands-free access systems, intercom call routing, amid others, to make the access simpler. Expanding requirement, as well as utilization of automatic barriers all over residential areas as well as transportation hubs to improve security in addition to safety all over the region, is assessed to fuel the expansion of the automatic barriers and along these lines, automatic gate opening systems over the years to come.Report For Sample with Table of Contents@ https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/upsample/120124683/Automatic-Gate-Opening-Systems-Market All over each industry, the launch of cutting-edge technology and equipment has prompted industrial upgrading, prompting towards various benefits, for example, superior product consistency, higher door surface smoothness along with more exact size. In addition, the gate sector is believed to move in the direction of intelligent improvement course as a result of the integrated access control system with multi-button design, battery backup option, and mechanical locks, amid others.Rising industrialization in developing nations, for example, South Africa, Brazil, and China are reckoned to fuel requirement for automatic gates all around the world for security and safety associated concerns over the years to come. The support from the government combined with expanding outsourcing of production endeavours from emerged countries has pushed industrialization in these developing economies.In the present situation, the worldwide market is foreseeing expansion in construction exercises as well as rising infrastructure investments which is also the main indicator driving the market. Upgradation of manufacturing innovation for these gates, set up of automatic bollards and simplicity of handle, rising requirement for automatic barriers all over residential and transportation applications are different indicators anticipated that would help the market development.The market is likewise anticipated that would confront a few challenges. The establishment of these gates isn't especially simple also owners decide on various styles of gates - automation type gates, gates built of various materials with various manners for the opening. The automatic gates, when contrasted with basic gates, have complex designs so as to work productively and efficiently in each way. Then again, automatic gates necessitate noteworthy investments when contrasted with basic ones, inferable from the different electronic, electrical and mechanical components coordinated with earlier gates. The best possible investigation of the site where the gates should be set up alongside the need for competent labors are the foremost evaluating indicators that prompt the staggering expense of gates.Request For Report Discount@ https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/updiscount/120124683/Automatic-Gate-Opening-Systems-Market Manufacturing more intelligent linked devices, it requires a level of software and hardware technology adoption and innovation never been observed, and a lot of it has its underlying foundations in different businesses. That is why a majority of the companies are seen embracing organic business methodologies whereas level I and II organizations are highlighting on the inorganic business methodologies to accomplish their objectives and to reduce the competition and extend their regional footprint. Technological progressions have been boosting the sector that is going towards new prospects and pulls in new contestants or new companies. Recently in August 2018, Accenture (US) set in motion defense innovation hub together with the co-design office characteristics the blockchain, artificial intelligence, IoT demo space, and robotics, in Canberra (Australia), to provide a co-design functioning space for the Department of Defence and security organizations.Among the other major market players active in the market globally are Nice S.p.A., The Chamberlain Group Inc., TiSO Company, CAME BPT UK, PILOMAT s.r.l., Macs Automated Bollard Systems Ltd, RIB srl, Gandhi Automations Pvt Ltd, CASIT s.n.c. di C.C.Ramella & C., FAAC Group, PROTECO Srl, Ditec Entrematic, S M Dooromatics, Zhejiang Xianfeng Machinery Co., Ltd. along with Others.Report Analysis@ https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/upcomming/120124683/Automatic-Gate-Opening-Systems-Market
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Engine oil used in the automotive sector vary by their volume, the engine size, and viscosity index. Certain added substances are added to keep up and enhance the engine oils viscosity index. Utilizing engine oil gives various long-haul advantages to the end-user, the reduced friction amid automotive engine components because of utilizing engine oil limits wear and tears of the vehicle components. It likewise lessens the unfavorable effect of accumulated dust on the engine parts. Aside from these advantages it additionally seals holes and counteracts corrosion.Report For Sample with Table of Contents@ https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/upsample/120124685/Automotive-Engine-Oil-Market The indicators driving the automotive engine oil market are expanding middle-class populace, infrastructural expansion, expanding portability because of urbanization along with the advancement of satellite towns, megacities, and township projects, rising disposable income, increasing the desire of having a vehicle along with the requirement for goods carrier from medium and small-sized enterprises.Rising mobility as a result of the progress of satellite township near megacities, growing surface transportation infrastructure, are a few indicators that are considered to fuel the automotive engine oil market in Asia Pacific region. Rising automotive aftermarket as well as DIY (do it yourself) culture in Europe and North America is fuelling the expansion of automotive engine oil in this two region particularly in the retail industry.The market growth of automotive engine oil is likely to be hindered by the rising provision of counterfeit motor oil products. The engine oil makers expend large amounts on establishing their brand identity; in turn, this brand identity is utilized by counterfeiters to trade forge products. The rising supply of forge goods in the market hinders the brand image as well as the revenue of reliable engine oil producers.The automotive engine oil market is controlled by strict regulations and rules concerned with the transfer of utilized oil. As indicated by the EPA under the Federal Standards for Management of Used Oil, utilized oil ought to be burned or recycled for the energy restoration. Utilized automotive engine oil market presents dangerous environmental threats because of the existence of petroleum base stocks which are poisonous and hard to discard after usage.Universal Lubricants, LLC, headquartered in Kansas, U.S., manufactures and distributes a product called as ECOULTRA (re-refined flagship product) a synthetic blend motor oil, in a simple to pour, uncompromising, flex-pack pockets that have earned enormous acknowledgment in different nations and prospering in the U.S. As it offers the purchasers a speedier, simpler and cleaner approach to replace the oil and as the utilized oil is refined, it is foreseen that the requirement for packaged engine oils would rise over the approaching years.Request For Report Discount@ https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/updiscount/120124685/Automotive-Engine-Oil-Market Few of the prominent players active in the automotive engine oil market, globally comprises Total S.A, Saudi Arabian Oil Co., Gazprom, LUKOIL oil company, ROSNEFT, Royal Dutch Shell plc, BP p.l.c, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Statoil, Sinopec Lubricant Company, Chevron Corporation., JIANGSU LOPAL TECH. CO., LTD. along with Ashland Inc.Currently, in the foreign industrial emerged nations the automotive engine oil sector is for the most part at a further advanced level, the world's big enterprises are essentially amassed in Japan, Europe, the United States, and so forth. In the meantime, foreign organizations have further progressed equipment, strong D and R ability, the technical level is in a prominent position. On the other hand, foreign organizations' production cost has taken a toll and is moderately high, in contrast to the Chinese organizations, this production cost is a competitive disadvantage, as the Chinese automotive engine oil production enterprise innovation keeps on enhancing, their share in the worldwide market as well as is expanding, competitiveness in the worldwide market gradually.Report Analysis@ https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/upcomming/120124685/Automotive-Engine-Oil-Market
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Contact Us:Research Report Insights (RRI)42 Joseph StreetPort carling P0B 1J0Muskoka, Ontario1Phone - +1-631-721-4201Website: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/Email: sales@researchreportinsights.comTL+1631721420

Biometric driver identification system is being used to prevent unauthorized access to vehicles. Automobile industry is increasingly adopting biometric identification system to ensure security of the car. Manufacturers are offering various biometrics technology for authentication such as facial and fingerprint recognition, voice analysis, iris-based in-car biometrics, hand geometry, etc. biometric identification system are being developed with some advanced features such as behavior-based algorithms to ensure performance and safety. This Research Report Insights report discusses key prospects for growth of global biometric driver identification system market during the forecast period, 2017-2022, offering pragmatic insights to lead market players towards devising & implementing informed strategies.The scope of the report is to analyze the global biometric driver identification systems market for the period 2017-2022 and give readers an accurate, unbiased analysis. Biometric driver identification system manufacturers, suppliers, and stakeholders in the overall automotive market can benefit from the insights offered in this report. The comprehensive analysis offered in the report can also be of interest to leading automotive journals and trade magazines.Request For Report Sample: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/sample/110114652/Biometric-Driver-Identification-System-Market The report begins with a concise summary of the global biometric driver identification systems market. This executive summary sets the tone for the rest of the report, giving users the scope of the report. The executive summary includes important facts and statistics on the global biometric driver identification systems market. The global market for biometric driver identification system is projected to bring in US$ 25,559.5 million revenue by the end of 2022The next section is an overview of the global biometric driver identification systems market. This includes the introduction to the market and a standard definition of the product  biometric driver identification system. In this section, year-over-year growth and market value is offered to readers. Year-over-year growth gives readers a broader picture on growth patterns during the forecast period.The next section of the report offers a thorough description of the latest macroeconomic factors that have a bearing on the global biometric driver identification systems market. Considering the interconnectedness of the biometric driver identification system market to global automotive market and, in general, the global economy, readers will get valuable insights on how international developments impact this market.Request Report Discount: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/discount/110114652/Biometric-Driver-Identification-System-Market In a bid to keep readers up-to-date on the latest developments in the global biometric driver identification systems market, the report offers readers a roundup of the latest trends impacting the market. As the automotive sector is ever-evolving, staying abreast with latest trends and developments is paramount to formulating key business strategies. Information on supply chain, cost structure, pricing analysis, raw material sourcing, and list of distributors are offered to readers in this section.Considering the wide scope of the global biometric driver identification system market, the report by Research Report Insights provides in-depth and segment-wise analysis and forecast. The global biometric driver identification system market is segmented on the basis of vehicle type, application type, technology type, and region. This segmentation also offers detailed country-wise forecast on all the key parameters.Report Analysis: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/rd/110114652/Biometric-Driver-Identification-System-Market
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The commodity chemicals are foreseeing a rise in the market growth because of the economic expansion and rising gross domestic product (GDP) of developing and developed countries worldwide. The worldwide market for commodity chemicals is segmented into organics, petrochemicals, plastics, explosives, resins, synthetic rubbers, films, fibers and inorganics. These segments comprise several types of chemicals, for instance, acetic acid, methanol, propylene, polyvinyl chloride, hexane, benzene, melamine, methyl, acetone, glycol, esters, glycerines, adipic acid, butyl acetate, bisphenol, butanediol in addition to butadiene.Report For Sample with Table of Contents@ https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/upsample/120124689/Commodity-Chemicals-Market There are high expansion prospects in the Asia Pacific market as a result of developing economies like India, Indonesia and China. These nations have flourishing manufacturing sectors that get ample back up from the respective governments. The Asia Pacific commodity chemicals market also gets huge support from gulf nations such as Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq in the structure of a bulk supply of crude oil and natural gas. The main economical aspect which influences the buying decisions of the end customers is the price. Price is the foremost determining aspect since the product distinction in the instance of these commodity chemicals is extremely low. Though, the rigid governments regulation all over the world in relation to the environment and health side effect of chemicals as well as fluctuating prices of natural gas as well as crude oil are laying noteworthy challenge for the industry.Countries Tariffs on Chemicals to Impact the Worldwide MarketsRecently, China's tariffs on chemicals, polymers are considered to alter the regional trade. Among which the US commodity chemical products market is indicated to be most impacted on the basis of exports to China since a percentage of overall production during the year 2017 are styrene, monoethylene glycol (MEG), linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), EVA copolymers, ethylene dichloride (EDC) and high density PE (HDPE) , on the basis of an study of select chemicals trade flows. Nevertheless, China is still considered to have a dominant part as the worlds largest importer.Manufacturers Merge to Produce the Various Types of Commodity Chemicals to Meet the Exact Customer RequirementsLyondellBasell has recently finished the $2.25bn acquisition of A Schulman high-performance composites, plastic compounds as well as powders supplier. The acquisition, as indicated by LyondellBasell, doubles more than the companys present compounding business as well as broadens its extend to the high-margin end, growing markets such as construction materials, automotive, packaging and electronic goods. The joint business is likely to function as a separate advanced polymer solutions reporting sector. Also the A Schulman assets and the companys present propylene compounding assets, the segment would include polybutene-1 resins and catalloy thermoplastic resins. Likewise incorporated in the advanced polymers solutions sector would be engineered masterbatches, powders, and composites that are all novel to the product portfolio of LyondellBasells.Request For Report Discount@ https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/updiscount/120124689/Commodity-Chemicals-Market Likewise, The Dow Chemical company ended its force majeure on VAM (vinyl acetate monomer) recently, elevating the proclamation for Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific and India, the Middle East, Africa, in addition to the sales dominance on VAM in North America.LyondellBasell Industries and the Dow Chemical Company are the leading makers in the commodity chemicals market and apart from them, a few of the major market players operating in the worldwide market for commodity chemicals are BASF SE, Chem China, Bayer AG, INEOS Group Holding, Evonik Industries, Sumitomo Chemicals, Asahi Kasei, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation, PPG Industries, Linde Group along with Akzo Nobel. Thus, market players are gaining a competitive edge and taking efforts to enhance their product portfolio in the commodity chemicals market.Report Analysis@ https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/upcomming/120124689/Commodity-Chemicals-Market
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Research Report Insights (RRI)42 Joseph StreetPort carling P0B 1J0Muskoka, Ontario1Phone - +1-631-721-4201Website: https://www.researchreportinsights.comEmail: sales@researchreportinsights.comT.L6317214201

The worldwide luxury market comprises of nine sectors including personal luxury goods, personal cars, luxury hospitality, fine food, luxury cruises, fine wine and spirits, private jet, yachts and luxury furniture. Out of these sectors, luxury furniture has exhibited huge market attractiveness everywhere throughout the world. Luxury furniture raises the artistic value of hotels, restaurants, offices and homes notwithstanding different indoor and outdoor spaces. In the course of recent years, the noteworthy development in real estate industry encouraged the expansion of luxury furniture market. Development of individuals from rural to urban territories and tendency in the individual disposable income is fortifying the development of the worldwide luxury furniture market. Rising ecological awareness among individuals is considered to prompt individuals rising interest for eco-friendly luxury furniture everywhere throughout the world till 2025. Other than this, increasing infiltration of online retailing all over the world is anticipated to additionally boost the worldwide luxury furniture market. Transform in the way of life alongside increasing disposable income would give remarkable prospects in the worldwide luxury furniture market over the years to come.Higher media infiltration, organized retailing, increasing the effect of globalization and vigorous development in the real estate sector are a few of the main considerations foreseen to encourage the development of luxury furniture market. Aside from this, increasing trend of modular kitchen is moreover fortifying the requirement for luxury furniture market as well as is anticipated to prompt the market.Request For Report Sample: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/upsample/120124653/Luxury-Furniture-Market Among every one of the regions, Europe was conceived to gain the most in the worldwide luxury furniture market during 2014. China is anticipated to be the quickly developing furniture market in the future that will drive the overall Asia market for luxury furniture. Latin America market is likewise foreseen to exhibit quick development throughout the following couple of years. The prerequisite of luxury furniture particularly in the hospitality segment in the African region as well as the Middle East region is anticipated to drive the market of this region in future.The prominent market players identified all over the value chain of worldwide luxury furniture market comprise Valderamobili, Muebles Pico, Laura Ashley Folding Plc, Scavolini, Henredon Furniture Industries Inc., Nella Vetrina, along with others. It has been discovered that furniture producers are implicated in relation to the diminution in carbon footprints as well as initiated contributing to eco-friendly furniture. The worldwide market for luxury furniture is extremely competitive with a huge number of market players (both big and small) leading the industry. In the approaching few years, several furniture makers are anticipated to come into in this market.Request Report For Toc: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/TOC/120124653/Luxury-Furniture-Market The luxury furniture market is probably going to foresee a firm growth in the approaching years because of higher customer awareness. The market has been experiencing a noteworthy change as distribution channels are extending. Enhancing visibility of luxury furniture brands in shopping centers, malls as well as through online mediums has additionally profited the worldwide market. Besides, the enhancing disposable incomes and the growing need to coordinate a higher expectation for lifestyle conjointly impelled the requirement for luxury furniture products in the worldwide market. The requirement for luxury furniture is likewise slated to ascend as the economies limp back to commonality.The extension of the real estate market is likewise anticipated to positively affect the general market. The requirement for luxury furniture in the hospitality segment, for example, restaurants along with hotels is anticipated to boost the market. Furthermore, renovation and restoration of residential market are likewise going to win the market players in the worldwide market a range of new buyersReport Analysis: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/upcomming/120124653/Luxury-Furniture-Market
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Research Report Insights (RRI)42 Joseph StreetPort carling P0B 1J0Muskoka, Ontario1Phone - +1-631-721-4201Website: https://www.researchreportinsights.comEmail: sales@researchreportinsights.comT.L6317214201

The food sector is considered to represent a noteworthy share as far as utilization in the worldwide industrial starch market. They are utilized in producing different products in the food sector, for example, confectionaries, bakery products, canned fruits and jams, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and commercial caramel. The food and beverages market was reported to lead the worldwide industrial starch market in 2015. The product is utilized in desserts, in the form of a thickening agent with the expansion of milk or chilly water. So also, gravy granules or cheese sauce granules might be thickened with boiling water without the product going knotty.The rising utilization of industrial starch in the form of adhesives in customer products and packaging sector is likely to enhance the expansion of the worldwide industrial starch market. The rising trend of biomaterials and biofuels, as well as the utilization of starch in this sector, is considered to fuel the market growth. A high requirement from a variety of end-use sectors comprising pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, drilling and oil, as well as paper is imagined to bode on form for market growth.On the other hand, the use of resin glue as a substitute for starch in textile and paper sector is anticipated to impede the development of the worldwide market for industrial starch.Request For Report Sample: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/upsample/120124654/Industrial-Starch-Market Starch is anticipated to foresee considerable development over the years to come. Little factories located near farms for starch making from root crops has aided in decreasing overheads, logistics costs and transportation and enhancing effectiveness. India is one of the main manufacturers of textile raw material in the Asia Pacific region.APEJ is gaining traction in the market for industrial starch on the basis of consumption. This is because of the expansion of end-use sectors for instance food, paper and textile sector in the growing clustering of the region. North America as well is gaining traction in the industrial starch market, as a result of the fast expansion of the industrial packaging in the region. On the other hand, Latin America is considered to gain higher revenues over the years to come, owing to the rising requirement for processed food. Brazil is also considered as the foremost producer of corn as well as thus accounts for noteworthy in starch production.Request Report For Toc: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/TOC/120124654/Industrial-Starch-Market The rising industrial packaging sector and end-use sectors in Western Europe are probable to grow the industrial starch market share in the region.Industrial starches are in general made from wheat and maize on account of low cost along with their easiness of processing and availability. Small-scale mill proprietors act a critical role by adding collaboration with big-scale producers as contract producers. Companies are centering on r&d to employ fresh processing technologies to increase production capabilities and properties. A few of the foremost players in the worldwide industrial starch market are Tate & Lyle, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Cargill, Incorporated, Grain Processing Corporation, Universal Starch Chem Allied Ltd., Manildra Group, GreenTech Industries Ltd., EVEREST STARCH (IND) PVT.LTD ., Bangkok Starch Industrial Co., Ltd. and Karandikars Cashell Private Limited.In 2015, Cargill Inc. was amongst the top market players. The company caters products for beverages, personal care, confectionery, food, and snacks. In July 2015, Cargill presented an instantaneous modified starch named C PulpTex 12931. This item could stand firm inconsiderate processing conditions as well as could improve the texture of soups, condiments, and sauces. Moreover, Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) extends starch products extensively employed to widen the shelf life of food products. During August 2015, the ADM opened merchandizing and distribution offices in Guatemala and El Salvador to increase its footprint in Central America.Report Analysis: https://www.researchreportinsights.com/report/upcomming/120124654/Industrial-Starch-Market
The federal government says it will gradually phase out the use of chemical fertilisers in agriculture to ensure the production of healthy foods for the people.

Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said this on Sunday while inspecting the first organic banana plantation by an Indian company, Contec Global Agro Limited in Kwali.

Mr Ogbeh, who expressed worry over the increasing numbers of liver and kidney diseases among young people, explained that the objective was the elimination of dangerous elements from foods.

He noted that the move would also help to reduce the damages in the soil through the application of fertilisers.

We are slowly going to begin to eliminate chemical fertilisers. Organic nature means that this is what nature is all about without polluting it with salt, the chemical fertilisers are salt.

They damage the soil of all kinds and over a while, you find out that the soil is no longer good for you because they destroy the microbes which make the soil more productive. We need to make the food healthier because a lot of self-poisoning is going on in the country.

Even the machines we use to grind tomatoes in the market, metal rubbing against metal; particles of heavy metals getting into the food.

Suddenly, you see a young person in the hospital, like 20 years of age suffering from liver and kidney problem and you ask, do you drink alcohol, he says no, then what is happening?

We are not probing enough but we want to start in agriculture, eliminating dangerous elements from our food.

The place to begin is the farm, right from where you are planting, from the soil, from the bio-chemicals, the water, all of that has to be controlled and then you have healthy foods, the minister said.

Mr Ogbeh said the company was already conducting an experiment to develop microbes from the soil in the laboratory and putting them back into the soil without the use of chemicals.

The minister, who commended the owners of the organic banana farm, said that the Federal Government would continue to support both local and foreign investments in the agriculture sector.

We are happy that in spite of the difficulties people face, they still remain and invest.

This is the message from Mr President, stay close to the investors, and give them all the support they need. If there are things you cant handle yourself, come and tell me about them and I will do that, he said.

Thomas Chackunkal, the Managing Director, Contec Global Agro, the initiators and owners of the banana farm, said the plantation was a 250 hectare biologically safe demonstration farm.

Mr Chackunkal said the banana plantation would be replicated in Osun, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Taraba, Edo and Oyo States.

We want to attract the young people. We want a holistic approach to provide all the basic needs like housing, schools, primary health care, he said.

Contec agro develops organic farming products such as bio-seed, bio-fertiliser, and bio-planting to help Africa develop its agricultural industry and ensure food security for the populace. (NAN)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged Africa governments to use domestic resources to fund core Tuberculosis (TB) control services in their countries

WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, said African governments need to increase their investment on TB. She said their current spending is below the levels required to end the epidemic by the end date of the Sustainable Development Goals.

She gave this advice in a press statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday to mark the World TB Day.

The World TB Day is observed March 24 each year. The day was set aside to create public awareness about the devastating health, social and economic consequences of the disease.

The theme of this years World TB Day is Its time to end TB.

TB remains the worlds deadliest infectious killer disease. Each year, nearly 4,500 people lose their lives to TB and about 30,000 people fall ill with the disease.

Since 2000, 54 million have been treated, and TB deaths fell by one third. But 10 million people still fall ill with TB every year, with too many missing on vital care.

Ms Moeti said African leaders need to increase their investment in care and prevention of the disease. According to her, core TB control services should be funded from domestic resources, and universal health coverage introduced to ensure quality assured preventative, diagnostic, treatment and care services.

She said though the 2018 WHO global report shows that there has been a decrease in the disease burden globally, many African countries are not fast enough to reach the first milestones of the End TB Strategy in 2020.

According to the WHO 2018 global report, TB cases in the African region declined by four per cent per year, placing the region second among all WHO regions over the period between 2013 and 2017.

The report showed particularly impressive reductions (48 per cent per year) have occurred in Southern Africa (Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe), following a peak in the HIV epidemic and the expansion of TB and HIV prevention and care.

Unfortunately, a similar success story is yet to be reported in Nigeria as the country remains one of those with the highest burden of the disease globally.

At least 18 Nigerians die from the disease every hour.

With only 25 per cent detection rate, Nigeria is classified among countries with a high burden for TB, TB/HIV and MDR-TB and currently ranks sixth globally and first in Africa.

Nigeria contributes nine per cent to the global 3.6 million missing TB cases, coming behind only India and Indonesia with 26 per cent and 11 per cent respectively.

An estimated 418,000 new TB cases occurred in Nigeria in 2018.

Ms Moeti urged political leaders and national governments to adopt policies and programmatic actions to foster a multisectoral response to end the epidemic. She also urged international partners for continued technical and financial support in the fight against TB and related conditions.

We need to ensure universal access to the WHO recommended rapid molecular tests as first-line tests for diagnosis for all presumptive TB cases, as well as to adopt the new WHO recommended drugs and drug combinations for treating drug-resistant TB.

Within the broader context of a revitalized Primary Health Care system, these measures should include initiatives to look for and effectively treat all existing cases, and scaling up preventive treatment for high-risk populations, especially people living with HIV and child contacts of known TB cases, she said.
WHO paves way for stronger international human gene-editing regulations

The World Health Organisation committee on gene editing has called on all scientists conducting human genome research to open discussions with the committee so as to ensure that their work meets current scientific and ethical best practices.

This call was made by the advisory committee set up by the health agency to develop a global standard for governance and oversight of human genome editing.

Some of the concern raised is that the technology can be misused to create genetically altered human beings and heighten their physical features, intelligence among others.

23 new Lassa fever cases confirmed in Nigeria

The current Lassa fever outbreak in Nigeria has killed at least 114 people this year, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said on Saturday.

From January 1 to March 17, a total of 1801 suspected cases were reported from 21 states. Of these, 495 were confirmed positive, 15 probable and 1277 negative (not a case).

The weekly situation report from NCDC for week 11 shows that 23 new confirmed cases were reported from nine states; Edo  8, Ondo -4, Ebonyi 3, Bauchi -3, Taraba -1, Imo 1, Enugu 1, Benue -1 and Kebbi -1 States.

Four new deaths were also reported in three states for the week. The states are Edo -2, Benue -1 and Bauchi- 1 states.

HIV/AIDs prevalence rate in Akwa Ibom unacceptable  Ex-NMA chairman

A former chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Akwa Ibom State, Aniekeme Uwah, has said that the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDs in the state is worrisome and unacceptable.

The Nigerian HIV/AIDs Indicator and Impact Survey (NAIIS) has shown that Akwa Ibom has the highest prevalence rate of HIV in the country.

About 5.5 per cent of the people living with HIV in Nigeria are in Akwa Ibom State, followed by Benue State, which has about 5.3 per cent prevalence rate, according to the findings of the survey released in Abuja.

Tuberculosis (BCG) vaccine not enough protection against TB infection  Experts

Receiving vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) during childhood does not totally cover an individual from getting infected with the disease, a health expert, Odume Betrand, has said.

Bacilli Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is the vaccine for the prevention of TB and often administered to children at birth. However, there are some exceptional cases where people who had received the vaccines still get infected with the disease.

This could explain the reasons why there are TB cases recorded even among children or people who were given BCG vaccines at birth.

Mr Betrand, senior programme specialist, TB/HIV, United State Centre for Disease Control, said if a person is coughing for more than two weeks, they should suspect TB and go for a test. The test and treatment is free, in government facilities.

WHO calls on international community to join urgent push to end Ebola outbreak

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reaffirmed its commitments to ending the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Since the outbreak of the disease in Augut 2018, there have been 993 confirmed and probable cases and 621 deaths in North Kivu and Ituri provinces.

More than 96 000 people have been vaccinated against Ebola in DRC, along with health workers in Uganda and South Sudan.

As of 21 March, 38 of 130 affected health areas have active transmission. More than 44 million border screenings have helped to slow the spread of Ebola in this highly mobile population. No cases have spread beyond North Kivu and Ituri provinces, and no cases have crossed international borders.

Hearing impairment: Surgeon advises parents to screen childrens ear

Parents have been advised to take their newly born babies for ear screening for detection for hearing impairment and treatment.

A surgeon Titus Ibekwe, Head of Department of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT), University of Abuja, Teaching Hospital said early detection is essential to addressing hearing disease and preventing children from avoidable hearing loss.

He said about 42 million children worldwide had hearing loss and described the figure as unacceptable because the burden was preventable.

WHO sends health assistance to victims of Cyclone Idai

The World Health Organization (WHO) is providing urgent assistance to meet the health needs of thousands of people impacted by flooding in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

The floods were triggered by Tropical Cyclone Idai, which swept through the region last week.

The Government of Mozambique estimates that more than 1 000 people may have died, with 600 000 persons affected in the northern provinces of Niassa, Tete and Zambezia.

State authorities in the three countries continue search and rescue missions. In Malawi, 922 000 people have been affected, with 82 700 people displaced, 577 injuries and 56 deaths. The cyclone also stormed through Chimanimani District in Zimbabwe, causing 65 deaths and displacing between 8 000 and 9 600 people.

World Optometry Day: Association tasks Nigerians on right to sight

The Nigerian Optometric Association (NOA) has called on Nigerians living in rural and urban areas to take charge of their sight by demanding better eye care services from the government.

Ozy Okonokhua, President of NOA, every Nigerian, had the right to sight by having optometrists in their healthcare centres for constant eye checks and care, however, regretted that such rights were being denied citizens.

He said that a lot of persons in rural areas were avoidably blind due to lack of access to primary eye care providers.

Pediatrician in trouble for sexually assaulting 31 children

A former Pennsylvania pediatrician Johnnie Barto, will likely spend some time in prison after he pleaded guilty in December to some counts in the sexual assault of 31 children.

The case which sentencing is scheduled for Monday includes aggravated indecent assault and child endangerment.

Most of the children were patients, as at the time of the incident nearly two decades ago but state medical regulators failed to act.

Prosecutors say Barto spent decades abusing boys and girls in the exam room at his pediatric practice in western Pennsylvania and at local hospitals, with his victims typically ranging in age from 8 to 12; one was an infant.

Police arrest rapist through DNA match

Authorities in Alabama say a DNA match found through a genealogy website has led to an arrest in decades-old slaying and rape case.

Al.com reports 45-year-old Coley McCraney, of Dothan, was arrested Saturday and charged with rape and capital murder in the 1999 deaths of 17-year-olds Tracie Hawlett and J.B. Beasley.

The girls left Dothan the night of July 3, 1999, to attend a party, but they never arrived. The pair was found the next day in the trunk of Beasleys car alongside a road in Ozark, each with a gunshot wound to the head.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, winner of the Kano State governorship supplementary election held Saturday.

Mr Ganduje lost the first election held on March 9 by a slim margin, but his total votes in the two polls put him ahead of his main challenger, the candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Abba Yusuf.

Before the supplementary election, Mr Yusuf was leading Mr Ganduje with about 26,000 votes after he polled 1,014,474 votes to Mr Gandujes 987,819 votes, leaving a difference of 26,655 votes.

In the supplementary election held in 28 out of the 44 local government areas in the state, Mr Ganduje won by scoring 45,876 votes to Mr Yusufs 10,239 thereby up turning the result in his favour, INEC said.

At past 7pm Sunday, the State Returning Officer Bello Shehu, a professor, announced that Mr Ganduje scored a total vote of 1,033,695 while Mr Yusuf polled 1,024,713.

He made the announcement at the headquarters of INEC in Kano.

The winning margin is 8,982 between the two major candidates.

The returning officer is currently inputing the result into the mastersheet after which he will make a final declaration as required by law.

The PDP has already rejected the conduct of the supplementary election and asked INEC to cancel it.

Violence marred the conduct of the supplementary election after political thugs attackec voters and journalists.

The police have however played down the reports of violence saying the election was largely peaceful.
Sequel to the widespread misconceptions in the traditional African society that climate change and its impacts manifest only when the gods are angry, some students have, through poetry, debunked this and submitted that human actions and inaction were mostly responsible.

We made it happened, burning of bushes, felling of trees and we accused the gods of chiding us in wrath, clean the land, clean the earth, stop the smoke in every form. If we all turn deaf ears, where shall we go from earth? said Basit Saba of Ikotun Senior High School Lagos, in his presentation at the Poetry competition on Combating Climate Change and its Impact in Nigeria, to commemorate the World Poetry Day.

The 2019 World Poetry Day observance held on March 21, was organised by the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Nigeria and Lagos Education District One. The poetry competition involved all the ninety-nine schools in the District. However, only fifteen finalists from fifteen schools made it to the finals.

In line with the objectives of the World Poetry Day, especially as related to restoring a dialogue between poetry and the other arts such as theatre, dance, music and painting, the 15 finalists in their presentations, demonstrated the convergence of poetry, theatre, dance and arts to convey the message of climate change and its impact in Nigeria. Most of the poetic recitals were preceded by a dramatic introduction.

Climate change, who are you? asked Miss Omoyemi Sodiq of Stadium Junior Grammar School, You are a global challenge. You respect not all national borders. A threat to humanity! Your threat requires urgent climate action.

In her presentation titled, Mother Earth, Miss Bolanle Bolaji of Ijaiye Housing Estate Senior Grammar School, noted that Mother earth sits quietly and in pains, suffering through high temperature, through global warming, through malnutrition, through heavy rainfall, through sea level rising, and through rising infectious diseases.

In a highly poetic flow, Miss Saidat Lamina of Iju Senior Grammar School said, What about our plants and trees? Mother earth needs some bees; on the trees and some honey bees. Global warming is everywhere; Climate change is already here; there is a lot of things we cant bear. Let us save our mother nature; Lets give it a perfect structure.

Student presentation2 Student presentation Oluseyi Soremekun speaks

Speaking at the occasion, the Director of UNIC, Ronald Kayanja, called on schools and stakeholders in the education sector to revive the oral traditions of poetry recitals.

Mr Kayanja who was represented by the National Information Officer, Oluseyi Soremekun, explained that poetry not only unlocks the creative potentials in people, it also contributes to language skills development, builds confidence in public speaking and asserts peoples identity.

Poetry, according to him, has no particular language. Poetry is universal. It can be written and recited in any language, including indigenous languages. He noted, Poetry speaks to our common humanity and our shared values, transforming the simplest of poems into a powerful catalyst for dialogue and peace.

Addressing the audience comprising of students, school principals and teachers, the Tutor General/ Permanent Secretary of Education District 1,

Olayimika Ayandele, expressed gratitude to UNIC for its consistency in educational programmes and FABE International Foundation, for providing prizes made of upcycled wastes recovered from the environment.
The governor of Plateau state, Simon Lalong has been declared the winner of Saturdays governorship election in the state.

The governor, who contested under the All Progressive Congress (APC), secured a second term mandate by defeating his opponent Jeremiah Useni of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The states Returning Officer who is also the vice chancellor of Benue state University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Richard Kimbir, made the announcement on Sunday at exactly 4:00 a.m, at the Independent Electoral Commission Headquarters (INEC) in Jos Plateau state.

The electoral commission, INEC, had two weeks ago declared the states governorship election inconclusive as the margin of victory was less than the cancelled votes.

The supplementary elections were held on Saturday in 40 polling units across nine local governments.

While declaring the result, the returning officer said Mr Lalong having satisfied the requirements of the law is hereby declared the winner.

He polled 595,582 votes while Mr Useni scored 546,813 votes.

The Action Democratic Party (ADP) candidate, Jonathan Temlong, came third with 4,670 votes

Below are the details of the declared results.

PLATEAU STATE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION FINAL RESULT

TOTAL VALID VOTES: 1159954

TOTAL VOTES CAST: 1,176142

TOTAL REJECTED VOTES: 16188

ABP: 1071

AD: 229

ADC: 1627

ADP: 4,670

ANN: 2,273

APC: 595,582

APGA: 394

CAP: 31

DA: 61

DPC: 101

FRESH: 179

GPN: 428

JNPP: 120

LP: 178

MPN: 233

NRN: 538

PDC: 1317

PDP: 546,813

PPC: 1461

PPN: 115

PT: 63

SDP: 2382

UPC: 34

UPP: 54
Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan, has promised to run a bi-partisan National Assembly if elected as Senate President.

The lawmaker also promised to respect the decision of the All Progressives Congress (APC) should the party decide to zone the position away from North-east.

He made his intention known while speaking with journalists in Abuja recently. His comments formally announce his intention to run for Senate Presidency in the 9the Senate.

Despite occasional disagreements, Mr Lawan said the ability of principal officers to carry everybody along had always been the secret of legislative chambers to delivering meaningfully on their mandate.

However, he said that everything should be done in the interest of the people, adding that, we are senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, even though coming from different parts of Nigeria.

When we legislate, we legislate for the entire country and therefore we need to remain united and focused.

I was in a position for 16 years from 1999 to 2015 before I became part of the ruling party; I am glad, I thank God for that.

But even as an opposition, we knew where we opposed the government and where we cooperated with them, NAN quotes the legislator as saying.

He noted that every legislator works in the interest of the people not based on sentiments.

For instance, will there be any legislator who will oppose any legislation that will enhance the performance of our armed forces or the Police to provide security?

No! Whether you are All Progressives Congress (APC) or People Democratic Party or Young Progressive Party, we have the same people to serve.

So, we will work to ensure that we achieve and attain that desired unity within the chamber. There will be equity and fairness in our affairs.

I am sure that once we are able to unite around national interests we will contribute meaningfully to governance.

Mr Lawan, who represents Yobe North is vying for the position for the second time. In 2015, the APC endorsed him following zoning of the position of the president of the Senate to the North-east.

However, he did not make it as the incumbent, Bukola Saraki, emerged president of the Senate though against his partys wish.

Mr Sarakis reign was characterised by constant face-off between the executive and legislature even before he dumped the APC in 2018.

On Legislature, Executive relationship, Mr Lawan said while the separation of powers was designed to ensure checks and balances among the arms of government, the ultimate goal was to serve the people.

He emphasised that to achieve cordial relationship with the executive, the lawmakers ought to work in unison.

I always say that the Constitution provides for separation of powers and I always define separation of powers may be unorthodox but I believe in that.

The separation of powers does not amount to the independence of government.

It is the specialisation of the arms of government. The executive cannot function without the legislature and the legislature needs to work with the executive in a cordial manner.

However, that does not take away that special function of oversight. It does not take away ensuring that what we do in the legislature is to support the executive.

Who says we will never disagree with the executive; by constitutional design, we are meant to disagree, hold different perspectives from time to time on issues.

But when we disagree, I always say, we should sit down and look at issues and take a decision that is in national interest,  he said.

Mr Lawan promised to respect the wish of the party, should the position be zoned to a region other than the North-east.

He said, I am a loyal party man. I will respect the decisions of my leaders and my party.

Mr Lawan ruled out the possibility of crisis in the APC over the leadership of the 9th National Assembly.

We are not in any way thinking that we will have crises; it is not what we are envisaging at all.

But let me say that our party, the APC, must have learnt its lessons, and therefore, the party leadership will do something differently this time.

I am sure our leaders will try to manage this huge success of the APC.

And I have no doubt the party will find us compliant and very supportive of its programmes and those of the administration under President Muhammadu Buhari, he said.

Also at the forum, Anambra South Senator-elect, Mr Ifeanyi Ubah, declared support for Mr Lawan.

Elected under the Young Progressives Party (YPP) on February 23, Mr Ubah is one of the 11 senators-elect who were with Mr Lawan at an interactive session with journalists in Abuja.

Mr Ubah told journalists that Mr Lawan is a good man with the best experience in the Senate, hence his decision to pitch tent with him.

Lawan is a very good man, and has the best experience, I believe in the Senate. For me it is a free world, it is democracy.

So, I am free, and I am pinching (pitching) tent with him because I believe he is the kind of leader we need in the 9th Senate, Ubah said.

Asked why he is associating with a member of the APC widely seen as an unwanted party in the South East, Mr Ubah said he could not be an island in the Senate.

It is a choice anybody has to make. I cant be alone in the Senate. If any group comes up and wants to lead the Senate, it is a duty for me to look at them and see if I can pinch (pitch) tent with them.
The Centre for Democracy and Development, a non-governmental organisation which deployed observers to monitor Saturdays supplementary elections, has released its preliminary report which painted troublesome details of how the exercise turned out in some parts of the country.

Sokoto, Plateau, Kano, Bauchi and Benue were the five states where supplementary poll held to determine governorship positions, while voters turned out in other states like Lagos, Imo and the Federal Capital Territory to determine local assembly seats.

The nationwide observations of the CDD, which were processed and analysed at its election analysis centre in Abuja, showed that violence by security agents and political thugs against voters, journalists and observers was widespread in some states, especially Kano.

There were reports of late arrival of voting material and officials to some centres, although these were not widespread. In Sokoto, observers noted that some voters were induced with as much as N15,000 to vote for a candidate, and this malpractice was linked to major political parties, who were not immediately named in the preliminary findings.

Read the initial findings of CDD in full as follows:

The Centre for Democracy and Developments (CDD) Election Analysis Centre (EAC) deployed trained observers to the five States (Bauchi, Benue, Kano, Plateau and Sokoto States) where the supplementary governorship elections held, today, March 23, 2019.

The observers were tasked to observe and report on the polling process, including opening times, accreditation and voting, the collation processes, as well as the level of compliance of INEC ad-hoc staff, voters, security operatives, politicians and their supporters, and other stakeholders to the 2019 INEC electoral guidelines and regulations, extant electoral laws and international standard for conduct of credible elections.

The CDD-EAC comprises of leading experts on elections and democracy. The experts reconvened to provide a rigorous analysis of the processes of the supplementary elections.

This preliminary report highlights our key findings from the observation.

Preamble

Our observers reported that on the average, accreditation and voting processes commenced in earnest between 8:00  8:30 a.m. in the majority of polling units across the five states. However, in some polling units, there was a late arrival and commencement of votes. For instance, polling started at 10:00 a.m. in some units in Kano State.

In Karaye Ward and LGA, Magajin Gan polling unit 011 for example, electoral materials had not arrived by 10:02 a.m. In Benues Konshisha Ward, PU 005, polling materials arrived at 9:08 a.m.

The supplementary election was greeted with an impressive turn out of voters particularly in Sokoto, Bauchi, Plateau and Kano. The high number of people coupled with the crowd gathered at the voting areas, and poor voting logistics (space) itself constituted challenges in the election.

For instance, in PU 012, Ward 11, Sokoto South LGA, where the total registered voters are 585, the electoral officials battled to organise the queue within the narrow space provided for the polling. A similar situation was recorded in polling unit 009, Magaji Gari B. In Plateaus Jos North LGA, and in PU 014, Jenta Mangoro Ward 006, with a total of 2,017 registered voters.

It is crucial that INEC assiduously work in subsequent elections to ensure facilities utilised for polling are adequate to prevent unnecessary tension. We commend the turn out of women and persons with disabilities and all Nigerian citizens who troop out en masse to vote in the elections.

The bright spot for us in these elections is the voters in Kagadama Polling units in Bauchi, who activated their citizens power, maintained law and order and ensured that politicians who tried to skew the process were not just prevented but peacefully escorted out of the polling units.

Violent Disruption of Election

Our observers reported incidents of violence and disruption of the voting process in Kano, Sokoto, Benue and Bauchi States where supplementary governorship and state houses of assembly elections held.

In Kano State, violence and disruption of polling were widespread as an army of thugs reportedly took over polling activities in several local government areas (LGAs), including Nasarawa, Dala, Karaye and Gaya. In PU 011, Kwanyawaward and PU 002, Chede ward, both in Karaye LGA; and PU 001 and PU 034-036, Gama Ward of Nasarawa LGA.

It is distressing that political thugs took over the elections forcing voters to vote along a particular party line, stoning voters and violently disrupting the polls. As reported yesterday (Friday, March 22 2019) in our preliminary report, Gama ward in Nasarawa LGA in Kano State is very strategic to winning the supplementary elections by either of the two leading candidates.

We noted that the total number of registered voters (40,821) represents 31.8% of the 128,324 total registered voters in places where the rerun will be held.

In Sokoto State, particularly in Bodinga LGA, Bodinga Ward (PU11), a dispute which eventually disrupted the election erupted between the agents of the two leading parties over attempts by a party agent to assist voters in voting. Still, in Sokoto, our observers reported the actions of some APC and PDP party chieftains at Magajin Gari Ward B, Shiyyar Danfarijo, Polling Unit 005 and 009, Sokoto LGA, almost led to violence and halted polling for about three hours. Thankfully, the intervention of police led to return to normalcy.

Evidence suggests a deliberate deployment of political thugs in the election, to suppress voters, intimidate officials and skew the polls in favour of some political actors. The new weaponisation of thuggery is extremely disturbing and disappointing following twenty years of uninterrupted democracy in the country. CDD will also want to point out that the way thuggery was instrumentalised in the elections queries the essence of the massive deployment of security agents to guard the polls. In several instances, the security was reported to have turned a blind eye to the act of brigandage perpetrated by these political thugs.

Attack, harassment and Intimidation of INEC ad-hoc official, voters and journalist

This electoral cycle has witnessed so much intimidation, harassment and attack on voters, journalists, observers and INEC officials. This unfortunate development, however, took an unprecedented turn in the Kano supplementary elections where party agents and thugs intimidated and attacked voters and observers in the course of exercising their franchise or

monitoring the process.

A CDD Observer in Gama LGA, Gwagwarwa 5 centre, Polling Unit 010 A & B, Kano State, with 756 registered voters was harassed by a mammoth crowd when he tried to take pictures of the voting process. In Gama LGA, Kofar Mazugal, Masaka Primary School, Polling Unit 051 with 752 registered voters, stones were thrown at our observers to prevent them from observing the polling processes.

Our observers reported large crowds but crowds with badges identifying them as party agents. However, the APC party agents were in large numbers compared to few PDP agents across Kano State. The huge disequilibrium in terms of the relative amounts of agents could present a risk factor to the voting process.

There are clear instances of where party agents and thugs coerced and intimidated voters into voting for their candidates. In PU 034, Gama ward of Nasarawa LGA for example, we received a report that party agents were campaigning and dissuading voters from voting for candidates of their choice. In PU 006 in the same ward, we also gathered that political thugs harassed domestic observers and prevented from performing their function.

The high level of intolerance against poll monitors was not limited to observers. We also confirmed the harassment of two journalists. In Minjibir LGA of Kano State, a journalist from the National Television Authority (NTA) was attacked, and his car was vandalised when covering the polling process. Similarly, we confirmed that political thugs harassed Television Continental (TVC) crew covering the elections.

Despite several attempts to entrench peacefully electoral democracy in Nigeria, elections have been marred by an upsurge of violence. We also received a report of an attack on INEC ad-hoc officials and party agents in Zaki Biam, Ukum LGA, Benue State. The level of impunity at which this gruesome act is being prosecuted by hoodlum at the ballot box and the inability of security agents to respond adequately and hold perpetrators accountable are sources of concern.

The intimidating presence of political party agents made polling units unsafe for voters and stakeholders alike. Our observers reported large crowds but crowds with badges identifying them as party agents. The huge disequilibrium in terms of the relative numbers of agents could present a risk factor to the voting process.

However, the situation was disproportionately treated, for instance in Gama Tudu Primary school Polling Unit 015 with 909 registered voters. There was a massive crowd outside the centre, again composed of APC party agents and hundreds of people standing around. In this school, there was a sufficient security cordon around the school, and only voters with PVC and party agents were allowed into the premises.

Destruction of Electoral Materials

The supplementary elections also witnessed the attack on electoral officials and the destruction of election materials. In Benue state, polling materials for the Azendeshi Ward were intercepted and burnt by political thugs, with election officials also injured.

Vote Trading

The CDD has continuously raised in all its briefings in the elections, the challenge of voter trading and how it impacts on the integrity of elections. Our observers reported across the states that the two major political parties are involved in trying to induce voters. For instance, in Sokoto vote-buying allegations are laid against the two dominant parties.

One ofthe voters s interviewed during the elections by our observer at the Katta Hakimii polling zone EC 30 B, Gidan Katta area of Illela in Sokoto State, allegedly vote was being procured for between N10, 000 and N15,000. According to the voter, before sliding your thumb printed paper into the ballot box, you will have to lift it for the agent to see and nod his head as a sign that you have fulfilled your part of the deal hence qualified for the payment.

There is a need to emphasise that the act of vote buying and selling is an offence punishable under the law. It is unfortunate that despite its routine occurrence, none of the culprits has ever been punished or faced the wrath of the law.

Under Age Voting

It is unfortunate that these elections have witnessed a high level of underage voting. Our observers reported underage voting in Plateau, Kano and Sokoto states.

Conclusion

The smart card readers and the welfare of ad-hoc staff continue to constitute challenges to the electoral process, INEC is yet to match her words with actions on prompt payment, and adequate welfare for her ad-hoc staff, the malfunctioning and deliberate none-usage of the smart card reader continues to hinder the smooth running of the elections.

We implore INEC to find a lasting solution to address the perennial card reader challenges and poor handling of the welfare of ad-hoc staff. It is also vital that there is a uniform application of rules on the none usage of the card reader.

The CDD is immensely worried about the quality of elections, in particular, the renewed thuggery and brigandage being visited on the polity by the political class. These shameful acts are not just capable of truncating our democracy but importantly eroding the trust of the citizenry in the democratic process itself.

The ongoing elections have again pointed out the need for a broader electoral accountability framework and in particular the political will to pursue accountability. It is time for Nigeria and her partners to put an end to electoral impunity if democracy must be preserved.
Seven hours after the Bauchi State Resident Electoral Commissioner blamed the delay in commencing collation of the supplementary election results on the absence of the State Returning Officer (RO), Muhammed Kyari, the top INEC ad-hoc staff is still yet to show up.

Mr Kyari, a professor and the Vice Chancellor of Modibo Adama University of Technology, Yola, according to State REC, left Yola 9 p.m. on Saturday to the collation centre in Bauchi.

The distance between Bauchi and Yola is 309km which takes about six hours for a normal trip.

But as the day broke at the Bauchi collation centre, it turned out that the State REC may have lied to journalists and the stranded local government collation officers when he said the State RO was on his way.

As at the time of filing this report, even the REC was no longer within the premises of INEC where the collation centre is located.

There is no clarity on the true state of things concerning the collation of Bauchi supplementary election results.

What is clear for now is that there are disturbing rumours that Mr Kyari has backed out of the national assignment. PREMIUM TIMES has not independently verified this.

It was also being rumoured that both the REC and the State RO were under immense pressure, from undisclosed powers that be to alter the outcome of the supplementary elections to favour the incumbent. This too has not been verified by PREMIUM TIMES.

The collation centre is for now almost empty as journalists and even local government returning officers leave the INEC premises for their homes.
Today, March 24, makes it exactly two decades since Nigeria lost one of its foremost heroic figures, the late Major-General AbdulBaki Babatunde Idiagbon, to the cold hands of death.

He was 56 years old.

General Tunde Idiagbon, as he was simply known, was a celebrated soldier, an accomplished statesman and a remarkable political figure who served as the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters (de facto Vice President) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria between December 31, 1983 and August 27, 1985.

He was an effective second-in-command to his alter-ego, Muhammadu Buhari, who at the time was also a Major-General.

Mr Idiagbon, who was of Fulani ancestry, was born in Ilorin, Kwara State, on September 14, 1943. His father was the late Hassan Dogo, who died in 1978.

Mr Dogo was a cattle merchant in the Oro-Ago axis of the present day Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, before returning home after retirement.

Mr Idiagbons mother was late Aishat Dogo from the Bolanta area of the ancient city of Ilorin.

Mr Idiagbon started life as a boy-herder who assisted his father in tending cattle. As a young boy following cattle about and around several Igbomina settlements, he was very famous at Oro Ago and environs as Baba Idiagbon.

Just like most of his predecessors and contemporaries in Ilorin and the rest of northern Nigeria, the late no-nonsense military tactician adopted the name of his ancestral family compound as his official surname, which he bore with total respect and pride throughout his eventful sojourn on earth.

That singular act of name-bearing not only explained his respect and affinity for his roots but also won for his illustrious forebears and their descendants, veneration of unimaginable magnitude, till date.

General Idiagbon did not just embrace stardom or get connected to immortality, he worked for the two by struggling to be educated, building a worthy personality and believing so much in the dignity of labour.

Whenever he was on holiday in Ilorin, Mr Idiagbon hawked water across the city before graduating to become a newspaper vendor under the then doyen of journalism in Ilorin, who later served as the national president, Nigerian Union of Journalists, Micheal Asaju, of blessed memory.

The late general attended the Ilorin United School, an institution founded by the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU), for his primary education between 1950 and 1952.

In 1953, Mr Idiagbon proceeded to the Okesuna Senior Primary School, Ilorin, from where he finished his primary education in 1957.

Among his mates, were Mr Yinusa, who was a commissioner for agriculture in Kwara and a former national president of the IEDPU, as well as his younger sister, Maimunat Oniyangi, the wife of A.S. Oniyangi, a former secretary to the military government of Kwara State and a former national commissioner with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Mr Idiagbon was probably among the first set of indigenes of Ilorin Emirate who enrolled in the Nigerian Military School, Zaria, which he attended between 1958 and 1962.

He was, thereafter, enlisted as an officer into the Nigerian army and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1965 after successfully completing training at the Pakistani Military Academy, Kakul, from where he also bagged a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics.

He was, by that, one of the first officers who obtained a university degree while in the military service.

In 1976, Mr Idiagbon went back to Pakistan where he attended the countrys Command and Staff College.

He also attended the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, in 1981. In 1982, he was at the Naval Post Graduate School, United States, from where he obtained an International Defence Management Diploma. He was also a distinguished member of the Nigerian Institute of Management.

As an industrious, brave and gallant soldier, Mr Idiagbon never missed any promotion.

He became a captain in 1968 during the bloody Nigerian civil war. In 1971, he was promoted to the rank of major and in 1974, he became a lieutenant colonel. He was decorated with the rank of a full Colonel in July 1978. In May 1980, this enviable son of Ilorin was elevated to the rank of a brigadier-general. He was eventually promoted to the rank of major-general in 1984.

In the course of his outstanding military services, this gallant soldier held various command posts. He was the commander, 4th Battalion of the Nigerian Army from August 1965 to February 1966. He was the sector commanding officer, 20 Battalion from October 1967 to February 1968. He also served in the same capacity at the 125 Battalion from 1968 to 1970.

This remarkable apostle of discipline was the brigade-major and deputy commander, 33 Brigade between March 1970 and March 1971. He served as the commander, 29 Brigade from March 1971 to December 1972.

As a result of the military involvement in the political administration of Nigeria, coupled with his glittering erudition and alluring leadership skills, the late Mr Idiagbon was a star in the succeeding military regimes which ruled the country from the end of the civil war to 1979 and between December 31, 1983 and August 27, 1985.

He was appointed the general staff officer, grade 1, and later principal staff officer, Supreme Headquarters, from January 1973 to August 1975. He also served as a member of the governing council of the University of Jos, Plateau State.

Mr Idiagbons direct political appointment, however, began in August 1978 when he was made the military administrator of the old Borno State.

He was at the same time the commander, 33 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Maiduguri, as well as a member of the National Council of States till October 1, 1979 when he handed over the administration of the then Borno State, which included the present day Yobe State, to Mohammad Goni who was elected governor on the platform of the Great Nigerian Peoples Party (GNPP).

From October 1979, General Idiagbon was the director, manpower and planning, army headquarters, till February 1981.

Between 1981 and 1983, he was the military secretary (army). He was on that position when he and his colleagues overthrew the government of Shehu Shagari, which they accused of mismanagement of the nations resources.

While Mr Idiagbon was, no doubt, the engine-room, the brain-box, and the star boy of the military regime headed by Mr Buhari, the story of how he emerged as the deputy head of that corrective government needs to be shared for us to have an insight into that unique leadership partnership he built with his lanky boss and friend.

It was, indeed, very clear that neither Mr Buhari nor Mr Idiagbon was the initiator of the coup that toppled Shagari. They were, however, the greatest beneficiaries of the plot, courtesy of their integrity and decency.

Mr Buhari was said to have been invited to head the government as a way of adding the much-needed legitimacy to the desire of the military adventurists in power who initiated and executed the coup.

Such invitation was premised on Mr Buharis profound administrative experiences and infectious integrity, which characterised his career as the military governor in charge of the present day north-east region, as well as being the minister of petroleum and chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Mr Buhari was said to have accepted to lead the government only on the condition that he would be given the absolute liberty to select his deputy. Because Mr Buhari was so needed, he was allowed to make his choice and the lot fell on Mr Idiagbon because of their apparent compatibility in the realm of background, career path, integrity, personality, and political philosophy.

It was, therefore, not surprising that the duo not only worked seamlessly throughout, but the latter was given free hand to operate. That alluring working relationship saw him dominating the government so well that for the first and only time in the political history of Nigeria, the names of the head and his deputy were used to nomenclate the administration as the Buhari/Idiagbon regime, even when the head of state did not pass on while in office.

Adding credence to that assertion, Mr Buhari had said in an interview granted a news magazine in 1993 that Mr Idiagbon was among the three Nigerian military officers he trusted and respected most. He added that the case of Mr Idiagbon was even unique among the trio because Providence had always made Mr Idiagbon to either serve under him or take-over offices he had previously occupied, and he always left those places better off.

For instance, the two at various times were sent for training at the Indo-Pakistani region. They both served as the chief executive of the Northern State of Borno, at separate times. Also, Mr Idiagbon took-over from Mr Buhari as the military secretary.

Mr Idiagbon was a man who not only chorused discipline, he lived it throughout his career and life. He was a man who utilised the privileges of several offices he held to promote nation-building and national development. He demonstrated absolute honesty, loyalty, and comradeship to the extent that 35 years after he left public service and two decades after his death, no one has accused him of any form of moral or financial corruption. He was, in fact, an epitome of transparency, honesty, and incorruptibility.

While he wished and worked for the unity and greatness of Nigeria, he also posted several patriotic contributions to his beloved Ilorin Emirate. He was among those outstanding patriots who assisted in placing the Emirate in the commanding position of the political configuration of Kwara State. He did this by teaming-up with like-minds from across the then Kwara State and beyond led by the late Yusuf Gobir to entrust the political leadership of the Emirate and that of the state on the late third Waziri of Ilorin and the Second Republic Senate Leader, Olusola Saraki.

Mr Idiagbon, then a Lt Colonel, served as a member of the main committee, which organised the inauguration of the highly-resourceful Mr Saraki as the political leader of the Emirate and Kwara State through his investiture as the second Turaki of Ilorin on April 12, 1974.

Mr Idiagbons love for Kwara State can also be appreciated in how he encouraged the Kwara state government under the leadership of Salaudeen Latinwo, a group captain, to initiate and launch the Kwara State Industrial Development Fund targeted at promoting the industrialisation of the state.

Besides, Mr Idiagbon was also a silent community leader who influenced many of the developmental agenda of the IEDPU prior to, while he was in, and even after leaving office as the nations number two citizen.

Apart from influencing the appointments of many of his compatriots into positions of authority in order to help others, he was always affording the IEDPU necessary and periodic advice on how the interests of indigenes of the Emirate could be propelled and sustained for community development.

No one is too good not to have his fault. One of the weaknesses associated with the late Mr Idiagbon was his extreme taciturn nature, which brought him so many misrepresentations.

Perhaps, particular experiences are responsible for his reluctance to open-up on issues and experiences that shaped his life. After his displacement from office and unlike his boss, he neither granted any press interview nor made any public statement for people to know where he stood on issues. His lack of will to put the account of his life and times, directly or through someone else, into writing has surely foreclosed for his countrymen and women, the privilege of learning one or two factors that accounted for his unique personality and statesmanship.

I also believe that his involvement in military politics was also a mistake. Politics, of whatever nature, is too dirty for a man who believed and expected loyalty and who could neither lie nor withstand betrayal. He should have refused every effort to bring him into it and that would have made him a professional soldier to the core and saved him from the disappointment he eventually suffered from his colleagues.

But having said these, I share the view of many others that the late Mr Idiagbon was an uncommon human and humane phenomenon who contributed a lot to the evolution and development of this country as a citizen and leader.

I, therefore, suggest that for his heroic labour not to be in vain, the present and future crop of the nations leadership should endeavour to emulate his discipline, patriotism, seriousness, loyalty, and civility. The present government should also go a step further by renaming national monuments after him.

While I urge the Kwara State Government to rename the Metropolitan Square, Ilorin, after him, I think it will also be appropriate to ask the federal government, led by his unassuming principal, friend, soulmate and comrade-in-arms, President Muhammadu Buhari, to confer an appropriate post-humous national honours award on him as he did to the late M.K.O.Abiola and Gani Fawenhimi last year. That will go a long way in appreciating his services and stimulating the interest of the present and future generations in patriotism and national development.

Mr Imam is the deputy editor of Unilorin Bulletin and the national publicity secretary, Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU).
The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bauchi State, Bala Muhammed, has celebrated his victory as the governor-elect in waiting.

Mr Muhammed, a former senator and FCT minister, was on Sunday declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to have won the highest number of votes in the just concluded supplementary governorship election.

He polled over 6, 376 votes to beat the incumbent Bauchi state governor, Muhammed Abubakar of the APC, who polled 5, 117 votes.

The results of the supplementary election held in 36 polling units consolidated the leading margin of the PDP candidate who was earlier leading with 2,059 votes before INEC cancelled the entire votes from Tafawa Balewa local government over alleged mutilation of result sheet.

The cancelled Tafawa Balewa local government polls was earlier slated for Saturdays supplementary polls before INEC later reversed its decision to continue collation and declaration of the result, after Mr Abubakar went to court to block the process.

However, having emerged victorious in the supplementary polls, Mr Muhammed said he was as good as the governor-elect as the rerun had consolidated his winning chances more than ever before.

He said the outcome of the Tafawa Balewa litigation may no longer affect his victory.

Addressing a press conference in Bauchi, Mr Muhammed thanked the people of the state for standing by him.

Mr. Muhammed promised to run an all inclusive government which he said will silence the doubting Thomases.

The collation of the runoff election that has just been concluded by the INEC is a work of God and we all owe it to Him, the beneficient, the merciful.

We also owe it to the people of Bauchi who have also stood very firm on the threshold of freedom and liberty; who have realised that they are the icons of democracy.

Definitley words will not express my appreciation to the people of Bauchi who have accepted to unseat an incumbent governor, not because they hate him; not because they dont like him; but because of the spirit of democracy, because of the liberty of choice; because of expectations not met; not because he is not our son.

We want to appreciate the people of Bauchi and to call on them that this auspicious achievement deserves to be celebrated.

He urged his supporters and other well meaning citizens of Bauchi to go about celebrating the new found victory with peace and gratitude to God almighty.

There shouldnt be any destruction of property or letting of blood. We must take care that we are the sons and daughters of Bauchi and we are here to usher in the peace and tranquillity, harmony and good relationship between each other.

We do not hold any acrimony or hatred against anybody; even those who did not vote for us should be free to join us in this celebration.

For those who are doubting Thomases, we assure you that we will bring good governance that has never been seen in Bauchi before. As you can see the assemblage of the group that makes up our team; they are the best eleven of Bauchi state, made of distinguished senators, technocrats and civil servants, former secretaries to the government and in fact people who have achieved a lot in their various endeavours. We intend to have a unity administration.

INEC Cant Conduct Two Supplementary Polls in Bauchi

Mr Muhammed said he was not unmindful of the yet-to-be completed Bauchi governorship polls, but quickly argued that INEC cannot be running two supplementary elections in a single election.

We are aware that the collation is not concluded; but this is just a fate accomplice, because we have won the runoff election and all the elections that have been warehoused have also been won and it is in the public portal. With that, I said there cant be any runoff or supplementary elections in Bauchi state as far as the 2019 elections are concerned.

This is because there is no where in the world where supplementary elections are held twice.

Mr Muhammed said despite all odds, he still believed that INEC can be trusted.

We are going to proceed with the litigation and we know that it is something that is unconstitutional, because there cant be a stoppage of a process of election that is a constitutional responsibility of INEC to conduct; it is just like stopping the National Assembly from having a session.

We are law abiding and we are warriors in democracy and from here we are heading to Abuja by the grace of God to give an added impetus to INEC so that the exiting of this court order will be accelerated.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Sunday recalled his experience in February 2 helicopter clash in Kabba, Kogi State, attributing his survival to Gods special mercy.

He said God saw him through the rigours and hazards of campaigns in the buildup to the 2019 general elections.

Mr Osinbajo, accompanied by his wife, Dolapo, said this at an interdenominational service of praise and thanksgiving held at the Obafemi Awolowo Square, Ikenne-Remo, Ogun State.

The vice president offered prayers for peace, progress and stability in the country.

His wife also shared her experience when she received the news of her husbands helicopter crash, saying the mercy of God had been pillar of her family.

The Ogun State governor-elect, Dapo Abiodun, in his remark, described the vice president as an embodiment of diligence and sincerity.

The Archbishop of Ecclesiatical Province of Lagos, Olusina Fape, in his sermon said the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the just concluded Presidential election was because of Gods mercy.

He said it was Gods mercy that saved Mr Osinbajo from the crash and urged him to continue to serve the God who has been merciful to him and his family.

The cleric, who prayed for the growth of the country stated that, the election has come and gone. But it was won through the mercy of God. It is mercy that makes difference in lives of individuals. Election is not according to your power, your ability and your wisdom, election is a matter of mercy.

Mercy does five things, it brings victory, it brings exaltation, it brings wisdom, it brings deliverance and success. Your Excellency, whatever you might have achieved is not by your power or wisdom, but by the sheer mercy of God, he added.

The cleric said as you celebrate today, Gods mercy will catapult you to the next level according to the slogan of your party.

The event was attended by the governors of Lagos and Oyo States, Akinwunmi Ambode and Abiola Ajimobi, as well as the immediate past governor of Osun State, Rauf Aregbesola, Ogun State governor-elect, Dapo Abiodun, and former Akwa Ibom governor, Godswill Akpabio, as well as traditional rulers, among others.
The All Progressive Congress (APC) in Kogi State under the leadership of Governor Yahaya Bello has won all 25 State Assembly seats in an historic landslide victory over any opposition in the States political history.

Although, the party on March 9, during the gubernatorial and State Assembly elections cleared all the major seats in the State assembly, it had to wait for the rescheduled elections in Lokoja I, Omala and Igalamela/Odolu constituencies where elections were initially declared inconclusive to affirm its winning streak.

After the conduct of the election and collation of results in the affected units on Saturday, the APC has officially won in all the State constituencies, leaving no room for any opposition party in the State Assembly.

In Kogi East, the APC, aside winning the senatorial and three House of Representatives seats, the party also won the eleven State Constituencies including Ankpa I & II, Bassa, Dekina I & II (Biraidu), Ibaji, Idah, Iagalamela-Odolu, Ofu, Omala and Olamaboro.

Such feat has never been recorded in Kogi East Senatorial district in the history of the State.

Also In Kogi Central Senatorial District, the party also won the senate as well as all its House of Representatives seats.

In same vain, the party clinched Assembly seats in Okene I & II, Adavi, Ajaokuta, Okehi and Ogori-Magongo constituencies.

Similar event happened in Kogi West as the party also won in all Its state Constituencies including Kabba-Bunu, Ijumu, Yagba-East, Yagba-West, Mopamuro, Lokoja II and Kogi (Kotonkarfe) and also Lokoja I Constituency.

Speaking on the partys successful outing in the recently held polls in the state, Chief Of Staff to the Governor of Kogi state who also doubled as the Director-General, APC Campaign Council in the state, Hon. Edward Onoja listed seven key factors responsible for the partys unprecedented success in the state.

One of the factors according to Onoja was the non-imposition of candidates by the party. He said all the candidates on the platform of the All Progressives Congress in Kogi State were not imposed or gave bribes for endorsement, adding that they went through the primaries and came out as party flag bearers.

Hon. Edward said another critical factor that contributed to the partys winning streak was the quick resolution of pockets of disputes that came up after the primaries were conducted. Those who did not make it at the primaries were quickly engaged in sincere dialogue with the party leadership and they shelved their ambitions, joined the winners of the primaries and worked collectively for the success of the party. This is the Principle of everybody is important within the party.

Hon. Onoja said effective communication between the leadership of the party from top to the bottom was also critical to the partys success in the last elections.  in Kogi State, governance and politicking had an unbroken chain of network from the very top to the unit level where the actions of winning or losing elections takes place. We put in place effective networking in a very transparent and open manner. When the leader of the party gives directions, it goes down to the least unit within the party, no one was left behind in the scheme of things.

Hon. Onoja said, the party executives were made up of competent party faithful with proven integrity. The Excos Of our party in the state are made up of people with proven integrity and capacity that emerged through transparent party congress. So, there are people with commitment and determination to drive electioneering campaign that has resulted in our victory today.

The last and most important reason that earned the APC a landslide victory in Kogi according to the DG, Campaign Council was effective leadership that the state government under governor Yahaya Bello is providing for the people.

He said There are physical infrastructure at every locality in the state which are functions of the leadership of the present administration. Yes, we are not where we want to be but the people believe the government is taking steps in the right direction to improve their well being through provision of critical infrastructure and they (people) are not ready to return to the old day of ineffective leadership.

Justifying why the people supported APC and its candidates, the state government believed that the people decided to be on the side of a government that has given them a new lease of life and a departure from what has been happening since the returned to democracy in Nigeria.

On his part, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the governor, Mohammed Onogwu, asserted: The people have shown that they trust the APC-led administration because the achievements are visible enough to speak for themselves. The victory that APC recorded in the 2019 polls is without doubt a reward for hard work, sincerity, transparency and accountability.

Governor Bello and his lieutenants all have their eyes on the ball and are poised to raise the bar of leadership and governance. There is hardly any part of Kogi that the government has not covered in terms of provision of critical infrastructure such as roads, schools, hospitals, water, electricity and other social interventions. So, the massive support and cooperation we are getting from our people is an eloquent testimony of the fact that they are pleased and happy with the feats we have recorded across the critical sectors of the economy.

The state party chairman Hon Abdullahi Bello said the overwhelming victory of the APC at the polls were clear indications that the party was more United, entrenched and more positioned for any electoral contest in the state.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the chairmanship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Danladi Chiya, winner of the supplementary poll for Kwali Area Council, FCT.

Simon Kawe, a professor and the INEC Returning Officer, who announced the result said Mr Chiya scored the highest votes of 14,245, to defeat his closest rival, Ibrahim Daniel of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who scored 14, 189.

The supplementary election in Sheda polling unit 005 was however disrupted by some thugs which was regarded as Zero votes for all political parties as read by the INEC officer.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some residents were seen celebrating the APC victory in Kwali metropolis.

(NAN)
Gov Simon Lalong of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who retained his office after Saturdays supplementary polls, is seeking the support of Plateau residents to deliver the dividends of democracy to them.

The governor was declared the winner of the polls by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday in Jos.

He said the support of Plateau people and political stakeholders would ensure the success of his mandate to develop the state.

I am humble, I was voted again to serve Plateau for another tenure to move it to greater heights. We need unity and peace to move this state to the next level.

Core values of team spirit, mutual respect and tolerance are required for sustainable peace and a good working relationship in the state and I promise to discharge my duties diligently and selflessly, he said.

Mr Lalong commended INEC, security agencies, the media and voters for the peaceful and successful rerun elections in the State, saying it was one of the most peaceful nationwide.

Mr Lalong was declared the winner with 595,582 votes after beating his close rival, Jeremiah Useni of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who got 546,813 votes.

(NAN)
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the chairmanship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Abdulahi Sabo, winner of the supplementary poll for Kuje Area Council, FCT.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that INEC had on March 9 declared the chairmanship election in the area inconclusive due to electoral violence at some polling units in Rubochi and Kwaku.

Titus Ibekwe, the INEC Returning Officer who announced the result, said Mr Sabo scored the highest votes of 19,090 to defeat the incumbent chairman, Abdulahi Galadima of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who scored 15,187 votes.

He said that Abdulahi Sabo of the PDP, having satisfied the requirements of the law and having the highest number of votes, is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected.

However, some political thugs tried to disrupt the voting process at Rubochi, but were immediately addressed by the security operatives present at the polling unit.

NAN also reports that some residents and supporters of Mr Sabo were seen jubilating over the PDP victory in Kuje metropolis.

Yusuf Dabo, the spokesman for Abdulahi Sabo, said the outcome of the supplementary election was a victory to the entire people of Kuje and a victory for democracy.

(NAN)
Solar Nigeria for the People Limited (Solar Nigeria FTP), the Nigerian subsidiary of Solar Philippines at the weekend signed a Community Agreement with Ode Omi Community to invest about half a million dollars to build Nigerias largest rural mini-grid.

Signing the agreement, the Country Director of Solar Nigeria FTP, Tobi Oluwatola, said the project when completed will electrify 634 households, seven schools, three hospitals, eight religious organizations, and more than 90 businesses in the community.

The project which is due to be commissioned in September 2019 will supply a peak load of 99kW to the community in its first phase, and up to 500kW in its second phase.

Giving highlights of the benefits of the project to the community, Mr Oluwatola explained that the company plans to train and employ more than 50 youth from Ode Omi Community in the construction phase and also employ security personnel from the village as well as empower existing recharge card vendors to make additional revenue from selling prepaid meter credits for the mini-grid in the operations phase.

Other benefits to the community will include free street lighting and better health and education outcomes as hospitals can have necessary cooling, heating and lighting solutions and children will have light to study at night. Women also would not have to travel long distances to fetch water and wood as electric stoves and water pumps will replace firewood and stream water, Mr Oluwatola explained.

Mr Oluwatola noted that the Ode Omi project is the first out of hundreds to be constructed by his company, just as he assured of his firms commitment to work with Distribution Companies (DISCOs) to build interconnected mini-grids that will supply many areas in urban centres.

This is the first of many. Our goal is to build 100 mini-grids in our first year and to also work with DISCOs to build interconnected mini-grids that will supply previously underserved urban areas. We think that with solar today being cheaper than diesel (and gas in some countries), it is unconscionable that Nigerians continue to endure power cuts when we can aggressively deploy solar to solve the problem at scale. Our aim is to end energy poverty everywhere it exists, he said.

Speaking for the community, His Royal Highness, Adenuga Okuniyi (Ojafoyewa II) thanked the company for building its pilot mini-grid in Ode Omi community. He stressed the importance of the community and its rich history going back to Oduduwa, the ancestral father of the Yoruba people, one of whose direct descendants reportedly founded the Ode Omi dynasty.

The signing of the community solar agreement was witnessed by the Chairman of the Ogun Waterside Local Government, Abajo Olabode; the Chairman of the Ode Omi Community Solar Power Committee, Ahmed Surakatu; and Solar Philippines officials, Terence Dy Echo and Carlos Fernandez.

Some of the members of the community interviewed were excited about the prospects of 24 hours uninterrupted power in the community.

Babatunde Ajose, a local entrepreneur said the project will make his business be more productive and profitable.

According to him, he would not have to travel four miles, and spend N1000 on transportation to Folu village to buy fuel for his generator on a weekly basis. He was also pleased to know that the tariff, would ensure that he spends less than he currently spends on fuel to get reliable and clean power.

Like Mr Ajose, five rice millers, and several fishermen interviewed also echoed similar sentiment, saying that constant electricity will enable them to save costs and also preserve their products better with affordable cold storage options.

In only five years of its founding, the company is already the largest vertically integrated solar developer-manufacturer-EPC-IPP in South East Asia, with 800 MW manufacturing capacity, 500 MW projects operating and under construction and multiple GW in development in seven countries.
For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.




MAINZ, Germany, March 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Blockchain Software Development and Marketing company CPI Technologies provides the development, deployment, and maintenance of finance and blockchain systems. The German-based company specializes in highly scalable, secure, intuitive blockchain software.

IT & Marketing Combo

CPI Technologies

Unlike other software development platforms, CPI Technologies offers the support of professional marketing tactics that are integrated into the development of the software. This ensures that each software is fine-tuned according to the customer's sales and is scalable as the client grows.

CPI Technologies CEO Maximilian Schmidt shared a conclusion, that highlights the growth of the company, stating:

"In the last few years, we spent much effort and millions of euros for developing our software suite, based on a rock-solid, law compliant double-entry bookkeeping to provide our customers the framework to scale up big, handle huge traffic and also to cover necessary questions of security. My phenomenal developer team built up very sophisticated mechanisms for processing huge amounts of crypto coins in a very secure way."

With its turnkey solution, CPI Technologies offers a holistic and comprehensive package that saves its clients considerable income, as it prevents the need to seek out a separate marketing company to promote its products. CPI achieve this through their carefully designed workflow, done in cooperation by their experienced IT and marketing team. This includes:

Planning and Analysis Architectural Design Software Implementation Testing and Integration Marketing and Promotion Strategy Launching of The Platform Measure and Optimize

CPI Blockchain Software

CPI Technologies offers various levels of blockchain software development, from ground zero to a fully functional ecosystem:

Crypto Exchange Platform : The star product of CPI Technologies is their high frequency, custom built exchange for fiat, cryptocurrencies or tokenized assets, like real estate or companies. It's empowered by a law-compliant double-entry bookkeeping and easy-care KYC/AML modules.

: The star product of CPI Technologies is their high frequency, custom built exchange for fiat, cryptocurrencies or tokenized assets, like real estate or companies. It's empowered by a law-compliant double-entry bookkeeping and easy-care KYC/AML modules. Blockchain Development : From a wholly new cryptocurrency to a full enterprise level blockchain, CPI offers a complete end to end blockchain system.

: From a wholly new cryptocurrency to a full enterprise level blockchain, CPI offers a complete end to end blockchain system. Payment Service Provider: With integrated and easy to use Point of Sales (POS), clients can set up a payment service that accepts both cryptocurrencies and fiat. The POS is implementable in both online and offline environments.

CPI Marketing

Having a good blockchain system is just one step in running a successful business. With its integrated marketing strategy, CPI Technologies brings the best of both worlds. Its marketing solutions offer:

Digital Media Marketing : With professional video ads, clients can woo clients.

: With professional video ads, clients can woo clients. Social Media Marketing : Promotion of the client platform on the biggest social media guarantees visits from potential customers.

: Promotion of the client platform on the biggest social media guarantees visits from potential customers. Sale Strategies : CPI's professional marketing team creates the best strategy that combines with the blockchain software and its intended market audience.

: CPI's professional marketing team creates the best strategy that combines with the blockchain software and its intended market audience. Organic and Paid Traffic: Organic traffic is the real game. With methods such as SEO and paid traffic campaigns from the largest advertising platforms (Facebook and Google AdWords), clients can be assured that maximum interest is generated in their products.

CPI Founder, Marvin Steinberg

Marvin Steinberg is the founder of CPI Technologies. A staunch marketing guru with a weight of experience and success stories, helping his clients reach their goals has been the driver of his passion. In 2015, he founded a direct selling Company which was sold in 2016 to large American multi-billion dollar company, Just Energy Group. In 2016, Marvin launched one of the first Blockchain service providers, helping aspiring Blockchain startups reach their goals, securing in excess of $250,000,000 in funding over the last three years.

In his work with CPI, Marvin has made it his mission to champion growth and development, which has allowed the numerous projects they work with to reach funding targets and sign up figures of over 2,000,000 users for whitelabel exchange platforms, to grow into some of the most influential blockchain companies we see on the market today. That same mission is carried forward to the host of other projects Marvin works his magic in, including Steinberg Invest, and Steinberg Marketing. In 2019, the mission continues, where Marvin is bringing his success to the STO market.

Marvin shares some stats which outline the companies evident growth, stating;

"Since its inception, CPI Technologies has delivered successful projects, one after another. My team has more than 47 completed projects that have processed more than 32,000 BTC and helped increase sales by 182 percent through analysis, split-testing and continuous optimization of the customer experience. We know what to do, where and especially how to do."

Although currently focused on developing leading crypto exchange platforms, CPI Technologies is already looking to the future, where it plans to really expand. The German-based company has already announced its new flagship platform to be published in May 2019, instanced first for exclusive customers only.

Maximilian Schmidt (CEO) stated;

"It will revolutionize not only crypto markets, but also the real estate, crowdfunding, patent, certificate and stock markets with bringing this all into a single, easy-to-use and huge selling application. CPI will publish press releases for this product in the next months."

To know more about CPI Technologies and their offerings, visit their website here.

Media Contact Details

Contact Name: Christine Steinberg

Contact Email: [email protected]

Visit the CPI Technologies Official Site - https://cpitech.io

Meet the CPI Technologies Team on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/search/results/all/?keywords=CPI%20Technologies%20GmbH

Follow CPI Technologies on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pg/cpit3ch/about/?ref=page_internal

CPI Technologies is the source of this content. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. Cryptocurrencies and tokens are extremely volatile. There is no guarantee of stable value, or of any value at all.

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SOURCE CPI Technologies

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CHICAGO, March 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Nationally known attorney Geoffrey Fieger announced today that a Cook County Jury, sitting in the courtroom of Judge Lorna E. Propes has awarded a verdict against Presence St. Joseph Hospital in the amount of $23.5 Million Dollars, on behalf of a brain-damaged child. Mr. Fieger was assisted by Chicago attorneys Matthew Patterson and Jack Beam.

Amirah Whiten was born on December 19, 2014 at the St. Joseph Hospital. Fetal Monitor Strips showed the baby was in fetal distress and needed to be born by immediate C-section. The doctors waited over three hours to perform the C-section, and by the time it was done, the baby had suffered severe brain damage from lack of oxygen. Fieger stated:

"The verdict is one of the largest malpractice verdicts in Chicago this year. Presence St. Joseph, through its attorneys, for years have refused to take responsibility for Amirah's brain damage. The facts showed that after birth, the baby needed brain cooling, and the Doctor assigned to care for Amirah did not even know that the hospital had the ability to perform such cooling. I asked for justice for Amirah, and the Jury gave it."

The Jury deliberated for over two days before returning a verdict late Friday, March 22, 2019.

MR. FIEGER AND THE FAMILY WILL HOLD A PRESS CONFERENCE AT 10:30AM (CST) ON MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019, AT THE PENINSULA HOTEL, BUTCH O'HARE CONFERENCE ROOM, TO DISCUSS THE VERDICT. PHOTO OP'S WILL BE AVAILABLE.

SOURCE Fieger Law
Jerusalem, March 24 : Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will leave on Saturday night for Washington to meet with US President Donald Trump.

The two leaders are scheduled to meet on Monday at the White House and on Tuesday over dinner, reports Xinhua news agency.

The prime minister's office stated that Netanyahu will discuss with Trump "the Iranian aggression, Iran's efforts to entrench militarily in Syria, how to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons, and the tightening of cooperation on security and intelligence matters."

According to the statement, Netanyahu will address the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference on Tuesday morning.

He will also hold diplomatic meetings on Capitol Hill with US politicians.
Bangkok, March 24 : About 50 million voters headed to the polls in Thailand for the first general elections since the 2014 coup.

Around 90,000 polling stations across the country opened at 8 a.m., and will close at 5 p.m., reports Efe news. Voters will elect 500 members of the House of Representatives, the lower house, for a four-year term.

All 750 representatives from the two houses will vote together to elect the next prime minister.

Fifty-one million people are eligible to vote, including 7 million young Thais who will be participating in their first ever election.

Sunday will be the first time Thais have the chance to vote since a bloodless coup in 2014, led by incumbent Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha, overthrew the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Both are living in self-imposed exile after being found guilty in absentia of corruption and sentenced to five year prison terms.

Sunday's elections are also the first since a new constitution enacted following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 2016 banned large parties and ensured that the military oversees a 20-strategic plan, regardless of which party wins the polls.

The constitution, approved with the promise of providing stability to the country and preventing a potential stalemate in parliament, gives the military establishment powers to nominate all 250 members of the senate (the upper house) for a five-year term.

Bhumibol's son and successor, King Maha Vajiralongkorn, made a surprise statement late Saturday night urging the Thais to elect "good people" to rule and not prevent "bad" people from "creating chaos".

That announcement came just two months after a royal decree barred his eldest sister, Princess Ubolratana, from running as a candidate for prime minister.

The Thai Raksa Chart party, which is linked to the Shinawatras, had nominated the hugely popular and respected princess in an attempt to swing the vote against parties backed by the ruling military junta.

But after the King called the move "highly inappropriate", the party was dissolved by the electoral commission in a major blow to the Shinawatra clan.

Pre-election surveys indicate that the Shinawatra-backed Pueu Thai, which was overthrown in 2014, will secure most of the votes on Sunday, while pro-military parties, such as Prayut's Palang Pracharat, are not expected to fare well.

The Democrat Party, the country's oldest, which is popular among the middle classes and in the south, as well as the newly-formed Anakot Mai (Future Forward), which is hugely popular among younger voters, are also expected to win significant numbers of seats in parliament.
India has over the decades emerged as a leading light in the democratic world on two counts - the masses here have proven their ability to oust well entrenched regimes from power and have demonstrated their wisdom in opting for clean governance, assurance of development and national stability and security. And this has happened in spite of that typically Indian social phenomenon of caste and creed affinities ruling the political turf.

At crucial junctures, like in 1977, 1980 and 2014, the people at large showed their disapproval of dictatorial rule, political instability and corruption respectively and responded unitedly cutting across party loyalties to a significant extent. In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi came on the scene at the national level as a new leader who could put down corruption with a strong-handed governance.

This image of his still holds even as questions of economic uplift of the people are getting centre-stage and his readiness to take big decisions upfront is being projected by his critics as an 'autocratic' trait rather than a leadership quality of 'decisiveness'.

After the air strike at Balakot, Pakistan, the perception of the Modi government having responded strongly to the threats to national security emanating from Pakistan prevails at the mass level. This will weigh in with other local and immediate factors of relevance for a voter as the election closes in. The state of equilibrium between political parties differs from region to region in India and what may determine the poll results will, therefore, be the degree to which multilateral contests are minimised in favour of a more direct confrontation.

At the national level, three paradigms will govern the election outcome - performance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Hindi heartland, effectiveness of non-BJP combinations in the South and the prospects of BJP making up for any deficiency in its tally of seats in the Hindi belt, in the Western and Eastern parts of India.

The BJP's rural outreach was not a strong point of the party but it can be presumed to be a little better today than it was in 2014. The rural and urban unemployment is large but new work opportunities - small but significant - have been a mitigating factor. The aspirational youth is demanding towards the government but is positive on Modi's leadership. Salaried classes and men in uniform have a sense of satisfaction over whatever the Modi government was doing for them. Certain segments of the middle class - given to finding fault with any government -influence politics only in a limited way. Election campaigns are rhetorical, not making a long lasting impact but social media is now a definite influencer and a tool of perception management for urban India. BJP seems to be better geared on this front.

The people of India have a history of being very sensitive to the security threats to the nation. In a situation of crisis for national security they would muster behind strong responses of the rulers even forgetting their economic concerns. The air strike at Balakot, deep inside Pakistan, to take out the most important Jaish-e- Mohammed (JeM ) establishment is hailed by Indians as the doing of the valorous IAF but they also acknowledge and appreciate it as an expression of the political will displayed by Prime Minister Modi in dealing with terror. People will remember it while voting but they will also exercise their choice on an intelligent assessment of the overall success of the Modi regime in giving the average Indian a sense of economic upgrade and social security.

It is a proven trait of the Indian electorate that the voter scans the locally available caste and regional leadership and weighs their promises with what was being offered by the distant rulers at the Centre belonging to a different party. However, since the state level parties are still not a part of any visible alternative to the Modi regime at Delhi, the voters outside of the circle of hardcore loyalists of the regional groups would exercise an independent electoral choice.

On economic issues, the overriding public impression about the Modi government is that an effort to improve things for the ordinary people was made even if the results were not yet satisfactory enough and that intentions of the Centre in any case could not be doubted. This impression seems to have made a favourable impact on women voters. All of this works for the BJP. The anti-Modi campaign on the issue of Rafale has also drawn attention to the baggage of past regimes in the area of corruption without jeopardising the image of the Modi cabinet as such. The diatribe around the word aChowkidar' saw the BJP calling upon the people to become avigilant citizens' emulating Modi. This could cut some ice with the masses.

The key factor in the coming election, ultimately, would be the unity - constituency-wise - that the opposition could demonstrate in the fielding of candidates. In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the regional alliances rather than the Congress are the main opposition for BJP. In other parts of the Hindi heartland, the BJP has to face the Congress as the main challenger. The Muslim minority in these states will vote generally to oppose the BJP. In Maharashtra and Punjab the BJP is strengthened by its allies. In the North-East, the BJP can more or less hold its position and in West Bengal and Odisha it will improve its tally as it has made the contest triangular in these states.

In the South, the BJP will augment its overall strength by gaining some new ground in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It may be recalled that in Gujarat the BJP scored a marginal majority and in Karnataka it narrowly missed the majority mark in the last Assembly elections.

A macro view of the general election suggests that the BJP, with its allies, could hit that range. The replication of the 1996 type of situation that saw the United Front conglomerates making a bid to power - remotely controlled by the Congress - is once again the alternative. Unless regional parties made a clear announcement of their willingness to accept leadership of the Congress, any non-BJP patchwork would look as fragile as in the past.

India is a vast country with variations of class, caste and territorial settings affecting the voter's choice in any election but a national poll always produces a result that reflects the convergence of Indians on an objective set of performance issues. It was only in 1977 that an angry electorate ousted the Congress to punish it for the Emergency. In other elections, issues of the times and the government's overall functioning influenced the voting pattern. The electoral verdict - which will be the sum total of poll results in different parts of the country - can produce either a clear majority or a distinctive single largest scoring status for a party that entitles it to form the government or a combination of regional parties claiming majority with the backing of a national party.

Since the BJP is ahead of the Congress as a national party, it has the advantage of being able to firmly remain in the lead of a coalition. The visibility of Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister, the strong cadre working for the BJP on the ground and the favourable sentiment of the people on national security lend advantage to the ruling party. While the country looks out for the spectrum of Lok Sabha results this time, there is no doubt that India's national interest lies in a stable government being there for the crucial years ahead.

(The writer is a former Director Intelligence Bureau)
New Delhi, March 24 : The first phase of voting begins from April 11 and WhatsApp - and not its parent company Facebook - has turned out to be the biggest social media platform for more than 87,000 groups to target millions with political messaging.

According to WhatsApp, over 20 crore Monthly Active Users (MAUs) are using its platform in India, but the fact is that these numbers are dated back to February 2017 and the company has not shared latest India numbers for over two years now.

India today has nearly 43 crore smartphone users, according to Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Research.

If we go by these numbers, 20 crore can't be a right figure as almost every smartphone owner - from your grandpa to the maid at home -- uses WhatsApp and is a potential target for the groups working round-the-clock to reach them.

"By the end of 2016, India had nearly 28-30 crore smartphone users. Today, it has crossed 40 crore.

"People across age-groups are using WhatsApp so it is safe to say that the Facebook-owned platform reaches over 30 crore Indians, almost to the size of Facebook users in the country or even bigger," Tarun Pathak, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research, told IANS.

With Reliance Jio, data has gone ultra-cheap and political parties are now seen to livestream rallies, press meets and TV debates on Facebook and YouTube to reach their target audiences in the hinterlands.

"Over 87,000 groups aiming to influence the voters are currently active on WhatsApp. From fake statistics related to various government policies to news promoting regional violence, manipulated political news, government scams, historical myths, propaganda to patriotism and Hindu nationalism -- WhatsApp has it all in the election season," informed social media expert Anoop Mishra.

One WhatsApp Group can have a maximum of 256 users so these 87,000 groups can reach over 2.2 crore people directly.

Now imagine one user from these groups forwarding one message to five (maximum forward limit on WhatsApp) and these groups can actually engage a much bigger audience in their mission to influence voters.

Realising the importance of curbing fake news, WhatsApp has launched several initiatives, from awareness programmes on dangers of fake news on TV, radio and digital platforms to limiting the number of forwards to five.

It has also tied up with the Nasscom Foundation to train nearly 1,00,000 Indians to spot false information and provide tips and tricks to stay safe on WhatsApp.

"We're pleased that the recent changes we've made to limit viral content and educate users is having an impact. This work is never done -- there is more that we can and will do," WhatsApp India head Abhijit Bose said in a statement recently.

WhatsApp, including other social media firms, will now have to process any request from the Election Commission to take down content within three hours during the 48-hour period before voting days.

The task is enormous and the stakes are high.

"WhatsApp has been trying to curb the spread of fake news but has got a little success in doing so. Let us see how the things unfold as we enter the crucial election time," added Mishra.

(Nishant Arora can be contacted at nishant.a@ians.in)
New Delhi, March 24 : In a grim situation underlining the hard financial pressure on state operators, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has requested the state governments not to disconnect electric connections of BSNL/MTNL telecom installations and more so during the coming general elections.

In letters to the state chief secretaries, the Department said: "BSNL is facing financial stress due to hyper competitive telecom scenario and there is a slight delay in paying electricity charges to the state electricity boards.

"The issue of financial support to BSNL is being handled separately by the Department of Telecom. Due to this delay, State Electricity Board is resorting to disconnection of electricity connection at various key installations providing telecom services to election machinery and many other important government agencies hampering telecom services."

The DoT communication added: "Moreover, most of the BSNL/MTNL installations are providing strategic telecom services for the election machinery.

"In view of the situation, please issue directions to state electricity board of your state not to resort to the unpleasant action of disconnection of electricity at vital telecom installations of BSNL across the state at least during the period of current election process."

Due to shortage of funds, BSNL is not even being able to pay electricity bills, which has resulted in disconnection of EB connections to BTSs and Exchanges by the SEBs.

Recently DoT helped BSNL in clearing its salary bill for February after the PSU found it hard to pay up on its own from its service revenues.

The Department had released pending dues of Rs 171 crore to cash-strapped MTNL for paying February salaries to employees.

The DoT also gave a letter of comfort of Rs 3,500 crore to working capital requirement of BSNL.

(Anjana Das can be contacted at anjana.d@ians.in)
New Delhi, March 24 : External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday sought details from the Indian Embassy in Pakistan following reports of two Hindu teenager girls being abducted on the eve of Holi in Sindh province.

"I have asked Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan to send a report on this. @IndiainPakistan," Swaraj tweeted tagging the media report.

Two girls, 15 and 13, were allegedly kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam.

Following the incident, the Hindu community in Pakistan staged protests seeking action against the perpetrators.
Mumbai, March 24 : A kiss and an "I love you" from Alia Bhatt to Ranbir Kapoor at the 64th Filmfare Awards got their fans on social media talking about their rare public display of affection.

Alia referred to Ranbir as her "special one" when she took the stage at the awards show, where she won the Best Actress Award for her role in "Raazi" on Saturday night.

The actress surprised the audience, and left Ranbir blushing with her speech.

In a video that is doing the rounds on social media, Alia can be seen saying "I love you", while Ranbir can be seen blushing over Alia's special gesture.

Ranbir bagged the Best Actor honour for his role in "Sanju". And just when his name was announced as the winner, Alia, who was seated beside him, gave him a side hug and a kiss on the cheek.

After that, Ranbir turned to his other side where his "Sanju" co-actor Vicky Kaushal was seated. The two actors hugged and kissed as well.

The sight of Alia and Ranbir holding the Filmfare trophy was soothing to the latter's mother Neetu Kapoor.

She took to Instagram to celebrate their victory, and wrote: "And moments like these make you forget all the stress. Congratulations, so proud and happy."

On the work front, Alia and Ranbir will be seen sharing screen space in the upcoming film "Brahmastra".
New Delhi, March 24 : Would you want your teenager to watch terrorists killing people in the real world or someone committing suicide? No one, in their right mind, would ever want their kids to get exposed to such events, simply for the repercussions that such content can have on young impressionable minds.

But with a smartphone on their hand and Facebook installed in it, chances of them watching such horrific content some day cannot be denied, especially because the social media giant allows all its users to go live.

The 28-year-old Australian who sprayed bullets on innocent people who were praying at mosques in New Zealand on March 15 decided to broadcast his act on Facebook.

Facebook said the video was viewed fewer than 200 times during the live broadcast, but it was watched about 4,000 times before being removed from the platform. By that time, copies of the 17-minute video were later shared in millions on other social media platforms, including Twitter and YouTube.

Facebook earlier faced flak for the live streaming of suicides on its platform from different parts of the world, including India.

So does that mean that live broadcast on social media platforms should be banned?

"What happened in New Zealand was one-of-a-kind heinous exhibition of brutality and terror. I don't think the world has become so bad that we should see such things occurring repetitively," Faisal Kawoosa, Chief Analyst at market research firm techARC, told IANS.

"Live streaming is an essential part of social media platforms and as video becomes the default mode of communication over digital platforms, live streaming empowers users to be real time on these platforms," he added.

Youngsters also find the facility, which is also available on YouTube and Instagram, useful for broadcasting their travelling adventures and tutorials.

"The 'live' feature on social networking platforms could be good for people who want to publicise stuff like their travel, fashion or subject tutorials," said 25-year-old Rijul Rajpal who works with a film production company.

Many even find it helpful for connecting with their favourite film stars and music icons. But despite the usefulness of the feature, one cannot deny the potential of misuse of the feature, especially because the social media companies have still not developed a technology that can prevent the broadcast of live shooting.

Facebook said that its Artificial Intelligence (AI) system could not automatically detect the New Zealand shooting video as the system was not properly trained. It promised to improve its technology so that broadcast of such videos can be prevented in the future.

But policy makers are not impressed. In the US, tech firms have already been asked to brief the Congress on March 27 regarding their response to dissemination of the video of the New Zealand terrorists attack on their platforms.

The social media giant may face similar questions from lawmakers in other countries in the coming days.
West Bengal's ruling All India Trinamool Congress has dropped the 'Congress' from its new logo earlier this month and added dollops of blue, white and green colour to it besides giving it a catchy slogan in a bid to make the party one with the people Image Source: IANS News

Kolkata, March 24 : With West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress and emerging opposition BJP intensifying their fight ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, capturing and recapturing each other's party offices have become a regular occurrence.

Supporters of the BJP's Coochbehar candidate Nisith Pramanik, who recently switched to the saffron party from the Trinamool, have allegedly recaptured a "Trinamool-acquired party office" at Bamanhat market in Coochbehar district.

"My association with Trinamool was a sin. The BJP is like the holy Ganges. Our supporters clean the party office with water from the holy river," he said after taking over the office.

BJP supporters alleged that the party office was "built by the party but Trinamool Congress acquired it ahead of last year's panchayat elections".

Taking a jibe at Pramanik, Trinamool district President Rabindranath Ghosh accused him of being a turncoat.

Activists of another former Trinamool leader, Arjun Singh, who has been nominated by the BJP from Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency, have also painted a Trinamool office on Ghosh Para Road in saffron colour in North 24 Parganas. Singh says the office was built by him.

Later, Trinamool Congress "recaptured" the office.
New Delhi, March 24 : After much uncertainty, the Congress has finally succeeded in putting in shape alliances in some states for the Lok Sabha battle, with a functionary saying it will be the "most alliance friendly" election for the party.

After being in power in Karnataka along with the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), the Congress has formed major alliances in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Bihar, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir.

The Congress is largely contesting alone in the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh after being rebuffed by the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). And its talks with the Left in West Bengal have crashed and there is also uncertainty over a tie-up with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi.

In Assam, AIUDF appears keen to shake hands with the Congress to avoid a split in opposition votes.

The alliances, party leaders hope, will not only help Congress candidates perform better but will also help it to form a post-poll coalition.

Praveen Chakravarty, Chairperson, Data Analytics Department of Congress, said the Congress will concede the most number of seats to allies and contest the fewest number in this parliamentary election.

"Amidst all the din, 2019 will be the most `alliance friendly' election for @INCIndia. With just the already announced alliances, it will concede the most number of seats to alliance partners and contest its fewest number of seats in a Lok Sabha election ever," he tweeted.

The Congress had reached out to opposition parties in a major way in 2004 to oust the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. The party contested 414 seats, its lowest number since 1996, and the carefully crafted alliances helped the party get a surprise result and form a coalition government. The Congress-led alliance was re-elected in 2009.

Congress leaders are hopeful of a similar outcome in 2019.

The Congress contested 529 seats in 1996, 467 in 1998, 451 in 1999, 414 in 2004, 440 in 2009 and 464 in 2014. The party has so far declared candidates on 218 seats for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The party will fight nine of 40 seats in Bihar, 26 of 48 in Maharashtra with two seats being given to smaller parties, 20 of 28 in Karnataka, seven of 14 in Jharkhand, nine of 39 seats in Tamil Nadu and at least four in Jammu and Kashmir, including two where it will have "friendly contests" with its ally, the National Conference.

The nitty-gritty of alliances in Bihar and Maharashtra were announced only in the last two or three days and the time taken in reaching the tie-ups could impact campaigning by the candidates.

The Congress has come up so far with eight lists of candidates.

But its alliance talks with the CPI-M in West Bengal have crashed as both parties are keen to fight Raiganj and Murshidabad seats. The CPI-M has announced 25 candidates in its first list in West Bengal, leaving the Congress unhappy.

In Uttar Pradesh, the Congress is hoping for a revival after having performed very poorly in the last Assembly and Lok Sabha battles.

Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi undertook a boat ride from Prayagraj to Varanasi to bolster the party's prospects.

The party has sealed an alliance with the Krishna Patel-led faction of Apna Dal. It has left two Lok Sabha seats -- Pilibhit and Gonda -- for it.

In Kerala, the Congress heads the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) and there is no squabble in ticket distribution.

Congress strategists feel that some opposition parties, fighting on their own in states, will join hands with it after the Lok Sabha polls if there is an opportunity to keep the BJP out of power.
Dubai, March 24 : After failing to procure travel insurance for his parents during their visit to Dubai, the hospital bill for an Indian expat's father at a hospital here has exceeded 100,000 dirhams ($27,225), the media reported on Sunday.

Anubhav Khanna's father, Surendra Nath Khanna, had to be rushed to the NMC Hospital at the Dubai Investment Park due to acute breathlessness on March 15, the morning after his arrival, the Khaleej Times reported.

He was diagnosed with a lung infection that had already spread to other organs, leading to multi-organ failure.

Infection spread so fast that Surendra Khanna's left hand was amputated last week. Doctors are trying hard to save the other limbs. However, his right leg seems to be affected with gangrene and may need to be amputated as well.

A Punjab resident, Anubhav Khanna came to Dubai 11 months ago and wanted to bring his parents.

But he did not procure any travel or medical insurance for them. He is currently shelling out over 20,000 dirhams every day.

"My brother and I have lost all our life savings. It is unfortunate that we didn't realise the importance of travel insurance... I had no idea this could happen," Anubhav told the Khaleej Times.

Urging the Indian community to come forward and help the Khannas, Neeraj Agrawal, head of chancery and acting Consul-General of India to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said: "Consulate officials and the community volunteer medical team are in touch with the family and doctors. We are keeping a close watch and helping in whatever capacity we can."

Praveen Kumar, a social worker, told the Khaleej Times that the issue regarding travel insurance should be taken up at a government level to create awareness among Indians coming to the UAE.

"It hardly costs 80-90 dirhams for insurance and if you take it from India it does not cost over Rs 1,000 for individuals."
The first voter of independent India and Himachal Pradesh's oldest voter Shyam Saran Negi. (File Photo: IANS/PIB) Image Source: IANS News

Shimla, March 24 : At the age of 102, Shyam Saran Negi, who never missed a chance to tune to hear Prime Minister Narendra Mondi's 'Mann Ki Baat' programme, is all set to vote again.

A staunch believer in democracy, he wants other Indians too not to miss an opportunity to vote.

Negi has been appointed a brand ambassador by the state Election Commission for its SVEEP (Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation) campaign.

An appeal would be issued soon on his behalf to the people to vote for the May 19 Lok Sabha elections, Chief Electoral Officer Gopal Chand told IANS.

Negi lives with his youngest son Chander Parkash in the picturesque village of Kalpa in Kinnaur district, some 275 km from the state capital.

The centenarian, who lost his wife at the age of 80 years in 2014, said it is important to vote.

"I am appealing to all the voters, especially the younger generation, to spare time and elect an honest man who can take the country to new heights," Negi told IANS, speaking through his son Parkash.

Negi, who is hard of hearing, will turn 103 on July 1. He likes to listen to radio.

He is survived by three sons and five daughters and has several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He lost his eldest son in 2002.

According to Parkash, his father does his routine chores on his own and has good vision.

A team of election officials called on Negi last week to know his well-being.

Retired as a junior basic teacher from a government school in 1975, Negi was among the first to vote in independent India's first Lok Sabha battle in 1951 in Chini constituency - later renamed Kinnaur.

At that time, balloting in the snow-bound area was held ahead of other places in the state and the country.

In 2010, then Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla visited Negi's village to honour him as part of the Election Commission's diamond jubilee celebrations.

Negi has voted in every general, Assembly and panchayat elections since 1951. He pledges to vote in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections too.

"Yes, I will be among the first to cast my vote," Negi said.

The election department has a video of Negi casting his vote in 2007, 2012 and 2017 Assembly and the 2009 and 2014 parliamentary elections.

Kalpa village is part of the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, which includes Kullu and Mandi and parts of Chamba and Shimla districts besides the tribal-dominated Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)
New Delhi, March 24 : The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has removed a doctor from the post of Assistant Professor for not possessing the requisite qualification, following an order in this regard by the Delhi High Court.

An official letter issued by AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria, a copy of which has been accessed by IANS, said that subsequent to an order by the Delhi High Court, Kanika Jain's appointment "to the post of Assistant Professor of Hospital Administration hereby stands terminated with immediate effect".

Last year, a Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) bench headed by its Chairman Justice L. Narasimha Reddy, along with administrative member Aradhana Johri, were of the opinion that Jain's degree of Diplomate of National Board (DNB) was not sufficient qualification for the post.

The tribunal had then set aside her appointment and said and she needed to undergo an additional year of residency in a hospital recognised by the Medical Council of India (MCI).

The CAT had said that, as per the regulations, of the four years of training, one year had to be in an MCI-recognised hospital.

The tribunal's decision came on the plea by three doctors who had also applied for the post of Assistant Professor of Hospital Administration in the AIIMS.

They had challenged Jain's appointment on the ground that she did not have the requisite qualifications.

Jain, in her defence, had claimed that her DNB degree was equivalent to an MD degree and, therefore, she was qualified for the post.
Dehradun, March 24 : With the BJP and Congress announcing their candidates for the Lok Sabha polls in Uttarakhand, electioneering on Sunday picked up momentum. The process of filing nomination papers ends on Monday.

Both the parties placed orders for election materials that would be distributed to candidates in a day or two.

So far, only two candidates of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) -- Maharani Rajyalakshmi Shah (Tehri) and Tirath Singh Rawat (Pauri) -- have filed their nomination papers.

Its other three candidates, Ajay Bhatt from Nainital, Ajay Tamta from Almora and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank from Haridwar, will do so on Monday.

The party has prepared a list of 40 star campaigners which includes Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah and Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat.

"Roadshows, election rallies and other campaigns have started. We have already defeated the Congress on this," claimed a BJP leader.

Taking a lead over the Congress, candidates from the BJP started campaigning from their areas after their candidature was announced on Thursday.

Former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and BJP candidate from Pauri Tirath Singh Rawat had organised a series of road shows since Friday. Rawat filed his nomination on Friday.

On Saturday, most Congress candidates reached their constituencies.

Manish Khanduri started his campaign on social media even before his name was officially announced on Saturday night.

"All our candidates are now busy preparing for the elections. We have started campainging," said Vijay Sarswat, a state party spokesman.

Saraswat said the party had invited Congress President Rahul Gandhi and General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi to campaign in the state.
Florida, March 24 : Pretending to be "Instagram famous", a 25-year-old Florida man allegedly lured a Texas-based minor girl only to repeatedly sexually assault and rape her for days.

Richard Brown, who already faces six felony counts of child sexual abuse, got in touch with the 17-year-old girl on Instagram and claimed to be a 19-year-old, rich and "Instagram famous", the media reported.

He had reportedly booked an Uber costing over $800 to get the girl from her home in Texas to his parent's home in Orlando and kept her trapped for three days.

The girl however managed to escape and reported to the local authorities while keeping her mother informed via Snapchat.

"The girl told authorities that she quickly realised Brown wasn't who he claimed to be, but that he pressured her into staying with him for three nights as he had paid for her journey," the report said.

In his defense, Brown claimed he "thought" the girl was an adult. He said he was "only friends" with her and believed she was "in need of a place to stay".
Copenhagen, March 24 : As many as 400 of the 1,373 people have been airlifted to the shore from a cruise ship that suffered engine failure off the coast of Norway, officials said on Sunday.

The Viking Sky ship sent out a mayday message on Saturday afternoon when it lost power off the midwestern coast of the Scandinavian country and was caught in waves rising up to eight meters (26 feet), said Norwegian rescue services, reported Efe news.

The ship started making its way to shore after three of its four engines were restarted on Sunday, officials said. "Three of the four engines are now working, which means the boat can now make its way to the shore on its own," said the spokesman for Joint Rescue Centre of Southern Norway.

The spokesman said a tugboat would guide the cruise ship towards the nearby port of Molde, where reception centres have been set up to offer support and first-aid to passengers. Evacuations by helicopter would continue, he added.

Videos shared online by passengers from the ship showed objects and pieces of furniture sliding across the floor as the vessel tilted from side to side.

Of the 1,373 people aboard the ship, 915 are passengers, mainly from the US and the UK, and 458 crew.

The vessel sailed on March 14 from the western Norwegian city of Bergen for a 12-day cruise to the British port of Tilbury.
New Delhi, March 24 : Actor Jim Sarbh who has created a niche for himself in Bollywood by playing grey characters in films like "Neerja", "Raabta" and "Padmaavat" is back with web series "Made In Heaven".

"There are plenty of projects in my hand right now. I am looking forward to play characters that I have not played so far. It is important for an actor to play different roles," Jim told IANS in recorded responses.

The 31-year-old is currently enjoying praise for portraying Adil Khanna in web series "Made in Heaven", which he says explores reality of society.

"The show is like a great juxtaposition of all those that go on behind beautiful facades. It removes the curtains and make you see the reality of backstage. It shows what actually goes on in a wedding, not just looking perfect from outside. It reflects the integration of modernism and traditionalism," said Jim.

The actor is also on board for other web shows like "House Arrest and "Flip".

To a question whether a web series give more depth to an actor, he said: "It totally depends upon the writing. Be it films or shows or plays, it's the content that matters the most. Good writing is the key.

"Many people make blanket statements that theatre gives you more depth...web shows, films and plays are different. They can give you depth or not depends upon writing," he said.

Jim was recently showstopper for designer Siddartha Tytler at Lotus Make-up India Fashion Week Autumn Winter Week 2019 and walked the ramp in an all-black ensemble.

Asked what's his fashion mantra, Jim said: "A lion has a mane, a peacock has a tail."
Film processing lab. That was the heart and soul of filmmaking not too long ago. You shot a film, sent the negatives to the lab and they processed and printed the film positives for you. It took days to watch the outcome of your efforts. Today, you shoot a scene and are immediately able to see what you have shot. In fact, you are even able to watch on a small monitor attached to the camera what you are shooting or thereafter as it is all played back on your smart phone, digital camera or your monitor! Not so in those days.

But, processing your negative and printing hundreds of release prints was not all that these processing labs did! They, in fact, were the heart of the filmmaking business. In most cases, they made the production of a film possible. That, of course, also helped their own cause, that of seeing the completion of a film.

Film processing labs worked as the facilitators for film production in many ways. The competition was high as Mumbai had numerous such labs with the labs from the South offering either the better quality output or a better credit line. There was also one curious reason for a few Hindi filmmakers to opt for a South lab and that was to safeguard the secrecy of what was being made. For, producers in those days often screened their films even in incomplete stages for prospective distributor as all such labs had their own mini preview theatres. And, who better than these mini theatre projectionists and the sundry other staff to leak the prospects of the film!

Being facilitator meant that the lab acted in many ways to help a producer in various aspects besides processing of a film. The main one was to extend credit till the completion of a film of all charges. That is to say, the processing and printing charges were billed but not collected till the film was complete and that was a great relief to a producer.

There were a number of film processing laboratories in Mumbai. The prominent ones being Filmcentre, Bombay Lab, Ramnord Lab. The Filmcentre, was the dominant player. As many as 80 per cent of films did business here. Its clientele counted in the 'Who's Who' of the industry. The chances were, if you did not find an active film producer shooting or at his office, he would be at the Filmcentre! On a working day, the compound of the lab was like a mela.

The other popular lab, the Ramnord, had its list of loyal producers, also elite. Chetan Anand, Manoj Kumar, Prakash Mehra are the few who come to mind. The third, The Bombay Film Lab, was controlled by the family of the Wadias, an old name in the film business. It had smaller Hindi producers besides many regional filmmakers as its clients.

Film processing labs did a few important things. The primary one being assuring the return of the investment of those who financed a film. Besides this, they also assured that an actor got his duesent and past state party chiefs Mullapally Ramachandran, V.M. Sudheeran, M.M. Hassan, urged Gandhi to contest on the seat.

The Congress had nominated Kozhikode district Congress President T. Siddique to contest on the Wayanad seat.

The Wayanad seat was formed in 2009 and is a stronghold of the Congress.

In 2009 and 2014, the seat was won by Congress leader M.I. Shanawaz. But it has been lying vacant since his death in 2018.

Latest updates on Gandhi Jayanti 2019
EduSynch signs deal with the University of Auckland The rollout of the computer-delivered IELTS test will prove to be quite significant as we continue to expand EduSynch around the world

EduSynch (by Dokimi, Inc.) is very pleased to announce that the company has signed a deal with the University of Auckland, New Zealand, to adopt EduSynch as its primary digital training platform for IELTS preparation within their English Language Academy (ELA).

The University of Auckland, which is ranked in the worlds top 100 universities and the highest-ranked university in New Zealand, is taking steps to provide their English learners and international students access to high-quality, digital training platforms for the IELTS exam.

The ELA is New Zealands largest and most established Official IELTS Test Center. The facility is incredibly well-equipped and offers test candidates over 36 test dates per year.

The ELA is delighted to offer a brand new online IELTS preparation platform for test candidates and current ELA students in partnership with EduSynch. This is an exciting addition to the support that we provide to test candidates, and demonstrates our commitment to innovate according to evolving industry trends, said Mike Hughes, ELAs Marketing Manager.

Over 3 million IELTS tests are taken per year, and the number of tests taken continues to rise.

As the new, computer-delivered IELTS exam has begun to gain more and more ground in Australia and New Zealand, the ELA is now offering computer-delivered testing (starting March 21st, 2019).

The rollout of the computer-delivered IELTS test will prove to be quite significant as we continue to expand EduSynch around the world, said Sean Kilachand, Founder and CEO of EduSynch. This partnership with the University of Auckland is our first deployment in the Oceanic region and will act as an interesting use case for other IELTS test centers that are looking for a new and innovative way to attract and prepare students for this test.

The ELA IELTS training platform has already launched (https://www.ieltsprep.ela.auckland.ac.nz/) and is readily available for current students of the ELA, prospective students of ELA, and any other individual who is interested in preparing for an English language proficiency exam.

About the University of Auckland ELA

The University of Auckland English Language Academy (ELA) provides high-quality English language programmes for international students. Each year, more than 2,000 students from more than 35 countries around the world choose to learn English at the English Language Academy of the University of Auckland (ELA). Founded in 1883, Auckland is the countrys largest university with over 40,000 students, nearly 10,000 of whom graduate annually.

About EduSynch

EduSynch, by Dokimi Inc., is an online platform designed for English language proficiency testing within educational institutions and corporations.

For educational institutions, EduSynch serves as an all-in-one solution designed to help prepare individuals for IELTS, TOEFL and TOEIC. The platform also provides a way for institutions to perform general English level testing in accordance with the CEFR.

For companies, EduSynch provides an affordable way to administer English language proficiency assessments at scale to help with recruiting and ongoing testing of existing employees.

EduSynch has over 200,000 registered users in over 200 countries around the world. EduSynchs main headquarters is located in New York City, with other offices in Rio de Janeiro, and Mumbai.
Geoffrey Boyce, Chief Executive Officer of InSight Telepsychiatry, is returning to this years National Council for Behavioral Health NatCon Conference as a panel presentation speaker.

Boyce will be speaking on a panel titled, Are We at a Telehealth Tipping Point? which will take place on Monday, March 25, 2019 at the Opryland Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in

Nashville.

The panel will discuss the tailwinds in telehealth today and the existing hurdles to true scaled penetration of telehealth. Learning objectives include:



Discuss and dispel the myths and misconceptions around the application of telepsychiatry

Identify the core areas of true telepsychiatry penetration and where opportunity still exists for further growth

Discuss the key hurdles to exponential telepsychiatry growth and what changes are needed to overcome them

Boyce spoke at the NatCon 2018 Conference in Washington, DC, on a panel titled, Creating a Telebehavioral Health Strategy. He will be joined on this years panel by Jonathan Evans, MA, President and CEO of InnovaTel Telepsychiatry, as well as Samir Malik, MBA, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Telepsychiatry of Genoa Healthcare.

The panel will take place from 4:15  5:15 pm in the Ryman Ballroom C, Level 0. InSight will also be exhibiting at the conference at booth 309 in the Solutions Pavilion Exhibit Hall.

About InSight Telepsychiatry

InSight is the leading national telepsychiatry service provider organization with a mission to increase access to quality behavioral health care through telehealth. InSights behavioral health providers bring care into any setting on an on-demand or scheduled basis. InSight has two decades of telepsychiatry experience and is an industry thought-leader. More information can be found at http://www.InSightTelepsychiatry.com.
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TARYN TERRELL IN 'THE DIRT', HOGAN REFERENCED ON COMEDY CENTRAL, BILL DEMOTT, RANDY ROSE AND MORE NEWS

On this week's episode of Comedy Central's This is Not Happening, comedian Roy Wood (who is phenomenal) told a story about once bombing on Star Search, including his decision to use Hulk Hogan-centric jokes, even using Hogan's voice inflection and mannerisms at one point.

Former WWE and Impact Wrestling star Taryn Terrell appeared briefly in the new Motley Crue biopic The Dirt on Netflix as a mud wrestler:

"The Dirt on @netflix is out today! Stoked to have done stunts on this one as one of Hollywood Tropicanas Mud Wrestlers! @motleycrue. My husband @joevertical also doubled@thevinceneil reenacting the tragic crash that forever changed the band Hanoi Rocks.."

The Times Daily in Alabama featured a piece on Bill DeMott talking to a local school about the death of his daughter after she was hit head-on by a drunk driver and the dangers of driving drunk. The article noted that DeMott stated he and his wife are working with state senators and representatives in Florida (where he resides) to try to change state law so that a person charged with DUI whose blood-alcohol content was over the .08 limit would forfeit their ability to seek pretrial deferment, or plead to a lesser offense. DeMott also spoke about responsbility on social media and the effects of bullying.

The 2019 East Coast Wrestling Association Super 8 tournament will take place on 4/20 in Philadelphia, PA at South Philadelphia High School, featuring the first-time ever theme that all of the competitors will be second and third generation professional wrestlers. The tournament feature Brian Pillman Jr., the son of Brian Pilman, Colby Corino, the son of Steve Corino, Ross Von Erich, the son of Kevin Von Erich, Marshall Von Erich, the son of Kevin Von Erich, Timothy Zbyszko, the son of Larry Zbyszko, Lance Anoa'i, the son of Sami Anoa'i, Wes Brisco, the son of Gerald Brisco and Leland Race, the son of Harley Race. For more on ECWA, visit www.ECWAProWrestling.com.

Randy Rose of the Original Midnight Express was interviewed by Mike Mooneyham of the Charleston Post-Courier at this link.

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
EUROPE: PKP Cargos Cargotor held an investor consultation event in late February to outline four options for modernisation of the Maaszewicze transhipment terminal near the border with Belarus. The meeting was attended by local authorities, terminal operators and railway companies.
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An unidentified University of Georgia fraternity has been suspended after a video of unidentified members using racial slurs went viral, according to a statement issued by the Student Government Association on March 22. While the name of the fraternity has not yet been confirmed, the members are widely suspected to be in Tau Kappa Epsilon.
In 1994, the band Sunbrain was signed to Grass Records in New York. While Sunbrain was on tour, the band wanted to sell 7-inch records in betw
As the weekend approaches, The Red & Black has compiled a list of the need-to-know events happening on campus and throughout the city for 
Keen to salvage its engagement with Washington DC that has gone southbound ever since the Trump administration came in, India has called for a final set of meetings with US trade officials, soon, reports Subhayan Chakraborty.

Less than a month before the country goes to polls, the government is pushing forward on the proposed India-US trade package to clear pending bilateral issues and leave behind the bad blood caused by America cancelling India's Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits.

Keen to salvage its engagement with Washington DC that has gone southbound ever since the Trump administration came in, India has called for a final set of meetings with US trade officials, soon.

"The Prime Minister's office has directed that there be constant communication and a joint solution should be reached with the US," a senior government official said.

The package has been in the works for the past one year and trade officials have met as many as five times to hammer out a deal that provides an amicable solution to grouses from both sides.

The package has been under negotiation for the last 8 months and includes mutual trade concessions across IT goods, aviation and oil purchases.

Talks came apart after the US last month cut off India's duty-free access to the American market under its largest preferential trade scheme, the GSP.

Now, the US has hinted that India needs to hold off on its plans to raise tariffs on key imports from the country.

To tax or not

Senior Commerce Department officials are divided over whether to delay the announced tariffs.

India has already deferred the imposition of higher duties on 29 key imports from the US, for an unprecedented six times.

Originally set to go live from June 28, 2018, the tariffs have been repeatedly postponed by the government and are now expected to take hold from April 1 as opposed to March 2.

Despite them being notified by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, the tariffs have been postponed repeatedly.

In response to an unilateral increase in steel and aluminium duties from India and other countries by the Trump administration, New Delhi had announced higher tax by up to 50 per cent on import of mostly agri goods like apples, almonds, walnuts and some industrial products.

The new taxes are proposed to rake in an estimated $240 million worth of additional taxes.

Spread across sectors from which imports stood at $1.5 billion in 2017-18, New Delhi claimed the amount was equal to the estimated loss faced by India after the Trump Administration imposed a 25 percent extra levy on steel and 10 percent on aluminium products from many countries, including India in May 2018.

Package at cost of GSP

However, officials said the basic contours of the package has to be renegotiated as trade experts had said the earlier terms were favorable to the US without helping India.

New Delhi had considered the dismantling of its current price cap regime for coronary stents with a trade margin policy, and agreed to concede lower duties on import of certain information and communication technologies products such as high-end mobile phone and smartwatches from the US.

"Cheaper access to oil from Texas along with a broad range of trade concessions were offered by the American side. But none of that was conditional on the GSP," another official said. The GSP benefits are lapsed and the government will not actively petition the US to change its position, he added.

"The (GSP) benefits in absolute sense and as a percentage of trade involved are very minimal and moderate," Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan had earlier said.

India is also the only major trade partner, with which the US trade deficit has gone down consistently.

In an instance of supreme irony, annual trade figures released by the US trade authorities a day after Washington DC snatched away India's GSP benefits, showed its trade deficit with India to have shrunk to $21.3 billion in 2018.

In 2017, the US' trade deficit with India was $22.3 billion, down from $24.4 billion in the previous year.
The government claims the existing safeguards under the law are adequate, lawful, towards a legitimate purpose and provide for a "proportionate interference" in citizens' right to privacy, reports Nitin Sethi.

IMAGE: A video surveillance control room in operation. Photograph: Jose Cabezas/Reuters

In December 2018, the government notified 10 security agencies and authorities that would be allowed to carry out surveillance of all electronic communications, internet-based activity and computers.

The agencies were notified to do so under Information Technology Act, 2000.

When it faced criticism from some quarters, the Union government responded to say that it was merely ensuring that specifically-listed agencies get to use the long-standing surveillance powers under the IT Act, which were operationalised by subordinate rules formulated in 2009.

In January 2019, several individuals and institutions went to the Supreme Court contending that the regulations as well as the specific provision 69(1) of the IT Act provided wide-ranging powers with less-than-adequate safeguards for the agencies to snoop on the citizens.

The section empowers a government to "issue directions for interception or monitoring or decryption of any information through any computer resource".

They contended that the regulations did not provide adequate safeguard against misuse of surveillance by the state and violated the Constitution.

They said the regulations and provisions of the IT law do not meet the high benchmarks set by the Supreme Court judgments (K S Puttaswamy versus Union of India, 2017 and 2018) and last year's Srikrishna Committee report to safeguard Indian citizens' right to privacy against the disproportionate use of surveillance and abuse of snooping powers by the state.

The petitioners included two organisations -- Internet Freedom Foundation and People's Union for Civil Liberties -- and four individuals -- M L Sharma, Amit Sahni, Mahua Mitra and Shreya Singhal.

The Union government has now responded to the clutch of petitions, revealing in the court the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for collection, maintenance and destruction of the electronic surveillance data.

These were first set in place in 2011 as a secret protocol.

Presenting them the government has claimed the existing safeguards under the law are adequate, lawful, towards a legitimate purpose and provide for a "proportionate interference" in citizens' right to privacy.

In fact, the SOP and the regulations, reviewed by Business Standard, follow roughly the same template required for tapping telephones under the Telegraph Act.

It gives the top bureaucracy a role in supervising and reviewing whether laid down safeguards are followed by the intelligence and policing agencies while carrying out electronic surveillance.

This bureaucratic arrangement remains secret and closed to any kind of parliamentary or judicial, ex-ante or post-facto, oversight -- which several advanced economies and democratic countries now require.

The SOP revealed by the government suggests that electronic surveillance being carried out under these regulations may not be merely targeted towards identified individual or groups but could be roving in nature too.

The proforma application used by security agencies to request permission for snooping allows designated officials to request electronic surveillance on specified keywords and not just targeted telephone numbers, email or internet addresses.

Such keyword-based generic searches to trawl the entire electronic communication pipeline, privacy advocates across the world have often warned, are most prone to abuse and disproportionate breach of citizens' right to privacy.

A similar wide-angled monitoring plan by the Union government to trawl and analyse the entire social media scape for "negative" comments and criticism by citizens was partly withdrawn after it was challenged in the Supreme Court and faced public criticism.

The covert electronic snooping by intelligence and policing agencies is based on a legacy legal substratum that the current government has continued.

This kind of deep electronic surveillance can be justified by the bureaucracy and the snooping agencies on a range of specified triggers, some of which are hold-all phrases undefined in the law and open to wide interpretation.

For instance, the regulations and law say authorities have to be satisfied that the surveillance can be permitted if it is necessary or expedient in the "interest and of the sovereignty or integrity of India, defence of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign states or public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognizable offence or for investigating any offence".

The Union government has correctly stated that these powers and provisions were put in place during the United Progressive Alliance era.

The current National Democratic Alliance government has merely followed through on them.

But in revealing the SOP the government has also admitted that whatever safeguards the law and regulations provided predate the Puttaswamy judgments on privacy and Aadhaar.

In India, those judgments and the Srikrishna committee were the first attempts in the internet era by both the judiciary and the political executive to limit the state and private sector's power to breach citizens' privacy.

But the government contends that the legacy regulations from nearly a decade ago are adequate.

The judicial challenge presents the first opportunity to put the bureaucratic frame regulating the surveillance agencies to test against the Puttaswamy judgements and the Srikrishna committee report findings.

The first unanimous judgment by a nine-judge bench affirmed the right to privacy as a fundamental right under the Constitution.

It consequently raised the bar that the state would have to scale to breach citizens' privacy.

The Srikrishna report assessed the checks and balances that other democratic countries imposed on states collecting data on citizens in the electronic era.

The petitioners have not challenged the state's need to snoop and the Union government has, unlike in the Aadhaar case, not denied citizens' right to privacy.

But how the two countervailing essentials for a democratic state in the electronic era will be balanced in practice will emerge from the current case the Supreme Court is hearing.

The Snooping Protocol
Bids to be evaluated according to guidelines by the civil aviation ministry, following which a buyer will be selected. Transfer of control to the buyer to be effected by June-end.

Lenders to cash-strapped Jet Airways plan to sell their stake in the airline through an open auction process over the next two months, seeking maximum value for the asset.

In the meantime, the consortium led by State Bank of India will provide emergency funding of around Rs 1,500 crore to bring operations back to normal, in phases.

A senior executive of a large public sector bank said this is a transitory arrangement in which the lenders will acquire control, run the process of transparent bidding, and receive final bids by the end of April.

The bids will then be evaluated according to guidelines by the civil aviation ministry, following which a buyer will be selected. The outer limit for the process is May-end. Transfer of control to the buyer will be effected by June-end.

The resolution is being overseen under the framework of the Reserve Bank of Indias February 12, 2018 circular for dealing with stressed assets, which mandates the lenders to complete resolution within 180 days of default. In case of Jet, the 180-day period had begun from January 1, 2019.

The open auction process will be similar to what is followed under the National Company Law Tribunal, but will be outside the insolvency code and tribunal. It is being done in this manner given Jet is a service sector enterprise with little or no assets.

If lenders take the NCLT route, the airline will be grounded with practically no chance of revival. The cases referred to NCLT have taken a long time for resolution, said one private banker.

Asked about the hit banks will have to take on exposure, a senior banker said: The extent of write-downs we may have to take will become clear from the bids (price indicating expected haircuts) during the auction.

During the two-month period, lenders will control the airline but will run it with the help of airline industry professionals and turnaround experts, backed by active oversight of the board of directors. Naresh Goyal and his nominees will exit the board.

Lenders said they would prefer to have an experienced banker as chairman of the board.

Banks will provide emergency funding of about Rs 1,500 crore to the airline and want it to return to 100 per cent operating capacity.

A large number of planes in Jets fleet have been grounded due to non-payment of lease rentals. Lenders (consortium members) are approaching the Union civil aviation ministry with a plea not to take away the airlines landing rights, slots and traffic rights, as it is necessary for protecting the economic value of the enterprise and attracting bidders, the bankers added.

The government was toying with the idea of providing unused airport slots of Jet Airways to other domestic airlines on an interim basis, a senior civil aviation ministry official had said on Wednesday, with a view to minimise flight disruptions.

The ministry has also held interactions with representatives of carriers such as Air India, SpiceJet, GoAir and IndiGo, to discuss issues such as augmentation of fleet and utilisation of existing planes.

The domestic carriers will add 20-25 more planes by April-end. Jet Airways as an entity is still a good asset with a strong brand, and evokes huge investor interest, said a senior public sector bank executive.

The carriers international network and slots at key airports, too, are an attraction and lenders will be able to draw interest if they are successful in restoring the airline to its earlier strength.

The airline has a well-balanced international network and serves all main markets from India, Hong Kong and Singapore in the east, several cities in West Asia, and London. Its partnership with Air France-KLM and Delta has enabled it to tap into Europe and North America and garner corporate traffic from those countries. The other key attraction is slots, especially at Mumbai airport, where it continues to be the dominant carrier, said an aviation expert.

With the fund infusion, the airline will be able to partially clear dues on lease payments and then negotiate a fresh payment plan to get the fleet operational, said people in the know.

Photograph: Punit Paranjpe/Reuters.
'Individuals have been found providing money to major terrorist groups, Hurriyat leaders, separatists and stone-pelters in Jammu and Kashmir.'

Continuing the crackdown on terror financers, security agencies say they have identified 13 people, including Hizbul Mujahideen founder Syed Salahuddin, Hurriyat leaders and businessmen, who allegedly provide funds to terrorists and stone pelters at the behest of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence.

Thirteen individuals and their properties have been identified by the National Investigation Agency and action has been initiated, they said.

"Individuals identified during these investigations have been found providing money to all major terrorist groups like the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Hizbul Mujahideen as also Hurriyat leaders, separatists and stone-pelters in Jammu and Kashmir," a senior government official said.

Funds were provided to the leadership of Kashmir-based terrorist groups to motivate and recruit local youths to terrorists's ranks.

Operational activities of terror groups, including attacks on security forces, camps and convoys, are also being financed, the official said, adding money obtained through these channels are being used by secessionist formations, especially the Hurriyat Conference.

These funds are used to maintain the Hurriyat's top leadership and a massive propaganda machinery to arouse disaffection among the people of Jammu and Kashmir against the Centre.

It is also being utilised to spread false information through media contacts, newspapers and social media, the official claimed.

The official said these are in turn used to instigate and lure misguided youth to resort to anti-India activities, violent street protests and stone pelting on security forces at encounter sites.

Extensive use of such funds is being made to finance institutions such as select mosques, madrasas and organisations like the recently banned Jamat-e-Islami (J-K), to focus on subverting locals, another official said.

In the first strike, action was initiated to attach a plush bungalow owned by Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali in Gurgaon, the official said.

Watali, at present, lodged in Delhi's Tihar jail, is allegedly a major conduit for funnelling terror finances into India, the official said.

Documents seized by the enforcement directorate indicate that Watali received money from Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist Muhammad Saeed, Salahuddin, the ISI and the Pakistan high commission in New Delhi, the official claimed.

Watali is known to have important sources of hawala financing operating out of Dubai. Besides him, another 10 leaders were brought into the multi-agency action on terror funding.

The ED has begun action to freeze and seize such assets.

The ongoing investigation in the first phase has determined and quantified assets valued at over Rs 7 crore (Rs 70 million) as proceeds of terror funding crimes, the official said.

The 13 identified individuals include Mohammad Yusuf Shah alias Syed Salahuddin, who through Hizbul, has been actively involved in creating unrest in Kashmir and other parts of India, according to a document prepared by security agencies.

As a former resident of Jammu and Kashmir, Salahuddin has a wide network of local sympathisers who act on his instructions and collect funds sent by him to fuel secessionist activities, it said.

Muhammad Saeed, the self-styled chief of the Pakistan-based Jamaat-ul Dawaa, and others have been raising, receiving and collecting funds to fund terrorist activities in J&K.

During a search at Aftab Ahmad Shah's home in Srinagar, the NIA seized incriminating documents. During interrogation, Shah confessed that his charter of duties included monitoring incidents, issuing statements, arranging meetings and conferences.

Shah, a Tehreek-e-Hurriyat founder member, is spokesperson and legal advisor to the Hurriyat (Mirwaiz faction).

Shah, separatist leader Syed Geelani's son-in-law, is closely associated with the JeI (J-K).

The 13 individuals also include Mohammed Nayeem Khan, Farooq Ahmad Dar, Akbar Khanday, Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Saifullah and Nawal Kishore Kapoor.

Khan, self-styled chairman of the National Front, an organisation affiliated to the Hurriyat, was part of the Muslim Jaanbaaz Force and earlier involved in various militant activities, the document said.

Dar was JKLF-R chairman and is a terrorist involved in criminal and anti-national activities since 1990. He received arms training in Pakistan occupied Kashmir in 1989-1090.

Khanday is a JeI(J-K) member and trusted lieutenant of Geelani.

Kalwal, a former militant trained in PoK, is a key fundraiser for stone pelters. He collects funds on the Hurriyat's behalf and spearheads protests, the document said.

Bhat, a former Hizbul insurgent, went to PoK for arms training and was involved in terrorist cases. He is a trusted aide of Geelani and aware of fund collection and distribution by the Hurriyat leader to operatives who indulged in anti-India activities.

He has visited the Pakistan high commission in Delhi with Geelani several times, it said.

Kapoor, Watali's close associate, remitted Rs 5.6 crore (Rs 56 million) to Watali for which he has not been able to produce any document.
This will be the first instance since Independence that two of the three service chiefs will be the government's chosen men.

Ajai Shukla reports.

IMAGE: Vice Admiral Karambir Singh, who will take over as chief of the naval staff on May 31, 2019. Photograph: The Indian Navy

Setting aside the principle of seniority, the government on Saturday, March 23, named Vice Admiral Karambir Singh as the next chief of naval staff.

The current chief of naval staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba, who is due to retire on May 31, will hand over charge to Vice Admiral Singh on that day.

Vice Admiral Singh, from the 1980 batch, will supersede Vice Admiral Bimal Verma, the current Commander in Chief Andaman & Nicobar, who was commissioned in 1979.

Vice Admiral Verma is the younger brother of Admiral Nirmal Verma, who was chief of the naval staff from 2009 to 2012.

With the chief of army staff General Bipin Rawat having superseded two of his seniors while being appointed army chief, this will be the first instance since Independence that two of the three service chiefs will be the government's chosen men.

No air force chief has been appointed through supersession.

The army has had just one supersession before General Rawat's appointment -- when General Arun Vaidya superseded Lieutenant General S K Sinha in 1983.

IMAGE: Vice Admiral Bimal Verma, right, with Admiral Sunil Lanba, second from right, at the unveiling of INS Kohassa in Port Blair, January 24, 2019. Photograph: @indiannavy/Twitter

Vice Admiral Verma's supersession was anticipated within the New Delhi grapevine.

Since February 2016, he has remained in the smaller and less consequential Andaman and Nicobar Command even as his juniors were given command of the navy's two main commands.

In October 2017, Vice Admiral Singh was appointed chief of the Visakhapatnam-based Eastern Command and, in January, Vice Admiral Ajit Kumar P was placed at the head of the Mumbai-based Western Naval Command.

Vice Admiral Verma's chances were reportedly undermined by the navy's infamous 'war room leaks' case in 2005, when he was principal director of naval operations.

His proximity to the case earned him a Letter of Displeasure while three of his subordinates were dismissed from service.

However, a Letter of Displeasure is valid only for a limited period of time, and Verma was duly promoted from commodore to rear admiral and then vice admiral, at which rank he was also cleared to head the ANC.

It remains unclear whether the Letter of Displeasure was now used to deny Vice Admiral Verma the chief of naval staff position.

Within the naval fraternity, which sets great store by seniority, there is lingering unease about this supersession.

"While appointing a service chief, the existing fleet commanders-in-chief should be superseded only for very good reasons. I presume the government has such a reason. In any case, supersession should be an exception, not the norm," said former navy chief, Admiral Arun Prakash.

Vice Admiral Karambir Singh's career record has been unblemished. He has served as a helicopter pilot, flying the navy's Chetaks and Kamov choppers.

While several aviators have been chief of the naval staff, Vice Admiral Singh is the first helicopter pilot to head the navy.

He Singh has also held four sea commands, including skippering a Coast Guard patrol craft, the INS Chandbibi, the navy's missile vessel, the INS Vijaydurg, and two destroyers, the INS Rana and the INS Delhi.
Companies, industry associations, law firms and individuals have pointed out the lack of clarity on how the changes are worded and said it would violate user privacy.

Neha Alawadhi reports.

The Centre is not considering to take any penal actions on executives of social media firms for traceability of messages under the proposed changes to the intermediary rules, an official from the ministry of electronics and information technology said.

According to a report published in a financial daily on Saturday, penalties and jail terms for executives were being considered, especially on traceability and user consent before being added to groups.

"We released the intermediary rules about three months ago. We have received comments and counter comments on that. There is nothing further on that from our side. People are free to interpret it in their own way," the official said.

In December, the ministry had proposed changes to Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. It had asked for public comments on draft amendments which seek to regulate a set of companies -- Facebook, Twitter, Google, WhatsApp, Sharechat, Amazon Web Services, etc -- that qualify as intermediaries.

The proposed amendments, intermediaries said, need to provide information requested by the government or any authorised agency within 72 hours of receiving the request.

'The intermediary shall enable tracing out of such originators of information on its platform as required by legally authorised government agencies,' the rules proposed.

These changes do not mention arrests or jail terms for executives if they do not follow the rules.

Several comments submitted by companies, industry associations, law firms and individuals have pointed out the lack of clarity on how the changes are worded and said it would violate user privacy.

While it is easier to trace the origin of messages on platforms such as Twitter or Facebook, which are more public and open, it might not be the case with others.

Take, for instance, WhatsApp. It is a messaging platform that uses end-to-end encryption. This means even the company's executives cannot look at the content of the messages being exchanged.

"People rely on WhatsApp for all sort of sensitive conversations, including ones with their doctors, banks and families. The police also use it to discuss investigations and report crimes," a WhatsApp spokesperson said.

"Attributing messages on WhatsApp would undermine the end-to-end encryption, and its private nature, leading to possibilities of being misused," the WhatsApp spokesperson added.

"Our focus is to improve WhatsApp, and working closely with others in society to help keep people safe," the WhatsApp spokesperson explained.

WhatsApp has earlier called the proposed changes 'overbroad' and said it undermined the privacy of the people.

Encryption, or the practice of scrambling data to make it unintelligible for even the service providers, has been an important tool to prevent government snooping.

However, it has been equally abused, like for fake news distribution. The proposed changes in Section 79 attempt to fix in part, the issue of fake news.

In 2018, several instances of fake news in the country led to several people being killed by mobs.

India is WhatsApp's largest market, with over 200 million users of the 1.5 billion it has worldwide.

Last month, some technology Web sites reported WhatsApp was working on a feature that would let users control who adds them to different groups, an issue the government and civil society groups have been advocating for.

When contacted, WhatsApp said it does not comment on future product changes.
A war of words erupted on Sunday between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary over reports of abduction of two Hindu teenaged girls and their forcible conversion to Islam on the eve of Holi in the Sindh province.

In a tweet, Swaraj sought a report from Indian envoy in Pakistan Ajay Bisaria on the reported abduction of the girls and their forcible conversion to Islam.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered a probe into the matter.

Responding to Swaraj's tweet, Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary said: "Maam its Pakistan's internal issue and (be) rest assured it's not Modi's India where minorities are subjugated, it's Imran Khan's Naya Pak where white colour of our flag is equally dearer to us."

"I hope you'll act with same diligence when it comes to rights of Indian minorities," he said.

Swaraj, in her response to Chaudhary, said she had only asked for a report from the Indian high commissioner in Islamabad about the kidnapping and forced conversion of two minor Hindu girls to Islam.

"This was enough to make you jittery. This only shows your guilty conscience," she said.

The two girls, Raveena (13) and Reena (15), were allegedly kidnapped by a group of "influential" men from their home in Ghotki district in Sindh on the eve of Holi.

Soon after the kidnapping, a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown soleminising the Nikah (marriage) of the two girls, triggering a nationwide outrage.

In a separate video, the minor girls can be seen saying that they accepted Islam of their own free will.

On Saturday, Chaudhry said that the government had taken notice of reports of the forced conversion and underage marriages of the two girls.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi has directed IG Police Sindh to probe and submit report on abduction of two Hindu girls at the earliest.

In a tweet, he said "both the girls are citizens of Pakistan and it is our binding duty to protect them."

The Hindu community in Pakistan has carried out massive demonstrations calling for strict action to be taken against those responsible, while reminding Prime Minister Khan of his promises to the minorities of the country.

Last year, Khan during his election campaign had said his party's agenda was to uplift the various religious groups across Pakistan and said they would take effective measures to prevent forced marriages of Hindu girls.

Pakistan Hindu Council chief and Member of National Assembly from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Ramesh Kumar Vankwani condemned the incident and demanded that the bill against forced conversion, which was unanimously passed by Sindh Assembly in 2016 and then reverted due to pressure of extremist elements, must be resurrected and passed in the assembly on priority basis.

"All of those who are preaching hate under the cover of religion must be handled like banned religious organisations," he added.

Sanjesh Dhanja, President of Pakistan Hindu Sewa Welfare Trust, an NGO, earlier urged Prime Minister Khan to take note of the incident and prove to everyone that minorities were indeed safe and secure in Pakistan.

"The truth is minorities suffer from different sorts of persecution and the problem of young Hindu girls being kidnapped at gunpoint and forced to convert to Islam or get married to much older men is widespread in Sindh, he said.

Dhanja said the Hindu community had staged several sit-ins in Ghotki district after which police reluctantly registered FIR against the accused persons.

The Hindu community leaders have claimed that the accused belonged to the Kohbar and Malik tribes in the area.

Following the incident, an FIR was filed by the girls' brother, alleging that their father had an altercation with the accused sometime ago and on the eve of Holi they armed with pistols forcibly entered their home and took the sisters away.

A Pakistan Muslim League-Functional MPA Nand Kumar Goklani, who had initially moved a bill against forced conversions, urged the government to get the law passed immediately.

Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan.

According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan. However, according to the community, over 90 lakh Hindus are living in the country.

Majority of Pakistan's Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with their Muslim fellows.

India has been raising the issue of plight of minorities, particularly the Hindu community in Pakistan.
A request would be sent to the United States to seek details from a service provider of "virtual SIMs", which were used by the Jaish-e-Mohammed suicide bomber behind the Pulwama attack and his Pakistan and Kashmir-based handlers, officials said.

Piecing together probe from the site of the terror strike, searches carried out by the Jammu and Kashmir police and central security agencies at an encounter site in Tral as well as other locations, it was found that the bomber, Adil Dar, was in constant touch with the JeM across the border, they said.

The main mastermind of the audacious attack, Mudassir Khan, was killed in the encounter in Tral.

Forty Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed on February 14 when Dar rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a paramilitary force bus at Pulwama in South Kashmir. India retaliated after the strike by bombing the Jaish terror group's hideout in Balakot in Pakistan.

It was a fairly new modus operandi where terrorists across the border were using a "virtual SIM", generated by a service provider in the United States. In this technology, the computer generates a telephone number and the user downloads an application of the service provider on their smartphone.

The number is linked to social networking sites like WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram or Twitter. The verification code generated by these networking sites is received on the smartphone and the user is ready.

In case of Pulwama, Dar was in constant touch with the Jaish handler as well as Mudassir Khan using the same technology, the officials said.

They said the numbers used were pre-fixed with "+1", the Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number number used for the United States.

The request to the US will include details of phone numbers that got in touch with the "Virtual SIM" and who had activated it, they said, adding that Internet Protocol addresses would also be sought.

While the security agencies would attempt to find who had paid for the virtual SIM, they were also aware that the terror groups used forged identities, as was done during the the Mumbai 26/11 terror strikes.

During investigation of the 26/11 attacks it was found that an amount of USD 229 was wired to Callphonex, via Western Union Money Transfer receipt number 8364307716-0, for activating the Voice Over Internet Protocol used during the strikes.

The money was received from 'Madina Trading' located in Brescia in Italy and sender was claimed to be Javed Iqbal, a resident of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir.

However, after Italian police arrested two Pakistani nationals in 2009, it was alleged that the firm had made nearly 300 transfers in the name of Iqbal, who probably had never set his foot in Italy.

The Italian police, while concluding the probe, had said the Brescia-based company made several transfers using the identity of innocent, unsuspecting persons, whose identity cards or passports might have been stolen.
WASHINGTON - Special counsel Robert Mueller did not find that Donald Trump or his campaign schemed with Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, according to a summary released Sunday that the president immediately embraced as a "complete exoneration" even though Mueller reached no conclusion about whether the president obstructed justice.

After a nearly two-year investigation, Mueller's findings seemed to dispel the cloud of conspiracy that has hung over the administration since its inception. But by delivering caveats alongside conclusions, the closing of the Mueller investigation opens the door to fiercer political fights over the president's judgment and power.

The four-page summary issued Sunday by Attorney General William Barr declared: "The Special Counsel's investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election."

The letter notes that Mueller's probe said no such conspiracy was found "despite multiple offers from Russia-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign."

Barr said he and Justice Department officials separately determined that there was insufficient evidence to make an obstruction accusation against the president - though Mueller was not definitive on that point.

Trump spoke to reporters at a Florida airport Sunday afternoon, declaring that the dark cloud of suspicion that had hung over his administration since its inception had finally lifted.

"After a long look, after a long investigation, after so many people have been so badly hurt, after not looking at the other side, where a lot of bad things happened, a lot of horrible things happened for our country, it was just announced there was no collusion with Russia," the president said, declaring the findings "a complete and total exoneration."

"It's a shame that our country had to go through this, to be honest it's a shame that your president has had to go through this," Trump said, urging that Democrats be investigated.

On the question of whether the president might have sought to obstruct the high-profile investigation, Mueller's team did not offer a definitive answer.

"The Special Counsel . . . did not draw a conclusion - one way or the other - as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction," Barr's letter to lawmakers states.

"The Special Counsel states that 'while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him'," the letter says, signaling that Mueller's team apparently struggled with the issue.

"For each of the relevant actions investigated, the report sets out evidence on both sides of the question and leaves unresolved what the Special Counsel views as 'difficult issues' of law and fact concerning whether the President's actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction," the letter says.

Mueller's decision to forgo a conclusion as to whether the president tried to obstruct justice struck a discordant note with current and former law enforcement officials, who noted that it was one of the primary reasons for appointing a special counsel.

"I think courageous people have the courage to make decisions, and those who don't punt decisions," said George Terwilliger, a former deputy attorney general who worked in the George H.W. Bush administration with Mueller and Barr.

Since his appointment in May 2017 as special counsel, Mueller has wrestled with the question of whether the president attempted to obstruct justice once the FBI began investigating those close to him. Current and former White House officials who were questioned by Mueller's investigators were repeatedly asked about how the president spoke of the investigation behind closed doors, and whether he sought to replace senior Justice Department officials to stymie the probe, according to people familiar with the interviews.

Mueller "ultimately determined not to make a traditional prosecutorial judgment" on the question of obstruction, Barr wrote, so the attorney general and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein decided.

Rosenstein and Barr "concluded that the evidence developed during the special counsel's investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction of justice offense. Our determination was made without regard to, and is not based on, the constitutional considerations that surround the indictment and criminal prosecution of a sitting president," Barr wrote.

Barr further explained that decision by writing that "the report identifies no actions that, in our judgment, constitute obstructive conduct, had a nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding, and were done with corrupt intent, each of which, under the Department's principles of federal prosecution guiding charging decisions, would need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to establish an obstruction of justice offense."

Barr's letter does not make clear whether Mueller asked Barr and Rosenstein to make a final determination on the question of obstruction.

"Over the course of the investigation, the Special Counsel's office engaged in discussions with certain Department officials regarding many of the legal and factual matters at issue in the Special Counsel's obstruction investigation," it says.

A spokesman for Mueller declined to comment.

The top two Democrats in Congress accused the attorney general of bias and questioned his judgment in deciding that Trump had not committed obstruction, alluding to opinion pieces and a private memo Barr wrote before he became attorney general that were critical of some elements of Mueller's work.

Barr's letter "raises as many questions as it answers," said Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.: "Given Mr. Barr's public record of bias against the special counsel's inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report."

Schumer and Pelosi repeated their demand for the full report to be made public, saying "the American people have a right to know."

Trump's lawyers seized on a portion of the letter that said Mueller recognized "the evidence does not establish that the President was involved in an underlying crime related to Russian election interference." That is not necessary to charge the crime of obstruction, Barr noted, but he added that "the absence of such evidence bears upon the President's intent with respect to obstruction."

It was unclear whether the White House will get to review Mueller's full report. Justice Department officials have been silent on that question, though Barr's letter strongly suggests that he intends to release a redacted version.

Barr said the Mueller report appears to contain grand jury material that is barred by law from being released, and that he will work with Mueller to identify which portions those may be, as well as any portions whose public release might compromise ongoing investigations.

The attorney general said his "goal and intent is to release as much of the Special Counsel's report as I can consistent with applicable law, regulations, and Department policies."

Brian Rabbitt, the attorney general's chief of staff, called White House lawyer Emmet Flood and gave him a readout of the letter at 3 p.m., a senior Justice Department official said.

A Justice Department spokeswoman also called her White House counterpart to notify her of what was soon to happen.

"That is the extent of the conversation between us and the White House on the report thus far," the official said.

Mueller's central mission had been to determine if Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 election were aided or assisted in any way by Americans, including people close to Trump.

In all, Russian citizens interacted with at least 14 Trump associates during the campaign and presidential transition, according to public records and interviews.

Of particular concern was the interaction between a London-based professor and a low-level Trump foreign policy adviser, George Papadopoulos. According to court filings, the professor told Papadopoulos in April 2016 that the Russians held damaging information about Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton, in the form of thousands of emails.

Mueller also dug into a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York. Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner met with a Russian lawyer after being told she had incriminating information on Clinton that was being offered as part of the Russian government's support for the GOP candidate, according to emails exchanged in advance of the meeting.

The lawyer has said she was not working on behalf of the Russian government. Trump Jr. and Kushner have said she did not provide any information about Clinton at the meeting.

Seeking to answer the collusion question, Mueller has also scrutinized the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, which released batches of Democrats' emails that U.S. investigators say were stolen by Russian intelligence officers.

The special counsel's work led to criminal charges against 34 people, including six former Trump associates and advisers.

On Saturday, officials said that one of those cases - that of Trump's former deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates - will be transferred from the special counsel's office to federal prosecutors in Washington. Gates pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy and lying to the FBI, and he continues to cooperate with prosecutors while awaiting sentencing.

A senior Justice Department official said the special counsel has not recommended any further indictments - a revelation that buoyed Trump's supporters, even as additional Trump-related investigations continue in other parts of the Justice Department, in Congress and in New York state.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a series of tweets he wanted Barr to quickly testify before Congress to explain what the lawmaker called "very concerning discrepancies and final decision-making at the Justice Department following the Special Counsel report."

Nadler said Mueller "clearly and explicitly is not exonerating the President, and we must hear from . . . Barr about his decision-making and see all the underlying evidence for the American people to know all the facts."

Republicans cheered the findings.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called the findings a "good day for the rule of law. Great day for President Trump and his team. No collusion and no obstruction. The cloud hanging over President Trump has been removed by this report. Bad day for those hoping the Mueller investigation would take President Trump down."

Rep. Douglas Collins, R-Ga., the senior Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, said the investigation was "long, thorough and conclusive: There was no collusion. There is no constitutional crisis."

He called on Democrats in Congress to now dial back their "sprawling" inquiries into the same issues.

- - -

The Washington Post's Felicia Sonmez, Paul Sonne and Drew Harwell contributed to this report.
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Some 3,000 people attended an opposition rally in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, on the country's Freedom Day, often used as an occasion for anti-government rallies. Opposition politician Zmitser Dashkevich, was reportedly detained by police after addressing the crowd.
MINSK -- Belarusian opposition politician Zmitser Dashkevich, the organizer of a March 24 rally in Minsk and leader of the unregistered Young Front political movement, reportedly has been detained by police in the Belarusian capital.



Nasta Dashkevich, the opposition leader's wife, told RFE/RL that plainclothes police detained him and "took him away" shortly after he addressed a crowd of about 2,000 people at the rally and described Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka as a "self-proclaimed leader."



Dashkevich's whereabouts remained unclear late on March 24 and police would not confirm whether they were holding him in custody.



However, another rally organizer and opposition leader, Vital Rymashevski of the unregistered Belarusian Christian Democrats, told RFE/RL that police had denied to him that Dashkevich was in the custody of authorities.



Rymashevski himself was briefly detained during the March 24 but later released.



The Minsk rally was staged on the eve of the 101st anniversary of the creation of the short-lived Belarusian People's Republic -- an attempt to form an independent Belarusian state in the chaotic final months of World War I.



The anniversary has become a traditional rally day for opponents of Lukashenka -- who has repeatedly cracked down on opposition leaders, their supporters, and independent news media during his quarter-century in power in the former Soviet republic.

With reporting by AP
The Iraqi parliament has voted to sack the governor of the northern province of Nineveh after an overloaded ferry capsized last week, killing dozens of people.



The March 24 move follows a request to parliament by Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi that the governor be removed following the tragedy over alleged negligence and corruption.



Lawmakers in Baghdad also voted to sack the governors two deputies, in line with Mahdi's request.



At least 90 people, including men, women, and children, were killed on March 21 when an overloaded ferry sank in the Tigris River near the northern city of Mosul, killing more than 100 people.



The tragedy caused a public outcry amid accusations of negligence against local authorities in Nineveh.



In 2017, Iraqi forces recaptured Mosul from the extremist group Islamic State following a devastating campaign.

Based on reporting by dpa and Reuters
Thousands of Montenegrins protested against the government for a sixth straight Saturday on March 23. The protests in Montenegro's capital, Podgorica, started after a former key ally of President Milo Djukanovic accused him and his ruling Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro (DPS) of improper financial dealings and corruption. The demonstrators are urging Djukanovic and other top officials to resign.
NATO has confirmed that it plans to establish a storage facility in Poland for U.S. military equipment, including armored vehicles, ammunition, and weapons to arm a full brigade.

A NATO official on March 23 told AFP that a report earlier by The Wall Street Journal that said the $260 million facility would be located in Powidz, some 200 kilometers west of Warsaw, was accurate.

The WSJ quoted NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg as saying work on the site will begin this summer and take two years to complete.

Since Russias annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, Poland, the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia as well as other Eastern European states have expressed concerns about their security.

The United States has deployed and rotated troops in the region since the Ukraine crisis began in an effort to deter Russia. NATO has also increased its presence near Russias borders.

Stoltenberg told the WSJ that the storage facility would help "underpin the increased U.S. presence in Poland."

Poland has been calling for more U.S. military personnel to be deployed on its territory, with Warsaw suggesting to U.S. President Donald Trump recently that he create a permanent base under the name "Fort Trump."

The NATO chief said the alliance will complete some 250 other infrastructure projects across Europe designed to increase the capacity of airports, harbors, railways, and roads to handle heavy equipment by 2021, the WSJ said.

Based on reporting by The Wall Street Journal and AFP
Authorities in Indonesia say they have detained a Russian tourist who was attempting to smuggle a drugged orangutan out of the resort island of Bali.

Ketut Catur Marbawa from Bali Province's conservation agency said on March 24 that Andrei Zhestkov, 27, was detained at Denpasar airport late on March 22 while passing through a security screening before a planned flight back to Russia.

Officers stopped the man and opened his luggage to find a 2-year-old male orangutan sleeping inside a rattan basket.

Marbawa said that customs officers also found allergy pills in the passenger's luggage, as well as two geckos and five lizards. All the animals were alive.

Orangutans are a protected species that face threats from deforestation and poaching. They are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Zhestkov could face up to five years in prison and $7,000 in fines if convicted for smuggling.

Marbawa quoted Zhestkok as telling authorities he had fed the orangutan allergy pills mixed with milk, causing the animal to lose consciousness for up to three hours.

He told officials he planned to readminister the drugs during a transit in South Korea.

The Russian tourist packed baby formula and blankets for the orangutan, Marbawa said, adding that he seemed prepared, like he was transporting a baby."

Zhestkov told authorities that the orangutan was gifted by a friend who had bought the primate for $3,000 from a street market.

He claimed his friend, also Russian, had convinced him he could bring the orangutan to Russia as a pet.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP
Thousands of Serbs took to the streets of Belgrade a week after demonstrators invaded and briefly occupied the state television building in protest against what they say is President Aleksandar Vucic's autocratic rule and biased media coverage of their demonstrations.



The protests on March 23 marked the 16th week of demonstrations against Vucics rule in the capital and in dozens of other towns and cities.



Thousands of people rallied in front of the Serbian radio-television building, demanding greater media freedom.



They carried red roses and candles in memory of journalists who have been killed in Serbia over the past 30 years.



On March 16, dozens of demonstrators led by the far-right opposition politician Bosko Obradovic broke into the headquarters of state broadcaster RTS demanding to be allowed on the air to address the nation.



Their demand was not met and they were eventually driven out of the building by police, with at least 18 people being arrested. Some of the 18 spoke at the rally on March 23.



Most of the protesters are demanding Vucic's resignation, greater freedom of press, and fair elections.



But the protesters are a diverse group, with many pressing individual demands, and include leaders from the Alliance for Serbia, a loose grouping of about 30 parties and movements.



According to BalkanInsight, protest participants have over the past two years been made up of people from all sides of the political spectrum  liberals, right-wingers, pro-West, pro-Russia, and pro-Europe supporters.



Protest organizers have resisted attempts by some far-right opposition politicians to take control of the demonstrations.



Adding to the emotional aspect of the events, Serbia is set to mark the 20th anniversary of NATOs bombing of Belgrade on March 24.



Serbia lost control over its Kosovo province, which has since declared independence, after NATO forces 1999 bombing campaign conducted to stop the killing and expulsion of Albanians by Serbian forces during a two-year counterinsurgency war.



After last weeks assault on the media building, Vucic vowed to defend law and order across the country.



Speaking at the presidential headquarters in downtown Belgrade on March 17 as thousands of demonstrators rallied around the building for several hours demanding his resignation, Vucic refused to bow to the pressure and said: "I am not afraid."



"I'm their target as I seek Serbia's political consolidation and economic development," he said.



"There will be no more violence," Vucic said. "Serbia is a democratic country, a country of law and order, and Serbia will know how to respond."



The demonstrators chanted, "He is finished!" -- a slogan of the October 2000 popular uprising that led to the ouster of the late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic.



The weekly rallies began after unknown people beat up an opposition politician in November.



Protesters have been accusing Vucic of stifling democratic liberties, cracking down on political opponents, and controlling the media. He denies the accusations.



Long a nationalist, Vucic has attempted to remake himself as a pro-European Union reformer while seeking to maintain good relations with traditional ally Russia as well.

With reporting by AP, dpa, BalkanInsight, and Reuters


Thousands of Serbs protested against the government for a 16th Saturday in a row on March 23. The weekly antigovernment marches in Belgrade started after a November 2018 assault on an opposition leader. On March 16, protesters invaded the building of Serbia's public radio and television broadcaster, RTS, which they see as the government's mouthpiece.
Iryna Kazlouskaya was a student in Minsk years ago when she got the news she was pregnant.



Relatives and doctors, she says, were unanimous as to what she should do: abort the child.



I was really confused. A lot of that had to do with the reaction of my relatives, who, putting it mildly, werent too happy. They thought being pregnant would be the end of my life and career, Kazlouskaya told RFE/RLs Belarus Service in a recent interview.



She eventually had the child but, due to her experience, became convinced that a large part of Belarusian society viewed abortions as a form of birth control.



Women are more afraid of the dentist than an abortion, Kazlouskaya said, in a country that has one of the highest rates of abortion in the world.



Like other countries in Europe, Belarus, with a population of some 9.5 million, is struggling to cope with falling birth rates. Desperate to boost the numbers, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenkas government has offered benefits and other incentives to encourage couples to have larger families.



In 2014, Belarus even passed legislation giving doctors the right to opt out from performing abortions. Gynecologists at one hospital in Belarus took up the offer -- and one of them was Kazlouskaya, who also practices as an obstetrician. Suddenly, the Lahojsk Central Regional Hospital, in a city 40 kilometers north of Minsk with a population of some 12,000, found itself in the spotlight, with the media and government officials turning up to check it out.



Kazlouskaya says she does not support an outright ban on abortions. Rather, she says women in Belarus need more information. That, she says, was lacking when she was pregnant for the first time. According to Kazlouskaya, for much of Belarusian society, pregnancy is viewed negatively.



Pregnancy is still viewed first and foremost as a problem, pain, and a struggle. There is generally no positive image of motherhood or fatherhood. Thats something that is found only in fiction, Kazlouskaya explains.



She said the pressure, mostly from family, nearly convinced her to have an abortion, until roommates and other friends at university reacted differently. At the dorm, they gave me ice cream and strawberries. They all told me, You shouldnt [eat it], but you must, Kazlouskaya recounts, adding the kindness shown her tipped her in favor of giving birth.



It was that ice cream with strawberries that saved the life of my child, she says, half-jokingly, adding that it was the experience of having her first child that convinced Kazlouskaya to become a gynecologist herself.



As a patient, I saw things from the inside. I thought maybe I could change the system for the better.



As a student, however, she saw the flaws in the system were deep-rooted. When she was a premed student, Kazlouskaya says one of the first procedures she was trained for was how to perform abortions, a procedure she never considered providing medical help.



We are taught that a gynecologist is not a doctor who can give the gift of life, but someone who should help a woman at the time of an unplanned pregnancy. I dont consider performing abortions for women who ask for it as helping women.



In 2014, shortly after she took up her post as a gynecologist at Lahojsk Central Regional Hospital, Belaruss parliament passed legislation allowing doctors the choice not to perform abortions amid concerns the practice was becoming overly commonplace.



Belaruss post-World War II population peaked in 1993 with 10.2 million people. After that it began to drop, reaching its current number of 9.5 million -- a trend that is largely linked with the deteriorating economic situation in the country.



According to a 2012 study in the international medical journal The Lancet, Belarus, along with other countries in Eastern Europe, has the highest abortion rate in the world, with 43 abortions per 1,000 women. However, the numbers have dropped significantly since the 2000s. According to data from Belaruss National Statistics Committee, the abortion rate in Belarus was about 24.7 abortions per 100 live births in 2016. That compares to 128.7 abortions per 100 live births in 2000. In general, abortion rates were high in the Soviet Union and its satellites, where it was commonly used as a form of contraception.



Shortly after the legislation entered the books, Kazlouskaya signed an affidavit stating her intention not to perform the procedure. The entire gynecology unit followed suit, with five other doctors signing similar statements. From February 2015, abortions have not been performed at the hospital except for cases when the womans life is in danger or in cases of rape.



If a woman in Lahojsk is determined to have an abortion there, she must first consult a psychologist, as must all women in Belarus opting for an abortion. If after that she is still determined to go through with it, the hospital will provide her care up to the time of the procedure, when the patient is transported to a hospital in Minsk where the abortion takes place.



The hospital remained largely off the radar for Belarusians, both the public and the government, until October 2017 when Belarusian media got a whiff of the story and visited Lahojsk. Suddenly, the facility and the doctors were the talk of the country, especially on social media.



Critics say the doctors shouldnt deny services they are trained to dispense, including those in the health profession.



In general, I am opposed to trained obstetricians refusing to do part of their work. I believe if you are getting into this career, abortions become part of your duty, says Natalia, an intern at a hospital in Hrodno, who didnt want to disclose her last name.

Some of the criticism, according to Kazlouskaya, has been vitriolic. They threatened us with killing our children and other threats. But nothing happened. Some wrote that we refuse to do abortions, but then we performed them afterwards on the same women and in private clinics, Kazlouskaya recounted.



Statistics on the number of abortions at the hospital are not kept. Doctors can only say roughly that it is less than before. There used to be lot of abortions, remembers Kazlouskaya, explaining each was noted on a yellow form and collected in a folder that was stored away in a filing cabinet.



Her husband, Vasil Kazlouski, who is also a doctor at the hospital in Lahojsk, says he remembers a time when three to five abortions were performed at the hospital per week.



In 2018, Kazlouskaya said 10 women who visited the hospital with the aim of getting an abortion ultimately changed their minds. More people are coming in for family planning. So, something is working after all.



Kazlouskaya said its all about educating -- not just women but also their partners -- about their choices.



In my vision of abortion and termination of pregnancy, we dont need to fight against abortions, but for women. We need to understand the reasons why a woman wants an abortion in the first place.



(See the original story in Belarusian here.)
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The students attending the upcoming trip to The Bahamas from left to right back row, Gwynne Millar, EWG High School Principal Susan Chandler, Chairman of Green Development Mark DePasquale, student Misty Mitchell, and Sharon Campbell. Front row: students Sydney Barra, Jessie Arruda, Blythe Stephenson and Ahna Gurnon.
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.
GA-English on Sunday : News in Brief from Bonn and the region

Bonn/Region A 22-year-old passenger was seriously injured in a car accident overnight and thousands protested against EU copyright reform on Saturday. Police investigate a man for endangering traffic and Astronomy on Tap will hold an event again this week, open to the public.

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22-year-old seriously injured in car accident on the A560

HENNEF. Emergency vehicles were sent to the scene of a serious accident on the A560 at around 3:25 a.m. early Sunday morning near Hennef city center. The tracks left by the car indicate that the Audi had slammed on its brakes while in the passing lane, was thrown to the right side of the autobahn and eventually landed upside down next to the traffic median divider.

The entire scene of the accident stretched over more than 100 meters. The 42-year-old driver was able to free himself from the wreckage but a 22-year-old passenger was seriously injured and trapped in the severely damaged vehicle. The Hennef fire department had to use hydraulic rescue equipment to free him from the wreckage. He received medical care on location and was taken by ambulance to hospital. The 22-year-old is in critical condition.

The A560 towards Bonn was closed for hours. One person who was waiting in the backed up traffic suffered a heart attack and was transported to the hospital in a second ambulance.

Orig. text: Christof Schmoll

Thousands protest against EU copyright reform

COLOGNE. In protest against the planned EU copyright reform, tens of thousands of predominantly young people took to the streets in numerous cities across Germany on Saturday. According to the organizers, there were nearly 15,000 demonstrators in Cologne. Police put the number at around 10,000.

The protests came three days ahead of a crucial vote in European Parliament. At the heart of the controversy is the introduction of Article 13. Protestors demanded the deletion of this Article, which would mean platforms such as YouTube would already filter contents for copyrighted material upon uploading. Critics fear that this is only possible via automated filters, which could amount to censorship. Protests also took place in many other European countries, but by far the largest crowds were in Germany.

In Munich alone, according to the police, around 40,000 people took to the streets under the motto "Save your Internet".

Orig. text: dpa

Police investigate man driving into oncoming traffic

MECKENHEIM. Police are investigating an incident involving a 59-year-old man who drove several times into oncoming traffic on the L158 in Meckenheim on Thursday. He was in a silver Peugot, driving towards Rheinbach at around 2:50 p.m. when police say he drove into the oncoming lane multiple times for no apparent reason.

Oncoming vehicles had to brake and avoid the lane in order to prevent a frontal collision. He also is reported to have slammed on his brakes, bringing his car to a standstill in order to accelerate again afterwards. Rheinbach police were able to stop the car and driver. There were no indications of alcohol, drugs or other illegal substances.

On the basis of the information provided by witnesses, an investigation was initiated on suspicion of endangering road traffic. Police are now looking for anyone who may have been on the L158 that day and were put at risk by the mans erratic driving. Witnesses are asked to call police at (0228) 1 50.

Orig. text: ga.de

Astronomy on Tap event open to the publi

BONN. On Tuesday, March 26, the public is invited to an event called Astronomy on Tap. Adrianos Golemis and MSc.Martin Quast, who work at the European Space Agency (ESA) and at the Argelander Institute for Astronomy, will discuss the topics of humans in space and space analogues (in English) and big and beautiful - das turbulente Leben schwerer Sterne ( in German).

The event is free of charge and begins at 7 p.m. at the Fiddlers Pub (Frongasse 9, Bonn-Endenich). It is part of a worldwide initiative called Astronomy on Tap, where professional astronomers explain diverse topics about the Universe in a friendly atmosphere. Organizers invite everyone to come and meet with local astronomers for some talks, quizzes and prizes.

Orig. text: ck
A go-getter at heart, with an attitude to match, Pramod Kumar Agrawal, Chairman of the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) of India is a man in a hurry. He has not left any stone unturned to bring back the Indian gem & jewellery industry back to its glorious days. Pramod Agrawal, along with the GJEPC Committee members, has been actively leading from the front, right from approaching the government for sops to spearheading all the GJEPC initiatives for the benefit of the whole industry. He has immense faith in the Indian government to work out an industry-friendly policy for the countrys G&J industry.

An astute businessman, Pramod Agrawal is the Chairman of Derewala Industries Limited-- a Jaipur based conglomerate employing 1500 people across 4 unit, producing and supplying gold jewellery, silver jewellery, and imitation fashion jewellery in India and abroad.

Besides steering his Derewala Group to a successful conglomerate, Agrawal has been a Member of Committee of Administration in GJEPC for many years. Regional Chairman of GJEPC  Rajasthan Region; Chairman of Indian Institute of Gem and Jewellery (IIGJ), Jaipur; was associated with GJC and Jewellers Association, Jaipur; Convener of the Jewellers Association Show  JAS to name a few.

Here, in an interview with Rough & Polished, Pramod Agrawal expresses his candid thoughts on the current industry situation; but also sees the resilient Indian G&J industry overcome all hurdles and surge forward as it has done during last few decades.

Some excerpts:

The IIJS Signature that concluded recently generated varied reviews, with mixed reactions about its success. According to you, did the Show this year live up to its reputation of a niche show? Your thoughts?

IIJS Signature is India's top-of-the-line jewellery show, showcasing the best jewellery collections by the countrys leading manufacturers. This year too it has lived up to its reputation of a niche show with more than 18,000 visitors from over 325+ cities and towns pan India and more than 55 countries globally. The show had buyer delegations from countries such as the UK, UAE, Russia, Malaysia, Iran, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal & Uzbekistan amongst others. I am sure that IIJS Signature has presented the trade with a wonderful opportunity to commence the years buying season.

Financing seems to be the main hurdle crippling the industry at present. Have the steps taken by GJEPC with banks/government eased the problem to an extent? Whats the situation right now in the industry?

Bank finance is extremely crucial for the growth of the gem & jewellery trade. GJEPC has been making constant endeavors and taking measures to smoothen the process. However, the lack of finance to the industry has impacted the business; and gem & jewellery exports in the financial year 2018-19 may witness a marginal decline of 5%.

Now that Indian banks are set to deal mostly with incorporated diamond manufacturers, do you think this may result in lower total purchases of rough by Indias diamond processing industry?

In the last five years, there have been fluctuations in rough imports from time to time, but it hasnt been drastic. However, 2018 would see a decrease in imports of rough diamonds, but this doesnt mean there would be in totality a lower purchase going forward. We are expecting things will improve as soon as the bank financing issue is sorted for the industry.

Rough Diamond Imports to India





Indias import of rough diamonds from April 2018 to January 2019 showed a decline of 16.74% by value and 12.84% by volume compared with the similar period last year. Can you say in what categories of rough the decline in imports was the greatest?

In the first half of 2018, there was no drop in the import of rough diamonds, resulting in more production of small size which India specializes in cutting and polishing.

However, globally in the second half of the year, there was a drop in demand for smaller polished diamonds. And sensing this, Indian manufactures didnt buy this category of rough and adjusted their stock position accordingly. There was a reduction in the price of small rough diamonds resulting in 16.84% drop in value together with a 12.84% drop in carats.

The recent Interim Budget was rather disappointing for the Indian G&J industry. Do you think the Indian government will address all the issues put forth by GJEPC in the full budget in July? What do you anticipate?

We welcome the Governments thrust on ensuring progress and prosperity through the budget. The relief given in direct tax to middle classes and farmers will be good for increasing jewellery demand in the country. Also, we hope that with the capital infused in the banking sector and banks coming out of PCA will help in solving the shortage of working capital for our exporters.

Although there was no announcement for the gem & jewellery sector in the interim budget, we are happy that in the last year, there were many circulars released by the Govt. in terms of policy changes. Some of which are exemption of 3% IGST on supply of gold by nominated agencies to exporters; abolition of the requirement of establishing one to one correlation between the consignment of gold/silver/platinum imported and the export of jewellery, increased job work period of the Jewellery for SEZ units, Exemption of IGST on gold being supplied by Nominated Agencies, Interest Subvention, etc.

However, we are expecting that our demand for a decrease in import duty of raw materials like gold, silver, cut & polished diamonds and coloured gemstones would also be considered by the Govt. and give us the level playing field with other competing countries.

Are the Common Facility Centres (CFC) initiated by GJEPC in various centres in India being utilized in full capacity now? According to some industry members, the facility could be used by smaller units too if offered at reasonable rates. Your views on this?

The CFCs have been set up in remote areas of the Gujarat namely Visnagar, Palanpur, Amreli & Junagadh. These CFC services are available to the MSME units at affordable prices. The main purpose of the CFC is to provide the advanced technology & machinery to the SMEs of the sector to enable them to use it for their production purpose at reasonable rates. More than 200 SME unit holders have been benefitted by setting up 4 CFCs across Gujarat.

When will the 'booking' begin for the manufacturing units at IJP... any deadline? What's the procedure? Are banks being roped in to fund the prospective buyers, especially the MSMEs?

We are in the process of making a full-fledged report which will also have the pricing details of the units and procedures to acquire units in Jewellery Park. We plan to open the bookings in the next 6 months. Also, we would approach the banks to fund the prospective buyers, especially for the MSMEs.

Are foreigners (non-Indians) eligible to purchase or take on lease, manufacturing units at the upcoming IJP? Again, what's the procedure & deadline for booking?

Yes, we are marketing the Jewellery Park extensively in jewellery manufacturing countries like Turkey, UAE, Italy, Hong Kong, so that people come here to set up units not only for exports but also for supplying to the domestic market.

While IIJS & IIJS Signature are Indias much in demand shows, enthusiastic exhibitors are denied opportunities to participate due to space constraints. Maybe the State government can act on GJEPCs request for many years to help with an Exhibition & Convention Centre. Any further steps were taken by the GJEPC of late; and the governments reactions?

Every year our effort has been to accommodate as many exhibitors at IIJS show. To an extent, we have been successful in giving an opportunity to new applicants. In the year 2018, we have accommodated 222 new exhibitors at the IIJS.

Below are the last 3 years data:







Every year, the Council has been organising these exhibitions with basic infrastructure created every year spending crores. This exhibition witnesses more than 35,000 business visitors with the registration of overseas customers exceeding 1500 customers.

We look forward to the Convention Centre set up by Reliance in Mumbai for organizing exhibitions. However, we are hopeful that the Government would consider our request for the Convention Centre.

Finally, how do you see the Indian G&J industrys growth progressing in the next few years? What steps should be taken to grow a healthy, transparent and conscientious industry going forward?

The council has been taking initiatives for sustainable development of the industry. Apart from focusing on self-regulation measures, Council has set up new gem and jewellery institutes at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and Udupi in Karnataka. Council has plans to set up Common Facility Centre in all major gem and jewellery clusters in India. For that, a cluster mapping study has been initiated by the Council through NCAER. In fact, the Council has already set up 4 Common Facility Centres in Gujarat which provide the advanced technology & machinery to the SMEs of the sector to enable them to use it for their production purpose at reasonable rates. Also, with the Govt. support, Council is setting up one of its kind Jewellery Park in Mumbai soon.

The global demand for gems and jewellery is increasing especially from the USA, and our industry is well skilled and equipped to meet these demands. We are hopeful that the industry will be back on a growth trajectory as soon as all the genuine players get finance from banks.

Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough & Polished




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PRINCETOWN, N.Y.  A Scotia man was arrested after an investigation revealed that he had sexual contact with a child less than 11 years of age while working as a contractor at a residence in the Town of Rotterdam.

Zachary Cota, 26, was arrested on March 22 for two counts of sex abuse first degree, sexual contact with a person less than 11 years old, and endangering the welfare of a Child.

Cota was processed at State Police Princetown and arraigned in the Town of Rotterdam Court where an Order of Protection was issued and Bail was set at $25,000 cash or $50,000 secured bond pending a future court appearance.
Researchers from the University of Huddersfield, with colleagues from the University of Cambridge and the University of Minho in Braga, have been using a genetic approach to tackle one of the most intractable questions of all -- how and when we became truly human.

Modern Homo sapiens first arose in Africa more than 300,000 years ago, but there is great controversy amongst scholars about whether the earliest such people would have been 'just like us' in their mental capacities -- in the sense that, if they were brought up in a family from Yorkshire today, for example, would they be indistinguishable from the rest of the population? Nevertheless, archaeologists believe that people very like us were living in small communities in an Ice Age refuge on the South African coast by at least 100,000 years ago.

Between around 100,000 and 70,000 years ago, these people left plentiful evidence that they were thinking and behaving like modern humans -- evidence for symbolism, such as the use of pigments (probably for body painting), drawings and engravings, shell beads, and tiny stone tools called microliths that might have been part of bows and arrows. Some of this evidence for what some archaeologists call "modern human behaviour" goes back even further, to more than 150,000 years.

But if these achievements somehow made these people special, suggesting a direct line to the people of today, the genetics of their modern "Khoi-San" descendants in southern Africa doesn't seem to bear this out. Our genomes imply that almost all modern non-Africans from all over the world -- and indeed most Africans too -- are derived from a small group of people living not in South Africa but in East Africa, around 60,000-70,000 years ago. There's been no sign so far that southern Africans contributed to the huge expansion of Homo sapiens out of Africa and across the world that took place around that time.

That is, until now. The Huddersfield-Minho team of geneticists, led by Professor Martin Richards at Huddersfield and Dr Pedro Soares in Braga, along with the eminent Cambridge archaeologist Professor Sir Paul Mellars, have studied the maternally-inherited mitochondrial DNA from Africans in unprecedented detail, and have identified a clear signal of a small-scale migration from South Africa to East Africa that took place at just that time, around 65,000 years ago. The signal is only evident today in the mitochondrial DNA. In the rest of the genome, it seems to have been eroded away to nothing by recombination -- the reshuffling of chromosomal genes between parents every generation, which doesn't affect the mitochondrial DNA -- in the intervening millennia.

The migration signal makes good sense in terms of climate. For most of the last few hundred years, different parts of Africa have been out of step with each other in terms of the aridity of the climate. Only for a brief period at 60,000-70,000 years ago was there a window during which the continent as a whole experienced sufficient moisture to open up a corridor between the south and the east. And intriguingly, it was around 65,000 years ago that some of the signs of symbolism and technological complexity seen earlier in South Africa start to appear in the east.

The identification of this signal opens up the possibility that a migration of a small group of people from South Africa towards the east around 65,000 years ago transmitted aspects of their sophisticated modern human culture to people in East Africa. Those East African people were biologically little different from the South Africans -- they were all modern Homo sapiens, their brains were just as advanced and they were undoubtedly cognitively ready to receive the benefits of the new ideas and upgrade. But the way it happened might not have been so very different from a modern isolated stone-age culture encountering and embracing western civilization today.

In any case, it looks as if something happened when the groups from the South encountered the East, with the upshot being the greatest diaspora of Homo sapiens ever known -- both throughout Africa and out of Africa to settle much of Eurasia and as far as Australia within the space of only a few thousand years.

Professor Mellars commented: "This work shows that the combination of genetics and archaeology working together can lead to significant advances in our understanding of the origins of Homo sapiens."
The prognosis for older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is poor: very few achieve remission and for those that don't the option is largely palliative.

Every year almost 1000 Australians die of the disease and clinical trials into new therapies for older patients have largely failed.

A new Australian drug trial has achieved a remarkable result, clearing the bone marrow of leukaemia in almost 60% of patients.

The trial was considered so effective that the US Food and Drug Administration approved its use last November for the treatment of AML.

Kaye Oliver, 74, was the first patient in the world enrolled on this trial at the Alfred Hospital in 2015 -- the results of which are published today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Given little hope of survival beyond a few months at diagnosis, Kaye remains well and without evidence of the cancer four years later.

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Associate Professor Andrew Wei, from the Alfred Hospital and Monash University Clinical School, commenced research in this area almost two decades ago at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research. He is now the lead clinician/researcher on the international trial of the cancer drug, currently combined with cytarabine to treat older adults with AML.

Taken separately these drugs achieve little, according to Associate Professor Wei. Venetoclax alone led to a 19% response rate in a US trial and cytarabine had a similar result, he said.

"But combining LDAC with venetoclax in older patients led to a 54% response rate, with half the study population surviving longer than 10 months," he added.

The trial tested 82 patients with a median age of 74 years and was conducted in Australia, Europe and the USA.

The current research is supported by another trial in older AML patients, which combined venetoclax with another drug, azacytidine and led to a 71% remission rate with an average life expectancy of almost 17 months.

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Based on the early results of these two studies, the Food and Drug Administration in the US approved the use of these combination drug therapies in older people with AML on November 21 last year.

The drug combination acts on a protein prevalent in leukaemia cells called BCL-2 which controls the survival of the cells. Venetoclax acts by effectively switching off the protein and activating a self-destruct program in the cell.

Associate Professor Wei said that a randomised trial of the therapy, where patients on the therapy are compared to those who are not, has recently been completed and the results are awaited to support a submission to the Therapeutic Goods Association in Australia.

The findings are important not just because of the success of the treatment in a disease that, previously, was fatal, but because with an aging population AML is likely to become more prevalent in the future.

"AML arises due to mutations accumulating in the bone marrow over time. It also arises in patients who have previously had chemotherapy. With an expected doubling in the number of over people over 65 in the next 30 years, the need to find more effective treatments for this disease is paramount," Associate Professor Wei said.

"AML research used to be likened to a 'clinical trial graveyard' because trials of new drugs into AML were rarely successful," Associate Professor Wei said.

"It was widely seen as an untreatable and inevitably fatal condition for older patients by most doctors. These two new trials have given real hope to patients who previously had little."
Parents hoping to raise teenagers with positive body image might just find helpful tools in the kitchen every morning. A new study from the University of Missouri says consistently eating breakfast as a family might promote positive body image for children and adolescents.

"We know that developing healthy behaviors in adolescence such as eating breakfast every day and eating family meals can have long-term effects into adulthood," said Virginia Ramseyer Winter, assistant professor in the School of Social Work and director of the MU Center for Body Image Research and Policy. "Children and adolescents are under a lot of pressure from social media and pop culture when it comes to physical appearance. Having a healthy relationship with food from eating breakfast and spending meal time with family might have a significant impact on well-being."

Researchers analyzed data from more than 12,000 students in more than 300 schools in all 50 states and Washington D.C. They looked at data related to eating behaviors, including frequency of eating breakfast and eating meals with a parent.

The researchers found that eating breakfast during the week more frequently was associated with positive body image. Just over half of the sample reported eating breakfast five days a week; however, nearly 17 percent reported never eating breakfast. More than 30 percent reported eating breakfast fewer than five times a week. The researchers also found that boys were more likely to eat breakfast than girls.

Additionally, the researchers found that children were much more likely to have a positive body image if they regularly ate breakfast with a parent.

"We know that the health behaviors of a parent can have long-term effects on a child," Ramseyer Winter said. "Results of this study suggest that positive interactions with food -- such as eating breakfast and having family meals together -- could be associated with body image."

"Eating breakfast and family meals in adolescence: the role of body image," recently was published in Social Work in Public Health. Aubrey Jones, a doctoral student at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and Elizabeth O'Neill, assistant professor at Washburn University, also contributed to the study.

The study is part of the newly created Center for Body Image Research and Policy, an interdisciplinary research center housed in the MU College of Human Environmental Sciences. The center was built around the goal to improve body image, health and wellness for individuals, families and communities.
Treating women with thyroid antibodies but a normal thyroid function with a medicine called Levothyroxine does not make them more likely to deliver a live baby, new research led by the University of Birmingham suggests.

The research, which was led by researchers from the Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research, Birmingham Clinical Trials Unit, the Institute of Applied Health Research, and Tommy's Centre for Miscarriage Research at the University of Birmingham, was published today (March 23rd) in New England Journal of Medicine. Funded by the MRC and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), the research was also presented today at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in New Orleans, USA.

Miscarriage occurs in one in five women who conceive, making it one of the most common complications of pregnancy. Previous research has found a strong association between the presence of thyroid peroxidase antibodies and miscarriage. However, it was unclear from previous evidence whether treating women with normal thyroid function and with thyroid peroxidase antibodies with Levothyroxine would improve live-birth rates.

The University of Birmingham has now led the largest study of its kind to investigate whether treatment with Levothyroxine would increase the rates of live births at or beyond 34 weeks gestation among women who have thyroid antibodies and also a history of miscarriage or reduced fertility.

Lead author Dr Rima Dhillon-Smith, an academic clinical lecturer at the University of Birmingham, said: "Our research has found that Levothyroxine treatment, started before pregnancy, in women with normal thyroid function and thyroid peroxidase antibodies who have a history of miscarriage or infertility, does not improve the chances of live birth.

"We were surprised by the results of our study as previous small studies suggested there could be a benefit of Levothyroxine treatment in women with thyroid antibodies."

The authors conducted a study of 940 women at 49 UK hospitals with normal thyroid function aged between 16 and 41 who were positive for thyroid peroxidase antibodies; had a history of miscarriage or infertility, and were trying to conceive naturally or with assisted conception.

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The study, carried out between 2011 and 2017, saw 470 women receive 50mcg daily of Levothyroxine and 470 women receive a daily placebo. The participants began taking the medication before they conceived and continued until the end of their pregnancy.

Outcomes in both groups were similar: 266 of the 470 (56.6 per cent) women who received Levothyroxine, and 274 of 470 (58.3 per cent) women who received a placebo, became pregnant; 176 women (37.4 per cent) taking Levothyroxine, and 178 (37.9 per cent) taking a placebo, had live births.

Dr Rima Dhillon-Smith added: "Thyroid peroxidase antibodies are found in the blood in approximately one in 10 women who have normal thyroid function, and they have been linked to increased risk of miscarriage and preterm birth.

"International guidelines currently recommend the consideration of Levothyroxine treatment for women with thyroid antibodies, as there is thought to be minimal chance of harm and a potential to help increase the chance of having a live birth.

"As our study was large and of high quality, we can now be confident that Levothyroxine does not improve pregnancy success for women with thyroid antibodies and normal thyroid function and therefore should not be recommended or used in clinical practice. This will mean no longer providing unnecessary medication to women who do not need it."

Dr Kristien Boelaert, also of the University of Birmingham, said: "Our trial has definitively answered an important clinical question.

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"In a recent survey we carried out of UK fertility clinicians almost 40 per cent said they routinely use Levothyroxine in women with thyroid peroxidase antibodies to reduce miscarriage and pre-term birth.

"We now pose the question of whether testing for thyroid peroxidase antibodies should be performed at all in women with infertility or previous miscarriages.

"While thyroid peroxidase antibodies testing may inform about future risk of progression to thyroid disease, our research has shown its treatment with Levothyroxine does not improve pregnancy outcomes and may only generate patient anxiety and unnecessary healthcare costs.

"We hope that national and international guidelines are updated to remove current recommendations which advise consideration of the use of Levothyroxine in these women.

"We also hope that the current practice of routine testing of thyroid peroxidase antibodies in high risk populations such as women with miscarriage and reduced fertility is re-considered."
Many people who use opioid medications long term do not produce enough testosterone or another important hormone, cortisol, according to a new study. Results of what the researchers called "the most up-to-date and most comprehensive clinical review of endocrine effects of long-term opioid use" are being presented Sunday at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in New Orleans, La.

"These hormone deficiencies can cause a wide variety of symptoms, such as infertility, extreme fatigue and malaise," said study investigator Amir Zamanipoor Najafabadi, M.D./Ph.D. student at Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands. "People may not recognize these symptoms as possibly related to the increased use of opioids."

Zamanipoor Najafabadi and colleagues, in a systematic review of 52 studies published before May 2018, looked at which hormones opioids may affect and what percentage of patients have a hormone deficit. In about half the studies, the patients were receiving opioids to relieve persistent pain.

The researchers then narrowed the number of studies to those dealing with long-term opioid use -- defined as longer than six months. They found enough evidence to determine the frequency of hypogonadism, which is an insufficient production of testosterone, and hypocortisolism, in which the body does not make enough cortisol.

Up to 65 percent of men using opioids long term had hypogonadism, according to 15 studies in 3,250 patients, nearly all men. This condition in men may lead to erectile dysfunction, infertility, decreased body hair and muscle mass, and development of breasts.

In five studies, the researchers discovered that up to 19 percent of 207 men and women with long-term opioid use had hypocortisolism. Because this hormone affects many different functions in the body, low cortisol can lead to various symptoms including fatigue, weight loss and mood changes, according to the Hormone Health Network.

Patients who use opioids long term should get tested for these hormone deficiencies, so they can get appropriate treatment if needed.

"Our study creates awareness of the frequent endocrinological issues in long-term opioid users and their need for regular endocrine checkups, which are not commonly being done," he said.

Zamanipoor Najafabadi said that the evidence for opioid effects on other endocrine functions was insufficient in their study. He called for more research into opioid-induced effects on other endocrine axes, effect on female sex hormones and the management of related symptoms.
AUSTRALIA - After the announcement from Queensland, a three-year exhaustive search for the tiny rodent called Bramble Cay melomys was carried out in the hope of debunking their announced extinction. However, their efforts have led to disappointment as the Australian government has recently announced the extinction of the Melomys rubicola, also known as Bramble Cay mosaic-tailed rat. In their press release, this unfortunate announcement has resulted in plans for enacting stronger protections for other endangered species.

The Bramble Cay melomys lived near Papua New Guinea. The tiny rodents thrived in just a single habitat that is a small reef island at the northern tip of the Great Barrier Reef. However, during the past recent years, the 1,500 feet by 500 feet sandy cay which is only three feet to ten feet above the ocean has been going through harsh weather conditions. Heavy waters have wiped out 97% of the vegetation in the area which is the only food source for the melomys.

A fisherman was reported to have spotted one of the possibly last surviving melomys during late 2009.

Towards the end of the 20th century, the Bramble Cay melomys were no longer very common. In 1998, a survey reported that only 93 individuals were left. Two decades before that, there were said to be hundreds. A recovery plan for the species in 2008 reported that there were only 10 and 12 of the rodents remaining in 2002 and 2004, respectively. In 2014, attempts to trap some of the rodents for a captive breeding program have failed. Authors of the report have noted the possible but slim chance for the species to be found around the Fly River delta are in Papua New Guinea where scientists hypothesize the Bramble Cay melomys originated from.

Federal policy director for the Wilderness Society, Tim Beshara, pointed out that the 2008 recovery plan has listed then-potential threats to the melomys. These included flooding, coastal erosion, and sea-level rise which turned out to be on point. However, the plan was never acted upon or even finished at all.

The second announcement of the Bramble Cay melomys' extinction has confirmed that climate change has started to claim extinction. For now, it is a mammal, a tiny rodent that once thrived in the eastern Torres Strait of the Great Barrier Reef. The Bramble Cay melomys were given tribute on February 20, 2019, through a published cartoon in Andrew Marlton's "First Dog on the Moon."
Brett Anderson already is the As announced No. 3 starter, and he turned in a tremendous tuneup Sunday against the Giants. His San Francisco counterpart, Dereck Rodriguez, nailed down a rotation spot Sunday after a decent outing.

With Anderson and Rodriguez working quickly and efficiently, the first game of the Bay Bridge Series whizzed by in 2:05, with all of the runs in Oaklands 5-0 victory coming via homers. Stephen Piscotty hit a two-run shot off Rodriguez in the first and Jurickson Profar a monster solo shot in the fourth.

Anderson needed only 66 pitches to get through six innings. He gave up three hits and a walk, and struck out three. He threw 18 more pitches in the bullpen in order to get in his full workload for the day. The lefty was delighted with the quick game  he had incentive to get out of the Coliseum quickly, because he was moving into an apartment in the afternoon.

In Rodriguezs first four outings, he gave up zero homers, but on Sunday, he was just a little off with his location. I felt good with my cutter and my changeup, he said. My curveball has the right shape to it. Ive just got to get it in the zone. Overall, I was happy today.

Rodriguez said the pitch to Piscotty was where he wanted, down and in, but he intended to throw up and in to Profar but left it middle in.

Though Rodriguez seems a lock for the rotation, on target to make his first start Saturday against the Padres, he said he is taking nothing for granted.

Everything theyve done so far, its lining me up for that date, Rodriguez said. Until they tell me and show me that roster, I aint going to be satisfied. Until I get on that flight and go down to San Diego, thats when Ill be, like, all right. But until then 

Rodriguez is entering his second season and is feeling much more comfortable.

I feel a little more relaxed, he said. Its not overwhelming like it was last year. Its just like another game. When I was in the big-league games, I was facing guys I never thought Id be facing. This year, I know them. I faced them last year. Its not a surprise to me like it was last year.

Though Giants manager Bruce Bochy confirmed that Rodriguez will start Saturday, the As have not yet announced Frankie Montas as their fourth starter, though its apparent he will be. Montas worked three scoreless innings, allowing two walks and striking out three. His ERA for the spring: 0.56.

Manager Bob Melvin said he wasnt ready to make declarations about the other rotation spots but, he said, Frankie Montas is pitching great. ... Man, hes done everything you would ask to make a team. And when youre pitching like he is, to make a team, theres more pressure on you. So its been doubly impressive.

Montas had to throw 30 more pitches in the bullpen to get up to 75, which would enable him to start Sunday against the Angels.

Piscottys homer was his second of the spring; he also hit a regular-season shot in Tokyo last week. Profars, which went into the second section of seats in right-center, was his second of the spring. Ramon Laureano added a two-run shot in the seventh off lefty Travis Bergen, Laureanos third of the spring.

Trevor Gott worked two scoreless innings in relief of Rodriguez; he has 13 strikeouts and hasnt allowed an earned run in 11  innings.

The As have won 24 of the past 36 spring games against the Giants, with the series moving to Oracle Park for games Monday and Tuesday.

Susan Slusser is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sslusser@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @susanslusser
Only one San Francisco guidebook warns you that the plaza at 50 Beale St. seems geared toward office workers on their smoke break. Or that theres a public space inside Millennium Tower, but you wouldnt know it because their sign is small.

Such are the pointers tucked within The East Cut Open Space Inventory, an image-rich tour of 40 spaces south of Mission Street and east of Second Street. While its written for the people who live on Rincon Hill and in the towers around the Transbay Transit Center, the thoroughness spells out how private development can add breathing space to dense urban districts.

Assuming, of course, that the public knows such spaces exist.

We wanted it to be fun, but were also hoping to help people, said Jolene Jussif, an intern at the East Cut Community Benefit District, the organization that released the survey this month online and as an 82-page booklet. These spaces can be difficult to find, or its difficult to know whats public and whats private.

Jussifs main task the past six months has been to pull together and present the data collected by the benefits district, which is funded by a fee assessed on property owners within an area bounded roughly by Mission, Second, Harrison and Steuart streets. Besides a colorful page on each space there are thematic maps organized by such topics as public restrooms or places to sit and eat.

Its not a typical expense for the organization, which devotes most of its $4.5 million annual budget to keeping sidewalks clean and having teams patrol the area around the clock.

But this isnt a typical neighborhood.

During the past 40 years, it has grown from a low-slung collection of warehouses and blue-collar firms serving the Financial District and port to a tower-studded terrain with upward of 12,000 residents as well as new high-rises filled by the likes of Facebook and Salesforce. The roughly 30-block area also contains exactly zero traditional public parks, though a small one is being created on Rincon Hill.

Thats why the plazas and spaces required as part of commercial projects are essential  and why getting out the word is key with regard to which ones might be open on weekends, or are dog-friendly, for example.

In a neighborhood like this, where so much is being added, we want to get out the word for what opportunities there are for the thousands of people living here, said Andrew Robinson, the East Cuts executive director. We were really interested in gathering information.

The initial work was done one afternoon last summer: The spaces were divvied among volunteers in teams of three, each team provided with a five-page list of detail questions. The teams had three hours to make its rounds, and then the members met for drinks.

The impressions swapped over cocktails and wine probably were more pointed than whats in the published guide. Still, hints of exasperation or appreciation sneak in.

The large plaza at 303 Second St. offers a very lovely and thought-out design, we read in an anonymous quote from one surveyor. Conversely, the open-air atrium inside the Courtyard by Marriott on the block to the north is dismissed as not inviting.

Where to find maps The open space inventory compiled by the East Cut Community Benefit District can be found at https://theeastcut.org/about-us. The organization has bound copies available for $30. The city's map of publicly accessible spaces downtown is at https://sfplanning.org/project/privately-owned-public-open-space-and-public-art. See More Collapse

For Jussif, who graduated from California College of the Arts last year and is heading this summer to Columbia University in New York to study architecture, the project has allowed her to explore the fragmented but intriguing landscape below the skyline.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The sociability factor of the seating, offering variety, thats a big element, Jussif said when asked what seems to make some spaces work better than others. Another factor is generous greenery, which may sound obvious but can be glaring in its omission from too many public plazas.

The survey was done in association with the citys Planning Department, which is revising its plans for the Transbay and Rincon Hill areas to make them more accommodating to daily life. Other volunteers came from local design firms.

There are tons of hidden gems, said Jennifer Cooper-Sabo, who now manages the landscape architecture bureau at the citys Department of Public Works but at the time was with a private firm. As someone who worked in the neighborhood, I was still coming across spaces I didnt know.

That said, the quality really varies, Cooper-Sabo said.

Connecting the spaces could be problematic as well.

Some of those mid-block passages are great, but then you have to play Frogger to get across the street, she said.

John King is The San Francisco Chronicles urban design critic. Email: jking@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @johnkingsfchron
Stanford junior and Palo Alto native Mischa Nee died while traveling in Mallorca, Spain, the universitys vice provost for student affairs announced Saturday.

Nee was part of a group of Stanford undergraduates who were visiting Spain after studying abroad in Europe, Vice Provost Susie Brubaker-Cole wrote in a letter to the universitys students that was published on the schools website.

A group of students he was hiking with Friday afternoon apparently lost sight of Nee while he was exploring a nearby hill. Spanish authorities began searching the area where the group had been hiking late Friday, and resumed searching Saturday, when Nees body was found.

Citing local news reports, Brubaker-Cole said that Nee apparently fell some distance in difficult, rocky terrain.

University officials have been in contact with Nees family and the other students in Mallorca. The school is making a range of grief-counseling services available to students.

Nothing in our community is worse than the death of a student, and it is with deep sorrow that I share this news, Brubaker-Cole said. Our thoughts are with his family and friends, for whom this is a terrible and heart-wrenching moment.

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Nee was majoring in computer science at Stanford and planned to pursue a minor in art history or studio art.

He was studying in Florence, Italy, in the last academic quarter as part of the Bing Overseas Studies Program, which previously brought him to Madrid.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa
One person was killed and at least three others were injured Saturday night in a shooting in San Franciscos Fillmore neighborhood, police said.

Officers responded about 8:40 p.m. to the 1300 block of Fillmore Street, where they found several people suffering from what appeared to be gunshot wounds, according to a police statement.
One person was killed and five others injured in a shooting Saturday night in the 1300 block of Fillmore Street, according to San Francisco police.

The five adult victims were transported to a hospital, one with life-threatening injuries. One person was declared dead at the scene. As of Sunday morning, police said two were still hospitalized. Three have already been discharged.
Days after seeing a preview of the HBO doc The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, I kept thinking about something Id been told at the post-screening party. The movie is about Elizabeth Holmes and her company, Theranos, which collapsed after it was revealed that what she was selling  medical tests based on a drop of blood  didnt work. Many of the movies scenes that pictured testing equipment in the Theranos laboratories were not real, but had been computer-generated.

For many viewers, the carefully-posed image of glamorous poseur Holmes may have been the films indelible take-away. For me, what stuck were images in the lab. In one scene, the subject is things going wrong with the testing process. The viewer sees a tray of blood samples splotched and spotted with spills, and even a hand dipping into one of the samples to retrieve something thats fallen into it.

But the scene I thought most shocking in the film was created for the documentary. I contacted the filmmakers to ask whether this is often done in documentaries that tell true stories.

Its done all the time, said co-producer Jessie Deeter. Well, if you have a decent budget it is. ... That is very standard. We had the luxury of having that budget, most documentaries dont.

Deeter credited the images, which she said were based on witness descriptions, to a company called Elastic that did the opening credits for Westworld.

The images of automated lab equipment, close-ups of pipettes dipped into samples, rows of testing machines (Edisons) in an underground lab? They were visuals created by Elastic for the movie. These are all very carefully researched, said Deeter, created with access to verbal descriptions from witnesses, Theranos own plans for the testing machines, and also, some actual footage. If youre watching the film, said Deeter, and it looks more flat, the footage is real, from the company. If its kind of 3-D rendered ... thats our re-creation.

Deeter said shed attended the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and she has high journalistic standards. Were pretty good at trying to get at the truth of something. We couldnt take you inside the machine. Were trying to make it effectively more real. Again, we have fact-checked.

As to that scene with the splattered blood, That dramatization was not making reality more dramatic. Reality was at least as dramatic as that scene. The technician who described the scene talked about it in horrific terms, saying it had taken place in an airless closet that was not only hot, but also smelly. The scene as shown in the movie is gasp-worthy, but in reality it was worse, said Deeter.

In the wake of President Trumps complaining that he hadnt been thanked for his role in giving John McCain a bang-up funeral, Mark Abramson snagged a note that the FB site The Daily Don sent flying around the internet:

Dear Donald, / I just wanted to thank you for the absolutely wonderful funeral. It was such a good time, everyone had a blast! ... / My warmest sympathies, / Sen. John McCain. (That three-dot ellipsis indicates a sentence Ive taken out, because it alludes to a funeral for the notes recipient, which is in terrible taste.)

I must add, as an arbiter of taste, that this note is too brief, considering the majesty of the gift. A well brought-up person would have written:

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Dear Donald, / I cant tell you how moved I was that you chipped in for part of my funeral. I understand that others arranged the lying in state part, and the National Cathedral part, and I will surely thank them separately. (The flowers were just exquisite, and the flag so efficiently tucked around the coffin kept me snug as a bug in a rug.) But its to you that I owe everlasting gratitude for the military transport from Arizona to Washington  that line-up to get on a Southwest flight would have been so demeaning  and for the horses and bands in the procession. I do love a parade. Finally, I hope you werent disappointed that the family decided to turn down your offer to send balloons. Wish you were here, / John McCain.)

Do you think, asks Randall Miller, that the United States and the world would be a better place if Jeff Bezos bought Twitter and shut it down?

PUBLIC EAVESDROPPING

Look, Siri and Alexa are servants, so treat them that way, tell them what to do, dont say will you?

Woman to woman, overheard at brunch at the Balboa Cafe by Ken Maley

Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, 415-777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @leahgarchik
WASHINGTON  Attorney General William Barr delivered to Congress on Sunday afternoon the main findings of the inquiry by Robert Mueller, a House Democrat said, just days after the conclusion of a sprawling investigation into Russias attempts to sabotage the 2016 election and whether President Donald Trump or any of his associates conspired with Moscows interference.

Lawmakers received the four-page letter, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said on Twitter.

The release of the special counsels conclusions culminates 22 months of work by Mueller and his hand-picked team of prosecutors, but it could be just the beginning of a lengthy constitutional battle between Congress and the Justice Department about whether Muellers full report will be made public. Democrats have also called for the attorney general to turn over both the report and all of the special counsels investigative files.

The Russia investigation has buffeted the White House from the earliest days of the Trump administration, with numerous current and former aides to Trump brought for questioning to the special counsels warren of offices in a plain office building in downtown Washington. FBI agents fanned out across the nation and traveled to numerous foreign countries. Witnesses were questioned by members of Muellers team at airports upon landing in the United States.

Ultimately, a half-dozen former Trump aides were indicted or convicted of crimes, most for conspiracy or lying to investigators. Twenty-five Russian intelligence operatives and experts in social media manipulation were charged in 2018 in two extraordinarily detailed indictments released by the special counsel. The inquiry concluded without charging any Americans for conspiring with the Russian campaign.

The report will bring closure for some who have obsessed over the myriad threads of a Byzantine investigation. A cottage industry of Mueller watchers has spent months on social media and cable news debating thorny constitutional issues, spinning conspiracy theories and amassing encyclopedic details about once-obscure figures  Carter Page, Konstantin Kilimnik, George Papadopoulos and others.

How many minds it changes is another matter. Opinions have hardened over time, with many Americans already convinced they knew the answers before Mueller submitted his conclusions. Some believe that the special counsels previous indictments, twinned with voluminous news media reporting, have already shown a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Some believe that the investigation is, as Trump has long described it, a witch hunt.

Muellers work has proceeded in the face of blistering attacks by Trump and his allies, who painted the investigation as part of a relentless campaign by the deep state to reverse the results of the 2016 election.

Still, the release of Muellers findings could force a decision by Democrats on a simmering issue they have said would wait until the investigations end: whether to begin impeachment proceedings against the president. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has said it would not be worth it to try to impeach Trump, but suggested she could change her mind if an overwhelming bipartisan consensus emerged.

For months, the president and his lawyers have waged as much of a public-relations campaign as a legal one  trying to discredit the Mueller investigation to keep public opinion from swaying lawmakers to move against Trump.

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The Justice Department regulations governing the Mueller inquiry only required the special counsel to give a succinct, confidential report to the attorney general explaining his decisions to either seek  or decline to seek  further criminal charges. Mueller operated under tighter restrictions than similar past inquiries, notably the investigation of former President Bill Clinton by Ken Starr, who ended up delivering a 445-page report in 1998 that contained lascivious details about an affair the president had with a White House intern.

Mueller was still given a wide mandate  to investigate not only Russian election interference but any matters that may arise directly from that investigation. Mueller has farmed out numerous aspects of his inquiry to several U.S. attorneys offices, and those investigations continue.

Mueller will not recommend new indictments, a senior Justice Department official said Friday, ending speculation that he might charge some of Trumps aides in the future. The Justice Departments general practice is not to identify the targets of its investigations if prosecutors decide not to bring charges, so as not to tarnish their reputations. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein emphasized this point in a speech in February.

Its important, Rosenstein said, for government officials to refrain from making allegations of wrongdoing when theyre not backed by charges that we arent prepared to prove in court.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
The death penalty in California is dead! Long live the death penalty!

That lead isnt a joke. Nor a contradiction. In California, the death penalty has long existed simultaneously as grave problem and necessary tool.

So if Gov. Gavin Newsoms moratorium on the death penalty becomes a permanent ban, we Californians should celebrate the end of a policy that magnified our societys worst disparities and created the risk of putting an innocent person to death.

But we all, death penalty proponents and opponents alike, also might pause to mourn the demise of this miserable practice. For the death penalty has provided an essential public service  shining light into the darkness of Californias prison system  that we may miss once its gone.

Lets start with a stipulation: Since its revival in California in 1978, the death penalty has never been about killing large numbers of people. Californians have executed 13 people in the past 40 years. More Californians than that die in traffic accidents over a holiday weekend.

Californias death penalty was at its heart an expression of frustration at violent crime and a commitment to supporting crime victims. The death penalty also was an enormous headache for the criminal justice system, because capital cases consumed resources and slowed the courts with endless appeals. These costs are why so many within that system wanted to do away with the death penalty.

But these same costs are also why the death penalty had real value for the state.

Californias prison system, because it exists in the dark, is scandal.

A powerful prison guards union effectively runs the show, soaking up billions in state dollars for their compensation that should go to higher education or infrastructure. For decades, the system was unconstitutionally overcrowded, with health care that failed to meet basic standards. The state refused to fix these problems until the federal courts intervened.

In this context, the death penalty was vital because it provided one of the few sources of accountability, and attention, for the prison system. Californians happily locked up people with life sentences and forgot about them, but death penalty cases couldnt be so easily ignored.

The media is more likely to cover death penalty cases, scrutinizing all aspects of the criminal justice process. Celebrities love opposing the death penalty; you could cast 10 Oscar-winning films with just the actors advocating for Kevin Cooper, the states most high-profile Death-Row inmate.

The death penalty also commands official attention. Governors cant avoid reckoning with death penalty cases. Some of the states best attorneys work on death penalty appeals, many pro bono. And the justices of the California Supreme Court must review all death sentences.

Forcing our states most powerful minds to examine the details of cases has brought to light any number of abuses of the system, and raised questions about the prisons themselves. And in the past few years, those questions have forced policymakers and voters to reconsider some criminal justice policies, particularly around sentencing. Would California now be reforming sentencing and other criminal justice procedures without the spotlight provided by the machinery of death?

There is another group of people who appreciate the death penaltys value: those 730-plus Californians who sit on Death Row in San Quentin State Prison. Twice in the past decade, ballot initiatives asked California voters to end the death penalty. In both campaigns, a significant number of Death-Row prisoners took an improbable stand against the initiatives that would end their own death sentences.

Why? Because their death sentences conferred special resources  including guaranteed attorneys for appeals and federal court reviews  that allowed them to fight their convictions. If the death penalty went away, Death-Row inmates could become just 737 more forgotten lifers.

California hasnt executed anyone since 2006, when the state Supreme Court questioned the constitutionality of lethal injections. This is not a popular opinion, but I would argue that for the past 13 years California has achieved the perfect death penalty equilibrium. Our state has capital punishment on the books, which provides the aforementioned accountability and represents the views of Californians who support the death penalty. But California no longer actually executes anyone, thus acknowledging the problems of state-sanctioned killing.

In other words, we have had it both ways.

Unfortunately, the governors moratorium disturbs that death-penalty equilibrium. Newsoms effort could spark a backlash that forces the state to start executing people again. And even if the governor succeeds in creating a permanent ban, Californians will lose the scrutiny that the death penalty brings to criminal justice, and we seem unlikely to find some other mechanism to replace it. While killing capital punishment may make us feel better about ourselves, it wont necessarily make life in our prisons any better.

RIP, California death penalty. And thank you for your service.

Joe Mathews writes the Connecting California column for Zocalo Public Square. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at SFChronicle.com/letters.
A Chronicle investigation reveals that serious youth crime has plummeted in California over the past several decades. Homicides of juveniles, for example, dropped 83 percent from 1995 to 2007. Youth arrests for violent felonies have fallen by a whopping 68 percent statewide  from 22,601 in 1994 to 7,291 in 2017.

While theres no one explanation for this enormous and welcome social improvement, it has the power to reshape life for the next generation of Californians and the one beyond that, too.

Unfortunately, the state has been slow to recognize the far-reaching impacts of this remarkable shift. The state still dedicates a shocking amount of resources toward youth incarceration, mostly toward facilities that are operating far below capacity.

That same pattern holds true in San Francisco. Now, after the Chronicles investigation, three San Francisco supervisors are calling for the closure of San Franciscos juvenile hall.

Its time, Supervisor Matt Haney said Thursday on Twitter. Close it.

Haney, Hillary Ronen and Shamann Walton are drafting a bill to close the facility by the end of 2021.

Its an intriguing proposition. San Franciscos juvenile facility was designed to hold up to 150 youths, but it usually houses fewer than 50.

Thats great news for young San Franciscans, but less great for local taxpayers. San Francisco is still spending the same amount of money it spent on the juvenile hall as it did in 2011  $11.9 million  even though its housing half the average daily population it was back then.

Some costs are fixed, and thats definitely true for juvenile incarceration. Even with fewer bodies being served, the city still has to pay facility staff, offer programs and maintain the buildings.

San Franciscos situation is a microcosm of whats going on in the rest of the state.

It costs close to $270,000 a year to keep a child locked up in San Francisco. In Alameda County, its $493,000. In Santa Clara County, its an eye-popping $514,000.

The Chronicle found that the average annual cost of incarcerating a youth in the 14 counties that contain nearly three-quarters of the states population has risen dramatically  from 29 percent to an incredible 214 percent  since 2011.

These numbers are unsustainable and untenable. In a state with limited resources, thats money that could be spent on voter priorities including education and public health.

Part of the solution lies at the state level.

Like many county facilities, the states youth prisons have seen a remarkable drop in population  but not in costs. Gov. Gavin Newsom should strongly consider closing the remaining state facilities and sending the youths home to their county facilities for services and treatment. Changing agencies wont result in better outcomes for these young people  but being closer to their homes and families might.

San Francisco sends relatively few offenders to the state youth camps and prisons, so it would still be confronting an underused county facility. Thats why the supervisors proposal deserves a skeptically positive response.

The supervisors have said their proposal will start a task force to figure out how young people accused of crimes can be provided with secure, supportive facilities, with an eye to closing the juvenile hall for good.

Theyre correct in seeking alternatives to this expensive and unsuitable facility, but they shouldnt jump to conclusions yet about when  or even if  it can be closed. The task force may conclude that closing the facilitys not yet necessary, for any number of reasons.

Let them do their work without predetermining the outcome, so we can come up with the best possible approach after the remarkable drop in youth crime.

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.
Thousands of people packed a Bernie Sanders rally in San Franciscos Fort Mason on a sunny Sunday afternoon as the independent senator from Vermont continued his campaign for U.S. president as a Democrat with a fiery populist speech, vowing to turn his progressive agenda into reality.

The crowd cheered and chanted Bernie, Bernie as Sanders laid out policies that he said were rejected as radical and extreme in his 2016 presidential quest, but have now found widespread support.

The ideas we were talking about, the media and everyone else said they were so far out and so crazy, nobody in America supports them, he said, enumerating concepts like raising the minimum wage, combatting climate change, reforming the criminal justice system and the immigration system, legalizing marijuana, guaranteeing health care to all, making college free, and removing the influence of the rich and super PACs in elections.

Today Democratic candidates from school board to president are talking about exactly these same issues, said Sanders, with the Golden Gate Bridge towering behind him as U.S. and California flags fluttered in the breeze.

Indeed, in 2016, Sanders was the only candidate promoting a single-payer health care plan and proposing that college tuition be free. Now, several of his new competitors are staking out similar positions. Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kamala Harris of California and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, among others, support Medicare for all. Harris is among those who back free public college education.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

Sanders took the stage minutes after Attorney General William Barr released a summary of Special Counsel Robert Muellers probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

I have something in my email box, Ill read it right after this, Sanders said. I know it is a summary of the report. Well, I dont want a summary of the report. I want the whole damn report because nobody, especially this president, is above the law.

That remark drew cheers and applause, as did his other digs at President Trump, the most dangerous, dishonest president in American history, Sanders said.

While the enthusiastic crowd was packed with people waving Bernie signs, wearing Bernie T-shirts and buttons, and even sporting body paint endorsements, not everyone was committed to him. Several said they are still weighing other Democratic candidates, with Warren and Harris referenced most frequently.

I want to hear what they (candidates) have to say about college being free for all, the student-loan debt crisis and health care reforms, especially pharmaceutics pricing, said Yemi Bankole, 25, a health care administrator from Oakland.

Hes an intelligent adult; a rare thing in U.S. politics, said Steven Gray of San Francisco. His donations are based on ordinary people, not corporations.

Sanders was in San Francisco as part of a West Coast campaign swing that took him through San Diego and Los Angeles.

He faces tough odds to match his surprising 2016 performance in California, where Hillary Clinton beat him with 53 percent of the vote to his 46 percent and she won all of the states major cities. His California performance will matter more this time around, because the state has moved up its primary to March 3.

While Sanders won 2.3 million votes in California in essentially a one-on-one matchup against Clinton, now he is one in a field of 15 candidates (and counting), including Harris, who has locked up endorsements from top lawmakers across the state, including Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Then, he could position himself as an underdog taking on Clinton, the establishment candidate who had vastly more name recognition, money and a network of donors and supporters across the country.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

But now, at least pending former Vice President Joe Bidens expected entry in the race, Sanders is the front-runner, complete with a 50-state network of small donors and supporters. He said he raised more than $5.9 million in the first 24 hours after he announced his candidacy in February, tops in the self-reporting field until former Rep. Beto ORourke of Texas claimed a $6.1 million first-day haul this month.

Sanders, who has long been reluctant to weave much of his personal life into his political life, is now loosening up on that front, too. As he did Sunday, he frequently peppers speeches with how his lower-middle-class upbringing in Brooklyn shaped the policies he has long championed. I came from a family that lived paycheck to paycheck, he said.

Sanders 70-minute speech Sunday included humor, some of it self-deprecating.

He may not be a math genius, he said in conclusion. But this I know: They are the 1 percent. We are 99 percent. If we stand together, we can create a country that will be the envy of the world.

Carolyn Said and Joe Garofoli are staff writers. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com, jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid, @joegarofoli
When a federal judge dismissed lawsuits by San Francisco and Oakland seeking to hold major oil companies responsible for harm caused by climate change, he said the issue was one for the political branches of government, not the courts.

The problem with that reasoning, according to a half-dozen Democratic senators  including Californias Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris  is that the oil giants have used their financial might to make a political solution impossible.

The fossil fuel industry, led by (the five major oil companies), has weaponized the power of unlimited political spending granted to it by Citizens United (the 2010 Supreme Court ruling) to prevent the debate, consideration, and passage of legislation to limit carbon emissions, the senators told a federal appeals court in a filing last week.

The five companies  BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Shell  have spent nearly $40 million a year lobbying the federal government for the last two decades, much of it fighting legislation and regulations that would have limited fossil fuel extraction and carbon emissions, the senators said.

By also opposing judicial action, they said, the companies showed that their real position is that no one should address climate change.

The filing in the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco supported appeals by the two cities to reinstate the suit that U.S. District Judge William Alsup of San Francisco dismissed. Besides Feinstein and Harris, the brief was signed by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Edward Markey of Massachusetts.

The lawsuit, one of several by local governments in California and other states, contends oil companies have long known that emissions from their operations are heating the planet, but have sought to hide their connection while doing nothing to solve the problem.

Likening the oil giants to tobacco companies that denied their products caused cancer, San Francisco and Oakland seek to require the five companies to pay some of the costs of rising sea levels, like building seawalls. San Franciscos lawyers say $10 billion worth of publicly owned property and as much as $39 billion of private land is at risk from swelling seas.

In dismissing the suit in June, Alsup said the courts were not qualified to weigh the future dangers of fossil fuel extractions and emissions against the fuels past and present contributions to society, dating back to the industrial revolution.

Having reaped the benefits of that historic progress, would it really be fair to now ignore our own responsibility in the use of fossil fuels and place the blame for global warming on those who supplied what we demanded? the judge asked. He said it was a question properly directed to policymakers in Congress and the White House.

The cities appeal, to a yet-unnamed Ninth Circuit panel, raises political and environmental as well as legal issues, as reflected in a proliferation of supporting briefs:

 Former government officials, including ex-Secretary of State John Kerry, National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy, arguing that judicial review of oil companies actions would not interfere with U.S. diplomacy or foreign policy.

 Attorneys general of California and 10 other states, disputing Alsups decision to grant the oil companies request to transfer the cities lawsuits to federal court from Superior Court, where they were filed. Alsup said the case raised issues of national policy, but the states said San Francisco and Oakland were properly invoking state laws that protect public health. Similar arguments were made in separate briefs by the California State Association of Counties and the National League of Cities.

 The Union of Concerned Scientists, and individual climate scientists, arguing that oil companies are major sources of planet-warming greenhouse gases and have worked to conceal their role and to discredit scientific research.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The filing by the six Democratic senators focuses on political machinations, such as Big Oils alleged efforts to use front groups to derail climate-protection measures.

For example, they said, the five oil companies were among the founding members in 1989 of the Global Climate Coalition, which took the position  contrary to the views of the oil industrys own scientists  that there was no convincing evidence that increases in greenhouse gas emissions would significantly affect the climate.

When Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., introduced legislation in the 2000s to limit carbon emissions, the brief said, the oil industry launched a nominally independent campaign, entitled United for Jobs, to build public opposition to these bills, which failed to pass.

And when President Trump announced U.S. withdrawal in 2017 from the Paris Agreement on climate change, the senators said, all five oil companies publicly opposed the withdrawal, while privately supporting a flawed economic analysis, funded by the industry-subsidized U.S. Chamber of Commerce, that justified Trumps action.

For public relations reasons, it is exceedingly difficult for (the oil companies) to openly oppose climate action, the brief said. If their CEOs want to be able to jet off to Davos and hobnob with the global elite, they cant engage in flagrant climate denial.

But at the same time, any effort to reduce carbon emissions has been viewed as representing a threat to (their) future revenues, so they have found ways to mask their opposition to legislation that might jeopardize their business model.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@BobEgelko
John Hefti / Associated Press

Center DeMarcus Cousins (load management) and forward Andre Iguodala have been ruled out of the Warriors game Sunday evening against Detroit.

With DeMarcus, we made the decision based on (director of sports medicine and performance) Rick (Celebrinis) assessment that he should just not play back-to-backs this season, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. So, hes not going to.
WASHINGTON  President Trumps ability to get his revised North American Free Trade Agreement through Congress may hinge on a little-noticed provision governing intellectual property protections for new pharmaceutical products.

Congressional Democrats have seized on measures in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that establish protections for drug companies, saying they are a boon to the pharmaceutical industry and could undermine efforts to make American health care more affordable.

The issue is the latest complication in Trumps years-long effort to rip up NAFTA and rewrite the rules of trade with Canada and Mexico. While Trump secured Canadas and Mexicos signoff on the new agreement last year, the trade pact must be ratified by legislators in all three countries, including by Congress.

Democrats, who now control the House, have already made it clear that they will not approve the trade deal without significant changes to labor and environmental provisions. Now, they are also looking for revisions to its pharmaceutical provisions, in particular a measure providing an advanced class of drugs called biologics 10 years of protection from cheaper alternatives.

Biologic drugs are made from living organisms rather than synthetic chemicals and have been used to treat diseases including diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and cancer. Obtaining approvals for these drugs requires clinical trials and other research and development, which are both costly and time consuming.

The new trade pact gives biologic drugmakers 10 years of protections against other products that would rely on the data they used to win approval. After a decade has elapsed, competing drug companies are allowed to rely on the original companys data to get product approvals for their own drugs, without repeating clinical trials, as long as they can show they have produced a similar drug.

That 10-year provision would raise the timeline in Canada, where the industry currently has eight years of protection, and in Mexico, where it technically has none. It would not change current policy in the United States, where the standard is already 12 years.

But Democrats are objecting to the provision, saying that enshrining the time period in a trade agreement could thwart their future efforts to lower health care costs through legislative changes. Lawmakers also argue that other provisions of the trade pact could hinder development of generic drugs.

Democrats, who say they gained control of the House with a mandate to address spiraling health care costs, are seizing on the pharmaceutical provisions as a way to make an impact on the trade deal and potentially separate the president from his populist base.

The American public is fed up with whats going on with drug pricing,said Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who is the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Trade, which is responsible for overseeing the presidents trade agenda.

Blumenauer said he and other members of the subcommittee were not likely to support the deal in its current form. I personally have no interest in our driving something through that is intensely contentious and partisan, he said.

The provisions supporters, including those in the pharmaceutical industry, say that Democratic opposition is misguided and that these are basic intellectual property protections that are necessary to safeguard American innovation and give companies an incentive to invest in developing drugs.

We need to make sure were protecting American companies that are engaging in research and development that will give us these lifesaving treatments, said Gary Locke, a former Obama administration official and the head of the Pass USMCA Coalition, a group of trade associations and businesses.

If Mexican and Canadian firms are able to outright copy this stuff, what incentive is there for U.S. firms to engage in this research that often doesnt even pan out? Locke asked.

The United States has led the world in the development of new pharmaceuticals, particularly biologics. This advanced class of medicines, spurred by the completion of the human genome and other biotechnological research, has delivered groundbreaking treatments for debilitating diseases.

But some of the drugs can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per patient per year. Biologics are a small share of prescription drugs taken today, but they make up a rapidly expanding share of medical spending in the United States. Generic versions of these drugs, called biosimilars because biological drugs often cannot be reproduced identically, are mostly still in their infancy.

Advocates for patients and the generics industry say provisions in the new trade deal would further restrain that development  and preclude cheaper drug prices  by blocking the development of cheaper biosimilars.

The objective is to tie the hands of members of Congress so that they cannot reduce the long exclusivity period for the most expensive drugs since they would be infringing the terms of the trade agreement, said M. Fabiana Jorge, president of MFJ International, an advocate for patients and the generics industry.

In a letter sent in November to Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, groups including the AARP and the AFL-CIO, a labor organization, expressed serious concern that the agreement would exacerbate the problem of high prescription drug prices in the United States.

But the pharmaceutical industry says the United States needs to provide protections to encourage further research and development of these cutting-edge drugs.

At a time when markets like China are proposing to raise their standard to 12 years, North America must also have strong intellectual property protections that balance innovation and competition, said Stephen J. Ubl, the president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the industrys largest lobbying group.

The Trump administration, which negotiated the 10-year provision, has largely rejected the Democrats objections and says the measures will have no effect on the American drug industry given the existing 12-year limit.

The provisions will have no impact on current U.S. law in this area, and should not have any impact on Congress ability to act in the future, said Emily Davis, a spokeswoman for the U.S. trade representative.

Other disagreements center on the trade pacts definition of biologics, as well as rules governing other ways drug companies can extend protections, like putting existing products to new uses or combining them with other drugs. Democrats are also scrutinizing the length of protections companies receive when introducing their products in foreign markets.

The generics industry says these protections could restrict exports of biosimilars, undermining the industry as a whole and therefore the mission of making drugs more affordable. Given that the Trump administration has said the new pact will serve as a model for other trade deals, the industry is also concerned that these provisions could someday be expanded around the globe.

Jonathan Kimball, vice president for trade and international affairs at the Association for Accessible Medicines, which represents the generics industry, said the deals drug provisions would strengthen the ability of pharmaceutical companies to extend their current monopolies.

That goes against the entire public debate we are having now about reducing drug prices, Kimball said.

The agreement has several provisions that should appeal to Democrats, including measures intended to encourage automakers to pay higher wages so that their cars qualify for zero tariffs and limits on a special dispute settlement system that allowed corporations to sue governments.

But Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, has signaled that she will not pass the deal without strict enforcement. The deals passage seems more certain in the Senate, which is still controlled by Republicans.

The Senate would pass a paper bag as long as it had the words free trade, said Lori Wallach, director of Global Trade Watch at Public Citizen. The real battle over NAFTA is going to be in the House.

Ana Swanson is a New York Times writer.
Dr. Dre, the music mogul, producer and rapper, posted on Instagram on Friday, bragging that his daughter got into the University of Southern California "all on her own." He posted the caption with a a photo showing him with his arm around his daughter Truly Young, who's holding her admissions offer from USC.

"No jail time!" he exclaimed, referring to a college admissions scandal involving USC. Then, people on social media let him know that they haven't forgotten about Dre's special relationship with Los Angeles-based private university.

"Perhaps jail time wasn't necessary but Dre did donate $70 million to USC along with Jimmy Iovine," wrote journalist Yashar Ali. Ali was referring to a 2013 donation to the school from Iovine and Dre that resulted in a building  the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation  being named after Dre.

This was the tone of many people who saw the Instagram post, which went viral after it was posted. Some were saying that although he was suggesting that he didn't pay bribes to admissions counselors or specialists, like what's alleged to have happened with actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, he curried favor with the massive donation in 2013.

"Is #DrDre (#AndreYoung) serious or joking, that his #daughter got into #USC on her own?" Twitter user @TruthandJust1 asked. "He donated a whopping $70 Million! A building & degree named after him! He must be joking. Right?"

Several people expressed their incredulity at Dre's post along with a press release from 2013 announcing the creation of the Iovine and Young academy in 2013. Others said that this is the old way that the mega-rich buy their way into institutions of higher learning: by donating enough to have a building named after them and to secure admissions offers for their offspring.

But some others on social media praised his daughter's hard work while throwing shade on Loughlin and Huffman. "Congrats to Dr.Dre and his daughter Truly Young. She was accepted in to USC on her own merits, no shady side deals," @lovelyti wrote on Instagram.

A few hours after he posted it, though, Dre took the post down, signaling that perhaps the negative attention on social media got to him. Dre isn't implicated in the college admission scandal at USC.

Institutions of higher learning all over the country have been rocked since federal prosecutors announced their investigation into a college admissions racket that included some of the nations most prominent colleges and universities, like USC, Stanford University, Georgetown University and Yale University.

USC students who were caught up in the scandal may be expelled, the school said.
WASHINGTON  A battle over funding for Puerto Rico is complicating the path forward for a long-delayed disaster aid bill thats a top political priority for some of President Trumps Republican allies as it heads to the Senate floor this week.

At stake is $13.5 billion emergency relief legislation to help southern farmers, rebuild hurricane-damaged military bases, repair water systems, and assist victims of last years California wildfires, among other purposes.

The measure has wide backing from both Democrats and Republicans and is perhaps most ardently backed by Trump loyalists such as David Perdue, R-Ga., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who face potentially difficult re-election fights next year.

The White House, however, isnt pleased with the bill and is particularly opposed to efforts by Democrats to make hurricane relief to Puerto Rico more generous. Senate Republicans are supporting food aid to the devastated island and are working with top Democrats like Patrick Leahy of Vermont to try to speed passage of the measure by adding additional help for Puerto Rico.

The House passed a companion $14.2 billion version of the legislation in January, but it got tangled up in the politics of the partial government shutdown and Trumps demands for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The measure is especially sought by lawmakers from southern states like Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, which were hit by hurricanes Michael and Florence last year. Theres money to respond to California wildfires, an earthquake in Alaska and floods in South Carolina, and for the ongoing recovery effort in Puerto Rico, which was devastated by back-to-back hurricanes in 2017.

And now theres widespread flooding in Nebraska, Iowa and other Midwestern states.

In an official position paper in January, the White House said the House bill was far too generous, objecting to almost $6 billion worth of the measure. But it stopped short of an outright veto threat, and GOP aides say Trump has since told Perdue that hed sign the Senate version of the bill, which mirrors the House plan in most respects.

For many lawmakers, passage is already overdue. Puerto Rico already has cut nutrition benefits by roughly 25 percent amid the funding crunch.

Last fall, Trump tweeted falsely that the government of Puerto Rico was using disaster aid funding to pay off its debt, and earlier this year Trump reportedly contemplated trying to shift some of Puerto Ricos disaster aid to address disaster in the mainland U.S.

While Trump supports $600 million to maintain food stamp benefits in Puerto Rico, Capitol Hill aides say the White House is opposing more generous terms for delivery of disaster aid dollars and funding to rebuild antiquated water systems.

Andrew Taylor is an Associated Press writer.
WASHINGTON  The investigation led by Robert Mueller found that neither President Donald Trump nor any of his aides conspired or coordinated with the Russian governments 2016 election interference, according to a summary of the special counsels findings made public Sunday by Attorney General William Barr.

The summary also said that the special counsels team lacked sufficient evidence to establish that Trump illegally obstructed justice, but added that Muellers team stopped short of exonerating Trump.

While this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him, Barr quoted Mueller as writing.

Barr delivered the summary of the special counsels finding to Congress on Sunday afternoon, just days after the conclusion of a sprawling investigation into Russias attempts to sabotage the 2016 election and whether Trump or any of his associates conspired with Moscows interference.

But congressional Democrats have demanded more, and the release of the key findings could be just the beginning of a lengthy constitutional battle between Congress and the Justice Department about whether Muellers full report will be made public. Democrats have also called for the attorney general to turn over all of the special counsels investigative files.

The Russia investigation has buffeted the White House from the earliest days of the Trump administration, with numerous current and former aides to Trump brought for questioning to the special counsels warren of offices in a plain office building in downtown Washington. FBI agents fanned out across the nation and traveled to numerous foreign countries. Witnesses were questioned by members of Muellers team at airports upon landing in the United States.

Ultimately, a half-dozen former Trump aides were indicted or convicted of crimes, most for conspiracy or lying to investigators. Twenty-five Russian intelligence operatives and experts in social media manipulation were charged in 2018 in two extraordinarily detailed indictments released by the special counsel. The inquiry concluded without charging any Americans for conspiring with the Russian campaign.

The report will bring closure for some who have obsessed over the myriad threads of a Byzantine investigation. A cottage industry of Mueller watchers has spent months on social media and cable news debating thorny constitutional issues, spinning conspiracy theories and amassing encyclopedic details about once-obscure figures  Carter Page, Konstantin Kilimnik, George Papadopoulos and others.

How many minds it changes is another matter. Opinions have hardened over time, with many Americans already convinced they knew the answers before Mueller submitted his conclusions. Some believe that the special counsels previous indictments, twinned with voluminous news media reporting, have already shown a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Some believe that the investigation is, as Trump has long described it, a witch hunt.

Muellers work has proceeded in the face of blistering attacks by Trump and his allies, who painted the investigation as part of a relentless campaign by the deep state to reverse the results of the 2016 election.

Still, the release of Muellers findings could force a decision by Democrats on a simmering issue they have said would wait until the investigations end: whether to begin impeachment proceedings against the president. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has said it would not be worth it to try to impeach Trump, but suggested she could change her mind if an overwhelming bipartisan consensus emerged.

For months, the president and his lawyers have waged as much of a public-relations campaign as a legal one  trying to discredit the Mueller investigation to keep public opinion from swaying lawmakers to move against Trump.

The Justice Department regulations governing the Mueller inquiry only required the special counsel to give a succinct, confidential report to the attorney general explaining his decisions to either seek  or decline to seek  further criminal charges. Mueller operated under tighter restrictions than similar past inquiries, notably the investigation of former President Bill Clinton by Ken Starr, who ended up delivering a 445-page report in 1998 that contained lascivious details about an affair the president had with a White House intern.

Mueller was still given a wide mandate  to investigate not only Russian election interference but any matters that may arise directly from that investigation. Mueller has farmed out numerous aspects of his inquiry to several U.S. attorneys offices, and those investigations continue.

Mueller will not recommend new indictments, a senior Justice Department official said Friday, ending speculation that he might charge some of Trumps aides in the future. The Justice Departments general practice is not to identify the targets of its investigations if prosecutors decide not to bring charges, so as not to tarnish their reputations. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein emphasized this point in a speech in February.

Its important, Rosenstein said, for government officials to refrain from making allegations of wrongdoing when theyre not backed by charges that we arent prepared to prove in court.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
CONCORD (BCN)



Concord city staff is set to recommend the City Council reject a general plan amendment and rezoning to allow a Chick-fil-A restaurant at the site of closed Chinese buffet on Willow Pass Road.



In December, Chick-fil-A submitted a preliminary application to develop a franchise-operated restaurant with drive-thru service at 1400 Willow Pass Road. The site is now the closed Lin's Buffet Chinese restaurant.



Chick-fil-A had earlier explored building a restaurant at 1225 Willow Pass Road (now the empty former Elephant Bar restaurant) and 1353 Willow Pass Road, which has since become the site of Gen Korean BBQ House. And while those parcels were zoned for fast-food restaurants with a drive-thru, Concord city staff said they wouldn't have supported those locations over concerns about effects on traffic, circulation and economic development.



The city has similar concerns with the Lin's Buffet site, which currently is zoned for fast-food restaurants, but not with drive-thru windows.

A city staff report says Chick-fil-A was encouraged to explore other areas of Concord to build, but that Chick-fil-A has said it wants to build near Interstate Highway 680, which is a quarter-mile west of the Lin's Buffet location.



The Concord City Council meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the City Hall council chamber, 1950 Parkside Drive.
A 20-year-old Stanford University junior has died in Spain, apparently falling while on a hike with other Stanford undergraduates studying in Europe, the vice provost of student affairs posted on the university's website Saturday.

SEE ALSO: Death toll from cyclone surpasses 550 in southern Africa



Mischa Nee was hiking with other Stanford students near Mallorca, Spain Friday afternoon, in an area described to Stanford's Susie Brubaker-Cole as "difficult, rocky terrain." His fellow hikers lost sight of Nee during the hike, and he disappeared. Mallorca authorities started searching the area late Friday and resumed Saturday, when Nee's body was discovered.
One person has died and three others were injured, one critically, in a shooting Saturday night in the Fillmore neighborhood of San Francisco, police said.



Police were called about 8:40 p.m. to the 1300 block of Fillmore Street, near Eddy Street, said police Sgt. Michael Andraychak. Officers arrived to find several apparent gunshot victims; one of them was pronounced dead at the scene. San Francisco Fire Department paramedics moved three adult victims to a local hospital, one of them having suffered injuries considered life-threatening, Andraychak said.



The investigation was just beginning late Saturday night. Police ask that anyone with information about the shootings call the SFPD's 24-hour tip line at (415) 575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD.







Alcohol and an "incredibly high rate of speed" are being cited as likely factors behind the deadly plunge Saturday of a car off of a roadway and down a cliff in Mt. Tamalpais State Park in Marin County, a park ranger said.



A San Rafael man in his 50s died after the car he was driving went off West Ridgecrest Boulevard and down the cliff, said Sgt. Alexis Jones, a supervising ranger at the state park. She said a witness saw the car go off the cliff about 10:12 a.m. Saturday; the car landed in a ravine between 300 and 400 feet down from the roadway.



The driver was the only person in the car, Jones said, and no other vehicles were involved.



A Sonoma County sheriff's helicopter crew, along with local fire crews, staged a rescue operation. The victim was airlifted to the roadway and pronounced dead.



The driver's name was not released Saturday night.







No one was injured Saturday afternoon when a helicopter made an emergency landing in a Kmart parking lot in Redwood City about two miles from the San Carlos airport, Redwood City police said.



The civilian helicopter was bound for the San Carlos airport at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday when the pilot reported a minor mechanical issue and made a "safe, controlled landing" in the parking lot of the Kmart store on Veterans Boulevard. Mechanics from the San Carlos airport came to the scene, and made repairs allowing the copter to resume its trip at about 6:25 p.m., police said.



The National Transportation Safety Board has been notified of the emergency landing, police said.







A 25-year-old man was found dead Saturday morning alongside state Highway 1 in Monterey County, and the California Highway Patrol is looking for a hit-and-run suspect, and vehicle, believed to have struck him, the CHP said.



The man's body was discovered about 9 a.m. Saturday on the southbound Highway 1 shoulder at Struve Road, about a mile north of Moss Landing. The victim was determined to have been on foot, and suffered "significant head and body trauma," the CHP said.



The victim's name was not released Saturday, pending notification of family.



The CHP doesn't know the make or model of vehicle that hit the man.



Anyone with information about this accident is asked to call the CHP's Monterey Area office 24 hours at (831) 796-2160.







A 20-year-old Stanford University junior has died in Spain, apparently falling while on a hike with other Stanford undergraduates studying in Europe, the vice provost of student affairs posted on the university's website Saturday.



Mischa Nee was hiking with other Stanford students near Mallorca, Spain Friday afternoon, in an area described to Stanford's Susie Brubaker-Cole as "difficult, rocky terrain." His fellow hikers lost sight of Nee during the hike, and he disappeared. Mallorca authorities started searching the area late Friday and resumed Saturday, when Nee's body was discovered.



Nee was part of a group of Stanford undergrads studying in Europe over winter quarter visiting Mallorca for a short visit, Brubaker-Cole said. He was a computer science major at Stanford and was planning a minor in art history or studio art, she added.







State Highway 37 in Solano and Sonoma counties will be closed until 10 a.m. Sunday to allow for emergency repairs to a railroad crossing, the state Department of Transportation said.



Motorists are advised to watch for detours, allow additional travel time and take alternate routes if possible, the agency said in a traffic advisory.



Motorists headed west should use northbound state Highway 29, then westbound state Highway 12, southbound state Highway 121, and re-enter westbound state Highway 37 at the Highway 21/37 interchange.



Motorists headed east should use northbound SR 121, eastbound SR 12, southbound SR 29, and re-enter SR 37 at the 29/37 interchange.



The Northwestern Pacific Railroad Co. will perform the repairs on the crossing at the intersection of State Routes 37 and 121 just east of Sears Point.







A woman has died and man has been injured following a one-alarm fire at a home in Redwood City on Saturday night, according to fire officials.



The blaze was first reported around 10:08 p.m. at 556 Jackson Avenue, Redwood City Fire Chief Stan Maupin said. Firefighters arrived four minutes after the initial call and extinguished the blaze located in the kitchen at 10:36 p.m.



The injured party was transported to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening, according to Maupin, and nobody else lived at the single-family residence.



Most of the fire damage to the home was kept to the kitchen, but Maupin added that there was smoke damage throughout the home.



The cause of the fire is under investigation.







Sunday will be partly cloudy in the morning, then becoming mostly cloudy. Highs will be around 60. East winds will be 5 to 10 mph, before becoming south winds at 5 to 15 mph in the afternoon.



Sunday night will see rain likely after midnight. Lows will be in the lower 50s. South winds will be 10 to 20 mph.



Monday will be breezy with rain in the morning, then rain likely in the afternoon. Highs will be in the upper 50s. Southwest winds will be 20 to 30 mph with gusts to around 45 mph, decreasing to 5 to 15 mph in the afternoon.





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BCN11)







BENICIA (BCN)



The Valero refinery in Benicia is performing a controlled shutdown of its entire facility in the wake of recent heavy smoke emissions that prompted health advisories, city officials said Sunday morning.



Valero told the city shortly after 9 a.m. Sunday about the refinery's plan to perform the shutdown, said Benicia spokeswoman Irma Widjojo.



The shutdown will happen over multiple days and result in visible flaring, Valero officials told the city.



Information about what caused the heavy smoke and prompted the move to shut down the facility has not been released. City officials said refinery officials told them the shut down was taking place "to improve conditions and minimize risk from earlier operations."



Valero officials have not responded to requests Sunday morning for comment.



The thick smoke billowing from the refinery over Solano and Contra Costa counties from the Valero refinery is also being investigated by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.



The smoke was coming from a flue gas scrubber stack at the refinery and started sometime last week, according to the air district.



"Valero has been experiencing an upset at the facility this week," air district spokeswoman Lisa Fasano said Sunday morning. "Smoke from the facility has increased and is blowing over the city of Benicia and may shift throughout the day."



Over the past week, the air district has issued seven notice of violations for excess visible emissions and public nuisance to the refinery. A monitoring van will drive throughout Benicia to gather ground level emissions data, air district spokeswoman Lisa Fasano said Sunday.



Before Valero's announcement of a controlled shutdown of the refinery, Benicia city officials issued an advisory about 7:30 a.m., warning residents with respiratory issues to stay inside. A concentration of particulates from the refinery has become higher over the past 24 hours, according to the city.



The emissions contain coke, a byproduct of the refining process that is composed primarily of carbon particles, according to the city's advisory.



So far, testing shows no heavy metals at harmful levels in the emissions, but the smoke may cause discomfort and can worsen respiratory conditions such as asthma, city officials said.



The air district also warned that elderly persons, children and individuals with respiratory illnesses are particularly susceptible to elevated air pollution levels and should take extra precautions to avoid exposure.



Valero officials did not reply to a request for comment about the refinery emissions.



The city is working with Valero on the issue and has partially activated the City's Emergency Operations Center. The City has also been in active contact with the Solano County Environmental Health Department, a physician of the Solano County Public Health Department, as well as the air district, Widjojo said.



The Benicia Unified School District and Solano County's Office of Emergency Services have also been notified as precaution.



More information on the incident is available on the city's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CityBenicia/





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WATSONVILLE (BCN)



Pennsylvania Drive between Main Street and Hammer Drive in Watsonville reopened about 3 p.m. Saturday, a few hours after an earlier motorcycle crash, police said.



A motorcyclist suffered major injuries after crashing into a parked car, police said. The roadway was closed for a few hours while police investigated the accident The motorcyclist, a man in his 30s, was taken to an out-of-county trauma center.



Police issued a traffic alert about the road closure at 1:18 p.m.





Copyright  2019 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
"We could also affirm that a wing could be used to massage a rider's back, but its effect is to generate a downforce." Romano Albesiano has no doubts about the "spoon" mounted on the Ducati and doesn't mince words in supporting it." During the party at Mugello, Aprilia's technical director talked about the complaint against the Borgo Panigale team and defended his theory.

"We did computer simulations on this type of appendage, and we saw that it generates drag, downforce, and cools the rear tire," he explained. "In other words, it's something that can make a difference in terms of performance."

How much of a difference?

"This is not the time nor the place to count numbers. The point is that, in the new guidelines, issued after the tests in Qatar, it's clearly written that no part in that area can be designed to create downforce. But that is a wing, and a wing generates it. We're not talking about a hectogram, and even a few kilos can make a difference."

You had also thought of creating something similar...

"And we were told that appendages placed in that area cannot have aerodynamic effects. So we stopped the development process. We were surprised that a wing - because that is a wing - had been approved."

Could a cooling effect for the tire have been achieved in other ways?

"The shape does it all. A real spoon, for example, would be less efficient from an aerodynamic viewpoint, or you could use diverters. Our calculations confirm that the Ducati solution generates a downforce."

What do you aim to achieve with this appeal?

"Not to take away Dovizioso's victory or merits. I want to be clear about that. The point is that the current regulation only lays down three points of principle, so to speak, then transfers the decision to only one person."

Isn't Technical Director Danny Aldridge capable?

"I think we should reinforce the structure, help this person, who is called upon to decide on the most disparate topics and may not be perfectly competent on all."

If that appendage were declared legal, would you be ready to present a similar one?

"We could be able to for the Austin Grand Prix. Let's say that, in recent times, we've studied that solution" (he laughs).

Do you think that the solution adopted in Valencia by Yamaha was legitimate?

"That was quite another thing. It was simply used to divert the vapor cloud from the rear tire. I don't expect it to generate such a great downforce."
National Weather Service

COLUSA COUNTY, Calif. (KCRA)  The National Weather Service in Sacramento has issued a tornado warning for east central Colusa County and west central Sutter County until 4:30 p.m.

A severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was located near Colusa National Wildlife, the NWS said Saturday.
STAVANGER, Norway  Viking Sky cruise ship passenger Rodney Horgen can pinpoint the moment when he thought he was facing the end: when a huge wave crashed through the ships glass doors and swept his wife 30 feet across the floor.

Horgen, 62, of Minnesota was visiting Norway on a dream pilgrimage to his ancestral homeland when the luxury cruise trip quickly turned into a nightmare.

The Viking Sky was carrying 1,373 passengers and crew, going from Norways Arctic north to the southern city of Stavanger when it had engine trouble along Norways rough, frigid western coast. Struggling in heavy seas to avoid being dashed on the rocky coast, the ship issued a mayday call Saturday.

Coast guard official Emil Heggelund estimated to the VG newspaper that the ship was only 100 yards from striking rocks under the water and 900 yards from shore when it stopped and anchored in Hustadvika Bay so passengers could be evacuated.

Yet waves up to 26 feet high were smacking into the ship, making it impossible to evacuate anyone by boat. The only alternative was to winch passengers off the heaving ship by helicopter, one by one.

Norways Joint Rescue Coordination Center stepped up, sending five helicopters. Passenger Alexus Sheppard said people with injuries or disabilities were winched off first.

Passengers Allen and Susan Dollberg of Novato spoke Sunday to NRK, the Norwegian government-owned broadcaster, about their experience.

At first we took it lightly, Allen Dollberg said. Then suddenly the alarms went off that we needed to evacuate ship.

Everything was breaking, furniture, glassware, Susan Dollberg said. When we got the signal to evacuate, there was no time to think about getting important things like passports.

The airlift evacuation went all through the night and into Sunday morning. In all, 479 passengers were airlifted to land, leaving 436 passengers and 458 crew members on board, when the Viking Skys captain decided to try to bring the cruise ship to the nearby port of Molde on its own engines with the help of tug boats.

Viking Ocean Cruises, the company that owns the ship, said 20 people were injured as a result of this incident, and they are all receiving care at the relevant medical centers in Norway.

The New York Times contributed to this report.

Mark Lewis and Jari Tanner is an Associated Press writer.
RIO DE JANEIRO  Brazilian mining giant Vale announced communities in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais have been ordered to evacuate after independent auditors found one of its dams could collapse at any moment.

On Friday, the company raised the level of risk at a mining waste dam in the city of Barao de Cocais to three, the highest grade. According to Brazils mining and energy secretary, level three means that a rupture is imminent or already happening.

Residents within a 6-mile perimeter of the dam had already been told to leave by state authorities in February after Vale raised risk levels to grade two, a company spokesperson told the Associated Press. The spokesperson, who asked not to be identified, said 442 people had been relocated to temporary housing or with family members since February.

Lt. Col. Flavio Godinho, of the states civil defense department, told reporters that authorities are studying the Barao de Cocais structure to review the existing contingency plan.

Any activity at the dam could trigger a rupture, Godinho said on Globo TV.

The news comes nearly two months after another Vale-operated dam in the nearby city of Brumadinho collapsed, unleashing a wave of toxic mud that contaminated rivers and killed about 300 people.

The contamination of rivers with mining waste, or tailings, which contain high levels of iron-ore and other metals is of great concern and can last for years or even decades, experts say.

Brazilian environmental group SOS Mata Atlantica said it had proof of water contamination in the large Sao Francisco river as a result of the Brumadinho dam collapse. Hundreds of municipalities and larger cities such as Petrolina, 870 miles from Brumadinho, get drinking water from the Sao Francisco.

Brazils National Water Agency, which is carrying out its own water tests, denied further contamination of the Sao Francisco river, according to Globos news portal G1.

The type of structure used to hold back mining waste in Brumadinho was the same as the one currently in use in Barao de Cocais, which lies about 93 miles away.

Diane Jeantet is an Associated Press writer.
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Bulgarian companies with staff exceeding 50 employees must hire people with disabilities, according to the new Disability Act, which took effect Jan. 1.

In order to ensure the employment of people with permanent disabilities in the normal working environment, the legislator has foreseen that employers with personnel headcount ranging from 50 to 99 employees must provide work for at least one person with permanent disabilities. Employers with 100 or more employees and workers must provide work to people with permanent disabilities in a number equal to 2 percent of their current headcount (e.g., a company employing 100 employees must provide work to at least 2 employees with permanent disabilities). Work positions established under Article 315 of the Labor Code are not taken into account when calculating the quota.

In order to meet its quota for recruitment of employees and workers with permanent disabilities, the employers follow a procedure whereby they inform the territorial divisions of the Employment Agency about the vacancies, the required employee profiles, and the necessary qualification and professional skills. Within three months of being notified, the employer is required to employ people with permanent disabilities who meet the requirements for employment at the workplace.

Under the law, persons with permanent disabilities are defined to include "persons with permanent physical, mental, intellectual and sensory impairment who may impede their full and effective participation in public life and to whom the medical expertise has established a degree of disability of 50 and over 50 percent."



In case of noncompliance with the obligation, the employer will be liable to pay a monthly compensation contribution in the amount of 30 percent of the minimum wage for each vacancy for a person with permanent disability that has not been filled.

It is worth noting that the General Labor Inspectorate may decide to exempt employers from this obligation provided there are specific factors in the working environment that prevent the recruitment of people with permanent disabilities or in case of an absence of persons with permanent disabilities.

Nelly Parvanova is head of accounting and tax with Eurofast in Sofia, Bulgaria.  2019 Eurofast. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission of Lexology.
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In a ruling likely to reshape multinationals' arbitration agreements, the Ontario Court of Appeal invalidated an arbitration clause requiring Uber drivers in the province in Canada to resolve all employment issues through a prohibitively expensive process in the Netherlands.

"This case is part of a series of cases redefining the balance between multinational companies and individual workers in the modern gig economy," said Christopher Burkett, an attorney with Baker McKenzie in Toronto. "Large multinational companies engaging with independent contractors should be careful not to be viewed as using their bargaining power to subvert the rights of individual workers within their home jurisdictions."

The case arose when an Uber Eats driver brought a proposed class action, seeking a declaration that drivers are Uber employees entitled to the benefits provided by Ontario's Employment Standards Act (ESA). Uber requested to stay the action, claiming that the appellant was bound by an arbitration clause in the Uber services agreement stipulating that disputes go through an arbitration process in Amsterdam under the law of the Netherlands, with upfront filing fees of U.S. $14,500 paid by the driver. The superior court granted the motion to stay the action in favor of arbitration.

The appellate court reversed the lower court, finding that the clause was invalid and unenforceable because it violated the ESA, which guarantees employees' ability to pursue employment claims in court or with the government. Uber's arbitration clause attempted to contract out of Ontario's statutory scheme, the court said. Reasoning that its review must begin with the presumption that the appellant could prove that he was an employee of Uber, the court found that the clause denied drivers the ability to make complaints to the Ministry of Labour, thus depriving them of the statutory right to have an employment standards officer investigate their complaints.

Further, the appellate court held that the clause was "unconscionable" for failing to protect the weaker contracting party. The clause "represents a substantially improvident or unfair bargain," the court said, noting that a driver making C$400 to $600 (approximately U.S. $299 to $449) a week, based on 40 to 50 hours of work in Ontario, would be forced to undertake arbitration in Amsterdam to resolve a claim possibly worth a few hundred Canadian dollars.

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Introduction to the Global Human Resources Discipline]

Can Employers Still Rely on Arbitration Clauses?

Employers should "absolutely review" their existing contracts to make sure the arbitration process outlined is accessible and doesn't violate statutes in workers' home countries, said Lior Samfiru, an attorney with Samfiru Tumarkin in Toronto and co-counsel for the appellant. "Think about narrowing the scope of the provision."

Noting that Google now does not have arbitration agreements in its employee contracts, Samfiru expressed his belief that more firms will soon follow Google's lead. "Companies, especially big ones, rely on public perception of their brand, and I think that many more of them will choose not to use arbitration clauses going forward," he said. "In the age of the #MeToo movement, it's bad optics for a company to be seen as trying to silence accusers bringing sexual harassment or discrimination claims." The fact that arbitration provides no right to an appeal compounds the public-perception problem, he added.

For employers who choose to continue using arbitration clauses, Samfiru offered this advice:

Make sure the clause doesn't breach statutory protections in local jurisdictions.

Avoid overreach. Don't make the conditions so outrageous that no one can realistically use the arbitration process.

Ensure the parties have equal bargaining power.

Make the arbitration process accessible from both a monetary and a geographical standpoint.

Differing Opinions on the Future of Arbitration Clauses

However, Burkett said he doesn't believe that this decision indicates a wholesale problem with the arbitration of employment claims. Noting that arbitration can be helpful in conserving overburdened court resources, he said employers must avoid onerous provisions that the courts may find unenforceable.

"Arbitration clauses are generally enforceable in Ontario," agreed Laura Fric, an attorney with Osler in Toronto.

To diminish the likelihood that an arbitration clause will be deemed unenforceable, Fric said employers could craft arbitration clauses with less onerous conditions that address the court's reasons, such as:

Providing that arbitration is subject to the local laws of the jurisdiction where the services are provided.

Ensuring that arbitration hearings can be held in the local jurisdiction where the relevant services are provided.

Requiring low, upfront arbitration fees or providing that the employer pay the initial filing fees, with the understanding that the fees may be reimbursed if the employer is successful in the arbitration.

Emphasizing that Ontario courts want to protect the rights of workers in the gig economy, Burkett advised lawyers drafting contracts to ensure workers have recourse to exercise the statutory rights guaranteed by their home jurisdictions. "Counsel should revisit all arbitration clauses, in particular foreign arbitration clauses, to ascertain their validity," Burkett said.

"With so many nuances and intricacies across jurisdictions, multinationals have to be careful not to be seen as exerting their power to unduly limit individual employees' rights," he cautioned.

With that in mind, lawyers should take a localized approach to drafting arbitration clauses; individualized versions may be needed based on jurisdictional requirements. Before issuing a global policy, counsel can conduct a global survey to determine if various jurisdictions would uphold a policy, Burkett suggested.

Heller v. Uber Technologies Inc., ONCA, No. C65073 (Jan. 2, 2019).

Rosemarie Lally, J.D., is a freelance legal writer based in Washington, D.C.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A 70-year-old Dongan Hills woman who police say fell victim to a home invasion Friday night first encountered the two male suspects in her kitchen, according to a police source.

The two men, one of them armed with a gun, somehow gained entry -- possibly through the basement -- at about 11:15 p.m. on the 200 block of Overlook Avenue, the source said.

Police said the suspects, described only as black males, then forced the woman into the bathtub while they snatched jewelry and coins, worth an undetermined amount, from the home. Initial radio transmissions indicated the suspects were wearing ski masks.

According to neighbors, the quiet dead-end street bordering Todt Hill often attracts teenagers who dont live on the block and occasional criminal nuisances including car break-ins and graffiti.

A lot of kids hang out here, said a 23-year-old neighbor who asked her name not be published. They come to smoke (weed), I guess because its a dead-end block.

She said that over the summer, she discovered the word Savage spray-painted in the rear of her house.

A man who appeared much younger than the victim answered the door Saturday at the home where the incident occurred, but declined to comment.

No arrests had been made in connection with the incident, as of Saturday evening, as an investigation remains ongoing.

Staten Island has seen its share of frightening home invasions over the years.

In one recent case in October, three men, including two twin brothers, were charged in connection with an incident in Arden Heights in September. The victim was struck in the head and the two brothers suffered gunshot wounds, though it wasnt clear at the time who shot them.

In September, a 38-year-old woman was restrained with duct tape and pummeled during an incident in Greenridge, as two unknown males cut and removed a screen in a rear basement window to gain entry into her home.

And in May of 2018, a man was arrested and charged with breaking into a home in West Brighton, forcing an 84-year-old woman into a closet and making off with several hundred dollars, police said at the time.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The mother of a Staten Island native killed Friday in Harlem by an alleged drugged driver says she hopes the man responsible is imprisoned and rehabilitated, but for the time being shes just doing her best to deal with the loss.

As for anger, right now Im just trying to deal with the fact that Ill never see my baby again and she had an incomplete life after so many hopes and dreams, Lisa Maccarelli Imbasciani told the Advance Sunday.

Police said her daughter, Erica Imbasciani, 26, was crossing Amsterdam Avenue near 141st Street in Harlem at about 9:40 p.m. Friday when the driver of a black 2003 GMC Denali SUV fatally struck her and fled the scene. The driver then turned on to Hamilton Place and allegedly struck an SUV stopped at a red light, at which point he was arrested.

Tyrik Cooper, 27, faces a slew of charges that include vehicular manslaughter, operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs and driving without a license, according to a written statement from the NYPDs Deputy Commissioner of Public Informations Office.

A catalogue of Imbascianis paintings and clothing designs remained on Facebook and Instagram Sunday.

Imbasciani studied art history at Bard College after graduating from Staten Island Tech High School, according to her Facebook account.

She grew up in Annadale but had since moved to Harlem, and previously worked as a gallery assistant in Manhattan.

Family and friends took to social media over the weekend to pay their respects. A post Sunday morning by Lisa Maccarelli Imbasciani read in part: ...all [of] the beautiful words, condolences and memories. Thats all we have now. Erica Imbasciani was very precious and loved.

Speaking of her daughters outlook on life and forgiveness for others, her mother said Erica would probably just want (the driver) rehabilitated.

Family and friends of Erica Imbasciani, originally of Staten Island, took to social media over the weekend following the death of the artist and designer in a sudden, hit-and-run incident in Harlem. (Facebook)

Some have railed against city officials in the wake of the death, amidst an ongoing push for safety restrictions on what they consider a dangerous stretch of road in Harlem.

According to a New York Post report, Transportation Alternatives senior organizer Erwin Figueroa has demand the street be reconstructed.

Another pedestrian fatality, this time on Upper Amsterdam. RIP Erica Imbasciani. https://t.co/e8L6W81VSo  Ellen McDermott (@HeyNell) March 23, 2019

A final goodbye from a woman on Facebook who identified herself as a longtime friend included a photo gallery from their teenage years, and an emotional sendoff that read in part:

Ive always admired you and looked up to you for your individuality and thats something you taught me, was to always be true to yourself.

An long-time friend of Erica Imbasciani posted a gallery of memories to Facebook, following the death of the Staten Island native.

A wake for Imbasciani is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Hanley Funeral Home in New Dorp.

A Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St Peters Cathedral at 53 St. Marks Place in St. George.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The NYPD is seeking the publics assistance in identifying an individual wanted for questioning in connection to a burglary in New Springville.

It was reported to police on March 14 at 7:46 p.m. that two males in the Best Buy on Richmond Avenue walked into a restricted access storage area and removed approximately $10,000 worth of Apple products from the store, according to a written statement by the Deputy Commissioner for Public Information (DCPI).

The males fled the scene in an unknown direction, according to police.

Police released a surveillance photo, which they say pictures one individual who is wanted for questioning. Both males sought in the incident were described as black, last seen wearing dark-colored clothing.

An NYPD spokesman did not have information regarding where or when the surveillance photo was taken.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, on Twitter @NYPDTips or by texting tips to 274637 (CRIMES), then entering TIP577.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A second student who survived the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. on Feb. 14, 2018, has died from an apparent suicide, according to published reports.

Coral Springs, Fla. police confirmed Sunday that a current student at the high school died on Saturday night, according to the Miami Herald.

Police are still investigating the apparent suicide, and could not confirm the age of the student, the Miami Herald reported.

Coral Springs police spokesman Tyler Reik told the Miami Herald that the student was a juvenile. Sources said the student was a male sophomore, the Herald reported.

The students name has not been released, according to the Miami Herald.

The death comes just one week after another Parkland shooting survivor, 19-year-old Sydney Aiello, died by suicide on March 17, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. According to the Sun Sentinel, Aiello was said to be close with Meadow Pollack, one of the 17 people killed during the shooting.

School survivor David Hogg, who has been one of the students actively calling for gun control, posted on Twitter at 10:33 a.m., noting the 17 people that died on Feb. 14, 2018, plus the recent deaths of two students.

How many more kids have to be taken from us as a result of suicide for the government/school district to do anything? Rip 17+2," his tweet read.

How many more kids have to be taken from us as a result of suicide for the government / school district to do anything?



Rip 17+2   David Hogg (@davidhogg111) March 24, 2019

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Westpac's bottom line could take a hit of about $580 million in the first half, analysts predict, after the lender announced a new wave of compensation payments and flagged further such payouts in its financial advice arm.

The country's second-largest bank on Monday said it would take a $260 million provision for refunding customers in its financial advice, consumer and business banking arms, when it hands down its half-year results in May.

About half the costs relate to Westpac's financial advice business. Credit:Glenn Hunt

Other banks' profits are also tipped to be bogged down by remediation costs, after the royal commission pushed banks to review and fix up any past problems with how customer were treated.

About half the costs disclosed by Westpac related to its financial advice business, which the bank last week said it would sell, and the remainder was for issues in its consumer and business banking divisions.
Telstra has not disclosed more than $100,000 in payments to major political parties in recent years to the federal electoral commission, sparking renewed calls for an overhaul of Australia's electoral financing laws.

Australia's largest telco has bolstered the coffers of Labor and the Coalition, particularly by paying to attend events hosted by politicians, but has not filed any federal political donation disclosures since 2000 despite many other companies reporting what they pay to attend similar functions.

Telstra boss Andy Penn's company has not declared federal political donations in almost 20 years. Credit:Ryan Stuart

There is no suggestion Telstra has broken any laws. However, the case highlights how Australia's patchwork of state and federal electoral financing laws make it difficult to track payments from big business to politicians.

The records of state electoral commissions and political parties show many of Telstra's payments came in the form of attendance fees at dinners and forums run by political parties.
The specter of Boeing's chief rival was constant. Airbus had been delivering more jets than Boeing for several years. And losing the American account would have been gutting, costing the manufacturer billions in lost sales and potentially thousands of jobs. "They weren't going to stand by and let Airbus steal market share," said Mike Renzelmann, an engineer who retired in 2016 from Boeing's flight control team on the 737 Max. Airbus had long been dismissed as a genuine rival by Boeing. Credit:Bloomberg Dismissing a rival Boeing didn't seem bothered at first by the A320neo, the fuel-efficient plane that Airbus announced in 2010.

At a meeting in January 2011, James F. Albaugh, the chief executive of Boeing's commercial airplanes division, told employees that Airbus would probably go over budget creating a plane that carriers didn't really want, according to a recording of the meeting reviewed by The Times. Albaugh boasted that carriers were already paying more for Boeing's single-aisle jet than the Airbus version. He didn't see the need to strike now  Boeing could wait until the end of the decade to produce a new plane from scratch, the executive said. Loading "I don't think we need to get too spun up over the fact that they're making some sales," he said. For decades, Airbus was barely on Boeing's radar. A consortium started in 1970 by several European countries, it was slow to compete globally. Boeing, founded in 1916, dominated the passenger-jet market with its 737 midsize jet and the 747 jumbo jet.

Then came John Leahy, an American who rose through the ranks to become the chief Airbus salesman in 1994. Leahy was relentless. Once, the chief executive of an airline got sick just as a deal was about to close. Leahy travelled to the man's house, and the executive signed the papers while wearing his bathrobe. "Boeing thought we were a flash in the pan," Leahy said. "But I thought there was no reason we couldn't have 50 per cent of the market." Leahy scored a major coup in 1999 when JetBlue decided to launch with a fleet composed entirely of Airbus A320s. In the years that followed, more low-cost carriers around the world, like easyJet, placed big orders, too. Airbus had pulled ahead of Boeing by 2005. "Boeing has struggled with the development work needed to take the company into the 21st century," Tim Clark, president of Emirates, the Dubai airline, said that year. Airbus, he said, "has been braver, more brazen."

In 2008, Airbus delivered 483 airplanes, while Boeing delivered just 375. Three years later at the Paris Air Show, Airbus took orders for 730 aircraft, worth some $US72.2 billion ($102 billion), with its new fuel-efficient version dominating. "Boeing was just completely arrogant in dismissing the viability of the A320," said Scott Hamilton, managing director of the Leeham Co., an aviation consulting firm. Loading As American considered placing its largest-ever aircraft order exclusively with Airbus in the spring of 2011, executives at the carrier initially didn't believe Boeing thought that the threat was real, according to a person involved with the discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Airbus had a team camped out in a suite at the Ritz-Carlton in Dallas, near American's headquarters. Leahy traveled to Dallas and dined with the American chief, Arpey, at the Mansion on Turtle Creek, a five-star hotel. Boeing visited less frequently, according to several people involved in the sales process.

With American pondering which planes to buy, Boeing made a business decision. A former senior Boeing official said the company opted to build the Max because it would be far quicker, easier and cheaper than starting from scratch, and would provide almost as much fuel savings for airlines. Eventually, American decided to make deals with both Boeing and Airbus, buying hundreds of jets from each. Arpey called McNerney again, this time reading from a script to carefully calibrate his words. First, he congratulated the Boeing chief on the deal, according to the person with knowledge of the discussions. Then he broke the news that American would also place an order with Airbus. 'Pressure cooker' Inside Boeing, the race was on. Roughly six months after the project's launch, engineers were already documenting the differences between the Max and its predecessor, meaning they already had preliminary designs for the Max  a fast turnaround, according to an engineer who worked on the project. "The timeline was extremely compressed," the engineer said. "It was go, go, go."

One former designer on the team working on flight controls for the Max said the group had at times produced 16 technical drawings a week, double the normal rate. "They basically said, 'We need something now,'" the designer said. A technician who assembles wiring on the Max said that in the first months of development, rushed designers were delivering sloppy blueprints to him. He was told that the instructions for the wiring would be cleaned up later in the process, he said. With long-time customer American Airlines on the verge of signing a deal with Airbus, Boeing acted fast. Credit:AP His internal assembly designs for the Max, he said, still include omissions today, such as not specifying which tools to use to install a certain wire, a situation that could lead to a faulty connection. Normally such blueprints include intricate instructions. Despite the intense atmosphere, current and former employees said, they felt during the project that Boeing's internal quality checks ensured the aircraft was safe.

In a statement, Boeing said: "The Max program launched in 2011. It was offered to customers in September 2012. Firm configuration of the airplane was achieved in July 2013. The first completed 737 Max 8 rolled out of the Renton factory in November 2015." The company added, "A multiyear process could hardly be considered rushed." At the heart of Boeing's push was a focus on creating a plane that was essentially the same as earlier 737 models, important for getting the jet certified quickly. It would also help limit the training that pilots would need, cutting down costs for airlines. Rick Ludtke, an engineer who helped design the 737 Max cockpit and spent 19 years at Boeing, said the company had set a ground rule for engineers: Limit changes to hopefully avert a requirement that pilots spend time training in a flight simulator before flying the Max. "Any designs we created could not drive any new training that required a simulator," Ludtke said.

"That was a first." When upgrading the cockpit with a digital display, he said, his team wanted to redesign the layout of information to give pilots more data that were easier to read. But that might have required new pilot training. Boeing chief Dennis Muilenburg. Credit:Bloomberg So instead, they simply re-created the decades-old gauges on the screen. "We just went from an analog presentation to a digital presentation," Ludtke said. "There was so much opportunity to make big jumps, but the training differences held us back." "This program was a much more intense pressure cooker than I've ever been in," he added.

"The company was trying to avoid costs and trying to contain the level of change. They wanted the minimum change to simplify the training differences, minimum change to reduce costs, and to get it done quickly." Boeing said in a statement that the 2011 decision to build the Max had beaten out other options, including developing a new airplane. "The decision had to offer the best value to customers, including operating economics as well as timing, which was clearly a strong factor," the company said. "Safety is our highest priority as we design, build and support our airplanes." A cascade of changes Months before Boeing's announcement of the Max, the commercial airplanes executive, Albaugh, critiqued the decision by Airbus to refit the A320 with bigger engines, which could alter the aerodynamics and require big changes to the plane.

"It's going to be a design change that will ripple through the airplane," Albaugh said in the meeting with employees. "I think they'll find it more challenging than they think it will be," he told them. "When they get done, they'll have an airplane that might be as good as the Next Generation 737," a plane that Boeing had launched in 1997. Loading But a main selling point of the new A320 was its fuel-efficient engines. To match Airbus, Boeing needed to mount the Max with its own larger and powerful new engines. Just as Albaugh had predicted for Airbus, the decision created a cascade of changes. The bigger engines altered the aerodynamics of the plane, making it more likely to pitch up in some circumstances.

To offset that possibility, Boeing added the new software in the Max, known as MCAS, which would automatically push the nose down if it sensed the plane pointing up at a dangerous angle. The goal was to avoid a stall. Because the system was supposed to work in the background, Boeing believed it didn't need to brief pilots on it, and regulators agreed. Pilots weren't required to train in simulators. The push for automation was a philosophical shift for Boeing, which for decades wanted to keep pilots in control of the planes as much as possible. Airbus, by comparison, tended to embrace technology, putting computers in control. Pilots who preferred the American manufacturer even had a saying: "If it's not Boeing, I'm not going." The 737 MAXes are produced in Renton, Washington. Credit:Bloomberg The new software system is now a focus of investigators who are trying to determine what went wrong in the Ethiopian Airlines crash and the Lion Air tragedy in Indonesia. A leading theory in the Lion Air crash is that the system was receiving bad data from a faulty sensor, triggering an unrecoverable nose dive. All 737 Max jets around the world are grounded, and Boeing has given no estimate of when they might return to flight. In Renton, Washington, where the 737 Max is produced in a 1.1-million-square-foot plant, the mere possibility that Boeing engineering contributed to the crashes has cast a pall over the factory. After the Lion Air crash, Boeing offered trauma counselling to engineers who had worked on the plane.

"People in my group are devastated by this," said Renzelmann, the former Boeing technical engineer. "It's a heavy burden." In a statement, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said he had spent time in Renton recently and "saw firsthand the pride our people feel in their work and the pain we're all experiencing in light of these tragedies." Boeing is working on an update to MCAS software. The company was meeting with carriers over the weekend to discuss the update, which is expected to roll out by April. It also intends to make a previously optional safety indicator in its cockpit standard in new Max jets. The business is increasingly under pressure as airlines reconsider their orders and ask for compensation. But work in Renton is continuing apace. Boeing now makes a record 52 Maxes a month, and aims to reach 57 by April. As fuselages and plane skeletons continued to chug into the factory by train this past week, crews worked around the clock to make thousands more.
Williams and Lomas recently closed a $1 million funding round from private investors and locked in an $800,000 commercialisation grant from the federal government to bring their Hera Implant to market. The technology is a smaller and less invasive alternative to the traditional cochlear hearing implant.

Liz Williams and Kate Lomas, co-founders of Hemideina. The start-up is named after the scientific term for the Wellington tree weta insect. Credit:Justin McManus

"We really see this as a dramatically improved treatment for profoundly deaf patients, and we're aiming to do this with our different sound processing technology," Williams, co-founder of Melbourne startup Hemideina, says.

For Dr Kate Lomas and Dr Liz Williams, understanding insect ears is the key to unlocking a billion-dollar industry.

The implant was developed from Lomas' research in biophysics and takes inspiration from her work on insect hearing systems, specifically the Wellington tree weta, which has extremely sensitive hearing.

A tiny electrode is surgically inserted into the ear, then a small in-ear bud turns sound waves into electronic signals sent to the electrode in the inner-ear, which are then used to stimulate neurons in the cochlea and send sound information to the brain.

This "mechanical signal processing" is different from other options on the market, Lomas says, and its size means users don't have to remove or cover their hearing devices when swimming or playing sport.

The duo, who came together to launch the startup after previously working together at the CSIRO, say Australia is a great place to begin a hearing-focused startup.

The multi-channel cochlear implant was invented in Melbourne, and the pair say that history has helped them find support when commercialising the product.
Small businesses are being warned about an alleged letterbox delivery scam where small businesses pay thousands of dollars for local 'letterbox delivery' services that are not carried out.

Melbourne business Independent Letterbox Distribution Company is under scrutiny after small businesses said promotional material they paid to be delivered never made it into potential customers letterboxes.

Martine Dennis (left), the owner of Unified Fitness, says she was ripped off by Independent Letterbox. Credit:Joe Armao

Martine Dennis owns and manages Unified Fitness in the Melbourne suburb of McKinnon and has run the business for 17 years.

Ms Dennis wanted a new flyer for a special to be advertised for classes around the school term and selected Independent Letterbox to print and deliver 53,000 flyers to suburbs in which her current and potential clients live.
The OECD is working to move its international testing program away from standardised, summative testing as debate about the value of such assessments grows louder in Australia and around the world.

Countries are mining their PISA data to transform education. Credit:Gary Schafer

Andreas Schleicher, the director of education and skills for the OECD said his organisation was making sure the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests reflect changes in what is considered to be important in education.

This means moving away from traditional knowledge testing and adding more problem solving elements to the literacy, numeracy and science tests, and introducing a new social skills test.

Mr Schleicher was one of the architects of PISA. If people criticise multiple choice tests, I do too, and in PISA were trying to move away from that to try to have more adaptive, more engaging formats, he said.
The ACT's business, property and architecture groups have banded together in opposition to revised plans to reshape Northbourne Avenue and Federal Highway Credit:Karleen Minney

Welcome to a new week. There's a high chance of rain today, and we're heading for a top of 24.

The ACT's peak business, property, planning and architecture groups have united amid concerns about revised plans to reshape Northbourne Avenue and the Federal Highway, declaring changes made to the original proposal could jeopardise planned projects and constrain future development on the light rail route.

Dan Jervis-Bardy has the details.

The groups are most concerned about changes made to the draft plan following community consultation early last year, including to proposed building heights along the Downer section of the corridor.

A proposed 18-metre height limit for buildings between the Barton Highway and Phillip Avenue was lowered to 12 metres after a community backlash.

The Canberra 'disease detective' fighting global infectious outbreaks
Canberra construction behemoth Geocon has again stepped in to help Empire Global deliver a project, this time the former Air Towers in Gungahlin.

The 14-storey, 270-unit development costing $140 million has been rebadged The Establishment.

The outdoor strength and agility gym at The Establishment will also have shower facilities.

Construction will start in October on the corner of Gozzard and Swain streets and take two years to finish.

It follows Geocon also teaming up with Empire Global to complete the former Jardine, now Aspen, development in Tuggeranong when Empire signalled it would not be able to meet its previous construction deadlines.
President Jair Bolsonaro needs to prioritize governing Brazil over spending time on Twitter , the powerful speaker of the lower house of Congress says in an interview published Saturday in O Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper.

Rodrigo Maia, who threatened earlier this week to walk away from the effort to get Bolsonaros controversial pension overhaul approved, urged the far-right head of state to take responsibility for his own agenda.

The president needs to assume the leadership, to be more proactive. His discourse is: I am against the (pension) reform, but I have been forced to send it because otherwise Brazil goes bankrupt. He sends signals of insecurity to parliament, Maia said.

Noting that Bolsonaros party has nowhere near the votes needed to pass the constitutional amendment on pensions, the speaker called on the president to construct a dialogue with parliament, with the leaders, with the parties.

I am issuing an alert: if the government does not organize its base, if it does not build dialogue with the legislators, its going to be very difficult to approve the pension-system reform, Maia said.

To become law, the proposal must secure 60 percent of the votes in both the lower house and the Senate on a first and second reading.

Maia accused Bolsonaro of seeking to make the congressional leadership responsible for the fate of the amendment, which the government says will result in a savings of $265 billion over the next decade.

The speaker also rebuffed criticisms directed at him on social media by Bolsonaros sons and other supporters of the president.

Brazil needs to get off Twitter and move toward real life, Maia said.

Bolsonaro, like US President Donald Trump, prefers to communicate via social media.

Nobody gets a job, a spot in school or in daycare thanks to Twitter. We need for the country to have a project again. What is the project of the Bolsonaro government beyond reform of the pension system? Maia asked.

The government is a desert of ideas, the house speaker said.

The proposed constitutional would raise the minimum retirement age and eliminate an option that allows workers to collect a pension solely on the basis of their number of years of contributions.

It also lays the groundwork for the creation of an alternative system of employee-funded individual savings accounts.

The administrations goal is to encourage the vast majority of Brazilians to gradually switch away from the current regime, in which the public social security system receives contributions from both employees and employers, and opt instead for a new capitalization system, in which each workers retirement income will depend on his or her own pension savings.

Currently, Brazilian workers are eligible to retire with a full pension if they meet the minimum age requirement (65 for men, 60 for women) or if they have contributed to social security for a minimum number of years (35 for men, 30 for women).

Bolsonaros plan would keep the minimum retirement age for men at 65 but raise it to 62 in the case of women.

However, individuals would no longer be eligible to receive a pension based on years of contributions if they are below the minimum age.

On Friday, Brazils main labor federations organized nationwide protests against the pension proposal. Demonstrations took place in each of the countrys 27 state capitals and in dozens of other cities.

Today begins a great mobilization of the country against that project for the destruction of social provision, former leftist presidential candidate Guilherme Boulos said at the event in Sao Paulo, which brought together some 70,000 people.

Bolsonaros initiative draws its inspiration from the pension system imposed in Chile during the 1973-1990 dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

Look what happened in Chile, which is their exemplary model, and today in Chile 80 percent of retirees receive less than the minimum wage, Boulos said. That is the project - destroy social provision - and people are beginning to notice and perceive it.

The economy minister in the Bolsonaro administration, Paulo Guedes, is an acolyte of free-market apostle Milton Friedman (1912-2006) and taught at a Chilean university during the Pinochet era.
Its not an easy read but it's a book everyone should read. While were all aware of the statistics, or we think we are, seeing them in black and white, on the page, is startling still.

On Violence, by Natasha Stott Despoja, Melbourne University Press, $14.99.

Worldwide, more than one in three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in some way," she writes. "Every 10 minutes, somewhere in the world, an adolescent girl dies as a result of violence. Child marriage affects about 14 million girls every year, robbing them of both their childhood and a future in which they can unlock their full potential. The use of rape as a tactic of war in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere, the trafficking of women into sexual slavery and domestic servitude, sexual violence against internally displaced women and girls, the kidnapping of schoolgirls in parts of Africa, attacks on girls for simply having the determination to catch a bus to school, the daily horror of domestic and family violence in countries of the Pacific, including South Asia and Australia - these are but a few examples of the patterns of gender-based violence around the globe.

Little wonder the World Health Organisation describes violence against women as an epidemic. In Australia, I call it a national emergency.

During October 2018, Australia experienced a record death toll of women when 11 women were murdered in 27 days. Police get called to one domestic violence matter every two minutes: thats 657 times a day. One in four women in Australia has experienced physical violence since the age of 15 and every week, on average, a woman is killed. Most of these murders take place in the home, and they are often the final brutal act after a long history of violence. Of the women who experience violence, more than half have children in their care.
Ms Berejiklian successfully deflected the resentment at the problems caused by rapid population growth in Sydney by focusing tightly on the the state's economic strength and the infrastructure funded with the proceeds of the Coalition's sale of the electricity grid. She played the long game.

Ms Berejiklian won by convincing NSW voters that her unified Liberal team was immune to the factionalism and nastiness that has infected the federal party. She led by example, campaigning every day and covering almost the entire state, in a modest and positive style. It was not about her.

Gladys Berejiklian's disciplined campaign has won her a historic victory but she must now ensure that the first woman to win a NSW state election is remembered as a good premier as well.

A leak of a video of Opposition Leader Michael Daley musing about Asians taking Australian jobs played a significant role in the campaign. The xenophobic tone of the remarks was doubly unacceptable given they emerged so soon after the Christchurch massacre.

This is the first time in almost 50 years that the ALP has lost three in a row. That should prompt deep reflection about the party's policies and a renewal of the ALP frontbench. It seems unlikely that Mr Daley can remain as leader, especially given his weak performance in the final week.

Ms Berejiklian is rightly celebrating politically, but we hope personally too. It is no small feat for a little girl who spoke no English to rise to the state's top job - let alone win a historic third term. She has a positive story to tell and her victory should also be seen, as she said on Saturday night, as a boost for all constituents, but particularly women and people "with long names".

That said, some results are not without concern. First, something is wrong with her Nationals coalition partners in the bush. It may well be that the ALP's campaign against extravagant spending on Sydney stadiums had most resonance in the regions which can only dream of these facilities.
A nine-year-old girl with head injuries has died after a two-vehicle crash in central Queensland and a six-year-old boy in a critical condition has been flown to the Queensland Children's Hospital.

Five other people were taken to hospital with back, neck and chest pains.

A child has died and another remains in a critical condition after a two-vehicle crash. Credit:Seven News.

"The first vehicle, a blue Toyota hatchback contained a 40-year-old Emu Park woman, a six-year-old boy and two girls aged nine and ten," police said.

Emergency services were called to the corner of Yeppoon and Artillery roads about 9.30am on Sunday at Ironpot, about 25 kilometres from Rockhampton.
Thomas flew in the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1996, then spent 141 days in space in the Mir space station, before making his final space trip in the 2001 Space Shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station, where he completed a 6 hour space walk. But he said humans should never view Mars as a back-up option for Earth. Mars is a harsh environment," the NASA astronaut told the audience of We Will be Martians: Our Future on the Red Planet, hosted by moderator Professor Brian Greene. "It will never be a second Earth, he said. He said Mars did not give mankind the opportunity to forget about problems on Earth and concentrate solely on a new settlement on Mars.

I think that is arrogant hubris," he said. The session tackled the different aspects of a simulated flight to Mars, including the journey itself and the varying ways in which a spacecraft could return, before the audience looked at Martian craters and crevasses - some five kilometres deep - through 3D glasses. Geologist Dr Jon Clarke works at simulated Martian camps in the deserts of Utah and the freezing conditions of the Antarctic. Professor Clarke and Professor Charles spoke about how the shortest trip to Mars could take "three to four months" if electric power was used, but conventional wisdom was for a 16-month round trip. You need to have a lot of fuel to get off the Earths surface and get into space, Professor Charles said, adding that future trips might not use conventional rocket flight.

One option being explored was a 36,000-kilometre space elevator to take crews to a lift-off station which would not need as much fuel to leave the Earth's atmosphere. Sand dunes on Mars. At the moment the big problem is the tether," she said. "How do you build something that is 36,000 kilometres long." The concept was already being tested with small prototypes, she said.

Loading "We are (also) testing the concept of one of these electric (plasma propulsion) engines with one of these nano-satellites, she said. The fact that the private sector is involved in this, I really think it has a chance of getting ahead." Dr Thomas said he thought that method could work "into the future" but more sophisticated conventional rocket launch propulsion would get the first humans to Mars. But science could develop the type of hydrogen fuel that could be used to return from Mars.

We do know on the surface of the Moon in some deep craters there is crater ice, he said. We can break it down and make hydrogen and oxygen, which we can use to breathe and in fuels." Professor Greene said sending teams with robots was significantly cheaper than sending space teams with humans. "We can launch 1000 robots for the same cost as you can for two astronauts," Professor Greene asked. "Why not send robots?"

Loading But Professor Cagle said robots - even with advances in artificial intelligence - did not have the ability to work towards an objective. "Robots do not have curiosity," she said. "That is what you have with humans. Professor Reynolds noted that tackling boredom on long space flights was an important part of making any mission to Mars successful.
Nathan Jones helps prepare the passata tomatoes. Credit:Paul Jeffers

When Nathan Jones joined the Salvati family eight years ago, he discovered a treasured family ritual.

Its that, one Sunday every March, the clan enjoy a wonderful lunch made by his wifes grandmother, Lucia Salvati, now 88, and great-aunt Beatrice.

Mr Jones also learned that there is no food without labour.

On Sunday, he was among four generations who spent the morning in Lucias Fairfield backyard making passata  tomato pasta sauce.
Co-owner of Pellegrini's, Nino Pangrazio. Credit:Darrian Traynor

Sisto Malaspina loved a party.

So it was fitting the 2019 Melbourne Food and Wine Festival closed with a street party on Sunday for the icon of the city's cafe culture  co-owner of Pellegrinis cafe  who was killed in November's Bourke Street terror attack.

Sisto's spirit loomed large over the partygoers who flocked to Crossley Street in the CBD, amid the sounds of piano accordion. As always, Sisto was larger than life.

His family mingled among the stylishly dressed. There was colour and, of course, cravats. Baby granddaughter Sophia was handed around among gathered nonnas. For Sisto's son David, it was a chance to relive the cafe's old days.
A former senior manager could be charged with perjury after his own solicitors worked with opposing counsel to investigate and uncover false evidence he gave to a court.

A still from a Wavetrain promotional video demonstrating the operation of the patented rail technology. Credit:YouTube.

Former Wavetrain Systems Asia-Pacific country manager Mark Foster allegedly provided false information to the Federal Court regarding a case centred on the Norwegian company's railway patents.

The matter arises at a time the Australian legal community is still grappling with the implications of the conduct of criminal barrister Nicola Gobbo as the rules governing solicitor's conduct comes under public scrutiny.

Wavetrain originally took Spanish based Next Generation Rail Technologies (NGRT) to the Federal Court seeking to temporarily injunct it from what Wavetrain alleged were false representations and breaches of Australian Consumer Law relating its patented rail technology.
The dispute between Colombia and Spain over the $17 billion in gold and silver believed to be aboard a Spanish galleon that was sunk in 1708 off the Colombian city of Cartagena also involves Bolivias indigenous Qhara Qhara people, who say the loot is rightfully theirs.

The treasure carried by the San Jose was among the minerals mined on the iconic Cerro Rico mountain of Potosi in present-day Bolivia, the main source of wealth for Spain in colonial times.

In the days of the Spanish invasion, that territory was under the rule of the Qhara Qhara nation. What is now called Cerro Rico (Rich Mountain) was known to us as Sumaq Urqu, which means Beautiful Mountain, the leader of that community, Zenobio Fernandez, told EFE.

Sumaq Urqu for the indigenous people was a waka, a sacred place that nobody was allowed to touch, he said.

But the riches of the peak were exploited on an immense scale from 1545 onward with the arrival of the Spaniards, when it became the largest silver mine in the world as well as a source of other minerals.

The San Jose was sunk by a fleet of English pirates on June 8, 1708, as it sailed into the port of Cartagena carrying a load, according to chronicles of the period, of almost 11 million gold and silver coins.

When the discovery of the shipwreck was announced in December 2015, it sparked a dispute between Colombia and Spain, since Madrid claimed that since it was a ship of state, its ownership of the vessel was protected by United Nations regulations.

When they learned of the discovery, the Qhara Qhara in 2016 sent their top authority at the time, Samuel Flores, to meet with officials of the Colombian government.

Flores afterwards shared with authorities of the Qhara Qhara nation the information he gleaned during his trip and they decided to take action, according to Fernandez.

The first thing they did was to search for documents supporting their claim and proving that their people inhabited those territories long before the colonists, for which they relied on Bolivias National Library and Archives in Sucre and the National Mint in Potosi, among others.

They also availed themselves of texts by such writers as the Peruvian Waldemar Espinoza and Englands Tristan Platt, who both wrote in depth about the Qhara Qhara.

Fernandez said they also included a copy of the Memorial of Charcas, a complaint sent to Spains King Philip II in 1582 by the caciques of four indigenous nations, the Qhara Qhara being one of them, demanding respect for our lands and protesting against the exaggerated amount of tribute we were paying.

So with all those documents and the wishes of our people, we have appeared before the Colombian government to do our diplomatic work, he said.

On June 28, 2018, the indigenous peple presented to then-Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos documentation showing that the treasure of the San Jose galleon belongs to the Qhara Qhara nation.

This first legal action, for which they contracted a team of lawyers in Colombia, was answered with a question, according to Fernandez, asking that they explain certain aspects with more documentation.

The Qhara Qhara demand that Colombias president acknowledge the collective ownership of the galleon and allow them to be part of the team that is going to retrieve its cargo.

Specifically, the latest news in the case was the announcement by the Ivan Duque government on March 6 that it will prolong the suspension in order to contract the company that will retrieve the galleons treasure.
Police have advised the public not to approach a 31-year-old missing man.

Detectives said Andrew Lee Papworth could assist them with an inquiry into an armed robbery investigation, believed to have occurred in Nollamara in January this year.

Andrew Lee Papworth. Credit:WA Police

Police have warned the public not to approach Mr Papworth as he may be in possession of a firearm.

Mr Papworth is described as being fair skinned, about 175 to 180cm tall, with a medium build, brown eyes and brown hair. He may be driving a black Toyota Land Cruiser Prado.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is congratulated by Scott Morrison as she enters the ballroom of the Sofitel Wentworth on election night. Credit:James Brickwood

It will take the Labor faithful some time to live down the footage of their elected leader attempting such a racist scare.

The Liberal Partys smartest move in the NSW election campaign was to wait until the final week to unleash the video showing Labor leader Michael Daley telling voters that Asians with PhDs were taking their jobs .

Scott Morrison cannot copy the recipe that kept Gladys Berejiklian in power but he will surely want to borrow one of the ingredients.

What mattered for the Liberals was the timing. Daley ran strongly on the issue of stadium reconstruction but saw his campaign derailed when the old video resurfaced.

It is easy to imagine the federal Liberals attempting the same tactics against Bill Shorten in the final stages of the federal election. There is no doubt they are desperate enough to throw everything at the Opposition Leader in the coming campaign. Whether they can find any material is another matter.

The lessons for Morrison and his colleagues are overwhelmingly tactical. It is too late to change what the government has become.

One idea on Sunday, that Morrison will be heartened by the way a united Liberal team can hold on to power, has only superficial value. It is like suggesting he can be heartened by calm seas and steady winds when he is travelling by train.
The Liberals in Canberra have presented a plan to ramp up language teaching in the ACT.

They say that some major languages aren't taught and should be and that there are gaps in the system so pupils can start learning a language only to find that they can't continue later in their school careers.

Shadow Minister, Elizabeth Lee.

They have not, however, put a cost on their proposal. They say the first step is an audit to determine demand for different languages and an assessment of the skills of teachers able to satisfy that demand.

The Shadow Minister for Education, Elizabeth Lee, said, "Not a single government school teaches Arabic despite it being the third most commonly spoken language in Australia, and its increasing demand in the public and private sector."
All numbers for deaths are still preliminary, warned Mozambique's Environment Minister Celso Correia. As flood waters recede and more bodies are discovered, the final death toll in Mozambique alone could be above the early estimate of 1000 made by the country's President a few days after the cyclone hit, said aid workers.

In Mozambique the number of dead has risen to 446 while there are 259 dead in Zimbabwe and at least 56 dead in Malawi for a three-nation total of 761.

Beira, Mozambique: Cyclone Idai's death toll has risen above 750 in the three southern African countries the storm hit 10 days ago, as workers restore electricity, water and try to prevent outbreak of cholera.

Nearly 110,000 people are now in camps more than a week after Cyclone Idai hit, said Correia, the government's emergency coordinator. As efforts to rescue people trapped by the floods wind down, aid workers across the vast region are bracing for the spread of disease.

"We'll have cholera for sure," Correia said at a press briefing, saying a centre to respond to cholera has been set up in Beira though no cases have yet been confirmed.

People queue for fresh water in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe on Saturday after Cyclone Idai caused floods that swept through Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. Credit:AP

Beira is working to return basic services, he said. Electricity has been restored to water pumping and treatment stations by the government water agency, so Beira and the nearby city of Dondo are getting clean water, he said. Electricity has been restored to part of Beira and the port and railway line have re-opened, he said.

Repairs and bypasses are being built to the main road, EN6, which links Beira to the rest of Mozambique and the road should open Monday, said Correia. The restored road connection will allow larger deliveries of food, medicines and other essential supplies to be to be brought to Beira and to flooded areas like Nhamatanda, west of the city.
Bangkok: Thailand's first election in eight years has delivered a stunning result for military junta leader Prayut Chan-o-cha and a rebuke to the main opposition party, Pheu Thai.

As counting continued on Sunday evening, the Electoral Commission of Thailand projected at 10pm local time (2am AEDT) that Prayut's Palang Pracharat party was forecast to win 139 seats in the 500 member lower house. Pheu Thai looked to have captured about 150 seats, with 50 per cent of the vote counted.

On course for victory: Prayut Chan-o-cha casts is vote on Sunday. Credit:Amilia Rosa

The results put Prayut  who had been serving as prime minister under the military regime  in the box seat to retain power under Thailand's new electoral system, which heavily favours the current regime, and all but guarantees Prayut will remain the country's political leader.

Thailand's election was billed as a clash between democrats and supporters of the military regime. The result has defied public opinion polls conducted in the lead up to the vote, as well as exit polls on the day which suggested Pheu Thai and other opposition parties were on track to easily win a majority of seats.
Last week Radovan Karadzic was finally sentenced for his role in the barbaric ethnic cleansing during the Bosnian War in the 1990s. The sentencing came less than a week after the massacre in Christchurch and while it may seem like these two stories have little to do with one another, they are both part of the global white-power movement that has turned Karadzic into a hero for white-power terrorists across the world.

Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. Credit:AP

The global nature of violent white supremacy rarely garners much attention. In the United States, it is often understood as a distinctly American problem, a metastasised offshoot of the country's long history of racism. But the Christchurch shooting, which jolted Americans far more than news from the antipodes normally does, underscores just how global, and dangerous, the modern white-power movement has become.

The global nature of white supremacy is not unique to our time. The White Australia and White New Zealand immigration policies had counterparts in the US and Canada, where anti-Chinese bans in the late 19th century paved the way for more significant immigration restriction in the 20th century. A network of writers and policymakers built the framework for those immigration policies, all built on the shared belief in the supremacy of white people and "western civilisation".

A similar global exchange fuelled 20th-century white supremacy and anti-Semitism. The anti-Semitic text The Protocols of the Elders of Zion was written in Russia, circulated throughout Europe, and was popularised by Henry Ford in the United States. Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party studied the American South and its system of segregation to construct their Nuremberg laws, the racial caste system that paved the way for the Holocaust.
New York: Special Counsel Robert Mueller's verdict that there was no collusion between Donald Trump's campaign and Russia has delivered the US President one of the best days of his presidency.

Mueller's central finding is devastating news for American progressives, many of whom became overly invested in the idea that Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin worked together to steal the 2016 US election.

Many American progressives became overly invested in the idea that Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin worked together to steal the 2016 election. Credit:AP

But his failure to reach a definitive finding on the question of obstruction of justice has denied Americans the chance to move past their partisan differences and agree on at least one core fact: their President is not a crook.

The topline findings of the Mueller probe were revealed in a four-page summary released by Trump's Attorney-General William Barr on Sunday afternoon local time.
Connecticut Woman Injured in Readsboro Snowmobile Accident

A woman injured in snowmobile accident in Readsboro is taken to Albany Medical Center on Saturday.

READSBORO, Vt.  A 34-year-old Connecticut woman was seriously injured Saturday afternoon after losing control of her snowmobile.

Nicole Daulizio of Beacon Falls was taken by a LifeNet helicopter to Albany, N.Y., Medical Center after reportedly suffering from contusions, including head injuries, and possible internal bleeding.

State police were called to a private property on Oberdorf Road just before 4 p.m. for a report of a snowmobile crash. Acccording to a report by Trooper Benjamin Irwin of the Shaftsbury barracks, Daulizio was riding the machine when she lost control and struck a tree nose-end first. She was initially unresponsive but regained consciousness a short time later. Scanner reports indicated that she may have received CPR.

Northern Berkshire EMS of North Adams, Mass., responded to the accident along with Vermont first-responders. Daulizio was taken by ambulance to Berkshire Medical Center's emergency satellite facility in North Adams to be stabilized and then flown to Albany Medical.

The state police report does not indicate anyone else was injured in the incident but states the snowmobile appears to have been totaled.
The short-arm centrifuge at the German Aerospace Center's :envihab facility in Cologne, Germany, will be used during the first joint long-term bed-rest study commissioned by the European Space Agency and NASA to investigate the potential of artificial gravity in mitigating the effects of spaceflight. The study begins March 25, 2019.

Some brave people will lie down for science soon  and they won't get up for a long, long time.

A 60-day bed-rest study funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA begins in Cologne, Germany, on Monday (March 25). Eight male and four female volunteers will take to the beds at the German Aerospace Center's :envihab facility, to help scientists better understand how spaceflight affects the human body . The scientists call the experiment the Artificial Gravity Bed Rest Study, according to German space officials.

(Bed rest is a common research tool in the human-spaceflight community; it can induce muscle atrophy and loss of bone density, just as prolonged stays in microgravity can.)

Related: The Human Body in Space: 6 Weird Facts

If you think this sounds like a dream gig, you may want to reconsider. For starters, there's no sitting up; each volunteer must keep at least one shoulder in contact with the mattress at all times. And the beds' head ends will be tilted 6 degrees below the horizontal, so blood flows away from the participants' legs, ESA officials said.

In addition, the poor folks will be regularly plunked into a centrifuge and spun up, to push blood back out toward their extremities.

A bed-rest-study bed at the German Aerospace Center's :envihab facility in Cologne, Germany. (Image credit: ESA)

The centrifuge bit is an attempt to gauge the real-life potential of artificial gravity  a long-running sci-fi trope  to combat the worst effects of weightlessness.

This will be the first long-term ESA bed-rest study to employ :envihab's short-arm centrifuge, and the first conducted in collaboration with NASA, ESA officials said.

A close-up of a monitor in the control room of the German Aerospace Center's (DLR) short-arm centrifuge, which the European Space Agency and NASA will use to study the effects of artificial gravity on the human body during long-duration space travel. (Image credit: European Space Agency)

Researchers will perform a variety of experiments during the study; they'll measure participants' cardiovascular and cognitive performance, balance and muscle strength, among other factors. Such data will help ESA, NASA and their partners prepare for crewed treks to the moon, Mars and other deep-space destinations, project team members said.

"To make these missions possible, various risks to astronaut health must be minimized," ESA team leader for research Jennifer Ngo-Anh said in a statement . "This study allows us to address the issue of muscular atrophy caused by weightlessness, but also other stressors such as cosmic radiation, isolation and spatial restrictions."
THE WOODLANDS, Texas  NASA science instruments are flying to the moon aboard two international lunar missions, according to agency officials.

The Israeli lander Beresheet , due to touch down April 11, and the Indian mission Chandrayaan 2, scheduled to launch next month, are each carrying NASA-owned laser retroreflector arrays that allow scientists to make precise measurements of the distance to the moon. NASA confirmed the two instruments during the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference held here.

"We're trying to populate the entire surface with as many laser reflector arrays as we can possibly get there," Lori Glaze, acting director of the Planetary Science Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said during a town hall event on March 18 during which she announced the Chandrayaan 2 partnership.

Related: Students Relive Apollo 11 Moon Landing with NASA's 'Next Giant Leap' Challenge

Glaze did not provide a timeline for the partnership's creation, but for the Beresheet mission at least, NASA's involvement came with quite little warning as the agency scrambled to find a way to participate.

"We were asked rather quickly if there was anything we wanted to contribute to that lander, and we were successful in roughly a two-week time period to come up with an agreement on it," Steve Clarke, the deputy associate administrator for exploration within the Science Mission Directorate, said during the same event. "We were able to put a laser retroreflector assembly on the Beresheet, so that is flying with the lander and we're looking forward to a successful landing."

Glaze and Clarke did not provide additional details about the instruments onboard or the process of getting them there, but these reflectors won't be the first the agency has placed on the moon. In fact, retroreflector experiments are some of the continuing science gains of the Apollo program, which placed three such contraptions on the moon's surface. The Soviet Union's Luna program added another two such instruments.

Retroreflectors are essentially sophisticated mirrors. Scientists on Earth can shoot them with lasers and study the light that is reflected back. That signal can help pinpoint precisely where the lander is, which scientists can use to calculate its  and the moon's  distance from Earth .

And while five such instruments already exist on the lunar surface, they have some flaws. "The existing reflectors are big ones," Simone Dell'Agnello, a physicist at the National Institute for Nuclear Physics National Laboratory at Frascati, Italy, told Space.com. Dell'Agnello was recently part of a team that designed a new generation of lunar retroreflectors that should allow for more-precise measurements.

They are large arrays of individual reflectors, which means it takes thousands of laser pulses to sketch out the shape of the whole array and its position. Dell'Agnello said he would rather see individual reflectors instead of arrays , as smaller units would waste fewer laser pulses and allow more-precise measurements of the moon's surface. Those analyses could become so detailed that scientists could see the daily rise and fall of any lander surface the device is resting on as that surface expands and contracts with the moon's dramatic temperature changes.

The retroreflectors flying on Beresheet and Chandrayaan 2 are smaller than the Apollo ones, Dell'Agnello said. And NASA isn't just aiming to install more of these instruments; the agency also wants to build new laser stations here on Earth to signal to the reflectors, Glaze mentioned during her remarks.
Update for 7:22 p.m. EDT (2322 GMT): Rocket Lab has called off today's launch attempt of an Electron booster carrying DARPA's experimental R3D2 satellite due to a video transmitter issue. A new launch date will be announced once it has been selected.

Original story: The commercial launch provider Rocket Lab is counting down to its first flight of 2019, an experimental satellite for the U.S. military, and you can watch it live online today (March 24).

A Rocket Lab Electron booster will launch the R3D2 satellite for DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Agency. Liftoff is set for no earlier than 6:30 p.m. EDT (2230 GMT) from Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 on the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand, where it will be Monday local time. Rocket Lab has a four-hour launch window for the flight.

You'll be able to watch the Rocket Lab launch on Space.com, courtesy of the company's livestream. You can also watch it directly from Rocket Lab here. The webcast will begin 15 minutes before liftoff, and could begin later in the launch window if needed.

Related: Rocket Lab's 1st Commercial Launch in Pictures

"Weather is looking great for Sunday UTC," Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck wrote on Twitter last week.

Today's liftoff will mark the first launch of the year for Rocket Lab, which hopes to follow it with monthly flights throughout 2019. The mission has been delayed since February due to a DARPA holdup in delivering the R3D2 satellite to Rocket Lab's launch site.

The R3D2 prototype spacecraft antenna is seen in packed and deployed positions. DARPA will launch the satellite test flight on a Rocket Lab Electron booster. (Image credit: DARPA)

The R3D2 satellite (its name is short for Radio Frequency Risk Reduction Deployment Demonstration) is a test flight aimed at demonstrating a new type of space antenna, according to DARPA. The 330-lb. (150 kilograms) payload is a tightly packed "membrane reflectarray antenna" made of tissue-thin Kapton that is designed to unfurl out to a maximum diameter of nearly 7.3 feet (2.3 meters).

"R3D2 will monitor antenna deployment dynamics, survivability and radio frequency (RF) characteristics of a membrane antenna in low-Earth orbit," DARPA officials wrote in a statement. "The antenna could enable multiple missions that currently require large satellites, to include high data rate communications to disadvantaged users on the ground."

The satellite took just 18 months to design and build, according to DARPA.

"A successful demonstration also will help prove out a smaller, faster-to-launch and lower cost capability, allowing the Department of Defense, as well as other users, to make the most of the new commercial market for small, inexpensive launch vehicles," the agency wrote.

Rocket Lab's Electron booster is a small launch vehicle designed to launch payloads of up to 496 lbs. (225 kilograms) into low-Earth orbit. The rocket has a Kick Stage upper stage to deliver payloads into a target orbit.

In a January statement, Beck said the Huntington Beach, California-based Rocket Lab was excited to launch the R3D2 mission from DARPA .

"Rapid acquisition of small satellite launch capabilities is increasingly important to US Government organizations like DARPA," Beck said. "The ability to rapidly space-qualify new technology and deploy space-based assets with confidence on short notice is a service that didn't exist for dedicated small satellites until now."

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The New Normal was written by Alexander Maggio and was directed by Felix Alcala. Once again, the show tackles a real world issue: climate change. In a bit of a change, this episode really didnt feel like it actually had a sub-plot of any kind  all roads lead to the discussion of climate and the United States culpability in what is happening to the earth. And the complete absurdity of climate deniers. Look for some of the issues to continue even into the next episode.As the episode opens, a weather plane is tracking Typhoon Blessing and gathering alarming data. Blessing will be the most powerful storm in history, but it also represents the new normal  expect all storms to be like this in the future. It looks like the storm is going to make landfall on US soil, so Stevie (Wallis Currie-Wood) is working on it with Russell (Zeljko Ivanek) until the storm changes course and becomes Elizabeths (Tea Leoni) problem as Secretary of State.It was nice to see John Pankow back as NASA Administrator Glenn  with a nice shout out to Nadine when he asks Elizabeth to say hi to her for him. He comes to see Elizabeth to warn her that Blessing is the new normal and that the people on Nairu  where the typhoon is now going to make landfall  have to evacuate  and leave permanently. There 8 mile square island is made of coral and even if Blessing doesnt destroy it, another typhoon will be like a tsunami hitting a sand castle.Blessing ends up killing the President and all 19 members of the parliament along with 10% of the population. This makes the head of Consulate Affairs the President. It turns out that David Akua (Tai Hara) is a 23 year old Masters student at NYU. He is brought to Elizabeth and she breaks the news to him. Previously, the only communication hed had was with his mother via Whats App! Elizabeth tells him he is the new President, and he confesses that the only reason he took the position at Consulate Affairs was to help pay for his MA!Elizabeth tells him that hell have to convince his people to evacuate permanently. He tells her that they can build a sea wall  she explains it wont work. He then insists that the US must help them as US pollution is a huge reason theyre in this mess in the first place. Elizabeth clearly agrees with him. He tells her that his people have lived there for 3,000 years. They speak a language that no other people on earth speak  they are a distinct and ancient culture. He tells her that his people wont leave  but he agrees to get on a plane and head home to assume his duties as President.We get a lot of scenes between Henry (Tim Daly) and Elizabeth in this episode. I really like how they use these two characters to play out the ethics (Henry) and practical politics (Elizabeth). In this first scene, Elizabeth tells Henry that Davids mother was found alive. She also compares the upheaval in his life to two celebrities in the news. I thought this was just a bit of fluff as Blake (Erich Bergen) and Nina (Tracee Chimo Pallero) gossip over them, so it was interesting to see celebrity Bryce Manley (Constantine Maroulis) end up playing a role in the solution that Elizabeth is seeking  one that Henry points out requires balancing the moral responsibility of the USs culpability with the practical realities of the situation.The team tries to find a permanent home for the refugees. Blake finds that Figi and New Guinea will take some, but not all, and Jay is turned down for any from Australia. Jay is going to try Japan, India, and the Eu and points out that David wont break his people up. Meanwhile, Daisy (Patina Miller) informs them that another cyclone is brewing.Blake and Ninas gossiping bears fruit when they discover that Bryce Manley owns a huge Island in Figi, and hes in a huge battle with the IRS  they have leverage. The Island could easily house all of the people and the industry from Nairu. Of course, Jay points out that they still have to get Figi and the UN to agree and recognize the new location as Nairu. Elizabeth is on board even if it means giving Manley a medal.Elizabeth calls David with the news. Hes read the NASA report, so he knows the danger they are in. However, he tells Elizabeth that the temple on the Island is the heart of their spiritual life and they cant leave it. Elizabeth promises to move it, so David agrees to talk to his people.I loved the scene with Matt (Geoffrey Arend) and Daisy negotiating with Manley and his lawyer (Henny Russell). I really felt for her having to deal with such an idiot for a client! At first, Manley refuses to give up the Island because its where he got engaged to Ashley and where they are going to be married. As soon as Daisy tells him the alternative to giving up the Island is jail, hes a lot more receptive  although Elizabeth is appalled when she learns that Jay had to agree to apply for him to receive a Nobel Peace Prize! Jay assures her that the application will die in committee.Meanwhile, Elizabeth and the team are hard at work trying to get countries to come on board for a Resiliency Fund  to help other countries devastated by the new severe weather. Jay points out that 56% of Americans support the fund. Dalton (Keith Carradine) and Russell are against trying to get it through Congress. Jay insists that extreme weather will continue to devastate other countries. Neither of them deny climate change or the basic facts, but Dalton is concerned that if Congress votes it down it will shut down the environmental agenda for years. And this is SUCH a timely topic! With the current administration in real life denying the scientific evidence under their nose and putting a choke hold on the EPA but I digress.In another side plot that dovetails beautifully into the main plot, Mike B (Kevin Rahm) is hard at work on Elizabeths yet to be announced campaign. Hes arranged for Henry to speak at a conference chaired by Pastor Eli Bragg (Jim True-Frost) of CRN  clearly a shout out to NCR (New Christian Right) and the Moral Majority of Jerry Falwell. Mike doesnt have any illusions that they can win support from the group, but hes hoping that Henry can at least win Bragg over enough to prevent him from supporting another candidate. After all, Elizabeths brand is her diplomacy and her willingness to find common ground! This first scene has the first appearance of Gordon that weve had for a while. Hes wearing a special vest to combat anxiety because Mike tells them Gordon has been acting strangely due to the new cat next door to themHenry meets with Bragg and his daughter Ruby (Lilli Kay) in Russells office. Bragg maintains that they are there to build bridges, not burn them, and Ruby adds that they want to maintain a civil dialogue. Henry assures them that he will speak on a very non-controversial subject  poverty and Jesus. We get some classic Henry banter with Bragg over the devastation in Nairu. Bragg suggests that it was providence for Blessing to miss the US and insists that Gods hand is seen in natural disaster. Henry counters that Bragg cant think that Nairu deserved it  and Henry finishes much more humbly than Bragg by saying that he would never presume to know what Gods plan or thoughts were. After Bragg and Ruby leave, Russell warns Henry that CRN is a vipers nest and to be careful. He also adds that he doesnt know what Mike B is thinking! After all, Russell has run campaigns too. Its clear in this first meeting that Ruby may not completely share her fathers views. I quite liked Kay in this and hope well see her again.We get another great scene between Henry and Elizabeth in the car on the way to the CRN conference. Elizabeth is outraged that there is a Cabal of special interests  like Bragg!  who wont even let Congress debate climate change. Henry is all over it  and I loved that he completely re-wrote his speech in the car! Ive written conference papers on planes  but those were generally long flights!Henry tells the assembled group that the greatest existential threat to humanity is climate change. He goes on to point out that it is disrespecting Gods masterpiece  the earth  to destroy it. Needless to say, Bragg is not pleased. Bragg speaks with Elizabeth who again underscores the need to find common ground  and suggests that she can help him find it among his own people. Bragg insists that climate change is merely a Trojan horse for the government to use to grab more power.Henry has much better luck in talking with Ruby. She tells him that she enjoyed his speech and that it spoke to her. She is not a climate denier like her father. Henry tells her to google David Akua and see what hes going through.Meanwhile, Mike B is waiting for Henry and Elizabeth to get home. Its hilarious as always well groomed Mike B sits ramrod straight across from Will (Eric Stoltz) who is a mess, slumping in his chair. Mike B is furious. CRN has just announced that they are giving $10 million to another candidate  shes lost Iowa  and he quits! Mike wants to know why she cant just trust him, and Elizabeth points out that shes not a politician. Mike tells her thats why she will lose and he calls her a self-righteous blueblood. Hmmmmm.Later that night, Daisy calls to say that cyclone Phoebe is now a typhoon. Henry tells Elizabeth that Mike B went too far, but Elizabeth is worried. Shes always trusted his instinct about people because hes always been right. Henry surprises her by saying that Mike B isnt wrong about her  but those arent bad qualities! Mike B is wrong about the religious community being a monolith, however, and Henry would know! Henry tells her about the conversation with Ruby, and also reiterates that its a long time until the election.Henry meets with Ruby. Hes looked her up and found out that she used to be an activist. Ruby insists that they do good work without mentioning climate change  and she did look David up. Henry encourages her to do more by using her own voice  not just spouting what CRN tells her to. Ruby points out that going against CRN will blow up not only her career but also her family. Henry assures her that she is more powerful than she realizes.In the end, Ruby goes on television and supports climate change. I loved that she quoted Henry when she said that the Lord calls us to be Stewards of this earth. We last see Ruby arriving home and her father staring at her from inside. Its clear she was right in what she was sacrificing.Elizabeth makes the point that they have to define truth and agree on common ground when it comes to climate change  and its ridiculous given the clear scientific evidence. Just because I dont see bugs when I have the cold doesnt mean that I dont believe in the virus that is making me sick! Just because I walk out of my house and its cold doesnt mean that I shouldnt believe in global warming. Just as a virus is too small to assess individually, so is the earth too big to assess just based on my own individual senses!When it turns out that Phoebe will hit Nairu, Elizabeth tells David that he and his people must evacuate completely and immediately. David is torn  they cant and wont leave the temple! Elizabeth encourages him to declare Marshall Law  and then she loses the connection. In the end, all evacuate but a few dozen who stayed behind with the temple. David and his mother are safe. Its absolutely shocking  as it should be  when Blake comes in after the storm with NASA satellite and Nairu has been completely obliterated. The final shot in the episode is David, his mother, and his people arriving in their new home with a small piece of the temple and erecting their flag. Meanwhile, the support for Nairu and recognition of the effects of carbon emissions passes in the House with 51 in favor.Elizabeth, still troubled by her last exchange with Mike B, goes to his house when he wont return her calls. She finds him a mess  in sweats!  and clearly distraught. It turns out that Gordon wasnt having an anxiety attack, hes in the last stages of cancer. I hate losing Gordon, but it is a brilliant analogy for climate change. The world isnt having an anxiety attack  its dying of cancer  and it isnt going to take 50 to 75 years for us to be in crisis  we are in crisis now!Kevin Rahm is always a delight, but he is utterly fantastic in this scene. Mike B hasnt returned Elizabeths calls because hes been desperately trying to save Gordons life. Hes investigated clinical trials as far away as Germany. Hes blaming himself for waiting too long and blaming it on the cat. Mike is clearly devastated by the impending loss. He tells Elizabeth that he took the advice to heart that if you want a friend in Washington  get a dog. Elizabeth immediately points out that she is his friend. She also fondly remembers Gordon visiting her office as a puppy and peeing in it! She helps him come to terms. Mike thanks her and apologizes for blowing up at her  he also states that he never quits  so he hasnt really quit her either. She stays with him as they say good bye to Gordon.I thought this was a very powerful episode on a very timely topic. The acting as always is superb  with that special shout out to Kevin Rahm. The think that I like the most about this show is that it doesnt pull any punches and that it really looks in-depth at these issues while trying to find common ground. What did you think of the episode? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!






6.12 - "Bastien Moreau: Conclusion"

Written by Jon Bokenkamp & John Eisendrath & Lukas Reiter

Directed by Christine Gee

Reviewed by KathM



So, Reds alive. Which we all knew would happen. And I wanted to be more impressed by this episode, but I wasnt.

I mean yes, the band is back together, but I can feel like its going to break apart sooner rather than later.

Hes saved at the last minute (more like 30 seconds, really) by a call from the President himself. I wonder who convinced him? More on that later.

Fresh from another video call with McMahon and Harold, another agreement is signed by Harold that lets Red out of custody for 48 hours. In that time, he will have to bring the killer of Ava Ziegler to justice or back inside he goes. If he does find the killer, then his immunity agreement will be reinstated. Hell have to wear an ankle monitor, and if Red commits any crimes while on the outside then Harold will be prosecuted along with him. Harold signs and Red walks out into a beautiful night and into the arms Elizabeth and Dembe. Now he supposes that he should go figure out where The Corsican/Moreau is, because despite what he told everyone he actually has no idea where to find him.

Lets get back to that dossier for a minute, shall we? An MI6 agent had compiled said dossier to give to Ziegler so she could share it with Wade. But which MI6 agent? They must still be alive because the bomb at the UN didnt go off. Harold has Aram pull up a list of everyone who was in the room where the bomb was supposed to go off. Red arrives at the Post Office, basically waves at everyone, picks Christopher Miles out of the list on Arams screen, then scurries off to get his address.

He and Dembe go and visit Marty Saperstein (I cant find him in any Blacklist lore, so he must just be someone Red knew and didnt want to kill), who is playing Charades with his wife and their friends. Red asks him for Miless address, alluding to some potentially embarrassing (and possibly true) facts about Marty in front of his wife about their time in Greece. Saperstein runs to his office and scribbles Miless address on a piece of paper for Red, and then tells him what a good man Miles is. Red says that he doesnt want to hurt Miles, just get something he has. The trouble will be if Miles wont share. He and Dembe, who has been trying to play Charades with the scared Mrs. Saperstein and guests, calls Liz and gives her the address, and Harold orders the team into action.

Unfortunately, while Red and the gang are seeking Miles we see him driving in a car with Moreau, who is pointing a gun at him. They go to Miless apartment, where he gives Moreau the dossier. Miles promises Moreau that its the only copy. Moreau doesnt believe him, so he shoots Miles in the leg and asks him again, just be sure. Yeah, its the only copy. Moreau needs a bit more convincing, however.

A witness saw two men going into Miles's building who match Moreau's and Miles's descriptions makes the team sure they are inside. Ressler and Samar lead two SWAT teams into Miless apartment, where there is the usual shouting and slamming open of doors and throwing of flash grenades. This is where is goes to hell for Samar and Miles, too.

Samar still hasnt told Harold about her aphasia and accompanying side effects, despite support from Aram and his gentle insistence that hell go with her. But Samar goes with the SWAT team instead, sure she'll be able to compensate for her disability. But the loud noises and bright lights overwhelm her senses long enough for Moreau to kill Miles and then escape out of a window. She tries to stop the Miless bleeding and while theyre waiting for a medic Miles manages to gasp out that Moreau has the dossier and that the password is Foxglove. Then he dies. Moreau gets away from Ressler with the thumb drive and calls Anna to tell him that hes successfully acquired the dossier.

Anna, however, is still not pleased, and tells him that Reddington escaped from prison and has told the DOJ that he is going to bring in the assassin that killed Ava Ziegler. Now Moreau is unhappy, too, but more than willing to kill Red. If only he knew where Red was. Oh, wait! Anna just happens to have a little device on Reds ankle that will let any potential killers know where he is at any given moment.

Red and Dembe are chilling, as much as Dembe ever chills, in a nice, empty restaurant that Red may or may not have bought out to get a little peace. He takes a call from Liz, who tells him about Miles and Moreau and the dossier and the password. Which Red asks for and is given, even though they have no dossier to open. Or maybe they do.

Red isnt genuinely surprised often, but when he sees Bastien Moreau amble in he's fairly unnerved. Red then tells a long story about tigers and magicians and basically explains to Moreau that hed been played by Anna McMahon this whole time. She never cared about his agenda, she needed him to further hers. Ava Ziegler wasnt working to stop nationalism in Germany, she found a plot against the US and Christopher Miles had compiled a document she could share with Wade. To prove everything hes said, Red gives Moreau the password so that he can read the dossier for himself. He does, and when hes finished, he is not looking like a happy camper. The plot is against the United States by the United States and has nothing to do with Germany or the German nationalist movement. Red asks whether he can read the dossier, too, since hes the one who shared the password. Moreau says that its enough that he let Red live and walks out. Red calls Liz and lets her know that Moreaus next target is Anna McMahon. Since its too early in the day to drink a toast, Harold sends Liz and Ressler to see McMahon instead while he and Aram search for Samar, who hasnt been seen since the shooting.

Pretending to not know anything about the contents of the dossier, Moreau leaves the thumb drive at a predetermined location and tells Anna that killing Reddington will take time. A young courier picks up the thumb drive and takes it to Annas where Moreau, who has been following her, stabs her to death. Then he breaks into Annas house and puts the body in a chair in her dining room, so Anna will see her as soon as she comes in. Now theres nothing to do but wait; which Moreau does, settling down into one of Annas no doubt pricey but comfy living room chairs.

Busy, tired Anna schleps home, ignoring calls from her office and telling someone on her cell phone to tell everyone shes busy. Im guessing shes looking to unwind. Wont happen. When she sees the dead body, though, she knows that Moreau cant be far behind. And he isnt.

He argues with Anna about how she used him, how she convinced him that she was part of the Black Fist (German nationalist movement) and that the dossier Miles compiled for Ziegler, which was purportedly for taking down the nationalist movement in Germany, had nothing to do with that at all.

Moreau is a nationalist to the core: nothing else really means anything to him. A person who helped compile a dossier that risked taking his party down? That he cared about. That hed kill for. But frankly my dear, a plot to harm the US? He didnt give a damn. And it becomes clear that Anna McMahon had been manipulating him his whole time. She needed some work done, so she hired the best. It was just a matter of giving him the right motivation. Moreau wants to know why the whole dossier is about a plan Anna has to harm her own country. Whats in it for him? Nothing, really, as it turns out.

While they continue to argue they hear tires screech to a halt outside and Moreau escapes while Anna plays the hysterical victim and tells Liz and Ressler that there was just some man in her house, she has no idea who he is. Blah, blah. Liz takes off on foot and Ressler grabs the car to hunt Moreau down.

Now this is a pretty neat party trick. Moreau decides to make something disappear, possibly forever. As he passes a mother and son walking in front of him, he takes the thumb drive with the dossier on it and slips it into the kids backpack. What does he care about it, anyway? The dossier means nothing to his cause and therefore nothing to him. When Liz and Ressler finally capture him, Moreau tells them that hell be an asset to them because he has a secret, which well never know anything about from him because at that moment the guy with the heavy eyebrows from the White House kills him dead with a sniper rifle. And you know that nobody will find Moreaus killer, and that Moreau has taken the contents and location of the dossier to his grave.

Aram finds Samar looking out at the city from the rooftop of the Post Office, smoking. Shes going to tell Harold whats going on with her and, when Aram tries to make out that being with Miles in the end was a brave thing, she tells him that it wasnt good and romantic at all. However, when she meets with Harold Samar simply tells him that shes resigning from the team and no, she wont tell him why. She gives him a big hug and gets teary telling him how much shes loved working on the task force. Then tells him goodbye. Like, goodbye-goodbye or, Come over on dinner on Friday, can I use you as a reference goodbye? Im not sure, but Im worried about Samar.

So, Red is back! He found the person who killed Ziegler and now his immunity agreement is back in force. He does need to pretend that he escaped from prison instead being pardoned, but Reds a big picture guy. Best of all, as part of his agreement Vontae gets out on parole!! I wonder what Reds going to have Vontae do for him now. Harold is excited for Red and everyone on the task force, giving them an overview about how much tougher their jobs are going to be now with more oversight, but theyll just have to be stealthier and get creative. Thanks for the pep talk, Harold, but Red can only stay a minute because the Post Office smells funky and he must be going. Wheels up in 45! Hes not surehes going, but I have an inkling that dinner in Chicago might be on the agenda.

Liz is largely silent in this episode, aside from giving Red a big hug which I thought was primarily genuine. Strange to see an episode that isnt Liz-centric. Very good, but strange. She participated in the capture of Moreau and got some of his guts splattered on her when the sniper from the White House shot him. Early Liz, when they were often mindlessly following Red as they tried to figure out the puzzle.

Did anyone else feel that Liz was manipulating Ressler into doing what she decided she couldnt or wouldnt?

Ressler: The reason you didnt ask him who he really is, uh was it because you didnt get the chance to or because you decided not to?

Liz: I decided not to.

Ressler: Youre just gonna let it go? Youre okay with that?

Liz: I am. And I hope you are, too.

And I think she gently touched his hand as she walked away! You work the skills your Daddy taught you, Lizzie!

At last we see Harold and McMahon in his office, getting ready to sign off on Task Forces part of Reds immunity agreement. Anna wants to make it clear that if Red commits any crimes that anyone on the Task Force knows about, theyll be tried as co-conspirators. Oh, and shes going to continue to oversee the task force. Did she before? Whatever. Harold has some thoughts on that.

Anna: Once again, my job will be to oversee the Task Force for Main Justice.

Harold: Im looking forward to that.

Anna: Your sarcasm is duty noted.

Harold: And yet, Im being completely genuine.

Anna: You want me to take the job?

Harold: I do, because its proven to be one with an extraordinarily high mortality rate.

Speak your truth, Harold.

Oh, and speaking of Harold, is anyone else kind of pissed at the way Red treated him? Harold risked his job and possibly histo keep Red alive. He blackmailed the President into staying the execution because Harold promised to go to the press with the fact that a high-ranking German official died on US soil and the person who could have prevented it was allowed to die by lethal injection. He signs anything anyone puts in front of him to ensure that Red and the Task Force continue to exist and Red barely says a thing to him throughout the whole episode! Reds hobbies do include his ability to seem nonplussed by basically everything, but his casual attitude to his last-minute save by a call from the President really irked me. What was it he said to the Warden? People make their own luck, some more than others  I make a prodigious amount. Red, I know you think that the reason you always come out on top is because the people who work for you do their jobs and do them well. But Harold saved you, Red. Because he believes in the work youre all doing, and because youve grown on him. And you dont get that kind of loyalty from someone whos just cashing a paycheck. Would it have killed you to pop up to Harolds office with a gift of expensive whiskey for a drink together, or maybe take him to Chicago for an enjoyable dining experience? I know that Red may feel the absolution conversation he and Harold had in the last episode may have been Red saying what he needed to say emotionally to Harold forever, but I still think he owes Harold at least a nice cigar.

Points to Ponder:



What is the plot against America? I feel like it has something to do with starting a war.

What is up with Anna telling the President to Say hello to the First Lady for me, Hummm? I think Annas most likely just sleeping with him, but part of me wonders whether he was blackmailed into doing whatever is going to happen to the country.

Why doesnt Red encourage Dembe to have some fun once in a while? He needs to get out more and just kick back. Did you see how much fun he had trying to play Charades at the Sapersteins? Ill bet Dembe would own a Pub Quiz.






Cannabis software is a necessity for weed businesses navigating the complex regulations surrounding legalization. Out of a growing list of options, the following programs are setting the industry standard when it comes to seed to sale tracking.

Seed-to-sale tracking is exactly what the term implies -- complex cannabis laws mandate that weed businesses track their wares literally from seed to sale to prove they are not selling black market weed. Specifically, this means maintaining a database that traces products through cultivation, production, distribution and sale

But this goes beyond having a ledger of where a product has been: cannabis software for seed-to-sale tracking typically includes the following elements, among many others, real-time tracking for regulators; state approval at various steps; and lab test results.

It also typically contains tools for businesses to keep track of their products, the laws and generally keep their business in the black. These may consist of tax compliance tools, payroll and job boards.

Related: California Has a Serious Compliance Problem

Complex state regulations necessitate seed-to-sale tracking.

Cannabis isnt the only industry that requires intensive tracking -- everything consumable and regulated must follow specific health and safety protocol if its legally to be sold in stores. Food, beverages and drugs all require intense supply chain documentation.

Of course, things are a little more intense in the cannabis industry because weed is still illegal federally. People starting a cannabis dispensary have to make sure theyre prepared to abide by a series of state and even country-specific laws that are subject to change.

What distinguishes the cannabis software from the competition? There are myriad options when it comes to cannabis software today. The best programs have multiple capabilities for regulators and businesses alike. The cannabis software on this list is already in wide use across the industry and is both easy to use and comprehensive.

Wurk

Wurk offers high levels of customized for small, medium, and large businesses that want to follow complex regulations all while hiring key employees and keeping payroll and expenses under control. This cannabis software emphasizes the following capabilities all within their mobile-friendly UX:

Regulatory compliance and seed to sale tracking

Maximizing profits and minimizing costs

Hiring and keeping employees

Payroll and scheduling

The weed business has all sorts of considerations that don't typically apply to "normal" businesses but they do need to deal with hiring, payroll and scheduling like every company does. All of these capabilities are available through Wurks platform, along with in-depth software for regulatory compliance.

MJ Freeway

This cannabis software provides everything from seed to sale tracking to market forecasts for the industry. Specifically, their program can be tailored for different types of weed businesses, including vertically integrated businesses, dispensaries, delivery services, cannabis oil extractors and cultivators

MJ Freeway provides data that goes beyond seed-to-sale tracking. For instance, they can calculate customer retention rates, help businesses submit licenses and create long-term financial plans.

Related: Cryptocurrency and the Allure of a Cashless Cannabis Industry

BioTrackTHC

Tracking products a major part of running a legal weed business. Additionally, that data gives you great insight into how to grow a business based on which are the hottest cannabis products, for example.

BioTrachTHC has the capabilities to create comprehensive data reports and provides marketing support based on that data. Specifically, this cannabis software caters to cultivators, dispensaries requiring point-of-sale systems, manufacturers and processors.

BioTrachTHC can be customized for any region because it contains the requirements for every unique license within every state. It can also be integrated with Metrc.

Metrc

Tracking products seed-to-sale is tough for businesses and government agencies. According to their own estimates, Metrc has more than 20,000 users in Colorado. Since 2013, this cannabis software system has tracked at least five million plants. Metrcs capabilities include tracking chain of custody and credentials of parties involved; analyzing trends of businesses within the system; registry of businesses, buyers, physicians, strains and other product information; tracking plants, packages and harvest.

Metrc was implemented in 2013 in Colorado when regulators were first confronted with the challenge of regulating cannabis. Today, creating a record of licensed businesses and giving governments a full overview of everything from individual harvests to licenses is a key part of bringing cannabis products to the shelves.

Related: NBA Champion John Salley Talks About the 'Seed to Sale' Process for Cannabis Business

Trellis

This cannabis software helps businesses follow regulations while providing actionable business analytics by enabling cultivators to track their harvests through every step, including charting crop yields. Trellis software is designed for all types of cannabis businesses and has the following features:

A dashboard that displays cultivation, manufacturing and other updates in real time

Protected chain of custody records

Inventory tracking, including crop yields

Growers can survey trim yields to moisture levels.

Extractors can understand their cost per gram, no matter the process

Producers can track plants through every stage.

Trellis provides high levels of customization for various types of cannabis businesses and can create reports on each.

More cannabis software solutions are available all the time.

The challenge of following complex regulations is why supply chain manager is one of the most in-demand cannabis jobs right now. But luckily for weed entrepreneurs, there are more cannabis software options than ever.

Today, the best options on the market provide more than supply chain management. They can analyze market trends, help business owners cut expenses and simplify payroll and HR. No matter how challenging cannabis regulations can be, entrepreneurs are finding ways to stay within the law with innovative software.

Related:

Installing Right Automation Systems at the Workplace

Lines, Curves & Charts: The Power of Analytics in Education

What Makes AI the Flavour of 2019?



Copyright 2019 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Plunging necklines, dramatic cut-outs and high cut legs: recent swimwear trends have not been for the fainthearted.

Those of us who like to keep things a little more modest can breathe a sigh of relief this year, as seventies-inspired belted swimsuits make a comeback.

Here are three brands to hit up for that all important beach OOTD...

We Wore What for Onia Swim

Kylie Jenner was one of the first influencers to draw our attention to belted swimsuits when she posted a snap of herself wearing an eye-catching cow print design during a mini break in January 2019.

Fans quickly tracked down the trendy swimsuit and discovered it was a collaboration between Onia and WeWoreWhat. The style comes in several prints, complete with a stylish western buckle belt and flattering underwire demi cups.

Get The Look

Danielle one piece | 180 by Onia x WeWoreWhat | Shop it here

Hunza G

London-based Hunza G has become a swimwear staple with the fashion set thanks to its minimal and sleek silhouettes.

Sticking to its signature stretch knit designs, for 2019 the classic suit has been given the addition of an attached figure-hugging belt with a resin tortoise clasp.

Get the look

Solitare belted swimsuit | 140 by Hunza G | Shop it here

Solid & Striped

Cult swim brand Solid & Striped's statement one-pieces were all over the 'gram last year, and its latest designs are set to get more airtime on our feeds this summer.

From leopard print to retro houndstooth and summer-ready pastels, the label has every style you could ever want.

Get The Look
H elene Selam Kleih is a 24-year writer, activist and model from South London. She has put together a book called Him + His exploring male mental health.

The anthology was inspired by Kleih's personal experience with male mental health. Her twin brother was diagnosed with psychosis in 2014 and has been in psychiatric ward for young adults since January 2017. The conversation around male anxiety and depression has started but prejudices around masculinity and emotional stoicism still prevail, as we have seen this week with the death of Love Island contestant Mike Thalassitis.

Him + His confronts the problematic discourse around male mental health, exploring why fragility is still seen as a weakness and the toxic language that encourages men to suppress their emotions. Kleih has gathered contributions from doctors and psychiatrists, male friends, men she met through her brothers treatment and strangers who have reached out to her wanting to share their story.

She has written the piece below on why it's time to stop writing effusive Instagram captions and make real life changes.

Helene Selam Kleih with Him + His / Romany Francesca

Is all this airtime on mental health really that productive?

February is a painful month. After Januarys saintly tendencies, weve all clocked that our resolutions are not so enduring, quite exhausting, and instead search out new destructive habits to counteract the sheer boredom that comes with being healthy.

For me February is another year older, and another year of my twin brother still very much stuck in an institution. 799 days and still stuck in a cycle, that while at points, it seems like hell manage to slip out of, is an endless Mobius strip. His psychosis, is limitless and has no boundaries. Its a continuous seesaw and we dont call it mental health.

You see, in my family, mental health really isnt in our language - health denotes vitality, prosperity. Mental illness doesnt have a place in our vocabulary. Illness fights the thread of hope we all cling to.

But if you glimpse at any of the screens we use every day, mental health is no longer a dirty word. Mental health is in now  sharing is caring.

Milo Max for Him + His / Milo Max

Yet, as we scroll through our Instagram heroes and see them coming out about their mental health issues, are we registering the statistics, the suicide rate thats pulling at our chests  84 men a week kill themselves. Five men that I know have died in the past two weeks. Is all this airtime on mental health really that productive?

We are coerced by brands and advertising to believe that we are enacting real self-care, we are finally listening to our bodies and minds, men are finally crying, and were all fuelling ourselves with the right vitamins and booster classes. Health is wealth after all, and someones profiting from our desperation.

Athena Pagington for Him + His / Photography Piczo @We Folk

Mental health is glamorised by the media, and by ourselves  every day that we engage in conversation with our friends, our family, our co-workers, we adhere to society's standards of what it means to take care of ourselves, and we continue to partake in performative action  pat each other on the back and post a longwinded Instagram caption. We have actively commodified our wellbeing.

Because addressing the root cause is hard  unearthing our mental health issues is a burden to our brains, to our souls and to the souls of others, its easier not to speak.

But right now mental ill-health is costing the UK about 94bn every year, and each suicide costs about 1.7 million. When we look at the cash loss, it seems quite obvious that we need to treat the root before the rot. Why must we wait to act, only after the crisis? Real self-care is having agency over our minds and our mental states, and for that, expression, in whatever way possible, is essential.

I wonder how many people remember the real reason behind my book? How many people are posting HIM + HIS on their Instagram stories before reaching for it for help? Each contribution came from a place of darkness and a place of hope  a hope that whilst things may not get better, they are manageable and dont have to be tackled alone.

Christopher Newell 'To awaken from dream-like slumber' for Him + His / Christopher Newell

As one contributor highlighted, community is crucial: "My most recent relapse has made me realise just how important a project like yours is. I find that writing about my experience is really therapeutic. Fortunately for me I now have an amazing support structure in place. But so many people are suffering in silence and on their own for no good reason. Him + His is more than paper, it is expression, it is a network of people showing that there is no absolute solution, yet creating and creation can be a prevention.

My brothers situation, like so many others, isnt sad, and is nothing to be sorry for. Its real life and so shouldnt be removed from Instagram. Mental health shouldnt be a loaded term, and how we practice self-care shouldnt be limited to a time or a space or social media. Self-care, for me, is about being content - comfortable with whatever we are going through because we have a community around us.
A man was stabbed to death as six people were knifed in a night of bloodshed across London.

Another man is fighting for his life while the youngest victim, stabbed in Brixton, south London, was just 13 years old.

Police were called to an address in Marsh Road in Pinner, a leafy suburb in north-west London, at about 6am on Sunday.

A man who had been stabbed was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police in Pinner, north-west London after a man was stabbed to death / PA

A large section of the road was cordoned off on Sunday morning while a forensics tent was erected outside Costa Coffee and an off-licence.

One resident described Pinner as "lovely" but said she was not shocked by the news as such incidents are "happening in all areas".

Mary MacNamara, who has lived in the area for four years, said: "We all see what's going on generally and it (such crime) seems to be happening in all areas.

Knife Crime - A national emergency

"It's happening every day. Nobody does anything about it."

Local MP Nick Hurd said police were making house-to-house enquiries.

He tweeted: "Deeply saddened to hear of a fatal stabbing earlier this morning. Area cordoned off; police conducting house to house enquiries and reassurance patrols."

A second man, aged in his 40s, is in a critical condition in hospital after he was found with stab wounds in Dalston Lane, at the junction with Lower Clapton Road, in north-east London at about 3.15am.

Meanwhile a 13-year-old boy was knifed in St Matthews Road, Brixton shortly before midnight.

Paramedics rushed him to hospital and his condition is not thought to be life threatening.

Two males, believed to be aged in their late teens or early 20s, were found stabbed in Harrow Road, Westminster, while another of around the same age was found with head injuries.

Emergency services were called at 10.30pm. Their injuries are also not thought to be life threatening, police said.

And shortly before 8.30pm, a man in his 20s was also taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries after he was stabbed in High Street in Barkingside, north-east London.
A man believed to be a worker at a newsagents was stabbed to death during a robbery in north-west London, police have said.

Scotland Yard said the man is thought to have been opening the shop in Pinner at about 6am on Sunday when he was attacked.

Police and paramedics rushed to the scene but the man was pronounced dead at 6.46am.

Detective Chief Inspector Simon Stancombe, of the Mets Homicide and Major Crime Command, called the incident a violent robbery that escalated.

Fatal stabbing: Police in Pinner, north-west London, after a man was knifed to death / PA

He said: "I am appealing to anyone who was in the area around Marsh Lane this morning and saw anything of interest to contact police.

"This was a violent robbery that has escalated, resulting in the murder of a man.

"It appears the till was stolen from the shop during this robbery and this may have been discarded by the suspect. If you have come across this, we want to hear from you.

Police and paramedics rushed to the scene of the stabbing at about 6am on Sunday / PA

"I am particularly keen to hear from anyone who saw a black Vauxhall Astra that was driven away at speed, south down Cecil Park immediately after the attack.

"We think that car was parked in Cecil Park prior to the murder - if you saw this, or have any other information that could help us progress this investigation, I would urge you to get in contact."

A large section of Marsh Lane was cordoned off on Sunday morning while a forensics tent was erected outside Costa Coffee and the off-licence.

Police believe the victim a shop worker who was violently attacked by a man carrying out a robbery / PA

Local business owner Peter Brook, 55, said there were a few employees from the newsagents who delivered the morning papers to local businesses.

He said they were all "kind, polite and so committed to working in the local community".

Mr Brook, who has lived in Pinner for nearly two decades, added: "People sometimes don't appreciate the people who come out at 5am to deliver a service to the local community.

"When people like that are murdered going about their job it's such a tragedy."

The Metropolitan Police said enquiries were under way to identify the victim and his next of kin.

No arrests have been made.

Five other people were stabbed on Saturday night and Sunday morning across the capital, including a 13-year-old boy in Brixton, south London.
 Major disruption is expected at one of Londons busiest train stations and could last until at least midday, National Rail said.

Rail passengers have been told to check their journeys as trains are currently unable to run between Luton and London St Pancras.

The disruption, expected to last until 12pm, has been caused after overhead electric wires were damaged in north west London.

Thameslink also advised customers to "delay travel" until 2pm.

East Midlands Trains, whose London terminus is St Pancras, has strongly advised customers not to travel to or from the capital on Sunday.

Passengers from Sheffield and Nottingham travelling to London are being advised to change at Doncaster and Grantham respectively for East Coast Main Line services, while passengers at Leicester are urged to travel to Nuneaton for a service to Euston.

Replacement buses from Luton to Edgware London Underground station are being arranged for East Midlands Trains customers, National Rail said.
C abinet ministers are reportedly plotting a coup to get rid of Theresa May, leading to intense speculation the PM will soon be ousted from Number 10.

Mrs May could be forced to resign within days, one paper claimed, amid a furious backlash over her handling of Brexit.

The Prime Minister's former policy adviser MP George Freeman said it was "all over for the PM", tweeting: "She's done her best. But across the country you can see the anger.

"Everyone feels betrayed. Government's gridlocked. Trust in democracy collapsing. This can't go on. We need a new PM who can reach out (and) build some sort of coalition for a PlanB."

Pro-EU former education secretary Nicky Morgan told the Sunday Telegraph that cabinet ministers should tell Mrs May "it's time to go" while Brexiteer Steve Baker said potential leadership contenders in the Government should "act now".

Tory backbencher Anne-Marie Trevelyan wrote in the same paper: "We now need a leader who believes in our country and wants to take her on the next stage of her journey."

Conservative peer Lord Gadhia, a former member of David Cameron's inner circle, said the upcoming days in Parliament may be "very dramatic" and could see the end of Mrs May's time as premier.

David Lidington has been suggested as a possible replacement for Theresa May / REUTERS

The Sunday Times reported 11 cabinet ministers had told the paper they wanted Mrs May to make way for someone else and that the PM's de facto deputy David Lidington was in line to take over the helm.

But the Mail on Sunday said ministers were plotting to install Environment Secretary Michael Gove as a caretaker leader.

According to reports Michael Gove could also take over as prime minister / REUTERS

It comes after one million people were said by organisers to have joined a march on Parliament on Saturday demanding a final say for the public over Brexit.

Marchers waving EU flags and carrying their placards emblazoned with political messages weaved their way from Hyde Park Corner to Parliament Square.

Elsewhere, pro-Brexit campaigners will continue their long hike from the North East to the capital, leaving Loughborough on Sunday morning.

Revoke Article 50 petition reaches five million signatures

After another turbulent week for the Prime Minister which saw her come under fire for delaying Brexit and seeking to blame MPs for the impasse, the Commons was expected to be given the third chance to vote on her deal this week.

But on Friday night Mrs May wrote to parliamentarians warning if there is insufficient support for her withdrawal agreement in the coming days she could seek an extension to Britain's EU membership beyond the upcoming European Parliament elections.

Mrs May said she was holding Brexit meetings over the weekend as she tweeted pictures of herself on the local election campaign trail in Milton Keynes.

Tory former Brexit secretary David Davis argued leaving without a deal on World Trade Organisation terms "looks much better than the other options in front of us" in a piece for the Sunday Telegraph.

He wrote: "If Parliament rejects the deal on offer, the Prime Minister has it in her power to deliver a WTO outcome. That is what she should do.

"And if some ministers resign as a result? That would be a pity, but there are always volunteers to replace every departure."
C hancellor Philip Hammond has said a second referendum deserves to be considered in a move that is likely to anger Brexiteer colleagues.

The pro-Brexit MP told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: "I think that's appalling, I think they should be censured and some of them should be sacked."

He added: "If there is to be a leadership change that leadership change has to be done through the correct process with the membership out there deciding who will be their leader - not some ghastly five or six man and woman cabal that actually decides things internally."

Iain Duncan Smith calls reported coup appalling

Appearing on Sky's Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Mr Hammond was also critical of MPs allegedly involved in an attempt to topple the PM, calling them "self-indulgent.

He said replacing Mrs May would not "solve the problem", despite heavy criticism of her handling of the Brexit process and calls from members of her party to stand aside.

Philip Hammond said a second Brexit referendum was a "perfectly coherent position" / AFP/Getty Images

"To be talking about changing the players on the board frankly is self-indulgent at this time," Mr Hammond said.

He denied reports that he wanted Mrs May's de facto deputy David Lidington to be installed as a caretaker prime minister, but refused to be drawn on whether his colleagues had approached him asking him to make an intervention.

David Lidington has been suggested as a possible replacement for Theresa May / REUTERS

However, he acknowledged that "people are very frustrated and people are desperate to find a way forward in the just over two weeks that we've got to resolved this issue".

Mr Hammond added: "This is not about the Prime Minister or any other individual, this is about the future of our country.

"Changing Prime Minister wouldn't help us, changing the party in government wouldn't help us: we've got to address the question of what type of Brexit is acceptable to Parliament, what type of way forward Parliament can agree on so that we can avoid what would be an economic catastrophe of a no-deal exit and also what would be a very big challenge to confidence in our political system if we didn't exit at all."

And after hundreds of thousands of people descended on Parliament on Saturday demanding a so-called People's Vote, he said a second referendum was a "perfectly coherent position" which "deserves to be considered along with the other proposals".

Thousands attend People's Vote march

The Chancellor said Parliament would be given the chance to hold indicative votes on alternatives to Mrs May's Brexit deal this week.

"One way or another Parliament is going to have the opportunity this week to decide what it is in favour of, and I hope that it will take that opportunity - if it can't get behind the Prime Minister's deal - to say clearly and unambiguously what it can get behind," he said.

Meanwhile Mr Duncan Smith said the last week in politics has been "as close to a national humiliation as I think I've seen".

But he added that any idea of a leadership election would create "complete chaos", and said cabinet ministers owe Mrs May not to behave as they have.

"I think round the country, in the Conservative Party, and outside the Conservative Party there will be real disgust at the behaviour of some of our cabinet ministers who are not fit for their positions if they behave like this," he told Marr.

"They should be apologising and they should shut up for God's sake."

Mr Duncan Smith also urged fellow Brexiteers to keep their options open on whether to support the Prime Minister's deal if it comes back to the Commons this week.
T wo Cabinet ministers who were said to be in line to take over from Theresa May have dismissed reports of a Cabinet coup to oust her.

Michael Gove and David Lidington were rumoured to be in the running to take over from the PM if she was toppled.

The Sunday Times claimed 11 Cabinet ministers wanted Mrs May to make way for someone else and Mr Lidington was in line to take over the helm.

But the Mail on Sunday reported ministers were plotting to install the Environment Secretary as a caretaker leader.

Theresa May, who could reportedly be ousted as PM in the coming days, in Brussels last week / EPA

On Sunday, both restated their backing for the Prime Minister after speculation of a plot to force her to resign reached fever pitch.

The Environment Secretary said it was "not the time to change the captain of the ship", while the PM's deputy said he had no desire to take over the reins.

Mrs May met prominent Brexiteers at her country residence, Chequers, on Sunday afternoon, before convening a meeting of the Cabinet on Monday morning.

Attendees included Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Dominic Raab, Damian Green and David Davis.

Iain Duncan Smith, Julian Smith, Brandon Lewis, Steve Barclay and Michael Gove also attended.

Chancellor: MPs allegedly plotting to oust PM are being self-indulgent

David Lidington, Steve Baker and Alistair Burt made up the rest of the Brexiteer group.

A Downing Street spokesman said: "The PM and a number of Government Ministers met today at Chequers for lengthy talks with senior colleagues about delivering Brexit.

"The meeting discussed a range of issues, including whether there is sufficient support in the Commons to bring back a meaningful vote this week."

Chancellor Philip Hammond accused those allegedly trying to topple Mrs May of being "self-indulgent", while former party leader Iain Duncan Smith told ministers who briefed against the Prime Minister to apologise and "shut up.

Meanwhile, Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay warned the risk of a general election would increase if MPs took control of parliamentary proceedings this week and brought about a "constitutional collision.

Philip Hammond said a second Brexit referendum was a "perfectly coherent position" / AFP/Getty Images

Mr Gove told the BBC: "I think this is a time for cool heads. But we absolutely do need to focus on the task at hand and that's making sure that we get the maximum possible support for the Prime Minister and her deal."

He added: "It's not the time to change the captain of the ship, I think what we need to do is to chart the right course."

Speaking to reporters in his Aylesbury constituency, Mr Lidington, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: "I don't think that I've any wish to take over from the PM (who) I think is doing a fantastic job.

"I tell you this - one thing that working closely with the Prime Minister does is cure you completely of any lingering shred of ambition to want to do that task.

"I have absolute admiration for the way she is going about it."

Iain Duncan Smith calls reported coup appalling

Despite heavy criticism of Mrs May's handling of the Brexit process and calls from members of her party to stand aside, the Chancellor insisted ousting her would not "solve the problem".

"To be talking about changing the players on the board frankly is self-indulgent at this time," Mr Hammond told Sky News's Sophy Ridge On Sunday.

"This is not about the Prime Minister or any other individual, this is about the future of our country.

"Changing Prime Minister wouldn't help us, changing the party in Government wouldn't help us - we've got to address the question of what type of Brexit is acceptable to Parliament."

Mr Hammond also announced Parliament would be given the chance to hold indicative votes on alternatives to the PM's Brexit deal this week but said a decision had not yet been made on whether Tories would be granted free votes.

London People's Vote march: In Pictures 1 /50 London People's Vote march: In Pictures EPA An EU supporter with her face painted REUTERS PA AFP/Getty Images REUTERS EPA A demonstrator carries a dog on his shoulders AP An EU supporter carries a child on his shoulders, calling on the government to give Britons a vote on the final Brexit deal REUTERS PA REUTERS EU supporters dressed in costumes REUTERS EPA Sir Vince Cable in attendance PA A demonstrator holds a holds a poster AP EPA An EU supporter with the EU flag painted on her face, REUTERS Getty Images A demonstrator leads a dog wearing a suit in the EU colors during a Peoples Vote AP An EU supporter takes a selfie with a sticker on his nose REUTERS Demonstrators pull a cart with a doll AP Katie Walton Placards stand against a wall Getty Images Anti-Brexit campaigners before they take part in the People's Vote March PA Katie Walton Getty Images Getty Images A demonstrator and her dog wait for the start of a Peoples Vote anti-Brexit march in London AP REUTERS Demonstrators on their way from London Victoria Jacob Jarvis Independent Group MPs Chuka Umunna and Anna Soubry have a selfie taken with Tracey Ullman PA REUTERS The march took place in central London REUTERS An anti-Brexit banner is unfurled from Westminster PA A demonstrator holds a dog on a leash as people start gathering for a Peoples Vote anti-Brexit march in London AP Anti-Brexit campaigners in Park Lane PA Demonstrators carry posters during a Peoples Vote AP nti-Brexit badges are seen Getty Images Getty Images

After hundreds of thousands of people marched through central London demanding a so-called People's Vote, he said a second referendum was a "perfectly coherent position" that "deserves to be considered along with the other proposals".

MPs will be given the chance to seek to take control of the Brexit process from the Government if they back plans for a series of indicative votes when they vote on their favoured Brexit outcomes on Monday night.
A cclaimed photojournalist Tom Stoddart has vowed never to put down the camera as he reflects on his remarkable career today.

Known for his distinctive black and white shots, Mr Stoddart has documented key moments in history from his ringside seat.

At home, he has been given exclusive access to Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and David Cameron.

Abroad, he witnessed the demolition of the Berlin Wall and was on the Staten Island Ferry during the World Trade Center terror attacks.

Tom Stoddart pictured in 2012 at his Perspectives exhibition in London / Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

But Mr Stoddart is most well known for his raw photography in war zones such as Sarajevo and Beirut, for which he has won numerous awards.

It was in Sarajevo where Mr Stoddart, now 66, was seriously injured during fighting around the Bosnian Parliament. Having documented and been part of such horrific events, Mr Stoddart told the Standard the human side of his work helps him keep things in perspective.

He said: I have seen many awful things, but I have also seen a lot of fantastic and beautiful things.

Humans do terrible things to each other, but there is also courage and humanity. That helps me keep it all in perspective.

A woman hurries through Sarajevo's 'sniper alley' in 1992 / Tom Stoddart

Mr Stoddart, who grew up in Northumberland, started as a trainee 49 years ago at his local paper, the Berwick Advertiser. He moved on to Fleet Street in 1978 and now mainly works with Getty Images.

He decided to start shooting in black and white in the early 1990s.

He said: There was a great quote from a Canadian photographer called Ted Grant. He said that if you photograph in colour, you see the colour of their clothes, but if you photograph in black and white, you see the colour of their soul.

Tom Stoddart had exclusive access to Tony Blair during his 1997 election campaign / Tom Stoddart

Hes absolutely right. After that, I started working almost exclusively in black and white, starting at the siege of Sarajevo in 1992.

Asked about his most memorable domestic assignment, Mr Stoddart, who recently gave a talk for the British Press Photographers' Association in London, said: Tony Blair gave me exclusive access to his 1997 campaign.

It was a historic campaign, with the Conservatives having been in power for 18 years. I was on his private plane on election night from the north down to London.

The first section of the Berlin Wall is torn down by crowds on November 10, 1989 / Tom Stoddart

I remember him arriving on the South Bank just as the sun rose and he said: A new dawn has broken, has it not?

He continued: I was at the Berlin Wall the night it fell in 1989. I spent six weeks working with Nelson Mandela covering his election.

Ive been very lucky in my career, with a ringside seat to history.

And Mr Stoddart pledged I wont be putting down the camera.
F our 15-year-old students have launched a petition which hopes to make more thorough teaching about climate change a compulsory part of school education.

The students, from Chesney School, in Oxford, are hoping to make climate change a core part of the compulsory curriculum to increase the next generations understanding of the global issue.

Set up by school girls Izzy Lewis, Kamila Chamcham, Rasha Alsouleman and Lucy Gibbons, the petition also calls for schools to be run more sustainably and for this to be inspected.

Last month, the girls were among thousands of students to walk out of UK schools as part of a global youth action over climate change, which demanded the Government declare a climate emergency.

Thousands of students took part in a protest against climate change last month / Reuters

Their petition was launched shortly after the walkout and now has more than 55,000 signatures. It says that climate change is the biggest issue of our time and say it must be a part of our education if our generation is to understand it and combat its effect.

Although they acknowledge it is currently in the curriculum, they claim that they have barely learned about the climate crisis, even though its supposed to be part of geography and science.

The petition says: On Friday February 15 we walked out of school along with thousands of students throughout the UK to protest against the government's lack of action in tackling climate change.

We dont want to be left with flooding, wars, famine and climate breakdown just because our governments value economic growth over the wellbeing of our planet.

Weve barely learned about the climate crisis at school. If young people like us are going to have any kind of future, the climate emergency must be a central, core part of our compulsory curriculum.

"We strongly value our education, and thats why we desperately need you to help us make a change in the way things are run.

Parliament Square, London: Climate Change Protest - In pictures 1 /40 Parliament Square, London: Climate Change Protest - In pictures Students take part in a global school strike for climate change in Parliament Square today PA AFP/Getty Images Neil Hall/EPA EPA Reuters PA AFP/Getty Images PA AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images PA PA AFP/Getty Images PA PA PA EPA EPA AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images EPA EPA EPA Reuters PA Reuters Reuters Reuters PA PA

Thousands of people have voiced their support for the girls petition, with many praising them for talking about the issue and one person writing: Kids need to understand the state of our world.

It demands to have prominence in the curriculum so that the young people whose future it puts in jeopardy are fully informed about it and can take action, another person wrote.

Another said: We all need to be engaged in the planet extinction concerns especially those who are youngest. But importantly we across generations need to work together and inspire to keep this a living planet for generations.

However, in response to the recent school walkouts over climate change, Steve Brace, head of education and outdoor learning with the Royal Geographical Society, said that the statutory geography national curriculum already requires pupils to study how the climate has changed from ice age to present.

Young climate change protesters in London / Reuters

In an open letter to the Guardian, he added: Pupils should also understand how human and physical processes interact to influence and change landscapes, environments and the climate; and how human activity relies on the effective functioning of natural systems.

Responding to the petition to Education Secretary Damien Hinds, a Government spokesman said climate change is already part of the national curriculum in both geography and science to ensure young people are equipped with knowledge about this important issue.

He added: This government is already a world-leader when it comes to tackling climate change.

We are the first country to introduce long-term legally binding climate targets and cut emissions by more than 40% since 1990 while growing our economy.
T he online petition to revoke Article 50 and cancel Brexit has hit five million signatures.

The petition is already the most popular to be submitted to the Parliament website after it overtook a 2016 petition calling for a second EU referendum.

Backed by dozens of high profile celebrities, it gained support in the wake of Theresa May's speech on Wednesday night, even crashing the Parliament website several times.

It comes after an estimated one million people took to the streets of London for the Put it to the People march on Saturday, calling for a peoples vote on Brexit.

Thousands attend People's Vote march

The woman who started the petition also revealed yesterday she has received three death threats over the phone and torrents of abuse on social media.

Margaret Georgiadou, 77, started the anti-Brexit petition in February, but has now been left scared after being threatened.

The retired lecturer tweeted: In the past 10 hours have had three death threats over the phone, my FB account has been hacked and had a torrent of abuse on Facebook. Am closing my FB account.

Who wants Brexit so much that they are prepared to kill for it?

Despite the petition, Theresa May has ruled out halting the Brexit process, saying last week: I do not believe that we should be revoking Article 50.

She told reporters in Brussels on Thursday: If you look back to what happened in the referendum, we saw the biggest democratic exercise in our history.

And there was a clear result that we should leave the European Union.

We said heres the vote, what is your decision, and we will deliver on it.

And I believe its our duty as a Government and as a Parliament to deliver on that vote.

Celebrities and MPs have tweeted their support for Parliament to revoke the Treaty of Lisbon clause that deals with leaving the EU.

Famous figures including actors Hugh Grant and Jennifer Saunders, TV presenter and author Caitlin Moran, physicist Brian Cox and former Labour press chief Alastair Campbell all urged their followers on social media to sign the petition.
A Kenyan man who donates 80 per cent of his salary to charity has won the title of worlds best teacher.

Peter Tabichi was today awarded the fifth Varkey Foundation $1 million Global Teacher Prize at a ceremony hosted by actor Hugh Jackman in Dubai.

The 36-year-old teaches maths and science at Keriko Secondary School in Pwani Village, Naturu - a rural school with only one computer in a region where drought and famine are frequent.

Pupils come from struggling households, many are orphaned, and addiction and early marriage are common.

Kenyan teacher Peter Tabichi with his his father Lawrence / AP

But helped by Mr Tabichis science club, a group of his pupils won a Kenyan national science competition with their research projects last year.

The teacher was selected to win the prize from more than 40,000 entries worldwide by a panel of international education experts.

It is awarded to a single school teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession, and aims to shine a spotlight on the important role teachers play in society.

The winning educator is allowed to put their $1 million, awarded in equal instalments over 10 years, towards new projects and initiatives of their choosing.

Mr Tabichi said being a Franciscan Monk motivates him to give away so much of his income. He told the 1000-Strong audience: Thank you so much, I didnt expect this, or is such a great surprise - not just for me, not just for Kenya, not just for Africa, but for the whole world.

Peter Tabichi won the gong in Dubai on Sunday / AP

I appreciate this recognition on behalf of all hard-working teachers throughout the world.

He added: I am only here because of what my students have achieved. This prize gives them a chance. It tells the world that they can do anything.

Africas young people will no longer be held back by low expectations.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said Mr Tabichis story was the story of Africa, a young continent bursting with talent.

Hugh Jackman treated the audience to renditions of his songs in hit musicals The Greatest Showman and Les Miserables.

The actor revealed he was first humbled by teachers while on a placement as a teaching assistant in London as a student, before going into movies.

He said: I was a boy from Australia, it was a big deal, they sent two of us and we each had six months in the school - and thats where I really learned what it meant to be a teacher.

I mean, I was just a teachers assistant, but to watch how hard teachers work every single day - the hours of preparation for one class, the care they took for each and every student, it was humbling.

If it werent for the teachers in my life, I wouldnt be standing on this stage today...
A man has been arrested on suspicion of assault after a video went viral of a horrific attack on a homeless woman.

Shocking footage showed a man repeatedly kicking the 78-year-old woman in the face, leaving her with cuts to the face, bleeding and swelling.

After the attack, the woman appeared to wipe away tears as she sat in a corner while other passengers filmed the assault but did not intervene.

She was treated in hospital for her injuries after the heinous New York Subway assault, which took place near Nereid Avenue station in the Bronx around 3.10am on March 10.

Marc Gomez, 36, has now been arrested in relation to the attack, according to New York Police Department James ONeill, who tweeted a video of the man being led away by officers.

He added: Great job, everyone!

Chief Dermot Shea, NYPD Chief of Detectives, tweeted: The subject wanted for the brutal subway attack of an elderly woman is in custody.

The victim was treated and released from the hospital and is getting the care, advocacy and support needed.
D ramatic video footage shows the moment a cruise ship rocked from side to side in stormy seas as it became stranded off the coast of Norway.

In clips posted online, debris falls from the ceiling of the Viking Sky ship while furniture including chairs slides across the floor as passengers sit waiting to be rescued.

Two hundred Britons were among 1,300 people on board the vessel which sent a mayday call after losing engine power, prompting a dramatic rescue in high winds.

Some 479 passengers were airlifted to shore. Viking Cruises said 20 people suffered injuries and were receiving treatment in Norway.

There were still 436 guests and 458 crew members on board following the end of the evacuation, the operator said.

A spokeswoman added that the ship was safely travelling to the city of Molde, on Norway's west coast, at 10am local time on Sunday under its own power.

Police said the crew had managed to anchor in Hustadvika Bay when they ran into difficulty on Saturday, amid fears the vessel would run aground.

Passengers protect themselves from a collapsing ceiling on the cruise ship Viking Sky / ALEXUS SHEPPARD/via REUTERS

A British couple described the "frightening" experience of being airlifted off the cruise ship.

Derek and Esther Browne, from Hampshire, said the "whole boat was swaying, it was very rough" before they were airlifted to safety.

Passengers on board the Viking Sky, waiting to be evacuated / AP

Mr Browne told BBC Radio 5 Live's Stephen Nolan: "We had a few people on stretchers, several with cuts, two with broken limbs, but fortunately we were alright.

"We were airlifted onto the helicopter which was quite a frightening experience."

He added: "I'd never been in a helicopter before, there were a lot of high winds, hovering overhead and the winchman came down and we were then collected up and so I shut my eyes as we arrived into the helicopter and there were 15 of us for about a 20-minute ride."

Passenger rescued by helicopter from the cruise ship Viking Sky with members of the emergency services / EPA

Norwegian media said the majority of the cruise ship passengers were British and American tourists.

The ship was due to arrive in Tilbury in Essex on Tuesday.

The cruise ship Viking Sky drifts towards land after an engine failure off Hustadvika, Norway / IVER ANDREAS TUENE/via REUTERS

The chairman of Viking Cruises Torstein Hagen told Norway's VG newspaper the events were "some of the worst I have been involved in, but now it looks like it's going well in the end and that we've been lucky".

The shipping tycoon, who is one of Norway's richest men, added: "I am very proud of our crew."

The 745ft Viking Sky was built in 2017 and is described on the official website as a "comfortable, award-winning ship, intimate and thoughtfully created by experienced nautical architects and designers to enrich your interaction with your destination in every way".

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: "We are in touch with Norwegian authorities and stand ready to help any British people who require our assistance".

Viking Cruises said in a statement: "Throughout all of this, our first priority was for the safety and wellbeing of our passengers and our crew."
T he Prince of Wales today touched down in Havana for the start of his ground-breaking official visit to Cuba.

Prince Charles, accompanied by his wife Camilla, became the first member of the British Royal Family to visit the country.

He had a warm meeting with new Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on his birthday last November.

British government sources said the historic visit was important in developing new relationships post-Brexit.

Prince Charles and Camilla in historic visit to Cuba 1 /13 Prince Charles and Camilla in historic visit to Cuba In front of an image of Che Guevara, Prince Charles and Camilla attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the Jose Marti Monument AP The Royal couple attended a welcome ceremony in Havana REUTERS The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall arriving at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana PA Prince Charles and Camilla arrive at Jose Marti International Airport AFP/Getty Images v Reuters Prince Charles lays a wreath as he arrives in Havana, Cuba Reuters Prince Charles and Camilla stand near an image of Che Guevara as they attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the Jose Marti monument Reuters The Prince of Wales attends a wreath laying ceremony at the Jose Marti Memorial in Havana PA Prince Charles and Camilla arrive at Jose Marti International Airport in Havana AFP/Getty Images Prince Charles attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Jose Marti monument in Havana, Cuba Reuters

The trip, coming at the end of the successful tour of Commonwealth Realms in the Caribbean where the Queen is head of state, would have been unthinkable a few years ago in the aftermath of six decades of leadership under the dictator and revolutionary Fidel Castro and his family.

Former US President Barack Obama became the first US president to visit Cuba in 88 years, but to date no British Prime Minister has ever set foot on Cuban soil.

Prince Charles and Camilla stand near an image of Che Guevara as they attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the Jose Marti monument (REUTERS) / Reuters

Significantly, under fire Prime Minister Theresa May has sent out Government minister and former businessman Tariq Mahmood Ahmad, Baron Ahmad - Minister of State for the Commonwealth and United Nations at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office - to capitalise on the good will of the visit on this uncertain post-Brexit era.

With the Her Majesty the Queen, 92, no longer undertaking foreign travel, Charless official overseas missions are effectively given state visit status.

The Prince of Wales attends a wreath laying ceremony at the Jose Marti Memorial in Havana / PA

His historic visit to Cuba will be viewed as a significant step forward in Britains relationships with the once Soviet-backed Cuba, particularly in a post-Brexit world.

But it has led to some criticism from some pro-President Trump politicians who see it as a betrayal of the so-called Special Relationship between Great Britain and the United States of America.

Charles and Camillas Cuba visit will see them celebrate cultural ties between the Britain and the former Communist state.

The prince and duchess will be joined by Commonwealth minister Lord Ahmad, showing the importance the government places in developing ties with Cuba.

The Royal couple attended a welcome ceremony in Havana / REUTERS

There are no plans for the royal couple to meet Raul Castro, the brother of Cubas former Communist leader Fidel Castro who died in 2016.

Senior sources said technically anything is possible but such a meeting is highly unlikely to happen.

Charles and Camilla will be guests of honour at an official dinner hosted by the countrys president Miguel Diaz-Canel.

At a Havana recording studio, the prince and his wife will meet members of the Buena Vista Social Club.

Prince Charles and Camilla arrive at Jose Marti International Airport / AFP/Getty Images

The group became worldwide celebrities when their 1997 album became a surprise global hit and Grammy award winner.

Other highlights of the Cuban trip will see the couple meet Havana owners of the famous vintage cars still running in the capital, although these will be British classics.

Charles and Camilla will end their stay in Barbados by attending a traditional Sunday church service at St Michaels Cathedral before flying to Havana.

After being welcomed at the airport, the prince and his wife will start their visit by laying a wreath at the memorial for Cubas national hero, the essayist and poet Jose Marti.
T he scale of planned ISIS attacks across Europe has been revealed in so-called ISIS files, according to reports.

The Sunday Times has obtained documents from ISIS fighters which discloses the caliphates plot to attack various places in Europe.

The planned attacks would come after the terrorist group lost the last of its territory in Syria, the newspaper reports.

The terrifying plans claim there would be a department of operations in Europe to support ISIS members who are already living in those countries.

Smoke rises from the last besieged neighborhood in the village of Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, Syria, / REUTERS

And planned target areas would be spaces far away from Islamic State, where so-called crocodile cell assignation squads would roam.

Their role, according to the documents, would be to kill the enemies of god.

The shocking plans come from a hard drive dropped during a firefight between and ISIS sleeper cell and the loyal forces, and were obtained a month ago, The Sunday Times reported.

Within the hard drive, details from a letter from a senior militant to an ISIS leader read: Every person who forms a threat to the Islamic State of to our Caliph or his deputy, you only need to send us his photo, the place he lives and his number.

Then wait for us to send you the video of his killing, by the will of God.

US President Donald Trump holds up a map that he says details the reduction of ISIS in Syria and Iraq / EPA

The hard drive also included documents which contained the names of hundreds of fighters, their budgets and correspondence.

The chilling details of the terrorist organisations plans have been revealed as the White House said all Islamic State-held territory in Syria had been 100 per cent eliminated.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic forces have said ISIS has lost its last remaining bit of territory in Syria, bringing an end to its caliphate.

The complete fall of the last IS stronghold in Baghouz would the end of the militant group's self-declared caliphate, which at its height stretched across large parts of Syria and Iraq.
D onald Trump and his campaign did not collude with Russia during the 2016 election, special council Robert Mueller has concluded.

However, Mr Mueller's report did not draw a conclusion as to whether Donald Trump obstructed justice - but did say the President should not be prosecuted.

A summary of his findings was provided to Congress by the Justice Department on Sunday.

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Jerrold Nadler, said a letter from the Justice Department describing the findings "does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

Mr Trump speaking to reporters on Friday morning / AP

The summary also says Mr Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign or its associates "conspired or coordinated" with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 election.

After consulting with other Justice Department officials, Attorney General William Barr said he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein determined the evidence "is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction of justice offense."

In response, President Trump tweeted: "No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!"

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted: "The Special Counsel did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction. AG Barr and DAG Rosenstein further determined there was no obstruction. The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States."

Special Counsel Robert Mueller. / AFP/Getty Images

Barr released a four-page summary of Mueller's report Sunday afternoon. Mueller wrapped up his investigation on Friday with no new indictments, bringing to a close a probe that has shadowed Trump for nearly two years.

Barr's chief of staff called White House counsel Emmet Flood at 3 p.m. Sunday to brief him on the report to Congress. Trump was at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, about to return to Washington after spending the weekend there.

The summary also says Mr Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign or its associates "conspired or coordinated" with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 election.

Trump has denied collusion and obstruction. Russia has denied election interference. He previously called the investigation a witch hunt and accused Mr Mueller of conflicts of interest.

Paul Manafort was jailed as part of the investigation / AP

Special counsel Robert Mueller's team issued more than 2,800 subpoenas and executed nearly 500 search warrants in its probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election and any potential involvement by President Donald Trump's campaign.

The investigation has already ensnared key figures including Trumps former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former personal lawyer Michael Cohen and national security adviser Michael Flynn, who have either been convicted of or pleaded guilty to charges brought by Mr Mueller.

Mueller has brought charges against 34 people, including Russian intelligence officers, and three Russian companies, including one described as a "troll farm."

That's according to Attorney General William Barr's letter to Congress on Sunday summarizing the findings. The special counsel employed 19 lawyers and was assisted by a team of 40 FBI agents, intelligence analysts, forensic accountants and other professional staff. The team interviewed approximately 500 witnesses.

Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen / EPA

Congressional Democrats, who took over control of the US House of Representatives in January, have said they plan to push for a release of the full Mueller report and said they would subpoena it if necessary.

Attorney General William Barr will now have to decide how much of the report to make public.

Barr's chief of staff called White House counsel Emmet Flood at 3 p.m. Sunday to brief him on the report to Congress. Trump was at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, about to return to Washington after spending the weekend there.
W hatever your thoughts on the royals, theres no denying that Britains most famous family make good TV.

From Wolf Hall to Victoria to Netflix's The Crown, many of the most talked-about (and most critically acclaimed) series of recent years have all taken inspiration from royal history, be it centuries old or within living memory.

With the third seasons of Victoria and The Crown coming soon (and amid feverish speculation over future casting decisions for the latter show), the industry's fascination with what goes on behind palace doors shows no sign of waning.

As the Jenna Coleman-led Victoria returns to the small screen this weekend, we've ranked some recent royal performances, in ascending order from the middling to the truly unforgettable.

Adelaide Kane as Mary, Queen of Scots, Reign (Netflix)

One of the most, ahem, creative re-imaginings of British royal history comes courtesy of Reign, The CW and Netflixs soapy historical series. Starring Australian actress Adelaide Kane as Mary, Queen of Scots, it focuses on the early life and loves of the teenage monarch.

With little-to-no regard for historical accuracy, Kanes character and her ladies-in-waiting are presented as the 15th century versions of Gossip Girls Serena van der Woodsen and her coterie of hangers on  complete with Topshop-esque costumes that stretch verisimilitude to its limits. Watch if youre after a twist-laden teen drama, rather than a traditional period piece.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII, The Tudors (BBC)

Controversial: The Tudors attracted censure for its lack of historical accuracy / BBC / SONY

Speaking of historical verisimilitude, Rhys Meyers portrayal of Henry VIII in BBC Twos controversy-courting drama laughs in the face of historical accuracy and careful fact-checking.

Its pretty unlikely that the King spoke with a faint Irish accent at times, and the shows biggest talking point seemed to be its gratuitous sex scenes rather than its character development or grasp of Tudor politics, but that didnt seem to put viewers off.

The Tudors eventually ran for four seasons, and while that didnt give writers enough time to introduce all six of Henrys wives, it did necessitate an inexplicable cameo from Joss Stone as Anne of Cleves.

Elizabeth Hurley as Queen Helena, The Royals (E!)

Guilty pleasure: The Royals imagines what life would be like if Elizabeth Hurley was Queen / E!

E!s glossy guilty pleasure drama The Royals imagines a parallel universe in which Elizabeth Hurley is our reigning Queen  or, at least, in which our reigning Queen is an immaculately coiffed woman named Helena, as played by Hurley.

The actress tackles the enjoyably camp role with her usual gusto  but perhaps the show (which was axed last year after four seasons) would have been spared cancellation if theyd masterminded a crossover episode featuring Hugh Grants Love Actually Prime Minister.

Hugh Skinner as Prince William, The Windsors (Channel 4)

From W1As bumbling intern Will to Fleabags dependably dull on-off boyfriend, Hugh Skinner excels at playing a very specific type of hapless but loveable upper class chap.

It was inevitable, then, that hed do a jolly good job of portraying a parodic Prince William in Channel 4s royal comedy The Windsors  though his exaggerated RP accent is arguably tips the balance from posh to downright incomprehensible at times.

Matt Smith as Prince Philip, The Crown (Netflix)

Royal role: Matt Smith has picked up an Emmy nomination for his Crown performance (Netflix)

At the age of 36, Matt Smith has already embodied two British icons on the small screen: Doctor Who and Prince Philip.

Though its hard to compete with Foys jaw-dropping performance as the Queen, Smith does a good job, and viewers will often find themselves rooting for (or at least, mildly sympathising with) the Queens consort as he struggles to come to terms with the stultifying decorum of royal life.

Hell be succeeded in the role by Game of Thrones and Outlander star Tobias Menzies.

Damien Lewis as Henry VIII, Wolf Hall (BBC)

Wolf Hall: Damien Lewis as King Henry VIII / BBC

Though Mark Rylances captivating turn as Thomas Cromwell became the major talking point of the 2015 adaptation of Hilary Mantels Wolf Hall, he was admirably supported by Lewis as Henry VIII.

Worlds away from Rhys Meyers incarnation of the divorce-loving King, the actor sought to humanise the larger-than-life monarch. Its since been reported that Lewis is eager to return to the role, should Mantels as-yet-unpublished third instalment in the Cromwell trilogy be optioned for TV.

Jenna Coleman as Queen Victoria, Victoria (ITV)

Victoria Trailer Season 3

Before this series landed in ITVs Sunday night slot (formerly occupied by Downton Abbey), youd be forgiven for immediately associating the name Queen Victoria with the monarch at the end of her reign: dressed in black mourning and famously less than amused.

Colemans engaging portrayal of Victoria as a young royal  coming to the throne at the age of just 18  has gone a long way in shifting those associations, showing the Queen as a young woman subject to love, loss and heartbreak while ruling in a time of immense upheaval. The show is a little soapy at times, but arent all the best period dramas?

Claire Foy as Anne Boleyn, Wolf Hall (BBC)

Ill-fated: Foy played one of history's most maligned queens (BBC/Company Productions Ltd) / BBC

Before she became a household name as The Crowns reigning monarch, Foy cut her teeth on another royal role, playing the ill-fated Anne Boleyn in the BBCs critically acclaimed adaptation of Hilary Mantels Wolf Hall.

The actress brought her trademark understated approach to the role (and perhaps fine-tuned the inscrutable expression she put to such good use on the Netflix show) to humanise one of historys most maligned women.

She picked up a TV BAFTA nomination for her efforts, and if you missed out on the series back in 2015 (or if youre yet to tackle Mantels mammoth novels) its well worth a stream.

Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret, The Crown (Netflix)

Scene-stealer: Vanessa Kirby as Princess Margaret in The Crown / Stuart Hendry/Netflix

Though shes the spare to Foys heir on the hit Netflix show, Kirby never failed to steal a scene on The Crown with her winning portrayal of Princess Margaret, the Queens capricious younger sister.

Charming one moment, scathing the next and always armed with a barbed one liner, her explosive romances and party-loving ways provide the perfect contrast to her royal siblings more sedate persona. Helena Bonham Carter has some big metaphorical shoes to fill when she takes over the role for future seasons.

Claire Foy as Queen Elizabeth II, The Crown (Netflix)

The Crown series 2 trailer

Foys performance as a younger Queen Elizabeth has rightly brought her international acclaim. Faced with the undeniably difficult task of portraying one of the most famous yet unknowable women in the world, she makes playing the monarch look easy  from the distinctive clipped pronunciation to her otherworldly poise.
 Supper clubs have been around for a while, its as old as the hills. What were doing is providing the infrastructure.

So says Seni Glaister, founder and CEO of WeFiFo (short for We Find Food), a marketplace for food events and supper clubs. Similar to Airbnb, the platform allows people to open up their homes as hosts to foodie evenings, or as a way for chefs to diversify their skills.

Glaister may think supper clubs are as old as the hills, but theyre increasingly becoming the cool way to socialise. Alice Levine and Laura Jackson are often credited with reinvigorating the supper club trend with their must-attend events, and you can now find a supper club on any given night in London, whether it's a Italian-themed or even veggie.

For Glaister, its about connecting people through food, with the help of some tech too. Heres what you need to know about WeFiFo and the communities connecting through delicious dinners.

How WeFiFo started

Founding and establishing companies is in Glaisters blood. She started The Book People at the tender age of 21 back in 1988 with co-founder Ted Smart, the bookselling platform which distributed to its customers via a catalogue, and later a website.

Only yesterday I was doing a talk about disruption and the gig economy. Those [words] were absolutely relevant to The Book People when we began, but then the language hadnt been invented then, Glaister tells the Standard.

After a management buy-out in 2014, Glaister spent a year on TBPs board as a non-executive director, before deciding to leave and branch out with WeFiFo.

Seni Glaister, founder and CEO of WeFiFo / WeFiFo

As an early fan of Airbnb, she wanted to create a marketplace that could give home cooks a stage and an audience.

The idea for WeFiFo occurred to me quite completely, but the more I thought about it, the more compelling the reasons became. I [wanted] to give a platform to the cooks, but the biggest societal problem it can solve is too many people eat in isolation, explains Glaister.

The statistics dont lie: a study in 2017 revealed that almost half of all meals in the UK are eaten alone, whilst 34 per cent of UK adults can go a whole week without eating a meal alongside someone else.

Making a dent in that statistic gave me the purpose I needed, she adds.

How WeFiFo works

There are a few ways you can use WeFiFo. One way is as a guest, when all you need to do is select an event youd like to attend, pay, show up, eat food, and leave a review afterwards.

The events are facilitated by the hosts and the cooks. New cooks are listed as novice cooks, and then they can progress through the system up to home chef thanks to ratings and reviews.

For hosts, they can train for their Level 2 Food Certificate, paid for by WeFiFo, as part of its programme. We give a lot of support  get their domestic kitchen checked by their local environmental health officers, so all of our home cooks have their five-star food rating, so its safe for guests and hosts, explains Glaister.

The best DIY restaurants in London - In pictures 1 /5 The best DIY restaurants in London - In pictures The best DIY restaurants in London - In pictures Shuang Shuang The best DIY restaurants in London - In pictures KOBA Paul Winch-Furness / Photographe The best DIY restaurants in London - In pictures Hot Stone The best DIY restaurants in London - In pictures Ponti's

In this way, everybody wins. People get to delicious food, home cooks get to test out their talents and hosts can pick up some new skills along the way.

Its more relevant than ever before as we tackle the loneliness issue, but also as the gig economy allows more people to start thinking about where they might go in the future, side gigs become more relevant.

Glaister says they probably have more professional chefs on the platform than they expected, but its also helping to tackle the major gender imbalance in the food industry. Women are more likely to cook meals at home, as well as do the food shopping, but in the professional kitchen, men reign supreme, and only 15 per cent of professional chefs are women.

At WeFiFo, 65 per cent of its hosts are female. The platform is empowering these home cooks and hosts to showcase their skills and have some fun at the same time.

Creating people businesses thanks to tech

Though WeFiFo is a tech company, as a marketplace platform, Glaister sees it as more of a people business. The tech part makes everything easier  the food choice is easier, quicker, safer, but WeFiFo is about real people, real conversations [and] that doesnt exist without people leaving their homes and going somewhere to eat, she explains.

A stint in the John Lewis Accelerator programme, JLAB, means WeFiFo took 100,000 in investment from the retail stalwart in 2017, culminating in a partnership with Waitrose that is bringing WeFiFo supper clubs into stores.

They had a desire to do experiential dining, to increase footfall and dwell time within their stores. And we felt we could resolve that for them very quickly, says Glaister.

The Waitrose supper clubs cater to a different demographic to usual WeFiFo events, Galister says theyre generally empty nesters and social foodies. But, 42 per cent of those customers have gone on to other WeFiFo events since.

The atmosphere is always fantastic, theres loads of laughter at the table. Theyre noisy, fun, foodie affairs and people really enjoy them.

Theres also a focus at WeFiFo on solo dining: 30 per cent of attendees are solo diners. These aren't dating events, something Glaister was keen to keep away from, but simply people wanting to connect over food.

Ive walked up and down a high street to find somewhere welcoming to eat by myself, she says. Being able to go and join a conversation is such a healthy thing, for your mental and physical health, and I want more men and women to feel comfortable to be single and join a table.

Earlier this year, WeFiFo smashed through its crowdfunding target of 400,000 to facilitate its expansion. The rest of 2019 is focused on the Waitrose events and growing across the UK. Does this mean an international expansion could be on the cards?
Prime Mister Viorica Dancila announced that Romania's Embassy in Israel will be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

"Romania's Government initiated an assessment process regarding the opportuneness of moving Romania's Embassy to Jerusalem. This is why, I am delighted to announced today, before the AIPAC audience, that after the completion of the analysis by all the constitutional actors involved in the decision-making process of my country and in full consensus, I, as Romania's Prime Minister and the Government that I lead, we'll move Romania's Embassy to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel," she stated on Sunday within the Conference of the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which takes place in the US.
With the likelihood of a Democratic candidate ousting Trump in 2020 looking like mission impossible, the party is resorting to a number of desperate and even dangerous tactics to steal as many voters as possible.

Perhaps the best way to gauge the desperation that has overrun the Democratic camp like kudzu in June is the frenzy that has greeted the arrival of Beto ORourke, the former lawmaker who recently announced his candidacy for the 2020 election. If the Liberals believed in God, their response to Betos arrival would rank up there with the Second Coming of Christ himself, entering stage left on a skateboard, hair trailing behind with a hint of hope and gunge polluting the air.

Perhaps in other less delusional periods of American history, Beto the marionette, who gesticulates as if his strings were being yanked by an epileptic after a tasing, would be seen for what he is. Exactly what that might be is hard to nail down, but it is certainly not presidential material. Yet the fact that so many Democrats and media have worked themselves into collective hysteria over this guy, whose most notable career moves to date are marrying an heiress, writing exceptionally bad poetry and losing to Ted Cruz in the Texas Senate race, speaks volumes as to how shallow the Democratic bench is, where a host of other unlikely players include Elizabeth Pocohantas Warren and Bernie the multi-millionaire Socialist Sanders. Then there is Joe Biden, 76, who didnt need a leaker to spill the beans on his apparent intentions to run. He did it quite nicely all by himself. But one neednt focus on the Lefts dismal presidential choices; there are many other places to find examples of Democratic decline and degeneration.

The Hunt for Blue November

If ever there was a perfect symbol of the political schizophrenia dividing the nation straight down its frontal lobe, its the yet-to-be-built wall on the Mexico border.

For law and order Republicans, the image of illegal immigrants gate-crashing Americas border is noxious to every tenet of conservative thinking, which has little patience for freeloaders, line cutters and ultra-violent criminals. Ironically, Democrats once-upon-a-time also looked upon the arrival of undocumented immigrants with an equal amount of wariness and alarm, until they realized that the invasion translated nicely into future voters. Then, concerns about a criminal element overrunning the country vanished as Republicans were labeled the racists and fear mongers for having the audacity to defend the border. Now there is even talk among Democrats to give these illegals Social Security!

Now that Trump has declared a national emergency and the Pentagon has found the pocket change to plug the border leak, the Democrats have plumbed the democratic depths for new ways to win over voters. And since they have no platform to speak of, aside from Trump bashing, they must resort to unsavory methods. One creative method for robbing the ballot involves robbing the cradle, that is, reducing the voting age from 18 to 16 years old. Yes, allow adolescents who are too young to legally drink alcohol, buy smokes and fight in wars to participate in such discussions. Sounds like a genius plan. Although the measure was defeated in the House it shows which way the political winds are blowing. The Democrats understand that the minds of the youth, thanks to the liberal indoctrination theyve been receiving gratuitously at public schools across the nation, have been for all intent and purposes captured, as Nancy Pelosi nicely described it.

Another effort to capture voters involves a direct attack on the one document Democrats seem to loathe the most, the Constitution, and specifically the 12th Amendment, which mandates that the Electoral College determines the outcome of presidential elections. Their desire to change the structure of the process is understandable since both former Vice President Al Gore and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton both lost presidential elections despite having won the popular vote.

The Democrats wish to ignore the purpose of the Electoral College, which the Founding Fathers instituted as a means to prevent the country from being overrun by mob rule, which it has successfully accomplished since first being implemented in the 1804 election. Without the system in place, the so-called fly-over states would disappear from the political radar, while all of the attention would fall on the large urban areas and heavily populated states. Regardless of these considerations, which date back to ancient times and the Greeks, who understood a thing or two about mob rule and tyranny, the Democrats have endorsed the so-called National Popular Vote Compact, which has already been signed by 12 states and the District of Columbia, representing 181 Electoral College electors.

Some may argue on this point that the Supreme Court, especially considering its increasing conservative slant, would never allow such a motion to slide. Well, the Liberals have a plan to circumvent that little irritant as well. They will simply pack the Supreme Court with more justices. In other words, mob rule. Problem solved.

The Kavanaugh court is a partisan operation, and democracy simply cannot function when stolen courts operate as political shills, Brian Fallon, director of Demand Justice and a former Hillary Clinton press secretary, told Politico. We are thrilled to undo the politicization of the judiciary. Especially when that politicization does not favor the left.

And here is where the whole notion of mob rule stands out in stark contrast with the original intentions of Americas Founders. Despite their purported concern about foreign entities, namely Russia, tarnishing the squeaky clean US political machine, the Democrats are totally fine with illegal aliens participating in the election process. Nothing speaks mob rule more than that decision, which shows exactly how far the Democrats are willing to subvert the political process, not to mention the rule of law, in order to extend their cultural and political control over the country. These unhinged efforts, which have absolutely nothing in common with democratic principles, must be stopped for the sake of the Republic.
After eight years of constant warfare, the Syrian Army is now entering a period of rebuilding. The campaigns against ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) and other rebels are coming to an end. The Syrian armored force has gone through a lot of changes since 2011 and the post-war force will be a lot different than the pre-2011 version. The vast majority of military equipment used by the Syrian army is Russian, most of it Cold War era models. However, the organization and military doctrine of the Syrian forces follows a mix of French and other Western influences. In part, this is because Cold War Russia (the Soviet Union) closely guarded its operational principles and never shared them with client states. Russia shared basic operational techniques but encouraged export customers to develop doctrine best suited for their situation. Despite, or because of this, the Syrian army defied all critics and achieved significant success on the battlefield after 2011. This success was achieved through the use of carefully planned infantry assaults supported by both armor and mechanized infantry units along with support from fixed-wing and rotary wing aircraft. The most significant battlefield equipment that the Syrian army has successfully deployed is the tank.

Prior to 2011 revolution the Syrian Army operated over 5,000 tanks, including 2,250 T-55s, 1,000 T-62s, 1,620 T-72s, and 800 older T-54s. Due to the large numbers of T-55/54 tanks in their inventory, this tank was selected to create the majority of the Syrian armored units. Years of heavy combat and heavier losses meant that by early 2019, the Syrian tank inventory consisted of some new models of Russian vehicles. These included the T-55A, T-55AMV, T-62, T-72, T-72AV, T-72B, T-72M1, and T-90 A/AM tanks. The Syrian army now has extensive operational experience with upgraded T-55 tanks, some of which are equipped with explosive reactive armor (ERA) tiles. The most lethal version of the T-55 the Syrian Army uses is the T-55MV. This version is fully modernized and is equipped with Kontakt-1 ERA. Development of the T-55MV evolved from experience with the earlier T-55M update. Additions to the T-55M included a gun stabilizer, increased ammunition load, new 580-hp engine, and redesigned turret.

The T-55MV uses a 620-hp V-55U diesel engine, weighs 37 tons, max speed of 50 kilometers an hour, range (without refueling) of 450 kilometers and crew of four. The tank is armed with a D-10T2S 100mm main gun with an ammunition load of 43 rounds. There is one 12.7 mm roof-mounted machine gun with 300 rounds and a 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun with 3,000 rounds. The tank is also fitted with the 9K116 Bastion anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) system and a Cyclon-M1 main gun stabilizer. The tanks fire control system (FCS) comprises a BV-55 ballistic calculator, laser rangefinder, and other subsystems. Armor protection has been reinforced by ERA tiles and an additional underbelly armor plate. Unlike the standard T-55, the T-55MV is equipped with eight 902B smoke dischargers. The upgraded variants of the T-55MV that utilize a 690-hp V-46-5M diesel engine are designated as T-55MV-1 tanks.

During operations against irregulars (rebels armed only with small arms), the Syrians upgraded some T-55Mvs in the field. These modernized tanks have received the Viper thermal imaging cameras and side-mounted armor skirts that increase the vehicles resistance to RPG anti-tank (HEAT) rockets. Several T-55s are currently using the Syrian-originated Sarab jamming subsystem. Three modifications of the Sarab were developed, including a specific modification for the T-72 tank. At least 200 Syrian T-55s have been destroyed, damaged, salvaged for parts or captured by rebels since 2011.

The Syrians also used T-62M tanks in combat. The T-62M is an upgraded T-62 and is equipped with an additional armor on its turret (two additional curved plates in the front), hull (a glacis armor plate and rubber side skirts) and underbelly. In order to increase commonality with other Syrian tanks, the original tracks have been replaced by those of the T-72. The T-62M tank weighs 42 tons, has and maxi speed of 50 kilometers an hour, max range of 450 km and a crew of four.

The T-62M did not receive any additional army or ERA. Upgraded T-62 tanks are armed with a 115mm gun and 42 rounds and equipped to handle the AT-12 ATGM (anti-tank guided missiles) system that is launched via the 115mm gun. There is also a 12.7 mm roof-mounted machine gun and a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun. The turret of the tank features eight smoke dischargers. The tank is also equipped with a gun stabilizer. The chassis of the T-62M was additionally used to develop the T-62M-1. The T-62M-1 is powered by a more powerful engine and cannot use the AT-12 ATGM.

Due to the large number of T-62 modifications recognition of some T-62 tanks currently being operated by the Syrian army is sometimes difficult to confirm. The Syrians also use standard T-62s and simply upgrades their defensive protection by applying armor plates. At least 150 Syrian Army T-62s have been destroyed, damaged, salvaged for parts or captured by rebels 2011. Additional T-62M vehicles have been delivered by Russia as replacements.

The Syrians use several T-72 models. This includes T-72AVs, T-72Bs, and T-72M1s. Before 2011 Syria had more than 1,600 T-72s in various configurations. Many of the T-72s were upgraded locally by Syrians with assistance from Russia and at least 122 were updated by Italy before the war. At least 305 T-72s have been destroyed, damaged, salvaged for parts or captured by rebels since 2011. Approximately 300 additional T-72s were obtained from multiple sources in 2014. Multiple T-72Bs equipped with ERA were delivered by Russia in 2015-2016.

These T-72s received Kontakt-5 second-generation ERA developed during the Cold War. It is the first type of ERA that is effectively able to defeat modern armor-piercing (APFSDS) rounds. Introduced on the T-80U tank in 1985, Kontakt-5 is made up of "bricks" of explosives placed between two metal plates. The plates are arranged in such a way as to move sideways rapidly when the explosive detonates. This will force an incoming penetrator or shaped charge jet to cut through more armor than the thickness of the plating itself since "new" plating is constantly fed into the penetrating body. A penetrator will also be subjected to powerful sideways forces, which might be large enough to cut the rod into two or more pieces. This will significantly reduce the penetrating capabilities of the penetrator since the penetrating force will be dissipated over a larger volume of armor. This capability has greatly assisted in increasing the survivability of Syrian Army T-72 tanks against rebels using captured tanks.

By late 2015 Russian had supplied some T-90 and T-90A tanks for a few elite Syrian Armor units. In early 2016, some regular army tank units began using T-90As. Multiple Syrian Army T-90s have been reported to survive a direct frontal turret hit by a TOW-2A ATGM while fighting ISIL forces in Aleppo but in late 2017 a T-90 was confirmed as destroyed by ISIL forces in Syria.

The T-90 is a third-generation Russian tank that entered service in 1993. The tank is a modern variation of the T-72B and incorporates many features found on the T-80U. Originally called the T-72BU, but later renamed to T-90, it is the most modern tank in service with the Syrian army. The T-90 uses a 125 mm main gun, a modern fire-control system, an upgraded engine, and a thermal sight. Standard protective measures include a blend of steel and composite armor, smoke grenade dischargers, ERA and the Shtora infrared ATGM jamming system. These tanks are proving to be essential in ensuring the final defeat of ISIL and other rebel groups.

Since 2011 at least 2,322 Syrian armored vehicles (tanks, armored personnel carriers, other types) have been destroyed. The current number of operational Syrian tanks is difficult to determine as hundreds of damaged tanks and other vehicles are now in repair or storage (for spare parts). The Syrians intend to repair and upgrade the remaining operational tanks. Future tank purchases from Russia include additional T-90 and T-90A tanks. Russia is also providing Syria free replacements of multiple types of older tanks. Syria appears to have 10-15 percent of the pre-war force operational and if the Russians continue to supply technical assistance (especially key replacement parts) Syria could end up with 20-30 percent of the pre-war tank force (1,000-1,500) operational. Most of these would be more modern vehicles, either T-90s or T-72s sent as replacements plus pre-war tanks that have been rebuilt or updated. More importantly, the army now has thousands of troops with experience operating tanks in combat. In addition, there are many more tank repair troops (and civilians) with recent practical experience.

In theory, the Syrian tank force was equipped and trained to fight Israel to take back the Golan Heights. This territory had been lost to Israel during the 1967 war. During the 1973 war Syria sent over a thousand tanks against heavily outnumbered Israeli forces in the Golan Heights. The Israelis used their smaller tank force to destroy or disable about half the Syrian tanks and enable the Israelis to take areas of the Golan Heights they had not captured in 1967. The Syrian tank force after 1973 was modernized and enlarged but never used again to go after the Golan Heights. The 1973 defeat is still remembered as is the fact that Israel now has more tanks, and more modern ones, than Syria. As happened after 1973 the current Syrian tank force will more likely be used to keep rebellious Syrians in check.  Ryan Schinault
TICKERS:

Source: Clive Maund for Streetwise Reports (3/24/19)

Technical analyst Clive Maund charts a small-cap with royalties on a gold project in Nevada, and explains why he sees it as a strong speculative buy.



Although Terraco Gold Corp. (TEN:TSX.V; TCEGF:OTCPK) stock hasn't done much since we looked at it late last year and in fact it is barely changed, the technical case for owning its stock and the fundamental case for owning its stock remains the same, but the difference now, as we will see in this update, is that it looks like it is about to get moving at last, which of course is partly due to improving conditions across the sector.

Since what was set out in those earlier reports remains valid, there is no need for us to go over this material again in this update. Here we are going to focus on how the stock is shaping up technically.

First of all let's remind ourselves how cheap this stock is historically by means of its 11-year chart. On it we can see that it got to over 50 cents at the start of 2011 but since then it has been downhill all the way. However, the latest downtrend from mid-2016, that has taken it marginally to new lows, has been going on for a long time now, making it likely that it is close to a cyclical low here, especially as the fundamentals are favorable and the entire sector is firming up for a major new bull market. Note that a 20-year chart may be viewed in the 31st October article on Terraco.

While it is not of much use technically, the 6-month chart shows recent action in detail, and in particular a marked buildup in upside volume over the past five weeks that has driven the Accumulation line sharply higher, and to another new high on its 11-year chart. This of course is bullish, and even after the rise of the past few days, Terraco is still cheap here, as the 11-year chart forcefully reminds us.

The conclusion is that Terraco is a strong speculative buy here, and since it has barely moved yet, there is considered to be relatively little downside risk.

Terraco Gold website.

Terraco Gold Corp. TEN.V, TCEGF on OTC, closed at C$0.08, $0.062 on 21st March 19.

Originally posted on CliveMaund.com at 9.50am EDT on 22nd March 2019.

Clive Maund has been president of www.clivemaund.com, a successful resource sector website, since its inception in 2003. He has 30 years' experience in technical analysis and has worked for banks, commodity brokers and stockbrokers in the City of London. He holds a Diploma in Technical Analysis from the UK Society of Technical Analysts.

[NLINSERT]

Disclosure:

1) Clive Maund: I, or members of my immediate household or family, own shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: None. I personally am, or members of my immediate household or family are, paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None. My company has a financial relationship with the following companies mentioned in this article: None. CliveMaund.com disclosures below. I determined which companies would be included in this article based on my research and understanding of the sector.

2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Terraco Gold. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees.

3) Statements and opinions expressed are the opinions of the author and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The author is wholly responsible for the validity of the statements. The author was not paid by Streetwise Reports for this article. Streetwise Reports was not paid by the author to publish or syndicate this article. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports requires contributing authors to disclose any shareholdings in, or economic relationships with, companies that they write about. Streetwise Reports relies upon the authors to accurately provide this information and Streetwise Reports has no means of verifying its accuracy.

4) This article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.

5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article until three business days after the publication of the interview or article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports (including members of their household) own securities of Terraco Gold, a company mentioned in this article.

Charts provided by the author.

CliveMaund.com Disclosure:

The above represents the opinion and analysis of Mr Maund, based on data available to him, at the time of writing. Mr. Maund's opinions are his own, and are not a recommendation or an offer to buy or sell securities. Mr. Maund is an independent analyst who receives no compensation of any kind from any groups, individuals or corporations mentioned in his reports. As trading and investing in any financial markets may involve serious risk of loss, Mr. Maund recommends that you consult with a qualified investment advisor, one licensed by appropriate regulatory agencies in your legal jurisdiction and do your own due diligence and research when making any kind of a transaction with financial ramifications. Although a qualified and experienced stock market analyst, Clive Maund is not a Registered Securities Advisor. Therefore Mr. Maund's opinions on the market and stocks can only be construed as a solicitation to buy and sell securities when they are subject to the prior approval and endorsement of a Registered Securities Advisor operating in accordance with the appropriate regulations in your area of jurisdiction.
MetService is forecasting a significant change in the weather in the days ahead, after nearly a week of calm conditions associated with a persistent ridge.

A change is coming for many this week, as a cold front moves over the South Island and lower North Island, says meteorologist Rob Kerr.

"With the warm, moist northwesterlies ahead of the front set to bring heavy rain and gale force winds to southern and central parts of the country during the next few days, he adds.



Severe Weather Warnings for rain accumulation are now in place for parts of the South Island extending into Tuesday. Up to 600mm is forecast to fall on Fiordland and West Coast ranges south of Otira from Sunday through Tuesday.

Significant rainfall is also expected into the headwaters of Otago and Canterbury rivers and lakes during this event, with 500mm possible about the divide, and 280mm within 20km of the Divide during Monday and Tuesday.

A Watch is also in place as northwest gales could become severe, starting in Southland and Fiordland Monday evening, then all of Otago and Canterbury during Tuesday.

This is both a significant event, and a big change from current conditions, Kerr cautions, with updates to current Severe Weather Warnings and Watches likely as the system approaches, and further Severe Weather Warnings and/or Watches possible as it moves northwards during the week, says Kerr.
Guwahati, Mar 24 (IBNS): BJP general secretary Ram Madhav on Sunday hit out at Congress leaders over their comments on the IAF airstrikes in Balakot and said the Grand Old Party would win if they contested elections in Pakistan.

Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Ram Madhav said their (Congress) leaders raised question and expressed suspicion over the ability of our armed forces.

They questioned the achievements of our government, also made very insulting statements on our armed forces. Their leaders' comments are more retweeted and published by the people of Pakistan than our own. The Congress might win election in Pakistan if they contest from there. This is the condition of our main opposition party, Ram Madhav said.

The BJP general secretary said wherever Rahul Gandhi went, the people raise "Modi Modi" slogans.

Now Priyanka Gandhi visits the temples and she gets to hear "Modi, Modi" slogans there as well. The Opposition (Congress) is now fighting a clueless battle. The people of the country dont understand anything what they have to say to the country. The people of the country also not understand if the Congress is fighting for India or Pakistan, Ram Madhav said.

The BJP leader said he was confident his party would again form the government under the leadership of Narendra Modi.

Waves like 2014 are being seen across the country this time as well. Also, this time we are carrying the leadership of Narendra Modi and the report card of his government in front of the people of the country. We are getting support and response from the public across the country. When the result of the election is declared on May 23, it will become clear that Modi sarkar would be formed once again. We will go with the slogan Phir Ekbaar Modi ki Sarkar," he said.

Ram Madhav further said the BJP was aiming to win 10 seats in Assam and at least 20 seats in the North-East.





(By Hemanta Kumar Nath, Guwahati)




The move continues the association between the two brands which began last year and has now beared fruit in the shape of the Premier B01 Chronograph 42 Norton Edition.

Breitlings new Premier Norton Edition incorporates DNA elements from both brands, offering wristwatch and motorcycle fans the opportunity to express their individuality, and perfectly embodies the nature of our brands, says Breitling CEO Georges Kern.

I think that anyone who puts one on might suddenly imagine Born to be Wild playing somewhere in the background."

The new chronograph features a black face and white subdials at 3 oclock and 9 o clock, with special touches including the Norton logo engraved on a plate on the left-hand side of the 42mm steel case and on the crystal caseback.

The special edition is available with both steel bracelet and brown leather strap, priced at 6,530 and 7000 respectively.

Norton have also launched a special edition bike to mark the occasion. Called the 77 Commando 961 Cafe Racer MKII Breitling Limited Edition, it features a vintage Breitling B engraved on the clutch box, Breitling-designed speedometer and tachometer dials, and a black-on-black vintage B stitched into the saddle.

Breitling was founded by Leon Breitling in Bern, Switzerland in 1884.
One of Jumeirahs flagship properties in South Asia, the resort has welcomed acclaimed British chef Ollie Dabbous to create the exclusive experience for food connoisseurs.

Taking place on a private catamaran amid the sparkling Indian Ocean, guests can take in picturesque sunsets and spectacular Indian ocean views in the southern Male atoll while enjoying the unique dining adventure.

The experience will commence with one of Jumeirahs butlers arriving at your doorstep before whisking you aboard a private jet bound for the Maldives. On arrival, youll traverse the majestic waters by catamaran before anchoring near the resort.

Here chef Ollie will be awaiting your arrival as he preps a culinary delight for you at his island pop-up HIDE restaurant.

The offer is inclusive of a five-night villa stay at Jumeira Vittaveli resort, which includes the chance to enjoy eight and nine-course menus at the resorts on-site restaurants.

The Jumeira Vittaveli resort features an array of lavish amenities, such as suites with large open-air decks, outdoor relaxation beds, glass-bottom sunken lounges, overwater hammocks and winding waterslides.
Democrats in control of the New York state Legislature for the first time in decades have a golden opportunity to strike a blow against Albanys pay-to-play culture by enacting a system of public campaign financing.

Yet, amazingly, they are in danger of letting this long-sought goal slip away.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo included a plan for small donor public campaign financing in his proposed budget. The Senates new Democratic majority is in favor of it. Assembly Democrats passed it before, but suddenly see a threat to automatic incumbency and are raising petty objections.

New York politics is lousy with big money. In the 2018 election, the top 100 donors gave more to candidates than all 137,000 small donors combined, according to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice. And that doesnt count millions of dollars in campaign donations by corporations and limited liability companies.

Its not charity, folks. Big donors give to politicians to influence decisions on tax policy, environmental regulations and real estate development. And it works. As recent federal corruption trials have shown, pay-to-play leads to bad policy and wasteful spending. Ultimately, corruption breaks the publics trust and leads voters to disengage from the political process.

Small donor public campaign financing seeks to change that dynamic.

Heres how Cuomos version would work: For every dollar in campaign contributions up to $175, the state would kick in $6, turning a $10 donation into $70 and a $175 donation into $1,225. Candidates would have to qualify by raising money from small donors. Candidates who opted in also would have to agree to drastically lower limits on individual campaign donations. Matching funds would not be a bottomless well; they would be capped at different levels for statewide offices.

The Cuomo administration estimates the cost at $100 million to $200 million per election cycle, out of a state budget of $170 billion. For context, the state spends more than twice as much -- $420 million every year -- on film tax credits for movie and TV productions.

Heres why public campaign financing would be good for democracy: The 6-1 match amplifies the voices of regular voters. It makes it worth a candidates time to meet and raise money from average constituents, and thus makes the candidate less reliant on big donations from corporations and developers seeking favors. Public campaign financing also would attract more candidates to run for office; they dont need to have a personal fortune or deep political connections to wage competitive campaigns.

In New York City, where public campaign financing has been the law since 1988, races are more competitive than ever, fewer candidates are running unopposed, and voter participation is up.

Critics of public campaign financing point out that it wont take all big money out of campaigns. Independent expenditures on behalf of candidates are protected free speech under the Supreme Courts 1976 decision in Buckley v. Valeo. Thats all the more reason to amplify the influence of small donors.

Others think it would cost too much -- as if cronyism is cost-free. The Moreland Commission on Public Corruption pointed out that the elimination of just one wasteful tax expenditure or one unnecessary spending program could cover the full cost of the program. Moreland made public campaign financing its No. 1 recommendation to fight corruption.

Some people are just philosophically opposed to using taxpayer money to finance political campaigns. We get that. Albanys corruption problem is so bad, we think its worth trying -- to break the stranglehold of special interests, to make legislators more responsive to their constituents, to raise the quantity and quality of candidates for public office, and to re-engage a cynical public in campaigns and voting.

You cant change Albany without changing the conditions under which it operates. Public campaign financing offers a place to start.

About Syracuse.com editorials

Editorials represent the collective opinion of the Advance Media New York editorial board. Our opinions are independent of news coverage. Read our mission statement. Members of the editorial board are Tim Kennedy, Trish LaMonte, Jason Murray and Marie Morelli.

To respond to this editorial: Post a comment below, or submit a letter or commentary to letters@syracuse.com. Read our submission guidelines.

If you have questions about the Opinions & Editorials section, contact Marie Morelli, editorial/opinion leader, at mmorelli@syracuse.com
WTF?! Court documents have revealed that when Huawei's Chief Financial Officer, Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver last December, she had an iPhone 7 Plus, a 2017 MacBook Air and an iPad Pro with her. Despite Huawei making perfectly good versions of all those products, she had just one Huawei product, the Porsche Design Mate 20 RS.

When your own executives cant be bothered to use your products, you know something must be wrong. Or at least thats probably what Mengs father and Huaweis founder, Ren Zhengfei, is thinking right now.

Why would Meng possibly be using Apple products? Are they just better? If so, then surely she would be using something newer like an iPhone XS. She is rich, after all. Does she need devices secure enough for sensitive business deals? Does she want to send racy text messages without Huawei recording them, possibly letting her father see them? Whatever the doubtlessly hilarious reason, it probably wasnt worth the ensuing fallout.

In January Huawei demoted two employees, took over $700 from their monthly paychecks, and suspended the pay of one for 12 months, just because a subcontractor accidentally tweeted Happy #2019 from an iPhone. It would be amusing if they did that to Meng, but unfortunately, I doubt anyone has a high enough rank.

Just in: Court order issued this morning in Vancouver reveals for the first time the makes and models of electronic devices that were seized from #Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou when she was arrested Dec. 1, 2018 at Vancouver International Airport. #China #Cdnpoli #nerdalert pic.twitter.com/2YFNbXt8Yn  theBreaker.news (@theBreakerNews) March 22, 2019

Making all this more ridiculous is the fact that her penchant for Apple products was only revealed because her lawyers requested a copy of the data that was on her devices, and for them to be subsequently sealed. It seems that no one at Huawei can do anything right at the moment.
The Juno spacecraft continues to deliver breathtaking photos of Jupiter. This week, NASA released a stunning new look at the gas giant.

The new photo has been dubbed "Jupiter Marble," a reference to an image of Earth called the "Blue Marble," which was taken in 1972 by the crew of Apollo 17 on their way to the Moon. According to NASA, the stunning new photo was assembled from three separate photos of Jupiter taken by Juno in February as it made a close flyby of the gas giant.

A Look At Jupiter's Storms

The photo posted on the website of NASA on Thursday, March 21, provides a look at the gas giant's southern hemisphere. From this angle, several storms and clouds are swirling across the planet.

In the upper right side of the photo appears the Great Red Spot, Jupiter's infamous giant storm that has been in existence for hundreds of years. It was first observed by astronomers in the 1600s.

On Feb. 12, 2019, Juno captured the images that have become "Jupiter Marble", as the spacecraft performed its 17th pass. When the images were taken, Juno was around 16,700 miles to 59,300 miles away from the cloud tops of the planet.

Citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill processed the photo to highlight the spinning storms of Jupiter. NASA encourages the public to play around with the images taken by Juno's JunoCam Imager.

Juno's Portraits Of Jupiter

Juno has been observing and studying Jupiter since it entered the orbit of the planet in 2016. In the past two years, the spacecraft has sent back incredible photos of the mysterious gas giant, including formations that resemble an infamous character from South Park.

Last month, NASA also released a photo of Jupiter taken by Juno that looked more like a Vincent Van Gogh painting than a planet's atmosphere.

Juno was launched in 2011 to learn more about the origin and evolution of Jupiter. The spacecraft will study the planet's gravitational and magnetic fields, magnetosphere, auroras, and atmosphere.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Paleontologists have reported the discovery of what to date is the world's biggest and oldest Tyrannosaurus rex. They called the prehistoric beast "Scotty" after a bottle of celebratory scotch consumed the night it was discovered.

Mega Rex

High school teacher Robert Gebhardt found Scotty in August 1991 during an expedition with paleontologists. It, however, took years to remove the hard sandstones that encased its skeletons.

It is only after the 65 percent complete specimen was fully assembled that researchers were finally able to study the dinosaur.

Measuring 13 yards long, Scotty is bigger than all other predatory dinosaurs. Its leg bones suggest it weighed more than 19,400 pounds when it walked in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan 66 million years ago.

"Multiple measurements (including those of the skull, hip, and limbs) show that RSM P2523.8 was a robust individual with an estimated body mass exceeding all other known T. rex specimens and representatives of all other gigantic terrestrial theropods," researchers wrote in a study published in The Anatomical Record on March 21.

Study researcher Scott Persons, from University of Alberta in Canada described Scotty as the rex of rexes.

"There is considerable size variability among Tyrannosaurus. Some individuals were lankier than others and some were more robust." he said. "Scotty exemplifies the robust. Take careful measurements of its legs, hips, and even shoulder, and Scotty comes out a bit heftier than other T. rex specimens."

Oldest T-Rex

It isn't just the size that makes the dinosaur exceptional. Researchers said it is also the oldest known T-rex. The dinosaur is estimated to be in its early 30s when it died.

Persons explained this is relatively an unusually long life, and a violent one as suggested by scars on the skeletons that indicate of large injuries. The animal had broken ribs, a bite from what could be another T-rex on its tail, and an infected jaw.

Fossil Emblem

In 2016, Scotty the T. rex became Saskatchewan's official fossil emblem after winning a popularity contest.

The dinosaur will be featured at an exhibit at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum scheduled in May.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A pair of politicians seeking a Metro Council seat in southeastern Baton Rouge have turned to the humblest of campaign materials to push their message across, though theyre using different styles of postcards as Election Day approaches.

It costs 35 cents or less to mail a postcard to a specific household, depending on bulk rates available. Hitting each of the 21,744 registered voters in District 8 would cost less than $8,000. Targeting just voter residences would cost even less.

Incumbent Denise Amoroso has gone glossy, packing both sides of a 6-by-11-inch postcard with bullet points touting her conservative credentials. Each bears a Baton Rouge postmark.

Challenger Brendan Csaposs messages come handwritten and with stamps canceled in faraway places. The feel is decidedly grassroots, even if it makes one wonder why someone in Hawaii or Washington is interested in Baton Rouge politics.

+3 Two candidates face off for remainder of District 8 term on the Metro Council Voters face two choices in the March 30 special election that will decide who finishes the remainder of the late metro councilman Buddy Amoros

Aloha. Im writing from Hawaii to ask you to vote because were all in this together! an unidentified writer pleas with the Crucial Voter in the Carrington Place subdivision. A writer from Yakima, Washington, sends a similar message to an Awesome Voter, saying a balanced Council will see Baton Rouge at its best.

Republicans currently hold a 7-5 edge on the Metro Council. Should Csaposs win, the panel would be split evenly politically.

Csaposs is benefiting from the work of postcardstovoters.org, a Georgia-based group of volunteers that backs Democrats by mailing postcards to like-minded voters in the days leading to an election.

It has done similar work for candidates in other states. According to its website it notes that it started two years ago and now has 59,000 volunteers in every state.

"Postcards to Voters are friendly, handwritten reminders from volunteers to targeted voters giving Democrats a winning edge in close, key races coast to coast," it says. It did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

What's on the March 30 ballot in the Baton Rouge region? Get key information on races, propositions Early voting starts Saturday and ends March 23 for the March 30 election. On the ballot in parishes in the Baton Rouge region are a number of

Csaposs campaign finance reports from the past month do not show any kind of relationship with the volunteer group. The candidate has raised approximately $7,100 for the race, while Amoroso has claimed over $15,000, according to reports filed with the state.

Nathan Kalmoe, a political science professor at LSU, says obtaining help from nonlocals is an established tradition in politics. Anyone can successfully educate voters on the facts when an election approaches, and in low-turnout races such as next weeks special election, turnout can be key, Kalmoe said.

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Mailers obtained by The Advocate indicate that Csaposs' national supporters generally emphasize spreading logistical information, telling voters about the early-voting period and the March 30 election.

Kalmoe said that, when out-of-towners go beyond data and start telling people how to vote in their own elections, they risk backfire.

He recalled the 2004 Democratic primary. Even before the infamous "Dean Scream" that helped chase him from that years presidential race, political scientists wondered if former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean hurt his chances by busing a lot of nonlocals into Iowa before the state's caucus.

By participating in nonlocal elections, the out-of-state voters can perhaps wield influence they cannot do at home.

Members of each party consider wins on their side as an overall victory for the left or the right, especially because voters who lean blue or red on local elections tend to vote the same way in national races, Kalmoe said.

Csaposs financial status report bears that out to a degree. Of 98 people who have contributed to his campaign, only 21 were from Louisiana.

Csaposs declined to comment on his strategy.

Csaposs explained that, as a gay man, he was partly motivated to run when he heard the council would be reconsidering an ordinance to end anti-LGBT discrimination. He also said he wants to tighten drainage ordinances, as District 8 was especially hammered in the 2016 flood.

Amoroso has held the post temporarily since her husband was killed last year in a bike accident in West Feliciana Parish. Her campaign material notes that she was married to Buddy Amoroso for 37 years.

A quiet voice on the council, she can be relied upon to vote with the conservative faction and has emphasized business development and tougher law enforcement in her election bid. Her postcards do not mention that she is a Republican, though they call her conservative, pro-business and pro-family.

Amoroso is pursuing a more traditional campaign strategy, with billboards and yard signs. She declined to discuss Csaposs' letter-writing campaign at length. Of her 40 contributors, all but five are from Louisiana.
Wikimedia Commons

Khartoum, Mar 24 (Xinhua/UNI) Sudanese police announced that eight children were killed on Saturday due to the explosion of "a strange object" in Sudan's Omdurman city, Sudan's Ashorooq TV channel reported.

"The strange object exploded while the children were playing with it," Hashim Abdel-Rahim, Sudanese police spokesman, was quoted as saying.



He said four children died immediately while the other four died after they were transferred to the hospital.



He added that the police opened an investigation into the incident and the nature of the exploded object.



The incident took place at al-Fath neighborhood in the north of the city, near a military training area.



Meanwhile, according to eyewitnesses and families of the victims, the incident took place as the children were trying to dismantle a bomb to use the copper in it.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has announced a major plan to overhaul how risk is assessed in the National Flood Insurance Program, which could mean major changes for Louisiana homeowners, but details remain murky and state officials say they're holding out hope for an ultimately positive outcome.

The proposal, dubbed Risk Rating 2.0 is being done within FEMAs statutory abilities, so it wont take approval from Congress, which is discussing a long-term reauthorization of the flood insurance program, through which nearly half a million Louisiana residents are insured.

Gov. John Bel Edwards administration said its awaiting more details to have a better understanding of the overall impact to Louisiana.

While we understand that better clarity about flood risk is vital to our future resilience, were also concerned about how any increased costs would impact homeowners and small-business owners, Edwards spokeswoman Shauna Sanford said.

The overhaul would fundamentally change how flood risks are assessed. Instead of the flood plain maps now used, FEMA would be able to assess on a property-by-property basis and will now calculate overall flood risks.

A FEMA spokesman said the agency has been discussing ways to improve the rating system over the past few years. We now have the capabilities and technology to carry out fundamental changes in the way the NFIP analyzes and prices risk, the spokesman said.

FEMA initially planned to roll out the new rates in geographical segments but has switched to plans for a national rollout to all single-family homes to provide more consistency. The new rates will be established by April 2020 and go into effect on Oct. 1, 2020.

Its a big deal, said Michael Hecht, president and CEO of Greater New Orleans Inc., which has been involved in the ongoing discussions with FEMA. We have a year and a half to try to understand and adjust to it.

Hecht said he thinks there are some positives in the new proposal. Advocates have been pushing for years for more accurate maps. More accuracy is, in the long haul, a good thing and should convey better information to policyholders and the market in general, he said.

Hecht said he believes the grandfathering in of guardrails will help keep the program affordable, and the overhaul will encourage more people to join the program, which helps drive down costs.

Its important that the program is affordable  obviously there is a fiscal and moral imperative that people who have played by the rules should remain in their homes, he said.

Hecht said he thinks major spikes in the program would be unlikely.

There would be a bipartisan constituent revolt, he said. Unfortunately, weve seen now ever-more flooding disasters. We used to say if it rains, it can flood; what were seeing now in Iowa is that if it snows, it can flood.

Report: Major flood insurance overhaul on tap; increased cost possible for some The National Flood Insurance Program is set to undergo significant changes likely to affect premiums for home and business owners across the c

If it were to become unaffordable, it wouldnt just be impacting south Louisiana, he said.

U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, said the overall impact could be positive, but he wants to see more information from FEMA to make sure its an improvement.

Theres not a lot of details behind what exactly that means, but for the big picture  at least, what weve been told  any effort to improve the accuracy of risk is good, Graves said. I certainly welcome any effort to better communicate risk and vulnerability.

FEMAs aim is that new state-of-the-art catastrophe models combined with the ability to leverage the flood insurance program's mapping data will provide a more comprehensive understanding of risk.

FEMA backtracks, says agency will allow renewals, new flood insurance policies amid shutdown The Trump administration reversed course Friday and said it will restart the sale and renewal of federal flood insurance policies amid an ongo

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Our new system will determine a customers flood risk by incorporating multiple, logical rating characteristics  like different types of flood, the distance a building is from the coast or another water source, or the cost to rebuild a home, the FEMA official said.

The new rates will account for heavy rainfall like Baton Rouge experienced in 2016, as well as different types of flooding at a single location  for example in coastal areas where flooding is caused by surge as well as river overflow.

They will also account for the greater range of flood frequency, the FEMA official said.

FEMA said it plans to roll out the new rates with affordability measures, including possibly having a phased-in approach. Existing statutory limits on rate increases will also apply.

LSU professor Nina Lamb, an expert on flooding issues, said the system the flood insurance program has outlined is very interesting."

It probably will affect Louisiana a lot, but it all depends on how exactly flood risk is determined in this new policy, she said. Whatever the policy is, its probably better to implement it in a way that is incremental.

She said affordability has to be a critical component for a successful update.

Many people would have no means to move or pay high rates, Lamb said. We have to consider fairness of the issue, too.

U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who has in the past partnered with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat now running for president, on proposals to update the program said hes glad that FEMAs new ratings plan incorporates parts of their recommendations.

My first priority is to ensure any proposal changing the National Flood Insurance Program is sustainable and affordable for Louisiana homeowners, he said. It needs to accurately account for local flood protection structures when determining the risk profile for homes.

My office will continue to engage FEMA and its rollout of Risk Rating 2.0 as we draft the reauthorization of the NFIP with my Senate colleagues, he said.

Graves said he would like to see the commitment to assessing risk broaden.

Theres not much accuracy to the maps, and unfortunately, those less-than-accurate maps have a lot of gravity in terms of flood insurance premiums, Graves said. Its frustrating to have a less-than-accurate map that carries a lot of weight.

He said he thinks that part of risk assessment should also consider who is responsible for the risk.

In the case of Louisiana, I believe we are at greater risk than what some peoples maps show today, but do I believe that homeowner has a damn thing to do with the risk they are subjected to? No, he said. Were at the bottom of one of the largest watersheds in the world.

The Mississippi River in Baton Rouge this week hit one of the top record highs due mostly to snow and waterfall in the north.

The vulnerability came to us; we have no control over it, Graves said. Do we need to charge more for it in Louisiana? Thats not fair.

Graves said he hopes that the flood insurance program discussion will spur more thought about resiliency. If the program has home-by-home data to use for rates, that same data should be used to dictate where money should go to prevent flooding, Graves said.
State Sen. Karen Carter Peterson of New Orleans almost certainly wont face prosecution for having illegally entered LAuberge Baton Rouge casino last month, Hillar Moore III, the East Baton Rouge Parish district attorney, said Saturday.

Moore said he has spoken several times with Peterson over the past couple of weeks since he received the Louisiana State Police misdemeanor summons.

Karen Carter Peterson, Louisiana Democratic leader, admits to gambling problem: 'It is a disease' Karen Carter Peterson, who is both a state senator from New Orleans and chair of the state Democratic Party, disclosed in an email Friday nigh

Peterson, who also chairs the state Democratic Party, acknowledged that she is a compulsive gambler Friday shortly after news of the summons became public. She said she voluntarily put her name two years ago on a list of people who are banned from visiting Louisiana gambling establishments in an attempt to deal with their problem.

Moore said Peterson admitted her gambling addiction to him and has been undergoing counseling. Moore said she has sent him information on the steps she is taking to grapple with the problem, but he declined to provide specifics.

We try not to prosecute cases where people make mistakes and take the appropriate steps to address their action, as opposed to people who dont or who commit violent acts, Moore said. This case doesnt affect public safety. The action by the person is sufficient to deal with the issue.

Thats how we handle just about all of these kinds of self-exclusion violations. You dont need the criminal justice system to be involved when someone has committed an offense that hasnt affected public safety.

Moore said he will probably make a formal decision about Peterson in the next month, but that he would move to prosecute her only if he discovers something that causes him to view her activities more critically.

Someone convicted of the misdemeanor of visiting a casino illegally faces up to a $500 fine and six months in prison  though its not clear whether anyone has ever been prosecuted for the crime, given that its essentially designed to prevent self-harm.

Moore said he receives a referral for such a self-exclusion ban violation every two or three months.

How many people are on the banned list is not known. The list is confidential.

Peterson, who is also a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, went public with her gambling problems in an email and Facebook post Friday night, minutes after WWL-TV reported that State Police had issued her a summons.

It is a disease, she wrote. From time to time, I have relapsed; I have let myself down as well as family and friends who are near and dear to me.

Petersons case shines a light on a little-known program that is common in states that allow gambling.

Someone gets on the self-ban list in Louisiana by presenting the proper paperwork at one of five State Police offices. A photograph of the person then is distributed to all Louisiana gambling establishments except for the states three casinos owned by Native American tribes.

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Those on the list cannot seek to remove themselves from the ban for five years and can do so then only after presenting a letter from a doctor certifying that they can participate in gaming activities without adverse risks or consequences, according to state law.

Casino companies wouldnt normally notice that a banned person is gambling in their facility unless the person tries to cash in a jackpot or brings attention to himself or herself. State Police have not disclosed how their trooper identified Peterson.

Casinos that knowingly allow self-excluded people to gamble in their facilities face sanctions from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.

The board levied a $100,000 fine against the Belle of Baton Rouge in February for allowing a person on the self-excluded list to gamble at its riverboat casino for more than a year. During that time, the casino signed up the gambler for frequent play cards and promotions.

In her statement Friday night, Peterson said her summons became public because of an intentional breach of confidentiality regarding a voluntary state program designed to help individuals avoid the negative effects of gambling.

WWL-TV investigative reporter Katie Moore, who broke the story, tweeted on Saturday that she received the information about the summons through a public-records request. The only leak of information that was not public (her addiction, involvement in the self-exclusion list) came from the senator, Moore said.

Peterson is a vocal and often outspoken member of the state Senate who has not minded in some instances being the sole senator who votes against a bill.

She handled the major piece of gambling legislation that came before lawmakers last year. It would have extended the state license for Harrah's to operate the only land casino in New Orleans for another 30 years. The Canal Street casino is in her legislative district.

The controversial measure died on the final day of the session, with the House and Senate deadlocked over competing measures.

Peterson was the bill's lead sponsor in the Senate, testifying in favor of it and serving as one of the Senates three negotiators who tried to hash out differences with the House version.

Her only effort was to make sure the city of New Orleans got its fair share, said Senate President John Alario, R-Westwego. She never once pushed hard for Harrahs or any other casino."

Alario said he didnt know Peterson was on the self-exclusion list. If he had, he said, he wouldnt have named her as one of the three negotiators. But, he added, I have no concerns about her integrity.

Gov. John Bel Edwards, the state's highest-ranking Democratic official, released a statement Saturday. Karen has shown strength and contrition in the face of a difficult situation, he said. "Addiction is a terrible disease and I am praying for her, her family and her recovery.

Staff writer Jacqueline DeRobertis contributed to this article.
As Rep. James Armes III, D-Leesville, left, and Rep. Bob Hensgens, R-Abbeville, second from left, watch, Rep. Paula Davis, R-Baton Rouge, second from right, tells Rep. Raymond Crews, R-Bossier City, right, not to attempt adding his amendment to House Bill 10 for fear that it would scuttle a negotiated deal that ended months-long deadlock over how best to fund state government. Davis' HB10, which increased the state sales tax rate to 4.45 percent on the dollar, passed on a vote of 74-24 during House action Friday June 22, 2018.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Justice Department said Sunday that special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation did not find evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. Mueller also investigated whether Trump obstructed justice but did not come to a definitive answer.

Mueller concludes Russia probe, delivers report to attorney general; here are next steps WASHINGTON (AP)  Special counsel Robert Mueller has concluded his investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination 

In a four-page letter to Congress, Attorney General William Barr said Mueller's report "does not exonerate" the president on obstruction and instead "sets out evidence on both sides of the question."

Barr released his four-page summary of Mueller's report Sunday afternoon. Mueller wrapped up his investigation on Friday with no new indictments, bringing to a close a probe that has shadowed Trump for nearly two years.

Democrats vowed to press on with their own investigations, while the White House claimed vindication.

"The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

Can't see video below? Click here.

In reality, Mueller's investigation left open the question of whether Trump obstructed justice by firing FBI Director James Comey and drafting an incomplete explanation about his son's meeting with a Russian lawyer during the campaign. That left it to the attorney general to decide. After consulting with DOJ officials, Barr said he and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, determined the evidence "is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction of justice offense."

Barr, nominated to his job by Trump last fall, said their decision was based on the evidence uncovered by Mueller and not based on whether a sitting president can be indicted.

Barr's chief of staff called White House counsel Emmet Flood at 3 p.m. Sunday to brief him on the report to Congress.

RELATED: Read William Barr's letter to Congress.

Mueller's investigation ensnared nearly three dozen people, senior Trump campaign operatives among them. The probe illuminated Russia's assault on the American political system, painted the Trump campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails to hurt Democrat Hillary Clinton and exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.

Mueller submitted his report to Barr instead of directly to Congress and the public because, unlike independent counsels such as Ken Starr in the case of President Bill Clinton, his investigation operated under the close supervision of the Justice Department, which appointed him.

Mueller was assigned to the job in May 2017 by Rosenstein, who oversaw much of his work. Barr and Rosenstein analyzed Mueller's report on Saturday, laboring to condense it into a summary letter of main conclusions.

Barr said that Mueller "thoroughly" investigated the question of whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia's election interference, issuing more than 2,800 subpoenas, obtaining nearly 500 search warrants and interviewing 500 witnesses.
The royal commission has left big banks' scrambling to deal with the major challenges in wealth management, after forensic public scrutiny compounded an already difficult environment for wealth businesses.

Alongside Westpac's decision last week to reverse course and quit personal financial advice, selling to Viridian Advisory, its three big rivals face delays in trying to extract themselves from parts of wealth management.

Misconduct in the wealth management sector was a key focus of royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne. Credit:Eddie Jim

Commonwealth Bank this month indefinitely suspended a plan to float its wealth and mortgage broking business, ANZ Bank's planned sale of its superannuation business to IOOF remains uncertain, and National Australia Bank's plan to float MLC was in February pushed back until 2020.

Investors and analysts say the royal commission is one reason why the banks are being forced to change their wealth strategies or delay their exit plans, because it highlighted serious underlying problems in these divisions.
Blackmore is all about the big picture, anecdotal answers and a near-aversion to detail. Ask a question and you get a story. "This will be my first ever job where my success will be measured on how quickly I can get rid of the job," Blackmore says. This will be my first ever job where my success will be measured on how quickly I can get rid of the job. Marcus Blackmore He has already begun interviewing potential replacements for a job which he doesnt formally begin until next week. Henfrey was the internal candidate who took the chief executive post 18 months ago when the high profile Christine Holgate left to run Australia Post.

Henfreys was an amicable departure according to Blackmore - a resignation rather than a removal. Loading But it was announced only a week after Blackmores disappointed the market with a weaker than expected profit and cautious sales outlook statement. Blackmore characterises it as unfortunate timing "I guess the timing of Richards resignation was probably not the greatest in that sense because some people just put two and two together and said, 'Well, hang on, the share price has dropped 23 per cent and the chief executive goes next week (and) its obvious what happened.' Well that wasnt right at all," he says.

What's clear from his comments is that under Henfreys command, the company was not moving fast enough for Blackmore's liking and had lost a bit of its entrepreneurial zeal. The company Blackmore's father founded has grown from a small to medium sized natural therapy business into a $1.6 billion multinational operator, producing more than four billion tablets a year, but it is suffering indigestion. Richard Henfrey will leave his role as Blackmores chief executive on March 29. Credit:Chris Hopkins "We havent kept up with the speed of sales growth in the company," Blackmore says. "We got too fat, got too bureaucratic and were too slow at making decisions." The official statements from Blackmores have described the need for "transformation" within the company. Its a word that suggests a radical change.

Blackmore views this as a bit of company speak - a vernacular that doesnt sit well with his down-to-earth approach to communication. Blackmores doesnt need to transform so much as "trim the sails" he says. It also needs to provide investors with some confidence that its highly successful China business has not hit a wall when it comes to growth. In February the half year results showed Blackmores' China business sustained a slide in earnings before interest and tax in the first half to $11.7 million, compared with $20.8 million a year earlier. China revenue had also fallen 11 per cent to $65.4 million. If that result made investors nervous, the outlook was even worse warning the second half profit would be below the first half. Blackmores shares were sold sharply and fell 25 per cent in a day. Changes in the distribution channel, increased competition and rising costs were variously blamed for the weaker than expected performance.

Blackmore doesnt blame this outcome on Chinas slowing economic growth. He admits there were mistakes made but apprises the situation without any evident panic - relying on his long corporate memory for perspective. Were now in a market thats very sensitive about companies that have got an exposure to China. Is that unreasonable? Probably not. Marcus Blackmore "Were now in a market thats very sensitive about companies that have got an exposure to China. Is that unreasonable? Probably not. Its a massive opportunity but it comes with a higher level of risk in comparison, say, to our other established markets in Asia where we have been for 30-odd years," he says. China's health doesn't seem to keep Blackmore up at night. "I go to China and I see all these buildings going up and I see all the cranes around the place. Then I read about their GDP (which) is - instead of being 8 per cent this year is only - I dont know the actual numbers - but its only going to be 7 per cent. Seven per cent of the biggest economy in the world is a massive massive amount of money," he says.

He doesnt think the company, in which he holds a 23 per cent stake, is overly affected by the general state of the economy in China or Australia. "I can tell you in the past, sometimes when things got tight we sold more product. We certainly sold more executive stress product." But dont ask Blackmore for detailed nor short term guidance. "We went public in 1983 and I think in that time we gave guidance once. The problem with guidance is that if you say I am going to make $20 million profit and you make $19,999,000 theyll say (in) the headline in the paper the next day, Blackmores falls short." Blackmore may not have mastered the finer arts of managing investor expectations but he reckons that neither has he made false promises.

"If you look back to what I said to the shareholders three years ago I made a speech and it was related to the very significant increase in the China business. In the space of five years we went from $2 million a year to $130 million or something ... I said to the shareholders we didnt see it coming and we didnt see it going. Now in retrospect I made a very true statement at that time," he said. Blackmores' biggest shareholder Marcus Blackmore and wife Caroline. When I approached Blackmore a few weeks ago for an interview he was en route to visit the recently elected member for Sydneys eastern suburbs electorate of Wentworth, Kerryn Phelps. He was on a lobbying mission aimed at fighting regulations due to take effect on April 1 that will prohibit private insurance rebates on many natural therapies. He says these regulations will save the government $20 million but ultimately cost much more. He regards the regulations as based on dubious science and false economy.

"They obviously didn't speak to the patients of these practitioners or adequately research the literature," Blackmore says. "The impact of the withdrawal of the private health insurance rebates is likely to (have) a significant long term impact on the natural therapies professions and their patients. The effect will flow through to Blackmores as a supplier to the natural health professions. Over time this effect will be significant." Blackmore says the meeting went "well" with Phelps, who he counts as an old friend and a big supporter of integrated medicine. The Phelps visit is but one political pit stop in Blackmores decades-long campaign to promote a holistic approach to health and his companys contribution to promoting wellness.

From former Queensland premier Joh Bjelke Petersen and wife Flo to the current health minister, Greg Hunt, Blackmore can regale stories of supporters and detractors, of wins and losses. Now less than ten days before these rebate changes come into effect Blackmores powers of persuasion appear challenged and his efforts will now be directed to the even more difficult talk of reversing a regulation already in operation. Blackmore argues that those that previously used natural therapies and received rebates are going to move to orthodox medicine. Cue another illustrative story. "I was with my cardiologist this morning. I walked out of there and asked how much do I owe?' Nothing its all on Medicare," he says. Championing the cause is personal for Blackmore but its also good for business. Blackmore is a rare breed - a trained naturopath who can boast a personal wealth of more than $300 million.

Christine Holgate left Blackmores to run Australia Post. Credit:Wayne Taylor He is socially conservative with a progressive twist. Holgate, he says, describes him as a capitalist with socialistic tendencies in part because of the companys practice of giving 10 per cent of its profit to staff each year without reference to sales targets. But this ideological hybrid has very clear views on the trust many large businesses have abused in recent years. "I think business has a lot to answer for." It's clear why he places such store in corporate reputation.

Selling health brands requires an additional level of customer faith. "At the end of the day, if you are going to stick a tablet in your mouth youre sure as hell going to want to trust the company that made it," he says. But who is to blame for the poor treatment of customers that has coloured the public perception of big business? "I'm not convinced that our system of governance is much good. Do you mean to tell me that at AMP they knew that somebody down the bottom of the line was still collecting money on insurance policies as people die? "How would the directors find out about that?
The energy watchdog wants more powers to punish poles and wires companies, arguing they have used their monopoly positions to give their subsidiaries unfair competitive advantages.

The Australian Energy Regulator's (AER) guidelines forbid energy distributors from giving preferential treatment to related energy services companies over independent competitors when running projects to improve their networks.

AER chair Paula Conboy. Credit:Josh Robenstone

The guideline places clear obligations on distributors to prevent them from using their monopoly position and regulated revenue to provide affiliates with unfair competitive advantages, the AER said.

AER chair Paula Conboy said the power to hand down fines was necessary as the guideline was already being broken.
The gamble paid off ushering in something of a career renaissance for McElhinney with small-screen roles as Nene King in Paper Giants: Magazine Wars, Gina Rinehart in House of Hancock, the no-nonsense Matron Frances Bolton in Love Child and most recently as part of suburban drama Bad Mothers. She also notched up a string of Logie nominations.

While McElhinney had been a familiar face on the theatre scene with credits at Sydney Theatre Company and Melbourne Theatre Company, it was the insurance ads that made her famous to the public at large. Initially, however, McElhinney had reservations that signing on as Rhonda in a big-budget commercial could put a damper on future acting opportunities. "The thing that I most feared would happen, didn't happen," says McElhinney. "I was worried I wouldn't be able to work as an actor, but I made a financial decision to do it, I guess."

Despite the advertisements ending in 2014, McElhinney still gets pulled up "at least once a week" by fans querying where Ketut is. "It's not that great when I'm walking with my husband," says the actor, laughing.

Mandy McElhinney's husband has become accustomed to playing second fiddle to her fictional love interest Ketut. As the endearing Rhonda in the virally successful series of AAMI commercials, the nation became hooked on her romance with the Balinese waiter.

McElhinney thinks the advertisement worked as a springboard for her, rather than leading to the curse of typecasting, because she'd already earned her stripes. "Enough people working in the industry knew I could act, they knew I wasn't just the Rhonda person. I'd already made those connections, but maybe the networks saw that I was more commercially viable. It worked out really well, so I don't at all regret it."

Her latest role is a plum one, starring in the upcoming Australian premiere of Mosquitoes, the ambitious and intelligent play from celebrated British writer Lucy Kirkwood. Set in 2008, it's about two sisters  Alice, played by Jacqueline McKenzie, a scientist searching for the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider, while McElhinney plays her polar opposite Jenny, who is more likely to place her faith in horoscopes or online conspiracy theories than peer-reviewed research. The pair are brought together after a tragedy. "The family drama is couched within this world of exploring grander themes of the universe and astrophysics," says McElhinney.

While Mosquitoes might delve into particle physics, McElhinney says non-science buffs won't need a bridging course to understand the show. "As soon as you start talking science, I can feel people switching off. But it's exciting science, it's sexy science. It's about how are we all here, what are we all here for, the connections between science and the search for God. It's those big questions."

McKenzie was a late addition to the play, after Anita Hegh withdrew from the production. "Jacqui was actually in America at the time and she dropped everything to come, which we're so grateful for," says McElhinney, who shared the stage with McKenzie in 2011 for In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play.

"Romper Stomper I probably first watched her in and was absolutely in awe. She's one of our national treasures, so it's an absolute joy to be in a room with her. She's a very smart, dedicated, generous and amazing actor." She pauses briefly before cheekily adding one more reason she's delighted McKenzie will be her onstage sister. "And we're both redheads!"
That's it from us for the day. It's just on 15 degrees now ahead of a cloudy top of 19.

There are minor delays on the Craigieburn, Sunbury and Upfield lines due to an equipment fault between Southern Cross and North Melbourne. Listen out for announcements.

We'll be back from 6am tomorrow. Have a tip-top day.
Russia Gives US Red Line on Venezuela

By Finian Cunningham

March 24, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - At a high-level meeting in Rome this week, it seems that Russia reiterated a grave warning to the US  Moscow will not tolerate American military intervention to topple the Venezuelan government with whom it is allied.

Meanwhile, back in Washington DC, President Donald Trump was again bragging that the military option was still on the table, in his press conference with Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro. Trump is bluffing or not yet up to speed with being apprised of Russias red line.

The meeting in the Italian capital between US special envoy on Venezuelan affairs Elliot Abrams and Russias deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov had an air of urgency in its arrangement. The US State Department announced the tete-a-tete only three days beforehand. The two officials also reportedly held their two-hour discussions in a Rome hotel, a venue indicating ad hoc arrangement.

Abrams is no ordinary diplomat. He is a regime-change specialist with a criminal record for sponsoring terrorist operations, specifically the infamous Iran-Contra affair to destabilize Nicaragua during the 1980s. His appointment by President Trump to the Venezuela file only underscores the serious intent in Washington for regime change in Caracas. Whether it gets away with that intent is another matter.

Moscows interlocutor, Sergei Ryabkov, is known to not mince his words, having earlier castigated Washington for seeking global military domination. He calls a spade a spade, and presumably a criminal a criminal.

The encounter in Rome this week was described as frank and serious  which is diplomatic code for a blazing exchange. The timing comes at a high-stakes moment, after Venezuela having been thrown into chaos last week from civilian power blackouts that many observers, including the Kremlin, blame on American cyber sabotage. The power grid outage followed a failed attempt by Washington to stage a provocation with the Venezuelan military over humanitarian aid deliveries last month from neighboring Colombia.

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The fact that Washingtons efforts to overthrow the elected President Nicolas Maduro have so far floundered, might suggest that the Americans are intensifying their campaign to destabilize the country, with the objective of installing US-backed opposition figure Juan Guaido. He declared himself acting president in January with Washingtons imprimatur.

Given that the nationwide power blackouts seem to have failed in fomenting a revolt by the civilian population or the military against Maduro, the next option tempting Washington could be the military one.

It seems significant that Washington has recently evacuated its last remaining diplomats from the South American country. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo commented on the evacuation by saying that having US personnel on the ground was limiting Washingtons scope for action. Also, American Airlines reportedly cancelled all its services to Venezuela in the past week. Again, suggesting that the US was considering a military intervention, either directly with its troops or covertly by weaponizing local proxies. The latter certainly falls under Abrams purview.

After the Rome meeting, Ryabkov said bluntly: We assume that Washington treats our priorities seriously, our approach and warnings.

One of those warnings delivered by Ryabkov is understood to have been that no American military intervention in Venezuela will be tolerated by Moscow.

For his part, Abrams sounded as if he had emerged from the meeting after having been given a severe reprimand. No, we did not come to a meeting of minds, but I think the talks were positive in the sense that both sides emerged with a better understanding of the others views, he told reporters.

A better understanding of the others views, means that the American side was given a red line to back off.

The arrogance of the Americans is staggering. Abrams seems, according to US reporting, to have flown to Rome with the expectation of working out with Ryabkov a transition or compromise on who gets the title of president of Venezuela.

Thats what he no doubt meant when he said after the meeting there was not a meeting of minds, but rather he got a better understanding of Russias position.

Washingtons gambit is a replay of Syria. During the eight-year war in that country, the US continually proffered the demand of a political transition which at the end would see President Bashar al Assad standing down. By contrast, Russias unflinching position on Syria has always been that its not up to any external power to decide Syrias politics. It is a sovereign matter for the Syrian people to determine independently.

Nearly three years after Russia intervened militarily in Syria to salvage the Arab country from a US-backed covert war for regime change, the American side has manifestly given up on its erstwhile imperious demands for political transition. The principle of Syrian sovereignty has prevailed, in large part because of Russias trenchant defense of its Arab ally.

Likewise, Washington, in its incorrigible arrogance, is getting another lesson from Russia  this time in its own presumed back yard of Latin America.

Its not a question of Russia being inveigled by Washingtons regime-change schemers about who should be president of Venezuela and how we can manage a transition. Moscow has reiterated countless times that the legitimate president of Venezuela is Nicolas Maduro whom the people voted for last year by an overwhelming majority in a free and fair election  albeit boycotted by the US-orchestrated opposition.

The framework Washington is attempting to set up of choosing between their desired interim president and incumbent Maduro is an entirely spurious one. It is not even worthy to be discussed because it is a gross violation of Venezuelas sovereignty. Who is Washington to even dare try to impose its false choice?

On Venezuela, Russia is having to remind the criminal American rulers  again  about international law and respect for national sovereignty, as Moscow earlier did with regard to Syria.

And in case Washington gets into a huff and tries the military option, Moscow this week told regime-change henchman Abrams that thats a red line. If Washington has any sense of rationale left, it will know from its Syria fiasco that Russia has Venezuelas back covered.

Political force is out. Military force is out. Respect international law and Venezuelas sovereignty. Thats Russias eminently reasonable ultimatum to Washington.

Now, the desperate Americans could still try more sabotage, cyber or financial. But their options are limited, contrary to what Trump thinks.

How the days of American imperialist swagger are numbered. There was a time when it could rampage all over Latin America. Not any more, evidently. Thanks in part to Russias global standing and military power.

Finian Cunningham has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. He is a Masters graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in newspaper journalism. He is also a musician and songwriter. For nearly 20 years, he worked as an editor and writer in major news media organisations, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent.

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Peace and joy
The ACT's peak business, property, planning and architecture groups have united amid concerns about revised plans to reshape Northbourne Avenue and the Federal Highway, declaring changes made to the original proposal could jeopardise planned projects and constrain future development on the light rail route.

The show of unity will put pressure on the National Capital Authority to make further tweaks to proposed planning rules designed to pave the way for 37,000 new dwellings along the corridor in the coming years.

The ACT's business, property and architecture groups have banded together in opposition to revised plans to reshape Nortbourne Avenue and Federal Highway Credit:Karleen Minney

But it could also rile up residents in Canberra's inner north, who successfully pushed for scaled-back height limits along their stretch of the corridor early last year.

The ACT branches of the Property Council, Master Builders Association, Planning Institute of Australia, Institute of Architects and Institute of Landscaped Architects, along with the Canberra Business Chamber, have lodged a joint submission to the authority outlining their "shared concerns" with planning and design rules proposed in the City and Gateway strategy.
One of the most popular Australian painters of the last century, Jack Absalom OAM, has died. He was 91.

Mr Absalom was on ABC TV in the 1970s and 1980s, starring in programs in which he travelled the country painting outback scenes and demonstrating the skills of a bushman.

Jack Absalom stayed in Broken Hill even after his contemporaries had moved on or died. Credit:Rick Stevens

His work, which often depicted the country that surrounded his home in Broken Hill, adopted a more realistic style than that of his prominent contemporary, Pro Hart.

Along with Mr Hart, Mr Absalom was a member of the Brushmen of the Bush, a collective of artists largely outside the art establishment centred on Broken Hill that also included John Pickup, Hugh Schulz, and Eric Minchin.
Gladys Berejiklian and Michael Daley's tussle in the Spray Tan Capital over the weekend barely rated a mention in Victoria.

But at political party headquarters, the focus is well and truly on the upcoming federal election. And now the NSW election is out of the way, all attention is firmly fixed on a May polling day.

In Kooyong, the battle started months ago, but for late starter and Greens hopeful, Julian Burnside, the fight is only beginning.

Theres a saying that theres no riskier place to be in Australia than the couple of metres separating the notoriously media-hungry Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and a camera.

And it turns out the camera hog has also snapped up practically every billboard in the electorate, prompting Burnside to send a plea to supporters asking for cash to make sure his mug stays visible around the eastern Melbourne electorate for the campaign.
A $30 million cash injection to Melbournes ground-breaking bio-medical research centre will keep the city at the global cutting edge of medical technology, according to Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Next months federal budget will commit the money for a new building that the scientists and researchers at Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery at St Vincents Hospital have been dreaming about for more than a decade.

Credit:Scott McNaughton

The new building will give the city Australias only facility where bio-medical research and development takes place in an actual hospital, with one leading medical researcher saying on Sunday: This changes everything.

Aikenhead has already produced ground-breaking medical innovations, including a head implant that talks to an epilepsy patients mobile phone, warning them when a seizure is imminent, and the 3-D printing of human stem cells which are then injected into joints to prevent the onset of osteoarthritis.
It escaped many people in the past week of terrible trauma  the news that someone paid $2 million for a Belgian racing pigeon. But it filled bird lovers such as myself with joy.

Considered the Lewis Hamilton of racing pigeons, Armando went for the record-breaking, eye-watering sum after a fierce bidding war between two Chinese birders.

Armando, the pigeon that sold for a record $2 million. Credit:PIPA

Its just a pigeon! you might exclaim. Theyre rats with wings! Theyre just one step on the evolutionary ladder above the ibis, aka the infamous bin chicken!

But not for me. I get it. If you love pigeons, you really love them.
Its one of the most difficult education codes to crack. What drives school improvement and how can we replicate it?

Education is a space where fads are feverishly adopted and then abandoned. Successive governments try to leave their stamp on childrens schooling. This makes identifying what works in schools  and what doesnt  a massive challenge.

An ambitious new project by The Age aims to tackle this challenge by shining a light on the unsung heroes of our education system: the schools that have shown continuous improvement over the past decade.

The big improvers are often the quiet achievers. But behind the scenes, with little recognition, they are working hard to elevate the outcomes of all their students.
It is this transformation that has led to Murrayville Community College being crowned The Ages inaugural Schools that Excel state school winner for regional and rural Victoria. Students in a science class at Murrayville Community College. Credit:Justin McManus The school attributes its success to having high expectations of its 93 students. They go to great lengths to get to class, arriving on white school buses that cross state borders and hurtle down gravel roads.

The longest bus route is 83 kilometres. Students are regularly bused to Adelaide, three hours away, and to Melbourne, six hours away. Here, in the big smoke, they tour universities, attend VCE headstart programs and are exposed to their city counterparts. This makes them aware of the intense competition they face in year 12. Type in the name of your school to find out how it has fared over the past decade, what its graduates do after finishing school, and more:

A lot has changed since Ms Mudie graduated from the country school in 1989. She left the area to study teaching in Adelaide, and returned to her old school in 1996 as a lab assistant. She lives on a 243-hectare farm outside Murrayville. The year 12 room where students used to hang out on couches has been transformed into a space where they study at assigned desks. Free periods have been abolished and replaced with an extra hour of weekly instruction for every subject.

They are not winding up and winding down, Ms Mudie says. When they are here, they are in work mode. A few years ago the school reassessed how it was teaching students. Murrayville Community College students taking care of the school's merino herd Credit:Justin McManus Teachers looked at what questions students were asked in VCE exams and compared them to the tasks they were being assigned in class. A lot of exams were asking the kids to analyse, evaluate and investigate, Ms Mudie explains.

We looked at what we were doing from year 7 to 10 and we were really just asking them to remember and reproduce content. Teachers now ensure critical thinking skills are taught much earlier on, with students given tasks from year 7 that test how they apply their knowledge. The school is blessed with well-behaved students  very appealing for the Melbourne teachers who have abandoned their disruptive city classes and moved up north. Ms Mudie suspects students are respectful because they have grown up in small towns where you have to get along with adults. People of all ages mix on the weekends at community events such as a local footy match.

Year 12 student Tom Wurfel is plucking potato weed from a patch of soil that will soon be transformed into his major project for VCE Agricultural and Horticultural Studies. After the 17-year-old has worked manure from the school alpacas into the soil, hell plant broccoli, onions, cauliflower and leek. He also has to write up a business plan, which details his expenses and goals, and will take photos to document his progress. He lives near Pinnaroo, South Australia and wants to study agricultural science at the University of Adelaide next year. I like the fact that all my friends are here and the teachers are friendly, he says.

I get to get out of the classroom and do some hands-on work. Year 12 student Tom Wurfel tends to a Barramundi in the school's Aquaponics tank. Credit:Justin McManus This hands-on ethos is even more apparent for students enrolled in VCAL, the vocational alternative to the VCE, as well as those undertaking VET subjects. These students rear barramundi in large ponds, use clippers to shear the schools herd of merino and learn how to drive tractors.

On the other side of the state, in Geelong, Covenant College has also been working to improve its VCE results. Its proportion of study scores that are 40 or above has increased from 1.4 per cent in 2012 to 9.5 per cent last year. Students at the independent school achieved a median study score of 31 last year, up from 28 three years ago. Its a feat that has led to the college being crowned the Schools that Excel non-government school winner for regional and rural Victoria.

Principal Susan Cox says pastoral care, good relationships between students and teachers and a healthy work/life balance are behind the schools VCE success. A lot of our kids are involved in youth group, church and sport, Ms Cox said. Its important that they realise there is more than just study. Loading Christianity permeates everything that is taught at the school and students are encouraged to pray before their exams.
Now that Gladys Berejiklian  described by Malcolm Turnbull as a "real liberal"  has been returned to power, the question becomes: what are the implications nationally of the Liberal Partys solid performance in NSW?

Premier Gladys Berejiklian at a press call on Sunday following her election victory. Credit:Edwina Pickles

This election result provides a curates egg snapshot for the Coalition, good in parts, shocking in others.

Battle will now be joined federally between a Coalition leader who is having trouble gaining traction in the broader community and a Labor leader who is widely disliked. This is a Hobsons Choice, in other words a choice between unappealing alternatives.

Bill Shortens approval numbers at 4.22 on a scale of 0-10 are the lowest of any opposition leader in a generation (apart from Andrew Peacock at the nadir of his fortunes), and even lower than Tony Abbotts 4.29 when he was elected prime minister in 2013, according to the ANUs authoritative election study 1987-2016.
The Morrison government has been buoyed by the NSW Coalitions return to power but a backlash from voters in the bush suggests Nationals MPs are in line for a battering at the federal election in May.

The Berejiklian government appears set to retain office  albeit potentially in a minority government  in a win that gives much-needed momentum to the federal Coalition. However the surge of support in NSW for the Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party has revealed deep-seated anger towards the Nationals in rural seats.

The Shooters party easily retained the regional NSW electorate of Orange and is likely to snatch the Nationals seats of Barwon and Murray. The Nationals also suffered massive swings of up to 20 per cent in some seats and is struggling to hold on in others.

Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce says the party must "take its medicine" and listen to rural voters. Credit:LUKAS COCH

The Shooters party campaigned hard in the drought-affected regions on the perceived neglect of rural seats by their Nationals MPs, including poor infrastructure, health and communications services and a failure of water management in the parched Murray Darling Basin river system. The rise of the Shooters party comes despite renewed concerns over gun ownership after the Christchurch massacre.
iStock(NEW YORK) -- Despite having their name on the museum's education center, the Guggenheim said it will no longer be accepting gifts from the Sackler family, according to a statement given to ABC News on Saturday. The Sacklers own Purdue Pharma, the makers of the powerful and addictive painkiller OxyContin.



The rejection of the wealthy pharmaceutical name isn't the biggest problem facing the Sacklers -- the company is reportedly exploring bankruptcy as a way to protect itself against million-dollar lawsuits -- but it is a shot at the societal standing of the billionaire family.



"The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum received a total of $7 million in gifts from members of the Mortimer D. Sackler family initiated in 1995 and paid out through 2006 to establish and support the Sackler Center for Arts Education, which serves approximately 300,000 youth, adults and families each year," the museum said in a statement.



It added, "An additional $2 million was received between 1999 and 2015 to support the museum. No contributions from the Sackler family have been received since 2015. No additional gifts are planned, and the Guggenheim does not plan to accept any gifts."



The New York Times was first to report the shunning of the Sackler family.



The Guggenheim, founded in 1939 and known for its distinctive design courtesy of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, houses modern art from the likes of Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas and many more.



Rejection by the Guggenheim was just the latest in a number of museums turning away a family that has donated millions to promoting art -- a cause close to late Purdue Pharma co-owner Mortimer D. Sackler. It was reported the Tate galleries in London made a similar decision one day prior.



London's National Portrait Gallery turned down a $1.3 million donation from the family earlier this week, according to The New York Times. The South London Gallery returned a $165,000 donation last year, The Art Newspaper reported.



Much of the attention given to the Sackler family's donations to museums has come from P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) Sackler, an activist group dedicated to addressing the national opioid crisis and opposing the Sackler family specifically.



The group's mission statement asks that "museums, universities and educational institutions worldwide remove Sackler signage and publicly refuse future funding from the Sacklers."



P.A.I.N. Sackler held a protest at the Guggenheim last month in which they showered torn-up prescriptions from the museums spiral walkway to the floor below and unfurled banners with their demands to stop funding.



The country's opioid epidemic claims the lives of more than 130 people each day, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Of those, about 46 each day are attributed to prescription drug overdoses, including OxyContin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



Purdue Pharma started producing OxyContin, generic name oxycodone, in 1995. The drug became a billion-dollar blockbuster for the company.



The Sackler family is listed as the 19th-richest in the world by Forbes at an estimated $13 billion.



However, the company is now facing 1,600 lawsuits from people who abused the medication, and it is trying to settle some $10 billion in claims, according to The Wall Street Journal.



In a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma and eight members of the Sackler family filed by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey in January, she alleges the Sackler family made the choices that caused much of the opioid epidemic."



The company has called the allegations "misleading."



Copyright  2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Countdown to Full Spectrum Dominance

By T.J. Coles

March 24, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - The US is formally committed to dominating the world by the year 2020. With President Trumps new Space Directive-4, the production of laser-armed fighter jets as possible precursors to space weapons, and the possibility of nuclear warheads being put into orbit, the clock is ticking

Back in 1997, the now-re-established US Space Command announced its commitment to full spectrum dominance. The Vision for 2020 explains that full spectrum dominance means military control over land, sea, air, and space (the so-called fourth dimension of warfare) to protect US interests and investment. Protect means guarantee operational freedom. US interest and investment means corporate profits.

The glossy brochure explains that, in the past, the Army evolved to protect US settlers who stole land from Native Americans in the genocidal birth of the nation. Like the Vision for 2020, a report by the National Defense University acknowledges that by the 19th century, the Navy had evolved to protect the USs newly-formulated grand strategy. In addition to supposedly protecting citizens and the constitution, The overriding principle was, and remains, the protection of American territory  and our economic well-being. By the 20th century, the Air Force had been established, in the words of the Air Force Study Strategy Guide, to protect vital interests, including: commerce; secure energy supplies; [and] freedom of action. In the 21stcentury, these pillars of power are bolstered by the Cyber Command and the coming Space Force.

The use of the Army, Navy, and Air Forcethe three dimensions of powermeans that the US is already close to achieving full spectrum dominance. Brown Universitys Cost of War project documents current US military involvement in 80 countriesor 40% of the worlds nations. This includes 65 so-called counterterrorism training operations and 40 military bases (though others think the number of bases is much higher). By this measure, full spectrum dominance is nearly half way complete. But the map leaves out US and NATO bases, training programs, and operations in Estonia, Latvia, Poland, and Ukraine.

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As the US expands its space operationsthe fourth dimension of warfarethe race towards full spectrum dominance quickens. Space has long been militarized in the sense that the US uses satellites to guide missiles and aircraft. But the new doctrine seeks to weaponize space by, for instance, blurring the boundaries between high-altitude military aircraft and space itself. Todays space power will be harnessed by the US to ensure dominance over the satellite infrastructure that allows for the modern world of internet, e-commerce, GPS, telecommunications, surveillance, and war-fighting.

Since the 1950s, the United Nations has introduced various treaties to prohibit the militarization and weaponization of spacethe most famous being the Outer Space Treaty (1967). These treaties aim to preserve space as a commons for all humanity. The creation of the US Space Force is a blatant violation of the spirit, if not the letter, of those treaties. In more recent decades, successive US governments have unilaterally rejected treaties to reinforce and expand the existing space-for-peace agreements. In 2002, the US withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (1972), allowing it to expand its long-range missile systems. In 2008, China and Russia submitted to the UN Conference on Disarmament the proposed Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Force Against Outer Space Objects. This would have preserved the space-as-a-commons principle and answered US claims that enemies would use space as a battleground against US satellites.

But peace is not the goal. The goal is full spectrum dominance, so the US rejected the offer. China and Russia introduced the proposed the treaty again in 2014and again the US rejected it. Earlier this year, the US withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty. Last month, President Trump sent an unclassified memo on the new Space Directive-4 to the Vice President, Joint Chiefs of Staff, NASA, and the Secretaries of Defense and State.

The document makes for chilling and vital reading. It recommends legislating for the training of US forces to ensure unfettered access to, and freedom to operate in, space, and to provide vital capabilities to joint and coalition forces. Crucially, this doctrine includes peacetime and across the spectrum of conflict. As well as integrating space forces with the intelligence community, the memo recommends establishing a Chief of Staff of the Space Force, who will to join the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The memo also says that US space operations will abide by international law. But given that the US has rejected anti-space weapons treaties, it is barely constrained by international law.

In late-2017, Space.com reported on a $26.3m Department of Defense contract with Lockheed Martin to build lasers for fighter jets under the Laser Advancements for Next-generation Compact Environments program. The report says that the lasers will be ready by 2021. The article links to Doug Graham, the Vice President of Missile Systems and Advanced Programs at Lockheed Martin Space Systems. In the original link Graham reveals that the Air Force laser is an example of how Lockheed Martin is using a variety of innovative technologies to transform laser devices into integrated weapon systems.

As if all this wasnt bad enough, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) states in a projection out to the year 2050: Economies are becoming increasingly dependent upon space-based systems  By 2050, space-based weapon systems may also be deployed, which could include nuclear weapons. But this is extremely reckless. Discussing technologies, including the artificial intelligence on which weapons systems are increasingly based, another MoD projection warns of the potential for disastrous outcomes, planned and unplanned  Various doomsday scenarios arising in relation to these and other areas of development present the possibility of catastrophic impacts, ultimately including the end of the world, or at least of humanity.

Full spectrum dominance is not only a danger to the world, it is a danger to US citizens who would also suffer the consequences, if and when something goes wrong with their leaders complicated space weapons.

Dr. T. J. Coles is director of the Plymouth Institute for Peace Research and the author of several books, including Voices for Peace (with Noam Chomsky and others) and the forthcoming Fire and Fury: How the US Isolates North Korea, Encircles China and Risks Nuclear War in Asia (both Clairview Books).

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Peace and joy
People jammed Forrest Place in the heart of the city's shopping centre for the start of the ALP rally soon after midday. They packed the steps of the GPO and took up vantage points in the buildings around the square. Protesting farmers formed a solid phalanx around the truck on which the official party sat and drowned out most of the speakers who preceded Mr Whitlam. The farmers carried signs saying: "Gough, the new farm pest," "Whitlam's rural policies mean higher food prices" and "Whitlam's bounty hunters get scalped." It was the second time in five weeks that Mr Whitlam has faced a hostile reception from farmers over the Government's proposal to end the superphosphate bounty. He was jeered and heckled when he spoke at an agricultural show at Lardner in Victoria's Gippsland on February 19.

Mr Whitlam arrived in Forrest Place at 1 pm, wearing a pale blue suit, and walked through the crowd shaking hands, waving and ignoring the loud boos. As he was helped onto the back of the truck, a tremendous roar went up from the crowd and a cascade of rolled-up brown paper bags and pieces of newspaper were hurled at him. The Minister for Services and Property, Mr Daly, spoke for 15 minutes but his speech was drowned by the chanting and noise. Several people began rocking the truck, but were stopped by police. When Mr Whitlam rose to speak, the noise reached a crescendo and another wave of missiles was thrown. Mr Whitlam began: "Ladies and gentleman..."

And the deafening roar which followed that statement continued for the remainder of his 20-niinute speech. Mr Whitlam had been speaking for only a few minutes when the sound system failed. The Prime Minister appeared not to notice and continued his speech, waving and gesticulating at the crowd A huge cheer went up as the State ALP president, Mr Colin Jamieson, held up a severed microphone cord. Mr Whitlam sat down and the cheers continued for several minutes until another microphone was connected. In the few remarks which could be heard the Prime Minister attacked the farmers at the rally. "These people do not like free speech," he said. Addressing a more sympathetic crowd on the GPO steps, Mr Whitlam said, referring to the farmers: "These people have come to town and taken a day off."

"You are expected to subsidise them for taking a day off." He repeated the statement several times in his speech and was rewarded with barrages of tomatoes and other missiles. A pie sprayed across the back of the truck hitting the Premier Mr Tonkin, who left several minutes later for another appointment. A can of soft drink hit Mr Whitlam on the back of the neck, spraying his suit. Mr Jamieson wiped his coat down to the jeers of the crowd.

Mr Whitlam was hit by tomatoes on the sleeve and the front of his coat and another grazed his forehead. By the end of the rally, his pale blue coat and his shirt - were stained in a number of places. Fights broke out frequently in the crowd and two placards were pulled down and ripped up. At the end of the rally, Mr Whitlam, who had been shouting in an effort to make himself heard, sat down for several minutes and drank a glass of water. As he got down off the truck the crowd surged forward pressing the Prime Minister against the side of the vehicle. A punch swung at him glanced off his sleeve but Mr Whitlam's media secretary, Mr David White, was punched in the chest.

A security man was punched, and other members of Mr Whitlam's party were jostled in the surging crowd. "I cannot condone this kind of demonstration..." Leader of the Country Party, Mr. Doug Anthony in May 1974 Credit:Staff photographer There appeared to be no more than half a dozen police and two mounted police to force a path through the crowd to the Prime Minister's car. As Mr Whitlam's black limousine moved away men pounded on the roof with their fists. From Forrest Place, Mr Whitlam went to the University of Western Australia where he addressed a packed but orderly students' meeting. At Perth Airport, Mr Whitlam said: "Hundreds of young farmers came miles to disrupt this meeting.

"The microphone cord was cut; I have never heard of that happening in Australia before." He said some sections of the crowd "clearly resented the fact that the greatest forum in Australia was defiled in this way." Asked if he was angered by the demonstration, Mr Whitlam said: "I am disappointed. There was some really rough stuff." He said he was satisfied with the security arrangements. "But any citizen, including the Prime Minister, should be able to go around the streets of this country safely," he said. "I have been to a lot of rowdy meetings. This was very violent. "The conduct of these young farmers today has put back the case for assistance to any industry or region that is disadvantaged by the expiry of the superphosphate bounty."

Asked what effect the demonstration might have on Saturday's State elections, Mr Whitlam said: "I think there will be a revulsion against people descending on the city and taking over Forrest Place." CANBERRA, Monday.  The Leader of the Country Party, Mr Anthony, said he "deplored this angry demonstration against the Prime Minister." Loading He said: "If it is true that farmers were largely responsible, then I would urge them to restrain their feelings so that their protests are kept within the limits acceptable in a democratic country. "I can understand their anger over their treatment by the Whitlam Government, but I cannot condone this kind of demonstration against the Prime Minister which occurred in Perth today."
A re-elected Morrison government would spend $2.5 billion bolstering Australias capacity to intercept enemy aircraft through the purchase of a new short-range air defence system.

The government said the new missile launchers and radars would improve the protection of Australian Defence personnel and better guard Australia and its critical assets.

The measure was first flagged several years ago, and recently signed off by cabinet.

Live firing of an RBS-70 missile at the Woomera test range. The new capability will replace the ageing system. Credit:Australian Government Department of Defence

The system would focus on the interception of enemy aircraft, but would also be able to defend against helicopters, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial systems.
There's a particular posture Scott Morrison adopts when he's pushing back in an interview. He leans back in his chair, clasps his hands together and crosses one leg over the other. Often his voice will pitch up in tone or he'll adopt an air of incredulity, as if signalling the question is stupid or the answer obvious. Sometimes he's probably right.

I've seen this up close myself and the country saw it in full bloom during his 35-minute interview with Waleed Aly on The Project on Thursday night.

Scott Morrison was visibly incensed he had been accused of fostering Islamophobia. Credit:Network 10

The whole occasion was, frankly, bizarre. Morrison was ostensibly drawn to the interview to defend himself against accusations levelled at him in a 2011 news report in The Sydney Morning Herald that he told a shadow cabinet meeting the Coalition should think about exploiting anti-Muslim sentiment for votes.

Aly referred to this report in an editorial the night of the Christchurch massacre. The clip has been viewed more than 14 million times. Suddenly, ancient history raised troubling questions about the Prime Minister's character. The report in question may not paint him as prejudiced but it definitely makes him look unscrupulous.
Michael Daley has vowed to remain as leader of the NSW Labor Party, amid the likelihood he will be challenged for the top job in the wake of Labors disastrous state election result.

It comes as Kogarah MP Chris Minns indicated he would challenge for the leadership if he held onto his seat, which was still on a knifes edge as counting continued on Sunday.

Michael Daley is digging in and wants to remain as the leader of NSW Labor. Credit:James Alcock

However, inside the Labor Party shock at the result had turned to anger by Sunday monring as it became apparent that Labor, in a best-case scenario, would win only two seats - Coogee and Lismore.

People are ropeable, one senior party figure said.
Former federal Labor leader Mark Latham will make a return to politics as a One Nation MP in the NSW upper house, with a small possibility the party could win a second seat.

One Nation had already received enough votes to secure Mr Latham an eight-year term in the NSW Legislative Council with counting expected to continue for more than a week.

Psephologist Kevin Bonham said with half of all primary votes for the upper house counted, Mr Latham had received more than a quota.

Hes got enough votes already. If he gets no more votes from here he still gets in. Whether he gets number two over well have to wait and see, Dr Bonham said.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size It was not apparent when Opposition Leader Michael Daley started election day at a Matraville pie shop just after 8am. At a carefully staged media opportunity - speaking at a spot out of the sun with three children drawing at a table behind him - the member for Maroubra's traditional "lucky pie" came on a morning full of promise for Labor. After a traditional greeting in his electorate - "the Bunnies were good the other night" - Mr Daley bought a plain pie and strawberry milk, spoke about why NSW should vote for "a dad from the suburbs" then went off to vote at nearby Chifley Public School. Michael Daley with his family, voting at Chifley Public School. Credit:Louise Kennerley It was not apparent when Premier Gladys Berejiklian voted across the harbour at Willoughby Public School. A hardworking member for Willoughby for 16 years - and Premier for two - she had plenty of fans. But voters in the long queue after she left were grumbling about traffic, over-development and the light rail - all issues that dogged her government during the campaign. And it was still not apparent as the leaders crossed the city to greet candidates and meet voters in key electorates. At Revesby Public School, Ms Berejiklian bought a democracy sausage - "we don't do Bunnings with the onions on the bottom," said the cheerful server - for both herself and East Hills Liberal candidate Wendy Lindsay and joked about spilling barbecue sauce. Im wearing the wrong colour for a sausage sizzle, she said. But surely this stopover was a lost cause.

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Mrs Lindsay was a latecomer taking over from a retiring Liberal MP in Sydney's most marginal seat. Labor opponent Cameron Murphy, a barrister who lost by just 372 votes after a smear campaign last time, had been campaigning full-time for nine months; Mrs Lindsay, a three-days-a-week manager of a community radio station who plays June Carter in a Johnny Cash tribute act, was barely known until a run-in with a protester at Revesby railway station last month. No, the crushing of Labor's hopes of winning government was not apparent there either. When a church bell at Revesby rung at noon, it seemed to be tolling for at least the Liberal chances in the local seat. There was still no sign of Labor's poor showing at Jamison High School in South Penrith at lunchtime. Hoping to snatch the seat off Stuart Ayres, the Minister for stadiums, the M4 and Western Sydney, both Mr Daley and deputy leader Penny Sharpe greeted voters alongside Mr Ayres and partner Marise Payne, the Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs. It was cordial - "they're opponents, they're not enemies" Mr Daley said - but even with a margin of 6.2 per cent surely the sight of Allianz Stadium being demolished just days before the election had to damage Mr Ayres. Stuart Ayres shaking hands with Michael Daley in South Penrith. Credit: Louise Kennerley The stadium knockdown was one of a handful of memorable moments of a campaign full of expensive promises that struggled to interest anyone much until Mr Daley's "thank you for your service" line to Alan Jones then began to slide away from Labor with his controversial comments about Asians with PhDs taking jobs and his stumbles over costings. Over the course of the day, both the Premier and Opposition Leader proved to be warmer with everyday voters than they often appear on screen - Ms Berejiklian hectoring at the first debate and rushing through points in interviews like the captain of a school debating team running out of time; Mr Daley driving on and on about stadiums, the M4 and the light rail then forgetting his lines at the second debate.

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There were ugly moments - anecdotal reports of pamphlets smearing a Labor candidate in letterboxes on election eve and abuse during pre-polling - but there was hope in an overheard conversation in Penrith. "I really enjoyed voting today," said an older man. "I did too," said a young friend, both savouring a democracy they might not have experienced before settling here. But when a government win became apparent at night, it was shockingly fast. Ms Berejiklian said she likes her sausage with barbecue sauce. Credit:Dean Sewell The Liberal election party, held in a ballroom under a sparkly ceiling at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth, had barely begun. The Premier's sister Mary was one of the few recognisable faces in a small crowd chatting in clumps - largely ignoring the two large screens carrying the Sky and ABC election coverage - when a veteran sage quietly called the election to the Herald journalist next to him at just 7.43pm. "It's quite clear that Berejiklian has won majority government," Malcolm Mackerras - "the Antony Green of 30 years ago" as he introduced himself - said. By 8.05pm, Graham Richardson was saying on Sky that it was "all over Red Rover for Labor" and the Premier would lead a narrow minority government. Six minutes later, Sky made it official. The sight of a caption saying "Coalition wins NSW" on the silent screen brought a loud cheer, laughter and hugs among the Liberal faithful. Minutes later, the current Antony Green confirmed the government had been returned.

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After being stranded in rough Norwegian seas over the weekend, forcing the rescue of almost 500 passengers by helicopter, a stricken cruise ship has reached port.

The Viking Sky had 1373 passengers and crew on board, including several Australians, when it had engine trouble in an unpredictable area of the Norwegian coast known for rough, frigid waters. The crew issued a mayday call on Saturday afternoon.

Five helicopters flying in the dark rescued passengers from the tossing ship in a painstaking process that continued throughout Saturday night. The rescues took place under difficult conditions that included wind gusts up to 38 knots and waves that reached more than eight metres.

Viking Ocean Cruises, the company that owns and operates the ship, said that 20 people had suffered injuries and had been transferred to medical centres in Norway.
But ministers are said to be threatening heavy-handed tactics to persuade May to resign. According to reports, she has been told she could face mass resignations or public denunciations from her cabinet. Some Brexiters have promised to vote her Brexit deal through parliament if she resigns or sets a firm date for her departure. Would-be leadership rival Boris Johnson met May twice in recent days and demanded to the Prime Ministers face that she rule out leading the party into an election, the Mail on Sunday reported. The Sunday Times reported ministers would confront May at the cabinet meeting on Monday and demand she announce her resignation. The paper counted 11 out of Mays 22 ministers in the coup. They turned against May in a spectacular fashion after her actions in the last week showed her judgement had gone haywire", the newspaper reported. She was described by colleagues as toxic and erratic. A demonstrator pictured during a Peoples Vote anti-Brexit march in London on Saturday. Credit:AP

Concerns about Mays mental and physical resilience are widely shared, the Sunday Times reported. Officials in parliament were so concerned about Mays welfare they drew up a protocol to extract her from the Commons if she collapsed at the dispatch box. Last week May, following a parliamentary vote to delay Brexit, won a shorter delay than she had asked the EU for, and it came with conditions. She also indicated she would try to bring her twice-rejected Brexit divorce deal back to parliament for a third try. But the biggest source of anger was apparently a public address May delivered on Wednesday night blaming the Brexit debacle on MPs  apparently including her own colleagues. This led to a furious  reportedly even tearful  complaint from the government whips whose job is to persuade MPs to vote for government policy: a task that has often proved impossible in crucial Brexit votes. Michael Gove and Boris Johnson are jockeying to replace Theresa May as UK Prime Minister. Credit:Bloomberg

A senior minister told the Mail on Sunday he feared the third failure of Mays Brexit deal under her premiership would put the country on a conveyer belt to a soft Brexit that would leave the UKs customs rules and regulations under permanent EU control. Its the easiest solution for parliament but the worst solution for the country, the minister reportedly said. If we do not deliver Brexit we are so unbelievably f---ed, not just as a party or a government but in a national way. Reacting to the coup speculation on Saturday night, Conservative MP George Freeman said on Twitter it was all over for the PM. Everyone feels betrayed, he said. Governments gridlocked. Trust in democracy collapsing. This cant go on. We need a new PM who can reach out & build some sort of coalition for a Plan B. Mays deputy David Lidington was reported to be lined up to replace May. He would be seen as a safe pair of hands who would step aside after navigating through the current Brexit crisis, with a party leadership contest coming in the second half of the year.

The UK's minister for the cabinet, David Lidington, is seen by some as a potential 'safe pair of hands' to replace Theresa May. Credit:Bloomberg However Lidington is not trusted by many pro-Brexit Conservatives, who suspect he would support soft Brexit compromises such as keeping the UK in permanent customs union with the EU, in exchange for Labour votes that would get Brexit over the line. The Sunday Telegraph reported a senior minister calling the Lidington plan a way to kick the can down the road yet again in the hope that something will happen to stop [Brexit]". The Mail on Sunday reported Brexiters had instead rallied around Environment Secretary and former Leave campaign leader Michael Gove as the temporary PM before a full leadership contest in the summer. However the Sunday Times reported some Brexiters feared Gove would adopt a similarly soft Brexit policy to Lidington.

And others in the party oppose the whole idea of a caretaker PM, warning it would prove a massive turnoff for voters in upcoming local elections. Loading The coup news broke as an estimated one million protesters marched in London demanding Brexit not happen  one of the biggest political marches in British history. Brexit had been scheduled for this coming Friday. The EU set two new deadlines, April 12 or May 22, depending on what happens in parliament. However a further, longer delay could be on the cards. Parliament is due to vote on a motion on Monday that could see a tense fight over control of the Brexit timetable.
The Mueller Report Is In. They Were Wrong. We Were Right By Caitlin Johnstone March 24, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - The Robert Mueller investigation which monopolized political discourse for two years



The contents of the report are still secret, but CNNs Justice Department reporter Laura Jarrett has told us all we need to know,



So thats it, then. A completely unhindered investigation has failed to convict a single American of any kind of conspiracy with the Russian government, and no further indictments are coming. The political/media class which sold rank-and-file Americans on the lie that the Mueller investigation was going to bring down this presidency were liars and frauds, and none of the goalpost-moving that I am sure is already beginning to happen will change that. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter Say it again: Mueller has indicted *zero* Americans for conspiring with Russia to influence the 2016 election, which was central impetus for the Special Counsel in the first place. Anyone who denies this is an abject liar https://t.co/gRQdr01ZCv  Michael Tracey (@mtracey) March 22, 2019 It has been obvious from the very beginning that the Maddow Muppets were being sold a lie. In 2017 I wrote an article titled 



Ive been saying Russiagate is b.s. from the beginning, and Ive been called a Trump shill, a Kremlin propagandist, a Nazi and a troll every day for saying so by credulous mass media-consuming dupes who drank the Kool Aid. And Ive only taken a fraction of the flack more high profile Russiagate skeptics like Glenn Greenwald and Michael Tracey have been getting for expressing doubt in the Gospel According to Maddow. The insane, maniacal McCarthyite feeding frenzy that these people were plunged into by nonstop mass media propaganda drowned out the important voices who tried to argue that public energy was being sucked into Russia hysteria and used to manufacture support for



Just think what we could have done with that energy over the last two years. Think how much public support could have been poured into the sweeping progressive reforms called for by the Sanders movement, for example, instead of constant demands for more sanctions and nuclear posturing against Russia. Think how much more attention could have been drawn to Trumps actual horrific policies like his facilitation of Saudi butchery in Yemen or his regime change agendas in Iran and Venezuela, his support for ecocide and military expansionism and the barbarism of Jair Bolsonaro and Benjamin Netanyahu. Think how much more energy could have gone into beating back the Republicans in the midterms, reclaiming far more House seats and taking the Senate as well, gathering momentum for a presidential candidacy that truly threatens Trump instead of 9,000 primary candidates who will probably be selected by superdelegates after the first ballot when theres too many of them to establish a clear majority

.@caitoz sums up: "Mock the Russiagaters.Mock them ruthlessly, and never, ever let them forget the horrible thing that they did. Never stop making fun of them and reminding them how stupid and crazy they acted during this humiliating period of US history." https://t.co/rWTs9vHYPe  WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) March 22, 2019 We must never let them forget what they did or what they cost us all. We must never let mainstream Democrats forget how crazy they got, how much time and energy they wasted, how very, very wrong they were and how very, very right we were.



Never stop reminding them of this. Never stop mocking them for it. Never stop mocking their idiotic Rachel Maddow worship. Never stop mocking the Robert Mueller prayer candles. Never stop making fun of the way they blamed all their problems on Susan Sarandon. Never stop reminding them of those stupid pink vagina hats. Never stop mocking them for elevating Louise Mensch and Eric Garland. Never stop mocking them for creating the f**king Krassenstein brothers.



Every politician, every media figure, every Twitter pundit and everyone who swallowed this moronic load of bull spunk has officially discredited themselves for life. Going forward, authority and credibility rests solely with those who kept clear eyes and clear heads during the mass media propaganda blitzkrieg, not with those who were stupid enough to believe what they were told about the behaviors of a noncompliant government in a post-Iraq invasion world. The people who steered us into two years of Russiavape insanity are the very last people anyone should ever listen to ever again when determining the future direction of our world. The Robert Mueller investigation which monopolized political discourse for two years has finally concluded , and his anxiously awaited report has been submitted to Attorney General William Barr. The results are in and the debate is over: those advancing the conspiracy theory that the Kremlin has infiltrated the highest levels of the US government were wrong, and those of us voicing skepticism of this were right.The contents of the report are still secret, but CNNs Justice Department reporter Laura Jarrett has told us all we need to know, tweeting , Special Counsel Mueller is not recommending ANY further indictments am told. On top of that, William Barr said in a letter to congressional leaders that there has been no obstruction of Muellers investigation by Justice Department officials.So thats it, then. A completely unhindered investigation has failed to convict a single American of any kind of conspiracy with the Russian government, and no further indictments are coming. The political/media class which sold rank-and-file Americans on the lie that the Mueller investigation was going to bring down this presidency were liars and frauds, and none of the goalpost-moving that I am sure is already beginning to happen will change that.It has been obvious from the very beginning that the Maddow Muppets were being sold a lie. In 2017 I wrote an article titled  How We Can Be Certain That Mueller Wont Prove Trump-Russia Collusion , saying that Mueller would continue finding evidence of corruption since corruption is to DC insiders as water is to fish, but he will not find evidence of collusion. If you care to take a scroll through the angry comments on that article, just on Medium alone, you will see a frozen snapshot of what the expectations were from mainstream liberals at the time. They had swallowed the Russiagate narrative hook, line and sinker, and they believed that the Mueller investigation was going to vindicate them. It did not.Ive been saying Russiagate is b.s. from the beginning, and Ive been called a Trump shill, a Kremlin propagandist, a Nazi and a troll every day for saying so by credulous mass media-consuming dupes who drank the Kool Aid. And Ive only taken a fraction of the flack more high profile Russiagate skeptics like Glenn Greenwald and Michael Tracey have been getting for expressing doubt in the Gospel According to Maddow. The insane, maniacal McCarthyite feeding frenzy that these people were plunged into by nonstop mass media propaganda drowned out the important voices who tried to argue that public energy was being sucked into Russia hysteria and used to manufacture support for dangerous cold war escalations with a nuclear superpower.Just think what we could have done with that energy over the last two years. Think how much public support could have been poured into the sweeping progressive reforms called for by the Sanders movement, for example, instead of constant demands for more sanctions and nuclear posturing against Russia. Think how much more attention could have been drawn to Trumps actual horrific policies like his facilitation of Saudi butchery in Yemen or his regime change agendas in Iran and Venezuela, his support for ecocide and military expansionism and the barbarism of Jair Bolsonaro and Benjamin Netanyahu. Think how much more energy could have gone into beating back the Republicans in the midterms, reclaiming far more House seats and taking the Senate as well, gathering momentum for a presidential candidacy that truly threatens Trump instead of 9,000 primary candidates who will probably be selected by superdelegates after the first ballot when theres too many of them to establish a clear majority under the new rules We must never let them forget what they did or what they cost us all. We must never let mainstream Democrats forget how crazy they got, how much time and energy they wasted, how very, very wrong they were and how very, very right we were.Never stop reminding them of this. Never stop mocking them for it. Never stop mocking their idiotic Rachel Maddow worship. Never stop mocking the Robert Mueller prayer candles. Never stop making fun of the way they blamed all their problems on Susan Sarandon. Never stop reminding them of those stupid pink vagina hats. Never stop mocking them for elevating Louise Mensch and Eric Garland. Never stop mocking them for creating the f**king Krassenstein brothers.Every politician, every media figure, every Twitter pundit and everyone who swallowed this moronic load of bull spunk has officially discredited themselves for life. Going forward, authority and credibility rests solely with those who kept clear eyes and clear heads during the mass media propaganda blitzkrieg, not with those who were stupid enough to believe what they were told about the behaviors of a noncompliant government in a post-Iraq invasion world. The people who steered us into two years of Russiavape insanity are the very last people anyone should ever listen to ever again when determining the future direction of our world. Caitlin's articles are entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking her on Facebook, following her antics on Twitter, checking out her podcast, throwing some money into her hat on Patreon or Paypal, or buying her book Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers. https://caitlinjohnstone.com Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here ==See Also== Note To ICH Community We ask that you assist us in dissemination of the article published by ICH to your social media accounts and post links to the article from other websites. Thank you for your support. Peace and joy The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
Christchurch: New Zealand will hold a national memorial service to remember the 50 victims of the terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the event, to be held in Christchurch on Friday, two days after she attended prayers near one of the targeted mosques, Masjid al Noor.

"In the week since the unprecedented terror attack there has been an outpouring of grief and love in our country," she said.
A SHUNPIKERS JOURNAL RADIO PROGRAM







March 20, 2019; The next installment of A Shunpikers Journal begins broadcasting Wednesday, March 20, 2019 and will run for 3 to 4 weeks.

Listen to the program live-streamed at www.michiganbusinessnetwork.com every Wednesday at 1 PM and 7 PM and every Thursday at 1 AM and 7 AM. Or go to the Website, click on Shows and Hosts, and find me. Podcasts will be available shortly after the shows first streaming, along with Podcasts of previous programs.

Segments 1-4: Brian Baker, director of the Leland Chapter of the Society of Automotive Historians, joins us to talk about a variety of projects - his, mine and ours. Brian, a former designer for GM, manages the Concept Vehicle of the Year competition for our Automotive Heritage Awards. And, he created an amazing travel project that includes more than a dozen bucket-list experiences for lovers of automobiles, architecture and aviation called A3 VIP Adventures. See details for this one www.a3vipadventures.com.

Then we spend time on the SAH and efforts to share the love of automotive culture with the generations following us, including plans developed by the Automotive Heritage Foundation with which we are both involved.













Segments 5-6: We round out the program talking with Erik Barnlund from Bloomington, Illinois who enjoys a hot niche in the collector car business. Erik and his team at Maxlider Brothers buy, sell, recreate, restore and generally immerse themselves in the world of old Ford Broncos. We met him at the Autorama show in Detroit recently where he showed two of his coolest Bronco recreations.









Steve Purdy

Shunpiker Productions, LLC

-Detroit Editor: The Auto Channel

-Creator, Producer and Host: A Shunpikers Journal Radio Program

-Associate Producer: Sirens of Chrome: The Motion Picture

-Founding Member: The Individual Communicators Network

-Charter Member: Detroit Automotive Press Association

-Member: Midwest Auto Media Association

-Former Trustee: National Automotive History Collection
March 24, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Note to readers: in light of news that Special Prosecutor Robert Muellers investigation is complete, Im releasing this chapter of Hate Inc. early, with a few new details added up top.

Nobody wants to hear this, but news that Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller is headed home without issuing new charges is a death-blow for the reputation of the American news media.

As has long been rumored, the former FBI chiefs independent probe will result in multiple indictments and convictions, but no presidency-wrecking conspiracy charges, or anything that would meet the laymans definition of collusion with Russia.

With the caveat that even this news might somehow turn out to be botched, the key detail in the many stories about the end of the Mueller investigation was best expressed by the New York Times:

A senior Justice Department official said that Mr. Mueller would not recommend new indictments.

The Times tried to soften the emotional blow for the millions of Americans trained in these years to place hopes for the overturn of the Trump presidency in Mueller. Nobody even pretended it was supposed to be a fact-finding mission, instead of an act of faith.

The Special Prosecutor literally became a religious figure during the last few years, with votive candles sold in his image and Saturday Night Live cast members singing All I Want for Christmas is You to him featuring the rhymey line: Mueller please come through, because the only option is a coup.

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The Times story today tried to preserve Santa Muellers reputation, noting Trumps Attorney General William Barrs reaction was an endorsement of the fineness of Muellers work:

In an apparent endorsement of an investigation that Mr. Trump has relentlessly attacked as a witch hunt, Mr. Barr said Justice Department officials never had to intervene to keep Mr. Mueller from taking an inappropriate or unwarranted step.

Mueller, in other words, never stepped out of the bounds of his job description. But could the same be said for the news media?

For those anxious to keep the dream alive, the Times published its usual graphic of Trump-Russia contacts, inviting readers to keep making connections. But in a separate piece by Peter Baker, the paper noted the Mueller news had dire consequences for the press:

It will be a reckoning for President Trump, to be sure, but also for Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, for Congress, for Democrats, for Republicans, for the news media and, yes, for the system as a whole

This is a damning page one admission by the Times. Despite the connect-the-dots graphic in its other story, and despite the astonishing, emotion-laden editorial the paper also ran suggesting We dont need to read the Mueller report because we know Trump is guilty, Baker at least began the work of preparing Times readers for a hard question: Have journalists connected too many dots that do not really add up?

The paper was signaling it understood there would now be questions about whether or not news outlets like themselves made a galactic error by betting heavily on a new, politicized approach, trying to be true to historys judgment on top of the hard-enough job of just being true. Worse, in a brutal irony everyone should have seen coming, the press has now handed Trump the mother of campaign issues heading into 2020.

Nothing Trump is accused of from now on by the press will be believed by huge chunks of the population, a group that (perhaps thanks to this story) is now larger than his original base. As Baker notes, a full 50.3% of respondents in a poll conducted this month said they agree with Trump the Mueller probe is a witch hunt.

Stories have been coming out for some time now hinting Muellers final report might leave audiences disappointed, as if a President not being a foreign spy could somehow be bad news.

Openly using such language has, all along, been an indictment. Imagine how tone-deaf youd have to be to not realize it makes you look bad, when news does not match audience expectations you raised. To be unaware of this is mind-boggling, the journalistic equivalent of walking outside without pants.

There will be people protesting: the Mueller report doesnt prove anything! What about the 37 indictments? The convictions? The Trump tower revelations? The lies! The meeting with Don, Jr.? The financial matters! Theres an ongoing grand jury investigation, and possible sealed indictments, and the House will still investigate, and

Stop. Just stop. Any journalist who goes there is making it worse.

For years, every pundit and Democratic pol in Washington hyped every new Russia headline like the Watergate break-in. Now, even Nancy Pelosi has said impeachment is out, unless something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan against Trump is uncovered it would be worth their political trouble to prosecute.

The biggest thing this affair has uncovered so far is Donald Trump paying off a porn star. Thats a hell of a long way from what this business was supposedly about at the beginning, and shame on any reporter who tries to pretend this isnt so.

The story hyped from the start was espionage: a secret relationship between the Trump campaign and Russian spooks whod helped him win the election.

The betrayal narrative was not reported at first as metaphor. It was not Trump likes the Russians so much, he might as well be a spy for them. It was literal spying, treason, and election-fixing  crimes so severe, former NSA employee John Schindler told reporters, Trump will die in jail.

In the early months of this scandal, the New York Times said Trumps campaign had repeated contacts with Russian intelligence; the Wall Street Journal told us our spy agencies were withholding intelligence from the new President out of fear he was compromised; news leaked out our spy chiefs had even told other countries like Israel not to share their intel with us, because the Russians might have leverages of pressure on Trump.

CNN told us Trump officials had been in constant contact with Russians known to U.S. intelligence, and the former director of the CIA, whod helped kick-start the investigation that led to Muellers probe, said the President was guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors, committing acts nothing short of treasonous.

Hillary Clinton insisted Russians could not have known how to weaponize political ads unless theyd been guided by Americans. Asked if she meant Trump, she said, Its pretty hard not to. Harry Reid similarly said he had no doubt that the Trump campaign was in on the deal to help Russians with the leak.

None of this has been walked back. To be clear, if Trump were being blackmailed by Russian agencies like the FSB or the GRU, if he had any kind of relationship with Russian intelligence, that would soar over the overwhelming and bipartisan standard, and Nancy Pelosi would be damning torpedoes for impeachment right now.

There was never real gray area here. Either Trump is a compromised foreign agent, or he isnt. If he isnt, news outlets once again swallowed a massive disinformation campaign, only this error is many orders of magnitude more stupid than any in the recent past, WMD included. Honest reporters like ABCs Terry Moran understand: Mueller coming back empty-handed on collusion means a reckoning for the media.

Of course, there wont be such a reckoning. (There never is). But there should be. We broke every written and unwritten rule in pursuit of this story, starting with the prohibition on reporting things we cant confirm.

#Russiagate debuted as a media phenomenon in mid-summer, 2016. The roots of the actual story, i.e. when the multi-national investigation began, go back much further, to the previous year at least. Oddly, that origin tale has not been nailed down yet, and blue-state audiences dont seem terribly interested in it, either.

By June and July of 2016, bits of the dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele, which had been funded by the Democratic National Committee through the law firm Perkins Coie (which in turn hired the opposition research firm Fusion GPS), were already in the ether.

The Steele report occupies the same role in #Russiagate the tales spun by Ahmed Chalabi occupied in the WMD screwup. Once again, a narrative became turbo-charged when Officials With Motives pulled the press corps by its nose to a swamp of unconfirmable private assertions.

Some early stories, like a July 4, 2016 piece by Franklin Foer in Slate called Putins Puppet, outlined future Steele themes in circumstantial form. But the actual dossier, while it influenced a number of pre-election Trump-Russia news stories (notably one by Michael Isiskoff of Yahoo! that would be used in a FISA warrant application), didnt make it into print for a while.

Though it was shopped to at least nine news organizations during the summer and fall of 2016, no one bit, for the good reason that news organizations couldnt verify its revelations.

The Steele claims were explosive if true. The ex-spy reported Trump aide Carter Page had been offered fees on a big new slice of the oil giant Rosneft if he could help get sanctions against Russia lifted. He also said Trump lawyer Michael Cohen went to Prague for secret discussions with Kremlin representatives and associated operators/hackers.

Most famously, he wrote the Kremlin had kompromat of Trump deriling [sic] a bed once used by Barack and Michelle Obama by employing a number of prostitutes to perform a 'golden showers' (urination) show.

This was too good of a story not to do. By hook or crook, it had to come out. The first salvo was by David Corn of Mother Jones on October 31, 2016: A Veteran Spy Has Given the FBI Information Alleging a Russian Operation to Cultivate Donald Trump.

The piece didnt have pee, Prague, or Page in it, but it did say Russian intelligence had material that could blackmail Trump. It was technically kosher to print because Corn wasnt publishing the allegations themselves, merely that the FBI had taken possession of them.

A bigger pretext was needed to get the other details out. This took place just after the election, when four intelligence officials presented copies of the dossier to both President-Elect Trump and outgoing President Obama.

From his own memos, we know FBI Director James Comey, ostensibly evincing concern for Trumps welfare, told the new President he was just warning him about what was out there, as possible blackmail material:

I wasnt saying [the Steele report] was true, only that I wanted him to know both that it had been reported and that the reports were in many hands. I said media like CNN had them and were looking for a news hook. I said it was important that we not give them the excuse to write that the FBI has the material or [redacted] and that we were keeping it very close-hold [sic].

Comeys generous warning to Trump about not providing a news hook, along with a promise to keep it all close-held, took place on January 6, 2017. Within four days, basically the entire Washington news media somehow knew all about this top-secret meeting and had the very hook they needed to go public. Nobody in the mainstream press thought this was weird or warranted comment.

Even Donald Trump was probably smart enough to catch the hint when, of all outlets, it was CNN that first broke the story of Classified documents presented last week to Trump on January 10.

At the same time, Buzzfeed made the historic decision to publish the entire Steele dossier, bringing years of pee into our lives. This move birthed the Russiagate phenomenon as a never-ending, minute-to-minute factor in American news coverage.

Comey was right. We couldnt have reported this story without a hook. Therefore the reports surrounding Steele technically werent about the allegations themselves, but rather the journey of those allegations, from one set of official hands to another. Handing the report to Trump created a perfect pretext.

This trick has been used before, both in Washington and on Wall Street, to publicize unconfirmed private research. A short seller might hire a consulting firm to prepare a report on a company he or she has bet against. When the report is completed, the investor then tries to get the SEC or the FBI to take possession. If they do, news leaks the company is under investigation, the stock dives, and everyone wins.

This same trick is found in politics. A similar trajectory drove negative headlines in the scandal surrounding New Jerseys Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, who was said to be under investigation by the FBI for underage sex crimes (although some were skeptical). The initial story didnt hold up, but led to other investigations.

Same with the so-called Arkansas project, in which millions of Republican-friendly private research dollars produced enough noise about the Whitewater scandal to create years of headlines about the Clintons. Swiftboating was another example. Private oppo isnt inherently bad. In fact it has led to some incredible scoops, including Enron. But reporters usually know to be skeptical of private info, and figure the motives of its patrons into the story.

The sequence of events in that second week of January, 2017 will now need to be heavily re-examined. We now know, from his own testimony, that former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper had some kind of role in helping CNN do its report, presumably by confirming part of the story, perhaps through an intermediary or two (there is some controversy over whom exactly was contacted, and when).

Why would real security officials help litigate this grave matter through the media? Why were the worlds most powerful investigative agencies acting like they were trying to move a stock, pushing an private, unverified report that even Buzzfeed could see had factual issues? It made no sense at the time, and makes less now.

In January of 2017, Steeles pile of allegations became public, read by millions. It is not just unconfirmed, Buzzfeed admitted. It includes some clear errors.

Buzzfeeds decision exploded traditional journalistic standards against knowingly publishing material whose veracity you doubt. Although a few media ethicists wondered at it, this seemed not to bother the rank-and-file in the business. Buzzfeed chief Ben Smith is still proud of his decision today. I think this was because many reporters believed the report was true.

When I read the report, I was in shock. I thought it read like fourth-rate suspense fiction (I should know: I write fourth-rate suspense fiction). Moreover it seemed edited both for public consumption and to please Steeles DNC patrons.

Steele wrote of Russians having a file of compromising information on Hillary Clinton, only this file supposedly lacked details/evidence of unorthodox or embarrassing behavior or embarrassing conduct.

We were meant to believe the Russians, across decades of dirt-digging, had an empty kompromat file on Hillary Clinton, to say nothing of human tabloid headline Bill Clinton? This point was made more than once in the reports, as if being emphasized for the reading public.

There were other curious lines, including the bit about Russians having moles in the DNC, plus some linguistic details that made me wonder at the nationality of the report author.

Still, who knew? It could be true. But even the most cursory review showed the report had issues and would need a lot of confirming. This made it more amazing that the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, held hearings on March 20, 2017 that blithely read out Steele report details as if they were fact. From Schiffs opening statement:

According to Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer who is reportedly held in high regard by U.S. Intelligence, Russian sources tell him that Page has also had a secret meeting with Igor Sechin (SEH-CHIN), CEO of Russian gas giant Rosneft Page is offered brokerage fees by Sechin on a deal involving a 19 percent share of the company.

I was stunned watching this. Its generally understood that members of congress, like reporters, make an effort to vet at least their prepared remarks before making them public.

But here was Schiff, telling the world Trump aide Carter Page had been offered huge fees on a 19% stake in Rosneft  a company with a $63 billion market capitalization  in a secret meeting with a Russian oligarch who was also said to be a KGB agent and close friend of Putins.

(Schiff meant FSB agent. The inability of #Russiagaters to remember Russia is not the Soviet Union became increasingly maddening over time. Donna Brazile still hasnt deleted her tweet about how The Communists are now dictating the terms of the debate. )

Schiffs speech raised questions. Do we no longer have to worry about getting accusations right if the subject is tied to Russiagate? What if Page hadnt done any of these things? To date, he hasnt been charged with anything. Shouldnt a member of congress worry about this?

A few weeks after that hearing, Steele gave testimony in a British lawsuit filed by one of the Russian companies mentioned in his reports. In a written submission, Steele said his information was raw and needed to be analyzed and further investigated/verified. He also wrote that (at least as pertained to the memo in that case) he had not written his report with the intention that it be republished to the world at large.

That itself was a curious statement, given that Steele reportedly spoke with multiple reporters in the fall of 2016, but this was his legal position. This story about Steeles British court statements did not make it into the news much in the United States, apart from a few bits in conservative outlets like The Washington Times.

I contacted Schiffs office to ask if the congressman if he knew about Steeles admission that his report needed verifying, and if that changed his view of it at all. The response (emphasis mine):

The dossier compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele and which was leaked publicly several months ago contains information that may be pertinent to our investigation. This is true regardless of whether it was ever intended for public dissemination. Accordingly, the Committee hopes to speak with Mr. Steele in order to help substantiate or refute each of the allegations contained in the dossier.

Schiff had not spoken to Steele before the hearing, and read out the allegations knowing they were unsubstantiated.

The Steele report was the Magna Carta of #Russiagate. It provided the implied context for thousands of news stories to come, yet no journalist was ever able to confirm its most salacious allegations: the five year cultivation plan, the blackmail, the bribe from Sechin, the Prague trip, the pee romp, etc. In metaphorical terms, we were unable to independently produce Steeles results in the lab. Failure to reckon with this corrupted the narrative from the start.

For years, every hint the dossier might be true became a banner headline, while every time doubt was cast on Steeles revelations, the press was quiet. Washington Post reporter Greg Miller went to Prague and led a team looking for evidence Cohen had been there. Post reporters, Miller said, literally spent weeks and months trying to run down the Cohen story.

We sent reporters through every hotel in Prague, through all over the place, just to try to figure out if he was ever there, he said, and came away empty.

This was heads-I-win, tails-you-lose reporting. One assumes if Miller found Cohens name in a hotel ledger, it would have been on page 1 of the Post. The converse didnt get a mention in Millers own paper. He only told the story during a discussion aired by C-SPAN about a new book hed published. Only The Daily Caller and a few conservative blogs picked it up.

It was the same when Bob Woodward said, I did not find [espionage or collusion] Of course I looked for it, looked for it hard.

The celebrated Watergate muckraker  who once said hed succumbed to groupthink in the WMD episode and added, I blame myself mightily for not pushing harder  didnt push very hard here, either. News that hed tried and failed to find collusion didnt get into his own paper. It only came out when Woodward was promoting his book Fear in a discussion with conservative host Hugh Hewitt.

When Michael Cohen testified before congress and denied under oath ever being in Prague, it was the same. Few commercial news outlets bothered to take note of the implications this had for their previous reports. Would a man clinging to a plea deal lie to congress on national television about this issue?

There was a CNN story, but the rest of the coverage was all in conservative outlets  the National Review, Fox, The Daily Caller. The Washington Posts response was to run an editorial sneering at How conservative media downplayed Michael Cohens testimony.

Perhaps worst of all was the episode involving Yahoo! reporter Michael Isikoff. He had already been part of one strange tale: the FBI double-dipping when it sought a FISA warrant to conduct secret surveillance of Carter Page, the would-be mastermind who was supposed to have brokered a deal with oligarch Sechin.

In its FISA application, the FBI included both the unconfirmed Steele report and Isikoffs September 23, 2016 Yahoo! story, U.S. Intel Officials probe ties between Trump adviser and Kremlin. The Isikoff story, which claimed Page had met with high ranking sanctioned officials in Russia, had relied upon Steele as an unnamed source.

This was similar to a laundering technique used in the WMD episode called stove-piping, i.e. officials using the press to confirm information the officials themselves fed the reporter.

But there was virtually no non-conservative press about this problem apart from a Washington Post story pooh-poohing the issue. (Every news story that casts any doubt on the collusion issue seems to meet with an instantaneous fact check in the Post.) The Post insisted the FISA issue wasnt serious among other things because Steele was not the foundation of Isikoffs piece.

Isikoff was perhaps the reporter most familiar with Steele. He and Corn of Mother Jones, who also dealt with the ex-spy, wrote a bestselling book that relied upon theories from Steele, Russian Roulette, including a rumination on the pee episode. Yet Isikoff in late 2018 suddenly said he believed the Steele report would turn out to be mostly false.

Once again, this only came out via a podcast, John Zieglers Free Speech Broadcasting show. Heres a transcript of the relevant section:

Isikoff: When you actually get into the details of the Steele dossier, the specific allegations, you know, we have not seen the evidence to support them. And in fact there is good grounds to think some of the more sensational allegations will never be proven, and are likely false. Ziegler: Thats... Isikoff: I think its a mixed record at best at this point, things could change, Mueller may yet produce evidence that changes this calculation. But based on the public record at this point I have to say that most of the specific allegations have not been borne out. Ziegler: Thats interesting to hear you say that, Michael because as Im sure you know, your book was kind of used to validate the pee tape, for lack of a better term. Isikoff: Yeah. I think we had some evidence in there of an event that may have inspired the pee tape and that was the visit that Trump made with a number of characters who later showed up in Moscow, specifically Emin Agalarov and Rob Goldstone to this raunchy Las Vegas nightclub where one of the regular acts was a skit called Hot For Teacher in which dancers posing as college Co-Eds urinated  or simulated urinating on their professor. Which struck me as an odd coincidence at best. I think, you know, it is not implausible that event may have inspired... Ziegler: An urban legend? Isikoff: ...allegations that appeared in the Steele dossier.

Isikoff delivered this story with a laughing tone. He seamlessly transitioned to what he then called the real point, i.e. the irony is Steele may be right, but it wasnt the Kremlin that had sexual kompromat on Donald Trump, it was the National Enquirer.

Recapping: the reporter who introduced Steele to the world (his September 23, 2016 story was the first to reference him as a source), who wrote a book that even he concedes was seen as validating the pee tape story, suddenly backtracks and says the whole thing may have been based on a Las Vegas strip act, but it doesnt matter because Stormy Daniels, etc.

Another story of this type involved a court case in which Webzilla and parent company XBT sued Steele and Buzzfeed over the mention their firm in one of the memos. It came out in court testimony that Steele had culled information about XBT/Webzilla from a 2009 post on CNNs "iReports page.

Asked if he understood these posts came from random users and not CNN journalists whod been fact-checked, Steele replied, I do not.

This comical detail was similar to news that the second British Mi6 dossier released just before the Iraq invasion had been plagiarized in part from a thirteen year-old student thesis from California State University, not even by intelligence people, but by mid-level functionaries in Tony Blairs press office.

There were so many profiles of Steele as an astoundingly diligent spymaster straight out of LeCarre: he was routinely described like a LeCarre-ian grinder like the legendary George Smiley, a man in the shadows whose bookish intensity was belied by his average, neutral, quiet, demeanor, being more low-key than Smiley. One would think it might have rated a mention that our Smiley was cutting and pasting text like a community college freshman. But the story barely made news.

This has been a consistent pattern throughout #Russiagate. Step one: salacious headline. Step two, days or weeks later: news emerges the story is shakier than first believed. Step three (in the best case) involves the story being walked back or retracted by the same publication.

Thats been rare. More often, when explosive #Russiagate headlines go sideways, the original outlets simply ignore the new development, leaving the retraction process to conservative outlets that dont reach the original audiences.

This is a major structural flaw of the new fully-divided media landscape in which Republican media covers Democratic corruption and Democratic media covers Republican corruption. If neither side feels the need to disclose its own errors and inconsistencies, mistakes accumulate quickly.

This has been the main difference between Russiagate and the WMD affair. Despite David Remnicks post-invasion protestations that nobody got [WMD] completely right, the Iraq war was launched against the objections of the 6 million or more people who did get it right, and protested on the streets. There was open skepticism of Bush claims dotting the press landscape from the start, with people like Jack Shafer tearing apart every Judith Miller story in print. Most reporters are Democrats and the people hawking the WMD story were mostly Republicans, so there was political space for protest.

Russiagate happened in an opposite context. If the story fell apart it would benefit Donald Trump politically, a fact that made a number of reporters queasy about coming forward. #Russiagate became synonymous with #Resistance, which made public skepticism a complicated proposition.

Early in the scandal, I appeared on To The Point, a California-based public radio show hosted by Warren Olney, with Corn of Mother Jones. I knew David a little and had been friendly with him. He once hosted a book event for me in Washington. In the program, however, the subject of getting facts right came up and Corn said this was not a time for reporters to be picking nits:

So Democrats getting overeager, overenthusiastic, stating things that may not be [unintelligible] true? Well, tell me a political issue where that doesnt happen. I think thats looking at the wrong end of the telescope.

I wrote him later and suggested that since were in the press, and not really about anything except avoiding things that may not be true, maybe we had different responsibilities than Democrats? He wrote back:

Feel free to police the Trump opposition. But on the list of shit that needs to be covered these days, that's just not high on my personal list.

Other reporters spoke of an internal struggle. When the Mueller indictment of the Internet Research Agency was met with exultation in the media, New Yorker writer Adrian Chen, who broke the original IRA story, was hesitant to come forward with some mild qualms about the way the story was being reported:

Either I could stay silent and allow the conversation to be dominated by those pumping up the Russian threat, he said, or I could risk giving fodder to Trump and his allies.

After writing, Confessions of a Russiagate Skeptic, poor Blake Hounsell of Politico took such a beating on social media, he ended up denouncing himself a year later.

What I meant to write is, I wasnt skeptical, he said.

Years ago, in the midst of the WMD affair, Times public editor Daniel Okrent noted the papers standard had moved from Dont get it first, get it right to Get it first and get it right. From there, Okrent wrote, the next devolution was an obvious one.

Were at that next devolution: first and wrong. The Russiagate era has so degraded journalism that even once reputable outlets are now only about as right as politicians, which is to say barely ever, and then only by accident.

Early on, I was so amazed by the sheer quantity of Russia bombshells being walked back, I started to keep a list. Its well above 50 stories now. As has been noted by Glenn Greenwald of the Intercept and others, if the mistakes were random, youd expect them in both directions, but Russiagate errors uniformly go the same way.

In some cases the stories are only partly wrong, as in the case of the famed 17 intelligence agencies said Russia was behind the hacking story (it was actually four: the Director of National Intelligence hand-picking a team from the FBI, CIA, and NSA).

In other cases the stories were blunt false starts, resulting in ugly sets of matching headlines:

Trump Campaign Aides had repeated contacts with Russian Intelligence, published by the Times on Valentines Day, 2017, was an important, narrative-driving bombshell that looked dicey from the start. The piece didnt say whether the contact was witting or unwitting, whether the discussions were about business or politics, or what the contacts supposedly were at all.

Normally a reporter would want to know what the deal is before he or she runs a story accusing people of having dealings with foreign spies. Witting or Unwitting ought to be a huge distinction, for instance. It soon after came out that people like former CIA chief John Brennan dont think this is the case. Frequently, people who are on a treasonous path do not know theyre on a treasonous path, he said, speaking of Trumps circle.

This seemed a dangerous argument, the kind of thing that led to trouble in the McCarthy years. But lets say the contacts were serious. From a reporting point of view, youd still need to know exactly what the nature of such contacts were before you run that story, because the headline implication is grave. Moreover youd need to know it well enough to report it, i.e. its not enough to be told a convincing story off-the-record, you need to be able to share with readers enough so that they can characterize the news themselves.

Not to the Times, which ran the article without the specifics. Months later, Comey blew up this contacts story in public, saying, in the main, it was not true.

As was the case with the 17 agencies error, which only got fixed when Clapper testified in congress and was forced to make the correction under oath, the repeated contacts story was only disputed when Comey testified in congress, this time before the Senate Intelligence Committee. How many other errors of this type are waiting to be disclosed?

Even the mistakes caught were astounding. On December 1, 2017, ABC reporter Brian Ross claimed Trump as a candidate instructed Michael Flynn to contact Russia. The news caused the Dow to plummet 350 points. The story was retracted almost immediately and Ross was suspended.

Bloomberg reported Mueller subpoenaed Trumps Deutsche Bank accounts; the subpoenas turned out to be of other individuals records. Fortune said C-SPAN was hacked after Russia Today programming briefly interrupted coverage of a Maxine Waters floor address. The New York Times also ran the story, and its still up, despite C-SPAN insisting its own internal routing error likely caused the feed to appear in place of its own broadcast.

CNN has its own separate sub-list of wrecks. Three of the networks journalists resigned after a story purporting to tie Trump advisor Anthony Scaramucci to a Russian investment fund was retracted. Four more CNN reporters (Gloria Borger, Eric Lichtblau, Jake Tapper and Brian Rokus) were bylined in a story that claimed Comey was expected to refute Trumps claims he was told he wasnt the target of an investigation. Comey blew that one up, too.

In another CNN scoop gone awry, Email pointed Trump campaign to WikiLeaks documents, the networks reporters were off by ten days in a bombshell that supposedly proved the Trump campaign had foreknowledge of Wikileaks dumps. Its, uh, perhaps not as significant as what we know now, offered CNNs Manu Raju in a painful on-air retraction.

The worst stories were the ones never corrected. A particularly bad example is After Florida School Shooting, Russian Bot Army Pounced, from the New York Times on Feb 18, 2018. The piece claimed Russians were trying to divide Americans on social media after a mass shooting using Twitter hashtags like #guncontrolnow, #gunreformnow and #Parklandshooting.

The Times ran this quote high up:

This is pretty typical for them, to hop on breaking news like this, said Jonathon Morgan, chief executive of New Knowledge, a company that tracks online disinformation campaigns. The bots focus on anything that is divisive for Americans. Almost systematically.

About a year after this story came out, Times reporters Scott Shane and Ann Blinder reported that the same outfit, New Knowledge, and in particular that same Jonathon Morgan, had participated in a cockamamie scheme to fake Russian troll activity in an Alabama Senate race. The idea was to try to convince voters Russia preferred the Republican.

The Times quoted a New Knowledge internal report about the idiotic Alabama scheme:

We orchestrated an elaborate false flag operation that planted the idea that the Moore campaign was amplified on social media by a Russian botnet

The Parkland story was iffy enough when it came out, as Twitter disputed it, and another of the main sources for the initial report, former intelligence official Clint Watts, subsequently said he was not convinced on the whole bot thing.

But when one of your top sources turns out to have faked exactly the kind of activity described in your article, you should at least take the quote out, or put an update online. No luck: the story remains up on the Times site, without disclaimers.

Russiagate institutionalized one of the worst ethical loopholes in journalism, which used to be limited mainly to local crime reporting. Its always been a problem that we publish mugshots and names of people merely arrested but not yet found guilty. Those stories live forever online and even the acquitted end up permanently unable to get jobs, smeared as thieves, wife-beaters, drunk drivers, etc.

With Russiagate the national press abandoned any pretense that theres a difference between indictment and conviction. The most disturbing story involved Maria Butina. Here authorities and the press shared responsibility. Thanks to an indictment that initially said the Russian traded sex for favors, the Times and other outlets flooded the news cycle with breathless stories about a redheaded slut-temptress come to undermine democracy, a real-life Red Sparrow, as ABC put it.

But a judge threw out the sex charge after five minutes when it turned out to be based on a single joke text to a friend who had taken Butinas car for inspection.

Its pretty hard to undo public perception youre a prostitute once its been in a headline, and, worse, the headlines are still out there. You can still find stories like Maria Butina, Suspected Secret Agent, Used Sex in Covert Plan online in the New York Times.

Here a reporter might protest: how would I know? Prosecutors said she traded sex for money. Why shouldnt I believe them?

How about because, authorities have been lying their faces off to reporters since before electricity! It doesnt take much investigation to realize the main institutional sources in the Russiagate mess  the security services, mainly  have extensive records of deceiving the media.

As noted before, from World War I-era tales of striking union workers being German agents to the missile gap that wasnt (the gap was leaked to the press before the Soviets had even one operational ICBM) to the Gulf of Tonkin mess to all the smears of people like Martin Luther King, its a wonder newspapers listen to whispers from government sources at all.

In the Reagan years National Security Adviser John Poindexter spread false stories about Libyan terrorist plots to The Wall Street Journal and other papers. In the Bush years, Dick Cheney et al were selling manure by the truckload about various connections between Iraq and al-Qaeda, infamously including a story that bomber Mohammed Atta met with Iraqi intelligence officials in Prague.

The New York Times ran a story that Atta was in Prague in late October of 2001, even giving a date of the meeting with Iraqis, April 8, or just five months before the terrorist attacks. The Prague story was another example of a tale that seemed shaky because American officials were putting the sourcing first on foreign intelligence, then on reporters themselves. Cheney cited the Prague report in subsequent TV appearances, one of many instances of feeding reporters tidbits and then selling reports as independent confirmation.

It wasnt until three years later, in 2004, that Times reporter James Risen definitively killed the Atta-in-Prague canard (why is it always Prague?) in a story entitled No evidence of meeting with Iraqi. By then, of course, it was too late. The Times also held a major dissenting piece by Risen about the WMD case, C.I.A. Aides Feel Pressure in Preparing Iraqi Reports, until days after war started. This is what happens when you start thumbing the scale.

This failure to demand specifics has been epidemic in Russiagate, even when good reporters have been involved. One of the biggest revelations of this era involved a story that was broken first by a terrible reporter (the Guardians Luke Harding) and followed up by a good one (Jane Mayer of the New Yorker). The key detail involved the elusive origin story of Russiagate.

Mayers piece, the March 12, 2018 Christopher Steele, the Man Behind The Trump Dossier in the New Yorker, impacted the public mainly by seeming to bolster the credentials of the dossier author. But it contained an explosive nugget far down. Mayer reported Robert Hannigan, then-head of the GCHQ (the British analog to the NSA) intercepted a stream of illicit communications between Trumps team and Moscow at some point prior to August 2016. Hannigan flew to the U.S. and briefed CIA director John Brennan about these communications. Brennan later testified this inspired the original FBI investigation.

When I read that, a million questions came to mind, but first: what did illicit mean?

If something illicit had been captured by GCHQ, and this led to the FBI investigation (one of several conflicting public explanations for the start of the FBI probe, incidentally), this would go a long way toward clearing up the nature of the collusion charge. If they had something, why couldnt they tell us what it was? Why didnt we deserve to know?

I asked the Guardian: Was any attempt made to find out what those communications were? How was the existence of these communications confirmed? Did anyone from the Guardian see or hear these intercepts, or transcripts?

Their one-sentence reply:

The Guardian has strict and rigorous procedures when dealing with source material.

Thats the kind of answer youd expect from a transnational bank, or the army, not a newspaper.

I asked Mayer the same questions. She was more forthright, noting that, of course, the story had originally been broken by Harding, whose own report said the precise nature of these exchanges has not been made public.

She added that afterwards I independently confirmed aspects of [Hardings piece] with several well-informed sources, and spent months on the Steele story [and] traveled to the UK twice for it. But, she wrote, the Russiagate story, like all reporting on sensitive national security issues, is difficult.

I can only infer she couldnt find out what illicit meant despite proper effort. The detail was published anyway. It may not have seemed like a big deal, but I think it was.

To be clear, I dont necessarily disbelieve the idea that there were illicit contacts between Trump and Russians in early 2015 or before. But if there were such contacts, I cant think of any legitimate reason why their nature should be withheld from the public.

If authorities can share reasons for concern with foreign countries like Israel, why should American voters not be so entitled? Moreover the idea that we need to keep things secret to protect sources and methods and tradecraft (half the press corps became expert in goofy spy language over the last few years, using terms like SIGINT like theyve known them their whole lives), why are we leaking news of our ability to hear Russian officials cheering Trumps win?

Failure to ask follow-up questions happened constantly with this story. One of the first reports that went sideways involved a similar dynamic: the contention that some leaked DNC emails were forgeries.

MSNBCs Intelligence commentator Malcolm Nance, perhaps the most enthusiastic source of questionable #Russiagate news this side of Twitter conspiracist Louise Mensch, tweeted on October 11, 2016: #PodestaEmails are already proving to be riddled with obvious forgeries & #blackpropaganda not even professionally done.

As noted in The Intercept and elsewhere, this was re-reported by the likes of David Frum (a key member of the club that has now contributed to both the WMD and Russiagate panics) and MSNBC host Joy Reid. The reports didnt stop until roughly October of 2016, among other things because the Clinton campaign kept suggesting to reporters the emails were fake. This could have been stopped sooner if examples of a forgery had been demanded from the Clinton campaign earlier.

Another painful practice that became common was failing to confront your own sources when news dispositive to what theyve told you pops up. The omnipresent Clapper told Chuck Todd on March 5, 2017, without equivocation, that there had been no FISA application involving Trump or his campaign. I can deny it, he said.

It soon after came out this wasnt true. The FBI had a FISA warrant on Carter Page. This was not a small misstatement by Clapper, because his appearance came a day after Trump claimed in a tweet hed had his wires tapped. Trump was widely ridiculed for this claim, perhaps appropriately so, but in addition to the Page news, it later came out there had been a FISA warrant of Paul Manafort as well, during which time Trump may have been the subject of incidental surveillance.

Whether or not this was meaningful, or whether these warrants were justified, are separate questions. The important thing is, Clapper either lied to Todd, or else he somehow didnt know the FBI had obtained these warrants. The latter seems absurd and unlikely. Either way, Todd ought to been peeved and demanded an explanation. Instead, he had Clapper back on again within months and gave him the usual softball routine, never confronting him about the issue.

Reporters repeatedly got burned and didnt squawk about it. Where are the outraged stories about all the scads of anonymous people familiar with the matter who put reporters in awkward spots in the last years? Why isnt McClatchy demanding the heads of whatever four people with knowledge convinced them to double down on the Cohen-in-Prague story?

Why isnt every reporter who used New Knowledge as a source about salacious Russian troll stories out for their heads (or the heads of the congressional sources who passed this stuff on), after reports they faked Russian trolling? How is it possible NBC and other outlets continued to use New Knowledge as a source in stories identifying antiwar Democrat Tulsi Gabbard as a Russian-backed candidate?

How do the Guardians editors not already have Hardings head in a vice for hanging them out to dry on the most dubious un-retracted story in modern history  the tale that the most watched human on earth, Julian Assange, had somehow been visited in the Ecuadorian embassy by Paul Manafort without leaving any record? Id be dragging Hardings well placed source into the office and beating him with a hose until he handed them something that would pass for corroborating evidence.

The lack of blowback over episodes in which reporters were put in public compromised situations speaks to the overly cozy relationships outlets had with official sources. Too often, it felt like a team effort, where reporters seemed to think it was their duty to take the weight if sources pushed them to overreach. They had absolutely no sense of institutional self-esteem about this.

Being on any team is a bad look for the press, but the press being on team FBI/CIA is an atrocity, Trump or no Trump. Why bother having a press corps at all if youre going to go that route?

This posture all been couched as anti-Trump solidarity, but really, did former CIA chief John Brennan  the same Brennan who should himself have faced charges for lying to congress about hacking the computers of Senate staff  need the press to whine on his behalf when Trump yanked his security clearance? Did we need the press to hum Aretha Franklin tunes, as ABC did, and chide Trump for lacking R-E-S-P-E-C-T for the CIA? We dont have better things to do than that work?

This catalogue of factual errors and slavish stenography will stand out when future analysts look back at why the MSM became a joke during this period, but they were only a symptom of a larger problem. The bigger issue was a radical change in approach.

A lot of #Russiagate coverage became straight-up conspiracy theory, what Baker politely called connecting the dots. This was allowed because the press committed to a collusion narrative from the start, giving everyone cover to indulge in behaviors that would never be permitted in normal times.

Such was the case with Jonathan Chaits #Russiagate opus, PRUMP TUTIN: Will Trump be Meeting With his Counterpart  or his Handler? The story was also pitched as What if Trump has been a Russian asset since 1987, which recalls the joke from The Wire: Yo, Herc, what if your mother and father never met? What if isnt a good place to be in this business.

This cover story (!) in New York magazine was released in advance of a planned face-to-face summit between Trump and Putin, and posited Trump had been under Russian control for decades. Chait noted Trump visited the Soviet Union in 1987 and came back fired up with political ambition. He offered the possibility that this was a coincidence, but added:

Indeed, it seems slightly insane to contemplate the possibility that a secret relationship between Trump and Russia dates back this far. But it cant be dismissed completely.

I searched the Chait article up and down for reporting that would justify the suggestion Trump had been a Russian agent dating back to the late eighties, when, not that it matters, Russia was a different country called the Soviet Union.

Only two facts in the piece could conceivably have been used to support the thesis: Trump met with a visiting Soviet official in 1986, and visited the Soviet Union in 1987. Thats it. Thats your cover story.

Worse, Chaits theory was first espoused in Lyndon Larouches Elephants and Donkeys newsletter in 1987, under a headline, Do Russians have a Trump card? This is barrel-scraping writ large.

Its a mania. Putin is literally in our underpants. Maybe, if were lucky, New York might someday admit its report claiming Russians set up an anti-masturbation hotline to trap and blackmail random Americans is suspicious, not just because it seems absurd on its face, but because its source is the same New Knowledge group that admitted to faking Russian influence operations in Alabama.

But what retraction is possible for the Washington Post headline, How will Democrats cope if Putin starts playing dirty tricks for Bernie Sanders (again)? How to reverse Rachel Maddows spiel about Russia perhaps shutting down heat across America during a cold wave? Theres no correction for McCarthyism and fearmongering.

This ultimately will be the endgame of the Russia charade. They will almost certainly never find anything like the wild charges and Manchurian Candidate theories elucidated in the Steele report. But the years of panic over the events of 2016 will lead to radical changes in everything from press regulation to foreign policy, just as the WMD canard led to torture, warrantless surveillance, rendition, drone assassination, secret budgets and open-ended, undeclared wars from Somalia to Niger to Syria. The screw-ups will be forgotten, but accelerated vigilance will remain.

Its hard to know what policy changes are appropriate because the reporting on everything involving the Russian threat in the last two to three years has been so unreliable.

I didnt really address the case that Russia hacked the DNC, content to stipulate it for now. I was told early on that this piece of the story seemed solid, but even that assertion has remained un-bolstered since then, still based on an assessment by the intelligence services that always had issues, including the use of things like RTs anti-American coverage of fracking as part of its case. The government didnt even examine the DNCs server, the kind of detail that used to make reporters nervous.

We wont know how much of any of this to take seriously until the press gets out of bed with the security services and looks at this whole series of events all over again with fresh eyes, as journalists, not political actors. That means being open to asking what went wrong with this story, in addition to focusing so much energy on Trump and Russia.

The WMD mess had massive real-world negative impact, leading to over a hundred thousand deaths and trillions in lost taxpayer dollars. Unless Russiagate leads to a nuclear conflict, were unlikely to ever see that level of consequence.

Still, Russiagate has led to unprecedented cooperation between the government and Internet platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Google, all of which are censoring pages on the left, right, and in between in the name of preventing the sowing of discord. The story also had a profound impact on the situation in places like Syria, where Russian and American troops have sat across the Euphrates River from one another, two amped-up nuclear powers at a crossroads.

As a purely journalistic failure, however, WMD was a pimple compared to Russiagate. The sheer scale of the errors and exaggerations this time around dwarfs the last mess. Worse, its led to most journalists accepting a radical change in mission. Weve become sides-choosers, obliterating the concept of the press as an independent institution whose primary role is sorting fact and fiction.

We had the sense to eventually look inward a little in the WMD affair, which is the only reason we escaped that episode with any audience left. Is the press even capable of that kind of self-awareness now? WMD damaged our reputation. If we dont turn things around, this story will destroy it.

Matthew C. Taibbi is an American author and journalist. Taibbi has reported on politics, media, finance, and sports, and has authored several books.

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Pompeo: Possible God Sent Trump to Be Savior of Israel





Insists US has a 'moral obligation' to ensure Israeli security



By Jason Ditz

March 24, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - In an unusually frank look at the theology underpinning US policy in the Middle East, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, during his visit to Israel said he believes that it is possible that God sent President Trump to Earth as a  savior  to protect Israel from Iran, adding  I am confident that the Lord is at work here. 



This is not the first time the Trump Administration has tried to pin a divine endorsement on Trump, with Press Secretary Sarah Sanders previously saying that God is the one who wanted Trump to be president in the first place.



Pompeo tried to compare Trump favorably with the biblical Queen Esther, a Persian imperial queen who convinces her husband to rescue the Jews from Haman. This comes amid Israels Purim holiday, commemorating exactly this religious event.

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In further talks with Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Pompeo added that he believes the US has a moral obligation to ensure the security of Israel, and that the US acts on a daily basis on Israels behalf.



This suggests that the Trump Administration believes supporting Israel is effectively a religious duty, and furthermore that Trump has been appointed personally by God to enact his will, which is in some way hostile toward Iran. Fortunately, this appears to have been the exact policy Trump was inclined toward in the first place.

Jason Ditz is news editor of Antiwar.com.

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134 Fulani Herders Killed by Gunmen in Central Mali, Worst Violence Yet

BAMAKOGunmen killed at least 134 Fulani herders in central Mali on Saturday, March 23, a local mayor said, the deadliest such attack in recent times in a region reeling from worsening ethnic and terrorist violence.

The assaults on the villages of Ogossagou and Welingara took place as a U.N. Security Council mission visited Mali seeking solutions to the violence that killed hundreds of civilians last year and is spreading across West Africas Sahel region.

Gunmen kill over 100 villagers amid escalating violence in Mali https://t.co/JC7H756eDB pic.twitter.com/pnXMgp2UmY  1 Click Par (@1clickpar) March 24, 2019

UN: More than 130 killed in Mali ethnic attack on Fulani village https://t.co/VFhLgNUWr3 pic.twitter.com/NFb4TJjcli  Al Jazeera News (@AJENews) March 24, 2019

Moulaye Guindo, mayor of the nearby town of Bankass, said armed men, dressed as traditional Donzo hunters, encircled and attacked Ogossagou at about 4 a.m.

We are provisionally at 134 bodies recovered by the gendarmes, Guindo told Reuters by telephone from Ogossagou.

He said another nearby Fulani village, Welingara, had also been attacked, causing a number of deaths, but he did not yet know how many.

Security sources said the dead included pregnant women, children, and the elderly.

One Ogossagou resident, who asked not to be identified, said the attack appeared to be in retaliation for an al Qaeda affiliates claim of responsibility on Friday for a raid last week that killed 23 soldiers.

That group said that raid was payback for violence by Malis army and militiamen against the Fulani.

Terrorist groups linked to al Qaeda and ISIS have exploited ethnic rivalries in Mali and its neighbors Burkina Faso and Niger in recent years to boost recruitment and render vast swathes of territory virtually ungovernable.

French forces intervened in Mali, a former French colony, in 2013 to push back an extremist advance from the desert north, but the terrorists have since regrouped and expanded their presence into central Mali and the neighboring countries.

Some 4,500 French troops remain based in the wider Sahel, most of them in Mali. The United States also has hundreds of troops in the region.

Security Council ambassadors met with Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and other government officials on Friday evening to discuss the violence and the slow implementation of a 2015 peace agreement with non-ISIS armed groups.

Clear sense of frustration among many Security Council members at pace of implementation of Mali Peace Agreement, Britains representative on the mission, Stephen Hickey, wrote on Twitter. Security Council prepared to impose sanctions on those who impede its implementation.

By Tiemoko Diallo
2-Year-Old Boy Left in Vegetative State After Being Battered by Moms Boyfriend

A 2-year-old boy from Texas was beaten up so severely by his mothers partner that hes been left in a vegetative state where he can feel nothing but pain, said the family.

Thomas Sullivan was rushed to the intensive care unit of the Texas Childrens Hospital in Houston in September 2018 for his injuries resulting from the abuse. The toddler suffered from severe head trauma, a lacerated liver, multiple fractures, and burns, reported Daily Mail. Doctors say the child will endure permanent mental and physical disabilities due to the abuse.

Thomass aunt, Sarah Sullivan, told the Courier that her nephew is only only responsive to pain.

Boy, 2, battered into vegetative state where all he can feel is pain by mums abusive boyfriendToddler Thomas  The Voice For The Voiceless  2019323

[Thomas] breathes on his own, and then he stops. Hes not doing well. Hes going to live, but they said we need to prepare for him to be in this state for the rest of his life, she told the news website.

Thomass 3-year-old sister, Amery, also suffered similar abuse and sustained multiple injuries to her stomach as well as fractures to her pelvis and ribs. Sullivan told Metro that the 3-year-old had been kicked in the stomach and had to undergo kidney surgery to repair her organs.

Police arrested Adam Thomas, the boyfriend of the childrens mother, last autumn. They also discovered that the 28-year-old had a prior history of abusing and burning other young children who were similar in age to Amery and Thomas, reported the news website.

Theres a Devil Loose: Boyfriend of Texas Woman Gets 2 Life Sentences After Subjecting her Children to Physical Abuse that Left 2-Year-Old Boy in Vegetative State; Mother Sentenced to 20 Years https://t.co/M4FFILbnnw pic.twitter.com/NpPdNF20yr  BCNN1 (@bcnn1) March 23, 2019

Investigators said Adam tried to claim the siblings injuries were sustained through a series of accidents, such as falling down the stairs, falling off a toy wagon or playing too hard on a slip-and-slide at a birthday party. They believe the abuse had occurred over several weeks.

In February this year, Adam was handed down two life sentences for child abuse. Police said he also conspired with the childrens mother, Denis Rae Watson, to lie to police about the abuse and even wrote a script detailing the types of explanations for the childrens injuries.

The 26-year-old mother eventually cooperated with the police, testified against her boyfriend, and admitted to authorities about failing to seek care for the siblings. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison on March 7, reported the news website.

Something yall need to be aware of, is.that go fund me keeps track of all transactions made and every penny goes to my  Sarah Kathleen Sullivan  2019323

In a heartfelt Facebook post, Sullivan said Thomas is still in the hospital with a 24/7 nurse, while the family has hired a lawyer to fight Child Protective Services for Amerys custody.

Sullivan has set up a GoFundMe account to help cover Thomas and Amerys medical costs.
American Airlines extends Boeing 737 MAX flight cancellations through April 24

American Airlines said Sunday it will extend flight cancellation through April 24 because of the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX after two fatal crashes since October and cut some additional flights.

American, the largest U.S. carrier, said it is canceling about 90 flights a day. American is the second-largest U.S. operator of the MAX in the United States with 24 jets, behind Southwest Airlines with 34.

American said earlier this month it was flying about 85 flights a day out of its 6,700 daily departures on 737 MAX planes when the grounded was announced.

The airline said it was making the announcement to provide more certainty to our customers and team members and better protect our customers on other flights to their final destination.

Boeing Co is expected as early as Monday to formally disclose a planned upgrade to its anti-stall system to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that has been in the works since Octobers Lion Air crash but still needs approval from U.S. regulators.

The FAA has said it plans to mandate the upgrade by April, but it is still not clear if the upgrade will address any issues after the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash.

American, Southwest and United Airlines were all meeting with Boeing this weekend to review the software upgrade, Reuters reported Saturday.

The FAA said earlier the design changes would result in flight control system enhancements that will provide reduced reliance on procedures associated with required pilot memory items.

Reuters reported Thursday the upgrade will include a previously optional warning light. Many airlines, including American, already had the optional light.

By David Shepardson

Boeing, FAA Officials Called to Testify in US Senate on 737 MAX Plane Crashes

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia/JAKARTA, Indonesia/WASHINGTONBoeing Co. faced growing pressure in Washington on March 20 as U.S. lawmakers called for executives to testify about two crashed 737 MAX jets while the worlds biggest planemaker worked on returning the grounded fleet to the skies.

The Senate hearing, at an unspecified date, would be the first time that a U.S. congressional committee has called Boeing executives to appear for questioning about 737 MAX passenger plane crashes in October in Indonesia and March 10 in Ethiopia.

On March 27, the same panel, the Senate Commerce subcommittee on aviation and space, also will question U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials. They will likely be asked why the regulator agreed to certify the MAX planes in March 2017 without requiring extensive additional training.

Meanwhile, the FAA on March 20 sent a notification to global aviation authorities saying the installation of Boeings new automatic flight software in the grounded jets and related training was a priority for the agency.

The Ethiopian Airlines crash has shaken the global aviation industry and cast a shadow over the flagship Boeing model intended to be a standard for decades to come, given parallels with the Lion Air calamity off Jakarta in October. The two crashes killed 346 people in all.

Boeing was sued on March 20 in federal court in Chicago by the estate of one of the Lion Air crash victims in which the plaintiffs referred to the Ethiopian crash to support a wrongful death claim against the company. A Boeing spokesman said the company does not respond to or comment on, questions concerning legal matters.

Also on March 20, the Seattle Times reported the Federal Bureau of Investigation was joining the investigation into the MAXs certification. An FBI spokeswoman in Seattle would neither confirm nor deny that it was a part of any investigation.

Criminal prosecutors at the U.S. Justice Department, who are also investigating the FAAs oversight of Boeing, have issued multiple subpoenas to Boeing in an effort to find out more about how the MAX was certified and marketed, CNN reported late on March 20, citing sources briefed on the matter.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon Inspector General said it would investigate a complaint that Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive, violated ethical rules by allegedly promoting Boeing while in office.

Software Upgrade

Chicago-headquartered Boeing has promised a swift update of software, but regulators in Europe and Canada are shifting away from previous reliance on FAA vetting, saying they will now seek their own guarantees of the MAX planes safety.

Aviation experts suspect an automated system, meant to stop stalling by dipping the nose, may be involved in both cases, with pilots struggling to override it as their jets plunged downwards.

But they stress neither investigation is complete and crew actions and training will also be closely scrutinized.

As Ethiopian investigators pored over black box data from their crash, sources with knowledge of the doomed Lion Air cockpit voice recorder revealed how pilots searched a manual to figure out why they were hurtling down to sea.

Investigators examining the Indonesian crash want to know how a computer ordered the plane to dive in response to data from a faulty sensor and whether pilots had enough training to respond appropriately.

Boeing has said there was a documented procedure to handle the problem.

A different crew on the same plane the previous evening had the same situation but solved it after running through three checklists, though they did not pass on that information to the doomed Indonesian crew, a preliminary report in November said.

Regulators want to be absolutely sure of Boeings new automated control system, known as MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System), and that pilots are fully prepared to handle it. MCAS is meant to prevent a loss of lift which can cause an aerodynamic stall and send the plane downwards in an uncontrolled way.

Facing high-profile scrutiny, Boeing reshuffled executives in its commercial airplanes unit to focus on its response.

The FAA said its robust processes and full collaboration with the aviation community were key to safety worldwide.

As with the Indonesia flight, the Ethiopian crew radioed about control problems shortly after take-off and sought to turn back, struggling to get their plane on track before it hit a field. Ethiopias civil aviation head Wosenyeleh Hunegnaw said he expected a report on the investigation within 30 days.

For now, more than 350 MAX aircraft are grounded, and deliveries of nearly 5,000 moreworth more than $500 billionare on hold.

Development of the 737 MAX began in 2011 after the launch by its main rival of the Airbus A320neo. The MAX entered service in 2017.

While some airlines are worried about the impact on profits, they have been able to keep services going, swapping MAX planes for others, or using partner carriers.

By Maggie Fick, Cindy Silviana & David Shepardson
FDA: Avocados Recalled Over Listeria Concerns

A California-based firm said it is recalling California-grown avocados over possible listeria contamination.

In a news release on March 24 on the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) website, the Henry Avocado Corporation said it is recalling the product as a precaution after tests for Listeria monocytogenes came back positive.

The tests were done as part of a routine government inspection at its packing facility in California, the company said.

RECALL ALERT: Your avocados may be contaminated  FOX 5 San Diego  2019323

We are voluntarily recalling our products and taking every action possible to ensure the safety of consumers who eat our avocados, said Phil Henry, the president of Henry Avocado.

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the recall.

The recalled products were packed in California and were distributed to Arizona, California, Florida, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Wisconsin, according to the companys notice.

All shipments from Henrys California facility are subject to the recall. The firm said it didnt start packing at the California facility until January 2019.

Avocados imported from Mexico and were distributed by Henry Avocado are not subject to the recall, the firm said, adding that those avocados can be sold and consumed.

Consumers can identify the recalled products with the Bravocado stickers. They are organic and labeled as organic and include California on the sticker, the company said.

Check your avocados for the Bravocado label on the sticker  KOLD News 13  2019323

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), listeria can be fatal sometimes.

Individuals who are particularly at risk of the bacteria are children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.

You should seek medical care and tell the doctor about eating possibly contaminated food if you have a fever and other symptoms of possible listeriosis, such as fatigue and muscle aches, within two months after eating possibly contaminated food, the CDC says. This is especially important if you are pregnant, age 65 or older, or have a weakened immune system.

Symptoms of listeriosis include a headache, high fever, diarrhea, nausea, and abdominal pain.

Consumers who have purchased Henrys recalled avocados are urged not to consume them, but to discard them or return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with further questions can contact Henry Avocado at (760) 745-6632, Ext 132 or visit www.henryavocado.com/media.

Henry Avocado said it is working with federal and California health officials to recall the avocados.

Other details were not provided.

More Recent Recalls

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that a recall was issued for a brand of baby cough syrup sold by Dollar General stores across the United States.

The reason for the recall is that the product has the potential to be contaminated by a form of bacteria that could be deadly, according to a notice published on the health agencys website.

Vomiting and diarrhea are the symptoms of the bacterial infection, but, according to the FDA, it could be fatal in serious cases.

Kingston Pharma of Massena, New York, is recalling 2-fluid ounce (59 mL) bottles of DG/health NATURALS baby Cough Syrup + Mucus, the FDA said.

Meanwhile, last week, Tyson recalled nearly 70,000 pounds of chicken strips because they might contain metal.

The Arkansas-based company said it was recalling 69,093 pounds of frozen, ready-to-eat chicken products.

The products may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically pieces of metal, the Department of Agricultures Food Safety and Inspection Service announced.

The products were produced on Nov. 30, 2018. The problem was discovered when two people who bought the strips sent complaints to the service about the metal.
A view of of the heavily damaged spillway at Lake Oroville on April 11, 2017 in Oroville, Calif. on April 11, 2017. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

California Resident Files Injunction to Prevent Dynamite Blasting at Oroville Dam

YUBA CITY, Calif.A resident filed an injunction to prevent construction blasting using explosives near the Oroville Dam on March 22 at Butte County Superior Court, after becoming worried the public work could cause the collapse of the dam.

The injunction was filed by plaintiff Paul Preston against defendant California Department of Water Resource (DWR).

Oroville Dam, which sits at 770 feet, is the tallest in the United States, 44 feet higher than the Hoover Dam. The collapse of the dam could potentially cause the loss of billions of dollars of property and tens of thousands of lives.

This is not the first time people have voiced concerns about the dam. In February 2017, Butte County Sheriff ordered an emergency evacuation of more than 100,000 residents, based on a near-disaster assessment of possible dam collapse caused by liquefaction.

The repair of Oroville Dam after last years near-disaster condition has reportedly cost more than $1 billion dollars.

This year, residents have been closely watching the dam and its spillways, and they have again found water seepages on the surface of the spillway pavement.

Dam Failure Not Due to Natural Disaster

Preston, in the document for his injunction court filing, claimed that 2017 failure of Oroville Dam [was] not due to natural disaster.

The document included a long list of reasons to support Prestons claim, including the 2017 FEMA conclusion that DWR has not provided sufficient documentation to demonstrate that the Upper [spillway] Chute was damaged as a direct result of the [natural] disaster.

After filing the injunction, Preston told The Epoch Times that many of his neighbors were very concerned about the dams safety.

Preston is a radio talk show host at the Agenda 21 radio station and has been closely following news of the dam. After he received the notice from DWR on Fridays scheduled explosive blast, he decided to take legal action against DWR in court.

The Epoch Times contacted the Oroville Dam Control Center Friday morning. Liza Whitmore, the Public Affairs Office spokesperson, confirmed that there was a blast scheduled for Friday afternoon.

Whitmore said that the scheduled Friday blast was a normal operation as a part of the ongoing reconstruction of the two spillways. She said there are rocks and boulders near the spillway that need to be blasted apart so that the construction team can revegetate the hillside.

Whitmore also stated that the concrete slab on the spillway is seven and a half feet in thickness, and the water seepage from the spillway gates is normal. She said the DWR sees no problems from the water seepage and the scheduled construction blasts.

Explosive Blasts Cancelled

The Epoch Times was later told by plaintiff Preston that after the injunction was filed Friday around noon, the scheduled blast did not happen.

Preston said that a court hearing was scheduled on Monday, March 25.

Lake Oroville, with the capacity of storing more than 3.5 million acre feet of water, is the second largest man-made lake in the state of California. The dam was built by the California DWR in the 60s.

In Oct. 2017, the DWR was given the tongue-in-cheek California Golden Fleece Award (CGFA) for its mismanagement of Oroville Dam with an alleged patch and pray approach to dam safety.

The CGFA award is given out quarterly by The Independent Institute (TII) to California state or local agencies or government projects that swindle taxpayers or break the public trust. TII is a non-profit and non-partisan public policy research and educational organization based in Oakland, California.

California has been reportedly under heavy rain and snow in the spring of 2019. Watts Up With That (WUWT), which claims to be the worlds most viewed site on global warming and climate change, reported on March 3 that California snowpack was 185% of normal.

This years heavy snowpack, with the ongoing repair of 2017s near-disaster condition on the dam, has brought many concerns to the residents living in the downstream areas of Oroville Dam.
Chalkboards Made in 1917 Found Oklahoma City School, Leave Workers Flabbergasted

Workers renovating a high school in Oklahoma City were stunned to find chalkboards from the early 1900s behind the walls.

The series of chalkboards, that appear to have been used in 1917, were discovered in three classrooms at Emerson High School.

Counting down until Christmas 1917. Drawings nearly 100 years old found during MAPS construction. pic.twitter.com/2nV7hq8foL  OKC Public Schools (@OKCPS) June 5, 2015

They feature lessons on math, reading, music, and handwriting. According to reports, there was a picture of a turkey as the markings were made right after Thanksgiving in 1917.

There are also rules for keeping clean, a drawing of a little girl blowing bubbles, and a history lesson about the Pilgrims.

I was like, Oh my God, and then I got goosebumps and then I had tears in my eyes, Principal Sherry Kishore told KFOR.

Music lesson from 1917. pic.twitter.com/bVRqU2hmT0  OKC Public Schools (@OKCPS) June 5, 2015

Written on one of the boards is a pledge that goes: I give my head, my heart, and my life to my God, and one nation, indivisible, with justice for all.

Math teacher Sherry Read told NPR she believes that the chalkboard drawings and lessons were left for a reason.

You would have cleaned off your board so you could be ready the next day to come back and teach, Read said. So I think they left them on there on purpose to send a message to us, to say, This is what was going on in our time.'

You find a lesson on pilgrims in every classroom. There was #aligned curriculum in #1917. pic.twitter.com/MurjKd8n6i  OKC Public Schools (@OKCPS) June 5, 2015

The time that teachers must have spent preparing for their lessons is amazing to me, Kishore said after seeing all the details on the boards.

Her 85-year-old mother, a retired schoolteacher, also shed tears after seeing the boards.

She just stood there and cried, Kishore told The Oklahoman.

Kishore said the markings were exactly like her classroom was when she was going to school.

It was almost like a spiritual moment because people who had lived and played and worked in here a part of them is preserved, Kishore added.

Its like youre going back in time.

NPR has more on the finding, saying there was also a list of students names on the board.

Math teacher Sherry Read said, Were not sure if that meant they were good students for the day, or they accomplished that. Or were their names up there because they were bad for the day?

The pictures on the board were described as fragile: A simple brush with an arm can wipe them away.

Jeff Briley of the Oklahoma Historical Society told the news outlet that the rooms need to be secured by placing an acrylic glass over the chalkboards. He added that theyre too fragile to move.

Theyre meant to be fleeting, he told NPR. Chalk on a blackboard is not meant as a permanent media at all.

Other details arent clear.
Conclusion of Special Counsel Probe Puts Focus on Origins of FBIs Investigation

News Analysis

Special counsel Robert Muellers nearly two-year-long investigation concluded on March 22 with a report to Attorney General William Barr that recommended no further indictments.

The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities, the report states.

None of Muellers prior indictments involved collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The news confirms reporting by The Epoch Times over the past two years that there was no evidence to support the claim that Trump colluded with Russia.

Instead, serious questions have arisen about the origins of the FBIs investigation of the Trump campaign, as well as the bureaus use of politicized information in obtaining a FISA warrant to spy on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz confirmed last week that his office is still investigating the potential FISA abuse by the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Andrew McCabe and the Start of the Mueller Probe

A crucial figure in the FBIs counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign was FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

McCabe held meetings with the key people involved in the investigation, such as FBI agent Peter Strzok, outside of the regular chain of command, and was personally involved in the FBIs FISA warrant application on Carter Page.

One of those meetings was described in the now infamous insurance policy text message in which Strzok described to Lisa PageMcCabes special counsel with whom Strzok was having an affaira meeting that took place in Andys (McCabes) office:

I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andys office  that theres no way he gets elected  but Im afraid we cant take that risk. Its like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before youre 40.

McCabe and Strzok had previously worked together at the FBIs Washington Field Office. Just months after McCabe was transferred to headquarters, Strzok was transferred to rejoin McCabe to work on the FBIs investigation into Hillary Clintons use of a private email server to send classified information.

McCabes actions as the acting FBI director also appear to have led to the appointment of the special counsel.

McCabe became acting director after Trump fired James Comey on May 9, 2017, at the recommendation of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

Just two days later, McCabe testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee in a pre-scheduled appearance. In his testimony, McCabe said there had been no effort to impede our investigation to date.

Yet despite McCabes statement that there had been no obstruction from the White House, he appears to have pursued opening an obstruction of justice investigation of Trump just days later. During a May 16 meeting with Rosenstein, McCabe reportedly tried to push for the Justice Department to open an investigation into the president, as relayed by a participant at the meeting to The Washington Post.

Rosenstein would meet later that same day with former FBI Director Robert Mueller and President Trump in the oval office, ostensibly as part of Muellers interview for the position of FBI director.

The next day, Rosenstein announced the appointment of Mueller as special counsel.

The special counsel probe, in essence, took away control of the investigation from the FBI under Acting Director McCabe and placed it in the hands of Mueller.

This was confirmed by the DOJ in a statement last month that read, The deputy attorney general in fact appointed special counsel Robert Mueller, and directed that Mr. McCabe be removed from any participation in that investigation.

This sequence of events was first reported by Epoch Times contributor Jeff Carlson in a Dec. 7, 2018, article.

The Steele Dossier

At the heart of the FBIs investigation of the Trump campaign was the so-called Steele dossier produced by Fusion GPS.

The firm had been hired by Perkins Coie on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to produce the dossier. Fusion GPS, in turn, had hired former British MI6 agent Christopher Steele to produce the dossierat least in part.

Steele, alongside Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson, was instrumental in spreading the dossier and the allegations contained in it to the media, politicians, the FBI, and the State Department.

Notably, the FBI relied heavily on the dossier to obtain the FISA warrant on Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

One of the ways that Simpson and Steele spread the unverified information to the FBI was through high-ranking DOJ official Bruce Ohr. At the time, Ohrs wife, Nellie Ohra former CIA contractorwas hired by Fusion GPS to research the Trump campaign.

The Ohrs, Steele, and one other individual, whose identity is not known, met over breakfast on July 30, 2016.

Ohr recalled the meeting to congressional investigators in August last year, saying:

In the July 30th conversation, one of the items of information that Chris Steele gave to me was that he had information that a former head of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, the SVR, had stated to someoneI didnt know whothat they had Donald Trump over a barrel.

In the days following the meeting, Bruce Ohr had a meeting with McCabe and Lisa Page in McCabes office.

From that point on, Ohr would continue to pass on information from Steele into the FBI. This continued even after the FBI formally terminated its relationship with Steele over his unauthorized contact with members of the media.

Ohr had been assigned an FBI handler, Joe Pientka, who summarized his meetings with Ohr in official FD-302 forms.

Notably, in the days following the firing of Comey as FBI director in May 2017, the FBI under McCabe requested that Ohr reach out to Steele. According to Ohrs testimony, this was the only time he was asked to reach out to Steelenormally the flow of information was initiated by Steele.

The decision by McCabes FBI to reach out to Steele againdespite that his dossier had become public by this point and was widely discreditedcame at the same time when he was considering investigating Trump. The attempts to re-engage Steele, however, were thwarted by the appointment of special counsel Mueller.
The New Beginnings Child Care and Academy building taken in August 2018. (Screenshot/Google Maps)

Grandmother Says Granddaughter Attacked at Detroit Day Care After Adults Left Children Alone

A grandmother is speaking only to 7 Action News after she said her 1-year-old granddaughter was pushed into a cubby hole then bitten by another child, all while teachers who were supposed to be watching the children were out of the classroom.

The incident happened at New Beginnings Child Care and Academy on Detroits west side. The childs grandmother said some employees arent doing their jobs protecting children and putting others in danger.

It was just very traumatizing to watch, Jennifer Travis said after watching surveillance video of an attack on her granddaughter.

Surveillance video on March 20 inside the child care facility shows a terrifying incident.

We watched the video of this little girl attacking my granddaughter, Travis said.

Jennifer said her 1-year-old granddaughter Melanie was left with bite marks on her left cheek, a bump on her forehead, and a scratch on the side of her nose after she was attacked inside one of the classrooms with no supervision around.

Im screaming like where are the teachers, Travis said. Theres no teachers in here. How do you care about kids, how are you in this job and you just leave out.

7 Action News reporter Alan Campbell rang the doorbell at New Beginnings Child Care and Academy.

An employee inside did not open the door.

The owner of the day care, Brenda Atterberry, later contacted 7 Action News with this statement:

Happy Birthday to my 3rd child, Brenda Atterberry, we are so proud of you. Mother of 8, such a smart girl, A Masters   Betty Jo Jones     27  2017

My staff are certified and very caring with all of the children. Unfortunately, because of one of my staff who has been working in child care for over five years and never had any incidents, she made a poor decision, which caused harm to a child. Child care licensing was notified immediately. The staff was immediately terminated.

We looked deeper into the day care and found a previous violation filed with the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA). One incident happened last July when a child was given peanut butter, even though records at the day care showed the child had a peanut allergy.

I think that it needs to be closed, Travis said. I think the owner doesnt need to run day cares.

Jennifer said shes concerned about other children still in the day care. She doesnt want what happened to her granddaughter to happen to other children.

My grandson, he had a scratch one day, its no big deal, it happens with kidsbut not to this extent, Travis said.

A police report was also filed. As for 1-year-old Melanie, the family said theyre keeping her home while they look for another day care.

YouTube Star Arrested for Allegedly Abusing 7 Adoptive Children

A YouTube star who is known for making videos featuring her seven adopted children has been arrested for allegedly physically, mentally, and sexually abusing the children, police say.

Machelle Hackney, who runs the YouTube channel Fantastic Adventures that has accumulated over 250 million views since 2012, was arrested on March 15 after officers from the Maricopa Police Department conducted a welfare check at her home in Maricopa, Arizona, according to a complaint filed, reported ABC News.

Hackney, 48, has been charged with two counts of child molestation, seven counts of child abuse, five counts of unlawful imprisonment, and five counts of child neglect.

According to court documents in Pinal County Superior Court, the welfare check occurred after Hackneys biological daughter told officers that her younger adoptive sister said she was being abused by Hackney.

Along with Hackney, her two adults sons Logan and Ryan Hackney were also taken into custody on March 15. They have both been charged with seven counts each of failing to report child abuse.

When officers arrived at Hackneys residence on March 13, they found seven children who appeared to be malnourished, due to their pale complexion, dark rings under their eyes, underweight, and they stated they were thirsty and hungry, reported ABC News. Police spoke with several children. One of them appeared too scared to answer any questions.

The children accused Hackney of locking them in a closet for days at a time without water. One of the children was made to wear a pull-up diaper and was not allowed to use the bathroom. Moreover, the children were allegedly pepper sprayed, spanked, and forced to take ice baths. If they resisted they were punished.

Police said the children told them they were taken out of school and allegedly forced to participate in their mothers YouTube series, claiming that they had not been in school for years. They would also be punished if they forgot their lines or did not follow instructions. One of the children said he was in the green screen room most of his life, the news station reported.

All seven children have been removed from Hackneys care by the Department of Child Services.

The CNN Wire and Epoch Times reporter Janita Kan contributed to this report.
Rafi Eitan, who was involved in the capture of Adolf Eichmann, an architect of the Nazi Holocaust, sits during a ceremony to mark 55 years since the Eichmann trial of at Israeli President Reuven Rivlin's residence in Jerusalem Jan. 27, 2016. (REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo)

Israeli Ex-Spy Who Helped Capture Nazi Mastermind Eichmann Dies at 92

JERUSALEMRafi Eitan, a former Israeli minister and veteran spy who led the operation to capture fugitive Nazi mastermind Adolf Eichmann, died on Saturday at the age of 92.

We have lost a brave fighter whose contribution to Israels security will be taught for generations to come, President Reuven Rivlin said.

Eitan died after being hospitalized in Tel Aviv, YNET news website and other Israeli media reported.

Eitan played an influential role in the early years of Israels intelligence agencies.

In 1960, he was in charge of the Mossad operation that led to the capture of Eichmann, an architect of the Nazi Holocaust, who was living in Argentina under an assumed identity.

Eichmann was taken to Israel where he stood trial for crimes against humanity, was found guilty and hanged.

Operation Finale, a film about Eichmann as the Nazi mastermind who fled to Argentina to work in a factory to hide the fact that he personally marched six million Jews to their extermination was released in August 2018.

Eitan was also involved in the planning and implementation of the attack on the Iraqi Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981, according to Israels Foreign Ministry.

He then headed Israels Bureau of Scientific Relations, which was involved in the scandal surrounding Jonathan Pollard, a U.S. naval intelligence analyst arrested in 1985 and sentenced in 1987 to life imprisonment for spying for Israel.

Israel has said Pollard was recruited in a rogue operation by the since-disbanded bureau. Eitan assumed responsibility for and resigned over the affair, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Eitan was elected to parliament in 2006 for three years and served as pensioners minister.

Hitler Escape

According to CIA files declassified in 2017, Adolf Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany, may have escaped Germany and lived until at least 1955 when he went to Argentina from Colombia.

According to a document that remained secret until October 2017, a source told the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency that he was contacted by a trusted friend who served under his command in Europe.

The friend told the CIA source in 1955 that Phillip Citroen, a former German SS trooper, told him that Hitler was still alive.

Read More Argentina Police Seize Trove of Hidden Nazi Artifacts

Up until the release of the JFK Assassination Files, most historians agreed that Hitler died in Germany in 1945. According to the official account, it is believed that Hitler committed suicide on April 30 when Germanys capital was surrounded by the Red Army. His body and that of his wife, Eva Braun, were carried outside, thrown into a bomb crater, doused with gasoline and burned.

When Berlin was captured in May, the bodies of Hitler, Braun, and several other top Nazi officials were repeatedly buried and exhumed. Decades later, a Soviet KGB team exhumed the corpses again, burned them, crushed them and scattered the remains into a local river.

As a result, the only confirmation that the remains belonged to Hitler was obtained through a dental analysis of the lower jaw obtained from the remains.

The CIA source is codenamed CIMELODY-3 in the document. A hand-written note on the report states that CIMELODY-3 is fairly reliable.

Additional reporting by Epoch Times reporter Ivan Pentchoukov
Home Search ICH The U.S. Deserves Its Own Nuremberg Trials By Robert Scheer March 24, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Are Americans capable of committing atrocities on the same scale as Germans did under Nazi rule? That is the question that University of San Francisco ethics professor Rebecca Gordon and Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer grapple with in the latest installment of Scheer Intelligence. Gordon, author of Mainstreaming Torture and American Nuremberg, posits that if Americas actions in the Middle East, especially in Iraq, were to be scrutinized the way Nazi Germanys crimes were probed in the aftermath of World War II, the U.S. would likely also be found guilty of crimes against humanity. Gordon begins her comparison by exploring the main charge levied against Nazis during the Nuremberg trials, which was committing a crime against peace due to Germanys breach of the 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact, which, she explains, essentially outlawed war. American prosecutors in the mid-20th century insisted that this initial crime was the unlawful act from which all other crimes committed by the Nazis originated. By comparison, the author tells Scheer, I look at the Bush-Cheney administrations decision to make an unnecessary and illegal war, both in Afghanistan and especially in Iraq. Its very clear from the documentary record that exists that the main reason people were being tortured [by the U.S. before the Iraq War began] was because they wanted to get somebody somewhere to say that Saddam Hussein was in league with al-Qaida, so that there could be an excuse for invading Iraq, Gordon says. Throughout the so-called war on terror, the ethics expert says, the U.S. has also violated several rules set forth in just-war theory, including what constitutes collateral damage and proportionality, in its slaughter of countless Iraqi civilians. We took what had been one of the most vibrant, developed and cosmopolitan countries in that part of the worldwhich was Iraqand we essentially did what [U.S. military officials] used to say they wanted to do to North Vietnam: bombed it back to the Stone Age, Gordon says. Listen to Scheer and Gordon discuss a range of moral issues that Americans for several generations have swept under the rug as the government both openly and secretly commits crimes in their name abroad. You can also read a transcript of the interview below the media player. Robert Scheer: Hi, this is Robert Scheer with another edition of Scheer Intelligence. The intelligence comes from my guests. In this case, its Rebecca Gordon. And she has her doctorate in ethics and social theory. I teach ethics at USC; you teach at the University of San Francisco, which is a Catholic school, so presumably with all their difficulties theyre still concerned about ethics. And actually we have a good pope, in major ways, whos dealing with the subject I want to talk to you about: the ethics of war making, and the violence that has been unleashed on the world. And you wrote two very important books, maybe the most important in some ways. One is called Mainstreaming Torture, and another is called American Nuremberg. So the question I want to ask you, you know, because weve always treated the crimes of others, particularly the Germans, the worst crimes of modern history, as an aberration in the development of the human race. Those people went berserk, crazy, and they were evil; now we have another category, Muslims are evil, they do terrible things. Were recording this on a day where in New Zealand, some 48 people trying to practice their religion were killed. So we see a lot of crime against Muslims, as there was obviously a lot of crimes against Jews and other people. And in your writing, youre very clear that the crimes of Nuremberg, of the Nazis, are a low level of evil. But the real question is, the Germans are so much like Americans. They werelargest number of immigrants in this country were Germans; theyre a white, Anglo-Saxon population; theyre highly educated, probably the highest level of music and science at that point. And can it happen here? Never Miss Another Story Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter Rebecca Gordon: And that, of course, is the question many of us have been asking at least since the election of 2016, and probably before that. And the answer in some ways, of course, is that it did happen here with the invasion of the Americas by people from Europe, and the destruction of all the peoples who were living here at the time. So there has been a genocide on this continent and in South America that, you know, we just forget about, because it happened a while ago. But coming to Nuremberg, what I was trying to do in the book is to say how important the principle was that was established at Nuremberg, which is that international law is real law. And when you break international law, there are genuine consequences, and people can and should be held accountable. So what I looked at was the conduct of this so-called War on Terror in the post-September 11th period, and asked: Could the United States be accused of the same categories of crimes for which the Nazi leadership were held accountable? And there were three categories that were established by the prosecution, and these were crimes against peace; ordinary war crimes, which had already been well described in the body of international law; and a new category, crimes against humanity, which was created in order to take in the enormity of what had been done in Europe by the Nazis. But what was very interesting is that it was Americans who insisted that the first of these crimes should be crimes against peace. So whats that? That means making an aggressive war. It means starting a war that was not a war of self-defense, that was not a war of so-called necessity, but making an aggressive war. Why was that illegal? It was illegal because Germany and the United States and many other countries in Europe had signed a treaty in 1928 called the KelloggBriand Treaty, which essentially outlawed war. It said that nations will not use war to settle their disputes. And the argument that the U.S. prosecutors made was that all the other crimes that the Germans committed actually sprang from this first crime of making this aggressive, unnecessary, illegal war. And so by comparison, I look at the Bush-Cheney administrations decision to make an unnecessary and illegal war, both in Afghanistan and especially in Iraq. And just as the Nazi crimes arose from this making of a war that was wrong and illegal, the U.S. crimesand specifically now because my area of expertise is torture, I look at the reasons why the United States became involved in torture. And in the beginning, its very clear from the documentary record that exists, that the main reason people were being tortured, both in the CIA dark sites and also at Guantanamo under the Department of Defense, was because they wanted to get somebody somewhere to say that Saddam Hussein was in league with Al-Qaeda, so that there could be an excuse for invading Iraq. And so the other crimes RS: But wait, lets be very clear about that. This would be like the Nazis saying, Jewish bankers destroyed our economy and colluded with Western powers, and therefore made life untenable in Germany. That was the vicious scapegoating argument to justify Nazi expansion and destruction of other societies. So this thing of whether Bushyou know, its kind of become part of folklorethey lied us into the war in Iraq. But what youre saying, and very clearly, the very idea of going to war in Iraq over the 9/11 incident, which not only did Saddam Hussein have RG: Nothing to do with. RS: nothing to do with, but actually he was opposed to Al-Qaeda, and it was the one country where Al-Qaeda could not operate in, was Iraq. But instead of going to war with Pakistan, or going to war, you know, elsewhereno. We RG: Or Saudi Arabia. RS: Well, of course, Saudi Arabia, where 15 of the 19 hijackers RG: Came from. RS: came from. You could actually make an argument to go intohey, you attacked us, you supplied the money and so forth. No, we whitewashed the Saudi Arabia thing and went to war with Iraq. So your analogy, listeners should understand, is very precise. It is inventing an excuse, a defensive excuse, to engage an offensive invasion. RG: Exactly. And from that spring all of these other kinds of crimes. So then I look at ordinary war crimes, and if you go over the Geneva Conventions and the various other laws of war, you can see that there are a number of categories of crimes. Many of them have to do with failing to make the distinction between civilians and fighters, combatants. And of course the Bush-Cheney administration very early on decided to create a third, nonexistent category called unlawful combatants. But this designation doesnt exist in the International Red Crosss understanding; it doesnt exist in the Geneva Conventions. It was just a convenient way of saying this particular group of people, whoever it is that we choose to capture, detain forever, torturethey have no legal standing in the world. They exist outside of international law. RS: So let me pick up on that also. And I dont want to lose the earlier thread of the invention of war, and connecting with this incredibly important work youve done on torture. And you made the statement, which I think people should ponder: the reason we were torturing these people was not to get information about a future attack. We already had Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and everything, we knew everything about it, and so forth. The real reason for it was to invent an alibi for the invasion, to get somebody to say Saddam Hussein was backing them. And I think thats a very importanta reason, by the way, to read your book, Mainstreaming Torture; let me give a plug here. But this other argument is also interesting, the whole idea of the noncombatant. And we are doing this interview at a time when Chelsea Manning, formerly Bradley Manning, is in prison RG: Yes. RS: again, because they want to fabricate a story about WikiLeaks and all that, and get everybody off the hook for all of the crimes and torture and everything theyve done. But the interesting thing is, if you look at what did WikiLeaksand they were just like in the position of the Washington Post with the Pentagon Papers, theyre the publisherwhat did Chelsea Manning reveal? She revealed the death of noncombatants, including journalists. So why dont you develop that a little bit, because that is so critical to the moment, that no oneno one has been prosecuted for those attacks that she revealed with the data. But she is now sitting in prison. RG: And this is, of coursethe fate of whistleblowers all over the world, and certainly in this country, is exactly that. That the matters that they have revealed disappear in a story that becomes about the crimes of the revealer. And of course in the war in Iraq, there was tremendous amounts of civilian death. And it falls into a number of categories; one category is those people who had actually been detained and were being held by U.S. forces. And for example at Abu Ghraib, we knowwhich is the prison outside of Baghdad that had been Saddam Husseins major torture site, and which the U.S. decided in its wisdom would be the perfect place to hold detainees, and where we know a group of reservists ended up torturing people. But the real torture was going on upstairs, by the employees of various C.I.A. contractors, and by the C.I.A. itself. And thats where people actually died. So theres that whole category of people, but thats a much smaller category than the category of ordinary civilians whose lives were either ended or destroyed by the regular U.S. use of warfare in places like Fallujah and other cities. So that we took what had been one of the most vibrant, developed, and cosmopolitan countries in that part of the worldwhich was Iraqand we essentially did what they used to say they wanted to do to North Vietnam, bombed it back to the Stone Age. And so in just war theory, there are these rules about discriminating between combatants and noncombatants, and you are permitted a certain number of civilian deaths as long as they are side effects of your attempt to go after some legitimate military target. And this is called collateral damage; its, collateral means on the side, right? But in fact, in Iraq, we dont know because there are many different counts, but anywhere between 500,000 and a million people have died in the U.S. invasion and occupation in Iraq. And when you lay that against the 3,000 people who died on September 11th, none of whom were killed by anyone even from Iraq, you also see that we have violated another rule of just war theory, which is proportionality. We have destroyed human life out of all proportion. RS: And let me justyou know, its so difficult to grapple with these questions. And you are teaching at one of the major Catholic universities here. RG: Its a Jesuit university, and thats a little different. And these are the left-wing Jesuits. RS: Im not putting down your school. [Laughter] Hey, I teach ethics at the University of Southern California RG: Enough said. RS: and clearly, yes, we are ethically challenged at this moment. I was about to actually celebrate the pope in this regard. And so there is a certain necessity for being consistent in the application of these principles, or they mean nothing. RG: Exactly. RS: And I think thats the body of your lifes work, to remind us of that. So in a sense, you are at a good place where youre teaching. Im just wondering, how is this disregarded so widely? I mean, people make a big deal about dont kill the unborn child. You know, I could see arguments about that. But if thats the beginning of a consistent, pro-life position, yes, it makes certain sense. If its the end of a pro-life position, and then you end welfare and you dont care what happens to the baby and so forth, youre into a deep immorality. And it seems to me youre at a very interesting place. Because for better or worse, this pope seems to be the only one able to challenge, lets call it U.S. imperialism or imperial ventures, on a moral basis. RG: I think thats right. He certainly is doing a better job of that than either of his last two predecessors. RS: Or the major RG: Other major, yeah. No, I think thats right. And I think, you know, its interesting that at USF, we have Reserve Officers Training Corps. We have people who are training to be second lieutenants when they leave university in the U.S. Army. And I have had students tell me, I had a student from Guam who told me, you know, Professor Gordon, I know that when they send me to basic training, theyre going to try to take me apart and change me from being a person into being a soldier. And I just want you to know that Im not going to let them do that to me. He said, but you know, ROTC was my ticket off the island, and I have a duty now to follow through with my promise. And I just, my heart broke for him. Because what they do to you in basic training is actually a slightly lighter version of what they do when they train torturers. Everyone who becomes a torturerand people dont just torture on a whim; people are trained to be torturers. And part of that training involves being brutalized first yourself, and having survived that ordeal, you emerge with this sense of yourself as an elite person who therefore has the right, as a superior being, and now the skills, to turn around and abuse and torture people who come along behind you. And the U.S. has its own methods of training, and its own locations where this happens. RS: [omission for station break] Im back after our break with Professor and Doctor Rebecca Gordon. And we were just talking about how we train people to be torturers. And this is fascinating, because if you dont consider this question, that youre getting basically good people to do horrible things, youre missing the whole point. But I just want to say something about the good German. Because the basic appeal of Hitler was the solidyou know, he was going to make Germany great again. And this is, Im not demonizing Germans here, but Donald Trumps father was obviously familiar with this in his lineage, in that tradition. And the whole appeal, even though this dictator Hitler was this funny-looking guy, hardly the Aryan modelwas to a notion of order. And even in the concentration camps, keeping direct bookkeeping of how many teeth you pulled and gold you found in the teeth, and so forth. But its notmanners. They had the manners. And what bothers me about the very simplistic Trumpwashing that were going through now, that Trump is uniquely evilits all about manners. Hes crude, hes boorish, hes a misogynist, he says these things, he does these things, he grabs peoples private parts, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Thats not his crime. His crime is hes continuing a tradition of bombing people who we have no right to bomb. And so I want to push this a little bit more, the whole question of manners. Because what Nuremberg did is unmask the manners. And this was also true in the Eichmann trial that Hannah Arendt talked about, when she talked about the banality of evil. Evil can be masked by manners. Smile while you learn to kill, right? RG: Thats exactly right. And I especially know, when you talk about the meticulous records that they kept, this is a hallmark of torture regimes all over the world. This very careful record-keeping, this documentation of the work thats been donebecause theres no shame about the work. The process of becoming a torturer includes developing a sense of yourself as doing something uniquely courageous, uniquely necessary, a unique sacrifice that you as the torturer, more in sorrow than in anger, are being forced to do by the tremendous evil that confronts you. And so youre absolutely right that especially among upper-class liberals in the United States, the objection to Trump is his manner, and his manner is crude and obnoxious, as you say. But what hes really doing is not only continuing to kill people, and in fact increasing the number of drone strikes, for example, over the already great number that the Obama administration RS: A man of impeccable manners. Barack Obama. I even feel that way about Bill Clinton. When Bill Clintons on television, I smile. I like him. Hes warm, hes encouraging. And then I forget, hes the guy that ended the welfare system, for example. Yes. RG: Exactly. Exactly right. And you know, Trump is now with his, I dont know if youve taken a look at his so-called budget, but hes planning to take away our Medicare and Medicaid, just in case you might have wanted to have healthcare. Obviously, thats dead on arrival. But nonetheless, the point is that he is masking what he is actually doing by distracting us with this bombastic display. And in fact, one of his officials in the EPA actually recently said exactly that, that theyve been able to make all these regulatory changes because every time it looks as though the press is going to notice, Trump fires off a tweet, and everybodys like, ooh, shiny! RS: This is a really important point. Because if you look at the Nuremberg Trial or you look at the Eichmann trial, these people all hid behind manners. They were well spoken, they were well educated, and they were following a Charlie Chaplinesque figure, a ludicrous figure; Hitler was certainly a, yes, he was a more ludicrous figure than Trump, in terms of manners and style and everything. But his popularity was largely based on being a sort of comic figure, in a way. He inspired a whole nation of logical, scientific, well-educatedprobably the best-educated population in the world. And so Ive had this experience, Ive talked to people in the business community and they say well, you know, but Trump is good for business. And we did have a mess before, and then look at whats happened to unemployment, and so forth and so on. And so we are really at the limit of manners as a guide. And thats really what Nuremberg is about. Nuremberg was unmasking manners. Now, we didnt continue after that; we had the brief Eichmann trial. But what we didnt really ever do in this countryand this is why I want people to listen or to read your book, better to read it, although listening is greatwe never really took apart the Nazi experience. Because we wanted the ex-Nazis and other Germans to be our allies in the Cold War. So we have never had that investigation of how an incredibly well-educated, Christian, law-and-order nation goes into madness. RG: Not only that, we never did what the next step was supposed to be, which is establish a venue in which U.S. war crimes could also be examined in World War II. And there were a number of people who developed the Nuremberg principles, and worked on the original trial, who really honestly believed that this would be the prelude to establishing an international court for trying offenses committed during war, and expected that the United States would in fact be held accountable, not only for the firebombing of German cities, but for the destruction of up to 60 Japanese cities which were constructed of wood and paper and reduced to ashes, in a campaign that really very few people in this country even know about. Although Robert McNamara actually describes it in that excellent documentary RS: The Fog of War, yeah. RG: The Fog of War. RS: And its excellent because you see that McNamara was involved in designing the bombing of Japan and Germany. But also, I meanlike, we talk about Korea. Oh, North Korea, animals, and Kim Il-sung and his progenynobody I ever run into knows we leveled every single structure in North Korea during the Korean War. Again, a war that was not needed; it was an attempt to get a Chinese communist who had come to power the year before. I mean, its bizarre. Then you look at what we did to North Vietnam, and the carpet bombing, and everything. So this is critical. American exceptionalismIve mentioned this a number of times on this podcastto my mind, is a really, its the most profound problem that American people have to face. RG: Its a vicious idea. And its been taken up in different ways by both the liberal democratic world, and by the, you know, the hard right in this country. The idea that by definition, the United States can do no wrong, because we are the leader of the so-called free world. Which is a locution I dont even understand anymore, given that were not competing anymore with the unfree communist world that supposedly we were in opposition to. But the idea thatand this was the argument, actually, that the Bush administration made about torture. By definition, the United States is a country that does not torture. Therefore, whatever it is that you are observing, it cannot be torture, because that would be a logical contradiction, because we are the nation that doesnt do that. And its almost impossible to enter into that understanding of the world, because no amount of evidence that you can present to the person who believes that is going to break that worldview. And so American exceptionalism allows us not only to have military bases in over 100 countries around the world; not only to conduct secret wars that the people in this country dont even know aboutwe just suddenly woke up and said, oh my gosh, were having a war in Somalia! Who knew. And not to mention YemenI was very heartened to see that the Senate had actually voted with the House to reprimand the U.S. alliance with Saudi Arabia in Yemen. But leave that aside. This whole idea that we are a unique bearer of human rights and democracy in the worldits very hard to break, because its a concealed, hermetically sealed worldview that people imbibe in grade school. And they imbibe it as they grow up, and it takes a lot of effort to break through. And one of the sad things that I see, especially with younger people that Ive worked with in organizations like War Times/Tiempo de Guerras, is that once youve broken through, it then becomes very hard to imagine that the United States is not permanently and always going to be the hegemon. It almost, having made the effort and understood the danger the U.S. actually presents to the world, it becomes almost impossible to recognize when the U.S. actually loses one. And I think its very important we claim our victories. RS: Well you know, you hit it clearly with this, the abandonment by the Democratic Party of any serious oppositional role. [With] control of the House now, there should be hearings about what are we doing in these different countries. And instead theyre actually criticizing Trump for being, kind of selling out by getting out of Afghanistan, or not fighting more aggressively in Syria. And weve actually sort of lost the peace movement, in a way, is a theme I get back to once in a while here. And we forget, actually, most of the terrible wars since World War II have been fought under democrats, and financed enthusiastically. So I want to get back to basic moral principles, because they dont mean anything if youre not consistent. You have to call out people on the left or on the right, you have to call out war crimes, you have to call out the attacks on homosexuals, black people, Jewish peopleanybody, any other, and so forth. Its something that Jesus reminded us of in the tale of the Good Samaritan, if you can believe that Luke is the word of God, and not the others, [Laughter] where the Good Samaritan doesnt appear. I dont want to get into your whole Catholic university thing here. But its interesting to me, this notion of consistency. Because its painful to be consistent. It requires examining the motives of people you voted for. And this was the problem of Germany: people forget Hitler was elected. People forget Germany had all the trappings of a RG: Of a democracy. RS: of a democracy. And more important, the conceit that somehow educationeducation, and mannerswill prevent genocide is a lie. Maybe its time to recognize this whole notion of American greatness is the end of thought; if you are by definition great, theres nothing to question. And it seems to me that main religions that weve had, their one demand that they have in common is you must question not only your nations morality, but your own. The devil is in you. We have to struggle with this devil, we have to struggle with these forces. Yet as a nation, we think America the beautiful absolves us all. And thats what youre saying in your torture book. That basically, you take these young recruits that have a very limited knowledge of our history, and you convince them that they are the agents, really, of a higher power. RG: Absolutely right. And in doing that, you pervert the very virtues that we say the United States is supposed to represent. The virtue of courage, for example, becomes the courage to suppress your squeamishness at causing pain to another human being. And justice becomes the idea that you give the punishment first and the trial later, if ever. Right? And this is exactly what we see in the way our detainees have been treated. And honestly, another locus of this that we dont often recognize is what goes on on the U.S. soil prisons and jails in this country, where we have 2.2 million people locked up in cages, and where torture is a regular feature of prison life. Its no accident that the reservists who were downstairs at Abu Ghraib, they were from West Virginia, and most of them in their civilian life were prison guards. They were corrections officers. And theres a famous email that one of the ringleaders, Charles Graner, sent home which said: The Christian in me knows its wrong, but the corrections officer in me loves to see a grown man piss himself. And that is exactly the attitude of the people who are caging up 2.2 [million] largely, vastly disproportionately, black and Latino, Latinx, people in this country today. And so torture actually is a red thread that runs through the entire history of the United States, beginning with the Native American population. Slavery itself would not have been as successful as it was at allowing the amassing of capitalwhich is, you know if youre a good Marxist, the congealed labor of these unpaid, captive people, who when they got to the United States, or what was not even yet the United States, would not work unless, the farmers figured out, they were caused physical pain. And it was the use, the concerted, intentional, well-documented use of physical pain in the cotton fields a century later that forced people to develop a physical technology of their bodies that allowed them, in the course of 40 years, to multiply by eight times the amount of cotton a human being could pick in a day, because the alternative was to have the skin taken off your back with a whip. RS: You know, increasingly in my life I have been a bad Marxist. And Ive embraced some truths that seemed to come out of these religions that, growing up, really frightened me or were intimidating, and also were on the wrong side. But lets take it back to the pope, lets take it back to the Jesuit school, University of San Francisco, where you teach. Theres a wisdom that I daresay Karl Marx did not sufficiently embrace. It is that we all have a capacity for evil. That we have virtue; we care, we bring children into this world, we nurture them, we care about others, we can cry over a refugee. On the other hand, the 2.2 millionIve been on Death Row quite recently interviewing Kevin Cooper, who I believe is an innocent man. And fortunately, the governor of California has suspended the death penalty, and I think Gavin Newsom deserves great credit for his courage. Butand it is a cage, and we dont care; we dont care about these people. And we dont care about the people we bomb, and we dont caretheyre expendable, theyre throwaway people. You want them out of sight, out of mind. Its very deliberate. And the problem is, if Marxism were accurate [Laughter]I dont know, not too many people care, anyway, but since the two of us are talking about ityou know, if it was just the economic motive, wed probably do better. The libertarians, for instanceto the degree that theyre right, theyre right, yes. But the wars dont make sense. And growing that cotton that way didnt ultimately make sense. And slavery didnt make sense. Exceptexcept if we have a barbaric part of our nature, if we have a need to exploit others. Not just for economic reasons; if power corrupts. And this, not to quote Marx, but to quote Jefferson or Washington, these people who came to power in this great experiment of ours, with all its contradictionsI repeat this ad nauseum on these podcasts. All their, yes, white, male, I got it, I got it, slave owners, the whole thingthey were on to a wisdom about their own corruption. And the reason we have the First Amendment, the reason we have all the amendments, the reason we have separation of powers, is that power corrupts. RG: Absolutely. RS: And what comes through in these torture stories and so forthI talked, I have one student, just like you, Ive had students go off to these wars. I had one who ended up at Abu Ghraib and at Guantanamo, a reserve officer. He was outside with the families. Im not going to compromise his privacy. But he told me what shook him up was he was being told all these things about the people inside the jail, but his job was to herd the families that were trying to visit. And he could not deny that there was some kind of humanity going on with these people inside, or why would all these people care so much about them. And I think we need to be reminded of our own capacity for evil. I think thats what Nuremberg was about, that the people who commit evil dont present as evil and are not inherently more evil than we are. RG: Exactly. RS: And we have to struggle with this. And the good liberals who accommodate this, and say well, you know, Barack Obama had to do this with the drones, and governor so-and-so had to kill these people even though he didnt believe in the death penaltywe have to challenge that. Because that is the fount of evil. RG: So, my favorite virtue, Aristotle calls it phronesis, or practical wisdom. St. Thomas Aquinas calls it prudentia, prudence. But what it really is, is that capacity of the mind that allows you to actually understand the moral questions that are in front of you. And not to be fooled by the fog of American exceptionalism, by the distraction of a Trumpian tweet, but to be able to actually examine and really see, in this case, the effects of U.S. policy on actual human beings around the world. And this requires a kind of courage to be willing to accept that your own self-understanding, and the understanding of your people, your country, might be wrong. But it also requires a willingness to look, to actually see and examine whats in front of you. And if theres one virtue I would like to see developed, and that I try to develop in my own students, its this virtue of practical wisdom, where you actually are responsible for what the effects of your actions can reasonably be foreseen to be. And this is something that we in the United States really dont have. Its trained out of us, we dont have it. And part of it, yes, is that capacity to understand that the ability to do evil things exists in all of us, and its also to understand that when you multiply that capacity by the technological and economic power that a country like the United States has, the resultswell, the results could be the end of human society, because of climate change. I mean, the results are so terrible, and we need to be able to see it. Because we cant stop it if we cant understand it, we cant diagnose it. And I worry that were not going to be able to. RS: If you could learn about Aristotle in this way we just did for a few minutes, and why some of these older thinkers matter, that was it. And I do want to say, weve smashed America a little bit here. And I think the great thing about America is that it could produce generals like George Washington, who warned us about the impostures of pretended patriotism; generals like Dwight Eisenhower, who warned us about the military-industrial complex; and a guy named Major Danny Sjursen, who Ive had on this podcast, who writes for Truthdig, who now comes out of the military and tells us that the barbarism in Iraq and Afghanistan is comparable to these dangers that were warned against. So thats Rebecca Gordon. She teaches at the University of San Francisco. Her books are Mainstreaming Torture and American Nuremberg. Thats it for this edition of Scheer Intelligence. Our engineers at KCRW are Mario Diaz and Kat Yore. Our producers are Joshua Scheer and Isabel Carreon. And we couldnt have done this broadcast without the able assistance of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley, where [name unclear] presided over these proceedings. Thank you very much. RG: Thank you, it was a pleasure. Robert Scheer, editor in chief of Truthdig, has built a reputation for strong social and political writing over his 30 years as a journalist. His columns appear in newspapers across the country This article was originally published by " Truthdig " - Do you agree or disagree? Post your comment here ==See Also== Note To ICH Community We ask that you assist us in dissemination of the article published by ICH to your social media accounts and post links to the article from other websites. Thank you for your support. Peace and joy The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House. 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Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte (R) shakes hand with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a welcoming ceremony in Rome on March 23, 2019. (Alberto Pizzoli/AFP/Getty Images)

Italy Joins Chinas One Belt, One Road Initiative Amid Concerns

Italy signed on to Chinas controversial One Belt, One Road infrastructure plan on March 23, despite concern within the countrys government, as well as those from the United States and the European Union.

The two countries sealed the deal through a memorandum of understanding signed at a ceremony attended by visiting Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

Italy is the first Group of Seven industrialized country to join the initiative, and only the second major Western European state after Portugal.

One Belt, One Road (OBOR, also known as Belt and Road) is an investment initiative announced by Beijing in 2013, which plans to build trade routes in Asia, Europe, and Africa through Chinese-financed infrastructure projects.

Critics have said the initiative saddles developing countries with large debt burdens that they cant pay off, while Washington worries that the plan is designed to strengthen Chinas military influence, and could be used to spread technologies capable of spying on Western interests.

Around 30 other accords were also signed during the ceremony. The total value of these deals is initially placed at 2.5 billion euros ($2.5 million), with the potential to reach 20 billion euros ($22.6 billion), according to Italian Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio, who also leads the populist Five Star Movement, the larger party in Italys ruling coalition.

Many of these deals involved Italian firms and their Chinese counterparts. For example, Italian state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti signed an agreement with Chinas state-run Bank of China to let it sell Panda bondsyuan-denominated debt issued by foreign entities to investors in mainland China.

Italian power engineering company Ansaldo Energia and China United Gas Turbine Co., which is owned by Chinas state-run State Power Investment Corp., signed an agreement for technology collaboration in the field of heavy-duty gas turbines.

Chinas state-owned China Communications Construction Co. (CCCC) signed two separate cooperation agreements with the Italian port authorities at Genoa, the countrys largest port, and Trieste, located in the northern Adriatic sea.

In Genoa, the Chinese will be involved in developing the seaport, according to Italian wire service ANSA, while in Trieste, the CCCC will develop rail links connecting the port to central and eastern Europe.

Despite the fanfare accompanying the signing ceremonies, there was clear dissent within Italys ruling coalition over the country joining OBOR.

Matteo Salvini, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, who heads Italys right-wing party League, was notably absent from both the state dinner with Xi at the Quirinal Palace on March 22, and the signing ceremony a day later.

Salvini has previously said that Italy would be no-ones colony, AFP reported. And recently, while speaking at a local economic conference, Salvini openly pointed out that free market doesnt exist in China, according to Italian news site News Mondo.

We want to be cautious when it comes to national security, our data and, our energy, if we bring our entrepreneurs to China, Salvini said.

Guglielmo Picchi, Italys under-secretary for foreign affairs, also voiced concerns about OBOR on Twitter on March 9, calling for deeper scrutiny of the deals.

European Concerns

German daily newspaper Der Tagesspiegel, in an editorial published following the signing ceremony, said that all of those accords do not really correspond to the Italy-first policy pursued by the [Italian] government.

Lucrezia Poggetti, a researcher with the Berlin-based Mercator Institute for China Studies, doubted that any government would receive economic support from Beijing simply because the Chinese government was pleased, in a reference to how Xi enjoyed an imperial reception in Italy, in an interview with Der Tagesspiegel.

Poggetti added that Italys decision to sign up means Beijing has gained legitimacy for the controversial OBOR. According to the Der Tagesspiegel, projects under OBOR often lack transparency, international standards, environmental protection guarantees, fair competition conditions, and public tenders.

Italy is also breaking with its historic partners, such as France and Germany, who are skeptical of OBOR, according to Poggetti.

On March 12, the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, called Beijing a systematic rival in a report on EU-China relations. The report pointed out that EU companies must overcome onerous requirements as a prerequisite to access the Chinese market, such as transferring key technologies to Chinese counterparts in joint ventures.

In the lead-up to the signing, both French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced concern that the deal could jeopardize Italys national security.

Macron said he recognized there was a divergence of views in the bloc but that letting Chinese companies buy up EU infrastructure such as ports had been a strategic error.

The period of European naivety is over, Macron told a news conference on March 22.

The relationship between EU and China must not be first and foremost a trading one, but a geopolitical and strategic relationship, he said.

EU leaders are currently considering stronger action against the Chinese regime over its unfair trade and investment practices, ahead of the EU-China summit on April 9, after years of granting China almost unfettered access to EU markets.

Reuters contributed to this article.
Man Dies After Car Plunges 600 Feet Off California Cliff, Say Officials

One person died after a car drove off a 600-foot cliff in Mount Tamalpais State Park over the weekend, California officials said.

A hiker reported a four-door car had driven off the Marin County cliff on Ridgecrest Boulevard before landing hundreds of feet below the road, KRON reported, on March 23.

A Sonoma County Sheriffs helicopter carried out the rescue effort.

MAN KILLED IN SOLO VEHICLE COLLISION ON MOUNT TAMAt around 10:30 this morning we were called to Ridgecrest Boulevard  CHP  Marin  2019323

A man was pronounced dead in the crash, according to the report.

No other people were in the vehicle at the time, officials said.

Marin County fire battalion chief Bret McTigue told KTVU that the wrecked sedan overturned and the engine flew from the vehicle during the crash.

Driver killed after plunging 600 feet off cliff in Marin Co. state park https://t.co/Lmjdk9wNOs  KTVU (@KTVU) March 24, 2019

The area where the collision occurred is a busy hiking area, as well as a very popular route for cyclists to ride, especially on nice weekends, the California Highway Patrols Marin office said on Facebook.

Elaborating further, the office wrote that a helicopter  responded to the scene and assisted with a search to ensure there were no other individuals that were struck by the errant vehicle.

The drivers name isnt being released as the Marin County Coroner still needs to identify the person and notify his next of kin, according to the highway patrol.

A male driver was killed Saturday morning when his vehicle plunged 600 feet off a cliff in Mt. Tamalpais State Park, a fire spokesman said.  KPIX CBS San Francisco Bay Area  2019323

Any toxicology will not be known for some time, officials said.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Due to the difficult terrain, crews established a long-line rescue system and were lowered to the vehicle. Once there they found the driver, and sole occupant, deceased in the vehicle, said officials.

No other details were provided.

A driver traveling alone through Mount Tamalpais State Park Saturday morning died after his vehicle went off a cliff. https://t.co/bnTJveTwMF  San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) March 23, 2019

50 Cars in Pileup in Southern California

Authorities said several crashes involving about 50 vehicles on Interstate 5 north of Los Angeles have sent 12 people to the hospital, according to The Associated Press.

The Grapevine section of the interstate was closed as emergency crews responded to the accidents Saturday afternoon, March 23.

4 injured, 30 cars involved in pileups on California highway https://t.co/jXBMHlNtgs pic.twitter.com/bPnEWGC1TB  ABC 7 Chicago (@ABC7Chicago) March 24, 2019

The California Highway Patrols traffic incident website said the accidents occurred amid thick fog.

Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Ron Haralson said a dozen people were transported to the hospital. One was in critical condition, four others sustained minor injuries, and seven more had minor injuries. The injured included a 21-month-old child and a horse in a trailer that was rear-ended.

4 injured, 30 cars involved in pileups on California highway https://t.co/y6xydLYNq3 pic.twitter.com/6kcIAZeKVZ  Newz Parot (@NewzParot) March 24, 2019

The Grapevine carries traffic over mountains between greater Los Angeles and the San Joaquin Valley. The wrecks caused traffic on northbound and southbound lanes to back up for miles.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Displaced Syrians stand in line at the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp of al-Hol in northeastern Syria, on Feb. 7, 2019. (Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty Images)

Mob of ISIS Brides Attacks Guards at Refugee Camp in Syria

A violent mob of ISIS bridessome armedbesieged guards at a Syrian refugee camp, injuring as many as 30 security staff members.

Guards at the al-Hol camp in northern Syria were outnumbered by a large group of rioting black-clad women on March 21, according to the Times of London, and managed to break up the disturbance only after firing warning shots.

The women were shouting that if I was in their hands, they would behead me, said 18-year-old Jani, who polices the camp that has seen a large influx of jihadi extremists fleeing the crumbling ISIS caliphate.

Camp authorities had initially anticipated about 15,000 refugees would flow in but today that figure stands at about 72,000, The Times reported.

Guards said that jihadi sympathizers streaming into the facility have been found with suicide belts hidden among their clothes, knives in their hair, and small guns stashed in their belongings.

They Threw Rocks

The riot broke out after claims a Syrian man had tried to molest a female ISIS member from Iraq, police said, according to The Times.

The women reportedly tried to lynch the man.

A member of the police was cited by The Times as saying, They were shouting Allahu Akhbar.

They besieged our base and threw rocks at us. They broke windows. Some of our men shot on the ground next to their feet to try to stop them.

If we had withdrawn, they would have burnt everything. If they had the chance to try to control the camp, they wouldnt have spared any of us.

The guards said they are vastly outnumbered by the ISIS fanatics who officials said are desperate to resurrect the caliphate and exact vengeance.

A senior member of the police was cited by The Times as saying: ISIS is finished so it tries to take revenge here. They can even bribe NGOs to bring weapons inside. Even the shops inside the camp, they can give them money and get them to bring them guns.

Victory Over ISIS

U.S.-backed forces declared military victory over ISIS on March 23.

Baghouz is free and the military victory against Daesh has been achieved, tweeted Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led SDF, referring to ISIS by its Arabic acronym.

The White House also announced that the final area held by jihadi fanatics has been eliminated, marking the end of a brutal five-year reign that saw the death cult control vast swathes of territory.

After weeks of heavy fighting, the tent camp where the terrorists had made their final stand in the village of Baghouz was bombed to shreds.

A field pitted with abandoned trenches and bomb craters and littered with scorched tents and the twisted metal carcasses of vehicles were all that remained. Half buried in the dirt was a tattered shred of the ISIS notorious black flag, while a giant yellow flag belonging to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fluttered atop a shell-pocked building.

Cornered in Baghouz, the group fought fiercely and desperately to hang on to the last shred of territory it controlled, using thousands of civilians, including women and children, as human shields. In the final weeks, they streamed out of Baghouz, bedraggled, angry, and hungry, overwhelming Kurdish-run camps in northern Syria where they are being held.

Guards at the al-Holm camp said they fear ISIS sleeper cells mounting revenge attacks.

We are concerned that they [the ISIS members] might try to break out as a group, said a police officer, according to The Times. Or that ISIS might come here and attack the camp.

The thing is that because they want revenge, they pick anything to make problems. They start with small problems to create chaos in the camp, the police said. It is very crowded, and a small thing can grow very quickly.

Blood Up to Your Knees

Jihadi brides in Syrian refugee camps have previously vowed chilling revenge.

One woman who fled Baghouz and surrendered to U.S.-backed Kurdish forces was cited in a Mail Online report, warning, We will seek vengeance, there will be blood up to your knees.

We have left, but there will be new conquests in the future, she said.

A 60-year-old camp refugee that refused to give her name told Mail Online The caliphate will not end, because it has been ingrained in the hearts and brains of the newborns and the little ones.

Aid organizations said more than 100 people have died in the journey from Baghouz to the al-Hol camp in Hassakeh Province, or soon after arriving.

Tensions in the camp are high as new arrivals stream in, straining the already overstretched resources of the facility.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The NBC peacock logo hangs on the NBC studios building in Burbank, California, on Oct. 20, 2008. (David McNew/Getty Images)

MSNBC Reporter in the Field Caught Doing Sickening Act on Live TV

MSNBC foreign correspondent Matt Bradley clearly wasnt aware that the cameras were running when he spit into his hand and rubbed it into his hair during a Friday afternoon broadcast from Syria.

Ali Velshi was about to bring Bradley on to discuss the status of ISIS in the war-torn country when the camera showed the reporter just a few seconds too early.

MSNBC Reporter In The Field Caught Doing Sickening Act On Live TV https://t.co/bXAC1eOKjJ pic.twitter.com/E4Ic2rArSu  The Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 23, 2019

WATCH:

Matt Bradley is in eastern Syria in an area where the last remnants of the Islamic State and so-called caliphate were. Whats the situation for you? Ali asked, seemingly unaware that the camera was showing Bradley styling his hair with spit.

MSNBC Reporter In The Field Caught Doing Sickening Act On Live TV https://t.co/bXAC1eOKjJ pic.twitter.com/E4Ic2rArSu  The Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 23, 2019

After a pause and some background noise, Velshi cut to another segment, returning to the networks foreign correspondent when he presumably had time to style his hair.

(RELATED: Sarah Sanders Trolls CNNs Jim Acosta For Criticizing Daily Caller Reporter)

We do not have Matt. We will come back to him  Velshi said before switching to the next segment.

By Scott Morefield
Ann Mueller and former special counsel Robert Mueller walk in front of the White House, on March 24, 2019. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Mueller Goes to Church Next to White House as Washington Awaits Report

Former special counsel Robert Mueller attended a church service next to the White House on March 24 as the nation waited to learn the findings of his final report on the investigation of alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Mueller and his wife Ann attended a church service at the St. Johns Episcopal Church across from the White House, setting up for photographs of Mueller and the White House.

Attorney General William Barr announced on March 22 that Mueller had submitted his final report on the special counsel investigation.

Barr noted that the special counsel will produce no further indictments and that the Justice Department did not overrule any of Muellers requests over the course of the nearly two-year investigation.

President Donald Trump was at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida when the pictures of Mueller were taken on March 24. The president has not addressed the news that Mueller has concluded his investigation.

Trump issued a pair of Twitter messages the same morning, one wishing a good morning and another containing his campaign slogan, Make America Great Again.

Mueller is a regular attendee at the church according to The Washington Examiner. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attended the same church a week before Mueller.

In a letter to lawmakers, Barr wrote that he would brief Congress on the principal findings of the report this weekend. Sources told The Hill that Barr could send lawmakers the summary of Muellers findings by the end of the day on March 24.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told fellow Democrats on March 23 that she will reject a classified briefing on the contents of the report, according to a person familiar with the discussion.

Pelosi told 120 House Democrats on a conference call that she would decline any classified briefing on the report in favor of an unclassified briefing that would allow lawmakers to discuss the details publicly. Pelosi also called Barrs offer to provide Congress with a summary of the findings insufficient.

Pelosi also called on Barr to not provide a sneak peek of the report to the White House. White House spokesman Hogan Gidley confirmed that the White House has not yet received or been briefed on the Mueller report as of the morning of March 24.

Mueller did not charge anyone for conspiring with Russia. Barrs statement specified that the special counsel plans no additional indictments.

Both Democrats and Republicans are calling for the full contents of the report to be made public. Trump has also said the report should be released.

The special counsel brought charges against 34 people and three companies during his investigation, with prison sentences for some of Trumps former aides such as campaign chairman Paul Manafort and longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen. None of those charges, however, directly related to whether Trumps campaign worked with Moscow.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speaks to media during a press conference at Parliament in Wellington, New Zealand on March 21, 2019. (Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

New Zealands Gun Ban: Trading Liberty for a False Sense of Security

Commentary

On March 15, a shooter carried out an attack that killed 50 people in Christchurch, New Zealand. In responseless than a week laterNew Zealands Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her government took precisely no action against criminals and banned law-abiding, non-criminals from owning military-style semi-automatic rifles.

The opening salvo came in the form of an immediate ban, which halted sales to try to thwart stockpiling. The next phase of laws, which ban general ownership, is expected within a month.

Weve all seen this before. A mass shooting occurs and anti-gun zealots stoke fear and trample on the rights of law-abiding citizens and prevent good people from being able to protect themselves. We should all be concerned to witness a government so easily ride roughshod over the rights of the very people its supposed to defend.

Under the guise of security, New Zealand just went full authoritarian.

John Locke, the philosopher whose ideas became the basis for liberal democracy, taught us that the basic purpose of government was to protect liberty and property. New Zealands government has just removed both.

Most unsettling about this lurch toward oppressive governance is the futility of New Zealands actions. There is inconclusive evidence to show gun bans have a marked impact in reducing violent crime.

In 2004, the United States didnt renew the 1994 assault weapons ban, because studies showed that it didnt clearly reduce crime. Its notable that even while the ban was in effect, 14 mass shootings still occurred.

Calling for gun bansa now Pavlovian response to shootingsignores an obvious fact: criminals dont care about the law.

Murder is already illegal. Yet, the New Zealand shooter murdered anyway. Attempted murder is already illegal. But, the New Zealand shooter attempted to murder at least 20 other people. Those laws already on the books obviously didnt stop the murderer, and adding one more statutea few more regulations on some piece of paper almost no one will ever readwill not stop someone intent on killing.

Criminals, by definition, break the law. And they will not comply with regulations that require them to disarm. Law-abiding citizens will. So, any laws that seek to ban guns will have the effect of only disarming people who would never kill in the first place. Gun bans tip the balance of power in favor of criminals who wish to do others harm.

Anti-gun politicians and anti-gun activists play on the emotions of well-meaning people and exploit their fear to push an agenda.

Theres a popular saying, Never let a good crisis go to waste. The anti-gun lobby eagerly takes this advice and puts it to good use every time theres a mass shooting.

When Khalid Masood plowed his car through pedestrians on Westminster Bridge in the UK capital in 2017, killing five and injuring 50 people, there werent calls to ban cars. When 20 people were injured in a 2014 mass stabbing in Pennsylvania, there werent calls to ban knives.

And when a murderer or attempted murderer chooses to use a firearm to commit a crime, we shouldnt reflexively seek to ban guns.

Adrian Norman is a writer and political commentator.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on stage during the 2019 Athena Film Festival, "Knock Down the House" at the Diana Center at Barnard College on March 3, 2019, in New York City. (Lars Niki/Getty Images for The Athena Film Festival)

Ocasio-Cortez Blasts GOP for Planning Vote on Her Green New Deal

Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) criticized Senate Republicans on March 23 for bringing her Green New Deal resolution up for a vote.

Ocasio-Cortez introduced the socialist Green New Deal resolution in the House of Representatives on Feb. 7; an accompanying resolution was introduced to the Senate the same day. In March, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) scheduled a vote on the resolution.

The GOPs whole game of wasting votes in Congress to target others on the record, for [legislation] they have no intent to pass, is a disgrace, Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter.

Stop wasting the American peoples time + learn to govern. Our jobs arent for campaigning, & thats exactly what these bluff-votes are for.

Republicans are eager to put Democrats on record as voting for the Green New Deal. The resolution urges Congress to hand the government a monopoly over the U.S.s energy industry in order to move the nation entirely away from fossil fuels.

The Green New Deal calls for a Soviet Union-style 10-year mobilization, which would take all gas-engine cars off the road and upgrade or replace every home and commercial building in the United States.

By one estimate, the Green New Deal would cost U.S. taxpayers up to $93 trillion over the course of the mobilization. In comparison, the total projected government spending for the next 10 years is $66 trillion.

All of the Democratic senators running for president have co-sponsored the Green New Deal resolution in the Senate, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.).

Beyond the Senate, all but two Democrats running for president have embraced the Green New Deal, including former Texas Rep. Beto ORourke; South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro; and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.

Two out of three Americans view the Green New Deal as a largely socialist policy, according to a Harris poll. Another poll found that 43 percent of Americans said they are less likely to vote for a candidate who backs the Green New Deal, compared to 30 percent who said they are more likely to do so.

The Democratic Socialists of America, the largest socialist group of the United States, and Communist Party USA are both supporting the Green New Deal.

In an interview with Seth Meyers, Ocasio-Cortez pointed out that the Green New Deal is a resolution rather than a bill, describing it as a broad vision for addressing climate change. Ocasio-Cortez then listed several other socialist policies as part of that vision, including Medicare for All and tuition-free public colleges.

Republicans view the Green New Deal as a sign of a far-left shift within the Democratic Party and see a vote on the resolution as an opportunity to put all Democrats on the record about the resolution.

President Donald Trump threw down the gauntlet to socialists in the United States during the State of the Union Speech, telling the nation, America will never be a socialist country. The president also lambasted the Green New Deal shortly after the resolution was rolled out.

I think it is very important for the Democrats to press forward with their Green New Deal. It would be great for the so-called Carbon Footprint to permanently eliminate all Planes, Cars, Cows, Oil, Gas & the Militaryeven if no other country would do the same. Brilliant! Trump wrote on Twitter.

While backing the Green New Deal, most Democratic candidates for the White House have distanced themselves from the socialist label. Only Sanders remains committed to the label. ORourke did not disavow socialism under repeated questioning.

Only 18 percent of Americans view socialism in a positive light, according to a poll by The Wall Street Journal and NBC News.
People belonging to a caravan of migrants from Honduras en route to the United States, walk at the border crossing to Mexico in Hidalgo, Mexico, on Jan. 18, 2019. (Jose Cabezas/Reuters)

Over 100 Central American Migrants Detained in Northern Mexico

MEXICO CITYMexican police and federal officials on Saturday detained 107 Central American migrants seeking to enter the United States in the border city of Reynosa, the government of the northeastern state of Tamaulipas said.

Following a tip-off, state police intercepted a group of migrants who had been taken out of trucks in a western part of the city, which lies across the border from McAllen, Texas.

At the scene, unidentified gunmen began shooting at police, and one of the attackers was killed in the ensuing exchange of fire, the Tamaulipas government said in a statement.

The statement said police seized a firearm and cartridges but did not provide details on whether any gunmen were arrested or who they were.

Separately, police discovered a group of Central American men and women on the edge of a highway in Reynosa. They called in federal migration officials, who are now reviewing the legal status of the Central Americans detained, the government said.

The National Migration Institute counted 51 Guatemalans, 47 Hondurans and 9 Salvadorans detained in total, it added.

Mexicos new government has pledged to regulate and stem the flows of people moving from Central America to its northern border as it seeks to reduce tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump over illegal immigration into the United States.

By Anthony Esposito

Read Next:

More Central American Asylum Seekers Returned to Mexico Under New Policy

The United States has returned the first group of asylum seekers to Mexico, where they will wait out their cases, after the start of a new Trump administration immigration policy.

A man named Carlos from Honduras arrived in Tijuana on January 29 under the new policy, called the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP). He is the first of many asylum seekers from the Northern Triangle who will be sent back to Mexico until their immigration court date in the United Statesat which point, they will be allowed to enter the country to attend their hearings.

As of Jan. 30, at least a dozen people have been returned to Tijuana through the San Ysidro Port of Entry, including one woman.

Honduran migrant Marlon Ariel Mendez was part of a group of asylum-seekers who were returned to Tijuana on Jan. 30. Mendez, 19, told reporters he was glad to be back in Mexico, after being detained in a immigration detention facility.

Thanks to God, I didnt want to be there (in detention), above all else because of the food, he said.

Mendez said he was not worried about being returned to Mexico.

Its better to be here than locked up.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsens visit to San Diegos San Ysidro Port of Entry kicked off the start of the policy on Jan 29. That day only one asylum seeker walked back through the port gates, although the United States has said it will send 20 per day.

The MPP will enable DHS to take a huge step forward in bringing order to chaotic migration flows, restoring the rule of law and the integrity of the United States immigration system, and allowing DHS to focus resources on providing relief to individuals fleeing persecution while at the same time holding those accountable who make false asylum claims, said Nielsen.

Nielsen announced the new MPP in December. The policy is an attempt by the Trump administration to curb the large number family unitsmostly from Central Americafrom traveling north to seek asylum in the United States and subsequently disappearing into the country under the catch-and-release loophole.

In fiscal year 2017, border patrol apprehended 94,285 family units from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador at the Southern border. Of those, 99% remain in the country today, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

So far, the policy is only active in San Diegos San Ysidro Port of Entry, the busiest border crossing in the country. Thousands of migrants from the Northern Triangle countries arrived in nearby Tijuana last year. Its also believed to be the destination of the latest Honduran caravan headed north.

Honduran reporter Josue Cover told The Epoch Times on Jan. 17 that coyotes encourage migrants in the caravan to bring young children along the journey north.

The coyotes tell them that please, if you are going to come, then come with a minor, with a baby, because that way you are given more support, that is, they are given the opportunity to cross to the United States, said Cover.

Cover said local coyotes also tell minors they have a better chance if entering the United States if they go alone.

They [coyotes] say that the immigration authorities help them and that they have compassion for them, whereas if you go without children, or you are an adult maleit is very difficult.

Tijuanas Public Safety Secretary Marco Antonio Sotomayor called out Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and the Mexican federal government for agreeing to the policy.

Today the United States returned to the first Central American foreigner to Tijuana, something unprecedented, incredibly @lopezobrador_ and the @GobiernoMX agreed to receive the Central American, fulfilling the instructions of @realDonaldTrump and violating the national sovereignty, shameful!

Hoy Estados Unidos retorno al primer extranjero centroamericano a Tijuana, algo inedito, increiblemente @lopezobrador_ y el @GobiernoMX aceptaron recibir al centroamericano, cumpliendo las instrucciones de @realDonaldTrump y violentando la soberania nacional, vergonzoso! https://t.co/4B3jovjJcF  Marco Sotomayor (@MarcoSotomayor) January 30, 2019

From NTD News
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) at the Capitol in Washington, on Jan. 11, 2019. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Pelosi Rejects Classified Briefing on Special Counsel Report

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told fellow Democrats on March 23 that she will reject a classified briefing on the contents of the report on the Russia investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, according to a person familiar with the discussion.

Pelosi told 120 House Democrats on a conference call that she would decline any classified briefing on the report, in favor of an unclassified briefing that would allow lawmakers to discuss the details publicly. Pelosi also called Attorney General William Barrs offer to provide Congress with a summary of the findings insufficient.

Several committee chairmen on the same call also pushed for the release of the full report and underlying documents.

Barr announced on March 22 that Mueller had submitted the full report on the special counsel investigation. The announcement marked the end of Muellers nearly two-year investigation into allegations of conspiracy between Trump campaign associates and Russia. Mueller didnt charge anyone for conspiring with Russia. Barrs statement specified that the special counsel plans no additional indictments.

Congressional Democrats are calling for the full report to be made public. Pelosi urged Barr not to provide Trump with a sneak preview of the report.

Barr must not give President Trump, his lawyers or his staff any sneak preview of Special Counsel Muellers findings or evidence, & the White House must not be allowed to interfere in decisions about what parts of those findings or evidence are made public, Pelosi wrote on Twitter on March 22.

White House spokesman Hogan Gidley confirmed that the White House hadnt received or been briefed on the Mueller report as of the morning of March 24. President Donald Trump has said that the report should be released to the public.

The next steps are up to Attorney General Barr, and we look forward to the process taking its course, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders wrote on Twitter.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) welcomed the announcement that Mueller had concluded his probe and echoed Democrats calls for transparency.

The attorney general has said he intends to provide as much information as possible. As I have said previously, I sincerely hope he will do so as soon as he can, and with as much openness and transparency as possible, McConnell said in a statement.

The special counsel investigation has stoked an unprecedented media frenzy, with liberal pundits prognosticating that the investigation will result in the impeachment of Trump and prison time for his family members. Mueller concluded his investigation with no new indictments, dashing those predictions.

The special counsel brought charges against 34 people and three companies during his investigation, with prison sentences for some of Trumps former aides, such as campaign chairman Paul Manafort and longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen.

None of those charges, however, directly relate to whether Trumps campaign worked with Moscow. Mueller, a former FBI director, didnt interview Trump in person for his probe. Instead, Trump sent written answers to some questions about contacts with Russia.

Like the special counsel, two congressional investigations also have concluded that there is no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

According to multiple reports, Barr intends to make the key findings of the report available to Congress by the end of the day on March 24.

Trump hasnt commented on the conclusion of Muellers investigation. On March 24, the president sent a pair of messages on Twitter with no mention of the report.

Good Morning, Have A Great Day! Trump wrote. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

The president has decried the investigation throughout Muellers tenure as special counsel, call the probe a hoax and a witch hunt. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel in May 2017; the full scope of the Mueller investigation remains classified.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Pentagon Identifies Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan

The Pentagon has identified two soldiers killed Friday, March 22, in Kunduz Province in Afghanistan as a result of what it said were wounds sustained while engaged in combat.

The two soldiers were identified as Sgt. 1st Class Will Lindsay, 33, of Cortez, Colorado, and Spc. Joseph Collette of Lancaster, Ohio, 29.

The #Pentagon has released the identities of two #US soldiers who died in an operation in northern #Afghanistan on Friday. Sgt. 1st Class Will D. Lindsay, 33, and Spc. Joseph P. Collette, 29, died from wounds sustained during combat operations in #Kunduz province. pic.twitter.com/3DUwazZFLY  Melisa (@cmellaniac) March 24, 2019

Collette was assigned to the 242nd Ordnance Battalion, 71st Explosive Ordnance Group in Fort Carson, Colorado, and Lindsay was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) out of Fort Carson.

Two US defense officials told CNN Friday that the two US service members were killed during a partnered US-Afghan military operation. The officials added that initial indications are that they were killed during a fight with the Taliban. Afghan troops were also killed in the incident.

SFC Will Lindsay conducting convoy operations in Iraq. Will served multiple tours in Iraq in addition to two tours in Afghanistan.  10th Special Forces Group  Airborne  2019323

According to Army spokesman Lt. Col. Loren Bymer, Lindsay enlisted in the Army in 2004 and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart Medal, among other awards. His deployments include a handful of tours in Iraq, as well as tours in Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

Col. Lawrence Ferguson, commander of the 10th Special Forces group, of which Lindsay was a member, said in a statement that his fellow soldiers are deeply saddened by his loss.

Will was one of the best in our formation, with more than a decade of service in the Regiment at all levels of noncommissioned officer leadership. We will focus now on supporting his Family and honoring his legacy and sacrifice, Ferguson said.

SFC Will Lindsay in Iraq. Will spent six years of his Special Forces career as a senior weapons sergeant.  10th Special Forces Group  Airborne  2019323

This marks the third and fourth US military deaths in Afghanistan in 2019 and comes as the Trump administration has sought to negotiate with the Taliban to help bring the conflict to an end.

Last year on Nov. 27, a roadside bomb killed three American soldiers in eastern Afghanistan, the attack appeared to be the deadliest attack on U.S. forces in Afghanistan in the last 17 months.

The three service members were killed by an improvised explosive device that detonated near Ghazni city, NATOs Resolute Support mission said in a press release.

The attack also left three other soldiers wounded in addition to an American contractor. They were evacuated and are receiving medical care.

The bomb detonation killings came just days after a U.S. service member was shot to death on Nov. 24. The NATO Resolute Support mission said on Nov. 27 that he was likely accidentally shot by our Afghan partner force while conducting an operation targeting al Qaeda militants in Nimroz province.

The deaths also came several weeks after a Utah mayor and National Guard member was killed by one of the Afghan trainees he was training. Brent Taylors mission was to help train and build the capacity of the Afghan national army.

NTD News reporter Zachary Stieber and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
CARACAS (Reuters) - Two Russian air force planes landed in Venezuelas main airport on Saturday carrying a Russian defense official and nearly 100 troops, according to a local journalist, amid strengthening ties between Caracas and Moscow.

A flight-tracking website showed that two planes left from a Russian military airport bound for Caracas on Friday, and another flight-tracking site showed that one plane left Caracas on Sunday.

The report comes three months after the two nations held military exercises on Venezuelan soil that President Nicolas Maduro called a sign of strengthening relations, but which Washington criticized as Russian encroachment in the region.

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Reporter Javier Mayorca wrote on Twitter on Saturday that the first plane carried Vasily Tonkoshkurov, chief of staff of the ground forces, adding that the second was a cargo plane carrying 35 tonnes of material.

An Ilyushin IL-62 passenger jet and an Antonov AN-124 military cargo plane left for Caracas on Friday from Russian military airport Chkalovsky, stopping along the way in Syria, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.

The cargo plane left Caracas on Sunday afternoon, according to Adsbexchange, another flight-tracking site.

A Reuters witness saw what appeared to be the passenger jet at the Maiquetia airport on Sunday.

It was not immediately evident why the planes had come to Venezuela.

Venezuelas Information Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Russias Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry did not reply to messages seeking a comment. The Kremlin spokesman also did not reply to a request for comment.

The Trump administration has levied crippling sanctions on the OPEC nations oil industry in efforts to push Maduro from power and has called on Venezuelan military leaders to abandon him. Maduro has denounced the sanctions as U.S. interventionism and has won diplomatic backing from Russia and China.

In December, two Russian strategic bomber aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons landed Venezuela in a show of support for Maduros socialist government that infuriated Washington.

Maduro on Wednesday said Russia would send medicine next week to Venezuela, without describing how it would arrive, adding that Moscow in February had sent some 300 tonnes of humanitarian aid.

This article was originally published by " Reuters " -

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Philly Verizon Worker Suspended for Using Work Equipment to Rescue Cat From Pole

Verizon reportedly suspended a worker for rescuing a cat that had been stuck on a telephone pole in Philadelphia, according to reports on March 23. Verizon said he put his life and those around him in jeopardy by doing so.

Maurice German was working in Port Richmond when neighbors asked him about their cat, Princess Momma, which had been stuck on the pole for 12 hours, reported the Philly Voice.

The owners of the cat had been trying to retrieve the animal since the early morning. They said they called animal rescue, the fire department, and other organizations without success, according to the report.

'Wow talk about petty!'  Daily Mail  2019324

In a video from CBS Philly reporter Steve Lindsay, German is seen rescuing the animal from the top of the pole.

Momma the cat is rescued in Port Richmond after a long ordeal. See how the community came together to get it done on #CBS3 at 11, he wrote on Twitter. A video of the rescue went viral on social media.

But then, in a statement, Verizon said it suspended him because he violated the firms safety protocols.

Momma the cat is rescued in Port Richmond after a long ordeal. See how the community came together to get it done on #CBS3 at 11. (= Amanda Boyce) pic.twitter.com/N2hlGoQGNC  Steve Lindsay CBS (@SteveLindsayCBS) March 17, 2019

We take no joy in this job action, Verizon spokesperson Rich Young told CBS Philly. However, were committed and responsible for keeping our employees and customers safe while working in a particular area.

No one was injured in the rescue, CBS Philly also reported.

Verizon explained that its vehicles and equipment cannot be used in the area where he was working.

'NO JOY IN THIS JOB ACTION': Verizon says Maurice German put himself and others in jeopardy when he rescued a cat from atop a utility pole last Saturday.  CBS Philly  2019322

Unfortunately, while this employees goal was admirable, he potentially put his life and those around him in jeopardy, Young told the CBS affiliate. While our actions may not be popular, its in the best interest of our employees and the communities we serve.

Young said the firm will make a donation to the Pennsylvania SPCA to show its support of animal rescue efforts.

Verizons field technicians have to participate in safety training exercises to keep workers and the public safe, said Young.

Blasted Online

One woman, who said she lives nearby, slammed the telephone service provider.

Neighbors are calling this Verizon employee a hero.  PhillyVoice  2019324

Last weekend a Verizon employee came to the rescue of a cat outside of my home stuck on top of the telephone phone. This generous man is now at risk of losing his job! Please share this photo and hashtag #verizon. Spread the word! This simple gesture can show the company that we support this man and his generosity, Amanda Boyce wrote on Facebook.

A GoFundMe was created for German, raising several thousand dollars in a few days.

Social media outrage erupted after Verizon suspended German, mainly from people who appear to be animal lovers.

Really #verizon, you would suspend a worker because he saved a cat!

You suck! And stop sending me requests to switch my voice, Internet & cable! You sucked at that too!  Eileen Pelzer (@Leenie_Beanie) March 22, 2019

Hey @verizon Ive been a customer for over 13 years. I have 4 lines on my account. You suspended an employee for saving a cat because it was allegedly unsafe. Ill be shopping for a new carrier this weekend who cares about their community and lauds their employees for helping out  Alanna Burke (@aburke626) March 22, 2019

@verizon

Verizon giving Comcast a real run for their money for most hated company, suspends employee for rescuing cat Yall suck! https://t.co/OxLCNxqCxt  CuriousTheTXCat (@CuriousTheTXCat) March 23, 2019

For his part, German hasnt commented on the matter.

Verizon Launches 5G at $10 Extra Cost

Verizon Communications Inc beat rivals AT&T and Sprint in the race to launch the first fifth generation mobile services in two cities in the United States at an additional cost of $10 for customers with existing unlimited plans, according to Reuters.

Users in Chicago and Minneapolis will be able to avail the 5G wireless network from April 11 by using a Motorola Z3 mobile and a 5G Moto Mod, a physical magnet-like attachment for the phone, the telecommunications company said.

AT&T Corp and Sprint Corp are also building their 5G networks and plan to release 5G smartphones with Samsung Electronics later this year.

5G, the next-generation wireless network, is expected to offer data speeds up to 50 or 100 times faster than 4G networks.

The largest U.S. wireless carrier by subscribers will offer the Moto mod for $50 initially and its customers would not have to pay for 5G for the first three months.

Reuters contributed to this report
Students are evacuated by police from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., after a shooter opened fire on the campus, on Feb. 14, 2018. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP)

Police: Another Parkland Student Takes Their Own Life

A student who attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, reportedly took their own life. Another student from the school, which was the site of a February 2018 mass shooting, also killed themselves several days ago.

Coral Springs Police spokesman Tyler Reik told CBS News that the student died of an apparent suicide on the night of March 23. The student was described by Reik as a juvenile and released no further information, including the name.

The death is under investigation.

Her mother told a CNN affiliate that her daughter suffered from survivor's guilt after the Parkland school shooting and had recently been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.  CNN  2019323

Last week, Sydney Aiello, who was a student at Stoneman Douglas during the shooting, took her own life, according to her family.

But Reik told CBS theres no indication at all that the unnamed student death was linked to last years school shooting or Aiellos suicide.

He said it is not clear if the student attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas at the time of the shooting in February 2018.

Ryan Deitsch, who helped organize the March for Our Lives, made a statement about the recent death: This is the aftermath of a massacre. Mental health care treatment in schools is atrociously underfunded and under-resourced, even in Parkland. Now is beyond the time to invest in the well being of our students and our future, according to Local10.

Aiellos Death

Aiello, a student at Florida Atlantic University, suffered from survivors guilt and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, Local10 reported, citing her mother, Cara.

Aiello was on campus during the shooting but wasnt in the building where students were killed. She was a friend of Meadow Pollack, one of the 17 people who died.

A little more than a year after this photo was taken, both are gone. In February, Meadow was killed in the Parkland shooting. This week, Sydney took her own life. Please consider donating to her family to help cover some of the funeral costs. https://t.co/qxeUeFLhx1 pic.twitter.com/xSnMPAU0bD  Kenneth Preston (@kennethrpreston) March 21, 2019

Meadows father, Andrew Pollack, told the Miami Herald that his heart goes out to those poor, poor parents, referring to Sydneys parents.

Its terrible what happened. Meadow and Sydney were friends for a long, long time, Pollack continued. Killing yourself is not the answer.

He continued: If anyone feels like that they have no one that can understand their pain, if theres any student out there thats having a hard time, please reach out to me on Twitter . I understand you. You arent alone.

Cara said before she took her own life, she had never asked anyone else for help.

Now, the grieving mother said she hopes that her daughters suicide can serve as a reminder to others that they can get the help that they need, according to CBS Miami.

It breaks my heart that weve lost yet another student from Stoneman Douglas, Ryan Petty, who is the father of Parkland shooting victim Alaina Perry, told the CBS affiliate.

My advice to parents is to ask questions, dont wait, he added, adding that hes concerned that other survivors of the mass shooting might take their own lives in the wake of the tragedy.

Suicide Hotlines

If you are in an emergency in the United States or Canada, please call 911. You can phone the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1 800 273 8255. Youth can call the Kids Help Phone on 1800 668 6868.

In Australia, the suicide prevention telephone hotline at Lifeline is 13 11 14. You can also visit the Lifeline website at lifeline.org.au. Youth can contact the Kids Helpline by phoning 1800 551 800 or visiting headspace.org.au/yarn-safe
Police Arrest Man Suspected of Kicking Elderly Woman in Face on Subway

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Police File Charges 12 Years After a Mother Went Missing From Her Apartment

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Pompeo Should Treat Lebanon Like the State Sponsor of Terrorism It Has Become

Commentary

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Beirut on March 22 to press the Trump administrations demand that the Lebanese government ensure [its] resources and services  do not provide support to Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite Islamist movement designated a terrorist organization under U.S. law since 1997.

Unfortunately, that ship has sailed. Hezbollah didnt spend the past decade fightingoften violentlyto bend Lebanon to its will for nothing. Nearly every branch of government provides support to Hezbollah in some significant way.

Im not talking about turning a blind eye to its activities as Lebanese governments have always done, which is bad enough with the Middle East in turmoil. Hezbollah has been allowed in recent years to stockpile an estimated 130,000 rockets capable of striking Israel (nearly nine times the number it had during its last major war with Israel in 2006), construct tunnels underneath the Israeli-Lebanese border, and conduct an expeditionary military campaign in neighboring Syria.

But it goes beyond that. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) operates as an auxiliary of Hezbollah, providing it with artillery support during cross-border operations against Syrian insurgents. LAF doctrine formally recognizes the so-called resistance as vital to the defense of Lebanon, and the LAF officer corps is steeped in pro-Hezbollah culture. The LAF even has a system of kangaroo military tribunals used to suppress criticism of its pro-Hezbollah orientation.

Lebanese troops have frequently blocked the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) from posting observers in areas where Hezbollah military activity is detected. It is as if those decisions did not come from them, a former UNIFIL liaison officer told the French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche in an interview last month.

Internal security forces are also in Hezbollahs pocket. The head of the General Security Directorate, Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, praised Lebanons resistance last November in a speech on counterterrorism before foreign diplomats, saying terrorism that terrorizes your enemy  is not only your right but your duty. You can bet that he considers it his duty to protect and serve those who terrorize Lebanons enemy.

The Lebanese Foreign Ministry also does its part for Hezbollah. In addition to routinely lobbying the world not to impose sanctions on Hezbollah, Lebanese diplomats have pressured foreign governments not to extradite Hezbollah-linked suspects, such as Nader Mohamad Farhat and Ali Taan Fayad. Lebanese officials fiercely objected to Moroccos March 2017 extradition of Lebanese-Belgian businessman Kassim Tajideen, whom the U.S. Treasury Department had long designated an important financial contributor to Hezbollah. Moroccos subsequent relocation of its embassy from predominantly Shiite south Beirut to Christian east Beirut was rumored to have been forced by Lebanese officials in retaliation.

The Education Ministrys licensing of Hezbollahs Hitler-Youth-like Imam Mahdi Scouts alongside legitimate scouting organizations, censorship-on-demand of Western textbooks that portray Hezbollah in an unflattering light, and other concessions form an essential backdrop for Hezbollahs indoctrination of the youth.

Iran has reportedly begun shipping sensitive missile components to Hezbollah on commercial aircraft landing at Beirut International Airport, so add Lebanons Civil Aviation Authority to the list of state institutions collaborating with the terrorist organization.

The next addition to the list will surely be the Ministry of Public Health, which was awarded to Hezbollah over U.S. objections in the new cabinet formed in late January 2019. Health Ministers have always used their office to provide free or cut-rate care to supporters of whoever put them there, and Jamil Jabakonce Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallahs personal physicianwill do the same. Only in this case, the minister will be aiding and abetting a terrorist organization.

Pompeos determination to see an end to all this is admirable. But its not going to happen by asking nicely.

Ziad Abdelnour is CEO of the New York-based private equity firm Blackhawk Partners, chairman of the Financial Policy Council, and author of Economic Warfare: Secrets of Wealth Creation in the Age of Welfare Politics (2011). Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
File photo of a medicine dropper like the one a 19-year-old Enterprise Rent-A-Car employee allegedly used to put a psychoactive substance believed to be LSD in co-workers' water bottles, Arnold, Mo., on March 21, 2019. (Pixabay)

Rent-A-Car Employee Accused of Spiking Co-Workers Water With LSD

Authorities are investigating the case of an Enterprise Rent-A-Car employee accused of slipping LSD into his co-workers water bottles.

A 19-year-old man is in custody in connection with the incident, which allegedly took place at an Enterprise Rent-A-Car location in Arnold, Missouri, last Thursday, March 21, according to KMOV.

Arnold Police received a call from the Enterprise manager, who reported that two employees, a 24-year-old woman and a 23-year-old man, had both been hospitalized after they began to feel weird and dizzy, according to the Jefferson County Leader.

Police say the man told them his coworkers at Enterprise Rent-A-Car had "negative energy," and he wanted them to mellow out. So the 19-year-old put LSD in three people's water bottles and coffee cups. https://t.co/3W9WsEzwAy  News 4, WIVB-TV (@news4buffalo) March 24, 2019

The manager told police she noticed the suspect acting weird and handling a medicine dropper. She said she had seen him messing with her bottle and decided not to drink out of it, according to The Leader.

The two employees reported feeling dizzy, shaky, and confused.

The task force commander of the Jefferson County Municipal Enforcement Group told KMOV the symptoms the workers experienced are consistent with the effects of LSD.

Youre going to have an increased heart rate, temperature, higher blood pressure. Its been described as causing the shakes or tremors, said Sgt. Tony Dennis with the Jefferson County Sheriffs Department, according to the news outlet.

Both employees sought treatment and were hospitalized at Mercy Hospital South.

The workers reported feeling better after the effects of the drug wore off.

They were subsequently released from the hospital.

Enterprise car employee, 19, laced his 2 co-workers waters with LSD because they were 'too uptight' https://t.co/Kb0f9x9qtB pic.twitter.com/A4kWOAyneT  The Amed Post (@theamedpost) March 24, 2019

Too Uptight

Lt. Clinton Wooldridge was cited by KMOV as saying that when officers questioned the suspect, he admitted putting LSD in the water bottles of two co-workers and a third employees coffee cup.

Police said the man told them he did it because his fellow employees were too uptight, and needed to have better energy, according to The Leader.

No charges had been filed against the suspect at the time of reporting pending lab tests on the water.

Police said the 19-year-old employee could face charges of second-degree assault and possession of a controlled substance.

Terrible

People interviewed in the streets of Arnold expressed outrage at the suspects alleged actions and called for the man to face consequences.

I cant believe it. Its ridiculous, said an unnamed individual, according to Ozarks First. I just cant understand why anyone would think about something like that.

Terrible, said another passerby who did not wish to be identified, He should be arrested.

Opioid Crisis

According to a recent report by the National Safety Council (NSC), accidental opioid overdose has surpassed motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of unintentional deaths in the United States.

Americans have a 1 in 96 chance of dying from an opioid overdose, while the probability of dying in a motor vehicle accident is 1 in 103.

The councils analysis is based on 2017 mortality data by the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The nations opioid crisis is fueling the Councils grim probabilities, and that crisis is worsening with an influx of illicit fentanyl, the NSC said in a statement on Jan. 14.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), more than 130 people in the United States die of an opioid overdose each day, while the cost of prescription opioid misuse in the country is $78.5 billion a year. This includes the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid pain reliever 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, surpassed heroin to become the most common drug linked to an overdose death in 2016, according to the CDC (pdf).

Two milligrams of fentanyl is a lethal dose for a non-opioid user.

Epoch Times reporter Janita Kan contributed to this report.
Residents Bunker Down as Cyclone Veronica Makes Landfall as Category 3 Storm

Residents along Western Australias Pilbara coast have bunkered down as Cyclone Veronica has hit the coastline.

Residents have bunkered down as an unusually powerful and slow-moving cyclone hits parts of the West Australian coast.

Even those who have weathered previous cyclones are being warned to stay indoors because Cyclone Veronica is different from previous storms, having timed its arrival along with a Spring tide.

The full impact of severe tropical #CycloneVeronica is beginning to occur on the #Pilbara coast. Info current at 11 am AWST Sunday 24 March. Watch the full video on YouTube at https://t.co/1KLYZ5brIl. Check warnings on our website; follow advice from emergency services @dfes_wa pic.twitter.com/jemXxPBoMp  Bureau of Meteorology, Western Australia (@BOM_WA) March 24, 2019

A red alert has been issued for residents along the Pilbara coast to find shelter and brace for destructive winds of up to 155km/h, wind gusts up to 220km/h, and rising tides.

Veronica hit the coastline of the Pilbara region between Dampier and Port Hedland on Sunday morning.

This is a very, very serious situation, Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan told reporters on Sunday, March 24.

People in that part of the world are used to cyclones but this one is different.

The slow-moving system was downgraded to category three as it continued to move southeast at 8km/h, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.

Port Hedland Mayor Camilo Blanco said the rain and winds dramatically intensified within a short period of time.

The rain has petered off a bit but it was belting down, he said.

The winds have picked up a massive amount. On social media, weve seen a few trees lifted out.

Karratha Mayor Peter Long said the strong southerly winds reached 120km/h and caused vegetation damage and destroyed a shed.

Im concerned about the cyclone surge because its a Spring tide which is the highest tide of the year so were expecting a surge of 2-5 metres, he said.

Were seeing dangerous coastal impacts, destructive winds & heavy rain as Tropical #CycloneVeronica slowly crosses the #Pilbara coast. The slow movement of the cyclone means conditions will continue for a sustained period today & tomorrow https://t.co/4CwbJRpnuE ???? Paige Simmons pic.twitter.com/qkPZRHVaCb  Bureau of Meteorology, Western Australia (@BOM_WA) March 24, 2019

The Departments of Fire and Emergency Services urges residents in red alert zones to seek shelter in the strongest, safest parts of their homes and to stay clear of doors or windows.

They said people would need to stay in shelter longer than usual due to the destructive storms slow pace.

Power companies have also advised local residents to prepare for extended power outages as no crews will be able to go out for repairs during a red alert.

Tropical Cyclone Veronica update:

 36 customers in Stovehill and Burrup lost power at 3 am

 42 customers in South Hedland lost power at 8 am

 163 customers in Point Samson lost power at 8:30 am#hpalerts #karratha #westpilbara #porthedland #eastpilbara #TCVeronica pic.twitter.com/HSQwGycJVD  Horizon Power (@HorizonPower_WA) March 24, 2019

The premier, commenting on reports people had ventured into the storm for selfies, warned against stupid behaviour.

Dont take matters into your own hands, McGowan said.

Dont risk your own life, dont risk the lives of your children, dont risk the life of others.

Here comes Cyclone Veronica. pic.twitter.com/A7T7ZL2bN1  Martin Loney (@xodarap51) March 24, 2019

Veronica will move across coastal towns including Port Hedland, Karratha and Pannawonica, with wind speeds expected to exceed 165km/h later on Sunday.

Widespread heavy rainfall and very dangerous storm tides, causing very dangerous coastal inundation, are also expected.

Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster James Ashley said Veronica was unique because it was a slow-moving system that would bring a long period of destruction.

We are expecting a prolonged period12 hours or moreof destructive winds near the core of the cyclone.

In lockdown as TC Veronica starts to cross the Pilbara coast. 100s of homes have already lost power. @7NewsPerth pic.twitter.com/LwY7AwvKww  Emily Baker (@EmilyClareBaker) March 24, 2019

Veronica is the third tropical cyclone this season and it comes as cyclone Trevor whips through the Northern Territory.

The last category four tropical cyclone to hit the Western Australia coast was Christine in December 2013.

By Perry Duffin and Emily Cosenza
Taking Offense Isnt Going to Fix the Mainstream Media

Commentary

Anyone not currently living under a rock, and a massive one at that, is experiencing the most divisive and depressive state of our media the nation has ever seen. Its overtly and unapologetically biased. And when it gets called out, its dodge, deflect, and red herring all over the place.

Gone are the days of neutral, fact-based reporting and, sadly, publishers still endorse candidates for president (Im looking at you, The New York Times). These outlets focus less on the news and more on their narrative and how to keep it alive and well, whether it be anti-Trump, anti-gun, or anti-law enforcement.

Then there are the balance efforts, such as former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile being brought into the Fox News sound chamber. Were told that its for the sake of showing the other side, but it comes with the cost of watering down the last bastion of conservative representation among the cable network line-up thats increasingly opinion-driven, liberal commentary.

Rather than cover the hard facts about a news story, news channels spew commentary with cherry-picked facts and statistics matched with a catchy click-bait headline that aims to garner an emotional response.

As a former intelligence officer, I completely understand this game of manipulation, but in this digital age and with so much on the linei.e., The United Statesthere is absolutely no place for it in the mainstream media.

One could argue that this phenomenon is only occurring because of the advent of social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and several others, that can expand the reach and influence of stories, and you would be correct. This is a truthful statement, but also something that only feeds the Fake News beast.

A massive source of these platforms problems stems from their deliberately political push to create a buzz around emotionally charged partisan pieces that attack conservative values.

Credibility issues are created when the owners and leadership of these platforms turn out to be the same left-of-center-minded individuals as the news producers, often squelching the voice of their opponents while hiding behind administrative rules and procedures.

Us versus them disinformation is the bread-and-butter of the modern media, and its tearing this country apart to the point that agreeing to disagree is in many cases no longer an option.

How Do We Respond?

We know whats happening with the media and why. The bigger question is: Where do we go from here? If I had all the answers, I likely wouldnt be writing this article and would instead be sitting in a massive estate like Mark Zuckerberg or Jack Dorsey. I do, however, have some guidance, and its quite simple:

Stop listening to them. Or at least being so casual as to presume every headline or news segment is being done honestly and with pure intent, because theyre not.

Quit playing along, or even quit playing their game by their rules. Seek out free-market alternatives to force the correction. If they think angry advertising partners and boards are an issue, maybe then the necessary top-down changes will be made to salvage the Fourth Estate before theres nothing left to save (presuming we havent bottomed out already). In other words, starve the mainstream media back into submission to its consumers: us.

I dont believe we can radically turn back time and remove the commentary-filled news cycles, replacing them with some reincarnation of Walter Cronkite. However, we can start by being more educated and reasonable consumers, demanding proof, facts, and credentials rather than slugging down the snake oil. This is one way to at least damage control the elitists using their media tools to puppet-master Americans along in the political process.

By curtailing our own vulnerability to click, like, share, and play us versus them, and by concurrently replacing the people reporting the news with individuals who have actual experience in the field or otherwise have substance to add to the conversation, maybe, just maybe, the American mainstream media stands a chance.

Offering further hope is the growing number of diverse digital news platforms. Some are even trying to break the mainstream monopoly on the cable line up, an even bigger challenge than breaking through the shadow bans and anti-conservative algorithms emanating from Silicon Valley. The concept of news and dialogue by the people rather than liberal politics-driven pundits is as novel in this digital age as it is necessary.

Drew Berquist is a national security commentator, the founder and president of OpsLens.com, and the host of The Drew Berquist Show on BlazeTV and the OpsLens app. Previously, he served as a counterterrorism officer for the U.S. intelligence community, where he performed nearly 40 deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Texas Woman Mauled to Death by Pet Pit Bulls

A Texas woman has died after being mauled by her two pet pit bulls at an Irving veterinary facility, according to police.

Johana Villafane, 33, was attacked while attending to her two dogs in an outside exercise area at the OConnor Animal Hospital in Irving on the morning of Saturday, March 23, police told WFAA.

The dogs were involved in an incident earlier in the month in which they bit someone, said Irving PD Officer David Dickinson, as reported by Fox4. They were here at the animal hospital being quarantined per regulations.

Deputies were called to the veterinary facility to assist paramedics responding to reports of a woman in need of medical attention, Irving Police said in a news release on Facebook.

2019 Dog Bite Fatality: Pit Bulls Attack, Kill Owner While She Visited Her Dogs in Bite Quarantine Facility #Irving #Texas https://t.co/pZvWhy6HxS pic.twitter.com/Fd3Kcvjfzs  DogsBite.org (@dogsbite) March 24, 2019

OConnor staff had called 911 saying a dog owner had been mauled and appeared to be seriously injured. Both paramedics and staff tried to rescue the woman but were prevented from reaching the victim because of the aggressive behavior of the pit bull terriers.

They were unable to retrieve her to give her any medical attention because of the animals, Irving Police officer David Dickinson told WFAA.

The aggressive dogs also kept the responding officers at bay until one of the deputies shot them both dead.

Due to the dogs continued aggression, an officer discharged his duty weapon, striking and killing both dogs, police said in the statement.

I dont believe that [the officer who shot the dogs] had a choice, Dickinson told WFAA. His job is to intervene to safeguard human life, and thats what he attempted to do.

Woman dies after pit bulls maul her at Irving clinic and are shot by police https://t.co/BCeV8VVmTt  DogsBite.org (@dogsbite) March 23, 2019

The victim was taken to Parkland Hospital with life-threatening injuries, where she later died, according to Fox4.

Its just unbelievable, Villafanes neighbor Rick Warner told WFAA. It doesnt matter the breed when that happens, if an animal gets that kind of reactive, they call it the red zone and nothing is going to take it off except for extreme force.

Texas pet owner dead, attacked by her two pit bull terriers: police  https://t.co/thNdgD7eOf  DogsBite.org (@dogsbite) March 24, 2019

Irving Police said the investigation is ongoing.

An Awful Thing

Iris Powel, a neighbor, was cited by WFAA as saying that the attack was an awful thing, but said pit bulls as a breed arent to blame.

I hate to say itits an awful thing to happen to anybodybut I dont automatically say, Yeah, its a pit bull, its to be expected. I dont say that at all.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did a study in the mid-90s into dog bite-related deaths, attributing the highest number of dog-bite-related fatalities between 1979 and 1996 to pit bulls.

DogsBite.orgs fatality report identified breeds of dogs involved in U.S. attacks between 2005 and 2017, with pit bulls being implicated in 66 percent of all fatal attacks.

Studies linking breed types to numbers of attack are highly controversial, however, due to different factors affecting the numbers.

Measures for Preventing Dog Bites

The CDC study outlined things people could do to minimize the chances of being bitten by a dog.

Advice includes never approaching an unfamiliar dog, avoiding direct eye contact, and never disturbing a dog that is sleeping, eating, or caring for puppies.
The Dangerous Reason Democrats Want to Scrap the Electoral Collegeand Why They Wont Succeed

Commentary

Elizabeth Warren is on the bandwagon. Kamala Harris is, too.

Impatient Democratic power brokers are trying to sell Americans on scrapping the Electoral College. While they claim to care about the will of the people, their actual reasons are quite reckless. Fortunately, in this divided era, the brilliance of the founders will thwart them.

The Democrats have won four of the last five popular votes in presidential elections. But they didnt win the presidency two of those times. That bothers them immensely, and that isnt all that bothers them.

They think they can cement a ruling Democrat majority of voters in the near futureif only they had the presidency. The Democrats believe that if enough Americans are dependent on government, they will be bound to vote Democrat each election. Barack Obama said as much before he was president.

Given that our state, local, and federal governments will spend and hand out nearly $7.5 trillion in 2019, they certainly can make a case for creating dependency. After all, nearly cradle-to-grave spending on education, health care, and retirement does impact voting preferencesnot to mention transportation funding and other programs.

Democrats criticism of the Electoral College is that the system is old and thwarts the popular willa will they want to exploit. Their attacks on the system are on the rise because they want to remove the Electoral College road block to unchecked populism and big spending programs like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal.

More than 200 years later, however, the founders are smiling. Their genius, embodied in the Constitution, specifically sought to thwart such mass appeals to major changes in our Republic.

Indeed, the system of a peoples House and a more deliberate Senate was designed to slow the legislative process. A president with veto power was part of the same grand plan. Overall, the possibility of divided government was in their slow-down plan as well.

They wanted all that because they saw the efficiency of an all-powerful king of England with a power-hungry agenda. They wanted to slow growth in government because they studied and understood how runaway populism played major roles, amidst deadly violence and socialist policies, in the downfall of Rome and ancient Greece.

They flat out didnt want that for the United States. As John Adams recognized: Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.

To avoid that, our founders built in safeguards overall and especially with division in mind.

Returning to the Electoral College, everyone by now should know that it was part of a grand compromise to get small states like Delaware to join a united set of states under the Constitution. The smaller states, with good reason, assumed the larger states like Virginia that dwarfed Delaware in size and population would rule over them. The Electoral College was meant to give smaller states a voice into the futureand so it does today.

Yet a simple truth remains. Alexander Hamilton worried that the colonies under the Articles of Confederation were at risk for civil war, and George Washington wrote that it was either this Constitution or the next one would be drawn in blood. Because of their forethought, we have a union today and small states have a stabilizing voice.

But there is one more gem to consider.

Changing the Constitution was made immune to unchecked populism as well. Because it takes a vote of three-quarters of the states to amend the Constitution, no Constitutional amendment to discard the Electoral College is likely for decadesif at all.

In this divided era, nearly 30 states are red or lean red. Fewer than 20 are blue. They are the big states to be sureCalifornia, New York, Illinois, and othersbut they are not enough to bulldoze the Constitution. Its true that some of those blue states are pushing legislation to have their electoral votes go to the popular vote winner. Those states vote blue already, however, so that likely wont change much and can be undone.

In the meantime, once again, our founders have proven far smarter than the politicians of today who want to make the United States socialist or risk policies that would place us on socialisms doorstepor even worse, as John Adams warned.

Thomas Del Beccaro is the author of The Divided Era and is a former chairman of the California Republican Party.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The End of the Collusion Delusion

Commentary

And so the Robert Mueller special counsel investigation ends with a whimper and not a bang.

When it was announced on the afternoon of March 22 that Attorney General William Barr had sent a letter to Congress revealing that he had received the special counsels final report, shockwaves reverberated throughout Washington.

Despite the clear signs and statements in recent weeksby those in the best positions to knowmany in the news media had simply refused to believe Muellers investigation was near its end. The announced departures of key prosecutors and investigators, coupled with statements from both former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker and from Barr himself, meant the writing was clearly on the wall, despite the desperate refusal of some to read it.

I actually wrote a column stating that Whitaker should get a well-deserved apology from all those who called his competency or his honesty into question after he announced at an official Department of Justice (DOJ) press conference in January that he had been fully briefed on the status of the special counsel investigation and that Muellers probe was near its end.

Abject denial of facts is never a good look for those in the news business, but theres been no shortage of it recently across the political spectrum. I spent the last few weeks watching and reading people on both sides of the national media, both anti- and pro-Trump, who seemed to desperately want Mueller to keep going, and therefore, simply rejected what they were seeing and hearing since it didnt fit the narrative they had so heavily invested themselves in over the past two years.

For months, many news outlets and media personalities on both sides of the political divide had repeatedly assured all those listening to them that:

The Mueller investigation was far from finished; it could, in fact, go on past the 2020 presidential election. The special counsel would soon unseal new indictments of people such as Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and several others.

Many in the Right-leaning media are just as ratings driven as the Left-leaning media. What was going to get these media people the ratings and the web-page views they crave? Spending the past few weeks saying Mueller is coming up empty, no more indictments appear to be coming! or saying Donald Trump Jr. better clear his calendar and settle all his personal business because Mueller is coming!

There will always be a market for stoking fears and selling paranoia to those who simply must have their daily dose of it. Most media organizations spent the past two years selling fake news stories to the public based on supposed inside sources who kept insisting Mueller was closing in on President Donald Trump and the hammer was about to fall on the president and his inner circle.

There were plenty of reporters and journalists friendly to Trump who were also caught by complete surprise at Barrs announcement on March 22 because theyd just spent the past few weeks spinning narratives of the never-ending Mueller investigation and stoking fears of supposedly soon-to-be-revealed indictments.

As I have been saying for months in my columns at The Epoch Times: first, Mueller would end his special counsel investigation and deliver his final report; second, Trump would declassify the FISA documents that were used to obtain a surveillance warrant on his former campaign adviser Carter Page; and then third, DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz would release his long-anticipated report of his investigation into Spygate. I still hold to all three of these things, although it is still remotely possible that Horowitz suddenly announces the release of his report ahead of Trumps declassification.

Those who have their credibility already weakened by the sudden surprise ending of the Mueller investigation will be finished off by the FISA declassification and the release of Horowitzs report.

At this point in the story of the massive Spygate scandal, so many people have locked themselves into false narratives that the declassification of the FISA documents by President Trump is literally going to destroy their careers. Their careers in Congress, inside the federal agencies, and in the news media, will simply not survive. Entire media outlets will likely go under when their role in deliberately spreading what they knew was Fake News is fully exposed.

On Twitter, a user is able to pin a single message to the top of their page, so it is the first thing a person reads upon visiting it. My pinned tweet says this:

The capital you function on in news media is TRUST. You lose some of that every time your readers/viewers figure out you sold a lie to them.

Many media outlets had little or no trust capital left when this entire Spygate scandal began. When the FISA declassification starkly reveals the way they shamelessly peddled known lies to their audiences on behalf of their political masters, lies that damaged the lives of innocent people, they will be sued out of existence.

And they wont be missed.

Brian Cates is a writer based in South Texas and author of Nobody Asked For My Opinion  But Here It Is Anyway! He can be reached on Twitter @drawandstrike.
Trump Is Innocent of Collusion and Obstruction, Justice Department Concludes

The final report by special counsel Robert Mueller has completely exonerated President Donald Trump, and those connected to his campaign, of all allegations of colluding with Russia, according to a summary of investigative findings issued by Attorney General William Barr on March 24.

Barr also concluded that the special counsel didnt provide enough evidence to substantiate that the president obstructed justice.

The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities, Muellers report states.

Barr submitted the four-page summary (pdf) to the chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate judiciary committees. The letter notes that the special counsel interviewed approximately 500 witnesses, executed almost 500 search warrants, issued more 2,800 subpoenas, obtained more than 230 orders for communications records, and issued nearly 50 pen orders. Mueller employed a staff of 19 lawyers and 40 FBI agents, analysts, forensic accountants, and professional staff, according to Barr.

Mueller referred several cases to other offices, but will not issue any more indictments, Barr wrote.

Trump called Barrs summary a complete exoneration in brief remarks to reporters before boarding Air Force One en route from Florida to Washington. The president called the allegations of collusion the most ridiculous thing ever.

It was a complete and total exoneration, Trump said. Its a shame that our country had to go through this. To be honest its a shame that your president had to go through this.

This was an illegal takedown that failed and hopefully somebody is going to be looking at their other side.

Mueller outlined two distinct efforts by Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. The first effort was run by the Internet Research Agency, a Russian organization that spread disinformation in order to sow discord in the United States. The second effort consisted of hacking operations that successfully stole emails from the Clinton campaign and the Democratic Party. In both cases, Mueller found that neither Trump nor anyone associated with his campaign conspired or coordinated with Moscow despite multiple offers from people affiliated with Russia.

Obstruction of Justice

The special counsel made no conclusion as to whether Trump obstructed justice and instead set out arguments on either side related to the specific instances in question. Mueller stated that while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.

Mueller effectively delegated the exoneration decision to Barr, who concluded that the evidence in the special counsel report is not sufficient to establish that the president committed any crime. Barr made the decision in conjunction with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversaw the bulk of Muellers special counsel tenure. The attorney general said he made the decision after consulting with Justice Department officials and the Office of Legal Counsel.

Barr noted that the decision to exonerate the president was not affected by the constitutional question of whether a sitting president could be indicted.

Generally speaking, to obtain and sustain an obstruction conviction, the government would need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person, acting with corrupt intent, engaged in obstructive conduct with a sufficient nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding, Barr wrote.

In cataloguing the presidents actions, many of which took place in public view, the report identifies no actions that, in our judgment, constitute obstructive conduct, had a nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding, and were done with corrupt intent, each of which, under the Departments principles of federal prosecution guiding charging decisions, would need to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

Reactions

The manager of Trumps 2020 reelection campaign, Brad Parscale, issued a scathing rebuke of the Democrats, who sustained the narrative that the president was guilty of colluding with Russia and obstructing justice.

Democrats took us on a frantic, chaotic, conspiracy-laden roller coaster for two years, alleging wrongdoing where there was none, Parscale said in a statement. So distraught and blindsided by the results of the 2016 elections, Democrats lied to the American people continually, hoping to undo the legitimate election of President Trump.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that the findings of the Department of Justice (DOJ) are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and one of the recipients of Barrs letter, wrote that after reading the summary, the cloud hanging over President Trump has been removed by this report.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said it seems like the DOJ is putting matters squarely in Congress court. Nadler started a House investigation of Trump and his family, associates, and companies earlier this month.

Trump has always denied collaborating with Moscow or obstructing justice. Russia says it did not interfere in the election, although U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that it did.

The DOJ announced on March 22 that Mueller had ended his investigation after bringing charges against 34 people, including Russian agents and former key allies of Trump, such as former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former national security adviser Mike Flynn, and Trumps former personal lawyer Michael Cohen. None of those charges, however, directly related to whether Trumps campaign worked with Moscow.

Muellers conclusion matches of the House and Senate intelligence committees, both of which have concluded after similarly intensive investigations, that there is no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT! Trump wrote in his first Twitter message since the release of the summary findings.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Venezuelan regime leader Nicolas Maduro speaks during a rally at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, Venezuela on March 9, 2019. (YURI CORTEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

2 Russian Military Planes Land in Venezuela, Report Says

Two Russian air force planes reportedly landed at Venezuelas main airport over the weekend, carrying a Russian defense official and approximately 100 troops.

A flight-tracking website showed two planes left from a Russian military base and headed to Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, on March 22, Reuters reported. One of the planes left Caracas on March 24.

A local journalist, Javier Mayorca, said on Twitter that the planes landed at Caracass Maiquetia airport with the dozens of Russian troops.

Hoy llegaron al aeropuerto Internacional de Maiquetia estos dos aviones de la Fuerza Aerea rusa. 1 Ilyushin Il-62M

1 Antomov 124 Fotos: cortesia pic.twitter.com/w7hgQhyivr  Federico Black B. (@FedericoBlackB) March 23, 2019

Photos of the two planes were also apparently published on the social media website.

Mayorca sid the first plane was carrying Vasily Tonkoshkurov, chief of staff of the Russian ground forces, adding that the second plane was carrying about 35 tons of material, according to Reuters.

The planes, specifically, were an Ilyushin IL-62 passenger jet and an Antonov AN-124 military cargo plane. The planes left from military airport Chkalovsky in Russia before stopping in Syria, Reuters reported, citing Flightradar24.

Meanwhile, a witness told Reuters that the passenger jet arrived at the airport on March 24.

Its not clear why the Russian planes went to Venezuela.

Venezuelas Information Ministry hasnt issued a statement on the matter. There has also been no comment from Russias Defense Ministry, the Russian Foreign Ministry, or the Kremlin.

Last year, two Russian bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons landed in the once oil-rich nation in a show of support for Nicolas Maduros socialist regime.

The report comes after the Trump administration placed sanctions on Venezuelas oil industry in an attempt to pressure Maduro into stepping down, and called on the military to abandon him.

The nation, meanwhile, has been crippled by power outages, water shortages, food shortages, rampant riots, and looting, among other issues.

Juan Guaido, who declared himself the interim president earlier this year, has the support of the United States and over 50 countries, including most of South America, with the exception of Suriname and Bolivia.

Both Russia and China have lent billions of dollars to Venezuela, essentially propping up Maduro. Other notable Maduro supporters include Turkey, South Africa, Iran, and Cuba.

Profound Change

Over the weekend, Maduro announced that he would shake up his government after months of turmoil.

I will in the coming hours announce new government methods and a profound change in the entire government of Venezuela, Maduro said in a speech broadcast via state TV, according to Bloomberg News. We need to renew ourselves, refresh, improve, change.

But Maduro also called on his supporters to mobilize and arm themselves to defend his socialist regime. The sanctions, he added, wont force him to surrender, according to Bloomberg.
Islamic studies students attend a class at the Xinjiang Islamic Institute during a government organized trip in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China on Jan. 3, 2019. (Ben Blanchard/Reuters)

US Official Denounces Choreographed Visits to Chinas Xinjiang

BEIJINGHighly choreographed tours to Xinjiang organized by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are misleading and propagate false narratives about the troubled region, a U.S. official said, after China announced plans to invite European envoys to visit.

China has been stepping up a push to dispel growing criticism from international governments and among rights groups about its mass vocational training detention program in heavily Muslim Xinjiang, which borders Central Asia.

Read More 4 Turkish Businessmen Detained in China After Turkey Condemns Xinjiang Internment Camps

Experts and U.S. government officials have pointed to evidence that China is operating internment camps for Uyghurs, also spelled Uighur, and other minority ethnic groups who live in Xinjiang, though the government calls them vocational training centers and says they address the genuine need for education to prevent extremist thinking and violence that the regime says caused mass riots in the region over the last decade.

Chinas foreign ministry said late last week it would invite Beijing-based European diplomats to visit soon. Diplomatic sources said the so-far informal invitation had gone specifically to ambassadors and was planned for this week.

A U.S. government official, asked by Reuters if the U.S. ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, had been invited to visit Xinjiang, said there were no meetings or visits to announce.

Highly choreographed and chaperoned government-led tours in Xinjiang have propagated false narratives and obfuscated the realities of Chinas ongoing human rights abuses in the region, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Read More Xinjiang Authorities Anticipate International Inspection, Recent Activities Suggest

The visit this month would be the first by a large group of Western diplomats to the region since international concern about Xinjiangs security clampdown began intensifying last year. Hundreds have died in unrest in Xinjiang in recent years which Beijing blames on terrorists but overseas Uyghur groups blame on the communist regimes coercive and restrictive ethnic policies.

Read More The Plot Behind Chinas Suppression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang

Several groups of diplomats from other countries have already been brought to Xinjiang on tightly scripted trips since late December to visit the facilities.

There have been two visits by groups including European diplomats to Xinjiang this year. One was a small group of EU diplomats, and the other by a group of diplomats from a broader mix of countries, including missions from Greece, Hungary and North African, and Southeast Asian states.

A Reuters journalist visited on a government-organized trip in January.

The U.S. official described what was happening in Xinjiang as a highly repressive campaign, and said claims that the facilities were humane job-training centers or boarding schools were not credible.

We will continue to call on China to end these counterproductive policies, free all those who have been arbitrarily detained, and cease efforts to coerce members of its Muslim minority groups residing abroad to return to China to face an uncertain fate.

Chinas Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department said the CCPs treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang marked the worst human rights abuses since the 1930s.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has weighed sanctions against senior Chinese officials in Xinjiang, including Xinjiangs top official, Communist Party chief Chen Quanguo.

Late last year, more than a dozen ambassadors from Western countries, including France, Britain, Germany and the EUs top envoy in Beijing, wrote to the government to seek a meeting with Chen to discuss their concerns about the rights situation.

Read More Top Chinese Communist Party Officials Plagiarized Doctoral Theses, Report Says

Two diplomatic sources told Reuters on March 23 that government officials had said a meeting with Chen was not being offered to the European ambassadors, and that the trip was not to discuss human rights but to talk about China-Europe cooperation on Chinese leader Xi Jinpings signature One Belt, One Road (OBOR, also known as Belt and Road) project.

It remains unclear whether they would accept the invitation, though the two sources said it was unlikely.

The European Unions embassy in Beijing has declined to comment on the invitation.

Xi is currently in Europe on a state visit to Italy, Monaco and France. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang goes to Brussels next month for a China-EU summit.

EU leaders said on Friday the bloc must recognize that China is as much a competitor as a partner.

By Ben Blanchard
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, second from left, talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping as U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, left, and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, right, look on before their meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China Feb. 15, 2019. (Andy Wong/Pool via Reuters)

USs Lighthizer, Mnuchin to Travel to China for Trade Talks

United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will travel to Beijing for the latest round of high-level trade talks scheduled to start on March 28, the White House said in a statement on March 23.

The United States also will receive a Chinese trade delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He for meetings in Washington that are set to begin on April 3, the White House said.

President Donald Trump said on March 22 that the negotiations with China were progressing and a final agreement seemed probable as the worlds two largest economies seek to ease tensions from eight-month-long trade negotiations.

Tariffs on Chinese Goods Could Stay for Substantial Period

On March 20, Trump warned that the United States may leave tariffs on Chinese imports for a substantial period, though Beijing has pushed for them to be removed.Trump warned on March 20 that the United States may leave tariffs on Chinese goods for a substantial period to ensure that Beijing complies with the terms in any trade agreement that may be signed.The face-to-face talks will be the first since Trump delayed a March 1 deadline to avert a rise in tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports to 25 percent from the current 10 percent.The deal is coming along nicely, Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that the China trip was intended to further the deal.Trump added when asked if he would be lifting U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods: Were not talking about removing them. Were talking about leaving them for a substantial period of time because we have to make sure that if we do the deal, China lives by it.Trump did not elaborate on his plans for the tariffs. His negotiators have demanded that China agree to an enforcement mechanism to ensure that Beijing follows through on any reform pledges in any deal.

Washington is demanding that China end practices it says force the transfer of American technology to Chinese companies, improve access for American companies to Chinas markets and curb industrial subsidies.

Since July 2018, the United States has imposed duties on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports, including $50 billion in technology and industrial goods at 25 percent and $200 billion in other products including furniture and construction materials, at 10 percent. China has hit back with tariffs on about $110 billion worth of U.S. goods, including soybeans and other commodities.

During a speech in Lima, Ohio, Trump emphasized again that he wanted the United States to reach a great trade deal with China.

Were so far down, its got to be a great deal. If its not a great deal, you never catch up, Trump said in remarks at a military tank manufacturing plant.

Steve Holland contributed to this article.
A worker in a laboratory at Shenzhen Puruikang Biotechnology Co., Ltd. on August 26, 2014 in Shenzhen, Guangdong province of China. (VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

What Will China Do With Your DNA?

Chinas Fourth Magic Weapon, Part III: Bioweapons

Editors Note: In Parts I and II, Steven Mosher wrote about the Chinese Communist Partys program to collect the DNA of all Chinese citizens. This was, he suggested, an effort to develop a fourth magic weapon of control over the Chinese population. The first three magic weapons, outlined by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in a September 2014 speech, are the Peoples Liberation Army, propaganda, and United Front tactics.

But this effort also extends beyond Chinas borders. Here, in Part III, Mosher discusses ways in which the CCP is able to collect foreign DNA and how it might be able to profit from, or even weaponize, the genetic information it acquires from analyzing it.

The Chinese party-state is using various means to collect the DNA of Americans, starting with the outright purchase of U.S. biotech companies.

Chinas state-funded BGI, for example, bought the U.S. sequencing company Complete Genomics, giving the Chinese company access to a DNA database that contained the private genetic information of large numbers of Americans. But that was only the beginning for the Chinese sequencing giant.

According to a recent report (pdf) from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), BGI has formed numerous partnerships with U.S. healthcare providers and research organizations to provide large-scale genetic sequencing to support medical research efforts. Because BGI, like Huawei, is in part subsidized by the state, it is able to offer genomic sequencing, data analysis, and storage for genetic and clinical data on the cheap.

But though its services may be cheap, they are not free.

The payoff for BGI in this arrangement, says the USCC report, is access to genetic sequence data as well as clinical data on people within the US. Of course, since it is collecting data from not just one, but a great many different research projects, this one Chinese company may be amassing a database on Americans that is perhaps larger than any other one currently in existence.

In addition to BGI, the report identified no fewer than 23 companies associated with China that are currently accredited in the US to perform molecular diagnostics or other genetic testing, including whole genome sequencing. Each of these companies has access to individual patients genetic data. Hospitals, clinics, and even some commercial DNA testing companies in the United States now routinely send DNA samples to China to be analyzed.

Given that China is collecting and analyzing the DNA of tens of millions of its own citizens (as I discussed in Part II of this series), companies in China have economies of scale that no other country can match. It would be surprising if some of the commercial DNA companies did not take advantage of this China price.

DNA testing by ancestry services was one of the most popular gifts that family members gave each other this past Christmas. In all, more than 12 million Americans have collected and mailed a sample of their DNA to be analyzed by a commercial DNA testing company discover their ancestral lineage.

It is, after all, great fun to rediscover long-lost family members, ones ethnic identity, and distant ancestry. Even presidential candidates are eager to demonstrate that they have Native American ancestry, for example, even if the test reveals that they are only fractionally correct.

The downside is that some of those who send their saliva sample off to be analyzed may actually be paying for the privilege of handing over their personal genetic codes to the Chinese state. Who wants to be an unwitting collaborator in Chinas massive DNA collection program?

I queried the major DNA testing companiesMyHeritage, AncestryDNA, and 23andMeconcerning where their genomic analyses are actually being done.

MyHeritage assured me that The laboratory facility tasked with the extraction of the DNA and processing the samples is located in Texas USA.

A representative from AncestryDNA told me that the company analyzed its DNA samples in Utah and other countries. But when I asked what other countries, she said: I dont have that information.

I had no response from 23andMe by press time.

If you have already had your DNA tested by AncestryDNA or 23andMe and you are concerned about privacy, you will want to avoid uploading your raw data into other databases. The websites of companies such as Chinas WeGene actively solicit such uploads on its homepage on the promise of an analysis of your ancestry. But its user agreement acknowledges that it will provide such information to the relevant national authorities, if necessary. The Party-states efforts to create a massive DNA database mean that this necessity already exists.

There is no question that any genetic data stored on Chinese servers owned by private companies can be accessed by the party-state at will. Recently passed laws in China, such as the 2015 National Security Law and the 2016 Cybersecurity Law mandate that companies cooperate with the authorities.

Whatever privacy protocols may have been contractually promised by Chinese-controlled companies to their American partners are worthless. All Chinese high-technology companies, especially those working in the eleven high-tech areas identified in the China 2025 plan, and regardless of whether they are state- or privately owned, are working hand-in-glove with the state.

This does not mean that, if your genomic data is stored in the United States, it is completely secure against acquisition by the Chinese party-state. Given the relentless cyberattacks emanating from China, it may not be.

According to U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant, the number of state-directed hacking attempts targeting U.S. biotech companies has dramatically increased since 2008. To judge from the number of publicly reported breaches, which the USCC report lists in great detail, many of these have been successful. Cybersecurity in the health sector in general, and in the biotech sector in particular, appears to be marginal at best.

U.S. laws protecting the privacy of health data are weak as well, especially in the area of genomics. As the USCC points out in its report, Because [ancestry DNA testing] are marketed as consumer products and not medical services,  the handling of the data is not covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) healthcare data protection law, raising concerns about privacy and data security.

The United States needs to do a far better job of protecting the genetic privacy of its citizens. A good first step would be to prohibit the testing of American DNA in China, as well as the forbidding the transfer of American genomic information to that country. The protection of American genomic data is a national security issue.

Weaponizing Genomics

Biotechnology, like many other cutting-edge technologies, is dual-use technology. This means that Chinas huge database of American genomic and healthcare-related data could be put to military, as well as civilian, use. The risk to national security is real.

At least two possible avenues of attack have been raised, using technologies that are already readily accessible in China, and which could be weaponized in a well-funded, state-sponsored program within a few years at most.

The first scenario involves targeting individuals. As the USCC report writes, China could target vulnerabilities in specific individuals brought to light by genomic data or health records.  Individuals targeted in such attacks would likely be strategically identified persons, such as diplomats, politicians, high-ranking federal officials, or military leadership.

Imagine that China was able to obtain the DNA of the president of the United States, and then engineer a specific pathogen targeted at that person and his close relatives. A targeted strike against a small, genetically related group (the Trump family?) would eliminate a major obstacle to Chinas drive for dominance.

But there is an even more chilling scenario that, however unpleasant, is worth thinking about. We know that the Asian genome is genetically distinct from the Caucasian and African in many ways. Indeed, residents of the North China Plain, the cradle of Chinese civilization, are genetically distinct from the Koreans, Japanese, Tibetans, and other Asians as well.

Would it be possible to bioengineer a very virulent version of, say, smallpox, that was easily transmitted, fatal to other races, but to which the Chinese enjoyed a natural immunity? While no use of an advanced, genetically targeted bio-weapon has been reported, it would surely not be beyond the reach of Chinas booming biotech industry. Given our present ability to manipulate genomes, if such a bio-weapon can be imagined, it can probablygiven enough time and resourcesbe realized.

Would the one-party dictatorship that rules China have any moral compunctions about developing and deploying such a weapon? Clearly not. After all, a regime that selectively executes innocent religious believers because they are a tissue match for anyone who is willing to pay for an organ transplant obviously regards human lives as a disposable commodity.

A bio-weapon that would target another race, or races, but leave carriers of the Chinese genome unscathed might well be viewed by the Party leadership as the perfect biological weapon of mass destruction.

In the worst-case scenario, one can imagine that such a superbug would ignite a plague of biblical proportions among the peoples of the world. After it had largely scoured the planet of people, the Chinese Communist Party would have an open field for expansion.

The thought is chilling.

In a largely depopulated world, the Party would not even need to use its first three magic weapons. There would be no armies for the PLA to vanquish, no people for the propaganda corps to brainwash, and no foreign organizations for the United Front Department to infiltrate, co-opt and control.

The fourth magic weaponDNAwould be all that was needed.

Steven W. Mosher is the president of the Population Research Institute and the author of Bully of Asia: Why Chinas Dream is the New Threat to World Order. He studied human biology at Stanford University under famed geneticist Luigi Cavalli-Sforza.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
MILFORD  State investigators found that a Sunday fire at construction trailers at Silver Sands State Park  the second fire at the park in less than a week  was intentionally set.

The construction trailers went up in flames mere days after a blaze tore through the park, destroying some controversial, nearly completed new construction there.

Unlike the earlier inferno, which took place Tuesday, Sundays fire was fairly simple to extinguish, said Anthony Fabrizi, battalion chief for Milford.

It was smaller in nature, he said.

The trailers stored materials for the controversial $9.1 million project for a new concession building, restrooms, office and maintenance garage at the park. Two of the three almost complete buildings were razed in Tuesday nights fire.

Fabrizi said the trailers were far enough away from the buildings remains that it was unlikely anything lingering from the previous fire caused the latest one.

Sunday afternoon, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection put out a statement confirming that Sundays fire was intentionally set. Anyone with information is asked to call the Connecticut Arson Hotline at 1-800-84-ARSON. There is a $2,500 reward.

Earlier in the day, the state reported that investigators had observed evidence of vandalism at the scene, and were treating the fires as suspicious.

Investigators still have not determined what started Tuesdays fire, but were examining whether arson was involved, the state DEEPs Environmental Conservation Police had said. But several sources said Wednesday little indicated the fire was intentionally set.

The park reopened on Friday, but the area near the wreckage was closed.
NORWALK  Traffic concerns, upcoming transportation projects and potential spots for new, neighborhood businesses were some of the areas of discussion surrounding East Norwalk.

Over 70 residents came to city hall on Saturday morning to share their thoughts on what they wanted to see in as a part of the East Norwalk Transit Oriented Development Plan.

The study of the area is being put together by the Harriman, a planning and urban design firm, through a state grant and aims to guide development and a vision for the area.

East Norwalk has some great assets, Director of Planning and Zoning Steve Kleppin said. It seems like there was no big vision for the area.

The study area is a half mile circle around the East Norwalk Train Station.

Its the distance most people are willing to walk, Kartik Shah, director of Urban Design with Harriman, who will be serving as the project manager, said. Traditionally, its been the center of East Norwalk with commercial and light industrial uses around it.

Residents of the neighborhood received a presentation about the area and some of its strengths and weaknesses and then they had the chance to draw and highlight spots within the designated area.

The goal for the plan was to balance beneficial economic growth with East Norwalks neighborhood identity, Shah said, but many in attendance voiced concerns about potential overdevelopment and adding traffic to already crowded roads.

One of the exercises participants worked on was drawing a map of their neighborhood and then labeling areas with smiles or frowns depending on how they liked it.

The closer you get to 95, thats where the frowns increase, Kleppin said.

Almost all the residents highlighted the local businesses, parks and beaches as their favorite parts. Concerns over traffic near I-95, along East Avenue and store vacancies were the areas that received the most negative reactions.

Diane Cece, from the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association (ENNA) said she and the organization wanted this to be the first of many opportunities for the community to provide input.

She said it was important for the residents to provide as much feedback as we can during the early stages of the plan.

Lindsay Waack said she is newcomer to East Norwalk and she enjoyed the neighborhoods walkability.

Waack said she utilizes the East Norwalk Train Station wanted to learn about potential development around it.

During a public discussion, walking from the train station was highlighted as a death walk, which needed to be addressed in the plan.

Other community members asked the facilitators to make sure they weighed in the effects of how other development in the city, such as the SoNo Collection, could impact the neighborhood.

Residents said they wanted to make sure that character of their neighborhood was preserved and not overdeveloped.

The workshop was one of the first steps in the plans formulation which aims to gather community input and information about what they want for their neighborhood. Officials said they would hold another workshop in the summer where residents would be presented with choices about how they want the plan to go, which would then allow the consultant to put together a draft version.

The goal of the plan, according to Shah, was to provide coordinated strategies for land use, conservation, transportation and infrastructure in the area. After a final version was put together, there would be implementation strategies, such as zoning changes or roadway improvement recommendations to put the plan into action.

kelly.kultys@hearstmediact.com
NEW HAVEN  Quentin Staggers, a New Haven man charged in the wake of the series of synthetic cannabinoid-induced episodes that sent dozens to the hospital from the New Haven Town Green in August 2018, was sentenced to time served, four-plus months of house arrest and three years probation Friday, according to the New Haven Independent.

Staggers pleaded guilty to one count of possessing K2 with intent to sell in October 2018. According to the Independent, he admitted Friday to selling the drug to an individual in Branford who overdosed, knocking themselves unconscious.

Ahead of Fridays sentencing, both prosecutors and defense attorneys submitted sentencing memorandums, sharing their respective arguments to Judge Janet C. Hall about the sentence she should impose in U.S. District Court.

There is no evidence that Mr. Staggers sold K2 on the New Haven Green the August 15-16, 2018 time period, First Assistant Federal Defender Kelly Barrett noted in her sentencing memorandum. She argued Hall should impose a sentence of time served.

Rather, New Haven police found bags containing K2 residue in the trash from his apartment building; Staggers had been selling small amounts of the drug to support his own addiction to it, Barrett said.

Staggers takes responsibility for selling K2 and has used his arrest as an opportunity to change his life, Barrett said. Since his arrest, he has completed two inpatient substance abuse programs, engaged in therapy, remained sober, and complied with all conditions of pre-trial release, Barrett said.

In the sentencing memorandum, Barrett traced Staggers life history, including the trauma that came with his childhood in the Ashmun Street projects during the 1980s, his battle to overcome an addiction to crack cocaine, the after-effects of being shot and his work as an advocate for the homeless population in New Haven. She said the trauma, neglect and violence he dealt with provided context for his offense.

Mr. Staggerss story is one of a man whose early experience with poverty, abuse, neglect, and exposure to drugs, violence and crime left a lasting imprint on both mind and body that defined the course of his life. For many years, those forces colluded and resulted in addiction, homelessness and continual interaction with the criminal justice system, said Barrett in the memorandum, interspersing quotes from Staggers. Following his federal arrest, however, Mr. Staggers has come to terms with the effects of early traumas on his life and opened himself up to treatment and recovery... Another person might have become embittered or despondent by their arrest; Mr. Staggers is grateful for the justice systems intervention, thanking the Court for giving me the opportunity to get well and find myself.

Prosecutors John C. Durham III and Patrick Caruso of the U.S. Attorneys Office for Connecticut argued that Staggers should serve a year in prison in their sentencing memorandum.

In their sentencing memorandum, the prosecutors noted Staggers has been incarcerated for approximately 10 years of his life, committing repeated crimes, including assault and robbery.

Staggers had sold K2 on the New Haven green in the past, prosecutors said.

The individual who overdosed on K2 in Branford told officials with the Drug Enforcement Agency they believed Staggers might have been a source of the supply for the rash of suspected K2 overdoses on the Green, but declined to testify to this in court, according to the memorandum.

The defendants offense conduct, and his relevant conduct, are serious. As Staggers himself admitted in connection with his 2016 robbery arrest, everyone knew he was selling K2 on the New Haven Green. And, based upon records from the Department of Correction, Staggers appears to have committed the instant offense while still serving a two-year conditional discharge, Durham and Caruso said.. The sentence imposed, therefore, should reflect the seriousness of the defendants conduct.

Hall noted that Staggers had admitted to selling drugs that are illegal and dangerous and impacted our community, according to the Independent, even if he was not connected to the August 2018 episode, and also noted the positive steps he had taken since his arrest.

Addiction is a very difficult thing to combat, but you have uncharacteristically  maybe because of the intensive in-patient that you had  not slipped. But you havent been out very long either, Hall said, according to the Independent. I wish you all the best, Mr. Staggers.

william.lambert@hearstmediact.com
A partnership between Irving ISD and Envoy Air Inc. is expected to take the School of Aviation Science at Irving High School to new heights. The collaboration will connect the demands of a growing industry with the interests and skills of Irving ISD students.

Students enrolled in the School of Aviation Science can pursue one of three career pathways - aviation science, aviation technology or drone engineering. The program provides students with the academic foundation and technical skills they need to succeed in the aviation industry - including certifications in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), FAA 101, AutoDesk Inventor and Drone Safety. The partnership with Envoy takes their opportunities a step further providing students with relevant, realworld connections to extend their learning.

This partnership will give these students an opportunity to learn from a leading regional airline company in the aviation industry, says Shawn Blessing, Irving ISD director of Signature Studies. Through this partnership, Irving ISD aviation students will learn from the best in the industry, a company that is known for their service, craftsmanship and commitment to excellence - exactly what we aspire to teach our students through our Signature Studies programs in Irving ISD.

Through the partnership, Envoy will provide guest speakers on a quarterly basis, as well as establish a Day at Envoy tour to expose the myriad of opportunities available in the airline/aviation industry. The company will also look to develop an apprenticeship program with Irving ISD students and Envoy technicians. In addition, at the official partnership signing today, Envoy surprised program instructors and students with a professional Sonic tool box, complete with tools valued at $2,800.

At Envoy we pride ourselves on hiring the best of the best and opening our doors to young talent that has excelled in their areas of study, says Jay Murray, vice president of maintenance for Envoy Air. Over the years, weve provided opportunities for countless technical and customer service professionals who have a commitment to excellence and the desire to join a company that has been consistently growing.

Envoy Air Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines Group, operates more than 170 aircraft on nearly 1,000 daily flights to more than 150 destinations throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas and Caribbean. The companys nearly 17,000 employees provide regional flight service to American Airlines under the American Eagle brand and ground handling services for many American Airlines Group flights. The company was founded in 1998 as American Eagle Airlines Inc., following the merger of several smaller regional carriers to create one of the largest regional airlines in the world. Envoy is headquartered in Irving, Texas, with hubs in Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago, New York and Miami, with a large ground handling operation in Los Angeles. Envoy operates two heavy maintenance bases in Abilene, Texas, and Marquette, Mich., along with maintenance facilities in eight other locations throughout the U.S.

The partnership is expected to benefit more than 350 Irving ISD high school students with hopes of one day entering the lucrative and successful field of aviation.

The partnership was made official at a signing held today at Irving High School.
An Uber driver shot while trying to earn extra money for his daughters birthday was in a coma Friday after several surgeries as police arrested a suspect in connection with his attack.



Kim Troy Williams was shot twice in the abdomen around 8:20 a.m. Thursday after he had picked up two passengers, San Antonio police said.

The suspects took everything Williams had, including his wallet, cellphone and laptop, as they fled in Williams 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander.

Late Friday, 18-year-old Jesus Luna was taken into custody in connection with the shooting, SAPD spokeswoman Jennifer Rodriguez said. Luna faces a charge of aggravated robbery.

SWAT and robbery detectives arrested Luna without incident. Williams SUV was recovered not far from the site of Lunas arrest.



We are working to identify a second suspect in the incident, said Rodriguez, who asked that anyone with information about the suspect contact police.

Luna denied taking part in the incident as he was led away in handcuffs Friday night to a vehicle outside the police station.

Asked if he had any regrets about ending up in handcuffs, Luna said Yes...everything, but declined to elaborate.

Police did not reveal Lunas role in Williams shooting.

After he was shot, Williams made his way to a nearby muffler shop for help. Paramedics picked him up there and transported him to San Antonio Military Medical Center .

Amy Keslar Williams said that after her brother-in-law was shot, he remained conscious long enough to get to the hospital.

Williams gave police a description of one of the suspects who attacked him and an emergency contact before going into a coma, his sister-in-law said.

As of Friday, Williams remained in a medically induced coma after enduring four surgeries.

Doctors removed parts of his internal organs that were damaged by the bullets, including his gall bladder, liver, a piece of his stomach and a portion of his lung, his sister-in-law said.

She said his abdomen is open and could stay that way through Sunday until doctors can finish reconstructive surgery.

Its still a long road to recovery. Hes still going to have to have a few more surgeries, Amy Williams said. Theyre not exactly sure how many because of...all the things they have to do and each one seems to have a bit of a holdup.

Williams, who works at a T.J. Maxx distribution warehouse, joined Uber to earn extra money for his daughters ninth birthday party, his family said.

Hes such a sweet guy, Amy Williams said. He never had a bad word to say about anyone. He likes to smile and laugh and loves hanging out with his daughter.

She said Kim Williams, at 6 feet, 3 inches tall with a heavy-set build, was never afraid to pick up people at certain parts of town.

The two people he picked up Thursday, who used a gift card to pay for the Uber, were strangers to him and his family, she said.

As Kim Williams continues his recovery, his family members  including his wife and 8-year-old daughter  have made sure to have at least one person by his side at all times.

Its a tough situation, were dealing as best as we can, his sister-in-law said. Everybodys been around 24 hours. Were a close-knit family, real tight-knit.

A GoFundMe account has been set up by the family to help cover medical expenses.
Many dear friends thought it a bad idea. Wasnt it dangerous? Arent they out to get us? Isnt it run by crazy clerics? Not sure about the mental health of the clerics, but basically, no, no, and no. Iran is a very modern place that looks in many ways like the U.S. Youd recognize the horrific traffic and the overwrought advertising. Youd also recognize the friendly, accommodating people, eager to interact with foreign strangers and practice their nascent English. More surprising, perhaps, is its size. Tehran has 12 million people, half again larger than New York City, with much safer streets (except to cross).

Soon, though, our peace delegation of 28 found profound and troubling differences between our two lands. Primarily the sanctions. Although Iran has lived up to its end of the nuclear treaty bargain, the U.S. has not, failing to lift the original sanctions as promised, and recently adding more. This became painfully clear when one of our number suffered a heart incident soon after arriving. The hospital treated him very professionally with old but adequate equipment, but when it came time to pay, his insurance company reneged, citing the U.S. sanctions on all financial transactions.
US Highway 75 in Collin County will soon become more free-flowing, thanks to a breakthrough agreement to add capacity to the crucial north-south freeway.

A plan to improve reliability along a stretch of US 75 between the Sam Rayburn Tollway and Interstate Highway 635 will be moving forward after an agreement was reached between local officials and the Federal Highway Administration.

The corridors under-used and ineffective high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes (one in each direction) will effectively become general purpose lanes, although about 6 percent of the time, a small toll will be required.

Because the HOV lanes were built with funding through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, current federal law dictates that they cannot become pure general-purpose lanes. Federal law requires that they must retain an HOV component with the ability for HOV users to move at reasonable speeds.

Officials from the North Central Texas Council of Governments and Texas Department of Transportation met with staff from FHWA to move the project forward. The agreement calls for the lanes to be general purpose (no toll, no HOV requirement) about 94 percent of the time, but to charge southbound single-occupant vehicles (SOVs) using the lane a minimal toll for selected hours weekday mornings and northbound SOVs using the lane a small toll for selected hours in the evening. Vehicles with two or more occupants will be able to use the new lanes without being charged the small toll. The lanes will remain open as non-tolled general-purpose lanes for the rest of the day and weekends, operating around the clock.

Collin County Commissioner Duncan Webb, a member of NCTCOGs Regional Transportation Council, heavily involved in this project, doesnt like the Federal mandate but given the current alternative of leaving the HOV lanes under-used and ineffective, the solution to move forward as required by FHWA seems to be the best and only option to legally provide material congestion relief to the users of US 75, north of IH 635.

Collin County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the country, which creates transportation challenges, said Webb. The RTC and our transportation partners have developed a solution that will improve the use, capacity, and reliability of one of the countys most important transportation corridors. It was critical to our residents that any agreement minimize any required tolling on the lanes while we will continue working with our local congressional delegation to change the law and eliminate the toll. All partners are eager to identify the elements of the permanent solution on US 75.

TxDOT is completing an environmental review of the corridor and will be ready to begin transition of the HOV lanes in 2019. Initially, the new lanes will operate from Bethany Drive in Allen to IH 635. A planned interchange at Ridgeview Drive and US 75 will allow the lanes to extend north to the Sam Rayburn Tollway once the interchange is complete, in 2025. The $28 million interchange is expected to receive environmental clearance by June, with construction slated to begin in September 2022.

The goal of this project is to increase the capacity of US 75 in order to make the fast-growing corridor more efficient for commuters, residents and businesses in the area, said Allen Mayor Steve Terrell. Collin County continues to experience substantial growth, and it is important that we address transportation needs along this corridor while doing so in a way that is fair to motorists. Lanes that remain toll-free most of the time was a fair and equitable way to improve reliability.

Our efforts to address the underutilized High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes along US 75 is a perfect example of how we collaborate on a local, county and state level to improve mobility for our citizens, said Plano Mayor Harry LaRosiliere.

Collin County added approximately 37,000 residents in 2017, accounting for 26 percent of the Dallas-Fort Worth areas growth, according to NCTCOG data.

Limited-access highways have been built to accommodate the increased population. The Sam Rayburn Tollway, George Bush Turnpike and Dallas North Tollway are all essential highways, but each is a toll road.

Both Collin County leaders and their constituents want more non-tolled options to be part of the transportation system going forward.

While it is unfortunate that archaic federal law prohibits this vital stretch of US Highway 75 in Collin County from being opened to completely free traffic, the current plan is the best possible option for our commuters, taxpayers and residents at this time, said State Representative Jeff Leach. I appreciate the opportunity to work with Commissioner Duncan Webb on this important issue and I look forward to continuing to advocate with him and our other local, state and federal authorities to ensure efficient and effective transit options for the people we are elected to serve.
American Legion Post 199 is accepting applications from boys interested in attending the 84th annual session of the American Legion Illinois Premier Boys State at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, June 8-14.

The program is designed for boys of outstanding qualifications in character and leadership to attend one of the most respected and selective educational programs of government instruction ever designed for high school students.

To be eligible for the program, boys must have completed their junior year of high school and have at least one semester of high school remaining. The American Legion Auxiliary sponsors a separate but similar program for young women called Girls State.

The very first Boys State was convened in 1935 at the State Fairgrounds in Springfield, after a vision of three Illinois Legionnaires. About 200 boys from across Illinois attended that camp, designed to give young men an opportunity to learn the operation of American government on the local, state and national levels. By 1937, attendance at Illinois Boys State session was 1,200 boys.

Attendees learn by doing and during the week-long session they form city, county and state governments for a mythical 51st state.

All aspects of government are considered, from elections to drafting a state constitution and creating laws for the mythical state. Additionally, nine scholarships totaling more than $15,000 are awarded at the end of the session to boys who excel in an essay contest, an oration contest, leadership and achievement during the session. Each Boys State program selects two representatives to attend Boys Nation in Washington, D.C.

The registration fee for the weeklong session is covered by American Legion Post 199 and donations from local businesses. Other sponsors interested in supporting the program are welcome.

Applications for Boys State should be submitted to the post no later than May 1. Although the Illinois Boys State website offers an online registration, we request a printed application be submitted. An orientation session will be held for attendees and their parents in late May. Applicants will be individually notified of the exact date of the orientation session.

Applications and additional information may be found at https://illinoisboysstate.org or by calling Post American Chairman Larry Miller at (618) 616-9415 or Post 199 at (618) 656-9774.
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Linkedin Inforial (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta, Indonesia  Mon, March 25, 2019 00:02 993 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee8385235 4 Inforial Free

Whether for leisure or business purposes, there is only one accommodation in Jakarta you should consider to cater to your needs: Gran Melia Jakarta.

The five-star hotel has many advantages: First of all, it is conveniently located in a prime location  on Jl. Rasuna Said, Kav X-0, in Kuningan, South Jakarta, Jakartas golden triangle, the hub of all important activities in the city.

Second, the hotel also brings with it more than 22 years of experience hosting social and corporate events, not to mention various meetings and conferences, with its blending of a comprehensive event planning service with professional execution, attention to detail, luxurious state-of-the-art facilities, multi-award-winning dining and personable service.

With this extensive track record, the hotel focuses on serving every guests objectives, providing them ultimate comfort, helping them to attain an optimal environment where they can achieve the hospitality experience they desire.

In terms of interior design, the hotel applies a sleek modern touch to its rooms, designed to foster dynamic activities within them, while adding some surprising touches. The hotel itself boasts 10 banquet and conference rooms equipped with the latest technology and audio-visual communication tools necessary for events attended by between 16 and 290 persons.

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Regardless of the size or the style of the social or corporate event you are hosting, the hotel specializes in tailoring its services on an individual level, making sure that each event is planned and implemented with precision.

The hotels events specialists will then design the room configuration keeping in mind the number of guests attending the event. For instance, you can choose to have either oval or round tables for intimate meetings. For a bigger forum, you can use the hotels theater, classroom or boardroom layouts.

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The hotels Legian Room, meanwhile, offers an elegant and contemporary function space featuring a retractable partition wall to allow extra space to cater events  workshops and conferences  for larger groups.

The hotel also offers special rent packages for occasions like wedding receptions, birthday parties, prom nights, private gatherings or family/friend get-togethers in a more distinctive location, like the Lobby Lounge, with its signature open ambiance, the Cafe Gran Via, or the authentic Yoshi Izakaya and Tien Chao restaurants.

Our expert planners and specialists will work closely with you to design customized meetings that reflect their unique tastes with our distinctive Spanish flair. We will guarantee that your experience with the hotel will result in great leisure and great business activities, whichever engagement you happen to be up to at any particular time.

For inquiries and reservations, call (021)526 8080, extension 2201/2302, or send an email to catering@granmeliajakarta.com.
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Linkedin Rita Widiadana (The Jakarta Post) The Hague  Sun, March 24, 2019 09:01 994 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee83702b8 1 Health #health,#children,#tuberculosis,#TB,#WorldTBDay,#healthcare,#health-conference,#poverty,#medicine Free

The writer was invited by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Health to attend the 49th World Lung Health Conference in the Hague and visited health facilities and research centers in the Netherlands under a media scholars program. The following is her report on World TB Day 2019, celebrated on Sunday.

Four-year-old Adiraja Bima looks weak and thin. Unlike curious and active boys of his age, Adiraja can barely walk.

Months ago, Adiraja had a high fever and his abdomen was distended, preventing him from urinating and passing his stool. He never stopped coughing.

His mother Yuni Prastika took her son to the nearest hospital where doctors carried out an x-ray of his abdomen, a sonograph and an MRI scan. He also underwent an operation on his back  a laminectomy.

The biopsy report tested positive for Tuberculosis (TB) Spondylitis. The diagnosis took one month and the doctors didnt suspect TB at all at the beginning.

Coming from an underprivileged family, the mother believed Adiraja got his TB from her roommate.

In the spotlight: Angelina Grab (second left), a 9-year-old child TB survivor from South Africa, attends a press conference during the 49th World Lung Health Conference in The Hague, the Netherlands. She is one of the 1 million children affected by child TB worldwide. (Courtesy of The Union/-)

In South Africa, Angelina Grab, 9, suffered from pulmonary TB when she was 2 years old. To make things worse, Angelina is suffering from autoimmune disease.

My daughter had TB when she was 2 years old. She suffers from Common Variable Immune Deficiency (CVID) and was receiving immunoglobulin at the time. She had recurrent pneumonia and wasnt gaining any weight. She weighed 8 kg when she was a 1-year-old, said Janet Grab, Angelinas mother.

Being a healthcare professional myself, I could confidently address her concerns. But, my heart goes out to the children and their families in more difficult circumstances who bear the brunt of an enduring stigma every day of their lives.

Adiraja and Angelina are among 13 children with TB from around the world featured in a book called Childhood TB and Stigma: Conversations of Resilience in the War Against TB, launched by the Global Coalition of TB Activists (GCTA) during the recent World Lung Health Conference in the Hague, the Netherlands.

The books compellingly talks about the extreme challenges that these children and their families go through and how they fight child TB.

Adiraja from Indonesia and 10 other child TB survivors from India, Mexico and other cities featured in the book could not attend the conference because of their health condition.

To think that 650 children die from TB every day around the world, with 80 percent not even reaching the age of 5 is heartwrenching, said Blessi Kumar, CEO of the GCTA, while accompanying Angelina at the conference.

World Tuberculosis Day (Shutterstock/Prokopenko Oleg)

TB is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which usually affects the lungs, but it can affect virtually any part of the body. TB spreads from person to person through the air when someone sick with the disease coughs, sneezes or spits.

Key symptoms include cough, fever, night sweats and weight loss. While TB is treatable and curable in most cases, without proper treatment up to two-thirds of people with TB will die.

After India, Indonesia is the second country with the highest TB burden in the world; and an estimated TB incidence of 1.02 million cases per year, 17.8 percent of which affect children.

The number of children who became sick with TB reached 227,000 in India in 2017, while China has 100,000 children with TB; the Philippines 70,000 and Indonesia 65,000.

Until recently, child TB had not been a priority for both national and global public health. In most countries, the number of children being reported by the national tuberculosis program is far below what is estimated.

Many countries do not have sufficient information on the number of children affected by TB or the system in place to identify these children. This is in part because children are rarely infectious and consequently do not substantially contribute to the spread of the disease.

The Global Tuberculosis report 2017 stated that an estimated 1.3 million children under 5 years of age globally were household contacts of bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary TB cases and were eligible for TB preventive treatment according to policy recommendations in 2016. Of these, only 13 percent were reported to have begun preventive TB treatment.

Children with TB rarely die when they receive standard treatment for the disease, but 90 percent of children sick with TB worldwide are left untreated, said Paula I. Fujiwara, scientific director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease.

This neglect can no longer be excused on the grounds of economy or expediency. TB is preventable, treatable, curable. The continuing medical neglect of child TB, resulting in millions of avoidable deaths, constitutes a human rights violation by any reasonable measure.

Tereza Kazaeva, director of the WHO Global TB Program, said ending TB in children by 2030 was an integral part of the TB Strategy, which is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.

The world has committed to ending preventable deaths in children. Addressing Child TB is critical to achieving this goal, the director said. (ste)
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Linkedin Rita Widiadana (The Jakarta Post) The Hague  Sun, March 24, 2019 09:05 994 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee8371b65 1 Health #health,#children,#tuberculosis,#TB,#WorldTBDay,#healthcare,#WHO,#medicine,#health-conference Free

The writer was invited by the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Health to attend the 49th World Lung Health Conference in the Hague and visit health facilities and research centers in the Netherlands under the media scholars program. The following is her report written to observe World TB Day 2019, which fell on Sunday.

Many developing countries still use the testing and treatment methods for tuberculosis developed 130 years ago, according to the STOP TB Partnership and the World Health Organization (WHO).

In the partnerships Towards Zero TB Deaths in Children report it is states that the current vaccine for TB, the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), was discovered in 1920s and no new vaccine has become available since then. Worse, the TB treatment for children requires a mix of three to four different bitter-tasting and hard-to-swallow tablets over six months.

Currently, an estimated 239,000 children every year die from TB. Children with TB rarely die when they receive the standard treatment for the disease, but 90 percent of children who die from TB worldwide go untreated.

No child should die from TB. There is an urgent need to drastically step up investment in research and development that can deliver new and better diagnostic tools, said Jose Luis Castro, executive director of the Paris-based International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases.

Developing country: A mother sits with her child at the Kasangati Health Center on the outskirts of Kampala, Uganda. (Courtesy of The Union/-)

TB commonly affects the lungs, but in 20 to 30 percent of cases in children, it affects a different part of the body. Infants and young children are at special risk of having severe, often fatal forms of TB, such as TB meningitis, which can leave them blind, deaf, paralyzed or mentally disabled.

Currently, there is no simple, painless test for TB in children. A child must cough up a sample of sputum, which is then checked under the microscope for the bacteria that causes TB. Unfortunately, young children cannot spit up a sputum specimen and other methods are needed to get a sputum sample from them.

A doctor or health provider needs to insert a tube down the childs throat and then inject liquid in order to get a sample to test. This is frightening and painful for any affected children.

New hopes emerged when a group of researchers at the KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation in the Netherlands shared their groundbreaking trial results during the World Lung Health Conference in the Hague in October 2018 in which a simple and low-cost method, using similar processing steps to those used for sputum, could diagnose TB at any GeneXpert site using stool samples.

This method was tested in vitro using TB-negative stool samples from children in Ethiopia, and on stool samples from 36 children with presumptive TB (pTB) aged below 15 years in a tertiary care hospital in Bandung, West Java.

The work is being conducted in collaboration with the Ethiopian and Indonesian research institutes and their respective national TB control programs.

If further testing confirms the preliminary findings in Indonesia and Ethiopia, the potential for this method is enormous, said Kitty van Weezenbeek, executive director of the foundation.

Being able to diagnose TB and MDR TB from stools would mean that we have a method in our hands that can diagnose TB at the lowest healthcare level and can bring testing to hundreds of thousands of people, she added.

In that way, children can now get a microbiologically confirmed TB diagnosis at primary health centers, where that is currently not possible.

The KNCV Foundations trial is one just many increasing efforts and advocacies made by scientists, donors, governments, the private sector and all stakeholders to address childhood TB at global and national levels and has brought the issue into the spotlight.

The childhood TB subgroup, established in 2003 as part of the Stop TB Partnership, began massive efforts and advocacy in response to the almost total neglect of TB among children within global and national TB control program activities and priorities.

The first achievement was the development and publication of the WHO childhood TB guidelines in 2006 and 2014 and the initiation of the first childhood TB meeting in Stockholm in 2011 followed by the publication of the first global estimates of TB in children in the 2012 Global Tuberculosis Report.

In October 2013, under the guidance of the childhood TB subgroup, now named the Child and Adolescent TB Working Group, the WHO and partners published the first Roadmap for Childhood Tuberculosis: Toward Zero Deaths, which laid out the strategic frameworks for the global fight against childhood TB aiming for zero deaths among children.

It also collaborated closely with the TB Alliance in the Unitaid-funded Speeding Treatments to End Pediatric Tuberculosis (STEP-TB) project to develop child-friendly fixed-dosed combination (FDC) medicine in 2015.

The Health Ministry in Indonesia  home to an estimated of 65,000 children with TB  has made significant progress in research, treatment, diagnostic, reporting, training and policy developments with support from the TB Care I project (2010-2015), Challenge TB (USAID-funded projects), the KNCV, WHO and Unicef and other organizations. (ste)
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Linkedin Jessicha Valentina (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, March 24, 2019 06:30 994 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee836e5e5 1 Food Chibo,Japanese-cuisine,okonomiyaki,food,#food,restaurant Free

The residents of Jakarta are no stranger to Japanese cuisine as it is quite easy to find Japanese restaurants across the capital.

However, okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake) may be lagging behind in terms of popularity.

Not that many [restaurants] serve okonomiyaki in Indonesia, [particularly in Jakarta], said Jaddi Foods CEO Doni Wanandi, adding that the dish was not as well known as other Japanese dishes.

With that in mind, Jaddi Foods decided to open Chibo, a Japanese restaurant specializing in okonomiyaki, in Indonesia, specifically in Gandaria City shopping mall, South Jakarta.

Established in Osaka, Japan, in 1973, the brand currently has more than 60 outlets in Japan and other countries, including the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.

[Okonomiyaki] is not as popular as other [Japanese dishes], and we wanted to introduce it [in other countries], said Kanji Nakai, president of Chibo Co. Ltd., adding that though there were many similar dishes in other countries, they were not the same as the original okonomiyaki.

Read also: Chibo brings authentic okonomiyaki to Jakarta

Along with introducing okonomiyaki, Chibo works hard to maintain the brand's quality.

Nakai said the company still directly managed outlets located in Osaka, Tokyo and Nagoya.

[Besides those three cities], Chibo restaurants in Japan are managed by someone who previously worked for Chibo, explained Nakai.

For outlets outside Japan, Chibo offers franchise opportunities.

We found the right partner, said Nakai when asked why he decided to extend the franchise to Indonesia.

Moreover, the company also conducts training to ensure that the outlets meet the standardized service.

The Indonesian staff received training in Japan. Sometimes Japanese staff will come to [Indonesia] for quality control, he said.

Regarding the dishes, Nakai said the main ingredients were imported from Japan, allowing franchise outlets to serve food of a similar quality. (wng)
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Linkedin Peter Szekely (Reuters) New York, United States  Sun, March 24, 2019 08:06 994 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee836f486 2 Art & Culture immigrant,art,exhibition,Donald-Trump,New-York-City,Betsy-Ashton Free

Immigrant faces captured in life-sized portraits by artist Betsy Ashton look the viewer straight in the eye, as if eager to tell their stories of leaving home to brave new struggles in a strange land.

Ashton said she created the oil paintings to counter what she calls a false political narrative spun by the Trump administration.

"I simply decided it was time to balance the story, time to try to counter this inflammatory rage that's being whipped up against a group of people that don't deserve it," Ashton said.

Her "Portraits of Immigrants" are on display through Easter at Manhattan's Riverside Church, about 10 miles up the Hudson River from Ellis Island, where 12 million newcomers landed from 1892 to 1954. The Statue of Liberty towers over the island, asking the world in a plaque to "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free."

The portraits include teachers, entrepreneurs, a nurse, housekeeper, actor, politician and barista from Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe. They are newcomers and long-timers. Some are US citizens, others have proper documents, one does not.

Read also: 'The Donald' is a muse for Trump-loving Albanian painter

Struggling to fit in to a new culture

Their stories, which Ashton, a former CBS News correspondent, wrote and posted next to each portrait, tell of struggling to fit in to a new culture and learning a new language for the promise of a better life.

"The collective portrayal of the immigrant experience is what's compelling, not just one individual story," said Ron Kim, who came to New York from South Korea when he was 6. He is pictured in his New York State Assembly office, where he represents part of Queens, one of the city's five boroughs.

Another immigrant immortalized in oil paint is Abdul Saboor, who taught U.S. troops the culture of his native Afghanistan before coming to the United States nearly five years ago.

For Saboor, now a US citizen working for the upstate New York nonprofit that helped resettle him, Ashton's exhibit is an opportunity for Americans "to imagine themselves in my skin".

Both Kim and Saboor said they are keenly aware of - and disturbed by - the political hot potato that immigration has become since Donald Trump became president.

As a candidate in 2016, Trump stirred anti-immigrant fervor by accusing Mexico of sending drug dealers, gangs and rapists into the country, as his supporters loudly urged him to "build that wall" along the southern U.S. border.

As president, Trump has not only maintained a rhetorical drum beat against illegal immigrants, but also sought to narrow the pathways for legal immigration and travel. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

Read also: It's not Brexit (yet), but is it art, asks new London show

Sermon about the Good Samaritan

Ashton says hearing Trump during the campaign shortly after a Sunday sermon about the Good Samaritan inspired her to put brush to canvas to show the true stories of American newcomers.

In her neighborhood in Queens, where nearly half the population is foreign born, the English-Scottish-Welsh-German artist whose ancestors on her father's side arrived in the country about 300 years ago, had no trouble finding immigrants.

She started with "Eddie" Rigo, who runs the espresso bar she visits each morning. He fled crime-ridden Sao Paulo where his Italian family had been in the pizza business.

Then came Beata Szakowicz Kombel, a nurse Ashton knows from doctor visits. She left Poland's sagging economy in the early 1990s.

The collection grew to 16, and Ashton is seeking two more immigrants from troubled countries, preferably Venezuela and Syria, to complete the set.

Winning over her subjects often took salesmanship.

"I didn't want to be in the spotlight," said Porez Luxama, who left Haiti in the 1990s and teaches math in a New York City middle school. "But she was very convincing."

Ashton, whose works include a portrait on display in the US embassy in London, has spent two years on the project, which cost her more than $200,000 in lost income. She is seeking other venues for her exhibit after it leaves Riverside Church.

The subjects include "Angel" (not her real name), who came over on a tourist visa 20 years ago; Maria Solome, a Guatemalan housekeeper who sneaked across the Rio Grande but recently secured a green card; and John Lam who came from Hong Kong poor and now heads the Lam Group real estate investment conglomerate.

Despite their assorted origins, races and religions, Ashton said immigrants share a determination to overcome the problems that drove them from their homes.

"It's the grit, the guts and the resilience that comes with survival, sacrifice and risk-taking," she said. "Those are the same qualities that we celebrate in immigrants from generations past."
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse)  Mon, March 25, 2019 01:07 993 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee838571e 2 Science & Tech Microsoft,DNA,Science,research,University-of-Washington Free

On Thursday, Microsoft announced that a team of researchers successfully executed a proof-of-concept test demonstrating that messages can be encoded in DNA then retrieved and converted back into digital data.

Microsoft researchers have been working with those from the University of Washington to develop the "first fully automated system to store and retrieve data in manufactured DNA," a process which has been described in a paper published on Thursday by Nature Scientific Reports.

The experiment is simply a proof-of-concept test, but the research team was able to encode "hello" into bits of synthesized DNA and then convert it back into digital data using a "fully automated end-to-end system;" the conversion of those five letters took 21 hours.

Because DNA is orders of magnitude smaller than the datacenters that store digital information today, it can potentially be used as a new means to store everything from "business records and cute animal videos to medical scans and images from outer space."

Read also: The empire strikes back: Microsoft returns to the top of the world

All the data stored in a warehouse-sized datacenter could be reduced to the size of a couple standard board game dice if stored via DNA. Additionally, DNA could last much longer than the current tech used to store information which is expected only to survive a couple decades.

Right now, the cost of creating synthetic DNA and then retrieving stored information from it is still too high for commercial use, but the proof-of-concept is a significant step towards reducing the size and footprint of today's datacenters.

To help move DNA storage from research labs to datacenters, researchers from @uwcse and Microsoft demonstrate a fully automated DNA storage system https://t.co/O5dyfikimm pic.twitter.com/xxnwIPGASW  Microsoft Research (@MSFTResearch) March 21, 2019
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse)  Sun, March 24, 2019 09:03 994 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee8370e6e 2 Entertainment Chefs-Table,Netflix,street-food,Singapore,India Free

A new series exploring street food in Asia is coming to Netflix next month from the creators of Chef's Table.

The first season will take viewers through nine countries across Asia, including the famous hawker stalls of Singapore and food carts in India, tweeted series producer Brian McGinn.

Thrilled that our new show STREET FOOD will be out 4/26 on @netflix. Some very exciting stories and delicious destinations we can't wait to share.  Brian McGinn (@brimcgi) March 19, 2019

Read also: 2019 Ubud Food Festival aims to encourage cross-cultural exchange

The official promotional line from Netflix reads: "From the creators of Chef's Table, Street Food takes viewers to some of the world's most vibrant cities to explore the rich culture of street food all over the globe."

Street Food debuts on Netflix April 26.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse)  Sun, March 24, 2019 20:02 993 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee8382bc4 2 Food Anthony-Bourdain,Anthony-Bourdain-Remembered,CNN,Book,chef,united-states Free

CNN is releasing a tribute book in memory of the late Anthony Bourdain that includes photos and comments from Barack Obama and Eric Ripert.

Anthony Bourdain Remembered will be released ahead of the one-year anniversary of his death by suicide last year which shocked the food and travel world.

Filed under portrait photography on Amazon, the 208-page book is described as a collection of quotes, memories, images and anecdotes of the writer, raconteur, food and travel TV personality. It was edited and produced for CNN, which carried his wildly popular travel show Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.

Read also: Anthony Bourdains biography to be published in 2019

The book features commentary from friends, chefs, journalists, filmmakers, musicians and writers including Barack Obama, who famously sat down to lunch with Bourdain during a visit to Vietnam, along with Eric Ripert, Jose Andres, Jill Filipovic, Ken Burns and Questlove.

CNN is also reportedly working on a big-screen documentary about Bourdain's life that's set to hit theaters this year, while an authorized biography will feature a compilation of stories shared by his closest friends and edited by his long-time collaborator Laurie Woolever.

Anthony Bourdain Remembered will be released May 28.
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Linkedin Rachmadea Aisyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, March 23 2019

Female leaders of Indonesias state and private sectors are striving to achieve gender equality in the workplace, something they acknowledge as having long been overlooked in the formal work environment.

They explained their efforts during a joint event titled Ring the Bell for Gender Equality initiated by United Nations Women, UN Global Compact, UN Sustainable Stock Exchange and several other partners.

As the presence of women in the workplace increases, stakeholders need to ensure their rights and safety so that their contribution can be translated into a larger contribution to economic growth, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, March 24, 2019 10:36 994 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee8377531 1 National KPK,bribery-case,Krakatau-Steel,BUMN Free

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has named Wisnu Kuncoro, a director at state-owned steel manufacturer PT Krakatau Steel, and three business executives suspects in a case of alleged bribery related to procurement projects within the countrys largest steel producer.

Wisnu, the company's production and technology director, allegedly received kickbacks to grant the projects to machinery supplier PT Tjokro Bersaudara (Tjokro Group) and engineering and manufacturing company PT Grand Tech after executives of the companies agreed to pay commitment fees to him.

Alexander Muskitta, a broker, allegedly received Wednesday a check amounting to Rp 50 million from Grand Tech president director Kenneth Sutardja, while Tjokro Group chief operating officer Kurniawan Eddy Tjokro allegedly handed US$4,000 and Rp 45 million to Alexander at a coffee shop in South Jakarta.

Alexander, suspected to have acted under Wisnus orders, is said to have later put the money in his own bank account.

The antigraft body arrested Wisnu on Friday along with Alexander at a shopping mall in Bintaro, South Tangerang, while the latter was delivering Rp 20 million in cash as part of the alleged kickbacks. It also detained Kenneth on the same day at his house in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, while Kurniawan still remains at large.

KPK deputy chairman Saut Situmorang said all four suspects violated the Corruption Law.

We suggest that KET immediately come to the KPK building to surrender, Saut said, referring to Kurniawan, during a press conference at the KPK headquarters in South Jakarta on Saturday evening.

The KPK also arrested on Friday Krakatau Steel blast furnace general manager Hernanto, along with his driver, in Kuningan, South Jakarta, while the company's maintenance and facilities general manager, Heri Susanto, was caught in Cilegon, Banten. They have not been named suspects.

Saut explained that Wisnu had made a procurement order related to boilers and containers for the company this year. The projects are worth Rp 24 billion and Rp 2.4 billion respectively.

Alexander allegedly introduced Kenneth and Kurniawan, who were interested in taking the projects, and ready to give a commitment fee of 10 percent of the total value of the procurement fee stated in the contract.

[Alexander] had allegedly been acting as a representative of [Wisnu], Saut said.

Saut said Alexander had asked Kenneth and Kurniawan to give him Rp 50 million and Rp 100 million respectively.

The KPK investigators seized Alexanders bank passbook as evidence, as all of the kickback money was allegedly only put in his bank account.

Saut said the KPK regretted that there were still cases of bribery at state-owned companies.

"Krakatau Steel, established in 1970, has become a leading steel producer. However, the dirty practices inside have made it so that the steel manufacturer is not performing well, he said.

The KPK deputy head urged all state-owned companies to conduct transparent procurement processes.

"They must close the door to brokers or agents so that the industry will be competitive," Saut added.

The steel company, which operates in Cilegon, Banten, has suffered losses for the past six years. As of the third quarter of 2018, the publicly listed company recorded a loss of US$37.38 million, down 50.19 percent from the same period in the previous year.

It vowed earlier this year to restructure its business and debts in order to regain profits.

Krakatau Steel president director Selmy Karim said the company was currently evaluating its internal management.

The company, Selmy added, was also improving its performance by putting professionalism and good corporate governance forward in a bid to prevent conflicts of interest from arising.

We will be cooperative with the KPK to resolve the case as soon as possible, Selmy said in a statement received by The Jakarta Post. (das)
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Brussels  Sun, March 24, 2019

Abolition now! Abolition now!

Hundreds of human rights campaigners from countries across the world chanted this as they marched on the streets of Brussels, calling for the universal end to capital punishment.

The participants of the rally, which was held recently in Belgiums capital as part of the closing event for the seventh World Congress against the Death Penalty, held up a large banner emblazoned with the words Say No to the Death Penalty.

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Here are some of the public figures who have played pivotal roles in events.

Nigel Farage

A eurosceptic member of the European Parliament and former leader of the UK Independence Party (UKIP), Farage has been campaigning to leave the European Union for 25 years.

A surge in support for his anti-establishment party helped push then-prime minister David Cameron into calling the 2016 referendum on Britain's EU membership.

Farage caused controversy with his campaign focus on mass immigration.

He now spearheads the Brexit Party under the slogan "It's time to save Brexit" and vowed Friday to lead it into the European elections with a roster of candidates if Britain agrees a longer extension to the country's departure from the bloc.

He has also periodically joined a march from Sunderland to London for a mass Leave Means Leave rally later this month.

David Cameron

Prime minister for six years from 2010, Cameron launched a referendum on EU membership and then led the Remain campaign.

When the country backed Brexit, he had little choice but to stand down, admitting he could not be "the captain that steers our country to its next destination".

Cameron has since stayed largely out of the limelight, penning his memoirs. He made a rare comment in January that he did not regret calling the referendum but deeply regretted the Remain defeat and the ensuing problems.

Theresa May

The prime minister quietly supported Remain in the 2016 referendum but emerged as the "safe hands" candidate to lead the governing Conservatives after Cameron's departure.

May vowed Britain would leave the single market and end freedom of movement, but her negotiating position was severely weakened when she decided to hold a snap general election in June 2017, which saw the Conservatives lose their parliamentary majority.

She has since faced near-constant rebellions and chastening defeats, but has somehow defied the odds, remained in office and is still battling to get her twice-rejected deal through parliament.

However in the wake of this week's agreed delay to Brexit and growing political paralysis, speculation is rife that she may now have to stand down.

Jeremy Corbyn

The veteran socialist rose from a career of leftist obscurity to win the leadership of the main opposition Labour Party in 2015.

Thanks to grassroots support, he survived an internal coup by his own MPs over his lukewarm support for Labour's Remain position in the EU membership referendum.

He has since been criticised by both the pro- and anti-EU camps for sitting on the fence over Brexit, and faced the wrath of Remainers for not wholeheartedly supporting a second referendum.

Boris Johnson

The former London mayor was a key figurehead in the official Leave campaign, urging Britain to "take back control" from Brussels.

He was made foreign secretary by the new leader May but his two-year stint ended when he resigned over her Brexit strategy.

He remains a high-profile character, using his weekly column in The Daily Telegraph to assail May's approach.

Johnson has recently tamed his wild blond locks, shrunk his waistline and gone public with his new partner, raising suspicions that he is lining himself up as a contender to replace May.

The Daily Telegraph reported Johnson visited May in Downing Street Friday to remind her that she had previously promised Tories only to serve "as long as you want me".

Jacob Rees-Mogg

Dubbed "the MP for the 18th century", the erudite, ultra-Conservative backbencher leads the eurosceptic European Research Group of 60 to 85 Conservatives who back leaving with no deal.

He failed to unseat May in December over Brexit. The ERG's refusal to back May's deal, critically over the Irish backstop, has seen it stall.

He has been keeping a lower profile in recent weeks after declaring earlier this month: "No deal is better than a bad deal but a bad deal is better than remaining in the European Union."
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, March 24, 2019 12:04 994 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee8379762 4 City Supreme-Court,apartment,anies-baswedan,developer Free

The Supreme Court has rejected a petition to revise regulations on apartment management for the purpose of giving tenants more power over issues such as residential fees.

The regulations in question are a 2018 Public Works and Housing Ministry regulation and a 2018 gubernatorial regulation on the Owners and Tenants Association (P3SRS).

In a March 19 copy of the verdict obtained by kompas.com, a panel of judges consisting of Is Sudaryono, Yosran and Irfan Fachruddin rejected the petition filed by Pahala Sutrisno Amijoyo Tampubolon.



Governor Anies Baswedan confirmed the verdict, saying that he appreciated the decision.



"I appreciate that the [court] has made a decision based on the principle of justice, he said on Friday while on a working visit to Thousand Islands regency.



It means that our decision is constitutionally correct and in line with the principle of justice we want to push.



Anies called on all stakeholders, particularly developers, to respect the decision and abide by the regulations.



The regulations stipulate that the management of apartments should be in the hands of its inhabitants, otherwise the administration would impose sanctions on developers that could include the revocation of their permits.



Conflicts between P3SRS members and tenants have occurred in the past, with tenants lambasting the P3SRS for not being transparent over building management fees. (fac)
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Linkedin Ruslan Sangadji and Dyaning Pangestika (The Jakarta Post) Palu/Jakarta  Sun, March 24, 2019 18:51 993 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee8381154 1 National ternate,poso,earthquake,BMKG,disaster Free

A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck Ternate Island in North Maluku on Sunday morning, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) reported.

The earthquake hit the area at 11:37 a.m. local time, with the epicenter located 139 kilometers west of the Jailolo Sea at a depth of 10 km. The BMKG stated that the earthquake was located 1.68 degrees north latitude and 126.37 degrees east longitude.

The US Geological Survey's (USGS) website also reported the earthquake, recording that it had a magnitude of 6.1, with its epicenter located in Bitung, North Sulawesi.

The head of the volcanology center for the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Kasbani, said the earthquake was measured at scale III of the Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) by the Karangetang Volcano Observatory Post in North Sulawesi.

The Awu and Dukono volcano observatory posts in North Sulawesi and North Maluku, respectively, also felt the earthquake. Both posts recorded it at scale II of the MMI.

Kasbani explained that the area around the earthquakes epicenter was made up of alluvium soil and tertiary sediment. The earthquake felt stronger around the area due to loose-rock formations.

This earthquake is related to Mayus ridge subduction activity, he said, adding that it was not strong enough to cause a tsunami.

Kasbani reminded the public to remain calm and be alert in case another earthquake hits.

Do not trust information from dodgy sources, and stay calm during this situation, he said. So far, no casualties have been reported.

Meanwhile, an earthquake also struck Poso regency, Central Sulawesi, on Sunday. The 5.7-magnitude earthquake hit the area at 9:32 a.m. local time, with the epicenter being 53 km west of the regency at the depth of 10 km.

The head of the BMKG, Palu Cahyo Nugroho, said another earthquake had impacted the area eight times until the afternoon.

The earthquake does not have the potential to cause a tsunami, Cahyo said.

The USGS website reported a 5.4-magnitude earthquake in Central Sulawesi, with its epicenter on land. It also recorded a 4.7-magnitude earthquake on March 23 not far from the one in North Sulawesi. It said the earthquake's epicenter was 141 km northwest of Tobelo in North Maluku.

The spokesperson for the Poso administration, Armol Songko, told The Jakarta Post that there were no casualties.

Parishioners were fleeing from churches when the earthquake hit, he said.

Armol also reported that several churches in Labone village, Pamona Utara subdistrict, suffered minor damages while temples in Meko village were heavily damaged.

None of the residents are vacating their homes. They are just sitting outside in anticipation of another earthquake, he added.

The earthquake in Poso was also be felt by Palus residents who live approximately 250 km from its epicenter.

Resident Tegar, 21, who lives on Jl. Kijang, admitted that he had frantically escaped from his house due to the tremor.

On Sept. 28, a 7.5-magnitude earthquake hit Palu and Donggala, triggering a tsunami and soil liquefaction.

The disasters killed over 2,000 people with about 5,000 being reported missing.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency said the quake was caused by a Palu-Koro thrust fault that stretched from Palu to Teluk Bone. The Palu-Koro fault was very active and its movement might have caused a submarine landslide that triggered the tsunami. (evi)

Arya Dipa contributed to this report from Bandung, West Java.
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Linkedin Marguerite Afra Sapiie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, March 24, 2019 13:34 993 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee837ac8b 1 National MRT,MRT-Jakarta,Jokowi,inauguration Free

President Joko Jokowi Widodo officially inaugurated the countrys first MRT line in Jakarta on Sunday, calling on citizens to adapt to a new culture of mass transportation.

Jokowi, accompanied by his Cabinet ministers and dozens of VVIP guests, embarked from the MRT station to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle, where he led the inauguration in a signing ceremony.

Today marks the beginning of a new era as the first phase of MRT operations officially begins, Jokowi said in his speech before hundreds of Jakartans during Car Free Day.

The [MRT] is part of a new culture because this is a first in Indonesia.

The first phase of the MRT Jakarta project covered the construction of 13 stations along a 15.7-kilometer route from Lebak Bulus Station in South Jakarta to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta.

Over the last 12 days, members of the public have flocked to the stations to enjoy the MRT's trial run for free, which will run until next Sunday. The MRT will start commercial operations on April 1. The fares have yet to be set, with hearing sessions yet to take place at the Jakarta Council.

Jokowi himself twice joined the public on board trains during the MRT trial run this week.

The President called on the public to be responsible when using the MRT, avoid littering inside the train and in stations, wait in orderly lines and be punctual.

Unless we are willing to adapt to a new culture, there will be no point in having the MRT, Jokowi told reporters after the ceremony.

Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said that during the first month of commercial operations, the MRT would deploy eight trains from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The number of trains will later be expanded to 16 and run from 5 a.m. to 12 a.m.

In the meantime, the MRT has been integrated with Transjakarta and, God willing, the service will soon be integrated with commuter lines and trains, Anies said.

Sunday also marked the groundbreaking ceremony for the second phase of MRT Jakarta, which will span 7.8 kilometers, connecting the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to Kota Station in West Jakarta. The project itself is expected to be completed by 2024.

The Jokowi administration is also keen on immediately beginning work on the West-East line of the MRT, which will connect Balaraja in Tangerang, Banten, to Cikarang in Bekasi, West Java.

I have made an order for the construction of the West-East line to start this year, Jokowi said.

The government is hoping to reduce traffic congestion in Greater Jakarta, which costs an estimated Rp 65 trillion (US$4.54 billion) in annual losses.

The administrations overall plan is to create an integrated public transportation system that includes the MRT, the light rail transit (LRT) system, Transjakarta and the airport train.

The President said he expected commuters to gradually switch to riding the MRT and other public transportation means to get around Greater Jakarta, especially since more routes would be available in the future.

The government set a target to complete the integrated system within a period of 10 years. Jokowi said its total investment was Rp 571 trillion. (swd)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sun, March 24, 2019 15:26 993 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee837e176 1 Politics megawati-soekarnoputri,Sukarno,Gus-Dur,Abdurraman-Wahid,nasi-goreng,fried-rice,Hasto-Kristiyanto,PDI-P,2019-elections Free

Former president and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputris nasi goreng (fried rice) recipe was shared with the public on the first day of an open campaign on Sunday.

Despite being absent for the launch, the PDIPs secretary general, Hasto Kristiyanto, who had replaced her at the event, shared the recipe with hundreds of supporters in Tangerang, Banten.

Hasto said Megawati had come up with it when her father, Indonesia's first president Sukarno, asked her to cook food for protesters.

Even Indonesia's third president, Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, said the dish was one of his favorites, Hasto added. Megawati served as Gus Dur's vice president before the latter was impeached and the former ascended to the presidency.

Prior to the campaigns launch, the recipe was leaked by a number of women who participated in a cooking competition centered round the dish.

"Starting from today, Bu Mega's recipe will be available to all Indonesian citizens," Hasto said after tasting one of the two winners offering.

The ingredients consist of garlic, red onion, onions, shrimp paste, cabbage and three types of chili -- gendot (fat) chili, curly red chili and cayenne pepper.

Apart from the main ingredients, the recipe also requires two pieces of candlenut, salt, soy sauce and chicken fat. All of them are mixed with butter, two eggs and chopped chicken breast.

"First, cook the spices (such as the chili) with the chopped chicken breast and chicken fat. Then, fry the portions of rice along with the eggs. Put some soy sauce as you stir the ingredients. Lastly, mix the cooked spices and combine it with the fried rice until they blend," Hasto said in a statement on behalf of Megawati. (mai/swd)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post)  Mon, March 25 2019

Roy Kosasih (Antara)

Honeywell Indonesia, the local unit of diversified conglomerate Honeywell International Inc., is redirecting its focus from the oil and gas sector to aviation and smart building technology following a shortfall in Indonesias energy-related investments last year. Indonesias investment in the energy sector last year only reached 86 percent of the governments US$37.2 billion target, prompting the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry to set a lower target of $33.34 billion for this year. Honeywells readjusted focus will pit it against other global brands in aviation and building technology. How is the company preparing its strategy to take on the competition? The Jakarta Posts Norman Harsono talked to Honeywell Indonesia president director Roy Kosasih during a media visit in Shanghai, China, to discuss the issue. Below is an excerpt of the interview.

Question: Why did Honeywell decide to focus on aviation and building technologies?

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Linkedin Duncan Graham (The Jakarta Post) Malang, East Java  Mon, March 25 2019

How to get the golden egg without disturbing the hen?

This was a typical conundrum posed by Indonesias fourth president, the late Abdurrahman Wahid. Better known as Gus Dur, he was one of the nations most prominent theologians, a committed democrat and lover of metaphors.

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Linkedin Verania Andria (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, March 25 2019

In her recent visit to Indonesia, the former secretary-general of the United Nations climate change negotiations, Christiana Figueres, a global key player in climate change, coined a new term that could describe the best prescription for energy transition in the country: Gragent  meaning gradual but urgent.

Figueres was referring to the way Indonesia needs to address its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission cut in the energy sector. The UN Development Program (UNDP) embraces the Gragent term, given the fact that more than half of Indonesias current energy is supplied by fossil fuel.

The transition toward more renewable energy is a matter of urgency since Indonesia contributes significantly to global GHG emissions and climate change from burning fossil fuel. At the same time, a gradual transition is pivotal, since an abrupt shift may cause social and economic instability. Moreover, Indonesia has ratified the Paris Agreement and committed in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to reduce by 2030 at least 11 percent of GHG emission from energy sector compared to business as usual level of emissions.

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Linkedin Charles Onians and Sonia Logre (Agence France-Presse) Roccaraso, Italy  Sun, March 24, 2019 16:03 993 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee837f0fb 2 News Italy,Train,tourism Free

Destroyed first by the Nazis and then by government cuts, Italy's very own "Trans-Siberian" railway has reopened thanks to the work of hobbyists, taking travelers back in time through the snowy Abruzzo mountains.

Today, lovingly restored, almost 100-year-old carriages take tourists along the 120-kilometer line from Rome to the Roccaraso ski resort to the east, passing over countless precarious viaducts.

The Sulmona-Roccaraso section, reaching an altitude of 1,269 meters at its highest point, was opened in 1897 and is a feat of engineering, winding its way up the steep, rocky mountainside in a series of long, elegant loops.

The self-described "low-speed travelling museum", widely known as the Italian Trans-Siberian, passes through myriad tunnels and narrow cuttings, past frozen lakes and snowy forests.

Even the occasional wolf can be seen along the way.

"It's really an amazing experience, going back in time, with these slow-moving trains, rather than really fast ones where you can't see anything outside," said Neapolitan tourist Elisabetta, traveling with her partner and 10-year-old son Giosue.

Usually "you're isolated from the sound, while here you can hear the noise of the train," she added, with a beaming smile.

Read also: Italy leads the way in Booking.com 2018 Guest Review Awards

Resurrected

Historically, the line played a vital role linking up isolated communities in the Apennine mountains, less than two hours' drive from Rome.

The railway line was destroyed by the Nazis during World War II as they were defeated by Italian partisans backed by the British, and it was only reopened in 1960.

But by the late 20th century, roads had improved and the line was completely closed in 2011 after decades of government cuts.

Then, in 2014 passionate enthusiasts from the Le Rotaie association dedicated to safeguarding old railways teamed up with the Italian Railways Foundation to get the line known as the Neapolitan reopened.

Read also: Need vacation ideas? Here are 2018's most googled travel destinations

To school, work -- or Americas

"This line went to Naples, to the port of Naples, from where so many Italians boarded ships to emigrate to the Americas," said Le Rotaie's Claudio Colaizzo, whose day job is as a travel agent.

"It was also hugely important for everyone who lived in the region, because it allowed people to go to school or work even when the weather was bad, when there was two meters of snow," said Colaizzo, who travels to the train from Pescara on Italy's east coast.

He describes himself and his fellow amateur train addicts as "trainsexuals".

The carriages are known as "hundred doors" as passengers can climb on board at almost any seat, pulled by a comparatively recent, and smelly, 1970s diesel locomotive.

Where the train stops, travellers get off and can buy local cheeses or sausage, injecting cash into often isolated communities.

Abruzzo native Vinicio D'Agostino is one of a band of folk musicians who board the train to accompany the hypnotic sound of the trains on the tracks.

He remembers when he used to take this train back in 1969.

"Fifty years on, it was very emotional to get back on board," said D'Agostino, who gave his age as around 70.

"My companions can tell you, I said 'mamma mia', I took this train to do my military service, it was just amazing," he said, before getting back to his traditional drumming.

Le Rotaie dreams of restoring the entire line running between Pescara and Naples, joining the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas on either side of Italy.

For now, a first-class velvet-covered seat costs 40 euros ($45) for a return trip from Rome, or you can opt for cheaper wooden benches in third class for 30 euros.
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Linkedin (The Japan News/Asia News Network) Kofu, Japan  Sun, March 24, 2019 17:33 993 dcc1aefb9780f102b77c720ee837fdfe 2 News Mount-Fuji,Japan,travel,Muslim,Muslim-travelers Free

Residents in the area below the northern slope of Mt. Fuji in Yamanashi Prefecture, which receives many foreign tourists, are putting effort into creating an environment more welcoming to Muslims. Behind this move lies a surge in the number of tourists from Indonesia and Malaysia, both predominantly Muslim countries.

According to the Yamanashi prefectural government, 47,990 Indonesians and 42,680 Malaysians stayed overnight in the prefecture in 2018, up 18 percent and 55.5 percent, respectively, from the previous year. The number of Indonesian and Malaysian visitors is expected to increase going forward.

At the Fuji-Q Highland amusement park in Fujiyoshida in the prefecture, a prayer room opened on Feb. 4. The about 16-square-meter room was built by renovating part of a first-aid room. The room is equipped with a marker that indicates the direction of Mecca, the Muslim holy place, and a place to wash hands and feet before praying. Visitors can use the room freely during the parks opening hours.

This room will help increase the satisfaction level of Muslim visitors, an official of the amusement park said.

At the Fujiten Snow Resort in Narusawa, Yamanashi Prefecture, a prayer space opened last year.

Read also: Make-your-own udon at Japan's new noodle hotel in Kagawa

Efforts are also underway to offer hospitality to Muslim tourists with regard to food.

On Feb. 15, a restaurant in Oshino Shinobi no Sato, a tourist facility featuring ninja in Oshino, Yamanashi Prefecture, acquired a halal certification that is issued to facilities and products conforming to Islamic law. The restaurant does not use pork or alcohol in its food, while setting aside special spaces for cooking and ingredient storage.

Sylvans, a microbrewery restaurant in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, began offering a Muslim Welcome BBQ in October last year. The restaurant added a barbecue dish using Halal certified meat to its menu.

All these facilities plan to increase the number of halal menu items from here on.

Ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, we are receiving more and more inquiries about halal food. Wed like to continue making efforts to increase the satisfaction level of all tourists and make the entire area grow as an international tourism site, Harunobu Kayanuma, a general manager of the restaurant, said.

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This article appeared on The Japan News newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
AFIRI Rawalpindi Jobs 2019 Via UTS

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Phuket goes to the polls for national election

PHUKET: Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana was the first to cast his vote at the polling station at the Phuket Municipality Meeting Hall on Narisorn Rd in Phuket Town this morning as polling stations opened across the island in the national election today (Mar 24).

Sunday 24 March 2019, 11:35AM

People cast their votes at the polling station on Narisorn Rd in Phuket Town. Photo: PR Dept

People cast their votes at the polling station on Narisorn Rd in Phuket Town. Photo: PR Dept

People cast their votes at the polling station on Narisorn Rd in Phuket Town. Photo: PR Dept

People cast their votes at the polling station on Narisorn Rd in Phuket Town. Photo: PR Dept

Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana (left) was the first to vote at the polling station on Narisorn Rd in Phuket Town. Photo: PR Dept

Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana (left) was the first to vote at the polling station on Narisorn Rd in Phuket Town. Photo: PR Dept

Phuket Governor Phakaphong Tavipatana (left) was the first to vote at the polling station on Narisorn Rd in Phuket Town. Photo: PR Dept

The polling station is one of 22 set up throughout the Talad Yai subdistrict of Phuket Town, which has the prestige of being the Electorate No 1 on the island, and home to 822 eligible voters.

Governor Phakaphong pointed out that 366 polling stations have been set up across Phuket for todays election.

All 366 Phuket polling stations are ready in all aspects. In order to support and facilitate the voters, the Election Commission has determined the number of voters in each unit averaging about 800 people per unit, he said.

The weather today is very good, the polling stations will not be hot and not crowded people exercise their right to vote in other areas, he added.

The atmosphere of the election so far has been conducive, there have been no reports of irregularities, Gov Phakaphong added.

As for preparations in island areas such as Koh Lone, Naka Island and Coconut Island, it has all been done well, he said.

Nutthawat Wongitsaraphap, Director of the Phuket office of the Election Commission (PEC) noted that Phuket Provincial Police are co-ordinating with local police in each area to provide security and to facilitate traffic while people travel to the polling stations, which are open from 8am to 5pm.

However, he called on people to not leave casting their votes until the last minute.

We would like to remind people to cast their votes from the morning to avoid crowds at 5pm and to stress that this election uses only one ballot  only one number has to be chosen, he said.

And do not take photographs of the ballot or damage the card or else it can be deemed a criminal offense, he added.

After the polls close at 5pm, the polling station officers will immediately count the votes in that polling station, Mr Nutthawat explained.

It is expected to take up to three hours to complete the count. People can follow the vote counting at district vote-counting centres set up each constituency (see story here) and the unofficial results of the count are expected at around 7pm, he said.
Phuket Opinion: A vote for everything, or a vote for nothing?

PHUKET: Today (Mar 24), Thailand is holding its first genuine national election for seven years. For many young voters, it will be their first. Voter turnout is expected to be high, as it seems everyone young and old has an opinion to express through their ballots.

politics

By The Phuket News

Sunday 24 March 2019, 09:00AM

A man checks the candidate profiles at the advance voting held in Phuket last weekend. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

If its any indication, according to the Election Commission in Bangkok about 2.6 million people registered for the advance voting held across the country last Sunday (Mar 17) with a national average of nearly 87% turning out to cast their votes, and turnout in several areas exceeding 90%.

Anywhere in that region of turnout would be a far cry from the 54.75% of eligible voters in Phuket who cast their votes last year in the national referendum for the current Constitution.

Last weekend, Phuket had the highest number in the South for those living and working on the island casting their votes for candidates in their home provinces elsewhere in Southern Thailand in a clear statement that they want their voices to be heard.

However, with elections held so far in the past, many young  and now even not so young  voters may well have forgotten that seats won in the 14 provinces of Southern Thailand count for virtually nothing.

Yingluck Shinawatras landslide victory in 2011 saw her Pheu Thai Party win not a single seat of the 53 seats available in the South.

In 2007, the Peoples Power Party  an incarnation of Thaksin Shinawatras then-oulawed Thai Rak Thai Party  won just two of 56 seats available in the South. (Also notice how the number of seats in the South are somehow falling. This year there are only 50 seats in Southern Thailand up for grabs in the national election.)

Thaksin himself fared no better. In 2005 his Thai Rak Thai Party won just one seat, but that was better than in 2001, when his rise to power through Thai Rak Thai saw his party win no seats at all in the South.

Getting the picture? In political terms, as long as the money keeps rolling in and loss of face incidents arent too embarrassing  like a massacre of more than 80 unarmed civilians by the Army in the southern border town of Tak Bai  then Bangkok politicians literally dont have to care about voters in the South at all.

There is a lot to not like about the past four years, but the coup did bring the one thing it was essentially aimed at achieving: the country has been "stable" under the Army.

Those worried about the elections effect on the economy might be able to breathe a little easier when they look back and remember CentralWorld on fire and M79 bloop gun grenade launchers sounding off amid protests on the streets of Bangkok.

Those days have not returned. We pray it stays that way.

Another thing to remember is that while people were still muttering about the nightly curfew in the days after the 2014 coup, they might want to also remember cache after cache of war weapons seized by the soldiers carrying out raids in Bangkok, Chonburi and Isarn.

The shame has gone both ways.

However, after all is said and done, regardless of the vote, regardless of the turnout, one way or another the election this weekend is going to count. It is hard to ignore. Change is in the wind.
OTTAWA - Andrew Scheer says criticism over his initial failure to mention that Muslims were targeted in the recent mass murder in New Zealand is completely baseless and driven by disgusting Liberal efforts to score political points from the tragedy.

But in answering a question Saturday about how he deals with that criticism, the federal Conservative leader once again initially made no reference to Muslims.

I deal with it by pointing out that the criticisms are completely baseless, Scheer told the Manning Networking Conference, an annual gathering of this countrys conservative thinkers, strategists and politicians.

When you look at statements Ive made condemning hateful ideologies, those who would promote any type of superiority of one race or religion over the others, I condemn that unequivocally.

Scheer noted that the second statement he issued on the day of the New Zealand shootings absolutely did include the reference to the faith community that was attacked, although he did not at first identify that faith community.

On March 15, an avowed white supremacist shot and killed 50 Muslim worshippers at two New Zealand mosques. In a statement posted that day on Twitter, Scheer condemned the attacks as a despicable act of evil against peaceful worshippers, without specifically mentioning where they occurred or who was targeted.

A few hours later  after the initial statement drew criticism  Scheer issued a second statement, which he referred to Saturday as his official statement. It specifically referred to the horrific terror attack on two New Zealand mosques and voiced his profound condemnation of this cowardly and hateful attack on the Muslim community.

On Saturday, Scheer blamed the Liberals for stirring up the controversy, accusing them of attempting to score cheap political points in a very disgusting manner. Moreover, he argued that initial tweets by Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale and Governor General Julie Payette also didnt specifically mention mosques or Muslims.

Later, as he took questions from members of the audience, Scheer was asked why hes never said the word Islamophobia.

I dont believe thats true, he responded, noting that all parties supported a motion last week in the House of Commons. That motion, which he didnt describe, condemned the mosque attacks and affirmed the need to confront hatred, Islamophobia, and white supremacy, in all their forms.

I reject anyone who would speak out based on Islamophobic principles, whether or not thats somebody who is trying to lump all people of the Muslim faith in together or whether its people who are trying to antagonize elements of society to have a more negative reaction to those who practice that faith, Scheer added.

To me the important thing is to speak out against those who in any way give oxygen or space to those who are trying to promote one group of people over the other.

Scheer also used his appearance at the Manning conference to promise that a Conservative government would balance the federal budget  but he didnt say when.

He said the Liberals have made such increases to government spending that a Conservative government could get most of the way to balance simply by holding annual spending increases to the rate of inflation and population growth. As well, he said billions could be saved by scrapping some big-ticket items introduced by the Liberals such as the federal infrastructure bank.

The longer Prime Minister Justin Trudeau goes racking up large annual deficits, the harder it will be return to balance, Scheer suggested. But he said Canadians have a window in this falls federal election to limit the damage and get back to balanced budgets over a shorter period of time.

Finance Minister Bill Morneaus latest budget forecasts deficits of almost $20 billion in each of the next two years, declining to just under $10 billion in five years. It makes no attempt to forecast when the budget might be balanced.
TORONTO - Bill Morneaus fourth federal budget since the Liberals came to power in 2015 contained a variety of pre-election goodies, including many directed at seniors, when it was tabled last week in a raucous House of Commons.

But a number of advocacy groups say Budget 2019 doesnt go far enough to safeguard members of private-sector pensions and theyre lobbying all federal parties to include more retirement income protections in their election platforms.

The big item is a new national employer-funded insurance program that would make up for shortfalls of any underfunded pension plans in the event the sponsoring employer goes extinct or cant pay its retirement benefits in full.

Michael Powell, president of the Canadian Federation of Pensioners, says it would be ideal if Ottawa and the 10 provinces would hold hands and create one program for all of Canada.

But the retired General Motors Canada employee says federal officials dont quite like the idea because they dont think theres a big enough pool of capital in their jurisdiction.

Thats partly because some pensions are regulated by the provinces, with a large portion of Canadas defined benefit plans under Ontarios jurisdiction.

Powell acknowledges that, historically, relatively few Canadian pension plans have failed to fulfil their obligations to retirees in full but notes Sears Canada and Nortel Networks are among the biggest and most well-known cases.

I agree, its a very small number of companies. So why cant we fix it? Powell asks.

Why cant we sit down and come up with a solution to this so the pensioners are not disadvantaged when the company goes through insolvency?

In fact, Morneau  who dealt with pension issues during his pre-politics career at human resources firm Morneau Shepell before becoming Justin Trudeaus finance minister  included several provisions for retirees in his pre-election budget.

But the Canadian Federation of Pensioners, the National Pensioners Federation and their allies say the budget doesnt do enough to deal with underfunded defined benefit plans.

That type of pension is supposed to provide a contractually defined level of benefits for the final years of their retired employees and their surviving spouses.

We were very pleased that a number of our key asks from our national platform were picked up, says Laura Tamblyn Watts, public policy chief for CARP, which lobbies on behalf of seniors.

We are really hoping, however, for a pension insurance plan that insures 100 per cent of pension liabilities. And this should be fully funded by the plan sponsors.

What we got instead is what Id describe as good first steps  the details of which were going to have to watch carefully.

Trish McAuliffe, president of the National Pensioners Federation, says General Motors of Canadas underfunded pensions were one reason Ottawa and Ontario had to bail out GM a decade ago.

McAuliffe, who was one of the unionized production workers at GMs main Canadian operation until the recession hit, says they had to give up their pensions cost of living allowance.

And that was a very hard pill to swallow. I think that was amounting to about $6,000 annually from our members, McAuliffe says.

Even now, McAuliffe says she cant be sure that her current pension of $2,600 per month is safe.

Because GM is really contentious right now. Whats going to happen to my pension?

While GMs pension falls under Ontarios jurisdiction, McAuliffe says the provinces pension benefits guarantee fund is inadequate for Canadas national interests.

For one thing, smaller provinces dont have the scale to make such a fund practical and for another, even the Ontario plan has a ceiling on how much it will pay per month towards an insolvent companys retirees.

Its a very complex system, McAuliffe says, whose federation represents about one million people across Canada  either as individuals or as members of other organizations.

We would like to know that the federal government could lead the way and maybe cross jurisdictional (boundaries) to ensure the laws and legislation can be better-aligned.

Its something that I think is do-able with a national pension guarantee fund.

Watts says CARP was pleased with a number of the budgets provisions  especially a change in the guaranteed income supplement that will allow low-income Canadians to earn more money before their GIS benefits are clawed back.

This makes a big difference to older adults across the country and was one of our key platform asks, Watts says.

She added that CARP is cautiously optimistic about the budgets provision for greater governance, transparency and oversight over the process when a company with a pension is in crisis and possibly headed to bankruptcy court.

And those protections we did get. Now the proof will be in the pudding.

But Powell is skeptical of a promise to amend the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act, the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Pension Benefit Standards Act  purported to help employees and retirees defend their pensions in court.

The things theyve got in their budget  theyre all positive steps. But they dont actually address the problem.
Is Bill Morneau whistling in the dark with his assertion that Canada is not in recession, nor is it heading into one? Probably not.

Granted, stellar economists like David Rosenberg warn that Canada is awfully close to tipping into recession, and while Rosenberg is something of a perma-bear, his bearish forecasts have more often than not been proven right.

Granted also that its part of Morneaus job as federal finance minister to talk up the economy and to concede that a recession looms or is upon us only when that fact is starkly evident.

Asked after delivering his budget last week about those who fear a recession, Morneau said: They would be incorrect. That would be technically wrong and certainly not in line with our expectations.

What Morneau didnt allow is that negative GDP growth is a distinct possibility in the second quarter. GDP growth in recent months, dating from late last year, has been miserably low, dipping at times to 0.1 per cent. That sure looks like an economy flirting with recession.

But the federal finance ministry, the Bank of Canada and the consensus of economic forecasters believe that GDP will pick up considerably in the second half  enough, perhaps, to justify Morneaus projection of 1.8 per cent GDP growth for the year as a whole.

What that means for investors, notably those betting on the loonie, is that GDP growth in the second half of 2019 might actually be stronger than 1.8 per cent, itself a decent performance in a world of volatile factors such as trade wars, global political instability and uncertainly in the oil markets, to make up for a weak first half of the year.

SNC-Lavalin is overplaying its hand

In a round of media appearances last week, Neil Bruce, CEO of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., the Montreal-based engineering and construction giant, suggested that the jobs of his 9,000 Canadian employees are in jeopardy. That his firm is threatened with foreign takeover. And that SNC-Lavalin might have to relocate offshore.

Those grim spectres arise from SNC-Lavalins inability to obtain an out-of-court settlement on charges of alleged fraud and bribery dating back several years. If a criminal trial of the firm ended in a conviction, SNC-Lavalin would be disqualified from billions of dollars in federal contracts.

As it happens, SNC-Lavalin failed to fess up to unethical conduct at the firm, a requirement of companies seeking a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in the countries that offer them. The firms talented Canadian employees would be snapped up by rival firms if the company hit the wall.

And SNC-Lavalin wont leave Montreal. Quebec has said it will buy the firm if it is threatened by foreign takeover, with a big assist from the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, one of the worlds biggest sovereign wealth funds.

Bruce reports that his 9,000 Canadian employees are bitter. Were not sure on that, since Bruce might not have spoken with all of them. Is he certain that their bitterness is directed at Ottawa, and not at the sewer-rat ethics of earlier SNC-Lavalin management that got the firm into this tight corner?

Though he insists he is now wholly occupied with preparing for a criminal trial, Bruce in fact is still seeking his elusive out-of-court settlement.

Its a certainty that the more he traffics in threats the less likely he is to obtain one.

Rescuing Canadas free press

Watch for significant changes in the detailed plan for assisting Canadas troubled news industry unveiled in last weeks federal budget.

While in the main laudable, the plan burdens Canadian taxpayers with the entire $595 million cost of the assistance it provides, rather than imposing a tax on Facebook, Google and the other digital platforms that have hoovered up most of the ad revenue that for generations subsidized traditional private-sector news gathering.

The European Union is contemplating the breakup of the Facebook-Google duopoly and taxing their successor firms to support the traditional news outlets the digital juggernauts have starved of revenue.

As well, private broadcasters are disqualified from the biggest part of Ottawas plan, a 25 per cent tax credit to subsidize the cost of a media groups news-gathering personnel.

If private-sector broadcasters can raise their game  with more investigative reporting, for instance  these primary sources of news for millions of Canadians should also qualify for assistance.

The initiative as it stands also disqualifies publications focused on sports, arts and other topic areas of great interest to audiences and an indelible part of Canadian culture.

It will be devilishly hard to decide who qualifies for assistance here, given that most mainstream news organizations, of necessity in satisfying their audiences, provide substantial amounts of content in those fields.

Finally, a proposed tax credit for buyers of digital subscriptions to news publications is useless to low-income Canadians who dont pay taxes and is therefore regressive. (Youll find those readers at your local library, whose paid digital subscriptions are funded by ratepayers, not Facebook and Google.)

And so, Ottawas welcome interest in restoring the strength of Canadian journalism remains a work in progress.

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Pakistan Expertise Cooperative Housing Society IZMIR Ltd Job

Latest PECHS lzmir Housing Society Secretarial Posts Lahore 2021 Pakistan Expertise Cooperative Housing Society PECHS IZMIR Ltd required qualified and well educated person for the position of Secretary in Lahore Punjab 2019.

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Apply as per details in job advertisement. In some cases, you may apply online at vacancies after registering at https://www.jobz.pk online.

Note: Beware of Fraudulent Recruiting Activities. If an employer asks to pay money for any purpose, do not pay at all and report us at contact us form. Apply as per instuctions & dates mentioned in official job ad. Govt jobs may not be applied online here. Human typing error is possible. Error & omissions excepted.
When Doris and Donald Fisher opened their first Gap store, on Ocean Avenue in San Francisco, in the summer of 69, they didnt start out selling Gap jeans, for the simple reason that Gap jeans didnt exist. The only jeans the Fishers did sell were Levis, alongside records and tapes, under a retail banner that played on the concept of the Generation Gap consumer. (Life magazine had published a Generation Gap cover the previous spring, when Bobby Kennedy had won in Indiana, and the war in Vietnam dragged horrifically on, and an uncle smoked pot with his nephew in order to write about the experience for the magazine. It expanded my consciousness. No kidding. )

I cite this piece of trivia in homage, really, to the tenacity and resurgence of Levis long after the disappearance of Landlubber and slush-sucking Howicks and name-your-teenage-jeans and long after Gap became a force in the denim market with its own branded offerings.

When Levi Strauss & Co. went public this week, for the second time, it offered up a case study in building back from failure. On the surface, the sight of denim-wearing Levis executives ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange would not have warmed the hearts of the young counterculture, business-critical consumer of the Sixties. But in significant ways Levis has historically straddled adherence to the bottom line while promising to be attentive to the common good, which could prove a winning formula for contemporary investors seeking authenticity.

I know. Theres something cringe-worthy about the word authenticity. But if a company that invented jeans-making in 1873 cant claim to be authentic, what company can?

More trivia: Levi Strauss, a German emigre who started out in dry goods, lucked into the tailoring talents of Jacob Davis, who was quoted as saying that the secratt of them Pents is the Rivits that I put in those Pockets. (The company strangely refers to the red pocket tab as the Red Tab Device.)

But what appeared to run through the company all those years ago and what the company claims it intends to honour today is the founders commitment to philanthropy, integrity and good corporate citizenship. To this day, we continue to operate our company with these values through an approach we call profits through principles, the company stated in its prospectus. It means never choosing easy over right. It means doing business in an ethical way and ensuring that the people who make our products are treated fairly. It means sourcing in a responsible manner and investing in innovative and more sustainable ways to make our products. Finally, it means using our influence as a successful business with global reach and powerful brands to advocate for social good and to give back to our communities.

Wheres the proof, you might well ask.

Serious steps to reinforce its principled beginnings were taken by the company after Strauss descendants returned Levis to privately-held status in 1985 through a $1.6-billion (U.S.) leveraged buyout. The companys sales were falling, manufacture was moving off shore, consumer tastes were changing. Plants in the U.S. and Canada were closed. Thousands were laid off. Going private, said Robert Haas, great-great-grandnephew of Levi Strauss, was the most appropriate way to ensure that the company continues to respect and implement its important values and traditions.

From developing the first code of conduct for apparel manufacturers to establishing global sourcing guidelines to adopting the standards of the International Labor Organization, Levis gained notice for operating on a different plane than others in the industry.

Granted, some of these initiatives arrived in the wake of alarming reports. News coverage of labourers sewing Levis in squalid conditions and living in padlocked barracks in Saipan was the trigger for monitoring and auditing the supply chain. In 1993, Levis fired 30 of its 600 suppliers and put another 150 on notice to make improvements.

The company pulled out of China in the early 90s citing pervasive human rights abuses. It had already pulled out of Myanmar.

In 1995, then U.S. labor secretary Robert Reich created a list of Fair Labor Fashion Trendsetters as a contrast to the sweatshop label that had come to define global garment manufacturer. Levis predictably made the list of the good guys.

I say predictably because by this point the Economist had cited the companys unusual reputation for do-goodery. Another business publication of the era chose anti-establishment.

Levis first AIDS in the workplace conference was held in 1988. Full medical benefits were extended to the unmarried partners of employees in 1992. As of 2000 all employees can take five paid hours a month to devote to volunteer work.

But sales were slumping. In 1999 Fortune magazine published a cover photo of a Levis-clad bottom graced with the headline How Levis Trashed a Great American Brand. Annual revenues had fallen to $5.1 billion from $7.1 billion in a single year.

The comeback under CEO Chip Bergh, who joined Levis in 2011 and became famous for telling attendees at a conference that he hadnt washed his favourite jeans in a year, has intersected with a heightened awareness around corporate social responsibility and a heightened aversion to fast fashion. The brand is resonating again, he said in an interview in 2016, citing a trend back to, yes, authenticitywere the antithesis of fast fashion.

In a piece for the Harvard Business Review, Bergh wrote this: If a seasoned brand dwells too much on its history, it can feel old and dusty. But if you disregard your history, youre walking away from one of your strongest assets.

The CEOs challenge now will be to continue to protect that worthy heritage in the arena of a publicly traded company.
The current federal government came to power promising one of the most progressive eras in our history.

It has not entirely failed in that promise. But with each successive annual budget since it came to power in 2015, the Trudeau governments progressive instincts have weakened.

The continuation of that trend in this weeks budget should have Grits worried that their party is losing its soul.

In their budget this week, the Liberals proposed advances in skills upgrading, housing affordability, pension protection, relief from high prescription drug costs and financial support for buyers of electric vehicles.

And yet, in each of these initiatives, the Grits propose to tackle the countrys challenges with timidity rather than conviction.

As a matter of official party policy, the Liberals have long supported universal pharmacare and daycare.

And Justin Trudeau came to power on the promise of building a sufficient amount of new affordable and social housing so that every Canadian would have high-quality shelter.

Trudeau also pledged to significantly increase spending on infrastructure, to replace several thousand structurally deficient or functionally obsolete highway bridges and decrepit schoolhouses almost a century old.

But with this weeks budget, Canadians remain deprived of the universal pharmacare and daycare that have long been mainstays of Europes social safety net.

The budget is silent on daycare, whose steep cost helps account for Canadas pitifully low birth rate, on the gender-pay gap and on retrofitting the countrys inventory of buildings to make them energy efficient in the fight on global warming.

That last priority enjoys such widespread acceptance that this weeks budget is one of the few places where it doesnt get meaningful consideration.

To be sure, the federal Liberals first came by their reputation for caution about a century ago  of doing by halves what they could not do by quarters.

That tradition lives on in this budgets approach to prescription drug costs.

An estimated 20 per cent of Canadians are uninsured or underinsured for prescription drugs. About one in 10 Canadians does without prescribed medications for reasons of cost.

The government said this week that it will spend the next four years figuring out which prescription-drug costs it will cover, a continuation of the current unsatisfactory patchwork approach.

An all-party committee of the House of Commons has called for universal pharmacare. So has the Canadian Medical Association. A dilemma for every doctor is how to help patients be healthy when they cant afford to fill their costly prescriptions or self-medicate with smaller-than-recommended doses.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer calculates that Canada would save more than $4 billion a year with universal pharmacare, due to the purchasing power of a sole, government buyer.

Unaffordable prescription drugs is a public-health crisis. But we see in this budget the governments casual approach to crises.

Our affordable housing crisis is caused by a shortage of housing, with unaffordability the result. The solution is to vastly increase the amount of housing stock, as candidate Justin Trudeau promised to do.

We need to revisit the state-sponsored postwar building of affordable housing to accommodate the Baby Boom and subsequent waves of immigrants. That can be achieved now, on a more modest but still significant scale, with federal and municipal financial and zoning incentives to developers to profitably build affordable housing instead of more luxury condos.

Instead, this weeks budget tinkers with measures by which a limited number of qualified buyers can finance the purchase of a home, when the homes simply dont exist in sufficient number.

And in ignoring altogether the shortage in social housing, the budgets focus on market housing is downright regressive.

This budgets signature achievement, its vaunted skills-training measures, are a poke in the eye.

The government will offer a tiny annual $250 tax credit toward skills training, whose actual cost runs into the tens of thousands of dollars. Adults who take time off work to retrain themselves for the jobs of the 21st-century will be eligible for a mere four weeks off the job at just 55 per cent of full pay, and only once every four years. The scheme is a marvel of near-uselessness.

On infrastructure, as my colleague Tom Walkom recently detailed, this government has not partnered forcefully enough with provinces to fund the rebuilding of Canada.

That risks Canada losing competitive advantage to rivals such as China with world-class infrastructure built from scratch.

After this weeks budget, Canada remains a G7 economy without a national industrial strategy for incubating future Apples, Mercks and Teslas. And Canada is still one of the worlds biggest energy producers without a national energy strategy.

That helps explain why oil-rich Canada continues to import most of its refined petroleum products rather than producing them in, say, Alberta. And why our disconnected national electric grids prevents hydro-rich Manitoba from supplying Ontario during epic blackouts like that of 2003.

You will have noticed a pattern here.

Most of these continued deficiencies contribute to income inequality.

As a result, Canadians have the dubious distinction of having accumulated more household debt than almost any country.

We are in fact a thrifty people.

But if daycare for just one child can cost as much as $12,000 a year, if your rent or mortgage is only barely manageable and if you are a victim of long-term wage stagnation, as most North American workers are, then you are likely to be unfairly burdened with debt.

It doesnt have to be that way, and this government knows it.

The oddity here is that Justin Trudeaus government is a progressive one. Its landmark Canada Child Benefit  one of this governments earliest initiatives  has succeeded in cutting the child poverty rate, and quickly, to 9.0 per cent from 13.3 per cent between 2015 and 2017.

This government leads the world in its commitment to free trade, having surpassed its predecessors in opening new markets to job-creating Canadian exporters. Among the budgets laudable measures is financial assistance to dairy farmers injured in the process of the governments success in salvaging a renamed North American Free Trade Agreement that the current U.S. president was determined to destroy.

And that tens of thousands of Canadians have made a welcoming home for the more than 41,000 Syrian refugees that this government has so far brought to Canada speaks to a widespread Canadian willingness to embrace progress that this same government underestimates.

And so, the federal Liberals have opted to head into election season with a forgettable budget  an exercise in gesture politics.

There is a line in Proverbs: Where there is no vision, the people perish.

Canada is too strong for that. But a people ready for bold, persistent action that a young, energetic Justin Trudeau promised in 2015 have been disappointed again.
OTTAWAThe United Nations has formally asked Canada to extend its mission in Mali in what appears to be a last-ditch effort to prevent a gap in the provision of military medical evacuations for wounded peacekeepers and UN staff.

The UN request is contained in a letter sent to the federal government at the end of February after months of quiet lobbying was met with steadfast resistance in Ottawa.

The move is somewhat unusual because such formal requests are often only made when the UN believes it has a good chance of success, which is anything but certain in this particular circumstance.

Yet the presence of a formal request also increases the pressure on Canada to respond positively after the government, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, repeatedly played down the gap.

The timing is also noteworthy given that the UN hosts a major peacekeeping summit in New York next week, the first such meeting since Canada hosted a similar event in Vancouver in November 2017.

Canada has eight helicopters and 250 military personnel in Mali, where they have been providing emergency medical evacuations and transporting troops and equipment across a large swath of the remote African country.

The contingent is scheduled to end operations at the end of July, at which point it will pack up and leave before a Romanian force arrives to take over.

However, the Romanians arent scheduled to begin operations until Oct. 15, meaning there will be a roughly two-and-a-half-month gap needed to be filled.

In its Feb. 28 letter to the government, portions of which were read to the Canadian Press, the UN kindly asks the government of Canada to consider a short extension of its contribution.

Specifically, it asks that Canada continue full operations until Sept. 15, and then more limited operations until Oct. 15 as the Canadians draw down and withdraw to make way for the Romanians.

The unsigned letter goes on to say that such an approach will bridge the gap until the Romanian contingent can begin operations.

The UN wanted a response by Friday. A UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivities, said the federal government has since asked for a two-week extension.

Officials for Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland, who is expected to attend next weeks peacekeeping summit in New York, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The federal government previously argued that the UN can fill the gap between the departure of the Canadian contingent and arrival of the Romanians with civilian contractors, as it has done in the past.

The Liberals also suggested that Canada is actually supporting the UN by sticking to its schedule to end operations at the end of July, while downplaying the UNs concerns about the gap.

We are confident, and we are hearing from the UN that there is no concern about that gap being a problem, Trudeau told reporters during a visit to the Mali mission in December.

The UN, which has faced shrinking budgets after the U.S. cut its funding to peacekeeping last year, argues that a short extension is more cost efficient given that Canada already has the people and equipment in Mali for the mission.

Contracting civilian helicopters in Mali costs about $1 million per month, the UN official said.

Civilian helicopters also arent able to provide the same level of comprehensive medical treatment that the Canadians are set up to offer, the UN has said, and are more restricted in when and where they can operate.

NDP defence critic Randall Garrison, who called for the government to extend the mission after visiting Mali last month, said the letter puts the lie to the Liberals arguments for not extending the mission.

He said not extending the mission puts peoples lives at risk in Mali and it puts our international reputation at risk now that we know the UN has formally asked for an extension.

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A 14- or 15-year-old girl is not a child, but rather a sexually mature young woman, according to a lawyer for a Northern Ontario childrens aid society.

The statement by Toronto lawyer Gary McCallum is contained in a July 2018 affidavit in an ongoing civil court case, in which a woman is suing Kenora-Rainy River Districts Child and Family Services, claiming she was sexually abused as a child by her foster father in the 1980s while under the care of the agencys predecessor organization.

It was again referenced in a January 2019 ruling from the lengthy case, which is playing out in a Toronto court.

The statement has been described to the Star by other lawyers and a professor of social work as offensive, shocking, and appalling  doubly so because it was made by the lawyer for the very agency charged with protecting the most vulnerable children.

This is outrageous, said Melissa Redmond, assistant professor of social work at Carleton University. You represent the organization that is responsible for protecting children in this community, protecting children from exactly the sorts of horrific circumstances that this child found herself in.

Redmond, whose research interests include child protection policy, said she cant understand why there have not been consequences for the statement. I dont understand how this is in the public record and (Kenora CFS) have not been seen to distance themselves as quickly as possible and to talk about how they value the children in the community and the children they have served in the past.

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Ontarios Child and Family Services Act, which governs childrens aid societies, is also clear. Child means a person under the age of eighteen years, it reads.

Kenora CFS refused to say when it became aware its lawyer had made the statement, but told the Star this week it disagrees with McCallum and called his position inaccurate.

The agency also refused to say whether it plans to rectify the statement in court.

McCallum declined to comment to the Star, saying in an email that I will not be making any statements on matters that are currently being litigated and I will not be making any statements inconsistent with those of my client.

The statement is part of a voluminous court record that stretches back years. It appears in a July 2018 affidavit in which McCallum states he is responding to the affidavit of the plaintiffs lawyer, Simona Jellinek, which McCallum said is rife with errors, imprecisions, and misrepresentations. (Jellinek declined to comment to the Star.)

She states that the alleged assaults took place while the plaintiff was in childhood, McCallum states before noting that the plaintiffs year of birth indicates she would have been about 14 or 15 in the early 1980s.

A fourteen or fifteen (sic) girl is a sexually mature young woman, not a child, as the term is conventionally understood, McCallum states.

The statement is again referenced in a January 2019 decision by Superior Court Justice Jessica Kimmel, who ruled that the plaintiffs action could proceed. In her decision, Kimmel makes no comment on the statement itself, other than to say it was identified as a live issue by McCallum surrounding the allegation of sexual assault.

As other lawyers have pointed out, McCallums position  which has now been in the public record for about eight months since the affidavit was sworn in July 2018  is effectively the agencys position, as he is acting for it in court.

Hes speaking on behalf of a childrens aid society, so its deeply concerning that theres a childrens aid society out there that takes the view that youngsters of 14 or 15 are sexually mature, said lawyer Loretta Merritt, whose practice is almost exclusively focused on representing plaintiffs in civil cases involving sexual abuse.

If thats their view, the view of an organization charged with responsibility for caring for vulnerable children, then thats deeply concerning to me.

Kenora CFS executive director Bill Leonard told the Star in an email exchange this week that he cant really comment as the court case is ongoing.

Mr. McCallums statement is before the court and as you point out, it has been before the court for some time, he said. But to be clear my agency does, and always has, considered 14 and 15 year old young persons to be children as defined by legislation and as such are deserving of our full protection from any form of abuse.

Its disappointing if Kenora CFS didnt know at the time that their lawyer had made such a statement in court, said Allen Wynperle, president-elect of the Ontario Trial Lawyers Association, which represents lawyers acting for plaintiffs.

I would have hoped that they would be aware of the comments that their lawyer is making, and certainly if they werent, thats a problem and a concern, he said. But certainly now that they are made aware of it, what are they going to do about it?
OTTAWAAs Canadian airlines prepared to launch service with the Boeing 737 Max jet in 2017, Transport Canada officials considered what pilots needed to know about the new jet.

After evaluation sessions with U.S. and European counterparts, they noted some key design differences from earlier versions of the popular twin jet, such as a new landing gear lever, cockpit displays, air conditioning and anti-ice systems, that should be flagged to pilots moving up from other 737 models.

They said training should place special emphasis on flap settings for aborted landings, automated landings and the functions of the flight management system, among other areas.

Yet some of these differences were actually compiled by Boeing and validated by Transport Canada. Nowhere is there any mention of the jets manoeuvring characteristics augmentation system, or MCAS.

The new system is meant to protect the latest 737 variant from dangerous excursions outside the normal flight envelope. Now its suspected as the potential cause of two crashes  those of Lion Air Flight 610 last October, and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 this month  that together killed 346 people.

The 737 Max has been grounded and the race is on to pinpoint the cause and find a fix. There are questions about the certification process in both Canada and the U.S. about how a piece of software powerful enough to drive a jet into the ground seemingly missed the scrutiny of regulators.

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The latest crash has prompted other questions, too, about the interaction of pilots and automation, and the experience levels of pilots.

The Boeing 737 Max models are the latest designs of the worlds most popular commercial jet. With 41 of the jets already delivered to three Canadian airlines  Sunwing, WestJet and Air Canada  and almost 80 more on order, its poised to become a mainstay of their fleets for the coming years.

But in engineering the Max model, Boeing ran into a challenge. Its larger engines and their placement on the wings changed the pitch characteristics.

To compensate, Boeing installed the manoeuvring characteristics augmentation system to decrease the tendency of the plane to pitch up, which could risk an aerodynamic stall. Thats when the wings lose the airflow needed to lift the plane.

The system is not supposed to operate in normal flight; it would kick in only if the jet was being manually flown at a high angle of attack. Then it would automatically move the horizontal stabilizer, the smaller surfaces on either side of the tail, to pitch the nose down to avoid the possibility of a stall.

The Seattle Times has reported that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) delegated the safety analysis of the system to Boeing. According to the newspaper, that analysis  which was shared with other regulators, including Transport Canada  understated the authority of the system to pitch the nose down. In fact it could defy the efforts of pilots to level the plane from an unintended descent.

Because its built by U.S.-based Boeing, the FAA was responsible for certifying the aircraft as safe to fly. Under a bilateral agreement, Transport Canada accepted that certification.

Based on the evaluation of Transport Canada officials  who travelled to Miami and Seattle in 2017 to examine training for 737 Max pilots  it doesnt appear the system was flagged as a significant difference from earlier designs. And there was no reason for the Canadian authorities to go looking for potential problems, according to one pilot familiar with the certification process.

If the FAA certifies something, then Transport Canada accepts it. Thats the deal and vice versa, said the pilot who was not authorized by his employer to speak publicly on the issue.

Its not a recertification of the aircraft. Its a validation. Theyre going based on the information that the FAA provides, the information that Boeing provides, he said.

Theyre going through a routine validation check  Theyre not going into systems design, does it meet safety standards, all that kind of stuff. Theyre already given the information that it does and they dont go looking for problems, he said.

When the pilots of Lion Air Flight 610, a nearly new Boeing 737 Max, lined up for takeoff at Jakarta airport on Oct. 29, little did they know they were about to become test pilots, struggling with an emergency in a system they apparently knew nothing about.

Immediately after takeoff, the pilots faced a tug-of-war as MCAS pushed the nose down and they tried to pull it back it up. The first officer told the air traffic controller they had a flight control problem, according to a preliminary report.

The system thought the plane was in stall. But it wasnt. Instead, its believed that a faulty angle-of-attack sensor was feeding erroneous data to the MCAS that in turn triggered incorrect commands to pitch the nose down.

For the few minutes the plane was airborne, the pilots were locked in a back-and-forth struggle as they desperately tried to decipher what was wrong. They never did. The aircraft plunged into the Java Sea, killing all 189 people on board.

Unfortunately, the pilot lost that fight with the software, Canadas Transport Minister Marc Garneau said of the crash.

In the wake of the Lion Air accident, the FAA issued an emergency directive that erroneous data could cause repeated nose-down trim commands of the horizontal stabilizer. It issued revised procedures to deal with the problem.

But Transport Canada, in consultation with the three airlines that fly the aircraft in Canada, went further. The department mandated changes in November that required Canadian pilots to memorize the steps needed to disable the automated trim system, if required, rather than rely on a checklist.

The reality is if this MCAS problem occurs  you have very little time to react. And so our procedures were put in place so that the pilots had to memorize the exact sequence of things, Garneau told reporters.

However, the preliminary lessons of the Lion Air crash did not appear to be any help for the pilots of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. The brand-new 737 Max crashed soon after takeoff from Addis Ababa on March 10, killing 157 passengers and crew, including 18 Canadians.

Coming less than five months after the Lion Air accident, the crash rattled airlines, passengers and regulators who moved fast to ground the aircraft.

Canada followed suit on March 13 after receiving satellite data that showed telltale similarities in the erratic flight paths between the two flights. The airplane tends to oscillate in this conflict between the software and the pilot, Garneau said.

There had been other close calls. The pilots of a Lion Air flight on the same aircraft the previous day had also experienced nose-down pitching but had been able to disable automated movement of the horizontal stabilizer. American pilots had filed several safety reports flagging unexplained nose-down incidents in the aircraft.

In one report, an American pilot said the flight manual was inadequate and almost criminally insufficient for not including any mention of the system.

It is unconscionable that a manufacturer, the FAA, and the airlines would have pilots flying an airplane without adequately training, or even providing available resources and sufficient documentation to understand the highly complex systems that differentiate this aircraft from prior models, the pilot wrote to the U.S. aviation safety reporting system.

Barry Wiszniowski, an aviation safety expert and captain with a major Canadian airline, said the two crashes coming so close and involving a new design raise critical questions around aviation safety, much as the crashes of the British-designed Comet did at the start of the jet age.

These include government oversight of aircraft manufacturers at a time when regulators are losing skilled personnel and the experience levels among new hires at foreign airlines.

The first officer on the Ethiopian Airlines flight reportedly had just several hundred hours of flying time. Air Canada and WestJet, by comparison, typically require new pilots to have a minimum of 2,000 hours to get hired.

A pilot with less flying experience usually depends more on automation and is less familiar with the intricacies of the jet. If you have 300 hours, youre still learning the aircraft  so your level of automation dependency may be higher because maybe the skills arent there yet, Wiszniowski said.

It takes a long time to learn an airplane, he said.

The investigations into both accidents continue. Theres been no cause yet determined for either crash, nor even a definitive link established between the two.

In the meantime, Boeing says it expects to release changes in the coming weeks to the pilot displays, manuals, training and the MCAS software itself to limit the systems authority to pitch the plane downwards.

Were taking actions to fully ensure the safety of the 737 Max, Dennis Mullenburg, the chairman, president and CEO of Boeing, wrote in the letter posted on the companys website.

With a backlog of 4,636 orders for the Max 737, the economic stakes are huge for Boeing. It faces the daunting tasks of fixing the problem and restoring the confidence of the travelling public.

But the stakes are high, too, for the regulators, like Transport Canada and the FAA, as they reassess their relationships with manufacturers. The U.S. Department of Transportation has asked the agencys watchdog to audit the FAAs certification of the Max.

Sully Sullenberger, the airline captain who famously landed an Airbus jet in the Hudson River after it lost its engines in a bird strike, says the work of validating and approving aircraft certification has been outsourced to the manufacturers themselves, creating inherent conflicts of interest.

There is too cosy a relationship between the industry and the regulators, he wrote in a commentary.

In Canada, Garneau said his department is taking another look at its 2017 validation of the certification done by the FAA. Were doing this as, I think, a prudent measure to re-examine the entire certification, he said.

He declined to say whether he was concerned that Boeing may have had undue influence on the process.

Its not likely to be an easy or quick road back for Boeings 737 Max. Air Canada expects the jets to be grounded until July.

I think these aircraft are probably on the ground for while, the veteran pilot told the Star. I dont think anybody in the industry  is going to be rushing to get back in the air without an abundance of caution.

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MONTREALPolice in Florida have launched a double homicide investigation after an elderly Canadian couple was found dead in their mobile home on Friday.

The Broward County Sheriffs Office says neighbours of Marc and Rita Gagne discovered the couples bodies in their home in Pompano Beach, north of Ft. Lauderdale.

The neighbours had become worried after not seeing the couple for a few days, and entered through an unlocked door to discover what police called a gruesome scene.

Global Affairs Canada says consular officials in Miami are working with local authorities to gather additional details.

The federal department expressed sympathy to the victims family.

CBC has reported the couple were from Saint-Come-Liniere, Que., about 120 kilometres southeast of Quebec City.

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A global agency that sets rules for the seas is studying the environmental effects of more and more rocket stages that may contain toxic fuel dropping into the worlds oceans.

The International Maritime Organizations concern comes after Inuit groups expressed anger over Russian launch stages splashing down in Canadian waters hunters depend on for food. It also follows research detailing a satellite industry growing worldwide despite little understanding of its consequences.

Right now we are just starting an information-gathering phase, said Linda Porebski, a senior Environment Canada official who heads one of the maritime groups scientific bodies, which has just met in Vancouver.

We are generally aware there are an increasing number of launches, and that there are booster rockets that fall, and that there is potentially fuel on board.

General awareness is all there is of the rapidly expanding industry, said David Santillo, a Greenpeace-funded biologist at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom.

We cant get very far in terms of knowing exactly whats going to be launched, how much of that is going to come down in the oceans, what material its going to be carrying, how much excess fuel, he said.

Its very hard to get that information.

Greenpeace decided to dig into the issue in 2017 following Inuit concerns that a Russian-launched rocket carrying a satellite owned by the European Space Agency would drop a stage in the North Water Polynya, one of the Arctics most biologically productive areas.

Academic research found at least 11 such splashdowns since 2002. All of those rockets were fuelled by highly toxic hydrazine.

Documents released under access-to-information laws suggest there have been others. A launch site in French Guiana also uses trajectories that drop debris in the Arctic. Residual hazardous fuel may still be in tanks on re-entry, the documents say.

They list 39 sites around the globe. Santillos research found at least 30 companies sending satellites into orbit, some with plans for weekly liftoffs. A company in Canso, N.S., has applied to launch hydrazine-fuelled rockets.

Little is public about their trajectories or possible debris, Santillo said.

Although rockets routinely carry a supply of extra fuel, officials dismiss the risk. The European Space Agency has said leftovers are burned up on re-entry.

Canadian government documents echo that.

Hydrazine is unlikely to still be present by the time the debris falls to Earth, wrote one staff member at Global Affairs Canada. Another called the likelihood of rocket fuel entering the oceans a false narrative.

Others arent so sure.

It is somewhat possible that upwards of 10 per cent of residual fuel could potentially be present in the upper stage of a launch vehicle, wrote one official from National Defence, although she added it was quite likely the risk would be very low.

Porebski wrote in response to another email: I am not sure I share your assessments of the claims of the risks being overblown, especially given the potential for great increases in traffic ... certainly there is a lack of tracking or hard data to support any real conclusions about risks or impacts.

Research from Russian launch sites suggests some fuel does reach the waters surface.

Hydrazine is gradually being phased out of most space programs, but Santillo said other fuels are also harmful.

There is general concern. The difficulty is getting information on what those alternative fuels are and how they would behave in the environment.

Contaminants could include other materials such as battery components, Santillo said.

Each of them has a cumulative environmental burden.

Porebski said her group has requested information from governments as well as international bodies involved with space. She said its hoped there will be preliminary data by June.

Were looking at starting a dialogue on how we would go forward.

Santillo said the space industry is the only one left using oceans without any kind of regulation. Nows the time to reconsider, he said.

The earlier there can be this type of thinking, the more chance there is that we can achieve something a bit more sustainable than launching a vehicle and forgetting about it.
Call it a group hug for those still grieving.

Around 200 people, including the tearful family of Toronto expat Danielle Moore, turned out for a vigil held at Nathan Phillips Square on Saturday evening to honour the memories of the 157 victims  18 Canadians among them  of the March 10 crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 bound from Addis Ababa to Nairobi. And while the simple act of gathering to share in grief couldnt erase the pain of those directly and indirectly affected by the tragedy, knowing that there were others out there going through the same emotions did make it a little easier to bear.

We just needed some closure. Its very sad, said Eskedar Emishaw, who came brandishing a sign reading Boeing put safety first not business in criticism of the companys ongoing deflection of suspected faults with its 737 MAX 8 series that some suspect led to both this crash and another Lion Air craft of the same model that went down off Indonesia last Oct. 29. Its very sad for us and were really proud of our airline and its just heartbreaking that this happened and we just wanted to show our solidarity for those who are lost.

I know I cant get it out of my head. Two weeks later, Im still thinking about it. So it was important for me to come here today and just share that emotion with other people. And I also just wanted to send a message to Boeing: Stop the coverup.

Mayor John Tory also made an appearance at the vigil, which had many in the crowd wiping away tears during emotional testimonies from community and religious leaders representing a broad swath of Torontos African-expat population, as well as the African Union, one local radio host, a former student of deceased Carleton University professor Pius Adesanmi and a both a current representative of Ethiopian Airlines and two flight attendants whod previously worked with the company.

The whole world was devastated by this tragic plane crash and we know there are families and friends here in Toronto and our region who have lost loved ones, Tory said in a statement emailed after the event, echoing his earlier comments from the podium. What makes this city great and this country great is that we stand together when something like this happens  we come together to heal each other and to comfort each other.

I attended on behalf of all Toronto residents who, I know, care deeply about what happened in Ethiopia and they care very deeply about our Ethiopian community. The message I wanted to convey tonight to all those mourning was that your city is behind you, your mayor is beside you and we will continue to stand with you as time goes forward and the healing takes place.

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Saturdays vigil was particularly emotional for Macaulay Kalu, the president and chairman of the African Union Sixth Region Canada organization in Toronto. He was friends with both the late Ottawa resident Adesanmi and Karim Saafi, a young member of the Pan African Youth Unions executive committee who had just left a meeting at African Union headquarters and was headed to Nairobi.

When you heard the news, you just started going through your mind Who was there? What happened? It was very personal because I do fly Ethiopian Airlines basically every month because I travel to the continent every month, Kalu said.

A lot of people were calling when they heard  calling my phone, calling my family, just wondering if I was on the flight and what happened. So its painful, especially knowing two individuals who passed away. What else can we say? Life is short and its a sign that we need to appreciate one another.

Ben Rayner is the Stars music critic and based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @ihateBenRayner

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As he arrives at his new office at a high-tech firm in Kitchener on Friday, Mohammed Hakmi is wowed by the lofty and playful space in the old tannery where each room is named after rappers.

The warm smiles from his new Canadian colleagues at Bonfire Interactive stand in stark contrast to the hostile stares he faced in Beirut, where every day on his way to work he passed a billboard warning Syrian refugees theyre not welcome to work and shouldnt take jobs away from Lebanese.

I feel like Im living in a wonderful dream now and I dont want anyone to wake me up, said Hakmi, 26, who last week packed up his life as a refugee and landed in Kitchener as the first skilled immigrant admitted to Canada through Talent Beyond Boundaries, a Washington-based NGO that matches refugees with employers desperate to fill skill shortages.

I started following the weather conditions in Kitchener-Waterloo on a daily basis since Jan. 31 when Canada asked for my passport to stamp my immigrant visa, he chuckles. My luggage was filled with winter clothes.

Since its 2016 inception, Talent Beyond Boundaries has vetted and developed skill profiles for more than 10,000 refugees now in Lebanon and Jordan  30 per cent of them with an undergraduate degree or above, and half with intermediate to full English proficiency. The talent pool includes people from 200 professions, the majority with a background in engineering, health care, IT, teaching, accounting and university education.

To date, seven refugees have received job offers in Canada, with Hakmi newly arrived and the rest at different stages of their immigration applications.

When war broke out in Syria in 2011, Hakmi fled Homs with his parents, three sisters and brother, ending up in Beirut, where for eight years they shared a tiny two-bedroom apartment. With a bachelors degree in information technology, Hakmi worked illegally as a web developer and in computer networking to support his parents and siblings.

Last summer, he was vetted by Talent Beyond Boundaries, whose staff helped build his resume and prepare him for job interviews. In September, he submitted his permanent residence application as a skilled immigrant to Canada with pro bono help from Torontos Segal Immigration Law after he was offered a job as a web developer by Bonfire.

Im very optimistic for my new life, said Hakmi. I can have a secure life rather than living in daily fear of how I was going to stay alive and support my family. From now, I can start building my future and achieve my ambitions and goals to enhance my skills and to become a productive person in Canadian society.

Bruce Cohen, co-founder of Talent Beyond Boundaries, said Hakmis landmark arrival showcases a pioneering new solution for refugees that highlights displaced people as assets, with skills and knowledge to offer, rather than as liabilities.

Mohammed is a talented developer who will make an enormous contribution to his new employer and community, said Cohen. There are many thousands of refugees like him who can excel if afforded the opportunity.

Skilled worker and economic immigration policies are not designed with refugees in mind and requirements such as recent work experience and a ready amount of cash make it impossible for many to qualify. It limits their migration options to humanitarian consideration only.

However, with collaboration from Canadian immigration officials, Talent Beyond Boundaries is able to help refugee applicants overcome some of the barriers they face.

Currently, fewer than 1 per cent of the 20 million UN-registered refugees around the world are resettled from a temporary host country in the developing world to the West.

With help, Hakmi was able to overcome hurdles along the way. His flight from Lebanon to Toronto, at about $1,000, was a financial burden, but Talent Beyond Boundaries staff reached out to another non-profit organization, Miles4Migrants, to find someone to donate air miles for his trip.

Since 2016, Miles4Migrants has received donor pledges of more than 46 million miles and reunited 700 refugees with their loved ones. One of those donors was Maryland native Meredith Yeager, who responded to the charitys call and donated the 50,000 air miles Hakmi needed.

It was very exciting and humbling that my air miles could help someone to be safe. Its a privilege to help him, said the geneticist, who got a thank-you letter from Hakmi earlier detailing his challenges in Lebanon. He arrived in Canada on my birthday. Its completely coincidental. I couldnt be happier. Its the best gift ever.

Hakmi said Talent Beyond Boundaries has already connected him with a local immigrant agency to help him get his identification and find housing. Although he officially starts his job at Bonfire in April, he couldnt wait to meet his colleagues, visit his office and familiarize himself with the Mac computer hell soon will be working on.

I know Im very fortunate to be here and can build a future when thousands of skilled, talented and educated refugees see their skills and education go to waste, he said.

And like many newcomers, Hakmi was eager to fully immerse himself in Canadian culture: On his second day in the country, he headed to Tim Hortons, indulging in his first Iced Capp.

Canada is a dreamland, he said.

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Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown has written a letter to Canadas public safety minister demanding to know why a pedophile with multiple convictions has been released into a Brampton halfway house.

It is completely unacceptable that Matthew Harks (now Madilyn Harks) has been dumped by Correctional Service Canada in Brampton, Brown wrote to Ralph Goodale, minister of public safety and emergency preparedness.

Peel Regional Police issued a community safety advisory Friday (March 22) warning Bramptonians that Harks was being released into the community and would be living in the area of Main and Queen streets, in the citys downtown core.

The police advisory notes Harks, 36, is at an elevated risk to reoffend.

Harks is under a long-term supervision order with several conditions including not attending public swimming areas, daycare centres, school grounds, playgrounds or community centres. She must not be around children under age 14 unless accompanied by an adult approved by her parole officer.

Brown noted in his letter that Harks has multiple convictions, including three convictions of sexual assault against girls under eight years of age and this monster has claimed to have victimized 60 girls.

The fact that Ms. Harks is in a halfway house instead of jail is a clear example (that) our justice system is broken, the letter reads.

Why has she been released? Brown concludes in his letter. We demand answers from you.

Brown will raise the issue at the March 27 city council meeting.

Harks victims included neighbours and a fellow member of a church congregation, according to police.

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Toronto police and RCMP officers deploying controversial Stingray surveillance technology over a two-month period swept up identifying cellphone data on more than 20,000 bystanders at malls, public parks and even a childrens toy store.

As police sought cellphone data for 11 suspects in a 2014 investigation, they deployed a Stingray  also known as an IMSI catcher  at three dozen locations, including the middle of Yorkville, at the Dufferin Mall, at Vaughan Mills Mall, near Trinity Bellwoods Park, near Kensington Market, and at a Toys R Us store in Richmond Hill.

Raw data logs for the devices used in the investigation offer an unprecedented look at the scope of this technology. IMSI catchers capture unique identifiers  including an International Mobile Subscriber Identity, or IMSI  from all cellphones in a given location.

Police use the data to identify suspects cellphones. But IMSI catchers are controversial because they capture the data of unsuspecting citizens, and because police have kept the powerful technology shrouded in secrecy.

If we believe that we all deserve to move through our cities untracked by the state, then we have to at least have a public conversation about whether a tool that captures information about hundreds or even thousands of people while searching for one is something that accords with our values, says Brenda McPhail, director of the privacy, technology and surveillance project at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Canadian police forces and agencies have actively suppressed operational details about IMSI catchers, and for years would not confirm they even owned any. The RCMP first acknowledged they did in 2017, more than a decade after first acquiring them. In 2018, three years after denying the force had ever used the devices, Toronto police admitted to deploying them in five separate investigations.

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The 2014 case, a major drugs and guns investigation known as Project Battery/Project Rx, was one of them. At its conclusion, police carried out more than 50 raids and arrested 112 people, laying charges ranging from firearm possession and drug trafficking to murder.

Now four targets in the case are appealing their gang-related drug trafficking convictions, in part because they say police misled a judge about the powers of IMSI catchers and because officers broke their own policies meant to minimize impacts on third parties.

In the investigation, RCMP officers operated the device at the request of Toronto police, which obtained a warrant to use it.

Neither the RCMP nor the Toronto Police Service would comment on a case while it is currently before the courts. Spokespeople for both forces stressed that use of the devices, and any subsequent personal information obtained from data the devices capture, is always done with judicial authorization and in accordance with the law. The RCMP says that its equipment does not collect private communications, including calls, texts or emails.

Data released as evidence in the court case includes logs of each phones manufacturer, make, model, network provider, IMSI number, a serial number associated with the device itself, and other technical information. Police must seek an order from a judge to obtain subscriber details associated with an IMSI number.

According to the logs, police deployed the device at three dozen locations between March 18 and May 23, 2014. In all, the device logged approximately 25,000 captures. The same cellphones may have been captured more than once in that time, since police used the device multiple times at some locations; with those repeat locations excluded, a minimum of 20,000 bystanders in Toronto and the GTA saw their cellphone data swept up.

On a single day, April 16, 2014, officers targeting a suspect named Ken Ying Mai deployed an IMSI catcher four times: near a condominium in Liberty Village, on Dundas St. at the foot of Kensington Market, near another condominium in Liberty Village, and somewhere on Euclid Ave.  the exact location is redacted.

By comparing data logged at multiple locations where a suspect is present, officers try to single out which cellphones belong to him or her.

At one of the Liberty Village condos, at 38 Joe Shuster Way, the IMSI catcher was activated, with breaks, for a total of nine minutes and 35 seconds. In that time, the IMSI catcher recorded identifying information on more than 1,400 cellphones, one of the largest single sweeps in the logs.

These are tools of mass surveillance. They are very distinct from traditional wiretaps, says Chris Parsons, a researcher at the University of Torontos Citizen Lab. They affect hundreds or thousands of people very easily and quickly when youre in a major urban environment.

Mai and three others  Larry Yu, Dat Quoc Tang and Christopher Saccoccia  are appealing their drug trafficking convictions in this case in part because when police obtained a warrant to use the IMSI catcher, they swore to a judge that it would be activated for no more than three minutes at a time, with two minutes of rest in between activations.

Instead, officers in the field often switched frequencies every three minutes, using the device for several minutes uninterrupted. In their warrant, police also did not mention that IMSI catchers have a second tracking function used to follow a single telephone number, a method used once in the case.

According to court documents, the Toronto police sergeant who obtained the warrant testified he had never used an IMSI catcher before, and that he copied and pasted a set of standard wording used in a warrant for a previous case. The RCMPs program manager for deployment of the technology testified that the standard wording was written by people that are not operators of the equipment so they didnt fully understand the capabilities and how it operated.

The same manager also testified the RCMP had entered into a nondisclosure agreement with the maker of their IMSI catchers, promising to protect the sensitive nature of the technology, including in any court proceedings.

The appeal hinges more broadly on polices alleged disregard for privacy in the investigation, including installing secret video cameras in the common areas of condominium buildings without a warrant.

The Crown has not yet filed a response to the appellants claims. In a pretrial charter challenge, a judge ruled that these IMSI catcher-related omissions were immaterial; police testified that by switching frequencies every three minutes, no single phone was affected for more than that time.

An RCMP spokesperson said that policy regarding deployment and resting time is still being developed, and that interim guidelines state that the devices will generally operate for three minutes, though may be operated for longer periods under certain circumstances and if permitted by a judge.

In 2017, Canadas privacy commissioner investigated the RCMPs use of IMSI catchers. At the time, the Mounties provided an interim policy which specified that any data collected from third-party cellphones will only be accessible to the operator of the devices and not passed on to investigators, will be secured at the offices of the divisions technical investigative services, and will be destroyed after any court proceedings are concluded and appeals periods passed, or on the order of a judge. The draft policy also set out regular audits to ensure third-party data that is no longer required for ongoing court cases will be destroyed.

Thats a policy; its not a law, says Citizen Labs Chris Parsons. He points out that this case shows the limits of policy: the device was not used as described in the warrant. That suggests that a policy framework is insufficient to guarantee the data is not being used inappropriately and the device is not being used out of scope of the warrant.

An RCMP spokesperson said the force complies with judicial authorization with respect to data collection and retention.

Parsons and other critics would like to see a reporting regime similar to traditional wiretaps, which require authorities to report statistics on how many authorizations for wiretaps are obtained annually, how many people were charged as a result of those authorizations, and more. The RCMP spokesperson said that the force is not opposed to reporting requirements and is examining the possibility of releasing usage statistics.

The fact that we dont know the extent to which law enforcement is using these is incredibly problematic. These are intrusive devices, says Parsons.
A civil trial is set to begin this week for two doctors accused of ignoring an elderly mans wishes to stay alive and allegedly imposing a do not resuscitate order without consulting him or his substitute decision-maker.

The $2.2-million suit against Dr. Donald Livingston and Dr. Martin Chapman accuses the physicians of negligence or malpractice in the death of Second World War veteran Douglas DeGuerre.

The suit, filed by DeGuerres daughter Joy Wawrzyniak, alleges the doctors overruled the familys decision to keep seeking treatment for DeGuerres many serious illnesses.

It alleges the doctors changed DeGuerres status from full code  meaning make all reasonable efforts to keep the patient alive  to do not resuscitate, without asking DeGuerre or consulting Wawrzyniak, who was tasked with making decisions on his behalf.

Lawyers representing Livingston and Chapman did not comment on the upcoming civil trial, which is set to start Monday.

Wawrzyniaks attorneys said the case is significant as it can warn physicians they have no right to play God.

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We are taking this case to trial to make it clear to physicians that they are required to obtain express consent before writing a DNR order, lawyer Barry Swadron said in a statement.

The unproven statements of claim and defence largely agree on DeGuerres medical history in the months before his death.

Both parties said the 88-year-old had several serious conditions in 2008, including diabetes, kidney failure and gangrene.

He signed a document in November 2007 appointing his daughter as the person to make medical decisions on his behalf should he be unable to do so.

At the same time, both parties agree DeGuerre signed a document saying he did not wish to be resuscitated if death seemed imminent.

Wawrzyniaks statement of claim asserts, however, that DeGuerre changed his mind in the following months and repeatedly declared his desire to have a full code status.

Some of those declarations took place once DeGuerre was admitted to Torontos Sunnybrook Hospital in a wing designated for veterans, the statement said.

Livingston, DeGuerres primary physician on the veterans wing, said DeGuerre would need to have both his legs amputated above the knee. The statement of claim said he had a discussion with Wawrzyniak, who said doctors were to attempt to resuscitate her father if he had a heart attack during surgery.

DeGuerres full code status was reaffirmed after he successfully pulled through the procedure, the claim said, adding notations on his chart accurately reflected his wishes.

Days later on Sept. 22, however, the suit alleged Livingston and Chapman took matters into their own hands.

Unbeknownst to DeGuerre or the plaintiff, Livingstone and Chapman altered DeGuerres plan of treatment ... by changing his status from full code to do not resuscitate, the claim alleged. The change in DeGuerres code status to DNR was made ... without the consent of DeGuerre or the plaintiff.

The suit alleged Chapman left a message with Wawrzyniak indicating he wanted to discuss DeGuerres condition, but made no mention of the DNR status and advised her that nothing has particularly changed.

Wawrzyniak went to the hospital later that day and found her father having difficulty breathing, with his condition deteriorating quickly while in the presence of medical staff, the claim said.

The statement alleged she repeatedly asked staff to intervene, only to be told by Chapman that not doing so was for his own good.

The statement said Wawrzyniak, a registered nurse, tried administering help herself, but was unsuccessful and DeGuerre died a short time later.

Wawrzyniaks suit alleged the doctors actions constitute abuse of power, intentional infliction of mental anguish and negligent infliction of mental anguish  assertions the two deny in their statement of defence.

The statement of defence said the physicians opted to change DeGuerres status after reviewing his poor medical prognosis and noting that he appeared to be in severe pain.

Drs. Chapman and Livingstone agreed that in their medical opinion, there was no reversible component to Mr. DeGuerres condition, the defence statement reads.

In accordance with applicable policies, Dr. Chapman appropriately entered a do not resuscitate order in Mr. DeGuerres chart.

The doctors said the care DeGuerre received was careful and competent, and denied that they owed any duty of care to Wawrzyniak since she wasnt their patient.

Wawrzyniak had twice filed complaints to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, neither of which resulted in any action being taken.

In 2014, however, the provinces Health Professions Appeal and Review Board ruled that the college failed to consider the key question in the case.

The question before the committee was whether it was within the standard of practice of the profession for such order to be made without consent from (Wawrzyniak), the board wrote. In other words, who makes decisions relating to the patients plan of treatment?

According to board documents, the college changed its position in 2015, finding that while the doctors had exercised sound clinical judgment, they failed in their duty to tell Wawrzyniak about her fathers change in code status. The college opted not to take disciplinary measures, but updated its own end-of-life policy.
While Barry and Honey Sherman lay dead in the basement of their Toronto home, a lone man went in and out of their house three times, according to an account of security camera footage seized by Toronto police.

Between 9:11 a.m. and 10:16 a.m. on Dec. 14, 2017, the man walked from a four-door sedan parked in front of the Sherman house on Old Colony Rd., appeared to enter the house through the front door, then came back outside. He did this three times, for a total of 29 minutes inside the Sherman home, before driving off.

Who was he? What was he doing? Have police spoken to him?

The police say they cannot answer any questions related to the now 15-month-old double homicide case, including why, as the Star has found, they did not look at the security footage in question for at least six weeks. The Star previously reported police did not look at Apotex security footage for a similar amount of time.

A statement to the Star by homicide Insp. Hank Idsinga on Friday reveals that the police are now reviewing video surveillance to determine any relevance to the investigation. Police will not say which video surveillance they are reviewing. Idsinga also said in the statement that police have recently obtained more search warrants  he did not say how many  and that DNA samples are also being reviewed. The Star has previously reported that as of last October, 37 warrants had been obtained by police in their probe of the murders.

Brian Greenspan, a lawyer for the Sherman family, said his private investigators have a copy of the video footage from the house and it is inconclusive  they cannot determine who the man is, what kind of car it is or the mans exact movements.

Read more:

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We have always been interested in (the video footage), Greenspan said. All I can tell you is what we see. When you try to improve on the very grainy security camera footage it pixelates. We are sort of stuck with the grainy footage.

Billionaire philanthropists Barry and Honey Sherman  Barry founded and ran generic drug giant Apotex  were found strangled to death in their home on the morning of Friday, Dec. 15, 2017. They were last seen alive on Wednesday, Dec. 13. Forensic investigators believe they were killed late that Wednesday evening.

According to images in the security video, a man visited the Sherman house on Thursday morning, Dec. 14. The Star has not seen the video but has been provided with a detailed account, backed up by handwritten notes taken by a person who reviewed the tape. The person is the homeowner who provided copies of the video to police and to private investigator Mike Davis of Greenspans team before the original video (on a seven-day loop) was wiped clean.

The Star has agreed not to identify the homeowner or their house, except to say it is on the Shermans street. Two CCTV cameras at the homeowners house were focused on their own property, but because of their positioning they also picked up activity around the Sherman home.

The Sherman house  which is set to be demolished, after the family received city approval last week  is on the north side of Old Colony Rd., which runs east off Bayview Ave., south of Hwy. 401.

Here is what is in the security video footage, according to the account provided to the Star:

At 9:11 a.m. a dark-coloured four-door sedan driving west on Old Colony Rd. stops and parks immediately in front of the Sherman house. It does not drive into the circular driveway. Three minutes after the car is parked, a man gets out and at 9:14 a.m. he walks to the Sherman house and enters through the front door. He remains in the house for 12 minutes.

At 9:26 a.m., the man emerges from the house, walks back to his car and gets in. He remains in the car for just under 11 minutes, then gets out of his car, walks back to the house and enters through the front door at 9:37 a.m. This time he remains in the house for eight minutes.

At 9:45 a.m., the man walks back to his car. This time he stays in his car for about 21 minutes, before walking back to the house and entering through the front door at 10:06 a.m. He remains in the house for nine minutes, then emerges, gets into his car and drives slowly west towards Bayview Ave. at 10:16 a.m.

The positioning of the two CCTV cameras that caught this activity do not show the licence plate and the images are blurry  you cannot make out the face of the man.

If you are reading this story, you are probably wondering, were the police on this immediately after the bodies were discovered? The Sherman case was and is one of the more high-profile murder cases in recent Canadian memory. Two billionaires found in their basement pool, dead of ligature strangulation, with leather belts around their necks holding them in a seated position, backs to the railing that surrounds the pool.

To answer the question of how soon the police obtained the video in question, we have to go back to Friday, Dec. 15, when the bodies were discovered, almost two days after they are believed to have been killed. Police were at the Sherman home by 11:46 a.m. on the Friday. The house was for sale, and a real estate agent had discovered the bodies around 10 a.m. There has been no explanation to the Star for the delay in calling police.

Toronto police set up yellow caution tape around the house. Forensic investigators arrived. At the time, that Friday, the local police division was in charge of the scene. Homicide arrived later in the day.

Despite a rash of break-ins in the area (160 over the previous year), not many neighbours have cameras, and the Sherman house had none. One house did. At that house, which has a view of the Sherman home, the CCTV camera has a one-week loop, at which time it overwrites the previous weeks footage. On the Friday afternoon, one of the homeowners approached the police and mentioned the videotape.

We will send someone over, the uniformed officer said.

Nobody came, according to the homeowners.

Saturday, the homeowners tried again. Someone will be over, police said. Again the homeowners tried. This time, a card with an officers name was provided. The homeowners phoned and Sunday morning, an officer came to take a copy of the video footage.

To put this in perspective, at this time of the investigation, police believed that Barry Sherman had killed his wife, then killed himself. Police have told the Star this was just one of their theories, but search warrant documents the Star has obtained confirm this. It may be that since police believed it was a murder-suicide, footage outside the home was believed to be irrelevant.

The officer who showed up at the homeowners house on Sunday took a copy of the video from Wednesday to Friday, and returned later to get the Monday and Tuesday portions of the video. The Star does not know what is on the Wednesday video because the homeowners never thought to view it. In their minds, the day before the bodies were discovered was the relevant time period. But Wednesday is a key time because that is the night the Shermans came home separately from a meeting  Honey is believed to have arrived home around 7:30 p.m. and Barry around 9 p.m. His last email was from his desk computer at Apotex at 8:13 p.m. that night.

Six weeks after police obtained a copy of the homeowners video, a detective from the homicide squad made an appointment to speak to the homeowners and came to their house on Jan. 25, 2018. The detective brought with her two photos, one showing a couple walking a dog and the other a lone woman. These photos were shown to the homeowners with no explanation, except that they were taken from other security cameras in the area.

The homeowners did not recognize the individual in either photo, but they did remark that on Monday, Dec. 11, in the early evening hours, they had noticed a man and a woman they did not recognize walking on the street. The homeowners videotape from the Monday, which was turned over to police and private detectives, apparently does show a man and a woman (the woman is wearing a long coat and the man is tall) entering the Sherman home at 8:20 p.m. that day. The homeowners could not say if this was a different couple than the people in the photo shown by the detective.

There is no suggestion that the people in the two photos were involved in the slaying  only that police were showing them around the neighbourhood, possibly in a search for witnesses to the crime.

After looking at the two blurry photos, the homeowners asked the detective whatever became of the information they had provided six weeks earlier about the man who was parked in front of the house Thursday morning.

The homicide officer, the homeowners said, told them she was not aware of the Dec. 14 events captured on video, and she explained she relied on other officers to go through the video they had obtained and provide her with a summary. This had apparently not been done by Jan. 25, 2018, the day she arrived to show the homeowners the photos. The timing of that visit is interesting as it came several days after a Star story that stated the Shermans were murdered. The Star story prompted police to interview the Sherman familys hired pathologist, who had done the second autopsies.

On Jan. 26, 2018, police announced that after a six-week investigation they had determined it was a case of targeted double murder.

This is not the only delay in viewing security footage in the Sherman case.

As the Star has previously reported, police seized security footage on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017, from Apotex cameras for the days leading up to the murders, but they did not view it for about six weeks, again shortly after the probe turned from murder-suicide to double homicide.

Another apparent shortcoming of police is tardiness in obtaining DNA samples from people who were known to be in the Sherman house for routine reasons or because they are family. Typically, police take DNA and fingerprints from people like this to rule them out as suspects. This process did not begin until nine months into the investigation.

Police also told the Star on Friday that the Sherman case now has a new lead investigator  Det. Sgt. Brandon Price.

Initially, Det. Sgt. Susan Gomes was assigned to lead the case, with Price as second in command and Det. Dennis Yim handling search warrant applications. Gomes was promoted at the end of last year to inspector in charge of the police departments operations centre. Price was promoted to detective sergeant and remained in homicide. Price was the officer who drew criticism from the Sherman family and friends for saying, soon after the bodies were discovered, that there was no sign of forced entry to the Sherman home and no suspects were being sought. That led to speculation, followed by source confirmation to various media outlets, including the Star, that it was a case of murder-suicide. Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders said months later that by making the comments, police were trying to calm fears in the neighbourhood which was concerned that it was a break-in turned violent.

In the homicide unit, Price now reports to the new officer in charge, Insp. Hank Idsinga, the officer who led the Bruce McArthur serial killer probe. For the past month the Star has been attempting to interview Idsinga. The Star was told initially that it was a possibility and that Idsinga and Saunders were in discussions over whether such an interview would take place. On Friday, the police said there would be no interview and a statement was provided:

The investigation into the murders of Barry and Honey Sherman has actively continued over the last 15 months. Given the complexities of the case, the service has dedicated full-time officers who have spent hours conducting a thorough and diligent investigation. They also involve other areas of the organization when certain expertise is required. Even recently, this work has included additional judicial authorizations, examination of DNA samples, and consideration of tips and video surveillance to determine any relevance to the investigation. Our work will continue, guided by the evidence and our commitment to bringing a successful conclusion to this case.

None of the Stars specific questions about the case have been answered.

Greenspan, the Sherman familys lawyer, when asked about the homeowners CCTV footage, said his team of private investigators are working with experts to try to enhance the video.

The quality of the footage is such that we are not able to confirm it, said Greenspan, who has spoken to one of the homeowners and said he does not doubt the veracity of what the homeowner says. Greenspan said it is possible that the original  which no longer exists  was a better version than the copy. I dont know what (Toronto police) have done with it, he said.

During the Stars interviews on Old Colony Rd. over the past two weeks, one other neighbour gave an additional piece of information: that six weeks following the discovery of the Shermans bodies, a Toronto Police Service detective showed up at his door to ask questions. His business card said he was from the cold case squad, the man told the Star.

Toronto police maintain the investigation is ongoing and active.

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BUZI, Mozambique - The Latest on Mozambique Cyclone (all times local):

11:40 p.m.

United States military says President Donald Trump has directed it to support relief efforts in the aftermath of the cyclone that hit Mozambique more than a week ago.

The U.S. Africa Command statement comes three days after Mozambiques government made a formal request through the international community for aid.

The U.S. statement says AFRICOM provides disaster relief when it has unique capabilities that can be utilized in the U.S. governments response.

It says the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa will lead the U.S. military efforts and that its initial assessment has begun at the scene of the disaster.

___

10:40 p.m.

The young mother huddled on a wooden boat clutching her 2-year-old daughter, headed for the unknown: The flooded town of Buzi, which thousands have fled with little but the clothes on their backs.

Fishermens boats have been ferrying out Buzis displaced, sometimes scores of people crammed into a single vessel. But Veronica Fatia was going against the tide, up waters that only recently carried corpses to the sea. She was looking for her mother, hoping she was still alive.

Ten days after the fierce rains and winds roared in, the death toll stood at more than 750 in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi  a count that was certain to rise. Thousands of families swept apart by the storm were now seeking to reunite.

After a three-hour journey Fatia stepped carefully out of the boat and walked into the remains of Buzi, a once bustling riverside city of 200,000 now reduced to homelessness and despair.

She passed the shuttered Jesus Saves Bank and a nearby three-story building where residents clustered on the rooftop in search of a signal for their cellphones. She passed people living in the open along the sandy main road. Some were cooking, others building crude shelters. A young boy read a textbook. Her mother might be at the school, Fatia thought.
BOGOTA - When Lorena Delgado approached the Venezuelan consulate in Colombias capital on a recent afternoon hoping to extend the life of her expiring passport, she found the metal gates to the languishing building shuttered.

Days earlier, Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro had severed ties with the neighbouring Andean nation where over a million of his compatriots have fled in recent years, recalling all his diplomats and leaving the consulate and embassy buildings closed.

The man challenging Maduros claim to the presidency had appointed a new ambassador, but he was at a loss about how to help her. Despite Colombia recognizing Juan Guaido as Venezuelas legitimate president, the ambassador he sent does not have access to the consulate or the ability to issue passport extensions.

You feel trapped, said Delgado, 32, who needs to travel abroad to apply for a work visa. Were in limbo.

As Venezuelas power struggle stretches on, a parallel dispute for control of embassy buildings in the countries recognizing Guaido as Venezuelas true president has taken root. While new opposition-appointed diplomats are being recognized around the world, the United States is the only nation where they control a consulate building. In no country do Guaidos envoys have the ability to carry out basic tasks like issuing a passport, as Venezuelas civil registration agency remains under the control of Maduro.

The diplomatic duel has left the estimated 3.4 million Venezuelans who now live abroad stuck between two administrations. In most countries holdover consular employees continue to carry out tasks like registering births abroad while new, Guaido-appointed ambassadors remain outside embassy walls, symbols of their movements lagging advance.

At this moment, we dont have a solution from either side, said Paola Soto, 25, who is trying to reunite with her 5-year-old son in Chile.

The battle for diplomatic recognition is largely taking place behind closed doors, but it has occasionally spilled out into public.

In February, the Guaido-appointed ambassador to Costa Rica, Maria Faria, announced she had taken control of the embassy in San Jose, proudly posting on Twitter a photograph of herself standing in front of a Venezuelan flag inside the building. A shouting match erupted outside when the Maduro-appointed diplomats tried to get in.

Costa Ricas Ministry of Foreign Affairs, despite recognizing Faria as Venezuelas ambassador, issued a statement deploring her actions, saying shed broken an established protocol allowing Maduro appointees 60 days to leave.

In March, a similarly confusing incident took place in Lima, Peru when workers were spotted at night removing chairs and even a stately bust of South American independence hero Simon Bolivar from the Venezuelan embassy. The furniture was put back inside after anti-government protesters decried them.

Youve robbed enough in Venezuela! one angry woman shouted.

More recently, on Monday, Guaidos U.S. ambassador announced he was taking control of the New York consulate and two military-owned buildings in Washington where images of Maduro have now been replaced with portraits of Guaido.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza accused the United States of violating articles of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations that require host countries to protect foreign embassy buildings even when ties are severed.

He warned that if the U.S. doesnt fulfil its international obligations, the Venezuelan government could pursue legal action and retaliate with reciprocal action - a not so veiled threat that they might occupy the recently vacated U.S. Embassy in Caracas. The U.S. withdrew all embassy personnel from Caracas due to safety concerns after Maduro severed ties with the U.S. over its support for Guaido.

Gustavo Marcano, an exiled Venezuelan mayor who now works for the Guaido-backed Venezuelan embassy in the U.S., said the building acquisition is one of several attempts to ensure Venezuelas assets abroad are protected. The U.S. is also working to transfer other prized belongings, like Houston-based CITGO, a subsidiary of Venezuelas state oil company, to Guaido.

This is the first step toward ending usurpation, he said from inside the Manhattan consulate, where photos of the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez still hung on the walls.

He added that while they cannot issue documents like passports, the Guaido-led consulate does plan to look for other remedies to help the increasingly large number of Venezuelans who possess no valid form of identification. One idea being floated is the creation of a consular-issued identification card that would be recognized by the host nation.

In other countries, the Guaido-named ambassadors are taking a gentler approach, choosing to slowly work toward eventually taking control of consulates in conjunction with the host nations foreign relations ministry - or avoiding the topic altogether.

Humberto Calderon, the appointed ambassador to Colombia, said hes focused more on tending to Venezuelan migrants, viewing occupying the buildings as a potential agitator that could harm Colombians living in Venezuela.

Its our decision, he said. We havent wanted to do it.

Calderon once served as Venezuelas energy minister and is working from a hotel. He said that when Maduro severed diplomatic relations with Colombia, nearly all the consular staff left, boarding a government-sent plane and flying home. Hes had no access to anything they left behind in the buildings.

In other countries, some Maduro employees have stayed on, gingerly sidestepping the higher-voltage political fight.

In Peru, five Maduro-appointed envoys will remain in place to carry out consular functions, according to a high-ranking Venezuelan official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the situation. He said that after talks with Perus foreign ministry, an agreement was reached allowing them to remain in the country and continue working in the embassy, even though the nation recognizes Guaidos ambassador.

The objective is to maintain consular relations, he said. Not diplomatic ones.

Thats a scenario thats likely to play out in most countries: Even as more than 50 heads of state declare their allegiance to Guaido, necessity will inevitably compel them to maintain a range of ties to the Maduro government.

Ultimately its not in any countrys real interest to maintain an embassy thats run by staff that have no ability to advance commercial or consular interests, said Geoff Ramsey, a Venezuela researcher at the Washington Office on Latin America.

He pointed to the case of the Netherlands, which despite backing Guaido, has pledged to keep the Maduro consular staff intact in the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao, which stands about 40 miles from Venezuelas coast. The Netherlands has joint ventures with Venezuelas giant state-run oil company at stake.

Its very much a dual diplomacy situation for many of these countries, Ramsey said.

Soto said she doesnt know how to explain the standoff to her son, who left by plane from Venezuela with his father over a year ago. Ever since shes been trying to meet up with him in Chile but has gotten stuck in Colombia.

Theres no solution, she said. Not here, not in Venezuela, nowhere.

_

Associated Press writer Claudia Torrens contributed to this report.

_

Follow Christine Armario on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cearmario
MONACO - Chinese President Xi Jinping is coming to Monaco and France amid mixed feelings in Europe about Chinas growing global influence.

Xi is paying the first state visit by a Chinese president to the tiny Mediterranean principality of Monaco on Sunday. He will meet with Prince Albert II and discuss economic and environmental issues.

Monaco has signed a deal with Chinese tech company Huawei to develop its 5G telecommunications network  a sensitive issue with other European countries.

The European Union is Chinas biggest trading partner but many in Europe worry about unfair competition from Chinese companies and Chinas global clout.

Monaco banned all flights in its airspace during Xis visit and any sailing in its waters or mooring in its luxury yacht-filled harbour.

Xi then plans to be in France until Tuesday.
PARIS - Catherine Norris Trent, a British citizen who has lived in Paris since 2007, rushed to become French before her native country left the European Union. She worried Brexit might force her to leave her French partner and their two young children.

While the EU has promised to allow Britons living in France and other member countries to stay after the U.K. pulls out, Norris Trent said she saw French citizenship as the one certain way to protect her right to remain.

Brexit was definitely a factor that gave my request urgency, Norris Trent, 38, a television journalist who is among Frances estimated 150,000 British residents, said. I dont want my family to be split apart. Its a terrifying prospect.

As France conferred her second nationality during a spectacular one-hour ceremony last week, Norris Trent left her politics-induced fears at the door of Paris monumental Pantheon, where French literary luminaries such as Victor Hugo, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Emile Zola are buried.

She, along with a throng of others who sought to become citizens, were welcomed by a school choir that sang French national anthem La Marseillaise beside a floodlit bust of Marianne, the national symbol. They watched a film called Become French that explained French national values such as secularism, respect for cultural diversity and gender equality.

The new citizens proudly clutched French birth certificates, excerpts from the French Constitution and a signed letter from French President Emmanuel Macron saying, France is proud and happy to welcome you.

Hundreds of kilometres away in Brussels, British Prime Minister Theresa May waited to find out if the leaders of the 27 remaining EU countries would agree to delay Brexit day. For almost two years, Britains departure was set to take effect this month, on March 29.

But U.K. lawmakers have refused to approve the agreement on withdrawal terms and future relations Mays government negotiated with the EU, creating fears of a disruptive no-deal Brexit that could lead to shortages of food and medicine, tie up traffic on roads, airports and ports where border controls area reintroduced, and upend the lives of ex-pats throughout Europe.

The European leaders refused to extend the Brexit deadline until June 30 as May requested. Instead, they said Britains pull-out could wait until May 22 if the prime minister could persuade Parliament to pass the twice-rejected agreement.

If lawmakers still refuse the deal, the leaders gave Britain until April 12 to choose between leaving the EU without a divorce deal and setting a radically different path such as revoking the decision to leave.

I dont recognize the rhetoric in the U.K. anymore. I dont want to close the door on the European project, Norris Trent said. This is about protecting my family against populism and closing borders, she said.

Frances Interior Ministry recorded 3,173 British citizens who became French ones in 2017, an eightfold increase compared to the year before, when U.K. voters decided to leave the EU. Numbers for 2018 are not yet available.

France has its own problems, of course, including persistent discrimination against residents with immigrant backgrounds despite a national motto proclaiming equality for all. On the day Norris Trent became a citizen, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe spoke during another naturalization ceremony at the Pantheon about the countrys alarming rise in anti-Semitism.

But Macron is a fierce champion of the European Union, both its practical elements such as open borders and the idea it represents of European unity built from the ashes of World War II.

Generations of men and women... contributed to give (France) the identity it has today: a welcoming nation that protects human values, Macron said in the letter addressed to each new French citizen.

The Pantheon has only been used for French citizenship ceremonies since 2017. The monument, a former church built in the 18th century that has become a famous mausoleum, has symbolism of its own.

Several of the well-known figures buried there were born in other countries and became naturalized French citizens, including French-Polish scientist Marie Curie. Norris Trent suggested French authorities chose the location to impress new citizens with the splendor and inclusive history of their adopted country.

What a stunning place to become French. Its better than a pokey town hall, Norris Trent said. You really feel privileged, and so its quite a clever strategy.

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Thomas Adamson can be followed at Twitter.com/ThomasAdamson_K
LONDON - Embattled Prime Minister Theresa May was scrambling Sunday to win over adversaries to her Brexit withdrawal plan as key Cabinet ministers denied media reports that they were plotting to oust her.

May was ensconced in a crisis meeting at her country residence Chequers with fellow Conservatives and outspoken Brexit advocates like Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg and others who would prefer to leave the European Union without a divorce deal rather than delay Britains departure from the bloc further.

The prime minister has found her authority weakened after a series of setbacks in Parliament and her inability to win meaningful concessions from EU leaders who refuse to sweeten the Brexit deal.

The Sunday Times claims that 11 Cabinet ministers plan to tell May to resign so a caretaker leader can be put in her place to kick start the stalled Brexit process. She faces growing pressure from within her own party either to resign or to set a date for stepping down as a way to build support for her Brexit plan.

The confrontation may come to a head at a Cabinet session expected Monday.

Under Conservative Party rules, May cannot face a formal leadership challenge from within her own party until December because she survived one three months ago. But she may be persuaded that her position is untenable if top Cabinet ministers and other senior party members desert her.

Despite headlines about a Cabinet coup, there was no indication from Downing Street on Sunday that a resignation was near. Two of the people mentioned as possible successors  Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington and Treasury chief Philip Hammond  expressed strong support for May.

Hammond said Sunday that senior party members plotting to oust May were being self-indulgent. He said a change of leadership would not provide a solution to the U.K.s political deadlock on Brexit.

Weve got to address the question of what type of Brexit is acceptable to Parliament, what type of way forward Parliament can agree on so that we can avoid what would be an economic catastrophe of a no-deal exit and also what would be a very big challenge to confidence in our political system if we didnt exit at all, Hammond said.

Lidington, mentioned as a possible caretaker prime minister should May be ousted, said Sunday that talk of a Cabinet revolt was far-fetched speculation. He said May is doing a fantastic job and that he has no desire to take her place.

Still, May thus far has been unable to generate enough support in Parliament for the deal her government and the EU reached late last year. Lawmakers voted down the Brexit plan twice, and May has raised the possibility of bringing it back a third time if enough legislators appear willing to switch their votes.

The Cabinet is focused on the best way to get Mays withdrawal plan passed in the House of Commons, Lidington said.

The U.K.s departure from the EU was set to take place on March 29, but the absence of an approved divorce agreement prompted May last week to ask the leaders of the 27 remaining member nations for a postponement.

The leaders agreed to delay Brexit until May 22, on the eve of the EU Parliament elections, if the prime minister can persuade Parliament to endorse the twice-rejected agreement.

If she is unable to rally support for the withdrawal agreement, the European leaders said Britain only has until April 12 to choose between leaving the EU without a divorce deal and a new path, such as revoking the decision to leave the bloc or calling another voter referendum on Brexit.

Parliament may hold a series of votes this week to determine what Brexit proposals, if any, could command majority support.

Conservative Party legislator George Freeman, a former policy adviser to May, tweeted that the U.K. needs a new leader if the Brexit process is to move forward.

Im afraid its all over for the PM. Shes done her best. But across the country you can see the anger. Everyone feels betrayed, Freeman tweeted. This cant go on. We need a new PM who can reach out & build some sort of coalition for a Plan B.

May also faces pressure from groups demanding a second Brexit referendum. Huge crowds turned out Saturday for an anti-Brexit protest march in London, where organizers claimed more than 1 million people attended.

And an electronic petition designed to cancel Brexit altogether passed the 5 million signature mark on Sunday.

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Follow APs full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has been hailed on social media by Muslims around the world for her response to two mosque shootings by a white nationalist who killed 50 worshippers. She wore a headscarf at the funerals in line with Islamic custom and swiftly reformed gun laws.

An image of the prime minister embracing a grieving woman was projected onto the worlds tallest tower in Dubai over the weekend with the Arabic word for peace.

Yet for many Muslims, Arderns most consequential move was immediately labeling the attack an act of terrorism.

That stands in contrast to numerous ideologically-motivated mass shootings in North America by white non-Muslim gunmen that were not labeled acts of terrorism, say Muslim leaders and terrorism experts.

For too long, terror attacks have been depicted as a uniquely Muslim problem, with acts of violence described as terrorist only when it applies to Muslims, said Abbas Barzegar of the Council on American Islamic Relations. He works on documenting and combating anti-Muslim bigotry and Islamophobia.

Weve got an issue in this country where anytime a violent act is committed by a Muslim, the media starts at terrorism and then works backward from there, added Colin Clarke, a senior research fellow at The Soufan Center, a New York-based think-tank .

Its the opposite when the shooter is non-Muslim and white, said Clarke, whos spent his career studying terrorism, particularly Muslim extremism.

The March 15 attacks on the New Zealand mosques raised questions about whether Islamophobia and the threat of violent right-wing extremism was being taken seriously by politicians and law enforcement.

The gunman in the New Zealand massacre called himself a white nationalist and referred to President Donald Trump as a symbol of renewed white identity. Australian Brenton Tarrant, 28, has been charged with murder in the attacks.

Trump expressed sympathy for the victims, but played down the rise of white nationalism around the world, saying he didnt consider it a major threat despite data showing it is growing.

The Anti-Defamation League found that right-wing extremism was linked to every extremist killing in the United States last year, with at least 50 people killed. The group said that since the 1970s, nearly three in four extremist-related killings in the United States have been linked to domestic right-wing extremists and nearly all the rest to Muslim extremists.

Its really important that this attack not be dismissed as some crazy lone wolf, isolated incident, said Dalia Mogahed, who leads research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding, an organization that focuses on research of American Muslims.

I think it needs to be seen as ... a symptom of a wider problem, a transnational rising threat of white supremist violence where anti-Muslim rhetoric is the oxygen for this movement, she said.

A study by the ISPU found that foiled plots involving Muslims perceived to be acting in the name of Islam received 770% more media coverage than those involving perpetrators acting in the name of white supremacy. Another study by Georgia State University found that out of 136 terror attacks in the U.S. over a span of 10 years, Muslims committed on average 12.5 per cent of the attacks, yet received more than half of the news coverage.

Mehdi Hasan, a commentator, TV host, columnist and adjunct professor at Georgetown University, said the public has been conditioned since the 9-11 attacks to see terrorists as people with big beards, brown skin, loud voices shouting in Arabic.

I dont think anyone can deny that the entire War on Terror has fed into this idea (of) Muslims as a threat, as the other, as inherently violent, Hasan said.

Additionally, when non-Muslim white gunmen are the perpetrators of violence, there are often attempts at examining their mental health or childhood in ways not consistently afforded to others, Hasan said.

Some of the most notorious recent attacks by white assailants with racist or extremist views the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting that killed 11 people in October and the church shooting that killed nine black worshippers in Charleston in 2015  were not labeled terrorism and the assailants were not tried as terrorists. Neither was the shooting by a white assailant at a mosque in Quebec, Canada in 2017 that killed six Muslims.

Clarke, the terrorism expert, said hes been called to testify on Capitol Hill three times in the past two years about jihadi terrorism. Where are the hearings about right-wing violence? he asked.

Meanwhile, sectarian, cultural and ideological differences among the worlds Muslims complicate efforts to uniformly push back against negative stereotypes  including the perception by some that Islam condones or encourages violence.

Such biases have been exacerbated by multiple attacks by Islamic extremists in European capitals and by years of conflicts that seem to pit Sunni and Shiite Muslims against each other. In the Middle East, the victims of extremist violence have often been fellow Muslims, targeted by groups like Islamic State or al-Qaida because they dont share their hard-line ideology.

The Islamic State group, which promoted an extremist version of Sunni Islam, terrorized millions of people during a five-year reign in parts of Syria and Iraq that only ended Saturday, with the loss of the last speck of land of its self-proclaimed caliphate.

Some leaders of majority-Muslim countries have been accused of exploiting the debate.

Las week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stirred controversy when he was seen as politicizing the New Zealand attacks to galvanize Islamist supporters during a campaign ahead of municipal elections. The attacker had livestreamed the shootings on social media, and Erdogan screened clips of the attack despite New Zealands efforts to prevent the videos spread.

Mogahed, who co-authored a book called Who Speaks for Islam: What a Billion Muslims Really Think based on interviews with tens of thousands of Muslims around the world, said its important to ask whether someone needs to be speaking for Islam, particularly when other groups of people are afforded the presumption of innocence when horrific acts are carried out in their name.

Some Muslim community leaders, like Dawud Walid, an imam in Detroit, said they are troubled by demands that Muslims condemn extremism carried out in the name of Islam. This suggests that Muslims share some sort of collective responsibility for the actions of extremists.

Hasan says this subliminally reinforces the idea that terrorism is a Muslim problem.

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Follow Aya Batrawy on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ayaelb
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - A Kenyan teacher from a remote village who gave away most of his earnings to the poor won a $1 million prize on Sunday for his work teaching in a government-run school that has just one computer and shoddy Internet access.

The annual Global Teacher Prize was awarded to Peter Tabichi in the opulent Atlantis Hotel in Dubai in a ceremony hosted by actor Hugh Jackman.

Tabichi said the farthest hed travelled before this was to Uganda. Coming to Dubai marked his first time on an airplane.

I feel great. I cant believe it. I feel so happy to be among the best teachers in the world, being the best in the world, he told The Associated Press after his win.

Tabichi teaches science to high schoolers in the semi-arid village of Pwani where almost a third of children are orphans or have only one parent. Drought and famine are common.

He said the school has no library and no laboratory. He plans to use the million dollars from his win to improve the school and feed the poor.

Despite the obstacles Tabichis students face, hes credited with helping many stay in school, qualify for international competitions in science and engineering and go on to college.

At times, whenever I reflect on the challenges they face, I shed tears, he said of his students, adding that his win will help give them confidence.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a statement that Tabichis story is the story of Africa and of hope for future generations.

As a member of the Roman Catholic brotherhood, Tabichi wore a plain floor-length brown robe to receive the award presented by Dubais Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The prize is awarded by the Varkey Foundation, whose founder, Sunny Varkey, established the for-profit GEMS Education company that runs 55 schools in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Qatar.

In his acceptance speech, Tabichi said his mother died when he was just 11 years old, leaving his father, a primary school teacher, with the job of raising him and his siblings alone.

Tabichi thanked his father for instilling Christian values in him, then pointed to his father in the audience, invited him up on stage and handed him the award to hold as the room erupted in applause and cheers.

I found tonight to be incredibly emotional, very moving, Jackman told the AP after hosting the ceremony and performing musical numbers from his film The Greatest Showman.

It was a great honour, a thrill to be here and I just thought the whole evening was just filled with a really pure spirit, he added.

Now in its fifth year, the prize is the largest of its kind. Its quickly become one of the most coveted and prestigious for teachers. Tabichi selected out of out 10,000 applicants.

The winner is selected by committees comprised of teachers, journalists, officials, entrepreneurs, business leaders and scientists.

Last year, a British art teacher was awarded for her work in one of the most ethnically diverse places in the country. Her work was credited with helping students feel welcome and safe in a borough with high murder rates.

Other winners include a Canadian teacher for her work with indigenous students in an isolated Arctic village where suicide rates are high, and a Palestinian teacher for her work in helping West Bank refugee children traumatized by violence.

The 2015 inaugural winner was a teacher from Maine who founded a non-profit demonstration school created for the purpose of developing and disseminating teaching methods.

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Associated Press writer Malak Harb contributed to this report.
STURGIS, S.D. - A 9-year-old girl missing from a South Dakota residential youth home for nearly two months has a history of running away, her parents said in an interview published Sunday.

Chad and Kasandra Dennard told the Rapid City Journal that their daughter, Serenity Dennard, had planned escapes by packing a suitcase and leaving in the middle of the night. The familys home in Sturgis, South Dakota, has an alarm to help prevent that from happening.

Serenity has been missing since she ran away from Black Hills Childrens Home near Rockerville in frigid weather on Feb. 3. Authorities say she was not dressed for the weather and that its unlikely she survived if she was outside.

Chad Dennard, 37, tells the newspaper hes 100 per cent certain that Serenity planned an escape from Childrens Home by having another child run away first.

Thats just her MO (mode of operation), he said. Shes just going to wait until everything is calmed down.

The couple said Serenity runs away because she doesnt know how to process her emotions, or because she begins to feel too comfortable in a place.

Serenity and three other children were playing inside the gym at Childrens Home when one of the other children ran away, Bill Colson, executive director of the Childrens Home Society, has said. As a staffer ran after that child, Serenity took off. Because the remaining staffer was still supervising two other children, that person stayed and called for help rather than follow Serenity.

Serenitys parents said their daughter would hide from staff inside Childrens Home and threaten to run away. She may have run away Feb. 3 because she started to feel too comfortable at the home, was no longer the new girl and was ready for something new, the couple said.

Kasandra Dennard, 25, said she thinks her daughters struggles stem from the inconstancy of being raised by many different people. She said Serenitys birth parents loved her but they were both sent to prison.

Once Serenity was removed from her family, she was tossed through foster homes, about 12 to 13 homes in two years, Kasandra Dennard said.

Shes used to wearing somebody out, and they send her to somebody else, she added.

Chad Dennard and his ex-wife adopted Serenity in October 2014, and the couple broke up in early 2015. Chad and Kasandra Dennard began raising her in May 2015.

Authorities said finding Serenity remains a top priority. The Pennington County Sheriffs Office plans a search next weekend, Sgt. Todd Battest told The Associated Press.

At her familys home, a stuffed pink unicorn sits on Serenitys neatly made bed with its arms open wide, the newspaper reported. The girl moved last summer to Childrens Home and was expected to be discharged in September 2019, depending on her progress.

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Information from: Rapid City Journal, http://www.rapidcityjournal.com
NEW ORLEANS - The National WWII museum is opening a new exhibit dedicated to the life and art of French painter Guy de Montlaur as part of their efforts to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landing at Normandy.

In a news release the museum says the exhibit is titled In Memory of What I Cannot Say.

Montlaur was a member of the French army at the beginning of World War II and survived hand-to-hand combat, the release says.

On D-Day, he was part of a group of Free French Commandos who came ashore at Sword Beach.

His wartime service finally came to an end in November 1944 when he was wounded.

The exhibit runs through Oct. 20 and features artifacts helping describe Montlaurs wartime experiences, pieces of his artwork and an exhibit about combat stress in the war.
News from Finland should remove any doubt about politics being nothing more than medicine on a larger scale. The Finnish coalition government resigned ahead of an April election citing its inability to deliver a health care reform package it had campaigned on. This would be like if the Liberals stepped down because they did not keep their promise of a comprehensive universal pharmacare program.

Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila said his administration works on a result or out principle, claiming that political parties have an obligation to assume responsibility for failed policies. This unprecedented move, however, should be taken with a grain of salt as his party was plummeting in the polls with an expectation of defeat.

Still, it is refreshing  and still somewhat shocking  to discover that elected officials in other parts of the world will admit to failure and step down when it is in the public interest. Notwithstanding the seemingly magnanimous actions of Finnish political leadership, the fact that this Nordic country is grappling with health care delivery should force Canada to reflect on its own reform process.

Finland spends a smaller percentage of its GDP per capita on health care  one of the lowest in Europe  compared to us. Admittedly, it enjoys this statistic while having a national population that is exceeded by the number of people in the GTA.

Its universal health-care system, which includes capped user-fees and private health care, is organized to entrust its 450 individual municipalities to provide local primary care, while simultaneously requiring them to fund specialist care through the 20 regional hospital districts. Its central government distributes tax revenue to municipalities to fund health care based on a number of demographic factors.

And yet, Finland struggles. The governments proposal for reform included the consolidation of services into 18 separate entities, with the goal of streamlining care and finding efficiencies. Interestingly, this vision echoes the desire by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care to create a super agency from the provinces 14 LHINs.

The Finnish story should be instructive to Canadians because it reiterates that health care is a complex and dynamic challenge facing every country. The collective inaction by governments around the world on reform poses a huge threat to the quality of health care in the near future. This inertia is a symptom of convoluted political structures that increasingly challenge the ability to find consensus that is needed in the legislative process.

These political determinants of health are now firmly rooted in our hyper partisan environment. The more our society retreats to the comforts of echo chambers, the less likely we are to find common ground moving forward.

Which is why we need our elected officials to lead with a focus on policy instead of ideology. Indeed, in an important election year, this is ultimately the campaign promise that all Canadians deserve to be kept.
Beer and wine in corner stores by Christmas?

Thats what the head of the Ontario Convenience Stores Association is hoping as the new Progressive Conservative government puts the finishing touches on its first budget due April 11 and appoints a special adviser for its review of alcohol sales.

Premier (Doug) Ford has said it over and over. Hes going to put beer in small corner stores, more grocers and big-box stores and we are working towards that, says association president Dave Bryans, who has long pushed for the move.

If theres ever a time for change, when it comes to the duopoly controlling alcohol and beer, now is the time, adds the veteran lobbyist, referring to the LCBO and foreign-owned Beer Stores.

While he doesnt expect more than a nod to the idea in Finance Minister Vic Fedelis fiscal blueprint, Bryans thinks the necessary conditions could be in place within six months.

I hope were cutting the ribbon by fall, Bryans tells the Star. Theres still a lot of work to do, from distribution to working with the Craft Brewers Association and distillers and figuring how best to roll this out.

Last week, Fedeli named former Alberta municipal affairs minister Ken Hughes as his adviser on how the government can modernize Ontarios beverage alcohol system to give consumers more choice and convenience while giving businesses more opportunities.

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Mr. Hughes will also serve as a principal in negotiations with alcohol stakeholders and work closely with the policy teams to develop proposals and guide implementation, Fedeli said in a statement.

He will also lead ongoing discussions with key stakeholders, including beverage alcohol producers, public health and safety organizations, municipalities, consumer groups, retailers, and restaurants and bars.

One major hurdle is a 10-year agreement signed between the province and the Beer Store in 2015 that expanded wine and beer sales into supermarkets. There would be hefty financial penalties for the government to break that accord.

The Ontario Safety League has already lined up against beer and wine in corner stores, a concept promised by then-Liberal leader David Peterson in the late 1980s that never came to fruition  although Kathleen Wynnes most recent Liberal government did relax alcohol sales by allowing beer, wine and cider in hundreds of grocery stores.

Im 60 years old and no ones ever turned to me and said, Its tough to get beer in this town, says Brian Patterson of the safety league, which has advocated for improved road safety since 1913.

I dont think theres any need for single-serve purchases of alcohol at all.

The Ford governments Treasury Board president, Peter Bethlenfalvy, recently spoke to a dinner meeting of Bryans convenience store association, fondly recalling the days of his Quebec youth, when beer and wine could be purchased at corner stores known as depanneurs and assuring the crowd our government is truly grateful for everything that you do and for the contribution you make.

Well have more to say, he told the Star this week when asked about timing for expanding alcohol sales, noting the government is going through feedback received in public consultations on the issue that began before Christmas.

We have a habit of keeping our promises, but were not saying anything on that. Were going through the consultation results.

The president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents thousands of LCBO staff, fears the provincial government is opening the door to a boozy Wild West by appointing Hughes, who comes from Alberta where sales and distribution have been privatized.

It means giving business more opportunities to push alcohol sales at a great cost to the health and safety of our kids and communities, Warren (Smokey) Thomas said in a statement Friday.

Opposition parties at Queens Park and the Ontario Campaign for Action on Tobacco said they are concerned the Conservative government is getting too cosy with convenience stores  first by scrapping a regulation from the Wynne government that would have prohibited promotion of vaping in stores, frequented by teens prohibited from buying vape products until they turn 18.

New Democrat MPP France Gelinas said vaping is a gateway to smoking for teenagers, with vape companies and convenience stores trying to lock in a next generation of customers.

The link is direct. You start vaping and you will get addicted to nicotine, you will make the switch to smoking. Nothing good comes of that, she added.

The convenience store dinner meeting where Bethlenfalvy, the MPP for Pickering-Uxbridge, spoke was sponsored in part by Juul, a producer of vaping products that came to Canada last fall and whose parent company has been under the microscope of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The data on the number of kids vaping in the United States has gone through the roof, says Michael Perley of the anti-tobacco group, arguing the provincial government should be doing everything it can to discourage teens from taking up the habit.

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner agreed.

Weve got to separate out the harm reduction aspects for adult cigarette smokers versus the aggressive marketing to young people.

Interim Liberal leader John Fraser said Bethlenfalvys appearance at the convenience store dinner marks a conflict between the public interest and a business interest.

We know that vaping is a gateway to smoking for youth. The government has loosened regulations very recently, and I think, as a minister, he should be very conscious of that. If hes not, he needs to tune in.

Bryan of the convenience stores association countered that vaping is a legal product and pointed out any stores caught selling to minors twice within five years lose their tobacco licence for six months and might as well close their doors.

He blames internet vendors for selling vape products to teens.

Young people, they can go to any vaping website right now, itll ask if theyre 21 and theyll ship it to your house. Nobody asks for proof of age at the door.
VANCOUVERA team of Vancouver lawyers has imported the entire surplus stock of police breathalyzers from the state of Illinois to skirt a policy barring defence lawyers from obtaining the instruments from the manufacturer for examination.

The lawyers intend to conduct experiments on the instruments to determine whether they are as reliable as police and lawmakers claim, said Kyla Lee, a Vancouver criminal lawyer with Acumen Law Corporation.

Our goal is just to ensure that we have a breath-testing program in this country that is proper (and) that the scientific procedures that are being followed to capture people's breath samples  when they're used as evidence in a criminal prosecution with stakes of a mandatory criminal record and in some cases jail  that that evidence is good evidence that we can trust, she said in an interview.

Lee and her colleague Paul Doroshenko drove cross-border Saturday to Sumas, Wash.  where the shipment had been sent from Illinois  to load the roughly 150 instruments onto a truck to drive back into Canada. The gear was sold through a third-party supplier, she said, which is the only reason she and Doroshenko were able to obtain the instruments despite being disallowed to do so direct-from-manufacturer by both the RCMP and the manufacturer itself.

The manufacturer and the RCMP will not let defence lawyers get a hold of them, will not let defence lawyers use them or touch them or take them apart or do anything with them, because they want to protect the instruments from the scrutiny of defence which, obviously, we have very significant concerns about, she said.

We should have the same access to information about breath-testing equipment as the police do and as the Crown does in order to allow our clients to make full answer in defence.

Lee pointed to a December 2018, amendment to the Criminal Code of Canada which states that the analysis of a sample of a persons breath by means of an approved instrument produces reliable and accurate readings of blood alcohol concentration. This provision, she said, allows lawmakers and police the leeway to prevent defence lawyers from examining the breath-testing equipment for themselves  a situation she suggested constitutes a blanket statement being made about the reliability of evidence before that evidence ever makes it to court.

But armed with 150 Intox EC/IR 1 and 2 breathalyzer devices, Lee said she and her colleague intend to find out whether the equipment provides results that are as infallible as law enforcement and the manufacturer claim. The Intox EC/IR 2 is the model used in British Columbia by police.

The instrument is designed to detect ethanol in a breath sample and convert that reading  via an internal, electrochemical reaction  into a close approximation of blood alcohol content. But one of Lees concerns centres around whether interference from other chemicals might cause a false positive leading to a criminal conviction.

People who work in places such as hair salons or in print stations with photocopiers  or people who work around chemicals such as painters, floor installers and asphalt layers  all inhale various chemicals throughout their workdays. Those chemicals  known in terms of their effect on a breath-testing instrument as interferents  wind up in a workers bloodstream.

The instrument is supposed to be designed to detect those interferents and rule them out as intoxicants.

But we're going to actually experiment with (the instruments) using a simulator, and blowing those interferents through them, Lee said.

The instruments also contain an infrared chamber which is responsible for detecting whether the source of ethanol in a breath sample is indicative of blood alcohol content, or is instead from residual mouth alcohol, which can be present in a persons mouth after a recent sip of an alcoholic beverage, or following a belch or regurgitation.

We've seen in disclosure we've gotten in criminal cases  as well as through discussion with our colleagues in the U.S.  that these instruments in particular have a lot of problems when it comes to mouth alcohol detection, she said. In particular, Lee said there is evidence which suggests the EC/IR 2 may falsely detect mouth alcohol that's not there, or miss detecting mouth alcohol when it is actually present.

And while Lee and Doroshenko are still awaiting a shipment of computer chips necessary to operate the equipment, Lee said a preliminary inspection in the past 24 hours has led her and Doroshenko to suspect there may be flaws in the reliability of the evidence generated by the machine.

The lack of scrutiny around how reliably these instruments actually function is already impacting Canadians, Lee said. A pair of appellants lost cases before the Supreme Court of Canada last year because of they failed to demonstrate why information about the functioning, operation and maintenance of the breath-testing equipment (which provided the results leading to their initial convictions) was necessary to their cases and should be supplied to the defence, Lee said.

Since people are being convicted on the basis of evidence produced by breath-testing devices, she added, its critical that an understanding of their potential flaws or failures be a part of any criminal trial which includes such evidence.

Because if we can say, finally, from having our hands on the devices and taking them apart and testing them, These are the things that can go wrong, we've seen it and we can demonstrate it and we can get evidence from scientists or engineers to support that in court, ... we may be able to finally level the playing field for people who are charged with impaired driving offences in this country, she said.

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Abstract artist Sean Scully has striped his canvases in yellows from palest omelet to warning flare.

His choices have been uncontroversial  his paintings have sold for more than $1 million each  until last summer, when he went a shade too far on one of his own homes.

Scully, 73, specified Gold Zinger paint (from Valspar) for his turreted house built in the 1980s in Snedens Landing, an enclave in the hamlet of Palisades, New York, on the Hudson Rivers western shore about 20 miles north of Manhattan.

In an oversight, his team did not file for paint color approval permits required by the local governments Historical Areas Board of Review. At the boards December meeting, some emotions ran high as the public debated whether Gold Zinger should be allowed to remain on the house.

Opponents deemed the color over the top and jarring. Scullys team defended it as bold, beautiful and uplifting, suited to a woodsy neighborhood known as eclectic, unique, artsy and individualistic. (Celebrity inhabitants have included Orson Welles and Scarlett Johansson.)

The board nonetheless concluded that Gold Zinger had to go. This spring, it will yield to Semolina, a creamier yellow from Benjamin Moore.

Scully, in a recent interview, fumed over what he called Pottery Barn tastes among the locals who spurned Gold Zinger. Thomas Jefferson had applied a similar shade in Monticellos dining room, he said, and it brought a cheerful note to his wintry leafless property. But he accepted Semolina as a compromise: I dont want war.

Color battles like these have grown common. Historic district administrators and other neighborhood design watchdogs have gained power over growing urban and suburban territories. Homeowners in aging subdivisions brave disapproval as they try to update association covenants, to brighten obsolete dark palettes while maintaining visual cohesiveness. Blog posts have drawn attention to extreme colors and suggested boundaries of good taste, while social media has made for open season on peoples house paint choices. Tantrums, lawsuits and nitpicking have ensued.

Regulations in Palm Coast, Florida, forbid fluorescent, loud, clashing or garish colors or any shade of purple, fuchsia, magenta and orange that does not meet the pastel requirement. In Wellington, Florida, homeowners have struggled to persuade authorities to add mouthwatering paint colors called oregano spice and cocoa berry to the official rosters of permitted hues. In Gaithersburg, Maryland, homeowners have landed in court for using excessively pale trim in a predominantly earth-tone subdivision  the house that generated the controversy is on Happy Choice Lane.

In Cody, Wyoming, rule-breaking owners have spewed expletives while painting their homes exterior in bands of cafe gray, maroon rust, walnut bark and cinnabark, the Powell Tribune reported. There are reports of a Louisiana residents yellow house being painted gray by neighborhood objectors while the owner was out of town. People have ranted online against the subjective judgments and excessive power of the color police. A petition arose to abolish homeowner associations, partly because of the threat of color dictatorship.

John Hammersmith, a community associations expert who owns Hammersmith Management in Colorado, said that board discussions of paint choices had been known to devolve into yelling, screaming, almost fisticuffs. He quoted a common saying in real estate: You just dont want to live next to a pink house.

Pink walls, however, do sometimes win hearts. In Brooklyns Park Slope neighborhood, there is nostalgia for a Victorian row house formerly known as Pinkstone, at 233 Garfield Place. An owner had kept it coated pink for decades. Solange Knowles posed on its steps in a music video. Subsequent buyers have returned it to its original brown. (In Pinkstones memory, the Brooklyn-based accessories maker Dear Martian offers a pepto pink cotton bow tie named 233 Garfield.)

In East Harlem, designer Karim Rashids team has slathered a bubble gum shade across cantilevered concrete terraces on a new apartment house at 329 Pleasant Ave. Rashids original proposal had called for incorporating turquoise bands into the mix, but that high-contrast idea ended up shelved amid neighborhood outcry. In a recent interview, Rashid lamented widespread fear of brightly colored buildings. When we see unexpected shades, he said, Thats when we feel alive.

Scully and his wife, artist Liliane Tomasko, recently have expanded their real-estate portfolio with a sprawling 1920s house called Shadowcliff in Upper Nyack, New York. Its three-story wood and brick shell, trimmed in white neoclassical details, contains 37 rooms. Walter Aurell, an architect who has worked on several projects for the couple (including the Snedens Landing house), said that renovations at Shadowcliff were expected to begin in early summer. Discussions about the selections of exterior paint, he said, are ongoing.

Rashid says he foresees his afterlife in a place where palettes are infinitely expansive and gray walls very rare.

Theres a planet out there, I believe, thats all so colorful, he said, and thats where Im going when I die.
SPRINGFIELD  Officials in charge of managing the Illinois Medicaid program told state lawmakers they are focused on improving services and reducing the programs cost to taxpayers, but that will depend on whether lawmakers are willing to impose a new tax on insurance companies.

This budget proposal has been referred to technically as a maintenance budget, but to us that means far from business as usual, Theresa Eagleson, the new director at the Department of Healthcare and Family Services, told a Senate appropriations committee Tuesday. The governor has vowed to preserve Medicaid funding, and under this budget not a single person will see their health coverage or their child support assistance reduced in any way.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker is proposing a total operating budget for DHFS of $25.1 billion, or about $900 million more than the current years budget. The vast majority of that is for the state Medicaid program, which is jointly funded with state and federal money to provide health coverage to more than 3 million low- and moderate-income people in Illinois.

However, under Pritzkers proposal, the cost to Illinois taxpayers would actually be about $700 million less than it is this year. Thats because within the Medicaid program, Pritzker is proposing to levy a host of new taxes that would go into a special fund used to reimburse health care providers while at the same time drawing down additional federal matching funds.

Those new taxes include an assessment on certain insurance companies known as managed care organizations, or MCOs, which are the type of companies that now administer most of the states Medicaid program. Pritzker is also seeking a 32-cent per-pack increase in the states cigarette tax as well as new taxes on e-cigarettes.

Among the things the new money would pay for would be the hiring of 59 additional staff members to coordinate physical and behavioral health care for Medicaid patients.

That new managed care system, however, has been the subject of intense criticism since it was implemented statewide in 2015. Known as Health Choice Illinois, it was intended to improve health outcomes and bring down costs by coordinating each individuals care between their primary care provider and various therapists and specialists.

Sen. Heather Steans, a Chicago Democrat who chairs the committee, was among the group of lawmakers who pushed for shifting to a managed-care model for Medicaid. But she said Tuesday that there have been signs the new model isnt working as planned, and that the MCOs have actually been controlling costs by denying claims.

The history weve had with the MCOs has been much more (about) denials, not providing care, she said.

Eagleson, a former executive director of the Office of Medicaid Innovation at the University of Illinois system, acknowledged earlier in her testimony the agency was deeply aware of concerns about denial rates, late payments and other issues in the program. But she also said there are indications managed care is achieving some of its goals.

 Were seeing anecdotally things like increased assessments of behavioral health needs, decreased hospital admissions, decreased (emergency room) utilization, she said. So we do think that the statistics are going in the right direction in most cases, but wed like to bring more transparency to you around those issues as well.

Sen. Laura Murphy, a Democrat from Des Plaines, meanwhile, said there were concerns that go beyond the managed care system, and thats the difficulty people have getting recertified for Medicaid in order to continue their benefits after their initial period of approval expires.

Im sure my office is not unlike most other districts offices, where 90 percent of my staffs time is spent on trying to get people recertified, she said, calling the process the most consumer-unfriendly thing we could possibly do.

And the amount of frustration that my constituents, and Im sure everyones experienced, it is beyond unacceptable, Murphy said.

Eagleson said the agency was working across the board to find solutions to that problem, including hiring and training new staff at local offices where Medicaid applications are processed. She said the agency was also looking into a more streamlined process for the frail elderly and people with chronic disabilities whose medical conditions that qualify them for Medicaid are unlikely to change.

Sen. Dale Righter, a Republican from Mattoon, said his major concern about the budget request was the reliance on new taxes, which the General Assembly has not yet approved. He asked how the agency would make up the difference if lawmakers decline to enact those new taxes.

We would have to explore other funding options for the budget, senator, whether that would be (general revenue funds) or other resources, said Mike Casey, DHFS finance director. We would have an issue of funding our budget, to the tune of approximately $400 million, net.

The committee took no action Tuesday, but will continue discussing the proposed Medicaid budget as lawmakers work toward passing a final budget later in the session.

Reach reporter Peter Hancock at phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com
ROXANA  A candidate for one of three four-year terms as Roxana trustee may need more than votes to hold the office, because of prior felony convictions.

Michael R. Franks, 50, of the 400 block of Doerr Street, Roxana, is challenging incumbents Dale Raymond, Steven C. White and Robert Lee Kelly for three seats in the April 2 election.

However, according to Missouri court records Franks has a felony conviction on two counts of unlawful use of a weapon in St. Louis County in 2002, which would make him ineligible to hold an elected municipal office unless Gov. J.B. Pritzker intervened, according to several sources, including Madison County States Attorney Tom Gibbons and the Illinois Attorney Generals Office.

Franks also has additional previous convictions, including several DUIs and DWIs, and charges of assaulting law enforcement officers related to the felony charges. According to officials with the Madison County Probation Office, he is currently serving probation for a 2017 DUI in Madison County.

In an emailed response to a request for comment, he acknowledged, and took responsibility, for his run-ins with the law.

I made those mistakes, he said, adding that he had drastically changed his life since then.

He said he thought the convictions had been dismissed, and said in a later telephone call to a Telegraph reporter that he had forgotten about them until it had now been brought up.

Franks said the 2002 convictions stem from an incident because his girlfriend at the time went into a manic state and was creating problems at a restaurant. When officers arrived he says he took the fall. He said the weapons charge was in reference to weight-lifting equipment he had in his vehicle at the time of the apparent disturbance.

Roxana Mayor Marty Reynolds said he is aware of the issues.

I have no personal experience with him, Reynolds said. I did appoint him years ago to the Zoning Board, which was a carry-over (from the previous administration).

Officially, there is nothing that is in our records that says he has a felony conviction and he cannot run for office, Reynolds said.

He also said that if somebody does have a felony conviction but has satisfied the requirements of that felony, they are eligible to run for office.

However, Madison County Clerk Debra Ming-Mendoza and Madison County States Attorney Tom Gibbons said a felony conviction would bar someone from office except in rare circumstances.

Ming-Mendoza said the issue has gotten this far because municipal candidate filings are handled by the municipal clerks, while the County Clerks Office handles school board candidates.

When the village clerks take petitions, they dont run background checks on potential candidates, she said.

Once the candidate filed, she said the proper way to deal with that is to file an objection to the candidate. She noted that one school board candidate in Madison County was tossed off the ballot after a hearing on an objection over a felony record.

Since it didnt happen, the clerk certified to me a list of candidates who filed, Ming-Mendoza said.

If the information is accurate, its a no-brainer, Ming-Mendoza said. The simple solution would be that he is not eligible to be sworn in and I would not certify his results.

Annie Thompson, senior press secretary for the Office of the Attorney General, said the Illinois Municipal Code states A person is not eligible to take the oath of office for a municipal office if that person  has been convicted in any court located in the United States of any infamous crime, bribery, perjury, or other felony.

Gibbons agreed.

He said if a felon won an election and it was reported to his office, they would start an investigation and could then file a suit to intervene.

He noted that a recent case from Cook County dealt with that issue, and the only route that would make a felon eligible to hold such an office.

Roger Agpawa pleaded guilty to felony mail fraud in 1999, and was sentenced to probation, community service and was ordered to make restitution.

He was elected mayor of Markham in 2017, but was barred from taking the post after the Cook County States Attorney filed a complaint, citing state law barring felons from municipal office. The Illinois First District Appellate Court ruled in March 2018 that Agpawa could not hold the office, but later that year then-Gov. Bruce Rauner intervened by restoring Agpawas rights of citizenship, making him eligible to hold elected office. He was sworn in in September.

Reach reporter Scott Cousins at 618-208-6447.
ALTON  The victim of a fatal shooting Friday night inside an Alton Shell station has been identified as 22-year-old Austin L. Pierson, of the 2600 block of Ida Street, Alton.

Police on Saturday also confirmed that a suspect, also 22 years old, is in custody. He was not identified pending formal charges, expected to come Monday.

Police were called to the convenience store at approximately 7:15 p.m. Friday for the report of a man who was shot and unresponsive. The suspect fled on foot east on Brown and was later captured by Illinois State Police after crashing a vehicle near the intersection of Route 140 and 159.

Alton Police Department spokesperson Pfc. Emily Hejna said the men, who knew each there, were in an altercation before the suspect allegedly pulled a weapon and shot Pierson. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hejna did not give details regarding the nature of the fight, but it was not drug related.

There were several other people inside the store at the time of the incident. None of them were hurt, but an employee of the Shell said he was nearly struck by the gunfire.

I tried to save a life, a clerk at the store, who declined to be identified, told a Telegraph reporter Friday night. I was trying to separate them when a bullet went right past my side.

He said everyone in the store when the shooting occurred was in shock.

Dozens of family, friends and acquaintances of Pierson appeared at the scene and mourned with each other late into the evening as investigators processed the scene.
The Illinois Senate this week heard testimony on a bill to bail out College Illinois, a Ponzi scheme doubling as an ominous symbol of the state.

More than 20 years ago, a state agency called the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, or ISAC, started offering a plan where families could pre-pay for their childs college tuition at a fixed price, thus locking in savings.

Heres the catch: ISAC had no business making those promises and the state isnt required to pony up the money necessary to back them if tuition surges beyond ISACs investment returns.

Now the College Illinois program is $300 million short, and more than 2,600 contract holders stand not to receive their full benefit.

Overpromise and underdeliver: Illinois unofficial motto.

College Illinois is just the latest political promise to fall apart. But that hasnt stopped the states new governor from making equally irresponsible claims.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker is offering Illinoisans a deal of his own. Pritzkers new TV ad promises that 97 percent of Illinoisans will not see an income tax increase under his $3.4 billion tax hike. In exchange, Pritzker wants to remove Illinois flat income tax protection from the state constitution.

Keep in mind that Pritzkers tax plan relies on outlandish assumptions that put it short of his $3.4 billion revenue estimate by between $1 billion and $2 billion. That means his rates will need to go up. Also, the pace of property tax growth in Illinois means Pritzkers promised income tax break for the typical family will be completely wiped out in a year or less.

But even assuming Pritzkers rates are signed into law as stated, should Illinoisans take the deal?

A look back at the states tax hike history suggests not.

In 1989, state lawmakers passed a two-year temporary income tax hike, bringing the personal income tax rate up to 3 percent from 2.5 percent. Transcripts from the Illinois General Assembly show lawmakers framed the debate around providing school funding and property tax relief. In 1991, they made the education portion of the tax hike permanent, with the rest extended for another two years. In 1993, they made the whole thing permanent.

The next year, Gov. Jim Edgar signed into law a bipartisan pension bill he claimed would solve the states then-$15 billion pension debt. We had a time bomb in our retirement system that was going to go off in the first part of the 21st century, Edgar told The State Journal-Register in 1994. This legislation defuses that time bomb.

His 50-year payment plan, known as the Edgar ramp, paved the way for the 25 years of pension politics that have wreaked havoc on state and local budgets.

By 2011, Illinois pension debt had ballooned to more than $85 billion. Of course, the bill eventually came due. But lawmakers promised in 2011 that another temporary income tax hike would fix the problem.

The purpose of this bill is to raise enough money so that we can continue to pay our pensions without borrowing the money, to pay off our debt, to have enough money to pay the interest on that debt, and for the first time ever, establish caps on how much we can appropriate, Senate President John Cullerton said on the Senate floor.

This, again, is a temporary tax.

So Illinoisans shouldered a record income tax increase, with lawmakers hiking the income tax rate to 5 percent. They promised the tax hike would partially sunset in 2014 to 3.75 percent, and sunset again in 2025 to 3.25 percent.

Despite more than $30 billion in additional tax revenue from the temporary tax hike, Illinois pension debt grew by $25 billion.

In 2017, lawmakers broke their sunset promise. After a yearslong budget impasse, they passed the largest permanent income tax hike in state history, hiking the rate back up to 4.95 percent.

The pension problem has worsened since then. And credit downgrades loom. And now, Pritzker says his $3.4 billion tax hike will really fix the problem.

The fair tax would eliminate the budget deficit, balance future budgets and reduce the pension liability, Pritzker said this week at a Belleville news conference.

Illinoisans have heard these lines before. And Pritzker is pressuring their state representatives to vote on a constitutional amendment in the coming weeks.

Those lawmakers should side with their constituents  not the governor.

Voting for an amendment with Pritzkers rates attached would be another political promise, made to be broken. And voting for an amendment without them? Thats just a blank check.

Illinoisans can afford neither.

Austin Berg is a writer for the Illinois Policy Institute. He wrote this column for the Illinois News Network. Austin can be reached at aberg@illinoispolicy.org.
CHARIHO: Charihos girls and boys soccer teams both won Division II titles in dramatic fashion. The girls won in penalty kicks and the boys in the final two minutes of double overtime. The football team reached the D-III title game, as did the field hockey team. The girls volleyball team played in the D-II semifinals. Erin vonHousen was All-State in girls cross country.

STONINGTON: Stoningtons boys soccer team earned its second straight Class M state title, closing the season with 21 straight victories. The field hockey team lost in the Class S title game.

WESTERLY: Westerlys girls volleyball team reached the Division III semifinals, losing to eventual champion Scituate. The football team played in the D-II semifinals. The girls soccer team reached the D-III semifinals. Jake Serra and Kaya West were All-State in cross country.

WHEELER: Wheeler boys and girls soccer teams qualified for the Class S state tournament.

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A lot has happened in the wake of the mass shootings at two mosques in New Zealand.

That nations Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern  yes, one of 25 elected female leaders around the world  said our gun laws will change.

Our means theirs, not ours.

Despite way more mass shootings  defined as four casualties (fatalities or injuries)  our leaders mislead us toward generic thoughts and prayers and said its too soon to talk about gun control.

Then they wait us out, until emotions are quelled and they can double down on an arcane interpretation of the Second Amendment.

Meanwhile, New Zealand  which already has strong gun laws in place  used one incident, with 51 fatalities, to vow to do more about gun control than we have with all those thoughts and prayers put together.

The Australian mass murderer, a sworn white nationalist so devoid of remorse that he flashed a white power symbol through shackled paws, had a manifesto praising  among others  your president (not mine).

That is not insignificant.

And it is not new.

In 2017, in Quebec City, Alexander Bissonette killed six in a mosque in Quebec City. The follow-up investigation revealed a fascination with your president (not mine).

When they say the POTUS  no matter who is in the chair  takes on the role of leader of the free world, this is why.

It is an awesome responsibility, and words matter more than, say, the leader of Uzbekistan or Albania.

Your president (not mine) insists upon all the absolute power that he thinks comes with the position, but none of the responsibility riding shotgun with words mattering to the point that it can be a matter of life and death.

And not just in New Jersey or New Mexico, but in New Zealand or Newfoundland.

Whether it is inciting violence abroad or at home  or issuing thinly veiled threats about who will be on his side in an armed domestic struggle  it is conduct unbefitting the office to act like a drunkard on a bar stool looking for a fight before last call.

Take it from someone who watches The Sopranos on a continual loop. Tony Soprano has 10 times more tact as a mob boss than your president (not mine) as King Pompous on his throne.

Scoff if you must, but consider the response when asked to comment on the tragedy  in a country that he probably couldnt find on a map  your president (not mine) sent in the punt team and flew by the seat of his hindquarters.

I think its a small group of people that have very, very serious problems, I guess, he said.

Other than that, this response was  very, very  huh  pathetic.

Not to mention hypocritical.

How so?

This is the same misleader of the free world who raises the vigilance level against all Muslims when statistics not only show a small percentage (roughly 6-8 percent, depending on the source) are radicalized to some extent.

And nothing legitimizes it better than when he fans the flames, making himself the radical Muslims best recruiting tool.

Think about the logic your president (not mine) uses for his babyish insistence on building a wall at the Mexican border and for putting separating children from the parents and putting them in cages.

He says it is all about crime, but undocumented workers commit crimes at a much lower rate than current citizens (56 percent fewer criminal convictions, according a study published in the Washington Post).

He cites drugs, when the vast amount of drugs come in from ports of entry (i.e., 25 kilos seized the other day at Port of Philadelphia).

For these pet projects/peeves, he twists stats for his own use when preaching to his unknowing choir.

When it comes to backing a car into a crowd of counter protesters on the streets of Charlottesville, shooting worshippers inside a black church in South Carolina or a synagogue in Pittsburgh  or mosques around the world  it is all conveniently dismissed as random.

Since his followers like his plain and simple talk, lets keep in that tongue.

Plain and simple: We have a white man in the White House who, by Making America White Again, made some with serious problems feel empowered enough to act out.

Your president (not mine) may not want to own it  he rarely does  but the deed is in his name.

The FBI reported last year that hate crimes rose for the third straight year, with white nationalists leading the way.

All the while he referred to himself as a nationalist.

Say what?

In a job with enormous consequences, one where words matter, it is just another glaring example of poor usage of language that will inevitably have consequences down the line.
Literacy Access Fund, a 501(c)(3), public charity, announces a grant award of $7,770 to the Montgomery County-Norristown Public Library in Norristown, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Literacy Access Fund secures funding from corporate, foundation, and individual partners in order to provide financial support to underfunded public libraries through a competitive granting process. The goal of the organization is to help libraries provide equal access to quality resources for young learners, regardless of economic factors.

The award was made possible through partnership funding from Republic Bank, headquartered in Philadelphia, and Bryn Mawr Trust, headquartered in Bryn Mawr. The grant will help fund the acquisition of state-of-the-art technology for young children and other library resources.

Kelly Isett, President of the Montgomery County-Norristown Public Librarys Board of Directors, noted the Boards gratitude to Literacy Access Fund for the award. It amazes me to see the wide range of programs, services, and activities that this library offers every day. This grant will provide our young patrons access to technology education that they might not otherwise obtain. We are grateful for this support.

Kathy Arnold-Yerger, Executive Director of the Library, wishes to thank the Literacy Access Fund, Republic Bank, and Bryn Mawr Trust. These funds will go a long way in continuing our efforts to make the library not only a safe and nurturing environment for children and their families, but one in which young people will gain new skills, confidence, and knowledge in the critical areas of STEM education.

Deborah B. Sorgi, Ed.D., Chair, Director & President of Literacy Access Fund, shared her thoughts. Literacy Access Fund is pleased to support the Montgomery County-Norristown Public Librarys initiatives to improve literacy and technology for young English and Spanish language learners which will promote cultural diversity and mutual understanding. Ms. Arnold-Yergers long-range goal to develop a technology-literate community is to be commended. Dr. Sorgi also noted, We continue to identify and support deserving public libraries to help their littlest members read and succeed in school and life.

For more information about Literacy Access Fund, visit http://www.literacyaccessfund.org/ or call 610-833-6411.
New York

Cush Jumbo loves a deadline  the sooner, the better.

"I'm very good under pressure," she said. "Give me a script and no rehearsal and I'm there. That's me."

Which makes Lucca Quinn, her defiantly competitive, quick-witted lawyer on "The Good Fight," "The Good Wife" spinoff on CBS All Access, a perfect fit for the British actress.

Set in a liberal black Chicago law firm, "The Good Fight" rips its stories from the headlines with such rapid-fire ferocity that you'd swear its writers were gazing into a crystal ball  turning the week's political news into sizzling scripts that land with the cast the day before shooting.

"Not because they haven't planned anything," Jumbo said. "They write for what they see."

They also have no qualms about transforming momentous occasions within their own ranks into entertaining fodder.

At the end of Season 2, Lucca, played by a very pregnant Jumbo, unleashed an opera buffa of profanities as she gave birth to her son by her occasional sparring partner and former lover, Colin Morello (Justin Bartha). Season 3 finds Lucca juggling briefs with breast pumps as she struggles to maintain her momentum on the partner track while mastering parenthood.

"She's working out what that transition is like, same as I'm working out what that transition is like," Jumbo said.

In 2015 she was performing "Josephine and I," her one-woman show about Josephine Baker, at the Public when Christine Baranski of "The Good Wife" and the series' creators, Michelle and Robert King, introduced themselves backstage. A longtime fan, Jumbo geeked out  even more so after the Kings offered her a three-episode arc that was extended throughout the show's final, 2016 season.

That summer, while starring in "The Taming of the Shrew" at Shakespeare in the Park and packing up her apartment to return to London, Jumbo got the call that "The Good Fight" was on. The offer was impossible to resist.

"It wasn't just that I loved the show," she said. "I wanted to be in something that was ass-kickingly good and I was really proud of."

When she's shooting, Jumbo, 33, lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Sean Griffin, a tech developer, and Maximilian, their 11-month-old son. In an interview at a Tribeca photo studio, she spoke about the craziness of art replicating life (and vice versa)  and why she still has hope.

Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.

Q: When the Kings conceived of "The Good Fight," it seemed likely that the show would be set during a Clinton presidency. Then Donald Trump won, and the storylines have been uncannily prescient. How do they know?

A: Basically, I think that they're either spies or wizards, or possibly both, because they just have such an extensive knowledge of what is going on in the world.

Q: Doesn't it get rather depressing dissecting America's political landscape season after season?

A: I think a lot of people, when they're watching our show, are like, "God, things are so terrible." And maybe all my brains dropped out with the baby, but I'm so hopeful. There are so many people under 100 that want things to improve, that all the other people eventually have to die. I feel like this sounds really stupid, but I just bounce around in the morning like, "Things are going to get better!"

Q: You're one of the few crossover characters from "The Good Wife." Now that "The Good Fight" is three seasons in, can you compare the sets?

A: (With "The Good Wife"), I didn't realize that I was walking into something quite unusual on a TV set in America in terms of a crew that had mainly been together for years, and so had families and histories with each other, and really loved working together. And I think a lot of that vibe rolled onto "The Good Fight." I feel like everybody's only just caught up to us because our current regular cast is over 50 percent women and over 50 percent actors of color, and I don't know another show that has that.

Q: You have a long stage career in England and earned an Olivier nomination as Mark Antony in an all-female production of "Julius Caesar." That must come in handy when playing a lawyer.

A: No one on our show loves doing court because it can be very long hours, very long days, huge pieces of dialogue and words you have to look up. But Shakespeare is court so I love court. I have a neighbor who's a professor at Brooklyn Law School and I went in to talk to her litigation students in their second year. They had all of the technical ability but they were incredibly nervous about getting up and actually speaking. So I said: "Look, I don't know anything about the law but I look like a lawyer. You know everything about the law but you don't know how to look like a lawyer. So I'll teach you how to be a lawyer and you can teach me about the law."
ALBANY  More than 100 local students in grades 6 to 12 participated in the Capital Region History Day competition at the State Museum in Albany on Saturday. Working individually or in groups, the students researched and presented their findings in one of five formats: exhibit, documentary, paper, website or theatrical performance. The national theme for this year's History Day competition was "Triumph and Tragedy." Among the dozens of student-made exhibitions displayed on the museum's fourth floor for public viewing on Saturday were "Loving v. Virginia: A Triumph Full of Tragedy," about the 1967 Supreme Court decision that struck down all state laws banning interracial marriage; a multimedia setup about the history of the cotton gin that included text, photos, video, raw cotton and a miniature replica of a cotton gin; and a display titled "The Creation of the Atomic Bomb: Scientific Triumph or Human Tragedy."
TROY  Detective Sgt. Randall French took the stand this past week in a Rensselaer County Court animal abuse criminal trial to find his 2016 fatal shooting of a DWI suspect overshadows his credibility as a prosecution witness.

Since former Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel E. Abelove rushed a grand jury presentation within four days of French shooting Edson Thevenin during a DWI traffic stop on April 17, 2016, the nearly 16-year Troy Police Department veteran has seen his career impacted by the eight bullets he fired that morning.

French has been passed over twice for promotion to captain despite his ranking first on the civil service list. He also faces a multi-million-dollar federal lawsuit filed by Thevenins widow. And his motives in conducting investigations are open to cross-examination when he is a prosecution witness, as the animal cruelty case demonstrates.

It's a situation that could grow more intense now that French commands the citys reorganized drug unit.

Its unfortunate that Randy is in this position because of politics, said Officer Nick Laviano, president of the Troy Police Benevolent Association. He believes the former district attorney's handling of the Thevenin case was warped by an effort to forestall the state taking over the probe.

"Joel Abelove wanted to flex his muscles to Andrew Cuomo," Laviano said.

Laurie Shanks, a criminal defense attorney and Albany Law School professor emerita, said French will be haunted by the way Abelove handled the shooting for the rest of his time in law enforcement.

Abelove did a disservice to Thevenin's family and the citizens of Troy as well as French for not having the case thoroughly and properly examined, Shanks said.

Abelove created a situation where there was no possibility (French) could be held responsible, Shanks said. There will always be a cloud over (French) to the end of his career.

Abelove could not be reached for comment. In December 2017, the district attorney was indicted by a county grand jury for his handling of the shooting, but the case brought by the state attorney general was dismissed last June by a judge who said the state had exceeded its authority.

The investigation of Thevenin's death was complicated by the ongoing tug of war between Cuomo and county district attorneys over the governor's executive order empowering the attorney general to probe the deaths of unarmed civilians during encounters with police. It was in that context that Abelove quickly presented the Thevenin case to a county grand jury.

French was not asked to waive his immunity when he testified before the grand jury investigating his shooting of Thevenin. That alone meant he couldnt be charged in the case.

Last week, it was French's far less consequential investigation of the fatal injuries to a small 13-year-old dog named Mya over Thanksgiving 2017 that opened him up to cross-examination by William Roberts, defense attorney for Gloria Carmona, the home health aide and mother of two who was charged in the case.

This case was toxic because it was tainted by Randy, a toxic police officer, Roberts told the jury of six men and six women in Rensselaer County Court.

Judge Jennifer Sober ruled Thursday that Roberts could question French about aspects of the federal civil lawsuit filed by Thevenin's widow as he attempted to impeach the detectives credibility, especially on the statement he wrote describing his December 2017 interview of Carmona. Roberts also questioned him about aspects of the attorney general's report on his fatal shooting of Thevenin.

Assistant District Attorney Nick Dorando was able to stop part of Roberts' attempt to question French, but in his closing argument had to remind the jury that French was not on trial.

Mayor Patrick Madden has attacked the attorney generals report on the shooting investigation as factually inaccurate, though he has never explained his reasons for taking that stance. Last week, a spokesman said the mayor had no comment due to the pending litigation in U.S. District Court in Albany. The city is a co-defendant with French in the lawsuit.

On Thursday, French testified he had not paid attention to either the federal lawsuit or the attorney generals findings. When Roberts asked about testimony from three civilian witnesses in the shooting, French said he was not aware of their accounts.

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It is incredible that he is taking it lightly, Shanks said. She thinks it's hard to believe that French would not have paid attention to the attorney generals investigation, as it occurred at the time that he faced the possibility of being indicted in Thevenins death.

French testified that he felt he shouldnt have been passed over for promotion. The PBA has sued the city over failing to promote French and two other sergeants. The city Civil Service Commission is expected to approve a new captain promotional list Tuesday. French, a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute graduate with a degree in applied mathematics, is expected to be at the top of the list again.

Roberts quizzed French on whether he fabricated and disseminated false accounts regarding the Thevenin shooting. French said he never did that.

Outside court after his testimony, French declined to comment on the case and his professional situation.

The only extensive remarks from French about the fatal shooting come in his deposition, quoted by the city of Troy and his attorneys in a Feb. 28 motion to dismiss the federal litigation.

In that document, French extensively describes the initial traffic stop of Thevenin, then the pursuit when Thevenin drove off. Once Thevenin was stopped again, French said he squeezed out of his patrol vehicle and his leg became pinned between his vehicle and Thevenins car. Thevenins vehicle was revving its engine and pinned him, according to Frenchs testimony.

I was afraid I was going to die, French testified about his reason for firing at Thevenin. French said he attempted to reload but couldnt reach his reserve magazine because he was pinned. Other officers arriving at the scene testified they heard French yelling stop and that he was pinned.

The PBA's Laviano called him an "excellent officer." The PBA awarded French its Silver Shield award in 2018 for his actions in the Thevenin traffic stop.

French recently was given command of the Special Operations Section, as the reorganized drug unit is now called. French bid for the position under the PBA contract and was given the position based on seniority.

The drug unit was disbanded after its members conducted an illegal warrantless search in June 2017. Two detectives assigned to the unit pleaded guilty in the case. With French in command, a defense attorney will be able to question the truthfulness of the officers he commands, Shanks said.

On Friday, the jury acquitted Carmona of felony cruelty to animals and misdemeanor animal abuse. Two jurors, who declined to be identified, said they could not rely on the statement French took from Carmona. They also said the detective sergeant didn't conduct a thorough investigation, resulting in a lack of evidence.

"This is just the beginning of Randy French's problems in the courtroom," Roberts said. "When faced with a credibility issue, juries are going to have a hard time believing Randy French."
COLONIE  A line of 30 people forms promptly at 6 p.m. at the check-in window of Colonie Town Court.

Most people are on their phones killing time. There will be a lot of time to kill: On any given night, some could be there for another four or five hours.

Many gripe to the person next to them about why they're in court  "for a stupid traffic ticket" or an ongoing argument with their landlord. Others anxiously wait to seek a protection order after a domestic incident, to plead not guilty to a drunk driving charge, or to support a sibling who's answering to drug charges.

The scene in this courtroom is not unlike that in other Capital Region town or village courts. Many are still being run like small-town operations with part-time justices  many of whom do not have a law background  and small support staffs funded by modest budgets.

And yet for more than 150 years, these town and village courts have played an essential role in New York state's justice system, and in recent years have handled close to 2 million cases a year.

Colonie Town Court, one of the state's busiest, handles more criminal cases than most surrounding city or county courts, according to 2018 data provided by the state's Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS).

People sit in rows of uncomfortable plastic chairs or lean against the wall. Many continue to conspicuously look at their phones despite the numerous "No Phones" signs plastered around the room.

Lawyers in the back shout the names of their clients to see if they have arrived. A cellphone rings  which apparently is the tipping point on the noise meter: A court officer yells "Quiet!" and "No phones in the courtroom."

The demand  or plea  only works for a minute before the noise begins escalating again. In the background, court employees pass files back and forth, stamp papers and methodically inform litigants what they need for their appearance.

It is an organized chaos.

Justice Andrew Sommers, who sits at the front of the room behind the wooden bench, calls out eight names, and litigants with their attorneys quickly line up before him.

Every once in a while, court officers place rope stanchions in front of the queue  a sign that defendants from area correctional facilities are being shuffled in, wearing green or orange jumpsuits, for court appearances.

Whether a person is before the judge for a traffic ticket or a violent assault, many of the interactions are fast  30 seconds to a few minutes. After all, there seems to be only so much time allotted, especially if they want to get out before 11 p.m.

The origins

In 1846, James K. Polk was America's president, Iowa became the 29th state, the New York City Police Department  the first in the U.S.  was less than a year old, and the Donner Party embarked on their doomed journey to California.

According to the Historical Society of New York Courts, it was also the year that New York authorized justices of the peace to serve in the towns and villages and hold civil and criminal jurisdiction  the beginning of justice courts, which evolved into today's local legal venues.

"Our founders, who created the justice of the peace notion, never would have thought for a minute that a Colonie Justice Court would now be handling 27,500 cases," Colonie Town Court Senior Justice Peter Crummey said. "They never saw how this thing would blow up. Colonie has become a major municipality in upstate New York, and now here we are. How do we continue to meet these demands?"

When justice courts began, the judges were men and court proceedings were held in varied places  sometimes barns or the home of the judge, said Nancy Sunukjian, the director of New York's Office of Justice Court Support, where she is responsible for organizing the training of new justices.

Sunukjian, who is also a justice for Waterford Town Court, doesn't know of any justice courts are still held in barns. However, most share a building with town halls or the police department.

While only a handful of states have justice courts, there are currently 1,216 town and village courts in New York, Sunukjian said.

Justice courts, which are paid for by their municipality and not the state, handle traffic tickets, civil matters, landlord-tenant disputes, small claims and criminal matters, including misdemeanors that occur within the town. People accused of felonies can be arraigned in justice courts, though their cases are usually handled in county courts or state Supreme Court.

Justices  there are 1,835 statewide  conduct arraignments and preliminary hearings, can issue warrants and orders of protection, can sentence someone up to a year in prison and deal with small claims proceedings for awards of up to $3,000. All are part-time and are elected by their town or village for four-year terms.

Only about 60 percent of those justices are attorneys, Sunukjian said.

In fact, there are only three requirements those hoping to become a justice must meet: being 18 or older, registered to vote in the village or town where the court is located, and not having a felony conviction.

New judges who do not have prior legal experience take a week-long training session with the Office of Justice Court Support after they are elected. They must pass a test to advance. It is not unheard of for some justices to leave, deciding this isn't for them, Sunukjian said.

The judges learn about arraignments, defendants' right to council, fiscal responsibilities, jurisdictional issues, domestic violence awareness, vehicle and traffic violations and sentencing. But even after this training, the task can be daunting  the justices, after all, have the power to put someone in prison or award thousands of dollars.

Sunukjian said although town and village judges are not employed by the state, they are held to the same ethical standard as any other judge.

To help combat mistakes or misconduct, additional training is offered throughout the year and justices have access to attorneys and judges around the clock to ask technical questions. In addition, the Office of the State Comptroller and OCA conduct periodic audits with justice courts focusing on fiscal and procedural matters.

"These are members of the community, 99.5 percent of whom want to give back," Sunukjian said. "They don't get a lot of money. ... They are doing this for their community."

Abuses and errors occur. According to the 2010 Report on the Justice Court Fund, the state Comptroller's office found that the justice for the town of Genesee, in Allegany County, did not properly account for, deposit and report all the money received  amounting to a cash shortage of more than $11,000.

The justice pleaded guilty to a felony and was sentenced to jail.

Colonie's busy docket

Five stacks of files, each about 6 inches tall, sit on Crummey's desk in his Colonie Town Court office. This is his caseload for the upcoming night court session.

As he walks out his office door, one of the court administrators hands him more files to add to the pile.

The court handled more than 27,000 criminal, vehicle and traffic and civil cases last year, Crummey said.

That includes 1,723 criminal arraignments, based on statistics provided by the state DCJS. That made Colonie the 18th-busiest criminal court in New York last year, busier than city courts in Troy, Saratoga Springs, Cohoes and Watervliet.

Albany City Court ranked 13th on the same list with 2,589 arraignments. Schenectady ranked 14th with 2,484.

"There isn't a court in the state of New York that has 27,500 cases coming in and also placed on the top 25 list of courts with (arraignments for) criminal activity that manages with the staff that we are afforded here," Crummey said.

Colonie is the most populous suburb of Albany, with a population close to 84,000, expansive malls and shopping plazas, and the confluence of major highways including the Northway, the Thruway and I-90.

"While we have a population of about 83,000, as we sit here on a Monday morning we probably have at least 200,000 people in this town right now," Crummey said. "Why? Because they work here, they shop here, they recreate here."

Last year, the Colonie Police Department made 2,568 arrests and issued 6,854 citations, Lt. Robert Winn said. But the court also handles arrests and citations issued by State Police, the Albany County Sheriff's Department, the state Department of Environmental Conservation and Labor Department.

"I have no less than five agencies using the Colonie court as a place to look over litigations," Crummey said.

In 2017, Colonie Town Court collected more than $2 million in revenue from the case depositions. That same year, more than 40 town and village courts collected more than $1 million in revenue each, according to data collected by the state Comptroller's office.

From the court revenue collected by Colonie, the state received about 54 percent, Albany County received about 5 percent and 41 percent was returned to Colonie's general fund.

While Colonie may have the same caseload as many city and county courts, the court's budget is paid for by the town, and the three justices are part-time.

Albany City Court, which had 866 more criminal cases than Colonie, has five full-time judges and is paid for by the state.

"The court system in the town is definitely still essential," Colonie Town Supervisor Paula Mahan said. "If we were under the state, that would be helpful, but unfortunately I don't see that happening."

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The court's 2019 budget was $889,158, which allows for a law clerk.

"I think that this court needs to have more resources to maintain court sessions on a daily basis," Crummey said. "We can't keep trying to shoehorn it into a part-time structure."

In order to continue to have a viable town court, he hopes to add a fourth part-time justice or make one full-time. Maybe they could even have a drug court that provides a sentencing alternative of treatment for people with an addiction, which Crummey said would keep repeat offenders from landing back in front of him.

Smaller courts

Sixty miles north of Colonie Town Court is Day Town Court in Saratoga County, located in a part of Town Hall, an old white building about the size of the Colonie court's lobby.

A few people sit inside the courtroom waiting to go before the judge for traffic violations. Unlike Colonie, the session was done within a half-hour. It is run by one justice and one clerk.

The court is in session only on the first three Wednesdays of the month. The population of Day is less than 900, according to 2016 census data.

On one of those designated court days, the Times Union called to request information about caseloads during the hours of operation. Nine calls were made; none were answered. The voicemail warned of a delay of up to two weeks to get a response from the court clerk.

Day is not out of the ordinary. Many rural communities justice courts are in session only one or two nights a month, collect little in fines, employ no full-time staff and manage caseloads that barely hit triple digits.

Some rural village and town courts such as those in Altamont, Austerlitz, Conesville and Halcott reported less than five criminal cases in 2017, according to the state's 2017 Court Reporting Activity documents. Athens Village Court in Greene County reported zero. Day's numbers could not be determined, and DCJS did not have any record.

"Some of our courts are really busy and some may only have one case that night," Sunukjian said. "That's the beauty: They are all different."

While Colonie Town Court reported revenue of more than $2 million in 2017, there were 57 town and village courts that reported revenue of less than $5,000 that year.

Day Town Court reported revenue of $4,144 but there were five town courts with less than $1,000. Village of Shoreham Court in Suffolk County reported a mere $400 for the year. In years past, village and towns with courts that were not profitable have voted to close.

A 2007 study by the Special Commission on the Future of the New York State Courts suggested that justice courts need reform and modernization, and in some cases should be merged for savings.

Between 2009 and 2010, seven village courts closed. One of the most recent was Castleton-on-Hudson Village Court, which closed its doors in 2014 after village residents voted to abolish it. Officials said the court was running an annual deficit of $5,000 to $10,000.

The benefits

A litigant and attorney approach the Colonie Town Court bench.

"How are we doing?" Crummey said as he looked up at the lawyer, who he recognized. "Hey, Matt. So what can I do for you gentlemen?"

By the end of the two-minute appearance, the litigant was ordered to pay a fine of a couple hundred dollars.

"Do you need four weeks or six?" Crummey asked. The litigant mumbled an answer. "I'll make it six, and then if you can't pay it in time, you come back to me and we can extend it."

Part of the benefit of local town courts, Sunukjian said, is their closeness to their communities, physically and otherwise.

"The idea that the judges themselves are residents of the community is great," Sunukjian said. "They are familiar with their constituents. They understand that in some lower economic communities the payment of fines (is) difficult. The courts are close, the judges have leniency to set up fine payments, the judges know the residents and they are part of the town."

Crummey said he has arraigned the same individuals for petty larceny more than a dozen times. In addition to addiction, mental health problems can be at the root of these crimes.

"They need somebody to say 'We need to stop now' and 'We need to get organized,' and a judge can be very effective in managing that," Crummey said.

In these cases, he may speak with the attorney and probation officers to see what programs are available. That can be difficult to do when there is a pile of 150 cases before him.

If town and village courts were all shut down, 2 million cases a year would be added to city and county courts.

"I'm truly not sure of what would happen," Sunukjian said.

These courts may be the bottom tier of the New York justice system, she said, "but they are what holds this system together."
NEW YORK  U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Sunday afternoon held her first public speech and rally since announcing her run for president in January.

The New York Democrat spoke on a stage that was set up in front of Trump International Hotel and Tower on Central Park West in New York City. The rally was held a few hours before a summary of the Mueller report was released.

Gillibrand during her rally briefly noted the building with Trump's name on it that stood just over her left shoulder.

"Look up at that tower," Gillibrand told the crowd at the event, which was televised live on C-Span. "A shrine to greed, division and vanity."

The senator's speech was at its most dramatic moment early on when she talked about Trump specifically.

"President Trump is tearing apart the moral fabric of this country. He demonizes the vulnerable and he punches down. He puts his name in bold on every building. He does this because he wants you to believe he is strong. He is not. Our president is a coward."

Most of Gillibrand's event consisted of the same talking points she has hit upon since initially announcing her run for the presidency on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert Jan. 15: Medicare-for-all, paid family leave, and actions to halt climate change.

A week ago, her campaign said it was "officially" announcing her presidential run, and released a sharper-messaged video called "Brave Wins."

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Many of the speakers on before Gillibrand took the stage were grassroots activists for causes such as sexual assault on campus, gun control and rights for lesbian, bisexual and transgendered communities. All the speakers referenced back to what "brave" means in their own speeches.

Noticeably absent were any politicians  whether local, statewide or national  who stood on the stage to provide their endorsement. It could have been a purposeful move by Gillibrand's campaign to illustrate the candidate's connection with progressive causes  or another sign that the senator has gotten very few endorsements so far in her fledgling run.

Television and film actress Connie Britton introduced Gillibrand, who was her classmate at Dartmouth College and who roomed with her on a trip to China. Britton's voice cracked with emotion as she said, "it is my deepest honor right now to introduce my friend, the next president of the United States  I'm crying."

Gillibrand's speech, which was about 30 minutes long, ended with her husband and two sons coming out on stage, and the senator dancing briefly to the 2016 Lizzo song "Good as Hell"  a female anthem against neglectful boyfriends.
ALBANY  With the state Senate mostly free of Democrats willing to align themselves with Republicans, grassroots activists have set their sights on the 150-member Assembly, which Democrats control by a significant margin and where many members have been unchallenged for decades.

Groups like Democratic Socialists of America, buoyed by unlikely victories in races against Queens U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley and former Brooklyn state Sen. Martin Malave Dilan; and True Blue New York, which worked to unseat members of the now-defunct state Senate's Independent Democratic Conference; say they are ready to run primaries against Assembly Democrats in 2020.

"We are keeping extremely close track of potential targets, and not just their votes, but who they are raising money from and whether or not they are vulnerable," True Blue NY leader Mia Pearlman said. "A lot of people are interested in running."

The Assembly has long been seen as a progressive beacon in Albany, holding the line for Democrats when the executive branch and the Senate were controlled by Republicans. Now that Democrats have control of the state government, and the new Senate majority is eager to pass long-stalled liberal measures, the Assembly is urging more scrutiny of legislation they previously backed, including campaign finance reform, rent regulation and single-payer healthcare.

Few Assembly members participated in last week's legislative hearing on publicly financed elections, a measure Senate Democrats overwhelmingly support. Assembly members from the outer boroughs of New York, where many commute to work, have resisted a congestion pricing plan that would enact a surcharge for those entering dense areas of Manhattan.

"Assembly Democrats' recent waffling on the public financing of elections, which the chamber has purported to support in the past, has exposed a troubling truth: many Assembly Democrats will only inch so far left," ex-Senate candidate and journalist Ross Barkan wrote in City & State. "With the Senate suddenly packed with fresh faces, activists are rightfully wondering what's possible in the lower chamber."

A public matching-fund option in New York's electoral system would curb the influence of real estate interests, which historically enjoyed a cozy relationship with majority conferences in the Legislature.

With New York City's rent control laws expiring in June, activists are seeking the elimination of generous incentives for luxury developers and loopholes that enable them to hike rents.

The Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee (DACC) has accepted more than $400,000 from real estate interests since 2015.

A coalition of activists, lead by the Democratic Socialists of America, has issued an ultimatum to three co-chairs of the DACC, Assembly members Joe Lentol, Peter Abbate Jr. of Brooklyn and Jeffrey Dinowitz of the Bronx. Activists urged the lawmakers to return the contributions or face primary challenges, according to the New York Post.

The DACC may be prepared to help its members meet the challenges, as it changed its policy in 2015 to enable the committee to use campaign funds to support incumbents in primary elections.

Dinowitz addressed protesters lead by Empire State Indivisible and Citizen Action New York outside his Bronx office on Saturday, vowing to support publicly financed elections.

"The battle to change the way election campaigns are financed has been a long one," he told activists. "That is why I am delighted you have come to my office to support this effort."

Political observers predict grassroots groups will find themselves at odds with the Democratic establishment and also powerful unions and the progressive Working Families Party. They note the anti-IDC movement was aided by many factors, including anti-Trump sentiment that also helped flip six Republican-held Long Island Senate seats blue in November.

"If they attack a guy like Joe Lentol, who has been a progressive champion for decades, they'll find that most progressives are with Joe Lentol," said one Democratic insider who asked to remain anonymous to "avoid being screamed at on Twitter."

Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, the lower chamber's longtime education chair who was appointed deputy speaker last year, is being targeted as the only Queens lawmaker to support the failed Amazon deal, which was thwarted, in part, by opposition from activists and Queens officials.

Nolan, who was first elected in 1985, was "out of her 'effing' mind" to support Amazon's project in Queens, the insider said.

Leadership of more established groups like New York Progressive Action Network, which grew out of Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign in New York, said they haven't made a decision about running primary candidates, but are watching the Assembly closely.

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"A lot will be determined by what the Assembly does," NYPAN co-Chair George Albro said. "We are not part of any organized effort, but we wouldn't rule it out if they turn their back on fair elections, rent control, New York Health Act and the like."

WFP, which backed a slate of IDC opponents in 2018, is also waiting to see how the legislative session plays out.

"Right now our fingers are crossed for a historic session where New Yorkers win groundbreaking victories on public financing of elections, criminal justice reform and education funding," NY WFP state Director Bill Lipton said.

NO IDC NY has taken a more aggressive tack, vowing to primary at least 10 Assembly members in 2020.

"The Assembly has 106 Democrats and 30, 40, 50 of them don't really deserve to be in office," said Gus Christensen of NO IDC NY. "You have a bunch of machine hacks who are there for a paycheck and to get reelected."

Gentrification and discontent around New York's affordability crisis is believed to have played a role in the victories of Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Julia Salazar over Crowley and Dilan. Activists say they see white, male, establishment Democrats as vulnerable in their increasingly diverse districts.

As the Green New Deal gains momentum in Washington, some may recall that the Assembly voted to override New York City's attempt to impose a fee on plastic bags, which lawmakers say poses a burden on the poor. A controversial statewide plastic bag ban has been proposed in the governor's executive budget and is bound to revive the debate this session.

Progressives also have not forgotten the two IDC members who survived September's purge, Sen. Diane Savino and Sen. David Carlucci.

"I have high confidence that there will be a strong challenge in both races," Christensen said.

Sen. Simcha Felder, a socially conservative Democrat who until this year has only caucused with Republicans, had his first primary challenge in 2018 and is expected to see another in 2020.

Jay Jacobs, incoming state Democratic Party chairman, slammed activists' threats as dangerous.

"Any group that begins threatening primaries when an incumbent doesn't meet some litmus test that they throw out, I think you are running into a very dangerous situation," Jacobs said. "We see the same things from the NRA  extortionist behaviors may work in the short term, but not the long term."

A spokesman for Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie did not respond to requests for comment.
MENANDS  The Mohawk Hudson Humane Society is urging people to stop abandoning animals at the shelter's door during off hours.

The humane society put out a video Sunday that showed two people dropping off two containers around 6 a.m. at the shelter on Oakland Avenue that had two cats and four kittens in them.

"Staff did not find them until two hours later," the humane society said in a statement. The cats were in what looked like a fabric laundry basket and a separate pet carrier. "Not only were this morning's temperatures frigid and life-threatening to such young kittens, but there have been predatory animals, such as coyotes, spotted on Humane Society property."

Since January, 11 cats have been abandoned at its doors during closed hours, the humane society said.

Marguerite Pearson, a spokeswoman for Mohawk Hudson, said the shelter wants the animals dropped off during office hours to help it properly plan for the number of animals it is taking in and to ensure the animals receive proper care.

"We do have a process for taking in animals," Pearson said. "In this case we believe the two adults that were dropped off (Sunday) may be pregnant."

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On some days the shelter may be at capacity and ask the owners to hold on to the animals for a few days until it can find the space to take them.

Another part of Mohawk Hudson's surrender policies includes getting the owner's identification. Pearson said that information is mainly used to help the shelter look for trends to see where in the Capital Region more services might be needed.

The shelter is starting a new policy whereby if a cat unexpectedly becomes pregnant, the shelter will spay the cat after birth for free if the owner will keep the kittens for eight weeks before surrendering them.

"We are here to help," the statement said, "but need the public to also respect and abide by our policies."
[March 24, 2019] BrainChip to Present at the Neuro-Inspired Computational Elements Workshop

7 th annual conference brings together leading researchers in Neuromorphic Computing



annual conference brings together leading researchers in Neuromorphic Computing Dr. Kristofer Carlson, BrainChip Senior Research Scientist will present AkidaTM Neuromorphic System-on-Chip SAN FRANCISCO, March 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX:BRN), the leading neuromorphic computing company, is pleased to announce it will be presenting at the 7th annual Neuro-Inspired Computational Elements (NICE) Workshop.

The NICE Workshop is a global gathering of researchers in neuromorphic computing. The conference is being held on March 26-28, 2019 at the State University of New York (SUNY) Polytechnic Institute in Albany, New York. BrainChip is an invited speaker to this years event. Dr. Kristofor Carlson, Senior Research Scientist at BrainChip, will be presenting Akida: A Low-Power Neuromorphic SoC for Efficient Event-Based Computation. During his presentation Dr Carlson will be discussing the ground-breaking technology of the Akida Neuromorphic System-on-Chip (NSoC). The Akida NSoC executes event-based spiking neural networks (SNNs), which are inherently lower power than traditional convolutional neural networks (CNNs), making them ideal for artificial intelligence (AI) edge applications. SNNs replace math-intensive convolutions with biologically inspired neuron functions and feed-forward training methodologies. While inspired by biology, the Akida NSoC is imlemented in a pure digital logic process, ensuring its reliability and low cost, critical for high-volume edge applications. The Akida NSoC incorporates convolutional and pooling layers which enables it to run event-based convolutional neural networks as well as on-chip learning in fully-connected layers. This fully user-configurable combination of on-chip learning and event-based inference offers exciting new possibilities beyond deep learning for AI edge applications.



Peter van der Made, CTO of BrainChip, commented, It is a great honor to be an invited speaker to this pre-eminent gathering of neuromorphic computing scientists. We look forward to sharing how the Akida NSoC advances the state-of-the-art in neuromorphic computing. The NICE Workshop continues to promote the goal of bringing together the varied and diverse researchers and applications with the neuromorphic computational and information processing communities to promote the current industry advancements and inspire the future of neuro-inspired computation system solutions.

For more information please visit: http://niceworkshop.org/nice-2019/. About BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX:BRN)

BrainChip Holdings Ltd is a leading provider of neuromorphic computing solutions, a type of artificial intelligence that is inspired by the biology of the human neuron. The Companys revolutionary new spiking neural network technology can learn autonomously, evolve and associate information just like the human brain. The proprietary technology is fast, completely digital and consumes very low power. The Company provides software and hardware solutions that address the high-performance requirements in civil surveillance, gaming, financial technology, cybersecurity, ADAS, autonomous vehicles, and other advanced vision systems. www.brainchip.com Company Contact:

Robert Beachler

[email protected]

+1 (949) 330-6750 Investor Relations:

[email protected]

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In 2003, Emmy-nominated TV anchor Catherine Bosley was vacationing with her husband in Key West, after recovering from a life-threatening illness. On a whim, she decided to leave her comfort zone and enter a wet T-shirt contest. She could never have prepared for the consequences she would face.

A year later, explicit video footage of her escapade appeared online, on a Girls Gone Wild-esque exhibitionist website. The footage spread from site to site. Residents of her hometown of Youngstown, Ohio, recognized Bosley's face in the video, and she lost her job as a consequence. All along the way, comments and emails were pouring into Bosley's inbox, insulting everything from her appearance to her character. Some said she should be ashamed of herself; others even said she deserved to die.

(Image credit: Catherine Bosley (Credit: Scott T. Morrison))

If you've spent any time online, you doubtless know how it feels to receive online hate comments: insults, mocking, trolling; even threats from anonymous strangers.

A 2016 survey from the Cyberbullying Research Center found that over a third of middle- and high-school students have experienced cyberbullying, with hurtful comments, rumor-spreading and sexual harassment among the most prevalent forms. And a 2017 Pew Research Center study found that an even higher 41 percent of U.S. adults have experienced harassment online, including offensive name-calling, purposeful embarrassment and physical threats.

But as social media becomes more integral to our work, school and home lives, how can we survive the haters and trolls with our self-worth and mental health intact? We asked experts what works  and what doesn't.

Surviving in the short term

DON'T feed the trolls: There's one tip that survivors and experts seem to agree on: Don't respond to the comments. For Bosley, resisting the urge to get into fights was paramount.

"It was so hard not to respond," said Bosley, who has given a Ted Talk on her experience. "But I knew that if I responded, it was only going to fuel the fire."

While you might hope that responding to a troll makes them realize they were wrong to insult you, you're more likely to demonstrate that they've succeeded in upsetting you  and give them an opportunity to upset you further.

"Bullying isn't about who's right and wrong," said Patrice ONeill, founder and director of the anti-bullying nonprofit Not In Our Town. "It's about power and trying to gain power by diminishing someone else. Try not to give that power to someone who is bullying you. It'll only encourage them to seek that power further."

MORE: How to Teach Your Kids to Be Safe Online

There's one exception to this: If you're being accused of a crime or other behavior that could impact your professional reputation (such as plagiarism, fraud, racism or misogyny), it might be worth clarifying your intentions (if you think your critics are wrong) or apologizing (if they're right). But even in these situations, avoid direct engagement with your commenters, said Alexis Moore, a risk-management consultant who specializes in cyberbullying, and author of Surviving A Cyberstalker: How To Prevent And Survive Cyberabuse And Stalking.

"Never engage with the predator directly," Moore said. Instead, post a public "follow-up" addressing their concerns, which is less likely to devolve into more antagonism. "Something along the lines of 'A few are saying that I might be a racist'. Id like to clarify my post, she recommends.

DO take a break from the internet: You don't need to leave social media forever  but experts say that if mean comments are affecting your mental health, you should take a break.

"Once I stopped looking at the comments, I started to feel a little bit stronger," Bosley said. "Abandon the haters and close that computer."

"Just meet up with your friends like we used to," Moore advised. "We've got telephones. You don't need to use social media. You really don't."

DO talk to others about your experience: In her freshman year of high school, Aija Mayrock experienced a teenager's nightmare on social media: A classmate had dressed up as her for Halloween, and the caricature went viral. Mayrock's social media were bombarded with trolls, insults and even threats. My classmates told me that my life was worth nothing, that I'd be better off dead," Mayrock said.

Mayrock, who is now an anti-bullying activist and the author of The Survival Guide To Bullying, kept her experiences with online shaming to herself at first  but that made her feel only worse.

"I suffered from depression and anxiety because of the fact that I did not allow myself to talk about it," Mayrock recalled. "I finally opened up to my parents, and that was what finally helped me heal and cope."

(Image credit: Aija Mayrock speaks at the AOL BUILD Speaker Series Presents: 'The Survival Guide To Bullying' at AOL Studios In New York on July 1, 2015 in New York City. (Credit: Grant Lamos IV/Getty))

If you're not sure where to start, Mayrock recommends making a list of the top five people you're most comfortable talking to, including family members, adult friends, or therapists and counselors. Make your way down this list, and share your feelings with each of these people as you grow more comfortable doing so. These people know you much better than trolls do, and their support can counteract the hostility you faced online.

It's also imperative that you stay connected to supportive friends, family or professionals to replace the community you used to find on social media. Otherwise, you may be tempted to go back online and keep reading comments.

DO keep an eye out for repeat behavior: Most online trolls, while they may be scary or frustrating, are just that  trolls. But some harassers may pose a greater danger, especially if they're making repeated threats to your safety.

Moore recommends a "three strikes, you're out" policy. "If someone's bothered you more than three times in six months, take notice of them," she said, though adding that "that doesn't mean acting like a crazy-ass fool." Rather, you should be documenting: Write down the offender's handles, screenshot their comments and consider whether it's worth approaching a lawyer or authorities.

Thriving in the long-term

DO find the right time to go back online: Whether or not to return to social media is completely your choice. If you do return, you'll want to make sure it's at a time when the hate has calmed down enough, and you have recovered enough, for social media to be a safe environment again.

Mayrock left social media for years after her shaming. If you feel that you're ready to go back, she recommends logging into one social media account for 10 minutes each day. Take notes about how you feel before and after, to get a full picture of how it's affecting you.

If it's consistently making you feel worse, stay off. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram aren't going anywhere.

DO try new things (offline): Social media is a big time commitment for many users, and cutting it out of your life, even for a short period, can be a big change. It's not unusual to feel a sense of isolation when you're not plugged into your Facebook or Twitter feeds, as well as the temptation to peek at hateful comments.

Bosley recommends searching for an offline hobby to occupy that time and energy, and to remind you of the opportunities for fun that exist outside the cyberworld. For her, it was running and spending time with her cat.

MORE: Parental Monitoring: How Much Is Too Much?

Let your loved ones know about the new activity, so they can help you stick with it, even on days when its hard. "Family and friends pulled me through one day at a time," Bosley said. "They said, 'Get out of bed. Get out of the house. Try to live. Stop going on the internet.'"

DO support others in similar situations: Many victims of bullying feel better about their own situations after sticking up for others who are receiving hate, said ONeill, and online hate is no exception.

"Over and over again, we've seen that people who have been targeted and supported are more likely to go and stand up for someone else," ONeill said. "We create a cycle of support."

Not only will you likely feel good about supporting another person, but you'll also see firsthand that youre not alone.

"Understand the nature of bullying, the role of gender bias, racism, intolerance, anti-Semitism, deepening our understanding of that is incredibly important," ONeill said. In her experience with online communities, interacting with and supporting other victims can help you "draw strength from the fact that this is part of a larger attack...to see this as a collective problem, not just an individual problem." The problem is with the trolls  not with you.

That said, even in these situations, be careful not to engage with the trolls and become a target yourself. Instead, send a supportive message directly to the victim.

DON'T try to forget about your experience: Neither Mayrock nor Bosley has forgotten the bullying they faced. Instead, they've learned and grown from their experiences, and used them to help others.

"You don't really get past something like this," said Bosley, who still receives comments about her pictures from time to time. "It becomes part of you. But surviving something like this isn't something that should just be pushed away and forgotten. It gives you more empathy, and more of an understanding."

You may not go on to become an anti-bullying activist  but you will survive.

Credit: Shutterstock
(Image credit: Apple)

Updated, 3/25/19, 11 a.m. PT: Apple announced the new Apple Arcade service, for playing games on Mac, iPad, iPhone and Apple TV, during its keynote address today in Cupertino, California. The company didn't say how much the service would cost and only offered a release timeframe of this fall, but it did explore what Apple Arcade has to offer. Apple said the service will include more than 100 titles at launch that can be played offline, don't feature any advertisements and don't rely on in-app purchases. They'll also synchronize progress as people move between Apple devices. Apple said it plans to financially support developers participating in the program, the list of which includes the likes of Sega, Konami, and Lego, among others. More information is available on Apple's site.

Original article, 3/23/19, 3:10 p.m. PT:



Apple wants to rely less on hardware sales. People around the world have stopped upgrading to the latest hardware every year, and while the company still makes a lot of money, investors aren't particularly well-known for settling for less. Bloomberg reported today that Apple plans to appease these shareholders by revealing various subscription offerings related to news, television, and gaming during a March 25 keynote.

Reports about Apple's increasing focus on services have been popping up for a while now. The company's said to have reduced its investment in autonomous cars, for example, while pushing to make the Siri virtual assistant better. Its efforts to introduce a television service have also been well-documented; it's probably the worst-kept secret at Apple. (Though it might have to compete with an augmented reality headset for that title.)

We're particularly interested in the upcoming gaming service. Seemingly every tech company is working on three kinds of gaming subscription offerings: those that offer unlimited access to vast libraries of games, those that stream games to enable better performance on low-powered devices, and those that combine both approaches. According to Bloomberg's report, Apple is poised to introduce one of the first kinds of service.

Bloomberg said that Apple's gaming service would offer access to iPhone and iPad games for a monthly fee that's divvied up between their developers. The service will reportedly include "premium" games that normally cost a one-time fee, rather than "freemium" games that rely on in-app purchases. Apple will collect the monthly fee, divide the developers' cut based on how often their games were played, and keep the rest.

Although the comparison is beyond tired--we're sicker of writing it than you are of reading it--the approach seems like Apple's building a "Netflix for games." That makes sense for its first effort: this is exactly what the company did when it introduced the Apple Music streaming service despite selling music via iTunes. Apple basically wants to have it both ways by offering a traditional storefront (the App Store) as well as a subscription.

Still, it would have been interesting if the company had gone the other way by offering a game streaming platform similar to Google Stadia. Most of Apple's products feature integrated GPUs, and even for the ones with dedicated graphics, many developers focus exclusively on Windows. Giving people a way to play more games on their Mac without having to install Windows would probably be welcomed by many of Apple's customers.

But the offering as Bloomberg described it also fits with Apple's other plans. It currently offers Apple Music, and if the reports are correct, it will soon offer a news reading service and television platform as well. Applying the same business model across various types of media is easier than figuring out how to stream games to various devices. (Especially when Apple isn't particularly well known for smooth cloud-based service launches.)

We should find out more during Apple's March 25 event, but Bloomberg said the company might also wait until WWDC in June, so we might have to wait a few months for more information. Either way, the company's shift to offering more subscription-based services is monumental. Even an iOS-only gaming service is huge, too, considering how large the mobile gaming market has become. Hopefully, we learn more in a few days.
(Image credit: mechelmond / Shutterstock)

The last thing people who've lived through hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural disasters need to deal with is another catastrophe. But the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) revealed on Friday that it had compromised more than two million people's personal information.

FEMA accidentally revealed the addresses and banking information of some 2.5 million people who used its Transitional Sheltering Assistance program. The Washington Post reported that 1.8 million people had both types of information compromised; another 725,000 only had their addresses shared. (As if that isn't a sensitive piece of information that most people would rather not have revealed without their knowledge.)

FEMA press secretary Lizzie Litzow told the Post that the agency "provided more information than was necessary to a contractor for the Transitional Sheltering Assistance program. The Department of Homeland Securitys Office of Inspector General said in a March 15 report that this oversharing could put people at risk of identity theft and fraud, but so far, it doesn't think any of the data "has been compromised in a detrimental fashion."

The incident is said to have led to some changes regarding how FEMA handles disaster survivor information. The agency has set up a "data filter," sent its own security experts on-site to check its network's security, and instructed contractors to complete additional privacy training. Litzow also told the Post that FEMA has been working with the unidentified contractor to remove the extraneous information from its systems.

It's become all too common for tech companies to mismanage personal information. (Deliberately, in some cases, as well as accidentally.) But it merely adds insult to injury for a federal agency tasked with helping people who have survived natural disasters to make their situations worse. The consequences don't appear to be too severe this time, but we suspect this is neither the first nor the last time something like this will pop up.
RIVERSIDE, MO (KCTV) - Authorities said that some roads are closed due to water over the road. Riverside Fire Department tweeted Saturday evening that 9 Highway Southbound is closed at the Riverway Boulevard exit. 9 Highway Southbound has been closed at the Riverway Blvd exit.
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 23

Four cops were injured when a speeding Grand i10 car being driven by a Ludhiana native jumped red light and rammed into their Gypsy at the Sector 40/41 light point on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday.

The police said Rajeev Manchanda (47), who was behind the wheel of the i10, was arrested and later released on bail.

The incident took place at 2:10 am when the victims were on patrol duty. While Inspector Harminderjit Singh, Constable Mukesh and Constable Satish sustained minor injuries in the collision, Senior Constable Naresh Kumar suffered a fracture in arm and got stitches.

The injured were rushed to the GMSH in Sector 16. All but Kumar were discharged after treatment. Kumar was shifted to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Sector 32.

The police said the four cops were on night duty in the South subdivision when the car, which was being driven at high speed, coming from the Sector 38 side hit their Gypsys left window.

On a complaint filed by Inspector Harminderjit Singh, a case under Sections 279 (rash driving) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code was registered against Rajeev Manchanda at the Sector 39 police station. The complainant said they were going from Sector 39 to Sector 40.

The car had two occupants, including Manchanda, who escaped unhurt.\

Police vehicle dragged 20 metres

When we reached the Sector 40/41 light point, a speeding car first jumped the red light and then collided with our Gypsy. The speed of the car was such that its airbags opened on hitting the Gypsy. Both the vehicles spun due to the effect of the collision. The Gypsy was dragged for 20 metres. Inspector Harminderjit Singh, complainant
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 23

While Chandigarh private schools continue to flout the norms of the Punjab Regulation of Fee of Unaided Educational Institution Act, 2016, by not disclosing obligatory information on their official websites, the Education Department remains a mute spectator to violations.

Under Section 5 of the Punjab Regulation of Fee of Unaided Educational Institution Act, 2016, private schools have to disclose their income, expenditure account and balance sheets on websites. The balance sheets have to be made public due to a clause in the Act which requires the utilisation of funds for the betterment and development of the unaided educational institution. The fund or profit accrued cannot be used for any personal gain or business enterprise, states the Act.

A credible evidence of city private schools profiteering from educational institutions is recent Income Tax (I-T) Department surveys at two schools  St Peters Senior Secondary School, Sector 37, Chandigarh, and Gillco International School, Kharar  in January. It was found that trustees had bought luxury cars from profits earned from schools. Sources said the luxury cars were being used by trustees for personal purposes.

Chandigarh Parents Association president Nitin Goyal said: It is no surprise that these schools have become so fearless that they have not even uploaded their balance sheets and income and expenditure accounts on their websites, which is mandatory. The administration should penalise the violators and further conduct an audit of their accounts. The excess fee charged by these schools in the past should be refunded to parents.

Goyal added: Profiteering is clearly barred by the Supreme Court in all educational institutions. It has been stated that education is not a business, but an occupation. Due to this, the Chandigarh Administration allotted plots only to charitable trusts for opening schools.

Private schools have always been hesitant in uploading their expenditure and balance sheets in public domain. Chandigarh-based Independent School Association said: It is not reasonable to disclose balance sheets on the school website. We have been giving all required details to the CBSE and District Education Office.

However, the Education Secretary and Director, School Education, could not be contacted.

2,000 schools faced

CBSE ire in 2017

In 2017, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) had issued a show-cause notice to more than 2,000 affiliated schools across the country for not disclosing mandatory information on public domain/website. The CBSE asks schools to make details, including the break-up of monthly fee of each class, admission results, reserve funds and balance sheets, public.

What needs to be disclosed

According to the Punjab Regulation of Fee of Unaided Educational Institution Act, 2016, income, expenditure account and balance sheet, fee structure need to be disclosed.

According to the CBSE, mandatory disclosure includes
editorial@tribune.com

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 23

Ahead of the statewide bus tour planned by the Haryana Congress Coordination Committee members plan from March 26 to 31, two senior members of the state poll coordination committee skipped a workers meeting organised in the capital in a show of strength.

Former Haryana minister and senior party leader Capt Ajay Singh Yadav and sitting Adampur MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi did not attend the workers gathering held on the compounds of the Congress party headquarters in the capital.

Bishnoi had earlier bunked the first meeting of the Haryana Congress Coordination Committee called by AICC general secretary in charge of Haryana Ghulam Nabi Azad and chaired by former state Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Yadav was, however, present at the first coordination panel meeting and also last evening at a meeting held to discuss the bus yatra.

Todays meeting was massive. The AICC lawns were jam-packed with senior Haryana Congress leaders and workers.

Hooda led other state leaders of the coordination panel in sounding the poll bugle in Haryana, where the Congress is facing an aggressive BJP and has only one sitting MP  his son Deepender Hooda  in Rohtak.

While the energy at the workers meeting was high and the party looked raring to go, several Haryana Congress leaders, including some sitting and some former MLAs, expressed reservations about the utility of the bus travel without declaring official Lok Sabha candidates from the state.

At a preparatory meeting for the yatra held here on Friday, many leaders are learnt to have told Azad that it would have been better to undertake the tour after announcing candidates, especially when the rival BJP is actively engaged in poll preparations and nominee selections.

The bus travel is Azads personal idea, which he experimented with when he was the AICC in charge of Andhra and Karnataka in the late 1990s and early 2000.

A senior Haryana Congress lawmaker said, The coordination committee members will travel across the state in a bus, but what will they achieve when we dont even have any official candidate? Who will their show of unity benefit? This could become chaotic.

Many other senior Haryana Congress leaders privately told The Tribune that a travel after announcing candidates could have boosted the prospects of contestants from a given area. Some leaders also thought the tour was a bit late in the day.

But since it is Azads idea which the coordination panel has discussed and approved, the tour schedule was finalised today from March 26 to 31.

The tour will start from Gurugram instead of Faridabad as planned earlier. It will end in Faridabad instead of Jhajjar, the previously agreed upon concluding location.

Azads idea behind the tour is to get all erstwhile warring factions of the Haryana Congress to plan together and give a semblance of unity to the state.

Todays workers meeting saw the participation of party supporters owing allegiance to all state Congress camps.

Screening begins, Kuldeep Sharma wants Karnal seat for son

The highlight of the first meeting of the Haryana Lok Sabha screening committee was the offer of the Karnal seat to former state speaker Kuldeep Sharma, who is said to have asked for this segment for his son Chanakya Pandit. The screening panel chaired by AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal called the coordination panel members for discussions on nominees today. Kuldeep, who met the panel, is learnt to have sought the Karnal seat for his son. Kuldeeps father Chiranji Lal Sharma was Karnal MP four times and defeated BJP leader Sushma Swaraj thrice from this seat. Congress sources said barring three seats  Faridabad, Karnal and Sonepat  front-runners from the seats are clear. In Faridabad, the choice is between senior MLA Karan Dalal and former MP Avtar Bhadana. In Sonepat, the party is likely to go by Bhupinder Singh Hoodas choice. In Karnal, Chanakya Pandit has thrown his hat in the ring. The front-runners from other seats are Deepender Hooda from Rohtak, Shruti Choudhry from Bhiwani, Ashok Tanwar from Sirsa, Kuldeep Bishnoi from Hisar, Selja from Ambala, Naveen Jindal from Kurukshetra and Capt Ajay Singh Yadav from Gurugram.
editorial@tribune.com

Sunit Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, March 23

The police have launched a hunt for the remaining suspects in the B.Tech answer-sheet tampering case. Police teams have been dispatched to arrest the institute director and the middleman involved in the racket.

The CIA-3 wing of the district police had unearthed the racket of failed B.Tech students getting passed after their marks in the answer-sheets sent for re-checking/reevaluation were increased. The teacher(s), who got the answer-sheets for rechecking/ reevaluation, used to charge Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 per student through a middleman.

CIA-3 in-charge Inspector Lalit Kumar said that the students, who paid money, were shown all answer-sheets and told to identify theirs by their handwriting as the university authorities conceal their roll numbers before sending the answer-sheets for re-checking/re-evaluation.

Once the student identified his handwriting, he was handed over the answer-sheet to write more answers. Then, he was given more marks for the answers written in this manner, the police officer said.

The police had arrested three persons, including Pawan Sangwan, an assistant professor at Department of Civil Engineering of Baba Mast Nath University (BMNU) here.

However, BMNU Vice-Chancellor Ram Sajan Pandey said that Sangwan was a guest teacher and was engaged as and when required. He had been relieved before the matter came to light. He is not a staff member of the university and we have nothing to do with him, he added.

According to police sources, the officials concerned of Maharshi Dayanand University here used to send B.Tech (Civil Engineering) answer-sheets to VK Ahuja, the director of an institute in Julana, for rechecking/ reevaluation. Ahuja reportedly used to send the answer-sheets to Sangwan.

Vineet Dahiya, whose private office is located near the BMNU, used to act as a middleman and contact students who had failed in the exams and had applied for rechecking/ reevaluation of their answer-sheets. While Sangwan has been arrested, police teams are on the look out for Ahuja and Dahiya.
shalender@tribune.com

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, March 23

A wanted gangster, Jabra, alias Jabar Singh, was shot dead in an encounter with the police near Bada Gaon village in the district today. A policeman was wounded in the exchange of fire.

Jabra, 28, a resident of Ladwa, was wanted in more than 12 cases of murder, loot, dacoity and attempt to murder in Karnal and Kurukshetra districts, and carried a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh.

In the shootout, a policeman wearing a bulletproof jacket suffered injuries and was admitted to a hospital, where he was stated to be out of danger. Jabra was wanted for the murders of Suresh, alias Babli, former sarpanch of Anjanthali village, and Vikas, alias Pintu, a resident of Dadupur. Babli was shot dead on July 29, 2018, at his village, while Vikas was gunned down on January 17 on National Highway-44. Jabra had jumped parole after being convicted in another murder case in Kurukshetra.

SP Surinder Singh Bhoria said the gangster tried to flee towards the jungles of Bada Gaon on a seeing a check-point set up following a tip-off. During a pursuit on Bada Gaon-Mughal Majra road, the gangsters vehicle got stuck in a drain. Jabra opened fired on the police team, injuring a cop. Jabra suffered a bullet injury in the shootout and was taken to hospital, where he was declared brought dead, the SP said.

The SP said the gangster was asked to surrender, but he opened fire at the police. The matter was being investigated under the supervision of magistrate, he said.

The family members had been informed and the post-mortem would be conducted tomorrow, he added.
shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com

Shimla, March 24

At the age of 102, Shyam Saran Negi, who never missed a chance to tune to hear Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' programme, is all set to vote again.

A staunch believer in democracy, he wants other Indians too not to miss an opportunity to vote.

Negi has been appointed a brand ambassador by the state Election Commission for its SVEEP (Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation) campaign.

An appeal would be issued soon on his behalf to the people to vote for the May 19 Lok Sabha elections, Chief Electoral Officer Gopal Chand told IANS.

Negi lives with his youngest son Chander Parkash in the picturesque village of Kalpa in Kinnaur district, some 275 km from the state capital.

The centenarian, who lost his wife at the age of 80 in 2014, said it is important to vote.

"I am appealing to all the voters, especially the younger generation, to spare time and elect an honest man who can take the country to new heights," Negi told IANS, speaking through his son Parkash.

Negi, who is hard of hearing, will turn 103 on July 1. He likes to listen to radio.

He is survived by three sons and five daughters and has several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He lost his eldest son in 2002.

According to Parkash, his father does his routine chores on his own and has good vision.

A team of election officials called on Negi last week to know his well-being.

Retired as a junior basic teacher from a government school in 1975, Negi was among the first to vote in independent India's first Lok Sabha battle in 1951 in Chini constituency - later renamed Kinnaur.

At that time, balloting in the snow-bound area was held ahead of other places in the state and the country.

In 2010, then Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla visited Negi's village to honour him as part of the Election Commission's diamond jubilee celebrations.

Negi has voted in every general, Assembly and panchayat elections since 1951. He pledges to vote in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections too.

"Yes, I will be among the first to cast my vote," Negi said.

The election department has a video of Negi casting his vote in 2007, 2012 and 2017 Assembly and the 2009 and 2014 parliamentary elections.

Kalpa village is part of the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency, which includes Kullu and Mandi and parts of Chamba and Shimla districts besides the tribal-dominated Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts.  IANS
editorial@tribune.com

Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, March 23

The BJP has fielded Food and Civil Supplies Minister Kishan Kapoor from Kangra. After the message was delivered to party cadres today, the minister organised a meeting with workers in Dharamsala to prepare for the elections.

Sources said the name of Kishan Kapoor gained credence due to support from the veteran BJP leader and sitting BJP MP Shanta Kumar.

Initially, it was being expected that the BJP would field Shanta Kumar once again from Kangra as he had better winning prospects. However, later the party decided not to field the old guard of the party and Shanta Kumar himself said no to contest the parliamentary poll.

Trilok Kapoor, national vice-president of the ST Morcha of the BJP, has been lobbying for party ticket for long. He even took on Shanta Kumar by mobilising the Gaddi leaders against the veteran leader. Trilok Kapoor is banking on the fact that there are about 4 lakh Gaddi voters in Kangra.

The sources said once the party admitted to fielding a Gaddi leader from Kangra, the consent of Shanta Kumar was sought for the candidates. The leader threw his weight behind Kishan Kapoor, who has been his loyalist and represents Dharamsala.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had also suggested the name of former BJP MLA, Dullo Ram, another Gaddi leader of the BJP, but it was Shanta Kumars favour that tilted the scales towards Kishan Kapoor.

Kishan Kapoor could be first Gaddi community member to contest the elections from Kangra. The constituency has always been represented by Brahmins, Rajputs or Soods.

The BJP has decided to field him and now he will have to rely heavily on the support from his Gaddi community to win the elections. Kishan Kapoor said he had never applied for party ticket. In case, the party gives me the responsibility, I will contest the elections, he said.

In the party meeting today, he urged the party leaders to propagate the policies of Modi government to win the parliamentary poll.

A BJP leader said many MLAs from Kangra would try to ensure victory of Kishan Kapoor as it would leave one ministerial berth open for them in case he went to Parliament.
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Tribune News Service

Shimla, March 24

Ten students were injured, four of them seriously, in a clash between Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Students Federation of India (SFI) members on the Himachal Pradesh University campus on Sunday morning.

The clash began at 6 am on Sunday morning. The ABVP claims the SFI members attacked them in their shakha, while the SFI blames the ABVP for starting the scuffle.

Four seriously injured have been identified as Avinash Rana, Sahil, Manish and Pankaj. Its unclear to which student outfit the injured belong.

All the ten injured are being treated at Shimlas IGMC, ABVP district president Gaurav Attri said.

Meanwhile, Education Minister Suresh Bhardwaj visited the hospital to enquire about their health.

Clashes have sporadically been known to erupt between the two rival outfits.
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

New Delhi, March 24

Continuing crackdown on terror financers, security agencies have identified 13 people, including Hizbul Mujahideen founder Syed Salahuddin, Hurriyat leaders and businessmen, who are allegedly providing funds to terrorists and stone-pelters at the behest of Pakistan spy agency ISI, officials said on Sunday.

The Centre has started seizing properties belonging to terror financiers in a big way. Thirteen individuals and their properties have been identified by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and action has been initiated, they said.

Individuals identified during these investigations have been found providing money to all major terrorist groups like LeT and Hizbul Mujahideen as also Hurriyat leaders, separatists and stone-pelters in Jammu and Kashmir, a senior government official said.

Funds were provided to the leadership of Kashmir-based terrorist groups for misguiding, motivating and recruiting local youths to militant ranks.

Operational activities of terror groups, including attacks on security forces, camps and convoys, are also being financed, the official said, adding that the money obtained through these channels are being used by major secessionist formations, especially the Hurriyat Conference.

These funds are used for maintaining Hurriyats top leadership and a massive propaganda machinery to arouse disaffection among the people of Jammu and Kashmir against the Centre.

It is also being utilised to spread false information through media contacts, newspapers and social media, the official claimed.

The official said these are in turn used to instigate and lure misguided youths to resort to anti-India activities, violent street protests and stone pelting on security forces at encounter sites.

Extensive use of such funds is being made to finance institutions such as select mosques, madrasas and organisations like recently banned Jamat-e-Islami(JeI) for focusing on subverting locals, another official said.

In the first strike, action was initiated to attach a plush bungalow of Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali in Gurgaon, the official said. He is at present lodged in Delhis Tihar jail.

Watali is allegedly a major conduit for funnelling terror finances into India, the official said.

Documents seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) indicate that he was receiving money from Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, Salahuddin, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Pakistan High Commission here, the official claimed.

Watali is known to have important sources of hawala financing operating out of Dubai. Besides him, another 10 leaders were brought into the multi-agency action on terror funding.

The ED has zeroed in on proceeds of such crime and begun action to freeze and seize such assets.

The ongoing investigation in the first phase has determined and quantified assets valued at over Rs 7 crore as proceeds of terror funding crimes, the official said.

The 13 identified individuals include Mohd Yusuf Shah, alias Syed Salahuddin, who through Hizbul, has been actively involved in creating unrest in Kashmir and other parts of India, according to a document prepared by security agencies.

Being a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, Salahuddin has a wide network of local sympathisers, who act on his instructions and collect funds sent by him to fuel secessionist activities, it said.

Hafiz Saeed, self-styled chief of Pakistan-based Jamaat-ul-Dawaa, and other separatist leaders of the state, including members and Hurriyat cadre, have been raising, receiving and collecting funds domestically and from abroad through various illegal channels like Hawala, for funding separatist and terrorist activities in J&K.

The document said Aftab Ahmad Shah, alias Fantoosh, a Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (TeH) founder member, was spokesperson and legal adviser to the Hurriyat (Mirwaiz faction).

During a search at his residence in Srinagar, the NIA seized various incriminating documents and during interrogation Shah confessed that his charter of duties included monitoring incidents, issuing statements, arranging meetings and conferences.

Shah, son-in-law of TeH separatist leader Syed Geelani, was closely associated with the JeI (J&K).

The 13 individuals also include Mohammed Nayeem Khan, Farooq Ahmad Dar, Akbar Khanday, Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Saifullah and Nawal Kishore Kapoor.

Khan, self-styled chairman of National Front, an organisation affiliated to Hurriyat, was part of the Muslim Jaanbaaz Force and earlier involved in various militant activities, the document said.

Dar was JKLF-R chairman and is a terrorist involved in criminal and anti-national activities since 1990. He received arms training in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in 1989-90. Khanday is a JeI (J&K) member and trusted lieutenant of Geelani. He knew of anti-India protests in the Valley.

Kalwal, a former militant trained in PoK, is a key fund raiser for stone-pelters. He collects funds on behalf of Hurriyat and spearheads protests, the document said.

Bhat, a former Hizbul militant, went to PoK for arms training and was involved militancy cases. He is a trusted aide of Geelani and was aware of systems of fund collection and distribution by the Hurriyat leader to operatives, who indulged in anti-India activities. He has visited the Pakistan High Commission here with Geelani several times, it said.

Kapoor, Watalis close associate, remitted Rs 5.6 crore to Watali for which he has not been able to produce any document. PTI
editorial@tribune.com

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 23

The PDPs decision not to contest two Lok Sabha seats of the Jammu region in the larger interest of secular forces has posed a great challenge for the BJP, which had won both the seats during the 2014 parliamentary poll. The decision has given a big push to the Congress-NC combines common candidates in the region.

If party sources are to be believed, the PDPs move to stay away from the electoral race on the two crucial seats will prevent the division of Gujjar, Bakerwal and Muslim votes. This will certainly help the Congress candidates  former minister Raman Bhalla from the Jammu-Poonch seat and Dogra dynasty scion Vikramaditya Singh from the Udhampur-Doda constituency.

The PDP had secured over 1.68 lakh votes from the Jammu-Poonch seat in the 2014 elections when there was a limited support to the party. The PDP now has a strong base in Rajouri and Poonch districts, which are a part of the Jammu-Poonch parliamentary constituency. Had the party decided to contest from the seat, it would have led to a division of over 2.5 lakh secular votes. This would have indirectly increased the winning prospects of the BJP, a senior PDP leader said while justifying the decision of the party high command not to contest two seats.

Riding high on a Modi wave, BJP candidate Jugal Kishore Sharma had won the Jammu-Poonch seat by a margin of 2.57 lakh votes in 2014. From the Udhampur-Doda seat, BJP candidate and Union Minister in the PMO Jitendra Singh had registered a victory over Congress stalwart Ghulam Nabi Azad by a margin of over 60,000 votes in the last elections. The PDP candidate polled over 30,000 votes from the seat.

We want to consolidate the secular vote bank at any cost and it is possible only if we dont allow any division in it. Any division of the secular vote bank will directly benefit the BJP candidates. Our party will ensure a straight fight between two national parties on the parliamentary seats of Jammu province, the leader said.

Earlier, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti had termed all reports of any possible alliance with the Congress as speculations and rumours and announced to contest on all six Lok Sabha seats of Jammu and Kashmir.
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Amit Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 24

A soldier was killed in shelling at Poonch districts Shahpur sector on Sundaytaking the death toll in this weeks cross-border skirmishes with Pakistan to three.

The 20-year old grenadier Hari Bhakar, originally from Rajasthans Nagaur district, was wounded in cross-border shelling that began on Saturday evening. He was immediately evacuated to the nearest field hospital but died of his wounds in the small hours of Sunday. His remains were taken to the headquarters of the Northern Command wreath laying ceremony, and were flown home to Rajasthan later in the day.

Pakistan Army began using heavy artillery and rockets to shell Kerni and Shahpur sectors on Saturday evening, the spokesperson said. Indian Army retaliated strongly and even inflicted casualties on Pakistans side, the defence official said, adding that figures are not known.

Border skirmishes witnessed a spurt after India's air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26 in response to the February 14 Pulwama attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel. Four civilians, including three members of a family, have been killed and several injured as Pakistan has targeted dozens of villages in over 125 incidents of ceasefire violations along the LoC since.

The year 2018 witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violations 2,936by Pakistani troops in the last 15 years along the Indo-Pak border.

Pakistan continues to violate the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the pact during flag meetings between the two sides.

On Thursday, 24-year-old rifleman Yash Paul lost his life in unprovoked firing by Pakistan Army along the LoC in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district.

Rifleman Karamjeet Singh from Punjabs Moga was killed in cross-border firing on Monday.
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Our Correspondent

Kathua, March 23

The Congress candidate from the Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat, Vikramaditya Singh, kick-started his poll campaign by invoking his forefathers and erstwhile Dogra rulers of the state, vowing to restore the pristine glory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Addressing an impressive rally at Ramlila Ground here, Vikramaditya, the scion of erstwhile Dogra dynasty, preferred to touch local issues confronting people while taking a dig at the BJP leadership. He is pitted against the Union Minister in PMO and incumbent MP Jitendra Singh from the seat.

Our ancestors initiated numerous welfare measures for the people of the state. They worked hard to ensure equality among the people of all castes, creeds and culture, Singh said and recalled various steps taken by the last Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh for the education of girls and welfare of the marginalised and neglected lot of society.

Singh regretted that during the last five years, this parliamentary constituency was neglected in all spheres of life as except tall promises and julibazi, nothing concrete had been done to provide basic amenities to the people.

Meanwhile, the Congress candidate will file his nomination on Monday as the returning officer told them that Saturday and Sunday were declared holiday as per the guidelines of the Election Commission of India.
shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com

Mumbai, March 24

Sandeep Ssingh, one of the producers of "PM Narendra Modi", says that the makers of the forthcoming film had acquired the rights of a song penned by lyricist Javed Akhtar and that is why he was given a credit. The producer also says Akhtar could have discussed it before commenting on social media.

"Javed Akhtar is one of the highly regarded poets and lyricists of our nation and I have grown up watching his films and songs. He knows all of us so, before tweeting on the matter, he could have just made a call.

"We bought the copyright of the song before using it in our film. Our music department followed the process," Ssingh told IANS here.

Akhtar had tweeted on Friday: "I am shocked to find my name on the poster of this film. Have not written any songs for it." He also posted a snapshot of the trailer's video in which his name was mentioned among several other artistes in the lyrics category.

But did anyone contact Akhtar?

"Even he could have done the same thing. He knows Vivek (Oberoi, the film's lead actor), he knows Bhushan Kumar of T-Series. Before tweeting, he could have contacted us," the producer replied.

According to a statement from Ssingh, "T-Series being the official music partner of our film...we have taken the songs 'Ishwar Allah'* from the film '1947: Earth' and the song 'Suno gaur se duniya walon' from the film 'Dus', thus we have given the due credits to respective lyricists Javed Sahab and Sameerji".

The film is also involved in controversy because of its trailer.

Many claimed that the trailer that was shown to the media earlier this week was different from what is now available on YouTube for public viewing. Are the makers trying to avoid the projection of the 2002 Gujarat riots in the film?

Without speaking much about the trailer, Ssingh said: "...people will have to watch the film." The movie is releasing on April 5, a few days before the commencement of the Lok Sabha elections in India.

But a leader of the DMK in Pollachi in Tamil Nadu has reportedly written to the Chief Election Commissioner seeking a ban on the release of Modi's biopic till the Lok Sabha polls get over.

Asked about it, Ssingh said: "I think whether it is the DMK or (other) political party, instead of talking about the film, they should focus on the work they have done for the state and for their people."  IANS
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Aparna Banerji

Back in May 2017, busy with plans for a Punjabi film with his father, Surmit Singh Basra didnt even have the wildest of clues that he was about to land his Bollywood debut. By August, he was playing Gurmukh Singh, the youngest of the 21 Sikh soldiers, in the poignant film Kesari, based on the historic battle of Saragarhi.

Jalandhar-based Surmit is now gathering accolades for his act as the young, shy, Gurmukh, the reticent messenger of Havildar Ishar Singh. Gurmukh is, eventually, the last man standing on the embattled fortress. Interestingly, a Facebook photograph of him in a turban (from the film Punjabi Kaptaan) got him the attention of the crew. What followed is history, quite literally!

First take

In a nice Kesari t-shirt and a cap, a far cry from his on screen avatar, Surmit says, In early 2017, I was on a trip to Sirmaur when I received a call from my father, to send an audition tape for Kesari. They said they liked me for the part, based on my Facebook picture. With no internet connection and heavy rains, I came down to Nahan, bought a turban, found a guy who could tie it, found an internet connection and then sent the audition tape! Later, I was asked to send a more refined version. Then I was called and auditioned several more times, following which I got the part. We had several workshops and training sessions too.

Acting runs in the family; his father Daljinder Singh Basra, has been a veteran DD artist, theatre and film actor, Surmit teamed up with him on many projects, pulling off his maiden acting outing while he was just seven (in a music video by Gippy Grewal).

Big occasion

Bollywood is a different experience altogether, he believes. On how he coped with such a hefty cast, he adds, Akshay sir and Anurag sir (the director of Kesari) eased me into the role. They made sure we were absolutely comfortable before we headed for the shoot. Speaking on his final act, the final fire scene in the film, he says, Anurag sir told me that day, Tennu Agg Lani Hai. I said okay.

While one expects the fire act to be his major challenge in the film, Surmit says, We had one rehearsal of the shot which didnt go well, so I was very nervous before the final take. Anurag sir usually takes his time and expects perfection is all scenes. But on set, he just asked me to go for it  we had a single take. That one take is the final thing you see in the film. I guess my nervousness helped the scene, so thats what he wanted.

Fire in the belly

So was he really set on fire, Yes, but it was completely safe. I actually had temperature the day it was to be shot, so Anurag sir told me to rest and called me eight-nine hours later on set. I had previously received training from the action-director Lawrence (who is also the action-director for Mad Max Fury Road) and Parvez Khan. I was wearing at least four layers of protective jackets beneath the fifth layer, which was costume, and had gel all over my body. It was a great experience. So, who were his best buddies on set? You could say my greatest mentor on the set was Suvinder Vicky sir, who plays Naik Lal Singh in the film. He is quite elder to me but we were the best pals, doing everything together. I am also great friends with Vansh Bhardwaj. The Kesari set in a general had a big family feel to it.

About his future plans, he says, Right now Im going back to Mumbai and will see if something happens.
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Ranchi, March 24

Former Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker and eight-time Lok Sabha member Kariya Munda said on Sunday that he would return to farming after the BJP denied him ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Jharkhand.

In the list of BJP candidates, Kariya Munda has been replaced by former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Arjun Munda.

Kariya Munda was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1977. He became Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha in 2009.

"I went to Lok Sabha from farming. I will return to farming. I was in politics to serve the people, not due to any vested interests. God has given me so many things," an upset Munda told reporters.

The name of Kariya Munda, who is widely respected in Jharkhand, was floated for Chief Ministership when Jharkhand was carved out from Bihar in 2000. Almost two decades later, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) appears to have dumped him. IANS
shalender@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 23

With the Enforcement Directorate attaching the property of Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali in Gurugram, crackdown by authorities has begun on people and organisations suspected in activities of terror funding, especially in Jammu and Kashmir.

The authorities from multiple agencies are on the job after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) identified 12 others in the May 2017 case relating to J&K terror funding. Watali is in Tihar jail since last year, sources in the government said today.

Two other accused, Kamran Yusuf and Javed Ajmed Bhat, chargesheeted for their role in stone-pelting and anti-India protests, are out on bail.

The government started seizing properties belonging to terror financers identified by the NIA, with the Enforcement Directorate initiating action to freeze and seize such assets. Ongoing investigations in the first phase determined and quantified assets valued over Rs 7 crore as proceeds of terror funding crimes.

Watali, the sources said, is a major conduit for funneling terror finances in the country and incriminating documents seized by the ED show he was receiving money from Hafiz Saeed, Syed Salahuddin, ISI and Pakistan High Commission at New Delhi and also is known to have important sources of Hawala financing operating out of Dubai.

The funds, the sources said, were made available to the leadership of Valley-based terrorist groups for providing the means to misguide and recruit local youth to terrorist ranks, including from madarsas and mosques. In addition, operational activities of terror groups were also being financed, including the attacks on security personnel, their camps and convoys, the sources said.

Money obtained through these channels was also being used by major secessionist formations, particularly All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), to arouse disaffection among people of J&K against the Government of India, the source said. In addition, the sources said, the funds were used to spread false information through media contacts, newspapers and social media.

In turn, these activities were used to instigate and lure misguided youth to resort to anti-India activities and stone pelting on security forces, sources said. Such funds were also used to finance institutions focused on subverting the local population, including through selected mosques, madarsas and other organisations.

The sources said in addition to Watali, 10 others under NIA probe include Hafiz Mohammed Saeed, Sayed Salahuddin, Aftab Ahmad Shah, Altf Ahmad Shah, Mohammed Nayeem Khan, Farooq Ahmad Dar, Mohadd Akbar Khanday, Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Bashir Ahmad Bhat and Nawal Kishore Kapoor, who is alleged to have remitted Rs 5.6 crore to Watali.
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Ahmedabad, March 24

A Congress victory by mistake in the Lok Sabha election will see Pakistan celebrate Diwali, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani claimed on Sunday.

While this is not going to happen, but when the results (of the general election) are announced on May 23 and (if) the Congress wins by mistake, then Diwali will be celebrated in Pakistan because they (Congress) are all associated with it, Rupani said in Mehsana at the launch of the Bharatiya Janata Partys vijay sankalp rally.

The people of the country will ensure Narendra bhai (Narendra Modi) wins on May 23, after which there will be grief in Pakistan, the BJP leader said.

Rupani attacked Congress leader Sam Pitroda for demanding proof of the Balakot airstrike.

The world knows Pakistan shelters terrorists. And Sam Pitroda, Rahul Gandhis teacher, says it is wrong to blame Pakistan for the act of five-seven youths (who carried out the Pulwama attack).... Congress leaders speak the language of Pakistan, Rupani said.

The chief minister accused the Opposition of insulting the armed forces. Who are you trying to support by negating the words spoken by the heads of the armed forces (after the Balakot airstrike)? he asked.

In response to accusations that the previous National Democratic Alliance government freed Masood Azhar, who then went on to form terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed, Rupani alleged that it was the Congress that had released several terrorists during its tenure.

The BJP leader also accused the Congress of indulging in vote-bank politics and encouraging separatist forces.

Describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah as sons of Gujarat who were working to make India stand tall among the league of nations, Rupani said disparate opposition parties were uniting only with the aim of defeating Modi.

When Narendra bhai is moving in the direction of making India a Ram rajya, the opposition parties have come together. The Congress, communists, terrorists, naxals, corrupt, Mamata, Mayawati, Akhilesh, Chandrababu... all selfish people have come together (against him), he said.

Calling the 2019 election a fight to the finish, Rupani exhorted party workers to make history with the ballot.  PTI
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Mumbai, March 24

Five Indians, who spent over 14 months in a Greek jail after their cargo ship was detained on charges of carrying explosive material on board, arrived in Mumbai on Sunday morning.

MV Andromeda was detained by the Greek Coast Guard on January 9, 2018.

Although it was established that the cargo in question was only a raw material for firecrackers, the crew of the ship had to languish in jail for over a year.

The ship had set sail from Turkey on January 6, 2018 and was headed for Djibouti when it was diverted to the Greek coast for repairs and later, detained by the coast guard.

The explosive material was legal. Local authorities did not go through the documents which the Greek ship owner had, Bhupendra Singh, one of the Indian crew members who returned home Sunday, told the media here.

We were given consular access and they (the Indian embassy staff) were very supportive and were present at every hearing, said Singh, a native of Gurdaspur in Punjab, adding that they were not subjected to physical torture in any form.

Singh, however, said he had to undergo mental agony especially when beef was served frequently.

There were few times when I thought of ending my life. I was the only son of my father...I could not be present in my sisters wedding, he added.

Another crew member, Gagan Deep, who is from Bengaluru, said jail authorities informed them that they were the first Indians to be lodged in the jail since it was built in 1953.

Gagan Deep claimed that he had not been paid salary for the last 23 months by the company which owns the ship.

Interestingly, it was the Pakistani inmates lodged in the jail who provided them emotional support, he said.

Whatever grudge we may hold against each others country, but when we meet each other in other countries, we (Indians and Pakistanis) understand each other very well ... those two Pakistanis helped us a lot in every way, Bhupendra Singh said.

The other three Indian crew members are Rohtas Kumar, Jaideep Thakur and Satish Patil.

They will meet officials of the Union Shipping Ministry on Monday and apprise them of the entire episode.

Amar Singh Thakur, General Secretary of the Maritime Union of India (MUI), said a court in Greece ruled a fortnight ago that the explosive material on board the ship was raw material for crackers, and not a banned explosive material.

MUI, a city-based union of shipping workers, helped the crew members in their legal battle, he said.

The Korydallos Prison Complex, where they were kept, is infamous for overcrowding and inhumane treatment of detainees as per Amnesty International, Thakur claimed.

The MUI will petition the Greek government not to release the ship until the owners pay the salaries of the crew, he said.

Amitabh Kumar, Acting Director General of Shipping, said the Directorate General of Shipping was following up on the matter with the Greek government through the Indian embassy.  PTI
shalender@tribune.com

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 23

The intra-Congress clamour for party president Rahul Gandhi to contest from South India intensified further on Saturday with the Kerala unit urging him to contest the Lok Sabha election from Wayanad.

Last week, the Karnataka Congress organisation had similarly invited Rahul Gandhi to consider contesting from any seat in the state.

The pattern of proposal was similar to the one witnessed in Karnataka. Former CM of Kerala Oommen Chandy made the first public remarks in this connection on Saturday followed by senior leaders including Mulapally Ramachandran.

The Congress was quick to indicate that no decision on Rahul Gandhis second seat besides Amethi had yet been taken. The party has not taken any decision in this regard yet. The Congress president has conveyed that he would consider the Kerala request in the same spirit in which it has been submitted, with affection and respect but a call has not yet been taken. State units keep making such proposals to express their trust in the leadership of the Congress chief and to invite him to represent their area. But Rahul has repeatedly clarified that his political battlefield is Amethi and Amethi alone, Congress media head Randeep Surjewala said on Saturday.

In their enthusiasm to leave a door ajar for Rahul Gandhi should he decide to fight from two seats in the end, state units of the Congress have triggered questions around how comfortably the party chief finds himself placed in Amethi which the SP and BSP combine have left for the Congress despite striking a pre-poll alliance among themselves.

Rahul Gandhi has won three elections from Amethi  his first in 2004, in 2009 and in 2014.
shalender@tribune.com

Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 23

The armed forces of India and Pakistan are at a razors edge for more than a month now. Notwithstanding global appeals for peace between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, a large chunk of the Indian Army is in a deployed state along the western front.

On the Pakistani side, its entire force, other than elements in operations along the Pakistan-Afghan frontier, is in a state of readiness.

Sources said, There is no let-up in deployment on either side. For now, there are no instructions to scale down, a functionary said.

The elements of Strike Corps, headquartered at Ambala and Mathura, are already deployed at key locations in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan and need not be deployed further forward.

For now, historical ingress routes of the India-Pak Wars of 1965 and 1971 are under constant monitoring of UAVs from both sides.

There have been reports of increased Pakistan activity in the Shakargarh bulge --- Indian Punjab is south of this while Jammu is north of it. Another segment where Pakistan is focusing is the Indian areas of Bikaner, Sri Ganganagar, Hindumal Kot amd Abohar.

The air forces of both countries have been doing their combat patrols, meaning ready to strike or counter a strike within a few seconds. The Indian Navys BrahMos missile carrying warships are still stationed in the north Arabian Sea.

Such is the deployment that the much-awaited test for integration of battle groups of the Indian Army has been put on hold for now. A top source said, For now, the test-bed is not being conducted as units are in state of readiness following the recent tension between India and Pakistan.

The IBG will be doing integration in peacetime. This, if done, could be the first tweak to the cold start doctrine (first made public in 2004).

Resolve disputes through talks: Envoy

New Delhi: Pakistan and India should resolve all outstanding issues and disputes peacefully through dialogue, Pakistani envoy to India Sohail Mahmood said on Saturday. Mahmood, speaking at a function at the Pakistan High Commission here to mark Pakistan Day, underlined his country's desire for peaceful and good-neighbourly relations with India. He said it was important for Pakistan and India to resolve all outstanding issues and disputes peacefully. PTI
shalender@tribune.com

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 23

The BJP has fielded its verbose spokesperson Sambit Patra from the prestigious Puri Lok Sabha constituency in Odisha  the state it hopes to do better in the Lok Sabha elections.

His name figures in the BJPs third list of 36 candidates, including 23 for Andhra Pradesh where polling will be held in the first phase on April 11, six for Maharashtra and five for Odisha and one candidate each for Assam and Meghalaya. The highlight of the list released late last night was Patras selection as the saffron party candidate from Puri for which earlier the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was doing the rounds, apparently to augment its plans in the state.

Even while the BJP painted the country saffron in 2014, Odisha was among the states that remained untouched by the Modi wave. The BJP won just one out of the 21 seats while the Naveen Patnaik-led Biju Janata Dal took the rest. In the past five years, the BJP has worked hard to make inroads in the state. Its first list included the freshly minted BJP leader, ex-BJD Baijayant Jay Panda, from Kendrapara and former IAS officer Aparajita Sarangi from Bhubaneswar. Union minister Jual Oram, the partys sole sitting MP from the state, is re-contesting from Sundargarh.

The BJP is expected to face a tough contest from the BJD and has been careful in selection. That makes Patra an interesting choice from Puri.

The firebrand spokesperson is known for his no-holds-barred vociferous offence when it comes to defending the BJP on national channels and is therefore a much recognised face. A doctor by profession, he is currently an independent director on the ONGC board. He holds Master of Surgery in general surgery from SCB Medical College, Cuttack. In 2003, he qualified the UPSC Combined Medical Services and joined Hindu Rao Hospital. He was first appointed Delhi unit spokesperson and when the BJP came to power, he was made national spokesperson.

BJPs Third list

The BJPs third list of 36 candidates includes 23 for Andhra Pradesh where polling will be held in the first phase on April 11, six for Maharashtra and five for Odisha and one candidate each for Assam and Meghalaya.

Khatun vs Pranabs son

The BJP on Saturday named Mafuja Khatun, who joined the party recently, as its candidate for Jangipur seat in Kolkata to take on Congress nominee and sitting MP Abhijit Mukherjee, son of former President Pranab Mukherjee. tns
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

New Delhi, March 24

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has forgotten about his bonhomie with chaiwalas, is now remembering chowkidars, and will focus on somebody else the next time for political gains, senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal has said, taking a swipe at the PMs Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign.

The former Union Minister also accused Modi of politicising the Balakot air strikes and asked whether the chowkidar (watchman) was sleeping when terror attacks took place in Gurdaspur, Pathankot, Uri, Baramulla, and Pulwama.

On the Prime Ministers Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign to counter the Congress Chowkidar Chor Hai barb, Sibal said: First of all he has forgotten about the chaiwalas (tea sellers). He now remembers the chowkidars (watchmen). Next time he will remember somebody else and forget the chowkidars.

The sad part of it is that he was sleeping while we were attacked at Gurdaspur, at Pathankot, at Uri, at Baramulla, at Pulwama. What was the chowkidar doing, was he sleeping. What happened to the slogan Main Bhi Chowkidar at that point in time, the 70-year-old Rajya Sabha MP told PTI in an exclusive interview.

In the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP launched a massive election campaign highlighting Modi as a chaiwala (tea seller) to connect with the masses after Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar dubbed him a chaiwala. Since then, Modi has often called himself a chaiwala.

The PM launched the Main Bhi Chowkidar campaign after Congress president Rahul Gandhi relentlessly targeted the PM with the Chowkidar Chor Hai (watchman is a thief) jibe, while alleging corruption and favouritism in the Rafale fighter jet deal. The government rejected the charges.

Sibal also accused the BJP of trying to gain political mileage from the Balakot strikes.

They (the BJP) were the first ones to politicise it (air strikes) by making public statements. He (Modi) has posters of the martyrs behind him as he is making his speeches. He is alluding to the air strikes by saying that the mood of the crowd is now different, Sibal said.

The former Union Minister alleged all this shows that the government is least concerned about issues relating to life of the ordinary man such as farm distress, education, health, hunger, loss of credit facilities, and destruction of businesses.

Sibal slammed the Prime Minister for his chowkidar campaign and asked what was the chowkidar doing when the likes of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi fled the country.

What was the chowkidar doing when people were losing lives post the air strikes... soldiers have lost their lives (at the border). Is this chowkidari of his residence or what is it, or of his privileges, Sibal asked.

On whether the focus has moved away from issues of jobs and governments alleged economic non-performance following the Balakot air strikes, Sibal said there was an attempt to do so.

The whole nature of the discourse is now about what a great job this government has done post Pulwama, and this is a new thresholdwe have shown to Pakistan that we are capable of air strikes across the border if they continue with their efforts to destabilise India through terrorist attacks, he said.

Sibal said personally for him the messaging to Pakistan was fine, but to politicise such issues was not acceptable.

Days after the Pulwama terror attack that claimed the lives of 40 CRPF jawans, Indian Air Force fighter jets bombed a terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed training camp near Balakot inside Pakistan on February 26.

Pakistan retaliated by attempting to target Indian military installations the next day. However, the IAF thwarted their plans.

Asked if the Congress believes that it is a now or never or a do or die kind of election considering the Congress has been alleging that the BJP has been destroying institutions, Sibal answered in the affirmative.

Look at the institutions prior to 2014 and look at them after 2014 when Modi ji became Prime Minister, Sibal said, alleging that the BJP has destroyed institutions.

Citing the example of the Central Investigation Bureau (CBI), Sibal talked about infighting in the agency and referred to the governments decision at midnight to remove then CBI Director Alok Verma, to allege that institutions were being undermined.

The induction of key elements in the CBI which were close to the present administration. (Rakesh) Asthana being one of them and he handling the most sensitive cases...Look at the Central Vigilance Commission. There are serious allegations against the CVC, he said.

Sibal also alleged that the Comptroller and Auditor General was not acting with transparency on the Rafale deal issue.

The CAG report reflects the opacity of the office. It is trying to justify what the Prime Minister did, instead of putting all the data on record. Look at the office of governors. Some of them even say that they owe their allegiance more to the Sangh (RSS) than to the office, he said.

Sibal wondered which institution has been saved under the Modi government.

Look at the nature of the media today. If the media becomes the lap dog of the government, and all the institutions toe the line of the government and of the Prime Ministers Office, what is left is a hollow constitutional structure which is bereft of its essence, the Congress leader said.

Therefore, I do believe, if we are not able to ensure the victory of the liberal forces in this country, we are in deep trouble, Sibal said. PTI
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Islamabad, March 24

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday ordered a probe into reports of abduction, forced conversion and underage marriages of two teenage Hindu girls in Sindh province and to take immediate steps for their recovery, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said.

The two girls, Raveena (13) and Reena (15), were allegedly kidnapped by a group of influential men from their home in Ghotki district in Sindh on the eve of Holi.

Soon after the kidnapping, a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown soleminising the Nikah (marriage) of the two girls, triggering a nationwide outrage.

In a separate video, the minor girls can be seen saying that they accepted Islam of their own free will.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has sought details from the Indian envoy in Pakistan into the reported abduction.

In a tweet, Swaraj, while tagging a media report about the incident, said she has asked the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan to send a report on the matter.

In a Twitter post in Urdu on Sunday, Information Minister Chaudhry said that the prime minister has asked the Sindh chief minister to look into reports that the girls in question have been taken to Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab.

Chaudhry said the prime minister has also ordered the Sindh and Punjab governments to devise a joint action plan in light of the incident, and to take concrete steps to prevent such incidents from happening again.

The minorities in Pakistan make up the white of our flag and all of our flags colours are precious to us. Protection of our flag is our duty, he said.

On Saturday, Chaudhry said the government had taken notice of reports of the forced conversion and underage marriages of the two girls.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Interior Shehryar Khan Afridi has directed IG Police Sindh to probe and submit report on abduction of two Hindu girls at the earliest.

In a tweet, he said both the girls are citizens of Pakistan and it is our binding duty to protect them.

The Hindu community in Pakistan has carried out massive demonstrations calling for strict action to be taken against those responsible, while reminding Prime Minister Khan of his promises to the minorities of the country.

Last year, Khan during his election campaign had said his partys agenda was to uplift the various religious groups across Pakistan and said they would take effective measures to prevent forced marriages of Hindu girls.

Pakistan Hindu Council chief and Member of National Assembly from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Ramesh Kumar Vankwani condemned the incident and demanded that the Bill against forced conversion, which was unanimously passed by Sindh Assembly in 2016 and then reverted due to pressure of extremist elements, must be resurrected and passed in the assembly on priority basis.

All of those who are preaching hate under the cover of religion must be handled like banned religious organisations, he added.

Sanjesh Dhanja, President of Pakistan Hindu Sewa Welfare Trust, an NGO, earlier urged Prime Minister Khan to take note of the incident and prove to everyone that minorities were indeed safe and secure in Pakistan.

The truth is minorities suffer from different sorts of persecution and the problem of young Hindu girls being kidnapped at gunpoint and forced to convert to Islam or get married to much older men is widespread in Sindh, he said.

Dhanja said the Hindu community had staged several sit-ins in Ghotki district after which police reluctantly registered FIR against the accused persons.

The Hindu community leaders have claimed that the accused belonged to the Kohbar and Malik tribes in the area.

Following the incident, an FIR was filed by the girls brother, alleging that their father had an altercation with the accused sometime ago and on the eve of Holi they armed with pistols forcibly entered their home and took the sisters away.

A Pakistan Muslim League-Functional MPA Nand Kumar Goklani, who had initially moved a Bill against forced conversions, urged the government to get the law passed immediately.

Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan.

According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan. However, according to the community, over 90 lakh Hindus are living in the country.

Majority of Pakistans Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with their Muslim fellows.  PTI
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Srinagar, March 24

A request would be sent to the US to seek details from a service provider of virtual SIMs, which were used by the JeM suicide bomber behind the Pulwama attack and his Pakistan and Kashmir-based handlers, officials said.

Piecing together probe from the site of the terror strike, searches carried out by the Jammu and Kashmir police and central security agencies at an encounter site in Tral as well as other locations, it was found that the bomber, Adil Dar, was in constant touch with the JeM across the border, they said.

The main mastermind of the audacious attack, Mudassir Khan, was killed in the encounter in Tral.

Forty CRPF personnel were killed on February 14 when Dar rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a paramilitary force bus at Pulwama in South Kashmir. India retaliated after the strike by bombing the Jaish terror groups hideout in Balakot in Pakistan.

It was a fairly new modus operandi where terrorists across the border were using a virtual SIM, generated by a service provider in the United States. In this technology, the computer generates a telephone number and the user downloads an application of the service provider on their smartphone.

The number is linked to social networking sites like WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram or Twitter. The verification code generated by these networking sites is received on the smartphone and the user is ready.

In case of Pulwama, Dar was in constant touch with the Jaish handler as well as Mudassir Khan using the same technology, the officials said.

They said the numbers used were pre-fixed with +1, the Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN) number used for the United States.

The request to the US will include details of phone numbers that got in touch with the Virtual SIM and who had activated it, they said, adding that Internet Protocol addresses would also be sought.

While the security agencies would attempt to find who had paid for the virtual SIM, they were also aware that the terror groups used forged identities, as was done during the the Mumbai 26/11 terror strikes.

During investigation of the 26/11 attacks it was found that an amount of USD 229 was wired to Callphonex, via Western Union Money Transfer receipt number 8364307716-0, for activating the Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) used during the strikes.

The money was received from Madina Trading located in Brescia in Italy and sender was claimed to be Javed Iqbal, a resident of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

However, after Italian police arrested two Pakistani nationals in 2009, it was alleged that the firm had made nearly 300 transfers in the name of Iqbal, who probably had never set his foot in Italy.

The Italian police, while concluding the probe, had said the Brescia-based company made several transfers using the identity of innocent, unsuspecting persons, whose identity cards or passports might have been stolen.  PTI
shalender@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 23

Lamenting that the campaign against corruption has not succeeded in India, noted jurist Fali S Nariman on Saturday said the tidal wave of corruption has become tsunami.

Delivering the Admiral RH Tahiliani (retd) Memorial Lecture on Campaign against Corruption: Has it Succeeded? organised by Transparency International India (TII), Nariman, however, said the fight against the menace of corruption must go on.

I am not at all sure it has, the noted jurist said in answer to the question posed in the topic of the memorial lecture.

I am afraid we may not see end of corruptionI doubt anyone present here, howsoever young, would ever see the end of corruption, Nariman said.

There is a visible degree of tolerance of corruption. We have to come to tolerate more and not less and less corruption, Nariman said, adding corruption was not at all an issue in the Lok Sabha poll.

It is impossible to know when and how much water a fish drank. Similar is the act of officials stealing government money, he quoted Chanakya as having said more than 23 centuries ago.

Maintaining that certain good things had also been achieved through corruption, Nariman narrated how President Abraham Lincoln managed to get two-thirds votes to pass the 13th Amendment of the US Constitution that abolished slavery by satisfying three Republican members of the Congress.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Governor and President, India International Centre, NN Vohra, who chaired the function, recalled how the PV Narasimha Rao government survived a no-confidence motion in 1993 by bribing JMM MPs.

I dont suggest we can eradicate corruptionbut definitely we can work towards containing corruption, said Vohra, who has served the nation during the tenure of all Prime Ministers in various capacities.

Vohra emphasised the need to fight corruption, saying, it affected the poor the most and led to increase in inequality in society.

He said four crore cases were pending in courts while witnesses and victims were dying waiting for justice.

During his lecture, Nariman recalled how the then Central Vigilance Commissioner N Vittal had posted the names of 94 senior bureaucrats on the CVCs website after the government refused to grant sanction to prosecute them for corruption. None of the bureaucrats had the courage to file a defamation case against him, Nariman said.

Both Nariman and Vohra said it was important to carry on with the fight against corruption as it has a trickle-down effect. They praised the work done by Admiral Tahiliani. Lets not give up, said Vohra.

TII chairman SR Wadhwa and TII vice-chairperson Madhu Bhalla also spoke on the occasion. Bhalla highlighted the challenge posed by new technologies that were being used to perpetrate corruption and evade law enforcement agencies.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 23

State Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) S Karuna Raju, while presiding over a meeting of representatives of various banks at his office here today, told them that under the provisions of the model code of conduct, every financial activity of candidates should be scrutinised minutely.

The CEO said the Election Commission of India (ECI) had framed rules to conduct fair and peaceful elections besides giving all candidates a level-playing field. Several monitoring teams have already been formed to execute such rules in letter and spirit, he said.

He said the election expenditure limit for a person interested in contesting the elections has been fixed at Rs 70 lakh and he has to spend all this through the account opened according to the directives of the ECI.

He said financial activities related to existing bank accounts of candidates family members were also being closely monitored.

He said if a candidate purchased a large number of goods through online payment, that too should be supervised as these goods could be used to woo voters.

Check use of drugs

Chief Electoral Officer S Karuna Raju on Saturday held a meeting with officers of the STF and the Narcotics Bureau. He said often allegations surface that candidates use money and drugs to entice voters. Dr Raju said the STF and the Narcotics Bureau should be more vigilant during the period of model code of conduct.
editorial@tribune.com

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 23

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked the government to specify whether tabs on the activities of anti-social elements were being kept by the state police for preventing gangrapes and other crime against women. The Bench asked the state to spell out whether it had set up a special cell for the purpose.

Giving the state counsel the liberty to seek instructions from the DGP, Justice Rajan Gupta also made it clear that an office of the ADGP rank was required to remain present to enable the state counsel to assist the Bench effectively.

The directions by Justice Guptas Bench came in case of a police official dismissed from service earlier this year on the allegations of carelessness and negligence while dealing with a rape case reported to him.

Taking up the petition filed against the state government and other respondents by ASI Vidya Rattan through counsels Mansur Ali and HS Deol, Justice Gupta observed that the matter pertained to a gangrape incident in Ludhiana on the intervening night of February 9 and 10. At the time of the incident, petitioner Vidya Rattan was posted as duty officer at Dakha police station.

It was alleged that matter was reported to the petitioner-ASI. But he failed to bring it to the notice of the senior officers and was, thus, careless and negligent in his duties. He was later dismissed from service.

Taking a note of the submissions, Justice Gupta issued notice of motion to the state and other respondents for first week of April.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune Reporters

Ferozepur/Nawanshahr, March 23

Thousands of people from various walks of life paid floral tributes at the samadhi of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on the occasion of the Shaheed Diwas at Hussainiwala today.

No state-level function was organised this year due to the implementation of the model code of conduct.

Among the prominent political leaders who paid tributes to the martyrs included Cabinet ministers Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi and Gurpreet Singh Kangar, Ferozepur MP Sher Singh Ghubaya and MLAs Parminder Singh Pinki and Sukhpal Singh Khaira.

On the occasion, Khaira demanded that the Chandigarh airport be named after Bhagat Singh. The government should provide due recognition to our national heroes, he said.

Pinki said, It is due to the supreme sacrifices of martyrs like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev that we are living in a free nation.

Sodhi exhorted the youth to shun drugs and contribute their might to realise the dreams of the martyrs.

At Khatkar Kalan, though no political party organised any rally on the occasion, several youths, clubs, general public and some politicians paid tributes to Bhagat Singh at his memorial.

The youths donning yellow turbans in Bhagat Singh style raised slogans and paid respects at his statue. They recited poems about the martyrs contribution to the countrys freedom struggle, bringing alive the patriotic spirit of the place.

Among the politicians who visited the memorial were Industries Minister Sunder Sham Arora, AAP state convener Bhagwant Mann and Lok Insaaf Party MLA Simarjit Singh Bains. The leaders first chose to say a few words about the occasion and then shifted their narrative towards the states politics.

On no tie-up with the SAD (Taksali) owing to rift over the Anandpur Sahib seat, Mann said, We could not bargain on this seat as we have our three MLAs from the Assembly segments of this seat  Kharar, Ropar and Garhshankar. We consider it as our stronghold.
editorial@tribune.com

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, March 23

At a time when demand for students freedom on college campuses across India is on the rise, Government Medical College (GMC) here has issued a diktat of not to roam around and party on the college campus at night to the medicos.

Describing roaming and partying on the campus at night as violation of the college discipline, the authorities have already warned medical students and junior residents (JRs) through a circular to be ready for disciplinary action if caught violating the order.

The GMC principal has already formed a panel to implement the order. The principal has asked it to conduct surprise checking at night with the help of security and police personnel deputed at the hospital.

However, JRs and medical students have strongly condemned the diktat. They said it was not for the first time that such instruction was issued by the college. A few years ago, girls were asked to wear suit and salwar during classes by the principal, they added. Doctors argued that they had night duties at the hospital and prepare for postgraduate tests. The circular issued in the name of discipline was arbitrary and showed conservative approach of the authorities, doctors added.

A final-year MBBS student said, How does roaming in the night on campus create indiscipline. We come late from night duty and even if we hang out in the college what is the issue? Ours is not a surveillance state.

Sources said there had been incidents of violence on the campus, which prompted the authorities to take precautionary measures. Last month, a few doctors ended up in a scuffle with old students during a midnight birthday party.

Security is not sufficient for round-the-clock supervision of hostels. There have been instances of irresponsible activities in hostels, said DS Bhullar, a member of the discipline committee. If authorities are apprehensive of indiscipline or violence, they should increase security instead of curbing our freedom, said doctors.

The committee has been formed just to check indiscipline in the college and avoid any untoward incident. The move is just a precautionary measure to stop bad activities inside the college, said Dr KK Aggarwal, Principal.
shriaya.dutt@tribuneindia.com

NEW DELHI

Would you want your teenager to watch terrorists killing people in the real world or someone committing suicide?

No one, in their right mind, would ever want their kids to get exposed to such events, simply for the repercussions that such content can have on young impressionable minds.

But with a smartphone on their hand and Facebook installed in it, chances of them watching such horrific content someday cannot be denied, especially because the social media giant allows all its users to go live.

The 28-year-old Australian who sprayed bullets on innocent people who were praying at mosques in New Zealand on March 15 decided to broadcast his act on Facebook.

Facebook said the video was viewed fewer than 200 times during the live broadcast, but it was watched about 4,000 times before being removed from the platform. By that time, copies of the 17-minute video were later shared in millions on other social media platforms, including Twitter and YouTube.

Facebook earlier faced flak for the live streaming of suicides on its platform from different parts of the world, including India.

So does that mean that live broadcast on social media platforms should be banned?

"What happened in New Zealand was one-of-a-kind heinous exhibition of brutality and terror. I don't think the world has become so bad that we should see such things occurring repetitively," Faisal Kawoosa, Chief Analyst at market research firm techARC, told IANS.

"Live streaming is an essential part of social media platforms and as video becomes the default mode of communication over digital platforms, live streaming empowers users to be real time on these platforms," he added.

Youngsters also find the facility, which is also available on YouTube and Instagram, useful for broadcasting their travelling adventures and tutorials.

"The 'live' feature on social networking platforms could be good for people who want to publicise stuff like their travel, fashion or subject tutorials," said 25-year-old Rijul Rajpal who works with a film production company.

Many even find it helpful for connecting with their favourite film stars and music icons. But despite the usefulness of the feature, one cannot deny the potential of misuse of the feature, especially because the social media companies have still not developed a technology that can prevent the broadcast of live shooting.

Facebook said that its Artificial Intelligence (AI) system could not automatically detect the New Zealand shooting video as the system was not properly trained.

It promised to improve its technology so that broadcast of such videos can be prevented in the future.

But policy makers are not impressed. In the US, tech firms have already been asked to brief the Congress on March 27 regarding their response to dissemination of the video of the New Zealand terrorists attack on their platforms.

The social media giant may face similar questions from lawmakers in other countries in the coming days.  IANS
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Baljit Singh

Walking in Clouds is an oven fresh travelogue, perhaps the first in 2019 on the new arrivals shelves in India. But the seeds for the journey were sown back in 1982 when a teenager (Kavi, the author) and her cousin (Pallu) chanced to listen to Deb Mukherji narrating his exciting yatra to Kailash Manasarovar. Fascinated, the teenagers vowed that one day they too would tread around Shivas abode. Meanwhile, they enter colleges in USA, take on careers, get married, raise children in Hyderabad, and at 40, the long incubated idea of the yatra eventually leads Kavi, Pallu and a common friend Prarthana to the Nepalgunj airport to meet up with a cosmopolitan foursome  Katy (Hongkong Chinese from Vancouver), Jeff (Australian), Sperello (Italian astrophysicist) and Ying (Chinese domiciled in USA).

The Indian trio has never even so much as walked at length in a city park whereas the others are seasoned trekkers; Katy and Ying in British Columbia, Sperello in Italian Alps besides biking on the Silk Route and Jeff in New Zeeland mountains. Sperello has impeccable manners (...in Italy, we know to wait till everyone is served) while Jeff is unmindful of his speech (...we just dont give a shit...) but a sensitive vain to Jeffs character emerges when on the Kailash Parikrama whereas ...where the deceased are remembered, Jeff made a small shrine for his dead cat. Each of the foursome wields state-of-the-art digital cameras.

The first leg of the venture is five days trekking from the airport at Simikot, along the Karnali Ganga at altitudes rising from 6,000 to 12,000 through mountainscapes, dotted with tinny villages, each day ending at a picturesque setting. On the first day itself, the foursome set the pace and Kavi attempts following at their heels but not for long. In less than an hour, she lags far behind, flops down upon a boulder in self-deprecating dark mood till Pallu and Prarthana cheer her up. In the process, the charms of the countryside on offer are lost to them, on a daily basis. But each days despondency vanishes during the campfire camaraderie, scrumptious meals and ample tent-comforts.

Their convivial spirits are jolted at the Nepal-Tibet check post. The tour guide had warned them to discard images of the Dalai Lama if any among their belongings but that hardly prepared them for the shock when the PLA soldiers pulled out their kit and held up for open scrutiny even the intimate under garments of the ladies. Ying who had had her education on mainland China confessed that this insensitivity of the PRC was repugnant and new to her. But their spirits soar high shortly after sighting the snowed over pyramid of Kailas and subsequent three days around the shores of Rakshas Tal and Manasarovar. The sunset on Lake Manasarovar tears the sky apart in rose and orange and red. But what a pity that none of them captured that magic moment on camera!

Yes, a prominent attraction of the book lies in over sixty, colour photographs mostly by Ying, Sperello and Jeff. If Kavi gets to read this text, the birds on the lake are the Great Crested Grebe, the Deer are Tibetan Gazelle and what she spotted by night were more likely Pikas then rabbits.

When they all rejoined for the last night at Manasarovar, Jeff has every one laughing aloud with his account; At the tunnel of rebirth, if you are able to crawl through the tinny passage, it is said that you will be reborn to your current set of parents in your next life. Jeff had crawled out and said aloud, Sorry Mum and Dad, youre stuck with me again.

Under the full moon it was a magnificent end of the pilgrimage; wet pebbles near the lake glow like pearls in moonlight....and the moons glow seems more luminous than the suns dazzle.
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Roopinder Singh

The live streaming, on Facebook, of the terrorist killings in Christchurch, New Zealand, sparked off widespread revulsion, and criticism of the social media platform. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arderns response to the tragedy has won her many admirers worldwide. She promised to, and within a week, banned the kind of assault rifles used in the attack. Her empathy with the victims stood out for its genuineness and, unfortunately, a rarity in this time and age.

Now some firms in New Zealand are removing their advertisements from Facebook. The PM wants answers from Facebook regarding how such a video was allowed to be shared and asserts that the responsibility for the removal of videos from the scene ultimately rests with social media platforms. For the record, YouTube, too, struggled to remove the shooting video.

The Association of New Zealand Advertisers (ANZA) and the Commercial Communications Councils joint statement is telling: The events in Christchurch raise the question if the site owners can target consumers with advertising in microseconds, why cant the same technology be applied to prevent this kind of content being streamed live?

It is highly unlikely that the answer to such a question will come from Facebook. Zucked, however, provides it: The goal of growth hacking (the companys mantra)... is to generate more revenue and profits, and at Facebook, those metrics blocked out all other considerations. In the world of growth hacking, users are a metric, not people. It is unlikely that civic responsibility ever came up in Facebooks internal conversations about growth hacking.

The book by one of the earliest Facebook admirers and investors, who has now turned into a critic, is timely. It lays bare the culture and much of the inner working of the social media behemoth. Google and Twitter also make guest appearances, in this book that scares the reader.

Zucked comes at a time when the social media giants callous disregard for the privacy of its users data as revealed by the Cambridge Analytica scandal became just one of a series of consequences of bad decisions taken by the management, which means Zuckerburg. The growing unease about the manipulation of Americans in the presidential election by Russian players, as well as Facebooks role in the Brexit referendum showed its capability in subverting democratic institutions. The Rohingyas of Myanmar were targeted using Facebook, as were the ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka, where the platform was banned for some time.

India has the largest number of Facebook users in the world, more than three-fourth are men. Social media criticism, however, has been concentrated more on WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, which has often been used to spread dissent and feed mobocracy. Many times administrators have chosen to shut down access to the Internet in times of social disorder.

Facebook has managed to connect 2.2 billion people and drive them apart at the same time, says the author. Indeed it has, and for the most part, managed to get away with apologies rather than being forced to reform its ways. It has managed to escaped largely unscathed from the scrutiny by the US Congress. Indeed, it moved its data centres from Ireland to escape the European Unions scrutiny and strict interpretation of consumer-centric privacy laws. The only pressure that has had an effect is that of the advertisers. Well, that too is happening. After the Christchurch massacre, ANZA and the Comms Council challenged Facebook and other platform owners to immediately take steps to effectively moderate hate content before another tragedy can be streamed online. New Zealands Lotto pulled its advertisements from Facebook, and others were considering it. AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes quit the platform citing Christchurch as the last straw that broke the camels back. The backlash may be small, but Facebook, of all entities, should realise that it can snowball very quickly indeed.

Will the social media giant learn? History suggests that it will merely weather it out, as it has done with other such crisis. After all, if anyone knows the inflexion points of the fleeting nature of human engagement and the art of manipulating it, it is Facebook. As we go to print, it has been reported that user passwords were visible to Facebook employees. This is a massive breach of trust, and history has many ruins of massive companies who took consumers for granted, till it was too late.
Saba Naqvi

Saba Naqvi

IF Narendra Modi had decided to float on a river for three days in the midst of an election (as Priyanka Gandhi did), he would have ensured a few things. First, the journey would have been shot from perfect camera angles including moving cranes, designed to make him look majestic. A top-notch high-definition video package would have been made, and the crowds would have been made to look larger through a particular camera lens. The package would then have been offered free to TV channels by the BJP.

Yes, thats what was done between 2013 and 2014, when the then Gujarat chief minister began his ambitious journey to move to the Centre. True, the BJP ran the most expensive advertising campaign in Indias history, but the coverage of Modis speeches and events was done for free. This happened partly because he is an interesting public figure, love him or hate him. In 2014, as a PM candidate, he had particular things to say at different venues that were in sync with news cycles.

He also got enormous coverage because TV channels are starved for content, try to keep costs down on news-gathering (debates are cheaper), and the Modi team was offering well-packaged content. The channels did not have to send their own crews; they often just carried the news feed offered by the BJP.

Power of packaging

From the time he was the chief minister, Modi understood the importance of telling a story and creating an event to get peoples attention. The importance of packaging was visible from 2007 onwards when Modi hired international lobbyists to market the Vibrant Gujarat summit. At those events, big businessmen were showcased as paying homage to the chief minister for his economic genius. He built his brand even while staying away from engagement with the free press. The captains of industry attended and foreign countries slowly began to send their delegations.

When the national campaign began for 2014, a few changes were made to the manner in which the PM candidate would be filmed in a very presidential campaign. Team Modi invested in hiring the best camera equipment, and cranes were deployed with mobile cameras atop that would swing across the stage capturing Modi from each carefully choreographed angle. In the traditional Indian maidans and grounds, crowds scatter across the field. The BJP took care to put up wooden fences and keep the crowd in a narrower and longer space so that when the camera swung across, the crowd looked compact and thereby larger.

Eye for detail

Other details, too, were given careful attention. For instance, the symbol of the party till 2014 was a saffron lotus flower. In the 2014 campaign, due to inputs from one of his NRI Gujarati campaign managers, London-based solicitor Manoj Ladwa, then a member of the Labour Party, this underwent a small change. Ladwa advised changing the lotus colour to black and white, so that it appeared the same as voters would see it on their EVMs when they press the button next to the symbol. Without much fanfare, this change was quietly made in February 2014 and Modi would appear with the white lotus pinned on his chest.

The final choreography of the 2019 campaign is unfolding. Its visibly huge, is built around Modi and will be even more expensive than 2014. But the opposition would do well to understand that there is intelligence at work besides big bucks. Beyond the optics and presentation, Modi made political mistakes as PM but he has quickly self-corrected. In the first year of his reign, the Land Acquisition Bill created a storm, giving the impression that his regime was of big corporates and suit-boot people. Modi saw that, the bill was quietly buried and the PM auctioned off that infamous suit on which his name was written. He began to project his economic policies as being for the poor. Those who believed he would end populist economics were disappointed, but Modi understood what was politically smarter thing to do.

The other big mistake was allowing NDA allies to drift away as they felt slighted in the virtually single-party rule. But how well the Modi-led BJP has self-corrected on that front too, wooing back regional parties in the last lap leading to the 2019 polls by giving them more seats than they actually deserve. There is, therefore, a Plan A and a Plan B in the Modi-led BJP. Every shot is carefully framed and if it comes off badly, another narrative is created and the script changed.

At a time when the Opposition is struggling to come up with a coherent narrative against Modi, they should at the very least, understand the phenomena and the playbook.
A woman displays a banner with a photo of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, right, promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula, in Seoul, March 19. AP-Yonhap



Cheong Wa Dae denies sending invitation to Trump



By Kim Yoo-chul



Washington appears to want to continue "denuclearization talks" with North Korea with U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirming his good relationship with its leader Kim Jong-un despite calls from aides to impose additional sanctions on the North.



"It was announced today by the U.S. Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea. I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!," Trump wrote on Twitter, Saturday (KST).



His remarks didn't reverse any existing economic pressure but rather referred to new potential sanctions that had not been made public, and as of last week, would not be going forward. The Treasury Department earlier said it was applying new sanctions against two unnamed Chinese shipping companies among others.



Cheong Wa Dae said Sunday that "the true intention of the tweet" was unknown, however, a presidential official unofficially welcomed it in terms of understanding Trump's willingness to "make a deal" with Kim.



The U.S. President's remarks came after Washington sent mixed signals to North Korea over whether it would tighten or ease sanctions on the regime. At the Hanoi summit between Trump and Kim, the U.S. had demanded the North present specifics on how and when it would dismantle its nuclear program, verifiably and fully  which ultimately led to its failure.









After this, Pyongyang strongly hinted at scrapping the nuclear talks and asked Seoul to distance itself from Washington and to move forward with joint inter-Korean business projects, put on hold by the U.S. and United Nations sanctions. North Korea also withdrew its officials from the North-South liaison office in Gaeseong.





\US National Security Advisor John Bolton speaks to the media as he walks to the White House in Washington, D.C., March, 19. EPA-Yonhap
Renu Khajuria

Renu Khajuria

New Zealand is as racist as Australia, made so evident by the Christchurch mosque shooting that claimed the lives of over 50 persons. Racism can be experienced at workplaces, schools and elitist clubs. Many here are calling it a terror attack when its a racist attack, said a student from the Auckland University of Technology. In terror attacks, no single religion is targeted. When a bomb explodes in a public place, it takes away everyone irrespective of their religion. This attack happened inside a mosque, specifically targeting one religion.

We have the same skin colour, be it an Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Fijian, Syrian, Afgani, etc. Everyone is on the radar. This time Muslims were targeted, maybe next time its the Sikhs. I am totally terrified, she said.

A banker sounded equally upset. The biggest hurdle in fighting racism is the reluctance to admit that it exists. Accept it, register such cases. Changing gun laws will be of no use if the police keep functioning the same way, he said.

Nevertheless, immigrants are quite happy with the response and conduct of New Zealands Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern following the terror attack. The response from the Prime Minister was really appreciable. All her speeches assured that New Zealand is home to immigrants, too, and violence towards them will not be tolerated, said Kawaljeet Singh Pannu, a former DSP with the Chandigarh Police.

Shades of discrimination

The Prime Minister, however, needs to go the extra mile if she wants to address racism, which is prevalent at workplaces, schools and elitist clubs. For instance, on my first day at work, my husband insisted I carry a salad sandwich instead of roti and sabzi for lunch. Why? Because, he said, the Kiwis dont like Indian food and there was no point in eating alone on the very first day in office. Luckily, there are Indian-Fijians at my workplace who eat the same food as us.

Khushi, a 10-year-old living next door with her parents, wasnt that lucky. Her mother said that initially only the Indian-origin kids spoke to her at school. Gradually, they figured out that it was because of the food she took to school. Now, the mother said, she wants to eat what others kids at her school eat  chicken nuggets, salad, sandwiches and fruits.

Just like your food habits, even your name could keep you from fitting in. If you have Kaur or Singh as your second name, you get rejected. Its better to apply for jobs using some other name so that you at least qualify for the interview, said a woman who works as an accountant. She shared her resume was rejected by about 180 firms before she landed a job. Interestingly, she was born and brought up in New Zealand. Yet, she had to face rejection. She feels its just a community thing, the locals dont want immigrants to get good jobs.

Darkest day

The country continues to be in a state of disbelief following the ghastly terror attack. The Prime Minister, within 24 hours of the attack, said the gun laws would change and less than a week later these were. New Zealand has relatively a high level of gun ownership. It has more than 1.2 million civilian-owned firearms  thats about one gun for every four people, according to Small Arms Survey that provides estimates for gun ownership around the world. According to the new law, all military-style semiautomatic and assault rifles will be banned. Many immigrants, however, feel its not enough to curb the menace of racism. The police, they say, need to be more sensitive and prompt in handling complaints of racism.

Local MP Kanwaljit on racism

Have you ever received any complaint from Indian community about racism?

My office at times has received some complaints. Overall, I can say with confidence that in case anyone experiences racism, New Zealand has avenues such as the Human Rights Commission to address it.

Indians face racism at workplace. Indian nationals dont get the jobs they deserve because of their accent or overqualification. Your views...

I am sure any place has its challenges as well as opportunities. Indians and the people of Indian origin in New Zealand have achieved a lot in all spheres, starting from being the governor general, judges, police and armed forces personnel, parliamentarians, professionals such as charted accountants, lawyers, doctors as well as cyber security and IT experts, university professors and researchers.
Pratibha Chauhan in Shimla

Pratibha Chauhan in Shimla

There could finally be a stop to the diversion of vast tracts of forest land and indiscriminate felling of trees under the garb of development activities and creating the necessary infrastructure, which has visibly resulted in denudation of the hills.

With a raging debate between those echoing environmental concerns and the common man who is asserting his right to have access to facilities, the March 11, 2019 Supreme Court order, restraining diversion of forest land for any other purpose, is bound to have far-reaching implications for the hill economy. The order has even put on hold all approved projects like construction of road, schools, dispensaries or electricity transmission line on forest land, where the felling of trees is yet to be done. The order has virtually sent the government into a tizzy; it could face public wrath on account of putting on hold all approved projects.

Even though the final order will be given on April 1, 2019, undoubtedly, the SC order will go a long way in protecting the valuable forest wealth of the state and, most importantly, shielding it from the mafia, which very often enjoys the political patronage, be it any regime. Despite stringent laws, there have been several cases of illegal felling of trees  be it in the vicinity of urban areas like Shimla and Dharamsala or interior parts like Bharmour in Chamba, Seraj in Mandi or Chopal in Shimla. There have been some glaring incidents where 455 trees were axed in Tara Devi, on the outskirts of the state capital, almost 500 in Koti forest in Shimla and many more in Mcleodganj.

The aspect of independent power producers executing hydel projects, felling hundreds of trees, far more than allowed to be axed, is another reason for the courts concern. The expert committee appointed by the apex court has brought to light all these facts after conducting field visits.

Blanket ban

The Supreme Court in its interim order of March 11, 2013 has clearly remarked that authorities must ensure that destruction of the valuable and precious forests of Himachal Pradesh does not take place in any manner. To make this happen, the apex court put a blanket ban on diversion of forest lands for any non-forestry activity under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) and Forest Conservation Act (FCA) till next date of hearing, which falls on April 1.

It was the Himachal Pradesh Government which had moved court seeking permission for selective felling to enable regeneration and removal of diseased and decaying trees. It is in pursuance of this plea that experimental silviculture is being undertaken in three forest divisions of the state.

Amid reports of illegal felling being undertaken by both government agencies as well as individuals on the pretext of development , the court also put on hold the felling of trees where permission has been granted by the Divisional Forest Officers (DFO) but felling is yet to take place. The DFOs have also been restrained from exercising their powers of allowing diversion of up to one hectare of forest land for other purposes, with a maximum of 75 tree felling under Section 3(2) of FRA, 2006 till next date.

The other view

There is, however, a counter view to the issue, which is reflected in the opinion of the elected representatives, who term the FCA 1980 as the biggest hurdle to development. Roads are the lifeline in a hill state with very limited rail and air connectivity. The FCA results in unnecessary hindrances, delays and objections, thereby depriving the general public of the benefits of development, is the refrain of all MLAs cutting across party lines in the Vidhan Sabha, during every session.

The citizens of Himachal have a right to have access to facilities like roads, hospital, school, irrigation schemes like any other citizen of India. Why should we be penalised by such restrictions when we are not even being compensated for protecting forests, benefits of which are being shared by other states as well, says ID Bali, senior lawyer in the High Court.

It is due to the cumbersome and time consuming procedures for getting permission from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest for diverting forest land for creating infrastructure that very often irate villagers use a JCB to pull down the trees in the dark of night so that they are not deprived of road facility or a school.

The SC order has added to the worries of the government as already several development projects were on the hold for the want of FCA clearances.

Factual position

A notification under Section 29 of the Indian Forest Act, 1927, in 1952 placed even wastelands under protected forest category, thereby necessitating the need for seeking prior nod before diverting such land for any other purpose. Statistics with the HP Forest Department indicate that in Himachal Pradesh, 66.5 per cent of the total geographical area is forest land. About 40 per cent of this area has tree cover which comprises 26.30 per cent of the geographical area. About 16.2 per cent (5,989 sq km) of the forest area falls within the definition of wastelands.

Even officials rue the fact that with enactment of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, the diversion of even such wastelands for developmental purpose requires the approval of the Centre. Resultantly, the developmental activities like construction of roads, hydel project, railway line or irrigation projects on such wastelands get adversely affected and suffer huge cost and time overruns. It is to address such concerns that the Ministry of Environment and Forest on February 13, 2014, authorised the state government to divert not more than one hectare forest land for critical development and security related infrastructure in 13 categories. One cannot deny that very often there is misuse of powers and far more number of trees is axed than permissible under the law.

Forest encroachments

The maximum number of forest encroachments has been found to be in the apple growing belt of Jubbal, Rohru, Kotkhai and Chopal in Shimla district where deodar forests were felled to set up orchards. There were 13 cases where 50 to almost 200 bighas had been encroached upon individually by villagers to plant apple trees.

Almost 11,200 cases of forest encroachments have been detected in Himachal Pradesh over 2,148 hectares (26,500 bighas). Eviction has been undertaken on the High Court directives in almost 800 cases, where 6,500 bighas of forest land has been evicted. A special investigation team (SIT) has been constituted which is handling the entire issue of removal of forest encroachments.
laxmi@tribune.com

On the back of its allies, BJP in drivers seat

Vibha Sharma in New Delhi

The 2019 battle is expected to be a tough fight for the Bharatiya Janata Party, tougher than 2014. As a Prime Minister, Narendra Modi was an untested entity then, now he is not. This is both strength as well as weakness of the saffron party, seeking second consecutive term at the Centre. Its not going to be an easy ride for the BJP but with its trademark strategy, a killer instinct, a sizable cache of allies, a nationalist narrative and its ideological fountainhead RSS firmly by its side, the party seems to be in a good place, especially after the Pulwama terror attack and the following Balakot air strikes. The arrest of the absconding Nirav Modi in the UK is another ace up its sleeve.

Strangely, the Congress has chosen to ignore BJPs controversial decisions  demonetisation, for instance  and has persisted in labelling Modi a chor. The Congress narrative on joblessness also doesnt seem to be making an impact for lack of real solutions. Besides, its chowkidar chor hai jibe has given the BJP a good idea to replace Modis famous chaiwala campaign of 2014. The BJP believes it has a winner in the main bhi chowkidar campaign. The party is also banking on Indias better international position, young voters and their disdain for dynastic politics and sense of entitlement embodied by the Gandhis.

Real issues

The question is, has the BJP managed to convince farmers with the PM-Kisan scheme, middle class with budget sops, upper castes with reservation and youth regarding their future? As much as the BJP may like to deny, its traditional voters are unhappy. To avoid upsetting liberals and fence-sitters, the RSS has asked its affiliate VHP to keep key poll plank Ram Mandir on the back burner. And to avoid upsetting upper castes any further, it has also decided to go slow on its Dalit outreach.

TINA factor

The inability of the Opposition to join hands seems to be the BJPs biggest strength. Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley sees the 2019 contest as the one between a leader in whose hand the country is developing, is secure, and who can be trusted and multiple leaders, each trying to outwit the other. They can only promise a temporary government if we go by the past precedents. One can be certain of chaos. The choice is clear  it is either Modi or chaos, he said. The Oppositions inability to find a common ground despite several attempts, rallies and optics is the biggest propeller of the there-is-no-alternative (TINA) theory.

In 2014, the BJP-led NDA was a conglomerate of around 29 parties; this time it has 41 parties, brought together by the Modi-Shah duo ignoring past insults, ceding space and seats, and putting its traditional issues on the back burner to enhance the NDAs chances. It has given the NDA a psychological edge at a time when Mahagathbandhan is nothing but a dream. It has allies in Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala and Northeast, while the Congress continues to live in a time-wrap, haggling on seats and petty issues.

To win friends, the BJP has not only sacrificed seats and issues but also ignored insults heaped on Modi. It is contesting mere five seats in Tamil Nadu and 17 in Bihar, the state where it won 22 seats on its own in 2014. It is on good terms with YSR Congress chief Jagan Mohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Rashtra Samiti supremo K Chandrasekhar Rao, increasing its post-poll prospects.

The BJP is also taking care not to upset the vote banks of allies and has thus put on hold the controversial poll planks like Article 370, Uniform Civil Code and the Citizenship Amendment Bill, though party leaders say one should wait for the sankalp patra the 2019 manifesto  before jumping to any conclusions. The Hindutva issue is being kept alive through poster boys like Yogi Adityanath, Vinay Katiyar, Keshav Prasad Maurya, but in order to appear inclusive and as non-controversial as possible, the resolution of the Ram Mandir issue has been left to mediation and the court.

Congress shortcomings

The onus of stitching alliances rests on the larger partner, which the Congress has failed to demonstrate. The multiple allies in the NDA camp are helping the BJPs narrative of its wider acceptability and the failure of the Congress to manage a coalition, its lack of pragmatism, and the persistence to behave as the big brother even when it has nothing in hand. Meanwhile, the BJP also hopes to gain from this strange unwillingness within the Congress to acknowledge good work done during the UPA regimes. Its strange that the Congress is choosing not to highlight the feats achieved during the tenure of Manmohan Singh. That would have been a better campaign against the BJP, say observers.

Multi-phased elections

The spread out polls suits the BJP well. The 162 seats in three crucial states  Uttar Pradesh (80), Bihar (40) and West Bengal (42)  will see polling on all seven days and Madhya Pradesh (29), Odisha (21), Maharashtra (48) and Jharkhand (14) on four days. It gives star campaigner Modi to address a rally in one part even while elections are on in the other. It works well for a cadre-based party, and the BJP will have an edge on this count as well.

Road to Opposition unity rutted

Aditi Tandon in New Delhi

It has taken less than a month for the Congress-led oppositions dream of a pan India anti-BJP alliance to turn sour. Only on February 13, the eve of the Pulwama terror attack, opposition stalwarts had announced plans to form a pre-poll coalition against the ruling BJP and said they would draft a common minimum programme to delineate their agenda against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The 17th Lok Sabha elections begin on April 11 but the draft CMP is nowhere to be seen. The plan of a Mahagathbandhan against the BJP in major states has fallen by the wayside, with the BSP and the SP announcing unilateral pacts minus the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand and the Trinamool Congress declaring all 42 candidates in Bengal.

Karnataka and Bihar alliances were also finalised recently following tension over seat-sharing between the Congress and regional players  the RJD in Bihar and the JD(S) in Karnataka. In Delhi, Punjab and Haryana, the potential Congress-AAP understanding is not happening, despite opposition titans like TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and NCP president Sharad Pawar urging the Congress to come around.

UPA-III: Now a post-poll dream

Souring of the opposition alliance began with the 2018 election cycle in Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh where the Congress failed to reach a pre-poll understanding with the BSP and the SP. Chiefs of both parties Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav slammed the Congress for its arrogance and snubbed it in UP by going alone in the LS elections. They left only two Gandhi family seats for the grand old party, riling it into a counter-offensive.

In Delhi and Bengal, too, pre-poll pacts failed with the Congress president Rahul Gandhi citing unwillingness of state units to ally with AAP in Delhi and the TMC in Bengal. Mamata Banerjee, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu and Pawar tried till mid-March to persuade the Congress to give and take but the Congress had by then shifted its stance. This shift in Congress plan started in January after the BSP and SP announced the UP alliance. It became pronounced after the Pulwama terror attack and IAF strikes in Pakistan which bumped BJPs pre-election moods tilting the national narrative towards nationalism  an idea the BJP is aggressively playing now.

This explained the recent Congress moves  the launch of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as general secretary UP east; announcement of UP candidates, including for Badaun, a seat Akhilesh Yadavs cousin Dharmendra Yadav represents in the Lok Sabha; Priyankas meeting with Dalit leader Chandrashekhar Azad of Bhim Army to Mayawatis ire; Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshits snub to AAP alliance and the Bengal Congress statement favouring a pact with the Left over the TMC.

On Congress-led UPA side, currently are 15 parties  the NCP and Swabhimani Paksha (Maharashtra); JD(S) (Karnataka); NC (J&K); DMK (Tamil Nadu); RJD, Loktantrik Janata Dal, Hindustan Awam Party and RLSP (Bihar); JMM, RJD and JVM (Jharkhand), IUML and Kerala Congress (Kerala) and AIUDF in Assam. The Left has not been accommodated in opposition alliances in Bihar or Jharkhand and talks in Bengal are on a shaky ground.

Arrogance or strategy?

Notwithstanding the opposition pressure to give in to dominant regional players, the Congress has made up its mind to ensure that its electoral relevance is not sacrificed at the altar of anti-BJP coalitions. We respect the BSP and SPs decision in UP but we also have an obligation to our people, Congress media head Randeep Surjewala says on the breakdown of UP alliance as the Congress plans to contest majority of the 80 seats there.

Our first priority is to keep the cadre alive and strike a balance between party prospects in 2019 and our future in terms of relevance. Besides, post-poll alliance possibilities are always open, Congress spokesperson and member, AICC publicity committee for LS polls Jaiveer Shergill says. The grand old party appears progressively convinced that the best way forward is to keep afloat for a longer haul rather than commit political suicide for an immediate expediency.

Congress veteran and former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar reasons, Forging of alliances is a critical part of the winning strategy considering the arithmetic of the poll. It is self-evident that the Congress needs to avoid split in the anti-BJP vote. At the same time, it needs to ensure that its political presence in various states does not shrink further. Initial signals from the opposition camp are not happy as Sharad Pawar and Mayawati have both pulled out of the LS fray signalling low confidence. Both have, however, kept the post-poll options open.

The strategy

Congress veterans are working overtime to prevent the BJP from hijacking the nationalistic narrative dominating electorates mindscapes post-Pulwama and IAF strikes in Pakistan.

A Congress Working Committee resolution recently expressed solidarity with the armed forces and accused PM Modi of exploiting national security to deflect attention from his failures on the governance front. The Congress plan is to pull the attention back on the BJPs failures on jobs, agriculture, womens safety, national security and economy.

Accordingly, the March 12 CWC resolution said, The Congress party expresses its strong disappointment that the Prime Minister is cynically exploiting the issue of national security, on which we are all united, to divert attention from his colossal failures, bogus claims and persistent falsehoods.

The other Congress plank against the BJP is corruption, with the party determined to hammer Rahul Gandhis chowkidar chor hai line despite BJPs massive counters. The PM recently prefixed chowkidar to his Twitter name so did all the ministers. PM even addressed watchmen across the country launching #Mai Bhi Chowkidar Twitter movement which Congress media strategists are challenging with #BJP Ke Sab Chowkidar Chor Hain hashtag.

Some anti-BJP slogans the Congress will use are Pehle lade the goron se; ab ladenge choron se; and Naa jawaanon ki, na kisaanon ki, BJP hai baeimanoon ki.

The golden handshakes

Bihar (40 seats): RJD 20, Congress 9, RLSP and HAM 3 each; RJD to spare one seat for CPI-ML; LJD Leader Sharad Yadav to fight on RJD symbol; no seat left for the CPI.

Maharashtra (48 seats): Congress 24, NCP 20, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana 2 and Bahujan Vikas Agadhi 1 and Independent 1.

Tamil Nadu (39 LS seats) plus Puducherry (one seat): DMK 31, Congress 9.

Jharkhand (14 LS seats): Congress 7, JMM 4 JVM 2, RJD 1.

Karnataka (28 seats): Congress 20, JDS 8.

J&K (6 seats): Congress (2), NC (One), Friendly (2), Ladakh seat to be decided.

Kerala (20 seats): Congress 16, IUML 2; Kerala Congress (M) and RSP one each.

Testing times for regional players
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Aditi Tandon in New Delhi

It has taken less than a month for the Congress-led oppositions dream of a pan India anti-BJP alliance to turn sour. Only on February 13, the eve of the Pulwama terror attack, opposition stalwarts had announced plans to form a pre-poll coalition against the ruling BJP and said they would draft a common minimum programme to delineate their agenda against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The 17th Lok Sabha elections begin on April 11 but the draft CMP is nowhere to be seen. The plan of a Mahagathbandhan against the BJP in major states has fallen by the wayside, with the BSP and the SP announcing unilateral pacts minus the Congress in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand and the Trinamool Congress declaring all 42 candidates in Bengal.

Karnataka and Bihar alliances were also finalised recently following tension over seat-sharing between the Congress and regional players  the RJD in Bihar and the JD(S) in Karnataka. In Delhi, Punjab and Haryana, the potential Congress-AAP understanding is not happening, despite opposition titans like TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and NCP president Sharad Pawar urging the Congress to come around.

UPA-III: Now a post-poll dream

Souring of the opposition alliance began with the 2018 election cycle in Rajasthan, MP and Chhattisgarh where the Congress failed to reach a pre-poll understanding with the BSP and the SP. Chiefs of both parties Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav slammed the Congress for its arrogance and snubbed it in UP by going alone in the LS elections. They left only two Gandhi family seats for the grand old party, riling it into a counter-offensive.

In Delhi and Bengal, too, pre-poll pacts failed with the Congress president Rahul Gandhi citing unwillingness of state units to ally with AAP in Delhi and the TMC in Bengal. Mamata Banerjee, TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu and Pawar tried till mid-March to persuade the Congress to give and take but the Congress had by then shifted its stance. This shift in Congress plan started in January after the BSP and SP announced the UP alliance. It became pronounced after the Pulwama terror attack and IAF strikes in Pakistan which bumped BJPs pre-election moods tilting the national narrative towards nationalism  an idea the BJP is aggressively playing now.

This explained the recent Congress moves  the launch of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as general secretary UP east; announcement of UP candidates, including for Badaun, a seat Akhilesh Yadavs cousin Dharmendra Yadav represents in the Lok Sabha; Priyankas meeting with Dalit leader Chandrashekhar Azad of Bhim Army to Mayawatis ire; Delhi Congress chief Sheila Dikshits snub to AAP alliance and the Bengal Congress statement favouring a pact with the Left over the TMC.

On Congress-led UPA side, currently are 15 parties  the NCP and Swabhimani Paksha (Maharashtra); JD(S) (Karnataka); NC (J&K); DMK (Tamil Nadu); RJD, Loktantrik Janata Dal, Hindustan Awam Party and RLSP (Bihar); JMM, RJD and JVM (Jharkhand), IUML and Kerala Congress (Kerala) and AIUDF in Assam. The Left has not been accommodated in opposition alliances in Bihar or Jharkhand and talks in Bengal are on a shaky ground.

Arrogance or strategy?

Notwithstanding the opposition pressure to give in to dominant regional players, the Congress has made up its mind to ensure that its electoral relevance is not sacrificed at the altar of anti-BJP coalitions. We respect the BSP and SPs decision in UP but we also have an obligation to our people, Congress media head Randeep Surjewala says on the breakdown of UP alliance as the Congress plans to contest majority of the 80 seats there.

Our first priority is to keep the cadre alive and strike a balance between party prospects in 2019 and our future in terms of relevance. Besides, post-poll alliance possibilities are always open, Congress spokesperson and member, AICC publicity committee for LS polls Jaiveer Shergill says. The grand old party appears progressively convinced that the best way forward is to keep afloat for a longer haul rather than commit political suicide for an immediate expediency.

Congress veteran and former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar reasons, Forging of alliances is a critical part of the winning strategy considering the arithmetic of the poll. It is self-evident that the Congress needs to avoid split in the anti-BJP vote. At the same time, it needs to ensure that its political presence in various states does not shrink further. Initial signals from the opposition camp are not happy as Sharad Pawar and Mayawati have both pulled out of the LS fray signalling low confidence. Both have, however, kept the post-poll options open.

The strategy

Congress veterans are working overtime to prevent the BJP from hijacking the nationalistic narrative dominating electorates mindscapes post-Pulwama and IAF strikes in Pakistan.

A Congress Working Committee resolution recently expressed solidarity with the armed forces and accused PM Modi of exploiting national security to deflect attention from his failures on the governance front. The Congress plan is to pull the attention back on the BJPs failures on jobs, agriculture, womens safety, national security and economy.

Accordingly, the March 12 CWC resolution said, The Congress party expresses its strong disappointment that the Prime Minister is cynically exploiting the issue of national security, on which we are all united, to divert attention from his colossal failures, bogus claims and persistent falsehoods.

The other Congress plank against the BJP is corruption, with the party determined to hammer Rahul Gandhis chowkidar chor hai line despite BJPs massive counters. The PM recently prefixed chowkidar to his Twitter name so did all the ministers. PM even addressed watchmen across the country launching #Mai Bhi Chowkidar Twitter movement which Congress media strategists are challenging with #BJP Ke Sab Chowkidar Chor Hain hashtag.

Some anti-BJP slogans the Congress will use are Pehle lade the goron se; ab ladenge choron se; and Naa jawaanon ki, na kisaanon ki, BJP hai baeimanoon ki.

The golden handshakes
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

London, March 23

Hundreds of thousands of people opposed to Britain's withdrawal from the European Union marched through central London on Saturday to demand a new referendum as the deepening Brexit crisis risked sinking Prime Minister Theresa May's premiership.

Marchers set off in central London with banners proclaiming "the best deal is no Brexit" and "we demand a People's Vote" in what organisers said could be the biggest anti-Brexit protest yet.

After three years of tortuous debate, it is still uncertain how, when or even if Brexit will happen as May tries to plot a way out of the gravest political crisis in at least a generation.

May hinted on Friday that she might not bring her twice-defeated EU divorce deal back to parliament next week, leaving her Brexit strategy in meltdown. The Times and The Daily Telegraph reported that pressure was growing on May to resign.

"I would feel differently if this was a well managed process and the government was taking sensible decisions. But it is complete chaos," Gareth Rae (59), who travelled from Bristol to attend the demonstration, told the media.

"The country will be divided whatever happens and it is worse to be divided on a lie."

While the country and its politicians are divided over Brexit, most agree it is the most important strategic decision the United Kingdom has faced since World War II.

Pro-EU protesters gathered for a "Put it to the people march" at Marble Arch on the edge of Hyde Park around midday, before marching past the prime minister's office in Downing Street and finish outside parliament.  Reuters
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Islamabad, March 23

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has welcomed his Indian counterpart Narendra Modis greetings on the eve of its National Day, saying time has come to begin a comprehensive dialogue between the two countries to address and resolve all issues, including the central issue of Kashmir.

Official sources in New Delhi said PM Modi sent a letter to Khan, greeting people of Pakistan on the eve of its National Day and highlighting the importance of a terror-free South Asia.

Modi, in his message, said it was time for the people of the sub-continent to work together for a democratic, peaceful, progressive and prosperous region, in an atmosphere free of terror and violence, they said. Khan, in a tweet, welcomed Modis message and said the time had come to begin a comprehensive dialogue between the two countries to address and resolve all issues, including Kashmir.

I welcome PM Modis message to our people. As we celebrate Pakistan Day, I believe it is time to begin a comprehensive dialogue with India to address & resolve all issues, esp (sic) the central issue of Kashmir, & forge a new relationship based on peace & prosperity for all our people, Khan tweeted on Friday. India has made it clear to Pakistan that cross-border terror attacks and talks cannot go hand in hand.

India last year called off a meeting of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the annual session of the UN General Assembly in New York .  PTI
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Bamako, March 24

Malis government on Sunday announced the sacking of senior military officers and the dissolution of a militia, a day after the massacre of more than 130 Muslims, including women and children.

Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga said new military chiefs would be named, and that the Dan Nan Ambassagou association, composed of Dogon hunters, had been dissolved.

The dissolution of the militia was to send a clear message, Maiga told journalists: The protection of the population will remain the monopoly of the state.

Survivors of Saturdays attack said ethnic Dogon hunters carried out the deadly raid in Ogossagou, a village in central Mali inhabited by the Muslim Fulani community.

Maiga did not name the senior officers sacked, but defence ministry sources told AFP they were the Armed Forces Chief of General Staff MBemba Moussa Keita, and chiefs of the Army and the Air Force.

The prime ministers announcement came hours after an emergency meeting called by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in response to Saturdays massacre, in which at least 134 men, women and children were killed.

The victims were shot or hacked to death with machetes, a security source told AFP.

It was the deadliest attack since the end of the 2013 French-led military intervention that drove back jihadist groups who had taken control of northern Mali.

The massacre took place as a delegation from the United Nations Security Council visited the Sahel region to assess the jihadist threat there.

The Secretary-General is shocked and outraged by reports that at least 134 civilians, including women and children, have been killed, Antonio Guterres spokesman said in a statement, late Saturday.

The UN chief called on the Malian authorities to swiftly investigate it and bring the perpetrators to justice, the statement added.

Guterress spokesman said the UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, provided air support to deter further attacks and assisted with the evacuation of the injured.

Earlier, the UN said the visiting ambassadors from the Security Council countries met on Saturday with Maiga and discussed with him the volatile situation in the centre of the country.

The attack was launched at dawn on Saturday in the village near the border with Burkina Faso, in a district that has been the scene of frequent inter-communal violence.

While local attacks are fuelled by accusations of grazing cattle on Dogon territory and disputes over access to land and water, the area is also troubled by jihadist influence.

In the past four years, jihadist fighters have emerged as a threat in central Mali.

A group led by radical Islamist preacher Amadou Koufa has recruited mainly from the Muslim Fulani community.

Since then, there have been repeated clashes between the nomadic Fulani herders and the Dogon ethnic group.

Last year that violence cost the lives of 500 civilians, according to UN figures.

In January, Dogon hunters were blamed for the killing of 37 people in another Fulani village, Koulogon, in the same region.

The Fulani have repeatedly called for more protection from the authorities.

The government in Bamako has denied their accusations it turns a blind eye toor even encouragesDogon attacks on the Fulani.

Once considered a beacon of democracy and stability in Africa, Mali in recent years has been dogged by a coup, civil war and Islamist terrorism.

Extremists linked to Al-Qaeda took control of the desert north in early 2012, but were largely driven out in a French-led military operation launched in January 2013.

In June 2015, Malis government signed a peace agreement with some armed groups, but the jihadists remain active, and large tracts of the country remain lawless.

Despite the presence of UN peacekeepers, a strong French military contingent and the creation of a five-nation military force in the region, jihadist violence has not abated.  AFP
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Beijing, March 24

Highly choreographed tours to Xinjiang organised by the Chinese government are misleading and propagate false narratives about the troubled region, a US official said, after China announced plans to invite European envoys to visit.

China has been stepping up a push to counter growing criticism in the West and among rights groups about a controversial de-radicalisation programme in heavily Muslim Xinjiang, which borders Central Asia.

Critics say China is operating internment camps for Uighurs and other Muslim peoples who live in Xinjiang, though the government calls them vocational training centres and says it has a genuine need to prevent extremist thinking and violence.

Chinas foreign ministry said late last week it would invite Beijing-based European diplomats to visit soon. Diplomatic sources said the so-far informal invitation had gone specifically to ambassadors and was planned for this week.

A US government official, asked by Reuters if the US ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, had been invited to visit Xinjiang, said there were no meetings or visits to announce.

Highly choreographed and chaperoned government-led tours in Xinjiang have propagated false narratives and obfuscated the realities of Chinas ongoing human rights abuses in the region, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The visit this month would be the first by a large group of Western diplomats to the region since international concern about Xinjiangs security clampdown began intensifying last year. Hundreds have died in unrest in Xinjiang in recent years.

Several groups of diplomats from other countries have already been brought to Xinjiang on tightly scripted trips since late December to visit the facilities.

There have been two visits by groups including European diplomats to Xinjiang this year. One was a small group of EU diplomats, and the other by a group of diplomats from a broader mix of countries, including missions from Greece, Hungary and North African and Southeast Asian states.

A Reuters journalist visited on a government-organised trip in January.

The US official described what was happening in Xinjiang as a highly repressive campaign, and said claims that the facilities were humane job-training centres or boarding schools were not credible.

We will continue to call on China to end these counterproductive policies, free all those who have been arbitrarily detained, and cease efforts to coerce members of its Muslim minority groups residing abroad to return to China to face an uncertain fate.

Chinas Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China has rejected all foreign criticism of its policies in Xinjiang, and says it invites foreigners to visit to help them better understand the region.

Earlier this month, the US State Department said Chinas treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang marked the worst human rights abuses since the 1930s.

The issue of Xinjiang adds another irritant to already strained ties between Washington and Beijing, who are trying to end a bitter trade war and have several other areas of disagreement, including the disputed South China Sea and US support for Chinese-claimed Taiwan.

Late last year, more than a dozen ambassadors from Western countries, including France, Britain, Germany and the EUs top envoy in Beijing, wrote to the government to seek a meeting with Xinjiangs top official, Communist Party chief Chen Quanguo, to discuss their concerns about the rights situation.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has weighed sanctions against senior Chinese officials in Xinjiang, including Chen.

Two diplomatic sources told Reuters on Saturday that government officials had said a meeting with Chen was not being offered to the European ambassadors, and that the trip was not to discuss human rights but to talk about China-Europe cooperation on President Xi Jinpings signature Belt and Road project.

It remains unclear whether they would accept the invitation, though the two sources said it was unlikely.

The European Unions embassy in Beijing has declined to comment on the invitation.

Xi is currently in Europe on a state visit to Italy, Monaco and France. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang goes to Brussels next month for a China-EU summit.

EU leaders said on Friday the bloc must recognise that China is as much a competitor as a partner. Reuters
A group of Japanese far-right activists holds an anti-Korean demonstration in Kyoto, March 9, to commemorate its first rally at an elementary school in the city in 2009. / Yonhap



By Park Ji-won



A group of Japanese far-right activists staged an anti-Korean demonstration in Kyoto, March 9, to commemorate its first rally held at a local Korean school tied to North Korea in the same city in 2009.



They belonged to an ultranationalist group called Zaitokukai which held three demonstrations near the school back then, scaring young students with discriminatory remarks and violence.



Japan enacted an anti-hate speech law in May 2016. Since then, the number of racially-biased protests has decreased and municipal governments also started to pass ordinances banning hate speech.



But such actss against ethnic Koreans living in Japan, or "Zainichis," resurfaces whenever negative North Korea-related issues emerge.



The first generation of these Koreans went to Japan during the latter's colonial occupation of Korea. After Japan's defeat in World War II, Koreans were urged to choose an ideological side between South and North Korea. Many took South Korean or Japanese nationality while 30,181, as of June 2018, still lived in Japan without any official nationality, according to Japan's Justice Ministry data.



These stateless people chose to live as such until the day Korean unification comes. Most, having suffered poverty and discrimination in the past, lean toward North Korea because of support from Pyeongyang to set up schools. These schools are mostly run by the pro-North General Association of Korean Residents, or Chongryon.



The internet has made it easier for extremists to gather. The anti-Korean extremist movement grew after the emergence of Shinzo Abe's conservative administration, and following former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il admitting in 2002 to the abduction of Japanese nationals in the 1970s.





Participants answer questions at a book release event in Seoul, March 16, on anti-Korean demonstrations by Japan's ultranationalists and hate crime issues. From left are Nakamura Il-song, a journalist and author of the book "Korean School Raid in Kyoto"; Jung Mi-young, a translator; and Toyofuku Seiji, an attorney for a Korean school. / Courtesy of Mongdang
GOVERNMENT is continuing negotiations for the sale of the refinery in Pointe-a Pierre, Energy Minister Stuart Young said in Parliament yesterday.

Young said he and Finance Minister Colm Imbert were monitoring the sale of the refinery and there were about four international prospects who were still very interested.
Santa Claus dancing atop a truck to parang soca music and handing out presents to all the children in the village...

Thats the colourful image US-based visual artist Sayada Ramdial drew when asked to recount her favourite Christmas memories growing up in Freeport, Trinidad.
Okay, I am prepared to give the new governor of Tobago one-half an apology for writing last week that he is a fool. Be nice to the young man, nah... he trying to put together an energetic team to first salvage, then turn around the islands economy...




By Jung Min-ho







The Korean government has urged Philippines police to investigate thoroughly the deaths of two Korean men in the Southeast Asian country last week.





According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Saturday, the Korean Embassy in Manila asked local police to investigate the case thoroughly and promptly after a man, surnamed Kim, 38, and his brother, 35, were found dead in front of a hotel in Makati City on March 22.





People near the hotel heard a "loud thud" when the two hit the ground, local media

.





It is unclear whether they committed suicide.





An embassy official said the two entered the country about a month ago and police have so far not found any signs of foul play.


WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced $3,203,500 in federal funding for Upstate New York community development organizations in the national NeighborWorks America network.

Included in the funding is $139,000 for the Troy Rehabilitation & Improvement Program Inc.

NeighborWorks America is a public nonprofit organization that that provides grants and technical assistance to community development organizations that support affordable housing initiatives, neighborhood revitalization projects, small business lending, and more.

Access to affordable housing is essential for the health of our families and the economic strength of our communities, Schumer said.

This funding, from NeighborWorks America, will strengthen neighborhoods, remove blight, and provide safe, quality housing for families across Upstate New York. I will continue to fight for and deliver funds to New York that help provide families and children with safe and affordable housing options, Schumer added.

Every New Yorker deserves to have a safe place to live. These federal funds will support organizations throughout Upstate New York that are working to revitalize and improve their communities and that help provide affordable housing options for families in our state, Gillibrand said.

Access to safe and reliable housing is essential to the health of our communities, and I will always fight to ensure our communities have the resources they need, Gillibrand noted.

NeighborWorks America was established by Congress in 1978 and is a network that includes more than 250 organizations nationwide. This funding will be used to support investments in community development and lending, including: the development of multi-family rental, single-family rental, for-sale housing, pre- and post-development activities; lending to support residential mortgages, down-payment assistance, and commercial small business lending.

NeighborWorks collaborates with a wide range of community stakeholders to support local solutions to community development and affordable housing problems. NeighborWorks grants are often used as a first in or last in source of investment, allowing organizations to leverage the grants for additional funding.

In fiscal year 2018, NeighborWorks America and the NeighborWorks network provided over 457,000 Americans with housing and counseling services.
TROY, N.Y.  The New England, Berkshire & Western Railroad (NEB&W), a renowned model railroad layout that has been meticulously crafted and maintained by the Rensselaer Model Railroad Society over several decades, will soon be moved to a location that will allow the public better access to its miniature re-creations of communities from Troy to the Canadian Border set in 1950.

Beginning in the fall semester, the Model Railroad Society is expected to be fully relocated to a new home in space leased by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at 258 Hoosick St.

This move is uncovering a hidden gem and elevating it to a position of prominence in the community, Dalton Slegel, the president of the Model Railroad Society, said.

We are honoring the historical connections between Rensselaer alumni and railroading heritage, as well as the immense contributions of club members over many decades, Slegel added.

When the Model Railroad Society started in 1947, it was initially housed in the Pittsburgh Building on the Rensselaer campus. In 1972, after multiple moves, it settled in the basement of Davison Hall, a first-year residence building. There, the NEB&W line grew both in size and reputation, filling the space and earning international acclaim within the model railroad community.

Over time, space restrictions, residence hall security, and other characteristics of the clubs location made access nearly impossible for non-members. This summer, Davison Hall will undergo necessary renovations, including removal of asbestos insulation and the removal and replacement of aging water and heating pipes located directly above and around the NEB&W layout.

Rather than risk damage to the railroad, Rensselaer developed a plan for its removal and relocation. In addition to being more publicly accessible, the new space on Hoosick Street will provide the club with additional space to expand the exhibit.

This model railroad both preserves and is an important part of the history of Rensselaer and its connection to the community. Throughout this project planning process, it has been the Institutes intention to protect the model railroad, Claude Rounds, vice president for administration at Rensselaer, said.

I am pleased that we are moving forward to provide the railroad model with a new home where it can grow and be appreciated by more people. I am very grateful to the Model Railroad Society and its leadership, the Rensselaer Student Union, and the other organizations involved in this collaborative group effort, Rounds added.

Rensselaer has chosen VMJR Companies, which specializes in collaborative construction services, to manage the Davison Hall renovation project, including the relocation of the NEB&W layout.

VMJR has retained the services of Adirondack Studios and Clarke Dunham of Dunham Studios, which specializes in model railroads, to develop and execute a plan to safely remove the railroad from the basement of Davison Hall, provide secure temporary storage, and reassemble it at the new location.

Through this transition and beyond it, the club will continue to receive support from the Rensselaer Student Union.

The Union is thrilled to partner with the students of the Model Railroad Society, campus colleagues, alumni, and community members to carry on this great legacy, Charlie Potts, the director of the Union, stated.

Many details relating to how the new venue will function, including when members of the public will be able to visit, are still being worked out and will be announced later in the year.
CHICAGO  I used to have a running conversation with an older, white, male column-writing colleague about how your skin tone impacts your credibility.

He used to stroll over to my desk in the newsroom, practically get on bended knee, and ask for the hand of my immigration issue (BEG ITAL)du jour(END ITAL).

I dont want to poach in your pond, Esther, hed always say.

My response never changed: If I write about immigrant rights, Im a biased activist with unchecked self-interest because of my ethnicity. If you write about it, youre an informed and impartial advocate for an important and growing segment of the community. You practically need to write about this more than I do.

And so it went whenever news broke about a Hispanic worker getting hurt in an unsafe workplace, immigration legislation moving forward or generalized xenophobia rearing its ugly head. It wasnt perfect, but it was a complementary relationship.

These sorts of cross-collaborations are thornier today amid questions of who can speak for whom, and who should shut up and let others have their chance to talk. After all, theres no shortage of black, Hispanic, Native American and Asian experts in their field who have been ignored or simply discounted when pointing out the ways in which the United States has nurtured racism, white supremacy and power imbalances.

But, realistically, when white males make bold claims, people listen. So we can embrace their voices in the hopes of getting people to pay attention to critical issues they might otherwise ignore.

For example, one recent book that can help shed light on a key political moment for all of us is the book How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, by author Jason Stanley. He makes the case for truth as the bedrock of freedom and details how propaganda and rhetoric enflame the move toward fascism.

In an interview earlier this month, he explained to me why, contrary to popular perception on the left, we cant quite use the f-word with our president.

I dont think Trump is ruling as a fascist, Stanley said. But classic fascists like Hitler and Mussolini campaigned against globalists seeking to destroy the nation and reminded us about past greatness that involved eliminating rampant crime and the threat of liberal conspiracies designed to bring leftist immigrants into the country.

It sounds awfully familiar as, simultaneously, far-right nationalism flowers in places like Russia, Hungary, Poland, India, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and the United States.

Stanley, however, marks a clear distinction between fascist tactics that are used as a mechanism to grab power and an explicitly fascist state ruled by a truly authoritarian leader. And he does it while standing apart from other philosophers  and other commentators whose parents fled Europe as refugees  in his acknowledgment of how racism and inequality fuel political divisions.

Where I agree with the lefts critique of Trump is that weve always had this kind of propaganda  in Mein Kampf, Hitler praises the 1924 U.S. immigration act and praises white supremacy, said Stanley, who is a philosophy professor at Yale. But my work differs from that of others because I focus on how the present is not actually a break from the past. Russian propaganda exploits already existing inequalities and exacerbates them with the goal of showing that democracy is fake and that ethnic groups can do nothing more than fight each other.

Stanley told me his book is radically different from other end-of-democracy books because it forces us to look at race relations and look at persistent achievement and wage gaps between blacks and whites and see that our present is a continuity of our past, not a break from it.

My book is based on African-American history, on Hitlers American model, on the impact of mass incarcerations of black people, on the super predator criminal justice theory that laid the groundwork for Trump, Stanley said.

Whether we like it or not, the history of marginalized groups in the United States is a topic few white people seek out on their own. And Stanleys chilling book does a great job of getting to the heart of why truth is the critical prerequisite for both equality and liberty.

If Stanley can help spoon-feed his insights to the very people already invested in seeking justice for everyone impacted by President Trumps misguided, ill-informed and frankly ignorant policy declarations, then so be it.

Maybe Stanleys work can be a jumping-off point for critical discussions about race, ethnicity, male privilege and white privilege that rule the current political moment  especially among the portion of the population that thinks these baked-in power imbalances dont really exist.

Wouldnt such dialogues be a refreshing alternative to simply blaming all of our political polarization and the death of truth and facts on the reliable and supposedly race-blind excuse of white economic anxiety?

Esther Cepedas email address is estherjcepeda@washpost.com, or follow her on Twitter: @estherjcepeda.
Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung makes an announcement on North Korea's decision to pull its staff from the inter-Korean liaison office, Friday. / Yonhap



By Yi Whan-woo



The foreign and unification ministries are under criticism for failing to take initiatives on North Korea policy in line with President Moon Jae-in's vision as "mediator" between the United States and the North.



Critics say the two ministries remain low key and their roles are limited to merely assisting Cheong Wa Dae, which they claim to be controlling many tasks originally belonging to relevant ministries.



They also say the situation is getting worse with Moon's credibility as the U.S.-North Korean intermediary on the line, following the summit collapse between President Donald Trump and leader Kim Jong-un in late February and the North's withdrawal of its staff from the inter-Korean liaison office, last week.



The two Koreas opened a joint liaison office in Gaeseong, North Korea in September 2018 as part of reconciliatory efforts. The North pulled its officials in what was seen as a protest against the summit breakdown in Hanoi, Vietnam.



Cheong Wa Dae abruptly convened an emergency meeting of its National Security Council. However, the presidential office has not announced how it will cope with the crisis.



"Under this administration, there are so many cases in which the work of Cheong Wa Dae and those of ministries overlap. And this of course includes foreign and unification ministries," said Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University. "Such circumstance is hampering the two ministries from taking initiatives in North Korea policy."



Not surprisingly, the Ministry of Unification, which made the announcement over the North's withdrawal, said it finds Pyongyang's measure "regretful." Also, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not announced its responding measures.






Chef Lam Thanh Kim introduced nem cuon (spring rolls) to the journalist and culinary expert Eric Fauguet. (Photo: NDO)



The Vietnamese booth near the booths of Cuba, Chile, and Spain, co-organised by Thanh Binh Jeune Company  a company that specialises in selling imported goods from Vietnam, and Chef Lam Thanh Kim, who was born and raised in France. The booth introduced Vietnamese foods such as Ben Tre fresh coconut, fresh sugarcane juice, Nutifood coffee, and Hanoi beer, to French and international friends.

Chef Lam Thanh Kim said that cooking Vietnamese dishes is his hobby and important passion. I want to introduce Vietnamese cuisine at the "International Cuisine Village" because Vietnamese cuisine is not only famous in France but also around the world. At the event, he introduced specialties of Vietnams three northern, central and southern regions such as bun cha (noodles with grilled pork), nem cuon (spring rolls), goi cuon (rolled shrimp and pork salad), bun bo (beef noodle), my van than (wonton noodles), which are famous Vietnamese foods among the French.

"International Cuisine Village" is taking place at the famous tourist destination in Paris and is an opportunity for French people and international visitors to explore diverse cuisine culture.

According to gastronomic expert Eric Fauguet he is "very knowledgeable" on Vietnamese dishes. For him, Vietnamese cuisine is very rich, fresh, low in fat and delicious.

Under the framework of the "International Gastronomy Village", many activities such as concerts, cooking classes, and performances by famous chefs such as Eric Briffard, Gregory Cohen, Ghislaine Arabian, and Thierry Charrier, were organised./.
Former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-ui. / Yonhap



By Kim Jae-heun



The prosecution is moving toward reopening an investigation into a sex scandal involving former Vice Justice Minister Kim Hak-ui after allegations surfaced that a former administration interfered with the initial probe six years ago.



Prosecutors banned Kim from leaving the country Friday after he was found attempting to leave for Thailand from Incheon International Airport, according to the justice ministry.



The former vice minister retired from public service in March 2013 amid allegations that he was invited to and attended a sex party hosted by building contractor Yoon Jung-cheon at his villa in Wonju, Gangwon Province, in return for business favors.



Citing a police source, local broadcaster KBS reported Saturday that the superintendent at the National Police Agency (NPA) who was in charge of the investigation received a phone call from Cheong Wa Dae in late March 2013 followed a few days later by a visit from an official at Cheong Wa Dae civil affairs office.



At the time, an official investigation had yet to be launched and the NPA had only obtained a video showing a group of men, allegedly including Kim, attending a sex party.






After a short delay, the Cabinet of Ministers extended for another year the contract with Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolyev and launched the search for the heads of the tax and customs agencies, the president issued a decree expanding the sanctions package against the aggressor state, Russia, while the State Statistics Service pleased Ukrainians with the data on economic growth in 2018  these are the main economic news of the outgoing week.

In the outgoing week, there was an unexpected turn in a protracted conflict between the government and the management of the National Joint-Stock Company Naftogaz of Ukraine. After an earlier vow to reject Andriy Kobolyev's bid for reappointment, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman announced his intention to extend his contract for another year. At a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the head of government said that the new contract would lay out no exorbitant bonuses and rewards" for top managers of Naftogaz, while wages would be cut at least in half.

The very next day after the meeting, the corresponding decree was made public on the government portal. In addition to cuts in salaries and bonuses, the Cabinet of Ministers set three basic conditions for the future head of Naftogaz. Management should separate the company from the one set to manage the gas transmission system by January 1, 2020, ensure production of at least 18.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, and also guarantee the transit of natural gas via the Ukrainian GTS after January 1, 2020. At the same time, the prime minister warned that the non-fulfillment of the conditions set could be the basis for the early termination of the powers of the head of the state company.

A number of experts believe that the conditions set forth by the management of Naftogaz are clearly unfeasible. In particular, in order to fulfill the requirement to produce at least 18.2 billion cubic meters of gas, this figure must be increased by 20% over the year. However, in 2018, a subsidiary of Naftogaz, Ukrgazvydobuvannya, was able to increase production by only 1.6%, to 15.5 billion cubic meters.

The cherry on the cake was a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers promulgated on Wednesday, which gave the government the authority to elect and dismiss the head and board members of Naftogaz without a submission of the supervisory board. Thus, Groysman strengthened control over the state-owned company.

It is worth noting that the United States of America has already expressed concern about the possible consequences of the amendments to the Naftogaz Charter.

New restrictions

In the outgoing week, Ukraine updated the package of sanctions against the Russian Federation. The new black list included 294 legal entities and 848 individuals who were involved in the act of aggression against Ukraine in the Kerch Strait and the Azov-Black Sea basin. The restrictive measures became a logical continuation of the EU and U.S. sanctions imposed earlier, as evidence that Ukraine harmonizes its policies with the international community.

The updated sanctions list includes individuals and legal entities that were involved in the construction of the Kerch Strait Bridge or involved in the attack on Ukrainian warships and the holding of Ukrainian POW sailors in captivity.

Organizers of pseudo-elections in the occupied territories, as well as persons who illegally visited Crimea and distributed anti-Ukrainian print were also sanctioned.

In particular, the list includes 11 Russian publishing houses and online bookstores, among which are Knizhniy Mir, Exmo, Veche, Tsentrpoligraf, Yauza, AST, Piter, LitRes, and others. The restrictions included the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK) and its representative office in Kyiv.

Ukraine also extended sanctions against four Ukrainian subsidiaries of Russian state-owned banks - Sberbank, Prominvestbank, VTB Bank and BM 2018 (the legal successor of BM Bank which turned down its banking license). The measures taken prohibit banks from withdrawing capital from Ukraine in favor of affiliated persons and entities.

Heads of customs and tax agencies to be appointed

At its meeting on Wednesday, the government announced contests for the positions of tax and customs chiefs. The heads of the newly created agencies will be elected for five years with the right to reappointment for another term.

According to the conditions promulgated on the governments website, candidates for these positions must have a masters degree and a total experience in the civil service of at least seven years. Their monthly salary will amount to UAH 24,000 without taking into account their allowances and bonuses.

Applications for participation will be accepted until April 5, and the competition will be held by the Commission of the Senior Civil Service Corps on April 16. If everything goes according to plan, Ukraine will complete the process of reorganizing the SFS before the end of this year, thereby fulfilling its commitment to the country's main creditor, the International Monetary Fund.

By the way, according to Finance Minister Oksana Markarova, in May-June, the IMF assessment mission will visit Ukraine for another review of the stand-by program worth $3.9 billion. Only after this visit will it be decided on granting our country the next loan tranche.

Optimistic stats

In the outgoing week, the State Statistics Service pleased Ukrainians with some good news. Thus, the statistics agency reported that in 2018, the Ukrainian economy grew by 3.3%, which is the maximum figure for the last seven years. This indicates that since 2016, the growth of Ukrainian GDP has been gaining momentum.

In general, last year the nominal GDP of Ukraine amounted to UAH 3.599 trillion, which was UAH 84,190 per capita.

Also, the State Statistics Service on Friday announced the results of the industrial output in the second month of 2018. Thus, the decline in industrial production last month in annual terms slowed to 1.8%. Compared with January 2019, the industrial output in February, taking into account the adjustment to the calendar day effect, decreased by 0.6%. The largest decline was recorded in the chemical industry (19.5%), textile production (14.6%), and production of electrical equipment (9.9%).

Pharmaceuticals showed the largest growth (23.1%), computer, electronic and optical products showed a 19.1% rise, while coal and brown coal grew 9%.

But the positive news from the statistics agency did not end there. The State Statistics Service reported an increase in retail trade turnover in Ukraine over the two months of this year by 6.8%.

Next week, the agency will publish employment and unemployment rates, as well as report on the average salary of Ukrainians in February. However, in general, the last week of March promises to be not too full of economic news since all focus will be on the upcoming presidential elections, the first round of which will be held on March 31.

Oleksandra Danko

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Canada extends sanctions against Yanukovych, team

At the same time, Canada lifted restrictions off the deceased younger son of Mr Yanukovych as well as a former top security official Ihor Kalinin.

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Fragments of an explosive device were discovered at the scene, as well as passports of several states and a number of mobile phones.

Police say a Saturday explosion in an apartment block in Kyiv's Holosiyivsky district killed a Russian citizen, who had been wanted by Ukrainian law enforcers for murder.

The incident took place on Nauky Avenue at around 23:00 on March 23.

The police identified the victim: this is a 28-year-old Russian national who was wanted for murder in Ukraine and rented an apartment on Nauky Avenue, said Oleh Voloshyn, head of the Holosiyivsky District Police Unit.

Read alsoKyiv bans touring circuses in bid to protect animal rights

The Informator online outlet claims the person in question is Russian citizen Luan Kingisepp, one of the suspects in the murder of a BlaBlaCar driver

Fragments of an explosive device were discovered at the scene, as well as passports of several states and a number of mobile phones.

Police suggested that the device set off as a result of its careless handling, Voloshyn added.

The investigation is underway.
NATO defense sources have said that the Alliance views Russian aggression against Ukraine in the Black and Azov seas with growing concern and are preparing to deploy more ships to the region.

A French navy warship has been docked in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa since March 23, making it the second NATO ship to visit Ukraine since the beginning of this year.

It is also the third such visit since December 2018, with NATOs three most powerful maritime forces  the US, the UK and France  all having now sent a warship into Ukrainian waters and a Ukrainian port, the Kyiv Post reports.

Observers and experts continue to state that such visits are an important gesture, signaling that the 29-member NATO Alliance is committed to Ukraines coastal security and territorial integrity, as well as freedom of navigation throughout the Black and Azov seas.

The French warship, a mine-hunting reconnaissance vessel named Capricorne, is expected to stay until March 26.

Read alsoNATO calls on Russia to return control of Crimea to Ukraine

Capricorne entered the Black Sea on March 21 and comes at an important time for Ukraine, ten days before the countrys 2019 presidential election, to be held on March 31.

According to an official statement of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the French warship came to Odesa to take part in joint PASSEX training to increase interoperability, work out cooperation within multinational tactical units, mine countermeasures in line with NATO standards and to support bilateral French-Ukrainian cooperation in the naval and maritime security field.
The OLAF emphasizes that there are no investigations underway related to the president of Ukraine.

The European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) has not opened any investigations against President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, the EU Delegation in Ukraine reported.

"OLAF confirms that there are no investigations underway related to the president of Ukraine. In case of receiving any information that may be of interest for the investigation, the OLAF will evaluate it in the context of its usual procedures," the European Pravda wrote referring to the OLAF statement.

Read alsoEuropean Parliament: Russias disinformation campaigns main source of disinformation in Europe

As reported earlier, on Saturday the presidential candidate, the leader of the Batkivshchyna party, Yulia Tymoshenko, claimed that the OLAF and the British Fraud Office had opened corruption-related investigations against the president of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, amid the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine, which includes a vast range of hybrid tools affecting public opinion, Ukrainian authorities sanctioned a number of Russia-based publishing houses and online platforms selling e-books.

The possession and distribution of a manifesto believed to be written by the suspect behind the Christchurch mosque attack is now illegal in New Zealand, officials said.

The Office of Film and Literature Classification announced Saturday that the document is objectionable under the law, according to CNN.

The so-called "manifesto" of a 28-year-old Australian charged with the murders of 50 people, spans more than 80 pages and is filled with anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim screeds.

"There is an important distinction to be made between 'hate speech,' which may be rejected by many right-thinking people, but which is legal to express, and this type of publication, which is deliberately constructed to inspire further murder and terrorism," said New Zealand's Chief Censor David Shanks.

Read alsoAt least 49 killed, 20 seriously wounded in New Zealand mosque shootings  media

"It crosses the line."

The document was posted on social media and was sent to the office of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern just before the shooting began.

On Thursday, Shanks called on the public to delete any copies, as well as online posts or links to the document. People can also report any social media posts, links or websites.

"New Zealanders can all play a part in denying those who exhort hatred, killing and terror," Shanks said. "Do not support the murderous objectives of its author by republishing or distributing it."

Earlier this week, authorities banned footage of the fatal shootings, including edited clips and still images.

As UNIAN reported earlier, amid the ongoing Russian aggression against Ukraine, which includes a vast range of hybrid tools affecting public opinion, Ukrainian authorities sanctioned a number of Russia-based publishing houses and online platforms selling e-books.

Recently, the SBU security service of Ukraine blocked imports of a batch of print material from Russia.

According to the officials, the print belongs to the list of books, whose content is aimed at eliminating Ukraine's independence, promoting violence, inciting ethnic, racial, religious hatred, committing terror attacks, and encroaching on human rights and freedoms.
The State Secretary has repeatedly called for Russia to "end its occupation of Crimea".

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday that President Trump's move on the Golan Heights does not amount to a double standard. He made the remarks when asked about the U.S. stance on the Syrian territory that Israel officially seized in 1981 compared to U.S. policy on Russia regarding its annexation of Crimea.

"You imposed sanctions on Russia for annexing Crimea," Hiba Nasr of Sky News said to Pompeo Saturday at the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, according to the State Department. "Now you are going to recognize the sovereign -- the Israeli sovereignty over these territories. Isn't this a double-standard policy?"

"No, not at all," Pompeo said, CBS News wrote.

"What the president did with the Golan Heights is recognize the reality on the ground and the security situation necessary for the protection of the Israeli state. It's that - it's that simple."

Pompeo has repeatedly called for Russia to "end its occupation of Crimea".

The United States will never recognize Russia's annexation of Crimea, and will continue to insist Ukraine's territorial integrity be restored, Mike Pompeo said back in 2018, according to Sky News.

He denied that Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights violated United Nations Security Council resolutions, saying "the decision the president made will increase the opportunity for there to be stability throughout the region."

President Trump made a surprise announcement on Twitter this week that he would recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

Read alsoIsrael strikes Iranian targets in Syria after missile launch  media (video)

"After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel's Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!" Mr. Trump wrote on Thursday.

Israel's annexation of the area is not recognized internationally. Several countries and the European Union have affirmed that they do not recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights since Mr. Trump's announcement.

The U.S. has strongly condemned Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea in the Ukraine, and issued sanctions against Russia in response.
A flight-tracking website showed that two planes left from a Russian military airport bound for Caracas on Friday, and another flight-tracking site showed that one plane left Caracas on Sunday.

Two Russian air force planes landed in Venezuela's main airport on Saturday carrying a Russian defense official and nearly 100 troops, according to a local journalist, amid strengthening ties between Caracas and Moscow.

A flight-tracking website showed that two planes left from a Russian military airport bound for Caracas on Friday, and another flight-tracking site showed that one plane left Caracas on Sunday, according to a Haaretz report citing Reuters.

The report comes three months after the two nations held military exercises on Venezuelan soil that President Nicolas Maduro called a sign of strengthening relations, but which Washington criticized as Russian encroachment in the region.

Reporter Javier Mayorca wrote on Twitter on Saturday that the first plane carried Vasily Tonkoshkurov, chief of staff of the ground forces, adding that the second was a cargo plane carrying 35 tonnes of material.

An Ilyushin IL-62 passenger jet and an Antonov AN-124 military cargo plane left for Caracas on Friday from Russian military airport Chkalovsky, stopping along the way in Syria, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.

It was not immediately evident why the planes had come to Venezuela.

Venezuela's Information Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

I think this is disembarkment. On the footage of landing An-124 these heavy trucks were empty.



Photo of the #RussianAF Antonov An-124 airplane in #Caracas #Venezuela today, March 23 2019 pic.twitter.com/27LRcJ8NpP  Capt(N) (@Capt_Navy) March 24, 2019

Russia's Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry did not reply to messages seeking a comment. The Kremlin spokesman also did not reply to a request for comment.

In December, two Russian strategic bomber aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons landed Venezuela in a show of support for Maduro's socialist government that infuriated Washington.

Venezuela in February had blocked a convoy carrying humanitarian aid for the crisis-stricken country that was coordinated with the team of opposition leader Juan Guaido, including supplies provided by the United States, from entering via the border with Colombia.
Police investgators leave a plastic surgery clinic in Seoul with a box of seized materials, Sunday, after an eight-hour search amid an allegation that Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin habitually received injections of propofol there. / Yonhap



By Kang Seung-woo



Police searched a plastic surgery clinic, Saturday, as part of an investigation into an allegation that Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin habitually received injections of propofol, an intravenous short-acting anesthetic. Lee is also the oldest daughter of Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Kun-hee.



Investigators from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency carried out an eight-hour search at the Gangnam-based clinic from 6:30 p.m., Saturday, and confiscated Lee's medical records and the clinic's drug control records.



They conducted a digital forensic analysis to restore deleted data, as well.









Later in the day, police announced they had booked the head of the clinic on the charge of violating the Medical Law.



The search came three days after the drug abuse allegation was first reported by a local media outlet, citing a former employee of the clinic.



According to the report by Newstapa, Lee was regularly given propofol at the hospital from January to October 2016 while the witness worked there. The former employee said Lee received the substance in a VIP room at least twice a month.
The document does not exonerate the U.S. president on obstruction of justice.

Special counsel Robert Mueller did not find Donald Trump's campaign or associates conspired with Russia, Attorney General William Barr said Sunday.

Mueller also did not have sufficient evidence to prosecute obstruction of justice, Barr wrote, but he did not exonerate the President, according to CNN.

"The special counsel's investigation did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia in its efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election," the four-page letter sent to Congress states.

Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein made the determination that the evidence was "not sufficient" to support a prosecution of the President for obstruction of justice.

"While this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him," Barr quotes Mueller as saying.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the letter is a "total and complete exoneration" of Trump.

Read alsoWhite House rejects Dem request for documents on Trump-Putin communications

"The Special Counsel did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction," Sanders said. "AG Barr and DAG Rosenstein further determined there was no obstruction. The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States."

Mueller's team has no plans to issue any new indictments.

"The report does not recommend any further indictments, nor did the special counsel obtain any sealed indictments that have yet to be made public," the letter states.

The special counsel's office employed a massive effort through the court system and in interviewing witnesses to reach its findings. In all, Mueller's team interviewed about 500 witnesses and obtained more than 3,500 subpoenas and warrants of various types -- the bulk of which were subpoenas -- and 13 requests to foreign governments for evidence.

Barr and Rosenstein said they could not bring a criminal case with proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump's actions obstructed a specific proceeding.

Barr notes the "absence of such evidence" related to crimes around the Russian election interference weighed on his decision regarding obstruction.

In his letter, Barr says that Mueller's investigation into obstruction of justice found the President's actions were not "done with corrupt intent."

"In cataloguing the President's actions, many of which took place in public view, the report identifies no actions that, in our judgment, constitute obstructive conduct, had a nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding, and were done with corrupt intent, each of which, under the Department's principles of federal prosecution guiding charging decisions, would need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to establish an obstruction-of-justice offense."

Read alsoManafort now faces 7 years in prison, fresh New York charges: AP

The 22-month special counsel probe led to charges against 37 defendants, which included six Trump associates, 26 Russians and three Russian companies. Seven defendants have pleaded guilty, and one, Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, was convicted at trial.

While Mueller's investigation is over, several criminal investigations are still ongoing.

They relate to an alleged Russian conspiracy to blast political propaganda across Americans' social media networks; Manafort's political colleague from Russia, Konstantin Kilimnik; and what Manafort's deputy and a central Trump political player, Rick Gates, knows, according to court records.

Another is a grand jury's pursuit of documents from a company owned by a foreign government. That subpoena for documents began with Mueller last year.

The DC US Attorney's Office will pick up many of the open court cases, including Gates and former Trump adviser Roger Stone. And the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan continues to look into Trump's inauguration and allegations waged by Trump's former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen.
First lady joins exhibition for March 1 movement anniversary: First lady Kim Jung-sook, right, takes a look at a porcelain jar, one of the pieces from the 918-1392 Goryeo Kingdom, during a special exhibition hosted by the Kangsong Art and Culture Foundation at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Friday. The exhibition, titled "A Collection for Korea: Kansong Special Exhibition for Centenary of March 1st Movement," features 14 historical treasures protected by Kansong Chun Hyung-Pil (1906-1962) during Japanese colonial rule. The three-month long exhibition will last until March 31 and markd the 100th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement. / Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in Al Dhafra Region, and Chairman of the Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, made telephone calls to an ERC field team operating in Bangladesh to follow up on the progress of the humanitarian, relief and development projects, being undertaken by the ERC

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 23rd Mar, 2019) H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in Al Dhafra Region, and Chairman of the Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, made telephone calls to an ERC field team operating in Bangladesh to follow up on the progress of the humanitarian, relief and development projects, being undertaken by the ERC.

Sheikh Hamdan spoke with Dr. Mohammed Ateeq Al Falahi, ERC Secretary-General, who briefed him on the ERC response to the humanitarian situation in Bangladesh, especially towards the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Sheikh Hamdan directed the ERC team to assess the urgent needs of the refugees and meet them.

The ERC arrived in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, to inspect and supervise the progress of projects in the vital sectors, being implemented by the UAE relief agency, Dr. Al Falah said that the ERC relief operations for the refugees receive special attention from Sheikh Hamdan within the UAE efforts to support them following the escalation of events in Bangladesh.

He added that the ERC has so far carried out three phases of its relief programme for the refugees in Bangladesh, distributing hundreds of tonnes of food assistance, sheltering, water and sanitation supplies and clothing, in Cox's Bazaar refugee camps.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2019) More than 360 refugees left the Rukban camp, located at the US-controlled zone in Syria, for the area held by the Syrian governmental troops, head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Syrian Reconciliation Maj. Gen. Viktor Kupchishin said on Sunday at a press briefing.

"On March 23, more than 360 refugees left the Rukban camp for the territory controlled by the Syrian government via the Jleb crossing point. They received necessary aid, they are provided with food and accommodation," Kupchishin said.

He pointed out that the Syrian government was guaranteeing security for the internally displaced persons, who are leaving the Rukban camp.

Kupchishin added that on Tuesday the Russian and Syrian Joint Coordination Committees on Repatriation of Syrian Refugees would hold consultations at the Jleb crossing point on the gradual dismantling of the Rukban camp, with representatives of the United States, Jordan and international organizations having been invited to take part in the consultations.
Men with low serum testosterone and symptoms of androgen deficiency may be diagnosed with testosterone deficiency. This condition is associated with metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. The benefits (eg, improvement in sexual function) and risks (eg, prostate cancer and cardiovascular disease) of testosterone therapy are controversial. The American Urological Association and European Association of Urology guidelines on testosterone therapy differ on several points of management, likely reflecting the ambiguities surrounding testosterone therapy in practice. This paper summarizes both guidelines with a focus on the differences between the two sets of guidelines. PATIENT SUMMARY: The benefits and risks of testosterone therapy are controversial, as reflected in the European Association of Urology and American Urological Association guidelines that differ on several points of management.

European urology focus. 2019 Mar 08 [Epub ahead of print]

Mikkel Fode, Andrea Salonia, Suks Minhas, Arthur L Burnett, Alan W Shindel

Department of Urology, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, Herlev, Denmark. Electronic address: ., Division of Experimental Oncology/Unit of Urology, URI, IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; Universita Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy., Imperial College Healthcare, NHS Trust, London, UK., The James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute and Department of Urology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA., Department of Urology, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.

PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30858073
Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC) was previously thought rare, making it an understudied field. Recent studies revealed that ~30% of the advanced prostate cancers (PCs), especially after androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), contain focal NEPC cells. NEPC is highly metastatic and counts for a big proportion of PC death. One important question for understanding NEPC is where these NEPC cells come from. Previous studies suggested that NEPCs might originate from neuroendocrine cells, cancer stem cells, or pre-existing adenocarcinoma cells via trans-differentiation. Recently, Zou et al. demonstrated that NEPC cells could originate from luminal epithelial tumor cells by tracing the Nkx3.1-expressing luminal epithelial tumor cells in a double TP53 and Pten knockout-induced PC mouse model (Cancer Discovery 7, 736-749, 2017). This finding supports the previously proposed trans-differentiation model. Park et al. showed that ablation of p53 and RB1 and overexpression of c-Myc and active AKT1 in the human prostate basal cells (BCs) could induce NEPC cells (Science 362, 91-95, 2018). However, it was unclear whether BCs were directly reprogrammed to NEPC cells, or to adenocarcinoma cells first and then NEPC cells via a trans-differentiation process.In a new study done by Lee et al., p63-CreERT2; Rosa-LoxP-STOP-LoxP-tdRFP; TRAMP mice were generated for tracing the fate of p63-expressing BCs during PC development in TRAMP mice. TRAMP mice are prone to development of both NEPC and adenocarcinoma. After transiently treated with tamoxifen to activate CreERT2 in the p63-expressing BCs, most BCs were labeled with tdRFP expression at 4 weeks of age. By 20 weeks of age, all mice developed extensive NEPC and adenocarcinoma cells with tdRFP expression, indicating that both NEPC and adenocarcinoma cells can originate from the p63-expressing BCs. K8-CreERT2; Rosa-LoxP-STOP-LoxP-tdRFP; TRAMP mice were also generated for tracing the fate of luminal epithelial cells during PC development in TRAMP mice. Tamoxifen treatment resulted in tdRFP expression in more than 50% of the luminal epithelial cells in the prostates of these mice at 4 weeks of age. Interestingly, only tdRFP-expressing adenocarcinoma cells but no tdRFP-expressing NEPC cells were present in the prostates of these mice when examined at 20 weeks of age. Activation of tdGFP expression in cytokeratin 8 (K8)-expressing luminal epithelial tumor cells at later stages in these mice also did not produce any tdRFP-expressing NEPC cells. These results demonstrated that NEPC cells did not originate from K8-expressing luminal epithelial cells or pre-existing adenocarcinoma cells in TRAMP mice. Furthermore, this study also demonstrated that expression of SV40 T/t antigens that inhibit p53, RB and PP2A induced rat prostatic progenitor cell differentiation into NEPC cells in vitro and in vivo, which suggests that NEPC cells can directly originate from epithelial progenitor cells. Together, these findings indicate that NEPC can arise independently from basal progenitor cells without trans-differentiation from the pre-existing adenocarcinoma, and thereby should be diagnosed and treated as early as possible instead of waiting for the completion of endocrine therapy or chemotherapy.Written by:Dong-Kee Lee, Ph.D., Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TexasJianming Xu, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Director, Genetically Engineered Mouse Core, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TexasAbstract Reference:1. Dong-Kee Lee et al. Cell Research. Neuroendocrine prostate carcinoma cells originate from the p63-expressing basal cells but not the pre-existing adenocarcinoma cells in mice (February 2019) DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41422-019-0149-4


By Park Ji-won



My mobile phone rang suddenly one afternoon last week. The call was from a senior member of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) public relations section. I missed the call, but a text message followed.



The message was simple. "I called you to ask the name of the chief of the Seoul Foreign Correspondents' Club (SFCC) and his mobile phone number." The PR person was apparently trying to contact the organization.



The DPK had earlier released a statement blaming a reporter by name over an article she wrote for Bloomberg in September, which appeared under the headline, "South Korea's Moon becomes Kim Jong-un's Top Spokesman at UN."



The country's main opposition Liberty Korea Party's (LKP) floor leader used the story to attack Moon's dovish policy toward North Korea. The DPK criticized the story, directly mentioning the reporter's name. The reporter's name went viral and she received insults from DPK loyalists for insulting President Moon. Later, the ruling party apologized for causing a misunderstanding for foreign correspondents and deleted the personal information.



The SFCC released a statement March 16 expressing its grave concerns about the DPK statement that singled out the Bloomberg reporter for her coverage of Moon, which has resulted in serious threats to her personal safety.



Likewise, the DPK approach to contact me was also in line with what the party did to the reporter; the DPK was ignorant about the media and thus rude and threatening.



First, The Korea Times is not a member of the SFCC because the publication is a local newspaper. The DPK PR official may have known this or simply did not pay attention. Either way, he did not do his homework to find the right person to contact, showing that the DPK apparently does not know the meaning of foreign correspondents.



Second, if an organization wants to apologize or do something with another organization, it should be a group-to-group communication. In that sense, the DPK should have called the SFCC directly, not an individual like me.



Phoning an individual reporter is a dangerous idea because it could be a way to pressure the person to change his or her article, endangering freedom of media. I felt pressured by the call because the caller has the political power to influence the media and reporters, including myself.



A DPK official said the party did not have a system to monitor the publication in English or other languages, showing the party's lack of knowledge about foreign language media. Still, it cannot be an excuse for having contacted an individual.



If the party wants to support Moon's peace drive and influence the international society, it should learn not to target an individual but introduce a system to make an official complaint about a situation.




By Tom Plate





A friend of mine, someone I've known for decades, is a most patriotic American. But unlike what many in China might imagine lurks in America's secret heart, he's not rooting for China to sputter, much less collapse. He's not hoping for economic disaster, Maoist reversion, Japanese invasion or a great jolt backward of any kind.



On the contrary, he hopes China is now well clear of the worst of the past. Excluding nasty Communist Party hacks, militaristic admirals and the like, if the Chinese as a whole deserve anything, they deserve a break.



He is but one American, he believes, of many who know there's more to China than the trade deficit, the South China Sea and intellectual-property scamming that dominate the Western media narrative. The Chinese have brought to the world immense learning, thought-experimenting dialectically long before Hegel started synthesizing his theses.



If the modern world had tried practicing the Mohism of the ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi, who emphasized impartial concern for all, the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 might not have been needed. Western philosophy has much to offer, but isolated, if not alienated, from Eastern philosophy, it is parochial and incomplete.



The Chinese government's extravagant, glitzy Belt and Road Initiative may wind up derailed by political and financing potholes, but it strikes my American friend as exhibiting at least some genuine measure of optimism. At the very least, there must be more than one way of looking at it besides the inevitable Eurocentric assumption of old-fashioned empire-building that the West tends to excel at.



My friend recalls reading that China, not the U.S. or Britain, is the top higher-education choice for English-speaking African students. Most Americans would be shocked to hear this, assuming as they do that their institutions of higher learning are the best in the world.



Maybe this astonishing educational migration is due to programmatic Beijing subsidies as part of a self-serving soft-power push in Africa? Many Americans might suspect a communist brainwashing campaign. However, my friend notes, it is also possible some people might wish to go to China simply because they feel they might have much to learn there.



China's rise has had no small part to play in Asia's ascent. In case anyone's been nodding off for the last decade or three, there's a new book just for them entitled "The Future Is Asian."



My friend points out that Kishore Mahbubani's very first book on the global geopolitical revolution, ironically titled "Can Asians Think?" was published back in 1998. This former Singaporean diplomat was the dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, considered one of the top schools in the field worldwide after just 15 years of its founding. That's the new Asia, and the speed of its rise.



Asia is where the president of the United States deplaned in late February. Donald Trump had a meeting with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi. It's a fitting, telling location. The economy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is booming and that of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is not. This suggests that not all communist governments run their countries into the ground.



Beijing, my friend points out, has been offering a copy of its economic playbook to Pyongyang for years. Today's Vietnam has profited from taking pages from that book to heart, as Kim now must if he wishes to survive. My friend argues that if the Nobel committee still handed out prizes posthumously, it could award Deng Xiaoping something nice for showing how economic innovation is possible even in a rigid polity.



Yes, China's economic "miracle" has underwritten the refurbishing of a once-dilapidated military machine, especially its surging navy and air force. My friend is surprisingly unruffled and makes two points.



First, with its history of being exploited and invaded, its leaders would have to be brain-dead  or perhaps Central Intelligence Agency double-agents  not to devote substantial resources to the defense sector.



Second, if a country's aim is to become a global power, choosing the pacifist route is not exactly a time-honored formula. China deserves no Nobel Peace Prize for its military build-up, but it is anything but senseless. The West will just have to deal with it.



Finally, my friend offers this advice on how to view China to understand it  psychologically, don't park yourself on the outside looking in, try to imagine being on the inside, looking out. That's hard for Americans, who spend much of their time staring at themselves. If China has nothing to teach us but one thing, it is that there is usually more than one way to achieve the same objective.



By now many of you have concluded that my close friend is quite an odd fellow, and some of you may suspect that he might be me. Yes, I have been practicing the dialectic myself  East meets West, in this peculiar methodology.



I can say I try never to lie to myself; my hope is that I am not just talking to myself. Then again, what are good friends for? Peace is hard work; war is for simpler, cruder minds.





Columnist Tom Plate is the distinguished scholar of Asian and Pacific Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. His commentary was distributed by the South China Morning Post.


After the Angelus prayer on Sunday Pope Francis urged for a peaceful solution to the Nicaragua socio-political crisis, and he said he is praying for the many victims of violence in Nigeria and in Mali.

By Linda Bordoni

Pope Francis on Sunday appealed to mediators involved in political talks in Nicaragua to find a peaceful solution to the socio-political crisis enveloping the nation.

Telling the crowds gathered in St. Peters Square for the Angelus prayer, that since 27th February, Nicaragua has been holding important talks to resolve the serious socio-political crisis in which the country finds itself, the Pope said he is praying for the initiative and he encouraged the parties involved to find a peaceful solution as soon as possible for the good of all.

Nigeria and Mali

Pope Francis also asked for prayers for the numerous victims of brutal violence in Nigeria and in Mali.

At least 134 Fulani herders were attacked and killed by gunmen in central Mali on Saturday, while as many killings of members of the Fulani tribe have been reported since February in Nigeria where over ten thousand people have fled their homes and their lands.

The attacks represent the deadliest in recent times in a region reeling from worsening ethnic and jihadist violence.

May the Lord receive the victims, heal the injured, bring consolation to the families and convert cruel hearts he said.

Blessed Mariano Mullerat i Soldevila

Pope Francis also recalled the beatification on Saturday of Mariano Mullerat i Soldevila in Spain, upholding him as a model for Christians.

He said the new blessed was a family father and a physician who cared for the physical and moral suffering of his brothers and sisters, and gave testimony with his life and martyrdom, to the primacy of charity and forgiveness.

May he intercede for us and help us to walk the paths of love and brotherhood, despite our difficulties and tribulations he said.

Day in Memory of Missionary Martyrs

The Pope also recalled the Day in Memory of Missionary Martyrs which is marked on 24 March.

During 2018, he said, many bishops, priests, nuns and lay faithful around the world suffered violence, while forty missionaries were killed: almost twice as many as the previous year.

Pope Francis pointed out that it is a duty of gratitude for the whole Church to keep in mind this contemporary ordeal of brothers and sisters who are persecuted or killed because of their faith in Jesus.

It is also a stimulus, he said, to courageously witness our faith and our hope in He, who on the Cross, defeated hatred and violence forever with his love.




In 1911, a Swedish film crew from Svenska Biografteatern, who were sent around the world to make pictures of well-known places, came to the United States through New York City and captured beautifully clear footage of daily street life in the burgeoning American metropolis along with every mode of transportation available at the time.Opening and closing with shots of the Statue of Liberty, the film also includes New York Harbor; Battery Park and the John Ericsson statue; the elevated railways at Bowery and Worth Streets; Broadway sights like Grace Church and Mark Cross; the Flatiron Building on Fifth Avenue; and Madison Avenue. Produced only three years before the outbreak of World War I, the everyday life of the city recorded herestreet traffic, people going about their businesshas a casual, almost pastoral quality that differs from the modernist perspective of later city-symphony films.(via MoMA






For nearly two years, the nation has been bitterly divided by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's ongoing investigation into the 2016 presidential election and its aftermath.



To President Donald Trump, the Mueller investigation has been the "single greatest witch hunt in American political history"  a "disgrace" and "scandal" that is nothing short of "corrupt," "illegal" and "rigged."



To Trump's opponents, on the other hand, it has been merely justice at work, a necessary effort to determine whether an unfit and undeserving candidate (or those who reported to him) colluded with another country to seize control of the most powerful job in the world.



Now, finally, the work is done, the report is filed, and the U.S. Attorney General has in his hands the most comprehensive study yet of the connection between Russia, the election and the Trump campaign. But this must not be the end of the story.



It is vital that Congress and the public see the full report. The nation deserves to learn what Mueller has concluded not only about possible cooperation by the Trump campaign with Russia but also about possible obstruction of justice by the president. That's crucial whether or not Mueller has decided that Trump violated the law or committed actions that require further action by Congress. The report must not be buried.



Of course, we already know much of what Mueller's team believes happened and, assuming it is true, it tells a shocking story about the fragility of the American election system and the willingness of malign outside forces to subvert our democracy.



Mueller's team has already asserted in court documents that there was an intricate, sophisticated Russian effort to meddle in the 2016 election through deception and disinformation  including the dissemination of fake news and the hacking of emails  to help Trump win the election.



Though "collusion" has not been proved in any of the documents that have as yet become public, the indictments filed so far point to dozens of contacts between the Trump campaign and various Russians and their associates, many of whom had connections to the government.



For example, campaign adviser George Papadopoulos sought repeatedly to arrange a Trump-Putin meeting. Trump lawyer Michael Cohen struggled to broker a Trump Tower deal in Moscow while the campaign was underway.



Campaign chairman Paul Manafort had repeated contacts during the campaign with a Russian associate with ties to that country's intelligence services. Donald Trump Jr. held a meeting at which he was promised damaging information on Hillary Clinton from Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. And the list goes on.



But what does it add up to? What does it mean? Is it collusion or isn't it? Was justice obstructed after the fact? Was Trump in the loop or out of it? This is what Mueller still has to tell us. And even if he has concluded that no further crimes were committed than the ones he's already charged, the details need to be revealed so Congress and the country can figure out what needs to happen next.



For example, suppose that Mueller has concluded that Trump didn't violate laws against obstruction of justice by dismissing former FBI Director James B. Comey or by expressing the hope that Comey could go easy on former national security advisor Michael Flynn (an accusation by Comey that the White House has denied).



Considering the same evidence that Mueller adduced, Congress might come to a different conclusion, or decide to use Mueller's report as a resource in its own investigations. Or voters might conclude, on the basis of that evidence, that they cannot vote for President Trump again in 2020.



Last week, Trump insisted that he would like the report to be released. But the final decision rests with U.S. Attorney General William Barr, who was less than completely reassuring during his Senate confirmation hearings when he was asked whether he do so. Barr noted that the regulations governing Mueller's appointment provided for the special counsel to send the attorney general a confidential report.



But Barr also acknowledged that, under the same regulations, the attorney general makes a follow-up report to Congress that could be made public. Barr promised senators to "provide as much transparency as I can consistent with the law." He repeated that promise in the letter he sent to congressional leaders Friday reporting that Mueller had concluded his investigation. Barr said he would consult with Mueller and Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein about what other information from the report can be released to Congress and the public.



The longer the report remains under wraps, the more that Trump and his allies will be able to advance whatever narrative they please about it. Lately, the spin has been that Mueller somehow vindicated Trump because he has not brought charges against the president or alleged explicitly that the campaign worked with Russian agents. That's ridiculous.



And it's all the more reason Barr must err on the side of transparency, resisting any efforts by the White House to cloak some contents of Mueller's report by invoking national security. Because Mueller's investigation was at least in part a counterintelligence probe, it's possible that some information in his report could compromise sources and methods and should legitimately be withheld. But redactions should be minimal and based on recommendations from professionals in the intelligence community, not on political considerations.



For almost two years, the nation has waited for Mueller to finish his work, while worrying with good reason that Trump might move to dismiss the special counsel or abort or drastically rein in his investigation. While the prosecutors have worked quietly, Trump has repeatedly attacked the Russia investigation  hundreds of times, in speeches, on Twitter and elsewhere.



No doubt some who are insisting that Mueller's conclusions be made public have already made up their minds about Trump's culpability. But you don't have to prejudge Mueller's conclusions to recognize the importance of sharing them with the public. Barr must move quickly to do that.





The above editorial appeared in the Los Angeles Times. It was distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


Chinese President Xi Jinping has found one country in Europe that isn't worried about China's growing global clout or its ambitions to dominate the future of technology: Monaco.



Xi visited the tiny Mediterranean principality Sunday as part of a European tour that is clouded by mixed feelings about how to engage with China and benefit from its trade  while setting limits on its appetite for greater economic and diplomatic influence.



Xi's appearance alongside Monaco's Prince Albert and Princess Charlene marks the first state visit by a Chinese president to the principality. The palace said Monaco is seeking to boost its trade and economic cooperation with China, without providing details on eventual contracts to be signed.



Monaco last year clinched a deal with Chinese tech company Huawei to develop its 5G telecommunications network  a thorny issue for several European countries.



The U.S. government says Huawei's 5G network could give Chinese security services a backdoor to spy on consumers, and has pressed European partners to shun it. Huawei says the fear is unfounded.



Monaco banned all flights in its airspace during Xi's brief visit and any sailing in its waters or mooring in its luxury yacht-filled harbor.



The Chinese leader will dine Sunday with French President Emmanuel Macron in the French Mediterranean resort town of Beaulieu-sur-Mer. A police boat and police divers worked to secure the area before his arrival, and security cordons blocked several roads in Nice, where Xi will stay overnight.



Xi will sign energy and other contracts with Macron on Monday, then meet in Paris on Tuesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.



The European Union is China's biggest trading partner, but many in Europe worry about unfair competition from Chinese companies that benefit from government financial backing.



Xi comes to Monaco and France from Italy, which just endorsed a vast Chinese transport infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative. Macron criticized Italy's move, calling for a concerted European approach to China instead.



"There is this bad European habit to have 28 different policies, with countries competing against each other to attract investment," a top French official said. "We need to speak with a common voice if we want to exist. We have the same approach on the 5G issue: avoiding 28 different decisions."
A cruise ship that broke down in rough seas off the western Norwegian coast with more than 1,300 passengers and crew on board has restarted three of its four engines and will be towed to port, emergency services said Sunday.

Three of the four engines are now working, which means the boat can now make way on its own, emergency services spokesman Per Fjeld said.

The Viking Sky lost power and started drifting midafternoon Saturday about two kilometers (1.2 miles) off More og Romsdal in dangerous waters and high seas, prompting the captain to send out a distress call and trigger a massive airlift operation.

Passengers hoisted off one by one

That sent rescue workers rushing to evacuate the passengers and crew by helicopter, winching them one-by-one to safety as heaving waves tossed the ship from side to side and high winds battered the operation.

The airlift continued into the early morning, Fjeld said. And police said 379 of the 1,373 people on board had been taken off by helicopter.

Police in the western county of Moere og Romsdal said the crew managed to anchor in Hustadvika Bay, between the Norwegian cities of Alesund and Trondheim, so the evacuations could take place.

Rescue teams with helicopters and boats were sent to evacuate the cruise ship under extremely difficult circumstances, including gusts up to 38 knots (43 mph) and waves more than 8 meters (26 feet). The area is known for its rough, frigid waters.

Norwegian public broadcaster NRK said the Viking Skys evacuation was a slow and dangerous process, as passengers needed to be hoisted one-by-one from the cruise ship to the five available helicopters.



I was afraid. Ive never experienced anything so scary, Janet Jacob, among the first group of passengers evacuated to the nearby town of Molde, told NRK.

Police said that 17 people had been taken to hospital, including, NRK said, one 90-year-old-man and his 70-year-old spouse who were severely injured but did not say how that happened.

The majority of the cruise ship passengers were reportedly British and American tourists.

'Just chaos'

Video and photos from people on the ship showed it heaving, with chairs and other furniture dangerously rolling from side to side. Passengers were suited up in orange life vests but the waves broke some ship windows and cold water flowed over the feet of some passengers.



American passenger John Curry told NRK that he was having lunch as the cruise ship started to shake.



It was just chaos. The helicopter ride from the ship to shore I would rather not think about. It wasnt nice, Curry told the broadcaster.

Once the vessel was able to restart the engines, it began making slow headway at 2 to 3 knots (4-5 kilometers) an hour off the dangerous, rocky coast and a tug will help it toward the port of Molde, about 500 kilometers northwest of Oslo, officials said.

Later, reports emerged that a cargo ship with nine crew members was in trouble nearby, and the local Norwegian rescue service diverted two of the five helicopters working on the cruise ship to that rescue.



Authorities told NRK that a strong storm with high waves was preventing rescue workers from using lifeboats or tug boats to take passengers ashore.

Fjeld said rescuers were prioritizing the nine crew members aboard the Hagland Captain cargo ship, but later said they had all been rescued and the helicopters had returned to help the Viking Sky.

The cruise ship was on a 12-day trip that began March 14 in the western Norwegian city of Bergen, according to the cruisemapper.com website.

Agence France Presse contributed to this report.
Efforts to control the Democratic Republic of Congo's Ebola outbreak are hitting a roadblock, says Doctors Without Borders (MSF). The medical charity group says security forces and a climate of community mistrust are hampering efforts to combat the outbreak. Meanwhile the country of Madagascar is struggling to curb a measles outbreak. VOAs Mariama Diallo reports.
In October 2016, Umm Aysha and her three children huddled on the ground outside a bombed-out shopping plaza with a crowd of other women, all wearing the black veils required by Islamic State militants.

They were on the outskirts of Mosul city in Iraq, fleeing a battle as Iraqi, Syrian and coalition forces pummeled IS across the region from neighborhood to neighborhood, city to city and village to village. Our house was bombed, she told VOA, explaining why she fled.

That battle subsided and bit by bit, IS lost the lands they captured over the previous three years. On Saturday, after five years of fighting, the militants lost their last sliver of land, a bombed out camp in Syria. What was once a self-proclaimed Caliphate, occupying vast territories in Iraq and Syria and bent on the destruction, is now once again an elusive insurgency.

But besides broken hearts, homes and families, IS is leaving a new threat in its wake, said Badran Chiya Kurd, an advisor for the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which declared the final victory. Militants are regrouping and hope to continue to attacks in Syria, Iraq and around the world, he said.

Recovery for now-destroyed former IS holdings, including major cities in both Syria and Iraq, will require political will, investment and education, according to Kurd. If cities and towns remain in shambles without services or economies to speak of, extremism will continue to thrive, no matter who is officially in charge, he said.

If we dont get rid of the extremism, IS can come back at any time and destabilize our lands, he added, speaking on the phone from his office in Qameshli, Syria.

Over the last few months, SDF forces battled for Baghuz, the last IS stronghold. Militants fought bitterly as IS supporters poured into camps and prisons, often vowing that IS will rise again.

But even back in 2016, when ISs imminent demise was just becoming apparent in Mosul, Umm Aysha could see members of the group plotting their survival.

There were two militants wearing veils among the women we came with, she whispered. They were wearing makeup and everything.

Unveiled

The next time we saw Umm Aysha was only a few weeks later in November 2016, but we didnt recognize her at first. She had cast off the black full-body and face veil and replaced it with a pink headscarf and a smile.

She was at one of the camps housing displaced families in northern Iraq, and the weeks without bombings had been a relief. The camp was quickly filling up and others were opening across Iraq and Syria. Millions of people would flee their homes as the fighting continued.

Its this one, she said, showing us the tent her family would make a home for the winter, despite the increasingly cold and rainy weather.

She didnt know then, that this tent would become her only home.

Over the course of the next 28 months, IS-held towns and cities fell to Iraqi, Syrian and coalition forces. Thousands of civilians were killed in airstrikes, and the bodies of militants were left strewn across the region.

In the final few months of fighting, many of the most devoted IS fighters finally surrendered after retreating for months or years with the group before their "last stand" in Baghuz.

Syrian camps and prisons are now packed with IS supporters, including thousands of foreigners--fighters, their wives and their children--from countries that are hesitating, and in some cases refusing, to take them back.

Many areas once occupied by IS have been rebuilt, but many have not. Locals whisper that they still fear IS and describe circumstances that lead to the rise of the group that are still present. The region remains unstable, poor and people often feel neglected by authorities.

It was lucky we escaped early, Umm Aysha told VOA in late-February this year as the final battles raged on in Syria. We sat in a small space secluded by tarps and blankest outside her tent, as she held her youngest child. Aysha was born only six months before and has never lived outside a camp. If we had stayed with IS, who knows what my children would be like?

Future adults

Umm Aysha's older three children played in the sun, vying to pose for pictures. They were not in school for different reasons. Marwa is 12, and stays home to help with household chores. Nahida, is 4. I dont have a backpack, she said, explaining why she doesnt go.

Mahmoud, 8, finds some of the children at school to be bullies and his mom fears the ones whose fathers were IS fighters could teach him extremist ideas.

Of course they will grow up with the same ideologies as their fathers, she said. I tell my children not to talk about these things.

At the al-Hol camp in Syria a week later, as IS was in the final throws of battle in Baghuz, children there said they were also not attending school. With about 62,000 new arrivals at the camp since December 4, 2018, the camp is in crisis, short of tents and other far more urgent supplies.

More than 90 percent of the newly-arrived people at al-Hol are women and children, and camp workers say they are nearly all related to IS. Several mothers told us they plan to raise their children to support the next generation of IS, and hope their sons will join the insurgency.

My children are free to be fighters or not, said Umm Mohammed, a mother of five with her black veil fully covering her eyes. But Islamic State was good. Like Umm Aysha, Umm Mohammed does not know when, how or if she will be able to move her children out of the camp.

And across the border in Iraq, Umm Aysha says although she fears IS will soon regroup, that is not the real reason she still lives in a camp, more than two years after she fled her home. She used to live in the suburbs of Mosul, but her neighborhood was destroyed and she doesnt have the money to rebuild.

Where would we go back to? she asked, shrugging.
Mugiyanto remembers very well how the event that nearly cost him his life unfolded in March 1998.

At that time, he was a 25-year-old student at Gajah Mada University and a member of Indonesian Students Solidarity for Democracy (SMID), a student organization that actively campaigned for democracy.

One afternoon, Mugiyanto went home to the apartment he shared with other activists.

We thought the place was safe, but on March 13, I discovered no one was home and our laptop was gone, he told VOA.

Not long after, there were people knocking on his door. He felt he did not have any choice and opened the door.

About 10 people, two of them wearing military uniforms, arrested him.

All I could think about was Im dead, he said.

Under Indonesian President Suhartos 31-year rule, many activists were allegedly kidnapped in an attempt to silence them. Mugiyanto and others who survived believe Prabowo Subianto, Suhartos former son-in-law, who is running in the presidential race against the incumbent Joko Jokowi Widodo, was involved in the kidnappings.

General commander of Indonesian Special Force

Mugiyanto was taken to an undisclosed area blindfolded where he said he was tortured and interrogated for two days.

Every time I didnt give a satisfactory answer they would beat me up, he said.

He managed to get a glimpse of his captors uniforms when his blindfold was removed to take his photo. Thats when he saw the Indonesian Army Special Force logo. Mugiyanto is adamant that Subianto was involved because he was the general commander of the special force in 1998. Along with other survivors and families of missing persons, he publicly declared at a press conference his support for incumbent Jokowi.

But its not just that. There were investigations conducted by different agencies, including the National Commission for Human Rights, the Military Honor Council. ... Third evidence was when the Honor Council decided to terminate him from the military service, he explained.

Amnesty International reported that Subianto was dismissed from the Indonesian military in 1998 for his role in the disappearance of political activists.

Subianto has also been denied visas to visit the United States, telling Reuters in 2012 that the denials were based on allegations he had instigated riots that killed hundreds after Suhartos ouster. He denies wrongdoing.

The spokesperson of Subiantos campaign team, Andre Rosiade, says the issue of past human rights violations is being politicized for the presidential election. Rosiade says there was no proof that Subianto was involved in the kidnapping and he was never put on trial or indicted.

Human rights issue

Hendri Satrio, a political analyst and the founder of public opinion polling agency KedaiKOPI, says the issue of human rights will not put a damper on Subiantos electability. He says the problems that are being considered in the minds of Indonesian voters are the economy and legal issues.

Human rights issue is crucial and we must pay attention to it. But for the majority of Indonesians it is not an indicator whether to vote for a leader or not, he told VOA.

Satrio adds that the issue of past human rights violation should be over since the General Election Commission approved Subiantos candidacy.

The activists and families of victims shouldve raised the issue long before Prabowo became a presidential candidate, he said.

Meanwhile, Miftah N. Sabri from Subiantos campaign team believes this issue was brought up because Jokowis campaign team is not ready to sell the current presidents achievement.

Its like a broken record, they keep bringing it up. It doesnt affect us, Sabri said.

According to the latest survey by the Indonesian Newspaper Kompas, the electability of Prabowo Subianto and his running mate Sandiaga Uno increased by 4.7 percent within six months to 37.4 percent. Jokowi and Maruf Amin, however, saw their electability decreased by 3.4 percent to 49.2 percent.

Past atrocities remain unsolved

Rosiade says those who were affected by the incident in 1998 should confront President Jokowi because he had promised in the 2014 election that he would solve past human rights violations.

They should ask what he has done in four years, he added.

Mugiyanto says for him, the choice is easy: I dont want to vote for someone who has committed a crime and I think Jokowi still has the good intention to solve human rights cases that happened in the past, he said.

But if Prabowo wins, that would delegitimize all the efforts and sacrifice by the pro-democracy movement in Indonesia that finally managed to overthrow the New Order in 1998, Mugiyanto said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump this week in Washington. The meeting comes as Netanyahu's Likud party is lagging in opinion polls ahead of elections next month.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief rival, former chief of staff, Benny Gantz are speaking at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee meeting this week in Washington.

But only Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump and attend a state dinner at the White House.



Trump announced a change in American policy on the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria in 1967 and later annexed. Trump tweeted last week that the United States recognizes Israeli sovereignty over the territory, and later explained in the move in an interview with Fox News Business. He compared it to his decision last year to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.



"I was inundated with calls from the leaders. Mostly the leaders saying, 'Please do not do it'. I did it. It has been done and it is fine. Golan Heights is the same thing ... This is sovereignty. This is security, regional security, so it is not about Netanyahu's re-election. No, I would not know about that," said Trump.

Netanyahu is facing a series of corruption allegations, and the latest opinion polls show the new Blue and White Party headed by Gant edging past Netanyahu's Likud.

The Israeli prime minister has stressed his close relationship with Trump, and he lauded close U.S.-Israel ties in a meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week.



"Our alliance in recent years has never been stronger," he said. "It is an unbreakable bond. It is based on shared values of liberty and democracy and shared interest to fight the enemies of democracy, the enemies of our way of life, the terrorists that prowl our airspace and our countries, and working together we have been able to achieve an enormous amount."



Netanyahu also thanked the United States for walking away from what he called the disastrous Iran nuclear deal.
Larry Cohen, the maverick B-movie director of cult horror films Its Alive and God Told Me To, has died. He was 77.

Cohens friend and spokesman, the actor Shade Rupe, said Cohen passed away Saturday in Los Angeles surrounded by loved ones.

Cohens films were schlocky, low-budget films that developed cult followings, spawned sequels and gained esteem for their genre reflections of contemporary social issues.

His 1974 Its Alive, about a murderous mutant baby, dealt with the treatment of children. Bernard Herrmann, Alfred Hitchcocks frequent composer, supplied the score.

His New York-set 1976 satire God Told Me To depicted a series of shootings and murders carried out in religious fervor. Andy Kaufman played a policeman who goes on a shooting spree during the St. Patricks Day parade. There were also aliens.

In Cohens 1985 film The Stuff, Cohen skewered consumerism with a story inspired by the rise of junk food. Its about a sweet yogurt-like substance thats found oozing out of the ground and is then bottled and marketed like an ice cream alternative without the calories. The stuff turns out to be a parasite that turns consumers of it into zombies.

It wasnt just going to a studio like a factory laborer and making pictures and going home every night, Cohen told the Ringer last year. We were out there in the jungle making these movies, improvising, and having fun, and creating movies from out of thin air without much money.

Youve gotta make the picture your way and no other way, he added, because it cant be made otherwise.

Cohens approach  he would often shoot extreme scenes on New York City streets without permits or alerting people in the area  made him, like Roger Corman, revered among subsequent generations of independent genre-movie filmmakers. A documentary released last year, King Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen, paid tribute to Cohen.

Larry Cohen truly was an independent freewheeling movie legend, the writer-director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Baby Driver) said on Sunday, praising him for so many fun, high-concept genre romps with ideas bigger than the budgets.

The New York-native Cohen began in television, where he wrote episodes for series like The Fugitive, The Defenders and Surfside 6. New York would be the setting for many of Cohens films, including 1982s Q, in which a giant flying lizard nests atop the Chrysler Building.

Cohens 1973 blaxspoitation crime drama Black Caesar, scored by James Brown, was about a Harlem gangster. He and star Fred Williamson reunited the next year for Hell Up in Harlem.

Cohen later directed Bette Davis last film, Wicked Stepmother, in 1989. More recently, he wrote the 2002 Colin Farrell thriller Phone Booth and 2004s Cellular, with Chris Evans.

Cohen was often his own producer, director, writer and sometimes prop-maker and production manager. Otherwise, he told the Village Voice, Id have to sit down with producers, and producers are a real pain in the ass, believe me.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington looking for an electoral advantage from U.S. President Donald Trump's expected formal recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights.



Netanyahu, facing corruption charges and a tough re-election contest April 9, is meeting Monday with Trump at the White House and having dinner there on Tuesday, sandwiched around a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a major U.S. lobbying group for the Jewish state.

Trump said on Twitter last week that he would recognize the Israeli ownership of the Golan Heights, the territory to the northeast of Israel along the Syrian border that was seized by Israel from Syria in the Six-Day War in 1967 and annexed in 1981.



Trump's stance breaks with long-standing U.S. policy and the international community, which considers the Golan Heights as Israeli-occupied, not a sovereign holding.

"President Trump will sign tomorrow in the presence of PM Netanyahu an order recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights," Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on Twitter on Sunday.



Netanyahu is lagging in political surveys ahead of next month's election. His main rival, former military chief Benny Gantz, is speaking at the annual AIPAC convention on Monday, but only Netanyahu will be at the White House dinner on Tuesday.



Trump compared his decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights as similar to that of his decision last year to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, another stance at odds with the international community. Israel claims Jerusalem as its eternal and indivisible capital, but the Palestinians have also staked a claim on Jerusalem as their capital in any eventual creation of a Palestinian state.

Netanyahu, in the run-up to the election, has stressed his friendship with Trump.



"Our alliance in recent years has never been stronger," the Israeli leader said last week as he met in Jerusalem with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. "It is an unbreakable bond. It is based on shared values of liberty and democracy and shared interest to fight the enemies of democracy, the enemies of our way of life, the terrorists that prowl our airspace and our countries, and working together we have been able to achieve an enormous amount."



Trump's Golan Heights announcement came shortly after Pompeo visited the Western Wall, one of Judaism's holiest sites in Palestinian east Jerusalem, with Netanyahu, the first time such a high-ranking U.S. official had visited the site with an Israeli leader.
Thousands of teachers flooded the streets of the Moroccan capital on Sunday to demand better conditions after a nighttime protest dispersed by riot police left dozens wounded.

Teachers on temporary contracts have been on strike since March 3 demanding permanent employment arrangements that would improve their rights and benefits, especially over retirement.

On Saturday night baton-wielding riot police used water cannons to disperse a protest by several thousand young teachers who marched peacefully in central Rabat chanting "freedom, dignity, social justice."

As night fell, demonstrators held aloft candles and used their mobile phones as torches, before setting up a makeshift camp in front of parliament.

Police moved in to break up the gathering after the protestors refused to leave following more than two hours of negotiations, according to an AFP journalist.

Around 60 people were lightly wounded and taken to hospital, according to Othman Zeriouch, one of the organizers of the protest movement.

On Sunday morning several thousand teachers were back on the streets of Rabat, chanting slogans such as "we must safeguard free education" and "teaching is not a commodity."

They also demanded changes to current temporary contracts  saying "the people want [their] abolition"  in the protest which lasted several hours and followed a march to parliament.

Zeriouch said a meeting would be held later Sunday to discuss future action.

Teachers on temporary contracts enjoy the same salaries as their permanent colleagues  5,000 dirhams ($520) a month  but unlike them do not have access to a pension fund and other benefits.
Trust building crucial to reviving denuclearization talks



U.S. and North Korean leaders have been treading a tightrope since the failure of their second summit in Hanoi at the end of last month. Neither of them wants to make any concessions regarding the terms of the North's denuclearization. Nor does anyone want to part ways  at least at the moment.



This is what is happening now between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. It also shows clearly  and painfully  how tricky and tedious it will be to achieve complete denuclearization.



On Friday, Trump canceled his administration's decision to impose new sanctions on the North in a bid to appease Kim, who is befuddled with the America's return to maximum pressure tactics. The decision came just six hours after the North pulled its officials from an inter-Korean liaison office in the border city of Gaeseong, also dealing a setback to President Moon Jae-in's efforts for active engagement with Pyongyang.



The withdrawal was apparently in response to a decision by the U.S. Treasury Department to slap sanctions on two Chinese shipping firms for using deceptive methods to deal with the North in defiance of U.S.-led international sanctions. The expanded sanctions are part of renewed U.S. efforts to pressure Kim to accept its demand for the North to dismantle its nuclear warheads, ICBMs and other weapons of mass destruction before getting sanctions relief.



However, the Kim regime has made it clear that Pyongyang cannot accept such a demand. The North has so far insisted on simultaneous and phased denuclearization to get more rewards for every step it takes toward nuclear disarmament. It has also called for many U.N. sanctions to be lifted in exchange for only dismantling its Yongbyon nuclear complex.



Following the breakdown of the Hanoi summit, there were some signs of the North resuming activities in missile production and at launch sites. On March 15, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui threatened to drop out of the nuclear talks. She clarified that Pyongyang had no intension to give in to Washington's "gangster-like" demands.



It is against this backdrop that the U.S. administration was planning to impose new sanctions on the North. But Trump had to put the plan on hold in the face of a stronger backlash from the Kim regime. Certainly, Washington has sent a signal that it does not want tensions with Pyongyang to escalate further.



In this regard, we think the U.S. move is positive. Imposing unilateral terms of denuclearization and applying maximum pressure alone cannot bring a viable solution to the issue. It would be better for the U.S. to use both sticks and carrots to coax the recalcitrant North into taking the road to peace and prosperity.



What is important is to keep the door open to dialogue. Most of all, Trump and Kim should make more efforts to build trust with each other. Without trust, their once-burgeoning "bromance" will go nowhere. The two leaders had better restart their negotiations as soon as possible.



Both sides need to realize the nuclear talks are far from a chess game. They should not try to checkmate each other. And the North must refrain from taking it out on the South by, for example, pulling its officials from the liaison office. The Kim regime has more to lose than gain from such a reckless act that could jeopardize inter-Korean cooperation and reconciliation.






Special counsel Robert Mueller says neither President Donald Trump, his campaign, nor anyone associated with it conspired with Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, according to a summary by Attorney General William Barr released Sunday.

But on the question of whether Trump tried to obstruct justice by interfering with or trying to derail the Mueller probe, Barr said, "The report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."



Barr released a summary of the long-awaited report on a 22-month-long probe into allegations the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence the election in Trump's favor.

Barr sent his summary to Congress and released it to the public Sunday. Mueller delivered his report to the Department of Justice on Friday.



"The Special Counsel's investigation did not find that he Trump campaign or anyone associated with it coordinated ... with the Russian government in its election interference activities," Barr's summary said.



Barr said this is what the report concluded despite what he says were "multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign."



According to Barr, Mueller did not conclude whether Trump obstructed justice, turning that question over to Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Barr writes that there is not enough evidence to conclude whether Trump committed the crime of obstructing justice. He said this was not based on any belief that a sitting president cannot be indicted.

"To obtain and sustain an obstruction conviction, the government would need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a person acting with corrupt intent engaged in obstructive conduct," Barr wrote.



Despite Barr saying the Mueller report does not totally clear him, Trump tweeted, "No collusion, no obstruction, complete and total exoneration. Keep America Great!"



He later told reporters that the probe was "the most ridiculous thing I ever heard  it's a shame our country had to go through this  it's a shame the president had to go through this before I even got elected -- this was an illegal takedown that failed and hopefully somebody is going to look at the other side."



Numerous court decisions upheld the legality of the Mueller probe.

Barr's summary noted that during the nearly two-year-long investigation, Mueller had 19 lawyers and 40 FBI agents working with him, issued more than 2,800 subpoenas, talked to about 500 witnesses, and carried out nearly 500 search warrants.



The House voted unanimously earlier this month on a measure demanding the full Mueller report be released to the public. Many lawmakers also want to see any evidence Mueller used to reach his conclusions, especially now that Barr wrote the Mueller report "does not exonerate" Trump, even if the president says it does.



"Attorney General Barr's letter raises as many questions as it answers," Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement. "Given Mr. Barr's public record of bias against the special counsel's inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report."

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler says his panel will call Barr to testify in the near future "in light of the very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department following the Special Counsel report, where Mueller did not exonerate the president."



Several Democratic presidential candidates  Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren  also said Sunday that a summary of the Mueller report filtered through the president's "hand-picked attorney general" is unsatisfactory.



But House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, says Barr's letter makes it "abundantly clear, without a shadow of a doubt, there was no collusion" and says the country welcomes the findings.



One of Trump closest congressional allies, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, says Mueller did a "great job" and called Sunday a "good day for the rule of law" and a "bad day for those hoping the Mueller investigation would take President Trump down."



"Now it is time to move on, govern the country, and get ready to combat Russia and other foreign actors ahead of 2020," he wrote Sunday.
On March 14, New York City Muslims were putting their families to bed when details emerged of a mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, about 15,000 kilometers away. A white supremacist had targeted Friday prayer. Fifty were dead, including refugees, women and children; one as young as three.

Brooklyn residents Mohammad Khan and Nazrul Islam were returning from a leadership dinner when they heard.

We stopped our car, we parked, and we were just in tears, Khan said. Me and the imam  we were just devastated.

For months, Khan and Islam, an imam and a Quranic school principal, had been working on the rollout of an all volunteer-led civilian patrol organization, Muslim Community Patrol & Services (MCPS). MCPS is aimed at protecting members of the local community from escalating quality-of-life nuisance crimes, its website says.

Its mission took on added relevance after the attack in New Zealand.

Traumatized members of the community, who had seen video of the attack on social media, sought help from MCPS at local vigils and rallies. The organization responded with trained counselors and chaplains.

WATCH: New York City Muslims Begin Community Safety Patrol

Here for everyone

On a white-and-blue emblazoned Ford Taurus, a seal matching the style and color scheme of the New York Police Department (NYPD) identifies the MCP volunteer unit. Above it, the words Assalamu alaikum are inscribed in Arabic. Peace be upon you.

Patrolling the streets is just one aspect of the groups mission. Its guiding principle is mentorship, said Khan, MCPS director of community affairs. Mentorship can be provided in person or by phone, 24/7, with the aim of bridging the community across religious, ethnic and language divides. New York is one of the most diverse cities in the world.

If an immigrant came to this country from an Arabic-speaking country  and they might be in trouble or they need help  and they see Assalamu alaikum, Islam, 28, explained, theyll definitely know there are Muslim people in that car, so they can come and they can ask us if they need anything.

MCPS 50-plus volunteers are never armed, and they are trained to deal with crises including drug abuse, financial woes, depression and suicide prevention. They are trained in first aid, mental health, chaplaincy and basic security. Every Friday they deliver meals to the homeless in midtown Manhattan. Serving both Muslims and non-Muslims, they speak English, Arabic, Bangla, Urdu, Hindi and some Polish.

Vital to their success, they work in collaboration with NYPD, whose off-duty officers led a recent training in Sunset Park.

Once people see our work, [theyll see that] were here to help, said Mahwish Fathma, MCPS director of operations. Were here to give. Thats all.

Fathma, a 22-year-old Muslim-American of mixed Pakistani and Cambodian heritage, remembers earlier patrols, the 1970s-established Shomrim, a volunteer Hasidic Jewish civilian patrol, and the more recently formed Brooklyn Asian Civilian Observation Patrol (BACOP)  both based in Brooklyn.

I always thought, Why dont Muslims have that? Everyone should have this, Fathma said. Dealing with your own families or your own communities, its different. Its always different.

Lessons from their counterparts

Four avenues across from MCPS makeshift office, a cohort of Mandarin-language volunteers don Brooklyn Asian COP jackets at the groups headquarters, a red-walled basement that contains a bar, gym, ping-pong table and wicker lawn chairs.

Hongmiao Yu, a local pharmacy owner, joined BACOP after a burglary at his business left employees shaken. On days he volunteers, he doesnt return home until after 2 a.m. To avoid waking his young children on the second floor, he sleeps downstairs.

Were all Chinese immigrants, so I wanted to do something for this community, Yu said.

The more civilian patrols we have, the more beneficial it is for the communities, said BACOPs chairman, Louie Liu. As long as we are serious and sincere in our cooperation with local law enforcement, were confident that crimes will go down, [and] our living conditions will improve.

Getting past the language barrier has been essential for the group. Members speak English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Fujianese and Spanish-Chinese, according to Liu. Over the past five years, he says Brooklyns Chinatown, home to more than 200,000 ethnic Chinese residents, has made strides in its relationship with law enforcement as a result of BACOP.

We enable immigrants to express themselves without any fear or concern, and law enforcement has confidence in the role that were playing, Liu said.

Evolving relationship

Heidi Beirich, director of the Southern Poverty Law Centers (SPLC) Intelligence Project, sees the potential for law enforcement to restore trust among immigrant and Muslim communities, which are increasingly the targets of U.S. hate crimes, the majority of which are not reported to the police.

If the cops take hate crime seriously and work with the community, it can show those communities that they care about them, and that they really exist to protect them, Beirich told VOA.

According to FBI statistics, 59.6 percent of hate crime victims in 2017 were targeted because of race, ethnicity or ancestry bias, while an additional 20.6 percent were targeted based on their religion.

Realistically, its impossible to eliminate racism, so there has to be an organization speaking on our behalf, said Tony Jiang, a fish market owner in Sunset Park.

Down the street, MCPS members brush off the accusations and name-calling the group has received on social media: Sharia Patrol, an Islamic invasion on the West, the worst-case scenario of multiculturalism, coupled with slurs and death threats.

Islam, who was born in Bangladesh but moved to East New York when he was 10, recalls the bullying of his Brooklyn childhood. Headed home from mosque as a young boy, he says children would throw eggs at him and others. Once they removed his brothers taqiyah (cap) and beat him up, sending him to the hospital.

Ive seen a lot of hate growing up, and its ugly, Islam said.

The Sunset Park community in Brooklyn he adds, has thrown its weight behind them today: they see us and they know who we are.

Adds Khan, Our actions speak louder than our words.

Yuan Ye of VOA's Mandarin Service contributed to this report.
A majority of Americans favor stricter gun laws, and most believe places of worship and schools have become less safe over the last two decades, according to a new poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The survey was conducted both before and after this months mass shooting at two mosques in New Zealand. It found that 67 percent of Americans support making US gun laws stricter, while 22 percent say they should be left as they are and 10 percent think they should be made less strict.

The New Zealand shooting on March 15 did not appear to have an impact on Americans support for new gun laws; support for tighter gun laws was the same in interview conduct before and after the shooting.

While a majority of Americans have consistently said they support stronger gun laws, proposals have stalled repeatedly in Congress in recent years, a marked contrast to New Zealand and some other countries, such as Australia, that have acted swiftly after a mass shooting. Less than a week after the mosque shootings, New Zealand moved to ban military-style semi-automatic weapons and high-capacity magazines; similarly, after a mass shooting in 1996, Australia enacted sweeping gun bans within two weeks.

The new poll suggests many Americans would support similar measures, but theres a wide gulf between Democrats and Republicans on banning specific types of guns. Overall, 6 in 10 Americans support a ban on AR-15 rifles and similar semiautomatic weapons. Roughly 8 in 10 Democrats, but just about 4 in 10 Republicans, support that policy.

Republicans are also far less likely than Democrats to think that making it harder to buy a gun would prevent mass shootings, 36 percent to 81 percent. Overall, 58 percent of Americans think it would.

Still, some gun restrictions get wide support across party lines. Wide shares of both Democrats and Republicans support a universal background check requirement, along with allowing courts to prevent some people from buying guns if they are considered dangerous to themselves or others, even if they have not committed crimes.

In contrast to New Zealand, the United States has enacted few national restrictions in recent years. In part, thats a reflection of gun rights being enshrined in the U.S. Constitution; in a poll by the Pew Research Center in spring of 2017, 74 percent of gun owners said the right to own guns is essential to their own sense of freedom.

That poll also found that gun owners were far more likely than those who dont own guns to contact public officials about gun policy or donate to organizations that take a stance on the issue.

A divided Congress after last years midterm elections only serves to make any new national gun laws unlikely for the foreseeable future.

Overall support for stricter gun laws is unchanged since an AP-NORC poll conducted one year ago, a month after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people killed. The post-Parkland poll marked an increase in support for stricter gun laws, from 61 percent in October 2017.

But the strength of that support appears to have ebbed. The percentage who say gun laws should be made much stricter, rather than just somewhat stricter, drifted down slightly after reaching a peak in the post-Parkland poll, from 45 percent then to 39 percent now.

The poll showed a wide share of Americans say safety in churches, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship has worsened over the past two decades. Sixty-one percent say religious houses have grown less safe over the last two decades. Slightly more said so after the New Zealand shooting than before, 64 percent to 57 percent.

Nearly 7 in 10 believe elementary and high schools have become less safe than they used to be. And 57 percent say the same about colleges and universities.

Charlene Bates, who works in the library at a high school in Idaho, said she believes a combination of factors has made schools less safe than in the past. Mental illness, parents who arent as engaged in their kids lives, social media and violent video games are among the reasons she cites for gun violence in schools.

There are a lot of kids that youre just unsure about, theyre kind of unstable, said Bates, 46, from Pocatello, about 235 miles east of Boise. There are some students who are quiet, keep to themselves and she wonders if theyre like a bomb waiting to go off. ... I think thats what scares me the most.

While Idaho is one of the safest places in the United States, she sees coverage of mass shootings and violence elsewhere in the United States and around the world. Her schools resource officer conducted some training recently and he said its not if, its when. This is very likely to happen even in our community.

We arent isolated, she said.

When it comes to places of entertainment, the public has mixed views. Nearly half consider concerts to be less safe than they were, and about as many say the same of bars and restaurants. Fewer  roughly a third  say sporting events have gotten less safe.

While many consider public transportation systems to be less safe, about a third of Americans say airports have gotten more safe over 20 years  likely a reflection of the stepped up security since the 9/11 terror attacks.
Thais voted Sunday in an election called a return to democratic rule, but which has been widely criticized as an exercise designed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha to entrench his militarys stranglehold on power.

Counting began immediately after polls closed at 5 p.m.

Exit polls had indicated a strong showing for the Pheu Thai party of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra but initial officials results released Sunday had the military backed Phalang Pracharat party in the lead.

The campaign was marred by allegations of vote buying, however, complaints were few on polling day with election observers from Australia, Canada, the United States and the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations on hand.

Security was tight and opinions were mixed as about 52 million Thais voted. But the long shadow of the military is still having an impact, most of those willing to express an opinion declined to be identified.

Some were positive about the outcomes, particularly among the youth vote. A hotel receptionist said before voting, I have my choice in my mind, its good for me, I like it.

Another said she had faith in a political system guided by the military and Thailand's 20th constitution, written after 13 coups since 1932, We are very confident with the election today, it is going to be democratic and fair to the society.

Others remained angry about the coup in 2014, which ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and installed General Prayut as head of a junta that curtailed civil liberties and banned political opposition.

The coup is a really terrible thing that happened to our country. You can not say what you want or what you think, you can not protest because they will take you to the jail, she said.

Her sentiments were echoed by others who said it was wrong that Prayut and the military could dominate the political system and exert their influence to the point where they are widely expected to remain in control after this election.

To answer whether to bring democracy back to Thailand is good or not; I wont say it's good, one middle-aged businessman said. Everywhere in the world, in every country  even in America  you see how democracy works. Does it work for the country or the privileged few?

Paul Chen, 80, was an exception. He spoke openly and said the elections were a step in the right direction and could provide a much needed boost for the economy, but noted the legal restrictions imposed by the junta.

After today I think everything will be getting better, he said. They have so many good political parties, about two or three, but I can not mention their name, it may be against the law.

Thais have cast votes for the 500-seat House of Representatives, while 250 members in the Senate will be appointed by the armed forces. A joint session of both houses will elect the next prime minister.

A key figure will be the overall popular vote. Pheu Thai, the party of Yingluck and her brother Thaksin  who was also ousted by a coup in 2006  are expected to poll well in the rural north.

Future Forward, led by the young entrepreneur Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, has been effective in attracting the youth vote with promises to end military conscription, and inclusive polices have endeared him to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

The youth vote and the LGBT community number around seven million each. Combined, they share 25 percent of the total vote. But seat distribution and absolute military control of the Senate leaves General Prayuts Phalang Pracharat as the only likely clear winner.

In Thailand today after five years of dictatorship, we see these rising expectations among voters. Social mobilization, political participation, people want change, said Paul Chambers, lecturer and special advisor on international affairs at Naresuan University, Phitsanulok.

You know the last time there was a long period like this of dictatorship between elections, my gosh its maybe 30 years ago. So people really want change. Now the junta leaders are not stupid, theyre certainly trying to corral and control.

During a panel discussion at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand Chambers said, "... you know you cant stay in power militarily forever, you have to change your legitimacy, somehow. And the best way to do that in the world today is to have a so-called democracy.

Election results are not expected to be ratified until late May.
Pope Francis prayed on Sunday for the victims of attacks in Nigeria and Mali, and for the success of talks underway in Nicaragua aimed at solving a yearlong political crisis in the country.



"Let's pray for the numerous victims of the recent inhuman attacks in Nigeria and Mali. May the Lord welcome these victims, heal the wounded, console loved ones and convert cruel hearts," Francis said.



At least 134 people were killed on Saturday in a massacre in Mali, according to the United Nations. In Nigeria, dozens have been killed in Boko Haram attacks this week.



Francis also addressed the crisis in Nicaragua after leading a prayer Sunday to a crowd at St. Peter's Square. Francis, who is from Argentina, described the talks between Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's administration and opposition delegations as "important."



"I accompany the initiative with prayer and encourage the parties to find a peaceful solution for the good of all as soon as possible," the pope said.



The Nicaraguan crisis was triggered last April when cuts to social security benefits led to protests that evolved into calls for Ortega's resignation. Security forces responded with violent repression. Human rights groups say at least 325 people died and hundreds were imprisoned.



The unrest also devastated Nicaragua's economy.
U.S.-backed Syrian fighters cleared explosives in the last area retaken from the Islamic State group on Sunday, a day after declaring military victory over the extremists and the end of their self-styled caliphate.

A spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, who goes by the nom de guerre Mervan The Brave, said Baghuz village where the militants made their final stand is "full of all kinds of explosives." He said SDF forces were clearing the area and have detonated land mines and suicide belts left behind by the militants.

A Syrian driver working with NBC News reporters was killed Saturday by an explosive device that went off in a house used as an SDF command post and a media center for journalists covering the fighting in Baghuz.



Noah Oppenheim, the president of NBC News, said in a statement that network employees escaped unharmed. He expressed "deepest sympathies" to the driver's family and loved ones.



"We are still gathering information from today's events, and are in touch with the driver's family to support them however we can," he said. It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion.



The victory announced in Baghuz on Saturday marks the end of a devastating five-year campaign by an array of forces to retake territories held by IS in Syria and Iraq. At its height, IS controlled a sprawling self-declared caliphate the size of Britain that was home to some 8 million people. The campaign against the group came at a staggering cost, with entire neighborhoods and towns destroyed across a swath of Syria and Iraq.



Unknown numbers of fighters and supporters are believed to have gone underground, and the group has continued to carry out insurgent attacks in areas that were liberated months or even years ago.



It's not known whether the group's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is still alive or where he might be hiding.



"This is an historic moment, but we cannot be complacent," tweeted Maj. Gen. Christopher Ghika, the deputy commander of the U.S.-led coalition against IS.



"Even without territory, Daesh will continue to pose a threat to the people of Iraq and Syria, as well as to the wider world. The coalition must remain firm in its determination to counter Daesh," he said, referring to the extremist group by an Arabic acronym.



Thousands of people, including IS fighters and their family members, left Baghuz in recent weeks and were taken to detention centers and camps for the displaced elsewhere in eastern Syria. The militants were holding hostages and had detained civilians, whose fate remains unknown.



Separately, Syrian state media reported that nearly two dozen people have suffered from asphyxiation after shells were lobbed from rebel-held areas into government-administered villages in the country's west. The state news agency quoted director of a local hospital in Hama province saying 21 people were hospitalized after inhaling gases in the attack on al-Rasif and al-Aziziyeh villages.



The pro-state Al-Ikhbariya TV interviewed survivors at the hospital who said a foul smell followed the launching of mortars into their villages.



The months-old truce, sponsored by Russia and Turkey, in Syria's west has been tested, as fighting between government forces and al-Qaida-linked militants resumed. The government wants to regain control of a key highway that flanks the opposition-held area. Al-Qaida-linked militants have expanded their dominance in northwestern Syria, rooting out other armed opposition groups and undermining the truce.
Officials in Afghanistan said Sunday ongoing fierce clashes with Taliban insurgents in southern Helmand province have killed dozens of government forces.



The fighting in the volatile Sangin district erupted after the Taliban launched a major predawn offensive on Saturday against several security outposts.



A provincial government spokesman, Omar Zwak, told VOA the attack "killed and wounded tens of security forces," but he gave no further details.

Senator Mohammed Hashim Alokozai, who is from Sangin and sits on the defense committee of the Afghan parliament, told VOA the insurgent attack killed at least 65 pro-government forces, including 48 Afghan National Army (ANA) personnel, and injured 38 others.



Alokozai said the military casualties occurred when the Taliban ambushed an ANA convoy that was heading to the conflict zone in Sangin to help push back the insurgents. The clashes were still continuing in the area, he added.



A Taliban spokesman said its forces overran two bases in Sangin and killed at least 52 soldiers.



The Defense Ministry in Kabul confirmed the fighting in the volatile southern district but said officials were still gathering battlefield details.



The Taliban has conducted big attacks in other Afghan provinces this month, killing dozens of police and soldiers. Clashes with the insurgents in northern Kunduz province on Friday also killed two American soldiers, according to the U.S. military.



Pro-government forces in Afghanistan have suffered heavy casualties in recent years while battling the Taliban. But Afghan officials have been barred from releasing battlefield casualty information to media since 2017.

President Ashraf Ghani revealed in January for the first time that more than 45,000 members of Afghanistan's security forces have been killed since he took office in September 2014.



The Taliban continues to stage major attacks against Afghan forces while it is engaged in a dialogue process with the United States to negotiate an end to the war. The two sides are due to reconvene later this month in Qatar to further discussions after having reached a preliminary draft agreement during 16 days of talks that concluded on March 12 in the Qatari capital of Doha.
The death toll from a massacre in a central Malian village rose to 134 dead, the U.N. said, as new video emerged Sunday showing victims strewn on the ground amid the burning remains of their homes.

An ethnic Dogon militia already blamed for scores of attacks in central Mali over the past year attacked an ethnic Peuhl village just before dawn on Saturday.



Among the victims in Ogossogou were pregnant women, small children and the elderly, according to a Peuhl group known as Tabital Pulaaku.



Graphic video obtained by The Associated Press shows the aftermath of Saturday's attack, with many victims burned inside their homes. A small child's body is covered with a piece of fabric, and at one point an ID card is shown covered with blood.



In the capital of Bamako, visiting U.N. Security Council President Francois Delattre, condemned the killings as an ``unspeakable attack'' late Saturday.



At least 55 people were wounded and the U.N. mission in Mali said it was ``working to ensure the wounded were evacuated.''



In New York, the U.N. secretary-general condemned the attack and called on the Malian authorities to swiftly investigate it and bring the perpetrators to justice.



Islamic extremists were ousted from urban centers in northern Mali during a 2013 French-led military operation. The jihadists scattered throughout the rural areas, regrouped and began launching numerous attacks against the Malian military and the U.N. mission. Since 2015, extremism has edged all the way to central Mali where it has exacerbated tensions between the Dogon and Peuhl groups.



Members of the Dogon group accuse the Peulhs of supporting these jihadists linked to violent groups in the country's north and beyond. Peulhs have in turn accused the Dogon of supporting the Malian army in its effort to stamp out extremism.



In December, Human Rights Watch had warned that "militia killings of civilians in central and northern Mali are spiraling out of control." The group said the ethnic Dogon militia known as Dan Na Ambassagou and its leader had been linked to many of the atrocities and called for Malian authorities to prosecute the perpetrators.



Mali's Dogon country with its dramatic cliff landscapes and world renowned traditional art once drew tourists from Europe and beyond who hiked through the region's villages with local guides. The region, though, has been destabilized in recent years along with much of central Mali.


Teams from the three U.S. airlines that own 737 Max jets headed to Boeing Co.s factory in Renton, Wash., to review a software upgrade on Saturday, as U.S. regulators prepared to receive and review the fixes in coming weeks.

The factory visits indicated Boeing may be near completing a software patch for its newest 737 following a Lion Air crash that killed 189 people in Indonesia last October. This month, a second deadly crash involving an Ethiopian Airlines Max in Addis Ababa triggered the fleets worldwide grounding.

Timing for when passenger flights will resume remained uncertain. Boeing has come under global scrutiny along with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the agency that must approve the software fix and new training.

Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines Co., the worlds largest operator of the Max, began parking its fleet at a facility in Victorville, Calif., at the southwestern edge of the Mojave Desert, to wait out the global grounding. Southwest has 34 of the jets, United Airlines has 14 and American Airlines has 24.

Acting Administrator Dan Elwell told lawmakers last week that the FAA expected Boeing would complete its upgrade as early as March 25, kicking off the approval process.

An FAA spokesman said Saturday that the agency expects to receive the software fix early next week.

A U.S. official briefed on the matter Saturday said the FAA had not yet signed off on the upgrade and training but the goal was to review them in coming weeks and approve them by April.

'Design changes'

It remained unclear whether the software upgrade, called design changes by the FAA, would resolve concerns stemming from the ongoing investigation into the March 10 Ethiopian Airlines crash, which killed all 157 on board.

The U.S. official said planned changes included 15 minutes of training to help pilots deactivate the anti-stall system known as MCAS in the event of faulty sensor data or other issues. It also included some self-guided instruction, the official added.

The Allied Pilots Association (APA), which represents American Airlines pilots, said it has been in talks with Boeing, the FAA and airlines to get the airplanes flying again as soon as possible with an acceptable level of safety.

Right now were in wait-and-see mode to see what Boeing comes up with, said Capt. Jason Goldberg, spokesman for the APA, part of a delegation of airline safety experts and pilots set to test the upgrade. Were hopeful, but at the same time the process cant be rushed.

Boeing said on Saturday that it was continuing to schedule meetings with all 737 Max operators.

Southwest and United said they would also review documentation and training associated with Boeings updates on Saturday.
Thousands of people in the New Zealand cities of Auckland and Christchurch attended vigils Sunday to protest racism and to remember the 50 Muslims who were killed in two mosques last week by a white nationalist.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Sunday in a statement that a national remembrance service will be held March 29 to honor the victims of the mass shootings.

The words of black civil rights leaders Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X were cited by speakers at the vigils Sunday in Christchurch and Auckland, according to the New Zealand Herald.

Thousands of people gathered at a park in Christchurch near the al-Noor Mosque, one of the places of worship that came under attack in last week's mass shootings. The nearby Linwood mosque was also targeted by the shooter.

The Christchurch event began with an Islamic prayer and the reading of the names of all 50 victims.

A student at Cashmere High School, using the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., told the crowd that "Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can." The student urged the crowd to "unite in love and not hatred."

"Migrant lives matter" and "Refugees welcome here" were among the signs at a march in Auckland, earlier Sunday.

New Zealand authorities have charged 28-year-old Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant with murder in connection with the March 15 attacks on the al-Noor and Linwood mosques. The self-proclaimed white nationalist did not enter a plea in his initial court appearance the day after the attack. His next court appearance is April 5.




Former environment minister faces arrest for 'blacklist'



Ex-Environment Minister Kim Eun-kyung is likely to be the first former Cabinet member of the Moon Jae-in government to be arrested on criminal charges. She is suspected of abusing her authority to force heads of public organizations affiliated with her ministry to resign only because they were appointed by President Moon's predecessor, the ousted Park Geun-hye.



A local court will hold a hearing Monday to determine the validity of an arrest warrant for Kim, which the prosecution requested on Friday. If the court issues the warrant, she will be put in jail. In that case, she should cooperate with investigators to shed light on her "blacklist" case.



At the core of the power abuse scandal is whether Kim actually pressured chiefs and executives of the ministry-affiliated organizations, including the Korea Environment Corp. Kim has so far denied involvement, but investigators have secured documents stating the ministry conducted an undue inspection of those executives until they resigned.



In the end, many of the executives had to submit their resignations, caving in to pressure from the ministry. Prosecutors have confirmed that Kim had been systemically involved in drawing up the blacklist of the targeted executives. Prosecutors also suspect that presidential officials might have been deeply implicated in the scandal.



The case is reminiscent of a blacklist of up to 10,000 artists, entertainers, and other cultural figures classified as anti-government and leftist elements by the conservative Park administration. A former culture minister and other ranking officials were found guilty of making the list and prevent those listed from receiving state subsidies.



It is inevitable for the prosecution to conduct a probe of presidential officials in charge of personnel matters. Cheong Wa Dae has repeated that it knew nothing about the new blacklist scandal. It has also denied that the blacklist existed, arguing that it was only a "checklist."



Some critics speculate that President Moon might have played a certain role in the scandal to replace public organizations' chiefs, executives and auditors with his confidants. If that turns out to be true, it would be not only a grave crime, but also a repetition of the mistakes of his predecessors.



This explains why the prosecution should conduct a thorough and fair investigation no matter who masterminded the case. It will also serve as a litmus test for President Moon, who has vowed to root out "old evils" of the previous governments.










The wife of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido had a brief message for President Nicolas Maduro on Saturday, following the arrest of her husbands chief of staff this week: Enough already.

In an interview with Reuters in Peru, where she met with Venezuelan immigrants before a trip to the United States, Fabiana Rosales said the arrest of Roberto Marrero on terrorism accusations on Thursday was a farcical attempt by Maduro to break the oppositions morale.

We know what were up against. We know what kind of monster this dictatorship is, said Rosales, a 26-year-old journalist and opposition activist who is considered Venezuelas first lady by supporters.

Venezuela plunged into a deep political crisis in January, when Guaido invoked the constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing Maduros 2018 re-election was illegitimate. He has been recognized by most Latin American and Western countries as Venezuelas rightful leader.

But Maduro retains control of state functions and the loyalty of the military top brass. A socialist, Maduro says Guaido is a puppet of the United States and is attempting to lead a coup against him to wrest control of the OPEC nations oil reserves.

Asked if she had a message for Maduro, Rosales said, Enough already.

Regularly tracked, monitored

Rosales said spies and pro-government armed groups known as collectives have long followed her and her husband, monitoring their movements and stalking their family members and friends. I and my family members have received threats of being thrown in jail or killed, she said.

But theres something theyve underestimated, and thats that our ideals in this struggle wont be broken, she said. If they thought they can break our morale by arresting Roberto Marrero, or that they could break him, theyre very mistaken.

Venezuelas foreign ministry did not answer phone calls seeking comment outside regular working hours on Saturday.

Venezuelan authorities have accused Marrero of planning attacks against political figures, and said an arms cache had been seized from his house.

Guaido, 35, told Reuters in an interview on Friday that he was prepared for more people in his team to be arrested, but thought Maduros government had reached its final stage.

Rosales said she thought Maduro was too fearful to have Guaido himself arrested.

I think the regime is thinking about it very carefully. I dont think they would dare, she said. Theyve always been afraid of people who believe in freedom.

Rosales declined to comment on whom she planned to meet in the United States, but said she had confirmed visits to New York City and Miami.

Well see what happens in coming days. But Im certain the freedom for Venezuela is getting closer and closer, she said.
The death toll in Mozambique from Cyclone Idai exceeded 400 Saturday as aid and rescue efforts continued a week after the storm devastated parts of southern Africa, a government official said.



As aid groups, accompanied by South African and Indian militaries, flew over Mozambique to search for missing people, they struggled to assist tens of thousands on the ground.



Mozambique Minister of Land and Environment Celso Correia said the situation "is still critical, but it's getting better." He said 1,500 people were in need of rescue from rooftops and trees and about 89,000 people had packed into displacement camps.



Correia said 417 deaths had been confirmed in Mozambique, raising the combined death toll there and in neighboring Zimbabwe and southern Malawi to 676. Aid workers said that number would certainly rise as floodwaters continue to recede. Some 1.7 million people were affected by the storm, one of the most powerful to strike the region in decades.



As storm victims labored to salvage personal possessions they were able to find, many residents in the affected areas worried about their future and shortages of essentials such as food, water and medicine.



International aid efforts were being coordinated by the World Food Program, or WFP. The agency's southern Africa director, Lola Castro, told VOA on Friday that relief groups were confronted with a "humongous logistics challenge" to help victims who were "extremely stressed."

WATCH: Cyclone Idai Victims Appeal to Zimbabwean Government for Fast Relief

Castro said problems were compounded by the fact that the stricken areas are located near the mouths of rivers. "Remember, these are deltas  and all these deltas are between salt- and freshwater." She said the tidal waves created by Idai might have salinized area waters, adding, "People are drinking this."



Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, most of whom are still in need of shelter. The WHO has warned that squalid conditions could help lead to the spread of infectious diseases.



The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Friday that cases of cholera had been reported in Beira, Mozambique's fourth-largest city.



U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday that the U.N. and its humanitarian partners were "scaling up the response with the initial funding from generous donors." He said the U.N. had already released $20 million but added, "Far greater international support is needed."



The WFP's Castro said a "huge" humanitarian response was just the beginning. "The [Mozambique] government is going to need a lot of support on this, and the international community will have to look into a very long-term" humanitarian relief campaign, she said.
Victims of Cyclone Idai in Zimbabwe are calling on the government to expedite relief aid. As Columbus Mavhunga reports from the hard-hit city of Chimanimani, the government is appealing to the international community for help with medicine, food and infrastructure.
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U.S. Attorney General William Barr was examining Saturday Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on the investigation into Russia's alleged role in the 2016 presidential election. In Russia, the Kremlin strongly denies accusations of meddling
U.S. Special Counsel Robert Muellers completion of a long-awaited report on his investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 presidential election and any potential wrongdoing by President Donald Trump is drawing calls from lawmakers for the reports release.



Mueller submitted the report Friday to the Justice Department, headed by Attorney General William Barr, who is now reviewing it before deciding if any of it will become public.

The results of the report are still confidential, but the Justice Department confirmed that it includes no new indictments.

Barr, the top U.S. law enforcement official, said he could update Congress as early as this weekend about the findings in the report, which concludes Mueller's nearly two-year-long investigation.

WATCH: After Months of Anticipation, Mueller Probe Concludes

It is not clear how much of the report will be provided to Congress or how much, if any of it, could become public.



Top congressional Democrats said it is "imperative" to make the full report public. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer said in a joint statement, "The American people have a right to the truth.''

They also said that Barr must not give Trump any "sneak preview'' of the findings or evidence.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the White House has not received or been briefed on the report and says "we look forward to the process taking its course.'' She said the next steps are "up to Attorney General Barr."

The Associated Press reported that Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani has requested an early look at the findings before they are made public, but has not received any assurances that the Trump legal team will get a preview.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he hopes that Attorney General Barr will "provide as much information as possible'' on the findings, "with as much openness and transparency as possible.''

Georgia Representative Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, said he expects the Justice Department to release the report to the committee without delay "and to the maximum extent permitted by law."

Another top Republican, Senator Chuck Grassley, said the findings must be made public to end the "speculation and innuendo'' that hangs over Trump's administration.

It is not known if Mueller found criminal conduct by Trump or any of his staff, beyond the charges already brought against several aides. So far, Mueller has brought charges against 34 people, including Russian intelligence officers, and three Russian companies. Charges have also been filed against Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.

The Democratic heads of six House committees wrote a joint letter to Barr Friday, saying, "If the Special Counsel has reason to believe that the president has engaged in criminal or other serious misconduct, then the Justice Department has an obligation not to conceal such information. The president must be subject to accountability."

Democratic presidential hopefuls also joined the chorus of calls for the reports release.

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a frequent critic of the president, requested that Barr disclose the report to the American public. Now.

Kamala Harris, a senator from California, not only demanded total transparency, but said Barr must publicly testify under oath about the investigations findings.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York said Americans have a right to know its findings.

Senator Bernie Sanders, who represents Vermont, circulated a petition calling on Barr to release the full report, saying, The president claims thats what he wants.

Pressure for the reports release is also being applied by special interest groups.

The American Civil Liberties Union urged the Justice Department to release the report swiftly because Americans have the right to know if President Trump and his associates coordinated with Russia to interfere in our elections, the full extent of Russian efforts to affect our elections, and any attempts to interfere with the investigation.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights declared, No one, not even the president, is above the law. It added the reports release is about restoring trust in our elections and shining light on potential crimes and corruption that threatens our democracy.

The liberal advocacy group, People for the American Way, said, To the greatest extent possible, Americans deserve to see the results of an investigation into the attempts to subvert our democracy. Our elected representatives have a constitutional obligation to review every single aspect of the Mueller investigation and to make sure that the public knows exactly what role the president and his allies played in Russias campaign to meddle in our elections.

In a letter to Congress, Barr said that the Justice Department did not block Mueller from taking any action during the investigation. Barr is required to report to Congress any instance in which the Justice Department overruled a requested action by Mueller.



Trump's lawyers, Giuliani and Jay Sekulow, issued joint statements Friday saying they are "pleased'' that Mueller has delivered his report on the Russia investigation.



A spokesman for Mueller says he will be concluding his services as special counsel in the coming days and says a small number of staff will remain to assist in closing the office's operations.

The central questions that Mueller, a former FBI director, have been examining are whether Trump or his aides colluded with the Russians to undermine Democrat Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016 and whether the president attempted to obstruct the subsequent investigation to protect himself and his political advisers and aides.

As of Saturday morning, Trump had been notably silent on the reports release. During the course of the probe, he repeatedly denied any collusion and obstruction, and called the investigation a "witch hunt." Russia has denied interfering in the election.
For consecutive nights, bombs rained down on the last scraps of Islamic State-held territory, lighting up the night sky over the northeastern Syrian town of Baghuz.

By Saturday morning, all that remained was a landscape littered with burned-out vehicles, abandoned campsites and other provisions the last of the terror groups fighters and their families left behind.

On one of the few buildings that still stood, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces raised their flag and celebrated the death of a self-declared caliphate that inflicted terror and death on the people it tried to rule.

After five years of fighting, we stand here to declare the physical defeat of ISIS and the end of its public challenge over all humanity, SDF Director General Mazloum Kobani told officials and coalition partners at a ceremony to mark the long-awaited victory, using an acronym for the group.

We announce today the destruction of the so-called Islamic State organization and the end of its ground control in its last pocket in Baghuz region, he said.

Yet in between the applause and the music of a marching band, SDF commanders and coalition officials paid tribute to the SDF forces, which paid for the victory in blood and treasure  an estimated 11,000 killed in the campaign to roll back IS, which at its height controlled nearly a third of Syria and almost as much of Iraq.

And even until the end, sometime Friday night into Saturday morning, IS put up a vicious defense, using suicide bombers and even children as human shields in an attempt to cling to one last scrap of land over which they could fly their black flag.

The fate of the last of the IS fighters, perhaps several hundred of the terror groups most hardened and devoted followers, was not clear Saturday.

Observers on the ground said some appeared to have surrendered following the airstrikes that began Thursday night, targeting IS positions next to the Euphrates River and another sliver where IS fighters were backed up against a cliff overlooking the town.

By early Saturday, the airstrikes seemed to focus solely on the area by the cliff, where SDF and coalition officials said the IS fighters might have access to an extensive system of tunnels that helped to hide tens of thousands of people, the last of whom surrendered earlier in the week.

The first indications the fight against IS in Baghuz had ended came early Saturday, said SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali, using Twitter to announce the total elimination of so-called caliphate.

Only about 12 hours earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump made a similar declaration, telling reporters traveling with him aboard Air Force One that IS had been 100 percent defeated.

But Trumps announcement was quickly rejected by U.S. defense officials and the SDF, who said fighting had not yet ended and more airstrikes were being called in.

On Saturday, Trump again hailed the victory over the terror group in Baghuz.

"ISIS's loss of territory is further evidence of its false narrative, which tries to legitimize a record of savagery that includes brutal executions, the exploitation of children as soldiers, and the sexual abuse and murder of women and children, he said in a statement.

While on occasion these cowards will resurface, they have lost all prestige and power, he added. They are losers and will always be losers."

On Saturday, the SDFs Kobani was careful to note that while ISs caliphate had finally been brought down, the danger was far from over, with numerous IS sleeper cells, which continue to present a great danger in our region and the wider world."

Top U.S. defense and intelligence officials repeatedly have warned that the terror group had long been planning for the demise of its caliphate, and that a clandestine insurgency already had taken root.

While this is a critical milestone in the fight against ISIS, we understand our work is far from complete, acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan said in a statement. We will continue our work with the Global Coalition to deny ISIS safe haven anywhere in the world."

One senior defense official warned IS still has, at minimum, "tens of thousands" of fighters and supporters across Syria and Iraq, and that much of the group's senior leadership, including self-declared caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, remains at large.

There also are concerns that IS has thousands more supporters and sympathizers  including upward of 60,000 people who have surrendered since the SDF and coalition launched their final assault last month.

So, too, there are concerns about more than 1,000 foreign fighters being held by the SDF, which has asked repeatedly that they be taken back and prosecuted by their home countries.

These folks are unrepentant, the official said. The seeds for a future caliphate or certainly a persistent clandestine insurgency exist in these large numbers of people who ... are looking to reposition for future perpetuation of ISIS in some form or fashion."

Speaking Saturday at the victory ceremony near Baghuz, the U.S. adviser to the coalition pledged Washington would not abandon the SDF or its other partners, even though Trump has said most of the 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria will be leaving.

We will continue to support the coalitions operations in Syria to ensure this enduring defeat, William Robak said. We will do what is necessary in the region, including here in Syria and across the globe, to ensure the defeat of this threat.

France and Britain also reaffirmed their commitment, though disagreements with the U.S. over the next steps remain.

The threat remains, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter. The fight against terrorist groups must continue.

We will continue to do what is necessary to protect the British people, our allies and partners from the threat Daesh poses, said Prime Minister Theresa May, using an alternate acronym for IS.

VOA's Kurdish service contributed to this report.


Flooding remains a serious problem in Southern Africa more than a week after Cyclone Idai hit the area.

Idai is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the areas history. The storm left hundreds of people dead and extensive damage in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

Floodwaters are moving across central Mozambique. Many homes, some towns and villages are still underwater. The water has created an inland sea -- more than 2,500 kilometers wide -- in an area where there used to be farms and villages.

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi estimated that the cyclone may have left as many as 1,000 people dead nationwide. There are fears the death toll could jump sharply when rescuers reach the countryside.

Heavy rainfall stopped Thursday, and floodwaters began to subside in the port of Beira and in the countryside, the Mozambican government said. Aid groups were working without rest to rescue families holding onto trees or standing on building tops to escape the water.

On Thursday, 910 people were rescued by the humanitarian community, said Caroline Haga of the International Federation of the Red Cross in Beira. She spoke to The Associated Press.

Aid organizations are trying to get food, clean water and clothing to the areas hardest hit by the storm. They estimate more than 400,000 people across Mozambique are now homeless.

The countrys environment minister, Celso Correia, said the government plans to build two large camps to house people who have lost their homes.

Gerald Bourke is the United Nations World Food Program. He said it was unclear how the government would get people to those camps. Theres talk of usinghelicopters and boats.

It will be days before the water in Mozambique drains toward the Indian Ocean. It will be longer before officials fully understand the level of destruction.

In neighboring Malawi, at least 56 people are confirmed dead and more than 900,000 are homeless.

The search for survivors is finished.

Zimbabwes eastern mountains also were hit with heavy rain.

Aid has been slow to reach affected villagers because many roads and bridges were destroyed.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa visited affected areas on Wednesday. Government officials have said that as many as 350 people may have died in the flooding. The force of the water pulled some victims from Zimbabwe down the mountainside into Mozambique, officials said.

In one area, the district of Chimanimani, 90 percent of homes and property suffered major damage, the World Food Program said. It estimated that 200,000 people would need food assistance over the next three months.

Philemon Dada has been rebuilding his life in Chimanimani, once a beautiful town.

With a few tools, he began pulling long sticks from the water to build a shelter for his family. He believes it will be difficult to rebuild his life after Cycone Idai. He lost everything  his home and his animals.

Some people are living with neighbors and others with their religious leaders.

I can say I am a bit lucky, my wife and son are still here with me but for everything else, I have to start (over), he said.

It may take a year, maybe even more years just to get back on my feet, he added.

I'm Susan Shand.

The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

Words in this Story

cyclone  n. an extremely large, powerful storm with high winds

toll  n. the number of deaths or injuries resulting from an event, such as a natural disaster or war

subside  v. to go down to a lower level

drain  v. to flow into, away from, or out of something

district  n. a part of a city or country




South Korean firms' investment in India topped the US$1 billion mark last year, more than doubling from a year earlier, largely thanks to massive investment projects by Samsung Electronics Co. and Kia Motors Corp., industry data showed Sunday.







According to the data provided by state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea, South Korea's direct investment was tallied at $1.05 billion last year, a whopping increase from the previous year's $516 million.







The country's direct investment was more than $300 million between 2012 and 2016. In 2011, the corresponding figure was $456 million, the data showed.







In July, Samsung constructed the world's largest smartphone factory, with an output capacity of 120 million handsets, in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, in the northern part of the country.







Kia Motors, an affiliate of South Korea's top automaker, Hyundai Motor Co., is also building a plant in India that will produce 300,000 units.







The data showed that 88.3 percent of the direct investment in India, or $930 million, was invested in the manufacturing sector, with the number of South Korean firms newly set up in India reaching 118 last year, slightly up from the previous year's 113. (Yonhap)


Vietnamese Ambassador to Chile Nguyen Ngoc Son (R) and head of Cerro Navia district Mauro Tamayo Rozas pay tribute to late President Ho Chi Minh on his birthday at Chi Minh Park in 2018 (Photo courtesy of the Vietnamese Embassy in Chile)



Speaking at the signing ceremony, Rozas affirmed the importance of the work and stated that the local administration will keep a close watch on the work so that the project can be completed on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum meeting in Chile this year.

For his part, the Vietnamese diplomat thanked Cerro Navia administration for its initiative as the park got the name 50 years ago, and pledged to closely coordinate with the donor, the Geleximco group of Vietnam, to ensure the project will be implemented as scheduled.

Member of the Party Central Committee and Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, who witness the signing ceremony during his visit to Chile, thanked the local administration and residents for their deep and friendly sentiment to Vietnam and spoke highly of the project./.
Visitors try LG G8 ThinQ during the unveiling event in Barcelona on Feb. 24. / Courtesy of LG Electronics



By Jun Ji-hye



LG Electronics' new LG G8 ThinQ smartphone has apparently failed to receive the attention from consumers despite its upgraded features and low price.



This is expected to bring more challenges to the Korean tech company's smartphone unit that has lost money for 15 consecutive quarters.



LG G8 ThinQ was released officially in the domestic market on Friday at 897,600 won ($792).



The price is 1,100 won cheaper than the previous G7 ThinQ, and about 80,000 won cheaper than G7 ThinQ Plus.



Compared to Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S10 featuring 128 gigabyte of memory, LG's new smartphone is about 160,000 won cheaper.



"G8 ThinQ's hardware such as battery and display was considerably upgraded compared to the previous version. Plus, the new smartphone has more cameras," said an official from LG Electronics.



But the new product has been receiving a lukewarm response from users, industry sources said, noting that the modest number of users participated in the pre-order program, which was carried out until Thursday.



LG G8 ThinQ's failure to attract users was partially attributed to growing popularly of Samsung Galaxy S10, released here on March 8.



In addition, Samsung's recent announcement that it will release the Galaxy S10 5G model April 5 appeared to absorb smartphone users' interest further as the product is set to be the world's first mobile device with the next-generation network capability.



Some users expressed complaints that LG Electronics abolished a reward program when releasing G8 ThinQ.



When launching the previous G7 ThinQ and V40 ThinQ, the company ran the program, in which it offered financial rewards to users who returned their mobile phones used for more than two years.



Users were allowed to utilize the program regardless of the brand of their used mobile phones. In particular, users of LG smartphones could enjoy more benefits, considering used LG phones are not that popular in the second-hand market.



Sources said LG's decision to abolish the reward program resulted in them missing the chance to entice over users of LG smartphones.



Regarding the issue, the LG Electronics official said, "It was assessed that the reward program was beneficial to users of LG phones, not to all. So we abolished the program this time, and instead, focused on reducing the price of the new product so all users can enjoy the benefits."



LG Electronics is expected to face another difficulty to secure users of 5G smartphones, with Samsung Galaxy S10's 5G model going on sale on April 5.



LG unveiled V50 ThinQ 5G supporting 5G network technology on the eve of the Mobile World Congress Barcelona in February.



But the company official said the date of the release has not been decided.


The celebration was enjoyed by all. However, on our way back home we received a call from our son that his wife was very upset that she had not been included in the "wedding" party, and she was crying because her feelings were hurt. She had also been drinking quite a bit of Champagne and I think she may be going through menopause, and so may have been more emotional than usual.


By Kwak Yeon-soo





Cho Dong-ho, the nominee to head the Ministry of Science and ICT, is in the hot seat over his online electric vehicle (OLEV) project that performed poorly after receiving about 78.5 billion won ($ 69 million) funding from the government.







Rep. Yoon Sang-jik of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party has called for the withdrawal of Cho's appointment as ICT minister, citing the OLEV project as a failure.







Cho, a professor from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) and director of the OLEV project, is known to have played a leading role in developing wireless recharge technology for electric vehicles.







According to the OLEV project group, the OLEV picks up power from underground power lines through the non-contact magnetic charging method, while either moving or standing.







About 200 patents have been granted on OLEV because it was considered an eco-friendly and economic automotive system.







Based on his research in the fields of wireless recharge technology and 5G telecommunication technology, Cho was tapped to replace You Young-min as ICT minister.







"It turns out that about 70 percent of 234 patents that were transferred to other companies were concentrated in KAIST partner companies, where Cho was heavily involved in. Most of his patents never made any money," Yoon said.







However, Cho defended himself, saying, "OLEV has been named on TIME's list of the best inventions of 2010."







He added that the funding was conducted fairly and that the commercialization process took some time because it was complex and involved high costs.







As a graduate of Seoul National University, Cho began his academic career at KAIST. He then served as a professor at Kyunghee University in 1987 before moving back to KAIST in 1998.







The professor must undergo a parliamentary confirmation hearing but does not need parliamentary approval for his appointment.







On the sidelines, Cho is also facing questions over whether his son received undue favors in getting an internship.




This is the point that former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper swears he was trying to raise when he bungled his own answer to the female vice president question. He first said he would absolutely consider a woman. Then he kept talking. How come were not asking more often, the women, Would you be willing to put a man on the ticket? 
The Oakton High School student is far from alone in her fears about the planets future. Millennials and members of Generation Z acknowledge in greater numbers than their forebears that humans contribute to climate change. In recent years, high school students across Fairfax County, Va., have lobbied local officials to install solar panels at schools  a movement that struck success when the Fairfax County School Board approved plans in January to install the panels at three schools.
A man was the only person home when the fire began, authorities said. He escaped before firefighters arrived and was airlifted to a hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation, Ruwe said. His injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
From 2011 through 2018, the hospital system had a deal to spend $500,000 for 100,000 copies of Pughs self-published book series. The system placed five orders of 20,000 books at $5 each while Pugh sat on the hospitals board of directors. The deal, first reported by the Baltimore Sun, was one of many the hospital network had with members of its board, and they have rattled public trust in the system.
At about 3:15 a.m., a 51-year-old man was driving a 2003 Lexus sedan southbound on I-95 and turning onto the inner loop of the Capital Beltway when he struck a jersey wall and guard rail, according to Maryland State Police Sgt. Martin Bugarini.
Surveillance video posted by police is chilling, said one area resident who declined to be named because of safety fears. A witness told the PoPville website of having never felt or seen anything like that before in my life.
But the challenges for the prosecution soon became clear as the defendants were split into groups of six for trial. In two trials, juries agreed with the defense attorneys and the government was unable to secure convictions. Jurors would later say they found that the defendants had participated in the protests but no evidence that those defendants were involved in the vandalism.
According to the commonwealths attorney, in October 2016, a detective with the Leesburg Police Department responded to an ad in the Craigslist personals section, posing as a 14-year-old. Goetz then replied to the detective and engaged in an ongoing conversation with the `fourteen-year-old that was sexual in nature, the office said. Goetz emailed nude photographs of himself, requested nude photos of the person posing as a minor and suggested they meet for sex, the commonwealths attorney said.
A HEMU-430X high-speed train runs a test rail track in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, on Feb. 22. Owned by the government and operated by Korea Railroad Research Institute, the test track began its full operation on March 15. Courtesy of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport



Inter-Korean cooperation is gateway toward global rail network



By Nam Hyun-woo



South Korea's joining of the international railroad transportation network will create lucrative economic opportunities for Asia's fourth-largest economy, according to the executive secretary of an international railway cooperation body.



Though the breakdown of the second U.S.-North Korea summit spelled a cloudy outlook on hopes of South Korean trains passing through North Korea in the near future, Organization for Co-operation between Railways (OSJD) Executive Secretary Attila Kiss and other railroad industry officials said South Korea is getting closer to the Eurasian railroad network, where vast opportunity is waiting.





Organization for Co-operation between Railways Executive Secretary Attila Kiss speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at COEX in Seoul, March 14. Courtesy of Korea Railroad Research Institute

"When South Korean trains pass through North Korea, there is a big possibility and value that South Koreans can enjoy by joining the international agreements for passenger and goods transportation," Kiss said during an interview with The Korea Times.



"The South Korean government has already sent the application letters for joining the Agreement on International Goods Transport by Rail and the Agreement on International Passenger Transport by Rail, and it will make South Korea's carriage of freights and passengers easier and bring a big economic value for South Koreans."



Kiss' interview was held on the sidelines of an international railway symposium at COEX in Seoul, organized by Korea Railroad Research Institute (KRRI) and supported by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.



The OSJD is comprised of 29 full-member countries in the Eurasian region, including Hungary, Russia, Poland, China and the two Koreas. The combined length of OSJD members' railways surpasses 280,000 kilometers and more than 2 million freight trains transport goods on those tracks. Access to key railroads such as Trans-China Railways and Trans-Siberian Railways requires a full membership of the OSJD.



Joining the OSJD was a critical task for South Korea for cross-border railway transport, due to its geopolitical situation of being located below the North and the severed railroads linking the two Koreas.



After the state-run Korea Railroad Corp. joined the organization as an affiliated enterprise in 2014, South Korea had made multiple attempts to gain an OSJD full membership, but failed because a new membership requires unanimous approval from existing members, according to Kiss.



Though he did not mention which country voted against South Korea's joining, it is reported that North Korea had been opposing it until June 2018, when the South was admitted into the OSJD.



The approval by North Korea was interpreted as a green light for South Korean railway companies and its government, which is setting the railroad cooperation as a priority in the inter-Korean economic cooperation project under President Moon Jae-in's North Korea policy.



Kiss refused to talk about his view on the future of inter-Korean railroad cooperation, but stressed that tapping into the international railway transporting conventions will be a huge benefit for South Korea.



"For example, railroad transport between countries which are not in the conventions requires bilateral agreements on many issues," Kiss said. "If South Korea joins the international agreements, it simplifies many things, such as tariffs, in its transport of goods and passengers by railways."



Such a view was echoed by KRRI President Na Hee-seung.



"The next 20 years of Korea's railways will be about the inter-Korean railway cooperation and safety," Na said in a separate interview with The Korea Times.



"In the past 20 years, the Korean train and railroad industry has been thinking about increasing rail cars' speed. But now, it is about the railroad network, which we hope to move as far as forming an East Asian railroad network."





Step toward railway powerhouse



Kiss' visit came amid the country's establishment of a test rail track in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.



The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and KRRI held the opening ceremony of the test track on March 15 and took the first test ride on the track with HEMU-430x, a next-generation high-speed train developed by KRRI and Korea's leading train maker Hyundai Rotem.



Owned by the government and operated by Korea Railroad Research Institute, the 13-kilometer track is comprised of high-speed sections, sharp curves, slopes, nine bridges, and six tunnels, allowing a range of performance tests. It took four years and 239.9 billion won ($211.4 million) of state budget for the government to complete the track.



Railway officials said having a test track is a major step toward becoming a railway powerhouse, joining other countries with advanced rail systems. The United States, China, Russia, Germany, France and only a limited number of other railroad powerhouses have tracks dedicated to testing.



So far, Korea has conducted performance tests for its KTX high-speed train and other electric rail cars on commercial railway lines or sent test cars to overseas tracks.



Since there were no tracks dedicated only for tests, safety concerns have long been raised, while testers had difficulties in securing sufficient testing hours.





Korea Railroad Research Institute President Na Hee-seung speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at COEX in Seoul, March 14. Courtesy of Korea Railroad Research Institute
Under the transit plan, K Street would be redesigned between Ninth and 21st streets NW. Two dedicated bus lanes  one in each direction  would run down the middle and be separated from traffic by raised medians that would have room for passenger waiting areas. The outside service lanes would disappear. Instead, three lanes of traffic would remain in each direction along both sides of the transitway, but the third lanes could be used for parking during off-peak hours.
Another potentially far-reaching provision affects what happens if a company like Boeing requests changes in its procedures manual, which sets out whether it is the FAA or the private firm that approves technical data and whether airworthiness standards are being met. Under the new law, the FAA must approve revisions to that manual if the company asks for them. The agency can undo those changes only after an inspection or investigation proves the public interest and safety of air commerce require doing so.
Speculation that less awakenings in the mothers with stillborn babies could have resulted in fewer episodes of blood pressure elevation which could have been harmful to the fetus is intriguing, said Shawn Youngstedt, a sleep scientist at Arizona State University and the Phoenix VA Health Care System, who was not involved in the study. Generally, blood pressure dipping at night is thought to be healthy, but they have advanced a compelling argument that prolonged blood pressure declines during sleep might be harmful to the fetus. Interestingly, the higher prevalence of hypertension in the control women, compared with the cases, supports their argument.
Off-duty officer fatally shot in Chicago: An off-duty Chicago police officer was shot to death early Saturday and a companion critically injured when two assailants attacked a parked car on the city's Near North Side. The men, both 23, were sitting in the car about 3:30 a.m. when the assailants approached. One pulled a gun and began firing into the car. Another off-duty Chicago police officer and a woman were also in the car but were not injured, police said. The dead officer was identified as John P. Rivera. The wounded man was shot in the chest and arm and was listed in critical condition at a hospital. Police said they expected him to survive. The attackers fled on foot, but police said they took one person of interest into custody a short time later.
About 1 in 7 mail-in ballots submitted by college-age voters in Parkland were rejected or failed to arrive in time to be counted, according to an analysis. The findings are adding to questions about the reliability and fairness of the Florida electoral system, including its ballot signature requirement that became a flash point in the November recount between U.S. Sen Rick Scott (R) and the Democrat he ousted from office, Bill Nelson.
A Boeing 737 Max 8 being built for Oman Air, top, taxis before takeoff from Renton Municipal Airport in Renton, Wash., March 22. In a blow for Boeing, Indonesia's flag carrier is seeking the cancellation of a multibillion dollar order for 49 of the manufacturer's 737 Max 8 jets, citing a loss of confidence after two crashes within five months. AP



In a blow for Boeing, Indonesia's flag carrier is seeking the cancellation of a multibillion dollar order for 49 of the manufacturer's 737 Max 8 jets, citing a loss of confidence after two crashes within five months.



It is the first announcement of a cancellation since Boeing's new model aircraft were grounded following fatal crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia.



PT Garuda Indonesia, which had ordered 50 Max 8 jets in 2014 and had received just one plane last year, sent a letter to Boeing last week requesting to cancel the order worth $4.9 billion, company spokesman Ikhsan Rosan said Friday. The carrier has so far paid Boeing about $26 million for the order.



Garuda joined other airlines worldwide in grounding its one Max 8 jet after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines flight this month which killed all 157 people aboard. It came less than five months after 189 people died in the Oct. 29 crash of another Max 8, operated by Indonesian private carrier Lion Air.



''Passengers always ask what type of plane they will fly as they have lost trust and confidence in the Max 8 jet,'' Rosan told The Associated Press. ''This would harm our business.''



He said that Garuda plans to meet with Boeing representatives next week in Jakarta to discuss details of canceling the order.



''We don't want to use Max jets ... but maybe will consider switching it with another Boeing model of plane,'' Rosan said. He said Indonesian passengers are afraid to take flights using any Max model, whether it's the 8, 9 or 10 series.



A preliminary report from Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee in December stopped short of declaring a probable cause of the Oct. 29 crash.



Officials have provided scant details since then, saying they are still analyzing data from a cockpit voice recorder that was only recovered from the sea in January.



Meanwhile, in Europe, Polish national carrier PLL LOT said it was considering asking for financial compensation from Boeing or even a delay to deliveries of purchased 737 Max 8 aircraft after the planes were grounded globally following the crash in Ethiopia.



In a statement to the AP on Friday, LOT said it would wait for communications from Boeing and flight regulators on whether to put the Max 8 planes back into service. LOT has five 737 Max 8 planes and is to receive nine more this year. Its total fleet counts over 80 aircraft.



Another Polish carrier, charter airline EnterAir, said Friday it would also seek damages. It has two Max 8 planes and has placed orders for another four.



Earlier this month, Norwegian Air Shuttles said it would seek compensation from Boeing. It had grounded its 18 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft.



With Boeing's backlog of 4,600 unfilled orders for Max jets, the loss of the Garuda order figures to have little financial impact on the Chicago-based company. The danger is that other airlines could follow, particularly if investigators fault the plane for the accidents in Indonesia and Ethiopia.



''We think other cancellations may follow as global customers remain spooked after two crashes with seemingly similar causes,'' Jim Corridore, an airline analyst with CFRA Research, said in a note to clients.



Corridore said, however, that if Boeing delivers a software patch to a flight-control system suspected in the crashes, and the planes are allowed to resume flying, ''most customers will be reassured.'' He said investors will eventually focus on strong demand for airliners.



The Wall Street Journal reported late Friday that federal investigators are looking into whether Boeing gave U.S. regulators and the company's customers incomplete or misleading information about the jets. The report cited people familiar with the matter who were not named.



Earlier this week, a person briefed on the matter told The Associated Press that U.S. prosecutors are looking into the development of the 737 Max jets. The Transportation Department's inspector general is also investigating the FAA's approval of jets, a U.S. official told AP.



Boeing Co. shares closed Friday down $10.53, or 2.8 percent, at $362.17 amid a broad stock market decline. Boeing shares have dropped 14 percent since the Ethiopia Airlines crash. (AP)


Somali Islamist militants storm government building: Gunmen set off a car bomb and then stormed a government building in Somalia's capital, killing at least five people including the country's deputy labor minister, police said. After an hours-long gun battle, Somalia's security forces took back control of the building in Mogadishu from at least five attackers who forced their way into the government building that houses the ministries of labor and public works, Police Capt. Mohamed Hussein told the Associated Press. Saqar Ibrahim Abdalla, Somalia's deputy minister of labor and social affairs, was killed in his ground-floor office shortly after gunmen entered the building, he said. It was the latest attack claimed by the al-Qaeda-linked extremist group al-Shabab in the troubled Horn of Africa nation.
In a series of interviews with Simon Denyer of The Post and with the Associated Press, former prisoners in the camps described mind-numbing drills in which they were forced to denounce their Uighur culture as backward, to repudiate their Muslim beliefs and to apologize for wearing long clothes, praying, teaching the Koran to their children and asking imams to name their children. Inmates in the camps also are coerced into singing songs and repeating slogans hailing the Communist Party while condemning the three evil forces of separatism, extremism and terrorism. Photographs from one classroom in an internment camp showed surveillance cameras and microphones; Xinjiang has become a laboratory for Chinese authorities studying how to use digital technology for political control.
He added: What could be more different than what were being shown in Washington right now  often with some people who view themselves as religious on the right, cheering it on? . . . Here we have this totally warped idea of what Christianity should be like when it comes into the public sphere, and its mostly about exclusion. Which is the last thing that I imbibe when I take in scripture in church.
Gerrymandering also has a toxic, polarizing effect on the conduct of elected officials. It makes them more beholden to the party leaders who draw the boundaries than to the voters who live within them. The fear of a primary challenger backed by their party leader forces them to fall into line and focus on the narrow interests of the party and its more stalwart voters. They become less responsive to the full spectrum of needs in their district, and common ground and the common good take a back seat to a safe seat. It is just wrong.
Where there is smoke, there is not always fire. Despite questionable meetings between Trump officials and Russians, Mr. Mueller found that the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities. To take one key example, the June 2016 meeting between Mr. Trumps senior campaign staff and a Russian lawyer was deeply unwise. The campaign should have reported to the FBI the Russian lawyers interest in meeting, rather than bringing her into the campaigns inner sanctum. But, based on Mr. Barrs Sunday summary, this did not reflect a broader coordination between the Trump campaign and Moscow.
That has Learing worried. I do believe [the report] needs to be made public, he said. I do believe that we all need to see it for ourselves. At the same time, continuing to stomp our feet if nothing is behind the curtain makes us look like it has been a wild-goose chase for the last two years.
The Korea Corporate Governance Service has recommended that the state pension fund back the proposal to keep the current president of Hanjin KAL, the holding company of Korea's flag carrier. Yonhap



The National Pension Service (NPS), the country's biggest institutional investor, is expected to back Hanjin KAL Co.'s proposal to reappoint its current chief as one of its board members, industry sources said Sunday.

According to the sources, the Korea Corporate Governance Service (KCGS), the NPS' main proxy adviser, has recommended that the state pension fund back the proposal to keep Suk Tae-soo, president of Hanjin KAL, the holding company of South Korea's leading flag carrier, in the board room.

Hanjin KAL is scheduled to hold a shareholder meeting this week.

The decision is a harsh blow to a local activist fund that forwarded the motions to sack Suk and other board members. Suk is a close aide to Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho, who has been charged for allegedly engaging in breach of trust and embezzlement.

Some proxy advisors recommended that shareholders oppose the reappointment of Chairman Cho to be an executive director of Korean Air Lines Co., citing Cho's track record of paying family members and other illegal acts as reasons for its opposition to his continued service in the director position.

Last week, Hanjin KAL also won a court disposition to exclude proposals made by the Korea Corporate Governance Improvement (KCGI) from being put to a vote at its upcoming shareholder meeting.

KCGI's special purpose company, which has a 12.01 percent stake in Hanjin KAL, has claimed that its proposals are aimed at increasing transparency of the transportation and logistics conglomerate, which had taken flak for the inappropriate actions of Chairman Cho and his family members.

Hanjin KAL controls Korean Air Lines, budget carrier Jin Air Co. and several other companies engaged in logistics, accommodations and various other services.

Cho and those allied to the chairman control a combined 28.93 percent of Hanjin KAL, while the NPS holds 7.34 percent.

In the case of Korean Air Lines, Cho and those who are friendly to him own 33.35 percent in Hanjin KAL. The NPS' stake in Korean Air Lines stands at 11.56 percent. (Yonhap)
The fact that Special Counsel Muellers report does not exonerate the president on a charge as serious as obstruction of justice demonstrates how urgent it is that the full report and underlying documentation be made public without any further delay, they said. Given Mr. Barrs public record of bias against the Special Counsels inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report.
The Mueller report is one document; it is not, however, the final word on ongoing investigations, criminal or otherwise, said Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), a senior member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee. There is a lot that falls beyond the jurisdiction of Robert S. Mueller III which the Congress is involved in  and some other investigative bodies, like the Southern District of New York and the attorney general of New York. . . . So the fact that Mueller [is finished] does not in any way circumscribe the ongoing work of the Congress.
We could have had this conversation last week about a different set of tweets that we cant even remember today, he said. I dont remember what the scandal was three days ago; I truly do not remember what the scandal was a month ago; and if you tasked me to name one a year ago, it would take me 15 minutes to remember. And what that says is the tweets are just noise and what theyre doing is making the two sides louder and more unintelligible.
I was a Beto supporter for Senate, not for president, said Jennifer Giles, 45, a small-business owner and Harris supporter from Flower Mound, Tex., who was at the rally. Once we see the debates and see these candidates next to each other, I think the stellar candidates will be obvious, and I think experience and gravitas will show.
Trumps supporters in Congress and around the country are likely to tighten their embrace of the president in light of Muellers conclusion that he did not find evidence that Trump campaign staffers conspired with Russia to influence the 2016 election. The news already allowed many Republicans an exhalation of relief on Sunday, fueling hope that some Trump skeptics might be won over and postponing what many conservatives say is an inevitable redefinition of what it means to be a Republican.
Italian premier Giuseppe Conte, right, shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting at the Villa Madama in Rome, Italy, March 23. Italy has become the first Group of Seven leading democracies to join China's ambitious Belt and Road infrastructure project. EPA



Italy signed a memorandum of understanding with China on Saturday supporting Beijing's ''Belt and Road'' initiative, which aims to weave a network of ports, bridges and power plants linking China with Africa, Europe and beyond.



With the move, Italy becomes the first member of the Group of Seven major economies, which includes the United States, to join the Belt and Road program, following Portugal's embrace of the initiative in December.



Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte and Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a ceremony in Rome where 29 separate protocols of the memorandum were signed by both governments in front of the flags of China, Italy and the European Union.



Luigi di Maio, the Italian minister of economic development, told reporters afterward that his country's goal is to increase exports to China in order to correct trade imbalances and boost Italian businesses and the country's troubled economy. He said the value of the individual deals signed on Saturday amounts to 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion), with the potential to grow to 20 billion euros ($22.6 billion)



''Our goal with these accords is to start to rebalance an imbalance for which there is a lot of 'Made in China' coming to Italy and too little 'Made in Italy' that goes to China,'' Di Maio said.



He said Italy now expects ''a substantial and gradual increase of exports and we hope that in the next years we can balance out the trade imbalances.''



Italy's move appears to also be driven by hopes that Chinese investment in Italy's ports might help revive the country's traditional role as a key link in trade between the East and West.



The signed accords are wide-ranging and include cooperation between banks, between a Chinese construction company and Italian ports, and the export of Italian fruit to China. The deals also foresee cooperation in the spheres of science and technology and between media outlets, as well as the return by Italy of hundreds of Chinese cultural treasures.



The signing ceremony took place at the Villa Madama, a Renaissance villa designed by Raphael, where Xi was greeted with full honors on the second day of his two-day visit to Italy. He then traveled to Sicily, where officials hope to attract more Chinese tourism.



Italy's involvement in the Belt and Road program gives China a crucial inroad into Western Europe and a symbolic boost in its economic tug-of-war with Washington, where President Donald Trump is challenging China over trade and other issues.



The EU, however, is worried about unfair competition from Chinese companies, which are controlled by the Chinese government and benefit from the state's financial backing. EU leaders in Brussels are preparing a strategy to counter the growing influence of China, which they describe as a ''systemic rival.''



Some Italian government officials were critical of the deals, worried that Italy might be ceding national sovereignty in key strategic areas to Beijing. In a sign of opposition, Matteo Salvini, the deputy prime minister and interior minister, stayed away from the official ceremonies with the Chinese delegation.



Di Maio stressed that Italy remains firmly rooted in its alliance with the United States, NATO and its European partners, but said Italy must also look out for its own economic interests.



''Like someone in the United States said 'America first,' I continue to repeat: 'Italy first' in commercial relations,'' Di Maio said.



In response to concerns that the memorandum could open the way to colonization by China, Di Maio countered it would instead help goods manufactured in Italy ''to colonize the world.''



''That is a good colonialization,'' he said.



The Belt and Road project has so far seen investments totaling more than a trillion dollars since its launch more than five years ago, and China says some 150 countries have signed agreements related to the project.



Beijing has marketed the initiative as a way to give some of the world's neediest countries a leg up, helping them gain access to more trade and investment. But it also helps Chinese companies tap new markets for their products while helping Beijing amass greater global influence.



Some governments including the U.S., Japan and India worry that Beijing is trying to build a China-centered sphere of influence that undermines their own sway, pulling developing nations into infrastructure ''debt traps'' that would give China ever-more control over their territories and economies. Some say the proposed improvements are too expensive for the impoverished countries.



China's official position is that Belt and Road is solely an economic initiative with no political motives. Xi said last year that even as China moves closer to the center of the world stage, it will never seek hegemony. (AP)


Another candidate registered under the name Yury V. Tymoshenko  an apparent attempt to siphon votes from Yulia V. Tymoshenko, a former prime minister who led the pro-democracy Orange Revolution that began in late 2004. She is seeking to make a comeback after being released from prison in 2014. Her conviction in 2011 for abuse of power was described as unlawful and unjustified by the European Court of Human Rights.
A picture taken on March 23 shows a fighter of the U.S.-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces flashing the V for victory sign in the fallen Islamic State group's last bastion in the eastern Syrian village of Baghuz after defeating the jihadist group. Kurdish-led forces pronounced the death of the Islamic State group's nearly five-year-old "caliphate" on March 23 after flushing out diehard jihadists from their very last bastion in eastern Syria. AFP



U .S.-backed forces proclaimed the capture of Islamic State's last territory in Syria on Saturday, eliminating its rule over a self-proclaimed "caliphate", but the jihadists remain a threat from sleeper cells around the world.



Originally an offshoot of al Qaeda, IS took large swathes of Iraq and Syria from 2014, imposing a reign of terror with public beheadings and attacks by supporters abroad - but it was eventually beaten back to the village of Baghouz.



"We announce today the destruction of the so-called Islamic State organisation and the end of its ground control in its last pocket in Baghouz," Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) general commander Mazloum Abdi told a victory ceremony.



SDF fighters, who besieged Baghouz for weeks while planes pounded from above, paraded in memory of 11,000 comrades killed in years of fighting against IS.



A band played the American national anthem.



Despite the euphoria, some shooting and mortar fire continued on Saturday morning, according to a Reuters journalist at Baghouz. And Abdi warned the campaign against the militant's more hidden threats must continue.



Some IS fighters still hold out in Syria's remote central desert, and in Iraqi cities they have slipped into the shadows, staging shootings or kidnappings.



The United States believes the group's leader, Abu Bakral-Baghdadi, is in Iraq. He stood at the pulpit of the medieval mosque in Mosul in 2014 to declare himself caliph, sovereign over all Muslims.



Further afield, jihadists in Afghanistan, Nigeria andelsewhere show no sign of recanting allegiance, and intelligenceservices say IS devotees in the West might plot new attacks.



INTERNATIONAL FALLOUT



Still, the fall of Baghouz is a big milestone in a fight waged against the group for more than four years by numerous local and global forces, some of them sworn enemies.



France and Britain, which also back the SDF, welcomed the developments, though U.S. officials acknowledged work remained.



In a separate statement Saturday, President Donald Trump said the region had been "liberated," but added the United States will remain vigilant.



"While this is a critical milestone in the fight against ISIS, we understand our work is far from complete," acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said in a statement.



The capture of Baghouz marked a big moment in Syria's eight-year war, wiping out one of the main contestants' territory, with the rest split between President Basharal-Assad, Turkey-backed rebels and the Kurdish-led SDF.



Assad and Iranian allies have sworn to recapture all Syria, while Turkey has threatened to drive out the SDF, which it sees as a terrorist group. The continued presence of U.S. troops in northeast Syria might avert this.



In his speech, Abdi urged Assad to recognise autonomous administration in areas controlled by the SDF and Turkey to quit areas of northern Syria it has taken over.



Islamic State originated as an al Qaeda faction in Iraq, but took advantage of Syria's civil war to seize land there and split from the global jihadist organisation.



In 2014, it grabbed Iraq's Mosul, erased the border with Syria and called on supporters worldwide to join a jihadist utopia, complete with currency, flag and passports.



Oil production, extortion and stolen antiquities financed its agenda, which included slaughtering some minorities, slave auctions of captured women, grotesque punishments for minor crimes, and the choreographed killing of hostages.



Those excesses drew an array of forces against it, driving it from Mosul and the Syrian city Raqqa during a year of heavy defeats in 2017 and driving it down the Euphrates to Baghouz.



EATING GRASS



Over the past two months, some 60,000 people poured out, fleeing SDF bombardment and a shortage of food so severe that some were reduced to cooking grass.



Intense air strikes levelled entire districts and, according to rights groups, killed many civilians.



Civilians made up more than half the people leaving Baghouz, the SDF said, including women from the Iraqi Yazidi sect whom the jihadists sexually enslaved.



Thousands of the group's unbending supporters, including many foreign women who married jihadists, also abandoned the enclave. At displacement camps the SDF had to keep them away from other, often traumatized, residents.



Their fate has befuddled foreign governments, who see them as a security threat and are loath to accede to SDF entreaties to repatriate them.



As the fighting progressed, convoys of trucks from Baghouz started to include hundreds, and then thousands, of surrendering jihadist fighters, many hobbling from their wounds.



The SDF said it captured hundreds more in recent weeks who tried to slip through its cordon and escape into Iraq or across the Euphrates and into the Syrian desert.



At the end, they were holed up in a tiny enclave from which they released a video showing fighters still shooting with smoke billowing above - an attempt to portray their last stand as heroic and a call to arms for future jihadists. (Reuters)


Consumer and public health groups are renewing their push to make the governments Health Star Ratings mandatory to boost public confidence in the labelling system, but the food industry would strongly resist such a change.

The federal government is reviewing the Health Star Ratings, a scheme introduced in 2014 that provides an at-a-glance healthiness score on food packaging, based on the products nutrient profile.

Nutri-Grain could lose stars and yoghurts gain more under the proposed changes. Credit:Peter Braig

The review, published in February, recommends keeping the system voluntary with a target for it to be on 70 per cent of relevant products by the end of 2023.

Submissions close on Monday and a slew of organisations, including the food industry and various consumer and health groups, are preparing to submit last-minute responses.
Chemist Warehouse stores appear to be running low on goods as allegations emerged that striking workers have been targeted with violence and threats at the picket line.

The indefinite strike at three key Chemist Warehouse distribution centres has been running for nearly two weeks with little progress in talks between the company and union.

On Friday, The Sunday Age visited five Chemist Warehouse stores in inner Melbourne and all appeared to show considerable reductions in stock with numerous empty and thinning shelves.

Chemist Warehouse has become best known for its ultra-cheap prices and its assault on the traditional pharmacy business model in Australia.
Contrary to popular belief, some people do die wishing theyd spent more time at work.

You only have to read the last words of famous people, from artist Pablo Picasso to educator Maria Montessori, to see this is true. Or take the word of a US-based academic who went through all 3500 entries in Last Words of Notable People and found numerous examples of people who died thinking about their unfinished work.

Of those respondents who work more than 40 hours a week, 77 per cent don't regret it. Credit:Moodboard

Here in Australia, research suggests most people do not regret the hours they spend in paid work, even if they work more than 40 hours a week. We also derive a great deal of our sense of self-worth from paid work, though many of us regret not spending enough time with family and loved ones.

I know this feeling well  I sometimes wish I could work a full week at work and spend a full week with my loved ones and hobbies. But since no one has discovered a way of being in two places at once, weve had to invent the concept of work-life balance instead. (Its a bit like dreaming of flying cars and coming up with Uber).
One parent was so upset about their child's assessment that they paid an outside tutor to re-mark the essay and demanded the school use the rival result, which was one point higher.

Then there was the mother who wrote to a school offering to sit detention on her daughter's behalf, arguing she was the one who was late to wash the forgotten uniform, so she would accept the punishment.

Karen Porter with her two boys Cameron Morris and Lachie Morris, at their Fairlight home where they share the chores. Credit:James Brickwood

They are among a legion of Sydney parents rushing to rescue their children from everyday challenges and minor failures such as a spat with a mate, a talking-to from their teacher, or a forgotten history assignment.

Some dub them snowploughs, because they remove obstacles from their child's path. But the principal of St Catherine's School in Waverley, Julie Townsend, prefers the term 'concierge parents'. "They are there at a little desk waiting for any problems, and sort them out," she said.
Australia is entering a new political era. Unless conservatives and genuine liberals make persuasive counter-arguments, we could be in the midst of a fundamental realignment in the Australian cultural landscape that entrenches progressive shibboleths for a generation.

Its a far cry from the Howard years (1996-2007). In those days, it was those on the ideological left who were in a despondent mood, because conservatives increasingly represented the political mainstream.

Beyond the white picket fence ... the Australian political landscape has shifted to the left. Credit:Jessica Shapiro

For a man routinely described as lacking charisma, John Howard managed to hit just the right tone. He showed that integration was the key to social cohesion. Citizenship tests were born. The republic was passe.

Ably supported by Philip Ruddock, Howard showed that controlled border protection benefits nobody more than the immigrants who come here fairly and legally. As a result, it helped damp down the fires of racism and xenophobia. (Just look at Europe today.)
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says becoming a parent has "almost certainly" affected her response to the Christchurch terrorist attack.

In a preview for Monday nights The Project, Waleed Aly sits down with Ardern to talk about how New Zealand has responded to one of the countrys darkest days.

The interview starts with an unexpected request from Ms Ardern, who asks Aly if he'd mind a hug. I know that might seem strange, Ardern says, as the two embrace.

The pair then talk about how parenthood has "almost certainly" altered her response to the attack.
Jennifer's 1997 statement to police is hard to read. When she was eight, she was sent by her teacher to a seminary adjacent to her Catholic school in a southern suburb of Melbourne to carry out an errand. While she was looking for something in the chapel cupboard, a priest she didn't know approached her. "Jennifer" remembered nothing about the priest other than that he spoke with a thick Italian accent. Credit:Darrian Traynor After grabbing her, he pulled down her tights, raped her and then forced her to perform a sex act on him. "I can remember that he said I was bad and evil, and that I was naughty, and that God was watching me," she told police. She remembered nothing about the priest other than that he spoke with a thick Italian accent. The police investigated thoroughly. Jennifer said they were "fantastic". They believed her but, in the end, there was not enough evidence for a conviction.

Jennifer's parents said the police had told them the chief suspect had been "moved back to Italy" and this had hampered the investigation. The police also said other people had made complaints about this priest. "They said if he were ever to enter the country again, he would be a person of interest to them," Jennifer's mother said. April 2013: Peter O'Callaghan QC gives testimony about the Melbourne Response at the Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the Handling of Child Abuse by Religious and other Non-government Organisations. Credit:Justin McManus The happy and outgoing child her parents had known changed virtually overnight. For a month afterwards she fiercely resisted going to school. Her parents were worried but never knew the reason for the change. In late 1997, Jennifer met the independent commissioner the Church had appointed, Peter O'Callaghan, QC, who ended up serving in the role for 20 years. She also met with the compensation panel and with Carelink, which was co-ordinating health services under the Melbourne Response.

The process happened in fits and starts. Jennifer said she and her parents "had to instigate everything", though she also put things on hold herself for just under two years when she went to live overseas. You had to push and push and push. The only reason they took me seriously, I think, was because I went to the police. Her mother recalls the meeting with Mr O'Callaghan as professional but "very lawyerly". The process struck her as "trying to keep everything within the Church to limit the damage to the Church". "It didn't seem to take into any account the human damage that had been done." The Child Abuse Royal Commission made extensive criticisms of Pell's Melbourne Response along very similar lines to Jennifer's, including that it was "not sufficiently independent of the Archdiocese of Melbourne in its operation".

Loading It concluded that a "scheme that is heavily dominated by lawyers and traditional legal process is unlikely to provide the most supportive environment for complainants". It found Mr O'Callaghan had discouraged two victims from going to the police. Jennifer and her parents are certain they never received a transcript of the interview with Mr O'Callaghan. It is not suggested that Mr O'Callaghan personally withheld from providing the transcript to Jennifer and her parents. If the archdiocese did fail to send a copy of the transcript, this would be a breach of the process. A spokesman for the Melbourne Archdiocese said that Jennifer had been legally represented throughout the process but did not comment specifically on whether a transcript had been sent. Mr O'Callaghan told the royal commission he had been "independent in all respects", making decisions "without fear or favour and without any influence from other persons".

Jennifer reached the end of the Melbourne Response process more than three years after she told her parents about the rape. In 2000, she received a carefully worded pro forma letter from Pell offering her $25,000 as compensation along with a legal agreement that she drop the matter. "It is my hope that my offer ... will be accepted by you as a preferable alternative to legal proceedings and that it too will assist you with your future," Pell wrote. An earlier, harsher, version of the letter had warned victims the Church would "strenuously defend" any court proceedings. The royal commission found it was "inevitable" that such language would intimidate victims who might be considering pursuit of civil cases. Jennifer accepted the payment and understood the agreement to also impose a legal obligation on her not to talk about her abuse - one reason she hasn't spoken about her experience before. A Church lawyer acknowledged to the royal commission that some of the compensation paperwork could be read as legally compelling victims' silence, but insisted that this was not actually the case.

Jennifer, who is now 40, has managed well, but the rape has changed her life, her mother says. She has a prominent role in the public service, which is part of the reason she has requested anonymity. But her personal relationships have suffered. She had a long-term male partner until recently, though her psychologist says there were unhealthy aspects to the relationship. The psychologist told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age the impact of the rape had been "profound and pervasive". Ribbons on the railings of St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne earlier this month, for the victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. Credit:Simon Schluter The family remain astounded that no one senior from the Church - not their local priest, much less Pell - phoned or held a meeting with them. "We were known enough in the area and in the Church ... and we were just left out in the cold," Jennifer said.
None of Pfizers actions are illegal. But the investigation reveals the enormous influence pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer can have. In 2010, chronic pain wasnt on the agenda in Australia. There were few specialist doctors, no code number for chronic pain in hospitals, and few effective medicines available. Painaustralia was launched to advocate for those affected. Ms Brydon became its founding CEO. Meanwhile, Pfizer had a drug for treating nerve pain: Lyrica. But it was expensive, and according to some experts, not much better than a placebo for some common nerve-pain conditions like sciatica.

In 2011, the health department rejected Pfizers application for a taxpayer subsidy for Lyrica because of "uncertain cost effectiveness". Health consumer organisations are meant to represent the interests of patients, lobby for funding for conditions, and fight for new drugs to be made available. But many accept significant donations from pharmaceutical companies, putting them at risk of a conflict of interest. Pfizer gave Painaustralia, the peak body that represents consumers and doctors, $433,175 between 2011 and 2016, according to Pfizer's disclosure records (Painaustralia puts this figure at $247,000). Two other health consumer groups, Chronic Pain Australia and the Australian Pain Management Association, each got hundreds of thousands of dollars, too.

Spokespeople for all three groups denied Pfizer's funding - which they said was untied and unconditional - influenced them in any way. The funding was used for newsletters, education, media campaigns and other activities, and they said they never lobbied on Pfizer's behalf. But Ms Brydon, who retired from Painaustralia in 2017, was happy to speak candidly. It was part of their marketing strategy. They wouldnt have done it otherwise. Why would they do it otherwise?" she asked. A Pfizer spokesman said all its relationships were firmly above-board. Health consumer organisations play a vital role in supporting patients, their families and carers living with difficult health conditions, as well as advocating for improved standards of care and access to treatments," the spokesman said.

Pfizers relationships with these groups are based on integrity, respect, and transparency, ensuring the independence and credibility of both organisations. We firmly contest any insinuation to the contrary. Pfizer also supported the National Pain Summit at Parliament House in Canberra in 2010, as well as the development of Painaustralias national pain strategy. That strategy  with a foreword by a scientist who is a speaker for Pfizer and who took part in a Pfizer-funded trial on Lyrica, alongside Pfizer's employees  called for Lyrica and other chronic pain medicines to be subsidised. In 2012, Pfizer applied for subsidy again. When a drug company applies for a subsidy, consumer groups are invited to make submissions. These submissions, which are meant to represent the views of patients, can have enormous influence on subsidy decisions, experts told The Age.

The Australian Pain Management Association made a submission to the department, The Age's investigation discovered; Chronic Pain Australia encouraged its members to do the same. Both groups have received funding from Pfizer. By law, these submissions are confidential  meaning the media and public cannot see who made submissions, or what was said. The strategy, the summit, the submissions, the consumer group advocacy; "it was like the perfect storm, it was all coming together," Ms Brydon says. And this time, Lyrica was approved for subsidy. Absolutely, the two things are linked. Pfizer was very lucky we were doing what we were doing. The timing was exquisite, really."

"Self-interest drives these companies, and profit, let's not kid ourselves." Pfizers spokesman said the company sought subsidy for Lyrica on the request of patients, pain specialists and health consumer organisations. He said Pfizer had no strategy to win consumer groups support. Immediately after approval, Pfizers selling campaign kicked into action. Between April and September 2012, Pfizer ran 91 "education events" for doctors relating to pain almost four a week, according to University of Sydney researchers. Between April 2012 and September 2015, it would run 491 such events, at a cost of almost $3.8 million.

US studies have found when a pharma company educates doctors about a drug, they tend to prescribe more of it, and do a worse job of making sure they are giving it for the right indications. We were seeing conferences being organised, bringing all the pain specialists in, says pain doctor Tony Hall, one of the first in the country to prescribe subsidised Lyrica. GPs were prescribing it for every type of pain, not just nerve pain. Thats an indication of just how widely Pfizer were promoting this medicine. In 2012, Pfizer paid a $US1 billion fine after the Department of Justice alleged it promoted four drugs, including Lyrica, for conditions that they were not medically indicated for  and paid doctors kickbacks for prescribing them. Pfizer also sponsors major medical societies that represent doctors who prescribe Lyrica.

One body that Pfizer supports is the College of Anaesthetists, our peak body for pain medicine. Its most-recent pain management evidence guidance is used by doctors around Australia to help people with acute pain. Pfizer put $25,000 toward the printing of that guidance document, and also supports the societys annual scientific meeting, annual refresher day course and the facultys spring meeting. Including the printing costs, the college has received $199,470 from Pfizer in the last three years. An association between the college and the healthcare industry does not imply endorsement of products or services, a spokeswoman for the society told The Age. All funding was at arm's length. "The college is meticulous in its approach to managing real or perceived conflicts of interest." The lead author of that guidance document has given Pfizer-sponsored speeches about Lyrica, although the company did not directly pay him to speak.

The guidelines recommend pregabalin. Pfizers network of sales representatives also swung into action. In LinkedIn posts, several Pfizer sales representatives brag about their successes selling Lyrica and getting it onto hospital "formularies" - the hospital's stock of default drugs. "I successfully achieved Lyrica formulary listings in the following hospitals by getting local Specialists to champion the listing," said one. "I know what it takes to get formulary of your product portfolio." That salesman also boasted that he specialised in "GP surgery lunch meetings". "Lyrica PBS listing March 2012 with growth over 500%," he wrote. In Australia, drug companies are not allowed to directly advertise drugs to consumers  a prohibition designed to stop money influencing treatment decisions.

Instead, Pfizer rolled out a nerve-pain awareness campaign, suggesting to people with pain that wont go away that it may be something called nerve pain. If this is you, ask your doctor about nerve pain today," the ads said. Pfizer's spokesman categorically denied any link between the nerve-pain awareness campaign and Lyrica. In just six months in 2014, the awareness campaign had 24.1 million impressions, according to Pfizers own data. Display advertising on the web reached another 2.1 million people. In 2012-13, doctors wrote 322,078 pregabalin scripts. In 2014-15, they wrote 2.69 million.

Professor Chris Maher. Credit:Janie Barrett They got a direct-to-consumer marketing program. Then you could fill in a form online to check your symptoms, and theyd say youve got neuropathic back pain, go see your doctor for some Lyrica, says Professor Chris Maher, a University of Sydney researcher and one of the worlds top back pain experts. So they created this market for this medication. "The research on effectiveness, and other research on dependence and harms, would suggest if we had our time again we would have been wiser not to go down this path." Doctors consider sudden withdrawal from pregabalin to be unsafe. If you are considering changing your dose, you are advised to see a doctor.
The Premier, Ms Berejiklian, campaigned strongly against the Shooters, warning that they were a "dangerous party" that wanted to give weapons to children and weaken gun laws. Loading Dubbo, where former deputy Nationals leader and Police Minister Troy Grant is retiring, was also "extremely tight", according to a senior Nationals source. The independent candidate in Dubbo, Mathew Dickerson, was ahead in the count on Saturday night. The Coalition only held a six-seat majority going into the election, and up until the final published poll of the campaign, it was deadlocked 50:50 with Labor.

But Labor sources on Saturday night said that Opposition leader Michael Daley's final campaign week, which saw him having to defend comments he made about Asian students as well as a woeful appearance in a live TV debate, cruelled their chances of winning more seats. A senior Labor source said: "This is disappointing. This is what happens when you have a shocking final week." Another said: "This is bad. No other way to describe it." The Opposition's treasury spokesman, Ryan Park, said the party would need to do some serious soul-searching over the coming weeks. "The result tonight is not as good as what we would have liked. No point sugar-coating it. That's the truth and all of us have a responsibility to have a look at the campaign, what worked well, what we could have done better," Mr Park said. NSW Opposition Leader Michael Daley with his Deputy Penny Sharpe and wife Christina as he concedes the NSW state election. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Speaking at the Coogee Bay Hotel on Saturday, Mr Daley said he would continue on as leader. He thanked his family, candidates, the party, and the 22,000 volunteers - "you beautiful people in red T-shirts" - for their efforts during the campaign. The result came after early exit polling from the day had the Coalition and Labor at 50:50, with minority government still likely. But as the night unfolded, it became clear that Labor had collapsed. Speaking on the ABC, Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the result demonstrated the "positive campaign Gladys Berejiklian has run". "I think what Gladys has been able to successfully do in this election is talking about the other things, the significant infrastructure, that we're building across the state and the importance of that," Mr Perrottet said.

"If you look at where the Liberal Party is across the country right now, this appears early on to be a very, very positive result." Trent Zimmerman, the Liberal federal member for North Sydney, said: "After the Victorian election, this will be a huge morale boost, we've turned a corner." Loading In claiming victory in his seat of Monaro, Nationals leader John Barilaro said he was lost for words. "Can I say I am humbled by the people of Monaro to put trust in me again. It's been a mighty effort for the past four years. This electorate, the community I represent, had to share me with the rest of the state and regional NSW," he said.

Mr Barilaro's seat is one of the Nationals most marginal and the party feared it could have lost as many four seats. But it has failed to pick up Ballina, which it had its sights on. The Greens retained Ballina. Ms Berejiklian, who took over as premier from Mike Baird in 2017, is the state's second female premier but in retaining government, she becomes the first to win an election. Labor frontbencher Jodi McKay was circumspect as the predictions for the Coalition retaining government became stronger. "It's a disappointing result for us, but I also think this is not a victory that the government can crow

without when you ... look at the seats that they are likely to lose," she told ABC TV.
Foreign Minister Hon. Tilak Marapana and delegation met with Madam Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Under- Secretary General in charge of the UN Office in Geneva Mr. Michael Moller this week, on the side-lines of the 40th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

High Commissioner Bachelet on 20 March, having received the delegation warmly, appreciated the progress made by Sri Lanka in some of the key human rights commitments arising from HRC resolution 30/1, and reaffirmed her readiness and willingness to continue to work with Sri Lanka closely in further strengthening implementation and achieving progress through technical assistance and support in areas where such assistance was required by Sri Lanka.

The delegation comprising Hon. Dr. Sarath Amunugama, M.P., Hon. Dr. Suren Raghavan, Governor of the Northern Province, and Mr. Ravinatha Aryasinha, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez had a frank and candid discussion with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, during which perspectives on different aspects of OHCHRs engagement with Sri Lanka were shared by the delegation. Regarding certain information contained in the Office of the High Commissioners Report such as the mass graves in Mannar, the release of lands held by the military in the North and East and other matters, the Sri Lanka delegation emphasized the importance in compiling these reports by engaging closely with the relevant local institutions and independent bodies, including the National Human Rights Commission, in verifying facts on the ground.

At the meeting with the UN Under- Secretary General on 21 March the Foreign Minister briefed Mr. Moller on progress achieved by Sri Lanka in reconciliation, peacebuilding and development and emphasized the importance of continuing assistance by UN agencies in ongoing reconstruction, reintegration and sustainable development efforts. The Foreign Secretary and the Permanent Representative were associated with the Minister.

Appreciating Sri Lankas leadership in some of the key areas of UN work, Mr. Moller indicated that his office would facilitate contacts between Sri Lanka and other development partners based in Geneva to help explore joint projects to complement Sri Lankas national efforts at advancing socio-economic development, noting further that Sri Lanka being a country with reasonably higher social indicators than many developing states, it could better share best practices and lessons learnt in its national development efforts with the SDG Lab maintained by the United Nations Office (UNOG) and benefit from the experiences of other countries as well. Responding to Sri Lanka initiative on the National Thripitake Week and the importance of Thripitake

as a UNESCO heritage, Under-secretary General Moller assured the delegation that the UN Office in Geneva would extend support for holding specific activities such as library talks on traditions and cultures highlighting their significance as common heritage.

On 21 March, Heads and deputy heads of UN and other International Organizations based in Geneva, Ambassadors to the Human Rights Council and other representatives had an opportunity to meet Hon. Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana and other members of his delegation at a reception organized by the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva at a venue provided courtesy the World Intellectual Property Organization.

Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nation

Geneva

23 March 2019
Loading "My main life story is I don't know who I am, I don't look like anybody, I didn't perform like anyone, I didn't talk like anyone. I was always like the square peg in the round hole," she said. Attempts by Ms Brown, who works in television production, to solve the mystery of her birth have failed. Other than two diary entries by the police she has no clues. The first entry records that she was found and sent to Deniliquin hospital. A second, and more promising lead, on Wednesday 7 March 1973, was about a mysterious young woman who wanted to see the babies in the hospital nursery. Police reported that the young woman, aged about 20 or slightly younger with "long dyed blonde hair", visited the hospital at 2.40pm wanting to visit the nursery. She was "well groomed, about 5' 5" inch high, wearing a green short dress and bone coloured cardigan".

"(She) asked to see the babies. When questioned as to the reason she left immediately," reported the police. Others thought the baby girl may have been abandoned by a "carnie" passing through the town on the NSW side of the Victorian border for the annual Deniliquin show. Caron Brown as an infant at her foster home in Sydney in late 1973/early 1974. There is no evidence that police have pursued the case since 1973. "I wish there was a cold case for foundlings," said Ms Brown. Attempts to find relatives on genealogy sites using her DNA have also failed: "There were no green leaves [the symbol for finding a close relative]." When she heard that a newborn baby boy had been abandoned in Perth last Thursday, Ms Brown immediately felt a connection. "Hello my little brother from another mother. I am your sister in spirit," she said, wishing him well. She said with less stigma around children born out of wedlock, and in other situations, there was a better chance of him of finding his parents.

Ms Brown was fostered as a temporary, emergency placement when she was five months old by a military family, the Browns, who lived in Sydney's north. Curiously, the Browns' surname was added to her birth certificate, suggesting that they'd promised NSW's Department of Community Services (DOCS) to adopt her. The documents she has sighted from DOCS reveal that her mother was continually asking for additional money to pay for the foster child. Mrs Brown delayed the adoption until Caron Brown was about 18, around the time that payments from the state to foster parents stop. It was a hard childhood, she said, with older siblings who had been formally adopted. Her adopted father died of cancer when she was 10. Very often people like Ms Brown who were adopted as children are told they are lucky to have a new family, said Nikki Hartmann, manager of Post Adoption and Forced Adoption Services for Relationships Australia (SA).

Caron Brown's birth certificate has so many unknowns that some people have even thought it was a fake. Credit:Caron Brown supplied When they start searching for their genetic or birth parents they often face resistance. Yet millions of people who know their parents search for details of their family tree every day. "It's so unfair," said Ms Hartmann. She said most people don't understand the loss experienced by anyone who has been abandoned. "What we know now, a lot more than years ago, is about the trauma of that loss." "We know that babies feel that trauma. They have grown inside their mother. They know her smell, sound and movements, then they are taken away. The baby has experienced the first significant loss - also described as 'the primal wound'."

"Adoptees tell us they are expected to feel grateful, and often feel like they have to pretend that they don't have another family," she said. For those of us who know our family it is easy to dismiss an adoptees' interest in finding their own, said Ms Hartmann. "People don't understand what it is like to grow up in a family where you don't have any genetic mirrors." That is, family who walk or talk like you. Ms Brown said that growing up she experienced stigma for being an abandoned child. A NSW Department of Community Services officer was in regular contact with her school, which meant teachers knew she had been fostered. "Teachers would tell kids, and parents would tell their children not to play with me. I was always a second class citizen wherever I went." As a ward of the state, she was told by her primary school teachers she'd end up in jail by the time she was 18. Like many adopted children, Ms Brown was hyper-vigilant. "It was like my foot was on the accelerator, and I would think everything in life was a threat."

Ms Brown always wanted to find her birth parents, but she also worried about what she would discover. Deniliquin Pastoral Times reported Ms Brown's birth in Tuesday March 6 1973, a day after the premature baby was found on a doorstep. Credit:Deniliquin Pastoral Times "Pandora's box is a bitch ... I always felt like I was a dirty little secret. When you are brought up as a ward of state, people look at you differently," she said. Ms Hartmann said one thing she knows is that in time family secrets will come out, even if it is years or decades later. That was the case this month in the United States when South Dakota police arrested a woman who had abandoned her frozen baby in 1981. Using DNA testing and genealogy databases, police traced the baby's mother - a 57-year-old woman in Sioux Falls named Theresa R. Bentaas - and was expected to charge her with murder, reported The New York Times
She says she did this in the past, and only under strict supervision, without guests present. She says she had permission, at the time, from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning to do this. One night, in 2014, Jilly caught her foot in a doorway and ripped a nail on the foot. She went into my room and climbed on my bed, and she was sulking big time. She was hurt. She thought Id hurt her and I said its not me, Jilly. I slept with her that night and put a heater in my room. Ms Lowing says she didnt feel scared. She just wanted attention because she hurt herself. Theyre like kids. Three years ago, Ms Lowing watched as the two babies of her freshwater crocodiles, female Johnie and male Fovian, hatched on her bed. Named Fovian Junior and Johnie Junior, they were given away to other reptile enthusiasts.

Two of Ms Lowing's crocs take a dip. Credit:Eddie Jim But Ms Lowing does not recommend crocodiles as a pets. They are a specialist animal. Ive seen so many people in Victoria  without any education or any experience or research  just go and get one, and most of them die. Youve got to be passionate. She says she has been nipped on her hands and legs but reckons it's always for good reason, for example, to say get off me when shes stepped on them. She says you must always respect them. With Jilly, youve got to be aware that if she even nipped me it could be quite dangerous. I grew up with horses and you never walk behind a horse. Its just common sense. Ms Lowing says her house, including chained and locked doors and security cameras, could not get any more secure.

Im one of the only homes in Rockbank that hasnt been broken into, she jokes. DELWP has refused to renew her commercial licence, under which she is able to keep wildlife and give reptile demonstrations at schools, parties and public events. Ms Lowing and Jilly Credit:Eddie Jim But Ms Lowing is going to fight, via a VCAT conference on May 13, to get her licence back and to keep ownership of freshie crocs Johnie and Fovian, who live in the locked lounge of the house with their own pool and fireplace. Each is 1.5 metres long. It's also a fight to keep her three carpet pythons, two turtles, two blue tongue lizards, two stumpy tailed lizards and one goanna, who also live at her house.

A DELWP spokesperson said that the department is supporting the cancellation of her demonstrators licence, but would not explain why, before the VCAT conference. Ms Lowing had feared that if she lost at VCAT, and the authorities seized Jilly, they would euthanise her. That influenced her decision to drive Jilly to Darwin, although it requires getting wildlife transport licences in three jurisdictions she will traverse. There will be no roadside walks en route for Jilly, but she will lie in a well ventilated crate in a transit van, and Ms Lowing will sit close by, uttering soothing words through the vent holes to the 12-year-old croc, who she loves like her own child. Thats why shes in a van and not the back of a truck.

Ms Lowing has several pets Credit:Eddie Jim Jilly will be introduced to other crocs in the Northern Territory, but Ms Lowing worries how Jilly will cope without her. They bond with their owners and they will fret, and they can die. Ms Lowing grew to love reptiles while growing up on a farm near Deniliquin, in southern NSW, and her mother encouraged it. She owned her first snake, a carpet python, at age 10. She got her first crocodiles - a saltwater and a freshwater - as a young nurse living in the Melbourne suburb of Reservoir and has kept crocs, on and off, for 40 years. Her dream was to own a wildlife park, but she never had the funds.

Her fascination with crocs has remained. Theyre so prehistoric and intelligent. They understand you."

She says they respond to commands. Years ago, when Jilly would sun herself outdoors, and the day cooled, Ms Lowing would say, Jilly, its time to go to bed, and Jilly would retreat into her warm bungalow. Ms Lowing says crocodiles have their own personalities. As a male, Fovian is antsy and you have to watch him, because youll be walking past and hell have a go but if you yell at him hell stop. A hatching at Ms Lowing's Rockbank home. Johnie, the female freshie, is blase, although she would perhaps not be nice to one ex-partner of Ms Lowings, who used to tease Johnie.
Melbourne commuters will be able to use their Android smartphones to pay their public transport fares from 7am on Thursday.

But iPhone users will have to wait to join the digital transport revolution with the State Government unable, so far, to strike a deal with Apple.

After a successful trial, Public Transport Victoria is flicking the switch this week to allow Android smartphone owners to use Google Pay instead of a physical myki card when catching a bus, tram or train in Melbourne or regional Victoria.

Nick Neos trials Myki mobile on his Android. Credit:Joe Armao

The new ticket option is available to most Android users, as long as their phone runs Android 5.0 or higher and has a built-in NFC wireless chip for contactless transactions.
Former federal Labor leader Mark Latham looks set to secure a seat for One Nation in the NSW upper house, marking his return to public office after 14 years on the political sidelines.

Minor parties including the Greens and the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers polled strongly in early election results as Premier Gladys Berejiklian returned to power with a possible majority in parliament.

Mark Latham looks set to return to public life after 14 years on the political sidelines. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

With only a small percentage of upper house votes counted on Saturday, Pauline Hanson's One Nation is on track to secure one seat in the Upper House, which will go to Mr Latham.

Mr Latham, the foremer Werriwa MP, has led the revival of One Nation party, which could see it become a powerful force in NSW politics for the first time in two decades.
Yin Cao from Lilyfield is one of almost 300,000 people in NSW eligible to vote for the first time this Saturday.

The 52-year-old, who was born in China and last month became an Australian citizen after 13 years as a resident, is embracing democracy with enthusiasm.

Yin Cao, 52, is voting for the first time on Saturday and has embraced it with enthusiasm. Credit:Wolter Peeters

"I have the right to vote but I also think I have a responsibility to use it well," Ms Cao said. "Ive never seen a ballot paper before and Ive been warned it might be confusing. I don't want to go in and tick the wrong box and then waste my vote."

About 5.3 million NSW residents are enrolled to vote in the state election, almost 145,000 more than for the 2016 federal election, according to the Australian Electoral Commission and its NSW counterpart.
Beijing: When author Morris Gleitzman ended his talk at a Beijing community library by showing a list of Australians who write books that children love, the Chinese parents leapt to their feet with smartphones to photograph it.

The worlds biggest book publishing market thrives on personal recommendations. School book lists are tightly controlled by the government in China, as are book publishing licences.

But the voracious readers who are fuelling a revival in physical bookstores, and a rush by western publishing houses to translate childrens titles into Chinese, take their cues elsewhere.

It is social media influencers that often inspire the book choices Chinese parents make.
The mass mobilisation comes after a week of turmoil and confusion, where seemingly everything and nothing changed. After a summit in Brussels, Britain's Brexit Day was pushed back from March 29 until at least April 12, but it remains unclear whether Britain will truly leave then or at a later deadline of May 22 or if it will leave at all. May could try to muscle her twice-rejected deal through Parliament next week. But if that fails - and the odds are against her - then Britain could be headed for a softer Brexit, or a no-deal Brexit, or a general election or even, yes, a second referendum. Since the Brexit vote in 2016, the prospect of a second referendum has gone from something once barely imaginable to something remotely possible. Critics argue that a second referendum would be deeply damaging to democracy and a betrayal of those who chose to leave.

If official estimates match the one-million number, it would make it one of the biggest demonstrations Britain has ever seen. Credit:AP But a no-deal Brexit brings its own unsettling script. Britain has even staged dress rehearsals for some of the scariest scenarios of leaving the European Union without a firm breakup plan: possible medicine shortages and massive traffic jams for Continent-bound trucks now having to deal with customs controls. Supporters of a second plebiscite say that the first referendum was a singular moment in time and point to allegations of rule-breaking by the campaigns for and against. Besides, they argue, shouldn't people be allowed to have a say on the actual Brexit deal on the table  isn't that democratic, too? Brexit remains a divisive issue and, at times, the atmosphere has grown overheated  and toxic. Anna Soubry, a lawmaker who quit May's Conservative Party to join a new Independent Group, said she has received death threats for her pro-EU position on Brexit. She urged the public who supported a second referendum to come out on Saturday to deflate that kind of abuse.

Loading Attitudes on Britain's EU membership have shifted since 2016, when Britons voted 52 per cent to 48 per cent to leave the European Union. For most of the past year, polls have shown a slight majority would now opt to remain in the bloc. Pollsters say that the small but persistent swing is partly down to changing demographics. Younger people are overwhelmingly pro-EU, and those teens who couldn't vote in 2016 are now of voting age. The majority of voters 65 and older voted to leave the bloc, and some of them have since died. "We weren't given a chance to vote even though it's our future," said Amelia Theodorou, 17, who was holding a sign that said "Never Gonna Give EU Up." EU supporters, calling on the government to give Britons a vote on the final Brexit deal, participate in the 'People's Vote' march in central London.

But if a do-over is going to happen, then it's not just the people noisily cheering outside of Parliament on Saturday that need to get behind the idea. Only a handful of Conservative MPs are calling for a second referendum, and while the opposition parties back the idea, support from some quarters seems lukewarm. Protestors want another public vote on Brexit. Credit:Bloomberg A second referendum would also take an estimated five months to organise, and there is the vexing issue of what to put on the ballot paper. "It's unlikely at the moment, simply because there just doesn't seem to be support from Parliament," said Anand Menon, a professor of European politics at King's College London. But, he added, that in these febrile times, "anything is a possibility". The British Prime Minister has made it clear she is opposed to a second referendum. If she doesn't pass her withdrawal deal on its third outing, however, then Parliament could start to seize control of the Brexit process. One option is to hold a series of "indicative votes" that would help to sift out what Parliament does want.

Loading Some second referendum campaigners say that sequencing is everything and that a new plebiscite has the best shot of becoming a possibility if other options are first disregarded. Of course, Britain could just cancel the whole Brexit mess. A petition to revoke Article 50 - in effect the EU exit papers - is now one of the most popular petitions on the British Parliament's website. But even though Britain can, in theory, pull the plug on Brexit, the more likely route to staying in the European Union would be by putting a vote to the people again. That's what Emma Knuckey, 38, said she wants. She voted to leave in 2016 in part because of the infamous red double-decker bus with its claim that money sent to the European Union could instead be used to fund Britain's national health-care system.
Erbil, Iraq: After a nearly five-year reign of terror in which it seized expanses of territory across Syria and Iraq and drew up to 200 Australians to join its ranks, the so-called Islamic State has been militarily destroyed and its remnants scattered, though world leaders are warning it will continue to pose a threat as a guerrilla group and a global terrorist network.

The final victory also crystallises the vexed question of what to do with the thousands of captured fighters and their families who are now in Kurdish-run camps or prisons and whom their home countries - including Australia - appear reluctant to take back.

US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces stand in formation at a ceremony to mark their defeat of Islamic State militants in Baghouz. Credit:AP

Over the weekend, mainly Kurdish fighters who make up the Syrian Democratic Forces cleared out the last IS fighters who were dug into tunnels under the village of Baghouz near the Iraq border.

The eradication of the groups last sliver of territorial control in a small, dusty village on the banks of the Euphrates River, puts a significant dent in the global jihadist movement that IS energised like nothing had done since the September 11 attacks in 2001 on the United States.
Deir al-Zor Province: Twenty-one people have been hospitalised after inhaling gas when their government-controlled village in Syria was shelled by rebels, state media is reporting.

The victims were from the village of al-Rasif in Hama province, SANA news agency said on Sunday, citing a local hospital spokesperson regarding the injuries.

A Syrian military source said that five shells carrying toxic gas were fired by opposition factions at al-Rasif from a rebel-controlled area.

In retaliation to the alleged poisonous attack, the Syrian army destroyed targets in the rebel area, the source said..
He also said of Russia's hacking operation in 2016, "The Special Counsel did not find that the Trump campaign, or anyone associated with it, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in these efforts, despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign." Speaking to reporters before he departed Florida to return to the White House, Trump called the Mueller probe "an illegal takedown that failed". "It's a shame that our country had to go through this and a shame the president had to go through this," he said. Loading It's sure to be only the beginning of months of fighting in Congress - and perhaps in the courts - over how much should be disclosed from Mueller's report. Barr said in a letter to Congress on Friday that after this initial summary he'll consult with Mueller and Deputy Attorney Rod Rosenstein "to determine what other information from the report can be released to Congress and the public".

Nothing in the Justice Department's regulations on special counsels would prevent Barr from releasing Mueller's report once certain material is redacted, including classified matters and information about continuing law enforcement operations. But Barr has cited the department's policies against publicly criticising someone who isn't indicted - and against indicting a sitting president. Democratic lawmakers already have demanded the full report as well as the underlying evidence so they can pursue their own investigations. The Democratic candidates who seek to replace him in 2020 joined in demanding the full release of the report. Justice Department officials, who described Mueller's report as comprehensive, said he didn't recommend any additional indictments and doesn't have any secret indictments under seal.

Before completing his probe, Mueller helped secure guilty pleas from five people involved in Trump's presidential campaign - including his campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn, who became his first national security adviser - though none admitted to conspiring with Russian operatives. He also indicted more than two dozen Russian hackers and military intelligence officers. While Mueller didn't seek an indictment of Trump or members of his family, they're not necessarily in the clear. Loading Trump faces continuing risk from other investigations, with federal prosecutors in New York looking into his company, presidential campaign and inaugural committee. Mueller has been sharing some matters and handing off others to US attorney's offices in Manhattan; Alexandria, Virginia; and Washington, as well as the Justice Department's national security division. That may keep alive cases that touch on his personal and business affairs. Through a series of indictments, Mueller laid out a picture of operatives and hackers tied to Russian intelligence agencies doing all they could to help put Trump in the White House even as other Russian officials had scores of contacts with people tied to Trump's campaign.

In the letter on Friday to leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, Barr said, "I remain committed to as much transparency as possible, and I will keep you informed as to the status of my review". But Barr suggested during his confirmation hearing in February that he might exclude any criticism of Trump and others who weren't charged with crimes from the information he'd share with Congress. "If you're not going to indict someone, then you don't stand up there and unload negative information about the person," he said. In addition, Trump and his lawyers have indicated that before any details from Mueller's findings are made public they want to see anything that would disclose the president's private communications. They say they want to preserve their right to assert executive privilege, the doctrine that a president must have the ability to receive candid advice. Congressional Democrats - who now control the House - say they want broad disclosure of Mueller's investigative work, citing the earlier success of Republicans in pressuring the Justice Department to release details they said showed anti-Trump bias in the FBI. They have talked of issuing subpoenas to force disclosure and even public testimony by Mueller.

"It is imperative for Mr. Barr to make the full report public and provide its underlying documentation and findings to Congress," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Friday in a joint statement. Mueller's Silence Mueller laid out a picture of operatives and hackers tied to Russian intelligence agencies doing all they could to help put Trump in the White House. Credit:AP Mueller, a former FBI director, was appointed in May 2017 to conduct one of the most consequential investigations in US history. He hasn't spoken a word in public since then, leaving it to the indictments he's filed to build his case. Beyond Russia's election meddling - which US intelligence agencies found was aimed at hurting Democrat Hillary Clinton and ultimately at helping Trump win - Mueller investigated possible collusion in the operation and whether Trump sought to obstruct justice in what the president has regularly denounced as a "witch hunt".
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the opening ceremony of UNHRC's 40th session (Source: VNA)



The Vietnamese delegation, led by Ambassador Duong Chi Dung, head of Vietnams permanent mission to the United Nations in Geneva, contributed ideas to many draft resolutions, and co-sponsored three resolutions on the right to food, the right to culture, and the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights.

Ambassador Dung delivered speeches at the general debate on the promotion and protection of human rights in multilateralism, the dialogues with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, and the debate on human rights situation in Myanmar and rights of people with disabilities.

Vietnams participation in the UNHRCs 40th session again demonstrated its proactive and responsible attitude to the councils common work in the spirit of dialogue and cooperation, thus helping ensure the councils activities conform to basic principles of the UN Charter and international law.

During the four-week session, the UNHRC discussed a wide range of issues related to childrens rights, the disableds rights, the right to housing, and the right to food, among others.

The council also scrutinised the human rights situations in such countries as Myanmar, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Syria, South Sudan and Iran, while exchanging notes on measures to intensify technical assistance for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine and Mali.

Twenty-nine resolutions were adopted in this session. Among them, 13 were approved through voting./.
Antique Car Show 2019





























The Antique Auto Club of The Bahamas Annual Car Show was held yesterday, March 23, 2019 at Arawak Cay (The Fish Fry) from 12:00 noon until 6:00pm.

Proceeds were in aid of the Ranfurly Home for Children and the Bahamas Association for the Physically Disabled.

It was excellent.

Find out more about the club here... http://www.antiqueautosbahamas.com/

These are some of my favourite images from the day. Click on each image for larger view.
GREENWICH  Young filmmakers will get a chance to show off their work behind the camera as the town hosts the eighth annual Greenwich Youth Film Festival.

The event will start at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Greenwich Librarys Cole Auditorium. Films will be screened, and prizes will be awarded in several categories, including most creative, social action, most experimental, best first year film student submission and best of festival.

We wanted to give students an opportunity to express their ideas, festival co-chair Bharti Chojar said Friday. They can make this part of their portfolio.

Chojar and her co-chair Meg McAuley Kaicher, president of the Greenwich Botanical Center, were impressed by the scope of the student films.

What really stands out though is that these are students who are very much aware of their environmental situation and all thats going on in the world, Chojar said. This is a great venue for them to promote their ideas and show their vision to the world.

More than 50 films were submitted last month from high school students from Fairfield County and Westchester County. That includes films created by students at Greenwich Academy, Brunswick School and Sacred Heart Greenwich.

This gives students an opportunity to make films in genres that are not only drama based, Chojar said. We want to allow them to make films for social action and honor them for creativity. Documentaries are submitted a lot, and we even have animation here, which is very exciting.

The film festival has grown significantly since it began as a project of the Junior League of Greenwich. It is now run by the Greenwich Botanical Center as a component of the Fairchild Challenge STEAM program, which has been called a benchmark for exceptional STEM education and for empowering students to become the next generation of scientists.

The goal remains promoting filmmaking as a form of local environmental activism and a method for visual storytelling and using media tools among youth.

Actor and filmmaker Kabir Chopra, who created and starred in a series called Swiped to Death about online dating, will be a keynote speaker during the reception.

Chojar said she was looking forward to Chopras talk, saying those in attendance, particularly the young people, could learn a lot about the challenges of being a student and a filmmaker.

It will be an inspirational talk for the students, Chojar said.

Attendees can register online for the event at https://greenwichbotanicalcenter.org/event/greenwich-youth-film-festival-2019/. The winning films may be screened in June at the Greenwich Arts Council and the Greenwich Botanical Center.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
KIDS & FAMILY

Enjoy a weekend at the track with your entire crew! Martinsville Speedway offers special family packages to accommodate your whole family for a weekend of fun at The Short Track.
STAVANGER, Norway - Rodney Horgen recalled the moment he thought he was facing the end: when a huge wave crashed through the Viking Sky cruise ship's glass doors and swept his wife 30 feet across the floor.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 24/3/2019 (993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This photo provided by Michal Stewart shows passengers on board the Viking Sky, waiting to be evacuated, off the coast of Norway on Saturday, March 23, 2019. Rescue workers off Norway's western coast rushed to evacuate 1,300 passengers and crew from the disabled cruise ship by helicopter on Saturday, winching them one-by-one to safety as heaving waves tossed the ship from side to side and high winds battered the operation. (Michal Stewart via AP)

STAVANGER, Norway - Rodney Horgen recalled the moment he thought he was facing the end: when a huge wave crashed through the Viking Sky cruise ship's glass doors and swept his wife 30 feet across the floor.

Horgen, 62, of Minnesota, was visiting Norway on a dream pilgrimage to his ancestral homeland when the luxury cruise quickly turned into a nightmare.

This photo provided by Alexus Sheppard shows passengers on board the Viking Sky, waiting to be evacuated, off the coast of Norway on Saturday, March 23, 2019. Rescue workers off Norway's western coast rushed to evacuate 1,300 passengers and crew from a disabled cruise ship by helicopter on Saturday, winching them one-by-one to safety as heaving waves tossed the ship from side to side and high winds battered the operation. (Alexus Sheppard via AP)

The Viking Sky was carrying 1,373 passengers and crew, going from Norway's Arctic north to the southern city of Stavanger when it had engine trouble along Norway's rough, frigid western coast. Struggling in heavy seas to avoid being dashed on the rocky coast, the ship issued a mayday call Saturday afternoon.

Horgan said he knew something was badly amiss when the guests on the heaving ship were summoned to the vessel's muster points.

"When the windows and door flew open and the 2 metres (6 feet) of water swept people and tables 20 to 30 feet that was the breaker. I said to myself, 'This is it,'" Horgen told The Associated Press. "I grabbed my wife but I couldn't hold on. And she was thrown across the room. And then she got thrown back again by the wave coming back."

Photos posted on social media showed the ship listing from side to side and furniture smashing violently into the ship's walls. The hands and faces of fellow passengers were cut and bleeding from the shattered glass, he said.

An experienced fisherman, Horgen said he had never before encountered such rough boating conditions.

Passengers are helped from a rescue helicopter in Fraena, Norway, Sunday March 24, 2019, after being rescued from the Viking Sky cruise ship. Rescue workers are evacuating more passengers from a cruise ship that had engine problems in bad weather off Norway's western coast while authorities prepare to tow the vessel to a nearby port. (Svein Ove Ekornesvag/NTB Scanpix via AP)

"I did not have a lot of hope. I knew how cold that water was and where we were and the waves and everything. You would not last very long," he said. "That was very, very frightening."

And yet, the scariest part was yet to come.

That was when hundreds of passengers, including Horgen, were winched off the heaving ship by helicopter, one-by-one as winds howled around them in the dark of night, by rescue workers trying to evacuate everyone on board.

Waves up to 26-feet- (8-meters-) high were smacking into the ship, making it impossible to evacuate anyone by boat.

The cruise ship Viking Sky as it drifts after sending a Mayday signal because of engine failure in windy conditions near Hustadvika, off the west coast of Norway, Saturday March 23, 2019. The Viking Sky is forced to evacuate its estimated 1,300 passengers. (Odd Roar Lange / NTB scanpix via AP)

The ship was within 100 metres (300 feet) of striking rocks under the water and 900 metres (2,950 feet) from shore when it stopped and anchored in Hustadvika Bay so passengers could be evacuated, Coast Guard official Emil Heggelund told Norway's VG newspaper.

Norway's Joint Rescue Coordination Center stepped in, sending in five helicopters. Passenger Alexus Sheppard told the AP that people with injuries or disabilities were winched off the cruise ship first.

"It was frightening at first. And when the general alarm sounded it became VERY real," she wrote in a text.

Janet Jacob, among the first group of passengers evacuated to the nearby town of Molde, told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that the winds felt "like a tornado" and prompted her to start praying for everyone on the ship.

The cruise ship Viking Sky lays at anchor in heavy seas, after it sent out a Mayday signal because of engine failure in windy conditions, near Hustadvika, off the west coast of Norway, Saturday March 23, 2019. The Viking Sky is forced to evacuate its 1,300 passengers. (Frank Einar Vatne / NTB scanpix via AP)

"I was afraid. I've never experienced anything so scary," she said.

"We saw two people taken off by stretcher," passenger Dereck Brown told Norwegian newspaper Romsdal Budstikke. "People were alarmed. Many were frightened but they were calm."

Viking Ocean Cruises, the company that owns and operates the ship, said 20 people were injured and received treatment at medical centres.

The airlift evacuation went all through the night and into Sunday morning, slowing for a bit when two of the five rescue helicopters had to be diverted to save nine crewmembers from a nearby ailing cargo ship.

A cruise ship was stranded off Norway's western coast in bad weather.;

In all, 479 passengers were airlifted to land, leaving 436 passengers and 458 crew members onboard, the company said, when the Viking Sky's captain decided on a new plan.

Einar Knudsen of Norway's Joint Rescue Coordination Center said the airlift was halted when the captain decided before noon Sunday to try to bring the cruise ship to the nearby port of Molde on its own engines.

"The conditions were good enough for the captain to have no more evacuations," Knudsen told the AP.

Three of the ship's four engines were working so a tug boat and two other vessels assisted the Viking Sky as it slowly headed to Molde under its own power. It finally docked at the port late Sunday afternoon, the cruise company said.

The Viking Oceans Cruise company said the ship's next scheduled trip, to Scandinavia and Germany that was to leave on Wednesday, was cancelled. Norway's Accident Investigations Board said the ship would remain in Molde, pending an investigation.

The Viking Sky was a relatively new ship, delivered in 2017 to operator Viking Ocean Cruises.

It had departed for a 12-day cruise from the southern Norwegian city of Bergen, visiting the Norwegian towns and cities of Narvik, Alta, Tromso and Bodo before its scheduled arrival Tuesday in the British port of Tilbury on the River Thames. The passengers were mostly an English-speaking mix of American, British, Canadian, New Zealand and Australian citizens.

Viking Cruises chairman Torstein Hagen praised the rescue operation by Norwegian authorities and the actions of the vessel's crew.

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He told the VG newspaper that the events surrounding the Viking Sky were "some of the worst I have been involved in, but now it looks like it's going well in the end and that we've been lucky."

Shipping tycoon Hagen is one of Norway's richest men and the founder of the Switzerland-based Viking Cruises that operates river and ocean cruises.

"I'm very proud of our crew," Hagen told VG.

When asked why the cruise ship ventured into an area known for its rough waters in the middle of a storm that had been forecast by meteorologists, Knudsen, from Norway's rescue service, said it was the captain's decision to proceed with the cruise.

__

Tanner reported from Helsinki, Finland.
RED DEER, Alta. - The leader of Alberta's United Conservative Party notes that many people in the province support secession from Canada, based on what he calls "a real tension that runs through the hearts of many Albertans."

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This article was published 24/3/2019 (993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RED DEER, Alta. - The leader of Alberta's United Conservative Party notes that many people in the province support secession from Canada, based on what he calls "a real tension that runs through the hearts of many Albertans."

The party states in a news release that a recent poll found "a shocking 50 per cent of Albertans surveyed said they support secession from Canada."

Kenney says in the release that most Albertans are proud Canadians, but they will no longer tolerate the rest the country benefiting from the province's resources while trying to hold back its economy.

His comments come in the wake of the British Columbia government's effort to pass legislation that would impact the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, which runs from Edmonton to Metro Vancouver.

They also reflect his view of the federal government's Bill C-69, which would change how projects such as oil and gas pipelines are reviewed.

Kenney says that in the midst of economic crisis, Alberta is "under assault from other governments in Canada."

"We are by far the biggest contributor to the federation. We have always played by the rules, paid our taxes, and produced wealth for other Canadians," Kenney said in a statement on Saturday.

"And it's why we need to stand up and fight for a fair deal, a new deal, for Alberta in the Canadian federation."

Kenney repeated during a campaign stop in Red Deer on Saturday an earlier pledge to hold a referendum on federal equalization payments if his party wins the provincial election on April 16.

Kenney last week said a UCP government would hold a referendum on equalization on Oct. 18, 2021  the same date as the next municipal elections in Alberta  if what he dubs the "no more pipelines'' law hasn't been mothballed, and if there is still no progress on pipelines.

Kenney further says if he becomes premier, he would also call for Ottawa to cut federal income tax for Albertans equal to the amount of the Canada Health Transfer and Canada Social Transfer.

He says that would allow Alberta to raise its tax rates to give Albertans more control over their own money.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley, who spoke at a campaign rally in Edmonton on Sunday, noted she compelled the federal government to buy the stalled Trans Mountain project to keep it alive.

"Pipeline, pipeline, pipeline. That is two more times saying the word pipeline than Mr. Kenney did in the House of Commons in the 10 years that he was representing Alberta in Ottawa," Notley told the rally, referring to the UCP leader's time as a federal cabinet minister under former prime minister Stephen Harper.

"We led the largest pipeline campaign across Canada and we have made the need to build pipelines a majority opinion across this country, including in British Columbia."

On Sunday, Kenney further pledged a UCP government would seek to form federal and provincial agreement on resource corridors to create pre-approved, guaranteed land corridors for Canadian products.

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He also said the UCP would demand an exemption for Albertans to the stress tests recently imposed by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and would create an Alberta parole board.

Notley, meanwhile, repeated accusations Sunday that Kenney's proposed rollback of corporate tax increases was a giveaway to profitable corporations. She also summarized the UCP's first week of the campaign, where a candidate resigned over online comments she reportedly made about white nationalists, and her replacement was accused of calling for wives to obey their husbands.

"In all fairness, in responding to this, Mr. Kenney did say, listen, he wasn't aiming for perfection with his candidates. Well, Mr. Kenney, mission accomplished," Notley said to cheers from the crowd.

She promised an announcement Monday on child care.

Also Sunday, Alberta Party leader Stephen Mandel promised to introduce a single provincial identification card that would replace the current drivers' licences, health cards, provincial ID and the card necessary for buying hunting and fishing licences.

Alberta Liberal Leader David Khan announced a plan he says will improve access to foreign credential upgrades and help new Canadians integrate more easily.
Accountability from authorities. Support for coping with ongoing trauma. A sense of being equally recognized as survivors of a decades-long injustice perpetrated against Indigenous people, wherein children were taken from their families and adopted or fostered out to non-Indigenous homes.

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This article was published 24/3/2019 (993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Accountability from authorities. Support for coping with ongoing trauma. A sense of being equally recognized as survivors of a decades-long injustice perpetrated against Indigenous people, wherein children were taken from their families and adopted or fostered out to non-Indigenous homes.

These are some of the things Metis survivors of the 60s Scoop hope to see, on the path to healing. Now, the Metis National Council (MNC) hopes to take that feedback to Ottawa, as it pursues its plan for a nation-to-nation reconciliation with the federal government for the Scoop era, which lasted from the 1950s to the 1990s.

Bella Gelbraith, who attended Saturday's gathering, was scooped as an infant in Churchill.

On Saturday, about 75 Metis survivors, as well as their supporters, gathered in a Clarion Hotel meeting room for the first of two days of discussions.

The event is part of a countrywide series of MNC engagement sessions, which kicked off in Swan River earlier this month and runs until late April.

For some survivors, this weekends engagement session marked the first time theyve been surrounded by so many others who shared similar stories of being taken out of the Metis community. Some were exposed to abuse in their foster homes, or severed from knowledge of their cultural identity.

"Its been very good, very informative, and the people sitting around the table are very vocal and letting you know what theyve gone through," said Bella Gelbraith, who was scooped shortly after birth in Churchill.

"I think were all here for the same reason, we need some healing. And I guess, maybe in sort of a way, a closure."

That has been a long time coming for the Metis Nation. In 2017, following litigation in Ontario, Ottawa announced an $800-million settlement package that would compensate status First Nations and Inuit survivors with between $25,000 and $50,000. But non-status First Nations and Metis survivors were excluded from the settlement.

"It was like a kick in the stomach," said MNC senior adviser Duane Morrisseau-Beck, himself a Scoop survivor. "Were being left out again. Were not being recognized. But I think there is a silver lining in all of that. Going through a court process doesnt dive into what the real needs are, its based on a specific issue theyre trying to address."

With that in mind, the MNC  which is composed of five provincial Metis governments, including the Manitoba Metis Federation  began working on their own reconciliation plan. This one would not be through the courts, but done on what they aim for as a "nation-to-nation" basis with the government of Canada.

Last October, the MNC launched the current phase of its efforts in Winnipeg, with a national symposium on the Metis 60s Scoop experience. That was quickly followed by the ongoing engagement sessions; after the Winnipeg event wraps this weekend, the MNC will continue on to Edmonton, Saskatoon, Toronto and Richmond, B.C.

Along with providing information about the Scoop itself and existing supports, the engagement sessions also allow survivors to speak about their own experiences, and give the MNC direction on what they need from Metis and non-Metis organizations to help heal from the harm of the Scoop.

On Saturday, many described wanting simply to have their voices heard in the discussion, as well as to be acknowledged and recognized as survivors. They also described a desire to reconnect Metis families splintered by the child-welfare system, to find family members still missing and receive mental-health support.

In addition, many survivors spoke of wanting to hear directly from the agencies that implemented the scoop, including the RCMP and child-welfare services, to get a better understanding of why Metis children were taken from their homes.

"Theres this information gap when it comes to understanding what really transpired," Morrisseau-Beck said. "Some are dealing with a lot of hardships in accessing their records. We are hearing they want some accountability, and want to hear from some of these agencies that have been part of that, the scooping of our children."

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Nobody knows for certain how many Metis children were seized during the 60s Scoop.

Records from the era can be patchy at best, and while the MNC is working to get a sense of the scope of the effect, Morrisseau-Beck thinks its unlikely they will ever get a clear number of how many Metis people were affected.

Some support efforts are already underway; in December the MNC launched a website to track reconciliation efforts and create a database of Metis survivors, which can be found at sixties.scoop.metisportals.ca. The MNC also plans to establish a toll-free number for Metis survivors to be connected to immediate counselling.

Once the engagement sessions are complete, the MNC plans to take the guidance from survivors and use that to shape future reconciliation negotiations with Ottawa.

"I think our people are ready for this, but well need to make sure they are given all the supports that are needed," Morrisseau-Beck said. "Because this is really an opportunity to listen. Were giving them a context and providing them some really good information so they can make that decision."

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca
Three years ago this month, longtime pals Olena Kozel and Erin Ahl were sharing a bottle of red when their conversation turned to a subject that had been on both their minds for some time: after years of working for other people, how satisfying would it feel to operate a business of their own?

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 24/3/2019 (993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Three years ago this month, longtime pals Olena Kozel and Erin Ahl were sharing a bottle of red when their conversation turned to a subject that had been on both their minds for some time: after years of working for other people, how satisfying would it feel to operate a business of their own?

For fun, they got out their phones and began looking up commercial real estate listings, checking to see if there were any vacancies in the fast-developing West Broadway-Sherbrook Street area, their mutual neck of the woods.

As it turned out, an antique store located at 156 Sherbrook St., about a 10-minute walk from their respective homes, had just hit the market. Interested parties were invited to check out the roughly 800-square-foot space, which was due to come available in a matter of weeks.

"We went down on our own without an agent, just our laptops to take a few notes on. Even though we couldnt really see what the walls and floors looked like because the store was so crammed with stuff, we were both immediately like, We love it, well take it," Ahl says, her eyes lighting up.

One problem: never mind the fact the pair didnt have a proper business name when they committed to a three-year lease a couple days later, they werent 100 per cent sure what they intended to do with the premises, either.

"No doubt about it, we definitely did things backwards, getting the space first, then putting together a business plan second," says Kozel, seated inside Public General Store, a chic, little-bit-of-everything shop that wouldnt look out of place in vibrant, retail communities such as Torontos Queen West district or Vancouvers South Granville neighbourhood.

"But heres what I sincerely believe," Ahl pipes in, noting during their four-month renovation phase, they stripped the interior down to the studs, pretty much, before bringing the place back to life with the assistance of family members. "Had we had done things the so-called normal way, sitting down and figuring out our financing first, who knows what might have happened? It could very well have been years before we took the plunge. Or we could have scared ourselves out of the idea altogether, which makes me sad to even think about."

---

Public General Stores offerings include its own line of scents.

At least a couple of times a month, a person strolling past Public General Store will stop, glance at the hanging plants in the display window, then poke their head inside the door and ask, in a loud enough voice to catch the owners attention, "Hey, what kind of store is this, anyways?"

"I tell them were the kind of store where you can buy something nice for yourself or a loved one, or for that matter, nothing at all. You can just come in and hang out," Kozel says, showing off a cleaning station where customers are able to refill their own containers with a variety of products, including laundry soap, dish soap and all-purpose cleaners, all of which are plant-based and all of which "smell amazing."

"Were not exactly about the hard sell, here," Ahl adds with a chuckle. "We have our own line of scents and lots of times Ill say, here, put this on and leave....just go about your day. And if you still like the way it smells on you in a few hours, after it reacts with your body chemistry, you know where to find us."

Soap refill station

Their casual approach seems to be working; not only is their Instagram page littered with comments like "what a beautiful shop," "oooooh" and "just take my paycheque," Kristin Kreuch, the Vancouver-born actor who stars in the locally-shot, CBC drama Burden of Proof, cited Public General Store in a January interview with Tourism Winnipeg, when asked which Winnipeg shops she enjoys visiting most, when shes not busy filming.

OK, lets rewind a bit. In May 2016, a day or two after taking over, Ahl and Kozel put their heads together in an effort to figure out what exactly they intended to do with their newfound property. Ahl, who studied graphic design at Red River College, was already making her own line of jewelry, so they knew ahead of time they had at least one thing they could offer customers. Kozel, who took art history at the University of Winnipeg, had connections in the local art scene and figured she would reach out to her friends from that community, offering to market their work, as well.

"In addition to that, wed both worked in retail quite a bit and shared the same taste when it came to what we thought was important in a product, that it should be all natural, low waste and wherever possible, made locally," Kozel says.

"To put it simply, our plan was to showcase those types of things in our store, for our customers to use and love, the same way we do," Ahl says.

Among the items for purchase on Day 1, which coincided with the 2016 Sherbrook Street Festival, were works of art by Winnipegger Danny Reede, vegan and palm-free soaps made by local biz Fat Lye Soap Co. and skin care products from Ontario-based Leaves of Trees. Also, because they wanted non-plastic cleaning brushes to go along with their refill station, they reached out to Iris Hantverk, a Swedish firm that makes a point of hiring visually-impaired craftspeople to make its eye-catching  and functional  wood-and-bristle brushes.

Their line of products has grown exponentially since then; in addition to local stalwarts such as Smak Dab mustard and Abiding Citizen bitters and shrubs, they also stock B Kind shampoo bars, made in Montreal, and New New Age teas, produced on a medicinal herb farm in southwestern Ontario. Not to mention select pieces of vintage clothing, flower bouquets and their own line of beeswax candles, perfume oils and incense cones.

"I often refer to Erin as a mad scientist because shes always coming up with these fantastic new things," Kozel says, explaining Badlands, their most popular fragrance, borrows its name from their favourite Bruce Springsteen tune. "I remember one time, back when we were living together, I came out of the shower and she announced, Hey, while you were in there, I figured out how to make a lip scrub. I was like, How is that even possible? I was only gone 15 minutes."

In keeping with the "general" part of their tag, 2019 will mark the second summer Ahl and Kozel work hand-in-hand with Eddlewood Farms Chris Friesen and Jennifer Leeck, by serving as a weekly pick-up location for the married couples community supported agriculture (CSA) boxes, consisting of organic vegetables, fruit and eggs from their Warren-area farm.

"My husband and I have known Erin for over 12 years and Olena for at least five, and together we decided Public would be a great location (for pick-ups) because its so central, plus they carry a lot of things that fall in line with supporting ethical, local and small companies," Leeck says, pointing out CSA subscription pick-ups at Public General Store will occur every Tuesday evening for 16 weeks during the growing season. "The store is such a beautiful and welcoming environment, we love the idea of our customers going to and supporting it when they pick up their veggies. Erin and Olena have not only been supportive as customers but have also created a really wonderful, safe space we feel fortunate to have access to, to sell our goods."

Ahl and Kozel both laugh, saying, "Yeah, we spotted that, too," when asked about a recent message posted to their Facebook account that read, in part, "time to expand to Calgary."

"Well be signing our second lease any day now so in answer to your question, no, were not going anywhere and furthermore, we wouldnt want to be anywhere else," Kozel says. "Weve become friends with almost all the other business owners on the street. The guys from Handsome Daughter and Waltz on In (barbershop) pop in when they need gifts, Talia (Syrie) from Tallest Poppy shops here quite a bit everybody around here has each others back, it seems. Were like a little family."

Further to that, Ahl and Kozel both hope their "little family" continues to get bigger and bigger, in the months and years ahead.

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"One of our favourite things is when we see people come in with a coffee from Thom Bargen in one hand and a doggy bag from one of the nearby restaurants in the other, as they do the full walkabout," Ahl says. "When I was young, Osborne Village was the place to be. I used to hang out there all day on a Saturday, going from shop to shop. Thats the kind of vibe I want for our neighbourhood, too."

"Its going to take some time, but weve always talked about how great it would be if more and more shops open, moving us ever closer to Broadway and eventually Portage (Avenue), connecting this stretch of Sherbrook to the rest of the city," Kozel says.

"To us, thats how you bring profit to a specific area, by having all these diverse, little shops in a four or five block radius. Not only that, its a way more entertaining way to shop than spending an afternoon at the mall, wouldnt you say?"

David Sanderson writes about Winnipeg-centric restaurants and businesses.

david.sanderson@freepress.mb.ca

David Sanderson

Dave Sanderson was born in Regina but please, dont hold that against him. Read full biography
WASHINGTON - Special counsel Robert Mueller did not find evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or co-ordinated" with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election but reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice, Attorney General William Barr declared Sunday. That brought a hearty claim of vindication from Trump but set the stage for new rounds of political and legal fighting.

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This article was published 24/3/2019 (993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WASHINGTON - Special counsel Robert Mueller did not find evidence that President Donald Trump's campaign "conspired or co-ordinated" with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election but reached no conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice, Attorney General William Barr declared Sunday. That brought a hearty claim of vindication from Trump but set the stage for new rounds of political and legal fighting.

Trump cheered the outcome but also laid bare his resentment after two years of investigations that have shadowed his administration. "It's a shame that our country has had to go through this. To be honest, it's a shame that your president has had to go through this," he said.

FILE - In this July 4, 2017 file photo, Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin is shown prior to a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Democrats pointed out that Mueller found evidence for and against obstruction and demanded to see his full report. They insisted that even the summary by the president's attorney general hardly put him in the clear.

Mueller's conclusions, summarized by Barr in a four-page letter to Congress, represented a victory for Trump on a key question that has hung over his presidency from the start: Did his campaign work with Russia to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton? That was further good news for the president on top of the Justice Department's earlier announcement that Mueller had wrapped his investigation without new indictments. The resolution also could deflate the hopes of Democrats in Congress and on the 2020 campaign trail that incriminating findings from Mueller would hobble the president's agenda and re-election bid.

But while Mueller was categorical in ruling out criminal collusion, he was more circumspect on presidential obstruction of justice. Despite Trump's claim of total exoneration, Mueller did not draw a conclusion one way or the other on whether he sought to stifle the Russia investigation through his actions including the firing of former FBI director James Comey.

FILE - In this Aug. 27, 2018, file photo, a view of Trump Tower, left, on New York's Fifth Avenue. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

According to Barr's summary, Mueller set out "evidence on both sides of the question" and stated that "while this report does not conclude the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him."

Barr, who was nominated by Trump in December, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller in May 2017 and oversaw much of his work, went further in Trump's favour.

The attorney general said he and Rosenstein had determined that Mueller's evidence was insufficient to prove in court that Trump had committed obstruction of justice to hamper the probe. Barr has previously voiced a broad view of presidential powers, and in an unsolicited memo last June he cast doubt on whether the president could have obstructed justice through acts  like firing his FBI director  that he was legally empowered to take.

FILE - In this Jan. 25, 2019, file photo, former campaign adviser for President Donald Trump, Roger Stone walks out of the federal courthouse following a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Stone was arrested Friday in the special counsel's Russia investigation and was charged with lying to Congress and obstructing the probe. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

Barr said their decision was based on the evidence uncovered by Mueller and not affected by Justice Department legal opinions that say a sitting president cannot be indicted.

Mueller's team examined a series of actions by the president in the last two years to determine if he intended obstruction. Those include his firing of Comey one week before Mueller's appointment, his public and private haranguing of then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation because of his work on the campaign, his request of Comey to end an investigation into Michael Flynn, the White House's first national security adviser, and his drafting of an incomplete explanation about his oldest son's meeting with a Russian lawyer during the campaign.

Mueller's findings absolve Trump on the question of colluding with Russia but don't entirely remove the legal threats the president and associates are facing. Federal prosecutors in New York, for instance, are investigating hush-money payments made to two women during the campaign who say they had sex with the president. Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, implicated Trump in campaign finance violations when he pleaded guilty last year.

Attorney General William Barr carries his briefcase as he arrives at his home in McLean, Va., on Saturday evening, March 23, 2019. Barr scoured special counsel Robert Mueller's confidential report on the Russia investigation with his advisers Saturday, deciding how much Congress and the American public will get to see about the two-year probe into President Donald Trump and Moscow's efforts to elect him. (AP Photo/Sait Serkan Gurbuz)

The special counsel's investigation did not come up empty-handed. It ensnared nearly three dozen people, senior Trump campaign operatives among them. The probe illuminated Russia's assault on the American political system, painted the Trump campaign as eager to exploit the release of hacked Democratic emails to hurt Hillary Clinton and exposed lies by Trump aides aimed at covering up their Russia-related contacts.

Thirty-four people, including six Trump aides and advisers, were charged in the investigation. Twenty-five are Russians accused of election interference either through hacking into Democratic accounts or orchestrating a social media campaign to spread disinformation on the internet.

Sunday's summary  and its suggestion that Mueller may have found evidence in support of obstruction  sets up a fight between Barr and Democrats, who called for the special counsel's full report to be released and vowed to press on with their own investigations.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller walks past the White House after attending services at St. John's Episcopal Church, in Washington, Sunday, March 24, 2019. Mueller closed his long and contentious Russia investigation with no new charges, ending the probe that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

"Attorney General Barr's letter raises as many questions as it answers," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.

"Given Mr. Barr's public record of bias against the special counsel's inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report," they said. Trump's own claim of complete exoneration "directly contradicts the words of Mr. Mueller and is not to be taken with any degree of credibility," they added.

Trump was at his Florida estate when lawmakers received the report. Barr's chief of staff called Emmet Flood, the lead White House lawyer on the investigation, to brief him on the findings shortly before he sent it to Congress. Mueller submitted his report to Barr instead of directly to Congress and the public because, unlike independent counsels such as Ken Starr in the case of President Bill Clinton, his investigation operated under the close supervision of the Justice Department.

Special Councel Robert Mueller, and his wife Ann, depart St. John's Episcopal Church, across from the White House, in Washington, Sunday, March 24, 2019. Mueller closed his long and contentious Russia investigation with no new charges, ending the probe that has cast a dark shadow over Donald Trump's presidency. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Barr did not speak with the president, Mueller was not consulted on the letter, and the White House does not have Mueller's report, according to a Justice Department official.

Though Mueller did not find evidence that anyone associated with the Trump campaign co-ordinated with the Russian government, Barr's summary notes "multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign."

That's a likely reference not only to a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting at which Donald Trump. Jr. expected to receive damaging information on Clinton from a Kremlin-connected lawyer, as well as a conversation in London months earlier at which Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos was told Russia had "dirt" on Clinton in the form of thousands of stolen emails.

A copy of a letter from Attorney General William Barr advising Congress of the principal conclusions reached by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, is shown Sunday, March 24, 2019 in Washington. (AP Photo)

Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, said Congress needs to hear from Barr about his decision and see "all the underlying evidence." He said on Twitter, "DOJ owes the public more than just a brief synopsis and decision not to go any further in their work."

Barr said that Mueller "thoroughly" investigated the question of whether the Trump campaign co-ordinated with Russia's election interference, issuing more than 2,800 subpoenas, obtaining nearly 500 search warrants and interviewing 500 witnesses. Trump answered some questions in writing, but refused to be interviewed in person by Mueller's team.

Barr said Mueller also catalogued the president's actions including "many" that took place in "public view," a possible nod to Trump's public attacks on investigators and witnesses.

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A copy of a letter from Attorney General William Barr advising Congress of the principal conclusions reached by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, is shown Sunday, March 24, 2019 in Washington. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)

In the letter, Barr said he concluded that none of Trump's actions constituted a federal crime that prosecutors could prove in court.

____

Associated Press writers Jonathan Lemire in New York, Deb Riechmann in Palm Beach, Florida, and Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Online: Read the letter: http://apne.ws/Am0jB94

Follow all of AP's Trump Investigations coverage at https://apnews.com/TrumpInvestigations
China Mobile Limited provides mobile telecommunications and related services in Mainland China and Hong Kong. The company offers local calls; domestic and international long distance calls and roaming services; and value-added services, such as caller identity display, call waiting, conference calls, and others. It also provides wireless Internet service, as well as digital applications comprising music, video, reading, gaming, and animation; wireline broadband services; and wireline voice services. In addition, it offers dedicated line and IDC services to corporate customers in a range of industry sectors; and basic corporate communication products comprising corporate VPMN and SMS, and tailor made solutions. Further, the company provides international telecommunications services, which includes IDD, roaming, Internet, MNC, and value added business services. Additionally, it offers telecommunications network planning, design, and consulting services; roaming clearance, IT system operation, and technology support services; value-added platform development and maintenance services; mobile data, and system integration and development services; network construction and maintenance, network planning and optimizing, and training services; electronic communication products design and sale of related products; and non-banking financial services. It also provides mobile cloud research and development services; call center services; e-payment, e-commerce, and Internet finance services; and mobile Internet digital content services, as well as operates a network and business coordination center. The company serves 950 million mobile customers and 187 million wireline broadband customers. The company was formerly known as China Mobile (Hong Kong) Limited and changed its name to China Mobile Limited in May 2006. The company was incorporated in 1997 and is based in Central, Hong Kong. China Mobile Limited is a subsidiary of China Mobile Hong Kong (BVI) Limited.

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Cosan Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in fuel and natural gas distribution, logistics, lubricant, sugar, and ethanol businesses in Brazil, Europe, Latin America, North America, Asia, and internationally. It operates through RaAzen Energia, RaAzen CombustAveis, ComgAs, Cosan LogAstica, and Moove segments. The company's RaAzen Energia segment produces and markets products derived from sugar cane, including raw sugar, anhydrous, and hydrated ethanol, as well as activities related to energy cogeneration from sugarcane bagasse. Its RaAzen CombustAveis segment engages in the distribution and marketing of fuels, primarily through a franchised network of service stations under the Shell brand in Brazil; petroleum refining; operation of fuel resellers, and convenience store businesses; and production and sale of liquefied petroleum gas, and automotive and industrial lubricants. The company's ComgAs segment distributes piped natural gas to customers in the industrial, residential, commercial, automotive, and cogeneration sectors in SAo Paulo. Its Cosan LogAstica segment provides logistics services for transport, storage, and port loading of commodities, primarily for sugar products; and leases locomotives, wagons, and other railway equipment. The company's Moove segment produces and distributes lubricants under the Mobil brand. It operates a network of approximately 7,270 service stations and 1,726 convenience stores, as well as 68 distribution terminals and 68 airports supplying jet fuel. The company was founded in 1936 and is based in SAo Paulo, Brazil.

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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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Shares of iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF split on Friday, October 26th 2018. The 4-1 split was announced on Friday, September 28th 2018. The newly created shares were issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Thursday, October 25th 2018. An investor that had 100 shares of iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF stock prior to the split would have 400 shares after the split.
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Red Hat, Inc. provides open source software solutions to develop and offer operating system, virtualization, management, middleware, cloud, mobile, and storage technologies to various enterprises worldwide. It offers infrastructure-related solutions, such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, an operating system platform that runs on hardware for use in hybrid cloud environments; Red Hat Satellite, a system management offering that helps to deploy, scale, and manage in hybrid cloud environments; and Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization, a software solution that allows customers to utilize and manage a common hardware infrastructure to run multiple operating systems and applications. The company offers application development-related and other technology solutions, such as Red Hat JBoss Middleware, a solution for developing, deploying, and managing applications; integrating applications, data, and devices; and automating business processes in hybrid cloud environments; The company's application development-related and other technology solutions also includes Red Hat cloud offerings, a software solution that enables customers to build and manage various cloud computing environments; Red Hat Mobile, a software development platform that enables customers to develop, integrate, deploy, and manage mobile applications for enterprises; and Red Hat Storage, a software solution that enables customers to manage large, unstructured, or semi-structured data in hybrid cloud environments. It also provides consulting, support, and training services; and realtime operating system, distributed computing, directory services, and user authentication. Red Hat, Inc. has collaboration with Juniper Networks Expand to provide a unified solution for enterprises designed to manage and run applications and services. The company was formerly known as Red Hat Software, Inc. and changed its name to Red Hat, Inc. in June 1999. Red Hat, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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4 Wall Street equities research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Metro Bank in the last twelve months. There are currently 1 sell rating and 3 hold ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street equities research analysts is that investors should "hold" Metro Bank stock. A hold rating indicates that analysts believe investors should maintain any existing positions they have in MBNKF, but not buy additional shares or sell existing shares.

View analyst ratings for Metro Bank or view top-rated stocks.
Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF's stock was trading at $46.36 on March 11th, 2020 when COVID-19 reached pandemic status according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Since then, VGK stock has increased by 45.1% and is now trading at $67.27.

View which stocks have been most impacted by COVID-19.
There is not enough analysis data for Pioneer Credit.

4.4 Community Rank

Outperform Votes Pioneer Credit has received 14 outperform votes. (Add your outperform vote.)

Underperform Votes Pioneer Credit has received 7 underperform votes. (Add your underperform vote.)

Community Sentiment Pioneer Credit has received 66.67% outperform votes from our community.

MarketBeat's community ratings are surveys of what our community members think about Pioneer Credit and other stocks. Vote Outperform if you believe PNC will outperform the S&P 500 over the long term. Vote Underperform if you believe PNC will underperform the S&P 500 over the long term. You may vote once every thirty days.

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Imperial Oil Limited explores for, produces, and sells crude oil and natural gas in Canada. It operates through three segments: Upstream, Downstream, and Chemical. The Upstream segment explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, synthetic oil, and bitumen. As of December 31, 2020, this segment had 138 million oil-equivalent barrels of proved undeveloped reserves. The Downstream segment is involved in the transportation and refining of crude oil, as well as blending, distribution, and marketing of refined products. It also transports crude oil to refineries by contracted pipelines, common carrier pipelines, and rail; maintains a distribution system to move petroleum products to market by pipeline, tanker, rail, and road transport; and owns and operates fuel terminals, natural gas liquids, and products pipelines in Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario. In addition, this segment markets and supplies petroleum products to motoring public through approximately 2,400 Esso and Mobil-branded sites. Further, it sells petroleum products, including fuel, asphalt, and lubricants for industrial and transportation customers, independent marketers, and resellers, as well as other refiners serving the agriculture, residential heating, and commercial markets through branded fuel and lubricant resellers. The Chemical segment manufactures and markets various petrochemicals and polyethylene, such as benzene, aromatic, and aliphatic solvents; plasticizer intermediates; and polyethylene resins. The company was incorporation in 1880 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. Imperial Oil Limited is a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

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Sanchez Energy Corporation, an independent exploration and production company, focuses on the acquisition and development of U.S. onshore unconventional oil and natural gas resources. It engages in the horizontal development of resources from the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas. It also holds an undeveloped acreage position in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) in Mississippi and Louisiana. As of December 31, 2017, the company had assembled approximately 285,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford Shale; and owned approximately 37,000 net acres in the TMS. Sanchez Energy Corporation was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

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VERONA- High School students at Vernon-Verona-Sherrill Central schools hosted a pancake breakfast to benefit the FFA Chapter.

Locals went to the VVS High School to feast on blueberry, corn, chocolate chip, and plain pancakes. There was also eggs, sausage, and bacon available.

All proceeds from Saturday's breakfast go to the FFA student chapter.

Instructors say they're impressed with the students taking charge. "I think the best part is to see the leadership of the students and to see them organizing this and runnning this, it's quite amazing," said Agriculture Educator, Sarah Ouellette.

Students working the breakfast said this is an event they look forward to all year long."Connecting with the community is something I love to do, whether its through FFA or through horseback riding or working at the local food store, its something I look forward to all year long," said Gabby Adams, Student Chapter President.

Maple weekend continues March 24, 30, 31.

Breakfast -7:30 a.m.- 12 p.m. at VVS High School

Maple sales and tours from 9 a.m.- 1 p.m.
ISIS has suffered a momentous blow with the defeat of its last physical stronghold, according to an announcement Saturday by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces.

At the height of its power four years ago, ISIS controlled an area in Iraq and Syria that was the size of Portugal and lorded over almost 8 million people -- a population larger than that of Bulgaria. ISIS also ran a quasi-state that taxed and extorted its millions of subjects, enabling it to field a terrorist army with a large war chest.

While ISIS once attracted an estimated 40,000 people around the world to join its so-called caliphate, that number has since plummeted, as it seems no one wants to join the losing team.

While Trump, who took a premature victory lap last month, certainly contributed to ISIS' demise, the conditions are still ripe for similarly dangerous terrorist groups to form and multiply.

What credit should be given to Trump?

The Trump administration did make a substantial shift in the fight against ISIS in Syria by arming Kurdish forces and increasing the US military presence there.

But it was the Obama administration that initiated the operation in 2016 to take back Mosul, the second largest city in Iraq, where ISIS first declared its "caliphate." Under Obama, ISIS also lost key Iraqi cities including Fallujah, Ramadi and Tikrit.

The Obama administration, however, was so concerned about "mission creep" in Syria that it capped the number of US troops there to 500.

In the waning months of Obama's second term, his Cabinet debated whether to arm Syrian Kurds, who would be key to taking back cities like Raqqa -- which served as ISIS's headquarters. But the US would risk angering Turkey, which considers the Syrian Kurds to be closely aligned with a terrorist group in Turkey.

The Obama team debated this option for so long that it eventually ran out of time to implement it. When it finally approached the incoming administration with the plan to do so, former national security adviser Michael Flynn reportedly rejected it on the grounds that the Trump team wanted to conduct its own assessment of the situation.

After Trump entered office, he approved a plan to arm the Kurdish forces in Syria and dramatically increased the number of US troops there from 500 to 2,000. He also gave his ground commanders greater authority to take military action against ISIS without consulting with the White House.

Days before Raqqa was liberated from ISIS in October 2017, President Donald Trump lauded himself in an interview and said, "I totally changed rules of engagement. I totally changed our military, I totally changed the attitudes of the military...." He also claimed ISIS hadn't been defeated earlier because "you didn't have Trump as your president."

Trump can certainly take credit for hastening the demise of ISIS, but ultimately, the US' strategy was remarkably similar under both presidents. Instead of relying heavily on large numbers of US troops, both presidents used US Special Forces to train and advise local forces. The ground fight against ISIS was almost entirely conducted by Iraqi and Syrian soldiers.

Trump tends to define any course of action that he takes as being markedly different from Obama, but in the case of the anti-ISIS campaign, there were more similarities than differences between the two presidents.

Will ISIS live on?

ISIS has lost its physical territory in Iraq and Syria, and is significantly weaker without a base from which it can train thousands of militants. But it is likely to continue to inspire attacks around the world as a virtual caliphate.

And the real problem is that the conditions in the Middle East that gave rise to ISIS still exist and are likely to produce similar jihadist groups. Those problems include deep sectarianism, fragile or failed governments, and weak economies. Throw in the fast-growing population of the Middle East, and you have a toxic mix that will continue to produce the kind of anger upon which groups such as ISIS feed.

We should be ready for an offshoot of ISIS to form in places like Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, or any other weak state in the region. It may not grow to be as powerful or widespread as ISIS, but the truth remains that there will be a successor group.

It would be dangerous for Trump to celebrate the fall of ISIS without keeping this in mind. To do so would be to commit the same mistake that President Obama made in January 2014, when he dismissed the group that would soon morph into ISIS as a "junior varsity" team.
Scattered showers at times are possible today-tonight.

Heaviest rainfall will remain south of our area (& the risk of severe t'storms will stay southwest of our area), but we will have showers at times throught tonight with dry time in-between.

The good news is that any showers (which may ends a couple flakes in places) will exit very early Monday. Clouds will tend to break & clear from north to south in the afternoon.

It does not look as cold as it appeared last week with highs of 45-51.

It will be windy, however, with north-northeast winds at 20-30 mph.

Winds will turn light tomorrow night. This, combined with dry air & clear skies, will allow lows to drop to 20-25.

After a frosty, cold start to Tuesday, with sunshine & just some patches of clouds, highs should reach 47-52 with an east-northeast wind at 6-12 mph.

Tuesday night will be cold with clear skies & lows 23-26.

Wednesday will see the start of a nice warm-up. It is looking better & better with lots of sunshine (some increasing clouds late), southerly winds at 5-10 mph & highs 56-62.

Some scattered showers are possible Thursday, followed more on Friday (with isolated t'storms), then the heaviest of the rainfall Friday night-very early Saturday morning.

Highs Thursday-Friday will be in the 60s with lows in the 50s.

We may be around 60 to the 60s early next Saturday (before sunrise), but then temperatures should fall in the afternoon from the 50s to the 40s by midday with an overcast.

We may clear some late in the day, but temperatures will remain in the 40s with northeast at 20-30 mph.

After 28-32 next Saturday night, highs of 47-52 seem likely next Sunday.

30-33 Sunday night looks to give way to 50s for April 1.

I went with 60s April 3 & 4 based on model ensembles.



Beyond that, there is now A LOT of conflict among model solutions & now even analog. There has been the development of conflict really since early March, making this one of the more challenging Marches to forecast for the meteorological community as a whole. Some pattern basics are there, but small features are having big impacts.

All that said, I think data is having a problem with this rather rare double El Nino developing. We went from El Nino Modoki to Modoki with very, very heavy MJO influence to Modoki with lack of MJO influence to near La Nina by February, then back to Modoki again in a low solar year. Now, we are in full-throttle model to traditional El Nino.

There is a conflict on how long this traditional El Nino surge will last. Some ensembles actually have this El Nino peaking in early summer, then going neutral by mid summer or peaking in may & going neutral by July. Strength varies & speed of strengthening varies, as well. In looking at my analogs, it would seem unlikely this would suddenly go neutral in the summer & that it would strengthen & last into fall, before going neutral by next late fall-winter.

This traditional El Nino is developing very quickly & not in fall or winter (when we typical see the El Nino develop), but spring. Such big, large-scale changes are posing problems in really getting a good handle on the pattern now. I am sitting here looking at data that conflicts so, so much in April. I am shifting my analogs some due to this blow up of double El Nino & even my analogs are conflicting eachother & having trouble finding commonality.

That said, Euro has chilly weather dominating until mid-month, then very warm all the way to early May.GFS has near mid-April accumulating snowfal LOL. Other models have warmth early April, then cold mid-April, then warmth (which is originally what my analog data had shown). Precipitation is showing more consistency toward normal to slightly drier than normal weather to early May.

So, in saying these things, right now, there are two surges of warmth in April with the latter much more impressive than the first. Question is, is the first surge early or mid April? Do I stick with warm surge first, then cool? Climatology for our area since 1880s says stick with what I have had for months. Climatology also told me stick with big upper ridge with 60s to 70 for days recently too & we could only eek out one nice day.

I am going to analog through double El Ninos with a sudden shift with traditional & take years similar to this one again & see what I come up with. This takes time & research though. I literally spend hours digging through previous years & patterns to make your forecast. I will have another update tonight.
BENTON COUNTY, Ind. (WLFI)  College cadets from across the U.S. trained like soldiers. Purdue Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps hosted its 4th annual Norwegian Foot March.

Norwegian Foot March is a 30 Kilometer, 18.6-mile endurance event. Nearly 700 participants took on this year's trail.

Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Genter, a professor of Military Science at Purdues ROTC Program said the goal for cadets was to finish the race within 4.5 hours. All while carrying at least 25 extra pounds in their rucksack.

Some of the cadets or participants have put in non-perishable food items cause we're not only running this event for pride and as a physical challenge but we're also having a food drive as well, said Lt. Colonel Genter.

Food items included boxed and canned goods, rice and even bags of dog food. This is to symbolize the pounds of gear they would carry on a real mission. All the food will be donated to Food Finders Food Bank.

We hope that instills the importance of community service, said Lt. Colonel Genter.

Service is what the Army is all about. That's what Lt. Colonel Genter hopes the cadets take away.

When they talk about why they joined the Army, it's all about service, giving back, making a difference and being part of a team that does make a difference, said Lt. Colonel Genter.

The event was held at Otterbein United Methodist Church. This year brought out 350 more people than last year's march.
Sa Pa in Lao Cai province (Source: VNA)



In its article titled 25 Natural Wonders in Southeast Asia You Have to Experience to Believe, Fodors Travel said that Ha Long Bay in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh was named one of the new Seven Natural Wonders of the World and a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, with around 2,000 islets sprawling across an indescribable landscape of almost 600 square miles.

The bays floating mountains and emerald-green waters are said to have inspired the animated landscapes of Avatar, and have been used as the set for films like Kong: Skull Island and Pan, it said.

Another wonder in the list is Sa Pa, home to the highest mountain in Vietnam (Fansipan). The website said with its adventurous trekking and natural landscapes, Sa Pa in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai is the ideal vacation destination for those looking to break a sweat while also enjoying the unique flora and animals native to the region.

The website also affirmed Phong Nha Cave in the central province of Quang Binh is a must-see for travelers, as it is home to an expansive underground lake, as well as one of the largest underground rivers in the world.

Also named in this list, the provinces Son Doong Cave was described as the largest cave in the world, which was carved by underwater springs over three million years ago.

Other Vietnamese tourist attractions in the list are the Sand Dunes of Mui Ne in the central province of Binh Thuan, Thac Bac (Silver) Falls in Lao Cai, and Ba Vi National Park in Hanoi.

Attractive destinations in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia like Thi Lo Su Waterfall, Doi Inthanon National Park, Tham Khong Lor Cave, and Tonle Sap Lake are also named in the list by Fodors Travel./.
For the second time in Gov. Ted Kulongoski's tenure, a high-profile appointment threatens to blow up in his face.

Last week, The Oregonian published a story about former Portland Development Commission chairman Matt Hennessee's sexual abuse of a young girl starting when she was 12 or 13 in the early 1990s.

Several things about the abusewhich Hennessee confirmed in emails obtained by The Oregonianare eerie. The first and most obvious is the parallel to former Gov. Neil Goldschmidt, who in May 2004 admitted his own sexual abuse 30 years ago of a young girl starting when she was 14. That admission came six months after Kulongoski appointed Goldschmidt to the Board of Higher Education.

Hennessee, the CEO of Quiktrak, a Lake Oswego inventory-management company, got his first Oregon job in the Goldschmidt gubernatorial administration. In 1987, he was hired by then-Insurance Commissioner Kulongoski to run the state's workers'-compensation program. Hennessee later served on Kulongoski's gubernatorial transition team and led the prayer at Kulongoski's inauguration.

Last year, Kulongoski asked Hennessee to lead SAIF, the troubled state workers'-comp insurer. Hennessee declined the CEO job but last November accepted Kulongoski's appointment to SAIF's board.

For Hennessee, the board appointment meant agreeing to a background check by Oregon State Police. Similarly, Goldschmidt submitted to an FBI background check for a federal cabinet post in 1979 and later endured the scrutiny of a gubernatorial term.

All appointees to gubernatorial commissions sign a form allowing the governor's office "to obtain any and all records pertaining to [the appointee] on file with...law-enforcement agencies."

State Police Lt. Randie Martz conducted Hennessee's criminal-history check as he does for about 30 appointees each month. (There are more than 200 gubernatorial commissions.)

"The report I did checks for warrants and arrests, and his came back clean," Martz says.

Although a call to the Portland Police Bureau would have yielded a damning 1993 report about Hennessee, it did not show up in Martz's computer search because police never charged Hennessee.

Hennessee alsoaccurately, it seemschecked "no" in the boxes on the appointment form that asked whether he had ever been convicted or sued. "He truthfully answered the questions," Martz says. "It's unfortunate he didn't tell us everything."

At least the state checked. When former Mayor Vera Katz named Hennessee to the development commission in July 2002, nobody looked into his background. The city's commission appointment form doesn't include a background check, and the city doesn't usually do them.

"I'm quite certain that there wasn't a police background check for Hennessee," says former top Katz aide Judy Tuttle. "Commission appointments have historically been done based on recommendations by people in the community."

That level of trust is scary. Although there is no evidence anybody blackmailed Hennessee, as chairman he wielded tremendous influence over the redevelopment agency's $254 million annual budget and was obviously vulnerable.

Despite that vulnerability, however, as recently as a month ago Hennessee was considering a run for office. People close to Hennessee even contacted political strategist Mark Wiener, looking for a way to jump-start his political future in Portland.

On Monday, Quiktrak's board placed Hennessee on leave. Meanwhile, Kulongoski is in the same position he was 18 months ago with Goldschmidtdenying he knew a close ally's secret. "The governor learned about [Hennessee's abuse of the girl] when he read it in the paper," says a spokeswoman, Anna Richter Taylor.

WWeek 2015
Gloria Bell shows some traction and enough heft to reach the Top Ten in its third weekend, and Apollo 11 continues to grow, but overall the top adult-audience specialized titles see mixed results. This weekends releases also includes Hotel Mumbai which, like last weeks The Mustang and The Aftermath, will see wide national releases with hopes of some crossover success. The reality is limited openings with openings similar to Hotel Mumbai and others usually dont break out beyond a modest level.

Opening

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'Hotel Mumbai' Pulled From All New Zealand Theaters Following Terrorist Attacks

Hotel Mumbai (Bleecker Street)  Metacritic: 61; Festivals include: Toronto 2018

$86,492 in 4 theaters; PTA (per theater average): $21,623

This recreation of the 2008 terrorist attack on Mumbais most famous hotel got the highest theater placement in New York and Los Angeles. Starring Dev Patel, it received mildly favorable reviews. It is expanding quickly, with a limited initial run in contrast to Bleecker Streets kidnapping thriller Beirut last year, which had 755 theaters initially on its way to $5 million total.

What comes next: The second-week expansion should see a total around what Beirut opened to last year.

Dragged Across Concrete

Dragged Across Concrete

Dragged Across Concrete (Lionsgate)  Metacritic: 61; Festivals include: Venice 2018; also available on Video on Demand

$(est.) 50,000 in 34 theaters; PTA: $(est.) 1,471

S. Craig Zahlers 2017 Brawl in Cell Block 69 had an impressive theatrical take in its day-and-date theater/home release. His new film, with two veteran cops trying to get back on the force by going underground in the mob world, has Mel Gibson and other veteran action actors. The home stats are not available, but that is where the action should be for this. Meantime, theater play gave this review attention  some positive, but not at the same level as Brawl.

Story continues

What comes next: This should get elevated home attention.

Sunset (Sony Pictures Classics)  Metacritic: 70; Festivals include: Venice, Toronto 2018

$(est.) $15,006 in 3 theaters; PTA: $5,002

Hungarian director Laszlo Nemes prior film Son of Saul won the Foreign Language Oscar. This 1913 Budapest-set drama didnt make the final selections this year. It received favorable reviews and top-end theater placement in its initial New York/Los Angeles dates, with the initial results disappointing and below several other recent, better-reviewed subtitled openers.

What comes next: Washington and San Francisco open this Friday, with an expected full big city national play.

Out of Blue (IFC)  Metacritic: 49; Festivals include: Toronto 18; also available on Video on Demand

$17,682 in 35 theaters; PTA: $505

This British-produced crime story features a diverse cast (Patricia Clarkson, Jame Caan, Jacki Weaver, and Toby Jones). It got mostly mixed or lower reviews as a theatrical release, which came alongside its parallel home viewing venues. The theater take is minimal.

What comes next: Its future presence will be VOD.

Matthias Schoenaerts stars as Roman Coleman in Laure de Clermont-Tonnerres THE MUSTANG, a Focus Features release. Credit : Tara Violet Niami / Focus Features

The Mustang

Week Two

The Mustang (Focus)

$228,000 in 38 theaters (+34); PTA: $6,000; Cumulative: $322,000

The better grossing of the two top releases last weekend had the better PTA, as well as the superior Saturday uptick. This Nevada prison-set horse taming story (in English, though French produced) should expect further expansion and some additional interest. The weekend results set it up for wider release ahead.

The Aftermath (Fox Searchlight)

$123,000 in 26 theaters (+21); PTA: $4,731; Cumulative: $203,254

Keira Knightley and Alexander Skarsgard as British citizens in occupied post-War Germany are giving this drama some lift, despite mediocre reviews. The second weekend in still limited release yielded modest results.

Ash Is Purest White (Cohen)

$69,685 in 35 theaters (+28); PTA: $1,991; Cumulative: $133,094

A second-weekend expansion for this Chinese film, with some of the best reviews this year so far, yielded mixed results. The break included prime art houses and some in Chinese-American communities.

The Hummingbird Project (The Orchard)

$78,834 in 41 theaters (+37); PTA: $1,923; Cumulative: $123,949

This Canadian thriller with a top quality-cast (Jesse Eisenberg, Salma Hayek, Alexander Skarsgard) set in the fiber-optics world has seen spotty results, with no clear sense yet that this will warrant a significantly wider run.

"Apollo 11"

Apollo 11

Ongoing/expanding (Grosses over $50,000)

Gloria Bell (A24) Week 3

$1,803,000 in 654 theaters (+615); Cumulative: $2,498,000

Julianne Moore stars this scene-for-scene remake of a Chilean film with the same director, which went nationwide this weekend with a decent initial result. How it sustains will be better determined after another weekend, but its Top Ten showing (#7, benefiting from a weak holdover slate) will get it even more attention.

Apollo 11 (Neon) Week 4

$800,000 in 586 theaters (-2); Cumulative: $6,865,000

A very healthy hold for this documentary (down 31 percent in virtually the same theaters). This portends a continued run for what is already a successful release.

Green Book (Universal) Week 19; also available on Video on Demand

$600,000 in 841 theaters (-479); Cumulative: $83,880,000

The Oscar winner has added $14 million since its big night.

Fighting With My Family (MGM) Week 6

$509,274 in 903 theaters (-677); Cumulative: $21,929,000

Though it might not hit $25 million, this British-set wrestling biopic has maximized by its distributor (which has evolved into United Artists, and is the same group releasing Annapurna titles).

Everybody Knows (Focus) Week 7

$122,000 in 143 theaters (-105); Cumulative: $2,553,000

As the top-grossing title in the flurry of post-awards subtitled releases, it could end up around $3 million. Thats an excellent total these days without the extra boost of Oscar attention, with the director (Asghar Farhadi) and actor (Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem) attachments major draws.

Transit (Music Box) Week 4

$113,503 in 72 theaters (+28); Cumulative: $389,210

Christian Petzolds inventive contemporary (or is it?) political refugee romantic thriller widened further. In a crowded market, its still seeing a modest response.

Woman at War

Woman at War (Magnolia) Week 4

$(est.) 75,000 in 41 theaters (+12); Cumulative: $(est.) 230,000

From Iceland, this well-reviewed story of an activists unconventional defense of the environment and the dilemmas she faces continues to get some response at specialized locations.

The Wedding Guest (IFC) Week 4

$66,427 in 93 theaters (-3); Cumulative: $330,144

Starring Dev Patel, this India-set thriller also like Hotel Mumbai also premiered at Toronto 2018.

Arctic (Bleecker Street) Week 8

$52,927 in 71 theaters (-26); Cumulative: $2,254,000

An example of a superior adventure film getting a specialized release, this will max out around $2.5 million.

Birds of Passage (The Orchard)

$52,486 in 85 theaters (-12); Cumulative: $449,415

This is another acclaimed subtitled film at the level of the recent Oscar nominees that isnt getting the gross it deserves, despite reaching appropriate theaters.

Also noted:

Free Solo (Greenwich)- $48,660 in 42 theaters; Cumulative: $17,439,000

Never Look Away (Sony Pictures Classics)  $45,130 in 144 theaters; Cumulative: $1,077,000

Stan & Ollie (Sony Pictures Classics)  $32,971 in 79 theaters; Cumulative: $5,392,000

Capernaum (Sony Pictures Classics)  $28,244 in theaters; Cumulative: $1,568,000

The Iron Orchard (Santa Rita)  $11,385 in 13 theaters; Cumulative: $197,991

Ruben Brandt, Collector (Sony Pictures Classics)  $10,454 in 43 theaters; Cumulative: $98,420

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This show is so important. I mean, its our history  and its a very important part of our journey, Tina Knowles Lawson said about Friday nights opening of the exhibition Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963  1983 at the Broad Museum in DTLA. Im just so impressed and happy that its here. I wanted to see it at the Tate [Modern] when I was in London but I didnt make it. So this is a treat to be able to come and see it tonight.

The woman who is perhaps best known as the mother of Beyonce and Solange reflected on the era that inspired the artwork on display. The 70s, said Lawson, who was joined inside by her son-in-law Jay-Z. A lot of empowerment for our people. And a lot of change. You know, it came about because it had to come about  people were forced to change. It was a great movement in a time of pride, so I remember that time fondly. I know a lot things were kind of rough back then, but overall I think it was wonderful.

Debbie Allen seconded that emotion. I just remember James Browns Say It Loud  Im Black and Im Proud was the anthem as was Marvin Gayes Whats Going On? she told Variety. It was a time where we relinquished all affectations European and started to go inside and love ourselves as black people. We wore big afros, we wore Afro-centric clothing and even at Howard University, where I was a student, we demanded more education, not just the Greeks and the Italians. We wanted some theater and literature from African artists.

Allen shared some thoughts on the inspiration  and the history  behind the art. It came straight out of the community. It came out of grassroots. It came out of a lot of passion and pain, she said. When you think about the different movements in this country, you think of the abolition of slavery. And you think about the civil rights movement where we were just struggling to vote and to go to movies and restaurants and to get rid of Jim Crow. This period of time is all of that. This is like right at the edge as things were really starting to change thanks to Dr. King and Stokely Carmichael and Malcolm X.

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The significance of the exhibition was not lost on Garcelle Beauvais, who was born in Haiti and is probably too young to remember much of that time period in American history, anyway. This collection is for us  and its by us. I think thats what is important, she told Variety. So many times were not highlighted the way we should be and this is going to speak to not only our generation but also the kids coming up after us. They can come and actually learn something because for them, if its not on Instagram, it doesnt exist.

Soul of Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 19-63-1983, Arrivals, The Broad, Los Angeles, USA  22 Mar 2019

Fran Drescher felt that this show was just as vital four decades later. It was a historic period that pushed the needle significantly, she said of the 70s. But to look at it now in a climate of unrest reactivates it and makes it that much more relevant. When we have an opportunity to reflect on a period of time that was very vibrant in its challenge of the mores of the day  and very demanding of change  its inspiring. This is a time when I think we need to be reminded of what its like when complacency is awakened and people come out and challenge the status quo and are extremely vocal about those mores that compromise civil liberties and marginalize different groups of people. Its essential to see, she said.

Im so excited to see the work, said Sherry Lansing, as if on cue, after she finished posing for photos on the red carpet. Weve never honored black artists like we are today and I think its wonderful. Its part of our culture. And out of all the museums in LA, The Broad is quite unique, she said while entering the lobby. Theres something about this building  when I walk into it I feel like Im entering a cathedral.

The Broad Presents West Coast Debut of Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983, Los Angeles, USA  22 Mar 2019

Indeed, Beauvais strolled out of the exhibition looking like she had the equivalent of a religious experience. Her review? Unbelievable. Like nothing Ive ever seen before in my life and Id like to think that Im in the know, she told Variety. Its just beautiful to see our faces and our stories there. I want to come back.

Guests at the opening also included Courtney B. Vance, Loretta Devine, Justin Simien and Marianne Jean-Baptiste.

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Some days are easier than others when youre mourning the loss of a loved one.

On Saturday, Sophie Perry shared a candid social media post in honor of her late father Luke Perry, who died at age 52 on March 4, five days after suffering a massive stroke.

Miss him a little extra today, Sophie, 18, wrote alongside a photograph of the pair smiling together in a car, adding two yellow heart emojis. In the image, the late actor appeared to be behind the wheel as Sophie cuddled with a dog in the next seat.

In the wake of her fathers death, Sophie has been open with her followers about her grieving process, sharing that although she is mourning in private, shes still continuing to celebrate life  just as the actor would have wanted her to.

RELATED: Inside Luke Perrys Private Life, From Beverly Hills, 90210 Heartthrob to Hands-on Father

Since my dad died I have received a lot of attention online. And most of it has been positive but of course, some people just cant be nice, Sophie wrote in an Instagram post one week after her fathers death, before revealing that she was also facing criticism from internet trolls.

Im here to say that I did not ask for this attention, I did not ask to be thrown into some virtual spotlight, and while I dont mean to offend anybody, Im also not going to cater to any one elses needs and beliefs, she shared. Im 18. I swear like a sailor and sometimes I dress like a hooker. And I support causes and you may not. And most importantly. I am going to laugh and smile and live my normal life.

Continuing, she added: YES I am hurt and sad and crying and beside myself with what happened to my dad. Its the worst thing to ever happen in my life. And I am torn the f up over it. But Im not going to sit in my room and cry day in and day out until the internet has deemed it appropriate for me to do otherwise. And if you knew my dad you would know he wouldnt [sic] want me to. So you shouldnt either.

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So to those of you shaming me for my language and my wardrobe and most disgustingly, my grieving process, do us both the favor and just unfollow. Its a waste of both of your time, she wrote, concluding the post.

RELATED VIDEO: Hollywood Pays Tribute to Luke Perry After His Death

Perry had a massive stroke and was hospitalized on Feb. 27 after paramedics were dispatched to his home in Sherman Oaks, California. The actor remained under observation for five days until his death. A source told PEOPLE he never regained consciousness.

Perrys rep announced the actors death in a statement, confirming he was surrounded by his children Jack and Sophie, fiancee Wendy Madison Bauer, ex-wife Minnie Sharp, mother Ann Bennett, step-father Steve Bennett, brother Tom Perry, sister Amy Coder, and other close family and friends.

Luke Perry | Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic

RELATED: Luke Perrys Daughter Sophie, 18, Thanks Mom Minnie for Being the Rock for Everybody Grieving

One day after his death, Sophie spoke out about losing her father.

A lot has happened in this past week for me, she captioned her Instagram post of the father and daughter. Everything is happening so fast. I made it back from Malawi just in time to be here with my family, And in the past 24 hours I have received an overwhelming amount of love and support.

I cannot individually respond to the hundreds of beautiful and heartfelt messages, but I see them, and appreciate you all for sending positivity to my family and I, she continued. Im not really sure what to say or do in this situation, its something you arent ever given a lesson on how to handle, especially when its all happening in the public eye. So [bear] with me and know that I am grateful for all the love. Just, being grateful quietly.

Luke shared both Sophie and son Jack, 21, with ex Rachel Minnie Sharp.

Following Lukes death, Jack also posted a touching tribute in honor of his dad.

He was a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, he was always Dad, Jack, a wrestler, began his touching Instagram post  which included a throwback photo of the father and son.

He loved supported me in everything, and inspired me to be the best that I could possibly be, said Jack.
Man Arrested After Allegedly Kicking Elderly Woman in the Face on NYC Subway Man Seen Kicking Woman in Viral Subway Attack Arrested

A man allegedly seen in viral video repeatedly kicking an elderly woman aboard a New York City subway train was arrested Saturday and charged with assault, PEOPLE confirms.

Marc Gomez, 36, of Yonkers, New York, was taken into custody Saturday and charged with three counts of assault and one count of harassment, a spokesperson for the New York Police Department tells PEOPLE.

A rep for the law firm for Gomezs listed attorney, Steven Mechanic, declined to comment when reached by PEOPLE.

Online records show Gomez is being held on $15,000 bail at the Vernon C. Bain Center. He is next due in court on March 29.

The 78-year-old victim was previously treated and released from the hospital following the March 10 attack. She suffered bleeding, swelling and cuts to her face, according to the spokesperson.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea wrote about the apprehension on Twitter, adding that the victim is getting the care, advocacy & support needed.

UPDATE: The subject IS IN CUSTODY. The victim was treated & released from the hospital & is getting the care, advocacy & support needed. Thank you to the worldwide community for the tremendous assistance. Addl details to follow @NYPDDetectives pic.twitter.com/pE07F6BIIi  Chief Dermot F. Shea (@NYPDDetectives) March 23, 2019

Thank you to the worldwide community for the tremendous assistance, Shea wrote.

He also included a photo of Gomez that police had previously issued as a plea to the public for help in identifying him, with the words Apprehended written over it in large red letters.

RELATED: WATCH: Pit Bull Attacks Woman on New York City Subway  and Police Are Investigating

The attack occurred March 10 just after 3 a.m. on a No. 2 train at the Nereid Ave. Station in the Bronx.

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Video shared to social media shows a man wearing glasses, a black hat and coat and a patterned scarf forcefully kick a seated woman at least six times in the head and the stomach area.

Marc Gomez | NYPD

The woman can be seen attempting to shield the blows with her arms as fellow riders yell Ooooh at each attack and continue to film.

The suspect is then seen exiting the train while the woman remains seated with her hands to her face.

According to the New York Daily News, she got off the train at the next stop and an EMS crew was waiting for her.

RELATED: Professor Who Fled Nazis as Child Dies After Getting Knocked Over by a Rushed Subway Rider

NYPD Chief of Transit Edward Delatorre first acknowledged the incident on March 22, writing on Twitter that his department had become aware of the social media video and was actively investigating this heinous assault.

The NYPD spokesperson did not know if the department was aware of the incident between March 10 and March 22.

On Saturday, Delatorre praised his team for its quick response in helping the victim.

Great job by our detectives-equally stellar work by Transit cops & outreach teams as they fanned out across the city overnight to reconnect with the victim, especially our Distict 3 officer who spent hours building a rapport & getting the victim the help she so desperately needed https://t.co/Xq6c6Hgp3G  NYPD Transit (@NYPDTransit) March 23, 2019

Great job by our detectives-equally stellar work by Transit cops & outreach teams as they fanned out across the city overnight to reconnect with the victim, especially our District 3 officer who spent hours building a rapport & getting the victim the help she so desperately needed, he tweeted.
Americans, it seems, cant get enough of the Mueller Report with the dense 448 page probe into potential collusion between the Russian government and Donald Trumps 2016 presidential campaign holding three of the top four spots on Amazons best seller list on Monday.The number one spot was held by a 736 page edition put out by the Scribner and the Washington Post and billed on Amazon as the only book with exclusive analysis by the Pulitzer Prize-winning staff of The Washington Post, and the most complete and authoritative available.Paperback editions of the report were selling for $10.22.Also Read: MSNBC Criticized for 'Ambush' of Robert Mueller After Easter Church Service: 'Disgusting and Rude'The number two spot was a $9.20 edition from Skyhorse Publishing, which leaned heavily on an introduction from Alan Dershowitz. The Harvard law professor has spent more than a year making the rounds on television, offering speculation about what might be in the reports final conclusions.Alan Dershowitz is one of the most famous and celebrated lawyers in America. He was the youngest full professor in Harvard Law School history, where he is now the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Emeritus, reads a product description. Dershowitz is the author of numerous bestselling books, including the New York Times bestseller, The Case Against Impeaching Trump.'A third version by Melville House was in fourth place on Amazon, with a no frills $7.40 edition. The only other book among Amazons top four best sellers was Delia Owens Where the Crawdads Sing, which ranked third.The Amazon numbers suggest Americans were more than willing to pay for convenience, as the entire report is available for free on the Justice Departments website. You can read it here.Also Read: Fox News' Andrew Napolitano Says Mueller Report 'Might Be Enough to Prosecute' TrumpOn Thursday, Attorney General William Barr delivered the full repot to Congress and posted the complete document (with redactions) online. Dashing many liberal hopes, the report found no evidence of organized collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia and declined to indict the president on obstruction of justice charges.There was relentless speculation in the news media about the presidents personal culpability, yet as he said from the beginning, there was, in fact, no collusion, Barr told reporters during a press conference in advance of the release in which he also attempted to explain some of the presidents behavior during the probe.There is substantial evidence to show that the president was frustrated and angered by his sincere belief that the investigation was undermining his presidency, propelled by his political opponents and fueled by illegal leaks, Barr said.Read original story Mueller Report Holds 3 of Top 4 Spots on Amazon Best-Seller List At TheWrap

Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation found no evidence that President Donald Trump or members of his 2016 presidential campaign conspired with Russia to sway the election, according to a four-page summary released Sunday by U.S. Attorney General William Barr.

Muellers report reached no conclusion on the investigation into obstruction of justice by the president: While this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.

Nonetheless, Barr states that after he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein reviewed the report  submitted on Friday, after 22 months of investigation  they concluded that the evidence was not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.

Also Read: Jim Carrey Takes on Attorney General Barr in Post-Mueller Report Political Cartoon

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders quickly declared vindication: The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States.

The report itself is divided into two parts: Russian interference in the 2016 electionand obstruction of justice. In the matter of Russian interference, Barr writes that the Special Counsel did not find that the Trump campaign, or anyone associated with it, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in these efforts, despite multiple offers from Russian-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign.

As to obstruction of justice, Barr writes writes that the Special Counsel did not draw a conclusion one way or the other as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction. Instead, for each of the relevant actions investigated, the report sets out evidence on both of the sides of the question and leaves unresolved what the special counsel views as difficult issues of law and fact whether the presidents actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction, Barr writes.

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Barr added that the department did not even consider constitutional considerations that surround the indictment and criminal prosecution of a sitting president.

The summary to Congress and subsequently to the press comes two days after the special counsel completed his two-year investigation and submitted his findings to the Department of Justice.

Also Read: Read Attorney General William Barr's Full Letter to Congress Announcing Delivery of Mueller's Report

Congressional Democrats have widely called for the Mueller report to be released in full to Congress and to the public, following the passage of a resolution calling on the Justice Department to do so by a House vote of 420-0. If the full report isnt provided to Congress, House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said on CNNs State of the Union Sunday, We will try to negotiate. We will try everything else first. But if we have to, yes, we will certainly issue subpoenas to get that information,

Democrats are also seeking access to underlying material from Muellers investigation, and are expected to subpoena Mueller to testify in Congress.

Barr holds discretion over how much of the report would be released to the public, based on national security interests and the Justice Department guideline that calls for the withholding of information on why certain individuals are not being prosecuted. While 34 individuals have been indicted with seven of them either being convicted or entering guilty pleas, Muellers memo to the DOJ said that no further indictments will be made.

That lack of additional indictments was interpreted by many as a sign that Donald Trump would be in the clear of suspected conspiracy of collusion with the Russian government.

If the special counsel found there is no collusion, that is a vindication for the president, George Washington University Law School Professor Jonathan Turley told CBS News. It doesnt mean that he acted appropriately, it doesnt even mean that the special counsel didnt find evidence that could be criminal. But it clearly indicated that he doesnt believe there is a criminal case to be made.

But while Muellers investigation of Trump is done, other investigations are still ongoing. Among them is an investigation into Trumps inaugural committee by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. The prosecutors are searching for a wide range of documents related to the committees finances in search of potential crimes that include fraud, disclosure violations, money laundering, and illegal contributions from foreign entities.

SDNY prosecutors are also following up on testimony from former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, which include claims of campaign finance violations related to the hush money paid to Stormy Daniels for her silence on a sexual encounter with Trump. Cohen also disclosed emails with another Trump attorney, Robert Costello, that he says suggested the possibility of a presidential pardon. If that is proven to be true, it could mean an obstruction of justice charge against the president.

Read original story Mueller Finds No Evidence of Trump Collusion With Russia, Justice Department Declines Obstruction Charge At TheWrap
After Second Suicide, Parkland Tries to Help Survivors

Parkland, Florida, is still reeling from the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which claimed 17 lives, severely wounded 17 others and left an untold number of emotional scars in its wake.

Now, after word of a second apparent suicide by a teen survivor in less than a week, the still-shaken community is seeking ways to help those struggling in the tragedys aftermath  and to prevent more mass shootings.

How many more kids have to be taken from us as a result of suicide for the government/school district to do anything? student-turned-activist David Hogg, 18, wrote on Twitter Sunday.

Rip 17+2, he added, including a yellow heart and crying emoji.

How many more kids have to be taken from us as a result of suicide for the government / school district to do anything?



Rip 17+2   David Hogg (@davidhogg111) March 24, 2019

Just hours earlier, Coral Springs police officers responded to a 911 call and discovered a deceased subject which appeared to be by suicide, Public Information Officer Tyler Reik tells PEOPLE.

As of now its an apparent suicide, he says. We are conducting an investigation and the cause of death hasnt been officially confirmed yet.

RELATED: Sydney Aiello, Parkland School Shooting Survivor, Dies By Suicide at Age 19

Authorities have not yet identified the student, but Reik tells PEOPLE the student is a juvenile.

While police havent officially disclosed the students sex, we did confirm the student was a current student enrolled at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, he says.

Reik stresses that officials do not yet know what led to the teens apparent suicide. Everybody is trying to link it as a copycat suicide, but we dont have enough information about that yet, he says.

The only similarity between the teens so far is that they both attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas. They were three years apart, he says.

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Overall, he adds, Its sad, especially after the events of last year.

On Feb. 14, 2018, a gunman opened fire at the school, killing 17 students and staff members and injuring 17 others as horrified students ran for their lives and watched their classmates gunned down.

Sydney Aiello, 19, who was never the same after the shooting, took her own life on March 17, 2019, her mother, Cara Aiello, confirmed on Friday.

She died of suicide because of post-traumatic stress disorder and survivors guilt, her mother told local station CBS4.

Sydney was close friends with one of the victims, Meadow Pollack, who died at the hands of the gunman.

Though Sydney wasnt in the building where the shooting occurred, her mother told CBS4 that her daughter struggled to attend classes in college because she was afraid of being in a classroom.

Friends have set up a GoFundMe to raise funds for Sydneys family.

Sydney spent 19 years writing her story as a beloved daughter, sister, and friend to many, they wrote. She lit up every room she entered. She filled her days cheerleading, doing yoga, and brightening up the days of others. Sydney aspired to work in the medical field helping others in need.

RELATED: Warning Signs to Look for If You Are Concerned Someone is Suicidal

Dr. Kevin Gilliland, Psy.D., said there are several signs to look for if you believe someone you know may be or become suicidal.

It is really difficult for most people to watch someone struggling with feelings of depression or hopelessness about life, Gilliland previously told PEOPLE. If you fear that a loved one is struggling with life and they just arent themselves, talk to them. Try to listen more than you talk and just be curious about the change you have seen in them.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text home to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

 With reporting by Steve Helling and Elaine Aradillas
A creative force behind the hit Israeli series In Treatment, Nir Bergman is presenting his latest drama Just for Today in competition at Series Mania festival in Lille. Produced by Endemol Shine Israel for Yes TV, Just for Today follows Anat, an idealistic social counsellor who is dealing with the shutting down of a halfway house for former inmates where shes worked for a long time, while Niko, a former lover she took care years before, unexpectedly comes back into her life.

Bergman, who wrote and directed Just for Today (co-created with Ram Nehari), spoke to Variety about the genesis, themes as well as political and social resonance of the series which is being represented internationally by Yes Studios. Besides co-creating In Treatment, Bergman has also written multiple episodes of the successful Israeli drama Hostages. Bergmans film credits include Broken Wings which won awards at the Israeli equivalent of the Oscars, as well as at Berlin and Jerusalem, among other festivals.

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Whats the genesis of Just for Today?

The series began with a question. What would have happened to me if I had found myself in jail by mistake. I think this is a primal fear common to many people, but I didnt want to make another crime or prison series. I wanted to create a series with elements of suspense and rehabilitation, a psychological drama.

The first pitch for the series dealt with normative people who found themselves in jail by mistake, released and found it difficult to return to functioning in society. But then we started the research and it led me to new ideas, resulting in only one normative character in the story. Through our research we reached a prisoners rehabilitation hostel in south Tel Aviv and immediately I knew that I wanted to set the story there. The atmosphere was very cramped, in an apartment not particularly large, 15 inmates lived in conditions reminiscent of a boarding school. The staff included a hostel manager and two young social workers, three women versus a lot of men who until yesterday or the day before had been in jail for several years.

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The hostel was an alternative home for the released prisoners, but I saw that it also filled the life of the caregivers and significantly constitutes an important part of their lives. We were exposed to a new language, to a new and fascinating world, and the writing derived from it. The intriguing relationship between the treating staff and the prisoners constituted the fertile ground for this drama. In the end, the series has drama and psychological elements, but even more important, it has a social message.

One of the main themes of Just for Today is immigration in Israel as well as discrimination. Why did you want to address these issues? In which ways do you think that the series resonates with current events in Israel but also around the world?

Naturally, the series deals with disadvantaged populations and immigrants are usually part of that group. But the series doesnt deal only with immigrants, it also deals with people who were caught up in a crime, as opposed to criminals who grew up in crime families. Many of the criminals who went in and out of prison had a better chance for rehabilitation if the state redirected more resources towards them from the beginning. In these cases the inscription is always on the wall and it appears at a very young age. This is a route that if at any given moment someone was taking responsibility for, would have been avoided.

During the research, I was exposed to many stories of Russian immigration in the 1990s and of immigrants from Ethiopia who immigrated during that period. Many of the new immigrants children suffered from racism, prejudice and discrimination, which eventually led them to a life of violence and hatred towards the establishment. Israel is a country created entirely of immigrants and it seems that we have never learned the lesson and we leave every generation of new immigrants with the same wounds and scars experienced by the generations that preceded them. In the past, you would find in prisons a majority of immigrants from North Africa, today most of them are Ethiopians and Russian immigrants and of course Arabs  they always lived here with a sense of discrimination. Lack of belonging often leads to anger, frustration and loneliness that can lead to a life of crime. Any country that neglects its immigrants, who raises them without equality of opportunities that leads to emotional neglect, economic deprivation and alienation, will find itself taking care of those people in a few years in the prison system.

The series is also about an impossible love. What are you trying to convey through this romance?

It began when one of the social workers we interviewed told us about a ex-convict who had returned to prison. Her tears did not stop even though she spoke eloquently and professionally about what had happened to him. She said he did not meet the strict rules of the hostel, and there was also a feeling that she had blamed herself. It made me think of the great intimacy created between social workers and former prisoners, an intimacy familiar to me from the world of psychological therapy.() In the plot I try to convey the illusory connection between a patient and the manager of the hostel. The story asks what love is and whether it exists and how it differs from therapy, and perhaps in fact it is love. Through my main characters I try to answer questions that concern me and in this case, I remained without an absolute answer, maybe on the next season.

Would you say that Just for Today is a political series?

In the second chapter of the series, when a religious argument arises between two patients, the hostel manager says: There is no nationality here, there is no race, no religion, there are only prisoners on parole. Just for today is a social and political series. It does not deal with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but it has a strong social criticism. 50% of released prisoners in Israel will return to jail. A brief research of the data in many countries around the world is quite similar. States invest heavily in rehabilitation inside the prison  it may help prisoners to spend their sentence in a productive way, but its like learning to swim via correspondence. Rehabilitation is something that must happen outside the walls of the prison, and instead of neglect and violence it requires love and rehabilitation.() The state must change its perception regarding rehabilitation. I hope that the series will also help change viewrs perception and attitude towards former prisoners.

How realistic is the series? What kind of research did you make prior to writing the series?

Just for today is a very realistic series, supported by a large-scale research, but st the same time it is completely fiction. The research included many visits to four different rehabilitation hostels, personal interviews with many former prisoners and rehabilitation workers in different positions. Finally, in order to understand our characters in a deeper way, we opened a 3 months long acting workshop in prison with convicts who have been imprisoned for serious crimes.

How similar/different is Just for Today from the rest of your work?

Naturally, a creator brings his themes to wherever he goes. My work is always personal and the writing of my characters passes through my personality structure, through my fears and ultimately changes me a bit as my heroes change as well. What differs Just for Today from all my other work is the social element of the series, which stemmed mainly from the deep research that taught me so much about rehabilitation in Israel. I try to convey this knowledge through the series, using dramatic means as to not come across as didactic or boring, in order for the audience to comprehend how hard it is to start over.

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Mueller report per Attorney General William Barr: Trump campaign did not conspire with Russia during 2016 election

Mueller report per Attorney General William Barr: Trump campaign did not conspire with Russia during 2016 election originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Special counsel Robert Mueller's report into the Kremlin's interference in the 2016 presidential election did not find that the Trump campaign or anyone associated with it conspired or coordinated with Russia, according to a letter to Congress from Attorney General William Barr.

The letter describes "two main" Russian efforts to influence the election including attempts by a Russian organization to conduct disinformation and social media operations in the United States and the Russian governments efforts to conduct computer hacking operations targeting former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons presidential campaign and the Democratic Party.

In both circumstances, the Special Counsel did not find that the Trump campaign, or anyone associated with it, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in these efforts.

The special counsels office made no conclusion on the matter of possible obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump.

"The Special Counsel, therefore, did not draw a conclusion  one way or the other  as to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction," the letter read. "Instead, for each of the relevant actions investigated, the report sets out 'difficult issues' of law and fact concerning whether the President's actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction."

In his communique to lawmakers, Barr underscored that the special counsel states that while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.

PHOTO: Special CounseliRobert Mueller, March 24, 2019, in Washington, D.C. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

While Muellers report did not reach a conclusion as to whether obstruction of justice occurred, Attorney General Barrs letter said he determined a case for obstruction was not warranted.

In cataloging the Presidents actions many of which took place in public view, the report identities no actions that, in our judgment, constitute obstructive conduct, had a nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding, and were done with corrupt intent, each of which, under the Department's principles of federal prosecution guiding charging decisions, would need to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to establish an obstruction-of-justice offense."

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(MORE: Mueller report: Read the entire letter Attorney General William Barr sent to Congress)

Barr said his intent is to release as much as possible but there are grand jury secrecy concerns with some portions.

The White House celebrated the news, with President Donald Trump hailing the report on Twitter and, later in comments to reporters, as an "exoneration."

"This was an illegal takedown that failed and hopefully, someone is going to be looking at the other side," Trump told reporters on Sunday.

He tweeted: "No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!"

No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 24, 2019

"The Special Counsel did not find any collusion and did not find any obstruction," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. "Attorney General Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein further determined there was no obstruction. The findings of the Department of Justice are a total and complete exoneration of the President of the United States.

Jay Sekulow, one of President Trumps lawyers, told ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos that the report was a "complete win for the president and the American people."

"Not just a win." Sekulow said. "The entire basis upon which this inquiry was instituted was a concern over collusion between the Russian government and the trump campaign, Bob Mueller and the Department of Justice could not be clearer. To have the obstruction issue even as a viable one, which it was not, there would have to be an underlying crime, which there wasn't."

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., questioned the timing of the letter tweeting "Special Counsel Mueller worked for 22 months to determine the extent to which President Trump obstructed justice. Attorney General Barr took 2 days to tell the American people that while the President is not exonerated, there will be no action by DOJ." He later tweeted that "in light of the very concerning discrepancies and final decision making at the Justice Department following the Special Counsel report," the House Judiciary Committee will be calling Barr in to testify in the near future.

In his letter to members of Congress on Sunday, Barr described the breadth of the special counsels extensive and exhaustive probe. Muellers 19 prosecutors and 40 FBI agents issued more than 2,800 subpoenas, executed nearly 500 search warrants, and interviewed approximately 500 witnesses, Barr wrote, the results of which amounted to 37 indictments and six guilty pleas to date.

The news comes amid Democrats continued calls for the full release of the findings.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in a joint letter, seemed to sum up the sentiment of many congressional Democrats in saying that Barr's letter "raises as many questions as it answers" and that Congress "requires the full report and the underlying documents."

"The fact that Special Counsel Muellers report does not exonerate the president on a charge as serious as obstruction of justice demonstrates how urgent it is that the full report and underlying documentation be made public without any further delay," they wrote. "Given Mr. Barrs public record of bias against the Special Counsels inquiry, he is not a neutral observer and is not in a position to make objective determinations about the report."

The congressional leaders also took issues with the president's claims of being "exonerated."

On the campaign trail and on the Hill, Democrats made clear they are going to want every detail and document about the investigation and some have said they are willing to use their subpoena power in order to get it.

"It means make the request, if the request is denied subpoena, if the subpoenas are denied we will hold people before the Congress and yes, we will prosecute in court as necessary to get this information," House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Sunday on "This Week".

Democratic candidates running to unseat President Donald Trump in 2020 reacted quickly to the news that Mueller delivered his report to DOJ with one consistent message: Make it public.

"The Mueller report must be made public  all of it," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY said in a presidential campaign speech outside the Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York City.

"The Mueller report must be made public  all of it," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says in 2020 speech. "it is not often that I agree with Richard Nixon, but he was right to say that the American people have a right to know whether their president is a crook" https://t.co/rTYLWyQTQg pic.twitter.com/bsJxzCYQIN  ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) March 24, 2019

She added: "It is not often that I agree with Richard Nixon, but he was right to say that the American people have a right to know whether their president is a crook."

The much-awaited report was handed to the Justice Department for Barrs review, and Congress was notified of the transfer late Friday afternoon, according to a Justice Department spokeswoman.

(MORE: Amid calls to release Mueller report, Rep. Adam Schiff says it's too early to rule out impeachment

After reviewing Mueller's report, Barr will then send what he has described as his own "report" on the Mueller investigation to the top Democrats and Republicans on the House and Senate Judiciary committees. Barr has promised to be as transparent as possible, but it's unclear how extensive or detailed Barr's own "report" to Congress will be.

In a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees, Barr wrote that he intends to "consult with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Special Counsel Mueller to determine what other information from the report can be released to Congress and the public consistent with the law."

A senior Department of Justice official told ABC News on Friday that the report would not include any further indictments.

Mueller and his team investigated how far the Kremlin went to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, including trying to determine whether any Americans may have helped those efforts.

At the heart of Muellers probe were two Russian operations: the spread of disinformation on social media, and the release of thousands of sensitive emails stolen by hackers from the Democratic National Committee and other Democratic targets. Muellers team has charged 25 Russian nationals and three foreign companies for their alleged role in those operations.

(MORE: The Russia probe: A timeline from Moscow to Mueller)

In appointing a special counsel to investigate, however, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein also directed Mueller to look into allegations of possible coordination between Russian operatives and associates of President Donald Trump.

(MORE: Here is the indictment against Russian election intrusion)

Trump and his Republican allies have derided the investigation as a witch hunt. But Rosenstein, FBI Director Chris Wray and Barr have each explicitly disputed that description.

At least four Trump associates, including Trumps former national security adviser Michael Flynn, have pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents during the Russia-related investigation.

Another Trump associate, the presidents former attorney Michael Cohen, has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about Trumps business dealings in Moscow. And former Trump adviser Roger Stone has been charged with lying to Congress about his alleged role in tracking information stolen from Democrats during the 2016 presidential campaign.

PHOTO: The Department of Justice building is pictured in Washington D.C., March 21, 2019. (Leah Millis/Reuters)

Muellers investigation grew out of a probe the FBI launched in late July 2016.

By then, the FBI was already scrutinizing Trump campaign manager Paul Manaforts business dealings with pro-Russian officials in Ukraine  dealings that have since landed Manafort in jail. And the FBI was keeping tabs on Trump adviser Carter Page, who was previously targeted for recruitment by Russian spies and had raised eyebrows with a trip to Moscow in mid-July 2016.

But claims by Trump adviser George Papadopoulos  that the Russians were touting dirt on Clinton  really set off alarms inside the FBI.

If any Americans were part of helping the Russians [attack] us, that is a very big deal, James Comey, who was FBI director at the time, later told lawmakers.

Several weeks after formally launching the Russia probe, counterintelligence agents leading the investigation in Washington received a so-called dossier, which had been compiled at the behest of Democrats and detailed uncorroborated allegations of coordination between Trumps campaign and the Kremlin.

Some of the allegations involved Page, who was already on the FBIs radar, so agents began secretly intercepting his communications. Page has never been charged with any crimes.

The wide-ranging investigation continued even after Trump took office. After Jeff Sessions became attorney general, he recused himself from oversight of the FBIs Russia-related probe, citing his previous advocacy for Trump on the campaign trail.

Rosenstein subsequently assumed oversight of the investigation.

And then Trump shocked the federal law enforcement community: He fired Comey.

The move prompted Rosenstein to appoint Mueller to take over the whole matter, including a review of whether Comey's firing and other actions meant Trump improperly tried to obstruct the probe.

Comey later alleged that in a private meeting with Trump before his removal, the president directed Comey to let [Flynn] go.

Mueller has not released any evidence suggesting Trump committed a crime related to Russian efforts.

However, Mueller did uncover evidence of other possible crimes and referred those cases to other federal prosecutors.

The U.S. Attorneys Office in Manhattan ended up tying Trump to federal campaign violations, alleging that  in the midst of the 2016 presidential campaign  Trump personally directed Cohen to silence two woman claiming affairs with Trump by making illegal payments to them; Trump has repeatedly denied the affairs.

Cohen has pleaded guilty for his role in the matter, but no other charges have been filed.

ABC News' Pierre Thomas, John Santucci and Kyra Phillips contributed to this report.
Believe it or not, "The Office" is almost 15 years old. In honor of that milestone, here's why "Stress Relief"with its botched fire drill, roast of Michael Scott, and highly-memed CPR sceneencapsulates everything we loved about the series.

The Office premiered on March 24th, 2005.

The receptionist spots the smoke first. She splutters and points at the tendrils unfurling under the door as the panic-gripped staff scramble to escape their second story tinder box. They use a photocopier as a makeshift battering ram, smash windows to cry into an empty parking lot for help, and hoist bodies into the ceiling.

But they also loot vending machines and beg for their cats to be sparedits one of the most chaotic, beloved moments of television comedy.

Welcome to Stress Relief, arguably the greatest episode in The Offices nine-season run. You know the one: overzealous safety officer Dwight K. Schrute holds a frenzied fire drill that gives Stanley a heart attack. When Michael realizes hes stressing Stanley out big time and could further jeopardize his health, he decides a Comedy Central-style roast is the only way to relieve tension. Cue disaster (again).

But its not just the wacky plot that makes this super-sized episode a re-run darling; its the way it epitomizes everything we love about The Office.

For newbies, Stress Relief is the ideal introduction to Michael and co.s specific brand of ridiculous, awkward humor.

Kevin is breaking into the vending machine, Oscar falls through the ceiling and its so hysterical to watch, 28-year-old Nina from California says of the episodes cold open. And Ninas an expert authority; shes the genius behind @dundermifflinpaperco, an Office Instagram account boasting more than 220,000 followers. Creeds facial expressions and Michael screaming out the windowits almost hard to put into words how funny it is.

19-year-old Caroline from Tennessee, who runs Instagrams @michaelsmanymoods, agrees. I think its one of the best episodes because its constantly spitting off humor to the audience. Most episodes dont do that but Stress Relief repeatedly does.

Shes right. It isnt just the classic cold open that makes this episode so hilarious. Were also treated to a highly-memed CPR class involving a Bee Gees singalong and Dwight wearing a dummys sliced-off face a la Hannibal Lecter. And who could forget The Roast of Michael Scott? Not only do we get a giggle when an iPod Shuffle is used as a point of anatomical reference, but we also snag a peek inside the mind of one Michael Gary Scott.

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Michael is always one step away from total disaster and yet is one of the most upbeat characters on the show, explains Eden, a 21-year-old student in Rhode Island. And he maintains his hope even though hes constantly proven wrong.

22-year-old Casey from New Hampshire puts it more simply. Hes a 12-year-old boy with authority.

Hes selfish. Hes childish. Hes the source of countless offensive jokes (see: every single roast he delivers when he finally gets his turn)but his deepest desire is to make the employees of a mid-range paper supply firm fear how much they love him. And you know what? When he takes a day off work to emotionally recover from his roast (by cinematically flinging slices of white bread at pigeons), he manages to weasel his way into not only their hearts, but ours too.

We cant talk about matters of the heart without talking about PB and J. After years of watching Pam and Jim exchange giddy glances across the office and sway to a Travis song in a moonlit Pennsylvania parking lot, Stress Relief shows them navigating the confusing current of Pams parents separation. Jim and Pam worry, they disagree, and they miscommunicatebut they also deliver one of the episodes sweetest moments. Pam, a shy smile tugging at her lips, tells the camera, When youre a kid you assume your parents are soulmates. My kids are gonna be right about that.

Its the episodes way of reminding us that ultimately, The Office is a cultural phenomenon exploring human connection.

My family used to watch The Office every night after dinner; it was kinda like our show, says Eden. Whenever I feel homesick or anything, I can rely on The Office to cheer me up because of that nostalgia and because its hilarious.

The Office was one of the ways that I stayed connected with my best friend from high school when we went to different states for college, says Laura, 23, from Florida. She had already seen the series, but I would keep her updated on my progress and send her my reactions as I watched along. It just made the long distance a little bit easier to bear and made our friendship that much stronger. Its the power of Michael Scott!

If there was ever a quintessential episode of The Office, Stress Relief would be it. Its secret recipe? Equal parts physical comedy and cringe-inducing jokes, a healthy dose of Michael being Michael, a peppering of Jim and Pam moments for the true romantics, and a dash of fuzzy feelings. Best served ROASTED.
MONACO (AP)  Chinese President Xi Jinping has found one country in Europe that isn't worried about China's growing global clout or its ambitions to dominate the future of technology: Monaco.

Xi visited the tiny Mediterranean principality Sunday as part of a European tour that is clouded by mixed feelings about how to engage with China and benefit from its trade  while setting limits on its appetite for greater economic and diplomatic influence.

Xi's appearance alongside Monaco's Prince Albert and Princess Charlene marked the first state visit by a Chinese president to the principality. The palace said Monaco is interested in increased trade and economic cooperation with China and "boosting China's image in the principality."

Monaco last year clinched a deal with Chinese tech company Huawei to develop its 5G telecommunications network  a thorny issue for several European countries.

The U.S. government says Huawei's 5G network could give Chinese security services a backdoor to spy on consumers, and has pressed European partners to shun it. Huawei says the fear is unfounded.

Monaco imposed exceptional security for the Chinese visitors: The entire "Rocher"  the nickname for the cliff that Monaco is perched on  was effectively shut down for the day.

"It's the first time I've seen this ... stores closed, windows shuttered, no one in the street," said Marc Bonafede, owner of Le Castelroc restaurant in front of the palace. He said he hadn't seen such heavy security even when Albert buried his father, Prince Rainier, or held his royal wedding to Charlene.

Monaco banned all flights in its airspace during Xi's brief visit and any sailing in its waters or mooring in its luxury yacht-filled harbor.

The nearby French city of Nice, where Xi is spending the night, was similarly cordoned off. The Promenade des Anglais  the palm-lined beachside avenue that is the city's premier attraction  was closed to traffic all weekend. The promenade was targeted by a deadly extremist attack in 2016.

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Outside the French resort town of Beaulieu-sur-Mer, where Xi was dining Sunday night with French President Emmanuel Macron, a police boat patrolled throughout the day, and police divers worked to secure the area.

Xi will sign energy and other contracts with Macron on Monday, then meet in Paris on Tuesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

The European Union is China's biggest trading partner, but many in Europe worry about unfair competition from Chinese companies that benefit from government financial backing.

Xi comes to Monaco and France from Italy, which just endorsed a vast Chinese transport infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative. Macron criticized Italy's move, calling for a concerted European approach to China instead.

"There is this bad European habit to have 28 different policies, with countries competing against each other to attract investment," a top French official said. "We need to speak with a common voice if we want to exist. We have the same approach on the 5G issue: avoiding 28 different decisions."

France hasn't decided yet whether to let Huawei build its 5G networks but it's likely to be a subject of discussions during the Chinese leader's visit.

Europe wants to increase trade with China but on European terms, especially amid U.S.-China trade tensions. France also wants China's cooperation on climate diplomacy, in the face of U.S. President Donald Trump's skepticism.

Human rights concerns in China seem a lesser concern now than when Chinese leaders visited Europe in the past, though Macron's office says the French leader will raise concerns about China's repression of Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang.

The U.S. State Department says China has "significantly intensified" a campaign of mass detentions of minority Uighurs over the last year, with between 800,000 and 2 million people interned in camps that have drawn condemnation from across the world.

___

Charlton reported from Paris. Claude Paris in Beaulieu-sur-Mer contributed.
Paris (AFP) - Forty years ago Egypt and Israel signed the first ever peace treaty between the Jewish state and an Arab nation, upturning Middle East diplomatic and military relations.

The March 26, 1979 EgyptIsrael Peace Treaty sealed accords which had been settled the previous year at a groundbreaking summit at Camp David, near Washington, between Egypt's President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.

Signed in a landmark Washington ceremony overseen by US President Jimmy Carter, it ended three decades of war-mongering between the neighbours and remains in place today.

Here is some background:

- 'Pax Americana' -

In October 1973 Egypt and Syria attacked Israel with the aim of forcing it to return territories it seized in 1967, including Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

Although Cairo managed to make significant advances, its army was eventually pushed back. But its initial success enhanced Sadat's standing in the region and internationally.

The United States -- with whom Sadat had been seeking closer ties -- stepped in to force Israel into a partial withdrawal from the Sinai.

In November 1977 the Egyptian leader travelled to Jerusalem for peace talks, becoming the first Arab head of state to visit the Jewish nation.

It culminated a year later in the US-brokered Camp David Accords, signed in September 1978 by Sadat and Begin, that envisaged a proper peace treaty between the two nations within three months.

- 'Miracle' treaty -

When no formal peace accord had been signed three months later, Begin decided to end Israel's freeze on the colonisation of occupied Palestinian territories as evoked in the Camp David Accords.

To save the peace process, Carter headed to both countries.

His efforts paid off and on March 26, 1979 Sadat and Begin signed the treaty at a 10-minute White House ceremony attended by some 2,000 dignitaries.

"We have won at last the first step of peace, a first step on a long and difficult road," said Carter, who signed on as a witness, adding though: "We must not minimise the obstacles which still lie ahead."

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Sadat praised Carter as "the man who performed the miracle".

The only controversial note came from Begin who expressed his hope for the "reunification" of Jerusalem, the eastern part of which had been seized by Israel in the 1967 war, a dispute that remains highly sensitive.

- Ending 30 years of war -

Egypt became the first Arab state to sign a peace deal with Israel, with which it and other Arab nations had been at war since the creation of the Jewish nation in 1948.

It led to Egypt regaining the Sinai Peninsula in 1982 and secured the dismantling of Israeli colonies there.

In turn Egypt offered to end hostilities and normalise diplomatic, economic and cultural relations.

The treaty established that Israeli ships would have free passage through the Suez Canal, and the Strait of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba would be international waterways.

- Arab world fury -

The treaty infuriated Arab countries who claimed it neutralised Egypt, the largest Arab state, and undercut their unity.

They slammed it as a "separate peace" and a betrayal, particularly for Palestinian rights.

Egypt was promptly suspended from the Arab League, which moved its headquarters from Cairo to Tunis; most Arab countries recalled their ambassadors and cut diplomatic relations.

Three years later Sadat, also much-criticised at home, was assassinated by Egyptian extremists.

- A 'cold peace' -

Israel and Egypt today maintain a "cold peace" -- official diplomatic relations and security cooperation amid Egyptian public hostility towards Israel.

Their treaty has withstood conflicts that drew in regional players, including Lebanon (1982 and 2006), Palestinian uprisings (1987 and 2000) and failed peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

The "Pax Americana" of March 1979 has also made it possible for Egypt to benefit from significant US economic and military aid.
Photo credit: Dia Dipasupil - Getty Images

From Delish

Emilia Clarke, most famous for her role as Daenerys Targaryen on HBOs Game of Thrones, recently revealed in an essay for The New Yorker that she experienced two life-threatening brain aneurysms after she finished filming the first season of the show.



Clarke, 32, recalls her early symptoms in the essay: On the morning of February 11, 2011, I was getting dressed in the locker room of a gym in Crouch End, North London, when I started to feel a bad headache coming on.

She continued:

My trainer had me get into the plank position, and I immediately felt as though an elastic band were squeezing my brain. I tried to ignore the pain and push through it, but I just couldnt. I told my trainer I had to take a break. Somehow, almost crawling, I made it to the locker room. I reached the toilet, sank to my knees, and proceeded to be violently, voluminously ill. Meanwhile, the pain-shooting, stabbing, constricting pain-was getting worse. At some level, I knew what was happening: my brain was damaged.

Clarke doesnt remember everything, since the events of that day became noisy and blurry, but she does recall the sound of a siren, throwing up bile, and someone saying her pulse was weak. Once she was at the hospital, she was sent for an MRI, where she received a swift diagnosis: a subarachnoid hemorrhage (aka, a life-threatening stroke).

For the next three hours, surgeons went about repairing my brain. This would not be my last surgery, and it would not be the worst. I was twenty-four years old, Clarke wrote. She admitted the pain was unbearable after waking up, and she had no idea where she was-and yet, she went back to work to film season two about month later.

But Clarke still had a growth on the other side of her brain, which doubled in size by the time she finished filming season 3 of Game of Thrones. She was scheduled for a second emergency surgery, which was much more invasive (the doctors had to go through her skull).

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While she says the recovery was much worse than her first surgery and she was convinced she wasnt going to live, Clarke is now back at 100 percent. Finally fully healed, she wants others to be aware of her story.

So what exactly is a brain aneurysm-and why are they so often deadly? Here are the symptoms you should never ignore.

What is a brain aneurysm, exactly?

A brain aneurysm is a ballooning blood vessel in the brain, and if it bursts, it can cause bleeding, also known as a hemorrhagic stroke. Most brain aneurysms occur between the brain and the tissues covering it-also known as a subarachnoid hemorrhage, which is what Clarke was first diagnosed with.

Think of it this way: An aneurysm is a weakness in the wall of one of your brains blood vessels, Howard Riina, MD, a neurosurgeon with New York University's Langone Medical Center previously told Prevention. That weakness allows the blood vessel to push outward and form a bulge, much like an over-inflated balloon. Once it ruptures, the pressure and lack of blood can lead to unconsciousness and death.

Until a rupture or leak occurs, many people are walking around with an aneurysm and dont know it, Dr. Riina explained. Some data we have suggest 6 to 9 percent of the population have one.

Its unclear why Clarke suffered her first aneurysm at 24. While the specific causes of a brain aneurysm arent known, some people are at higher risk than others, especially if they are older, smoke, have high blood pressure, or consume drugs and alcohol. If you have inherited connective tissue disorders, polycystic kidney disease, or a family history of brain aneurysms, youre also at an elevated risk.



What are they symptoms of a brain aneurysm?

A severe headache, which Clarke experienced during her workout with her trainer, is often the first sign of a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Often people describe it as the worst headache theyve ever had, similar to being struck by a bolt of lightening. Some of the other most common symptoms of a brain aneurysm include the following:

Nausea

Vomiting

Stiff neck

Sensitivity to light

Blurred vision

Seizure

Drooping eyelid

Brief loss of consciousness

Confusion

How is a brain aneurysm treated?

There are two different treatment options for a brain aneurysm: surgical clipping and endovascular coiling. These two procedures have risk of bleeding in the brain and loss of blood flow to the brain.

According to the Mayo Clinic, surgical clipping is a procedure in which a neurosurgeon removes a section of your skull to locate the blood vessel thats causing the aneurysm and then inserts a tiny metal clip on the neck of the aneurysm to stop it from leaking or bursting.

Endovascular coiling is a less invasive surgery and involves placing a catheter into an artery, usually your groin, that leads to the aneurysm. Then, the neurosurgeon pushes a soft platinum wire through the catheter leading to the aneurysm. The wire coils up in the aneurysm to seal the aneurysm from the artery. Some other treatment options for ruptured brain aneurysms include pain relievers, calcium channel blockers, and anti-seizure medications.

Toward the end of her essay, Clarke emphasizes that she is doing better than ever. In the years since my second surgery I have healed beyond my most unreasonable hopes. I am now at a hundred percent," she wrote. "Beyond my work as an actor, Ive decided to throw myself into a charity Ive helped develop in conjunction with partners in the U.K. and the U.S. It is called SameYou, and it aims to provide treatment for people recovering from brain injuries and stroke. I feel endless gratitude.

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PARIS (AP)  Catherine Norris Trent, a British citizen who has lived in Paris since 2007, rushed to become French before her native country left the European Union. She worried Brexit might force her to leave her French partner and their two young children.

While the EU has promised to allow Britons living in France and other member countries to stay after the U.K. pulls out, Norris Trent said she saw French citizenship as the one certain way to protect her right to remain.

"Brexit was definitely a factor that gave my request urgency," Norris Trent, 38, a television journalist who is among France's estimated 150,000 British residents, said. "I don't want my family to be split apart. It's a terrifying prospect."

As France conferred her second nationality during a spectacular one-hour ceremony last week, Norris Trent left her politics-induced fears at the door of Paris' monumental Pantheon, where French literary luminaries such as Victor Hugo, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Emile Zola are buried.

She, along with a throng of others who sought to become citizens, were welcomed by a school choir that sang French national anthem "La Marseillaise" beside a floodlit bust of Marianne, the national symbol. They watched a film called "Become French" that explained French national values such as secularism, respect for cultural diversity and gender equality.

The new citizens proudly clutched French birth certificates, excerpts from the French Constitution and a signed letter from French President Emmanuel Macron saying, "France is proud and happy to welcome you."

Hundreds of kilometers away in Brussels, British Prime Minister Theresa May waited to find out if the leaders of the 27 remaining EU countries would agree to delay Brexit day. For almost two years, Britain's departure was set to take effect this month, on March 29.

But U.K. lawmakers have refused to approve the agreement on withdrawal terms and future relations May's government negotiated with the EU, creating fears of a disruptive "no-deal Brexit" that could lead to shortages of food and medicine, tie up traffic on roads, airports and ports where border controls area reintroduced, and upend the lives of ex-pats throughout Europe.

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The European leaders refused to extend the Brexit deadline until June 30 as May requested. Instead, they said Britain's pull-out could wait until May 22 if the prime minister could persuade Parliament to pass the twice-rejected agreement.

If lawmakers still refuse the deal, the leaders gave Britain until April 12 to choose between leaving the EU without a divorce deal and setting a radically different path such as revoking the decision to leave.

"I don't recognize the rhetoric in the U.K. anymore. I don't want to close the door on the European project," Norris Trent said. "This is about protecting my family against populism and closing borders," she said.

France's Interior Ministry recorded 3,173 British citizens who became French ones in 2017, an eightfold increase compared to the year before, when U.K. voters decided to leave the EU. Numbers for 2018 are not yet available.

France has its own problems, of course, including persistent discrimination against residents with immigrant backgrounds despite a national motto proclaiming equality for all. On the day Norris Trent became a citizen, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe spoke during another naturalization ceremony at the Pantheon about the country's alarming rise in anti-Semitism.

But Macron is a fierce champion of the European Union, both its practical elements such as open borders and the idea it represents of European unity built from the ashes of World War II.

"Generations of men and women... contributed to give (France) the identity it has today: a welcoming nation that protects human values," Macron said in the letter addressed to each new French citizen.

The Pantheon has only been used for French citizenship ceremonies since 2017. The monument, a former church built in the 18th century that has become a famous mausoleum, has symbolism of its own.

Several of the well-known figures buried there were born in other countries and became naturalized French citizens, including French-Polish scientist Marie Curie. Norris Trent suggested French authorities chose the location to impress new citizens with the splendor and inclusive history of their adopted country.

"What a stunning place to become French. It's better than a pokey town hall," Norris Trent said. "You really feel privileged, and so it's quite a clever strategy."

___

Thomas Adamson can be followed at Twitter.com/ThomasAdamson_K
Here is the indictment against Russians accused of election intrusion originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

On July 13, 2018 special counsel Robert Mueller took direct aim at the Russians who allegedly were personally responsible for infiltrating the Democratic National Committees computer system, among others, setting in motion what former intelligence officers call one of the most effective active measures campaigns in history.

The Accused: In an indictment filed on July 13, 2018, the special counsel listed 12 Russian individuals who it said worked for Russias Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff, also known as the GRU. They were members of two specific groups within the GRU, Units 26165 and 74455, which conducted large-scale cyber operations to interfere with the 2016 presidential election, the special counsel says. One Viktor Netyksho was named as the military officer in command of Unit 26165 and Aleksandr Osadchuk as the officer in command of Unit 74455. The indictment is granular in detail, naming officers along with their ranks and purported online aliases, and tying them to specific cyber operations.

The Formal Charges: The defendants are charged with Conspiracy to Commit an Offense Against the United States, Aggravated Identity Theft and Conspiracy to Launder Money

The Alleged Crime: The special counsel alleges that the defendants tried to hack into the email accounts of people associated with Hillary Clintons presidential campaign, including campaign chairman John Podesta, beginning as early as March 2016.

That March the hackers got into the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). During that hack, the indictment alleges in part that the Russians installed key-loggers that allowed them to watch in real-time as a DCCC employee entered her passwords and communicated with other employees.

From the DCCC, the hackers used stolen credentials to slip into the DNCs system on April 18, 2016. By June, they had access to 33 computers, according to the indictment.

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After successfully stealing troves of emails and other documents, the Russians allegedly used a false persona, known as Guccifer 2.0, to publish the information two main ways: through a website they set up called DCLeaks, and through the anti-secrecy organizations WikiLeaks, referred to in court documents as Organization 1.

The indictment also alleges that two of the defendants worked to hack into a state board of elections website, making off with information related to 500,000 voters. They also probed websites for counties in George, Iowa and Florida to identify vulnerabilities there.

The Response: None of the individuals names in the indictment have answered the charges in court, stalling the case. The Russian government has generally dismissed the hacking allegations. However, in response to a civil suit filed by the DNC that originally named the GRU as a defendant, the Russian Federation wrote in a letter that if it had hacked the DNC, such an operation would be a sovereign act by a nation-state that should be protected from civil suits by U.S. law.
By Fadima Kontao BAMAKO (Reuters) - Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita sacked and replaced two generals and disbanded an anti-jihadi vigilante group on Sunday, a day after gunmen massacred 134 Fulani herders in the country's troubled central region. The ethnic bloodshed took place less than a week after a deadly assault by jihadists on an army post killed at least 23 soldiers, also in Mali's central region. That attack was claimed by an al Qaeda affiliate. The army chief of staff General M'Bemba Moussa Keita was removed and replaced by General Abdoulaye Coulibaly, while chief of land forces General Abdrahamane Baby was replaced by Brigadier-General Keba Sangare. Malians have grown increasingly frustrated by the failure of government forces to protect them from both jihadist onslaughts and ethnic reprisals. But the massacre of civilians at the villages of Ogossagou and Welingara on Saturday, which left the charred bodies of women and children smouldering in their homes, has shocked a population long inured to gratuitous killing. Mali's Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga said in a statement after an emergency cabinet meeting that President Keita had also ordered the dissolution of an anti-jihadist vigilante group called Dan Na Amassagou. Some of the group's ethnic Dogon fighters were suspected of being behind the attack. The jihadists have consistently tried to exploit a sense of persecution among the Fulani, whose semi-nomadic, pastoral way of life sometimes brings them into conflict with more settled farmers like the Dogon, by arming and training them. Some Dogon traditional hunters in turn took up arms to protect themselves. Tacit outsourcing of the fight against jihadists to vigilante groups with scores to settle has unleashed ethnic violence across the Sahel. In neighbouring Burkina Faso at the end of December, an ethnic Mossi militia group killed dozens of Fulani in revenge for the killing of a village chief by jihadists. "The protection of the population remains and will remain the monopoly of the state," Maiga said. "Our forces will ... actively disarm any person who should not be armed." Despite a 4,500-strong French force in the Sahel region, jihadist attacks have multiplied since they first intervened in 2013 in an effort to push back Islamists and allied Tuareg rebels who had taken over the northern half of the country. France's foreign ministry said it welcomed the "Mali government's efforts to break up the militia who have been creating terror in the region and must now be disarmed." "France will continue to support efforts aimed at protecting the population, and at creating the conditions for dialogue and a national reconciliation, which are more necessary than ever in the centre of Mali," it added. (Additional reporting by Tiemoko Diallo in Bamako and Sudip Kar-Gupta in Paris; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Daniel Wallis)
Bamako (AFP) - Mali's government on Sunday announced the sacking of senior military officers and the dissolution of an ethnic militia, a day after the massacre of more than 130 Fulani villagers, including women and children.

Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga said new military chiefs would be named, and that the Dan Nan Ambassagou association, composed of Dogon hunters, had been dissolved.

The dissolution of the militia was to send a clear message, Maiga told journalists: "The protection of the population will remain the monopoly of the state."

Survivors of Saturday's attack said ethnic Dogon hunters carried out the deadly raid in Ogossagou, a village in central Mali inhabited by the Fulani community.

While local attacks are fuelled by accusations of Fulani herders grazing cattle on Dogon land and disputes over access to land and water, the area is also troubled by jihadist influence.

Maiga did not name the senior officers sacked, but defence ministry sources told AFP they were the Armed Forces Chief of General Staff M'Bemba Moussa Keita, and chiefs of the army and the air force.

The prime minister's announcement came hours after an emergency meeting called by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in response to Saturday's massacre.

At least 136 men, women and children were killed in the attack, according to a "provisional toll", public television ORTM said late Sunday.

The television showed images of burned huts and livestock and shell casings in the village.

The victims were shot or hacked to death with machetes, a security source told AFP.

A government delegation led by Justice Minister Tiena Coulibaly went to the site of the massacre Sunday.

They were sent by the president to "tell the people of Ogossagou that what happened here is unacceptable and that it will not go unpunished," Coulibaly said.

- 'Predictable attack' -

The UN Children's Fund said "Malian children are paying a heavy price for the intensification of violence."

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"Growing insecurity since 2017 has led to an increase in murders, mutilations and the recruitment of children," UNICEF said.

For its part, the European Union called for "immediate steps (including) the disarmament and dismantling of all militias" in Mali.

Researcher Baba Dakono of the Bamako-based Institute for Security Studies told AFP the attack was "unprecedented" but "predictable" because of a weak state presence in the region.

It was the deadliest attack since the end of the 2013 French-led military intervention that drove back jihadist groups who had taken control of northern Mali.

- UN chief 'outraged' -

The massacre took place as a delegation from the UN Security Council visited the Sahel region to assess the jihadist threat.

"The secretary general is shocked and outraged" by the bloodshed, Antonio Guterres's spokesman said in a statement late Saturday.

The UN chief called on the Malian authorities "to swiftly investigate it and bring the perpetrators to justice", the statement added.

Guterres's spokesman said the UN mission in Mali, MINUSMA, provided air support to deter further attacks and assisted with the evacuation of the injured.

The attack was launched at dawn on Saturday in the village near the border with Burkina Faso, in a district that has seen frequent inter-communal violence.

Jihadist fighters have also emerged as a threat in central Mali in the past four years. A group led by radical Islamist preacher Amadou Koufa has recruited mainly from the Fulani community.

Since then, there have been repeated clashes between the Fulani and Dogon and last year the violence claimed some 500 civilian lives, according to UN figures.

In January, Dogon hunters were blamed for the killing of 37 people in another Fulani village, Koulogon, in the same region.

The Fulani have repeatedly called for more protection from the authorities. The government in Bamako has denied their accusations that it turns a blind eye to -- or even encourages -- Dogon attacks on the Fulani.

Once considered a beacon of democracy and stability in Africa, Mali in recent years has been dogged by a coup, civil war and Islamist terrorism.

Extremists linked to Al-Qaeda took control of the desert north in early 2012, but were largely driven out in a French-led military operation launched in January 2013.

In June 2015, Mali's government signed a peace agreement with some armed groups, but the jihadists remain active, and large tracts of the country remain lawless,

The violence persists despite the presence of UN peacekeepers, a strong French military contingent and the creation of a five-nation military force in the region.
Kano (Nigeria) (AFP) - Nigeria's ruling party on Sunday won the crucial state of Kano in key governorship elections, as the opposition denounced the result, following violence and intimidation that hit the re-run vote.

The sitting governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, had been some 27,000 votes behind when elections at more than 200 polling stations in the northern state were cancelled two weeks ago because of violence.

But after a re-run in the affected areas on Saturday, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate won some 36,000 more votes than his nearest rival.

His overall tally jumped to 1,033,695 -- 8,982 more than Abba Kabir Yusuf, of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) -- which was enough to secure the win.

The PDP is likely to challenge the result in court, after men wielding machetes, daggers and cudgels invaded several polling stations, according to an AFP reporter at the scene.

Most of the unrest was concentrated in the Gama ward, where more than 40,000 votes were up for grabs.

Armed youths also scared away voters and thumb-printed ballot papers in favour of the APC, voters and party agents said.

The declaration of the result at the local office of the Independent National Electoral Commission was delayed by up to 10 hours, while there was a heavy military presence.

PDP spokesman Sanusi Bature Dawakin-Tofa called the result "a gang-up against democracy" by the APC, INEC and security agencies.

"Any desperate attempt... to declare Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje as the winner of this re-run will plunge Kano into an unprecedented political crisis," he added.

The Situation Room, an umbrella group of more than 70 civil society groups monitoring the vote, said the results from Gama could not stand because the abuses recorded there were of "monumental proportions".

- Corruption scandal -

Kano is Nigeria's second-most populous state after Lagos in the southwest and is seen as a key electoral prize at the national and state level.

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Ganduje's comeback follows a corruption scandal just weeks before the election when he was seen on undercover video footage accepting bundles of cash in alleged kick-backs.

The videos earned him the nickname "Gandollar" and raised questions whether President Muhammadu Buhari would sanction him as part of his high-profile anti-corruption campaign.

Buhari was re-elected president at polls held on February 23 -- a week later than initially planned because of logistical problems.

INEC ordered the re-run of governorship elections in six states, because of violence and irregularities on March 9.

The APC governor of central Plateau state, Simon Lalong, won re-election, as did the PDP governor of the northwestern state of Sokoto, Aminu Tambuwal.

But Tambuwal's margin of victory was just 342 votes.

In central Benue state, Samuel Ortom won re-election for the PDP after switching sides from the APC in protest at Buhari's handling of violence between farmers and herders.

- Democracy 'in trouble' -

Results are awaited in the northeastern states of Adamawa and Bauchi, while the collation in the oil-rich southern state of Rivers will resume early next month.

Rivers was also hit by violence, as men in uniform stormed the INEC offices.

International observers have said the presidential elections were broadly free and fair, despite logistical and security problems.

But Buhari's beaten rival Atiku Abubakar, of the PDP, called the vote a "sham" and is challenging the result at an election tribunal.

The Centre for Democracy and Development said Saturday's violence and intimidation would raise more questions.

"Democracy is in trouble in Nigeria," said CDD director Idayat Hassan.

The Situation Room said INEC should end election re-runs because "it appears the process is now a manipulation tool to circumvent the elections".
Federal prosecutors are investigating whether Boeing provided incomplete or misleading information about its best-selling 737 Max aircraft to U.S. air safety regulators and customers, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

Its reportedly part of a larger investigation into how the aircraft was developed and certified, according to the Journal. Boeing has faced escalating pressure since two of its new 737 Max jets crashed in under five months.

The criminal investigation began last year, after the aircraft was involved in a Lion Air crash that killed 189 individuals. Five months later, at the beginning of March, one of Boeings new Max jets operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed, killing 157 people. U.S. regulators have not connected the two incidents but suggested there are similarities.

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Transportation Departments inspector generals officer are working together under the direction of federal prosecutors, according to the Journal. Boeing has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

"The 737 Max was certified in accordance with the identical FAA requirements and processes that have governed certification of all previous new airplanes and derivatives," Boeing told the Journal.

The Chicago-based manufacturer is expected to soon release a software update to fix the stall-prevention system. The Federal Aviation Agency called the review of the update an agency priority.

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The U.S., the U.K., China and a number of other countries have grounded the fleet since the second crash.

Boeing has over 4,600 unfilled orders for its 737 Max jets, according to the companys database.

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Bamako (AFP) - Hundreds of wives and children of Mali soldiers slain in a spate of jihadist attacks rallied in two central towns Friday, calling for more support for the military.

The towns of Segou, a regional capital, and Sevare saw the victims' relatives gather to urge more government backing, participants told AFP.

Th rally came after an attack in the central city of Dioura killed 26 people, according to a latest official army toll, with Bamako decreeing three days of official mourning from Friday.

President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has demanded a tough security line but that has failed to pacify the victims' families.

The rally at Segou saw a group of women block traffic by sitting down in the middle of the road while children who had lost fathers to attacks set tyres ablaze, witnesses said.

"We've been told helicopters have been bought for the army -- where are they? Why don't they use them?" demanded one woman, Fatoumata, who said she had lost her husband in the Dioura attack.

"Hundreds of women and children are here to demonstrate at Segou to denounce a lack of resources for the army," said Oumar Toure, a teacher.

"We don't want our husbands to keep dying like this," other women chanted at a rally at Sevare, near Mopti, another central capital in the country's centre.

Some protesters at Sevare called for the president to resign, local media quoted them as saying.

A group of associations meanwhile drew around 1,000 people to a meeting in the capital Bamako to urge solutions to a crisis in education after repeated strikes by public sector teachers demanding better conditions.

"There's been no school for months -- the government and teachers must urgently find common ground, organiser Mohamed Kimbiri said, adding that the parlous security situation in Mali was a further major worry.

In further proof of that, at least four civilians were killed and two injured Friday when armed assailants attacked the village of Diombolo, near the central town of Bandiagara and carried off food and livestock, locals said.

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Hama Dengu, a resident, said the attack was the work of an ethnic Fulani group earlier seen riding around the area.

UN sources blame violence between ethnic groups in central Mali for over 500 deaths last year.

A military source told AFP that troops had deployed to the area after the attack and came across a boobytrapped motorcycle, which exploded, killing one local man for a fifth fatality on the day.
Caracas (AFP) - Two Russian military planes delivered troops and equipment to Venezuela over the weekend, Russian state news agency Sputnik reported Sunday.

"Two Russian planes arrived in Venezuela on Saturday with equipment and personnel to fulfill technical military contracts," the agency reported on the Spanish-language version of its website.

It gave no other details but quoted an unnamed official from the Russian embassy in Caracas saying "there is nothing mysterious" about the flights.

The Sputnik report was published after an independent Venezuela journalist, Javier Mayorca, said on his Twitter feed that a Russian air force Antonov-124 cargo plane and a smaller jet, apparently an Ilyushin Il-62, had landed at the main airport outside Caracas on Saturday.

He said the planes offloaded around 100 Russian soldiers led by General Vasily Tonkoshkurov, head of the Mobilization Directorate of Russia's armed forces, and disembarked 35 tons of equipment.

Social media and non-state Venezuelan media picked up the information and posted pictures of the planes at the airport.

One picture of a Russian-flagged aircraft posted on social media showed men in uniform clustered around it.

An AFP journalist early on Sunday saw one of the planes on the tarmac at Maiquetia airport, with a Russian flag on its fuselage. It was guarded by a contingent of Venezuelan National Guardsmen.

A picture of a Russian-flagged aircraft posted on social media showed men in uniform clustered around it on the tarmac.

Venezuelan authorities offered no information about the flights. The Russian embassy in Caracas declined to comment to AFP on the reports.

- US tensions -

Russia and China are the main allies of Venezuela. Both have lent billions of dollars to the oil-rich South American country, propping up the anti-US government of President Nicolas Maduro.

Russia has also vocally opposed US moves to sanction Maduro and his government, and to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela's interim president.

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US moves against Caracas have ratcheted up in recent weeks, with President Donald Trump warning that "all options" -- implicitly including US military intervention -- were being considered.

On April 28, US sanctions are to jump up a level with a ban on crude imports from Venezuela. Historically, the US has been Venezuela's biggest oil buyer, and the new sanctions are expected to severely crimp the Maduro government's already badly diminished finances.

Russia previously signaled its support for Maduro by sending two Tu-160 bombers to Venezuela last December to take part in a military exercise.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has a record of ordering his military -- or paramilitary -- forces into several theaters to challenge US strategies, notably in Syria and Ukraine.

Any Russian foothold in Latin America, especially Venezuela, would alarm the US military. It would also be a political test for Trump, who has routinely avoided criticizing Putin.
Washington (AFP) - A second student from the Florida high school where 17 were shot dead in 2018 has committed suicide within a week, US media reported Sunday.

The Miami Herald said police in Coral Springs told the paper that a current student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in nearby Parkland had died of "apparent suicide" late Saturday.

The student was not identified by the police but the Miami Herald said it was a male sophomore or second-year student.

Coral Springs police could not be immediately contacted to confirm the report.

Last weekend Sydney Aiello, 19, who survived the Parkland massacre and graduated last year, killed herself reportedly out of grief and "survivor's guilt."

Two of Aiello's best friends, Meadow Pollack and Joaquin Oliver, were among the dead when former student Nikolas Cruz raked the school on February 14, 2018 with a semi-automatic weapon, killing 14 students and three staff members.

Aiello's parents told local news channel CBS4 that she had been treated for PTSD and suffered from survivor's guilt, when a victim fixates on why he or she managed to live, not someone else.

After the shooting, Stoneman Douglas students became crusaders against gun violence under the banner "March for Our Lives," lobbying for tougher gun control laws and organizing protests and rallies.
March 23 (Reuters) - Islamic State fighters have been defeated at the final shred of territory they held in eastern Syria, marking the end of jihadist rule that once spanned a third of Iraq and Syria, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Saturday.

This timeline chronicles the lightning rise, cruel reign and gradual fall of Islamic State.

* 2004-11 - In the chaos following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, an al Qaeda offshoot sets up there, changing its name in 2006 to Islamic State in Iraq.

* 2011 - After Syria's crisis begins, the group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi sends operatives there to set up a Syrian subsidiary. Baghdadi follows in 2013, breaking with al Qaeda and renaming his group "The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant."

* 2014 - Its sudden success starts with the seizure of Fallujah in Iraq and Raqqa in Syria at the turn of the year. The jihadists take Mosul and Tikrit in June and overrun the border with Syria. At Mosul's great Mosque, Baghdadi renames the group Islamic State (IS) and declares a caliphate.

So begins a reign of terror. In Iraq, IS slaughters thousands of Yazidis in Sinjar and forces more than 7,000 women and girls into sexual slavery. In Syria, it massacres hundreds of members of the Sheitaat tribe. IS beheads Western hostages in grotesquely choreographed films.

In September, the United States builds a coalition against IS and starts air strikes to stop its momentum, helping the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia turn the militants back from Kobani on the border with Turkey.

* 2015 - Militants in Paris attack a satirical newspaper and a kosher supermarket, the bloody start to a wave of attacks that IS claims around the world. Militants in Libya behead Christians and pledge allegiance to IS, followed by groups in other countries, but they stay operationally independent.

In May, IS takes Ramadi in Iraq and the ancient desert town of Palmyra in Syria, but by the end of the year it is on the back foot in both countries.

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* 2016 - Iraq takes back Fallujah in June, the first town IS had captured during its initial blaze of success. In August, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheaded by the Kurdish YPG, takes Manbij in Syria.

Alarmed by the Kurdish advances near its own frontier, Turkey launches an offensive into Syria against both IS and the YPG. Enmity between Turkey and the YPG will continue to complicate operations against IS.

* 2017 - Islamic State suffers a year of catastrophic defeats. In June it loses Mosul to Iraqi forces after months of fighting and Baghdad declares the end of the caliphate. In September the Syrian army races eastwards backed by Russia and Iran to relieve Deir al-Zor and re-extend state control at the Euphrates River. In October, the SDF drives IS from Raqqa.

* 2018 - The Syrian government retakes IS enclaves in Yarmouk, south of Damascus, and on the frontier with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The SDF advances further down the Euphrates and Iraqi forces take the rest of the border region. The United States vows to withdraw troops.

* 2019 - IS fighters are defeated at their last enclave on the Euphrates at the village of Baghouz, the SDF says. The SDF declares the "caliphate" eliminated.

(Compiled by Angus McDowall Editing by Tom Perry/Mark Heinrich)
Indonesia's capital inaugurated its first mass rapid transit system on Sunday, a $1.1 billion project seen as crucial to tackling some of the world's worst traffic congestion.

President Joko Widodo and other officials joined a ceremony in Jakarta to give a green light for the 16-kilometre (10 mile) line, almost six years after construction began on the Japanese-backed project.

Tens of thousands of excited Jakartans were in attendance and eager to try riding on the subway for the first time, mobbing the president for selfies while music blared and traditional performers danced on a nearby stage.

"Honestly I am so happy," office worker Mutia Fitrianti told AFP. "Now we don't have to go abroad just to ride an MRT."

The train system runs above and below ground and stretches from the central Hotel Indonesia to the southern reaches of the Southeast Asian megalopolis of some 30 million people.

It aims to cut travel times between the two points to just 30 minutes from around two hours, offering some relief to frustrated commuters long used to spending much of their day stuck in traffic.

The new line is set to open to the public on Monday, with tickets free during the first week.

Construction on a second line linking downtown to Jakarta's northern port is also kicking off Sunday with completion slated for 2024, and more lines are envisioned in the future.

A separate elevated rail network is also being built to link satellite cities with Jakarta, nicknamed the Big Durian after the pungent fruit that bitterly divides fans and its detractors.

The public transit projects are part of a sweeping infrastructure push that Widodo hopes will boost the fortunes of Southeast Asia's biggest economy -- and get him re-elected in national polls next month.

"If we have and integrated transportation system, it will be easier for people to go places and they will leave their cars or motorcycles at home," Widodo told journalists on Sunday.

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- Clogged streets -

Over the past decade, rising incomes in the country of 260 million have created a ballooning middle class and sent vehicle ownership soaring.

But that's also brought hazardous air pollution and annual economic losses that run into the billions as cars crawl along the capital's roadways in the steamy tropical heat -- alongside an underused bus system.

Environmentalists hope that the new line will cut traffic-linked carbon emissions by about half.

It could also make a dent in annual economic losses of some 65 trillion Rupiah ($4.6 billion) linked to road congestion, according to government figures.

The multi-billion dollar project is funded through a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

"We think MRT Jakarta is the project of the century for us," JICA senior vice president Tanaka Yasushi told reporters.

But transport analysts have cautioned that the new line and cheap prices will not cure the traffic woes of a city infatuated with private vehicles and with few decent sidewalks.

"The MRT won't immediately ease the traffic because changing the culture and attitudes isn't easy," Hendi Bowoputro, a public transit expert at the University of Brawijaya, told AFP before the inauguration.

And the line's expected 130,000 daily passengers represent only about 10 percent of those who already cram into a decades-old commuter rail network.
President Trump on Friday accused Democrats of being anti-Jewish when asked about top Democratic presidential candidates refusal to attend the upcoming American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference.

The Democrats have proven to be anti-Israel, and its a disgrace, Trump told reporters on the White House lawn as he prepared to depart for Mar-a-Lago. Frankly, I think they are anti-Jewish.

"Frankly, I think they are anti-Jewish," @realDonaldTrump said of Democrats this morning https://t.co/tfNAjgspFE pic.twitter.com/sRuQSRIT0I  Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 22, 2019

Trumps comments come one day after the Associated Press reported that Senators Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), Kamala Harris (D., Calif.), and Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) would not attend the annual AIPAC conference at the end of the month, and a spokesman for Beto ORourke told NBC News that the former Texas congressman also plans to skip the event.

The candidates decisions to skip the conference came after the liberal advocacy group MoveOn called for them to boycott the event due to AIPACs perceived opposition to progressive ideals.

Its no secret that AIPAC has worked to hinder diplomatic efforts like the Iran deal, is undermining Palestinian self-determination, and inviting figures actively involved in human rights violations to its stage, Iram Ali, campaign director for MoveOns political action committee, wrote in a post on the groups website. We asked our members what they think so that we can make more informed decisions  and over 74% agreed that progressive presidential candidates should skip the AIPAC conference. This should also give a clear insight to 2020 candidates on where their base stands instead of prioritizing lobbying groups and policy people who rarely step outside of D.C.

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This years conference will feature speeches by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and House speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The controversy over Democratic opposition to AIPAC comes amid recent allegations of anti-Semitism leveled against freshman Representative Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.), who has divided the caucus by publicly indulging in anti-Semitic tropes and by suggesting that the ensuing criticism was the result of anti-Muslim bias on the part of her Jewish colleagues.

More from National Review
Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump was jubilant Monday -- but also looking for revenge -- after the Russia collusion report cleared him in a huge boost for his re-election chances next year.

Trump could afford to be magnanimous in victory after spending two years trying to discredit special prosecutor Robert Mueller.

Asked if Mueller had behaved honorably as head of a probe that he'd previously likened repeatedly to a "witch hunt," Trump answered: "Yes, he did."

Trump also supported publication of the Mueller report, rather than just the short summary released late Sunday with a declaration that no evidence emerged to support allegations of collusion between the president's 2016 election campaign and Russia.

"Wouldn't bother me at all," he told reporters at the White House.

The "no collusion" declaration took the wind out of Democrats' sails, likely ending any immediate threat of impeachment for Trump, despite the many controversies and scandals still tainting his administration.

White House aides did not hide their glee, signaling that Trump is now free to hit the 2020 campaign trail with his message that an angry left conspired to try and bring down a leader too strong to be tackled any other way.

"It's a great day for America," Trump's spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a rare appearance on CNN, a channel the White House regularly savages as "fake news."

Speaking in the spring sunshine outside the West Wing, Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway told journalists she had two words for presidential foes: "Move on."

- Trump sees 'treasonous' opponents -

The report summary released by Attorney General William Barr on Sunday cleared Trump of allegations that his Republican campaign worked with Russian agents to tilt the election result against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

It said that Mueller had been unable to make a final determination on whether Trump tried to obstruct justice by hampering the Russia probe. The report "does not exonerate him," Barr quoted Mueller as saying on this point.

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But in a sign that Trump now feels more than fully vindicated, he suggested that the investigators should themselves come under scrutiny.

"There are people out there who have done very bad things, I would say treasonous things against our country," he said.

Trump is especially angry at former FBI director James Comey, whom he fired in 2017, and other law enforcement officials who he claims conspired against him.

The Democratic chairs of six House committees, including panels on the judiciary, oversight and finance, wrote to Barr demanding that the full report, underlying evidence and documents be delivered to Congress by April 2.

They also plan to press on with their probe of Trump through existing congressional investigations.

Senator Lindsey Graham, the Republican head of the Senate judiciary committee, promised a look at the "shady behavior" of Democrats during the 2016 election.

And Trump's son Eric echoed a growing outcry on the right of the Republican Party by taking aim at the media, demanding a "simple apology" from seven major news organizations, including The New York Times and CNN.

On Thursday, Trump will be back on the campaign trail, addressing a rally of his most faithful fans in Michigan.

"Expect him to come 'off the chain'," Trump's controversial former strategist Steve Bannon wrote to The Washington Post.

- Tainted presidency -

Despite the relief at the White House, the Mueller probe painted a deeply unflattering picture of the divisive and populist real estate tycoon-turned-politician.

Mueller established that Russians did try to influence the 2016 election by hacking Democratic Party computers and flooding social media with disinformation to harm Clinton.

The probe also brought new focus on Trump's hidden business dealings with Russians, including a long-running push to build a Trump tower in Moscow. It emerged that negotiations continued well into his election year -- despite claims by Trump that he had no such links.

Also, while Trump escaped relatively unscathed, the probe uncovered other crimes, leaving a heavy taint on Trump's inner circle.

Mueller issued criminal charges ranging from conspiracy to lying to investigators against 34 individuals.

Six of those were former insiders in Trump's circle, and five have been convicted, including Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen, his national security advisor Michael Flynn and his campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison for crimes including, at Trump's alleged instruction, using campaign funds for hush payments to an adult film star who allegedly had an affair with Trump.

And Manafort was imprisoned for 7.5 years, though mostly for crimes unrelated to the campaign.

With only a short summary made public by Barr, pressure is growing from Democrats for the entire probe to be released. However, Barr may declare parts of the report off limits for legal reasons.

Senator Graham said he would be talking to Barr and "I hope soon to have as much of the report released as possible."
(Adds U.S. congressman calling for witnesses on MAX 737 certification program; adds WASHINGTON to dateline, byline)

* U.S. lawmaker urges Boeing, FAA employees to come forward

* Garuda cancels 737 MAX order with list price of $6 billion

* American Airlines pilots to test software fix in simulator

* Flight control system MCAS at center of investigations

By David Shepardson and Cindy Silviana

WASHINGTON/JAKARTA, March 22 (Reuters) - A U.S. lawmaker on Friday urged current or former Boeing Co and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees to come forward with any information about the certification program for the 737 MAX, which has suffered two fatal crashes in five months.

Boeing and the FAA are under global regulatory scrutiny over software and training on the signature aircraft. Boeing risked losing a $6 billion order for the jet on Friday, its first since the world's entire fleet was grounded last week.

Indonesian airline Garuda said it plans to scrap its order because some passengers are afraid to board the plane, although industry analysts said the deal was already in doubt.

In the United States, the chairman of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Peter DeFazio urged people to use the committee's whistleblower web page.

"It is imperative we continue to ensure we have the highest level of safety for the traveling public," DeFazio said.

American Airlines pilots were preparing to test Boeing's planned software upgrade for an anti-stall system on MAX simulators this weekend, saying they want their own safety guarantees on the software fix.

The 737 MAX was Boeing's fastest selling jet before an Ethiopian Airlines crash near Addis Ababa on March 10, which followed a Lion Air crash in Indonesia on Oct. 29.

Ethiopian and French investigators have pointed to "clear similarities" between the two crashes, which killed 346 people, putting pressure on Boeing and U.S. regulators to come up with an adequate fix. No direct link has been proven between the crashes but attention has focused on whether pilots had the correct information about the "angle of attack" at which the wing slices through the air.

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Ethiopia has shared limited information with foreign investigators, Reuters reported on Thursday, and an industry source said Boeing had not yet received any black box and voice recorder data.

Meanwhile, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, on Friday raised concerns in a letter to the FAA about regulations that allow aircraft manufacturers to effectively self-certify the safety of their planes and "left the fox guarding the henhouse."

The FAA declined to comment.

The U.S. Justice Department opened a separate investigation this week. The FBI has declined comment.

Garuda CEO Ari Askhara told Reuters on Friday: "Many passengers told us they were afraid to get on a MAX 8."

However, the airline had been reconsidering its order for 49 of the narrowbody jets before the Ethiopian crash, including potentially swapping some for widebody Boeing models.

Southeast Asia faces a glut of narrowbody aircraft like the 737 MAX and rival Airbus A320neo at a time of slowing global economic growth and high fuel costs.

"They have been re-looking at their fleet plan anyway so this is an opportunity to make some changes that otherwise may be difficult to do," CAPA Centre for Aviation Chief Analyst Brendan Sobie said.

Indonesia's Lion Air has also said it might cancel 737 MAX aircraft, though industry sources say it is also struggling to absorb the number of planes on order.

RETROFITS

Boeing now plans to make compulsory a light to alert pilots when sensor readings of the angle of attack do not match - meaning at least one must be wrong -, according to two officials briefed on the matter.

Investigators suspect a faulty angle-of-attack reading led the doomed Lion Air jet's computer to believe it had stalled, prompting its anti-stall system, called MCAS, repeatedly to push the plane's nose down.

Norwegian Air played down the significance of the compulsory light, saying that, according to Boeing, it would not have been able to prevent erroneous signals that Lion Air pilots received before their new 737 MAX plane crashed in October.

Boeing must be cautious with how it characterizes the safety alert, risking legal claims by saying it could have made a difference in the crash while not wanting to suggest that the retrofit is meaningless, legal experts said.

The Lion Air plane did not have the warning light installed, and Ethiopian Airlines did not immediately comment on whether its crashed plane had the alert.

But the Ethiopian carrier, whose reputation along with Boeing's is at stake, issued a statement on Friday emphasizing the modernity of its safety and training systems, with more than $500 million invested in infrastructure in the past five years.

The Ethiopian crash has set off one of the widest inquiries in aviation history and cast a shadow over the Boeing 737 MAX model intended to be a standard for decades.

Boeing did not comment on the plan to make the safety feature standard, but separately said it was moving quickly to make software changes and expected the upgrade to be approved by the FAA in coming weeks.

Experts said the change needs regulatory approval and could take weeks or months. Regulators in Europe and Canada have said they will conduct their own reviews of any new systems.

Boeing shares have fallen 14 percent since the Ethiopian crash.

(Reporting by David Shepardson in WASHINGTON, Cindy Silviana in JAKARTA and Tracy Rucinski in CHICAGO; Additional reporting by Terje Solsvik in Oslo, Jamie Freed in Singapore, Bernadette Christina Munthe in Jakarta, Maggie Fick and Jason Neely in Addis Ababa, Tim Hepher in Paris, and Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Writing by Sayantani Ghosh, Georgina Prodhan and Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Mark Potter and Grant McCool)
Dubai (AFP) - Four years after Saudi Arabia led a military intervention in Yemen to back the government against rebels, the only hope for peace in a country threatened by famine hangs on a fragile truce.

Despite the Saudis entering the conflict on March 26, 2015 with a coalition composed of nine countries from the Middle East and Africa, Yemen's internationally-recognised government has failed to defeat the Huthi.

The Iran-aligned rebels continue to control much of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa.

And the conflict -- which the United Nations says has unleashed the world's worst humanitarian crisis and pushed the country to the brink of famine -- shows no sign of abating in the impoverished nation.

In December, the rival sides agreed to a ceasefire in the key lifeline Red Sea port of Hodeida -- just weeks after forces loyal to the government were able to enter the rebel-held city.

But even if major fighting has stopped, other elements of the accord -- including a prisoner swap -- have failed to materialise.

"There was a real breakthrough in Sweden. Substantive, on the one hand, but even more so in the psychological sense," Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group think tank, told AFP.

"There have been delays, obstacles, and backtracking, but what is unchanged is that the parties still view the agreement as their best option."

- Peace elusive -

Yemenis were hopeful the hard-won agreement reached in Sweden would be followed by a long-lasting peace deal, particularly as Riyadh came under intense international scrutiny following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom's Istanbul consulate.

Fighting in Hodeida, whose port serves as the country's lifeline, has largely stopped since the ceasefire went into effect on December 18, but there have been intermittent clashes.

And both the government and the Huthis have been accused of violating the truce deal, while an agreed redeployment of forces has also not yet been implemented.

Story continues

The Saudi-led coalition, which has won US logistical support and includes the United Arab Emirates, warned in late January it was still prepared to use "force" against the Huthis to make the rebels abide by the UN-backed truce deal.

According to security analyst Aleksandar Mitreski the warring sides in Yemen are "showing no major weaknesses".

He insisted to AFP, however, that an "alleviation of the humanitarian crisis is possible".

"Current mounting pressure on the Saudi-led coalition may open up more channels for humanitarian aid to flow. This pressure can grow if the spotlight shifts from Syria over to Yemen."

International outcry over Khashoggi's murder and images of emaciated Yemeni children has strained Saudi Arabia's relations with its western allies, including Washington.

In March, the US Senate voted to end Washington's military support for Riyadh-led efforts in the Yemen war.

- 'Enormous obstacles' -

Yemen's conflict has left around 24 million people -- more than three quarters of the country's population -- now dependent on some form of aid for survival.

The Yemeni government has been battling the Iran-aligned Huthi rebels since 2014, before the intervention the following year by the Saudis.

An estimated 10,000 people have been killed since March 2015, when Saudi Arabia and its allies -- with the logistical and political backing of the United States -- unleashed air power against the Huthi rebels.

But rights groups say the death toll is likely far higher. Save the Children has estimated that 85,000 Yemenis under five years old may have died of starvation.

Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned that children in Yemen continued to be killed and maimed at an alarming rate, despite the three-month-old truce in Hodeida.

"Since the Stockholm agreement on December 13, it is estimated that eight children have been killed or injured in Yemen every day," Bachelet told the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday.

However, while fighting across the country continues, the shaky truce deal seems the only hope for peace.

"The agreement is alive so long as both sides see it as preferable to a military confrontation for Hodeida," Dickinson said.

But she warned "there are enormous obstacles and challenges along the way."
Photo credit: Kai Schwoerer - Getty Images

From Harper's BAZAAR

Women in New Zealand wore headscarves to show solidarity with the Muslim community one week after 50 people were killed in two mosque shootings in Christchurch.

The "Headscarf for Harmony" movement was started by Thaya Ashman, a doctor in Auckland.

Participants shared photos of themselves wearing the scarves on social media, and some shared their stories with BAZAAR.com.

Women in New Zealand wore headscarves on Friday to pay tribute to the victims of the tragic shootings at two mosques in Christchurch last week. The gesture was a sign of solidarity with the Muslim community, which was targeted in the attack, especially Muslim women who wear the hijab, a veil covering the head and hair as an expression of their religious identity.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who swiftly announced a national ban on assault-style weapons a week after the tragedy that killed 50 people, wore a headscarf when she joined a Muslim call to prayer in Christchurch today. Women around the country-and around the world-also partook in the tribute.

Photo credit: Kai Schwoerer - Getty Images

News anchor Samantha Hayes wore a black headscarf on air. She noted on Instagram that this week, she saw a woman get harassed on the train for wearing a hijab after the shootings. "Im wearing a headscarf today for her, and for the families and friends of those killed in Christchurch a week ago," she wrote in the post.

More participants in the tribute shared photos of themselves, friends, and families on social media, often with the hashtag #HeadscarvesForHarmony or #HeadscarfForHarmony. The social movement was started by Auckland doctor Thaya Ashman, Reuters reports. She started the movement, which is supported by Islamic Women's Council and the New Zealand Muslim Association, "to show our support, but also to recognise our grief as New Zealanders," she told Newshub.

Story continues

Here, a few women tell BAZAAR.com about their decision to take part in the movement.

Rebecca Dickson of Christchurch, the city where the attacks took place, said she decided to wear a headscarf because "our Muslim community deserved to see that we love and support them. No one should feel fear or shame for what they wear or who they are. Kotahitanga is a beautiful Maori word meaning oneness and unity, and I believe we all helped embody that. I explained it to my daughter and she wanted to wear one too, one of two kids in her school who did. It was a simple thing for me to do but I can see it has meant a lot to so many."

Larissa (Lala) McCarthy, a mother of 5, from Taupo, New Zealand:

"I chose to wear a headscarf in solidarity with my Muslim sisters and brothers on March 22 as I believe in living my life through love and compassion. I believe in teaching my children to do the right thing, even when it is hard sometimes. I chose to feel and see only love. I felt proud yet humbled wearing it."

Krystal Elizabeth Edwards of Auckland City:

"I chose to wear a headscarf for many reasons, what happened in our country last week broke my heart. I wanted to go out into the world and show our unity, my love and support for the Muslim community. We are all one race: the human race. We will stand together in love and harmony and rise up against the hatred."





Lynia Brooking of Te Araroa, New Zealand:

"Not only did I take part in the headscarf tribute to show my undying support and love for our Muslim brothers and sisters, but to show, no matter how different we are, if we come together AS ONE PEOPLE in love and support, amazing things can happen."

Jordan Reid from Tauranga, New Zealand:

"After a week of joining this country in grieving the tragedy of last Friday, I felt I didnt have the words to articulate my devastation and to express my support for the Muslim Community. When I came across #headscarvesforharmony, I realized that I could use my craft to silently create a symbol of unity and support for all NZ women."

Courtney Linwood from Oamaru, New Zealand:

"I truly believed we lived in one of the safest countries in the world; you hear of things happening like this all over the world but I never thought it would happen here. Along with the rest of the nation, my heart was broken. I am so incredibly proud of the outpouring of love, support and compassion that our country has shown. Our Prime Minister has been an absolute inspiration and I think all leaders across the world should take note.

"I chose to wear a headscarf to show solidarity and support for all Muslim women in our country that are too scared to wear their hijab in public out of fear of being identified as Muslim. I don't want them to feel scared. This is their home and they are us, just normal people trying to live their life. We are all human and all deserve to be treated as equals. I've had messages from all over the world thanking me for wearing a headscarf, telling me how much it means to them. I've seen nothing but love and support and that warms my heart. I will never forget that day, but it has only made us stronger as a nation. Love will always win."

Sophie Nicole from Auckland:

"The evening after the Christchurch terrorist attack my partner and I went to the beach, to remind ourselves why we live in beautiful New Zealand (also both immigrants from the U.K.). It was dark and the only light was from the moon. We saw a Muslim family walk past and I hoped that they chose to be there at that time and not because they felt they had to hide. I hoped with every ounce of my being that they felt safe and welcome in the moment, knowing full well that they probably didn't.

"For me, wearing a hijab was a way of showing unity, solidarity, tolerance and kindness. I'm proud to stand along side Muslim men and women as part of one race, the human race, as no one should feel afraid to be themselves. If by me wearing a hijab helped one person feel less afraid and helps them be free to express their culture or to be themselves then it is worth it 1000 times over."

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Journalist Laura Ling, third from left, poses with Unleashed reporters Davis Highs Alexis Weber, Riverside Christian Highs Cara Elzie, Selah Highs Mary-Frances Ballew, and Anna Ergeson, along with Davis Highs Amy Bailon at the end of the press conference that was held in the Capitol Theatre's Robertson Room prior to Ling's Town Hall Series talk on March 6, 2019 in Yakima, Wash.
Hundreds of protesters rallied outside an event where a congresswoman spoke to a Muslim-American civil rights group.

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The demonstrators were protesting the presence Saturday of US Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota at the fundraising event for the Council of American-Islamic Relations of Greater Los Angeles.

Protesters hold placards and flags during a demonstration against Ilhan Omar, US Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district, in Woodland Hills, Los Angelesm California

recent remarks on Israel , including comments that American supporters of Israel are pushing people to have allegiance to a foreign country. Omar later apologized, saying anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes.

The Los Angeles Daily News reports that the protesters lined a sidewalk area outside the Hilton hotel in Woodland Hills, waving Israeli flags. A smaller group of counter-protesters held up signs in support of Omar.

Protesters hold signs during a demonstration against Ilhan Omar, US Representative for Minnesota's 5th congressional district, in Woodland Hills, Los Angelesm California

In response to remarks Omar made about Israelon al least three different occasionsleading House Democrats offered a resolution condeming anti-Semitism.

A draft of the resolution does not rebuke Omar, a Somali-American and one of two Muslim women in Congress. But it sets out the history of anti-Semitism and bigotry in America, including anti-Jewish tropes about divided loyalties. The document also rejects bigotry directed against Muslims after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

It says the House rejects anti-Semitism as hateful expressions of intolerance that are contradictory to the values that define the people of the United States.
Israeli military attacked two Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip early Sunday morning in response to border violence, which included hurling of explosive devices on the troops stationed on the Israeli side of the security fence.

One of the explosives thrown at the fence triggered a Code Red rocket alert in an Israeli Gaza border community.
Rafi Eitan, a legendary Israeli Mossad spy who led the capture of Holocaust mastermind Adolf Eichmann, died Saturday. He was 92.

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Eitan was one of the founders of Israels vaunted intelligence community and among its most prominent figures in Israel and abroad.

Rafi was among the heroes of the intelligence services of the State of Israel on countless missions on behalf of the security of Israel, said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His wisdom, wit and commitment to the people of Israel and our state were without peer.





Rafi Eitan (Photo: Michael Kremer)

Eitan died after being hospitalized in Tel Aviv, Israeli media reported.

The 1960 operation to capture Eichmann in Argentina and bring him to trial in Jerusalem was the Mossads most historic mission and remains one of the defining episodes in Israels history. His trial brought to life the horrors of the Nazi Final Solution, which followed Eichmanns blueprint for liquidating the entire Jewish population of Europe. Eichmann was convicted in 1961 of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He was hanged the following year  the only time Israel has carried out a death sentence.

Known as the architect of the Holocaust for his role in coordinating the Nazi genocide policy, Eichmann fled Germany after World War II and assumed the name Ricardo Klement in Argentina.

Eitan in pursuit of Nazi fugitives (Photo: Zvi Aharoni archive)

Eitan, who headed the seven-man team on the ground, grabbed Eichmann on the way back to his Buenos Aires home, shoved him into a car and spirited him to a safe house. In the back seat of the car, one agent shoved a gloved hand inside Eichmanns mouth in case he had a cyanide pill hidden in a tooth, as some former top Nazis were known to have to foil their capture. Eitan identified Eichmann by searching his body for distinctive scars on his arm and stomach. And once I felt it I was convinced. This is the man  we got Eichmann, he recalled years later.

Mossad Director Yossi Cohen said the majority of Eitans exploits still remain unknown to the general public.

Rafi Eitan (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

His work and his actions will be etched in gold letters in the annals of the state, Cohen said in a special statement Saturday. The foundations that Rafi laid in the first years of the state are a significant layer in the activities of the Mossad even today.

Eitans reputation took a hit in the 1980s for his handling of Jonathan Pollard, a civilian intelligence analyst for the US Navy, who sold military secrets to Israel while working at the Pentagon. Pollard was arrested in 1985 and pleaded guilty, in an espionage affair that embarrassed Israel and severely tarnished its relations with the United States.

Eitan in Lebanon in 1982 (Photo: David Rubinger)

Eitan claimed his actions were sanctioned by his superiors, but eventually was forced to resign his post.

He went into business and later in life entered politics and scored an election sensation in 2006 as head of the Pensioners Party, garnering seven seats in the 120-seat parliament and becoming a Cabinet minister in Ehud Olmerts government.

The short and stocky Eitan was easily recognizable by his mop of white hair and his thick, large framed eyeglasses.

Eitan, a longtime friend of Ariel Sharon, began his career fighting in the Palmach pre-state army, where he was wounded in battle and became partially deaf. It was then he also earned his nickname, Stinky Rafi, after hiding in a pit of sewage while on a mission. Sharon continued to affectionately call him the Stinker for the next half century.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is facing increased pressure from her own Conservative Party to either resign or to set a date for stepping down in order to build support for her Brexit plan.

British media reported Sunday that senior party figures were urging May to recognize her weakened political position and resign.
The family of Staff Sergeant Gal Keidan, who was killed a week ago in the terror attack in Ariel Junction, speak for the first time of their fallen brother and son - a talented musician who sought to distinguish himself as a soldier, and who was taken from them in an instant.

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The 19-year-old died when a Palestinian attacker grabbed his gun as he patrolled a junction near the West Bank settlement of Ariel, and shot him with it at point blank range. The terrorist later shot and killed Rabbi Achaid Ettinger, a 47-year-old father of 12.





Gal Keidan, center, with his brother Erez and sister Alona (Photo: Courtesy of the family)

Keidan is survived by his parents, Marina and Anatoli, and his two older siblings, Erez and Alona.

When he enlisted, Gal's family said, he wished to utilize his knowledge of computers and serve in a cyber unit, and was disappointed when he was assigned to the Artillery Corps, to the extent that he was uncertain of his future in the IDF.

"I told him that if he wanted to live in Israel, it was important to serve in the military," says his mother, Marina. "It stays with you your whole life and have can a negative impact in ways you cannot imagine."

And so two weeks after enlisting, Gal decided to devote himself to his military service, and worked to become a commander.

"Gal was always the best at what he did," says his brother Erez. "He said if I'm here (in the Artillery Corps), then I will be the best at it."

Gal Keidan in his IDF uniform (Photo: Courtesy of the family)

"Military service gave him a lot but he was willing to give twice as much," says his sister Alona. "From an honor roll student and a great musician he became a devoted soldier and a responsible commander."

"He said he was truly satisfied with what he was doing and where he was," says his mother. "He loved the independence, the responsibility of being a commander. He talked about life after the army, academic studies, a trip."

"This is a terrible missed opportunity," says his sister, "If he could have completed his military service, the sky would have been the limit."

Keidan and his girlfriend Nitsan Sabag were together for four years, and were practically inseparable.

"We loved to do everything together," says Sabag, who is now in officer training school. "He knew that I was here for him. He really wanted to become a commander. He understood that as he progressed up the ranks, he would lose influence on his subordinates, so he wanted to be as close to them as possible. One of his officers said `I need officers like Gal, but I also need commanders like him.'"





Gal with his girlfriend Nitsan (Photo: Courtesy of the family)

Nitsan is also grateful to Gal's comrades for giving him what she says was the best year of his life.

"I thank all of his friends for the time they were with him," she says. "He truly flourished in the army and he loved each and every one of them deeply. When I was with them I wanted to hug them forever. I would tell them that Gal was lucky to have them and they told me that they were lucky to have him. Gal is probably saying to himself: `I'm so happy that my last year was like this`.

"There is no right age to die, and 19 is surely too young. But I'm certain he is saying, 'I'm happy that this how is how I lived my life.' I'm sure of that."

Sabag also recalls the fear she felt at the propsect of Gal serving in a combat unit.

"Every soldier swears to sacrifice his or her life. I was at his swearing-in ceremony and when he completed his commander training course, and it always pained me to hear him vowing to sacrifice his life. Due to the escalation in the area where Gal served, his fellow soldiers were deployed and I told him that I was a little afraid. He told me, `Now it is our turn. I know it is difficult for you to hear this, but if have to I'm willing to die`. I knew that he meant what he said," she says.

"The need to take care of himself was not an issue for him, unlike his devotion to his mission," says Nitsan.
Two weeks before the Knesset elections, Benjamin Netanyahu landed in Washington with the greatest gift of all from the US president  recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights  already in hand.

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The issue will be at the center of their meeting on Monday morning, part of which will be open to reporters. This will happen at the exact same time as Blue and White leader Benny Gantz undergoes his first baptism of fire - delivering the keynote address at the annual AIPAC conference.





Netanyahu and Trump (Photo: GPO)

Cunning timing, if it was planned so, for Gantz must know that given the choice, the media would undoubtedly prefer to report from the White House than his speech in a conference hall for a pro-Israel lobby.

Netanyahu could not have wished for a greater gift from Trump: Just days before Israel goes to the polls, the president has handed him the Golan Heights  allowing Netanyahu to present himself not only as a great statesman who knows how to operate on the world stage and can develop a friendship with the American president, but also as a zealous guardian of Israeli security who only wants to ensure that the north will not suffer once Hezbollah and the Iranians have established themselves in Syria.

When Trump meets Netanyahu, he intends to sign a document that makes this recognition of Israeli rule on the Golan a fact. Given that the House of Representatives is controlled by Democrats, it is likely that Trump will use a special presidential order instructing the State Department to change its policy without requiring congressional approval.





Irises in bloom on the Golan Heights

Monday morning's meeting is likely to be a display of mutual love. Trump will lavish words of praise on the prime minister, and Netanyahu will no doubt trot out every expression of gratitude and appreciation for the president who gave him Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the American exit from the nuclear agreement with Iran.

Trump most probably does like Netanyahu, who he sees as the political yang to his yin. Both are under investigation, both have displayed public contempt for their respective justice systems and claim that the left and the media have joined together to force them out of office. But Trump is also a shrewd businessman who operated in the world of New York real estate  he does not do free lunches, and certainly not free gifts. Everything has a price in Trumpland and the day of reckoning will certainly come for Netanyahu.





Netanyahu election billboards featuring Trump (Photo: EPA)

The current US president cannot hide his desire to prove to the world that he can do better than his predecessor, Barack Obama, and has promised that he has the "deal of the century" to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinians. He is determined to do it, not only to prove that he is better than his predecessor, more creative and better at sealing the deal - he also needs it like he needs air to breathe.

Trump has been unable to notch up any achievement in US foreign policy. He has fought with the whole world and damaged America's global influence. His attempts to reach an agreement with North Korea have collapsed  for all his flattery of the tyrant from Pyongyang, all he got in return was a raised middle finger. After two televised summits that led nowhere, Trump has realized that Kim Jong-un has no intention of carrying out the nuclear disarmament that the American president wants.

If Trump does manage to bring about a peace treaty in which other Arab countries are involved, he can claim a spot among the greats, present himself as a statesman with real achievements, and start dreaming again about a Nobel Peace Prize.

Netanyahu calls Trump to thank him for his support on the Golan issue (Photo: GPO)

And in order for this to happen, he must have his desired outcome in the elections in Israel. If Netanyahu is indeed re-elected and form the next government, Trump will obviously exert pressure on him in order to obtain the concessions that will bring the Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

After all, Trump gave Netanyahu so many gifts, including reelection, that he is certain that he deserves this payback from the prime minister. And while his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, hailed Trump as a modern day Queen Esther sent by God to save Israel, it's not likely that Trump even knows who Queen Esther was or what she did.

What he does know, however, is he would never agree to be a sucker, not even for his friend Bibi, whom he will anoint this week with oil and make every possible gesture to help him win in the elections.
There are arguments where both sides are right. The more the media sides with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opponents, the more he excels at discrediting it. The media, to put it mildly, has disliked the prime minister for years, and has not given proper coverage to any of his notable accomplishments over the last decade. This, however, doesnt make the medias complaints about Netanyahu invalid.

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Netanyahu has engaged in incitement campaigns against anyone who does not think like him. He chose his political interests over national ones, and said his policies are more adequate than those of his opponents, even though he failed completely on the three most important fronts.

In the Gaza Strip, hes failed to deter Hamas, even after injecting millions of Qatari aid into the enclave. He failed when it comes to Iran whichdespite Israeli attacks on Iranian targets in Syriais closer to not only the Israeli borders than ever before, but to getting a nuclear bomb as well. He also failed on the Lebanese front, with Hezbollahs weapons arsenal expanding exponentially over the past ten years.

Netanyahu talks a lot but does very little.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Facebook)

On Saturday evening, for the first time in years, Netanyahu emerged from the Likud party bubble to give a surprise interview to Channel 12 television, mainly to try to stop the avalanche of revelations concerning the submarine affair (also known as Case 3000 - in which senior Israeli officials are suspected of receiving kickbacks during the purchase of German vessels for the Navy).

Its possible that on certain issues Netanyahu is actually right. For instance, the profits he made from investing in the SeaDrift steel factorymanaged by his cousin Nathan Milikowskya long time before it merged with GrafTech International and sold parts to the German shipbuilder at the center of Case 3000.

The prime minister also easily refuted claims that no one actually made against him. For instance, he claimed that he, personally, "didnt earn a shekel" from the submarine sale.

That might be true, but thats not the claim. The argument is that all of his associates, including his bureau chief and two of his lawyers, were involved in the affair, while he claimed to not have been aware of what was going on. If this is true, then he is unfit to serve as prime minister. If its not trueand he was in the knowthen its a frightening prospect. Was he willing to meddle in the countrys security in order to make money for his associates? Lets hope not.

Regarding the sale of the submarine to Egypt, Netanyahu stammered and stuttered, and only after the interviewer, Keren Marciano, pressed him on the issue did he finally admit that he had actually approved the deal. And when asked about why nobody knew about the sale, Netanyahu immediately retreated into his familiar "it was a security issue" shell. How could this be a security issue if, by his own admission, no one in the defense establishment was aware of it? Netanyahus explanation, that the attorney general oversaw the deal, cant be taken seriously. The attorney general examined only the legal aspects relating to the deal and the essential questionwhy did no one in the top security echelon knew about the sale?remains unanswered.

In addition, Netanyahu's demand for Benny Gantz to reveal the contents of his hacked phone, is quite suspicious. Is Netanyahu aware of some kind of sensitive information that was stored on that phone and is making cynical, political use of that knowledge? In any case, Netanyahu is the last person to preach us morality on matters of extramarital affairs, and his demand of Gantz raises more questions about him than anyone else.
Blue and White party no. 2 Yair Lapid on Sunday attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for contradicting himself over his decision to authorize the sale of German submarines to Egypt without informing senior members of Israel's security forces.

"Netanyahu says it is confidential, but how is it that the Egyptians and the Germans as well as Yitzhak Molcho, who has no formal position, all have access to confidential information that even the IDF Chief of Staff and the defense minister did not have access to," Lapid said in an interview with Ynet.

"Netanyahu was asked time after time and said that he did not authorize the sale, and all of sudden under pressure and out of confusion he admits it."

Lapid was referring to an interview that Netanyahu gave Saturday night, in which he said that the reasons for approving the sale to Egypt were state secrets known only "to a handful of people."
In recent days, the number of butterflies in Israel has reached a peak, with migration from the Arabian Peninsula. Millions of Vanessa Cardui butterflies have been observed throughout the country, mainly in the center and on the coastal plain, but also in the Arava region in southern Israel, and all are on their way to Europe.

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According to Noam Kirshenbaum of the Association of Butterfly Lovers in Israel, this is one of the largest migration events seen in Israel in recent years.

Butterflies in Israel (Photo: Samir Hamza)

In 2014, a mass migration of similar dimensions was observed, and Kirshenbaum estimates that this year's migration is significant event that involves millions of butterflies.

According to Kirshenbaum, a sample survey he took showed that the rate of migration was on a scale of thousands of butterflies per hour, compared to just several hundred per hour in the previous event five years ago.

Vanessa Cardui butterflies can be seen throughout the year in Israel, but their population grew and some have migrated to the south of Israel in search of vegetation to eat and reproduce.

Wandering for food

According to Dubi Benyamini, a butterfly researcher and chairman of the Association of Butterfly Lovers in Israel, Vanessa Cardui butterflies are a type of migratory butterfly that travels in groups for distances of thousands of kilometers, in the search for food.

Vanessa Cardui (Photo: Sabrina De-Rita)

"The migration is explained by the lack of food," Benyamini says. "Huge amounts of rain that fell in January and February not only in Israel, but also in the Arabian Peninsula turned the desert turned into fertile land."

But with their food sources drying up in the Arabian desert, the large numbers of butterflies migrated in search of food.

Vanessa Cardui (Photo: Noam Kirshenbaum)

"Every female Vanessa Cardui can lay up to 500 eggs," Benyamini says, and estimates that up to one million butterflies will be born from each female Vanessa Cardui.

According to Benyamini, "an average of 700 million to a billion butterflies crossed into Israel just yesterday."

"There is an annual cycle of migration, particularly in the spring," he says. "They have internal knowledge, and they know that they will continue northward, crossing Cyprus and continuing to southern Europe to create their next generation."
Donald Trump will on Monday sign a decree recognizing Israeli sovereignty on the Golan Heights while hosting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, acting foreign minister Yisrael Katz said.

A senior U.S. official said last week that the Trump administration was preparing an official document to codify support for Israel's control of the strategic plateau that it seized from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed in 1981.

"Tomorrow, President Trump, in the presence of PM Netanyahu, will sign a decree recognising Israel's sovereignty on the Golan. Israel-US ties are closer than ever," Katz tweeted in Hebrew.
U.S. President Donald Trump will on Monday sign a decree recognizing Israeli sovereignty on the Golan Heights, Acting Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Sunday.

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Trump is to host Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.







The Israel-Syria border on the Golan (Photo: AFP)

"Tomorrow, President Trump, in the presence of PM Netanyahu, will sign a decree recognizing Israel's sovereignty on the Golan. Israel-U.S. ties are closer than ever," Katz tweeted in Hebrew.

The announcement comes just three days after Trump tweeted that it was time for the US to "fully recognize" Israeli sovereignty on the Golan Heights, confirming a shift in American foreign policy hinted at for several weeks.

"After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israels (s)overeignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!" Trump posted, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prepared to deliver a joint address from Jerusalem with Netanyahu.

After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israels Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 21, 2019

Netanyahu also took to the president's favorite social media outlet to thank him for his decision to "boldly recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights."

At a time when Iran seeks to use Syria as a platform to destroy Israel, President Trump boldly recognizes Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Thank you President Trump! @realDonaldTrump  Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) March 21, 2019

Netanyahu said last week that the Golan was a buffer to keep Israel's enemies at bay, in particular Iran.

You could imagine what would have happened if Israel were not in the Golan, he said during a meeting with Pompeo in Jerusalem. You would have Iran on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.





IDF troops training on the Golan (Photo: Reuters)

While Pompeo avoided the issue of sovereignty over the Golan during his visit to Israel, he lauded the White Houses warm ties with the Jewish state and promised to step up pressure on Iran, giving a public boost to Netanyahu at the height of a tight re-election campaign.

A change in the US view of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War, along with the West Bank from Jordan and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, was also hinted at earlier this month when the State Department changed its usual description of the plateau from "Israeli-occupied" to "Israeli-controlled" in an annual global human rights report.

Flowers in bloom on the Golan

A separate section of the report on the West Bank and Gaza Strip also did not refer to those territories as being "occupied" or under "occupation."

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham also vowed recently to push for the US to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

L-R: Lindsey Graham, Benjamin Netanyahu and David Friedman visiting the Golan Heights (Photo: Amos Ben Gershom, GPO)

The South Carolina politican made his pledge during a tour of the frontier with Netanyahu and US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman earlier this month.

The Golan is not disputed. It is in the hands of Israel and will always remain in the hands of Israel, Graham said from a cliff overlooking Syria, where Syrian flags could be seen fluttering in the distance on buildings damaged in the countrys civil war.
Politicians and prominent cultural and public figures accompanied Rafi Eitan, who died at Tel Avivs Sourasky Medical Center Saturday, on his final journey Sunday. Rafi was the most intelligent, competent, responsible and creative ministers in the government, said former prime minister Ehud Olmert, in whose government Eitan served as minister for senior citizen affairs.

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Eitan was one of the founders of the countrys intelligence infrastructure and went on to form a political party and serve as a cabinet minister. In the 1980s, Eitan headed the agency responsible for handling Israeli spy in the US Jonathan Pollard.

Rafi Eitan 1926-2019 (Photo: Michael Kremer)

Olmert eulogizing Eitan (Photo: Yair Sagi)

Attendants at the funeral spoke glowingly of his contribution to Israeli security and prosperity calling him a man whose life was a mission for the Jewish people.

Eitan was born at Kibbutz Ein Harud, near Mt. Gilboa in northern Israel. He was schooled at the agricultural school in Ein Hashlosha and joined the pre-state elite fighting force of the Haganah, the Palmach, where he studied intelligence and combat. His hearing was impaired in an injury he suffered during a mission and he suffered another more severe injury during the 1948 War of Independence.

With his family (Wikipedia)

In 1955, Eitan was recruited to the operations unit of the Mossad where he took part in many clandestine missions on behalf of the state, including the capture of notorious Nazi Adolf Eichmann in Argentina to bring him to justice in Israel. He also participated in sabotage operations against German scientists working in Egypt on armaments.

Eitan hunting Dr Mengele (Photo: Zvi Aharoni archive)

(Photo: David Rubinger)

In 1972, Eitan left the Mossad and became involved in various businesses before serving as an adviser to the government on security matters. He was appointed head of Lekem, an Israeli intelligence agency that collected scientific and technical intelligence abroad from both open and covert sources, particularly for Israel's nuclear program; NSA analyst Jonathan Pollard was recruited under his watch.

(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

In 1985, US intelligence agencies arrested Pollard for espionage and relations between the two countries suffered a setback. Eitan stepped down from his post and took full responsibility for the debacle and he returned to the private sector (where his connections to Cuban leader Fidel Castro made him very successful).

In 2006, he became head of the Pensioners Party which garnered an unexpected seven Knesset seats and Eitan became a minister under Olmert. His autobiography is expected to be released soon.
The minutes passed and still Clement did not appear. At 8 o'clock, they planned to give up, fearing that this would be the last time they could set up an ambush without arousing suspicion.

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But the commander of the operation, Rafi Eitan, trusting his instincts and willing to take a little more risk, ordered them to wait a little longer.

Time passed, and five minutes after 8, another bus stopped and Clement got off. He started walking, one hand in his pocket.

Hunting for Yosef Mengele in South America (Photo: Courtesy of the Archive of Zvi Aharoni)

Zvi Malchin jumped on Clement, whose real name was Adolf Eichmann, and knocked him into the ditch, with Eitan and another Mossad agent behind him. Clement was overpowered in seconds and thrown into the back of the car. Eitan began searching for signs to prove beyond doubt that he was really the infamous architect of the Holocaust: the scar in the armpit, the incision marks from an appendectomy.

Eitan fumbled and groped until he finally found what he wanted. "It's him, it's him," he said in Hebrew. In the dark Eitan and Malchin shook hands and with glistening eyes for a brief moment hummed "The Partisans Song," written in honor of the Jews who fought back against the Nazis during the Holocaust.

To me this moment demonstrates, perhaps better than any other, the mindset and contribution of the founding generation of Israel's intelligence community, whose last prominent member, Rafi Eitan, passed away Sunday: We are here, Jews who are armed, who work secretly and covertly to make sure that the pledge "Never Again" remains a reality. To prove to the world that Jewish blood will not be spilled with impunity.

Rafi (Rafael) Eitan was one of the most central and the most controversial figures in the history of the Israeli intelligence community.





Rafi Eitan in the pre-state Palmach elite fighting force (Photo: Palmach Museum)

His ability, his cunning and his operational creativity put him not only as a long-term senior Mossad and Shin Bet agent, but also at the heart of the most secret operations. The largely unpublished details of these operations are mostly described in his personal writings and in interviews we did together, which I promised would be released only after his death.

Eitan wanted to be head of the Mossad spy agency and did not hide it. When Zvi Zamir was chosen over him in 1968 and tried to impose military discipline in the Mossad, Eitan could not cope, and left. He turned to private businesses and over the years proved that his creative mind was good not just for special missions and assassinations.





Rafi Eitan during his political career in 2006 (Photo: Michael Kramer)

He had a broad political outlook and tried to put it into effect through his close relationship with Ariel Sharon and through the behind-the-scenes influence on the political game. Later, he reinvented himself through his Pensioners Party, becoming a government minister and deputy prime minister.

Sharon was the one who appointed him to be in charge of LEKEM, the secret Bureau of Scientific Relations at the Ministry of Defense. Eitan once confessed to me that the pain of leaving the Mossad had not receded, and that he wanted to show that he knew best how to ensure the security of the state.





In South Lebanon in 1982 (Photo: David Rubinger)

That is how Israel came to recruit Jonathan Pollard, in an affair that caused serious damage to Israel-US relations.

The first time he agreed to talk about the affair, Eitan told me: "After the initial examination of the material and receipt of additional material, my professional appetite increased.

The information was of such high quality and so important to the security of the state that I could not resist the temptation, nor put an end to the operation. If war had broken out, the material that Pollard passed on would have greatly strengthened the IDF and significantly affected its results on the battlefield. As with my entire life, I thought I was doing the best thing for the State of Israel."

Eitan took responsibility for the entire debacle and resigned, letting the Americans blame him alone, without placing any responsibility on the political echelons. It was a noble act, a rarity in our locale.

Rafi Eitan was the last of a generation of giants in Israel's secret, covert world.
The declaration by US President Donald Trump recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights is causing a lot of excitement in Israel. But many of the Druze residents of the plateau reject the announcement and insist that they are Syrians, loyal to the Assad regime.

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The fertile hillsides of the Golan Heights are scattered with villages inhabited by 22,000 Druze, an Arabic speaking minority who practice an offshoot of Islam. Many still have relatives on the Syrian side of the fortified boundary.





Golan Heights

Druze protest Israeli control of Golan

That annexation was not recognized internationally, and although they have lived under Israeli rule for more than half a century and shop fronts bear signs in both Arabic and Hebrew, many Golan Druze still regard themselves as Syrian (unlike other Druze citizens of Israel who serve in ht IDF and view themselves as Israeli).

"Trump can make his statements and say he wants to make the Golan part of Israel. But we know this will stay Syrian land," said Sheikh Mahmoud Nazeeh, 70.

Amal Safadi, 54, a librarian, said: "Our blood is Syrian. If you take a blood test for a child, it will read Syrian."

A child waves a Syrian flag in Israeli Druze town of Majdal Shams (Photo: Effi Sharir)

Druze residents of the Golan have the option of obtaining Israeli citizenship, but many reject it for political reasons.

In October last year hundreds demonstrated against the holding of Israeli municipal elections on the Golan, blockading the polling station in Majdal Shams and waving Syrian and Druze flags.

Madjal Shams overlooks the divide between the Israeli section of the Golan and the part of the plateau controlled by forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The two armies are divided by an Area of Separation  often called a demilitarized zone  into which their military forces are not permitted under a 1974 ceasefire arrangement.

Druze elders (Photo: Effi Sharir)

Israeli reaction

Trump's Golan announcement on Thursday came with many Israelis celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim, which by tradition commemorates the survival of Jews who had been marked for death while living under Persian rule in antiquity.

Israel regards the Golan as a strategic asset, because its hills overlook northern Israeli towns, particularly near its inland Sea of Galilee. Around 20,000 Jewish Israelis live in the Golan itself, many working in farming, leisure and tourism.

Many Israeli commentators saw Trump's declaration as a timely boost for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Israeli elections scheduled for April 9, in which he has been dogged by corruption allegations.

Golan Heights border area

But some Israelis living in and around the Golan said Trump's gesture would change little on the ground.

The U.S recognition of Israeli sovereignty in the Golan makes us happy, however our daily routine does not involve dealing with whether Israeli sovereignty is being recognized or not," said Haim Rokah, head of the regional Israeli council in the Golan.

Rami Yogev, 65, a resident of Dan kibbutz, which is overlooked by the Golan, said he remembers shelling from the then Syrian-held heights onto his town during the 1967 war.

"I dont think Trumps announcement will make any difference here. Its not going to change anything. The residents in the Golan already feel like theyre Israelis. They have a better life than being in Syria or any Arab country - just look what happened in the war in Syria," he said.

Israeli newspaper front pages on Friday were dominated by the news from Washington. But some commentators injected a note of caution.

"Some will say that this is 'Trumps election gift to Netanyahu.' Some will say that these are 'two people in legal troubles who are convinced that there is a global conspiracy to topple them,'" wrote Alon Pinkas in Yedioth Ahronoth.

But he also pointed out that Israelis younger than 52 had never known any other reality regarding the Golan. "This is good, it is nice, it is a recognition of reality, it is almost self-evident. The question is: Does it really mean anything?"

Palestinian officials and analysts predicted that Trump's intervention on the Golan would further jeopardize prospects for the White House's long-awaited peace plan for the Middle East, spearheaded by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Palestinians were already angry at Trump after his recent decisions to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and to move the U.S. Embassy to the city.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, told Reuters: These promises will not give legitimacy to the Israeli occupation and the Golan will remain Arab and Syrian land.

In Gaza, political analyst Adnan Abu Amer said Trump was trying to reshape the region ahead of the plan. "It is clear that Trump is trying to pre-empt the official announcement of the deal by imposing some facts on ground," he said.
An IDF Spokesman said that a tank fired at a Hamas military post in northern Gaza in response to sending explosives tied to balloons into Israel.
Pope Francis has met Dario Werthein, World ORT Board of Trustees Chair, and Avi Ganon, World ORT Director General and CEO, to sign an agreement which will see the fourth Scholas World Youth Encounter take place in Mexico City later this year.

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The event  which will bring together hundreds students from around the world to share their passion, experience and ideas for a more tolerant and peaceful society  is a joint project between World ORT and the Popes Scholas Occurrentes Foundation.

The Pope with ORT Director Avi Ganon

This years youth encounter will begin on October 28 in the Mexican capital, running until November 1.

It is expected around 60 World ORT students from across the network  including from Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Italy, Spain, South Africa and Israel  will attend.

The theme will be Encounter and Exchange, with the goal being to generate a framework for 15-to-17-year-olds from different nationalities, religions and socio-economic backgrounds to start a dialogue to promote education and to encourage a more humane, tolerant and peaceful world.

Following the meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican on March 21, Dario Werthein said: We are very excited to work again with Scholas at the World Youth Encounter. We share a common goal, that is to create a collaborative environment and promote lifelong education to achieve the socio-economic development of the young students.

Avi Ganon said: World ORT is proud to be a link between religions to the next generation.

In addition to our role as pioneers in STEM education, we are pleased to be a leader in promoting universal values such as tolerance between religions and understanding between people.

The three previous youth meetings took place in the Vatican City, Jerusalem and Buenos Aires.

Participating World ORT students benefited from a once-in-a-lifetime experience to meet peers from around the world and strengthen their understanding of different cultures and religions.

Scholas Occurrentes president Jose Maria del Corral added: "It is a joy for us to be able to give further opportunities to these young people. We create the space, but they fill it  they are the content, they are the ones who continue to dream our dreams.

For this reason, we want the Pope to be able once again to bless the meeting for coexistence, knowing that education is the goal of the encounter.

Avi Ganon and Dario Werthein were joined at the Vatican by Arturo Merikanskas, ORT Mexico President.

The signing of the agreement to continue the youth encounter program is testament to what can be achieved when young people of different cultures, societies and religions come together and collaborate with each other in the spirit of equality, tolerance and mutual understanding.

The World ORT network has always been driven by Jewish values and the desire to encourage the young people of today to contribute to the world around them for a better tomorrow.

 World ORT is a global education network driven by Jewish values. We reach 300,000 people a year, in 35 countries, and World ORT is one of the largest educational charities in the world. We provide a combination of high-level science and technology education with strengthened Jewish identity to bridge the gap between ability and opportunity  and to ensure the continuity of Jewish life worldwide.

 Scholas is an international non-profit entity driven by Pope Francis that is present in more than 190 countries and brings together more than 446,000 schools and educational networks around the world. It works with public and private schools and educational communities, of all religious and secular backgrounds.
Two Hamas prisoners stabbed two prison guards at Ketziot Prison in southern Israel Sunday evening. One was stabbed in the neck and is in critical condition.
News

Washington, DC - An Australian man was sentenced Thursday to 24 months in prison on four counts of violations of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which criminalizes knowing transactions with Iranian entities without a license from the U.S. Department of Treasury.

David Russell Levick, 57, of Cherrybrook NSW, Australia, pled guilty to the charges on Feb. 1, 2019, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He was sentenced by the Honorable James E. Boasberg. In addition to the prison term, Levick must pay a forfeiture amount of $199,227, which represents the total value of the goods involved in the illegal transactions. Following completion of his prison term, Levick will be subject to deportation proceedings.

The announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers; U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu of the District of Columbia; Acting Special Agent in Charge William Higgins of the Commerce Departments Office of Export Enforcement Boston Field Office; Assistant Director in Charge Nancy McNamara of the FBIs Washington Field Office; Special Agent in charge Peter C. Fitzhugh of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Boston and Special Agent in Charge Leigh-Alistair Barzey of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Northeast Field Office.

According to the plea documents, Levick was the general manager of ICM Components, Inc., located in Thornleigh Australia. He solicited purchase orders and business for the goods from a representative of a trading company in Iran. This person in Iran, referenced in court documents as Iranian A, also operated and controlled companies in Malaysia that acted as intermediaries for the Iranian trading company.

Levick then placed orders with U.S. companies on behalf of Iranian A for the goods, which were aircraft parts and other items that Iranian A could not have directly purchased from the United States without the permission of the U.S. government.

The defendant admitted to procuring or attempting to procure the following items for transshipment to Iran, each of which required a license from the Treasury Department prior to any export to Iran:

Precision Pressure Transducers. These are sensor devices that have a wide variety of applications in the avionics industry, among others, and can be used for altitude measurements, laboratory testing, measuring instrumentations and recording barometric pressure.

Emergency Floatation System Kits. These kits contained a landing gear, float bags, composite cylinder and a complete electrical installation kit. Such float kits were designed for use on Bell 206 helicopters to assist the helicopter when landing in either water or soft desert terrain.

Shock Mounted Light Assemblies. These items are packages of lights and mounting equipment designed for high vibration use and which can be used on helicopters and other fixed wing aircraft.

When necessary, Levick used a broker in Tarpon Springs, Florida, through whom orders could be placed for the parts to further conceal the fact that the parts were intended for transshipment to Iranian A in Iran. Levick intentionally concealed the ultimate end-use and end-users of the parts from manufacturers, distributors, shippers, and freight forwarders located in the United States and elsewhere. In addition, Levick and others structured their payments between each other for the parts to avoid trade restrictions imposed on Iranian financial institutions by other countries. Levick and ICM wired money to companies located in the United States as payment for the parts.

The activities took place in 2007 and 2008. Levick was indicted in February 2012. At the request of the United States, Australia arrested him for the purposes of extradition, and Australia extradited him to the United States in December 2018. He has remained in custody here.

The investigation was conducted by agents from the FBIs Washington Field Office, the Department of Commerces Bureau of Industry Security and the Boston Office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Assistance was provided by the Justice Departments Office of International Affairs. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas A. Gillice and Brenda Johnson, and investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Denise Cheung and John Borchert, all of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia, as well as former Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Petalas of the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Will Mackie of the National Security Divisions Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
Latest News

Denver, Colorado - A Colorado resident pleaded guilty yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado to conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Departments Tax Division.

Matthew Taylor and co-conspirators worked together to defraud the United States by filing false claims for tax credits under a federal program that encourages production and use of renewable fuels. According to court documents, in 2009, Taylor and others created a fake company, Shintan Inc. (Shintan), that purported to be in the business of creating renewable fuels. From 2010 to 2013, Taylor and co-conspirators filed claims with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for over $7.2 million in tax credits for renewable fuel produced. In fact, Shintan produced no qualifying renewable fuel, and the documents filed with the IRS were fraudulent. Taylor personally netted at least $4.5 million from the scheme, with the additional $2.7 million going to co-conspirators. To avoid detection, Taylor and co-conspirators transferred the fraudulently obtained funds through bank accounts belonging to Shintan and other shell companies.

At sentencing, Taylor faces up to five years in prison on the conspiracy to defraud the government count, 10 years in prison on the money laundering conspiracy count and the money laundering count. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 6, 2019. In addition to a prison sentence, Taylor faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Leslie A. Goemaat, Arthur J. Ewenczyk, Sarah A. Kiewlicz, and Stephen K. Moulton, who are prosecuting the case.
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - On Tuesday, at approximately 8:12 a.m., a 2007 red Ford Edge pulled out in front of a school bus that was traveling northbound in the 3300 block of S. Avenue 3E. The Ford Edge collided with the school bus and then collided with a 2015 Ford F150.

There were 39 students on the school bus at the time of the collision, three of them reported minor injuries. Two students were transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center and one student was later taken to seek medical attention. The rest of the students were transferred to another bus and taken to Palmcroft School. There was one other minor injury reported from the Ford Edge.

The roadway was shut down while Traffic Investigators cleared up the scene.

The Yuma Police Department encourages anyone with any information about this case to please call the Yuma Police Department at (928) 373-4700 or 78-Crime at (928) 782-7463 to remain anonymous.
Politburo member and Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan made the remarks while chairing a meeting between the leaders of the city and FDI enterprises on March 23.

The event attracted the participation of 25 business associations and foreign organisations, in addition to nearly 200 FDI enterprises thatare operating in Ho Chi Minh City.

Secretary Nhan said that the meeting serves as an opportunity for the city authorities to discuss the results achieved and issues that need to be resolved. Meanwhile, the city leaders also wished to listen to suggestions and initiatives from FDI firms to jointly shape and build a city with a more complete legal framework and facilitative investment environment.

He affirmed that the FDI enterprise community has become stronger and one of the driving forces of the citys economy.

All capital invested in the economy not only brings about benefits to enterprises and investors but also shows the support of enterprises for the municipal administrations efforts in making reforms and building a facilitative administrative system for the development of Ho Chi Minh City, the Secretary noted.

Ho Chi Minh City posted total FDI capital of over US$7 billion in 2018, up 15% over 2017, raising the accumulated FDI capital to nearly US$45 billion.

The city attracted US$1.55 billion worth of FDI in the first three months of this year, equivalent to 120.4% of the same period in 2018 and accounting for 13% of the total FDI capital in Vietnam.

Secretary Nhan also mentioned several issues the city needs to deal with to continue to improve the business environment and competitiveness, including the renewal of the management method, the upgrade of infrastructure, improvements to public services, and others.

Representatives from FDI firms expressed their belief in investing in the city and their willingness to coordinate with the city to accelerate the progress of building a smart and creative city.
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I dont know why this keeps happening, but New Zealand has been left off a world map. Again.

This isnt the first time either. In fact, it happens frequently. WTF guys?

There was even a #GetNZOnTheMap campaign to remind people that hey, were a tiny but awesome nation down here in the Pacific so please dont forget about us.

I know, its hard to keep up with every country, especially the tiny ones that seem far, far away but I thought this blog had done a decent enough job of helping shed light on what New Zealand is all about for foreigners.

Apparently, theres still work to do, so lets get into it.

Is New Zealand Real?

No joke, this is the first auto-fill question that pops up in google after you type Is New Zealand

Yes, its real. Its an actual country with a functioning government and real humans with jobs and lives and hobbies. Population  under 5 million people.

Someone please tell that to Kazakhstan who once detained a Kiwi traveling there because they were skeptical that New Zealand was a real country. Jesus.

Where is it?

New Zealand is an island nation the South Pacific Ocean, about 2,000 km east of Australia across the Tasman Sea.

Its made up two main islands (North and South Islands, yeah we know, creative) and a few off-shoot smaller islands.

Bottom of the world!

Is it the same as Australia?

No, they are completely separate countries. Please dont ever ask this in New Zealand if you dont want to get punched in the face.

Ok, but can you drive to Australia?

Also no. These two countries are separated by 2,000km of open ocean. Definitely not.

Are there any dangerous animals?

No, not really, unless you count humans.

We have no venomous snakes, spiders, scorpions or bitey insects unlike our neighbors across the Tasman.

We do have one species of venomous spiders, the katipo, which is super rare to see. They are quite shy and will probably only bite if being squished. There is no evidence of any deaths due to a katipo bite in the last 100 years so youre probably safe.

There have been a few, rare spottings of red back and white tail spiders, likely brought over from Australia. Thanks a lot, guys. But again, nothing to worry about, you probably wont even see them.

What side of the road do they drive on?

In New Zealand we drive on the left side of the road.

If youre visiting and you have never driven on the left before, youd do everyone a great favor if you looked up the road code and familiarized yourself with this driving style before coming over.

Roads are different here, they are mountainous, winding, and generally not that great. And dangerous tourist drivers are all too common here.

Is New Zealand a modernized country?

Yes. We have electricity and cars and even the coveted world wide web.

We dont have central heating though, so I guess it depends on your definition of modernized. (Okay, okay we do have heating but old New Zealand houses are notoriously drafty and poorly insulated.)

Do you have kangaroos?

Negative. Were happy to keep that drama over in Australia.

Do you have dolphins?

Yes! Its common to see dolphins all along the coast.

Do you have sharks?

Yes, however, shark attacks are infrequent. Only 12 people have been killed in shark attacks since we began keeping records.

You tend to have sharks when youre an island nation surrounded by open ocean.

Do you have owls?

I dont know why this is a frequently search question, but apparently, it is. Yes, we have owls in case you were curious for some reason.

The native morepork or ruru is an owl and it is known for its haunting, melancholic call and is an important creature in Maori culture and its the only native owl species left in New Zealand.

Do you have penguins?

Do we ever!

New Zealand is home to more 7 species of penguins: Rockhopper Penguin, Tawaki or Fiordland Penguin, Snares Penguin, Erect-crested Penguin, Yellow-eyed Penguin, White-flippered Penguin and Blue Penguin.

They arent as big as the Emperor Penguins youre probably picturing in your head right now but they are still cute and adorable, and many of them are endangered.

Do you have crocodiles?

Fuck no.

Are there really as many sheep as everyone says?

Yes, we have about 9 sheep to every 1 person in New Zealand. They are cute and adorable when you first get here but like most things, they quickly become commonplace and really not all that interesting.

Springtime here is amazing when all the little lambies are born.

Where is Old Zealand?

The name New Zealand comes from the Dutch word Zeeland and was dubbed New Zealand after being spotted by Dutch Explorer Abel Tasman from the Netherlands in 1642.

As you may have guessed Zeeland is a Dutch province in the Netherlands. The Maori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa which means land of the long white cloud.

A much cooler name if you ask me.

Do New Zealanders live in Hobbit Holes?

What the hell is this question? Sigh.

Although if youre Lord of the Ring obsessed, you can visit the original set of Hobbiton and take a tour. Just keep in mind actual, real Kiwis live in actual, real houses.

No one lives in the hobbit holes in Hobbiton. I hate to spoil it, but there is nothing inside, and theyre empty.

Do they celebrate Australia day?

No. Australia celebrates Australia day, and even there it is controversial.

Do they celebrate the Fourth of July?

No. Think of why that holiday was created and then ask yourself why any other country in the world would celebrate that besides America.

Is New Zealand part of the EU?

No. We are not part of Europe.

We were once governed by Great Britain but slowly gained our independence and now remain as a colony of Great Britain. Technically, the queen of England is also our queen but we run our parliament completely separate from the Monarchy.

Is it really like what I saw in Lord of the Rings?

I mean I guess?

Scenery wise, its just as (if not more) impressive than the movies. Culture-wise? No. Please refer to my earlier answer on living in Hobbit Holes.

When are their seasons?

New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere so they have summer from December through February, autumn from March until May, winter from June until August, and spring occurs from September to November.

Its basically opposite.

Does the toilet water flush the other way?

I literally have no idea. This is something Ive never paid attention to. I wouldnt even know which way the water flushes in the northern hemisphere. Yall need to get a life.

Its a small country, I should easily be able to get from the top to the bottom, right?

Technically, sure, depending on your definition of easy.

You can certainly drive the length of the entire country (albeit, you have to put your car on a ferry to get between islands), however, its going to take you a while.

By area, New Zealand is slightly larger in size than Great Britain and driving from tip to tip will take you well over 24 hours in a car. The roads are long and crazy, no modern straight highways here.

Does New Zealand have a president?

No, we have a Prime Minister and shes a certified BOSS.

Is New Zealand safe?

Yes, super safe.

In spite of the recent terrorist attack in Christchurch, we have a few random spots of crime but compared to the rest of the world, were doing okay. Our murder rates have recently hit a 40 year low.

And our boss of a Prime Minister Jacinda has had our gun laws changed in six days to make it even safer.

Is New Zealand expensive?

It really depends on what you think expensive is. If youre coming to visit and youre expecting prices on par with SE Asia, yeah, youll be in for a shock.

Here are some price points to help give you an idea so you can make your own conclusions: a beer at the pub ($8-10), movie ticket ($18-20), a liter of gasoline ($2.30/liter, $8.50/gallon), an in-season avocado ($2), an out of season avocado ($6.50), a coffee from a coffee shop ($4.50-$5), monthly rent ($800  $1200/month), a cheap lunch ($10).

Most people consider it fairly expensive, especially kiwis.

What language do they speak in New Zealand?

New Zealand has three official languages:Maori, New Zealand Sign Language, and English.

They tend to mumble when speaking English so even though, yes, technically it is English, it might leave you scratching your head for a hot minute before you figure out what theyre talking about. Kiwi slang is going strong here!

What continent does it belong to?

No continent. New Zealand belongs to Oceania which is a region of the world, not a continent.

A continent is a large land of mass so places in the world (like New Zealand and Hawaii) that do not belong to a continent but rather a region of the world that is dominated by water. Oceania is divided into sub-regions including Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia.

New Zealand falls into the subregion of Oceania, Polynesia (as does Hawaii in case you were wondering)

Is it really as magical as it seems?

Yes. But also no, of course not.

New Zealand is doing some amazing things and yeah, sure, its stupidly beautiful but at the end of the day, its a country, just like yours. We have our own issues and areas for improvement just like any other country. Sure we have postcards worthy landscapes around every corner. But we also have one of the highest youth suicide rates in the world and the runoff and mismanagement by the dairy industry is polluting the country at a rate thats almost laughable.

Yes, we are planning the use of single-use plastic. But we also have one of the highest rates for family violence in the developed world. What Im trying to say is, yes its a great country but just like any country, we still have a lot of work to do.

People to idealize it here, me included. Its magical to many but it is imperfect too.

What did I miss? Have any burning questions about New Zealand that you were too afraid to ask? Spill and well reply, though we cant promise we wont sass.
Patna: A day after grand alliance talks with left parties failed in Bihar, Communist Party of India (CPI) on Sunday confirmed that former president of the JNU students' union, Kanhaiya Kumar will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Begusarai constituency.

CPI leader Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy told ANI, "Kanhaiya Kumar will contest from Begusarai Lok Sabha constituency. "In Begusarai, a stronghold of the CPI, Kumar will be facing BJP leader and Union Minister Giriraj whose Nawada seat went to NDA ally LJP.

The announcement comes a day after the opposition Mahagathbandhan (grand alliance) allotted just one seat to the Left parties in Bihar.

However, Loktantrik Janata Dal chief Sharad Yadav, who will contest upcoming Lok Sabha elections from RJD symbol, said that Kanhaiya Kumar has assured him that he will try to include left parties in the grand alliance.

"He (Kanhaiya Kumar) said, I have tried my best to include left parties. This time my role is not so important to seal alliances in Bihar, again I will try to include left parties in Alliance," Yadav said.

On Saturday, Congress and RJD announced their seat-sharing arrangement in Bihar. According to the alliance arrangement, RJD will contest on 20 seats, Congress on 9 seats, HAM on 3 seats, RLSP on 5, VIP on 3 seats and CPI on one seat in Bihar.

Bihar will see polling in seven phases. The dates of polling in Bihar will be on April 11, 18, 23, 29 and May 6, 12 and 19.

The counting of votes will take place on May 23. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the RJD won only four seats and the Congress two.

The JD-U, which contested separately, won two seats. The BJP-led NDA won 31 seats, with the former's tally being 22.
The Karnataka government lifted the ban on Ola Cabs, confirming that the cab service with resume its operations in the state from Sunday.

Karnataka Social Welfare Minister Priyank Kharge asserted that the cab service will run their business as usual from today (Sunday).

Kharge tweeted, ".@Olacabs will run their business as usual from today. However, there is an urgent need for policies to catch-up with new technologies & also industries too should work closer with Govt to help evolve policies for innovations."

On Friday, the Karnataka Transport Department had suspended the licence of Ola for six months for running its bike taxis while possessing a licence for only four-wheelers, an official statement said.

The order, dated March 18, was issued to Ola operator ANI Technologies. The ban order was issued for violating the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregators Rules, 2016.

The Transport Department had impounded several of Ola`s bike taxis over the last few months, the order said.

Terming the order "unfortunate", Ola said it was evaluating all options to find a solution so that its driver-partners could continue to work in the city. "We have been closely working with the authorities on this topic, responding to queries and making proactive representations to the ministry," Ola had said.
New Delhi: A fire broke out on Sunday inside an operation theatre in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Trauma Center in New Delhi. A total of 24 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the fire. All the patients and visitors were evacuated and shifted to another ward.

No casualty has been reported in the incident, AIIMS authorities said.

However, a report said that a child suffered burn injuries in the fire. However, an official confirmation on the same remains awaited. An ANI report said that the fire started from the basement of the building where the operation theatre is located. Patients on the ground and first floor were also evacuated due to heavy smoke.

A call was received at 6.13 pm about the incident and 24 fire tenders were immediately rushed to the spot, the Delhi Fire Service said. It took almost two hours to bring the fire under control.

Chief Fire officer Atul Garg told PTI that the fire was brought under control by 8 pm and the cooling process is underway. Meanwhile, the AIIMS administration has instituted an inquiry into the matter to identify the cause of the fire, which is suspected to be due to a short circuit.

#VISUALS Delhi: Fire breaks out at an operation theatre in AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) Trauma Center, 4 fire tenders rushed to spot; more details awaited pic.twitter.com/9wounzRMVr

#VISUALS Delhi: Fire breaks out at an operation theatre in AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) Trauma Center, fire tenders present; more details awaited. pic.twitter.com/PGGmZduX5p  ANI (@ANI) March 24, 2019

According to a source at the hospital, two patients in separate operation theatres (OTs) had undergone surgeries just half an before the fire broke out and were at the OT recovery rooms.

Hospital sources said that all the patients were shifted to another ward and others were evacuated since the smoke engulfed the ground floor of the building. The sources added that the power supply in the building was stopped for a while and a short circuit could have led to the spark.

An AIIMS staff said that due to leakage of Oxygen supply on the floor, it took longer to control the flame. The Oxygen leakage from a pipe has also been fixed. Another source said that linen operation theatre clothes and cotton kept in the store were also burnt that led to a huge amount of smoke.

The AIIMS, in a statement, said at around 5:45 pm the smoke was noticed in one of the stores adjacent to the OT on the ground floor, staff and doctors of the hospital showed alertness and took quick action to try and douse the fire, while alerting the hospital's fire safety team and fire brigade, which immediately responded to the call. "As an abundant measure of precaution, the doctors and staff shifted the patients from the vicinity of the area to a safe zone. The situation was brought under control and the fire was doused by joint efforts of fire brigade, fire safety team and staff of the AIIMS," the hospital said in the statement.

The fire safety measure had automatically kicked into action. No patients or their attendants were in anyway harmed or injured due to the incident. There has been no injury to the staff as well, it said.

The extent of the damage is not yet known and will be accessed later, the statement said.

According to PTI, police from southwest district were also called in to control the crowd which had gathered in the hospital vicinity. The traffic movement on the road in front of the AIIMS Trauma Centre was disrupted for a while.

This is the third incident of fire at the hospital. In August 2018, a minor fire had broken out at AIIMS. However, the situation was brought under control soon and no injuries were reported. In another incident in December 2016, a fire in the pathology lab of the hospital was reported. At least fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the flame was doused within an hour. No casualties were reported then as well.
The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel on Sunday nabbed a passenger for allegedly carrying a pistol in his bag at a Delhi Metro Station.

38-year-old Vishal Chand was caught with a country-made pistol at Anand Vihar Metro Station early morning.

A resident of Lajpat Nagar in Delhi, he was later handed over to the police, after the X-ray baggage scanner detected the pistol in his bag.

The man was handed over to the local police for further investigation.

Carrying arms and ammunition in the Delhi Metro is banned by the law.

with PTI inputs
The case of 2 Hindu girls from Sindh is one of many cases of forced conversion and marriage of underage Hindu girls to Muslim men, which are repeated in villages of districts of Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar and Umerkot in Sindh (close to Indian border) from time to time, many of which go unreported. These three districts Mirpurkhas (33% Hindus), Tharparkar (36% Hindus) and Umerkot (49% Hindus) contribute to the significant Hindu community in Sindh.

In January 2019, Anusha Kumari, a sixteen-year-old Hindu girl was abducted and forcefully married to a Muslim man. The High Commission has taken up this case with Pakistan. On June 07, 2017, 16-year-old Ravita Meghwar, an underage Hindu girl, was forcefully converted and married to a Muslim man. Ravita Meghwar's parents claimed that their daughter was abducted by men from influential Syed community in Tharparkar district and forcibly converted by Pir Ayub Jan at the Sarhandi shrine in Samaro and married off to one of her kidnapper Nawaz Ali Shah. Another case of forced conversion of a Hindu minority teacher was of Arti Kumari in Sindh to a Muslim man in September 2017. A minor Sikh girl Priya Kaur [aged 17] was kidnapped and married off [April 28- 29, 2017] to one Wajid Ali in Buner district of Khyber Pasthunaua and was forced to embrace Islam.

The Indian government took up cases of intimidation of Sikhs and Hindus and also desecration of their places of worshipwith the Pakistan government in February 2019, June 2018 and December 2017.

A 2014 report from the Movement for Solidarity and Peace estimated that nearly 1,000 non-Muslim girls are forcibly converted to Islam in Pakistan every year. The report found that forced marriages usually follow a similar pattern: Girls between the ages of 12 and 25 are abducted, made to convert to Islam, and then married to the abductor or an associate. Normally, no cognizance is taken of such complaints. Even if a complaint is registered, during the conclusion of the case, abducted girls remain in custody of the abductors and suffer all kinds of abuse and violence. Such cases rarely end in the girls going back to their real families.

After the issue of forced conversions of underage Hindu girls in Sindh, social activists along with Hindu organizations pushed the Sindh Assembly to pass a bill against the practice in November 2016. But due to opposition from Muslim organizations, the Governor returned (January 2017) the Bill to Sindh Assembly, after that the bill is laying with the Sindh Assembly.

According to Pakistan media reports, Sarhandi shrine in Samaro in Umerkot and Barchundi Sharif in Mirpurkhas are active in religious conversions of Hindus and claimed to have converted thousands of Hindu girls and young women to Islam, mostly those belonging to Scheduled Castes  Bheel, Meghwar, Bhaagri and Kohli. Pir Waliullah Sarhandi at the Sarhandi shrine said, "When a young girl is brought before a Qazi for conversion to Islam, the Qazi must comply immediately, else he becomes Kafir".

The northern and central Sindh are mostly home to upper caste Hindu business families and most of them now shifted to Karachi. These rich Hindu families experience fewer cases of forced conversions of their daughters - in this case, the abductions mostly take place for ransom or property or to drive out them from the particular area. However, in the southern Sindh (Mirpurkhas, Umerkot and Tharparkar) the Hindus are low-caste and are agro-based bonded labourers, who do not have any access to education, health and basic amenities and are called as 'Haris' working on the landholdings of Muslim Zamidaars. The daughters and women of 'Haris' are easy prey for the Muslim Zamidaars.

According to Pakistan social activists, at least 25 conversions of young Hindu girls and women take place every month in Kunri and Samaro Talukas of Umerkot. After the conversion, the girls, in most cases, are never again seen by their families. Before the conversion, the girls are kept 15-20 days in captivity where they are raped and intimidated to not to go back to their families after which Maulvies convert them to Islam. The girls, mostly due to social stigma and pregnancy, choose the lesser evil of living with the kidnapper. In most of the cases, the kidnappers also happen to be old-aged Zamidaars who look for young consorts and domestic help.

The abducted girls and their children never get accepted by the families of Zamidaars and are given separate accommodation. According to local Hindus, in most of the cases, wealthy Muslim Zamidaars preyed on young girls and women.

With the increase in the activities of various madrassas of different Islamic denominations and Muslim charity organisations in Tharparkar, Umerkot and Mirpurkhas, efforts are also being made to convert Hindu families to Islam by offering them material inducement such as ration, livestock, housing etc.

In recent times, the issue of forced conversion has become a burning issue in this region. The main reasons could be attributed to increasing wave of fundamentalism in the form of rise in number of madrassas by various Islamic organizations preaching Salafi ideology such as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazal) (JUI-F) madrassa complex in New Islamabad, in Umerkot, Jamat-du-Dawas madrassas in Mithi in Tharparkar and presence of Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) in Tharparkar and the Salafi Ahle Hadith Movement and its political arm Jamait Ahle Hadith in Tharparkar and Badin districts.
Lucknow: The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has called an emergency meeting of its working committee here on Sunday morning to discuss the Ayodhya issue.

All the 51 members of the committee are expected to be present in the meeting which is likely to be joined by representatives of the Sunni Central Waqf Board.

The Supreme Court-appointed mediation committee for resolution of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute held its first sitting on Wednesday (March 13) and heard all parties who attended the proceedings.

The panel, headed by former apex court judge F M Ibrahim Kalifulla, had directed that there should not be any reporting of the mediation proceedings in the print or other media, pointing out the views expressed by the top court.

On March 8, the Supreme Court had referred the land dispute case for court-appointed and monitored mediation. A five-judge Constitution bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, had said that the mediation proceedings will be held in Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh and the state government will provide the mediators with all facilities.

The bench was hearing appeals against the September 30, 2010, verdict of the Allahabad High Court which ordered a three-way division of the disputed 2.77 acres of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid site in Ayodhya between the Nirmohi Akhara sect, the Sunni Central Waqf Board, Uttar Pradesh and Ramlalla Virajman.
Lahore: A candle-light vigil was held here on Saturday to mark the 88th death anniversary of Indian freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.

The programme was organised by the Lahore-based Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation under police security to the participants after the organisation filed an application with the district administration that it feared some 'religious extremists' might sabotage the event in the current Pak-India scenario.

Singh was hanged at the age of 23 in Lahore on March 23, 1931, along with Rajguru and Sukhdev. Capital punishment had inspired thousands of people to take up the cause of the freedom movement.

The participants hailed the contributions made the three freedom fighters and called for peace between India and Pakistan.

"People like these three revolutionaries are born in centuries. We should fight hatred and promote peace between the two countries," Imtiaz Rashid Qureshi, Chairman of Bhagat Singh Memorial Foundation, said.

The participants also observed one-minute silence for the people killed in New Zealand's Christchurch terror attack.
The death toll in the under-construction building collapse in Karnataka's Dharwad district has increased to 16, with several people still missing.

A four-storey building collapsed on March 19 at Kumareshwaranagar in the heart of Dharwad, about 400 km from Bengaluru.

More than 400 personnel including members of NDRF, SDRF, police and Revenue Department are jointly undertaking the rescue operation.

On Saturday, the Karnataka government suspended seven officials of Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation for negligence in connection with the building collapse.

A magisterial inquiry has been ordered by Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.

A day after the collapse, an FIR was lodged against five people. The accused include owners of the building Basavraj Nigadi, Ravi Sabrad, Mahabaleshwar Puradgudi and Gangappa Shintre and an engineer Vivek Pawar. The accused engineer was later arrested from Kolhapur in Maharashtra while the four partners of Renuka Construction surrendered before the police.

CM Kumaraswamy had visited the site on Thursday.

The building collapsed following which the Indian Air Force (IAF) airlifted two teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel to Karnataka`s Hubli to assist in rescue operations.

The building belonged to one of the relatives of former Congress minister Vinay Kulkarni.

BJP MLA from Hubballi-Dharwad Central and former Karnataka chief minister Jagadish Shettar visited the spot on Thursday to take stock of relief and rescue operations.

On Wednesday, the police had said that 10 ambulances and five fire tenders were taking care of relief and rescue operations with three teams of the NDRF.

Police, fire and emergency personnel are also helping the NDRF teams in relief and rescue operations.

According to an eye-witness, the building did not have the capacity to bear four storeys and it collapsed when the owners decided to add an extra floor. "The builders had used substandard materials," he said. The majority of the victims were migrant labourers from north India, said news agency PTI.
Pakistan resorted to ceasefire violation on Sunday morning along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir, in the second such incident within 24 hours.

The unprovoked firing of mortar shells and small arms took place at Nowshera sector of the district at 11.50 am.

Pakistan initiated the shelling and firing, news agency ANI reported quoting Defence PRO Lt. Col. Devender Anand said. The Indian Army is retaliating, he said.

Earlier in the day, a soldier was killed in Poonch district after Pakistan resorted to ceasefire violation.

According to PTI, the cross-border firing started along the Line of Control (LoC) in Shahpur and Kerni areas of Poonch around 5.30 pm on Saturday and it continued intermittently through the night.

The Indian Army retaliated strongly but the casualties suffered by Pakistan were not known immediately. Pakistani troops used mortar and small arms to target forward posts and villages.

The soldier was critically injured around 4 am in the firing and was immediately evacuated to the Army hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The jawan, Hari Waker, was a resident of Rajasthan.

With this, the number of Army personnel killed in the last four days rises to two.

On Thursday, 24-year-old rifleman Yash Paul lost his life in unprovoked firing by Pakistan Army along the LoC in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district.

The border skirmishes witnessed a spurt after India's air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26 in response to the February 14 Pulwama attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel.

Four civilians, including three members of a family, have been killed and several injured as Pakistan, since then, has targeted dozens of villages in over 125 incidents of ceasefire violations along the LoC.

The year 2018 witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violations -- 2,936 -- by Pakistani troops in the last 15 years along the Indo-Pak border.

Pakistan continues to violate the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the pact during flag meetings between the two sides.
New Delhi: India on Sunday raised the issue the abduction of the two Hindu girls in Pakistan's southern Sindh province. In an official note verbale to Pakistan Foreign office, New Delhi shared its concern and called for suitable remedial action by the neighbour nation.

India further called on the Pakistan government to "protect and promote safety, security and welfare of it's own citizens, especially from the minority communities."

The development comes in the backdrop of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj asking Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan Ajay Bisaria to send a report on the abduction of Hindu girls on Twitter, which drew an angry response from Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry.

I only asked for a report from Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad about the kidnapping and forced conversion of two minor Hindu girls to Islam. This was enough to make you jittery. This only shows your guilty conscience, Swaraj responded.

According to Pakistani media reports, Hindu girls Reena and Raveena, hailing from village Hafiz Salman near the town of Daharki in Sindh, were kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam on March 20, before being married to Muslim men.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered a probe into it.

The Pakistan Hindu Council, headed by National Assembly member Ramesh Vankwani, has called for strict action against clerics Miyan Mithu Barchundi and Pir Ayub jan Sirhindi. The minorities in the Sindh region alleged that the duo is responsible for the abduction of several Hindu girls.

Sarhandi shrine in Samaro tehsil of Umerkot district and Bharchundi Sharif in Sindh's Mirpurkhas district have several reports of forceful religious conversions of Hindu underage girls and women to Islam.

New Delhi's strong stance is likely to irk Pakistan that has been raising the issue of minorities in India for months now. Imran Khan has tweeted about the situation of minorities in India on multiple occasions.

"Naya Pakistan is Quaids Pakistan and will ensure that our minorities are treated as equal citizens, unlike what is happening in India," tweeted Khan on December 25, 2018  the birth anniversary of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

Sindh in southern Pakistan has a higher percentage of Hindus than the rest of the country. The three districts of Mirpurkhas, Tharparkar and Umerkot have 33 per cent, 36 per cent and 49 per cent of Hindu population respectively. These three districts also report the highest percentage of forced conversion and marriages of underage Hindu girls.

In the past, India has strongly raised the situation of minorities in Pakistan. These cases include the abduction of 16-year-old Hindu girl Anusha Kumari in January 2019, forceful conversation of 16-year-old Hindu girl Ravita Meghwar on June 07, 2017 and kidnapping of 17-year-old Sikh girl Priya Kaur who was later married off to Wajid Ali in Buner district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in April 2017. New Delhi has also taken up the cases of intimidation of Sikhs and Hindus, desecration of their worship places.
An Army jawan was killed on Sunday in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir after Pakistan resorted to ceasefire violation.

According to PTI, the cross-border firing started along the Line of Control (LoC) in Shahpur and Kerni areas of Poonch around 5.30 pm on Saturday and it continued intermittently through the night.

The Indian Army retaliated strongly but the casualties suffered by Pakistan were not known immediately. Pakistani troops used mortar and small arms to target forward posts and villages.

The Pakistani troops had resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation in the area. The soldier was critically injured around 4 am in the firing and was immediately evacuated to the Army hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

The jawan, Hari Waker, was a resident of Rajasthan.

With this, the number of Army personnel killed in the last four days rises to two.

On Thursday, 24-year-old rifleman Yash Paul lost his life in unprovoked firing by Pakistan Army along the LoC in Sunderbani sector of Rajouri district.

The border skirmishes witnessed a spurt after India's air strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terror camp in Pakistan's Balakot on February 26 in response to the February 14 Pulwama attack that killed 40 CRPF personnel.

Four civilians, including three members of a family, have been killed and several injured as Pakistan, since then, has targeted dozens of villages in over 125 incidents of ceasefire violations along the LoC.

The year 2018 witnessed the highest number of ceasefire violations -- 2,936 -- by Pakistani troops in the last 15 years along the Indo-Pak border.

Pakistan continues to violate the 2003 ceasefire agreement with India despite repeated calls for restraint and adherence to the pact during flag meetings between the two sides.
New Delhi: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday called upon the youth to strive to build a new India, which is free of fear, corruption, hunger, discrimination, illiteracy, poverty, caste barriers and urban-rural divide.

He asked the youth to develop a constructive attitude and focus on achieving perfection in whatever they do. "Learn to preserve traditional values, shun negativism, develop a positive attitude, be socially conscientious, peace-loving and affectionate," Naidu said.

Interacting with students of Delhi University at his residence, the Vice President said that it was 'Advantage India now'. With India consistently achieving a growth rate of more than 7 per cent for the past few years, he said that the Indian economy was projected to become the third largest in the coming 10 to 15 years.

Naidu said that the future belongs to those who dare to dream and possess the courage, resilience and competence to create a better tomorrow. He added that one must strive to build an inclusive and a prosperous New India and usher in 'Ram Rajya'.

Asserting that knowledge would be the driver of Indian Economy, he called for reorienting of the higher education system to make it globally competitive. "The overhauling of the education system should totally eliminate colonial mindset and teach real history, ancient civilization, culture and heritage and instill the values of nationalism among the students," he said.

The Vice President wanted the students to develop an attitude of gratitude, empathy, sharing and caring and told them to become sensitive to the needs of fellow human beings. "You must be in the forefront in the fight against social evils, bigotry, prejudices and promote gender equity and inclusiveness", he added.

Emphasizing that the time has come for India to once again emerge as the global knowledge hub, Naidu opined that the seats of learning, especially the universities must reorient their ways of teaching, functioning and equip the students to seamlessly transit into the choice of their profession or enable them to become self-employed.

He referred to India's demographic advantage and stressed to provide adequate skilling and knowledge so that youth could become job creators instead of allowing job seekers.

Observing that India was being recognised and respected for its tremendous growth and age-old civilization values, the Vice President said the adoption of UN resolution declaring June 21 as 'The International Day of Yoga' by 177 countries was a testimony to India's growing influence.

Naidu referred to the seven sins listed by Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi - Wealth without Work, Pleasure without Conscience, Knowledge without Character, Commerce without Morality, Science without Humanity, Religion without Sacrifice and Politics without Principle - and said that they must become the guiding principles for shaping the ethical values of individuals, society, country and the world at large.

He reminded the youth about the importance of Character, Calibre, Capacity, Conduct, compassion, hard work and discipline to achieve success and realise their dreams. He asked them to always remember five things - Mother, Mother tongue, Native Place, Motherland and Guru.
Srinagar: After banning Yasin Malik-led Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), the Center has started seizing properties belonging to terror financing. As many as 13 people and their properties have, so far, been identified by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) while assets worth more than seven crores have been seized.

The central agencies associated with the investigation of terror funding revealed the nexus between Hurriyat, Hizbul Mujhadeen and stone pelters. Many separatist leaders have been found to be providing money to all major terrorist group like LeT and Hizbul. Operational activities of terror groups are also being financed including attacks on security forces, camps and convoys.

On Friday, the Center banned JKLF following their involvements in many anti-national activities. Yasin Malik was responsible for a litany of terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir since the early 1980s.

Raising the slogan 'Azadi' the group perpetrated heinous crimes by targeting the Kashmiri Pandits, government employees, ordinary peace-loving Kashmiri people, including the kidnapping of Dr Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of the then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, among others.

Rubaiya Saeed was returning home from Lalded Hospital in Srinagar on December 8, 1989, when she was kidnapped at gun point by JKLF terrorists. She was released after five days on December 13 in exchange of five JKLF terrorists.

The first terrorist act of JKLF in Jammu and Kashmir was on August 1, 1988, when the group used explosives to blast three government buildings, including the Telegraph Office in Srinagar. Its members killed Mohammad Yousuf Halwai, a local leader of National Conference in Srinagar on August 17, 1989.

It targeted a Kashmiri Hindu for the first time on September 14, 1989, by killing Pandit Tika Lal Taploo, the state BJP vice president, in front of several people.

JKLF terrorists crossed all limits October 4, 1989, when they shot dead Retired Sessions Judge NK Ganjoo, who had tried and passed a death sentence on the JKLF leader Maqbool Butt.

Another ghastly attack by the JKLF was on January 25, 1990, just a day before the Republic Day. They gunned down four IAF officers when they were waiting at a bus stop along with their family members at Natipora in Srinagar. Twelve of their family members were injured in the gunfire, of whom, two women died later in hospital.

A chargesheet was filed in connection with the case in Jammu TADA court against Yasin Malik, who was the prime accused, and six others. Yasin Malik tried all methods in the book to escape the trial.

He moved a petition in 2008 for transfer of the case to Srinagar, however, it was rejected. He approached the J&K High court against this order through a writ petition. For one reason or the other, hearing on this writ petition could not be completed till March 2019.

The MHA and J&K administration pursued the matter relentlessly and on March 13, 2019, the High Court dismissed Yasin Malik's plea to transfer the trial to Srinagar. Following clearance of this hurdle, the trial, in this case, is expected to resume soon in Jammu.

JKLF continues to abet stone pelting in J&K, indulge in laundering of money, provide financial and logistic support to the separatist groups and glorify terrorist activities.

Crackdown on JKLF is a sign that the Centre will not tolerate separatist activities in Jammu and Kashmir, while it keeps its doors open for all those peace-loving Kashmir people for a dialogue.
New Delhi: Grenadier Hari Bhakar, who received grave injuries on March 23 in Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir in firing from Pakistani armed forces, succumbed to his injuries on Sunday.

According to defence sources, the Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked ceasefire violation in the Shahpur area late Saturday night which continued till Sunday morning. "The soldier was critically injured in the firing. He succumbed to his injuries earlier today," the sources added.

On Sunday too, Pakistani armed forces violated ceasefire along the Line of Control by firing mortar shells and small arms in the Nowshera sector. Pakistan initiated the mortar shelling and small-arms firing in the Nowshera sector, Defence PRO Lt. Col. Devender Anand told news agency ANI.

He added saying that the Indian Army is retaliating strongly.
New Delhi: The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Sunday arrested three terrorists affiliated to terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad near a check-point at Narabal on the Srinagar-Baramulla Highway. The arrests were made based on credible input.

The police have recovered incriminating material including arms and ammunition and live rounds from their possession. A case has registered on the matter.

"Three car-borne terrorists affiliated with proscribed terror outfit JeM (were) arrested by police and security forces at Lawaypora (on Srinagar-Baramulla road) (based) on a credible input today," a police spokesperson told PTI. The terrorists were identified as Rayees Hurrah, Shahid Bhat and Ishaq Lone, officials added.

On Friday, the security forces gunned down two Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) militants during an encounter in Shopian district. An army official said that the security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in the Imam Sahib area of Shopian in south Kashmir following information about the presence of militants there.

The official said that the militants opened fire at the security forces, who retaliated, triggering a gunfight. According to the official, both slain terrorists were involved in several atrocities against civilians and police personnel, including the recent killing of a woman SPO in Shopian.

On Thursday, two Jaish-e-Mohammad militants were killed in a separate encounter with security forces at Kalantara in Baramulla district, while three security force personnel, including an officer, sustained injuries during the operation.

A police spokesman said while one of the slain militants was Amir Rasool, a resident of Sopore, the other slain ultra was a Pakistani national.
A massive fire broke out at a steel plant in Bokaro district of Jharkhand.

The incident took place at the plant owned by the Vedanta group situated in the Chandnakiyari village in the district.

The black flames in the sky can be seen from the distant villages.

There are no reports of any injuries or casualties yet.

This is a developing story. More details are awaited.
BENGALURU: Janata Dal (Secular) legislator KM Shivalinge Gowda courted controversy after a video of his speech asking people to "hit" those shouting pro-Modi slogans" went viral.

There are these people who shout Modi Modi. You must hit them, said the Arsikere MLA while speaking at a public rally in Karnataka's Hassan district.

The purported video clip of the senior JD(S) leader's statement was shared widely on social media.

In the video, Gowda is seen saying that PM Modi had failed to bring back black money stashed in Swiss Banks and also failed to fulfil his promise of allegedly giving Rs 15 lakh to each citizen of the country.

"You (Narendra Modi) had promised to bring back black money and give each one Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh," he said addressing an election rally.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused the Arasikere MLA of inciting violence against the Prime Minister.

Goonda JDS MLA K M Shivalingegowda urge his goons to pelt stones at PM @narendramodi when he visits Karnataka. Coalition partners are openly issuing threat to kill PM. Clear attempt to wipe out democracy & install dictatorship is made under @hd_kumaraswamys rule.  BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) March 24, 2019

Reacting to his statement, BJP Karnataka tweeted: Goonda JDS MLA K M Shivalingegowda urge his goons to pelt stones at PM @narendramodi when he visits Karnataka. Coalition partners are openly issuing threat to kill PM. Clear attempt to wipe out democracy & install dictatorship is made under @hd_kumaraswamys rule.

"The Arasikere MLA has asked his supporters to pelt stones at Narendra Modi. Earlier also many leaders had given objectionable statements. It reflects their hatred for the prime minister," BJP spokesperson and MLA S Suresh Kumar told PTI.
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday hit back at Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi after she questioned the former on unpaid dues of sugarcane farmers in the state. Adityanath asked where were the well-wishers of the farmers when they were dying during the year 2012 to 2017.

"Where were the 'so-called' well wishers of the farmers when they were on the brink of hunger from 2012 to 2017?" he said.

Taking to Twitter, the Chief Minister informed that the cane cultivating area in Uttar Pradesh has increased by 22 per cent, taking the total area of cultivation to 28 lakh hectares. Many of the closed sugar mills have also been reopened in the state, Adityanath added.

"Since our government has come to power, we have made outstanding payment of cane dues of Rs 57,800 crore. This amount is more than the budget of many states," the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said.

Furthermore, he lashed out at the previous SP-BSP government and blamed them for doing nothing for the sugarcane farmers.

Adityanath's stern reply comes after Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attacked him on unpaid dues of sugarcane farmers in the state. She had also alleged that 'chowkidars' (watchmen) were only working for the rich, not for the poor.
New Delhi: Employment, employment, and employment -- will be the focus of the Congress's election campaign, party's manifesto committee member Sam Pitroda has said, asserting that the country was going through a jobs "crisis".

Pitroda, a long-time Gandhi family adviser and the chief of the Indian Overseas Congress, said agrarian distress is also a major issue facing the country and it needs to be addressed.

In an interview to PTI, he said Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will make a huge impact in the general elections.

Priyanka Gandhi and Jyotiraditya Scindia took charge as AICC general secretary UP East and UP West respectively last month.

Asked what would be the key issues the Congress will focus on during the campaign that will strike a chord with the people, Pitroda said: Employment, employment, employment.

The country is going through a big employment crisis. We have not created new employment. We have in fact eaten into the employment base we already had. So, today the real challenge is how do we create new jobs, he said.

Pitroda said employment has been affected by factors such as demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

If you don't focus on employment there will be a major crisis, the technocrat-turned-politician warned.

On whether the Congress has been able to take up the issue of employment in its campaign and narrative, Pitroda said: You will see it in the manifesto.

He expressed confidence that Congress will finish the process of stitching up alliances in various states and its tie-ups will become clear soon.

Asked if Congress president Rahul Gandhi was matching up to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in terms of being the prime challenger, Pitroda said he doesn't see the contest as a challenge between two individuals.

I think it is a challenge between the idea of India. It is about what kind of a nation you want to build going forward, what are the real challenges you have on employment, inclusion and all that, he said

Pitroda also said it was a fight of ideologies and a fight between politics of hate and politics of love.

He asserted that agrarian distress is also a major issue.

I was told that there is problem of excess supply of onions and potatoes, and the prices are way down and that hurts farmers, he said.

Pitroda, who is credited with being the architect of the telecom revolution under Rajiv Gandhi, also alleged that science and technology, had been on the back burner in a big way under the Modi government.

Asked how the Congress will bring the narrative back to real issues such as employment and alleged agrarian distress post the Balakot air strikes, he said the party will raise key issues on the ground among people.

Pitroda is part of the 19-member Manifesto Committee set up by the Congress to come out with the party's manifesto for the general elections.

Pitroda has worked on the Knowledge Commission and also founded National Innovation Council later during the Congress-led UPA rule.
Guwahati: BJP leader Ram Madhav said here on Sunday that Congress leaders would probably win elections in Pakistan if they contest from the neighbouring country.

The BJP`s national general secretary alleged that tweets by opposition leaders were retweeted more in Pakistan than in India.

"Their statements are retweets more by the people of the neighbouring country than the people in our own country. If they go there and contest elections someday, they will probably win there. This is the condition of our principal opposition party," said Ram Madhav.

The BJP general secretary (in-charge of North East) said the opposition was in a "clueless" fight and people failed to understand whether they were "fighting for the cause of Pakistan or of India".

"The opposition is fighting a clueless fight. What they want to convey nobody understands, the people of the country do not understand the direction in which they want to show the country. Whether the opposition is fighting for Hindustan or for Pakistan, the country is unable to understand," he said. He said that opposition leaders use undignified language for Indian Army.

"The opposition leaders doubt our own forces. They not only question the achievements of our government but also use undignified language for our Army," said Madhav.

The BJP leader said there is a "Modi wave" in the country and the BJP and its allies will gain more seats in the coming elections as compared to 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

"You can see the condition of opposition, wherever Rahul Gandhi goes people start sloganeering "Modi-Modi". These days Priyanka Gandhi is visiting temples and there also she has to listen to "Modi-Modi`", said Madhav.

"The picture is clear that there is a Modi wave in the country. Conventional political wisdom says that there cannot be a wave in favour of the ruling party as the wave is always created by the opposition. However, Narendra Modi is the one person who has broken the conventions several times in the past," said the BJP leader.

The BJP general secretary (in-charge of North East) said that BJP is confident of winning all the 10 seats it is contesting in Assam, and the BJP and its partners will win the elections in North-East, from all places they are contesting.

The 17th Lok Sabha election, which will be held in seven phases beginning April 11. The final phase of voting will take place on May 19. The counting of votes will be done on May 23.
Hours after senior BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha lost his ticket of the Lok Sabha Patna Sahib seat to Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the sitting MP retaliated by strongly criticising the saffron party.

Sinha directed his barbs on Saturday at the party's decision to nominate BJP chief Amit Shah from Gujarat's Gandhinagar constituency, replacing veteran leader LK Advani.

Taking to Twitter, a disgruntled Sinha accused the BJP of "orchestrating the departure of a most respected friend, philosopher, guide, father figure & ultimate leader of the party LK Advani, from the political arena/ election".

In a series of tweets, the BJP leader said that Advani has been replaced by someone "whose image or personality is no match nor a patch on him". He called the step of replacing Advani with Shah a deliberate and intentional move that has not gone down well with the people.

The Gandhinagar constituency has been a fortress for BJP since 1989 with Advani winning from here on six occasions  the latest was in 2014 when he scripted a win by a colossal margin of close to 5 lakh.

"It's worrisome, painful and according to some people, even shameful... that which your people have done was the most expected & awaited....orchestrating the departure of a most respected friend, philosopher, guide, father figure & ultimate leader of the party Shri. L.K.Advani, from the political arena/ election. That too through the replacement of Mr Advani by none other than the man who is also the President of the party but whose image or personality is no match nor a patch on him. This has been done deliberately & intentionally & hasn't gone down well with the people of the country. He is a father figure & no one can approve of such a treatment to a father figure," tweeted Sinha.

Sirji, instead of playing Rafale Baba & Chalis Chokiwdar, which has already fallen flat on its face, it's high time & right time to take some corrective measures (if you still can) & go for damage control soon, sooner the better. Meanwhile it's worrisome, painful and according to  Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) March 23, 2019

some people, even shameful... that which your people have done was the most expected & awaited....orchestrating the departure of a most respected friend, philosopher, guide, father figure & ultimate leader of the party Shri. L.K.Advani, from the political arena/ election.  Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) March 23, 2019

That too through the replacement of Mr. Advani by none other than the man who is also the President of the party but whose image or personality is no match nor a patch on him. This has been done deliberately & intentionally & hasn't gone down well with the people of the country.  Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) March 23, 2019

He is a father figure & no one can approve of such a treatment to a father figure. What you & your people have done with me, is still tolerable. I'm able & capable of answering your people back in the same coin. Remember Newton's third law...every action has an equal and  Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) March 23, 2019

opposite reaction. And I am capable of paying back...

But having done the same to stalwarts like - to begin with respected, Shri Yashwant Sinha ji, followed by most learned Arun Shourie  Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) March 23, 2019

one of the top builders of the party, Shri. Murli Manohar Joshi ji & now last but not the least, Shri.L.K.Advaniji smacks of ingratitude..  Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) March 23, 2019

Nonetheless, people are watching at this hour, to give a befitting reply for all this that is being done by the one man show & 2 men army company. Long Live Shri. Advaniji! Jai Hind!  Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) March 23, 2019

He also took a jibe at the party for not giving him the ticket of the Patna Sahib seat. Sinha warned of giving a befitting reply to the BJP asserting that he is "capable of answering your people back in the same coin". He cited Newton's third law, every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

"What you & your people have done with me, is still tolerable. I'm able & capable of answering your people back in the same coin. Remember Newton's third law...every action has an equal and opposite reaction. And I am capable of paying back...But having done the same to stalwarts like - to begin with respected, Shri Yashwant Sinha ji, followed by most learned Arun Shourie one of the top builders of the party, Shri. Murli Manohar Joshi ji & now last but not the least, Shri.L.K.Advaniji smacks of ingratitude..," further added the BJP leader.

The BJP leader also taunted the party saying, "Sirji, instead of playing Rafale Baba & Chalis Chokiwdar, which has already fallen flat on its face, it's high time & right time to take some corrective measures (if you still can) & go for damage control soon, sooner the better."

He lastly added, "People are watching at this hour, to give a befitting reply for all this that is being done by the one-man show & 2 men army company. Long Live Shri. Advaniji! Jai Hind!
Coimbatore: Putting rest to all speculations, actor-turned-politician Kamal Hassan announced that he wont contest upcoming Lok Sabha elections and Tamil Nadu Assembly bypolls.

I will neither contest upcoming Lok Sabha polls nor assembly bypolls to 18 constituencies in Tamil Nadu, said the founder of Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) at massive public meeting in Coimbatore on Sunday night.

I have lot of work to do. I will work towards the success of my candidates, he added.

The MNM chief also released the party manifesto and the second and final list of candidates for the Lok Sabha polls and Tamil Nadu bypolls.

In its manifesto, the party assured to solve the state's drinking water problem, wipe out poverty, ensure slum-free Tamil Nadu and equal wages for women labourers as men in all sectors, reported news agency PTI.

Haasan added the winners who fail to deliver and fulfil the poll promises would be removed. Any complaint against them will also be investigated by a central party committee and if found guilty, the candidate will be asked to resign immediately.

Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), which translates to Centre for Peoples Justice in English, was launched on February 21, 2018, from Haasan's hometown Rameswaram. The party is registered with the Election Commission of India and got "Battery Torch" as the symbol for the upcoming elections.

As part of the launch of his political party, Kamal Haasan toured Tamil Nadu extensively to interact with locals in different villages of the state.

The veteran actor also displayed an ideological leaning towards the Left and the Dravidian movement. Regarding electoral alliances, he chose to remain non-committal and not ally with any regional or national outfit.

Haasan's party is the only major new-entrant in Tamil Nadu's political landscape.

Tamil Nadu has the third highest number of seats (39) in the Lok Sabha. The election in the state will take place in a single phase on April 18. The bypolls in the state will also be held alongside.
New Delhi: The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha and Gorkha National Liberation Front on Sunday announced their support to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Darjeeling in upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Leaders of the two Gorkha outfits met BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, the in-charge of BJP's affairs in West Bengal, in the national capital today.

The party released a statement that Gorkha outfits while announcing their support said that BJP is the only political party which has always addressed to their issues and have worked for them.

In the meantime, BJP today named young party leader Raju Singh Bisht as its candidate from Darjeeling seat for the Lok Sabha polls in place of sitting MP and Union minister SS Ahluwalia.

Speaking to media today, Vijayvargiya said that Bisht will contest from Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal. He added that Ahluwalia, in a letter to BJP president Amit Shah has expressed his inability to contest from the seat and has expressed his wish to contest from any other seat in West Bengal.

The BJP has been winning the Darjeeling seat with support from these Gorkha parties since 2009. Party leader Jaswant Singh was elected to the seat with active support from GJM in 2009 and SS Ahluwalia in 2014.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress Mamata Banerjee has also managed to win over a section of the Gorkha leadership in a determined bid to wrest the seat from the BJP. The Trinamool has fielded Amar Singh Rai of the GJM faction, being led by former Bimal Gurung aide Binay Tamang, on the seat.
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) has rubbished reports that claimed dropping of 'Congress' from the party's name.

Issuing an official statement, the party said, "Name of the party, as registered with Election Commission is All India Trinamool Congress'. Name and symbol (flowers and grass) were approved by EC on January 1, 1998."

Media reports had earlier suggested that AITC had removed 'Congress' from its logo, banners and posters, and from now on, the party would be referred to as 'Trinamool'.

Following a fallout with the Congress party at the beginning of the 12th Lok Sabha, on January 1, 1998, Trinamool Congress was established under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee. According to the AITC website, TMC was formed to "raise her voice against the barbaric rule of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)".

(With inputs from ANI)
AGRA: Only BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi can assure the security of the country, asserted party chief Amit Shah on Sunday.

"I want to ask Congress as to who are they aiming to help by raising questions over air-strikes. Congress should not play with the security of the country for vote bank politics. The leaders of the coalition cannot assure security of the country. It is only BJP and its leader Prime Minister Modi who can assure the security of the country," he said addressing a public rally here.

"People should choose a Prime Minister who prioritises the welfare of the poor of the country. The Prime Minister should be elected for the security of the country. The Prime Minister must be elected to eliminate terrorism from the country. The Prime Minister should be able to give befitting reply to Pakistan," Shah said.

He also took a dig at leaders of the grand alliance and said, "Mayawati wants that Modi should be removed but says she wouldn`t contest elections. Same is with Akhilesh Yadav, Mamata Banerjee, N Chandrababu Naidu, MK Stalin and Sharad Pawar. They don`t want to fight the elections and are seeing the dream of removing Prime Minister Modi. They do not have a candidate for the Prime Minister`s post," the BJP chief said.

Asserting that this election is for development vs. corruption, Shah said, "On the one side Prime Minister Modi is taking the country ahead with development whereas on the other side there is a coalition of those who have self-serving intent of corruption and power."

"There was Sonia-Manmohan government in the country for 10 years. For 20 years in the state (UP), there was a government of aunt and nephew. However, for all these years they did nothing other than corruption. They did corruption and scams of over Rs 12 lakh crore," he said.

Shah also said that the BJP government at the Centre has completed five years and the Yogi government in UP has completed two years but no one can put single allegations of corruption on both the government.

Referring to the recent air-strikes in Balakot in Pakistan, he said, "Previously there were only two countries - the US and Israel which would avenge the deaths of their soldiers. Prime Minister Modi has added the country`s name also to that list."BJP has fielded SP Singh Baghel from Agra. Agra will be going to polls in the second phase of voting on April 18. The counting of votes will be done on May 23.
New Delhi: The death toll in Palghar bus accident, that took place on Sunday afternoon, rose to six. Nearly 45 people have been injured in the mishap and are currently undergoing treatment at Trimbakeshwar primary health centre.

Some of the injured are said to be in critical state.

The mishap took place when the bus fell into a gorge in Torangane ghat between Mokhada and Trimbakeshwar villages. Thane Region Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) chief Santosh Kadam confirmed the reports and said that the mishap took place at around 2.45 pm today.

The private bus had started from Nashik in north Maharashtra and was headed towards Gujarat, a Trimbakeshwar police station official told PTI. The deceased were returning to Surat after taking darshan of Saibaba in Shirdi in Ahmednagar district, neighbouring Nashik. The official said the incident occurred due to failure of brakes of the bus.
New Delhi: Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt, who has maintained silence over her relationship with Ranbir Kapoor, made her relationship official during an award ceremony held in Mumbai on Friday.

Alia, who won the best actress award, included Ranbir's name in her acceptance speech. Thanking her co-stars and directors, she said, "Meghna, for me, Raazi is you, your blood and sweat. You are my main chick. Vicky, without you, the film wouldnt be complete. Thank you, my mentor, Karan for being my mentor, father and my fashion police. Tonight is all about love; there, my special one, I love you (Ranbir Kapoor).

Ranbir had the cutest reaction to Alia's confession on stage. Check out the video shared by a fan club:

Earlier, rumours were rife that the two lovebirds will tie the knot this year. However, Alia denied the news of her marriage.

On the work front, Ranbir and Alia will be seen in Brahmastra which is helmed by Ayan Mukerji. Their love blossomed on the sets of the film and it will reportedly release on December 25, 2019.
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said that Opposition parties offered biryani to terrorists while the Modi government fed them bullets and termed a rival candidate from the Saharanpur constituency 'son-in-law of Azar Masood'.

Addressing a rally in Saharanpur, he said the 'son-in-law of (Jaish-e-Mohammed chief) Azhar Masood' has entered the constituency and he speaks the language of the terror mastermind. Imran Masood is the Congress candidate from the constituency.

"You people have to ensure that the person who speaks the language of Azhar Masood is defeated in the Lok Sabha elections," he said, seeking votes for the BJP candidate from Saharanpur, Raghav Lakhanpal.

Adityanath said Azhar would meet the same fate as Osama bin Laden. "You must have heard about Osama bin Laden. He was killed brutally. Azhar Masood will be killed in the same manner," he said. The UP chief minister said the BJP is committed to nation building and will not allow "any traitor to dent India's integrity". "Some parties offered biryani to terrorists, while the Modi government has only one medicine for terrorists - bullets and bombs," he said.

Taking a jibe at the SP-BSP alliance in the state, Aditynath said, "People who are contesting 37-38 seats are think of becoming Prime Minister." Attacking Congress President Rahul Gandhi, he said, "You must have noticed that the Union finance minister had referred to an individual as 'man without brains'.

"Rahul Gandhi does not know Indian culture, so when he went to offer prayers at Kashi Vishwanath temple, he sat in a position as if he was offering namaaz."

Hitting out at Gandhi's close aide Sam Pitroda, Adityanath said, "There is a 'mahaguru' in the Congress. He raises questions on the valour of our armed forces. When this is the condition of the 'mahaguru', you can imagine the condition of 'mahachelas'."
BAMAKO: Gunmen killed at least 134 Fulani herders in central Mali on Saturday, a local mayor said, the deadliest such attack of recent times in a region reeling from worsening ethnic and jihadist violence.

The assaults on the villages of Ogossagou and Welingara took place as a UN Security Council mission visited Mali seeking solutions to violence that killed hundreds of civilians last year and is spreading across West Africa`s Sahel region.

Moulaye Guindo, mayor of the nearby town of Bankass, said armed men, dressed as traditional Donzo hunters, encircled and attacked Ogossagou at about 4 am (0400 GMT). "We are provisionally at 134 bodies recovered by the gendarmes," Guindo told Reuters by telephone from Ogossagou. He said another nearby Fulani village, Welingara, had also been attacked, causing "a number" of deaths, but he did not yet know how many.

Security sources said the dead included pregnant women, children and elderly people. One Ogossagou resident, who asked not to be identified, said the attack appeared to be in retaliation for an al Qaeda affiliate`s claim of responsibility on Friday for a raid last week that killed 23 soldiers.

That group said that raid was payback for violence by Mali`s army and militiamen against the Fulani.

Jihadist groups linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State have exploited ethnic rivalries in Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger in recent years to boost recruitment and render vast swathes of territory virtually ungovernable. French forces intervened in Mali, a former French colony, in 2013 to push back a jihadist advance from the desert north but the militants have since regrouped and expanded their presence into central Mali and the neighbouring countries.

Some 4,500 French troops remain based in the wider Sahel, most of them in Mali. The United States also has hundreds of troops in the region.

Security Council ambassadors met with Malian president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and other government officials on Friday evening to discuss the violence and the slow implementation of a 2015 peace agreement with non-Islamist armed groups.

"Clear sense of frustration among many Security Council members at a pace of implementation of Mali Peace Agreement," Britain`s representative on the mission, Stephen Hickey, wrote on Twitter. "Security Council prepared to impose sanctions on those who impede its implementation."
DEIR AL-ZOR PROVINCE: US-backed forces proclaimed the capture of Islamic State`s last territory in Syria on Saturday, eliminating its rule over a self-proclaimed "caliphate", but the jihadists remain a threat from sleeper cells around the world.

Originally an offshoot of al Qaeda, IS took large swathes of Iraq and Syria from 2014, imposing a reign of terror with public beheadings and attacks by supporters abroad - but it was eventually beaten back to the village of Baghouz. "We announce today the destruction of the so-called Islamic State organisation and the end of its ground control in its last pocket in Baghouz," Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) general commander Mazloum Abdi told a victory ceremony.

SDF fighters, who besieged Baghouz for weeks while planes pounded from above, paraded in memory of 11,000 comrades killed in years of fighting against IS. A band played the American national anthem.

Despite the euphoria, some shooting and mortar fire continued on Saturday morning, according to a Reuters journalist at Baghouz. And Abdi warned the campaign against the militant`s more hidden threats must continue. Some IS fighters still hold out in Syria`s remote central desert, and in Iraqi cities they have slipped into the shadows, staging shootings or kidnappings.

The United States believes the group`s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, is in Iraq. He stood at the pulpit of the medieval mosque in Mosul in 2014 to declare himself caliph, sovereign over all Muslims. Further afield, jihadists in Afghanistan, Nigeria and elsewhere show no sign of recanting allegiance, and intelligence services say IS devotees in the West might plot new attacks.

INTERNATIONAL FALLOUT

Still, the fall of Baghouz is a big milestone in a fight waged against the group for more than four years by numerous local and global forces, some of them sworn enemies.

France and Britain, which also back the SDF, welcomed the developments, though U.S. officials acknowledged work remained. In a separate statement Saturday, President Donald Trump said the region had been "liberated," but added the United States will remain vigilant.

"While this is a critical milestone in the fight against ISIS, we understand our work is far from complete," acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said in a statement.

The capture of Baghouz marked a big moment in Syria`s eight-year war, wiping out one of the main contestants` territory, with the rest split between President Bashar al-Assad, Turkey-backed rebels and the Kurdish-led SDF.

Assad and Iranian allies have sworn to recapture all Syria, while Turkey has threatened to drive out the SDF, which it sees as a terrorist group. The continued presence of U.S. troops in northeast Syria might avert this.

In his speech, Abdi urged Assad to recognise autonomous administration in areas controlled by the SDF and Turkey to quit areas of northern Syria it has taken over.

Islamic State originated as an al Qaeda faction in Iraq but took advantage of Syria`s civil war to seize land there and split from the global jihadist organisation.

In 2014, it grabbed Iraq`s Mosul, erased the border with Syria and called on supporters worldwide to join a jihadist utopia, complete with currency, flag and passports.

Oil production, extortion and stolen antiquities financed its agenda, which included slaughtering some minorities, slave auctions of captured women, grotesque punishments for minor crimes, and the choreographed killing of hostages. Those excesses drew an array of forces against it, driving it from Mosul and the Syrian city Raqqa during a year of heavy defeats in 2017 and driving it down the Euphrates to Baghouz.

EATING GRASS

Over the past two months, some 60,000 people poured out, fleeing SDF bombardment and a shortage of food so severe that some were reduced to cooking grass. Intense air strikes levelled entire districts and, according to rights groups, killed many civilians. Civilians made up more than half the people leaving Baghouz, the SDF said, including women from the Iraqi Yazidi sect whom the jihadists sexually enslaved.

Thousands of the group`s unbending supporters, including many foreign women who married jihadists, also abandoned the enclave. At displacement camps the SDF had to keep them away from other, often traumatized, residents. Their fate has befuddled foreign governments, who see them as a security threat and are loath to accede to SDF entreaties to repatriate them.

As the fighting progressed, convoys of trucks from Baghouz started to include hundreds, and then thousands, of surrendering jihadist fighters, many hobbling from their wounds. The SDF said it captured hundreds more in recent weeks who tried to slip through its cordon and escape into Iraq or across the Euphrates and into the Syrian desert.

In the end, they were holed up in a tiny enclave from which they released a video showing fighters still shooting with smoke billowing above - an attempt to portray their last stand as heroic and a call to arms for future jihadists.
New Delhi: India has sent another Indian Navy ship INS MAGAR as part of its operation "Sahayata 2019" to help the people of Mozambique who are reeling under the impact of cyclone IDAI, the category 4 cyclone to hit southern Africa on March 15.

The ship contains medicines, dry provisions, ready-to-eat meals, daily essentials and clothing items and would cater to approximately 1000 persons for seven days. The essential items include 500 kg of epidemic-related medicines and 400 tonnes of rice.

In the aftermath of the cyclone, New Delhi had sent three Indian naval ships to the country - INS Sujata, ICGS Sarathi and INS Shardul which are currently undertaking Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief operations in coordination with local authorities and Indian High Commission.

The three Indian Navy ships so far have been able to rescue 192 people and provide medical assistance to 1381 persons in medical camps.

Meanwhile, Indian helicopters are helping in the evacuation of people by facilitating aerial survey and are also dropping of food & water packets in areas inaccessible to reach on foot.

The Indian Navy was the first responder in the evolving humanitarian crises in the aftermath of Cyclone IDAI. Assistance is also being sent to neighbouring Zimbabwe and Malawi which were hit by the cyclone.
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,
The legislator made the affirmation during her talks with Second Vice President of the National Assembly of Cambodia Khuon Sudary in Hanoi on March 22.

Following the state visit to Cambodia by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and President Nguyen Phu Trong last month, Khuon Sudarys visit is an important activity contributing to the enhancement of the friendly neighbourliness and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries and their legislatures, NA Vice Chairwoman Phong said.

She congratulated Cambodia on its successful organisation of the general election in 2018, with the landslide victory for the Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP), which, she said, demonstrated the absolute confidence of the Cambodian voters and people in the CPPs leadership.

On the occasion, the Vietnamese lawmaker also extended her congratulations to the Cambodian NA on the successful hosting of the 27th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum in Siem Reap last January.

Over recent years, the exchange of high-level visits and delegations between the two Parties, States and NAs have marked new development steps in the Vietnam-Cambodia relationship, she said.

She suggested that the two sides maintain their relations through all diplomatic channels such as the Party, State, and especially the NA, alongside people-to-people diplomacy.

She called for joint efforts in educating younger generations on the Vietnam and Cambodia traditions and relations between the two Parties and States, and strengthening the long-standing solidarity between the two countries.

The two legislatures should intensify coordination in supervising the implementation of agreements reached by the two governments, and promoting the planting of border markers in order to build a common border of peace, friendship, cooperation and development, for the common interests of the two nations, and for peace, stability and cooperation in the region, she said.

She proposed that Cambodia creates more optimal conditions for Vietnamese businesses to operate in the country, and thanked the senior Cambodian leaders for their attention to issues relating to Vietnamese-Cambodians, hoping that the community will receive more assistance to stabilise their lives.

The Vietnamese leader also suggested that the two sides continue to support each other at international forums, contributing to the enhancement of ties between Vietnam and Cambodia, as well as the prestige of the two countries and the legislative agencies.

She voiced her hope that the Cambodian legislature and government will back Vietnams bid to run for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 tenure.

For her part, Khuon Sudary highlighted the sustainable development of relations between the two countries and their legislative ties, saying that Vietnam and Cambodia boast time-honoured solidarity.

Congratulating Vietnam on the achievements the country has recorded under the CPVs leadership, she said Vietnam has an increasingly important position and role in the region and the world at large.

The Cambodian leader lauded Vietnams development and noted her belief that the country will soon complete the target of national industrialisation and modernisation.

Khuon Sudary said Cambodia is stepping up the deployment of strategies in an effort to raise peoples living standards and help the country to develop robustly.

Cambodia is working to increase public services, she said, stressing that the country always places importance on diplomatic affairs, and economic and tourism promotion to promote its potential and national development.
Pennsylvania Horticulture Societys Harvest program ends season with almost 19,000 pounds of produce donated and $30K raised to fight food insecurity
The Dayton Art Institute (DAI) will present the first of the museums centennial Focus Exhibitions, Dorothy Heights Hats , on view from March 23 through June 23. The DAI is proud to present this exhibition, with all hats on loan from the Dorothy I. Height Education Foundation.

Dorothy Heights Hats features hats worn by Dr. Dorothy Irene Height (19122010), an author and icon of civil rights who was known for her leadership, courage, determination, and hats! This exhibition will explore the life of Dr. Height by bringing together 43 of her favorite and most iconic hats.

It is an honor to present these beautiful hats that belonged to Dr. Height, someone who was such an important figure in the fight for equal rights for all, states Jerry N. Smith, DAI Chief Curator. The hats, many made by top designers, are like sculptures in fabric and can be enjoyed as such. However, knowing who wore them makes each that much more significant.

Dr. Height was an activist in the struggles for equality and was given the name Godmother of the Civil Rights Movement by President Barack Obama. Hats, often called crowns by the African-American community, became a symbol of Dr. Heights personality. She helped organize the 1963 March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous I Have a Dream speech. Dr. Height also served as the president of the National Council of Negro Women for 40 years and had notable involvement with national organizations such as the YWCA and the Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

She has been recognized by many groups and world leaders, and received 36 honorary doctorate degrees, the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1994) and the Congressional Gold Medal (2004). She was memorialized on the 40th U.S. Forever Postage Stamp in the Black Heritage series, in 2017.

Admission to Dorothy Heights Hats is included in the museums suggested general admission.

An Afternoon with Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole

President, National Council of Negro Women

Sunday, March 31, 2019, 3  5 p.m.

$25 members, $35 non-members

In celebration of the Focus Exhibition Dorothy Heights Hats and Womens History Month, join us for a special presentation by Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole in the Mimi & Stuart Rose Auditorium, followed by a dessert and champagne reception in the Shaw Gothic Cloister. Watch for a separate Facebook event for this talk!

To learn more about Dr. Dorothy Height, join Dr. Jerry N. Smith, Chief Curator, on Saturday, May 18 at noon, for the museums Language of Art program. The topic of the May 18 session will be Dr. Heights autobiography Open Wide the Freedom Gates: A Memoir (2003). Conversation follows in Leo Bistro, where food and drink are available for purchase. The Language of Art is FREE for members and included with suggested general admission for non-members. Space is limited and advance reservations are encouraged.
Stephen Rego By

Express News Service

Consumer aspirations in smaller cities across India have been at the cornerstone of yet another extraordinary year for De Beers Groups signature diamond jewellery brand Forevermark, which saw sales shoot up by 50 per cent in 2018, the sixth consecutive year it has achieved such growth rates. The brand also crossed another milestone, selling over 1,00,000 pieces during a calendar year for the first time.

Forevermark CEO Stephen Lussier, who is also executive vice-president, marketing, De Beers Group, describes the country as one of its key markets.

India now accounts for approximately 10 per cent of our total retail presence worldwide with about 250 doors, but brings in over 25 per cent of our global sales.

Over the last few years, demand in the metros has been complemented by rapid growth in cities such as Durgapur and Asansol in the East or Tirupati and Thiruvananthapuram in the South. Indian consumers are also opting for quality. Most of the diamonds we sell are in the smaller 10-20 pointers category. But, over 60 per cent of them are in the higher colours and clarities  DEF colours and VVS clarity, Lussier says.

Forevermark appears to have bucked the slowdown in jewellery sales across most categories over the last couple of years brought on by fluctuations in exchange rates, the GST and tighter regulations pertaining to cash purchases, a credit crunch following bank scams by some big names in the industry, etc.

In December 2018, Bain & Co reported that though India had a high potential for diamond jewellery growth, revenues had dropped during the year. And Russian miner Alrosa said that diamond jewellery sales in India up to Q3FY2018 had declined as a result of low consumer confidence and weakening of the currency.

The diamond cutting and polishing industry has also been facing difficult times over the last year. Exports of cut and polished diamonds over the first ten months of the fiscal have increased by a very marginal 2 per cent to $19.6 billion, while imports of rough have registered a drop of nearly 17 per cent to $12.9 billion, according to figures from the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council.

The De Beers VP says that this has been primarily due to short-term demand-supply dynamics and other factors external to the industry.

Demand in three of the most important markets for smaller diamonds was hit by exchange rate fluctuations. Turkey was devastated by the drop in currency values and the Middle East was subdued. India too was affected by volatility in the rupee.

Now, the situation is improving on the back of a relatively good year-end holiday season in the US, the worlds largest market for diamond jewellery. Indications are that early February sales, driven by Valentines Day and the New Year season in China, have been positive.

Demand-supply balance will change further over the next few years as Argyle, the largest mine supplying small rough diamonds for the past couple of decades, is moving to the end of its life cycle.

Yet, he points out that there is a continuing challenge of unpredictability.

Will the US-China tariff war get worse? Will Brexit finally happen or not? What will the results of the Indian election mean for consumer confidence? he asks rhetorically while expressing confidence that Forevermark will once again achieve strong double-digit growth in India in 2019, and may even repeat the 50 per cent growth story once again.
By Express News Service

MUMBAI: Reliance Industries (RIL), Indias top private refiner, has stated that it has not sidestepped US sanctions in supplying refined oil products to Venezuela. RIL runs one of the largest refining complexes with a capacity to process 1.24 million barrels per stream day that includes an SEZ refinery from where it exports refined products.

Since the imposition of US sanctions, Reliance has been in continuous communication with the US Department of State regarding its activities in Venezuela. Reliance has been transparent with US authorities and has also provided detailed feedback to the US Department of State as they were formulating and adjusting US policy regarding product shipments to Venezuela, RIL said in a statement on Friday.

The statement from Reliance followed a report by Reuters that the group was selling fuels to Venezuela, routing them through Europe from its refinery in India to sidestep US sanctions that bars companies from dealing with Venezuelas state-run PDVSA (Petroleos de Venezuela, SA). RIL was supplying diluent naphtha and other fuels to Venezuela before the US sanctions against the country, meant to curb its oil trade and warn its president Nicolas Maduro. On Friday, US president Donald Trump had warned of tougher sanctions.

Reliance said that it has not only complied with the US sanctions laws, but has also done its best to adjust its dealings with Venezuela on a voluntary basis to reflect the ongoing changes in the US policy.

It had also reduced its intake of crude from Venezuela below the contracted levels and stopped shipments of diluent naphtha. RIL said the fuels refined in India and shipped to Venezuela were offsets for crude oil receipts that were in transit when there were no restrictions due to sanctions.

Reliance will continue its transactions in full compliance of prevailing sanctions, RIL said.

RIL had in 2012 entered into a 15-year contract with Venezuela to buy around 3,00,000 to 4,00,000 bpd of heavy crude from PDVSA. Lower production in Venezuela in 2018 meant lower purchase, and Reuters said ship tracking data showed RILs average purchases from Venezuela were less than 3,00,000 bpd in 2018 and in the first two months of the fiscal.

RIL, due to its exposure business and financial exposure to the US, has also been following the US sanctions on Iran strictly. In October last year, it said that it had stopped all crude purchases from Iran ahead of the sanctions.
At a working session with local leading officials, the diplomat expressed his joy at the fact that a delegation from the state lead by Minister President Bodo Ramelow is going to visit Vietnam at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh next month. The invitation, the first ever by Minh personally to a German locality, shows that Vietnam is very attentive to and appreciative of the importance of the visit, the diplomat stressed.

The diplomat highlighted that Vietnam can supply young workers to meet the need of Thuringen, especially in the field of health care, and asked local authorities to look for ways to ease Vietnamese workers difficulties in the state. He also spoke highly of attention by the local administration to the Vietnamese community there.

Minister Ramelow praised Vietnams economic development and said the coming visit will be a good chance for him to witness it with his own eyes. He revealed that the delegation will see the largest number of representatives of enterprises so far from the state to any other country.

He and other local leading officials highly valued the contributions by the Vietnamese community to the life of the people in the state and pledged to create favourable conditions for them.

Romelow will lead a 140-strong delegation, including representatives of 70 enterprises, to visit Vietnam in mid-April. Thuringen is a state in the east of Germany, with a population of 2 million and a GDP of more than EUR60 billion (US$68 billion).
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: In the last few months, almost every airline in the country is facing some sort of crisis. After having a wonderful sail for two-three years, the aviation industry was hit severely last year when international crude prices went up and the value of domestic currency depreciated against the US dollar.

Excessive parking and landing charges, loads of debt and fare wars have also hit the performance of airlines.

The impact of the two macro factors was so big on the sector that every player witnessed their profits plummeting and losses mounting.

The first airline to fall on bad times was the Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways.

ALSO READ | Turbulence in aviation sector grounds travel plans for Indians

While there was the talk of many players being interested in buying a stake in the airline as its debt continued to pile up with the airline having no money for day-to-day operations, the major blow came when in early January it announced that it was defaulting on loan repayment.

In the days that followed, the airline had to ground two-thirds of its aircraft as it did not have the money to pay lessors, defaulted on more repayments and delayed salaries of its staffs.

While talks have been underway for the past two months to implement a plan to rescue the airline, disagreements between different parties have kept the airline in misery.

ALSO READ | Amid Jet Airways crisis, flight cancellations widen demand and supply gap in aviation sector

The problems with IndiGo and SpiceJet are not as complex as Jets. Besides facing a pilot crunch, IndiGo has been struggling with rising costs, particularly fuel and finance costs.

SpiceJet, which has been affected by the recent grounding of Boeing 737 MAX planes, is facing issues with capacity addition. The two airlines are reportedly working aggressively to solve the issues by themselves.

ALSO READ | India's crony capitalist edifice is creaking

As for Air India, there is no count on the number of issues faced by the state-run carrier.

After a failed disinvestment exercise last year, the Maharaja continues to survive on taxpayers money.

Mounting troubles

The combined loss of three airlines, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Jet, was over Rs 2,300 crore in the second quarter of the 2019 financial year.

Experts said losses and inability of carriers to hike airfares due to intense competition were first signs of disruption the sector would face in the near future.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: At least half of Bengalurus cabs will go off the roads from Tuesday as the three-day period given to Ola to return its suspended licence ends on Monday An Ola spokesperson said its legal team was exploring options.

The aggregator plans to operate its cabs till the last possible moment. According to Ola drivers, the company had not been paying them money for trips settled by customers through Ola Money.

Ola drivers fear they may not be able to ply from Tuesday

On Tuesday, the city might wake up to an early-morning rush, with at least half of Bengalurus cabs going off the roads, as the three-day period given to Ola to return its suspended licence, ends on Monday.

Ola said it received the suspension order on Friday. While it charts out a plan of action, the bike-taxi hiring option, at the core of the punitive action by the transport department against the company, made a quiet exit from the platform.

According to the transport department, 65,000 cabs are registered under Ola and Uber platforms. Uber, however, will not be affected. On Saturday, an Ola spokesperson told TNIE that its legal team was exploring options. The aggregator plans to operate its cabs till the last possible moment.

But the cab company might have to fight this battle alone in the courts, without the support of its driver-partners, if they are to be believed.

A few drivers TNIE spoke to on Saturday, said that while cab services are operational, the company had not been paying them money for trips settled by customers through the Ola Money platform. Usually, these payments are made the next day, but we have not received them for four days, which has us worried. We are now accepting only cash payment from passengers. We are worried since we heard of the suspension, an Ola auto driver said.

Another driver said that while he was still taking Ola trips, he was worried about the implications of the order. Cancelling licences based on the company starting bike-taxis is unfair. This order will make our lives more miserable, The transport department seems to have targeted only one company, when there are others operating in the city.

Ola to operate till last minute

Transport department officials told TNIE that there was no question of rescinding the suspension, and that Ola could approach the courts or go off the road. We received the notice just yesterday, and we will hold talks with government officials and explain that the bike-taxi platform was withdrawn a week ago, after it was run on a pilot basis for one week. We will operate cabs till its is legally possible, he said.

The transport department has suspended the licence for Ani Technologies Pvt Ltd (umbrella firm for Ola Cabs) under The Karnataka on Demand Aggregators Rules say, The licensing authority may, after giving an opportunity of being heard, suspend the licence for a period which shall not be less than 30 days and which shall not exceed six months at a time, or may cancel the license, in case a licence holder fails to justify it.
Vaishali Vijaykumar By

Express News Service

CHENNAI : Bursts of laughter in different decibels echo at The Little Theatre studio in Nungambakkam. Actors, doctors, and theatre artistes had gathered to attend an introductory workshop on hospital clowning. The theatre troupe, having already conducted such a workshop twice in Malaysia, held this workshop for the first time in the city. Key aspects of hospital clowning, basics of improvisational theatre and an introduction to the physical theatre were on the agenda. The instructors of the workshop comprised B Krishnakumar (KK), an award-winning multi-faceted artist.

Their initiative to bring laughter and relief in city hospitals through clowning won him The Creative Arts Therapy Award by Sancheti Health Care Academy in April 2018. Alongside him was Dr Rohini Rau  Indias first medical clown (medical doctor/hospital clown). A small session on psychological impact of hospitalised patients by Dr Sujatha Velmurugan, a consultant psychiatrist, was held. Hospital clowning in the last 40 years has grown in number and today is an integral part of many hospitals all over the US, UK, and Europe. Hospital clowns use humour as one of the tools to achieve a personal and trusting atmosphere between hospital workers and patients to reduce stress, fear, helplessness and sadness in the environment. The child is made to feel superior and empowered.

Scientifically, it works on a psychological, cognitive, and social level. The history of hospital clowning dates back to 1984. Medical clowning plays a crucial role in the paediatric ward. Theres a general belief that healing starts in mind. Laughter is only an aspect of what we do. It all sums up to enabling power and making the patient believe that magic can happen. We try to break the status quo and hierarchy between the doctor, patient, and caretaker, said Krishnakumar.

The workshop introduced participants to all that hospital clowning encompasses. It is an exercise to find the inner clown inside everyone. Talking about the importance of having medical clowns in hospitals, Dr Sujatha said, For most people, irrespective of age, hospitals are distressing environments. Having hospital clowns definitely has an impact on the emotional well-being of the patients. They respond positively and quickly to treatments. Its a gift of laughter.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: With the arrival of the Union Minister Alphons Kannanthanam as NDA candidate, the Ernakulam Lok Sabha constituency is witnessing an electrified campaign of the three fronts. The Narendra Modi-led NDA government has done more than in the past five years than Congress regime did in its 60-years long regime, Alphons Kannanthanam told media persons here on Saturday.

He alleged Congress president Rahul Gandhi was running across the country as he could not win in Amethi constituency. Congress has no respite anywhere. They lost all the seats including those contested by the Gandhi family. Hence Rahul is looking for a safe seat in South India, he added. Alphons Kannanthanam was received by BJP workers at the airport.

BJP candidate Alphons Kannanthanam greeting

the party workers at Kalamassery on Saturday

| A Sanesh

Meanwhile, UDF candidate Hibi Eden conducted the campaign in Thrikkakara constituency with a road show. The road show that started from Chembumukku junction was led by P T Thomas MLA. The candidate was received by hundreds of activists and peoples representatives. On the course, Hibi Eden sought blessing from St Michaels Church and Padamughal Jumma Masjid and later interacted with the vendors of Vazhakala market. In Tripunithura constituency the road show commenced from Poothotta with hundreds of people accompanying Hibi.

LDF candidate P Rajeeven toured in Thripunithura constituency and sought peoples blessings at various places. I assure that I will maintain the trust shown by the people, he said. He added that he was receiving various suggestions on the development of Ernakulam from the people via social media and other means.

Rashtriya Janata Dal to support UDF

Kochi: The Rashtriya Janata Dal will support the UDF in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, state president Anu Chacko said at a press conference here on Friday. She said the party will try to unite the fractions of the Janata Parivar in a bid to strengthen the party at the grass root level. She said the UDF has given the green light for the entry of RJD into the front.



MCPI to support LDF

Kochi: The Marxist Communist Party of India United (MCPI-U) will support the LDF candidates in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, politburo member N Parameswaran Potti told a press conference here on Friday. The party will continue its fight against the anti-people, anti-farmer and anti-labourer policies of the ruling NDA. The support to the LDF will be conditional, said state secretary E K Murali.
By IANS

MUMBAI: Actor Vidyut Jammwal, gearing up for the release of his next film 'Junglee', has said Chuck Russell, director of the action-thriller, "brings star value to the film but doesn't behave like a star on the set".

Jammwal was interacting with the media, here on Saturday, during the promotion of his movie.

He is collaborating with well known Hollywood filmmaker Russell in 'Junglee' for the first time. Sharing his experience with Russell, Jammwal said: "Chuck sir is a known director. He made 'The Mask' with Jim Carrey, launched Dwayne Johnson in 'The Scorpion King' and worked with Arnold Schwarzenegger in 'Eraser'. I was very happy to work with him."

Talking about difference between Indian and Hollywood filmmakers, Vidyut said: "There isn't much difference. We have good filmmakers in India too, but Hollywood directors work in a slightly different manner," he said.

Hollywood directors were very conscious about punctuality, he said and added, "If they decide to start shooting at 6 a.m. then all have to follow the schedule. If pack up is decided at 6 p.m., you will have to follow that also. I think discipline is biggest difference between Indian and Hollywood directors.".

Hailing Russell's behaviour on set, Jammwal said despite being such a well known director, he treated everyone with a lot of respect. "He brings star value to the film, but doesn't behave like a star on a film set," he said.

'Junglee' revolves around a veterinary doctor who upon returning to his father's elephant reserve encounters and fights an international poacher racket.

Talking about preparations to play his character in 'Junglee', Jammwal said: "As it is a really different film, I had to prepare differently."

"This film is primarily based on forest animals. We had to live in forest and eat whatever was available there. When you do such films, you need to prepare mentally for these things," he said.

'Junglee', an action thriller, is directed by Russell and produced by Junglee Pictures.

It features Vidyut Jammwal, Pooja Sawant, Asha Bhat and Atul Kulkarni in lead roles. The movie is set to release on March 29.
Rebecca Chandy By

Express News Service

Let me begin with a disclosure. I am not generally a fan of romances, preferring a murder mystery by Agatha Christie or Georgette Heyer or a stomach-aching, double-up-in-laughter book by PG Wodehouse or Bill Bryson as my usual go-to reads. Looking back, I never went through a Mills and Boon phase either, though I did read a handful of them, which came from having lived in hostels where M&Bs were always lying around.

However, I recently picked up Sheila Kumars A Start-up Affair as bit of light reading between two heavy books and now I wonder if I have been hasty in writing off romances! This story did not let my inherent cynicism for over-the-top romance rear its sceptical head. Which could be because this romance is by no means over the top.There are several endearing facets to this book. First of all, the story is set in Bengaluru, with the protagonist living in Thippasandra and working in Indiranagar.

Immediate resonance. Having lived and worked in Indiranagar myself, I was overjoyed at the references to Bengaluru. Then, the cover illustration itself evokes warm and fuzzy feelings for the city with good old MG Road so clearly depicted. But its not totally a rose-eyed picture.

The traffic problems, as well as the nostalgia for old Bangalore, have both been captured perfectly. There are several references to the city, of both its positives and negatives, and anyone who has lived in Bengaluru will be able to identify with them.

The characters are all drawn up so well that I felt I knew them. The success of good writing lies in the ability to make the reader identify with the protagonist, and the author does this exceedingly well.

The heroine, Aditi, is described so appealingly. She is a skirt-loving, heavy silver jewellery-wearing girl with wild, cannot-be-tamed curls and reading about her was like reading about one of my friends. That is the beauty of this book, the characters are all sketched out in a such a way that you feel they are (almost all) your friends or maybe I have spent too much time in Bengaluru!

Aditya and Aditis story too, stays very real. This is what a relationship between two hectically busy, working-their-ass-off millennials would be like. I mean, it could have been me, if I owned a start-up! The story is not your usual one where girl meets boy, girl falls in love with boy and a few misunderstanding later, girl gets married to boy.

Here, a very independent, food start-up-owning Aditi meets a cab start-up-owning, sometimes cab-driving and sometimes Ducati-riding, emotionally distant Aditya, and they take their time in falling in love. I understood word for word what Aditi was going through in her attraction to this guy and her hurt and pain when things dont go smoothly. However, she shows a great amount of restraint in not running after the man, and I liked that, it is typical of many women I know. As millennials, we seem to know how to move on when we have to move on.

The twist in the tale? The girl is running away from commitment and the boy wants marriage. I loved the fact that the story did not end with the girl making some sort of compromise and settling for marriage, trading her skirts for the traditional sari, and everything else. The ending stayed true to the personalities of the characters.

The author is simply wonderful with descriptions, and details of Aditis emotional upheavals, her ups and downs, in additions to the physical descriptions of Bengaluru, are depicted so well that the reader can picture them clearly. I especially loved the descriptions of Adityas mothers house. I have never visited a sprawling old-Bangalore house though I have glimpsed a few from afar, and reading that passage sure made me wish I had been inside one of them.As a light and entertaining read, A Start-up Affair fits the bill perfectly. Read it for fun. And as for me, I will be less judgmental in picking up romances in the future. Especially romances written by this author.

Title: Our Start-up Affair

By: Sheila Kumar

Publisher: Speaking Tiger

Pages: 193

Price: Rs 299
Ganesh Saili By

Express News Service

Tamarindsweet-and-sourbest sums up this debut novella by Srushti Dhoke. For starters, one is grateful that the young author has not left this dangling like a long short-story. She has instead chosen to explore love between two people. The reader will remember that down the ages, universal love legends are buffeted along by destiny or fate, an unrelenting tyrant who insists on a scorched earth policy that eventually leaves behind no winners, but love.

In Tamarind Ache, the characters one meets are familial folks that people rural Indiawhere at the hours of cow dust folks return home after a day well spent. Theres middle-agedShiva, rough and ready, but with a short fuse to boot. His temper is of no help as he hits the bottle, hoping to drown the demons pursuing him.

One easily identifies with Suchita, with her heart set on growing up to become a doctor. This novella goes much further than a simple boy meets girl, love blossoms kind of story. The hero, Shiva, struggles against the cobwebs that hold him back and he does not give up without a fight.

Few can miss the excitement of those first few love letters (so lovingly caressed and concealed under the mattress) and thus begins this journey of love where the hero and heroineSuchita and Shivaare at the mercy of fate or destiny. Fate relents, throwing, by a stroke of luck, the twain together again one last time. One could say that theres more depth to Suchitas love while Shiva grabs the readers attention by being buffeted by the storms that possess him.

This tale of singular passion leaves the readers taste buds tingling, touched by both sweet and sour or aadha-khatta-aadha-meetha. As the characters keep pace with the tenor of the tale, believe you me, you will fall in love with the flow, as it takes you through a series of lucky happenstances, to leave you with a lump in your throat as you journey through the old and the familiar. A good read.

Title: Tamarind Ache

By: Srushti Dhoke

Publisher: Rupa

Pages: 188

Price: Rs 395
ALEX Joseph By

Express News Service

With several television shows on Pablo Escobar and other former drug lords, tourists are increasingly putting Colombia on their travel wish lists. Located in South America and cradled by the Andes, the country is a repository of various indigenous cultures and languages. The capital city of Bogota is filled with museums that document the countrys rich past.

Pueblitos, or small villages, dot the Colombian countryside, and serve as a reminder of the countrys colonial past. From almost every major Colombian city, pueblitos can be accessed via road, making for easy weekend trips. Outside Bogota, Guatavita is a small town that offers idyllic views of casitas or the small houses, that are synonymous with Colombias countryside.

We headed to the Guatavita forest, which is about 66 kms away from the capital and is worth visiting even if one plans a day trip to the area. Known not only for its natural beauty and significance in the countrys history, the forest is also a site of reverence to locals. The native people of Guatavita, who are known as the Muisca, believed in a natural balance that was maintained by a communion with nature.

One of the most important aspects of the forest is the Guayacan tree. According to local legend, the tree was sacred to the Muisca who often came to the tree to pray and confess. The locals performed a ritual known as El Pagamento where they thanked Mother Nature for what they received and sought forgiveness for their mistakes.

However, when Colombia was colonised by Spaniards in 1525, they cut down many of these Guayacan trees and caused considerable damage to the local heritage and culture. Centuries later, the forest has become a national heritage site, where the government and the people are working together to maintain its history and landscape. Lake Guatavita remains the epicentre of the forest.

A days trek to the region spans through winding terrains where the path is uneven and uphill. A certain level of fitness is required to complete the trek. We recommend taking a local guide who can share anecdotes and stories of the region. Though, there is much to appreciate along the way, it is the summit that makes the journey worthwhilea clear 360 degree view of the entire forest with the Guatavita Lake adorning its centre.

Colombia is filled with mesmerising natural landscapes, but one doesnt have to go much further than Bogota to find beauty. There is huge amount of art on the streets and in museums. The capital is home to over 40 museums, Gold Museum or Museo del Oro, Museo Santa Clara, Museo de Arte Moderno, Casa Museo de Bolivar are some of the most visited spots. We visited the historic Botero museum, named after the artist Fernando Botero. It was founded in the year 2000 when Botero donated more than 100 of his own works, along with 85 from his personal collection of other artists. This haul includes pieces by Picasso, Monet, Matisse and Klimt.

If one is unfamiliar with Boteros paintings, his most interesting works to look out for include a parody of Leonardo Di Vincis Mona Lisa (1978), Pareja Bailando (1987) and the haunting studies of Colombias drug-cartel violence in the 1980s and 90s. His artworks range from the social issues faced in Colombia to simple still life paintings ideas about beauty and power.

The size of the paintings often takes up an entire wall which has a great impact on the viewer. Botero has curated the museum himself. Located in the La Candelaria neighborhood, in the heart of Bogota, all the museums are within walking distance of each other. A lot of them can also be visited free of charge. However, it is important to note that most of them are closed on Mondays.
G Parthasarathy By

India has traditionally been risk-averse in undertaking military operations on foreign soil. The air attack, crossing the international border, on a Jaish-e-Mohamed (JeM) madrassa/training centre in Balakot surprised the world. The reaction in most countries of the world was surprisingly positive.

Pakistan was stunned and its response with an air intrusion, where an antiquated Indian MiG 21 brought down an upgraded Pakistani F16, only added to Indian satisfaction.

The air attack also brought back into focus the fact that while the JeM had been declared a terrorist organisation by the US, UK, Russia, Australia, Canada, India and Pakistan, and by the UN in 2001, its leader Maulana Masood Azhar was roaming freely, quite obviously with ISI backing.

Backed by the US, UK and France, India again moved, to get the UN to act against Azhar after the Pulwama attack, for which the Jaish spokesman had loudly accepted responsibility. India lobbied actively around the world to seek global support for declaring Azhar as an internationally designated terrorist.

The progress of this diplomatic effort was soon evident. A Security Council Resolution naming Azhar was cosponsored by 13 of the 15 members of the Council.

While Russia did not agree to cosponsor the Resolution, it agreed to vote in its favour. China alone opposed the Resolution and ultimately vetoed it. But, the fact is that 14 of the 15 members of the Security Council formally backed a move to outlaw a major terrorist grouping in Pakistan, which obviously enjoyed ISI support. China acted as Pakistans partner in terrorism. This is unquestionably a notable success in Indias effort to isolate Pakistan internationally, for its sponsorship of terrorism and, in the process, expose China as a co-conspirator!

This development should now be used by India to squeeze a cash-strapped and bankrupt Pakistan. Past diplomatic efforts have already led to a situation wherein the International Financial Action Task Force has served notice on Pakistan on its inaction, in seizing existing financial resources of designated terrorist groups.

India should now embark on a comprehensive effort to ensure that Pakistan is kept on the verges of bankruptcy. Pakistan is desperately in need of assistance, with its foreign exchange reserves having fallen to levels as low as $6-8 billion. Stabilising its economy would require massive foreign exchange inflows.

Such assistance can only come from the IMF, World Bank and Asian Development Bank, which are largely controlled by the US and its OECD allies such as Germany, France, the UK and Japan. Oil/gas-rich Arab States such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait are another source of finance.

It is evident that the US and its allies have lost patience with Pakistani falsehoods and the US Congress is even more sceptical. Moreover, Arab Gulf States such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which now show high regard for India, will not be generous to Pakistan, if the US calls on them to link their doles to good behaviour by Pakistan in its relations with Afghanistan and India. Sadly, for Pakistan, its all weather friend China is not Father Christmas.

Beijing does not dole out large amounts of foreign exchange for others to spend, just to keep their economies afloat! India needs to follow up on such issues, even as the country remains engrossed in forthcoming elections. dadpartha@gmail.com
Pushpesh Pant By

There is nothing unusual about changing sides just before the elections especially when denied a ticket to contest. Anti-defection law doesnt threaten such turncoats but surely its legitimate to ask: isnt the to-and-fro movement making a mockery of the multi-party democracy we are supposed to have? Political parties by definition are distinguished one from the other according to ideology and issues they support. There are parties that claim to be driven solely by Marxist beliefs and others who are propelled by ultra-nationalistic zeal founded on their interpretation of Hindutva. Religious minorities are not to be left behind and have no inhibition about prefixing or including words in their name that leave no-one in doubt about their ideology.

Individual leaders too are identified with a particular party. It is unimaginable to think of the Congress without Sonia or Rahul Gandhi, BSP without Mayawati or SP without Akhilesh Yadav, TMC without Mamata Banerjee or AIADMK or DMK without their respective ruling clan members.

The words Supremo and High Command are bandied so loosely that they have ceased to carry any meaning. Mulayam Singh, once the undisputed Netaji in his camp, is now referred to as the Patriarch, more like the Lion in Winter. Other parties north and south of the Vindhyas too seem to be suffering due to withering authority of Patriarchs or their departure from the stage.

Sharad Pawar has registered embarrassing volte faces about contesting the Lok Sabha elections and Tom Vadakkans joining the BJP has exposed the tattered High Command. RaGa may dismiss the defection with a shrug and insist that Tom wasnt a big leader but the weather vane is indicating which way the wind is blowing. Not long ago, it was Baijayant Jay Panda, expelled from BJD, who had joined the BJP and was immediately catapulted to the position of the partys vice-president and national spokesperson. The movement is not one way. Former Uttarakhand CM Maj Gen BC Khanduris son has joined Congress and there are still early days.

Alka Lamba of AAP has not been too subtle in letting all of us know that she would be glad to rejoin the Congress should someone send her a proposal. What we are witnessing are marriages of convenience and outrageous flirtations. Dare one add some scandalous one-night stands as well.

The other development that is disgusting for anyone committed to democracy is the convention (call it customary practice if you like) to give walkovers to leading family members of rival political parties. SP-BSP declared that they would not put up a candidate against Sonia and Rahul so as not to weaken the fight against BJP. Not to be outdone in courtesies, the Congress has announced it would not field anyone in the seven seats that are represented by the Mulayam line of the Yadav clan. Ajit Singh and his son Dushyant can also feel relieved of the pressures of a multi-cornered contest. From Maha Gathbandhans, its now to tactical seat adjustments and accommodation of vested interests among ruling families in different fiefdoms.

There is increasing unrest all the way down the chain of command. Neither charisma nor commitment seems to guarantee abiding loyalty. The voters cant be blamed for the confusion. Every party is choosing winning candidates hoping that the rebels will return to the fold once it emerges victorious.

The saddest part of all this is that the bread and butter issues are totally forgotten in pathological promiscuity. No one has the time to review report cards of MPs, MLAs, leaders and parties, or to compare manifestoes. One must thank that the Election Commission has ordered that the manifestoes must be released at least three full days before the last date of filing the nominations.

No one seems to be afraid of the Model Code of Conduct. By now all the miscreants know that it has no legal binding and they cant be penalised for its breach. Past experience shows that a candidate and his/her supporters can get away with foulest hate speech that appeals to communal sentiments or caste prejudice and more. True, all these are offences punishable under various sections of IPC but rarely are these invoked.

Less than a fortnight back imperilled national security had apparently united the whole country. For a moment fractures and faultiness had ceased to matter. It hasnt taken long for the illusion to disappear. What is creating the buzz is engagements and break-ups. Forget the matrimonial metaphor. Its all about the self-indulgent misconduct of consenting adults who continue to behave like spoilt brats or juvenile delinquents, who even if serial offenders cant be convicted. pushpeshpant@gmail.com
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Viet Nhung, Director of the National Lung Hospital, said that compared to the estimate in 2015, the number of TB infections decreased by 4,000 and the number of deaths due to TB was reduced by 4,000. Multidrug-resistant TB cases are estimated at 4,900 people - significantly reduced from 5,200 cases in 2015. TB combined with HIV infected cases has also decreased from 7% to 3% among the detected TB patients.

In the past 10 years, based on a national survey and auxiliary studies in 2017, TB in Vietnam has decreased by 31%, thus reducing by an average of 3.8% per year. In recent years, the rate of TB infection decline has been faster, especially after the Prime Minister promulgated the National Strategy for TB Prevention and Control by 2020, with a vision to 2030.

Currently, Vietnam has also mastered the techniques of TB detection, diagnosis and treatment with high results, along with building a strong network system from central to local levels.

"This shows that the direction of Vietnam is completely correct, helping the country to continue to be a model for other nations with high TB burdens to follow in implementing the World Health Organisation (WHO)s strategy to stop TB," said Dr. Nhung.

On September 26, 2018, for the first time in history, the United Nations General Assembly decided to hold the first-ever high-level meeting on the fight against TB, with strong commitments from the leaders of the member countries. At the event, Vietnam also made a commitment to end TB by 2030.

Vietnam is considered a pioneer and a successful model to implement a global TB termination strategy. The WHO has recognised that Vietnam is on its way to end the disease.

In response to the World Tuberculosis Day observed on March 24 each year, this years event in Vietnam will be held under the theme of "It's time to act to stop TB in Vietnam by 2030". Vietnam has set a goal of ending TB by 2030, that is, with a population of 100 million, the whole country should only have 1,000 people suffering from TB a year.

However, it is estimated that Vietnam still has 124,000 newly detected TB cases each year. It is still among 30 countries with the highest TB burden in the world, ranking 16th in the number of people with TB and 15th in terms of the burden of multi-drug resistant TB. In particular, 64% of TB patients and 98% of TB-resistant patients bear the burden of catastrophic healthcare spending, ie, spending more than 20% of the income of the whole family in a year due to TB.

70% of people with TB are at working age. Therefore, TB is really a problem affecting the economy of each family in particular and the whole country in general. Investing in the termination of TB is an investment in sustainable development, affirmed Dr. Nhung.

To move towards the end of TB in 2030, the biggest challenge for the National TB Programme today is to sustain all of the current favourable conditions and achievements it has obtained up to 2030. It is necessary to institutionalise the Partys resolution and the Government's strategy with legal documents.

Another extremely important factor is the participation and response of the whole community in actively participating in seeking TB examination and treatment services, while overcoming all barriers from patients, doctors and the whole society in TB treatment.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Wednesday sounded a warning to social media companies not to allow their platforms to be abused to influence elections, and said the Election Commission is maintaining vigil on the issue.

Stating that the purity of Indian democracy is "too sacred", the minister said while the use of social media for campaigning was okay, platforms should ensure that the data is not abused under any circumstances.

Asked if the IT ministry was monitoring the situation, he said the Election Commission (EC) is already monitoring it and also has the power to take action.

FOLLOW OUR FULL ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Prasad said, "the Election Commission is already monitoring it (situation). Let them monitor it. They held a meeting. It is only appropriate and desirable that the EC must monitor, coordinate and lay the ground rule for working of social media during elections."

"On my side, I can only make this observation that the purity of Indian democracy is too sacred, and social media please ensure that the data is not abused to influence the election. If someone wants to use social media for campaigning I have no problem."

The comments come a day after the social media intermediaries and the internet and mobile association Tuesday told the Election Commission that they would shortly come up with a draft 'code of ethics' for the industry as part of a mechanism to prevent abuse of social media platforms during the Lok Sabha elections beginning April 11.

Representatives of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and TikTok had been called by the poll panel to discuss the issue of evolving mechanism to prevent abuse on social media platforms.

The EC also wanted to ensure that elections are insulated from outside influence.

A statement issued by the EC had said the meeting also discussed evolving a 'notification' mechanism by social media platforms for acting upon the violations of Section 126 of Representation of the People Act, 1951, and preventing misuse of these platforms.

Section 126 of the Act prohibits advertising and campaigning on TV and other electronic media during the silent period, which is 48 hours before the end of polling.

With ensuing general elections, the Indian government had warned social media platforms of strong action if any attempt was made to influence the country's electoral process through undesirable means.

Over the past few months, social media players and tech firms such as Facebook, Twitter and Google have promised to infuse more transparency into political advertisements on their platforms, and have since announced a slew of measures as part of election integrity efforts.
By PTI

AHMEDABAD: Film actor and Ahmedabad East Lok Sabha MP Paresh Rawal will not contest the forthcoming general polls, Gujarat state BJP chief Jitu Vaghani said Saturday.

Earlier, Rawal tweeted he had informed the party "months in advance" that he would not contest the April-May Lok Sabha polls.

"Paresh Rawal ji has conveyed to the party that he will not contest the elections. In the last five years, despite being very busy as an actor, he has given time for his constituency. He will continue to work for the party," Vaghani told reporters here today.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

In a tweet, Rawal said, "I request media and friends not to speculate about my nomination. I had informed the party months in advance of my decision to not contest LS elections. I, however, remain a loyal member of BJP and a staunch supporter of @narendramodi."

Rawal had won from Ahmedabad East in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls by over 3.25 lakh votes.

The Congress on its part has routinely alleged that Rawal was not devoting enough time to his constituency amid his film commitments.
Arshad Khan By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The cancellation of numerous flights in the worlds fastest-growing aviation market has created a gap in the demand for seats and supply by airlines.

According to estimated data, grounding of aircraft by Jet Airways and the cancellation of flights by other airlines over operational issues reduced the availability of seats locally by over a million, from about 14.7 million seats in January to about 13.4 million in February.

The reduction in seats offered by airlines is set to impact the report by the International Air Transport Association, which in December had expected the Indian aviation sector to grow in double digits for the next few years and become the third-largest aviation market by 2025, after the United States and China.

The recent passenger data released by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) tells a different story.

In the month of January and February when cancellation of flights was not so acute, passengers carried by domestic airlines registered a year-on-year growth of 7.42 per cent, slowing significantly from the 18.60 per cent growth registered in the calendar year (January-December) 2018.

While multiple reports say that the airlines are doing their bit, with SpiceJet inducting 40-50 of Jets grounded planes and IndiGo hiring more pilots to add to capacity, there is no official statement from the carriers yet.

The demand and supply gap and the subsequent rise in airfare is now also being seen in international flights as Jet Airways and Air India in the last few weeks cancelled a number of flights on international routes.

While Jet has discontinued services from Delhi and Mumbai to Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Bahrain among other routes till April 30, Air India has cancelled several international flights, mainly to European cities on account of low yield and route rationalisation.
By ANI

POONCH: An Army jawan who was critically injured on Saturday in ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Poonch sector has succumbed to his injuries, army officials said on Sunday.

Army Jawan Hari Waker, a resident of Rajasthan, suffered injuries in the ceasefire violation and was shifted to Army Hospital where he died.

On Saturday, Pakistan had violated ceasefire in Poonch district at around 5:30 pm.

More details are awaited.

WATCH | 'It's not Jihad but Jahalat': Kashmir villagers pleaded with terrorists who killed 12-year-old boy
Sumi Sukanya Dutta By

Express News Service

Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot is one of the most prominent Dalit faces of the Bharatiya Janata Party from Madhya Pradesh. He spoke to Sumi Sukanya Dutta on a range of issues that included the electoral advantage the BJP is likely to get following Indias airstrikes in Pakistan and the governments welfare measures.

You are a member of the BJPs manifesto committee. The Congress recently announced that right to health will be part of its manifesto. What promises will we see in the BJPs manifesto to counter that? Also, how will your manifesto be different from 2014 with regard to the social sector?

For the first time the party has involved the common people in the making of the manifesto and their views are being sought through e-mails, letters and public meetings. The manifesto is now being finalised by the committee under Home Minister Rajnath Singh and there is a lot of emphasis on social security measures such as jobs, health and education.

As far as health is concerned, the Congress has been forced to talk about the right to health because the Narendra Modi government has launched the worlds biggest health scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

The programme is so good that even Congress-ruled states have adopted it and the states which have not gone for it are causing major disadvantage to their people. Budgetary allocation in all the sectors be it health, education, sanitation, women and child development or social justice, has gone up under this government. What were Congress governments doing during their reign at the Centre that they have to resort to defensive promises now?

The Congress has been terming the BJP as anti-Dalit. Many Dalit groups too were angry as there was a perception that the government was in favour of diluting the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. An Allahabad High Court order which ruled that quota in faculties in universities should be calculated department wise resulted in a major loss for reserved category candidates and the government kept delaying it until the last Union Cabinet meeting reversed the order.

The government duly respects the judicial system and we wanted to take the judicial route to restore the 200-point roster system in universities. The Centre first filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court against the High Court order and it was rejected.

A review petition was later filed and that too was dismissed. Left with no choice, we had to bring an ordinance so that the candidates from reserved categories do not face any loss in appointments.

As far as the perceived dilution of the SC/ST act is concerned, we never wanted that. We want to make all parts of society participate in nation-building.

An additional category of 10 % reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections was introduced by your government, a move which the opposition said was aimed at appeasing core BJP voters from the upper castes. It was also said that the decision was being taken in haste What would you say to the critics?

When we were bringing in the policy we consulted representatives of Dalit and tribal communities too and they had absolutely no objection to it because their quota is not being tampered with. So this additional quota is a win-win situation for every class of society.

In fact, this recommendation was there in the Mandal Commission report and the PV Narasimha Rao government had even issued an order to implement it but they did not make an amendment in the Constitution because of which it was quashed by the SC.

Through the move, we did what should have done long ago. So if the Congress says anything against the decision it is just being jealous. As far as the preparedness for the move is concerned we started the process of implementation right after the law was passed.

In the assembly polls in four states in November 2018 the BJP lost three states to the Congress and the anger among the upper castes was cited as a major reason for the loss of your party. How do you think the dynamics will change in the Lok Sabha elections?

A lot has happened in the last four months. We brought in the EWS quota and carried out a successful airstrike on Pakistan in retaliation for the Pulwama attack. Our strike on Pakistan has created an atmosphere of nationalism in the country and only those who engage in anti-national activities are stressed.

The Congress has been giving shelter to the tukde-tukde gang which talks about things like Kashmirs secession from India and mourns the hanging of Afzal Guru who attacked our Parliament. All such forces will be shown their place in the election and the Congress too will be punished for talking in such language.

We will definitely get an electoral advantage because of the strong and decisive moves by Modiji.

There is a buzz that many sitting MPs will not election ticket this time. Is that an admission that a number of parliamentarians have not performed?

Winnability is the only criterion that is taken into account while distributing tickets. A number of factors like caste, regional, local equations and other issues play a crucial role. So its wrong to say that if a sitting MP is dropped its because he or she has not performed. Only those who the party thinks can win, will get election tickets to contest.

Last year, a group of ministers under Rajnath Singh was formed to look into lynching deaths and assess whether a separate law is required for it and you too were a member in it. Many feel that the proceedings of the committee have been very slow.

I could not take part in any of the committee meetings so I cannot comment on what was discussed in it and what were the recommendations or deliberations.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Exit polls can only be telecast on the evening of May 19 after the last phase of Lok Sabha election gets over, the Election Commission said on Saturday as it issued an advisory to the media in which websites and social media platforms were included for the first time.

The Commission said that TV, radio channels, cable networks, websites and social media platforms should ensure that the contents of programmes telecast/broadcast/displayed by them during the 48-hour period before the end of polls in each phase "do not contain any material, including views or appeals by participants that may be construed as promoting or prejudicing the prospect" of any particular party or candidate.

ALSO READ | Social media majors to bar election campaign in last 48 hours before polling ends

The elections in seven phases would begin on April 11 and end on May 19. The advisory is also applicable for Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, Odisha and Arunachal Pradesh where assembly polls are being held simultaneously.

"In this connection, attention is also invited to Section 126A of the R.P. Act 1951, which prohibits conduct of Exit poll and dissemination of its results during the period mentioned therein, i.e. the hour fixed for commencement of poll in the first phase and half an hour after the time fixed for close of poll for the last phase in all the states," it said regarding the exit polls.

The EC said the advisory shall among other things include a display of any opinion poll and of standard debates, analysis, visuals and sound-bytes.

"The Election Commission will monitor the broadcasts made by news broadcasters from the time elections are announced until the conclusion and announcement of election results.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

"Any violation by member broadcasters reported to the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) by the Election Commission will be dealt with by the NBSA under its regulations," it said.

It also said news broadcasters must not air any final, formal and definite results until such results are formally announced by the Election Commission of India, unless such results are carried with clear disclaimer that they are unofficial or incomplete or partial results or projections which should not be taken as final results.

The first phase is on April 11, Phase 2 on April 18, Phase 3- April 23, Phase 4 - April 29, Phase 5 - May 6, Phase 6 - May 12 and Phase 7 is on May 19. The counting of votes is on May 23.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Despite social media stakeholders enforcing the voluntary code of ethics for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, not much seems to have changed. Political advertisements continue to flout rules on various social media platforms. Advertisements like those which target first-time voters with goodies, if they pledge to vote for Modi, are still doing the rounds.

A few days ago, the Election Commission of India had announced that all political advertisements will require certification from the ECI. The idea is that political advertisements can only appear on social media platforms, if it is in accordance with code of conduct.

However, this is hardly the case now. For instance, a page on Facebook called My First Vote for Modi, floated an advertisement aimed at enlisting young voters to their campaign, with the promise of winning limited edition T-shirts. The caption on the advertisement read: Share your suggestions, today, for strengthening the India of Future and Get a chance to win a T-shirt.

Another advertisement by the same Facebook Page was also aimed at first-time voters. It asked youngsters to pledge your vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the better India and win exciting goodies. Both were aimed predominantly at men aged between 18 to 24 years.

These advertisements are problematic because the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) stipulates that one cannot ask for vote in return of freebies, cash, or gifts. Mistakes in paid advertisements are also common. Independent security researcher Srinivas Kodali said, After seeing the ads on Facebook, I realise that the EC is struggling with the pre-certification of ads. Despite the voluntary code of ethics having come into effect, not much has changed.
By PTI

HYDERABAD: Hitting out at the Opposition and Congress in particular over questioning the air strikes inside Pakistan after Pulwama terror attack, Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman Sunday said the BJP government gave freedom to the armed forces to act and they delivered.

Not respecting armed forces, but to bring them to shame to make them kneel down to their interests and even defame them has been the approach of the Congress party, Sitharaman alleged.

"None of their (Congress) alliance partners be it from the Communists to the regional parties who are their friends today could even say please don't make badnaam of our armed forces," she said at an event here.

"Today they shed crocodile tears for Pulwama," she alleged. The government, Sitharaman said, had credible information that more such (Pulwama like) suicide terror attacks may happen and to prevent such attacks "we had to take a pre-emptive strike in Balakot."

Sitharaman was addressing ex-servicemen and intellectuals meet here organised by BJP candidate N Ramchander Rao who is contesting from the Malkajgiri Lok Sabha segment.

They (opposition) even had the courage to ask the government for evidence, she said.

"The brave soldiers and air warriors go there to perform the task and not to take selfies. They don't need to come and show you (evidence).

"That's not the business of a soldier. He goes, finishes his task and gets back in safety to his country," she said.

"And one unfortunate man (Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman) who was held by Pakistan, you saw the dignity with which he stood up and the honour with which he held up his responsibility as a PoW," she said.

Varthaman was captured by Pakistan on February 27 after his MiG 21 Bison went down during a dogfight with Pakistani jets. But before his plane was hit, Varthaman shot down an F-16 of Pakistan air force.

"Standing there and wouldn't speak a word of what he should not be saying there. That's the training of a professional Indian soldier.

"Would you want to honour and respect them or would you want to demean them by calling 'sadak ka goonda'. By asking for evidence. How many people were dead is there a limit ridiculous," Sitharaman said.

She said during the 1971 Indo-Pak war, 90,000 Pakistan soldiers were sent back unconditionally by India.

"And after our PoW was sent back in Pakistan that was touted as a peaceful gesture," and demands were even made in Pakistan that Prime Minister (Imran Khan) should be given nobel prize. Sitharaman said she could understand Pakistan saying that.

"Why would some sections in India speak that voice. I was astonished Who are these people mentioning it and the political parties who are supporting them. We do not want this and therefore the return of Narendra Modi (back to power at the Centre) is important," Sitharaman said.

"If there has been a government which has understood the needs of ex-servicemen and the men in uniform and catered to their every needs, it was this government under Modi," she said.

Slamming the Congress, Sitharman alleged that senior Congress leaders called the Army Chief a 'sadak ka goonda' (goon on the street). I am sorry to say it hurts me shame on that party."

"The Chief of Air Staff has been called a liar by the Congress party because their vested interest was not served Rafale (fighter jet deal) came through not during their period but during Modi's period," Sitharaman said.

Referring to the November 26, 2008 terror attack in Mumbai, she claimed the armed forces had told the then government that if it wants them to do something they were ready and sought approval.

"Clear evidence showed Pakistan had perpetrated it. You (then Congress government) don't give the freedom to the armed forces to even stand up with honour.

"That's what this government has done and gave the freedom to the armed forces that you decide the time, you decide the way and how to handle because you are the best persons to handle it," Sitharaman said.

"They (armed forces) took the call and precisely the way in which they had to deliver which was much to the shock of Pakistan and entire world that India was capable of doing an operation of this kind precisely even in the opponent's territory, " she said.

It wouldn't have been necessary if only the previous government had taken a deterrent measure after the Mumbai attack, Sitharaman said.

Pakistan, which kept saying it was also a victim of terror attack after the Pulwama incident, also did not take action against camps where terrorists were being trained.

"Therefore we had to take the action," Sitharaman said.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: A war of words erupted on Sunday between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary over reports of abduction of two Hindu teenaged girls and their forcible conversion to Islam on the eve of Holi in the Sindh province.

In a tweet, Swaraj sought a report from Indian envoy in Pakistan Ajay Bisaria on the reported abduction of the girls and their forcible conversion to Islam.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered a probe into the matter. Responding to Swaraj's tweet, Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhary said: "Maam its Pakistan's internal issue and (be) rest assured it's not Modi's India where minorities are subjugated, it's Imran Khan's Naya Pak where white colour of our flag is equally dearer to us."

"I hope you'll act with same diligence when it comes to rights of Indian minorities," he said.

Mr.Minister @fawadchaudhry - I only asked for a report from Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad about the kidnapping and forced conversion of two minor Hindu girls to Islam. This was enough to make you jittery. This only shows your guilty conscience. @IndiainPakistan  Chowkidar Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) March 24, 2019

Swaraj, in her response to Chaudhary, said she had only asked for a report from the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad about the kidnapping and forced conversion of two minor Hindu girls to Islam.

"This was enough to make you jittery. This only shows your guilty conscience," she said. The two girls were allegedly kidnapped by a group of "influential" men from their home in Ghotki district in Sindh on the eve of Holi.

Soon after the kidnapping, a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown solemnising the Nikah (marriage) of the two girls.

In a separate video, the minor girls can be seen saying that they accepted Islam of their own free will.

According to media reports, the Hindu community in the area staged protests, demanding action against perpetrators of the alleged crime.

In a Twitter post in Urdu, Information Minister Chaudhry said the prime minister has asked the Sindh chief minister to look into reports that the girls in question have been taken to Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab.

India has been raising the issue of plight of minorities, particularly the Hindu community in Pakistan.
Shubhendu Deshmukh By

Online Desk

The diplomatic tangles between India and its neighbours China and Pakistan have persisted for decades for now. While Pakistan has repeatedly denied India's claim that its land is being used for terrorism, and China has continuously blocked India's move to list Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azahar as a global terrorist, there seem to be several questions that need urgent attention.

This, despite Pakistan-based Jaish claiming the responsibility for the deadly Pulwama attack which left 44 jawans dead last month. Post-Pulwama, the standoff between the two nuclear-armed countries have caught international attention.

But when Lashkar-e-Taiba Chief Hafiz Saeed was banned by the UN, China didn't object to it. Though it has not hampered Saeed in any way, China's hesitation on banning JeM chief Masooz Azhar still raises serious questions about its stand on terrorism?

In this podcast, we discuss China's possible motives behind the reluctance.
ROME, March 23 (Xinhua) -- China and Italy signed here Saturday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly advance the construction of the Belt and Road during Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the country.

The two sides welcome the signing of the intergovernmental MoU on jointly advancing the Belt and Road construction, said a joint communique issued by the two countries.

The two sides realize the huge potential of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in promoting connectivity, and stand ready to strengthen the alignment of the BRI and Trans-European Transport Networks and deepen the cooperation in ports, logistics, marine transportation and other areas, the communique said.

The two sides expressed willingness to join efforts under the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to advance connectivity in line with the AIIB's mission and functions.

More air links can be expected as the two sides agreed to facilitate airlines from each other to do business and ease the market access for them, according to the communique.

During his state visit to Italy from March 21 to 24, Xi held talks with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on bilateral ties, as well as regional and international issues of common interest.

The communique said the two sides have agreed to advance China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership in the spirit of mutual respect and mutual benefit for win-win outcomes.

Actions will be taken to fully implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, it added.

The two sides reiterated their commitment to promote multilateralism and maintain the international system with the United Nations at its core. They agreed to oppose protectionism of any form, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, maintain the World Trade Organization (WTO)'s central role and jointly push for necessary reforms to the WTO.

The two sides agreed to work with each other on cooperation in fields such as environment and sustainable energy, agriculture, sustainable urbanization, health, aviation, space technology, infrastructure and transportation, according to the communique.

The two sides also expressed willingness to strengthen cultural cooperation that includes heritage protection and fight against relic trafficking, education cooperation that highlights language studies, judicial cooperation that involves extradition and anti-graft experience sharing, and law enforcement cooperation.

During Xi's visit, the two sides signed 19 intergovernmental bilateral cooperation documents, the communique said.
By PTI

MUMBAI: In another embarrassment for the Congress in Maharashtra in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, former Union minister Pratik Patil Sunday announced that he was "breaking ties" with the party.

Patil, the grandson of Congress strongman and late chief minister Vasantdada Patil, has not announced his future plans.

His decision came days after the Sangli seat, which has been a traditional bastion of the Congress up to 2014, was allocated to the Swabhimani Shetkari Paksha of Raju Shetti as part of the seat-sharing deal between the Congress, the NCP and other constituents of the "United Progressive Mega Alliance".

"In the current environment, I cannot stay with Congress. Some people are trying to end the legacy of late Vasantdada Patil," the former MoS for Coal said.

The jibe was apparently aimed at his longtime political rival and state NCP president Jayant Patil, and Congress MLA Vishwajeet Kadam, both from Sangli.

The Congress lost its grip on Sangli, which falls in western Maharashtra, when Pratik Patil was defeated by Sanjay Kaka Patil of the BJP in the last general elections.

It was the first defeat of the Congress since 1962.

However, the Congress' troubles seem far from being over in the constituency even after Pratik Patil's exit.

His younger brother Vishal Patil announced that he would contest as an Independent candidate if he fails to get the support of the Congress.

"I am going to file the nomination form. If the Congress does not support me then I will contest as an Independent," Vishal Patil announced at a public meeting held in Sangli. When contacted, senior Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said, "Pratik Patil's decision is painful, but we will have to accept it.

The decision of contesting election from Sangli is already taken. Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatna's candidate is going to contest from there".

In the run-up to elections, senior Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil's son Sujay had joined the BJP, which allotted him ticket from home turf of Ahmednagar.

In another high-profile defection, NCP stalwart Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil's son and former party MP Ranjitsinh also shifted his allegiance to the BJP.
Avay Shukla By

Every single state of the environment report these days is unambiguous about one thing  the biggest catastrophe facing India is climate change and global warming. Its consequences will be economic, social and health related. We are reminded of this, on an average, once every three weeks  the average number of EWEs( Extreme Weather Events) per year have increased to 16 from 10 in 1998, half of them being floods. Economic losses on this account have also gone up from US$20 billion between 1998 and 2007 to US$48 billion between 2008 and 2017.

A World Bank report in January 2019 warns that by 2050, 148 million Indians will be living in severe climate change hotspots. Melting of glaciers in the Hindukush Himalayas will add to this apocalyptic scenario, making the entire Gangetic plains with its 300 million people unliveable by 2100. The window for taking remedial action is closing rapidly. And yet the environment does not feature in the priority of any political party in the coming elections. Their manifestos will contain only the usual rubbish of reservations, loan waivers, temple construction, minimum guaranteed income and so on.

This is a man-made tragedy in itself. We have the third worst ecological footprint on the planet: It has been predicted that countries in South Asia will lose 30-40% of their agricultural output by 2050. The governments own Economic Survey 2017 has estimated that the loss in agriculture production every year due to climate change is US$ 10 billion, or Rs 70,000 crore.

According to the Lancet Countdown 2018 report on Health and Climate Change, India lost 75,000 million man hours of labour in 2017, equivalent to one years work for 7% of the working population ( the figure was 40,000 million in 2000). 80% of this was in the agriculture sector. Pollution-related deaths ( already at 0.50 million per annum for India) will rise exponentially, heat waves have killed 9,000 people in the last three years and migration of environmental/ climate refugees will overwhelm our cities. 24% of our lands are already degraded and headed for desertification, all major rivers are heavily polluted, groundwater levels are depleting alarmingly, with 60% of the blocks classified as water stressed. We have lost 10.60 million hectares of original forests in the last 14 years. In just the last two years, the list of endangered species has gone up from 190 to 443 ( IUCN figures). Apocalypse is round the corner but its business as usual for our policy makers.

We as a nation have always had a dismal record of protecting our natural environment, notwithstanding our ancient Vedic philosophy. But the track record of the present BJP government at the Centre is particularly appalling. In its pyrrhic and single-minded quest for a top slot in the Ease of Doing Business ranking, it is decimating the environment on a scale not seen before, and destroying the livelihoods of those most dependent on it  tribals and poor farmers. The forest policy and various enactments are being re-written to enable diversion of more forest land for industrial projects, a prime example being the Inland Waterway project on the Ganga which is being exempted from preparing either an EIA or an EMP, and for which the rare Turtle (Kachua) Wildlife Sanctuary on the river near Varanasi is being denotified. This is the first time since 1972 that a sanctuary is being denotified. EIA and EMPs are being exempted for linear projects (highways and railway lines) and real estate developments up to 50,000 sq. feet. The Coastal Regulation Zone Rules are being liberalised to permit projects such as ports (the Sagarmala project) and tourism, impacting, in particular, vast swathes of mangrove forests that are a buffer to storm surges. The Andaman and Nicobar islands are being opened up for tourism.

River linking schemes are being pushed through without any thought given to their environmental impacts on the river basins; there are 31 such projects on the anvil. The disastrous 900-km Char Dham highway linking Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri and Badrinath has been given the go ahead, even though it will involve the felling of more than 40,000 trees. The Kedarnath tragedy of 2013 seems to have been forgotten. Protected Areas and Tiger Reserves are slowly being whittled away with the blessings of both the Forest Advisory Committee in the MOEF and the Wildlife Board. In just one PA, at the Panna Tiger Reserve, more than 5,000 hectares of prime tiger habitat is being diverted for the Ken-Betwa river inter linking project for which 18,00,000 trees will face the axe. An astonishing 519 relaxations have been given for projects in Protected Areas since 2014. Why is no one talking about all this?

All governments, central and state, appear to be mesmerized by big ticket projects and ventures, and will not let any concerns about the environment stand in their way. But the danger and the threats are very real. Unfortunately, the victims of natural disasters and climate change will be the most vulnerable sections of society  farmers, tribals, fishermen, migrant labour and the tens of millions in urban slums. They do not have the wherewithal to protect themselves against the climatic and economic hardships.

And here is what puzzles me no end. I can understand that governments, in their hubris and avarice, will do what they want to do; what I cannot comprehend is why the opposition is silent on these issues. Why civil society and the media dont articulate them to create more awareness during election times. Surely, someone should be telling the unsuspecting voter what awaits him in less than a generation.

We have a surfeit of politicians but not a single leader who can LEAD, rather than be led by the populist nose. The tenure of the present government has turned out to be the most damaging for the natural environment: green house gas emissions have continued to rise by 3 to 4% per annum, deforestation continues unabated. Just this month, the governmet cleared a mining project of the Adanis in Chhattisgarh in central Indias largest continuous forest  HasdeoArand, which will lay waste to 841.538 hectares of dense forest. And so, while we may be the worlds fifth largest economy, we are at 177th spot out of 180 countries in the World Environment Performance Index. We were at 141 in 2016. Why is no one talking of environmental governance?

Avay shukla

Former IAS officer

avayshukla@gmail.com
Shankkar Aiyar By

The good news is that India continues to be an argumentative society. The bad news is that the arguments are often less about the subject and more about the subjective. In the run-up to the 2019 elections, argumentative Indians are arguing not with but past each other. It is at best a dialogue of the deaf.

Look at the saga of the open letter issued by 108 economists and scientists on the need to insulate data and analysis from political influence  illustrated by the casting/recasting of GDP data and withholding of the NSSO study on labour and employment. The good news for argumentative India is that the view of the economists and the scientists was countered by a view by 131 chartered accountants  nothing wobbly about that, after all at the commission of railway safety is housed in the ministry of civil aviation. The bad news is that neither side moved the needle on informed debate.

The economists, implicitly if not explicitly, questioned the quality of the revision of GDP data and the bar on release of NSSO survey. The expression of caution required them to make a robust case for their take on GDP growth and employment. They did not and rested with the homily. The CAs, in their attempt to address the economists point, travelled the history of revisions and deployed known headline markers to reiterate trust in the government. The riposte of the CAs could have gone beyond faith to facts and proved their declaration leveraging data with them but did not.

Ideally, the government should have countered scepticism using revenue and expenditure data but it chose to use semantics rather than statistics. The assertion of the government that some of the economists were habitual signatories is just as relevant a factor as the fact that audit firms run by CAs gave a free pass to bankrupt entities  be it private firms or PSU banks busted by bad loans. Attributions about masked motives and motivations, riveted by allegations of affiliation and allegiance only underline the fault lines and leave the audience enveloped in a fog of facts and faith.

There is fog and then there is dense smog. The debate on job creation is stranded between the anecdotal and the empirical. The good news is that, at least anecdotally, the gig economy is showing signs of job creation  at least, in urban and peri urban areas. The bad news is that the plural of anecdote is not data. Successive governments have flailed at addressing this failing. Government expenditure, centre and states, is roughly around Rs 45 lakh crore. How difficult would it be to arrive at jobs created say in household electrification, road construction, doles for houses and toilets? Persisting with known unknown is neither good politics nor good economics.

On Friday, India was informed the government had collected Rs 85000 crore against the target of Rs 80,000 crore from disinvestments. The good news is the hole in the fiscal bucket will be smaller. The bad news is that disinvestment is no longer about dis-investing but getting Peter to buy PSU to pay Paul. In 2017, Niti Aayog had listed 24 entities for strategic disinvestment. On the list of strategic disinvestments are sale of shares in SUITI, sale of HPCL to ONGC, HSCC to NBCC and soon to be added sale of REC to PFC. Meanwhile PSEs lose roughly Rs 25,000 crore a year. It would seem the argumentative Indian has internalised and normalised that government will continue to be in business and manage businesses.

On Monday, the government declared that direct tax collections for the year were now at Rs 10 lakh crore as of March 16, 2019 post payment of advance taxes. The good news is that the government is confident of achieving the 2018-19 target of Rs 12 lakh crore. The bad news is, nearly two years after its introduction collections under GST crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore only thrice in 20 months and total collections between July 2017 and February 2019 were Rs 18.11 lakh crore  averaging roughly Rs 90,000 crore per month well below the target.

Beyond the optics of good and bad there is the reality of ugly. IL&FS, Indias Lehman, is in suspended animation. The IL&FS is bankrupt but cannot be declared bankrupt. Air India, it would seem, is all set to get a sibling as state-owned banks plan to rescue Jet Airways with public savings. There has been some lather about robustness of revenue collections and fiscal consolidation. Fact is, jukebox politics has resulted in fuzzy economics.

The good news is that on the budget papers, it all looks kosher. The bad news is that there is the explicit deficit and then there is the implicit deficit  housed in the books of PSEs and entities such as FCI. And then, there are the liabilities like GST compensation shifted to the next year. Together these could be around Rs 9 lakh crore. Add the need for provision for Ayushman Bharat as it expands and for other items of compensatory economics bound to grow post the manifestos.The good sure doesnt look as good and the incoming government sure has fiscal ask and task cut out come June.

Shankkar aiyar

Author of Aadhaar: A Biometric History of Indias 12 Digit Revolution,and Accidental India
T J S George By

The Congress and the BJP have one thing in common  each is led by a Superman. But the BJPs superman has a bunch of subalterns with him. That is a force multiplier. The Congress superman is a solitary sentinel. That is poor war tactics.

Narendra Modi uses his fire power as no one else does. Yet, he has Amit Shah making aggressive speeches all over the country, Piyush Goyal holding forth even in alien territory like Tamil Nadu, Nitin Gadkari and Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh raising voices that draw attention, and Sushma Swaraj bringing up the rear. A sizeable bunch to make a sizeable impact.

Turn to the Congress and what we hear is a one-man orchestra. An entrepreneurs meeting in Bangalore? Its Rahul Gandhi. A public meeting in Itanagar? Its Rahul Gandhi. A mass meeting in Gandhinagar? Its Rahul Gandhi. A popular do in a Chennai womens college? Its Rahul Gandhi. A campaign meeting in Sabalgarh in Madhya Pradesh? Its Rahul Gandhi. In Guwahati, Kanniyakumari, Gulbarga, Kochi, wherever the Congress states its case, you see no Congress stalwart other than Rahul Gandhi. Does the Congress have no other stalwarts?

But it has. There are young and articulate leaders like Sachin Pilot and Jyotiraditya Scindia and Milind Deora. There are old war horses like Digvijaya Singh and Kamal Nath and Oommen Chandy. But we dont see or hear the young and the bright. We hear about the old and the tested only in their unending battles for prominence. At a time when all guns should be blazing at a single target, the Congress is leaving everything to one individual. Is the dynasty thing at work again despite the havoc it has wrought?

Naturally, the Congress is too ineffective in too many places. Ask who is the chief of the party in an important state such as Maharashtra and you will hear some people mentioning Sanjay Nirupam, and some others mentioning Ashok Chavan. Nirupam, in turn, is constantly fighting with Milind Deora, probably because he sees a threat in Deoras popularity-cum-capability. Not surprisingly, the Congress attracts none of the smaller but important group leaders such as Prakash Ambedkar or Raju Shetty.

Delhi is another revealing case. Common sense demands that the Congress must tie up with other parties that want to check the BJP. In Delhis case, it is the Aam Aadmi Party. Important Congressmen favour a working alliance, but yesterdays leader Sheila Dixit goes by day-before-yesterdays ideas. Result: The BJP gains.

In Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the recent victory of the Congress should have energised the leadership. But what we see is a sense of nothing-is-happening. Would it have been different if the choice of CMs was based not on pressure politics by the old guard but on an assessment of the need of the hour? Rahul Gandhi does not seem to have the power to enforce his will and bring new blood into the leaderships ranks.

The consequent infighting in the party is nowhere more dismal than in Kerala. To begin with, the Congress in Kerala has several heads  Oommen Chandy, Mullapally, Ramesh Chennithala, AK Antony and VM Sudheeran. It is also the only state where the Congress is officially and openly divided into A group and I group. Fights between A and I are more deadly than Congress-Communist fights. Younger leaders are not allowed to come up. In fact, the younger ranks have such bright and modernistic leaders that if they are allowed to take over, both the party and the state are sure to see rapid progress. But such things do not happen in a Me-Myself-And-I culture.

The macabre nature of that culture bared itself last week when veteran leader KV Thomas declared war against the party. The ticket he expected was taken away from him and given to Hybi Eden instead. Thomas was 72 and Eden exactly half that age, 36. Besides, Thomas had had a lot of jam; he was MLA for long, MP for long, a minister in Kerala, a minister in Delhi and the holder of several positions inside the party and outside. Still, he wouldnt yield to a younger man. The party finally bought peace by offering him more jam without revealing any details.

The BJP has internal fights as well. But the number of top leaders campaigning diligently makes up for it. There is energy and imagination in the BJPs campaign style. There is energy in Rahul Gandhi, but there is no imagination, and he is alone. The chief enemy of the Congress is the Congress.
Devaraj B Hirehalli By

Express News Service

TUMAKURU: In a fresh flashpoint that could put the coalition partners on a collision course, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda is facing rebellion from Congress MP S P Muddahanume Gowda in Tumkur.

Defying his party decided to cede the seat to the JDS, the Congress MP on Saturday announced his decision to file nomination on Monday. Deve Gowda too is filing nomination papers on the same day.

I am not joking. My contest is certain and the party high command still has a chance to declare me as an alliance candidate since I am riding on the sympathy wave (as I didnt get the ticket) and I will romp home, Muddahanume Gowda declared after meeting his supporters.

The MP, who has the backing of former Madhugiri MLA K N Rajanna, held the meeting on Saturday. Almost all the block presidents of all the eight assembly constituencies in Tumkur LS seat attended it.

ALSO READ: Tumkur constituency: Dry land of coconuts needs steroid shot for growth

The Congress MPs announcement has not gone down well with the JDS leadership. Congress leaders will handle it. I will not do anything against my self-respect and beg anyone, said Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy. He said that as part of the seat-sharing arrangement, the JDS has got eight seats and it will field candidates in all those constituencies.

Immediately, Congress leaders got into damage control mode. Deputy CM G Parameshwara said he will hold talks with Muddahanume Gowda and dissuade him from contesting the elections.

We cannot allow split in secular votes, he said, expressing confidence that the MP will abide by the party decision.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Even after the Congress and JDS seat-sharing arrangement was finalised, Parameshwara, who is also from Tumkur, and Muddahanume Gowda had met Deve Gowda and senior Congress leaders requesting them to allow the sitting MP to contest the elections. At that point in time, they had even stated that they were okay if Deve Gowda decided to contest from Tumkur.

I showed my magnanimity despite being a sitting MP which they took it for granted and as my weakness, said Muddahanume.

Rebellion may help BJP candidate

If Muddahanume Gowda sticks with his decision to contest from Tumkur, and if former Madhugiri MLA Rajanna backs him, votes may be split and it may help BJP candidate G S Basavaraju. This opposition to none other than Deve Gowda has created ripples in the political circles.

Gowdas grandsons too are facing a tough contest in Mandya and Hassan.

In Mandya, actor Sumalatha Ambareesh is contesting as an independent candidate against Nikil Kumar, and in Hassan, A Manju, who quit Congress recently, is contesting against Prajwal Revanna.

Small Scale Industries Minister S R Srinivas hoped that the Congress, JD(S) tussle will be over by Monday. As soon as Deve Gowda started holding talks with the Tumakuru leaders, a miffed Muddahanume Gowda galvanised his party workers, resulting in Saturdays meeting at his farmhouse at Hebburu.

As the emotionally charged supporters protested against the injustice meted out to their MP, the latter declared that he will file his nomination papers on Monday. The shock to the JD(S) comes a day before Deve Gowda is expected to meet both the Congress and JD(S) leaders here on Sunday.

Interestingly, its on Monday that Deve Gowda is scheduled to file his nomination papers. Sources said Parameshwara is helpless as he is in a Catch 22 situation.
Anil S By

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Suddenly the Congress-led UDF in the state is confidence personified. So much so that the Wayanad twist, a real surgical strike from the Congress camp, could well be a game changer for the Opposition front in this Lok Sabha polls. In a surprise move, the Congress leadership in the state has urged Rahul Gandhi to contest from its sure seat - Wayanad. There are indications that the Congress High Command had favourably responded to the state PCCs demand. Rahul too has reportedly agreed to this demand from the state leadership.

The sudden twist in the tale has taken the LDF leadership in the state unawares. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has already come out against the move. At a time when there is a major move by the secular parties against the BJP, what exactly is the message hes sending by contesting from Kerala, asked Pinarayi while talking to the media.

CPM state chief Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said the Congress has lost its confidence in Kerala. Though both Pinarayi and Kodiyeri tried to play down the Rahul entry, the shock effect was very much evident.

The ripple effects of such a move is sure to have an impact across South India. While the UDF leadership is confident of sweeping the polls in the state, the Congress calculates that it will help the party mobilise maximum seats from south India, which can more than make up for any possible loss in North India.

Rahuls candidature will not only be a morale booster for the UDF in Kerala but also send out a clear message, felt political commentator N M Pearson. The surprise entry of K Muraleedharan at Vadakara has already boosted the UDFs confidence. If Rahul too contests, thatd be much more than a morale booster. It would further assert that the Congress is the real alternative to Modi-led BJP, he opined.

Once Rahul gives his official nod to Wayanad, the saffron party in Kerala too would find itself in a tight spot. The BJP leadership in the state has poohpoohed the move as one arising out of the fear of imminent failure, but the party will have to rack up novel strategies to take on a Prime Ministerial candidate contesting from Kerala.

It could well be a moment of history repeating itself in a different way, says Appukkuttan Vallikkunnu, referring to Indira Gandhi contesting from Chikmagalur in 1978. Ideally the Left should withdraw its candidate in Wayanad if they are sincere in their fight against the saffron party, he added.

Its an extraordinary moment for the Congress and the national politics. The Congress is on a move to mobilise maximum seats in South India. Obviously, this would well be a surgical strike from the party. A sure seat from here would let Rahul move around for campaigning across the country. As far as Kerala is concerned, a Prime Ministerial candidate contesting from here is a crucial move, Vallikkunnu pointed out.

The UDF which was lagging behind the LDF - after the latter registered a clear upper hand on the campaign front with an early start - could more than make up for the delay and can even overtake the rival front with the sudden move.
Prasanjeet Sarkar By

Express News Service

ROURKELA: Muktikanta Biswal, the youth crusader who had set off on foot from Rourkela to Delhi last year to remind Prime Minister Narendra Modi of his unfulfilled promises for the region, was named by the Congress as a candidate from the Steel City on Saturday.

Hours later, he turned down the offer and refused to contest the election, leaving the grand old party red-faced.

Muktikanta shot into the limelight when he undertook an arduous Delhi Chalo walkathon on foot on April 16 last year to remind Modi of his promise to upgrade the Ispat General Hospital (IGH) and the construction of a second Brahmani bridge, which the PM had announced in April 2015. He reached Delhi on June 27 but failed to meet the PM. He was forced by the Delhi Police to leave in a week.

FOLLOW OUR ELECTION COVERAGE HERE

Congress president Rahul Gandhi had attacked Modi for not meeting Biswal. While the youngster was on his way to Delhi, Gandhi had tweeted a video clip of him walking and also collected `20 lakh for the IGH project.

The Congress, apparently, wanted to use his youth icon stature for the polls. However, Muktikanta said, I have never been into politics. I have decided not to contest and informed the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president about my decision.

His close friend and convenor of the Juba Jagriti Manch, Gopal Jena said he was apprehensive about contesting as he has to win the confidence of the voters.
B Anbuselvan By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Perhaps for the first time, candidates contesting the Lok Sabha elections, have been asked to furnish details of social media accounts in their election affidavit.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has made changes in form 26, an affidavit filed along with nomination papers so as to register social media accounts of candidates.

Filing of nominations involves submitting two forms - form 2A (nomination paper) and form 26 (affidavit).

In form 2A, candidates provide details whether they are from registered political party or independents and the authorisation from the parties for contesting the election. In addition, the contestants have to submit the details of 10 voters who nominate them from the constituency in which they are contesting. In the affidavit (form 26), contestants have to furnish details of assets, liabilities and criminal cases, both convicted and pending, against them and family members.

Apart from this - three rows provided in the first page of form 26 in which candidates have to mention details of social media handles - Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. All information in the affidavit have to be certified by a notary public, said a district election officer.

The ECI has also asked candidates to submit IT returns for five years as on March 30. However, it is not clear whether the social media accounts of the candidates will be monitored by the commission. Furnishing false information in the affidavit may lead to dismissal of nomination papers.

We are yet to get detailed guidelines on how to calculate the expenditure of candidates in social media campaign. However, if any specific complaint is received on social media campaign by handles other than those of contesting candidates, we will look into it, said a returning officer in Chennai.
By Express News Service

COIMBATORE: A government middle school at Dhoomanur in Thadagam reserve forest near Anaikatti, which was functioning without electricity for the past 17 years, has finally got electricity connection thanks to the Lok Sabha election. As district administration has set up a polling booth in the school, electricity connection was provided to the school on Friday.

According to the source, there are three tribal hamlets, including Dhoomanur, Chembukarai, and Kattusalai (Milagayampathi), inside Thadagam reserve forest area in Periyanaickenpalayam block. Nearly 150 tribal families are living there and 48 children from these three hamlets are studying at government middle school at Dhoomanur. Only in 2016, the district administration gave electricity to these tribal hamlets. However, electricity connection was not give to the school, due to various reasons.

People from these three hamlets were casting their votes at a polling booth in government tribal residential high school in Anaikatti, which is 11 km away. To avoid this, the district administration set up polling both in Dhoomanur school during the last assembly election. However, school did not get electricity connection. Even during the last assembly election, electricity connection was not available in the polling booth. The election officials used generator. As a result, some disruption had occurred in the booth during polling. To avoid such problems this time, the district administration has given the electricity supply to the Dhoomanur school on Friday, in view of the Lok Sabha election, sources added.

Dhoomanur school headmaster T Shanmugasundaram speaking to Express said, The school was started with the five classrooms in 2002. At present 47 students are studying in the school. For the past 17 years, the school had been functioning without power supply. Later, in 2014, we installed one solar power system to power lights, fans, etc, in the classroom.

Due to inadequate sunlight during rainy and winter sessions, the solar power system was of little use. Now, we have got electricity connections to our school from the district administration. Teachers and students are very happy, he said.

Last time, generator used at booth caused trouble

The district administration set up polling both in Dhoomanur school during the last assembly election. However, the school did not get electricity connection. Even during the last assembly election, electricity connection was not available in the polling booth. The officials used generator. As a result, some disruption had occurred in the booth during polling. To avoid such problems this time, the officials have given the electricity supply to the school now, said sources.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Congress has announced candidates for nine parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. According to sources, a tough fight between the followers of former Union ministers P Chidambaram and Sudarsana Natchiappan has forced the party high command to delay the announcement of candidate for Sivanganga seat. Congress had been allotted 10 seats in the DMK-led alliance in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

The DMK had announced the constituencies from where Congress candidates will contest, on March 15. After nine days after identification of constituencies, Congress announced its candidates in the wee hours of Saturday.

The party has fielded S Thirunavukkarasar for Tiruchirappalli constituency, A Chellakumar in Krishnagiri, K Jayakumar for Thiruvallur (Reserved), M K Vishnu Prasad for Arani, B Manick Tagore for Virudhunagar, S Jothimani for Karur, EVKS Elangovan for Theni and H Vasantha Kumar for Kanniyakumari. Besides, V Vaithilingam will be fielded in Puducherry.

According to party sources, Karti Chidambaram wanted to get Sivaganga seat either for himself or his wife. But, former Union minister Sudarsana Natchiappan demanded that the seat should be given to him as he said the Sivaganga seat was given to Chidambaram since 1984. Chidambaram had been elected from the parliament constituency for six times on Congress ticket and two times on TMC (Moopanar) ticket. Hence, Sudarsana Natchiappan wanted the high command to offer the seat to him. Unable to settle the issue amicably between followers of Chidambaram and Sudarsana Natchiappan, the high command has not announced the candidate for Sivaganga.

A party functionary who spoke on condition of anonymity said, Karti Chidambaram is an eligible candidate and he is the only person who had secured more than one lakh votes in Sivaganga parliamentary seat when he contested in 2014 when the party went it alone. Hence, the high command should offer the seat to him.

However, it is expected that the Congress party will announce the candidate before Sunday night to enable the candidate to file nomination as the last date for filing nomination is Tuesday.

Nine contestants

Congress candidates: S Thirunavukkarasar in Tiruchirappalli, A Chellakumar in Krishnagiri, K Jayakumar in Thiruvallur, M K Vishnu Prasad in Arani, B Manick Tagore in Virudhunagar, S Jothimani in Karur, EVKS Elangovan in Theni, H Vasantha Kumar in Kanniyakumari and V Vaithilingam in Puducherry
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte hold talks in Rome, Italy, March 23, 2019. (Xinhua/Lan Hongguang)

ROME, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte held talks here Saturday on jointly elevating the China-Italy relations into a new era and witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to advance the construction of the Belt and Road.

During their talks, Xi noted that the China-Italy relations are rooted in the history of the two countries' thousand-year-old exchanges, with strong public support.

In recent years, the two countries have continuously deepened their communication and cooperation in various fields, which helped each other's social and economic development, Xi said.

Calling China and Italy important strategic partners to each other, Xi urged both sides to view and handle the bilateral ties from a strategic height with long-term perspective.

The two countries should take the opportunities of the 15th anniversary of the China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership this year and the 50th anniversary of China-Italy diplomatic relations next year to jointly elevate bilateral relations into a new era, and allow their practical cooperation fruits in various fields better serve the two peoples, Xi said.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A PIL petition to take appropriate action against the State Home Secretary and Superintendent of Police, Coimbatore (Rural) for disclosing the name of Pollachi sexual abuse victim, has been filed in the Madras High Court.

The petitioner - A P Suryaprakasam, an advocate of Royapettah - prayed for a direction to the DGP to punish the duo for an offence under Sec. 228-A (Disclosure of identity of the victim of certain offences, etc) IPC.

The law prohibited anyone, more particularly police officials investigating crimes of sexual abuse of women and children, from disclosing the name and identity of the victims. However, the two officials had violated the provision,petitioner said.

Coimbatore SP Pandiyarajan revealed the name of the victim/complainant to the media during an interview in connection with the issue. Similarly, Home secretary Niranjan Mardi revealed the name and educational institution where the victim is studying in the government order dated March 13 transferring the cases to CBI, petitioner said.

Pointing out that he had lodged a complaint with the DGP on March 15 last requesting him to register an FIR against the duo, the advocate said that so far the police official has not taken any action. Contending that no action can be expected on their own, as the duo are high ranking authorities, petitioner wanted the court to intervene.

The matter is likely to come up before the first bench headed by Chief Justice on Monday (March 25).
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University (PJTSAU) has collaborated with International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines, to jointly develop rice varieties that are drought tolerant, pest and disease resistant. The focus would also be on developing rice varieties with low glysemic index which more commonly preferred by diabetic patients.

IRRI will also establish its regional centre on the university campus for giving more thrust to the rice research programs in the State. The university has agreed to provide 20-25 acres of land on the campus for this centre. IRRI has shown keen interest to work with the PJTSAU on collaborative research projects. IRRI and PJTSAU have decided to prepare rice development project within next four months and submit it to the State government for implementation, said Dr V Praveen Rao, vice chancellor of PJTSAU.

IRRI and PJTSAU will prepare an action plan for rice varieties in view of the large scale irrigation projects in the State. The research programmes will be taken up on water use efficiency in rice crop and thrust will be given to kharif rice varieties.

The team of scientists from IRRI, led by its director general Dr. Mathew Morrell, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with PJTSAU here on Saturday. Earlier, the team met agriculture minister S Niranjan Reddy. As part of the MoU, capacity building programmes will be organised by the IRRI for the faculty of PJTSAU on advanced breeding technologies. In addition, student and faculty exchange programmes between the two organisations will also be taken up.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: The state of affairs in the grand old party in Telangana is so bad that its leaders keep calling me to help them get into the TRS fold, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has said. Speaking at a public rally at Hafeez Babanagar under the Chandrayangutta Assembly constituency on Saturday, the Hyderabad MP who is looking for his fourth win in the ensuing general elections, said, Whats even remaining in Congress? Everyone is leaving, no one wants to stay there, he said.

Condemning the attempted lynching of a family from Gurugram by locals who entered the victims house and beat up members, Owaisi said Do they (the assailants) get strength from your governance? Is your governance responsible for their audacity to enter their house and beat them? he questioned Modi. He asked Modi to listen to the shrieks of the girl whose father was being beaten up by a group of youngsters on their terrace. It is infuriating to watch..family had to endure for no fault of their own, he said.

He took a swipe at the Centre for their apparent politicisation of the Pulwama attack and said, I believed when the MEA secretary and Air Force Chief of Staff issued their statements. But it was Rajnath Singh who tried to reap political fruits by saying that Balakot attack had killed 400 terrorists.

He paraphrased Singh who reportedly had justified the number by saying that the National Technical Research Organisation had observed that 400 cell phones went offline post the strike on the Pakistan soil. Taking a swipe at the remark Owaisi said, If NTRO can keep tabs on 400 mobile on Pak soil, what were your Intelligence doing when 50 kg of RDX was brought in for the Pulwama attack?
Express News Service By

NEW DELHI: A BJP delegation, led by Vijender Gupta, the partys leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, on Saturday called on the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) accusing Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of misusing social media platforms to whip up communal frenzy and dissent.

The delegation, comprising former BJP MLA Subhash Sachdeva and the Convenor of the partys Delhi State Legal Cell Advocate Neeraj Shri Gupta, informed the CEO that Kejriwal and his fellow party colleagues are working with the ulterior motive of pitting one community against another for the sake votes.

Gupta said the Delhi CM shared a video of the assault on a Muslim family in Gurugram in a bid to inflame communal passions

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He said while the Gurugram district administration has taken necessary action in the wake of the incident, the Delhi CM was seeking to exploit the issue for political mileage.

His offensive tweet has brought the AAPs politics of appeasement to the fore before the general elections. His tweet has hurt our religious sentiments, Gupta said.

Saffron party at EC door

The BJP delegation, comprising former MLA Subhash Sachdeva and the Convenor of the partys Delhi State Legal Cell Advocate Neeraj Shri Gupta, said AAP was pitting one community against another for votes
Express News Service By

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate was given permission by a court to send Letters Rogatory (LR) to 21 countries for seeking assistance in the probe of a Rs 8,100 crore bank fraud case involving a Gujarat-based company.

Additional Sessions Judge Satish Kumar Arora granted permission to the agency on its plea seeking nod to send the LRs, also known as letter of request, to countries, also involving the US, China, Panama

and Austria.

The LRs will also be send to Albania, where the court recently allowed the ED to send extradition requests, after its special public prosecutor Nitesh Rana informed that its two directors  Nitin Sandesara and Chetankumar Sandesara  have obtained the citizenship.

Another director of the firm, Hitesh Narender Bhai Patel, was detained in Albanias capital Tirana on March 20 on the basis of an Interpol notice issued against him by the ED.

The application moved by EDs advocate A R Aditya also sought to send the LRs in some other countries which included Singapore, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cyprus, Comoros, Jersey, Lichtenstein, Mauritius, Nigeria and Seychelles.

It is alleged that the company took loans of over Rs 5,000 crore from a consortium led by Andhra Bank, which had turned into non-performing assets. The total volume of the alleged loan defraud is pegged at Rs 8,100 crore.

The ED registered its case based on Central Bureau of Investigation charge sheet and is probing money laundering. The accused are also being probed by the ED for allegedly bribing senior Income Tax department officials as part of an earlier criminal complaint. The agency has filed five charge sheets in this case till now and attached properties valued at Rs 4,710 crore.
By Associated Press

DUBAI: A Kenyan science teacher from a remote village who gave away most of his earnings to the poor and tutored students on the weekends won a $1 million prize on Sunday that honors one exceptional educator from around the world.

Peter Tabichi teaches in the semi-arid village of Pwani where almost a third of children are orphans or have only one parent, and where drought and famine are frequent.

Classrooms are poorly equipped and the school, which teaches students between 11 and 16 years-old, has just one computer with intermittent Internet access.

He was selected out of out 10,000 applicants for the Global Teacher Prize.

Not only was it Tabichi's first time on an airplane coming to Dubai, but he was awarded during a ceremony hosted by actor Hugh Jackman. Dubai's Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum was on hand to present the prize.

Despite the grave obstacles Tabichi's students face, he's credited with helping many stay in school, qualify for international competitions in science and engineering and go on to college.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a statement that Tabichi's story "is the story of Africa."

"You give me faith that Africa's best days are ahead of us and your story will light the way for future generations," he said.

In his acceptance speech, Tabichi said his mother died when he was just 11 years old, leaving his father, a primary school teacher, with the job of raising him and his siblings alone.

Tabichi thanked his father for instilling Christian values in him, then pointed to his father in the audience, invited him up on stage and handed him the award to hold as the room erupted in applause and cheers.

Now in its fifth year, the prize is the largest of its kind. It's quickly become one of the most coveted and prestigious for teachers.

The prize is awarded by the Varkey Foundation, whose founder, Sunny Varkey, established the for-profit GEMS Education company that runs 55 schools in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Qatar.

The winner is selected by committees comprised of teachers, educational experts, journalists, officials, entrepreneurs, business leaders and scientists from around the world.

Last year, a British art teacher was awarded for her work in one of the most ethnically diverse places in the country. Her work was credited with helping students feel welcome and safe in a borough with high murder rates.

Other winners include a Canadian teacher for her work with indigenous students in a remote and isolated Arctic village where suicide rates are high, and a Palestinian teacher for her work in helping West Bank refugee children traumatized by violence.

The 2015 inaugural winner was a teacher from Maine who founded a nonprofit demonstration school created for the purpose of developing and disseminating teaching methods.
By PTI

LAHORE: A cleric who allegedly solemnised the wedding of two Pakistani Hindu minor girls, who were reportedly abducted and forcefully converted to Islam, was arrested on Sunday, as the teenagers approached a court in Pakistan's Punjab province seeking protection, according to a media report.

The two girls, Raveena (13) and Reena (15), were allegedly kidnapped by a group of "influential" men from their home in Ghotki district in Sindh on the eve of Holi. Soon after the kidnapping, a video went viral in which a cleric was purportedly shown solemnising the Nikah (marriage) of the two girls, triggering a nationwide outrage.

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan also ordered a probe into the issue.

According to Geo News' Urdu website jang.com, the teenagers approached a court in Bahawalpur in Pakistan's Punjab province seeking protection.

"The cleric who performed their marriage has been arrested from Khan Pur in Sindh," it said.

Earlier in the day, a war of words broke out between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry over the reported abduction, forced conversion and underage marriages of the two Hindu teenagers.

The spat started soon after Swaraj sought details from the Indian envoy in Pakistan into the reported abduction of two Hindu teenaged girls.

Swaraj, while tagging a media report about the incident, tweeted that she has asked the Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan to send a report on the matter.

Pakistan's Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry responded to her tweet, saying it was his country's "internal issue".

In a Twitter post in Urdu on Sunday, Chaudhry said the prime minister has asked the Sindh chief minister to look into reports that the girls in question have been taken to Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab.

He said the prime minister has also ordered the Sindh and Punjab governments to devise a joint action plan in light of the incident, and to take concrete steps to prevent such incidents from happening again.

The Hindu community in Pakistan has carried out massive demonstrations calling for strict action to be taken against those responsible, while reminding Prime Minister Khan of his promises to the minorities of the country.

Last year, Khan during his election campaign had said his party's agenda was to uplift the various religious groups across Pakistan and said they would take effective measures to prevent forced marriages of Hindu girls.

Pakistan Hindu Council chief and Member of National Assembly from the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Ramesh Kumar Vankwani condemned the incident and demanded that the bill against forced conversion, which was unanimously passed by Sindh Assembly in 2016 and then reverted due to pressure of extremist elements, must be resurrected and passed in the assembly on priority basis.

Rights activist Jibran Nasir tweeted that the sisters were converted at the Dargah Barchundi Sharif and were taken to Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab following their marriages.

Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan.

According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan. Majority of Pakistan's Hindu population is settled in Sindh province.

According to media reports, approximately 25 forced marriages take place every month only in Umerkot district in Sindh province.
YANCHENG, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong has stressed all-out efforts to treat the injured and deal with the follow-up work well following a deadly chemical plant explosion in east China's Jiangsu Province.

Wang led officials from departments of the State Council Friday to arrive at the explosion site in a chemical industrial park in Xiangshui County in the city of Yancheng, to guide the rescue and emergency response work, visit family members of the victims and the injured people, and express regards to the rescue teams.

The death toll from the explosion has risen to 64 as of 7 a.m. Saturday after the explosion ripped through a chemical factory owned by Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Co. Ltd. in Xiangshui County at about 2:48 p.m. Thursday.

Wang visited the First People's Hospital of Yancheng shortly after his arrival at about 8 p.m. on Friday, consoling the injured people and asking medical workers to do everything to save them. At 11 p.m., Wang presided over a conference at the explosion site.

Wang urged Jiangsu officials and all parties concerned to resolutely implement the instructions of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and Premier Li Keqiang to make all-out rescue efforts with a strong sense of responsibility towards the people. Saving lives is the top priority while best medical resources and experts must be organized to minimize casualties, Wang said.

Every corner must be searched over and over again for the victims, and every injured person must be rescued, he said.

Hazardous chemicals and pollutants must be promptly dealt with, while environmental monitoring on air, soil and drinking water must be strengthened to avoid secondary disasters, Wang said.

Wang also ordered timely and accurate disclosure of authoritative information to respond to public concerns.

Thorough probe into the blast shall be carried out in a timely manner and those responsible shall be held accountable, he said.

Wang visited the injured at the People's Hospital of Xiangshui Saturday, then went to the explosion site again to discuss follow-up rescue measures, and offered condolences to family members of the victims at their homes.

Wang was sent to the site by General Secretary Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang to guide the rescue work on behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council.
Columnist

Tom Kacich is a columnist and the author of Tom's Mailbag at The News-Gazette. His column appears Sundays. His email is tkacich@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@tkacich).
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Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau (front row, eighth left) visits Rail Cargo Hungaria Zrt in Budapest with the Hong Kong business and professional delegation.

Hong Kong is the prime platform for Hungarian enterprises to partake in the Belt & Road Initiative, Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Edward Yau said.

Speaking to over 100 Hungarian business leaders and chamber representatives at a reception in Budapest, Mr Yau said Hong Kong has all along maintained close bilateral ties with Hungary, which is Hong Kong's largest trading partner in the Central and Eastern European region.

With Hong Kong's unique advantages under "one country, two systems" as well as its traditional strengths as a maritime, trade, financial and services hub, Hong Kong enterprises and professionals can offer world-class services to Hungarian enterprises and explore the Belt & Road opportunities together, he added.

Leading a delegation comprising more than 30 business people and professionals as well as representatives of start-ups to visit Hungary, Mr Yau met Magyar Nemzeti Bank Deputy Governor Ferenc Gerhardt, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs & Trade Levente Magyar, and State Secretary for Financial Affairs Gabor Gion to learn about Hungary's monetary and fiscal policy, economic development plans as well as the overall investment and business environment in the region.

The delegation also visited Rail Cargo Hungaria Zrt - the subsidiary of a leading rail logistics specialist in Europe that links trade routes within Europe and from Europe to Asia - to understand the logistics infrastructure development there.
The Youth Development Commission has rolled out two new funding schemes on youth entrepreneurship and experiential programmes in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung announced the launch of the two new schemes at a ceremony today.

The Funding Scheme for Youth Entrepreneurship in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area aims to subsidise non-governmental organisations in Hong Kong to offer entrepreneurial support and incubation services for local young people.

The funding cap for each service project is $1 million a year, for a maximum of three years.

The scheme also aims to provide youth startups with seed funding through subsidising NGOs and requiring the NGOs to provide matching funds.

The matching ratio is 3:1. The ceiling of the government subsidy for each NGO applicant is $4.5 million, to be matched with $1.5 million of funding from the NGO.

Each startup may receive a capital subsidy of up to $600,000, comprising $450,000 of government subsidy and $150,000 of matching contribution from the NGO.

For the Funding Scheme for Experiential Programmes at Innovation & Entrepreneurial Bases in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, it aims to subsidise eligible NGOs to run programmes which can enrich Hong Kong young people's understanding of the bases.

The funding limit for each experiential programme is $700,000.

Eligible NGOs can apply for the two funding schemes by May 30.

Turning to the Space Sharing Scheme for Youth, Mr Cheung said seven properties have started operation, adding five more will be rolled out.
Acting Chief Executive Matthew Cheung today said foreign governments should not interfere in Hong Kongs internal affairs.

Mr Cheung was responding to the US Department of States Hong Kong Policy Act Report.

He told reporters the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government handles Hong Kongs internal affairs in strict accordance with the Basic Law.

Since the return to the motherland, the HKSAR has been exercising a high degree of autonomy and Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong he said, adding the one country, two systems principle has been successfully implemented.

Mr Cheung said advocacy of Hong Kong independence is unacceptable because it is against one country, two systems and the Basic Law.

While maintaining a high degree of autonomy, Hong Kong should protect the countrys sovereignty and integrity, he added.
Chinese President Xi Jinpings visits to Italy, Monaco, and France bear historic significance for the development of relations between China and the three countries, and will inject new vitality to the development of China-Europe relations in the new era.

Scheduled from Mar.21 to 26, Xis visit to Europe will be the first overseas trip in 2019 by the Chinese head of state, also the top leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

As a Chinese poem goes, Bosom friends make distance disappear, Xis visits to these countries are bound to add new momentum to joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and make new contributions to the peace and development of the world.

A partnership forged with the right approach defies geographical distance; it is thicker than glue and stronger than metal and stone. This ancient Chinese saying can be regarded as a perfect depiction of the deep traditional friendship between China and Italy, Monaco, and France, which have generated widespread great stories in the long history of friendly relations between China and the three countries.

As early as over 2,000 years ago, China and ancient Rome were already connected by the Silk Road. The famous explorer Marco Polos Travels roused the first wave of China fever among European countries.

In the royal palace of Monaco, Chinese-style furniture, stone lions, and pavilions reflect the history of the friendly ties between Monaco and China. French Enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire showed strong interest in studying Confucianism, and at the beginning of the 20th century, many CPC leaders went to study in France.

During World War II, French doctor Jean Augustin Bussiere risked his life and transported by bicycle precious medicines to the anti-Japanese base areas.

Friendships are not chosen by chance, but a result of like-minded people. In the new era, high-level exchanges are important in guiding and promoting the efforts to consolidate traditional friendship, enhance strategic mutual trust, carry forward the traditional friendship from generation to generation, and deepen the development of comprehensive cooperation. This time, Xis visits will certainly bring new momentum to the traditional friendship between China and the three European countries.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership, while next year the two countries will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.

Xis visit to Italy, which is the first visit by a Chinese head of state to Italy in nearly 10 years, will create a new chapter in bilateral ties, enabling the two nations to build more on past achievements and strive for new progress.

Over the past 24 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Monaco, the two nations have enjoyed win-win cooperation while adhering to the principle of mutual respect and treating each other as equals.

In recent years, China and Monaco have carried out in-depth cooperation in such fields as ecological and environmental protection, coping with climate change, clean energy, promoting green and low carbon development, and protection of wild animals, setting a model for friendly exchanges between big and small countries.

Xis visit to Monaco, which also marks the first visit by a Chinese president to Monaco, will usher in a new era of the development of bilateral relations between the two countries.

France was the first major Western country to establish diplomatic relations with China. Over the past 55 years, China-France relationship has become a special one among major-country relationships in the world, and it has always been at the forefront of Chinas relations with major developed countries in the West.

Over the past 50 years, our two countries and peoples have followed the principle of independence, mutual understanding, strategic vision and win-win cooperation in growing our bilateral ties, President Xi said at the Meeting Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Establishment of China-France Diplomatic Relations in 2014.

The Chinese Presidents description of China-France ties perfectly revealed the lasting driving force behind the two countries efforts to get closer to each other and carry out sincere cooperation. This time, his visit to France is bound to inaugurate a brighter future of the bilateral ties.

Heart-to-heart communication makes lasting friendship. Under the guidance of high-level exchanges, people-to-people ties between China and Italy, Monaco, and France have been constantly intensified, cementing the popular will foundation for the everlasting strong traditional friendship between China and the three countries.

The close bond and friendship between the peoples will further promote and inject new vitality to the friendly exchanges and the traditional friendship between China and Italy, Monaco, and France.

Friendship is mutual trust deeply rooted in heart. Indeed, friendship is based on trust and will further enhance the trust between two friends.

We firmly believe that President Xis historic visits to the three nations will elevate Chinas relations with Europe, especially the three countries, onto a new level, and open a broader space for the above relations.

Theres no doubt that Xis visits will further enrich friendly exchanges between China and the three European countries, deliver better and more benefits to people of China and Europe, and write new stories of China-Europe friendly relations in the new era.
I came here with an open mind to listen and I am satisfied that I made the correct decision because non-interaction creates fear, suspicion where there ought to be no fear, where there ought to be no suspicion at all. I go back today knowing that the social groups, non-governmental organisations, civic organisations have their country at heart. We have different perspectives on the issues that affect our different communities where we stay or where we operate, not to make things worse but to make things better. What the Government would not want to hear are persons who would not want to make things better. I think we had heads in the sand, our heads are out now, Im afraid you may begin to run away from us when we look for you, he said. Sunday Mail




most traumatising. From road carnage, mining catastrophes to adverse weather phenomena such as this season drought, Zimbabwe has witnessed excruciating events with the latest  Cyclone Idai  being themost traumatising.





When reports started filtering through that all was not well in Chimanimani and Chipinge areas, the first confirmed fatalities were at St Charles Lwanga seminary, where two students and a security guard perished after a landslide.





For three days, teachers and students had to bear the horror of living with the dead while surviving on stale bread.





The tale is punishing to tell for those who survived it, but the schools deputy head Mr Albert Mapunga believes, sometimes some sadness cannot be contained by a few but has to be shared.





He narrates how a group of panicky students scurried in the dark to alert teachers about a tragedy that had struck a Form One dormitory at around 10 pm on Friday March 15.





A debris of huge boulders, trees and mud had just knocked off the dining hall before hitting the walls of the dormitory, says Mr Mapunga.





But when we got to the scene, it was too dark and all we could see was rubble leading us to think it was the dining hall which had gave in and swept to the dormitory.





Mr Mapunga says about 15 of the students who were in the dormitory were trapped in the debris and urgently needed help.





The children, on their own, used small torches to rescue one another. But according to senior teacher Mr Lenon Chizaza, the hardest part of the night was freeing one student Donell Mashawa who was trapped under a bed base, a pile of mud and a huge fallen wall.





It is believed Donell had been trying to reach out to a now deceased Munashe Jena (13) when another wave of mudslide hit the dormitory.





Another boy, Watson Kocherani was also killed after the mudslide. A lot of debris had been washed into the dormitory, says Mr Chizaza. And there was Donell who was trapped.





Using a hammer and a hacksaw, the teachers, with the help of tearful yet spirited students managed to retrieve Donell after a two hour struggle.





It was a very difficult task, at some point we would feel like giving up but the other form one boys kept giving us ideas as to how we could free their friend, says Mr Chizaza.





They had this determination in their eyes and it was so touching such that we kept going on even if we were losing hope and strength.





Having managed to free Donell the teachers and students resorted to sleeping in the classrooms that had not been affected.





But that was not before securing, in another class, the bodies of two students who had succumbed to the ravages of the landslide.





The next morning the teachers tried to get help, but could not leave the school yard as the only way out had been blocked by debris such that no vehicles could pass.





Without connection to the outside world the teachers could neither leave nor send out a distress call leaving them stuck with two bodies and 171 hungry and traumatised students.





That was when we realised that we were on our own, says deputy head Mr Mapunga.





There was no communication, no power, no food and no a way out, we just had to wait and pray.





It was not until lunchtime that the teachers discovered that the security guard Chishamiso Muchabaka was missing.





One of the schools mathematics teachers Mr Martin Chimwandere described the gory manner in which the body of Mr Muchabaka was found.





We had prepared our makeshift lunch, but we did not have utensils to serve the students, he says.





So we had to send a salvage team to look for cups and plates within the debris where the dining hall once stood.





It was then that blood gushed out of the pile as the students stepped on the debris to look for utensils. We dug out to discover that it was the security guards body.





In the meantime, a command centre had been set up in the school bus where phones were being charged and evacuation procedure being coordinated.





A few hours later the teachers made the first contact with the outside world.





Our first link was Roman Catholic Church Mutare district education secretary Mr Lawrence Chibvuri, says Mr Mapunga.





He was the one now getting the information and telling us what to do. He also linked us to the provincial manager of Red Cross Society Mr Paddington Mujoma.





We received our first message of hope when we were told that there were plans to air lift us to Wengezi turn-off.





But another message came through that the helicopters assigned to rescue them could not take off from Harare as it was cloudy and misty.





The only comforting news remained that of members of the Zimbabwe National Army who were clearing the road between Chimanimani and Chipinge who were a few kilometers from Skyline.





We were given instructions to go to Skyline where we would be ferried by army vehicles to Chipinge, said Mr Mapanga.





We told our children of the good news and they were very happy. We advised them to only take the clothes they were wearing and no need to carry blankets and heavy material.





the bodies without paperwork. We also received a call from the Mutare Magistrate Court advising us that there had been a waiver to burythe bodies without paperwork.





The security guard was buried by his relatives in Chipinge. We then made makeshift stretcher beds which we used to carry the bodies of the deceased students.





The teachers and students made a five kilometre trek to Skyline through the forest arriving just before the evening. Unfortunately upon arriving at Skyline there was little coordination and no shelter.





away, for the night as it was raining, before making their way back to Skyline on Monday morning. The crew trekked back to the school farm house about two kilometresaway, for the night as it was raining, before making their way back to Skyline on Monday morning.





After much waiting and frustrated arguments with rescue teams, the students and teachers were finally ferried to Mutare and the majority of them to Harare.





The school is now planning to conduct lessons in Harare upon securing a venue.





Mr Mapunga appealed for donations to assist in the school rebuilding exercise. Sunday Mail








The trial of Mt Pleasant legislator Samuel Banda (MDC-Alliance) for violating the Electoral Act continued last Friday with another state witness Mr Isaac Chidavaenzi saying Banda apologised to him for fraudulently using his address.







Banda was arrested last year for providing a false address during the national Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) exercise.





Prosecuting, Mr Peter Kachirika told the court that Banda allegedly misrepresented to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) that he lived in Mt Pleasant, Harare during the BVR exercise. He contested for the Mt Pleasant House of Assembly which he won.





The address in question is No, 34 Waller Avenue, Mt Pleasant, Harare. Mr Worship Dumba, a candidate in the Mt Pleasant parliamentary elections, reported the matter.





Banda appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Learnmore Mapiye and the trial will continue on April 5.





Komichi. In his evidence in chief, Mr Chidavaenzi who also contested for the Mt Pleasant seat told the court that Banda approached him twice after he had reported to the MDC-Alliance vice president Mr MorgenKomichi.





The first time I heard Banda had used my address No 34 Waller Avenue, Mt Pleasant was three weeks before elections when he had taken part in a radio show.





Thereafter, Banda visited my house and asked me if we would make a pact that if either one of us lost, the loser would work with the winner.





The second time, Banda came around, he said Sorry old man for using your address.It was not my doing but that of my campaign manager, said Mr Chidavaenzi.





Bandas lawyer Mr Job Sikala accused Mr Chidavaenzi of being a bitter loser.





Chidavaenzi denied the allegations saying there was no bad blood between him and Banda.




(Newser)  Scientists are expressing shock and elation over a fossil-find that revisits life half a billion years agoand may just shake up our view of evolution, the Guardian reports. Reported in Science, the Qingjiang site in China includes at least 4,351 fossils representing 101 species, 53 of them new to science. The primitive sponges, algae, jellyfish, and other creatures are also captured in incredible detail, with mouths, eyes, muscles, and gills all visible. The "preservational quality is mindblowing," says paleontologist Martin Smith, who describes the fossils as having "detail finer than a human hair." And they're from a vital period, the Cambrian explosion, when animal life erupted on Earth and rooted the tree of life.

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Like all Cambrian life, these small creatures lived at sea, but were forever changed when a mudflow swept them into colder, deeper water, where they were buried without much oxygen to cause decomposition, per Phys.org. Study author Dongjing Fu and coauthor Xingliang Zhang found them in 2007 when digging through riverbank shale and spent four years unearthing the find, National Geographic reports. Now scientists say it could fill in our knowledge of key animal groups, per the Smithsonian, and better explain how they led to modern species. It's also being compared to two earlier Cambrian fossil sites, the 508-million-year-old Burgess Shale in Canada and 518-million-year-old Chengiang find in China. "I can see a bright future," says Fu. "Qingjiang will be the next Burgess shale." (Read more fossils stories.)
(Newser)  Iowa congressman Steve King may be used to hearing criticism over controversial statements, but that criticism took a much more personal turn on Friday. Police in Fort Dodge, Iowa, arrested a man after they say he threw a glass of water on King at a restaurant, reports KCCI. Blake Gibbins, 26, went to the table where King was eating lunch with a group of people and threw the water when King confirmed he was the GOP congressman, say police, per ABC News. Gibbins faces charges of simple assault and disorderly conduct.

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Police say the attack was politically motivated, but they didn't mention specifics. Most recently, King has taken flak for unfavorably comparing victims of Hurricane Katrina with victims of natural disasters in Iowa, with critics accusing him of playing on racial stereotypes. Before that, he got into hot water in Congress for his comments on white nationalism. (Last year, White House press chief Sarah Sanders was refused service in a Virginia restaurant.)
KATHMANDU, March 23 (Xinhua) -- China Construction Seventh Engineering Division which bagged the contract of expanding a part of Nepal's longest East-West Highway, has started work on the project.

Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Friday laid the foundation stone, inaugurating the expansion work on the 113-km Narayagadh-Butwal Road Expansion Project, which is part of 1,028-km long East-West Highway that runs through southern plain of Nepal.

"The road will be expanded to four lanes from the current two lanes," Keshav Sharma, spokesperson of Nepal's Department of Road, a government entity responsible for developing and maintaining major highways, told Xinhua on Saturday.

"It will have three-meter wide dividers in the middle, separating two lanes in each side which will help reduce road accidents."

Another feature of the expanded road will be the separate service roads in major urban centers along the highway. "Local vehicles ply on these service roads without obstructing the movement of vehicles in the highway," Sharma said.

Almost all major highways in Nepal have just two lanes without dividers and the Nepali government aims to expand all of them into four lanes in the coming years, according to officials.

Oli said on Friday that the entire East-West Highway would be expanded in the coming years. "The years until 2024 will be the period of construction," he said during the foundation stone laying ceremony.

The Chinese company, a subsidiary of China State Construction Engineering Corporation, had bagged the contract in December last year and it has to complete the expansion work within 42 months.

The company was awarded the contract at 17 billion Nepali Rupees (153 million U.S. dollars).

The East-West Highway, which connects Mechi district in the east and Kanchanpur district in the west, was built in 1961 and it works as a vital lifeline to a large section of the population.
(Newser)  In theory, Russian tourist Andrei Zhestkov's plan to smuggle an orangutan out of Bali was ... not great. In execution, it ended exactly as you might expect: With airport scanners somehow failing to miss the 2-year-old sleeping primate in his luggage, and Zhestkov facing smuggling charges that could net him up to five years in prison and a $7,000 fine. Zhestkov told authorities that the reason the orangutan was sleeping so peacefully was because he fed him a combination of allergy pills and milk, designed to knock him out for three hours. The hijinks didn't stop there, however: Sky News reports that officials also found two geckos and five lizards in Zhestkov's luggage. (Read more orangutans stories.)
(Newser)  Dust was settling on the latest victory over Islamic State forces Saturday when a local driver working for NBC News got killed in an explosion. Most media are scant on details, but the AP says the unidentified driver was in a house that doubled as a Syrian Democratic Forces command post and media center in Baghouz when the explosive went off. As the Daily Beast headline reads in part, "Syrian driver killed in booby-trapped media house." Officially, NBC News is investigating: "Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and loved ones," NBC News President Noah Oppenheim says in a statement. "We are still gathering information from todays events, and are in touch with the drivers family to support them however we can."

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An SDF spokesman says Baghouz, a village where the Islamic State made its last stand, is "full of all kinds of explosives." He adds that the SDF is detonating suicide belts and land mines the militants left behind. And while the defeat is a milestone against the Islamic State, Syrian fighters and US officials warn that the militant group has merely gone underground and is still staging fatal attacks, the New York Times reports. "While the caliphate may be dead, Islamic State as we know it may still be alive," said NBC correspondent Matt Bradley as he walked around the decimated village. (Read more Syria stories.)
(Newser)  The death toll from a massacre in a central Malian village rose to 134 dead, the UN said, as new video emerged Sunday showing victims strewn on the ground amid the burning remains of their homes. An ethnic Dogon militia already blamed for scores of attacks in central Mali over the past year attacked an ethnic Peuhl village just before dawn on Saturday. Among the victims in Ogossogou were pregnant women, small children, and the elderly, according to a Peuhl group known as Tabital Pulaaku. Graphic video obtained by the AP shows the aftermath of Saturday's attack, with many victims burned inside their homes. A small child's body is covered with a piece of fabric, and at one point an ID card is shown covered with blood.

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In the capital of Bamako, visiting UN Security Council President Francois Delattre, condemned the killings as an "unspeakable attack" late Saturday. At least 55 people were wounded and the UN mission in Mali said it was "working to ensure the wounded were evacuated." In New York, the UN secretary-general condemned the attack and called on the Malian authorities to swiftly investigate it and bring the perpetrators to justice. Islamic extremists were ousted from urban centers in northern Mali during a 2013 French-led military operation. The jihadists scattered throughout the rural areas, regrouped, and began launching numerous attacks against the Malian military and the UN mission. Since 2015, extremism has edged all the way to central Mali where it has exacerbated tensions between the Dogon and Peuhl groups.

(Read more terrorism stories.)
(Newser)  Hollywood A-listers like Sarah Jessica Parker and Amy Poehler are bent on saving New York waitressesbut the response thus far isn't exactly positive, the New York Times reports. The celebs are among 16 actresses who wrote New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo urging him to raise servers' lower minimum wage in order to create a better environment for working women. Saying 70% of restaurant servers are female, the letter pointed to research that "relying on tips creates a more permissive work environment where customers feel entitled to abuse women in exchange for 'service,'" per the New York Daily News. "Women deserve to earn a fair base wage so that the tips they still collect don't come at a personal cost."

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But some New York servers are pushing back, saying they earn more from tips and don't want celebrity support. "The resounding message from servers in New York to these actresses in Hollywood is to just leave us alone," says Maggie Raczynski, who tends bar at an Outback Steakhouse upstate. "These celebrities have literally no idea. I feel like they need to butt out." She also wrote a pretty biting letter to the A-listers on behalf of the Restaurant Workers of America. As it stands, the minimum wage for tipped workers is $2.13 federally, $7.50 in upstate New York, and $10 in New York City. The state's Labor Department is reviewing the issue, which could also affect businesses like food delivery, nail salons, and car washes. (Read more minimum wage stories.)
(Newser)  It has arrived: Attorney General William Barr delivered a four-page letter Sunday to Congress summarizing the central findings of the Mueller probe, the New York Times reports. In the letter, Barr says Robert Mueller's team didn't find sufficient evidence of President Trump colluding with Russia but also didn't give him a pass. "The Special Counsel states that 'while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him,'" Barr writes, adding that "the Special Counsel ... did not draw a conclusionone way or the otheras to whether the examined conduct constituted obstruction." That left it up to Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to decide whether an obstruction of justice case could be made. The letter goes on:

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Insufficient evidence : He and Rosenstein "have concluded that the evidence developed during the Special Counsels investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense."

: He and Rosenstein "have concluded that the evidence developed during the Special Counsels investigation is not sufficient to establish that the President committed an obstruction-of-justice offense." Not because he's president : Barr adds that their decision "was made without regard to ... constitutional considerations that surround the indictment and criminal prosecution of a sitting president."

: Barr adds that their decision "was made without regard to ... constitutional considerations that surround the indictment and criminal prosecution of a sitting president." Trump's campaign : Mueller also lacked evidence of Trump campaign officials aiding Russian-government interference in the 2016 elections, notes Politico. "The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities," per the letter.

: Mueller also lacked evidence of Trump campaign officials aiding Russian-government interference in the 2016 elections, notes Politico. "The investigation did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities," per the letter. 'Difficult issues' : On each matter, "the report sets out evidence on both sides of the question and leaves unresolved what the Special Counsel views as 'difficult issues' of law and fact concerning whether the Presidents actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction."

: On each matter, "the report sets out evidence on both sides of the question and leaves unresolved what the Special Counsel views as 'difficult issues' of law and fact concerning whether the Presidents actions and intent could be viewed as obstruction." What you can prove : Barr says two criteria were needed for a solid obstruction case: An action needed to have "a nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding" and be "done with corrupt intent." Apparently, none did.

: Barr says two criteria were needed for a solid obstruction case: An action needed to have "a nexus to a pending or contemplated proceeding" and be "done with corrupt intent." Apparently, none did. Read the full letter here.

(Read more Russia investigation stories.)
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Jim Gibertoni recently restored a 1929 Caterpillar tractor. The Cat was bought new by Jim Liska of Manley, and it spent most of its life there.
Mayor Jim Matherly listens to public testimony as community members filled the Fairbanks City Council Chambers to capacity to give and listen to public testimony during the City Council meeting Oct.
The city of Rome has been surrounded by a friendly atmosphere these days. Before Chinese President Xi Jinpings state visit to the European country, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, and other politicians and famous people of various circles received interviews with Peoples Daily.

The most special interview was the one we had with former Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. Though the 94-year-old respectable could not talk to us face-to-face due to his health conditions, he published a signed article on Peoples Daily to send his best regards to President Xi.

These interviewees expressed a common view that China is open and confident under Xis leadership, and has made impressive progress. They agree that China has created important opportunities for Italy and the world as a whole through its own development.

As two ancient civilizations in Asia and Europe, China and Italy started to share a special connection since more than 2,000 years ago.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD), Chinese emissary Gan Ying was sent to search for "Da Qin", the Chinese name of the Roman Empire at the time. When Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.), the legendary Roman general turned up at a theater draped in splendid Chinese silk, he caused a big stir. The famous explorer Marco Polo's Travels roused the first wave of "China fever" among European countries.

In addition, from Martino Martini, author of the first Chinese grammar book in Europe, to the Peking opera version of Turandot jointly launched by artists of the two countries, numerous vivid pictures have depicted the frequent exchanges and friendly dialogues between the two ancient civilizations.

Last year, Italy's Economic Development Ministry launched the Task Force China, a mechanism aimed at boosting economic relations with China. The move has displayed an active and pragmatic attitude of the Italian government toward strengthening cooperation with China. In 2018, China-Italy bilateral trade exceeded $50 billion, and two-way investment surpassed $20 billion.

President Xis visit is a significant event for not only both countries concerned, but also the whole world, said Italys Finance Minister Giovanni Tria, adding that the trip will exert important influence over Europe-China relations and the world as a whole.

China and Italy are both supporters of multilateralism and free trade. The two countries could enhance communication and cooperation on global governance, climate change, reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO), so as to jointly safeguard global peace and stability, as well as development and prosperity.

The Italian side expects and believes that President Xis visit will surely provide strong impetus and open a brighter prospect for the two countries to elevate their comprehensive strategic partnership.

Martine, a clerk of a jewelry store at Spanish Square in Rome, speaks fluent Chinese. The young lady graduating from the Italian Institute of Oriental Studies at Sapienza University of Rome told Peoples Daily that she has studied at Beijing Foreign Studies University and has a Chinese name Ma Lin.

Excited about President Xis visit, Martine said Chinas openness, development and prosperity is beyond her imagination, adding that Italy needs China to develop. I look forward to revisiting China as soon as possible, she told Peoples Daily.

In the course of over two millennia, our two countries have embraced the principles of mutual respect, mutual learning, mutual trust and mutual understanding in our interactions, principles that underpin our long-lasting, ever-strong friendship, President Xi said in the signed article published on an Italian newspaper before his visit.

The principle is in line with the traditional Chinese culture of inclusiveness and harmony, which is to seek harmony within diversity and pursue common prosperity. The world is a community of shared future for mankind, though countries have different social systems, culture backgrounds, and development stages.

Only by having the mind and perspective that seeks inclusiveness, as well as the trait and spirit that pursues harmony can we eliminate conflicts between different civilizations and realize common development.

Forging a new form of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win-win cooperation conforms to the trend of the times and is a natural choice of history, at a time when the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century.

The ancient Silk Road has composed an ever-lasting epic between China and Italy. In the new era, the two countries have the confidence and wisdom to upgrade the traditional friendship which is deeply rooted in history into concrete actions to enhance strategic mutual trust, consolidate pragmatic cooperation, promote cultural exchanges and strengthen communication and coordination, so as to better benefit the two peoples and the world.
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BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Online live-streaming has helped attract more young people to Chinese traditional culture and created new forms of cultural performance, which is considered conducive to popularizing and keeping traditional culture alive, Guangming Daily reported.

The newspaper said live-streaming has rekindled young people's interests in Chinese traditional culture. Guangming Online rolled out more than 30 series of online live streams about intangible cultural heritage in 2017 and received around 30 million views, it said.

It has offered a brand new stage for traditional culture performers and brought different experiences to its audience, according to the newspaper.

An online anchor, once a Cantonese Opera actor, got popular by performing traditional opera on the live-streaming platform Kugou in an innovative way -- by rapping in Cantonese, it said.

Bai Jin, a Beijing Opera actor from a Beijing-based theater, was quoted as saying that live-streaming has changed the content and forms of traditional culture, which previously did not meet the diversified aesthetic demands of modern society.

"It feels like talking with the heroine face to face," a netizen was quoted as saying about a live-streaming performance of "The Peony Pavilion," a well-known Kunqu Opera by China's ancient playwright Tang Xianzu.

In addition to traditional opera, Chinese traditional culture of various kinds such as ancient garments and folk handicrafts have also found their way to live-streaming platforms.

It has not only boosted the popularity of traditional culture but also improved the environment of online live-streaming, according to the newspaper.

"Live-streaming of traditional culture means more than shouldering social responsibility and has increased the popularity of our platform," Jia Wei, director of the live-streaming business of social media Momo, was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, the newspaper suggested young professionals in this field learn more from veteran artists and raise their performance levels, and integrate traditional Chinese culture into daily life.
Nigerian army has vowed to deal with Igbavbou Lucky, a private in the Nigerian army, who was arrested over his alleged involvement in ...





Nigerian army has vowed to deal with Igbavbou Lucky, a private in the Nigerian army, who was arrested over his alleged involvement in cultism.





Lucky was among the 103 suspects arrested and paraded by the Edo state police command at a press briefing.





The soldier was apprehended at Ekpoma, while celebrating his birthday with other suspected cult members.





He was reportedly dressed in a army camouflage trouser and vest at the time of his arrest.





In its reaction, the army said Lucky was deployed in the north-east but he deserted the army in January





Mohammed Maidawa, a captain and assistant director, army public relations, said the case is being investigated and appropriate sanctions will be taken at the end of the day





The attention of Headquarters 4 Brigade Nigerian Army has been drawn to a media publication dated 23 March, 2019. In the said publication, it was alleged that Private Igbavbou Lucky was arrested and paraded by the State Police Command for occult activities, the statement read.





For emphasis, Nigerian Army (NA) is a professional organization with extant policies that regulates the conduct of its personnel. The NA does not allow any of its personnel to belong to any confraternity such as cult groups and related associations. Consequently, any of its personnel who crosses the red line in this regard will face the full rigour of military discipline.





The general public should be rest assured that the case will be thoroughly investigated and the military justice system will take it course. The alleged case of Private Igbavbou Lucky who was arrested is an isolated case. Additionally, it is germane to state that he is a deserter from 101 SF Bn in the North East of the country since January 2019. Thus, his conduct is a complete negation of the minimum behavioural conduct expected from a personnel of the Nigerian Army.The general public should be rest assured that the case will be thoroughly investigated and the military justice system will take it course.




Governor Samuel Ortom of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has been declared winner of the Benue State governorship election. Ort...





Governor Samuel Ortom of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has been declared winner of the Benue State governorship election.





Ortom was declared winner on Sunday by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, after the supplementary election held in some polling units across the state.





The PDP candidate defeated his main challenger, Emmanuel Jime of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to win his second term ticket.




Former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel, says he never reached a deal with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to dump the Peoples ...





Former Ogun State Governor, Gbenga Daniel, says he never reached a deal with the All Progressives Congress (APC) to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).





Earlier in the month, Daniel quit the party as well as partisan politics.





The development led to condemnation from critics, who described him as a mole and said he was about to join the APC for some rewards.





In a chat with Vanguard, Daniel further explained reasons for the decision and his last minute declaration of support for Dapo Abiodun, the Ogun governor-elect.

He said: The position remains that I have resigned from the PDP and from partisan politics and that resignation is in writing and no ambiguity. The people say I must lead them to APC and as I speak I have not agreed.





I have done and that is my decision. Im back in my office and Ive been in my office since Monday and Im at peace. I moved to Government House in Abeokuta from this same office. Now Im back because Ive got work to do.





The fact of the case is that we as younger people have complained about sit-tight leaders who do not create space for others to move up, and that for me to do what Ive done, I should be commended.





On allegation that he negotiated with APC national leader, Bola Tinubu before supporting Abiodun, Daniel said: It is common knowledge that Tinubu is my friend. It is common knowledge that we disagreed at a point politically and he fought me to a standstill albeit indirectly.





But as we get older and more mature, in retrospect, we should make peace. So I have made my peace with all the people who have issues with me and they include Tinubu, Osoba, Obasanjo, even Kashamu. No more wars.





I have explained exhaustively the situation with our local politics and the reason for what we had to do without any preconditions or MOU or any financial consideration from any quarters, its just not in my character.





Asked to comment on his relationship with Atiku Abubakar, PDP presidential candidate, and the case in court, the former governor replied: I took him into confidence about what I wanted to do in Ogun State.





Im sure he also understands how local politics works. He may not be happy with my decision to leave the PDP but hes a strong politician.




Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi, has sent a strong message to President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government regarding the sec...





Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi, has sent a strong message to President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government regarding the security situation in the country.





He spoke in reaction to the kidnap and release of the mother of fellow Super Eagles star, Samuel Kalu.





I called Samuel when his mother was kidnapped and gave him my advice as someone who has been through it twice. I knew how he would be feeling. I was glad when his mother was released because you dont want anyone going through that.





I suppose these things happen every day with different families and obviously we want to see the authorities take more responsibility, but Nigeria is a very crowded place and you cant manage the security.




The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Ahmed Aliyu, and Senator Aliyu Wamakko, on Sunday congratulated Governor ...





The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Ahmed Aliyu, and Senator Aliyu Wamakko, on Sunday congratulated Governor Aminu Tambuwal for emerging winner of the just concluded supplementary poll in the State.





Their congratulatory message was contained in a tweet by the official Twitter handle of the Sokoto State Government House.





The tweet reads, BreakingNews: Sen @WamakkoAliyu and Sokoto APC Gubernatorial Candidate Ahmed Aliyu call to Congratulate @AWTambuwal on his Victory.





The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Sokoto State, Governor Aminu Tambuwal, was declared winner of the governorship election in the state.





Tambuwal won with a slim margin, after collation of results from 22 Local Governments Areas (LGAs), where supplementary election took place.




Policemen and officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) clashed at head office of the Independent National Electoral Commiss...





Policemen and officials of the Department of State Services (DSS) clashed at head office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kano state on Sunday.





The altercation was over a fresh screening conducted by the DSS at the collation centre.





Journalists and observers were already seated in the collation hall, waiting for continuation of the event when security personnel asked everyone to leave the hall and present themselves for another screening.





Armed DSS, reportedly drafted from Abuja, took over the screening and the policemen who had controlled entry into the hall earlier were pushed aside.

This led to a dispute between policemen and one of the DSS operatives which almost turned ugly save for the intervention of a senior security officer.





A similar incident happened between policemen and soldiers in Rivers state on March 10, forcing INEC to suspend all electoral processes in the state.





There was widespread disruption and violence during the supplementary election in Kano on Saturday.





As a result of this, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) called for the cancellation of the rerun.





Rabiu Sulaiman-Bichi, acting chairman of the PDP, alleged that the process had completely been taken over by armed political thugs.





Today this charade called re-run election was slated to hold in Kano and other states but unfortunately, what we have in Kano is nothing but a sham, he had said.





But reacting, the All Progressives Congress (APC) had said the major opposition party was afraid of losing the election, hence, the call for the cancellation of the rerun.




Undated file photo shows police dog Huahuangma. Three-month-old Kunxun arrived at Kunming Police Dog Base from Beijing earlier this month to receive training. Kunxun was born in December 2018 in Beijing at a healthy condition with 540 grams in weight and 23 centimeters in length. Kunxun was cloned from a 7-year-old female police dog named Huahuangma, which is considered a great detective dog. According to a test by a institution, Kunxun's DNA is over 99.9 percent identical to that of Huahuangma. (Xinhua)
PARIS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's upcoming state visits to France and Monaco will further promote China's relations with the two countries, Chinese Ambassador to France Zhai Jun has said.

Xi, who is now in Italy for a state visit, will travel to Monaco and France later during his ongoing three-nation Europe tour, his first overseas trip this year.

Xi's visit to France, five years after his last, comes at a time when the world is undergoing great changes unseen in a century and multilateralism and global governance are reaching a crossroads, Zhai told Xinhua in a recent exclusive interview.

"As two permanent members of the UN (United Nations) Security Council and two countries with global influence, China and France have responsibilities for the future of mankind," he said. "The importance of bilateral relations has increased under the new circumstances."

This year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and France. Despite the vicissitudes in the international landscape, Zhai said, China-France relations have been steadily advancing along the way blazed by the previous generations of the two countries' leaders and have made great achievements.

China-France cooperation, he noted, has now been expanded to many fields ranging from agriculture, advanced manufacturing and health care to nuclear energy, aerospace and artificial intelligence.

In 2018, bilateral trade reached 60 billion U.S. dollars, and more than 2.3 million Chinese tourists visited France, both registering a record high, said Zhai.

Now over 100,000 French students are learning Chinese, while the number of Chinese students studying in France is expected to reach 50,000 in 2020, he added, also noting that the two countries have so far set up over 100 pairs of sister cities.

"The link between China and France has never been so close like today, and the peoples of the two countries have never been so eager to understand each other," Zhai said.

The ambassador noted that three major features have emerged in China-France and China-Europe relations: ever closer strategic coordination, ever deeper practical cooperation and ever stronger social support for the friendships.

In a world with rising uncertainties due to unilateralism, protectionism and other challenges, China and France, as well as Europe as a whole, are unwaveringly committed to safeguarding the multilateral international governance system and the open and liberal international economic order, and serving as key stabilizing factors in the world, Zhai said.

He pointed out that trade relations between China and Europe have become increasingly close. For example, the China-Europe Railway Express has connected China to 50 cities in 15 European countries within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Both China and Europe, he said, seek to push forward economic globalization in a more open, inclusive and balanced manner that features win-win cooperation and benefits all.

In the education realm, 131 Confucius Institutes have been established in European Union (EU) member states, and all 24 official languages of the EU are being taught in Chinese colleges, Zhai said, adding that about 300,000 Chinese students are studying in EU countries, while over 45,000 EU students are studying in China.

"These figures show that China-France and China-Europe relations enjoy an increasingly robust foundation of public support and an increasingly bright future," he said.

On China-Monaco relations, Zhai, who is also China's ambassador to Monaco, said Xi's state visit to the principality, the first-ever by a Chinese president, bears "epoch-making significance."

Although the two countries are distant from each other and different in size, China and Monaco respect each other, treat each other equally, and have enjoyed a smooth development in bilateral relations, he said.

The relationship, full of positive energy, "sets a good example of big and small countries fostering friendly relations and pursuing common development," Zhai said.
The 2019 China Development Forum (CDF) initiated by the Development Research Center of The State Council kicked off on March 23 in Beijing, under the theme of "Greater Opening-up for Win-Win Cooperation". Peoples Daily Online held an exclusive interview with Charles-Edouard Bouee, global CEO of international consulting firm Roland Berger and he said that China has entered on a new era of opening-up under the passed Foreign Investment Law.

Mr. Bouee spoke highly of the 2019 CDF, noting the resolution of all participants to reach a consensus to embrace greater opening-up for win-win cooperation. Everyone here is looking at making the world better, stronger and with more cooperation," said Mr. Bouee, Its a good vibration.

The year 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China. Mr. Bouee applauded the profound transformation that China has made over the last 70 years and brought up his idea about Chinas economic transformation in terms of high-quality development. In his opinion, high-quality development includes quality of products, quality of services, innovation and quality of management.

Charles-Edouard Bouee CEO of Roland Berger (Photo/Wang Yuran)

When it comes to the newly passed Foreign Investment Law, Mr. Bouee said that China has always been open to the world, and the country is now entering a new era where domestic companies could improve their product quality by competing with their foreign counterparts.

He also added that the biggest challenge right now is the implementation of the law to ensure a high-level business environment for foreign investors.

Besides reform and opening-up, Mr. Bouee also spoke highly of China's Belt and Road Initiative. The Belt and Road Initiative is a good idea, said Mr. Bouee, adding that it been well communicated and welcomed by countries all over the world.

Watch our exclusive interview to find out more about Mr. Bouees opinion on Chinas development, legal protection of private enterprises and the future of technology.
Palestine slams Trump's recognition of Israel's sovereignty over Golan as "boost to colonialism"

RAMALLAH, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Saturday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's tweeted recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights as "a boost to colonialism and the acquisition of territory by force."

"The American and Israeli positions calling for recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan are contrary to international law and constitute a flagrant violation of international legality and its relevant resolutions, in particular the resolution 497," the ministry said in a statement.

The U.S. move reflects "attempts by the Trump administration to topple the foundations of international order while hijacking and controlling it," the statement added.

The Palestinian foreign ministry urged regional countries to unite against "the American bias toward the Israeli occupation."

Israel occupied the Golan Heights from Syria during the 1967 Middle East war and then annexed it in 1981, in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

Earlier in the day, Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saed Erekat told the official Palestinian radio station Voice of Palestine that the next step for the U.S. government "would be to annex the West Bank and recognize a state in Gaza under the banner of Hamas."

Trump's declaration "reflects that we are living in a era beyond the international, international legitimacy and the world order that has been consolidated for over thousands of years," said Erekat.

Trump on Thursday called for officially recognizing Israel's sovereignty over Golan in a tweet.

"After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel's Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!" Trump tweeted.

Israeli public radio said Trump is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington next week.
NEW YORK, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Some 500 experts, scholars, policymakers and practitioners in the field of education gathered in New York on Saturday to discuss new trends in the industry and the importance of educational exchange between the United States and China.

During her keynote speech at the opening of the third annual U.S.- China Education Forum of Columbia University, Julia Chang Bloch, president of the U.S.-China Education Trust, a U.S.-based non-profit organization, said she firmly believes that education is the foundation for building understanding and trust, and has been a "cornerstone" of the U.S.-China relationship.

As the two countries are facing some difficulties in bilateral ties, it is "more important than ever to draw on the power of education exchange to build mutual trust, avoid conflict, and ensure peace and prosperity in the 21st century," said 77-year-old Bloch, whose father F.Y. Chang was among the first Chinese students coming to study in the United States over 100 years ago.

Bloch, former U.S. ambassador to Nepal and also the first Asian American to hold such a high diplomatic position in U.S. history, called on educators from both sides to play an essential role in promoting one of the most important bilateral ties in the world today.

Those who have had the opportunity of studying, living and working in both countries need to step up efforts to safeguard U.S.-China relations against misunderstanding, misperception and miscalculation, she added.

Jointly hosted by Columbia University Teachers College Chinese Student and Scholar Association (TCCSSA) and Global China Connection (GCC), the two-day event will also have dozens of panel discussions on early childhood education, educational technology and innovation, career development, and other key issues in the industry.

TCCSSA, founded in 1913, is the largest student organization in Teachers College, Columbia University and dedicated to bridging U.S.-China conversations through education.

GCC, founded in 2008 also at Columbia University, is a nonprofit organization for university students and young professionals of all nationalities looking to engage China's emergence in the world. GCC is today present in more than 60 universities worldwide.
The newly launched 4-level cruise ship is powered by clean wind energy and is set to arrive in Wadi Halfa in northern Sudan 27 March

The first touristic trip by a clean energy cruise ship sailed Saturday evening in the Nile between Egypt and Sudan, MENA news agency reported.

On its journey between Egypt and Sudan, the ship passed through Lake Nasser.

Moustafa Amer, deputy chairman of the Nile Valley Authority for River Navigation, told MENA that the ship is headed from Lake Nasser to Wadi Halfa in northern Sudan.

Amer said the trip is scheduled to arrive at the port of Wadi Halfa on 27 March, confirming that the newly launched 4-level cruise ship is powered by clean wind energy.

He explained that the ship has all the means of modern navigation to ensure arrival in Sudan.

He added that the cruise is the first of its kind to be launched between Egypt and Sudan and that it is different from commercial flight alternatives. Passengers can enjoy a number of tourist attractions along the Nile between Egypt and Sudan.

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On Saturday morning, hundreds of thousands of people marched in central London to protest Britain's exit from the European Union. According to the organizers of the "Put It To The People" campaign, more than one million people joined the rally to Parliament. BBC reports that the size of the crowd is at par with the Stop the War March in 2003  a huge gathering of people in London against the war in Iraq, which happened to be the largest march of the century.

The protestors marching to Parliament were holding signs, asking for the Brexit deal to be put to a public vote. Many of them definitely tried to get the government's attention by being creative with their placards. Here are some of our favorites:

About to join the #PeoplesVoteMarch. Lots of great placards! pic.twitter.com/Wv9pR83YS8  Sarah Hill (@SarahLouHill) March 23, 2019

Best sign of the march so far #PeoplesVoteMarch pic.twitter.com/LiXjb2bLNL  Fiona Beckett (@winematcher) March 23, 2019
Flash Floods Wreak Havoc In Northern Iran

03/24/19

Source: RFE/RL

Heavy rains have battered Iran's northern provinces of Golestan and Mazandaran, leaving homes flooded and others without power.



Flooding in Aqqala, Golestan Province, Iran

(photo by Islamic Republic News Agency)



The water is subsiding in flood-hit Golestan and Mazandaran provinces in northern Iran, local news outlets reported on March 23, as dozens of cities and villages have suffered from the heavy rains.



The Iran Meteorological Organization (IRMO) warned that some areas in the west and southwest of the country were also being threatened by freezing temperatures and flash floods.



Torrential rains over the past three days have destroyed residential areas and infrastructure in Golestan and Mazandaran, which are located along the Caspian Sea.



Flooding in Sari, Mazandaran Province, Iran

(See more photos by Islamic Republic News Agency)

Torrential rains were followed by power outages in rural districts of Golestan Province, state IRINN TV reported.



"More than half of Aqqala, the capital city of Aqqala county in Golestan Province, is engulfed by flooding," the report added.



Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered senior officials to "make rapid efforts to provide assistance" for those affected.



Aqqala, Golestan Province, Iran

In a statement issued on March 23, Rouhani ordered Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli to speed up measures to help residents of the two provinces and dispatch necessary assistance from neighboring regions.



Hours earlier, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had released a statement regarding the floods in which he said that "popular and governmental systems" have an important responsibility to relieve people's suffering.



Khamenei issued an order to Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad-Hossein Baqeri calling for more facilities for flood-stricken areas, the government's official news agency, IRNA, reported.



Immediately responding to the order, Baqeri expressed the armed forces' readiness to help the flood-hit regions.



Flooding in Aqqala, Golestan Province, Iran

(photo by Mehr News Agency)

According to IRNA, flash floods have forced people in many areas to flee, and the cities of Aqqala and Gomishan in Golestan had been evacuated.



Many people took to social media to criticize Rouhani and his administration for not traveling to the affected areas.



Reportedly, Rouhani is on holiday on Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf.



Rouhani's first deputy, Eshaq Jahangiri, arrived in the late evening of March 23 in Golestan's capital city, Gorgan.



"The Iranian government will stand by people in all difficulties," he said before firing the province's local governor who was on holiday abroad and came back only after Jahangiri's speech.



Flooding in Aqqala, Golestan Province, Iran

(photo by Mehr News Agency)

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani also visited his homeland of Mazandaran Province.



Touring some flood-hit areas, Larijani called for aid for those affected by the disaster and preparations to restore damaged infrastructure.



Flooding in Aqqala, Golestan Province, Iran

(See more photos by Islamic Republic News Agency)

After visiting Golestan Province, Rahmani Fazli said people had access to basic necessities and that aid workers were doing their best.



There has been no official report on the number of casualties from the floods.



Initial reports said nine people had died and one person was missing in Golestan, Northern Khorasan, and Mazandaran provinces.



Tents setup in Aqqala, Golestan Province, Iran

(photo by Islamic Republic News Agency)

TV footage from Mazandaran and Golestan showed massive flows of water engulfing roads and streets, cars being washed away, people struggling to walk, and traffic being disrupted.



The spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Salman Samani, said 200 billion rials (approximately $4.8 million) had been allocated for crisis management in flood-hit areas.



Flooding in Aqqala, Golestan Province, Iran

(See more photos by Mehr News Agency)

Several ecologists and environment experts have said the flooding is the direct result of local forests being razed and decreasing vegetation. Nonetheless, the deputy for construction to Mazandaran's governor, Mehdi Razjouyan, insisted there is no connection between the recent flash floods and upper vegetation in the area.



The IRMO has warned that torrential rains and heavy snowfall are expected to hit the western and southwestern provinces of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, as well as parts of Lorestan, in the coming days.
Peaceful Labor Activist Sentenced to Prison in 10-Minute Trial In Iran

03/24/19

Source: Center for Human Rights in Iran

Labor activist As'ad Behnam Ebrahimzadeh has been sentenced to five years in prison without due process.

Another Labor Activist Appeals Flogging Sentence



As'ad Behnam Ebrahimzadeh

Labor activist As'ad Behnam Ebrahimzadeh has been sentenced to six years in prison (of which he must serve five, subject to appeal) and ordered to copy three books by hand for engaging in peaceful activities including attending protests by sugar mill workers in southwestern Iran.

Ebrahimzadeh told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) on March 16, 2019, that his trial lasted only 10 minutes, that he was not allowed time to prepare a defense and that he was denied access to a lawyer.

"In court I complained that according to the law, I should have been given a week's notice to prepare for the trial and have a chance to appear with a lawyer," he said. "But the judge said I don't need a lawyer."

Arrested by agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Intelligence Organization in Tehran on December 12, 2018, the 41-year-old was held for 35 days mostly in solitary confinement in Evin Prison's Ward 2-A before being transported to court without prior notice or the presence of his lawyer.

During a 10-minute trial in February 2019 at Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran presided by Judge Iman Afshari, Ebrahimzadeh was sentenced to one year in prison for the charge of "propaganda against the state" and five years in prison for "membership in illegal organizations." After the application of Article 134 of the Islamic Penal Code, Ebrahimzadeh would serve five years of that sentence, subject to appeal.

The indictment referred to political comments Ebrahimzadeh had made on social media, his criticism of government relief efforts during a recent earthquake in western Iran, and his presence at demonstrations by Haft Tappeh sugar mill workers in Shush, Khuzestan Province, who were protesting for unpaid wages, Ebrahimzadeh told CHRI.

Independent unions are not allowed to operate in Iran, strikers often lose their jobs and risk arrest, and labor leaders who attempt to organize workers and bargain collectively are prosecuted under national security charges and sentenced to long prison sentences.

Ebrahimadeh previously spent seven years in prison until his release in June 2017 for charges related to his trade union activities, advocacy of children's rights, and for calling for the release of political prisoners.

Labor Activist Appeals Flogging Sentence

Meanwhile, the lawyer of imprisoned labor activist Jafar Azimzadeh has appealed a flogging sentence against his client.



Jafar Azimzadeh



"Following a decision by Branch 1190 of the Criminal Court in Tehran to flog Jafar Azimzadeh 30 times allegedly for being absent after spending time in furlough, I have lodged an appeal that will hopefully result in his acquittal," attorney Mohammad Ali Jafari Foroughi told the state-funded Iranian Labor News Agency on March 16.

The United Nations has declared flogging a cruel and inhuman punishment tantamount to torture.

The secretary general of the Free Workers Union of Iran (FWUI), Azimzadeh was arrested on January 29, 2019, to serve the remaining five years of his six-year prison sentence issued for his peaceful defense of worker's rights.

He was released from Evin Prison for medical reasons on July 2016 after a 64-day hunger strike. The authorities claim he was granted furlough (temporary leave) and never returned to complete his prison term.

"Flogging a worker only makes sense to insane plunderers who think we are their slaves," the FWUI said in a statement issued on March 19 in condemnation against the court's decision.
PHOTOS: Colorful and Festive Norooz Celebration in Kurdish Village of Niar

03/24/19

Photos by Seyed Mosleh Pirkhezranian, Islamic Republic News Agency

The arrival of spring coincides with the beginning of the Persian New Year Norooz. This is a festive occasion for Iranians and many other countries in the region. People in different parts of Iran celebrate Norooz with their local customs and traditions. Some of the most joyful and colorful celebrations are held in villages of Kurdestan province in western Iran. These photos show Norooz celebration in the village of Niar.



































































































About Norooz:

International Norooz Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/64/253 of 2010, at the initiative of several countries that share this holiday (Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan.

Inscribed in 2009 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as a cultural tradition observed by numerous peoples, Norooz is an ancestral festivity marking the first day of spring and the renewal of nature. It promotes values of peace and solidarity between generations and within families as well as reconciliation and neighbourliness, thus contributing to cultural diversity and friendship among peoples and different communities.
Anti-Brexit protesters have travelled from all over the country to London for the 'Put it to the People March' as the online petition urging the government to cancel Brexit passed four and a half million signatures.



Opponents of Britain's departure from the European Union began gathering in Hyde Park from 12pm before converging on Westminster and organisers claim a million people turned up to voice their concerns over the decision to leave the EU.



If true, today's demonstration would be the biggest since 2003 when an estimated one million people protested against the Iraq War in the streets of London.



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Government through the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has begun a campaign to encourage supermarkets and foreign retail shops in the country to promote locally produced goods dubbed Made in Ghana Display.



Consequently the FDA has commenced engagements with major supermarkets and retail outlets to allocate specific sections in their supermarkets and shops for Made in Ghana products. This is aimed at enhancing easy access to local products even in these shops and adding to efforts to deepen markets for made in Ghana products.



Addressing Journalists in Accra, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah and Chief Executive Officer of the FDA, Mrs. Delese Darko revealed that some of the targeted shops have already begun dedicating prime shelves to Ghanaian manufactured products.



The CEO of FDA recently launched the Buy Ghana Love Ghana at the Koala Supermarket here in Accra and we want to challenge other retail shops to replicate same said Mr. Nkrumah.



He disclosed that while at this, the FDA is also poised to expedite the registration of locally manufactured products to meet International standards. This will facilitate easy admission into global retail outlets both here and abroad.



Chief Executive Officer of the FDA, Mrs. Delese Darko said her organisation was making every effort to assist the local industry meet international standards.



It is worth noting at this point that, the food industry contributes hugely to the local economy and the efforts of the FDA to bring this industry to international standards and create more shelf space for it in our local supermarkets cannot be overemphasized. We urge the local manufacturing companies and start-ups to take advantage of this and register their products so they can equally compete on the market she said.





Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









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Lance Corporal Frederick Amanor Godzi, the police officer who assaulted a woman at Midland Savings and Loans Company in Accra is not free yet according to the Director-General of the Public Affairs unit of the Ghana Police Service, ACP David Eklu.



The Police officer who had criminal charges levelled against him was discharged for want of prosecution



Giving further explanation when he appeared on TV3's 'Key Point' programme, Saturday, ACP Eklu said you can interdict an officer up to 90 days and that even though he seems free in the eyes of the public, he is 'undergoing Police administrative inquiry'.



According to him, "currently he is working pending the outcome of the internal procedures"



So as I speak now, he is now going through a trial administratively to determine whether his conduct is in line with police professional conduct...If he was convicted (by the court), he would have been dismissed from the Police Service automatically. Since that action did not lead to a conviction, he is back now facing administrative service inquiry" he added.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Throwing a party at the ministry of finance to mark Ghana's exiting from the IMF Program and the over-subscription of the Euro-bond, as well as the appreciation of the Cedi, has been described by the Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper as the "weirdest ever" in the annals of the country's political history by any government.



According to him, he does not see the need for such a celebration when it is the government that decided to extend the IMF program for one year without promptings from anybody.



Speaking as a panel member on Radio Golds Alhaji and Alhaji talk show, Kwesi Pratt was of the view that, the celebration is giving the impression that Ghana is being saved from the IMF; noting that the same day that the celebration was held, Ghanaian newspapers reported that Ghana has secured a loan of $185.2 million from the same IMF.



You go to borrow, using the same things that Seth Terkper and Co used; we have had the same over-subscription under Mahama and Seth Terkper and there was no party to celebrate...and then we say that the Cedi has begun appreciating, so there is a party to celebrate; sometimes I think that some of our politicians take all of us for fools and that is what they do all the time, he fumed.



He stressed that our politicians actually believe that those of us who queue up in the sun to vote for them, we must be big fools, otherwise, why will they behave in this manner?



To him, it does not matter the Currency in which a country trades, that Cedi will continue to depreciate if there is a continuous dependent on others for things like toothpicks, tomatoes, clothes, shoes, spectacles, and everything.



He explained that the value of a Currency depends on a function of policy and correct implementation of that policy as well as a function of international trade; adding that so long as Ghana has signed foreign exchange retention agreement with mining companies which allows the mining companies to keep 98% of the value of the metals exported from the country in foreign banks, the Cedi will continue to depreciate.



"...these are the issues we ought to be looking at and not shifting from Cedi to other Currencies; it does not solve any problem because that is not the fundamental problem, Mr Pratt said.



He insisted that the fundamental problem of the country which is making the Cedi continue to depreciate is that the country is not producing enough as Ghana has become an import-dependent economy; adding all those things which are throwing about as solutions, they actually dont work because they betray a fundamental lack of understanding of our economy.

Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected]









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Government is commencing preparatory work ahead of the passage of the Right to Information Bill which is expected to be passed in Parliament this week.



The 7th Parliament of the 4th republic has in good time completed the consideration stage of the RTI bill after several policy changes and amendments and months of rigorous debates on the floor of the house.



Currently there are further new petitions asking for further amendments to provisions of the bill. However Parliament is minded to pass the bill into law this week, and send it for Presidential assent soon thereafter.



Minister for Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah told Journalists in Accra that the bill in its current form requires the establishment of Information Units in all public offices, recruitment and training of information officers to man these units, establishment of the RTI commission and the completion of various administrative protocols before the commencement of the next fiscal year.



These are necessary to ensure that there will indeed be the infrastructure that can deliver on the RTI requests filed under this new law he said.



He said the new law will be a major addition to the credential of Ghana as a strong democracy and President Akufo-Addo who for many years has championed the cause of enhancing the frontiers of human rights.



The Minister disclosed that government through the Ministry of Information, which will be the implementing ministry, has already commenced engagements in preparation of a roadmap for implementation.



We ask all who have followed the entire process to join in heralding the final passage and to cooperate with us in its implementation he added.









Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









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A meeting of foreign ministers and intelligence chiefs from Egypt, Jordan, and Iraq convened in Cairo on Saturday, a statement by Egypt's foreign ministry read.

The Saturday meetings come in preparation for the tripartite summit which is expected to be held between President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and King Abdullah of Jordan, spokesperson to the Egyptian FM Ahmed Hafez explained.

The summit aims "to enhance cooperation and integration between the three countries in various fields, thus contributing to advancing the process of cooperation and joint Arab action and achieving greater progress, prosperity, and development for the peoples of the region," the statement read.

Hafez added that the meeting also witnessed an exchange of views on the most important regional issues and common security challenges that concern the Arab region and its peoples, including ways to restore security and stability in the region.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and the head of the General Intelligence Service Abbas Kamel will represent Egypt at the meeting, MENA reported.

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Assin Central lawmaker, Ken Agyapong did not assault any police officer for which he should be arrested, Alexander AfenyoMarkin, the Member of Parliament for the Effutu Constituency, has said.



The Police Administration has requested Parliament to release Mr Agyapong, to assist them with investigations into a case of assault lodged against him.



The March 19, 2019 request to the Speaker of Parliament said a police officer, Detective Sergeant George Ofori, had reported an alleged assault against Mr Agyapong.



The said incident is alleged to have occurred on 14th March, 2019, during a demonstration by students of University of Education at Winneba, the letter signed by the Director-General/Administration, Commissioner of Police (COP), Mr Ken Yeboah, said.



It explained that the Police Administration was mindful of the privileges and immunities of Members of Parliament under the 1992 Constitution as well as the Standing Orders of Parliament.



In the circumstances, we respectfully crave your indulgence to release Hon. Kennedy Agyapong to report to the Central Regional Police Commander to assist with investigations into the alleged assault, it stated.



But speaking to members of the parliamentary press corps on Sunday March 24, Mr Afenyo-Markin who is also a private legal practitioner denied allegations that Mr Agyapong assaulted an officer.



"The Police must properly evaluate the fact made available to them."



"I Just want to put on record that there was no such assault on any police officer in my presence," he said.









Source: classfmonline.com









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Dennis Amfo-Sefah, the Tema West Constituency Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has touted the positive impact of the Akufo-Addo government saying Ghanas current rank as the fourth happiest country in West Africa is a testimony to that effect.



Speaking in an interview with journalists in Accra, Mr Amfo-Sefah, who is popularly called Nana Boakye, said the improvement in the mood of the country was not surprising because the various policy ingredients that President Akufo-Addo was implementing were meant to achieve that single purpose.



As the saying goes, leadership is cause, everything else is effect. If we are the fourth happiest country in Sub-Saharan Africa, it is because we have a leader who is implementing policies that are making the country a happy place to live in.



Nana Boakye touted President Akufo-Addos Free Senior High School programme, which had removed fees as an impediment against enrolment into High schools and a host of other on-going programmes, as direct contributors to the upliftment in the mood of Ghanaians.



There is, of course, also the NABCO programme, which has provided temporal jobs for unemployed University graduates, Planting for Food and Jobs, which has resulted in a bumper harvest this year and the decrease in taxation which made it easier to start businesses in Ghana, Nana Boakye said.



He said the Presidents conflict fighting policies, are giving people hope, citing the resolution of the protracted Dagbon conflict as an example. Now Northern Ghana has become significantly peaceful because of the ending of the Dagbon crisis,.



Also, he said, the commencement of the programmes such as One Village, One Dam, One District, One Factory, and Youth in Afforestation which has replanted some 10million trees in Ghanas depleted forest cover have become sources of reassurance to people that the future is bright.



If today, Ghana is the fourth happiest country in West Africa, it is because our leader is meeting and even exceeding the expectations of citizens, Nana Boakye said.



Ghana has been ranked the fourth happiest country in Sub-Saharan Africa.



The ranking contained in the World Happiness Report released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations on March 20, saw Ghana improve her ranking to 99 from 108 (2018) in the global ranking of 156 countries.



In the Sub-Saharan African ranking, Ghana placed fourth behind Mauritius (57), Nigeria (85) and Cameroon (96) in the top five which was completed by neighbouring Ivory Coast (99).



The ranking was computed based on an average of three years of surveys taken by Gallup between 2016 and 2018 and included factors such as gross domestic product, social support from friends and family, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity, perceived corruption and recent emotions of citizens -- both happy and sad.



With the ranking coming from highly respected independent survey entity, Mr Amfo-Sefah said the ranking rubbished impressions that the opposition had been creating to the effect that the country has become harder.



A Prophet is not appreciated in his own home, but those who observe from afar never fail to marvel at his miracles, Nana Boakye said.

Source: GNA









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The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has reiterated the commitment and determination of his government to bringing development to all parts of this country, without discrimination.



According to President Akufo-Addo, it is important for us that as Ghana goes forward, and all the people of Ghana go forward together in unity, and in hope of a brighter future for our country.



The President made this known on Saturday, 23rd March 2019, when he delivered an address at the Parri Gbielle Festival, in Tumu, in the Upper West Region.



In his remarks, after receiving the title of Nandong Tenge, to wit reliable friend, President Akufo-Addo thanked the Tumu Kuoro, Richard Babini Kanton VI, Paramount Chief of the Tumu Traditional Area, for acknowledging the work of government in several aspects of life in Sissala East, and, indeed, in Tumu.



In education, President Akufo-Addo noted that, in addition to guaranteeing access to a minimum of senior high school education for school-going children in Sissala East and Tumu, government is constructing a two storey 12-unit classroom block at Tumu Secondary Technical Senior High School.



We have constructed a 6-unit classroom block at Kanton Senior High School, work is ongoing to complete a 1-storey 320 capacity girls dormitory block at Tumu Secondary Technical Senior High School, and we have opened a tender for the construction of another 320 capacity boys dormitory block at Tumu Secondary Technical Senior High School, he added.



The President indicated further that modern kindergarten blocks and basic classroom infrastructure, including 3-unit classroom blocks, have been constructed at Kowie, Challu and Kassana.



Touching on agriculture, and with Tumu being a bread basket for our nation, he commended the farmers of the area for their farsightedness and sense of progress in embracing the programme for Planting for Food and Jobs.



As part of the programme, a total of 15 motorcycles have been presented to agricultural extension officers in the area to aid them in their work, whilst a contract has been awarded and the site handed over for the construction of a 1,000 metric tonne storage capacity warehouse in Tumu.



On water and sanitation, President Akufo-Addo noted that 20 boreholes in different institutions in Sissala East have been constructed, and the Tumu town water system is in the process of being revamped, with construction and rehabilitation of pumps and expansion of the system ongoing.



We have constructed 5 institutional toilet facilities at Kanton Senior High School, Tumu College of Education, Tumu Secondary Technical Senior High School, Tumu Community Centre, and the Holy Child Senior High and the Walambele, initiatives under the Ministry of Special Initiatives, he added.



With government having nearly completed a CHPS compound in Atase, and a 3-bedroom doctors, the President noted that the construction of a new police station in Balu is almost complete.



Response to Tumu Kuoro requests



President Akufo-Addo assured the Tumu Kuoro that work will begin soon on the cotton ginnery in Tumu, with 10 dam sites, in Lilixi, Sakai, Jijen, Kulfuo, Challu Bechamboi, Duu, Dolinbizon, Wuru and Nabugubelle, handed over for construction under the 1 Village, 1 Dam programme.



Two other additional dams are under construction under the Sustainable Land and Water Management Project so it brings to a total 13 dams under construction here in Sissala East. I want to make the promise I made that, in my time, we are going to have all year farming in the Upper West, Upper East and all the northern sectors of our country. That is going to be one of the legacies I want to leave the people of Ghana, and we are on course to do that, the President said.



He indicated further that plans have been put in place for the running of the Nurse Assistant Preventive and Nurse Assistant Clinical programmes at the Tumu Midwifery School.



On the request to construct fence walls around the two senior high schools in Tumu, President Akufo-Addo revealed that cabinet has issued directives for the Ministry of Education to construct fence walls around all SHSs which are under threat of encroachment, and urged the schools to put in their request to the Minister for Education.



We are constructing 21 state of the art Technical and Vocational Educational Training Centres across the country, and I am determined that the Minister for Education should make sure that one of the two TVETs destined for the Upper West Region is sited here in Tumu, the President added.



He continued The commitment that I have made to the people of Ghana that, under my Presidency, we will witness a revival and a redevelopment of our country, is on course, and our programme for government is on course. I know that there will be some traditional Jeremiahs who will say oh he cant do this, he cant do that, they have been saying it. They should open their eyes. I am doing them one by one. We are on course.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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President Akufo-Addo has tasked the Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Creative Arts and the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) to build on what he described as the pan-African legacy of Ghanas early leaders.



He made the call in a statement read on his behalf by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, at the 15th edition of the Ghana Tourism Awards on Friday, March 22, 2019.



According to the president, the pan-African legacy of our early leaders has never been in doubt and I have tasked the ministry and the Tourism Authority to build on this legacy and make Ghana a true heritage pilgrimage destination for our brothers and sisters from the diaspora.



He described the tourism sector as one of the most important sectors of the Ghanaian economy and spoke about the interventions his administration has put in place to further develop the sector.



He said, Under my watch, the tourism sector is receiving the needed push with the elevation of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture to cabinet status. The Tourism Authority has reported gains and growth across several indices  visitor arrivals, per capita spend of visitors, number of establishments, number of tourists facilities etc since we assumed the reins of government.



The president explained that I am also aware of several tourist sites improvement programs such as the Axim Fort St. Antonio project, Assin Manso Slave River project, Tetteh Quarshie Cocoa Farm, Bunso Aboretrem, Kintampo waterfalls and the Elmina Heritage Bay project.



He added that this with the ongoing destination single window automation programme and the marketing programmes  Visit Ghana, See Ghana, Eat Ghana, Wear Ghana and Feel Ghana are all part of integral plans to transform the sector.



According to him, The ongoing $40 million World Bank Tourism development programme is also an added bonus to this drive to make our tourism sector grow.



Mr. Akufo-Addo stressed that tourism is a multi-sector industry and the various other sectors  roads, skills development, sanitation, aviation and the visa regime are all being tackled in a multi-sectoral way for the needed impact.



He indicated that the theme chosen for todays event, celebrating our heritage resonates with the Year of Return project which I proudly launched infront of the Congressional Black Caucus of the United States Congress, in September 2018.



He added that as we celebrate the award winners, it must be a clarion call for all of us within the sector and its value chain to be ready for the takeoff.

Source: Daily Guide









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If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





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The Cleopatra-Japian 2019 training exercises aims to enhance the capacities of Egyptian forces in working with the latest combat systems and technologies

A number of Egyptian naval vessels have left for France to participate in the activities of the Egyptian-French Joint Maritime Training (Cleopatra-Japian 2019) scheduled over several days in French territorial waters, a statement by the Egyptian military spokesperson Tamer El-Refai read.

Egyptian forces left from Ras Al-Tin Naval Base.

The training is planned to include many activities to enhance the skills of commanders and officers, support maritime security efforts and share experience, which will increase the combat effectiveness of the navy.

The training also aims to enhance the capacities of Egyptian forces in working with the latest combat systems and technologies.

During a ceremonial departure, commander of the naval forces Ahmed Khaled conveyed the greetings and appreciation of Minister of Defence and Military Production Mohamed Zaki, and Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Mohamed Farid.

Also participating in the training activities are a number of students of the Egyptian Maritime College.

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This article originally appeared in RECOIL Issue 42

Last years Pittsburgh synagogue massacre wasnt Americas first mass shooting at a house of worship. In recent history, weve seen several, including the 2007 Youth With A Mission/New Life Church shootings; the 2012 Sikh Temple Massacre; 2008s Knoxville Unitarian Universalist mass shooting attempt; the 2015 Charleston Church Massacre; the 2017 Antioch, Tennessee, church shooting; and 2017s notorious Sutherland Springs, Texas, church massacre. In 2017, an extremist murdered 11 at a mosque in Canada, and an American was arrested for a plot to attack a mosque here at home. The year 2018 saw an American white supremacist murder two black men and tell a white man, Whites dont kill whites, after failing to force entry into a black church in an apparent attempt to commit another massacre.

According to one researcher, America never had a church shooting resulting in four or more deaths until 1963. Since 1963, weve had 15. Of those, at least five have occurred since 2007. At least three other attempted mass shootings, which killed less than four took place in that timeframe. Mass shootings at houses of worship arent brand new to America, but theyre definitely on the rise.

Motivations

The motives behind mass shootings at houses of worship are, of course, usually but not always ideological. White supremacists were responsible for the Sikh Temple, Charleston Church, and Pittsburgh Synagogue massacres; the Charleston shooter was actually trying to spark a race war. The New Life Church shooter was suffering from Religious Trauma Syndrome coupled with an intense hatred of Christianity (and a murderous grudge). The Antioch, Tennessee, church shooter was apparently seeking revenge for the Charleston Church Massacre, so he attacked a mixed-race church, but shot only whites.

The Toronto Mosque shooter was virulently anti-immigrant and anti-Islam. The Knoxville Unitarian Church shooter was anti-liberal, anti-black, anti-democrat, and anti-gay. The Sutherland Springs church attacker, on the other hand, was driven purely by personal motives, and Arizonas 1991 Waddell Buddhist Temple massacre of nine worshippers was the result of a robbery gone wrong.

Case Studies

In November 2017, in response to what was probably nothing more than a minor family dispute, a shooter I wont name attacked the church his wife and in-laws attended in Sutherland Springs, Texas. The shooter, a former Airman turned complete failure at life, killed his first victims outside the church. He then fired through the windows for several minutes before entering the front doors. As far as I can tell, not one single person in that rural Texas church was armed or resisted in any way.

The shooter was able to casually walk through the church, making comments, reloading at leisure, walking outside and then re-entering, and shooting everyone who showed signs of life. He expended 15 AR magazines and eventually left the church, 13 minutes after the first shot was fired. He spent seven minutes inside the church, each of which must have felt endless to the survivors. The entire attack was captured on a video camera, set up to record services for the churchs YouTube channel.

After leaving the church, the shooter was confronted by local resident and NRA instructor Stephen Willeford, who was armed with his own AR. Willeford hit the shooter twice; not surprisingly, the shooter dropped his own carbine and only briefly tried to fight back with a pistol before fleeing in his SUV. Like most mass shooters, he was capable of operating a weapon and killing defenseless people, but not fighting. He was found dead in his vehicle from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Police response was quick, but not quick enough. The first officer arrived four minutes after being dispatched, but that was long after the last shot had been fired. The shooter had been in total control, able to murder at will, with nothing to stop him from killing until he got tired and inexplicably stopped on his own. He still had two pistols and ammunition on him when he committed suicide. In and around the church, he left 26 dead, including an unborn child.

The New Life Church attack in Colorado, on the other hand, had a very different outcome. On December 9, 2007, a shooter armed with an AR-type rifle and two pistols killed two people and wounded two others outside the Youth With A Mission center in Arvada, Colorado. He fled and, a short time later, killed two teenage sisters, badly wounded their father, and wounded another churchgoer in the parking lot of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs. He then entered the church foyer and wounded a man who was yelling in an effort to distract him from killing others.

At this point, Jeanne Assam, a former police officer and volunteer member of the church security team, advanced on the shooter. She engaged with her concealed-carry pistol and hit the shooter with multiple rounds. He fell and, depending on who you ask, either shot himself or died of his wounds. Notably, he was stopped before he could enter the crowded main hall of the church; Jeanne Assams quick response saved probably dozens of lives.

Likewise, the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ shooting in Antioch, Tennessee, in September 2017 was stopped by resistance from one of the shooters intended targets. After killing a woman in the parking lot, the shooter entered the churchs back doors and began targeting white churchgoers. One of them, Robert Engle, was unarmed, but attacked the shooter anyway.

During the fight, the shooter pistol-whipped Engle, but then somehow managed to shoot himself in the chest. Engle ran outside to his car, retrieved his own pistol and held the shooter at gunpoint until police arrived. The toll of the attack was one dead, and six with survivable gunshot wounds. Resistance, even resistance that was initially unarmed, prevented a far higher body count.

Unarmed resistance also stopped the Unitarian Universalist Church shooter in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 2008. That attacker, armed with a semi-auto shotgun, killed two and wounded six before being restrained by five churchgoers who appear to have had no option other than physical force.

Laws Arent the Answer

We dont know how to prevent such mass shootings. Nobody does, despite cries by some for an assault weapon ban. Gun laws dont magically make weapons disappear, nor do they stop a determined criminal from illegally obtaining one. Moreover, even the so-called assault weapon ban wouldnt have prevented the Charleston, Sikh Temple, Antioch, Waddell, or Knoxville shootings, all of which were carried out with pistols, shotguns, and/or a regular .22 rifle. Even the most perfect gun law passed today wouldnt change reality tomorrow, if ever.

Straightforward Solutions

From my perspective as a longtime cop, former police active shooter instructor, combat veteran, and former churchgoer, stopping a church shooting seems pretty straightforward:

 Restrict the number of entrances/exits

 Hire security or choose suitable volunteers

 Have them concealed carry and stay positioned near the entry doors

 Make active shooter response plans in conjunction with local law enforcement

 Train/rehearse as often as possible

The idea is to have armed, trained people on hand to quickly spot and immediately overwhelm a church attacker with lethal violence.

One might think that those who lead churches would welcome the presence of such armed parishioners willing to use force to protect their innocent flock. So why arent more churches implementing these simple steps? As far as I can tell, its because the leaders of many of these churches dont want them to.

As I mentioned earlier, I dont know of any way these attacks could have been prevented. But what does change reality, and can change it immediately, is the introduction of armed, trained defenders covering controlled access points inside churches. Most houses of worship, of all faiths, consist of a large main hall surrounded by smaller rooms and connecting hallways. A mass shooters first target will be the densely packed main hall where he can kill the largest number of victims in the least amount of time, which is every mass shooters goal. Therefore, restricting access to a few doors or even one door into the main hall, and positioning covertly armed security near those doors, drastically increases the odds that a church attacker will be stopped long before hes able to carry out his planned massacre.

No, the plan Im proposing isnt perfect. Yes, an attacker could surprise everyone by targeting an unexpected part of the church. Yes, defenders could be badly outgunned by a rifle-armed attacker or even multiple attackers (although Jeanne Assam, because she had training and skill, was able to use her pistol to defeat a carbine-armed attacker). Yes, police could accidentally shoot the good guy. And yes, defenders could accidentally hit the wrong person in the confusion of a mass shooting.

Not surprisingly, a mass shooting is pretty much a worst-case scenario. No response will be perfect. Nothing will save everyone. Nothing will prevent every possible tragedy. Nothing will guarantee that good guys wont make mistakes and hit unintended targets. But even a flubbed response is better than allowing the deaths of six, nine, 11, or 26 innocent, helpless victims. Nobody is going to convince me that shooting at a mass murderer makes the situation worse. After Sutherland Springs, I didnt hear anyone say, Thank God nobody inside the church shot back. That could have caused a real tragedy.

What, then, makes churches, which should be fairly simple to defend, such easy targets, and what keeps them easy targets? Far too often, its the shepherds who lead those churches. For reasons Ive yet to comprehend, some of those leaders keep worrying that allowing concealed carry in their churches will turn them into armed camps. One even called having a gun in church a perversion of everything holy. But the idea that locked doors and armed plainclothes security in churches would turn them into hostile, unwelcoming fortresses isnt just wrong, its self-defeating lunacy.

A church with a few locked doors and a few armed parishioners looks exactly like a church with no locked doors and a completely unarmed flock. The New Life Church didnt resemble Alcatraz; for that matter, it didnt look any different than the ill-fated churches of Sutherland Springs and Charleston. And Jeanne Assam, far from resembling an assassin or Navy SEAL, looked like the typical churchgoer she was. Real security measures dont require highly visible gestures more suitable for theater than safety; they require simple yet concrete actions that change dynamics.

The current dynamic involves unchallenged attackers entering wide-open houses of worship to murder as many helpless victims as possible until police arrive. A new dynamic, easily attainable in a short time, would have an attacker funneled into one of a very few entrances, where covertly armed and vigilant churchgoers could immediately apply controlled yet overwhelming violence to stop the attack and save lives.

As I stated above, theres no guarantee all innocents will live and all bad guys will be quickly stopped. But church attackers who faced determined resistance killed very few people, while those who didnt were able to kill many. Clearly, faith and hope  the current tactics employed by thousands of churches nationwide  arent as effective as controlled access and the presence of men and women prepared to defend their fellow faithful. The mere knowledge that multiple people in a church could be armed, whether they actually are or not, is likely enough to deter the average coward who wants to murder, but is terrified to fight.

Fortunately, some church leaders realized this long ago and put armed security in place. Thus far, armed security in churches hasnt led to the tragedies that gun-control advocates insist are inevitable. Maybe, just maybe, other churches should follow their lead instead of leaving it in their Gods hands.

About the Author

Chris Hernandez is a former Marine and retired Army National Guard Soldier who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hes been a police officer for almost 25 years and is the author of Proof of Our Resolve, Line in the Valley, and Safe From the War, novels published by Tactical 16, LLC. Chris lives with his wife, children, and grandchildren in southeast Texas.
Egypt's Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel Aal said Sunday that amendments of the Egyptian Constitution are expected to be ready by mid-April if approved by lawmakers.

A statement was issued by Abdel Aal Sunday following a parliamentary session.

The amendments, submitted by the parliamentary majority Support Egypt coalition on 11 February, involve changes to 11 articles of Egypt's 2014 Constitution: articles 102, 140, 160, 189, 190, 193, 200, 204, 234, 243 and 244. The coalition also proposed that eight new articles be added to the constitution.

According to Abdel-Aal, the amendments have six objectives: to give a greater quota of parliamentary seats (25 percent) to women; to create a second house (Senate); to increase presidential terms from four to six years; to reinstate the post of vice president; to regulate the system for selecting the heads of judicial authorities; and to re-define the role of the army in defending the country.

National dialogue meetings started last week on the proposed constitutional amendments and are expected to continue next week, including Monday, 25 March, and Thursday, 28 March.

Sunday's session witnessed representatives of professional syndicates, private sector companies, leading banking officials, and the Federation of Egyptian Industries and Chambers of Commerce (120 participants) among attendees.

The fifth and sixth hearing sessions will be the most important. These will see 120 officials representing most political parties coming to the Monday meeting (25 March).

In a concluding meeting 28 March, a long list of public figures, constitutional law professors, and representatives of NGOs and civil society organisations (120 participants) are expected to attend.

Correction: An earlier story by Ahram Online eroneously said a referendum on the proposed constitutional amendments would take place 15 April 2019. Rather, the amendments are expected to be passed by parliament mid-April, after which the National Elections Authority will set a date for a public referendum.

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A statement said the latest decision of US president Donald Trump's administration to recognise Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights is a violation of international laws

Egypt's parliament  the House of Representatives  denounced in a statement on Sunday the US's decision to recognise Israel's sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan heights.

"The United States in a new irresponsible step decided to violate all international charters and resolutions, not to mention the simple rules of international legitimacy, " said the statement.

"The US decided to recognise the sovereignty of Israel over the occupied Syrian Golan heights, and it is a decision taken by an unauthorised body on an occupied land."

In this respect, the statement added, the House of Representatives declares its complete rejection of such irresponsible decisions.

"It also stresses Egypt's firm position which considers the Syrian Golan heights as occupied Arab land in line with the resolutions of international legitimacy, at the top of which are the two UN resolutions 424 and 338, which were issued by the Security Council during the 1967 and 1973 wars," said the statement.

"The first resolution states that Israel should withdraw from all the lands that it occupied during the 1967 war, including the Golan heights," said the statement, adding that "as for the 338 resolution, it calls for a political settlement to the conflict, but not including the lands which were occupied in 1967."

The statement also referred to resolution 497/1981, which states that the decision by Israel to impose its laws, judicial sovereignty and administration over the occupied Syrian Golan heights is invalid, null and has no international legitimacy.

The statement added that "in addition to the above, the resolutions of the UN General Assembly (35-122) issued on 11 December 1980 condemn Israel for issuing legislation which leads to changing the nature and position of the Golan heights, and for trying to impose the Israeli nationality on Syrian citizens in a compulsory way."

The statement also said that the UN Human Rights Council in its 43th round on 11 February 1981 also condemned all Israeli measures aimed to impose its sovereignty and authority on the Golan heights.

"The council said all these measures should be considered null, void and invalid," said the statement.

Egypt parliament's concluded that it is calling upon international community to stand up to the American political bias, which will lead to spawning more terrorism and instability in the region and across the world.

"Parliament also calls upon our Arab peoples and states to relinquish divisions, find common ground, and mend fences, because the dangers are great, and the foxes of this age were able to get the power to launch repeated assaults on the rights of the Arab world and peoples only because of our internal divisions and weaknesses."

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Protest rally in Sanaa to denounce Saudi aggression crimes

[24/March/2019]

p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:left;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed">SANAA, March. 24 (Saba)  Dozens of employees of Minister Guidance and Endowments held on Sunday a protest rally to condemn the war crimes committed by the Saudi aggression in Yemen.

At the rally, the participants stressed on the importance of ongoing steadfastness and backing the arm with fighters and food convoy to combat against the aggression.

The protesters shouldered the United Nations the full responsibility towards the ongoing crimes and violations committed by the aggression states against citizens.

They hailed the great stances made by the Yemeni tribes and the army's triumphs against aggression in fronts.

saba
San Diegans may take pride in how their skyline has blossomed in recent decades, but the untold story is what made possible those pretty buildings.

Or as Roger Ball, president of Rick Engineering put it, Architects get all the glory and we make it work.

From the construction of Mission Bay in the 1950s to the pending redevelopment of SDCCU Stadium into SDSU West, Rick Engineering has been at the forefront of planning the countys roads and freeways, neighborhoods, parks, shopping centers, waterworks and landscapes.

The companys first few decades of work took place in the colored pencil and blueprint era. The earliest computers in the 1970s and 80s required piles of keypunch cards and 10 hours of mainframe computing time to spit out what today is a simple calculation that takes seconds to perform.

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But technology without street smarts can turn the nerdiest engineer into a laughing stock.

Jayne Janda-Timba, who oversees the companys water resources division, recalls one newbie who insisted that a curb was 3 feet tall because thats what his computer screen showed. It was 3 inches and he was reading the scale wrong.

I just gave up (after 20 minutes) and walked away, she said.

Rick Engineering was founded in 1955 by Glenn Rick, who as San Diego citys first planning director in 1928 oversaw the implementation of the Massachusetts landscape architect John Nolens 1908 and 1926 master plans for San Diego. Nolen laid out the key thoroughfares that became freeways after World War II, San Diegos bayfront, the location of key parks and public buildings and a zoning code that separated housing from industry and commerce -- a concept now giving way to mixed-use development and transit-oriented development.

Several teams of young and old Rick engineers took a few hours recently to explain what they do and how their profession has morphed from manual labor to space-age tech.

Surveying

Engineers cant do a thing until they know where imaginary boundaries lie. Thats the job of surveyors. On Pat McMichaels side table is a mini-museum of relics from surveying in its precomputer days -- devices that George Washington might have recognized in his first career as a colonial surveyor.

McMichael, who oversees Ricks survey staff, has a length of metal tape measure marked in tenths of inches; a transit or small telescope to determine the angles of a slope; and a three-quarters-inch metal disk thats pounded into the sidewalk to mark a property line.

Decades ago, land surveyors used a cloth measuring tape for their surveys. (Nelvin C. Cepeda/ U-T)

But in San Diegos earliest days, boundaries were commonly described by natural landmarks like trees, creeks and boulders. When current landowners want to build a fence they might land in court because their neighbors dispute the location of the boundary line.

His colleague, Brian Laird, said todays surveyors tap into the global positioning system, or GPS, linked to satellites and employ lasers to measure distance.

One of the big differences and challenges, especially in California, in surveying physical features is California is moving, Laird said. It moves north and west a couple of centimeters a year.

And so surveyors have to reconcile the on-the-ground conditions with the GPS coordinates.

McMichaels crews are currently surveying a section of a site in Mission Bay where old buildings and structures are giving way to new development. Laser beams scan a space a million times a second to capture the exact distances.

An even more fantastic tool is LIDAR (light detection and ranging), a laser system that penetrates buildings, trees and other obstructions to produce a 3D image in minutes. Coming next is augmented reality that can simulate a place using high-tech goggles and a laptop. Then come robots that can do the work automatically.

But its still going to take a human to interpret that (survey), Laird said. The downside is were maybe a little farther away from the everyday work.

Water resources

Water resources manager Janda-Timba pulled out a 1990s set of blueprints of the Fashion Valley southside parking garage -- the one that floods when a heavy rainstorm swells the San Diego River at Camino de la Reina and Avenida del Rio.

The blueprints are filled with handwritten markings and notations to denote where and how high floodwaters flow through the narrow channel that cuts between the mall and the property of the Town & Country Hotel. The findings were used to design the garage so that the flood waters would be contained within the first level of the garage. That explains why the floor-to-ceiling height is so much greater than between the second and third level.

A land surveyors transit from the early 1900s. (Nelvin C. Cepeda/U-T)

Traditionally, engineers measured widths and depths in the field and worked out the calculations by hand. Then came hand calculators and mainframe computers that still took many hours to generate the necessary calculations. Now the results can be done instantly without ever setting foot in the field.

In the meantime, regulations have been tightened.

I dont know if we could do that today, she said since its no longer permitted to let waters flow through a garage and carry away oils and other pollutants out to sea.

The preferred method of handling floodwaters is to capture the overflow and its pollutants in retention basins, bioswales and other devices before entering the storm drains.

One of Janda-Timbas project managers, Andrew Thies, can fire up GIS mapping software from ESRI -- those are abbreviations for geographic information systems and the Environmental Systems Research Institute -- to work out the solution. And that comports with his personal priorities.

Its my passion -- I like going to the ocean and going surfing, he said.

Civil engineering

Rick President Ball joined seven-year-employee Salvador Galvan to compare past and present civil engineering techniques and challenges. One of the biggest changes from decades ago is what engineers are no longer allowed to do. They cant wipe out natural habitat to build an artificial harbor (as was done at Mission Bay). They cant bulldoze rare and endangered plants to make way for a roadway -- as would have been done for a future recreational vehicle park at the Chula Visa bayfront.

Bottomline: Civil engineers can build almost anything, given enough time and money, but the question these days is should they be allowed to do it.

Ball said the goals are laudable but mitigation can greatly increase costs on a property-by-property basis.

We are making such a minute, insignificant impact that until it is done across the entire spectrum, it means nothing, he said. The alternative is to approach such issues across a wider, multi-property-owner basis and charge a proportionate share of the total cost.

When it comes to a single large property such as SDCCU Stadium, Ricks client, San Diego States University, faces far more stringent requirements to redevelop the site than when the stadium was built in the 1960s.

Right off the bat, you have the San Diego River to deal with, Galvan said.

Flooding from the river and nearby creek needs to be managed to steer clear of the office buildings, apartments, hotels and new stadium planned for the 132-acre site. That will require raising the footprint of the new buildings above the floodplain by moving dirt from one part of the site to another.

Transportation to and from the site will have to reflect the daily comings and goings of SDSU students, just not the occasional crowds at sporting events. That means improving Friars Road and freeway ramps to accommodate more daily traffic patterns. Room also will need to made to accommodate the multi-billion-dollar San Diego Trolleys Purple Line as it stops at the stadium on the way north and south on Interstate 805.

Planning and landscape architecture

San Diego is a manmade paradise, thanks to the regions landscape architects who picked the plants, spotting the park sites, laid out scenic highways and beautified the bayfronts, riverbanks, creeks, canyons and lakesides.

In the early 20th century, planning and landscape architecture were one, says Patricia Traub, Ricks landscape architecture lead.

But terraforming the landscape to mimic lush conditions back East is no longer considered acceptable in arid places like San Diego.

We kind of ignored nature for a long time, Traub said. In the 30 years Ive been practicing, theres been a pretty dramatic change, and cultural change, for communities.

What was considered weeds are now native plants. Sand and soils had been analyzed to determine what could best grow in them. Drainage, water conservation, natural habitat and other details took center stage. An example can be seen outside Lindbergh Fields Terminal 2 parking garage, Ricks landscaping plan called for natives not bluegrass.

Along the coast, said fear of landslides along the cliff line prompts owners to build 50 to 100 feet back from the edge, said Brian Moore, the companys planning lead. They also know that overwatering can weaken the cliff face and hasten erosion.

A new threat is sea level rise, caused by a warming climate and melting glaciers and ice caps. Rick is taking that into account as it works on the Chula Vista bayfront redevelopment.

Were in uncharted territory how much to raise up a site, Traub said.

Mooney also noted that northern Baja California is growing rapidly, even as San Diego nears a zero-population-growth rate in coming decades.

The region has to include Tijuana, he said. Thats where were seeing growth happening, whether its from immigration from other parts of Mexico and Central America or from San Diegans choosing to live in a less expensive place.

Rick Engineering at a glance

Founded: 1955

Headquarters: Mission Valley

Rank: 1st in terms of licensed engineers on staff, according to the San Diego Business Journals annual report on engineering firms.

Workforce: 310 with half in San Diego County and the rest at nine other offices around the state and in Arizona, Colorado and Nevada; 65 percent are women and minority group members.

Key projects of the past: Mission Bay; numerous subdivisions and master-planned communities, such as La Costa, Lomas Santa Fe, Carmel Valley, Rancho Bernardo, Scripps Ranch, Liberty Station, Chula Vista

Current projects: SDSU West, Civita, Chula Vista bayfront, water resources master planning

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Roger Showley is a San Diego freelance writer. He can be reached at (619) 787-5714; and rmshowley@yahoo.com; Twitter: @rogershowley
Democratic congresswoman Susan Davis addressed growing concerns over cyber threats to the U.S.  including potential election hacks and cyber warfare from foreign nations  in a public talk Saturday at San Diego City College.

The discussion, which included top-ranking cybersecurity experts, came just one day after the close of the long-anticipated Russian interference investigation conducted by special counsel Robert Mueller. His report, which has not been shared with the public, will reveal his conclusions on any interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election by Russia, including foreign cyber attacks and other high-tech meddling.

We have seen state actors such as Russia utilize cyber to try and influence elections, or others to try and deny the capabilities of our military, Davis said. Its critically important that we invest in cyber technologies and do everything we can ensure we are at the cutting edge of research in this field.

The timely panel discussion, hosted by Davis as part of a series of educational talks on global policy, touched on the intensifying risk of cyber attacks on governments, corporations, and individuals  all for which the U.S. is unprepared, panelists said.

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The events speakers included Shirley Adams, executive director of CyberTech; Mark Heckman, a cybersecurity professor at the University of San Diego; Eric Basu, CEO of cyber company Sentek Global; and Brian Marsh, SPAWAR assistant chief engineer.

In the midst of a cyber Cold War

As panelist Heckman put it, the world is in the midst of a cyber Cold War, during which threats are veiled and indirect. Concerns about Russia, of course, have risen to the forefront. Even before Muellers report is released, the probe has already produced a number of cyber-related indictments. Eleven Russian intelligence officers are accused of computer crimes in their efforts to hack Democratic National Committee computers and steal emails. And two Russian officials are accused of conspiring to hack into voting booths.

Beyond Russia, Heckman said cyber adversaries to the U.S. include China, North Korea and Iran  each of which has sophisticated and active cyber efforts underway.

There are lots of things that could be considered hostile going on right now, Heckman said, including espionage, cyber attacks on infrastructure, the weaponization of social media, and malicious Trojan horse hardware built into Chinese electronics.

Rep. Susan Davis, D-San Diego, holds a cybersecurity panel discussion Saturday. (Brittany Meiling/U-T)

What can be done?

Several panelists said the U.S. needs to focus on building its cybersecurity workforce to stay competitive globally. Here in San Diego, thousands of unfilled cybersecurity jobs have prompted efforts by universities and corporations to train more workers.

Right now, China, Russia, and North Korea have an advantage over us, because they can take children at a very young age and put them into cybersecurity, Basu said. We dont have that.

Panelists encouraged individuals to do what they can to protect their own data by beefing up cybersecurity practices at home and work. As far as more serious threats to grid infrastructure, the economy, and outside meddling in elections, panelists urged attendees to push companies and lawmakers for better, updated policy regarding technology.

Its about the laws and the policy we have, which is still lagging from a technology perspective, Marsh said. Getting ahead of the technology is crucial. It gives us a level playing field to compete in.

Basu said he was wary of overregulation, but did note that companies like Facebook and Google need more restraint. The power balance, he said, had shifted in the tech giants favor.

Heckman added, Leveling out that balance is why we have congressmen.

Davis take

After the event, Davis told the Union-Tribune that the recent passage of anti-corruption bill H.R. 1 by House Democrats is a good step toward establishing updated policy around technology concerns. Among several provisions, the bill calls for more transparency from Facebook, Google and other digital companies to disclose campaign ad purchases and block certain purchases from foreign nationals.

The bill, Davis said, highlights multiple areas of U.S. vulnerability.

Wed certainly like to have our colleagues on the other side of the aisle join us on that, Davis said.

As for the Mueller report, Davis has joined her colleagues in the House in asking for the document to be made public.

It should all be out there, Davis said. We certainly dont want to compromise the national security of the United States, but Im afraid if so much is redacted then people wont believe it. The reality is that theres a lot of time and a lot of rigor in that report and I want to make sure people have a chance to know the results.

Congress could be briefed as early as Sunday. Davis said she is sticking to her schedule, though, with plans to return to Washington on Monday.

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brittany.meiling@sduniontribune.com 619-293-1286 Twitter: @BrittanyMeiling
The legalization of recreational marijuana in California left American Indians out in the cold.

Proposition 64, approved by voters in 2016, lets local governments decide whether to allow cannabis dispensaries to operate within their jurisdictions. But it made no provisions for tribes.

As far as the state is concerned, tribes can do whatever they want with cannabis on their reservations, which are considered sovereign nations.

But they cannot operate in the licensed California market, said Alex Traverso, a spokesman for the California Bureau of Cannabis Control, which oversees licensing of dispensaries.

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For the past couple years, a number of tribes have been trying to get that changed. But the state is insisting that its regulators must have control over any operations on reservation land, something tribal officials say is unacceptable. The ability to regulate themselves in all matters is a basic tenet of their sovereign status as independent nations, they say.

The result is Indian tribes have been shut out of the far more lucrative California cannabis market because they cant sell their product outside of tribal lands.

Recently, the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel in northeast San Diego County opened a dispensary inside what used to be a casino that went belly up in 2014. The Mountain Source Dispensary is the first on tribal land in the county, but most likely will not be the last.

Most of the former casino building for the past few years has hosted the Santa Ysabel Botanical Facility, where marijuana is grown and a sophisticated laboratory has been operating, run by private cannabis companies leasing the space from the tribe.

As of now, Santa Ysabel can only sell the pot grown on the reservation at its lone dispensary or to other tribal operations.

David Vialpando, the head of the Santa Ysabel Tribal Cannabis Regulatory Agency, said he expects other local tribes will open dispensaries.

We have other tribes that have expressed an interest with doing business with Santa Ysabels tenants, he said. As predicted, there will be additional dispensaries opening up on tribal lands throughout California.

He said discussions are being held with a couple local tribes. I dont think there are any plans in place, he said. Everybody moves cautiously in this space. But the expectation is that there will be other tribes in the area that will take advantage of the need that is out there.

For two years, 23 of the states 109 recognized American Indian nations have been working toward creating legislation in Sacramento that would allow tribes to enter the general cannabis California market. Theyve met with lawmakers, representatives of the governors office, and hired lobbyists, including former Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante, to press their cause.

Vialpando, in addition to his position with Santa Ysabel, is also the executive director of C-NACA, the California Native American Cannabis Association, which includes five of the countys 18 federally recognized tribes as members: Sycuan, Campo, Manzanita, Los Coyotes and Santa Ysabel.

Of those tribes, only Santa Ysabel and a representative of Sycuan provided information.

Adam Day, chief administrative officer for the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, said the tribe is closely watching the market but would not say whether the successful East County gaming and resort tribe is seriously thinking about getting into marijuana.

Its certainly in Sycuans interest to insure that if there is an industry that others are allowed to participate in, we want to have that opportunity as well, Day said.

I can tell you we dont have a current business in that field. But we are actively looking at exploring the issue to insure that if we were ever to get into that field that we have the ability to do so.

Vialpando said after the passage of Prop. 64, C-NACA was formed and meetings were held with numerous people at the capitol.

We met with state officials and were basically told by folks from the governors office, look, you werent included in Prop. 64. There is no place for tribes in the California market. Do whatever you want on the reservation. We have no control over that. But there is no provision for the state to allow tribes to participate, or even non-tribal entities on tribal lands.

Vialpando said it was suggested that C-NACA work toward legislation and twice bills were proposed creating a pathway for tribes into the cannabis market. Each time those failed because there was a large constituency of stakeholders that were opposed, he said.

So the tribal cannabis organization hired Bustamante and many more meetings were held.

There was a lot of time and energy and money spent on this grassroots effort to create legislation that was fair to tribes and acceptable to the state, Vialpando said.

And we did it. We managed to turn all of those who were opposed into either supporters or (to agree) to taking no position. Even the California Cannabis Industry Association became supporters.We had a groundswell of support and thought we were good.

A bill sponsored by Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) was about to go to the Legislature.

I believe tribes absolutely deserve the right to participate in the same legal, regulated cannabis market as other stakeholders, Bonta said Friday in a statement.

Our past legislative efforts have proposed policies that were consistent with the principles of tribal sovereignty and self-governance and would have achieved this objective while protecting the public and the environment.

But shortly before the bill was to be heard, a final meeting at the governorss office killed everything.

We were told they didnt think legislation was needed at all, Vialpando said. They said just defer all regulatory authority to the state. They wanted the state to regulate all aspects of cannabis on tribal lands and to make sure revenues are shared with the state.

Basically, Vialpando said, the state was demanding that the tribes waive their sovereignty. They wanted us to waive our identity, he said That was a non-starter.

After that meeting, the proposed legislation fell apart and Santa Ysabel changed its own tribal statutes to allow for dispensaries on their reservations as a pathway for our non-tribal commercial businesses to actually continue operating without going into economic extinction.

The tribes are now hoping Gov. Gavin Newsom will be open to the idea of working with them to create a way to allow Indians to enter the lucrative California marketplace. Letters have been sent, but so far no indication has come from the governors office about a willingness to talk.

With little fanfare or advertising, the Santa Ysabel dispensary opened in early February. Since media reports about the operation were written, business has boomed, Vialpando said. They are now averaging about 60 customers a day despite the remote location off state Route 79. The majority of customers are older people with canes and walkers looking to purchase cannabis to manage various pains.

The old myth of marijuana dispensaries attracting all the tweakers in the area is just not our experience and we dont expect it to be the experience of other tribes who replicate our regulatory model, he said.

News of the Santa Ysabel dispensary upset San Diego County Board of Supervisor Chairwoman Dianne Jacob. The county took the position in 2017 not to allow dispensaries in the unincorporated parts of the county. All of the reservations in the county are located in unincorporated San Diego, albeit on their own independent reservations.

She then wrote to the Attorney Generals office looking for clarification of the law.

I am concerned that the cannabis dispensary on the Santa Ysabel reservation is operating in the dark with little to no oversight, Jacob wrote. This constitutes both a public safety and a public health hazard for those who visit the dispensary, and for the surrounding community due to impaired drivers navigating the rural areas challenging roads.

The Attorney General has not yet responded, Jacobs office said.

Reacting to the letter, Santa Ysabel sent Jacob a letter inviting her to the reservation to see for herself what is happening. It said cannabis regulations the tribe operates under are in many instances stricter than those enforced by the state anywhere else in California. They also point out that the operation employs about 100 people, making it one of the biggest employers in that part of the county.

We welcome the opportunity to address any concerns you may have, answer any questions, and engage in constructive dialogue designed to ensure the safety of customers and employees working at the Santa Ysabel Botanical Facility and maximize our effectiveness in ensuring the accountability of cannabis cultivated, processed, and distributed from the Nations lands, Santa Ysabel Tribal Chairman Virgil Perez wrote.

One of the reasons we would love to have the supervisor or members of her staff come up is to allay some of the fears and concerns, and to certainly seek her input on how we can do things better, Vialpando added.

A spokesman for Jacob said on Friday the supervisor intends to take the tribe up on its offer. A date has not yet been set.

jharry.jones@sduniontribune.com; 760/529-4931; Twitter: @jharryjones
Encinitas schools have won two of the top honors in the 2019 Civic Learning Awards, co-sponsored by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and Chief Justice of California Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye.

Thurmond recently announced 92 California schools that won awards in the program, now in its seventh year. The awards celebrate public schools efforts to engage students in civic learning through classes, clubs and programs that prepare them for participation in democracy. The awards also identify successful models that can be replicated in other schools.

Flora Vista Elementary School in the Encinitas Union School District is one of three winners of the 2019 Award of Excellence. The other two are Lexington Junior High School and Cypress High School, both in Orange County.

At Flora Vista, students developed budgets and proposals for the school board on how to conserve energy in the classroom, organized to decrease trash and debris on their campus, and helped find ways to assist children in Africa to get clean drinking water.

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Cantil-Sakauye visits schools receiving Awards of Excellence, the highest level. I commend our schools and teachers for their creativity and commitment to civic education, she said in a statement. They are giving students the skills they will need as active participants and leaders in our democracy. She will visit Flora Vista on April 17 to present the award.

Encinitas district schools are no strangers to these awards: El Camino Creek Elementary won an Award of Excellence in 2018 and an Award of Distinction in 2017, and Flora Vista won Awards of Distinction in 2018 and 2017.

La Costa Heights Elementary School in Carlsbad, also in the Encinitas district, was one of the six schools receiving 2019 Awards of Distinction and the only one in San Diego County.

Eighty-three schools won Awards of Merit, two in North County: Rancho Buena Vista High School in the Vista Unified School District, and Del Lago Academy, Campus of Applied Sciences, in the Escondido Union High School District.

Three other San Diego County schools received Awards of Merit: Crawford High School, San Diego; De Portola Middle School, Tierrasanta; and Liberty Charter High School, Lemon Grove.

Having had the chance to teach a civics class, and from my time working with students in the Legislature, Im a huge supporter of engaging students in civics early, which helps to engage them for life, said Thurmond in a statement.

The awards have recognized more than 300 schools since they began in 2013. Find more at https://www.cde.ca.gov/eo/in/civiclearningaward.asp.

laura.groch@sduniontribune.com
Parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal said on Sunday that a hearing session will be held on Monday to hear the viewpoints and remarks of MPs on the proposed amendments to Egypt's 2014 constitution.

Abdel-Aal said that "parliament is keen to listen to the viewpoints of all MPs, majority and opposition, on the proposed amendments that were submitted by the Support Egypt coalition on 3 February."

Monday's hearing session will be held at the meeting hall of the old Shura Council.

Egypt's parliament also said in a statement on Sunday that it expects that proposed amendments will be voted on and passed by the middle of April.

A statement released by Abdel-Aal's office said that the discussion of the proposed constitutional amendments began on 3 February when 155 MPs representing more than a fifth of the total number of deputies (596) submitted a motion asking that a number of the national charter's articles be amended.

"Since that date, parliament has been keen that all the measures followed in debating this motion go in line with Article 226 of the constitution, which allows for MPs to propose amending the constitution under certain conditions," said the statement.

"As a result, parliament's general committee held a number of meetings between 3 and 5 February to discuss the motion," said the statement, adding that "on 5 February, the committee, which includes the speaker, his two deputies, the chairpersons of 25 committees and representatives of political parties and independent forces, decided to approve the motion in principle."

"Also on 5 February, a report was prepared by the committee and copies of it were made available to all MPs to read and review one week ahead of being discussed in parliament in a plenary session," said the statement.

On 14 February and at the end of a three-session debate, the majority of MPs (485 MPs) provisionally approved the proposed constitutional amendments.

"Upon hearing his/her name, each MP was asked to say 'yes' or 'no' to the amendments, and the result was that 485 MPs voted in favour of the motion in principle," said the statement.

Next and over one month (between 16 February and 16 March), said the statement, parliament's legislative and constitutional affairs committee took charge of receiving written comments and remarks from all state authorities, civil society organisations, and public figures on the proposed amendments.

On 20 March, the third stage of the discussion of the amendments took off.

"On that day, the constitutional and legislative affairs committee led by parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal began holding a national dialogue on the proposed constitutional amendments," said the statement, adding that "the first week of the national dialogue debate on the amendments saw the holding of three hearing sessions, one on Wednesday 20 March and two on Thursday 21 March."

"In the first session, parliament listened to the remarks and comments of representatives of religious institutions (Al-Azhar and the Coptic Church), constitutional law professors, and media people," said the statement, adding that "in the two and third hearing sessions on Thursday, parliament listened to representatives of judicial authorities and national councils (such as the National Council for Human Rights and the National Council for Motherhood and Childhood)."

The statement said parliament plans to hold an additional three hearing sessions on the constitutional amendments on 27 and 28 March.

"On Wednesday 27 March, the fourth session will be devoted to listening to the viewpoints of a number of high-profile politicians and representatives of political parties, and on Thursday 28 March, businessmen, representatives of civil society organisations and a number of public figures will come to give their opinion and comments on the proposed amendments," said the statement.

Next, said the statement, parliament's constitutional and legislative affairs committee will hold meetings over two weeks to make the final draft of the constitution's articles proposed to be amended.

"The committee will prepare the proposed amendments to the 2014 constitution in their final form, and a report in this respect will be made available to MPs to discuss it in a plenary session and then take the final vote on the amendments," said the statement, adding that "so we expect that all the measures in this respect will be finalised by the middle of April."

"The proposed amendments must gain the approval of two-thirds majority of MPs and deputies will be required to say 'yes' or 'no' when each hears his/her name," said the statement.

The amendments involve changes to articles 102, 140, 160, 189, 190, 193, 200, 204, 234, 243 and 244.

The amendments have six objectives: to give a greater quota of parliamentary seats (25 percent) to women; create a second house; increase the presidential term from four to six years; reinstate the post of the vice president; regulate the system for selecting the heads of judicial authorities; and redefine the role of the army in defending the country.

If passed in the middle of April, the amendments will be referred to President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to be put to a national vote in a public referendum. The National Electoral Commission will be in charge of conducting the referendum. Many expect that the referendum will be held at the end of April and before the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan begins on 6 May.

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She wanted to write books her mother would read.

Elizabeth Cobbs was already a successful author in her academic field  history  who penned well-regarded books about American foreign policy. Her mother proudly displayed them on the fireplace mantel, kept the covers dust-free, and had very little to say about what was inside.

Then in 2011 Cobbs wrote a historical novel, Broken Promises, about how John Quincy Adams son kept the British from intervening on behalf of the Confederacy during the Civil War. One day she found her mother sitting on a recliner, not just reading the book but reciting her favorite line from it:

Everyone knows the Scots are up to their red eyebrows in the Confederate conspiracy.

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In 2016, Cobbs wrote another historical novel, The Hamilton Affair, about Alexander Hamilton, the outsider-turned-Founding-Father, and his wife, Elizabeth Schuyler. It became a New York Times best seller. Her mom enjoyed that one, too.

Now comes The Tubman Command, due out in May. Instead of focusing on what Harriet Tubman is best-known for  the Underground Railroad that smuggled fugitive slaves to freedom  Cobbs zeroes in on the abolitionists role as a Civil War scout and spy.

She was our first female military hero, the author says, one later lauded by a Union general for her remarkable courage, zeal and fidelity.

Early reviews of the novel in the publishing trade press have been favorable, with Kirkus calling it a stirring fictional tribute to an American icon.

Sadly, theres one review Cobbs wont get this time  her mothers. She passed away earlier this year.

As the name suggests, historical fiction is a hybrid  part fact and part not.

How those parts are proportioned depends on the author.

Cobbs may be more bound to the factual side than others. She has a reputation to protect as a history professor.

She grew up in San Diego and spent almost 30 years working for colleges here, first at the University of San Diego and then at San Diego State. She now holds the Melbern Glasscock Chair in American History at Texas A&M and commutes there from the home in La Mesa she shares with her husband, James Shelley, a documentary filmmaker.

Not many history professors write fiction, and when they do, they often use fake names. Cobbs is comfortable openly making the leap in part because she holds fast to one rule: She wont change anything thats an established fact.

In the case of Tubman, though, the known facts  especially when it comes to her Civil War service  are limited. Tubman couldnt write and left no letters behind. So Cobbs had to rely on other things such as oral history interviews from the period to imagine what Tubman would think or say in different situations.

I have followed the record as closely as possible while fleshing out bare facts with plausible fictions, she writes in an authors note at the end of the book.

Those plausible fictions, she says, helped bring Tubman to life in ways that non-fiction could not.

The woman that emerges on the pages of the book is brave, but not fearless. Shes heroic, but not a superhero. She gets angry, frightened, hungry, tired. She falls in love and is loved. Shes human.

Harriet Tubman exists in the public eye on a pedestal, Cobbs says. That flattens a person, makes what she did seem unattainable to the average person. I want her to inspire people to think that they could be her, that they could be that kind of American.

Timing matters, and the success Cobbs had with The Hamilton Affair was due in part to the interest generated by another project, Lin-Manuel Mirandas hip-hop musical about the same Founding Father. It debuted a year earlier than the book and became a pop-culture phenomenon, winning Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize.

Her Tubman book arrives amid renewed fascination with the abolitionist, too. A Hollywood movie, Harriet, starring Cynthia Erivo, is expected to premiere this year.

In 2016, the federal government announced plans to put Tubman on the front of the $20 bill after online voting by more than 600,000 people ranked her first in a field of prominent women that also included Eleanor Roosevelt, Susan B. Anthony and Clara Barton.

The new bill was supposed to be in circulation by 2020, the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote, but it appears to have stalled in the Trump administration. Last summer, Cobbs helped organize an open letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin calling for the Tubman currency to proceed. More than 125 historians signed it.

Timing, though, can run in both directions  good and bad  and Cobbs knows that her Tubman book is also coming out during a period of heightened sensitivities and occasional outrage about who gets to tell certain stories. She is a white author writing a novel about a black woman  a novel that uses dialect and sometimes puts the N-word in the mouths of its characters.

The lifework of a historian is to reveal the experience of people from the past, Cobbs writes in the authors note. For myself, I dont believe that gender, race, region, or time period make us unintelligible to one another.

Harriet Tubman was a singular individual within her generation  or any generation  and wanted her story told widely. No one owns her. She risked everything to establish that fact.

Elizabeth Cobbs book tour

Begins April 22 at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., and includes a June 11 talk and signing at Warwicks bookstore in La Jolla.

john.wilkens@sduniontribune.com
One could make the case that Trystan Merrick was destined to be a prince.

He has been the dashing Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake. Hes played the brave, sword-fighting Nutcracker Prince. And as a principal dancer for California Ballet Company, hes Prince Charming in its upcoming production of Cinderella.

Its nice to feel regal, admits Merrick, laughing.

But the movement is very challenging. There are a lot of large, classical male steps mixed in with intricate footwork and a lot of turning. You want to be prepared enough so that the steps can be performed with a certain amount of ease. Its also good, in terms of mastering princely behavior, to try and be someone who is thoughtful and kind. Its a chance to really practice mindfulness towards yourself and everyone.

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As a student attending Inland Valley Classical Ballet Theatre in Temecula, Merricks first lead part was the role of Prince Charming. At the time, he was a teenager, and a future as a dance professional was an unlikely dream. Merrick had already answered the call to be a part of the family construction business and was expert at bathroom and kitchen remodeling.

But really, all he wanted to do was dance.

He grew up watching dance on television and dancing around the house with his three sisters.

When his church group enrolled in a ballroom dance class at the Inland Valley Classical Ballet Theatre, Merrick, then 18, signed up.

Svetlana Kanivets, the owner of the ballet studio, watched him practicing. She approached Merrick and made some observations. He had great posture, she noted, and he was tall and handsome. She asked if he were flexible.

I could do the splits, and I was pretty active as a kid, Merrick says. I surfed and skated and climbed trees. As luck would have it, I was flexible. She immediately offered me a full scholarship to her school. My parents were surprised, but they didnt discourage me.

Ahita Ardalan, a guest teacher and former dancer with the Paris Opera Ballet, visited the studio.

Thats when, Merrick says, his life changed.

Ardalan trained him privately and encouraged him to audition for the Boston Ballet, where he completed a summer program on a full scholarship. Then he auditioned for the Nevada Ballet Theatre and was offered a paid apprenticeship.

Merrick was 21 and had only taken classes for a few years. There was tremendous pressure to succeed.

I was cast in more roles than my technique and experience could handle, he says. I was suffering from an eating disorder at the time, and I ended up getting dual tibial fractures because my bone density was low. After that year and a half, I had to move home to San Diego. I didnt understand the difference between being thin and being strong.

Merrick saw a therapist for a time and resolved to heal.

It was a good learning experience, he says, to find out that limits do exist and that limits can be surpassed with enough time and work.

In San Diego, Merrick started taking classes at San Diego Ballet, located in the same building as San Diego Dance Theater. Artistic director Jean Isaacs saw him rehearse and invited him to be a part of her troupe.

Merrick has since danced for San Diego Ballet, San Diego Dance Theater, Malashock Dance and City Ballet of San Diego, among others.

During the summer of 2012, while vacationing in New York, he took a company class with Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, an internationally renowned, all-male professional ballet company that parodies classical repertoire.

Merrick was asked to join a European tour in six days.

A friend sent his passport by FedEx. First stop: Iceland.

I was with Trocks for almost two years, Merrick says. I performed in 22 countries on five continents. We had a beautiful run in Paris, and the Canary Islands were incredible. It was an experience I wouldnt exchange for anything.

After two years of touring, Merrick returned to San Diego to set down roots in the city where he most loves to dance. He joined California Ballet in 2014 along with Ana da Costa, the principal ballerina who performs the part of Cinderella. The Civic Theatre engagement of Cinderella includes four shows and California Ballet principals Zachary Guthier and Reka Gyulai also play the roles of Prince Charming and Cinderella.

Its fantastic that there are two casts, says Merrick, who lives in a Sherman Heights Victorian home he remodeled himself.

Jared Nelson, our artistic director, gives us enough space to learn from the choices were making, while still being clear about the steps that he wants. His choreography is whimsical. Its classical with a contemporary approach that is really interesting. And the step sisters (Oscar Burciaga and Isaiah Bindel) are hilarious.

When it comes to being Prince Charming, some things come naturally for Merrick.

There is a certain amount of interpretation that happens, he says, chuckling, like how far to turn a head, how much to look up and when to bat an eyelash. Ana and I have danced together for years, so charming Cinderella is easy. Its the audience I hope to enchant.

California Ballet Company presents Jared Nelsons Cinderella

When: 7:30 p.m. April 12; 2 and 7:30 p.m. April 13; 2 p.m. April 14

Where: San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., downtown

Tickets: $25 to $95. Children ages 4 to 12 receive up to a 20 percent discount; must be at least 4 years old to attend.

Phone: (858) 560-6741

Online: sandiegotheatres.org

Manna is a freelance writer.
The plays of Lynn Nottage have a way of taking on huge and difficult topics and distilling them into intimate, gritty and deeply authentic stories of individual lives in turmoil.

They shy from neither heartbreak nor humor, and Monique Gaffney marvels at the way they encompass multiple story threads and tones.

There are so many layers, but they weave together beautifully, says Gaffney, who plays the key role of Cynthia in the upcoming San Diego Rep production of Nottages Pulitzer Prize-winning Sweat.

The result is seamless, like looking at a quilt. You have this colorful pattern, she adds.

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And then it just plays like a piece of music. Whether you hear classical or jazz in your head, whatever it is  it just has these dips and dives, and then theres a riff. And youre like, Wow, how did that come into play?

Sweat, a saga of struggling factory employees in Reading, Penn., is based on interviews with real-life workers in the Rust Belt city.

Ruined, Nottages first Pulitzer winner, tells of shattered lives and raw perseverance among people who haunt a brothel in the war-blasted Democratic Republic of Congo; it was likewise built around research Nottage conducted on-site.

That kind of approach to theater hits home for Gaffney, who besides being one of San Diegos most admired actors is also a playwright. And both her performing and storytelling sides are about to receive a huge boost.

In mid-March, the Theatre Communications Group announced that Gaffney was among six winners nationwide of the Fox Foundation Resident Actor Fellowships, a prestigious honor that affords funding, time and resources for each recipient to work on a specific project with a local host theater.

Gaffney, whose host is the Old Globe, will develop a multimedia theater piece inspired by the book Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust  Immaculee Ilibagizas true story of a woman who survived the 1994 Rwandan genocide for 91 days alongside seven other women in a tiny bathroom.

The creation of that piece will take in original stories of survival, resilience and forgiveness collected locally, the TCG citation says. The idea is for the finished work to be used as a teaching tool on such subjects as the refugee and asylum-seekers crisis.

The fellowship dovetails with all kinds of artistic impulses that drive Gaffney, a Columbia University and University of California San Diego-trained artist who comes from San Diego theater royalty: Her dad was the late Floyd Gaffney, co-founder of UCSDs renowned theater and dance department, and longtime artistic director of Common Ground Theatre.

Local audiences may know Monique Gaffney for memorable turns in such shows as Disgraced and Clybourne Park at the Rep, and The Piano Lesson and The Wind and the Breeze at Cygnet Theatre, where shes a resident artist.

But lately she also has been busy working as a teaching artist at the Old Globe, where she has previously appeared in the theaters touring Shakespeare for All program.

They put me into many different roles, which really stretches me as an artist, she says of her Globe experiences.

Gaffney also just finished a teaching-artist stint with Carlsbads New Village Arts Theatre, working with Blake McCarty of the local company Blindspot Collective on projects with three different area schools.

The verbatim projects, based on real-life interviews, tackled such topics as gender roles and substance abuse.

Those pursuits of Gaffneys seem to form a natural connection to Sweat and its basis in the struggles and dreams of the people Nottage met in Reading.

I think theres this level of authenticity, Gaffney says of the play and her character. This is a real person with real problems.

Cynthia, as Gaffney explains the character, has lived her whole life in Pennsylvania; shes a single mom who works in a factory alongside childhood friends.

She has always wanted to rise in terms of her position in the factory, Gaffney says. She has always been interested in going up to the next level, and was just waiting for the next opportunity to go into management, because shed been on the floor of this factory for a long time.

Cynthia wants to earn more money to support her family  but she also wants to prove to herself that, as Gaffney puts it, I deserve to be in this position.

Its a story, she says, of economics and class  all those things that are real and present, especially in the present climate.

In sum: You couldnt pick a better time to do a piece like Sweat, says Gaffney.

Or, from Gaffneys own perspective, a better place for her to be pursuing her theater passion.

As she puts it: I get to do what I love to do.

Sweat

When: April 18 to May 12

Where: San Diego Reps Lyceum Stage, 79 Horton Plaza, downtown

Tickets: About $21-$61 (discounts available)

Phone: (619) 544-1000

Online: sdrep.org

jim.hebert@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @jimhebert
Part of the reason Sarina Krishnan started her nonprofit to help immigrant families is because of her own family. Her parents are both first-generation immigrants, and her father had to deal with racism and discrimination when he arrived here from India more than 30 years ago. Although he was able to find success in spite of those issues, Krishnan wants to help other recent immigrants hopefully avoid those kinds of obstacles.

Living in San Diego and seeing vivid pictures highlighting their struggles and suffering impacted me on a personal level, she says. This was the spark that ignited my passion to help this underserved community.

So, she started Pathways to Assimilation in early 2018 to provide programs and services for people whod recently immigrated to the United States, to help them adjust to their new communities. As founder and president, shes applying for grants and fundraising, building corporate partnerships for collaboration, and speaking at events to highlight issues that will help the community she works with.

Krishnan, 17, is a student at The Bishops School in La Jolla, and lives in Poway with her parents (and has an older sister in college). She took some time to talk about her organization, some of their new initiatives for this year, and her passion for helping others.

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Q: Tell us about Pathways to Assimilation.

A: Through many interactions with migrant and refugee families, I saw several basic needs that were not being addressed.  One key aspect of my nonprofit is providing new programs and initiatives that help newly arrived immigrants assimilate into their local community. I am currently helping them learn basic life skills and also working on funding programs that would lead to careers in the medical field or in the food and catering industry. I have also created natural and organic products like sunscreens and other creams that I plan to use for inspiring adults to get involved in do-it-yourself home projects, which could lead to living a healthier lifestyle.

Q: How and when did you begin working with refugees before founding Pathways to Assimilation?

A: In August 2017, I began working with refugee families in San Diego as part of a group of students, and each one of us worked with a different Syrian refugee family to help them with their written and verbal English skills. Our intent was to help them apply for drivers licenses, shop without needing translators at grocery and department stores, and independently perform everyday tasks. Soon, I became very close to the families and they began to confide in me about other issues they were facing, such as bullying or teasing at school because of their race or religion. Seeing the vast need for support in these underserved communities, I decided to start my own nonprofit organization to address the issues faced by these families.

Q: What were you hearing from the refugee families you were working with about what would be helpful to them and their transition to a new country?

A: There were many, but a few of the top concerns have been how to respond to teasing, bullying and mocking at school because of race or religion; the need for understanding environmental issues, especially how to dispose of toxic waste, electronics, medications, etc.; understanding the harmful effects of smoking, vaping and underage drinking; the unmet need for information on potential career paths for young people; and seeking resources in their native languages to help them start their own small businesses to become economically self-sufficient.

What I love about Poway ...

I love the close-knit community, as well as the peace and tranquility that comes from living in a suburban area. There are also many hiking trails to enjoy nature and see wild animals that provide a nice retreat from my hectic, fast-paced life.

Q: Whats your response to the idea that assimilation can often come across as asking people to replace their traditions and culture with another?

A: Undoubtedly, assimilation has been viewed both positively and negatively. Some individuals question the effect that the lack of assimilation has on national identity. Others worry that if new immigrants become a part of the melting pot or salad bowl, they will lose their unique identities. Personally, I dont characterize assimilation in a negative manner. In my opinion, assimilation is not about conforming to a group, or changing ones identity in order to better adhere to the norms of a particular society. Rather, I find that assimilation aids in creating a thriving, multicultural society because we can take aspects of every culture and celebrate them as one, cohesive whole. We should all promote diversity together and not risk creating parallel societies, which will only promote division, isolation and hatred.

Q: What is it that you find helpful about assimilation?

A: For me, assimilation is a process of give-and-take. You give when you share your popular traditions and culture with the local community and involve them in the process. You take when you begin to participate in all the popular activities of the adopted country, and do them as part of the local community. This paves the way for integration into the local communities, as well as enriches society as a whole.

Q: Your bio on your website says that you hope to help empower refugees to embrace and celebrate their culture and identities. What does empowerment mean to you?

A: With our youth groups, our empowerment efforts are focused on celebrating their unique identities and assuring them that they should be proud of their individuality, rather than be embarrassed or ashamed of it. We feel that this is a vital step in helping youth feel like they truly belong in America, and this reassurance at such a pivotal age will surely help them become more confident and secure adults later.

For adult refugees, we work on enabling them to take a more active role in the community, whether it is by networking with people in their neighborhoods or applying for skilled jobs in order to become economically self-sufficient.

Q: What can you tell us about some of your organizations new initiatives for this year?

A: A couple of initiatives we have planned include providing lessons and demonstrations on ethnic and local cooking to migrant and refugee women. Another initiative offers a training course for all members of the refugee families on the safe disposal of toxic waste, electronics, medications, paint, etc. Also, we are providing scholarships to students from low-income migrant and refugee families to attend a weekend medical academy on what it takes to become a nurse, which is offered by Rady Childrens Hospital. Lastly (and my favorite one), we are creating a new phone app for migrants and refugees. This free app would help them securely connect and communicate with each other to share their common concerns and solutions on various issues.

Q: What is the best advice youve ever received?

A: My mom has always told me that luck comes to those who work hard, and this lesson is very pertinent to my nonprofit. In the preliminary stages of creating Pathways to Assimilation, it was extremely difficult to get any response from local individuals and organizations, and there were many times when I just wanted to give up because it was the easier solution. But there was this persistent voice in the back of my head, reminding me of my moms advice. So, by working hard, and through persistence and perseverance, I was able to make my nonprofit a success.

Q: What is one thing people would be surprised to find out about you?

A: I recently won the Princeton Prize for Race Relations and am donating my award money to provide scholarships to migrant youth to attend Rady Childrens Hospital Medical Academy. (I have also started a GoFundMe campaign to help fund these scholarships.)

Q: Describe your ideal San Diego weekend.

A: My ideal San Diego weekend would be waking up at 9 a.m. to a sunny, cloudless sky, and meeting up with my friends for coffee at our favorite cafe, Better Buzz. After that, we would watch a movie at Fashion Valley, shop for a bit, and later, drive by the Windansea beach to watch the sunset.

Email: lisa.deaderick@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @lisadeaderick
A recent leak of more than 200,000 online chat logs from a white supremacist group reveals how local members are targeting students on San Diego college campuses and trying to project a respectable image even as the groups members privately espoused Islamophobic, anti-Semitic and racist views.

The group, called Identity Evropa, is nationally known for helping organize the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a protestor was killed and dozens were injured over two days of clashes.

More recently, the group made news because online whistleblowers began identifying Identity Evropa members, publishing their online chat messages and linking them with social media posts. In the past week their efforts have led to official investigations of a Virginia school police officer and seven service members from various branches of the US military.

The logs were released by Unicorn Riot, a non-profit educational media collective. Unicorn Rito has previously released chats from other extremist organizations and hosts them online in a searchable database.

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A Union-Tribune review of the chat logs reveals a local branch of Identity Evropa has visited local colleges at least a dozen times since Fall 2017, though flyers first appeared at San Diego State University the year before. The chat logs also refer to publicity and recruitment activities at Southern California colleges as recently as last month.

The Southern Poverty Law Center considers Identity Evropa a hate group, and the Anti-Defamation League categorizes it as a white supremacist organization.

Its leadership rejects these definitions.

Current CEO Patrick Casey, who graduated from San Diego State University in 2016, has tried to rein in his groups extremist expressions online, the chats show.

REMINDER, he wrote under his acknowledged pseudonym Reinhard Wolff. Do not post negative things about other races, do not advocate violence, do not use crude language. In short, do not say anything that, if leaked, would make us look bad.

The leaked chats show Caseys efforts to muffle hate speech were ineffective.

Identity Evropa members sometimes referred to Islam in the chats as a cancer and warned about Muslims immigrating to and holding public office in predominantly white countries.

Group members discussed the great replacement in more than 150 comments, referring to the idea of Europeans being replaced by people of color. A similar concept was part of the written message by the mass shooter who killed 50 people in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand last week.

Members also wrote more than 200 times about the Jewish Question, a conspiracy theory that posits that Jewish people yield wide-ranging societal and governmental control.

In a series of interview emails with the Union-Tribune last week, Casey said Identity Evropa was not a hate group.

We explicitly denounced racial hatred and extremism on many occasions, Casey said. When asked about the types of comments Identity Evropa members posted in the chats, Casey declined to answer, calling the question boring.

Even so, he said he has started a new group, the American Identity Movement, which also recently distributed flyers and stickers on the campuses of the University of California Berkeley and Sacramento State, according to its Twitter account.

The leaked chats from Identity Evropa show members targeting mainstream, conservative student organizations, such as the College Republicans and Turning Point USA.

One Identity Evropa member bragged online in February about manning a Turning Point USA table at a college while promoting his groups beliefs  and getting Turning Point USA to pay for lunch.

My ultimate goal is subversion of my schools TPUSA chapter into a front for IE, he wrote, referring to Identity Evropa.

Turning Point USA did not respond to requests for comment.

Someone chatting under the name TMatthews in September said he is an officer of the College Republicans on his campus and believes many other Identity Evropa members also have joined.

Its easy to infiltrate low level GOP stuff if you just show up, he wrote.

Ben Rajadurai, deputy executive director of the College Republican National Committee, said these extremists are not welcome.

Racial divisiveness has no place on our college campuses, and students joining our organization are committed to treating people with respect and defending human rights for everyone, he said in an email.

Nationally, Identity Evropa was responsible for at least 191 of 319 reported incidents of white supremacist propaganda at colleges and universities in 2018, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Dr. Peter Simi, a Chapman University researcher specializing in extremist groups, said Identity Evropa is potentially more dangerous than traditional skinhead and neo-Nazi organizations because Identity Evropas strategy is to feign respectability while playing down violent or racist themes.

Its more dangerous because it potentially has broader appeal, Simi said. There are folks who wouldnt necessarily get involved with a group thats more extreme looking. You have to see it as part of a larger strategy to normalize their presence.

Even the name of the groups online chat channel  Nice Respectable People Group  reflects Identity Evropas desire for a sanitized public face. More than 800 individual accounts were registered to the groups server before that channel was shut down, according to the leaks.

In San Diego county, the leaks show Identity Evropa members engaged in at least a dozen instances of white supremacist propaganda postings and distribution on college campuses.

Members usually posted materials at night in common areas on campuses and on bulletin boards and light poles. They often returned the next day to take photos of their work, according to the chat entries.

Casey told the SDSU student newspaper, The Daily Aztec, last year that there were between 50 and 100 members of Identity Evropa attending the university. But leaked online chats show 13 individual accounts from the San Diego area and just a handful of people posting pictures of their activities between September 2017 to March 2019.

This small group, who posted under pseudonyms, were responsible for flyers at SDSU in September 2017 and February 2018, and banners at UCSD in October 2017 and flyers the next month, the chat logs show.

Last year, Identity Evropa posted materials at San Diego City, Palomar, Grossmont and Mira Costa colleges. A San Diego-Southern California cell also posted materials at CSU Fullerton and Mt. San Jacinto College and last month spread flyers around UC Irvine and Saddleback College campuses.

Some of the groups posters and flyers proclaimed Its okay to be white. Other flyers left off Identity Evropas logo and name while promoting a white supremacists book, using the phrase your professor is scared of this book.

Identity Evropa held a private speaking event in an SDSU lecture hall In November 2017. A photo from the groups closed Twitter account showed at least 30 attendees.

In January 2018, two people claiming to be part of Identity Evropa announced they were observing an ethnic studies class at UC San Diego. They texted on cell phones during class and, on the way out, one flashed an Identity Evropa badge, according to a UCSD Guardian story.

According to Identity Evropas chat logs, none of the groups members were UCSD students at the time.

In 2017, a group of Identity Evropa members hung two banners from the Price Center & Bookstore at UC San Diego.

A UCSD spokeswoman condemned the organization and its activities.

As hate groups continue to target colleges and universities throughout the country, taking advantage of policies that protect freedom of expression, UC San Diego will continue to unequivocally condemn all language and actions that espouse and support hate as well as any doctrines that elevate one group above another, said Christine Clark, a university spokeswoman.

The antidote to hate speech is more speech  speaking out against intolerance and bigotry  and one the university will continue advocating.

Contact Andrew Dyer via email or Twitter.
Deep in the Otay Mountain Wilderness, there is no wall.

The only boundary between the U.S. and Mexico is a section of barbed wire fence in a pastoral valley. And miles and miles of treacherous terrain.

Its a territory criss-crossed with steep trails that disappear into tunnels of thick brush, a place looped by violently rutted roads that Border Patrol agents negotiate daily.

Land such as this is not a likely candidate for President Donald Trumps big, beautiful wall.

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But it is fertile for an invisible kind of fence, one built of artificial intelligence, radar, drones, sensors, motion-activated cameras and even lidar, the same technology used in self-driving vehicles.

Virtual walls or smart walls along the southwest border are increasingly being billed as an alternative to the proposed concrete and steel barriers that have so sharply divided public opinion.

An electronic fence is not about preventing intrusion as much as it is about detecting intrusions and then intercepting them.

While even the strongest proponents for such a technological solution admit physical barriers are likely best in urban areas such as San Diego and El Paso, they see a virtual wall as a cheaper and more effective way to police much of the rest of the 2,000-mile southwest border.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has asked for $223 million of its fiscal 2019 budget to focus on technology improvements, funding that could have bipartisan support.

But the increased focus on smart walls is deepening concern about a growing Big-Brother-is-watching network, and civil liberties organizations have asked lawmakers to proceed with caution.

Warrantless use of these technologies comes at an unacceptably high cost, Neema Singh Guliani and Michelle Fraling, officials with the American Civil Liberties Union, said last month. They allow the government to track, surveil, and monitor individuals indiscriminately and with precise detail. Individuals in the border zone should not be subject to near-constant surveillance that intrudes on the most intimate aspects of their lives.

Lessons learned

An electronic fence is not a new idea. It is one that the federal government has actually failed to implement widescale at least three times in the past few decades.

From 1997 to 2005, the government spent about $429 million on two border technology programs deemed unsuccessful, according to congressional reports.

The third, most recent iteration was known as SBInet, a massive project started in 2006. Boeing was contracted to build a network of surveillance towers and ground sensors that would detect intrusions and relay the information back to command posts where agents would decide how to react.

It was rolled out first along the Arizona border, but expansion was halted in 2010 due to serious concerns with its feasibility.

The Government Accountability Office faulted SBInet for being poorly managed, overrun with costs and missed deadlines. The technology was also troubled, pulled off the shelves rather than custom-designed for the border environment and job at hand.

The program was killed in 2011, at a price tag of more than $1 billion.

I terminated it when I was commissioner. It was a failure, Alan Bersin recalled in an interview last week with the Union-Tribune. Bersin, a former U.S. attorney in San Diego, served as a so-called border czar under two presidents and was appointed CBP commissioner from 2010 to 2011.

Part of the problem, Bersin said, was pursuing a one-size-fits-all approach to the border.

Instead of one technology system borderwide, we now follow a system customized to the particular conditions on the border, Bersin said. The setting up of an electronic fence in the Sonoran Arizona desert is far different than doing so around San Diegos urban area.

Aging technology

Even before SBInet was terminated, doubts about the program led authorities to redirect millions of dollars in funding to deploy other technology across the border. That included mobile and fixed surveillance towers, cameras, drones and thermal imaging devices.

Many of those systems are in use today, although they are aging  both physically and in concept as technology leaps forward.

To cope, Border Patrol sectors have largely focused on incremental improvements in a peicemeal strategy.

Evidence of that effort can be seen in the Border Patrols Brown Field Station east of San Diego, a 568-square-mile region stretching from Otay Mountain to Tecate, with 11 miles of international border.

Agents there typically spend a large amount of their shifts investigating alerts from seismic sensors tripped by potential intruders. Problem is, the sensors are also tripped by rabbits, deer, the rain, other agents.

A sensor in a remote canyon could take a two-hour hike, only to discover fresh mountain lion tracks nearby.

The recent addition of several motion-activated Buckeye cameras has helped tremendously, agents said. The camera takes a grainy snapshot immediately after being triggered, sending the information back to the Tactical Operations Center at the station for quick analysis.

The command post, better known as TOC (pronounced talk), monitors other surveillance, too. Radar returns predict the presence of suspicious activity and send images that can distinguish vehicles and people. An agent sitting at the computer can then direct a field agent to intercept.

The TOC also takes a high-tech approach to one of the Border Patrols most low-tech tactics  tracking sign.

Sign refers to the traces left behind by a person on the move, whether it be footprints, litter, broken branches or overturned rocks. Reading sign is how agents have done the job for decades, something unchanged by even the best technology, they say.

What the TOC has essentially done is crowdsource sign intelligence. For instance, an agent who discovers fresh footprints of a group of people headed up a specific trail will report it to the TOC. The spot will be marked with GPS coordinates and updated as more sign is discovered. The information can be passed onto the next shift for continued tracking.

The TOC can track sign for two, three days, said Border Patrol spokesman Fabian Carbajal, who has spent 13 years of his career patrolling Brown Field Station.

The future

The capabilities are a start, but innovators at many smaller firms have their sights on technology that seemed futuristic not too long ago.

Quanergy, a Silicon Valley company that developed lidar for driverless vehicles, has been testing the technology in the Texas border town of Del Rio with the cooperation of a local sheriff, The New York Times reported. The laser sensors give a 3D view of an area, building on the existing technology already being used.

Anduril Industries, based in Orange County, is working to apply the power of artificial intelligence to national security settings. Its founder is Palmer Luckey, the entrepreneur behind the virtual reality company Oculus.

One of the big advantages to the use of AI-enabled technology is that you can deploy it without having to increase manpower, said Matt Steckman, Andurils head of corporate and government affairs. You get computers to do a lot of the work and let the humans be the decision-makers.

Andurils system, called Lattice, uses hundreds or even thousands of sensors, then lets artificial intelligence scan the environment five times per second and interpret the results. Only meaningful results will be transmitted to an agent in the field, on a smartphone or tablet, in the form of a cropped image of the form. The agent can then decide how to respond.

The system takes out the middle man  the agent who has to sit at a bank of computer monitors in a darkened room and interpret the sensor results in real time.

The network uses different types of sensors to create a more complete image of the environment, and each sensor is able to interpret its own data  brand new technology known as edge computation that is still in its infancy.

The system completed a pilot phase last summer in part of Texas and became operational. It was also tested east of San Diego, leading to 10 interceptions during the first 12 days, Wired magazine reported last June.

Tech companies are also working to make devices more mobile, and therefore more nimble.

Benchmark outfits Border Patrol pickups with high-powered scopes that are easy to move from place to place. (Courtesy photo)

Benchmark, based in Tempe, Ariz., has built on the idea of surveillance towers and built it into Border Patrol pickup trucks. At the top of a 30-foot retractable mast are powerful day and night vision cameras and lasers, with a range of about six miles.

The first order of 14 brown-and-mustard colored Ford F-150s were deployed to Texas about a year ago, but five were shifted to the San Diego Sector as a major migrant caravan neared Tijuana late last year, said Jan Janick, Benchmarks chief technology officer.

The company is working on delivering another 15 trucks, each with $300,000 to $400,000 in technology on board.

Benchmark hopes to use the trucks as a launch pad for other capabilities, including giving agents the ability to have control on a tablet if they need to leave the truck.

Tying a drone into the system has also been suggested by Border Patrol.

Today I can identify an intruder at six miles, but I cant tell you if hes wearing a sidearm or if thats a lunch box, Janick said.

But what if an agent could push a button and the unmanned aerial vehicle could fly to the GPS coordinates, get a closer look, track the person and return to the truck?

You cant overload the agent with data or task them with things that keep them from their primary mission, Janick explained. You dont want to train every agent on a drone and have them focused on a joystick. You want technology to have that capability.

Former Acting CBP Commissioner David Aguilar said technology will unquestionably be a large part of securing the border  used in combination with physical barriers where appropriate and manpower.

He gave the example of SAR radar, being looked at to constantly map and remap a portion of land in remote areas to detect terrain change, such as a new trail or road implicating fresh trafficking routes.

Thats good intelligence, Aguilar, who also served as Border Patrol chief, said in a recent interview. You can go in there, drop ground sensors in the area, fly a drone on a persistent basis or post tethered aerostats to watch that area.

But he warned against viewing any one solution, including technology, as a silver bullet.

There is no such thing. Youre never going to have a border that is going to be impenetrable. Thats just not going to happen. Does that mean we stop working toward it? No.

Keeping a virtual wall alive and running has its challenges.

Devices require power sources, which can be difficult in remote locations. They need robust communications infrastructure to transmit information. They have to stand up to the rigors of a rugged work environment. And they can be deemed worthless if destroyed or vandalized.

Agents who work the Otay Mountain Wilderness say the emerging technology helps. But nothing can replace boots on the ground.

All the technology is not going to do what we do, said veteran Agent Jose Damian. When a scope spots something, you still need agents to go retrieve it.

With all the tech talk, it can be jarring just how rudimentary some of Border Patrols tools are. On a recent Wednesday, Damian stood atop a crude helicopter landing pad deep in the mountains, with cheap, old binoculars to his eyes, scanning the valley below that separates the U.S. from Mexico.

Agents here dont have vehicle laptops. They communicate through radios, powered by batteries that have died at times when agents needed them most, and will likely die again.

Farther east, near the Tecate Port of Entry, mobile flood lights stand sentry along the old landing mat fence that separates dirt parking lots in the U.S. from colorful, dense housing a stones throw away in Mexico. The lights require an agent each shift to fill them up by hand with gas, to illuminate the night.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis
Its a safe bet John McCain would probably enjoy this.

Seven months after his death, the Arizona senator and war hero hasnt lost his knack of getting the presidents goat like no earthly being can.

Donald Trumps inexplicable obsession with McCain, dead or alive, is nothing new. The two feuded for years. But even for a president known for erratic behavior, his latest days-long string of invective tweets and public comments about McCain both appalled and perplexed.

It was even too much for some of Trumps supporters, who while defending and lauding McCain had been reluctant to call out the president. GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Trump-critic-turned-ally, was one of those. He cautiously chided Trump on Wednesday.

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I love John McCain, I traveled the world with him, I learned a lot from him, hes an American hero and nothing will ever diminish that, he told reporters. I think the presidents comments about Senator McCain hurt him more than they hurt the legacy of Senator McCain. Im going to try to continue to help the president.

Even before he succumbed to brain cancer in August, McCain had been lionized for his service to the country  as a Navy pilot who was shot down over North Vietnam and imprisoned for five years and for his 31 years in the Senate.

He was forthright and brash. He gave and took political shots, and he regularly displayed his ability to sting Trump. On that score, Meghan McCain picked up a thing or two from the old man.

(Trump) spends his weekend obsessing over great men because he knows it, and I know it and all of you know it, he will never be a great man, McCains daughter said Monday on The View daytime television talk show, where she is one of the hosts.

My father was his kryptonite in life. Hes his kryptonite in death, she added.

As Trump continued to criticize his nemesis into the week, McCain said on Wednesday her father would think its hilarious that our president was so jealous of him that he was dominating the news cycle in death . . .

Trump initially seemed set off by reports that McCain gave the so-called Steele dossier about Russian influence in the presidents election to the FBI and the media. Subsequent reports said McCain received a copy and turned it over to the FBI but that there was no evidence he leaked it to the media. (It turned out that a former McCain aide testified to Congress that he  the aide  shared details of the document with the news media.)

Trump also vented his anger over the senators decision to vote against repealing Obamacare, his support for the war in Afghanistan and, perhaps most baffling, for not getting credit for allowing McCains funeral.

I endorsed him at his request, and I gave him the kind of funeral that he wanted, which as president I had to approve, Trump said. I dont care about this. I didnt get a thank you. Thats OK. We sent him on the way. But I wasnt a fan of John McCain.

The feeling was mutual. McCain had made clear he didnt want Trump to attend his funeral. The reality is Trump had nothing to do with the funeral, other than allowing McCains body to be flown to Washington by military transport.

Trump made the funeral comments and others about McCain as he addressed employees at a tank plant in Ohio on Wednesday. Maggie Haberman of The New York Times noted on Twitter that Trump has usually gotten a positive reception at his rallies when he has gone after McCain. But today, at an army tank plant in Lima where POTUS said a third of the workforce is comprised of veterans, there was a very quiet response.

The president also criticized McCain to the news media during a White House meeting with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday.

Trumps attacks on McCain were widely condemned as unbecoming of the nations chief executive. But then Trump has little use for traditional decorum. His base revels in Trump taking on the establishment and sacred cows, and, lest we forget, McCain was not a favorite of the Republican Partys hard right.

While Trump backers, including some veterans, have said they dont like his comments about McCain, many of the presidents supporters have looked past his sometimes boorish behavior because they side with his politics.

McCain, who owned condominiums in Coronado and spent a lot of time in San Diego, has long been a target of Trump, who in turn became target of the senator. As far back as 1999, Trump questioned McCains status as a war hero, as he did in a 60 Minutes interview.

Early in the 2016 presidential race, Trump received a lot of attention by declaring, Hes no hero. . .I like people who werent captured.

Still, McCain supported the GOP nominee until the infamous Access Hollywood tape surfaced late in the campaign. McCain said he could no longer back Trump because of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults. . .

In 2017, McCain took a shot at Trump, who received military deferments in college and another one for medical reasons that eventually would be roundly questioned.

One aspect of the (Vietnam) conflict, by the way, that I will never, ever countenance is that we drafted the lowest income level of America and the highest income level found a doctor that would say that they had a bone spur, McCain said on C-SPAN. That is wrong. That is wrong. If we are going to ask every American to serve, every American should serve.

McCain also was referring to Trump in a speech at the 2017 Liberty Medal Award ceremony, when the senator lashed out at half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems. . . He called this unpatriotic.

The senator clearly had better relations with the media than Trump does, and that may have worked to his advantage during this ongoing feud. Political reporters seemed captivated by his accessibility, maverick persona and wit as they rode McCains Straight Talk Express during his 2000 presidential bid. But some critics of the media contend McCain was not treated as fairly as Barack Obama when they ran for president in 2008.

Despite losing, McCain nevertheless further burnished his legacy with one of the most striking concession speeches in American politics, as he urged supporters to not let their disappointment keep them from truly grasping the historic moment they just witnessed: The United States had elected its first black president.

If Trump happens to lose next year, well see how he matches up.

Tweet of the Week

Goes to Erica Jong (@EricaJong), best-selling author.

I was never married to Kim Jong Un despite my daughters allegations

michael.smolens@sduniontribune.com

Twitter:@michaelsmolens

(619) 293-1256
Last weeks accusations of sexual assault and sexual harassment against San Diego Unified Trustee Kevin Beiser presented another #MeToo story, with allegations of a man wielding power and status to carry out abuse.

But experts say this case also has some less common aspects, in part because the alleged victims are men.

Men are less likely to be sexually assaulted or abused than women, experts said, but it happens more often than most people know. A study commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control found that nearly a quarter of all men experience unwanted sexual contact, coercion or rape in their lifetimes.

In this case, four San Diego men who were active in politics recently accused Beiser of sexual abuse and harassment, ranging from unwanted sexual touching to rape.

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One of them filed a civil lawsuit against Beiser Monday, saying that Beiser raped, sexually abused and harassed him over the five years they worked together. That man is referred to as John Doe in court documents.

Beiser has denied the allegations, saying there is no truth to them and that they are politically motivated. Beiser did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Several leading Democrats and all of Beisers fellow school board members have called for his resignation, many saying the allegations are credible and Beiser is unfit to remain in office.

The allegations have yet to play out in court.

But some experts say they line up with some common patterns of cases of alleged sexual assault and harassment, particularly when offenders exploit their material or political clout to coerce silence and submission from victims.

All four men have said they were trying to build their political careers when they first met Beiser, who is well-connected in the San Diego County Democratic Party and has served on the school board of the states second-largest school district for more than eight years.

Experts, speaking in general, not necessarily about this case, say that elevated social status and political power are effective tools for carrying out sexual abuse and getting away with it.

Taking advantage of a power differential is one of the most common tactics that predatory people use, said Robert Eckstein, a senior lecturer with the Prevention Innovations Research Center at the University of New Hampshire.

People who offend in this manner are really sophisticated in picking out people who have less power than them and have less avenues to report it and to get the help that they need.

Eckstein added that if an offender is well-liked in a community, that can lead victims to doubt themselves or doubt that the person did something wrong to them.

Power is a very effective vehicle to abuse and being successful with it, because it insulates you in a lot of ways, said Veronique Valliere, a psychologist who has testified in court about victim behavior and consulted for the military and law enforcement. Plus, the victim is very well aware of your status and credibility in the community, and so challenging that is a huge barrier to overcome.

Several of the men accusing Beiser said they were aware of Beisers status in politics when they met him.

Doe saw Beiser as a rising star in the Democratic Party and a fund-raising powerhouse, according to his lawsuit.

Another political aspirant, Patrick Macfarland, said Beiser took him under his wing and introduced him to a lot of powerful Democrats at a political event in 2017. Later that night, Macfarland said, Beiser groped him and invited him to his hotel.

Macfarland said he didnt tell many people about the incident because of Beisers status.

I kept quiet for all this time because, you know, Kevin Beiser is a powerful person of the Democratic Party, Macfarland said. He has a lot of powerful friends and, me starting out my political career, I was scared that he could do something and then thats it, Im done.

Eva Posner, a political consultant who was working for Macfarland at the time, said Friday that Macfarland told her about the incident and showed her a text message from Beiser with his hotel information.

We had several conversations afterward about what to do and how to keep Patrick from ever being alone with Mr. Besier again, Posner said, adding that she knows all four men who accused Beiser. She said they all shared their story and she has provided support.

Dan Gilleon, Does lawyer, said politics is especially conducive to sexual abuse because its all about who you know.

Theres a risk that comes with saying anything damning about a well-regarded person in a community and that prevents many victims from speaking out, Gilleon said.

If he complains, theres no fresh start, Gilleon said of his client.

Fear, shame and guilt often lead victims back to their offenders despite the prior abuse, experts say.

Does lawsuit stated that in the years after Beiser allegedly raped Doe, Doe turned to Beiser multiple times for political work and help.

Doe agreed to be Beisers campaign manager in 2014. He asked Beiser in 2016 to help him fund-raise for his own city council bid and again in 2017 for a political action committee Doe formed.

In 2018, Doe agreed to be Beisers campaign consultant again. The lawsuit said that while Beiser and Doe worked on those projects, Beiser allegedly continued abusing Doe, even though Doe objected.

Valliere said that, in general, some sexual abuse victims return to or continue to make contact with an abuser because the abuser continues to have power or influence over their life or livelihood.

It seems so superficially easy to leave when it really isnt, Valliere said.

Victims of sexual harassment and assault can feel added shame if an abuser does them a favor, she said. After accepting the benefits an offender provides, a victim often feels more guilt, Valliere said.

Theyve basically co-opted the victim into cooperating with their own offense, she said, referring generally to an abuser, because the victim then feels completely culpable. [Victims] are rewarded not only for the abuse, but the silence.

While the allegations against Beiser involve common themes of power disparity, they differ from most #MeToo scenarios in that they involved only men.

All of these dynamics that were talking about can be especially powerful for male victims because its not considered the norm, Eckstein said.

Nearly a quarter of men in the United States experienced some form of contact sexual violence, such as unwanted sexual touching, rape or coercion, in their lifetimes. That compares to 44 percent of women, according to the CDCs National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey. It is based on 2015 data.

Within those numbers, nearly 18 percent of all men reported unwanted sexual contact; 2.6 percent reported being raped.

Male victims often feel a distinct kind of shame from sexual assault or harassment because of cultural stereotypes about masculinity, such as the expectation that men would be able to fight off any offenders, said Elizabeth Jeglic, a psychology professor at John Jay College.

A lot of times, men arent taken seriously because they feel that men can fight back if theyre being abused, or they should speak up, Jeglic said. Its largely dismissed as a societal issue, even though we know its been going on for a long time.

Men also are often unfamiliar with experiences of vulnerability, such as sexual assault, and they may not know how to deal with them, Valliere said.

Sexual assault is especially traumatizing if a straight male victim was assaulted by a man, Valliere added, because it can lead the victim to question why he put up with the offenders actions.

Luke Pakter said this week that in May 2017, he had gone to Beisers home to pick up a political contribution check, which was going to pay Patkers salary. He said after the meeting, on his way out, Beiser touched him inappropriately in a lingering embrace and offered him money for a massage.

Pakter, who was 19 at the time, said he felt he couldnt confront Beiser about his behavior, so he tried to be polite and non-committal.

Later, he said, he felt emasculated by the experience. Pakter said he had a girlfriend at the time but didnt tell her about it.

It felt like this situation where I was not being able to fight back, he said.

Staff writer Morgan Cook contributed to this report.

Kristen Taketa

Email: kristen.taketa@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @Kristen_Taketa
Henry Avocado Corp., an Escondido-based grower and distributor, is recalling whole avocados that have been distributed to retailers across the country, citing a risk of listeria infection.

The recall covers California-grown conventional and organic avocados that were packed in California and sold in bulk across this state as well as Arizona, Florida, Wisconsin, North Carolina and New Hampshire.

Avocados imported from Mexico and distributed by Henry Avocado are not being recalled and are safe to eat, the company said in a statement issued Saturday.

The company issued the voluntary recall after a routine government inspection of its California packing plant revealed samples that tested positive for listeria monocytogenes, a potentially dangerous organism.

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Listeria can cause serious or fatal infections in young children, the elderly or those with weakened immune systems, and may cause miscarriages and stillbirths. Even healthy people who are infected may suffer high fever, severe headaches, stiffness, nausea and diarrhea, the company said.

We are voluntarily recalling our products and taking every action possible to ensure the safety of consumers who eat our avocados, Phil Henry, company president, said in the statement.

The company said it is cooperating with federal and state health officials to complete the recall.

All buyers are being contacted to remove the whole avocados from store shelves.

Consumers can identify Henry Avocado products by their Bravocado stickers on conventionally grown fruits. Organic products carry a sticker with the words organic and California. Retailers can check to sticker barcodes.

Anyone who has Henry Avocados California-grown avocados is urged to toss them or return them to the store for a refund, the company said.

Consumers may contact the company at (760) 745-6632, ext. 132, or at henryavocado.com/media for further information.

pauline.repard@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @pdrepard
An attack involving gunmen and bomb blasts on a complex housing government ministries in Somalia's capital killed at least 11 people on Saturday, including the deputy labour minister, officials said.

Claimed by the Al-Shabaab Islamist group, the assault was a sign of the insurgency's continued ability to strike at the heart of Somalia's government, despite years of foreign military support for Mogadishu.

The fighting began with two blasts at the gates of the complex housing the labour and works ministries.

Police say at least four gunmen then stormed the buildings, leading to a shootout as officers rushed to confront the attackers.

"The death toll reached eleven, three of them women, and the number of wounded is 15," said Abdukadir Abdirahman Adan, director of Mogadishu's Aamin ambulance service.

Senator Ilyas Ali Hassan confirmed that Saqar Ibrahim Abdalla, the deputy minister for labour and social affairs, was also killed.

"I cannot elaborate on how he died but I can confirm that he was killed inside the ministry building," Hassan said.

Police official Ibrahim Mohamed said all the gunmen were killed.

"There were some other casualties including members of the police," he said, without elaborating.

Siege attacks

Attacks that combine bombings with gunmen have become a speciality of the Al-Qaeda linked group, which is running an armed insurrection against what it sees as heretic and foreign influence in Somalia.

The group emerged from Islamic Courts that once controlled central and southern Somalia and are variously estimated to number between 5,000 and 9,000 men.

In 2010 the Shabaab declared their allegiance to Al-Qaeda. The following year, the group were chased out of Mogadishu by the 22,000-strong African Union peace-enforcement mission, AMISOM.

They have since lost many of their strongholds but retain control of large rural swathes of the country and continue to wage a guerrilla war, frequently hitting Mogadishu.

In October 2017 a truck bombing in a busy neighbourhood of the capital killed over 500 people, the deadliest attack in Somalia to date.

Targeting Kenya

Among Al-Shabaab's adversaries is the US military, which has killed over 800 people in airstrikes targeting the insurgents over the last two years.

This week Amnesty International released a report challening the US's claim that the airtrikes only killed "terrorists."

Amnesty researchers say at least 14 civilians were killed in US bombings. The US military denied the report.

The Shabaab have also carried out a string of attacks in Kenya since 2011.

The deadliest of these took place on April 2, 2015 when 148 people were killed at Garissa University in northeastern Kenya.

In 2013, a Shabaab raid on Nairobi's Westgate shopping mall left 67 dead in a siege that unfolded over four days. And in January this year, 14 people were killed in a Shabaab-claimed attack on a luxury hotel complex in Nairobi.

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One by one, in a moment of silence, men, women and children on Saturday walked up to the San Diego County Administration Center and placed 111 pairs of worn-out shoes on the steps of the historic building.

The footwear  everything from green sneakers and black dress shoes to brown hiking boots and gray-and-yellow running shoes  represented the 111 homeless people known to have died across San Diego County in 2018.

The somber moment was part of a service put on not only to honor the lives lost  most of them to accidents and natural causes  but also to encourage those who have moved off the streets to stay on the right track.

For many, the message hit home.

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It could have been me, said Angeline Burrows, who ended up on the streets of San Diego in 2015 after a back injury left her without a job. I remember when I was homeless right in our camp there was a couple people who not just died but were murdered.

Now Burrows is one of about 300 residents at the San Diego Rescue Mission, which offers programs to get men, women and children off the streets and on their feet.

The faith-based nonprofit organized Saturdays event, now in its 18th year. It was the first time the mission required its residents to participate.

Standing on the steps of the county building, CEO Donnie Dee told residents: Today is a reminder for you.

A procession of people walk to the San Diego County Administration Center, holding pairs of shoes as a way to remember the 111 homeless people who died in 2018. (Hayne Palmour IV/U-T)

With that being said, he stressed the importance of addressing the issues that either landed them or have kept them on the streets.

The ceremony included prayers and performances by the City of Hope International Choir.

The 111 pairs of shoes served as a reminder of the dire need to end homelessness, which Dee flagged as the citys No. 1 issue.

We cant be OK with this, he said. Not while were living can we be OK with the number of people living on the streets. And hundreds of them are dying on the streets.

He later added: When they died, they died alone. They took their last breath on a sidewalk, in an alley, up next to a building.

The deaths in 2018 included 75 caused by accidents  including 48 drug-related cases  and 27 that stemmed from natural causes, with almost half related to cardiovascular problems. The death toll was lower than the 124 deaths in 2017 and just higher than the 107 deaths in 2016, according to the county Medical Examiners Office, which reported data near the end of 2018 that didnt include December or most of November. Updated figures were not available on Saturday.

Before the shoes were placed on the steps of the west entrance to the county building, the footwear was held in the hands of Rescue Mission staff, residents and allies as they walked in procession from the missions center on the southern edge of Bankers Hill to the building on Pacific Highway. Escorted by San Diego police, they held signs that read, We will always remember, Always in our hearts, and Remember the 111.

Among the line of supporters was Bob Dalton, of Salem, Ore., whose mother became homeless in 2014 after she moved away, with little more than a suitcase, to start a new life in Florida. He described his mother as the hardest working woman he knows, saying she has two college degrees and managed restaurants for most of her life to raise him and his sister on her own.

His mothers experience in Florida, Dalton admitted, drastically changed his perception of homelessness.

I was always the guy who would drive by folks on the street and whisper under my breath, Go get a job, he said.

His mothers circumstances inspired him to take action  initially within his city. He called local shelters to ask what they needed. The answer? Blankets. So he created a company called Sackcloth & Ashes, which sells modish blankets and, for every purchase, donates one to a homeless shelter in the area where the buyer lives.

In June, his company launched a campaign dubbed Blanket the United States. The goal is to donate 1 million blankets to shelters nationwide by 2024.

Dalton, whose mother now is in a program and 90 days sober, said he no longer drives past homeless people on the streets in disdain.

I look at them dead in the eye and I see them as people he said. I see them as our brothers and our sisters and our fathers and our mothers.

My mother has taught me that not all people choose to become homeless, he added. That some just need a second chance. Some just need a helping hand. They all at least deserve a glance from us to see that they exist.

Dalton held onto a pair of green-and-white Nike sneakers by the shoelaces as he walked with others in honor of the 111 homeless people who died last year.

Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
In March 1965 astronauts Gus Grissom and John Young flew orbited the earth three times in the first manned Gemini mission.

While in space, Grissom fired thruster rockets to test the crafts maneuverability. It was the first time a spacecraft had been piloted by its own crew.

From The San Diego Union, Wednesday, March 24, 1965:

Gemini Maneuvers Open New Era

Astronauts Safe On Carrier After 3-Orbit Success

By Robert Zimmerman, The San Diego Unions Military Writer

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CAPE KENNEDY  Astronauts Virgil I. (Gus) Grissom and John Young flew the worlds first maneuverable space craft on a successful three-orbit mission yesterday, but had to hitch a ride in a helicopter for the last few miles of the trip.

Grissom, as the command pilot, put the two-seat Gemini spacecraft through a series of flight maneuvers that brought in a new era in space flight.

The only flaw in an otherwise perfect flight came when the spacecraftnicknamed Molly Brown splashed down in the Atlantic ocean four hours and 54 minutes after a Titan 2 booster lifted it into orbit from Cape Kennedy.

The spacecraft came down nearly 50 miles from where it was supposed to.

Grissom and Young made a quick change in their plans, which called for them to stay inside their capsule until it was hoisted to the deck of the carrier Intrepid.

Rather than wait about two hours for the Intrepid to arrive, they got out of their space suits, opened the hatches of the capsule and caught a ride in a Navy helicopter.

IN UNDERWEAR

The astronauts  who had just made history  exited from the spacecraft in their long underwear. They were hoisted in a sling aboard an SH-3A Sea King helicopter and flown to the carrier.

The Intrepid carried out the final step of the Gemini mission, steaming toward the empty, but still floating spacecraft and retrieving it from the sea.

Doctors on board the aircraft carrier said both pilots appeared to be in excellent condition.

President Johnson immediately telephoned his congratulations, and Grissom told the President: It was a thrilling and wonderful flight.

OH BOY, YOUNG CRIES

Oh boy, Young said to the President by radiophone from the carrier. The only thing wrong with it was it didnt last long enough.

Well try to work that out in the days ahead, Mr. Johnson said.

Grissom, 39, and Young, 34, will remain on the Intrepid until tomorrow for medical examinations, debriefings on details of the flight and rest.

The astronauts are scheduled to be flown off the carrier tomorrow to return to the space center here, where they started their flight. They will appear at a press conference at Cocoa Beach, Fla., at 7 p.m. tomorrow and will go to Washington Friday for a ceremony at the White House.

Only twice during the tense hours a Cape Kennedy yesterday did doubts arise that something might be going wrong in the maiden flight of the Gemini spacecraft.

Fears of a possible postponement of the flight came when the pre-launching countdown was halted 35 minutes before the scheduled lift-off. Instruments in the launching control center showed that a leak had developed in a valve in the Titan booster. A member of the launching crew fixed the leak with one twist of a wrench, and the countdown resumed.

The other uncertain moments came when the Gemini spacecraft  drifting down by parachute after re-entry from space  hit the water out of sight of any ships and planes in the recovery area.

Voice communication was lost for a time between the spacecraft and the Intrepid. There was a long wait  it seemed too long  before word came to Cape Kennedy that the bell-shaped spacecraft had been sighted by a search plane and that Navy frogmen had placed a floating collar around it.

At a press briefing after completion of the mission, spokesmen for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration were obviously elated. They pronounced it a very clean flight and a job well done.

STUDIES NEEDED

Christopher Kraft Jr., director of the mission, said it would require some studies of recorded information and further reports from Grissom to determine exactly why the re-entry and landing maneuver brought the spacecraft down so far from its target area. He also said there was no immediate explanation for why the spacecrafts attitude tended to drift toward the left during the flight. He pointed out, however, that Grissom had no difficulty in keeping the drift corrected.

The powerful engines of the booster  a modified Titan missile  ignited at 9:24 a.m. (EST) and sent rolling puffs of reddish smoke out the exhaust vent of launch pad No. 19. Within seconds the engines roared into life with 430,000 pounds of thrust pounding behind.

INTO ORBIT

The Titan rose in what veteran rocket-watchers here described as a just beautiful launching. Roaring like a fast freight and spitting a rosy-tinged tongue of bright flame from its tail, it pushed into the blue sky.

Yeah man! Grissom was heard to say as the rocket accelerated.

Historical photos and articles from The San Diego Union-Tribune archives are compiled by merrie.monteagudo@sduniontribune.com. Search the U-T historic archives at NewsLibrary.com/sites/sdub.


Staff writer John Wilkens discusses todays In Depth package about efforts to prevent suicides on the San Diego-Coronado Bridge.

Q: Why write about this now?

A: Caltrans just finished putting temporary bird spikes on top of the outside concrete walls in an effort to discourage jumpers. It seemed like a good time to look in some detail at options under study for a permanent barrier.

Q: Bird spikes?

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A: They are 4-inch tall metal spikes like the kind used to keep pigeons from sitting on ledges. A Coronado resident suggested them during public hearings a couple of years ago. One of the alternatives under consideration for a permanent barrier also uses thistles, but they are much taller, about 6 feet.

Q: What did you learn about whether the spikes are working?

A: Tragically, three people went over the side about a week after the spikes were installed. That would suggest they arent effective, but its too soon to draw conclusions.

The spikes are meant more as a psychological deterrent than a physical one  an obstacle that makes someone pause long enough to reconsider and then turn back. Theres no way to prove if that is happening, absent them telling someone. Over time, statistics about suicides on the bridge may paint a fuller picture.

Q: How likely is it that a permanent barrier will be installed?

A: A lot of hoops remain to be jumped through, but Caltrans is moving steadily forward with the planning phase. There seems to be considerable public support for it, and key politicians are on board. Funding will be a major issue  estimates for the options under consideration range past $110 million.

Q: The package in the newspaper isnt done in the traditional story way. Why did you break it up as you did?

A: I wrote my first story on this topic almost four years ago, and other reporters here and elsewhere have written about it during that time, too. Rather than plow the same ground, we wanted to use a different approach to explain key parts of the bridge-barrier process.

For example, roughly a dozen alternatives are under consideration, and many of them resemble barriers in place or under construction in Santa Barbara, Auckland and San Francisco. So we highlighted those.

We also addressed a couple of questions that readers always ask, in emails and phone calls, whenever we write about this subject. We compiled comments local residents sent to Caltrans about the project, so readers can get a glimpse at public sentiment.

And we included lists of suicide-prevention resources and warning signs.

Q: Why are the last ones important?

A: Media attention to suicidal behavior is believed by researchers to sometimes negatively influence people who are contemplating ending their lives. When celebrities kill themselves, for example, there can be a spike in other suicides.

Some local observers think media coverage of the bird-spike installation may have contributed to the most-recent suicides on the bridge.

Q: So why are you doing this story?

A: We considered backing off. But avoiding the subject feeds into the stigma surrounding mental illness, which is the most common factor in all suicides. We felt a better course would be to write about the project  it is, after all, happening on one of San Diegos most iconic structures  and also offer information that someone in distress (or their loved ones) might find helpful.

john.wilkens@sduniontribune.com
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer was injured Saturday when a driver stopped at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry, then accelerated forward.

The California Highway Patrol was called to investigate the incident at the port at state Route 905 about 5:25 p.m.

Several ambulances were sent to the border crossing, which is used by many commercial trucks.

It was not clear if more than one person suffered injuries in the incident, or if authorities got the driver stopped afterward.

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According to radio scanner traffic, the officer was searching a van through a passenger side door at an inspection booth when the driver accelerated forward. The agent fell to the ground.

The extent of injuries was not immediately available.

pauline.repard@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @pdrepard
A woman was shot Saturday afternoon while arguing with a man at a park in Encanto, where San Diego police were looking for the gunman as residents reported him running through backyards.

The shooter, described by witnesses as a black man in his 20s, wearing a black hoodie, ran north up Henson Street, police said.

He also was said to have a small heart tattoo under one eye.

Witnesses reported the shooting about 6:20 p.m. at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park, on Skyline Drive near Omeara Street.

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The 30-year-old woman was arguing with a man when he pulled out a gun and struck her with it, police Sgt. Michael Tansey said. Then, he said, the man shot the woman in the thigh of one leg.

She was taken by ambulance to a trauma center.

Officers spread out in the neighborhood north of Skyline, near Ingenuity Charter School, looking for the shooter, described as 5 feet 5 inches tall, thin, with short hair, and wearing baggy blue jeans. A police helicopter assisted in the search.

Several residents called police to report a man of the shooters description jumping over fences and running through backyards.

pauline.repard@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @pdrepard
The arsonist suspected of setting a fire that blackened the walls of an Escondido mosque early Sunday left a message in graffiti on the driveway referencing a shooting rampage at two New Zealand mosques that left dozens dead, investigators said.

There were seven people inside the Islamic Center of Escondido on West Sixth Avenue when the incident happened about 3:15 a.m., Escondido police Lt. Chris Lick said. One person who was awake at the time spotted the flames, and the group managed to put out the fire before it caused any serious damage.

Officers and firefighters arrived soon after and quickly determined the fire was intentionally set. Lick said an accelerant was used to set the blaze, although he couldnt say which kind. No suspect information was available.

Lick said investigators found a message on the driveway of the mosque that referenced the March 15 shootings at the Al Noor Mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre in New Zealand that left 50 people dead.

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A morning prayer at the center was canceled while a team of law enforcement agencies investigated.

Escondido police and fire investigators, a regional bomb/arson task force and agents with the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco are investigating the incident as an arson and a hate crime.

Everyone should remain absolutely vigilant and watchful at their prayer centers, Lick said. If there are people who are not supposed to be there, please give us a call.

Yusef Miller, a spokesman for the Islamic community in Escondido echoed those sentiments, encouraging other mosques across the county to remain vigilant.

Everyone is on edge here today, said Miller. When they connected it to New Zealand, it gave us a more moral fear that something outlandish might happen.

Miller, who lives a few blocks away from the mosque, said Escondido police increased the number of patrol vehicles in the area following the New Zealand shootings. This helped the community feel safe, he said, but the events have a lasting impact.

We were vigilant but now we have to be hyper-vigilant because it came to our back door, Miller said. When that happens, especially in a place like Escondido, that makes us all look over our shoulders.

Miller said the community has seen a simple, yet very powerful show of support from Escondido residents and local advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego, Care San Diego, East County Justice Coalition and the Racial Justice Coalition of San Diego.

A prayer and security vigil were planned at the mosque from 8 to 9 p.m. Sunday to show support and protect those who wish to participate in evening prayer.

Dustin Craun, the executive director of the San Diego office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, who will participate in the vigil, condemned the fire, and called for stepped-up security and police protection at Islamic institutions.

It is disturbing enough that some sick individual would attempt to burn a house of worship to the ground, but referencing the slayings in New Zealand is beyond the pale, Craun said in a statement. While the majority of humanity has responded to the tragedy to draw closer to one another and refute hatred, a violent and hate-filled minority seeks further divisions.

Lick said officers plan to keep an close eye on worship centers in the area. He encouraged members of the public to report any suspicious activity near religious centers to police.
The initial reaction of San Diego political leaders and observers to the summary of the Mueller Report is splitting along party lines.

Republicans say the investigation has proved President Trump did not collude with Russians or their government. Democrats are expressing doubts and insisting that the entire document needs to be released to the public.

The central issue was, Did President Trump collude or cooperate with the Russians, said Tony Krvaric, chairman of the Republican Party of San Diego County.

The report says conclusively that he did not. (The allegation) was a complete fabrication that has consumed the country for two years. The average person wants to move on from this and have the two parties debate the issues.

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Trump called the Mueller investigation an illegal takedown that failed.

Krvaric echoed that sentiment in calling for an investigation of the investigators.

We call for an investigation into how the DOJ and FBI under President Obama came to surveil the presidential campaign of an opposing party, he added in a statement. Will anyone be held accountable for the nearly two-year farce America just went through?

Democratic leaders say they want to see what is detailed in Muellers report.

Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano, said, The American people deserve to see the Special Counsels full report and the underlying documentation. The summary from Attorney General William Barr who has shown a bias against the investigation  is insufficient. He must release the full report immediately.

A similar remark was made by Rep. Susan Davis, D-San Diego, who said, Considering the Attorney Generals bias toward the Special Counsels investigation, the American people deserve to see for themselves what is in the report.

Will Rodriguez-Kennedy, chairman of the San Diego County Democratic Party, said he was not surprised by what was in the Barr summary, and there was an unrealistic expectation by some in the party about what the investigation would show.

These types of crimes are difficult to prove in the best of situations, much less when there is a powerful president protecting their flank, he said.

Rodriguez-Kennedy, citing Barrs summary, added that the report did not exonerate the president of committing a crime, as Trump falsely claimed Sunday afternoon.

In Barrs summary the Attorney General states that the Special Counsels Report says, while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him.

Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego, also wants the full report to be released. But he cautioned Democrats to pay attention to the broad interests of the public.

Its a good reminder that most of these races were won by talking about healthcare, gun safety, access to education, not on the Trump Russia stuff, Peters said, adding that investigation is important, but can be at times distracting. The reason a lot of my freshman Democratic colleagues were hired was to deal with policy problems.

The initial reaction to the report summary may suggest a bit of stasis, said Peter Cowhey, dean of the School of Global Politics and Strategy at UC San Diego.

The public divide over Trumps conduct wont change dramatically, Cowhey said. Prior indictments and an ambivalent finding on obstruction give critics enough to sustain their opposition.

No finding of collusion boosts his supporters. However, the energy for the debate may slowly ebb a bit, especially if AG Barr releases the full report.

Stephen Goggin, a political science lecturer at San Diego State University, said, This just seems like the start of it all, not the end. I think many people were hoping this was going to bring it all to a close, but it opens up a lot more questions than it answers.

The summary raises sticky ethical and legal questions, said Steven Semeraro, law professor, Thomas Jefferson School of Law and a former federal prosecutor.

I remember back in 2000, when Al Gores campaign was contacted by a Russian-connected group and offered dirt on George W. Bush, said Semeraro.

Gore immediately contacted the FBI. Is it a crime not to do that? No. But is it OK? Whether a crime is committed is one question, and whether its OK for America, OK for our democracy, is another.

Chuck La Bella,former U.S. attorney in San Diego, added, There may be an unethical, improper or unseemly relationship, but thats irrelevant to criminal law. Criminal law is very precise. If you dont have proof beyond a reasonable doubt, you dont have a criminal case.
Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita sacked and replaced two generals on Sunday after gunmen killed 134 Fulani herders in a surge of violence the insurgency-plagued country.

The ethnic bloodshed took place just days after a deadly assault by Islamist militants on an army post killed at least 23 soldiers, both in Mali's central region.

The army chief of staff General M'Bemba Moussa Keita was removed and replaced by General Abdoulaye Coulibaly, while chief of land forces General Abdrahamane Baby was replaced by Brigadier-General Keba Sangare.

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Kirsten Gillibrand is punching back  Trump-style.

The New York senator and Democratic presidential candidate echoed Donald Trumps acid rhetoric during her first New York City rally on Sunday, blasting the President as a weak and self-obsessed coward.

Speaking in front of Trump International Hotel and Tower in Midtown, Gillibrand rolled out a 2020 platform that included passing a Green New Deal, implementing Medicare for all, universal pre-K and paid family leave and legalizing marijuana.

But it was Trumps name  not policy proposals  that loomed the largest throughout Gillibrands afternoon event.

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Trump is tearing apart the moral fabric of this country, Gillibrand said to roars from an audience of roughly 1,000 supporters, according to her campaign.

He puts his name in bold on every building. He does this because he wants you to believe hes strong. He is not. Our President is a coward. That is not what we deserve.

Gillibrands harsh words were reminiscent of language Trump uses while deriding his political enemies.

The 52-year-old lawmaker also took aim at the building behind her.

Look up at that tower, she told the crowd, pointing at the Trump-branded skyscraper. A shrine to greed, division and vanity.

Gillibrand announced her 2020 campaign in January but billed Sundays event as the kickoff of her presidential bid.

Gillibrand is trying to make a splash in a crowded Democratic primary field already consisting of 14 candidates, with former Vice President Joe Biden expected to join the fray as well.

Early polling suggests Gillibrand is facing an uphill battle, with a CNN/SSRS survey from last week saying only 1% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents support her bid.

Several Democratic 2020 hopefuls have adopted a softer approach to Trump, spending less time attacking him and more time on discussing policy.

Gillibrand made clear Sunday thats not going to be her stance.

The Albany-born senator called for the full release of special counsel Robert Muellers long-awaited investigative report and even threw in a Richard Nixon reference to needle Trump.

The Mueller report must be made public  all of it, she said. Nobody in this country, not even the President, is above the law or immune from accountability. It is not often that I agree with Richard Nixon, but he was right to say that the American people have a right to know whether their President is a crook.

Gillibrands supporters welcomed her aggressiveness.

I love that shes trolling Trump, Brooklyn resident Ellen Parkhurst, 32, told the Daily News after the rally. Who doesnt want to gather a bunch of people who hate Trump in front of one of his buildings and talk politics?
For many Democrats, Robert Muellers investigation has long stood as their best, last chance to take down President Donald Trump before the next election.

The summary of Muellers report released on Sunday not only lacked that punch, it now forces a moment of reckoning over how far to take the investigations ahead.

Its a delicate issue heading into the 2020 election, where Democrats are balancing the wishes of the liberal, anti-Trump base and the threat of Republicans accusing them of ginning up political witch hunts.

After the summary revealed Mueller found revealed no evidence of Russian collusion, Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale blamed Democrats as having lied to Americans and taking them on a frantic, chaotic, conspiracy-laden roller coaster.

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The new landscape leaves Democrats on Capitol Hill and on the presidential campaign trail facing a more complicated path forward.

For weeks, they have worked to set expectations, assuring restless liberals across the country that Muellers work was the beginning, rather than the end, of the inquiries.

Facing pressure from the base to dig deeper into Trumps personal and professional issues, Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill are mounting their own far-reaching congressional probes into the Republican president before and after he took office. And with only a summary of Muellers report released by Trumps hand-picked attorney general so far, theyre threatening to subpoena Muellers full report and promising an onslaught of high-drama hearings.

But that intense focus on probe is raising some concerns that it could prove a distraction.

One of the many 2020 presidential candidates, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, called Sundays findings further evidence that it would be a mistake for Democrats to think that the way for the Trump presidency to end is by way of investigation.

Trump became president in part because Democrats in 2016 made the contest too much about him, and not enough about voters, Buttigieg said on MSNBC. He called on his party to stay focused on issues important to peoples everyday lives, such as the economy, racial justice and climate change.

Another contender disagreed with those calling for Democrats to move on. If the investigation into that attack was covered up or obstructed, there has to be accountability and a reckoning, Beto ORourke told reporters Sunday in Las Vegas.

Most of the other Democratic contenders offered a far simpler message, calling for the release of Muellers full report  a safe play, politically, as polls show Americans are largely on their side. The House voted overwhelming last week to release it, 420-0.

Still, its unclear how far Democrats can go in pursuing the investigations that are being demanded by the base of their party without alienating the wide swath of more centrist voters Trump is trying to keep close ahead of the 2020 election.

Democratic strategist Brian Fallon said it wont be tops on the agenda for presidential candidates or those running for Senate. But he said Democrats are on solid ground as they push for release of the report and conduct oversight voters demanded while also focusing on the kitchen table issues  health care, climate change  important to voters. Its the same blueprint Democrats used when voters gave the party control of the House in the midterm election.

I dont think the public expects Congress to be shrinking violets, he said. They expect Democrats to pursue oversight and not go overboard.

Liberal activists are already preparing for nationwide protests should the Trump administration not release the full report or appear to be hiding key evidence. After waiting two years for damning evidence on the Republican president, the Democratic base is unlikely to let the issue fade quietly away.

There is an enormous amount of energy behind this, said Democratic strategist Zac Petkanas. And I think people should not underestimate what a White House cover-up will unleash if they decide to hide one word of the report or underlying evidence. We are at the beginning of a long fight to ensure that theres not a cover-up.

For Democrats in Congress, pursuing the investigations on their own now is a risky strategy.

In Mueller they had a truth-teller beyond reproach, whose credentials and bipartisan backing gave the questions swirling around Trump more than an air of credibility. Democrats put him right next to Jesus, cracked Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio on Sunday. Republicans, for the most part, backed Muellers work.

As Democrats go it alone with congressional investigation, they lose that stamp of impartiality and expose themselves to Trumps constant cries of presidential harassment.

What will now follow is mainly political harassment leading to, perhaps, a futile impeachment exercise, Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas tweeted.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has drawn criticism from some in the party for her reluctance to pursue impeachment  she has said Trump isnt worth it. The speaker views impeachment as politically fraught unless Democrats have the groundswell of public opinion behind them. Front of mind is her experience during the Republican drive to impeach President Bill Clinton, which voters saw as overly partisan, especially once the independent counsels report was released, and contributed to GOP electoral losses.

Instead, Pelosi frames the investigations ahead as Congress exerting its constitutional duty to the necessary checks and balances on the executive that voters want. Democrats are sweeping beyond the Russia probe into the presidents potential conflicts  his tax returns, financial dealings, Trump Hotel  in the tangled intersection of business and politics.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., a member of the Judiciary Committee and co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said this is perhaps an unparalleled moment in the countrys history and Muellers work is just the start.

I dont think theres a risk of overreach when you talk about criminal acts  multiple criminal acts  conducted by the top people around the president of the United States, she said. We have to lay it out for ourselves and lay it for the people and see where it leads us.

But the political risks for Democrats loom large. Trumps team flashed a newly emboldened offensive strategy after years of playing defense.

Hang in there Dems, White House aide Dan Scavino tweeted after the report was released, ya all have SIX more YEARS of TRUMP.

___

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Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The first super prime residential building to arrive in downtown San Diego, Pacific Gate beckons residents who want to own the distinguished architecture and design that defines this iconic address.

A signature residence by Bosa  a renowned leader in superior quality, design-focused waterfront residential living  Pacific Gates unique silhouette makes a bold architectural statement by renowned New York-based architects Kohn Pedersen Fox, who collaborated on the condominium community with Chris Dikeakos Architects.

The 41-story high-rise comprises two nested, curved glass towers that rise as a single column above a two-story ground floor retail podium on the north and west sides of the tower. Because of the buildings smooth curves and exterior glass, Pacific Gate offers a different visual experience depending on the vantage point of the viewer, mirroring the fluidity and continual movement of the sea. The result is an elegant sculptural form with a multidimensional effect blending form and functionalism.

The 41-story super prime high-rise by Bosa offers a unique sculptural silhouette in downtown San Diego. Design details are also applied to residences, bringing the warmth from the sun, sea and sand indoors. (Courtesy photo)

Residents enjoy luxurious, custom-designed contemporary public spaces and residences that evoke a breezy coastal vibe, with a seamless blend of natural materials and technologically forward techniques and materials  all enveloped in the form and flow of the building.

Public spaces are masterfully designed to capture the feeling of coastal calm and sublime luxury. From gray-and-black-speckled white terrazzo floors  inlaid with brass rings in the lobby  to elegant walnut walls to corridors clad with custom-designed wool carpet, each component of the buildings interior creates a memorable design impression.

The distinct architecture, details and lighting of the public spaces are also applied to the residences, bringing the warmth from the sun, sea and sand indoors. Each residence features expansive windows, bright open layouts, spacious master bathrooms and HBA custom-designed kitchens.

With more than 80 percent of the residences sold to date, a limited selection of the best residences is still available. Existing residences range from approximately 1,276 to 2,315 square feet, starting from the $1.1 millions.

To tour the community and view the model residences, visit the Pacific Gate sales gallery at 888 W. E St. at the corner of Pacific Highway. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., appointments are encouraged. To learn more, visit pacificgatebybosa.com or call (619) 795-3612.
New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/24/2019 -- The report on the Bonding Capillaries market for the forecast period, 2018 to 2026 digs deep into the factors including social, political, cultural and economical or latest trends that are likely to influence the industry worldwide.



Researchers eyeing the business landscape aim at uncovering vital statistics about the actual composition of the target market and where the new opportunities lie. Data on the ever-changing trends and gaps in the market forms an important part of the study. The environment research further covers facts associated with government regulations, demographics, market trends and size as well as different marketing channels.



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The major manufacturers covered in this report:

SPT-Group (Germany), K&S Bonding Tools (Singapore), Gaiser Tool Company (U.S.), Adamant Co., Ltd. (Japan), H. Fillunger & Co. Pvt. Ltd. (India)



The Bonding Capillaries market research is carried out at the different stages of the business lifecycle from the production of a product, cost, launch, application, consumption volume and sale. The research offers valuable insights into the marketplace from the beginning including some sound business plans chalked out by prominent market leaders to establish a strong foothold and expand their products into one that's better than others.



Most important types of Bonding Capillaries products covered in this report are:

- Alloy Wire Bonding Capillaries

- Copper Wire Bonding Capillaries

- Gold Wire Bonding Capillaries

- Stainless SteelWire Bonding Capillaries



Most widely used downstream fields of Bonding Capillaries market covered in this report are:

- Thermosonic Gold Bonding

- Copper Wire Bonding

- Others



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For those who want to learn how certain drivers are influencing the overall objectives of business owners will have plenty of data to scan through in the Bonding Capillaries market report. A quick run over the external factor influencing the business worldwide will help product owners to know their customers better. The research not only monitors the effectiveness of the product sales but also talks about the quality of services offered by the competitors. Besides, there is a section on the distribution channels and growth strategies adopted by the prominent leaders operating in the Bonding Capillaries market.



Market segment by Region/Country including:

- North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)

- Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Spain etc.)

- Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and Southeast Asia etc.)

- South America Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Chile etc.

- Middle East & Africa (South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia etc.)



In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Bonding Capillaries are as follows:

History Year: 2013-2017

Base Year: 2017

Estimated Year: 2018

Forecast Year: 2018 to 2026



The study objectives of this report are:

- To analyse and study the global Bonding Capillaries capacity, production, value, consumption, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2026);

- Focuses on the key Bonding Capillaries manufacturers, to study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in future.

- Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyse the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.

- To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.

- To analyse the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.

- To analyse the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.

- To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyse their growth strategies.



Key Points from TOC:

Part 1 Market Overview

1.1 Market Definition

1.2 Market Development

1.3 By Type

1.4 By Application

1.5 By Region



Part 2 Global Market Status and Future Forecast

2.1 Global Market by Region

2.2 Global Market by Company

2.3 Global Market by Type

2.4 Global Market by Application

2.5 Global Market by Forecast

Continue



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New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/24/2019 -- Polishing / Lapping Film is a polyester based sheet powder covered with precisely graded minerals such as Aluminium oxide, silicon oxide, cerium oxide, silicon carbide or diamond. Lapping film is a precision coated abrasive consumable commonly used for processing and polishing optical fiber connectors. Polishing / Lapping Films are mostly used in finishing and polishing hard-to-grind materials such as ceramics, carbide, exotic alloys , hardened metals, composites and others. Lapping and Polishing Films are used for micro finishing and polishing whenever close tolerances are required. Substrates which are used in Polishing / Lapping Films are Glass, metal and plastic. Polishing / Lapping Film are commonly used in electronic components, fiber optic connectors, precision instruments, medical devices, hard disk drive, waveguides, micromotors, displays, mobile handheld case, finishing and repair, glass cleaning and repair, glass edge polish and others. Polishing / Lapping Film provide features such as elimination of traverse and chatter marks which helps in reducing rejects and reworks, can change grades in less than a minute, saves downtime on multiple grade sequences, superior durability, higher cut rate, fine finishes, achieve finer finishes, micro replicated abrasives and others. Due to its versatile features and vast usage, Polishing / Lapping Film market is expected to witness an escalating demand among the industries.



Polishing / Lapping Film: Market Dynamics



Polishing / Lapping Film market is drove because of the increasing usage in the electronics industry. Manufacturing companies are focusing on providing films which give high-quality finish on flat or cylindrical surfaces by using conventional methods such as bonded wheels or slurries and honing stones which is disorganized and time-consuming. With the new film backed abrasive technology, it can accomplish consistency, predictable finish tolerances in a faster and easier way to increase the productivity and reduce prices. Most of the manufacturers of Polishing / Lapping Film are located in China and South Asian countries which are exporting Polishing / Lapping Film to North America, Europe and other regions.



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However, Polishing / Lapping Film is slow and time-consuming for technicians performing the polish. The polishing also needs to stop several times during processing to safeguard the target layer. Also, if Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) is used to remove the oxide layer in aggregation with the polishing of the metal layer to help maintain the item planar, the process is lightened.



Polishing / Lapping Film: Market Segmentation



Polishing / Lapping Film market can be segmented on the basis of types, which include:



Stretch film

Metallized film

Adhesive film

Shrink Film



Polishing / Lapping Film market can be segmented on the basis of type of raw material, which include:



Polyamide

Poly Vinyl Chloride

LLDPE

PE

Laminated Materials



Polishing / Lapping Film market can be segmented on the basis of type of usage, which include:



Packaging film

Food and medicine film

Cling film

Others (Photovoltaic film, shipping labels, etc.)



Polishing / Lapping Film: Segment Outlook



Polishing / Lapping Film market can be segmented on the basis of types which include stretch film, metallized film, adhesive film and shrink film. Polishing / Lapping Film market can be segmented on the basis of raw materials which includes polyamide, poly vinyl chloride, LLDPE, PE and laminated materials. Polishing / Lapping Film market can also be segmented on the basis of usage which includes packaging film, food and medicine film, cling film and others (photovoltaic film, shipping labels, etc.)



Polishing / Lapping Film: Regional Outlook



Regional coverage for Polishing / Lapping Film market includes North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Japan. Polishing / Lapping Film market will witnesses a high demand in APEJ because of the high investments in the region and its manufacturing units. Market in India and China is still at growth stage which will fuel the market for next ten years in the region.



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Polishing / Lapping Film: Market Players



The market players in Polishing / Lapping Film market are 3M Electronics, Henan Union Abrasives Corp., Haining Fusen Tape Co., Ltd., Nantong Huaao Plastic Co., Ltd., Futamura Chemical Co., Ltd., Lee Valley Tools, Precision Fiber Products, Inc., Fiber Instruments Sales Inc., Kemet International Ltd. and many more.
Akasaka, Tokyo -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/23/2019 -- The report on "Global Construction Robots Market" describes an in-depth study of the market aspects such as the product definition, growth rate and current size of the industry. A broad analysis of the consumer demands, futuristic growth opportunities, and prevailing trends are also drafted in the report.



The Global Construction Robots Market to grow at a CAGR of +11% during the period 2019-2026.



The worldwide "Construction Robots market" look into report is made with the succinct evaluation and broad comprehension of the sensible information of the worldwide Construction Robots advertise. Information gathered cover different industry patterns and requests connected with the assembling merchandise and administrations.



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Top Key Vendors: Brokk AB (Sweden), Husqvarna (Sweden), Conjet AB (Sweden), TopTec Spezialmaschinen GmbH (Germany), Giant Hydraulic Tech (China), Beijing Borui Intelligent Control Technology (China), Alpine (US), Cazza (US), Construction Robotic (US), Shimizu Construction (Japan), Fujita Corporation (Japan)



Numerous tables, graphs, diagrams, and charts from this market research report provide a strong foundation for in-depth analysis and evaluation of ongoing trends in the Construction Robots Market marketplace. In addition, the overview is on each market segment, resource application, production, capacity and market performance by region. In addition, the report revised market share held by major players and predicted their development over the next few years.



Similarly, Construction Robots Market key products, end users, applications and technological details are emphasized in this report. It also examines the growth status in the regions like North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. The major difficulties that can hinder the growth of the market are also mentioned in the report.



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Table of Content:

Global Construction Robots Market Report 2019

Chapter 1 -Industry Overview of Construction Robots Market

Chapter 2-Manufacturing Cost Structure Market

Chapter 3-Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Market

Chapter 4-Global Construction Robots Overall Market Overview

Chapter 5 -Construction Robots Regional Market Analysis

Chapter 6-Major Manufacturers Analysis of Construction Robots

Chapter 7-Development Trend of Analysis of Construction Robots Market

Chapter 8 -Construction Robots Marketing Type Analysis

Chapter 9-Conclusion of the Global Market Professional Survey Report 2019

Chapter 10- Appendix



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Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/23/2019 -- HTF MI released a new market study on Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement Market with 100+ market data Tables, Pie Chat, Graphs & Figures spread through Pages and easy to understand in depth analysis. "Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement Market by Type (, Type I, Type II & Type III), by End-Users/Application (Application I, Application II & Application III), Industry Size, Organizations, and Region - Forecast and outlook to 2025". At present, the market is developing its presence. The Research report presents a complete assessment of the Market and contains a future trend, current growth factors, focused opinions, details, and industry certified market data. The research study provides estimates for Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement Forecast till 2025*. Some of the key players profiled are Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, BCC & Deutsche Telekom etc.



Get Access to sample pages @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/1705817-southeast-asia-internet-advertisement-market-report



The Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement market report more focuses on top industry leaders and explores all essentials facets competitive landscape. It explains potent business strategies and approaches, consumption propensity, regulatory policies, recent moves taken by competitors, as well as potential investment opportunities and market threats also. The report emphasis crucial financial details of major manufacturers including year-wise sale, revenue growth, CAGR, production cost analysis, and value chain structure.



In 2017, the Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement market size was USD XX and is forecast to reach Million YY USD in 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx%. The objectives of this study is to define, market segment having opportunity, and to project the size of the Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement market based on company, product type, application and key regions.



Besides, the report also covers segment data, including: type segment, industry segment etc. cover different segment market size. Also cover different industries clients' information, which is very important for the Major Players. If you need more information, please contact HTF MI at sales@htfmarketreport.com.



**The market is valued based on weighted average selling price (WASP) and includes any applicable taxes on manufacturers. All currency conversions used in the creation of this report have been calculated using constant annual average 2018 currency rates.



Competition Analysis



Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement Market - Vendor Landscape: The analysts authoring the publication explain the nature and future changes in the competitive scenario of the worldwide companies that are profiled in the publication guide, some of key players that includes in the study are Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, BCC & Deutsche Telekom



The Study is segmented by following Product Type , Type I, Type II & Type III



Major applications/end-users industry are as follows Application I, Application II & Application III



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Region Segmentation: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam & Singapore



** Customized Report with detailed 2-level country level break-up can also be provided.

North America (United States, Canada)

South America (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America)

Asia (China, Japan, India, Korea, RoA)

Europe (Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Rest of Europe)

Others (Middle East, Africa)



In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement are as follows:

- History Year: 2013-2017

- Base Year: 2017

- Estimated Year: 2018

- Forecast Year 2018 to 2025



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Key Stakeholders/Global Reports:

- Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement Manufacturers

- Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement Distributors/Traders/Wholesalers

- Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement Sub-component Manufacturers

- Industry Association

- Downstream Vendors



Following would be the Chapters to display the Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement market.



Chapter 1, to describe Definition, Specifications and Classification of Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement, Applications of Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement, Market Segment by Regions;

Chapter 2, to analyze the Manufacturing Cost Structure, Raw Material and Suppliers, Manufacturing Process, Industry Chain Structure;

Chapter 3, to display the Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement, Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, R&D Status and Technology Source, Raw Materials Sources Analysis;

Chapter 4, to show the Overall Market Analysis, Capacity Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Analysis (Company Segment), Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment);

Chapter 5 and 6, to show the Regional Market Analysis that includes North America, United States, Canada, Mexico, Asia-Pacific, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Europe, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Spain, Russia, Rest of Europe, Central & South America, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, Middle East & Africa, Saudi Arabia, Turkey & Rest of Middle East & Africa, Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement Segment Market Analysis (by Type);

Chapter 7 and 8, to analyze the Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement Segment Market Analysis (by Application) Major Manufacturers Analysis of Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement;

Chapter 9, Market Trend Analysis, Regional Market Trend, Market Trend by Product Type [, Type I, Type II & Type III], Market Trend by Application [Application I, Application II & Application III];

Chapter 10, Regional Marketing Type Analysis, International Trade Type Analysis, Supply Chain Analysis;

Chapter 11, to analyze the Consumers Analysis of Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement;

Chapter 12,13, 14 and 15, to describe Southeast Asia Internet Advertisement sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.



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Thanks for reading this article, you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia. Also, If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.
New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/23/2019 -- IoT is a 24*7 network of interconnected objects that are able to collect and exchange data using embedded sensors and mobile devices, among others. A connected device can become "smart" by combining sensors, networks, applications, etc., which come together to create added intelligence. The applications of IoT can be found in several industries today, such as manufacturing, healthcare, transport & logistics, government, retail, and energy & utility, among others. Managed service is the practice of outsourcing a dedicated team to handle defined responsibilities to cut down the cost and manage operations effectively.



The IoT managed services market is highly dependent upon the adoption of IoT among industries. The IoT managed services market is divided into five segments on the basis of services: security management services, network management services, infrastructure management services, device management services, and data management services. The factors driving the global IoT managed services market are the adoption of IoT across the industry, increase in the availability of managed cloud services, and increase in government investments in projects such as smart cities, among others.



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The global IoT managed services market is expected to grow from US$ 21,483.5 Mn in 2018 to US$ 94,388.0 Mn by 2026, at a CAGR of 20.3% in terms of revenue during the forecast period (2018-2026). In this report, the global IoT managed services market is tracked in terms of value, and is calibrated to obtain the market revenue estimates of IoT managed services.



However, high cost of infrastructure & services, data security & privacy, and interoperability of connected devices are some of the major challenges that hamper the growth of the IoT managed services market.



To understand and assess the demand and opportunities in this market, the IoT managed services market report is categorically split into three major sections: by services type, by industry type, and by region.



On the basis of services, the IoT managed services market is segmented into security management services, network management services, infrastructure management services, device management services, and data management services. The IoT network managed services segment is expected to dominate the market throughout the forecast period and enjoy a market share of 27.1% and 29.5% in 2018 and 2026 respectively.



On the basis of industry type, the IoT managed services market is segmented into manufacturing, automotive, healthcare, retail, IT & telecom, and others. The manufacturing segment of the IoT managed services market is expected to dominate the market for the longest duration in the forecast period owing to the high CAGR associated with it. The manufacturing IoT managed services segment is expected to grow from US$ 958.6 Mn in 2018 to US$ 22,996.5 in 2026.



The section IoT managed services market analysis by region includes an in-depth country-level analysis of all global regions, namely North America, Latin America, Europe, SEA & Others in Asia Pacific, Japan, China, and MEA, by services type, by industry type, & by country, and provides market data in terms of value for 2018-2026. In 2017, the market in North America dominated the overall global IoT managed services market, while the fastest-growing region in the IoT managed services market is SEA & Other APAC (given Asia Pacific is considered separately as three regions, i.e. China, Japan, SEA, and Others of APAC). North America is also expected to hold a majority of the market share of the IoT managed services market in 2026.



The key players reported in this study on the global IoT managed services market are Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, Tech Mahindra, Cisco Systems Inc., Oracle, IBM Corporation, Accenture, HCL Technologies Limited, Microsoft Corporation, Honeywell International Inc., and Google LLC, among others.



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New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/24/2019 -- The demand for laser warning systems is on a linear trend with the imminent laser threat from economies such as North Korea, Russia, China, and some of the Middle Eastern countries. Developments in electronic warfare products and the rising demand for detection, surveillance and other applications are driving the growth of the global laser warning system market.



Growing military expenditure and investments by countries are creating opportunities for the installation of laser warning systems on military aircrafts, helicopters, naval ships, warships, and military tanks. The growth of laser warning systems is positively impacted by the production of electronic products related to detection applications. The global market for laser warning system has witnessed significant advancements in 2018, reaching the valuation of US$ 454 Mn.



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Manufacturers of laser warning systems are globally limited to the target marketplace, which is the defence sector, and hence the competition is strongly stacked among the key players. Manufacturers are concentrating on acquiring new orders for the installation of laser warning systems. New orders and investments related to military aircraft are expected to be the key driving factors for the growth of the global laser warning system market.



Segmentation Highlights  Global Laser Warning System Market



On the basis of number of sensors, laser warning systems with 3 or 4 sensors is anticipated to remain the leading segment in terms of global market share, and reach over a 73% share by the end of 2028.

On the basis of end user, the air force segment is anticipated to be a prominent segment in the global laser warning system market, accounting for more than 75% of the total market value by the end of 2028.

In 2018, Europe and North America are pegged to be attractive regions in the laser warning system market, accounting for more than 58% of the global market share.



Swelling demand for 3 or 4 sensor type laser warning systems is anticipated to impact leading manufacturers to initiate production bases for electronic warfare products in developing nations to further strengthen their businesses. ELBIT SYSTEMS LTD, Saab Group, Thales Group, BAE Systems, Leonardo S.p.A., and Collins Aerospace are some of the key players operating in the global laser warning system market. The global laser warning system market is structured and the leading players account for nearly three-fourths of the market share.



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Long-term Outlook: In terms of market value, the global laser warning system market is projected to register a 5.8% CAGR during the forecast period and create an absolute $ opportunity worth US$ 345.1 Mn. During the forecast period, Europe, North America and East Asia are likely to witness high adoption of laser warning systems and register CAGRs higher than 6.0%.
sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has given a rare and unscheduled television interview to combat allegations of improper behaviour from his rivals before April elections.

Saturday night's interview with Channel 12 came just before he boarded a plane for Washington, where he was due to meet US President Donald Trump and address the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a pro-Israel lobby.

The prime minister walked into the studio while the anchors, notified only a short while before, were presenting the evening news.

Netanyahu, already under threat of indictment for separate corruption allegations, has come under renewed scrutiny in recent days over his handling of submarine deals.

His electoral opponents have repeatedly suggested that Netanyahu may have benefited financially from them -- which the prime minister says is completely false.

"I have to smash the wave of lies spread by (Benny) Gantz and (Yair) Lapid and (Moshe) Yaalon and (Gabi) Ashkenazi," Netanyahu said of the leaders of the centrist Blue and White electoral alliance.

The four say Netanyahu may have pushed for an unnecessary submarine acquisition from Germany's Thyssenkrupp to boost the stock of a company in which he had owned shares.

Blue and White also claim Netanyahu could have committed treason by agreeing to allow Germany to sell Egypt submarines without the knowledge of the defence ministry.

Germany consults with Israel before such sales due to the relationship between the two countries, Israeli media has reported.

Netanyahu said Friday he was suing his opponents for libel, but arrived at the television studio nonetheless to defend himself.

At the advice of his cousin, Netanyahu had in 2007 bought $600,000 of stock in a company that manufactured components used in the metal industry, he said.

He said he sold it in 2010 -- when already premier -- and that the relevant authorities were made aware of the holdings and sale.

He reportedly sold at a profit of more than $3 million.

Netanyahu added that the submarine sale to Israel took place over a year after he no longer held stock.

"It's a company that has nothing to do with submarines," he said.

The claim that he compromised Israel's security by allowing Germany to sell Egypt submarines was "a blood libel", Netanyahu said.

He said the reasons he agreed to it were "secret" due to state security, but noted the head of the national security council and attorney general were aware.

Police have investigated the submarine acquisitions and recommended pressing charges against a number of people involved, including Netanyahu's cousin and lawyer David Shimron.

Netanyahu was questioned as a witness in the case and was not considered a suspect.

Netanyahu claims unfair treatment from the mainstream Israeli media and has largely refrained from studio interviews.

He has instead been using his "Likud TV" internet broadcasts and social media as a means to spread his messages ahead of the April 9 general elections.

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Sellbyville, DE -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/23/2019 -- Levulinic Acid Market size will witness healthy growth with developments in the agriculture and biofuel industry. It is a type of keto acid, manufactured from degraded cellulose and precursor to biofuels. Its naturally occurring form is Delta-amino levulinic acid (DALA) and it finds usage as herbicide in lawns and is useful for grain crops. It is also used as a plant growth stimulator. It can be used as a potential replacement of petroleum products reducing amount of greenhouse emissions. In most cases microorganism Rhodobacter is used in its production. Leluvinic acid also used in cigarettes for binding nicotine to neutral receptors.



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The consumption of levulinic acid is increasing in both cosmetic and pharmaceutical markets. Even today sulfuric acid is used as herbicides to kill weeds, but it is not fully desirable because of its corrosive nature. This gives chances to DALA to establish itself as safe herbicide alternative. Indian Government is betting big on green fuel, particularly biofuel with first and second-generation biofuel plants already commissioned. Other Asia Pacific countries are also looking for green alternatives as WHO reports regularly warn about growing pollution across the whole world.



In North America and Europe green alternatives get tax reliefs and escape from some of the stringent industrial clauses. It is expected that Germany will lead the market in Europe. Global focus on smart agriculture and alternative to fossil fuel is an important driver of levulinic acid market. Its derivation from waste biomass leads to a significant saving on raw material costs. The industry possibilities are endless and near future will be shaped by technology which can make leluvinic acid products cheap and more efficient.



The physical properties of levulinic acids lead low yields which hurts economies of scale. High equipment costs make mass production a very costly affair. Vinyl acetates and cellulose acetates are upcoming substitutes produced and available at cheaper rates. Setting appropriate conditions for production of levulinic acid from waste biomass is a daunting task and not easily achievable. Separating the reaction products and obtaining levulinic acid is another tough task. Many Asia Pacific nations impose education cess and countervailing duties on the levulinic acid market, leading to increasing product costs, hence posing hindrances in the Levulinic Acid Market growth.



The segmentation of levulinic acid market can be done based on application such as usage in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, food additives, tobacco and cosmetics. It can also be segmented according to the method of production. It can be produced from glucose or biomass waste. Levulinic acid is mostly produced from carbohydrates in presence of mineral acids such as hydrochloric acid at temperature 140-200 degree Celsius. The geographical segmentation is useful to study regional demand for levulinic acid in North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa.



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North America is a key consumer of levulinic acid as the U.S. is one of the largest production grounds for biofuels. Most companies in North America imports levulinic acid from Chinese manufacturers. Levulinic acid is sold in Asia Pacific through bulk chemical suppliers and finds increased usage in oil & gas and paints & coatings industry. Biofuel is an upcoming industry in Asia Pacific and levulinic acid can expect lot of demand from this sector. In Europe levulinic acid is mostly used as raw material for other chemical industries.



The ideal location for levulinic acid production factory is near glucose/sugar manufacturing facilities for easy access to raw materials. Global companies in levulinic acid market are Biofine International, Avantium, Simagchen Corporation, GF Biochemical Ltd, etc. GF Biochemical Ltd is largest producer of levulinic acid in the world. Levulinic Acid Market players mostly rely on strategic partnerships for supply to the end-user companies.



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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.
Edison, NJ -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/24/2019 -- A new business intelligence report released by HTF MI with title "Global Luxury Vehicles Market Report 2018 " has abilities to raise as the most significant market worldwide as it has remained playing a remarkable role in establishing progressive impacts on the universal economy. The Global Luxury Vehicles Market Report offers energetic visions to conclude and study market size, market hopes, and competitive surroundings. The research is derived through primary and secondary statistics sources and it comprises both qualitative and quantitative detailing. Some of the key players profiled in the study are Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, Lexus, Volvo, Land Rover, MINI, Cadillac, Porsche, Infiniti, Acura, Jaguar, Smart, Lincoln, Tesla, Maserati, Bentley, Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, McLaren & Aston Martin.



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Market Overview of Global Luxury Vehicles

If you are involved in the Global Luxury Vehicles industry or aim to be, then this study will provide you inclusive point of view. It's vital you keep your market knowledge up to date segmented by Applications [ ], Product Types [, Compact Car, Mid-size Car, Full-size Car, Larger Car, SUV/Crossover, Industry Segmentation, Financing/Loan, Cash Payment, Leasing, Channel (Direct Sales, Distributor) Segmentation, Section 8: 400 USD??Trend (2018-2022), Section 9: 300 USD??Product Type Detail, Section 10: 700 USD??Downstream Consumer, Section 11: 200 USD??Cost Structure & Section 12: 500 USD??Conclusion] and major players. If you have a different set of players/manufacturers according to geography or needs regional or country segmented reports we can provide customization according to your requirement.



This study mainly helps understand which market segments or Region or Country they should focus in coming years to channelize their efforts and investments to maximize growth and profitability. The report presents the market competitive landscape and a consistent in depth analysis of the major vendor/key players in the market.



Furthermore, the years considered for the study are as follows:

Historical year  2013-2017

Base year  2018

Forecast period**  2018 to 2023 [** unless otherwise stated]



**Moreover, it will also include the opportunities available in micro markets for stakeholders to invest, detailed analysis of competitive landscape and product services of key players.



The titled segments and sub-section of the market are illuminated below:

The Study Explore the Product Types of Luxury Vehicles Market: , Compact Car, Mid-size Car, Full-size Car, Larger Car, SUV/Crossover, Industry Segmentation, Financing/Loan, Cash Payment, Leasing, Channel (Direct Sales, Distributor) Segmentation, Section 8: 400 USD??Trend (2018-2022), Section 9: 300 USD??Product Type Detail, Section 10: 700 USD??Downstream Consumer, Section 11: 200 USD??Cost Structure & Section 12: 500 USD??Conclusion



Key Applications/end-users of Global Luxury VehiclesMarket:



Top Players in the Market are: Section 1: Free??Definition, Section (2 3): 1200 USD??Manufacturer Detail, Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, Lexus, Volvo, Land Rover, MINI, Cadillac, Porsche, Infiniti, Acura, Jaguar, Smart, Lincoln, Tesla, Maserati, Bentley, Ferrari, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, McLaren & Aston Martin



Region Included are: North America Country (United States, Canada), South America, Asia Country (China, Japan, India, Korea), Europe Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy), Other Country (Middle East, Africa, GCC) & Section (5 6 7): 500 USD??



Enquire for customization in Report @: https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/1388867-global-luxury-vehicles-market-8



Important Features that are under offering & key highlights of the report:

 Detailed overview of Luxury Vehicles market

 Changing market dynamics of the industry

 In-depth market segmentation by Type, Application etc

 Historical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and value

 Recent industry trends and developments

 Competitive landscape of Luxury Vehicles market

 Strategies of key players and product offerings

 Potential and niche segments/regions exhibiting promising growth

 A neutral perspective towards Luxury Vehicles market performance

 Must-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprint



Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @ https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/1388867-global-luxury-vehicles-market-8



Major Highlights of TOC:

Chapter One: Global Luxury Vehicles Market Industry Overview

1.1 Luxury Vehicles Industry

1.1.1 Overview

1.1.2 Products of Major Companies

1.2 Luxury Vehicles Market Segment

1.2.1 Industry Chain

1.2.2 Consumer Distribution

1.3 Price & Cost Overview



Chapter Two: Global Luxury Vehicles Market Demand

2.1 Segment Overview

2.1.1 APPLICATION 1

2.1.2 APPLICATION 2

2.1.3 Other

2.2 Global Luxury Vehicles Market Size by Demand

2.3 Global Luxury Vehicles Market Forecast by Demand



Chapter Three: Global Luxury Vehicles Market by Type

3.1 By Type

3.1.1 TYPE 1

3.1.2 TYPE 2

3.2 Luxury Vehicles Market Size by Type

3.3 Luxury Vehicles Market Forecast by Type



Chapter Four: Major Region of Luxury Vehicles Market

4.1 Global Luxury Vehicles Sales

4.2 Global Luxury Vehicles Revenue & market share



Chapter Five: Major Companies List



Chapter Six: Conclusion



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Key questions answered

- Who are the Leading key players and what are their Key Business plans in the Global Luxury Vehicles market?

- What are the key concerns of the five forces analysis of the Global Luxury Vehicles market?

- What are different prospects and threats faced by the dealers in the Global Luxury Vehicles market?

- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?



Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.
New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/24/2019 -- The latest report Polymethacrylimide Foam Market discusses everything a business owner needs to know about the Polymethacrylimide Foam market for the forecast period, 2019 to 2026. The document offers an insight into what the target customer's needs and wants. Industry experts have extracted data from various sources on size, share, growth rate, production volume, production capacity, import and export status, distribution channels and more and have analysed it thoroughly. By properly assessing the competitors and their offerings the study aims at empowering business owners to step ahead.



Request for Sample Copy of Polymethacrylimide Foam Market Report @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/sample-enquiry-form/32490



Scope of the Report:

The research methodologies used for evaluating the Polymethacrylimide Foam market are inventive and also provides enough evidence on the demand and supply status, production capability, import and export, supply chain management and investment feasibility. The investigative approach applied for the extensive analysis of the sale, gross margin and profit generated by the industry are presented through resources including tables, charts, and graphic images. Importantly, these resources can be easily integrated or used for preparing business or corporate presentations.



Major Players in Polymethacrylimide Foam market are:

- Solvay

- Evonik Industries

- Hunan Zihard Material Technology

- Cashem Advanced Materials Hi-tech

- Pronat Industries

- Kewell Converters

- Zotefoams PLC



Most important types of Polymethacrylimide Foam products covered in this report are:

- <52

- 50-75(including 52)

- 75-110 (including 75 and 110)

- >110



Most widely used downstream fields of Polymethacrylimide Foam market covered in this report are:

- Aerospace & Defense

- Wind Energy

- Transportation

- Sport Goods

- Others



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The market intelligence study for the Polymethacrylimide Foam market further provides an inside-out overview of necessary aspects associated with the product classification, important definitions, major orders and other industry-centric parameters. An underlying part of the study also maps the important factors associated with the recent events such as mergers and acquisition, collaboration and new product launches.



In addition, the research lays down a robust groundwork for obtaining a vast amount of information that potential customers can use to increase their profits and reduce costs. The inclusion of data on market segmentation by type, application, and geography offers clarity presents an analytical picture of, what manufacturers are aiming for.



Estimating the potential size of the Polymethacrylimide Foam industry:

Industry experts conducting the study further estimate the potential of the Polymethacrylimide Foam industry. Such information is important for firms looking to launch an innovative service or product on the market. Industry experts have measured the total volume of the given market. Researchers have calculated the industry in terms of sales by the competitors and end-user  customers. Data on the entire size of the Polymethacrylimide Foam market for a particular product or a service for the forecast period, 2019 to 2026 covered in the report makes it valuable. This information reveals the upper limit of the Polymethacrylimide Foam industry for a specific product or service.



The research provides answers to the following key questions:

- What is the estimated growth rate of the Polymethacrylimide Foam market for the forecast period 2019 - 2026? What will be the market share and size of the industry during the estimated period?

- What are prime factors expected to drive the Polymethacrylimide Foam industry for the estimated period?

- What are the major market leaders and what has been their winning strategy for success so far?

- What are the significant trends shaping the growth prospects of the Polymethacrylimide Foam market?

- What are the key challenges expected to restrict the progress of the industry for the forecast period, 2019 - 2026?

- What the opportunities product owners can bank on to generate high profits?



Read More @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/industry-overview/polymethacrylimide-foam-market



There are 14 Chapters to deeply display the global Polymethacrylimide Foam market.

- 1 Polymethacrylimide Foam Market Overview

- 2 Global Polymethacrylimide Foam Market Competition by Manufacturers

- 3 Global Polymethacrylimide Foam Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2019)

- 4 Global Polymethacrylimide Foam Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2019)

- 5 Global Polymethacrylimide Foam Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type

- 6 Global Polymethacrylimide Foam Market Analysis by Application

- Continue



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New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/24/2019 -- Scope of the Report:

The detailed examination of recent developments including collaboration, mergers and acquisitions, investment and product launches have also been performed during the research on the Power Supplies for LED Driving Market. Overview of the gradual shift in the customer preference, spending power, consumption volume and production capability helps business owners understand where the market will be heading in the years to come. Vital statistics on distribution channel and supply chain management across different regions are presented through different resources such as tables, charts and graphic images.



Besides exploring the Power Supplies for LED Driving company profiles of prominent market leaders, the research gather and analyses raw data on the regulatory framework, cost structure, import and export status, supply chain management and supply chain management expected to shape the trajectory of the business landscape. The researchers behind the study have further leveraged the industry-leading assessment tools to gauge the growing level of competition, recent acquisition and mergers, product launches and new entrants.



To get Free Sample Report Copy click here @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/sample-enquiry-form/24495



The major players covered in this report:

ST Semiconductor, Maxim, Linear, Texas Instruments, Future Electronics, NXP, Infineon, Marvell, Intersil, Diodes, ON Semiconductor, Allegro, Sager Power Systems, Philips, Princeton Technology Corporation, Tridonic, GE Lighing, Phihong, MEAN WELL, Excelsys Technologies, Arch Electronics Corp, Sanpu, OSRAM SYLVANIA, Minghe, Beisheng, GOFO, Putianhe, Dali, Topday, Lingguan



Major Regions play vital role in Power Supplies for LED Driving market are:

- North America

- Europe

- China

- Japan

- Middle East & Africa

- India

- South America



Besides, these segments are assessed in detail by incorporating industry estimates at both the regional as well as country level. This segment evaluation is beneficial in helping stakeholders, business owners and marketing personnel get an understanding of the growth areas and potential opportunities for the Power Supplies for LED Driving industry. The market intelligence report further covers the competitive landscape of the industry across different regions.



Most important types of Power Supplies for LED Driving products covered in this report are:

- External Power Supply

- Built-in Power Supply



Most widely used downstream fields of Power Supplies for LED Driving market covered in this report are:

- Traffic Lights

- Street Lamps

- Automotive Lighting

- Architectural Lights

- Theatre Lighting

- Household Light

- Signage Lighting

- Others



To Purchase this Report click here @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/checkout-form/24495



In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Power Supplies for LED Driving are as follows:

History Year: 2013-2017

Base Year: 2017

Estimated Year: 2018

Forecast Year: 2018 to 2026



The study objectives of this report are:

- To analyse and study the global Power Supplies for LED Driving capacity, production, value, consumption, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2026);

- Focuses on the key Power Supplies for LED Driving manufacturers, to study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in future.

- Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyse the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.

- To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.

- To analyse the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.

- To analyse the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.

- To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyse their growth strategies.



Key Points from TOC:

Part 1 Market Overview

1.1 Market Definition

1.2 Market Development

1.3 By Type

1.4 By Application

1.5 By Region



Part 2 Global Market Status and Future Forecast

2.1 Global Market by Region

2.2 Global Market by Company

2.3 Global Market by Type

2.4 Global Market by Application

2.5 Global Market by Forecast

Continue



Read more @ https://www.marketexpertz.com/industry-overview/power-supplies-for-led-driving-market



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Planning to invest in market intelligence products or offerings on the web? Then marketexpertz has just the thing for you - reports from over 500 prominent publishers and updates on our collection daily to empower companies and individuals catch-up with the vital insights on industries operating across different geography, trends, share, size and growth rate. There's more to what we offer to our customers. With marketexpertz you have the choice to tap into the specialized services without any additional charges.



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News: www.marketexpertz.com/market-news
New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/23/2019 -- Persistence Market Research (PMR) recently published a report titled "Push-to-Talk Over Cellular Market  Global Industry Analysis 2013-2017 and Market Forecast 2018-2026." Push-to-talk over cellular is a way of communicating via a cellular phone within or between one or several groups of users. Some of the key advantages of push-to-talk over cellular as compared to traditional technologies is the quick call setup and a wide network range.



A sample of this report is available upon request @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/17008



The global push-to-talk over cellular market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.5% during the forecast period. The push-to-talk over cellular market was valued at US$ 2,741.4 Mn in 2017, and is projected to grow significantly to reach US$ 5,658.0 Mn by 2026 due to an increase in the demand for next-generation LTE networks across the globe.



In this report, PMR has segmented the global push-to-talk over cellular market on the basis of component, industry, and region. By component, the market is subsegmented into equipment, software, and services. The equipment segment is further subsegmented into mobile devices, network devices, and accessories. The services segment is also further subsegmented into network services, integration & deployment services, and maintenance & support services.



The increasing penetration of IoT devices in various industry verticals is encouraging mobile device manufacturers to integrate push-to-talk over cellular software in these devices. Owing to this factor, the software subsegment is projected to register more than 30% of the market share at the end of 2018 in the global push-to-talk over cellular market. Moreover, the software segment is expected to grow at a relatively higher CAGR as the demand for push-to-talk over cellular software is growing rapidly in various countries, such as India, U.K., and China, due to a continuous increase in the number of mobile workforce. Apart from this, the services segment is also expected to witness a high growth rate during the forecast period as the demand for integration & deployment services and maintenance & support services for push-to-talk over cellular solutions is growing rapidly in various developing countries around the world.



Based on industry, the push-to-talk over cellular market is subsegmented into public safety & security, construction, energy & utility, transportation & logistics, manufacturing, defense, travel & hospitality, and others. Rising demand for push-to-talk over cellular for public safety & security applications and advancements in mobile communication technologies are some of the major factors boosting the growth of the public safety & security subsegment. In addition, the presence of next-generation wireless networks and the deployment of 5G networks across the globe are also some of the factors driving the push-to-talk over cellular market.



Furthermore, on the basis of geography, the North America push-to-talk over cellular market is expected to dominate the global push-to-talk over cellular market due to advancements in next-generation communication technologies in the country. The region has witnessed the widespread deployment of IoT and ultrareliable low-latency communications technologies in the past couple of years. These factors are fuelling the growth of the push-to-talk over cellular market in North America. The push-to-talk over cellular market has high potential in Europe owing to major technological advancements in the telecommunication industry and increasing mobile workforce in various countries of the region.



To view TOC of this report is available upon request @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/methodology/17008



According to PMR analysis, long-term contracts with business partners are likely to increase revenue and new innovation strategies are estimated to enable push-to-talk over cellular vendors to reach new growth markets. Some of the market participants in the global push-to-talk over cellular market report include AT&T, Inc.; Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.; Verizon; MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS; Kyocera Corporation; Mobile Tornado; Sprint Corporation; Bell Canada; Simoco Wireless Solutions; Sonim Technologies Inc.; and Telo Systems.
Pune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/23/2019 -- According to a new market research study titled "Air Cargo Market" is estimated to reach US$ 145.20 Bn by 2027 from US$ 102.00 Bn in 2018. The report includes key understanding on the driving factors of this growth and also highlights the prominent players in the market and their developments.



Although global economic growth is estimated to surge in aggregate during the forecast period, this covers a broad range in regional as well as country-level performance. Economic activity in the developed economies is anticipated to grow at a similar pace as they were during the past five years, with moderate slowdowns in the US and Japan, being compensated by sturdier growth in the Eurozone. The latter is expected to support incoming demand for air cargo into Europe on the major trade lanes between North America and Asia.



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Moreover, airports is the ASEAN countries are amongst the fastest growing globally, with shifting of manufacturing facilities into the region. This shift is attributed to increasing manufacturing costs in China, and concerns related to unstable trade relations between the US and China. ASEAN economic ministers have also signed an agreement for supporting the acceleration of cross-border e-commerce among ASEAN members. With the expected growth in ASEAN air cargo market, Turkish Cargo announced addition of freighter routes to Vietnam from Europe to its flight network. For this, the company acquired three of the freighters since 2017. Southeast Asia is a promising region for the air cargo market however, there are concerns among the air cargo operators related to the bandwidth the region can deliver for freighter operations if the economies do not adequately develop their infrastructure and policies.



With the constant increase in the demand for air cargo, several players operating in the supply chain are significantly investing to efficiently compete in the market. Moreover, with the growing demand for air cargo from the pharmaceutical industry, the market players are making necessary strides in technology to cope up the fast-growing pharmaceuticals market demand. Some of the key players operating in the air cargo market includes FedEx Express, UPS Airlines, DHL Aviation, Emirates, Cathay Pacific Airways, Korean Air Cargo, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines Cargo, China Airlines, British Airways, Cargolux, ANA CARGO, and Zela Aviation The Air Charter Company among others.



The report segments the global air cargo market as follows:



1.1.1 Global Air Cargo Market  By Type



- Air Mail

- Air Freight



1.1.2 Global Air Cargo Market  By Service



- Express

- Regular



1.1.3 Global Air Cargo Market  By End-user



- Retail

- Pharmaceutical & Healthcare

- Food & Beverage

- Consumer Electronics

- Automotive

- Others



1.1.4 Global Air Cargo Market  By Geography



- North America

o U.S.

o Canada

o Mexico



- Europe

o France

o Germany

o Italy

o Spain

o UK

o Rest of Europe



- Asia Pacific (APAC)

o China

o India

o Australia

o Japan

o Rest of Asia Pacific



- Middle East and Africa (MEA)

o Saudi Arabia

o UAE

o South Africa

o Rest of MEA



- South America

o Brazil

o Rest of South America (SAM)



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The war in Yemen has left thousands dead and triggered the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations.

The war between Houthi rebels and pro-government troops escalated in March 2015, when a Saudi-led military coalition intervened against the rebels.

Civilians On Front Line

Around 10,000 people -- mostly civilians -- have been killed and more than 60,000 wounded since the Saudi-led coalition joined the conflict, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

But the exact numbers are not known and aid groups warn the toll is likely to be significantly higher, with Action Against Hunger putting it at more than 57,000.

On March 18, 2019, the Norwegian Refugee Council said that civilian casualties have risen in Yemen despite a three-month-old truce in the vital aid port of Hodeida.

According to French aid group Action Contre la Faim, 3.3 million people have been displaced within Yemen.

The country has also been ravaged by cholera, which has killed more than 2,500 people since April 2017. Around 1.2 million suspected cases have been reported, according to the WHO.

'Hell On Earth' For Children

The UN children's fund (UNICEF) has regularly pointed to the devastating effects of the conflict on children.

"It is a living hell for every boy and girl in Yemen," it said in November 2018.

It said 1.8 million aged less than five are suffering from acute malnutrition.

Save the Children said that between April 2015 and October 2018 some 85,000 children may have died of severe malnutrition or related diseases. Others have been killed by combat.

Lost Generation

According to the UN, two million of the country's seven million children of school age go without education in Yemen.

More than 2,500 schools are out of use, of which two thirds have been damaged in attacks, 27 percent closed and seven percent used by the military or as shelters for displaced people.

Largely due to their families' poverty, two out of five girls are married before the age of 15 and three quarters before 18, according to UNICEF.

Thousands of boys have been recruited as child soldiers.

'Worst' Humanitarian Crisis

In March 2017, Stephen O'Brien, the UN's under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, said Yemen was the scene of "the largest humanitarian crisis in the world".

The United Nations warned in February 2019 the situation was getting even worse.

"An estimated 80 percent of the population -- 24 million -- require some form of humanitarian or protection assistance, including 14.3 million who are in acute need," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

The number of people in acute need is "a staggering 27 percent higher than last year", it said, adding two-thirds of the country was "already pre-famine".

According to Action Contre la Faim 16 million people lack access to water and sanitation and basic health care. Fifty percent of Yemen's clinics are closed and more than 70 percent do not have a regular supply of medicines.

'War Crimes'

In March 2018, rights group Amnesty International accused Western countries of supplying arms to Riyadh and its allies, who could stand guilty of war crimes in Yemen.

Last August a UN expert mission concluded that all warring parties had potentially committed "war crimes".

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The British are saying that now is the last chance for peace in Yemen, but others see London as pushing for a new round of war

The options for Yemen continue to teeter between war and peace. The Stockholm process, now in its fourth month, has yet to translate the agreement struck in the Swedish capital in mid-December into realities on the ground.

Artillery fire continues to reverberate along the battle fronts between the forces of the internationally recognised government and the Houthi militias as mutual recriminations and accusations hurl back and forth between adversaries who, in the absence of mutual trust, cling to the military option.

In an effort to salvage a process that he described as in the last chance saloon, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt undertook the first visit to Yemen by an official of this level since the Houthi coup in September 2013.

The process could be dead within weeks if we do not see both sides sticking to their commitments in Stockholm, he warned from Aden. I am here because this is really the last chance for peace.

In the last round of warfare, the Houthis shifted their focus away from Hodeida, where there has been no progress in implementing the agreement that called for the withdrawal of its forces within two weeks and where they targeted 12 civilians from a single family south of the city, to Hajjah province in order to subdue an insurrection among the Hujour tribes.

Deputy Governor of Hajjah, Nasser Daqin, said that the Houthi militias have expanded their siege on the Kashar directorate in the north of the province, and that they have executed civilians and driven large numbers of the residents from their homes with random artillery fire.

Yemeni observers read this offensive as a declaration of the Houthis intent to undermine the peace process and protract the war as they subdue civilian populations under their control in the areas of Houthi influence.

As for government forces, Yemeni Defence Minister Lieutenant General Mohamed Al-Maqdishi, in a statement from military command headquarters in Mareb, announced that the Yemeni political and military leadership was determined to sustain military operations against the Houthi militias.

At the same time, pro-government politicians and media reproached Western powers concerned with the Yemeni situation for their silence with regard to the situation in Hajjah. Khaled Alian, a journalist close to official circles in Riyadh, complained of the lack of any international condemnation or pressure from Hunt during his recent visit or from UN Envoy Martin Griffith concerning the plight of the Hujour tribes.

It appears that the double-standard approach remains intact towards the situation in Yemen, he told Al-Ahram Weekly by phone from Riyadh.

Is there now a British plan for Yemen that supersedes the UN and the role of the UN envoy who expresses himself more as a British person than an international envoy? Do those officials have two discourses, one to use in Riyadh when meeting with President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi and another to use with the Houthis? This is what is keeping the crisis in place.

These were not the only criticisms levelled against the British role in Yemen. In fact, Houthi leaders were harsher.

Following the Yemeni foreign ministers ultimatum, during an interview with Sky News Arabic in the UAE, that the coalition will return to war if the Houthis continue to refuse to meet their obligations under the Stockholm Agreement, head of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee Mohamed Ali Al-Houthi said, Jeremy Hunt should be very aware that the Yemeni people know that Britain is an active accomplice in the aggression against Yemen and that it is using its own weapons to kill. They also know that the British-sponsored resolutions are not for the sake of justice but in order to serve a timid soldier who mutters what the US-Israeli agenda tell him to say in the Security Council.

Accusing Hunt of no longer being an honest broker, Al-Houthi charged that his statements expose the policies of Britain and the US which originally gave the signal to Yemeni government forces to start the battle against Hodeida and now want to repeat it.

 The purpose of the British foreign secretarys misleading statements, according to Al-Houthi, was to improve the image of the US-British-Saudi-Emirati aggression which perpetrates massacres and famine and obstructs peace.

The barrage of criticism against Hunt from both sides could be a sign of the immanent collapse of mediating efforts. As the Yemeni political analyst Abdel-Aziz Al-Madjidi put it, they are clear messages that the option of a diplomatic settlement has failed, even though the option of a military settlement remains complicated and difficult to attain.

According to a member of the Yemeni government delegation to the Stockholm negotiations, the British seem particularly concerned with the ports covered by the agreement struck in Sweden: Hodeida, Saleef and Ras Isa. In interview with the Weekly, the source said: The British, perhaps supported by a number of international powers, believe that the coalition can resume control of the southern ports, especially Aden, but that coalition should not continue the advance up the western coast in order to liberate the ports there.

He held that this belief stemmed from a perception that if government forces liberated the ports, they would monopolise control over them.

This made him wonder why, instead of plunging into this crisis, no attempt had been made to reach an agreement on managing the ports and channelling their revenues to the benefit of the Yemeni people.

The source added that members of the government negotiating delegation and supporters of the government suspect that international powers intend to circumvent international resolutions in the interest of promoting a new arrangement.

This is why the president (Hadi) tried to assert a veto against the Stockholm process. But he failed because of the entreaties and promises that Western countries, especially Britain, used to persuade the coalition to proceed with this process.

Is the forthcoming scenario a return to war, as Mohamed Ali Al-Houthi predicts on the basis of his belief that this is the design of Britain and its allies?

In fact, its not the forthcoming scenario at all. Its the scenario that is actually in progress, said a Yemeni government source.The fighters have had no break. Ultimately, the war will continue as long as there is no breakthrough that can be agreed on and that is backed by the ability to carry out its provisions and accept its outcomes.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 March, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Yemens last chance?

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Press Release

March 23, 2019 De Lima blasts surge of disinformation vs her, opposition figures Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima has warned against the surge of "fake news" against opposition figures, including senatorial candidates and their allies, as part of the orchestrated campaign to defame their image ahead of the elections in May 2019. De Lima, who has thrown her support to the senatorial candidates of the united opposition "Otso Diretso," has recently been targeted of fake news for being the leading opposition figure who draws international attention due to her arbitrary detention. "As campaign season heats up, the purveyors of disinformation have become bolder. Their singular goal is to spread disinformation across social media platforms to discredit opposition figures like me and those running for the Senate," she said. "The dissemination of the 'fake news' has become a convenient tool for desperate personalities to confuse the public between truth and lies in an effort not only to defame the reputation of trustworthy individuals, but also to cover-up their mess," she added. An online post falsely claiming that Julieta de Lima, the wife of Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison, is the sister of the lady Senator has been making the rounds on social media anew, with netizens sharing and re-sharing the post. "It's an irrefutable fact that I only have one sister named Caroline and I have since maintained that Juliet (the correct name of Sison's wife) de Lima is not closely related to me," she said. The circulation of disinformation against De Lima has intensified amid snowballing clamor from the local and international communities, the most recent of which came from the US House of Representatives, to free her from unjust detention. Aside from De Lima, several members of Otso Diretso, including Mar Roxas, Bam Aquino, and Chel Diokno, among others, have been victimized by social media posts containing lies, which were largely shared by pro-administration pages. A blog post published on pro-Duterte page claims that Roxas allegedly left Otso Diretso to ally with Mr. Duterte and another one showing a fake statement by Diokno's daughter alluding that she is mad at her father for his anti-death penalty stance during a debate recently surfaced online. The two posts were fabricated. "Namumuhunan ang administrasyong ito sa fake news para linlangin ang taumbayan na hindi katiwa-tiwala ang miyembro ng oposisyon samantalang ang mga kaalyado ni Duterte ay maka-tao, maka-bayan at walang bahid ng dungis. Kasinungalingan!," she said. De Lima, a former justice secretary, underscored the need for the Filipino public, especially voters, to be more discerning and probing in reading questionable news articles or blog posts across the Internet before believing them. "Let us not allow Duterte's paid troll army to distort the truth and allow lies after lies to dominate discourses. Let's work together to ensure that truth and democracy prevail, especially this coming midterm elections," she said. De Lima has always called out on Mr. Duterte and his allies for spreading outright lies, disinformation, and crude remarks, especially against women and religious leaders.
Press Release

March 23, 2019 Dispatch from Crame No. 491:

Sen. Leila M. de Lima's statement on the ICC case vs Xi Jinping To quote Edmund Burke, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." In a remarkable move, just days prior to the effectivity of our withdrawal from the Rome Statute, with the help of former DFA Sec. Albert del Rosario and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, along with fishermen, filed a communication before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes committed in the disputed South China Sea against China President Xi Jinping. In their aggressive and systematic attempt to control the whole of South China Sea, including our territorial waters, China has not only committed a wide-scale and almost irreversible destruction of the environment, but has also deprived our fishermen, as well as those from our ASEAN neighbors, of their food and livelihood. Ilang beses na ba natin narinig ang ating mga mangingisda na humihingi ng tulong sa ating Pangulong Duterte na ipagtanggol sila laban sa panggigipit at pang-aapi ng mga Tsino sa West Philippines Sea? Mayroon bang naging aksyon ng Pangulo dito maliban sa pagtatanggol sa Tsina? The kowtowing of this administration to China would be absurd if it wasn't so tragic for our fellow Filipinos. Duterte's reactions against reports of bullying by China in the West Philippine Sea have always been: a) to doubt if the Filipino fishermen are telling the truth; b) to scare us that China will wage war on us if we do anything that offends them; or c) blame Pres. Noynoy Aquino. It is also clear where this administration's loyalty lies. DFA Secretary Teddy Locsin just recently assured China that the Duterte government would look out for the welfare of Chinese in the Philippines and heaped praise for China's ruling communist party. It was also just reported that Pres. Duterte is going back to China again this year; already his fourth visit in three years in office. Because of the inaction and disinterest by this administration to do anything in spite of mounting evidence of Chinese abuses in our territory, our fisherfolks, backed by two illustrious and highly respected public figures, have no choice but to take matters in their own hands. It was a good thing that we still had the opportunity to go to the ICC and show the world that our citizens would not stand China's destruction of our natural resources and intimidation of our fishermen. Dumating na ang panahon para pagbayarin ang Tsina sa kanilang pang-aabuso sa ating karagatan at sa ating mangingisda ng naaayon sa batas. I ask my fellow Filipinos to support this initiative and vote for candidates who have the courage to stand up against China. It is time for us to defend our country and our future.
Press Release

March 23, 2019 Dispatch from Crame No. 492:

Sen. Leila M. de Lima's statement on the alleged weaponization of Human Rights by the ICC Our Foreign Affairs Secretary tells us that one reason for the country's pullout from the Rome Statute is because the International Criminal Court (ICC) has "weaponized human rights to defend the drug trade." For all his eloquence and notable capacity for cerebral discourse, such a remark is evidently a contorted and ludicrous attempt from yet another of the President's men to defend the indefensible. That the ICC has weaponized human rights is a fallacious, self-serving position adopted by the Duterte government to brush aside mounting international criticisms on human rights violations committed in Duterte's war on drugs. The phrase "weaponization of human rights" was previously used to describe a form of low-intensity conflict strategy deployed by western powers to undermine uncooperative third world governments by attacking their human rights record as a prelude to active intervention if not outright regime-change. The Duterte regime has always used this phrase instead to criticize the United Nations mechanisms established to check and monitor UN member countries' compliance with international human rights standards, viz., the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteurs. The Duterte government is now using the same phrase to delegitimize the ICC's processes insofar as its examination and eventual investigation of the Philippine situation is concerned. The so-called "politicization and weaponization of human rights" framework is the Duterte government's propaganda phrase and over-all strategy to discredit the UNHRC and international human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, who have been consistently calling for its accountability in its deadly war on drugs. The Duterte administration is now merely using the same strategy to attack the ICC, especially now that ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has declared that her preliminary examination on the Philippine situation continues despite the effectivity of the country's withdrawal from the Rome Statute last March 17, 2019. This only means that regardless of Duterte's and his men's protestations, the ICC process of charging and trying a case of crimes against humanity involving Duterte continues. It is therefore only a matter of time before Duterte and his cohorts are finally held accountable for the atrocities committed by government security forces and vigilantes.
Press Release

March 24, 2019 Electric vehicle adoption roadmap pushed Senator Win Gatchalian has reiterated the importance of a sound policy and regulatory framework for electric vehicles (e-vehicles) to usher in the uptake of electric vehicles in the country. During the Senate Committee on Energy hearing on Senate Bill No. 2137 or the Electric Vehicles and Charging Stations Act, Gatchalian quizzed the Department of Energy's (DOE) long term plan to ensure the promotion of the adoption of electric vehicles and the sustainability of the e-vehicle ecosystem in the long run. Gatchalian, who chairs the committee, noticed that while the DOE has been promoting the use of e-vehicles, the agency has produced or released only a few policy instruments to support the growth of e-vehicles in the country. He urged the DOE to craft a roadmap for e-vehicle adoption in the country, in coordination with the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Land Transportation Office, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, and other relevant government agencies. "Moving forward, we want to see research. Of course, this will not be without opposition. There will be opposition, let's expect that. But we have to clearly explain the advantages of promoting e-vehicles. I expect the DOE - which is a much larger organization - should have that data. Hindi naman ho tayo puwede mag-promote nang wala ho tayong basis," the lawmaker pointed out. "Iyong advantages ng [e-vehicles], it should be quantifiable, or else, it's very difficult to convince people that this is actually beneficial," he told the DOE. SBN 2137, in a nutshell, seeks to address the challenges to the development of the electric vehicle industry by instructing the DOE to create an Electric Vehicle Roadmap and distribution utilities to incorporate a Charging Infrastructure Development Plan in their Power Development Plan. Through his proposed measure, Gatchalian hopes to solve the entire supply chain of e-vehicles, including one of the most important components: the charging stations. The measure seeks to require private and public buildings and establishments to have dedicated parking slots with charging stations and mandates open access for the installation of charging stations in gasoline stations. SBN 2137 also expands non-fiscal incentives - such as exemption from number coding and prioritization in registration - and institutionalizes time-bound fiscal incentives for manufacturers and importers of electric vehicles. Gatchalian believes that by promoting the use of e-vehicles in the country, the Philippines will become less dependent on oil importations. "At the same time we would reduce dollar outflows, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, create more jobs for Filipinos," he said. The lawmaker pointed out that at present, the transport sector was the biggest contributor to the country's total energy consumption, accounting for more than one-third or 37.2 percent. Data from the DOE shows that the transport sector is also a major consumer of petroleum products, consisting of 25.72% of the total 75,370.50 barrels that were consumed in 2016. Meanwhile, data provided by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) show that 99.48 percent or 8,039,233 out of 8,081,224 of motor vehicles in the country are run by diesel and gasoline.
A flurry of meetings is underway to reassure Libyas political players despite protracted strife that a new settlement is possible. Whether these efforts will succeed is another matter

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) is working to hammer out a new formula for ending the Libyan crisis with the help of Western diplomats who have been holding intensive talks with Libyan political forces in order to rally them behind an alternative to the UN-brokered agreement signed in Skhirat, Morocco, in December 2015.

A heavy veil of secrecy cloaks this process of readying a new agreement for discussion in the comprehensive Libyan National Conference to be held soon although a final date has not been set. The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, is expected to attend the conference.

Another set of secret negotiations is under way over the creation of a new national unity government which is to succeed the current Government of National Accord (GNA) in order to steer the interim phase after the National Conference and prepare for general elections following the reunification of government institutions.

The process, revealed in Western press reports last week, still has many hurdles to surmount especially in light of the fluctuating conditions on the ground and the general paralysis of existing institutions, primarily the House of Representatives in Tobruk and the High Council of State (HCS) in Tripoli.

On 4 September 2018, after brokering a ceasefire between the warring militias in southern Tripoli, the UN Special Representative to Libya and Head of UNSMIL Ghassan Salame announced that he was working to help Libyans reach a lasting agreement acceptable to all.

In February this year, he succeeded in bringing together the Chairman of the Tripoli-based Presidency Council Fayez Al-Sarraj and the Benghazi-based Commander of the Libyan National Army Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar in the UAE.

That meeting, also attended by the Deputy Head of UNSMIL Stephanie Williams and the US Charge dAffairs of the US Diplomatic Mission to Libya Peter W Bodde, culminated in understanding the details of which have not yet been fully disclosed.

In an interview on Libyan TV last week, Salame refused to divulge any further information, saying that it was Haftar and Al-Sarraj who possessed the details.

On the forthcoming National Conference, he said that UNSMIL would invite representatives from 23 Libyan social segments and entities to the event which he said would take place within a month.

Politicians in Tripoli believe that Haftar and Al-Sarraj essentially agreed upon a restructuring of the executive authority that would reduce the Presidency Council from nine members to three, each of which would represent one of the three Libyan regions (Cyrenaica, Tripoli and Fezzan), and that would task an independent figure with forming a national unity government.

The politicians also believe that the two leaders agreed on the formation of a national security council in which he would enjoy the right of veto.

With regards to recent movements of the Libyan National Army (LNA), observers have been mystified by the withdrawal of LNA forces from the south to Jufra in central Libya, after they had reached the cities of Sabha, Murzuq, Umm Al-Arabnib and Qatrun. Disturbances have erupted once again in Sabha, the capital of Fezzan, according to media reports which maintain that the armys operation in southwestern Libya has only further complicated the situation there, at least in part because the operation came too late.

Tensions have surged again between the two main Arab tribes in the region, the Awlad Soleiman and the Zawiya, on the one hand, and the ethnically African Toubou tribe, on the other. The Toubou have recently accused the LNA command of siding with their adversaries in order to assert control over Fezzan.

These Arab and African tribes have been facing off in the southwest (Sabha, Murzuq, Awbari and Qatrun) and the southeast (the Kufra district) since 2012.

Intermittent violent clashes between them have precipitated large population displacements. The most recent major flareup occurred in Sabha in the summer of 2018.

The Toubou tribes had been one of Field Marshal Haftars major allies during the Operation Dignity campaign he launched in 2014 in Benghazi, Derna, the petroleum crescent area and Jufra.

However, Haftars recent alliance with the Seif Al-Nasr clan from the Awlad Soleiman tribes led the Toubou to break off their alliance with the LNA.

Despite how it has been portrayed in the media, the military drive that Haftar launched into Fezzan in mid-January has achieved no substantial change on the ground or in the balances of power.

Even the crucial Sharara oilfield remains under control of civilian militias despite the recent announcement by the National Oil Corporation, Libyas national oil authority, that it had lifted force majeure at the field.

Al-Ahram Weekly has learned that Haftar has informed Western diplomats of his determination to proceed with a planned military campaign to free the capital, Tripoli, from the control of militias, raising fears of a return to civil war.

The militias in the area are well armed, well-tested in the field and capable of holding out in an open war to the bitter end. In addition, the recent alliance struck between Misrata to the east of Tripoli and Tarhouna and Zintan, to the south and southwest, means any LNA march on Tripoli will need to contend with this formidable alliance on the outskirts of the capital first.

Diplomats in the US embassy in Libya have notified local political figures that Washington opposes any military operations in the capital. Any armed conflict would be extremely dangerous for the civilian population in Tripoli, whose numbers have swelled enormously due to the influxes of civilians displaced by conflicts in other parts of the country.

Another ominous portent comes from Sirte, east of Misrata where, earlier this month, the citys security and protection force, commissioned by the Presidency Council, declared a state of alert and called up reserves in order to repel a security breach by gunmen they claimed belonged to the LNA.

Against this complex and volatile backdrop, the UNSMIL leadership is determined to press ahead with the action plan for Libya that Salame unveiled at the UN in September 2017. However, the failure of efforts to break the political deadlock in Libya has induced him to change tack and try to promote a new political agreement to replace the one signed in Skhirat in 2015.

Towards this end, a high-level committee composed of representatives of the UN, the African Union and EU ambassadors to Libya held a series of meetings with the Presidency Council, the GNA, the HCS in Tripoli and with Haftar in Benghazi in the hope of encouraging a broader acceptance of the understandings reached between Haftar and Al-Sarraj in Abu Dhabi.

Salame has said that the terms of this agreement will be part of the outcomes of the National Conference.

According to Abdel-Rahman Al-Shater of the HCS, the council refused to comply with committee members request to accept the understandings because they had not informed the council of its details.

The HCS demands solid guarantees in exchange for accepting the outcomes of the National Conference. It also insists that the Skhirat Agreement should be the frame of reference for the conference which clearly conflicts with UNSMILs current strategy.

The House of Representatives, for its part, has kept an enigmatic silence with regard to this process. Last week, the legislative authority appointed new ministers to the eastern-based government which is not internationally recognised.

It appears, therefore, that House Speaker Aguila Saleh is not interested in the process and is determined to reject any new political arrangements despite his previous ambition to head a restructured presidency council.

Clearly, UNSMIL will need to take some pains to reassure and placate Libyan political players whose suspicions were triggered by the mystery surrounding the Abu Dhabi meeting at a time of heightened tensions among militia and tribal forces throughout the country.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 March, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Salame seeks Skhirat alternative

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Richard Yan, director of failed construction company Mainzeal Group, has appealed the High Court judgment which found him liable to pay up to $36 million to creditors.

Tomorrow is the deadline for any appeals in the case, following Justice Francis Cookes ruling released on Feb. 26. Its not yet clear whether the three other directors, including former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, plan to appeal.

Liquidator BDO, appointed after Mainzeal collapsed in early 2013, could also choose to appeal on the grounds that the sum awarded to creditors is only a third of the approximately $110 million they are owed. However, given Yans appeal, BDO now also has the option to cross-appeal within 10 working days.

Mainzeal chair Shipley and directors Peter Gomm and Clive Tilby were found liable for up to $6 million each, with Yan potentially liable for the full amount, $36 million.

Justice Cooke ruled that the three directors were reckless, had adopted a policy of trading while insolvent, and used money owed to trade operators, particularly sub-contractors, as working capital.

The directors also relied on assurances from Mainzeals China-based parent, Richina Pacific, headed by Yan, that the millions of dollars Mainzeal had lent Richina would be paid back if Mainzeal got into trouble.

The assurances relied upon were ambiguous, conditional, and subject to the constraints of Chinese law, which restricted the ability to return money to New Zealand from China, Justice Cooke said in the judgment.

(BusinessDesk)

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Al Shabaab stormed a Somali government building in Mogadishu on Saturday, with at least four people killed in the suicide car bomb attack by the countrys Islamist group and an ensuing gunfight

A large explosion shook the center of the Somali capital in the latest bombing by Al Shabaab, which is fighting to establish its own rule based on a strict interpretation of sharia law, as the group blasted its way into the building.

Al Shabaab stormed the building where two ministries including the ministry of labor work. So far we know 4 people are dead but (the) death toll is sure to rise, Major Abdullahi Nur, a police officer told Reuters.

Eleven people were injured, Dr. Abdikadir Abdirahman, director of Amin Ambulance Service told Reuters, adding some were still trapped inside the building and that it was not possible to rescue them because of an ongoing gun battle.

Al Shabaab said one of its fighters had rammed the ministry building with a suicide car bomb, allowing others to enter it.

Nur said people were being rescued with a ladder from the upper floors and that an exchange of gunfire was still going on.

We are inside the building and (the) fighting goes on. We shall give details later, Abdiasis Abu Musab, Al Shabaabs military operation spokesman told Reuters.

Al Shabaab, which is trying to topple Somalias western backed central government, was ejected from Mogadishu in 2011 and has since been driven from most of its other strongholds.

But it remains a threat, with its fighters frequently carrying out bombings in Somalia and neighboring Kenya, whose troops form part of the African Union mandated peacekeeping force AMISOM that helps defend Somalias central government.

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Pakistans military junta, like Genghis Khan, was genocidal killers who were known to kill whole nations, leaving nothing but empty ruins and bones. They ordered the extermination of the Bengalis.

by Anwar A. Khan





I wish to begin with the words of Ann Clwyd, Genocide is the responsibility of the entire world. Some scientists have even gone so far as to assert that genocide leads to the extinction of Neanderthal man or Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis. It is a positive reinforcing stimulus that Bangladesh parliament on March 11, 2017 nem-con espoused a declaration stating emphatically and authoritatively that March 25 to be observed as the Genocide Day in the country. Now the country wants the UN to recognise the 1971 genocide globally, in commemoration to the barbarities carried out by Pakistans army along with their local collaborators in the soil of Bangladesh on the same day in 1971. Bangladesh now would reach out to the UN for this purpose. From now onwards, the country will fete March 25 as Genocide Day all across the world.





I wish to tell confidentially that Bangladesh would have been liberated much earlier had the Bangla-speaking Pakistanis, especially, Jamaat-e-Islami goons not made Pakistans army known the freedom-loving people and the scale of massacre of our people could have been reduced to a great extent. Because Pakistans military did not know the residents of freedom-loving people, the countrys villages, roads, highways, bridges, culverts, railway stations,  The Biharis or the non-Bengalis were aliens to us who came from a foreign country to our country and after participation of India in 1947, we welcomed them to our part of the land but they did never honour to our gesticulates; they did never owe allegiance to this part of land belonged to us; instead, they thought it was their own land only like the Pakistanis; they always behaved with us very rudely; they posed to be our masters and treated with us as slaves; once Pakistan's army cracked on us down with full fury, they equally became monstrous to annihilate us from our own land whereas they should have coalesced with us as our people long before and treated us as their brothers and sisters and learnt Bangla to speak to us, but they forced us to speak to them in Urdu.





I saw their ferocious nature long before 1971 and during our 1971 war. Many Biharis or the non-Bengalis are still living in Bangladesh, but they do not recognise the country, Bangladesh; they still think that it is their country and it is a part of their beloved Pakistan, but the despicable Pakistanis are still not agreeable to take them to Pakistan. Rather, they consider them as treacherous people. I strongly believe had India along with our freedom fighters started a full-fledged war long before December 1971, Bangladesh came into being long back. I believe then all the misdeed-mongers could have been reduced to ashes long time back. And that should have happened in 1971.





Pakistans Military President Yahya Khan governments double-faced or Janus-faced vicious game-bag full of zest or vigour zingy diddled and defrauded the whole caboodle nation or res-publica designedly happed most high-pitched in the guise of pretension in March 1971 with Bangabandhu Mujib and his lieutenants. Like the Nazi Holocaust, drunkard, philanderer, double-dealer and brute Yahya Khan and his clique including deceitful character and deft schemer like ZA Bhutto took Adolf Hitlers philosophy of final solution to the Jewish question to decimate us in 1971. Jared Diamond has suggested that genocidal violence may have caused the Neanderthals to go extinct. Ronald Wright has also suggested such genocide or the systematic extermination of people on the basis of ethnicity, religion, political opinion, social status, etc.





Pakistans military junta, like Genghis Khan, was genocidal killers who were known to kill whole nations, leaving nothing but empty ruins and bones. They ordered the extermination of the Bengalis. So, their rule was genocide. If genocide is defined as a state-mandated effort to annihilate whole peoples, then their actions in this regard must certainly qualify. What they did deserve calling them "brutal, hypocritical, opportunistic, and even genocidal in the fullest sense of the word." They carried out deliberate use of massacres. Large scale massacres by Pakistani Forces, and a deliberate scorched earth policy, contributed to the massive death toll.





Thusly, the use of the word genocide is wholly accurate and appropriate to their regime. Their policy has been summed up by a phrase attributed to Pakistans army and their local cohorts "To Hell or to Connaught or Amiodarone or Cordarone" and that has been described by historians as genocide. The Almighty sent the potato blight... but they created the havoc all around this part of land. What they did all constituted one of the modern horrible genocides in modern history, where a whole population was attempted to annihilate to satisfy the desires of a group of power-hungry people belonged to Pakistan. They took possession with all sophisticated weapons of destructions in accordance with their customs and they caught all the people. Not one escaped...





In view of these crimes of Pakistan against humanity and civilisation, we hold them responsible for these crimes, as well as those of their agents who were culpably involved in such massacres. They sent their brutal soldiers along with their local accomplices to the former Eastern part of Pakistan only their 'Death's Head Units' with the orders to kill without pity or mercy all men, women, and children of the Bengali race or language. Only in such a way, they boastfully said they would win the vital space that they needed.





Once Pakistans army cracked down on us, they implemented a highly organised strategy of persecution, murder, and genocide aimed at ethnically purifying former eastern part of Pakistan, a plan like Hitler called the Final Solution. This was a crime so monstrous, so undreamt of in history  that the term genocide has had to be coined to define it. Allyson Schwartz has by right appealed to the world indwellers, The 20th century taught us how far unbridled evil can and will go when the world fails to confront it. It is time that we heed the lessons of the 20th century and stands up to these murderers. It is time that we end genocide in the 21st century.





Bangladeshs genocide is the most brutal, for especially because it did not only kill 3 million people directly. But it killed a whole culture and history - the history of an ancient civilisation and the cradle of civilisation. All that land was destroyed, stolen and denied. It seems unthinkable that humans are capable of atrocities as fierce and as devastating as genocide, yet they committed with near nonchalance. The United Nations has defined genocide as, acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. This includes not only the mass killing of the Bengali people but the attempt to eradicate it as a living culture. Every genocide, regardless of its scale, is a tragedy of epic proportions  the loss of a people, a culture, and a language is an extinction that hits far too close to home.





How many times must we say never again? This is a question we still seem to be asking ourselves and one another as I personally watched these massacres happened in 1971; they used our holy religion-Islam and pronouncing the holy words Naray-e-Takbir, Allah-hu Akbar. Pakistan Zindaba and Pakistan is the holy place of Islam and slaughtered our freedom-loving people pitilessly. They did never permit for burial of those dead bodies. Instead, they then vauntingly allowed those lamentable dead bodies to eat by the vultures, jackals, dogs and other human flesh eaters and thus celebrated such brutal darts with all unkindness. Lets avoid repeating such history anymore.





Synonymous with the word genocide, Yahya khan junta and his coterie were responsible for one of the most systematic and nauseatingly efficient genocides in history in 1971. Combining all of his concentration camps disgorges, and mass executions together led to a death toll in the three of millions. Today, however, we can see how wrong the Pakistani military junta and some political leaders were and just how merciless their reign of terror was. Bangladesh Genocide is known as one of the most gruesome genocides in history. The crimes committed by Pakistani troops during the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 were, unfortunately, remain somewhat unknown in the greater world even today.





The genocide began on 26 March, 1971 with the commencement of Operation Searchlight by West Pakistan rulers in order to curb the rising agitation for the legitimate political and social demands of the Bengalis who formed the majority of the united Pakistan till 1971. The genocide was deliberately brutal since the Pakistanis considered Bengalis as an inferior race and used to discriminate against East Pakistan in economic and political terms. The genocide is widely known for heinous crimes against women with estimates of 400,000 women being raped by Pakistani troops as well as their local collaborators. Rape was widely used as a form of political weapon to intimidate people to submit themselves to atrocities of West Pakistan's regime.





The genocide committed by the Pakistani Army was assisted by various groups like Jamaat-e-Islami, Shanti committees, Al-Badr and Al-Shams, Razakars which were generally dominated by the Bangla-speaking Pakistani people and the Bihari Muslims. The killings also included deliberate destruction of Bengali culture through the mass killing of intellectuals and other nationalists who regarded Bengali culture as their own.





The move by Pakistan army also sought to get rid of Hindu Minorities in Bangladesh who used to be one of the biggest communities in Bangladesh. Because of that ground, whenever we came across them, they with their red eyes on the first instance enounced the words, Tum Hindu Hai (you are a Hindu). Like so many people, I had to show my genital organ on many junctures to prove my Muslim identity at gun points by Pakistans military and their local heinous collaborators-the Bangla-speaking Pakistanis and the Bihari Muslims. Even I narrowly escaped murder attempts five times at their hands during that time.





The killings were estimated 3 million which is a huge number considering the fact that the killings took place during the 9 months of Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. The genocide led to the fleeing of 10 million refugees towards India which caused huge economic hardships for her and forced Indira Gandhi to seek international support for recognition of Bangladesh and the training of Mukti Bahini (Freedom Fighters).





The Bangladesh genocide ended only after the involvement of Indian troops with our valiant Freedom Fighters in the war on 3 December 1971 due to Pakistan's pre-emptive attack on Indian air-force bases and ended with the crushing defeat of Pakistan, surrendering of 93,000 Pakistani soldiers and formation of Bangladesh within two weeks. Time magazine reported the genocide to a high US official as saying "It is the most incredible, calculated thing since the days of the Nazis in Poland. The Guinness Book of World Records has registered this genocide as the second largest genocide in history.





The unfortunate fact is that all Pakistani participants, whether political or military were never prosecuted under the provisions of International Law on the lines of Nuremberg and Tokyo Trials or UN tribunals like in the case of genocides in Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone and Cambodia.





The biggest irony is that USA, who claims to be a big supporter of Democracy and invaded various nations in the name of promoting rule of law, chose to remain apathetic to the plight of Bengali population caused by the West Pakistan in-spite of receiving various news about the genocide from their embassy in Dhaka, especially from Archer Blood for the sake of building bridges with Communist China to create rift between USSR and China and in the this meeting, Pakistan was playing the role of facilitator and so her role in the genocide was not only ignored by Nixon Administration but also encouraged China to intervene against Bangladesh and India or create pressure for immediate ceasefire which would prolong Bangladeshs victory and ensured that the genocide against Bengali people remained unabated.





The systematic mass killings in Bangladesh (then East Pakistan) in 1971 can be classified as genocide. The conflict started with Operation Searchlight as said above earlier, a planned military pacification carried out by the West Pakistani Army on 25 March 1971 to curb the Bengali nationalist movement by taking control of the major cities and then eliminating all opposition, political or military personnel. Major human right abuses and killings were a sad reality of the crisis; those killed included men, women, students and pregnant women also.





This act of genocide is officially termed human rights abuses by the Bangladesh authorities. History has proven in its course that it has been a producer of the most horrifying and daunting stories the world has ever known. Terrifying! Unimaginable! These facts depict the shocking and inconceivable pictures the evils of men could do: blood splattered on barren lands; the stench of death overcoming the fragrance of life.





Genocide, a crime of unprecedented proportions is a sin not worthy of any mercy. It is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious or national group. From the past to the present, from Bangladesh to Rwanda, this herculean crime has been experienced by innocent people and children who have been stripped of their future; men and women who have been degraded to mere objects of ridicule; and of the old whose dignity of life have been taken away from them. More than any horror movie you will ever see, reality always is the best shocker. Bangladeshs Genocides that the world will remember and will never forget. Because Genocide is the most potent of all crimes against humanity because it is an effort to systematically wipe out a people and a culture as well as individual lives has correctly been written by Jerry Costello.





Given the scale of trauma caused by the genocide, Bangladesh has indicated that, however, thin the hope of a community can be, a hero always emerges. Although no one can dare claim that it is now a perfect state and that no more work is needed, the country has risen from the ashes as a model or truth. We can say in the words of Kendrick Meek, We can make a difference. We can save lives. We can stop the genocide. It is time to recognise Bangladeshs Genocide. Bangladesh has emerged from the devastation of genocide and become more secure and prosperous than anyone has a right to expect. So, let us call genocide, genocide. Let us not minimise the deliberate murder of 3 million people. Let us have a moral victory that can shine as a light to all nations.





25 March, the day before Bangladesh's Independence Day, will now onwards be commemorated as the Genocide Day for the grave genocides committed by the Pakistani military junta and their local accomplices during the 1971 liberation war. We have to remember always those horrible genocides. 25 March, shall live as the Eternal Flame in our history. This was a tragic event in human history, but by paying tribute to the Bengali community, we ensure the lessons of Bangladeshs genocide are properly understood and acknowledged. Words without deeds violate the moral and legal obligation we have under the genocide convention but, more importantly, violates our sense of right and wrong and the standards we have as human beings about looking to care for one another.





Jon Corzine has aptly said, Never again is the rallying cry for all who believe that mankind must speak out against genocide. With faith and courage, decades of Bangladeshs people have overcome great suffering and proudly preserved their culture, traditions, and religion and have told the story of the genocide to an often indifferent world. The international community should come forward to recognise the Day as Genocide Day. It also will create awareness in combating and preventing the crime of genocide everywhere in the world. Say a prayer for them all who met with tragic murders on 25 March 1971 and throughout the months of 1971. Commemorating such a dark period in history means a solemn affair, with the day marked by remembrance services for those who lost their lives.





-The End -





The writer is a senior citizen of Bangladesh, writes on politics, political and human-centred figures, current and international affairs
The Colombo-centered urban elite family background, the Royal College education and the law degree obtained from the Faculty of Law of the University of Colombo are some of the extra advantages that influenced Ranil Wickremesinghes political career.





by Indi Akurugoda





Policy-oriented politics and tactical political diplomacy are still distant concepts in the Sri Lankan political arena. Yet the Sri Lankan politics is full of fake promises, ethno-chauvinist influences and religious extremism. These have resulted in misguiding the public opinion towards obtaining short-term popularity and fulfilling opportunistic political aims. Against a context of several selfish, opportunistic and anarchist political leaders, a significant number of people in Sri Lanka expect Ranil Wickremesinghe to follow a path of cheap popularity and political opportunism. Fortunately, he has never followed such path to mislead people during his 41 years long-term political career. He has never tried to be in power against the public opinion. However, he is yet a world recognized diplomat; a patient, mature and outstanding political leader in Sri Lanka.





The current Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe, celebrates his 70th birthday on March 24, 2019. There is no other political leader who faced difficulties, blames and challenges like him. Not only of his opponents, but also, he has confronted severe blames and unbearable criticisms of his own party members. Finally, at the end of all political storms and disasters, all had to say that Ranil is right. This article is not to exaggerate Ranils character, but to analyze his significant political role in Sri Lankan politics.





The Colombo-centered urban elite family background, the Royal College education and the law degree obtained from the Faculty of Law of the University of Colombo are some of the extra advantages that influenced Ranil Wickremesinghes political career. The new moves to distract from the traditional governing structures, promote the liberal high technological trends, establish a multi-cultural society, encourage social reconciliation, good governance and democratic principles, and to drive the youth towards vocational training and international level future career development led Ranil to become a special political character in Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, most of the people in the Sri Lankan society are still unable to understand the complex mixture of Ranils specialties.





Ranil used Buddhist ideology to answer his opponents logically and non-violently. When the President ousted Ranil Wickremesinghe, and appointed a new Prime Minister on October 26, 2018, Ranils choice was to fight democratically using his patience and Buddhist philosophical answers to avoid unnecessary conflicts. During the 51-day political crisis, the strong, steady and unshaken characteristics of Ranil Wickremesinghe fueled the democratic struggle in front of every disaster and undemocratic decisive action of the President and his supporters.





When the President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated on May 1, 1993, the occurred instability of the country had been handled smoothly by Ranil Wickremesinghe. The United National Party (UNP) was divided at the moment into two factions based on the impeachment against the President Ranasinghe Premadasa. Ranil Wickremesinghe protected the leader and the UNP during such impeachment. In 1994, when Chandrika Bandaranaike became the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe left Temple Trees immediately, even though many UNP MPs wanted him to remain in power to form a minority government. In 1999, Gamini Dissanayake re-joined the UNP and faced an intra-party election with Ranil Wickremesinghe to obtain the opposition leadership and the UNP Presidential candidacy. Although Ranil defeated from the intra-party election, he supported Gamini without complaining. However, even the UNP members saw these trends as weaknesses of Ranil.





In 2001, Ranil became the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka while the President was Chandrika Bandaranaike. This resulted in a confusing situation where the President and the Prime Minister were from two opposite parties. However, Ranil led the ceasefire agreement with the LTTE requesting the assistance of the international community. This was the most successful long-term ceasefire that the LTTE was unable to avoid or get rid of. In conflict resolution and peace studies this example is being used as a successful move by a government to resolve a long-lasting armed conflict. Even the LTTE leader Prabhakaran stated that they have trapped in an international snare of a cunning fox, Ranil. Consequently, the severe internal factions of the LTTE, which led to the defeat of the war, emerged during such long-term ceasefire. It seems that this point is being intentionally ignored by political analysts.





In the 2005 Presidential election, Ranil defeated by a narrow margin. The whole blame of the UNPs defeat had placed on Ranil but he remained in silence. He gave up the opportunity of the UNP Presidential candidacy twice to provide opportunities for common candidates. When some of these common candidates criticized him, he remained silent. This tolerance never could be maintained by an immature and inexperienced politician. The people who criticize Ranil will never be able to understand him. His work is based on the mind and not on the body. The lack of knowledge about Ranil Wickremesinghe is not an excuse to reject him. He still plays a prominent and a strong role in Sri Lankan politics.





Dr Indi Akurugoda, Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Policy, University of Ruhuna




The primary requisite for the Congress party to rejuvenate itself is that quality of merit, capability and charisma should be the primary factors to attain leadership position in the Congress party.





by N.S.Venkataraman





There appears to be an emerging view all over India that Indian National Congress party has descended to a new low level now in the post independent India. Earlier, Congress party had great stalwarts like Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri , who occupied the Prime Ministers chair with distinction, dignity and devotion. The fall in standards of Congress party really started when Lal Bahadur Shastri passed away.





Now, Congress party has become a dynastic party for all practical purposes and no one can anymore aspire to become the President of the Congress party other than the family members of Sonia Gandhi. By associating Gandhi name with the Nehru family members , a deliberate attempt has been made to give an impression that the present Sonia family members represent the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi , which is not true. This gimmicks cannot anymore protect the image of the Congress party due to several negative recent developments in the party.





The trend in the 2019 parliamentary election now clearly indicate that Congress party will not become the ruling party after the forthcoming parliament election. In 2014 poll, Congress party could win less than 50 seats in parliament. It appears that it will not significantly increase its number of seats in the 2019 parliament election. Some people think that its tally could even be less than the seats it won in 2014 poll.





Realising such possible scenario, Congress party has been desperately seeking alliance partners to contest in the forthcoming poll. Most opposition parties , many of which are really family entities or under the control of single leader , have refused to treat Congress party as equal and the number of seats that Congress party would contest in such alliances has become less. In Uttar Pradesh , which turn out the largest number of MPs, Congress party has been forced to go almost alone ,as major regional parties have refused alliance with the Congress party.





In such circumstances, one wonders as to what will be the future of the Congress party in India.





While the Congress party is under the full control of single family now and only those who pledge their unreserved loyalty to this particular family will have positions in the party, there are certainly persons in the Congress party who can think beyond this single family. Unfortunately, they are keeping silent now and watching the developing scenario with apprehension.





Having virtually lost the 2019 parliamentary poll already due to weak leadership provided by the present President of the party who has been using vituperative and un dignifiecd remarks unbecoming of the President of the Congress party and repeatedly going to the extent of calling the Prime Minister as thief and who became the President only due to his belonging to the family controlling the party,it is high time that the members of the Congress party should think and plan about 2024 parliament election.





The primary requisite for the Congress party to rejuvenate itself is that quality of merit, capability and charisma should be the primary factors to attain leadership position in the Congress party. It is a million dollar question as to whether this would really happen, since this would be resisted vigorously by the family presently controlling the party.





However, after seeing the likely dismal performance of the Congress party in 2019 election and facing the threat of becoming extinct from political scenario in the country in the coming years, it appears that it is inevitable that senior members of the Congress party would challenge the family controlled leadership of the party after 2019 poll. This would cause vertical split in the Congress party and it remains to be seen how the split would determine the future of the Congress party.





It would be extremely unfortunate if the Congress party would go into history and become an insignificant player in Indian politics. It is high time that the members of the Congress party at various levels should think about this condition and introspect as to how to save the future of the Congress party.
Egypts Minister of Tourism Rania El-Mashat affirmed on Sunday that her ministry will abide by an administrative Court ruling on Saturday overturning a government decision to impose extra fees on pilgrims travelling to Mecca for the Umrah (Muslim Minor Pilgrimage).

The Egyptian government had announced in February 2018 that the Ministry of Tourism would require pilgrims planning to go on Umrah to pay an extra SR 2,000 (EGP 9,000) if they had performed the pilgrimage during the past three years.

Pilgrims were also required to pay an extra SR 1,000 (EGP 4,500) if they perform the Umrah more than once during the same year.

The ministry aimed to limit the number of Umrah visas to 500,000 every year.

The new measures aimed to provide extra funds for the states comprehensive development projects in Sinai and upgrade the level of services provided to residents there.

The new controls provoked opposition from tourism operators who organise religious trips.

Around 250,000 Egyptians have performed Umrah since the start of the minor pilgrimage season last November, according to Basel El-Sisi, the vice chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Operators Chamber.

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System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951

/var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fe7e233f8)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe7fc9ed0)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fe7e233f8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe7fc9ed0)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fe7fa1258)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe7fc9ed0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe7fc9ed0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe7654058)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fe7ff4488)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fe7ff4488)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951

/var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fe7b98488)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe801de70)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fe7b98488)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe801de70)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fe7bb11c0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe801de70)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe801de70)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe76526c8)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fe7fe7e98)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fe7fe7e98)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951

/var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 129 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 160 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fe7b6f9c8)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 951 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe7a439d0)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fe7b6f9c8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1305 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 958 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe7a439d0)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 138 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x7f3fe7b7ca88)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1303 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1295 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 484 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 436 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe7a439d0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe7a439d0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x7f3fe7653190)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fbcc0ac20)') called at (eval 487) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x7f3fbcc0ac20)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951

/var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



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Testing the value of artificial gravity for astronaut health







Paris (ESA) Mar 22, 2019





Test subjects in Cologne, Germany will take to their beds for 60 days from 25 March as part of a groundbreaking study, funded by European Space Agency ESA and US space agency NASA, into how artificial gravity could help astronauts stay healthy in space. Carried out at the German Aerospace Center's (DLR) :envihab facility, the long-term bedrest study is the first of its kind to be conducted in partnership between the two agencies. It is also the first to employ DLR's short-arm centrifuge as a way o ... read more
Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and his Iraqi counterpart Adil Abdul-Mahdi witnessed on Sunday a joint economic and trade forum in the presence of ministers and businessmen from both countries.

Addressing the event, Madbouly welcomed the Iraqi delegation from the business and industry community, pointing out that he is happy for meeting them in Egypt.

He stressed deeply-rooted historical relations between the two countries, as Egypt and Iraq have always shared a lot of common factors and been the cornerstone of stability of the region and the whole Middle East.

The premier conveyed to the attendees President Abdel Fattah El Sisi's directives to the government to promote ties with Iraq, expressing pleasure over the outcome of talks held on Saturday between Egyptian and Iraqi businessmen.

He said that one of the most important tools of collaborative work agreed between the two countries will be the establishment of joint ventures, noting that Egypt has taken important steps in this same way with many countries of the African continent.

He said it was agreed that a joint high committee meeting will be held next month, "where I will visit Iraq".

"I hope that during my visit the implementation of a number of projects will be initiated," he told the forum, stressing that the private sector is supported in this point forward from the governments of Egypt and Iraq.

As for Egypt's experience in the economic field during the last four years, the premier pointed out to its success in achieving positive indicators, including a 5.6% growth rate.

"Next year we aim to reach 6% and cut unemployment rates to 9% with the help of the many national projects that are being implemented and which have contributed to creating about 900,000 jobs per year," he said.

He also said that Egypt is ready to transfer its expertise in all sectors to Iraq to return to what it has always been, "a strong and unified Iraq" that contributes to the development and stability of the Arab and Islamic nations.

For his part, the Iraqi prime minister expressed pleasure for attending the forum and holding talks with President Sisi on Saturday and then with his counterpart Madbouli.

He hoped that his visit will contribute to promoting bilateral cooperation in various sectors to meet the aspirations of both countries and peoples.

He said that the conditions his country faced has made many sectors in need of cooperation and reconstruction.

"Many areas and opportunities are available, and we need to double production," he said, citing "the possibility of rapid progress if we follow effective tools of action, and we can do a lot, as Egypt did".

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Malaysia threatens EU fighter jet boycott over palm oil



Kuala Lumpur, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2019



Malaysia may retaliate against an EU plan to curb palm oil use by purchasing new fighter jets from China instead of European arms companies, its leader said Sunday.

The Southeast Asian country is the world's second largest palm oil producer after neighbouring Indonesia, and recently threatened to challenge the bloc's plan to phase out its use in biofuels at the World Trade Organization.

Both Malaysia and Indonesia have been at loggerheads with EU lawmakers over the crop's cultivation, which has caused rampant deforestation and destruction of wildlife.

In his strongest statement yet on the proposed curbs, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said his country could look elsewhere to upgrade its ageing air force fleet of Russian Mig-29 fighters -- in effect abandoning plans to purchase France's Rafale jet or the Eurofighter Typhoon.

"If they keep on taking action against us, we will think of buying airplanes from China or any other country," he was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

But the premier said he was not "declaring war" on the EU as his country needed goods from the bloc, many members of which are among Malaysia's top trading partners.

Mahathir's remarks come ahead of a five-day international defence exhibition starting Monday on the resort island of Langkawi, where representatives of global weapons manufacturers have gathered.

Any EU palm oil curbs could seriously hurt farmers who represent an important voter base in both Malaysia and Indonesia.

Both countries are struggling to spur demand in palm oil, which is used in everything from soap to chocolate.

French lawmakers recently voted to remove palm oil from the country's biofuel scheme starting from next year.

jsm/gle/mtp
3 jihadists blow themselves up in north Iraq: army



Baghdad, March 24 (AFP) Mar 24, 2019



Three suspected Islamic State group suicide bombers blew themselves up Sunday in northern Iraq, the army said, a day after the jihadists' "caliphate" was wiped out in neighbouring Syria.

Army spokesman Yahya Rassoul said the incident took place in a region near the Syrian border, where jihadist sleeper cells are believed to be present.

He said the suspects died as troops surrounded them but there were no casualties among government forces.

Local officials said the suspects were killed as they were trying to attack troops in the village of Qayrawan, south of the mountainous region of Sinjar which borders Syria.

Fighters of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces on Saturday pronounced the death of the nearly five-year-old IS "caliphate" which once stretched across a vast swathe of Syria and Iraq.

Their victory was hailed as a major landmark in the battle against the jihadists but there have also been numerous calls for "vigilance" with many saying the fight is far from over.

Top SDF commander Mazloum Kobane on Saturday warned that a new phase had begun in anti-IS operations and appealed for sustained assistance from the US-led coalition to help smash "sleeper cells".

Diehard jihadists continue to have a presence in mountainous or desert regions between Syria and Iraq, which had declared victory over IS in December 2017.

In Iraq some of these regions remain inaccessible to security forces.
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On 22 March, the 5th BBC Arabic Film Festival kicked off in London at the iconic art-deco Radio Theatre at BBC Broadcasting House.

The festival screens short films and documentaries about current social and political changes taking place in the Arab world.

The screenings are followed by filmmaker Q&As and complimented by a selection of talks and presentations about the art and processes of non-fiction filmmaking in the Arab world.

The festivals closing event is a televised awards ceremony, with musical guest and comedy performances by the most sought-after talent from the Arab world.

The opening night featured the winning film from last years edition, The Town the Men Left, directed by Egyptian filmmaker Hanan Yousef Abdulla.

This documentary visits Omay, Eyo and Sokar, each from a different Nubian village in Aswan, Egypt. These women share a similar struggle; abandoned by their husbands, they live the paradox of being neither married nor divorced and are stigmatised by their communities for working to support themselves and their children.

The directors fly-on-the-wall approach is led by the womens own narration, conveying their daily challenges living in a patriarchal society. Shot in vivid colour and wide-view photography, the audience is invited into these proud womens warm homes, exposing a rich Nubian culture that is fading by the day.



This was followed by another short 2018 award winning film. Silence is directed by Farnoosh Samadi and Ali Asgari.



Fatma and her mother are Kurdish refugees in Italy. On their visit to a doctor, Fatma has to translate the doctors diagnosis to her mother but she keeps silent. This sparse short film speaks volumes about the complications of language, the comfort in silence and the uncertainty of life in a strange land.



The screening was followed by a brief speech from the BBC Arabic Service head Samir Farah who said explained that the festival started with the idea that things are changing in the Arab world, but cant be captured by the established media. So the festival set out to find stories and give filmmakers the widest audience here in the UK and also broadcasting the films to a larger audience around the world.



The theatre was packed by an international and local British audience, with all ages keen to see films from the Arab world. The festival is free to the public.



The event ended with a preview clip of Ali Ibrahim's new documentary project, Anonymous Syria. Ibrahim is an independent journalist and filmmaker from Syria who won last year with his short documentary, One Day in Aleppo.



The festival will go on for a week.



Films this year focus on stories of women from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, and Palestine.



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 Colombo-centered urban elite family background, the Royal College education and the law degree obtained from the Faculty of Law of the University of Colombo are some of the extra advantages that influenced Ranil Wickremesinghes political career.





by Indi Akurugoda





Policy-oriented politics and tactical political diplomacy are still distant concepts in the Sri Lankan political arena. Yet the Sri Lankan politics is full of fake promises, ethno-chauvinist influences and religious extremism. These have resulted in misguiding the public opinion towards obtaining short-term popularity and fulfilling opportunistic political aims. Against a context of several selfish, opportunistic and anarchist political leaders, a significant number of people in Sri Lanka expect Ranil Wickremesinghe to follow a path of cheap popularity and political opportunism. Fortunately, he has never followed such path to mislead people during his 41 years long-term political career. He has never tried to be in power against the public opinion. However, he is yet a world recognized diplomat; a patient, mature and outstanding political leader in Sri Lanka.





The current Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe, celebrates his 70th birthday on March 24, 2019. There is no other political leader who faced difficulties, blames and challenges like him. Not only of his opponents, but also, he has confronted severe blames and unbearable criticisms of his own party members. Finally, at the end of all political storms and disasters, all had to say that Ranil is right. This article is not to exaggerate Ranils character, but to analyze his significant political role in Sri Lankan politics.





The Colombo-centered urban elite family background, the Royal College education and the law degree obtained from the Faculty of Law of the University of Colombo are some of the extra advantages that influenced Ranil Wickremesinghes political career. The new moves to distract from the traditional governing structures, promote the liberal high technological trends, establish a multi-cultural society, encourage social reconciliation, good governance and democratic principles, and to drive the youth towards vocational training and international level future career development led Ranil to become a special political character in Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, most of the people in the Sri Lankan society are still unable to understand the complex mixture of Ranils specialties.





Ranil used Buddhist ideology to answer his opponents logically and non-violently. When the President ousted Ranil Wickremesinghe, and appointed a new Prime Minister on October 26, 2018, Ranils choice was to fight democratically using his patience and Buddhist philosophical answers to avoid unnecessary conflicts. During the 51-day political crisis, the strong, steady and unshaken characteristics of Ranil Wickremesinghe fueled the democratic struggle in front of every disaster and undemocratic decisive action of the President and his supporters.





When the President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated on May 1, 1993, the occurred instability of the country had been handled smoothly by Ranil Wickremesinghe. The United National Party (UNP) was divided at the moment into two factions based on the impeachment against the President Ranasinghe Premadasa. Ranil Wickremesinghe protected the leader and the UNP during such impeachment. In 1994, when Chandrika Bandaranaike became the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe left Temple Trees immediately, even though many UNP MPs wanted him to remain in power to form a minority government. In 1999, Gamini Dissanayake re-joined the UNP and faced an intra-party election with Ranil Wickremesinghe to obtain the opposition leadership and the UNP Presidential candidacy. Although Ranil defeated from the intra-party election, he supported Gamini without complaining. However, even the UNP members saw these trends as weaknesses of Ranil.





In 2001, Ranil became the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka while the President was Chandrika Bandaranaike. This resulted in a confusing situation where the President and the Prime Minister were from two opposite parties. However, Ranil led the ceasefire agreement with the LTTE requesting the assistance of the international community. This was the most successful long-term ceasefire that the LTTE was unable to avoid or get rid of. In conflict resolution and peace studies this example is being used as a successful move by a government to resolve a long-lasting armed conflict. Even the LTTE leader Prabhakaran stated that they have trapped in an international snare of a cunning fox, Ranil. Consequently, the severe internal factions of the LTTE, which led to the defeat of the war, emerged during such long-term ceasefire. It seems that this point is being intentionally ignored by political analysts.





In the 2005 Presidential election, Ranil defeated by a narrow margin. The whole blame of the UNPs defeat had placed on Ranil but he remained in silence. He gave up the opportunity of the UNP Presidential candidacy twice to provide opportunities for common candidates. When some of these common candidates criticized him, he remained silent. This tolerance never could be maintained by an immature and inexperienced politician. The people who criticize Ranil will never be able to understand him. His work is based on the mind and not on the body. The lack of knowledge about Ranil Wickremesinghe is not an excuse to reject him. He still plays a prominent and a strong role in Sri Lankan politics.





Dr Indi Akurugoda, Senior Lecturer, Department of Public Policy, University of Ruhuna
The festival's eighth edition will take place between 29 March and 21 April this year

Related Countdown to the eighth Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival

The upcoming edition the Downtown Contemporary Arts Festival (D-CAF) -- Egypt's only international, multidisciplinary arts festival -- will take place between 29 March and 21 April across the many locations in Downtown Cairo and beyond.

The eighth edition of the festival will see 40 different events, including performing arts, concerts, urban vision performances, new media events, film screenings, and workshops, featuring artists from Egypt, Denmark, Hungary, France, the US, the UK, Germany, Iran, Palestine and Syria.

Collaborating with Ismailia Company, the events will take place across many Downtown Cairo venues, including Sherefeen Street which served as one of the D-CAFs stages in the festivals first three editions, and the Tamara building, with both locations being recently renovated.

Other venues include Rawabet Theatre, Falaki Theatre, Greek Campus, La Vennoise Rooftop, Cinema Zawya, Maktabi Creative Office spaces, Studio Emad Eddin, 100 Copies Studio, as well as other spots in Downtown Cairo, topped with Ezbet Khairallah Theatre, and the Maqad of Sultan Qaitbey outside the area.

Check D-CAF's full programme below:

DCAF 2019 programme

Ahram Online is media partner of this year's D-CAF festival

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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Out at Sea by Polish playwright Sawomir Mrozek will be performed in Polish with English and Arabic translations

Renowned Polish theatre troupe Teatr TM (Theatre TM) will stage Out at Sea by Polish playwright Sawomir Mrozek on Friday 29 March at 8pm in Hanager Theatre in Cairo.

With entry free of charge, Out at Sea will be performed in Polish language and accompanied by screening of Arabic and English translation.

We are very happy to present Teatr TM in Cairo. The troupe consists of a number of renowned directors working with highly professional actors, many of whom have a large portfolio of work in Polish theatre, film and television. On the other hand, Sawomir Mrozek, one of Poland's internationally renowned playwrights of the 20th century, is not unknown to the Egyptian and Arab viewers. A number of his plays have been translated to Arabic, many of which were turned into theatre and radio plays. His humour and stylised language often serve as a witty commentary on many contemporary issues while remaining accessible to all audiences across the world, Marta Teperska, the first secretary of the Polish embassy in Cairo.

Out at Sea

Directed by Tomasz Medrzak, the one-act play was written in 1961 and represents the absurd theatre of which Mrozek is one of the foremost Polish representatives.

The play features four actors: Tomasz Medrzak in the role of Big, Agnieszka Sitek as Medium, Tomasz Dedek as Little and Maciej Damiecki as Postman/Butler.

"The protagonists of Out at Sea are three survivors drifting on a raft in the middle of the sea. Deprived of food, they decide to eat one from among themselves. But which of them should it be? They decide to vote... The play is rich in funny dialogue and brilliant punches characteristic of Mrozek's canny philosophy and elegant jokes," the Polish embassy's statement said.

Mrozek (1930-2013) was a Polish writer, playwright, satirist and illustrator. He authored many satirical stories and dramatic works which tackle philosophical, political, moral and psychological issues. In 1963, Mrozek emigrated from Poland and spend years living in France, the United States, Germany, Italy and Mexico. Though in 1996 he returned to the home country, in 2008 he decided to settle in Nice, France, where he died in 2013.

Out at Sea

Programme:

Friday 29 March, 8pm

Hanager Arts Centre's theatre hall - Cairo Opera House grounds, Cairo

free entry

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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This edited collection contains essays on the textiles industry, communications, engineering, and the financial sector, among other aspects, examining the politics involved in the formulation of economic policy

Moulak Misr (Owners of Egypt), Edited by: Mohamed Gad (Cairo: Dar Al-Maraya), 2019. 343pp.

Dar Al-Maraya has published a new book that tackles the last four decades of the Egyptian economy with an emphasis on politics determined the outline of economic policies in this period.

Entitled Moulak Misr (Owners of Egypt), and edited by Mohamed Gad, the book brings politics back into the analysis of economics, and vice versa. The main premise of the book is that since Samia Imam's Who Owns Egypt was published in 1985, all books on Egypt's economics sought to present themselves as politics-free, based on a neoliberal stance and analysis grounded on claims to objectivity, which not only served neoliberal policies but also failed to elucidate the political context that produced these policies.

Through its seven chapters, the book explores the dynamics of the Egyptian economy from the 1970's until now, and seeks to understand who is using who. It tracks the process by which the state extracted itself out of economic activity, leaving the stage to the private sector. The book also discusses the emergence of the phenomenon of private housing compounds in Egypt, which is an important social phenomenon and was a tool for the accumulation of capital. The book offers data and charts to support its studies.

In the first chapter, Bissan Kassab, explores the commodification of housing. Mohamed Gad writes about the food industry and the business of creating hunger in the second chapter. The third chapter, by Omar Ghannam, tackles the issue of privatising the engineering industries. The fourth chapter, by Kareem Mougahed, is about the textile industry in Egypt. The fifth chapter, by Alaa Mostafa, concerns the communications sector. In chapter six, Abdel-Hamid Mekkawy discusses the political economy of the petroleum industry in Egypt. The seventh and last chapter, by Osama Diab, offers a look at the financial sector as a tool for wealth concentration.

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Egypt has been making important legislative and other efforts to deal with the problem of illegal migration

Two weeks ago, the First Arab-European Summit meeting was held in Sharm El-Sheikh in the presence of heads of government of the Arab and European countries to discuss joint challenges and mutual cooperation, particularly Arab-European relations in the political, security and economic fields.

The delegates to the summit meeting also discussed the crises in Syria, Libya, Yemen and Palestine and other issues including terrorism, organised crime, illegal migration, refugees and climate change.

The Egyptian cabinets Information Centre has published the most prominent recommendations of the Arab-EU Summit meeting, which included strengthening stability in both regions and enhancing cooperation between the Arab and European countries.

Migration, one of the main issues discussed, is divided into two main types, legal migration and illegal migration. Legal or organised migration is the kind that is carried out according to international and domestic requirements, according to the norms and rules applicable in each country.

Illegal migration, by contrast, refers to the migration of people from their home country to another country for purposes of permanent residence in ways that violate the immigration laws of that country.

In other words, it means crossing the borders of a country without permission and without respect for the legal rules and official procedures that govern immigration to that country that are stipulated in international and domestic law.

In recent years, illegal migration has been a source of concern for many states and governments, and it is a phenomenon that may be fuelled by many factors, including political, social and economic reasons that differ from one region to another and from one country to another.

In Egypt, Law 82 of 2016 on combatting illegal migration and the smuggling of migrants defines the crime of smuggling migrants as arrangements for the transfer of one person or several persons in an illegal manner from one country to another, in order to directly or indirectly obtain material or moral gain or for any other purpose.

Article 7 of this law sets out a penalty of life imprisonment and a fine of not less than LE200,000 if the crime of smuggling migrants results in the death of the smuggled migrant or permanent disability or incurable illness.

This penalty also applies if the number of smuggled migrants is more than 20 or if the migrants include women, children or persons with disabilities. More serious offences carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment under certain conditions.

This law also establishes the National Coordination Committee for Combatting and Preventing Illegal Migration and Human Trafficking under the supervision of the cabinet.

This committee is concerned to combat and prevent illegal migration through national and international efforts. It is also concerned to provide due care and services for smuggled migrants and witness-protection procedures according to the international commitments set out under the bilateral or multilateral international conventions in force in Egypt.

The third chapter of the same law specifies mechanisms for international judicial cooperation, stipulating that the competent Egyptian judicial and security authorities, in combatting the activities and crimes of smuggling migrants, will cooperate with their foreign counterparts through exchanging information, assistance and other forms of judicial or intelligence cooperation, in accordance with the provisions of the bilateral and multilateral conventions in force in Egypt or in accordance with the principle of reciprocity.

The UN Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 55/25 of 15 November 2000, with its supplementary protocol against the smuggling of migrants by land, sea and air, is the main international instrument in the fight against transnational organised crime and the smuggling of migrants. It has 189 parties, including Egypt.

The legislation, security measures and efforts made by the Egyptian government on the national and international levels have succeeded in dealing with the phenomenon of illegal migration, such that according to 2018 statistics only 250 Egyptians reached Europe illegally, which is not a large number.

As a country of origin, of transit and of destination for migration, and because of its geographical importance, Egypt has always been a centre of attraction for migrants and has significantly welcomed refugees over recent years.

Migration may have advantages that may include living in a better place and interacting with different cultures. However, it should take place in a legal and official framework to assist in the development of the international community.

* The writer is an attorney at law.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 March, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: The Arab-European Summit and illegal migration

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Last weeks massacre of people praying in a New Zealand mosque has raised questions about the responsibility of social networks in live-streaming such horrendous crimes

When there was an outage of Facebook a few days ago, billions of people around the world came to a complete standstill. People in different parts of the planet were shocked, terrified and left in darkness, wondering about their lives without Facebook.

A few days later, the same billions around the world were devastated to realise that terrorists had live-streamed a massacre they had committed at a mosque in New Zealand.

In this part of the world, people were left to spend hours in futile discussion on Facebook after a train crashed into a platform at Ramses Station in Cairo, killing dozens.

Egyptian Facebook users were divided into those who insisted that what had happened was an act of terrorism and others saying that sympathisers of the Muslim Brotherhood had planned the horrible accident. A third group simply posted like crazy whatever friends and family had circulated.

The three horrors shed light on how our lives have been distorted and become out of proportion due to our choices of how to use social media.

This has turned from a highly advanced tool helping people to get and stay in touch, exchange information, experiences and thoughts, send and receive pictures, and get to know the world without leaving the living room, into destructive tools capable of ruining the world.

The world freaked out when the social networks Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and Messenger were affected due to a serious disruption of the Internet.

One could almost sense the feeling of misery and gloom during these few hours that seemed like a lifelong experience for many.

While it is true that this was the biggest disruption seen by Facebook since the launch of the Downdetector site in 2012, according to a statement by co-founder Tom Sanders, yet it was also the biggest and maybe the most alarming indication of the sites influence ever.

The first reactions of millions of Facebook users pointed to conspiracy theories, in which either hackers had attacked their pages and accounts, or intelligence agents of the East or the West were after their posts and discussions on social media.

However, despite the more than 7.5 million problems reported to Downdetector after the outage, and regardless of the complicated predictions and sophisticated analysis of the crisis made by Facebook users, the reason turned out to be simple, if not trivial, which added to the difficulty of the situation.

It seems that many have become almost completely hooked on social media, especially Facebook, which has far exceeded substance abuse and distantly surpassed tobacco consumption when it comes to dependence.

It is controlling the lives of millions all over the world, who like to think they are still in control, when many of them are not.

Not only was the horrific act of shooting innocent people while they were at Friday prayers live-streamed on Facebook via a camera that the terrorist had placed on his forehead in New Zealand last week, but some users kept sharing the horror over and over again.

Reading that the New Zealand police asked people on social media to stop sharing the footage seemed to be something out of an apocalyptic movie.

Researching more about the horror led to even more horror. Similar incidents of live-streamed crimes have taken place before in countries such as Denmark, the US and Thailand.

Who can forget the ghastly video of Islamic State (IS) fighters in Libya slaughtering Egyptian citizens four years ago and uploading the video later to shock the world and drive some to watch it again?

Whether it is a video or a live-streamed event of a terrorist documenting his grotesque deeds, steps should be taken that do not just involve asking social-media companies to monitor and control their content.

Questions should be asked, answers should be sought and solutions should be found as to how humanity has reached such a degraded level of watching fellow humans being slaughtered, shot, bombed or burnt.

It should be noted that we were prepared for this when we were sitting in our living rooms watching the first Gulf War in 1991 on the US network CNN.

Later on, thanks to the Qatari network Aljazeera, we watched Afghanistan fall to pieces and later Baghdad burning.

Following the New Zealand massacre, many voices in the West have started criticising the sense of responsibility, or rather the lack of it, when it comes to social-media companies.

Journalist Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post wrote that the brutality that killed at least 50 people and wounded many others was fuelled and fomented on social media, inviting support and, no doubt, inspiring future copycats. All of it ricocheted around the globe, just as planned.

She went on to say that the the platforms, when challenged on their role in viral violence, tend to say that there is no way they can control the millions of videos, documents and statements being uploaded or posted every hour around the world.

Sullivan criticised the media companies response of not being able to control their content and portraying themselves as mere platforms for billions of users who can do whatever they want on them.

But she asked that they take some sort of gatekeeping or editing responsibility, as the tragedy in New Zealand takes this dangerous, and largely untended, situation to a new level that demands intense scrutiny and reform.

Sullivan has a point, even if the same logic was not prevalent during the live-streaming and video-sharing of other similar killings in parts of the Arab world.

However, intense scrutiny and reform are indeed required, as humanity is quickly losing its grip on those human characteristics which make people different from other creatures when it comes to empathy, sensitivity, benevolence and compassion.

The past few days have been extremely significant. We are drifting away from humanity and becoming more like virtual creatures who look like humans but dont behave like them.

The past few years have witnessed some voices warning that the over-usage of social media is negatively affecting our mental and psychological health. Nowadays, we are suffering the effects of our mental and psychological illnesses.

* The writer is a journalist at Al-Hayat newspaper.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 March, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Social media and terrorism

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Despite the claims of the Muslim Brotherhood, there is a world of difference between the German Christian Democrats and the Egyptian Political Islamists

Egyptian Political Islamists led by the Muslim Brotherhood often argue that Germany has a leading religious political party, the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU), founded in 1945, and that Egypt could therefore follow suit and establish a similar religious party.

They have been making this claim for decades in order to try to legitimise their status and present themselves as a non-violent pro-democracy movement happy to abide by Western democratic values.

However, the Brotherhood uses this tricky argument in an attempt to legitimise its political status by falsely comparing two completely different philosophies, missions and party structures that also address two very dissimilar societies.

According to standard accounts, the CDU was founded by a diverse group of former German Weimar Republic (1919-33) politicians, including activists from the old Roman Catholic Centre Party, liberal and conservative Protestants, workers, intellectuals and segments of the middle classes that had decided to become active in Germanys new post-war democracy in order to prevent the rebirth of fascism.

Despite their disparate backgrounds, the partys leaders and members shared critical core beliefs that have shaped and guided it since its founding.

Meanwhile, the Political Islamists, namely the Muslim Brotherhood, have been manipulating the Muslim religion since the groups inception to serve their organisations interests.

The possibility of their giving up this proposition and engaging in politics constructively is unlikely. It would involve abandoning the rhetorical path they have been following (a rhetoric full of promises that they have not been obliged to deliver on) and working hard to build up their organisation based on clear ruling mechanisms.

The CDU believed some decades ago that historical conflicts and divisions between Roman Catholics and Protestants in Germany had been partly responsible for the rise of Adolf Hitler in the early 1930s.

Over time this stance has progressed until the party had become a strong advocate of European integration and has cultivated close relations with the United States when it has been in government.

In contrast, the Muslim Brotherhoods political stance is based on establishing a polarised society that is inflexible if not antagonistic towards other Muslim denominations and that obviously distances itself from all non-Islamist citizens.

Clearly, Egyptian Copts are not welcome in the organisation.

German citizens certainly do not believe that religion on its own can advance their economy, and as a result while the CDU has maintained its party line German society as a whole has come to believe that only scientific efforts exerted by citizens can build the country.

For its part, the Muslim Brotherhood knows that religion has always been a lifeline for Egyptians, and it therefore tends to exploit religion in the interests of the organisation, promising its followers that the Almighty will reward them for abiding by religious principles as it interprets them.

This has had the result that some Egyptian citizens have come to believe that the nation will progress by abiding by religious fundamentals.

By the end of the 1940s, the German Christian Democrats had reached the consensus that a social market economy (a mix of free-market capitalism, strong government regulation, and a comprehensive welfare state) was the best alternative for Germany.

The Muslim Brotherhood, on the other hand, has never possessed any kind of economic expertise that could be converted into a clear national strategy, apart from the claim that God will build up our religious economy. Moreover, its members only pretend to abide by the Muslim religion, and the organisation does not even apply true Islamic principles.

Egyptian Political Islamists have yet to revisit their overall understanding of religion and of the role of religion in society and politics. When they do so, they will find that it contradicts the core of their ideology.

Distancing Islam from politics will immunise it against the desires and interests of politicians, and this will serve our religion and nation best.

The CDU has served its nation well, comprehensively and scientifically, whereas the Muslim Brotherhood has simply benefitted from the connotations of its name while dangerously manipulating the society. This manipulation can lead to violence and confrontation with others who are against its agenda.

Germany has advanced to become the third-largest economy in the world today due to many factors that have nothing to do with the Christian Democratic label.

Established almost two decades before the CDU was founded, the Muslim Brotherhood has managed only to maintain its rigid principles through several generations, offering society nothing but hatred, ignorance and violence.

These things were clearly present when it was in power in Egypt, even as it had a perfect chance at that time to advance its image. The least that we can do today is to strip the group of the power it derives from bearing the label of Islam.

* The writer is a liberal politician.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 21 March, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Not German Christian Democrats

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Taylor police Officer Matthew Minard retaliated against an unhappy motorist after she extended her middle finger after receiving a traffic ticket in 2017.

Officer Minard, apparently intent on the last word being his, stopped the woman a second time and issued her a ticket for the original speeding offense, having originally issued a ticket for a lesser violation.

Retaliation for a citizens exercise of her civil rights? Yes, and two federal courts have now said so.

The Brownstown Township woman was driving on Telegraph Road in June 2017 when Officer Minard stopped her for speeding. He apparently thought he was being a nice guy when he issued a ticket for a lesser charge that would not put points on her license. Unhappy with the ticket, the woman extended her middle finger toward the officer as she drove away.

Officer Minard stopped the woman a second time and changed the ticket to the original speeding violation. The woman later filed a federal lawsuit against Minard for violating her civil rights. She was right. The officer was wrong.

Last week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that Officer Minard violated the drivers civil rights twice and reiterated what the courts have said for years and years: One, the drivers rude gesture was protected speech, and two, a police officer must have a valid violation of law or suspicion that a person is committing a crime in order to stop a person. Without a legally valid reason, the stop violates the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.

While Officer Minard had legal justification to make the initial stop and issue a ticket, he lacked any legal reason for stopping her a second time. The only rationale imaginable is that the officer didnt like being flipped off and imagined it was a crime. Who could blame him? In his mind, he gave the driver a break and wrote her a ticket for a violation that would not put points on her license and her response is to flip him the bird.

Without the womans hand gesture expressing her dissatisfaction, the officer would have had no reason to stop her vehicle the second time. But, no officer could believe that being flipped off was a crime. Right? Wrong!

Officer Minards response to the federal lawsuit filed against him (and, it should be noted, the suit did not name the police department or the city as defendants but city tax dollars are paying for this debacle as it winds repeatedly through the courts) was to deny the basic, fundamental right long established that the drivers conduct in extending just one finger is protected speech.

Defendant  denies that it is a constitutional protected First Amended (sic) right, Minards attorney Mark Peyser wrote in his response to the lawsuit.

Wow.

Free speech, which includes more than actually speaking, including using signs, marching or making gestures, is protected. It is one of the most fundamental of our rights. Another is the freedom to peacefully protest the actions of our government.

A 2013 federal appeals decision should have been a reminder for officers everywhere. In that case, a man flipped off a New York officer who was using radar as he and his wife drove by. The officer stopped them and arrested the man for disorderly conduct. The court said the gesture was protected speech.

A 2018 case out of Virginia was similar. The federal district judge found the stop of a vehicle because a passenger flipped off the officer violated the Fourth Amendment. Judge Jackson Kiser said, a reasonable officer should have known that any seizure was in contravention of the Constitution.

In the 1987 case of City of Houston v. Hill, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment protects much of the speech that police and the rest of us likely would object to. The court said, the First Amendment requires that officers and municipalities respond with restraint in the face of verbal challenges to police action, since a certain amount of expressive disorder is inevitable in a society committed to individual freedom.

The peace of a police officer generally cant be disturbed the courts have said. Unless the person uses fighting words, defined loosely as words likely to provoke an immediate confrontation such as threats or offers to fight, we expect officers to have a bit of a thicker skin. It goes with the job.

In another Sixth Circuit case decided in 1997, Sandul v. Larion, the Court ruled that extending the middle finger accompanied by the words F&%K You does not constitute fighting words and on their own does not equal criminal conduct. That case involved an officer with the Livonia Police Department and the court stated that case law was clear then, in 1990 when the arrest took place.

It is unfathomable that a professional, competent police officer would be so lacking in such basic knowledge today.

From the very beginning, Officer Minards supervisors should have taken steps to void the ticket with the court, apologize to the woman and reprimand and retrain Officer Minard.

Debra Cruise-Gulyas crude behavior, while childish, is protected speech and our police officers who swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution should know it.

Officer Minard has appealed this latest court loss.

Kevin Walters is a former police officer who now runs The CAUTION Group, a Southgate-based police consulting firm.


remaining of

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United we stand, divided we fall! This popular motto is commonly used by a group of people to express solidarity, unity or collaboration in the face of adversity, challenges or threats posed by a common enemy.



Tracing back the origins of this motto; it is said a tale relays how a lion used to prowl in a field inhabited by four oxen. Each time the lion tried to attack the oxen, they would turn their tails to warn each other and the lion, whichever way it tried to attack, it would face the horns of each ox. Sadly, as time went by, the oxen quarrelled and each one decided to graze on his own - and the lion attacked! Moral of the story? United we stand, divided we fall. How true!



People of Algeria, in their hundreds of thousands including students, doctors, university professors, health workers etcetera have been protesting on the streets for weeks now against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was seeking another term in office after having ruled the country for 20 years. The 82-year old president has rarely been seen in public office since he suffered a stroke in 2013.



back off and not interfere



It is reported that a new group headed by opposition leaders and activists have told the countrys army to back off and not interfere. In the face of a united front portrayed by a disgruntled people against a corrupt and greedy leader seeking a lengthy and unconstitutional term in office, President Bouteflika has finally bowed to the will of the people and has indicated that he will not stand for another term.



Sadly, like all corrupt leaders, especially in our cursed African continent, he says he will not relinquish office until a new Constitution is adopted - a classic case of power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. For Petes sake, the power-hungry oligarch is wheel chair-bound, very frail-looking but still clinging to power instead of giving way for younger blood to take the country forward. Power, it seems for some leaders, acts like an opium drug. They lose all sane faculties in their bid to cling to power, driven by greed.



Corrupt political leaders never learn from the lessons of history that people may be ruled under a repressive and undemocratic political dispensation for years, but once the threshold of tolerance is crossed, all hell may break loose. The African continent, for centuries, has experienced many political upheavals - some bloody because leaders relentlessly clung to power and made life misery for their own people. Once repressed people finally decide to unite and say enough is enough, the end result is more-often- than-not, not a so rosy one.



The people of Algeria have crossed the Rubicon of tolerance and have decided to unite and act. The footages on television showing a united people, drawn together to a common purpose and marching against injustices, should be a lesson to all African leaders - inclusive of our very own, unique kingdom of Eswatini - that do not take the silence of the masses to mean consent in the onslaught of evil.



I am privileged to have been part of a breakfast meeting to launch a Peoples Budget Campaign at the George Hotel on Wednesday last week, hosted by a coalition of concerned socio-economic groups over the contentious Budget Speech which was tabled by the Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg a couple of weeks or so ago.



The occasion was graced by among other high-profile people, the EU Ambassador, people from COSPE, the Secretary General of the Trade Union Confederation of Swaziland (TUCOSWA), Foundation for Socio-Economic Justice (FSEJ) and a host of other brilliant minds, intent on finding solutions to a common adversary.



Minister Neals comment



I did not take kindly to Minister Neal when he labelled the outcry of the people over his skewed and biased budget, as hysteria in his right to reply article a couple of weeks or so, in the Times of Swaziland.

Such arrogance coming from someone purportedly representing the peoples interests, someone whose paycheque is funded by the very taxpayer he despises so much, is so downright despicable and I offer no apology for that.



The top-down style of leadership so prevalent in this country and incessantly being displayed with sheer arrogance by our executive - past and present - has set it against the people and the signs are increasingly becoming evident that the peoples tolerance is fast approaching its zenith.



EmaSwati are famous for resolving issues amicably and around the round table. Sadly, the outwardly docile and amenable nature of the people has been taken advantage of by an executive who treats us as primates.

There is a skewed and corrupt misuse of the countrys resources by a select few. The people are not blind or oblivious to the abuse of the taxpayers monies. The unfolding saga presented by the Auditor Generals report reads like a movie script. Public funds are abused at a whim with no one called to account for the misuse.



The E556 million Sicunusa-Nhlangano road wastage seems to be a tip of the iceberg. There is more we are not told of in the deeply rooted abuse of public funds in public projects.

Seemingly, it is free-for-all to dip fingers in the cookie jar. Instead of heads rolling, it seems they in ecstasy rolling in the opposite direction - deep into the cookie jar. In the end, who bears the brunt of fiscal recovery strategies? Save your breath and do not bother responding to that one. Our politicians need to understand that they are no longer dealing with a people possessing the gullibility of kindergarten children and the faculties of retards. EmaSwati are smart and can see beyond the ruse being dangled to the public - that of government being broke. Read the AGs reports very meticulously every financial year end to get a feel of how money is recklessly spend by the lucky ones, like drunk sailors on a vacation. Iyadliwa imali kulelive and strong.



misuse of public funds



No one is taken to task and called to account for the misuse of public funds. The people can no longer tolerate to look the other way when their livelihoods are incessantly being eroded by corrupt leaders and people entrusted with using public funds with thriftiness. They want a say in compiling a budget. A clarion call is being sounded that only deserving ministries get the lions share of the budget.



They are tired of contributing to salaries for ghost employees, who spring out from nowhere to claim paycheques at month-end as result of being connected to the high and the mighty, where policies and or procedures are manipulated - to benefit scoundrels who fail to work for a living.



You see, the problem with some of our leaders is that they think they are the only intelligent emaSwati in this country. This has derailed development because more often than not, positions are availed in many instances to a privileged few by favour, not by merit. These are the people who abuse their responsibilities because they are not accountable to anyone.



We trust that the campaign will raise awareness in our leaders not to do things as they please. We all belong to this country.

Shalom!
MBABANE  Government is not backing down! Despite the outcry that followed the proposal to drastically increase from E1 000 to E30 000 the fee for foreigners who want to acquire Eswatini citizenship through marriage, government is maintaining this stance.



After having initially made this proposal through the Finance Bill of 2018, which members of the 10th parliament rejected in its entirety, government has brought back this increase through the Finance Bill of 2019. Clerk to Parliament Ndvuna Dlamini has since invited interested members of the public to make oral or written submissions regarding the latest Bill and the deadline for the submissions is March 29, 2019.



When the 2018 Bill was tabled in parliament, the Coordinating Assembly of Non-Governmental Organisations (CANGO) expressed concern on the proposed E30 000 fee.

Through Executive Director Emmanuel Ndlangamandla, CANGO said while they did not oppose increments where justified, they, however, felt government should exercise caution and adjust such increments in view of the prevailing economic situation in the country. They felt the increase on the cost of inter-marriages would limit the extent of people in the kingdom enjoying their rights as articulated in the Constitution.



integration agenda



CANGO notes that the free movement of people across borders and association has been high on the regional integration agenda for SADC and African Union member states, primarily because of the prospective trade gains that are associated with it. Free movement of people across also represents a powerful boost to economic growth and skills development when people can travel with ease for business, tourism, cultural exchanges, social reasons or education. Everyone benefits from a country that opens up their borders as well as the country whose nation is on the move, as seen in the growth in remittances in recent years. The Finance Bill seems to be against the spirit of globalisation and free movement of people for better personal growth either through marriage or employment opportunities, Ndlangamandla said.



He argued that inter-marriages haveplayed a crucial role in promoting relations between tribes and nations from time immemorial and was used to even diffuse tensions between warring factions in the past.

Further, he stated that emaSwati have inter-married with South Africans and Mozambican nationals, indicating that these nations viewed each other as equals.

Escalating costs of citizenship suggests that we are becoming hostile to inter marriages and individuals must pay huge fees for attempting to marry outside our borders. Surely many marital ties between the members of different groups indicate social contacts like friendship between nations, he said.



Besides maintaining the E30 000 fee, the latest Bill also insists that foreigners who are under the age of 21 should pay a fee of E50 000 if they want to acquire Eswatini citizenship.

Currently, the Citizenship Act of 1992 places this fee at E5 000.

The 2019 Bill also insists on what was carried by the 2018 Bill in standardising the fee for all kinds of citizenship applications at E2 000 from the current charge of E5 000.



It has also been proposed that a fee of E10 000 will be applicable to individuals who would want to be re-issued with a citizenship certificate within the first 10 years of the citizenship having been issued and E2 000 for 10 years and upwards.

What has also been maintained in the new Bill is the E3 000 that emaSwati have to pay if they want to renounce Eswatini citizenship to other countries.
MBABANE  If former acting Mbabane Mayor Thulani Mkhonto thought the insensitive rape comment he posted on Facebook was now water under the bridge, he shouldnt hold his breath.

He still has to appear before Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku who has summoned him to his office tomorrow afternoon.



INSENSITIVE STATEMENT



The DPM has described Mkhontos post as insensitive and condemned the statement.

The post, which Mkhonto later deleted after receiving huge criticism, read: Life is like being raped: If you cant fight it, just enjoy it.

Even though he apologised to all Facebook users and the Eswatini Nation as well as to rape survivors and families, saying he had realised the insensitivity and inhumane nature of the post, Mkhonto was himself labelled a rapist and given advice that issues touching on rape, violence and sickness were very sensitive and should be treated as such.



Masuku, the DPM, in a press statement, said such comments had exhibited a high degree of irresponsibility and were counterproductive and have no place in our world.

This being the international womens month we expect love and consideration for our women folk, he said.



cases of abuse



He stated that his office had the mandate to address cases of any form of abuse and had laws aimed at protecting all emaSwati from such.

Rape is a very serious and traumatic experience which can never be trivialised or turned into a joke. I therefore urge that we engage further in this matter with Mr. Mkhonto this coming Monday afternoon at the DPMO to appreciate his position and intentions, Masuku said.



He added: I am certain hereafter he will become one of our anti-rape advocates and speak out against such despicable acts. I further implore all emaSwati to speak out and report rape and domestic violence cases as no one is supposed to be violated.

Mkhontos employer, the Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (EPTC), issued a statement immediately after Mkhonto attracted social media bashing wherein the company noted with deep regret the publication of the Facebook post by its employee.



The company said the post had the effect of belittling the impact of rape.

We would like to assure all our valued stakeholders and the public at large that the issue is being dealt with in accordance with internal policies, the Corporation said.

Rape culture and cyber-bullying are dominating the spaces of students at higher-education institutions find themselves in.



Last September, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), in collaboration with the University of Johannesburg, held a dialogue in an effort to unpack the causes and solutions to the challenges of rape culture and cyber-bullying at universities.

Giving a feminist perspective Mandisa Khanyile who formed part of the national #TotalShutDown steering committee said people tended to lack responsibility for what they say online because they had a sense of safety behind the screens of their mobile phones.



LIVES RUINED



They think they can do whatever they want. Peoples lives are ruined when we think we can make jokes about them or shame them. We need to develop a culture that respects peoples dignity privacy their sexuality and decisions. People have made it okay to bully others because they can Khanyile was quoted saying by TimesLive. Social media is an unregulated space and that should stop. We should find a middle ground, she added.



shouldve known better



Mkhonto should have known better!

Yesterday, the former acting Mbabane Mayor revealed that the source of his insensitive rape post was a comment that was made by a top Indian investigator who also received serious bashing and had to apologise for having reportedly compared rape to unlicensed betting which, because it cannot be prevented, should be enjoyed. This happened in 2013 and activists called on the top investigator, Ranjit Sinha, the Central Bureau of Investigation in India, to step down.




MBABANE - The number of teachers accused of having sexual relationships with pupils continues to grow.



Two teachers from Mnjoli High School have been accused of having threesome sexual relationships with pupils from the school.

A threesome, according to www.cosmopolitan.com refers to group sex between three people of any combination of sex or gender.



Mnjoli High School is situated in the rural outskirts of the Manzini Region, near Mliba.

The teachers are a married couple, and it has been alleged that the wife Futhi,* solicited the female pupils to have sexual relations with her husband Fana*. The matter has been subject of investigation by the Ministry of Education and Training, however, the teachers are still at the school.



It was alleged that both teachers started working at the school in 2016, and that was when their relationship started. They got married in 2017. The pupils who were allegedly sexually abused by the suspected teachers are aged between 17 and 22 years, and so far, three have come forward to make the startling allegations.



approached learners



In a minute addressed to the Schools Manager, Macanjana Motsa, dated March 2019, the Director of Educational Guidance Testing and Psychological Services (EGTPS) in the ministry, Lindiwe Dlamini, alleged that a teacher and his wife approached learners to be in sexual threesome relationships. Dlamini said the matter was reported to Motsas office, however, the teachers were still at the school.

She said the survivors were disappointed on the outcome of the matter.



Furthermore, this is a criminal offence. It is worrying to see the perpetrator walking scot free after sexually abusing learners that are under his care and protection, Dlamini said.

She further asked that the case be dealt with accordingly. According to a source close to the matter, the revelations of the relationships between the teachers and the pupils were made last year, just as a new Head teacher, Lindiwe Nkambule, came to the school.



It was alleged that after a few days, Nkambule was told about the relationships, after another teacher had a spat with her husband at the teachers quarters after the husband found her in a compromising position with another male teacher on April 16, 2018.

The teacher has since been transferred to another school. According to our impeccable sources and documents the Times SUNDAY has seen, a pupil approached Nkambule on May 8, 2018, and made a startling revelation.

The pupil alleged that Futhi had approached her and invited her to have a threesome sexual encounter with her (Futhi) and her husband, which she refused.

Nkambule is said to have instituted investigations before writing a report to the ministry.



The report written by Nkambule showed that the former teacher of the school alleged that Futhi and Fana had also approached her to have a threesome relationship with them, which she refused. She further alleged that her husband had been alerted of her affair by the couple, after she refused to be part of their orgy.

After the drama, it is alleged that some pupils came forward and claimed that they had sexual relations with the couple.



Through a written statement, one of the pupils, whose name will not be revealed because she is a survivor of abuse, alleged that Futhi invited her to her house, and asked that she go and wash dishes for her. She alleged that while at the house, Fana approached her and tried to kiss her.



The pupil alleged that when she refused, Futhi came to the house and asked her why she refused to be kissed.

Walelani kutsi babe akucabuze? (Why did you refuse to be kissed by my husband?) Futhi is alleged to have asked.

The pupil managed to escape and return to class.



The pupil further said while they were having study sessions, one evening, the male teacher (Fana) called her into the staffroom.

He asked me to kiss him and he told me that he loved me, the pupil alleged.



She further alleged that she refused and asked Fana what he wanted from her as he had a wife. The pupil alleged that Fana told her that he wanted to make her his second wife, but she should not let anyone else know.

Another pupil alleged that Fana proposed love to her in early 2017, and promised that he would be her provider. She said after her parents told her that they could not pay her Form II fees, she thought the relationship with the teacher would be worthwhile.



Fana paid for school fees



The pupil alleged that Fana paid for her school fees although the money was not enough for the whole year.



One night, he called me and said I should fetch some things he had bought for me. I told her I was afraid to walk to school at night, and he said he would fetch me with his car, she alleged.

She further alleged that Fana told her that she should tell her parents that she was going to attend a funeral at a nearby homestead.

She said when she got to the house, Fana told her to go to the bedroom where he had kept the gifts which included body lotion, pads and a roll-on. The pupil alleged that Fana tried to have sexual intercourse with her, but she refused.

He then held me down and forced himself on me, the pupil alleged.



She further alleged that the sexual relationships lasted for a while, until she decided that getting things in exchange for sex was not worth it.

The pupil, in her confession, said after their relationship, Fana married Futhi. She alleged that she was told by other pupils that Futhi was asking if Fana had used condoms with her, as she was on anti-retroviral therapy (ART).

That hurt me, as I never took any ARVs. I confronted her and she said she knew I was on ART, she said.



The pupil said after a few weeks, she also heard that Futhi had asked another pupil, Cindy* to be in a relationship with her husband.

She alleged that she started noticing that Cindy was spending a lot of time at the teachers house, and she would be there even during Futhis absence.

During another interview, according to the report written by the head teacher, Cindy said the teachers were assisting her as she was needy.

Cindy allegedly said the teachers helped her with her studies, and they would sit together on the bed until 9pm, then she would go home.



Our impeccable sources revealed that another pupil who was said to have been involved in the matter had since left the school. The source said the pupil was in Form III, and she did not return to the school, even after teachers had tried to convince her to stay.

The source said the school allowed all those who failed Form III to repeat the grade, and re-write their external examinations.



A member of the school committee, who preferred to remain anonymous for fear of being victimised, said she was also aware of the matter, and that officials from the Ministry of Education and Training had been at the school to enquire about the matter.

She said when one of the pupils, *Cindy was called and asked about her relationship with the teachers; she became defensive and refused to cooperate. The member said she was present during the meeting. She said the ministrys officials told the pupil to return with her parents to continue with the interview.



Cindy was pregnant



Reliable sources alleged that Cindy was pregnant at the time, although she had not started to show, but, she vehemently denied that the teacher was responsible for the pregnancy. The source alleged that the investigators were now waiting for the pupil to give birth, so that paternity of the child could be determined.



The school committee member said another pupil was interviewed, and asked that she be left with the ministrys officials and one member of the committee.

That was when the girl made a confession about her relationship, the member said.



She refused to divulge what the pupil said during the confession, as she said that would compromise their trust.

A former prefect of the school also submitted a written statement to the head teacher during the investigations. He said he could not say for sure that that Cindy and Fana were in a relationship, but there was an incident which made him think that their relationship was not a normal teacher-pupil relationship.



The former prefect alleged that while they were having extra classes one afternoon, Fana came and called Cindy. He alleged that the two went to the staff- room, and when they got there, lights were switched off.

The head teacher confirmed that she was aware of the said allegations. She disclosed that she reported the matter to the Ministry of Education. She said she wrote a report on May 20, 2018 and she knew that some investigations were carried out, but she was not aware what was happening now.



She said when she arrived at the school, she found one pupil guarding the teachers house, and she referred to her rules, and stopped all pupils from going to teachers quarters.

She said she had further stopped evening classes at the school.



When reached for comment on the allegations, Futhi said she had been advised not to discuss the matter as the school administration was dealing with it.

Futhi was asked if she knew any of the allegations levelled against herself and her husband, and if she had been approached by the Ministry of Education and Training. As I have said, there is nothing I can say about the matter, as the administration is dealing with it, she said.




Bahrain-based Gulf Business Machines (GBM) has partnered with Banfico from the UK to help financial institutions adopt open banking solutions in line with new regulations introduced by the Central Bank of Bahrain.



Within the framework of the partnership, GBM will provide technology components required for the solution, as well as manage the overall implementation by leveraging its experience in cooperating in the financial industry, while Banfico will deliver the compliant implementation and also provide consulting services in Digital Transformation & Open Banking.



As we continue to support our customers with their digital transformation, were thrilled to be partnering with Banfico to assist financial institutions with their implementation of Open Banking, which is an important milestone for Bahrain and the region as a whole, said Abdulla Ishaq, general manager, GBM Bahrain.



Given our history in the Kingdoms financial sector and our expertise in digital transformation, GBM is well positioned to provide financial customers with solutions to facilitate their digital transformation towards Open Banking.



Bahrains financial services industry has evolved substantially over the past few years with the rise of Fintech and digital transformation. As the country works towards becoming the regional Fintech hub, it will now be the first in the Middle East to introduce Open Banking.



As such, an Open Banking Event was held by GBM, Banfico, and Bahrain Fintech Bay with IT experts from the financial industry attending. This further development of financial technology will improve services for customers around the region in the most efficient way, making their transactions one step easier.



Open Banking is a key regulation explored by many countries to make banking more competitive and innovative. The way we do banking in the coming years will be dictated by this regulation where APIs are going to be the norm of future banking products and experience, said Kannan Rasappan, founder & CEO, Banfico.



Fintechs, banks & Central Bank of Bahrain see value in Open Banking and are quick to embrace it. We are honoured to be part of this fantastic initiative and share our experience from Europe. We see great partnership in GBM to deliver value to clients in this region.



This implementation of Open Banking will benefit both the financial institutions and the end-user as it will make online banking more simple and efficient in terms of timing and sustainability, and will also introduce a number of new services to customers, such as a consistent global view of multiple accounts or optimized payment account selection.



With APIs from both financial services and third-party Fintechs, financial institutions will be able to rapidly and securely building next-generation apps encouraging digital innovation amongst the region.  TradeArabia News Service
Bahrain-based Golden Gate Developers (GGD) has announced the appointment of real estate expert, Eman Al Mannai, as its new vice president of sales and marketing.

The company is currently developing a major real estate project, Golden Gate, in the heart of Bahrain Bay.

A first-of-its-kind project, Golden Gate, on completion. is poised to become the tallest residential tower in the kingdom boasting 746 apartments.

Welcoming Al Mannai into the team, GGD executive director Anas Al Kooheji, said she will help boost the confidence of partners and investors in the Golden Gate project.

"Al Mannai will also support the efforts to attract more quality investors from Bahrain, other GCC countries, India and the rest of the world," said Al Kooheji.

With 14 years of experience in Bahrains real estate market, Al Mannai has achieved outstanding marketing success for several leading real estate projects and has supported her career with her academic expertise and relevant certifications.

The appointment of Al Mannai as the head of the project's team comes within the projects framework of efforts to attract highly skilled talent, stated the top official.

"Al Mannai has excellent professional skills, high level qualifications and extensive experience in the real estate field, enabling her to contribute to the projects business development and strategic improvements both: locally and globally," he stated.

On her new role, Al Mannai said: "It will be a pleasure working with the team and developing innovative methods to connect with investors, who we highly consider to be partners in our success. The Golden Gate projects marketing team consists of a large segment of Bahrainis."

"The unique features of the project, for those wishing to take advantage of the opportunity to live and invest in it, make the marketing process an honourable one to highlight the real estate market in Bahrain," she stated.

The sale of apartments in the Golden Gate project is growing at a quick pace. The project has a good resonance and positive interaction among investors, who are taking a keen interest in Bahrains growing real estate market, she added.-TradeArabia News Service
Cityscape Abu Dhabi, a leading property investment and development event which opens next month in the UAE capital, will feature two prominent new-to-market entries - Sharjah's groundbreaking Tilal City and Masdar's sustainability project Siadah - that will be out to capture sales with strong infrastructure-and-payment pitches, said the organisers.



A major real estate industry event, Cityscape Abu Dhabi will be held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces from April 16 to 18 at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.



Major developers out to lure Abu Dhabis property and asset investors maintain ready-made quality infrastructure and attractive payment plans are now key to closing land and villa sales with the UAE capitals increasingly shrewd buyers, the organisers stated.



Tilal, a joint venture between Sharjah Government and Eskan Real Estate Development, will launch the Tilal City mixed-use project - touted as New Sharjah - with a unique mortgage-for-land offering.



The company anticipates the development, which lies on the Emirates Road adjacent to Dubai's border, will prove a breakthrough project for Sharjah with the chance to buy land and build within the emirates first master-planned community poised to meet Abu Dhabi buyers appetite for tangible assets.



Tilal Properties Director-General Khalifa Al Shaibani said: "The land plots offered by Tilal Properties this year present a promising investment opportunity and meet the requirements of those seeking long-term residence in the UAE after retirement. It's undoubtedly a valuable opportunity for developers to take advantage of the City's advanced infrastructure."



"Work will start over the coming three months to link Tilal City with key exits and entries on the Emirates Road," he stated.



Al Shaibani said the UAE real estate market was one of the most promising in the region due to a myriad business opportunities, including attractive returns for investors.



"This is why we've decided to participate in this year's edition of Abu Dhabi Cityscape to promote investment opportunities at Tilal City, in line with the vision of Sharjah government, to launch an innovative model city boasting a strategic location and offering an ideal opportunity for those wishing to own or invest in Sharjah," he stated.



The City will combine Tilal Mall, which, upon completion, will be the largest fully-serviced business centre in Sharjah at an estimated gross area of 2 million sqft and a development cost of Dh1 billion ($272 million).



A brand new sustainability project from Masdar-headquartered Siadah International Real Estate, the Siadah development will be unveiled at Cityscape Abu Dhabi with a special launch offer and payment plan aimed at environmentally-conscious buyers.



CEO Said Chawqui Derradji said: "As part of the establishing team of Siadah Development, I believe that the fundamentals of every successful project are based on understanding the market needs and clients demands in terms of delivering quality real estate products and assuring that investors and end-users needs are met."



Mohaned Yaman, Cityscape Abu Dhabis Senior Exhibition Manager, added: Abu Dhabi has retained its reputation as a source of informed buyers. Developers are responding with upgraded quality offerings and innovative payment plans.



More than 100 developers and suppliers, as well as some 15,000 plus buyers and investors, are expected at Cityscape Abu Dhabi.



Aldar, Azizi, and ZonesCorp are this years Platinum Sponsors while Imkan Properties, Arada, Bloom Holding, Binghatti, and Wahat Al Zawayia are just some of this years exhibitors.-TradeArabia News Service
DMCC, a leading global free zone for commodities trade and enterprise, in partnership with Asia House, the centre of expertise on trade, investment and public policy, today (March 24) hosted the The Future of Trade: The Middle Easts Pivot to Asia conference, in Dubai, UAE.



The conference welcomed over 250 leading figures from government, trade, investment and technology to discuss, debate and analyse the latest shifts in the world economy, said a statement.



Held in association with the Government of Dubai and sponsored by HSBC and ABP London Royal Albert Dock, the discussions at the conference focused on the anticipated trends in the future of trade, renewable energy and digital technologies.



The conference keynote speech was delivered by Abdulla Al Saleh, undersecretary for Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economy, who said: The UAE and Asia have long enjoyed strong bilateral trade relations. Asian countries account for 60 per cent of the UAEs non-oil trade while 55 per cent of the UAEs imports come from Asia.



For example, the UAEs strategic location and ease of doing business play a critical role in Chinas Belt and Road Initiative, with 4,000 Chinese companies already operating in the country. As the UAEs largest partner for non-oil imports, India remains a core market for us, also offering significant growth opportunities, he added.



Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, group chairman and chief executive officer, DP World, said: Despite ongoing concerns around the US and China trade, and the uncertainties brought about by Brexit, we recognise that trade remains inevitable and vital for global economic growth.



The UAE is uniquely positioned to capitalise on opportunities even where challenges exist. We have attracted an impressive pool of talent carrying creative ideas that have placed us at the forefront of innovation, he added.



Ahmed Bin Sulayem, executive chairman at DMCC, said: Despite subdued global growth figures, this event highlighted that there is cause for optimism for those of us in the region. The worlds economic gravity continues to shift eastwards and as a natural corridor, Dubais ability to link Asia with the Middle East, Europe and Africa has never been more important.



DMCC sits at the heart of Dubais global hub status, and will continue to promote the growing UAE-Asia trade and investment ties that will usher in the next wave of growth, he added.



Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, chairman of Asia House, said: It is clear that Asia will play an increasingly important role for the Middle East as the region seeks to diversify away from energy exports.



We are already seeing new trade relationships grow. Research by our company last year demonstrated a clear pivot towards Asia from markets in the Middle East, and this trend seems set to continue, he said.



We are delighted to have brought key figures in global trade together for todays dialogue here in Dubai  a city which stands to benefit greatly from Asias ascendance. The conference marks an important contribution to the Middle Easts ongoing engagement with Asia, he added.



The conference kicked-off with a panel on The Future of Trade, addressing the challenges and solutions amid dramatic changes in the global economic landscape, with emphasis on the Middle Easts growing relationship with Asia.



The key takeaways from the panel revolved around the pressure on the US and China to reach an agreement, which would put an end to the trade tensions. The discussions also highlighted the importance of finding alternative partners in emerging Asian markets in the short term, which would contribute to diversifying the supply chain across the region.



Next on the agenda was a fireside chat on the latest Brexit discussions between Lord Green, Chairman of Asia House and Anne Ruth Herkes, Former State Secretary at German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.



The immersive dialogue focused on the difficulty of securing a deal before the extended deadline and the potential impact that exiting the EU will have on the UKs power in trade negotiations.



The next panel explored how FinTech, blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) are revolutionising international trade and ease of doing business. Technology and finance experts from across the Mena region discussed means of collaboration between private companies and government entities to help foster innovation and identify growth opportunities across various trade routes.



The last panel, titled Shifting Energy Trends: The Rise of Renewables, debated the ongoing challenges for major oil economies with the continuous growth in the renewable energy sector. With Chinas growing importance as a pivotal player in renewable technology, the debate circled around the Middle East Markets natural shift towards Asia to help expedite their diversification efforts.



Other conference speakers included: Kyle Boag, regional head of International Subsidiary Banking Menat, HSBC; Neil Cuthbert, senior legal advisor Middle East, Dentons & Co; Flynt Leverett, Professor of International Affairs and former US Government senior director for Middle East Affairs at the National Security Council; Sunil Veetil  regional head of trade and receivables finance, HSBC Mena; Anthony Butler, chief technology officer for IBMs blockchain practice, Middle East and Africa; Andrew Sims, chief executive officer of NEC Payments and an executive director of Bahrain FinTech Bay; Luan Tian, director of global incubation, Innoway; Michelle Davies, head of Clean Energy and Sustainability, Eversheds Sutherland; and Daniel Calderon, co-founder and chief executive officer, Alcazar Energy.  TradeArabia News Service
Saudis are expected to begin using the latest transport technologies like Hyperloop by 2020, a report said.



According to a report in Saudi Gazette, the deputy chairman of Virgin Hyperloop, Colin Rice, said the travel time between Riyadh and Jeddah will not exceed 50 minutes once the system is implemented. Meanwhile, the distance between Riyadh and Qidiyyah Recreation City will take just seven minutes.



The tickets and service charges for hyperloop will be at the level of bus and train fares and less than air-tickets, Rice noted.



The system will include other options, like Riyadh to Dammam line, Jeddah to Neom, and Riyadh to Qidiyyah.



The new transport system will not only contribute to creating thousands of high-value job opportunities within the first year since its launch, but the technical specifications that will accompany the system will require cooperation with many effective, big authorities in various sectors.



Rice expects the system to begin reaping returns from the injected investments within 10 years from now. The system will fetch huge profits for the kingdom, the report said.



Currently, the Hyperloop System project is being supported by the governments of Saudi Arabia, UAE, India, Spain and the US, with the projects expected to open soon, the report said.
The GCC region recorded a 110 per cent increase in mobile travel bookings in 2018, representing one-third of all transactions, according to a new report jointly released by Cleartrip and Flyin.



The 2018 Travel Insights Report provides a comprehensive overview of the online travel sector in the GCC, as well as highlights significant shifts in the market dynamics and consumer behaviour.



The market saw variations in average airfares as well as travellers preferences in destinations, trip duration, and payment methods. Key findings of the report covering the January-December period include the sustained expansion of the industry, the rising trend of mobile traffic in major cities, and the growing popularity of travel coupons among travellers.



Sameer Bagul, executive vice president and managing director, Cleartrip Middle East, said: We are excited to launch the fourth edition of the Travel Insights Report on the regions online travel sector. Offering an exclusive and deeper understanding of the underlying trends in the market and consumer behaviour, our report has established itself as one of the most respected and trusted sources for insights into the industry. The actionable data we provide will help travellers to plan and book their trips efficiently and enable businesses to develop solutions that cater to the evolving needs and expectations of customers. We will continue to explore new ways to further enhance our comprehensive survey and look forward to releasing our H1 2019 Travel Insights Report.



With advancements in mobile technology making travel more accessible to the regions growing population, the online travel industry is headed for a new phase of growth. As reflected in our study, travellers preferences are constantly changing, and therefore, it has become imperative for online travel agents to make investments into newer technologies such as machine learning and utilising blockchain capabilities to drive bespoke personalization and superior user experience. When we launched our mobile Progressive Web App (PWA) in 2018 our conversion rates increased by 67 per cent as we continue to help consumers seamlessly make their travel bookings, Bagul added.



Changing payment method preferences

Even though credit card still remains the dominant payment method in the online travel market, debit card transactions are on the rise. In Saudi Arabia, which has seen a spike in the adoption and usage of debit card after its central bank, Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA), enabled the countrys mada cardholders for online shopping last year, travel bookings using debit cards surged 280 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to account for 45 per cent of all bookings. In the UAE credit card transactions dipped to 72 per cent from 81 per cent in the previous year and debit cards usage increased from 19 per cent to 28 per cent.



Growing mobile penetration

Owing to the rising popularity of digital wallets and mobile apps, mobile transactions are quickly gaining traction among travellers. In Saudi Arabia, which had the highest rate of Mobile Booking Penetration (MBP) in the region, mobile bookings accounted for 38 per cent with a massive rise of 233 per cent from the previous year. Meanwhile, the number of transactions made on mobile devices increased by 56 per cent in the UAE, whereas Oman recorded the second highest MBP in the region at 34 per cent. Among mobile bookings in Saudi Arabia, the iOS share was higher at 71 per cent compared to Android devices share of 29 per cent. The company expects this number to grow in 2019 as ApplePay was launched in Saudi Arabia earlier this year.



Mobile has become a popular channel for travel planning and booking in major cities in the region. Kuwait City and Riyadh had the highest rates of mobile traffic and bookings at 81 per cent and 40 per cent respectively. Bahrain, Muscat and Dubai were also among the leading markets for mobile visitors in the 2018 Travel Insights Report.



Trending destinations

Reflecting their growing appetite for novel experiences, the regions discerning travellers made trips to a wide variety of destinations within the GCC and overseas. Islamabad, Lahore and Brussels topped the list of trending international destinations for travellers in the UAE, while domestic travellers in Saudi Arabia favoured Gizan, Abha and Hail. Meanwhile, Istanbul remained among the leading family travel destinations during both summer and winter seasons.



Airfares in a flux

As crude oil prices continued to fluctuate in 2018, the regions leading markets saw significant changes in airfare pricing. Average ticket prices were 10 per cent and 6 per cent higher in Bahrain and Kuwait respectively, while Saudi Arabia experienced an overall price decline of 7 per cent due to growth of low-cost carriers such as flyadeal. As some of the large airlines reduced capacity from Kuwait, it recorded the highest average fare per person at $281, while Oman had the lowest in the region at $192.



Some routes originating from the region have seen fluctuations in airfares last year. While Jeddah-Dubai recorded the highest increase at 25 per cent, the Jeddah-Cairo route witnessed the greatest decline in airfares at 19 per cent. In addition, micro-trips have taken off as a new trend in the regions travel industry. Hail and Kuwait appeared to be the cheapest getaways from Riyadh and Dubai respectively last year.



The report also indicates that Sunday is the cheapest day for travel, whereas prices increase on Thursday. Furthermore, February is the ideal month for budget travellers with average fares falling 16 per cent.



Sustained market growth

With lower airfares, increased connectivity and fewer travel barriers, the GCC continues to witness an increase in the number of travellers. In 2018, the industry posted a robust year-on-year growth of 7 per cent, while Saudi Arabia emerged as the fastest growing market with a solid 10 per cent expansion. - TradeArabia News Service
Contributed by Julia Couzens / Carol Safts plainspoken exhibition, Fallen Men, in the project space at Lesley Heller, is a suite of small-scaled, wall-based bronze figures engaged in gestures of vulnerability and support. They call to mind the bronze sculpture of Bauhaus artist Gerhard Marcks and share his ethic of directness and material honesty.

Safts depiction of generic men, nearly featureless, in states of distress, companionship, communion, and mutual aid, is an ode to benevolence and tenderness in this cruel and trauma-wracked decade. First carved in wax with a penknife, the small works can be held in the hand. The figures are stripped down to the barest essentials. Men are shown embracing or sprawling prostrate in response to a pratfall, seizure, or assault. Groups of men hold a fallen man, or kneel in unison to lift another up. They serve as Everyman in unknown, ambiguous scenarios of physical or emotional stress. Their modest simplicity signals restrained pathos, inviting an uncomplicated response of compassion and empathy.

Saft is widely known for documentary short films on contemporary artists (including painters Katherine Bradford, Rick Briggs, and Elisabeth Condon), and her wryly quirky video series, My Brother Todd. This is her first solo show of sculpture in a decades-long career. Perhaps tellingly, it is a small show presented without fanfare, yet it is not to be missed. It represents experience organically absorbed by an artist who apprehends external realities with acute and moving introspection. No special effects or twitchy surfaces are necessary. In an era of increasingly relative values and truths, amid a crisis of confidence, purpose, identity, and belief, Safts men offer us intimate and nuanced gestures of abiding grace.

Carol Saft: Fallen Men, Lesley Heller, 54 Orchard St., New York, NY. Through April 7, 2019.

About the author: Julia Couzens is a California-based artist and contributing writer to squarecylinder.com

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Over the last 540 million years, the Earth has weathered three major ice ages  periods during which global temperatures plummeted, producing extensive ice sheets and glaciers that have stretched beyond the polar caps.

Now scientists at MIT, the University of California at Santa Barbara, and the University of California at Berkeley have identified the likely trigger for these ice ages.

In a study published in Science, the team reports that each of the last three major ice ages were preceded by tropical arc-continent collisions  tectonic pileups that occurred near the Earths equator in which oceanic plates rode up over continental plates, exposing tens of thousands of kilometers of oceanic rock to a tropical environment.

The scientists say that the heat and humidity of the tropics likely triggered a chemical reaction between the rocks and the atmosphere. Specifically, the rocks calcium and magnesium reacted with atmospheric carbon dioxide, pulling the gas out of the atmosphere and permanently sequestering it in the form of carbonates such as limestone.

Over time, the researchers say, this weathering process, occurring over millions of square kilometers, could pull enough carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to cool temperatures globally and ultimately set off an ice age. Oliver Jagoutz, an associate professor in MITs Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences and a co-author of the study, said:

We think that arc-continent collisions at low latitudes are the trigger for global cooling. This could occur over 1-5 million square kilometers, which sounds like a lot. But in reality, its a very thin strip of Earth, sitting in the right location, that can change the global climate.

Jagoutz co-authors are Francis Macdonald and Lorraine Lisiecki of UC Santa Barbara, and Nicholas Swanson-Hysell and Yuem Park of UC Berkeley.

A tropical trigger for ice ages

When an oceanic plate pushes up against a continental plate, the collision typically creates a mountain range of newly exposed rock. The fault zone along which the oceanic and continental plates collide is called a suture. Today, certain mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas, contain sutures that have migrated from their original collision points, as continents have shifted over millennia.

In 2016, Jagoutz and his colleagues retraced the movements of two sutures that today make up the Himalayas. They found that both sutures stemmed from the same tectonic migration. Eighty million years ago, as the supercontinent known as Gondwana moved north, part of the landmass was crushed against Eurasia, exposing a long line of oceanic rock and creating the first suture; 50 million years ago, another collision between the supercontinents created a second suture.

The team found that both collisions occurred in tropical zones near the equator, and both preceded global atmospheric cooling events by several million years  which is nearly instantaneous on a geologic timescale. After looking into the rates at which exposed oceanic rock, also known as ophiolites, could react with carbon dioxide in the tropics, the researchers concluded that, given their location and magnitude, both sutures could have indeed sequestered enough carbon dioxide to cool the atmosphere and trigger both ice ages.

Interestingly, they found that this process was likely responsible for ending both ice ages as well. Over millions of years, the oceanic rock that was available to react with the atmosphere eventually eroded away, replaced with new rock that took up far less carbon dioxide.

We showed that this process can start and end glaciation, Jagoutz says. Then we wondered, how often does that work? If our hypothesis is correct, we should find that for every time theres a cooling event, there are a lot of sutures in the tropics.

Exposing Earths sutures

The researchers looked to see whether ice ages even further back in Earths history were associated with similar arc-continent collisions in the tropics. They performed an extensive literature search to compile the locations of all the major suture zones on Earth today and then used a computer simulation of plate tectonics to reconstruct the movement of these suture zones, and the Earths continental and oceanic plates, back through time.

In this way, they were able to pinpoint approximately where and when each suture originally formed, and how long each suture stretched. They identified three periods over the last 540 million years in which major sutures, of about 10,000 kilometers in length, were formed in the tropics.

Each of these periods coincided with each of three major, well-known ice ages, in the Late Ordovician (455 to 440 million years ago), the Permo-Carboniferous (335 to 280 million years ago), and the Cenozoic (35 million years ago to present day). Importantly, they found there were no ice ages or glaciation events during periods when major suture zones formed outside of the tropics. Jagoutz explained:

We found that every time there was a peak in the suture zone in the tropics, there was a glaciation event. So every time you get, say, 10,000 kilometers of sutures in the tropics, you get an ice age.

He notes that a major suture zone, spanning about 10,000 kilometers, is still active today in Indonesia, and is possibly responsible for the Earths current glacial period and the appearance of extensive ice sheets at the poles.

This tropical zone includes some of the largest ophiolite bodies in the world and is currently one of the most efficient regions on Earth for absorbing and sequestering carbon dioxide. As global temperatures are climbing as a result of human-derived carbon dioxide, some scientists have proposed grinding up vast quantities of ophiolites and spreading the minerals throughout the equatorial belt, in an effort to speed up this natural cooling process.

But Jagoutz says the act of grinding up and transporting these materials could produce additional, unintended carbon emissions. And its unclear whether such measures could make any significant impact within our lifetimes:

Its a challenge to make this process work on human timescales. The Earth does this in a slow, geological process that has nothing to do with what we do to the Earth today. And it will neither harm us, nor save us.

However, Lee Kump, dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State University, sees at least one silver lining for this slow, natural sequestration process in the Earths future. Kump, who was not involved in the research added:

Emissions of carbon dioxide from human activity today rival the most massive volcanic episodes in Earth history, far exceeding the capacity of rock weathering feedbacks to counter the buildup. However, as anthropogenic carbon emissions wane, natural restoration processes like these will begin the multimillennial repair job of restoring atmospheric carbon dioxide to pre-Anthropocene levels.

Provided by: Jennifer Chu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology [Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.]

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By WestKyStar & MCHS Staff Mar. 23, 2019 | 08:57 PM | PADUCAH

Kuntz will attend the Brown University Pre-College Summer Program in Providence, RI where shell explore possible medical career paths.

For the past three years in McCrackens Project Lead the Way Biomedical Science program, Kuntz has developed an interest in the medical field, but shes unsure whether she will prefer a career as a doctor or as a researcher. She hopes the summer program at Brown will help her decide. Her classes during the intensive, weeklong program will include Behind the Breakthroughs: Using Laboratory Organisms in Biomedical Research, and Hands-on Medicine: A Week in the Life of a Medical Student.







Bowling will attend the American Musical and Dramatic Dance Academy (AMDA) High School Summer Conservatory in New York City, NY where shell hone her thespian skills under the instruction of seasoned Broadway and film performers.





Bowling rediscovered her passion for music and theater this year, first as a Castle Dancer in Market House Theatres fall production of Beauty and the Beast and now as a Newsie in McCrackens spring production of Disneys Newsies. She hopes her time in NY this summer will help her decide if she sees herself there for college in two years.





McCracken County High School senior Abby Kuntz and sophomore Brooke Bowling will both leave home this summer to pursue their passions at prestigious summer camps out-of-state.
By WestKyStar & MCHS Staff Mar. 23, 2019 | 07:47 PM | PADUCAH





For the second year running, Sullivan University has recognized McCracken County High School's culinary arts program among its "Elite 50" nationwide.MCHS was invited to complete Sullivan's competitive Elite 50 application this spring after being named a Program of Distinction in the fall. McCracken's one of only four high schools or technical centers in Kentucky to receive Sullivan's "Elite 50" designation this year."Our students work so hard every day to advance their own culinary skills, and our program shines through them," said Ashley Woodruff, one of three fulltime culinary arts teachers at MCHS."To have our program recognized by a distinguished culinary school like Sullivan as one of the 50 strongest in the U.S. is such an honor."McCracken's culinary arts career pathway has grown into one of the most popular pathways in the school's Family and Consumer Science program. This year over 400 students are taking at least one of the four culinary classes offered at MCHS.The program's strong enrollment was just one of several factors Sullivan considered when naming their 2019 Elite 50. The application also required schools to submit original recipes with photos of prepared dishes, details about instructor certifications, accolades the program has earned, and opportunities offered to students.Culinary students at McCracken can test their chops in contests at the regional, state and national levels, and earn valuable credentials including a ServSafe Manager Certification and/or their culinary Kentucky Occupational Skills Standards (KOSSA) certification. A select few students also get to intern with Sara Bradley, owner and chef of Paducah's freight house and 2019 Top Chef Season 16 Runner-Up.Recent MCHS Culinary Arts program graduate McKayla Siener (Class of 2017) was one of the first students to intern at freight house, and is now in her second year at Sullivan University in Lexington.Sullivan's National Center for Hospitality Studies (CHS) has earned a reputation as one of the finest hospitality schools in the country with a Five Diamond Award of Excellence presented by Hilton Hotels and AAA Kentucky.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff Mar. 24, 2019 | 03:30 PM | PADUCAH

After many weeks of extremely high water, the Ohio River at Paducah has fallen below flood stage of 39 feet.The river gauge at the Paducah riverfront fell below that threshold on Saturday. As of Sunday afternoon, the river was at 37.5 feet. That's in contrast to February 25, when the river had swelled to more than 53 feet.The river is forecast to go below 32 feet at Paducah by Thursday afternoon. That's when the city of Paducah will stop running all of its flood pumps.From Golconda upstream, the Ohio is completely out of flood conditions.Downstream at Cairo, the Ohio River has fallen more than five feet since last Sunday, but is still experiencing moderate flooding. As of Sunday, Cairo's river gauge was at 48.7 feet. Cairo's forecast doesn't see the Ohio out of flood stage until well into April.Much of the blame for high water on the Ohio at Cairo is the swelling Mississippi River. It's in moderate flood stage at many points from Cape Girardeau all the way up to Iowa.For much of the past week, the river gauge at Cape Girardeau has hovered at 38 feet, well above flood stage of 32 feet. Next week, part of the record flood waters from Nebraska and western Iowa will travel down the Missouri River and enter the Mississippi near St. Louis. By next weekend, the river at Cape Girardeau is forecast to rise to over 40 feet.

On the Net:
A contestant in the college category speaks at the semifinals of the 24th China Daily "21st Century  Coca-Cola Cup" National English Speaking Competition in Hangzhou on March 22. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

More than 500 contestants from 30 countries and regions gathered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on March 22 to attend a renowned competition of public speaking in English.

The three-day event of the China Daily 21st Century Cup National English Speaking Competition and the Belt and Road Youth English Speaking Competition consists of semifinals and finals, as well as a slew of cultural exchange activities.

The ages and levels of the contestants range from English beginners in kindergarten to advanced students in college and those already graduated, all of whom have undergone preliminary screenings and several regional competitions to make it to the national finals.

Different competition groups have different themes, and the given topics of the prepared speeches at the finals are: My First Special Memory; No Pains, No Gains; No Cross, No Crown; My Love of Learning About Chinese History; A Glimpse Into the Future and Nature Is a Common Language.

The judges of the finals are senior English educators, translators and interpreters, diplomats, and English-language media practitioners, who will give an overall evaluation of contestants for their language skills, knowledge and thoughts, as well as their manners onstage.

The annual competition has enjoyed great popularity as it has been held in major Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Chengdu, Wuhan, Shenzhen as well as Hong Kong and Macao.

The competition also serves as the qualifying contest in China for the International Public Speaking Competition, which will be held in London in May by the English-Speaking Union.

A judge comments on the performance of a contestant. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

(Source: China Daily)
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte hold talks in Rome, Italy, March 23, 2019. [Xinhua/Lan Hongguang]

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte held talks here Saturday on jointly elevating the China-Italy relations into a new era and witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to advance the construction of the Belt and Road.

During their talks, Xi noted that the China-Italy relations are rooted in the history of the two countries' thousand-year-old exchanges, with strong public support.

In recent years, the two countries have continuously deepened their communication and cooperation in various fields, which helped each other's social and economic development, Xi said.

Calling China and Italy important strategic partners to each other, Xi urged both sides to view and handle the bilateral ties from a strategic height with long-term perspective.

The two countries should take the opportunities of the 15th anniversary of the China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership this year and the 50th anniversary of China-Italy diplomatic relations next year to jointly elevate bilateral relations into a new era, and allow their practical cooperation fruits in various fields better serve the two peoples, Xi said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte inspect the guard of honor in Rome, Italy, March 23, 2019. President Xi Jinping and Giuseppe Conte held talks here Saturday. [Xinhua/Li Xueren]

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte hold talks in Rome, Italy, March 23, 2019. [Xinhua/Li Xueren]

(Source: Xinhua)
China and Italy signed here Saturday a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to jointly advance the construction of the Belt and Road during Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to the country.

The two sides welcome the signing of the intergovernmental MoU on jointly advancing the Belt and Road construction, said a joint communique issued by the two countries.

The two sides realize the huge potential of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in promoting connectivity, and stand ready to strengthen the alignment of the BRI and Trans-European Transport Networks and deepen the cooperation in ports, logistics, marine transportation and other areas, the communique said.

The two sides expressed willingness to join efforts under the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to advance connectivity in line with the AIIB's mission and functions.

More air links can be expected as the two sides agreed to facilitate airlines from each other to do business and ease the market access for them, according to the communique.

During his state visit to Italy from March 21 to 24, Xi held talks with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on bilateral ties, as well as regional and international issues of common interest.

The communique said the two sides have agreed to advance China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership in the spirit of mutual respect and mutual benefit for win-win outcomes.

Actions will be taken to fully implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, it added.

The two sides reiterated their commitment to promote multilateralism and maintain the international system with the United Nations at its core. They agreed to oppose protectionism of any form, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, maintain the World Trade Organization (WTO)'s central role and jointly push for necessary reforms to the WTO.

The two sides agreed to work with each other on cooperation in fields such as environment and sustainable energy, agriculture, sustainable urbanization, health, aviation, space technology, infrastructure and transportation, according to the communique.

The two sides also expressed willingness to strengthen cultural cooperation that includes heritage protection and fight against relic trafficking, education cooperation that highlights language studies, judicial cooperation that involves extradition and anti-graft experience sharing, and law enforcement cooperation.

During Xi's visit, the two sides signed 19 intergovernmental bilateral cooperation documents, the communique said.

(Source: Xinhua)
Chinese President Xi Jinping left the Italian capital of Rome on Saturday, after holding talks with Italian leaders and witnessing the signing of multiple bilateral cooperation documents, including a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on jointly advancing the construction of the Belt and Road.

"I have held in-depth and friendly talks and meetings with Italian officials, including the president," Xi said referring to his on-going four-day state visit to Italy. Before leaving, He attended a grand seeing-off ceremony hosted by his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella.

Saying "the mutual trust and the practical cooperation between our two sides in various areas have been deepened," Xi called on China and Italy to further intensify high-level exchanges to advance their comprehensive strategic partnership to a new level.

MoU on Belt and Road Signed

Xi's stay in Rome was highlighted on Saturday by the signing of the MoU for China and Italy to jointly push forward the construction of the Belt and Road.

China and Italy realize the huge potential of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in promoting connectivity, wrote a joint communique issued by the two countries.

The two sides stand ready to strengthen the alignment of the BRI and Trans-European Transport Networks, and deepen the cooperation in ports, logistics, marine transportation and other areas, according to the document.

The BRI, first proposed by Xi in 2013, refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe, Africa and beyond.

China and Italy were at the two ends of the ancient Silk Road, thus they have every reason to carry out cooperation on the Belt and Road, Xi said when meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on Saturday.

"We adhere to the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, follow the principle of transparency and openness, and aim for cooperation of win-win results," Xi said.

He urged the two countries to take the opportunity of the inking of the intergovernmental MoU on jointly building the Belt and Road to strengthen the alignment of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with Italy's plan to develop its northern ports and the InvestItalia program, and promote mutually beneficial cooperation in all fields.

Conte said Italy is glad to seize the historic opportunity in joining the Belt and Road construction, adding that he strongly believes that it will help fully explore the potential of Italy-China cooperation.

The Italian prime minister said he is looking forward to attending the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation next month in Beijing.

Greater Development of Ties

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership, and the two countries will celebrate the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic relations next year.

The Chinese president and his Italian counterpart agreed at their talks on Friday to jointly push for greater development of the China-Italy comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era.

Xi said that both as countries with an ancient civilization, China and Italy have profound historical relations.

He recalled that for nearly half a century, China and Italy have respected, trusted and helped each other, enhanced high-level exchanges and strategic mutual trust, facilitated communication, cooperation and convergence of interests, and deepened mutual understanding and traditional friendship.

As the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, China is willing to carry forward the spirit of cooperation with the Italian side, strengthen strategic communication, encourage the international community to seek common ground while reserving differences and promote development through cooperation, so as to contribute new wisdom and strength to building a better world, Xi said.

Also on Friday, Xi met respectively with Roberto Fico, president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, senate speaker, and discussed with them exchanges and cooperation between the two countries' legislative bodies.

Noting that exchanges and cooperation between legislative bodies are an important channel for the two peoples to enhance mutual understanding and deepen friendship, Xi said that China supports the legislatures of the two countries in deepening experience sharing on lawmaking and governance, especially in doing more work for the economic and financial cooperation as well as the cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

China-EU Cooperation as Whole

After Italy, the Chinese president will pay state visits to Monaco and France. Xi's three-nation Europe tour is both his first overseas trip in 2019 and his second trip to Europe in about four months, which testifies to the importance China has attached to its relations with European countries.

Xi discussed China-Europe relations with Italian officials he met.

When meeting with Conte, the Chinese president called China and the European Union (EU) constructors of world peace, contributors to global development and protectors of international order, saying that the two sides should follow the trend of the times featuring a world of multi-polarization and economic globalization, and push for the construction of an open world economy.

He also urged the two sides to accelerate the negotiations on a China-EU investment agreement, enhance the synergy of the BRI and the EU's development strategies, and boost communication and coordination on major international and regional issues.

When meeting with Mattarella, Xi said China has always supported the European integration and respected the EU's efforts in solving its problems.

He said he hopes that Italy will continue playing a positive role in promoting EU-China partnership for peace, growth, reform and civilization.

After wrapping up his activities in Rome, Xi flew to Palermo, Sicily's regional capital, where he met Nello Musumeci, president of the Italian Region of Sicily.

The Chinese president encouraged Sicily to increase export of quality agricultural products to China and said China is ready to increase cooperation with the Region in areas of investment and tourism.

(Source: Xinhua)
Paolo Reale, president of Convitto Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele II International High School (right top), stands on Monday with students who wrote to President Xi Jinping. [Cheng Tingting /XINHUA]

When students at Rome's Convitto Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele II International High School wrote to President Xi Jinping, they did not expect he would reply. But days before his arrival in Italy, he did.

In the letter to Xi, the school's president Paolo Reale, and eight students explained how they had been able to gain a better understanding of China through the school's Confucius Classroom, as well as an appreciation of the vastness of the world and the value of cultural diversity.

They expressed their excitement about Xi's visit to Italy (he arrived on Thursday) and their willingness to develop friendship between their country and China.

In his reply on Sunday, Xi encouraged them to be the Marco Polos in the new eraa reference to the 13th century Italian merchant who marveled at China's wealth and size in recording his travels in Asia.

"We are all very excited and happy," Nicholas Kovacich, one of the students who wrote the letter, said on Thursday. He likes to be known by his Chinese name, Qi Yuanhang.

The boarding high school on the banks of the Tiber River in the northwestern part of the city houses the biggest Confucius Classroom in Italy. Students immerse themselves in Chinese language, culture, history and geography as part of the curriculum.

Luca Caroselli, who introduced himself by his Chinese name, Kang Qiao, said most Italians know little about China, including his own parents, who didn't understand his desire to study Chinese.

"But they understand now," he said, speaking in Chinese, as did all the students who were interviewed.

Caroselli has visited China four times for summer camps. He was impressed by the modern sections of Shanghai and the ancient parts of Beijing.

"I like them both," he said, adding that he hopes his parents will also have the opportunity to visit China soon.

Doriana Bruno (Chinese name Ru Duoer) talked about her discoveries in China's restaurants.

"The dining traditions in China and Italy are very different," she said, noting that Chinese share food and the restaurants in China have more noise.

"I tried scorpion, and it was delicious," she said when asked what weird food she had tasted in China.

"We ordered takeout on WeChat all the time," said Alessandro Cocomazzi, describing his life in Shanghai and Beijing and ordering food delivery on the popular Chinese app.

Kovacich picked xiaolongbao, a juicy Chinese steamed bun from the Shanghai area, as his favorite local delicacy. He is going to study economics next year at Duke Kunshan University, not far from Shanghai.

His mother, an economist, graduated from Fudan University in Shanghai more than 20 years ago. "I hope also to have the job opportunity in China," he said.

Each year, around 200 of the school's students go to Shanghai and Beijing for three-week summer camps. Many also take the Chinese proficiency test known as the HSK.

Francesco Alario, the high school's coordinator for the Confucius Classroom, has visited China nearly 20 times. He said that, years ago, the idea of students passing the HSK seemed an impossible dream, but now the pass rate is 100 percent. Italy and China, he added, are two ancient civilizations with a long history of cultural exchanges.

"We want to build on that base and open a door for our students to the Eastern world," he said of the school's decision to launch the Confucius Classroom 11 years ago in collaboration with the Confucius Institute based at Sapienza University of Rome.

"We want to help them understand different cultures, receive better education in diverse cultures and cultivate youth leadership," he added.

Alario is proud that the school's Chinese program has become a model in Italy, with many institutions trying to replicate its success.

Zhang Hong, the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute at Sapienza University, which runs the Confucius Classroom and five others in Italy, called it a "landmark" that Chinese language has become part of Italy's national education program after the high school introduced it in 2014.

Chen Chen, a Chinese teacher, praised her students for studying hard. Extra time is required to take the classes.

"I feel a sense of accomplishment," said Chen, recalling her seven years working at the school.

(Source: China Daily)
[Photo/Xinhua]

More than 76 percent of young respondents said they felt their language competence was becoming poorer as digital technology and Internet memes reshaped their communication habits, according to a survey by China Youth Daily.

The survey canvassed 2,002 people, among whom 80 percent were born after 1980. It found 61.9 percent said they scarcely use verses and 57.6 percent couldn't use complex rhetorical techniques, as examples of losing language proficiency.

According to the survey, 70.9 percent thought language problems had arisen because the Internet era preferred more direct and concise expression. More than 65.4 percent attributed the shift to homogenous expression and "copy and paste" culture, where people simply copied communication content from the Internet.

Cai Xiaojia (alias name), a secondary school teacher from Fuzhou city in Fujian Province, said words were being used less than they had previously because, for example, people could take a photo of a beautiful scene and there was little need for other creative expression.

Ding Xin, a student from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, said people also tended to be stereotypical in their praise of others, using a fixed set of sentence patterns and inflated styles.

Shen Xiaolong, a professor at the Chinese Department at Fudan University, said the Internet had enriched language and created a large number of new words, sentences, and rhetoric. However, the use of online expressions also had a profound impact on language and thinking, as people now increasingly pick up an expression without much personal thought, Shen said.

To improve language skills, 75.2 percent of respondents suggested that young people should work to think independently and train their own language logic, 59.7 percent called for creating platforms and environments that encouraged diversified expression, and 57.1 percent thought it necessary to read more literature classics.

(Source: China Daily]
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-23 23:41:05|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Italian companies are optimistic about the Chinese market, expecting stronger bilateral ties between the two economies to bring more opportunities.

Giulia Gallarati, secretary general of the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce, told Xinhua more than 500 Italian companies in China had registered as members of the business organization, which aims to facilitate localization of Italian businesses.

Members' feedback shows that Italian enterprises believe they can benefit from China's development and see revenue growth in the country's thriving market, according to Gallarati.

As the Chinese economy maintains stable growth and moves towards a consumption-driven development model, consumers' spending power continues to grow, spurring the upgrade of the consumer market.

Such trends provide impetus and opportunities for Italian enterprises to expand their presence in China and readjust their strategies for Chinese consumers' changing appetites.

Alcantara, an Italian producer of the homonymous material mainly used in fashion design and automotive sectors, chose China as its first overseas market due to the country's big "quantitative and qualitative potential," according to Andrea Boragno, CEO of the company.

Recent years have seen an increase in Chinese consumers' demand for luxury goods and lifestyle experiences, Boragno said, adding that now is an excellent opportunity for the high-end material manufacturer to establish China as its key market.

Against the backdrop of China's expanded opening-up, the two nations have made remarkable achievements in economic and trade cooperation, with bilateral trade hitting a historical high of 54.2 billion U.S. dollars last year.

Mentioning China's Belt and Road Initiative and newly approved foreign investment law, Gallarati said bilateral economic cooperation under such policies provides Italian businesses with opportunities.

Italy boasts advantages in innovative technologies, while China is shifting to an innovation-driven economy, such similarity will lead to further cooperation between the two sides, she added.

China's opening-up efforts not only promote mutual benefits but draw more Italian investment with greater openness and widened market access.

By the end of last June, Italy had invested 7.21 billion dollars in 5,937 projects in China, official data showed.

China is developing in a "golden age" of inbound and outbound investment activities along with the implementation of ambitious and comprehensive reform programs, according to Boragno, who said such development benefits his company.

"In this scenario of rapid growth, we believe Chinese consumers will be more and more demanding," he said.

Moreover, various platforms have also been established for Italian enterprises to explore the Chinese market. An example is the first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in 2018 where 141 Italian companies participated, with products and services in the medical, food, intelligent equipment and daily consumption sectors.

Italian companies and organizations have confirmed their participation in the second session of the event to be held this November, according to the CIIE bureau.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 03:26:43|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CHICAGO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) crop futures traded mixed in the trading week ending on March 22, with corn rising sharply over flood concerns and data.

The most active corn for May delivery was up 5 cents, or 1.34 percent weekly, to settle at 3.7825 U.S. dollars per bushel. May wheat was up 3.75 cents, or 0.81 percent, to close at 4.66 dollars. March soybeans were down 5.5 cents, or 0.6 percent, to settle at 9.0375 dollar per bushel.

Heavy rain and rapidly melting snow have caused flooding that impacted many areas in the U.S. Midwest, with the farming states of Nebraska and Iowa hitting hardest.

On Thursday, U.S. President of Donald Trump declared that a major disaster exists in the State of Nebraska and ordered federal aid to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts.

CBOT corn rose more than 1 percent on the same day amid additional concerns that flooding could also delay corn planting.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed on Friday sales by private exporters of 300,000 metric tons of corn for delivery to China during the 2018/19 marketing year, which began on Sept. 1.

Traders anticipate that China will purchase more U.S. agricultural products, including corn, as part of a trade deal being negotiated by the two countries.

As for CBOT wheat, an agreement with Brazil, along with possible damage from the flooding, boosted the grain notably this week.

U.S. President Donald Trump and visiting Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday made a number of trade-related commitments. One of them is that Brazil will import every year 750,000 metric tons of U.S. wheat free of duty.

The trade deal pushed up CBOT wheat futures as it will offer new export opportunity for U.S. wheat, as foreign wheat usually faces a 10-percent duty in Brazil unless it's grown in fellow Mercosur countries.

Flooding also damaged some soft red wheat in the southern Midwest and Mississippi Delta, said market watchers, helped support CBOT wheat prices.

CBOT soybeans saw a relatively quiet trading week and the market now awaits a report on prospective plantings and quarterly grain stocks on Friday.

The market is positioned for record large soybean stocks and a decline in 2019 soybean planting intentions, according to the Chicago-based agricultural research firm AgResource.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 05:32:05|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TUNIS, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The Tunisian company Sotudis, a subsidiary of the automobile Zouari Group, announced the start of the commercialization of the Chinese automaker Geely "model GC6" cars in Tunisia on Saturday.

The "model GC6" is the first private vehicle assembled in Tunisia in factories in Sousse, a seaside province, said Fares Zouari, director of the group at a press briefing.

According to Zouari, the Geely GC6 is a model that meets the expectations of Tunisian family, at a competitive price of around 14,238 U.S. dollars.

He confirmed that other models of the Chinese brand will be introduced soon in the Tunisian automobile market.

"The partnership with Geely began in 2017, and we started the installation with pure Tunisian skills," said Zouari, adding that it is a unique project in the field of assembly of the Geely private cars in Tunisia.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 07:12:28|Editor: Lu Hui

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WASHINGTON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Saturday the "liberation" of all territory controlled by the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq, while vowing to remain vigilant until "it is finally defeated."

Trump said in a statement that the United States, together with its partners in Global Coalition to Defeat IS, has liberated "100 Percent of 'the caliphate.'"

"We will remain vigilant against ISIS (IS) by aligning global counterterrorism efforts to fight ISIS until it is finally defeated wherever it operates," the president added.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced Saturday the defeat of the IS militant group in eastern Syria.

The victory ended the IS rule that once spanned a third of Iraq and Syria.

The SDF, with the help of the U.S.-led coalition, has been fighting the IS group in the region of eastern bank of the Euphrates River since last September.

The IS emerged in Syria after the Syrian crisis began in 2011, after it was formed first in Iraq amid the U.S.-led invasion of the country.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the group's leader, broke ties with al-Qaeda and renamed his group "the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" in 2013.

In 2014, the extremist group captured Raqqa Province in Syria and declared the establishment of a caliphate.

Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan on Saturday called the liberation of the territory once held by IS in Iraq and Syria "a critical milestone," adding that the work "is far from complete."

"We will continue our work with the Global Coalition to deny ISIS safe haven anywhere in the world," Shanahan said in a statement.

Declaring victory over the IS, Trump announced in December the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, leading to the resignation of then Secretary of Defense James Mattis and wide opposition from home and abroad.

Last month, Trump announced a small fraction of U.S. forces would remain in Syria with troops from other countries. Currently, there are about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told the press on Friday that the territorial caliphate of IS had been eliminated in Syria, saying that the Pentagon confirmed this information. However, Russian media Sputnik reported on Friday, citing a Russian Foreign Ministry source, that Washington's statements about the complete liberation of Syria from IS were not convincing.

General Joseph Votel, head of the U.S. Central Command, said earlier this month that the operation against IS was far from over.

"Reduction of the physical caliphate is a monumental military accomplishment -- but the fight against ISIS and violent extremism is far from over and our mission remains the same," Votel said.

Following Shanahan's statement, Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a statement that the U.S. military remains committed to working closely with its coalition and regional partners to "ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS."

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who's visiting Lebanon, told reporters Saturday that work remains to be done to "make sure that radical Islamic terrorism doesn't continue to grow."
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 07:39:44|Editor: Liangyu

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An artisan blows a newly-made Yuping bamboo flute at a workshop in Yuping Dong Autonomous County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, March 23, 2019. As a traditional Chinese musical instrument, Yuping bamboo flute is famous for its clear tone and delicate carving. Made from local bamboo, there are dozens of procedures in the making of this instrument. It was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2006. (Xinhua/Wang Bingzhen)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 08:25:00|Editor: Xiaoxia

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People visit a vintage car exhibition in Cairo, capital of Egypt, March 23, 2019. Egyptian lovers of vintage cars gathered Saturday in Cairo's Smart Village Club where 250 classic automobiles were displayed at the 7th Cairo Classic Meet, the country's biggest event for vintage cars. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 08:12:33|Editor: Liangyu

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SAN FRANCISCO, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Some tourism agencies attending a two-day major travel show in San Francisco Bay Area are working to attract more American tourists to China.

The booths of China National Tourist Office (CNTO) and a few Chinese tourism agencies are among the most popular at the 9th annual Bay Area Travel and Adventure Show, which opened at the Santa Clara Convention Center Saturday.

"The Bay Area is a very important market for us. It's one of the most affluent regions in the country and people here are generally more familiar with Chinese culture because of the large Chinese community," said Emma Ma, who works for the Los Angeles office of CNTO, which is tasked to promote tourism to China.

CNTO has been an exhibitor at each event of the Travel and Adventure Show in the past few years to promote the tourist sources and travel information to the American public. Between 8,000 and 9,000 people are expected to attend this year's event, according to the organizer.

This year, CNTO worked with three local travel agencies and two airlines -- Air China and Air Canada -- to present various travel routes at different price levels to China.

"The classic destinations for those tourists who have never been to China are the 'Golden Triangle' -- Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai," said Napio Asahara, manager of sales and operations at Access Asia Tours, a North America-based tour company specialized in customized private tours to China.

"For those who plan to visit China for the second or third time, we have noticed an increasing interest in Silk Road, or Tibet," she said.

Asahara said her company focuses on high-end small tours and most of their clients are retired people who have more leisure time and can afford higher priced tours.

Thanks to CNTO's overseas promotion of the Silk Road tourist destinations in the past few years, several travel itineraries based on the ancient trade route have been developed and highlighted in the brochures at the show.

Ma said their office has recently exhibited at a travel show in Los Angeles and they are going to participate in three more shows on West Coast in the first half of this year.
An Afghan policeman stands guard after a lawmaker was killed in Kandahar city, capital of Kandahar province, Afghanistan, March 23, 2019. (Xinhua/Sanaullah Seiam)

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, March 23 (Xinhua) -- An Afghan lawmaker was shot dead in Kandahar city, capital of southern province of Kandahar on Saturday, in a latest targeted killing in the country, local police confirmed.

"Obaidullah Barakzai, an influential politician and representative of southern Uruzgan province in Wolesi Jirga or Lower House of National Parliament, was shot and killed by gunmen in Police District 6 of the city," provincial police chief Gen. Tadeen Khan told Xinhua.

An investigation has been undertaken, he said.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani described the attack as an act of terror and extended condolences to the family of Barakzai and the people of Afghanistan, according to a Presidential Palace statement.

In late 2016, Barakzai's son was killed following a terrorist attack in Kabul.

No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack so far and Taliban militants denied involvement of their fighters in the attack.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 09:22:44|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha casts his ballot at a polling station in Bangkok, Thailand, March 24, 2019. Thai voters flock to polling stations across the country on Sunday for the country's first general election since the 2014 coup. Eligible voters have been lining up at polling station since 6:00 a.m. local time. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha cast his ballot at a station in Bangkok at about 8:30 a.m. local time. (Xinhua/Rachen Sageamsak)

BANGKOK, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Thai voters begin to cast their ballots from 8:00 a.m. local time on Sunday morning for the country's first election since the 2014 coup.

Voting will be held from 8:00 a.m local time to 5:00 p.m. local time. More than 51 million people are expected to show up.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 09:56:15|Editor: mingmei

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Doctor Zou Qiyin checks an injured man of a factory explosion at the intensive care unit in the Third People's Hospital of Yancheng in Yancheng, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 23, 2019. The explosion happened at about 2:48 p.m. Thursday following a fire that broke out in a plant owned by Jiangsu Tianjiayi Chemical Co. Ltd., in a chemical industrial park in Xiangshui County in the city of Yancheng. Thousands of firefighters and medical workers and hundreds of ambulances and fire trucks have joined an all-out rescue after the explosion. Sixteen hospitals in Yancheng have accepted 617 injured people so far, 523 of which have minor injuries. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 10:42:02|Editor: Xiaoxia

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Photo taken on March 23, 2019 shows amber products during the 26th International Fair of Amber, Jewellery and Gemstones in Gdansk, northern Poland. The event, which was held from March 20 to 23, attracted more than 470 merchants from 54 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Chen Xu)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 11:18:01|Editor: Xiaoxia

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LOS ANGELES, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline in Los Angeles rose over 4 cents Saturday. Business insiders said the largest daily price hike in three years was cause by a massive fire incident at a nearby refinery.

The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline is 3.48 U.S. dollars in Los Angeles County and 3.44 dollars in Orange County. Both of them are the highest since December and the 4-cent overnight spike is the biggest since February 2016.

The American Automobile Association (AAA), a federation of motor clubs throughout North America with over 58 million members, was quoted by local media ABC7 as saying a fire at the nearby Phillips 66 Carson refinery on March 15 caused the price hike.

The fire involving three of four crude oil pumps with flames in the seals was put out about two hours later while no injuries were reported and no evacuations were put in place.

However, as those pumps were shut down, supply for local gas station was affected, ABC7 reported, adding that there were also problems at two other refineries.

Rising consumer demand and spring refinery maintenance continue to push gasoline prices higher, analysts said.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 11:23:03|Editor: Xiaoxia

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CAPE TOWN, March 23 (Xinhua) -- The slow land reform in South Africa has caused impatience among the public and it needs to be accelerated if the country is to correct historical injustice, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Saturday.

Ramaphosa made the remarks when handing over title deeds to descendants of the Griqua people in the Ebenhaeser community near Cape Town, who are a subgroup of Southern Africa's heterogeneous and multiracial people, and have a long history of dispossession.

The handover to original owners "is a historic occasion, because it includes the first ever settled land claim in the Western Cape to descendants of the Griqua people," said Ramaphosa.

"We share a common goal to improve the lives of all South Africans and uplift their material conditions by giving them access to land," he added.

Having land returned to its rightful owners is just the first step towards sustainable and enduring land reform, the president said, adding that an inter-ministerial committee has been established to oversee the accelerated reform, with a presidential advisory panel on hand to assist the committee.

Across South Africa, land has been restored to its original owners, be they individuals or communities, according to the president.

Nevertheless, the country's land reform, characterized by land expropriation without compensation, has drawn ire from opponents, who argue that the process will drive away white farmers, threaten food security and negatively impact the economy.

The government has repeatedly assured that it will pursue the reform without destabilizing the agricultural sector, endangering food security in the country, or undermining economic growth and job creation.

"We are determined that our accelerated land reform program should expand economic opportunities in areas where our people live," Ramaphosa said Saturday.

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) made a promise in 1994 that it would return the land to their rightful owners. About 25 years after the end of apartheid, however, minority whites still own most of the land in South Africa.
Source: Xinhua| 2019-03-24 11:58:08|Editor: mingmei

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BANGKOK, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Thai voters flock to polling stations across the country on Sunday for the country's first general election since the 2014 coup.

Eligible voters have been lining up at polling station since 6:00 a.m. local time. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha cast his ballot at a station in Bangkok at about 8:30 a.m. local time.

The prime minister asked voters to use their rights properly to bring about unity and better development of the country.

High ranking government officials and leaders of political parties also showed up at polling stations in the morning.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan reiterated that security of the country is the top priority of the government, ruling out political unrest during election.

The vote will be held from 8:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m. local time on Sunday. More than 51 million people are registered as eligible voters.

There are more than 90,000 polling stations across the country. The Election Commission expected that at least 80 percent of voters will cast their ballots.

Unofficial results will be unveiled about three hours after the polling stations close. Official results will be announced before May 9.

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn made a call for unity and happiness just 12 hours before the vote.

In the election, voters will choose 350 senators in the lower house. The new constitution allows parliament's upper house, the 250-seat Senate, to vote with the 500-seat lower house to choose the prime minister.

Pro-military parties would probably need 126 seats in the lower House of Representatives to win a majority in a combined vote. Opposition parties would need 376 seats.